It was 3 in the morning when Sam finally walked through the door of the bunker after his trip from Maine. The Impala was still packed with Kat's belongings. That was a problem for tomorrow. As he descended the stairs he saw one of the accountants' lamps shining dimly in the great room.
He walked toward it and saw Kat standing over the table with papers spread out and James balanced in her right arm. She bounced up and down gently, but paid attention only to the papers, scanning the content with her left pointer finger.
"Hey," he greeted quietly. "Hey," she said peeking a glance up through her eyelashes then looking to the side at James. She seemed satisfied with how deeply he slept and she gingerly placed him in a basket further down the table. It was far enough from the lamp to be shrouded in shadow. He hiccuped softly but then settled.
"How was the drive?" Kat asked.
"Uneventful." Sam shrugged and sat down in a chair. Kat looked up at him, her face conflicted.
"I've got to tell you something," she began. "I haven't told Dean the full truth, and I don't think I should. I don't want you to have to keep secrets but-" she rambled.
Sam held up a hand to stop her "It's ok, it wouldn't be the first time," he said.
She took a deep breath. "I had a sort of vision...when I was unconscious. My best guess is that I was in limbo, or like the veil between life and death. I was running and there was fighting happening around me like I could hear guns and things like that. It was all black but then I saw someone standing there..." Kat trailed off and furrowed her brows.
"What?" Sam asked.
"This is where it gets weird," she confessed. "The man turned around, he looked maybe 20 years old. I saw his face and I just got the sense that I knew him somehow. He told me: 'we don't have long, you'll be awake soon. We had to time it perfectly'. It was like he came to find me at that exact moment."
"Like time travel or astral projection," Sam suggested.
"Exactly," said Kat.
"But who was the man?" Sam mused. Kat gave a pained smirk and looked over at the basket where James lay. Sam's eyes widened then grew bright with understanding.
"Terminator-style," Kat joked. Her face became solemn once again. "Sam, I think I die. Like, no miraculous recovery, really die. And the three of you are in the future somewhere trying to change the past." He told me to look for Slainge's Well, to not get separated from you at the Great Oak, and to have a backup," Kat sighed.
Sam slumped in his chair, the weight of the news crashing down on him. "You're right, Dean can't know. It'll only mess with his judgment," Sam agreed after taking a long pause. "I bet you've already researched the well?"
"You should play lotto," Kat remarked snidely.
"Hey," Sam said forcefully, responding to her defensive sarcasm. "We'll figure this out." His face was serious and steady. Kat believed that he believed so, even if she had her doubts.
She looked towards James and sighed. "It was the eyes that did it. I just knew they were Dean's. He was so young, but it seemed like he'd already seen too much."
"Being a kid of Dean's I think that's inevitable. It's just the way our lives are," Sam said resignedly.
A few miles away on the outskirts of Lebanon a street was quiet. Devoid of their residents, the houses sat dark in the misty early morning. One of the blight-affected trees swayed limply as a breeze rushed through it. Moments later, the bark seemed to move. The tree writhed as a force seemed to stretch it from the inside like it was elastic. Seconds later the form broke free from the bark. First, a foot extended out into the night and then the leg, until a woman stood next to the trunk. Her body was tall and slender. Her skin was as dark as the bark from which she'd emerged and just as weathered. Her hair was black wiry tendrils that looked like the roots of a tree. They wove in and out of each other, reaching a foot off her head. She was beautiful and otherworldly.
She surveyed her surroundings and gently touched the leaves hanging off of a branch over her head. She touched them so carefully it was almost unintelligible. The ravaged land upset her. She'd seen Earth like this many years before. Before the Tuatha had defeated the Fomori it had looked the same. Her sole purpose now was preventing it from worsening. The first step was to find the girl, the second, was to make her ready.
The next morning Kat was busy unpacking her few belongings back into her room. She'd set up the Pack-N-Play in the corner of the room and hung a little mobile Dean had brought back with his spoils. All the while, yelling to Dean who was in the bathroom across the hall. Although she couldn't see him, she could feel his eyes rolling at her through the walls. Kat knew she was infuriating him.
"Dean, Rowena thinks I'm dead which means she won't be looking very hard for me."
"All the more reason to keep you hidden," Dean called spitting out toothpaste into the sink.
"But," she interjected. "We need to make more aggressive moves. We're ending this and you can't without me remember? An ancient magic bloodline you're forgetting about?"
He came through the door and went to the dresser, pulling on a black t-shirt. Kat allowed herself a glance at the curve of his chest. He spun around and placed the heels of his hands on the dresser. Allowing his head to hang back in exasperation he sighed.
"Dean, I need to be in on all of this. I need to know how to use the spear, to be there for every development. I think the key to keeping me safe is knowing that at some point you have to let the leash go. It's a risk but in my eyes, it's one worth taking," Kat leveled. She reached her hand out and placed it on his chest.
