Author's note: Thanks so much to Larkafree, Maknatuna, Maddy Love Castiel, RachelPhobia, Keefer, kb18142, CherylB1964, PercyJfan1802, Kirabaros, FireChildSlytherin5, Akira of the Twilight, Lewlou15, eiahlaie, Sapphire Ookami, Saltgunners' Scribes, Chichi-10018, baileylovesyou0400, Silver-Streaked Wings, XxZessxX, Improbabile, random yet loveable, soulless666 and CannibalHolocaust for last chapter's reviews!

Special thanks to Treeni for beta-reading!

One more week until season 9! Are you excited? I'm excited!

19

"Stay the fuck away from us!" Dean yelled at Gabriel, his voice taking on a hysterical note, as he extended one arm to make sure that the adult – or whatever thing he was – kept his distance. The older Winchester's mind hadn't fully processed that they were somehow back at Gabriel's apartment, but wherever they were didn't matter as much as making sure that Sam stayed safely shielded from that thing behind his brother's back.

"Dean," Sam tried to get his older brother's attention. The younger Winchester knew that Dean was freaking out, but he also knew that there was no reason to be scared.

"Shut up, Sammy, shut up!" Dean insisted, pushing his brother behind himself again as soon as the eight year old tried to stand next to him. The only thing keeping the older Winchester from doing something very rash – though he had no idea what exactly that would have been – was that Gabriel hadn't moved since they had reappeared at the apartment. Dean really needed the time to think things through and decide what he should do next.

"Gabriel is an angel, Dean," Sam explained, trying and failing to get into a better position to face both his brother and Gabriel again. However, Dean seemed determined to keep his younger brother from doing that. For his own reassurance more than the 8 year olds. The younger Winchester really needed the older boy to see the situation for what it was though. They were safe and everything was okay!

"There is no such thing!" Dean shouted, turning his head to look at his brother for a moment. It scared the older Winchester how calm Sam was and serious he seemed to be about his assumption. Dean didn't know what exactly Gabriel was, but somebody turning out to be something else than they had pretended to be, couldn't be good! Not to mention, the adult had totally killed another guy back at that High School! Granted, the other guy had obviously been a bad guy, but still.

"Maybe you should show him your wings again," Sam suggested. The younger Winchester acted like he wanted to duck under his brother's right arm, but then turned left when Dean tried to prevent that from happening. The move left Sam in a position where he could at least look Gabriel in the eye.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, munchkin," the archangel replied with a shrug, giving both kids a half-smile. Gabriel was trying not to look even the least bit threatening, but it was hard to look harmless to somebody who was already in the middle of a freak-out. At least, Sam looked like he thought they had won the jackpot. Hopefully, the younger Winchester's mood would have a bit of an influence on his brother's.

Apparently, Dean wasn't ready to calm down yet. In fact, the older Winchester seemed more worked up, because of his brother's easy acceptance of the situation.

"Stop it! Don't act like… fuck! Stop acting like any of this is normal!" Dean yelled, gripping Sam's shoulders hard to keep the eight year old from moving any closer to Gabriel. Knowing the naïve idiot, he might actually try to go and hug the 'angel'.

"Gabriel, I have…" Castiel stated, suddenly standing just a few feet from his older brother. The seraph stopped speaking the moment he saw how both Winchesters jumped from his entrance. The angel had arrived at the school where he had been meant to meet Gabriel and the boys, just to find the place in uproar. It had taken a little while before Castiel gathered the information he had needed, but when he had finally learned that Zachariah was dead, the seraph had hurried back to the place he knew Gabriel would take the Winchesters to.

"You too?" Dean nearly shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at Castiel. Gabriel being some traitor who turned out not to be what he had pretended to be was one thing, but Cas was supposed to be the reliable adult the older Winchester could safely like! Hell, Dean had only sort of trusted Gabriel, because Cas had made it clear that being around the short adult was good for them!

"Of course he is. They are brothers," Sam pointed out unhelpfully. The younger Winchester hoped that Dean would calm down a little after learning that Castiel was an angel as well. His older brother obviously had a good connection to the blue-eyed adult and that didn't go away just like that.

