Any and all mistakes are my own, this is unbeta'd so any errors I apologize for.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural, I'm only borrowing the characters for a bit for my own amusement, love to know what you think, and the title is only 'cause I couldn't think of one, therefore its subject to change sometime in the future.
Warnings: References to torture, M/M pairing, possible future mpreg.
Note: I'd like to thank the three people who reviewed, Aislynnrose2010, Teh Abby and Mitternacht for taking the time to review my story, and I hope you and those who put this on your alerts all enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Two - Rules are Rules
Casually dropping the scrunched up candy bar to the slightly damp earth as he walked forwards, Gabriel viewed his brother with a mischievous smirk on his face.
"Well, it's certainly good to see you again little brother!"
Castiel was stunned into almost complete submission just moments before his earlier outburst. He did not understand how this was possible, but the first question that sprung to his lips had nothing to do with Gabriel, instead it was,
"What did you do to Dean? I swear to our Father Gabriel that if you have harmed him indefinitely, then I will find you, and I will smite you down." He growled out, and if Gabriel tapped into the angelic side of himself right this moment he would see Castiel's wings curling and uncurling themselves viciously, feathers ruffled and on edge without Castiel's own knowledge of these actions.
Gabriel could see that this wasn't going as well for himself as he had hoped. Sure, Dean deserved a little bit of pain for all the trouble he had caused, after all it was him who had convinced Gabriel to go against his own brother, get involved in changing dad's big plan for the apocalypse, something he hadn't wanted any part of, and look where that had gotten him?
But even he could admit that he might have gone a little too far with this last trick of his, after all he didn't think that Dean would be hurt that badly. Since, let's face it, he thought, if Luci hadn't killed him outright then he should be grateful. Gabriel knew the Winchester's were used to a little bit of rough treatment, they were hunters after all, they weren't some china dolls, after all Dean had been to hell for Father's sake! And if he'd put his mind to it Gabriel was well aware his brother could have done a lot more to Dean than leave him with a couple… ok, ok a lot of cuts and bruises, he was also sure Dean would know that too. It was Castiel's reaction to Gabriel's little trick that confused him. Sure, he knew his little brother was attached to Dean, but to be as angry as he was now? He didn't think he had it in him in all honesty!
"Just chillax little brother! Get it? Relax, chill, chill-ax?" Seeing the blank, almost venomous look being shot his way Gabriel just sighed before continuing, "Ken doll there will be right as rain in a few weeks, and back to his old angst filled, surly self again before you know it, and you do know it. One simple look will tell you that his body has simply gone into shock from the sudden blast of pain from all his wounds reappearing from out of nowhere, and that he is only unconscious due to his body finding it as a means of protecting itself. Go on Castiel, take a closer look. He's out cold, not like he's going to mind if you give him a once over now is it?" Gabriel questioned, eyebrows rising once before lowering in the old trickster way, smirk placed on his face as he said this.
Keeping his eyes on his big, formerly dead brother, Castiel kneeled close beside Dean's head, and satisfied that Gabriel wasn't going to pull any tricks on him, he tore his eyes away to look down at the hunter. Placing his hand over Dean's chest and spreading his fingers, Cas channeled into his grace to quickly examine Dean's condition. It only took a matter of seconds before Cas' eyes shot open in alarm and slight worry.
"He needs to get to a hospital, he's fine for now but he has a punctured lung from the abrupt stop of the car earlier, the only thing stopping him from deteriorating further is you Gabriel. I don't understand. Why have you done this? How is this even possible?" Castiel questioned, eyes holding a panicky look about them in case Dean started to deteriorate any minute now he had pointed out Gabriel was the reason he was ok for now.
"Well Castiel, did you think you were the only one God decided to bring back this time round? What with Mickey and Luci stuck spending some quality time with one another in his old room, and Raphael throwing another one of his famous, and you know quite how famous they can be, they were the whispers of the Garrison at one point weren't they?" Gabriel staged whispered conspiringly before conceding to himself that it was most certainly a tough audience tonight and going back to the point on hand.
"Anyway let's get back on topic, what with him throwing one of those 'famous' fits of temper of his over the Apocalypse being averted and all, dear old Dad decided he needed someone he could at least moderately rely on in charge of the place, someone who at least… appreciated his last creations before he decided to leave Heaven. And of course, what with my extensive" Gabriel wagged his eyebrows when he said this, "research with humans, into humans, whatever you want to call it, then who better to place in charge of that lot upstairs than me? After all, I am the most awesome one out of all my brothers." Gabriel magicked another candy bar after his speech, and ripping the wrapper from the top he started to chew it while gauging the thoughtful face and many reactions that proceeded to play on Castiel's features.
