"My second witness is John Winchester," Osiris said.
Their father appeared in the witness stand. "Boys?" he asked. "What's going on?"
"Silence, I ask the questions," Osiris said. "State your name."
"John Winchester." He wondered what was going on. It seemed like a trial.
"How did you die, Mr. Winchester?"
"I had a heart attack," John said.
"And what caused that heart attack?" Osiris asked. "Remember, you are under oath."
John sighed. "I sold my soul."
"In exchange for what?" Osiris asked.
"My oldest son's life. He was laying in a hospital bed, dying."
"Your witness," Osiris said.
"Did Dean ask you to sell your soul for him?" Sam asked.
"No," John answered. If Dean was on trial, John was glad Sam was defending him. Sam was smart and would pull out all the stops for his brother.
"Why was Dean in the hospital in the first place?" Sam asked. He just realized his best strategy would probably be to make everything his fault. He had missed that opportunity on the last case, but if he could do that with his father's deal and whatever the next thing was, he could probably save Dean.
"We were in a car accident," John answered.
"Who was driving?"
John immediately saw what Sam was doing. He didn't want either of his sons sacrificing themselves for the other. He wanted them both to be fine. "You were, but it wasn't your fault."
"What caused the accident?" Sam asked.
"A demon in a truck crashed into us," John answered.
"How did the demon know where to find us?" Sam asked.
"I assume the yellow-eyed demon told him."
Again, Sam expected an objection, but again, none was forthcoming.
"Who allowed the yellow-eyed demon to escape?" Sam asked.
John sighed. He had forgotten that Sam was stubborn just like he was. "You did, but only because you hadn't wanted to kill me."
"So, if I had killed you, the demon would be dead, there would have been no accident, and you would never have gone to Hell?"
"I guess," John said.
"No further questions," Sam said, knowing he had made his point.
John joined the other witnesses on the bench. "Who would you like to call?" Osiris asked.
Sam thought about it. There was nobody else he could call that would prove that John's selling his soul was ultimately his responsibility, so he would just try to work on absolving Dean's guilt. "Samuel Campbell."
"What?" Dean asked.
John was perplexed. Mary's father had died years before Sam was even born. Why was he calling him? How would he even know about him.
Samuel appeared in the witness box. "Sam," he said.
"What was the first thing you did when Crowley brought you back?" Sam asked, hoping he was betting right.
"I tried to sell my soul to bring Mary back. "Crowley wouldn't go along with that, though, because he wanted something else."
Sam just nodded. He didn't care about that right now. "Why your daughter, and not your wife?"
"Well, I loved Deanna, of course, but it's not natural for your child to go first."
"So, would you say it's reasonable that any parent who lost a child would do anything to get them back?" Sam asked.
"Definitely," Samuel responded.
"It's the natural order of things?" Sam asked.
"Yes," Samuel said. He was totally confused about what was going on. He wondered if this meant that Mary was coming back.
"So, if a parent sold his soul, the child should feel no guilt or responsibility? The parent wouldn't want that?"
"Of course not," Samuel responded.
"No further questions," Sam said.
Samuel joined the others in the box. "What's going on?" he whispered to John.
"Dean's on trial for stuff he feels guilty about, I think," John whispered back. He had never gotten along with Mary's father, but he was Mary's father and had been trying to sell his soul for her. Maybe he had more in common with the old man then he thought.
Dean went to the witness stand.
"Dean, have you ever sold your soul?" Sam asked.
Dean rolled his eyes. "Yes."
"For what?" Sam asked.
"To bring you back from the dead," Dean answered.
John gasped. So, one of his sons had already sacrificed himself for the other. He wondered how much time Dean had left on his deal.
"Did I ask you to?" Sam asked.
"No, you were dead," Dean pointed out.
Sam smiled. Even when on trial for his life, Dean was still a smart alec.
"Do you remember what I said to you when I found out what you had done?" Sam asked.
"You said I shouldn't have done it," Dean said.
"What did you say in response?" Sam asked.
"I said it was my job to protect you," Dean remembered.
"And what did I tell you a week or so later, about what you had done?" Sam asked.
Dean remembered that also. "You said it was selfish."
"Do you agree with that?" Sam asked.
Dean nodded. He had done it so that he wouldn't be alone. He hadn't cared at the time about the effect on Sam.
"Then wouldn't it follow that it was also selfish when Dad did it?" Sam asked.
John squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. He hadn't thought about it like that. He was just trying to save his son. He hadn't thought about the guilt that Dean would have been feeling. But then again, because of the Colt, he had been able to adjust the deal so he had a heart attack instead of Hell Hounds. He had been hoping Dean would never find out. But, secrets never stayed secrets forever.
Dean looked at his dad. "Yes," he whispered. He had felt guilty that whole year. Samuel might have said it was the natural order of things, but it wasn't. Dealing with demons was wrong. OK, he was being a bit of a hypocrite, but nothing new about that.
"So, why should you feel guilty about somebody else's selfish act?" Sam asked.
"I guess I shouldn't," Dean admitted.
"No further questions," Sam said. He felt he had really won that one. He could only hope. There was nothing more he could have done.