~Suburban Neighborhood at Night~
A man drives down the street, into his garage and turns off the engine. The car carries a Michigan number plate. The garage door starts winding down by itself and he looks at it, confused. Suddenly his car doors then self lock, he struggles but cannot open them. The ignition key turns by itself and the engine starts. Exhaust smoke begins filling the garage. The man struggles to turn off the engine to no avail. The radio flicks on as the man begins to cough.
"Help. Somebody help me!" He screams.
By now the smoke is very thick and he keels over, unconscious.
~Motel Room~
Sam sits up from his bed, suddenly wide awake. He looks across to where Dean and Juliette are sleeping peacefully. Sam sits a moment, then moves into action, flipping on the light switch and shaking his brother.
"Dean. Dean."
The moment Dean stirs, Sam rises and starts gathering his things.
Rubbing his eyes he asks.. "What are you doing man, it's the middle of the night." Dean raises himself on his elbows.
"We have to go." Sam saysm
Dean is immediately alert but not alarmed. "What's happening?"
"We have to go. Right now."
Sam grabs his bag and walks out.
In the car Dean is driving, with Sam is on the phone. Juliette is awake in the back. Dean tried not to wake her to no avail since she started to cry after being woken up so early.
Sam id reading from a Michigan State Police ID. "McReady. Detective McReady. Badge number 158. I've got a signal 480 in progress, I need the registered owner of a two door sedan, Michigan licence plate Mary-Frank-six-zero-three-seven. Yeah ok, just hurry."
"Sammy relax. I'm sure it's just a nightmare."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
"I mean it. Y'know, a normal, everyday, naked-in-class, nightmare. This licence plate, it won't check out. You'll see. Deam says.
"It felt different Dean. Real. Like when I dreamt about our old house. And Jessica." Sam explains.
"Yeah, that makes sense. You're dreaming about our house, your girlfriend. This guy in your dream, you ever seen him before?"
"No."
"No. Exactly. Why would you have premonitions about some random dude in Michigan." Dean tries to reason.
"I don't know."
"Me neither."
"Yes I'm here." Sam speaks into the phone.
He listens, glares at Dean, then picks up his pen.
"Jim Miller. Saginaw, Michigan. You have a street address? Got it. Thanks." Hanging up phone. "Checks out. How far are we?"
"From Saginaw? Coupla hours."
"Drive faster." Sam demands.
Outside Jim Miller's home the Impala cruises to a stop, the boys see the Emergency vehicles and someone on a stretcher being zipped into a body bag. They turn to each other in the car, Dean concerned, Sam upset.
~Jim's House~
Dean approaches the watching crowd and begins a conversation with a woman. "What happend?"
"Suicide. Can't believe it." She says.
Sam comes up behind and standing on the woman's other side. "Did you know them?"
"Saw him in every Sunday at St Augustines. He always seems...seemed, so normal. I guess you never know what's going on behind closed doors."
"Guess not." Dean says staring straight ahead.
"How did...ahh. How are they saying it happened?" Sam questions.
"I heard they found him in the garage, locked inside his car with the engine running." The woman says.
"Do you know about what time they found him?"
"Oh it just happened about an hour or two ago. His poor family. I can't even imagine what they're going through."
A woman stands on the front step of the house, crying and leaning against a middle aged man. A young man stands behind them, looking distraught.
Sam watches, grimacing, them turns to walk away. Dean notices and follows him back to lean against the Impala's bonnet. The brothers try to be quite to not wake Jules who is finally back to sleep.
"Sam we got here as fast we we could." Dean tries to comfort his brother.
"Not fast enough. It doesn't make any sense man. Why would I even have these premonitions if there wasn't a chance I could stop them from happening?" Sam asks.
"I dunno."
Shaking his head and sighing, he says. "So what do you think killed him?"
"Maybe the guy just killed himself? Maybe there's nothing supernatural going on at all."
Sam shakes his head. "I'm telling you, I watched it happen. He was murdered by something Dean. I watched it trap him in the garage."
