I jumped in the river and what did I see?

Black-eyed angels swam with me

A moon full of stars and astral cars

All the things I used to see

All my lovers were there with me

All my past and futures

And we all went to heaven in a little row boat

There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt

Pyramid Song - Radiohead

Dean splashed bourbon into glasses and shoved one at Gabriel, who lounged in the library chair as though he owned the place. It was an act, Dean had gotten to know Gabriel well enough to know that this was a carefully constructed facade intended to mask the archangel's disquiet.

"You can't possibly tell him the whole story tonight," Cas said from the doorway. Dean leaned back and grinned at him. The angel walked over, dropping a kiss on Dean's head as he passed.

"I see you two have gotten… friendlier," Gabriel observed with a smirk. Dean ignored him.

"OK, where do we start? That Grace anchor is how you were resurrected." Dean told him. "You need to know that at least."

"Why did you resurrect me?" Gabriel asked lazily. His eyes were sharp.

"We didn't. That was Metatron." Gabriel curled his lip in contempt and Dean laughed. "Yeah, he's a toad. We agree on that."

After an hour, Dean and Cas had managed to give Gabriel a very abbreviated version of everything that had happened. Gabriel was looking a little wild around the eyes.

"You're not going to freak out on me, are you?" Dean asked him. Gabriel swallowed.

"So what happens now?" the archangel managed. Dean and Cas exchanged a look.

"That depends on you," Dean told him. "You said you'd changed your mind about the Nexus." Gabriel's shoulders hunched.

"Look, Sam's a good kid. Well, uh, kinda. And I like him a lot, I do. But he's really, really broken. You want me to take that on?"

"You already did," Castiel said acidly. "Now, you're backing out."

"I don't remember any of it!" Gabriel protested. "That's hardly my fault." He pouted like a child and Dean ground his teeth.

"Look, fine. You don't wanna deal with this, take responsibility for what you did? OK, we can't force you. But what happens to Sam?" Dean pressed. Gabriel's face twisted.

"I'll have to figure something out. It's not going to be… what he was hoping for," he admitted. Castiel regarded him coldly and he shifted uncomfortably. "I'm here aren't I?" he defended.

Sam opened his eyes, a strange pulsing sensation in his chest. The Nexus was throbbing within him, and he turned his head to find the source. Gabriel was sat in a chair near the bed, his face pensive.

"Hey," Sam whispered. Gabriel's eyes flew to his.

"How are you feeling, Sam?" he asked.

"Crappy." Sam said with feeling. "I'm glad you're here." Gabriel looked away.

"We need to talk," the archangel said, his voice taut with strain.

"OK," Sam said. He could feel a knot forming in his stomach and the Nexus pulsed within him again. It seemed unhappy.

"Dean and Castiel filled me in on what happened. Briefly. Did they explain to you about what happened to me in Little Rock?" Sam nodded painfully.

"So, we have a real problem, Sam." the archangel said tiredly. "We have a Nexus, and no reason for it to exist." Sam's eyes widened and he choked.

"Are you saying-" His head began to spin. "You didn't just forget what happened these past few months. You've forgotten… us?" Gabriel's mouth twitched.

"I'm saying that if we fell in love, I not only don't remember it. I don't feel it. I'm sorry, Sam. I am. But I can't pretend something I don't feel." Sam turned his head away.

"Of course you can't. I understand that. But you told me you had been in love with me before Lucifer killed you. That it's why you placed the Grace anchor." Gabriel chewed the inside of his cheek.

"So Castiel said. I don't know what to tell you. Whatever love I felt, it's not there. Not anymore." Gabriel looked down at the floor. This was awful. He never wanted to hurt Sam. "So the Nexus," he said. "Like I say, it's a problem."

"What are you proposing?" Sam whispered.

"Well, it can't be removed or destroyed. Not without killing one or both of us. So we have to live with it. One of the problems is going to be that we're not going to be able to stand being apart for very long. I can go away for a week or two. No more. But being around each other is going to be hard too. The Nexus will want us to be regularly reinforcing the bond. We won't be able to resist it." Gabriel looked nauseous. Sam felt dizzy.

