Authors Note: So here's Chapter 3. Thank you for all your kind reviews. A little disappointed that there weren't more. Ah well, I love you all anyway. These chapters are not gonna be regular. I'll post them when I get the chance, but don't expect regular updates. I've got most of this story planned out, I just have to actually type it all. I'm a very lazy individual and this may be a bit of a problem for me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatrual or any of those hotties. If I did than it would be a whole lot different. Lets just say there would be a lot more romance and a lot less plot.

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"So, any ideas?" Sam asked as they sat at the table, each of them with a beer in hand.

"Leave him there until he's done I guess." Bobby replied, taking a swig. "The two days it took you to arrive I didn't hear a peep out of him."

"There has to be more to it." Dean replied, twisting the bottle in his hands. He had hardly taken a drink, just staring at the condensation that had formed on the brown glass. "I mean, it seemed way too vague."

"Or maybe he was telling the truth and doesn't really want to interfere too much in our lives." Sam said, shooting his brother a look. "You do know not everything he says or does is a conspiracy right?"

"After he manipulated us for over a year you seriously still believe that?" Dean demanded, giving Sam a furious glare. "He knowingly unlocked your memories of the Cage just to slow us down Sammy!"

"Yeah, so that we wouldn't interfere in his plan. The plan that was his only option to keep you safe from Raphael and to prevent another apocalypse." Sam shot back, annoyed at his brother's stubbornness. "You know he was planning to stop them afterwards."

"But he didn't, he threatened to destroy us all." Dean argued back.

"Because he was being corrupted Dean! We all make mistakes, we have all done bad things with the best intentions. We have all done things that we regret." Sam argued back. "You broke the first seal, I raised Lucifer, and Bobby sold his own soul!"

"But he did that of his own free will! He wasn't manipulated like us!" Dean shouted back, slamming the bottle on the table. "He chose to side with Crowley, he chose to keep the souls and become a god!"

"Shut yer trap boy." Bobby warned. "You have no right to talk. He's just doing something that everyone in this co-dependent dysfunctional family has done. Sold everything for one another."

"You sold your soul for me Dean." Sam stated evenly. "To protect me. I drank demon blood and used it to exorcize demons because I thought I was helping. Even after angels told me it was wrong I still did it. To stop Lilith from killing you again. Not to stop the apocalypse or save the world, but for you Dean."

He gave them a glare. "I don't care."

"Well I do." Sam replied. "Castiel has done more for us than anyone else. He deserves to be in this family as much as any of us do Dean. He rebelled from his home, his family, everything he ever knew about being loyal to help us. So he messed up, all of us do Dean. Yeah I was a little mad, and betrayed. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to cut him completely out of our lives forever. You forgave me Dean after everything I've done and took me back, why can't you do it for Cas?"

Dean didn't focus on either of them, glaring out the window. He traced one of the blood red sigils on the window with his eyes. He didn't want to accept and forgive Castiel because that would mean he accepted how hurt he actually was.

The entire time Sam and Bobby suspected Castiel was going dark side Dean had stood beside him. He had been his best friend and he had refused to take into account the possibility that he was evil. His emotions were so deeply ingrained in a part of himself that he thought he had cut off that it had been a jarring shock when he discovered how deep Cas had gotten into him. The part of his heart that had only ever had Sam's name in bold print had somehow grown to incorporate the angel. However it was so different from the way he felt about Sam. It was as far as you could get from brotherly, and that had scared him, deeply. If he acknowledges the realization that Cas had meant just as much to him as his brother, more then anyone else, he was afraid it would open a floodgate he wasn't quite sure he could deal with. He had repressed emotions that he had never been equipped to deal with all his life. There was a wall of concrete that staved off all the thoughts that he couldn't cope with. When Sam called him emotionally constipated he wasn't far from the mark. Just the thought of dealing with that shit had him cringing and retreating. He knew that if he started to scratch at that wall then there was no way to prevent himself from being suffocated under it all. If he begun to forgive and heal then it would all come crashing down on his head.

