Sam made to try to interrupt him, but Dean just held up a hand to stop him. "There are very few things which I hate more than you keeping secrets from me, and you know that. It never ends well, for either of us. You've been keeping your relationship quiet for months. Gabriel wasn't just some random fuck, you really care about him, and you didn't tell me. It's not even like Gabriel asked you not to tell me. Do you have any idea what it was like, having to hear about it from him?" Sam sat straighter, his expression turning stubborn. "You know, I've been thinking about that."

Dean's eyes narrowed, he didn't liking the tone of voice Sam was using. "Gabe has wanted me to tell you about us for a while now, but he never would have told you himself. Not unless he had some sort of guarantee than it wouldn't blow up in our faces. He only would have done what he did if he had something he could hold over you. Want to tell me what you've been hiding, Dean?" Dean stiffened, furious indignation etched on his features. "I haven't been hiding anything! I only just found out myself, I needed some time to wrap my head around it before I went around telling people! It's not the same thing at all, Sam!"

His little brother glared right back at him, his face heating up with anger. "I needed time too, Dean! At first, what I had with Gabe was mostly casual. I was confused, and I wasn't sure where we were going. I didn't want to stir up trouble without a good reason. It took me a long time to be sure about Gabriel, and to figure out that he was serious about me. I was going to tell you soon, I was just waiting for a good time to do it. I like what we've got going right now, hunting in a pack like this, the five of us. I didn't want you running off in a huff, saying something stupid, like you wouldn't hunt with me again unless I broke up with Gabe and made him leave us alone or something."

Dean shook his head incredulously. "You seriously think I'd pull that kind of crap?" Sam crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, away from his brother. "I don't know, Dean! I just didn't want to have to choose between the two of you. I want both of you in my life." Dean sighed, and rubbed a hand over his face. "You should have trusted me not to ask something like that of you, Sam. Yeah, I think Gabriel is a douchebag, but I'm not an idiot. I know he's been warding your dreams, and I've seen the way he always has your back when we're hunting. He treats you right, and you enjoy having him around. I never would have asked you to choose between us."

Sam's face softened, although his eyes still held a degree of surprise. "You really mean that, Dean?" The older Winchester nodded. "Of course I mean it. Nothing is more important to me than my family, Sam. I'm not going to be a selfish asshole, and make you miserable, just to stick it to that damn fox." Sam snorted in amusement. "Did you just call Gabe a fox?" Dean nodded, smirking. "Yes, because he's devious like that. If you're a moose, then he's a fox." Sam grinned back at him. "You do realise that he's only going to take that as a compliment, right?" Dean chuckled darkly. "Oh, I know. This way I get to insult him without having to feel too guilty about it. Everybody wins."

Sam sighed. So much for the hard part being over. "Look, I know Sammy. It might take me a while, but I'll do my best to start being a little more civil with him. I want you to be happy, even if it's with Gabriel. You deserve it." When Sam still looked unsure, Dean stood up and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, the same way he'd done a thousand times before. "I mean it, Sam. Our world right now would be nothing but rubble by now if it hadn't been for you jumping in the Cage. You have more than earned a future with some happiness in it." Sam just nodded, swallowing thickly.

Dean sat back down, and rubbed his hands together nervously. "Now, about that thing Gabriel's holding over me… It's actually to do with Cas. Shit, Bobby should be here too. I don't think I can explain this twice." Sam nodded, and replied. "I'll give him a call, he's in a room on the other end of the motel. He sort of guessed about me and Gabe a few months ago, but he didn't want to know about it. He's been giving us space, and looking the other way. Now that you know, maybe I should tell him, make it official." Dean agreed, there was no sense in keeping anything from the old Hunter.

When Bobby got there, Sam quietly pulled him aside, and told him that things had gotten serious with Gabriel. He sighed loudly, and told Sam he hoped he knew what he was doing. Bobby also warned him to keep a bloodied stake, some holy oil, and a lighter handy at all times, just in case. It was a little awkward for Sam, but Bobby hadn't known Gabriel for more than a few weeks. With everything he'd been through in his lives, Bobby had a tough time trusting outsiders, especially inhuman ones. Sam was hoping the Hunter would come to trust the archangel a little more over time, as he got to know Gabriel better.

