( BULLET WOUND )
OUTSIDE HOSPITAL
[ ☼ ]
"Where the hell did you go?" Bobby sees the Young Boy standing nearby. "Yeah, you! You, kid! Hey, what are you making like a white rabbit all over the place for, you grubby little—enough with the jump scares, kid. Who are you running from?"bThe Young Boy says nothing. "Wait a minute. I know you."
"Did you think I was dead?" Rufus asks. Bobby turns and sees Rufus being wheeled out of a hospital by a nurse. Rufus laughs and hands the nurse a piece of paper.
"Call me, all right?"!Rufus gets out of the wheelchair. "Don't sit Shiva for me yet, Bobby."
Bobby looks behind him, but the Young Boy is gone. "Listen—after Bridezilla took you out, do you remember what you told me about your near-death experience?" He says.
"I haven't told you nuthin' yet. But now that you mention it, pretty sure I almost crossed over." Rufus says.
"And what did you see?"
"What did I see? What are you so riled up about, paco? All right, all right." Rufus says. "I saw a hallway, uh, plaid carpet, uh, the apartment building from when I was a kid."
"And?" Asks Bobby.
"And I wanted out. I'm not dying on no damn plaid carpet. No, thank you."
"So, what did you do?" Bobby asks.
"Well, obviously, Bobby, not being stupid, I started looking for the damn exit door." Rufus says. "Y-you know, I swear that's what they mean about your life flashing before your eyes, 'cause every time I opened the door, there was another chapter inside – the good, the bad, the bloody."
"So, how did you get out?"
"Found the right door, obviously." Rufus says.
"Well, how did you find it?" Asks Bobby.
"Oh, simple—I went deep."
"Deep. Like old?" Bobby asks.
"No, deep like... Crap you do not want to think about, so you bury it, you shove other crap over it, and you don't go there, ever." Rufus says.
"So, you're telling me that the way out was through your worst memory?"
"It's an important door, Bobby." Says Rufus.
"Okay, this is good."
"What the hell are you going on about, anyway?" Asks Rufus.
Bobby takes the piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. "This. I got to find the right door to get this to Sam and Dean. I'm in a coma, Rufus, right now." He says.
Rufus laughs. "Get out." He says.
"I got shot in the dunce cap, Rufus. I'm—I'm dying." Says Bobby.
"You sure?"
"Unfortunately." Says Bobby.
"I'll be a prima ballerina." Rufus says. "Wait, wait, Bobby. Are you trying to tell me I'm just one of your better memories?"
"Would I make this up?" Bobby asks. There is thunder and the ground shakes. "Okay. I got to go."
"What?"
"You're coming with me, Rufus." Bobby says.
"What?" Rufus asks.
"I need my partner on this. Please." Bobby says.
The thunder and shaking stop. Bobby and Rufus walk along outside the hospital, past signs saying Lincoln Memorial Hospital.
"Aim for your worst memory. Think. Focus. You got it? The worst, okay?" Rufus asks.
"I got a metric ton of worst." Bobby says
"Just take a shot." Bobby says. "By the way, killer bride—how come she call you a heartbreaker, anyway? I mean, you a family man if I ever saw one."
"Thanks for narrowing things down." Bobby says as the ground shakes again.
BOBBY'S HOUSE
[ ☼ ]
Bobby and Rufus enter the bedroom. There is a broken glass of red wine on the floor. Karen is standing barefoot next to it, dressed in a blue robe.
"I can't believe you. I hate you. Everything's a lie. Our whole life, our vows... everything. You knew I wanted kids. Why didn't you just sit me down and say... I don't understand. You're a good man. You'd be a good dad. What does that even mean, you break everything you touch?! What kind of excuse is that?!" Karen steps on the broken glass. "Aah!" Karen sits down on the bed. Her foot is bleeding. "Just stay away from me! You broke my heart, Bobby! You happy? Just go away!" She starts to cry.
"Just so you know... I'm sorry. I never stopped being sorry." Bobby says.
