Chapter 6

Dean drove to the hospital in a haze of conflicted feelings.

He felt like some kind of hope was showing up again – finally! - if he was just able to sort out his problems with Sam. Maybe talk to him about Cas, because he just felt so unsure about this whole thing that was developing between them. The Impala was parked quickly in the hospital parking lot and Dean had to take another deep breath before he left and locked the doors.

Minutes later, Dean stepped into Sam's room in the hospital, to find him sitting on the bed like yesterday, with the same doctor.

Dr. Milton, he remembered. The name still let some alarm go off in his mind, but he still couldn't nail it down. Then again, a lot of people had that surname. It didn't have to be a clue. Maybe he was fixating on something meaningless here.

"Doctor," Dean greeted him with a short nod before he turned to Sam, who eyed him carefully. "Sam, how's it going?"

"Good, very good."

"I think we'll be able to release him in a few days," Dr. Milton added with a smile.

"Really? That would be awesome," Dean said quickly. "But how... how did this work so well? And so fast?"

Sam smiled. Something about it made Dean suspicious. "What?" he asked, his voice an octave higher than usual.

Dr. Milton grinned.

"I can't figure him out," Sam said towards Dean. "But he knows. When I told him all about the apocalypse, he got it. Not just understood, he... knew, on some level. That's gotta mean something. But I just don't get who he really is."

Dean's eyes narrowed to slits. "I knew it."

"You knew what?" the doctor said innocently.

"Dr. Milton. Your name. Reminded me instantly of something, I can't just put it down, and I would have my gun out by now if I didn't know you helped Sam."

"Yeah... I fixed Sammy's wall here. But you better keep an eye on him this time. It may be stronger this time but it still doesn't mean it can't break a second time. Of course he remembers a lot now, he even remembers hell, or part of it, but I took care of it being bearable for him."

"How the fuck do you know all this?" Dean shook his head in disbelief.

"I just do," Dr. Milton said with a shrug and a lopsided smile.

Dean eyed him carefully, head to toe. There had to be something about him, something that gave away a clue. Sam sighed. "I don't get it," he stated.

"But we met before, haven't we?" Dean asked the doctor.

Dr. Milton looked up and nodded. "Couple times."

"And you're here to help-" Dean left the sentence half finished and looked to the floor. He felt like being so close, so close to figuring it out. "What's your first name?"

"You really think I would tell you my real first name? You'd know immediately. That would be no fun," the doctor chuckled.

Dean looked him up and down, took in the cheeky grin and his white coat and the cowboy boots he was wearing-

It fell like scales from Dean's eyes when things clicked into place. "No way," he said breathlessly.

"Waaaay," the doctor said, drawing the word out with a grin.

"What? Who is it?" Sam turned around towards his brother eagerly.

"You won't believe it, Sammy."

"Tell me!"

Dean grinned at him and sat down on the bed beside him. "I'm wondering why you didn't notice before."

"Notice what? Why don't you just fucking tell me?" Sam became impatient, slapping Dean's thigh softly to get a response out of him.

"It's much more fun if you figure it out by yourself," Dean chuckled, pointing at the doctor. "We met him before in a similar disguise, but back then, he did get something wrong that he fixed this time," Dean nodded at the cowboy boots. "He likes to have his fun with other people. He knew all about the apocalypse because he was the one who gave us the final clue on how to stop it. Am I right?"

Sam blinked.

The doctor grinned.

"And you called yourself Dr. Milton because that was Anna's surname when we met her."

"Gabriel," Sam gasped, looking up at the man standing in front of him.

"New vessel?" Dean asked amused, but right then, within a split second, Gabriel changed back to the usual, short man with the curly, light-brown hair which they knew him as. "Ah, okay. So just the usual disguise then."

"You were dead!" Sam exclaimed, confused and questioning.

"Yeah, about that..." Gabriel chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "I was dead. But, seeing as I kinda was the one who helped you averting the apocalypse and all, dad decided to give me another chance. Kind of."

