Catching Up
Chapter 14 – Faith

"While battling a demon, Dean is electrocuted, resulting permanent damage to his heart and leaving him with only a couple of months to live," Cas read the description aloud. "This promises to be charming."

"You have a voice made for sarcasm my friend," Dean complimented as the show started and they saw the Impala pulling up to an old house, TV!Sam and TV!Dean clearly preparing to fight a monsters.

"100,000 volts?" Mary looked at her boys in askance.

"Those are Tasers mom," Sam explained. "Instead of bullets, they shoot prongs that give out a huge electrical charge. They were fairly new during your time but in the 90's they were redesigned and only made stronger from there."

"So those things have the capability to produce 100,000 volts of electricity in a single shot?" Mary made a face. "That is…actually kind of awesome."

Dean grinned while Sam and Cas shared a look. "Like mother, like son," they said together.

Onscreen, TV!Sam and TV!Dean save some children and TV!Dean goes after the creature which knocks him into a pool of water. This meant that when he fired his Taser, the electricity conducted through the water and got TV!Dean too resulting in a massive heart attack and permanent damage. Decidedly not as awesome, the voice said and Sam couldn't help but agree. I can already guess where this dog and pony show is going but I wonder if any of the insane cloud posse would've shown up if Deano had really gone to knock on Death's door… Sam frowned, "Good question."

"What? What I said about daytime TV?" Dean looked at him.

"No actually, I was…um…thinking about if any of the boys upstairs would've intervened in all of this," Sam jerked his head upward.

"In what one might call my educated opinion, I'd say no," Cas answered. "Knowing how determined they were to set the apocalypse in motion, having a ready-made excuse to send Dean to hell would have been – for lack of a better word – a blessing."

"You think it might have been set up? Saving me when you did?" Dean asked.

"That I cannot give you a definitive answer," Cas told him honestly. "Time passes differently in heaven, Earth, and hell. Would I be surprised if that were the case? Absolutely not."

"I don't suppose I'll be getting an explana-" Mary began but stopped at the sound of John's voice coming from the television screen. She listened as TV!Sam left him a message about Dean being sick and rounded on Sam next to her. "Did he come?" When her youngest didn't respond, she grabbed the remote and paused the show. "Tell me he showed up. Tell me he didn't ignore his son being terminally ill, tell me please."

Sam made a helpless gesture and ultimately shook his head, "I'm sorry, he didn't come."

Mary leant forward on her knees, eyes shut tight and dragging in breaths slowly. She was still battling her own guilt and now add in being furious at John compounded by the sense of being a hypocrite for it. "Mom?" she opened her eyes to Dean kneeling in front of her. "Dad… It was a pretty crappy move, no question about that and there will be a few more of those before all is said and done. But -" he spared a glance at Cas, "I promise he was there right when we needed him the most. You know what happens."

Mary gently held his face, "Is this when…"

"No, that's another near death experience of mine." Dean smiled once.

"Clearly there is much to look forward to," Cas interjected and Mary's laughed against her will.

"Alright," she said at last. "Let's see how this one pans out."

"Lets," Sam agreed and picked up the remote. He started the show as TV!Dean arrived at the hotel TV!Sam was staying in, having not wanted to die in the hospital. TV!Sam discusses going see some specialist in Nebraska.

"You're not going to let me die in peace, are you?"

"I'm not going to let you die, period."

Ain't that the gospel of truth. Sam almost rolled eyes back as if he could look at the voice. "I get it okay," he whispered under the cover of the show. "I'm pretty stubborn and can get single-minded but he's my brother and it's not going to change." That's more introspection than I ever expected from a Winchester. I must say Sammy, I'm impressed. Hang on, you took him to a faith healer?

"You took him to a faith healer?" Cas asked at the same time as the voice and Sam had tamp down a snort.

"It's a noble profession, you ought to know Cas," Sam quipped.

"Yes my time as Emmanuel was enriching," Cas nodded.

"Would have preferred you over this mook," Dean glared at the healer Roy who had taken the podium and called on him to be healed. The group watched TV!Dean be healed and see some strange man behind Roy. The next day, TV!Dean is perfectly healthy while some other man dropped dead of a heart attack.

"Oh that's not good," Mary groaned.

"I'm certain that was a reaper," Cas said. "But they usually don't look so decayed. Something must have been diminishing its power." Sam and Dean shared a look, took a moment to appreciate and wish they had their angel brother sooner, sighed, and then just let it go.

