A/N: Ok, this chapter was a monster to write. I didn't want to split up the big Raph vs Gabe scene as I think it would have made the story feel chopped so I hope you're up for some reading. This marks the last big bad guy out of the way. There's only going to be one or two more chapters for this that will deal with Dean and Sam saying their goodbyes to baby Cas and then we see what happens when Gabe gets back. I hope this chapter reads well and that the fight is exciting enough. I keep second guessing myself since it IS two ARCHANGELS fighting but I hope it seems realistic enough…you know, for an angel fight.

The day had been long, hard, and confusing, the final cherry on an already craptacular week and Dean had just about reached his limit. He stood motionless, the night air around him crackling with the unshed power of two highly displeased archangels, and from the corner of his vision he could see Sam throwing furtive glances in his direction in the hopes of getting some sort of explanation. Dean wasn't about to pull him aside for a one on one debrief though, not with Raphael standing in front of him holding Cas and Gabriel standing beside him looking positively murderous. He knew there was about to be one hell of a fight and he, along with Sam and most likely Castiel, were going to be little more than collateral damage if they didn't play their cards right. Sure, it wouldn't be as bad as say Michael and Lucifer duking it out, but Dean had seen just how powerful Gabriel could be and he knew Raphael was an even match if not stronger. Beside him Gabe shifted forward a step and the sword in Raphael's grip turned just enough to catch the meager light, a clear warning that he had the blade out for a reason. "Oh you pompous, insufferable, asshole," Gabe ground out through his teeth, "I always knew you had a lousy sense of humor but really? What part of this seemed like a good idea to you? The part where you hand your own brother over to the demons or the part where you set loose Belial upon the world?"

Raphael looked utterly unphased in the face of his younger brother's anger. "The part where you and this traitor are held accountable for your rebellion." He gestured idly at Cas with the sword and Dean could practically feel his heart skip a beat. "You thought you would never be called upon to pay for such a sin? Our BROTHER has wallowed in the miseries of HELL for eons because he dared to rebel yet you and this lowly soldier are not only allowed to walk free in the halls of paradise but are wrought back from oblivion by the hand of our father himself and offered positions of esteem?" The angel scoffed. "What makes you so special?"

Dean swallowed nervously but Gabriel simply rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Well for starters I'm infinitely more fun at parties than the rest of you," he huffed, "But I think you got your facts a little mixed up, Raph, cause Cas and I didn't rebel against God the way Lucy did, we rebelled against you overbearing jerkwads and your ridiculous little plan to wipe out half the planet because of what basically comes down to you being bored. And THAT, dear brother, is why we get the penthouse upstairs and you apparently get the world's largest stick shoved up your ass…oh wait, that was already there."

"The Apocalypse was foretold since the fall of our brethren. It is arrogance to believe you can stop it indefinitely. Your interference has changed nothing but the timing. The initial seals have already been broken, they cannot be reforged. Once I have ensured you have been properly punished for your transgressions, I will begin the process of freeing our brothers from their prison once more," Raphael said nonchalantly, "Your rebellion was pointless."

"Wait," Dean piped up, "if you wanted to let Michael and Lucifer back out of their cage then why all this crap about using Gabe to seal them in? I mean, why hand him over when you knew Belial was planning to use Cas to get free and then complete the angel grout ritual anyway?"

Raphael looked annoyed that Dean would dare to interrupt the conversation between him and his brother and he shot the hunter the sort of scowl that had probably coined the phrase 'if looks could kill'. "I was unaware of Belial's change in plan. When this was first orchestrated, the agreement was to seal HIS cage but not until Castiel had been stripped of his grace and cast into the pit. There, Belial would met out punishment to them both for all eternity and Lucifer would taste oblivion at the hands of Michael. He seemed agreeable to this, eager even, to have a chance to scour the two angels of Heaven who thought they could get away with rebellion when he had been sentenced to suffer for the same crime." He cast his eyes pointedly in Gabe's direction. "But as usual, your indiscretion in the use of your heavenly gifts has caused a great deal of upset. I could not have forseen Castiel's change of form, a fact which has, until now, spared him."

