Grace And Soul [SPN FanFic] | Winchester Legacy I

Ninety-Nine

"Gabriel, I freaking told you!" His throat felt tight. He didn't know if it was the curse or the fact that he was near to cry.
"Sam, relax. We're solving this calmly."
"Screw you, Jessica!" Gabriel yelled. "Stay outta this!"
Jessica crossed her arms. "Samuel Winchester is one of the most loyal and trustworthy people on planet Earth."
"You would know."
Sam shook his head, warm tears streaming down his face. "I love you, Gabriel, and you don't believe me." He cleared his throat and sighed. "Please."
"I see you with a half-naked woman you were engaged to, and I am supposed to believe you?" Gabriel asked.
"Yes," Sam said. "This is what a good husband would do."
"Are you calling me a bad husband?"
"You hid our daughter from me for 17 years!"
"Sam, Sam, Sam." Jess put a hand on his shoulder. "You two have already been over this all those times."
Sam nodded and closed his eyes. His chest felt tight as he suppressed the cough building up. He clutched his hand around Jess' wrist, looking for stability when his head started spinning.
"Sam?" Jess asked. "Sam, look at me."
But he didn't. Their voices melted into each other as his legs went limp and he crashed on the floor.

The light was blinding when he opened his eyes. Dean and Gabriel were standing at the end of the bed, talking about something Sam couldn't understand. He slowly tilted his head to see Rowena standing over a bowl and what he thought was the Book of the Damned. Then, he turned further to see Jess, her lips moving to words that were drowned out by a garbled mess of words.
"Sam? Sam." She ran her hand up and down his arm. "Sam? Can you hear me?"
Sam tried to answer, but only started coughing, his entire chest cramped.
Immediately, he caught Gabe's attention. Gabe walked away from Dean and gently pushed Sam in his pillow. "Hey, bedtime." He pushed a hand to Sam's forehead, a soft glow radiating as the cough got worse. Gabriel looked frustrated, watching Rowena. "Hurry up."
"It is a very complicated spell," Rowena said. She turned a few pages and reached into a box. "It will take its time."
"We don't have that time," Dean said. "Hurry up."
Sam carefully reached for Gabe's hand. "I'm sorry." His voice was coarse and it surely felt like a horrible idea to talk.
"It's okay," Gabe hushed. "Just try to hold on, okay? We can fix this."
Sam closed his eyes. "Can you... Can you... get my- my parents?"
Gabe watched him, but got up and brought them.
Mary smiled, but Sam could see the concern. "Hey, Sammy." She knelt down next to the bed and brushed over his hand. "How are you?"
Sam shook his head. "Not good." He looked away and sighed. "I don't think I'll get to..." He let out a deep cough. "I won't get to meet my baby brother..."
Mary shook her head. "Don't say that. Death isn't permanent for Winchesters, you should know."
"Please tell him that I love him still..."
"You won't die." John put a hand on Mary's shoulder. "You're strong. Stronger than whatever this is."
Sam shook his head. "I know we didn't always get along perfectly but-"
"No no, we don't need to talk about this, and you're surely not dying. Not on my watch."
"I'm sorry, dad."
Dean rubbed his hands together. "Rowena is working on it. It's complicated, but she says it's possible."
His vision was blurry, mainly tears creating a watery effect. He was unsure whether he cried because of the pain or because his life was slipping out of his hands. Both, he eventually concluded. He squirmed, then coughed, then lifted himself out of the pillow. "Serah," he coughed.
"No way, Sam. Nobody is dying, nobody is saying goodbye." Gabe held his hand. "Let's focus on your recovery."
"Please..." Sam's voice was practically crumbling under his sore throat and limited air supply. He watched over Dean, who was kneeling in front of the bed. Serah had been watching for a few minutes, black streaks of make-up running down her face. Sam forced on a smile and held back another cough. "You can come in."
Serah shook her head. "I-I... I don't want to disturb anyone. Dean said-"
"Dean is an old, grumpy man who isn't allowed to make rules for you." Sam lifted himself up and leaned against the headboard. Quietly, Serah walked inside the room but stopped beside the bed. Sam reached for her hand and pulled her closer. "Will you promise me something?"
Serah watched him. "Of course I will, dad."
Sam kept up the smile that made his entire face hurt. "Take care of your siblings for me, will you?" He wrapped his arms around her. "And... don't go to lawschool. Do something fun with your life." He felt successful, when she cracked a little smile. "And if I ever see you on a hunt, I will personally come and haunt you until you stop."
Serah leaned her head against his shoulder. "Promise?"
"Only if you promise too."
Serah nodded. Not even Sam's heartbeat, a fool proof method, could calm her down anymore. "I love you, dad."
"I love you too, kiddo." He lifted his eyes and met Gabriel's. He smiled. "I guess it's your turn now."
"Sam, no." Gabe shook his head. "Don't do this."
"I love you so much. You really were one of the best things that happened to me ever." He held his hand and brushed over the back of it. "You gave me three wonderful children..."
"You're not dying, Sam." He turned to Rowena. "How long do you need?"
"I'm working on it!"
Sam had a coughing fit, he gasped for air as if he was running out. "Gabe..."  He sunk into his pillow. "I didn't mean a single thing I said earlier." He closed his eyes and moved his head. "Whatever I said, I didn't mean it. I love you-... I love you more than I love myself." Tears dropped onto the pillow and Sam coughed more and more. Finally, when his coughing died down and there was nothing more than a sliver of his voice left, Sam turned his attention to both his husband and his brother. "I know it's a lot but... Please... Take- take care of-... of the kids."
Dean watched him, then turned to Rowena. "Hurry up!"
"I'm nearly done!" she yelled.
"Hear that, Sam?" Gabe softly squeezed his hand. "She's almost ready. Hold on."
Sam kept quiet. He was absolutely silent. He didn't talk, he didn't cough, not even the sound of his noisy breathing was audible anymore. It was now that Serah had lost track of Sam's already faint heartbeat.
"Dad?" she asked. She got up from his lap and sat on the edge of the mattress. "Dad!"
Dean clenched his jaw. "Rowena!"
Rowena sighed in panic, yet she managed to speak the incarnations flawlessly. A bright fire lit up in the bowl. The room was silent. Expectingly, Rowena watched Sam. "He should waake up."
"Why doesn't he?" Serah asked.
"If he doesn't, the spell didn't work."
Dean got threateningly close. "What do you mean it didn't work?"
"There's only so many things a witch can do." She defensively raised her hands. "My condolences, Dean."
"I'm gonna show you-"
John put a hand on Dean's shoulder and turned him around. "Not now," John whispered.
Beside the bed, Gabe was clutching Sam's hand, tears streaming down his face as he kept mumbling to himself. "I love you," Gabriel said. "I love you so much."
Right beside him, Serah cried, hands covering her face as she sobbed into them.
Dean shook his head in denial. "He can't be- No..." He didn't want to believe it's true. He couldn't believe he had lost his baby brother.