Attention
Sam snoozed silently in his room. Blankets were wrapped around his feet and feathers tickled his skin. Lucifer and Gabriel had snuck into his room sometime during the night and were now curled around his neck, soaking in his warmth. Sam had woken up a few times already because of the tickling of the feathers against his nose and neck. He didn't move the angels though. He just gave them a sleepy smile and gently pushed the feathers away from his skin before closing his eyes again, content to sleep the day away.
Sadly, sleep after noon never happened at Jody Mill's house.
"Sam!"
Blankets flew off the bed as Sam startled. He sat bolt upright, jostling the angels and sending them rolling across the bed. Sam swore and reached for Lucifer, grabbing the baby angel before he could fall off the bed. With Lucifer safe in his arms, Sam turned, eyes roaming the bed for Gabriel. The archangel wasn't far though. He was hovering drowsily in the air by the edge of the bed, fists rubbing at his sleepy eyes. Sam sighed in relief and looked to the door leading out of his room.
"Jody?" he called. "Something wrong?"
His door opened then and Jody appeared with Sam's phone in her hand. She waved it a few times before tossing it at the tired hunter. Sam caught it easily and rolled it around in his hands a few times before looking back to Jody for explanation.
"You're phone's been ringing all morning so I answered it," Jody told him. "It was Ed—Gadreel, Ezekiel, and Abner's father."
"Oh?" Sam hummed, stretching his arms above his head until his joints popped. "Is everything okay?" He dropped his arms back down from above his head and carded fingers through Lucifer's feathers, straitening the ones that were disarrayed. He watched Jody as he did so, not liking the current look on her face.
"Something's up with Gadreel," she said after a moment. Sam's eyes widened and he felt Lucifer tense in his arms. The hunter glanced at Gabriel in the corner of his eye, finding that the golden winged archangel seemed just as tense.
"Is he okay?" He received a shrug and Jody walked further into the room, scooping Gabriel from the air and holding him close. She ran a hand through his hair, trying to get him to calm down, clearly noticing too how tense the angels had gotten.
"Ed just said Gadreel wants you and only you," Jody sighed. "He told me he couldn't explain things over the phone."
"Me?" Sam questioned and Jody nodded. Sam shook his head, not understanding what he was hearing. Why would Gadreel want me? Why not one of his brothers or his parents? Why me?
"Okay," Sam said instead of voicing his questions. "I'll head over right away. Is Dean up yet?"
"Yes, but he's not here," Jody revealed, letting go of Gabriel so the archangel could crawl into Sam's lap beside Lucifer. "He and Cas left with Custos to take Rachel back home." Sam let out a little 'oh' remembering that today was the day Rachel was going back home to the bunker. She had stayed with them for a few days at Jody's just to visit Lucifer and Custos and to give her final farewells to her brothers.
"Okay," Sam yawned, getting up from his bed. "Can you call him while we get dressed so he knows what's happening?" Jody nodded and the boys quickly got dressed. With Lucifer and Gabriel wrapped in too big sweatshirts and sweat pants and Sam dressed in his usual plaid, the three left the bedroom and walked into the living room where Bobby was watching the news with Alex at his side. "Bobby, can I have the keys to your truck? Dean's got the Impala and I need to make a run…"
Bobby tossed his keys at Sam and Gabriel caught them when Sam missed.
"Jody told me about Gadreel. Go get him, boy," the older hunter said, not moving his gaze from the television. Sam nodded and hurried over to the front door again. He looked down at the angels in his arms.
"You guys want to stay or go?" he asked. Lucifer and Gabriel shared a look and then looked back to Sam.
"We help," Lucifer said for the both of them and Sam gave them both a wide grin before hurrying out the door to Bobby's truck.
The drive was a long one, but Sam managed it. After several long hours on the road, he pulled up to Betty and Ed's home. It was a small house in the middle of the country. There were no houses nearby or cars passing by on the gravel roads so the angels let their wings rest along their backs without worry of being spotted.
Lucifer knocked on the front door twice before Ed suddenly threw the door open. He looked extremely tired and there was a wet patch on his shoulder from where someone had been crying. He let out a relieved sigh on seeing Sam and opened the door wide for him and the other two angels.
"Thank God," he sighed. "Come on in, boys. Thanks for coming so quickly."
"It's no problem, Ed," Sam reassured as he walked in. He set Lucifer and Gabriel down on the floor and the two followed him and Ed into the living room. Betty was on the couch with three angels sprawled out on her chest. Big Hero 6 was playing on the screen, but no one was watching it. No, all eyes were on the sobbing angel cocooned in the feathers of his brothers and the arms of his mother.
"Gadreel," Sam called out and the little angel looked up at him with blood shot eyes.
"Sam," he croaked, reaching out to the hunter with tiny hands. Sam held his arms open and pulled the angel from Betty and into his own arms. The little guy let out a choked sob and buried his face against Sam's neck.
"Hey, hey," Sam cooed gently, rocking the angel back and forth in his arms. "It's okay. I'm here. What's the matter?" Gadreel tried to speak, but his words came out in a hiccuping, jumbled mess. "Shhhh," Sam hushed. "Take a deep breath. It's okay." He glanced up from the baby angel and at the two worried parents watching him tiredly. Ezekiel and Abner had moved from the couch to the floor where Gabriel and Lucifer were giving them both big hugs of support.
"He said he had a nightmare," Betty said at last. "You were in it I suppose."
"He didn't believe us that you were okay though," Ed sighed, running a hand over his face tiredly. "He wanted to see for himself."
Sam nodded and brought his attention back to the angel in his arms.
