Dean didn't know how long he'd stood there holding his baby brother to him and crying tears of joy. He had to assume it had been a good five minutes at least. He never wanted to let him go. The last five years had been so long. He'd missed Sam so much. Not even his son, whom he loved more than anything, could stop him from missing his little brother.
Sam could hear his big brother crying and it was starting to upset him a little bit. "Dean, don't cry. I didn't mean to make you sad."
Gabriel walked over and ruffled his son's hair. "No, he's not sad, kiddo. He's crying because he's happy.
Dean reluctantly put Sam down on the ground and knelt down in front of him. "That's right. I'm not sad. You never make me sad, Sammy. I missed you so much."
"I missed you too, Dean," Sam said before wrapping his arms around his brother once more.
Dean held him tightly. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. He had his little brother back.
Just then, Bobby came in carrying Ethan in his arms.
Sam soon noticed the boy in his uncle's arms. "Who's that?"
Dean let go of his brother and turned to see Bobby with his son. He got up and wiped his eyes before pulling Ethan out of his surrogate father's arms and putting him down on the floor in front of his brother. "Sammy, this is Ethan. He's my son. Ethan, this is Sammy."
"Well, you are full of surprises," Gabriel said to Dean with a grin. "I guess this is what Bobby meant when he said you found a way to move on."
Dean grinned down at his son fondly and ruffled his hair. "Yeah. The kid saved my life."
Gabriel leaned down to greet the little boy. "Hey, big guy. I'm Gabriel."
"Hi," Ethan said brightly.
"Hey, Ethan, look what I got for you," Bobby said as he held up a brightly wrapped package.
"Present!" Ethan said before running over.
Sam, meanwhile, frowned a little at the boy. He wasn't so sure he was happy that his brother had a little boy. Dean was supposed to be his. Dean took care of him all the time when he was little the first time. Now there was another little boy for Dean to take care of. Sam didn't think he like that.
Ethan held up a box with a toy firetruck in it once he freed it from its wrapping. "Daddy, open it!"
"What do we say when we want something?" Dean asked in a parental tone.
"Please," Ethan responded.
Dean walked over and took the toy from his son and began opening it.
Gabriel knelt down in front of Sam and rubbed his back a little. He could tell that the boy was upset about something. "What's up, kiddo?
Sam shrugged and continued to look at his brother and his little boy.
Gabriel followed his son's eyes and realized the problem. Sam wasn't used to Dean taking care of any child but him. It was probably a little disconcerting to see him with Ethan. Gabriel grabbed his son's hand began to lead him out of the room. "Come here."
Sam followed his daddy out of the room.
Gabriel knelt down to Sam's level once again. "Hey, buddy. It's kind of strange seeing your brother with another little boy, huh?"
Sam nodded.
"You know, your brother loves you. Just because he has a little boy doesn't mean he doesn't love you just as much," Gabriel said.
"He doesn't need me anymore," Sam said with crestfallen look on his face.
"Oh, that's not true, Sammy. Your brother always needs you. He was so happy that we came back because he so much. He needs you to be around so he's not so sad anymore. And you know, Ethan might need you to. He's younger than you. He's going to need someone to show him stuff, like your brother used to do for you. You're his uncle, you know?" Gabriel said.
"Really?" Sam asked surprised.
"Uh huh. That's a pretty big deal. It means you're gonna be someone very important to him," Gabriel said.
"Sammy!" Dean yelled before running into the living room where he found his brother with Gabriel. He'd freaked out when his brother was suddenly gone. "Dude, don't do that."
"We're not going anywhere, Dean. We just needed to have a little talk," Gabriel said before turning back to his son. "Are we good now, buddy?"
Sam nodded, but he still wasn't sure. He didn't like Dean having someone else to take care of. What if Dean didn't love him the same anymore?
"Well, is everything okay?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, we just needed a minute," Gabriel said.
Dean knelt down in front of his brother. "Hey, man. I've really missed you. Have you been happy?"
Sam nodded. "Yes, but I was sad that you were gone. Daddy thought you died."
Dean couldn't say he was really shocked that Sam called Gabriel 'Daddy', but he would admit to being a bit upset by it. He knew he shouldn't be. Gabriel was all Sam knew for five years. Of course, he would call him 'Daddy', and Dean should be okay with that. He should realize that Sam deserved a parent who took care of him. It just felt like somehow his brother had been adopted, and that somehow cut their tie. It wasn't a rational thought, but that's what it felt like.
"Hey, Sammy, how about you go see Uncle Bobby and Ethan? Maybe Uncle Bobby will get you a snack," Gabriel said.
"But I want to talk to Dean," Sam protested.
"You'll have plenty of time. Right now, I need to talk to him. We'll be in soon," Gabriel promised.
"Okay," Sam said reluctantly before going into the other room.
Dean watched his brother leave and felt the desire to run after him. He didn't want to let the boy out of his sight. He felt like if he did, the whole thing would turn out to be a dream.
Gabriel could tell what Dean was thinking. "He's real, Dean, I promise."
