Author's Note: So, I'm "pulling the thread" again. First, I corrected the plot flaw about Castiel's experience in Heaven and the threat of the lack of angel power present in Heaven versus consistency with The Fall.
Also, I left out the whole Sam dying and Lucifer resurrecting him thing. It didn't work with Jack being Cas' son instead of Lucifer's, but more importantly, I agree with the following:
"I was not quiet about this, I had a fundamental issue with the fact that Dean left (Sam in the cave when he was taken away by vampire demons). And it was too late in the game to re-write the script, and we just had to put our heads down... it's kind of doing a disservice to the character." - Jensen Ackles, JIBCON 9
What do you think? Let me know in reviews!
Also, I hope you enjoy all of the Gabriel stuff in this chapter. It was a joy to write. I should really write more Gabriel.
I do not own Supernatural.
***Ember POV***
April 19, Evening
TWO WEEKS LATER
If time had moved slowly before, Ember was certain that now it might stop entirely. The days were getting longer, and her mood grew more and more sour. She had built herself back up, finally, from the hopelessness she had felt after Jack had left – the hopelessness that had resulted in her finally allowing her demon side free reign.
With Gabriel's departure, however, Ember felt that something inside her had once more collapsed. It was this desperation, Ember knew, that spurred Castiel to search for a solution in Heaven. Ember didn't like the idea, but they had tried everything else. "It's my duty to my son," Castiel told her, and she knew he was right.
Castiel returned, thankfully, in one day and in one piece. Rather than bolstering her spirits, however, the events in Heaven had made him as depressed and upset as she was.
"Naomi's alive," he reported immediately.
"Naomi! The angel that almost made you kill Dean and I?" Ember exclaimed. "You escaped from her?"
Castiel shook his head. "She told me times have changed," he said. "We can't afford to kill any more of our own."
Ember could tell by Castiel's mannerisms that he was deeply upset. "What does that mean?"
Castiel sighed, putting his head in his hands and sitting down in the foyer of their home. "Ember, there used to be thousands of us. Thousands. But between the Apocalypse, and the war with Raphael, and the Fall, and the war with Metatron… there are less than twenty of us now."
Ember gasped. "Cas…! Oh, no." She hugged him, and she thought that if angels could cry, he would.
"We just… we were never made to do anything but keep order, and fight," he said. "We never understood the value of human life… or even the value of angel life… until it was too late."
"So… what now?" Ember asked him reluctantly.
Castiel shook his head. "Heaven requires the power and the presence of angels," he explained hopelessly. "If it runs out of power, the souls will come crashing back to Earth."
Ember gasped, but Castiel continued. "As it is, it's… it's too close, Ember. No more angels can perish. Heaven is closed, until another solution is found."
"But… what about when Metatron closed Heaven?" Ember asked.
"He learned it the hard way," Castiel said, shaking his head. "He had to hurry up and let some more angels back in, after he kicked them all out. But it's been bad ever since the Fall."
Ember hugged Castiel, burying his head in her chest. "All the more reason to find Gabriel," she told him.
"We have to find him," Castiel said desperately, raising his head to meet her eyes.
"We will," she said, smoothing his dark hair.
She wondered, inwardly, how it was possible for her to comfort him when she herself was running out of hope.
***Ember POV***
April 25, Morning
Ember woke up early, again.
She'd been dreaming about Jack, and now she knew she wouldn't get back to sleep.
She didn't bother to look for Castiel in the bed next to her, either. Until he'd gotten his wings back, he had often laid down with her to read or research. Since then, he'd spent most of his time flying around looking for Lucifer or, more recently, Gabriel. Over the past week, he had only checked in briefly before flying out again.
The phone was ringing. It was Sam! Maybe there was news!
"Is Cas with you?" he asked immediately.
Her heart leapt. "No, but he will be," she answered. "Cas. I think Sam has news."
Ember heard Dean swearing in the background.
"Never mind, he's here with us," said Sam.
"Damn it!" Ember shouted. "Tell him to come back and pick me up!"
A second later, she felt the familiar tug behind her navel, and she found herself in the bunker.
The first thing she saw was the jovial grin of the angel Gabriel. "Saved Little Bro the trip," he said, smiling.
Ember realized suddenly that Gabriel was still standing incredibly close to her. He cocked his head for a second, considering her. "Damn, girl, now I understand all the hype. You smell like sex on a stick!"
"Gabriel!" Castiel said warningly, and Ember found herself suddenly on the other side of the room. She had been wearing only an old tank-top and tiny sleep-shorts, but suddenly she was wrapped in Castiel's trench coat.
Jo, Sam, Dean, and Eileen were all laughing. Jo shot a side-long glance at Dean, and seemed to smile slightly after noting the genuine mirth on his face.
