Summary: Sam's alive. Gabriel's alive. Questions abound.

Warnings: Mild language. Fluff. Minor series spoilers.

The Returned

The room was silent as everyone stared at someone else. Kevin and Dean stared at Sam who was staring at Gabriel. Gabriel was staring at the wall, looking frighteningly pale and unsteady. And then his legs apparently became too weak to support him and he collapsed unconscious to the floor.

"Son of a bitch," Dean said. "Kevin, check him, would you? Make sure he's alive."

Kevin gave him an incredulous look but moved over to Gabriel's form anyway. He knelt down and searched for a pulse. He found a faint one and noticed the man's chest moving minutely as he breathed. He looked up at Dean and nodded. He stood up and his eyes moved between Gabriel and Dean.

"So, when you say 'Gabriel', you mean..."

"The Archangel that posed as a Trickster and died trying to stop Lucifer," Dean said bluntly and Kevin blinked, staring down at Gabriel.

"Gabriel?" Sam repeated and Dean looked down at him.

"Sammy," he said. "Sammy, are you okay?"

Sam was looking more awake now as he met Dean's eyes. He knew what had happened. He knew he had died. He wasn't completely clear on what had happened after that though. He had flashes of blurry faces but that was all he could recall from after he had died.

"De'n," he whispered and something broke inside his big brother.

At the same time that his face broke into a huge grin, Dean's face also crumpled as he fell forward to latch onto Sam. Tears streaked his face as he pulled Sam up enough to be able to get his arms around his little brother. He held tight, feeling overwhelmed with relief and happiness when he felt Sam's arms go around him and Sam's chest move against his own.

Sammy was alive.

"'M okay now," Sam said quietly, resting his head on Dean's shoulder. He wasn't just talking about being alive or being able to breathe properly. No, he felt...healthy. All the fatigue and weakness and nausea and aches that he had been feeling since the failed third trial was gone. Well, for the most part. He still felt tired and a little weak and his body was a little sore, but it felt more like he was recovering from the flu.

Eventually Dean pulled away but just enough so he could look at Sam. His hands came up to cup Sam's face and Sam couldn't help but lean into the touch and smile a little. One of Dean's hands moved into his hair and tangled in it, gripping it tight as he leaned in to press their foreheads together in rare open affection.

"Don't you ever do that to me again," Dean breathed.

"I won't," Sam said and then smirked slightly. "I doubt you'll be letting me out of your sight now so how can I?"

"Damn straight," Dean said and Sam chuckled. He pulled away again, letting his hands drop to Sam's thighs. "But you're okay? Honestly?"

Sam nodded. "Better than I have been in ages."

Dean looked down at Gabriel still unconscious on the floor. He sighed. "Guess I have to kind of like him now."

Sam laughed and shoved Dean's shoulder. "Be nice."

Dean looked at him with a look of mock offence. "I thought that was nice."

Sam shook his head and turned to spot the Angel as well. "I don't understand. He died. We were there, we saw him die. How is this possible?"

"Thought we learned to stop asking that question?" Dean said and Sam huffed a laugh again.

"Sam?"

Sam looked away from the Archangel and up at the nervous, wide-eyed Prophet of the Lord who had just watched him die and then come back to life. His face gentled and he held out one arm in a clear request for a hug. Kevin hesitated—none of them were exactly tactile or affectionate—but quickly stepped over Gabriel and wrapped himself around Sam's chest the best he could. The guy was still huge after all despite the weight the trials had made him lose.

"I'm fine, Kevin, promise," Sam said and Kevin nodded against his chest. Eventually Kevin pulled away with a deep blush covering his face.

"But...you were dead," the Prophet said. "I don't get it."

"We'll get answers when Gabriel's better," Sam said and looked at Dean. "Shouldn't we put Gabriel on a bed or something?"

"Dude, it's bad enough I have to kind of like him now, but I have to make him comfortable too when it was his idea to do...whatever he did?" Dean said and Sam gave him a pointed look. Dean huffed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Come back from the dead and still a bossy little bitch."

