A noise from downstairs echoed through the house. Sam's eyes snapped open. Their bedroom was dark. Gabriel shifted against him, his back against Sam's side as he curled tighter into the sheets and made a soft grumbling noise. Sam rolled his eyes; he'd get no help from that quarter. The archangel might not need sleep, but he'd embraced the concept whole-heartedly and with gusto. He would have reached out to stir his partner, but as a crash reverberated up the stairs, Sam knew there was no time. He left Gabriel where he was and headed downstairs, the house dark. God only knew what time it was. Not ghouls, not vampires, not witches or wendigos. They'd warded the house too well. And something that dangerous Gabriel would have sensed.

Sam had the feeling it wasn't anything dangerous at all, but even so he kept his wits about him. He'd fought Heaven and Hell and everything in between and he wasn't about to let some incompetent burglar get the better of him.

He was half-way down the stairs, footfalls silent when suddenly there was light. A grey ghostly sort of light and a noise of static. Sam didn't jump out of his skin, although even if he had, he would have denied it. He hung back at the bottom of the stairs, listening. The static continued, and now there was a high-pitched whine too, one that grated over his nerves like a nail on chalk.

There was another noise though, softer, far more organic and Sam recognised the frustrated yelp. He moved into the living room, the TV on and there, on the floor, was his daughter. Hitting her tiny palms against the TV remote. The batteries seemed to have fallen out in protest and rolled under the couch, although she hadn't noticed that. There were times when Sam couldn't help but just stop and look at her. She was the most beautiful thing in the world, bright copper eyes that understood far more than people knew, dark brown hair that waved like his down to her shoulders, the lips that quirked ever so easily into smiles and laughter. But right now she was hitting the remote against the floor in frustration, making that self-same growl Gabriel did when he couldn't work something out. It was even more adorable coming from her.

She hadn't noticed Sam though, not until he crouched down on the floor next to her. "What are you doing, baby?" He asked, and tried hard not to smile at the moody little face that turned up at him. She was annoyed, and she was caught and now she was going to have to go back to her bed and have the sides put up so she couldn't climb out and she hated that. Sam knew it. He knew that was what she was thinking; he could see the pout already forming.

Caught red handed, she seemed to lose her enthusiasm for getting the TV working and muttered something that Sam knew ended in 'cats' and the rest he could guess. "Thunder Cats in the morning." He said to her, gently taking the battered remote from her and leaning over to press the power button on the TV itself. That ended the static and the electrical whine. Close to four years old was not grown up, no matter what she insisted, and his daughter wasn't old enough to be downstairs on her own and channel surfing for Thunder Cats. "Bed with daddy and me now." He added, picking her up and settling her against his hip.

Maybe he should have said that after climbing the stairs. But even with the excited little girl squirming in his hold he managed to get up there, setting her down on the bed. Gabriel had rolled over, and Sam could tell that he wasn't really asleep right now, gold-flecked copper eyes still closed but not in sleep. His arms shifted too readily as Angelica-Marie snuggled into them, tucking her head under Gabriel's chin. For everything Gabriel was, everything he'd done as the Trickster and as Loki, children seemed to adore him.

"Morning, Lollipop." Gabriel murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she settled into his arms. She was sound asleep in seconds and Gabriel's eyes opened, bright and tender, watching as Sam settled back into the other side of the bed. "Thunder Cats?" He asked and Sam made an affirmative sound as he turned to curl his arm around his daughter and his angel. He had classes in the morning, and he was already drifting back into sleep as he heard Gabriel press another kiss to Angelica-Marie's hair. "Doesn't Uncle Dean have a lot to answer for?"

And then he was out like a light.