Chapter 1: A Messy Start

Dean walked into the healing lab to find Gabriel bent over his journal, writing something while keeping an eye on the bubbling, sparkling blue liquid that was in a pot sitting over a burner. Going over he looked into the pot and a puff of steam hit him in the face. All he could smell for a moment was the overwhelming aroma of something that was both sweet and slight flowery. He pulled back coughing slightly and heard a laugh come from the archangel. Turning he glared at the blonde before looking back at the pot.

"What are you making now?"

"Ichor." Gabriel said. "It's like a cure all for angels. Hangover, headaches, life threatening injuries, common colds, you name it."

Dean eyed the pot again. "It looks gay."

"Don't blame me." The angel said. "Just be glad it's not the demonic form. I made it last week for Crowley and he asked me if there was anyway to change the color; it was pink."

Dean chuckled. "Why was it pink?"

"The Devil's Claw in it." The angel said. "This is almost ready. The only thing that sucks is that this has to mature for a hundred years before it's ready."

"So you just made a pot of cure all that you can't use for a hundred years?" Dean asked. "Seems like a waste."

"They'll thank me in a hundred years when it's ready." Gabriel said with a chuckle. "Oh yeah. I almost forgot." The angel dug around in his desk before pulling out a small clear bottle filled with a thick, slightly purple, liquid. "Here. For you and Cassie. It's a lube I make. Works better then anything you can get at the store. It's smells like sandlewood and enhances pleasure while numbing pain. Since I'm sure that Cassie's vessel was a virgin to men when he entered it I thought this might help."

"Help how?" Dean asked, taking the bottle.

"Once an angel enters a vessel it doesn't change. No matter how many time you and he have sex his body is going to return to it's virginal state. Same with me. I know sometimes I'd rather not feel that pain and get straight to the pleasure." Gabriel said.

Dean flushed. "I didn't realize that. He never told me."

"Don't worry about it. Just use that from now on okay?" Gabriel said closing his journal. "I made a bunch so if you need more just ask."

"Dean? Gabe?" Sam asked coming in. "What's taking so long? The lunch is going to get cold. Chuck made pizza."

Gabriel stood and turned the burner down on the pot to a low. "Just finishing up. I told you not to wait for me."

Sam went over and gave the angel a kiss. "And have your dad yell at me? No thanks. I will say that Lucifer is going to have lunch with us. He's waiting for us/"

Gabriel's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. He said he can even stay for dinner." Sam said with a smile, knowing how happy it made the blonde to spend time with his brother.

It had been six months since the attack Xaphanel launched against them. Afterwards had been a very rough time with two major events happening that had upset the archangels. Three days after the battle Gabriel had lost all three of his sons. The Norse Children of Loki had given the very Grace that Gabriel had made them from back to him in hopes that it might help him in the long run against Xaphanel. It sent Gabriel into a state of grief that he was slow to come back from but with Chuck and Sam helping he had made it past it. Crowley's gift of the healing lab to the angel had been not only unexpected but a big help as well. It had given the blonde something else to focus on instead of the loss of his children.

Gabriel wasn't the only one who was grieving. It had taken nearly two months before anyone had realized that Lucifer was also struggling. No one realized it until Dean had walked into the kitchen at the smell of something burning and found the Morningstar passed out in front of the stove. Lucifer, once Chuck had looked him over, had tearfully told them of his break up with Michael. Lucifer had been hiding how badly he was taking it by not only avoiding Michael, but everyone else as well. Thankfully Gabriel had put his lab to good use and made something for the Devil to cope with his now closed bond. The bond was only still there and active because it seemed that Michael was refusing to give the Second Born the closure he needed for the bond to disappear.

Michael was also dealing with it in his own way. The First Born was hardly ever around, mostly only showing up for the meetings that were scheduled between heaven and hell. Crowley, being Lucifer's Second in Command, had taken over showing up for the devil, something that seemed to anger the First Born more then he cared to admit. Michael released his rage in the form of taking up his sword again and going out on missions that he normally would never bother with. The few times that Lucifer and Michael did cross paths ended with Michael following the Second Born around like a kicked puppy. It got to the point where Lucifer had told Michael he needed to stop stalking him.

Unfortunately that confrontation meant that Lucifer hardly came around unless he was certain that his estranged mate wasn't going to show up. Surprisingly Sam had been quite encouraging of Gabriel and Lucifer spending time together. It seemed that Sam was not only past his jealousy, but had even struck up a friendship with the Morningstar. So much so that the one day when Michael had come in and was beyond pissed and demanding to see Lucifer, Sam had summoned Chuck to handle the First Born while he rushed to his and Gabriel's room and warned Lucifer. Since then the three were always ready to spend time together and hang out.

"I hope he's doing okay." The blonde said, linking hands with his hunter.

"He looked like he was doing better. His weight is coming back." Sam said.

"Good. It doesn't do to have the Devil looking like a skeleton." Dean said. "I'm not going to lie even Cas and I were getting worried."

