Gabriel stood at his son's bedside in the infirmary as he slept. There were tears in his eyes as he peered down at him. Sam was on his back and his injured wing was extended as far as it could go. It was bound with Grace to keep Sam from accidently moving it. The thing was torn almost to ribbons.

Gabriel couldn't believe what had happened to his boy in the short time he'd been gone. The poor kid must have been tortured for this to happen. What had Gabriel been thinking leaving him. He should've at the very least gotten someone to stay with Sam while he went to see Dean. Cas would've stayed if he'd asked. Why hadn't he? He knew his son was hated and feared by most angels. He should've known better than to leave him alone.

"Gabriel," Lucifer called out.

Gabriel reluctantly led the way to one of the far corners of the room, so he didn't disturb his son while they spoke.

Michael and Lucifer followed their brother, though Michael stayed a few feet back. Gabriel probably wouldn't welcome him being too close right now.

"Tell me what happened?" Gabriel commanded.

"He was attacked by a group of angels," Lucifer said.

"A group of them?" Gabriel asked furiously. It was bad enough that his kid was attacked, but the damned cowards had to outnumber him? They stacked the odds against him, so he wouldn't have a chance of getting away.

Lucifer nodded. "There were six of them."

"Six. Where are they now?" Gabriel asked. He was going to tear each one of them apart as slowly as possible. They would regret laying a finger on his son.

"Five of them are in cells, and the other is dead," Lucifer told him.

Gabriel glanced at his sleeping son. "Did he do it?"

"No, I did," Michael finally spoke.

"When we got there, all six of them had been thrown away from Sam, presumably during a spontaneous burst of power from his out of control Grace. One particularly cocky son of a bitch, got up to attack Sam again, right in front of us. Michael lost his temper. I wasn't far away from him. If he hadn't killed the bastard, I would've." Lucifer said firmly. He'd vowed when he took over that he would've do as Michael had in the past. He wouldn't punish his siblings too harshly, and certainly not without some sort of trial. But that was before he saw his fledgling nephew with his wing torn up.

Gabriel looked at Michael shocked. "Why?"

"I don't really understand everything myself, but when I saw what they did to him, I was more pissed then I've ever been in my life," Michael said. He still didn't understand why he reacted the way he did. Well, he understood that it made him angry. He understood that he was, and still was, concerned for Sam, but he didn't understand how and when it came to be that he felt that way. At some point, he stopped seeing Sam as a being that shouldn't exist, and started seeing his brother's son. He just didn't know when it happened.

"Gabriel, you should know that Michael is the only reason we're not still in that room trying to calm Sam's Grace down. You felt the quake, I'm sure. You know his Grace was uncontrollable. Michael sat with him and patiently got him calm.

"You would've if I hadn't," Michael said.

Gabriel looked over at his son sadly. "This shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have left him. They took advantage of me not being here."

"It's not your fault, Gabriel. Blaming yourself only takes blame away from them. However, on the issue of blame, you should know that Sam blames himself," Lucifer said.

"I got that. He said he was sorry. Why is he blaming himself?" Gabriel asked.

"In part, because they tricked him. They told him I'd asked to see him," Lucifer said through gritted teeth. It still pissed him off that he'd been used to hurt his nephew.

"That doesn't make it his fault," Gabriel said.

"No, but I think he feels like a fool for believing it. Plus, he feels guilty. He told us that you ordered him to go back to your place and he didn't do so. He's afraid you'll be angry with him," Lucifer explained.

Gabriel sighed. Under normal circumstances, he might be angry that his son disobeyed him, and he couldn't say he was exactly thrilled about it, but right now, he didn't have it in him to be angry with Sam. Besides, disobeying him did not mean Sam deserved to be tortured. "He'll be relieved of that notion the second he opens his eyes."

Lucifer nodded. "We tried to tell him that, but he clearly needs to hear it from you."

"He will," Gabriel said before going back over to his son. "I need to be alone with my son."

"Okay. Just call if you need anything. And, Gabriel, I promise you these bastards will pay for what they've done," Lucifer said.

"Damn right they will," Gabriel said before taking a seat next to his son.

Lucifer headed out of the room. Michael started to follow him, but stopped and turned back. "Gabriel, I'm going to have to come back in a few hours. My Grace was used to start healing him, which means it has to be my Grace that finishes the job."

