Gabriel walked into the garden, where Sam had told him he was spending all his days. Gabriel was sure he'd find his son here. He really came just to prove that he was right, and Metatron was a liar.
Gabriel found Joshua tending to some flowers several feet away. "Joshua."
Joshua turned and smiled when he saw the youngest archangel. "Gabriel! It's good to see you!"
"You too, Joshua," Gabriel said as he walked towards him. He briefly shook his hand. Joshua was one of his favorite seraphs. He missed him. "I should've come by to see you sooner. I've wanted to thank you how well you've treated my son.
"Of course. Sam is an extraordinary boy, albeit angry. I should admit that I don't know how I would've reacted to him if I didn't know for sure that God accepted him," Joshua said.
Gabriel shook his head. "I know you, Joshua. You would've at least given him a chance."
"I would like to think so," Joshua said.
"Where is he? I just need to talk to him for a second," Gabriel said. Proving himself right wasn't the only reason he came looking for Sam. He also wanted to warn Sam away from Metatron. If they had crossed paths, he wanted to try to ensure it didn't happen again. He didn't trust that bastard around his kid.
"Sam? I don't know. He isn't here," Joshua said.
"Maybe he got past you," Gabriel said. His stomach began to twist a little bit as he heard from Joshua that he had not seen his son, but as he said, Joshua just might not have seen him.
Joshua shook his head. "There is rarely anyone the garden besides myself. If he'd come through, I would've felt him."
"Was he here yesterday?" Gabriel asked.
"No."
Gabriel took a deep breath as anger began to build a bit. "When's the last time he was here?"
Joshua noticed the building anger, and realized that Sam just might be in some trouble. He hesitated in answering the archangel. He didn't want to make it worse for the young fledgling.
"Joshua," Gabriel pressed firmly and with authority.
"He was here for a few minutes maybe a week ago," Joshua reluctantly answered.
"A week. And before then?" Gabriel asked through gritted teeth. Sam claimed to be going to the garden every day. He'd lied to him.
"A couple of weeks before that. He comes very rarely these days," Joshua said.
"Thank you," Gabriel said before walking away. He was going to find Michael now, and he swore, if he found Sam with him, he was going to kill the kid. No, scratch that. He was already going to kill him just for lying to him. If he found him with Michael, he was going to kill him over and over again.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Gabriel banged loudly on Michael's office door. "Open the damned door!"
Just then, Lucifer's door opened, and he stepped out. "Gabriel? What are you doing?"
Gabriel turned to his brother. "I need to see Michael. Now."
Lucifer winced. He could think of only one reason Gabriel would want to talk to Michael. He found out about Sam. Lucifer could only hope that Sam told him, but he doubted it. He was pretty sure Sam was with Michael right now, which wouldn't have happened if Sam told his father the truth. "He's not here right now."
"Where is he?" Gabriel asked.
Lucifer didn't answer. To say he didn't know would be a lie, but he didn't want to tell on Sam, even if he did realize it was probably too late.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes and approached his older brother. He could tell just by his lack of response that Lucifer knew about Sam and Michael, which just pissed Gabriel off even more. "Where is my kid?!"
Lucifer sighed. That was proof enough that Gabriel knew. "He's with Michael."
"Yeah, I figured that much out! Where are they?! And how long have you known?!" Gabriel demanded to know.
"About two and half weeks. Gabriel…"
"Two and a half weeks?! You knew that piece of garbage was consistently around my kid and hid it from me?!" Gabriel asked loudly.
"Gabriel, calm down. Look, you're right to be pissed, but it's not as bad as it seems. Michael didn't…"
"He spent months trying to kill him, Lucifer! How is it not that bad! What would possibly make you think this was a good idea?! Oh, wait, I think I get it. If Michael was around Sam, he wasn't bugging you. You put my kid at risk to keep Michael out of your hair!" Gabriel shouted.
Lucifer's eyes hardened. "Don't even go there, Gabriel! I love Sam. I would never put him in danger for any reason!"
