Sam walks into his and Miranda's room, seeing the differences as she's added personal touches to it.
"Oh, come on. You and Dean?" Sam whines.
"Hey. We're living here now. I am making it homey." Miranda states.
"We're working here." Sam says.
"Well, I-- I don't know. I mean, we slept in that bed last night. That... means living here." Miranda says. "At the very least, spending the night."
"Whatever." Sam mumbles.
"Oh, come on, Sammy. We can be domestic and still hunt. Just because it was either hunting or homes doesn't mean we can't have both now." Miranda says. "The kids are finally sleeping in their own rooms. Well, Carly is, toddlers are still sharing."
"Or climbing in here with us." Sam says.
"Yeah. But Carly is super excited to decorate her own room." Miranda says. "I promised I'd take her shopping later." Sam gives her a look. "What? Don't you want our daughter to be filled with joy?"
"Guess it's better than her threatening to karate chop everybody in the neck." Sam mutters.
"Oh, no, she'll still do that. I-- I think that also gives her joy." Miranda says.
"We're in trouble when she grows up." Sam says.
"Well... there's always the other two." Miranda says.
+++
Sam, Miranda, and the kids are in the library and Sam is going through the multiple books on the table. Miranda is eating pasta while the kids are playing.
"What are you reading?" Dean asks as he walks in with two plates.
"Sort of, uh, everything." Sam says.
"Oh, good. Somebody's gonna have to dig through all this, and it ain't gonna be me." Dean says, putting a burger down in front of Sam.
"You made these?" Sam asks.
"We have a real kitchen." Dean says.
"I-I just didn't think you knew what a kitchen was." Sam jokes.
"I'm nesting, okay? Eat." Dean orders.
Sam takes a bite of the burger while Dean watches with a smile.
"Huh? Yeah." Dean nods.
"Wow." Sam says, his mouth full of food.
"You're welcome." Dean says. He goes to take a bite of his burger, but his phone rings. He sighs and puts the burger down, pulling his phone out and answering it.
"Yo. What? Kevin? Kevin?!" Dean pulls his phone away.
"Something wrong?" Sam asks.
"Guess." Dean says, walking out.
"Okay, uh--" Sam starts, grabbing his burger.
"But mommy promised she'd take me shopping." Carly pouts.
"It could be dangerous and I promised her. We'll stay back." Miranda says.
"Okay." Sam gives her a quick kiss before rushing out.
+++
"Trials?" Miranda asks.
"Yeah." Sam says. "Yeah, uh, Kevin said it's kind of like a Hercules thing. You know, those kind of trials, not... not trials like... you know, Law & Order."
"Oh, damn. My pre-law baby can't put his lawyer powers to use." Miranda pouts.
"Hilarious." Sam says.
"I know." She grins.
"Mommy, can I get this?" Carly holds up a box of fairy lights
"Uh... yeah, sure." Miranda says.
"Get-- get what?" Sam asks.
"Relax. I'm not buying her some crossbow or anything." Miranda says.
"Ooh. Can I get a crossbow?" Carly perks up.
"No." Miranda tells her making her pout. "So, these trials. What are they?"
"Well, you could... you could die from them." Sam says. "There's also a spell that you have to say after you complete each trial. There's three of them. The gates will slam shut after we complete all three."
"Okay, well, what are they? What do we have to do?" Miranda asks.
"Kevin's only translated the first one so far. We have to kill a hell hound and bathe in its blood." Sam informs.
"Ew." Miranda grimaces.
"Yeah." Sam chuckles.
"So, uh... is it-- is it a one person job, or...?" Miranda asks.
"Yeah. Yeah, only one of us." Sam says.
"And-- and which one of you is doing it?" Miranda asks.
"I don't know yet." Sam says. "I guess we'll figure it out."
"Right." Miranda says.
"What?" Sam asks.
"What?" She asks.
"You-- you sound hesitant." Sam says.
"Well, I just... you know, don't want you to..." Miranda glances at her kids. "You know."
"Randi, if-- if I am the one doing these trials, I'm gonna do my best to make sure I make it out alive." Sam says.
"Right. Yeah, I-I know." Miranda says. "But, like... if it's not possible to make it out... you know."
"I will." Sam promises. "I gotta go. Dean's gonna be back in a bit and we're gonna go. I love you."
"I love you, too." Miranda smiles.
They hang up, Miranda sighing as she puts her phone in her pocket.
"Mommy." She turns at Carly's voice. The young blonde is practically bouncing with excitement and a bright grin on her face as she holds a box containing a small Chucky doll. "Can I get it? Can I get it?"
"Oh, fuck." Miranda mumbles, rubbing her forehead.
+++
"So... what's our play?" Sam asks.
"Well, you camp here, figure out who whored their soul. I'm gonna go scout the grounds -- see if I can't gank Huckleberry Hound before he makes his next move." Dean says.
"Wait, you're not going out there alone, Dean. I'm gonna come with you." Sam says.