Sam chuckled and shoved Dean's shoulder when Dean started to leave the bed. "And you're still a total jerk."

"Hey, I didn't die this time. This one is all you, little brother," Dean said, unable to stop his smile when Sam laughed again while he knelt down next to the unconscious Archangel. "Is it even possible for Angels to be unconscious?"

"Apparently," Sam said, gesturing to Gabriel. "Must have something to do with his powers and the Fall. I bet anything his return is connected to the Fall of the Angels."

Dean looked up from where he was attempting to manoeuvre Gabriel and at Sam with an expression of incredulousness and exasperation. "How do you do that? You just died yet you're still a total geek."

Sam just quirked a smile at his big brother who shook his head and returned his attention to Gabriel.

"Guess I'll put him in one of the spare rooms. No way is the jackass touching my Memory Foam," Dean said and Sam rolled his eyes. "Kevin, get over here and help me."

"You can carry Sam on your own but you need me to help with this guy who's about half the size of Sam?" Kevin said, raising an eyebrow.

Dean scowled at the Prophet. "Shut up and help."

Sam watched in amusement as Dean lifted Gabriel's shoulders and Kevin lifted his legs, and then slowly shuffled out of the bedroom to one of the spares down the hall. He could hear muffled grumbling that he was sure was Dean continuing with his rant about how much of a dick Gabriel was despite having just brought his little brother back to life.

Sam's hand went to his chest. He could remember how it had felt, how hard it had been to breathe, the fear of being completely incapable of drawing a single short breath, the terror of leaving Dean once again. The remembered burn of his lungs flared up and he winced, rubbing his chest unconsciously. How had Gabriel done it? He had died, he knew he had.

That brought another question. What had happened after he died? Where did he go? Had he gone anywhere? He couldn't seem to remember though he could remember blurry faces. Thinking about them made them seem familiar but he couldn't make the faces clear up to determine who he had seen. Had he perhaps been in Heaven and seen all those they had lost over the years? Or maybe he had been in Hell and the faces were those of Lucifer and Crowley and Meg and maybe even Ruby, despite having killed her. But where did Angels and Demons go when killed? They were already, technically, dead so did they return to Heaven and Hell, or did they go to Purgatory, or did they just fade out of existence?

"Sam!"

He jumped as the shout and hands clapping in front of his face pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked up at Dean hovering over him and smacked his brother's hands out of his face.

"Get off," he muttered.

"Okay there, Sammy?" Dean said, sitting on the edge of the bed again.

Sam sighed. He felt that Dean's concern was going to get very old very fast. "I'm fine, Dean. Just thinking."

"About?"

"If I could get away with knocking you out and shipping you to Asia," Sam said deadpanned.

Dean rolled his eyes. "You're so funny."

"Dean, I know I just died. I'm fully aware of that fact but try not to be too overbearing. I honestly feel fine. I think I just need to eat something and get some sleep," Sam said.

"You're hungry?" Dean said, lighting up with surprise and hope.

Sam smiled at him. "Yes, Dean, I'm hungry. Starving actually."

"You're hungry?" Dean repeated.

Sam laughed.

"I'm hungry too," Kevin said from the doorway.

"Shut up, Kevin," Dean said and Kevin frowned, affronted.

Sam laughed again. "Go make food, Dean. I'm going to shower and then join you guys in the kitchen."

"You're okay to shower?" Dean said, clearly getting more and more excited as he realized Sam was better.

"I'm okay to shower." Sam nodded, still grinning. His smile just softened and he held on just as tight when Dean dragged him into another hug.

"So, is this his? Gabriel's?" Kevin said, holding up the long forgotten feather that had been discovered in the bunker. He sat at the island in the kitchen, watching Dean make a large meal of Oktoberfest sausages, mashed potatoes with gravy, a huge toss salad, cooked vegetables, and pork chops.

"Could be," Dean said, stirring the pot of thickening gravy. "We never saw the guy's wings, just those burned outlines that appear when an Angel is killed."

