There was a part of Spencer that could admit it was kind of entertaining to watch the dumbfounded expressions on everyone's face at Gabriel's casual declaration. Sam looked sort of like someone had slapped him, Dean was staring blatantly with an expression between disbelief and something that might've been reluctant hope, and Bobby's attention was suddenly much sharper and focused directly on the trickster. Spencer could even see Castiel sitting up a little straighter on Gabriel's other side.

"You've really got a plan?" Sam asked him.

Spencer found it interesting how Gabriel seemed to soften ever so slightly when he looked over at Sam. His smirk was still in place, it just didn't hold the more dangerous edge to it that it did when he was looking at the others. "Would I lie to you, Samalam?" He opted for innocence, but the immediate snort that his response earned him from Dean had him giving up the innocent act and just outright grinning at them. "Okay, okay." He held up his hands like a gesture of peace and then leaned forward to set his mug on the table. He reached out and grabbed some of the fruit, which was on a kabob stick, and as he sat back he handed one stick to Spencer as well. "It's a pretty simple plan, really. Well, for you guys. A little more complicated for me."

The black wings on the other side of Gabriel shifted a little and Spencer could just barely see Castiel turn so that he was looking at Gabriel. "What are you planning, brother?"

The smile that Gabriel wore didn't seem quite right. There was a quality to it that had Spencer turning towards his guardian and watching him with worry. Even more worrisome was the way his wing around Spencer twitched and how his others seemed to deliberately settle with ease, like he was forcing them not to show what he was feeling. Everything about him screamed forced casualness to the fledgling. A second later, he understood why. Gabriel took a bite of the strawberry on the end of his kabob and spoke around the bit of food in his mouth. "I'm gonna give big bro a call and have a little chat. "

Everyone else looked a bit surprised, or slightly contemplative – Spencer, however, froze. Logically, he'd known that Gabriel was going to end up confronting his family at some point during all of this. He just hadn't really given that any deep thought yet. He hadn't really stopped to think about the implications of it. Gabriel had been in hiding for so long. Now, because Spencer wanted to be here with these people and because Gabriel wasn't going to leave the young fledgling he'd taken in, the trickster was going to be forced to reveal himself and be an archangel once more. He was going to blow his cover as Loki to the very people he'd spent so long hiding from. "Gabriel."

Amber eyes flicked over to him and they warmed, like melted honey. He reached his hand out and patted Spencer's legs. "It's fine, squirt. I knew it'd happen eventually. Can't hide forever, right? It'll be fine. Besides, talking with Mikey's the easy part. Shouldn't take too much to get him to back off."

"Getting him to back off is the easy part?" Sam repeated, his voice incredulous.

"Sure." Shrugging, Gabriel took another bite of his fruit, making a little happy sound at the flavor. He eyed Spencer and waited a moment, his eyes flickering down to the fruit he'd handed him and then back up to his face. Spencer realized what he wanted and rolled his eyes. Still, he took a bite of the fruit, amused and a little bit embarrassed as Gabriel gave a pleased nod and turned back to the others before continuing on like he hadn't just waited for Spencer to eat like he was some toddler. "Mikey's the good son. He does what he thinks is right, what he believes Dad wants. It won't be hard to talk him down from this. It's not him we have to worry about – it's Luci. I don't think I'll be able to talk him down. I'll try, but I doubt it'll work. That means we gotta go in there with a backup plan to be able to take him down. That's where you mooks come in."

"You want us to take down the devil?" Bobby's voice was just a bit disbelieving. But he wasn't outright dismissing Gabriel's words, nor did he look as angry as Dean or as confused as Sam.

No matter how much Spencer was blocking, thoughts and emotions were still slipping in a bit. He could pick up the general impression of the room and, wow, that was something that was really going to take some adjusting to. From Sam there was a hesitant hope that was mixed in with all this guilt and fear in a cocktail that made Spencer's stomach roll a little. Dean felt exhausted and annoyed and mistrustful. There was guilt there, too, and temper – he really didn't like Gabriel. But Bobby, he was surprisingly not angry. The darkness that Spencer had felt on him earlier – depression, his mind told him, that had been depression – was faded now. His mind was sharp and it was already racing over everything that Gabriel was saying and trying to add it in to the information he already had. This was a man who was a lot smarter than he looked.

