Gregory Lyle lived in apartment 2c, right below Jess and Sam. Or, he had lived in the apartment right belong Jess and Sam.

Jess had been distressed to notice the signs of Alzheimer's in the sweet, old man. Due to his lack of relatives and their busy schedules, no one was able to care for the old man in the way he needed.

Everyone in the building had chipped in, and gotten him a place in a very nice, nearby nursing home. Unfortunately, Mr Lyle occasionally forgot that he no longer lived in the apartment and, on that night, he could be found wandering around outside the building.

That was until he was hit with a large, swirling mass of black smoke.

~An Unlikely Friendship~

Jess woke up to the sound of James shouting, and the sound of a body hitting the ground.

"James!" She jumped out of bed and ran out of her room.

She froze at the sight in front of her. "Mr Lyle?"

Mr Lyle's eyes flashed yellow as he grinned.

Demon, she recognised. Jess glanced over at James. He was sprawled out on the ground beside the couch that he had been sleeping on. His eyes were closed and there was a bloody mark on his forehead, but he was groaning and moving around. Jessica guessed he had only been stunned by the attack.

He wasn't in danger of dying. Yet.

The Demon raised a hand to attack her, but he was throwback by a burst of ice. Jack moved to stand in front of the Demon, blocking his view of Jess. He held his staff out, ready to attack again.

Jess froze for a moment, she hadn't known Jack was there, before she rushed over to James. They had left their bag of hunting supplies beside the bathroom. That was their best option for getting away and escaping. They would climb out the bathroom window if they had to.

"James!" She shook him awake. Shaking someone who had just been thrown into the wall was not the best idea – he could be concussed or even paralysed – but Jess didn't have another option. She was sure James would prefer to be paralysed over tortured.

"Get the salt," James groaned as he roused, peering between her and the Demon with unfocused eyes.

Jessica ignored him, dragging him to his feet. Her fears about a concussion seemed, temporarily, unfounded as James seemed to catch on quickly. They stumbled together into the bathroom, James snatching up the duffel bag as they went. He hastily began laying down a shaky salt line.

Jess looked away from James when she heard Jack scream. She gasped in horror.

The Demon, bleeding from the mouth, was still grinning with a hand outstretched. Jack was on his knees in front of him, screaming, as fire licked its way across his back.

"Jack!" Jess ran out of the safety of the bathroom. She didn't realise that she had been clutching a flask of holy water until she splashed it at the Demon. He stumbled back, growling and clutching his face. She grabbed Jack's arm in one hand and his staff in the other. She was almost at the bathroom when she felt a searing pain across her abdomen. Jess gasped, dropping Jack's arm.

Luckily James was there to drag them both into the bathroom. He didn't waste any time in throwing Jack into the bath, already filling with freezing water, and pressing a towel against her stomach.

Jess leaned against the wall. She looked over at Jack, flushed and panting, and James, slumped against the door frame, clearly hurt after his collision with the wall. James clutched the shotgun to his chest and blocked the doorway as best as he could.

Jess closed her eyes and prayed that Sam wouldn't be home. She didn't want him to try save them, she just wanted him safe. She didn't want to watch her friends die. She was wrong. They weren't just dreams.

~An Unlikely Friendship~

"I'm home!" Sam called, slamming opening his front door, heart pounding. He couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary from the hall, and there had been no lights on from the outside, but he hadn't been able to shake the feeling that something had been wrong.

He had barely waited for the car to stop before he had raced into the building almost without a backwards glance at his brother.

"Sam! He's here! The Demon! Get in here now! Run!" James shouted.

Sam cursed, eyes darting across the apartment. He couldn't see any demon or his friends, but he could already see the remains of a fight.

He grabbed the box of salt from his duffel bag and dumped the bag on the up-turned hall table. He cautiously but quickly crept along the hallway towards James' voice, ready to create a temporary salt circle around himself if he needed, although he doubted that he would be able to do anything quick enough.

His heart pounded. Sam's mind ran wild, thinking about what could have happened to Jess. For a moment, Sam wondered if he had the time to run back outside and go get Dean. But then, Sam turned to the corner and he knew that he probably would never see Dean, or his Dad, ever again.

Their bathroom was still too small for two people. But Jess, Jack and James managed to all crowd into the room.

