The next day, Sam and Gabriel appeared in front of Bobby's front door. Sam had advised that they knock instead of appearing right in front of Bobby. It was likely he'd attack with a gun or knife. True, Sam knew he personally had nothing to fear and Gabriel wouldn't actually be hurt this way, but he still wanted this to go as smoothly as possible. Of course, that might not be possible with them knocking. Bobby only knew Gabriel as the Trickster and was likely to attack for that reason alone.
"Ready, kiddo?" Gabriel asked.
Sam took a deep breath. He wasn't really all that ready. He was anxious to see his brother again and be faced with either his rejection or his obviously fake acceptance, but he had to do this and figured it was best to get on with it. "Yeah, I'm good."
Gabriel knocked on the door. It was just a few minutes when they heard Bobby struggling to get the door open.
"Damned chair!" Bobby grumbled as he finally got the door open. He stopped abruptly when he saw who was behind it. Sam was there with the Trickster. Normally he would've attack the Trickster, despite his leg problem and the fact that he didn't have the required weapon to hurt him, but he was focused on Sam. The kid was wearing sunglasses and held a cane in his hand. His eyes didn't appear to be focused on a single thing, making it that much more obvious that he was blind. Hearing it was one thing, but it became much more real when you saw it with your own eyes. "Sam?"
"Hi, Bobby," Sam said. He wasn't really sure what else to say.
"Get in here, Boy," Bobby said before moving aside to let them both in.
Sam laughed and used his cane to feel his way inside.
Gabriel walked in after him and shut the door.
"You alright, Sam?" Bobby asked. Yeah, it was a stupid question, but he couldn't help but ask it.
"Yeah, I'm good. I mean, I'm obviously not how I was before, but I'm okay," Sam assured him.
"Come into the living room and sit down. Uh, you need some help? You can hang onto my chair if you need to," Bobby asked. Unfortunately, that was the only help he could offer in his condition.
"No, that's okay. I've got my cane. I'm pretty good at it now and I remember the way to the living room. Thanks though," Sam said.
Bobby led the way into the living room, looking back every so often to make sure that Sam was behind him and the Trickster didn't try anything. He didn't trust him, even if it seemed he was an archangel. Actually, that was more of a reason not to trust him.
Sam nearly bumped into a couple of things along the way, but he made it to the living room.
"The couch is on your left, Sam," Gabriel said when he saw the man start to walk passed it.
Sam felt with his hand for the couch. When he found it, he carefully walked closer and sat down. He soon felt the couch dip next to him and figured it was Gabriel sitting down.
Bobby positioned his chair in front of the two men. He looked at Gabriel. "So archangel, huh?"
Gabriel simply smirked in response.
"So what do you want with Sam?" Bobby demanded to know.
"Bobby, don't. He doesn't want anything from me, okay? He's not like the other angels," Sam said.
"You're saying he's not a dick? As I recall, he stuck you in a time loop so you could relive Dean's death over and over again. Not to mention we know he's killed," Bobby said while continuing to glare at the trickster slash archangel."
Gabriel laughed. "And humans don't kill? You've never killed?"
"I kill monsters!" Bobby growled.
"So do I," Gabriel shot back. "I just stick to the human variety. You know, like those two sons of bitches that tortured Sam and then poured acid down his eyes!"
"Gabriel!" Sam yelled. Bobby didn't need to know exactly what was done to him. He didn't need to have those images.
Bobby flinched and pictured his boy tied up and struggling as those assholes did something like that, forced acid down his eyes. It was sickening just to imagine.
"Tell me, what makes them better than werewolves or vampires or demons?" Gabriel asked.
Bobby had no answer. The Trickster was right. Hell, he'd said himself that if Tim and Reggie were still alive, he'd kill them himself. They were just as monstrous as things he hunted. Hell, they might even be worse. If those were the people Gabriel killed, could he really judge him for it? "Fine. What about what you did to Sam?"
"He was trying to help, Bobby. I hate what he did, but he was trying to put a stop to what we're dealing with now. The apocalypse. He was trying to help me learn to go on without Dean instead of turning to Ruby and starting the end of the world. Unfortunately, I didn't listen," Sam said guiltily.
"Stop it, Sam. We've been over this. Yes, you made a huge mistake, but you know it and it won't happen again. Stop beating yourself up over it," Gabriel said.
"I just keep wishing I'd listened. If I had just done something different then, this wouldn't have happened," Sam said.
"Nothing ever got fixed by playing the 'what if' game. It doesn't help anything. As much as I hate to admit it, Gabriel's right. You gotta let it go," Bobby said.
