[Appointment in Samarra]
(Purely for the reference... partly.)
EXT. GROCERY STORE
Dean and Natalia looked at an address on a piece of paper and looked at the awning on the store in front of them before muttering, "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."
INT. GROCERY STORE
"Hi, we're, uh, looking for..." Dean was cut off.
"Follow all the way back," the employee instructed. "All the way back."
Dean and Natalia went to the back of the store and took a series of steps up to an apartment.
"Dean and Natalia Winchester?" Dr. Robert asked.
"You must be Dr. Robert?" Dean guessed.
"Son, I stitched up your daddy more times than I can count, let me tell you. Oh, it's good to see you two. 'Course, that was ages ago, back when, uh, I still had my medical license. Right this way."
"Well, you know, I'm, uh, I'm no germ freak, but..."
Natalia frowned. "Yeah you are. And I'm kinda one too."
Dean glared at her as Dr. Robert said, "Rent's cheap."
Dean, Dr. Robert and Natalia entered the doctor's "office".
"Eva, my assistant," Dr. Robert introduced.
"Hi," Dean and Natalia greeted.
Dr. Robert gestured between two beds. "Hop right up."
"N-now, you've -- you've, um, done this a lot?" Natalia questioned nervously.
"Oh, many, many times."
"And your... success rate?"
"Oh, excellent -- almost 75%. So, should we get the, uh, preliminaries out of the way?"
"Yeah," Dean replied. "Uh, yeah, right." He handed Dr. Robert an envelope of money.
"Ah. Oh."
"Oh. Uh... So... listen, if, uh, something..."
"Goes wrong?"
"Yeah. Uh... Would you mail this for me, please?" He handed Dr. Robert a letter addressed to Ben.
"And would you mail this for me, please?" Natalia asked, handing Dr. Robert a letter addressed to Dylan.
"Sure," Dr. Robert said. "Would've thought you two had something for your brother, Sam."
"If we don't make it back, nothing we say is gonna mean a damn thing to him," Dean said.
Eva inserted an IV needle into their arms and Dean and Natalia cried, "Ahh!"
"Don't be babies," Eva retorted.
Natalia frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry. I can't help not liking needles."
"You know, a little bedside manner would be nice," Dean shot back.
"Are we ready?" Dr. Robert questioned. "Hmm?"
"You've both got three minutes."
They flatlined and Eva said, "No pulse, no sinus rhythm."
"They're dead."
Dean and Natalia walked up and saw their dead bodies. "Good times." They walked back out to the convenience store.
"This better work," Dean muttered. "Messorum evoco qui me tetigit."
Tessa frowned. "Dean? Natalia? What the hell?"
"What do you know? It worked."
"I was in Sudan! What's with yanking me ov -- wait, why are you two dead?"
"Tessa, we need a favor," Natalia told her.
"Oh, you're kidding. You two died to ask me-"
"Tell your boss we need to talk to him. And the archangel as well."
"No."
"Please?" Dean and Natalia begged.
"Where do you two get the nerve?"
"Desperate times."
"He calls us. We don't call him. Very few reapers have seen the Archangel of Death."
"You make an exception!" Dean yelled.
"I can't."
"Can't or won't?"
"Both."
Death and Azrael appeared as the former said, "All right, Tessa. Thank you very much. Hello, Dean. Hello, Natalia."
Azrael looked between the siblings. "I'm not sure I like the stupid idea the two of you are planning."
INT. GROCERY STORE
"Azrael and I are busy, Dean, Natalia," Death said. "Talk fast."
"We have something of yours," Dean told him.
"You mean my ring? I recall loaning you two that temporarily."
"Well, if you want it back-"
"I'm sorry, you assume that I don't know where you've both hidden it. Now we've established you both have hubris, what is it you two want?"
"Lucifer's Cage," Natalia replied. "He and I figure you're one of the few people that can actually jailbreak it. Rae can maybe, but she hasn't had much luck I don't think."
"Do you?"
"Sam's soul is stuck in that box."
Death glanced at Azrael and she nodded. "She's right."
Death turned back to Natalia. "I've heard. And if the archangel is certain-"
"And our other brother is trapped in there, too," Dean added. "Michael rode him in."
"Dean, Natalia, quit shuffling and deal."
