Thanks for the reviews guys! Love you all :)

I am still on holiday, so as I said before updates may be a little bit sporadic, but I am doing my best :) Have some angst, because I was moody when I wrote this chapter, but it gets better and ends with a huge fluffy pile of fluff with some extra fluff sprinkled on top…

Also, as requested I will include some Lucy and Michael in the next chapter, which will sadly be the last.

Enjoy!

Chapter 6

Three more weeks had passed since Gabriel's nightmare and everything was going well. Well, everything other than getting the kids back home. There had been countless incantations, spells and rituals that had done nothing to help – although they had succeeded in making Bobby's lounge smell permanently of sage and rabbit blood.

Therefore they had gotten into a routine; breakfast, research, lunch, research and a trip to the park, dinner, research with the assistance of a beer – or five.

The angels had gone off of their nest in the bed – Gabriel kept tossing and turning too much resulting in multiple angels having a pile up on the floor when the pillow walls were knocked away.

Therefore Gabe often crawled into Dean's larger bed and slept with him, or occasionally Sam. Cas in turn would interchange between the two hunters leaving just Balthazar in the nest/bed.

Whereas Cas and Gabe seemed to have settled in playing at Bobby's and watching cartoons, the eldest angel was not happy. He spent his time watching over his brothers but he often had a distant look and he was very snappy. Whenever he was asked to do anything or about heaven, he would shut down and sulk for hours on end. He hated it here on earth, he hated having to eat, to drink and to sleep. These mundane tasks were a waste of time and Balthazar missed his friends back in Heaven. He was destined for great things; he should not be wasting his time watching Spongebob Squarepants!

On one occasion he had raided the fridge and helped himself to all of Bobby's beer to help ease his loneliness. Cas and Gabe didn't have time for him any more, they were too busy with the Winchesters. Nobody had offered to groom him in days and when he had asked Dean and Sam for a hug the other day, they had been too busy. The first time tey were "busy doing research" and the second time he discovered that Snakes and Ladders was a four player game, so no he couldn't join in with the hunters and his two younger brothers.

It had been Sam who found the eldest angel passed out in a lake of spilt beer and eight empty bottles. When the angel had finally come round it had not been a pleasant experience – in the end Sam stripped him off and dumped the kid in the bath. The kid's projectile vomiting was like a scene from 'The Exorcist' and Balth couldn't aim in the toilet after the first bout of nausea. Not to mention that they had to leave the lights off due to the angel's splitting headache.

After that Balthazar had been grounded. A lock was put on the fridge and the angel wasn't allowed to watch TV, go to the park (he had to stay at home and research with Bobby) and he was banned from eating candy – although Gabriel did sneak him a bit. This made him in an even worse mood and he had even less contact with the Winchesters, sulking that he had been told off and about how life "isn't fair."

…SN…SN…SN…SN…SN…

When Dean woke up the next day he wasn't surprised to find wings wrapped around half of his torso and to be perfectly honest it didn't bother him as much as it should do. He peeled his eyes open and saw that the feathers were golden - it was Gabriel, the middle angel who was pressed up to his side.

The little guy was a real handful and calling him a trouble maker would be an understatement, but right now the kid looked so cute that all was forgotten and forgiven. Yes the little bugger had boobie trapped the bathroom with legos and yes Dean's foot was still paying the price, but Gabe looked so god damned cute that he couldn't find it within himself to care. His deep pink lips were open in a wide '0' and his long golden eyelashes were fluttering as the boy dreamed of flying. Nope, he couldn't be angry with Gabe…but Balth on the other hand…he was just an irritating brat at times.

Dean carefully ran his fingers through Gabriel's feathers and straightened out the loose and bent ones. Unlike Balthazar and Castiel, Gabe didn't take the best care of his wings - he was too busy running around and playing to care if his feathers became ruffled. Whereas Cas would spend hours at a time grooming, Gabe would be too busy plotting his latest prank.

