In My Time of Dying

Summary
After the crash, Dean's spirit wanders the hospital corridors. A reaper attempts to convince him to cross over.

Recap
THE IMPALA: The possessed truck driver climbs out of his truck and walks over to the Impala. Sam wakes up inside just as the possessed man pulls the door right off the car. “Get back,” says Sam, “Or I’ll kill you, I swear to God.” “No you won’t,” says the demon. “You’re saving that bullet for someone else.” Sam loads the gun. “You wanna bet?” The demon smiles, but a couple of seconds later, it leaves the man’s body. Sam tries to talk to his dad, but he doesn’t answer. He then calls Dean, but he doesn’t respond either.

Paramedics arrive in a helicopter to bring them to the hospital. Sam wants to know if Dean and his dad are okay, but the paramedic tells him he has to stay still. He asks if they’re even alive.

THE HOSPITAL: Dean wakes up. He gets out of bed and walks into the hallway. He calls Sam and John, but there’s no answer. The hospital seems to be deserted. He walks down the stairs to where a nurse is sitting at a desk. He tries to talk to her, but she appears to not even see him. He snaps his fingers in front of her face but she does nothing. He runs back down the hall to his room and sees his own body laying on the bed still, attached to many tubes and machines.

DEAN'S ROOM: Dean is standing inside his room. Sam comes in, and Dean tries to talk to him. Sam doesn’t answer him, he just mutters, “Oh no.” And walks over to Dean’s body on the bed. Dean continues to try and talk to him, asking how his dad is, but Sam doesn’t know he’s there. Just then a doctor walks in and tells Sam John is awake, and he can go see him if he wants. Sam asks about Dean, and the doctor replies that he has suffered many injuries but it’s the head trauma he’s worried about. He says that they won’t know his full condition until he wakes up, and then adds “if he wakes up”. Sam starts to get upset but the doctor replies that even though Dean is fighting very hard, he has to be realistic about his expectations.

JOHN'S ROOM: John gives Sam his insurance and tells him to give it to the hospital. Sam finds the name on the card amusing. John asks about Dean, but apparently Sam’s already told him everything the doctor said. Sam says that it doesn’t matter if the hospital can’t do anything, he’ll find someone to help Dean. John agrees that they’ll look for someone, but says he doesn’t know if they’ll find anything. Sam reminds him about the faith healer before, and John answers that it was one in a million. He says he’ll check under every stone though. A second later John asks where the colt is. Sam is disgusted. “Your son is dying and you’re worried about the colt?” John replies that they are hunting this demon and they need the gun. Sam says it’s in the trunk of the Impala. John tells him that he has to clean out the trunk before somebody else finds their stuff. Sam replies that he already called Bobby, and he’s going to tow the Impala back to his place. John sends him to get the colt and bring it back. He also gives him a list of stuff he wants Bobby to pick up for him, and tells Sam it’s for protection. Before Sam leaves he asks if John knows what the demon meant when he said he had plans for him and the children like him. John says he doesn’t.

BOBBY'S JUNKYARD: Sam and Bobby take a look at the Impala and Bobby says there’s no way they can fix it. Sam gets upset and says that if there’s even one part of the car that’s still working, it’s good enough. He says they can’t just give up. Bobby agrees. Sam gives him the list of stuff John wanted, and when Sam tells him it’s for protection against the demon, Bobby gives him a funny look. Sam demands he tell him what he knows.

DEAN'S ROOM: Back in Dean’s room, John is sitting by his son’s bed. Dean walks up behind and says, “Come on, Dad. You’ve gotta help me. I gotta get better, I gotta get back in there. You haven’t called a soul for help. Aren’t you gonna do anything? Aren’t you even gonna say anything?” John doesn’t say anything of course. “I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked me. Everything. I’ve given everything I’ve ever had! Now you’re just gonna sit there and watch me die? I mean what the hell kinda father are you?” John just sits there. Suddenly, Dean hears something in the hall.

THE HOSPITAL CORRIDOR: He goes out and something white runs by him. John hasn’t seen it. He runs down the hall after it and it goes into a woman’s room. She is lying on the floor and gasping for air. She manages to say she can’t breathe. Dean calls for help but no one hears him. The woman dies.