"What was it, a spirit, poltergeist, what?" Dean asks.
"I don't know what it was. I don't know why I'm having these dreams, I don't know what the hell is happening Dean."
Dean stares at his brother for a long moment.
"What." Sam asks.
Dean shrugs. "Nothing. I'm just, I'm worried about you man."
"Well, don't look at me like that!"
He looks away. "I'm not looking at you like anything.Though I gotta say, you do look like crap."
"Nice. Thanks."
Dean move to quietly open the car door. "Come on, lets just pick this up in the morning. We'll check out the house, talk to the family."
"Dean, you saw them, they're devastated They're not going to want to talk to us."
"Yeah you're right. But I think I know who they will talk to."
"Who?" Sam asks.
Dean just smirks
~Miller House~
Dean's hand reaches out to a doorbell. Next to him stand Sam, whose hair is slicked back neatly and Juliette wearing the nicest dress Dean could find on short notice. Along with the brothers who are dressed as priests in black suits.
San sighs "This has gotta be a whole new low for us."
Dean turns to smirk at him, then looks back at the door.
The Man comforting Ms Miller on the step the night before opens the door.
"Good Afternoon. I'm Father Simmons, this is Father Frehley.We're new junior priests over at St Augustines. May we come in?" Dean introdues.
The man nods.
"Thanks." Dean says entering holding his daughter's hand.
"We're very sorry for your loss." Sam says.
"It's in difficult times like these when the Lord's guidance is most needed."
"Look, you wanna pitch your whole 'Lord has a plan' thing? Fine. Just don't pitch it to me. My brother's dead." The man says.
Ms Miller appears. "Roger. Please!"
Roger moves away. "Excuse me."
"I'm sorry about my brother in law. He's...he's just so upset about Jim's death. Would you like some coffee?" She apologies.
"That would be great." Dean says.
Dean is on the lounge, Sam in an armchair holding Jules l, while Ms Miller pours coffee and hands it around.
"It was wonderful of you to stop by. The support of the church means so much right now. But if I may ask why is there a child with you?"
"Of course. After all we are all God's children, and this is Juliette my daughter, hard to find a decent babysitter these day."
She walks away and Dean immediately takes more cocktail sausages from the coffee table. Chewing contentedly, he looks at Sam shaking his head.
"What?" He asks.
"Just...tone it down a little bit,Father." Sam says, shaking his head again when Dean sneaks some over to Jules.
Ms Miller returns
"So Ms Miller, did you husband have a history of depression?" Dean asks.
"Nothing like that." She says beginning to be upset "We had our ups and downs like everyone but we were happy.I just don't understand...how Jim could do something like this." She breaks down.
"I'm so sorry you had to find him like that." Sam says.
She gestures behind her. "Actually, our son Max, he was the one who found him."
Sam looks through the doors into the dining room and sees Max sitting in the corner, staring into space.
"Do you mind if maybe, I go talk to him?"
"Oh thank you Father." She says to Sam.
Sam approaches Max in the other room. Holding his niece in his arms since the little girl didn't want to be left with her father.
"Max? Hey, I'm Sam."
"Ms Miller you have a lovely home. How long have you lived here?" Dean asks.
"We moved in about five years ago." She replies.
"The only problem with these old houses. I bet you have all kind of headaches."
"Like what?"
"Well, weird leaks, electrical shortages, odd settling noises at night. That kind of thing." He list off.
"No, nothing like that. It's been perfect."
"Huh. May I use your restroom."
"Oh sure, it's just up the stairs."
Dean rises, taking another cocktail sausage.
"So what was your Dad like?" Sam asks the young man.
"Just a normal Dad." Max says.
"Yeah. You live at home now?"
"Yeah. Trying to save up for school but it's hard." He answers.
"So when you found your dad..." Sam begins.
"I woke up, I heard the engine running." He takes a pause. "I don't know why he did it."