With that out of the way, Sam and Bobby sat down at the table opposite Dean, and waited for him to get talking. It took him a minute to swallow down his nervousness. "Guys, I found out something a few days ago, just after that last vampire hunt. Maybe I should've told you right away, but I wasn't ready to say anything about it just yet. It was just really mind-blowing, and I needed time to think about it, but I've been talking with Cas for the last week, so I think I understand the situation a little better now." Sam nodded encouragingly, while Bobby huffed with impatience. "Go on boy, spit it out already. We're not getting any younger."

Dean gulped, because he wasn't just telling Sam about Castiel's strange condition. By saying this, he would also be telling Bobby for the first time that he'd gotten together with Cas. Bobby might have suspected something already, given that Dean had spent the last five days alone with the angel, but now Dean would be confirming it. The thought of the old Hunter warning him to keep holy oil handy made him feel sick. Sam prodded his brother, trying to help him get the uncomfortable conversation underway. "This is about what Cas is sick with, right? I asked Gabriel about it because it's not like you to be vague, and I was scared Cas was dying or something, but he promised me that it's not that bad."

Dean snorted, although he was still fidgeting. "No, Cas isn't dying. It's actually kind of the opposite. Remember I told you that it... happened, with me and Cas?" Sam nodded in confirmation, grimacing slightly. Bobby narrowed his eyes in suspicion, as though trying to decide whether or not Dean meant what Bobby thought he meant. "Yeah, well as it turns out, that might have been a bad idea." Bobby looked back and forth between the two brothers, wondering what he'd missed. Sam frowned, worried that Dean had changed his mind about being with Cas or something, but that didn't feel right. "What do you mean exactly?"

Dean squirmed. He really wasn't sure how to say this. "It happened when Famine decided to have a grudge-match. Let's just say that Cas wasn't going crazy for hamburgers that time. We weren't officially a couple or anything, I didn't even know I liked him that way. He was really suffering though, and I couldn't just leave him like that." Bobby finally caught on, and his head shot up, brows furrowed in indignation. "You too? What is it with you boys and angels? What happened to 'all angels are just dicks with wings'? And since when were you into guys, you idjits? I swear, if those damn featherbags have worked their mojo on you to make you like them, I'm gonna roast the pair of 'em!"

Dean paled slightly at the thought of anyone 'roasting' Cas. Sure, it probably wouldn't kill him, but who knew what it would do to the baby? Nothing good, that was certain. Sam was looking grim at the suggestion that their angels had used mojo on them in such an underhanded way. No doubt he was thinking about Becky and her love potion. "Bobby, they didn't do anything to us. Look, Gabe and Cas have always been different from the other angels. Neither of them have been taking orders from Heaven in years. Even if Gabe did use his mojo on Sam, he would've had to know that Sam would figure it out eventually, and that we'd both be incredibly pissed off when he did."

Sam nodded his agreement, wearing Bitch Face #twenty-seven, otherwise known as 'Damn straight I'd be pissed!' Dean bit back a smirk and continued. "We know all about Gabe being a Trickster and an archangel, including how to kill him, so Gabe would have to be pretty stupid to try something like that. I don't know too much about Gabe and Sam, but they've been together for months now. Sam would've figured it out by now if Gabe had tricked him somehow. As for me and Cas, well, it might be complicated, and a little weird, but I've known Cas for years. There's no way he'd ever use his mojo on me like that."

Bobby snorted, still not convinced. "Just like there's no way he'd ever work with a demon, right? How else do you explain it, Dean? Your whole life you've been a ladies' man, cringing every time you saw a pair of gays. Now suddenly you're fooling around with an angel in a man's body? What kind of sense is that supposed to make?" Dean sighed, and rubbed a hand across his face. "Look, Bobby… with everything Cas and I have been through together, and everything he came to mean to me over the years… somewhere along the line, it just stopped mattering that his vessel is a guy. What we have is too important to let something like that get in the way anymore."

Sam was smiling at him the same way he'd done that time when Dean had sincerely agreed with a feminist. "I know he's made mistakes, we all have at some point. I started the Apocalypse for fucks sake, Bobby. Cas has died two times to fix what he did, lost his memories and his sanity… What about all of that time he spent in Purgatory, just because he felt too guilty and ashamed to escape with me? Sure, there are still Leviathan out there, but Dick and Edgar are dead thanks to him, and Cas has been helping us hunt the others. What more do you want from him? How many times does he have to say that he's sorry before you'll believe him?"