Gabe gave a little snort when Dean reached his base feathers and peeled one eye open.

"Dean, m'sleeping."

"Not any more you aren't. If you're so tired you shouldn't have put up so much of a fuss at bath time last night."

"But I didn't want a bath."

"That doesn't mean that you had to make the shower head blast out cola."

"But cola tastes good."

"Yeah, and it is a bitch to get out of feathers. Poor Cas is gonna be sticky for weeks!"

Gabriel gave a little giggle before rolling out of bed to find his brothers. Cas was still fast asleep, curled up in the crook of Sam's arm, so Gabe decided to find Balth instead. However, his older brother was snoring softly in the bed/nest so Gabriel went to play with the toy cars Dean had bought instead.

...Sn...Sn...Sn... Sn...Sn...

When Balthazar woke he found himself alone in his nest and he couldn't prevent the wave of sadness that washed over him. Angels were meant to sleep together in large nests to ensure that everyone was warm and safe. Inviting other angels into your nest is a way to express love, be it platonic, familial or romantic and Balthazar couldn't help but feel abandoned.

Neither of his brothers had stayed with him during the night for over a week now. Were they trying to tell him that they didn't love him any more?! Was this their way of replacing him? Had the Winchesters taken over his job? His role as the eldest angel and therefore as the protector of their new garrison?

The thought made the angel feel sick and the burning ache in his chest started to grow. Jealously was tearing into his grace and Balthazar decided that he would redouble his efforts at being the best older brother ever. Maybe he would help Gabe with one of his pranks and he could play with Cas and their teddies.

...Sn...Sn...Sn...Sn...Sn...

Once Sam and Cas had woken up, Dean began to make a huge breakfast for everyone.

Meantime Cas began to play a game of noughts and crosses with Sam.

"Hey, can I play?" Balthazar asked with a wide smile.

It soon disappeared when Cas said no, the game was only for two people and he was playing with Sammy. That was the second time he had been excluded from games with his brothers.

Balthazar scowled and decided to play with Gabe instead, but the younger angel was busy hovering behind Dean and watching the older man make breakfast – "Can I lick the bowl?" "No Gabe, that's gross." "But Deeee!" "Fine, but you are doing the washing up afterwards."

The eldest angel gave up, wishing he could just butt in and ask for a hug. But everyone was busy and he didn't want to be annoying. But still, the ache in his grace from a lack of contact was really beginning to wear at him and he was feeling lightheaded.

Soon it was announced that breakfast was ready and everyone dropped what they were doing in favor of food.

There was pancakes, syrup, chocolate sauce and even crispy bacon. The angel's faces all lit up and they hurried over to the small dining table. Each child loaded pancakes onto their plates at record speed. The Winchesters couldn't help but chuckle at how cute the boys looked and Bobby, who had just sauntered in grumbling, rolled his eyes.

None of them would admit it but they would miss the little tykes when they finally found a way to send them back home.

When Dean, Bobby and Sam had filled their own plates they sat down at the table. Dean pretended to be irritated when Cas made grabby hands for him to lift the angel onto his lap, but it was all for show. Dean did have a tough-guy reputation as a matcho hunter to keep up after all.

Of course, everyone saw through the facade and Sam didn't even bother to put up a fight when Gabriel hopped up onto his legs and demanded to be hand-fed his pancakes as it made them "taste better."

Balthazar tried to bite back the hurt. Why weren't his brothers asking to sit on his lap? And it wasn't as if he could sit on Bobby's, the hunter would probably yell at him or something – he was still grumpy about the missing booze incident.

He scowled into his pancakes and stabbed at them moodily and with more force than was strictly necessary.

"Balth, what crawled up your ass and died?" Dean's tone was light and jokey but there was a hint of underlying concern.

"Nothing. I'm tired."

"You only just got up!"

