(A/N: I want to take a moment to thank guest reviewer Kathy for her kind words. You're awesome! I treasure any and all reviews, so if you keep reading and reviewing, I'll keep this going as long as I can.)


Gabriel found Cas in the same spot in which he always found him in the garden: under his special tree.

"See the tree, how big it's grown," he said as he sat down beside his brother. "I remember when it was just a sapling. Now it's big enough to bring shade to this entire section of the garden. Just like you."

"I love that there's a tree for each of us," Cas said. "Sad that there won't be any more."

"You never know," Gabe said. "You know, right here is where you learned to walk. I sat right over there and watched you take your first steps."


"Come on, Cassie!" Gabriel urged his tiny brother. He was sitting at one end of the big blanket that Mike had spread out for them, and little Castiel was standing at the other end, cocking his head as if he wasn't sure what to do.

"Come on, baby! Walk to me!" Gabe patted the blanket in front of him. "You can do it, Cassie!"

"He's not gonna do it," said Lucifer, who was sitting on the corner to Gabe's left.

"Yes, he is! He's ready!"

"He doesn't look ready," said Michael, perched on the right corner.

"He almost did it last night! He looked like he was gonna, but he tripped on the edge of the rug. But out here, there's nothing to trip over."

Mike and Luci looked at each other and stretched out their legs along the edges of the blanket, to hold it down.

"C'mon, Cassie! One little step! You can do it!"

The child continued to stand there, swaying back and forth on his bare feet.

"He's just gonna fall over," said Luci. "Forget it."

"If you don't want to say anything helpful or encouraging," said Mike, "you can go help Raphael with the other fledglings."

Luci glared at him. "You're a jerk."

"And you're a whiny little b—"

"LOOKIT, HE'S DOIN' IT!" Gabe shrieked, bouncing up and down in his excitement. "LOOKIT, LOOKIT! HE'S DOIN' IT!"

And he was doing it. Castiel toddled about six steps across the blanket before losing his balance and falling backwards onto his butt. He looked up in surprise as Gabe cheered at the top of his lungs.

"You did it! Yay! Yay, yay!" He put his arms up in celebration, and Cassie raised his arms, too.

"Yay," Lucifer said without any enthusiasm, and Michael smacked him on the arm. "Ow! What?"

"You could try to get along!"

"Yeah . . . not really feeling it. Whatever."

Gabe didn't let his brother kill his good mood. "That was so awesome, Cassie! Want a cracker?" He snapped his fingers and made one appear.

"Akka," Cas said, reaching for the treat.

"Did he just say—" Gabe looked at his brothers, who nodded. "Well, all right, then! Two firsts in one day! You are super awesome, baby!"


"So my first word was 'cracker'?" Cas asked Gabe now.

"Yep. What did you expect it would be, 'Dada'? Like he was ever around."

"Bet Raph was sad that he missed it."

"A little, yeah. But he got over it. Anyway, you weren't walking long. You started running, and we couldn't keep up with you. Your favorite game was running away from me and hiding."


"Where's Cassie?" Gabe slowly turned in a circle and looked all around the garden. "Where's my baby? I can't find him anywhere!"

He heard giggles from behind a nearby tree, but it was too early in the game to find him yet. He went off to find Michael.

"Mikey, have you seen Cassie?"

Mike tried to ignore the giggles and said, "No, I haven't seen him. Have you tried in the flowers? He likes the flowers."

"Okay, thanks, bye!" This was all part of the game. Gabriel went along the edge of the flower beds, where he found Raphael.

"Raphy, have you seen Cassie? I can't find him anywhere!"

"No," Raph said, "I haven't seen him. Have you tried the Grove of the Sacred Trees?"

"Okay, thanks, bye!" Gabe skipped off to the grove, just ahead of the barely audible giggles. Along the way, he found Lucifer sitting on a rock and trying to look mean. He wasn't good at it yet; he just looked like he'd missed his nap.

