Fic: Angel Baby, 1/2

[h4ppy_fun_b4ll]

Title: Angel Baby
Author: h4ppy_fun_b4ll
Artist: votaku
Rating: PG-13
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Dean & Gabriel, Castiel, Crowley, Balthazar, Rachel
Warning(s): A bit of language, a bit of violence, to people who at that point inhabit the body of a child.
Spoiler(s): Up to s6, then AU after that, with a few plotty mentions up to around 06x03.
Word Count: 13,364
Summary: Using grace left in the DVD given to the brothers, Gabriel manages to come back from the dead. Unfortunately there was only enough grace to scrape together a child's body. Dean, on his own after Sam's leap into the Cage, finds himself with a tiny ex-archangel. Gabriel wants Dean to help him get to the other angels, to get enough grace to change back to his normal form, but Cas and the others haven't answered Dean for months. In the meantime, Dean's stuck taking care of the kid, from trips to Wal-Mart, to diners, to a King of Hell or two. It seems like it should be enough to make him lose his mind. So why does he find himself enjoying it so much?
Beta: Michelle



Things weren't looking too good.
Okay, so compared to the Apocalypse- That- Damn- Near- Was, things were great. Fan- fucking- tastic. It's hard to beat having a continued existence, especially after almost fucking it up royally.

But things could have wound up a lot better, especially for someone who saved the entire goddamned human race.

Dean had tried at playing house with Lisa and Ben, he really had. It was important to honor the promise he made to Sam, of course, but it was also something he had actually wanted. He enjoyed it, having a kid look up to him and getting to be a part of them growing up. And having someone to wake up to every morning was a lot more awesome than he'd given it credit for in his one- night- stand days. But thirty years of habit was hard to break. He kept the house warded, despite Lisa's protests that company would find it and think they were some kind of Satanists. That was an ironic moment if Dean had ever heard one. He also found himself looking up mysterious activities in the nearby papers, and occasionally an interesting possible lead on getting Sam back. He'd promised he wouldn't try, but that didn't mean he couldn't get a few ideas every now and again. Not like anything was working anyway.

Sam was a whole different problem altogether. It was a wound that didn't ever scab over. It was the very reason he'd made his deal the first time around. Life without Sammy, his little brother, was a constant ache. At least before, when Sam was at college, he was passably content knowing the kid was doing okay. This time he knew for a fact that his brother was getting roasted by the two most powerful archangels in existence, who were probably pissed to-- pardon the expression-- Hell and back that they'd lost their change at their epic cage match.

And Adam too. His poor little half- brother, who hadn't known what he was getting himself into, plucked out of his heaven to spend eternity in a pit worse than Hell. Dean had failed the kid, there was no other way to put it. All his dad had wanted for Adam was to stay out of the life he'd had no choice but to drag his other boys into. And Dean couldn't even manage to keep that up; he'd plopped Adam right into the middle of it, and even worse, without the tactical training that John had given him and Sam. Basically defenseless.

He'd lost his two baby brothers to the devil and an archangel, and he was the one to survive. He'd read somewhere about survivor's guilt, probably from Sam. And needless to say, Dean Winchester had one epic case of it.

Cas didn't help matters. The angel had flown the coop without so much as a by your leave. Dean couldn't really blame him too much. He had his mojo back, and his house needed cleaning up after the monster party his siblings had thrown. Dean could understand that. But still, it would've been nice to have someone around, even if he'd never admit it. Lisa was great, and more compassionate than most would be, considering the circumstances.

But in the end, it wasn't enough for either of them. Lisa needed someone a little more... normal. And Dean needed something a little less normal. They parted amicably enough, and Dean promised to come by and visit, to see her and Ben on occasion. And then Dean found himself back on the road, this time without the rest of Team Free Will he'd come to count on to back him up. The only one who really understood anything was Bobby, but he had enough on his plate with keeping the sad list of remaining hunters alive. Times were hard for those that dealt with the supernatural; the fight against Lucifer and the angels had taken more than a few of their ranks, and now more things needed ganked than they had people to gank them. It was part of what had finally pushed Dean over the edge to start hunting again. Promise or not, there's no way Sam would've been happy knowing he sat around while people needed his help. But Bobby was busy keeping them organized and alive and fighting, so he definitely had no time to offer pep talks to Dean anymore. Dean understood completely; the younger hunter left him alone for the most part, taking on simpler cases and doing his own research. Sam's laptop proved to be more useful for him than a porn finder after all.

He was on one of those simpler cases, a poltergeist near Lexington, Kentucky, when the whole thing came to a crest. He'd taken down the pissed off spirit with only a few cuts and a black eye to show for it. He was back at the motel, stashing the more deadly weapons in the Impala's false bottom, when he found it. A small, unassuming DVD that had been tossed in the trunk for lack of anything better to do with it at the time. One given to him by a now- dead archangel, who'd set the plan in motion that saved the world.