"I know it's rough, losing a parent. Especially when you don't have all the answers." Sam sympathizes.
~Upstairs~
Dean enters the hallway. Checking the coast is clear, he pulls an infer-red thermal scanner from his pocket and turns it on, shining it into rooms as he passes. As he reaches the end of the hall he hears footsteps coming up the stairs and hastily hides the scanner as Sam and Jules appears.
"Anything?" The younger man asks.
"Zip." Dean replies.
They move back down the stairs together.
~Motel Room~
Dean is cleaning his weapons, while Jules watches television. Sam enters the room.
"What do you have?" Dean asks.
"A whole lotta nothing. Nothing bad has happened in the Miller house since it was built." Sam says frustrated.
"What about the land?"
Sinking onto his bed. "No grave yards, battle fields, tribal lands or any other kind of atrocity on or near the property."
"Hey man I told you, I searched that house up and down. No cold spots, sulfer scent. Nada."
"And the family said everything was normal?" Sam asks.
"Well, if there was a demon or poltergiest in there you think somebody would have noticed something? I used the infer-red thermal scanner man, and there was nothing." Dean informs his brother.
"So what, you think Jim Miller killed himself and my dream was just some sorta freakish coincidence??"
"I dunno. I'm pretty sure there's nothing supernatural about that house."
Sam rubs his temples. "Yeah. Well, maybe it has nothing to do with the house." He takes a deep breath, holding his head. "Maybe it's just...Gosh". Holding his hand to his forehead "... maybe it's connected to Jim in some other way?"
"What's wrong with you?" Dean asks concerned.
Sam makes anguished noises and sinking from the bed to crouch on the floor. "Ahh. My head."
Dean leaves his bed. "Sam? Hey," He crouches and grabs Sam's arms. "Hey! What's going on? Talk to me."
"Uncle Sammy?" Juliette walks over scared and concerned for her uncle, as Dean tries to keep her back.
Sam stares at Dean, suddenly he flashes out of the motel room and is a fly on the wall, watching Roger enter his kitchen with groceries. He notices the window is open and closes and locks it. When he returns to unpacking the lock moves by itself and the window slides open again. Roger is confused. He attempts to close it but it sticks. He leans out, twisting to look up at the top of the window. The window slides closed, decapitating him. Blood gushes up over the window.
Sam focuses back to Dean in the motel room.
"It's happening again. Something's gunna kill Roger Miller."
In the Impala Dean is driving.
Sam is on his phone, holding his head. "Roger Miller. Ah no no,just the address please. Ok, thanks" He turns to his brother. "450 West Grove, Apartment 1120."
"You ok?" Dean asks.
"Yeah." Sam replies.
"If you're gunna hurl I'll pull the car over you know, cause the upholstery..."
"I'm fine."
"All right."
"Just drive." Samlooks at Dean, sighes heavily, and looks away.
"Dean I'm scared man. These nightmares weren't bad enough, now I'm seeing things when I'm awake? And these, visions, or whatever, they're getting more intense. And painful." Sam expresses.
"Come on man, you'll be all right. It'll be fine." He tries to comfort his younger brother.
"What is it about the Millers. Why am I connected to them, why am I watching them die? Why the hell is this happening to me?"
"I don't know Sam but we'll figure it out. We've faced the unexplainable every day. This is just another thing."
"No. It's never been us. It's never been in the family like this. Tell the truth, you can't tell me this doesn't freak you out."
After staring straight ahead for a long moment Dean speaks "This doesnt freak me out."
Sam stares at him, then turns away.
~Roger Miller's Apartment~
The Impala pulls up as Roger approaches the entrance with a bag of groceries.
Sam calls out the window. "Hey Roger."
"What are you guys, missionaries? Leave me alone." Roger says.
"Please!"
But Roger is gone. Dean guns the engine, jumping the curb as he hurriedly parks.
"Stay in the car." Dean says to his daughter.
Sam gets out and runs over. "Hey. Roger. We're trying to help! Please! Hey, hey hey hey hey."
