Fic: And The Angel Said "Be Not Afraid"

[bellacatbee]

Title: And The Angel Said "Be Not Afraid" - Part 1
Rating: R
Author: bellacatbee
Artist: chosenfire28
Beta: casness
Genre: Slash
Pairing(s) / Character(s): Adam/Michael, Dean/Castiel, hinted at Sam/Gabriel, Raphael, Lucifer
Warnings: MPREG, graphic descriptions of illness, slight violence
Word Count: 23,144
Notes: Thank you so much to everyone who helped with this story.
Summary: Adam is alive and out of the cage but things are wrong. He can’t reach Michael, he’s sick and when he falls asleep he’s having dreams where he sees his dead mother. Men aren’t supposed to bear children but Adam’s special, and Michael’s an archangel; only the baby is killing Adam slowly and there’s nothing Sam and Dean can do but stand by and watch. Castiel and Dean are fighting, Sam thinks the child might be Lucifer’s, and somehow Gabriel has been resurrected to carry the glorious news. Adam just wishes Michael would answers his prayers.

Art Masterpost | A03



Every single part of his body ached. Adam thought he was getting used to it. The pain didn’t stop but moved to another level, a level where pain was all he’d come to expect. His soul was frayed, the very fabric of what made him Adam was pulled apart seam by seam and the only thing that kept him together was Michael. Even Michael’s attempts to hold him together were painful. Nothing within the cage was pleasant. Adam opened his eyes, wondering what was happening now and began to wonder if Lucifer had found another way to torment him.

Pain was the first thing he recognized but now other senses were coming back to him. There was grass beneath him, blue sky above and sunlight.  Adam didn’t trust a moment of it. All of this could have been pulled from his memories, could be nothing more than what he wanted to see and in a moment it would fade and Lucifer would be mocking him again.  Sam had been granted freedom but Adam was left behind. The one thing he wanted more than anything, more even than seeing his mom again, was to be free from the cage. Adam dug his fingers into the earth, feeling that it was real and damp beneath his nails.

He pushed himself up and looked around. It felt real. Was this Lucifer’s plan now? To drive Adam insane, make him think that he’d been spat out of Hell and then reveal that he’d never really left. Adam knew where they were. It was the cemetery Michael had worn his body to. Fitting that Lucifer chose this place. Adam got to his feet unsteadily. He was naked, in an abandoned cemetery and there was no one around.

“Michael?” he called out softly at first and then louder when he got no reply. “Michael?” He staggered forward, collapsing against one of the gravestones, huddled in on himself.

And that was where Sam found him two hours later.

**

Michael burned like fire and felt like ice. Adam didn’t know what he should be feeling, didn’t know if this was another torture from Hell or if his nerves where finally too frazzled to comprehend the signals they should be sending. Maybe Lucifer finally broke that part of him that understood pain and now everything would only hurt him. He had been overwhelmed by Michael before, subdued by him but Michael had been tender with him. He hadn’t hurt Adam even though he could have, even though Adam wasn’t the right fit for him - his second choice. He was always  careful with Adam, pushing him away so he didn’t bear the brunt of attacks, so if the worst happened and Lucifer won then Adam wouldn’t feel that killing thrust. They burned in Hell together because Michael had to let him go. He whimpered softly as Michael gathered him into his arms, wrapping his wings around him, trying to keep together the fragments of Adam’s soul.

“Michael,” he whispered and Michael hushed him with a kiss. There was a feeling like molten lead pouring into him, shaping him and Adam tried to pull away but Michael held him, covered him. He ran his fingers over the lines of Adam’s body, which was pulled back together and tied now with fragments of his grace. The pain had died, the physical sensation of it, but Adam felt the despair of being trapped there suddenly magnified. He wasn’t meant to go to Hell. He wasn’t for this place. Michael soothed a hand over his cheek, trying to distract him while Adam cried.

Lucifer circled somewhere overhead, watching them and Adam hid his head in Michael’s shoulder so that he didn’t have to see the other archangel.

