After the four of them did their recon at the hospitals and all met back up at the motel room Sam explained how he had another vision. Since it was new information for John, they were filling him in on everything and he wasn't taking it so well. In fact, the more he heard, the more pissed he got.
Sam sat at the table as he rubbed his temples in pain. Dean and John sat on the end of each bed as Angel stood across from them carefully gauging their fathers reaction.
When John spoke, his voice was flat, "A vision."
"Yes." Sam answered slowly and painfully, "I saw the demon burning a woman on the ceiling."
"And you think this is going to happen to this woman you met because…?"
"Because these things happen exactly the way I see them."
"It started out as nightmares." Dean explained as he rose and crossed the room to the counter behind Sam to get more coffee, "Then it started happening while he was awake."
"Yeah…" Sam winced, "It's like the closer I get to anything to do with the demon the stronger the visions get."
"There's others like him…" John's eyes snapped to Angel as she started talking, "He's not the only one."
"Alright." His voice raised angrily as he directed that anger to his eldest, "When were you going to tell me about this?"
All three of them turned to look at John, who was glaring heavily at Angel, before Dean shook his head, "We didn't know what it meant."
"Yeah Dad, and-"
John's angry yelling cut her off, "Alright, something like this starts happening to your brother, you pick up the phone and you call me!"
"Are you serious?" Angel's anger instantly peaked as she got up and walked toward John, her brothers watching in shock, "Call you? I did call you! All the freakin time! I mean Sam and I both tried to get ahold of you when Dean was dying, dying, Dad! And you never, not once, picked up our phone calls or called us back! Getting you on the phone is next to winning the lottery, old man."
John studied her sadly as his anger deflated at her words, "You're right…"
"Damn straight." At his glare she cleared her throat, "Sorry, sir."
"I'm not too crazy about this new tone of yours, but you're right… I'm sorry."
"Look guys, visions or no visions, fact is, we know the demon is coming tonight." Sam said, reining them in, "And this family's gonna go through the same hell we went through."
"No they're not." John shook his head with conviction, "No one is… ever again."
When Sam's phone rang he looked down at it before answering, "Hello?"
"Sam?"
Sam stiffened at the familiar voice, "Who is this?"
"Think real hard. It'll come to you."
His face hardened, "Meg." Angel, Dean and John turned to him at that, "Last time I saw you, you fell out of a window."
"Oh yeah, thanks to you. That really hurt my feelings, by the way."
"Just your feelings? That was a seven-story drop."
"Let me speak to your Dad."
"My Dad…" Sam looked to John, "I don't know where my Dad is."
"It's time for the grown ups to talk, Sam. Let me speak to him now."
Sam hesitated but handed the phone to John when he walked over and motioned for it, "This is John."
"Howdy John. I'm Meg. I'm a friend of your kids. I'm also the one who watched Jim Murphy choke on his own blood."
John looked at the floor in grief but Meg trotted on.
"Still there John-boy?"
"I'm here."
"Well, that was yesterday. Today I'm in Lincoln. Visiting another old friend of yours. He wants to say hi…"
Caleb's voice was heard through the phone next, "John, whatever you do don't give-"
John stiffened at the sound of his friend, "Caleb?" The boys and Angel react to the name instantly, going on alert, "You listen to me. He's got nothing to do with anything. You let him go."
"We know you have the colt, John."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, okay. So listen to this."
The next thing John heard was Caleb gasping and drowning in his own blood, "Caleb? Caleb!"
"Can you hear that? That's the sound of your friend dying. Now, let's try this again. We know you have the gun, John. Word travels fast. So as far as we're concerned, you just declared war. And this is what war looks like. It has casualties."
John's face hardened hatefully, "I'm gonna kill you, you know that?"
Meg chuckled, "Oh, John, please. Mind your blood pressure. So this is the thing- We're going to keep doing what we're doing, and your friends, anyone who has ever helped you, gave you shelter, anyone you ever loved, they'll all die unless you give us that gun. Starting with your daughter's cute little hunter boyfriend. Bet she won't be too happy when she hears your reason he's the next dead victim." John quieted as he thought, the boys and Angel close by his side listening and Angel's eyes widened as she heard her threats to Asa, "I'm waiting Johnny. Better answer before the buzzer."
John clenched his jaw as he answered begrudgingly, "Okay."
"Sorry? I didn't quite get that."
"I said okay. I'll bring you the colt."
"There's a warehouse in Lincoln on the corner of Wabash and Lake. You're gonna meet me there."
John shook his head, "It's gonna take me about a day's drive to get there."
"Meet me there at midnight tonight."
"That's impossible. I can't get there in time and I can't just carry a gun on the plane."
"Oh. Then I guess your daughter's boyfriend and all your friends die don't they? If you do decide to make it, come alone."
Later on…
Sam eyed their father, "So you think Meg is a demon?"
"Either that, or she's possessed by one." John shook his head, "It doesn't really matter."
Dean asked, "What do we do?"
Angel hung up the phone and turned to them, "Asas been warned. I gave him a list of a few of the people who she might target next. He's gonna keep an eye out…"
"Good." John nodded then looked at them seriously, "I'm going to Lincoln."
Angel scoffed, "What?"
"It doesn't look like we have a choice. If I don't go, a lot of people die. Our friends, apparently your hunter boyfriend, they all die…"
"Dad, the demon is coming tonight." Sam countered, "For Monica and her family. That gun is all we got, you can't just hand it over."
"Who said anything about handing it over?" He smirked mischievously, "Besides us and a coupla of vampires no ones really seen the gun, no one knows what it looks like."
"So what…" Dean motioned, "You're just going to pick up a ringer at a pawn shop?"
"Antique store."
"You're going to hand Meg a fake gun and hope she doesn't notice?"
"Look, as long as it's close, she shouldn't be able to tell the difference."
"Yeah but for how long? What happens when she figures it out?"
"I just… I just need to buy a few hours, that's all."
Sam looked him over and something came to him as he realized what his dad meant, "You mean for the three of us."
"What?" Angel looked between them then stopped and stared at her father, "You want us to stay here, and kill this demon by ourselves? This is your fight too, Dad!"
He took a deep breath, "I know but look… I want to stop losing people we love. I want you to- to have a family, I want Sam to go to school, I want Dean to have a home. I want…" He turned away from them, "I want Mary alive. It's just… I just want this to be over."
On the side of a muddy back road…
Sam and John stood at the back of his truck, checking weapons as the Impala came toward them.
When Angel and Dean got out, John turned to them, "You get it?"
"You know this is a trap don't you?" Dean said as he pulled a brown paper bag out of his pocket and handed it to John who pulled out an antique gun, "That's why Meg wants you to come alone."
"I can handle her. I got a whole arsenal loaded. Holy water, Mandaic, amulets…"
Dean looked at him for a long moment, "Dad…"
"What?"
"Promise me something."
"What's that?"
"This thing goes south just… get the hell out. Don't get yourself killed alright? You're no good to us dead."
"Same goes for you." There's another intense long pause as the four of them stared at each other emotionally, "Alright, listen to me. They made the bullets special for this colt. There's only four of them left. Without them this gun is useless. You make every shot count."
The three of them answered in unison, "Yes sir."
"Been waiting a long time for this fight. Now it's here I'm not gonna be in it." His jaw clenched as he handed the colt off to Dean, "It's up to you three now. It's your fight, you finish this. You finish what I started. Understand?"
Sam nodded sadly, "We'll see you soon, Dad."
"I'll see you later."
John gave them one last long look before getting into his truck and leaving, his three kids watching sadly as he pulled away.