JOHN'S ROOM: Sam walks in and Dean tries to talk to him, telling him there’s something in the hospital and they have to hunt it. John starts to talk to Sam and notices that Sam is angry. Sam asks him if he thought he wouldn’t find out. It turns out he found out from Bobby that the stuff John wanted wasn’t for protection, it was for summoning the demon. He tells John he cares more about the demon than helping Dean. John gets mad as well. Dean tries to stop them but they don’t hear him. John tells Sam he’s trying to help Dean. Sam asks him how revenge is going to help Dean. They continue to argue and Dean gets so upset he knocks a glass of water off the table. Sam and John stare at it in surprise. Suddenly, Dean starts to flicker and he falls to his knees, he’s obviously in pain.

DEAN'S ROOM: Dean’s heart has stopped and they’re trying to get him back. Sam watches from the doorway with tears in his eyes. Dean walks up behind him. He sees the same white shape he saw in the hallway hovering over his body. He goes forward and grabs the thing, and even though he is thrown away from it, it moves away from his body and his heart starts again.

THE HOSPITAL CORRIDOR: Dean runs out into the hall and looks for the white thing, but it’s gone. He goes back and stands next to Sam. “Don’t worry, Sammy,” he says. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m getting that thing before it gets me.” He tells Sam that it’s some sort of spirit and if he can grab it, he can kill it. Sam turns and almost looks right at Dean. Suddenly Dean hears a woman’s voice yelling, “Can’t you see me? Why won’t you look at me?” He finds a girl on the stairs and asks her if she can see him. She says she can, and when he introduces himself she says her name is Tessa. She asks him if she’s dead. She shows him her room where her body is lying on the bed and her mother is sitting beside her. She says it must be a dream. He says it’s not, and asks her if she’s ever heard of an out-of-body experience. She asks him if he’s some sort of New Age guy and he says, “You see me messing with crystals or listening to Yanni? It’s actually a very old idea.” He tells her he thinks it’s happening to them, and if it is, it means that they’re spirits of a body very close to death. She asks him if they’re going to die and he says no.

JOHN'S ROOM: Sam is telling John that it felt as if Dean was there, just out of eyeshot or something. He asks if that’s possible, and John replies that anything’s possible. Sam says there’s one way to find out and starts to leave. John tells him that he won’t hunt the demon – not until he knows Dean’s okay.

THE HOSPITAL CORRIDOR: Dean and Tessa are walking together. He says he’s impressed with how well she’s taking this – he says she’s taking it better than he did. She tells him that she was freaked out at first but now she knows whatever’s going to happen will happen – it’s fate. He tells her that’s crap. He says that you always have a choice – you can either roll over and die or keep fighting. He is interrupted by doctors running by behind him. He runs after them and comes to a room where the doctors are trying to save a woman. The white shape is over her again. It touches her on the face, and even though he tries to get it away, it disappears and the woman dies.

DEAN'S ROOM: Sam goes into Dean’s room, holding a paper bag. He says to Dean that he thinks he’s around, and if he is, there’s one way to communicate. He pulls out an Ouija board and sits down on the floor. He asks Dean if he’s there. Dean is skeptical but he sits down too and puts his hands on the board. It moves to yes. They’re both shocked. Dean spells out ‘hunt’ on the board. Sam asks him if he’s hunting, and it moves to yes. Sam asks him if he knows what it is. Dean spells out ‘reap’ on the board. Sam guesses reaper, and asks him if it’s after him. It moves to yes. Sam says if it’s there naturally, there’s no way to stop it. But then he says there has to be a way, and he goes to find his dad. But John’s bed is empty.

THE HOSPITAL BOILER ROOM: John goes downstairs to the boiler room. He starts to draw a symbol on the floor in chalk.

DEAN'S ROOM: Sam goes back to Dean’s room and tells him he has Dad’s journal. Dean thanks him for not giving up on him. Sam goes to the page on reapers and they both read it. Dean suddenly leaves.

TESSA'S ROOM: Dean goes down the hall and comes to Tessa’s room. It is empty except for her, leaning on an empty bed, watching him. “Hello, Dean,” she says. Dean tells her he figured out that she’s a reaper, because reapers can alter human perception. He says they can make themselves appear however they want. She says she was wondering when he’d figure it out. Dean asks her how she made him see her body and her mother. She says she can make him see whatever she wants. He asks her why she’s toying with him and she says he didn’t give her much choice, as he saw her true form and flipped out. She says this was the only way she could get him to talk to her. He replies what the hell does she want to talk about. She tells him that death is nothing to fear and it’s his time to go.

THE HOSPITAL BOILER ROOM: John is chanting in Latin. He performs a ritual to summon the demon. He finishes it and stands up, looking around. The demon comes, possessing a worker. John aims the colt at him. Two other possessed doctors come as well. The demon says it’s surprised John summoned him, as he didn’t take John as suicidal. He asks John if he really thought he could trap him. John lowers the gun and tells him he doesn’t want to trap him, he wants to make a deal.

