PRECIOUS PAWN – DAY
Dean and Seylah stood outside the shop. Sam joined them as they walked to the door.
They walked into the pawn shop and to the counter, where Terry was standing.
"Howdy, fellas, lady. Anything on the shelves, 20 percent off. Today only," Terry told them.
"Great. Well, actually, we are, uh – we're looking for the good stuff," Sam said.
Dean took out a bundle of cash. "The really good stuff."
Terry opened the door to a back room. Sam and Dean followed him in while Seylah was told, much to her frustration, to stay back. "Everything back here is one of a kind. You got your basics – hands of glory, your Gris-Gris bags, your anointed dove's blood. And then... we have the more premium items. You boys ever mess with dragon's breath?"
"Actually, we're, uh – we're searching for something pretty specific," Sam replied.
"How specific?"
"The skull of Sarah Good. She was executed during the Salem Witch Trials," Dean said.
"Oh, I know who she was. And I think I can help you." Terry opened the locker behind him. Sam picked up a teddy bear from the shelf and tried to pull the loop on its back. "I wouldn't do that."
Sam put the bear back on the shelf. Terry took a skull out from the locker. "I'll tell you what. I'll make you a deal. I got this for a song at a flea market up in Pawtucket–"
"No, you didn't. Belongs to Bart Kemp. See, he's a friend of ours – a hunter. Worked out of Boston up until last week. Somebody killed him – cut him clean in half," Dean said.
"See, when they, um, found the body, his place had been emptied out, but I suppose you already knew that, didn't you?" Sam asked.
"Huh." Terry picked up the bottle of dragon's breath and sprayed it at the Winchesters. The flames pushed them back. Dean fell against the door, as Sam fell on the floor. Terry took a large sword and walked towards Sam. "Now, this – it's called Chrysaor. Supposed to be able to cut through anything. Sliced up your pal real good with just one swing, but you – oh, you're a big boy. You might take some work. The girl back there, not so much."
Terry swung his arms up, but a gunshot rang out, hitting him in the chest. He fell to the floor, the sword falling from his hands. Dean was standing behind him, a gun in his hands.
"They always talk too much," Dean said. "And you're not gonna touch the kid."
Terry was lying dead on the floor. Sam looked over a ledger.
"Whoa. Dean, according to this, he's got a ton of occult objects here," Sam said.
"What do you want to do with all this crap?" Dean asked.
"I don't know. I mean, I-I guess we, uh, take it home, right?"
Dean picked up the dragon's breath and sprayed it. The flames rose, but Dean stopped pressing it. Sam shook his head at Dean.
"Right, yeah. Good plan. Home," Dean agreed.
The Impala drove down the highway.
A group of teens sat outside the Lebanon Vista Theatre.
"People say they're brothers and the girl is the taller man's adopted daughter. All I know is I was standing right here when I heard this – bam! From the trunk of their car. And then this, like, shallow breathing," Eliot said.
"No way," Max replied.
"Eliot, you're creeping Max out," Stacy told him.
The Impala engine rumbled, and stopped right in front of the theatre.
"That's them," Eliot noted.
Sam, Seylah and Dean got out of the car. Sam was holding the ledger in his hand.
"So what – you're saying all this stuff is lethal?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, it looks like," Sam answered.
Sam, Seylah and Dean walked into the liquor store. Jackson was behind the counter. "Hey. The Campbell brothers. Miss Campbell. Lemme guess – the usual?"
"Make it double," Dean said.
"Dean, Sey, listen to this. Uh, hangman's rope, fairy dust, John Wayne Gacy's cigar box," Sam informed.
"So we're talkin', like, 31 flavors of weird, huh?"
Sam nodded. "Pretty much, yeah. Listen, Jack and Cas are out with Jules and her crew, but when they get back, they can give us a hand cataloging all of this."
"Oh, I love cataloging," Seylah mumbled. "Actually I kind of do."
Sam smiled at her before turning to Dean. "Something like this – maybe it's what we need, you know, to – to... take your mind off things."
"Things? What things? Oh, you mean that thing that's riding shotgun up in my head? That thing?" Dean asked.
EXTERIOR – LEBANON VISTA THEATRE
"I mean, think about it. Where do they even come from? Them or their weird sidekick with the trench coat. And what about that kid with the dumb Bambi on his face all the time?" Eliot wondered.
