Theme Prompt - Glitchy

"You want to use me as bait?" Meg asked flatly. "Are you trying to kill me? I personally dislike this plan."

"No one asked you," Gabriel pointed out, walking back into the kitchen. "Stay there for a bit, we need to talk."

Castiel and Dean followed him back into the kitchen, Dean closing the sliding doors. They knew the doors wouldn't make the kitchen soundproof, so everyone kept their voices down when they finally did speak.

"That's a demon?" Adam asked. He had been silent through the whole exchange with Meg, not wanting to draw attention to himself. This whole world was still completely new to him. Adam still wasn't sure if he liked it or not but figured he was safer with his half-brothers and their angels than without them.

"The body is just a meatsuit," Dean explained. "The demon is inside her. They look like black smoke."

"Unless you're an angel and can see past the body," Gabriel drawled, smirking at Dean. "Then you can see the real face of the demon."

"I thought you guys killed demons or exorcised them or whatever," Adam continued. "Why are we letting that one live?"

"Much as we would like to kill her, Meg has helped us in the past," Sam said, grimacing. "And if what she says is true, we owe her for the warning. It's kind of a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"And if she turns on us? What happens then?" Adam asked, worry spiking in his voice.

"Then we kill her. And she knows it," Dean shrugged. "Meg is, at heart, a survivor and she knows siding against us right now is not in her best interest."

"If what she says is true," Bobby interjected. "And that's a really big if. She could even be working with Crowley to draw you boys out. You know he wouldn't mind seeing us all killed."

"You're forgetting one thing," Cas reminded them all. "Gabriel and I can see her true face. And Meg is terrified. It's difficult to fake that level of fear and I believe she is telling the truth."

That silenced the room as everyone thought about the implications of that. Zachariah was fairly high up in the angel hierarchy and the knowledge he carried could spell disaster in the hands of Crowley. Deciding the rest of this conversation called for a drink, Bobby got up and pulled a bottle of whiskey out of the cabinet. He opened it and passed it around, each man taking a sip.

"So what do we do?" Sam asked after he had taken a drink.

"I still think we should use Meg as bait," Gabriel said, his wings flaring. Sam looked at them, an expression of awe on his face. He didn't know if it was a glitch or not, maybe something to do with being an angel's vessel, but he really enjoyed being able to see wings.

"But we're going to have to deal with Zachariah as well," Dean sighed, reaching across the table and taking Cas's hand. "I know he was your brother, Cas, but he's dangerous now. Even if we deal with Crowley, there's nothing saying that smarmy dick won't try again with another demon."

"I know, Dean, and I understand," Cas replied. He smiled sadly and continued, "I miss the brother Zachariah was. I showed him mercy once. We can't afford to show him mercy again. I will not put you in danger."

"Well, that's settled," Bobby said dryly, taking the bottle and downing a large gulp. "So how do we let Crowley know we have Meg?"

"Why do we need to tell Crowley?" Adam asked, confusion etching his face. "If he's the king of Hell, wouldn't all the demons report to him? We could just summon one and tell him we want to make a deal with Crowley or something."

"We'll make a hunter out of you yet," Dean said admiringly. "That is actually an awesome idea. We could pretend like we're trying to bargain immunity or something from demons in return for handing Meg over."

"We'd need time to set this up," Bobby mused, staring out the window as he thought. "I don't want to just summon a demon without a few safeguards in place."

The group made plans to summon a demon in a few days, making sure that they had enough time to turn Bobby's house into a fortress. Deciding Meg could stew in the devil's trap until then, they all headed upstairs to put together their weapons and get some rest.

Dean found Cas perched on the edge of their bed and sat down next to his angel. He could see the tension and sorrow in his eyes and the angle of his shoulders. Dean wrapped an arm over Cas's shoulders and kissed his cheek.

"Hey, it's ok," Dean murmured into Cas's ear. "If you want, we'll make every effort to keep Zachariah alive. I know you don't want to lose another brother."

