2.01 In My Time of Dying

The possessed truck driver climbs out of his truck and walks over to the Impala, where the Winchesters are injured and unconscious. Sam wakes up before the possessed man pulls the door right off the car. Sam threatens the demon with the Colt, and after a quick bluff the demon flees, leaving the truck driver. Sam tries to call to his dad, but he doesn't answer. He then calls Dean, but he doesn't respond either.

Daytime, and the paramedics arrive in a helicopter to bring them to the hospital. First Dean is loaded, unconscious, and then unconscious John is loaded. Sam wants to know if Dean and his dad are okay, but the paramedic cautions him to stay still. He asks if they're even alive.

Dean wakes up. He gets out of bed and walks into the hallway, calling for Sam and Dad, 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 informs her he was brought in with his brother and father and is trying to find them. She appears to not notice him. He snaps his fingers and waves in front of her face but again she does nothing. Knowing something is wrong, Dean runs back down the hall to his room and sees his own body laying on the bed comatose, with many attached tubes and machines. He is a disembodied spirit.

Spirit Dean is standing inside his room. Sam comes in, and Spirit Dean tries to talk to him. Sam doesn't answer him, he just walks over to Dean's body on the bed. Spirit Dean continues to try and talk to him, asking how Dad is, but Sam doesn't realize he's there. A doctor walks in and tells Sam that 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, while Spirit Dean declares he will wake up. The doctor carefully tells Sam that even though Dean is fighting very hard, he has to be realistic about his expectations.

John gives Sam his insurance, the name of which Sam finds amusing, and tells him to give it to the hospital. John asks for more information about Dean, but 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 he doesn't know if they'll find anyone. Sam found that faith healer before, but John counters that it was one in a million, but he'll check. John asks where The Colt is. Sam is disgusted because Dean is dying and he's 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 some junk man finds their stuff. Sam had already called Bobby, and he's going to tow the Impala back to his place. John sends Sam to retrieve the Colt from the trunk of the Impala, and obtain some items that provide protection from the Demon. 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 claims he doesn't, and Sam leaves. Dean's spirit is standing in the corner of the room, and he says to himself that John is definitely hiding something.

Sam meets Bobby and they take a look at the Impala at a wrecker's yard. Bobby doubts that the the Impala can be salvaged, but when Sam fiercely counters that it can be repaired, in a way that sounds analogous to Dean's state, Bobby agrees to tow the car to his place. Sam gives him the list of stuff John wanted, and when Sam tells him it's for protection against the demon, Bobby gives him an odd look. Sam demands he tell him what he knows.

Back in Dean's room, John is sitting by his son's bed. Spirit Dean walks around the bed talking with his father, begging his father to help him get better and finally blowing up at him. John doesn't respond to his pleas. Suddenly, Spirit Dean hears something in the hall.

Spirit Dean goes out and a grey apparition runs by him. John doesn't see it. Spirit Dean runs down the hall after it and he finally seems to corner it. A nurse spirit struggles to breathe. He tries to call for help but no one hears him. The spirit dies.

Sam walks in and Spirit Dean tries to talk to him, telling him there's something in the hospital and they have to hunt it. Sam confronts his father over his lie, that the ingredients are used for summoning the demon while Spirit Dean watches in dismay. Sam and John fight, Sam declaring John cares more about the demon than helping Dean while John's trying to help Dean. Sam doesn't see how revenge is going to help Dean. Spirit Dean tries to stop them but they don't hear him, until he finally knocks a glass of water off the table. Sam and John stare at it in surprise. Suddenly, Dean's spirit starts to flicker and he falls to his knees, obviously in pain. An alarm sounds; Sam is sent by John to go find out.

Dean's body has gone into cardiac arrest. Sam watches tearfully from the doorway with Spirit Dean behind him as the team of doctor and nurses work to revive Dean. Spirit Dean sees the same apparition over his body; he attacks it, and it seems Sam could hear Dean. The apparition moves away from his body and his heart starts again. Spirit Dean assures Sam he's not going anywhere, and he'll kill it. Sam looks where Spirit Dean was talking, but he sees no one.

Spirit Dean encounters another spirit wandering the hospital, Tessa, who appears to be in a similar state to Dean. Spirit Dean explains what's happening with her as an out-of-body experience of people close to death, as they look in at Tessa's body. He assures her their bodies can get better and they'd return to them and wake up.

Sam tells John that he sensed Dean, and wonders if his spirit is around; John replies that anything's possible. Sam says there's one way to find out and starts to leave to pick something up. John promises that he won't hunt the demon until they know that Dean's okay.

As they walk together Spirit Dean compliments Tessa that she's taking this well. Tessa feels it's out of her control, that it's fate. Spirit Dean calls crap, that they can keep fighting or roll over to die. As a code blue is called, he rushes to see the apparition present again over a young girl. She dies while a team of doctor and nurses try to save her. It disappears.