"Bobby, I thought you'd want a gang of rugrats." Rufus says and Bobby shakes his head. "So, how long after this..."
"Did she get possessed? Three days. Biggest regret of my life, this fight." Bobby says. "You'd think it was when I had to stab her to death, but... no. All through that... I was thinking we never got to get past this. If I'd have known, I'd have said anything she wanted to hear." Karen is still crying on the bed.
"Bobby? Hey. Try the door. Now." Rufus says.
"Thanks, Rufus." Bobby opens the door and steps out into the light.
PARK
[ ☼ ]
"Balls." Bobby says.
"What year is this? '89-ish?" Asks Rufus.
"What's it matter? I'm still stuck in eternal friggin' sunshine."
"No, I was just thinking, man—you look pretty good there. Must've drank less." Rufus says.
Bobby and Rufus watch Younger Bobby and Young Dean walk across the park. "Hey, Bobby, where are we going?" Dean asks.
"Well, Dean, where's it look like?" Bobby asks.
"Dad says I'm supposed to practice with the double-barrel." Says Dean.
"Well, we're gonna skip the guns today. Here." Younger Bobby gives Young Dean a catcher's mitt. "Here. Today... you're gonna throw a ball around, just like a regular snot-nosed little jerk."
"You know, for a guy who'd rather break his wife's heart than give her a baby, you make a hell of a nanny." Rufus says.
"Shut up, Rufus. We need another door." Bobby says. They look around and see a shed behind them. "Let's go."
"Seriously, though, Bobby, how come—" Rufus starts.
"Dog with a bone, Rufus."
"No, I really want to know, man—why no kids?" Asks Rufus.
"Ain't that deep. Dad was a mean drunk. I figured I'd be just like him." Bobby says. "And, hey, look—I was right. No sense passing on the legacy."
"Man, you're too hard on yourself. You're more of a cranky drunk." Rufus says. "You do know that whatever you're trying to avoid with the eye rolls and the grump-a-lumping – that's exactly where you need to go."
"I ain't avoiding nothing." Bobby says.
"Yeah, sure."
"Get off my ass, Rufus." Says Bobby.
"Hey, Bobby, I'm trying to help you here, okay? You want to get out of here, or you want to die?" Rufus asks.
"I'm trying. How am I supposed to know what I don't want me to know?" Bobby opens the shed doors.
BOBBY'S HOUSE
[ ☾]
Bobby's Mother is serving dinner. Bobby's Father sits at the kitchen table reading a newspaper. The Young Boy, who we now know is Young Bobby, runs into the room and sits down at the table.
"Hey, look. The crown prince decided to drop by for a late bite." His Father says.
"Oh, he—he was just washing up. So, w-who would like to say grace?" The Mother asks.
"Hell with grace. Pass me the biscuits."
Young Bobby reaches for the biscuits and knocks over a glass of milk. The glass falls to the floor in slow motion and breaks. "I'm sorry." He says.
"What is the matter with you?" His Father asks.
"I don't know. I'm sorry." Bobby says.
"You break everything you touch!"
Bobby's Mother is on her knees cleaning up the glass. "Let's just have a nice supper." She says.
"A nice supper?" The Father asks.
"Mm-hmm." She says.
Bobby's Father sweeps his plate onto the floor. "There's your nice supper." He drinks from a glass of whiskey. "I get no respect in this house." Bobby and Rufus look at each other. Bobby slides the kitchen doors closed
"What? Now, you can't tell me that wasn't gnarly enough to go spelunking in." Rufus says.
"That was any given Tuesday night. Believe me – it was nothing special." Bobby says.
"No, no, no. You're scared."
"No, I ain't. I just know we're in the wrong place, Rufus." Bobby says. There is thunder and the ground shakes.
"You – Okay, Bobby, you don't have time. That sound was not the weather, and you know it. We can't keep bopping through your greatest hits forever." Rufus says. "That reaper's gonna catch up. I mean, if there was some way to stop the damn thing... But it's a reaper, Bobby. You're screwed."