Kevin hummed and continued to stare at the feather as he slowly turned it over in his hand. "If it is his, you think he was trying to find you guys?"

"If he was, he found us," Dean said, peeking at the pork chops in the oven.

Kevin dropped the feather with a sigh. "This is confusing."

"Hey, you guys found the new Prophet of the Lord. Damn, it smells good in here. What's for supper, Dean-o?"

Kevin and Dean spun around to see Gabriel leaning on the doorframe to the kitchen and dining room, Sam standing behind him. The Angel was still pale and looked like he could collapse at any moment. It was quite disconcerting to see such a powerful being—and usually such a cocky being—appear so weakened.

"Gabriel's awake," Sam said with a grin while Dean rolled his eyes.

"Didn't say I was cooking for you," Dean said to the Archangel.

"Aw, don't be like that," Gabriel said, taking slow steps to the island where he eventually pulled himself onto one of the stools. "I think you owe me one. Well, more than that but who's counting?"

"You, apparently," Dean said, turning the sausages over.

"I did die for you two nut jobs," Gabriel said. "And then I just saved this one."

"We got it, Gabriel," Dean said, glaring at him but only gaining a cocky grin in return.

"How about we eat and then talk?" Sam said, taking his own seat on Kevin's other side. Dean just piled food on plates in silent aggravation.

"Gabriel," Kevin said awkwardly, unsure how to handle an Archangel.

"Yes, Prophet?" Gabriel said, looking directly at Kevin.

"Is-is this yours?" Kevin held up the feather.

"Yep, used it to track the Hardy Boys," Gabriel said. "Hard when the place is warded against all of existence."

"How did it get in here then?" Kevin asked.

"I'm weakened but I'm still an Archangel. Plus, we've got a connection. I can find them anywhere," Gabriel said.

"We don't got a connection," Dean interrupted, slamming a dish down in front of Gabriel.

"Whatever you say, Dean-o," Gabriel said with a wide grin, snatching a knife and fork from the available pile.

Dean glared at him while serving the others and then settling beside Sam. He stabbed at his sausages and pork chop viciously. Gabriel may have just brought Sam back but that didn't stop the Angel from being an irritating, obnoxious dick. He could feel Sam watching him but refused to look up from his food. It annoyed him that he wasn't able to enjoy Sam's return with his brother but had to deal with other things and share Sam with other people instead.

He snorted mentally. Yeah, he wasn't possessive.

The silence was tense, making everyone, including Gabriel, fidget. The food was devoured, however, and Sam even went so far as to steal food from Dean's plate when he finished his own. Dean had, at first, grinned like a happy moron at the fact that Sam was finally eating, but then quickly switched to Big Brother and, naturally, started a sword fight with his little brother using their forks. Kevin stared at the grown men that had spontaneously turned into ten year olds and then shook his head, returning to his food. It was best not to get involved.

"Come on," Sam said, smiling widely. "Aren't you glad I'm eating?"

"Absolutely, but that doesn't mean you take my food," Dean said. "I don't share."

"We share everything, dude," Sam said, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't share my food," Dean said, pointing at him.

"Right," Sam said and then smirked. "Explain why you always gave up the last of the Lucky Charms when we were kids then."

Dean went slightly red. "So not the same thing."

"I think it is," Sam said smugly. "Explain."

Dean shrugged one shoulder, poking at his remaining food. "You were younger. They were your favourite. You needed to eat. Sometimes it was the only way you would shut up. Nothing special really."

Sam softened even as he managed to snatch the last bit of Dean's sausage. They didn't talk about their childhood much but, having grown up, Sam now knew the things his big brother had done for him. He knew how much Dean must've stolen, even at young ages, stealing anything from toys to food to blankets to money. He knew how often Dean had gone without food just so Sam could eat. He knew how Dean had sacrificed his own education. Granted, school had never been Dean's thing but he wouldn't have had to settle for a GED if he hadn't focused so much on helping his little brother. He knew how hard Dean had tried to be a substitute for their dead mother and nearly permanently absent father. He knew how many bullies Dean had beat up on his account and knew there were probably more than he was aware.

