Chapter Text
Dr A finished her morning rounds and was looking forward to their morning ritual of shared coffee and swapping stories. Her colleague’s work looked straight out of CSI and kept her in touch with the specialty of her dreams while she herself had chosen a very sensible Surgeon’s career. Fantasy and real life don’t often collide and that’s just how it is.
Dr H was already waiting, two coffees in hand, at the faculty parking lot overlooking a messy growth of shrubs and weeds.
“So, how’s the baby doing?” Dr H started.
“She is ok, fortunate to have escaped with 4% burns but…”
Dr H cut in “I did the parents’ autopsy last night, just so unfair.”
“Anything interesting?”
“Not really, no accelerants. Doesn’t make sense for a suburban house to just go up in flames.
There was one strange thing though, mother’s body had this rotten-egg smell, and I found sulfur on her abdominal wall. You remember the Johnson house fire a couple of months back?
Sulfur there too, on the mother. Didn’t know what to make of it then and don’t know what to make of it now. Anyway, cops are closing the case, obviously an accidental fire.”
After a pause, Dr A changed the subject.
“Well, we had a twenty-year-old come in last night with a malrotation volvulus. Ladd’s procedure on adults is fun.”
“Nice, another life saved. Let’s go, paperwork awaits.”
***
Dr A walked back to her clinic, glancing at the baby as she crossed the NICU. 6 months old to the date and an orphan, great just great.
As she prepared to deal with the mundane, she looked up to find two men in suits asking to speak with her. Her first instinct was ‘oh oh, what did I do’ though she managed a firm nod and tight smile.
FBI badges were flashed; one she noticed said Dr. and instinctively directed her attention toward him.
“Well, what can I help you with, Mr Smith and Dr Wesson?”
“Ahem, we are here regarding the house fire that killed two people last night. The baby is under your care?”
“Yes, why is the FBI interested in this case? We don’t see suits around here for a house fire.”
“Just answer the question, please.” Mr Smith was curt.
“I already did,” Dr A hit back.
“We would like to see the baby,” a lot more polite Dr Wesson cut in.
“Ok, follow me.”
“Uh Doctor, jackets off, shirts up to the elbows, there’s the hand-washing station and masks please.”
Right, NICU protocols…thought Dr Wesson
“Patient is stable. Heart rate sixty, respiratory rate fourteen. 4% facial flame burns” droned Dr A.
“Ok, that’s good. Baby has been here in NICU since the accident? Any strange men came to visit her last night? Find any drops of blood on her?”
“Ok,” Dr A spun around to face them. “What in the X files is this?! And what kind of “Doctor” are you exactly? I suspect you aren’t one at all.”
The ‘doctor’ led her to a quiet corner and hurriedly whispered, “Please, keep it down. We can explain”. She looked over and saw his partner making goofy faces at the baby.
They walked back to Dr A’s office. “Ok, explain.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on her desk.
“We are friends of the family and are looking into the incident, it could be foul play.”
“Why are you suspecting foul play, the cops already closed the case. Are you here to adopt the baby?”
“Uh…no. Extended family will... we have been told. So, there have been similar incidents in the past year...”
“Oh, like the fire couple of months back...the Johnsons, a couple of towns over.”
“You know about that?”
“I uh heard about it...and something strange about sulfur on the victim, specifically the mother? Know anything about that?”
“Uh, yeah...we are looking into it.”
“Thanks Doc.” Agent Smith stepped in, “That’s got it covered. Come on Sam, let’s go.”
Agent Smith turned around at the door and added “Doc, this might sound strange but keep an eye on the baby would you and have any iron implements handy.”
They left her with a dozen unasked questions.
***
“What do you think, Dean? Yellow eyes is done here?”
“I don’t know, Sam. Let’s watch the place tonight. And you need to get better at ‘Doctor’, man. We got made in…what, two minutes? We didn’t even say anything.”
Sam didn’t reply, though managed to look embarrassed and stubborn at the same time.
***
That evening, after the daytime bustle of the hospital had died down, Dr A allowed herself to acknowledge the sensation that she had felt watched the whole day. She shook her head and started to leave for home but crossing the NICU she remembered the fake FBI officer’s comment about watching the baby and chuckled at the tip to keep some iron?
She had a taste for the absurd and dismantled an IV-stand hoping it was iron and left it outside the NICU door.
It would make for some snorts over their morning coffee ritual at least.
Her mind still on the strange circumstances, she started looking up house fires in the past year. She sat up straight in her chair, feeling the hair on the neck rise as four cases came up, house fires as the baby was 6 months old to the date, mothers dying in the fire.
Her patient was the only one to lose both parents and the only one to sustain any injuries.
What the hell
As she looked up from her desk it was already dark and the spare night shift personnel were not to be seen.
She got up to stretch her legs and spotted a janitor enter the NICU.
And he neglected to follow protocol as people are wont to do when unobserved.
She walked toward the NICU prepared to give an impassioned speech about hand washing when she saw him standing over The baby.
Her stomach dropped and with an unreal feeling she reached for the IV-stand rod propped next to the door. She waited hidden, watching him as he picked up the baby and started for the door.
She slammed the rod across his back and barely registered what seemed to be an unholy scream and a sizzling burn of his clothes. She had grabbed the baby and was backing away calling for help when the fake FBI agents from earlier barged in.
