A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long! Please Enjoy!
Chapter 6: Salvation
Soon after their last vampire case, John took the three of them to his cabin in Colorado where he'd created a base for himself to track down the Demon. The walls were covered in old weather reports, newspaper headlines, highlighted articles, maps with pins to mark locations, strings connecting pictures, and various documents that related to the demon. If Mia hadn't known any better she would have assumed John had a strange obsession with weather reports.
She continued to wander around the tiny house in awe as John explained his method of tracking the demon.
"What you need to understand is this," he began with a nod in Mia's direction, "I've been hunting this thing for years. Trying to track it, and kill it down with no luck. Suddenly, for the first time, I picked up a trail."
Dean nodded. "So, that's why you took off."
"Yes. I think the demon must've come out of hiding or hibernation," his father replied.
Mia walked back over to the desk where John was sitting and crossed her arms. "So what's this trail, exactly? Does it have anything to do with all of this?" She asked as she waved her arms to gesture at the covered walls.
John smiled, "It's a weather pattern. It starts in Arizona, then New Jersey, California… But there's a way to track it; signs in the weather, things like that. It took me a while to track them but I've got them figured out. It's going after families-their houses burn to the ground, like-"
"Like ours," Sam finished for him.
His father nodded painfully, "Exactly. It goes after families with infants, on their six-month birthday."
The youngest Winchester frowned, "I was six months that night?"
"Exactly six months," John responded as he lowered his eyes.
This news seemed to upset Sam as his expression changed from interest to anger, "So this demon is going after six-month-olds and killing their mothers… So Mom's and Jessica's death-that was because of me."
Dean shot him a look, "We don't know that for sure."
Sam returned the look angrily, "Yes we do! The evidence is pretty damn clear!"
"For the last time, this is not your fault!" Dean shouted back.
"Why is it doing this, then?" Mia piped up, hoping to stop an argument in its tracks. "Why does it go after six month olds, what does it want?"
John sighed, "I wish I had more answers, but I've always been one step behind it. Although, I do know that we can find it. Those signs in the weather, they always pop up a few days before the fires; cattle deaths, temperature fluctuations, electrical storms."
He paused for a moment, and Dean suddenly realized, "These things happened in Lawrence."
John affirmed, "I went back and checked… Those signs; they appeared a week before your mother died."
He turned to Sam, "and in Paulo Alto a few days before Jessica died."
Dean and Sam looked shaken at this news and Mia could tell they were both internally kicking themselves for not realizing the signs even though there was nothing they could have done anyways.
"But the point is," John continued, "these signs are all happening again."
"Where?" Sam asked as he composed himself.
"Salvation, Iowa."
The three of them made preparations and loaded their cars. In no time, they were off. Sam, Dean, and Mia in the Impala, and John in his truck. The majority of the trip was spent in reflective silence as the Winchester brothers realized they were finally going to kill the demon that had ruined their lives.
"Ahhh!" Mia shouted as she sprung awake from the backseat. The image of the vampire's head rolling on the ground was fresh in the young girl's mind. She'd been having night terrors since she'd decapitated Kate.
"Mia! Are you okay?" Sam exclaimed as he turned in his seat to check on her.
The young girl nodded and rubbed her eyes, "I'm fine. I just had a bad dream."
"Again?" Came Dean's concerned voice from the driver's seat. Since Mia's near-death experience with the vampires, Dean had been trying especially hard to be nice to her. This was proving rather difficult as he had reservations about letting her join their family hunt to kill The Demon.
"It's nothing, really," Mia lied to prevent the boys from distress. Their focus needed to be placed on hunting down this demon, not on her bad dreams.
The boys, however, were unconvinced by Mia's words. "Hey, why don't we listen to some music?" She suggested out of sheer desire to change the subject.
Dean took her distraction offer, gratefully, and flipped channels until he found a rock station that was playing a favorite classic rock song of his. He began to sing loudly to Sam and Mia's annoyance.
"On second thought, I think I'm just gonna watch some movies…" she replied as she plugged her headphones into her laptop before loading up one of her favorite movies.
Moments after they arrived in Salvation, John swerved off of the road and parked the car in the forest. Dean copied his father's actions, and the three of them climbed out of the car to see what was wrong with John.
"Dammit!" He cried out as he slammed his fist on the car door.
"What?" Dean called in fear at his father's frustration.
"Son of a bitch!" John cursed again as he kicked his front tire as hard as he could.
"What's wrong?" Sam chimed with Mia.
