SN-I'm Buring For You:E1:The Woman in Question-Part One
Part One/ Part Two
Series Title: I'm Burning For You
Episode Title: The Woman in Question 1/6
Authors: usmc75
Pairing: Dean/Sam
Rating/Warnings: PG, If you haven't seen the pilot, why are you reading fanfic?
Summary: Lawrence Kansas, 22 years ago, assume nothing else.
Burn out the day
Burn out the night
I can't see no reason to put up a fight
I'm living for giving the devil his due
Blue Oyster Cult
I'm Burning for You
Lawrence, Kansas
22 years ago.
The house was like every other house on the block, there was nothing that would cause you to pause or look at it twice. A two story, four room A-frame house that looked like every other two story, four room A-frame on the block. It was an average house on an average street in an average neighborhood, and that was the way the Winchesters liked it.
Yet even in its normalcy there was something off about the house that night that wasn't quite right. The way the leaves danced across the lawn in the cold November night, the shadows that clung to the bare and rickety tree along the side. It wasn't anything a person could name or define, nothing that you would swear to, but if you were walking by you would pick up the pace slightly. There was something in the air, something that wasn't going way.
But as Mary Winchester walked into the unlit nursery with Dean in her arm, she was completely unaware of anything sinister or baneful lurking in the dark. Her focus, her entire life it seemed, consisted of one thing and one thing only.
“Come on let's say good night to your brother.” she said putting Dean down. She smiled as she saw her now oldest son lean over the crib and gently kiss her newly youngest son on the forehead.
“Night Sam” he said moving aside so she could lean over herself.
Sam Winchester.
She had thought she had experienced everything there was to experience when she had Dean, but lately she had found there was untapped reservoirs within her when it came to Sam. Little Sammy. Her angel. She was unprepared for the way her heart warmed every time she saw him gurgle at her, completely surprised that even the smell of the new infant could bring her joy. She wondered distantly as she kissed him and said softly “Goodnight love” if this feeling multiplied with every new addition, and if so her and John were going need a bigger house and a stronger bed.
“Hey Dean” a voice called from the doorway.
Mary turned and saw Dean fly into his father's arms as he called out “Daddy!” as if he hadn't seen him in a week instead of less than an hour ago before his bath. “That boy loves his father.” Mary thought as John scooped Dean up into his arms.
“Hey buddy!” he said, grunting as he brought Dean up in his arms. That boy was growing fast, she bet he towered over even John by the time he was grown. “What you think?” John asked his son nodding towards the crib “You think Sammy's ready to toss around a football?”
“No daddy” Dean said with a giggle, his shaggy bowl cut tossing around his seraphic face.
Mary began to walk out “You got him?” she asked, reminding John that Dean was in fact a small child and needed sleep and not his own personal stuffed animal that he could play with for hours on end. It was like separating conjoined twins trying to pry Dean away from John when they got to playing, but John just smiled and said “I got him.” which was John's way of saying, five more minutes.
She smiled and headed to her room, it had been a long day with Sammy. He had been fussy all day, alternating between crying incessantly and reaching up for the baseball mobile that hung over his crib. Though only six months old Sam had been one of those exemplary babies; sleeping through the night, pleasant no matter how tired he got. But today, today he had been a handful and Mary was ready to collapse.
She felt the pillow engulf her head and the coolness of it carried her away. Within minutes she was asleep, her thoughts again only of Sammy.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The sound of feedback and crying brought her out of her slumber.
Reaching over and turning on the light she could hear Sam through the small baby monitor, one of the local truckers must be close, she thought as it was interlaced with static and interference. Still half asleep she called out “John?” They had come to an arrangement early on with Dean and it had carried over with Sammy. She took care of them in the waking hours, leaving John free to work, eat and relax when he got home from work. He took care of them in the night, giving Mary at least a few hours of consecutive sleep that seemed almost unobtainable to most new parents.
She rolled over and checked the other side of the bed and wasn't surprised to find it empty. The local Lawrence TV station played old movies during the week, and if she recalled, The Sands of Iwo Jima with John Wayne was on tonight. She sighed slightly as she rolled out of bed, maybe John Wayne would check in on Sammy and let her sleep.
As she padded down the hall she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she was still exhausted, the day had been more taxing than she realized. As she came to the nursery she saw the silhouette of John standing over the crib. In a tired voice she asked “John, is he hungry?” John looked over his shoulder slightly and gave her a quiet “shhh”, Sammy wasn't crying any more at least. “Alright” she said turning away, looks like John Wayne didn't win after all.
