@CastielNovak I want you all to be careful. Life is a dangerous rollercoaster and many of us take it for granted. Be happy but be cautious. Often, it is the people closest to you who take advantage of your bond most.
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"Let's give them some time," Gabe whispered to his sister and Sam. The three stepped out of the room and softly shut the door.

The three stood in the hallway solemnly. Sam reached down and placed his hand inside Gabe's, causing him to smile faintly.

"Why don't we go down to the cafeteria?" Sam suggested.

"Yeah, I don't know how long that talk's gonna take," Gabe agreed. Anna just nodded, expressionless.

She walked behind the couple as they made their way to the elevator. The trip down was quiet except for the light music playing through the elevator speakers.

The elevator dinged and Sam stepped forward to exit the elevator. The doors opened and Sam collided with someone, grunting slightly. He immediately clutched onto the person to make sure neither fall. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. The two pulled away and Gabe watched as Sam's head shook in realization. "Lisa?"

Lisa looked up at Sam in surprise and shock. "Hey, Sam. Why are you here? Is Dean okay?"

Sam nodded and stepped further back. The elevator door tried to close and Sam put his hand out to stop it. "Yeah," he said, turning to face the two people in the elevator. Gabe looked up at Sam in confusion. Anna stared out in front of her idly.

"Oh! Sorry," Lisa said, pulling Sam out of the way. "I didn't mean to block your path," she apologized to Gabe and Anna.

"He's with me," Gabe muttered defensively, clutching onto Sam's arm like a koala. The elevator tried to shut again so the three stepped out into the hallway.

Lisa looked at Gabe with furrowed eyebrows before sighing exasperatedly and looking back up at Sam. Is she really trying to steal my man in front of me?

"You're pregnant?" Sam questioned, voice full of shock. Gabe looked down the woman. He hadn't even realized she had a baby belly. He was too focused on the gorgeous woman's face staring back at Sam.

Did Sam get her pregnant? He is pan. Gabe felt his heart drop even further as he examined the woman. Not only was his brother/best friend in the hospital, his boyfriend's ex was pregnant. Is he gonna leave me for her?

She wore white scrubs. Her black hair had been flattened and her tan, freckled skin glowed in the overhead lighting. She had both hands at her sides and was visibly annoyed.

Lisa responded next. "Yeah. 19 weeks along," she replied happily, rubbing her hand along the bottom of her bump.

Sam shrugged Gabe off slightly and he unhappily obliged. Sam instead placed his hand in Gabe's, squeezing tightly. "Is it Dean's?" Sam asked through a strained voice.

Is it Dean's??? Did she cheat on Sam with Dean? Oh, fuck. Gabe was extremely confused and felt his chest ache. "No," she replied, smiling back up at Sam.

Oh, God. It's Sam's. I knew it. "Hey, Anna," Gabe interrupted. He pulled his hand out of Sam's and strode to his sister's side. "Let's get some food."

Gabe felt Sam's eyes burning into his back as he led his sister into the dimly lit room. Sam and Lisa talked, their voices becoming more inaudible the further away they were.

There were about a dozen people littered about the hospital cafeteria. Considering it had just opened about five minutes prior to their arrival, Gabe was impressed at how many people were in the room.

The cafeteria didn't have much. He looked around for anything to fit his taste - extreme sugar - and grunted in dissatisfaction. He grabbed a mini box of Cheerios, a carton of plain milk, a styrofoam bowl, and a spoon before trudging to a table and sitting.

Anna approached moments later, an apple in her hand. She sat across Gabe and took a large bite out of her fruit. Gabe opened the mini Cheerios box and poured it in his bowl. He poured the milk in too and shoveled a spoonful in his mouth.

Anna finally looked up at Gabe. He looked back at her as he ate. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

She averted her gaze back to the white table and continued munching on her apple. Gabe pouted and waited for Anna to notice. After a few moments, she looked up at Gabe and sighed. "No," she answered.

Gabe frowned, feeling worse than before. Here he was focusing on if Sam was leaving him rather than his family. "What's wrong?" he inquired.

She rested one hand on the table - the back of it, considering the apple was still in her hand. For her other arm, her elbow rested on the table. Her hand was balled into a fist and held her head up. She didn't answer.

