Gabriel didn't know how it had happened to him, or where he was. One minute he was up in this deadlock-prison/purgatory-for-angels type deal. The next thing he knew he was catapulted right back onto planet Earth, in what almost looked like a hospital.
"Where in the hell am I," he muttered to himself, seriously dying with the anxiety of needing to know what brought him back here.
He walked around the hospital, peering into many of the rooms, looking for any sign of something familiar. As he walked along, he realized slowly that this wasn't just any hospital: it was a special place, one where humans go after they go, well, bonkers. Something must have went seriously wrong for them to resort to calling him back to Earth, or at least that's what Gabe thought.
All thoughts and feelings of disdain, and curiosity, and hilarity dropped when he reached the room. At first he saw Dean sitting in a chair beside someone's bedside and he prayed. He prayed to every fudging force above him, that when he walked in he wouldn't see who he feared most to be laying on that bed there. It wasn't enough.
Gabriel stood in the doorway, at first just overcome with an overwhelming case of shell-shock. "Sam – Sammy – SAM!" He ran to the hunter's bedside, grasping onto his shoulders and shaking him, muttering and yelling and just trying. Sam wasn't waking up.
That's about when Dean's head snapped up, and he got up and started trying to yank Gabe away. Gabriel turned to face Dean, nothing but anger came over his features. "YOU, you were supposed to…this wasn't supposed to happen to him…"
Dean let go of Gabriel, nodding. "I…I know, I think the same thing a lot. Apparently your brother Lucifer didn't exactly agree with the game plan."
"Lucy, he never did like me," Gabriel said softly, tangible anger still hanging in his tone. "I didn't think he'd take it out on Sam, I really…and there was nothing…I didn't even…"
This was the moment that Castiel appeared, knowing Dean was going to have questions and Gabriel was not going to be in the mood to play catch-up. "Dean."
"Cas, where the hell? I mean, why the hell? I mean…uh…" Dean didn't know where to go from there. "I thought you were dead."
Cas smiled half-heartedly. "I thought I was too, and, well it started coming back slowly. I was somebody else, you see. His name was Emmanuel. But slowly, it started as dreams. I started to remember you. Then there were nightmares, things that I did?"
Dean shook his head. "No, it wasn't your fault Cas, you weren't you when you did those things." Dean swept Castiel into his arms, not wanting to hear it.
"Part of me was, and even though I feel grateful of your understanding, I cannot stand to watch both you and my brother feel this torment through my actions and those of one I couldn't control." Castiel said slowly, prying himself from the arms of the one he was bonded to.
"What are you saying, Cas?" Dean says, his voice again going rougher, if that's even possible.
Castiel comes closer to Sam. "I broke down the wall, and it's my fault he's this way now. You fixed him, but now he's broken again because of me. I want to fix it."
"You can fix the wall?" Dean asked, playing in denial.
Castiel shakes his head. "I shattered it, beyond repair. The only way to relieve Sam of his pain is to take it from him and into myself."
"Would that mean that you-" Dean said. Gabriel watched as tears pooled in Dean's eyes, the older hunter looking back and forth between his bonded and his brother, deeply conflicted. "Cas…"
"I have to do this," Castiel murmurs softly, before sitting on the bed beside Sam and readying himself, placing his hand to be hovering just over Sam's forehead. "I'm sorry, Dean. I'll miss you."
Dean closed his eyes tight, he couldn't watch. Castiel slowly placed his hand on Sam's forehead, slowly doing what he could to save Sam: to take away all his pain. When it was over and done, Dean almost felt it, and leaned down to catch Cas before he fell off the side of the bed.
"I'll, I need to," Dean tried to begin, not knowing how to say the words.
Gabriel smiled. "I'm sorry Cas never explained, but don't worry, I will watch over Sam while you watch over Cas. Let me take care of your brother, as you promise to take care of mine."
Dean attempts a smile at Gabriel before he rushes out of the room to find Castiel some sort of assistance.
