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Chapter Text

Sam had been sat on the bed in his 'little' room, reading a couple of new pirate adventure books that his daddy had recently picked up for him. It was a quiet day, and Sam had appreciated being able to have some time to himself even while he was little. The day had started with a shared family meal of delicious pancakes and eggs cooked by Gabriel, before everyone settled to their own pursuits. He wasn't sure what the others had gotten up to, but he knew it had been some time since he was disturbed. That was a little surprising to be honest, as usually Gabriel would come in to check everything was ok once in a while, or at least ask him if he needed to go potty or something. Not that he was complaining though. Besides, Gabriel was probably extending his grace to feel his presence in the bedroom and knew that he was fine.

Still, now that he had finished the latest book, he decided to go and see what everyone was up to. Daddy could usually be found in the kitchen or living room, so he decided to check there first. As he reached the ground floor of the house, he started working his way through the rooms, drawing a blank in each one he entered. That meant that everyone must be in the garden then. Peeking out the window, he could see that it was a lovely day, so it made sense that his family would want to take advantage of it.
Sure enough, as soon as Sam nudged open the screen door, he could hear the gentle creak of the porch swing, and looking round, Sam finally saw his daddy.

"Heyya sweetheart! Finally emerged I see?" called Gabriel with a beaming face at his boy. Sam quickly moved over to his Daddy, perching on the seat and folding into the warm arms that were extended outwards, beckoning him for an embrace.

"Yeah Daddy. Thanks for the books! They were so cool!" Sam grinned up to his Daddy's face.

"You're welcome Sammy. I hear there's a new one out next month."

"Cool!" Sam breathed against his Dad, enjoying the gentle sway of the swing. He looked out over the garden and quickly located his brother, sat in the wooden playpen that had been placed out on the grass. Dean was sat splayed legged on the floor of the pen and was fairly involved stacking brightly coloured wooden blocks up into a tower. And where Dean was, meant that…but where was Uncle Cas? He was never that far away from Dean when he was little, unless it was nap or sleep time and Dean was safely tucked up in the crib. And even then he had a baby monitor going so that he knew Dean was ok.

"Daddy? Where's Uncle Cas?" Sam questioned, glancing up to seek his Daddy's face again.

Chuckling, Gabriel rubbed his hand up and down Sam's arm hugging him tightly "Wondered how long that'd take you kiddo. Our sister Hannah contacted us earlier and said that Balthazar had been 'researching' in the main library in heaven. Of course, you know what Balthazar is like, and he left the library looking like a tornado and hurracane had been using the place as a wrestling ring. She asked Cas if he would mind giving her a hand tracking Bal down in order to get him to clean up the devestation he left in his wake. So, Uncle Cas is going to be gone for the rest of the morning and afternoon helping Auntie Hannah out."

"Oh. Ok then," Sam smiled "but then why is Dean still here?"

"Well Uncle Cas can't exactly deal with tracking down a sulky Balthazar and looking after a baby at the same time can he? Like I said, you know what Uncle Bal is like! Besides, why put Dean through being dragged all over the place, when he can stay here and have fun and we can look after him?"

"Oh yeah. I guess that makes sense" Sam nodded.

"It's just like when Uncle Cas has looked after you when Daddy has been busy. You don't mind do you?" Gabriel peered down to look Sam in the eye. He was fairly sure this would be ok, but there was always a chance that Sam would react badly. This would be Sammy's first time sharing his Daddy and really being the big brother. The angels and humans spent most of their time age playing together, and so each boy had attention from a Daddy and and Uncle, there was still one angel that was "thiers".

Although while age playing, there had been a certain amount of role reveral in the brothers - Dean aging lower than Sam - each boy still had his own Daddy to take care of them and give them attention. When they were all together and the boys were little, the angels encouraged Sam and referred to him as the big brother, this would be Sam's first real experience of having a "younger" sibling needing attention from his parent. Dean, even while playing as the younger sibling, still had "big brother" as a vital part of his identity. Especially given the way they had been raised, Dean was very used to having to give attention over to his little brother. Sam had not had that experience, so it would be interesting to see how he would react now that he would be the bigger brother for the day.

"Course not Daddy! I can help you look after De!" Sam beamed up at Gabriel.

"I know you'll be a big help Sammy" Gabriel smiled at Sam. "Now why don't you go see how your little brother's doing huh? Maybe do some playing yourself?"

"Okay Daddy!" Sam exclaimed, and lept to his feet to charge over to the playpen.

Crashing excitedly into the side of the pen, Sam shouted "Hi De!"

Dean jumped, startled by the sudden noise and appearance at his side, causing the tower he had been building to topple. He looked around wildly before his eyes came to rest on the beaming face of his brother looking down on him. Reassured that it was just Sammy, he smiled up at his brother from behind the pacifier that was resting in his mouth.

"Whatcha up to Dean?" Sammy questioned. Dean just pointed to his blocks before grabbing some to start re-building his tower. Sammy frowned down at Dean. No words.
Sometimes when Dean was feeling particularly little, he didn't feel like talking and relied on noises and pointing to communicate. This must be the case today. Shrugging, Sam continued "Me 'n Daddy are looking after you today! Isn't that great De?"

Dean looked around Sam at his Uncle Gabe and saw him smiling at the two of them talking. He remembered that his Daddy had said he had to go somewhere today and they he would be back later. It was no bother to him - he knew Uncle Gabe was there, he would be ok. He just wished his Daddy would come back soon - he missed him! Still, he smiled up at his brother again and gave a small nod, before picking up another brick.

Sam sank down next to the playpen and started to tell Dean all of the cool things that they could play that day and grabbed at few of the cars that had been left next to the pen, starting to run them over the floor as he chatted away.

Gabriel watched the boys play for a few minutes before summoning a glass of very sugary sweet lemonade, a book and began to read as he pushed the swing back and forth.

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Sometime later, Gabriel decided that it was probably time to get the boys some lunch. He looked over and discovered that Sam had moved away to kick and chase a small ball on the grass and that Dean had eventually built a small house with his blocks and was now walking some animal figures around it. Standing up, Gabriel clapped his hands and garnered the attention of both boys.

"Who's hungry kiddos?"

Sam leapt to his feet and raised his hand, bouncing on his feet a little saying "Me! Me Daddy!"

Dean crawled to the edge of his playpen and got up onto his knees and grabbed onto the edge with his hands. He didn't say anything, but his sucking on his pacifier notably increased.

"Alright then! I was thinking tomato soup and grilled cheese. That sound good?" Gabriel continued as he made his way over to the boys. As he reached the playpen, Dean raised his arms in a signal to be picked up, and Gabriel obliged, scooping him up and settling him on his hip.

"Yeah!" crowed Sam.

"Great. Lets all wash up, and then I'll get started on that." Gabriel discreetly checked the state of the diaper clad bottom resting against him, and declared "I know a certain little boy who needs changing, and I bet I have another one who needs the potty."

At this announcement he got two matching whines and a "Daddy!".

Chuckling, Gabriel headed towards the door that led inside, holding it open for Sammy who was trailing behind him. "Don't give me that buddy, you haven't been all morning, so I want you to try to go potty for me."

Sam scowled but did obligingly follow Gabriel up the stairs and down the hall way. Sam entered the bathroom and turned to look at his Daddy and make a token protest (he did kinda need to wee now that he thought about it. But, his Daddy wasn't there? Sam called out "Daddy?"

"Yeah Buddy?" Gabriel's voice floated down the corridor.

"You didn't come?" Sam questioned, heading towards where the voice had come from. He followed it all the way to the nursery where he found his Daddy settling Dean onto the changing table and gathering items.

Gabriel looked up as he saw Sam enter the room and went over to cup his boy's face gently. "Oh sorry Bud. I thought you had understood. I need to change your brother and get him all sorted for lunch, so I thought you'd be ok going potty."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. Was just surprised is all Daddy" Sam replied quietly.

"Sorry Sammy. You want to wait till I'm done here and I can help you?" Gabriel asked kindly.

Sam looked over at his brother who was observing them calmly from his place on the changing table, a small blush gracing his face as he lay waiting. Although sometimes Sammy did want his Daddy to help with the potty, he decided to be grown up and let his Daddy take care of Dean. He was supposed to be being a big boy after all.

"Nah Daddy. You change Dean. I can go potty by myself." Sam smiled at the proud grin he received from Gabriel.

"Thank you sweetheart. I'll see you in the kitchen in a minute when you're done ok?"

"Kay Daddy" Sam nodded decisively.

As he turned to go he heard Gabriel move back towards his brother saying "Right now baby boy. Lets get you all clean and dry huh?"

Walking down the hall, Sam wasn't sure what the uncomfortable feeling in his tummy was, but he knew it wasn't related to needing to go potty.

Chapter Text

Entering the kitchen, Sam saw his Daddy trying to wrestle an uncooperative Dean into the high chair. Dean never seemed to like the high chair - preferring to sit on someone's lap to eat, but he did usually sit there without quite so much of a fuss.

"Noooo! No!" Dean didn't want to sit in the highchair. Only Daddy put him in the highchair and Daddy wasn't here. No way was he going in it now.

"Come on baby, its just for a little while. Just sit for a little bit" Gabriel coaxed, attempting to get Dean to sit and trying to pry the hands from around his neck.

Sam went over and sat in his usual spot at the table. It had a colourful plastic placemat with dinosaurs on it. In front of the placemat sat a plastic beaker full of orange juice. Sam screwed his nose up. He didn't want orange juice, he wanted apple!

"Daddy?"

"Noooo! No! Noooo!"

"Dean, please."

"NO!"

"Daddy? I want apple juice!" Sam wasn't used to being ignored by Gabriel. This was not cool!

"Dean, come on sweetheart." Gabriel was starting to get a little bit frazzled at the protests.

"Daddy!"

"Nooo!" Tears started to roll gently down Dean's face.

"Oh no baby. No tears!" Gabriel soothed.

"Daddy!"

"What? What Sammy? What is it?" Gabriel sighed, finally giving up and scooping Dean back up onto his hip. Dean instantly buried his head into his Uncle's shoulder, trying to stop his tears.

Sam startled. He had Daddy's attention, but he didn't usually sound like that. "Daddy, I want apple juice."

Gabriel bounced Dean in his arms and searched the kitchen counters for a pacifier in an attempt to calm the baby down. "We don't have any apple juice Sammy. Only orange today buddy" he replied distractedly.

"But I don't like orange!" Sam whined.

"Sammy, we don't have apple. Its orange juice or water ok?" Gabriel said, still walking around bouncing Dean. He finally located a green pacifier in one of the kitchen draws and softly pushed it into the baby's mouth. Dean accepted the pacifier, and Gabriel could feel the boy's body relax, but the arms clamped round his neck didn't loosen in the slightest.

"I want water then" Sam pouted.

Gabriel glanced at the disgruntled boy sat at the table, sighed and gathered up his beaker and dumped the contents out into the sink. Rinsing the cup, he re-filled it with water and then set it back down in front of his son. "Better Sammy?" Gabriel asked softly, continuing to gently bounce the baby in his arms.

"Thank you Daddy" said Sammy, gathering the cup in both hands and taking a long sip.

"You're welcome sweetheart" Gabriel smiled, then turned his face towards the head that was still buried in his shoulder. "Now, Dean. If I keep holding you while I cook lunch, will you sit nicely for me when its time to eat?"

Dean peered up into his Uncle's face and offered a shy nod before burying his face back into the neck he was curled into. Gabriel beamed and placed a kiss to the baby's head. "Excellent! Lets get started then!" It was awkward to cook one handed, but it was worth it to avoid a full on melt down.

Sam sat at the table sipping on his water and watched as his Daddy weaved around the kitchen preparing the meal. Usually, Sam sat chatting with his Daddy as he cooked, and also with Uncle Cas as he sorted Dean out, and even with Dean if he felt like talking. Unfortunately, it seemed as though his brother was still feeling too little to want to talk, and his Daddy was busy cooking and looking after Dean. It was very quiet for Sam, and he wasn't sure that he liked this change.

After a few more minutes, Gabriel declared the soup and sandwiches ready.

"Ok Dean, its time to sit nicely now" Gabriel said softly and started to ease Dean down into the highchair. Dean's breath hitched as he was placed down, but he remembered his promise and so allowed himself to be sat down. "Good boy" Gabriel said and gave his nephews cheek a stroke before settling the tray into place. He walked over to gather the food, ruffling his son's hair on the way, elicting a happy protest of "Daddy!" in response.

Bringing the food over to the table, Gabriel placed a plastic bowl of soup in front of his son and cut up a grilled cheese sandwich into four triangles. Gabriel had noted how quiet his son had been through the preparation of lunch and really wanted to chat to his boy.

"Eat up Sammy! Make sure to blow if its hot ok?" Gabriel said.

"Ok Daddy." Sam replied and began to take careful spoonfuls of soup.

Turning back to Dean, Gabriel strapped a bib around the baby's neck then eased out the pacifier from resistant lips, placing it down onto the main table beside him. He blew on some soup and then offered a spoonful to the baby who opened his mouth in eager anticipation. Gabriel continued to feed Dean, then asked "So Sammy, tell me about those pirate books. What was your favourite part?"

This was more like it! Much better! Sam grinned around the mouthful of sandwich and then began to excitedly babble about the adventures he's been reading about that morning.
"Sammy!" Gabriel laughed "Swallow your food before you talk dude!"

"Sorry Daddy!" Sammy giggled and then continued to tell his Daddy all about the books. This continued for some time. The small family ate peacefully, Dean and Gabriel listening to Sammy chatter away, Gabriel asking interested questions and adding comments all the while continuing to feed the baby in front of him.

Eventually Sam moved on to rambling excitedly about all the things that they could do after lunch. "I want to go to the swings Daddy! And we can play football and maybe we could even do some baking later so we can give some cookies to Uncle Cas when he comes home."

Dean, who had been sat listening to his brother whined at the reminder of his Daddy. He was enjoying his lunch, but it had been a long time now that his Daddy had been gone and he missed him! He had been eating quiet steadily, but now suddenly he wasn't hungry any more - Dean wanted Daddy to give him lunch! - turned away from the next spoonful that was presented to him.

"Come on sweetheart. Just a couple more bites and you'll be all done" Gabriel coaxed, manoeuvring the spoon towards Dean's mouth that was trying hard to avoid it.

Sammy watched all this and felt worried. "I didn't mean to upset De Daddy" he mumbled around the finger he decided to chew on.

Gabriel didn't turn to face his son as he was still busy with the baby, but he said "I know bud. Don't worry, I think Dean's just missing his Daddy, aren't you honey?" He gave a small reassuring smile to his nephew who moaned unhappily, still trying to avoid the spoon being offered to him. After a few more attempts, Gabriel sighed and gave up, placing the bowl and spoon down on the tray of the highchair. He then looked over at his son to see that he was still watching proceedings quietly and who had a quarter of his sandwich left on his plate and a small amount of soup left in his bowl.

"You gonna finish your lunch buddy?" Gabriel questioned. You usually couldn't stop Sammy from inhaling his food. Sam, who was still staring absently at his brother, startled and nodded before picking up the last part of his sandwich and nibbled on the corner of it. Gabriel turned back to the baby sat before him. Dean, who had previously screwed his eyes up and turned his face away, was now peeking out at his Uncle from behind one eye, and watching the proceedings warily. "Alright, no more. All Gone!" Gabriel said as he lifted Dean's bib to wipe off soup remnants from around Dean's mouth. Dean squirmed and grumbled a protest. Finally finishing, Gabriel unclipped the bib and gathered the items from the highchair to take over to the sink.

Dean immediately began to push at the tray keeping him in the chair and made soft noises of effort in his bid to be let down.

"Sit tight little man. You can get down when Sammy's finished" Gabe said from his place at the sink. Dean ignored his Uncle and continued to push at the tray. Gabriel just chuckled and began to wash the items in front of him. Sam, realising that everyone was waiting began to eat quicker, stuffing the last of his sandwich in his mouth.

"Dhun" he claimed around his bulging cheeks stuffed full of food and jumped up to take his plate to his Daddy.

"Eww. Chew your food you animal!" Gabriel laughed as he slipped the plate in the sink and quickly retrieved the last items from the kitchen table.

As he walked past, Dean demanded "Out!", starting to get frustrated at being ignored. Gabriel just continued with his tasks and Sam stood to the side, wanting to help but not really sure what he should be doing.

"Out! Out!"

"In a minute baby."

Sam spotted the pacifier that lay abandoned on the table and picked it up before going to stand in front of his brother. Dean stopped his protests and regarded the boy stood before him. Sam offered a shy smile before holding out the binky before him. Dean looked at his brother's earnest face, down to the pacifier and back up to meet Sam's eyes again. He hesitantly opened his mouth and waited while Sam very slowly and gently slipped the paci past his lips. He sat back in the chair and began to softly suckle at the teat in his mouth. Sam smiled at the sight before him and turned to move away when he felt something grab his hand. Looking back he realised that Dean had wrapped his hand around two of his fingers and was squeezing softly.

Sam was stunned. Dean had never done something like this before. Sure they played - especially when Dean was feeling slightly bigger and talked more, but Dean hadn't initiated that much contact. Dean was blushing and avoiding eye contact, but he didn't release his brother's hand.

"Hey De" Sam said and smiled reassuringly at the boy in the chair before him. He waggled his hand around, causing Dean's hand to go with it and gained a muffled giggle in response.