Dean leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh, and stared at the door. He'd left Cas outside with Gabriel, and even though it had been less than an hour, he already had a powerful urge to check on him. "Besides, what's the point in fighting it? Cas makes me happy, and I feel safe with him. I've never really had that with anyone else. I've tried the apple-pie life Bobby, and it doesn't work for me. It's not even just that I'm still a target when I try to retire. I'm a Hunter Bobby, through and through. Without hunting, I'm just not myself. With Cas, I can have a bit of both. With an angel, I don't have to worry that some big bad like Yellow-eyes is going to come along and take him away from me without so much as a fight."

Bobby shifted uneasily. "Alright Dean, I get the picture. Now, weren't you gonna tell us something about Cas being sick?" Dean nodded, swallowing nervously. "I didn't know this back then, but when I was helping him deal with Famine's effects, Cas was already head-over-heels for me. He had all these fantasies in his head of us living in a normal house together, with a family of our own, all that sort of thing." Bobby raised an incredulous eyebrow, and Sam cringed. Being in love with someone who didn't realise they loved you back, and having sex with them… Yeah, that had to hurt.

Something still didn't make sense though. "Why are you telling us all of this, Dean? What does any of it have to do with Cas being sick?" Dean nodded. "Hold on, I'm getting to that. As it turns out, doing that with me was so emotionally painful for him, that his Grace reacted to it. He didn't realise it at the time, and I believe him when he says that he didn't mean for it to happen, but his Grace messed with his vessel." Bobby gave a dumbfounded 'Huh!', while Sam's face scrunched up in thought. "His Grace made him sick? How does that even work? Is that why Gabriel hasn't tried to heal him?"

Dean got up and started pacing, too nervous to sit still. "It didn't make him sick, Sammy, not directly. His Grace messed with his internal organs. It made him capable of having that family he wanted so badly. I got him pregnant, Sam. Cas is pregnant." Bobby paled, and Sam froze, blinking incomprehensively. Sam replayed the last time he'd seen Castiel in his mind, then replayed the last few minutes of conversation he'd just had with his brother. He analysed it from every angle, weighing up the facts, and trying to decide how likely it was that Dean was just messing with him. He was trying to decide whether or not something like that should even be possible in the first place.

Suddenly the door banged open, and a pale-looking Cas shot past them to the bathroom, barely making it in time to retch into the toilet. Dean sighed, and went to help the stricken angel. Bobby was still completely out of it, and Sam's head was spinning so fast, he thought he might pass out or join Cas in puking. Before he could do either, Gabriel was next to him, helping him sit back down. He hadn't even realised that he'd stood up. When Cas was finished, Dean helped him to the small table in the room. He fished half a packet of crackers from somewhere inside his jacket, handing them to the angel and rubbing his back soothingly.

Sam and Bobby both looked at Gabriel, their expressions quietly asking the archangel whether they were high, dreaming, or hallucinating. Gabe snorted with amusement, but shook his head. "Sorry, guys. Dean's right about Cas, I can see the baby's Grace." Bobby's mouth opened, but all that came out was a strangled wheeze. A mess of conflicting reactions flickered over Sam's face too quickly for even Gabriel to keep track of. Sam opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and closed his mouth again. The same thing happened four times before the Hunter managed to pick a question. "This kid isn't going to turn out like Emma, is it?"

Gabriel smiled grimly. "No, we're talking about something very different here, Moose. Cas is no Amazon, that's a 'girls only' club." Sam glared at the archangel, his thoughts clear as day. 'You know that's not what I'm really asking. Will the baby need hunting?' Gabriel's smile softened, showing a hint of sadness, and he shook his head. "Their baby will be born no more innately good or evil than a human child. The only difference will be that the kid will have some Grace, and possibly wings. It'll be like a weak, innocent baby angel." Sam sighed with obvious relief. "Thank God. I did not want to have to kill this one too. It was hard enough the first time." Bobby finally spoke up. "I don't know about you boys, but I need a drink!"