Michael moved from kisses to caresses and when he was inside Adam it was almost unreal. He could feel the fullness of Michael, feel the stretch of his body but there was nothing there - Michael was made of light, color and nothingness. But it was a nothingness that touched right into the core of Adam and made him feel loved. Michael held him, carried Adam through his own orgasm and whispered to him.  Adam whispered back, about hopes, about his fears and how much he wanted Michael to find a way to free them and all the while Lucifer watched them.

And unbeknownst to Adam, in the depths of Hell something good grew.

**

“Do you think he could be a zombie?” Dean asked for what Sam counted as nearly the tenth time.

“No, Dean. Not a zombie,” he said patiently. “I think he’s just Adam. We’ve run pretty much every test on him and I really object to cutting unconscious people, Dean, if this ever comes up again. He’s not a dead thing, I don’t think there’s a demon in him and or that he’s still possessed by Michael. He just came back. I came back.”

“Yes but I….” Dean shifted uncomfortably.

“I know you did. Maybe someone did that for him,” Sam said softly, wondering if Castiel was taking matters into his own hands now when it came to rescuing Winchesters and their siblings from Hell. He’d seen how guilty Dean was because he picked Sam over Adam.

It was a choice Sam knew he’d make as well. Dean was his brother, Adam was a relative stranger. Although it was gloriously altruistic to expect Dean to pick the  half-brother he didn’t really know over the brother he’d practically raised Sam knew there was no way Dean would ever be able to make that choice. It was almost killing Dean to know he’d left someone down there to the torment of Hell as it was. If he’d left Sam in exchange for Adam, the guilt would have eaten him alive. Castiel would be able to see it too and Sam knew Castiel didn’t like seeing Dean suffer.

“I wish Bobby was here,” Dean said, shifting uncomfortably.

“We could give him a call?” Sam suggested but Dean shook his head.

“No. Not yet. We shouldn’t bother him unless we hit a wall. Let him and Rufus have some fun. Bobby hasn’t had a chance to go hunting without us on his tail in a long time.”  Sam could hear the hardness under Dean’s tone, even if he was trying to make a joke out of it.  The last time they’d been mixed up with the archangels, Lucifer had killed Bobby. Sam guessed that Dean wanted to keep him out of the way for as long as possible.  Sam couldn’t really fault him for that.

“Maybe we should call Cas, see if he can shed any light on this?”

“You mean I should call Cas,” Dean grumbled. “I don’t know if this is really his thing.”

“Our brother just came back from hell. I think Castiel might need to know about it.” Sam said tersely. He wondered if Dean and Castiel were fighting again. They were either fighting or in complete agreement with each other on everything.  If Castiel was following his orders again and parroting Dean’s words back to everyone, as if they came from God himself, then Dean most likely wouldn’t be in the mood he was. So the angel was likely back to showing some back bone and reminding Dean that free will meant making up his own mind about things.

“Dean,” Sam said again, softening slightly. “Please, he always comes when you call him.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Dean muttered, settling himself down at the table in Bobby’s kitchen, hands clasped together tightly and eyes shut. “Castiel, who art somewhere probably, I could really use a hand.” He opened his eyes and looked around the room expectantly and sighed. “Come on, Cas. Something weird is happening and I need you.”

There was a sound like the beating of wings and Castiel appeared behind Dean’s chair. “Are there demons?” he asked, a flicker of worry appearing over his face before vanishing.

“And hello to you too, Cas,” Dean said, turning to look up at the angel. “No, no demons. At least we don’t think so. We got a visitor from Hell but as far as we can tell he’s all human.” He pointed into the room they’d left Adam passed out in. “You might remember him, you dug him up once.”

“Adam,” Castiel breathed.

“Yes,” Sam agreed, feeling the need to slot himself back into the conversation before Castiel and Dean forgot about him entirely. “We’ve done the normal tests. He seems legit but we thought that before and he was dead so…” He trailed off, shrugging his shoulders and touching his stomach reflexively, remembering how the thing with his brother’s face had dug its fingers into him.

“I will see,” Castiel agreed, following Sam into the living room. He stepped through the salt ring to touch Adam’s sleeping face, frowning but then straightened up. “He is human.”