Dean blinked. Twice. "You spoke to God?"

"Helloo, God's messenger?" Gabriel said, pointing at himself and screwing up his face. "If someone's got a line to daddy, who else would it be?"

"Okay," Dean nodded. "But that doesn't explain why you're here."

Gabriel shrugged. "Well, like I said, I got another chance. You know that dad helped you out a few times now, and he gave me a choice. Either stay up there, watch the other angels – there aren't many left, believe me – and run heaven for him, and get back my status as an angel, complete with my powers. I would just never have the opportunity to leave for earth, I would never be stationed down here again. The other option was to return here, with minor powers that will fade after some time, making me completely human, until I died."

Sam swallowed audibly. "You chose to come down here. And help me."

Gabriel laughed bitterly. "Yes, I did. Why sit up there on my thumbs watching you going down when I could help you? I'd rather die after a long, happy, human life, than be a powerless angel in heaven, where there isn't much to do."

"You fixed my wall," Sam said, eyes wide. "That must have taken a lot of mojo."

Gabriel nodded, looking out of the window to avoid Sam's gaze. "So?"

"Why did you do this for me?" Sam asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Did it occur to you that you two muttonheads made me think a lot? That you made me change? That in some crazy universe that happens to be this one, I care about you?" Gabriel said, head thrown back to glare up at Sam, who was still taller than him even though he sat on the bed.

Dean just watched the scene wordlessly and remembered a sentence Frank had said to him on the phone a few days ago. A sentence he hadn't paid much attention to, had thought it was a joke, just some trivia. But now, it all suddenly made sense.

"You fell from grace," Dean stated, not looking at either Sam nor Gabriel.

"Yes, I did. How did you know?"

"Frank told me about a meteorite that came down a few days ago around here, without a trace, which was strange enough. It was the same with Anna back then," Dean said.

"Someone tell him what he won?" Gabriel joked, but the smile on his face was warm for a change. Not mischievous or cheeky, just warm.

Wordlessly, Sam got up from his bed and stepped towards Gabriel, pulling him in a Sam-style bear hug. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Dean tried hard not to burst into laughter at the scene, poor Gabriel being almost squashed against Sam's chest, making some fake suffocating sounds. "Don't kill me, Sam-squatch," he choked, poking Sam's sides.

"I won't," Sam said, burying his face in the mop of brunette hair in front of him.

Dean cleared his throat. "You done?" he coughed.

Sam released Gabriel from his grip and turned around to Dean, raising an eyebrow. "Nope."

And with that, Sam turned back to the former archangel. "So, what do you plan on doing now? Settle down with wife and kids?"

Gabriel laughed. "Oh, hell no. Actually, I haven't got any plans for now. Thought I'd cross that bridge when I come to it."

"You wanna come with us?" Dean asked quickly, shoving away all second thoughts that told him otherwise. Because he knew Gabriel was a jerk, and liked to play pranks, and was ten kinds of personified mischief, and he still didn't like him that much. But he saved Sam. And that on the other hand meant a fucking lot.

Gabriel looked thoughtfully at him, quirking a short smile. "If it wouldn't be any trouble for you?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Trouble is kinda in the job description, don't you think?"

"Huh," Gabriel said, nodding. "Touché."

"Gabe, I think you'd be a decent hunter, you just have to be aware of what that means if you're human," Sam said, his voice soft, "It means a lot of hurt and pain and not being able to snap yourself away when shit gets real."

"I know."

"Then you're welcome to join us," Sam nodded, turning around to Dean for reassurance. Dean nodded simply. "And I'll train you," Sam added with a short smile.

"Oh god," Gabriel just said with a fake eye-roll.

Sam punched him in the shoulder. Then they hugged again, practically falling into each other's arms.

"What the hell made you two constantly all touchy-feely like that?" Dean commented and shook his head.

