Bittersweet - Chapter 1

Sam bolted from the front door, jumping over trees and pushing through assorted branches, but her screams seemed so far away.

"Need a little help there Sammy?" a familiar, irritating voice resounded in Sam's head. 

"No!" he shouted. ____________ was cornered by a rugaru, on the other side of the clearing. Sam knew he wouldn't get there in time, but he could sure as hell try.

"You need help, Sammy." That taunting voice was going to distract Sam. "Let me help, ya, please?" 

"Fine! Fine!" Sam shouted.

A bright light appeared and suddenly the rugaru was gone. 

___________ tucked her face between her knees, trembling. 

"Sam, what was that?" she muttered. 

"I, uh-"

"Are you okay?" A soft voice met ___________'s ears. Gentle hands tilted her chin up. A pair of sparkling hazel eyes met hers. "I'm Gabriel. It's okay, don't be afraid." He chuckled to himself. "That's my big line, right there." 

"Did you-"

"Yes I did," he said, matter-of-factly. He became serious again. He looked her over. "Did it hurt you?" 

She shook her head. "You and Sam got here before it could." 

"You idiot!" Dean ran up and knelt beside her. "Gabriel move!" 

Dean pushed Gabriel away and pulled __________ tight. "You left without any weapons, you can't do that!" 

Castiel appeared beside Dean. "_____________ are you alright?" 

"Gabriel and Sam helped me." 

"Mostly me," Gabriel grumbled. "Lemme up." 

He stumbled to his feet. Dean pushed him again. "Gabriel get out of here, nobody invited you."

"Well, Sam-" 

"She was about to die!" Sam raised his hands, looking at Dean. "I wouldn't have gotten there in time. If I had, do you think I would have let him show up?"

"Like you have a choice," Gabriel said, rolling his eyes.

"Dean, we must return to the house. You left the stove on," Castiel urged. Dean sighed and handed __________ off to Sam. "Keep her in sight."

"I'm fine," she protested, crossing her arms.

"Next time, have your damn lighter with you," Dean growled, stalking off to the house, Castiel in tow.

Sam looked at Gabriel, almost condescendingly. "Really, Gabriel, you should go. Nobody wants you here." 

The archangel sighed and turned away. "You're welcome Sammy."

___________ grabbed the sleeve of his green coat and looked him in the eyes again. "Thank you."

He smiled brightly and nodded quickly. "It was no problemo, really. It was nice meeting you kiddo, maybe I'll see you around." He winked before disappearing. There was a long silence.

"You didn't say you knew Gabriel," ___________ said, turning to Sam. "Is he really with you that often?"

"You won't be seeing him," Sam laughed dryly. "He's never around."

"He was today," she said. 

"You're lucky. Usually he just-"

"He saved my life, Sam," __________ interrupted him. "If that's not good enough to make him alright, then I don't know what is." 

Sam opened his mouth to object, but then shut it again. He hoped Gabriel would be around more often, just for __________'s sake. Sam had Dean and Cas, but she was sort of an outlier. She was like a younger sister to them, but they weren't accustomed to girls yet, especially Dean. Though she was a great hunter, just as good as Sam, and almost as good as Dean, she was certainly different than the rest of the team. She usually ended up hunting alone. Sam knew it didn't hurt her feelings to be outcast, he just wanted to keep an eye on her. She meant a lot to them, and if they lost her, Dean would never forgive himself. That was really the only reason Sam could possibly even tolerate Gabriel's presence. He was really an obnoxious guy, and Castiel and Dean hated him. Sam couldn't say that he hated Gabriel, but he sure as hell couldn't say he wanted him anywhere near him. Sam just wanted him to watch out for the team's little girl.

Though Sam knew he couldn't count on Gabriel for anything, he could still imagine he could.