"Luci, have you seen Cassie? He's lost, and I can't find him anywhere!"

"I know where he is!" Luci stood up and went directly to the sacred grove, where Castiel was trying to hide behind a tree that was too small to hide anyone.

"Here you are, you silly baby!" Gabe scooped him up in his arms. "Hooray, hooray, I've found my Cassie!"

"He always hides in the same place," Luci grumbled. "Why don't you just look there first?"

Gabe stared at him. "Cause that's not how it goes! You gotta play the game right!"

"Well, maybe he could choose a tree that's a little bigger, so he can actually, y'know, hide behind it."

"I'm not surprised that Castiel chose this tree," said a voice.

The three young angels looked up. "Hi, Joshua," Gabe said.

"You come to the grove every day in your play, but have you ever told him why this grove is so important?"

"Wanna play," Cas said, squirming in his brother's arms. Gabe put him down.

"Every time an angel is born," said Joshua, "I plant a tree here. This one is your tree, Castiel. It was planted the day you were born. That's why it's still so small. Now come with me."

They walked along the row of trees, which gradually grew larger and larger. Along the way, Joshua named each tree.

"This one is Gabriel's," he said, resting a hand against a tree that was twice as tall as Gabriel himself. "And this one is Lucifer's." That one was a lot taller, and its bark was as black as the clothes that Luci had been wearing lately.

Raphael's tree was taller still, towering over all the others—except one. The last tree seemed to touch the top of the sky.

"Mikey's?" Gabe guessed.

"Of course. The tallest and strongest of them all. You're welcome to come and visit your tree any time you like, but please don't break off any branches or pull down any leaves."

"Why?" Luci asked. "Because each tree is connected to the angel it was planted for, and hurting it will hurt them?"

"No," Joshua said patiently. "Because it makes a mess. And I have enough work to do here without cleaning up your mess."

Cas ran back to his tree and hugged it. His little arms just fit around the trunk.

"Twee," he said, leaning his head against its bark. "Nice twee."


"I could sure hide behind it now," Cas said, looking up at his tree. "But I'm not in the mood for games."

Gabe nodded. "Let's see your blade," he said.

There was a metallic zing, and the blade slid out of the young angel's sleeve. It was a little smaller and lighter than most angel blades, but it looked equally as sharp.

"Nice. Not bad. You learning to use it yet?"

Cas nodded. "I've been practicing every day after school."

"Show me." There was another zing, and a golden blade slid out of Gabe's sleeve. "I know it's not a fair fight against an archangel blade. I promise to go easy on you."

"Really? Cause Raph doesn't."

"Has he hurt you?" Gabe looked concerned. "I know he'd never do it on purpose, but—"

"Only once. And it healed up right away, on its own."

"So now your grace is healing you, too."

"Yeah."

Their blades met with a clang and a flash of light. Clearly the boy had been practicing, Gabe noted. He blocked every blow aimed at him, even though, admittedly, Gabe wasn't trying very hard.

After a few minutes, he said, "Enough!"

Cas lowered his blade.

"That was great," Gabe said, but without much conviction. "That was . . . really impressive."

Cas cocked his head. "What's wrong?"

Gabe looked like he didn't know what to tell him. Then he said, "Where's my baby? I can't find him . . . anymore. He's grown like the tall tree."

Cas ducked behind the tree.

"Oh, that is not fair! It's big enough to hide you now!"

"Yeah, but you know where I am."

"That's not the point. One day, I'm gonna look up, and you're really gonna be gone. Gone to be a soldier."

Cas came out from behind the tree and put his hand over his brother's. "Gabe," he said, "I'm okay with being a soldier. If that's where they need me. I'll be the best soldier in Heaven's army. I'll make you proud of me."

At this, Gabe's eyes misted over. He reached out and pulled Cas close to him.

"I'm already proud of you," he said. "Just because you're you. Don't let them change you, baby, okay? You keep being you, and I'll keep being proud. Be tall like your tree. Never bend, never break. That's how you make me proud."