"De! Deee! Deeee!" Sammy giggled in response, enjoying playing with his brother and causing the laughs to burst forth.

Gabriel looked on fondly from where he was taking care of the dishes. "You two having a good time?"

"Yup Daddy!" Sam laughed, grabbing Dean's other hand to wave both at the same time.

"You're being such a big help Sammy, looking after your little brother while Daddy's busy" Gabriel praised as he grabbed a towel to dry his hands off. Sam just smiled wider at the praise but didn't take his attention off of Dean.

Gabriel took the time to quickly mix up a bottle and to set it in the warmer as he knew it would be more difficult later. He watched the boys for a few minutes before approaching the boys and ruffling his little boy's hair and smiling at the baby. "Are there any good boys who are ready to go next door?"

"Me Daddy!" Sam cried happily, "I am!". Dean immediately lifted his arms up, remembering his desire to escape the highchair. Sam moved further away so that Gabriel could unlatch the tray and lift his brother out of the chair. Once Gabriel had Dean perched on his hip, he extended his free hand to Sam who grabbed on to it tightly and then began to make his way into the family room.

Chapter Text

As soon as they entered the family room, Sam let go of his Daddy's hand and raced over to drop on his knees before the toy box. He immediately flipped the lid of the box open and began to dig through it. "Daddy, let's play dinosaurs with De! He can be the T-Rex and I want to be the Stegosaurus. Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! You can be the Pterodactyl Daddy" he babbled excitedly as he found several of the plastic toys. As soon as he found the ones he was looking for, he spun around but did not find what was expected.

Every day after lunch Daddy would come sit with Sammy on the rug and play whatever game he wanted for a while. Today however, he discovered that Gabriel had settled Dean on the floor a little way away and was fiddling with the controls of the television. Although they did sometimes watch TV and films while age playing, it was never at this time of day - it was always later in the afternoon or in the early evening. Dropping one of the toys to the floor, but keeping the Stegosaurus clutched in his hand, Sammy scampered over to his Daddy's side asking "Daddy?"

"Ah, Sammy. What do you fancy watching? Scooby-Doo or Transformers?" Gabriel asked picking up both DVD boxes to show his little boy.

"Scooby-Doo. But Daddy? It's not TV time, its playtime" Sammy questioned, grabbing the box his Daddy handed him and watched as the disk was entered into the DVD player.

Gabriel finished his fiddling and saw the DVD start up. He turned and took Sam by the shoulders and steered him towards the sofa, pushing him to sit back against the cushions. "I know buddy, but it's also naptime for baby boys." At this Dean looked up at them from where he had been fisting his eye, a large yawn escaping him. "I thought that while I get Dean settled and then put him down, we could watch a show or two as a treat before we start playtime."

Sam looked over to his little brother and said "Oh. Oh yeah. I guess so" distractedly, unsettled by the change in his routine.

"I know it's a little different, but I'd really help me out to know you were watching something cool. Dean needs his nap I'm afraid." Gabriel stroked his son's hair and looked fondly down at his nephew who was trying very hard to keep his pacifier in place through very big yawns.

"Yeah ok Daddy" Sammy said quietly.

Gabriel examined the boys pensive expression and decided that he needed a little reassurance. Sitting down next to his boy he said "You're being so good for me today Sammy. When Dean's napping we'll get to dinosaurs ok?" At this he placed a hand over the top of his son's who had been fiddling with the spines of the Stegosaurus he still had clutched tightly in his lap. Drawing Sam's attention he continued, "Did I hear something about me being a Pterodactyl? You know that’s my favourite!"

Sammy offered his Daddy a smile. "I know. You make him make silly noises."

Gabriel clutched at his chest in mock hurt. "Me? No. Not me. I'd never be silly. You must be thinking of a different Daddy."

Sam giggled "Nope. Just my Daddy."

"Hmmm. Well if you're sure." Tickling Sam's side, he then lent over to grab the remote control again. "Now, are you ready for the mystery gang to do their thing?"

"Yeah Daddy. But then dinosaurs?" Sam asked.

"Yep. Then dinosaurs. Thanks bud."

At that, Gabriel hit play and with the sounds of Scooby-Doo beginning he stood and walked into the kitchen to collect the warm bottle and a spit rag from the counter. He walked back into the main room and lifted Dean from his place on the floor and arranged him on his lap in the plush rocker where Castiel usually sat. Cradling the baby in his arms, he placed the spit rag under Dean's chin and easily plucked the pacifier away from the mouth that was mid yawn. Showing the bottle to the baby curiously studying his face he started to croon "Time for a warm bottle and then sleepy time hey baby?" He tipped the bottle towards Dean's lips, who parted them to accept the warm nipple into his mouth to begin nursing. As small suckling noises and snuffling breaths began, Gabriel pushed the floor with his foot, beginning to rock them both back and forth.

Dean stared up to watch his Uncle's face as he nursed the bottle before him. Although he had been given a bottle by Gabriel before, it was a strange experience to be cuddled and fed by him before nap-time. This time felt special for Dean, as he felt especially close to his Daddy during those moments. He was always cradled by Castiel's strong arms and he could hear the comforting sound of his Daddy's heartbeat next to where his head rested on the chest beneath him.

The arms that cradled him now were equally strong, but perhaps not quite as soft. The heartbeat he could hear was comforting, but unfamiliar. Dean brought up a hand to fiddle with the buttons on the shirt he was snuggled against in an effort to sooth himself while he drank. Despite all this, a few tears leaked from Dean's eyes as he nursed - he wanted his Daddy! His hand clutched at the shirt beneath him, fingers worrying away at the material.

Gabriel cooed to the baby as he held the bottle steady for the boy to drink. He could guess as to the thoughts running through his nephew's head as he watched tears roll down the freckle dusted cheeks that were steadily working at the bottle. He whispered reassurances and comforts as best he could and used the spit rag tucked under the boy's chin to swipe away tears and mop up small dribbles of milk.

"Shhh. It's ok baby boy. It's ok. Daddy will be back soon. Go to sleep and he'll nearly be here."

Dean just looked sadly up at his uncle and allowed the tears to continue to flow. He continued to suckle, but there was no way he was going to sleep. Only Daddy put him to bed. Despite how sleepy he was he'd just have to stay up and wait for him. It couldn't be too much longer now. He fought against the feeling of his warm, full tummy, the motion of the rocking and his eyes that were drooping.

Gabriel just kept rocking and reassuring, hoping the baby would soon drift off. He could see his nephew's valiant effort against sleep, but could see that the battle was being lost.

Through all of this, Sam watched from the sofa that was located nearby. He had watched his brother being fed many times and it wasn't particularly interesting, but at that moment he found that he couldn't rip his eyes away. Even over the sounds of Scooby-Doo playing, he could hear his Daddy speaking to his brother. He watched as his Daddy rocked his brother back and forth, wiped away tears and fed him from the bottle.

The funny feeling that he had thought had disappeared earlier returned but had moved away from his tummy and had settled into a tight grip in his chest. Of course now he realised that it might just be jealousy.

There was no way that he wanted to be a baby and have his Daddy rock him and feed him bottles and change diapers for him. He liked being a big boy, but he didn't like the way his Daddy was currently cuddling his brother. During TV time his Daddy was supposed to cuddle him, not Dean! He didn't understand why Dean couldn't just feed himself a bottle. Although he was a baby and needed a lot of help with stuff, Sam knew he could drink a bottle on his own - he'd seen him do it! He didn't need to take Sam's Daddy for that!

Soon after, Dean finished his bottle but was still making small sucking motions. Gabriel eased the bottle from the boy's mouth and quickly slipped in the waiting pacifier, being careful not to disturb the baby who was only snoozing in his arms. He rocked for a few more moments in order to try and get the baby into a deeper sleep. Dean's hand was still buried in his shirt, but he'd have to deal with that problem later.

Gabriel felt eyes upon him, and as he moved his gaze away from the baby's face, he saw his son quickly snap his face back around to face the TV. He wondered what had been going on in his son's mind. Ah well, he'd find out soon enough, once he got Dean in his crib.

Slowly stopping the rocking, Gabriel eased himself up out of the rocker and readjusted Dean in his arms in order to support him properly.

He moved over towards Sammy and whispered "I think he's gone Sammy. I'll just put him in the crib and then we'll play dinosaurs ok?"

Sam grinned and nodded at his Daddy. As his Daddy left the room to take his brother upstairs, he went over to begin setting up the dinosaurs on the rug. Playtime! He'd get Daddy all to himself for a bit!

He got all of the dinosaurs set up in strategic positions and sat back on his heels to regard his work. This would be great. Now he just needed…

A loud cry from upstairs interupted his thoughts.

Chapter Text

Upstairs in the nursery, Gabriel lowered the side of the crib, flipped back the covers and bent to lay the boy in his arms down onto the mattress. He placed the baby onto the bed and then gently slipped his arms out from underneath him. Dean wiggled slightly as he adjusted position, but did not wake up.

The only problem Gabriel had now was extracting Dean's hand from where it tightly clutched his shirt. He tried to pull back, but the hand was not budging.

So, the next thing Gabriel tried was to grip the baby's fingers with both hands and gently pry them open and off his shirt. Success! Dean's fingers were free of the shirt and only a small breath hitch and another body wiggle in response.

Gabriel placed the boy's hand down onto his stomach and eased his hands away from underneath it. However as soon as he lost contact with Dean, he noticed that the baby's face screwed up and whines began to come from behind the pacifier.

Quickly hushing the boy, Gabriel took a step back, but it wasn't enough. Dean's eyes flew open and he began to cry in earnest, pacifier dropping from his mouth and falling onto the crib mattress. Dean's hands flew forward and grabbed hold of his uncle's sleeve - the first thing he could reach.

Damn! "Oh sweetheart. Shhh. It's ok. Go back to sleep baby. Shhh. Everything's alright" Gabriel soothed as he tried to rub circles on the boys belly, but Dean just reached up with his free hand making grabby hands wanting to be picked up.

Sighing, Gabriel picked up the now sobbing baby and bounced him as he walked around the room hushing and soothing Dean as he cried. "It's ok. Shh. Come on baby. Come on Dean it's ok. Go to sleep. Tired baby, just shut those eyes and go to sleep sweetheart" Gabriel crooned as he weaved a path around the nursery.

Dean was so tired. He wanted Daddy! Where was Daddy? Uncle Gabe was here but he just wanted to leave Dean alone and Dean just wanted his Daddy! The only thing Dean could do was cry as overwhelmed thoughts flowed through his sleepy head. All he knew was that he didn't want to be put down and that that was exactly what Uncle Gabe was trying to do. Uncle Gabe was better than the cold crib where he would be alone and maybe Uncle Gabe would find Daddy if only he could stay with him. Dean needed to be with Uncle Gabe and Dean needed Daddy!

Gabriel kept managing to get Dean to quiet down, and through weaving and bobbing around the nursery he managed to get him to drop off into sleep on his shoulder. Though each time he tried to shift the baby or to put him down though, Dean would manage to wake up and start quietly crying again.

Gabriel thought that Dean was probably just over tired and that the best thing for him would be to have a nap. He was sure that the exhaustion was playing with the boy's emotions and making him a lot more clingy than usual - although the absence of Castiel didn't help at all. It was the first time Dean was trying to go to sleep while little without the calming and comforting presence of his daddy.

As the current approach was not working, Gabriel tried to go for a desperation tactic. He calmed Dean down as much as possible into his dozing state. Gabriel gently sat Dean down in the crib and very quickly extracted himself from the baby's confused grip, raising the sides of the crib.

Immediately. Dean grabbed for the top of the crib and hauled himself to his knees, reaching out desperately for his Uncle and wailing loudly.

"I know. I know sweetheart. I'm sorry, but you need to go to sleep now baby. I'm sure that you'll drop off quickly."

The wails increased in volume at Gabriel's announcement and the grabby hands became more frantic in their efforts. Gabriel knew that Dean couldn't get out of the crib as it had been mojo'd and as nothing else had worked he decided to see if Dean would tire himself out and drop off to sleep.

Giving one last stroke to the soft head of his nephew before quickly backing away, Gabriel said again "I know baby. Sleepy time now. I'll see you in a little while."

Gabriel backed out of the room and slipped the nursery door closed, catching a last glimpse of the sobbing face of his nephew staring at him. Gabriel leaned back against the closed door of the nursery and listened to the sobs continue. This was the last thing he could think of to do and he had to give it a shot, no matter how hard it was to listen to the agonising wails pour forth.

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Downstairs, Sammy had been waiting, sat on the carpet worriedly chewing on his index finger and staring at the ceiling. For a very long while a pattern of crying and quiet continued and he wondered what was happening upstairs. It was taking ages for Dean to go to sleep and Daddy was missing all of play time. Sammy didn't understand why Dean was being so difficult. All he had to do was go to sleep and let Gabriel come down to play. It really wasn't that hard. Sam needed his Daddy for play time! Dean didn't need Gabriel for napping!

Sammy worried away at the finger in his mouth. He didn't want De to be sad though, and the crying was starting to make him upset as well. He needed some Daddy cuddles.
Sam's thoughts continued to flicker between confused frustration at Dean and sad longing for his Daddy's comfort.

He looked up as the cries suddenly increased in volume. Sam was still staring at the ceiling and so missed the moment that Gabriel re-entered the room.

Gabriel watched his son from the doorway. He felt sorry that he hadn't had as much time this afternoon with his boy, but Dean needed looking after in completely different ways. It wasn't as though this was a regular occurrence, but he hoped that both boys would come through the day ok. Gabriel briefly looked back up at the ceiling himself and listened to the continued cries of his distressed nephew. Still. He needed to give this a chance to work, as guilty as the situation made him feel.

Gabriel made his way over to Sammy, his movement drawing the attention of the boy on the carpet. Sam immediately jumped to his feet and crashed into Gabriel in a fierce hug.
"Is De ok Daddy?" Sam mumbled from where his face was squished into his Daddy's shoulder.

Gabriel sighed, and lovingly ran his hand through his son's soft hair. "Yeah. He's ok Sammy. He's just tired out and missing his Daddy. He'll go to sleep in a bit I'm sure."

"Ok." Sam nodded decisively and with that grabbed at his Daddy's hand and began to pull him over to the rug where the dinosaurs lay abandoned. Plopping down onto the carpet, and tugging Gabriel down with him, Sam grabbed hold of the stegosaurus he had had earlier, and shoved a pterodactyl into his daddy's hand.

"So I made dinosaur island and the stegosaurus is going to stomp all over the nest here and the pterodactyl is going to swoop down and try to get him" Sam said, intensely focused on the situation he had planned out through his daddy's absence. At the lack of response, Sam looked up only to find his dad gazing blankly at the ceiling where Dean's cries could still be heard. They hadn't decreased in volume, but neither had they picked up. Sam frowned at Gabriel. Hadn't his daddy just said that Dean would go to sleep in a minute? It would be fine. It was play time now! "Daddy!" Sam protested.

Gabriel jumped slightly, startled from his musings. "Sorry Sammy. What was that?" Gabriel turned to look at his son and tried to listen as Sam began his explanations again. His focus unfortunately kept being drawn back to the noise coming from the nursery. He nodded absently at Sam's explanation, and then watched as Sam began to move his dinosaur about on the carpet, crashing it around on strategically placed wooden blocks. He tried to join in the game, swooping the pterodactyl in his hand about in the air, but his heart wasn't really in it.

It seemed that Sam had noticed this as well. "Daddy! He doesn't go over there!"

"Daddy! The pterodactyl doesn't make that noise"

"Daddy! You have to wait for me to smash the logs before you pick up the smaller dinosaurs from the nest!"

By now, the cries had faded and, except for the noise from the game and from Sammy, quiet filled the air. Gabriel contemplated the ceiling. It had been about half an hour now since he had left the nursery.

"Daddy. Daddy! DADDY!" Sam resorted to shouting to get his dad's attention. Really. He wasn't playing properly at all.

"I'm so sorry Sammy" Gabriel apologised, realising that he had inadvertently blanked his son, "but you don't shout at Daddy".

"Sorry Daddy" Sam grumbled, "but you weren't payin' attention."

"I know buddy, and I'm sorry. I'm just worried about your brother. I'm just going to check on him ok. I'll be right back." Gabriel placed the dinosaur he held onto the floor and got to his knees. He started to head off before turning back and offering a small smile to the boy who sat watching from where he was on his knees on the rug, dinosaurs clutched in both hands.

"I'll be right back." And with that, Gabriel headed back to the nursery.

Chapter Text

Very carefully pushing open the doors of the nursery, Gabriel peeked his head around the corner, not wanting to make a noise or disturb the quiet of the room in case Dean was in fact asleep.

However the sight that greeted him just about broke his heart. Huddled in the crib, clutching his favourite blue blanket sat Dean with silent tears pouring down his face. At some point the boy had stuffed the fallen pacifier into his mouth, which had muffled his cries into small hiccups. He sniffled and hiccupped and rubbed the blanket against his face in comfort, but the tears did not stop.

The blue blanket had become Dean's beloved comfort item when he was little. It wasn't however, an actual blanket. The blanket was in fact an over large pale blue t-shirt that belonged to Castiel, that Dean had grown very attached to after an episode of being ill while little. It was very soft to the touch and Dean gained comfort from the fact that it smelt like Castiel. If the 'blanket' got dirty and was in need of a wash, Castiel had to make sure to wear the t-shirt again for a bit before returning it to little Dean, so that it "smelt right".
The fact that Dean was practically trying to melt it into his face right now was very telling.