She began to make her way back to her room when she saw the flickering light at the end of the hall. Squinting she made her way towards the malfunctioning light, in her bleary state, no warning bells went off. She moved closer, the ancient picture of her grandparents wedding photo reflected the shadows as she tapped the light shade a few times. The flickering stopped as Mary stood there and made sure it wasn't going to start up again. She really just wanted to go to bed but as she turned to walk back to her room again, she saw something blinking in the living room.
She walked slowly down the stairs, she didn't trust her tired legs not to throw her down the steps in a moment of fatigue. Holding on to the banister she got halfway down the last flight and leaned in. She could see a very young John Wayne hit the black and white beach with his troops. The light of the set cast a gray light around the room, casting the whole room in an odd sepia tone. As her eyes focused she saw the profile of John in his chair...snoring.
SAM!
Realizing the danger, Mary spun around and began to race back up the stairs. She needed to get back to the nursery, back to Sam. He was here, he was here right now! In her panic she tried to take two steps at once...and as if in slow motion she felt her foot slip off the step. She called out as her legs tangled beneath her as she fell face first into the stairs. There was a loud thud as she impacted solidly and slid down a few feet. The sound woke John with a gasp. He looked around in confusion for a brief moment before Mary called out “JOHN SOMEONE'S IN THE NURSERY!” As soon as she said it she wished she could take it back as her husband lept out of his chair and sprinted up and over her. “John wait...” she called back at him, she closed her eyes and forced her self up. There was no way John could handle what was in there.
She heard John call down the hall “Sammy! Sammy!” Forcing herself up she hobbled up the stairs, leaning heavily on the banister. Breathing through the pain she made her way to the top of the stairs when she heard John's voice “No! NO!!!”
The adrenaline and fear rushed through her and she ran the rest of the way stopping at the door of the room. There was nothing as she stood there, holding herself up. Sammy laid in his crib, gurgling quietly as he reached up for his mobile. He stuck his tongue out as she limped to the side of the crib. He was fine, completely fine. He smiled at her as a dark drop landed next to his head. Mary reached down and felt the dampness as another drop fell to her hand. It was red against he pale skin and slowly she looked up for its source.
And found John staring down at her with lifeless eyes.
There was an ugly open gash across his stomach and she reared back and called out “John!” as flames exploded from beneath him, arcing out across the ceiling like wings of flame. Mary covered her eyes for a moment and cried out to him as the flames grew hotter. The sound of Sam's cry rang out like a shotgun as Mary turned and saw him screaming against the light. Without a seconds thought Mary scooped up Sam and ran out into the hall. As she turned the corner Dean was standing there, his eyes wide in shock “Mommy?”
“Take your brother outside as fast as you can!” she said putting the infant into Dean's arms. The young boy stood there for a moment, not moving. In a voice that sounded more like her father's than she was comfortable with Mary screamed “Don't look back...NOW DEAN GO!”
The voice cut through Dean's panic and he turned and barreled down the steps, Sam's crying form in tow. She turned back and ran back into the burning nursery. She looked up and saw John's form looking down at her as it burned. She could swear she could see the silent accusation in his eyes. She moved over to the edge of the crib as the flames licked around her, kneeling she stoked two fingers across the surface of the polished wood floor. She looked down and saw her fingers were covered in black.
Sulpher.
“Sonofabitch” she muttered as the flames got worse. She took a step to run out of the room and looked back up at John “I am so sorry.” she said as a burst of flames rushed past her. Without another thought she took off and raced out of the house.
As she came around the corner she saw Dean looking up at the flaming room, Sammy still in his arms. Without a thought she grabbed her sons shoulders and lead him away “Come on Dean, MOVE!” The first floor exploded as they ran across the lawn as one, she heard Dean cry out in fear and Sammy howl in indignation. They made it all the way to John's car before they stopped, Mary looked back over her shoulder and saw her whole life burning down around her.
And then Sam cried again.
She looked down at Dean's huge eyes looking up at her and Sammy's curled fist reaching out from the blanket in protest. With a sigh she pulled Dean close and cradled Sammy. She was wrong, her whole life wasn't burning down.
This was her life now.
By the time the fire department had come Dean had calmed down some and Sammy had stopped crying. The paramedics had tried to check Mary out but she wouldn't move from that spot. She just watched as the house burned down with glacial eyes.
“Mom what are we going to do now?” Dean asked. She was relatively sure he hadn't grasped the concept his dad was gone yet, in his own four year old version of shock.
She looked down and him and with a tight face and said “We got work to do.”