Sam was in the kitchen the next day making breakfast. Once again, he hadn't slept much at all. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Gabriel's face. He saw the fear and brokenness all over him. It made him sick. It wasn't right. Gabriel had always been a happy person. He was always laughing and playing pranks, even if many of them were only funny to him. He was always strong. He was an Archangel for crying out loud. But now he was none of that. He was completely and utterly broken.
Just then, footsteps were heard, followed by Dean's voice. "You're cooking? You never cook? Do you even know how?"
"Of course. I did have to eat at college, and I couldn't always get takeout. I just had no need for it when I went back on the road with you. Then when we moved in here, you seemed to take the kitchen over," Sam said.
Dean grabbed a slice of bacon from the plate nearby of what was done. He immediately munched on it. "Not bad, Sammy."
Sam flipped some pancakes from the pan onto a plate. He then grabbed the chocolate syrup next to it and started lathering it on the pancakes.
"Dude, talk about teeth rotting. Aren't you the one that's usually harping about being healthy?" Dean asked.
"They're for Gabriel. He'll wanna eat something sweet," Sam said.
Dean looked at his brother sadly. "If he wants to eat at all. He didn't seem up to doing anything last night."
Sam shuddered as he once again pictured the Archangel's face.
"What he went through is hitting you hard," Dean said. It wasn't a question. He could see the turmoil on his brother's face. Dean wasn't sure why. He certainly understood being horrified by it, but it seemed different for Sam. It was like it was haunting him.
"What happened to him was terrible, Dean. Asmodeus tortured him for God only knows how long, and who knows how long it would've gone on if things had been different. What would've happened if Lucifer hasn't decided to go after Amenadiel to protect Jack?" Sam asked. That question had been torturing him. Gabriel could've been stuck with that torture until it finally killed him if not for Lucifer.
"It doesn't matter. They found him," Dean said.
"Do you think he was down there the whole time?" Sam asked. If Gabriel had been down there since the fight with 'Lucifer' then Sam felt like it was his fault. Gabriel had gone into that hotel to protect everyone from that thing with his brother's Grace, and that had been necessary because Sam had opened the cage.
"I don't know," Dean said.
Amenadiel came down at that moment. "Morning."
Sam and Dean both turned to him. "Hey, Amenadiel. How's Gabriel?" Sam asked.
"I haven't seen him yet this morning. Lucifer's with him though. He hasn't left his side," Amenadiel said. His eyes made it clear he was tortured with thoughts of Gabriel. Gabriel was his baby brother. He didn't have the relationship with him the Lucifer had, but he loved him.
"Please tell me Asmodeus is dead," Sam said.
"Not yet, but I assure you, he will die! But first he's going to suffer for what he did," Amenadiel vowed. He wasn't usually one for torture, even with demons, but this demon had destroyed his little brother. He wanted him to suffer like Gabriel had.
"Wait, you didn't kill him? What the hell? He'll come after us," Dean said angrily.
"No, he won't. He's being handled. Maze is occupying him, and I don't know any demon more capable than her," Amenadiel told him. "Gabriel needed to be our priority. We needed to get him out of there."
"Even if he did show up here, Dean, there are three angels and a Nephilim he'd have to get through. Amenadiel's right. Gabriel was the first priority," Sam said.
"Morning, Everyone," Jack said as he entered the room. "Father has asked if someone could bring some food up for Uncle Gabriel. He doesn't want to leave him." It had been explained to him yesterday that the man that his father and uncle brought home was their brother, his uncle.
"Yeah, I'll do that," Sam said before grabbing the plate he'd made up. He got some silverware and then headed out of the room.
~~
Lucifer was still sitting in the chair in his room watching his brother. Gabriel was sitting on the bed watching him, like he was waiting for him to do something. It nearly broke Lucifer to realise that his brother was waiting for him to hurt him. He understood it though.
Soon there was a light knock at the door.
Gabriel flinched, and his eyes became fearful.
"It's alright, brother. No one will harm you," Lucifer promised before going to the door and opening it. He found Sam on the other side. "Hello, Sam."
"Hey. I brought food," Sam said.
Lucifer looked down at the plate in the Hunter's hands. "I can only assume those ae bits of pancakes mixed in with the bottle of chocolate sauce."
"Trust me, Gabriel will prefer it this way," Sam said before walking inside.
Gabriel watched warily as he was approached. He scooted back as Sam Winchester got closer. Well, it looked like Sam anyway. Gabriel wasn't fooled. It was a trick. Asmodeus liked to trick him by pretending he had been rescued. Gabriel knew he was still in that cage.
"Hey, Gabriel. I brought you some food. It's lathered in sugar, just how you like it," Sam said before slowly lowering the plate onto the bed.
Gabriel looked at the food longingly, but he didn't dare touch it. He'd only be punished if he did.
"It's okay, Gabriel. You can eat it," Sam promised. He saw the look on his face. He was afraid to touch it.
