Sam opened the door and stuck his head inside, ready to pull it back if Dean was waiting to rip it off of his shoulders but the room was dark and quiet. He'd been gone most of the day and part of the evening, almost always out of cell phone range and when he flipped on the light, Dean was nowhere to be seen.
He could however see Bobby sitting on the couch, his hands between his knees rocking gently to and fro and looking at him and then at the whiskey bottle on the table, he asked, "You been to sleep yet, Bobby?" and turning his head, Bobby noticed Sam for the first time.
"Nah, got an appointment in a little while," he told him apparently as sober as a judge, "Dean dropped out a couple of hours ago. Went to bed."
"But I'm up now, Sammy," came Dean's angry voice from the bedroom doorway, "Did you wreck my car? Is that why you didn't call? You were afraid of the beat down?"
Sam snorted as he watched Dean stand unsteadily; finally leaning against the door jam for support, his anger apparently spent and told him, "The car is fine. Do you know how far away the closest Little Saigon is?"
"You didn't need to go out of your way to get food, tacos would have done nicely."
Sam held out his empty hands, "I didn't go on a food run for you; I picked up a little something for Bobby. It's out in the car," but Bobby wasn't listening anymore and he stood as if in a dream and started for the door.
Bobby had fires to make and ghosts to put to rest and Dean warned his brother, "Don't let him go out, Sammy," but Sam looked unperturbed.
"It's alright. He'll be fine," Sam assured him heading to the open door to follow Bobby out and in case Dean was too inebriated to remember, added "Don't forget your boots," and grabbing a coat for Bobby, went outside.
If he'd thought Dean was too intoxicated to be safe, he would have locked him in the closet, but it seemed the dynamic duo had only killed half the bottle of Scotch before crashing.
Sam checked the area around the fire pit as Bobby tossed split pine onto kindling laid in the ashes of last nights fire and stuffed crumpled newspapers between the spaces. He lit the kindling in various spots and stepped back as it caught and flamed up licking at the larger pieces of wood.
He then went and stood next to Sam to watch and wait and when Dean came up behind them and settled in beside the two of them, he took a deep breath but smelled only pine, no sulfur or jasmine.
The silence stretched between them until Dean couldn't stand it and asked, "And we're here because?"
"It's the final night of Tet," Sam said as if Dean should have known.
"Tet Nguyen Dan," Bobby said softly, shifting his weight from foot to foot as the cold started to seep into his bones.
Bobby had explained Tet to him but the reason they were again standing by the fire in the freezing cold, eluded him and Sam's answer didn't help.
The silence descended on them again and Dean was about to ask to be excused, when Ty shimmered into view and he looked around for a weapon but Sam's hand on his arm calmed him.
"It's Okay, dude," he told him and for whatever reason Dean knew that it was.
"It is the evening of the third day of Tet," Ty said softly, "It is the year of the dog. We have come full circle, my love," and watched as Sam left the fire and ran for the car.
He returned to stand next to Bobby, a shopping bag in his hand and reaching in, he brought out a handful of votive money, and this time it was made of silver and gold foil.
Bobby looked from the money in Sam's hand to his smiling face and at that moment he couldn't have regretted more that he had never had sons.
Ty saw the offerings and moved closer and reached out to touch Sam's face and though she was spectral, he felt her cool caress, so different from Dean's searing touch from Kim.
"On the evening of the third day of Tet, all ancestral souls who have returned to the family for the occasion must depart for their world," Sam said handing the bundle to Bobby.
He reached back into the bag and pulled out more of the money and shoved some into Dean's hand and continued, "It's then that artificial silver and gold paper money is burned by the family. This allows the departing spirits to hire sampans to transport them across the river that divides "spirit heaven" from the world of the living."
"No one paid the ferryman and they've been stuck here for what, almost forty years?" Dean asked staring down at the worthless paper in his hand.
"That's about it," Bobby told him, "That's why Kim showed up, she thought my repentant death could help them cross over."
Dean was amazed that something so simple, something that should have been done years ago, could help the spirits of Ty and her sister rest easy and he stepped up to the fire and let his money float into the flames and Ty's smile grew even more beautiful.
Kim's visage appeared beside her sister and Dean took a giant step back but she looked serene, content to watch as Sam and Bobby opened their and more money float down to be consumed by the flames.
Grabbing the bag, Dean suggested, "Maybe they can hire a yacht," and tossed another handful onto the flames and as the money burned, Ty's mother appeared, as beautiful as her daughters, followed by the spirit of her father.
When the money was gone, the last of the bills turned to ash, the specters became less solid until only Ty remained, tears running down her cheeks and before she disappeared completely, she said to Bobby, "Tam biet."
"Tam biet. Cua toi moi tinh dau" Bobby answered her softly, "Di tung chang duong ngan," and then she was gone.
Loosely written and translated:
"Tam biet – farewell
"Cua toi moi tinh dau" - My first love.
"Di tung chang duong ngan" - Safe and easy journey.