Title: Delta

Author: Ailendolin

Rating: PG-13 … just to be sure.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural and do not make any money with this story.

Summary: AU set after 6x11. When a newly resurrected Gabriel rescues Adam from the Cage and drops him off to live with Sam and Dean forgiveness for past mistakes seems almost impossible - until a small blue creature turns their lives upside down.

Word count: 6108

Characters/Pairing: Adam, Dean, Sam, Castiel, Bobby, Gabriel, Rumsfeld and Delta (OC)

Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers include everything up to 6x11. No warnings, I think. Except, maybe, the genre fantasy?

Author's Notes: Hello guys! As I promised the readers of my other Adam story, 'Need Some Light', here is an Adam one-shot dealing with the question of what would happen if Adam got somehow rescued from the Cage (now that we know that he is still in there) and how knowing that his brothers weren't even looking for him would affect him. This story kind of got a little bit out of control when I started writing it and I never expected it to grow to over 6000 words but then again, I'm kind of fond of it and my fingers are already itching to write a sequel or at least some kind of other story in this universe.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story!

Delta

'Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten.
- Disney's Lilo & Stitch

It was the day after Christmas Day, and Dean looked over to the window where Adam was staring out at the snowy night. His youngest brother had not moved for hours and it worried Dean. Ever since Adam had been back he had been different, not that that was not expected after spending over a year in the Cage with two angry Archangels. Still, it worried Dean. He had hoped that Adam would resume his usual bubbling, sarcastic personality given time but so far nothing had changed. Adam rarely spoke, and never laughed or smiled. He just kept staring into empty space with a dead look in his eyes that would not go away no matter what Sam or Dean did.

A little more than two weeks had passed since a newly resurrected Gabriel had made it his mission to rescue their baby brother from Hell and appeared with him on their motel's doorstep with a reproachful look and the words, "God commanded it." Adam had been unconscious then, still wearing the clothes Dean had given him when Castiel had brought him to Bobby's all that time ago, and seeing him like this made Dean feel guiltier than he had felt he last one and a half years during which he had pointedly not thought about the fate of his youngest brother. He wondered whether he and Sam would have ever bothered to start finding a way to save him, and he was ashamed when it became clear that getting Sam back had always been the priority and Adam had just been forgotten, nothing more than a distant memory.

One look at Gabriel told Dean that the Archangel knew very well what he was thinking about.

"You know," Gabriel said, sounding surprisingly angry, "You always talk about how family always comes first, that nothing is more important than your family." He paused while he laid Adam gently on one of the beds. "Let me ask you this, Winchesters: Isn't this boy your family, too?"

"Of course he is!" Sam protested immediately but Dean had to look away, knowing what was coming.

"Then why don't you treat him as such?" Gabriel asked, voice deathly calm. "Why did no one of you ever bother to get him out of the Cage? Why did I have to intervene? Because, let me tell you, if I hadn't it would soon have been too late."

Sam lowered his eyes, looking guilty.

"You guys are so selfish," Gabriel spat out, shaking his head. "I thought you'd go nuts trying to save him. But no, it was always about Sam. Sam, Sam, Sam. Always Sammy. Poor Sammy so afraid to get his soul back after it was a playmate of my brothers for over a year. You really went out of your way so you didn't have to think about Adam, didn't you?"

"We would have gotten him out of there eventually," Sam mumbled.

"When?" Gabriel countered. "In a year? A decade? Whenever you decided to remember him? He's been stuck in there because of you two idiots. Everything that went ever wrong in his life is because of your family and you don't even bother to save him from eternal torture. That's rich, boys."

Gabriel looked back down at Adam's unconscious form and Dean followed his gaze. Adam's body looked unmarred. No bruises or cuts or any other kind of injury. He looked just like he had when they had last seen him, outwardly unharmed. The Archangel brushed the hair out of Adam's eyes.

"He doesn't have the same luxury you have, Sam, you know?" Gabriel continued softly. "I can't block his memories from Hell. You're brother's damaged, broken beyond repair." He sighed and it sounded defeated. "I have no idea what will happen when he wakes up. He could just shut down. I don't know." He glared once more at Sam and Dean. "But even that would be better than rotting in that place. Believe me, it's not nice there."

"Can't you just send his soul back to Heaven?" Sam asked hopefully, unable to look at his younger brother.

