She came back to herself in the corner of the room, and the reaper was no longer in sight, but the boys were here. Her boys were moving across the spot she'd been a few moments before, guns at the ready, following the freak's bloody trail in reverse. Dean was in the lead. He would see what was left before his brother. Charlie wanted to block his way.
As if answering that thought, the reaper appeared again at her elbow. "Listen to me, Celeste."
She jerked away, felt like she had hit the wall with her back. "Stop that! That hasn't been my name for a long time—you ought to know, digging around in my brain—"
"Alright. Charlie."
She stilled, even as Dean echoed the name from the bathroom. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sam pull back, hand at his mouth, and the shard in her chest widened.
The reaper, still in her goth-cutie guise, did not move closer this time, but she leaned her head forward, chin up, as she spoke. Her voice was low, intent, slapping at Charlie's attention. "You still think they can fix this, fix you. Understand me now, Charlie. Even if they take your bones to Castiel—and they will want to-and even if he heals your body's wounds and fetches back your soul, which he will do if they ask—you will be haunted by this moment. This must not happen."
The woman straightened, spreading her arms in a placating gesture, showing Charlie her pale palms. "My brethren began it, interfering from outside the human sphere. The demons willfully perverted mortals for their own ends while the angels stood by, and now these men, these Winchesters, make a game of mortality. There has been too much meddling, my charge, and each interference joins with the rest and comes crashing back over the world in waves of destruction. Your resurrection might only be a tiny stone dropped in the water—" her face softened. "But even this breaks the surface, begins a ripple. Would you have your life added to the waves? Will you risk the storm?"
Charlie put up her hand to stop the speech. "I get it. OK. 'Come with me or help drown the world.'" A slight smile tugged at her lips. "Please, could I just have a few minutes? Say goodbye?"
The reaper bowed her head, stepped back, and disappeared from view.