“Great. Good to know,” Dean said, leaning in the doorway. “What about Michael? Is he there too?”

“No, Michael is not currently inside your brother. There are…traces of him but his grace is not within Adam anymore,” Castiel hurried to reassure him.

“So how did he come to be here? Cas, if you angels are messing about with raising people from the dead again…”

“Dean, I assure you this is not something I did,” Castiel held up a placating hand. “And I have not heard anyone in Heaven making such a plan. Plans to free Michael and Lucifer, I have heard those but your brother was inconsequential.”

“Fucking angels,” Dean hissed.

“You also did not feel he was as important as Sam,” Castiel said, eyes narrowing slightly and Dean looked up at him, his face for a moment naked with pain then shut down again.

“Like I said, angels are dicks,” he said.

If Sam had had any doubts before now he knew with certainty they were definitely fighting.

“He’s here now,” Sam said. “Whatever choices anyone made, Adam is here, human and not possessed by Michael.” He crossed to sit down at Adam’s bedside, relived he could reach out finally and touch him. He was real. He wasn’t dead. He wasn’t possessed. He wasn’t wasting away in Hell because Dean couldn’t bear to let Sam go even though he’d been ready for it. Adam was here and Sam wanted to finally get that chance to make things right for him. “We need to ward him against the angels. Michael could be looking for him.” He stopped then, swallowing hard. “Are Michael or Lucifer free?”

“Not that I know,” Castiel confirmed again. “Adam is the only one who has returned.”

“Good,” Sam said quietly. “Good. Let’s just hope he wakes up soon. Maybe he can tell us something about how he got here.”

**

Adam was dreaming. He knew he was dreaming because he was in his own home and his mom was alive. She was at the stove, making pancakes and he was sitting at the table. It was a Saturday from when he was fourteen, her first weekend off in a month and he could remember every little detail from the way the radio had played ‘Walking on Sunshine’ to the smell of her perfume.

“Please, don’t let this be a nightmare,” he begged. He didn’t want her to turn round and have Lucifer’s face.

“Honey?” Kate turned to look at him, expression drawn in worry and Adam sighed in relief. Just his mom, the way she’d always been.

“Nothing. I just…it’s so good to see you.” He stood up, wrapping his arms around her and she felt real.

“I’ve missed you too,” she said, pulling him down so she could kiss his head. “Adam, I haven’t got very long.” She pulled away, looking at him sternly. “You’re going to wake up soon.”

“No, I’m not.” Adam said stubbornly and clung onto her a bit tighter.

“Yes, you are, honey.” She stroked her fingers through his hair, calming him the way she’d done when he was a child. “I just want you to remember that I love you, Adam. I love you and I will always love you. And Michael has told me…”

“Michael!” Adam interrupted, shocked. “You’ve met Michael?”

“Who do you think created this dream?” Kate said, still smiling. “He cares about you so much, Adam. He told me everything. I just want you to know…” Adam strained to hear what she was saying but the world seemed to go white, sound fading away until he was on his own, staring into blackness. The dream was over. His mother was gone and Adam had never found out what it was that she wanted to tell him.

**

“Adam? Adam!”

Adam sat straight up then wished he hadn’t. He fell back, head bouncing on the pillow and curled onto his side.

“Ten more minutes,” he huffed, waving his arm out to try and push away whoever was calling him. He squinted at them through half-closed eyes and realised who was looming over him. “Sam,” He breathed. “Oh god, how did you end up here again? Sam!” He struggled up and Sam gripped his shoulders, pushing him back down to lie flat.

“You’re not in Hell, Adam. You’re safe. You’re at Bobby’s. Dean and I got you,” he said, eyes raking over Adam as he tried to work out if Adam was any risk to himself or anyone else. “Castiel checked you over. He says you’re human and there’s no archangel riding your ass so that’s progress.”

“Michael…” Adam whispered, brow creasing as he frowned. He was alive but Michael was gone. He’d dreamed of his mother and she’d known about Michael, she’d know everything and there was something she tried to tell him.

