Season Four

Episode Two: Time Won't Let Me Go

By SnSam

Part Two

Sam felt as if he’d been hit in the gut with a sledgehammer. Why was it that nothing could ever work out for them they way they wanted it to? Was it really too much to ask for a break every now and then? Hadn’t they done enough to at least deserve that much?

Not only had they missed their chance to get their dad back but Sam was pretty sure that Dean would drag him straight back to Lawrence to sit in a motel room. Sam couldn’t do that again. He couldn’t go back to feeling like he was on house arrest for a crime he didn’t commit.

Besides, too much bad stuff happened in Lawrence, especially where it concerned the Winchesters, as history had shown. If they went back there, something else was bound to happen—it was just inevitable.

“Are you two okay?” Carol asked, looking at the both of them strangely.

“What?” Sam asked, jumping slightly.

“It was just an old watch,” she continued. “I’ve got others from that era if you’re really wanting one.”

“We really wanted that one,” Dean explained. “A buddy of ours told us he saw it in here and we just had to have it.”

“What’s so special about it?” Carol asked, suspicion clouding her features. “Is it a family heirloom or something?”

Sam couldn’t stand to beat around the bush any longer. He was going to have to lie to the woman, whether he liked it or not. They had to find out where the watch was.

Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a badge and flashed it at Carol. “We’re with the State Police, ma’am. The watch is evidence in a case.”

Carol glanced over at Dean. “But you just said a friend told you about it. I don’t understand what is going on.” Then she narrowed her eyes. “Where’s your badge?”

Dean glanced sideways at his brother, frowning. Pulling out his own forged badge and showing it to her, he said, “We didn’t want to worry you if it wasn’t necessary.”

“Is the watch tied to Walter’s death?” she asked, worriedly.

“No, ma’am,” Sam said, pocketing his badge. “There was a case upstate—a robbery. We believe the watch you sold was one of the items stolen. We’ve been following a trail of loot across the state.”

"Oh, my goodness!” Carol brought up a hand to her mouth. “Please, tell me what I can do to help. I’ll do anything I can.”

“We really just need to find out who has the watch,” Sam replied.

“Oh, well, that shouldn’t be too hard.” Turning around, she grabbed a stack of receipts and placed them on the counter. Slipping on the pair of glasses hanging from her neck, she began to flip through the yellow papers. “Let’s see…I sold it to a woman—Jody Roberts.” She handed the receipt to the brothers so they could see.

Sam took out a small notepad and jotted down the buyer’s name and phone number. Closing it up, he tapped it on the counter and smiled at her. “Thank you, Carol. We really appreciate your cooperation on this matter.”

Carol removed her glasses and looked up at them, distressed. “I’m not going to be in trouble for selling stolen property, am I, Officers?”

“No, ma’am,” Dean promised her. “You had no idea about it. You were just trying to run your business and make a living.”
“Thank goodness,” she said, letting out a huge sigh of relief. “This week has been horrible enough as it is. I’m not sure if I could take anything else.”

“We heard about your husband,” Sam said gently. “We’re very sorry for your loss.”

Carol nodded, her gray eyes watering. “Thank you.”

Thanking the woman again, the boys walked out to the Impala. Sam’s door was barely shut before he whipped out his cell phone and began to dial the number he’d written down.

“You can’t at least wait until I get the car started before you start calling?” Dean teased, putting the classic into gear.

“You’re saying you wouldn’t do the same thing?” Sam asked, disbelief in his voice. When Dean didn’t say anything, he smiled in satisfaction. “Yeah, I thought so.”

Dean rolled his eyes in response.

“Hello?” asked a male voice, snapping Sam to attention.

“Uh, is Jody Roberts there?”

“Who is this?”

“My name is Sam. Um, I work at Tracy’s Boutique.” Sam could only imagine the look Dean was giving him. “I told her I would call when we got our new shipment of scarves in.”

Dean snorted, causing Sam to glare at him. “Shut. Up,” he mouthed.

