Erika pours herself another drink as Bobby sighs rubbing his head, he looks to Dean.
"I'm gonna ask one more time. Are we absolutely sure we're doing the right thing?"
"Bobby, you saw what was happening to him down there. The demon blood is killing him"
"No, it isn't. We are" Erika tells Dean, he snaps his head to her.
"What?" he asks her.
"I'm sorry. But keeping him locked up down there....." she shakes her head. "The cold-turkey thing it doesn't work, it's not working, If—if he doesn't get what he needs, soon, Sam's not gonna last much longer"
"No. I'm not giving him demon blood. I won't do it" Dean argues.
"And if he dies?" She asks.
"Then at least he dies human!" he snaps at her. "I would die for him in a second, but I won't let him do this to himself. I can't. I guess I found my line. I won't let my brother turn into a monster...."
.............
The cuff on Sam's left arm snaps open, then his left ankle, then the other two. The door opens. Sam sits up, staring; he didn't do this.
"Hello?" Sam gets up and slips out the door. "Someone here?" Sam hurries quietly out of the basement without noticing Castiel behind the stairs. From a distance, Castiel closes and locks the panic room door.
...............
Castiel stands at a railing, looking over the water. The streetlights flicker. He turns; Anna is there.
"What did you do?" She asks.
"You shouldn't have come, Anna"
"Why would you let out Sam Winchester?"
"Those were my orders"
"Orders? Cas, you saw him. He's drinking demon blood. It's so much worse than we thought. Dean was trying to stop him"
"You really shouldn't have come" Two angels appear on either side of Anna. White light illuminates Castiel; when it is gone, so are the other three angels. Castiel turns back to the river.
...................
Sam is working on stealing a car. There is a whooshing sound and he stiffens before turning around, Erika stands behind him.
"The only place you're going is back inside with me, love" she tells him.
"No"
"Bloody hell, I will make you"
"You won't hurt me, Erika"
"Don't test me" she growls at him.
"You won't do it. You can't do it"
"We're trying to help you, Sam" she begs of him, Sam moves closer to her, she nods and holds out her hand to him, he takes it and pulls her closer before shoving a stake into her chest, her eyes widen, as do his. "Sam" she breathes accusingly at him.
"Erika" he whispers apologetically. She steps back as desiccation veins creep up her neck and face before she collapses, Sam stares down at her before he returns to hotwiring the car. He drives off. Erika's hand twitches towards the stake, trying to remove it, she gasps for air.
"Erika?" Dean asks leaving the house. "You find him?" he asks looking around, his eyes falling on her on the ground, he hurries towards her. "Eri!" Dean kneels at her side and pulls the stake out of her chest, her skin slowly returns to normal, she looks to him, he looks back at her. "Damn it" he complains helping her sit up. "Here" he rolls up his sleeve and offers his wrist.
"What do you want me to do with that?" she asks frowning at him.
"You know...." he answers waving his hand at her, she pushes it away and scowls.
"No" she stands, unsteadily. Dean stands and grabs her arm, she closes her eyes and takes a breath.
"You need to feed" he tells her.
"And I will, I have a blood bag left"
"No, you don't" he argues. "You had the last one last night" he corrects her, she looks to him, he holds up his wrist to her. Erika closes her eyes and looks away.
"I'm fine" she argues back walking away from him. Dean follows her.
"And people call me stubborn" he teases, she shoots him a look.
"I'm stubborn for not wanting to be a monster?" she asks.
"I'm offering," he tells her and grabs her arm. "Erika..."
"I'll drive to the hospital later and get some more blood bags," she tells him.
"If you're afraid of losing control" he whispers, she scoffs.
"I'm not afraid" she growls and walks away. Dean sighs.
"Erika" he states, she stops and hangs her head.
"I'm fine" she assures him. "Just concentrate on getting Sam back" she looks to him. "He needs you" she heads back into Bobby's. Dean watches her go before looking to the stake in his hand.
.......................
Bobby and Dean unlock and open the panic room door.
