Author's Notes:

Thanks for your review, sammygirl1963. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

And to Dirty Little Butterfly; yes, I did create Myles, and yes, I'm well aware of Daniel Elkins. However, it's my theory that Daniel didn't teach John everything. Anyway, on with the story….

Chapter Two

November 10th, 1983

It took John a little while to realize what had happened, not just to Mary but to Sammy too. After all, it had happened in his room and Mr. Darking had known about that too. He acted like it always happened in the nursery. This made John think that, while Mary was the victim, maybe she wasn't supposed to be. From that moment on he began keeping a closer eye on his youngest son, knowing now that there may be something very special about him.

It was a sunny Saturday morning, and a perfect day to go outside. Most of the snow from Wednesday's blizzard had melted already, and the rest was just slush. Today Mary's sister, Leanne had arrived in Lawrence for the coming funeral and, of course, to see her nephews. John hadn't given much thought to the funeral and was more than happy to let his mother-in-law handle everything.

Flicking through channels with Dean by his side, John noted how there was nothing interesting on, ever. Handing the controller over, he made his way over to the crib where Sam was playing with a stuffed dog that his mother had bought a month ago. It was around this time that John decided he needed some fresh air and he was lucky, as Leanne's car had just pulled into the hotel's drive-way. Barely acknowledging John, the thirty-two-year-old ran passed him and immediately gave Dean a big hug, nearly choking him and right after she hurried to pick up Sammy.

"Nice to see you too, Lee," John muttered as he closed the door.

"Huh? Oh, hi, Johnny. How are you?" It would have been clear to a deaf person that there was anything but interest in Leanne's voice as she scurried all over the room, collecting the boys' things for their outing.

"Just great," he said, running to grab Sammy as the mad woman tripped over one of Dean's toy trucks.

"You know, John, you might want to think of hiring a maid. Honestly, you can't expect to raise two young boys in this mess!"

Groaning, John returned Sam to his crib and turned back to see Leanne now struggling to fit Dean into a new sweater she'd just bought him which was clearly two sizes too small. "For starters, this is a hotel, we have maids. And second, it's not like I'm planning on staying here much longer. I do still have a house, after all."

The older woman gasped and covered her mouth with her hand in surprise, giving Dean enough time to tear the tiny sweater off and run to the safety of the joining bathroom. "You're not actually planning on going back to that house, are you?"

"Why not?"

"Mary died in there! And think of all the damage." Indeed John had considered all of this, expecting a lecture from his in-laws coming, and he knew that this wouldn't be the last, either.

"The damage is minimal, and I don't really have another choice."

Sitting in a little diner he'd found while driving around a half hour ago, John thought about where to go after he finished his stew. The answer wasn't as simple as one would traditionally think. Home wasn't an option until the police were finished examining it for arson; he was taking a few weeks off of work; he didn't have anything that needed buying; and without the boys he couldn't see himself going to the park. Truthfully, the only thing that he could think about was Myles Darking and his form of hunting.

A thousand times since Wednesday, the little piece of paper containing Myles' phone number had been taken out of John's coat pocket and stared at for at least ten minutes. It was the only thing he felt he could do right now to stay connected to that world – the one he longed to know more about. Taking a sip of his water, he tried with all his might to think of any way he could help in the hunting. He wondered so badly about the other victims of the demon and about the families that had been left behind, like his. Figuring out what to do, John quickly paid his bill any ran out of the diner.

-Twenty Minutes Later-

John stood in the local library, staring at the shelves containing mysterious books. Of course, he knew perfectly well that half of the books there were fiction and meant for a laugh or to scare kids, but that's pretty much how he used to feel about vampires too. Having no luck with the books, he sat down at one of the library's computers and began searching strange sightings in Kansas. Thousands of matches popped up on the screen. 'I've got to narrow down the list,' he thought.