"Let me get this straight. You're telling me I have to have sex with someone who doesn't want me, doesn't love me and will be trying to spend as much time as possible away from me." Gabriel winced. Sam took a deep breath. "I'd rather die." Gabriel sighed.

"That's your decision," he told him. Sam felt like he'd been slapped.

"Is there a reason you don't want to try and… recapture what we had before?" he pleaded. Gabriel was incredulous.

"You're a mess, Sam. Broken beyond repair. Fixing you would take a lot of work. I'm a free spirit, what can I say?"

"I think you've said enough," Sam said coldly. "I won't do it. You don't want me, fine. You don't get to have me."

"Sam," Gabriel said reasonably. "The Nexus-"

"Fuck the Nexus!" Sam spat. "And fuck you!"

Cas looked up from his book at the sound of wings. Gabriel was furious, his power coming off him in waves.

"I've done all I can," he said tightly. "Sam won't listen to reason. I'm outta here."

"You're offering him a sterile, loveless marriage," Cas pointed out. "Who would want that?"

"I don't care," Gabriel retorted. "It's not my problem."

"But it is," Cas insisted. "You did this. I backed you up, against Dean's wishes at times. And now you're just going to abandon your responsibilities. Well that's just what you do, isn't it? Things get difficult, and you run away." He was angry now, angrier than he'd ever been at Gabriel, who had always been his favourite brother. Gabriel had had enough. With a flutter of wings he was gone.

Dean dashed into the library and looked at the angry angel stood seething in the middle of the room. "Was that Gabriel?" he yelled. A muscle twitched in Cas' jaw.

"Yes," he said, his voice strained. "He's gone."

"What?" Dean shrieked. "He's ditching Sam?" Cas slumped, all his anger draining out of him.

"Yes. We're on our own."

Dean slipped silently into Sam's room. His brother's eyes were closed but his face was wet, his nose red.

"God, Sammy," Dean said, dropping into a chair. "I'm sorry. Gabriel's a dick."

"It's OK," Sam said faintly. "I understand. He's in a difficult position."

"Sam, I don't want to say this to you. But you have to forget him, somehow. Move on." Sam looked skeptical.

"With the Nexus, I'm not sure it'll be that easy. But you're right. I'm sorry, Dean. I should have listened to you."

"The day you do, I think the world will end," Dean said in resignation. Sam gave a soft laugh, and it did Dean's soul good to hear it.

Dean wandered through the bunker, restless and frustrated. He found himself in the TV room, and threw himself onto the couch, not really intending to watch anything. He laid his head back and allowed himself to drift, remembering lying in here with Cas. Thinking about the angel seemed to summon him, as he heard Cas enter the room. He beckoned him over and the angel happily dropped down beside him and wrapped himself around Dean.

"How's Sam?" Dean asked. Cas nibbled at his ear.

"Better," the angel said, sounding surprised. "He actually ate more than just a few mouthfuls tonight."

"It's weird. I thought Gabriel abandoning Sam was going to be the end. I didn't know if Sam would come back from that." Dean commented, trying to concentrate while Cas mouthed at his neck.

"Humans are strange," Cas agreed. He grazed his teeth along Dean's shoulder and the hunter shivered.

"Hey," Dean objected playfully. "You seem to like this one." Cas grinned against his skin.

"I'm also strange," he breathed. Dean tilted his neck back, his eyes closing and Cas growled. He slipped his hands inside Dean's shirt and tweaked at his nipples.

"God, Cas!" Dean gasped.

"Father!" a new voice exclaimed. "Castiel, what do you think you are doing?" Cas shot upright and Dean opened his eyes.

"Michael!" Cas said shocked. Dean looked at the form of his half-brother Adam, still apparently doing vessel duty for the archangel.

"What do you want?" Dean snarled.

"Now, Dean. After all the help I've given you, I'd hoped we could at least be civil." Michael said superciliously. He turned his gaze back on Cas and disgust contorted his features.