~X~

It took the five of them three times longer than usual to drive back to Bobby's. Castiel was in the Impala with Dean and Sam, while Bobby and Gabriel followed them in the Hunter's old truck. Gabriel had told them that Cas shouldn't be flying in his condition. When the younger angel had tried to argue with his brother, Dean had made him promise not to fly anymore. Unfortunately, travelling by car seemed to exacerbate the angel's morning sickness. They had to make numerous stops along the way, and couldn't travel for too many hours per day, no matter how many crackers Cas nibbled on.

By the time they finally arrived at their destination, five days after setting out, Cas was exhausted and miserable. Dean was short-tempered and tightly wound with worry for his angel, and Gabriel was sticking just as close to his little brother's side as Dean was. Sam was left to deal with Bobby, who was still eyeing Cas as though he had half a mind to whip out the holy oil and attempt some sort of exorcism. Instead, the younger Winchester managed to convince him to head straight for his books, and get down to researching. It didn't really matter that Gabriel had already given them all of his information on the original Nephilim.

He'd told them everything which Castiel had already told Dean, including the alarming news about Azazel's true identity. Unfortunately, that little piece of information had only served to make Bobby even more suspicious of Castiel's Nephil. Researching was a comforting, familiar task, and at this point they were just desperate for something they could do about their odd situation, no matter how pointless it might be. Dean helped Cas up to his room. The angel was almost too weak to climb the stairs, but Dean was patient and careful with him. He made the angel lay down on his bed, and after a few minutes Castiel lay fast asleep.

That was something new, the sleeping. He'd only been doing it for the past three days, and it was frightening for Dean. He hated seeing Castiel becoming so human, even though the angel had assured him that it was a natural consequence of bearing a Nephil. Something about it didn't quite ring true for Dean, and he abhorred the idea that Castiel might not be being completely truthful with him. When the angel was settled, Dean went out to the scrap-yard and started working on one of his old projects, taking out his worries and frustration on the dented old metal. Body-work was his favourite whenever he was deeply worried about something.

~X~

Gabriel was the only other person in the bedroom when Castiel woke up, many hours later. Cas eyed him warily, as though he knew what was coming, and that there was nothing he could do to stop it, but he wasn't happy about it. Gabriel leaned back against the closed door, and folded his arms over his chest. "Cassie, what are you doing? I know you're young, but you were there when the first Nephilim were born. You know just as well as I do what happened to those first few women who refused to bond with Shemihaza's rebels, before those idiots realised that it was a requirement. You know what happened to our brother Jerry."

Castiel snorted at the mention of their brother's name. "Jeriel was just a cherub, he was an idiot for following Shemihaza. I'm stronger than Jeriel was." Gabriel's hard gaze didn't waver. "You're not that much stronger, not after the little light-show you put on for those bloodsuckers. It's not just that, either. You're trying to pretend for him that everything's fine, so you were still flying around and using your mojo for petty things like heating up pie and cooling down cream, not giving your Grace a minute to recover." Castiel blushed and turned his head away as the realisation hit him, that his big brother was aware of his new kink.

He should have known that the archangel would be keeping a close eye on him once he knew about the Nephil. He'd always been very protective of his younger brothers. When he didn't comment, Gabriel continued. "Even if you did, it wouldn't, because Junior is slowly sucking you dry. I am an archangel; I can feel your Grace. I can feel how weak you're growing. You won't survive this on your own, Cassie. Even if there was a slim chance for you right now, what happens when trouble finds the boys? Don't look at me like that; even I can't be everywhere at once. I'm not Dad."

When that line of reasoning didn't seem to be having any effect on the young angel, Gabriel changed tactics. "Alright, fine. What if trouble finds you, and you're forced to defend yourself again? I hate to break it to you, but you didn't exactly make a lot of friends when you went on your power-trip. If your enemies find out that you're vulnerable right now, you're gonna have trouble raining down cats and dogs around you. You have just about enough juice right now to smite three or four very weak demons. If you tried anything more than that, it would kill you outright. This game you're playing is far too dangerous, little bro. You have to tell him Cassie, or I will."

Castiel's head shot up, eyes wide with alarm. "You can't! Gabriel, I've already forced a partial bond on him once. There was no other choice at the time; it was the only way to raise him from hell. Even then, I never would have done it without knowing that I would be able to remove it later. Dean has given so much already, Gabriel. How can I ask any more of him? Can't it be enough that he loves me right now? He never asked for any of this!" Gabriel straightened, taking two steps closer as he spat his reply. "Neither did you! You think that you have a choice this time? Cassie, do you seriously believe that Dean would rather watch you and his baby die than complete a bond with you?"