Gabe put his spoon down and slid to the other side of the table. "Anna, you can talk to me. You know that."

She looked up at Gabe, tears swelled in her eyes. "Why don't you get beat, too?" Her eyes opened wide as she realized how harsh that sounded. "That's not-"

"I know," he interrupted. He put his head in his hands and took a deep breath. Once he pulled away, he looked back at his younger sister. "Cas always gets the beatings for me. He won't tell me why, he just does. I'm not allowed to ask him about it."

"Why not?" Anna questioned almost desperately.

Gabe responded, "He'll leave if I do." Anna nodded, dipping her head in understanding. "He hasn't told you why he takes our beatings?"

Anna looked up directly into his eyes. "Our?" she inquired.

Gabe's eyes widened. "He doesn't take yours?"

Anna shook her head. "He told me I can't tell you."

"Fuck that! Tell me," Gabe yelled. Anna shied away and looked the opposite direction of Gabe at the seat next to her. "I'm sorry, Anna. Tell me, please. I only want the best for you."

She looked back up into his eyes warily. He nodded, as if saying it was okay. She put the apple in her other hand. Anna reached to her shoulder and pulled the top sleeve down to show the same burns he recognized all too well.

"Anna," he breathed out. She dropped her shoulder to pull her sleeve back up.

She then stood and Gabe opened his mouth to stop her from walking away. She cut him off. "It's okay, I'm just going to throw this out." She held up the apple and Gabe visibly relaxed.

I'm going to kill Raphael. I can't believe I didn't do anything sooner. God, I'm so pathetic. I shouldn't have ever let Cassie defend me. This is all my fault. Gabe tried hard to not let his emotions show on his face but it didn't work.

"Plus, you should explain what happened to your boyfriend," she added, glancing upward from Gabe to the approaching man.

Suddenly, a big hand rested atop his left shoulder. Gabe glanced over his shoulder to see his boyfriend standing there. He felt his heart drop to his stomach and looked away.

"Gabe? Are you okay?" Sam asked, sitting next to his boyfriend on the opposite side of where Anna sat.

Gabe wiped his face with his hands and forced a smile. "Yeah, how are you?"

Sam exhaled deeply. "Surprised. Overwhelmed," he chuckled in disbelief.

Gabe stood to walk back around the table. He continued eating his now soggy cereal. In reality, he didn't know what was going on with Sam and him and honestly didn't feel well enough to sit that close to him.

"That was Lisa," Sam started. "She's Dean's ex-fiancée." Gabe's jaw dropped and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. A small dribble of milk fell down his face as he opened his mouth and he closed it, wiping his chin with the back of his wrist.

He felt stupid for jumping to conclusions. I should've known, he told himself. "Wow," Gabe responded. He was nearly speechless. I'm pathetic, he thought, I didn't even ask or anything. I'm such a child. "Didn't they just break up a few months ago?" he asked, ignoring the self-deprecating feeling.

"Yeah. She cheated on him. I wonder if that's his kid," Sam thought aloud.

Gabe spit out his cereal. "Luci? No. He knows better."

Sam scrunched his face and sat back. "You know him?" he asked.

Gabe nodded, shoveling the last bite of Cheerios into his mouth. "He's my older brother."

It was Sam's turn to be speechless. After about a minute of silence - which Gabe had spent worrying if he should've said anything or not - Sam responded. "You didn't think that was important? Or that you should've told me sooner?"

Gabe put his spoon in the empty bowl and looked down. "I didn't think it was that important," he muttered. Sam sighed, leaning back to rest against the back of the chair. "Does it change anything now that you know?" Gabe questioned, quietly looking up at his boyfriend through his eyelashes.

"Yeah, it does," Sam answered.

"What does it change?"

Sam opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. He shut his mouth and grumbled lowly.

Suddenly, a loud laugh erupted from behind Gabe. He turned around curiously. There was a young kid giggling as his mom chased him, tickling him lightly. She was yelling, "I'm gonna get you," as they ran, causing the little boy to giggle louder.

