Trouble With The Trickster || Gabriel - Supernatural

-24-

No one spoke. It all began to sink in around me... if this continued, we were all going to die. Every single one of us.

I glanced up at Gabe to find him looking straight back at me, his eyes saying he was considering the same plan as I was. It was crazy and we both knew it, but it would protect our friends... "You think it will work?"

He shrugged, "It's the best plan we've got..." There was a glint of fear in his eyes as he said it.

"What are you two muttering about?" Dean questioned, looking at us oddly as the other three turned to look at us.

Gabe and I exchanged a look before I spoke up, "We're gonna leave. It'll be safer for all of you if we just get out of here..."

"What? No!" Dad argued, jumping up and shaking his head feverishly.

"If the angels find you, you can say we ran away... it won't be that much of a lie..." I reasoned with him.

He was still adamant, "I'll go with you-"

"No," Gabe interrupted calmly, "You need to stay here, stay safe. Journeying on foot will be hard enough with two people, never mind three... they can't sense me and Beth's grace is way too weak for them to notice - believe me when I say it's the safest way to get her out of here."

"Why don't you just fly her somewhere?" Sam asked but Castiel quickly answered that.

"It draws attention to an angel when they use their powers... if Elizabeth is going to train, they don't want any other attention being drawn to them... I think it might work," he nodded towards us. Good to know somebody was on our side.

"But what if it doesn't?" Dad pointed out, getting desperate. I understood he didn't want me to be in danger but there was no other choice. "What if they follow you?"

"We'll tackle that hurdle when we come to it," Gabe replied, "Balt, I promise I will protect her... you know how much it would wreck me if she got hurt..." he wrapped an arm around my shoulders as he spoke, "We'll head north, find a cave or something and hide out there for a while. I'll bring her back when it's safe for her to be around all of you..."

I looked at Dad pleadingly, hoping he'd see sense, "Please, Dad... I don't want you to be at risk because of me..."

He breathed out a reluctant sigh, "Why do you have to be so selfless? I'm not selfless, your mother wasn't selfless - how come you are?"

"It's just who I am." I smiled as a slight smile flashed across his face, "So is that a yes?"

"Yes... just- ...be careful, okay?"

"Okay. I promise," I got up and hugged him tightly as he sighed into my hair and kissed my head, "I'll stay out of trouble."

Dad glanced at Gabe who nodded too, "I promise, too. She means the world to both of us."

Castiel stepped forward all of a sudden, looking around as if sensing something, "I would go quickly. Heaven is angry at you for killing part of the heavenly host but they believe it was Gabriel who fabricated Balthazar's image." He looked to Dad, "It seems they believe you are innocent. They are coming here... they tracked me to the road outside..."

"For once, I wish I wasn't innocent. Then I'd go with them..." Dad sighed, his eyes darting to me, "Get your things and go. Cas and I will preoccupy them while you go through the woods."

I nodded as Gabe grabbed my hand, pulling me down the hall to my room and throwing my jacket at me. As I shrugged it on, he pressed his lips to mine, hastily and desperately. "For luck..." he muttered.

Hearing Dean pull the entrance door open again, we rushed back out as Dad and Castiel slipped out to slow down the angels; Dad caught my eye on the way, mouthing 'good luck' before disappearing. As we reached it, Sam and Dean both enveloped me into a hug at the same time. "Stay safe," Sam muttered as Dean looked between Gabe and I and said, "Run like hell."

He let the door open just enough for us to sneak out and then we ran. Gabe's hand remained firmly in mine as we legged it up the hill, glancing back to see Dad and Cas stood talking to about five other angels - there was no way we could have taken them all on. The leaves crunched beneath our feet as the soles of our sneakers pounded against the ground at the same relentless beat as my heart, both of us running for each other's lives as well as our own.

We made it about half a mile before I tripped over an uprooted tree, my breathing heavy and wheezing as Gabe halted a few metres in front of me, skidding to a stop as I fell and coming back to pick me up.

Holding me tightly in his arms, he continued to sprint through the woods, ensuring we were at least a few miles away before we even considered stopping to make it harder for the angels to find us. They wouldn't expect us to stay in the surrounding area anyway and I knew Dad would tell them we'd flown away but it was better to be safe than sorry.

I hugged my body close to Gabe's chest, trying to make it easier for him to run while ignoring the stabbing pain in my twisted ankle. It felt broken but I didn't have time to check it while we dodged through the trees as the sky began to darken with storm clouds.

"It's the angels," Gabe muttered, glancing up in annoyance, "They're angry that they can't find us so they're gonna try and flush us out with a storm... not like its actually gonna work..."

I smiled slightly through the pain, thankful for his confidence since my own was wearing pretty thin. About ten minutes later, the Heavens opened - so to speak - and within a few more minutes of full pelt running, we were both absolutely drenched. Thankfully, we'd already come far enough that we'd reached a tall cliff face, not dissimilar from the one where the cabin was though that was further south.

Gabe slowed down to a jog, placing me back on my feet, "You think you can walk?" I nodded as the rain ran down my face. "Here, hold my arm..." He held out his arm and I took it gratefully, placing most of my weight on my good ankle and trying my best to keep it off of the twisted one as we headed through sparse woods that now surrounded us.

His eyes scanned the rock ahead of us, searching for a crack or a nook we could shelter in. "There," I pointed with my free hand to the spot where I saw a few birds fly out of. As we got closer, we found a fair sized hollow in the cliff side and quickly ducked into it, both thankful to be out of the storm.

Gabe carefully set me down on the rough floor of the cave before helping me out of my jacket and placing it with his to dry, "We should be okay here for the night. Hopefully, they give up before we do."

"We'll never give up," I countered, wincing slightly as he set to work healing my ankle.

"That's the spirit," he sighed, wrapping his arms around me to share his warmth as I shivered, "Stubborn to the very end..."