"How the hell did he get out?" Dean asks.
"Maybe he had help. Room full of busted devil's traps"
"Demons? Ruby."
"That'd be my guess"
"How did she even touch the door?" Dean asks.
"You think she's got the mojo?" Bobby asks.
"I didn't think so. I don't know, man"
"What difference does it make? How he got gone ain't as important as where he got gone to" Bobby points out.
"Well, I'll tell you one thing. At this point, I hope he's with Ruby"
"Why?"
"'Cause killing her's the next big item on my to-do list"
"I thought you were on call for angel duty"
"I am on call. In my car, on my way to murder the bitch" Dean leaves the room.
"One thing"
"What?" Dean asks.
"Sam don't wanna be found, which means he's gonna be damn near impossible to find"
"Yeah, we'll see" Dean tells him.
................
Erika approaches Dean, he fiddles with the impala engine, hearing her he looks to her.
"Police found Bobby's car," she tells him. "Abandoned in an alley in Jamestown, North Dakota"
"He's switching up. Any other cars stolen in Jamestown?" he asks closing the hood of the impala.
"Two. A 1999 Honda Civic, blue. Nice and anonymous"
"What was the other one?"
"White oh-five Escalade with custom rims. Like a bloody neon sign"
"You're right. He'd never take that. Which is exactly what he did" he tells her walking to her.
"You think?" she asks, he nods.
"I know that kid" he takes her hand. "All right, I'll head in that direction. You stay here, ride the police databases with Bobby. We gotta find him quick"
"Go easy on him, love" she whispers. "He made a mistake" Dean cups her cheek and smiles.
"He stakes you and you want me to go easy on him" she smiles back at him.
"He's your brother," she tells him, Dean kisses her and then nods.
"Feed" he reminds her as he walks towards the driver's side of the impala, she nods and turns back to the house, Dean watches her go before climbing into the car.
.......................
Ruby is lying in bed next to Sam, both of them wearing very few layers.
"Your appetite's gotten much bigger"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asks.
"Sam, relax. It's okay. It's good. Just means you're getting stronger, that's all. It means you're strong enough to kill Lilith. Just in time, too, because the final seals are breaking"
"How many are left?"
"Three...two...."
"What? Where are the angels?"
"Screwing the pooch, wherever they are. The point is, it's looking more and more like we're getting down to the final seal. And I found out something big"
"What?"
"Seal sixty-six. It can't be broken by just any demon. Apparently, only Lucifer's first can do it"
"Lucifer's first?"
"Demon Sunday School story. God prefers humans to angels. Lucifer gets jealous and then he gets creative. And he twists and tempts a human soul into the very first demon as a 'screw you' to God. It's what got him locked up in the first place"
"That was Lilith?"
"She's way older than she looks"
"Wait. So if Lilith is the only one who can break the final seal, if I get to her in time..."
"Then Lucifer never busts out of his cage. Exactly"
"Great. You figure out where she is?" Sam asks.
"The bitch can hide. But I finally have a lead on someone who might be able to help us. I closed in on a member of Lilith's entourage. You might call her a personal chef"
"Chef? Seriously? What does she eat?"
"You don't wanna know" Ruby answers.
...............
At a hospital: A blonde nurse talks with a brunette one.
"Hear about that horrible thing at St. Paul's?" the blonde asks.
"No"
"One of the neonatal nurses walked right off the unit with two babies"
"You are kidding me"
"Swear to God. Worked there seventeen years. Then one day, out of the blue, she just does it" The nurses enter the baby-filled nursery.
"That's just horrifying"
"Now she's saying that she doesn't even remember what happened. Like she was possessed"
"Heh, nuts"
"I know. Who could ever lay a finger on them?"
"I know. They're just delicious" The brunette nurse's eyes go demon-black.
..................
"So our demon gourmet nurse. You sure?" Sam asks Ruby.
"She'll be there. Graveyard shift tomorrow night. Meantime, if you're gonna be strong enough to kill Lilith, you're gonna need more than I can give you now" Sam sighs. "Sam. Come on. It's okay"
"I know I need more. I get it. I know it's okay. I just—I wish he'd trusted me, you know?"