"So while nancy boy over there stews in denial and irritation we still have to figure what to do." Bobby replied, ignoring Dean's indignant glare. "With a powerless angel on our hands it makes for a big target."

"Castiel said that the sigils should protect the house. I've never seen so much wards against creatures. He's warded from nearly anything." Sam stated, studying a large symbol on the wall behind him. It was made to ward from pagan gods, a large intricate circle of blood.

"That doesn't stop him from being vulnerable." Bobby stated. "Humans can still get in, witches and others that are being used. I'm gonna put the house on lockdown for a few months it seems."

"You need any help?" Sam asked. "Me and Dean can stick around for a few months it you think you'd need the assistance."

"Hell no." Dean growled, and was promptly ignored by both his brother and second father.

"I don't think it'll come to that, however it might be a good idea not to take cases too far from home." Bobby replied. "That way you boys can make it back if I need the help."

"Good idea, we'll probably stick around for a few more days anyway. That way we can rest up before setting out again."

"Since when have you decided what we do?" Dean demanded from Sam, crossing his arms. "I decide where I go, not you."

"Since you've been acting like a teenager girl angsting over her first breakup." Sam shot back, giving him an arched look. "You're not looking at this logically. If you were to leave and something happened to Cas in our absence, I'd have to deal with even more of it."

"Don't call me a girl Samantha, I'm not the one that wants to sit around and baby-sit..."

"Our best friend. The one who pulled you and me from Hell. The one who sacrificed himself twice, once to delay Raphael and the second to give you five minutes to stop me from letting Lucifer take over. He died Dean, twice. Not knowing that he would be brought back afterwards. He gave up his life without the knowledge of where angels go when they die, twice Dean." Sam said, giving him a glare. "Now he's completely vulnerable and you want to leave him in a position where his enemies, our enemies could get him? He's made mistakes Dean, but he's also earned the right for us to forgive him for them."

Dean scowled, looking away. It was true, he knew it was. But he hated having it shoved in his face like that. He shoved the guilt away that wanted to take over. He refused to let himself feel guilt, he wasn't the one that tried to be God. "Fine, but the first whiff of a case and we're gone." He said, pointing at his brother. "And don't you dare try to get me to talk about this kind of shit again."

He then turned around and grabbed his beer, nearly downing the entire thing in one go. He ignored the bitch face from Sam and Bobby's sigh.

"So what do you think we'll need?" Sam turned back to Bobby. "Stock up on the usual?"

"From the looks of it yeah, I'll have to start doing more research." Bobby leaned back. "It'll probably be best to prepare for the wor..." His words trailed off as the ground beneath them shook. It was a small tremor, not even shaking the pictures on the walls. However it was a first sign of danger to paranoid hunters.

"Hey!" Suddenly there was a shout from outside, catching all their attention. It sounded angry and impatient. They all three looked at each other before back outside. Dean pulled out his pistol he always kept stashed at the small of his back and Sam quickly followed suit. Bobby reached on top the fridge and pulled off a shotgun.

They all made their way out front, each of them on either side of the doorway. Dean glanced outside, opening the door just enough to peer through a crack. His jaw dropped and he blinked in shock. His jaw actually dropped open and he shook his head in confusion.

"Dean?" Sam asked with a worried whisper. "Who is it?" Dean glanced over at him, his green eyes blown wide. He looked like he saw a ghost, and considering they deal with that kind of thing on a daily basis he was almost too afraid to know.

"If you three muttonheads could hurry up that would be greatly appreciated!" The shout had Sam nearly falling forward.

"Is that...?" He asked, looking to Dean. "Gabriel?" Bobby threw open the door, and they came face to face with one archangel turned trickster.

He didn't look amused. That was the first thing Sam noted upon catching sight of the angel. Sam has never seen a more thunderous expression on his face. He looked angry, as wrathful as an archangel could. Not even when they had trapped him in a circle of holy fire had he looked this mad.

"Dean." Sam whispered after he realized something. "Does he look pale to you?"

They focused on the trickster, seeing the pale and ruffled angel that looked so much like the one they had stashed upstairs.