Sam runs up to the entrance just as Roger closes the door it behind him.
"I don't want your help." The man says walking away.
"We're not priests, you gotta listen to us!" Sam says.
"Roger, you're in danger!" Dean tries to tell him.
Dean looks around. "Come on. Come on come on."
Sam and Dean run around the corner to a back entrance, it is securely locked. Dean quickly looks around then kicks it open. They jump to the first level of the fire escape then run up the stairs. When they are one floor from Roger's house, they hear the window slide down and a wet squelching noise. Sam freezes, Dean sprints past him and grabs the railing. Roger's head lies in the flower bed under the window, his blood all over the kitchen window. Sam joins him. After a long pause Dean pulls a hankerchief from his pocket, throwing one to Sam and starting to wipe down the railing.
"Start wiping down yout fingerprints, we don't want the cops to know we were here. Come on, come on!" Dean orders using his rag to push up the window leading out to the fire escape. "I'm gunna take a look inside."
Sam continues wiping down the metal railing.
"I'm telling you there was nothing in there. No signs either, just like the Miller's house." Dean informs his brother.
"I saw something, in the vision. Like a dark shape. Something was...something was stalking Roger." Sam says.
"Whatever it was, are you sure it's not connected to their house?"
"No, it's connected to the family themselves. So what do you think, like a vengeful spirit?"
"Well yeah, there's a few that have been known to latch onto families, follow them for years."
"Angiak. Banshees." Sam answers.
"Basically like a curse. So maybe Roger and Jim Miller got involved in something heavy, something curse worthy." Dean states.
"And now the something is out for revenge. And the men in their family are dying."
"Hey you think Max is in Danger?" Sam asks.
"Let's figure it our before he is."
"Well, I know one thing I have in common with these people."
"What's that?" Dean asks.
"Both our families are cursed."
Dean huffs "Our family's not cursed! We just...had our dark spots."
"Our dark spots are...pretty dark."
"You're...dark."
~The Miller House~
Max leads Sam, Dean and Juliette in. They are wearing their priests outfits. Juliette is latched on to Sam since she witnessed his episode earlier.
"My Mom's resting, she's pretty wrecked." Max informs the men.
"Of course."
"All these people kept coming with like, casseroles? I finally had to tell them all to go away. You know cause nothing says I'm sorry like a tuna casserole."
Sam smiles. Max smiles back.
Max gestures to the lounge and they all take seats. There is a moments silence, then Sam sighs.
"How you holding up?" He asks.
"Ok."
"You're dad and your uncle were close."
"Yeah I guess. I mean, they were brothers. They used to hang out all the time when I was little." Max says.
"But not lately much?"
"No, it's not that. It's just...we used to be neighbours when I was a kid, and we lived across town in this house. Uncle Roger lived next door, so he was over all the time." Max explains.
"Right. So how was it in that house when you were a kid?"
"It was fine. Why?"
"All good memories? Do you remember anything unusual? Something involving your father and your uncle maybe?" Dean asks.
The young man shakes his head. "What do ya...why do you ask?"
"Just a question."
"No, there was nothing. We were totally normal. Happy."
"Good. That's good. Well you must be exhausted. We should take off." Dean says.
"Right.Thanks." Sam says to Max.
"Yeah."
Jules waves to the young man, who waves in return before the three Winchesters leave.
Sam and Dean walk down the drive to stand beside the Impala. Dean places his daughter in her car seat.
"No one's family is totally normal and happy. See when he was talking about his old house?" Dean asks.
"He sounded scared."
"Yeah Max isn't telling us everything. I say we go find the old neighbourhood, find out what life was really like for the Millers."
~Miller's Old Neighborhood ~
Sam and Dean stand on the footpath, talking to a man in his front yard. The brothers left Jules in the car doing her school work.
"Have you lived in the neighbourhood very long?" Sam questions the man.
"Yeah, almost 20 years now. It's nice and quiet. Why, you looking to buy?" The man replies.