Balthazar huffed in response, pushing back his chair with a loud scraping noise and storming into the bathroom.

"Hey, come back here right now, young man. Angel or not you cannot behave like that!"

"Why not? You don't yell at Gabe or Cas when they are naughty!"

"That's not the point. Now sit back down and eat your breakfast like your brothers."

"M'not hungry."

"I don't care! Come back here this instant!"

"No!"

Dean pushed his own chair back and stormed over to the bathroom. He picked the lock in mere seconds and grabbed Balth by the scruff of his neck.

"You will not talk back to me like that."

Balthazar wriggled frantically in Dean's grip but could do nothing as he was bent over the sofa. Dean pinned him down with one hand and with the other he delivered ten hard slaps to Balthazar's rear. The little boy yowled and cried out after the fourth lash. But Dean didn't stop. The kid needed to learn a lesson.

By the time he was done tears were streaming down Balth's cheeks and Dean couldn't help but feel bad.

Cas, Gabe and Sam were staring at him in shock and Balthazar's eye were wide and glossy with betrayal.

"Go to your nest and don't come out until I tell you to."

Balthazar practically fled to the wardrobe – he didn't want to spend hours in the huge, cold and lonely bed - and he shut himself in just in time to hide his sobs. It wasn't fair. Dean had never spanked his brothers and they misbehaved all the time. Cas would always cry or throw tantrums when Dean left his side and it goes without saying that Gabe always irritated the Winchesters with his pranks.

Why was he the exception?

Balth cried into his arms, wishing now more than ever that he could go home. He started to pray after a while for his garrison to take him back, but there was no flutter of wings and no reassuring answer to his prayers on angle radio.

Clearly they didn't love him either.

After an hour Balthazar managed to fall asleep, listening to the sound of his brothers playing some sort of board game with their new family without him.

...Sn...Sn...Sn...Sn...Sn...

"Jeez, Dean, don't you think you were a bit harsh on the kid?"

'Yeah, probably, but at least he will have learnt his lesson. I will make it up to him later."

"Maybe we could go to the cinema or something, let him pick a film."

"Sounds good. Anyway, who fancies another game of Snakes n' Ladders?"

After two hours of playing board games the angel settled down to watch cartoons and Sam and Dean began to do some more research into heaven. Time began to fly by and lunch was a rushed affair of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Neither Winchester remembered that Balthazar was still holed up in the wardrobe.

...Sn...Sn...Sn...Sn...Sn...

Two hours after being told to cool off in the wardrobe, Balthazar was wriggling uncomfortably. He was desperate for the toilet and his stomach was growling angrily. He'd only had a few mouthfuls of breakfast.

To make matters worse his grace was burning more than ever.

He hadn't been groomed since yesterday and hadn't been in close proximity with his brothers for hours. Usually he got his fill of physical contact overnight bit now that the other angels were sharing beds with the Winchesters, he wasn't even getting that.

The only touch he had experience that day was when Dean had spanked him.

None of the angels has mentioned it, but they needed love and closeness to survive. In heaven it acted as food and water, hugs and wing-grooming replaced the need for nutrients. It was clear that on earth both were needed and he was only getting half of what he needed to survive.

Balthazar began to shake with need after another half an hour and before much longer he was shuddering. His bladder had long since given up on him and he was now huddled in a pool of his own urine.

He gave up trying to calm down and began to bang on the door of the wardrobe.

He has to get out, he needed to be touched, groomed. He was desperately hungry and thirsty and most of all he needed the comfort of his brothers. Sweat was beading across his entire body and the little angel couldn't work out whether he was hot or cold. His grace burned within but his skin felt cool and clammy.

With another loud bang on the wardrobe Balthazar slumped backwards into his damp nest and allowed his eyes to fall shut.

...Sn...Sn...Sn...Sn...Sn...

Sam was the first to hear the banging on the wardrobe and he quickly dropped the hunters' diaries that he was skimming through.