Gabe turned around to see Sam watching the family, a small smile on his face. It was clear in his eyes that he wasn't happy though. "Samwich," he said, getting his boyfriend's attention. "It's okay. I never really got to experience that either, if it makes you feel any better."

Sam tried to pout but played it off as a smile. "Thanks."

"What's wrong?" Gabe asked. "That clearly isn't the problem." He felt stupid for assuming things again.

Sam exhaled deeply. "You know how I never really knew my mom?" Gabe nodded. "She showed up yesterday."

Gabe raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What happened?" he asked.

"I don't really know. Dean told her to get lost." Sam looked devastated.

Gabe stood to sit in the seat next to Sam. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and laid his head on Sam's chest. "I'm sorry, Samwich."

He sighed, wrapping his arms around Gabe. "I just wish I actually got a chance to talk to her." He squeezed Gabe a little closer to his chest.

Sam rested his chin on Gabe's head. "Why can't you?" Gabe asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Why can't you talk to her?" He pulled his head back and away from Sam's. Their arms stayed wrapped around one another.

"I don't know where she is," Sam admitted, looking his boyfriend in the eye.

Gabe dipped his head down in disbelief, looking at Sam warily. "So you have no way to find her?" Sam shook his head. "It's a good thing I know someone super good at computers," he smiled.

Sam grinned at his boyfriend. He leaned forward and pecked Gabe on the lips. They pulled away after and Gabe sighed.

"I guess you want an explanation to why we're even here," he started, looking away from his boo to his arm.

Sam removed an arm and used that hand to lift Gabe's chin. "Hey, you don't have to do anything you don't want to," he cooed. "I'll be here for you regardless."

Gabe smiled. Sam put his arm back around the smaller man. Gabe rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder and began explaining. "Do you know Carver Edlund? The author?"

"Yeah."

"That's my dad," Gabe said. He gave Sam a few moments to process the information before continuing. "He's been away for a few months, on tour of his new book. And, before you ask, that's just a pen name." He stopped again, changing the topic. "We, uh, have two older brothers. So there's five of us. Raphael is twenty-eight and Luci is twenty-six. Cas is twenty-one, so they're older. Anyways, they still live at home. Cassie bought our new house and it's really nice. The atmosphere isn't. Lucifer is a raging douchebag and Raphael is the worst family member ever. He... bruises us."

Gabe couldn't bring himself to say the actual truth. Sam knew it, too, and hugged him tighter.

"Cassie sucks at defending himself, if you didn't know already. But when anybody from school picked on me, he had no problem getting suspended for threatening them." He took a deep breath and sighed. "Raphael used to only beat on me and Cassie, but now all of my punishments, he takes for me. I guess he didn't want Raphael to hurt me or anything - I don't know why; I deserve it." Sam opened his mouth to speak and Gabe interrupted, "There's no need to tell me I don't. It won't work."

Sam pressed his lips to the side of Gabe's head and uttered, "Continue."

"Cas gets it really bad. Really bad. This is his fourth or fifth trip to the actual hospital let alone how many times he should've gone. And it's not like anybody knew; Raphael would only hurt us where nobody can see. It was how he would beat us when Dad was around."

"And what happened this time?" Sam questioned quietly.

"Cassie was out with Dean, I guess. He came home late and Raphael didn't like that. He... he carved 'traitor' into Cas's back," Gabe trailed off. Tears brimmed his eyes and his body lightly shook as he cried. "It's my fault. It's all my fault."

Sam pulled back and lifted Gabe's chin again. "Baby, it's not your fault. You can't control anybody except yourself." Gabe closed his eyes and tears slipped out of both eyes. He couldn't bring himself to look Sam in the eye. He felt pathetic.

"I let Cassie do this for me. I let him get beat and abused and I didn't do a thing to stop him," he cried. His guilt weighed down on him like an elephant sitting on his chest. He kept taking deeper breaths because he couldn't breathe.

"Hey, hey," Sam said, lightly shaking Gabe to get him to open his eyes. He obliged, sniffling slightly as he sobbed. "Baby, please stop crying. I don't want to see you cry unless they're happy tears," he pleaded. Sam ran his thumb up and down Gabe's cheek, catching a fallen tear in the process. I just won't tell you when I cry, then. I don't want to hurt you either. "And that doesn't mean hiding it from me," he added, squeezing Gabe's body tightly to his own. "I want you happy. How can I make you happy?"