Dean turned back to Gabriel with a scared look on his face. "You're not gonna take him away again, are you?"
"No. I wouldn't have even brought him here if that was the plan," Gabriel swore to him. "Let's have a seat."
Dean nodded and walked over to the couch and sat down.
Gabriel sat an armchair across from Dean. "Listen, I want to explain to you why I had to tell Sam you were dead. I assumed that, best case scenario, your brain had been destroyed by Michael's presence. The worst-case scenario was that you really dead. Either way, I wouldn't be coming back, and Sam needed to move on."
Dean nodded that he understood. "I probably would have done the same thing. I'm glad you did it. He probably would've thought I didn't love him anymore if he knew I was alive, but didn't come for him."
"I would never allow him to think that. When you let him go, you proved how much you love him," Gabriel said. He'd gained a lot of respect for Dean when he did that. Before, he'd thought of him as nothing more than a selfish, idiotic hunter. He'd proved himself when he sacrificed his own happiness for his brother's.
"It was the hardest thing I've ever done. It almost killed me too. I really do owe Ethan my life. He gave me a reason to live," Dean said.
"I heard you stopped hunting and drinking," Gabriel said. Bobby had told him that drinking the last time he'd been there. It was surprising. He knew Dean had basically been a functioning alcoholic before, like a lot of hunters.
"I stopped hunting before Ethan. I made the decision that I was done after the apocalypse. I didn't have it in me anymore. I'd spent my life fighting to help others and it literally cost me everything. I was just done. The drinking I stopped because of Ethan. I had to," Dean said.
"Well, there's no denying that kid's yours. He looks a lot like you," Gabriel said.
"Not that I'm not glad, but why'd you come back? You weren't planning to," Dean said.
"Okay, first, I need you to understand that he's fine now," Gabriel said.
Dean's eyes widened in fear. "Did something happen to Sammy?" Dean asked.
"Yes, but he's okay now, and he'll stay that way. I screwed up. I didn't have time to adequately research the ritual I used on him. I thought I had, but I was wrong. About a week ago, his temperature skyrocketed. He was dying because of the Pagan magic inside of him," Gabriel explained.
"Oh my God!" Dean exclaimed in horror. His brother almost died. He could have died, and Dean never would have known.
"He's fine now. You just saw him. It's like it never even happened. But you do need to know that in order to save him, I had to let Kali inject him with her blood. Putting Pagan blood inside him was the only way," Gabriel said. He hoped this didn't freak Dean out. Hunters didn't do well with learning that someone wasn't completely human. He didn't believe that Dean would reject Sam because of this, but he needed to make sure.
"He's okay," Dean said in relief as he began to calm down.
Gabriel smiled. Dean had not disappointed him. "Yes."
"What does having the Pagan blood mean? Will he have powers?" Dean asked.
"I don't know, but if he does, it won't be like it was with the demon blood," Gabriel promised.
"As long as he's okay, I don't care what you had to do," Dean said. There was a time when he would've cared. His father had ingrained it in him that non-human was a synonym for evil, but Dean had learned over the years that wasn't always the case.
"I'm glad to hear that. I realize that the situation was my fault," Gabriel said.
"Maybe, but he wouldn't have been any better off if you hadn't done it," Dean said.
"Anyway, after Sam recovered, Michael found us with Kali. He told me you were okay. He also promised not to come after us. So, I decided to come back and let you see him," Gabriel finished explained.
"And you swear you won't take him away again?" Dean asked.
"Yes. There's no reason to stay away anymore. You will always have a place in his life. But I'm not giving him up. You can see him whenever you want, but that boy is mine now," Gabriel said firmly. He wanted this made very clear. He was not giving Sam back to Dean, but he would give him access whenever you wanted.
"I didn't actually expect you to. No sane person could ever give Sammy up. I could only do it because I knew with the alternative would be. And even then, I'm not sure if I could've done it if I had any way of getting past you," Dean said.
"I believe you could've. You proved that you loved your brother enough to put his needs first," Gabriel said.
"The truth is, while I'd take him in a heartbeat, I really don't have the ability anymore, or at least I won't. He won't age, not as long alive. I'll be gone in a few decades. He won't be. Besides, this actually gives me a chance to be his brother. Most of his life, I was more like his father than anything else. While I tried not to, there were times I resented that. I can be his brother now," Dean said.
"I think that will be good for both of you. Listen, Dean, you do have to understand something. Sam is your brother and he's here for you, but he's not the same person he used to be. He hasn't grown up the same way. He has some memories of that life, but his is different," Gabriel said.
"You're telling me that the brother I knew is essentially gone? Yeah, I think I can already see that. He's happier than he was, even at the age of five. He had more of a childhood than I did, but he still really wasn't one. I can see that that's different now. It hurts to know that the kid I took care of will never really be the same one here now, memories or no, but now he has a chance to be happy. I want that for him," Dean said.
"I'm glad to hear that. Should we go join the others now?" Gabriel asked.
Dean nodded before eagerly getting up and heading for the other room.