Raphael's use of the words 'until now' had Dean shifting nervously, his eyes straying to the sword that was far too close to Cas for comfort, but it seemed, at least for the moment, that the angel was content to merely talk. Dean's mind raced as he tried to figure out how to buy them enough time to come up with some ingenious plan that wouldn't get them all reduced to nothing more than charred bones. He knew he had to keep Raphael talking until Gabriel could recover fully from his ordeal. There was an obvious slump to the angel's shoulders that clearly said he was far too tired still to make this an even fight and if it came to blows now, it wouldn't fare well for either him or the helpless infant caught in the middle.

"I had traced you to the Winchesters' hotel," Raphael continued, "but Castiel's diminished grace was hidden beneath your own. It was faint enough that I unfortunately overlooked it when I helped Legion obtain you. It makes sense now why I could not find him afterward. I hunted endlessly for some sign of him but I was looking for a fully grown angel and his grace was faint enough, tainted as it was with his human host, that I easily missed it." The archangel paused to shoot Castiel a look of utter disgust, his opinion on the infant's form, mingled as it was with Jimmy's human body, painfully visible in the curl of his lip. "Little did I know that Legion had also joined the hunt for Castiel. His repulsive minions discovered the change in our brother first. Once Belial found out Castiel had been transformed into an infant, he saw his chance for escape."

The angel paused and turned to look at Sam. There was undisguised repulsion as he sneered at the hunter. "It is fortunate circumstance that I was able to trace Castiel's grace to the woods of Washington state before you fell into the hands of the demons. Legion was already there when I arrived and I knew then he was also hunting our missing brother.I am not a fool."

"That's debatable," Dean mumbled before he could help himself. Raphael either didn't hear him or chose to ignore the comment.

"I did not realize he had cornered you both and he did not dare reveal your presence to me knowing I was still ignorant of Castiel's condition. Belial knew your tainted blood would allow you to act as Lucifer's stand in. With the sacrifice of Castiel in this form, you would have been able to break enough of Belial's cage open to allow him to consume the remnants of the traitor's grace and thus become powerful enough to drag himself the rest of the way out of his prison. This is something they knew I would never allow. Belial deserves his punishment and to consume the newformed grace of an infant, were it not a sacrilege of the worst sort to begin with, would have corrupted him beyond comprehension."

"Man, for a High and Mighty angel your deductive powers SUCK," Dean cut in again, "I mean, the demons were managing to find us time and time again but you had Cas right under your nose and couldn't even tell he was there all while your angel buddy in Hell was playing you like a fiddle. Boy did you screw the pooch on this one." He knew it was pushing his luck to talk that way to the angel but he also knew that Gabriel was Castiel's only chance of survival and their friend was going to need as much time as they could buy while he tried to regain his strength. If it meant the difference between Cas seeing tomorrow or being skewered on Raphael's sword, Dean wouldn't hesitate to offer himself up as bait, even if it was more than likely to result in his being reduced to chunky red paste soon.

Surprisingly, Raphael merely snorted at him. "The demons kept finding you because of me," he said with a note of wry amusement, "In your arrogance you kept reaching out to Heaven for help, thinking you deserved to be helped, and every time you did, I knew about it. Had you been humble for once in your life, I would never have been able to locate you but humility has never been your strong point. I had been under the impression at that time that Legion's orders were to kill you and your brother for your part in Michael's downfall. I happily passed your whereabouts on to him. I did not expect him to take you captive nor that my actions would place Castiel into his hands. It is unfortunate that I did not see my brother's trickery at work before now." Raphael glowered at the other archangel and the stare was evenly matched and returned. "But enough of this. It is time, Gabriel. If I cannot assure your eternal torment, I will have to settle for your swift death. So tell me brother, should I be merciful and leave Castiel to his ignorance before his light is extinguished?"

Gabriel visibly bristled at the mention of Castiel but he froze on the spot as the sword was lifted and held over the infant angel. Dean knew full well that at the rate Gabe had been healing inside the building, he certainly couldn't be back to his full strength yet and he figured that was probably why the whole area hadn't erupted yet in holy fire and lightening. If the look on the trickster's face was any indication though, the fireworks weren't long in coming. Dean's addled mind had yet to come up with a good plan for getting them out of danger in one piece but as he watched the sleek shine of the sword hover over his friend, he knew he would take even the most reckless plan over nothing at all. Castiel was watching him intently, his large blue eyes locked solely onto Dean and every now and then he would reach out a hand in a request to be held though he otherwise remained still in his brother's arms.

