Sam, Cas, and Larissa are in the school and where everybody is set up. Larissa is holding Liam and Sam is holding Athena's hand.
"I just don't know how much longer we can control them. I don't think they're buying the benzine story. I think... one man told me his wife, she's gone missing and--"
"Wait, wait. What? Who?" Sam asks, cutting Cas off.
"He said her name was Nan." Cas says.
"Alright, we'll find her." Sam assures. "Will you tell the hunters in the zone to keep an eye out?" He asks a hunter.
"Got it." The hunter nods.
"Thank you." Sam says as the hunter walks off. "Give me a minute." He tells them. "Stay with your mom." He tells Athena, ushering her towards Larissa. He walks to the front of the room. "C-Can I have your attention? 'Scuse me! Um, can I have... excuse me! Can I have your attention, please?" He waits until everybody is paying attention.
"Great. First off, we expect to have you back in your homes shortly. Uh, EPA techs will be here tomorrow to determine the source of the elevated benzine levels and how to properly respond. In the meantime, it is essential you stay out of the quarantine zone until it's safe. Thanks. Any questions?"
Most of the crowd raises their hands, the two hunters and angel sharing clueless looks.
"Do we have to stay?" Athena asks.
"No. No, I'm super hungry. Let's go find a vending machine." Larissa says, dragging her daughter out.
+++
Sam is adding stuff to their bulletin board of information while Larissa and Athena are sitting at the table, Liam sleeping in his car seat.
"I just think we need to tell the family something. I mean, we found his wife's body." Cas says.
"Cas, we will. When we can." Sam says.
"When we can?" Cas repeats.
"Cas, we have people outside that door who are barely keeping it together. We start talking murder--"
"Knock, knock!" They turn to see Rowena. "Am I interrupting something juicy?"
"No. Rowena, thanks for coming." Sam tells her.
"Samuel. Castiel. Larissa. Mini Larissa and mini Samuel."
"We have names." Athena pouts.
"What? A town full of ghosts. Messy even by Winchester standards." Rowena says.
"Well, you know them. Full of surprises." Larissa smiles.
"You realize you're a Winchester, right?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, but only by marriage, bro." Larissa mutters.
"Bro?" Sam mumbles, frowning. "Wh-- okay. Uh... we're hoping you can help." Sam tells Rowena.
"Can you boys do nothing on your own? Very well. What do you want?" Rowena asks.
"Remember a couple years ago when we were trying to get rid of Amara?" Sam asks.
"God's sister, aye. Sticky business, that." Rowena says.
"You made a crystalline device... a bomb." Cas says.
You want to blow up the ghosts?" Rowena questions.
"No. No. No, no. But the bomb was powered by souls. Souls that were sucked into it." Sam says.
"Ah... and ghosts are nothing but souls. I hope you're not thinking--"
"Trap them in a crystal." Sam states.
"Samuel, no! That was so difficult. It took everything I had." Rowena states.
"Yeah. Rowena..." Sam starts.
"Sam." A hunter, Jules, rushes in. "We got a situation."
+++
Sam and Dean return to the school with Ketch. They walk into the office where Larissa and the kids are. Athena grins at the return of her dad, but the excitement disappears when she spots Ketch.
Athena screams at the British man, starting to cry as her parents share a concerned look.
"Whoa, whoa, baby. Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay." Sam assures, crouching by her.
"No!" Athena wails, latching onto her mom. "No! He killed mommy! He killed mommy!" She sobs.
Sam winces, part of him having hoped she might've forgotten about that since she was a toddler, or even blocked it out.
"But mommy's okay, baby. She's okay." Sam assures.
"No! He's mean!" Athena sobs, struggling to breathe.
"Get her out. Come on. Get her out of here." Larissa mumbles. Sam picks Athena up, hiding her face in his shoulder when they pass Ketch, and Larissa follows.
"Watch Liam." She instructs Dean before rushing after her husband.
They get to a different room and Sam is still comforting Athena. He sits in a chair and cradles Athena on his lap.
"It's okay, baby. It's okay. We're all okay." Sam comforts, rubbing here back while Larissa strokes her daughter's hair. "You're okay, daddy's okay, mommy's okay. Liam's okay. Dean's okay. We're okay."
The two continue to comfort Athena until she ends up falling asleep.
"Well... guess we know who not to keep her around." Larissa says.
"I was really hoping she was too young to remember it." Sam says.
"Yeah, me too." Larissa mumbles. "You go talk all business. I'll stay here with her."
"You sure?" Sam asks.
"Yeah. She's more fun to be around than Ketch is, anyway. Even when she's asleep." Larissa says.
