Playthingsby Crystalrach
A delivery truck is parked outside the Pierpont Inn. Inside, a woman and a man are walking up the stairs. “I still can’t believe they’re closing this place,” says the man. “You know my parents got engaged here. My grandparents, too.” The woman offers to help with the boxes but the man says he’s fine and goes on by himself.
Two little girls are sitting at the top of the stairs. The dark-haired girl is upset because they are taking her toys, but as her mother points out, only the toys she doesn’t play with anymore. “Son of a bitch,” says the other little girl sitting there. “Son of a bitch,” copies the first, Tyler. “Watch your mouth,” says her mother. “Maggie said it first,” the Tyler quickly says. “Watch your mouth, too, Maggie,” says the mother.
Tyler goes into her room and over to a big dollhouse. Her entire room is filled with dolls. She puts one of the dolls into a chair and then goes on to put more of them into their beds, saying good night to them as she does so. Then she goes back and sees that the chair is now empty. She looks around the house and finds the doll lying at the bottom of the stairs with its head twisted around. Suddenly there is a scream outside her room.
Her mother is on the phone, talking to someone urgently. The packing man is next to her on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. He’s dead, his head twisted around. There is a doll lying next to him. Her mother tells her not to look, but she stays anyway.
Peoria, Illinois. There are missing posters of Ava Wilson on the walls of a motel room. Sam is talking to Ellen on his cell phone as Dean comes in. When he hangs up Dean asks what she had to say, and Sam replies nothing. He’s also been checking every database he can think of, Federal state and local but nobody’s heard anything about Ava. Dean has had no luck either. Ellen did tell Sam about “A hotel in Cornwall, Connecticut. Two freak accidents in the past three weeks.” A lady drowned in the bathtub, and then a few days ago a guy falls down the stairs, head turned a complete 180. Sam has told Ellen they will check it out. Dean seems surprised, it’s not the patent Sam Winchester way, is it?
“What way is that?” asks Sam.
“I just figured after Ava, there’d be – uh, more angst, and uh, droopy music, and staring out the rainy windows… yeah I’ll shut up now,” he finishes, seeing Sam’s un-amused look. Sam explains that he realises he was the one who told her to go home, and while he’s not giving up on her, he wants to try and save as many people as he can.
“Wow,” says Dean. “That attitude is just way too healthy for me. I’m officially uncomfortable now. Thank you.” He tells Sam to call Ellen and tell her they’ll take the job.
Sam and Dean are getting out of the car in front of the inn. Dean seems very enthusiastic, thinking this job will be fog, secret passageways, British accents....Sam however discovers a five-spot pattern on top of one of the urns near the front door, a Hoodoo symbol.
Inside the inn, Susan comes out and asks them if she can help them. Dean asks for a room for a couple of nights. Maggie and Tyler come running out of a side door and accidentally run into Sam. Susan apologizes, and Sam says it’s no problem. Shetells them they could be some of their last guests as the hotels is due to close at the end of the month. She asks them if they are antiquing. Dean blinks at her for a second, but Sam nods and Dean asks her how she knew.
“Oh, you just look the type,” she smiles. “So, uh, king sized bed?” Dean gapes at her for a second before Sam speaks up and explains they are brothers. She apologizes, but Dean is concerned.
“What’d you mean we looked the type?” he asks, but Sam quickly cuts in and asks her about the urn on the front porch, asking her where she got it. She answers she doesn’t know, it’s been there forever. She hands Dean the key, and asks Sherwin, an older man in a suit, to show them to their rooms, and he immediately smiles and says, “Let me guess – antiquers?”
They walk up the stairs, Sherwin pulling all their bags behind him. Dean asks if he wants some help but he replies no. Sam comments about the hotel closing and Sherwin starts telling them about how it used to look like a palace. He says two different vice presidents were there, his parents worked there, and he practically grew up there. He says he’s going to miss it, then unlocks their door for them. They go in and when Dean turns to shut the door, Sherwin is still standing there, his hand out. “You’re not going to cheat out on me, are you boy?” Dean sighs and reaches for his wallet.
Sam is looking at some papers as Dean is exploring the room. Sam is telling Dean about the victims.