John looked up at them and revealed his red, puffy, eyes. "Caleb just called me. He said Jim Murphy is dead."
Mia deduced from the horrified faces of Sam and Dean, that they knew who this person was.
"How?" Dean asked his father in disbelief.
"His throat was slashed. He-he bled out."
Sam and Dean exchanged devastated expressions as they took in the news.
"Caleb said they found traces of sulfur at Jim's place," John added sadly.
"Sulfur? What does that-" Mia began to ask but was cut off by Dean.
"Sulfur tracks are created by demons."
"Do you think it was The Demon?" Sam wondered, stating aloud what everyone had been thinking.
John shook his head, "I don't know. Maybe, it knows we're getting close… All I know is; this was no accident, there's no way Pastor Jim would be this careless."
"There are two hospitals in this county, we'll split up into teams to work faster. Sam, you go with Mia, Dean you're with me. I want a list of every baby born six months ago," John instructed as he regained his firm composure.
"Dad that could take weeks. There are dozens of kids, how are we gonna know which is the one?" Sam remarked skeptically.
"We'll check them all," John replied in a flat tone.
Mia released an involuntary sigh. Sam was right, checking all of these babies would take forever, even with additional help.
John heard her sigh of dread and glared at her. "Do you have any better ideas?"
Mia shook her head emphatically as her cheeks burnt red in embarrassment. "No Sir."
"Good, now let's get to work," John added in a more polite tone before he turned back to his truck.
"Dad?" Dean called in a concerned voice. He could tell that although his father was trying to put on a brave front, he was pretty shaken up about the death of one of his close friends.
John faced his sons and fought back his tears, "It's Jim. I mean, I can't… I can't-"
The older man broke off sadly and Mia gazed at him with sympathy in her eyes. "I'm so sorry," she told him earnestly.
Although she didn't have the faintest idea who Jim was, and knew that saying sorry wouldn't help anything, she wanted to express her sympathy. She hated seeing people upset and wished there was some way to help John.
John nodded dismissively at her words and began to speak again, "This ends now. I'm ending it, and I don't care what it takes."
He then climbed into his car leaving the three younger hunters to follow suit. Mia glanced at Sam who was gazing out the passenger window as Dean followed his father back onto the main roads.
"Were you close? You and Jim, I mean?" Mia asked Sam and he shook his head in response.
"He was just a good friend of Dad's. Sometimes we would stay with him while Dad was away on long hunting trips but I don't really remember him," Sam replied without removing his gaze from the window.
"He used to make us brownies and make us listen to stories from the Bible," Dean added remorsefully.
Sam and Mia both turned to look at him.
Sam half-smiled, "Oh yeah… I remember now; he told us that one story about David and Goliath, and we tried to act it out in the backyard."
Dean hid a small grin at his brother's words. He was both amused and surprised that Sam had remembered that. But he quickly resumed his determined expression and the three of them spent the rest of the trip in silence.
Once Sam and Mia got to their assigned hospital they were lucky enough to encounter a helpful secretary who got them everything they needed for their ' baby census researching'.
They were finished much quicker than anticipated and the two of them decided to grab something to eat as they had plenty of time until they needed to meet up with John and Dean.
As they walked away from a street meat vendor, Sam began to wince harshly and clutch at his head as though he was in severe pain.
"Sam?" Mia called in a worried voice as she watched her friend groan and clutch his head.
"Sam? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Mia asked, her voice rising in alarm as Sam's strange behavior continued.
Mia began to panic as she believed her friend was having some sort of aneurysm. "Please! Talk to me! What is going on?"
Suddenly, Sam relaxed and began to massage his temples. "I'm fine," he told her. "It's passing."
Mia gaped at him in astonishment and relief. "Thank God! Geez, you were really freaking me out, it almost looked like you were having some sort of psychic vision or something."
She laughed nervously at the thought of Sam having some sort of vision, but when he looked at her, there was shock splayed on his features, as though she had discovered the truth. She stopped laughing.
"You're not kidding… You actually had a vision?"
Sam nodded, "For the past few months I've been having these strange visions or dreams and they always end up coming true. Usually, it's tied to the demon. I had dreams about a kid who had been visited by the demon as a kid, like me. And before Jess died, I dreamed about her death."
He struggled with the last part of his explanation and Mia shot him a sympathetic look. She gave him a playful shove as she tried to change the subject to cheer him up.
"Wow! A real psychic! That is so Raven," she joked and Sam cracked a smile at her.
