Sam walked out of his room after getting dressed for the day and headed downstairs. It had been almost two months since Gabriel had brought him to his house and kept him under near constant watch. Since then, Sam remained determined to get away and finish what he started. He had to be smart about it though. He had to make Gabriel think he was getting better, which wasn't easy, as it was hard for him to pretend he didn't hate everything about his life since Dean died. But he believed he was finally there. Well, close enough anyway. He couldn't pretend things were perfect, but he believed he had Gabriel fooled enough to believe he was making progress.
Sam went downstairs and walked into the kitchen. He found Gabriel by the stove getting ready to make breakfast.
Gabriel turned to Sam. "Hey, kiddo. You're up and dressed pretty early. I was just about to start breakfast. You wanna give me a hand?"
"Uh, actually, I was thinking that maybe we could go out for breakfast or something. You know, back on Earth," Sam sad. This was the moment that would determine if he'd been convincing enough lately. Hopefully Gabriel would trust him enough to take him back to Earth. If he could get that far, he could come up with a plan to get away from Gabriel.
"No," was Gabriel's immediate response. Sam had been doing better lately, but not so much that Gabriel was ready to chance him being out in the real world.
Sam wasn't giving up so easily. He'd been prepared for that initial response. "Please, Gabriel. I gotta get out of here for a little while. I'm crawling the walls. I need a change of scenery. I need to be around other people. Just an hour. Please."
"I don't think you're ready," Gabriel said.
"Well, I can't stay locked up here forever. I have to get used to being out in the world again sometime. I promise, I won't do anything," Sam lied.
Gabriel sighed. This was totally and a hundred percent against his better judgement. He had a bad feeling he was going to regret it. But he had to start giving Sam some leeway eventually. "If I agree to this, you will not leave my side the entire time, got it?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah."
"I'd be showing you quite a bit of trust. If you throw it away, and I find you haven't progressed nearly as much as I thought, we go right back to square one. Do you understand?" Gabriel asked.
"Yes, I understand," Sam said. Essentially, if he got caught, he would be tied down again.
"Would you like to just forget the idea of yours for the time being?" Gabriel asked. If this was some kind of ploy, he wanted to give Sam an out. Honestly, he felt he should still just say no, but he wanted to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. He considered just briefly looking into the hunter's mind, but he didn't want to do that. It was one gift he didn't like using.
"No. I promise, I won't do anything," Sam said as convincingly as he could.
Gabriel sighed and placed a hand on Sam's shoulder before teleporting them both out of the house.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Gabriel and Sam sat in a small diner waiting to be served. Gabriel was still quite a bit worried about this venture. He honestly wasn't sure how this was going to end. Sam had started to improve, but it hadn't been that long since he tried to kill himself. Sure, two months seemed like a while to many, but it wasn't for someone who had the issues Sam had. Sam was very much still a danger to himself. But as long as Gabriel kept Sam close, it should be okay. That's what he told himself anyway.
Sam sat across from Gabriel equally worried. He had a plan to get away from Gabriel so he could do what he'd wanted to for months, but he knew if he was stopped, he would lose every bit of freedom he'd gotten in the last couple of months. He had to make sure he succeeded.
Sam did feel a little bad about what he was about to do. He shouldn't. Gabriel had essentially kidnapped him and locked him up for two months. He should hate him for that, and a part of him did. But he also knew Gabriel was doing all this to save his life. Unfortunately, Sam didn't want to be saved.
"You okay, Sam?" Gabriel asked. He could tell the kid was deep in thought, and it worried him a little more.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam said.
Just then, the waitress came over. "Hi. What can I get you guys this morning?"
Sam looked at the waitress. She had short blond hair and looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties. He couldn't help thinking that the woman was someone Dean would be hitting on if he were here. He could practically see his brother's grin and hear the pick-up lines.
"Sam, you gonna order?" Gabriel asked.
"Uh, I'll take the blueberry pancakes," Sam said.
"I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes. Make sure you load up on those chocolate chips please," Gabriel said.
"Sure. I'll have that to you soon," the waitress said before walking away.
Gabriel turned to Sam, who now had a sad look on his face. "You alright?"
Sam nodded.
"Dean?" Gabriel asked. He was sure this outing was reminding Sam of his brother. The Winchester boys spent a lot of time in diners like this.
"I was thinking that the waitress is Dean's type. He'd be working on getting her number if he here. But he's not. My brother's dead," Sam said.
"Do you wanna leave?" Gabriel asked
"No, I'm fine. I have to get used to doing things without Dean," Sam said. The last part was said as another attempt to get Gabriel to think he was improving. The truth was that he was even more determined to get away and end things. Today was proof that life without Dean wasn't going to get any better. He would just be miserably missing Dean for the rest of his life.
"You sure? We can try again another time," Gabriel said.
"No, I'm okay. Uh, but I need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back," Sam said before getting up. This was the moment. He had to do it now.
"Don't think so, kiddo. I told you, you don't leave my side. I'm coming with you," Gabriel said as he rose from his seat.
"Come on, Gabriel, I'm not gonna do anything," Sam lied.
"It's not up for discussion, Sam. Come on," Gabriel said before leading the way to the bathroom.
Sam followed. He quickly and discreetly grabbed a knife off of one of the empty tables that hadn't been cleaned yet and put it in his pocket.
Gabriel stopped at the Men's room and opened the door to go in.
"Will you at least wait outside?" Sam asked. He had to convince Gabriel to let him go in by himself or there was no way he'd be able to pull this off.
"It's not like I haven't see you go to the bathroom before," Gabriel said.
"Please. There's nothing in there that's dangerous," Sam tried.
Gabriel sighed and peered inside the bathroom to make sure Sam was right about that. He found that he was. There was nothing in there Sam could use to hurt himself. There wasn't even a window he could use to leave from. "Alright, go on."
"Thanks," Sam said before walking inside. He immediately took out the knife he'd taken. He wasn't planning to use it to kill himself. He had to be far from Gabriel for that and find some way to make sure the archangel couldn't simply bring him back.
Sam took the knife and cut his hand. He immediately smeared it into the wall and started drawing the angel banishing sigil. He stopped hesitantly when it came to using it. His guilt at tricking Gabriel came back. Plus, he wondered if the banishment sigil actually hurt the angel it banished. He didn't want to hurt Gabriel. He just needed to get rid of him.
It only took thoughts of Dean to strengthen his resolve. He slapped his hand on the sigil and watched it light up. Tentatively, he let go and walked out of the bathroom. Gabriel was nowhere to be seen.
Sam sighed in relief and walked out. He immediately headed towards the diner exit. It probably wouldn't be long before Gabriel made his way back. Sam couldn't be there when he got back.
