Spencer woke to pain and an exhaustion that threatened to send him back under even as the ache inside pushed him back towards wakefulness. There was all this noise around him that took his brain a moment to process as voices. People were talking over top of him. No, not talking. Yelling. Arguing. Spencer fought to drag himself up out of the exhaustion and the rest of the way towards wakefulness. There was one voice in that mix, one that he knew he needed to respond to. One that resonated within him in a way that demanded his attention. Gabriel.
"I don't give a damn!" Gabriel was snarling at someone. His voice sounded close, just above Spencer, and he could not only hear the anger and fear in those words, he could feel it as well coming off his guardian in waves. "No one's going anywhere. Bitch at me about your precious car one more time, Winchester, I dare you. I'll break it to pieces and scatter them so far across the globe you'll never find all of them. You have no idea what's going on right now!"
"Only cause you won't tell us!" Dean shouted right back at him. "All I know is that Sam went to get Spencer and apparently things went to hell. Now you've got the Doc half dead and you're telling me Anna did it? Anna? She's our friend, dude!"
Another voice joined the mix and Spencer's sluggish brain dimly registered it as Castiel. "Dean, you must calm down and step back. Spencer is weakened and he is going to be Gabriel's only priority. Antagonizing him will do nothing. We should discuss this once we are all calm and we know that Spencer is all right."
It felt like Spencer's eyelids were being held down by lead weights. Forcing them open took way too much effort. What he found once he opened them wasn't quite what he expected. No one seemed to have noticed that he was awake yet and it gave him a second to take in his surroundings. The soft surface under him that he thought might be a couch, the wide room around them that looked entirely unfamiliar. It was obviously a living room in some house, one that he'd never been to before, but it definitely held Gabriel's touch to it. This had to be one of his other safe homes. More than that, though, Spencer's eyes focused on the people around him.
Gabriel stood in front of the couch and to Spencer's eyes his wings were open wide and very clearly out in protection of the young fledgling. It blocked most of his view of everyone else, though he could see Sam near the couch down by Spencer's feet. Between two wings he caught a faint glimpse of who he was pretty sure were Dean and Castiel, side by side as always. The seraph had one hand on Dean's arm as if to physically hold him back from Gabriel. But there was another presence, one Spencer's grace detected nearby – Anna. She was here with them and her grace was still bright. Still whole. That had him sighing in relief and relaxing just a bit into the couch.
That was enough to alert the furious archangel in front of him that Spencer was awake. In a flash Gabriel had spun around and dropped down to his knees right in front of Spencer's face. His wings stayed out and curled even more protectively over him until Spencer could see nothing beyond the shield of white and gold that encompassed him. "Spencer!" One of Gabriel's hands came up to push his hair back from his face and brush over his cheek. There was something in Gabriel's eyes that looked like fear warring with relief. "You little idiot. I should kick your ass for worrying me like that!"
Once, Spencer wouldn't have recognized the fear that fueled those words, or the emotion hidden underneath them. Now, he felt his lips curve ever so slightly and he let his eyes drift shut a little as he drew in the warmth of the hand on his face. "Gabriel." It was all he could get out at the moment, yet it was all he needed to say. Everything he felt fit neatly in that one single word.
He heard Gabriel huff out a breath he didn't need. When he spoke again, his voice was softer and lower, meant for his ears and his ears alone. "I got you, baby bird. You're safe here."
"I know." Spencer murmured. And he did know. He was here with Gabriel, after all.
Warm grace brushed over his, offering him strength and sharing so much more than any words could have. The purity of the emotion humbled Spencer as it always did and his exhaustion made it harder to hide his reaction to it. Embarrassment tinged Spencer's grace and he turned his face down into the couch a little to hide the tears that pricked at the corners of his eyes. The only person who had ever loved him so wholly and so completely was his mother and it still left him in awe and disbelief to find that someone like Gabriel cared that deeply for him. That he loved Spencer far more than his actual father ever had or ever would.
"Oh, little bird." Gabriel's voice was so soft Spencer almost didn't hear it. Eyes closed, he didn't see Gabriel move forward, but he felt lips brush against his forehead and another pulse of grace, curling over his and cradling him. One of Gabriel's wings came down and Spencer became aware that his own wings were out, though they were insubstantial at the moment, drifting lightly and easily through the couch with only a tingle to mark that strangeness. Wing tangled with wing and a little more of his exhaustion and pain was eased away by the gentle touch.