Dean shot a look over at Gabe, hoping maybe he had recharged enough to put Cas back to normal but the look on the angel's face made it clear that wasn't an option yet. With a resigned sigh, the hunter took in their surroundings once more and tried to make mental note of anything that might prove useful. He met Sam's inquisitive stare from the corner of his eye and barely tipped his head toward a large grove of trees to their right. Sam shot him a look that said he understood what Dean was asking for but that he wasn't about to flee without him. Dean flicked his eyes to Cas and back and Sam reluctantly nodded. Their unspoken agreement finally reached, the hunters turned back to the tense standoff ahead of them.

Neither angel seemed to have noticed the exchange or, if they had, they simply didn't seem to care. Dean felt a little like a seal caught in the middle of a battle between two great whites. He just hoped he and Sam were unimportant enough to be overlooked in the conflict to come because there was no way they were going to survive it otherwise. "You know what?" Gabriel finally spat, "You're a poor damn excuse for an angel and an even worse excuse for a brother. The kid you're holding has shown more gusto than you've ever displayed in your life and I hate to be the one to say it, but I LIKE him more than you. Now get your damned hands off our little brother and take the ass-whipping you deserve…unless, that is, you don't think you can take me one on one." Gabe threw his older brother a smug lopsided grin.

Raphael glowered at him but his grip on Castiel didn't lessen. "Your childish taunts will get you no where, little brother. It is time you grew up." Dean watched in horror as the blade rose into the air and it felt like time slowed down as it descended toward the helpless child below it. Dean was moving in an instant, worry screaming in his brain that he wasn't fast enough, wasn't going to make it there in time, but suddenly Gabriel's back was filling his view as the angel slammed up against Raphael's arm. The air filled with a bright metallic clang as sword met sword and the hunter wondered for only a heartbeat where the second blade had come from. A glance down at Hezrial's limp form provided the obvious answer though he hadn't even seen Gabe move to collect it. He didn't have much time to think on it though as he found himself skidding to a halt to escape the flurry of swift blows and deft feints being hurled between the angels. His eyes locked onto Cas as he looked for an opening to get between the two and pull the infant to safety. It felt like trying to time running into an open meat grinder without being torn to ribbons.

Cas had curled in on himself as soon as the fighting started. He looked up long enough to notice Dean watching him though and he risked reaching out a small hand for him. "Den!" Thunder pealed across the sky with enough force to shake the ground beneath the hunter's boots and he knew things were about to get a lot more serious but he couldn't and wouldn't leave until Cas was safe. The fighting paused for a moment as Gabriel staggered back with an angry red line sliced from his sternum to the tip of his left shoulder. Blood flowed freely from the wound, spattering in thick red droplets down his tattered shirt but he paid it little heed and didn't waste precious energy bothering to heal it. Raphael didn't offer much of a reprieve either as he sent his brother hurtling backward with the flexing of a wrist. Sam and Dean both jerked back in shock as the already injured trickster impacted with the side of the building and easily blew straight through the brick like it were tissue paper. Dean shook off the image and used the distraction as an opportunity to make a grab for Cas but Raphael saw him coming and before he knew it, Dean's chest felt like it had suddenly imploded. Tight pain ripped across him and he fell to his knees gasping as the archangel advanced slowly. He blinked up through the pain to look up at the being towering over him.

Raphael shook his head slowly and made a patronizing noise in his throat that could have been mistaken for a laugh had Dean believed for a second that the bastard even knew how. "You really should have cut your losses and left by now," he rumbled from above, "did you really think such a pathetic attempt was going to accomplish anything?" Dean tried to say something sarcastic but the words did nothing but burble forth as a thin stream of blood that dribbled from his lips onto the grass below him. He knew the angel had done something, though he wasn't precisely sure what yet. At the very least he was bleeding into his lungs if the horrid suffocating feeling in his chest were any indication but as he looked up into the frightened blue eyes of his friend who, even then, was reaching down toward him, Dean knew he didn't really regret the action. Raphael opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a larger form tackling him from behind. Sam's long arms wrapped around the angel and he drove a knee into the back of the man's leg to force him to the ground where Dean would be able to reach Cas easier. The move was only partially successful though as the angel stumbled a few steps and then easily snapped the grip around him.