"So what? That doesn't mean that they kidnapped Bigfoot or whatever," Max said.
The girls laughed and Eliot replied, "You guys are dicks."
Stacy's cell phone rang. "Gotta bounce. See you later? At the thing?"
"Sure, yeah," Max answered.
Stacy got up from the bench and walked to the Impala. "Whatever their deal is, they got an awesome car."
Max looked at the Impala and smiled.
LIQUOR STORE
Sam and Seylah were looking through the ledger and the former said, "You are not gonna believe this."
Dean turned to Sam and Seylah. They looked at the ledger together.
"It's called the Baozhu. It's one of eight ancient Chinese treasures. I-It's a pearl that grants wishes. Sort of," Sam informed.
"Sort of?" Dean repeated.
"Well, technically, it's supposed to give you "what your heart desires,"" Seylah clarified.
"That would be Michael outta my friggin' head," Dean said.
"Exactly," Sam agreed.
"So, you're telling me that the answer to all of our problems is sitting right outside in the ca–"
Sam, Seylah and Dean saw the Impala being driven away. Dean rushed out of the bar.
EXTERIOR – LEBANON VISTA THEATRE
"No, no, no, no, no! What the..." Dean cried, trailing off.
Sam, Seylah and Dean turned to see Eliot across the street, watching the car drive off.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Sam and Seylah called.
They ran across the street to reach Eliot.
"Hey, hey! Don't move!" Dean demanded.
"I didn't see anything, I swear," Eliot said.
"Okay. Listen, that car is dangerous, okay?" Sam warned.
"Swear to God, if anything happens to that car–" Dean muttered.
"Please, I don't wanna die!" Eliot begged.
Sam, Seylah and Dean looked confused.
Seylah frowned. "Die? Why – why would you... Just tell us what you saw."
"I don't wanna narc."
"You don't have a choice," Dean retorted.
"Okay. It's this girl Max. She's new in town, so I don't even know where she lives."
Dean got angry.
"Don't," Sam warned as he pushed Dean away. They walked back across the street.
POSTAL STATION – DAY
Marta was behind the counter. Sam walked in.
"Help you?" Marta asked.
"I hope so. Um, I'm looking for a – a local kid, a teenager – Max something. I feel bad. I paid her to wash my car, but she took off before I could tip her, and I figured you knew everyone in town–" Sam was cut off.
"So you want me to give you an underage girl's address?"
"No, uh–"
Dean and Seylah walked into the postal station.
"It's not like that," Sam finished.
"Marta. How's that grandson of yours?" Dean asked.
"Oh, he's a spoiled little jerk, but I love him," Marta replied. "How's your niece?"
"She's good," Seylah answered.
"'Course you do," Dean replied. They're great. Uh, listen, my brother, niece and I, we just need to talk to this girl, okay? So, if you could help us out, I would – I would really appreciate it."
"Oh, now, Dean, I-I-I can't just go around handing out addresses all willy nilly," Marta said. "I-I-I-I took a vow."
"Please." Dean placed his hand on top of Marta's on the counter. He tapped it a few times.
"But, um... I can tell you where to find her mother."
"Oh. All right."
Sam looked at Marta, annoyed. Dean smiled at Marta. Seylah laughed.
RESTAURANT
Sam, Seylah and Dean were talking to Max's mom, Caitlin.
"I'm gonna kill her," Caitlin said.
"Does Max have a phone?" Dean asked.
"O-or do you have any idea where she might have gone?" Sam wondered.
"She's supposed to be in school," Caitlin told them.
Another employee walked into the room. "Skip day."
"What day?" Dean questioned.
"February 7th – that's skip day. Kids ditch school. Some of them head out to this old house on Route 36 – throw a party. It's a small town, man. Kids got to blow off steam."
OLD HOUSE, ROUTE 36
The Impala was parked outside the house.
All of the occult objects were inside the house. Stacy picked up the bear. "What is all this stuff?"
"Found it in the back of the car," Max replied.
"Uh, creepy," Bea said.
"No. It's awesome." Stacy corrected.
"Pizza's here!" a guy called.
"Oh, thank God." Stacy and the other girl got up from the couch.
"Oh, I'm so excited for pizza," Bea commented.
"Me too. I haven't eaten all morning."
They left the room. The cigar box opened. A cloud smoke came out and formed into a hand.
