Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW. Nothing else belongs to me, either.
AN- This is for Hotshow who wanted a back story on how/why Sammy is afraid of clowns.
Previously on Supernatural- Climbing out he opened the back door and struggled to undo the buckle on Sammy's seat. Finally getting it a loose he helped Sammy out of the car and walked inside behind the boys.
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John walked into the kitchen and plopped down in the closest chair. "Morning, Bobby." He mumbled placing his head in his hands. "Got any coffee?"
"Long night?" Bobby asked as he set a mug of hot coffee in front of John and then sat down himself.
"Yeah. Sammy woke up screaming about clowns three times last night. Dean and I managed to calm him down and get him back to sleep but I don't know how much more he can take. And I don't know how to get rid of the nightmares for him." John explained.
"They'll stop on their own, Johnny. Just give it some time." Bobby advised. Getting up he went to the stove to check on the eggs and bacon he had cooking. Turning the eggs over he stayed quiet giving his friend a little time to relax. He reached into the cabinet, retrieved two plates, and set them on the counter. Bobby heard the boys come in just as he turned off the burners. Scooping the eggs and bacon onto plates, he called, "Morning, Dean! Morning Sammy! You boys want some chocolate milk?"
"Yes, please Uncle Bobby. Sammy loves chocolate milk." Dean said around a yawn. He helped his little brother climb up into a chair before sitting next to him.
"I'll get'em Bobby." John volunteered heading to the refrigerator. Taking the milk out he grabbed two small cups from the cupboard, set them in front of the boys, and poured chocolate milk in each glass. Sitting back down he glanced over at Dean and smirked. "Hey, Bobby! Did you manage to keep the pies safe last night?"
"Of course I did. I set up an alarm system nobody could get past. Those pies are safer than if they were in Fort Knox." Bobby bragged as he set the plates on the table before sitting down himself.
"Really?" John questioned. "Maybe you should check them just to be sure."
"Maybe you should check them just to be sure." Bobby mimicked. "I'll show you." Pushing back from the table he headed out of the kitchen mumbling under his breath.
John and the boys sat and listened to the sounds of Bobby fumbling around in the other room. After several minutes a disheveled Bobby reappeared in the kitchen with the Shoney's bag in hand.
Placing the bag on the table Bobby glared at John and said, "Be prepared to eat crow, Winchester." He then opened the bag and set the pies out one by one. Bobby's eyebrows rose and his expression changed from surprise to anger as he looked at the three pies with missing pieces. "Dean! You got into the bag last night, didn't you?" he yelled.
"Yes, sir" Dean admitted sneaking a glance at his dad. Dean relaxed when he saw John attempting to hide a smile.
"And you just had to try all the pies?" Bobby quizzed.
"I couldn't help it. I was hungry!" Dean told him.
"So you ate SIX pieces of pie!" Bobby shouted. "I'm surprised you're not sick."
"Six? I didn't eat six. I only took one slice of each pie. Honest." Dean swore.
Bobby stared long and hard at Dean checking for any trace of deception. Finding none he scratched his head. "But if you only had three, who ate the other pieces? Josh went home for the night and Sammy's too little to get to them. So that leaves" Bobby's eyes swung over to see John trying hard to stifle a laugh. "John? You didn't?"
"Sorry Bobby. I just couldn't help myself." John said winking at Dean. "I watched Dean break into "Fort Knox", waited until he left, and then copied what he did.
"Alright, dad!" Dean cheered high-fiving his father.
"You two are unbelievable." Bobby grumbled as he set the pies in the refrigerator.
"Yeah, but you love us." Dean added smiling.
"You know this means war." Bobby warned as he walked back to the table with the box of Lucky Charms.
"Bring it on, old man." John challenged. "I'm ready for you."
"Just remember, you started it." Bobby said grinning as he sat back down.
"I'll remind you of that after I win." John bragged as he turned to his boys. Picking up the cereal box he asked, "So Sammy you want some Lucky Charms?"
"No" Sammy replied. "I want pie!"
"Sorry Sammy. You can't have pie for breakfast." John stated.
"Why?" Sammy questioned.
