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Dean was away for a hunt, and the uneasy mood at house was clearly noticeable.
Him and Sam are still sometimes going on hunts, but it’s more rare. If there is a job and there is no-one there to take care of it, one of them go and the other stay with the kids.
Gabriel was the one that took dean trip the hardest, the kid had really bad separation anxiety that they really needed to work on.
From the moment that dean left Gabriel started to act more emotional. Gabriel, who was generally the one that loved to take showers and was the easiest during the night routine, was tonight having a really hard time.
Sam had to shower and dress him while he was crying into his shoulder. After that, he Sat with him until he fell asleep, which was pretty quick. The kid wore himself out.
In the middle of the night Sam woke up to a scream from Gabriel’s room. He quickly got up and when to his room, passing the open door to see the twins sleeping like bears.
He got into Gabriel’s room to see him choking on his own breath.
"What's wrong, Gabriel?" Sam asked, as he sat down beside him. He knew that this crying was just because of deans trip, but he still wanted Gabriel to tell him.
"When- I wan-" Gabriel wailed, his body shaking with sobs. "I don’t want him to- leav-e"
Sam knew that Gabriel's panicking could spiral out of control quickly, so he tried to remain calm and reassuring. "It’s okay." He smoothed. “He will come back, I promise you.”
Gabriel had his head on his the pillow, he was laying on his stomach while Sam is running his fingers up and down his back. "Why does he needs to leave!." he cried out, his voice hoarse from all the crying.
Sam quickly realized that Gabriel needed to hear Dean's voice. He picked up his phone and dialed Dean's number, putting it on speakerphone so Gabriel could hear.
"Hey Sammy, what's up?" Dean's voice came through the phone. He sounded tired.
"Hey, Dean. It's Gabriel. He's having a really hard time right now," Sam said, his voice is dropping from being woken up in the middle of the night.
"What's going on, kiddo?" Dean's tone softened.
Gabriel's sobs began to subside a little as he heard Dean's voice.
"Come back," Gabriel whimpered. "I'm scared."
"I know you're scared, but I promise I'll be back soon. You're safe with Sammy," Dean said, trying to reassure him.
Gabriel's cries turned into sniffles as he listened to Dean's words.
"Can you say goodnight to Dean, Gabriel?" Sam asked gently.
He didn’t want in fact to say goodnight to Dean. He wanted to keep talking to him! But he only let out another sob as he heard Dean again.
"Hey, kiddo. I really need to go. And you need some sleep!, I'll be back before you know it. Love you," Dean said, his voice full of warmth.
"Don’t go" Gabriel replied, his voice barely above a whisper.
Sam could see that Gabriel was still very upset and wasn't ready to say goodnight to Dean just yet, but just by the sound of Deans voice he knew he really needed sleep. He held Gabriel tightly, trying to soothe him as he continued to shake and cry
Sam hung up the phone and kept holding him tightly as he continued to sniffle and wipe his tears. It wasn't a cure-all, but for now, hearing Dean's voice seemed to have calmed Gabriel down enough to get some rest
"It's okay, Gabriel. You don't have to say goodnight to Dean if you don't want to. He'll understand," Sam said in a gentle voice.
Gabriel's sobs gradually subsided, but he was still clinging to Sam tightly, his whole body trembling with fear.
"I miss him." Gabriel said, his voice shaking.
Sam knew that Gabriel was on the brink of falling asleep without his consent.
"Dean is a great hunter, Gabriel. He knows how to take care of himself. And he'll always come back to us," Sam said, his voice soothed, full of reassurance.
Gabriel was starting to really relax, his body was still shaking but he stoped breathing heavily.
Sam realized that it was maybe for the best if Gabriel didn’t sleep alone tonight. He carried him to his bed, sitting down next to him and pulling him onto his lap.
"Let's try some deep breathing, okay?" Sam said softly, placing his hand on Gabriel's chest. "Breathe in slowly and then exhale slowly."
Sam began to breathe deeply, and after a moment, Gabriel followed suit, breathing in deeply and then exhaling slowly. His eyes slowly dropping, and he began to calm down.
"Good job, Gabriel. Keep breathing like that, okay? It's okay to feel scared, but you're safe with me," Sam said, his voice soothing.
Gabriel continued to breathe deeply, and after a few minutes, he fell asleep in Sam's arms. Sam held him gently, grateful that he could provide some comfort to his little brother, even in Dean's absence
**THE END**