"Hey. I think maybe you're around. And if you are, don't make fun of me for this, But, um... But there's one way we can talk" Sam said to Dean's unconscious body as stood next to his bed.
"Oh, you got to be kidding me" Dean muttered as Sam pulled out a Ouija board and sat down on the floor with it. Dean sat across from him.
"Dean? Dean, are you here?" Sam asked.
"God, I feel like I'm at a slumber party. All right, Sam. This isn't gonna work" Dean said as both brothers put their fingers on the triangle and Dean moved it to the word 'yes'.
"I'll be damned" Dean said shocked.
"Oh, it's good to hear from you, man. It hasn't been the same without you, Dean" Sam said relieved.
"Damn straight" Dean muttered before starting to the move the triangle again.
"Dean, what?" Sam said confused as he read the letters that Dean spelled out.
"H...U... Hunt? What, hunting? Are you hunting?" Sam asked and Dean moved the triangle to 'Yes'.
"Dean, it's in the hospital, what you're hunting? Do you know what it is?" Sam asked hurried.
"One question at a time, dude" Dean muttered and Sam realized as well.
"What is it?" Sam asked.
"I don't think it's killing people. I think it's taking them... You know, when... When their time is just up" Dean muttered to himself as he spelt out the word 'Reaper'.
"A reaper... Is it after you?" Sam asked worried and Dean moved the triangle to 'Yes'.
"If it's here naturally, there's no way to stop it" Sam muttered.
"Yeah, you can't kill death" Dean said.
"Man, you're, uh..." Sam whispered.
"I'm screwed, Sam. And so is Kaylee" Dean said wondering where his spirit girlfriend has gone off too.
"No. No, no, no. There's got to be a way. There's got to be a way. Dad will know what to do" Sam said in denial as he left Dean's room and went to John's but he wasn't there.
…..
John walked down the basement of the hospital and started drawing up the trap for the demon. He started muttering in Latin before cutting his hand with a knife and lighting a match before dropping it into a pile of sand and other things.
"What the hell are you doing down here, buddy?" A janitor said grabbing John on the shoulder.
"I can explain" John said quickly.
"Yeah? You're gonna explain to security. Come on. You follow me" The janitor said before John spoke up.
"Hey. How stupid you think I am?" John asked pointing the Colt at the janitor, whose eyes turned yellow and two more demons walked into the room.
"You really want an honest answer to that? You conjuring me, John? I'm surprised. I took you for a lot of things, but suicidally reckless wasn't one of them" The Demon mocked.
"I can always shoot you" John said simply.
"You could always miss. And you only got one try, don't you?" The Demon asked mockingly.
"Did you really think you could trap me?" The Demon asked amused.
"Oh, I don't want to trap you. I want to make a deal" John said surprising the demon.
"It's very unsaintly, making deals with devils. How do I know this isn't just another trick?" The Demon asked.
"It's no trick. I will give you the colt and the bullet. But you got to help Dean. You got to bring him back" John explained firmly.
"Why, John, you're a sentimentalist. If only your boys knew how much their daddy loved them" The Demon mocked.
"It's a good trade. You care hell of a lot more about this gun than you do Dean" John explained.
"Don't be so sure. Him and his freak of a girlfriend killed some people very special to me. But, still, you're right. He isn't much of a threat. And neither is your other son, of course. You know the truth, Right? About Sammy... And the other children?" The Demon taunted.
"Yeah. I've known for a while" John revealed.
"But Sam doesn't, does he? You've been playing dumb" The Demon teased.
"Can you bring Dean back? Yes or no" John said firmly.
"No. But I know someone who can. It's not a problem" The Demon said simply.
"Good. And before I give you the gun, I'm gonna want to make sure that Dean's okay, with my own eyes" John added.
"Oh, John, I'm offended. Don't you trust me? Fine" The Demon teased.
"So we have a deal?" John asked.
"No, John, not yet. You still need to sweeten the pot" The Demon said simply.
"With what?" John asked confused.
