Chapter Eight

"DEAN! SAM!"

Dean's eyes sprang open at Maggie's shout and the loud bang that followed. He jumped up and looked at Sam who was equally awake now,

"Maggie!" They both said to one another before turning and running to the staircase.

As they reached Joshua's room, Dean burst through the door, shoulder-first and into the darkened room to see Tristan standing over Joshua's crib, the tiny baby screaming and crying loudly as the tall brunette loomed over him,

"Get away from him you son of a bitch." Dean growled, balling his fists. Tristan glanced over his shoulder and smirked, letting out a soft little chuckle as he did before turning back to Joshua, "I said," Dean began, gritting his teeth and marching over to him, "Get away from my nephew."

All of a sudden, a strong force pushed Dean to the floor flat on his back. His jaw dropped as directly above him, pinned to the ceiling he saw Maggie,

"Holy crap!" He exclaimed, "Sam!" He gasped, pointing to their sister above them. Sam looked up and panicked, rubbing the side of his head,

"Maggie!" He cried as Dean pulled himself up steadily to see that Tristan had disappeared, leaving Joshua still sobbing in his bed,

"Sammy…get Joshua out of here!"

Sam ran across the room and grabbed Joshua and his blanket from the crib, cradling him soothingly against his chest. He was about to turn and leave when he noticed a dark shadow on the floor on the other side of the crib,

"Oh my God…" He breathed, "Dean!" He cried as Dean began climbing up a bookcase,

"Yeah?"

"Lola."

Dean looked back onto the floor to see Lola lying on her side on the floor beneath the window. He cursed and jumped down,

"SAM! Get Joshua out of here! NOW!"
"What about you guys?"

"I'll sort it…just go!" He exclaimed, shaking Lola's shoulder,

"Oh God…" He whispered, "Lola…wake up! I can't carry you both!" He hissed before looking up to the ceiling again. He knew he had to save Maggie, but he didn't want to leave Lola on the floor either. Swallowing hard, he pulled back a hand and slapped it across Lola's face. With a jump her eyes fluttered open, "Thank God…" He breathed, turning and running back to the bookcase. Standing several shelves up, he reached out towards Maggie, "Take my hand." He said gently,

"I can't…" She whimpered, "Dean…I can't…"
"Yes you can. Take my hand."

Lola steadily got her bearings and finding Maggie on the ceiling, tears began to brim in her eyes. Frantically she ran around the room, grabbing a chair and climbing up on it, she reached high above her head,

"Maggie…"
"Where's Joshua?" Maggie whispered,

"He's okay. Sam's got him."

"Maggie…we need to get you down!" Lola said seriously, "Come on! You have to try!"

"I can't…"
"TRY HARDER DAMN IT!" Lola yelled before hopping down off of the chair and running out of the room.

She returned a few seconds later carrying a step-ladder that Sam had used earlier to decorate the hallway. Unfolding it beneath her friend, she climbed up one side and motioned for Dean to climb up the other. As Dean placed his foot on the bottom step, he felt a drop hit his cheek, and glancing up he was horrified to see a slither of blood stretching across Maggie's stomach,

"NO!" He yelled, running up the steps and grabbing one of Maggie's arms, "On three!" He told Lola, "One…two…three!" He yelled and the pair pulled on Maggie's arms as hard as they could. As Maggie tumbled off of the ceiling, she did so, taking the two hunters with her just an explosion of flame ripped across the ceiling where she'd been. Dean scooped up Maggie's unconscious body and made a dash for the door, checking over his shoulder to make sure Lola was following.

Outside, Sam watched on in horror, still holding on tightly to baby Joshua, as the entire upper floor of Maggie's house became engulfed in flame. He was about to give up hope when suddenly the trio emerged from the front door, breathlessly collapsing at his feet on the front lawn. Dean propped up Maggie's head in his lap, reaching for his mobile phone to call for an ambulance. He looked up at Sam knowingly who stared back just as terrified,

"Dean…what was that in there?" Sam asked, though he knew the answer,

"I think you know." Dean said sternly, "Question is…what do they want with Joshua?"

"Dean…we almost lost Maggie the same way we…"

"Don't." Dean said sternly, "We were here this time."

Dean clung onto Joshua tightly as he and Sam stood over Maggie's bedside,

"Did you call Matt?" She asked timidly, sitting up in her hospital bed. Sam nodded,

"Yeah…he's on his way up."

"God…" She breathed, feeling tears well in her eyes, "I can't believe that thing went after my Joshua." She whispered hoarsely,

"Don't worry." Dean reassured, "We're here. Nothing's going to happen to him while we're around."

"You can't watch him every second of the day, Dean." Maggie said sternly, "What if they get him one day when you're not looking?"
"I'll do whatever I have to stop anything from happening to him." Dean said with determination, "He's my nephew and I've had enough of demons and spirits messing with the people in my life!"

"Dude…calm…" Sam soothed, sensing his brother heading for another one of his emotional outbursts, "Tell you what…put all those feelings to good use and go and check on Lola."

"Has she woken up yet?" Maggie asked,

"She hadn't when we last checked." Sam said seriously, "The Doctor said that her wind pipe was badly damaged."

"Oh…well you should be there when she wakes up, Dean." She said honestly, "Take Josh with you if you like…she'd like that…oh…and tell her I don't blame her." She added, "I know she's going to blame herself for this, she's already been down so make sure that she doesn't feel guilty. This wasn't her fault!"

"Okay…I got it."

"And tell her you love her!"

"Don't push it Maggie…" Dean muttered, stalking out of the room with Joshua still in his arms. Sam and Maggie smirked at one another before falling into a sad silence.

"Sam, I want to know what he did to us." Maggie said finally.

"Who?" Sam replied with a frown, although he knew who she was talking about.

"The yellow eyed demon, I want to know what he did to you… to me… to Josh."

Sam looked at Maggie, wanting desperately to get out of the conversation.

"And don't try and tell me about all the psychic stuff I know its more than that, every time me or Dean try and talk to you about the day the demon took you, you either change the subject or make something up." She continued, looking her brother dead in the eyes, "Please Sam, I need to know."

Sam looked down at his feet taking in a deep breath to prepare himself, dreading what he was about to say. "When I was with the demon he showed me something." Sam began with a sigh, "I saw him, in my nursery standing over me and he cut his hand…and let the blood fall into my mouth."

Maggie looked back in shock at what Sam was telling her, she could feel a sick feeling growing from the pit of her stomach, "So…we have demon blood in us…." Her eyes began to fill with tears as she put the terrifying information together, "…my little boy has…" She put a hand to her mouth, an intense emotion filled from inside as the tears streamed down her cheeks. Sam moved closer to her side and pulled her into a tight hug, tears welling in his eyes at seeing his sister in an emotional break down. Maggie buried her head into his chest, "What am I going to do." She sobbed.

"I don't know." Sam replied sadly, tears now falling down his cheeks as he rested his face on the top of Maggie's head. It killed him to admit it, but he didn't know what to do. His sister was all but screaming for his help and he had no idea how to.