Transmission from the Trickster

Chapter 19

"The rift only stays open for 24 hours," Dean explains. "Once it's closed, it's closed. We'd have to start again. So someone has to stay on this side just in case." He glances at Ketch, then adds, "Someone we can trust."

Ketch scoffs. "I did rescue your pet angel for you. I think the least you could do is pretend you like me."

"Yeah, not happening," Dean replies. "So, game plan. Me, Sam, and Gabriel can go over together. Sam and I can do all the heavy lifting, Gabriel can poof us out of there if things go wrong. Cas, you stay and keep Ketch out of trouble. If the portal closes on us, we're counting on you. Good?"

"That is not happening," Gabriel replies.

"What? Why not?"

"I'm not going to the other dimension," Gabriel says. "I'm not facing Michael, I'm not dealing with the angels, and I sure as hell am not going to put up with a second me if I somehow survived over there."

"Well, maybe you don't have a choice," Dean replies. "You're really all we've got right now, as much as I hate to admit it. You're part of the team now. Act like it."

"I'm not part of the team," Gabriel replies.

"He's right," Castiel says, then adds quickly, "Well, I don't know about the 'team,' but having an archangel there... he'd be a beacon for the other angels. You're better off going without him."

"Yeah, what he said," Gabriel agrees.

Dean groans in exasperation. "Fine. Gabriel, you stay here. I'll take Sam, and the rest of you can stay here and try not to get anyone killed."

No one objects to that plan at first. It's Gabriel who disagrees finally, not in his usual quirky manner, but almost awkward.

"Or, you know, you could take Cas?"

"What? Why?" Dean asks. "What's the difference?"

"Well, you know..." Gabriel trails off, fiddling with his hands.

Dean sighs. "You want Sam to stay with you, don't you?"

Gabriel just nods.

"Fine," Dean says, exasperated. "Cas, you're coming with me. Sam, you watch Gabriel and Ketch and make sure no one kills each other in the next 24 hours. Any objections? Actually, don't answer that. I don't care. That's the game plan. Great, now that that's figured out, let's get some grace."

~~

Gabriel sits on the floor, his fists clenched tightly in his lap. He's staring off into space, which usually wouldn't be concerning, but with Gabriel's mental state still in question, they're not sure what to think.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sam asks quietly.

Dean glances up from the needle to look at the archangel. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Sam coaxes Gabriel into sitting on a chair, so they can extract the grace easier. As soon as Dean touches the syringe to his neck, Gabriel flinches, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I haven't even done anything yet," Dean says, rolling his eyes.

Sam shoots him a glare, shutting him up.

"Ready?" Sam asks him.

"No," Gabriel replies through clenched teeth. "Just do it."

Dean sticks the needle in his neck, and immediately, everyone in the room is flung away from him by some invisible force. The syringe flies from Dean's hand, landing on the floor in the doorway with a clatter.

"What was that for?" Dean demands.

"I didn't..." Gabriel trails off, resting his head in his hands.

"Hey, it's okay," Sam says, standing with him again. He's about to put a hand on his back reassuringly, but thinks better of it. He's sure he'll just get flung away again by accident. "Want to try again?"

"I don't know," Gabriel mumbles.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Dean asks. "We just need a little bit of grace. Give us the grace, and we're all set."

Sam shoots him a look to silence him, then crouches next to the angel. "Look, just try to relax. Dean'll grab the grace and it'll be fine, okay?"

"It's not that easy," Gabriel says, finally lifting his head to look at him. "It's like a 'fight or flight' type of thing. It's out of my control."

"Well, how'd Asmodeus do it?" Dean asks.

Gabriel flinches at the name, almost imperceptibly. "I don't know. I don't remember. I think I was unconscious the first time, and when I woke up, I didn't have enough grace to fight back."

"Great," Dean replies. "Let's just knock him out."

"Dean!" Sam snaps. "We're not knocking him out!"

Dean rolls his eyes and mutters, "Touchy, touchy," under his breath.

"Can we just try one more time?" Sam asks. "Try to think about something else or do something else or just try something different and see if it changes anything."

Gabriel swallows hard and nods. "Fine. Go for it."

Dean picks up the needle and starts again. Gabriel immediately squeezes his eyes shut again, his entire body tensed. Again, he flinches when the needle touches his skin, and Dean looks over at his brother, silently asking if he should finish the job. Sam just nods once.

As soon as Dean pushes the needle in his neck, Gabriel whimpers. Sam and Dean share a concerned look. Gabriel doesn't whimper. He's an archangel, for god's sake — one of the most powerful beings in the universe. At least they're still standing, though, which is an improvement from last time.

"It's okay," Sam coos. "You're okay."

Gabriel reaches out towards him, and after a few moments of feeling around, he grabs Sam's hand in his. It's the first time he's willingly touched anyone since he got here, so despite the reasonable fear of Gabriel breaking his hand, Sam doesn't tell him to stop. This is progress, and he's not willing to risk it.

When the grace starts to leave his body, Gabriel's whimpers turn to scared, pained groans. Sam tries to murmur reassuring things to him, but Gabriel's grip on his hand keeps getting tighter and tighter. It's not long before Sam knows it's broken, crushed to pieces, and he can't trust himself to speak at all.

Finally, Dean pulls the needle out of his neck, watching the grace swirl around in the little tube it's attached to. He glances at his brother, and he must see the pain on his face, because he asks, "You good?"

"Yeah," Sam breathes. "Just — Cas." It's all he can manage to get out. He's trying to hide how much his hand hurts, not wanting to guilt Gabriel into letting go and not touching anyone again.

Dean seems to get the message, because he jogs out of the room, returning a few moments later with Castiel in tow. The angel touches Sam's forehead, and Sam can feel his hand mend itself, but with Gabriel's death grip on it, it doesn't do very much.

Gabriel's eyes are glued shut, but he somehow knows that Cas is there, because he whimpers and tries to move away. Sam has to grab his chair before he tips it backwards.

"Is he —" Castiel begins, but Sam cuts him off.

"Go find our mom and Jack. We don't know how long they have left. I've got him."

Castiel hesitates, then nods. Together, he and Dean leave to go finish the spell, and Sam is alone with Gabriel. Now it's time to fix him. Again.