"She and I want you to get 'em both out."
"Hmm. Pick one."
"What?!" Dean and Natalia cried.
"Sam's soul or Adam's."
"But-"
"As a rule, I don't bring people back. Azrael, as far as I know, hasn't at all. I might make an exception once, not twice. So... Pick. You two must agree on one."
Dean and Natalia exchanged a look before Dean said, "Sam. His soul has been in there for a year, and we understand that it's... Damaged."
"Try flayed to the raw nerve."
"Well, is there any way that you could, uh, I don't know, hack the Hell part off? Rae, could you?"
Azrael shook her head. "Not my specialty, Dean. Apologies."
Dr. Robert and Eva were trying to revive Dean and Natalia.
Eva counted down. "Four, three, two... now."
"Again," Dr. Robert instructed.
"Dean, Dean, Dean," Death said. "What do you and your sister think the soul is? Some pie you can slice? The soul can be bludgeoned, tortured, but never broken. Not even by me or Azrael."
Natalia narrowed her eyes. "Well, there's got to be something."
"Maybe. Can't erase Sam's Hell, but I can... put it behind a wall, if you will."
"A "wall,"" Dean and Natalia repeated.
"In his mind -- a dam to hold back the tide. Nasty, those memories. You two don't want to know what they'll do to him. Believe me."
"Okay, uh, a wall. Sounds good," Dean said.
"But it's not permanent," Tessa warned.
Azrael nodded. "She's right. Nothing lasts forever. Well, Death and I do, but..."
Dean cut her off. "Okay, so that's the choice -- Sam with no soul, or Sam with some drywall that if or when it collapses, he's... Done?"
"Yes," Death and Azrael confirmed.
"Do it," Dean and Natalia told them.
"I never said I'd do it," Death replied.
Dean narrowed his eyes. "Well, then what the hell have we been talking about?"
"Your prizes. If you two win the wager."
"Great. What's the bet?"
"Don't roll your eyes, Dean, Natalia. It's impolite. Now, when you fetch my ring, put it on."
Azrael handed Natalia a list. "Don't lose this."
"What?" Dean and Natalia questioned.
"We want you to be us for one day," Death explained.
Dean frowned. "Are you serious?"
"No, I'm being incredibly sarcastic."
Dr. Robert and Eva were still trying to resurrect Dean and Natalia.
"Eva, adrenaline!" Dr. Robert ordered.
Death looked between the siblings. "Take the ring off before the 24 hours are up or lose the list, and you both lose. No soul for Sam. Clear?"
"Okay," Dean and Natalia agreed. "Yes. But... But why?"
"Simple, Dean, Natalia. Because-"
INT. DR. ROBERT'S OFFICE
"Oh, thank Moses," Dr. Roberts said.
Dean glared. "You couldn't have given us five more seconds?"
"Son, you two were gone for seven minutes."
"We were?" Dean and Natalia asked.
"Mm-hmm. I thought for sure death had you two by the twins."
INT. BOBBY'S HOUSE
"You two what?!" Sam cried.
"Just hear us out," Dean said.
"I heard Cas, Rae and Crowley when they said it would either kill me or turn me to jello, Dean, Natalia! I heard enough! Dylan did too!"
"Death said he can put up a wall. Rae agreed."
"A wall?"
Natalia nodded. "Yeah, yes, a wall -- that -- that, basically, you wouldn't remember Hell."
"Really?"
"Really."
"For good? Like a cure?"
"No, it's not a cure," Dean replied. "It... He said it could last a lifetime and Rae seemed to agree with him."
"Great. So, playing pretty fast and loose with my life here, don't you both think, Dean, Nat?"
"We're trying to save your life!"
"Exactly, Dean, Natalia! It's my life! It's my life, it's my soul. And it sure as hell ain't your heads that are gonna explode when this whole scheme the two of you have goes sideways!"
"Just curious," Bobby commented. "I presume Death and Rae aren't doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. So what's both your halves of the deal?" Dean and Natalia looked evasive. "I'm sorry. I didn't get that."
"I have to wear the ring for a day," Dean said. "Nat's got a list she can't lose."
Dylan frowned. "Why the hell would they want you to do that?"
"Get their rocks off. I don't know. But we're doing it." Sam moved to leave. "Where are you going?"
