Sam landed hard, losing his balance as he hit the ground, knees buckling from the force of the impact. Sam had forgotten to bend his knees like Dean had once advised him, now Sam was paying the price for that.
Hard, cold concrete connected with Sam's hands as he crashed to the ground, his knees giving out and leaving him to fall to the ground. He used his hands to try and soften the fall, but only felt pain as his palms connected with the cold hard cement.
From the ground, Sam glared up at Gabriel in irritation while the archangel gave him a sheepish smile. Gabriel extended his and down to Sam as he said, "Sorry 'bout that Sammich! I shoulda warned ya about the landing."
"You think?" Sam grumbled as he reached up to grasp the archangel's hands. Once he was standing again, Sam looked down at his crumpled clothing and tried to brush himself off.
Meanwhile, Gabriel turned and looked at the three witches they had transported with. They too looked shaken and unsteady from the angelic trip they had just taken. One girl actually looked like she was about to be sick. Then, with a sharp snap of his fingers, Gabriel created a large, solid, steel looking jail cell around the three girls.
"Will that hold them?" Sam asked as he stepped beside Gabriel and looked at the dark, smoky looking bars. The structure seemed solid enough, but Sam wasn't sure if the bars were real or just an intangible figment of Gabriel's magic.
"Of course it will!" Gabriel chirped. "Nothing is getting through those."
"You better hope so. Those girls were hard to find once, I doubt they'll make it any easier a second time around." Sam muttered darkly.
"Aw come on! Have some faith in me Sam!" Gabriel chortled while the three witch girls glared at them in silence.
Then, Gabriel waved his hand and the cage containing the girls vanished entirely.
"Where did you send them?" Sam asked in shock.
"They're still here; I just dropped them between two realities." Gabriel said with a smirk.
"What?" Sam said in confusion.
"Basically, they are still in that same spot, but they are bouncing between two different planes of reality. Their cage can't decide which plain they belong in so it bounces between them so fast that it makes them invisible to the human eye." Gabriel told him. "They are stuck between existing and not existing."
Satisfied with Gabriel's explanation, Sam turned away and looked around the large room they were in. The walls around them were tall, dark and high, the tops of them vanishing into shadows before reaching the ceiling somewhere high above. Aside from a few dust bunnies blowing across the floor, the room was completely deserted. There was nothing but empty, open space for as far as Sam could see. Either Gabriel had created this room too, or they were now standing in a deserted building in the middle of nowhere.
"Where the hell are we anyways?" Sam asked after a few minute of silence between them.
"We my friend, are in an abandoned warehouse in the middle of Texas. San Antonio if you were looking for a more precise answer." Gabriel explained throwing his arms wide as if showing the place off.
"Why Texas?" Sam questioned.
"Because it's Texas, duhh!" Gabriel exclaimed like it was the simplest answer in the world.
"Right... because that explains everything." Sam grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
"Oh shut up. It was just the first place I could think of." Gabriel scoffed after a minute of watching Sam's annoyed pout.
"Is it safe here?" Sam questioned, starting to think about the things that might be lurking off somewhere in the dark.
Gabriel paused and cocked his head to the side. Sam watched in curiosity as a smile curved up the side of the archangel's face. Suddenly, Gabriel lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, causing him to vanish on the spot. Sam's eyes quickly darted around the room, keeping his eyes peeled for any movements that might indicate where Gabriel had gone.
However, before Sam had much time to look, Gabriel reappeared in the same place as before with a second small popping sound.
"Well, it's safe now." Gabriel chuckled. "I've also stock us up on holy water, iron, angel blades, you name it I got it. I went all out and got the whole nine yards. When Cas gets here I'll have him help with the angel shielding sigils."
"You can't do it without him?" Sam asked curiously.
"Oh! I totally can, but he won't be able to find this place if I put them up before he gets here." Gabriel explained.
Sam nodded slowly before asking, "So... how long are we going to be staying here?"
"Well, probably for a while, the heavenly hosts are gonna want Dean and Castiel's head on a stick. You know as well as I do that they will dispose of anyone who tries to get in their way." Gabriel said.
"Is there really no way of fixing this before it turns into a war?" Sam moaned, dragging his fingers through his long hair in distress.
Gabriel was silent for a beat too long before saying, "Nahh... not really."
"Not really or no?" Sam pressed. "What are you keeping from me Gabriel?"
"It's nothing. I just... it not an ideal solution. So no. There is nothing we can do." Gabriel told him, not meeting Sam's eyes.
"This is my brother we're talking about Gabriel." Sam snarled, getting into Gabriel's face and glaring down at him. "If there is a solution to this, you are going to fix it."
Even as a female, Sam still towered over the short archangel.
"Like hell I am." Gabriel said with a look of indignation on his face.
"Why not?" Sam snapped.
"Cas won't let me. He is one mother fucker who I don't wanna cross Sammich. Besides, the solution will just cause us more problems than its worth. " Gabriel explained as he crossed his arms.
"Well, what is elusive this solution?" Sam snapped.