Gabe shook his head and settled it into Sam's gigantic hand. He exhaled shakily and blinked more tears out of his eyes. "You can't," he admitted.

"Maybe you and Cas can come stay with me and Dean? Why can't you guys move out?" Sam asked. He pulled his boyfriend back down onto his shoulder. He removed his hand from Gabe's face and used it to softly play with Gabe's hair. Sam tucked his hair away behind his ear and felt Gabe sigh in content.

"Anna's only sixteen and Dad won't be willing to give up custody of her. Even though he's an absentee father, he still feels responsible for us." Gabe had stopped crying. He was still breathing shakily.

Sam brushed through Gabe's hair absentmindedly. "So? He's not home to even notice she's gone. Why don't you tell him about Raphael?"

"No," Gabe denied immediately. "We can't. We're not allowed."

"Not allowed? Why not?"

Gabe was uncomfortable. He didn't know how to say it without revealing his second gender. Hey, Sam. Yeah, I can't tell him because I'm an omega and it'll get me killed if people found out. Yeah, Cas too. It's a whole lot of fun. "Uh, I don't know how to say it."

"Baby, I just want the best for you. Please, let me help you," Sam pleaded.

"Raphael knows some... secrets... about Cas and I. He's blackmailing us into not saying anything." Gabe looked his boyfriend in the eyes. "Please, Sam. You can't tell anyone."

Sam hesitated. "It's that bad of a secret? It's so bad you'd rather watch Cas nearly die than have him reveal a secret?" Gabe felt even more guilty than before. He blames me too.

"Yes, Sam. The secret would kill me and Cas, literally. Nobody can know. I'm telling you because I trust you. Only me and Cassie know the other secret about each other. I've never told a single person," Gabe admitted.

Keeping this secret was hell. They had actually contemplated ending it all, together, to escape the truth. It was a burden they had to live with and they hated it. They hated the recurring heats, they hated the fact they had to wear scentblockers, they hated having to hide from the world, and most of all, they hated themselves. It was their worst nightmare come true. The two felt as if they were cursed, permanent outcasts from society.

That's why it was so rough for Cas to get started. He'd been painting for years and just finally gotten what it takes to become successful in that field. Their dad had never supported Cas until he found out how much money Cas was making. The only reason he knew was because Castiel had reached out to ask for permission to take Anna with them. He only accepted if Raphael and Lucifer could come along, saying "You all are family" or some other phrase Gabe thought was bullshit.

It was hard for Cas to go out and meet new people for his job. He often had to take Gabe with him to go meet with investors/sponsors. His social skills were as poor as his self-defense skills.

"Hey," Sam said, interrupting Gabe's thoughts. He lifted his head off of Sam's shoulder to look him in the eye. "Thank you for telling me." Gabe smiled as his boyfriend bent down to peck his lips lightly. "If there's anything me and Dean can do, let us know." Gabe nodded.

Sam pressed another kiss to Gabe's lips, this time lasting a few seconds. It was like all of Gabe's feelings went away in that moment except for pure bliss and happiness. Sam pulled away the two smiled at each other.

"Question," Sam said.

"Shoot," Gabe repeated. He smiled internally, remembering when he said the same thing to his brother and getting a quirky response.

"What's going on with the whole Cas and Jack thing? I won't say anything to Dean but I don't understand it all," Sam asked.

Gabe groaned, rolling his eyes. "He was being an idiot. He's liked your brother since they first set eyes on each other. Apparently, Dean doesn't like painters?" Sam nodded in agreement. "Cas had to tell him a fake name and fake job and everything just to impress him. I don't know. Maybe he's also protecting his identity?" Gabe asked himself.

"How?"

"Well, Cas is basically famous. He's got like seven and a half million followers and some of his artwork sells for over ten grand," he stated. Sam's jaw hung loose and Gabe manually shut it with his hand. "Yeah, he earns around half a million a month. Probably more, now. I guess if anything goes south between Dean and Cas, he doesn't want his reputation ruined." He sighed. "I know it's wrong but he's my brother and I love him."