Glaring, Dean folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "How the hell are we supposed to take down Satan?"

"By locking him back in his cage."

Everyone sat up a little straighter at that. "You can do that?" Sam asked. That hesitant hope he was feeling got just a little bit stronger.

"We can." Gabriel agreed. "I'm not saying it'll be easy, but it can be done. There are four keys to open up Luci's cage." He held up four fingers on his free hand. "Four keys – four rings. From the Horsemen."

The way that the Winchesters suddenly perked up was enough to have Gabriel falling silent and even Spencer paying a bit more attention. "We already have one!" Sam said quickly, his eyes lighting up and a half smile touching his lips. At the same time, Dean was reaching down into his coat pocket and pulling something out, laying it out on the table. Spencer gave a soft shiver when he saw the power radiating off the ring revealed under Dean's hand. That was a ring – from one of the Horsemen. One of the actual Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Holy shit. Would wonders never cease? Every time he thought he was getting settled in this new, strange world he'd found himself a part of, something new cropped up.

Gabriel let out a low whistle. "Well, well, well, aren't you two just surprising?" He reached out and scooped up the ring, pulling it in for a closer look. "You two actually went up against War and won?"

The power in the ring had Spencer leaning back just the slightest bit. It felt, heavy. Wrong. When Gabriel brought it close it felt like the air got just a bit thicker and there was this strange metallic taste on the back of Spencer's tongue. Unconsciously, he lifted his free hand and let his finger tangle in the feathers right next to him, seeking out comfort from that touch. It was a gesture he didn't even notice himself doing; nor did he notice the quick look it earned him from Gabriel. The archangel pressed his wing a little closer to give Spencer better access. It seemed to help, because Spencer found his voice, even if it did still carry a heavy note of disbelief. "You want us to track down the other Horsemen and get their rings from them?". When he got flashed a grin and a nod, he gave a small shake of his head. "You do realize how insane that sounds, correct?"

"That's sort of par for the course here." Dean gave a little half grin and shrugged. "You get used to it."

"I'm assuming that the Horsemen are actual people, so to speak?" Spencer looked to the Winchesters for the answer to this. "Or, at least, some physical embodiment of their name?"

Sam was the one to answer that. "War was a person, or a person-shaped-being. But he looked as human as you or I."

"Goes to show appearances can be deceiving." Gabriel said easily.

"They may appear human, but they are so much more." Castiel said, speaking up for the first time in a little while. The sound of his voice made Spencer draw back just a bit. He didn't pull away completely, though. This was someone he was going to have to work with and he had to get used to that. Forcing down his own discomfort, he turned to look at the angel as Castiel continued to speak. "They have great power and going against them will not be easy."

"The boys got lucky with War." Bobby said, ignoring the looks that earned him from the boys. "Can you actually kill Death, though?"

Scoffing, Gabriel tossed his now empty kabob stick onto the table. The ring seemed to have vanished – most likely into his pocket. "We don't kill Death. Once we get the others, I'll talk to him. He doesn't usually like to mess with anything outside his job but he's not gonna be all that fond of Luci running round free. That just leaves Pestilence and Famine for you guys to find."

"That's gonna be a lot of lore to sift through." Sam pointed out.

Beside him, his brother made a derisive noise. "Can we go back to the whole 'talk to Michael' part of things? Does no one but me have questions about that?"

"Seems to me like we should be worrying about the problems we're capable of handlin'." Bobby told him plainly. His eyes moved over to Gabriel, then Spencer, then back to Dean and Sam. "We've been avoiding the big guy so far, but if feathers over here thinks he can talk to his brother and get him and maybe even the God Squad to back off, what've we got to lose?"

"Yeah, and what if he decides to switch sides?" Dean shot back.