"It's not important!" Gabriel shot back.
"I'm waiting." Sam snarled.
"Alright, fine, bossy." Gabriel sighed in defeat before speaking again. "There is one way to get rid of it... but it is painful, nasty business. There is no guarantee that Dean would even survive it." Gabriel told him.
"What would he have to do?" Sam asked solemnly.
"It's pretty complex stuff Samsquatch. It involves soul bonding and shit... but the bottom line is I don't think Dean would come out the same. There's only a 5% chance that he'd even be live through it. I know he's strong, but I don't think he would be strong enough for this." Gabriel told him. "If he did live through it, Dean would end up in a strait jacket, drooling on himself in a nut house."
"If you don't remember, Dean made it through forty years of hell." Sam muttered. "That right there would send most people to the loony bin."
"Sam, it just won't work okay?" Gabriel snarled. "No matter what we do we're gonna be fucked." Gabriel said quietly. "Dean won't be the same."
"Yeah I'm sure... So you're telling me that he'll be the same after he has this kid them?" Sam snapped in anger.
"No, probably not. He might not even live through that, but his chances of living are much greater if we don't try to tamper with the kid inside of him." Gabriel said bitterly.
Sam was silent as Gabriel looked at him with appraising eyes. After a minute Sam asked, "Wait... What do you mean?"
"Human's aren't built to have angelic children Sam." Gabriel explained with a serious look. "This entire situation has unlocked a can of fucking whoop ass. There is only a handful of Nephilim in recorded history. None of them we're able to escape heaven's wrath. And the mothers? Well, every last one of them died during the child's birth from the shear amount of angelic power trying to get free. I mean, humans can't even look at an angel's true form, what makes you think their bodies can hold even a tenth of that energy inside of them?"
"Wait, so... Dean's gonna die no matter what we do?" Sam snarled.
"Not if we can help it." Gabriel muttered. "Everything can be fixed if you're willing to look for a solution."
"Will... is this child going to have a human vessel or... will it be like... like you guys?"
"They have a human vessel, that is one of the of the human characteristics it obtains." Gabriel told him.
"Why can't you just like change Dean back to a chick and make his body adapt as a guy? I mean, you can change me back and forth from dude to chick. Besides, we've got the witches now so they can't use their hoodoo on you."
"Just because the witches are being held here doesn't mean that their hoodoo has stopped working. You can't fuck with a witches curse! It will always end badly. That is some heavy magic. I've told you before; you can't mess with the really dark stuff like that."
"Great. So we aren't just fucked... we're royally fucked." Sam said as he balled his fists in frustration.
"Basically, but what else is new?" Gabriel grumbled as he turned away from Sam and looked at the vast empty space around them. "I guess we might as well get comfy..."
The sharp snapping of Gabriel's fingers broke through the air. Before Sam could even blink, the room around him was suddenly furnished.
There were two beds off to one side of the room, a small kitchen table on the other, and a couple of sofas near the middle of the room.
"There. Gabriel said, looking around at his masterpiece.
"Fantastic..." Sam grumbled.
"Think about it this way Samborino, you guys can finally settle down for a little bit. You won't have to worry about paying rent and its nicer here than in a motel. You won't even have to worry about any shady stains on the sheets!" Gabriel told him with a smirk forming on his lips.
"Yeah, all I have to worry about is a war and my brother dying... again." Sam sighed glumly as he moved to flop onto a newly materialized sofa.
Gabriel stayed quiet as the smile slipped from his lips. After a second, he moved to sit down next to Sam and throw his arms across Sam's feminine shoulders.
As Gabriel's arm pulled Sam close, the hunter clenched his eyes shut trying to block out the images of Dean lying dead in his arms. It wasn't hard to visualize because Dean had already died so many times. His imagination ran wild, escaping from Sam's control as it created scene after scene of a bloody, lifeless, Dean.
"Listen Sam," Gabriel started, interrupting Sam's morbid thoughts. "I can't promise you that everything is going to turn out okay, but saving Dean is gonna be out number one priority."
"Yeah I know that." Sam sighed. "Sometimes our best just isn't good enough though."
Gabriel was quiet again, as his fingers trailing through Sam's long dark hair. After a few more seconds of silence the archangel asked, "Hey, do you want me to change you back into a guy again?"
Sam looked down at himself, in surprise. In the stress of this situation, Sam had forgotten that he wasn't even in his own body.
"Yeah, I'm over this whole chick thing." Sam grumbled. "I just wanna be a guy again."
"You got it bucco." Gabriel said, taking his hand off of Sam's shoulders and snapping his fingers again.
Sam saw a white-hot burning flash of light before him, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut. He felt a painful stretch and pulling of his body as his limbs morphed back into his male proportions. However, before Sam could react to the pain, the process was already over. As the bright light quickly faded and Sam was able to open his eyes again.
"Thanks Gabe." Sam said gruffly in appreciation. The deepness of his normal voice took him off guard a little bit. Sam had become so used to the pitched feminine voice that he had almost forgotten what his voice used to sound like.
