Chapter 3: Brotherly Advice

Gabriel sighed as he stared at he Cage. There was no sign of either of his brothers but since he wasn't trying to hide his presence he was sure that one of them would show up soon. At this point he didn't care which of them showed up as long as he was able to talk to one of them about this. Moving forward he sat down with his back against the bars and facing away from the Cage. Pulling out both his angel blade and archangel blade he slammed both into the ground a few feet away. He didn't want either of them thinking that he came for a fight.

Thinking of fights, he thought back to the one he just had with Castiel. He had been shocked when his younger brother had inquired about his night out. The dark hair angel told him that he could feel that sadness emanating off him and it made the younger worried. He had told Castiel that it was none of his business and that he should worry about his own relationship with Dean. It went downhill from there the younger stating that if Sam was upset then it affected Dean, which in turn affected him. He also told Gabriel to stop being so selfish.

That had been the final straw. He had stormed off needing to be alone but damn it all if his younger brother wasn't persistent. Castiel had followed him wanting to continue their conversation. Instead of trying to fix things Gabriel ran straight to a lay line. The influx of energy helped him vanish and he had come straight here. He needed someone to talk to that he knew wasn't going to ask something of him in return or play games. He needed advice and the only place that had come to mind to get it was from his big brothers. His big brothers who were both locked in the Cage in hell.

Gabriel jumped when a hand slid through the bars and tightly gripped his neck. "What do we have here? Come to play with me again Gabriel?"

The youngest archangel shook his head and remained still; he wasn't here for a fight after all.

There was a long pause before the hand around his neck loosened. "Then what did you come here for Gabriel? To play games?"

"I...I came because I needed to talk." The blonde said softly. "I need advice."

The hand let go and Gabriel turned to face his older brother, not at all surprised to see the concern on Lucifer's face. "You don't look hurt."

"Not...Not physically no." Gabriel said leaning against the bars. "It's more of a matter of the heart. I don't really have anyone else that I could talk about this with and..."

Lucifer's expression turned cold and Gabriel flinched.

"This was a bad idea. I'm sorry for disturbing you Lucifer." Gabriel said as he went to stand.

The Second Born's hand shot out and latched onto his wrist with a snake like quickness and a vice like grip. "I let my emotions get the better of me. Stay. Please."

The youngest archangel hesitated before nodding and taking his seat once more. As he pressed back against the bars he was a bit surprised when Lucifer reached out and wrapped an arm around him. He knew for a moment that this wasn't the Lucifer that everyone feared, but the Lucifer that had loved him before the Fall. He let his head rest against the bars and felt a kiss on the top of his head.

"Talk to me Little One." Lucifer said, not knowing how his words made the younger's heart soar. "Tell me everything. I'll do what I can to help."

Taking a deep breath Gabriel began to explain. He decided to start at the beginning and began to explain about every relationship he'd had since heaven. He told him about being used for his power and how it drove him to end a family line for it. He revealed how once he was nearly put under someone's control because they couldn't control him in the relationship. Then as he felt a second set of hands on him, he told his brothers about his last real relationship where he was only seen as a sex object and how it had quickly turned rather abusive, first with emotional abuse, and then when that stopped working it became physical up till the point where he finally decided enough was enough and ended up having to nearly kill his lover just to escape.

Having explained that Gabriel jumped into meeting the Winchesters and Castiel again. How watching their younger brother with his bond mate made him realized that he wanted that as well. Not long after that he realized that he was beginning to care deeply for the youngest Winchester. He told them everything that happened over the past year and finally the events of last night and this morning.

"So I end up in a bar to think about things and what happens? I end up drinking with Crowley. He bought me a drink and I ended up talking to him and getting completely wasted." Gabriel said feeling the hands on his tighten. "And I can't even remember leaving the bar. Sam said by the time Crowley dropped me off I was right on the verge of passing out."