"How often have you tried to control every aspect of a situation and had it all crumble in front of you?" Kat pleaded.
Dean reached up and took a fistful of her sweater in his hand. He recoiled his arm, dragging her with it until she was flush with his chest.
"Every damn time," he said.
"Exactly, so just put a little faith in me," Kat implored.
After much arguing, Kat Sam and Dean piled into the Impala. They left Cas, James resting in the crook of his arm, assuring them he was perfectly capable of caring for an infant. Dean seemed to have more trepidation than Kat did. He turned to look over his shoulder multiple times before finally climbing into the cab of the car. Kat had insisted that if they could identify what disease was affecting Lebanon, they'd be able to find the appropriate cure.
Sam, constantly thinking of what Kat had told him the night earlier, had agreed with her logic. They couldn't hide anymore. Taking risks may be exactly what they needed to do. If they were going to change her fate, they might as well do the opposite of what they'd already done.
As they drove through town the air was thick and dense with fog. It smelled of a swamp. Heavy, musty and wet. As they passed the library Kat felt a pang of bittersweet sadness. She thought of April and Ruth and hoped they would be spared if this fight ended badly.
Dean pulled the Impala to the curb in front of the large park in town. The chains of the swings rattled against each other creating an ominous setting. The playground looked like a ghost ship, metal poles jutting out of the fog like rigging.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Dean asked.
"We need samples, grab leaves, grass, anything that looks affected," Kat said distractedly. She found herself gravitating towards a particularly large tree. Its bark seemed dehydrated and especially wrinkled. Several large stones surrounded it. They were piled on each other, creating what looked like a small doorway. Sam followed Kat towards them, having made a vow to himself he'd always watch her back.
As he got closer to the tree he heard a faint whispering.
"Do you hear that?" He asked, incredulous.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing..." Kat breathed. The sound was guttural and low.
"It sounds like Gaelic," she said.
Dean, noticing the pair of them standing by the tree, stood from picking some grass off of the dull lawn.
Examining his findings blandly he called "Find something?" No response came and he looked toward the tree. Sam and Kat had disappeared.
An immense pressure, like sinking into a silo full of grain, surrounded Kat and Sam. The chanting was deafening as they were thrust through the dense air. Suddenly, they stopped. A desolate field materialized around them. The cold wind whipped Sam's jacket around his waist.
"What the hell?" Sam said.
"I'm getting real sick of this crap," Kat remarked.
"I have brought you here because we work towards the same goal." Kat and Sam spun around. A woman stood before them. She was taller than Sam with dark brown skin. She seemed youthful yet her skin was wrinkled like the bark of the tree they had stood beside moments ago. Her hair stood in stiff curly peaks on her head. Kat thought they resembled roots like she were an upturned tree.
"I am the goddess Danu," said the woman, silkily. "I am going to show you history," she stated.
"What is this A Christmas Carol? You're the ghost of Christmas past?" Kat spat. Sam gave her a chiding look. The woman smiled.
"We were born from the sea," she began. As she spoke she walked to a cliff face that Kat hadn't seen appear. Sam followed the goddess to the edge. There was a fleet of ships that were made of water. The bow, mast, and rigging seemed to be an ever-flowing fountain of water. "My children ruled for many years until the First Battle. They were defeated by the Fomorians." A loud crashing came from behind the trio. Kat spun around and saw a massive Fomorian tumbling to the ground as if a cannonball had just burst through it. Wood splintered all around as the gods and goddesses did battle with the creatures.
Danu walked forward into the midst of the chaos. She knelt, in front of a Fomorian with a crown of spiky twigs on its head. Danu played her role in the retelling and returned to Sam and Kat who were standing awestruck.
"During this time, we studied. Learned to heal, and to read the stars. Once we were masters of our crafts we returned to claim our rightful place." The field dissolved into a dense forest. A god with cornsilk colored hair cropped at his shoulders knelt next to a fire. The man was an Adonis. His skin was translucently pale, and the flame he knelt before played off of the blue of his veins.
Another man lay next to the flames. He coughed up black blood. "Dian Cecht became our most prolific physician. His power could not be matched," Danu continued. Dian rushed to the man's side, pulled back a woolen blanket to reveal a horrific wound. His stomach was slashed to ribbons. Dian reached for a steaming clay bowl and poured the liquid onto the wound. The man writhed and screamed for only a moment before exhaling a breath of relief.
"What was that? What he just poured on him," Sam asked feverishly.
"That is what will save Katherine's life. Water from Slainge's Well, yarrow and comfrey boiled together under a harvest moon." Kat looked to Sam wide-eyed. "You must be the one to slay this witch harnessing Balor's power. In doing so, you will perish. You will be trapped in the Other Realm. However, with this tincture, you may be trapped and alive." Danu explained.