Some liquid was thrown with more sizzling and screaming, archaic words were being chanted, a scuffle and black smoke escaped through the window leaving an unconscious janitor on the floor with a sprawled-out Agent Smith, was it? And Dr Wesson peered over a tattered journal.
“Did I just see black smoke exit from the mouth of this janitor and leave through the window as if it were sentient? Did I see his eyes turn all black for a second there?”
“Yes, you did. Let me help you up, hand me the baby,” Mr Wesson reached out.
“No.” Dr A held the baby closer. ”The baby stays with me. Now, you are going to answer my questions first.”
She took the baby back to her crib and joined the men outside the NICU.
She stood there looking at the floor waiting for them to explain.
“Ok, this is going to sound insane but that was a demon. They… he is after the baby for a ritual which we are trying to prevent. That’s what killed the family.”
“Ok…that is insane, but I am not just seeing things, I gather. And Mr Wesson, you know this how?”
“It’s Sam and this is Dean; this is our family business. We hunt these things.”
“With iron and water and chanting?”
“Yes, that was an exorcism, and it was holy water.”
“Sam, I think spare the lecture till she can wrap her head around this.”
She glanced up at him expecting condescension but saw a look of concern instead, closing her eyes she went on.
“So, what now?”
“It appears the ritual was never completed so we still have demons circling. They would try again. We have a weapon to stop him...if we can find him first.”
“This ritual, is the baby going to die?” Doc asked quietly.
“No, we think the baby will be uh infected, as has happened to others before her, but will grow up seemingly normal.”
“She is going to grow horns I, suppose,” Doc chuckled at her own silly joke as Sam reflexively felt the top of his head for horns that never grew. Dean shot him a ‘seriously?’ look.
Dr A continued “Ok, so obviously they will have to show up here and is there a deadline…you know daylight or something like that?”
“Well, the ritual has always occurred exactly the day the baby turns 6 months old.”
“Ok, hold on,” She pulled out the records on her phone...” let’s see, time of birth 2:12 am. Fire last night at 3 am, so, now we have a couple of hours till she crosses over to the next day of her life.”
Dean smacked Sam over his shoulder and pulled him to the side, “Sammy, ‘we’ need to make some plans.”
“Sam, we are down to the last three bullets on the Colt and we are involving civilians in this? Against yellow eyes? We missed the best shot we had last night, and the family died.”
“Dean, you want to ask her to leave, be my guest? And we did save the baby from being infected. We couldn’t evacuate the family before he locked them in but this time it’s different. He is working against a deadline; we don’t have naive civilians around. We could ambush him, Dean, right here! We could end this, tonight!”
Dean grumbled not having a convincing reply. “Fine, but no more casualties, that’s the priority.”
They turned around to find her looking at the baby sleeping peacefully in her crib.
Dean cleared his throat... "Ahem, so we have a plan.”
***
1 am, Dr A was pretending to sleep at the NICU nursing station. She had relieved the night-shift nurse for a couple of hours.
She felt the air go cold suddenly; her breath fogging in the 27⁰ C of NICU temperature and fought the urge to jump up from her seat while her body was gearing up for fight or flight.
The men were hidden in an alcove with a clear line of sight to the crib. The next few minutes were a blur; a man just materialized over the crib. Dean charged out, gun pointed at the demon? Dean and Sam were flung away crashing into a wall, there was a gash on the demon’s arm, and the baby had his undivided attention.
She picked up the holy water she had loaded in a syringe earlier and walked up to the demon feeling as though she was underwater with a buzzing in her head.
He never saw it coming as the syringe plunged into his neck followed by the now familiar sizzling scream.
He grabbed her coat as he slumped and glared into her eyes “This...you will regret.”
Sam rushed at them gun in hand, but the black smoke had already left the building. She was slumped on the floor with the man still grabbing her collar.
Sam helped her up and they turned to the baby, there was blood on her lips, the burns already healing.
“Mr Wesson, he had yellow eyes, like a snake.”
They had cafeteria coffee in defeated silence.
A strange night with strange strangers. No, this story won’t be swapped with her buddy.
***
She finished the discharge paperwork for the baby as there was nothing to treat anymore and left for home feeling dazed.
Definitely taking the day off tomorrow, today?
She walked around her house not seeing anything when the iron poker at the fireplace caught her eye. She took it to her bedside table and tried forcing sleep.
She lounged in bed all day scrolling through demon myths, haunted by those yellow eyes. She still felt paralyzed by the memory of that gaze.
By evening she could at least plan a meal and puttered around the kitchen, never noticing the Black Impala parked across the street.
In what felt like a dream, the room got cold and her breath frosted.
She reached for the cast iron pan and whacked at the thing that appeared at the corner of her eye. She ran outside, pan flailing in her hand.
Sam and Dean barged out of the car, Sam ran behind her while Dean rushed into the house. As Sam closed the distance, she turned around and flung the pan at him catching him square on the nose. Sam doubled down in pain, “Doc, wait it’s me Sam, trying to help you.” She stopped, out of breath, spinning around looking for materializations out of thin air.
Dean joined them, “Bastard got away. Sam, what happened?”
“I am ok, I am ok. Friendly fire.”
Dean barked “Doc, you are coming with us. It’s not safe for you here anymore, till we figure something out. Grab whatever you need to, fast.”