He knew how much Dean had—did—love him.

"Dude, why are you staring at me like I just gave you the Impala?" Dean said, setting Sam's plate on top of his own.

Sam shook himself out of his thoughts and turned his attention Dean as his big brother gathered the plates.

"Nothing," he finally said. "Just thinking."

Dean rolled his eyes and put the dishes in the sink. He turned to look at Kevin. "Your turn to wash up," he told the Prophet.

Kevin sighed. "Yes, Mom."

Dean threw a cloth at the teenager, hitting him right in the face. Kevin pulled it away, spluttering and glaring at the hunter. Dean just smirked.

"Children," Sam said and laughed at the twin scowls he received.

"Why did you eat?" Kevin said to Gabriel as he left his seat to wash the dishes. He ducked and swatted at Dean when the older hunter tried to mess his hair. "Thought Angels didn't eat?"

"Sammy, remember Cas being affected by Famine?" Dean said, elbowing his brother playfully.

Sam chuckled. "He ate hundreds and hundreds of burgers," he said at Kevin's questioning look.

"For real?" Kevin said, letting the water run to fill the sink.

Sam nodded.

"I think Famine was the better Horseman," Dean said.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "He made me go after Demon blood."

Dean winced. "Right. But you also fought against the bastard. He offered you pretty much oceans of blood and you just exorcised the Demons and told him off."

"Wasn't going to go against you, not on that," Sam said. "Guess that didn't work in the long run. Still went against you, away from you."

"Hey, we both made that decision and I was the one that had to see Apocalypse Now 2014 to realize I should pull my head out of my ass. It's over, man. We're past it," Dean said and Sam nodded with a small smile. "Besides, we ended up kicking ass anyways."

Sam chuckled.

"You two finished with Memory Lane and Therapy 101?" Gabriel said.

Dean glared at him. "What?"

"Prophet asked me a question," Gabriel said and cleared his throat dramatically, making Kevin raise an eyebrow. "I am an Angel, yes, and I still have some Grace, some powers, but I'm not exactly...up to scratch. I've got a little more...human in me now and apparently needing to eat is a side effect."

"I got a better question for you," Dean said. "How in the hell are you here in the first place? We saw you die."

Gabriel shrugged and gave a cocky grin. "What can I say? I'm amazing."

Dean growled and Sam put a hand on his brother's shoulder to both calm him down and hold him back from attacking the Archangel.

"Gabriel," Sam said, chidingly.

Gabriel sighed and went serious, a strange sight on the Trickster. "You think I know? I don't. I did die but something brought me back."

"Not someone?" Sam said and Gabriel shook his head.

"There would've been some kind of a mark on me or where I was raised and there was nothing," Gabriel said. "This was something. Whatever is happening right now brought me back."

"The Fall of the Angels," Kevin said.

"What?" Gabriel said.

"Metatron used a spell he found on the Angel Tablet to kick all the Angels out of Heaven and sealed the gates," Sam said.

"The Scribe of God?" Gabriel said and the others nodded. "Do you know exactly what the spell was?"

Sam shook his head. "We just know what it did."

"Cas would know," Dean said. "He was working with Metatron and was a part of it."

Gabriel frowned, concerned. "Where is he? Cas?"

"We don't know," Dean said. "We've been trying to find him but we've got nothing."

"I might be able to help," Gabriel said. "It'll be a while before I can though. Whatever that spell did, it's destroyed half of my Grace."

"I still don't understand how a spell that kicked the Angels out of Heaven brought you back to life," Dean said, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I think this might also have something to do with it," Gabriel said as he pulled something out of his jacket pocket. He held it in his open palm for the others to see.

Dean jumped from his seat and stumbled back as his eyes fell on the familiar amulet sitting in Gabriel's hand. Sam gasped, staring at it with wide eyes. Kevin frowned at their reactions to a simple necklace.

