Sam and Larissa are asleep in bed, Larissa lying on her side and Sam is on his stomach and Larissa has her arm over his back. Sam's alarm goes off and he blindly reaches around it for it and turns it off. He looks at the time, letting out a sigh.
Sam sits up and yawns, taking a few moments to somewhat wake up.
"Sammy, I love you... but what psycho wakes up at 6:30 in the goddamn morning?" Larissa tiredly asks.
The two hear a gentle knocking on the door followed by somebody trying to open the door.
"Your daughter." Sam retorts.
"No, no, her waking up this is early is all you. That is your daughter. My kids are gonna be waking up at 9:00." Larissa mumbles, yawning.
"Mm-hmm." Sam lightly rolls his eyes. He leans down and kisses Larissa's cheek before getting up.
"Daddy." Athena reaches up to him when he opens the door. He's always the one who gets her when she wakes up early.
"Yeah, hey, baby girl." Sam picks her up, leaving the door cracked.
"Food." Athena says.
"I know. We're getting there." Sam quietly says, not talking too loud since he's still partly asleep. Athena holds her stuffed animal to his face.
"Oh. Mm-hmm." Sam kisses the stuffed animal's head without really thinking. Athena rests her head on Sam's shoulder, one hand gripping onto his shirt while the other holds her stuffed animal.
Sam goes into the kitchen and turns the light on. He goes over to the coffee maker and grabs the pot, moving to the sink. He fills it up and makes his way back over to the coffee maker and puts the pot there before stopping.
Sam slowly moves back to the table, observing the junk food. Athena lifts her head, gasping at the junk food.
"Candy." She leans down, trying to reach the food.
"I don't think so." Sam lifts her upright making her whine.
"Surprise!" Athena screams and Sam turns and punches the man. The high pitched scream immediately wakes Larissa up and gets her out of bed.
Sam quickly puts Athena on the bench of the table and grips the man's shirt in one hand, holding his fist up.
"Who are you?" He asks, making sure he's standing in front of Athena.
"Stwangew danga!" Athena points to the man in the colorful clothes.
"It's me, Sam! It's Sully!" He says.
"What?" Sam asks.
"You remember me, right? I made all your favorite snacks. We're friends. Like best friends. You remember?" Sully asks.
"Mama daddy's best fwiend." Athena says. She stands up and leans over, dipping her finger in the melted marshmallows that are drizzled over the chips. She hums in delight when she tastes it, immediately going back for more.
"Sully?" Sam asks.
"Yeah." He nods.
"No. You're not real." Sam says.
"Well, how'd you punch me, then?" Sully asks.
Larissa races into the kitchen, Dean following her, fast but not as fast as her. Larissa relaxes, but grows confused when she sees Sam threatening to punch midair.
"This can't be happening." Sam says.
"Dude. Who you talking to?" Dean asks.
"Him." Sam nods in an empty direction.
"Are you having a stroke? Do you smell toast?" Dean asks.
"Maybe you should stop waking up at 6:30 if it makes you hallucinate." Larissa says.
"They can't see me unless I want them to." Sully grins.
"Baby, what are you eating?" Larissa walks over to her daughter who's mouth is covered in melted marshmallows.
"Candy!" Athena grins.
"I see that." Larissa says, smiling a little.
"What is all of this crap? When did you start eating this stuff? Is that marshmallows on nachos?" Dean asks.
"Yeah, this wasn't me." Sam says.
"I'd hope not. You'd take my "fun parent" role away." Larissa says making Sam roll his eyes.
"It was me." Larissa and Dean turn to Sully. "And those are delicious." Larissa immediately grabs Athena, holding her, and she backs up a few steps.
"Wait a second. Can you see him?" Sam asks.
"Yeah." The other two nod.
"Dean, Lissy, this is... I think is... Sully. My friend from when I was a kid." Sam says.
"Which friend?" Larissa asks.
"You mean Mork from Ork here is your dumbass imaginary friend Sully?" Dean asks.
"You had an imaginary friend?" Larissa asks.
"What? You didn't?" Sam asks.
"No, I never had the attention span. I forgot about them after five minutes." Larissa says.
"Um, I'm not dumb or ass." Sully says.
"I'm gonna get my gun." Dean says, starting to leave.
"No, please." Sully begs and Dean turns around, holding his hand out defensively.
"Okay, karate kid." Larissa mumbles.
"Someone killed my friend." Sully says.
"You mean your imaginary imaginary friend?" Dean asks.
"First off, imaginary friend is more of a descriptive term. How you just said it? That was a little offensive, just to be honest. Secondly, we're Zanna. Me and... me and the victim, we're Zanna. We help kids. We're the good guys. Sam, tell them."
