Lost Hope Isn't What I'm Worried About

Always Hold On

"You do realize that your souls will help shape this world too?" Chuck asked, looking between the four that stood before him. It hadn't taken long for Dean and Castiel to decide to come with them, and Gabriel had been pliant to Sam's wishes and hadn't even questioned them, much to Sam's disappointment. He just wanted the fun-loving trickster he had fallen in love with, not the shell of the angel that he saw now.

He had done this all for him, and he hoped that he would know that even in the next life.

"We understand," Sam said, speaking for all of them as they gave their own nods of acknowledgment. Chuck sighed, surveying over them before reaching up and placing his hands on Dean and Castiel's forehead, white light growing beneath his palm.

The white light spread over them, covering over their skin and features like a blanket until they were cocooned in the gentle and lightly humming glow. As soon as Chuck moved his hands away, they faded away in little balls of light, dispersing around the room before vanishing completely. Chuck waited a moment before smiling, turning to Sam and giving him a light smile.

"They have made it. Their lives begin with Dean proposing to Castiel," Chuck said, his voice warm and his eyes sparkling with a happiness that he hadn't ever seen on the man. It looked good on him, took away several years from his face, and he was glad to have met the God that he had always believed in.

"Ready?" Chuck asked, letting his eyes wander over the both of them before reaching out, touching Gabriel and Sam gently, the light forcing Sam to close his eyes.

Instantly, warmth poured over Sam, easing over him like a gentle stream of water spreading over his body. It made him smile, a comfort even, and he found his hand reaching towards Gabriel's, just brushing his palm before he lost feeling, and his mind drifted away with the wind.

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"Mary! Mary! What's this?" Draven shouted, pulling Mary from her momentary daydreaming. Her friend, a girl that she had become friends with in her Pre-Algebra class, squealed in excitement, pointing at a box among a pile of clutter labeled, 'Stuff.'

"I dunno," Mary said with a shrug, wandering over from her little adventure of digging through her old clothes and looking at the dusty old box that her friend was poking at. There had been a lot of things that her dads had forgotten to unpack when they had first moved into the home when Mary had been five. It hadn't even occurred to her to go through it all and see what part of her parents' lives that maybe she had missed out on, that is until Draven came over and asked hundreds and hundreds of questions like she always did.

"We should open it," Draven said, looking at Mary with hopeful eyes, and honestly, she could never say no to her. She had those big eyes like Sam that always meant she got what she wanted. It had always been funny to watch her dad do the same thing to Uncle Dean, but Draven made sure that she understood the frustrations of it as well.

"But we don't know what it could be. Dad obviously named it because it says 'stuff' instead of something specific," Mary commented, letting out a soft snort at her dad's naming skills before picking up the pocket knife she had and slicing at the tape.

"Which one did you call dad again? The shorter one, right?" Draven asked, and Mary nodded, smiling a little at the confusion. It was always a bit troublesome for her friend's to remember, but she liked it that way.

"Yeah, and I call Sam Daddy," Mary finished with a roll of her eyes, opening the box and frowning at what she saw. Stuff was a good name for it, because none of these things seemed to have anything in common.

"Why are there two half-empty shampoo bottles in the box?" Draven asked, but Mary didn't answer, too busy shifting through the random objects. Along with the two shampoo bottles, there was a set of clothing, a shirt with angel wings on the back and sweatpants, both of them old and worn almost threadbare. Underneath was a dog tag with the name 'Bones' at the bottom, resting next to the oldest toaster that Mary had seen in her life.

"What is all this?" Mary asked, mostly to herself as she took out each thing one by one, setting them on the ground and staring at each content for several moments as if that would give her an answer.

"It's all the things that remind me of Sam," She heard Gabriel say and turned, seeing him standing at the garage door with a patient smile on his face, nothing but curiosity in his eyes as he crossed his arms.

"Remind you of Sam?" Draven echoed curiously, and Gabriel nodded, walking over and sitting beside Mary, picking up the two shampoo bottles.

"I have temporary dye in these that turned Sam's hair pink and blue. That same day we had our first kiss," Gabriel said, smiling at the memory with warm eyes as he put down the bottles and picked up the set of clothing.

"These were Sam's pajamas when he was my amnesia patient, and he gave them to me after he got his memories back," Gabriel stated before moving onto the dog collar, "This is the dog we got after our friend, Madison, passed away. He died of old age before we adopted you, Mary, but having him really convinced us that we wanted a kid."

Gabriel paused at the toaster, a small laugh leaving his lips before his smile fell, and tears welled in his eyes, dribbling down his cheeks. Mary was startled, and Draven instantly hurried over, wrapping her arms around him tightly. It was a bit strange, but that was just the way Draven was.

"Sorry. This one is when Sam forgot me," Gabriel mumbled, a little sniffle leaving him as he tried to wipe his tears away, "I don't know why it's in here. I didn't pack it."

Mary didn't hear Sam until he was right behind her, letting out a sigh and sitting across from Gabriel, reaching out, taking the toaster from his hands and setting it on the ground before interlacing their fingers as Draven let go of Gabriel and returned to Mary's side. Gabriel looked at him, and Sam leaned forwards, pecking him on the lips gently.

"I put it in there," Sam said gently, looking at the toaster with a fondness, "I found it in a throwaway pile when we were buying new things for this house, and it was like I was hit with the missing piece that was always missing. It helped me remember, and reminded me on how much you fought despite wanting to give up."

Gabriel stared at Sam for a long time before his tears welled again and he let out a wail, grabbing Sam tightly and hugging him for dear life, "You're so stupid! Of course I would never give up on you!" Gabriel cried, and Sam smiled, hugging him gently.

All the while, Sam looked towards the heavens as he held his crying soul mate, thanking God above that he had given them this chance to be happy.

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Well, this is the final installment of the Why Are You Hiding Your Wings trilogy! Props to you for staying with it and to all of you who supported it every step of the way, thank you! I hope this ending was good, as it's not really something that I've ever attempted, but you know what, sometimes risks just have to be made. Anyway, you guys have a wonderful night/day!!!