"Is Dean here?" Sam asked, wanting to change the subject. Although, that subject probably wouldn't be any better.
"Yeah, he's passed out upstairs," Bobby said. Dean used his usual method for dealing with upsetting news. He went bar hopping. He'd come back late last night so drunk he couldn't stand. "He didn't take the news that you were blind very well."
"Is he okay?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, he just got hammered. When Cas and I told him, he exploded. He went into complete denial and took off. He doesn't want to accept it," Bobby said.
"Too bad," Gabriel said before standing up.
"Hey, where the hell do you think you're going?" Bobby asked as he watched Gabriel start out of the room.
"To pull this idiot's head out of his ass," Gabriel said as he left the room.
"It's okay, he won't do anything to him," Sam said. He knew Gabriel was pissed at Dean, but he wouldn't hurt him, if just for Sam's sake.
Bobby sighed. "Sam, I'm so sorry."
"For what?" Sam asked confused. He couldn't think of anything Bobby would have to apologize to him for.
"I sent them to you. If I hadn't put those dicks in your path, this wouldn't happen. You'd be alright," Bobby said.
"Bobby, no! I asked you to send help. You wanted me to do it. I'm the one who insisted you send someone. You didn't know this would happen. This is what I get for starting the apocalypse," Sam said. No matter how hard Gabriel kept trying to convince him he didn't deserve what happened to him, he couldn't help but think he did. He felt like a monster who deserved whatever he got for what he did. It's why he didn't blame Dean for turning on him even though it hurt so much.
"Damn it, boy, don't you ever let me hear you say that again! You did not deserve to be tortured and blinded! Nothing you ever do could warrant that," Bobby said firmly. Was Sam really so messed up by what happened that he believed he deserved a life changing injury because he made a mistake? That just wasn't right. He and Dean should've done something. They should've made sure he knew that what he did wasn't unforgivable. Actually, Bobby thought he had done that, but apparently not.
"What I did was terrible, Bobby," Sam said.
"Trusting a demon wasn't smart, I'll give you that, but you were manipulated by both sides. It's not all on you, and what is isn't as bad as you seem to think," Bobby said.
"Tell Dean that," Sam said under his breath.
As if on cue, at that moment, they both heard what sounded like a bullhorn from upstairs, followed by a yell and a crash to the floor. It seemed Gabriel had gotten Dean up.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Dean had fallen out of bed after being woken up by a loud horn. He grabbed his head as the massive hangover he had immediately made itself known.
Gabriel got rid of the horn he'd snapped up after it did its job. "Up and at 'em, pal."
Dean looked up and saw the Trickster leaning over him. He grabbed the knife from his pants and got up and attacked.
Gabriel knocked the knife out of the hunter's hand just as he raised it and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. He slammed him hard against the wall.
Dean groaned and grabbed his head, which had already been hurting. This was not an ideal way to get up after a night of drinking.
"You're out of your league, bucko. I'm an archangel. There's very little that can kill me, and certainly nothing you could get your hands on," Gabriel said with a smirk.
Dean looked at him in surprise. "An archangel? You're Gabriel?"
Gabriel's smirk widened. "At your service."
"Where's my brother?" Dean demanded to know as he tried and failed to push the angel off of him.
"Oh, you care about your brother now? What? Is him being blinded even a little much for you to ignore?" Gabriel goaded.
"He's not blind!" Dean yelled.
"Oh, I know you don't want him to be. Because then you have to live knowing you pushed him away and this is the result. You'd have to live with knowing that the last time he saw your face, he saw nothing but rejection in it! As much as you deserve that, I wish to Dad that it wasn't like that because he doesn't deserve that," Gabriel said in a tone that held nothing but disgust for this man.
"No!" Dean said as he tried once more to get away. It couldn't be true. He couldn't live his brother being blinded because of him. It was a lie. He had to make it be a lie.
Gabriel pulled him forward and pushed him against the wall again. "Shut up! You don't get to live in denial! This is not about you! You're not the one that gonna live in darkness for the rest of your life! You're not the one who will never see a single thing again! So pull yourself together and deal with the truth! Your brother is blind! Face that fact and get over it! Your brother is downstairs and he's agreed to talk to you."
Dean looked at him surprised. Sam was here? He could finally see his brother and tell him how sorry was. But would it even be enough if his brother was really blind. Could Sam ever forgive him.
Gabriel let go of Dean. "I suggest you pull yourself together and come down and talk to Sam. And I swear to Dad, if I hear one word condemning him for the damn apocalypse, I will smite you!" he swore before heading for the door.