The two of them resumed walking through the park as they ate their hotdogs.
"So what did you see?" Mia prompted, after a while.
Sam squinted hard in concentration, "I saw a pink nursery. There was a baby and a mother; she was a brunette with a white nightgown."
He paused and again began clutching at his forehead while breathing heavily. Mia watched helplessly as she waited for his visions to subside.
"I just saw The Demon!" He exclaimed in shock.
"You must be seeing the next victim!" Mia cried out in realization, "Sam, focus. Is there anything on the house that might give away where it is?"
Her friend furrowed his brow and bit his lip in deep concentration as he attempted to get a lock on the location of the house.
"I can hear something. It sounds like… a train."
Mia immediately grabbed the town map Sam had taken from the hospital and flipped it open.
"Railroad, railroad, railroad," she repeated to herself as she searched the map.
Sam, whose visions had finally finished, pointed to the place on the map where a railroad ran adjacent to a particular street. "Here," he said to her and Mia began to calculate how far it was from where they currently were.
"Good news, we're only a few minutes away," she sighed in relief as she checked their route.
Sam nodded and they continued walking again.
Mia gazed at him worriedly. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I've been having these visions for almost a year, Mia. I've been fine before and I'm fine now," Sam affirmed for her as he picked up the pace to the neighborhood by the train tracks they had seen on the map.
When they finally reached the place it only took them a few seconds for Sam to recognize the house from his vision.
"That's her!" Sam called as he gestured towards a young brown-haired woman pushing a stroller nearby.
Without another word, Sam sprinted toward the young woman and Mia followed him although she had no idea what he was up to.
"Hi, let me help you with that," Sam offered to hold the stroller as the young woman put away her umbrella.
She smiled at him pleasantly, "Thank you so much! I guess I could use a little help."
"What a beautiful baby girl!" Mia declared as she glanced at the baby that looked to be about six months old.
"Thank you!" the young mother replied proudly, "she's my little angel."
"I'm so sorry, we're being rude. My name is Sam, and this is my wife, Mia, we just moved up the block," Sam lied smoothly as he shook the mother's hand.
The young woman smiled and shook Mia's hand as well, "I'm Monica, and that's my baby girl, Rosie."
"Hi, Rosie!" Sam cooed as he glimpsed at the baby.
"Welcome to the neighborhood!" Monica announced to them in a friendly tone.
"Thank you so much," Mia replied in earnest. She really liked how friendly and open this young woman was.
"She is such a good baby," Sam added as he continued to observe the infant.
"I know! She never cries, she always sleeps through the night and she just kinda stares at you like… like she's reading your mind," Monica laughed.
"How old is she?" Mia inquired with a smile to hide the knot of dread building within her. She truly hoped this wasn't the woman that the Demon planned on murdering.
"Six months to the day," Monica announced happily and both Sam and Mia's faces fell.
"It's amazing right? She's growing so fast," Monica said with a cheerful tone.
Neither Sam nor Mia responded as they both silently feared for the fate of the lovely young woman in front of them and that of her infant daughter.
"Hey Monica," Sam told her after a while. "Take care of yourself, alright?" She nodded in reply.
"Yeah, you too Sam; and you too, Mia. It's been great meeting you guys, and I guess we'll see you around," Monica smiled as she resumed her walk.
"Nice meeting you too, and for sure," Mia called back as she and Sam began to head back to the park while watching Monica and Rosie out of the corner of their eyes.
They watched the two of them stop right in front of the house from Sam's vision and greet the young man who came out of the car.
"We aren't gonna let that demon hurt them, right Sam?" Mia asked in an encouraging tone. But Sam couldn't reply as he began to re-experience his psychic visions again as the images of a clock striking midnight, a ballerina light, and a clown mobile, flashed through his head along with the sight of Monica screaming and bleeding on the ceiling like Jess.
They met up with Dean and John at a motel and checked into a room. Sam went on to explain to his brother and father what he'd seen. Dean's reaction was relief and delight at how much easier their job had become, whereas John was furious with his sons for not telling him about Sam's visions.
"When stuff like that happens, you pick up the damn phone and you call me!" John exclaimed in a heat of anger.
Dean stood up from one of the beds and rounded on his father, "Call you?! Dad, I called you from Lawrence, Sam called you when we thought I was dying. We've gotta better chance of winning the lottery than getting you on the phone!"
Sam lowered his eyes and his brother's words. Mia stared at John with a newfound perspective. How could he just ignore his sons like that? Demon or no demon, he should've stayed in contact with them through everything.