Eliot ran into the house. "Hey! Th-those guys and girl, they're after Max, and they said something about–"
"Dude, one – you're not supposed to be here. Two – chill. Max can handle herself," Stacy told him.
BATHROOM
Ethan walked into the bathroom. He blew a puff of air out of his mouth and chuckled. He started to wash his hands. The mirror started to frost. He wiped his hands, then wiped the mirror. A ghost of a clown stood in the mirror. The clown jumped at Ethan.
An old pick-up truck stopped outside the house. Sam, Seylah and Dean get out. Dean walked over to the Impala, followed by Seylah.
"Oh, Baby. Baby, Baby, please tell me you're not hurt," Dean said as he looked over the Impala. Sam checked the backseat.
"Dean. Backseat," Sam noted.
They looked into the backseat.
"It's empty."
Seylah let out a sigh. "I did suggest the trunk."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"Ethan! Ethan, wait!" Bea cried.
Ethan and Bea walked out of the house and rushed past Sam, Seylah and Dean.
Sam stopped Bea. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. What happened? What's going on?"
"He said he saw a ghost. It was a clown. He said it tried to kill him!"
Dean ran to the house. Sam and Seylah ran behind him.
Sam, Seylah and Dean rushed in with their FBI badges.
Dean held up his gun. "FBI! Everybody out! Let's go! Move, move!"
All the teens ran out of the house, except for Eliot. Sam held up his badge. "Go!"
"FBI?" Eliot questioned.
"Hey, let's go. Come on, huh?" Dean pushed Eliot out of the room and put his gun back in his jeans. "All right. Any of this stuff scream "clown" to you?"
Sam looked around the room. He saw the cigar box opened and Sam said, "John Wayne Gacy's cigar box. I mean..." Sam's breath could be seen.
"We should burn that right now," Dean said.
"Oh, yeah," Sam and Seylah agreed as the former picked up the box and took it to the fireplace in the room.
Dean looked at Sam. "A serial killer clown. I mean, this is, like, the best/worst thing that's ever happened to you, you know, 'cause you love serial killers, but – but you hate clowns."
"Yeah, I get it, Dean," Sam replied.
"Yeah, just saying."
Sam put lighter fluid over the box. He took out his lighter and tried to flick it on. The lights in the room started to flicker. "Come on."
"Sam... today," Dean called.
The lighter still didn't flick on. The ghost clown appeared behind Dean who turned and saw it.
"Sam," Dean warned.
The ghost clown rushed towards Dean.
All the teens were waiting outside.
"Screw this," Eliot muttered, running back inside.
"Eliot, no!" Stacy cried, running after him.
Dean got thrown against the couch. The box caught fire. The ghost clown screamed as he went up in flames. Eliot rushed in at that moment, Stacy stopping next to him, Max behind her. When the ghost was gone, Sam, Seylah and Dean saw the three teens standing there.
"Uh..." Sam began.
"Hey!" Dean cried.
Eliot, Max and Stacy were sitting on the couch. Sam, Seylah and Dean stood in front of them.
"That was a ghost!" Eliot exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah, okay, listen. I-I know you need – or you want some sort of rational explanation for what happened here, but... there isn't one," Sam said.
The teens looked at Sam, Seylah and Dean with blank expressions.
Sam continued explaining. "My brother, daughter and I, we hunt things. Evil things that shouldn't exist."
"And we are damn good at what we do," Dean added.
"I knew it!" Eliot cried.
"Yeah, but if most people out there knew the truth, if they knew what was out there–" Seylah was cut off.
Dean interrupted her. "They'd lose their freaking minds. So what you saw here today, we're gonna keep that a secret."
Sam, Seylah and Dean looked at the teens, as they looked back at them.
"Okay," Stacy agreed.
The Impala drove down the highway.
BUNKER - LIBRARY
Sam was standing at the table, holding the Baozhu in his hands. Dean was sitting at the table, with a beer. Seylah sat across from him with a soda.
"John Wayne Gacy's ghost. Well, that's one of the record books," Dean said.
"Dean. Sey," Sam called.
"Hm?" Dean and Seylah hummed.
"I think this is it."
"The pearl?"
"Yeah."
"Let's do it," Dean decided.
"Are you – are you sure you don't want to call Mom or – or wait for Cas?"
