Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.
Previously on Supernatural- The apartment next to theirs had smoke rolling out of its open door and flames were crawling along the wall between the two apartments! "Oh shit!" Dean thought. "What are we gonna do now?"
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Slamming the door shut Dean leaned against a nearby wall and quickly sifted through all of his father's past orders to find a way out of their predicament. "Okay, let's see." Dean thought. "Watch out for Sammy."- Trying dad. ummm, "Salt the door and windows."-Not helping… "Don't open the door for anyone."-Yeah, like that'll stop the fire… "Call Pastor Jim if I'm not back."-No way Jim can get here in the next few minutes, so no dice." Dean ran through every order, training exercise, and instruction his father had ever taught him and still came up empty handed. His dad had prepared him to take on supernatural creatures as well as the police, nosy neighbors, and even Child Protective Services, but he hadn't said one word about what to do if there's a fire. Slamming his hand against the wall in frustration Dean attempted to reign in his fear and calm his racing heartbeat. He needed a level head to figure a way out of this mess. And he would; Sammy was counting on Dean to keep them safe. After taking several deep breaths, he pushed off the wall and glanced around the room.
"Okay, first thing I need to do is get Sammy and get out of here." Dean thought. Reaching over to the chair by the door he grabbed their coats, mittens, and hats. He threw them onto the couch and then ran back to the door for their boots. After adding their boots to the growing pile, Dean snatched up his tattered book bag and upended it dumping everything on the floor. He then raced into the kitchen and began filling the bag with bags of snacks, peanut butter, juice boxes, bread, and any other food he could carry. He carefully placed Sammy's medicine in the zippered pouch on the side along with a couple of spoons. Once he had filled the bag he added it to his pile and went into the bedroom and grabbed their duffle bags, thankful that he and Sammy hadn't taken the time to unpack yet. He took out jeans, shirts, and sweaters for both of them before zipping the bags and adding them to the pile in the other room. Dean quickly changed clothes and then walked over to the bed to wake his little brother. "Sammy, wake up." He called while gently shaking the little boy's shoulder.
Sammy sluggishly pushed at Dean's hand before burrowing deeper into the covers.
"Sammy! Wake up! We have to go!" Dean shouted shaking his brother more forcefully this time.
Sammy awoke to the bed rocking beneath him. Feeling hands on his shoulders he peered up into his big brother's face. "Dean? What's going on?" he asked yawning.
"There's a fire in the building Sammy!" Dean informed his little brother as he handed him his clothes. "We've gotta get out of here now!"
Sammy's eyes widened at the news. He jumped out of the bed and began changing. "Is it a big fire? Is it gonna get us? How are we gonna get out? Where are we gonna go? Is daddy coming to get us?" he questioned following his brother to the other room.
"We're gonna be fine, Sammy. Promise." Dean assured as he pulled on his boots, coat, and gloves. Dean helped Sammy fasten his coat while keeping an eye on the door and the rapidly growing clouds of smoke coming in under the bottom. Slinging his book bag across his back Dean smiled at his little brother with confidence he didn't feel and explained his plan of escape. "Okay Sammy, we're gonna walk down the fire escape and go stay in the maintenance shed for a little while."
"Why?" Sammy asked as he picked up his duffle bag and followed his brother back into the bedroom and over to the window.
Dean unlatched the window and struggled to open it enough for the boys to climb through. After he had raised the window up as far as it would go, he pushed their duffle bags and his book bag onto the fire escape and turned back to Sammy. "'Cause the firemen might be able to put the fire out before it gets to our apartment, Sammy." He said. "Now let's go. Climb out the window. I'll be right behind you."
"Okay Dean." Sammy hesitantly replied. He carefully pulled himself up and crawled through the window and onto the fire escape. Not liking the way the old structure seemed to sway under his feet he stood statue still while he waited for his brother.
After taking one last look at their room, Dean easily climbed through the window. Standing he picked up his duffle and took his little brother's hand. "Come on Sammy." He said as he slowly led the way down the stairs and landings until they came to the ladder at the bottom. He pushed the ladder down and groaned noticing that the ladder stopped several feet above the ground. Dean swiftly formed a plan to get them both safely on the ground. He threw both duffle bags onto the ground below choosing to keep the book bag on his back to prevent any breakages. "I'll go down first Sammy." Dean announced. "You stay right here until I tell you to climb down."
"But I'm scared!" Sammy cried wrapping his arms around Dean.
"It's okay little man." Dean comforted. He hugged Sammy back and placed a kiss on his forehead before pulling away. "Everything's gonna be alright. Just hang in there for me, okay?"
Sammy nodded his head and gave Dean a small smile. "Okay Dean." He replied.
"That's my boy!" Dean praised. Turning he quickly made his way down the ladder and jumped to the ground tucking and rolling just like his dad had taught him. Setting his book bag down he walked back under the ladder and called up to his brother. "Okay Sammy, climb down now."
Sammy squared his shoulders and walked shakily to the ladder. "I can do this." He told himself as he turned around and grabbed the sides of the ladder. Sammy slowly and carefully climbed down until he came to the last rung of the ladder. Unsure of what to do next he gazed down at his big brother. "Dean! There's no more ladder!" he called.
"It's okay Sammy." Dean shouted. He stood on top of their duffle bags and let out a deep breath at the thought of what he was about to ask his little brother to do. "Listen. Remember how much you like to hang from the bars on the jungle gym at school?" Dean waited for Sammy's nod before continuing. "I need you to reach down and grab the rung your feet are on and hang just like you do on the monkey bars. I'll get you from there. Alright Sammy?"
Sammy nodded. Picturing the jungle gym at school he slowly put his knees on the bottom rung and then reached down and firmly grabbed the bar with both hands. He silently counted to three and dropped his knees off the rung and held on tight as he dangled above the ground.
Dean held his breathe as he watched his little brother get into position. As soon as Sammy's body dropped he reached for his brother. Dean managed to grab Sammy's legs and hold him steady. "Now comes the hard part." Dean thought. He adjusted his grip on his brother and called out, "Alright Sammy, let go of the ladder. I've got you."
Sammy released his hold on the ladder causing both boys to tumble to the ground. Sitting up he smiled over at his big brother. "We did it, Dean!" he cheered.
"Yeah, we did." Dean agreed as the sound of sirens filled the air. He quickly helped Sammy stand and handed him his duffle. "Come on, the shed's this way."
Dean and Sammy made their way to the storage shed and hurried inside. Dean took the flashlight out of his duffle and scanned the room for a spot to sit. Spotting an old bench he walked over and brushed the tools and junk to one side before setting the duffles down on top. He sat Sammy on top of his duffle and walked over to the other side of the building. He snatched the tarp off the lawnmower and brought it back to the bench. Sitting down he wrapped the tarp around Sammy and himself and settled in for the long wait.