"No, no, actually, we were wondering if you might recall a family that used to live right across the street I believe."
"Yeah the Millers. They had a little boy called Max." Dean explains.
"Right." Sam says.
"Yeah I remember. The brother had the place next door. So uh, what's this about, is that poor kid ok?" The neighbor asks.
"What do you mean?" The younger Winchester wonders.
"Well in my life I've never seen a child treated like that. I mean I'd hear Mr Miller yelling and throwing things clear across the street, he was a mean drunk. He used to beat the tar outta Max. Bruises. Broke his arm two times that I know of."
"This was going on regularly?"
"Practically every day. In fact that thug brother of his was just as likely to take a swing at the boy but the worst part was the stepmother. She'd just stand there, checked out, not lifting a finger to protect him. I must have called the police seven or eight times. Never did any good."
"Now you said step-mother."
"I think his real mother died. Some sorta...accident. Car accident I think."
Sam has his hand to his head and is grimacing.
"Are you ok there?" The man asks.
Sam winces "uh, yeah."
Dean is holding an arm out toward his brother. "Thanks for your time."
Sam lifts his hands to his head. "Yeah, thank you."
They turn to go, Dean supporting Sam.
"God." Sam says as helooks up and the world spins. He is suddenly in the Miller's kitchen. Ms Miller is chopping vegetable with a large knife.
She lays the knife down. "I don't know what you mean by that. You know I never did anything!"
"That's right. You didn't do anything." The knife starts to rattle on the chopping board. "You didn't stop them, not once." The knife lifts into the air.
Ms Miller backs up against the wall. "How did you..."
The knife moves forward to hold her against the wall.
"Max! please!"
The knife twists in front of her face, coming close enough to her eyeball to pierce the tear there so it runs down her cheek. She gasps.
Max says with tears in his voice. "For every time you stood there and watched. Pretending it wasn't happening."
"I'm sorry." She tries to says.
"No you're not. You just don't wanna die."
Ms Miller gasps and cries. The knife slices right through her eye and out the back of her head.
"Max is doing it. Everything I've been seeing." Sam explains as Dean is driving as fast as he can.
"You sure about this?" Dean asks.
"Yeah, I saw him."
"How's he pulling it off?"
"I don't know, like telekinesis?"
"What so he's psychic, a spoon bender?" Dean asks.
"I didn't even realize it but this whole time, he was there. He was outside the garage when his Dad died, he was in the apartment when his Uncle died. These visions, this whole time -- I wasn't connecting to the Millers, I was connecting to Max! The thing is I don't get why, man. I guess -- because we're so alike?" Sam says.
"What are you talking about. The dude's nothing like you." Dean tries to tell his brother.
"Well. We both have psychic abilities, we both..."
"Both what? Sam, Max is a monster, he's already killed two people, now he's gunning for a third."
"Well, with what he went through, the beatings, to want revenge on those people? I'm sorry, man, I hate to say it, but it's not that insane."
"Yeah but it doesn't justify murdering your entire family!"
"Dean..."
Dean pullsover at Max's house. "He's no different from anything else we've hunted, all right? We gotta end him."
"We're not going to kill Max."
"Then what? Hand him over to the cops and say 'Lock him up officer; he kills with the power of his mind.'"
"No way. Forget it." Sam says.
Turning off the engine. "Sam..."
"Dean. He's a person. We can talk to him. Hey, promise me you'll follow my lead on this one."
Dean takes a long pause. "All right fine. But I'm not letting him hurt anybody else." Heremoves hisTaurus pistolfrom the glove compartment, glaring at Sam and opening the door.
In the Kitchen Sam's vision is coming to fruition.
"You know I never did anything." Ms Miller says.
"That's right. You didn't do anything. You didn't stop them, not once!" Max replies.
In that moment Sam and Dean burst through the front door unaware that Juliette is following behind them.
"Fathers?" Ms Miller says.
"What are you doing here?" Max asks.