"I already have. That's what hurts so much, I think," Cas replied softly, turning into Dean's embrace. "Zachariah has turned his back on his family, dealing with a demon for revenge. He is no longer my brother."

Tears glimmered in the angel's eyes and fell down his cheeks. He was completely unselfconscious about it, making no move to brush them away or stop them. Dean let the angel cry, rubbing a hand on his back. After several moments, Cas's tears slowed and stopped. He leaned up and captured Dean's lips gently, tracing the bottom one with his tongue.

"Thank you," Cas told him with a small smile. "I know you hate chick flick moments."

"No problem," Dean said airily, smiling back. "Chick flick moments with you tend to lead to mind-blowing sex so I'm not complaining."

Cas laughed and pressed back on Dean's shoulders until the hunter was lying back on the bed. He straddled Dean's hips and leaned down to kiss him again. Dean wrapped his arms around Cas's waist and held him close, kissing back hard.

"Then why don't we get started on that?" Cas suggested silkily, a single thought making their clothes disappear.

"I can get behind that," Dean replied and dragged Cas down for another kiss.

------------------------------------------

Sam found himself strapped to a cold metal table, his eyes taped open. His gaze darted around the room and took in the figure standing in the shadows. The room was dark, the only light a bright one directly above Sam's head.

"Hello, Sam," Lucifer's voice came silkily from the shadows. "I've missed you. You went somewhere in your head. Welcome back."

Lucifer stepped out of the shadows wearing Nick's body as his vessel. Sam struggled uselessly against the straps on the table. He couldn't believe this; he'd gotten out. Cas had rescued him and Adam. A loud scream from his left caused Sam to turn his head as far that way as he could and he saw Michael standing over Adam with a hunting knife in hand. The archangel was digging the knife deep into Adam's stomach and dragging it up towards his neck.

"You see, Sam? You didn't get rescued, you're still here with me," Lucifer purred into his ear. The fallen angel was holding a surgical scalpel in his hand. He tilted it in the light above Sam's head, the metal flashing brightly.

"I can't be here," Sam argued, struggling hard against the straps. "I have to be dreaming. Castiel got us out."

"If you're dreaming, you won't feel this then," Lucifer said before laying the scalpel against Sam's neck and cutting. Pain bloomed in his skin as blood gushed out of the cut. Sam's screams filled the room, mingling with Adam's.

A ragged scream startled Gabriel out of the sleep he'd gotten used to having during his many centuries of living among the humans. Sam was struggling in his arms, batting at the air above his head. The hunter was making sobbing, mewling sounds as he struggled against his dreams.

"Sam, wake up!" Gabriel said, shaking Sam's shoulders. Sam's eyes shot open, wide and glazed, as he stared at Gabriel. His gaze flicked to the archangel's wings, fixing on the golden brown feathers. Slowly, sense returned to his eyes and Sam sighed a deep breath of relief.

"Just a nightmare," Sam reassured himself, wrapping his arms around Gabriel. "You are real, right Gabe? I'm not just dreaming this while stuck in the cage?"

"I'm real Sam. You're out and safe," Gabriel replied, wrapping his wings around the hunter. He brushed his lips against Sam's temple and waited until the hunter stopped shaking.

"Thanks," Sam told him shakily, his breath ghosting over Gabriel's skin. "You know, I never saw Lucifer's or Michael's wings in the cage. The sight of yours is what pulled me out of the nightmare. They're beautiful."

"It's a side effect of being an angel's vessel," Gabriel explained. "You can see all angel's wings now and I'm glad I was able to calm you down."

Sam reached out and gently ran his fingers down the longest feathers on Gabriel's wings. The archangel moaned softly as his wings trembled. Sam grew bolder, not being rebuffed, and buried his fingers in Gabriel's wings. His heart finally slowed and Sam fell into a quieter sleep, lulled by the sound of feathers. Gabriel watched over his hunter as he slept, knowing this was probably going to be one of the last calm nights they were going to have for a while.