John nodded bitterly as he swallowed his eldest son's words.
"You're right," he admitted.
"The point is, we now know where the demon is going to strike tonight, so unless we put a plan into action, that family is going to suffer the same way our family did," Sam cut in to avoid any more family arguments.
"No one is going to die, Sam… ever again," John affirmed.
Suddenly a cell phone rang. Mia, who was closest to the coffee table picked it up to hand to Sam but instead, he gestured for her to answer for him.
Mia flipped open the phone and spoke, "Sam Winchester's phone, how can I help you?"
"That depends," a mocking female voice replied, "how close are the two of you?"
Mia frowned and slowly paced the room as she continued the call, "May I ask who this is?"
"I could ask you the same question. I didn't think Sam could get over me so quickly," the voice replied with a hint of mischievousness.
Mia winced believing the caller to be some clingy ex-girlfriend of Sam's. "Look, whoever you are, I'm gonna hang up if-"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the voice hissed violently.
Sam who had been watching Mia, mouthed for her to figure out who the caller was.
"Then tell me who you are," Mia retorted in irritation.
The voice laughed, "My, you've got a short temper, don't you? Well if Sam's with you, ask him if he remembers Chicago."
Mia covered the mouthpiece with her hand and turned to Sam, "She wants to know if you remember Chicago?"
Sam frowned and glanced at his brother who smirked.
"What happened in Chicago?" Dean asked in a smug voice.
His younger brother shook his head in confusion, "I dunno."
"He says he doesn't remember," Mia said into the phone.
The caller sighed, "Pity. We had such a fun time together."
"Why don't you make this easier and tell us who the hell you are," Mia snapped. This woman was really pushing her patience.
"Alright, why don't you guess who I am and I'll-"
Mia snapped the phone shut before the woman could finish her sentence.
"Did you just hang up on her?" Sam asked in a mixture of surprise and amusement.
The young hunter shrugged, "She wasn't making any sense. Maybe she had the wrong Sam."
The phone rang again in Mia's hands and she answered it.
"Hello?"
"DID YOU JUST HANG UP ON ME?"
"You wouldn't tell me who you were."
"YOU LITTLE BITCH!"
"Rude," Mia retorted in disinterest. She could care less about whoever this woman was and her feelings.
"TELL SAM THAT IT'S MEG, AND WHOEVER THE FUCK YOU ARE, I AM GOING TO RIP THE SKIN FROM YOUR FACE WHEN I SEE YOU."
Mia held the phone away from her ear as the volume was too loud for her to comprehend anything.
"Does the name, Meg, mean anything to you?" She asked Sam.
Both Sam and Dean exchanged horrified expressions and Mia's face fell.
"She's the demon that tried to kill us," Sam explained with a pale face, "but I thought-"
"We threw her off of a seven-story building, we thought she was dead," Dean finished for him.
"That explains the Chicago part of it," John commented, looking equally as disturbed as his sons.
Mia's grip on the phone tightened. She hadn't run into demons yet and the fact that she'd just hung up on one was freaking her out.
"Here," Sam said softly as he took the phone from Mia.
"What do you want, Meg?" He demanded.
"Ahh, finally. Hey, Sam." Meg began to relax her tone as she spoke with Sam.
"You should fire your little secretary, she hung up on me. I don't like being hung up on," the demon jeered.
Sam grit his teeth, "How are you still alive?"
"Doesn't matter much, Sam. Now I want you to give the phone to your father."
"My father?" Sam repeated quizzically as he glanced at John.
"I don't know where he is," Sam lied but John held out his hand for the phone.
Reluctantly, the youngest Winchester handed his father the phone.
"This is John."
"Howdy, John. I'm Meg. I'm a friend of your boys' and I'm also the one that watched Jim Murphy choke on his own blood," Meg said in a teasing voice.
John stiffened at her words.
She continued, "Well, that was yesterday. Today I'm in Lincoln with another one of your friends, and he wants to say hello."
There was a pause along with the sound of a bandana being untied.
"John, whatever she tells you don't do it-" a panicked voice called into the phone.
"Caleb?!" John exclaimed in a worried tone.
At that name, both Sam and Dean jumped in fear.
"Listen to me, he's got nothing to do with anything so just let him go-" John began but the demon cut him off.
"We know you've got the Colt," Meg replied.
John's expression hardened, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, okay," Meg replied sarcastically.
There was a slicing noise and then a choking sound.