“Oh, well, she’s got the day shift at the hospital,” the man replied. “I’ll make sure she gets the message.”

“Thanks.” Sam hung up the phone and punched his brother in the arm as Dean struggled to keep the car on the road as he laughed.

“Dude, that’s a new one, even for you,” Dean said, trying to catch his breath.

“Kiss my ass.”

“Good thing you were on the phone and not talking to him in person,” Dean went on, ignoring him. “He never would have bought that for a second. Next time, you might want to make your voice a little more feminine.”

“Are you finished?”

Dean narrowed his eyes in thought. “Yeah, I think so.”

Sighing, Sam activated the GPS application on his phone and pulled up the nearest hospital to their location. “I’m guessing she works at Tifton County General. Turn back around and head back to where we talked to Mikey. The hospital is close to there.”

“You can always call again and talk about the nice purses Tracy’s offers.”

“Dean…”

“What? I’m just trying to help.”

“Well, you suck at it and no one asked for your input,” Sam said.

“What’s got your panties in a twist?”

“Nothing.”

Dean nodded, not pushing the subject any further. “So, you want to tell me what that stunt was back at the pawn shop?”

“What do you mean?” Sam asked, acting completely clueless. He knew very well what Dean was talking about.

“Lying is usually my thing, though I have to admit, you were pretty damn convincing.” Dean looked over at Sam but his brother continued looking out the front windshield. “I’m just trying to figure out why you’re so fixated on this watch, considering you’re not entirely sure it’s going to work.”

Sam shrugged. “The watch intrigues me. What’s not interesting about a watch that can supposedly turn back time?”

“Look, I know you’re a geek and things like this usually send your heart aflutter, but I’m not buying it,” Dean said. “So, what’s the real reason?”

Sam sighed, knowing he was most likely about to piss off his older sibling. “I have to believe we’ll find it and that it’ll work.”

“Why?”

“Because…” Sam huffed. “Because I don’t want to go back to Lawrence, Dean.”

“What are you talking about?”

“If this doesn’t work out, I know you’ll want to go back,” Sam explained. “And I can’t do that, Dean. I can’t go there just to sit around in a motel room, chained to my computer, hoping another answer falls into our laps.”

Dean looked over at him, shock masking his features. “So, what are you saying, Sammy?”

“What?”

“Does this mean you’re just going to give up on Dad? You just wanna leave him God-knows-where and do nothing about it? What happened to that whole spiel back in the motel? The one you gave me about not wanting to disappoint Dad?”

“Dean, I’m not looking to fight with you, okay? And I’m not about to give up on Dad. If this doesn’t work, I’ll look for other ways to help but I won’t go back to Lawrence to do it.” He looked at Dean. “There are other hunts we need to pursue.”

Dean shook his head. “We have a hunt, Sammy. It’s Dad—that’s what we have to focus on.”

“You know Dad wouldn’t want that, Dean. He wouldn’t want us to be selfish. He would want us to help everyone we could.”

Dean said nothing as he stared at the road ahead.

“Besides, Lucifer is still out there somewhere, not to mention all his buddies that got out while Stull was open,” Sam continued. “We can’t just let them roam around, killing innocent people.”

Dean was silent for so long that Sam was worried he’d pushed his brother too far. Finally, Dean let out a resigned sigh.
“You’re right. We can’t keep throwing ourselves a pity party. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to drop what we’re doing,” Dean cautioned. “We have to find this watch—it’s all that matters right now. We’ll figure out the rest later.”

Sam nodded, smiling at his brother. It wasn’t much but he would take whatever win he could get.

Tifton County General Hospital

A cold blast of antiseptic air greeted the Winchesters as they entered through the sliding doors of the small hospital. It once again only served to remind Dean of his dislike for hospitals. He hated the smell and the somber mood they always projected. Sure, they did their part in saving people and brining about new life, but in Dean’s personal experience, they only brought about grief and angst.

Walking up to the reception desk that was situated to the left side of the lobby, they found a middle aged, mousy woman with huge glasses, her head lowered as she studiously filled out paperwork.