"I've never known you to take such risks Gabriel. Nor did I expect you to have such a bad time with relationships." Michael said softly. "I'm sorry you've have such a rough time."

"Thanks. I think." Gabriel said not too sure if Michael was trying to help or not.

"So which problem do you want me to help you with first?" Lucifer asked.

"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked, he only had one problem and that was Sam.

"Do you want me to tell you what to do about the cockroach or do you want me to tell you what to do about my vessel?" Lucifer asked, his hand rubbing circles on his baby brother's back.

"I could care less about Crowley. I just want... I want you to tell me what's wrong with me." Gabriel whispered. "If I know what's wrong with me then I can fix it. Once it's fixed then Sam will realize just how much I actually love him."

Michael angrily sputtered behind him. "Wrong with you?! Gabriel you can't be serious! There is nothing wrong with you! You're an angel. And archangel. One of the First Born. You are perfect."

"Then why have all my relationships failed?" Gabriel spat angrily. "No not failed. They were completely destroyed and the only thing they all had in common, Michael, was me!"

"Calm Little One." Lucifer said softly, his fingers digging into the tense muscles of the Fourth Born's neck. "Michael is right. You did not drive them to seek power. You didn't ask to be controlled. As for the abuse they should pray that I never get free again. No one every deserves that."

Gabriel sighed and relaxed into Lucifer. "Luci you were the only good relationship I ever had. Without you I might not have even realized what they were doing to me."

"That maybe be true but let's not tell your vessel about that." Lucifer said. "Now you want to know what to do about this whole problem? The one that has you doing stupid things like accepting drinks from demons and getting black out drunk with them?"

"No. I rather sit here and mope since that's been so productive!"

"Gabriel..." Came the warning tone of the Devil.

"Sorry. I just...I don't know what to do. I've never had this happen before."

"There is only one thing you can do Gabriel." Lucifer stated calmly. "You have to go back and talk to Sam about this."

Gabriel whirled to face his brother. "Are you crazy?"

"He's right Gabriel." Michael agreed. "You need to talk to Sam about this. You may not want to but it's the only way that you are going to get the answers you want. You said yourself that you only heard part of the conversation. That means that there is a whole other part that you didn't hear. There are two sides to every story Little One."

"What if the story leads me to misery?"

Lucifer sighed and hugged his brother through the Cage, wrapping him in both his arms and his Grace with Michael joining his a moment later. "Then you will be the strong person who I've always known you to be Gabriel. You might get knocked down but you'll get up, dust yourself off, dry your tears, and show the world that you have come out stronger because of it."

Gabriel closed his eyes and savored in the comforting warmth of his brothers. This was why he came. Around everyone else he had to be strong and confident, he had to be both the Archangel Gabriel and the Trickster Loki. Here he was free to shed both of those and just be himself, be the little brother who was in need of his big brothers and their words of wisdom. Gabriel hugged them both tightly back missing the smile that crossed Michael's face and the worry that crossed Lucifer's.

"Now are you ready to the strong baby brother I know you are?" Lucifer asked softly.

"Yeah. I'm going to go home and tell Sam that we need to talk." The smaller blonde said with confidence. "I'm not going to give up what we have without a fight."

"Good now about the cockroach-"

"Can it wait? I want to get back to Sam." Gabriel said as he stood and dusted off this clothes. "I want to get back and set things right."

Lucifer frowned. "It can but Gabriel please be on your guard. That demon is planning something and if things don't go his way then Sam could get caught in the crossfire."

"Just stay alert." Michael said. "You are the only one who can truly protect Sam."

Gabriel nodded and grabbed his blades and replaced them. "I will. I promise. I'll come back and let you know how everything goes okay?"

The caged brothers nodded and watched as the Fourth Born vanished, with Michael turning to Lucifer as soo as he was gone. "You're worried aren't you? And it's not really Sam that you're worried about. It's about that demon he was with."