Gabriel. Now there was another problem he hadn't let himself think about. Gabriel was... a jackass of the highest caliber, annoying, enraging and drove Dean to fits of violence on occasion, but he'd been a part of Team Free Will as much as the rest of them. He'd stood up when it counted, and for all Dean had complained, he respected that. Gabriel had been asked to do the one thing Dean could never have done, to kill his own brother, and Dean hated with every fiber of his being to be the one making that speech. Hypocrisy was not something he prided himself in.  And afterward, after the battle at Elysian Fields, there hadn't even been time to stop and think. Gabriel was gone, Lucifer was still kicking, and after they hadn't heard from the archangel a week later, Cas confirmed that his brother hadn't made it. And with dealing with the end of the world, Dean hadn't really let himself stop and thing about it. Just like with Ellen and Jo. It broke his heart to see all these people go, but if he had really stopped to focus on it, he wouldn't have gotten back up, and there had been too much at stake to get taken down by grief.

He kept the DVD in his hands as he returned to his room, turning it over restlessly in his fingers. He'd always liked Gabriel's style, he'd told him that on their first meeting, between hunter and trickster, even if he was a bit of an annoying douche. The angel- turned- trickster had a sense of humor-- dark, unique and most of the time particularly twisted-- but it was rare in their business, and even rarer for an angel. Sometimes he found himself missing Gabriel just as much as the others.

Dean felt a sudden surge of rage, bending the DVD case in his hands until it warped and snapped in two. He'd had it with this. Why should he sit here in a crappy motel room and feel responsible for everyone he'd lost in this stupid war? He knew he wasn't to blame, not really. All the friends he'd fought with had made their sacrifices for the good of humankind, to stop a common enemy.
And yet, sometimes he felt as if he'd stabbed each one of them individually. He'd tried his best, tried everything he could think of to keep them safe. They'd won, but most of them hadn't lived to see it. Even archangels weren't immune to death- by- Winchester association. Hell, not even Winchesters were immune to their own curse.

So now, here he was. Alone, fighting petty fights and withdrawn from everyone, human, angel and even demon alike. He tossed the broken case in the trash, grabbing the half- empty bottle he'd left on the table from the previous night. He was going to sleep, and self- medicating seemed to be the way to go.

oOoOo

The first thing Dean noticed after waking up the next morning- afternoon? who knows- was the splitting headache. Okay, so maybe the whole 'drink yourself to sleep' routine wasn't the best idea. But he'd finished the case already, so he didn't have anything else to do today. At least he had time to relax and nurse a hangover. His head was pounding, like he could actually feel the pulse throbbing through his temples. He hadn't been this hung over since the first weeks after the Almost- Apocalypse.

The second thing he noticed was the sunlight, streaming in through the open window. He frowned, opening his eyes blearily against the light to stare at it. Which, first of all, bad idea when it feels like a T- Rex is gnawing your skull open. But he blinked a few times, trying to clear his muddled head; hunter's instincts coming to the foreground, because he knew for a fact that window had been closed when he went to bed. And while he'd been pretty out of it last night, it wasn't bad enough to lose time.

The third thing he noticed, as he sat up to investigate the window, was the new, warm lump curled up to him under the cheap motel comforters. A lump that hadn't been there last night when he'd finally drifted off. He definitely wasn't drunk enough to hook up and forget it. So that probably explained the open window. Slowly, Dean reached for the knife under his pillow, his other hand grabbing at the edge of the comforter. He eased it back, blade at the ready, to be confronted with-

-a kid.

Dean gave the room's new addition an incredulous look. The boy was still fast asleep, tiny fists curled up and tucked under his chin. Dean estimated him to be around three years old, with disheveled chestnut hair. His bangs were on the long side, falling across his closed eyes, messy from sleep. With the blankets pulled back a bit, he could see the large orange t- shirt the boy wore, almost too big for his small frame.

But the more important question Dean found himself wondering, was what the hell a kid was doing sleeping in his motel room?

The boy must have sensed eyes on him, because he shifted, frowning a bit as he drifted into consciousness. His eyes were a bright honey- hazel when he opened them, and as he stared up at Dean, the hunter couldn't help but shake the feeling that this boy was familiar somehow.

The two stared at each other, Dean still with one hand curled around the handle of a knife. The kid didn't seem to be alarmed by this, he just stared, unblinking, before he broke out into a wide smile.

"Dean!"

Before the hunter could get over his surprise and react, the child lunged forward, wrapping his little arms around Dean's side in a hug.

"Um," Dean started eloquently, the knife sliding from his hand and onto the pillow. "What the fuck?"

The boy smiled up at him, still latched onto his waist as if he didn't plan to let go anytime soon. Dean was a little too hung over to deal with this right now. This whole, random children sneaking into his motel room kinda thing. It was a little too Dateline and made him uncomfortable for a variety of reasons.

Needless to say, he was moving a bit slow on the uptake. "You broke into my room?"

The kid nodded happily, like he'd accomplished something amazing. Which, Dean supposed, a tiny kid like that breaking into anything was probably quite impressive. "You were sleepin' so hard you didn't hear me when I knocked."

"Why did you bust into my room?"

