Gabriel appeared right outside Dean's room. He found Bobby sitting in a chair next to the door. "Bobby."
Bobby turned to see Gabriel. "I had a feeling I'd be seeing you." He knew Cas would be reporting what happened to Dean to Gabriel, and the archangel would come down to express his displeasure to Dean. Bobby couldn't blame him either. He had his own displeasure to express.
"What happened?" Gabriel asked.
"He got a chuck taken out of his gut, plus he was banged up a bit. But he's going to be okay. We could've avoided the whole thing if the idjit had taken my advice," Bobby grumbled.
"What was he hunting?" Gabriel asked.
"Werewolves. More than one. It's why I told him to take a partner," Bobby said.
"For the love of Dad! I should just kill them both," Gabriel said to no one in particular as he looked at the ceiling.
"Both? Sam grating on your nerves too?" Bobby asked.
"To put it mildly," Gabriel grumbled. In then told the old hunter what had been going on with Sam in the last month and a half.
"Damn! What the hell was that boy thinking?" Bobby asked. The kid had really outdone himself this time. What was he thinking trusting an angel that wanted to kill him with training him? And then to not even tell anyone. Anything could've happened with that asshole archangel.
"Nothing! Lack of thought is clearly the problem. The kid never thinks of the consequences of his actions!" Gabriel said in frustration.
"That would be a big Winchester trait. It seems even just raised as one brings it out. I'm serious though, what was he thinking? Why'd he do it?" Bobby asked.
"I don't know."
"You didn't make him tell you?" Bobby asked surprised. From what he'd heard, the archangel had no problem exerting his authority with the boys. He was pretty firm as parents went. Bobby found it hard to believe Gabriel wouldn't get his answers.
Gabriel sighed and sat down next to the hunter. "He tried. I wouldn't let him. I'd just found I'd been lied to constantly for six weeks. I didn't really want to hear what he had to say."
"Don't you want to know?" he asked.
"It wouldn't make much difference. I won't change the fact that I can't trust my own son. I do not tolerate lies, and I have been over this with him over and over again," Gabriel said.
"Yeah, I get it. Still, I'd want an explanation. Plus, he deserves the chance to at least explain himself, even if it makes no difference at all," Bobby said.
Gabriel thought about it for a minute. He supposed the old man had a point. Sam should at least get to tell his side of the story. Gabriel doubted it would change much on his position on the matter, but it was only fair that he listen. "I guess I went a little far. I was just too angry to hear anything he had to say."
"I've been there. One time when they were around sixteen and Twelve, John dropped them off for a week. Dean met a group of kids in down and they invited him to a party. He snuck out and took Sam with him. Dean was drinking heavy, and Sam had even had a drink. I nearly throttled them both," Bobby said.
Gabriel smiled. "It actually didn't happen that way. Dean told you that to protect Sam from most of your wrath. Dean never took Sam to that party. Sam followed him. Dean didn't even know he was there for a good hour or so. And Sam didn't consume a drop of alcohol. I made sure of that. I would've stopped him from getting there period If I'd been around for it. I got there just after they got to the party."
"Huh. It doesn't surprise me that Dean would lie for Sam. He'd protect that kid with his life," Bobby said.
"Speaking of Dean, is he unconscious?" Gabriel asked.
"He's in and out. They have him on pain meds," Bobby said.
"Well, I'm gonna go wake him and have a little chat with him," Gabriel said before standing up and heading into the room. He found Dean sleeping in the hospital bed. Gabriel touched his forehead to wake him. He also made sure to take away the side affects of the drugs, while allowing them to continue to numb his pain.
When Dean opened his eyes and saw Gabriel standing over, he knew he was screwed. He wasn't dead, so he knew the archangel was there to ream his ass out. "Hi, Gabriel."
Gabriel smiled falsely, letting Dean know in his own way that he was none too pleased.
"Hi, Dean."
"So how you been?" Dean asked in a half-assed attempt to lighten the mood just slightly.
It didn't' work. Gabriel glared at him. "I've had better days, son. You see my kid just nearly got himself killed by either being stupid or reckless. I haven't figured out which one is worse yet."
Dean was torn between being worried about getting his ass kicked or touched that Gabriel had called him 'son'. In the end, he decided he was a little bit of both. "It's not my fault. The job's dangerous."
"I'm aware of that. That's why I wish you wouldn't do it. However, if you're going to, you need to be careful with it! Which you were not! You were reckless!" Gabriel growled.
"No, I wasn't. I used the same precautions I always have in the past, I swear," Dean said. He couldn't deny there were times when he wanted to be reckless, just for the possibility of joining his family in Heaven, but he never did, mainly because he knew this exact scene would happen.