Gabriel snorted. "Sorry to disappoint you but it's not that easy. Adam's not dead. He didn't die when he fell into the Cage and we can't take living souls to Heaven. Guess you'll have to face your mistakes now, huh?"

He looked once more at Adam before he stood up.

"Take care of him," he warned. "I'll know if you don't."

With that he snapped his fingers and vanished before Sam and Dean could say anything or try to stop him. The silence that followed Gabriel's departure was heavy with tension and guilt, neither of them knowing what they were supposed to do now. So they simply waited for Adam to wake up.

It did not happen with a sharp intake of breath or a cry like Dean had expected. Adam just opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling with a blank look that he now knew would not leave his brother's face for weeks to come.

"Hey," Sam said, tentatively. "Welcome back."

Adam's eyes moved over to them, briefly, before he turned his back to them, facing the wall. His whole body was rigid and tense as if he expected someone to attack. Dean had not thought it possibly to feel even more guilty than he already felt but seeing this simple gesture of self-defense made him lower his eyes and turn away. They had done this to their brother by giving up on him. Adam was the walking example of all their failures.

Adam's behavior had not changed much over the following weeks. The youngest Winchester kept mostly to himself, just staring out of windows or at his hands. He ate and slept, went willingly wherever Sam and Dean were going and answered simple inquiries. But he did not talk of his own accord. It was like having a puppet with them that seemed intact but still had that obvious glitch in its electronics that made no one want to buy it. Gabriel had been right. Adam was damaged goods.

"Hey," Dean said quietly, having moved over to the window where Adam was sitting and staring out at Bobby's yard. "Want some hot cocoa?"

He offered Adam the cup with an open smile. Adam, however, did not meet his eyes as he took it with slightly trembling fingers and only muttered a quiet, "Thank you," before he turned back towards the window. It was not much, Dean knew that, but he was glad for any sort of interaction Adam allowed.

He and Sam had hoped that a trip to Bobby's would maybe make Adam more at ease and help him opening up. So far it had not worked. Whenever Adam was not staring out the window he was sitting in some corner of the room with Rumsfeld next to him, absent-mindedly stroking through the dog's fur. That was how he had spent the whole of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day while Sam, Dean and Bobby had tried to bring a little bit of Christmas cheer to the house and especially to Adam. It had failed, just like any other plan to get Adam to open up had.

They had thought about trying to make New Year's Eve special and Sam and Dean had briefly considered buying fireworks but had quickly dismissed the idea. There was no way of knowing how Adam would react to them and they did not want to take the chance to make his condition any worse. Thus, they had decided, the evening would be spent like any other evening at Bobby's: Sam would be reading a book that Dean suspected was one of those freaky Twilight novels even though Sam denied that, Bobby would be in his study and Dean himself would be watching Adam while nursing a bottle of beer.

This evening was no different. It was spent mostly in silence until it got suddenly interrupted by the almost noiseless arrival of Gabriel and Castiel. The two Angels appeared without warning right in front of Dean who almost choked on his beer.

"Dammit!" Dean exclaimed, wiping his mouth. "Can't you just walk through the door like normal people? I hate it when you guys do that."

"Tough," Gabriel said unsympathetically.

"What's that?" Sam asked and pointed to a round object Dean had not noticed before. It was cradled gently in Castiel's hands.

Castiel looked down at it for a moment before he replied, "It's an egg."

Both Sam and Dean gave him a look.

"Don't tell me you got yourself knocked up somehow." Dean glanced warily at the egg.

Castiel frowned while Gabriel laughed.

"It's not Castiel's," he said and after a pointed look from Sam added, "And it's not mine, either. It's not any Angel's egg." He looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Adam!" he greeted cheerily and waved at the youngest Winchester. "Come over here, would you?"

Adam stood up with a sigh and did as he was told. He came to a stop beside Gabriel and gazed curiously at the egg in Castiel's hand, showing more emotion in that one look than he had displayed the last few weeks put together.

"What is it?" Adam asked quietly, voice hoarse from disuse. Both Sam and Dean looked at him in surprise, not used to Adam speaking up. Dean wondered what it was about Gabriel that made his brother break out of his week-long trance. Whatever it was he was glad that it was happening.

"It's a Dragon's egg," Gabriel declared proudly and grinned at Adam.

"A Dragon's egg," Sam deadpanned. "You're joking, right? There's no such thing as Dragons."