"Aahh, sorry to interrupt." Dean says.
"Max, can we, uh, can we talk to you outside for just one second?" Sam asks.
Max however, is suspicious. "About what?"
"It's...it's private. I wouldn't want to bother your mother with it." Sam turns ro Ms Miller. "We won't be long at all though, I promise."
Max looks at his stepmother, then back. "Ok."
"Great."
Dean and Sam turn for the door, their hearts dropping when they notice Jules standing there, Max follows. As Dean grasps the doorknob he tries to usher his daughter out of the room as he turns back to smile at Max who sees the butt of the pistol in Dean's waistband in the hall mirror. Suddenly the knob is pulled from his hand and the door slams shut, as does the wooden window blinds all around the room.
Max backs up. "You're not priests!"
Dean draws his gun but Max uses his power to pull it away, sliding it across the floor to where he can pick it up. He hold's it on Sam and Dean. Both trying to shield the child.
"Max, what's happening?" Ms Miller asks.
"Shut up." He tells her.
"What are you doing?"
Using his power, Max flings her backwards. She hits her head on the kitchen bench and falls to the ground unconscious.
"I said shut up!"
"Max calm down." Sam says.
"Who are you?"
"We just wanna talk."
"Yeah right, that's why you bought this!." Indicating the gun
"That was a mistake all right? So was lying about who we were. But no more lying Max ok? Just please, just hear me out." Sam asks.
"About what?" Max wonders.
"I saw you do it. I saw you kill your Dad and your Uncle before it happened."
"What?"
"I'm having visions Max. About you."
"You're crazy." The young man says.
"So what, you weren't gonna launch a knife at your stepmom?" Sam taps his eye. "Right here? Is it that hard to believe Max, look what you can do. Max I was drawn here all right? I think I'm here to help you."
The boy is crying. "No one can help me."
"Let me try. We'll just talk, me and you. We'll get Dean, Juliette and Alice out of here." Sam tries to negotiate.
"Uh-huh. No way." His brother disagrees.
Sam and Dean look up as the chandelier begins to shake.
"Nobody leaves this house!"
"And nobody has to, all right? They'll just...they'll just go upstairs."
"Sam I'm not leaving you alone with him." Dean says.
"Yes you are. Look, Max. You're in charge here, all right, we all know that. No one's going to do anything that you don't want to do but I'm talking five minutes here man." Sam says.
"Sam!"
Max looks back at his stepmother. Five minutes?." The chandelier stops shaking. "Go."
Dean moves to pick up Ms Miller
"But the girl stays." Max orders
"Not a chance in hell." Dean says moving towards the boy before Sam steps in.
"It's ok! It's ok. I'll be here the whole time." Sam tells him.
Both brothers know they are in a dangerous situation and as much as Dean hates leaving his child in the presence of a murder he knows he has no other choice.
Sam and Max sit in the lounge, Jules is sitting in her uncle lap in case anything goes wrong. Max stares at a letter opener and it raises on its point and begins twirling slowly.
"Look, I can't begin to understand what you went through." Sam says.
"That's right you can't." Max tells him.
"Max, this has to stop."
"It will, after my stepmother --"
"No. You need to let her go."
"Why?" The boys asks.
"Did she beat you?" Sam questions him.
"No, but she never tried to save me. She's a part of it too."
"What they did, to you, what they all did to you growing up, they deserve to be punished..."
"Growing up? Try last week."
Max gets up and lifts his shirt. His chest and side are a mass of bruises.
"My dad still hit me. Just in places people wouldn't see it. Old habits die hard I guess."
Sam repiles softly." I'm sorry."
"When I first found out I could move things it was a gift. My whole life I was helpless but now I had this. So last week Dad gets drunk. The first time in a long time. And he beats me to hell, first time in a long time. And then I knew what I had to do."
"Why didn't you just leave?"
"It wasn't about getting away. Just knowing they would still be out there. It was about...not being afraid. When my Dad used to look at me, there was hate in his eyes. Do you know what that feels like?" Max asks.
