The first thing you heard when you woke up was your own terrified scream drowning out all other sounds. You were struggling to realize that you were awake as you kicked and clawed at the sheets until you finally managed to sit up, your wide eyes shut tight, images of the nightmare you were trapped in only seconds beforehand still passing behind your eyes. Someone was grasping at your throat - no, not your throat; that had been in your dream - your wrists, trying to keep you still. Naturally, you fought them but their voice only grew louder and their grip only grew tighter until you were finally forced to calm down and face whatever's going on.

Your wide eyes flew open and, instead of being greeted with reality's version of your nightmare, you were greeted with the concerned face of Sam. You looked down to see he was gently gripping your wrists in his hands as you were huddled against the headboard of your bed. The room was dark, but the hallway lights were on and Dean was standing in the doorway, gun in hand, looking equally as concerned.

"I'm sorry," you blurted out as you looked back up at Sam. You felt terrible for scaring them when all that was wrong was a stupid nightmare.

"Y/N, it's okay," Sam tried to soothe you as he released his hold on your wrists. "You don't have to apologize."

"I know, it's just..." You faltered, trying to find a way to verbalize the reasons for your guilt. You sighed and gave up, instead opting for gratitude. "Thank you for checking on me."

"Hey, we're happy to do so, kiddo," Dean responded from the doorway. "You had us worried there."

"Yeah," you cringed at the nightmare that you managed to push to the back of your mind. "It was just a nightmare."

"You wanna talk about it?" Sam asked softly.

You shook your head. "No, I'd rather just forget about it."

"Okay," he replied. "How about I go make breakfast? You can meet us in the kitchen when you're ready."

"Sure," you agreed, pushing yourself off the bed. "I'll meet you guys there in ten, okay?"

Sam nodded and quietly left your small room, closing the door after Dean to give you some privacy. With a quiet sigh, you began your morning routine by changing into a pair of jeans and one of your old t-shirts. You were exhausted, sure - the hunt from the day before and the nightmares doing that to you, but there was no point dwelling on either of them; today was a new day and that's all there was to it.

You ventured out of your room about ten minutes later, as you promised, and through the Bunker until you reached the kitchen. From the doorway, you could see Dean standing at the stove while Sam was seated at the table, laptop in front of him. The smell of various breakfast foods wafted through the room as you sat down across from Sam. You were delighted when Dean handed you a plate of cinnamon toast. "Thanks," you grinned as you picked up a slice.

"Eat up," Dean replied, taking a seat next to Sam. Both the boys had eggs and bacon but you preferred the sweet toast instead. Breakfast was nearly silent except for quiet small talk. When all three of you were finished, you set the plates down gently in the sink to be washed later. When you turned back to face the boys, you saw they were exchanging a look you knew all too well: a look that said they were trying to figure out who was going to tell you something important.

You crossed your arms over your chest stubbornly. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Sam claimed, putting on his best innocent face. "We're just discussing a possible case a few towns over."

"Uh-huh," you nodded, taking a seat across from them once more. "Any reason the two of you were being so secretive?"

"Well, we were thinking that maybe you could sit this one out..." Sam trailed off nonchalantly, feigning interest in something on his laptop screen.

"What?" You gaped, taken aback. "Give me one good reason why I should sit this one out."

"Nothing wrong with sittin' one out," Dean shrugged. "Besides, everyone can use a break every now and then - including you."

"I'll be sure to throw your own words back at you one day," you quipped.

Dean merely rolled his eyes. "Look, you got pretty banged up yesterday and as much as you say you're fine, that nightmare proved otherwise -"

"It was one hunt!" You exclaimed suddenly, your cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "I'll get over it."

"There's no rush, Y/N," Sam interrupted, trying to find a way to convince you to stay behind. "And Gabriel's kinda already coming over and someone's gotta make sure he doesn't destroy the place."

"I don't need a babysitter," you grumbled under your breath. Despite putting up such a fight, you were secretly grateful for having a reason to stay behind. The previous hunt had been intense and you had caught the worst end of it; needless to say, you could use a break - even (maybe even especially) if it came in the form of the archangel, and your boyfriend, Gabriel. You were rather used to any shenanigans Gabe could pull and, at times, you even helped him much to Sam and Dean's blissful ignorance, so you were hoping that he might be able to brighten your mood.

"He's not gonna be here to babysit you," Sam replied. "He's gonna be here because, I dunno, he likes being here for some reason."

"Yeah, to annoy the hell out of us," Dean muttered.

"Hey, he's not so bad once you get to know him," you argued lightheartedly. Neither of the boys knew about your relationship with the archangel. Before Dean had the chance to reply, however, there was a faint, familiar fluttering sound that came just before Gabriel appeared beside you.

"Someone call my name?" Gabriel smirked, looking between the three of you. "Good things, I hope."