The movement from the door caught Dean's eye, but did nothing to stop the tears.

"Oh honey" Gabriel breathed, fully entering the room to stand by the crib.

Dean just looked up into his Uncle's face and let out a shuddering breath, hiccupping quietly.

Gabriel just scooped Dean up from under his armpits and brought him close for a firm hug.

Dean wrapped an arm and both legs around his Uncle and placed his head upon the angel's chest, but did not lose his grip on the blanket that he was rubbing against his cheek.
Rubbing a warm hand up and down the baby's back, and feeling a shuddering breath leave the body against him, Gabriel swayed gently on the spot. "Oh baby I'm sorry. Shhh. It's ok though. Everything's ok. Shhhh".

More shuddering breaths and hiccups were gained in response, but they were a little less rapid than before.

"I guess you're not going to fall asleep huh?" Gabriel said as he placed a kiss to the head snuggled under his chin and continued to sway gently. All he got was the feeling of a head shaking against his chest.

"Want to come and sit with me and Sammy baby?"

A small nod and a hiccup.

"Ok then" Gabriel breathed as he placed one more kiss atop the baby's head and began to make his way back downstairs.

====================

Downstairs, Gabriel stopped by the kitchen on his way to the living room in order to collect a cool bottle of water from the fridge. After the amount that Dean had been crying, he would need a drink to replace the liquids he had lost.

Carrying Dean and the bottle through to the main room, Gabriel settled them both down onto the sofa. He arranged Dean across his lap and cradled the boy in his arms. "There we go baby. Let's try to have a drink huh? I bet you’re a thirsty boy. It might even help those hiccups!" Gabriel cooed as he eased the soother out of a hiccupping mouth and offered the nipple of the bottle as a replacement. Gabriel smiled down at the boy in his arms as Dean began to slowly drink the cool water.

Continuing to hold the bottle steady for the baby, Gabriel looked up and searched for his little boy. Gabriel wasn't expecting to be greeted by a scowling Sammy looking their way. A scowling Sammy who was specifically looking at the boy drinking in his lap.

"Hey Sammy" Gabriel called quietly "What's the face for dude?"

"Why's De here?" Sam said suddenly, not losing the scowl from his face.

"Dean's here to have a drink and a cuddle because he's feeling so sad" Gabriel responded, glancing back down to check on the boy in his lap who was, fortunately, still drinking and whose eyes were currently gazing unfocusedly at the water sloshing about inside the bottle and not at his frowning sibling.

"De's 'posed to be asleep" Sam grumbled.

"I know, but today Dean's just missing his Daddy too much to be able to sleep, so we're going to keep him with us for a while."

"But its plaaaytime" Sam whined, as though that explained everything. And in his mind it did - playtime was HIS special time with HIS Daddy, and Dean was not supposed to be there!

"I know bud, but sometimes things have to happen differently, and today is one of those days" Gabriel appealed to his boy, but his attention was shifted again to his lap as Dean tried to spit the nipple of the bottle out of his mouth. Withdrawing the drink and swiping away the drool that had leaked from the boys mouth, Gabriel asked "That a bit better sweetheart?"

Dean just turned his head to bury his face into the chest he was held against and brought his thumb up to place into the now empty mouth. No, it wasn't better - Daddy wasn't here yet.

"Here now, don't do that" Gabriel said as he pulled the thumb away, and chuckled at the disgruntled face he gained. "Paci is much better - all clean", and he slipped a new one into the baby's mouth.

Looking back up, Gabriel discovered that the scowl had now become thunderous. On the one hand, Gabriel really wanted to go play with his boy, but on the other he wanted Dean to get as much rest as he could seeing as he wasn't going to nap. Action was needed though, and quickly, before he had to deal with a sobbing baby and a little boy in a full scale tantrum.

Shifting Dean so that he was sat next to him on the sofa, but still snuggled safely under one arm, Gabriel used the other to pat the piece of sofa that was free next to him. Sammy didn't look impressed and deliberately looked away from his Daddy and crossed his arms against his chest in a humpf.

Beckoning his boy with a crooked finger, Gabriel called "Come to Daddy little boy".

Sammy looked like he might refuse for a moment, but to Gabriel's relief he began to reluctantly shuffle forward - dragging his feet the whole way - until he plopped down near him on the sofa. Near. Not next to.

By now Dean's attention had been drawn from where he had his head buried, and he peaked out to watch his brother curiously. Sammy never acted like this. He was a happy boy, not a grumpy one! That was usually Dean when he wasn't allowed to do something that he wanted to, but couldn't as it 'wasn't for babies'.

Reaching out an arm and dragging his boy closer by his shoulders until Sammy was slumped against his side, Gabriel then placed a kiss on his son's temple. "Now I know it's play time, but I think it would do us all some good to have some quiet time." This proclamation drew a huff from his son, and drew the curious gaze of his nephew up towards his face. "So, Sammy, what I would like you to do is go and choose a story you would like to hear and we'll have some story time for a bit."

"It's playtime" Sammy grumped sullenly from his slumped position.

Forcing a cheerful voice and giving his son a slight push Gabriel exclaimed "Well now it's story time, so get going mister."

Sam climbed to his feet and basically stomped his way over to the bookshelf where he contemplated his options. If it was story time he might as well get a good one he supposed. Grabbing a worn book, he trudged back over to his Daddy, shoved the book at him and then climbed back onto the sofa. "This one" he said as he wormed his way under his Daddy's arm. He was making sure that he got cuddles.

"Good choice Sammy" Gabriel said as he rubbed his hand up and down his son's arm. "The Gruffalo, one of my favourites". And with that he opened the book and began the story. "There once was a mouse in the deep dark wood…"

As the story progressed, Gabriel felt his son relax and begin to get into the story. Sammy had now moved to be sat on his knees on the sofa and even spoke along with parts of the story as Gabriel told it. Sam chattered along excitedly, asking questions and pointing at pictures he liked. Gabriel answered the questions, drew comments from Sammy and enjoyed sharing the beloved story with his inquisitive child.

There was one slight problem however. Whenever Dean tried to join in, Sammy would stop him. If Dean snaked an arm up to point at a picture, Sam would roughly shove the hand away saying "Stop it Dean!"

If Gabriel spoke to Dean, asking "Do you like that picture Dean?", or commenting "Yeah there's the snake", then Sammy would instantly talk loudly over whatever he was saying to the baby, asking questions and drawing attention back his way.

Gabriel knew exactly what was happening, but as Dean wasn't protesting this treatment and seemed to be content to be held in a hug, listen to a story and suck his soother, then he decided to let the situation play out for a while longer before intervening. He hoped Sam would get over his mood on his own.

The book eventually ended, though Gabriel enjoyed the sensation of cuddling up with both of the Winchesters, listening to Sammy chat about his favourite part of the story.

However, after a while Sammy demanded "Daddy I want to go out."

"Out? Out where Sammy?" Gabe inquired.

"To the swings Dad and play football." When the age playing at the house became a regular occurrence, Castiel and Gabriel had created a small play area for the boys a short distance away in a clearing. They wanted to let the boys have some way to burn off energy while little and to be able to experience the outdoors. It was a private area for the boys that wouldn't be easily stumbled upon, and the walk through the trees and fields to get there was always pleasant for the family.

"You sure Sammy? You don't want to do something around the house today?"

"Nope. I wanna' swing."

"I guess so then. Whatcha think baby? Wanna go for a walk?" Gabriel asked Dean. Dean just looked innocently at Gabriel, and then at Sammy and shrugged. He kinda wanted to stay at the house. He was tired and if he stayed at home then he wouldn't miss Daddy in case he came back suddenly. He looked over at Sammy and noticed the look of wanting on his face. Sammy had been grumpy today and Dean wanted his Sammy to be happy. If going out would make Sammy happy, then he supposed going out would be ok. After a minute of studying his brother's face, Dean nodded at Gabriel.

"Ok then boys. Let's go get ready to go out!"

Chapter Text

Gabriel moved off of the sofa and thought for a moment about what he would need to do to get the boys ready for the park. Both boys sat on the sofa looking up at him waiting for instruction.

He clapped his hands and began to address them. "Right. So, we're going to want a couple of toys which I'll go get. Dean, do you need a change sweetheart?"

Dean just looked blankly up at his uncle and shifted slightly on his padded bottom. The trouble was he wasn't really sure. Gabriel noticed this and said "Ok, so we'll go and check. Sammy, I want you to try to go potty ok?"

"I don't need the potty Daddy" Sammy said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking grumpy.

"Well you haven't been for a while Sammy, and if we're going out I want you to try please" Gabriel responded as he scooped Dean up into his arms. He turned to walk out of the room, expecting his boy to follow behind. However when he got to the door, Gabriel turned to discover the little boy still sat on the sofa with his arms crossed. "Sammy. Come on. Now please" Gabriel said sternly, expecting obedience from his son.

Sam huffed and deliberately looked away from his daddy saying "I don’t. Need. To potty."

"I think you do young man. I'm going to change your little brother. I need you to be a big boy and help me out, so stand up and go to the bathroom please" Gabriel said, frowning at his boy.

"No."

"Sammy!" Gabriel exclaimed surprised. Dean by now was looking worriedly between the two, unsure of what to do. Not much he could do really from his place perched upon his uncle's hip.

"Well obviously you need my help today little man. You should have just said so" Gabriel said walking back over to the sofa, still using his stern voice.

"No! Don't need help Daddy! And don't need potty neither!" Sammy shouted as he tried to wiggle away from his Daddy while still keeping his arms crossed in a mood.

Gabriel just reached out his free arm and grabbed hold of one of Sam's hands, despite the wriggling protests and used it to pull the boy to his feet. Despite Sam's obvious size and strength due to his physically adult body, Gabriel was still an arch-angel so pulling his struggling son to his feet while still keeping Dean on his hip wasn't much of a challenge.

"You don't shout at Daddy Sammy" Gabriel stated as he led the struggling boy from the room "and if you don't want to spend some time in time out then you will lose the attitude."

Sam stopped shouting but kept the pout on his face as he continued to pull against his Daddy's grip. It wasn't fair! He didn't want to go and he didn't want his Daddy to be mad at him, but he couldn't stop the anger flowing through him.

Dean tightened his grip around his uncle's neck as the body he was held against was jerked around slightly as Sam pulled against Gabriel's tight grip. He tried to look at his brother, surprised at the tantrum he was throwing. What was going on?

The trio arrived at the bathroom and Gabriel dragged his son through the door. Nudging the door closed and mojo'ing it shut he then released Sam and carefully placed Dean down to sit on the bathroom mat. Turning back to Sam who was tugging at the door handle, Gabriel placed his hands on his son's shoulders and gently turned Sam around to face him.

"Stop this right now young man" Gabriel said looking at his son's face, but not being able to get eye contact as Sam was studiously avoiding it. "I do not like this attitude. Asking you to try to go potty is not an unreasonable request and it does not deserve this tantrum."

"Not a tantrum!" Sam forced out, stamping his foot in protest, undermining the thoughts going through his head - he did not throw tantrums!

"You are throwing at tantrum and it is not acceptable" Gabriel replied, keeping a calm, yet stern voice. "I am going to give you a chance to calm down and to do as you are asked while I change your brother."

At this Sam glared at the boy sat on the mat as if blaming him for the situation he found himself in. Dean wiggled uncomfortably on the mat under the gaze of his brother. What had he done? He felt tears welling up in his eyes and he sniffled around his pacifier. He didn't like this and he wanted his Daddy! He started to cry softly.

Gabriel, unaware of this exchange continued "If you cannot do as I have asked by the time I get back then you will be having a time out to think about how we behave in this house."

Sam's glare returned to his Daddy and he just replied "Hmph" again.

Gabriel then released Sam's shoulders and turned back to pick up Dean. "Oh Dean," Gabriel sighed as he lifted Dean from the floor. "Come on. let's go get you more comfy". Gabriel walked over to the door, opened it and adjusted the mojo so that Sam would not be able to leave the bathroom. It's not like he could lock him in, but he wanted Sam to stay still, but also be able to monitor the situation. By placing the ward on the bathroom entrance, Gabriel could keep an ear out for his boy while he was in the nursery with Dean.

"Go potty Sammy. I'll be back in a moment." And with that Gabriel carried Dean out of the room, leaving Sam to glare after their backs. Dean continued to cry as he looked back over Gabriel's shoulder. He didn't like his brother being cross with him. Especially when he didn't know what was wrong. But all he could do was cry.

Sam just stuck his tongue out at his brother as he watched them go.

==========

Gabriel lowered Dean down on the changing table, then stood back up to take a minute to calm down. He rarely had to discipline Sam, but he always hated it when the little boy tested him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting out some of the tension.

A hitched breath had him opening his eyes to look at the miserable baby on the table. A still slightly crying Dean was looking up at him, asking with his eyes what was going on.
"Oh baby. You're having a tough day aren't you" Gabriel said quietly as he wiped away tears. "Don't worry about Sammy. He's just being a grumpy boy and is cross with me, not you." Gabriel gave a reassuring smile to his nephew and moved to begin undressing him in order to get access to the wet diaper.

"B'anket" Dean mumbled around the soother that was still in his mouth.

"What's that baby?" Gabriel looked up.

"B'anket pees" Dean garbled, setting pleading wet eyes on the face above him. He really needed his blanket right now if he was going to be changed.

"Oh, we left it on the sofa sweetie" Gabriel soothed as he ran a hand over Dean's hair "how 'bout we get this change done super quick then we can go get your blankie?"

Gabriel could see Dean's lip wobble from beneath the pacifier and more tears pool in the green eyes, but the boy took a deep, hitching breath and nodded determinedly up at him. He did however roll onto his side slightly on the table - prompting Gabriel to quickly place a restraining hand on to the boy's tummy - and he reached out a grabby hand towards the crib.

"Whatcha want baby?" Gabriel asked as he turned his head to look in the direction Dean was gesturing at. Dean whined and continued to grab towards the crib. Gabriel ran his gaze over the crib and his eyes eventually settled on the small knitted bee that was wedged between two crib bars. Aha! "Want the bee Dean?" Gabe asked, already knowing the answer, as there was nothing else Dean could want in that general direction. Dean just let out a slightly more desperate whine. Not wanting to leave Dean unattended on the changing table, Gabriel extended his grace and floated the bee toy into the baby's waiting hands.

"There you go De" Gabriel said, grinning down at the boy who had hidden his face into his stuffed toy. "Let's change your bum then". With that Gabriel started undressing the boy, this time gaining no resistance, and began the process of changing the wet diaper, wiping his nephew clean, powdering and then taping him into a fresh diaper.

"That better baby?" Gabriel asked as he once again snapped Dean's onsie closed and tugged elasticised trousers into place. Gaining a contented murmur in response from behind the bee covered face, Gabriel added some addition's to his nephew's outfit. Out of one of the draws of the table Gabe retrieved a pair of blue socks which he slipped onto the bare feet. Picking Dean up and walking over to the wardrobe, Gabriel selected a soft green hoodie to place on Dean for when they went on their walk. Placing Dean down, he quickly threaded the baby's arms through the sleeves and zipped it up, before clipping a pacifier clip to the jumper and attaching the other end to the pacifier in the boy's mouth. Despite the fact it was sunny, Gabriel didn't want the boy to get cold. Finally, Gabriel tugged on some soft velcro shoes to complete the outfit.

Picking Dean back up, Gabriel asked "Want to take the bee with you?" Dean shook his head to indicate the negative, so Gabriel walked past the crib, allowing Dean to drop his toy back inside.

"Right then. Let's see what that brother of yours has gotten up to" Gabriel stated as he travelled towards the nursery door. Dean just looked at his uncle nervously.

===================

Returning to the bathroom, Gabriel stopped in front of the open door just to come face to face with Sam stood in exactly the same position he had left him in. Stood, arms folded and glaring at the world in general.

Stepping just inside the threshold of the room - so just inside of the wards - Gabriel placed Dean down onto the floor, then stood to regard his son.

"Oh dear Sammy." Gabriel stated sadly.

Sam blushed and looked down, but otherwise didn't alter his stance.

"Looks like you can't make good decisions today, so you will definitely be having a time out."

"No Daddy! No! I don't like time outs!" Sam wailed as his head flew up and his arms dropped to his side.

"Sorry Sammy, but it's too late. Daddy gave you lots of chances to do as you were asked, but you decided not to and had a tantrum" Gabriel said gently as he approached his son.
"No Daddy!" Sam appealed.

"Now," said Gabriel as he reached his son and gripped his arm "You are going to try to go potty, just like I asked, but Daddy will help you as you don't seem to be able to do it on your own." Gabriel led Sam towards the toilet and turned him around to face the open bathroom door.

"No Daddy!" Sam cried, "I can do it!" He glanced at the door and blushed as he saw Dean sat there watching, nervously suckling on his pacifer.

"I gave you that chance, but you didn't take it, so now Daddy will help you" Gabriel said as he reached for the hem of Sam's trousers and hooked his fingers inside.

"But Daddy Dean is here! I don't wanna go potty with De in here!" Sammy cried again, his face now bright red. Dean, catching his brother's eyes and realising what was happening had shuffled on his bottom so that he was now facing the other direction. He already knew he wouldn't be able to get out of the room, so didn't even bother trying. He could at least give his brother the small illusion of privacy. Hearing his brother's cries unsettled him however so he began to suck harder and faster on the pacifier in his mouth, trying to gain some comfort. He wished he had his blanket!

