The question surprised me. It could only have been me, or his other winged protégé. Did he like me more? The thought made me feel oddly happy, and yet I felt humbled. I was no more important than the other protégé, whoever he or she was. My heart melted for Gabriel. It must have been terrible for him. "Gabe... Maybe my mom used to word it best. She always told me: Gwendolyn, you only get the ordeals you can handle. Maybe your other charge just wasn't up to this." He seemed to consider this. "Could be..." he mumbled, more to himself than to me. "And she does have the kids... I should go and ask..." He suddenly looked up, aware I was still there, hand on his knee. "I really should go and get answers." He got up, taking both my hands in his, making my heart flutter for some reason. I never thought much about this Archangel, he was an irregular reaccuring character, and a fun one. But I'd never given him more than fleeting attention.
"Gwenny," he said, looking at me. "Stay safe. I need you to promise me that." I nodded, stunned by his sincere gaze and intense hold on my hands. Suddenly a twinkle appeared in his eyes and the hold was gone. "And don't think you're off the hook, missy. I still have to know what happened here. No more sidetracking." Holy Hell! When he looked mischeivous like that, he was absolutely scrumptious! I felt a blush creep up my neck, but even before it reached my cheeks, Gabriel was gone. I felt alone and a bit confused. So I decided to go and get myself something to eat and someone to have a normal talk with. These conversations with Gabriel were trying!
When I got to the kitchen, the brothers were bent over a thick book, yellow with age. They were talking urgently with eachother. "You don't know it'll work, Dean." Sam hissed, to which Dean shrugged. "Do we ever?" he responded with a smirk. "It's too important to just go by trial and error. Besides..." Sam suddenly stopped. They both looked up and smiled at me, making me certain they were talking about something that concerned me. "Hey, boys." I greeted lightly. I sure as Hell wasn't going to let them know I heard. "Boys?" Dean retorted. "I don't think we should answer to that. Do we, Sam? We're grown men." I was in a bit of a foul mood by then. First Gabriel and his confusing moodswings and actions, and now the brothers were keeping me in the dark. So yeah, I got nasty. "I know exactly how old you both are. And, Dean... I'm actually two years and four months older than you, so... Whatcha doing there, boys?"