Chapter 13: Silver Lining

When the world surrounds you / I'll make it go away / Paint the sky with silver lining / I will try to save you – Hurts

The fever had come on quickly.

Riley had woken up to a slight headache, eyes opening to the darkness of her bedroom in the bunker. The darkness made her miss her apartment sometimes. She'd always enjoyed the feeling of sunlight on her face. But for the most part she wasn't unhappy in the bunker. Though telling time of day was a bitch.

She flicked on the lamp near her bed and groaned as the light seemed to burst through her eyes and stab her skull from the inside. Dark is good, she thought as she turned off the lamp, the darkness was honestly welcome as it seemed to make her head hurt slightly less. Another thought occurred to her, 'could angels get sick?'

After a few more minutes of sitting in the soothing darkness, Riley braved the lamp once more. It still hurt, but she gave her eyes time to adjust and that made it barrable. Next step get out of bed. Riley stood quickly, which caused a wave of dizziness to wash over her. Her hand came to forehead as she sat back down, her fingers massaged her forehead back through her hair, sighing in annoyance.

It took her a moment but she got up again, slower this time, and stumbled to the door. She rested against the cool surface for a moment, hands pressed flat and hair falling like a curtain around her face. When she finally moved again she was steadier, though still rather slow.

What she found beyond her door was an empty bunker. Cursing in her head, Riley remembered that the boys had all gone off to take care of some demons that had infested a town two days away. She vaguely recalled Jack's excitement over going with them, and Dean saying to call if there was an emergency. Well, this wasn't an emergency. She was just sick.

Half weaving from the lightheadedness, and half from the heaviness in her limbs, Riley made her way through to he living room. She flopped down onto the couch and sat staring up at the ceiling. She was not going to call and interrupt the hunt, but sick still sucked.

She changed positions, laying down and curling around a pillow on the couch. But that didn't seem to help at all, her head still pounding.

There was no way she could deal doing much today. Not until she figured some way to tame the symptoms. What she needed was water and medication, probably food. But the energy just wasn't there to get up. Her limbs felt heavy, her head pounded, she was dizzy. Her hand on her forehead proved she was feverish.

After what seemed like an hour of being stubborn, Riley finally gave up. She was going to need help.

Who to call was the question. Of course, her first thought had been Gabriel, but she had let her mind glide past that thought quickly, not wanting to bother him – or think about why he'd been her first thought.

She really didn't want to bother Sam and Dean. Jack would have no idea what to do. Jody was too far away. Castiel would be okay, but she couldn't imagine he had any bedside manner. And the boys may need him. She dismissed him as well.

But she circled back around, sighing, because Gabriel really would know what to do. And despite his penchant for pranking, and flirting, he would probably be the most compassionate. And wasn't that a sad thought, that he archangel would be her first choice out of the group for help when sick.

Though, on second thought, Sam would probably be a really good nurse. He had that sweet compassionate personality that spoke of wanting to care for people. The image of Sam dressed as a nurse, complete with little outdated hat, was pretty funny. Actually, Dean was supposed to be the nurse. No, she decided, they could both be nurses. And Cas would wear cowboy boots. She giggled, slightly out of it. But the Dr. Sexy gag really did need to happen.

Shaking herself to be rid of the chain of thought, she sighed and admitted there was really no else. Riley figured she might as well get the mocking over with. Because Gabriel was likely to tease her for calling him.

She slid off the couch and onto her knees, not really considering the fact that Gabriel would hear her no matter what position she was in. But years of praying by her bedside on her knees formed a pretty strong habit, and so when her mind said pray, her sick addled body reacted without much thought. Hands folded together, eyes closed, she tried to move past the slight fog and call out to the archangel.

"Well, if I'd known you'd be on your knees waiting for me, I'd have come quicker." His voice behind her made Riley jerk slightly, head whipping to gaze over her shoulder. Of course, in her wobbly state the sudden movement caused her to lose her balance and start tipping backward.