"Nope," you smiled mischievously. "Just talking about your massive ego."

"Y/N," Gabriel groaned dramatically, laying a hand over where his heart would be. "I'm wounded. How could my ego possibly be bigger than yours or the boys here?"

"Touché," you replied with a laugh. "But the real reason we were talking about you is because I heard I'm supposed to keep you company today."

"Oh really?" Gabriel question, his eyes lighting up in mischievous curiosity.

"Mmm-hmm," you drawled as you held back a smile. "The boys here seem to think it's a good idea."

"And on that note, we should start heading out," Sam interjected as he closed his laptop and stood up. Dean mimicked his movement, seemingly eager to take off. "We should be back later tonight, okay? Call us if you need anything."

"Alright," you responded. When the boys finally left you met Gabriel's gaze with skepticism; you already knew he was forming a plan. "No."

"What?"

"No pranks today," you answered firmly.

"Oh, come on - why not?"

"Because I'd rather just relax today and I'm sure you can go a few hours with pranking anyone," you replied vaguely. You wished he'd just let it go but, knowing Gabriel, he would find a way to wear you down until you relented to tell him what was going on.

"I don't buy it," he scoffed. "Tell it to someone who doesn't know you as well as I do. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," you mumbled stubbornly, refusing to comply.

"Y/N..." Gabriel whined, slouching down in his seat.

"No."

He sighed dramatically before holding up his right hand, ready to snap his fingers. "Fine. We can always go to an amusement park instead."

"No," you rushed, grabbing his hand in an attempt to stop him. "Please, Gabriel."

Gabriel took your hand in his gently and pulled you so you were facing him. You almost faltered when you saw the sincere look of concern in those golden eyes of his. "Y/N, you know you can tell me anything, right? And I'll do anything you ask whether it's kicking someone or something's ass or just staying with you - I promise. I'm here to protect you."

You blinked back the tears you hadn't even realized were forming at the corners of yours eyes. You ducked your head down, not quite willing to let Gabriel see how upset - and how appreciative - you were. "I know, it's just...it's silly and I feel ridiculous being so scared."

"Nothing you tell me could be ridiculous."

"The hunt went wrong last night, Gabriel," you replied bluntly. You continued to explain before he could interrupt. "Not as wrong as it could've, I guess, but it still shook me up. There was a vengeful spirit attacking anyone who tried to stay in this old house to the point where people have nearly gotten killed. Well, we all agreed it was something worth dealing with."

You paused, meeting Gabriel's gaze once more. There was an expression on his face that you couldn't decipher and he merely nodded for you to go on. "When we arrived and eventually got the family staying there to believe us, Sam went to go burn the bones while Dean and I stayed behind to guard the family. It was hours into the night before anything happened. The spirit started acting up and trying to hurt the family and when I tried to protect them...it managed to start suffocating me, Gabe. I was just pinned against that damn wall, useless and unable to breathe and it was terrifying. There was a second I thought I was going to die and now it's causing nightmares."

Gabriel pulled you into a tight hug which you reciprocated. "Nothing is ever gonna hurt you like that again, okay? I won't let it. You're safe."

You rested your head on Gabriel's shoulder as you tried taking some deep breathes. You hated that you told him because it made you feel weak. You shouldn't have been scared by one run-in with an angry spirit; after all, you've seen and even been through worse. But there was something about being so trapped and alone and unable to fight back when help was only rooms away that left you reeling. "I'm sorry," you mumbled.

"Don't be," he pulled away just enough so you could see his face. "Getting scared - for good reason, by the way - doesn't make you weak, Sugar. Neither do nightmares. In fact, you're the strongest person I know."

You held back a smile at his old nickname for you. "You're just saying that 'cause you want me to stop crying," you teased.

"Well, yeah," he replied as if it were obvious. "I hate to see my favorite person cry."

You smiled, leaning against him. "Yeah, well, I hate to see my favorite archangel get upset."

"So what are we gonna do about that?" Gabriel smirked mischievously.

"We could always go to that amusement park you almost took us to earlier," you answered with a chuckle. You didn't mind the change of subject; in fact, you welcomed it. You believed Gabriel when he said he would always protect you and that was the end of it. You knew there would be times when he couldn't but for now that promise was enough.

"Good idea," he replied. "I have a feeling you'll love this one. Speaking of...I love you."

"I love you too, Gabe," you replied without hesitation. Between the two of you, your relationship was unconventional and somewhat spontaneous but each of you were exactly what the other needed to balance each other out. "Do you think we can go get ice cream too?"

Gabriel chuckled as he traced circles with his thumb on the back of your hand. "Sure, it wouldn't be an amusement park without ice cream."

You smiled and pulled him closer. In that moment you couldn't have everything, but you could have him and that was enough.

Source{ http://archangels-and-heroes.tumblr.com/post/127277594581/guardian-angel}