"How far you've fallen, Castiel," he commented, his voice stained with revulsion. "I suppose I should have seen this coming." Cas looked away and Dean squeezed his arm.

"If you just came to insult Cas, you can leave." Dean said firmly.

"I came to speak with Sam." Michael said. "He killed my brother."

"Sam's not available right now," Dean bit out. "And you were going to kill your brother, so what difference does it make?"

"I think I explained this to you before," Michael said coolly. "Killing Lucifer was my job." Dean gave him an insouciant grin.

"Dead's dead, far as I'm concerned." Dean told him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm kinda busy." He deliberately turned his attention back to Cas and began nibbling at the angel's neck. Cas' closed his eyes and groaned.

"Castiel!" Michael yelped. He didn't actually stamp his foot like a toddler having a tantrum, but in Dean's opinion he might as well have. Cas turned his head lazily to look at Michael again, not bothering to hide the arousal in his gaze. Dean snickered against Cas' skin. Michael looked like he wanted to throw up. "You will stop that this instance."

"I don't work for Heaven anymore." Cas told him. "Which means I don't work for you. Go away."

"I don't care what you think you do or do not owe to Heaven, Castiel." Michael snarled. "Sam Winchester is commanded to stand trial for the murder of the archangel Lucifer, God's most favored angel." Dean turned to him in shock.

"You're not serious!" he said, astonished.

"I am completely serious," Michael replied. "I do not make jokes."

"I bet you don't," Dean said under his breath. Out loud he said, "How come Sam has to stand trial? Don't you guys normally just smite anyone who gets in your way?" Michael shifted uneasily and Dean began to feel rather peculiar.

"We can't." the archangel admitted. "Sam Winchester qualifies for a trial because he has Grace. It's not his Grace, but that's irrelevant, the rules are quite clear. Secondly, even if that were not the case, his bonding with Gabriel means we cannot execute summary justice." Dean stayed silent, despite his desire to snark back at Michael some more, he didn't want to reveal the fact that Gabriel was MIA.

"So what happens now?" Cas asked. "This is a most unusual situation." Michael quirked a brow at him.

"I will take Sam with me now, where he will be held in Heaven's prison awaiting trial," he said stiffly.

"Does he get a lawyer?" Dean asked.

"Counsel will be assigned," Michael told him. "Most likely, Gabriel will be expected to represent him. We've had no luck in locating him, so make sure you pass the message on." There was a flap of wings and Michael was gone.

Sam became aware that he wasn't alone. He turned his head and opened his eyes, then gaped at the blond young man stood by his bed.

"Adam?" he gasped.

"Not quite," he said with a slight smile.

"Michael, then." Sam realized. "What are you doing here?"

"The Cage is broken. Or had you forgotten?" Sam looked away. "I'm here to take you in, Sam." Sam rotated his head towards Michael so quickly it made his neck twinge.

"Take me where?" he demanded.

"Heaven. You have to stand trial for the murder of my brother, Lucifer." Michael said. Sam gaped at him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sam exclaimed.

"Why would you think I would use humor in a situation like this?" Michael seemed puzzled. "Your brother seemed convinced this was a joke too."

"Never mind," Sam said. "Dean knows?"

"Yes,' Michael said. "You have to come with me now." He reached out and touched Sam's shoulder and with a flap of his wings they were gone.

Dean looked at Cas in alarm. Michael was going to take Sam right now? They leaped together off the couch and careened down the hall. Cas and Dean skidded into Sam's room, but they were too late. Sam was gone. Dean collapsed onto Sam's bed.

"Shit, Cas. What're we going to do?" he moaned.

"I can't go to Heaven. Remiel will throw me in jail too and I can't help Sam from in there. So there's only one thing we can do," Cas said. "We find Gabriel."

"Awesome," Dean said.

A/N So here we are my darlings, at the end of Part Two. It's been quite a journey, and I am so grateful to everyone who has commented, corresponded with me, favorited and followed my work. You all rock! And of course special thanks to shadowtoby, my beta, who is working with me. I hope you will all follow me to Part Three of Gracelight, Never Surrender, which I will start posting soon.