"You had the option of going potty without your brother being here while I had Dean in the nursery, but you didn’t choose that option. I can't leave the baby on his own, so now you are just going to have to deal with it" Gabriel explained, not unkindly as he tugged Sam's trousers and the pull up that Sam occasionally wore down around the boy's ankles.

As he pushed Sam gently backwards to sit on the toilet, he noted that the pull up was ever so slightly damp. Looks like he'd been right about getting his boy to go potty after all.

As Sam sat on the potty, Gabriel pulled the trousers and pull ups all the way off of the boy's legs, balled up the pull up and stuffed it into the nearby trash can. He then stood and moved away from the boy, going to the bathroom cabinet calling "Go potty now Sammy. We aren’t going anywhere until you can do some wee wees."

Sam just sat and fiddled with his hands, embarrassed about being half naked and sat on the potty while his little brother was still in the room - even if his brother couldn't actually see right now. He had his head bowed so that he was hiding behind a curtain of his long hair, and peeked out to look at his Daddy and to make sure that De was still not looking.
Dean was also blushing, embarrassed for his brother and trying hard to not pay attention. Still, it wasn't that bad - at least Sammy could go potty. And Sammy had seen him get changed loads of times. It was kinda the same.

Gabriel gathered a clean pull up out of the cabinet and turned to look over his son. Very quickly he heard the tinkling sound of water hitting water and knew that his son had in fact given in to the demands of his body. He was relieved - he knew just how stubborn his boy could be and had been worried that Sam was going to hold it in out of spite.

When the room was quiet again, Gabriel returned to his son and pulled him to his feet saying "See now, that wasn't so hard. Good boy Sammy."

Sam just continued to hide behind his curtain of hair as his Daddy wiped him clean and flushed the toilet.

Gabriel knelt and held out the clean pull ups for Sam to step into. Sam held onto his Daddy's shoulders for balance as he stepped first into the pull ups and then back into his trousers. Letting Gabriel tug his trousers and underwear into place, Sam kept quiet as he allowed his Daddy to help him wash his hands.

When that task was complete, Sam was surprised when he was pulled into a firm hug by warm arms. "Good boy Sammy. I'm sorry that was hard for you, but Daddy loves you".

"Love you too Daddy" Sam sighed as he relaxed into his Dad's embrace. After a minute Gabriel pulled away, but kept hold of his son.

"You know you still need to have time out for not listening and being rude to Daddy don't you?" Gabriel asked.

"Yeah Daddy" Sammy said, looking down again.

"Come on then, let's get it over with." And with that Gabriel went over and picked up Dean, released the warding on the door, then turned back and gathered Sam's hand.

The trio made their way downstairs and into the living room. Moving to the playpen, Gabriel let go of Sam's hand and placed Dean down and onto the mat. "Stay here for a sec" Gabriel said as he moved off over to the sofa. Collecting Dean's blue blanket, Gabriel returned and handed it to the gratefully smiling baby. "Here you go baby. Wait here for a bit and we'll be off to the park soon." Dean snuggled his blanket for a moment and then, with it still in his hand he crawled over to some toys that were waiting in the corner of the pen.

Gabriel then took hold of his son's hand and led him off into the corner of the room and placed him directly in the corner. Before he left he made sure that Sam was looking at him. "So you know your time out if because you made some bad choices earlier. Your behaviour was not good, but you are always my good boy and I love you."

"Love you Daddy" Sam mumbled as he looked shyly and sadly at his Daddy.

"I know buddy, now, look into the corner and I'll be back when your time out is done. I want you to think about how to make your behaviour better". And with that, Gabriel turned his son to face the corner and moved away to do some things in the hallway.

Chapter Text

As Sam stood and faced the corner he thought about how things had gone since lunch time. His thoughts fluctuated between several different emotions while he thought.
He hadn't meant to be so rude to his Daddy, but he was so cross! It wasn't really fair that he had a time out either! Just coz he didn't want to go potty.

Sam flushed as he remembered standing in the bathroom and small squirts of pee falling into his pull up. He was glad he'd worn it today - it would have been so much worse for De to know he wasn’t as big a boy as he made out to be. But he had gotten into a situation where he couldn’t back down - he couldn’t let Daddy know that he was right and that he did actually need to potty. There was no way he was going to use it. Especially when he was made to feel naughty for not going and Daddy was spending all his time looking after Dean.

Sure Dean was a baby, but Sammy was Daddy's little boy! Sammy needed Daddy, not Dean! Sam's anger drained and he settled his head against the wall and raised a hand to chew on a finger. Sammy liked being his Daddy's little boy - big enough to do things by himself but still needing lots of support and love from his Daddy. But his Daddy was taking lots and lots of care of Dean today and today Dean was an especially little baby today - not talking or anything. Sammy didn't want to be a baby! Sure, sometimes he liked the pull ups he wore, but he didn't wear them all the time, only sometimes. He definitely didn’t want to wear diapers and be constantly monitored like De was. But maybe that’s what Daddy wanted?

Hearing some noise from behind him, Sam snuck a quick peek at what was happening. He saw he brother sat in the playpen. He was clutching his stupid blanket in one hand and was busy pushing shapes into a box with the other creating a clattering noise as they dropped to the bottom of the box. How could Dean be happy like that? Essentially trapped in a cage until someone came to get him, constantly monitored and allowed no privacy at all. Did Daddy want Sammy to be like that?

Sammy settled on sadness as he faced the corner again. He wanted his Daddy but Daddy was cross with him. He didn't want Daddy to be cross with him. Sammy resolved to be really, really good for his Daddy for the rest of the day. He'd just have to make sure that Daddy remembered that he was his Daddy - not Dean's!

As Sam reached that conclusion he felt hands settle on his shoulders and begin to pull him away from the corner. Turning to face his Daddy, he allowed himself to be pulled over to the sofa and settled down into a one armed embrace on the cushions.

"Do you have something to say to me Sammy?" Gabriel asked as he rubbed his hand up and down his son's arm.

"Sorry Daddy." Sam mumbled as he studied his hands in his lap.

"What are you sorry for little man?" Gabe probed. He wanted his son to be sure why he had the time out.

"Sorry for being naughty and rude and not listening Daddy" Sammy said as he gave his Daddy a sorrowful look. He was really sorry for that. He didn’t like upsetting his Daddy.

"Well yes the way you spoke to Daddy and the way you didn't listen wasn't nice, but you weren't naughty. Your choices weren't great, but you are a good boy, not a naughty one." Gabriel made sure to reassure his son that he wasn't a bad boy - he didn't want Sammy to feel bad about himself, but he did want him to think about ways to behave better. "If you get frustrated or disagree with Daddy, what could you do Sammy?"

"Talk to Daddy, not shout at him" Sammy mumbled. He knew this. They'd had that discussion before.

"That’s right. Use your words. You're a big boy, you know how to use your words Sammy." While Gabriel had meant it as a reassurance and a conformation about Sammy's ideas, his choice of words - claiming Sammy to be a big boy actually served to make his son more worried. Did Daddy still want him to be a big boy? But De wasn't a big boy - it was getting very confusing for the boy sat on the sofa. Unfortunately, Gabriel didn't realise his sons dilemma as he thought his son was still ruminating on his previous time out and actions.

Now that the situation was over, Gabriel wanted to stop his son from brooding, so he decided to move on with the afternoon's plans. Giving his son a firm squeeze from where he still had his arm around him, Gabriel said "Right then Fred, are you ready to go to the park?"

This gained the looked for smile and giggle from his little man. "My name's not Fred Daddy! I'm Sammy!"

"Are you sure?" Gabe teased, moving his arm from around Sam's shoulders and moving to attack his boy's tummy with tickles "I'm pretty sure its Fred".

"No Daddy! No!" Sam squealed, "Its me! Sammy!"

"Oh my mistake then" Gabriel grinned as he swooped down to swing Sam up into the air, gaining more squeals and shrieks before landing Sam's feet onto the carpet.

"Funny Daddy" Sammy grinned as he managed to stop his giggles. If there was one thing that made him feel as little as it did, it was being swept around by the much stronger
angel. He launched himself at his Daddy to give him a massive hug.

Giving a kiss to the top of his son's head, Gabriel spoke into the long hair "Ready for the park now buddy?"

Nodding against the head leaning on top of his Sam said "Yes Daddy", gave one more squeeze to his Daddy and then moved away.

Gabriel just smiled at his happy little boy. "Well I'm all ready and I have a jumper for you in my bag, so I just need you to get some shoes on. Can you go get some sweetheart?"

Spinning round and racing to do as asked, Sam called back "Yup!" Sam ran to the back door and retrieved his shoes from where he had discarded them earlier. He returned to his Daddy and plopped down on the sofa, dropping his shoes at his feet and then smiling up at the angel above him. Daddy always did his laces. They were much too hard for a little boy - Sammy always managed to make terrible knots.

Gabriel knelt down and began to slip the shoes on over excitedly wiggling toes being unable to resist giving the bottoms of the feet in his hands a small tickle and gaining another squealed "Daddy!" in response. Smirking, Gabriel finished deftly tying the laces and stood up, tugging his son to his feet once again.

"All set?" Gabe asked, gaining a beaming nod in confirmation then continued "Great! We'll just grab your brother and head out then!" Gabe then started heading over to the playpen to gather his nephew.

Sam's smile dimmed slightly at the reminder that his brother would have to come too, but then forced his smile brighter again. So what if they had to take the dumb baby with them? He was better to play with than nothing and Sammy would just have to make sure that De didn't get in the way of him having an awesome time with his Daddy.

On the floor of the playpen, Dean had been happily engaged with his toys and lost in his own little world. He was snuggling his blue blanket up against his face and enjoying the smell of his Daddy that was bringing him comfort. He was so engaged that he let out a squeak of surprise when he was gripped under the armpits from behind and lifted up and out of the playpen and into his uncle's waiting arms. His pacifier fell to the floor of the playpen in his shock, but he managed to keep his grip on his blanket which draped over his uncle's shoulders as he gripped his arm around Gabe's neck to help steady himself.

"Let's go then boys!" Gabriel said cheerfully and headed for the hallway. While Sammy was in his time out he had been busy getting the things ready to go out. He packed a diaper bag with suppiles just in case and added some drinks and snacks, as well as his son's jumper and a few toys to entertain the boys in the sandbox that was at the playground. The bag he had packed was settled in the basket underneath the stroller that was waiting ready in the hallway.

The stroller was ready made to fit Dean and they did bring it out on occasion, though often Dean wanted to walk or was carried on their family outings. Gabriel had brought it out today as he was pretty sure Dean was feeling too little to want to walk and was probably too tired due to missing his nap.

As soon as they approached it in the hallway Gabriel tried to lower the baby into the waiting seat, but Dean was having none of it. He squealed and flung his other arm up to grip around Gabriel's neck, clinging hard to the man trying to put him in the stroller.

While Dean had been in the playpen he had been thinking over his brother's actions and it seemed as though Sammy was upset with him. Dean wasn't sure what he had done, but he knew he didn't like it when he and Sammy were out of sorts - be they little or big. He thought it would be a good idea to spend some time playing with Sammy to try and make things better. He had spent some time in the playpen to trying to force himself to be a little big bigger, but he hadn’t had much success as he had been distracted by the toys.
As soon as he saw the stroller he knew he definitely didn't want to go in it. If he was in the pushchair, he wouldn't be able to be near his Sammy.

"Come on Dean. Into the stroller sweetheart. You wanna save all your energy for the park don’t you?" Gabe crooned as he tried to settle the boy into the seat.

"No! Walk" Dean stated as he wiggled. Sammy just watched on from behind the pair, slightly annoyed at the delay in their outing. Why did Dean have to be such a pain?

"It'll be quicker if you ride De" Gabriel tried to bargain.

"Want walk!" Dean whined "Want Sammy!" Dean twisted in his uncle's arms to reach out pleadingly towards his brother.

Sammy looked up in surprise at being called by Dean. Why would Dean want him?

Gabriel straightened up, Dean still in his arms, realising that if he pushed then he was going to end up with another boy in a tantrum. Dean had been upset enough for the day so he thought it was better to give in this once to avoid more tears. He was pretty sure that he knew how this would end up anyway.

"You wanna walk with Sammy De?" Gabe asked kindly, readjusting his hold on the baby.

"Sammy!" Dean cried desperately, again reaching out to his brother, his blue blanket dangling from one hand.

"That ok with you buddy?" Gabe asked, searching his son's face.

Sam was still surprised that his brother wanted his attention, but looked at his Daddy's eyes and nodded. What was De doing? It was annoying, why couldn't he just get in the stroller so he could go?

"Alright then" Gabe conceded, setting Dean's feet on the floor. He reached for Dean's hand thought and took him over to Sam, placing the baby's hand in the hand of the other boy, "but you need to hold onto Sammy's hand ok? You don't let go."

"Yeah" Dean smiled, allowing his hand to be gripped by his brother. He was with his Sammy! Now things would be happy again.

Gabriel turned to his son and said seriously "Sammy, I'm trusting you to look out for your little brother ok? Keep hold of his hand please, ok buddy?"

Sam sighed but gripped his brother's hand tightly. "Yeah alright Daddy, I'll look after De."

"Thanks buddy, I know you'll do a good job." Turning back to Dean, who was watching Sammy's face Gabriel said "I want you to keep blue blanket in the stroller please Dean. We don’t want him to get dirty do we baby?" and he reached out a hand to take the t-shirt from his nephew.

Dean pulled the hand clutching his hand back, slightly out of his uncle's reach. He had to let go of blue blanket? But he needed his blanket coz Daddy wasn't here!

Gabriel stood waiting with his hand out patiently, recognising the indecision warring on the baby's face. He was content to wait, he didn't want to push the baby too far.

Dean's lip wobbled as he didn't want to give up his blanket. He turned to look at his Sammy's face and saw that the other boy was looking at him very impatiently. Oh no! He didn't want Sammy to be angry. Dean did have his Sammy, so maybe he'd be ok without his blanket. Turning his head back to his uncle, Dean hesitantly held his blanket out for him to take.

Moving slowly, Gabriel gently took his brother's old t-shirt out of the baby's hand. When it cleared the boy's grip Gabriel offered a small smile and said "Thank you baby, I'll take good care of it ok." and folded the t-shirt, placing it carefully on the seat of the stroller, aware of Dean's eyes watching every move he made.

When that was done, he straightened up and gripped the handle of the stroller, pushing it forwards and out the door, calling "Come on then guys, the park awaits".

"Yeah!" cried Sammy and moved off, giving Dean a sharp tug to get him moving. Once they all cleared the threshold of the house and Gabriel secured the door, Gabriel grabbed hold of Sammy's free hand, gripped the handle of the stroller with the other and set off towards the park.

Chapter Text

The trio strolled comfortably down the pathway surrounding their house towards one of the many fields surrounding the property. As they passed, Dean reached out a hand to stroke along the side of the Impala that was gleaming in the sunlight, letting out a happy squeal at the sight of her, crowing "Baby!". Whenever Dean was at the house, Cas had to make sure that the Impala came with him - no one was leaving her behind!

Grinning at the sound of his nephew's delight, Gabe cooed "Yeah there's your baby, baby!", eliciting a happy giggle in response.

Sammy looked at his grinning Daddy and little brother and felt another tightening of the unpleasant feeling he'd had earlier in his chest. Despite being in the middle of the two, he felt left out so he surged forward, dragging his Daddy and Dean with him demanding "Come ON!"

Chuckling and speeding up just a little to keep up with his boy while still keeping the stroller rolling straight forwards Gabe said "Hold your horses Sammy-boy, we'll get there. There's no rush dude."

Slowing slightly now that they were clear of the car and entering into one of the nearby fields Sammy replied "But I want to swing Daddy!"

"The swings will still be there when we get there I promise you buddy" Gabe said soothingly, recognising the excitement in his son's tone, but not the disgruntled edge that was underlying it. He thought Sammy must just be really impatient to get to the playground.

The playground was a few fields away from the house. The angels had picked a very very remote location to build the house and the playground so that no one would stumble across the location - giving the boys privacy and space to explore their little sides, but also a place to just get away from everything if they were feeling big but needed a break. The angel brothers had agreed between themselves that they didn't want the boys to be cooped up in the house while age playing and so the fields surrounding the property allowed them to go on walks and get fresh air and exercise. The playground wasn't too far away, but enough of a walk to be able to really enjoy the area on their way.

To make it easier to amble along, Gabriel said "Sammy I'm going to let go of your hand buddy, but I want you to stay close to Daddy and keep hold of De for me ok?"

"Kay Daddy" Sam said, pleased that he was allowed to walk and enjoy the field and pleased with the freedom his Daddy was giving him, but he was annoyed he had to hold Dean. Now he wouldn't be able to run or jump and stuff coz he had to look after the baby.

Actually, Sammy thought, He was justgoing to do those things he wanted to anyway. If De wanted to be a big boy and walk, then he was going to have to do what Sammy wanted - it wasn't fair for him to have to only do stupid baby things!

That decided he tugged his brother forward again and began to speed up. "Come on De! I want to go faster."

Dean gave a small involuntary grunt as he was suddenly jerked forwards again and tried to keep up with his brother. Dean enjoyed walking, but it was a bit difficult as he had the bulk of his diaper between his legs, throwing off his natural gait. Dean was slightly embarrassed to admit that the diaper caused him to waddle slightly in order to accommodate its bulk and that waddling made it harder to move quickly. He'd tried running around before but he always ended up stumbling as he'd never mastered the trickiness. Still, he was determined to keep up with his brother - a diaper wasn't going to stop him! Occasionally however, he would try to get his Sammy to slow down as he was struggling. However, as he had discovered earlier, his efforts to be a bigger boy hadn't gone very well, so he couldn't get many words out. All he could really say to his brother was an occasional pleading "Sammy!", but it didn't seem like Sam was paying him much attention.