"We gotta get out of here!" Dean decided, grabbing his brother's hand forcefully. The older Winchester wasn't even sure if they would be allowed to leave, but he had to try. If those people thought they could keep a Winchester from walking out on them without a fight, they were wrong!

"Dean, no!" Sam yelled at his older brother, trying to free his hand from Dean's grip. The younger Winchester was tired of being ignored. He knew that raising his voice wasn't the best way to be heard, but Dean didn't leave him much of a choice, but to yell. "They are angels! That's a good thing!"

The two boys stared each other down for a few tense moments after that, both of them unwilling to yield in the matter.

"You have my word that you can go wherever you want tomorrow," Gabriel stated in a placating tone, "But you have to see that running around by yourselves in the middle of the night won't do you much good."

Dean's eyes automatically moved to Castiel for a moment. The older Winchester didn't like it, but he only found himself willing to consider the logic in Gabriel's statement when the blue-eyed adult nodded his agreement. "Fine, but we'll…"

"No!" Sam protested, when his older brother tried to drag him toward his room. The younger Winchester already hated the idea of having to leave the next day, but he hated the idea of spending the last few hours he had to talk to Gabriel holed up in Dean's room even more. All because his older brother was unwilling to accept the truth.

"Sammy!" Dean replied in a warning tone. The entire situation was nearly unbearable for the older Winchester and his brother's protest was grating on his last nerve.

"No," Sam insisted, crossing his arms in front of his chest and taking a step away from his older brother demonstratively, "This is a safe place and they are good people and I don't want to act like it's not like that!"

If looks could have killed, the older Winchester would have committed fratricide that very moment. In the end, Dean didn't say another word and only marched off toward his room, slamming the door shut behind him so hard that it would have been heard in the entire building, if Gabriel hadn't soundproofed the apartment.

"Cassy, I think somebody, that means you, should try to talk to Dean-o," Gabriel stated after silence had fallen over the room. It looked like Sam was torn between going after his brother, risking that he wouldn't make it out of the room again before it was time to leave, and staying where he was. The archangel didn't think that the younger Winchester should be the one to talk to Dean in any case. It had been obvious before that Dean wasn't willing to consider his younger brother's thoughts on the topic, but the twelve year old might be a little more open-minded with Castiel.

"I was under the impression that Dean wanted to be alone," the seraph replied, frowning.

"He's twelve years old, he'll change his mind in a minute or two," Gabriel said dismissively. The archangel wasn't going to order his little brother to do anything, but sometimes Castiel needed a pointer or two. At least, it looked like the seraph understood what the archangel was getting at, because he walked after the older Winchester just a few moments later.

Honestly, Gabriel didn't know what to tell Sam now that they were alone, but it looked like the archangel wasn't the one who had to start the conversation, anyway. Castiel had barely left the room, when Sam wrapped his arms around Gabriel's middle and hugged him tight.

"I thought you were dead," the younger Winchester mumbled against the adult's chest, sniffling. Now that everything was calmer, the events of the evening finally caught up with Sam and he couldn't hold back the tears.

"I'm not that easy to keep down, munchkin," Gabriel replied in a soothing tone, rubbing the kid's back, while Sam fought to get his composure back. The archangel gave the younger Winchester some time to let his emotions out before he decided to help the boy calm down by distracting him.

"Let's get comfortable," Gabriel suggested, raising his hand to snap. A moment later the costumes were gone and replaced with their normal everyday wear. Sam was still staring at his plaid shirt and jeans disbelievingly when the archangel steered them both toward the couch to sit down.

"That was so cool," the younger Winchester stated in an awed tone, moving closer to Gabriel so the adult could put his arm around him easily.

"Perks of being an angel," the archangel grinned, winking at the kid. So, at least Sam had calmed down easily enough. Judging by the muffled sounds coming from Dean's room, it didn't sound like the older Winchester was making things easy for Castiel.

"Dean doesn't pray," Sam whispered after a few moments of silence, huddling against Gabriel's side and looking up at the adult with unconcealed adoration in his eyes, "But I do. Every night."

"I know, munchkin," Gabriel replied, wrapping his arm around the kid a little tighter. In the past week, the archangel couldn't have helped noticing the prayers coming from Sam's room every night, if he had tried. Being this close to the one praying, there had been no ignoring it, like Gabriel usually did.