Sam cleared his throat, causing the woman to jerk her head up, clearly startled. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

The clerk smiled shakily. “No, it was me. I have a bad habit of tuning out things around me. How may I help you?”

“We’d like to speak with Jody Roberts, if that’s possible.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Doctor Roberts is at lunch.”

“Can you tell us where the cafeteria is?”

“She doesn’t like to be disturbed during her lunch. It’s the only break she gets,” the woman explained. She picked up a pen and a slip of pink paper. “You can leave a number and I’ll make sure she gets the message to call you back.”

Seeing Sam reach into his pocket for his badge, Dean stepped forward, pushing his brother aside. Flashing her a dazzling smile, he saw her nametag read “Courtney.”

Courtney nervously patted her hair in place, a blush coloring her cheeks before Dean could even say a word.

That’s gotta be a new record, even for me, Dean thought proudly.

“You’ll have to excuse my brother, Courtney—he gets a little overeager sometimes,” Dean said, smirking at his sibling. And there’s his bitch face—score one for me! “It’s just that it’s really important we speak to Jody. We’re passing through and won’t be back in town for a while. We wanted to say hi to our cousin before we left.”

Courtney let out a high-pitched titter. “Why didn’t you say so?”

Dean shrugged with an easy smile.

“The cafeteria is through those double doors. Take the first left and you can’t miss it.”

“Thanks.”

“It will do Doctor Roberts good to see some family,” Courtney said, smiling sadly.

“We hope so,” Dean agreed, not knowing what she meant by the comment.

Courtney looked down shyly. “So, are you sure you’re just passing through? I was thinking maybe we could—”

Sam pulled Dean away before she could finish. “We’re kind of on a timeline.”

“Dude, what the hell was that?” Dean demanded as they pushed through the double doors. “You’re totally messing up my game.”

“We’re on a job,” Sam pointed out.

“I do it every time we’re on a job,” Dean argued.

Sam only scoffed as they entered the busy cafeteria. Doctors and nurses took up a good portion of the tables, seeming to congregate on the far side of the massive room, while a few patients’ families occupied the area near the door.

Stopping a worker, Dean asked where Jody Roberts was sitting. Turning, the young man pointed to a lone woman with her blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun, sitting at a table in the corner. Thanking him, the brothers made their way over to her.

As they got closer, Dean couldn’t help but wonder about Jody. She was slouched in her seat, her shoulders slumped as she picked distractedly at her salad. Her face wore a permanent frown, almost as if she hadn’t smiled in ages. She barely wore any makeup, save for a faint smattering of blush on her cheeks.

Sam exchanged a look with Dean before clearing his throat to get Jody’s attention.

The doctor scarcely glanced up at them. “The table’s occupied. Find somewhere else to sit,” she said with a dull voice.

Okay, someone didn’t eat their Wheaties this morning, Dean thought. “We’d actually like to talk to you, if that’s okay?”

“There’s plenty of people in here for you to talk to. Go bother them.” She speared a cherry tomato with her fork. “I’m on my lunch break.”

The siblings traded another look before Sam gave a tiny nod of his head. Glancing around the cafeteria, Dean saw no one was paying attention to them. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out his badge and slid it across the table so Jody could see it.

“Like I said, we’d really like to talk to you,” Dean said quietly. “Now, we can make a scene about it or we can keep this quiet. I’m willing to go either way—the choice is yours.”

Jody glared up at them, anger replacing the defeatist look from before. This was clearly a woman who didn’t like to be pressured or bullied and for a second, it made Dean a little nervous. But just for a second—they had a job to do, after all. There was no time to worry about anyone’s feelings.

“Have a seat,” she said, ice practically dripping from every word. “What do you want?”

No point in easing her into it. Time to play hardball.

“We want to know where the watch is.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied.

Sorry lady. That won’t work on me. “You may be blonde but we both know you ain’t dumb.”

