My Home Is Always With You {8}

Chapter 1: "We Need To Talk About Kevin"

100-mile Wilderness, Maine. 1 year later, Dean's back from purgatory and he startles a man and Dean says, "Where am I?" The man says, "What?" Then a girl comes out of the tent and Dean points his gun and the guy says, "W-- hey, hey." Dean says, "Where's the road?" The guy points and says, "12 miles that way." With his gun still pointed at the couple, Dean grabs their camping bag and runs away. Four days later, Dean's in Clayton, Louisiana and he arrives at a grave and says, "This better be you, you son of a bitch." Dean digs the grave and until he can see bones. Dean looks at his arm and says, "Hold on, you bastard. Hold on!" Then Dean cuts open his arm and lets his friend out by saying, "Anima corpori... furit corpus... totem resurgent." Dean grunts and he says, "Wow." Dean turns to see his friend, Benny back in his body and he continues to say, "Wow. That was fast." Benny says, "No thanks to you. The hell took you so long?" Dean groans and says, "You're welcome. Everything working?" Benny says, "Good enough." Benny shows his vampire teeth and continues to say, "So... what now?" Dean says, "Like we talked about, I guess." Benny nods and says, "Then this is goodbye." Dean says, "Keep your nose clean, Benny. You hear me?" Benny shakes Dean's hand and Benny says, "We made it, brother. I can't believe it." Benny laughs happily and brings Dean in for a hug. Dean smiles and says, "You and me both." The next day, Dean goes to the cabin and waits for Liz and Sam to walk in. The door opens and in comes Sam, Dean tackles Sam to the ground and pours holy water on him. Sam says, "Dean?! What the-- I'm not a demon." Dean then pours borax on him, and Sam continues to say, "Or a Leviathan. What--" Dean then cuts Sam with a silver knife and Dean says, "Or a shifter. Good." Dean gets off of Sam and continues to say, "My turn. Come on. Let's go." Sam says, "I don't need to. I know it's you." Dean says, "Damn it, Sammy!" Dean then does everything he did to Sam to himself. Dean says, "All right. Well... let's do this." Sam says, "I don't know whether to give you a hug or take a shower." Dean laughs and says, "Come here." Dean gives Sam a big hug and Sam pulls away and says, "Dude... you're... freakin' alive. I mean, what the hell happened?" Dean says, "Well, I guess standing too close to exploding Dick sends your ass straight to Purgatory." Sam's shocked and says, "You were in Purgatory? For the whole year?" Dean says, "Yeah, time flies when you're running for your life." Sam says, "Well, how'd you get out?" Dean says, "I guess whoever built that box didn't want me in there any more than I did." Sam says, "What does that mean?" Dean says, "I'm here, okay?" Sam says, "What about Cass? Was he there?" Dean turns away from Sam and says, "Yeah, Cass didn't make it." Sam says, "What exactly does that mean?" Dean says, "Something happened to him down there. Things got pretty hairy towards the end, and he... just let go." Sam says, "So, Cass is dead? You saw him die?" Dean says, "I saw enough." Sam says, "So, then what, you're not sure?" Dean turns to look at Sam and says, "I said I saw enough, Sam." Sam says, "Right. Dean, I'm sorry." Dean nods and says, "Me too. So, you-- I can't believe you're actually here. You know that half your numbers are out of service? Felt like I was leaving messages in the wind." Sam says, "Yeah, I-I-I didn't get your messages." Dean opens a beer and says, "How come?" Sam says, "Probably because I ditched the phones." Dean says, "Because...?" Sam exhales and says, "I guess, um... I guess something happened to me this year, too. I don't hunt anymore." Dean chuckles and says, " Yeah. And Sasha Grey's gone legit." Sam scoffs and Dean realizes Sam's serious, and he says, "What?" Sam says, "Nothing. Um, she did a Soderbergh movie." Dean says, "What?" Sam says, "She did a Soderbergh--" Dean cuts Sam off and says, "No. You, Sam. You quit?" Sam nods and says, "Yeah. Yeah, I-- You were gone... Dean. Cass was gone, Bobby was dead. I mean, Crowley even shipped off Kevin and Meg to parts unknown." Dean says, "So, you turned tail on the family business." Sam says, "Nothing says "Family" quite like the whole family being dead." Dean says, "I wasn't dead. In fact, I was knee-deep in God's armpit killing monsters, which, I thought, is what we actually do." Sam says, "Yes, Dean. And as far as I knew, what we do is the thing that got every single member of my family killed. I had no one--" Dean cuts Sam off and says, "What about Liz? Matter fact, where the hell is she?" Dean watches Sam gulp and sigh. Sam says, "I don't know." Dean narrows his eyes at Sam