Luckily strong arms caught her, lifting her up. Riley opened her eyes to find herself cradled against Gabriel's chest, a worried look in his eyes as he studied her. "Riley? You okay?"

"No." She mumbled, letting herself lay limply in his arms for a moment. It felt really nice to be held. And in her unguarded state she didn't think to stop herself from just enjoying his arms under her, or the warmth that was spreading from the multiple points of contact with his form.

"Hey." He said, coaxing her attention back to him, her eyes flickering to his face. "Riley, come on, what's wrong."

"Don feel good." She mumbled. She felt groggy, and the thought about how nice it would be to fall asleep in his arms flittered through her mind.

"Yeah, I see that." His voice cut through her fog again. Gabriel moved gracefully over to the couch, setting her down. Riley made a sound of protest at the loss of his warmth. But his hand came to rest on her forehead. "You're burning up, sugar."

"Fever, m'think."

"Yeah. But angels don't get fevers." Gabriel moved his hand through her hair, petting her softly. "I'm going to check out what's wrong, okay?" Riley nodded under his hand. A sudden tingly feeling started in her head and washed through her. Riley giggled at the sensation. It withdrew after a moment and Gabriel made a sound of displeasure.

"Whs wrong?"

"Your grace." He sighed, but didn't seem freaked out, so there was that. He indicated for Riley to lift her head, then sat down, allowing Riley's head to rest on his lap. His fingers then returned to running through her hair, gently.

She had to focus, but he was making it difficult with his ministrations, "What about my grace."

"When angels are formed, it starts with our grace and bodies are then built around it. You are kind of the reverse, as you already had a body and your grace was added after. Although the grace actually managed to mesh with you originally, as it grows there will probably be some, shall we say, growing pains. This is one of them. You've built up enough grace that it's burning through your cells, starting to change them."

"How?"

"You'll heal faster. Get hurt less. Your energy levels will rise. You'll need less sleep."

"That doesn't sound like a bad thing."

"It's not. Just, it'll probably suck for a day or too as your cells fuse with the grace running through them."

"Humanity fighting back?"

"Something like that." He'd changed his ministrations and was now massaging her scalp. Riley made a pleased sound, it was almost purr like in its contentment, thinking he had the loveliest hands, and he really knew how to use them. Her eyes closed as she enjoyed the sensation.

A few minutes later, she dozed off.

The thing about living in a bunker was that it was certainly hard to tell time, the lightening never changed. Riley blinked into the dimness of the room around her for the second time that day, hand coming up to rub the sleep from her eyes. She blindly groped for the lamp on her table but found no table and no lamp. Her sleep muddled mind took a moment to come to the conclusion she was not in her bedroom. Her eyes finally adjusted to the half-light of the room and she found her cell phone next to her on the couch.

She was in the living room, on the couch, wrapped snuggly in a blanket. Her phones' too bright display almost blinded her for a moment, but she was finally able to make out that it was late morning, almost lunchtime. Her tummy made a rumbly sound in agreement.

Riley shifted into a sitting position and winced when her head pulsed in pain again. It was much less then earlier though. And she wasn't feeling nearly as dizzy or fuzzy. The heaviness was there, and testing her forehead revealed she still felt warm.

"Well, looks like the patient is awake."

And there was the source of why she was probably feeling better. Gabriel was leaning in the door frame. Her eyes moved to him. Later she would swear it was the just waking up thing, or making the sick thing, but Riley took a moment to appreciate the sheer deliciousness of him. He was wearing a gray button up, the sleeves rolled up above his elbows, and the topmost button undone. His hair was mussed a bit, but it almost always was. He had just the lightest dusting of stubble, which Riley itched to press her hand against and feel if it was as soft as his hair or if it would be course. Her eyes narrowed in on his lips and the now knowing smirk that seemed to reside there. Riley groaned and buried her face in her hands, hiding from that smirk.