"Okay." Sam mumbles. He carefully transitions Athena to Larissa's lap. The girl stirs, cuddling into her mom, but staying asleep. "I'll come update you after."
"Okay." Larissa nods. Sam pecks her on the lips and then kisses Athena's head before leaving.
+++
They get to their hideout in the cemetery from the other day. They walk past the rift and go into the crypt, Sam locking the doors while Dean and Cas create salt lines around the place.
Rowena gets her stuff out and starts to perform her spell as something starts banging from the other side of the door.
"Looks like it's working." Sam says, getting a text from one of the hunters that are still by the neighborhood.
Rowena starts to breathe heavily as she seems to start struggling. The bowl clatters to the floor and Rowena falls down.
"Rowena?" Dean asks.
"We're all going to die." Rowena states, terrified. "Drink." She orders.
"Of course. Dean." Sam says, Dean handing him a water bottle.
"A real drink." Rowena states.
Dean gives her his flask, somewhat reluctantly, and Rowena takes a drink of the alcohol.
"Okay, now that we're waiting for the witch's hooch to kick in, can we finally admit the obvious?" Belphegor asks. "Uh, she failed. So if we're keeping scores, that's, uh, 1 for the demon, uh, 0 for the witch."
"The enchantment couldn't work. No magic could. The spell put me into a-a communion with the wall. I-I could feel how weak it is, how close to collapse-- and I could feel why. I could feel them. All of them." Rowena states.
"All of them? Them who?" Sam asks.
"The spirits. Their anger and their hatred, writhing and raging. They're pressed up against those walls breaking them down. There are too many, and they're too wild and desperate and angry." Rowena explains. "Together, they are too strong. Those walls will fall, and there's no magic on earth that can stop it."
"How long do we have?" Cas asks.
"Hours, if we're lucky." Rowena answers.
"Then we get out of here and we take out as many as we possibly can before those walls fall. Rowena, mix up some of those crystals you got." Dean says and Rowena laughs.
"It wouldn't matter! Those things? It would be like tossing mousetraps at the Great Plague. I'm telling you -- it's over!" Rowena declares.
"Perhaps if I'd gotten here sooner, there are any number of spells I could've tried to close the gate to Hell before it got to this point. But now it's too late. The cat's out of the bloody bag." Rowena states.
"Where the hell you going?" Dean asks Belphegor who starts to leave, but the demon doesn't reply. "Hey! Wh--"
"I got him." Cas follows Belphegor.
"We're not just gonna give up. That's not who we are. Let's go out there and let's take care of--" Dean is cut off as Sam motions for him to be quiet. Sam kneels next to Rowena.
"Rowena. Hey. You okay? You need anything?" Sam asks.
"A moment." She tells him.
"Of course. Sure." Sam nods, getting up and stepping away from her.
~ ~ ~
"Hey. What are you doing?" Sam asks Dean.
"I'm not gonna give up. That's what I'm doing. Not just gonna sit in this crypt and wait for the walls to come down." Dean says.
"You heard Rowena." Sam says.
"Yeah, I heard her, okay? Ghosts are gonna bust out, and they're gonna swallow this world. And you want to what, just relax? Take a knee? No. No, we're gonna end this, Sam. Like you said. We're gonna be free." Dean says.
"I know, Dean, I-I just... this feels bigger than us. You know? And-- and I'm out of ideas, and... and I'm freaked, too." Sam says.
"Oh, I'm not freaked. I'm angry, okay? I'm pissed." Dean states.
"At God."
"Yes."
"Me too."
"I mean, this whole mess, you know? This-- this sloppy ass ghostpocalypse that he has put us through? I'll be damned if I'm gonna let some glorified fanboy get the last word."
"Right." Sam mutters. "Hey." He calls to Rowena who is sitting on the stairs. "Anything useful in there?" He asks her.
"Not a thing." Rowena answers.
+++
"Wait, what do you mean Lilith's Crook?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, you know, one of those, uh... curvy ended canes that shepherds use? Little Bo Beep?" Belphegor says.
"It's just a nickname." Belphegor says. "Doesn't matter. Thing's actually more of a horn. Anyways, when Lilith began sending demons off to earth to do her bidding, there was a little problem. I mean, yeah, she commended absolute loyalty in Hell, but there was no guarantee that once her minions were topside, that they wouldn't just take advantage of the situation. She needed to control her flock. So--"
"So she forged the Crook." Sam says.
"Slash horn." Dean says.
"It could-- can retrieve all of Hell's lost creatures and bring them straight back home." Belphegor states, snapping his fingers.