"No. No, 'cause, you know, if this mojo works like you say, great. If not... why get their hopes up?" Dean stood next to Sam.
"Yeah."
"Okay," Dean replied as Sam gave Dean the pearl. "So, what do I..."
"I don't know. I-I guess you – you hold the pearl and – and concentrate on what your heart desires."
"Michael outta my head. Got it."
Dean picked up the pearl and held it in his hand. He looked at Sam and Seylah before closing his fist around it, closing his eyes. The lights in the bunker started to flicker, the red emergency lights coming on. Dean opened his eyes as he and Sam looked around the room.
A man appeared from behind them and swung at Sam. Sam moved, but the man hit Sam with his gun, pushing him to the floor. Dean swung at the man, but the man hit him with his gun several times, sending Dean to the ground, near Sam. A gun cocked.
"Don't you move," the man said.
The emergency light turned off and the regular lights came back on. Dean and Sam looked at the man in shock.
"Dad?" Dean asked.
Sam frowned. "Where's Seylah?"
John looked at the two of them in shock. "Dean? Sam? What in the hell? Who's Seylah?" John looked around the room as the boys stood up from the floor. "Sammy. Aren't you supposed to be in Palo Alto?"
"Palo Alto?" Sam repeated.
"What happened to you?"
"What year is it?" Dean asked.
"It's 2003."
"It's 2019," Sam corrected.
"No. How?"
"We, uh... I-I think we summoned you."
"You boys better tell me what the hell is going on right now."
BUNKER - KITCHEN
Dean poured whiskey into a glass. John picked it up and took a sip. "So, you saved the world?"
"More than once," Dean replied.
"Then it's all true. God, the devil, you boys smack in the middle. Now you live in a secret bunker with an angel, Sam's adopted daughter and Lucifer's kid."
"Yeah."
"Yeah," Sam repeated.
"And you've done this whole time-travel thing before?" John asked.
"A few times. Actually, uh, our grandfather, your dad – he's the one who helped us find this place. I think he'd be real happy to know you're finally here," Dean said.
"Right. Man of Letters."
"Yeah. W-We're legacies... because of you," Sam replied. "Sey's not a legacy, but she became a Woman of Letters despite that she's still a kid." He began looking up information on Seylah as to where she might be.
John smiled at Sam, then chuckled to himself. "So, you've, um – you've been busy."
Dean smiled. "Dad, none of this would have happened without you."
"It's good. It's fine. I-I went out takin' out Yellow Eyes. I mean, that was the point, right? I mean, get the thing that killed Mom."
"Yeah, yeah, uh, Dad. About Mom..." Sam began.
Mary's voice was heard from the hallway. "Sam? Dean?"
John looked shocked. "Mary?"
Mary walked into the kitchen. John turned around and smiled at her. She walked over to him in shock, as he stood up from the table. She smiled at him, as he leaned down to kiss her. They embraced each other as Sam and Dean looked on. Sam gestured for Dean to leave the kitchen.
BUNKER - HALLWAY
Sam and Dean walked down the hallway.
"It's Dad. This is amazing, man. I'm – I'm – I'm freaking out," Dean said.
"Yeah, I know. But, Dean – Dean, listen," Sam told him.
"What? What?"
They stopped walking and Sam asked, "How did this happen?"
"I-I-I don't know. You said that the – the pearl gives you what your heart desires, right? So, my heart desired – I – I've wanted this, man. I've – I've wanted this since I was four years old."
"Okay, I know, and I-I-I-I love this, too, Dean. I do, honestly, but – but messing with time–"
"No, no, no, Sam."
"You know how this ends. Things change."
"Yeah, great – we got our family back together. I'll take that change."
"That's not what I mean."
"Stop. Just stop, okay? Look, can – can we just have one family dinner? Just one? Us – all of us together. That's all I want. Can you just give me that?"
Dean walked away.
"Dean–" He sighed. "Sey, where are you?"
BUNKER - LIBRARY
John was looking through the books on the shelves. Sam walked in.
"This place – I don't even know," John said.
"Yeah, yeah. Uh, when we – we, uh, first moved in, I-I think it kind of blew our minds, too," Sam replied.
John smiled at Sam.
"Um, where's – where's Mom?" Sam wondered.
"Oh, she's, uh, gettin' your brother a shopping list. She's gonna make that casserole of hers," John informed.
Sam laughed. "Yeah, Dean and I tried to make that once."
