Chapter 2: Reveal

He woke before his alarm to a strangled scream, and Zeppelin shooting out of his bedroom like her tail was on fire. Sam realized he had nearly crushed her in his crippling nightmare, and he swung his feet to touch the ground so that calmness poured through him. Nightmares were far and few between these days, although they still happened. Sam turned his alarm off, happy to find that he had only woken up forty-five minutes ahead of schedule, and still had a decent night's sleep.

Zeppelin was hidden under the couch, and Sam served her an extra large portion of kitty food to make up for scaring her. He grabbed some cereal, dressed for work, and headed down the street. He was insanely early, so instead Sam continued down the road to the library that Gabriel had informed him of. It was a small building, but Sam had seen worse stocked libraries, as far as this one went. He browsed the sections before finding a few books to take out, and approached the front desk where a pretty red head was standing.

She smiled at him warmly, "New in town?"

"How did you know?" Sam asked, sincerely confused.

She laughed, and it was a pleasantly warm sound. "It's a pretty small town, mostly full of people who don't really know what a library is, less how to use one. I'm Anna Milton, by the way."

"Sam Winchester," Sam extended his hand, "and yes, I am new in town. I'm working at Bump N' Grind. Which... is a coffee shop, not a bar..."

Anna laughed, a bit too loudly for a library, but there was no one else there, "Oh, I know. My step brother is the boss actually. Gabriel Novak?"

Sam nodded, "Yep, he's my boss. Step brother, hey? That's cool."

"Yeah, we have a pretty big combination family. Three Novaks, and four Milton's, all told. Parents died a while back, but we still stick together mostly."

Sam grinned, "Good for you, family is important."

"I agree," Anna smiled down at his books, "Now. Sam Winchester, I'm getting you a library card."

She asked him some questions, and soon enough he had a new shiny blue card with his name on it, and four new books under his arm.

"Thank you, Anna." Sam called out over his shoulder, pleased that at least the people in the town seemed friendly thus far.

He was still early to work, although definitely a more acceptable definition of early (fifteen minutes), and Gabriel immediately handed him a coffee. "Hey, Sam. Today we're going to get you going on our machines behind the counter, which isn't as hard as stocking, but more to remember. Sound good?"

"Yeah, sounds great." Sam smiled easily. As infuriating as Gabriel could be -he wasn't kidding when he said he was usually the one who pulled the pranks- he was extremely easy to get along with.

Sam followed behind him, and he thought that perhaps he could learn to really like the life he was creating here.

Not love it. That possibility didn't really exist any more, not in a world without Jessica. But he could like it.


Two months, seven whoopee cushions, two permanently dyed hands, and twelve -twelve!- sharpie moustaches later, and Sam was officially a full time member of staff at the Bump N' Grind coffee shop. More surprisingly, Sam had made three friends so far; Gabriel Novak, who was now simply Gabe; Anna Milton, who had impeccable taste in books, and if Sam wasn't so completely uninterested he would totally be asking her out on a date; and Castiel Novak, Gabe's blood brother and Anna's step brother.

Sam liked Castiel enough, but there wasn't a whole lot of conversation when it was just the two of them. In a way, they were sort of alike, both fairly shy and quiet; generally more interested in books than people. Still, Castiel was kind and intelligent, and Sam was grateful to have as many friends as he could. Plus, being on the in with the Novak-Milton family had some serious perks; for one, there was always a movie marathon to be had, and Sam had never had so much of a social life as he suddenly found himself having now.

The downside (major downside, really) was the other siblings of the family. Raphael, Uriel, and Lucifer (Sam had asked about that name, and all he had gotten was a dark look from Gabe and a "my family has religion issues") Milton, and Michael Novak. Basically they were all insufferable, although Michael more in a stick-up-his-ass way, and the others in a could-kill-me-with-a-thought way. Sam was honestly terrified of them, and he usually wasn't such a wimp.

"Gabe, we need more soy in here!" Sam called to the back office, and Gabriel popped his head out.

"Crate in the stock room, can't miss it." His voice was annoyed, and he shut his office door without a second look. It was bizarre behavior, especially for Gabe, who while moody was usually friendly to the point of being creepy and awkward. Sam went for the crate and found the soy milk easily, putting it in the fridge. It wasn't busy by any means in Bump N' Grind, seeing as it was a Wednesday afternoon around 3. All the rushes were over, except for the after dinner date rush, which was Sam's least favorite because it meant happy couples.

"Sam." Gabe called him, and Sam returned to the back office to see Gabriel standing in the doorway. He looked incredibly exhausted, and more than a little pissed.

"What's up?" Sam asked, unsure what was making his boss -and best friend, truth be told- feel so down. It was unusual to see such a somber look on Gabriel's face, and Sam had gotten quite used to, and fond of, his infectious sense of humour.

Gabe gestured him inside the office and Sam plopped into the seat he had officially claimed as his. He spent most of his free time at work in here with Gabe anyway. Gabriel didn't sit in his office chair, he paced.

Definitely weird behaviour.

"Sam," Gabe started, then cursed, "shit!"

Sam stared blankly, "Gabe, what's wrong?"

Finally, Gabriel stopped pacing and leaned against the desk. His face was drawn and resigned.

"Sam. I'm sorry that I have to tell you this, before you were ready to tell me." Gabriel sighed heavily, "Police just called from California."