"Yes I am worried." Lucifer admitted. "Crowley is making advances despite knowing that Gabriel is with Sam. They need to work out their issues fast. The only thing that will stop a courting demon is if there is a mating bond present."

Michael frowned. "Do you think Gabriel will be okay?"

"If I were you, Dear Brother, I would start praying to our Father. He might be the only one who can help him considering that we're both stuck down here." Lucifer said, turning and walking deeper into the Cage. "I just hope Gabriel pays attention to the game that demon is playing."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Gabriel sought out Castiel's Grace knowing that his brother would be with the hunters. He wasn't surprised to find them at a small motel. He appeared in Sam's room, and was greeted by a box of chocolate and two vases of roses sitting on the small table. Going over to the vases he noticed that they had a little card sitting between them on top of the box of chocolates, which upon further inspection, turned out to be his favorites. Being very careful he pulled the card open and read the script inside.

Gabriel, For you. ~Sam

Smiling the blonde looked over the roses carefully. There was an orange rose, a lavender rose, a peach colored one, one that was yellow, a yellow one with red tips, a coral colored one, both a pink and a light pink one, then finally there were two sets of two that were tied together, a white and red. The other vase was filled with red roses. Sam had gotten him two dozen roses.

The archangel couldn't help but smile. It seemed that his boyfriend had done some research. He had picked the roses with the intent of saying something and damn it all if it didn't work. Reaching out though the smile faded slightly from his face as he ran his fingers over the petals of one of the red roses. Red roses meant love. Why would Sam give him red roses if he didn't love him?

With a sudden quite curse he realized why. Sam had told Dean that he didn't believe that Gabriel loved him. He didn't say anything about not being in love with Gabriel. So then his problem was that he needed a way to prove to the hunter that he loved him. He had to do something that would make Sam realized that he did indeed love the hunter with everything he was. The question is what would do that?

Gabriel's mind immediately went to the stock piles of money he had saved away over the years. True he was an angel that didn't really need it but he liked having it around for emergency reasons. All he needed to do was head to the nearest bank and flash his license and boom, instant cash. He could make sure that Sam never had to worry about money ever again. Hell he could buy Sam anything his heart desired and still have more then enough money left over to but his own private island.

With a sigh Gabriel scrapped that idea. Sam wasn't interested in material things. He could still use his money to help his hunters out but not to such an extent. The last thing he needed was Sam thinking that he was trying to placate the youngest Winchester with his nearly endless cash supply. Looking at the roses again Gabriel figured that the best thing he could do was to start small and do little things. Like maybe buying the man he loved his own flowers or something along those lines. It had to be something that came from the heart.

Shaking his head he walked over to the bed where Sam was sleeping peacefully. He turned on the one of the lights and used his power to make it dim enough not to wake the hunter. His heart went into his throat at the sight of the bruises marring his hunter's face. Frowning he reached out with his Grace and realized that his face wasn't the only thing bruised. Sam was also suffering from some cracked ribs, bruises all along his back and chest, and a twisted knee. He leaned down and kissed the top of the youngest Winchester's head, letting his power heal him.

Pulling back he noticed that Sam's face had become more peaceful since his healing. He frowned and became worried. He knew Castiel wouldn't leave Sam is such a horrible condition unless it was absolutely necessary. With fear growing in his heart he left Sam alone now that he knew the human would be alright. Gabriel appeared in the bondmate's room with a rustle and the sound of a gun cocking. Gabriel froze and slowly put his hands up, not wanting to risk being shot.

"Where the hell have you been you feathered asshole?" Came the irritated voice of Dean Winchester out of the darkness.

"Funny you should mention hell." Gabriel said.

A light turned on and the angel was blinded for a moment. Blinking a few times he managed to adjust his eyesight and looked up at the hunter. His jaw almost dropped at the side of the hunter's face. The entire left side of the Dean's face was covered in black bruises and three large cuts starting from the top of of his cheek and going all the was down to his chin. Looking further down it seemed that the cuts continued down the hunter's neck and onto his heavily bandaged chest.