Without any weapons to hold the angel at bay, Sam quickly found himself at the creature's mercy, or more accurately the lack thereof. His 6'4" frame was lifted easily from the ground with one hand and chucked a good twenty feet toward the woodline where his flight was halted abruptly but a large oak. The impact knocked the wind out of him and he flopped to the ground in a tangle. The fingers of his left hand refused to move indicating his shoulder had most likely been dislocated, a fact upheld by the intense throbbing in that area, and when coupled with all he'd been through so far, it was enough to have him struggling to stay conscious. He shifted as much as was possible across the leaf strewn ground and managed to get a view of where Dean was still struggling valiantly to save their friend. He almost wished he hadn't. His brother was pale and shaking as he fought to stand only to have Raphael bring him back to his knees with nothing more than a half hearted wave of his hand. Sam could hear Castiel's plaintive whimpers and he battled to drag himself back to his feet and rejoin the fray.

Dean had lost track of his brother after the young man had gone sailing toward the treeline. He tried hard not to think about what had happened to him as he found himself in for the fight of his life. Raphael wasn't content to let him drown in his own blood apparently and a fist like iron collided with the side his jaw hard enough to send him rocking back on his knees. The world spun and still Dean refused to just lay down. Somewhere high above him Cas was letting out soft pleading whines and he could just barely make out the frantic stutter of wings over the thunder that was splitting the sky with growing frequency. "Yuh…you hit…like a girl," he slurred at the archangel. It was little more than sheer stubbornness that had him continuing to egg the angel on but it was all he had to cling to at that moment and it was at least making him feel a little better about getting his ass handed to him by a guy named after a Saturday morning cartoon character. He could just make out Raphael's face as it contorted in irritation at Dean's refusal to be subjugated and that alone made the next hit worth it. He sat up a moment later and finished spitting the grass and dirt out of his mouth, mingled as it was with blood. He'd already thought up a new and entertaining obscenity to call his tormentor when a blur rushed past him and the whole sky lit up with a streak of lightening that bathed the scene in a glare of white.

Gabriel had returned but this time the sword in his hands had been replaced with a large shard of twisted metal. Dean blinked at the strange choice of weapon but his doubt was erased as his friend swung with an arm that would have done the Dogers proud and the metal bar connected solidly against Raphael's head. The other archangel wobbled on his feet, his face a mask of open surprise, but Gabriel didn't let up in the least. He swung furiously from side to side, each impact punctuated with a bitten off word. "PUT. MY. BROTHER. DOWN." Raphael took a few quick steps back to put space between himself and his enraged sibling. He crumpled over his right side and blood ran dark and glistening along one side of his face. Whatever Gabriel was using to beat the tar out of him, it was working. Anger flared over the older angel's face and the ground shook violently as he rent the earth between his brother's feet in an attempt to suck Gabriel down and bury him. Gabe merely slammed the rift shut again albeit with a lot more effort than his brother had displayed. It was obvious from where Dean was kneeling that his friend wasn't going to be able to hold his own in an even fight for long but the weapon he'd chosen seemed to have disturbed some of Raphael's calm and the older angel was resorting to more long distance tactics to kill his victim.

The battle raged and Dean scrambled to take some sort of cover where he could to wait it out. The wind screamed in like a hurricane and then Gabriel pushed it aside. Rain broke in a torrential downpour and Raphael parted the storm with a wave of his hand. Lightening danced around the area in sweeping arcs that seared and charred everything around them as the brothers squared off and Dean found himself caught in the middle of the world's worst firefight with nowhere to shelter. His concern was more for the tiny infant pinned between the two warriors though and he knew if he didn't get Cas out of there soon, the angel was going to become a casualty of his brothers' war. Dean wasn't about to let that happen. He clawed his way back to his feet and rushed for the hole where Gabriel had disappeared. He fumbled into the darkness and let his eyes adjust some to the light before he found what he was looking for. Gabriel's discarded sword lay glittering in the light afforded by the storm outside and Dean snatched it up before running back to help his friend.