"Cuz you were sleepin'-"

Dean held up a hand, rubbing his temple. "Yeah, no, I got that. Why my room in particular?"

The boy rolled his eyes, letting go of the hunter enough to lean back and stare at him with what may have been a glare, had the boy's face not been so round, instead becoming more of a sulky looking pout. "Cuz you're the only one I know! I'm not stayin' with a stranger, and I didn' wanna sleep by myself like this."

"You know me?" he frowned, and yeah, the kid had used his name before. Suspicious. "What are you?"

After another moment of staring, the boy blinked, a laugh bubbling out of his mouth.

"Seriously? You don't recognize me?"

He studied the kid hard. He did look familiar, but he wasn't one of the few kids they'd met up with. Like the antichrist kid. He couldn't place him.

The boy tilted his head in a way that was frustratingly familiar, small arms crossing his chest. "Really? You're the one I'm leavin' my fate up to? You can't even figure out who I am. How did I think you'd be able to help now? You were so drunk last night you didn't even notice me breakin' in! Some hunter you are!"

Dean scowled, both at the kid's accusations and the fact that this little smartass sounded so damed familiar.

Also, wait, what?

"What the hell do you mean 'leaving your fate up to me'? I dunno who you are or where you came from, but I do not babysit."

The boy's lip poked out in a pout, eyes shining dangerously as he narrowed them. "It's your fault I'm like this anyway! So man up, cuz you gotta help change me back!"

"My fault? What the hell? I didn't do anything to a shrimp like you!"

"'M not a shrimp, jackass!" Tiny fists clenched tight as the boy stood on the bed, wobbling a bit on his small legs as he attempted to rear to his full unimpressive height.

"Hey whoa, language, kid," Dean blinked. Where did such a little kid learn words like that? Come to think of it, the boy talked awful well-- and awfully mature-- for his age.

This did nothing for the child's mood. He clenched his teeth, letting out a frustrated growl and flopped back on the bed to scoot off of it onto the floor. Then he toddled to the door, fingers scrabbling to unlock it. "Fine then! If you won't help me, I'll do it myself! Thanks for nothin' Deano, I should've just let my brother kill me!"

He managed to pull the door open enough to get out, eyes blurred with tears. He left Dean to stare after him.

And then it all clicked. The familiarity, the language, the nickname, and the brother killing. He scrambled off the bed, ignoring the wave of hangover nausea that followed his quick movements. He yanked the door open, oblivious to the fact that he was only wearing boxers and a t- shirt, bare feet padding along the sidewalk as he hurried after the little guy.

Fortunately his small frame meant he couldn't walk very fast, so he hadn't gotten far. Dean scooped the kid up, causing him to squirm and thrash in the hunter's arms.

"Let me go! You said you didn't wanna help me!"

Dean tightened his hold, careful not to hurt him, but not wanting to lose his grip. He moved quickly back toward the room, hissing in the boy's ear. "Dude, shut up before someone thinks I kidnapped you or something!"

"It'd serve you right!" the kid snapped, a small foot digging into Dean's side.

"Gabriel stop it," Dean barked, slipping into the same authoritative tone his dad had used, and later Dean had used when Sammy's tantrums had grown out of control.

Gabriel froze, dangling in Dean's arms. He started up at the hunter in surprise, and Dean wondered why he hadn't recognized him right away, with those eyes. He took advantage of the kid's complacency, and hurried back into the room, kicking the door shut behind them. He sat Gabriel on the bed, then went to work, locking both the door and the window the little angel had come through last night.

That finished, Dean turned around to find the toddler staring at him. He scrubbed a hand over his face, unsettled. "Okay, so what the hell happened? I mean, you were short before, but this is taking it a bit too far."

"Oh, but you're hilarious," Gabriel drawled, snapping out of his shock, and sarcasm just sounded weird in such a young voice. "This is what happened after my fight with Luce."

"He turned you into a baby? That's pretty unconventional fighting."

"No, you moron," he rubbed a small hand against his temple with a sigh." I died, okay? You knew that. And it wasn't pleasant in any form, let me tell you. But that DVD I gave you, it wasn't just to fill you guys in on the Plan B. It had some of my grace in it."

Dean blinked. "The DVD? But I broke that last night."

Gabriel shrugged his tiny shoulders. "Rub the lamp, free the genie, somethin' like that, I guess."

Dean took a moment to process this. "So did you mean to come back tiny? Getting in on the childhood angels never had?"

Another sigh. "'A course not! This was jus' all the form my grace could muster up."

"So what you're saying is that not only are you the littlest archangel in the garrison, you're also tapped out on power?"

"Runnin' on sheer dumb human determination righ' now."

The hunter sat on the bed beside him, leaning back on his arms. "And I'm supposed to help you somehow?"

Gabriel nodded. "For starters, I can't exactly go runnin' around alone like this. People think it's pretty weird for a baby to wander alone sans a parental unit of some kind. They get 'specially creeped out when it sounds like an adult."

"You're telling me," Dean muttered, thinking back to the language the tiny angel had used earlier.