Jody arched a brow. “I would take that as a compliment but I’m not entirely sure you meant it that way.”

Dean just shrugged, his face expressionless.

“Look, Jody…we just talked to Carol at the pawn shop in Enigma and she showed us the receipt,” Sam said. “Not only that, we saw the security tape from last night. We know you have it.”

Dean glanced at his brother, impressed with how smoothly the lie left his lips. Way to go, Sammy!

“So, what if I do?” Jody asked, smugly. “What the hell are the State Police interested in it for?”

“It’s evidence in a crime,” Dean answered.

“What crime?”

“There was a string of robberies upstate,” Sam replied. “We’ve been following the fenced loot all over the place.”

Jody started laughing, startling the boys. They looked at her, confused and a little anxious.

“Do you guys think I’m an idiot?” she asked. “Your story is crap.”

Dean chuckled uneasily. “What do you mean?”

“If there was a robbery, don’t you think I would have heard about it?”

“Um…”

“My husband is on the State Police force,” she said, her tone bordering near condescending.

Oh, crap…this is not how this was supposed to go.

Jody pushed her tray away, resting her arms on the table as she leaned forward. “Now, why don’t you tell me who the hell you really are before I pick up the phone and report the both of you?”

Crap! Crap! Crap! Dean shot a desperate look at Sam, clearly telling his little brother to clean up this mess and quick. Sam let out a sigh, obviously not wanting to do it but Dean didn’t care. This is your area of expertise, bro—just take one for the team already.

Turning his gaze to Jody, Sam asked, “Why is the watch so important to you?”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to ask as the doctor reached into her lab coat and pulled out her cell phone.
Sam put a hand on her arm. “Okay---wait, wait, wait!” Jody jerked away from him, her eyes blazing. “I’ll answer your question if you answer mine,” Sam promised.

“How about you tell me who you are and I’ll decide what happens next?”

Dean could see it was taking everything Sam had to control his patience. If Sam was about to lose it, then it had to be pretty bad. His kid brother was a saint when it came to that little virtue, unlike him.

“Dean and I—we’re brothers,” Sam answered calmly and truthfully. “We’re looking for the watch for something important.”

“What?”

Sam shook his head, not wanting to share the details just yet. “I promise you that we’re not as crazy as you may think. We’re only interested in the watch.”

Jody stared at him.

“Why is the watch so important to you?” Sam gently repeated his question from earlier.

The doctor continued to stare at him a moment longer before letting out a shaky breath. “I heard a story about it from a patient who came into the ER about a week ago. He was rambling about some watch that could turn back time. He kept saying he watched his brother die again.”

Sam and Dean glanced at each other, knowing the woman was talking about Mikey Wickham.

“Did you believe him?” Dean asked.

“Are you kidding? I thought the kid was a few fries short, if you know what I mean.” Jody took a sip from her water bottle. “It got me curious though. I’m pretty much open to anything and it had me wondering if something like that really existed and if it could work.”

The brothers looked at her, not saying anything.

Jody scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Great…you think I’m crazy. I mean, why the hell not? I’m listening to myself and I think I sound nuts.” She shook her head. “It’s just some stupid myth that I was dumb enough to buy into.”

“Did you try it out yet?” Dean asked, not sure if he wanted her to answer or not. The watch had already spelled bad news for one person that they knew of.

Jody shook her head. “Not yet. I haven’t found the courage to do it. Not entirely sure if I ever will.”

“What happened, Jody?” Sam asked softly, his eyes locking with hers. “What was so horrible that you would want to change it?”

Jody’s lower lip began to tremble as a tear trailed down her cheek. Brushing it away, she took a deep, shaky breath. “It was my son, Gabe—he died almost two weeks ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Sam offered.

“He was hit by a car as he was riding his bike,” Jody went on as if she didn’t hear him. “My husband said the car came out of nowhere and I—” she broke off as a sob hitched her body. “I tried to save him but I couldn’t.”

“That’s awful,” Dean said.

