Fallen (Book Four: Supernatural fanfic)

Bring 'em Back Alive

Castiel and I were walking through the corridors of the bunker. I was carrying a tray.

"Sam and Dean are in the Apocalypse World, alone?" Castiel asked.

"No, they're with Ketch, so they're not alone," I answered, rolling my eyes sarcastically in frustration. "Because that makes it so much better. Cas, they wanted to go without me."

"And you let them?" Castiel asked.

"No," I answered. "They didn't give me much a choice. I mean, they pointed out all the reasons why I needed to stay here. Gabriel, you coming back with whatever you were looking for."

Castiel sighed, nodding in understanding. "Right. The reversal spell."

"Did you find it?" I asked.

"Yes, but we can't be the ones to cast it," Castiel answered.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because it has to be cast by the ones that healed you the most," Castiel answered. "Ariel and Faith would have to cast it, because it's their power that was keeping you sane before. So to restore the balance to you again, it has to be Faith and Ariel's power to cast the spell."

I sighed, nodding. "All right. Well, we have the spell. All we need is my daughters. I wish to God I was over there looking for them right now, Cas. But Sam and Dean were right. Gabriel won't let anyone else near him." Castiel nodded in understanding. "As long as they're over there, and we're here, we need to be taking care of Gabriel, getting him right again." We walked into a bedroom that was in darkness. Castiel turned on the light. "Gabriel?"

Gabriel was huddled into a corner of the room. He was still in torn, bloody clothing, and his face was bruised and battered, not healing.

Castiel was in shock. "You didn't tell me it was this bad."

"Yeah, well, years of isolation and torture and Asmodeus draining his Grace," I told him. "Come here. Help me out." We walked over to Gabriel. I put down the tray I was holding. "Hey, Gabriel. Hey." Castiel went to touch him, but Gabriel recoiled in terror. "Mm, okay. Oh, just... gonna get you to bed, all right? Let me, uh, help you up. It's okay. It's okay." I helped Gabriel onto the bed. Gabriel was trembling in abject terror. "It's okay. Gabriel, it's Octavia. Uh, Ava. I know you remember me. Can you speak to us?"

"I don't think he can," Castiel told me.

"Gabriel?" I asked. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"Ava, he can't..." Castiel trailed off.

I sighed worriedly. "I know he can't. I'm just... trying to see if anything's going on in his head. All right, well..." I lifted the lid of the tray to reveal a tube with Angel Grace in it. "Gabriel's Grace. Ketch brought it. Maybe if he's juiced up, it'll help." I offered the Grace to Gabriel. "All right?"

Gabriel recoiled.

"Ava, I don't think he's gonna open up and let the choo-choo in," Castiel told me. I gave him a look of disbelief, but Cas thought I didn't understand him. "A technique for feeding recalcitrant children. And... I think a little coercion may be necessary."

We tried to hold Gabriel down, but he started to freak out, yelping like an injured animal, rushing to another corner of the room to sit down.

I held up my hands innocently. "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey. Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa."

Castiel and I were completely dismayed and startled by how Gabriel was reacting to everything.

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I walked into Gabriel's room, turning on the light, seeing Enochian script all over the wall, stunned. "Cas!"