He continued on, regardless of the interruption. "So I need you to be the front. Act like you're my caretaker or somethin'. Cuz me being like this means I'm human, for all intents and purposes, so I'm gonna need to eat and sleep, and I can't exactly stroll into the nearest diner and ask for the breakfast special with a booster seat, if you catch my drift. Also, we need to look for some way to get my powers back. Cuz humans are good for a laugh, but I got no wish to join the club permanently. So in the meantime, you get your moose to start crackin' the books to see if he can find somethin'."

At the mention of Sam, Dean visibly flinched. "That... that's not gonna happen, Gabe."

He frowned, obviously not catching on. "Why not? You guys can't be doin' anythin' too serious. I'm guessin' since there's still a human race around here, that you guys locked my brother back up, so what's the pressin' concern? You haven't managed to piss him off into runnin' away again, have you?"

"Sam is..." he looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sam's gone."

Honey eyes widened, finally grasping at the seriousness of the hunter in front of him. Dean wouldn't joke about something like that. "What? But you guys are like roaches! I was honestly convinced you couldn't actually die!"

"Well he's gone," Dean snapped, getting up to pace the room. He didn't want to talk about this, not when it still hurt so much-- but then again, he didn't think there would ever be a time when it didn't hurt. "Sam let Lucifer in so he could take the fall into the Cage. Took Michael with him, wearing our half brother."

"Fuck," Gabe breathed, once again throwing Dean for a loop at the words coming out of a three year-old's mouth. "I'm so sorry."

And the funny thing was, he honestly sounded it. For one of the few times since Dean had met him in Ohio, he sounded compltely serious and sympathetic. And not in that 'I'm sorry for your loss' kind of way. Gabriel was one of the few people who knew just how much Sam meant to Dean. How much it hurt to lose a brother you were that close to.

Gabe gnawed at his lip, like he wanted to ask something but was afraid to. Finally, he squeaked out a word. "Cas?"

"Cas is fine, he's back playing sheriff in Heaven."

Gabe's small shoulders slumped in relief. Dean was almost a bit jealous. "Can you get hold of him?"

"I can try. He didn't exactly leave a forwarding address, but maybe his phone's not smashed into tiny heavenly pieces. Cuz the usual method hasn't exactly been working."

"He's not answering prayers?" the boy frowned in confusion.

Dean shook his head. He didn't exactly blame Cas for not answering, he supposed he'd been pretty awful the first few weeks after Sam's martyr act. Cas had work to do, an entire population of angels that were now missing three- fourths of their leaders. It had to be chaos up there. But Dean had been hurt, and when Dean hurt, he had a tendency to lash out on whoever was closest. And poor Cas had taken the brunt of that without comment. And then eventually he'd just stopped coming around at all, leaving Dean to his white- bread world and barely- masked pain. Dean hadn't seen the angel since.

"Anythin' else happen while I was busy bein' floating particles in the ether or whatever?" Gabriel's question brought the hunter back out of his thoughts.

"I think that's about it," Dean sighed, running a hand through his short hair. He looked at the tiny ex- archangel sitting on his bed. This was a hell of a lot to take in. He turned on a heel, going to his duffle.

"You wanna go for breakfast?" he asked, rummaging through the contents. "I need coffee before I deal with any of this."

Gabriel arched a brow, a weird expression for a child. "Will there be pancakes?"

"Yeah, sure," Dean came back to the bed, holding a small silver knife and his flask of holy water. "Just need to do the tests first. Standard 'coming back from the dead' procedure."

The boy wrinkled his nose, holding an arm out. "Always a catch."

oOoOo

After assuring Dean that he wasn't any kind of demon or shapeshifter, and a bandaid on his arm from the motel's bathroom, Gabriel trailed happily behind the hunter as the pair headed to the Impala. He started to struggle with the passenger door, but Dean stopped him. "Whoa, shrimp, you're in the back. I'm not getting pulled over for letting your tiny ass ride shotgun."

Gabriel stuck his tongue out, but shuffled into the back seat, buckling his seatbelt.

"And try to duck down back there. You're supposed to have a carseat or something."

He just grinned as he felt the boy kick his seat.

The diner he chose was the usual fare. Small, cozy and busy enough to not call attention to themselves. Dean got a booster chair for Gabriel, shooting the kid a smirk as he glared. But Dean ordered him pancakes and chocolate milk, so he was appeased a bit after that.  Dean pushed his eggs around on his plate, watching the kid struggle with the fork. The brain knew what it was doing, but his fingers were tiny and unused to the task. Dean had already cut the pancakes into small pieces, much to Gabe's embarrassment. But despite it all, Dean actually found himself enjoying this.

"So," he started, biting into a slice of bacon. "You got any ideas on how this whole thing's gonna work? Are we looking for a spell, or a tree full of grace or something?" He recalled Anna, trying to hunt down a tree that had contained her grace, before Uriel had gotten hold of it.

"Honestly? Dunno," he replied around a mouthful of pancake. "This sort of thing usually doesn't happen, so there's not really any past experience to go on. That's why I hoped Cas could help, if he's back on Heaven's good side."