"Wrong." Dean argues.
"Uh, they're on lockdown, and you need backup." Sam says.
"No, I don't." Dean says.
"Yes, you do." Sam argues.
"No, I need you to be safe, Sam, okay? That's what I need." Dean says.
"What? What am I-- when are we ever safe?" Sam asks.
"This is different."
"How?"
"Because of the three trials shit -- God's little obstacle course. We've been down roads like this before, man -- with Yellow Eyes, Lucifer, Dick fucking Roman. We both know where this ends -- one of us dies... or worse."
"So, what? You just up and decided it's gonna be you?"
"I'm a grunt, Sam. You're not. You've always been the brains of the operation."
"Dean--"
"And you told me yourself that you see a way out. You see a light at the end of this ugly ass tunnel. I don't. But I tell you what I do know. It's that I'm gonna die with a gun in my hand. I want you to get out. I want you to have a life, become a Men of Letters, whatever. Not to mention the whole nuclear family thing you got going on."
"And I want you to get grandkids, living till you're fat and bald and chugging Viagra. That is my perfect ending, and it's the only one that I'm gonna get. So I'm gonna do these trials. I'm gonna do them alone -- end of story. You're staying here. I'm going out there."
"If landshark comes knocking, you call me. If you try to follow me, I'm gonna put a bullet in your damn leg."
+++
"Dean, even if she can dodge Crowley, as soon as Ellie dies, her soul is earmarked for Hell." Sam says.
"Not if we shut it down first." Dean says, grabbing Sam's bloody flannel.
"The spell's not gonna work for you, Dean." Sam says. Dean ignores him, pulling the paper Kevin gave him out and he says the spell, but nothing happens.
"Doesn't matter. We'll track down another Hellhound, and I'll kill it." Dean states.
"No." Sam denies.
"Sam, I didn't pass the test." Dean says.
"But I did... and I'm doing the rest of them." Sam says.
"My ass you are!" Dean exclaims.
"I'm closing the gates. It's a suicide mission for you."
"Sam..."
"I want to slam Hell shut, too, okay? But I want to survive it. I want to live, and so should you. You have friends up here, family. I mean, hell, you even got your own room now. You were right, okay? I see light at the end of this tunnel. And I'm sorry you don't -- I am. But it's there. And if you come with me, I can take you to it."
"Sam, be smart."
"I am smart, and so are you. You're not a grunt, Dean. You're a genius. When it comes to lore, to-- you're the best damn hunter I have ever seen -- better than me, better than dad. I believe in you, Dean. So, please... please believe in me, too."
"Yeah? And how's your wife gonna feel about all of this?" Dean questions.
"We-- we kind of talked about it." Sam says. "She knows I don't want to die and that I'm gonna make sure I get to the other side of this so that I can watch our kids grow up."
Dean gives Sam the spell and he says it.
There's a whooshing noise and Sam falls to the floor and groans in pain.
"Sammy?" Dean asks. "Sam!"
The veins in Sam's right arm become bright white under his skin.
"You okay?" Dean asks.
Sam gasps in pain, the white light disappearing, his skin looking normal again. Sam grabs the paper he dropped and stands up.
"I'm good. I'm okay. I can do this." Sam states.
+++
The brothers get back to the bunker and Sam looks around for his family, finding his wife and Carly in the young girl's bedroom.
"Hey. Wow." He looks around at all the decorations Miranda let Carly get. "That's-- uh..." He looks at Carly's excited and joyful expression. "Beautiful." He decides on, the girl's grin growing even more.
"Hey." Miranda pecks him on the lips. "You okay?"
"Yeah." He says. "Yeah." He nods. "Where are the other two little adorable crazies?" Sam asks, tickling Carly making her giggle.
"You're the crazy one." She giggles out.
"Us? Wha--" He frowns at her.
"Craziness is genetic." Carly states, tapping him on the nose, a grin on her face.
"Okay, missy." Sam gently tosses her onto the bed and tickles her more, the girl shrieking and giggling.
~ ~ ~
After leaving Carly to her own entertainment and greeting the two toddlers, the parents retreat to their room.
"So... these, uh... these trials..." Sam starts.
"Yeah?" Miranda asks, nervously biting the inside of her cheek.
"I'm the one doing them." Sam says. "I-- I killed the hellhound and-- and bathed in its blood."
"You're showering before we have sex again." Miranda states.
"Randi..." Sam gives her a look.
"Hey. Hey, it-- it's okay." Miranda tells him. "You wanna make it out of this alive and-- and that's what's gonna help you make it out alive. And if you get less motivated or-- or down, I'm gonna be right there to pick you back up. I promise. You're not falling into the deep end alone."
Sam softly smiles and hooks his finger in one of her belt loops and pulls her over to him, the woman getting onto his lap with a small giggle.
"I love you." Sam tells her, lightly scratching her back.
"Yeah, I am pretty amazing." Miranda smiles.
"Okay." Sam rolls his eyes, both of them laughing.