Jody nodded as she picked up a napkin and wiped her eyes. “That’s why I need the watch. I want my son back. I want a second chance to get it right. A mother deserves that much, doesn’t she? That’s not too much to ask, is it?”

“No, it isn’t,” Sam agreed, sympathetically.

Dean wasn’t so sure about that. After all, you couldn’t change death, no matter how hard you tried. It would throw the balance of the universe off and that would only lead to trouble as the world tried to right itself.

The hunter didn’t say any of this out loud to the grieving woman—she had enough on her mind as it was. Dean couldn’t bring himself to be so cruel.

“So, now that I told you why I want it, what about you?” Jody asked. “Why do you need it? Did you lose someone you loved?”

“It’s our dad,” Sam admitted.

“He’s dead?”

Dean shook his head. “No. He’s just…lost.”

“We just want another chance, like you,” Sam explained. “That’s why we need you to give us the watch, before it’s too late for him.”

Jody looked torn. “I want to help you guys, I really do. But I can’t give it up. I can’t let the chance of getting my son back slip away from me.”

Dean couldn’t take this anymore. He couldn’t just sit by and not speak his mind. “Look, lady—you’re messing with some pretty dangerous stuff. Things that you have no way of understanding or ever will.”

“How can you say that when you’re wanting to do the same thing as me?”

“Because we have experience with the strange and dangerous,” Dean answered. “We know what we’re doing. That’s why you need to give us the watch before you end up getting yourself killed.”

Jody shook her head. “I have to try—you have to at least understand that,” she said adamantly. “You have my word—I will give it up to you as soon as I finish using it.”

Dean opened his mouth to argue but Sam nudged him, indicating he should just let it drop. Dean didn’t agree but he also didn’t want to bring attention to themselves either.

Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out the small notepad he kept there. Tearing out a sheet of paper, he scribbled his cell phone number on it. “Call us as soon as you’re ready to hand it over,” he said, handing it to her.

Jody nodded, staring at the piece of paper as the boys stood up.

Dean could barely contain himself as they walked out of the hospital. He couldn’t believe Sam was willing to let Jody keep the watch when they didn’t know anything about it. He managed to contain himself until they got to the parking lot before whirling around to his brother.

“Dude, what the hell were you thinking letting Jody keep the watch?”

“Dean, we couldn’t exactly make a scene in the middle of a hospital,” Sam said. Then he smiled. “Besides, we’ll get it from her tonight.”

“Are you suggesting we do something illegal, Sammy?” Dean asked, intrigued.

“I’m not suggesting anything at all.”

Dean laughed as he walked around to the driver’s side. “Sammy is turning into quite the delinquent.”

*****

Jody raised her eyes from the sheet of paper, watching as the boys left the cafeteria. She had to admit she was a little rattled by what they had said but also a little fascinated. If they were so adamant about wanting the watch for themselves, then there had to be some validity to the story, right?

She knew she was right in saying she couldn’t give it up, not yet anyway. She wanted Gabe back more than anything in the world and she was willing to do whatever it took, no matter the risk. Jody had to have her family back to the way it was. It was as simple as that simple.

Her husband, Shawn, had been distant since their son had died. He barely said a word to her anymore and when he did, it usually resulted in an argument. It left an ache in her heart so big that she was afraid of what would happen when it got to be too much.

Jody wanted it back to the way it was. She wanted those weekend camping trips, baseball games, and trips to the zoo. She wanted to come home from work and ask Gabe how his day had been at school. She wanted Shawn to come home and have that spark in his eye like he used to every time he saw her.

I have to do this, Jody thought. If I wasn’t sure before, I am now.

Getting up from the table, she dumped her trash into a nearby waste receptacle, placing the plastic blue tray on top in the little slot. Spying one of her colleagues, she stopped him before he could sit down.

“Is something wrong, Jody?” he asked, concern in his eyes.

“I’m just having a really bad day,” Jody answered. “Do you think you could cover my shift for me if I bailed now, Tom?”