"Well, I'll keep trying, but Cas isn't answering."

Gabe sipped at his chocolate milk, complete with a crazy straw. Being a kid had a few perks at least. "We'll have to look for somethin' else then, since you two aren't BFFs anymore. What'd you do, anyway?"

Dean frowned. "Why do you assume I'm the one that did anything?" Gabe leveled him with a look. "Okay, fine. Things got a little rough when Sam was gone, and I may've taken it out on him a bit."

"Nice, Deano. Real smooth."

"Pipe down, Fun Size, we'll see what we can come up with. This might be big enough to give Bobby a call."

The waitress came by, offering Dean a refill on his coffee. She cooed over Gabriel, who only stared at her, lest he blow his cover on some sarcastic remark. She ruffled his hair before heading back to the counter, sending Dean a smile.

"The sooner the better," Gabe grumbled, moving to fix his hair once she was out of earshot.

"I dunno," Dean grinned against his coffee cup. "Might keep you around a bit longer. Chicks dig single dads."

Gabriel threw a sugar packet at him.

oOoOo

The next stop was the nearest department store, to get a few things Gabriel needed to look the three year- old part, and Dean to not look like some negligent guardian. Namely shoes. And a jacket. The weather wasn't unreasonably cold, but it wasn't exactly warm either. Gabe would be fine in the orange t- shirt and denim shorts he'd shown up in, but he needed something against the breeze.

And definitely the shoes. Because even in the diner, Dean had gotten a few dirty looks at the kid's bare feet.

So to the Wal- Mart they went. Dean grabbed a cart from the stack, plopping the boy in the seat of it and heading for the children's section. He flipped through the racks of little jackets while Gabe glared at him. The little angel crossed his arms, leaning back in the seat. "How come I gotta ride up here? I'm not really a kid, y'know. I can walk."

"Yeah, but I don't feel like waiting for you to catch up on those stubby little things," He smirked, reaching out to poke at the boy's leg. Gabriel retaliated with a yelp and a flailing kick. "Plus you're not wearing shoes and tile floor's cold as shit. And besides, I don't want you wandering off."

Honey eyes narrowed. "You do realize I'm like, millennia older than you, right?"

"And right now, you're in a kid's body. Kids wander off. Hell, you wandered off a lot when you were an adult."

He'd meant it as a joke, not really thinking about the hidden meaning behind the words until he said them, watching the boy's face crumple. Quickly he added, "Besides, I'm supposed to be your guardian. This is what parents do, put kids in the cart."

Gabriel grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'fuck you'. Dean pointedly ignored it, pulling a tiny brown jacket from the rack. He looked from it to the kid, estimating if it would fit. Gabe was kinda short, even for a three year- old, and a little chubby with the soft baby fat. He hadn't had to judge a kid's size since Sam was one, and Dean had scrounged up clothes for him at whatever thrift shop they'd come across when John wasn't around to take them to the store. And Sam had been a little scrawny thing anyway, until high school.

He popped it off the hanger. "Here, try this on."

Gabriel inspected the jacket critically before taking it from him, squirming into it. Dean had to help him, his small arms getting caught up in the sleeves, but they eventually managed. "How's it feel?"

Gabe shrugged. "Fits pretty good. I like it. It's got dinosaurs on it. Dinosaurs rule."

Dean snorted as the ex- archangel ran a tiny hand down the cartoon T- Rex on the jacket's front. "Well, I guess that's the one then, huh?" he chuckled, ruffling the boy's hair fondly, before he even knew what he was doing.

There was a moment when a thought struck him as weird. He'd only been with Gabriel in this form for a few hours, and he was already getting used to him like this. Dean liked kids. He'd been raising one for most of his life. Not to mention the kids they stumbled upon in their jobs. It seemed like when there was a child involved, Dean always took the case a little more personal. He'd always noticed it, even without Sam there to point it out to him, but he'd never made anything of it.

But those months spent with Lisa and Ben had made Dean realize just how awesome it was to have a kid around. And then Gabriel had broken into his motel room. So yeah, he was kind of enjoying himself right now. Even if the pint- size ex- archangel was a lot of trouble. And a lot of mouth.

He was taken out of his thoughts as he noticed the other's honey eyes on him. "What?"

"You're enjoyin' this too much," Gabriel accused, small hands moving automatically to fix his hair.

"Dunno what you're talking about, Fun Size." Dean grinned, moving the cart-- and the boy inside-- to the next isle, looking around for shoes.

Gabriel frowned at him from the seat, twisting his head to keep Dean's eye contact. "Don't lie to me. I'm an archangel and a trickster, I can tell when someone's lyin' to me."

Dean fought the urge to correct him with the past tense. Reminding Gabriel of their situation wasn't going to do anything but upset the kid more. Instead he busied himself with tossing a pack of tiny socks in the basket and rolling the cart down the tile floor into the shoe section.

"I'm serious, Deano, you need to be one hundred percent on helpin' me here," the boy crossed his arms, "It's gonna be hard enough to figure this out. I need to know you're backin' me up, and not secretly wishin' I'd stay this way forever so you can have someone to take care of."

