Hello again. So here is the next chapter, again set in season 9, episode 6 'Heaven Can't wait'.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.

Dean pulled up outside a motel for the night after driving all day. Slowly he got out to stretch and go get them a room, Gabriel seeing an opportunity to talk to him followed, though his plan was foiled when Castiel came with him.

And so the three of them made their way to the desk to get a room, behind which sat a middle aged woman.

"Two queens please." Dean said getting out a fake credit card to pay for it.

The woman, taking notice of the child with them turned to Dean with a smile, "We have a family room available if you wish. It's not much more expensive and it has a king and a queen in it."

Dean just looked at her completely confused. Why would he need a family room? Only he and Sam slept.

Gabriel on the other hand found the woman's assumption rather entertaining, and before Dean could figure it out he spoke. Well he might as well enjoy winding Dean up while they were there after all and he needed something to take his mind off all the thoughts going round inside it.

"No need, we love to snuggle don't we honeybun." He said smiling up at Dean and putting his arm around him which made Deans eyes widen and a look which clearly said 'what the hell do you think you're doing?' on his face.

"Very well, here's you key." The woman behind the desk said smiling at the couple in front of her and their son, who was just such an adorable child with all that black hair and those big blue eyes and shy smile on his lips.

"Thank you." Gabriel replied taking it from her trying really hard not to smirk as Dean glared at him for all he was worth, if looks could kill Gabriel knew he would be dead right about now, but it was too much of an opportunity to resist. And as such he turned to Dean. "Come on honeybun, let's go to our room." And with that he walked away from the desk.

As soon as they were out of sight of the woman he couldn't help it. He started to laugh so hard he had to stop walking.

"I am going to kill you Gabriel." Dean glared at him. Damn him. He did not appreciate being called honeybun by a short-ass archangel thank you very much.

"What's going on?" Sam asked coming up with the bags, how he had ended up carrying them all he didn't know, but he didn't like it. As such he pushed Deans at him.

"Gabriel's being an ass." Dean replied taking the bag and storming off to their room leaving Sam to look at the archangel quizzically.

"One of those you had to be there moments." Was all Gabriel said straightening up and grabbing his and Castiel's bag from Sam before following Dean to the room. He wasn't sure how Sam would react to him calling his brother honeybun.

And Sam just watched them go momentarily confused but then put it out of his mind. If Dean and Gabriel where fighting again that was fine, as long as it didn't affect the case or him then he would much rather not be involved.

Once they had unpacked, as much as they were going to and Dean had stopped being pissed at the archangel he decided he should probably do a food run for him and Sam. it would be the perfect opportunity for him and Gabriel to talk, if he could get Cas to stay here with Sam. That kid seemed to want to go everywhere him and Gabe were going, how they were going to keep him away from the case tomorrow was a mystery to Dean. But you really can't take little kids to crime scenes, even if they are really baby angels. So Dean glared at Sam until he got his attention and then through one of their strange silent conversation he conveyed his need to talk to Gabe alone, to which Sam gave the slightest of nods. Once the brothers where agreed Dean spoke out loud.

"Hey I'm going to get some food, Gabe want to come?"

"Sounds good to me Dean-o." Gabriel replied well aware that this was Deans oh so subtle 'we need to talk'.

"Can I come too?" Castiel asked from where he was sitting in front of the TV with the remote in his hand trying to work out how to flick through the channels.

"Um, actually Cas could you stay here with me? I need your help with something." Sam suddenly said from the other side of the room making the fledgling turn around to him with a puzzled look. He really wanted to go with Gabriel and Dean but Sam had asked for his help and there was no way he could say no to that.

"Of course Sam." He replied and climbing off the couch made his way over to the younger Winchester to see what it was he required assistance with. While he did this Dean and Gabriel creeped out the door and made their way over to the impala.

It wasn't until he had started driving out of the parking lot that Dean spoke.

"So what's going on?" He asked. He had so many questions but he guessed that the easiest thing to do would be to listen to what Gabriel had worked out and then he could ask anything the archangel hadn't answered.

"Metatron took Castiel's grace, but not all of it. once he had got away from Metatron, and don't ask me how he did that I have no clue, but once he had that remaining piece of grace tried to expand to fill not just his vessel but also his true from. But there wasn't enough grace to do it, so there were two choices, he died or his grace reformed his body and vessel into a size in which it could survive. Hence you now had a fledgling where once stood a seraph." Gabriel explained precisely.

"Okay. So what now, will he always be a fledgling?" Dean asked in a voice that sounded like it was just looking for information when in truth he just really wanted Gabriel to tell him there was a way to bring his friend back.

"If we can't get his grace back he will grow up like all angels do. His grace will grow as he does. But it will take centuries Dean." Gabriel said with a sigh. If it came to that then he would be with Castiel every step of the way, guiding him and teaching him. He just hoped he didn't have to.

"Is there any of his grace left to get back? I mean it was a spell right, wouldn't that use it up?" Dean asked in a slightly fearful voice. He didn't want to lose hope of getting Cas back but to him it looked pretty impossible right now.

"I'm hoping that its reversible then the ingredients wouldn't destroyed." Gabriel replied quietly. He wouldn't give Dean false hope of getting Castiel back, but he refused to believe he couldn't help his brother.

"Hoping?" Dean asked in disbelief, great Gabriel was hoping.

"Yes Dean, hoping. I have never heard of this spell before, I am working blind here." Gabriel snapped at him. What did he think? That he was a walking encyclopedia of all things angelic and god related?

"Okay, jeez, no need to get stressed." Dean replied. An angry archangel was not something he wanted to deal with thank you very much.

"Yes Dean-o there is." Gabriel said sternly, didn't he get it?

"What do you mean?" Dean asked confused.

"How do you think Metatron will feel if he knows he didn't get all of Cassie's grace? For that matter how do you think he'll feel if he thinks that the spell isn't complete because it doesn't have all Cassie grace? What do you think he'll do?" Gabriel demanded staring at the man beside him.

The words hit Dean like a ton of bricks. Cas was in serious danger. If Metatron knew, if he was looking for him, he would kill him in a second.

"Cas shouldn't be here." He growled out at the archangel next to him. It was his damn fault they brought the baby angel with them.

"He is safer here with us than anywhere else Dean-o and considering Metatron hasn't been looking for you it's also safe to assume he doesn't know that Castiel is still an angel." Gabriel replied reasonably, glad that he had finally got his fears across to the hunter and that he would be aware of the danger Castiel was in.

"But when he does?" Dean demanded. Cas was safer in the bunker, safer far away from him. He wasn't stupid, they had already had one angel looking for Cas through him. It would only be a matter of time until Metatron did the same. At least then if Cas wasn't with them he would still be in the dark about where he was.

"Not when Dean-o, if. And I'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen." Gabriel replied with steel in his voice making Dean glance over at him. Looking at Gabriel's face he saw a look that he had seen in the mirror more than once in his life. It was the look of a man who would do anything to protect his kid brother.

"And how are you going to do that?" Dean asked, not to be snarky, he was actually genuinely interested. He had no idea how Gabriel was going to stop Metatron from getting to Cas.

"Find him before he finds us." Gabriel's reply was absolute. There was no question in it and Dean knew from his tone that the archangel next to him would do anything necessary to make that happen. At that Dean nodded. There wasn't much else he could say. The plan was crazy, but it was the only one they had. And let's be honest crazy plans were a Winchester speciality.