"How...did you get that?" Sam said in a whisper.

Gabriel shrugged again. "It was beside me when I woke up. It was also glowing and it's been burning a hole through my skin up until I got here. Surprised you ever took it off, Chuckles."

Dean's jaw clenched and he glared at Gabriel. "Cas needed it when he was looking for your lazy ass of a father."

"Because yours was so much better," Gabriel shot back and Sam once again had to grab Dean's shoulder to stop an attack.

"Stop, both of you," Sam said, making sure to shove Dean hard back into his seat as a warning. "Why would that have anything to do with you coming back to life?"he asked Gabriel.

"You know this isn't just a necklace, a trinket, don't you?" Gabriel said.

"Sure, it glows in the presence of God," Dean said. "It's why Cas took it."

"That's not all it is," Gabriel said. "This is a talisman that is also a physical representation of the first pair of soul mates to exist in centuries. This amulet is quite powerful."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dean said, frowning.

"This amulet holds the power of a soul mate bond," Gabriel said. "It is capable of all kinds of things, including tracking and minor healing and even resurrection when combined with the proper spell. It can only be used on those the soul mates have a connection to, however."

Sam and Dean glanced at each other in astonishment.

"Notice how things between you two probably haven't been all that great since this disappeared?" Gabriel said, gesturing to the necklace he had put on the island. "It's because you've been missing a part of your bond. It's part of the reason anyways."

Sam and Dean thought back to all that had happened since the amulet had hit the bottom of that trash can. So much had happened to and between them that it was only now that they were actually brothers again. They had had their moments over the years and the past year with the trials had brought them closer, but they had never gotten close to how they had been before they lost the amulet, hell, before Dean's deal. Had that necklace really had such an impact on them?

Sam watched, tense, as Dean slowly reached out and snagged one finger in the black cord. He dragged it across the island and then picked it up, staring at the little gold amulet he had been missing for years and now held. He could still remember how discouraged and hurt and angry he had been the day he had thrown it away, only to viciously regret it moments later when it was too late.

Their trip to Heaven had been horrible but now, years later, he knew the Angels had set it up that way. They had manipulated Sam's Heaven to show his little brother's happy memories, but only ones that didn't include Dean. It was just another way to drive them further apart and, had they been acting like the brothers they were supposed to be, it shouldn't have worked. They had both been so screwed up, though, so it had and their relationship had been fractured at the worst of times.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Dean said, looking up at his brother. "I lost faith in you because of the damn Angels."

"It's okay, Dean," Sam said. "It was a seriously screwed up situation. I think anything could've pushed us over. I like to think we've come pretty far since then."

Dean smiled at him and nodded before looking back at the amulet. He let out a breath and lifted the amulet, dropping it to hang around his neck once again. He closed his eyes against the warmth that rushed through his body the moment the amulet hit his chest. It was as though a part of him that he didn't even know was missing had returned. He looked back at Sam who was smiling at him with shining eyes. He returned the smile and set a hand on his little brother's cheek in open affection.

They stared at each other and absorbed the moment and affection for a while before Dean broke the connection to turn to Gabriel.

"You said this can be used for tracking," Dean said, touching the amulet again. Gabriel nodded. "Can we use it to find Cas?"

"Probably," Gabriel said. "We'll have to wait until I'm recharged. Well, as recharged as I can be now."

"What if he's dead?" Dean said.

Gabriel's face hardened at the thought. "Then the spell to find him won't do anything."

Dean nodded, making sure to prepare himself for the possibility. He would be devastated if Cas was dead. He didn't want to have to mourn another friend, another family member, another loved one. He didn't want to have to say a permanent goodbye to the best friend he had ever had outside of Sam.

"Guys," Kevin said, pulling Dean from his thoughts. They looked at the Prophet who was holding his phone to his ear and looking at them with eyes wide in shock.

"Kevin?" Sam said.

"It's Garth," Kevin said. "He found Cas."

To Be Continued...