Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun!

Ties that Blind

Chapter 9 – Flame Out

Sam and Dean carefully searched the warehouse. They heard soft sobbing coming from the center of the warehouse. Moving quietly both boys soon found the source of the noise. Jo was struggling against the ropes that bound her tightly to a chair. Dean motioned for Sam to stay put while he made his way to Jo.

Sam nodded, knowing that Dean was trying to protect him. He knew that he couldn't move quickly with his ribs. He pulled out the gun that Dean had given him and covered his brother as he moved from the shadows and approached Jo.

Jo heard a noise behind her. Turning her head, she almost cheered as she saw Dean Winchester moving towards her. His eyes alert and gun drawn, he placed a finger on his lips as he approached. It only took a few moments before he reached Jo and pulling out his knife quickly cut through the ropes holding her.

Jo stood, but almost fell as a wave of dizziness swept over her. The blow to the head must have been harder than she thought. She blinked, trying to keep her eyes focused. "Jo, are you ok?" Dean whispered.

"I don't know…my head." Jo reached up and pulled her had away from her scalp. There was blood on her palm. She looked at Dean with a stunned expression on her face.

"Ok, no problem. I'll get you out of here. Just put your arm over my shoulder and…"

"Who said you could leave the party!" An angry voice called from the shadows of the warehouse.

Dean pointed his gun in the general direction of the voice. "We don't want any trouble here Sharon. Just let me get her out of here."

Sharon moved out into the open, no fear in her eyes as she looked at Dean and Jo. "I don't think you are going anywhere!" She closed her eyes and before Dean could move, he felt a ring of flames spring up around him. Suddenly he heard a shot and saw Sharon fall, holding her shoulder. The flames were no longer as bright, but they still had Dean and Jo trapped.

Sam moved quickly towards his brother and Jo, he had found a fire extinguisher and just hoped that it still worked as he watched the flames get closer to his brother. Dean had pulled off his jacket and placed it over Jo, his eyes finding Sam's through the flames. "Any time now Dude, it's getting a little warm in here!" Dean yelled through the flames.

Sam began to use the fire extinguisher to clear a path through the flames. Dean helped Jo through, coughing as he soon stood by Sam. "That was a little close there bro' I thought we'd bought it there for a moment!"

Sam smiled "Well, we couldn't let her singe your hair Dude; you don't have much to lose."

Sam ducked as Dean aimed a shove at his shoulder. "Let's get out of here Sam."

"No, you two go ahead. I want to check on Sharon. I only winged her." Sam started to move towards the unmoving form of Sharon.

"Wait! This is my case…you two aren't going to take over my case again. I did the research, I found the girl…" Jo pulled away from Dean's support and stood in front of Sam, her hands on her hips defying him to move past her.

"And you got yourself caught…again." Dean chimed in, losing patience with Jo. "I told you this isn't a game…you want to prove yourself, that's fine. But getting yourself killed or someone else killed because you have some romantic idea of what hunting is like…that's plain stupid in my book."

"Well at least I didn't get your father killed Dean Winchester!" Jo stormed as she stomped over towards the woman who was beginning to stir.

"Jo! Don't go near her…you don't know what she can do!" Sam yelled, racing to intercept Jo before she could get to Sharon. Sam saw Sharon close her eyes and reach out with her hand. "Jo! Get Down!" Sam yelled as he dove in front of the stubborn girl. Jo only caught a glimpse of Sam before he covered the fire starter's body with his own, capturing her hand between them.

Sam screamed as he felt the heat of the flame shoot between him and the body of the young woman. He could feel the flames feeding on his clothing and watched in horror as Sharon began to burst into flame. Her mouth moving in a silent scream as she realized she was on fire. She shoved Sam from her and rolled trying to get to her feet. But the flames seemed to feed on her as if they were a live thing. She made it to her feet, a final scream wrenched from her lips as she burned. Sam looked in her eyes and saw them change to yellow before his eyes. "You haven't won Sam…you've only delayed the inevitable. Do you think I would let you take something of mine? She belonged to me just like you will and all the others like you!" The girl's eyes changed back to their original color. The flame encompasing her body flared so bright that Sam felt a burning in his eyes. The last thing he saw was Sharon dying in front of him.

As the brightness from the flames began to recede, the room started to go dark. Sam could feel the flames spreading from his hands to his forearms. As the darkness claimed him, he screamed with the agony that was going through him, but he also screamed at the demon who had taken another innocent life.

