Title: The Night
Author/Artist: my_sam_dean
Pairing: John, wee!chesters
Fandom: Supernatural
Theme: 27 - burn, fire
Disclaimer: I own nothing Supernatural.
John idly wondered what time it was. He was sure he could find out from the police report a pretty close estimate to when his life fell out from under him.
After putting the boys to bed with Mary, he'd gone downstairs to watch an old war movie until he got tired. He didn't want to keep Mary up with his tossing and turning.
Next thing he knew, Mary had screamed something. He didn't know the words but the horror was clear. He'd flown up the stairs, checking each doorway as he ran down the hall. His and Mary's room, empty. Dean, in bed. Bathroom, empty. Sammy, awake in his crib. For an instant he was taken in by his baby boy's smile and didn't notice Mary on the ceiling.
Dean had run in to see what was going on and John had given him the baby. He'd told Dean to run even as the little boy saw his mother overhead.
For a moment, he thought he might be able to save her. If he grabbed her arm, maybe he could pull her free from whatever was holding her up. When he saw how pale she was and the amount of blood that was already on the floor, his last hope fled as the room went up in flames.
Silently, Dean pressed against John as they sat on the hood of the car. Flames still poured from the windows of what was his home. He held Sammy tighter as he listened to the communications of the police and fire departments. A neighbor had offered them a place to stay, but John had refused. He was going to keep watch until it was all over and everyone had left.
Whatever closure he thought he'd find by getting the fire extinguished, he didn't receive. His search that night lasted the rest of his life and into the beyond.