Gabriel and Sam couldn't be pulled apart after that, alternating between the two houses everyday. Neither of their parents minded though, and Gabriel's mother even became close to Ellen between their visits, and even came over to dinner with them once or twice.
This day was such an occasion as they all sat together at the dining table, eating and talking among themselves happily. Gabriel didn't even pretend to not notice the way Ellen watched him. He noticed it almost a week back how she would keep a close eye on him, and he knew that his mother had told both Bobby and Ellen of their...past.
Nevertheless, they never told Sam, and that's all Gabriel cared about as he continued to let himself be happy as he talked to Sam, chewing on a particularly delicious piece of a burger. Sam was smiling, and he set down his fork, taking Gabriel's hand and standing, tugging at him gently.
"Outside?" Gabriel guessed, grinning when Sam nodded in response. He took over the lead in excitement, barely hearing his mother say 'be careful' before he was dragging Sam happily out the door and into the fresh air. Gabriel turned towards him, a smirk on his face and let go of Sam's hand before patting him on the shoulder.
"You're it." Was all Gabriel said before he took off into the junkyard, jumping over one of the rusting hoods and weaving through the cars, leaving Sam behind despite the boy's longer legs. He grinned as he saw a tree, running past it and vaulting into the back of the pickup truck that was behind it. He laid flat on his back, holding his breath as he heard Sam's steps hurry by, smirking in triumph at successfully hiding.
He nearly screamed when Sam suddenly jumped into the pickup truck, straddling Gabriel's waist and pinning him by the shoulders. Gabriel struggled, but Sam just laughed, making Gabriel stop to smile up at him.
"Your voice is so beautiful." Gabriel said softly, and Sam's laughter trailed off, his smile disappearing and being replaced by a look of confusion. A blush dusted his cheeks and Gabriel felt his heart jump to his throat, and he took the chance to flip Sam over, now pinning him.
Gabriel hesitated before jumping out of the pickup truck, his body tingling in a way he never felt before. Nevertheless, he pushed it to the back of his head as he heard Sam scrambling to get out of the pickup truck and started running again, the thought flowing from his mind as their game took back over.
"You'll never catch me!" Gabriel teased, laughing as he rounded a corner of a vehicle, climbing over the hood of the car beside it and down the back to the other side. He knew that would slow Sam down quite a bit since the boy was much clumsier and slowed down, glancing back to see when he would pop up.
He heard a noise to his right and saw Sam coming from a different path, making him yelp and take off at full speed down the trail he was on, laughter leaving his lips as he narrowly escaped Sam's fingers brushing his back. He went to make another turn, only to jolt when he felt a metal shard sliding under his feet.
He wasn't sure what was happening. One moment he was running and having fun, the next he was laying on his side, unable to move from some unknown force. Sam was at his side in an instant, touching his face, and his eyes lit with panic as he stared down at Gabriel's side.
Gabriel furrowed his brows, his mind feeling as if he were struck in the head as he slowly lifted his gaze to large gash that dug into his hip, a metal piece sticking from the ground drenched in his blood as the top part poked from his flesh, part of it hidden inside his body as blood leaked out around it.
He felt tears drip on his face and looked back up to see Sam crying. Gabriel just lifted his hand, touching Sam's cheek and frowning. Maybe it was because of the suddenness of it all, but he didn't feel any pain, and he was more worried about Sam at the moment.
Sam stood and motioned towards the house frantically, signing something with his hands though he couldn't be sure what it was. He did recognize the don't move motion though before the boy took off, and Gabriel was just left with his thought and a big piece of metal impaling his side.
Pain started not long after Sam disappeared and he let out a groan, his hand touching his hip and coming back slick with blood. He took in a deep breath, looking around before placing both hands on the ground, gingerly lifting his body up to hopefully get off the shard, but stopped when the pain intensified, and he decided that laying still was best.
Sam came running back a minute later, still crying as he pointed to Gabriel at someone he couldn't see. Bobby came into view and the man let out a string of swears before he crouched by Gabriel, looking at the injury.
"You're lucky as hell, son. That metal missed anything important." Bobby finally muttered, grabbing Gabriel gently and tugging him up, the metal coming with him and making him hissed as it moved. He got carried back to the house, feeling a little light-headed as he swayed back and forth as he was carried up the stairs.
"Ellen!" Bobby shouted, setting Gabriel halfway in a seat, the hip with the metal in it hanging off the side. Ellen rushed in, Gabriel's mother right behind her, and gasped when she saw Gabriel, hurrying over and surveying the damage.
"Does he need to go to the hospital?" Gabriel's mother asked, looking like she was about to throw up. Ellen frowned, grabbing the metal piece and pulling on it just a little bit. Gabriel let out a soft whine, finding Sam's hand and squeezing it tightly as she pulled a little more, the shard falling to the floor with a clatter.
"No. I don't see any organ damage or leakage." Ellen said in relief, looking up as Bobby handed her the first aid kit and a towel. She began patting around the wound to get rid of some of the blood before applying pressure. "The piece was small enough to do damage, but not a tremendous amount. The most they would do is sow it up and bandage it."
And that's exactly what Ellen did, cleaning off the wound gently as she went and making sure that all the stitches were clean before wrapping it up in a bandage, letting out a sigh of relief as she finished. "I'll get him a new shirt. Can you help him out of that one. I don't want him moving that side more than he has to."
She disappeared down the hall, taking Gabriel's mother around the shoulder and comforting to her as she led her from the room. Gabriel was thankful for that, knowing his mother was in good hands as Sam carefully shuffled the shirt down Gabriel's left arm, then his right, before pulling it over his head. Gabriel let out a sigh, not realizing how hot yet cool it had been with that wet shirt, and it was only until Sam let out a gasp that he remembered his scars.
He vainly tried to hide himself, but he didn't get a chance as Sam grabbed his arms tightly, keeping them from moving. Bobby swore under his breath at the scars, turning his head away as his face twisted in rage. Gabriel felt himself sniff, tears spilling from his eyes faster than he ever thought possible as he saw the dark stare of Sam's eyes.
'Who?' Sam mouthed, hovering in front of Gabriel with a pure look of concern. Gabriel looked away from Sam, wishing he could pull his arms to his chest and hide forever, but he couldn't as he cried, trying to tug his arms away from Sam's grip.
"Gabriel, what's wrong?" He heard his mother say, but he didn't get the chance to even answer as Sam wrapped his arms around him, hiding him from everyone but him. He glanced up at Sam, but saw the boy was glaring at Gabriel's mother, a wary look in his eyes.
"Sam, it wasn't his mother." Bobby said, moving a bit closer to the two boys. "It was his father, okay?"
Sam's glare faltered just a little bit before he looked down at Gabriel, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment before he let go of Gabriel, taking the boy's hand and gently leading him from the room, not letting anyone else get near Gabriel. When they finally made it to Sam's room, he sat Gabriel down on the bed, wrapping his arms around him and not letting down no matter how much Gabriel cried.