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It was on the way out of a warehouse where a hunt had gone awry that Sam noticed Gabriel lagging behind the group as they made their way to their cars. Cas and Dean had taken the lead with himself and Jack following close behind them, Gabriel the last out because he’d dropped his blade somewhere and was searching for it.When it had taken longer than Sam expected it would be turned around to go back but saw Gabriel come out of the door and towards them. He gave the archangel a small wave before he started walking towards the group, which he returned, but something seemed off.‘Hey, Jack, why don’t you run ahead to Dean and Cas for a minute? I just wanna talk to Gabriel for a sec.’ Jack looked a little confused but shrugged and picked up his pace, leaving Sam to stand and wait for the archangel to catch up to him.When it became evident that Gabriel was actually struggling to walk Sam frowned and headed in his direction. The sun was almost set and there were no streetlights to illuminate the parking lot for the warehouse so everything was quickly becoming gloomy and grey. If Sam wasn’t so worried he’d probably laugh at the sight of Gabriel stumbling towards him like a zombie in a bad movie. ‘Gabriel?’ He called out as he reached hearing range. ‘Hey, you alright?’ No acknowledgment at all, not even a sign he’d been heard.Up close the angel was looking pretty pale and Sam noticed him clutching his side and wincing. Sam sped up his pace to a jog to close the last few feet between them and stopped Gabriel with a hand on his shoulder.Gabriel started and looked up at Sam first with confusion, then clarity. ‘Oh hey Sam, so I just realized...I’ve been shot. Funny right?’Sam gaped at him in shock and looked to be revving up for a lecture, but before he could get anywhere with that plan Gabriel’s legs gave out and he started to fall to the ground. If Sam hadn’t already had a grip on his shoulder he would’ve hit it, and hard. As it was Sam hadn’t even managed a proper catch, only to slow his fall and sort of guide him onto the wet gravel.
‘Okay, you’re alright just let me see.’ Sam reassured, trying to keep panic out of his voice. ‘Where are you hurt?’ As Gabriel fumbled with his jacket Sam yelled out for Dean and Cas. Gabriel wasn’t being quick enough with the whole ‘showing’ side of things so Sam soon took over and brushed his hands out of the way, with minimal protest.The wound was on the right side of his torso, just under his ribs and almost opposite the scars from Fenrir’s attack. It was pretty bloody and Gabriel had been right, he’d definitely been shot. He hissed as Sam pressed down on it in an attempt to stop the blood and Sam was left to wonder why he was even being affected by a bullet. In a sudden blur of tan and a crunch of gravel, Cas was kneeling on Gabriel’s other side. ‘Dean’s getting the car closer, what happened?’ The question was directed at Sam, but Gabriel answered anyway.‘Got shot, not healing.’ Castiel grimaced and nodded. ‘Angel-killing bullets.’ Cas stated. ‘One of them grazed my leg, but he should be healing unless the bullet is still…’ Both Sam and Cas came to the conclusion at the same time. ‘Inside.’ Suddenly they were both looking at the entry hole like it would bite them.‘Great, so get it out.’ Gabriel instructed, trying hard to sound like his normal self and failing pretty miserably.‘We can’t, not here.’ Sam stated. ‘We don’t have anything other than a basic first-aid kit on hand, we weren’t counting on this kind of emergency. It was supposed to be an easy hunt.’All three of them jerked their heads at the sudden sound of the Impala pulling up and Castiel rose to explain the situation to Dean and Jack. Sam stayed on the ground, attempting to get Gabriel into a sitting position. ‘You’re gonna be fine okay, just stay awake. Focus on me, alright?’ Sam muttered, still trying his best to apply pressure to the wound.Whatever you say doc.’ Gabriel snarked, but there was no heat behind the words and his eyes were half-lidded as Sam wound an arm around his back to keep him relatively upright. Everything was spinning and Gabriel just wanted to close his eyes, he wanted to rest. ‘No, seriously Gabriel, look at me, you are not doing this again.’ Sam shook him a little and Gabriel groaned but opened his eyes a little more. ‘It hurts Sam, why does it hurt?’ He paused and looked down at the blood seeping through Sam’s fingers. ‘It’s not supposed to hurt, I’m an angel.’ ‘Angel bullets, now shut up; you’re wasting your energy. You can complain later when you’re safe.’ He wasn’t trying to be so harsh but he was worried and there just wasn’t enough time for any of this. Dean broke away from the trio standing above them and got Sam’s attention. ‘Come on, let's get him up, Cas is gonna knock him out for the ride home.’ Sam nodded and with Dean’s help, they hauled the half-conscious archangel into the backseat of the Impala, where Cas made him fully unconscious. Sam slid in next to him and laid his head in his lap. When Cas and Jack had made it to the second car and pulled up beside them they started off towards the bunker.All Sam could think about on the ride home was the other times he’d seen Gabriel die. He hadn’t been happy about it, of course he hadn’t; but he hadn’t felt like this. Sitting in the back of the Impala with the angel spread out over him, possibly dying again, he realized this time it was different. He felt lightheaded and panicky, unable to calm himself down like he normally would to properly deal with a situation like this. If he even dared to think about all the ‘what if’s’ tears sprang to his eyes so instead he just stared down at Gabriel’s face and watched his chest rise and fall. After ten minutes or so of just watching him, Sam came to another realization, and that fucked things up even more. He cared about Gabriel, cared more than he should. After all, at best Gabriel was a snarky S.O.B and at worst he was a total dick.For all that had happened between them, Sam really should hate him. But he didn’t. And there was the fact that he was basically cradling him and weeping over him because he got a little bit shot. Sam was screwed, but at least Gabriel wasn’t awake for him to see it. He just had to hope he would be awake again at a later date so Sam could share his findings. Castiel’s angel knockout trick should have worn off hours ago, but Gabriel was still passed out on the bed of the spare room he’d claimed as his own. Sam was becoming increasingly worried, despite Cas’ reassurance that sometimes results may vary.He left it another half hour before he got up to shut the door and pulled his chair up closer to the bed. ‘I don’t know if you can even hear me, but we got the bullet out. You’re okay now, you’re safe.’No response. Cautiously he reached out and lightly shook Gabriel by the shoulder, anything to wake him. Angel’s didn’t even need sleep and the sleep Gabriel had fallen into was far too deep for Sam’s liking. ‘I know it’s a lot to ask but please? I just need to know you’re still in there. I’ve got something pretty funny to tell you when you wake up, you’ll probably laugh.’ Gabriel stirred a little and Sam got to his feet excitedly, leaning over the angel in anticipation.‘You’re okay. Breathe, just breathe. Open your eyes, come back. It’s ok, it’s over now. You’re okay. Wake up.’ But nothing else happened, it had been just that, a stir. Sam fell back into his chair, disheartened, and waited. At some point, he must have fallen asleep, because when he woke up there was a blanket over his shoulders and the bedside clock read 04:09. He looked toward Gabriel hopefully but he hadn’t moved much and Sam doubted that Dean or Cas would’ve let him sleep through anything major.Suddenly the unfairness of it all hit him, hard, and his eyes welled up with tears. It wasn’t fair, why did Dean to keep Cas while everyone Sam ever cared about died? Jess’ death had caused a chain reaction that just led to sadness and pain every time Sam felt anything but platonic love towards anyone, and it was like the universe could tell the difference. Hell, it even picked out how he felt about Gabriel before he could even consider it himself.He blinked back his tears and with a new resolve, he leaned in closer to the bed. He had a plan, a stupid one maybe, but it was all he could try. He got off his chair and knelt next to the bed, propping his elbows up on the mattress and clasping his hands together. He self consciously blessed himself, then began whispering into the darkness.‘Please Gabriel, don’t do this to me. Just don’t do this to me, not again, not you.’ He froze, tongue tripping over the almost foreign words and tears choking him up, but he had to get it out. Had to say it at least once if he was going to lose Gabriel too. ‘I love you so fucking much. I didn’t realize it til now, but I do. Come back, please. Amen.’For a few seconds, nothing really happened. Then Gabriel’s eyes snapped open with the glow of grace and Sam stumbled back, reaching for the button to click the lamp on. Gabriel sat up with a jolt, clutching at his side and Sam scrambled back into his chair, just staring. When he had regained most of his posture and his breath, Gabriel looked Sam over with scrutiny. ‘All that blood looks good on you. It really brings out your eyes.’ He was trying for casual but it fell flat. He twisted his hands together in his lap, injury forgotten about and probably mostly healed by now. ‘No ones prayed to me in years, you know that? At least none that have gotten through. Maybe it came with giving up my position in Heaven.’ Sam didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know whether he should apologize and leave, or stay and listen to Gabriel’s ramblings. While he was thinking it over Gabriel had finished talking and reverted to just looking at him with the same intensity as before. ‘Did you mean what you said?’ Gabriel asked. His voice was slower than usual, it held more weight. He was being serious.‘I think I did.’ Sam hesitated.‘You think, or you know?’ Gabriel pressed. ‘This isn’t a game, Sam.’‘I think I know, or it's hidden deep down in my subconscious, or you’re screwing with my head. Whatever it is, it's new and I need some time to figure out the specifics of it. But I think I know I meant it. It doesn’t seem like the kind of thing I’d say if I didn’t.’Gabriel shook his head. ‘No, I guess it doesn’t.’ He’d gone quiet, a stark contrast to his bold tone a moment ago when he was trying to get a confession out of the hunter.Sam noticed the change in demeanor, and without really thinking too deeply about it switched his seating arrangement from the chair to the edge of the bed.‘Hey what are you doing?!’ Gabriel squawked, tilting towards him as the mattress dipped.‘Figuring it out.’ Sam said, closing the now minuscule distance between them and kissing the confused angel softly. He pulled away after a second, wary that consent was necessary in these situations, but he didn’t get very far before a hand slid up to tangle into his hair and hold him in place. And that was all the encouragement he needed.