A/N: Short Chapter.
Hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day in America.
Sam was better, Gabriel told the Winchester he was a simple call away if he needed him while he dealt with Crowley. Sam understood and informed Gabriel that he'd planned on spending the day in bed to recuperate with himself
Gabriel planted a kiss on Sam's forehead "Take care of yourself Sammy, for me. I'll be back before you know it"
Gabriel ordered Cas to just keep to himself. Bobby was caught up on what happened, he wasted no time laying into Cas, his 'punishment' was reading through books, sorting out pieces of data and staying away from Sam the rest of their stay. It was all accepted willingly by Castiel who immediately set off to work.
Gabriel braced himself to talking to Crowley, he'd never spoke to this particular Demon before and had little to no clue what to expect, only one way to find out.
Having a Demon escort and Archangel through the depths of Hell to meet the King himself sounds like an epic adventure on paper but when it was practically daily life it's lustre died down heavily.
"Ah, Sweet tooth. I thought I'd see you sooner than later"
The moment Gabriel was in direct eye line of Crowley he half-heartedly gestured to be alone with his guest.
"Where's Dean?"
"Straight to business, then. Recovering for now, rehabilitation is setting in well"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well I say Rehab, it's more like being in the waiting room of a hospital"
"What have you done?"
"You're full of questions today. I'm constructing the Demonic essence out of Dean while I attempt to get his Soul back from Lucifer"
"Lucifer is keeping hold of Dean's Soul?" Gabriel shouted out
"Keep your voice down. I don't want everyone to know I'm helping a Winchester and in the same room as an Archangel again"
"Fine" Gabriel took a deep breath "How long will it take for Dean to be Dean again?"
"Without his Soul a fortnight, with his Soul however it would take months"
"How would that work?"
Crowley wished Gabriel could see the bigger picture by now "If dean possessed his Soul then I would have to tiptoe around the situation of the Demon within him, I can't stand begging when I'm not in the mood, even grovelling isn't worth the effort"
"This isn't a joke, Crowley!"
"I know!" Crowley exaggerated his point by snapping his fingers, Dean was under a spotlight, strapped to a chair with a bizarre metal band around his forehead, the blood showing did not settle well with Gabriel's stomach nor did it lighten his hope for Dean. Gabriel prayed that those needles were just for show.
"'Fraid not, Sweetie. Those are keeping the Demon and Lucifer's voice out. I can't work if he'd struggling to fend off Lucifer's words and his own body transforming against him"
"Are you..." Gabriel cleared his throat, reverting back to the 'cold Archangel' he rarely set off his emotions but he needed to in this moment "Are you going to fix him or not, the Angels, specifically Castiel will not wait long for your to finish your task"
"Try telling Lucifer that, there's no way he will be letting Dean's Soul out of his clutches anytime soon"
"There is one way we can retrieve it without dire consequences"
"Oh? Do tell dear, suspension is always the killer" Crowley mentioned
"We summon Death to claim Dean's Soul for a future favour, with the added measure of giving him some food as well"
"You're serious? Death? He'd rather Dean just die and get it over with, he's probably shaking his head right now at us prolonging the inevitable"
"You're scared of him, aren't you?"
"I'm not! It's not like he'd want me alive for any reason"
Gabriel contemplated the idea "If Death can bring back Dean's Soul I will return with a deadline. I shall give you until the end of next week, of Dean is not rebuilt I will rain down upon you. Hell will seem like a trip to the fun fair"
Gabriel vanished, Crowley was pissed but insecure, there was no way he could fix Dean in time, out-wit Death or avoid dying from an Archangel's hands so maybe he could proposition a compromise, he'd have to discuss this with Death if he manages to retrieve Dean's Soul. Maybe this could work in Crowley's favour.
With vigour the King returned to his work of 'saving' Dean Winchester.
Extra Note: Anyone care to guess how or what Crowley will do to 'Save' Dean?
50 Bonus Points for Guess
100 Bonus points for Accuracy.