“He’s gone, still in the Pit. You’re safe now.” Sam sounded jubilant but Adam felt like throwing up. He was free but Michael was in Hell.

“No,” he moaned, shaking his head. “No, Sam. Michael can’t be down there. He can’t.”

“Why the fuck do you care?” The voice, sharp and bitter, Adam knew immediately had to be Dean. He turned his head, glowering at his half-brother. Dean was slumped against the wall, looking madder and more beat up then the last time Adam had seen him which was saying something. “He put you in Hell. Wore you like a meat suit. You don’t owe that guy nothing.”

“He protected me. He saved me from Lucifer.” Adam said, his vision started to swim and he clutched at Sam, dragging himself up a little bit, his stomach lurching. “He’s…Michael is…”

“Michael’s a dick. All angels are dicks. If Lucifer and him rip each other to shreds we’re all better off,” Dean said, not even the slightest bit concerned about Adam’s reaction to the news that Michael hadn’t made it out of the pit with him.

“Go to hell.” Adam snarled, fingers digging into Sam’s arm before he keeled over onto his back.

Sam glanced over his shoulder at Dean, frowning at him. “A big help you were.”

Dean shrugged. “What? No point in letting him believe whatever they brainwashed him into thinking. That was what got him taken last time. Sooner he learns to hate them, sooner he stays alive.”

Sam was quiet for a moment, before he said casually “Whatever Cas did this time it must have really been a jerk move to put you in this kind of mood.”

Dean stiffened, standing up straight. “This isn’t about Cas,” he said then bolted for the door.

Sam huffed, pulling the sheets back up over Adam’s chest. “Yeah,” he murmured to the unconscious youth. “And you and I both believe that, don’t we Adam?” He settled back down in his chair, ready to resume his watch until Adam woke up again. This time hopefully without Dean to cause any more distractions.

**

The light was blinding. Adam covered his eyes and slowly he was aware of it taking shape, dimming until he could peek through the gaps in his fingers and finally see Michael. He looked the way he had always appeared in Hell - that strange man who was both familiar and new to Adam, strong jawed and dark haired. Adam felt his heart skip a beat.

“Michael,” he said, reaching out to touch the angel. “Michael, they said you didn’t make it out of Hell.”

“They were wrong,” Michael answered, arms encircling Adam and Adam had to laugh at that.

“Always straight to the point,” he said, grinning. He pulled back from Michael and looked into his green eyes, which when he thought about it reminded him oddly of Dean’s. “Michael, why aren’t you with me, then? If you got out?”

“There are things I must attend to, Adam,” the archangel said.

Adam sighed, pushing himself back into Michael’s arms.

“Just don’t forget about me, okay? Come back for me?” he asked, tilting his head so Michael could kiss him. He didn’t want Michael, now that he was free, to decide that there were more important things in Heaven than Adam, who was on Earth.

Adam had been his most important thing in the cage, the humanity he had strived to rescue and Michael had always promised he would free him and return him to paradise. He’d been a little off if he thought Bobby’s front room counted as paradise but he’d kept his other promises. Michael would always chose duty over pleasure, was made to always choose duty. Adam understood that and if there was something in Heaven that needed Michael’s attention then Michael would put that first but he needed to know that now that he was free Michael wouldn’t just abandon him.

“I could never forget about you,” Michael promised him, moving to claim Adam’s mouth with his own. “You are precious, Adam. Do not forget that.”

The blinding light encircled him again and Adam shut his eyes. In a flash, Michael was lost to him and Adam found himself alone in the blackness of his dreamless mind.

**

The second time Adam woke up he rolled onto his side and threw up. The room seemed to pitch and roll and he was aware of Sam shouting for help. He blacked out again before he could remember anything more.

**

His sleep was dreamless. No angels visited him. His mother did not appear. Adam wrapped his arms around himself and curled into a ball, waiting until he woke up again.

**

“Dean!” Sam shouted. Adam was groaning again. He’d been making noises intermittently, sometimes it even sounded as if he was trying to talk but this was different. His eyelids flickered and then opened and Adam stared straight up at the ceiling.

