Gabriel was practicing with his telekinesis, mostly levitating heavy objects like bags of sugar, when his phone rang.
"Gabriel, who's calling me?"he said bluntly.
"Gabriel?" said a voice. He froze.
That was Sam Winchester. Why now?
"Winchester. So I take it Dean finally figured out who saved his ass from that damn shapeshifter two months ago."
"Bobby found you on the FBI website. Are you really my brother?"
"According to that fool Crowley I am. If you don't want anything to do with someone who works for demons occasionally I'd understand. You are a hunter after all."
"Why do you work for demons?"
"Convenience and I owe him for saving my life."
"Saved...your life?"
Gabriel sighed as he sat down. He put it on speaker.
"I was in England for as long as I can remember. I went to this school for magic users...not the witches you've dealt with but natural ones. They thought I was their so-called savior because this asshole had started a war over the 'purity' of their blood and they thought I was the one who could take him out for them. The second they found out I was adopted and a first generation magical, they dumped me like yesterday's trash. I was captured, tortured and praying for death for well over a year. Then Crowley came and offered me a deal."
"What did you do?"
"I agreed, along with a few terms of my own. For every soul this deal roped him, I got another marker towards a favor. There were over three hundred and fifty people Crowley nabbed through that deal, including the bastard causing trouble. It took me a day to come to America, and I've been here ever since."
"So why do your targets die in prison once they've given up everything the FBI want?"
Gabriel smirked.
"Because occasionally my bounties happen to have a demon deal, and Crowley pays me for ending them early so he can collect the soul. Every year cut off, I get another thousand. Though there are the rare exceptions where I'll call in a marker to get the deal removed so the target gets to live a long happy life. Very rare mind you."
"Can you give me one of their names so I can confirm that? We're not exactly fans of demons," said Sam dryly.
"Mark Ruder, of Indiana. Ask him about the hunter who showed up and allowed him to see his little girl's wedding and her grandchildren."
Suddenly the phone beeped.
"Looks like I got another assignment. Talk to you later Sam," said Gabriel, hanging up.
"Who was on the other end?" demanded Crowley.
"Seems they finally realized I exist. Yay me."
"Whatever. You've got a new target, he's in Henderson. And, since you insist on knowing why they made a deal, he wanted his friend's wife. Had us arrange an accident so he could swoop in," said Crowley sarcastically.
"Thanks a bunch Crow. Be sure to transfer the cash like always," said Gabriel boredly.
He put his tent up and kicked off. Loki had disappeared someplace to annoy a few Hunters, so he wouldn't be joining him. He was gone before the sun rose.
Dean and Sam knocked on the door, and found a man standing there. He seemed to stare at Sam for a second.
"You Mark?"
"Yeah?"
"We're here to ask about the man who called off your deal," said Dean.
"Why? He's right next to you."
"My name is Sam, not Gabriel," he said quickly.
"Come in," said Mark.
He poured them some coffee.
"So where do you want me to start?"
"How about when you found out he was there to end your deal early?" asked Sam.
"Well he busted down the door. Then he asked me the weirdest question. Apparently he hadn't gotten any information from his demon contact about why I had made the deal, and he generally did. So I told him that it was to save my girl from terminal cancer. He whipped out this cell phone and called someone named Crowley and asked about the deal. Next thing I know the hellhound he had brought with him was gone and my deal had been called off. He told me to enjoy my family, since he never got a chance to actually enjoy his own."
Mark took a drink of his coffee.
"That was fourteen months ago. I had five years left on that contract, and when I asked around with the demon I summoned last time they confirmed that my deal had been ended early by someone else. Apparently Gabriel had several soul markers that he could use for favors. He used one so I could live to see my daughter grow up," said Mark.
"How did he seem to you?" asked Sam.
"Tired, mostly. Like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and he was only now starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel."
"And that's the only time you saw him?" asked Dean.
"I looked up the number on his badge that he had around his neck... I had no idea that an actual bounty hunter had come to my door and saved my life. But I'm glad he did...I had been dreading the day that contract came to an end, and now I can see my daughter live her life without worrying about mine," said Mark.
Sam and Dean left after a few awkward minutes, having come up dry.
"Well?" asked Sam.
"Did you check out the story he fed you about England?" asked Dean.