Castiel's jaw clenched stubbornly. "I won't die!" Gabriel cut him off before he could continue arguing. "You don't know that! I mean it Castiel, you have to tell him. I am not going to risk your life, little brother!" The young angel just shook his head. "It's not that simple! A full bond is not something to be taken lightly. You're asking Dean to bind his soul to my Grace for all eternity, to throw away the freedom which he's fought his entire life for, sacrificed everything for! After all the crap Heaven has put him and his family through, how can I ask that of him now? Why can't I just let him have the freedom he's worked so hard to earn? Would you ask Sam to do the same? Do you think he'd agree to it if you asked him?"

Gabriel stumbled back, shaken. "That was really low of you, Castiel. I wasn't expecting that from you. If I had that option, I would ask him in a heartbeat, you know I would. I don't know what he'd say, but it doesn't matter. I don't even get to contemplate that possibility. You do, baby brother, so don't waste it. I'm giving you one week to tell him, and that is final." Castiel glowered at him, eyes red with the tears of anger and frustration which he was trying so hard to hold back. "Why are you making me do this? It shouldn't be anyone's choice but my own." Gabriel paused, already halfway out the door. "I already told you, Cassie. I'm doing this because I'd rather rip out my last four wings than watch you die this way."

As the door closed behind the archangel, Cas slumped back against his pillow, the tears he'd been holding back silently slipping down his face. Gabriel stood on the other side of the door, leaning heavily against it and taking several deep breathes to steady his self. When the archangel was feeling a little more composed, he sought out his Hunter. Sam was sitting on the sofa downstairs, with a huge, dusty tomb on his lap. Gabe lay down on the couch, and nudged at the tall human until he put the book down on a side-table so the archangel could rest his head on his lap.

Sam smiled, and ran his long fingers through Gabe's honey-blond hair. "Hey Gabe?" The archangel hummed quietly in response, to show he was listening. "If Dean can get Cas pregnant, does that mean we can have kids too?" Gabriel stiffened. He'd been expecting his Hunter to ask that question, ever since Sam had been told about Castiel's Nephil. He'd been dreading it, knowing the answer he would have to give. He'd never felt more tempted to lie to Sam, but he could never do that to his moose. Still, if ever there was something he might lose his lover over, then this was it. "No, Sam. I'm sorry." The Hunter's hand stilled, and he looked down at Gabriel, meeting his eyes with sad, questioning hazel eyes.

Gabriel sat up, swallowed thickly, and explained. "My Grace is too damaged and unstable to support a kid. Even if it wasn't, your soul wouldn't be compatible enough with Grace to conceive a Nephil. Even if you'd never touched a drop of demon blood after that night when Mary died, Azazel's taint would be too poisonous for a Nephil embryo. It's not your fault, so don't even think it, and you can have kids. You just can't have them with an angel." Sam nodded, swallowing the same way Gabriel had moments before, and nodded again, staring at his hands which were folded on his lap. They stayed like that, quietly together, until Bobby came over, asking Sam to call Dean and Cas to dinner.

~X~

AN: I got really great news today! Apparently I can still donate blood when I go on the meds my psychiatrist prescribed! They're not on the restricted list! Now I just have to start taking my supplements again, and get my iron back up. Happy! ^_^ I'm hoping to put the next chapter up on Sunday. I already have half of it done, and I know where I'm taking it.

What I want to know from my reviewers is, where do you want this story to go? What do you want to see happen? Which characters do you want me to bring into this? Any and all ideas are more than welcome. I'll credit any ideas which I decide to incorporate. Did you like this chapter? Did I do okay? I'm a total praise-whore, so please feel free to click that 'review button' and let me know what you thought. As Misha would say, hate is welcome too, it's indifference which hurts.

Did I characterize Bobby okay? He wasn't too OOC, was he? Sorry I'm still being so mean to poor Gabe, I promise things will get better for him eventually. I love him too. Also, sorry there was no smut this chapter, but there will be on Sunday. Lots of nommy, kinky smut. You might even need to keep a spare pair of panties handy. I see many cold showers in your future. ;-)