"And why haven't we heard about this before?" Cas asks.
"She never needed to use it. When she ruled, it was enough for us that we knew she could. And then when Crowley took over, he had other forms of discipline. Endless lines, endless paperwork. Not that he liked to spend a lot of time down there, anyway, with us."
"Where is it?" Dean asks.
"Last I heard, it was in Lilith's chamber, which has been sealed for ages." Belphegor says.
"Now that all the doors in Hell are open--" Sam starts.
"It's just sitting there, ripe for the taking. I get the Crook, sound the Crook, and we suck all Hell's ghosts back into Hell. Then if the witch is feeling up to it..." Belphegor says.
"I slam the door shut behind them." Rowena says.
"Wait a second. How? With magic from the Book of the Damned?" Sam asks.
"A spell of my own devising. The Sanetur Acre Vulnus. A healing spell of a kind. If this gateway to Hell isn't a gate at all, but a wound, a rupture, I can use the spell to undo the damage Chuck did, and the hole will heal, close itself up. We'll have to time it perfectly. If--If you're in Hell when all this goes down, how will we know when to start?"
"Oh, trust me. You'll know." Belphegor says.
"What are you gonna need?" Dean asks Rowena.
"A-A few ingredients, nothing too exotic -- lavender, myrrh, the skull of an owl, quiet to perform the spell, and an assistant. Dibs on Samuel." Rowena says.
"Uh, what?" Sam is taken aback.
"You're as close to a seasoned witch as we've got in this lot. And I'll need someone out there by the rupture." Rowena says.
"Why?" Cas asks.
"I need to do the spell in the safety of the crypt, but we need someone close to the edge to serve as a fulcrum, a carrier." Rowena says. "Well, to put it in, uh, American action movie terms, they'll be carrying a bomb, I light the fuse, they toss it in -- boom. Whoever does this, they'll be unprotected. No salt circles -- all manner of angry spirits right up in their grill."
"Sounds like fun." Dean says. Belphegor raises his hand.
"Yes, Belphegor?" Rowena asks.
"Uh, who's coming with me? I'm sorry, but I'm not going down to Hell and getting past all those pissed off ghosts and demons that are maybe loitering down there, and sounding the Crook all by myself." Belphegor says.
"So you want company?" Sam asks the demon.
"I want protection. Muscle." He looks at Cas.
"Yeah, Cas'll go." Dean immediately agrees. Cas looks at him with a stunned expression. "You've been to Hell before."
"Well, it sounds like a don't have a choice." Cas says.
"Good. Great. Go team." Dean says. "Rissa, you coming with me or joining the witches?"
"No! Mommy stays with me." Athena states, hugging her mom's arm.
"Uh, yeah, my role is mom... staying in here." Larissa agrees.
+++
"Salt, a couple of guns from the back of the Impala, and for the ginger... witch stuff." Stevie hands things out, Rowena looking through the ingredients.
"Forget something?" Rowena asks.
"Right. One owl skull." Stevie gives it to Rowena.
"RIP Hedwig." Dean comments.
"You're welcome." Stevie says.
"Alright, so, how bad is it out there?" Sam asks.
"People are getting pretty restless, but we're keeping a lid on. Getting here through the quarantine zones, I stuck to the corners, only got attacked a few times. I think most of the ghosts are at the edge of town working to bring down those walls."
"So what are you planning in here? Another long shot, magical, Hail Mary?" Stevie questions.
"Yeah. Yeah, except this time, hopefully, it works." Dean says.
"So we need you and the other hunters armed up and ready on the other side of that wall. Cause if this goes sideways, you'll be the only thing standing between those ghosts and the world." Sam says.
"No pressure, right?" Stevie sarcastically remarks. Dean's phone buzzes and he takes it out.
"Ke-- uh..." He glances at Athena. "Hunter who used to be a dick. Says he's ready to get back in the game." Dean says, texting Ketch their location and the plan.
~ ~ ~
"Eyes on the page." Rowena tells Sam who is staring at the door worriedly. Larissa sits off to the side with the kids. "I need you off book for this incantation."
"Yeah, sorry. I just feel like I should be out there fighting." Sam says.
"And magic isn't fighting? Dean is doing his part. It's time for you to do yours. The plan." Rowena says.
"Of course. Right. Our one shot." Sam says.
"Read." Rowena tells him.
~ ~ ~
Everything starts clattering and the crypt shakes a bit.
"Mommy." Athena whines.
"It's okay, baby. We're okay." Larissa says as Athena sits on her lap. She keeps one arm around Athena, her free hand holding onto Liam's car seat.