"I got it confirmed. Apparently the natural magicals, which hunters over their have had trouble with because they can erase your memory if you find them, had a massive war that nearly dragged Europe back into the Dark Ages. Someone named Harry Potter, who was discovered to be a 'muggleborn' or first generation magical, did something to kill off everyone marked by this Tom Riddle all at once and now they're torn between making him a hero or a villain. They're sending me some of the old papers from that time period to Bobby's."
"So he makes a deal, saves their asses from the big bad guy and somehow ends up in America working for demons," Dean summed up.
"And here's the thing that I don't get. Why would Gabriel call in one of his 'soul markers' to call off that guy's deal?" asked Sam.
"I have a better one. Why has he been helping us? Why give you his number and a lift to the nearest bus terminal? Something doesn't add up Sammy," said Dean.
Suddenly Sam's phone went off...it was Bobby.
"What is it Bobby?"
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO, YOU IDJIT? I GOT OWLS UP THE WAZOO HERE WITH NEWSPAPERS!" yelled Bobby angrily.
"What?"
"There are about a hundred owls here all with newspapers! Do you have any idea how long it's going to take to clean up these damn feathers and pellets? Get your asses over here so I can shoot you both!" snapped Bobby.
Sam looked at Dean with surprise.
"Owls?" he said.
"We might as well get this over with," said Dean.
It took them four days to go through all the newspapers, and an hour to notice a pattern.
"So let me get this straight. They go from poster boy, to nutjob, to savior, to liar and finally vilify him just because he wasn't what they thought he was?" said Dean.
Sam was horrified at how backward these people were. They turned against someone who had been protecting others for years just because he was a first generation magical and not a half-blood?
"Does it say what happened to him?" asked Bobby. He didn't like how this was turning out.
"The last reported location was when Voldemort was killed. He was there to watch the hellhounds kill him and all those with him. He told them that he washed his hands of them and their betrayals. After that Gabriel Winchester shows up a month later in America as a bounty hunter. Look at the date he showed up," said Dean.
Sam blinked.
"That's a little over a year before I left for Stanford."
"So why is he helping out the demons?" asked Bobby.
"He said that he owed Crowley and that it was convenient. Every year the deal is cut short he gets another thousand. All those mystery deaths were from the people having whatever deal they made getting cut short."
"Why cut them short? It can't be for the money, he makes quite a bit as a bounty hunter legally," said Bobby.
"Why don't we ask him?" suggested Sam.
"Dial him up!" said Dean, grabbing a few beers.
Sam called the second number, and a few seconds later Gabriel answered. Sam put him on speaker.
"Hello?" he said.
"Gabriel? We had a few questions," said Sam.
"I take it I'm on speakerphone then?" he said dryly.
"Yes."
"Good. I've been meaning to say this since I convinced Crowley to hand over your bios years ago. Dean Winchester, you're a damn man-whore. I mean I have a fricken' list as long as my arm of all the girls you've slept with!"
"HEY!"
Sam couldn't help the snicker he got from that flat statement. Then he processed that statement in his head.
"What do you mean our bios?"
"Demon's all over America have been keeping tabs on you. Crowley gave me a biography of you, Dean and John when I asked. Apparently you got their attention for some reason, and I don't think it's because of Azazel's stunt with dosing you with demon's blood when we were infants."
"Who is Azazel?" asked Bobby.
"Robert Singer I presume? Azazel, the yellow-eyed demon. Also the one John Winchester is unsuccessfully tracking at the moment. According to Crowley Azazel is planning some big blood tournament between the one hundred children he dosed with demon's blood. Winner gets to open a hell gate in Wisconsin with the Colt and lead an army of demons, including the ones that made the seven deadly sins so infamous. Thing is that the psychic who wins will have killed off the other 99. From what the grapevine's told me Azazel dumped me off in England because he didn't want Sam to have competition that could possibly match him."
Bobby blinked.
"There's a hell gate in Wyoming?"
"Bound by the same man who made the Colt. I don't work for Crowley just for fun you know. Having a crossroad demon owing me multiple soul markers means I stay in the loop and occasionally ahead of it. And since Crowley isn't a fan of Azazel, he doesn't mind using me to throw a wrench in the works to piss off ol' Yellow Eyes. Though it is fun to piss off my handler," said Gabriel with a chuckle.
"How do we know we can trust you?"
"Because despite working with demons more than not, I've never actually made a demon deal. I work with them out of necessity. So long as I'm under their rule, magicals can't up and find me to drag me back to England, and Azazel can't actually touch me. And if I ever find that bastard I'll unload most of my holy-water treated bullets into him for dumping me in the middle of that fucking civil war before I give you guys a call to kill him off," said Gabriel with a growl.
