Shattered: The Sequel to Mirrors

Coffee Stains and Alternate Universes

Sam was pretty sure when Lucifer didn't come back downstairs right away that Michael was doing pretty good today. Which meant neither of them would be back downstairs in a while. He quickly switched tabs on his laptop to his research. When Dean had first died, Sam had been just as bad, if not worse, than Michael. But then he started doing some research. There was no way the angels were going to let Dean Winchester into Heaven, which meant he was in hell. That thought had basically broken Sam's soul.

That is until he realized it was a lot easier to get into Hell than to get into Heaven. Especially for an angel that was basically indestructible. The only problem was that none of them had heard from Castiel in at least a year. But Sam knew that he could get Dean back. If only he could find the angel.

Sam hadn't really told anyone his plan. Lucifer was a giant ball of stress most of the time, and Michael was too fragile. He couldn't give his uncle false hope, because if things didn't turn out right than it would surely kill the older Winchester. But he needed help. Which meant he would have to tell Gabe.

Things between the archangel and Sam had been...confusing at best. They technically had separate rooms, but Gabe stayed in Sam's room most of the time. Nothing ever really happened between the two, other than a lot of kissing. Not that Sam hadn't tried. Sam shook his head. Now was not the time to be worrying about the state of his whacked out relationship with Gabe. He sighed heavily and opened up the news search engine. He was searching for anything that could be vaguely angel related. If he could find the angels, Cas was sure to not be far behind.

"Hey, Samoose," Gabriel said as he pushed open the front door. He was wearing a white button up and some slacks. His shirt was stained completely down the front. "Bossman sent me home early after I got coffee spilled on me." Sam's eyes slid up and down the youngest archangel's body. Not now Sam, he thought to himself.

"Nice," Sam said. Wow, that was incredibly lame. "You gonna shower?"

"Yeah, I'll be back afterwards. Where are Lucifer and Michael?" Gabriel asked. Sam gestured upstairs. "Well, I guess I'll shower later. Give them their privacy, let them enjoy themselves."

At least someone's enjoying themselves, Sam thought grumpily. Gabriel pulled off his coffee stained button-up to reveal a less stained tank top underneath. Now Sam was pretty sure Gabriel was torturing him on purpose.

"How's school going?" Gabriel asked, rubbing his eyes. He looked older than he had before, and Sam wondered how bad he himself looked. He had been avoiding mirrors, because he knew he must look like shit. Maybe that was why Gabe was so distant.

"Fine," Sam mumbled. Which was a lie. Sam was failing three of his classes, mostly because he wasn't taking them. He was too busy looking for Cas and a way to get Dean back. That was his top priority. Because if Dean came back, things could go back to normal. They could move back home, he could finish high school with his friends. He could make fun of Dean and Cas, and Lucifer and Michael might smile every once in a while. And of course Gabe would be happy to have Castiel back.

"You're a terrible liar Samsquatch," Gabriel said, rubbing at the faint stain on his undershirt. "So what's the deal? You're being weird."

"Look...it's about Dean," Sam finally managed to spit out. Gabriel's eyes shot up. Sam wasn't even sure the last time anyone in the house had mentioned the middle Winchester. "I know a way to bring him back."

"What the hell, Sam? And you didn't tell me?" Gabe said. He dragged his chair closer to Sam so he could look over his shoulder at the computer screen. Or more accurately, rest his chin on Sam's shoulder because he was too short to look over like a normal human. "What do we have to do?"