A soft pulse of worry and question in the air reminded Spencer abruptly that they weren't alone. He drew in a shaky breath and knew that he needed to push this down, at least for now. Maybe later he could curl up in Gabriel and indulge himself in this childlike need that seemed to be crawling along his grace. For now he had to sit up and be an adult. There were undoubtedly questions that needed to be answered. He even had a few of his own. For that to happen, however, he was going to have to sit up.
Thankfully, with the way they were connected at the moment he didn't even have to ask Gabriel for help. With only a huff and a few small grumbles Gabriel moved and helped to brace Spencer so that he could shift into a sitting position. Then the archangel plopped himself up on the arm of the couch. It put him a bit above Spencer and allowed him to not only act as a support for Spencer to lean against, but also neatly kept Spencer tucked underneath Gabriel's left wings.
Sitting up allowed the fledgling to see the room in its entirety. He'd been right before – Dean and Castiel were standing side by side, a few feet away. There was worry on both their faces. Dean's was hidden underneath a layer of annoyance, which seemed to be his default setting when it came to Gabriel. Castiel's was right out in the open. Seeing it, Spencer offered them a small smile. "I'm okay." He said, a bit roughly. It wasn't entirely the truth but that was okay. They didn't need to know that.
Gabriel scoffed and slipped an arm around his shoulders to help hold him up.
For the moment, Spencer ignored the rest of it. He turned instead to look to the women who stood the furthest away from them. The one who stood against the far wall staring at them with so many warring expressions on her face and with her wings curled in tight against her back. One look was all it took for him to see that there was none of the damage left on her grace. Whatever he'd done, it had healed her. Really, truly healed her. Spencer's smile turned to one of relief. "You're okay." The words slipped out before he could think about them. He was just, he was so glad to see she was all right. Things were a bit hazy for him towards the end there.
Anna's lips curved into a smile that shook just slightly in a way that was more human gesture than angel. She pushed herself away from the wall and came forward, no one stopping her as she came right up to the couch. Then, to Spencer's utter amazement, she dropped down to her knees right in front of him and bowed her head low. Her two wings spread out loosely on either side of her and dipped in a way that Gabriel had taught him was meant as a sign of submission. "I owe you a great debt, brother, and I submit myself before you."
The only ones who didn't seem surprised by her actions were the other two angels. Dean and Sam were both staring openly and Spencer shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Get up, please. Please. I don't want anyone kneeling to me." That was the last thing he wanted.
Anna straightened up but she didn't rise off her knees. There was openness and earnestness on her face, no signs of the anger or disgust he could remember seeing there before. None of the pain or fear or anything. Just, open joy, like she couldn't quite get over the fact that she was alive – truly alive. It was a beautiful look on her. "There is no way I can repay you for what you've done for me. If ever you need anything, ask, and it will be yours."
"I didn't…" Spencer started to say, only to get cut off by a small squeeze from Gabriel. In his mind came a soft warning Careful how you reply to this, little bird. A debt like this isn't something that can be brushed off lightly. Whether you feel it's earned or not, she feels it. Sometimes that's what matters.
The smile that curved Anna's lips softened her features and turned her expression so much warmer. "You could've killed me and you would've been within your rights to do so. Instead, you saved me, and that's not a debt that can or should be ignored."
Her words echoed Gabriel's just enough to stop Spencer's protests. What would denying anything earn him? For the moment, he chose to just ignore that part of things. Let her think what she wanted. The rest of what she said had him shaking his head, though. Kill her? No, no. "No, I couldn't have." There was no way he could've killed her. Not without destroying a part of himself in the process.
"Nobody's going to be killing anyone." Dean interrupted them. His voice was harsh with the worry that he couldn't quite hide and the confusion that was obviously driving him crazy. He wasn't shouting anymore, though. That was a bonus. Though Spencer had a feeling he wasn't far from it. Neither Winchester was fond of being left in the dark and from the sounds of it, no one had bothered to tell them what exactly was going on. That was proved when Dean growled out "Is someone going to explain what exactly is going on here?"
It was Anna who answered him, though it wasn't to him that she directed her words. Her eyes lifted to Gabriel and there was a hint of awe there that Spencer could feel made the archangel uncomfortable. Then any sense of discomfort was lost under the shock and anger that boiled up in Gabriel at Anna's next words. Whatever had happened while Spencer was unconscious, it was apparent not everything had been revealed yet.
