The bunker felt like a tomb. Jack, Sam and Castiel sequestered in their bedrooms. It had been 2 days since Dean had said yes to Michael. The shock was wearing off and Sam couldn't deny himself food any longer. The lights in the hallway felt dimmer than before, the floor cooler. Even the echo of his footsteps seemed louder.

Nearing the kitchen Sam noticed a door. Despite it not being there last week, he felt the overwhelming desire to open it. With no number to identify it, he rubbed his hands on his flannel pajama bottoms pants and turned the knob.

A putrid odor assaulted his senses. He was familiar with scent of death, but this wasn't it. It was salty, tangy. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness if the room he could make out a bed with a figure on top of the sheets. Sam's stomach heaved, but he crossed the threshold nonetheless.

As he approached the bed, he recognized the body laying perfectly still, Gabriel. He sucked in a breath and cautiously walked to his side. He turned the bedside light on and revealed Gabriel's clammy, almost gray skin. Sam reached out to touch the back of his hand to his forehead. He retracted his hand quickly when the coolness of his skin scorched his own.

He steadied himself, and placed both hands around Gabriel's face to gently roll his head in his direction. Sam slid his hand down to his pulse point, and realized he didn't even know if he would have a heartbeat. With his fingers pressed against his neck, he was relieved to feel a small thud against his finger tips. A few seconds passed and he felt another one.

A small sob fell from his lips, he felt a little less sorrow than he had 5 minutes ago. Unsure of what to do, he prayed to Castiel and Jack. Within moments they stood in the doorway.

Castiel's voice was rougher than usual, having not spoken in days. "Sam. Is- Is that Gabriel?" Sam, not wanting to look away, nodded and quietly said yes. Jack was about to come into the room when Castiel grasped his shoulder and pulled him back. "This room is in another dimension. Sam, are you feeling any ill effects?"

He was startled, "What? No. I've only been in here a few minutes I was on my way to the kitchen when I saw this door."

"And in typical Winchester fashion, you decided to walk right through it." Disdain dropping off each word.

Sam's blood ran cold, and he squared off to face him. He bit back his tongue when he saw how distressed Cas looked. "Can we remove him?"

Castiel's eyes were muted and he turned his head and squinted. "I think it would be unwise, even if it were possible." He turned to Jack knowing with his limited grace, he would still be able to sense it better than he, "What do you feel emanating from this room?"

Half his face crinkled as he thought. He raised his hand and pressed his eyes shut. "Power. It's a pocket dimension? It feels like it's connected to the Apocalypse world."

"Do you feel it connected to this one?" Castiel asked.

Jack shook his head. "No. How is that?" Sam sucked in a deep breath. He was stuck.

He didn't wait for a response from Cas, he knew. "Because Gabriel was an expert at manipulating dimensions and creating his own. I suppose the door appearing was his way of asking for help."

"I concur."

'God damn Gabriel' He sat down on the bed and Gabriel's body josseld a bit, Sam not really caring. "So, I'm stuck in this room until I can get him to wake up?"

"At least you have a bathroom for your human needs." Castiel pointed to the en suite that was connected. Sam huffed out an annoyed breath.

Jack took a candy bar out of his pocket and tossed it at him, "Catch". Sam caught the snack with both his hands. It was a relief to know objects could be passed into the room.

He ran a hand through his thick chestnut hair. "Ok. Okay. If I'm stuck here I need to clear the smell out of this room. Can one of you guys bring a fan to the edge of the door?"

"Sure," replied Jack, and disappeared.

Cas' tilted his head and inhaled. "His vessel is the early stages of decay." That comment caused Sam to slap his head to his forehead. "Though, that is not the origin of the odor. It is his wings. I do not know how long it has been since he has last preened them, but it is the oil and the excess feathers. It is very unhealthy. It will be most beneficial for you to preen them Sam."

Sam's mouth fell open, "Excuse me? How the hell could I preen his wings if I can't even see them?"