Sammy noticed that he was having to drag Dean along, but he just continued to pull on the boy's hand in order to get him to keep up as he was having fun. Dean kept calling to him but he didn't want to be held back by the baby today so he just ignored him.

Sammy would occasionally stop to call out something interesting to his Daddy like "Look Daddy! A bird!" or "I see a squirrel Daddy!" but would always quickly surge forwards again - not quite running but certainly walking fast.

Gabe trailed the boys with the stroller and would call out his responses to Sammy or pointing out interesting things he thought the boys might enjoy seeing that Sammy hadn't spotted. He did notice however that Dean was struggling to keep up with his brother and so would call out occasional reminders like "Slow down Sammy" and "Careful buddy" when he saw Sammy tugging on his brother a bit too hard.

Gabriel wasn't aware of the situation between the boys and just assumed that Dean was still feeling pretty tired and that it was this that was causing the trouble.

As they were ambling along, the inevitable eventually happened and through a combination of Sam pulling too hard and Dean stumbling, Dean ended up flat on his face on the grass, hand torn from his brother's grip. Dean looked up, stunned from his place on the floor and Sam turned and just sighed down at his brother.

Gabe winced and raced quickly to the side of the boys and swooped Dean up off the floor, settling him back onto his feet saying "Oh dear! Oh dear! Never mind! No harm done!", wanting to make sure that Dean was fine and trying to prevent and tears.

Dean's breath hitched as he allowed his uncle to brush the dirt from his clothes and to settle him. Tears gathered in his eyes, but as he caught sight of his brother's face he was determined that he wasn't going to cry. He just wanted his Sammy to be happy! He didn't want him to get annoyed with him for being a cry baby. His Sammy was already looking annoyed so De didn't want to make it worse.

"You ok baby boy?" Gabe asked as he finished brushing down the baby. It wasn't too hard of a tumble, but he knew that little ones were prone to crying after a shock, so was expecting tears. Sammy cried after falling sometimes, so he thought Dean would be crying for sure.

Gaining a shaky nod in response, Gabe said "Go on then" and gave the baby a gently nudge in the direction of his brother. Looking disgruntled but managing to hide his expression from his Daddy, Sammy just grabbed hold of Dean's hand and started off again.

Gabriel just collected the stroller and began to trail after them again.

As they continued through the field, Dean's stumbles became more frequent as Sammy became more boisterous and Dean became more tired. After the third time that Dean landed on his face, Sammy had had enough and turned to his fallen brother and shouted "Dean! Stop it!", stomping his foot to emphasise his frustration.

This did it for Dean and as he raised himself up onto his knees and finally the tears began to flow down his face and some whimpers escaped his lips. He'd landed on his hands hard that time and it had hurt! What was worse was that his Sammy was mad at him. He couldn't help it! It was really hard to keep up! He didn't want to be crying but he just couldn't help it any more.

"Sammy!" Gabriel scolded as he once again scooped up the fallen baby, but this time settled him on his hip as he began to wipe away the tears and sooth him.

"Well he's doin' it on purpose!" Sammy huffed, annoyed that they'd been held up yet again and that he was once again being told off while his brother got attention from his Daddy.

Gabriel sighed "No he's not Sammy. He's just a baby, he can't help it." Gabriel bounced the baby in his arms and continued to make soothing noises as the cries stopped into sniffles.

"He's takin' forever!" Sammy whined.

Dean, hearing his brother just turned and buried his head into his uncle's neck, hiding his face from his brother - he didn't mean to be such a baby and make Sammy cross.

Gabriel frowned at his son and received a slightly sheepish look from him in response. Turning and carrying Dean over to the stroller, he said "De baby, I think it's time to have a little ride now ok? Let's give those legs a rest so they're all ready for playing!" Gabriel deliberately made his voice cheerful as he knew Dean wasn’t going to be happy about going into the stroller.

At those words, Dean's head shot up and he let out a whine of protest, but he found himself sat down into the stroller's cushioned seat. He wanted to be with Sammy! Gaining a look at his brother's scowling face however quickly stopped the next complaint that was building in his throat. Oh. Sammy didn't want him. Defeated, Dean allowed a few more tears to drip from his eyes, but allowed Gabriel to strap him into the stroller with no more fights.

Sammy grinned behind his Daddy's back as he saw Dean being strapped into the pushchair. Finally! The baby was where he was meant to be so now he could play and enjoy the rest of the walk with his Daddy without any more interruptions or hold ups.

Gabriel smiled reassuringly at his nephew as he buckled the boy into the stroller, and raised a hand to swipe away at the tears he saw making their way slowly down the boy's face. It must be hard to have such big emotions when feeling so very little.

Luckily, he knew how to make things better. When he had finished with the straps, Gabriel reached down the side of the baby and into the seat, pulling out with him the old blue t-shirt and presenting it with a flourish as he straightened up.

Dean watched his uncle's movements with curiosity and as soon as he caught sight of his beloved blanket he let out a cry of "Ah!" and made grabby hands up at the object that was being held just out of reach.

"What?" Gabriel grinned, kindly teasing the baby "What'chu want De?"

Dean strained against the straps holding him down and made frustrated noises as he continued to make his grabby hands. His gaze never left his prize.

"Alright sweetheart" Gabriel smiled as he lowered the t-shirt into the waiting hands "There you go. Better now?"

Dean just smushed his blanket against his face and paid no attention to the angel above him.

Moving around to the handles of the stroller, running a hand over the baby's hair, Gabriel began to push the chair forward again saying "Lets keep going then boys!".

Sammy who had been watching this interaction with annoyance whooped and ran in a wide circle around the stroller, then surged forward. "Yeah! Come on Daddy! Come on!"

Gabriel chuckled and did begin to push the stroller a bit faster. It was true, that now that Dean was in the stroller they could get a move on. Not that he had been unhappy with the pace before. They were in no rush.

Sammy, now free of his brother made sure to charge about to his hearts delight picking flowers or interesting stones or funny looking pebbles he found and circling around to bring them back to show them off to his Daddy. This was more like it! Much more like his usual walks with Daddy. He chatted animatedly to the angel and enjoyed receiving the attention he gained in response.

He made sure that it stayed focused on him as well. Every time Gabriel leaned forward to check on Dean, Sammy made sure to call out to his Daddy or to thrust something interesting in his face. Dean was fine in the stroller with his stupid blanket. He didn't need Sammy's Daddy any more so it was only fair that Sammy got what he needed now.

Dean watched his brother run about and enjoy himself from his position in the cushioned seat. He really wanted to play with his Sammy. He rubbed his head sadly against his soft comfort item as he knew he wasn't wanted and couldn't join in. It was better if he just stayed out of the way and stuck to baby things today, no matter how much he longed for his brother.

The group continued to make good progress through the fields until they came to a small group of trees. Entering into the shady copse and passing through, they finally found themselves at thier destination and face to face with the purpose built park.

Chapter Text

In the middle of a clearing between the trees was play equipment built for little boys that were the size of full grown men. On top of a huge area of safety flooring sat a large swing set with swings for "big boys" and bucket seats for babies stood next to a large wooden climbing frame that had what looked like a small hiding fort at the top of it. There was a see-saw and a round a bout and well as tubes for crawling through, under and over. A slide came down to land in a square sandpit settled down into the ground slightly. There was a toddler activity centre to one side of the sand pit that had wheels to turn and hatches to open, as well as a funnel system to slide sand down. To finish off the equipment was a roundabout and next to that was a picnic bench that Gabriel was now pushing the stroller towards.

Sammy immediately began to charge towards the swing set but was called back when his Daddy called "Just a minute Sammy. Come over here please."

Sam gave the swings a longing look, but did as his Daddy asked and moved over to the picnic bench where Gabriel was crouched un-strapping his little brother from the stroller.

As Gabriel lifted Dean from the stroller and set him on his feet, he turned and saw his boy waiting impatiently, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Hold on just one sec buddy" Gabriel said as he gathered the TARDIS-esc (made to be bigger on the inside) diaper bag from underneath the stroller, opened it up and extracted some spades and small buckets that he had rested on the top of the other items.

"Ok buddy, so you can go and play. I'm going to take Dean over to the sandpit. I'll be able to see you all the time. Shout if you need me ok?" Gabriel ruffled his son's hair and gave him a small gentle push in the direction of the swings. At Sam's hesitation, Gabriel smiled and encouraged "Go on buddy. I can see you. Go have fun!"

Sammy began to slowly walk away, but with none of the enthusiasm he had before. Instead of heading to the swings, he moved towards the climbing frame and as he moved off he heard his Daddy saying to Dean "Come on now little man, we need to leave blue blanket in the stroller. Don’t want to get it all sandy do you?" Sam began to climb up to the hiding fort and once he reached the platform he crawled in and went to a window to spy down on his Daddy carrying the bucket and spade and leading a blanket-less Dean over to the sandpit.

Sammy sank down onto his bottom and leaned back against the wall of the fort, hidden from the two figures on the ground. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped long arms around them in a hug.

Being out of sight however meant that he wasn't surprised to hear "You in the house Sammy?" float up to him after a few seconds.

"Yeah Daddy" he called back, knowing that he wouldn't get any peace until he answered his Daddy.

"Ok buddy" came the response, and then he was left to his thoughts.

When Sammy had been to the park with his Daddy before he did often wander off to play on his own while Gabriel waited nearby, or chatted with Castiel, but he spent lots of time playing with him as well. To be instantly sent off to play while Dean was able to stay with his Daddy made Sammy feel really sad.

After Dean had been strapped into the stroller for the remainder of their walk, Sammy had really enjoyed spending time with his Daddy. He was able to run about and find things and played to his hearts content. He Daddy had let him wander a small distance away from the stroller and that freedom had made him feel proud to be a big boy.

Now however, Sammy's doubts from earlier resurfaced. Sneaking a peek through the window again, Sammy saw his Daddy had sat Dean down in the sandpit, pulled off the boy's shoes and socks and was now helping Dean to dig a big hole in the sand. Yup. Daddy was happily playing with the baby. They weren't even playing on any of the cool playground stuff!

But maybe that’s what Daddy wanted. To play with the boring things - like the sand instead of chasing a bigger boy around the cool climbing frame or up and down the slide.
Sammy really, really wanted to play. But he wanted his Daddy more. So he decided that if his Daddy wanted a little boy, that was what he would try to give him. Nodding to himself decisively, Sammy moved to the fort entrance and backed out to climb down the rope's he had so recently scaled.

Once he reached the bottom Sammy shyly approached the two people in the sandpit. Seeing movement, Gabriel lifted his head and offered his son a large smile in greeting, but De, engrossed in his digging didn't look up. "Heyya Sammy" Gabriel said quietly. "What ya doin'?"

"Wanna swing Daddy" Sammy said, deliberately trying to make himself sound littler - like how Dean sounded when he was feeling bigger than he was right now.

"Ok dude, you know where they are. I'll watch you. Bet you can swing all the way over the top now!"

That sounded like a challenge! Sammy bet he could do it! But wait…

"Want you Daddy" Sammy pleaded, giving his Daddy his best puppy dog eyes. He knew they were pretty irresistible.

"You want a push?" Gabriel's smile dimmed somewhat as he thought about what his son was asking after gaining a huge beam and a nod in response. Of course he wanted to go play with his son, who was really looking like he wanted some time with his old man. But, he was reluctant to leave Dean. Dean was rarely left alone while he was little and Gabriel was loathe to do so considering how young the boy was today. What to do? Gabriel knew that Dean would be safe if he moved away, but he didn't really feel great about doing so. Glancing again at his boy, Gabriel saw the puppy dog eyes come out. Damn it! There was hardly any way to defend against those.

"Ok buddy. Daddy's coming." First, Gabriel turned to Dean and asked "De? You wanna go swing baby?"

At the sound of his name, Dean looked up as if startled to realise someone was next to him. He looked around and assessed the situation and realised what Sammy wanted. He didn't want to swing though, he was busy! Dean shook his head negatively and shovelled a whole other scoop of sand out of the hole.

Gabriel got the answer but then addressed the boy again. "Ok sweetheart, but I'm going to give Sammy a push. You want to come?"

Dean looked up again but saw that Sammy was frowning at him again. Didn't matter. Though…he bit his lip…no it was ok. Dean patted the sand next to him and said "De here".
"Alright then baby, but I'll be right there and I'll keep an eye on you ok? Stay in the sandbox please" Gabriel said uneasily as he clambered to his feet and brushed the sand off of his trousers. Sammy beamed and started to run over to the swings and Gabriel began to follow after the boy.

As Dean saw the two move away he felt a little bit worried. But he really wanted his Sammy to be happy. He picked up the pacifier that was clipped to his shirt, but realised it was covered in dirt from his fall. He wanted a pacifier though. So before Gabriel got too far away he asked quietly "P-paci?"

Gabriel caught the very quiet question and glanced at the dirty pacifier the baby was holding and gave the boy a reassuring smile. "Of course baby. I'll go get another one." He moved off to retrieve a spare pacifier from the diaper bag, glad that he had thought to pack one and glad that Dean was asking for a comfort item. He could see that Dean was nervous, but was proud of him for trying to be brave.

Sammy was waiting impatiently by the swings. What was the hold up now? He watched as his Daddy retrieved something from the diaper bag and then go back over to De. What did the baby want now? Couldn’t he see that it was Sammy's turn to have his Daddy?

Gabriel, crouching back over by the boy in the sandbox switched the soothers on the clip over and then offered the clean one to the boy, who opened his mouth, allowing him to slip it in. Watching as the boy immediately began to suckle, he ran a hand comfortingly over the sun warmed hair that was showing more blonde hints with the exposure to the sun. He whispered "I'll be right there baby. Right over there if you want me."

Dean gave his uncle a loving look and then decisively picked his spade back up to begin digging again.

Smiling gently, Gabriel eased himself to his feet and began to make his way over to his son who was stood by the swings. He was honestly surprised that the boy hadn't clambered onto the swing by now. No matter. "Sammy-boy! Let's get swinging!" Gabriel called as he once again swung his boy up and into the air, intending to set him down on the seat.

However, though giggles his boy called "No Daddy! Want that one!"

Gabriel looked at where his son was pointing and was surprised to see that Sammy was gesturing to the bucket seat of what was known as the baby swing.

"Sammy?" Gabriel questioned "That's the baby swing buddy. You sure you want that one?"

Sam's plan was coming together. He had his Daddy's full attention. "Yup!" he smiled down from where his Dad still held him dangling above his head.

"I thought you were my big boy today Sammy" Gabe questioned again uncertainly "You sure you want the baby swing?"

Sam just nodded again and said "Yup!" excitedly.

Gabriel just shrugged and moved to the other swing and angled Sam to get his long limbs through the seat's holes and to place his bottom down on the seat. "Whatever you want little man." Gabriel moved around from where he was stood behind the boy - his usual spot for pushing when he was on the other swing - to stand in front of the bucket seat.
This was where Cas usually stood when pushing Dean, so he thought he better do the same. From this angle he could see his boy's grinning face and decided to just throw himself into the game. Yeah he could see why Cas liked this position. He liked being able to watch his happy boy. Gripping hold of the bar across the front of the seat Gabriel asked "Are you ready?"

At Sammy's loud cheer of affirmation, Gabriel pulled the swing forward a long way and then let it to enable it to fall backwards. Sammy's shriek of joy got louder as he swung back and Gabriel gave the swing a large push as soon as the boy was in reach.

It really was awesome to see Sam Winchester let go like this. To see both boys let go like this to be honest. They did so much, it was humbling to see them enjoy something so simple like a ride on a swing set. He was so grateful that Sam trusted him enough to let him be his Daddy and care for him.

While he pushed Sammy and kept up a teasing and laughing conversation with the boy, Gabriel also kept a careful eye on his nephew. So far Dean seemed ok to stay in the sandpit. He was contentedly sucking on his pacifier and had moved on from his hole to piling the sand around it into some form of wall. He had abandoned the spade and had plunged his hand right into the sand around him. Gabriel winced as he was glad he let the boy have the pacifier. He wouldn't like to think of him absently sticking his thumb into his mouth if he felt like sucking on something.

Soon enough, Sam wanted to move on from swinging and to explore some of the other playground equipment. "Stop Daddy, I wanna go on the slide now!"

Gabriel grabbed the side of the swing seat and gradually brought the swing to a holt. Sam lifted his arms up just like he'd seen Dean do when he wanted to be picked up and waited, instead of trying to climb out like he normally would. While he was enjoying the focused attention from his Daddy, things like this were a bit annoying. He could be gone by now if he didn't have to wait for his Daddy!

Gabriel raised an eyebrow as he observed Sam displaying behaviours typically seen on his baby nephew. Huh. Gabriel knew his son and knew that he liked being the age he was when age-playing so the younger behaviour was startling. He guessed that his worried about Sam's ability to cope were well founded as he knew that regression was a key tactic in response to the presence of a younger sibling. Well, if that's how Sam wanted to play this then Gabriel had no problem with that.

Scooping the boy out of the swing, Gabriel decided to just settle Sam on his hip instead of letting him run off like normal and said "Slide, yeah little man?"