Tom nodded, giving her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. “You just do what you need to do to feel better. Don’t try to force yourself to work if you’re not ready, Jody. You know we’re here for you if you need us.”

Jody nodded with a ghost of a smile. “Thanks, Tom. I really appreciate it.”

Grabbing her purse and jacket from her locker, Jody walked out of the hospital and to her car. The trip home passed by in a blur. Her mind was on one thing and one thing only. If she focused on anything else, she was afraid she would chicken out and not go through with it. She only hoped that Shawn wasn’t at home right now.

Her hopes were dashed as she pulled into the driveway, spying her husband’s pick-up outside the garage. She knew Shawn would never understand if she told him what she wanted to do. He would think she was insane and would probably divorce her on the spot.

There was only one thing that Jody could do and she hated herself for even going there. She would have to start a fight with Shawn, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. It would just be a repeat of every night since Gabe’s death but she knew what buttons she could push to get Shawn to leave.

Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car and walked inside the house. Shawn came out of the kitchen, looking at her, confused. “What are you doing home so early?” he asked.

Rolling her eyes, she threw her purse on the table, along with her keys. “I felt like it. Besides, it’s probably for the same reason you refuse to go to work.”

Shawn sighed. “Please, Jody. Let’s not go there, okay? I don’t want to talk about it.”

Jody took a couple of steps closer to him. “That’s just it, Shawn. You never want to talk—about anything. Do you think you’re the only one who’s hurting? Have you even thought about how I feel? I’m the one who couldn’t save our son!”

“ And I’m the one who let him get on the damn bike in the first place!” Shawn returned. “Don’t you think the guilt is eating me up? If I had just said no, maybe Gabe would still be here with us!”

“I’m not going to fight you over this, Shawn,” Jody said, turning the argument on him. “I refuse to do it.”

Shawn reached into the hall closet and yanked out his jacket. “Then I’ll make it easier for the both of us and leave.”

Without another word, he grabbed his keys and stomped out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

Choking back a sob, Jody leaned against the wall. While a part of her was grateful for getting him out of the house, another part of her hated herself for starting the fight in the first place. And worst of all, she had twisted it and made him feel responsible for it. That was just wrong on so many levels and it made her feel cruel. She didn’t want to bring back those memories and hurt him all over again.

But it had to be done.

Taking another moment or two to compose herself, Jody ran upstairs to her bedroom. Closing the door behind her and locking it, she wasted no time going to her dresser. Opening the top drawer, she moved around some items until she found a tissue-wrapped bundle in the back.

Walking over to her bed, she climbed up on it and scooted to the middle of the queen-sized mattress. Sitting cross-legged, she placed the package in front of her, just staring at it.

Do I really want to go through with this? Am I sure this is the right thing? Were the brothers right when they said it would be too dangerous? Did it really matter at this point?

Reaching out a shaking hand, she gingerly unwrapped the tissue, revealing a gleaming gold pocket watch. Picking it up, she turned it over in her hand, admiring the intricate etchings, entranced by the beauty of the old timepiece.

Taking a deep, nervous breath, Jody opened the watch and said, “I wish my son was still with me…”

A few hours later

It was times like these that Sam Winchester wished the Impala had a little more legroom. Stakeouts were the worst for him since it made him realize truly how tall he really was. He didn’t like the cramped conditions and if he could sit outside the car without looking obvious and blowing his cover, he would. Then again, he could be sitting in some modern compact car so maybe the classic Chevy wasn’t such a bad thing, after all.

At least they had had a good meal. One thing Enigma, Georgia had going for it was the little diner in the middle of town. It had advertised a good home-cooked meal that would make your grandma jealous and they hadn’t lied. They’d both had the pot roast with potatoes, green beans, and cornbread and topped it off with a slice of apple pie.

Well, Dean had the pie anyway. His brother was a total sucker when it came to pie. It didn’t matter what kind it was—as long as it resembled pie, it was good enough for him.