Though the question didn't seem to bother Gabriel in the slightest, judging by his relaxed smirk and the way he snapped himself up a candy bar and settled in like this was all some interesting show he was watching, but Spencer was surprised to find it did bother him. Before he could think of censoring himself, he found himself saying "You know, it seems rather to openly doubt and question someone who seems to have brought you the only plan your team has so far." All eyes turned to him and Spencer fought the urge not to draw back and duck his head. He made himself lift his chin ever so slightly, drawing on the support of the being beside him as well as years of practice at not letting officers, agents and Unsubs see when he was cowed. "Gabriel's brought you a plan and offered to help you with it – at great personal risk to himself. A little gratitude certainly wouldn't be amiss."

"Dude," Dean drawled out, hesitating only a second before shaking his head. "You've got no idea the things he's done to us. We've got plenty of reason not to trust him – believe me."

Spencer's eyebrows climbed up towards his hairline. "I was under the impression we were putting aside past transgressions for the sake of the greater good. Or, does that only work for you?"

From beside him he heard Gabriel let out a low "Oh, snap" that Spencer chose to ignore. He was too busy staring down Dean Winchester and trying to somehow hold his own. The man had a glare that was worse than a pissed off Derek.

"Why don't we all take a breather?" Bobby interrupted them. He cast a glare at Dean that was very clearly a warning to keep quiet and then he looked back at the others. "We're all getting a little cranky. Let's take five, let this process for a bit."

Spencer was beyond grateful at the idea of a distraction. He ignored Dean, who pushed up from the table and marched out of the room, and instead focused on his host. A break sounded perfect and he knew just how he wanted to spend it – namely, anywhere but sitting in this uncomfortable room. "Mr. Singer?"

"Just Bobby, kid." Bobby reminded him.

"Of course." Spencer looked over at Gabriel, who gave a small, encouraging nod, and then back to Bobby. "Can I, um, I mean would it be all right if maybe I take a look at some of your books in there? Gabriel was telling me you have a rather extensive library and I'd love to be able to see some of it, especially if we're going to be researching."

"Of course. Come on in here."

Castiel was nudged out of the way and Gabriel rose up so that Spencer would be able to get past. He caught the fledgling as he made to move by him, one hand on his arm to hold him there for a moment. "You want me in there, kiddo?" he asked in a low murmur meant just for Spencer's ears.

The biggest part of Spencer wanted to say yes. He didn't want to be alone with anyone. Especially not in this house of all places. But he couldn't force Gabriel to stick with him all the time. Especially not since it sounded like they were going to be here rather frequently to do research and the like. He had to get over his fear and trust that he could either get himself out of any sort of trouble, or Gabriel would be able to get him out. Spencer drew in a semi shaky breath and then held it for a moment before letting it and his tension back out. "I'll be fine."

A warm brush of grace against his took away a little more of his tension. The sensation was still new to him, but it was oh-so-wonderful. He tentatively returned the gesture, eased by Gabriel's pleased smile. Without another word, the young genius followed Bobby into the living room and towards the treasure trove of books waiting there.

Gabriel watched Spencer go and felt a spurt of pride for the strength that existed in the core of the fledgling. Despite the fact that Spencer was afraid – terrified, really, straight down to his grace – he was still in there talking with Bobby, looking over his books, trying to do what needed to be done. He was keeping his chin up and facing his problems head on in a way that Gabriel himself hadn't always been able to do. It made him proud, and just a bit humbled.

He saw Castiel turn as if he was going to follow them in there and he quickly caught the seraph's arm to stop him. "Let them go." Much as he hated to see how Castiel drooped as he said this, Gabriel had to look out for his fledgling first. "He's not ready to talk to you quite yet."

Castiel's vessel didn't show any signs of his distress. His wings, however, lowered towards the ground in a sort of defeated posture. "I do not know how to begin to make amends." The angel said quietly.

Squeezing Castiel's arm, Gabriel tried to smile at him. "Give it time, kiddo. He'll come around. For now, why don't you go deal with your charge? I'm sure he could do with someone to vent to right about now."

