Gabriel opened his door to find Castiel on the other side. "Hey, Cas, come on in."
"Hello, brother," Castiel said before stepping inside. "Lucifer said you'd left the infirmary. I trust Sam is doing better?"
"Yeah, he's fine," Gabriel said as he closed the door behind him. "His wing is healed. It's still a little sore, but he's gonna be okay. He's sleeping now. He spent most of the day after we got back yesterday asleep. He was still pretty tired after the use of so much Grace.
Castiel nodded. "I'm glad he's doing better."
"How'd it go with Dean and Bobby?" Gabriel asked.
"Better than I expected. Dean only used five profanities after I told him. I expected more," Castiel said.
Gabriel chuckled a little. "You told Sam was okay though, right?"
"Yes. I didn't go into details with how badly Sam was hurt. I simply explained that he was attacked and that his injuries were being healed," Castiel said.
"I'm surprised he was satisfied with that," Gabriel said.
"I wouldn't call him satisfied, but he accepted it when I told him that the wounds were superficial, and that those responsible would suffer the consequences," Castiel said.
"Damn straight," Gabriel said tightly.
"Have you been down to the prison to see them?" Castiel asked.
"I haven't left Sam's side. Besides, if I go down there, they won't live long enough to face judgement. While that's quite appealing, I need to make sure this never happens again. A public punishment is the only way to do that," Gabriel explained.
Castiel nodded. His brother's words were wise. Something had to teach the rest of Heaven that this wouldn't be allowed to happen again. "Uh, I told Dean that you'd come to see him again when you could, but he said he'd rather you didn't. He'd rather you not leave Sam on his account again."
Gabriel sighed. "I hope you explained to him that this was not his fault."
"I did, as did Bobby. I think all he sees right now is that you weren't there to help Sam because you were with him. He's asked to go back to how it was before, with you staying away. He doesn't want the chance taken that this will happen again," Castiel said.
Gabriel nodded. Honestly, right now, even with Michael's support, he didn't want to leave Sam anyway. The idea of this happening again scared the hell out of him. Of course, thinking that made him feel like he was choosing one son over the other, but it was what Dean wanted. Hell, it was even before Sam got hurt. "As long as he keeps his promise."
"He said he would. And he promised he'd ask for help next time," Castiel said.
Just then, they both heard footsteps. Sam emerged seconds later.
Gabriel turned to his son. "Hey, kiddo. How are you doing?"
"I'm okay," Sam said.
"Does it still hurt?" Gabriel asked.
"A little but it's not bad. It's kind of like when your body's sore because you worked out too much," Sam said before turning to Cas. "Hey, Cas."
"Hello, Sam. I am glad to see you are doing better. I came to see you in the infirmary, but you were asleep."
"Yeah, that's all I really did for the last couple of days," Sam said. The power he used really took a lot out of him. The longest he was awake was when Michael was apologizing to them.
"You need anything, kiddo. You hungry?" Gabriel asked.
"Starving," Sam said. He hadn't eating since yesterday. His dad made him eat something before going to sleep, but even that wasn't that much. He was really hungry now.
Gabriel chuckled and snapped his fingers. "I figured you would be. There are some pancakes on the kitchen table."
Sam immediately darted out of the room.
"Is there anything else that the two of you need before I return to my garrison?" Castiel asked.
"No, thanks, bro. I appreciate all you've done so far. I really appreciate it," Gabriel said.
"Of course. I'll see you later," Castiel said before heading out of the room.
Gabriel went into the dining room to see Sam going to town on his breakfast. "Damn, kiddo, don't hurt yourself."
"I'm really hungry," Sam said before taking another bite.
"I can see that. You sure you're doing okay?" Gabriel asked before taking a seat across from his son.
"I'm fine. Like I said, it barely even hurts anymore," Sam said.
"That doesn't mean you're not still dealing with some stuff. You were attacked, son," Gabriel said seriously.
Sam shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time. I was a hunter. I was attacked all the time. I'm alright. I just won't be stupid enough to trust an angel when he tells me something again."
"You were not stupid, Sam. You shouldn't have to go around thinking that the people around you are going to attack you. If you're told that your uncle wants to see you, you should be able to believe that person. Don't take any responsibility for this," Gabriel said.
"Okay, I'll try not to. Either way, I won't be so trusting next time."
"No next time. This isn't going to happen again, I promise," he said.
Sam nodded.
"You're sure you're okay? You don't need to talk about it more?" Gabriel asked.
Sam shook his head. "Like I said, I've been attacked before. And you, Lucifer, and Michael all promised you won't let it happen again. I'm okay."
"Okay. You think you're up to talk now?" Gabriel said.
"Isn't that what we're doing?" Sam asked with a chuckled. Then he got a look at his father's face, and he realized what he meant. He wanted to talk what had happened before Sam got hurt. "Do we have to?"
"Well, we don't have to right now, but eventually, yes. There's damage between us, son. We have to fix it. I promise, it will be different this time. I can't say that I won't get angry, but I won't scream," Gabriel promised.