Sam nodded, acknowledging what Gabe had said. "I get it. I'm just scared what's going to happen when Dean finds out."

"Yeah, me too," Gabe admitted.

The two sat in the comfortable silence, listening to the light chattering of the other people in the cafeteria and the buzzing of the overhead lights. Gabe looked over towards his sister to see her red hair completely covering her face. Her arms were folded on the table and her head rested on top of them as she slept.

Gabe smiled and stood, causing Sam to look at him in confusion. "We should go back up to the room," Gabe murmured into Sam's ear.

Sam nodded and stood next to his boyfriend, now towering over him. "Hey, wait," he interrupted. Gabe stopped walking towards his sister and turned to face his boyfriend. "Did you really mean what you said? About helping me find my mom?"

Gabe smiled. He took a few steps back to Sam and stood on his tippy toes, kissing his boyfriend's cheek. "Consider it done." The two smiled again.

Sam reached out for Gabe's hand and intertwined their fingers. "Thanks, candy man." Gabe chuckled lightly, turning back to continue towards his sister.

"Anna," he murmured. "Anna," he said louder. She stirred lightly and looked up at Gabe through her hair.

"Nngh, what?" she asked, clearly grumpy that she had been woken.

"We should go back up to the room," he told her. She sat up and nodded, moving her mouth awkwardly as if it were dry. Gabe turned and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge up against the wall. She stood and took the bottle with a thank you and they left the cafeteria.

The elevator dinged, the doors opening. The three stepped inside and turned around. Gabe clicked the number of the floor Cas was on. The doors shut and they stood in silence yet again.

The three got off the elevator at their floor and made their way to the room. Once they all got back to the room, they stopped. Gabe turned to make sure he could let Anna know to be as quiet as possible when he saw a nurse approaching. He had bandages in his hand and was looking at the room numbers. It was clear he was new.

He approached the room and went to move between them. Gabe stepped in front of him. He looked taken aback. "Excuse me," he said, trying to move around Gabe again.

"Please, sir. Cas just got to sleep. He's had an awful night and he really needs his rest. Can you come back in a few hours?" He honestly had no idea if Cas was asleep or not. He just didn't want the nurse saying Cas's name in front of Dean.

He looked at his watch warily. "I have instructions to put bandages on him," he said.

"Please," he pleaded. He looked down at the nurse's badge. Hmm, that name sounds familiar. "Please, Balthazar. He needs his sleep," he continued.

"Come and get me when he's awake," Balthazar said, walking away. "Oh, and Gabe? As soon as he's awake."

Balthazar continued walking down the hall and then turned the corner. Gabe was dumbfounded. "How did he know my name?" he asked himself aloud.

Neither people had a response. "Your name was probably on Cas's chart. You're one of his emergency contacts, right?" Sam said. His voice wasn't very convincing but Gabe nodded. "You've got nothing to worry about," he said, turning to face his boyfriend.

Gabe forced a smile to his boyfriend and turned around. He gently pushed the door open and it clicked.

"It was probably nothing," Sam said. He was going to continue but Dean lifted his right hand to his lips and shushed him. The three nodded.

Anna and Gabe sat in the two chairs available for Cas's bed and Sam went to the other side of the room where an empty bed was and stole a chair. He put it next to Gabe's and sat down.

Anna almost immediately drifted off to sleep. Gabe rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. Sam pressed a kiss to Gabe's head and wrapped an arm around him. The two cuddled closer to each other. Sam gently massaged Gabe's scalp and rested his cheek atop Gabe's head. He fell asleep shortly after, thinking about how that guy knew his name.

YALL I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. It's a filler chapter and it was so hard trying to fill this chapter. I was so unmotivated to write it because it barely progresses the story at all.

How have yall been? I havent checked in in a while. Lmk

Who do yall think balthy is and why does he know gabe's name? Do you think he really read it from the chart or do you think something else? Comment your theories!

Next chapter is gonna have some winchester bonding uwu

Make sure you comment, vote, and share! I love you all and hope you enjoyed this chapter.