"Simon, we're filming."
"Um, hello world," Simon, a young priest, said on screen.
"So this new ritual we're going to see, this new type of exorcism, h-how does it work?"
"I don't know. It's my first time."
"Wait, is that Abaddon?" Sam asked as the woman Simon was talking to came on screen.
Behind Simon and his accomplice, another woman was whimpering softly.
"It's not kill-y enough," Dean replied.
"It's got to be the, uh, chick she possessed," Sam nodded.
"My grandmother," I muttered.
I felt Dean's eyes flicker over to me briefly as the mystery woman screamed and grunted.
"Hurry, we must do it now," an older priest addressed Simon and my grandmother.
"Dead! They're all dead! Everyone you ever loved..." the other woman screamed.
"Hey, those chains are exactly like the ones in our dungeon," Sam noted.
"In your what?" Cass asked in surprise.
"Demon on a leash," Dean muttered, ignoring the first normal reaction Cass had ever had. "Cool."
The demon continued to scream, tugging at the chains on her wrists.
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus... hanc animam redintegra..." both Simon and the older priest began reciting. "Lustra!"
After slapping a bloody hand to the woman's chest, the screen turned white, and when it cleared, the body of the woman fell to the floor, her heart missing. The reel crackled as my grandmother spoke.
"She's dead."
Both the older priest and Simon were coughing, while my grandmother was getting hysterical.
"Where's the demon?"
"Stop filming," the older priest told her.
"What happened?"
"Will you just stop?!"
The projector clicked once more and then stopped.
"Well, that was weird..." I said, "with three exclamation points."
"That wasn't a normal exorcism," Sam added. "They changed the words."
"I believe 'lustra' is Latin for wash or cleanse," Cass contributed helpfully.
"Oh, yeah, 'cause that was the most freaky thing was the vocabulary," Dean quipped. "What about the bloody high five or the chest burster? Anything else on the film, like director's commentary, sequel, maybe?"
Sam had grabbed the file that came with the film reel, reading from it.
"Yeah, listen to this. The older priest, Max Thompson, bit the dust in '58, but the younger one is still alive and still in St. Louis."
"Think this kind of weird is worth the drive?"
"Dean, everything in those folders – the possessions, the deals, all of it – we've seen that before, but that – That was all new. Yeah, it's worth the drive."
"Alright, let's roll. Not you two."
Cass and I both looked offended.
"Sam is more damaged than I am," Cass protested. "And certainly more damaged than Eleanor."
"Yeah, well, you know, even banged up, Sam comes through. Besides, someone has to stay back with the kids."
"Dean, I just want to help," the angel insisted.
I wasn't even going to argue after Dean mentioned someone staying back with the kids. Despite the fact that I knew they were back and needed supervision, after so long without them, it was easy to forget sometimes.
"We don't need your help. Just stay here and – and get better."
Cass opened his mouth to argue further, but Sam and Dean had already disappeared down the hall.
"Well, at least I have-" he cut himself off when he turned to see me walking away in the opposite direction of the brothers.
I popped my head into Maddie and Zep's room to check on them. Both of them were sleeping soundly in the giant bed together. We were going to have to get all new furniture for them that was more their size. I was determined to help them feel like this was home now, which meant decorating their space how they wanted it. After sneaking over and giving them each twin kisses on their foreheads, I headed next door to Dean and my room.
"Eleanor," Cass's gruff voice sounded behind me.
Sighing, I turned around to face the angel.
"What, Cass?"
"I just wanted to tell you, I don't blame you. I understand you were only thinking about Madelaine and Zeppelin. I don't wish you to feel guilty over what Naomi did to me."
"But I do feel guilty, Cass. And besides that, Dean blames me for it. It wasn't fair to you for me to tell Naomi where you were and how you were staying one step ahead of them. With or without the promise of getting my kids back."
"I can talk to Dean, if you want," the angel suggested. "I understand his anger toward me for ignoring the two of you, but he shouldn't be mad at you. You have been in a lot of pain this past year since getting back from Purgatory, and you only did what any mother would do in your situation."
I chewed my lip, looking away from Castiel's piercing blue gaze to stare at the wall of weapons nearby. My eyes lingered on the two Purgatory blades Dean and I brought back as souvenirs.
"Thanks, Cass," I muttered finally. "Uh, I'm going to try and get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
"Of course. Good night, Eleanor."
Cass walked off down the hall, disappearing to do something that I didn't care to know about at that moment, and I shut the door and headed over to climb into bed. Pulling Dean's pillow into my arms, I buried my nose in it and fell asleep to the scent of my husband.
⁘
Cass had gone on a supply run the next day and never come back. Sam and Dean had gotten back to the Bunker with all of Father Thompson's exorcism accounts up until two days before he died. It turned out he was using purified blood to dose a demon who'd possessed a man and ate his children. After the eighth dose was administered on hour eight, the Father recited the altered exorcism and the demon turned back into Peter Kent.
"Could we take this hoodoo for a test drive?" Dean asked.
"Um, I mean, I have the exorcism right here," Sam nodded. "All we need is blood, consecrated ground, and a demon."
"So, what?" I asked. "We summon a demon, trap it-"
"Or- or we use one that we've already tagged. Do we still have Dad's old army surgeon kit?"
"It's in the trunk," Sam replied. "Why?"
"Yeah, I think it's time to put Humpty Dumpty back together again," Dean said.