Gabriel nodded. "That's fine." He was still quite surprised by the way his brother was reacting, but he didn't care enough to question him right now. Sam was the only thing that mattered to him right now. "Thank you, Michael."

Michael nodded and walked towards the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

After leaving the infirmary, Michael went back to his office. He found it a bit torn apart due to the Earthquake caused by Sam's Grace. He snapped his fingers and his office returned to normal.

Michael walked over and sat behind his desk. He looked down at his hands, which were shaking with rage. Now that Sam was okay, white hot anger returned. All He could do was picture was those monsters slicing up his wing. It took everything Michael had not to go down to the prison and slice through all of theirs.

Along with rage came confusion. He didn't understand how he was feeling or when he began to feel that way. He didn't recall ever thinking of Sam this way. He had been a bit unsure with him for the last few weeks, but he didn't remember ever actually caring about him. When had it happened.

There was soon a knock at Michael's door before it opened. "Michael?"

Michael looked over to see Lucifer. "I never expected this to happen, Lucifer."

Lucifer knew his brother was not talking about Sam's attack. "I know you didn't. Truthfully, until a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have expected it to either.

"I don't understand. When did it happen? How?" Michael asked in bewilderment.

"I can only answer the how. I don't think the when really matters anyway. Sam. That's how. It's just who he is and what he does to people," Lucifer said with a fond smile. He found it amazing the affect his young nephew had other people. He was evidence of that affect. Still, he never would've guessed that Sam would have the ability to change Michael. He didn't think anyone had that kind of power.

Michael didn't speak. He was still trying to figure out what exactly happened that he started carrying about the boy he once wanted dead.

Lucifer walked over and sat down in front of his brother's desk. "You never stood a chance, Mike. I didn't realize it, but he was always going to break through your thick skull without even trying. It's not a bad thing. He's a great kid. He deserves to be loved by everyone in his life, including you."

Michael nodded. He couldn't say he loved Sam yet, but if this was how he felt after just six weeks of constantly being around him, he knew he would soon enough. "It seems like it just snuck up on me. Is that how it was for you?"

"Not exactly. I didn't have the same necessity to please the old man as you do. I haven't exactly hidden that I've been pissed at him. I didn't care about his rules. So I embraced Sam from the beginning. But that doesn't mean he didn't change me. After all, I'm not trying to take over Earth, am I?" Lucifer asked.

"I don't know what to do, Lucifer. I care about him. I can't deny it, not after today," Michael said.

"Why would you want to? What's so bad about it?" Lucifer asked curiously. He wanted to know what was going through his brother's head. Why was he bothered by it?

"Father outlawed him. He ordered that any Nephilim that is created be destroyed. If he comes back and wants Sam killed…"

"That's not going to happen, Michael. Sam told you the truth when he said Dad spoke to him. He doesn't want Sam hurt," Lucifer said with a bit of frustration in his voice. He thought Michael was finally starting to see that he was wrong about that, or at least that he might be wrong about it.

"I am starting to believe that. I at least believe that it's a possibility. But it's irrelevant, Lucifer. It's the implication. If Father came to me and said he wanted Sam destroyed, I couldn't do it. I can't hurt him, and I won't allow anyone else to hurt him either. Not even God's word could make me do that at this point," Michael said. That was truly frightening to him. He'd never put anything above his father's will, but he knew he would if it meant protecting Sam. If he was asked to hurt his nephew, he would not be able to be the good son anymore, and do as he was told. He would rebel, just as Lucifer had. He would not hurt that boy.

Lucifer took in the words, finally understanding his brother's fear. The fact that he would defy their father if it was necessary to protect Sam meant was a very difficult thing for Michael to accept. It would mean that there were circumstances in which he would defy the old man's orders. "Well, Michael, maybe that's a good thing. You've been living for Dad for too long, to the point where you've been obsessed with following his will. You haven't been happy, I know that. Stopping living for him. Start living for you. Believe me, he's not gonna come down to thank you for throwing your life away for him. It's high time to go on, Michael."

Michael leaned back in his chair. For once, he didn't argue with his brother on the matter. For the first time in a long time, he wondered if maybe Lucifer was right.