“Alright, victim number one, Joan Edison, realtor, handling the sale of the hotel, and victim number two was Larry Williams, moving some stuff out to Goodwill.” The only link is that they are both involved in the shutting down of the hotel and it looks as if someone is using Hoodoo to fight back. Dean wonders if it’s Susan, but Sam says it doesn’t seem likely as she’s selling the place. Sherwin? Sam doesn’t know.
“Of course the most troubling question is why do these people assume we’re gay,” Dean says.
“Well you were kinda butch,” Sam says. “Probably thought you were over-compensating.”
Dean smiles at him, “Right.”
The boys walk down the hall, and Sam finds another urn with Hoodoo just inside the rim. Dean knocks on the door nearest them and Susan answers it, then asks them if everything’s okay with their room. They both answer quickly that yes, it’s great. She tells them that she was just in the middle of packing and starts to close the door when Dean suddenly spots something and asks if they can have a look at the antique dolls, Sam has a large doll collection at home, he loves dressing them up! Sam glares at him but then turns slowly to Susan and tells her resignedly that it’s true. They go in and Dean looks at all the dolls and makes a sarcastic comment about them not being creepy at all, Susan says she supposes they are a little creepy, but they’ve been in the family forever and have a lot of sentimental value.
Sam meanwhile is at the big doll house, and asks her if it is the hotel. Susan explains it’s an exact replica that was custom built. Sam notices the doll lying at the bottom of the stairs and picks it up; he comments on it’s head being twisted round. Susan thinks it could have been Tyler.
At that moment Tyler comes in and tells her mother that Maggie’s being mean. Sam comes over and asks Tyler if she wants him to fix her doll, she says she found it like that. Sam suggests that maybe Maggie did it, but Tyler says firmly that neither of them did it, as Grandma would get mad if they did. Dean picks up on the word Grandma and enquires as to where she is. Tyler says that the toys are Grandma Rose’s, she is up in her room, as we are shown the silhouette of an old woman sitting in a room with some light coming in the window. Sam starts to say he’d love to talk to her about her incredible doll collection, but Susan quickly interrupts saying no, her mother’s been very sick and she’s not taking any visitors.
Outside, Dean asks what Sam thinks about the dolls, the Hoodoo, and the grandmother. Sam thinks that dolls were used in Hoodoo; Dean concludes that they could well have found their “witch doctor”. They separate; Sam to look at old obituaries and Dean to see what he can find out about the grandmother.
Susan is talking to a man who has come from the company who bought the hotel. She asks him what kind of renovations they’re planning. He replies that they’re going to demolish the hotel.
Tyler is playing with her dolls and tea set. There is a doll sitting on a bed in exactly the same position as we also see the man from the sales company is in his own room. A door behind the doll starts to open, and at the same time the same thing is happening with the man. Tyler suddenly turns around and looks at the dollhouse, she sees that the doll is now hanging from its neck. The same thing has happened to the sales man, he is hanging from the fan in his room.
Sam looks out the window and sees police and an ambulance taking the man away. Dean is outside and asks Susan what happened. Susan replies that a maid went in to change the sheets and he was just hanging there. Dean asks if he was a guest so Susan explains he was from the company who are buying the hotel. She tells Dean that if they want to check out she will give them a full refund but Dean replies that he doesn’t scare that easily.
Dean returns to their room and tells Sam, who is sitting in a chair in the corner, that there’s been another one, some guy just hung himself in his room. Dean says they have to figure this one out fast, and asks Sam what he found out about Granny.
“You’re bossy,” Sam says. Dean looks at him.
“What?”
Sam shrugs. “You’re bossy. And short.” Then he laughs. Dean asks him if he is drunk. Sam says, yeah, so? Dean looks around and sees a bunch of empty glasses. Now he is angry. He asks Sam what is he thinking, they are working a case. Sam is upset because he couldn’t save the man who hung himself, or Ava. He is convinced that the more people he can save, the more he can change his destiny. So Dean decides it’s time Sam went to bed. However Sam decides to make Dean promise first that if he does turn evil that Dean will kill him. Dean promises and pushes him onto the bed. He starts to put his hand on Dean’s head but Dean shoves him off and pushes him the rest of the way onto the bed. Then he backs up, sits down and outs his head in his hands.