Castiel fixed him with a stare. "Of course Dragons exist," he said matter-of-factly. "As do Unicorns, for that matter."

Dean would have laughed had Castiel not looked utterly serious.

"Really? Unicorns?"

"Don't worry." Gabriel waved a hand dismissively. "You won't ever get to see one."

Before Dean or Sam could say anything else Adam had moved over to Castiel and laid a hand on the pale yellowish egg.

"It's warm," he observed, sounding fascinated.

"Okay," Sam said after a moment where they all stared at Adam, "Why the hell are you showing us a Dragon egg?"

"Not a Dragon egg, Sam," Gabriel admonished gently, "Your Dragon egg. You're going to take care of it. It's your Christmas present."

Dean looked at him as if he were crazy. "Are you nuts?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Father's orders," he explained. "Its mother died and someone has to take care of it. Dragons are very rare today, almost extinct. Every single one of them is precious."

"Why us?" Dean asked, desperately. "Can't you just adopt it or something?"

Gabriel grinned and Dean felt a sense of déjà vu.

"Nope. It, or rather she, has to stay here on Earth. You chuckleheads are the best option she has, so from now on she's your responsibility. It's not like she can stay with normal people."

Castiel held out the egg in an offer and Dean reluctantly took it. It was no bigger than an ostrich egg and was indeed pleasantly warm, just like Adam had observed. The pale yellow surface was smooth and dotted with small brownish spots. Dean looked helplessly at Castiel.

"What are we supposed to do with it?"

"Keep it warm," the Angel advised. "And don't turn it around or the Dragon will die."

"She should hatch soon," Gabriel added, smiling fondly at the egg. "We'll be there when it's time."

And once again both Angels vanished without a goodbye and Dean could not help but yell after them, "I hate it when you do that, as well!"

He looked first at the egg in his hands than at Sam. "This is so fucked up."

Sam shrugged. "Face it. You're going to be a Mom."

Dean glared at him. He still suspected that this was the Angel's idea of a great cosmic joke and knowing Gabriel the suspicions were probably warranted. Still, it was also possible that he held an honest to God Dragon egg in his hands, which, granted, was kind of awesome. Having your own pet Dragon was bound to have its advantages.

"You can put it here," Adam's scratchy voice announced. Dean turned around, mindful not to shake the egg too much and was once more surprised by Adam and the change in him that the visit of Gabriel and Castiel had provoked. His youngest brother had made it his job to build a nest for the egg. Several of Bobby's blankets and cushions were carefully arranged on one of Bobby's armchairs to provide a warm place for the egg.

Dean followed Adam's instructions and placed the egg in the center of the make-shift nest. Adam gently draped blankets around it until all that was left visible of the egg was the upper part. Its shell gleamed softly in the firelight that came from Bobby's fireplace, giving it a more orange than yellow hue. Adam sat down on the arm of the chair and carefully touched the egg again, a captivated look on his face and Sam and Dean let him be.

SPN

Adam's behavior changed over the next few days. Instead of staring out the window he spent his time sitting with the egg, making sure the blankets did not slip. Three days after Gabriel and Castiel had dropped by with the egg Dean realized that Adam had started talking again. He was speaking to the egg in hushed tones, telling it all sorts of stories. Some Dean recognized as fairy tales or Disney movies, others he had never heard before. He wondered if Adam's Mom had read them to him when he was a child.

Adam only talked when he was alone with the egg, though. As soon as Dean or Sam would step into the room the quiet murmuring would always stop immediately. On one hand it hurt that Adam trusted an egg more than his brothers, but on the other hand neither Sam nor Dean could blame him for it. They were glad that he was talking at all. And, as Dean found out a day later, talking to the egg was somewhat calming when you stopped feeling weird about it.

The first sign that the baby Dragon would soon be hatching came around midday on New Year's Eve. They were sitting in the living room, watching some mindless TV when Rumsfeld suddenly started barking. He excitedly jumped up and down in front of the egg and Adam was looking down at it in wonder when Dean turned around to find out what all the fuss was about.

"It's moving," Adam said quietly, voice full of awe.

Dean came over to take a closer look and indeed, the egg was moving in small, jerky movements for a few seconds until it stilled again.

"I guess we'll soon have our hands full of baby Dragon," Sam observed quietly and Dean was pleased to see a small smile on Adam's face. Maybe getting that egg was more of a blessing than either of them had initially thought.

