"Why? W-why me?" Sam stuttered. He couldn't believe it. He was the one who broke the final seal. God damn it!
"Because... because it had to be you, Sammy. It always had to be you," Ruby breathed. She grinned wide with elation. "You saved us. You set him free. And he's gonna be grateful. He's gonna repay you in ways that you can't even imagine."
The door crashed open and Dean stumbled through. He glared at Ruby as soon as he regained his footing.
"You're too late," Ruby said, staring Dean down.
"I don't care," Dean hissed back.
Ruby took a step back, jumping when Sam grabbed her arms from behind to hold her in place. She watched Dean approach with a look a pure fury. Ruby reached back to try and grab Sam's side, pressing back into him in an attempt to get distance between her and Dean.
"Sam," Ruby said in a strange, wobbly tone moments before Dean thrust the knife into her stomach.
Sam froze in place. He knew that tone. He knew that voice. It had been nearly four years since Sam last heard it, but he would recognize that voice anywhere. Jess.
"I'm sorry," Sam said, broken. He didn't know if he was talking to Dean or Ruby. Jess. To Jess. Dear, god, he just helped Dean kill Jess. Ruby was Jess?
Everything around Sam happened so fast that it turned into a blur. Dean talking. Loud noises. Bright light. Airplane? Sam didn't know anymore. Nothing made any sense. It was in the middle of a shower that he began to register what was happening around him again.
"250 years," Sam muttered, ignoring the water dripping down his face as he continued to stand under the shower head. "Jess...was in Hell...for 250 years..."
That was more than enough time to turn a human soul into a demon. But did Jess go through that? Did Jess actually go to Hell? If she did, then why? What did Jess do to be sent to Hell when she died? Ruby said she was a witch when she was human. A witch during the Black Plague, which was over 600 years ago. How could Ruby be Jess when Ruby lived so long ago? But Ruby lied constantly, so how could Sam trust her assertion that she was a 14th century witch?
Nothing made any sense. But Sam knew he needed to trust his instincts. And they were saying that Ruby was Jess. Her voice said everything.
"God..." Sam gasped, leaning forward to press his forehead against the wall of the shower stall. His shoulders shook as he began to sob. "Jess. I'm so sorry."