When Castiel left to go hunt down Dean, it left Gabriel there in the kitchen with just Sam. Sam, who hadn't moved from his chair. The hunter was still sitting there, watching Gabriel with a bemused expression on his face. He was leaning back a little, hands folded over his stomach, just watching. One corner of his mouth quirked up. Seeing it, Gabriel arched an eyebrow at him. "What's that look for, Samsquatch?"

"It's like a whole new side of you I'm seeing here, Gabriel. All, nice and…protective. Kind of reminds me of Dean a little." Sam's voice was warm and easy, and just a bit teasing. It was surprising, really, considering if there was anyone in the group that Gabriel would've expected to be pissed off at him or to hate him, it would've been the younger Winchester. He was the one that had been the brunt of plenty of Gabriel's pranks and lessons over the years.

Gabriel wasn't going to question his luck, though. He'd always had a preference for Sam, and not just because of the delicious assets he possessed.

Dropping down into his chair once more, the trickster kicked back and put his feet up on the table. "First off, Sammo, don't compare me to your brother." He pulled a sucker out of his pocket and used it to point at Sam and emphasize that point. Then he drew the wrapper off and stuck it in his mouth only to grin around the stick. "I'm a helluva lot cooler than he is. Second of all, you do realize that I'm one of the Firstborn, right? That means that I have a metric shit-ton of baby siblings. An I always did enjoy playing with the fledglings."

"It's hard to picture, I guess. I'm more used to the Trickster. Still haven't quite managed to adjust to the idea that you're actually Gabriel."

Gabriel's grin grew. "Just means I'm even more awesome than you already knew, kid."

"Yeah." Sam said dryly. "Awesome. That's the word I was looking for."

That had Gabriel letting out a warm laugh. He liked this side of Sam. The sassy side with that understated sense of humor that so rarely got a chance to peek through. Enjoying himself now, he winked at the hunter. "Psh. You know you can't resist all this." He heard something shift in Spencer's voice, a little lilt he was getting familiar with when the fledgling was uncomfortable, and shifted himself in his chair to better be able to watch Sam while still keeping an eye on Spencer. He could see that Spencer and Bobby stood near one of the bookcases. Bobby had a hand between them, like he'd tried to reach out to Spencer, and the kid was a little tense. Ah. Looked like Bobby must've tried to touch him. He probably should've given the others a heads up about that. For all that Spencer was starting to reach out to Gabriel, it was apparent his walls around others were still firmly up.

When Gabriel looked back at Sam, he found the hunter was watching him with a curious look on his face, like Gabriel was some sort of puzzle. "You really care about him."

The trickster would've shrugged it off. That part of him would never have admitted to having someone he cared about, someone who could be used against him, especially not to a hunter – not even this hunter. Gabriel, however, had no such qualms. "He's mine."

"Yours…?"

Sam looked stunned, eyes going wide. It wasn't hard to figure out what he was thinking. Rolling his eyes, Gabriel shook his head. "Not like that. I've got no idea which angels sired him. Don't matter, really. They didn't exactly stick around. But I've been the one training him. I took him in, kept him safe, put my protection on him. I've Claimed him." There was a connotation to that which Sam didn't understand. It didn't matter, though. He got his point across. Spencer was his. He'd protect that kid no matter what. Not just because of his future, either. The klutzy, absentminded, shy little fledgling had wormed his way into Gabriel's grace, right up against the core of him, just as much as any of his kids had.

"He's mine." Gabriel repeated lowly, eyes drifting back towards Spencer. The fledgling was talking now, low and rapid fire in that way he got when something really interested him. His face lost some of the stress lines that had been there lately and was lit with the joy of knowledge, of sharing that knowledge. He was a scholar through and through. He wasn't a warrior. The idea that he was going to have to be was enough to have Gabriel wanting to wrap his wings around him tightly and not let go. Some of that showed in his voice. "An I'll be damned if I'm gonna let anything happen to him."