"Really? So you weren't advised to take a partner, and you didn't decline it?" Gabriel asked with a raised eyebrow.
Dean cringed, and mentally cursed Bobby for ratting him out to his archangel 'adoptive' father. "I…I thought I could do it myself. I swear, I wasn't trying to get killed."
Gabriel looked at him for a minute. He did believe him, but it seemed like there was more to it than that. "I believe you, but I want you to tell me the real reason you didn't take a partner."
"I told you, I thought I could…"
"The truth, Dean," Gabriel said firmly.
Dean sighed. "I…I can't have a partner. It wouldn't be right."
Gabriel grabbed a chair from the corner and brought it over before sitting down. "Why's that, kiddo. You think if you let someone help you, it means your replacing your brother?"
Dean looked away and didn't speak.
"Dean, Sam wouldn't see it that way. He would want you to be safe. That means taking help sometimes. You can't stop living your life because we're not here anymore. You have to go on," Gabriel said.
Dean still remained silent.
"Would you be happy if your brother was miserable without you?" Gabriel asked.
"No, of course not! He's not, is he?" Dean asked worried.
"It's a hypothetical question, Dean. You want your brother to be happy, even without you. He wants the same for you. And he'd want you to take a partner if it kept you safe. You need to promise me that if it looks like you need help, you'll take it," Gabriel said.
"I don't know if I can," Dean said. He knew Gabriel was right, but he just didn't feel comfortable working with anyone but Sam. He knew Sam wouldn't see it that way, Dean would feel like he was betraying him.
"It's not a request, son. You give me your word, or you don't hunt anymore," Gabriel said sternly.
"You can't stop me from hunting," Dean protested.
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Do you really wanna test me on that?"
Dean promptly shut his mouth. He did not want to test him. As an archangel, Gabriel's reach was pretty high. Dean was positive he could stop him. "Alright. I promise to take help if I need it."
Gabriel smiled. "Thank you."
"Are you leaving now?" Dean asked.
"Do you want me to?" Gabriel asked.
"Well, I know I told you not to come, but since you're already here, you might as well stay for a little while," Dean said.
Gabriel could read between the lines. Dean wouldn't say it out loud, but he wanted him there. "Sure, kiddo."
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Sam found himself being attacked at all angles. He physically pushed the angels off of him as best he could, there were at least six of them. As soon as he got one off of him, another took his place. The only way to stop them would be to use his powers, which he was reluctant to do. If he attacked them, even to defend himself, he proved them right.
The next thing Sam knew, he was on the ground. A few of them were holding him down, while the others approached him with blades. He was starting to get worried. If he didn't get them off of him, they were going to kill him.
Soon, Sam's wings began to unfold and flap wildly.
"You wanna try that, you little abomination? I can fix it," one of the angels said cruelly while raising his blade to one of the wings.
Sam let out a very loud and inhuman scream as the blade sliced into his wings.
Xxxxxxxxxx
Michael was in his office when he heard it. An angel screaming. An angel's screams weren't like a human's. When an angel was being subjected to the worst kind of pain, he let out a loud noise that would blow out a human's eardrums. To them it was nothing but unbearable noise. To an angel, it was the scream of bloody murder.
Michael was out of his office in seconds. He saw Lucifer come out of his own office, but he didn't stop to take to him. He simply ran as fast as he could to try to find the distressed angel.
Lucifer followed closely behind Michael with the same objective.
A bunch of other angels entered the halls, all wondering what was going on.
"Out of the way!" Michael demanded as he continued to run, knocking down several seraphs in his wake. He would've flown or teleported, but he had no idea who was in trouble or where they were.
Suddenly Heaven began to shake in the worst Earthquake that had ever been felt, causing many angels to yell in chaos.
Michael and Lucifer both stopped and looked at each other, having a conversation with just their eyes. They both knew that the Earthquake was caused by whatever angel was hurt. No seraph had that power. That meant it was either Gabriel, which seemed unlikely, or Sam.
With a person in mind, both archangels had the ability to fly to the person in need. They immediately disappeared.
Michael was the first to arrive, and he swore the sight would haunt until the end of his life, should it ever actually end. Sam was withering on the ground screaming. Blood and Grace was leaking through a torn wing. The rest of his wings were out of control with the way they moved.
The rest of the angels were scattered on the ground, clearly having been thrown back by the hurt young Nephilim.
Lucifer showed up at that moment and gasped in horror. "Oh, Father, no!"
Michael watched as an idiotic angel got up and walked towards Sam again, his blade pointed at the boy. That was really all that was necessary for Michael to see red.