She really needed to get a hold on her thoughts. Though at least she had the excuse of being sick for her unguardedness. "Oh, don't stop now, cupcake, I love some good ego stroking." His voice was mirthful. Riley groped for something to throw at his stupid face. All she found was the blanket and her cell phone. Neither would make quiet the projectile she wanted. Defeated, Riley slumped back, glaring. He let the smirk fall, "Aww, Rye. I was teasing. I didn't mean to make you stop smiling. I like it when you smile." He had started moving toward her.

She pressed her lips in an attempt to stop the smile that she knew she'd break into. He always had a way of turning her annoyance into laughter. Though, honestly, the look on his face was very unfiltered and open. It didn't look like teasing.

When he reached her, and knelt in front of her, Riley felt her heart stutter. He was still looking at her with such soft eyes. He reached forward and pressed his hand to her forehead, then leaned forward and pressed his own against the other side of his hand. "You're still warm." He murmured.

"It's no wonder." She mumbled. As he was so close, kissing distance even, and her face was stained red from blushing.

He leaned away and stood in one graceful motion. "Can you walk?"

"Um. Yeah." Riley's gaze was downcast, looking at his shoes now. She'd hoped he couldn't see the blush. He stepped back, allowing her room to get up. She stood slowly but wobbled slightly. Gabriel reached forward, his hands grasping her hips, steadying. Riley flicked her eyes to his once more, "Maybe." She admitted.

His smile was gentle, and he leaned forward, sliding one arm to her knees and one on her back, lifting her with no effort. Her arms automatically raised to wrap around his neck, and she tilted her head to gaze up at him. "Thank you."

"Of course,

"Hungry?" He asked.

"God yes." She murmured. He started walking, and Riley thought to protest, but he made her feel light as air. And it was nice to be taken care of for once, especially by a certain angel.

He carried her to the kitchen where he placed her gently down at table. Then, surprisingly he started pulling out pans, pots, supplies. Riley was flabbergasted, was he actually going to cook? He glanced over his shoulder at her and gave his telltale smirk. Riley watched, head resting on her hand, as he did in fact cook. It was only spaghetti, but still, he'd cooked for her. It was really really sexy. And sweet, adorably sweet. Especially as he presented a plateful of pasta with a flourish. Riley giggled at his antics, and Gabriel bowed as if he had accomplished a great feat of strength.

"Thank you." She murmured, "You're kind of amazing." She took a large forkful of pasta and almost moaned at the taste. It was perfect. And she was starving. Her focus solely on the food, she didn't notice the contemplatively look that had entered Gabriel's eyes at her words. Or the small, truly happy smile that accompanied it. "Are you not eating?"

"Nah. Not really hungry."

"Well, don't just stare." She murmured, realizing he was sitting at the table, watching her.

"What should I do?" His voice was light, teasing.

"Tell me why you can cook." He laughed out loud, the sound causing tingles down Riley's spine. "I mean, what makes an archangel, turned Norse god, turned trickster need to learn to cook?"

"Most curiosity then anything else. I was curious if food tasted better if I snapped it up, or if it was made by hand."

"And which is it?" She asked, truly interested. Though, considering her plate was almost empty she kind of figured the answer.

"Always handmade." He leaned back in the chair.

"Did you try a lot of different things?"

"Yep. I started when I'd first found my way to earth. The Gods were always dining and having feasts. I swear Odin could hold a feast for the stupidest things." He laughed, caught up in his memories, "I think he once held a feast for his wife's goat."

"Please tell me they didn't eat the goat." She blurted.

"No. That time I think it was cattle of some nature. So, after awhile I figured I'd see if I could make things as good as snapping them. Snapping is certainly faster and easier, but sometimes you can't beat the taste of something actually cooked fresh. Plus, when blending in, using my grace wasn't always an option."

Riley smiled down at her plate, "I appreciate your help. And this." She gestured to the food. "Do you have a favorite meal?"

"Hm…" He sounded thoughtful.

"Beside dessert." She qualified and laughed at his pout.

"Not really. I like food, but there's no real favorite." Riley felt a wash of a disappointment. "What?" He asked, sensing it.