Sam looked at him. "Look, I hear you, all right? I get it. I just need a minute to wrap my head around it, all right?"
EXT. BOBBY'S YARD
Sam looked at a small hole in the ground worriedly.
Dean and Natalia held Death's ring and Azrael's list. "Looking for these?"
"Just taking a walk," Sam told them.
Natalia crossed her arms. "Sam. We're your sister and brother. We're not gonna let you get hurt. We know what we're doing here."
"What if you two are wrong?"
"We won't let it go wrong. And you know Dee's gonna look out for me."
"Fine."
"Fine?" Dean repeated. "So, you're-"
"So, I'm trusting you two here. Barely."
"You sure?"
"You're the ones with the compass and the all important list, right? Just don't mess it up."
"We won't," Dean and Natalia replied, turning to Bobby and Dylan. "Watch him."
Dylan kissed Natalia before turning to Dean. "Don't let her do anything stupid."
Dean nodded. "You got it, Dyl."
INT. BOBBY'S HOUSE
"So, is this the part where you two pull a gun on me and lock me in the panic room?" Sam asked.
"Do we have to?" Bobby questioned.
"No. I guess Dean and Natalia have gotta do what they've gotta do."
"Guess we all do, kid."
EXT. BOBBY'S YARD
"Well, here goes everything," Dean and Natalia muttered as he put on the ring and Natalia held the list.
EXT. SMALL TOWN STREET
"Wow," Tessa commented. "They'll just let any slack-jawed haircut be Death these days and they'll just let any innocent looking girl be an archangel for a day."
"Well, you're all charm today, aren't you?" Dean shot back.
"Let's be clear so we get through this with a minimum of screw-up. I don't like this and right now, I'm not crazy about you two, either."
"This is your boss' idea and the boss of your boss."
"True. But you two have a long history of throwing a wrench in everything, so let's just stick to the rules. Deal?"
"And the rules are?" Dean and Natalia asked.
"For the next 24 hours, you two kill everyone whose number's up."
"Well, how are we supposed to know who to..." Dean was cut off.
"Kill?"
"Yeah."
"I have a list. Your sister has the same list."
"Let me see. Nat, let me see it."
"No. You touch them, they die, I reap them, Natalia guides them to where they'll be judged. Are we clear?"
"Yeah, I guess," Dean and Natalia said.
"Remove the ring, lose the list, you both lose. Slack off, you both lose. Got it?"
"Yeah."
"Don't mess this up. It's not my job to be your damn babysitters."
INT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE
Sam performed a summoning spell.
"Sam... Winchester," Balthazar said. "This had better be good."
Balthazar looked at Sam. "Why here's one for the list of dumbest things ever. Summon the angel who wants to kill you."
"Desperate times," Sam replied. "I need your help, Balthazar."
"Interesting... Since last time we met, you wanted to -- what was it? Oh, yes, yes -- fry my wings "extra crispy.""
"Well, that was a misunderstanding."
"Some misunderstanding!"
"I need some advice."
"Advice?"
"Angel advice."
"Well, then go ask your boyfriend. Or girlfriend."
"Cas and Rae can't help me. I need to know if there's a spell or a weapon, anything that can keep a soul out -- forever."
"Ohh. What's going on, Sam?"
"It's for me."
"Well. The plot thickens. Where's your soul, Sam? Good God, no. It's not still... It is."
"My brother and sister found a way to put it back in me. I don't want it."
"No, you don't. No, no, 'cause Michael and Lucy are hate-banging it as we speak."
"Can you help me?"
"Oh, yes. The question is, will I?"
"Set your terms."
"I'll do it for free."
"Free? Why?"
"Well, you seem like a capable young man. I'd love to have you in my debt. And I have to say, I'm not a fan of your brother or sister, so screwing them would delight me. Anyway, to business. The spell, yes. So, finding the ingredients are easy enough, but, uh, there's one tricky part, however."
"Okay."
"You need to scar your vessel."
"Meaning what?"
"Meaning something that so pollutes it, it renders it uninhabitable. Calls for something very specific."
"Great. What?"
"Patricide. Lover's quarrel."
"My dad's been dead for years and so has my girlfriend."
