Destiny

by cirobert

Gabriel, Archangel and imitation Trickster, has been dead for years when suddenly he's called back from the darkness to fulfill the destiny he never knew he had. Little did he know it would involve a woman who had won the heart of not only both Winchester men but also the angel Castiel. Could he accept his place in his father's design?

3. Chapter 3

3

Gabriel wasn't prepared in the slightest to take care of a baby. But with Snow's gentle patience he learned. He had no choice because Snow wasn't always there. Sure she took some maternity leave but mentally she checked out quite a lot. Gabriel would leave her with little David in the nursery to go and get her some lunch or something of the sort and when he came back she would be in the exact same position without having so much as blinked in his absence. He worried, he tried to talk to her, but she was so damaged by the loss of the loves in her life that he didn't know how to help her. So instead he took care of the baby and tried to be the happiness that all children need. As a former Trickster it wasn't hard to be fun, but as an archangel who was tasked with raising this kid to know right from wrong he often worried about his own sense of morality.

The years passed, David grew and Snow decided that he needed to grow up normal. As normal as he could since his mixed heritage and strange family dynamic made him so obviously different. When David was four they bought a house in a suburb and enrolled the kid in preschool. Gabriel was frantic on his first day of school, anxious about the kids growing grace plus the usual kids are dicks thing. Snow was her usual stoic self who prepared David's lunch, gave him a pep talk about being the best person he could be and shuffled him off to the school bus. Gabriel didn't handle it near so well. He went invisible and flew after the bus to make sure his boy was ok. He thanked his father that no one picked on David because the archangel would have rained down hell on any kid that did.

So Gabriel seemed to be handling fatherhood pretty well in his opinion. Snow on the other hand was seeming more and more distant from her son. She was never neglectful, never mean or aggressive, just less interested then she should be. Gabriel still worried how to help her. He tried making her smile, he tried to lighten the load she handled around the house, he encouraged her to return to work at the hospital, he even considered getting her a date. But none of these things worked, she was just broken.

Which was why David didn't hear his mother laugh until he six years old. And when he did he looked almost scared.

Him and "Uncle" Gabe were practicing throwing a ball between them when Snow came out onto the back porch with some drinks for the boys. She lay down the tray without a word, as usual, and stopped to watch them play. The first toss that David threw hit Gabe in the knee which made her snicker. The second hit him in the throat which made her snort and place a hand over her mouth. The third hit him in the stomach and this caused a chuckle to escape. The fourth and final toss went straight to Gabe's crotch and while he doubled over with a huff Snow heard herself letting out loud belly laughs that made her double over and tears to leak from her eyes. David stopped his arm mid throw and just looked at her.

"Mom?" he asked looking between her and Gabe.

"Its fine David." she said waving her hand at him between guffaws. David was still glancing between the two of them but a small smile was creeping onto his face. Gabriel was looking at Snow with something close to astonishment on his face. He had barely seen her smile let alone laugh so much that she cried. But this, this was progress.