Work Text:
For the fourth day in a row, Dean Winchester woke up about to ralph. He barely made it out of his room and into the bunker's bathroom before being re-acquainted with last night's chicken. Cas was there in an instant, flying to his hunter from his spot on the bed they now shared. He rubbed gentle circles into Dean's back, until the other man stood, and said,
"Well damn, ain't I a sight for sore eyes?" Castiel laughed, and said,
"Perhaps, but I never do tire of looking at you."
See, normally this is the kind of mushy crap Dean would have pretended not to hear, and then changed the subject, and beat himself up for it later. This time though, he simply shook his head, took Cas's hand, and led him out down to the kitchen. Dean was determined to make a nice breakfast, and he was damn sure gonna keep it down. As much as Cas and Gabriel had tried to tell him that it wouldn't work, the hunter figured that if the food tasted good enough, it wouldn't come back up. As it was, he would only be cooking for himself, Sam, and Cas, (who, although not being required to eat, had come to enjoy the experience) since Gabriel had left to take care of things in Heaven. This was a point of annoyance for both Dean and Cas, since, due to the... unique nature of the child, Gabriel was acting as the OB/GYN, and to be a good doctor, you kind of need to be present.
Dean began the process of baking French toast, one of his favorite breakfast foods. When he was younger, his mom would make it with him. In fact, after Sammy was born, Mary had been afraid that Dean would feel left out, so every Saturday and Sunday morning, when John would be off work, Mary would take her oldest son into the kitchen and bake French toast with him, which remains one of Dean's fondest memories and he still makes it exactly the way she taught him. Cas loved it as well, and Dean had decided he'd teach both his angel and the little one when it arrived.
"Dean?" Sam asked, pulling him out of his musings.
"Yeah, Sam?"
"You uh, you heard anything from Gabe lately? He's been gone for a while, and I just- y'know I was wondering about my little niece or nephew."
"Nah, I haven't actually." Dean turned to Cas, "Have you? Heard anything through the angel radio?"
"No, but- hold on," Cas said haltingly, "I think he's coming."
"What, like now?" Dean asked.
"Yes, I believe so." Cas answered.
As this exchange was going on, Sam was feeling worried. It had been about two weeks since they'd last heard from Gabriel, and he was not only curious about how the baby was getting on, but he was also concerned for Gabe himself. Now, Sam knew the Archangel could take care of himself. Hell, he'd been doing it for millennia before mankind stepped foot on the planet. But he still worried for his friend. You couldn't really blame him, since after how many friends he'd lost, he kind of became attached to the ones he had left. Speaking of which, he needed to call Jody and update her on Dean's condition. Jody had become very helpful with her pregnancy expertise, and all three men had decided that a female role model like her would be incredibly influential in the child's life. He'd have to call her later though, because at that moment, the great Messenger himself decided to appear in the kitchen.
"Ok, ok, you guys can stop falling over yourselves, it's just little 'ol me." Gabriel said.
All three other men pulled off the feat of the three-way synchronized eye roll, and Gabriel laughed.
"Come on you guys, didn't ya miss me?" He asked.
"Gabriel, where have you been?" Castiel apparently didn't deign his brother's question worthy of a response.
"I've been picking up where Dad left off, before everyone else mucked it all up. Rebuilding Heaven from the ground up little bro. Not as easy as it sounds."
Cas, Dean, and Sam were all in various degrees of shock. After the life Gabriel had led on Earth after the Fall of the Morningstar, taking charge like this was the last thing anyone would have expected of him. Apparently this showed on their faces, because Gabriel sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and continued by saying, (in a voice not unlike one would use to talk to a three year old)
"I know what you're all thinking. 'Why would he do this?', 'What makes him think he can do this?', 'Why now?'. All very valid questions. So, I'll explain."
After Gabriel came back and saw the state of Heaven, he felt a beckoning reaching out towards him, a feeling he hadn't felt in eons. It was his Father, he knew it. So he followed the the beacon that flowed through his grace, and found his Father in New Mexico. (Dean and Cas shared a look and a laugh at this, and the other two figured they wouldn't get it anyway.) He was surprised to see that God was in the form of the supposed prophet, Chuck Shurley. He said as much, and God told him that He didn't have to possess someone as His children did. He simply manifested in a human form, therefore, Chuck Shurley had never really existed. God told Gabriel that the chaos in Heaven needed to be sorted out, and that He, after much consideration, had decided that the new Heaven should be modeled on the English constitutional monarchy system, with Himself in the position of 'King', (providing guidance, helping where He can) and He wanted Gabriel, His last remaining Archangel, to be His 'Prime Minister' (giving orders, actually running things, doing all the not fun things that He didn't want to do). Gabe was shocked, to say the least. His Father talked him into it; however, and he had been getting Heaven into tip-top shape with God's help. He now had most dissenters either calmed or imprisoned, and all remaining angels were loyal to Gabriel. The reason Cas hadn't known about this was because God had cut the angel radio to him enough so that Cas didn't know anything, but he also wasn't suspicious. God told Gabe He did it so Castiel could focus on his mate and his child, and that soon He would call Castiel to Him to talk.
"Did he say what about?" Cas asked, confusion written plainly on his face.
"No, but he did want me to tell you-"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold up. Just give our little human minds a minute to process here, ok?" Dean said. He and Sam had both held their tongues during Gabriel's story, but they needed time to get through their minds all that this entailed.
"Ok, so, what did Chuck want us to know?" He asked, a few minutes later.
"He told me to say that the child is doing good, and His protection will envelope it throughout its life. It will never know pain, hunger, or cold. The same goes for the three of you. He is doing everything He can from now on to make sure you have the protection and prestige you deserve."
"Oh, and He also won't let any of us know the gender until the baby is born."
"Son of a bitch!"