"Hear that?" Meg asked and John looked as though he was fighting back tears again.
"We know you have it, Johnny, word travels fast."
John composed himself before uttering, "I'm gonna kill you, you know that?"
"Oh please," she laughed, "mind your blood pressure, John boy."
"But you know what. We're going to keep doing this; finding anyone you've ever cared for, anyone who's ever helped you, and killing them until you give us that gun. So what do you say? Why don't you make our job easier and just give us the Colt, " Meg threatened.
John swallowed hard as he attempted to formulate a response.
"I'm waiting, Johnny. Better answer before the buzzer," Meg snapped.
"Okay," John finally replied, "I'll bring you the Colt."
Dean, Sam, and Mia exchanged mortified glances. That Colt was the only thing capable of killing the demon, and John was just going to give it up?
"There's a warehouse in Lincoln, on the corner of Wabash and Lake. You're going to meet me there, tonight at midnight," Meg instructed.
"It's going to take me a day's drive. I can't get there in time, and I can't just carry a gun on a plane" John retorted.
Meg barked, "Then I guess your friends will die. But if you do decide to make it come alone."
She hung up the phone and John snapped Sam's phone shut.
"You're not actually gonna give her the gun, are you?" Mia asked in a panicked tone.
John sighed, "No. How could I when we're so close to finally killing The Demon? But if I don't go, a lot of people are going to die-our friends will die."
"Then what are you gonna do?" Sam inquired.
"Look, besides us and a couple of vampires, no one actually knows what the Colt looks like. We'll just pick up a ringer at an antique store," his father replied.
Dean was outraged by his father's plan, "You're gonna give Meg a fake gun and hope she doesn't notice?!"
"She shouldn't be able to tell the difference," John sighed, "I just need a buy some time."
"You mean, for us?" Mia replied softly.
Everyone looked at her in surprise and she continued speaking, "You're going to buy time so the three of us can stay behind and use the Colt to kill The Demon ourselves."
"I want this to end, Mia," John told her firmly. "You haven't been hunting for very long, so this may be hard for you to understand but this isn't the lifestyle we chose. We've lost so many people we care about and I, for one, am done. I want to stop losing people, I want my sons to live normal lives for once. Sam, I want you to go back to school. Dean, I want you to have a home…."
He trailed off and walked over to the windows and sobbed so softly that Mia wasn't sure she'd heard him at first; "I want Mary alive."
He returned to them with tears in his eyes and sighed, "I just want this to be over."
The Winchester brothers exchanged determined glances while Mia reflected on John's statements. She knew they'd suffered great losses and they had her undying sympathy but she didn't truly believe that killing this demon would bring them everything they wanted. How could Sam go back to school when everything around him would remind him of the girl he'd loved and lost? How could Dean live a normal life when every time he'd hear a bump in the night, he'd immediately fear the worst?
She pondered these questions further as she accompanied Dean to the antique shop to find a replica of the Colt.
"How's this one?" Dean asked her, holding up a small pistol.
Mia shook her head, "Too small. The Colt's bigger than that."
Dean put the gun down and looked for more.
"After we kill this demon," Mia began, "what are you going to do?"
Dean froze and stared at her oddly.
"Why does it matter?"
"I'm just curious. I know Sam's mentioned going back to school a couple of times, but what about you?"
Dean grabbed another gun and inspected it. "I guess I'll get a job, maybe settle down." He shrugged, " I don't know what to tell you. I'm a high school drop-out, there isn't that much of a promising future ahead of me."
Mia said nothing as she resumed her search for the Colt's twin.
"How about you?" Dean asked after a long silence. "Are you gonna head back home, or keep hunting?"
Mia twisted her pendant anxiously as she thought about Denison. There was nothing there for her to go back to. She shook her head of those bitter thoughts and responded; "I'm going to keep hunting. Solo now, I guess."
Her face fell at those words and Dean quickly replied.
"Hey, me and Sam know someone that might be willing to work with you. His name's Bobby Singer, he was practically an uncle to me and Sam when we were growing up."
Mia stopped suddenly and frowned, "Bobby Singer… why does that name ring a bell?"
She pondered the familiarity of their name for a moment before shaking the vague memories of it away and electing to change the subject. "Why are you being so nice to me anyways, I thought you hated me?"
This time, Dean stopped suddenly and turned to her. "Oh, I still do. But seeing as we won't be working with each other for a while after tonight, I can afford to be nice to you, Wilkins."
Mia smiled condescendingly, "Then I'll enjoy every minute of it, Winchester."