"Well we got our asses kicked." Dean said putting the safety back on the gun. "Have you checked on Sammy yet?"

"Yeah. When I realized he was hurt I healed him and came straight over here." Gabriel said coming closer. "How bad are you hurt?"

"I could care less about me. I was more worried about Sam and Cas." Dean said softly. "Sam got knocked out and Cas was trying to protect us once he got it off me."

Gabriel moved first to his brother, knowing Dean would want him healed first. It seemed that the eldest Winchester had a right to be worried. The angel had depleted his Grace a great deal and it left him healing at a slower rate and his injuries resembled someone that had been mauled by a dog. Healing everything he was surprised when Castiel didn't even stir. That done he turned to Dean only to stop when the gun the hunter was holding was pressed firmly against his brow.

"That won't hurt me you know." Gabriel said.

"Maybe not but it'll make me feel a hell of a lot better!" Dean snapped. "You've got some nerve! First you start pulling away from Sammy, then go and get drunk with Crowley, then you fight with Cas and run off for a week! Give me a reason not to shoot you!"

Gabriel was quite for a long moment. "When you put it that way Dean then I think you deserve a chance to pull that trigger. Go ahead."

Dean glared at him before pulling the gun away. "Just be grateful that Sam loves you so much you bastard. If it wasn't for Sam I would take Cas' blade and stick it where the sun don't shine."

The blonde moved forward and carefully placed his hands on the human and realized that Dean had been the worst one injured. "Just what were you guys fighting that left you all in such bad shape anyway? Even with Cassie around you guys never get torn up this bad. What are you after this time?"

"A werewolf. At least that's what it's supposed to be." The hunter said stretching to test his newly healed body. "Bobby said that the normal signs were there and all of them pointed to a werewolf but when we went after it tonight...Something about it was just different."

Gabriel sat on the edge of the bed and carefully began feeding some of his Grace to his brother to get him on his feet faster. "Different how? Maybe I can help."

"Well for one this thing was huge. Bigger then any werewolf I've ever seen." Dean said softly, watching as his mate's color began to improve. "It was also madder then any I've seen."

The archangel frowned at the hesitance coming from the eldest Winchester. "What else? Tell me everything. I can't help if I don't have all the facts."

"I think it tried to speak but it...It didn't sound English." Dean said with a flush. "I might have just been hearing things."

"I guess I'll have to see for myself tomorrow." Gabriel said pulling away from his brother. "Take me to it and I'll take care of the rest. Can't afford to have you guys getting scarred up because I wasn't there to protect you now can I?"

"Gabriel?" Came the sleeply inquiry.

Gabriel kissed the top of his brother's head. "Sleep Cassie. I'm back. You're healed. Just rest."

Castiel nodded and was out again. Dean smiled and laid back down. The dark haired angel curled up to his mate immediately and Dean wrapped him tightly in his arms. Gabriel smiled and left, appearing back in Sam's room. He stripped down and crawled into the bed with the taller hunter. Sam suddenly turned and rolled into the archangel cuddling and resting his head over the angel's heart. The hunter suddenly stiffened and looked up through bleary eyes.

"Gabe?"

Gabriel smiled. "Yeah. It's me. I'm back."

Sam nodded sleepily. "I missed you."

"I know. I'm sorry. I had to go talk to someone. I think I've managed to get my head on straight. I won't run off again."

"Okay." Came the sleepy response.

"Thank you for the roses and the chocolate. You're far too good to me." Gabriel said softly. "Now get some sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to go after the thing that hurt you and make it have a sever case of death."

"Thanks. I want to talk to you."

"Tomorrow. Promise." Gabriel said softly. "Sleep."

There was a sleepy noise from the hunter and it was soon followed by the deep breaths of a sound asleep hunter. The archangel smiled and pulled the hunter closer. He wouldn't give this up without a fight, he was going to prove to Sam that he loved him.