and says, "What do you mean you don't know?" Sam says, "I haven't spoken to Liz in a year." Dean scoffs and shakes his head and says, "Are you serious? You quit hunting and left Liz alone. She lost her dad, Cass, and me. And you couldn't stay with her?" Sam says, "Look, Dean you don't know what happened between me and Liz?" Dean says, "Okay, then explain to me what happened?" Sam sighs and doesn't say anything and Dean nods and says, "Okay, then. Did you look for me, Sam?" Sam doesn't say anything and turns away from Dean and he nods and continues to say, "Good. That's good. Now, we-- we... always told each other not to look for each other. That's smart. Good for you. Of course, we always ignored that because of our deep, abiding love for each other, but not this time, right, Sammy?" Sam says, "Look, I'm still the same guy, Dean." Dean says, "Well, bully for you. I'm not." Later, Sam's cooking dinner and Sam says, "You want some dinner?" Dean says, "Pass." Dean puts in an ear bud to listen to Sam's messages from Kevin and Liz. Dean's pissed at Sam and looks over at him. Sam says, "What?" Dean takes out the earbud out of his ear and plays Kevin's messages first. Kevin's message says, "Sam Winchester, it's Kevin Tran. Crowley had me in this warehouse, and I just escaped. I don't know where I am. And I don't know if he or-- or any other demons are still after me. I need your help. By the way, could give me Liz's phone number. Thanks. Call me back. It's Kevin Tran." Sam says, "When was that?" Dean then plays another message and says, "Sam Winchester. It's Kevin Tran. I called you a week ago. Call me, please. I don't know what the hell I'm doing out here, man." Sam says, "Okay. I get it. So, what, you want to... strategize or something?" Dean plays another message and Kevin says, "Sam, it's Kevin. I'm good. Whoo! I'm so good." Sam says, "Is he... drunk?" Kevin says, "3 months since you ditched my ass. Haven't slept for more than four hours a night, but it's all good in the hood. Uh, if you're still alive, eat me. Eat me." Then Dean plays Kevin's last message and it says, "Sam, it's been 6 months. I can only assume you're dead. If not, don't try and reach me. You won't be able to. I won't be calling this number anymore. Oh, by the way if you care, Liz found me the night I got really wasted." Dean stops the messages and looks angrily at Sam and says, "He was our responsibility. And you couldn't answer the damn phone." Dean then plays Liz messages and Liz sighs and says, "Hey, Sam. Look, I'm sorry about our conversation. I didn't mean to drive you away, but I guess you were right. Look, if you need space. I'll give it to you, when you're ready to talk call me." Sam sighs and Dean plays another message and says, "Hey, Sam. It's been a month and I haven't heard back. Are you okay?" Liz sighs and says, "Look, um, I'm trying to find Kevin, but I don't have his number, so could you send it to me. Bye." Dean plays another message and Liz tiredly says, "Sam. It's been 3 months and you have been radio silence. Anyway, I found Kevin. He's okay, right now I'm keeping him safe. Just wanted to let you know." Dean plays another message and Liz groans in the phone and says, "Hey, Sam. Kevin thinks there's no point in calling you since you didn't answer him. It's been six months Sam. I could really use your help right now. I'm doing a vampire case and--" The messages cuts off and Sam's worried about Liz. Dean plays another message and says, "Sorry. The message got caught off, vampire tackled me and almost tried to drink my blood. I handled, although I could have used the help." Dean plays the most recent message from Liz which was 3 months ago and says, "Sam. I know where Dean and Cass are. I mean, when Dean killed Dick, he and Cass got blasted to Purgatory. I don't know how to get there, but I really miss you and I'm sorry for everything. Love you, bye." Dean's so mad at Sam and he says, "She never stopped looking for me, she still hunted, and she has Kevin. While you were living some normal life. Unbelieve." Later, Sam's on his computer and Dean's trying to get ahold of Liz, but she's not answering her phone. Sam says, "All right, listen to this-- Kevin's last message. Listen to the background." Sam plays the message again and says, "Hear that?" Dean says, "What is it?" Sam says, "I think he was on a bus. Listen again." They hear a woman say, "Last stop... Centerville." Dean says, "Centerville?" Dean gets out and walks over to Sam and says, "Centerville, where?" Sam says, "Michigan." Dean says, "And why would Kevin be in Centerville, Michigan?" Sam chuckles and says, "Because... his high-school girlfriend goes to college there." Dean