"I know what we're gonna do." Bobby says.
"What?" Rufus asks.
"We're gonna stop the damn reaper."
"So, there's nothing else we can do?" Sam asks.
HOSPITAL
[ ☼ ]
"I'm sorry. We just have to wait. We'll see if the swelling goes down." The Doctor says.
"How long?" Dean asks.
"It's hard to say in cases like this."
"Well, he's lasted this long. That's something, right?" Asks Elena.
"Well, yes. Listen – the bullet didn't shatter. Only one hemisphere of his brain was injured. These are all positive things." The Doctor says. "But...I don't want to give you false hope here. He's far from out of the woods. Most of the time, cases like this..."
"They die." Sam finishes.
"Right now it comes down to him. I'll keep you updated." The Doctor leaves and a Man walks up behind Sam and Dean.
"Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt. Is one of you Robert Singer's next of kin?"
HOSPITAL CORRIDOR
[ ☼ ]
The Man is talking to Dean. "We know this is a stressful time." He says.
"Yeah, okay. No offense – you can skip the garnish. What, did his insurance lapse, or what?" Dean asks.
"We're sorry to ask, but, um, did your uncle ever make his wishes known i-in regards to organ donation?" The Man asks. "Organs are only viable for a very limited window—"
"'Viable'?" Dean repeats.
"We're just hoping some good can come of this tragic—"
"Listen to me. I'm gonna say this once. He's not gonna die. It's one bullet." Dean says. "He's gonna be fine because he's always fine."
"I apologize."
"Why are you talking to me like he's gonna die, huh? I do my job! Do your jobs! Save him!" Dean yells. Elena can be seen lurking and eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Of course they're doing everything they can."
Dean punches the glass covering a sign next to the Man's head. "Walk away from me. Now!" He yells. The Man walks away. Dean walks in the other direction and goes outside. Elena runs to follow.
The sign outside the hospital reads "Hammonton Regional Hospital". Dean walks down the steps and shakes his hand. "Dean!" Elena yells as she grabs his arm. "Hey!"
"I swear to god—" Dean starts.
"They'll save him." Elena says. Dean sees a black car parked diagonally across two parking spaces directly in front of the hospital.
"Dick! I know you're in there. Come on out..." Dean pounds on the heavily tinted closed rear window. "You dick." The window lowers, revealing Dick.
"Hello again, Elena." Dick says.
"What, did you come here to finish the job?" Dean asks and Dick smiles. "Yeah? Well, come on. Right here, right now, out in the open, you and me, Dick Roman." Bystanders are using their mobile phones to record the confrontation. "See? Deciding to jump a famous guy ain't all upside. You can kill me right now – you want to see it online."
"Maybe you should go check on that friend of yours. He can't be feeling too frisky right about now. I'm a very good shot." Dick says.
"We're coming for you, and not just to hurt you—to kill you. You understand me?" Dean says.
"Come on, Dean. I can't be killed."
"You're gonna wish you could, then." Says Dean.
Dick laughs. "That's some conviction. You'd really crush it on the motivational circuit." He says.
"You're either laughing because you're scared or you're laughing because you're stupid. I'll see you soon, Dick."
BOBBY'S HOUSE
[ ☾]
"It's in an old King James Bible." Bobby takes a Bible from the bookshelf and leafs through it. The pages all appear to be blank.
"So, what exactly are we doing now, Bobby?" Rufus asks.
Bobby puts the Bible down on a table. "Well, technically, you're correct. You can't stop a reaper, not permanently. Only their boss can do that, and we don't want him involved." He takes out another book. "Ah. Now we're cooking with gas."
Bobby puts the second Bible down on the table and opens it. The pages have been cut to hide a large cross. "What is that? Bobby picks up the cross." Rufus asks.
"Well, Sam and Dean have run up against these suckers a couple, three times." Bobby says. "Picked up a few tricks—enough to slow them down a hair, at least."
"All right. Let's work some mojo."