Cas was silent for a moment after this speech of Gabriel's. He could see his father's logic in the plan, Gabriel may not be the best angel for the job, but he was willing to sacrifice himself for humans instead of taking sides with either Michael or Lucifer, and he would make a better replacement than Raphael ever would. Castiel wouldn't put it past Raphael to try and revive the apocalypse! Yes, Castiel could see why God had appointed Gabriel to be the deputy to his sheriff, as Dean would say if he was conscious, but there was still one thing that he did not understand,
"If you're the new God for all intense and purposes, then what are you doing here with me and Dean, and why did you undo the healing abilities I placed upon Dean earlier? I do not understand Gabriel." Castiel had gotten up to stand closely beside Dean at this point, so that he was not at a height disadvantage to his brother, not that it mattered when his brother was not only significantly older than himself, but also a lot stronger, as he was an Archangel after all. All he could truly hear was Dean's labored breathing, it was all he wanted to hear and he was paying close attention to it when Gabriel replied after a slight silence,
"It's… difficult. Dear old Dad is glad that the apocalypse was stopped, I'm positive he is. But in a way he's not so sure it was the best idea either. He wants to show that things come with a price, and between you and me" Gabriel mock whispers the next part of his sentence, "I think that's what the apocalypse was all about, after all Luci was right about one thing, Dad did make him the way he is for a reason."
Gabriel could see he had a rapt audience in Castiel now, and being quite the showman that he was, continued on with his explanation,
"And yeah sure you could argue Sam being stuck in the cage with Mickey and Luci is a price well paid from Team Free Will, and a good example for everyone else about what happens when you break the rules, but… well let's just say he took a detour on the way down" Gabriel winked at his brother then in a conspiratorial manner before continuing, "So Dad told me to get a little creative, and make sure that everyone will understand that everything, every action, has a consequence to it too and does in fact cost them something. Just because the big man isn't present upstairs doesn't mean he isn't paying attention to the things that both angels and people have been getting up to in his absence. So basically that's what I'm doing now."
Castiel stared at Gabriel for a long moment, tilting his head to the side questioningly, before waiting for his brother to continue,
"Look so Dean is unhealed because I wanted to prove a point, that point being that he's only human, he's not going to have you to fall back on forever, that he's going to have to start taking care of himself sooner or later, because there's no such thing as a "quick fix" in his chosen line of business. But I also did it to help you too little brother, because I like you, I don't think anyone but you would have had the style to Molotov Michael of all angels with Holy Fire like you did, so I wanted to give you a fair shot in this game."
Castiel's eyes darted away from Gabriel's at beginning of this sentence, looking almost embarrassed at the mention of molotoving Michael, the oldest Archangel no less, but as his sentence continued and he finished speaking Castiel almost in a low growl muttered out, "What game Gabriel?"
Gabriel at least had the decency to look sheepish at this display of obvious anger and distrust he had instilled in the younger angel. He knew how he must sound, but for his plan to work he had to look towards the bigger picture, and this was part of it. They'd all thank him one day… or at least that's what he hoped.
"The game is simple my dear little Cassie. I'm going to "adopt" Sammykin's for a little while, at least until I'm satisfied that Dean has learnt there's more to life than all this silly self-sacrifice for his dear little brother. Really their relationship isn't exactly healthy with all this co-dependency stuff going on, and I've been wanting a pet after all, and that moose will do nicely for now! But of course with games there also have to be challenges! I want you and Dean to help me, after all now that dear old Lucifer's back in the cage there's going to be carnage in hell, what with all the pissy demons around and-"
"What's this got to do with why you unhealed Dean to help me Gabriel?" Castiel cut in, and if looks could smite, Gabriel was sure he'd be a pile of smoked feathers on the floor long before now.
"Aaah! Impatient as always I see, that'll be the stick, still stuck up your ass, or at least that's what Balthazar would say." Gabriel retorted drily before hurriedly continuing, "Of course for this game, I couldn't leave Dean alone now could I? But at the same time I knew he'd call on you sooner rather than later, and we can't have you ruining my fun prematurely either can we? After all, you'd help him locate Sam, make sure the brothers were reunited, and Dean wouldn't learn a damned thing, and for that matter neither would Sam. So, for the foreseeable future, I've decided to, let's say, limit your angelic abilities."
