The shot seemed to echo in his very core until he wasn't sure whether he'd heard it or had become aware of it in the same way he'd sensed the sharp shift in Raphael's aura. In seconds, he was back in Raphael's doorway, met with the gruesome sight of Raphael, the sickly scarlet of blood oozing around his hands as he clutched desperately at his own abdomen. For the space of a breath, the healer stood, gaping, eyes wide, a stupefied mesh of surprise and fear flashing across his expression. Then, before Gabriel could react, Raphael had sunk to the floor.
He'd arrived just in time to see Michael lunge at Constantine, who had looked more than a little baffled himself; instinctively, Gabriel realized that the mortal was probably not stupid enough to have still been standing around if he'd just deliberately wounded an archangel, but Gabriel was faced with little choice as he didn't dare leave Raphael unattended. Momentarily ignoring the scuffle, he rushed to the wounded angel's side.
"Raphael, hold on," he whispered calmly, soothingly, falling without thought into ancient words as he knelt, gently urging the other's hands away from his abdomen to see the extent of the injury. "It'll be all right, dear, you'll be all right..."
He pressed his hand to the other angel's chest, feeling Raphael's chest rise and fall weakly beneath his touch. A shock of pain seared his own nerves when first he reached out, but he pressed on in his effort, seeking torn vessels and damaged flesh where the life slowly seeped from this mortal form. His eyes fell closed, and though yelps of both anger and pain filled the air around him, he struggled to stay focused. Little by little, the damage began to reverse itself; the offending bullet lodged deep in the angel's abdomen dissolved into nothingness; muscle, sinew, flesh was knit together; and with some struggle at the exertion of his powers, Raphael's body was once more made whole.
Gabriel gasped faintly when his awareness returned once more fully to himself, but he recovered from the shock of it quickly to turn his attention to Raphael's yet unmoving face. He touched one cheek lightly, cautiously, asking quietly, "Raphael?"
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He'd arrived just in time to see Michael lunge at Constantine, who had looked more than a little baffled himself; instinctively, Gabriel realized that the mortal was probably not stupid enough to have still been standing around if he'd just deliberately wounded an archangel, but Gabriel was faced with little choice as he didn't dare leave Raphael unattended. Momentarily ignoring the scuffle, he rushed to the wounded angel's side.
"Raphael, hold on," he whispered calmly, soothingly, falling without thought into ancient words as he knelt, gently urging the other's hands away from his abdomen to see the extent of the injury. "It'll be all right, dear, you'll be all right..."
He pressed his hand to the other angel's chest, feeling Raphael's chest rise and fall weakly beneath his touch. A shock of pain seared his own nerves when first he reached out, but he pressed on in his effort, seeking torn vessels and damaged flesh where the life slowly seeped from this mortal form. His eyes fell closed, and though yelps of both anger and pain filled the air around him, he struggled to stay focused. Little by little, the damage began to reverse itself; the offending bullet lodged deep in the angel's abdomen dissolved into nothingness; muscle, sinew, flesh was knit together; and with some struggle at the exertion of his powers, Raphael's body was once more made whole.
Gabriel gasped faintly when his awareness returned once more fully to himself, but he recovered from the shock of it quickly to turn his attention to Raphael's yet unmoving face. He touched one cheek lightly, cautiously, asking quietly, "Raphael?"