Heavy beta of 9X11's Sam and Cas scenes
First Born, rewritten scenes
Original Author: Robbie Thompson
Editor: Counteragent
Beta: Balder12
Goal: My goal was to change as little of the scenes as possible, because I don't have the benefit of knowing how this episode fits into the larger season arc. However, I did want to rework the tone and emotional resonance, and I took the liberty of adding a small plot point that I feel is in keeping with the characters this season.
**To the Supernaturalwiki editors that provided the transcript I used: THANK YOU, you are gods among fans!**
ETA: A tumblr post with the Tracked Changes version now exists
INT: LIBRARY, BUNKER
Close up of a PB&J sandwich. Lips chew. Sounds of teeth mashing and saliva swishing. The sound is almost comedic, but not quite.
CASTIEL [clearly not enjoying the sandwich.]
Mm.
SAM [entering the bunker]
Hey.
CASTIEL places the sandwich on a plate and repositions it…next to a tower of sandwiches on plates that covers nearly the entire table.
CASTIEL
Tastes like...molecules.
SAM [indicating the pile of sandwiches]
Cas, what the hell?
CASTIEL calmly gestures at the sandwiches, which all disappear except the last one.
CASTIEL
When I was human, I had to eat constantly. It…annoyed me.
SAM
Yeah, a lot of human things are pretty annoying.
CASTIEL
But...I enjoyed the taste of food -- particularly peanut butter with grape jelly, not jam. Jam I found unsettling.
SAM [sitting on the table next to CASTIEL a bit warily]
So, what? Now you can't taste PB and J?
CASTIEL
No, I-I taste every molecule.
SAM
Not the sum of its parts, huh?
CASTIEL
It's overwhelming. It's disgusting. [looks at the sandwich] Worst of all, it does not satisfy. I’m left with only the hunger.
SAM and CASTIEL share a look. CASTIEL stands up, hand raised. SAM backs away slightly. It’s subtle, but unmistakable. Cas’s hands have meant pain in the past.
CASTIEL [talking quietly, lowering his hand and holding it out palm up]
We need to continue your healing. We're almost done.
CASTIEL cages SAM's face with both hands, fingers resting lightly on SAM’s face. CASTIEL starts to heal SAM. Suddenly he looks a little concerned
SAM
What?
CASTIEL [trying to cover it up]
Nothing.
SAM [slaps his hand away]
You're a terrible liar.
CASTIEL
That is not true. I once deceived and betrayed both you and your brother.
SAM [humorless huff of a laugh]
Cas, what's wrong?
CASTIEL
I noticed something. It's resonating inside you.
SAM
What?
CASTIEL
Something angelic.
SAM [growing horror]
He’s still here, inside me?
CASTIEL [placing a hand on SAM’s shoulder]
Sam. No. Gadreel is gone.
SAM looks unsure.
CASTIEL
Maybe we should call Dean.
SAM [moves away and sits down on a chair]
No. He wanted to go, and he’s gone. I need to handle this without him.
END SCENE
****************
INT: LIBRARY, BUNKER
SAM and CASTIEL are in the Bunker doing some research.
CASTIEL
I've found, well, something. It's a detail about when angels leave their vessels...I think. It's Enochian,
which can be a bit flowery. "And the departed shall remain, and the remains shall be the departed".
SAM
Okay, so, when an angel leaves a vessel, they leave behind a piece of themselves. Like, uh...like an angelic fingerprint.
CASTIEL
Whatever you want to call it, this piece of the departed contains Grace.
SAM
Wait, you're saying there's angelic Grace inside of me?
CASTIEL
Yes.
SAM
That doesn’t sound good.
CASTIEL
It is unnatural. But now that we know it’s there, perhaps it might be useful.
[CASTIEL sets down the book and picks up a file titled 'On the Inner Workings of Angels']
According to this, we may be able to use the Grace that remains inside you to track Gadreel...If we can extract it.
SAM
How would we do that?
CASTIEL
Well...painfully.
[he holds up a picture of a huge syringe with a 4-inch long needle]
The Men of Letters believed that you could perform a tracking spell with extracted Grace, but they were never able to test the theory.
SAM
Well, they didn't have a guinea pig, but we do.
CASTIEL [confused]
The bunker has a guinea pig?
SAM [holding up the image of the syringe]
These guys sure had a thing for needles. I think I might know where this is.
END SCENE
****************
INT: BUNKER
SAM and CASTIEL are walking down the stairs in the main room.]
CASTIEL
Sam, may I ask you a question?
SAM
You just did.
CASTIEL
Can I ask you another question?
SAM [sighs-he doesn’t have Dean’s touch with angel banter]
Yeah. What's up?
[They stop in the doorway to the hall and face each other]
CASTIEL
Sam, the trials. I know why you chose not to go through with it. Why you chose to live rather than to sacrifice yourself.
SAM [clearly not wanting to talk about it]
Yeah. I made a mistake. I trusted Dean.
[SAM stalks off to the medical room. CASTIEL follows.]
CASTIEL
What Dean did --
SAM
Look, it doesn't matter what Dean did, not really. I could have put a stop to all this, Cas. I could have closed the gates of hell. You always have a choice.
CASTIEL
Sometimes it only seems that way.