"What are you talking about? You think I want to be stuck on babysitting duty forever?"

Gabriel arched a tiny brow. "You've done it most of your life, I figure you'd start to miss it after a while."

He didn't flinch, but just barely, as the small angel hit the point right on the head. He may not have had his powers any more, but it still seemed like he could read Dean like a book. So he did what Dean Winchester did best. Complete denial. "You're cuter this way, but don't get any ideas. I want you out of my hair and playing tricks on dickbags somewhere else as soon as possible."

Whatever humor was in Gabe's expression dropped at those words. "Oh, well yeah, guess once I'm back to normal, I'd be out of your ridiculously pretty hair."

"Of course you would." And he would. What reason would Gabriel even have to stick around with Dean after he was back to his normal archangel self? It's not like they'd been friends before Gabe's tangle with Lucifer at Elysian Fields. Hell, if anything, it was mostly Dean's fault Gabriel had been killed in the first place. Of course the archangel would hold that against him. Dean had blamed himself for it right after it had happened, so he knew Gabriel couldn't be happy with him. He was probably itching to get away from the hunter as soon as possible. It probably pissed him off that he had to go to Dean for help, of all people. Helping Gabriel get his grace back was probably the LEAST Dean could do to make up for everything, and here he was, contemplating how much he liked having the little angel around in his child form.

"I can see the steam comin' from your ears, Deano," Gabriel joked halfheartedly. In his adult body, he might have been a master at masking his emotions, but his child's face hid nothing. He was still sad, most likely about thinking he didn't have Dean's help after all, and Dean couldn't let that slide. He owed Gabriel that much at least.

His normal grin slid easily onto his face, placating and seemingly normal. "Just thinking of possible spells that I'd seen that could maybe help us fix this."

Gabriel hummed, resting his elbows on the cart's handle, chin braced on his hands. Dean couldn't tell if it was because he didn't like where the conversation was going, or because his child- self was bored already. Gabriel had a short attention span as an archangel, so it was reasonable to think he had a worse one as a human child.

Dean decided to let the subject drop entirely, focusing on the task at hand. Picking the kid up under his arms, he lifted Gabriel out of the cart, setting him down on the cushion in the shoe section where people tried on their choices.

"Stay here. I'm gonna go pick out a round of stuff so we can see what size you wear, okay?" Gabriel nodded and he grinned again. "I'll see about finding something with dinosaurs."

"You really know how to sweet talk a guy, Dean- Bean," Gabriel cooed, giving him a wink.

It was way more of a hilarious gesture on a three year- old. Dean laughed. He then made his way down the isle, careful not to go too far. Gabriel was a little too mischievous to be left on his own for long. He tried to remember about what size Sammy had been when he was that age. It was harder than he thought; it'd been a LONG time since Dean had picked out clothes for his baby brother. Eventually he stopped trying, and just grabbed a few boxes of differing sizes. They'd find out what worked, and then try to find something the boy actually liked. Dean balanced the boxes together, carrying the stack back to where he'd left Gabriel and the cart.

The cart was there.

Gabriel was gone.

oOoOo

Dean was freaking out.

Okay, so, maybe it wasn't as bad as all that. So he'd lost the archangel- turned- child that had broken into his motel room this morning. Maybe it wasn't that big a deal. Gabriel had been around for pretty much ever. He'd taken care of himself long before Dean had come along.

Of course, he'd taken care of himself in an adult body, with the help of magical angelic and pagan powers.

So yeah, Dean was freaking out just a bit.

He left the shoe boxes on the booth, and the cart with it. The kid had tiny legs and no shoes, he couldn't have gotten that far, right?
But this WAS Gabriel he was thinking of here. If anyone could manage to create chaos in half a minute, it was him. Dean couldn't tell if he was more worried about the tiny ex- archangel or the store in general. He had a feeling he'd be paying for something broken by the end of this adventure.

Dean took off down the major walkway, peering into the isles on either side of him. There were people mulling about in their shopping, and occasionally a kid would make him stop to look twice, but he couldn't find Gabriel anywhere. He decided to switch tactics, instead going to places he figured the kid would wander of towards.

The first stop was the most obvious. Anyone who'd spent more than ten minutes in a room with Gabriel knew he had a notorious sweet tooth. It bordered on addiction. So Dean headed to the isle where the candy was, searching the row that held enough sugar to keep Gabe going pretty much for years. But no archangels of any size or shape. Dean tried to think of somewhere else.

Kids liked toys, right? And even if Gabriel wasn't really a kid, he still liked shiny things. It was as good a shot as any, he figured.
He hadn't heard any screaming yet, so he considered that a good sign. Maybe Gabriel was just acting like a normal little kid, playing around with some toys. He found his way to the toy isle, shuffling through the brightly colored shelves. There were plenty of kids there, poking around at things on the shelves, talking with their parents, even a pair of siblings beating each other up with foam pool floaties that vaguely reminded Dean of himself and Sammy from their childhood outings to stores. But no Gabriel.