DEAN'S ROOM: Sam is talking to Dean in his room. He tells him he couldn’t find anything in the book and he doesn’t know how to help him. He says he’ll keep trying as long as he keeps fighting. He says Dean has to hold on, he can’t go now, they were just starting to be brothers again.

TESSA'S ROOM: Dean is asking Tessa to make an exception for him. He tells her his family is in danger. He says they need him. She tells him that he’s not the first soldier she’s plucked from the field. She says they all say they can’t leave, victory hangs in the balance – but the fight goes on without them. Dean tells her his brother might die without him. She says maybe he will, and maybe he won’t. There’s nothing he can do about it. She says it’s an honourable death – a warrior’s death. He tells her there’s no such thing as an honourable death. He says no, he’s not going with her, no matter what she does. She tells him he was right, there’s always a choice. She says he can’t get back in his body, though. She says staying here will drive him mad, and he might even get violent. She asks him how he thinks angry spirits are born. They can’t let go, and they can’t move on. She tells him he is about to become the same thing he hunts.

THE HOSPITAL BOILER ROOM: John and the demon are still talking. John says he will give the demon the colt and the bullet, but he has to help Dean. The demon asks him if he knows the truth, about the other children. John says yes, he’s known for a while. He asks if the demon can bring Dean back or not. The demon replies he can’t, but he knows someone who can. John says that before he gives him the gun, he’s going to want to make sure Dean’s okay, with his own two eyes. The demon says they don’t have a deal yet. He still wants something else, something that he wants as much as the gun – maybe more.

TESSA'S ROOM: Tessa is telling Dean that it’s time to put the pain behind him. Dean asks her where he’ll go, but she says she can’t give it away. She tells him it’s time for him to choose. The lights start to flicker. Dean asks why she’s doing that. She says it’s not her. Suddenly black smoke comes out of a vent and goes into her mouth. She turns around and her eyes are yellow. “Today’s your lucky day, kid,” she says, and puts her hand on Dean’s forehead. Suddenly, in Dean’s room, he wakes up, choking on the oxygen tube down his throat. Sam yells for help.

DEAN'S ROOM: Dean is sitting up in bed. The doctor tells him that everything’s healed. He says he has some kind of angel watching over him. Dean asks Sam what happened, as he doesn’t remember anything. Except, he says, this pit in his stomach. He says something’s wrong. John comes to the door and asks him how he feels. Sam starts to ask him where he was last night, and John replies he had some things to do. Sam asks if he went after the demon, and even though John says no, Sam says he doesn’t believe him. Suddenly John asks “Can we not fight?” Sam looks shocked. John says half the time he doesn’t even know what they’re fighting about. Sam asks him if he’s all right, and John replies that he’s just a little tired. He asks Sam if he can get him some coffee. Sam leaves. John starts to talk to Dean, telling him about when he was a kid and how Dean used to tell John it was okay, after he’d come back from a hunt. He says he’s sorry. He says he shouldn’t have had to say that, it should have been John saying that to him. He says he made Dean grow up too fast. He says he is so proud of Dean. Dean asks him if it’s really him talking, and John says yes. Dean asks him why he’s saying this stuff. John asks him to watch out for Sam, and Dean says he will. He says John is scaring him. John tells him not be scared. He leans down and whispers something in Dean’s ear. Then he leaves the room.

THE HOSPITAL CORRIDOR: John puts the colt down and says “Okay.”

Sam is walking down the hall. Suddenly he sees his father lying on the floor in his room. He runs in and calls for help. The doctors try to get John back as his sons watch, but they can’t. “Time of death, 10:41 am.”

Featured Music
"Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent

Continuity

 * This episode introduces the concept of demon deals, a major element of the rest of the series.
 * Azazel dismisses Dean as "not much of a threat". In All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2, the season finale, Dean kills him.
 * Dean makes first mention of a "hole" in his stomach. In Death Takes A Holiday, he learns the hole was the result of not going with Tessa (defying nature).
 * Azazel's stipulation that John go to Hell is made in an (unsuccessful) attempt to break the first seal.
 * The events in this episode mark the beginning of a serious character-arc for Dean, one which sends him spiraling into depression and self-loathing, making him into a much darker character.

Quotes
Dean: Come on, Sam. Go find some Hoodoo priest to lay some mojo on me.

~

Dean: I think I'll pass on the seventy two virgins, thanks. I'm not that into prude chicks anyway.