"Yeah, okay. Um... you know what, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole you being real thing." Sam says.
"Aww! Yeah, no, no, of course. No, that's okay, that's okay. This is all really unexpected." Sully says.
"Yeah, that's one word for it." Dean mumbles.
"Just-- I need your help. You're hunters, that's what you do, right? I mean, you help people too." Sully says.
"Yeah, yeah. People. You are not that." Dean says.
"Dean, come on." Sam says.
"Come on? Are you kiddi-- look, this-- mother-- you, me, her, library, right now. Come on!" Dean orders. Sam and Larissa walk out of the kitchen.
"Candy." Athena reaches toward it sadly, watching it disappear as her mom turns the corner.
"Yeah, we're getting you toast after this." Larissa says.
"Ah!" Dean stops Sully from following.
"Yeah, no, I'll just stay here. Coolio." Sully says and Dean follows the younger two into the library.
"You're not actually buying this crap, are you?" Dean asks.
"Dean, when I was nine years old, you know what I wanted more than anything? Marshmallow nachos." Sam says.
"Why?" Larissa grimaces.
"Yeah, you were a weird-ass kid." Dean shrugs.
"Yeah, well, the only person I ever told about it--" Sam motions to the kitchen.
"Sully."
"Yes."
"I don't know, man. I... hey, you know, maybe this is just one of your visions."
"Yeah, except we're all seeing it. Even Athena. And it doesn't involve the cage or Lucifer, or me having to talk to Lucifer in the cage. Look at this. Here." Sam puts a book on the table, it open to a page about Zannas.
"In Romanian lore, Zanna are creatures who guide and protect lost children. Zanna intentionally appear as figments of a child's imagination, allowing the child to move on with confidence once guidance is no longer necessary. Maybe Sully's telling the truth."
"Okay. Say Bozo is legit. Right? Which, you know -- hello crazytown."
"LazyTown?" Athena perks up.
"No. No, not that show, baby. Uncle Dean said Crazy." Larissa says. Athena pouts.
"How is this our problem?" Dean asks.
"Because someone's dead." Sam says.
"No, something is dead. A fairy godmother getting capped? That ain't our beat." Dean says.
"Yes, I know that, Dean, but--"
"But what?"
"But as messed up and insane as this sounds, Sully helped me."
+++
"That's the place. It's a horror show in there." Sully says.
"You mean you've been inside?" Sam asks.
"Last night." Sully gets up and leans over the back of the front seat. Larissa leans closer to Athena's car seat to not have him in her face. "I'm in management now, so I don't get out in the field much. I just came to see Sparkle." Sully says.
"Sp-Sparkle?" Dean asks.
"Yeah. I show up and, I mean, the place was bananas. Kid had called the cops, mom's freaking out, and... Sparkle... Sam, it was horrible." Sully cries.
"Okay, so according to Zanna rules, the kid is the only witness, right?" Dean asks.
"Yeah. Poor thing. I'll meet you inside." Sully disappears.
"All right, what are you thinking?" Dean asks.
~ ~ ~
"Good. The Bert and Ernie pretext. Awesome." Dean remarks as the brothers are dressed in button ups, knit sweaters, and ties.
"Dude, you didn't have to come." Sam says.
"Well, you two Mr. Rogers have fun." Larissa remarks. Sam sarcastically laughs, leaning in to kiss her.
"Hey!" Athena calls.
"Hi." Sam kisses Athena before him and Dean leave.
"You know, this whole imaginary friend thing was dumb then and it's dumb now." Dean says as they walk away, their conversation leaving earshot of the mother and daughter.
~ ~ ~
Larissa watches Sam and Dean walk back to the Impala, disturbed looks on their faces. They get in, not saying a word.
"You two good?" Larissa asks.
"Kid's gonna need therapy." Sam nods.
"Okay." Larissa mumbles.
+++
"Nicky didn't check in with the home office last night. This can't be happening." Sully says as they all get out of the Impala, Sam holding Athena.
"You gazoos can talk to each other?" Dean asks.
"Us Zanna share a telepathic link." Sully says as the hunters head for the house. "She wouldn't be in there." They follow him to the backyard.
"Ooh." Sam mumbles. He puts his hand up, covering Athena's face before remembering she can't see it.
"A fucking mermaid?" Dean asks.
"It's a bloodbath." Sully gasps.
"Wha-- what's a bloodbath? Is he colorblind, too, or...?" Larissa asks.
"Uh-- Sully, give-give her the, um... the whole vision thing." Sam says.