"Zachariah is furious that the apocalypse has been stopped." She told Gabriel, voice low and respectful, the tone of a soldier reporting to her superior. "He believes Michael's turned weak. That something broke him. And there is a small faction of angels that agree with him. After the Winchesters returned my grace and Castiel turned me in, I was put in Heaven's jail. Zachariah had me taken from there and put through…reconditioning."
Both she and Spencer shivered at that. Spencer felt no shame in pressing in just a bit closer to Gabriel. He could still clearly see Anna's memories from when he'd healed her; he could see the chair she'd been strapped to, feel the metal on her head, and the giant needles that had been forced inside. His finger slipped forward along his curled up leg to the closest of Gabriel's wings and he slipped his fingers between the feathers. In response, Gabriel pressed it closer, making it easier for him to hold on. Somewhere off to the side, Sam moved forward, stepping closer to his brother.
"Something went wrong, though." Anna continued on in the silent room. All eyes were on her as she told her story. "I fought too hard, or they weren't doing a good enough job. I don't know. Whatever it was, they couldn't change me, and instead it left my grace – damaged. I don't know how to describe it."
"It was like an infection." Spencer said. That was the best description for it. He could still see it, how it'd looked so wrong against the light of her grace, a light that had looked as if it were slowly getting dimmer with each passing moment as the infection spread. "Like something had sliced across it and left behind all these spaces that were full of infected emotion instead of infected tissue."
Anna nodded her head. "Yes, exactly. Once that happened, it became much easier to believe him when he said that so long as Sam Winchester lived, the apocalypse was still a huge risk. He told me that Lucifer would convince Sam to say yes and that Michael would then be forced to fight whether he liked it or not. He was insistent that taking out Sam was the only way to save everything."
Back behind her, Dean took a step to the side, closing the last bit of distance between him and his brother. The protective gesture made Spencer want to smile. He might've, if the situation wasn't so serious. Instead, he kept his face calm and watched Anna as she finished her story.
"When Zachariah set me free, it took me a while to find the Winchesters. I was there tonight on a rumor, really. I didn't expect to find them. I never expected to find what appeared to be a nephilim stationed nearby, guarding them. I tried to take him out, only he didn't fight me. He tried to talk me down first and then he…he healed me."
A quiver ran through Gabriel's wing, the only outward sign of the emotion that Spencer could feel coming off him. He was too tired to try and place what exactly it was. He just knew it wasn't happy and it was directed slightly at him. The fledgling didn't think too much about his next action. He pushed one of his wings up against Gabriel's and rubbed his cheek a bit against the archangel's side.
He felt Gabriel's wings shiver again and then heard the archangel sigh. "Don't think you're getting off that easy, kiddo." He grumbled. Still, he curled his bottom wing in, actually slipping it somewhat under Spencer and using it to draw him in the tiniest bit closer. "You are beyond in trouble with me right now."
Yeah, he'd kind of thought he might be. He'd had a feeling Gabriel wouldn't be too pleased that he hadn't called for him. Spencer hadn't planned on lying about things, per se, but he had planned on explaining it all to Gabriel later in a way that might've kept him out of trouble with his guardian. If only Anna hadn't insisted on such a thorough report. Well, it was too late now. Chewing on the inside of his lip, Spencer tilted his head just enough to peek up through his bangs. "How'd you know what was going on?" The words were just a bit heavy with his exhaustion but they were clear and that was what mattered.
The look Gabriel gave him said clearly he knew why that was being asked. "Might've had something to do with a sasquatch showing up at my table when I was having lunch with a friend – in a pub in Ireland."
"Oh." Spencer was surprised for a second. Then he gave a small shrug and looked over to Sam. "Sorry. I was just thinking about getting you somewhere safe. I should've thought a little clearer about where that would send you."
Sam's smile was the easiest one in the room. It didn't hold any anger or anything else. Just relief and happiness at seeing Spencer sitting there okay. He'd been worried, Spencer could see it almost shouting from his mind, but now he was beyond relieved to see Spencer sitting up and talking. "It's all right, Spencer. Gabe brought me back to the motel right away."
"Deano had already called Cassie." Gabriel continued on. "And we went out together to find you. After your little stunt – which sent up a beacon of grace I was only partially able to mask, thank you very much – I snapped us all the hell out of there and to a safe house before anything could decide to come and investigate what was using that much grace. I couldn't hide it completely, but no one should be able to tell who the power came from. I would've been able to do more if, y'know, I'd known in enough time what was going on."