"No." Sam says.
"He blamed me for everything. For his job, for his life, for my Mom's death."
"Why would he blame you for your Mom's death?"
"Because she died in my nursery, while I was asleep in my crib. As if that makes it my fault."
Sam is in shock."She died in your nursery?"
"There was a fire. And he'd get drunk and babble on like she died in some insane way. He said that she burned up. Pinned to the ceiling!"
"Listen to me Max. What your Dad said, about what happened to your Mom. It's real." Sam says him.
"What?"
"It happened to my Mom too, exactly the same. My nursery, my crib, my Dad saw her on the ceiling."
"Your Dad must have been as drunk as mine."
"No, no. It's the same thing, Max. The same thing killed our mothers."
"That's impossible." Max says.
"This must be why I'm having visions during the day. Why they're getting more intense. Cause you and I must be connected in some way. Your abilities, they started 6-7 months ago right, out of the blue?" Sam asks.
"How'd you know that?"
"Cause that's when my abilities started Max. Yours seem to me much further along but still, this has to mean something right? I mean for some reason, you and I...you and I were chosen."
"For what?"
"I don't know. But Dean and I, my brother and I, we're hunting for your Mom's killer. We can find answers, answers that can help us both. But you gotta let us go Max. You gotta let your stepmother go."
He thinks, then starting to shake his head. "No. What they did to me. I still have nightmares. I'm so scared all the time, like I'm just waiting for that next beating. I'm so sick of being scared all the time, I just want this to be over!"
"It won't. Don't you get it? The nightmares won't end, Max. Not like this. It's just, more pain. And it makes you as bad as them. Max, you don't have to go through all this by yourself."
"I'm sorry."
Max uses his powers to fling Sam and Jules backwards into the hall closest and slam the door. He looks across and a tall, heavy, hallway bookshelf slides in front of the doors, blocking them.
Sam begins banging on the doors, as Jules cries. "No. Max!"
In an upstairs bedroom Ms Miller sits on the bed, Dean crouches beside her, holding a facecloth to her bleeding forehead. The door creaks open on its own and Max walks in. Dean rises and moves purposefully toward Max as the door closes behind him. Max sends Dean flying and he crashes into the wall.
"Max!" Ms Miller cries out.
Max raises Dean's pistol, his hand shaking.
"Son of a..." Dean says.
He rises, freezing when he sees the gun, then again beginning to walk toward Max. He stops when Max lets go of the gun, leaving it floating in mid air. It cocks, then turns to point at Ms Miller. Dean steps in its way.
"Stay back. This is not about you." Max warns.
"You wanna kill her you gotta go through me first."
"Ok."
The gun fires. Blood splatters over the wall. Dean has a bullethole in the middle of his forehead, eyes blank. He wavers and crashes heavily to the ground. Ms Miller is shocked, as Dean is sprawled on the ground, eyes open, dead.
Sam comes back to himself, gasping and holding his head, realizing it was a vision.
Panicked he screams."No. NOOO!!!c
The bookcase in front of the closet doors slides away. Sam freezes, then pushes the door with his hand. It swings open.
Upstairs the gun, in midair, turns to point at Ms Miller.
"Max. No." She begs.
Dean steps in front of her and the gun turns to point at him.
"Stay back. It's not about you." Max says.
"You're going to kill her you gotta go through me first." Dean tells him.
"Ok."
The door bursts open and Sam comes in.
"No don't! Don't! Please. Please. Max. Max. We can help you. All right. But this, what you're doing. It's not the solution. It's not gonna fix anything." He says.
Max is a mess, he is shaking, sweaty, in tears. He stares at Sam, anguished. Suddenly he relaxes a little, his face clears.
"You're right."
Sam smiles at him, but Max turns away from him, as the gun swings to point at him. He shoots himself in the head.
"NO!!" Sam cries out.
Back downstairs Ms Miller is sitting on couch, in shock."Max attacked me. He threatened me with a gun."
