Sam was in the basement after having pretreated Dean's clothes and his own shirt, and was putting them in the washer as he let Bobby know what was going on. The girls were asleep at Tony's apartment, and Abby was still passed out in the hammock. Bobby decidedly followed Sam back upstairs.
Dean was just getting out of the shower; ecstatic about the fact that he'd found a pair of old sweatpants to wear to bed, as he was still a bit chilled. When he came out of the guest room, he met Sam, Bobby, Tony and Gibbs in the kitchen. McGee was in the living room with Castiel.
"Everything okay?" Dean asked the group at the table.
"Guess that depends on your definition of 'okay'," Tony smirked. "Everyone's alive and accounted for; no one's dying. Seems pretty well to me."
"But Hel is still out there," Gibbs said. "And we're not exactly sure how to lure her to us, now that we have a weapon against her."
"Well," Dean said as he pulled up a chair to sit, "Maybe we can get Kate and Ziva to come back here. They found you en route here from Tony's place; seems like she might be on the lookout now."
"And with Ziva driving," Tony said, "Chances are she'd make it back here before Hel could really catch up and do any damage."
"Maybe," Gibbs said, looking down into his coffee.
"We should have Castiel zap over there and ride back with them, just in case," Bobby suggested. Gibbs gave him a nod in agreement.
It seems once his name had been mentioned, the angel and McGee headed into the kitchen. "Everything all set?" Dean asked.
"I know what to do, if that's what you mean," Tim replied.
"So, what's the plan? When do we do this?" McGee queried.
"Tonight," Sam told him. "Hel seems to be on a particular rampage right now. It's best to take her out before she does something else."
11 00 11 00 11
After leaving explicit instructions for them not to leave the house until his return, Castiel vanished from them to go to Ziva and Kate. Tony snuck down to the basement to retrieve the laptop so they'd have an idea of when they left, and when to expect them back. But he avoided waking Abby. They'd decided to leave her and Ducky to sleep this one out.
When he got back upstairs and to the living room with the computer, Tony saw Tim sitting a bit apprehensively on the couch. He walked over, setting the laptop on the coffee table facing them before sinking down beside him on the couch. "Doin' okay?"
Tim glanced over at him for a moment, "Yeah. Just thinking."
"Nervous?"
"Yeah. I guess. But not for myself," he looked over at him again. "If this doesn't work, I'm afraid of what she might do. I know that you, Dean and Cas will be inside until she's trapped. But Gibbs, Sam, Ziva, Kate and Bobby will be out there and exposed. If I can't trap her, she could...really hurt or even kill all of them."
"It'll work, Probie," he assured him. "But I'm sorry I can't be out there with you at the beginning."
McGee smirked, "I don't need you to hold my hand, Tony."
"Sure you do! You're my probie!" he smiled. Tim shook his head, but before he could snarkily reply, a ruckus sounded from the computer and they both looked at the screen to see Ziva and Kate readying themselves to leave with Castiel. "Hey, Kate!" Tony tried to get her attention. "Katie!"
"What, Tony?" she stopped, unceremoniously in front of the cam.
"Remember Gibbs' driving?" he asked. Tim couldn't help the corners of his lips turning up.
"Of course. You think even death could make someone forget something like that?" she smirked.
"Well, fair warning; you're in for the scariest ride of your life...er well...you know what I mean. And it has nothing to do with what's outside of the car."
"I heard that, Tony," Ziva's voice sounded somewhere in the background, causing both agents to grin.
"She couldn't possibly be any worse than Gibbs," Kate assumed.
"We'll ask you once you get here, what your judgment is on that," Tony smirked.
"It is time to go," Ziva told Kate. Then she turned to look at the cam, "I will deal with you when we arrive." The camera turned off, leaving a blank screen on their laptop, and a semi-worried look on Tony's face.
Tim saw it and nearly laughed. "Don't worry, Tony. She'll probably forget all about it in the chaos."
"One can only be so lucky, McGoo," he stood. "And what makes you think she was just talkin' to me?"
Tim's brow furrowed, "I didn't say anything..."