"Sorry"
"I just hope...you know, when all this is over...I hope we can fix things"
....................
"Police found the Escalade in a ditch outside Elk River," Erika tells Dean over the phone, she walks outside of Bobby's house.
"How far away am I?" Dean asks her.
"A couple of hours. I pulled up a weather map, made some calls. There's a town not far from there, Cold Spring. Lighting up with demon signs"
"A good place to look" Dean agrees.
"Hey, listen, love" she coos.
"What?"
"You finding Sam? It's got to be about getting him back, not pushing him away"
"Right"
"I know you're mad, Dean. I understand. You got a right to be, but I'm just saying. Be good to him anyway. You've got get through to him" Dean hangs up. Erika sighs and walks back to Bobby's.
...................
Sam leaves the motel room. Dean, hidden, watches him go, then enters the room.
...................
Ruby is still in the room; she and Dean fight. Sam reenters and defends her.
"No. Let her go. Just take it easy"
"Well, it must've been some party you two had going, considering how hard you tried to keep me from crashing it. Well, solid try, but here I am"
"Dean, I'm glad you're here. Look. Let's just talk about this" Sam tells him.
"Soon as she's dead, we can talk all you want"
"Ruby, get out of here"
"No, she's not going anywhere" Ruby makes her escape. Sam watches her go. "She's poison, Sam"
"It's not what you think, Dean"
"Look what she did to you. I mean, she up and vanishes weeks at a time, leaves you cracking out for another hit..."
"She was looking for Lilith"
"That is French for manipulating your ass ten ways from Sunday"
"You're wrong, Dean"
"Sam, you're lying to yourself. I just want you to be okay. You would do the same for me. You know you would"
"Just listen" Sam raises his hand, realizes he's still holding Ruby's knife that he took from Dean, and tosses the knife on the bed. "Just listen for a second. We got a lead on a demon close to Lilith. Come with us, Dean. We'll do this together"
"That sounds great. As long as it's you and me and Eri. Demon bitch is a dealbreaker"
"But Erika's not?" Sam asks. "The vampire?" Dean shoots him a look.
"The one you tried to kill....because she was trying to help you" Dean points out. "She's fine by the way"
"I knew it wouldn't kill her," Sam tells him. Dean scoffs and nods. "You can have your monster but I can't?" Sam asks him.
"My monster isn't trying to poison me" Dean points outback. "You kiss Ruby goodbye, we can go right now"
"I can't" Dean turns away, nodding. "Dean, I need her to help me kill Lilith. I know you can't wrap your head around it, but maybe one day you'll understand. I'm the only one who can do this, Dean" Dean turns back around.
"No, you're not the one who's gonna do this"
"Right, that's right, I forgot. The angels think it's you"
"You don't think I can?"
"No. You can't. You're not strong enough"
"And who the hell are you?"
"I'm being practical here. I'm doing what needs to be done" Sam answers.
"Yeah? You're not gonna do a single damn thing"
"Stop bossing me around, Dean. Look. My whole life, you take the wheel, you call the shots, and I trust you because you are my brother. Now I'm asking you, for once, trust me"
"No. You don't know what you're doing, Sam"
"Yes, I do"
"Then that's worse"
"Why? Look, I'm telling you..."
"Because it's not something that you're doing, it's what you are! It means..." Dean cuts himself off.
"What? No. Say it" Sam has tears in his eyes.
"It means you're a monster" Sam nods. A tear falls from Dean's eye; Sam doesn't see it before he punches Dean. Dean goes down hard, then gets back up and watches Sam for a moment before punching back. Sam and Dean fight, Sam dominating. Anything in the room that can break does. Dean hits the floor and doesn't get up. Sam pins him down, choking him, then lets go.
"You don't know me. You never did. And you never will" Sam walks away.
"You walk out that door, don't you ever come back" Sam stops at the door and turns back, then leaves.