As they got close to the kitchen they could hear the sounds of Castiel asking Lucifer different questions and the devil was answering them patiently with laughter in his voice, something that had been missing for the past few months. Chuck was also answering the angel, chiming in once in a while. Gabriel rushed ahead and Sam let him watching with a smile. Gabriel rushed into the kitchen just as Sam and Dean made it to the door.

"Lucifer!" Gabriel called rushing for a hug.

The taller blonde turned and caught his younger brother just in time and swung him around, holding him close. "Gabby. I take it you missed me?" Lucifer asked, setting him down.

"It's been two weeks." The Fourth Born said. "You said you'd been back in three days."

"I'm sorry about that. There was a break in and I had to spend the past two weeks fixing it." Lucifer said. "I probably should have sent you a message but I had bigger worries."

"A break in? Not a break out?" Dean asked with a worried look. "Besides Sam and I, who else would be crazy or stupid enough to break into hell?"

Lucifer sighed and seemed to war with himself before he sat down rather heavily in his chair at the counter. "May I ask for a drink before I begin to explain things?"

Chuck nodded and pulled out a glass and gave his favored son a rather large serving of both drink and pizza. "So what happened?"

Lucifer took a big drink and waited for everyone to start eating. Chuck had really out done himself having made everyone their own small pizza. Lucifer had forgotten how good it was to have a family meal. It was only once everyone was halfway through their food that the Morningstar started talking, but he was sure to refill his glass first.

"So what happened?" Dean asked. "Who was stupid enough to break into hell?"

"Xaphanel." Lucifer said softly, flinching at the horror that crossed his brother's face. "He broke into hell. I still don't know how he did it but he made his way down to the torture cells. From what my only surviving guard said he came down there to feed on the pain of the souls. He only stayed for a few minutes. I don't know if he was trying to send a message or what. He was just there and gone."

"No taunts or threats?" Sam asked. "Just there and gone?"

"I know." Lucifer said. "It was the strangest thing."

"Did he take anything?" Dean asked.

The devil shook his head. "No. At least not that I saw."

Gabriel took a deep breath. "Did he leave something?"

That had Lucifer sitting up a bit straighter. "What?"

"If he didn't take anything then he left something." Gabriel said. "He did that whenever he and Raphael managed to find me. His favorite thing to leave was black pearls."

Lucifer suddenly turned pale, almost as if he'd seen a ghost. Slowly Lucifer stood and reached into his pocket and pulled out a marble sized black pearl. He let the gem roll off his hand and land on his plate. The gem made a pleasant sound as it bounce on the china before stopping. He stared at it for a minute before looking up at Gabriel.

"I didn't know. I've been carrying it around since I found it." Lucifer said, his voice sounding hallow. "I thought it might have belonged to one of the demons he killed."

"You didn't know Luci." Gabriel said. "It's a message. All you need to do is put it in a small bowl of holy water and it'll play."

"What like a voice mail?" Dean asked.

"Not only voice messages." Gabriel said looking away. "It works like a video too. It can record anything. I have several of them."

Sam suddenly reach across and took the angel's hand. "Gabe? Are those the things you were telling me about? The ones in your bag?"

"Yeah." The angel said softly. "I know how to use them but I've never actually used one myself."

"Why not?" Dean asked. "Sam makes it sound like you have a bunch of them."

"I do." Gabriel said, his voice barely a whisper. "I have over fifty. I just never bothered to find out what was on them."

"Why not?" The hunter asked.

"Dean!" Sam snapped. "Drop it!"

Gabriel shook his head. "It's okay Sam. I trust your brother."

Sam sighed. "You sure?"

Gabriel nodded before turning back to Dean. "From what I was told all of them are of me and they are all over a twenty year period. I've never looked at them because I am terrified to know what they contain. They all...All of them are from the times I was Raphael's captive. It's all the things they did to me and made me do. I don't remember all of my time when I was with them but what I do remember...It was horrible and degrading."

Dean turned solemn. "Shit. Dude I'm sorry. I didn't think-"

"It's alright. You didn't know." The blonde said. "I told Sam about them and everything that happened. It's just another chapter in the dark part of my history."

"Why did you keep them Gabby?" Lucifer asked. "Why not just get rid of them?"

"I was in hiding Luci." Gabriel reminded him. "I was supposed to be dead. If another angel or demon found them do you know what could have happened? I could have been returned to heaven and imprisoned or executed if an angel found them. If am demon had found them and seen what they were doing I could have easily been turned into a demon's play thing permanently. I didn't want to take that chance so I kept them all."

"Is there anyway I could see them?" Lucifer asked, before realized what it sounded like he was asking for. "Not like that Gabby. I mean could I count them? I promise I won't watch them."

Gabriel frowned. "Promise?"

Lucifer couldn't stop the grin from rising up on his face. "Cross my heart and watch me fly, watch me as I touch the sky."

Gabriel let out a sound between a chuckle and a sob. "I can't believe you remember that stupid promise. I was only eight when I made that up."

"I know." The Morningstar said. "It was the only way to get you to believe me though."

"Believe what?"

Lucifer froze, his heart almost stopping in his chest; how that voice taunted him in his every waking moment. He ducked his head and turned away. Crowley swore that Michael wouldn't be here. Now he had no choice but to leave as much as he didn't want to. Picking up his glass he drained the last of it and picked up the pearl from his plate. With that done he pocketed the gem and carried both the plate and glass over to the sink.