"We had a lot to talk about," Sam explained with a shrug. "And I slept so much during the first days I was here that I had a lot of energy and a lot of time to kill in the night."

"Uhm... too much information, Sammy?" Dean said, coughing again.

"What?" Gabriel squeaked.

"No, we didn't... god, Dean. No, not that," Sam shook his head, but Dean saw a slight blush creep up his cheeks. He bit back the comment that was laying on the tip of his tongue and got to his feet.

"So, he'll be able to go home soon?" Dean asked Gabriel, who wound his way out of Sam's bone-crushing hug.

"Yeah, I'd just keep him here one or two days more, for good measure," Gabriel said. "So the other doctors won't question my decision."

Dean reached for a notepad and pen on Sam's bedside table to scribble down Cas' address.

"What's that?" Sam asked, confused.

"Cas' address. Come there when you're sent home. We'll figure out a plan on what to do then," Dean answered. "Besides, I'd like to know if you'd let me take Cas along. That is of course, if he wants to."

Sam pursed his lips, his expression becoming tensed immediately. "You know you shouldn't trust him?"

"You know he changed. You know he doesn't remember anything," Dean pressed out through his teeth.

"Yeah, and-"

"Sam," Gabriel said firmly. "Cas is still my brother. I'm voting for giving him a second chance and I think you won't regret it. Didn't you believe in him until the end? That he could still change?"

"Yes, and he failed," Sam retorted disappointed.

"Don't you think that maybe this was dad's way of giving him a second chance as well? Making him forget, letting him live a human life, but banning him from heaven? Don't you think he deserves it? Because he did the wrong thing for the right reason and stuff?" he said. "I thought you'd had enough experience with me to know that kind."

Sam let his head drop to his chest. "Touché," he mumbled.

"Trust me, Sam, please. I trust him," Dean added, looking pleadingly at his brother.

"You're in love with him," Gabriel stated dryly. "That's completely different."

"What? No, I'm not!" Dean exclaimed, frowning at Gabriel.

"Oh, please," the shorter man waved him off, "You've always been. You just realized it now that you saw what you lost."

"I'm-"

"Dean-o, shut up. I have still a little mojo left, and I've wasted enough on reading your mind," Gabriel chuckled. "And something tells me that you should go home to him and tell him and you won't regret it."

Dean shook his head. "I can't."

"Oh, big gay crisis?" Gabriel's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline, while an amused smirk played around his lips.

"I'm not gay!" Dean shook his head again, this time in disgust. "Look, I like... tits and and curves stuff. Not dick."

"Just Castiel's, then. What's the problem?" Gabriel cocked his head to the side, the trademark angel head tilt that made Dean think of Cas immediately.

"It's not- I mean... ugh, fuck you," Dean groaned frustrated and headed for the door. "I already regret suggesting to take you with us."

He could practically hear the smirk in Gabriel's voice when the archangel answered, "Be honest to yourself, Dean, for once. And to Cas. I think I don't have to give you the big-brother-talk?"

Sam burst into laughter at that. It was so genuinely happy and joyful that Dean couldn't suppress the smile rising on his lips.

"Are you okay with this, Sam?" Dean asked amused.

"Hey, I've settled with you being gay for Cas so long ago, I don't even remember. Seriously. I'm still not quite convinced that he's trustworthy, but I'm gladly looking forward to being shown otherwise," Sam shrugged.

"You two-" Dean said, pointing at Sam and Gabriel, "are unbelievable."

"Thanks for acknowledging the obvious," Gabriel waggled his eyebrows at him and sat down beside Sam on the bed, leaning against his shoulder. Sam's arm wrapped itself around the smaller one's waist immediately, and a lazy smile followed on Gabriel's lips.

Dean felt like he was intruding, like something in the air had suddenly changed.

He said goodbye quickly and left the hospital, eager on driving home and telling the awesome news to Castiel.

Now. What do you say? Did you see that one coming? :D