Hi everyone !
I'm back with another S13 coda. I was left very frustrated after the end of this episode. Don't get me wrong, I'm super thriller Gabriel is back, but... That's Mr non-existent self-worth who annoyed me. Dean just left on the spurr of the moment, leaving Gabriel and the rift to Sam, without even discussing with his brother. It annoyed me to no end before I calmed down a bit and thought about it more. It still isn't great, but Dean's actions make a bit more sense to me. Nonetheless, I let some of that frustration leak in this.
Anyway, I will stop ranting and let you to your reading.
Gabriel. Gabriel was in the bunker, shaking like a leaf. Alive. That was impossible. He died all those years ago in that hotel. Lucifer killed him. Surely they would have heard if Gabriel had been alive. The angels would have known too.
Sam alternatively shot glances at Ketch and the figure hunched over itself in the chair, "No, no that's impossible. He…he's dead. We… we saw him die."
"Or did you ?" asked the British. Well. It was true that they never saw him being killed but…
"What'd you do to him?" Dean asked suddenly, interrupting his train of thoughts.
"Not me. Asmodeus." Asmodeus !? "The Prince was holding him prisoner until I liberated the poor man. And I understand you may need an archangel for a spell, perhaps. Well, what luck."
"We need his grace." Sam replied. At that, Gabriel started to panic. He actually started screaming, even though the sound was muffled by… was his mouth sewn shut ?!
Ketch grabbed Gabriel by the shoulder and made him look him in the eye. " No, no, no, no, no. Calm down. Calm down." The archangel still looked panic stricken, but he had stopped screaming. "Nervy." Finally said the man, almost rolling his eyes.
How many times had Ketch done this before now ? Sam looked again at the archangel. Had he not known him, he wouldn't have believed it was Gabriel. He looked so afraid. The hunter's attention was brought back on the British when he put a hand in his jacket. He and his brother raised their guns again -he hadn't realised his hand had completely fallen down. But Ketch wasn't getting a weapon, only a vial filled with glowing light that he put carefully on the table.
"Here. Take that. And, uh..." Could it really be that simple ? A vial of archangel grace, at their disposal ? Ketch made another reaching movement and pulled out … "The archangel blade."
Okay. Now it was too good to be true. "Why would you…" Sam started, then shook his head. Ketch had to want something. "What's the catch? What do you want? "
A couple of minutes later, his brother and Ketch left the entrance of the bunker, leaving him alone with the frightened archangel. The younger Winchester made his way slowly towards Gabriel. Once he was within reach, Sam crouched down to look at him at eye level.
"Gabriel, do you recognise me ?" The angel just frowned, as if trying to remember something but not quite managing to put his finger on it. "It's Sam. Sam Winchester." Gabriel lifted and slightly tilted his head like Castiel. They were making progress. "You... you used to call me Samsquash sometimes. Or Sammy."
Finally, a flicker of acknowledgment passed in Gabriel's eyes and he nodded. He seemed relieved for a moment before fear got into his eyes once again.
"Hey hey hey. It's ok, calm down. Nobody's going to hurt you anymore. I promise. You're safe here." Sam said, trying to appear calm instead of panicked as he was inside.
Gradually, Gabriel started to relax. Good. They wouldn't achieve anything otherwise. Sam had no idea what to do with the archangel, especially not in this state, but one thing was for sure : he needed to free his mouth. It looked horrendous, and very painful. And like that Gabriel would be able to communicate. If his mind wasn't too far gone. Sam had no idea since when Gabriel had been kept prisoner, but the angel showed every single sign of torture. The younger Winchester could relate.
"Gabriel" Sam started, "I'm gonna... take care of your mouth." That sounded wrong. "I'm going to get the first aid kit and cut the stitches. Is that okay with you ?" The whiskey-eyed man seemed wary but he nodded nonetheless.
"That's great." Sam stood up. "Here, come sit in the library." Gabriel stood up as well and wobbled on his feet. The hunter pointed at one of the chairs by the first table and waited for Gabriel to sit in it. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Don't move."
As soon as he wasn't in eyesight, Sam dropped every pretence of calm and started jogging towards the infirmary. What the hell was their lives now ?
Sam sat across Gabriel in the library. Upon seeing him all bloody, hunched over himself and shaking, the severity of the situation hit him. The archangel was once so powerful. He had played with the brothers, hurt them, had been a general nuisance but had helped them in their fight against the apocalypse. Had died for that. Or well, only seemed to die apparently. How did this happen ?
Deciding it was not a question to be answered immediately – Gabriel couldn't speak anyway- Sam mentally shook himself for what was to come. He rubbed his hands on his face and opened their first aid metal box, whiskey eyes following every move. Gabriel flinched upon seeing sharp objects, so the hunter lifted his hands in a placating manner.
"It's okay Gabriel. You're safe here. Nobody is going to hurt you anymore." Well. Maybe Sam shouldn't have said that, because the stitches on the archangel's mouth didn't look like they would come off easily. Thankfully he had thought to take a scalpel on top of the rest.
Sam took out the scalpel, tweezers and scissors out of the box.
"Ok Gabriel. I'm going to try to take those off with the scissors first. Alright ?"
The archangel nodded. Okay. right. Here went nothing. As gently as he could, telescoping his movements, Sam grabbed Gabriel's chin. He looked in the angel's eyes. They were fearful, but at the same time ... there was that something else. Trust, maybe ? Or maybe that's what his brain wanted him to see.