Then he typed in two keywords: 'fire' and 'nursery'. This time four replies came up. Slowly and uncertainly, John clicked on the first. It took place ten years back in a city not too far from Lawrence. Apparently a psychotic man had broken into the apartment of the Campbell family and set fire to their baby's room. Thankfully the family got out of the apartment safe and the man was arrested. The second article was about how an electrician was being sued for a bad wiring job in a nursery which had resulted in a fire. And the third told of a woman who, after her husband's death, set fire to her son's room. It was the fourth story that really caught John's attention. According to the article, April Masterson was badly injured while trying to rescue her daughter from a burning nursery.

'Only three years ago,' John noted, now typing the woman's name in a search engine to find her current address. A match came up a minute later for an April Masterson living in Lawrence, a few streets away from the Inn. After writing the address down on the back of a receipt he found in his pocket, John walked back to his '67 Impala parked just outside the library and drove off to meet Mrs. Masterson.

-An Hour Later-

It was nearing three o'clock now and John knew that Leanne would be arriving back at the hotel with the boys soon. Or at least, she should be, but knowing Leanne she'd be two hours late and wouldn't bother to give an excuse.

For the third time, he rang the doorbell, waited a second, then gave up hope and turned to walked back to his car. It was hearing the click of the door being unlocked that made him stop and turn back. A woman now stood in the doorway. Her shoulder-length strawberry blond hair was pulled back in a pony tail, her green eyes looked tired, her mouth was twisted into a shy smile and John noticed that she had her right arm hidden behind the door. "Can I help you?" she asked. Her voice was low, almost like a whisper.

"Yes. My name is John Winchester. I'm researching major fires in Kansas, and I happened to find a newspaper clipping about yours. I was wondering if I could talk to you about it."

The woman's smile faltered slightly, but she made no move to close the door. "I'm sorry, Mr. Winchester. It was such a long time ago, I'm not sure I'd be any help."

"Please, ma'am. This is very important.

She looked hesitant for a moment, then stepped aside so that John could come into the house. "Would you like some coffee? I just made a pot."

"Yes, thank you." John followed her into the kitchen where a girl around Dean's age was seated at the breakfast table coloring a picture.

"This is my daughter, Danica," the woman said. "Please, sit down."

John did as was told and was startled when the girl suddenly looked up at him. She had her mother's green eyes and kind smile, but her hair was in brown curls.

"Now, how can I help?" April placed a mug of coffee on the table for John and he couldn't help but notice that her hand looked badly burned. "Oh, you noticed." She was now trying to hide her hand behind her apron as she sat down. "That's from the fire."

"I was just wondering ..." He wasn't sure where to start. "How did the fire start?"

"Didn't they print that in the papers? Well, I'm not sure, of course, but I think a candle may have been knocked over."

"Did it start in the nursery?"

"Yes." She was beginning to squirm in her seat.

"Why did you have lit candles in there?"

"I-I can't remember." April quickly stood and began tidying up the kitchen.

"Mrs. Masterson –"

"Please, call me April."

"April, do you have any reason to suspect that someone could've deliberately set your house on fire?" John hated asking, especially when this poor woman seemed so jittery, but he needed to know.

She spun around quickly, so much so that John thought she was angry. But instead she had a look of fear on her face as she walked over to her daughter and told her to go up to her room. "I don't really have any reason to think that..." she said slowly. "But this definitely wasn't an accident either."

"How do you know?"

"You're going to think I'm crazy ... but I can't keep lying like this." She took a deep breath and continued. "That night, my sister Susan was staying over. We were sitting in the living room watching a movie when we heard Dani crying. She was about six months old at the time. Anyway, Susan offered to go and check on her for me. Next thing I knew, I was standing in the doorway, watching my sister's body burn on the ceiling." Tears were rolling down her face as she remembered. "I quickly grabbed Dani and ran to the neighbour's to call the police."

John couldn't believe what he was hearing. There actually was someone who had gone through a similar tragedy – but why? What was so special about Sammy and this woman's daughter?