Dean smirked at her. True he still wasn't as crazy about Mia as his brother was but he'd come to tolerate her. Especially when it came to the rush of guilt he felt whenever he saw the bloody scar on her neck.
"How about this one?" Mia suggested as she handed Dean a gun she believed was identical to the Colt.
He nodded encouragingly, "It's perfect."
They met up with John and Sam on the outskirts of town to hand him the gun and say their goodbyes.
"Mia picked it out," Dean told his father when he handed him the gun, and he nodded.
"Good pick, they look almost identical."
Mia blushed at her appraisal.
"Dad, you know it's a trap, right? That's why Meg told you to come alone," Dean added in a worried tone.
His father put the fake gun in his bag and smiled comfortingly at his son. "Oh, I can handle her. I've got a whole arsenal of weapons; holy water-"
"Dad, can you promise me something?" Dean asked worriedly.
"What's that?"
"If this doesn't work out, get the hell out. Don't get yourself killed, okay?"
John replied, "Same goes for you," managing to keep from promising his son anything.
"Listen, the bullets for the Colt are specially made. There's only four left, so make every shot count," John instructed before handing the gun to his eldest son.
"Yes Sir," Sam and Mia replied.
John looked off into the distance at the rainstorm nearby. "I've been waiting for this fight for a long time, and now I'm not gonna be in it. So you gotta finish this fight for me. Finish what I started. You understand?"
The three of them collectively nodded.
"We'll see you soon, Dad," Sam assured his father.
"I'll see you later," John smiled as he took one last glance at them before heading towards his truck.
"Mia," he called before climbing in, "One last thing."
The brunette raced over to his side to listen to his instructions.
"Listen, I want you to take care of them. Keep them both alive. This is a big deal and I don't want emotions getting in the way and screwing things up. Stay focused, aim, fire, and kill that son of bitch. Am I understood?"
Mia nodded, "Yes Sir."
He smiled at her fondly. "Good girl. I'll see you and the boys soon."
He then climbed into his car and drove off, leaving Mia and his sons alone.
"What did he say to you?" Dean questioned Mia.
"Just to take care of you guys and keep focused."
They all watched him drive off into the distance.
"Do you think we'll ever see him again?" Sam asked.
Dean scoffed at his brother, "Don't think like that. You heard him, he can take her."
Mia nodded in agreement. "He'll be okay. I have a feeling he'll survive."
"That's not exactly comforting," Dean muttered as he, Sam, and Mia headed back to the Impala.
Mia turned to Dean to tell him that she truly had a good feeling about John's fate when suddenly her foot slipped on the wet, muddy, road and she fell onto her stomach.
"Ooof!" The brunette cried as she tried to get up and slipped again.
Sam and Dean who had seen her fall were shaking with laughter. They found her expression hilarious when she fell and couldn't stop laughing as she continued to try and stand on her own. Eventually, Sam felt bad for her and helped her to her feet.
"Thanks," Mia mumbled in embarrassment as she wiped wet mud off of her jeans.
"No problem," Sam wheezed as he and his brother attempted to contain their laughter.
The three of them climbed into the car and Mia's cheeks flamed in embarrassment. Why did she always have to be such a klutz!?
Dean snicked at her muddy form in the rear-view mirror. "You're a walking disaster. And use a blanket to sit on, I'm not letting you get the Impala all muddy."
Mia stuck her tongue out at him in retort before laying her head against the window and wrapping a blanket around her muddy body. Part of her was glad that her stunt had gotten Dean and Sam to laugh, especially since they had been so worried about their father.
After having a quick dinner and changing, the three of them headed to the house and sat in the Impala for a few hours together, waiting for any sign that The Demon would give of its arrival. Sam had recalled in one of his visions, the clock struck midnight when Monica was attacked by the demon.
"Why don't we go in there and get them out early?" Mia suggested. She had grown bored of sitting in the car for three hours with nothing to do but wait.
"How exactly do you propose we do that?" Dean interrogated.
Sam shrugged, "We could tell them there's a gas leak,"
"That won't work…" Dean retorted as he focused his attention back on the house.
Sam leaned towards his brother, "We could always tell them the truth."
The three young hunters smirked at each other. "Nah," they all said in unison.
"You know we just gotta wait it out and get It before It gets them," Dean told his brother as he stretched out his arms in exhaustion.
Sam nodded and was silent for a moment.
"I wonder how Dad's doing…"
Dean frowned at his brother's words. "I'd feel a lot better if we were there backing him up."