When Gabriel and Castiel arrived later that day they knew for a fact that the Dragon would be hatching tonight. It had been growing even more restless during the day, the little movements becoming longer and more insisting. Rumsfeld went crazy with every movement the egg made and it got so bad that Bobby had to take him into his study to prevent the old dog from giving himself a heart attack.

"It's time," Castiel announced gravelly after he took a good look at the egg.

Gabriel shook his head, exasperated. "Try to sound a bit more cheerfully, will you? We're not at a funeral, Castiel." When Castiel just looked at him unblinkingly Gabriel sighed. "Alright, be that way. Who'd have thought that becoming an Archangel would make you even more stiff and serious?"

Dean watched Sam hide a grin behind his hand and he had to admit that Gabriel had a point. It was somewhat unnerving that agreeing with Gabriel seemed to happen rather a lot lately.

A cracking sound disturbed the brief silence and everyone's heads turned back towards the egg. A small crack could now be seen on the side of its yellow shell. Just a moment later another crack appeared, slightly bigger than the first one.

"Yes," Gabriel said, trying to imitate Castiel's deep voice and failing miserable, as far as Dean was concerned, "It is definitely time."

It only took a few more minutes for the baby Dragon to break free. Dean was pretty unimpressed when it raised its small head out of the egg. He did not know what it was that he had expected, but it certainly was not a pale blue Hobbit Dragon. It was tiny and not at all frightening-looking like he had hoped it would be. Adam and Sam, however, seemed to be taken with it already. They helped the Dragon break through the rest of the egg and took the pieces of shell away to make room for it.

Dean's initial observation had been spot on. The pale blue Dragon was tiny, not bigger than a duck. Its wings were modified forelimbs and gently tucked against its side. Their undersides as well as the Dragon's belly were of a light grayish color while the small spikes along his back and at the end of its tail were a dark blue. The only thing that truly fascinated Dean about the Dragon was its eyes. They were as deeply blue as Castiel's eyes and belied intelligence and knowledge of millennia. They looked far older than they should.

"Hello, little one," Gabriel greeted the Dragon softly and it turned its head to him.

"Oh, it is you," the Dragon said, rather dismissively. "You are the one who saved me."

"Yep, that would be me," Gabriel replied. "You're the first Dragon to live with humans after many centuries."

At that the Dragon turned around once more and looked at each of them closely, a small frown on its face.

Gabriel chuckled. "You need to greet her," he said to Sam, Dean and Adam. "Otherwise she won't know who she belongs to."

Before Dean had a chance to ask what Gabriel meant Sam knelt down before the Dragon and said, "Hey, you. My name's Sam."

The Dragon looked unimpressed and stared Sam down in a way that only Castiel could. It was almost comical to see Sam fidgeting nervously under the gaze.

"Do you have a name?" Adam suddenly asked and the little Dragon immediately perked up and turned around to face him, eyes wide and happy.

"You are the one who has been talking to me all this time," she observed. "You have told me all those nice stories. Your name is Adam."

Adam looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, that would be me," he said finally. "So, what's your name?"

"Oh, you are silly!" the little Dragon laughed. "I do not have a name until you give me one."

Adam looked helplessly at Gabriel but the Archangel only shrugged.

"Guess she's found who she belongs to," he said with a smug grin. "Can't say I'm surprised."

"You planned this all along," Dean realized. "You the Dragon would choose Adam."

Said Dragon then looked over her shoulder at Dean, head cocked to the side. She studied him closely with her dark blue eyes.

"You are the one with the rude words," she stated. "I do not like you using them."

Sam chuckled and even Adam managed a small smile. Dean groaned.

"Great," he muttered. "Only we would get a Hobbit Dragon with a moral compass."

"I am not a Hobbit Dragon," the little Dragon said indignantly. "I am a Nivium."

"Nivia are a small race of Dragons," Castiel offered after seeing the incomprehension on the other's faces. "They're known for their agility and swiftness."

"And we can breathe freezing rain and snow," the Dragon added proudly.

Even Sam looked slightly disappointed at that.

"No fire?"

Gabriel gave them a look. "Do you think I would trust you with a fire-breathing Dragon? I'm not completely mental, you know."

Dean looked skeptically at the tiny Dragon. "How big will she get?"

