Michael had set up rooms for Sam and Gabriel right off of Gabriel's office. There was now a sitting room, as well as a bedroom for Sam that the boy was currently sleeping in. Gabriel would be able to add anything more than he wanted when he returned.
Michael was currently sitting on the couch as he waited for his father and younger brother to arrive. He found himself contemplating the changes that occurred in such a short time. His father and brother were returning, and there was now an added family member. Michael wondered if things were finally turning around for their family.
Michael soon heard a flutter of wings. Before he even realized what was happening, he was yanked from his seat by a pair of hands. He immediately recognized his brother's Grace in the human vessel.
"Where is my son?!"
"Gabriel…"
"If you've laid a hand on my him, I'll kill you!" Gabriel shouted
Chuck soon appeared. "Gabriel, let go of your brother now!"
"Gabriel, he's fine. I wouldn't hurt him," Michael swore.
"Yeah, I'm sure! You've been all about carrying out Dad's will from the moment you were created! You'd do anything, even target an innocent little boy! I will kill you if you hurt him!" Gabriel yelled.
"I said let go of him!" Chuck said before getting in the middle and physically separating the two archangels. He kept a firm grip on his younger son's arm. "You need to calm down and listen to me! No one has or will harm your child. I won't allow it."
"You're telling me that you don't want my son executed for being what he is?" Gabriel asked, not really believing him. His father never made rules just to disregard them later.
"I told you, if I wanted him hurt, it would've been done already. I won't deny considering it when the child was first born," Chuck admitted.
Gabriel stiffened and hissed at his father's words.
"But as soon as I knew he wasn't a threat, I left the situation alone. I didn't bring him here to hurt him," Chuck promised.
"He won't be hurt, Gabriel, I promise. I'll never hurt him, and neither will anyone else," Michael added.
"Where is he?" Gabriel demanded to know. He wasn't going to believe anything anyone said until he saw for himself that his son was okay.
Michael pointed past the living room to a small hallway. "There's a room down the hall. He's sleeping."
Gabriel dislodged his arm from his father's grasp and heading to the direction Michael pointed to. He walked until he found the only door around and quietly went inside. He finally began to relax as he saw his son sleeping without any sign of injury. Well, he was pretending to be sleeping anyway. Gabriel could tell from his quickened heartbeat that the boy was awake and had probably heard a lot of the fighting.
Gabriel went to the boy's side and spoke softly. "Hey, Sammy. It's okay, I know you're awake. Don't be afraid, everything's fine."
Sam hesitantly turned onto his back and opened his eyes to find yet another person he didn't know. "Who are you?"
"My name's Gabriel," he told him. He hated that he had to tell his own son who he was. He hated that Sam didn't know him, that Gabriel had had to allow someone who was completely unworthy to raise his son. "Did you hear us fighting?"
Sam nodded. He didn't hear much of what was said, but he'd heard a lot of yelling.
"I'm really sorry about that. I was upset about something and it made me angry. I didn't mean to scare you," Gabriel said. He felt bad. He never wanted to scare his son. He'd just been so worried about him. Everything he'd feared seemed to become a reality, so he lost it for a bit.
"It's okay," Sam said. He wasn't scared anymore. This man seemed nice now that he wasn't yelling anymore.
"Are you alright, kiddo? Has everyone been nice to you?" Gabriel said. Sam seemed fine, but he wanted to make sure. He didn't really trust Michael or his father, not after eight years of being afraid of what they'd do to his son.
"Yeah. Uncle Michael's nice, but he won't take me home," Sam said sadly.
Gabriel was taken aback for a second by the way his son referred to his brother. He never thought he'd hear the boy refer to Michael as 'Uncle'. It was technically what he was, but Gabriel never saw him that way. All he ever saw was an enemy in regard to Sam. Hell, that was what he'd seen him as in regard to most things for many years.
"Are you my uncle too?" Sam asked.
"No, but I am your family. We can talk more about who I am another time. I think you should go back to sleep. It's pretty late," Gabriel said. Honestly, a huge part of him wanted to grab Sam and get him out of there. Despite the fact that nothing had happened so far, he was still scared. But he knew his father wouldn't let him go. Gabriel wasn't delusional enough to think he could outrun God himself.
"Will you take me home please? I want to be with may dad and brother," Sam said.
Gabriel sat down on the side of the bed next to his son and smiled sadly. "This has been pretty scary, hasn't it? You were taken away to a place you've never been and told about family you didn't know you had."
"Yeah. Please take me home. It was an accident," Sam asked. He was going to ask everyone he met until someone brought him home. He just wanted to get back to his family, especially Dean. His big brother was probably really worried by now.
"What was an accident, kiddo? Did someone get hurt," Gabriel asked. He wondered if Sam's powers had been realized or something and he accidently hurt someone. Gabriel could tell that the boy's Grace was a tad bit stronger. It wasn't much stronger, but as someone who'd watched over him as much as he could, he could tell. It would explain his father suddenly getting involved. But Gabriel remembered his father saying he didn't think Sam posed any kind of threat. He wouldn't say that if Sam had hurt someone.