Spencer hunched down a little in his seat. "Sorry."
There was another huff of breath above him. Firm fingers reached in and caught hold of Spencer's chin and tilted his head up until he was forced to look at Gabriel's face. There was a light in those amber eyes that made them glow slightly, as well as an emotion that left Spencer pinned in place. He stared up, feeling very clearly in that moment the difference in age between them. Their relationship of guardian and fledgling had never seemed as clear before as it was in that moment while Gabriel stared down at him. "Let me make something absolutely clear here, Spencer." Gabriel said, his voice low and stern. "You get into something like that again and don't call me, when I get my hands on you I swear to you that you'll be sitting tender."
It took just a second for those words to sink in. When they did, Spencer felt his eyes widen. "Did you just threaten to spank me?" he asked incredulously. He supposed he shouldn't be too surprised. There was no doubt just how Gabriel saw him. In angelic terms, he was still considered very much a child. But…really? Really?
Gabriel arched both eyebrows and his usual amused look was replaced with one much more serious. "I don't make threats."
A little shiver ran down Spencer's spine. Not a serious kind of fear; very much the fear of a child who knew they'd stepped out of line with their parent and knew they weren't going to be allowed to get away with it. Neither of his parents had ever spanked him. Despite what people thought of William Reid – and Spencer knew he didn't exactly help the images people have of that man – he hadn't physically hurt Spencer. Like his child, physical violence had never been his thing. Words had always been much more effective.
To have Gabriel actually threaten to spank him, and to know that the archangel would go through with it… Spencer swallowed down the little lump in his throat and nodded while very pointedly ignoring their audience.
Satisfied his message was understood, Gabriel let go of his chin.
"Can we maybe stow the domestic crap and get back on topic here?" Dean asked dryly.
Spencer shot him a small look of gratitude and caught the hint of a wink from the older Winchester that told him Dean's mock-rude interruption had very much been deliberate. Either Sam was right and Dean really was starting to like him, or years of being an older brother and drawing attention away from younger ones when they were in trouble were just too ingrained in Dean for him to ignore it, even if the younger one wasn't actually his brother. Whatever it was, Spencer was grateful as the hunter drew the topic, and all the uncomfortable attention, away from him.
"Zachariah needs to be dealt with." Castiel said. His deep voice was low, yet still drew everyone's attention. Though he leaned just slightly closer to Dean, his eyes shifted to Gabriel. "If he is gathering power to himself, Michael needs to be informed." His eyes shifted towards the woman still kneeling before the couch and then back up to Gabriel. It was clear he'd just remembered that they had one extra guest here with them. "Perhaps we should wait until certain matters are dealt with before we continue this, brother."
Until certain matters are dealt with…? Spencer looked down at Anna and then back up at Castiel. His gaze narrowed slightly on the seraph. "Dealt with?" The words slipped out before he could stop them. "How would you see matters 'dealt with', Castiel?"
Though the seraph's wings flinched ever so slightly, he met Spencer's gaze without hesitance. "While you may have saved her, Spencer, we cannot be sure there is nothing of the compulsion and darkness left inside of her. Not without checking. We cannot risk having a spy in our midst, however reluctant a one it may be. This is far too important to leave things to chance."
Spencer drew his fingers out of Gabriel's wing before he could curl them in and unintentionally cause any discomfort. Despite how tired he was, he straightened his body up, drawing himself upright. Temper that he didn't often allow was curling in his stomach. "There is nothing left in there." He said firmly. Though he didn't know it, a hint of power flashed in his eyes. "I wrapped myself up in her grace. There is nothing left there."
"I'm sure you're right." Castiel said simply. "But Zachariah is far older and far more devious than you. There are tricks he knows that you wouldn't even begin to guess at. We need to be sure, Spencer."
"So, what? Are you going to lock her up too?"
The room went silent. Spencer's words seemed to echo strangely around him and he almost flinched back from the harshness of them. He did flinch back from the stunned look on Castiel's face and the wounded way he drew his wings back. A sick feeling built in Spencer's stomach. Temper washed away underneath a wave of regret. If he'd had the strength, he would've been on his feet already. As it was he could only sit there and offer a low, "I'm sorry." Closing his eyes, he blew out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry, Castiel. That was harsh and uncalled for."
"Not entirely uncalled for." Castiel said lowly, honestly. "I hurt you."