"Sometimes I pray to Gabriel," Sam admitted, watching the angel closely for his reaction. The younger Winchester wasn't quite sure, if there was more than one angel that went by the name Gabriel. He also didn't know if all of them would feel like they were being addressed by a prayer to the archangel. "Pastor Jim told me that Gabriel is the archangel of consolation and mercy and that people pray to him when they feel downhearted or need purification."

"Guess I'm not quite what you pictured," the archangel chuckled, trying to mask how Sam's words had made him a little uncomfortable. It wasn't only that the munchkin had been praying to him personally for years without Gabriel ever listening, though that alone would have been bad enough. It was much more about Sam – and not only Sam – seeing him in a much more positive light than he deserved and had ever deserved.

"No," the younger Winchester admitted, leaning his head against the archangel's shoulder to hide just how deep his blush had gotten, "You're better."

Gabriel huffed out a laugh. "Thanks for the ego boost, kiddo."

Dean had started to yank the plastic weapons from his clothes the moment the door had closed behind him. One piece after another hit the wall with a satisfying bang. However, the satisfaction didn't last and Dean was quickly running out of things to throw.

"Hello, Dean," Castiel stated with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. The angel knew that the boy was upset, but he didn't know what to do to fix it. Castiel was a soldier, giving emotional support hadn't been among the things drilled into him in heaven. It seemed like Dean normally reacted positively to the seraph's presence, but he wasn't sure how he actually accomplished it.

"Leave me alone!" Dean yelled, cursing himself for not barricading the door when he had had the chance. Then again, Sam might have changed his mind and the older Winchester wouldn't have wanted to prevent his younger brother from coming after him.

"I understand that this must be confusing for you," Castiel tried to find fitting words for the occasion, but he wasn't sure something like that even existed to begin with. There were times being a celestial cosmic entity made existence a whole lot easier. Being human was difficult.

"Duh, you think?" Dean shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Calling everything that had happened confusing was the understatement of the century. Then again, Castiel was good at making understatements. Thinking about it, Dean should have realized that the guy was a total alien much earlier.

"I am not very good at this," Castiel admitted, "I don't know what to tell you."

The older Winchester had bunched up the coat he had been wearing while the angel had been speaking. Dean threw it on the floor disdainfully and stomped up to Castiel, raising to his full height to stare daggers at the adult.

"Oh yeah? Just tell me one thing, Cas," Dean demanded, clearly working himself up as he spoke, "Where were you when mom died?"

Mary Winchester had believed in angels. She had prayed to them and told her children about them, but then she had been taken from her family just like that. Dean had decided that he didn't believe in angels early on. If they did exist, one of them would have done something about this injustice. Of course, not believing in angels seemed a little stupid now, but the older Winchester didn't have to like them!

"I only set foot on this planet one year ago," Castiel answered truthfully. The angel knew that it wasn't the answer his charge was looking for, but it was the best the seraph could give him that moment.

"What about everybody else?" Dean asked, pressing his lips into a thin line to keep his lower lip from wobbling. The older Winchester wanted to be angry and he wanted to vent much more than he wanted actual answers. Dean didn't expect to get any answers that would be any helpful, anyway.

"We were not allowed to interact with humans until recently," Castiel explained, trying with all his might to figure out what to do about the situation he was in. Gabriel seemed to deal with Sam so effortlessly, why couldn't the seraph simply know what to do to make Dean feel better?

"Why now? Why not when…?" the older Winchester started yelling again before his voice broke. The twelve year old had closed the gap between himself and Castiel then started hitting the angel's chest with his fists before he had made the conscious decision to do so.

"You could have saved her!" Dean sobbed, grabbing Cas' trench coat.

"I am sorry," Castiel said quietly, instinctively wrapping his arms around the older Winchester. It wasn't surprising that Dean struggled against the hold the seraph had on him, but Castiel surprised himself when he didn't let go. Instead the angel kept hugging the older Winchester until the twelve year old gave up the fight and just cried into Castiel's shirt.

It took a few minutes, but eventually Dean hugged back.