"Not much bigger than a medium-sized dog," Castiel said. He looked like he wanted to reach out and touch the Dragon but refrained from doing so. "Like I said, they're a small race of Dragons."

The little Dragon cleared its throat and looked at Adam.

"A name, please? I do not like being called 'Dragon'. It describes what I am and not who I am."

Adam looked thoughtful for a moment, then decided on, "Delta."

"Delta," the Dragon repeated thoughtfully. "I like it! It sounds good!"

She flapped her little wings excitedly and gently nudged Adam's hand. "I am your Delta now."

"Yes, you are, little one," Gabriel assured. He looked decidedly proud of himself. "Dean, Sam?" he asked. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

The Archangel nodded towards the door and both Sam and Dean stood up, getting the hint. The left Adam, Delta and Castiel alone and stepped outside into the snow.

"She will be good for Adam," Gabriel said once the door was closed beside him. "I know you haven't been making much progress with your brother."

"It's not exactly easy," Sam admitted. "I think he just stays with us because he has nowhere else to go."

Gabriel nodded. "He's angry, Sam, angry at you, at Michael, at the universe. But mostly he's angry at himself for walking right into Zachariah's trap, for being so trusting. And his memories of the Cage certainly aren't helping." He sighed. "Adam's got a lot of healing to do. He's trying to come to terms with what happened. I figured Delta might make things easier for him."

"She already has," Dean said, quietly. "He was different from the moment you brought the egg here. It's like it shocked him right back into living."

"I hoped it would, and so did Dad, by the way," Gabriel replied. "Things would have gotten worse if Adam had continued to suffer in silence. He must learn to trust again and Delta is the only one he doesn't have history with. It's a fresh start."

"Do you think," Sam asked, hesitantly, "That he will trust us again, given time?"

Gabriel shrugged. "That's for Adam to decide. Just show him that you consider him a part of your family. That's what he needs the most."

Both Sam and Dean nodded. The three of them went back inside where Delta had meanwhile decided to climb onto Adam's lap. She looked sleepily up at them when they opened the door.

"What is a Hobbit Dragon?" she asked with a yawn.

"Dean just made that up, little one," Gabriel replied with a smile. "There are no such things as Hobbit Dragons."

"How many races are there?" Adam asked. He was stroking Delta's back absentmindedly.

"There used to be many." Castiel's eyes grew sad. "Nowadays, only a handful of races have remained. Mostly small ones, like the Nivia. The Great Dragons have all been hunted down in the Middle Ages."

"Dragons and humans used to live peacefully together, you know," Gabriel added. "A lot of Dragon's bonded with humans and they learned from each other. Until one king of one kingdom decided that the Dragons were a threat and had them hunted. It set off a chain reaction."

Adam looked down at Delta, a sad expression on his face.

"Always war, always fighting," he mumbled. "Don't worry, you're safe with me."

Somewhere in Bobby's house a clock stroke midnight.

"Happy New Year," Adam whispered to the tiny Dragon curled up on his lap.

Delta only snored softly in response.

SPN

Life had changed drastically since Delta had become a part of their lives. Gabriel's plan had worked. Adam was livelier than ever, always talking to his Dragon about everything and nothing. He had stopped staring into space entirely and instead started showing Delta all the exciting things life on Earth had to offer. Her first time out in the snow on New Year's Day had been quite memorable.

"I do not like this," she declared after touching the frozen ground with the tip of one of her wings. "It is cold."

Adam laughed and it was the most beautiful sound Dean had ever heard.

"It's just snow, Delta," Adam chuckled. "I thought you were a Nivium. An Ice Dragon," he added pointedly.

Delta gave him a look. "Just because I can breathe ice does not mean I like to touch it."

"Well, too bad," Adam announced and threw the tiny dragon which had yet to learn to fly into a giant pile of snow. She huffed indignantly when she managed to get out of it and in the end Adam had to persuade her with chocolate to forgive him.

Things were definitely looking up since Adam had Delta to care for. It was almost too good to be true and sometimes Sam and Dean forgot how broken their brother truly was. At times he seemed almost normal again, being snarky and sarcastic like he used to be. When he watched Delta sleep in his arms he had an innocence around him that Dean had to remind himself could not be there after what Adam had been through – whatever that was. Imagining the Cage was difficult for Dean and Sam was of no help thanks to the barrier Death had put in place in his mind. Sometimes it was just easier not to think about the horrors the Cage must have held but then again, that was what had gotten Adam into this state in the first place. They tried to be supportive of their younger brother while giving him the distance he obviously needed. Still, at most times it was hard to find the right words to start a conversation, especially since Adam always blocked any enquiries that concerned the time he had spent in the Cage.