Dean watched in horror as his brother slammed into Sharon, trapping her flaming hands between his body and hers. He saw Sharon move off, but he didn't care about her…he had to get the flames out on his brother. Dean ran and pulled Sam's burning coat from his body, tossing it away as he heard his brother continue to scream in agony. Sam's hands and forearms were badly burned, but the worse part was Sam's eyes. His brother was staring at the place where Sharon's body lay smoldering on the floor. Dean passed his hands in front of his brother's face, but Sam had no reaction. "Oh my God, Sam…can you see me?" Dean asked.

Sam followed Dean's voice, but his own seemed to fail him as he pitched forward unconscious into his brother's arms. Jo stood rooted to the spot where she had fallen. She had seen and heard what the demon had said to Sam. She had never seen a demon before and only now began to realize what the brother's were up against.

Dean reached down and grabbed his brother, gently placing him over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He looked at Jo who appeared to be in shock. Her eyes were glazed and she hadn't moved from the spot where Sam had thrown her. He tried to feel pity for the young woman, but all he felt was an overwhelming anger.

"Jo, can you hear me?" Dean said as he moved closer to the young woman. "Jo, unless you want me to leave your ass here…you better stand up and follow me!"

Jo shook her head and looked up into the coldest eyes she had ever seen. She rose unsteadily to her feet and placed her hand on Dean's arm. "I'm sorry…I…"

But Dean just turned and started towards the door. He knew that Jo was following him, but right now all he cared about was getting his brother to the hospital. He'd deal with Jo later.

Dean gently placed Sam in the passenger seat, the sight of his brother's burned skin making him sick to his stomach. He turned to see Jo standing beside the car, not sure if she should get in or not. Her eyes were unfocused and she looked like she was going to pass out any moment. Dean remembered that she also had been wounded. "Jo?" Dean said a little softer as he approached her. She backed away, fear reflected in her eyes as she looked up at Dean.

Dean sighed. "Jo, look I'm not going to say I'm not angry with you, because I am…but I won't hurt you. What you did was foolish and it got my brother hurt. Now you are going to have to live with that mistake. Get in the back seat. You need to have your head looked at. Besides, it will probably be better for you if you meet your mother from a hospital bed…I have a feeling that she's not going to be too pleased with you when she gets here."

"My mother is coming?" Jo swallowed.

"Yep, should be here in a couple of hours. Just enough time for you to get your head examined…something you probably should have done before pulling this stunt." Dean helped Jo into the car and quickly drove to the nearest hospital.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dean was sitting in the waiting room when he heard a familiar voice. "Where the hell is my daughter? I heard that she was brought here. I want to see her right now!"

Dean got up and walked over towards Ellen. "Hi Ellen."

"Dean! Thank God…where is she, is she ok?" Ellen searched Dean's face trying to figure out how badly her daughter was injured. She had received the message on her cell phone to come to the hospital. Dean had told her it wasn't life threatening, just a bump on the head. But she had worried the whole way over to the hospital.

Dean patted Ellen on the shoulder. "She's going to be fine Aunt Ellen. They took her up to her room about an hour ago. The doctor told me that my cousin would be fine. They just want to keep her overnight for observation." Dean saw that they were making a scene and guided Ellen over to a corner of the waiting room where they could have a little more privacy.

"I want to see her Dean…I have to know." Ellen began.

"Sure, I'll show you to her room. Just let me tell them where I'll be…I'm still waiting to hear about Sam. They've been working on him for over 2 hours now." Dean looked at the doors that hid his brother from his gaze.

"Oh Dean, I'm so sorry…what happened?"

"He was burned Ellen, his hands, his arms and…" Dean swallowed before continuing "His eyes have been damaged…he can't see Ellen." Dean looked away not wanting Ellen to see the fear and despair in his eyes.

"Oh my God Dean…Jo was responsible for this wasn't she? You tell me the truth boy, was my daughter the cause of this?" Ellen watched as Dean's shoulders tensed. It was all the answer she needed.

"This is all my fault Dean; I have handled this thing all wrong from the beginning. I don't know what to say Dean…" Ellen placed a hand on Dean's arm.

"Let me show you to your daughter's room Ellen…I need to get back here so that I can see Sam." Dean just hoped that when he did get to see his little brother, Sam would be able to see him as well.

TBC

Raven524: Well, what about tonight's episode?? All I have to say is WOW followed by what the heck did they mean by "SOON" in the promos for next week! But I digress. Sharon met an end that only a fire starter can have, up in flames…and our poor Sam got caught in the cross fire. Thanks again to all who are reading and a special shout out to my reviewers…you guys rock!