As calm as he was trying to be, it was getting harder to not start panicking. If this were a normal child, he'd have been worried, sure, but nothing too bad. This was something completely different. Not only was this a kid, liable to get snatched up by anyone who saw him wandering around on his own, but Gabe was also something that used to be not human. Something that was used to having powers to save him in case of trouble, and tended to start trouble because of that very reason. Something that was used to being in control of most situations, and didn't have to worry about pesky limitations like pain and injury. And something that, while he looked like a normal human child, didn't really know the first thing about acting like one. All that had to happen was that Gabe run into a greeter or stocker or something and start going into a conversation that children shouldn't know how to have, and someone would start getting weirded out or suspicious.

Not to mention Dean would look like one hell of a crap parent when he finally found the kid.

Hilarious incidents with pool toys aside, there was no sign of Gabriel in the toy isles. Dean, having not spent much time with kids outside of his own brother decades ago, wasn't really sure where else kids gravitated to when left to their own devices in stores. But this was Gabriel, so maybe he wasn't thinking like a kid.

So where would an ex- archangel find himself interested in?

He decided to try the random isle check again, since he had no idea which specific place to look. He moved quickly, dodging around slow customers and whipping his head to either side to check both isles along the way.

"C'mon, Gabe, where did you go?" he muttered, teeth grinding in an odd combination of nerves and frustration. If he found the kid, he was going to make sure he was safe, then he was going to kill him.

There was nothing in the electronics section. He'd half expected to find him there, staring at whatever cartoon they always had playing on the giant TVs for sale. He'd found Sammy like that once, enthralled and watching The Lion King when it came out on video. No such luck with Gabriel. Although there were a group of kids watching some kind of fighting panda bear movie. Which told him that at least some things hadn't changed that much.

He could feel himself getting more worried as time went on. Anything could have happened to the kid, and he was supposed to be taking care of him. He should've never let Gabe out of the damned cart. Of COURSE he wasn't gonna stay put. It was Gabriel. The only angel to listen to orders worse than Lucifer. And there was the nagging fear that Gabriel was off doing something not only dangerous, but liable to get them kicked out of the store, or even worse, get Dean arrested for bad parenting.

Dean stopped short as he caught sight of a small form in an orange shirt. He broke into a run, nearly running the kid over before realizing it wasn't even Gabriel. Instead a small girl in an orange dress stared at him with wide eyes, letting out a loud whine. Dean froze immediately, hands held up disarmingly.

"Whoa, chill kid. I thought you were someone else."

It was at that moment that the girl's mother decided to emerge from a rack of clothes, glaring at Dean as she took her daughter's hand.

Fuck, Dean was going to get arrested.

He tried his best charming smile, taking a step back and trying not to look suspicious at the same time. Last thing he needed was someone calling Dateline. "No, seriously, my bad. I'm looking for... my kid. He was wearing an orange shirt, I panicked and thought..."

The woman's eyes softened immediately, even if the hold on her daughter remained. "Where did you see him last?"

Dean blinked. He hadn't expected questions. But if someone could help him find Gabe before there was trouble, that was welcome help in his book. "In the shoe department. I only left him for a second to get a box. Couldn't have been more than ten minutes ago, I've been looking for him ever since."

"Have you tried the toys?"

He nodded. He wondered how much help she'd actually be, if she thought he was one of those useless fathers who didn't know anything about kids. For some reason, the thought made him mad. "And candy. And electronics. And pretty much every isle between shoes and here."

The woman frowned in thought, looking around as if she expected to see Gabriel just wander up at any moment. "How old is he?
You should go to the front desk. They can call him on the intercom if he's old enough to recognize it. Otherwise, they'll put out a store search for him."

Dean wasn't sure if he wanted that much attention drawn to the situation. If it were a normal child, that would be an excellent idea.
But there was a chance that Gabriel would stay missing just to mess with him. Not to mention everyone would know that Dean couldn't keep track of a little kid.

But the woman was looking at him expectantly. So he nodded. "Good idea. I'll try that, thanks."

"If nothing else," she continued, "Try to think of things he likes. One time my Rosalee and I got separated, and I found her over in the dishes because she found some plates with giraffes on them."

"I like giraffes," the girl, Rosalee told him with a happy smile.

Dean nodded absently, leaving the pair to their shopping. That was weird.

He started up the search again, vaguely wondering if he should take the mother at her advice and have the front desk call him. He knew Gabriel would hear it, and he'd know what it meant. But the last thing they needed was the attention. He went over the rest of the advice he'd been given in his head.

Try to think of things he likes...

He frowned, thinking back to Gabriel sitting in the cart and talking to him. The jacket he picked out.

The dinosaurs it had on the front.

Dinosaurs rule.

It clicked in his mind then, and he was surprised he hadn't thought of it sooner. He turned on a heel and rushed toward the kids' section they'd come from before going to look at shoes. He figured it would be the best place for dinosaurs.