“Fuck it,” Dean swore, coming up behind Sam and taking a look down at Adam’s body. “I knew he was possessed or something.”

Adam blinked. His tongue skirted out to lick over his parched lips and he made an unhappy noise. “I taste like barf,” he said miserably. “And I’m not possessed. I want something to drink.”

Sam laughed. “Yeah, you threw up. Sorry about that.” He stood up, grinning at Adam. “I’ll get you a glass of water.” He patted Adam on the shoulder and Adam smiled weakly up at him. He remembered Sam from Hell, remembered the things Sam had told him and the pain when Sam was gone. He liked Sam. He could trust Sam. Dean was a different story.

His older brother loomed over him, frowning and Adam frowned back at him. “You’re wrong. Michael’s not in Hell,” he said, feeling oddly smug at how Dean’s face went slack at that information. He recovered quickly through.

“How’d you work that one out?” he asked, peering at Adam as if he wouldn’t mind finding out that he needed to do an exorcism. Adam pushed himself up, glaring at Dean.

“I saw him. He visited me in a dream.”

“Angels. Can’t even leave you alone when you’re asleep,” Dean muttered, sinking down into Sam’s vacated chair. “So, what did he want? Did he tell you why you’re here?”

“No,” Adam said, biting his lip as he tried to remember the dream, face flaming as he remembered Michael kissing him and hardly anything more than that. “He had something to do. He told me not to worry.”

Dean snorted. “Nice of him.”

“Michael isn’t as bad as you think, Dean. He did protect me….”

“He made you say yes to him. If I ever see him again I’m running him through with Cas’s sword.”

“Dean!” Sam’s voice came from the kitchen, sharp and annoyed. “We talked about this. Lay off.” He reappeared in the doorway, a glass of water in hand. “Adam is the person who’s important. Who cares about Michael? He isn’t here right now.” He passed the glass across to Adam and shoved Dean on the shoulder, trying to push him out of the chair. Adam sighed, sipping at the water.

“I’m sort of hungry too,” he said eventually. His stomach grumbled in agreement and Adam touched it, smiling awkwardly at his brothers. “Uh, they don’t feed you in Hell.”

“And you’ve been unconscious for the better part of four days.” Sam said. “I’ll get something. Just stay in bed. Dean, kitchen.” He grabbed his other brother by the shoulder and Adam noticed Dean physically wince before he stood up, following Sam. Adam restrained himself from making any whipped motions. He and Dean were still pretty much strangers. This time he needed his brothers and getting on the wrong side of Dean probably wouldn’t get him any points.

He laid back on the cot, hands stretching over his stomach and tried to make sense of what had happened. He knew Michael must have had something to do with it but how he managed to free them from the cage Adam couldn’t remember. The last thing he did remember was waking up in the graveyard and then everything was a blank. He tapped his fingers over his stomach, wondering if it was a good idea to try to remember or if he should count his blessings that Hell felt like a distant memory now. Even as he tied to remember his time in Hell he couldn’t remember most of it just the feeling of Michael’s grace around him, inside of him, protecting him from Lucifer’s attentions.

He closed his eyes, settling on that feeling and then opened them again, looking down worriedly at his stomach.  For a moment he’d felt a touch, light as a butterfly’s wings, as if something was moving inside of him. Then his stomach grumbled again and Adam shook his head, laughing to himself. Too long in Hell, too long playing host to an archangel. He’d forgotten his own body. He was just hungry. That was all.

He was human. He was safe. He should enjoy that for as long as he could because if Adam had learned anything it was that sense of safety didn’t last very long around the Winchesters.

**

“I think I’m dying.” Adam moaned, and closed his eyes tightly. His stomach gave another lurch and he reached for the bucket Dean had thoughtfully bought him.

“You’re not dying,” Sam said and Adam opened one eye to glare at him.

“I think I’ve got the most experience here out of all of us.”

“Debatable,” Sam muttered, reaching for a packet of tissues, throwing them to Adam to wipe his face with. Adam groaned again and lurched forward, another heave bringing up the contents of his stomach.