"Oh. I was hoping to cook for you sometime."

"Just for me?" He breathed out. His gaze fixing her in place. It was rather intense, and Riley felt another blush begin.

"Well, yeah." Riley grinned at him, "Hasn't anyone ever made a meal just for you."

He ducked his head, "Not really. But I'd like it if you did."

"I'd like to." She responded, then took the last delicious forkful of the spaghetti. Her plate and fork were gone as soon as she'd placed the fork back on the table. Gabriel hadn't even snapped, but he did wink at her surprised expression.

"So gumdrop, what would you like to do?"

"I should…."

He cut her off, "Not what you should do. What would you like to do?"

A strange idea struck her, one that she wasn't sure he'd go along with. But it was Gabriel, so who knew…."When I was a kid, whenever I was sick I'd sit in front of the tv and color."

The slow grin that spread across his face reminded her of a kid who'd just found out it was Halloween. "Oh. We can do that." Of course, the trickster would jump at the idea of acting childish.

"No x-rated coloring books." She added, realizing the opening she'd given him.

"No fun." He winked at her, "But fine. If you insist." He stood with a slight hop, then before Riley could protest she was in his arms again, a peel of laughter escaping as he swung her around. She was still laughing as he half danced them down the hallway, and when he entered the living area again, and set her gingerly on the floor.

The laughter turned into a delighted smile as he slid down next to her and with a snap of his fingers produced a stack of coloring books and crayons. Of course there was also a bowl of candy, cheery starburst, and music started to softly play from the record player in the back of the room. Riley's smile was echoed by Gabriel, who reached forward and snagged a candy.

"Only cherry?" She teased.

"They're the best." He sounded affronted.

"I like the pink ones."

Sighing, he snapped his fingers and the bowl now contained a mix of pink and red candies. Despite acquiescing, Gabriel took this as a challenge and started listing all of the candy where the red ones tasted the best. And of course, Gabriel had tried a lot of candies. As he went on, Riley sighed and rolled her eyes.

Finally, after another minute straight of his rambling Riley shoved her hand over his mouth, effectively muffling his words.

He blinked up at her in surprise. Riley's hand was feather light on his lips, just enough to indicate that he should shut up, but not enough to set off his huddle in a corner in fear reaction. Riley was quite aware that he didn't like his mouth covered. Not after his imprisonment.

After a moment, Gabriel smiled into her hand and laid a soft kiss on her palm. Riley's whole body went on red alert and the feel of his lips pressed against her palm and she suddenly jerked away, eyes wide and pink once again coloring her cheeks.

Gabriel's eyebrow raised in question, but when Riley didn't flee, he turned to the coloring books and pulled out, of course, a red crayon, and started coloring. It took Riley a moment to shake out of her stupor and realize he was coloring candy shaped lines. Of course the coloring books would be candy themed. "You going to actually color, or just stare at me all day?" He asked lightly.

Riley took in a great gulp of air, wet her lips, and instead of getting her own book, she shoved his hand playfully and started coloring a different part on the page he was working on. She had purposefully chosen a pink crayon.

"Going to be like that, is it?" His teasing tone made Riley bump his shoulder with her own.

"You wouldn't have it any other way." She threw back. He laughed, but didn't push her away.

They spent a rather enjoyable afternoon coloring in silly pictures and listening to old music. Whenever Riley needed or wanted something, it was quick to appear. Water. Tea. A blanket to wrap up in. He even cooked dinner – okay, heated dinner – as he served her canned chicken noodle soup. The whole day Gabriel dotted on her.

When Riley eventually drifted off to sleep that night, she felt relaxed and happy. Gabriel watched her doze off, and snapped them back to her bedroom, where he set her lightly on her bed, and draped a soft grey blanket over her form. Riley half asleep, grumbled at being moved but she couldn't rouse herself enough to care about anything at that point. She really couldn't remember a day when she'd felt nearly as content or light hearted.

Especially, as a whispered good night accompanied her into her dreams.