"Step back," Lucifer told Sam. "He'll probably be more inclined if we're not as close."
Sam nodded and walked over to Lucifer. "I've never seen him like this."
"He's never been like this. Torture can do a lot of damage," Lucifer said.
"I know. I was trapped in your cage with who I thought was you for a hundred years Hell time. I know what torture can do," Sam said with a shudder.
"How did you get locked in my cage?" Lucifer asked curiously. It shouldn't have even been possible for a human to be trapped in that cage. Very few even knew how to access that cage other than him, and none of them were human.
"Remember when I told you Gabriel left us a DVD before he 'died'? Well, on it, he told us how to lock your creation back up. It wasn't that simple though. We got all the horsemen rings, but we couldn't just push him in. We had to find another way to force him in," Sam explained.
"You let it possess you and you jumped," Lucifer realized. It made sense. Sam was said to be his vessel. It made sense that Sam would realise that that would be the easiest way to lock it back up.
Sam nodded.
"That was brave of you, albeit incredibly stupid," Lucifer said.
"It was the only way," Sam said.
Meanwhile, Gabriel hesitantly made a move towards the plate. He knew he shouldn't, but he wanted it so much. He grabbed it and then waited to see if it would be yanked away. When it wasn't, he began eating.
"That's it, baby brother," Lucifer said quietly.
"Do you think he knows who we are?" Sam asked. He wondered if Gabriel could even see anyone other than Asmodeus now. He could see it. He remembered being so insane from the torture that he could only see his tormentor.
"I don't know. Even if he does, I doubt it means anything to him, especially where I'm concerned. The last he remembers of me was the person who stabbed him, or at least tried to," Lucifer said sadly. He hated that that was the last his brother knew of him. He wished he could explain that it wasn't true, but his brother was going through too much to even understand.
"He's never gonna be the way he was again, even if he comes out of the haze. He's going to carry it with him forever. It's gonna change who he is," Sam said sadly.
Lucifer looked at him intently. He could tell that he was speaking with experience. "As you do. I am sorry. That place was never meant for you, and that thing was never created to become anyone's torturer. That is why I locked it up."
"It was my choice to jump in. Plus, I'm the reason he was released in the first place. I broke the final seal. I killed Lilith. I guess the punishment fit," Sam said. He didn't blame anyone but himself. He certainly didn't blame Lucifer. He tried to contain what he'd created. Sam was the one that let it out.
Lucifer was surprised to find that Sam was the one who released his creation. Normally, he'd berate anyone who was that stupid, but Sam was already punishing himself enough. "You didn't break it out on your own. One seal didn't release it. Plus, I'd guess you were manipulated."
"It doesn't matter. I let him out. I had to be the one to put him back in, even if I had to go with him," Sam said.
"Well, I suppose it is immaterial now. It shall be taken care of now. Locking it up was clearly a mistake. I should've killed it," Lucifer said. The only reason he hadn't was because he'd been so weak then, even more than he was now. Cutting a piece of your being out was incredibly taxing.
Sam saw that Gabriel was done eating and went towards him.
Gabriel whimpered and backed away in fright.
Sam stopped and held up his hands. "It's okay. I was just going to take the plate."
"Allow me," Lucifer said before snapping his fingers. The plate disappeared before their eyes.
"I didn't think you could do that," Sam said. He hadn't seen Lucifer snap his fingers to make anything appear or disappear since he arrived. He'd done things like that the old-fashioned way.
"I can, but I normally don't. It's tiring if I do it too much," Lucifer said.
"Can you smite and heal?" Sam asked.
"Smiting would put me in a coma for about a week, but, yes. As for healing, I doubt it, but I haven't tried. If I can, I imagine it would be quite like smiting," explained.
Gabriel, meanwhile, was looking at the being claiming to be his brother curiously. He'd just watched him use power to vanish a plate, and he was talking about using other powers. Was it possible that this was his brother? No, it couldn't be. It was a trick.
"What is it, Gabriel? You can speak to me. Say whatever you want," Lucifer urged after seeing the look his brother was giving him. It was the first time his brother had looked at anything with even the smallest amount of recognition.
Gabriel simply looked away and stared off into space.
Lucifer sighed and turned back to Sam. "Do you think you could help him out with some clothes? He should have a shower, and what he's wearing will be thrown into the nearest fireplace I can find."
"Yeah, of course. I'm sure Dean has something that will fit him," Sam said before heading out of the room.
Lucifer took a few steps towards his brother. "Gabriel, I don't know if you can understand me, or if you recognize me, but it is Lucifer. I know that may not reassure you given your last impression of me. If you can hear me though, I want you to understand that it wasn't me. I didn't try to kill you. I would never lay a finger on you. I promise."
Gabriel didn't respond.
Lucifer went back and sat down in the chair. "When this is over, and those who need to be are punished, you, Jack, and I will go back to LA. I will get you through this, little brother," he vowed.