Chapter Text
“Dean!” Sam's shout split the tense silence of their latest hunt, bringing his brother running immediately. First his thoughts leapt to an easy conclusion – the things they were hunting had jumped his baby brother and he needed help. But, though Sam's shout had been full of urgency, there had been no pain, no fear.
He emerged into a scene he could never have predicted.
Sam was kneeling on the ground, leaning over a prone form. The body was laid out hazardously, as if it had been kicking and twisting madly just seconds before. That wasn't what drew Dean's eye though, or why Sam had shouted; That was the large golden wings stretched out away from the still body, the feathers frayed and stained crimson in places.
~~
Back at their current motel, a dirty run down place, the brothers contemplated what to do with the angel. Their hunt was temporarily forgotten in the face of the emergency, especially as Gabriel had not even stirred once when they had lifted him off the forest floor, nor during the car drive back to the motel.
The archangel in question was laid out on Dean's bed, completely still. If it wasn't for his steady breathing they would have thought him dead, but as it was he simply wouldn't wake. His wings – which had been incredibly difficult to hide from the motel receptionist as they bundled him through to their room – lay to either side of him, taking up all the bed and much of the floor. It was clear that they were normally a beautiful vibrant honey-gold flecked with darker shades of brown, but at that moment they were ragged and faded, many feathers twisted or missing entirely. One wing seemed to be broken in multiple places, bent at an angle where it hit the floor that was just wrong.
Sam slowly moved to the side of the bed, near Gabriel's head, and looked down at him worriedly. “Why hasn't he woken yet? And why hasn't that healed?” He gestured to the wing, gazing at it with concern.
“I don't know Sammy, I'm more concerned with how he's even alive.” Dean scowled, thoughts clearly on the hundred or so times Gabriel had killed him – even if he didn't actually remember. Still, he'd caused huge distress to Sam, and that was hard to forgive. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to insult the archangel, not when he was so badly hurt and Sam so concerned for him.
“Does it matter right now? The man is injured, surely that's more important than how he survived?” Sam frowned at his brother, looking back down at Gabriel and noting how his eyes were darting about beneath the lids. Dreaming, then. “We can't really do anything for him till he wakes, though. I don't know anything about wing structure, don't want to risk causing more damage...”
Dean half heartedly grumbled about being driven out of his own bed, but let it go – after all, Sam was right. Gabriel had to be seriously hurt to be unconscious as he was, and the wing injuries looked painful. He shook his head and moved across the room, throwing himself down on Sam's bed instead. Sam protested for a few moments, but gave in when Dean merely threw a pillow at him. “Your patient is on my bed and I'm not sleeping on the floor again.”
Sam shrugged at that, sitting down at the other end of the bed, shoving his brothers feet sideways to make space. “Don't take up the whole bed then, jerk. It's only till he's better.”
“Yea, however long that takes. Bitch.”
~~
A few hours later, when the night had set in completely and the room was illuminated only by the single digital clock between the beds, the occupant of the other bed stirred. He let out a quiet groan of pain, but did not yet wake. He dreamed on, as his dreams turned from memory into outright nightmare. He desperately hurt all over in his nightmares, as his brothers faces swam before his eyes, laughing and taunting him. Lucifer held a blade to him, Michael watching on impassively. Gabriel shied back, and, unknowing to him whilst he dreamt, he groaned again, turning his head to one side. On the other bed, Sam lay wide awake, staring over at the injured archangel's face when it turned toward him. He held his breath, staring straight into Gabriel's open eyes – but the angel still unconscious.