"I'd feel a lot better if he was here backing us up," Sam replied with a wistful glance.
"What am I? Chopped liver," Mia joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Dean turned to face her, "No. You're just some crazy teenager that we're stuck babysitting for this case."
Mia folded her arms and attempted to formulate a witty sarcastic response but all that she could say was; "Stupid head."
Dean stared at her with mild amusement before returning his gaze to the house.
After a long silent pause, Mia began to feel impatient again.
"Can't we just, get into position by the door or something?"
Dean snickered, "Yeah, and if one of them goes to take out the trash you'll give them a heart attack."
"Just be patient," Sam told her softly as she glanced at the house.
Mia sighed, "How do you guys stand this boredom during steak-outs? I always get so bored."
"We usually just talk or eat," Sam shrugged.
"Now that you mention it, I'm actually kind of hungry," Mia mumbled.
Dean reached into his jeans' pockets and pulled out a large package of M&M's. He offered the package to Mia who stared at it questioningly.
"If you don't want that, I've got red licorice, milk duds, and sour patch kids," Dean added as he pulled the candies out of the various pockets of his jacket.
Mia smiled and laughed. "What, are you made of candy?"
"Do you want the candy or not?" Dean asked in a serious tone.
Mia quickly grabbed the package of sour patch kids before he could change his mind, and thanked him.
She glanced out the window as she munched on the candies and noticed that the wind had picked up. And instead of soft rock music playing in the background, the station had turned to complete static.
"Guys, I think it's here," Mia exclaimed.
Sam and Dean stared at the house for verification. The lights were flickering on and off in unison and they turned to each other.
"We gotta move, now!" Dean shouted. The three hunters sprung out of the car and ran to the front door.
Dean quickly picked the lock and let them inside. Sam had the Colt at the ready as they rushed inside.
"Do you hear anything?" Mia whispered to the brothers.
Sam and Dean shook their heads and then ventured further into the house.
Suddenly, Sam spotted a man with a baseball bat, creeping up towards them. It was Rosie's father and Monica's husband.
"Duck!" He shouted to his brother when he saw the man raise the bat for an attack.
Dean quickly ducked and avoided the attack. The man went for Mia next, swinging the baseball bat at her head. Luckily, Mia was fast and bent backward to dodge the swing.
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" The man shouted at them as he swung violently.
Mia straightened up and saw the man going to swing for Sam. She grabbed the bat and attempted to wrestle it away from the man. Unfortunately, with one wild swing, he threw her onto the floor. Dean stepped in and grabbed the bat, expertly using the force of the man's swings to maneuver the man against the wall.
"Listen to me; we are trying to help you," Dean told the man in a serious tone.
"Charlie," came Monica's panicked voice from upstairs, "is everything okay down there?"
"MONICA, GET THE BABY!" Charlie screamed to his wife.
Sam and Mia exchanged terrified glances.
"DON'T GO IN THE NURSERY!" Sam called up to the woman as Mia ran up the stairs to stop the woman.
Sam followed her up, leaving Dean to deal with Charlie.
Mia and Sam ran into the room just in time to see Monica crying, hovering on the ceiling over her baby's crib. There was a shadowy figure standing over the crib, his piercing yellow eyes shining in the darkened room.
Sam aimed the Colt at the demon but couldn't seem to bring himself to pull the trigger out of shock.
"DO IT!" Mia cried when she noticed his hesitation.
Sam pulled the trigger but the demon disappeared before the bullet could make impact.
Monica fell from the ceiling and Mia grabbed her.
"We need to get you out of here!"
Monica started for the crib and cried out, "MY BABY!"
Sam caught Monica's arm and led her out of the nursery while Mia went for baby Rosie.
"I've got you," she whispered to the baby as she followed Sam and Monica down the hallway and out of the house to meet up with Dean and Charlie.
"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!" Charlie bellowed at Sam and Mia as they ran out of the building as it began to catch fire.
"No Charlie!" Monica sobbed, "They saved us!"
She gingerly took her daughter from Mia and held her close before walking to her husband. "Thank you," she said to the three of them softly.
Dean, Sam, and Mia nodded in response. They turned to glance at the burning house and Mia wondered if the boys were recalling the deaths of their mother and Jess by The Demon's fire.
Sam turned to the window and jumped in shock to see the figure of the demon in the window, flames surrounding him.
Sam started for the front door, "He's still in there!"
Dean and Mia both grabbed him and held him back.