"Yes, I look like shit. I crashed before I could make it and had to walk the two miles here." Gabriel said with a low hiss. "I am tired, nearly powerless and craving sugar like a crack addict going through rehab. I. Am. Not. Amused." He spelled out with a hiss.

"So what do you want us to do about it?" Dean asked snidely, not stepping out. He could see Gabriel toeing a line around the front step. It seemed like Cas' sigils were working like a charm.

"I want to see him. I want enough sugar to send anyone into diabetic shock and I want to sit down." He glared. "Now let me in."

"Oh hell no, one angel under the roof is enough." Bobby replied defiantly.

Suddenly the ground shook again and Gabriel's expression darkened further. It was a terrifying change. "Either you let me in or I tear your house down. I will crack the walls until every sigil is broken and I can enter of my own free will. Now let me in."

"We can't let you in even if we wanted." Sam replied. "Cas has the entire place warded like Fort Knox."

"Not true kiddos." He said with a flat tone, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a glowing vial. It was eerily similar to the one on their table. He gave them a sarcastic smirk, presenting the vial with a flourish. "This is my invitation, take it in and I can enter without any trouble."

"What is it?" Dean asked as he reached for it. Gabriel slapped his hand away before he could touch it.

"Not you." Gabriel said, giving Dean a glare that he returned with equal venom. "It's a vial of my grace mixed with the blood of my vessel. It's one of the most potent things an angel has. It is extremely dangerous should it fall into the wrong hands. I don't trust you Dean-o." He then handed it to a suddenly startled Sam, giving the taller Winchester a smirk. "It acts as a cancellation. It informs the sigils and wards that anyone matching that-" He said motioning to the vial. "Has a passage in. I'm trusting you knuckleheads not to break it."

Sam cradled the warm vial of glowing liquid in his too large hands. It was nearly too bright to look at but it put off a comforting warmth. Like a heating blanket. "What happens if it breaks?"

"Outside your warded deathtrap?" He said, turning his golden eyes to Sam. "Nothing. But if I'm inside and something happens to it... Well lets just say I go up like a firecracker."

"Why would you chance that?" Sam asked, giving him a skeptical look. "Why would you put that kind of power in our hands?"

"Because I know you three are the only people in the entire world that wouldn't use it to your advantage. Not unless you felt like you had no other choice anyway." He said settling each of them with a look. "You three are so sickeningly noble it's disturbing." He answered with a wrinkled nose. "Now can I enter? Or are you going to leave a helpless archangel on your step?" Dean actually snorted at the 'helpless' comment.

"Bobby?" Sam asked uncertain. "It's your house, what do you think?"

Bobby stared at the shorter man, eyes assessing him. "Very well, but only if you swear on your Father that you will not cause any misfit or tricks while on my property."

"I can't conjure anything." Gabriel pointed out with a sour expression. "Hell shaking your house is probably the extent of my powers at the moment. Besides I'm too tired to care right now." The disgruntled look dropped for a second and they caught sight of pure exhaustion on his face. His tone was weary when he spoke. "I just want to rest."

Bobby nodded and motioned Sam into the house. Sam nodded and took the small vial into the kitchen to the other one. Dean gave Gabriel a look as he passed.

"Don't worry Dean-o, I'm not here as a trick." He then focused a level look on him. "I faced my own brother and died to give you two idiots a chance to escape. Why would I do something to you now?" With that he turned and proceeded into the house, his shoulders stiff and hands nearly trembling.

Dean watched him go, not quite sure what to make of his life. He shook his head and entered the house, intent on watching the angel just in case.

Gabriel made his way purposefully through the rooms, not even pausing to look around. Sam joined him after a second, just watching the shorter angel make his way up the stairs. Eventually he had the ladder down and disappeared into the attic. Dean and Sam quickly scrambled after the angel to watch what was happening.

"Hello Gabriel." Castiel greeted blankly as the shorter angel approached him. Gabriel didn't respond, only grabbing a few blankets from Castiel's pile and making his own pile about ten feet away on the floor. He then curled up and pretended to ignore the rest of the world.

"We're letting you stay." Dean said, poking the archangel in the shoulder. "At least answer some things for us."

