Point of Know Return

That Night

LAWRENCE, KANSAS

Mary followed Sam into the nursery and Dean joined them. "Come on, let's say good night to your sister."

Mary turned on the lights to reveal a three-month-old baby girl with dark hair. The girl looked at her mother and brothers. Sam leaned over the side of the crib. Dean leaned over the side of the crib next to Sam and kissed his sister's forehead.

"Night, Natalia," Dean said.

Sam kissed Natalia's head as well. "Night, Lia."

Mary leaned over her daughter. "Good night, sweetie." She brushed Natalia's hair back and kissed her forehead.

Mary went into Sam's room and put Sam to bed.

Dean kissed his brother's forehead. "Night, Sam."

Sam frowned. "No kisses, Dee!"

Mary smiled at her younger son. "Good night, love." She brushed Sam's hair back and kissed his forehead.

"Night, Mommy."

"Hey, Dean," a man greeted.

Dean turned and rushed over to the man. "Daddy!"

"Hey, buddy." John picked Dean up. "So, what do you think? You think Nat is ready to toss around a football yet?"

Dean shook his head and laughed. "No, Daddy."

John grinned. "No."

Mary passed John and Dean on her way out of the room. "You got him?"

"I got him." John hugged Dean closer. "Sweet dreams, Sam."

"Night, Daddy," Sam replied, hugging his teddy bear and burrowing in his blanket.

John carried Dean out of the room and went to his daughter's room. Sam yawned and closed his eyes.

Natalia had her thumb in her mouth and was breathing softly, already asleep.

The baseball-themed night-light near Sam's bed began to flicker. Sam shut his eyes tightly. As much as he wanted to cry out for his parents, he wanted to be a big boy. The transportation-themed clock on the wall ticked and stopped.

In the master bedroom, lights flickered on the baby monitor sitting on the nightstand next to a photo of Mary and John. Strange noises came faintly from Sam's room and could be heard in Natalia's baby monitor. Mary, asleep in bed, stirred. She turned on the light on the nightstand.

"John?" She glanced over to see he was gone and got up.

Mary made her way to Natalia's room. She was fast asleep.

She made her way to Sam's room.

"John? Does he need anything?" Mary asked.

"John" shook his head. "Shh."

"All right."

Mary headed back down the hallway. The light by the stairs was flickering. She frowned at tapped at it until the light steadied. "Hm."

She noticed more flickering light from downstairs and went to investigate. A war movie was on TV and John was asleep in the Lay-Z-Boy chair in front of the TV. Her eyes widened.

"Sammy! Sammy!" She ran up the stairs to Sam's room.

Mary stopped short upon entering Sam's bedroom and screamed.

John woke up. "Mary?" He scrambled out of the chair. "Mary!" He ran upstairs.

He peeked into Natalia's room to see she was okay.

John burst into Sam's room. "Mary."

The room was quiet and empty except for Sam awake in his bed, hugging his knees to his chest. He glanced around and sat down on the side of Sam's bed.

"Hey, Sammy. You okay?" John asked.

Sam shook his head and burrowed his head in his father's lap.

Something dark dripped next to Sam and John touched it. Two more drops landed on the back of John's hand. It looked like blood. He looked up to see Mary sprawled on the ceiling. The stomach of her nightgown was red with blood and she stared at John as she struggled to breathe.

John collapsed on the floor, staring at his wife. "No! Mary!"

Mary burst into flames. The fire spread over the ceiling. John stared, frozen. Sam wailed and Natalia, hearing her brother, started crying as well. John, suddenly reminded he wasn't alone, got up and scooped Sam from his bed and rushed from the room.

Dean was awake and coming to investigate, Natalia in his arms. "Daddy!"

John pushed Sam towards Dean and said, "Take your brother and sister outside as fast as you can and don't look back! Now, Dean, go!"

Dean turned and ran.

John turned back to the nursery. "Mary!"

The entire room was engulfed in flames and Mary could barely be seen.

"No!"

Dean ran outside, holding Natalia. "It's okay, Nat. It's okay, Sammy."

Sam grasped his brother's arm as they looked up at Sam's window, which was lit with golden flames.

John ran outside and scooped up his kids, carrying them away. "I gotcha."

Fire exploded from Sam's bedroom window.

The Lawrence Fire Department arrived. A firefighter got out of a fire truck and took over at the gauges for another firefighter.

"I got it," the firefighter said. "You go hold the line up."

The second firefighter went to the back of the truck and took a hose from a third firefighter. He took the hose towards the house where a fourth firefighter was spraying through Sam's bedroom window. A paramedic opened the back of an ambulance.

A police officer waved some neighbors back. "Stay back. You have to stay back."

Across the street from the house, John, Dean and Sam sat on the hood of John's Impala, John holding a crying Natalia. Sam and Dean both tried to console their sister by patting her and rubbing her arm, trying to calm her.

John silently looked up at the remnants of the fire as he rocked his crying daughter.