"Shit, Dean, we forgot to let Balth out!"

"Fuck, it's been hours!"

Both brothers scrambled to their feet, passing Cas and Gabe who were sharing a bottle of maple syrup and taking it in turns to pour it into each other's mouths.

Dean was the first to reach the wardrobe, yanking open the door before exclaiming "son of a bitch!"

Sam looked in after him and immediately saw why Dean sounded so panicked.

The wardrobe stank of stale urine and Balthazar seemed to be unconscious. The little boy was covered in sweat and when he finally came to in Dean's arms; his eyes were glassy with fever.

"Dammit Balth, why didn't you tell us you felt sick?"

Balthazar moaned in response, writhing in Dean's grip for a moment before flopping down limply.

Sam rubbed the angel's back gently and watched as he fisted the fabric of Dean's shirt. Tears were rolling down the boy's face and he was burning up.

Dean held Balth as Sam helped the boy to wriggle out of his top. The kids' wings were fluttering helplessly and he was beginning to malt. Even the light brush of his top coming off caused a dozen feathers to fall out.

Balthazar whimpered softly, burying his face in Dean's chest.

"M'sorry, m'sorry. Didn't mean to be bad. Please just...please..."

"It's ok Balth, it's alright, I'm so sorry buddy, please don't cry. What do you need? Are you sick?"

"H-h-hug."

Dean scooped the angel into his arms and plopped him on his lap, cuddling him close and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. Balthazar whimpered softly, leaning into the kiss and burying his face in Dean's chest.

"M'sorry, m'sorry. Didn't mean to be bad. Please just...please..."

"It's ok Balth, it's alright, I'm so sorry buddy, please don't cry. What do you need? Are you sick?"

"I don't feel good. My chest is funny and..."

Balthazar's speech was abruptly halted by another bolt of nausea and the child doubled over clutching his torso. His breathing was coming in harsh pants and his wings were fluttering wildly - his feathers were cascading to the ground in clumps.

"What do you need? Cas, Gabe, what's happening?!"

Cas looked pale and Gabriel extremely on edge.

"Boys? What is going on? I need the truth so that we can help." Sam spoke in a low voice, calm yet dangerous. His eyes were narrowed slightly in concern and he kept glancing at Dean as his older brother held up the frantic angel.

"I-It's my fault."

"What do you mean?"

"We l-left the nest last n-night."

"So?"

"Angels need to be c-close to each o- ...each other. We need l-love and hugs and we le-left him a-a-and it's my fault!" Gabriel wailed, his small amount of grace flaring up in distress. The glass of water on Sam's bedside table shattered.

"No, it's my fault. I sent him to the nest and ignored him. Just calm down Gabe, I don't need two sick angels on my hands. We'll sort this out. We can do love and hugs, I will allow myself one chick flick moment, yeah? C'mon, let's go to the sofa and have some snuggle time."

Gabe sniffed and nodded, reaching out for Sam to pick himself and Cas up. Dean took Balthazar and all five settled down on the three seater sofa. The angels curled up on the Winchester's laps and wrapped their arms and wings around each other whilst the hunters carded their hands through their feathers.

In next to no time all three angels were humming contently, even Balthazar had a smile on his face as he nuzzled against his baby brothers. Cas was giggling and purring softly as Sam tickled his and Balth's wings and Gabe nestling into Dean's touch.

Even Bobby joined in after half an hour, calling the lot of them idjits and gruffly informing them that he wasn't cuddling, he was offering support in a highly manly way. He had even made everyone hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows.

That night Sam and Dean pushed their twin beds together and pulled all of the items in the angel's nest onto them. Then the dysfunctional family curled up amongst the pillows and blankets, each angel cuddling their soft toys and a hunter close. All five of them were fast asleep in moments and all was forgiven.

TBC…

Don't forget to feed the plot kitties on the way out, they are mewling at you and pawing at your feet.