“I need to see a doctor,” he said when he felt the room was in focus again. “Sam, you need to take me to hospital.”

“No,” Dean said firmly. He shot Sam a warning glance. “You’re staying here. It’s just a virus or something. It’ll pass and we can’t risk going to hospital if it’s something you picked up in Hell. We can’t go scaring the doctors with angelic STDs or something.”

“Dean, Adam was trapped in hell with Lucifer and Michael…,” Sam gestured in front of him with his hands, trying to make sense of what he wanted to say but Adam cut him off.

“Don’t make prison rape jokes about your little brother, you fucking dick,” he said, burying his head in the pillow. “If you think its angelic then get Castiel or Michael. Please, I feel like….”

“Yeah, yeah. You feel like you’re dying. I heard you,” Dean crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not praying to Michael. That bastard isn’t setting one foot in this house.”

“I’ll do it then,” Adam said, rolling on to his side and he clasped his hands together, muttering feverishly till Sam pulled them apart.

“No, no. Dean will get Castiel,” he said, glaring at Dean who slunk away from the wall to the kitchen to commune with the angels. Sam pressed his hand to Adam’s forehead, frowning.

“You don’t feel hot.” He said and Adam pulled the covers up a little higher.

“Where did you go to medical school, Sam? I’m the only one here who’s got any sort of training. I can’t keep food or water down, I feel like I’m in the middle of the ocean when I’m standing on dry land. I’d call that a problem, wouldn’t you?”

“And we’re getting you help, ” Sam said, trying to be soothing but Adam only rolled his eyes at him.

“Yeah, from Dean’s pet angel. If we could call Michael he’d sort this, I know he would.”

“I am not Dean’s pet,” Castiel said from the doorway and Adam blanched slightly, not having suspected he’d be overheard. Castiel stepped forward, peering down at Adam. “I came because Dean said that you are sick.” He bent down and placed his fingers to Adam’s forehead and Adam slumped unconscious into the pillows.

Sam jumped to his feet. “Now wait a minute…”

“He is ill. He needs rest. This will make him better,” Castiel said with a half-shrug of his shoulders, straightening up again.

“Fine, but what’s wrong with him? Do you know?” Sam asked worriedly. Castiel glanced down at the sleeping form, his expression momentarily unreadable and when he looked back up at Sam his face was guarded.

“I don’t know,” he said, turning to leave.

“What?” Sam asked, catching him by the arm. “Damn it, I know you and Dean are fighting but Adam didn’t do anything to cause that to happen. Please, can’t you fix him?”

Castiel turned to look pityingly at him. “I have helped him as I can.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“I do not know, Sam,” Castiel said, pulling his arm away from Sam as if the man was of no importance. “Make certain he rests and drinks fluids.” And then he was gone, leaving Sam alone with Adam’s sleeping form. Sam sighed, collapsing into a chair and didn’t bother to look up when Dean came back into the room.

“So, did Cas dig up anything useful?” he asked and Sam wondered why Dean had taken to avoiding the angel now.  He rubbed at his eyes and shook his head.

“No, he put Adam to sleep and said that he didn’t know what was causing the sickness.”

Dean paused, frowning.

“That’s not good.”

“I know.”

“Do you think he might be….?”

“Dying again? Dean, I don’t know. I’d want to think God couldn’t be that cruel but if even the angels don’t know what’s wrong with him….” Sam shook his head again, not wanting to think about it. Adam was just ill. His system was getting used to him being alive again; to eating, drinking and being a normal human person.

“If you haven’t noticed, Sammy, God doesn’t give a damn about anyone anymore,” Dean said, turning away from Adam’s prone body to stare out the window and Sam couldn’t fault him. Every time Adam had come into their lives he’d been snatched away just as quickly. Dean didn’t want to get close to someone, whose history said he wouldn’t be with them for too much longer. Sam reached for Adam’s hand, clenching it tightly in his own and prayed for the first time in a long time that it wouldn’t be the case this time. If God was listening, if he still cared about them, then he’d save Adam this time.