"Okay, Bro, we get it, hands off," said Gabriel sarcastically, shaking his hands emphatically. "Although, if you'd like to trade her for a night for about… say, six or seven porn stars, I can make that happen for you, Little Bro."
"I'll take a pass," said Castiel stoically, and the group laughed again.
"Your loss," said Gabriel again. "But I know a couple that are really bendy-…"
"Gabriel," Ember said, interrupting him. "Thank you for coming to help us."
Gabriel's face slumped, and he looked at her shrewdly. "Right down to business, huh?"
***Castiel POV***
April 26, Daytime
Castiel's spirits had definitely lifted. The presence of his brother, especially a version of his brother that was lucid and willing to help them, was most certainly a bonus.
Still, Gabriel was completely out of grace, and almost entirely human. "How long will it take for you to recover enough grace for us make a rift?" asked Castiel.
Gabriel laughed. "You're a seraph, Little Bro, but you're no archangel. Little known secret: we're almost four times as powerful as a regular angel, but we also recover much slower. I'll need a month to recover fully."
"We can't wait that long," Castiel said. "How long until you can produce enough grace to get us to the other side?"
"A week," said Gabriel. "At least."
Even the week Gabriel had requested seemed too long to Ember and the Winchesters, however.
"We don't have that kind of time!" Dean insisted.
"It's the best we can do," Castiel argued. "Even with a week to recover, he'll be giving nearly all of his grace to us. It'll still be our job to defend him in the Apocalypse World, not the other way around."
"Great," Ember grumbled. "So we have an archangel, but we really don't have an archangel."
"We could always search for Lucifer," Castiel reminded the group. "Gabriel is a better tracker even than I am. He'll know how to find him, and how to trap him. And it's our job to-…"
"No," insisted Sam. "Let's get Jack back, get Mom back, and then worry about Lucifer and Michael."
Castiel sighed, but agreed with this plan.
-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-
For the first time in more than a millennium, Castiel had an entire week to spend with his favorite older brother. They quickly began a habit of shutting themselves into a quiet part of the bunker to talk, away from the prying eyes of the Winchesters, their girlfriends, the children, and even Ember. It had been three years since Castiel had had another angel with whom he was on friendly terms (Hannah), and nine years since he had had a conversation with a friendly angel that was anywhere near as old as himself (Domiel). Gabriel was a special opportunity – though he had always been Castiel's favorite of the archangels, they had still only had a small number of actual conversations.
Castiel had a long list of never-ending questions for Gabriel ranging from what their father had been thinking when he'd created the universe, all the way to why Gabriel had ran away. Gabriel answered the younger brother in his usual manner – mostly kidding, some dry humor, and the occasional moment of raw clarity. Castiel soon felt that he had learned more about his own history, and his fathers' motives, in that one week than he had in the entire 400 million years of his existence.
Still, none of Gabriel's answers surprised Castiel half as much as his older brother's questions.
"So," Gabriel asked. "Tell me… seriously, tell me. Being with Ember… what's it like?"
Castiel started to say, "None of your business," but stopped himself. His brother had answered all of his questions voluntarily. Additionally, Gabriel's tone was more inquiring than jeering.
"Amazing," Castiel admitted. "Like nothing I ever could've dreamed of."
Gabriel thought for a minute, and Castiel saw the unmistakable sign of jealousy, mixed with no small amount of wistfulness. Finally, his older brother whispered, "Maybe you did it right all along, Little Bro."
Castiel looked at Gabriel in surprise. "I mean, c'mon," Gabriel added, sitting down in a chair across from Castiel. "When I rebelled, I did it with style. I mean, I really pissed them off, up there. And I did everything. I slept with porn stars, and Playboy bunnies… hell, I've been to all the best parties and galas in the last three thousand years! And I thought I had it all, you know? I stood for nothing, but I could have anything I wanted, and that's how I liked it."
He sighed, looking hard at Castiel. "You did it different, didn't you? You messed up every which way, and you did everything that angels weren't supposed to do, even the things I was too scared to confront."
Castiel bristled, slowly becoming defensive.
"But you did it right, you know?" Gabriel asked. The archangel gave him a hard, searching look, and in that moment Castiel got a rare glimpse past the fabricated vessel of the Trickster God Loki to the even more powerful archangel underneath. "You made all the wrong choices for all the right reasons, and you fought for what you believed in. And now, you've got something to fight for… a family. And it's a better cause, and a better family, than a bunch of angels that Dad pushed together and warned not to fight … you've got a real family. And that girl… wow." Gabriel sighed. "So maybe you did it right after all."
"You're my family," said Castiel, stunned. "You're my older brother."