SAM
There is always a choice. I don’t die when I am supposed to, not ever. I always have a debt to settle.
[SAM sets a box down on a table next to a gurney. He talks off his plaid button-up shirt leaving him in just a thin t-shirt.]
[SAM hands the box to CASTIEL and sits down on the gurney.]
Let's start balancing the books.
CASTIEL opens the box and it is revealed to contain the huge needle pictured in the file
END SCENE
****************
INT: BUNKER, MEDICAL ROOM
SAM is lying on the gurney and CASTIEL has the huge syringe needle posed to extract some angel grace. Before he can begin, Sam speaks.
SAM
How could you tell? That Gadreel was gone?
CASTIEL
Your mind, it’s familiar to me. When I broke the Wall Death erected…
SAM
…When you took the burden of Lucifer from me.
CASTIEL
I learned you.
SAM looks at the ceiling, but gives a tiny nod. CASTIEL punctures the needle into the side of SAM's neck, right below his left ear. SAM gasps in pain.
CASTIEL [looking concerned]
Now comes the part that will actually hurt. l’ll begin the extraction.
[CASTIEL slowly pulls back the plunger and the bottom of the syringe barrel fills with a tiny bit of angel grace. SAM is trying very hard not to cry out from the pain.]
SAM [gasping]
Is it working?
CASTIEL
Yeah.
SAM
But?
CASTIEL
I-I need to push the needle in deeper. We need more Grace in order to cast the spell.
SAM
Okay. Do it.
CASTIEL
Sam, if I get too close to --
SAM
Damn it, Cas! Just do it.
CASTIEL slowly pushes the needle deeper and starts pulling back on the plunger again. Suddenly, SAM's body lurches and he has flashbacks to images of when GADREEL was inside of him and then to some of the moments when he was performing the trials. CASTIEL pulls out the needle.
SAM [in shock]
What the hell was that?
CASTIEL
Your body is regressing to the state it was in before Gadreel.
SAM
Do we have enough Grace for the summoning spell?
CASTIEL
Sam.
SAM
Do we or not, Cas?
CASTIEL
No.
SAM
Then keep going.
[CASTIEL again looks very concerned and reluctant.]
END SCENE
****************
INT: BUNKER, MEDICAL ROOM
CASTIEL is still extracting angel grace and SAM is almost unconscious from the pain.
CASTIEL
Sam? Sam?!
SAM [weakly]
Keep going.
CASTIEL
Why?
SAM
We -- we -- we have to find Gadreel.
CASTIEL [starting to remove the needle from SAM's neck]
No. Why must the Winchesters run toward death?
SAM [grasps the syringe in CASTIEL's hand and stops him from removing it]
No, don't. Don't. Don't stop.
CASTIEL
I don’t want you to die, Sam. It’s not worth your sacrifice.
SAM [voice heartbreakingly soft]
My life's not worth any more than anyone else's -- not yours or Dean's...or Kevin's. Please. Please, help me do one thing right.
Keep going.
CASTIEL hesitates and then pushes the needle in further. SAM screams in pain.
END SCENE
****************
INT: BUNKER, MEDICAL ROOM
SAM is nearly unconscious, slowly fading with blood dripping from his nose and eye as CASTIEL continues to extract angel grace until it is all gone. He pulls the needle out of SAM's neck. CASTIEL looks down at Sam, and then shoots half of the grace into his own arm.
CASTIEL presses his fingers to SAM's forehead, healing him.
SAM
Cas. What the hell was that?!
CASTIEL
I honored your wish. I kept going.
SAM
And the Grace?
CASTIEL
Whatever Grace was inside you is gone now. What's left of Gadreel is in here. We'll just have to try the spell with what we have.
SAM
It doesn’t look like much. You sure you got it all?
CASTIEL [after a beat. Reluctantly, kindly]
I’m sorry this didn’t kill you.
SAM [softly]
What are you talking about?
CASTIEL
The only person who has screwed things up more consistently than you...is me. I know what it means to feel sorry, Sam. I know what it’s like to look at your death and feel…relief.
SAM
I didn’t want to die. I just wanted the choice.
CASTIEL [holding SAM’s gaze until CAS believes SAM]
Yes, there is time yet to die another day. Let's fight now.
END SCENE
****************
INT: BUNKER, LIBRARY
SAM and CASTIEL are mixing the spell to track GADREEL. They add all the ingredients and then finally add the angel grace. The mixture boils and then fades away. CASTIEL looks away, disappointed.
SAM
Was that, uh... Was that it?
CASTIEL
I'm afraid there wasn't enough Grace. We'll have to find Gadreel another way. I'm sorry, Sam.
[SAM suddenly leans over and hugs CASTIEL tightly. CASTIEL stands awkwardly without moving for a moment, before hugging Sam back.]
SAM [chuckling]
Ah, there you go. [After a beat] Thank you. For…not stopping.
CASTIEL
You’re welcome, Sam.
[CASTIEL and SAM move back to the books]
CASTIEL
As far as I'm concerned, Metatron is the key to fixing everything that's wrong.
SAM
Agreed. We find Gadreel, we find Metatron.
CASTIEL
We could use all the help we could get..
SAM [solidly]
We got this.
END SCENE
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