"Where is my son?!" Gabriel demanded to know.
"They're in the training room," Lucifer told him.
"Training? Training what? No, never mind. I'll find out myself!" Gabriel said angrily before he started walking away.
"Gabriel! Look, just try to calm down first!" Lucifer called after him.
Gabriel ignored his brother and continued his way. Fury only increased as he walked and digested everything he'd leaned. His son had been lying to him every single day for weeks. He had been hanging around the brother of Gabriel's that wanted him dead. If all that wasn't enough, Lucifer knew about it and kept it a secret. Basically, he was the last to know what was going on with his own son.
Gabriel stopped at the door of the training room and took a few deep breaths. Grudgingly, Gabriel had to admit that Lucifer was right about him needed to calm down slightly. Right now, he was ready to throttle Sam, and that was nothing compared to what he wanted to do to Michael.
Gabriel walked into the room just in time to see his son conjure fire a few feet between himself and Michael. If Gabriel made any progress at all with his temper, it all disappeared in that moment. Sam had hidden a power from him. He just kept piled the crap higher and higher.
"Good, you're improv…" Michael cut himself off as he felt the added presence in the room. He turned to see his younger brother several feet away.
Sam followed Michael's gaze. He wished he hadn't. His dad was here, and he was pissed.
"Someone should've told me there was a party," Gabriel said. His voice was calm, but anyone who knew him knew he was none to pleased. Michael remained quiet. He knew his brother was pissed, and speaking would've just made things worse for Sam. He felt no reason to do that.
Sam didn't take Michael's cue. He felt the need to say something. "Dad…"
Gabriel quickly raised a hand, letting his son know he did not want to hear it, and then he approached the kid.
Sam fought the urge to step back as his father advanced on him. He'd never seen his father this angry before. He had totally and completely screwed up this time.
"Go. Home," Gabriel said slowly in dangerously low tone. "So help me if you're not there when I get back!"
Sam gulped, but couldn't seem to get his legs to move.
"Now!" Gabriel growled.
That was all it took. Sam quickly scrambled to the door.
When Sam was gone, Gabriel grabbed Michael by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the nearest wall. "What did you think you were doing?!"
Michael could've stopped Gabriel, but he didn't. he decided to let his brother get some of his anger out. "Exactly what it looked like. I was teaching him."
"You have no business going anywhere near my son! What is your game?! You didn't do this out of the kindness of your heart. You wouldn't know what either of those things are. What, were you trying to make him miserable?" Gabriel asked angrily. He wouldn't put it past Michael to do this just to this just so he could tell Sam how evil he was.
"I was trying to protect Heaven," Michael answered.
"My son is not a danger!" Gabriel exploded.
"He is if he can't control his power," Michael retorted. It wasn't even a jab. It was just a fact.
"Stay away from my son! Any control he needs to learn will not be taught by you!" Gabriel snarled before punching his brother in the face. He let him fall to the floor and then he left.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Sam paced the living room anxiously. He was screwed, and he knew it. His father and figured everything out and he was livid. What the hell had he been thinking? Well, he knew what he was thinking. He didn't feel he could effectively train his fire power with his father. He would've been too afraid of hurting him. He had barely been able to train it with Michael for a while. So keeping it a secret seemed perfectly logical. Of course, that was before his father knew and was ready to explode. It no longer sounded like the best idea.
Sam really wished he'd at least taken Lucifer's advise when he told him to tell the truth. His dad would still be totally pissed, but it probably wouldn't be as bad as it was now. He really should've known that if Lucifer thought it was a bad idea, it was probably a bad idea. The guy was a textbook example defying one's father.
The door suddenly burst open and slammed closed, causing Sam to flinch and turn to face his father.
"Sit down! Now!" Gabriel yelled as he pointed to the couch.
"Dad, I'm…"
"Do not tell me you're sorry because you're not! You are sorry I caught your ass, that's all!" Gabriel cut off.