"Was it really that bad?"
"I assume you lot have gotten your hands on that trash rag known as the Prophet? The second they learned I wasn't a Potter, but some first-gen that the Potters had adopted and acted as their own son, they didn't just treat me like a diseased leper, they dumped me like yesterdays news. My so-called friends? Dropped me and went begging for the only other person they believed could fulfill some tripe prophecy, leaving me to be captured and turned into the communal training dummy for torture curses and new recruits on how to create the loudest screams. Excuse me if working for a demon is better than going back to those sons of a syphilitic succubus whore," said Gabriel flatly.
Dean choked back a laugh.
"That's a rather descriptive way of saying you hate them."
"Want another good one? I occasionally call Crowley the son of Micheal and a celibate nun. Try watching the looks on a demon's face when they hear that one. One of the perks of working for demons is that you have to be creative when you cuss them out, since telling them to go to hell isn't nearly that effective," chuckled Gabriel.
"Is there any way we could meet face to face?" asked Sam.
"Ask that after you've talked to John Winchester. I doubt he wants anything to do with a son who openly admits to working with a crossroads demon, even if it is a necessary evil. At least with demons you know you'll be fucked sideways, the question is when it happens," said Gabriel, before he hung up.
A few days later and Gabriel's prediction rang true. While John was glad to finally have a name for the demon they were trying to find and kill, he didn't want to have anything to do with Gabriel when he openly said that he would work with demons.
However that didn't stop Dean and Sam from talking to their long-lost brother. Gabriel had the acid wit of Dean and the smarts of Sam.
Unfortunately they had never seen him face-to-face, mostly because it would be difficult after Crowley started piling on the assignments.
A few months after they finally contacted Gabriel, John found the yellow-eyed demon...and they landed in a hospital when he had a big rig ram into the Impala.
Sam was trying to fill out the medical insurance forms when he noticed a shadow behind him.
He turned to find...his double.
"Dean had me under emergency contacts," explained Gabriel.
"Gabriel?" said Sam with surprise and some relief.
"Hey Sam. Nice to finally meet you. So why don't we track down where Dean's soul has run off to so I can get Crowley to send someone to fix him up?" said Gabriel.
"You can see souls?"
"Magical. Anyone with enough magic can see souls. Though I did see a reaper running around the hospital, so it's likely that Dean's attracted it's attention," said Gabriel leaning against the counter.
"...Can you fix the Impala?" asked Sam.
"I can try. There's a repairing charm that's widely used," said Gabriel. His hand suddenly snaked out and snagged something Sam couldn't see.
Dean's soul felt something latch onto his arm as he was dragged to his room.
"You, stay here," said Gabriel. He took out his cell phone and speed dialed Crowley.
"WHAT?" said the demon irate.
"How many markers would it take to bring Dean Winchester back into fighting shape? Or at least able to leave the hospital?" asked Gabriel.
"How bad is the damage?"
"He'll be put on life support permanently and never leave the coma without some outside help," said Gabriel.
"Since they're on several Demon's shit list...and for waking me up this late... Fifty markers," said Crowley.
"Deal,"said Gabriel.
"Keep your phone on and I'll transfer the power to you directly. Make sure his soul is within sight otherwise you'll have to track it down," said Crowley irritably.
"Already done," said Gabriel. He felt a power reach through the phone to touch his magical core. He rested his hand on Dean's exposed arm and it went through him to Dean.
Dean's body suddenly jerked upright as he woke with a start. Sam helped remove the tubes.
"Anything else or can I go back to sleep?" asked Crowley sarcastically.
"Night angel's breath," he said amused.
Crowley cussed him out before he hung up.
Dean looked at Gabriel in shock.
"Gabriel?" he said.
"In the flesh. You're lucky I was in your emergency contacts and that I don't mind giving up fifty markers to save your sorry ass," said Gabriel.
He heard someone take a gasp of surprise and turned to face John.
"Hello dad," he said sarcastically, then he turned to face Sam, "Lead on to the car and I'll see what I can do to fix it. No promises though."
Sam lead Gabriel outside, though he looked amused at the side car on his motorcycle. John stared after them in disbelief. How could Sam accept his brother after learning he dealt with demons?
Dean patiently waited for the doctors to show up so he could get out and check on his baby. John stuck around, mostly so he could ask Dean about Gabriel and what they knew of him.