Sam nodded reluctantly. Honestly, he shouldn't be so hesitant. He'd wanted to be able to explain himself. He was just worried about going back to how things were before he got hurt, where his father was so angry that he either screamed at him, or would barely talk to him. "I guess we should get it over with then."
"Okay. First thing's first. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. You deserved my anger, but not to that extent. Not to the point where I couldn't even listen to what you'd have to say. The truth is, I was too angry to deal with you, and I was too angry to realize that. I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen again."
"Thanks," Sam said.
"Before we start, I need to know something. Were you afraid of me?" Gabriel asked.
"No," Sam said immediately. He might have worried about how angry his father was, but not in the way his dad was suggesting. "I know you wouldn't hurt me."
"Never. I don't ever want you to be afraid that I'd hurt you, nor that I'd abandon you out of anger. No matter what, neither of those things will ever happen." Gabriel swore.
"I know. I wasn't afraid of that. If anything, I was mad. You wouldn't listen. It was like…"
"Like John?" Gabriel interrupted.
Sam nodded. "He rarely listened either when he was pissed at me, which was often. I learned to yell back because it was the only way I had a prayer of being heard. I couldn't with you because you're usually different than him. I didn't want things to be like that with us."
"Neither do I. I'm so sorry, Sam. I never want to make you feel the way he did. I lost my temper and I made a mistake," Gabriel said.
Sam shrugged. "Well, it's not like you didn't have a right to be angry."
"No, but I should've listened to you. I will now. Tell me what happened."
"First, you should know that fire power isn't the only one I hid from you. I also have telekinesis. I didn't tell Michael either. Only Joshua knows."
Gabriel sighed. He was far from happy to hear that there was another power he was kept in the dark about, but at least Sam was being honest with him now. "Okay, thank you for telling me."
"The first time I saw Michael was in the garden. He was passing through and he said some things that made me angry. I nearly set him on fire. That's how I found out. He told me that I had to tell you," Sam explained.
"But you didn't. Why?" Gabriel asked.
"You won't like it," Sam warned.
"I don't like anything about this situation, Sam. Tell me," Gabriel spoke gently, yet with a slight firmness.
"It was partly to spite Michael for ordering me around," Sam said.
"You're right, I don't like it. Do you really think that's an acceptable reason to hide something so important from me?" Gabriel asked sternly.
Sam shook his head. "It wasn't the only reason. I would've told you after Michael forced me to train if it was. Dad, I nearly set Michael on fire. I was scared of it. I was afraid that I'd end up hurting someone if I used it. I just wanted to push it away."
"Son, that's why it needs to be trained. Once you have control of it, you won't have to worry so much about accidently hurting someone," Gabriel explained.
Sam nodded. "Michael told me that later. I didn't seek him out, you know? He found me the next day and realized I hadn't told you. He made me train with him. I know I could've told you and I wouldn't have had to, but I thought maybe it was for the best. I didn't want to train with you. I was terrified of hurting you," Sam explained.
Gabriel closed his eyes and sighed. He should've realized it was something like that. Sam had always been hesitant to train due to fear. It should've been obvious that that was why Sam chose to work with Michael instead of him. Gabriel had just been too angry to consider his son's reasons.
"I didn't want to lie to you, Dad, but I couldn't train with you. I would've been too afraid. It was hard even with Michael, and I wasn't afraid of hurting him. The thought actually appealed to me," Sam said.
"And how long did you think you'd be able to keep it from me? You had to know that I was going to find out eventually," Gabriel said.
"I was gonna tell you. I just wanted to wait until I had the ability completely trained." Sam said.
"In other words, you wanted to keep me in the dark until there was nothing I could do about it," Gabriel said unimpressed.
Sam bit his lip. It didn't sound so great when it was put that way.
"Is there anything else you wanna say?" Gabriel asked.
Sam shook his head.
"I'm glad you told me why you did it. I do understand that you were scared. But it's not an acceptable reason to lie to me. I'd hoped that you'd learned by now that there will never be an acceptable reason for you to lie to me," Gabriel said.
"But you would've stopped me from…"
"What I would've done is immaterial!" Gabriel said sharply. He wasn't yelling, but he did raise his voice a little. "You do not get to lie to me because you think you won't get your way."
Sam closed his mouth, realizing he was only making things worse for himself.
"As I was saying, lies are never going to be acceptable. They will only ever make the situation worse. You do realize that that's what made me the most angry, right? I was upset about the rest too, but the lies made me furious. We have had this conversation so many times. I'm starting to think you won't be happy until I never trust you again," Gabriel lectured.
"No, Dad, that's not what I want," Sam said.
"What have I told you about lying? What have I told you it means?" Gabriel asked.
"That you can't trust me," Sam said quietly.
"Uh huh, and you promise never to do it again. Then the second I start to believe you, the lies come back. What do you think that tells me?" Gabriel asked sternly
Sam looked down at his hands in shame.