"Trapped and alive means we might be able to bring you back," Sam said to Kat, his mind reeling. Danu smiled knowingly at him. She walked forward and they followed. They left Dian Cecht behind and went deeper into the forest. All sunlight was cut out by the dense foliage on the trees. A small clearing became visible and in the center stood a decrepit well. It was stone, with moss covering most of its volume. There was no pulley and basin to retrieve the water. Danu simply stood before the well and raised her hand. A stream of water shot up from the hole and she held it in the air. It was free-floating and mimicking the motions she made with her hand. From her sash, she pulled a large vial. She pointed at the mouth of the glass and the water shot inside. The goddess handed it to Kat who stared for a moment at the silvery water spinning in the vial, before placing it in her jeans pocket.
Danu snapped her fingers and they were returned to the field. "The Second Battle was fought and we were once again returned to the leadership of the ancient world. My grandson, Lugh, used the great spear to pierce Balor's eye. It is a mighty weapon, one you will have to learn to wield," Danu explained.
"Yeah too bad, I can't even touch the thing," Kat snorted. She remembered the way it had burned her.
"I will show you, if you'll allow me," Danu offered. She returned her attention to the battle being waged before them. A short and muscular man stood clutching the spear. He repeated an incantation, with closed eyes and the spear began to glow. His sandy brown curls bounced as he ran decisively towards Balor. Balor was huge, his massive form blocked the sun from shining and cast Lugh in shadow. A throw which seemed to employ each one of the young god's muscles, sent the spear flying into Balor's eye. The monster shrieked in pain and stumbled to the ground.
"The only way to defeat them is with the spear. Fomorians cannot exist in the mortal realm without a leader. She is trapping them there. We gods of old were cast out by Christianity and exist now only in the Other," Danu said wistfully.
"Why are you helping us?" Kat asked bluntly.
"I am the mother of all things. My sole purpose is to keep the natural order. I exist purely to ensure everything stays it's natural course. What is happening, is unnatural," She concluded. In the moment it took Kat to blink, the mortal world had reassembled itself around them. They stood in the park again, but it was now dark.
"I'll await your call," Danu said. Her body slowly reintegrated itself with the bark until she was gone. Sam pulled out his phone and clicked it a few times before giving up.
"I guess inter-dimensional travel zaps phone battery," Kat sighed.
"Good to know," Sam quipped back.
"We better start walking, your brother is probably not very happy right now," Kat said.
Back at the bunker, Dean had been pacing for hours. At first, he remained at the park calling out Sam and Kat's names hoping they'd just reappear. After an hour of this, he returned to the bunker. He'd tried all the location spells he knew and nothing revealed where they were. In a last-ditch effort, he'd summoned Joni.
Now, Cas hovered over Dean's shoulder as he watched Joni work voodoo over a world map they'd found. James sucked happily on the pacifier in his mouth
"Glad you're having a good time," Dean said to his son sarcastically. "What does that mean?" he asked, directing his attention to the young witch.
"It means I've done this like five times and they're still not showing up," she whined, exasperated.
"Yes, but what does that mean?" Dean asked again, his patience wearing thin.
"It means they're not on Earth," she said.
"That's impossible, where could they have gone outer space? Last I checked there weren't any rockets at the park," Dean exclaimed.
"No, but they could be in another realm that I can't see," she said her resolve against Dean's vigor slipping. Dean threw up his hands in annoyance.
"I don't know what else you want me to tell you, they're not here," she reiterated.
Kat and Sam had just pushed open the door to the bunker when Dean began to raise his voice sternly.
"And I am telling you, they have to be somewhere!" Dean roared.
"Hey listen, I don't need this. I did all I could to help you out," Joni snapped. Kat didn't recognize the girl's voice and looked back at Sam questioningly. "A witch, we met while we were looking for you," he replied. "Let's get down there before things get ugly," he added.
"Hey!" Kat called as they descended the stairs. All three heads snapped to attention at the sound of her voice. "We're back, down boy," she called to Dean who had begun to close the distance between them.
He got to Kat and started assessing her for injury. He lifted her arms and turned her head from left to right.
"We're fine," Kat reassured him.
"Then where the hell were you?" Dean demanded.
Sam stepped forward and threw his arms up in defeat. "The Other realm we think. What time is it?" He said, looking around for a clock.
"It's 11 pm," Dean responded sourly.
"So strange, it seemed like we were gone for a matter of minutes, not hours," Kat mused.
"Well, it wasn't," Dean said angrily.
"Would you forgive us if I told you we have a new ally?" Kat teased. Dean spun around and stared at her. The look in his eyes demanded an explanation.