"Well, see, Gadreel? Your mommy and daddy were right. I'm okay." Gadreel nodded, but still didn't let go. Instead, he clung tighter, fingers curling tightly into Sam's shirt. Sam let out a small sigh and looked to Gadreel's parents. "Is it alright if we stay until he feels better?" he asked. "I don't think he's going to be letting go anytime soon."
"No problem at all," Betty said quietly. "Thank you for doing this, Sam."
"Don't worry about it," Sam reassured and he walked out of the room and into Gadreel, Ezekiel, and Abner's shared bedroom so he and Gadreel would have some peace and quiet. He shut the door behind him, leaving it open a crack just in case the other angels needed to come in. He dropped onto the big bed in the middle of the room and sprawled out against the batman covers, propping Gadreel up on his chest. "Hey," Sam greeted the little angel softly.
"H…hey," Gadreel hiccuped back, pudgy hands wiping at the tears still falling down his face.
"You going to tell me what your nightmare was about?" Gadreel let out a little whimper and Sam quickly brushed his fingers through the angel's wings in attempt to sooth him.
"You hurt," Gadreel revealed after a few minutes of just sitting silently while Sam brushed through his wings. He reached out, patting Sam's chest with gentle fingers. Sam pulled a hand back from Gadreel and used it to open his shirt, revealing his unmarked skin. Gabriel tapped at the space Sam must have been hurt in his dream, checking for a wound himself. When he didn't find one he pulled his hand back and let out a relieved sob.
"Oh no," Sam hushed. "No, more tears Gadreel. Everything is fine." Gadreel nodded and flopped back down onto Sam's chest, curling as close as possible to the hunter. Sam chuckled. "Not going to be letting me go anytime soon, huh?" Gadreel shook his head and Sam smiled, going back to running his fingers soothingly through Gadreel's feathers.
Sam had hoped that Gadreel would be okay after only an hour or two, but it turns Gadreel had different plans for the day. He clung to Sam with all his might, only letting Sam escape when the hunter had to use the bathroom. It was starting to get late now and the angel still refused to let go. What made the whole situation worse were the looks he was getting from Gabriel and Lucifer. He didn't know what had gotten into the two, but after a few hours they had started following him around and fought against each other for attention. It was funny at first, but now Sam was starting to get annoyed.
He was in the living room with Gadreel curled up against his chest while Gabriel and Lucifer called out to him, jabbering about nothing as they poked and pulled at him. Sam tried to keep calm, taking in deep breaths so not to snap at the two, but his patience was starting to wear thin.
"Sam?" Betty called suddenly, peaking into the living room. "You mind helping me in the kitchen for a second?" Sam nodded quickly, shooting up from the couch and hurrying after Betty. Gabriel and Lucifer stayed behind, irritation clear on their faces. "Boy, when angels want attention they want it, don't they?" Betty chuckled once Sam entered the kitchen.
"You're telling me. I've never seen them like that before," Sam revealed. Betty raised a brow and then nodded to the angel still curled close to Sam's chest.
"Well, they've never had to deal with you giving so much attention to someone other than them, have they now?" Sam stopped. He thought back, thinking about all the angels he and the others had met so far. He'd spent a lot of time with the other angels before, but Gadreel was the first he had spent such a long stretch of time with in one sitting other than Castiel, Gabriel, Balthazar, and Lucifer.
"Are you saying Gabriel and Lucifer are jealous that I'm giving Gadreel so much attention?" he questioned. Betty nodded and Sam shook his head in disbelief. "They know I'm trying to help him—"
"They do," Betty interrupted quickly. "They realize that Sam, but they can't help it. You love your brother right?" Sam frowned, but nodded. "And even though you love him you still get upset with him, right?" Sam nodded again and Betty nodded at the door leading back into the living room. "The same goes for them. They love Gadreel and realize he needs you right now, but they still feel jealous."
"Is there something I can do?" Sam asked. "To make them not feel left out?" Betty laughed then.
"I don't think you need my help for that," she said before turning to the stove and preheating it. "I'm making pizza for supper. What toppings do the angels like?"
Sam rattled off a list for Betty and after pulling out everything needed from the fridge, Betty waved at him to go back to the living room. Sam gave her a thankful smile and returned to the living room. Gabriel and Lucifer were on him instantly, wings fluffed up in a clear show that they were happy to see him. Sam smiled at them and nodded to the couch where Ezekiel and Abner were sitting silently.
"Let's lay down, yeah. Betty's getting supper ready and I could go for a nap right now." Gabriel and Lucifer both nodded and followed Sam to the couch. The hunter plopped down and stretched his legs out across the couch. He made sure Gadreel was comfortable against his chest first before waving at the other angels to pile on top of him. Abner and Ezekiel wrapped their wings protectively around their brother earning a small smile from Gadreel. He was slowly getting better now and Sam guessed that after supper the little guy would finally be okay enough to let go. Gabriel and Lucifer curled up around Sam's head like two cats, wings splaying out around him and ticking his skin like they had earlier in the day. Sam smiled and pulled one hand from Gadreel to stroke through Gabriel's and then Lucifer's feathers. The two angels hummed happily, content now that they had at least a little of their hunter's attention.
It wasn't long until all five angels and Sam were conked out on the couch. Gadreel had rolled out from under Sam's hand in his sleep and was now curled around Abner and Ezekiel. Gabriel and Lucifer had rolled around too, causing their wings to cover Sam's face. Every time the hunter let out a breath, their feathers would wiggle and flutter. From the doorway, Betty and Ed watched with smiling faces as they munched on the pizza. It had been done for several minutes, but neither wanted to break the sweet moment between the hunter and his angels.
Thank you, Classical E. Centric, for the requesting!