"Yeah but you smiled, which means you agreed," he smirked. Tim looked at the blank screen, then back to Tony again. "Don't worry; she probably won't hurt you till after we take care of Hel."
"She's not gonna hurt me at all," he smirked and stood as well after shutting the laptop. "You're just trying to make yourself feel better." Tony narrowed his eyes as his grin slowly faded. "Did it work?"
"It did for a minute, Probie," he glared. But he didn't argue further, because, as he'd cleverly planned, Tim's personal worry had been deflected, if only for the moment.
Gibbs wandered into the living room after shutting his cell, "Vance has been notified that we may be bringing in the accomplice to the murder-suicides. Dead or alive."
"Guess that'll depend on how it goes down, eh?" Tony replied.
"Well, the girl Hel is using as a meat-suit isn't exactly innocent," McGee said. "She'll be doing time, and quite possibly end up in a mental institution with the story she'll be telling."
"So you think they should just use the colt and get it done with?" Tony asked with a furrowed brow.
"No, that's not what I'm saying," Tim defended. "I'm just saying, if it comes down to it, it's an option. If the incantation doesn't work, I mean," his eyes shifted slightly.
'Crap,' Tony thought. 'So much for deflection.' "It'll work, McGee." "God I hope it works..."
11 00 11 00 11
"They're pulling onto our street," Gibbs told them as he shut his phone. "Showtime." Gibbs patted McGee's shoulder before they headed toward the front door with Bobby and Sam.
Dean and Tony sat at the kitchen table; both equally nervous as they clinked the spoons around inside their coffee mugs. They were silent for several long moments after the front door closed again. But Tony made the sound of a short, breathy laugh that caused Dean to look up at him. "What?" he asked.
Tony met his eyes with a half-smile, "Is it sad that I can't think of any uplifting movie reference for this moment?"
Dean couldn't help but laugh, "Funny. I was...thinkin' the same thing. Maybe there's just not one?"
"There's always at least one," Tony smirked, holding a finger up before looking back down at his coffee. "Maybe we'll figure it out afterward...ya know, when it no longer applies and will only be funny to us." Dean grinned and took a long drink from his cup.
*~.~*
Castiel, Ziva and Kate got out of the car and were met by the others on the sidewalk.
"Did you see her?" Sam asked Ziva.
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "Not so much as a pair of headlights following us."
Sam clenched his jaw as he thought. Then something occurred to him, and he turned to look at Bobby, "Hel said I'd know where to find her when it was time."
Something flashed in Gibbs' eyes, "She told me she'd know when I wanted to find her." They looked at Gibbs. "Think that means she'll show up here just because we want her to?"
"Maybe," Sam exhaled. Then, looking around, he furrowed his brow, turning to face the street, "Damnit...Where's Cas?" he exclaimed.
"Sorry," the angel appeared beside him again. "I thought it would be wise to put the neighbors to sleep."
Sam's brow rose as he took a calming breath. "You should go inside until we have her trapped. I don't know if she'd be able to recognize who you are. It could scare her away."
"Very well," he replied. "The incantation will cause a momentary burst of light," he told them. "Once we see it, we will come out."
"If she even shows," Bobby muttered as the angel went into the house.
"Oh, she'll show," Sam spoke low as he turned back toward the street. "Gibbs, I think we should stand out there." Though he was unsure why, Gibbs followed him anyway as the others stood side by side in the lawn, readying themselves for whatever might happen. Sam and Gibbs stopped under a streetlight. "I think she might be able to sense we want her, if we were...grieving," Sam looked at Gibbs. "As if she could sense our pain from loss; know we're ready to make a deal..."
"You tellin' me we need to stand here an' cry?" he asked incredulously.
"No," he let out a small laugh. "Just...try and make believe they weren't brought back; how we'd feel."
"How the hell do I do that?" Gibbs furrowed his brow.
Sam shrugged, "Close your eyes and remember what it felt like when Tony died."
Gibbs flinched almost imperceptibly. He'd already shoved this emotion deep down and away; refused himself to dwell in it any longer. Dredging it back up again would be against everything he'd always done...at least, without a glass of bourbon in his hand.
"Are you ready?" Sam's voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"I got a choice?" Gibbs half-smirked.
