Who says Angels can't be Hunters?

Chapter 1

Gabriel felt the tip of the archangel blade pierce through his skin, as he tried to catch Lucifer from behind. He saw his double fade away in a burst of blue smoke, and Gabriel looked at his brother in horror. Gabriel tried to talk, but only a choked gasp came out. He realized he had to take desperate measures. Gabriel wasn't even sure it would work. Lucifer might notice, then he'd be dead, but he was dead here anyway. Deciding he had nothing to lose, Gabriel locked on to a random, nearby location, then teleported, creating another double exactly when he left, to die in Lucifer's arms.

Gabriel fell onto the hard pavement of the parking lot, breathing heavily as he tried to get back up onto his feet. He could see out of his new double's eyes, and heard his brother's voice, "Amateur hocus pocus. Don't forget, you learned all your tricks from me, little brother," Then Lucifer plunged the blade into his chest. Gabriel gasped and expelled the vision, making his double die, staging his death once more, charred wings and all.

"I guess I learned a few more tricks away from home," Gabriel forced out, before locating his DVD he gave to Dean. Gabriel felt the wet trickle of blood where Lucifer stabbed him, and with the last of his energy, Gabriel teleported into the back of the impala.

Sam was looking at the DVD in his hands, a puzzled expression on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but a loud thump sounded from the backseat. The disc shattered in Sam's hands with a loud crack. Dean slammed on the brakes, swerving to the side of the road. "What the hell?!"

Sam whirled around, demon knife in hand, and Dean grabbed a gun. The brothers froze, seeing an archangel behind them. "Gabriel?" Sam asked, lowering the blade.

Dean still held the gun up, and demanded, "What happened?"

Gabriel looked up, face tight with pain, and managed a sly remark, "I got stabbed, obviously, while I was saving your asses." He removed his hands, revealing the darkening spot of blood seeping through his jacket. The wound had a white glow already manifesting. "Can you help, or just threaten me with weapons that won't do any damage at all?"

"Fine," Sam finally said. Dean looked at him in bewilderment.

"What? We can't trust him, Sammy," Dean retorted. Sam sighed.

"Dean, he saved us from Lucifer back there." Sam pointed out.

"He trapped us in parallel universes and timeloops and killed me hundreds of times."

"Hey, I brought you back to life, and I let you go, bodies intact." Gabriel protested. "Just get Cassie, then, if you don't want to help me."

"We'll call Bobby-"

"Fine. Who's Cassie?" Dean growled, starting up the car and resuming driving. The darkness outside made Gabriel's face hard to see, but Sam saw the outline of a smirk as the archangel looked up.

"Nickname for Castiel. Jealous much, pretty boy?" Gabriel teased with a smile. Sam had no idea why he thought now was the time to piss Dean off as he was bleeding in their back seats.

"I'll call Bobby, Dean. He'll let us stay, and he'll have a way to help you, Gabriel. We're about two hours away. Think you can make it?"

"I've cheated death already. No reason being stabbed with my own angel blade will kill me now," Gabriel snarked.

It was going to be a long two hours, Dean thought. He was wrong.

Gabriel must have passed out sometime during the ride, because his comments were silenced about twenty minutes in.

"Do you think he'll sell us out to Lucifer?" Dean growled after a few more minutes of silence.

Sam glanced into the back. The 'Trickster' lay slumped to the side, breathing uneven as his hands still covered the bleeding wound. The archangel looked uneasy, even when he was resting. "Dean, he looked terrified when he first landed. To be that scared of your own brother says enough. Gabriel is on our side." Sam responds quietly. Dean says nothing in reply, just keeps on driving through the night.

As they pull up near Bobby's door, Dean tapped Sam, who was taking a power-nap. "Sammy, wake up, we're here. You're carrying him in." He said, before cutting the engine and getting out of the car. Sam watched with bleary eyes as Bobby greeted Dean, and they talked in muffled voices. Sam sighed and got out, walking around the impala with a few, quick strides. He opened up the back door and was surprised to see not only the Trickster, but a faint outline of a huge bundle of angel wings and feathers, looking uncomfortably jammed in the small space. They were see-through, as if they were just a projection.

"Dean," Sam called, unsure of what to do. Gabriel was out cold, still, but the shadows of wings were gone. He looked behind him, and called again, "Dean?"

Dean finally came hustling out, muttering, "Cass showed up. He says hurry up and bring him inside." 'Why is he so upset all of a sudden?' Sam thought, as Dean half dragged, half carried the unconscious archangel out of the car. Sam went to help him, and the they brought him inside.

"Gabriel, what stupid, ignorant thing did you do this time," Castiel scoffed, looking down at the heap on the makeshift bed.

Dean glanced at Castiel, then whispered to Sam, "They sound close." Sam looked at Dean with a baffled expression.

"What do you mean?" Sam asks.

"It looks like Cass knows him." Dean hissed.

"I thought we found that out when Gabriel stuck us in that TV hell." Sam mused, looking at Castiel, who was standing over Gabriel's motionless body. A slow rise and fall of the Trickster's chest was barely visible. Dean scoffs, then takes the container of holy oil Bobby had left out. "Dean, what-" Sam began, and Dean cut him off.

"Just in case he turns on us. Cass, move out of the way." Dean grunted, pouring a semicircle of the oil around Gabriel's makeshift bed. "The semicircle will work?" He asked.

"It should. Cass says it will. But Dean you better make sure it doesn't screw with the floor." Bobby warned, watching from the far side of the room.

"He won't be strong enough to teleport anywhere." Castiel reassures him. Dean gives a brief nod in response. "I can take the first watch. We are still watching him, yes?"

Dean shook his head. "I dunno, man. You don't need sleep, and that whole Pagan Gods crap mess has me tired. You wanna watch your little friend while Sammy and I get some sleep?" Sam opened his mouth to protest, but then realized he probably wouldn't feel comfortable just watching the archangel sleep. It feels like only yesterday when Adam was sleeping on the same exact spot, hiding from the angels. This time, Gabriel was hiding from Lucifer.

"What if Lucifer finds out he's alive and tracks him back to us?" Sam asked, and Dean was instantly all over it.

"Cass, can you make sure nobody can find us? We aren't risking ourselves for him," Dean says sourly. Sam looks at him, an eyebrow raised.

Bobby mouthed something to Sam across the room- 'Is he jealous?'

'What? Of who?' Sam mouthed back, staying out of Dean's sightline. Bobby gestured to Gabriel, and Sam stared at him. 'What? No way,'

Castiel nodded, saying, "Gabriel's safe, and so are we. He's been hiding for a very long time. Nobody was able to track him, and nothing will change." Castiel reported.

"Okay, well, you guys figure it out. It's almost four in the morning and I'm going to bed." Bobby huffed, retreating upstairs, leaving them alone. Dean exchanged looks with Sam.

Silence, then:

"I call the bigger couch." Dean declared, nearly running into the other room. Sam shook his head and sighed, knowing his long legs would barely fit on the other couch.

"Go sleep. I will be fine." Castiel told him. Sam nodded, then followed Dean into the other room.