"Uh. Y-yeah Daddy" Sammy said, a bit startled at being carried. Although his Daddy did carry him occasionally, Sam generally preferred to walk about - especially in the playground where he could charge about. Still. At least Daddy was with him.

As they got to the steps of the slide, Gabriel set Sam down "Go on then bud. Up you go, I'll be around the other side."

"'Kay Daddy." And Sam began to excitedly climb up the steps to get to the top.

While this was happening, Dean had been busy building a wall around the hole he had been digging, but every so often he would peer around to check that his Uncle Gabe was still nearby. De didn't like being by himself but he knew Sammy didn't want him at the moment so he was trying to keep himself busy. He needed to know that his brother and uncle were nearby though.

On time that Dean looked around and he couldn't see Uncle Gabe or Sammy anywhere! His head whipped around frantically as he searched for them, but he couldn’t see them anywhere! Did they leave him? Dean's heart beat frantically as he felt tears leap to his eyes. Where were they? Where did they go?!

Suddenly he saw Uncle Gabe come around the corner from behind the slide. Oh thank goodness! Giving a cry of relief, Dean began to crawl desperately towards the angel who was ambling slowly around to the front of the slide.

Gabriel made his way to the front of the slide and stood just in front and slightly to the side of it, ready to watch his boy come down. He was startled when something crashed into his legs and grabbed hold. Looking down, Gabriel discovered a distraught baby clinging to his trousers.

"Hey, hey, what's this?" Gabriel crooned in confusion as he gathered the sobbing baby into his arms and began to bounce him "De? What happened baby?" The last time he had checked on the baby, before he began to take Sammy to the slide, Dean had still been happily playing in the sand. Where had these tears come from?

Dean sobbed in relief as he buried himself into his uncle's shoulder and clung onto him tightly. He was here! De wasn’t alone!

"Oh De, what happened? It's ok, I'm right here. It's ok baby." Gabriel soothed as he bounced the baby in his arms and cradled the head resting against his shoulder. He really didn’t know what had happened but it broke his heart to see Dean so upset.

Sam, by now at the top of the slide looked down to see that his Daddy had his back turned to the slide. He wasn't even watching! Seeing Dean in his Daddy's arms Sam scowled, his previous good mood disappearing again. What now?! Couldn't Dean just stop it!

"Daddy!" he called "Daddy watch!" Sammy called out, expecting his Dad to turn around.

"Give me a sec Sammy" Gabriel called out distractedly as he continued to bounce Dean and make nonsense soothing noises. The baby was calming down, but not there yet.

"But Daddy!" Sam whined as he watched.

"Sammy I'm a little busy right now. I'll watch in a second ok?"

Sammy scowled more and plonked his bum down on the top of the slide and waited, watching as his Daddy cuddled and rocked his little brother and heard the gentle words his Daddy was cooing. They were meant for him! They were his cuddles! It wasn't fair!

Dean managed to get his tears under control and peered up into his Uncle's gently smiling face. Gabriel just smiled down at Dean and smoothed a finger across the boy's cheeks, wiping away the tear tracks that ran down over the freckles. He slipped the fallen pacifier that was dangling from the clip back into the boy's mouth and watched as Dean suckled on it frantically, using it to calm himself further.

"Hey baby boy" Gabriel cooed with a whisper "What was that all about huh?"

Dean just sighed behind his pacifier and lay his head back on his Uncle's shoulder more comfortably but didn't answer. He got a better handful of his Uncle's shirt and gripped it tightly, flexing his fingers in the material.

"Ok baby. It's all ok now" Gabriel said as he placed a kiss on the baby's forehead.

"Daddy!" came the demand from above them.

"Shall we see what your big brother is up to?" Gabe asked, trying to get a reaction from the boy in his arms. Dean just snuggled more deeply into the embrace he was being held in. Now that he was calmer, he was feeling really tired, the lack of nap really starting to catch up to him.

Gaining no response, Gabriel turned and looked up to the frowning face of his son who was sat at the top of the slide and scowling down at them. Oh dear. Jealousy in full swing then. Guess that’s what all the tension has been then - not excitement. Regression isn't the only thing going on with his son today. Gabriel resolved to pay more attention to what was going on - he didn't want to deal with a stroppy, jealous toddler as well as a tired miserable baby. Well no time like the present to make it right!

"Hey Sammy! Where's my happy boy gone?"

Sammy, not impressed just kept watching them, particularly frowning at his brother.

"Come on Sammy! I'm watching. You coming down?"

"No!" Sammy folded his arms stubbornly across his chest. If Daddy wasn't going to pay attention to him then he wasn't going to do what his Daddy wanted!

"Come on Sammy" Gabriel coaxed "I want to watch you!"

"No!"

Gabriel sighed, recognising this game. Time for new tactics. "Alright then Sammy. I'm going to go play with De at the activity centre then" Gabriel said as he slowly started to turn.

"Daddy wait!"

This immediately gained a response and Gabriel had to repress a smile as he turned back to his son.

"Catch me Daddy?" Sammy asked, trying for the cute little thing. Obviously Daddy needed to have a baby, so that’s what he would give him.

"I've got my hands full buddy" Gabriel said, not unreasonably "just come down, we're watching, right De?"

"Put De down Daddy and catch me!" Sammy demanded with a pout. He was going to get Daddy's attention!

Dean clenched his hand tighter into the shirt he was clutching as he heard his brother's words. He didn't want to go down! He wanted to stay in Gabe's arms!

"I don't think I can right now little man. De's really needing some cuddles. Just come down, I really want to watch you!"

"Hmph. Fine!" With that Sam gave himself a huge push and flew down the slide. He rocketed down, but having pushed so hard he was angled forward too much. When he reached the bottom he flew off and landed on the sandpit on his face. Ow!

The frustration with his brother and Daddy, coupled with the explosion of pain on his face led Sammy to burst right out into huge sobs.

Gabriel watched as his son pushed off and flew down the slide. And watched helplessly as he landed smack on his face, unable to get to him quick enough. He was already on the move even before the cries started.

Gabriel crouched down next to his son and attempted to help him up while also trying to pry the baby off of him to sit right next to him on the sand. This caused Dean to start crying again.

Great. What was an angel to do now?

Chapter Text

"OW! Owwww!" Sam howled as he gained his knees and clutched at his cheeks, although his palms hurt too from crashing too hard into the ground. "Ow! Da-a-addy!"

"Oh Sammy! Little man are you ok? Let me see buddy" Gabriel tried to balance in his crouch and reached out a hand to cup his son's face in order to get a better look at the damage. However he had a sobbing Dean pulling at his shirt from the other side, desperately trying to get his uncle to pick him back up.

Sammy flinched away from his Daddy's touch, worrying the angel. Surely he wasn't hurt that badly right? This was Sam Winchester, who had suffered stab wounds and burns and concussions, a little fall of a slide wouldn't do anything right?

Except this wasn't Sam Winchester right now. This was his little Sammy, a distraught four year old who was suffering from jealousy and who had just bashed his face.

Sammy's cries doubled in intensity as he backed away, not wanting his Daddy to touch his face. It hurt!

"Oh buddy, let me look." Realising that we wouldn't get anywhere, Gabriel began to reluctantly pry his nephew's hands from his shirt, his immediate priority being to assess the damage to his son's face. "De, just let go for just a second baby, I just need to look after Sammy for a sec. Just a second sweetheart." Managing to untangle the baby, Gabriel swooped his son into his arms and began crooning reassurances in order to get his son calmed down enough to be able to see his face.

The second Gabriel left him, Dean lost the small sense of control he had left and just plonked right down onto his diapered bottom and really began to wail, pacifier falling from his mouth to dangle from the pacifier clip on his shirt. Sammy didn't want him. And Uncle Gabe didn't want him. And Daddy wasn't here. And he was just.so.tired!

"Da-a-dd-y! It hurts Daddy!" Sammy cried, but less loudly than before now that he was safe in his Daddy's arms. Daddy would make it all better.

"Oh Sammy. I know." Gabriel soothed "That was a very big crash! Was my little bird trying to fly? Let Daddy see what happened". Gabriel slowly but surely was able to peel away hands from covering the hurt. A red bump had appeared over Sammy's left eye brow and the face was covered in sand. Not too bad, but still distressing enough for a little one. Reassured that there was no serious damage, Gabriel set about reassuring his boy. "Oh goodness! What a bump! Wow, you must have been going super fast little man!"

"Uh-huh Daddy" Sammy sniffled, basking in his Daddy's attention.

"You're being such a brave boy! But how about Daddy kisses it better? Would that help my little man?"

"Yeah Daddy. Make it better" Sammy pleaded, raising a hand to wipe away tears from where the tracks were tickling his cheeks, waiting expectantly for his Daddy to make everything alright with the world.

"Ok. Daddy make it better" Gabriel agreed, and very gently kissed his son's brow, expelling grace as he did so in order to heal the very minor injury. Looking at the affected area, Gabriel noticed that his grace had done its job and had removed the bump and slight redness from his son's skin. "That better buddy?" Gabriel asked.

"Yeah Daddy" Sammy agreed, and relaxed into his Daddy's arms with a sigh. Sammy knew that his Daddy could fix anything.

"Good." Gabriel said as he rested his chin on top of his son's shaggy hair. "Though Daddy should probably check for any other injuries."

Looking questioningly at his Daddy, Sammy asked "Daddy?"

"Yep. I wouldn't be a very good Daddy if I didn't do a complete check now would I" Gabriel said, and with that he began to tickle Sammy all over his sides and tummy causing peals of laughter to burst forth and for his son to begin attempting to bat the busy hands away.

"Stop! Daddy! Stop! Stoooop!" Sam squealed as he writhed in the embrace, desperate to escape the torment "I'm 'kay Daddy, I'm 'kay!"

Gabriel stopped his assult and gave a mock sigh of relief "Oh good. I was worried there for a minute." Expanding his focus, now that he knew all was right with his son, Gabriel's attention was once again caught by the sobbing baby that was nearby. Turning his head to find his nephew sat splay legged and sobbing without abandon, Gabriel's heart once again leapt to his chest. It was so hard to juggle both at once! How did people do this?

"De? De? Come'ere baby? Come here sweetheart. I'm sorry baby, Sammy's ok now, so lets get you sorted too huh?"

Dean jerked his head in the direction of his uncle and brother as he heard his name being called. He regarded the pair between his tears, and although he knew he wanted to stay away so as to not be in the way, his absolute need for comfort at the moment won out and he found himself crawling towards their direction. When he reached their side, he reached out his arms and wrapped them around his uncle's leg from his position on the floor and clung on for dear life, once again burying his head against the angel in front of him to hide his tears.

As Gabriel moved one hand from around his son to reach down to stroke Dean's head, Sammy reacted. Still unnerved from his accident, he didn't want to lose his Daddy again now that he had him.

Sammy gave into his jealousy. "No! My Daddy!" he shouted and pushed Dean away from his Daddy.

Dean landed once again on his bottom and his tears once again grew in volume.

"Sammy!" Gabriel gasped, shocked and he hoisted the baby up and into his arms again to once again begin rocking and bouncing.

"My Daddy! Mine! Not De's!" Sammy shouted, and he began to cry again, affected by his Daddy's tone of voice, his own hurt and the cries of his brother. He tried to wrap his arms back around his Daddy, but was prevented from doing so by his brother's presence in his Daddy's arms. He tried pushing Dean away, but was obviously unsucessful.

Dean, for his part was now trying to push himself away from where he was being held against his uncle's chest. This just caused Gabriel to keep his hand on the back of his head in an attempt to keep him safely in his arms. He just wanted to be away. He wanted Daddy! He didn't want to be here anymore!

Gabriel, completely overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events had finally had enough. In the sternest tone of voice he could muster he loudly said "Enough! That is quite enough!"
Shocked, both boys reacted. Sammy immediately stopped pushing his brother and dropped his hands to his sides to give his attention to his Daddy. Tears still poured down his cheeks, but he stopped shouting at his brother. Dean stopped his struggling, but was unable to stop his loud cries as he was just too little to be able to control himself.

Now that he had some form of calm, Gabriel kept his stern voice and issued instructions. "Ok. I think we all need to talk. Sammy, give me your hand."

Sammy complied at once, and once he had his son's hand grasped firmly in his, Gabriel led the way over to the picnic bench. "Sit down Sammy. I need to calm your brother down and then I'm going to sit with you and we are all going to talk."

Sammy, still shocked by his Daddy's cross voice sat and did as instructed, but watched sadly as his Daddy worked to comfort Dean. Why was Dean getting the cuddles just 'coz he was crying? Sammy was sad too! He allowed fresh tears to keep coursing down his cheeks and began to suck on the tip of his index finger.

Gabriel walked over to the stroller and picked up Dean's blanket and tucked it under the chin of the baby. As soon as he realised what he had, Dean began nuzzling his blanket as he cried. As Gabriel went back over to the bench and continued to stroke the baby's back and tried to get him to settle slightly, he was internally processing what to say. Obviously he needed to address this tension between the boys, it was causing too many upsets. The fears he had started the day with had been confirmed. Sammy wasn't doing well having to share his Daddy's attention and it was having a negative impact on both of the little ones. Gabriel wanted them both to return to the happy boys they usually were, rather than have them keep being miserable.

Dean, although he was still miserable, couldn't help but respond to the calming measures of his uncle and the presence of his blanket which smelt so much like his Daddy . After all the time they spent age-playing he was now conditioned to relax when given certain types of comfort. That and he was just exhausted from all the crying he had done that day. As he quieted, he accepted his pacifier as it was placed in his mouth once again, and allowed himself to be settled on the bench next to his uncle who had sat down right next to his Sammy, who quite frankly looked distraught.

Taking a steadying breath, Gabriel began to address the boys. "Now, I know you are both feeling very upset and very little right now, but I want you to listen to me very carefully. I love you both. You are both mean the world to me. Dean, you are my nephew and by little brother's darling baby boy, and I adore spending time with you. You are the best baby boy I know. And Sammy. You are MY baby boy and my son and I couldn't love you more if I tried. You are my amazing little man and I am so proud of you sweetheart."

Gabriel knew that he had both boy's attention as, as he declared his love for them, each boy rested his head upon his shoulder.

"Now Sammy. Today, your Uncle Cas has asked me to look after De and that means that I need to give some of my attention to him. Not just need to, but want to. And I know that De needs a lot of attention and you aren't used to that. And De, I know that you haven't asked me to give you lots of my attention, but you also know that you need it - especially given just how much you miss your Daddy."

"But Sammy, just because I am giving Dean attention and looking after him, doesn't mean I love you any less, or that I want to spend any less time with you. It just means that I am a bit more busy today than I am at other times. And De, don't think for a minute that I don’t want and love looking after your because I do."

Sammy and Dean were very carefully listening to Gabriel speak and were trying to soak in the words.

"Sammy, De needs looking after differently from you - not because he wants it, or because he is trying to take your Daddy from you, but because he needs looking after in a different way than you do. Buddy, De is a baby, and will require more attention, for feeding or changing or just cuddles, just because he is a baby and that is what he needs. It isn't fair for him not to get those things that he needs just because his Daddy isn't here to give them to him. Especially when I can give him those things he needs. But Sammy, just because I need to give Dean those different types of attention and care, doesn't mean I am taking care and love away from you. You are my son! You are the most important person in the whole wide universe to me! And I wouldn't change a single thing about you. I love you. I love that you are my independent big boy. Just because I like giving Dean the care he needs as a baby, doesn't mean I want you to be a baby ok? Don't ever change buddy."

Sammy was tearfully looking at his Daddy, absorbing what his Daddy was saying. Daddy didn't love De more than him. He loved De too, but not more than him. Now, after getting the reassurance that he had been craving all day he was able to think a bit more clearly. Of course his Daddy didn’t! And of course Dean wasn't deliberately trying to steal his Daddy!

As Sammy was thinking, Gabriel continued. "Dean, I don't want you to feel bad for needing what you need. I know your Daddy has spoken to you about this before, but you never need to feel bad about being a baby. Never feel bad for what you need, or even what you want while you are little. Your Daddy and I will never mind giving you anything that you want or need."

Dean looked into his Uncle's eyes and tried to process this. He did remember his Daddy talking to him about this, but he was still worried. Nervously, he sucked his pacifier and, using the hand that wasn't clutching tightly to his blanket, gestured to Sammy questioningly. He didn't want to do anything that would upset or take away from his Sammy. 'Coz his Sammy was important.

Understanding, Gabriel replied "No De, the things you need are what you need. Your Daddy have more than enough love and attention for the both of you. Don’t change or try to stop getting what you need because of Sammy. You are just as important baby boy."

Dean rested his head back on his uncle's shoulder and nursed slowly at his binky, trying to process all of that. He heard, and felt reassured, but would need some time for it to really sink in.

The small family sat on the bench quietly for a little while, Gabriel with an arm around each boy, providing love, comfort and support while they thought.

After a little while, Gabriel spoke up again, albeit quietly. "Now Sammy. I want to talk about your behaviour earlier. I know you were very upset, but I am very sad that you pushed your little brother. You don't ever push people, even if you are feeling bad. I understand what you were feeling, but I do not like the way you chose to behave."

"I'm really sorry Daddy" Sammy said sadly. He really was sorry for pushing De. Now that he thought about it clearly, he knew Dean hadn't been doing anything and really didn't deserve to be pushed. He knew De was sad and he worried that he had made it worse and hurt his baby brother.