"Are you crazy? I promised your Dad I wouldn't let you do anything stupid! Running in there definitely counts as stupid!" Mia shouted as she forced him away from the house.
"I need to get in there!" Sam replied as he struggled violently against Mia and his brother.
"Sam! The building is burning up, it's suicide!" Dean reprimanded his younger brother.
"I don't care," Sam shouted, finally freeing himself from their grasp.
He started towards the house but his brother stood in front of him.
"I do!"
Sam stared at Dean in astonishment.
"Revenge isn't worth losing your life," Mia added as she placed a hand on Sam's shoulder.
The three of them were silent and watched helplessly as the demon's form flickered in the window.
They went back to the motel and sat in their rooms, awaiting a call from John.
"Sam," Mia started, "don't beat yourself up."
She could tell by the look on his face that he was extremely disappointed in himself for missing the demon.
"It's okay," she added, "we know the pattern of his attacks. We can still get him."
"I had him right there, I could've ended it," Sam lamented.
Mia sighed, "Everyone makes mistakes, Sam. The important thing is that we're gonna find that son of a bitch, and you're gonna get your chance to kill him again."
Sam suddenly looked up at her. "You shouldn't have stopped me from running inside."
"And let you commit suicide, no way," Mia replied firmly.
Sam sighed, "I wouldn't have died."
Dean, who had finished calling his father for the thousandth time, came over to them.
"So, you're just willing to sacrifice yourself? Is that it?" Dean asked, having overheard Mia and Sam's conversation.
"You're damn right I am," Sam replied sternly as he stood up.
Dean narrowed his eyes at him. "Yeah, well that's not gonna happen. Not as long as I'm here."
"What are you talking about? Dean, this isn't some monster. It's The Demon. We've been searching our whole lives for It; It's the only thing we've ever cared about."
"Sam," Dean groaned. "I wanna kill It too. But I don't think it's worth dying over."
"What?" Sam exclaimed in disbelief.
"If finally killing this thing means you getting yourself killed, then I never want to find it," Dean responded.
"That thing killed Jess," Sam started with his inner fury growing inside. "That thing killed Mom!"
Dean took a deep breath, "You said once yourself; no matter what we do, they're gone and they're never coming back."
In a fit of rage, Sam grabbed his brother by his shoulders and slammed him against the wall.
"DON'T YOU SAY THAT!" Sam growled angrily.
Mia was horrified by their actions.
"Stop it!" she shouted as she tried to pull Sam off of Dean. But Sam refused to budge.
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP IT!" Mia shouted loud enough to get the brothers' attention.
Sam released Dean and the two of them stared at the angry brunette in surprise.
"Fighting like this isn't going to bring them back, okay? Dean's right, they're gone and they're never coming back. Killing this demon won't bring them back, but it might bring you a piece of mind. Sam, this isn't worth dying over. You two, and your father; that's the only family you have left. Focus on that, not on sacrificing yourself to save someone who's already dead," Mia told them.
Sam lowered his eyes.
Mia turned to him, "Sam, do you think Jess would want you doing this? Do you think she'd want you to die? No, she'd want you to live! Sam, me, your father, and your brother want you to live!"
Dean looked at his brother as well. "I can't lose you, man. Sometimes I feel like I'm barely holding it together, and without you and Dad, I-"
"Dad," Sam focused on him, taking Mia's advice. "Why hasn't he called yet?"
"Try him again," Mia suggested as she handed Dean his phone.
He obliged and kept his face straight although Mia knew he, like his brother, was fighting back tears. The boys had truly been through a lot, and they couldn't afford to lose each other now.
"Dad?" Dean sighed in relief when the phone was finally answered.
But instead of his father's voice, it was Meg's taunting one.
"You guys really screwed up this time," she said darkly.
Dean clenched his jaw. "Where is he?"
Mia and Sam exchanged terrified glances as they realized what had happened.
"You're never going to see your father, again," Meg replied.
Although Sam and Mia couldn't hear what the demon said, the fear conveyed in Dean's eyes was message enough.
To Be Continued…
A/N: I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so much for all the reviews! It means the world to me! Keep 'em coming! Next chapter we're going to see a little bit of Mia's background story-like her family, and why Sam claims she seems so familiar. I'm really excited because Bobby comes in next episode! So thank you, guys, for keeping me going!
Next Up: Dean, Sam, and Mia go head to head with Meg in order to track down John. Meanwhile, a part of Mia's mysterious past and link with the Winchester brothers is revealed.