Gabriel looked alarmed for a second. Then he began to laugh, a genuine laugh this time. "And don't you forget it, Castiel. I've had my eye out for you for years, did you know? Ever since the order came down for you to pull the righteous man out of hell." He smiled again, then added, "You're closer to me than any of those other bozos. 'Have been for years. D'ya want some donuts? I'm gonna make a donut run." And, with no further ado, Gabriel disappeared, leaving Castiel pondering on their fates.
***Dean POV***
May 1, Afternoon
Jo had stayed at the bunker for just over two magical weeks, while she helped Eileen and the brothers track and find Gabriel. Once it had been established that Gabriel needed a week to recover his strength before he could donate grace, however, she had headed off on a trip to investigate some murders in rural Missouri.
He had wanted to go with her, but he still wasn't entirely sure whether that was allowed, or, in fact, the status of their relationship in general. She had slept in the same bed as him, and they had had sex during her stay, but they had never actually established that they were "in a relationship." He had been happy enough for the sex and the company, and hadn't wanted to push it. Therefore, when she had opted to go to Missouri, he had let her go without a fuss.
Despite her absence, everyone (except Dean) was in high spirits. Castiel and Gabriel were more often than not sequestered in a back room in deep discussion. When they emerged, they always seemed to have looks on their faces as though they knew something the humans didn't.
Eileen had begun wedding planning now that she had Sam's research-free attention for the first time since he had proposed. Ember often joined them after work, usually hitching a ride from Castiel. Dean showed just enough interest to learn that they planned to be married "as soon as we're all back together, whenever that is, before shit hits the fan again… you know how our lives are."
Dean thought privately that this was a dismal, but accurate, way of looking at the situation.
On the fifth day of Gabriel's stay, Castiel went with Dean and Sam to buy ammunition. When Castiel flew them back and dropped them in the kitchen, Jo was there.
Dean's heart leapt. She was back!
"Hey, sexy lady, how was your trip?" Dean asked immediately, going to kiss her on the cheek. "Was I right? Rogue vampire?"
She whirled around, and Dean noted with alarm that there were tear tracks on her cheeks. She had the heir of someone who hadn't wanted to be caught crying. It occurred to him with alarm that he never would have caught her there if they had come into the bunker in the "normal" way, by car. Their sudden appearance in the kitchen via angel express had clearly caught her off guard.
There was a beat of silence, then her face turned angry. "DEAN WINCHESTER! WHAT THE FUCK! I LEAVE FOR FIVE DAYS, AND YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH OTHER WOMEN?"
"Dean!" Castiel said accusatorily.
"No," Sam said, shaking his head as though he couldn't believe it. "There's no way."
"I didn't sleep with anyone!" Dean said, his eyes growing wide. "Jo, I swear it! I-…"
"I mean, we'd never actually said we were dating," said Jo, "But I figured it was kind of implied that we were something. I've only been gone five -…"
"Hey, everyone!" Gabriel said, emerging from the hallway wearing Dean's bathrobe. "I want you to meet Kandi!"
There was a second of silence, during which Jo's face heated up in recognition and embarrassment, and Dean felt his face heat up with an entirely different emotion. Then Dean screamed, "WHAT THE FUCK? IN MY BED?!" and launched himself at Gabriel.
***Ember POV***
May 3, Afternoon
Finally, Gabriel had announced that he had enough grace to use to open the rift. It was surprisingly little, though.
"This is what you call a serving?" asked Rowena, who had arrived that morning via angel express.
Gabriel shrugged. "Look, an archangel has almost four times as much power as a normal angel… That means it'll take at least four weeks to fully recover. This is the best it's gonna get for awhile. And besides, this is the jet fuel of divine emissions. It'll be more than enough to get the job done."
Ember exchanged a skeptical glance with Rowena and Castiel, but the group prepared anyway. Castiel took out his angel blade. Sam and Eileen held hands, exchanging shy glances. Jo shot Dean a determined look. Gabriel ran his fingers down his own angel blade, as if testing the sharpness. Dean tightened the straps on his backpack, grimly focused.
The contents of Rowena's spell bowl began to glow with the added grace. "Koth Munto Nuntox!" Rowena shouted. She directed the spell with her hands, and a glowing rift formed in the air at the end of the table.
Then it began to bow and fizzle, and then it was gone.
There was silence.
"Okay," Dean said, dropping Jo's hand.
"Well, that was...fast," said Castiel, as Ember rolled her eyes.
"Very, very fast," added Sam.
Rowena shot a sour look at Gabriel. "One could even say premature."
"Um...I thought it would be enough," Gabriel admitted, looking embarrassed.
"So, what?" Ember asked. "We need another week for him to recharge?"
"At least," said Castiel. "We don't know how long it'll take him to recover."
"There's got to be a better way," insisted Sam.
"There is," said Castiel, as Ember felt her heart plummet. "And you all know what it is. Aside from Gabriel, there's only one source of archangel grace on Earth."