**

“Michael?” Adam called. There was no light again, he was in the darkness. “Michael?” he shouted, wondering if he could get the angel to come to him if he called him loudly enough. There was the pulse of light behind him and he turned quickly. Another angel was there but this one Adam didn’t recognize. It didn’t look like any vessel Adam had ever seen Michael inside and the grace didn’t feel right. He knew what Michael felt like, that burning hot white power that spread through every bit of Adam and made him tingle.

“Sorry, Kiddo,” the apparition said. “Not Mike. He’s busy. I’m Gabriel, his little brother.”

“Gabriel,” Adam repeated, dumb struck.

“Yeah, you know, the Messenger. I heard you came back from the dead. Seems to be a lot of that going on at the moment.” The angel, Gabriel, flexed his fingers as if just experiencing them for the first time.

“Did Michael want you to tell me something?” Adam hazarded a guess and Gabriel beamed at him.

“He said you were smart. Not that smart, if you gave into him, but still you’re right that I’ve got a message for you.”

“What is it?”

Gabriel held up his hand, waggling a finger at Adam. “No, can’t tell you here. Big bro and bigger bro have got to be there too.”

“Are you planning to knock them unconscious and drag them into my dreams too?” Adam asked and then frowned as Gabriel seemed to consider the idea.

“You know, I think I could grow to like you, kid,” he said, draping his arm over Adam’s shoulder and grinning conspiratorially at him. “But no, I’m gonna come and see you soon though, keep your chin up.” He clicked his fingers and Adam found himself awake, tangled up in the bed sheets but without that nauseous feeling for the first time in what felt like weeks. He stumbled out of bed, trying to get to the kitchen, desperate for a drink of water. He got a few steps before his legs collapsed out under him and he tumbled to the floor.

Dean was there in an instant, strong arms wrapping around him and hauling him up. “I got you,” he muttered and Adam leant back into his arms, resting against him and trying not to remember that Dean was Michael’s true vessel, that Michael could have held him like this wrapped up in his brother’s body.

“I had a dream,” he mumbled. “I saw the angel Gabriel.”

“Gabriel’s dead, kid,” Dean said, dragging him back towards the cot.

“Maybe he came back,” Adam defended himself. “He said there was a lot of that going around.”

**

“Do you really think Adam saw Gabriel?” Sam asked. He was leaning on the rail of Bobby’s porch, looking out over the junk yard. Dean shrugged and took another sip of his beer. Adam was asleep and they’d both needed a breath of fresh air again.

“I don’t know. I think he’s dead. I don’t think he could have resisted fucking with us again if he wasn’t.”

“Maybe that’s what he’s doing now?” Sam suggested. Dean cast him a withering glance and finished the dregs of the bottle.

“Or maybe Adam’s just dying,” he said, hefting his arm back as if to throw the bottle then thought better of it and placed it down on the rail next to Sam. “I’m going in to check on him.” He said and Sam nodded. He heard the door shut behind him and sighed, leaning forward a bit more as he clasped his hands together.

“Gabriel, if you can hear this, I need to speak to you,” he tried. There was no sound but the wind and Sam shifted uncomfortably.

“Gabriel?” He called again, a little louder this time.  “If you’re alive, show yourself. Adam said he saw you. I need to know if it was you, if you’re back to being a trickster because faking your death and killing my brother is pretty much what you do. So if you’d like to come and tell me what lesson it is that I need to learn this time I’d be grateful because I just can’t take this anymore!” He looked up into the sky, into the glaring sun and wondered what good he was doing by standing out here, shouting at nothing and nobody when there was a noise behind him, the crackle of a chocolate bar being opened and then bitten into.

“Mmm, Sammy, you’re really still cut up about me killing Dean? Didn’t I say I was sorry for that? If I didn’t, I meant to.”

Sam turned quickly, already reaching out to grab Gabriel and force him bodily against the side of the house. Gabriel dropped his candy bar in the process, making a started noise. “Look at what you made me do! Now it’ll be dusty!” he complained.