Dean found the boy after skimming a few isles. Gabriel didn't even notice he'd been caught. He was fixated on climbing the shelf in front of him, determined to get to the plush dinosaur toys at the top; his tiny feet planted on the second ledge as he reached for the third level. Before he knew what he was doing, Dean let out a rather indignant yelp, bolting down the isle to yank the kid off the shelf. Gabriel screeched, immediately kicking and squirming in surprise.

"Jesus, Gabe calm the hell down, it's just me!"

Gabriel stopped thrashing, tilting his head up to stare at the hunter. "Oh. Hey Deano, what's the happs?"

Dean gave him the most incredulous look he could muster up as the boy dangled loosely from his arms. "What the fuck, Gabe?! I told you not to wander off! I was gone for like, half a minute and you're just strolling all over the place!"

"What's the big deal? It's not like I couldn't find my way back."

Dean fought the urge to give Gabriel a shake. He really did. "That's not the point! What if someone had tried to kidnap you? Or an employee picked you up and tried to start trouble cuz I lost you?"

Gabriel crossed his small arms across his chest, feet kicking idly in the air as Dean held him up. "For starters, not really a kid, remember? So kidnapping isn't really much of a threat. And secondly, you're worrying too much. You know how many kids get lost in a Walmart every day?"

He squirmed in Dean's arms once again, snatching an orange T- rex off the shelf. Dean didn't bother to argue.

Instead, he started back toward the shoe section, where he'd left their cart. He kept an arm wrapped around Gabriel's waist the whole time, not about to let him down for a second after this. "Kidnapping IS a concern. You might not think like a kid, but you've still got the strength of one. And no mojo to back it up with right now. Besides, what's the point of me pretending to be your guardian if you're not gonna stay with me?"

"You're just making a big deal outta this cuz you like to pretend I'm some little kid that needs savin'," he muttered, hugging up to the toy as Dean plopped him back into the cart. Thankfully no one had decided to move it. After all this, Dean really didn't feel like starting the shopping all over again.

"You asked for my help, Gabe. Don't complain when you get it."

Honey eyes narrowed into an angry pout. "You haven't actually done anythin' to help yet! You've just been runnin' around playin' parent! We're no closer to gettin' me back to normal than we were when I started!"

Dean turned around from where he'd been picking up the shoe boxes. "Excuse me?"

"Just face it! You're not helpin' cuz you like me better this way!" Gabriel snapped. "I'm little, you think I need someone to take care of me, and doin' this makes you forget about how much it hurts cuz Sam's gone!"

Dean dropped the box he'd picked up. He didn't say anything, just stared at Gabriel with wide eyes. For his part, Gabriel winced at his own words, looking away from the hunter. He curled in on himself, little shoulders slumping as he pressed his cheek to the dinosaur's head. Neither spoke for a few moments, and when Dean could focus his thoughts enough to look around, he considered himself lucky that no one was in the isle with them to hear the outburst.

He knelt down to pick up the box for the second time, feeling a mix of anger and guilt swirl around in the pit of his stomach. When he stood back up, he glanced at Gabe's face. The boy's eyes were bright with tears, and he clutched at the toy like a shield. Dean sighed.

"Gabe..."

Gabriel didn't look up at him. "Sorry."

The hunter nodded, willing to forget the conversation ever happened for now. Not like he enjoyed talking about these sorts of things anyway. Instead he busied himself with the shoes, holding onto Gabriel's foot while he tried a few on. The ex- archangel didn't speak, just watched him from behind the toy. After figuring out the size he needed, Dean left him in the cart, taking the boxes back to their shelves and picking out something he figured Gabriel would like. The whole situation was tense now. He was angry, sure, but when he actually stopped to think about it, he wondered how much of what Gabriel had said was actually true.

He showed Gabriel the shoes, tiny little velcro sneakers with a cartoon stegosaurus on the side. Gabriel nodded, even going so far as to offer a tiny little smile, but it wasn't up to his usual standards. Dean wondered if there was something he could do to at least get them back on friendlier terms.

Looking around the isles as they headed to the check- out, he spotted something. With a grin, he tossed the package in the cart.
Gabriel didn't even bother to look.

Later, in the parking lot, Dean sat the boy sideways on the Impala's backseat, fitting him with the newly- purchased socks, shoes and jacket. He tossed the rest of the bags in the seat, opening one in particular.

"It's nice out," he commented idly as he worked, pulling the contraption from its wrapping and looking it over. "Let's take a walk. I saw an ice cream joint down the street, I'll bet they've got some good stuff."

Gabriel looked up, curious, just in time for Dean to wrap the thing around his chest, snapping it in place. The boy stared at it, giving him a wide- eyed look as he realized what it was. Dean just smirked at him, adjusting the handle part of the kiddy leash. It was in the shape of a monkey, soft and plush, its arms the straps that wrapped around Gabriel's little torso.

"Oh fuck you, Winchester."

"Don't say fuck, Gabriel. Kids don't say fuck."

This got him a full out grin from the kid. "Kids learn from adults though, and you say fuck all the time."

"Do as I say, not as I do."

"Fuck off," he replied cheerily, hopping off the backseat with his dinosaur in hand. "You owe me ice cream, let's go."

Part 2