The Youngest Winchester - Supernatural Imagines

Nothing Lasts Forever, Darling (1/3)

A/N: this is the second request I have received across the course of writing this book, and it is from the same user who requested 'New Friends.' Hope you all enjoy :)

Summary: when Kate was a child and her brothers and father were away on hunts, her company was kept by a man who called himself Gabriel. Despite Kates adamant beliefs, he was always brushed aside as an 'imaginary friend' by her family.

This set of scenes will explain the companionship between the two from before the series began, throughout the series, then up to season 13.

Ages:
Pre-Series:
Dean- 16
Sam- 12
Kate- 6

                        *********************

'Gabe! Gabe! Look! There's snow! Christmas snow!' Kate squealed, pressing her hands and face against the cold motel window in awe,

'Well look at that, Gumdrop,' the archangel smiled, looking down at the young girl.

'Can we play? Can we play, please?' she pleaded, turning around and clasping her hands together in begging,

'I don't know, Sugar. It's pretty cold. And you're daddy and big bros' aren't here. You know you'll get in trouble if they come back and you're not here,' he frowned, feeling for the child who just craved some normalcy.

'Oh please, Gabriel. Please. I promise I'll behave and I'll come back in and have a bath when we're done. Daddy will never even know I left. Please,' she bargained, giving him her version of the puppy dog eyes she'd seen Sam use so many times before.

After thinking for a moment, tossing the pros and cons in his mind Gabe exclaimed, 'Oh Jeez, you know I cant say no to you, Doll. You promise you'll clean up before your family gets back? I'd hate for you to get put in that terribly-boring naughty corner again,' he said, knowing full well that if John caught Rachel outside unattended, she'd get in a hell of a lot more trouble than just the 'naughty corner.'

'Yes, yes, yes. I swear.' She nodded eagerly,

'Hmmm' he pretended to think with a finger on his chin, 'let's do it!'

'YAY!' She squeezed Gabes legs in a hug then stepped back and said, 'One moment please,' she held up a finger and put on a silly accent she called her 'adult voice' before running to her duffel and pulling out all the warm clothes she owned. After changing, she emerged from the bathroom looking like an unattended laundry basket. Swarmed in at least 4 winter coats, two beanies, 3 pairs of mittens (one pair of which she 'borrowed' from Sam last Christmas that he'd never had the heart to ask for back), a scarf, and some of her softest track pants.

When she saw Gabriel was still in his regular long sleeve shirt and jeans she was confused but in all her childish naivety, and too consumed in her excitement, she assumed angels didn't get cold. They were always high up in the clouds anyway, surely her friend was used to chilly temperatures.

'Come on, Gabey. Come on!' She squealed, grabbing his hand and fumbling to the front door in her swarm of clothes, struggling with the knob due to her slippery gloves. She stepped back and watched with a gleam of wonder in her eye as Gabriel opened the door effortlessly with his mind.

Gabriel's vision was hit with a blur of colours zooming past him as the young girl raced into the snowy yard, 'Slow down a bit, Sugar. I wouldn't want you to slip,' he reminded with a laugh.

Once her boots hit the crunchy snow, all Gabriel's previous anxieties had washed away, the sweet girl shrilled and instantly crouched, grasping the cold material in her gloved hands and fiddling with it in her fingers like it was the most incredible thing she'd ever seen (which Gabriel quickly realised, it probably was.)

Gabriel let his eyes wonder, his attention was snapped back to Kate when an impressively large snow-ball hit him square in the cheek, 'oh ho ho, you've done it now you little rascal,' he smiled as she lost her mind in laughter, he ran quickly to hide behind a motel dumpster while Kate took shelter under a snow-covered bench.

Snow was thrown from every direction for at least half an hour, Kate let out the occasional 'ha!' of triumph when she hit the angel and Gabriel always pretended to fall over for the girls benefit, before jumping back to his feet. After some time had passed and the sun was beginning to set, Gabriel eventually called a truce, the snow melting on his shirt, making him cold. He knew If he was cold, whether she admitted it or not, Kate must be freezing.

'Come on, Katey. Let's head inside. It's getting chilly, and I've got to leave soon,' he said, hiding his dread for having to leave Rachel behind again.

'Okayyyyyy...' she dragged out dramatically,

'Aww come on, sweetheart,' he crouched in front of her, 'don't pout,' he said, leading her back to the motel room.

Once they were inside, Gabe made all the remaining snow on Kate disappear and told her to go change back into her pyjamas, to hide the fact they were ever outside.

Once she exited the bathroom, she moved towards her friend, 'Do you have to go?' She asked, craning her neck to look up at the friendly companion.

'You know I hate leaving you, Honey, but I can't stay forever.' He saw the tears in her eyes and quivering lips, he crouched down and pulled the girl in for a hug, he held her for a moment before pulling away, wiping her tears gently, he explained, 'Nothing lasts forever, Darling'

The sound of tires on snow and the glow of headlights through the windows drew Gabriel's attention, 'that's my cue, Angel. I'll see you soon. I promise,'

Kate nodded, and stepped back, with a flap of wings, he was gone.

Within an instant a disheveled looking Sam and Dean stumbled into the dank motel room; Johns limp form was held in between the two: his head hanging low, his arms draped over the boys shoulders. Dean took the brunt of the weight and ordered Sam to fetch the first aid kit from the bathroom, after the latter ran to retrieve the kit, the former laid his father on the bed.

Kate watched everything unfold. Weary. Unbeknownst to the young girl, the men of her dysfunctional family had been facing a hoard of vampires a few towns over. They had inevitably been overpowered and John had suffered a severe laceration to his stomach.

"Katey, don't just stand there, help me!" Dean shouted, harsher than he'd meant to. He as struggling to put pressure on the massive gash with only his two hands, desperately trying to keep the warm blood where it belonged.

Kate slid over cautiously, even unconscious, her father was still an intimidating figure, one she didn't want to mess with.

Her small hands did not assist much in the attempt to staunch the flow of blood, but something was better than nothing.

Sam returned with the first aid kit, providing his big brother with bandages, sutures and disinfectant. Despite Dean being older and subsequently bigger than his pre-pubescent brother, his hand was always far more steady when it came to stitching up wounds than either of his siblings.

Following the patching up of their fathers wounds, all three siblings sat in an empty silence. This was a regular occurrence following hunts; Sam and Dean needed time to recover physically and emotionally and Kate needed time to recognise that she was lucky, in despite of her quality of life, given that her family got to live another day.