"There's something else I want as much as that gun. Maybe more" The Demon admitted.
….
"Hey, so dad wasn't in his room" Sam said returning to Dean's room.
"Where is he?" Dean asked.
"But I got dad's journal, so... Who knows? Maybe there's something in here" Sam explained as Dean walked around to read John journal over Sam's shoulder.
"Thanks for not giving up on me, Sammy" Dean said sincerely before reading something in the journal about Reapers.
"Son of a bitch" Dean snapped before waking out of the room and searching the hospital until he found Kaylee sitting on the bed.
"Hi, Dean" Kaylee said softly.
"You know, you read the most interesting things. For example, did you know that reapers can alter human perception? I sure didn't. Basically, they can make themselves appear however they want... Like, say... my girlfriend. You're much prettier than the last reaper I met" Dean said angrily pacing the floor in front of Reaper Kaylee.
"I was wondering when you'd figure it out" Reaper Kaylee said softly.
"I should have known. That whole "accepting fate" rap of yours is far too laid-back for Kaylee. My Kaylee would have fought until the end. But, you know, the body... I'm still trying to figure that one out" Dean explained.
"It's my sandbox. I can make you see whatever I want" Reaper Kaylee explained simply.
"What is this, like a turn-On for you, huh? Toying with me?" Dean spat disgusted.
"You didn't give me much choice. You saw my true form, and you flipped out. Kind of hurts a girl's feelings. This was the only way I could get you to talk to me" Reaper Kaylee explained.
"Okay, fine. We're talking. What the hell do you want to talk about?" Dean snapped.
"How death is nothing to fear. It's your time to go, Dean. And you're living on borrowed time already" Reaper Kaylee stated.
"Look, I'm sure you've heard this before, but... you got to make an exception. You got to cut me a break" Dean begged.
"Stage 3... Bargaining" Reaper Kaylee explained.
"I'm serious. My family is in danger. See, we're kind of in the middle of this, uh... War. And they need me" Dean explained heatedly.
"The fight's over" Reaper Kaylee said simply.
"No, it isn't" Dean argued.
"It is for you. Dean... You're not the first soldier I've plucked from the field. They all feel the same. They can't leave. Victory hangs in the balance. But they're wrong. The battle goes on without them" Reaper Kaylee said softly.
"My brother, he could die without me" Dean begged.
"Maybe he will. Maybe he won't. Nothing you can do about it. It's an honourable death, A warrior's death" Reaper Kaylee explained.
"I think I'll pass on the 72 virgins, thanks. I'm not that into prude chicks anyway" Dean joked.
"That's funny. You're very cute" Reaper Kaylee said smiling softly.
"There's no such thing as an honourable death. My corpse is gonna rot in the ground, and my family is gonna die. No. I'm not going with you. I don't care what you do" Dean snapped emotionally.
"Well, like you said... There's always a choice. I can't make you come with me. But, you're not getting back in your body. And that's just facts. So, yes, you can stay. You'll stay here for years... Disembodied. Scared. And over the decades, it'll probably drive you mad. Maybe you'll even get violent" Reaper Kaylee explained.
"What are you saying?" Dean asked confused.
"How do you think angry spirits are born? They can't let go, and they can't move on. And you're about to become one. The same thing you hunt. It's time to put the pain behind you" Reaper Kaylee explained softly.
"And go where?" Dean asked.
"Sorry. I can't give away the big punch line" Reaper Kaylee joked weakly.
"Is Kaylee dead? Because if she is you can have me. I don't want to live without her" Dean asked desperately.
"I don't know. I only know the names of those who die within this hospital. I am sorry. Moment of truth. No changing your mind later. So, what's it going to be?" Reaper Kaylee asked and Dean looked like he was about to go with her when suddenly the lights started to flicker.
"What are you doing that for?" Dean asked stepping away from the Reaper.
"I'm not doing it. You can't do this! Get away!" Reaper Kaylee screamed as a demon came through the vents and into her body.