"Eyes up," Gabriel ordered. He waited until his son was looking at him again. "Lying to me over and over makes me think that you have no respect for me. Is that the case?"
"No," Sam said immediately. "I'm sorry, Dad. What can I do?"
"Right now, nothing. As I have repeatedly told you, trust will have to be earned back. Unfortunately, because this has happened before, it's going to take you even longer to earn it back. But we'll have plenty of time for that because aside from training, you won't be leaving this house for a long time," Gabriel said firmly.
Sam immediately opened his mouth to protest. He'd hoped the punishment he'd received would change after his father admitted he overreacted.
"If you can give me a legitimate reason for not being punished, I'm more than willing to listen," Gabriel interrupted when he saw his son go to speak. "But that reason better not have anything to do with you your age."
Sam closed his mouth and remained silent.
"That's what I figured. We've been over the age issue, haven't we? What did I say?" Gabriel asked.
"That you'd treat me how I acted," Sam said.
"That's right. Plus, the truth is, here, you are a child. I know you don't like hearing that, but it's the truth, and I honestly think that's part of why it's so hard for you to learn from your mistakes. Your Grace is still very young, and it makes you prone to foolish decisions.
Sam crossed his arms and had a sour look on his face. "How long am I… grounded?"
"I haven't decided yet. At least as long as the six weeks you lied to me for, possibly longer. I'll let you know," Gabriel said.
Sam groaned unhappily, but he didn't protest. He accepted that his fate was sealed. "What about training? Are you still going to make me train with you? I can't do it, Dad. I can't concentrate when I know I could hurt you."
Gabriel sighed. "Michael's a damn slave driver, you know?"
Sam smiled. "Yeah, I know, but I think that's what I need."
"I'll talk to him about it," Gabriel told him.
"Thanks."
"There are a couple of other things we need to talk about, like you not defending yourself against those angels. Now, I want you to understand that none of what happened is on you, but why didn't you defend yourself," Gabriel asked.
"Because I didn't want to prove them right. They attacked me because they were afraid of me," Sam said.
Gabriel shook his head. "No, they didn't. Not one of them was even the slightest bit afraid when they went after you. They tortured you. You don't do that out of fear, you do that because you wanna hurt someone. They were trying to punish you for existing. They didn't care whether you were a threat to them or not."
Sam flinched slightly at his father's words. It bothered him to hear about how much of a freak those angels thought he was. It bothered him because at times he still considered himself to be one. He wasn't human or an angel. He was a mixture of both, and because of that, he was hated.
"Hey. They're wrong. I don't want you to give any thought to what they think of you. They are nothing. The people who care about you know how special you are. Me, Cas, Lucifer, and now even Michael. Think about that, Sammy. Michael screamed the loudest about you, but all it took was six weeks for you to win him over," Gabriel said.
Sam nodded. That was true. Michael had been the most against his existence, but then he'd been the one to heal him when he was hurt. He'd sat by his side and tried comfort him and make him feel better. The fact that the oldest archangel was now by his side had to mean something, right?
"Listen, I know you don't want the angels to fear you. I understand that, but when someone hurts you, you have to defend yourself. I need you to promise me that Dad forbid this happens again, you will fight back to the best of your ability. No one that matters is going to hold it against you," Gabriel assured him.
"Okay. I promise," Sam said.
"Good. Now, there's one more thing we have to talk about," Gabriel said.
"I…I don't think I've done anything else," Sam said.
Gabriel chuckled. "No, you haven't. You need to know why I wasn't here when you were hurt." He originally hadn't intended to tell Sam about Dean. It would only cause more heartache. But he'd just finished chastising Sam about honesty. If he wanted the truth from Sam, he had to give him the same courtesy.
"Dad, it doesn't matter. It's fine. It probably would've happened either way," Sam said.
Well, that's open for debate, but that's not the point of this. I need to tell you where I was. I was on Earth with Dean," Gabriel said.
Sam's whole body stiffened. He knew if his father had gone to see Dean, something must have happened to him. His father wouldn't have just broken the promise he made to Dean otherwise. "What happened?"
Gabriel quickly explained what Castiel told him, plus what he'd learned from Dean when he got to him. "He's okay, son. He's probably already been released from the hospital.
"But he didn't take help because of me. I don't want him to refuse help," Sam said.
"I know. I told him that. He promised that he'd take help from now on if he needs it," Gabriel said.
"But what if he breaks that promise?" Sam asked.
"Then I will deal with it," Gabriel said in a firm tone.
Sam sighed. "It's not fair. I should be down there with him. I should at least be able to see him sometimes and let him know that I'm okay with him working with other hunters."
"I'm sorry, kiddo. But what Michael told you yesterday wasn't wrong. Your powers are going to continue to grow. It won't be safe for you to leave here until you have control over them. It honestly won't be as long as it seems. Dean will be here before you know it," Gabriel told him.
"I think I wanna be alone for a little while," Sam said before standing up and heading for his room.