"Oh, calm down. I may be able to find a spell in which you can see them. I don't think you will go blind either, being the vessel of an archangel." His eyes looked Sam up and down. " I believe you will be a great comfort to him. I passed down this hall earlier and did not see this door. I will be back when I find something," with a nod, Cas departed.

Sam rubbed his hands over his face. He felt so weak, and now he was trapped. He looked down at Gabriel, there was a tiny spark of hope growing within him, but he was afraid to acknowledge it. He grabbed a wet cloth from the bathroom and began cleaning Gabriel's face and neck. He looked so close to death, he prayed to him. 'Gabriel, I'm here. You have to come back to us. This is your home. You come back to us, you hear?'

There was noise at the doorway, and saw Jack had come back with the fan. He turned it on, even though the breeze was nice, the smell was just circulating around. "Jack, can you push it in here with your foot? I think it needs to be exhausted out." The fan came through the threshold and Sam turned it into the hall. "Thanks."

A sliver of a smile was on the young nephilims face, "This is a good thing. Gabriel is alive."

Sam pursed his lips, unsure of this entire situation but agreed. "Yea'. Yea', it is."

"You will need your strength. Let me make you a sandwich." He turned and left so quickly, Sam didn't have time to tell him what he wanted. He had seen what Jack ate. He hoped he wouldn't bring him anything strange.

In the meantime, Sam washed Gabriel's hands. He was thorough, he knew cleanliness was one of Gabriel's virtues. His hands were so small in his, so soft. He sat there for a moment, and tried to will his need for him to wake onto Gabriel when he heard Jack at the door.

He placed the plate on the floor, and pushed it across the line with his toe. Sam went over to bend over and pick it up. Lettuce, that's definitely a good thing. "I made you a peanut butter and lettuce sandwich," he said enthusiastically. "I know how much you like green food, and I read about 'ants on a log', so I thought it would go great together."

It was sweet of him. "Thank you, Jack."

"I am going to go help Castiel, so if you need anything, pray to me."

Sam nodded and sat in the chair in the corner. His eyes flickered between Gabriel and his food. The odor in the room was dissipating. He wasn't sure if he was getting used to it, or if the fan was doing its job, but he thought he would be able to eat. The first bite he took was definitely a little strange, but it was good. Calories is what he needed. Sam had no complaints about the sandwich, and he was grateful for his family, as small as it was now. They needed a way to get Dean back, and helping Gabriel is a foot in the right direction. If he can't take care of himself, how was he supposed to get to help Gabe?

Sam was determined to strip Gabriel and cleanse his body as best as he could. On the edge of the bed, he lifted him forward in order to peel off his jacket. His dead weight rested against him. He removed his shirt as well. Carefully, he set him back on the bed. He slowly removed his shoes and socks. Sadly, his skin was cool to the touch and clammy.

Before unhooking his belt, Sam was sure that Gabriel had on underwear. He was relieved to find he was wearing boxer briefs. As he took his pants off, he pulled the cover over him to his waist so he could clean his upper body. When he was done, he placed the sheets on his top half before moved to his lower body.

Sam had been attentive, and giving someone a bed bath was laborious enough. It was almost as if he had been worshiping his body, a thought he had actively had to disregard.

Closing his eyes, he laid next to Gabriel and fell asleep.

When Sam awoke a few hours later, he didn't feel much better. He hadn't heard from Cas or Jack yet, and the smell of Gabriel's wings was a bit stronger. Sam rolled over to face his archangel.

He laid a hand on his chest, and felt his slow breath. 'Gabriel, if you can hear me, I'm here. We're going to get you back.' His eyes closed, and he tried to push his resilience to him. It was then when he felt a strange tug from Gabriel from his innermost part, his soul.

Sam had been a vessel to two angels, possessed by a demon, poisoned by a djinn, seduced by power and addiction. Fed on by a vampire; yet this was different.

He let down his shields down and let Gabriel form a connection between the two of them. It was minuscule, but he could feel the tendrils of another reach out to him. It was draining, but he responded as much as he could to the ghost of a cord that was being formed in the haze of sleep.