TV!Dean went to visit Roy and his wife Sue Anne to discover the source of his powers. Roy talked about TV!Dean having purpose and Cas cocked his head, "I realise he is a charlatan but how could he have known…"

"Probably some fortune cookie crap," Dean dismissed. "He didn't know jack, believe me." Meanwhile, TV!Sam looking into the death of the runner and noticed the broken clock that stopped at the time the guy died. TV!Dean runs into Leighla and her mother outside of Roy's house and the mother is frustrated that Roy still won't heal her daughter.

She vents on TV!Dean and Mary growled protectively, "She had no right putting that on Dean! I'm sorry for Leighla but how dare she say that to my son!"

"She was just scared for Leighla," Dean placated her.

"Dean you should never question whether you deserve to live," Mary insisted.

"Well you can't blame me after this," Dean pointed to the screen where they discuss the truth behind Roy's miracles and the reaper working for him.

"See how the reaper's hand heals when he is taking the soul?" Cas called to their attention. "Souls are both a reaper's duty and source of power. Their constant connection to the veil keeps them looking rather human. This one has long since been disconnected, it's not doing what it should, it's being kept away."

"Like Davy Jones, he wasn't doing what he was supposed to and the magic corrupted him physically," Dean surmised.

"I don't understand that reference but I think so," Cas frowned confused.

"Wow binding a reaper is no joke," Mary remarked as the TV!Winchesters discussed reapers and how to fight them. "I heard they'll turn on the binder if the bond is broken. You might as well just sell your soul, at least you'll get ten years of freedom out of the deal. Not to mention Roy is making this one his errand boy, it is not going to be happy."

TV!Sam point-blank refused to kill Roy and real life Sam had to laugh, "Can't kill Death eh Dean?"

"I didn't know him then."

"You did what?!" Mary asked sharply.

"Now that is a long story," Sam blew a breath.

The boys onscreen agree to break the spell so TV!Sam goes to investigate the house while TV!Dean attempts to stall the service. TV!Sam found the secret spellbook including newspaper articles about the victims and how they were somehow immoral or went against the church. He tells TV!Dean who was in the tent for service as Leighla gets called up to be healed. He can't convince her to not to go, while in the parking lot, the reaper is after a protester. With little choice left, TV!Dean screams fire and gets everyone to evacuate the tent but it doesn't stop the reaper leading them to discover Sue Anne as the one binding the reaper and not Roy. Sue Anne pretends to be the victim and has the cops send TV!Dean away.

If only I had run into this piece of work when I was back in business. Sam smirked. Meanwhile, Leighla confronts TV!Dean before he heads off to meet with TV!Sam, they figure Sue Anne probably bound the reaper to save Roy and then started using him to attack people she considered immoral. They go back to stop Sue Anne and TV!Dean is upset about Leighla.

"For whatever comfort it is worth, I speak from personal experience, playing god is not wise," Cas said.

"You weren't so bad Cas," Dean sent the angel a grin. "You saved the leaper colonies and dismantled the Klu Klux Klan…and fried some motivational speakers extra crispy."

"Not funny Dean," Cas growled over the hunter's snickers.

"It's really not," Sam agreed but still couldn't stop a laugh from escaping.

"The types of conversations in this room…" Mary rubbed her forehead. "I'm half-interested, half-dreading finding out the backstory to all of this." As they talked, in the show, TV!Dean drew the police off and TV!Sam went looking for the alter. He found it in the cellar and realises that Sue Anne intends to kill Dean next. She catches him and traps in the cellar, proclaiming that she is doing god's work.

"She is…" Cas began.

"Batshit crazy, yeah," Dean filled in.

"Dude why didn't you run when you saw the reaper?" Sam asked as the reaper bore down on TV!Dean.

"It wasn't slow like that," Dean explained. "I mean it was and it wasn't. One second he was walking towards me but then I blinked and he was right in front of me. He reached out but in a flash, his hand is on my head."

"Lucky Sam got out so quickly," Mary said. They watched as TV!Sam destroyed Sue Anne's cross and the reaper turned on her, unfortunately this meant Leighla would not be healed and Roy was left, none the wiser. "Wonder what became of Roy?"

"To be honest, I have no idea," Sam replied. Onscreen, the boys are packing up when Leighla comes by to say goodbye. Her and TV!Dean chat about what happened and Dean promises to pray for her.

"That is a miracle," Cas concurred with Leighla's sentiments.

"Hey I pray," Dean protested. "Sometimes…to Cas…"

"If telling me to 'get my feathery ass' wherever you happen to be qualifies as prayer then you are a devout man indeed," Cas rolled his eyes.

Check the case Sammy, I think I might be around more for this one. Sam read the description and let out a loud snort garnering the attention of the room. "It will take a lot more than prayer to save you big brother," he grinned devilishly and showed Dean the next episode. "Route 666."