"No, I suppose it might not." He assumes Raphael's referring to his absence - he's not aware yet that Raphael's attitude to obedience is at all different to Michael's. It's safe, he thinks, to believe duty will be his measuring stick for worth, and that's one thing Gabriel lacks in spades.

"He's still blonde bombshell rather than boring brunette, yeah. Good for him. Sam Winchester's got a stick jammed so far up his ass it's practically coming out of his mouth, no one deserves to have to share a head with him."

As for Raphael's timeline, that gets a nod. Sympathetic, as far as a nod can be - he knows enough to be certain that Raphael and Michael have been a package deal for too long to separate safely, and being the last archangel standing wouldn't be easy even for someone well-adjusted.

"Left you on cleanup duty, huh?"