The 7th of January, however, was different. Sam and Bobby were gone for the day doing a simple salt-and-burn a few towns over and Dean had offered to stay with Adam. Even though the youngest Winchester had more than once stated that he did not need a babysitter they still felt reluctant to leave him on his own, even with Delta as company.

Dean had just made the both of them pizza for lunch and was on his way to get Adam and his Dragon when he stopped short at the partially open door. Adam was sitting on the floor, his head pillowed on his arms that lay on the couch and he was looking up at Delta.

"You should not hold grudges, Adam," Delta admonished gently. "They are your brothers, and they do love you."

Adam snorted. "Some kind of love," he mumbled. "Were it not for Gabriel I'd probably still be in that horrible place. You have no idea how it was there, Delta," he added in a whisper.

"Then tell me," Delta said, matter-of-factly.

Adam sighed and buried his head in his hands.

"I actually don't remember it in detail," Adam admitted and Dean was surprised to hear that. "Just like I don't remember the Ghouls killing me. I think it's my mind's way of protecting itself, of dealing with stress and trauma."

"Like memory loss?" Delta asked.

"Not exactly," Adam replied. He raised his head. "I still remember what it felt like to have Michael take over my body, to fall into that endless pit. After that, things go fuzzy. It's just feelings I remember."

Dean almost considered leaving or making his presence known then. He had no right to witness this conversation.

"What kind of feelings?" Delta's voice was also quiet now and Dean saw her gently placing one of her tiny wings over Adam's hand.

"Pain, mostly," Adam said, trying to sound indifferent but a slight tremor in his voice betrayed him. "At the beginning, Michael and Lucifer didn't bother me or Sam. But after a while, things got boring, I guess. They found it much more amusing to team up against us than to fight each other."

Dean could hear Adam swallowing.

"They kept taunting me, Delta," he admitted in a choked voice. "They said that I'd never get rescued. At first I didn't believe them, but then Sam's soul was suddenly gone and I was still there and, and no one came for me."

He buried his head again in his arms.

"No one came for me," he repeated and it became clear to Dean that their abandonment of Adam had hurt him far worse than anything Michael or Lucifer had thrown at him.

"Gabriel came for you," Delta pointed out.

"Just because he had orders," Adam mumbled.

Delta huffed. "Do you not see that he cares for you? That your brothers care for you?" she asked. "They always go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. They only keep their distance because they think it is what you want."

"It is what I want," Adam said petulantly.

"It is not," Delta argued. "You want to have them around you, I know that. You reach for them in your dreams."

Adam sighed, sniffing once. "They'll just leave me again."

"They will not, and if they even think about it I will ice-ify them," Delta spoke with vehemence and suddenly looked Dean directly in the eyes. "You will not leave Adam behind again, will you, Dean?" she asked him.

Adam turned around, shocked, and Dean had no choice but to finally step into the room and make his presence known.

"How long have you been listening?" Adam asked, wiping angrily at his eyes.

"Long enough," Dean admitted. He stepped closer and finally knelt down next to Adam who had crossed his arms defensively in front of his chest.

Adam glared at him. "What do you want?"

"I want to apologize," Dean said, not breaking eye contact. "Your little Dragon is right: We would never leave you behind again. I'm sorry."

Delta bit him in the ear.

"Ow! Hey, what was that for?" Dean asked, rubbing his ear. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Adam's lips twitching.

"Do not call me 'Dragon'," Delta demanded. "Adam gave me a name, and it is a beautiful one."

Dean chose not to tell her that that was debatable.

"Anyway," he continued, turning back towards Adam, "I really am sorry. I won't even try to defend what we did. Or didn't do, in this case. There's no excuse for it. We made a mistake and you had to pay for it."

"Why didn't you come for me?" Adam asked quietly, looking down at his lap. "I know I'm just your half-brother and that Sam would always be your number one priority, but still …"

"Honestly?" Dean said and waited until Adam looked up. "Until Death asked me whether I wanted to save Sam or you I hadn't even considered the possibility that you could be in the Cage."

Delta looked confused and Adam mirrored her expression. "What? How could you not know? You saw me falling!"