"It's time, Sam." Rowena declares.
~ ~ ~
Sam and Rowena perform the spell, Sam getting distracted by clattering.
"Sam." Rowena calls. Sam looks at Rowena, the two nodding at each other and continuing the spell.
~ ~ ~
The rumbling stops.
"Rowena, what happened?" Sam asks. "Did it work? Rowena?"
Sam's phone rings and it's Dean, Sam picking up.
"Sam?" Dean asks.
"Hey. What's going on? Are the ghosts gone?" Sam asks.
"Hell if I know. But the crack's starting to close up." Dean says. "Something doesn't feel right."
"Fine, just... don't..." Sam trails off as he looks over at Rowena who is sticking a dagger into her shoulder. "Rowena? What are you doing?"
"My last resurrection sachet. Won't need that where I'm going." Rowena states.
"Where y-- where you're going? What are you talking about?" Sam asks.
"Lilith's Crook. Belphegor sucking the souls into Hell -- that was your only shot. It wasn't mine. Magic can do anything, Samuel, can contain anything... even the vast multitudes of Hell." Rowena states.
"Contain? What do you mean contain?" Sam asks.
"I can soak them up for a time if I pay the price. "Death is an infinite vessel." A spell so simple it draws its power from its caster. Just two ingredients." Rowena says.
"And you have them here?" Sam asks.
"Aye." Rowena answers.
"Rowena, why didn't you tell us?" Sam asks.
"Because, dear, the first ingredient is my own still coursing blood. And the last is my final breath." Rowena states.
"What?"
"I'll absorb the ghosts and demons and return them to Hell. In time, my body'll break down, and they'll be released right where they belong."
"No, no. No. Rowena... no."
"Yes, Samuel. To perform this spell, I have to die. And it has to be you that kills him." Rowena holds a dagger out.
Larissa hides Athena's face in her chest and covers her ears.
"No." Sam objects.
"It has to be you. My real, permanent demise is at your hands. It's in Death's books." Rowena states.
"Yeah, well, you know what? Screw the books." Sam says.
"I can't do this myself, Sam. I can't. It has to be you that kills me." Rowena states. "Hell's closing. The walls are falling."
"There has to be another way." Sam says.
"I wish there were... I do. I don't care about anything enough to take my own life. Not you, your brother... not even the world. But I believe in prophecy. I believe in magic. And I'm here, and you're here, and everything we need to end this right is in our hands." Rowena states.
Rowena puts the dagger in Sam's hand, pointing the dagger at her stomach.
"I know this in my bones... it has to be this way. Do it! Kill me, Samuel!" Rowena exclaims.
"I know we've gotten quite fond of each other, haven't? But will you let the world die, let your brother die, let your family die... just so I can live?"
With tears streaming down his face, Sam looks over at his family where Larissa is cradling Athena, keeping her hands over her daughter's ears, her face hidden in her mom's chest. Larissa has tears silently falling down her face, the tears falling into Athena's hair. Liam is asleep in his car seat.
Sam sadly looks back at Rowena.
"No." Sam whispers. He moves forward, sticking the dagger into her stomach. Larissa winces, hiding her face in Athena's hair.
"That's my boy." Rowena quietly says, resting her hand on his face. She twists the dagger before taking it out.
Larissa stays in the crypt with her kids while Sam follows Rowena out. After a little while, Sam walks back in and crouches next to them.
"Is it over?" Athena asks.
"Yeah. Yeah, baby, it's over. We're safe." Sam tells her, pushing some hair behind her ear, keeping his hand on her face and his thumb softly rubs her cheek. "We're safe." He gives Larissa a pained smile, his other hand resting on the back of her head.
Larissa holds Athena closer to her and Sam leans closer, pressing a long kiss to his wife's head.
+++
Larissa walks into hers and Sam's room where Sam is sitting in bed, resting against the headboard.
"Kids are asleep." Larissa says, shutting the door.
"Good. That-- that's good." Sam says.
"How you holding up?" Larissa asks, getting in bed next to him.
"Good as I can be, I guess." Sam mutters.
"I know you didn't want to do that. I'm so sorry you had to." Larissa says.
"I know." Sam mumbles. "Can we just... can we just not talk? Just... just cuddle?"
"Yeah. Yeah, of course." Larissa nods. She rests her head on his chest, her arm wrapping around his abdomen. Sam's arms tightly wrap around her. One hand slips under her shirt, softly rubbing her back, wanting to feel the warmth of her skin. He kisses her on the head before resting his cheek against her head.