"I, um... I remember. I screwed up with you a lot, didn't I?"
"No, that's okay."
"No, it's not. Sammy, tell me the truth."
"I don't want to talk about that."
"You didn't have a problem talking about it before you left."
"Dad... for me? That fight... that was a lifetime ago. I don't even remember what I said, and – I mean... yeah. You know what? You did some messed-up things. But I don't... I mean, when I think about you..." his voice broke, "and I think about you a lot... I don't think about our – our fights. I think about you... I think about you on the floor of that hospital. And I think about how I never got to say goodbye."
John put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Sam. Son. I am so sorry."
"I'm sorry, too. But you did your best, Dad. You – you fought for us, and you loved us, and... that's enough."
John tearfully smiled at Sam and patted his shoulder.
HALLWAY
Mary handed Dean a piece of paper.
"Okay," Dean said, walking down the hallway.
"Dean, hold on. Hold on. Just..." Sam trailed.
"What?"
"Listen. You, um... you're right. You want some company?"
---
The Impala drove down the highway.
---
The Impala pulled up in front of the liquor store. Sam and Dean got out.
"All right. I'll get the booze – you get the food."
Dean walked into the liquor store.
"All right, Jackson. It's celebration time. Give us your best stuff," Dean said.
"Uh, do I know you two?" Jackson asked.
"It's Dean. Campbell. I come in here, like, always."
"Oh. Right."
Dean was confused.
Sam walked out of the grocery store. Max walked past.
"Hey, Max," Sam greeted.
Max looked up at Sam. "Weirdo."
Sam crossed the street and stopped in front of the postal station. He waved at Marta.
"Hi." Sam greeted.
Marta closed the blinds. Sam shook his head and walked down the street. He stopped by a window, seeing Wanted sign with Dean's face on it. He rushed back to the car.
Dean was leaning against the car, looking at jis phone.
"Dean. Dean, we have a problem," Sam warned.
"Yeah, yeah, we do. Check this out," Dean said, showing Sam his phone. There was a video of Sam wearing glasses and a turtleneck sweater, on the screen.
"Is that me?"
"According to the internet, you run a law firm and love kale. Wait till you check your, uh, wannabe TED talk." Dean started the video.
Alternate Sam spoke. "Invest in a treadmill desk, don't drink coffee, and stick to a raw food diet. I mean, God bless kale – am I right? Truth is–"
"Okay..."
"No, no, it gets worse," Dean told him.
"And this is hard to hear – performing at your best requires all of your mental energy. Every last drop. You see, it's just not compatible with something like, uh... hobbies or, uh – or even having a family."
"Okay. That's enough of that." Sam turned off the video. "Listen, Dean, there is a Wanted poster for you, hanging in the post office."
"Oh, yeah, no, I-I Googled me and Sey as well. Uh, lotta beheadings for me. Sey is happily living with her parents in France."
"I was right – messing with time changed things."
"Well, I mean, I'm are still hunting, but you're internet famous, Sey's in another country. So, what – is there two of us running around here?" Dean wondered.
"No, I don't think so. I think it's a temporal paradox. We pulled Dad here from 2003, right? So time is self-correcting. Our timeline is changing to this new one."
"So, what do you mean?"
"It means, I think, that, if we don't fix this, then we become those other versions of ourselves. Like, for real."
"Okay, well, I'm cool, Sey's happy I think, but you're – ugh."
Sam shook his head. "That's not the point. The point is, if – if all this is different, then what else changed?"
ALLEYWAY
The wind picked up. There was a rustling of wings. Zachariah was standing under the light of the streetlamp. There was another rustling of wings. Alternate Castiel walked over to him.
Zachariah stepped in a puddle of water, burgers wrappers on the ground. "Earth – where you're always stepping in something. Come on, Constantine."
Alternate Castiel followed behind him as he said, "I don't understand that reference."
"You wouldn't."
LEBANON, KANSAS
Dean and Sam stood near the Impala.
"How are we gonna tell Dad?" Dean asked.
"I don't know. How are we gonna tell Mom?" Sam wondered.
RESTAURANT
Zachariah and Alternate Castiel walked in. Eliot, Stacy and Max were sitting at one of the tables.
"Can I help you?" Caitlin asked.
"Bet you can. See, I need to know... who's been messing with time," Zachariah replied.