"Go away Dean-o, not in the mood." Gabriel said with a feeble swat.

"Not going to happen." Dean replied while crossing his arms. "If you explain everything, we'll leave you alone. Until then, spill."

"It might not be a good idea to press him Dean." Sam spoke up, trying to move his brother away from the scowling archangel.

"Don't worry about it Samsquach." The voice that came from the trickster was followed by a long sigh. They all blinked in shock at the fact that they were actually getting answers. Castiel was trying not to get involved, but he was just as curious. "I forget you humans like having explanations about unexpected things that come up."

"You were dead Gabriel." Dean pointed out. "What happened?"

"What do you think?" The trickster said with an unimpressed look. "Dad wakes me up and the next thing I know almost two years had gone by since I was dead. He tells me what happened and then tells me he wants me to remain on earth. Told me that I could return to Heaven briefly if I wanted, but I got my passport taken away. I can't stay there no more. Not that I cared really, earth has rubbed off on me. But he also told me that if I continue doing what I was doing before I got dragged into the war there would be new rules. Not allowed to kill anyone anymore, if I punish someone it has to be non fatal." He then let out a snort. "Then this happens." He nearly snarls the words, before flaring his hands out dramatically. "And here I am."

"So this metamorphosis of your Grace thing is a common amongst angels?" Sam asked curiously.

Gabriel cut Castiel a sharp look, sitting up to focus an intense stare on the younger angel. "You haven't told them?" The question was spoke in a language neither in the house would understand. It would be hard-pressed to meet a human that could properly pronounce a word in enocian, let alone understand it. Bobby might understand a word or two, but the dialect that Gabriel was using was the oldest. Not one seen or heard often, even amongst angels.

Castiel sharply looked away, foreign emotions flitting through him. "No." There was a slight flush on his cheeks and he squirmed again. "I fear they will not understand the process and will jump to the wrong conclusions."

"You idiot!" Gabriel said with a disdainful huff. "I can read the oldest Winchester's distrust in you from outside and you want to hide this from them? Now of all times?"

Dean and Sam watched the conversation in blatant shock. "Hey, talk so we can understand!" Dean demanded with a glare.

"I don't interrupt your bro-time with Sammich over there so you do not interrupt mine and Cassie's." Gabriel said with a smirk that was millimeters away from being a glower. He then turned back to Castiel, ignoring the brief scuffle the two brothers had started. Sam trying to keep Dean quiet. "What made you think it would be a good idea to hide the true process from them? This is reckless, even for your new daredevil attitude."

"I have caused Dean enough distress and pain." He answered, focusing on Gabriel again. However his blue eyes were dull, the once beautiful blue exhausted and weary. "Once the Split is complete I will leave them to their peace."

"Yeah, and how do you think they'll take the fact that you've lied to them again?" Gabriel asked with the shake of his head. It was so much easier when he didn't try to care for his siblings anymore. It was difficult to see one of the few siblings he actually liked in such turmoil. It reminded him why he left heaven to begin with. "It will be unavoidable Cassie, you know that. They're going to find out in a couple of months anyway."

Cas looked down again. "It will not alter Dean's perspective, he has already closed off from me completely." And Gabriel has never heard his brother so broken. "I have broken everything Gabriel, and I cannot fix it. Not this time."

"Don't you ever get tired of playing the martyr?" Gabriel demanded with a exaggerated huff. "Dean-o will forgive you eventually, he's just a little slow on the uptake. All that emotional repression in his childhood and whatnot."

"That's just it Gabriel, I don't deserve it." Castiel said flatly, his brow stubbornly drew tight over his eyes. "I was given the precious gift of Dean's trust and I thoroughly destroyed it. Dean trusts very few and I have scarred him because of my actions. He will be even more unwilling to trust now because of me."

"I swear I don't know whether you two are the most disastrous couple in history or the most complementary." Gabriel said with a roll of his eyes. Castiel gave him that blank 'I don't understand' look and he sighed. "Get this through that guilt riddled mind of yours, Dean will forgive you eventually. You want to be forgiven, I can almost feel your Grace vibrating with the need from over here. Get over yourself and be selfish for once, it'll do both of you a world of good."

