Read here on AO3

Rating: M

Pairing: Sabriel

Tags: SPOILERS, Season 13 SPOILERS, SPOILERS for 13X21, Coda, Coda for 13X21, angst, blood, gore

Summary:  It all happened so fast.  

Sabriel Squad: @doctor-zyre @toastiel @sammy-spirit-winchester @nanika67@belabee @loudenswainfangirl @wacheypena @gabe-killed-me-with-ace-cream @xbooksandtea @team-gabriel @moostache @tricksterxangel@ourloveisforthelovely @sarahij84 @iamsuoerwholockedforever @quaker-wtf-lass @monochrome-maiden @reallyscj @audreyholmes13@littlexcas @revwinchester@thegirlofmanyfandoms10125 @randomizationsposts@maui137 @queenofhellisafangirl @dean-cass-sammy @moonlightrosepetal@fandomrandomnessrandomly

~~~~~~

It all happened so fast.  

One moment it was quiet, the only sound their own breathing in the dark, and the next, the air was filled with screams.  

At first, Gabriel didn’t know what happened. He was moving the rocks that blocked their way as fast as he could, his skin crawling at the thought of the things that lurked in the dark. If he’d been full powered, they would have been no problem, but his grace …dysfunction left him feeling vulnerable.

He didn’t even hear them until they grabbed someone. He turned to see a flurry of activity and to hear Sam and Dean screaming each other’s names.  

He rushed over to help, but it was all over so quickly. What he did see was two vamps holding Sam and then the sickening spurt of blood as they ripped into his throat.  

Gabriel felt as if time around him stop, as if each second was a drip of water slowly rolling down a slick surface and eventually dropping to the ground. He didn’t hear the strangled cry that tore from his throat, or the scream of anguish from Dean that punched the air like a sucker punch.  

He was frozen as the creatures dragged Sam away, Dean and Castiel charging down the dark corridor after him.  

Each moment stretched longer and longer, the beating of his heart echoing in his ears. Finally, Dean and Cas returned, Dean’s face white and drawn.

They were alone.

Sam was gone, and he had done nothing to stop it.  

Dean lead the group out of the cave in tense silence, but Gabriel’s mind would not be quiet.

Coward.

Worthless.

Joke.

Failure.

He was an archangel, one of the most powerful beings that his father had ever created and he couldn’t even muster the grace to protect one lousy human.  

Sam was the only person that had ever believed in Gabriel, the only one who had ever given a damn about what he was feeling after he’d be rescued from Asmodeus. He had put his faith in Gabriel, and he had paid for it with his life.  

Sam was dead because of him.

Tears blurred Gabriel’s vision as they stepped into the light. Everything in him screamed to go back for Sam, but he knew it was hopeless. Sam was dead and there was not a single thing he could do about it.  

Everything from there on out was a blur, as lost as he was in his own head. His ancient brain pulled every memory he had of Sam back from their first meeting at Crawford Hall to the more recent look of horror at his momentary indiscretion with the witch whose name he didn’t even care to remember.  

Nothing registered with him, not Mary or Castiel or Dean, not until he met his nephew, Jack.  

Gabriel saw a flash of Lucifer in him, but that was quickly replaced. Although he may have had Lucifer’s proud bearing, everything about him was Cas and Sam. Gabriel felt another bittersweet rush of affection for Sam. He didn’t owe Jack anything, and yet Gabriel could tell from the way he was speaking that Sam had gone out of his way to make him feel loved and wanted despite who his father was and what he had done.  

Jack was pacing, as if torn between anger and sorrow, and Gabriel couldn’t even look at him.

“Why didn’t you bring him back?” He asked, glaring between Cas and Gabriel.

Gabriel’s voice cracked, and he felt the weight of every word on his tongue like a shot through his heart.

“Not strong enough.”