There was no point in denying it. Everyone here knew the truth. Well, everyone except Anna. But the rest of them knew and denying it would do nothing. So Spencer settled for nodding. "Yes. But you're making up for it. And I'm not one to hold a grudge, especially when someone's working to rectify their past mistakes. You've changed. You're still changing. I won't hold the things you did against you." Pausing, he hesitated for just a second and then lifted his chin just a little. "Just like I won't hold the things Anna did against her. What we're doing is hard enough. We can't afford to second guess and fight with one another. We have to work as a team. Otherwise, we're doomed before we've started."
"Well said, Sparrow." Gabriel murmured proudly. Then, louder, "I let Mike and Raf know we needed them. They should be here any minute and we'll figure out what to do with Zachariah."
A shiver ran down Spencer's spine at the threat he heard in Gabriel's voice. While he couldn't deny that Zachariah definitely had it coming, that didn't mean that he wanted to sit here and be a part of the planning for it. Planning how to hurt or punish someone – or plotting how to kill them, which he had a feeling might be a major part of this conversation – wasn't something that he thought he could do. It wasn't in him to hurt people, not really. Not unless he had to. Hunting monsters or Horsemen or even tracking down the Devil, that was one thing. Plotting against an angel, one who should be on the side of good… it twisted his stomach in ways he couldn't quite explain. It made him feel weak, yet not even that was enough to stop him from forcing himself to pull away from Gabriel a little and sit up.
The way that Gabriel looked at him said he'd heard the stream of Spencer's thoughts. He wasn't judging him, though. He wasn't criticizing him or mocking him or telling him to 'man up'. Instead, he brushed Spencer's hair back from his face and smiled at him. "Why don't you go ahead and go work on your map for Famine, Sparrow? I checked out those places you asked me to." He snapped his fingers and Spencer saw something move across the room. Looking over, he saw his papers and notes spread out on the kitchen table and a board with a map pinned up now standing beside the table. "I took out the marks that weren't Famine and left up the ones that were. I hope it helps with… whatever you're doing."
Spencer's face lit up with gratitude. This, he could do. This, he could work on. Profiling was much easier and much more comfortable for him. "Thanks, Gabriel."
"Absolutely."
It only took a little bit of work for Spencer to get himself up off the couch. Anna rose with him and helped to brace his arm, much to his embarrassment. Even with the grace that Gabriel pushed towards him, his energy was still low enough that he wobbled a little once he was on his feet. The way that Anna stood with him made it clear she was more than willing to help him across the room. Spencer was kind of embarrassed to admit he might need it.
He had something else in mind, though. Something that he really thought he needed to do. It went along with his earlier thoughts, back before this whole fiasco had started, and the thoughts that had just cropped up.
Spencer pulled his arm free from Anna's grip, smiling at her to let her know he was fine. Then he made his way towards the table – with one small detour.
Everyone was watching as Spencer stopped at Castiel's side. He looked at the seraph for a moment and there was just a small amount of hesitance inside of him. That washed away as he looked into the blue eyes of Castiel's vessel and clearly saw the worry and guilt hidden in the grace inside. Decision made, Spencer put his hands into his pockets and smiled, shy and hesitant. "I, um, I've heard from Gabriel that you're a, well, one of the best warriors in your garrison. If you…if you don't mind, I'd love to get your input on some things, from a battle perspective. I think I've got enough understanding to predict behavior, but it would be a lot easier if I could have someone to help who's well versed in the tactical side of things."
This was an olive branch, the best that Spencer could do, and he could see the hidden joy in Castiel's eyes that said he recognized it for what it was. "I would be honored."
Neither one saw the look of pride on Gabriel's face or the gratitude that flashed over Dean's.
Together, the two made their way over towards the dining table. And if Spencer stumbled a little on the way, and if Castiel caught his arm and helped to brace him, no one commented on it.
It wasn't much later that the other archangels arrived. Spencer was even more grateful that Gabriel had set this up for him when he saw them all huddling together over there, the emotions getting high within minutes of their arrival. Gabriel, Sam and Dean were on the couch, with Michael and Raphael on a love seat that Gabriel snapped up, and Anna had taken an armchair. It amused Spencer to see that Sam and Gabriel had their fingers laced together between them. That kiss really had been the start of something. Or, maybe the culmination of something. Maybe both.