The Demon blocked much of his view, but Sam could still see James shielding the others from the Demon's gaze. Sam was glad, he could see Jack unconscious and Jess heavily bleeding. James didn't look too good either, but the other hunter had never missed a shot. The salt line was holding, and they were all still alive.

Sam wasn't about to let that change.

The Demon turned – poor Mr Lyle, Sam noted – and bared his teeth at Sam. "Hey Sammy," it cooed. "You're home early. And we started the party without you."

Sam growled, he took a step backwards as he grabbed a flask from his back pocket. He flung the holy water in the Demon's face, noticing the water already on its clothes. He felt a surge of pride for his friends.

The Demon hissed at him through a cloud of black smoke.

Sam didn't hesitate. He quickly began to lay down a clumsy salt line around the Demon. The words of an exorcism came easy to Sam after years of it being drilled into him.

The Demon snarled. "I'm supposed to leave you alive, but I guess I can change my plans," it flung out a hand, telekinetically throwing Sam across the apartment. He hit the wall with a crack, hitting the ground with a moan.

Sam felt as though his skull had been shattered. His body wouldn't obey his commands to get up and run.

The Demon stepped out of the unfinished salt circle with a dark laugh.

Sam heard Jess scream as fire sprung up throughout the apartment. But his eyes never left the Demon. Through blurry eyes he saw it approach.

Sam had crashed into a chair when he fell, the Demon took advantage of that. It plucked up the sharpest, thickest piece it could find. Sam squeezed his eyes shut. He knew what would happen next, that still didn't make it hurt any less.

Sam screams were drowned out by the cries from James and Jack as the piece was plunged into his stomach, repeatedly.

James struggled with the shotgun for a second as he rushed forward to shoot the Demon. He fired quickly, but the Demon was quicker. James was flung across the room, into the flames.

Sam heard James screaming in pain. Numbness spread through his body. This is it, Sam guessed.

No. He would not die here, Sam vowed. He had to save his friends. His dad was still missing. They still had a relationship to repair.

Sam took advantage of a rush of adrenaline to drag himself to his feet, he watched James do the same, stumbling out of the fire. Jessica slumped on her knees against the door frame. Jack stood at her side, clutching his staff in shaking hands.

Sam didn't know what happened. He only knew that they couldn't die yet – and then they didn't.

There was a sudden flash of light, and the Demon was gone.

He dropped to his knees with blood pouring from his mouth. Shouldn't that be inside him?

Someone grabbed his arm, dragging him to his feet. He stumbled to the door, following the hand. Sam distantly noticed Dean carrying Jess in his arms, pale and running to the door. Jack stumbled behind him.

He didn't know how five of them got down the stairs – Dean carry Jess, a quickly failing James dragging Sam and Jack, his staff the only thing keeping him upright, stumbling along.

Sam remembered lying on the grass, staring at the stars and the smoke billowing out of their burning home. Did anyone pull the fire alarm?

James dropped down against his chest. His burned hands had been pressed against the holes in Sam's abdomen before he had passed out. His weight fell heavily on the wounds, putting pressure on them.

Dean was putting pressure on Jess's stomach, babbling down a phone for an ambulance and begging for Sam to hold on.

Sam rolled his head around in search of Jack. The winter spirit had been just behind them, hadn't he?

He was surprised to see two other barefoot spirits, a girl dressed in bright colours and the boy dressed in greens who look vaguely familiar. He assumed they were spirits anyway. The girl was holding Jack upright and the boy was clutching Jack's staff desperately.

They were having a rapid, hushed conversation that was only broken up by worried glances at Jack, Sam, the shotgun James had dropped beside him and the burning house.

"Jack?" Sam coughed.

"What was that, Sammy?" Dean asked, twisting to look at Sam over his shoulder.

Sam ignored him. "Jack?" He croaked again, trying to get the spirit's attention. Jack didn't look like he was doing so well.

The spirit in green looked over at him. He gave a clearly fake smile that didn't hide any of his fear. "We'll look after him," he promised. "He'll be back to annoying Summer in no time." His smile faltered. "Jack's the strongest spirit there is. He'll be fine." He didn't seem to believe it.

"Who's Jack, Sammy?" Dean asked, clearly nervous that Sam was now delirious.

Sam could feel his body shutting down. It was unnerving. "Jack Frost," Sam whispered before his body finally gave out and he fell under the wave of unconsciousness.