Sam returns with a Ouija board. Spirit Dean is skeptical, but sits on the floor opposite Sam and manages to communicate with him. Sam asks Dean if he's there. It moves to yes. They're both shocked. Spirit 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. Spirit 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. Yet there has to be a way, and he goes to find his dad. However, John's bed is empty.

After Sam left, John makes his way to the hospital basement in the boiler room with a bag of supplies, where he starts to draw a symbol on the floor in chalk.

Sam takes the journal to research lore on reapers back to Dean's room and tells him Dad's not there. Spirit Dean thanks him for not giving up on him. Sam goes to the page on reapers and Spirit Dean reads over his shoulder. Dean's spirit realizes something, and suddenly leaves.

Spirit Dean confronts Tessa in her empty room about the information he'd read, where reapers can alter human perception. She admits her true nature, wondering when he'd figure it out. He's upset with her toying with him. She responds that she wasn't given much choice because he flipped out over her true form, and they need to talk about the fact that it's his time to go.

John is chanting in Latin, performing a ritual. He finishes it and stands up, looking around. A worker shows up. John aims the Colt at him. The Yellow-Eyed Demon shows itself, before two other possessed hospital personnel show as well, flanking John. He's surprised John summoned him, as he didn't take John as suicidal, and did he think he could trap him? John lowers and uncocks the gun and tells it he doesn't want to trap it, he wants to make a deal, which surprises the Yellow-Eyed Demon.

Sam is talking to Dean in his room. 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 Dean keeps fighting. He begs Dean to not leave him alone with Dad, they'll kill each other. Please hold on, to not go, because they were just starting to be brothers again.

Spirit Dean asks Tessa to make an exception, because his family is in danger. They talk back and forth - Dean's family is in the middle of a war, but she plucks soldiers from the field. His brother might die without him, but nothing he can do about it. It's an honorable warrior's death, but he doesn't see any kind of honor in death. She explains that Dean has a choice to stay as a disembodied spirit, and become the type of vengeful spirit that he hunts, or pass from this world with her.

John and the Demon are bartering - the Colt and bullet to the Demon for him to help Dean. Yellow-Eyes suspects a trick; John assures him that it isn't. The Demon taunts John about how much he loves his boys, which he ignores, pushing for the deal. The Demon asks him if he knows the truth, about Sam and the other children. John reveals that he knows about the Demon's plans for Sam, that he's known for a while. He wants to make sure Dean's okay with his own eyes before he hands over the Colt. Finally the Demon agrees to return Dean to his body, in exchange for the Colt and one more thing.

Tessa is pushing Spirit Dean for a decision, but not telling Dean where he'll go. She can't give it away. She tells him it's time for him to choose. Spirit Dean thinks about it, and turns to her to give his decision, when the lights start to flicker. Suddenly black smoke comes out of a vent and goes into her mouth as she's screaming for the demon to get away. After being possessed by the Yellow-Eyed Demon, Tessa turns around and tells him "Today's your lucky day." Her hand is placed on Dean's forehead. Suddenly, in Dean's room, he wakes up, choking on the oxygen tube down his throat. Sam yells for help.

The doctor is talking with Dean, giving him good news that everything's healed before leaving. Dean, sitting up in bed, talks with Sam about what happened, as he has no memory of his out of body experience. Sam tells him a Reaper was after Dean, when John comes to the door and asks him how he feels. Sam is confrontational with Dad over where he was last night, even asking if he went after the demon. Sam doesn't believe John's answers, when John stops and tells Sam he is sick of arguing, that half the time he doesn't even know what they're fighting about. Sam looks shocked, and asks him if he's all right. John replies that he's just a little tired, and asks Sam if he can get him some caffeine. Sam leaves. While Sam is gone, John reminisces how Dean would take care of him after a hunt, and apologizes that he put too much on Dean's shoulders and made Dean grow up too fast. That Dean took care of this family and didn't complain. He tells Dean how proud he is of him. Dean is unsure this is Dad talking, but John assures him it's really him. He reiterates for Dean to watch out for Sammy, which Dean promises, but is scared as to what is going on. Dad leans over and whispers something into Dean's ear, which causes Dean to pull back in shock and stare at John for a bit. Dad stands there, trying to smile but tears start, before leaving the room.

John pauses outside a room before walking in to face an unknown person. He puts the Colt down and says "Okay."

As Sam is returning with the coffee, he finds John collapsed on the floor of his hospital room. Dropping the cup, he races in to try to help Dad, yelling help as he does so.

A team of doctors are working over John's body to bring him back as Sam helps Dean to the door of the room. A nurse tries to clear them out, but Dean tells the nurse that he's their father. The brothers watch in anguish as, despite the medical team's efforts, their father dies. The doctor calls the death at 10:41am.