Spencer didn't stay focused on them for long. He may have asked Castiel over here as a sort of olive branch, but he quickly found out that it had actually been a really smart move. The seraph had a brilliant mind and was an astounding tactician. He was able to dismiss a few theories that Spencer had about Lucifer and the Horsemen, simply on the basis of being poor tactical maneuvers, and between them they started to narrow down a few things.
When Spencer stumbled for about the fourth time going from table to map, a seat appeared by him. It was tall and on wheels, with arms and a back on it so he wouldn't slip down. Perfect for sitting there in front of the map and still decent enough to be used at the table. Spencer cast a look over at Gabriel, who just winked before diving back into conversation with the others.
They had quite a few points on the map now that were confirmed locations Famine had been. They almost looked hectic at first, especially once he dated each one and charted them with a bit of string from tack to tack over the map. Yet, there was a feel to them, something that Spencer could almost see.
"They appear random." Castiel said, his voice an echo of Spencer's thoughts. He stood beside him, looking over the map as well. "Yet, in that randomness, I almost feel as if there is… something."
Spencer nodded absently. "I thought at first that it was random. I mean, it had all appearances of simple chaos. Going where they want, doing what they want with no real plan. But it's more than that. Look at how these lines here travel." Reaching up, he traced a finger over one part of the string and followed it along a few of the map points.
"It's like he is, circling."
Circling something… Spencer's brain took that thought and ran with it. Could it be – wait, there! Leaning in, Spencer's eyes ran quickly over the lines, following each one. "Yes, yes. That's exactly it, Castiel. Circling. Did they…? It's like they wanted to be followed. Wanted to be found. But they couldn't make it too easy."
"That would be suspicious."
"Exactly. If it was too easy, the boys would suspect a trap."
The two shared a look of understanding and realization. Famine wanted to be found. And that meant that Spencer and Dean were most likely right – he most likely wanted Sam. Wanted to drug him, control him, so that Lucifer could control him. He was leading them to a specific place for an ambush. Spencer looked back at the map with new understanding and it only took a moment for him to reach up and press a pin into the map. "Here. They're circling here. This is where they're going to end up being next."
The small smile that Castiel wore was the same as any other person beaming at him. Spencer very deliberately looked away and denied the warm feeling it gave him. "This is quite a skill you have, Spencer." Castiel complimented him. His voice was open and sincere, not a hint of anything to it that would indicate he was just humoring Spencer.
A blush heated Spencer's cheeks. "It's just profiling. Dealing with facts. I've always, ah, always been good at puzzles." He didn't give Castiel a chance to say anything else. Embarrassed enough as it was, he tried to move the conversation along. "We know where he's going to be. Now we just need to figure out when. If we get there before him, we might be able to set up a trap of our own. I don't like the idea of just waiting, letting him cause damage as he comes to us, but…"
"But we stand a better chance if we are in a location we can prepare." Castiel finished the thought for him. "The trick will be hiding ourselves so that they do not know we are there. I'm unsure as to whether or not even Michael would be able to do so."
Spencer chewed on his lip and ran through a list of spells and sigils and such inside of his head. There had to be something there that he could use. He thought that maybe…maybe…in the book on protective runes? Hadn't there been something in there about staying hidden? About 'blinding the eye to sight' or some such like that? The words had been formal and the language one he and Bobby hadn't been entirely familiar with. He'd planned on asking Gabriel, but they hadn't gotten around to it.
A snap of his fingers brought the book from where he knew it had been sitting on the shelf near his 'reading chair' back at the beach house. Spencer took a second to page through it, brows furrowed as he found the section that he wanted. He tilted the book towards Castiel, leaning in without even thinking about it. "Do you think this might help?"
Castiel didn't hesitate to lean in and look at the words on the page. His eyes studied the runes there as well as the words that went with them. "It might." He finally said. "I cannot be sure. I haven't seen the like before."
Hmm. Spencer tilted his head an studied the page. He was half lost in thought, trying to figure all of this out, his mind racing with everything. When he heard a pause in the conversation across the room, he took a chance and called out to the one who might be able to help, all the while still reading over the words in front of him. It made his voice just a bit absent as he called out "Hey ol'alihm, do you have a moment?"
Across the room everyone went silent. Spencer didn't notice it at first, too caught up in the puzzle in front of him. He didn't realize how silent everyone was, or how still the angels had gone. Beside him, Castiel was frozen, his vessel's eyes wide. It was the surprise that was ruling off of him that finally had Spencer's head coming up from the book. He looked at the seraph with confusion, not quite understanding what was so odd about his question. Didn't it make sense to ask Gabriel for help?