Later Dean walks downstairs to the bar, where Sherwin is. The older man asks him if he found any good antiques, but Dean replies no, he got distracted. Sherwin offers him a drink, and he takes it. They discuss the hanging guy and the other deaths. Sherwin says that every old place has its spilled blood, and if people only knew what’s gone on in some of the rooms they check into… He says he knows the hotel, down to the last nail. Dean asks for some stories.
“Boy, you should never say that to an old man,” replies Sherwin.
They are walking down a hall; Sherwin is showing Dean some pictures. He talks about how the hotel has been in the family for a century. Dean asks about Rose and what’s wrong with her, but Sherwin replies it’s not his business to say. Then he shows Dean a picture of Rose when she was little, sitting in the lap of a dark-skinned woman. The woman has the same symbol around her neck as the boys saw on the urns. Sherwin explains it was Rose’s nanny, Marie.
The next morning, Sam is in the bathroom, leaning over the toilet and groaning. Dean comes in and, grinning, asks him how he’s feeling, then says he guesses mixing drinks wasn’t such a gangbuster idea. He asks Sam if he can remember anything from the night before, Sam replies he can still taste the tequila. Dean tells Sam of a great hangover cure - “it’s a greasy pork sandwich served up on a dirty ashtray.” Cue more groaning from Sam and a retort that he hates his brother. Dean explains to Sam about the Cree nanny wearing a Hoodoo necklace. They wonder if the nanny taught Rose about Hoodoo.
They knock at the same door as before and when no one answers, Sam picks the lock and they go in. There is a door nearby the room with the dolls and they go in. There’s a set of stairs and they go up. They see the old woman sitting her chair. “Mrs. Thompson?” says Sam. “Mrs. Thompson?” There is no answer. He goes around to face her and says they’re not here to hurt her. Then he stops. She just sits there looking at him. Sam goes over to Dean, she has had a stroke. As Hoodoo involves mixing herbs and building an altar, there is no way Rose could be involved. Dean thinks she could be faking and toys with the idea of poking her with a stick!
“Dude! You’re not going to poke her with a stick!” says Sam. Suddenly Susan comes in. She is angry and when they say they just wanted to talk to Rose, Susan says that the old woman is scared out of her wits. She threatens to call the police so they leave right away.
Tyler and Maggie are playing jacks on the floor when her mother comes in and asks if they’ve started packing yet. When Tyler says no, Susan wants to know why. Tyler says she doesn’t want to move. Susan explains that they have to. “Maggie says we’re not allowed to move,” says Tyler. “Yeah,” says Maggie. “Tyler, enough,” says Susan. “Maggie is imaginary. You are too old to have an imaginary friend and I am done pretending.” She walks away. “I don’t like her,” says Maggie.
Susan is carrying boxes out to the car. Sherwin is nearby in his own car and says he can help her with the boxes, but she says she’s got it and he leaves.
Tyler is playing in the playroom when suddenly the swing on the tiny swingset by the “hotel” starts swinging. A wind picks up outside where Susan is and she sees the swings swinging by themselves. She walks over. Suddenly the seesaw starts moving as well. The one in the playroom is doing the same thing. Outside, Susan’s car suddenly starts up. It is sitting right behind her, facing her. Susan reaches out her hand and stops the seesaw from moving. More of the playground equipment starts moving and as Susan backs up, she notices the car behind her start moving. She starts to run and just as it is about to hit her, Sam jumps out from the side and knocks her aside. She is fine, and they go inside.
Dean tells Susan they thought it was a Hoodoo curse, but that the car incident was definitely a spirit. She thinks they are insane. Sam asks Susan when her mother suffered her stroke. She says about a month ago – when the killing began, realises Sam, and what if Rose was using Hoodoo to protect, not hurt people? Then when she had her stroke she couldn’t any more. Susan doesn’t believe what she is hearing, but as Dean explains, her car didn’t try to run her down by itself.
“I mean, well I guess it did, technically, but the spirit can… forget it.” Sam tells her she can believe what she wants, but the fact is her family is in danger and they need to leave immediately, her employees, her mother, her daughters….” “Um,” says Susan, “I only have one daughter.” She explains that Maggie is an imaginary friend. They have to find Tyler, fast.