Dean smiled ruefully. "You probably don't remember it, but Michael told us you weren't there anymore. I just assumed you'd gone back to Heaven."

"He lied," Delta stated and Dean nodded.

"I know that now," he told the Dragon. "I know a lot of things now that I didn't know then. No one bothered to tell me that Sam was back until he came to find me after a year. He made me promise not to look for a way to get him out, so I didn't. After we were reunited our goal was to get Sam's soul back."

"And he never mentioned me?" Adam asked, sounding disappointed.

Dean shook his head. "I think he didn't even remember that you were there. Or he didn't care." When Adam flinched at those words Dean hurried to explain. "He was different without a soul, Adam. He was not Sam anymore. Sometimes I didn't even recognize him because he was so cold-hearted. He didn't care for anyone at that time, not even for me."

"Really?" Adam asked, skeptically.

"Really," Dean replied. "He even stood by and just watched as a Vampire turned me. He simply wasn't Sam anymore."

Adam looked at him for a moment before he wrapped his arms around himself as if he was cold. He looked defeated.

"So you really had no reason to look for me," he surmised.

"At least not until Sam got his soul back. We're guilty of every minute you had to spend in the Cage after I made the deal with Death. And from what I gathered," Dean tentatively went on, "Those were the worst."

Adam averted his gaze but nodded.

"I'd like to say we'd have rescued you as soon as we could," Dean went on with a heavy sigh, "But the truth is that I don't know if we'd have. Sam and I have become pretty good at not thinking about you."

Adam nodded once more, biting his lip and just from that Dean knew that he was trying not to cry. He gently tilted Adam's chin up, all the while aware of Delta's watchful eyes on him.

"That doesn't mean we don't want you here with us, Adam," Dean whispered earnestly. "I'm glad that Gabriel rescued you and brought you to us. You're our baby brother," he stated simply.

At hearing those words the tears that had gathered in Adam's eyes finally spilled over and ran freely down Adam's cheeks.

"You know," Dean said with a small smile, "I don't really do chick-flick moments, but I'll make an exception for you." He opened his arms. "Come here."

Adam went without hesitation as Dean drew him into a hug. He buried his head in Dean's shoulder, sobbing openly now, and Dean held on tight, trying to give his brother a sense of security.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into Adam's blonde hair. "For dragging you into this, for not coming for you, for everything. I'm sorry."

He tightened his grip.

"But I'm here now. Me, Sam and Bobby, and Gabriel and Cas, too. And Delta, of course, we're all here for you now if you'll let us," Dean promised. "I know it's not enough and it's too late but it's all we got. I can't offer you more than a part in our screwed-up family. It's all I have."

Delta chose that moment to climb onto Dean's shoulder. She gently nudged Adam's head.

"Sounds like a start to me," she said and nudged Adam once more.

Dean was relieved when he felt his brother slowly nod against his shoulder. That was all he had wanted: A place where they could start from and it seemed that Adam was finally willing to give them a chance. Dean knew it probably would have never happened were it not for the small female Dragon on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Delta," he quietly told the Dragon who in return bit him once more in his ear, though this time more teasingly.

"You are lucky that I like you," Delta announced. "Normally, I would kill you for putting Adam through all that."

Dean could not help but snort at that. Even Adam chuckled against his shoulder, his grip slightly loosening. There was something decidedly not frightening about a duck-small, pale blue dragon with baby teeth of which some were already missing.

"How about you start learning to fly before we talk about you becoming a menacing, fear-inducing nightmare?" he suggested. When Delta did not reply Adam lifted his head from Dean's shoulder and regarded his Dragon curiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked, voice hoarse from crying. "You're not usually this quiet."

Dean knew that was true. The little Dragon could talk a mile an hour and rarely shut up. Adam took her from Dean's shoulder and sat her down on his lap.

"Come on, spill," Dean told the Dragon. "We've had our chick-flick moment, now it's your turn."

Delta squirmed uncomfortably and tried to hide her face in her wings causing Dean and Adam to laugh.

"It is not funny," the small Dragon complained. "It is very serious."

"What is it?" Adam asked once more. "You know you can tell me."

Delta took a deep breath. "I am scared of flying," she confessed and once more hid her face behind her wings.

Dean and Adam shared a look. Only their family would get the most peculiar Dragon in the world.

It was oddly fitting.

The End