Anyway, this had to be done. Sam slowly approached the pair of scissors to Gabriel's mouth and opened it to trap the stitches in between. He closed the metal jaws and... nothing happened. He tried again, a third time... nothing. Sighing, he put the scissors on the table and took the scalpel.
"Ok. As I thought, it didn't work, so I'm going to have to use the scalpel." Gabriel took a sharp intake of breath at that. "It's ok Gabriel, I'm not going to hurt you."
Sam waited for the archangel to relax a bit before he approached him again. Slowly, careful not to startle or hurt Gabriel, he slid the scalpel in between the stitches. He repressed a shudder of horror. How could somebody do a thing that, seriously ?
Sam gently tugged on the wire, which elicited a pained whimper from Gabriel. "Try to purse your lips, hit should come more easily." For a few seconds there was no change, but then the archangel complied. He tried again, this time a bit more forcefully, and broke the first stitch. Yes ! It worked ! With a renewed faith, Sam approached the second wire.
As Sam slowly cut the stitches, a dozen of scenarios went through his mind. He was in the middle of his task when he finally questioned the archangel, not really expecting an answer. "Gabriel… Man, what happened to you ?"
He never got the chance to have one anyway, as Dean finally reappeared just at this moment.
Sam was pissed by Dean's behaviour but tried not to show it to avoid frightening the archangel more than he already was. He was almost done here, his venting could wait a bit. Finally, after some long few minutes, the hunter pulled out the last bit of wire with the tweezers.
"Here we go. That was the last bit." Sam said, cracking his neck.
Gabriel looked at him then opened his mouth experimentally. His eyes widened when he found out he was able to do so, and so he did it several times. A small smile formed then, and he looked up, gulped visibly and grabbed Sam's forearm. He squeezed it and nodded at the same time.
Sam smiled in return and stood up. The guy was obviously very low on angel mojo, because he hadn't even tried to remove the stitches himself. So he would probably function like a human for some time. That meant sleep, food and hygiene routine. Sleeping would have to wait a bit, the time for Sam to set up a room – they thankfully had cleared most of them-, food probably wouldn't be happily viewed… that left him with the last part. "How about we get you freshened up a bit ?"
The archangel frowned, but stood up. Sam led him to the shower room and started talking once Gabriel stepped inside.
"Alright, so we have fresh towels in the cupboard on the right wall, soap and other stuff by the sinks, and the shower cabins are over there." Sam explained, pointing out different directions. The hunter washed his hands, then went to leave the room. "Wash your hands, face, or take a shower... It's up to you. I will come back and put clean clothes in a couple of minutes. Come back to the library when you're done. Okay ?"
Gabriel nodded, and the hunter left him to go find clothes. Five minutes later, a small pile was deposed in the shower room, and Sam was headed towards the library. There, he saw his phone laying down on the table and his mind jumped to Cas. Dammit. They had forgotten to tell him. Sam sighed then unlocked his phone and opened the text app.
Come back to the bunker as soon as you can. Could use your help. You're in for a shock.
Ominous, yes, but that would pick the angel's curiosity. Now, onto cleaning. He needed supplies from the kitchen.
A couple minutes later found Sam angrily starting to swipe the table clean of Gabriel's blood. He was alone, he could let his anger show. Dean was in the alternate universe with Ketch, and here he was, playing nurse to an archangel. While he understood the necessity of somebody staying with Gabriel, he was still pissed at Dean. His brother had apparently decided that as the big brother he got to take all the decisions. Well too bad they're weren't kids anymore, they were two equally capable hunters. Two grown men capable of taking decisions. But no, Dean had decided to go there alone. Well, he had backup, Ketch of all people, but still.
Stupid Dean and his stupid sacrificing self. Sam thought his brother had slowed down on that behaviour since Cas' return, but clearly, he had been wrong. That, or Dean still felt guilty about not doing anything for months to find their mom because he believed she was dead. Maybe both.
Sam finished cleaning the table and utensils, then put everything back in the metal box. He went to the library to put it away and found a better-looking Gabriel waiting in the room when he came back. The hunter shook himself mentally and gave their guest a small smile. He gestured for Gabriel to follow him and engaged in the Bunker's corridors, in direction of Dean's bedroom. They passed it and stopped in front of another one, a few meters down. Sam opened the door to room 15 and held it open to let Gabriel in.
"This is Castiel's room. You can stay here for now."
The archangel jerked his head up at the mention of the other angel and was now looking at him with wide eyes.
"I asked him to come. I figured it would be nice for you to have a familiar face, right ? And to be honest, he could help me a bit here." Help with the archangel, moral support because of his brother -even though Cas was going to be angry as well-, help guard the freaking rift leading to another dimension they had in the middle of the bunker… Pick your favourite.
The archangel's gaze was still on him, so the hunter continued. "Is that okay with you ?" He asked softly. Gabriel gave him a small nod in answer. It wasn't much, but it was still communication.
"I'll let you rest a bit while I watch he rift. I'll come to check on you later."
Gabriel still didn't say anything but entered the room. Sam waited for him to sit on the bed and closed the door. He then went to the library and sat at the table closest to the door.
Sam was now waiting for Cas' arrival and Dean's return -hopefully with their mom and Jack- in front of an inter-dimensional rift, in an underground bunker where the only other occupant was a traumatized archangel. Again, what the hell was their lives ?