Standing Outside the Fire

69

INT. BUNKER

Francesca joined her husband in the library, not meeting his eyes.

"Dean. Francesca," Castiel said.

They looked up to see the angel and Dean commented, "Cas. Now, look at you, all suited up and back in the game."

"I, um... I came as soon as you two called. I wa-"

Castiel stopped, noticing the broken lamp on the floor. His eyes followed the strewn books and papers and the broken chair. "Dean, Francesca, what happened?"

Dean and Francesca stopped their packing and look at Castiel with pained expressions, showing the emotion they were feeling. They sat at the table.

"Sammy was dying," Dean said. "What was I supposed to do? He said it was the only way, and we believed him. Now Sam's gone. Kevin's..."

"Dean, Kennedy, I'm sorry."

Dean pursed his lips. "Yeah, well... Sorry don't pay the bills, does it? It sure as hell ain't gonna bring Kevin back. We got to find that son of a bitch."

"Dean. Kennedy. If the angel possessing Sam isn't Ezekiel, then who is it?"

"A dead man walking," Francesca retorted in a sharp tone.

"What, you're gonna destroy him?"

"Damn right," Dean and Francesca said.

"You kill an angel, its vessel dies, too."

Dean glared. "Think we don't know that? If we don't end Sam and that halo burns him out and I... God, I was so damn stupid."

"You were stupid for all the right reasons."

"Yeah, like that matters."

"It does. Sometimes that's all that matters." Castiel looked between them. "Listen to me. Sam is strong. If he knew an angel was possessing him, he could fight. He could cast the angel out."

"Maybe," Francesca said. "But as far as we know, he's in the dark. We don't know how we clue him in."

"Do you remember Alfie?"

Dean thought for a moment. "The kid angel? Yeah. Why?"

"Before he died, he told me the demons were able to dig into his mind, access his coding. We might be able to do that here. Might be able to -- to bypass the angel and talk directly to Sam."

"And you think that'd work?"

"I don't know, but I think we should try."

Francesca pursed her lips. "Okay. Uh, where do we start?"

They made their way to the dungeon.

"Hello, boys, lady," Crowley greeted.

Dean wasted no time. "Here's the deal -- you're gonna tell us how to hack an angel, and I'm gonna give you some of the good stuff." He held up a syringe of blood. "Human blood, fresh from the tap." He patted his arm. "Word is you're jonesing for it."

"Please. I'll pass."

"What do you want, then?"

"Well, for starters... A massage. Between the sitting and the shackles, a body gets a little stiff."

"Yeah, I ain't rubbing you."

"God, no. Get Kevin. His tiny fists can really work wonder-"

"Kevin is dead," Castiel interrupted.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't pretend you care. You tried to kill Kevin."

"I told you this was gonna happen. I was the only person who tried to warn him. I told him to run."