"No, that's not…"
"I said sit!" Gabriel commanded loudly.
Sam went over to the couch and sat down.
"Tell me how long," Gabriel ordered.
"Almost six weeks," Sam said timidly.
Gabriel felt his anger get even worse. His son had been lying to him for over a month. He'd lied every damned day. He'd told him he went to the garden. Worse, he'd used missing Dean as an excuse for it. "So where should I start, huh, Sam? With the fact that lied to me every day for six weeks? That you hid an extremely dangerous power from me? Or how about the fact that you were working with Michael? Michael!"
"Dad, I…"
"No, actually, I think I'll start by saying that when I was told what you were doing, I didn't believe it. I was sure it wasn't true. I couldn't even fathom that my son would betray my trust so amazingly," Gabriel said angrily.
Sam looked down at his hands in shame. He couldn't deny those words. That was exactly what he'd done.
"Eyes!" Gabriel shouted, indicating for Sam to look at him.
Sam immediately lifted his head back up. "Dad, I'm sorry. I just wanted…"
"I don't wanna hear it," Gabriel immediately cut off.
"I'm just trying to explain what…"
"I'm not listening to explanations right now. I couldn't even believe an explanation from you. I can't believe a word that comes from your lips," Gabriel said. That truly was the worst part. The Michael thing infuriated him, as did hiding powers from him, but none of it compared to the non-stop lies. He'd told Sam over and over again that lies meant distrust. He'd thought he finally gotten through to him, but obviously not. The lies just seemed to get bigger and bigger.
Sam flinched. Those words cut more than anything. His father didn't trust him, not even enough to let him explain himself. He knew he deserved some distrust, but he felt like he should at least be able to explain what happened and why.
Seeing no point in continuing this, Sam started to get up.
"Where do you think you're going? We're not through," Gabriel said firmly.
"You won't let me explain myself. What is there left to say?" Sam asked, with a bit of defiance in his voice. He was getting mad himself. He should at least be listened to.
Gabriel glared at Sam for even having the nerve to think of using that tone with him right now. "Oh, I have plenty left to say to you. Sit your ass back down!"
Sam lowered himself back onto the couch.
"For the most part, I've treated you like an adult, right? Aside from when it comes to safety, I pretty much let you make your own decisions, haven't I?" Gabriel asked.
Sam nodded. The only time his dad really gave orders was when he thought there was a danger.
"The only thing I asked of you is honesty and respect. You can't seem to give me either," Gabriel said.
"I haven't disrespected you," Sam protested.
"Lies are disrespect! This is not going to continue! I will not allow it! If that means things have to change between us, so be it," Gabriel said firmly.
"What does that mean?" Sam asked with fear in his voice.
"Maybe I've been doing this wrong. Maybe treating you like an adult isn't the best idea. After all, not all of you is an adult, and you can't seem to act like one, so I don't think you deserve to be treated like one. So, here's the way things are going to be. You've lost every freedom you had around here. Until I see fit, you will not leave this house without me, not for any reason. Is that understood?" Gabriel asked.
"No, you can't…"
"If you know what's good for you, you will not finish that sentence! Oh, and I don't think I need to tell you this, but your sessions with Michael are one hundred percent over. You'll train with me from now on," Gabriel told him.
"Dad, I can't train with…" Sam started, but one glare from his father immediately shut him up.
"I'm sorry, were you saying something, son?" Gabriel asked in a tone that meant there would be hell to pay if Sam continued to argue.
Sam quickly shook his head.
"I didn't think so."
"Can I go into the other room now," Sam asked. He couldn't take any more. He wanted to be alone, so he could drown in misery. Plus, he was getting mad himself and figured it wouldn't be a good idea to be around his dad anymore.
"I would strongly recommend it," Gabriel said.
Sam got up and quickly left the room.
Gabriel sat down on the couch and rubbed his hands over his face. Tears began to fall as the hurt and anger at the damaged relationship with his son took its toll.