"To be clear, um, you need the blood of your father and a lover, but your father needn't be blood and that lover needn't be your lover. Comprende?"
EXT. SMALL TOWN STREET
"Just so you two know, when people die, they might have questions for you two," Tessa said. "Well, you know, not you two, but death and angels."
Dean frowned. "You mean like, "how did Betty White outlast me?""
"Or is my family gonna be okay?" Natalia added.
""What's it all mean?" Is popular," Tessa told them.
"And are we just gonna magically know?" Dean questioned.
"No."
"Then what the hell are we supposed to say? Oh, come on, give us something."
"Suck it up. Comes with the gig."
INT. CONVENIENCE STORE
A robber pointed the gun at the cashier who was standing behind the register with his son. "Come one! Come on! Let's go!"
"They can't hear you two," Tessa said. "They can't see you two. Just let this play out."
"Well, who am I taking?" Dean asked.
Natalia looked at the list. "The names are gone. How will I know?"
"Wait and see," Tessa told them.
"Which one?" Dean and Natalia questioned.
"You want me to shoot the kid?!" The robber yelled. "Hurry up! Oh, you think I'm kidding? And don't forget the drawer under the register. Come on, move it! Let's go!"
The cashier pushed a bag off the counter onto the floor, and while the robber bent to pick it up he pulled a gun from the drawer under the register.
"You idiot," the robber said.
The cashier shot the robber, who fell to the ground, dying.
"Hello?" Tessa called. "Tick tock."
"He's in agonizing pain, right?" Dean asked.
"Uh, yes."
A small smirk crossed Natalia's face. "Give us a minute."
Dean touched the robber, whose soul appeared behind him and Natalia.
"Why?" The robber asked.
"Mostly because you're a dick," Dean replied. "Enjoy the ride down, pal. Trust me -- sauna gets hot."
Tessa glanced at Natalia. "You'll be needed shortly."
"That wasn't so hard."
The robber's name appeared on Natalia's list and she guided his soul to judgment.
EXT. OUTSIDE CAFÉ
Tessa, Dean and Natalia approached a man eating pizza.
"Call me crazy, but this smells like a heart attack," Dean commented moments before the man clutched his chest and fell forward. "Lucky guess." Dean touched the man.
"Why?" the man asked.
"You think maybe it was the extra cheese?"
"Yeah. It was good, though."
"Is that a local place?"
"Dean," Tessa warned.
"Right. Uh, time to go, man. Sorry."
"Wait," the man called. "Will you or her tell me what it all means?"
"Everything is dust in the wind," Dean and Natalia replied.
"That's it?! A Kansas song?!"
"Sorry," Tessa apologized. "They're new."
INT. BOBBY'S HOUSE
Sam entered the house.
"Woke up and you were gone," Bobby said. "Where you been?"
"Just driving around," Sam lied. "No biggie."
The three men sat with drinks and played poker.
INT. HOSPITAL
"After you, bosses," Tessa said.
Dean and Natalia looked into the hospital room to see a father reading to his sick daughter.
"That's when we went to California," the father told his daughter. "You were six then. God. We should burn that. You were adorable."
"The dad or the kid?" Dean asked.
"Kid," Tessa replied.
"Come on. What is she, 13?"
"She's 12."
Natalia pursed her lips. "The first time I came scarily close to death, I was ten. I can't do this."
"You have to."
"And that's..." Hilary began.
"That's your mom... When she was your age," the girl's father answered.
"This guy have any other family?" Dean wondered.
"No, not really," Tessa said.
"Well, this is awesome," Dean and Natalia muttered.
"What, you two thought it was gonna be armed robbers and heart attacks waiting to happen?"
"She's 12!"
"With a serious heart condition."
"Who's next on the list?" Dean asked.
"Dean, you have to take her. Natalia, you have to let her be judged."
"Says who?"
"Death. And the Archangel of Death."
"I'm Death. She's the Archangel of Death."
"You both know what I mean."
"Well, who tells him? Who tells her?" Natalia questioned.
"I don't know. It just it. It's destiny."
"Gimme a break. We've spent our whole lives fighting that crap. There's no such thing as destiny, just like there was no apocalypse -- just a bunch of stuck-up mooks who didn't want us human slaves asking questions. Well, I say the girl lives and doesn't get judged. Dee?"