"I'm sorry?"
"Yeah, we sensed a – well, let's call it a disturbance in the Force. And in Heaven, well, we're – we're not super fond of those."
"In Heaven?"
"Yeah, yeah. In Heaven. This town – it's always been a little... muddy for us. Some sort of... interference." Zachariah saw the teens looking at him. "Hi. So, I'm going to ask one more time – who's been playing "Back to the Future"? And you're going to tell me, or he –" he looked at Alternate Castiel, "what's the phrase I'm looking for? Oh – murders you all."
"My name is Castiel. I'm an Angel of the Lord," Alternate Castiel said.
The lights cracked. The teens gasped in fear. Alternate Castiel's eyes flashed blue, as the shadows of his wings appeared, illuminating the room.
LEBANON, KANSAS
"Let's get out of here," Dean decided.
Sam and Dean turned to see light coming from the restaurant.
"What the hell?" Sam wondered.
The brothers rushed towards the restaurant.
RESTAURANT
Caitlin and the teens gathered around the table, scared. Alternate Castiel powered down. Sam and Dean entered.
"Get out! Go, go, go!" Dean cried.
Caitlin and the teens ran out of the restaurant.
"The Winchesters?" Zachariah questioned.
"Zachariah?" Sam asked.
"Cas?" Dean called.
"Now, I-I-I know we had big plans for you, and then your daddy just up and disappeared, which... oh. You. This is all you," Zachariah realized.
"Cas, you know us," Dean said.
"I don't know you," Alternate Castiel replied.
"Kill them," Zachariah ordered.
Alternate Castiel walked towards Dean. Dean took out the angel blade.
"Cas, don't!" Dean yelled.
Alternate Castiel punched Dean and threw them over the counter. Zachariah lifted his hand towards Sam, using his powers to choke them.
"What did you do, Sam?" Zachariah demanded.
Sam fell to his knees. Dean picked up a cake stand that was knocked over, and hit Alternate Castiel in the face with it, twice. Alternate Castiel ducked and threw Dean against the wall.
"What did you do? Sam. Speak, Ubu, speak," Zachariah demanded.
Sam was still choking.
"What? What is it?"
Sam took out the angel blade and stabbed Zachariah. His grace shone through him as he screamed. He fell to the floor, dead.
Dean continued to fight Alternate Castiel. He punched Alternate Castiel in the face, as Sam tried to strike him with the angel blade. Alternate Castiel punched Sam and Dean repeatedly, before throwing Sam into a table. Alternate Castiel punched Dean, and threw him against the shelves, as glasses broke.
Alternate Castiel turned to Sam and hit their heads against the table several times before punching Sam across the face. Sam fell to the floor.
Alternate Castiel walked over to Dean and picked him up, grabbing his throat.
"No. No, no, no, no, no, no!" Dean cried.
Alternate Castiel started to choke Dean. Dean tried to push him away.
"Cas. Cas. Stop it," Dean said.
A light filled the room, as Alternate Castiel screamed. He vanished. The light faded. Sam took his hand off the sigil on the ground.
BUNKER - LIBRARY
The table was set with plates and glasses. John and Dean stood next to the table.
"A "temporal paradox"?" John asked.
"That's what Sam's calling it. Egghead," Dean said as John chuckled. "Basically, uh, if you don't go back, Sam never gets back into the life, or adopts Seylah, um, and Mom, she, uh..."
"What?"
"Well, without everything that we did – with God, The Darkness – she never comes back. Sam thinks that she'll just fade away."
"Okay. I mean, me versus your mom and niece? That's – that's not even a choice. Do she know?"
BUNKER - KITCHEN
Mary stood at the kitchen counter. Sam stood in front of her. Mary nodded, crying. "How?"
"Uh, the, uh... the lore is pretty clear. We destroy the pearl, and it unwinds all of this. Dad goes back... and so will everything else," Sam explained.
"And he won't remember anything?"
Sam shook his head. "No."
Mary nodded again. She shook her head, crying. "Sam, I can't."
"I know. I know, Mom."
The timer rang loudly.
BUNKER - LIBRARY
"You want to give your mom a hand?" John asked.
"Yeah." Dean started to walk away.
"Dean," John called as Dean turned back. "I, uh – I never meant for this."
"Dad, we pulled you here."