"I don't think I can." Castiel responded, looking away. "If Dean could ever forgive me for what I've done, I don't know if I'd be able to accept it. Not anytime soon anyway."

"No need to worry about that, he's repressed as Hell." Gabriel said with the wave of his hand. "It'll probably take him years to get over it, you've got plenty of time to work it out."

"You're not helping." Castiel stated frankly. Gabriel merely shrugged in response.

"We must explain the Split to them." Gabriel stated with an even stare when Castiel tried to open his mouth to speak. It was rare times that Gabriel schooled his expression into his 'I'm serious, archangel serious'. It didn't happen often, but the look itself was heavy with experience and wisdom. "No, it has to be done. If they don't know what's truly going on, they will be unprepared when the last month is here. You know it must be done Castiel."

"I know, but I fear neither of them will be able to comprehend the situation." Castiel said, looking down. "Humans have so many misconceptions about angels. It would be difficult for them to understand the truth behind our condition and will only cause confusion and irritation."

"I figure Sammich will probably understand what's going on, he's too smart for his own good. I don't have high hopes for Dean understanding and I'm quite sure I'll have a battle over that part." Gabriel said before sighing as he noticed the uncomfortable look on Castiel's face. "I will explain it Cassie, I know how you are with things you don't like acknowledging."

"I acknowledge it Gabriel. It would be difficult to be completely oblivious to our current situation." He then gave Gabriel a look that was probably as close to a pout as Castiel could manage. "I just do not find it necessary to discuss the circumstances in which our Grace is metamorphosizing." He said promptly.

"Little fledgling." The statement was as close as an angel ever said that equated to 'you big baby'. Castiel gave Gabriel an unimpressed glare and Gabriel cracked a genuine smirk. He then turned to the two hunters who had been watching the conversation with gaping expressions. "You boys ready to understand what's going on?"

Sam wasn't too sure he wanted to know at this point. Gabriel and Castiel had gone through so many emotional shifts in their short conversation it made Sam weary of the topic at hand. He was used to seeing emotions shift on Gabriel's face. He was very expressive and made it difficult to believe he was an angel. But Castiel usually only had three settings; intense, confused or neutral. It was unsettling to see him nearly pout.

"Cas said it was some kind of changing in his Grace, that it was a natural process." Dean said suspiciously, unsure who he should trust. He wouldn't trust Gabriel as far as he could throw him but on the other hand he wasn't too inclined to trust Castiel at the moment.

"That is correct, however it is the most barest of explanations." Gabriel stated, turning to look at them with a raised brow. Castiel quickly turned from them, fixing his stare on the opposite wall. "Cassie here's a little embarrassed and sure that neither of you could understand the actual process."

"Understand what? What's changing in your Grace?" Sam asked curious, it wasn't everyday that they got knowledge about the angels willingly.

"First you must understand it's been a long time since this happened at such a large scale." Gabriel replied, his fingers twitched and he glared down at them. Sam was a little confused but not that concerned. He jolted when golden-green eyes refocused on him. "Like back when Mikey and Luci had their big tantrum and tore up half of Heaven and earth."

"You mean when they tossed him into the Cage?" Sam asked a little faintly, not sure he could quite imagine that length of time.

"Yes, nearly thirty percent of angels sided with him. It wasn't common knowledge, but Luci wasn't the only one who thought humanity was a bunch of mud monkeys and refused to bow down." Gabriel said with the flourish of his wrist. "After the war our numbers were decimated."

"Shit." Dean said as he thought about that in actual numbers.

"Exactly. There has to be a certain number of angels, that is almost always a given. A set number to keep the Grace in the garden in balance." He then smirked lightly. "Heaven's just had a minor spat, civil war if you'd prefer. And now the numbers are dipping into the danger zones."

"And that has to deal with you two how?" Dean asked with a furrowed brow, not really connecting the dots. However Sam was, at a startling quick pace. He took a swallow as the pieces slotted into place in his mind.

"You're pregnant." Sam's near whisper had the room stilling. A hush descending and the universe seemed to still.