"I know you are buddy. I forgive you and I love you. I will never stop loving you. But I would like it if you could say sorry to De. He's the one you pushed." Gabriel didn't like scolding Sam after he had been so upset, but he did want to reinforce that his behaviour had been wrong. He hoped that his gentle correction would be accepted.

Sammy nodded and peered around his Daddy to look at his brother. He took in the sight of his little brother resting on his Daddy's shoulder, sucking on his paci, worrying away at his blanket and looking very tired. He was sorry that he had made his brother feel worse.

Getting to his feet, Sammy went around the other side of his Daddy until he was stood directly in front of Dean. Dean looked up at him from very sleepy eyes.

"I'm really sorry De. I don't want you to be sad." Sammy really wanted to make things right with his brother. He realised that he had told his Daddy this morning that he would help look after De and how excited he had been at the time. He hadn't really been helpful at all. This just made him feel worse and resolve to make things better.

Dean just looked at his Sammy's face and could see that he was really upset. He didn’t want his Sammy to be sad any more. De thought he should probably try to be bigger, but his Uncle Gabe said he shouldn't….and he was too tired to really do any thinking. De understood that his Sammy wasn't angry with him anymore though and that made him happy. He just tiredly blinked at his brother and sighed a contented but garbled "My Smammy" around his pacifier.

Sam smiled at his little/big brother and agreed "Your Sammy."

Chapter Text

Now that things were somewhat better Gabriel smiled at both boys. "I think we've probably had quite enough excitement at the park for today, and I think that I have two tired little boys on my hands. What d'yo say we go home and see if some ice cream can cheer us all up?"

Sammy agreed with a cheerful smile - not quite his usual mega-watt grin "Yeah Daddy".

"Ok then. Let's make a move huh?" Gabriel said as he eased Dean out from under his arm and up into both of them. "Sammy, do you think you could help Daddy and get the buckets and spades from the sandpit while I get Dean settled in the stroller?"

Sammy, understanding that he wasn't being sent away this time, but was being asked to be a helpful boy quickly agreed and went to do his task. Collecting the required items and making his way back to the bench, he saw his Daddy finishing doing up the straps keeping his brother safe in the stroller. His Daddy had arranged Dean's blanket to drape over him and Dean was rubbing it softly between his fingers.

Dean had allowed himself to be placed in the stroller without a fuss, even though he would rather be carried. He was just too worn out to fight any more today. And although Uncle Gabe had said he wasn't in the way, he just felt too sad to fight any more and decided to just stay out of the way just in case. He just had to make it till Daddy came back. It couldn't be much more right? De fiddled with his blanket, trying to will away the tears that never seemed to be far away at the moment.

Distractedly handing his Daddy the items to pack away, Sammy continued to watch his brother seated in the stroller. He still felt bad about how he had been mean to (or at least thought mean things about) his brother all day. Dean never put himself first, big or little and now that he had the reassurance of his Daddy's love he could see that quickly again. How could he think his brother was being mean and selfish? Today Dean had been acting the way he did all the time when he was a baby. He didn't do anything different. Sammy had been the one acting differently.

Well, for the rest of the day he would try to be the best big brother he could be - just like Dean was when he was big. He would actually help his Daddy look after De this time.
"You ready to get going bud?" Gabriel asked as he clapped a hand gently on Sammy's shoulder, finished with packing away the things they had used while at the park. He took a moment to regard both boys and noted how tired they both looked - well it had been an emotional day for them both - not to mention an exhausting one for him!

"Uh-huh" Sammy replied absently, still watching his brother.

Worried that Sam was still feeling a bit insecure despite their talk, Gabriel offered "Want to hold my hand buddy? Or maybe would you like me to carry you for a bit?"

"No thank you Daddy." Sammy said. "Can I hold De's hand though?"

"Sure! If you'd like to dude" Gabriel said approvingly, surprised by his son's request. Maybe his worries were unfounded this time?

"Yeah" Sammy said as he moved to the side of the stroller and carefully picked up the hand that Dean wasn't fiddling his blanket with.

"Hi De" Sammy whispered sheepishly, unsure as to whether his touch would be welcomed. Startled, as he had been drifting slightly, Dean looked from his hand up into the worried face of his Sammy. Sammy wanted to hold his hand? Ok. Dean smiled behind his pacifier and returned his gaze to staring into the distance, really fighting his tiredness now. Happy with not being rejected, Sammy just looked to his Daddy for instruction.

Warmly smiling at his son, Gabriel began to push the stroller in the direction of the house. "Off we go then".

=======

The walk home was a lot quieter than the one that led to the park. Sammy's attention was focused on his brother and on the events of the day. Occasionally Sammy would attempt to chat to De, pointing out things that the baby might have missed on the journey out, but he didn't get any responses. Leaning over to check why, Gabriel grinned when he discovered that the baby had finally lost his battle and the gentle motion of the stroller had pushed him over the edge and into much needed sleep.

Deciding to guard the baby's slumber, Gabriel beckoned his son to his side, relieved when the loss of Sammy holding his hand didn't rouse Dean.

Using one hand to guide the pushchair, Gabriel slipped his other arm around his son's shoulders. "I meant what I said earlier Sammy. I love Dean because he's my nephew and just because he is Dean, but I only have one son. You will always be my most special boy Sammy."

"I know Daddy. I think I just forgotted earlier".

"Well never forget again ok? And if you start to worry about it, then come and talk to me. I will always have time for my Sammy."

"Ok Daddy. I love you Daddy."

"I love you too Sammy." Gabriel leaned over to place a kiss on his son's temple. "You also remember that I love you just the way you are right? That I'm more than happy with my little boy. You don't need to be a baby sweetheart."

"I know Daddy."

Suddenly Gabriel back-peddled. "Oh! Unless you want to be a baby of course! If you feel like you might need to be a baby like Dean then I don’t mind Sammy!"

Sammy laughed at his Daddy's fluster. "No Daddy. I'm not a baby. I'm a big boy!"

"Just so you know Sammy." Gabriel grinned.

"I know Daddy. But I really am a big boy! Bein' a baby's borin'!" Sam exclaimed, warming to the conversation.

"I don't think De thinks so, but I see your point." Gabriel agreed.

"When I was bein' a baby at the park it was really borin'." Sammy claimed. "I wanted to run but I had to wait for you and I couldn't move in the baby swing!"

"I thought you might not like it."

"Yeah I'm so glad I'm a big boy."

"Me too buddy. Me too! Besides, I'll let you into a little secret" Gabriel lowered his voice to a loud whisper, "babies are really hard work! I don't know how Uncle Cas isn't exhausted all of the time!"

Sammy giggled at the conspiracy. "You have been pretty busy looking after De today Daddy!"

"I know right!"

Giggling, father and son shared secrets and jokes all the way back to the house, peeking over the top of the stroller every now and then to make sure that Dean was still asleep. Dean was lost to the world, finally letting his exhaustion win out.

Once they managed to get inside, Gabriel crouched down to remove the baby's shoes and to un-strap Dean from the pushchair. "Let's see if we can get this little boy into his crib without him waking up this time huh Sammy?" Gabriel commented as he carried the sleeping babe to the nursery.

As Gabriel lifted Dean, the boy's blanket dropped to the floor. Knowing that Dean would want it, Sammy scooped it up and then ran ahead of his Daddy to open the nursery door.
Gabriel lay Dean down on the mattress, and once again eased his arms out from under the warm body. This time there was no fight or even twitch once he was free and Gabriel turned to his son and threw both of his arms in the air, dramatically whispering "Success!"

Sammy tried to stifle his giggled behind his hand as he handed his Daddy De's blanket. Gabriel accepted the offering and tucked it once again under his nephew's chin, smiling fondly as Dean breathed in his Daddy's scent and managed to visibly relax just a little more.

The Daddy and his boy stood and watched the baby sleep for just a moment, both lost to their own thoughts. Eventually however, Gabriel whispered "So, I think I promised ice cream earlier. D'you want some now, or d'you want to wait for your little brother to wake up?"

Looking over to gain the answer, Gabriel discovered that his son had a very contemplative look on his face.

"Um, Daddy?" Sam began hesitantly, "I'm actually kinda sleepy. Can I, um, can I have a nap with De?"

"Sure buddy. Good idea if you're tired." Moving to raise the crib bars, Gabriel continued "Let's get your brother all safe then we'll go to your room."

Putting a hand out to stop the bars going up, Sam blushed and said "N-no Daddy. Can I nap here with De?"

"You want to nap in the crib?" Gabriel clarified.

The blush intensified. "Yeah. Not 'coz I'm a baby, but I wanna stay with De."

Gabriel was stunned for a moment, but gathered himself almost immediately. "No problem Sammy. Just try not to wake your brother ok? He really, really needs his nap."

Sam beamed and made a move to climb up into the crib, but his Daddy stopped him with a hand to the shoulder. "Sammy, I think that you should try to potty again before going to sleep in the crib. I need to put the side up so that Dean is safe, so if you need to wee you won't be able to get out until I get here. Dean has his diaper so it doesn't matter, but I don’t think you want one of those do you?" Gabriel wouldn't mind if Sammy was still wanting to try baby things, but he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

Sam's face burned a brilliant red at his Daddy's remark but managed to control his volume - mindful of his sleeping brother - as he answered "No way! I'm a big boy! I just want to be with De!"

"Ok no problem buddy, but go try to potty ok?" Gabriel said pointing towards the bathroom.

Sam made to go, but then hesitated, remembering his earlier fuss and still needing just a little more reassurance. Talking to his shoes he asked "Help Daddy?"

Gabriel smiled at his son and replied "Yep. Let's just get De safe", and he pulled the sides of the crib up, secured them and then moved to gather Sammy's hand "Right, off to the potty".

Sam allowed his Daddy to lead him to the bathroom and then let his Daddy take off his shoes. Gabriel pulled down his son's trousers and pull up and helped to settle him on the potty. "There you go bud".

Sam smiled up at his Daddy, and then concentrated on doing his buisness while Gabriel tucked his shoes out of the way in the corner. Once he was done, he let Gabriel help him clean up and get re-dressed before washing his hands. Taking his Daddy's hand again, Sam followed his Daddy into the nursery and over to the crib.

"You sure you want to nap bud?"

Nodding Sam replied "Yeah Daddy. I'm tired."

"Ok then." Gabriel lowered the crib bars and helped Sammy up onto the mattress. Sam lay down next to his brother, trying hard not to jostle him too much.

Gabriel gazed fondly down at his boy. "I'm going to have to put the sides up to keep the baby safe ok Sammy?"

Nodding decisively Sam whispered "I know Daddy."

"Ok" With that Gabriel leant over and kissed both his nephew and his son on the forehead, causing a sleepy snuffle from Dean and a happy giggle from Sammy, before pulling up the crib sides. "I'll put on the baby monitor, so call out if you need or want me" Gabriel warned, clicking on the machine at the end of the crib.

Smiling one last time at the boys before going to the nursery door, Gabriel turned and said "Sleep well buddy. I love you".

"Love you Daddy" came floating back as Gabriel pulled the door slightly closed and made his way downstairs.

====

In the crib, Sammy rolled onto his side, made himself comfy and settled to watch his brother sleep.

Dean's fingers flexed unconsciously in his blanket, feeling his comfort object even as he slept. As he took each breath, his pacifier bobbed against his lips. He looked very peaceful, but Sammy thought he still looked tired even as he slept.

Sammy felt a little bit silly lying in the crib - like he said earlier - he was a big boy! He didn't need to sleep in the crib. He wasn't even sleepy really, but he had a plan that he needed his Daddy to think he was sleepy for.

While they were still walking back from the park, Sammy had had several flashes of memory from when he was little. Well from when he was really really actually little. He remembered lots of things that Dean had done to be an awesome brother and to look after him when they had been left alone, or when their actual first Dad had been busy.
One of the earliest flashes of memory he had gotten had been of falling asleep in the crib with his big brother curled around him singing and whispering "I'm here Sammy".

Resolved to be a really good big brother for the rest of the day, and once he saw that De was actually going to have a nap in the crib, Sammy decided that he wanted to do the same for his brother now that he was being the big one. That’s why he had made his Daddy think he needed a nap too.

Sammy snuggled a bit closer to his brother and made sure that he curled around De protectively. Sammy watched his brother sleep for a while more and actually found himself becoming sleepy. Just before he drifted off he whispered "I'm here De".

In the kitchen, Gabriel smiled at the baby monitor.

Chapter Text

Despite his exhaustion, Dean woke up a short while later. It was the wrong time of day to nap after all.

Blinking sleepily, he looked around and discovered that he was in his crib. When had that happened? Last thing he remembered was being in the stroller and listening as Sammy talked about a huge rock he had found and what he might be able to do with it if his Daddy let him bring it home.

Sucking on the pacifier between his lips, Dean assessed his situation. He was pretty warm and …yep he had his blanket so that was good. Giving an experimental wiggle he discovered that…yep he was wet. Yuck! He also discovered that there was something pretty heavy draped all over him. What the?

Rolling over onto his other side, Dean was surprised to come face to face with his brother. Huh? Why was Sammy here? Why was he all on top of Dean? What was going on? He was still too sleepy for this!

Luckily, he didn't have to puzzle this out on his own for too long as, sensing movement, Dean looked up and found his Uncle Gabe smiling down at him.

"Hey baby" Gabriel whispered, "good nap?"

Dean rubbed his eyes and yawned, before looking up again, hoping that his uncle would just explain what was going on. That or figure out he was wet and help him. His diaper was all cold and uncomfortable now.

Gabriel raised a finger to his lips and "shhhh"d his nephew, trying to preserve his son's sleep for just a little bit longer. Gabriel lowered the crib bars and readjusted Sammy so that he was no longer draped all over the baby. He then lifted Dean out of the crib by gripping him under the armpits. As he rested the boy's bottom on top of his arm, he felt the squish of a used diaper and so moved directly over to the changing table in order to make his nephew a bit more comfy.

"Let's freshen you up a bit little man" Gabriel whispered quietly. "I'll try to be quick, I bet being wet's no fun huh?"

Without delay Gabriel began the process of stripping the boy of his trousers, giving access to the onsie and diaper underneath. Shivering at the loss of his sleep warmed clothes, Dean wiggled, causing Gabriel to place a soothing hand upon his tummy. "Lie still sweetie, I don’t want you to fall off. Settling back down, Dean turned his attention back over to the crib. just why was Sam in there? Sam was a big boy - too old for the crib!

Gabriel, seeing that the baby was distracted got on with opening up the onesie and removing the wet diaper. As soon as he started with the wipes however he caused De to jump in shock. "Cold huh?" Gabriel chuckled "Sorry baby, it'll be done quickly". Making quick work of cleaning the boy, Gabriel lifted him up to slip a fresh diaper under his bottom, powdered him and taped him into it securely before beginning to get him re-dressed. None of this was given much attention however as Dean's thoughtful gaze had once again been drawn towards his snoozing sibling.

Chuckling, Gabriel drew his attention back towards him however. "Your big brother didn't want to leave you alone sweetheart. I think he wanted to look after his little brother, even while he was sleeping. I wonder where he might have learnt that?"

Dean looked in wonder at his Sammy. His Sammy did that for him? His Sammy wanted him?

Gabriel could almost see the thoughts churning through his nephew's mind and decided to give him some time to process everything. Picking Dean up, Gabriel moved over to the rocking chair and arranged De to be cradled in his arms. Once they were comfortably settled, Gabriel began to rock the chair gently.

Dean twisted in his uncle's arms so that he could still see his brother. Reaching out an arm to point towards him, Dean asked a silent question. Sammy did that for him?
Gabriel answered quietly. "Yeah Baby. Sammy wanted to be with his little brother. He loves you so much. Although he's had an amazing example of how to be a big brother, Sammy hasn't had much practice. Just like you haven't had much practice of putting yourself first sometimes. It's been a pretty hard day for all of us, but, I think we'll all be ok. We can all practice together huh?"

Dean tried to think about all the things that had happened that day, but it was all just a little too much for him to cope with at the moment. He was being drawn away from heavy thinking by the warmth of his uncle, the soothing motion of the chair and the comfort of the pacifier in his mouth. These sensations were too much to fight against so he just settled down to enjoy them.

Gabriel smiled fondly down at the boy squirming himself into a more comfortable position in his arms. It was quiet times like this where he could see the appeal of having such a young baby to care for, but really, he wouldn't change what he had in Sammy for anything in the world. Patting a gentle and calming rhythm onto the boy's diapered bottom, he decided to sit back and enjoy this cuddle with the baby while it lasted, content for them both to wait for Sammy to wake up.

============

Not too long later, Sammy began to rouse from his slumber. Surprised that he had fallen asleep, Sammy let out a huge yawn and stretched out his long limbs, startled when his arms hit the solid wood of crib bars.

Events came flooding back to him and he remembered drifting off, cuddled around his little brother. His little brother who he couldn't detect in the crib.

Sitting bolt upright, Sammy started to frantically search the crib and pat the sheets around him, as though that might help him locate his brother. "De? De! De?! Where you go?! De?" Panic began to race through his still sleep addled thoughts. He fell asleep looking after De and now he'd lost him! What kind of big brother was he?

Before he could get himself into too much of a state however, the strong voice of his Daddy came floating over from across the room. "Sammy. Sammy. Calm down buddy. It's ok. De's over here with me. It's ok. Everything's ok."

Whipping his head around to the direction the voice came from, Sammy was greeted with the sight of his Daddy in the rocking chair, cradling his baby brother. Oh thank goodness!

Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, Sam jumped out of the crib and quickly made his way over to the rocking pair. Gabriel stopped the rocker just as Sam got to them, in order for his son to get closer and have a better look. Extending an arm out, Gabriel caught hold of his son's arm to give it a welcoming rub.

"Welcome back little man! We thought you might sleep all the rest of the day away!"

Not being rude, Sammy ignored his Daddy for the moment and focused his attention on his brother. "You ok De?"

Dean didn't respond in words as he still wasn't feeling like talking very much, but he "mmm"d happily behind his binky and offered his big brother a contented smile. Dean reached out one of his hands and grabbed a hold of his brother's hand, reassuring his Sammy that he was ok.

"Good" Sammy beamed happily, reassured that all was right in his world. No thoughts of jealousy even entered his head at finding his Daddy cuddling his brother while he wasn't there. He was just happy that everyone was ok.

"I think we have a much happier baby now that he has had a little nap Sammy" Gabriel commented as he watched the brothers connect. "How are you after your little sleep?"

"I'm good Daddy!" Sammy beamed. He broke away from his brother to go to the side of the rocking chair and throw his arms around his Daddy's neck in a huge hug.

"Oh that’s what I like! Two happy little boys and a great big Sammy hug! I'm a very lucky angel!"

Happy giggles and happy gurgles came from two happy boys.

"Now, I think someone promised ice cream earlier. Was it you Sammy? Are you going to treat us all to ice cream?" Gabriel teased.

"No Daddy!" Sammy giggled again, "It was you!"

"Me?!" Gabriel fake gasped. "It would never have been me. I know that little boys don't like ice cream. And I can't stand the stuff!"

"Daaaddddyyy", came the protest, "You love ice cream! It was you!"

"Nooo. Not me."

Pacifier muffled giggled came from De, head moving back and forth to watch the interaction between his uncle and brother.

"Yes Daddy! Was you!"

"Are you sure?" Gabriel asked seriously.

"Yep! It was def'nat'ly you Daddy! Wasn't it De?" Sammy appealed to his brother for back up.

"Was it me De? Did I promise ice cream?"

Dean gurgled a happy sound behind his binky again and gently patted his Uncle's chest in confirmation. Yes. It was him.

"See! De thinks so too!"

"Hmmm. Well if you're sure boys. Then I suppose I should get you some ice cream then." Sammy cheered, and with that Gabriel got to his feet, adjusting Dean so that he was more comfortably supported in his arms. He began to make his way to the nursery door, and turned back to call to his son. "You coming Sammy?"

"Uh-huh Daddy!" Sam bounced towards them, but suddenly stopped and said "Wait! Daddy! We've forgotted something!"

Gabriel stopped, and turned to fully look at his son. "Huh? What have we forgotten buddy?"

"De's blankie! He'll want that!" Sammy explained as he raced to the crib to snatch up the prize. Quickly making his way to where his brother was being held, Sammy thrust the rumpled t-shirt out for his brother to take. "Here you go De!"

Dean beamed as he reached out to take his beloved blanket.

"Good thinking little dude! I bet De's pleased to have that!" Gabriel said, his voice full of pride in his son as he ruffled the shaggy hair atop the boy's head. "That nice De?" he asked.
"Ta, Sammy" Dean thanked gratefully.

"Is 'kay Dean. Knew you'd want your favourite blankie!" Sam happily replied, pleased that he could look after his brother so well.

"RIght then! Now we're sorted, and since I apparently promised ice cream, let's go get it!" Gabriel cheered as he once again began to head for the door.

As they made their way to the kitchen, Gabriel and Sammy chatted excitedly about the type of ice cream they would have. Gabriel of course managing to ramp up the excitement - he was always excited to get sweet treats! His time as a trickster having hooked him on all kinds of sweets and desserts.

Reaching the kitchen, Gabriel moved to sit Dean down on the floor, and for once Dean didn't protest the loss of contact, still happy and enjoying the conversation.

Gabriel moved around the room gathering bowls, spoons and loads of extras like syrups and sprinkles and wafers, continuing the conversation the whole while.

Finally reaching the freezer (that was stocked with pretty much any flavour of ice cream imaginable - thanks to a certain arch-angel's mojo), Gabriel began pulling out various tubs of the pudding. "I think I'm definitely going to have caramel fudge brownie flavour. What about you Sammy?"

"Rocky road! Rocky road!" Sammy cheered from where he was bouncing on his feet watching his Daddy work with excitement.

"And what about you baby boy?" Gabriel asked, peering around the freezer door to catch a glimpse of where Dean was seated.

Dean however, shook his head. Very shyly, he pointed at the cupboard in the corner where he knew what he really wanted was kept.

Gabriel confused, asked "You don't want ice cream baby?"

Sammy, watching with interest, looked as his brother once again shook his head and pointed at the cupboard.

"I don't think he wants ice cream Daddy" he commented.

"No, I don't think so Sammy" Gabriel agreed, as he pulled the last of the desired containers out of the freezer and shut the door. He came closer to the baby and crouched down to better figure out what he wanted. "What would you like De?" he asked kindly.

"B-ba-ba?" Dean nearly whispered, blushing a bright red as he stammered out his request and pointed to the cupboard once more.

Understanding flooded through Gabriel. "Oh! Of course! Would you like one of Uncle Gabriel's super special apple pie flavoured bottles little man?"

Dean nodded shyly, still feeling embarrassed. But he loved those bottles and that’s what he really really wanted at the moment - not ice cream. A while ago, Gabriel had been experimenting in the kitchen, as was his want to do, and had found a way to add some flavouring to Dean's usual bottle of milk in order to make it taste almost exactly like a warm apple pie. It was Dean's absolute favourite, but the bottles were kept as a treat - not for every day.

"No problem-o! We can certainly do that! One 'Uncle Gabe Super Special Bottle' coming right up!"

As Gabriel turned to begin his preparations, a new voice floated through the kitchen.

"Did someone say something about an 'Uncle Gabe Super Special Bottle'?"

Chapter Text

For just a second, there was silence and stillness in the kitchen, before it burst back into life.

Gabriel called out "Hey little bro! Welcome back!"

Sammy started his excited bouncing again and shouted "Uncle Cas!" in greeting.

And Dean. Dean shot to his feet and started to run towards his Daddy, arms outstretched, a naked cry of relief bursting from his lips, pacifier having been spat out to dangle again.

As he had earlier, Dean struggled against the diaper throwing off his gait, and he found himself crashing to the floor as he tripped over. This didn't stop him though, he simply got to his hands and knees and began crawling to his Daddy instead, blanket being dragged across the floor in his hand, desperate to get to his angel.

Castiel, quickly shedding his trench coat and flinging it over the back of a nearby chair, crouched down and opened his arms wide in order to receive his baby. "There he is! There's my baby!" Oh how he had missed him today. He'd never been apart from Dean while he was little before and he had to say - it wasn't an experience he was keen to repeat any time soon.

As soon as Dean reached him, Castiel swooped him up and into the air, twirling him around before settling him down into his arms, cuddled safely against his chest - exactly where he should be.

Dean's arms came to wrap tightly around his neck and he clung to his Daddy like a limpet. He was never ever letting his Daddy go again.

The very minute he was in his Daddy's arms, Dean started bawling, sobbing his relief into the neck of his angel. Muffled cries of "Daddy" could be heard intermittently.

"Hey, hey, what's all this? Huh? What's all this baby boy?" Cas cooed to his baby as he breathed in the smell of baby powder mixed with the scent that was unidentifiable but just one hundred percent Dean. Castiel carefully cradled the back of the head resting against his shoulder and began to gently sway side to side in an effort to comfort his distressed baby. Although he was obviously concerned that his baby was so upset, Castiel couldn't help but bask in the sensation of having Dean back in his arms.

"Oh baby boy, what's happening?" Castiel continued to croon as he placed a kiss on Dean's head and bounced a little, surprised at just how upset Dean was. Cas looked over to Gabriel for help understanding and was met by his brother watching them fondly, and a little tiredly.

"I don't know how your day was but it's been kind of a tough day around here little bro. You've been very much missed." Gabriel's tone conveyed that he meant by more than just the baby. Castiel blushed slightly at the warmth he received and nuzzled his baby's head as he nodded a confirmation that the message had been received.

"Why's De crying Daddy?" Sammy asked curiously from his place by the table. He was really confused now. Uncle Cas was home! So everything would be good now and they were going to have ice cream and De had his Daddy. He really didn't understand what was wrong, he thought Dean would be happy now. Maybe it was just a baby thing. De sure had been crying a lot today.

"I think everything's been a little bit overwhelming today Sammy. De's happy his Daddy is home, but I think he's so tired everything's got a bit jumbled and its coming out as tears. Remember De didn't have a proper nap today buddy? Well that’s gonna make him a bit more emotional." Gabriel explained things to his son but also dropped some clues to Cas who "ahhh'd" understandingly.

"Oh, you a tired baby Dean? That part of the problem? You my sleepy boy?" Cas asked as he continued to sway. Dean was beginning to settle now, hiccupping into his shoulder, but his grip around his neck hadn't lessened at all.

"I have an idea", Gabriel spoke up. "We were just about to get some treats to make us all feel a bit better. How about all the little brothers in the room go next door and have a chill out for a little while, and all the big brothers will get busy and get the treats ready? Then we can make this even more of a treat and eat in the family room. How does that sound?"
"Yeah!" Sammy cheered, and raced around to grab his uncle's arm and start tugging. "Uncle Cas! You and Dean gotta go! Me and Daddy gotta be busy now! An' an' you're Daddy's little brother so you gotta take my little brother and go so we can get started!"

Chuckling, Castiel allowed himself to be led towards the door leading to the family room. "Ok, ok, little man, I'll get out of your way! Don't let your Daddy get to carried away with the syrup though ok?"

"I'll try Uncle Cas!" With that Sammy turned to whirl back to his Daddy in order to 'help'. Castiel looked back over his shoulder and mouthed a silent thank you to Gabriel for managing to get him a couple of moments alone with his baby. Gabriel had just enough time to give a warm smile in response before he was overwhelmed by an over excited four year old.

Castiel moved over to his favourite comfy chair in the room and adjusted his boy so that Dean was cradled in his arms and over his lap. He started to gently rock the chair as he gazed down at his son who was looking back up at him while stuffing part of his blanket into his mouth to muffle his hiccups and presumably to gain comfort. Cas noticed that Dean was gently suckling at the small bit of material inside his mouth and thought the baby must not be aware that he was even doing it. He winced when he thought about how that ratty old t-shirt of his had been dragged all over the floor earlier - he'd have to try and smuggle it away for a wash soon, though that was never a fun endeavour.

Pulling the blanket gently out of Dean's mouth, Cas said "Here now, don't do that sweetheat. It's all icky". Wiping away the remnants of tears with his thumb Cas breathed softly "Ahh there he is. I see you now! It's just you and me baby boy. Just you and me."

"Daddy" Dean sniffled around his blankie and raised a hand up to pat against his Daddy's face, trying to convey with that movement just how much he missed him.

"I missed you too baby" said Castiel as he caressed Dean's face, enjoying the quiet time to just cuddle with his boy. These times when they were alone and comfy were always the best. Knowing that they were together and happy and safe.

"So you've had a tough day then sweetie? You were a happy boy when I left this morning." Castiel probed as he continued to rock them gently. He really was intrigued as to what had happened through the day. It was unusual for Dean to get quite so emotional, despite how young he currently was, and it was very strange to see his usually unflappable older brother look quite so drained. How hard could it be to look after two small humans? Cas himself had done it many times and it hadn't been too bad…

Dean blushed slightly and wiggled down into his Daddy's arms as he mumbled "Daddy go".

"You were sad because Daddy had to go? But Daddy told you he was coming back. And Uncle Gabe was here to look after you! And your Sammy was here." Castiel was touched that his baby had missed him that much but at the same time wanted to reassure him that everything should have been ok because he had people to look after him.

"Sammy sad Daddy" Dean mumbled around a yawn this time as he slipped his thumb into his mouth, tiredness once again catching up with him.

"Sammy was sad that I was gone?" Castiel asked confused. Why would Sammy be sad that he was gone?

Dean just mmm'd sleepily and started to suckle at his thumb. Sammy was fine now and Daddy was back. He thought it was much more important to tell Daddy all about how he had his blankie. Daddy needed to understand how important that was. Garbling around his thumb, and waving his blanket with the other hand, Dean started to talk about his blanket. Castiel decided to give up on getting answers out of his baby - obviously he still wasn't really in a talking mood - despite the chatter going on in his lap. Dean thought he was being understandable, but due to his littleness and the thumb lodged firmly into his mouth, mostly what Castiel heard was babbles with a few "Daddys" and "Blankies" thrown in.

Castiel would just have to get his answers from Gabriel later. For now he just settled to enjoy the warmth of his baby in his arms and continued to rock the chair, adding commentary to his baby's now cheerful babble. "Really?" he'd comment as if he understood what was being said. Or "Oh good, I'm glad you had blue blanket with you".

After a few more moments of quiet rocking, the stillness of the room was broken by the sudden appearance of a bouncy four year old racing through to crash down on his knees by the coffee table. His appearance was accompanied by a shriek of "Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!"

"Whoa!" Castiel called, "Was that a Sammy or a rocket?"

The only response was loud giggles from the centre of the room.

More sedately, Gabriel followed his boy into the room, carrying a tray loaded down with three heaping bowls of what was presumably ice cream (although judging by what Castiel could see that was debatable) and a bottle.

"What in all of heaven and earth is that?" Castiel asked, stunned disapproval colouring his tone. Dean twisted around in his lap to try and get a look, he curiosity sparked by his Daddy's tone.

Gabriel just sniffed distainfully at the question as he placed the tray on the table and replied "Obviously it's ice cream Cas. Honestly!"

"That monstrosity cannot be ice cream" Castiel deadpanned. Sammy's giggles followed this declaration.

For in the bowls was what actually looked like an explosion of sprinkles and toppings and syrup. No actual ice cream could be seen.

"You just have no sense of taste Cassie. This is an arch-angel Gabriel special don’t you know!" Gabriel replied proudly and dismissively as he placed a hugely filled bowl down in front of his son with a gentle admonishment to eat carefully so as not to make a mess. Sammy just dug in with relish.

Placing his own bowl down next to his son, Gabriel then picked up the bottle and brought it over to the pair in the rocker. "Cassie you have your favourite honeycomb swirl ice cream waiting, although if you continue to disapprove then I might just confiscate it. Big brother's prerogative don't you know!"

Smirking up at his brother Castiel just commented "You do realise that you are going to have a hyperactive sugar high toddler on your hands very soon right?"

Gabriel looked back at his son who by now had ice cream and syrup covering half of his face winced, but then smiled and replied gently "Worth it".

Also watching the messy boy tuck into his treat Castiel smiled "Yes. I suppose it is".

Looking back around and down at the baby cradled in his brother's lap, Gabriel smiled fondly at the baby who's attention had been claimed by just studying his Daddy's face again as he tiredly sucked on his thumb and fiddled with the soft blue blanket that had been his constant companion for most of the day.

Calling for his attention, Gabriel gently said "I seem to remember a certain baby asking for a special bottle".

At this, Dean's eye's snapped up to meet his Uncle's and then quickly sought out the bottle that was being softly shaken in his uncle's hand.

Dean pulled his thumb out of his mouth with a wet pop and reached out both arms to make grabby hands at the bottle while making and appreciative "mmmm" sound.

"Is it you? Only super special baby nephews get super special Uncle Gabe bottles. Are you my super special baby?" Gabriel teased. Dean's grabby hands became more frantic as he smiled and blushed at his uncle's words.

"Don't tease him Gabe. He's sleepy!" Castiel admonished fondly as he took the bottle from his brother's hands.

"Ah don't be so serious Cassie! He knows he's my favourite baby nephew!" Gabriel said as he stroked the soft blond hair on Dean's head. "Don't you baby?"

Gaining a happy smile in response before the baby's attention was once again claimed by the bottle Gabriel said "Enjoy sweetheart. One Uncle Gabe super special bottle for the best baby in the world."

And with that, Gabriel moved over to sit cross legged on the floor next to his son who was completely covered in sticky sweetness. Castiel watched as Gabriel started playfully kissing his son all over his face - pretending to eat the boy and grinned happily at the scene.

Then, turning attention to the boy still in his lap his smile became gentler and fonder. Dean had both hands wrapped around the bottle and was attempting to pull it towards his ready waiting open mouth.

Chuckling Castiel said "Alright. Alright! Hold your horses honey. One super special bottle coming up." Castiel took a moment to tuck Dean's blanket under his chin in place of a bib/ spit rag - it really was going to need a wash- before tipping the bottle to ease the nipple into his son's waiting mouth.

A happy humming sound could be heard as Dean began to eagerly suckle at the teat in his mouth. Realising that at some point they had stopped rocking, Castiel started it up again and settled back once again to watch his contented baby.

Castiel cast his gaze over the room once more, and he was filled with a sense of peace and calm as he watched his brother and nephew joke and giggle over their treat and enjoyed the warmth and sounds of his son drinking in his lap as they rocked. This really was where he was meant to be and even coming back from being away for a short time confirmed to him the rightness of where they all were. Feeling some fingers grip and twist themselves into is t-shirt and settle against his chest, Castiel looked down and was met by green eyes looking lovingly and trustingly up into his own.

Oh yes. This was just where he was meant to be.