"What's happening?!" Dean shouted scared.
"Today's your lucky day, kid" Reaper Kaylee with yellow eyes said before placing a hand on his forehead.
...
"Dean! Help! I need help!" Sam shouted as Dean returned to his body and woke up choking on the tube in his throat.
"I can't explain it. The edema has vanished. The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You got to have some kind of angel watching over you" The Doctor explained to Sam and Dean.
"Thanks, doc" Dean said before the doctor left the room.
"You said a reaper was after me?" Dean asked Sam confused.
"Yeah" Sam said surprised.
"How did I ditch it?" Dean asked confused.
"You got me. Dean, you really don't remember anything?" Sam asked.
"No. Except this pit in my stomach. Sam, something's wrong" Dean explained softly before John walked into the room.
"How you feeling, dude?" John asked smiling.
"Fine, I guess. I'm alive" Dean said weakly.
"That's what matters" John said softly.
"Where were you last night?" Sam asked annoyed.
"I had some things to take care of" John explained.
"Well, that's specific" Sam retorted.
"Come on, Sam" Dean begged.
"Did you go after the demon?" Sam asked.
"No" John lied.
"You know, why don't I believe you right now?" Sam snapped.
"Can we not fight? You know, half the time we're fighting, I don't know what we're fighting about. We're just butting heads. Look, Sammy, I've... I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't want to fight anymore, okay?" John asked shocking Sam and Dean.
"Dad, are you all right?" Sam asked worried.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just a little tired. Hey, son, would you mind, uh... Would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?" John asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, sure" Sam said leaving the room and John looked over at Dean.
"What is it?" Dean asked.
"You know, when, uh... when you were a kid, I'd come home from a hunt, and after what I'd seen, I'd be... I'd be wrecked. And you... You'd come up to me, and you'd put your hand on my shoulder, and you'd look me in the eye, and you'd... you'd say, "it's okay, dad". I'm sorry" John explained emotionally.
"Why?" Dean asked confused.
"You shouldn't have had to say that to me. I should've been saying that to you. You know, I put... I put too much on your shoulders. I made you grow up too fast. You took care of Sammy. You took care of me. You did that. And you didn't complain. Not once. I just want you to know... That I am so proud of you and I'm so sorry about Kaylee. I saw how much she meant to you and… I'm sorry" John explained teary eyed.
"Is it really you talking?" Dean asked confused.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's really me" John explained.
"Why are you saying this stuff?" Dean asked worried.
"I want you to watch out for Sammy, okay?" John asked.
"Yeah, dad, you know I will. You're scaring me" Dean admitted.
"Don't be scared, Dean" John said before leaning in and whispering something in Dean's ear before leaving the room.
…..
Sam walked down the hallway with a cup of coffee in his hand when he saw John on the floor.
"Dad?" Sam said dropping the coffee and running over to John calling out help.
"No, no, no, it's our dad. It's our dad!" Dean said to the nurse as they watched the doctors try to save their fathers life.
"Okay. Let's try again. An amp of atropine. Okay. Stop compression. Come on, come on. Still no pulse. Okay. That's it, everybody. I'll call it. Time of death, 10:41 A.M" The doctor said sadly as John Winchester died with his sons watching.
Meanwhile… somewhere in the forest…
"So fuck your rules man, you get up you'll go down fast, I've got to release all this SHIT that has made up my past"
The distorted noise of the ring tone could be heard from miles away by him. He followed it at an inhuman speed until he found a long, deep river flowing through the forest. He searched desperately until he found what he was looking for. A body. A body floating face down in the water, the red tint of blood around the woman. The man took off his shirt before diving into the river and swimming towards the body. He grabbed the unconscious woman around the waist and pulled her onto the sore.
"Come on, come on" The man begged as he searched the woman for a pulse but couldn't find one. He started before CPR.
"Not like this!" He begged as he searched for a pulse once more and as he laid his finger tips on the woman's neck he felt it. A pulse. She was alive.
….