"No problem." Gabriel said, his golden eyes scanning across Sam's face.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked, leaning back slightly under Gabriel's intense gaze.
"Admiring you." Gabriel whispered. "This is the face that I have come accustom to over the years. I missed it."
Sam smiled softly, his face flushing slightly as he turned away from Gabriel's staring.
With a sigh, Sam leaned back and sunk down into the sofa.
He threw his head back and closed his eyes again. As he lay there, Sam realized just how worn out this day had made him. He wanted to sleep forever and make all of this just disappear when he woke up.
"Do you think you'll ever quit the life?" Gabriel asked out of the clear blue.
Sam opened his eyes again and looked down at Gabriel.
"I dunno man." Sam groaned. "Probably not. I mean, yeah, it would be nice, but we're hunters... We can't have that kind of life. This is the only normal we know anymore."
"You do think there is a way out though right?" Gabriel asked curiously.
"Looking at way things have been recently... I'm starting to lose hope in that." Sam admitted.
Gabriel nodded slowly but didn't say anything.
"Why are you asking?" Sam asked suspiciously.
"I was just curious." Gabriel answered.
"What, were you thinking about... settling down or something?" Sam pressed, not willing to let the subject drop just yet.
"Well, I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about it, but that's not why I'm asking." Gabriel told Sam. "I kinda think Cas has been thinking about settling down too."
"Cas? Really?" Sam asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I mean, he's had his fair share of shit storms from being around you and Dean and I think he's getting tired."
"Aren't we all." Sam grumbled.
Gabriel sighed and nodded agreement before whispering, "To be honest, I think Cas is gonna try and get Dean to quit the life if we make it through all this."
"Dean's too stubborn. He won't to listen to that. I think he's scared of change. The last time he tried to live the apple pie life was when he went to go live with this chick named Lisa and her kid Ben. The bottom line being that they almost died because his past came to haunt him." Sam let his story hang in the air before adding, "Dean would never go for that."
"He might if there is a baby involved." Gabriel breathed though the silence. "I think Cas want to keep this kid and settled down with Dean."
"But there's no way we can keep it safe for long if we're on heaven's most wanted list, much less have an apple pie life."
"Yeah I know." Gabriel murmured. "But, recently I think Cas had been toying around with the idea of retiring from the business so he can spend the rest of his existence with Dean. He knows Dean is stubborn and probably won't go for it unless there's good reason with it. So now, you dangle the prospect of an actual child over his head and well, there the reason. Cas sees it as a way to convince Dean to leave the life."
"But Dean could die..." Sam murmured. "Does Cas not see that?"
"He does, believe me. He is well aware that Dean might not make it through this. I know that thought scares the shit outta him, but Cas also knows that there isn't anything he can do about it. "
Sam was silent, letting Gabriel's words sink in for a second. After a minute Sam said, "Gabriel... you think if Dean... no, when Dean makes it through this, it would be possible for a normal life? I mean, even with the angel's out searching for us?" Sam asked after a few minutes.
"I dunno Sasquatch. Maybe... It would be a long shot, but I suppose anything can be possible." Gabriel said, staring off into the distance.
"We've fought off angels before... we even took down Michael and Lucifer... Maybe we could finally retire if we win this war. If the kid lives Dean could become a parent. He's good with kids; he's just scared of starting a family because he doesn't want to get them killed." Sam explained. "He and Cas are really good for each other. They both want that kinda life, but are both scared to chase that dream. If everything works out maybe it could be possible for them."
"Yeah, and it would be nice if you two idiots stopped breaking the world too." Gabriel snorted. "If you guys retired than maybe the world would stop ripping apart around you."
"That's not funny." Sam snapped harshly.
"Well, I'm not laughing." Gabriel said solemnly.
"Who says I'd be able to retire anyways?" Sam pressed. "Someone has to keep saving people."
"Sam come on..." Gabriel said as he looked towards the hunter in shock.
"No, I'm being serious Gabriel." Sam told him. "Dean used to have a life outside of hunting. I never did. He spent the first four years of his life listening to lullabies and getting the crusts cut off of his sandwiches. I never had that. All I know is hunting."
"But that doesn't mean things can't change." Gabriel told him. "I mean, wasn't there a span of time where you went to college and had a normal life?"
"Yeah, but how long did that last? Since then I've lost everything except for my brother." Sam said.
A silence filled the room around them as they fell deep into thought. Gabriel was at a loss for words. He knew Sam was right; he never had the life that Dean used to have. Gabriel knew one way or another he would have to convince Sam that he was good enough to have a happy life. Somehow, Sam was going to see the good inside of himself and get the life he always wanted.
Suddenly, the silence between them was broken by a loud crashing sound behind them.
Gabriel and Sam both whipped around, looking for danger and jumping into action,. They were ready to defend themselves against whatever had dared to cross them.However, instead of finding a hoard of angel's and demons behind them, they saw the kitchen table smashed to bits underneath the bloodied and bruised figures of Dean and Castiel.