"I was only hurt for a minute, and it wasn't that bad. Then my grandpa made it stop hurting," Sam said.
Gabriel frowned. "You were hurt? How'd you get hurt?" Gabriel asked.
Sam looked away. He didn't want to say. If he told this new person, he probably wouldn't let him go home either.
Gabriel gently took Sam by the chin and turned him back to him. "I need you to answer me, Sam."
"I…I was bad. I talked back," Sam said.
"John hit you?" Gabriel asked. He had to work really hard not to lose it. He didn't want Sam to see him angry, especially after just meeting him, but Gabriel was ready to murder John Winchester. He'd hated the bastard from pretty much the moment Mary Winchester died. He'd emotionally abandoned to young boys to get revenge. He put them in danger over and over again. Gabriel had many times thought of taking his son away from John, but the danger Michael posed was always greater than the one John did. He couldn't risk taking him and someone finding out. He could protect Sam from John's neglect from afar when he had to. However, he wouldn't under any circumstances stand for John hitting his son. He'd kill the bastard for touching Sam.
Sam watched the stranger in front of him. The man wasn't saying anything, but Sam could tell that he was getting mad. "Don't be mad. I'm sorry."
"I'm not angry with you, kiddo," Gabriel assured him.
"But you're mad at my dad, aren't you?" Sam asked.
"Yes," Gabriel said honestly. "He shouldn't have hit you, and I promise, he never will again." As far as he was concerned, all bets were officially off. It didn't matter what happened with his brother or father. No one would ever get away with putting a hand on his son. John Winchester would never touch him again. Hell, Gabriel would seriously be debating whether he even let the hunter live after this.
"It won't happen again. Please let me go home," Sam begged.
Gabriel sighed. It broke his heart to hear his son beg to go home to someone who'd hit him. It didn't surprise him though. Children like Sam often defending the actions of an abusive parent. No matter what they did, the kids still loved their parents.
Gabriel brought the covers up to Sam's shoulder's. "We'll talk more tomorrow, okay? You need to get some sleep."
Sam groaned, but he closed his eyes. He was too tired to argue any longer. He really did need to sleep.
Gabriel sat there until his son fell asleep and then left the room. We walked back out to find his father and brother waiting for him. "What exactly did the son of a bitch do to him."
Chuck sighed. "When you're not there, I try to be. I can't be there every second you're not, but I do my best."
Under other circumstances, Gabriel could've laughed. He'd worked to keep his family from Sam, and he hadn't even succeeded for a second. His father didn't only know about Sam the whole time, he'd been around him.
"I witnessed a fight that John Winchester was having with Sam. Sam said something that John didn't like, but was nevertheless true, and John smacked him across the face," Chuck explained.
"It wasn't the first time. Sam told me he'd been stuck once before as well," Michael added.
Chuck sighed. Like he told Gabriel, he tried to be there, but couldn't always. That first slap must have happened the rare moments then he and Gabriel weren't around.
Gabriel wanted to scream and trash the room, but that would disturb his son. The boy was frightened enough being in an unfamiliar environment and having already heard him yell. He didn't want to make it worse. But he was so angry, both at Winchester and himself. He never should've left Sam with John. The moment Mary died, he should've taken his son away. He was just so worried about what Michael would do.
"Son, I know you were upset, but I think you will even find now that this was for the best. John Winchester was never an ideal guardian, but this was unacceptable. I couldn't allow my grandson to be abused," Chuck said.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes at his father. He wasn't wrong, but in Gabriel's eyes, this was his fault as well. "It's because of you that I had to leave Sam with him. I was trying to protect him from your laws. And you knew that the whole time. You could've said something. You could've let me know that you wouldn't hurt him."
"I believed it was better that way. He wouldn't have the best childhood, but I could see his future. I could see the lives he'd changed. He was going to change how this world ended up," Chuck said.
Gabriel hissed angrily. "It is not my son's job to maneuver the world to how you want it to be! He is a little boy! That's his only job! You were going to ruin his life to achieve your ends?! Did you even care what happened to him?!"
"Gabriel, you need to calm yourself," Michael said. He could understand his brother's anger, but he couldn't talk to their father like this. It was disobedience and it would be judged harshly.
"If I didn't care, I wouldn't have removed him. Nothing was worth letting me be abused. I brought him home and I made it clear that he wasn't to be harmed," Chuck said.
"Yeah, great. You're just eight years late," Gabriel said irritably. "Get out of here. I want to be alone."
"Alright, but you're not to leave. Sam needs to remain here," Chuck said before disappearing.
"Gabriel," Michael started.
"I don't want to talk right now, Michael," Gabriel said.
"Okay. I just want you to know that I won't ever do anything to hurt your child," Michael promised.
"Now you won't," Gabriel said. It was great that Michael wouldn't hurt his son. He could breath the first sign of relief in eight years. But he wasn't delusional. He knew that if his father had said otherwise, Michael would have come after Sam. "Please leave for now."
Michael nodded and headed out of the room.