Maggie is standing in front of Rose, she is saying that Tyler’s going to stay with her, and there’s nothing Rose can do about it. Tyler comes in and tells Maggie they aren’t supposed to bother Grandma. “I know,” says Maggie. “Let’s go play.”
“Can we have a teaparty?” asks Tyler.
“We can have lots of tea parties. Forever, and ever and ever.”
Susan and the boys run into the room, Susan calling Tyler’s name. Tons of the dolls are broken and thrown around the room, but no Tyler. Sam asks Susan to tell them what she knows about Maggie. Susan explains that she doesn’t know much, only that Tyler started talking about her since Rose became sick. Dean asks is she knows anybody by that name. Susan can’t think of anyone, but when Dean prompts her by asking anyone that could have lived there, she remembers her mom had a sister called Margaret. She drowned in the swimming pool. They leave the room, but there is a little doll that looks just like Maggie watching them.
Tyler and Maggie are standing on the very edge of the swimming pool, looking down into it. It is half full, and there is a cover on top of it. Tyler is scared. Maggie tells her all she has to do is jump. “I can’t swim,” says Tyler. “I know,” replies Maggie, “but it won’t hurt. I promise. And then we can be together. Forever. And no one will bother us.” “Why don’t you just come with me and Mommy?” asks Tyler. “Because I can’t leave here. And you can’t leave me,” Maggie says. “Please? I don’t want to be alone.”
Sam, Dean, and Susan are running towards the pool. The doors are closed and the glass is too thick to break. The boys pound at the door while inside Maggie suddenly hits Tyler’s hand so she lets go and falls into the pool. Dean asks if there’s another door, and Susan tells him around the back. They run, leaving Sam at the other door. He can’t break it so he starts breaking the glass with an urn that is nearby. Tyler finally manages to come to the surface but Maggie pushes her back down. Dean is trying to break down the other door, but it won’t give. Suddenly Maggie hears someone calling her name, and she disappears. But Tyler isn’t moving. Sam finally breaks the door and jumps into the pool. He rescues Tyler and swims to the edge of the pool just as Dean finally breaks down the door and they run in. Sam puts Tyler on the edge, but she doesn’t move. Then as they all watch in horror she suddenly coughs and wakes up. Sam asks her if she can see Maggie anywhere, but she replies that she’s gone.
Maggie is standing in front of Rose. “You’d really do that for me?” she says. “Yes. If you did, I’d let them go. But I don’t understand. You kept me away, for so long. I thought you didn’t love me anymore.” Rose just looks at her. “Okay,” says Maggie. “Little sister.” She strokes Rose’s cheek.
Susan is going upstairs to get Rose. Sam and Dean wait downstairs. Dean cannot understand if Maggie has just stopped, if so where did she go? Suddenly they hear a scream from upstairs. They run up to see Rose, dead in her chair.
As they watch the paramedics taking away Rose’s body, Susan says they think it was another stroke, but she wonders if the boys think Margaret had something to do with it. They don’t know, although Sam thinks it could be possible. Sam then apologises to Susan. She tells him he has nothing to apologise for, he’s given her everything. Then she turns to Tyler, who is coming out of the hotel. “You ready to go, kiddo?” she asks, and Tyler nods. Dean asks Tyler if she is sure Maggie is not around. Tyler says she is sure, she would see her. Dean concludes that it must be over. The boys wish them well, then Susan hugs Sam and thanks them both. Susan and Tyler climb into a taxi and leave.
Dean comments that he thinks Susan liked Sam, and Sam replies “Yeah, that’s all she needs.” Dean says it wasn’t a bad day, after all Sam saved the mom and the daughter; “Course you know I could’ve saved her myself, but I didn’t want you to feel useless.” Sam laughs. Dean comments that it feels good to be back hunting; Sam agrees but says that it doesn’t change what they talked about the night before. Dean replies they talked about a lot of things, but Sam says Dean knows what he means.
“You were wasted,” says Dean. “But you weren’t,” replies Sam. “And you promised.” The boys look at each other for a bit, and then they get into the car. Dean looks like he’s going to say something, but then he doesn’t, and they drive away.
We hear giggling, and up in Rose’s old room there are two little girls playing now, Maggie and Rose.
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