"The what?" Larissa asks. Sully puts two fingers to her forehead. Larissa looks over and sees the dead mermaid in the pool. "Yikes."
"What?" Athena asks, hating that she can't see.
"Nothing, baby." Sam gently tells her.
"Memaid." Athena says.
"You don't wanna see it, honey." Sam says.
"All right, just let it out." Dean awkwardly pats Sully's back.
"No, no. I gotta stay strong for Sam." Sully says.
"Looks like more stabbing." Sam says.
"Okay, Sully, is there anybody that would want to hurt, uh, Nicky?" Dean asks.
"No. Uh..." Sully trails off.
"What?" Dean asks.
"Oh, well, I mean, her boyfriend's a little clingy. But he's one of my best friends. Guys, Weems would never hurt Nicky. I mean, he loved her too much." Sully says.
"Well, too much ain't good. So let's go talk to the mermaid's boyfriend. Because apparently imaginary friends have boyfriends now." Dean says.
"Wait, wait! We can't just leave her here. It's disturbing for the kid." Sully says.
"All right, what do you wanna do? Find a giant toilet and flush it?" Dean asks. The three look at Dean. "You're right. I was... what would you like us to do?"
"I think I saw some shovels back there." Sully says.
"'Kay." Dean says and Sully walks off. "Well, Totoro really cares for you, huh?"
~ ~ ~
The brothers dug up the hole and got the mermaid in it. Dean is shoveling while Sam kneels next to the hole. Sully is sitting on a small playground set and Athena is going down on of the small slides.
Athena giggles as she slides down, Larissa softly smiling at her daughter having fun. She picks Athena up, putting her at the top of the slide and Athena goes down again.
"Hey, slacker. Am I burying Ariel by myself here or what?" Dean asks his brother.
"No, yeah, of course." Sam stands up.
"Let's go." Dean says.
"How you holding up, Sully?" Sam asks.
"I'm fine. How are you, Sam?" Sully asks.
"Aces." Sam says. He looks over and watches Athena go down the slide, smiling softly at her bright smile and infectious giggles.
+++
It's nighttime and they're walking across the property, finding the sheets hanging up and blood stains on them. They go to the garage where a wounded Weems is.
"Weems! Weems, are you okay?" Sully asks.
"Argh, yeah, yeah." Weems says. "It went right through my love handle. My fat saved me. Can you believe that?"
"Fat is the best." Sully smiles.
"Yeah." Weems agrees.
"Yeah, well, the mermaid wasn't so lucky." Dean says.
"Is he talking to me? Who are these guys?" Weems asks.
"They're friends." Sully says.
"Hey, Weems, when was the last time you saw Nicky the mermaid? God, I can't believe I just said that." Dean mumbles.
"Yesterday. Why? What happened to Nicky?" Weems asks.
"She was murdered." Sam informs.
"What?!" Weems exclaims.
"Weems, I am so sorry." Sully says.
"No! She... she was my girl!"
"Sparkle's gone too."
"No! Sparkle! Dude, that's like our whole posse."
"I know, right? But hey, you're okay. You're okay."
"Okay, all right. So you're all pals. Is there anybody who would have beef with the bunch of you?" Dean asks.
"I've never seen her before in my life." Weems says.
"Wait a second-- you saw somebody?" Sam asks.
"Some chick. After she... shivved me, she took off in an old VW Bug." Weems says.
"So this is a good thing, right?" Sam asks his wife and brother.
"Uh, no, this is a great thing, I mean, a manicorn, a fucking mermaid? What am I supposed to do with that? But a chick in a car? That's terra firma. I'm home." Dean says.
"All right, you go. We'll cover these two." Sam says.
"I gotta ask. Hey, uh, acid wash. What's so special about you?" Dean asks.
"Mermaids dig me?" Weems shrugs.
"No, I mean, why do kids like you?" Dean asks.
"Oh. I play air guitar." Dean says.
"You play air guitar? Sam plays air guitar. I can play air guitar." Dean scoffs. Weems sits up and plays air guitar, music actually playing. After he's done, he returns to grimacing in pain, holding onto his side.
"It's okay, it's okay. Good solo. Good solo." Sully tells him.
"Thanks." Weems says.
"Well, he's no Clapton." Dean says, leaving.
"I'm gonna go get some bandages. Okay? Oh-- I'll be right back, Sam." Sully says before leaving.
"Wait. You're not... that Sam? Sully's Sam?" Weems asks.
"I guess I would be. Yeah." Sam nods.
"So, now, you and Sully are, like, back together?" Weems asks.