“Are you doing this to Adam?” Sam growled. He should have known better than to believe Gabriel and his tacky porn video of a last will and testament. He’d always been a trickster but Sam had wanted to believe he could redeem himself. He’d thought he’d seen something in Gabriel, compassion and belief, but Gabriel was as untrustworthy as Sam had always known he was deep in his bones.

“Me? Hurt him? Nah, I’m not the one causing this. In fact, I’m here to make things better!” Gabriel grinned at him and Sam couldn’t help feeling there was something he was missing.

“How did you escape Lucifer? I thought he killed you?” he demanded.

Gabriel’s happy expression faded, his eyes becoming cold and in one swift movement he shoved Sam away from him and back up against the rail.

“I died. I died for you and your little cause. Happy now? I’m back from the dead, second chance,” he hissed and Sam almost felt sorry for having doubted him in the first place. As quick as Gabriel’s mood had soured it brightened again. “And with that in mind, he’s in there right?” He pointed to the front door and Sam nodded slowly. Gabriel barged in ahead of him and Sam followed wordlessly.

Gabriel had been resurrected. First Adam and now Gabriel. Whatever was at work here Sam wished he could make heads or tails of it because as happy as he was to have both of them back he didn’t feel he could trust it.

Adam was sitting up in his make-shift bed and his eyes widened when he saw Gabriel.

“Gabriel!” he breathed. “I knew you were real. I told Dean…”

“Yeah, well, your brother’s not the sharpest tool in the shed,” Gabriel said, throwing him a wink and making a lollipop appear from thin air which he handed to Adam with a flourish. “You’ve got to keep your strength up now.”

Adam frowned at him. “I really don’t think a lollipop is going to make me feel better,” he said dubiously but Gabriel ignored him.

“Deano! Sammy. I need you stand there, you can be my shepherds!” he said, grabbing Sam’s hand and trying to grab hold of Dean’s as well but Dean stubbornly refused to give it to him so Gabriel finally relented by shoving Sam next to him. “Right, stay there. Don’t talk. I’ll reveal it all in a minute.” He turned back to Adam, crouching at his bedside, unable to keep the grin from his face. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done this. I might be a bit rusty.”

He cleared his throat importantly and clutched at Adam’s hand. “Adam, be not afraid, for I am the archangel Gabriel and I bring you tidings of glad news, for you are blessed with a child.” He smiled up at Adam and Adam looked confusedly back down at him.

“I think you might have the wrong speech?” he ventured after a moment.

“No, pretty sure that’s the right one. Michael was pretty insistent on it and everything,” Gabriel said, reaching forward to press his hand against Adam’s stomach. “It’s kicking in there right now. Hello little angel.”

“Is it….kicking?” Sam asked. He wasn’t going to believe a word that came out of Gabriel’s mouth until he had proof, one way or another. Adam looked up at him, his face ashen and swallowed.

“Yeah. I think….yeah it is,” he whispered, looking down at his stomach in horror while Dean made a retching noise.

“How is that even physically possible? I’m a man. Men do not get pregnant,” Adam said emphatically, having made a split second decision that denial was the best course of action.

“Probably why Cas couldn’t tell what it was,” Dean muttered. “Not natural.”

Gabriel snorted, turning his attention onto Dean for a moment, eyes gleaming. “Oh, Castiel could tell. All of Heaven can tell. Michael’s up there kicking ass and taking names of anyone who’s even thinking about coming down here and trying to stop it. Whatever Castiel told you, he would have been able to feel Michael’s grace.” He eased up Adam’s t-shirt slightly, revealing the bump on the otherwise thin body. “An angelic pregnancy kid. You being a man isn’t going to stop that. Michael’s an archangel. Pretty sure he could impregnate a brick wall if he wanted to.”

There was the sound of Dean slamming the door behind him as he stamped outside and Sam collapsed heavily into a chair. “Maybe you should pray for Michael?” he ventured. Gabriel clapped his hands together happily.

“Isn’t it fantastic? We’re going to be uncles. I’ve got a reason to go to Winchester family reunions now.”

**

( Part Two )