"Luci and I were talking about that stupid promise rhyme I made up." Gabriel said.

"Oh. I remember that." Michael said. "You made it up to make sure we kept our promises to you. It worked too."

Lucifer quickly washed his dishes quickly and walked over and placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and leaned down and gave Gabriel a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for having me for lunch. I enjoyed it."

The Fourth Born frowned. "You're leaving? But you just got here! You said you were going to stay for dinner!"

Lucifer nodded. "I know I did say that but since you told me about the pearl I think I should go find out what it says. Xaphanel may try to break in again and I want to be ready."

Michael nearly jumped from his seat. "Xaphanel went after you?"

The Second Born shook his head. "Not after me, well not directly. He just broke into hell and left a message for me. I don't know what it says but Gabby told me how to find out. Now I just need to go back and find out what he said."

Lucifer went to go stand and stumbled a bit and Sam and Gabriel went to go catch him. "You okay?" Sam asked.

Lucifer frowned. "Yeah. Just a little dizzy. I think I might have drank too much."

"You're not going anywhere then." Gabriel said. "Not if you're dizzy. The last thing we need is for you to fly drunk. I can just see you crashing into a wall or something. Crowley would never forgive us if that happened."

"Gabby I can't stay. I have work to do." Lucifer protested.

Sam shook his head. "No, you are going to lay down. Come on. You can use our room."

Lucifer really didn't want to but he was tired. "I guess...I guess it wouldn't hurt to lay down for a little while. Just don't let me sleep for more then two hours. I can't afford anymore then that."

Gabriel reached out to steady his older brother. "I'll tell you what you can afford. When was the last time you took your potion I made for you?"

"Tuesday!" Lucifer said with a smirk.

"It's Sunday you stupid son of bitch!" Gabriel snapped, pulling his brother along towards the door. "What good are potions going to do if you don't take them like you're supposed too?!"

Lucifer stuttered and tried to protest but Gabriel wasn't having it and could be heard scolding the devil as he dragged him down the hall. Dean and Sam waited until they were out of earshot before the both burst into laughter. It seemed like Gabriel really did have the devil wrapped around his finger.

"Wow..." Dean said. "I can't believe Lucifer is that afraid of Gabriel."

"Not afraid." Sam said with a grin. "Lucifer loves him too much to say no."

"Hey, how did his date go the other night?" Dean asked. "What was the guy's name? Yan something right?"

"Ianto was his name and he's Welsh." Sam said. "He's not bad looking but it's the accent. That is what sells it."

"Get me a picture. I want to see this guy. He's got to be something if Gabe set him up with Lucifer. I mean Gabe wouldn't set him up with just anyone, right?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded. "Apparently he's the son of a water god."

"Sounds nice." Dean said. "When do we get to meet him?"

Michael abruptly stood and stormed from the kitchen. Once his footsteps faded away Sam and Dean broke into laughter once more. Chuck glared at them but couldn't fault them for what they were doing, after all he just drugged his son to make sure he would rest. Lucifer was struggling to cope with losing Michael and the First Born was in no way making it easy on the Morningstar. So much so that his health had taken a very bad turn and had required Gabriel's healing skills to keep him stable.

"I don't approve of this you two." Chuck told them making them fall silent. "I know why you are doing it but it won't make things better between the two of them. When they are ready they will sit down and work things out for themselves. Until then I want you two to be on your best behavior and no more teasing Michael. Understand?"

The brothers nodded and muttered a yes to the diety. Chuck sighed and turned away. It hurt to see Lucifer, who once taken such pride in his appearance, neglect himself to the point of needing someone to help take care of his wings and body. He wished that he could help his son but Lucifer seemed to find solace only in Gabriel and Sam's company. If that was what it took to see Lucifer recover then so be it.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Michael stormed his way to Sam's room. He was tried of Lucifer avoiding him and Sam and Gabriel helping him do it. As he got closer he heard Lucifer's voice and it sounded like he was in pain. Michael slowed down and crept up to the room shielding his Grace. He carefully looked into the room and was shocked by the sight that greeted him. Lucifer looked awful; he was pale and far thiner than Michael remembered him being. The worst were his wings, which were out and missing great patches of feathers, and what feathers did remain were dull and looked like they hadn't been groomed in a while.

"I told you to take the potion every night." Gabriel said softly.

"What's the point Gabby? No one wants the Devil as their mate." Lucifer said. "I'm meant to be alone. That's my fate."

"I did once. You turned me down remember?" The smaller blonde said. "I'm going to make sure Crowley knows when you need to take this so we can get you better okay?"

Lucifer nodded. "Thank you Gabby."

Gabriel reached up and kissed the devil on the cheek. "You're welcome Luci. Now I'm going to plug in the electric blanket and I want you to get some rest okay?"

Michael slipped away feeling sick to his stomach. Had he done this? Had he pushed Lucifer this far that he no longer cared for his own well being? Shaking his head he headed back to the kitchen. He needed to talk to his dad.