Gabriel cleared his throat and pushed up off the couch. "Yeah, little bird. What's up?" There was a look on his face that Spencer couldn't quite place, something deep in his eyes, but there was also love and warmth, both of which told him that whatever was going on wasn't bad. Apparently it was just another situation where he'd missed something. Maybe some sort of social thing that he never quite understood.
He shrugged it off as Gabriel came over to him. If it was something he needed to know right now, he trusted Gabriel to tell him. But Gabriel wasn't commenting on it so it had to be something that really wasn't that important. Spencer made a mental note to ask him later, when they weren't dealing with anything, and then turned his focus back to the book in front of him. He felt it as Gabriel came up beside him and a hand settled on his back between his wings just before the archangel leaned ins to take a look at where Spencer was now pointing. "Can you help me with this?" Spencer asked, not bothering to look up at him. He felt Gabriel press up against his back and his head dropped to rest against Spencer's shoulder. It just had the fledgling rolling his eyes. "Castiel and I were thinking that this might be effective in hiding us from the Horsemen if we were close. What do you think?"
"Hm. You might be onto something here."
Lost in the puzzle in front of him, Spencer missed the looks the two got, or the way that Castiel moved away from them. He leaned and Gabriel leaned over the table together and drew in a few fresh sheets of paper as they began to plot out the best way to keep themselves hidden.
Across the room, the hunters were watching the pair of them. Sam had seen the way that Gabriel practically lit up when Spencer called out to him. At first, Sam hadn't even realized it was Gabriel that Spencer was calling to. The word he'd called him, ol'alihm, wasn't one that he'd ever heard before. Apparently it was one that the angels knew, though. Every angel had reacted to it with surprise, while Gabriel had looked stunned and…had that been awe on his face? Love, definitely.
Dean turned to look at them and carefully lowered his voice to ask "Okay, what was that about? Doc called him some weird name and you guys all started acting weird."
It took effort for Sam not to roll his eyes or throw something at his brother. While Michael and Raphael might magically be on their side somehow, antagonizing them wasn't a smart idea. Maybe Dean was spending too much time around Gabriel. He was starting to get snarkier with the archangels and that didn't really seem like a good thing.
Michael twitched like someone had poked him and then he drew himself up almost perfectly straight in his seat. His face was thunderous. "It was not a weird name." The archangel said firmly, though he still kept his voice low and private, his words for them and not those across the room. His tone made it clear just how offended he was by even the suggestion of that. "It was…an honor. An amazing honor. One that you will not belittle, Dean Winchester."
"One he isn't aware of." Castiel chimed in as he joined them, defending Dean as always. He and Michael shared a look and something seemed to pass between them that, surprisingly, soothed the archangel. At the least, he stood down while Castiel turned to the Winchesters to explain. "The word that Spencer spoke was Enochian. It was one that he shouldn't have known, which makes it all the more meaningful because it was instinctive. Ol'alihm is a title that has rarely ever been used. It's…"
"There are not English words to describe it." Michael cut in. This time, his voice was gentler, with just a hint of something that Sam would almost saw was…awe? A faint smile ghosted over his lips. "It's only given to one you love and trust more than any other being. One who is father, brother, friend, caretaker. It is love and respect and grace, in the truest form that one can give to another, and it's so much more. More than your human minds can even begin to understand. It is a title second only to our Father."
"Damn." Dean breathed out. He shot a look over at the two by the table. Spencer was sitting down now, drawing on something, and Gabriel had a hand on the back of his neck while he bent over him, grinning and gesturing towards the paper.
Sam felt a smile soften his features. Those two were getting closer and closer with each passing day. This only went to prove what Sam already knew. Anyone with eyes could see how much Spencer trusted Gabriel. How much he cared for him. And how much Gabriel cared in return. They had a bond closer than any father and son that Sam had ever seen. Gabriel cared for Spencer in ways that Sam hadn't know the trickster was capable of. It was one of the things that had started to soften him towards Gabriel. That had helped put them on the road to…to whatever it was they were now. The kiss they'd shared burned briefly in the back of his mind.
Across the room, amber eyes lifted and briefly met Sam's. Then, with a smirk on his lips, Gabriel winked at him.
Sam couldn't help his own grin. Whatever they were, he had no idea. But he had a feeling he was going to have fun finding out.