Standing Outside the Fire

64

[Slumber Party]

Sam and Francesca were working at the map table. The twins were asleep nearby. Sam had talked to Crowley before rejoining Francesca. Dean walked through the door upstairs.

"Hey. How'd it go with Kevin?" Sam asked.

Dean said, "Oh, that little nerd is a lovely warded hotel room in Branson. He's got about 48 hours of pay-per-porn and Kenny Rogers ahead of him."

"How's he feeling?" Francesca inquired.

Dean walked down the stairs while he spoke. "Well, he stared at the Angel Tablet and repeated the word "falafe" for the entire ride. Kid's cracked. I'm hoping this break will, uh, clear his head. You know, after everything that happened, I figured we could use a little break ourselves, so, I, uh, picked you up season one 'Game of Thrones'. Figured we'd get a little takeout."

Sam looked at him. "All right. Well, first, I think Frankie and I might have found a way to help Cas."

Dean looked in concern and asked, "Did either of you talk to him?"

"No," Sam and Francesca replied.

Sam continued. "And, by the way, we still don't understand why he left in the first place. Frankie's been wondering why. I mean, the bunker is the safest place for him. Bartholemew and -- and who knows how many angels are out there, gunning for him."

Dean pursed his lips. "Hey, look, nobody wants him here more than I do, okay? But, uh, he felt like he'd bring trouble down on us, so he had to split. But if you two got a way to help him, I'm all ears."

"All right. So, Kevin said the table lit up like a Christmas tree when the angels fell, right?"

"So?" Dean pressed.

Francesca looked at her husband. "So it turns out each light was where a cluster of angels fell. So Sam and I are thinking maybe there's some way to hotwire this, make it track angels. That way, we might be able to help Cas steer clear of danger."

Dean looked surprised. "This was... your idea?"

Sam looked around, slightly amused, while Francesca smirked lightly as Sam replied, "It was both our idea. Do you see anybody else in here?"

"So, how would it work?"

Francesca shook her head. "Oh, no idea. See, at first, we thought the table was the computer, but it's not. It turns out it's just part of it. We did find these cables underneath, and we followed them. You are never gonna believe what we found."

They came to a room full of electrical panels, shelves, and a huge, old computer. Sam, Dean and Francesca entered.

"Voilà," Francesca and Sam said.

"This is a computer?" Dean questioned.

Sam nodded. "Yeah -- or it was in 1951, when it was installed. Now, here's the crazy thing. It's not plugged into anything. I mean, we have no idea what's making this thing work."

The three of them walked around to the other side of the computer. Dean put his hands on the back of it and he said, "It's warm here."

Francesca looked around and found a flat screwdriver on the shelf behind her. She inserted it under the back panel of the computer and started jimmying it open. She gave a giant pull, and the panel popped off. She was sent stumbling back into the shelf behind her, before falling on her butt. She'd unknowingly knocked over a bottle containing gray liquid.

"Got it," Francesca told them. "Ow."

"You okay?" Dean asked, pulling her up.

"Sí, I'm okay. Thanks."