Sam felt all the breath leave his body, and his face go pale, "Why?" It was barely a whisper.

"They closed Jessica's case, can't find the drunk driver who hit her. Car was stolen." Gabriel was silent for a moment, "You should have told me."

Sam's emotions are all over the place, and he can't understand the building and immense relief that storms through him at Gabriel's words. As soon as it's there, it's swept away in the wake of guilt, guilt, so much fucking guilt that Sam is left reeling.

Then he realizes that he feels like the smallest mite of dirt on the ground, not because his past girlfriend's death has caught up to him once again, but because Gabriel thinks he fucking lied to him.

"I didn't want you to pity me." Sam grits out, and manages to meet Gabriel's eyes. He's a wreck. Fuck, he's even more of a wreck than Sam is at this point; his hair is mussed, his permanent smile nowhere to be found, and his hands shaky.

"I don't -shit; I don't pity you, I am sorry, so sorry, that I never knew," he breathes, "but I don't pity you. I'm... is this why you reacted so weird when I asked if you were a murderer? Back when I interviewed you?"

Sam's fists clench, "Yes. I was driving. I lived, she died." End of story. End of Sam's future. End of Jessica's life. End of everything.

Gabriel suddenly sinks to his knees, and he's staring up at Sam whose making a conscious effort to memorize every single detail about the tiling in the office.

"Sammy, Sammy, no." Gabriel breathes, and it sounds like he might be the one to break down, not Sam. "You are not a murderer, not you; my god, you couldn't even stand to put mice traps out last week, I had to trap them humanely and ship them off just so you weren't put out with me!"

"I'm not a murderer -not on purpose." Sam says.

Gabe's stare is intense, and Sam hates himself for the warmth rising in his chest, and the happiness he didn't intend to find here settling into his heart. "I wouldn't be friends with a murderer."

"You didn't know until now." Sam whispers.

Gabe rocks back on his heels, as if Sam had physically struck him with those words. "This Jessica. She loved you, yes?"

Sam glances sharply at him. "Yes."

"And you loved her?"

Sam nodded thickly.

"More than anything?" Gabriel's eyes are darker, darker than Sam has ever seen them. Midnight on a tired face, full of nothing but friendship and acceptance. There was no pity there. It catches Sam by surprise, and nearly makes his next word a lie as it comes out of his mouth.

"Yes."

Gabriel smiles, the first one in a while, and it's sad, and tired, and more than a little exasperated, as if he's annoyed that Sam's being so stupid.

"And if this Jessica loved you the way you loved her, don't you think she would be proud of what you're doing here? Happy that you have a job, and friends, and a brother? Happy that you are, on the occasion you allow yourself to be, happy?"

Sam sinks his face into his hands, and he can feel Gabriel stand up beside him. His hand is warm on his shoulder, and Sam wants to hate himself for leaning into the touch, but he can't quite manage it.

"Take the rest of the day off." Gabe's words are soft. "Don't think this excuses you from movie night tomorrow. We're all coming over at six, so be ready."

Without another word he disappears from the office, leaving Sam to deal with his resignation over Gabe's new knowledge, and the shocking feeling of relief upon hearing about Jess' case. With it being open like that, even while Sam was nowhere near the state of California, it had felt wrong to try to move on. Other people were still trying to help her, to save her, so why couldn't Sam do the same?

It was laid to rest now, and that left Sam feeling angry, and upset, and relieved, and hurt. It also left him to deal with the troubling new emotion that had shocked Sam beyond all belief: attraction.

Gabriel Novak; annoying, short, egotistical, candy-addicted, perfect, fucking gorgeous Gabriel, who had just managed to carve a small (gigantic, huge, crater of a space) place into Sam's heart for him.

Sam resolutely moved to his feet, took a deep breath, and exited out the back of the shop. He would go home, feed Zeppelin, call Dean, and go to sleep early. He would not think about Jess. He would not think about Gabriel. He would not have nightmares. He would not spend an inordinate amount of time in his shower with his imagination and Gabriel's amazing eyes and incredible shoulders-

Well. Sam would just go to sleep.

His apartment was a welcome sight, with his books spread on his table and his laptop sitting on the couch. Zeppelin was cowering under the armchair, and Sam was surprised to see her do so. She was very affectionate when it came to Sam, and she had even grown to like Castiel, Anna, and Gabriel.

That's when Sam saw the duffel bag sitting by the door to his room, and he managed to not freak out and scream like a panicked girl. Thankfully, Sam remembered at least half of what his late father had attempted to teach him, and he was no slacker in a fight. John Winchester didn't have weak sons, and marine training had taught him how to toughen them up appropriately. Sam had almost been glad when he had died, and that had only made the guilt worse.

Still, Sam approached his room as if it contained a biohazard chemical spill, and he barely stopped himself from throwing the hardest punch he could manage when a familiar figure appeared in front of him.

Self satisfied smirk, green eyes, freckles, and an ego that could match Gabriel's any day.

"Hey, Sammy! You miss me, or what?" Dean grinned, and Sam suddenly realized how complicated life could get in a matter of a day.

Well, shit. He'd just been boned by the fickle finger of fate.


A/N: Sorry for the lengthy update time, I got caught up on a couple new story ideas and nano is kicking my ass! But enjoy this, and get ready for destiel introssss :)