"What?" Sam asks.
"How old are you?"
"Wrong."
"Look, I get it, we all need a tune up from time to time. It's okay."
"No. He, uh, he came to me. I'm helping him out."
"Sam Winchester. I mean... wow. Hey, just so you know... Sully? You broke his heart, man."
"You broke your imaginary friend's heart? How cold of a nine year old were you?" Larissa asks.
~ ~ ~
Larissa is sitting down and Athena is in her lap and asleep.
"No, you did a good job." Weems assures Sully.
"Is it too tight?" Sully asks.
"No." Weems says.
"All right, that's good. Okay. There you go, pal." Sully says.
"All right. I'm gonna go check on Fletcher. Kid has a bladder like a sieve." Weems says before leaving.
"You know, it's... pretty awesome. How you help everyone around you." Sam says.
"Doesn't always work out, but... I try." Sully says.
"Sully... I feel awful. About how we left off. I'm sorry. I was a kid. I was a-a jerk kid. And-- and you were trying to help, and..." Sam says.
"That's all on me. I mean, goodbyes are part of the job, and ours was..."
"Pretty bad."
"Yeah, it was really bad." Sully laughs. "You know, I'm not gonna lie to ya... when you went off to hunt, I considered that one of my biggest failures. It just seemed so clear to me that you wanted something else. But... I was wrong. And it all worked out, didn't it?"
"I don't know about that."
"Come on. You're a hero. Sam, you saved the world. You're married an amazing woman and you're raising a cute little girl." Sam glances back at his family before looking at Sully confused. "I keep track of my kids. And you did really good, Sam."
"Well... not all good. There was some bad. And some really bad. Sully... I screwed up. I let something out into the world that was..."
"You mean the Darkness? That's what the others are calling it, I've just heard rumors."
"I'm gonna fix it. I am. Dean, Lissy, and I, we're-- we're gonna fix it. It's just..."
"What is it?"
"I think God wants to help us fix it. But I don't think I can do what he's asking."
"How bad is it?"
"There's this cage in Hell, and it's where they keep Lucifer. And I've been in it, and it's... and I think God wants me to go back."
"Ever think... about running away anymore?"
"I did. Um, I mean, I have. But not in a while. Not anymore." Sam phone vibrates and he looks at the text from Dean. "Ever think about hotwiring a minivan?"
"In my dreams."
"Let's do it."
+++
Larissa stayed in the van with Athena while Sam and Sully went in and apparently ended up finding Dean tied up with Reese threatening to kill him. Sam explained that Reese was a kid that Sully used to help, but stopped after her sister died while they were all playing in the street.
They watch as the VW Bug drives off. Sam and Sully talk for a moment before Dean and Larissa make their way over, Athena asleep in her mom's arms.
"Well, it is that time again." Sully says.
"You, um, you'll look in on Reese?" Dean asks.
"Don't worry, I will be checking in. And Dean, thank you for looking out for Sam. You're not a germ at all." Sully says making Larissa scoff.
"Thanks?" You know, you're not gonna get me to admit that you're not the weirdest thing out there, but... you're a good weird." Dean says.
"Rissa... thanks for looking out for Sam, too. And you and Athena make him the happiest. So, thanks for that too." Sully says.
"No problem." Larissa smiles up at Sam who shyly ducks his head, awkwardly clearing his throat.
"Good luck, buddy." Sully tells Sam before disappearing.
"I make you the happiest." Larissa grins smugly.
"Hey, he said Athena too." Sam reminds. "Besides, you already knew that."
"Well, yeah, but you rarely actually say it." Larissa remarks.
"Okay. Okay. You and Thena make me... happier than ever." Sam says.
"Ditto." Larissa pecks him on the lips.
"Really? All I get's a ditto?" Sam asks making her quietly laugh.
"I can show you how happy you make me later." Larissa says.
"I'm cool with that, but verbal affirmations are nice sometimes, dweeb." Sam lets out a small laugh.
"All right, all right. You two make me happier than anybody else." Larissa says. "Happy?"
"Mm-hmm." Sam nods.
"Okay, lovebirds. Puke fest over, let's go." Dean walks to the Impala.
+++
"Guys, we need to seriously discuss me going to the cage." Sam says.
"Okay. Not happening. Good talk." Dean says. "Sam, even if these visions are real--"
"Yeah. It's Lucifer? And me? In the cage? I know. But this-- this lump in my throat... it's not an excuse. Not anymore." Sam says.
"We'll find another way. Okay? There's always another way." Dean says.
"Okay. Then tell me -- what is the other way?" Sam asks.