Gabe was waning fast. It was taking him longer and longer to fend off his brother's attacks and Raphael was growing bolder by the second but Dean charged in head first regardless. He headed straight for the archangel who smiled condescendingly at him and he knew he had to look ridiculous rushing at an angel with no chance of actually winning that fight but winning wasn't what he had planned. As he finally rushed up within striking distance, the hunter dropped to a roll and tucked around one of Raphael's legs and coming up behind him to slam the blade deep his calf. It was all the opening Gabriel needed to close the distance once more and as his brother reeled from a powerful blow to the head, Dean took the moment to dart up over his shoulder and snatch Castiel out of his arms. With the warm bundle pressed to his chest, he tore off for the woodline as fast as he could, determined to put some distance between them and the two battling titans behind him. He careened into the relative safety of the trees, his knees skidding in the mud as he all but collapsed. His injured lungs screamed in agony as he desperately sucked in air but he clung none the less with every ounce of willpower he could muster to the huddled form in his arms.

Castiel shivered and burrowed his face into Dean's shirt as the battle continued to rage in the clearing beyond. A large hand clamped down onto the hunter's shoulder and he started, reaching for his missing gun more out of habit than anything else. As he rolled to face this new enemy though he found himself peering up through the relative darkness into the battered and bruised face of Sam. The young man was cradling his left arm to his chest and he looked tired as hell but he was alive and staring gratefully down at the angel in Dean's arms. Neither hunter bothered with words, Dean couldn't breathe well enough to form them and Sam was just too tired to try, but they both shared a knowing look that said enough. Their lives were in Gabriel's hands now. They were too worn to make it much farther without the Impala nearby and if Raphael came looking for them they wouldn't be able to hide for long as Castiel would easily give them away.

Gabe, for his part, was taking full advantage of his brother's wounds as he pressed the attack. The metal bar was doing a good job of tearing up his hands in the process but he was pointedly ignoring it since each swing was also laying Raphael out in a spray of his own blood. The earth trembled and the skies opened up into sheets of rain as Raphael fought to push his brother away but Gabriel's patience had apparently reached its limit and as he brought the bar down again, the angel below him shuddered and went limp. Gabe lifted the bar one last time but his face crumpled and he let it fall with a dull thud to the ground beside him before sinking down into the mud next to his brother's body. The lack of bright light told the Winchesters that Raphael was still alive for the moment at least. Gabriel looked more tired and sad than Dean had ever seen him as he sat huddled in the rain and mud, his face hidden behind the tangled curtain of hair hanging in his face.

Sam moved as if to go check on the angel but he settled back down as the pain in his arm flared up. Dean was still hurting too much to move and he figured there were some times that a person just needed a few minutes alone. Having to beat your brother unconscious with a metal bar because he'd tried to kill you sounded an awful lot like one of those times. Eventually Gabriel made it back to his feet on his own and shuffled his way down to where the Winchesters sat shivering in the mud. Dean was still laying on his side curled protectively around Cas and he rolled an eye up at their friend as he made his way over. "Your family sucks," he groaned out.

Gabriel chuckled. "You're HOLDING my family," he retorted and Dean couldn't bring himself to really argue that point. One could do worse than to have a little brother like Cas.

Sam winced behind him and looked up at Gabe imploringly. "Is it too much to ask for some angel healing?"

"I'll settle for the unconscious thing," Dean chimed in.

Gabe just shook his head at the both of them. They made a sorry pair what with all the cuts, bruises, and more serious injuries but they had fought their hardest to protect both he and Castiel. "I don't have a whole lot left in me right now guys. I need a break but I'll do what I can. First, let's get the hell out of the rain before my vessel turns into one giant prune." Dean and Sam didn't even try to protest as the angel reached for them and in the next instant they were tucked away in the darkened room of some unidentified hotel. Much of their worst injuries were better, Sam's arm was back in the socket and Dean was already breathing easier, but the angel simply lacked the ability to heal them all the way. "I'll be back tomorrow to fix the rest. Got just enough juice left to drag Raph's sorry carcass back upstairs for a serious heart to heart. You two try not to die in the meantime."

"What about Cas?" Dean grumbled. He still hadn't bothered picking himself up from the floor. It just didn't seem worth the effort.

Gabe shrugged noncommittally. "Looks like you're babysitting one last night. It's not as easy as it looks making that kind of change so till tomorrow, he's staying in diaper-land." The angel dropped to a crouch next to Dean's head, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "And if anything else bad happens to him between now and then, you'll spend your entire afterlife listening to Enya." In the next instant he was gone leaving Dean, Sam, and Cas alone in the silence of the hotel room.