"I don't understand," Gabriel said quietly. Conversationally. "Why you, Raphael? Of all of them. Why are you doing this?"

His brother turned, almost smiling, oddly gentle. "Why not?" he answered, and Gabriel frowned, stalked closer as he looked at the light in Raphael's eyes, as he searched his brother's expression as if he could pull his answer from its depths.

"Because you were the Healer," he said softly, vehemently. "Because when the First War tore us apart, it was you putting us back together. Because when Michael was losing himself to the War, it was you who pulled him back. Because when I was drowning after the Nephilim and the Flood, it was you who pulled me out. Because you are the Healer, Raphael! You and me. Of all of them, we were the ones who held together. Who didn't fight. You and me." He stopped, held out a shaking hand. "What happened, Raph, that you've forgotten that?"

Raphael said nothing. Stern and solid as a mountain, Raphael said nothing. But something swam in the depths of his eyes, a nameless emotion climbing to the surface, and there was lightning in him now. A storm, held so ruthlessly still that the archangel only trembled.

"There is no healing now," he said, the rumble of thunder under the words, something blackly broken in his eyes. "There is no healing, Gabriel. What has been broken, I cannot fix. Michael ... You ran, and Father left, and Heaven slowly broke, and Michael slowly faded, and I could not fix it. What powers my Father gave me could not heal the tears He left behind. There is no healing, Gabriel. Not now. Not anymore."

Gabriel swallowed, shook his head desperately. "Then leave," he begged, reaching out a hand to his brother. "Leave, Raphael. Come with me. Don't ... don't watch, don't become ... Don't loose yourself. Not to this. Please, Raphael ..."

Raphael shook his head. Slowly, and almost kindly. "No, brother," he said gently. There was lightning in his hand, now. There was a sword.

"Raphael ..."

"If there can be no healing," his brother answered, the archangel, terrible and gentle. "If there can be no healing, Gabriel, then a Healer has one last duty to his patients. If I cannot heal the wounds my Father has left, if I cannot heal my brothers, my charges ... Then there is only one way to easy their suffering. One duty." He smiled, and lifting softly his sword. "I will not walk away," Raphael promised. "I will not be a coward. I will do my duty, the last of my duties. I will end their suffering, Gabriel."

"No," Gabriel whispered. "Raphael, no."

But his brother raised his sword, and the storm in his eyes broke lightning around them, and there was fury. Pain, an open wound, and all the fury of the Healer.

"Yes," said Raphael, so simply, so finally. "One last time, Gabriel. Yes."

Sam kept adding and adding to the list, hoping that at some point, he would write enough rules to have an actual pillow fight.

1. In a pillow fight, one is not allowed to win by turning one's opponent into an actualy pillow.

2. One must use a standard-size pillow and may not use one the size of a city block.

3. One must only use non-lethal force in a pillow fight. No, bringing someone back after you kill them does not mean that you have followed this rule.

4. One must not shrink one's opponent to microscopic size in order to get around the no-giant-pillows rule.

5. Pillows are, by definition, not made of bricks.

6. Fighting with a spell that happens to be written on a pillow does NOT count as a fair pillow fight.

7. Don't drop 100,000 pillows on someone at once.

8. Don't make your opponent pillow fight you while you dangle them off a cliff, hold them underwater, or freeze them in an Antarctic storm.

9. Don't make copies of yourself so you can all hit your opponent with your pillows at the same time.

10. If you use sex to win a pillow fight, and then your opponent falls asleep after, it is very, very against the rules to tattoo your opponent ANYWHERE on his body with the phrase, "My boyfriend won my ass in a pillow fight."

"It went like this:

Dean asked Cas what he wanted to do for Valentine's Day, and Cas started talking about how holidays are all secularized. And Dean was all, 'Fine, ruin Valentine's Day. But you'd better not get me candy hearts that taste like chalk.'

Cas was all, 'Why would you eat chalk?'

And Dean was all, 'You know, those candy hearts, that say things like "U R Cool" with the letters U and R.'


'So these are candy hearts that text message you?' Cas said.

'No, they're little candy hearts that kids give to - never mind.'

'Dean I do not understand why you persist in making references I could not possibly understand.'

'Sorry, but it's frustrating.'

'Yes, you are very frustrating but that does not answer the question.'

'No, it's frustrating that you don't know human stuff.'

'I have known love and anger and despair and weakness and mortality and I should think that is more important than chalky hearts.'

'Fine, sorry Cas, no need to get your panties in a twist.'

'I am not wearing panties. I no longer have the power to make panties immediately appear after your request, Dean. If you want me to wear panties then you will need to make a request in a timely matter so provisions can be made.'

'Provisions? What kind of provisions?'

'The obtainment of funds and the selection and purchase -"

'Fine, whatever. I didn't mean- that's not the point. It's just you don't seem to care very much about learning human ways.'

'I have researched many of the things you call 'human ways,' Dean, and have found that only a very small percentage of people think that the music of AC/DC is a fundamental part of the human condition. Granted, there is a much larger portion who think that Star Wars is, but it is still small in number and very much based on location and generation.'

'So? AC/DC rocks. So does Star Wars.'

'No, Dean. I have researched them on the Internet and have concluded that they both, to some degree, suck balls. Which, apparently, is considered a way of expressing negativity. Why exactly would people on the Internet think that it's a bad thing to have one's balls sucked?'

'It's an expression, Cas, okay? Wait, did you just say that my music and movies suck balls?'

'If that means that I do not understand their appeal, then yes. But why do I need to understand any of this to be human? Why do I need to know about your music and your candy shaped like livers and hearts?' Cas sighed in frustration.

'Excuse me for wanting us to do something romantic for Valentine's Day. I assumed YOU would want to.'

'Why? I don't understand romance.'

'What do you mean you don't understand romance?'

'From what I can see, romance is just pretending that one is trying to seduce someone even though a sexual relationship has already been established.'

'So what, you think I'm a sure thing? Just because we've been dated for a while?' Dean asked, seeming to be genuinely offended.

'Dean, I believe you have always been a "sure thing" for everyone who has offered sexual relations with you.'

'Did you just call me a man-slut?'

At first when Lucifer questions Fathers work, their Father answers “Wait and you will see son”. But Gabriel, with his own mercurial mood, knows that his brother isn’t much for patience, so as a distraction he brings him to earth and shows him what bendy fun can be had with the right vessels. Michael is loyal to a fault, he never questions Fathers plan, but he does Love his brothers, so when Gabriel challenges him to come see where they go, he goes with them to earth, and though he doesn’t indulge like his brothers he is fascinated by their antics.

Raphael is calm, and although he also Loves his brothers he doesn’t see why Lucifer doesn’t just take The Answer and wait. That is perhaps why when The Day comes and Lucifer revolts against their Father, Raphael takes the order to strike down his brother without reacting, and goes to seek him out to follow orders. Michael and Gabriel though hasten to where they guess that Lucifer is commanding his army, and they argue and they fight, and it isn’t until Gabriel lays himself bare, begging his brother to come Home and ask for absolution, and Lucifer still raises his sword to destroy him, that Michael follows his order.

When the armies of Heaven celebrates their victory there are two angels missing. Michael has already begun to shut out all his brothers for he no longer believes that any but his Father are worthy of his Love, and Gabriel is sitting next to his brothers cage yearning for what had been.