Witches were the worst, Sam decided as a scream ripped out of this throat and he fell to his knees. He heard Dean call out to him, but all Sam could focus on was the burning pain in his back. He couldn't recall when Dean finally managed to kill the witch, but suddenly, Dean was next to him, trying to calm him down through the pain. Sam continued to scream as the pain increased. It felt like someone had reached inside his back and was pulling his spine out, and no amount of comfort from his big brother could help with that.
Eventually, Dean was desperate enough to call on Castiel and Gabriel. While he was fine with calling his boyfriend, Gabriel tended to get on his nerves. But Sammy's face was contorted in agony and there was a frightening bulge building on his back. He wasn't sure what the witches did to him, but he had never heard Sam scream like this before, and he would do everything in his power to never have to hear it again.
The angels popped in seconds later, and they both dropped down next to Sam; Gabriel's expression reminding Dean exactly how powerful the trickster/archangel really was. "Can you guys help?" Dean yelled.
Gabriel shook his head frantically, pushing Dean out of the way. "The bitch cursed him. Sammy's gonna have wings for a week or so, and right now they're coming out."
Dean hissed in sympathy, and Cas grabbed his hand and pulled him away from his brother as Gabriel layed down next to Sam, gripping his forearms and muttering soft words. Sam didn't stop screaming, but it also didn't get any louder when all of them knew it was steadily getting worse. When feathers began to emerge from Sam's back, Gabe's hold on him broke and Cas was forced to put up a spell to make sure no one heard them. It would be suicide for Sam to be moved to a better location, so his brother suffered on the floor of an old abandoned warehouse and Dean vowed to take out every witch he came across.
Every. Single. One.
Gabriel had to pin Sam down as he thrashed. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the wings ripped free, and Sam passed out from the pain.
Dean stared in horror as Gabriel managed to gather Sam- wings and all- into his arms. His baby brother's blood was coating every inch of where he had been when the spell hit, and he clutched Cas' arm as Gabriel healed Sam. The next second, they were back in Sam's hotel room, and Sam appeared to be sleeping. Gabriel looked at the large ivory wings one last time before the three of them moved into Dean and Cas' room.
"They'll go away over time, Dean." Gabriel reassured. "I've seen it happen before. But..."
"What?" Dean growled. He wasn't screwing around when it came to Sammy's health.
"It'll be just as bad when they retract back into his skin."
Dean let out a shaky breath, pushing his hands through his hair.
"I can watch over Sam. I think you need sleep, Dean." Gabriel suggested, and Dean agreed against his better judgement.
Sam woke to what was almost a blinding pain, but didn't seem to have the same sharpness as before. However, there was an odd sensation in his back.
"Don't try to move." Gabriel said from beside him, and Sam jumped, wrapping his wings around himself-
Wait. His wings?
"Gabe?" he said, hating how his voice was etched with fear. "What's going on?"
Sam heard Gabriel sigh before he explained what was going on. The witch. The spell. The temporary wings. After a moment, Sam ignored Gabe's advice and sat up, shifting at the pain.
"Will they stop hurting?" Sam asked.
"I don't know, Sammy." Gabriel said sadly, and Sam finally looked over at the angel. He looked worn out and tired, which was alarming and unusual, considering his status.
"Are you okay?" Sam said worriedly, and it didn't really help when Gabriel chuckled.
"You just had wings burst out of your back, almost would have died from blood loss, are stuck with twelve foot long wings for like a week, and you're asking if I'm okay?"
Sam nodded.
Gabriel chuckled. "Well, I always knew there was a reason I liked you." he said before pressing his lips against Sam's.
Another day later and Sam was up and moving, mostly.
Dean was smothering Sam though, always making sure his wings didn't hurt too much (which they only did when Sam retracted them against his back or spread them out again), making sure he didn't break anything (there was one lamp that didn't make it), and and above all, letting Sam know every five freaking seconds that this wasn't permanent. The only thing that made Sam refrain from snapping at his brother was the knowledge that Dean just wanted to help, but he didn't know how.
Castiel and Gabriel were much more suited to help Sam with his problem, and it was Gabriel more often than not who showed Sam the ropes of what it was like to have wings. Sam's were different than the angels, but it was closer than anything else they had.
Gabriel was also getting fiercely protective. He was pissed that Sam and Dean hadn't allowed him and Cas on the hunt, and it still terrified him how close to death Sam was when his wings had shredded his back. So Gabriel was often glued to Sam's side, and when Cas and Dean eventually retreated to their room, Gabe sat with Sam and his outstretched wings, massaging any lingering pain away.
"Thanks for staying with me, Gabe." Sam whispered as Gabriel wrapped his arms around his hunter.
"It's not a problem, Sam."
They made it through the week. But when Sam's back began to ache again, Castiel ushered Dean as far away as they could get while Gabriel gathered a frightened Sam into his arms.
"It's okay, Sammy. It'll be okay."
Sam's eyes were wild with panic, and his breathing was shallow, but he managed to give Gabriel a small smile before his wings jerked and Sam screamed.
Gabriel rocked Sam back and forth as the hunter screamed and sobbed, whispering reassuring words in his ear, even if there was a point when Sam could no longer hear them. The blood was just as bad as when Sam's wings had emerged, and it coated both of them.
Finally, after an hour, Gabriel healed Sam and held onto him as he continued to cry, vowing to never let someone hurt his Sam like that again.
Gabriel would tear the world apart for him.