The four people on the lawn watched as Gibbs and Sam closed their eyes, bodies facing up the street. "What are they doing?" Ziva whispered.
"Calling her," Bobby stated. The agents glanced over at him. "Just thought of it, myself. I'm sure Sam did, too. They've gotta feel what they felt when Tony and Dean died. That desperation is Hel's opportunity to make a deal. If we're right, and she can sense it, she'll show..."
"You will not die, Tony," Gibbs said through gritted teeth as he held his agent tighter.
"'M..s'ry...boss..." his body shook with his final breaths, and then went still in Gibbs' arms. Tony's grip on Gibbs' sleeve loosened and his hand fell to the street below him.
Gibbs wanted yell out; curse the heavens; scream...anything. But he couldn't find it in himself to even try. Not even so much as a sound to accompany his sorrowed breaths as he picked Tony up further in his arms, holding him against his chest...
"Th- thank you...thank you, Sam-my..." Dean said, weakly.
Sam took hold of Dean's hand with both of his, suddenly overcome by a feeling of dread and regret. "Dean..."
"Gon' be okay, Sm... You'll see... gon' be okay..." his breaths slowed and his eyes began to unfocus and cross.
"Dean, wait...wait..." he panicked as tears streamed down his face. As if he could call 're-do'.
"S'ok..." Dean whispered. And that was the last thing he said...the last breath that left his body...
The memories played in their heads, and they allowed the emotion to absorb them. They didn't let the true ending in; just what they needed to bring her there...
Above them, the streetlight flickered, and both of them opened their eyes. Hel stood there, mere feet in front of them, but she was looking over toward the house. "You know you don't need back-up, right?" she said with a slight grin. The grin faded when she recognized Kate. "How interesting...you've somehow managed to hide her energy from me," she looked at Gibbs and Sam now. "So, you're ready to make a deal?"
"Yeah," Sam said. "Just...not the one you were offering." He met McGee's eyes, signaling him. Tim nodded and looked at Hel, saying the incantation in his head.
Hel's head whipped around to look at McGee. "Sonofa..." A shockwave of light suddenly engulfed Hel and spread out amongst them all, briefly, before it only surrounded underneath her, holding her in place.
McGee stood in a state of unexpected awe at what he'd just done. But just as quickly, he felt himself being pulled from reality; dizzy for a moment before being thrust into a memory he'd tucked safely away from playing in his mind...
"What just happened?" Kate asked without looking away from the trapped demon-god.
"Tim did an incantation," Bobby said as Dean, Tony and Castiel emerged from the house.
"I did not hear you say..." Ziva's voice drifted off as she saw the glazed look in McGee's eyes where he was staring out into the street. "McGee?" she turned to him.
"He cannot answer you right now," Castiel told her. "He will be lost until the trap is no longer needed."
"What do you mean 'lost'?" Tony asked as he worriedly approached Tim's other side.
"The experience which gave him this aura that allowed him to do the incantation," Castiel explained, "Its memory is what gives the trap its power."
"Wait...you mean he's...reliving it over and over?" Tony's voice was quiet but agitated.
"What is this?!" Hel yelled as she beheld Tony and Dean. "How is this possible?"
"Turns out we don't need anything you have to offer," Sam told her. She turned to look at him and glared. He simply smirked.
Hel then fixed her gaze on Gibbs. "I suppose you want to kill me then?"
"Nah," he replied. "Gonna send you home. For good, this time."
She narrowed her eyes. "If you don't let me go, your precious Kate will die."
"You have no power inside that trap, Hel," Dean said as he approached.
"I don't need to do anything," she smirked. "If I go, she goes. It's simple, really. My life in this world sustains hers."
Gibbs turned to look at Kate who was looking at him now. She glanced around before settling her eyes back on him. "It's okay," she told him.
"Kate-" Tony started to protest.
"No, Tony," she looked at him and smirked, "I'm not supposed to be here. You know that. We all do." Her smile turned a bit sad. "My soul isn't even here. I...don't even have a place here anymore."
"We can make a place, Kate," Tony said.