At the look of horror creeping onto Castiel's face at the realization he'd become, as far as he knew, basically powerless again, more human than angel, Gabriel hoped that things would work out the way he was planning. It was all very fine and fun messing around with humans lives, teaching them lessons, after all that's why he chose to become a trickster when he'd escaped Heaven, but it was a completely different thing to mess around with another angel, a fellow brother when the odds were still stacked so high against him. He had to explain the rest of his terms before things got serious and the angel blades came out,
"Before you say anything, I'm not that cruel as to just leave you high and dry! Your grace is still there, it's just also locked away, metaphorically speaking, in a very large, practically unbreakable Enochian chained box right now, kind of similar to that small trifle humans say Zeus gave Pandora, metaphorically speaking of course. But you have six" And as if to prove his point he held up three fingers on each hand to display his point further, "amounts of energy allocated to you that I've siphoned off from your grace which you can use in any way your judgement sees fit before becoming powerless, and at which point you'll have to wait on my decision about Dean before getting your angelic abilities back. You'll still be able to fly though, even if you reach this point, but you can only fly within a five mile radius of Dean's location at any given time. See, aren't I such a generous big brother?" Gabriel finished, with a sweet, almost like butter wouldn't melt smile on his face. Castiel knew differently.
"What's in all of this for you Gabriel? You could trap me like you did before in the television, why take away the very essence that makes me an angel instead? Why was it so important for you to unheal Dean? It was my choice, and I'll do it again, limited amounts of grace available or not!" Castiel shouted, his deep voice rose as he spoke to his brother. He made a move towards Dean, to place two fingers upon his forehead once more, to heal him like he had done hours earlier when he felt his body freeze. Eyes trained upon Gabriel as he waited for his explanation,
"See Castiel, the reason being why I did what I did, is for me to know and you to wonder, but a little word of warning" His tone became harsh and serious at this point of the conversation, "The more you use the siphoned off energy of your grace, the weaker you'll become and also the more human. As it is you don't need to perform basic human functions, but if you use a batch of your grace, you may feel yourself become a little hungry from time to time, use another lot, maybe you'll become tired every other night or so and need to sleep, use some more, it'll take you longer to heal and so on and so forth until you're almost completely human. And by the end of it you won't even be able to fly the small amount of distance I've allocated to you without it having strong repercussions, let alone transport anyone. What use will you be to Dean then? You and I both know he has a problem with worrying about the people he loves." Gabriel ended, and with a flick of his hand Castiel could move again.
"I can see the logic in your explanation; except for the fact Dean doesn't love me. But what else am I to do then Gabriel?" Castiel's tone had started to become more aggressive again at this point, "I cannot leave Dean in such physical disrepair. You and I both know there is only one way." And with that Castiel went to touch Dean again perfectly willing to use one lot of his highly limited amounts of grace, he didn't hear Gabriel muttering to himself, didn't hear him as he went,
"That's what you think."
Clicking his fingers just before his brother could sacrifice an important part of himself, the last thing Castiel was aware of were the words, "Now, let the game begin!" before finding himself just inside the doors of a hospital located in South Dakota. He was in Sioux Falls General Hospital in fact, not far from the residence of one Robert Singer, with the Impala lounging sideways across the parking spaces outside. Holding a now not so unconscious Dean Winchester in his arms in the same manner of which a husband often holds his new wife across the threshold of their home, bridal style. None of this mattered of course, not when Cas noticed Dean's eyes open, partially aware. He only had the strength to mutter one word before passing out, before the doctors and nurses noticed him and rushed towards him, claiming the charge from his arms, asking him question upon question about what had occurred, did he know the victim, was he allergic to any sedatives or any other medications? But Castiel wasn't listening to any of them. He could only hear the one word Dean had uttered before he passed out. That one word which was replaying in his mind in a constant loop, the one word he thought to speak even while he was in so much pain. He didn't ask what they were doing there, what was going on or even mention Sam in his pained state, he only said one word.
That one word was his name. That one word was Cas.
A/N's: So here's the second chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed it, all the chapters from now on are going to be about this length, give or take a couple hundred words (Hopefully give a couple more) and now that you guys know where Sam is, I have a question for you all!
Would you guys like to see chapters in this story about whats going on with Sam/Gabriel, would you like them posted in a separate fic or would you prefer stuff just come out in general as the story goes along? (Gabriel will pop in again eventually I am sure, and I'm also sure he'll have a couple things to say about what he's got up to!)
Let me know in a review or PM please, 'cause then it'll help me with writing the next chapter (The next chapter for me is Chapter 6 though, I'm currently writing 5 and I'm about 1/3 through my plan for it)
Also would you guys like song suggestions for each chapter? I put down with each chapter the ones I listened when writing them for when I edit over them before publishing, if you want I can add them to this?
And lastly I plan to update this story once or twice a week, and if its a really good week once in a while I may update three times if I'm more chapters ahead than I expected/planned. Therefore the next chapter should arrive either Wednesday or Thursday!
I really do hope you guys liked this chapter, please leave me a review letting me know what you think! :)