And now here they were, with full bellies, sitting in front of Jody Roberts’ home. It was getting close to ten and the lights up and down the neighborhood were turning out for the night. All except the ones at the house they were watching. Every light was still on with no signs of going out anytime soon.

Sam could feel it in his gut—he knew that Jody was going to use the watch tonight, especially after talking with them about it. He couldn’t help but think that they were the reason for it since they showed such eagerness to have it for themselves to use. If anything happened to Jody while using it, Sam wasn’t sure if he could forgive himself, since he was the one who made Dean walk away.

Maybe Dean had been right about trying to talk her out of it. Maybe they should just go in and take it before she even had the chance to use it. The more Sam thought about it, the more that idea sounded like the right thing to do. After all, there hadn’t been any evidence of it being used—no blinding light, no one running out, screaming.

Dean cut through the silence with a loud sigh. “Are we really doing the right thing here?” he asked, glancing over at Sam. “I mean, why in the world are we letting this chick play with something dangerous? Something that even we know nothing about?”

“Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do but we don’t really have a choice, Dean. It’s not like we can knock Jody out and swipe it from her.”

Dean shrugged, pursing his lips as he thought about it.

“Dude, I’m not going to let you knock out a grieving woman just so you can get your hands on some magical watch.”

“It would help us move on faster…”

Sam rolled his eyes, refusing to even answer that. Dean would steal candy from a baby if he was told to.

“You do know I’m right about this, don’t you, Sam?” Dean asked. “I mean, this watch could be rooted in something very evil. We have no idea what it’s capable of.”

“Why else do you think I wanted to be here tonight?” Sam angled himself so he was looking at Dean. “If things go downhill, we can run in and stop it.”

“What if we’re not in time?”

“I don’t want to think like that.”

“You mean, you don’t want the guilt added on to what you’re already feeling for letting her keep it.”

“Is that what you want me to admit?”

Dean didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “I still don’t like it,” he admitted, changing the subject. “We’re playing with death here and we know it usually ends bloody and sometimes in pieces.”

“Well, there’s a nice graphic for you.”

“What would you do?” Dean asked.

“About what?”

“If the roles were reversed—if you were in Jody’s place. What would you do?”

Sam just shrugged.

“You’re telling me you haven’t thought about it?”

Sam sighed. “Of course, I’ve thought about it, Dean, and it’s not the first time, either. I would give anything to have another shot with Jessica. I would love to go back and be able to save her so we could have the life we dreamed about.”

Dean nodded thoughtfully but didn’t say anything.

“What about you?” Sam asked. “Would you do it to save Mom?”

Sam knew the answer to that already. He knew his brother would do anything to save their mother from that fateful night all those years ago.

“Wouldn’t you like to have Mom in our lives?” Sam continued, not allowing Dean to answer. “Maybe if we could, then we wouldn’t have to live this life anymore. Staying on the road, holing up in some no-name motel, constantly watching our backs for the next threat—we could have a normal life, Dean.”

Before Dean could either agree or disagree, Sam’s phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket, he clicked it on.

“Sam, is that you?” asked an excited female voice.

“Jody?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed in a loud voice before lowering it. “I wanted to let you know that I’m ready to hand it over. Where are you guys?”

“Um…” Sam stammered, caught off-guard. “Actually, we’re sitting in front of your house.”

“Oh, that’s great, then! Come on up to the door. I want you guys to see something!”

Hanging up the phone, Sam looked over at his brother, his expression puzzled.

“Was that Jody?” Dean asked.

“Yeah, she seemed really happy. She said she wants us to come up to the door.”

“Well, let’s not keep the lady waiting.” Dean pushed out of the car, Sam right behind him as they rushed up to the door.
Before they could even ring the doorbell, the door was opened and Jody was standing there with a boy of about seven or eight years of age.

What the hell? Sam thought, staring at the kid, not wanting to believe it.

Jody smiled at them. “Sam…Dean…I’d like you to meet my son, Gabe.”

Continue...

Comment/Review the episode here

E-Mail the Author!

The Winchester Chronicles