Dean nodded. "Yeah. I'm with her there."
"Do you know what's amazing?" Tessa said. "You don't actually buy a word you're saying and your brother doesn't either."
"Yes, we do."
"Oh, really? So, all the times that you two messed with life and death, they just worked out for you two? It was just a beach party every time, huh?"
"Well, I know this much -- I'm Death, Nat's the Archangel of Death, she's 12, and she's not dying today."
INT. BOBBY'S HOUSE
Sam, Bobby and Dylan were playing a tense game of poker.
INT. HOSPITAL
"Medically, I can't explain it," Dr. Owens said.
"So her heart just healed?" The father questioned.
"Couple of times in your career, you see something you just got to call a miracle. All I know is I won't have to operate."
"Thank you. Thank you, doctor." He turned to his daughter. "You did it. You're gonna be okay."
A nurse spoke on the phone. "Hey, hon, guess what? I'm leaving. No, surgery was canceled."
"Come on. We have more work here," Tessa told the siblings.
"Okay. See you soon."
INT. BOBBY'S HOUSE
"Pair of aces," Sam said.
Bobby held out an empty beer bottle. "Want another one?"
"Yeah, sure."
Dylan went into the kitchen to get something to eat. While Bobby looked in the refrigerator, Sam grabbed a wrench and went to knock out Bobby and Dylan, but Bobby grabbed a bat from the fridge and Dylan grabbed a shotgun from the cupboard and knocked Sam out first.
"May have been born at night, boy, but it wasn't last night." Bobby and Dylan went to get rope, but when they turned back, Sam was gone. "Not good. Let's not do anything hasty here, Sam."
Dylan looked around. "Why does this feel like my girlfriend's favorite movie?"
Bobby and Dylan hid in Bobby's closet, and Sam began choosing through the closet door with an axe.
"Don't say, "here's Johnny,"" Bobby and Dylan told him.
"I got to do this, Bobby, Dylan," Sam said. "I'm sorry. You two shouldn't have cornered yourselves."
"We didn't!" Bobby pushed a button and a trap door opened directly under Sam.
Sam, in the basement, took a crowbar to the door.
"Reinforced steel for, titanium kick plate," Bobby explained. "Get comfy. You want to explain what this is about?"
"I just, uh... I have to do this, Bobby, Dylan."
"Says who?" Bobby and Dylan questioned.
"If Dean and Natalia shove that soul back into me, think how bad that could really be. I can't let it happen, Bobby, Dylan. I mean, it's not like I want to kill you two. You've both been nothing but good to me."
"So... What, demon deal or something?" Bobby asked.
"Spell."
"You're making a mistake, Sam."
"I'm trying to survive."
"Dean and Natalia have got a way to make it safe," Dylan said.
"Oh, yeah, what, some wall inside my head that maybe stays up? Come on."
"If it works-" Bobby and Dylan began.
"Yeah, what if it doesn't? Dean and Natalia don't care about me. They -- they just care about their little/big brother, Sammy, burning in Hell. They'll kill me to get the other guy back."
"Look, Dyl and I... we know how scary it is," Bobby replied. "But you know what's scarier? You right now. You're not in your right head, Sam. You're not giving us much choice here. Sam? Balls!" Bobby and Dylan opened the door and headed downstairs. "Ain't nobody killing me and Dylan in my own house but him and me. We don't want to blow your legs out, boy, but we will."
Bobby and Dylan saw that Sam had escaped through the vent in the panic room ceiling.
"Oh, come on!" Dylan exclaimed.
INT. HOSPITAL
"Oh, what, you gonna give us the silent treatment now?" Dean asked. "Really?"
"Damn it!" Tessa cried. "I knew it!"
"What?" Dean and Natalia asked.
A name faintly appeared on Natalia's list.
The EMT wheeled in a gurney. "Code 500, E.R. Code 500, E.R."
"What's going on?" An orderly asked.
"Fractured spine, internal bleeding. Had a heart attack in the ambulance."
"We need Dr. Owens."
"He just left."
"Call Owens. Tell him to turn around."
"Wait, that's..." Dean and Natalia began.
"You two let the girl live. The nurse goes home early, gets in a crash she wouldn't have. And she needs the heart surgeon, and where is he?"