"No, son. My fight. It was supposed to end with me, with Yellow Eyes. But now you – you are a grown man, and I am incredibly proud of you. I guess that I had hoped, eventually, you would... get yourself a normal life, a peaceful life, and you did. Sort of."
Dean nodded and smiled. "I have a family."
John smiled. "Yeah. All right. What's next?"
He smiled lightly. "We eat."
Dean left for the kitchen.
Sam and Dean sat across from John and Mary. Everyone was quiet, as they ate in silence.
John looked between them. "All right. Near as I can tell, we have two choices. All right, we can think about what's coming. Or we can be grateful for this time that we have together. Now, me..." John took Mary's hand. "I choose grateful." He kissed her hand. "So, to whatever brought us together, we owe you one. Amen."
"Amen," Dean said.
"Amen," Mary repeated.
"Amen," Sam replied.
They all clinked their glasses together and enjoyed their meal, as Till It Shines by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band played.
BUNKER - KITCHEN
Dean was washing the dishes. He passed them to Sam, who wiped them.
"Did you see them at dinner, the way they looked at each other? They just seemed happy, you know? It doesn't feel fair to get all this and have to throw it away, and I know we have to. But it just feels like, you know... Once we send Dad back... it's like none of this ever happened. He – he just goes back to – to... to being Dad," Sam said.
"You saying you wish things would be different?" Dean asked.
"Don't you? Can you imagine – Dad in the past, knowing then what he knows now? I... I think it would be nice."
"Yeah. I used to think that, too. But, uh... I mean, look, we've been through some tough times. There's no denying that."
"Yeah."
"And for the longest time, I blamed Dad. I mean, hell, I blamed Mom, too, you know? I was angry. But say we could send Dad back knowing everything. Why stop there? Why not send him even further back and let some other poor sons of bitches save the world? But here's the problem. Who does that make us? Would we be better off? Well, maybe. But I gotta be honest – I don't know who that Dean Winchester is. And I'm good with who I am. I'm good with who you are. I'm good with who Sey is. 'Cause our lives – they're ours. And maybe I'm just too damn old to want to change that."
BUNKER - LIBRARY
John and Mary took each other's hand.
"I hate this," Mary said.
"So do I," John replied.
Sam and Dean stood across from them.
"Okay." John turned to Mary. "My girl." Mary smiled through her tears. "I miss you so damn much."
"Me too," Mary stated.
They kissed. Mary kissed John's cheek and hugged him, tightly. They pulled away from each other, as John turned to Sam and Dean.
"You two. You take care of each other. And take care of Seylah," John told them.
"We always do," Sam said.
"Good to see you, Dad," Dean replied.
John smiled sadly. "I am so proud of you boys."
Sam tried to smile through tears.
John pulled the boys into a hug.
"I love both of you so much."
Sam wiped his tears away with the back of his hand. Dean cried.
"I love you, too," Dean said.
John sighed, breathing harshly. He pulled away from them. He paused. "Okay. Okay. I'm ready."
John took Mary's hand. He winked at her. He faced Sam. "Sammy."
Sam picked up the pearl and put it on the table. John and Sam nodded to each other. Sam picked up a bowl and brought it down. The pearl shattered. Dean flinched at the sound. John looked at Mary as he started to vanish. His hand faded away from hers. Mary cried.
LEBANON, KANSAS - RESTAURANT
The mess made from the fight disappeared and the tables and chairs were back to their original place.
LEBANON, KANSAS
The Wanted poster of Dean changed to a marathon sign.
Eliot, Stacy and Max walked down the street.
"Monsters! Those guys and girl hunt monsters! That is so cool," Eliot said.
Stacy and Max laughed as they took each other's hand.
BUNKER
Castiel walked in from the door at the top of the stairs. Sam, Seylah, Dean and Mary walked out from the library to see him.
"Mary, Sam, Dean, Seylah," Castiel called. "What happened?"
Sam scoffed. "What happened?"
Sam looked at Dean.
Seylah shrugged. "I don't know. A poof, then another."
"Well, there's a story," Dean said, smiling faintly at his niece's words.
LAKESIDE – DAY
2003
The Impala was parked near a lake. John slept in the front seat. His cellphone rang on the dashboard. He woke up and answered the call.
"Dean. No, I'm okay. I just... I just had one hell of a dream. Yeah. No, it was a good one. I'm on my way back. I'll see you soon."
John ended the call.