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Actually, I have no reason not to believe you."

"Thank goodness. I tried to tell my husband what I saw when he came home that night. He thought I was crazy," she gave a little chuckle. "I can't bring myself to tell Dani what happened. I mean, I'm not even sure what happened."

John was tempted to tell her everything then. All that had happened to him and everything that Myles told him about demons and supernatural beings. But what good would it do? It wouldn't bring this poor woman's sister back – it wouldn't bring Mary back. So why was he doing it then? Why did he come here? Why did he search Kansas for unexplainable events? He couldn't really explain it. It was almost like he was being drawn to that world.

Driving back to the inn a few minutes later, John couldn't stop thinking about April and Myles. 'Stop it,' he told himself. 'You don't belong in that world. There's nothing you can do to help anyone, so just stop thinking about it!'

The clock on the bed side table read four o'clock as he walked into his room. Tiredly, he made his way over to the bed and plopped down on it. Beside him was yesterday's paper which he hadn't found time to read yet. And seeing as Leanne was already an hour late, he figured he'd have more than enough time to read it twice over before she finally arrived. But to his dismay, John found nothing of interest. And by the time he reached the ads a half hour had passed by.

"Oh, great. That's just what I need," he said, chuckling at one ad in particular.

Meet Missouri

Missouri Moseley, a Lawrence local, was deemed a hero Friday morning after assisting the police in the capture of Conner Devine, a small-time thief turned murderer. Ms. Moseley is said to be able to 'have visions'. It was police Captain Jeffery Logan that brought Moseley on to the case.

"I've been going to Missouri for years," says the Captain. "She's the one that told me I'd be a great cop. And here I am!"

Aside from the occasional police case, Moseley also offers her help to anyone who wants it. Her address is 1264 Croxley Lane and she encourages people to come and see her if they need help in any fields. From missing jewellery to the after-life, Missouri can help you.

At precisely five in the afternoon there was a knock on John's room door, waking him up from a restless nap. He mumbled something about being late all the time as he climbed out of bed to answer the door, but he was rendered speechless once he opened the door to reveal a young police officer.

"Can I help you?" John asked. He was slightly doubtful that this very young man was a real police officer. And who can blame him, after meeting Myles?

"Yes, sir," the officer replied in his high, squeaky voice. "Are you Mr. Winchester?"

"Yes."

"Oh, good. I'm here to inform you that the police have finished their examination of your house, sir." The officer began shifting his weight from one foot to the next.

"Really? It's only been a week."

"Er, yes. We have ... uh ... determined the cause of the fire." The young man took a set of keys from his back pocket and handed them to John.

"What was it then?" He couldn't help but wonder what the police thought happened when he knew the truth. At least, he thought he did.

"Faulty wiring, sir. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work." With that the boy turned and scurried away, running into Leanne as he did so.

The older woman ran into the room like there was no tomorrow. She dropped every bag she'd filled with toys just outside the door, and then shoved a crying Sam into John's arms. Dean, walking two steps behind his aunt, managed to enter the room without bumping into her, since she was covering the doorway.

"Have a good time?" John asked, he looked at his boys, expecting to see large cuts and bruises after spending an evening with his irresponsible sister-in-law. Instead, all he found was dirt covering every part of Dean's clothes, face and hands. And Sammy didn't seem to want to be anywhere near the woman.

"No, I did not have a good time!" she snapped, making John smirk slightly. "You know, Johnny, you might want to teach your boys some manners." She was looking directly at Dean as she said this. "Don't they teach them anything at school?"

"Er, they don't go to school yet." John was beginning to wonder is Leanne knew anything.

Author's Notes:

My apologies for the delay on posting. Aside from a little writer's block, I got a new computer that wouldn't let my open any of my old files. I should also tell you that isn't allowing the type of document extension (.docx) I have to use now, so it might be a while before my next update.

-Lizzy