"You knew this would happen?" Dean accused.
"No. Just knew that you two knocked over a domino."
"She's in cardiac arrest," doctor one informed.
"Take her," Tessa ordered.
"What?" Dean and Natalia asked.
"Clear!" Doctor two yelled.
"She's not on the list!" Dean argued.
Natalia frowned, seeing a name appear. "Uh, Dean, actually..."
Tessa glanced at Natalia's list. "Archangel of Death's list. Changes as you change things." She looked back to Dean. "Everything you two do has consequences. Do you two want to set off another chain reaction?"
"She's got nothing to do with this!" Dean cried.
"Well, too bad, Dean. You put on the ring. Your sister took Azrael's list. Now do your damn jobs."
"Clear!" Doctor two said again.
"Fine." Dean touched Jolene and Natalia looked at Jolene sadly.
"She's crashing again. We're losing her. Clear!"
Jolene's spirit looked at her body. "Is that... Am I..."
"Yes," Tessa replied. "I'm sorry."
"But I'm..."
"So young."
"Yeah."
"Actually, you were supposed to live for many decades. Have kids, grandkids."
"Then why?"
"Because he screwed up. And she didn't stop him."
Jolene turned to Dean and Natalia, focusing on Dean. "You did this to me?" She looked to Natalia. "You didn't stop him?"
"Come on, Jolene. It's time."
"Wait. I'm sorry," Dean apologized.
"Where is she?" Jolene's husband asked. "Where's my wife? Where is she? No! No!"
INT. HILARY'S HOSPITAL ROOM
"A real vacation?" Hilary asked.
"Yeah," her father replied. "I can take you to this one café, show you where I met your mom."
Tessa looked at the siblings. "You two saw what happened to the nurse. Go and kill that girl, Dean. Bring her to judgment, Natalia. I tried to tell you two what you both already know. She's disrupting the natural order by being alive. You two of all people know what that means. Chaos and sadness will follow her for the rest of her life. We tried it your way."
Dean and Natalia watched Jolene's husband through the window before Dean said, "Give me a minute."
"What?"
Natalia glanced at Tessa. "She'll go upstairs, right?"
Tessa nodded. "I think so."
"Well, at least something good will come out of this."
EXT. BOBBY'S YARD
Bobby and Dylan followed a trail of Sam's blood to his shed, where Sam knocked them unconscious and dragged them inside, one after the other.
INT. JOLENE'S HUSBAND'S CAR
"Come on, man, pull the car over," Dean begged. "You're gonna get yourself killed. What are you doing? Pull the damn car over! Stop the car. Come on, stop the car."
"Rout 10 is still shut down..." a voice on the radio said.
"What are you doing?! Stop the car!"
"From an earlier fatal crash. All traffic has to exit..."
"Son of a bitch!" He pulled off the ring and yanked the steering wheel to the side.
"Aah!" Jolene's husband cried.
"Hit the brakes!"
"Aah!"
The car crashed and Jolene's husband slumped forward against the steering wheel.
"Damn it. Tessa!"
"You there?!" Dean asked. "Tessa?! I lost! Natalia lost! Sam's screwed! You happy?! Least you can do is zap our asses back home! Hello?! I lost the bet."
Natalia frowned. "I can't find the list. So, I guess I lost too."
"Sorry about your brother," Tessa said.
"Let's just go," Dean told her.
"Go where, Dean? We're done. What are we-"
INT. HILARY'S ROOM
"Unfinished business," Dean explained.
"It's over," Tessa told him. "You took the ring off. Your sister lost the list. Anyway, thought you two wanted the girl to skate by."
"No one really skates by. Do they?" He turned to Hilary's father. "You should say your goodbyes, man."
"Hey, honey," Hilary's father greeted. "I must have dozed off. Hilary? Somebody!"
"I'm dead?" Hilary's spirit asked.
"I'm sorry," Dean replied.
"But what about my dad?"
"He'll be fine," Natalia reassured.
"Really?"
"Well, I don't know for sure, but I hope so."
"I-I can't just leave him! It's not fair!"
"I know," Dean and Natalia said.
"Well, then why?"
"Because... There's sort of a -- a natural order to things," Dean told Hilary's spirit.
"Natural order is stupid."
"Well, she and I agree with you there."