Gabriel looks back to the bed, and sees that even though Sam hasn't woken up yet, there was a visibly better look to the hunter. It was visible that Sam was finally healing. He sat in the chair beside Sam's bedside, and slowly laid his head down on Sam's chest, falling asleep as he waited for the hunter to awaken.
oOo
It didn't take too long before Sam was awake, fully awake. He was confused. He felt…he felt fine. There were no more nasty memories, no more hallucinations. Everything was alright again. His eyes snapped open, and he just slowly let himself breathe in and out, feeling the beauty of freedom from his insanity.
When he looked down, he saw him. "Gabe?" Sam muttered slowly, reaching his hand down to run his fingers through the archangel's hair. "Is that you?"
Gabriel's eyes slowly opened, happy to see where he was. And who had finally woken up.
"Yeah, Sammy, it's me," Gabriel whispered softly, not daring to move yet. "I'm just happy it's you."
"What…what happened? I thought you were dead," Sam said, squinting his eyes as he remembered.
Gabriel sighed. "I thought I was too, and then one day I just got yanked out of perdition to come back here. Low and behold I get plunked in the middle of some hospital I'd never seen, with no direction whatsoever but to search aimlessly. I didn't know why they brought me back until I saw you in here."
"I'm not that important," Sam muttered.
Gabriel then took his head off Sam's chest, giving him an incredulous look. "Oh come on, if Dean can get little Cassie over there, then why can't you deserve someone as fantastic as me to be sent for you? Although, I will admit, Cassie had you covered. I think I might just be here to keep you company, you know, till Dean can rip himself away from Cassie's bedside."
"What did Cas do?" Sam asked haphazardly.
Gabriel shook his head. "I don't think I should tell you."
"Why's that?" Sam insisted, pouting.
Gabriel took a deep breath. "Because you are in pouty-Sammy mode and if I tell you that anybody did anything for you, I know it's just gonna make you all sad and pitying and start asking me if I can change things which, dear man, I can't and I won't."
"Never thought I'd say this, but I've missed you Gabe," Sam said softly, a smile threatening to play across his face.
Gabe pouted. "You didn't miss me till now? So all that anger boot-camp I went through up there because I died for your cause went in vain? You didn't even miss me, uh, the horror!"
Sam laughed. "So when did you…if I might ask, become my angel? Or does that sound too possessive? I mean, I-"
Gabriel put a finger to Sam's lips. "Shush. I don't know when. Apparently it's been a while. Maybe they figured I was the only one who could take you on? And, no, as your so blatantly thinking right now, I didn't leave marks like Dean has on his arms. Although that would be fun, and you are right about me not being that innocent – I would totally not go for the shoulders, something way more, OW! What?"
"You can hear what I'm thinking?" Sam asked incredulously.
Gabriel shrugged. "Bits and pieces, it's kinda fragmented. Dean and Cas can do the exact same thing. You could even read my mind, moose, if you focused enough on it. That's how angels can locate their charges, I think, at least partially. I've never done something like this before, to be honest."
Sam squints really hard, trying to hear into Gabe's mind. When he finally hits the surface, his eyes widen, and he punches Gabe in the arm. "Really?"
Gabriel's eyes widen as well. "I didn't know you were going to try it out so soon, to my defense. And as a second defense, I didn't say you would like what you saw when you got in there." Gabriel watches Sam for a second, not evaluating his inner-reaction to Gabe's not-so-clean thoughts as to his outer-reactions, as his moose was flushed and was obviously having a hard time getting his mind away from it.
Sam noticed the staring. "Would you just give me a minute to process all of this?"
"Or that you would like what you saw? That's okay too, you know," Gabriel said quickly, moving up to sit on the bed across from Sam, which unfortunately since Sam's legs were still strewn all the way down the bed, ended in Gabe parked in Sam's lap. He chuckled. "That was…unintentional."
Sam watched Gabe for a second. He knew he had limited time to think. He could either shove Gabe off and say that he just wanted to be friends like Cas and Dean were – although, now that he thinks about it.. – no, Sam, not time to get off topic. Or go in for it like for some reason he couldn't stop thinking of doing. He chose the latter, leaning forward and capturing Gabriel's lips with his own.
Author's Note: Should I continue? What do you think, lovely readers?