"At the expense of the world?" she smiled. "DiNozzo, I didn't think you cared so much."
"I'm not gonna let you die again," his voice shook.
"You never let me die," she shook her head. "And I'm already dead, Tony. This isn't your decision."
"Please don't send me back," Hel's voice cut through the conversation and the group turned to look at her. Her face was one of anguish. "I did nothing wrong...I was banished because of my father...because I am his daughter. And they cast me into the underworld. I don't want to go back there...please..."
"You can't stay here," Dean told her. "People have died...a lot of people, because of you. You can't roam free here."
"Then kill me," she requested. "If my choices are going home, or death, then I choose death. Please..."
"We kill you," Sam said, "We kill the girl you're possessing."
"She's far from innocent," Hel told him.
"Maybe so, but that's not how we deal with things here," Gibbs said.
"You have a death penalty," she retorted.
"Yeah, sometimes," he replied. "For murderers."
"Who do you think helped organize the murder-suicides at the Covenant House? This girl you're so bent on protecting, she did this to gain power. She won't stop once I'm gone. She'll cause more people to die!"
"We can't kill her for somethin' she hasn't done yet," Gibbs retorted.
"Why not? Why must you wait until more people die, to take her down?" Hel queried.
"She won't have the chance, because she'll be locked up."
"So you'll spare her, to lock her away," she laughed. "That makes a lot of sense."
"It's how it works, here," Gibbs narrowed his eyes at her.
"You sure are hellbent on taking her down with you," Sam told her.
Hel shot him a glare. "I'm more interested in not going home."
"Guys?" Kate approached. All eyes fell on her. "I might have a resolution for all of this."
For a moment, they looked at her in question. Then Tony spoke, "No...no, absolutely not!"
"I'm dead either way," she protested.
"We don't know that, Kate," Gibbs said.
"Yes," Ziva spoke up. "She could by lying to try and stop us from sending her back."
"This shouldn't even be a discussion," Sam spoke loud enough to cut through the conversation. "Hel doesn't deserve our sympathy after what she put us all through," he let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Sam is right," Castiel said as he approached the trap. "Is everyone well?"
"What?" Dean asked.
Cas turned his head to look at him, "Is everyone well, Dean, should I leave for a while?"
They understood, then, what he intended to do. "I think so."
"Wait," Tony interrupted. "What about Tim? When this is...when the trap is gone, what happens to him?"
"He may be disoriented," Castiel explained. "But physically, he won't be in any danger." He turned his head back to face Hel.
"Wait," Kate said. "Just...one second. Just in case." The angel nodded to her and she turned to Ziva and held out her hand, "It was nice meeting you, Ziva." Ziva swallowed and took Kate's hand. "I'm glad they found someone else they can trust to have their sixes." She turned to Tony, looking up at his saddened eyes.
"Kate..."
"Tony, promise me you won't somehow blame yourself for this one, too?" she smirked.
"You don't even know-"
"Yeah, well... If I do, I'd like to have at least been able to say goodbye this time. Speaking of which," she glanced toward McGee, "Let Tim know I said so."
"I will," Tony said in barely a whisper before bending down slightly to pull her into a light, brief hug. She pulled away and gave him a small smile before turning to Gibbs.
"Gibbs..." she sighed, looking at steel blue eyes that seemed a bit haunted and sad. "I still don't regret taking the job offer," she smirked at him. He couldn't help but return the gesture. "I would've liked to stay around longer than I did, but hey... it's not every day you get proof there's an afterlife, huh?"
"You believed that already," he said in a hushed voice.
She tilted her head a bit, "Guess so. But everyone has doubts now and again." They stood there for a moment, before Gibbs leaned over, cupping her chin, and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Oh this is all so touching," Hel interrupted. "But if you're just going to send me away, can we get it over with already? I may lose my lunch, here..."
Kate turned around, "Don't be too hard on her, Castiel," she said. "After all, she did give me an extra day."
"Her punishment will not be up to me," the angel replied, then turned to enter the trap and grabbed hold of Hel. A bright light temporarily blinded them all and they shielded their eyes until they couldn't see it beyond their lids any longer...
11 00 11 00 11
tbc...