The cop indicates to Sam and Dean, who is holding a sleeping Juliette. "And these two?"
"They're...family friends. I called them soon as Max arrived, I was scared. They tried to stop him. They fought for the gun."
"Where did Max get the gun?"
Sam and Dean exchange looks.
Ms Miller beginning to cry and looking at the ceiling. "I don't know. He showed up with it and..."She breaks down.
"It's all right Ms Miller." The cops says.
Sobbing she says."I've lost everyone."
The cops says to the Winchester. "We'll give you a call if we have any further questions."
"Thanks officer." Patting Sam's arm. "Come on."
Sam and Dean walk down the path.
"If I'd just said something else. Gotten through to him somehow." Sam says.
"Ah, don't do that." Dean says.
"Do what?"
"Torture yourself. It wouldn't have mattered what you said, Max was too far gone."
"When I think about how he looked at me man, right before. I shoulda done something." Sam tells him.
"Come on man, you risked your life. I mean yeah, maybe if we had gotten there 20 years earlier."
They move to either side of the Impala.
"Well I'll tell you one thing. We're lucky we had Dad."
Dean looks astounded...and pleased. "Well I never thought I'd hear you say that."
"Well, it coulda gone a whole other way after Mom. I little more tequila and a little less demon hunting and we woulda had Max's childhood. All things considered, we turned out ok. Thanks to him."
Dean turns back to look at Max's house, hugging his daughter. "All things considered."
~Motel Room~
Sam places a bag in the trunk of the Impala which is backed up to the door, and returns inside.
"Dean I've been thinking." He says.
"Well that's never a good thing." His brother jokes.
"I'm serious. I been thinking, this demon, whatever it is. Why would it kill Mom, and Jessica, and Max's mother, you know? What does it want?"
"I have no idea."
"Well, you think, maybe, it was after us? After Max and me?"
"Why would you think that?" Dean asks.
"I mean, either telekinesis or premonitions, we both had abilities, you know? Maybe he was, he was after us for some reason." Sam says.
"Sam. If it had wanted you, it would've just taken you. Ok? This is not your fault, it's not about you."
"Then what is it about?"
"It's about that damn thing that did this to our family. The thing that we're gonna find, the thing that we're gonna kill. And that's all."
"Actually there's uh ... there's something else too." Sam says.
"Ah jeez what."
"When Max left me in that closet, with that big cabinet against the door ... I moved it."
"Huh. You got a little more upper body strength than I gave you credit for." Dean says.
"No man, I moved it. Like, Max."
Dean pauses his gathering of clothes and standing still. "Oh."
Silence.
He says softly."Right."
"Yeah." Sam says.
Picking up a spoon Dean asks." Bend this."
Sam is frustrated. "I can't just turn it on and off Dean."
"Well how'd you do it?"
"I don't know, I can't control it. I just...I saw you die, Jules was crying and it just came out of me, like a, like a punch. You know like...a freak adrenaline thing."
"Yeah well I'm sure it won't happen again."
"Yeah, maybe. Aren't you worried, man? Aren't you worried I could turn into Max or something?" Sam asks.
"Nope. No way. You know why?" Dean says.
"No. Why?"
"Cause you got one advantage Max didn't have."
"Dad? Because Dad's not here, Dean." Sam says.
Dean smirks "No. Me.As long as I'm around, nothing bad is gonna happen to you."
Sam does puppy dog look and a tiny smile.
Dean slinging his bag over his shoulder, picking up his still sleeping child and moving toward Sam. "Now then. I know what we need to do about your premonitions. I know where we have to go."
"Where?"
"Vegas." Deangrins at his brother.
Sam tilts his head, looks away, looks back, does bitchface and walks out the door to the car.
"What? Come on man. Craps tables. We'd clean up!" Dean calls out.
He follows Sam to the door and pauses on the threshold. He considers Sam, looking very thoughtful, then turns to pull the door closed.