says, "That's thin." Sam says, "It's the best lead we got." Dean says, "'We'?" Sam says, "You were right. He was our responsibility. So... let's find him, okay? And when we find Kevin, we'll find Liz there with him." The boys packed up the Impala and Sam says, "Hey." Sam tosses the keys to Dean, and he catches them and looks at the car and says, "Well... no visible signs of douchery-- I'll give you that." They get in the car and Dean sniffs the car and says, "Smell like dog to you?" Sam sniffs and says, "In the car?" Dean says, "You tell me." Sam shrugs his shoulders and Dean hums. They then start driving and later check in at a motel and Sam notices Dean acting fidgety and he says, "You, okay?" Dean says, "Yeah. Yeah, hey, what do you say we hit this joint, hit the road?" Sam says, "Now?" Dean says, "Yeah, I mean, Kevin's okay. He's with Liz. There's no rush to get to him." Sam nods and says, "Yeah. Uh, okay. When's the last time you slept?" Dean hums and Sam says, "What?" Dean says, "Nothing. Is that, uh, that how you rationalized taking a year off? People will be, okay?" Sam says, "People were okay, Dean. You're okay." Dean says, "Wow." Sam says, "Look, I did what we promised we'd do. I moved on. I lived my life." Dean says, "Yeah, without Liz. I'm totally getting that." Sam says, "Look, it wasn't like I was... just oblivious. I mean, I read the paper every day saw the... weird stories, the kind of stuff we used to chase." Dean scoffs and says, "And you said what? 'Not my problem'?" Sam says, "Yes. And you know what? The world went on." Dean says, "People died, Sam." Sam says, "People will always sue Dean. Or maybe another hunter took care of it. I don't know, but the point is, for the first time, I realized that it wasn't only up to me to stop it." Dean hums and says, "So what was it, hmm? What could possibly make you stop just like that? A girl? Was there a girl?" Sam says, "The girl had nothing to do with it." Dean nods and says, "There was a girl." Sam says, "Yeah. There was. And then there wasn't. Any more questions?" A while later, Sam says, "Listen, I know this is gonna sound crazy to you. I don't even necessarily need you to understand. But... you need to know. I didn't just drop out, Dean. I found something. Something I've... never had all my life." Dean says, "What was her name?" Sam says, "Amelia." Dean says, "So, what, you, uh, you dropped your peanut butter in her chocolate? How'd it happen?" Sam says, "I hit a dog." Dean whips his head around to look at Sam and says, "I knew I smelled dog." Sam says, "And I knew you'd throw a bitch fit." Dean says, "Hey, the rules are simple, Sam. You don't take a joint from a guy named Don, and there's no dogs in the car!" Sam nods and says, "All right, what about you?" Dean says, "What about me?" Sam says, "Look at you. You're still got that look. You're shaky. You're on edge. What was it like?" Dean scoffs and says, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Sam says, "Try me." Dean says, "It was bloody. Messy. 31 flavors of bottom-dwelling nasties. Hell, most days felt like 360-degree combat. But there was something about being there. Felt pure." The next day, the boys are in their fed suits, and they go speak with Kevin's girlfriend, Channing. Channing says, "The last time I saw Kevin was, like, a year ago." Sam says, "When he disappeared?" Channing says, "Mm-hmm. He stole his mother's car because he thought he was on a mission from God or something? It was crazy." Nancy, Channing's roommate says, "Shut up! My friend Adam-- who got addicted to Adderall but got a perfs on his S.A.T.s, so it was totally worth it-- Same thing." Channing says, "Shut up!" Nancy says, "Seerse. Mission from God." Sam clears his throat and says, "Look, Channing, we know Kevin was here." Channing says, "No, he wasn't." Sam says, "And we understand if you're trying to protect him. But nobody can protect Kevin better than we can." Channing says, "I hate Kevin. I wouldn't protect him." Dean says, "I thought you two had a thing." Channing scoffs and says, "Yeah, when he was going to Princeton." Dean says, "Wow. Just like that?" Nancy says, "Yeah." Channing says, "Mm-hmm." The boys then leave Channing's room and Dean says, "So, why would Kevin come sniffing around here if not to see her?" Sam says, "No idea. Maybe we should spilt up, ask around, see if anybody's seen him?" Dean sarcastically says, "Yeah, Asian kid, yea high, at a university. That should be easy." Later, Sam's at an outside cafe on his computer, when Dean sits down in front of him and he says, "Don't judge me. I got bubkes." Sam says, "Well..." Then a waitress sets down some food he ordered and says, "And here you