INT. BOBBY'S SHED
"Listen to me," Bobby said. "You don't want to do this. Sam. I've been like a father to you, boy. Dylan's been a friend and is dating your sister. Somewhere inside, you've got to know that."
Sam walked towards Bobby and Dylan holding a knife. "Well, that's just it. Sorry."
Sam raised the knife up to stab Bobby and Dylan, but Dean and Natalia intercepted him.
"Hi, Sam," Dean and Natalia greeted. "We're back." Dean knocked Sam out.
INT. BOBBY'S BASEMENT
Dean and Natalia looked at Sam who was cuffed to the panic room cot.
"Nat and I can't keep doing this, Bobby, Dylan," Dean admitted. "I mean, what are we, gonna tie him up every time he tries to kill someone? And that's not gonna hold him. I mean, he's-"
"-- capable of anything," Bobby and Dylan finished.
"What are we supposed to do here?" Natalia asked.
"I don't know," Bobby replied.
Dylan kissed the top of her head. "We'll figure it out, Nat. We always do, right?"
Dean and Natalia headed to Bobby's kitchen.
"Dean. Natalia," Death called. "Join me. Brought you two one-" Death handed Dean and Natalia a hot dog, "from a little stand in Los Angeles known for their bacon dogs. Sit."
"Boy, what's with you and cheap food?" Dean wondered.
"I could ask you two the same thing. Thought I'd have a treat before I put the ring back on. Natalia, it seems Azrael has taken her list back. Heavier than they look, aren't they? Sometimes, you just want the thing off or to misplace the list. But you two know that. Not hungry?"
Natalia looked at Death. "Look... I think you know that we flunked. So there. Oh, and by the way, he, uh... he sucked at being you and I sucked at being an archangel. Really screwed up the whole natural order thing and the judgment thing. But we're sure you knew about that, too. Guarantee Rae knew that also."
"So, if you two could go back, would you simply kill the little girl and let her get judged? No fuss, no stomping your feet?"
"Knowing what we know now, yeah," Dean replied.
"I'm surprised to hear that. Surprised and glad."
"Yeah, well, don't get excited. We would have saved the nurse, okay? That's it."
"I think it's a little more than that. Today, you both got a hard look behind the curtain. Wrecking the natural order's not quite so fun when you have to mop up the mess, is it? This is hard for you, Dean, Natalia. You both throw away your lives because you've both come to assume that it'll bounce right back into your laps. But the human soul is not a rubber ball. It's vulnerable, impermanent, but stronger than you both know. And more valuable than you two can imagine. So... I think you've both learned something today."
"Want to know what I think? I think you knew that we wouldn't last a day."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Natalia and I lost. Fine. But at least have the balls to admit that it was rigged from the jump."
"Most people speak to me with more respect."
Natalia frowned. "We ain't most people."
"I didn't mean-" Dean began.
"We're done here," Death told them. "But now I'm going to Hell to get your brother's soul."
"Why would you do that for us?"
"I wouldn't do it for you two. You two and your brother keep coming back. You're an affront to the balance of the universe, and you cause a disruption on a global scale."
"We apologize for that," Natalia said.
"But you two have use. Right now, you're both digging at something. The intrepid detectives. I want you two to keep digging, Dean, Natalia."
"Sorry you're just gonna be cryptic, or..."
"It's about the souls. You'll both understand when you two need to."
"Wait -- with Sam... Is this wall thing really gonna work?" Dean questioned.
"Call it 75%."
"Bobby! Dylan!" Dean and Natalia called.
INT. BOBBY'S BASEMENT
"Open the door," Dean ordered.
"What happened?" Bobby and Dylan asked.
"Now!"
INT. PANIC ROOM
"Get away from me!" Sam yelled. "Don't. Don't!"
"Now, Sam, I'm gonna put up a barrier inside your mind," Death informed.
"No, don't touch me."
"It might feel a little... itchy. Do me a favor -- don't scratch the wall. Trust me -- you're not gonna like what happens."
"Please. Don't do this."
Death took Sam's soul from his bag and went to put it back inside Sam.
"No, no!" Sam cried. "You don't know! You don't know what'll happen to me! Dean, Natalia, please! No. No. No." Death put Sam's soul back in him. "Aah!"