Sam and Ember both shot Castiel horrified looks. "No," Sam insisted.
"I don't like it either, but there is no other way," Castiel said again, more firm this time. "We
need Lucifer."
***Castiel POV***
May 3, Evening
Gabriel was an enigma. In the week he had been at the Winchester's bunker, he had filled their entire refrigerator, and a second one, with a variety of half-eaten sweets of every shape and size. "It was a perk of my witness protection transformation into Loki," he explained when Castiel asked about it. "I can taste things!"
Gabriel gave Castiel a big smile, waggling a lollipop in his face. "You've been human, right? And now you're back to angel? You know what that's like, then. You've got your sexy, sexy girlfriend, but…" And he took a long (and rather phallic) lick of the lollipop just to accentuate his point.
Then there was the incident with the porn star named Kandi. Castiel had noted that Dean's bathrobe, as well as his sheets, were thrown in the trash the following day. There were two more incidents with porn stars, but at least after that incident Gabriel managed to keep them in the confines of his own guest room.
All in all, Gabriel was a fantastic comedian and a wonderful conversationalist. He was also a great older brother only when convenient, and a terrible houseguest.
And yet. When it came to trapping Lucifer, Gabriel was worth all of the trouble he had caused. The archangel still remembered the strong drug Loki had used to sell him to Asmodeus, before (according to the Winchesters), he had killed his arch-nemesis to get vengeance. With the help of the drug, a bit of Gabriel's image trickery, and a spell from Rowena, Lucifer was captured more easily than Castiel would have believed. Not only that, but Sam and Rowena had worked out a way to keep the rift open for longer than 24 hours, by a continuous use of Lucifer's grace.
Finally, it was ready. Finally, it was time.
***Dean POV***
May 3, Evening
"You gonna be okay back here?" Sam asked Rowena.
"Aye," said Rowena. "Someone needs to keep an eye on the devil. Go. Save your Mum."
They all went through the rift in a line – first Sam, then Eileen. Then Castiel, Gabriel, Ember, Dean, and finally Jo.
They arrived somewhere in Kentucky, but they would need to go to Dayton. "I can only fly a few of us in at once," said Castiel. "I'm going to have to make two trips. We'll start a mile outside Dayton and move inward."
The group agreed to the plan, and Castiel flew with them to Dayton. They had walked almost exactly a mile when they approached a number of boards coated in sigils which were nailed to trees.
"We must be getting close to Dayton," said Eileen. "On the outskirts, at least."
Dean looked at Castiel, only to see with alarm that he was shaking. "I-I-I can't," he admitted. "This...warding is too strong."
Gabriel, who was closest to the wards, took out his angel blade and drew it down through the middle. Suddenly a human fighter rushed out from behind a tree, a rifle pointed at the group.
"Whoa!" Castiel exclaimed. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're – we're not here to fight. We're just looking for…"
Mary Winchester appeared suddenly beside the first human fighter. She had her gun out, but Dean saw recognition flare in her eyes at the sight of Castiel, and she lowered it slightly. "Mary," the angel said softly.
"Castiel?" she asked, but her eyes searched around him until they finally fell on Dean and Sam. Mary waved away the other gunmen, and the three began to walk toward each other. Dean drank in the sight of his mother. Finally. Finally! She had been here almost a year and a half, and Dean felt that he wouldn't believe she was alive until he could feel her arms around him again.
Mary caught both boys in a hug, and Dean realized she was crying. "How did you even find us?" she asked softly. But Dean only held her tighter. There were no words.
***Castiel POV***
May 3, Evening
Castiel smiled at the sight of Dean and Sam's reunion with their mother. Together, the group was escorted by armed guards into the colony. Castiel, Ember, and Gabriel began the line, followed by Jo and Eileen, and then the Winchesters.
"Can you sense him?" Ember whispered to Castiel. They were holding hands, and her touch was reassuring.
Castiel cast out with his angel sense and was relieved to once again feel Jack's presence. "Yes."
He could feel Ember's relief at his whispered affirmative, and she let out a choked sob.
Jack was pacing when they saw him. He looked up suddenly, and Castiel realized that his son was doing as he had taught him – reaching out with his angel powers to spot danger. The boy's powers were much stronger and had a much farther reach than Castiel's. The shock showed on Jack's face even before he made eye contact.
Upon seeing Castiel and Ember, however, Jack's face split into a wide grin. "Mom? Dad?"
He looked behind them, and, if possible, his smile got wider. "Dean? Sam?"
But then Jack frowned, and Castiel knew why – he had felt it, too. A dark sense, as though evil incarnate had come to greet them.
Jack, Gabriel, and Castiel's heads swiveled at exactly the same time to look behind them. There, strolling into the colony just behind the Winchesters, was Lucifer.