Dean settled himself comfortably beneath the tree, its thick foliage rendering the space below cool and shady. He licked his chops to get the last morsels of meat from his teeth, settled his head on his paws and gave a long whine of satisfaction.
It wasn't often that he managed to fill his stomach to its full capacity, but today had been one of those lucky days. Even Sam had gobbled his fill.
Dean wondered where on earth the pup tucked it away! The pile of broken hamburger meat had seemed bigger that the little dog's entire body.
'You're gonna end up puking all that food onto the roadside,' the black dog had warned.
'No, I'm not,' Sam had replied, continuing to scarf down as much as he could. 'I need to eat to grow big and strong like you.'
'In your dreams,' Dean had grunted.
:
Closing his eyes, he anticipated some hot action. They'd passed a cute little poodle earlier, she was just the right kind of fodder for an enjoyable doggy fantasy!
'I'm gonna take a nap, Sammy. Try not to get into trouble while I'm asleep.'
'Don't worry, Dean. I just need to pay a visit to those bushes back there, but I'll be right back to cuddle up with you.'
The little puppy yawned. With his belly full, he too was ready for a nap.
'You're worse than a tick when you burrow into me,' Dean grumbled, but there was no heat to his words. In truth he kinda liked curling around the little dude.
:
This time though, he was to wait in vain, for the minutes passed and Sam didn't return.
At first Dean didn't rate it as anything particular. The puppy had probably picked up a strange scent and was rooting around in the undergrowth, but as time continued to slip away, he began to experience the first flashes of unease.
Pulling himself to his feet, he cocked his ears, straining to hear any unusual sounds, but all seemed quiet other than the hum of the city, a background noise he ignored.
Nose to the ground he sniffed around repeatedly to catch Sam's scent, following the trail into the bushes nearby. He quickly discovered the spot where Sam had relieved himself, but where to now?
Maybe the puppy had just gone off exploring but Dean feared it was not so. Something had stopped his little friend from coming back to him.
Thanking his lucky stars, Dean found the direction Sam had taken, and nose glued to the ground, he followed the scent, padding along as quickly as he could, fearful of losing the faint whiff.
A few yards on he came across a half-chewed piece of sausage. Had Sam been ENTICED away with a trail of food? The little dog would be attracted by the aroma, and even sated, he'd try to wolf it down.
:
Up ahead, the grass gave way to a path, one of the many criss-crossing the city park where he found himself. His muscles tensing, Dean flew along, stopping only when his paws hit the hard tarmac with a thump.
All his senses on red alert, he strained his eyes to search out any trace of the pup, first to the right then the left.
There, in the distance he noticed a cluster of dogs. And if he wasn't mistaken, Sam was among them.
:
Like a veritable fury he raced along the path, drawing to a halt in front of the little group, his stance vigilant and aggressive.
Four dogs surrounded Sam who was imprisoned in the middle. 'Dean' he called out at the glimpse of his friend, his voice trembling.
'Cass! I should've known,' Dean snarled. 'Let Sam through and I'll forget you trying to kidnap him.'
'Kidnap the little dude?' Cass replied. 'There's some mistake. We were just trying to be friendly, weren't we guys.'
Dean cast his eyes over the other three mutts who nodded dutifully. He'd never set eyes on their ugly mugs before. Cass must've recruited some new acolytes.
'He's so cute, we fed him some of our best titbits.'
:
His eyes hard, Dean tensed his muscles in attack mode. Four against one were poor odds. If it came to a fight, he'd come out of it badly. But if he was forced to engage, he would.
However, it seemed Cass had made his point, for he moved a few inches to the side, leaving space for the pup to pass.
Although, Dean didn't show it, his expression granitic, he was relieved when Sam ran to him without any of the four dogs trying to stop him.
'Get behind me, Sammy,' he growled.
'There's no need for that,' Cass declared smarmily, showing his teeth in what he interpreted as a grin. 'We were just getting to know each other. Your little pal is such a cutie.'
'Keep away from us. Understand!' Dean warned, his powerful shoulder muscles flexing to substantiate his threat.
'I wouldn't make empty threats, Dean. Four against one...and a toe-rag.' He nodded to the quivering Sammy. 'No bets on who wins. But we'll be on our way. Things to do, dogs to see.'
:
With that and a last cackle from the three mongrels trailing after him, the dogs turned and headed off down the road before deviating into the undergrowth and disappearing from view.
'You okay, Sammy?'
The little pup hung his head in shame. 'I'm sorry, Dean. It's my fault. I was coming back when I saw some bits of sausage. I only meant to taste, but then that Cass and his friends appeared and they herded me away.'
'Why didn't you bark, call for help?'
'Cass whispered in my ear that if I didn't keep quite they'd go and hurt you.'
Cold fingers clutched Dean's heart. Cass was up to something. This had been just a warning.
He licked at the top of Sam's head, his caress soothing the pup.
'It's not you're fault, little dude. But we must be careful from now on. You can't go off on your own any more, not even to take a piss.'
Sam looked up to meet his friend's eyes. 'I'm sorry, Dean,' he repeated. 'I've brought you nothing but trouble. You should just have left me back in that alleyway.'
'Don't ever say that again,' Dean replied angrily.' You've brought joy and companionship into the life of a lone dog who had neither.'
:
At Dean's impassioned words, Sam whined his assent, but the little dog remained unconvinced. He'd complicated Dean's life for the worse.
'Come on, dude. My nap is long overdue. Let's go.'
Directing his little friend towards the chosen tree, the two dogs curled up together and sleep overcame them. For now, safe and secure.
tbc