go." Sam says, "Ah, thank you." Sam pushes the food in front of Dean and he says, "Sweet mother of God. It's for me? Seriously?" Sam says, "Check this out. So, I went through campus security archives around the time Kevin should have been here. Anyone look familiar?" Sam turns his computer around and sees Dean enjoying his burger a little too much. Sam says, "Dude. It's a burger." Dean says, "It's treasure. All right, so, what, Kevin comes all the way to campus and doesn't see his girlfriend?" Sam says, "I don't know... But I went to the computer lab and found the commuter he was on." Dean says, "And?" Sam says, "And I found the website he was visiting, found his account username, hacked into the website, found when else this username logged in, and then I reverse-tracked the I.P. address back to the original user, Kevin, who has apparently been using the same wireless router for the past two months." Dean says, "That is spectacular work. Any chance I get that in English?" Sam says, "Yeah. I think he's in Iowa-- at a coffee shop." They then arrive in Fairfield, Iowa at an abandoned church. Dean says, "A church? You sure this is right?" Sam says, "Barista at the coffee shop swears he's seen Kevin ducking in here for the past few months with a young woman and a kid." They walk up the stairs and the doors are locked." Sam knocks on the door and says, "Kevin. It's Sam and Dean Winchester. Open up." What they boys don't know is that Kevin and Henry are on the other side of the door armed with guns loaded with borax. The boys walk in and get sprayed. Dean says, "Stop! Stop! Not Leviathans. It's us." Kevin says, "What the hell happened to you guys?" Dean says, "Cliff notes? I went to Purgatory. Sam hit a dog." Kevin looks at Henry and says, "So, Liz was right." Henry says, "Yeah, she was." The boys look at the unfamiliar kid next to Kevin and Sam says, "Who are you?" Henry nods in understanding because he grew 8 years in one year. Henry says, "Uh, it's me Henry." The boys widen their eyes and Dean says, "What?" Henry nods and says, "Yeah, I know. I went from a toddler to a 10-year-old. Mom, was a little freaked out but she got use to it." Dean says, "Speaking of mom, where's Liz?" Kevin says, "She's on a supply run. She should be back soon. You want some towels?" As their walking around the church, the boys notice some demon sigils and a devils trap. Dean says, "Who taught you all this?" Kevin says, "Liz." The boys nod and says, "Wait, wait. Hold on. Crowley kidnapped you. I saw that. But then you left a message saying you escaped. How?" Kevin says, "Well... first, he took me to a warehouse. There was a tablet there, like the last one." Dean says, "Wait, there's another tablet. So, another Word of God." Kevin says, "Yes." Dean says, "How many words of God are there?" Kevin says, "I just became a Prophet, like, a year ago." Sam says, "Well, did this tablet have a name?" Kevin says, "Demons." Dean says, "What about demons?" Kevin says, "As far as I could tell... everything." Sam says, "What about hell gates?" Kevin says, "There's one in Wisconsin. The tablet told me how to open it. There were ingredients for a spell." Dean says, "You showed the King of Hell how to open a hell gate? So, that all the demons in hell could out all at the same time?" Kevin says, "What? No. I told Crowley I was opening a hell gate, but I was reading from another chapter-- how to destroy demons." Dean chuckles and says, "You son of a bitch." Sam says, "Wait. Kevin? Where's the tablet now?" Kevin says, "Safe." Sam says, "Safe where?" Dean says, "Hey. As long as it's safe, okay? Were you able to read anything else off the tablet before you stashed it?" Kevin says, "Only the stuff about closing the gates of hell. Forever." Dean says, "Come again?" Kevin says, "Banish all demons off the face of the earth, lock them away forever. That could be important, right?" Kevin smiles and Dean says, "Closing the gates of hell forever? Yeah. Yeah, that could be important." The boys walk outside to talk, and Dean says, "Okay, if this kid is right, he's sitting on a bombshell. Hell, he is the bombshell. What?" Sam says, "That. I mean, there's no way that Kevin's getting out of this intact, is there?" Dean says, "He's not alone in this." Sam says, "Yeah, he got out." Dean says, "And now he's in it... Whether he likes it or not." Sam says, "So... free will, that's only for you?" Dean says, "I can't believe what I'm hearing. Sam, we have an opportunity to wipe the slate clean. We take Kevin to the tablet, he tells us the spell, we send every demon back to hell-- forever. Every single bastard that destroyed our lives, killed our mother, killed Jess. And you're not sure?"