Transmission from the Trickster

Chapter 5

Sam helps Gabriel inside the bunker, leading him to a seat in the library and plopping him down. Gabriel doesn't protest, but he doesn't go along with it, either.

"I'm sure you're aware that Asmodeus will notice he's gone very soon," Ketch says.

"Yes, we are," Dean says simply.

"And he won't be happy," Ketch adds.

"I guess it's a good thing that we aren't the ones working with him, then," Dean replies.

Ketch looks at him for a moment, then sighs. "Yes, well, I suppose you're right. I'll have to get the blade from Asmodeus, but after that, he'll probably be mostly useless, so —"

"You're not part of the team, you know," Dean tells him. "You're just as much Asmodeus' friend are you are ours. Hell, you're probably closer to his friend that you are ours. Helping us once isn't going to change anything."

The two continue to bicker, and Sam turns his attention back to Gabriel, the one who actually needs help.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up. You're tracking blood and dirt everywhere you go."

Gabriel doesn't respond, so Sam holds him up and walks him to the bathroom to try to clean his wounds. Castiel briefly offers to help, but Sam waves him off. He may be necessary to stop Dean and Ketch's fight from becoming physical.

Sam sets the cover down on the toilet and sits Gabriel down on it. He grabs a towel and runs it under the sink, getting it wet before he puts it up to Gabriel's face. The angel hisses, but then he's silent. His face contorts in pain every now and then, but otherwise, he's still. Removing the stitching from his lips isn't easy, and there were a few times Sam was genuinely afraid he'd rip a hole in Gabriel's face, but eventually, even that's gone.

"So," Sam says eventually, trying to make conversation so they don't have to sit in an awkward silence. "How long were you in Hell for?"

Gabriel just shrugs.

"You don't know, or you don't want to tell me?" Sam asks.

Gabriel shrugs again, but this time, he does answer, after a pause. "Both."

Sam nods slowly as he wets a different part of the towel, because cleaning his face isn't easy with an already dirty towel.

"Why did you wait to tell us until last night?" Sam asks. "I'm sure we could have helped you sooner."

"I didn't."

Sam's brows draw together in confusion. "You didn't what?"

Gabriel doesn't answer, just staring off into space.

Sam sighs. Well, that went horribly.

~~

Once Gabriel's face is cleaned up a bit, he doesn't look that bad. He has a few gashes scattered around his face, bleeding slightly from Sam scrubbing just a little too hard, but overall, he looks decent. He almost looks like the infamous trickster they all know and don't love at all.

"Better?" Sam asks, but he doesn't get an answer. "I'm gonna go grab you something clean to change into. I'll be right back, okay?" He doesn't expect an answer — he hasn't gotten one for just about anything he's said — so he doesn't wait for one. He's about to leave the bathroom when he hears Gabriel's hoarse voice.

"Thanks."

Sam glances back at him. "Don't worry about it. We just gotta get you up and running. You'll be back to your old self in no time." As he walks away, he adds under his breath, "Hopefully." Right now, he's not too sure what to expect from him.