"I got it, dad." Dean piped up. "Sammy, pie isn't for breakfast, it's for lunch and supper."
"Why?" Sammy asked again.
Thinking quickly Dean blurted out, "Cause Cookie Monster said so."
"Cookie Monster?" Sammy repeated as he thought that over. "Okay."
"Good job, Dean." John praised. Looking at Sammy he shook the box of cereal and asked, "Lucky Charms, Sammy?"
"No" Sammy responded shaking his head. "Me want cookies!"
Bobby laughed at the identical looks of frustration on the elder Winchester's faces. Snatching up the cookie jar he walked up beside Sammy. "I've got this one." He informed the others as he held the jar up for Sammy to see. "No cookies this morning, Sammy. The cookies are all gone." He explained as he opened the empty jar and allowed Sammy to look inside. "Your friend Cookie Monster must have eaten them all while we were gone last night. Afraid you'll just have to make due with Lucky Charms, sport."
Sammy gazed from the empty jar to the box of cereal. "Okay, Charms." He finally agreed digging in as soon as John set a bowl in front of him.
"Okay, now that I've settled that, what are we doing this morning?" Bobby asked.
"Well, Josh is going to interview the families and then hit the library. You and I need to go through the news reports and see what we can find. Try to narrow the search down." John clarified. "Dean, I want you to take Sammy in the other room and play for a while so Uncle Bobby and I can work, okay?"
"Sure dad" Dean replied as he set his cup and bowl in the sink. "We can watch TV. Scooby Doo should be coming on. . .maybe we'll play with our trucks instead."
"Good idea." John agreed helping Sammy out of his chair.
"Hold up there a minute, Sammy." Bobby called. "Here's some of that play dough you used the other day. You can make a driver for your truck with it."
Sammy took the container from Bobby and raced out of the room hollering, "Dean! Dean! Look! Pay Dough!"
John and Bobby spent all morning scanning the news reports and mapping out the attacks trying to determine the best search area for the hunt. After several hours of meticulous research, they were ready for a break. John stood up and stretched before walking into the living room to see what his boys were up to. He stepped in the room just in time to see Sammy bite the head off his play dough man and start chewing it. Racing over he snatched Sammy up and dashed back into the kitchen and over to the sink. "Spit it out, Sammy!" he ordered.
Hearing the urgency in his friend's voice Bobby quickly made his way to John's side. "What's wrong, John?" he asked.
"He ate some of the play dough, Bobby." John explained as he continued to try to make a struggling Sammy spit out the dough. He was shocked when Bobby started laughing. Turning to stare at the older man he yelled, "You think this is funny?"
Bobby carefully pulled Sammy out of his dad's arms and set him on the floor. "He's fine, Johnny. It's edible play dough." Seeing the confused stare he continued, "One of my neighbors made it for the boys. It's okay for him to eat it."
"Edible play dough, huh?" John muttered as he slowly calmed down. "Thanks a lot for the warning."
"Sorry, John. With everything that's happened it just kinda slipped my mind." Bobby apologized looking back at the other room. "It must be time to eat if Sammy's willing to eat that slop. Go play with your boys, I'll fix some hot dogs."
John walked back in the living room and sat down next to Sammy who was staring at him suspiciously. "Daddy's sorry, Sammy. I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't know it was okay to eat the play dough."
"It okay, daddy." Sammy said holding up what was left of his driver. "Want some?"
Grimacing John took the driver and set it aside. "No thanks, Sammy. I don't want to spoil my lunch." He fibbed. "Bobby's cooking hot dogs."
"Yippee! Hot Dogs!" Sammy shouted dancing around the room.
"Yep. Hot dogs. Now come on. We need to wash up before we eat." John advised leading the boys to the bathroom. He helped the boys get cleaned up. Then setting Sammy up on his shoulders and Dean on his back John carried both boys into the kitchen for lunch.
After a quick meal of hot dogs and chips, they took the boys outside to run off some of their energy while they waited for Josh. John and Bobby sat on the porch steps and watched the boys as they raced around the yard playing with the dogs and each other. By the time Josh arrived an hour later Sammy was slowing down.
Picking up his youngest John took Sammy inside and put him down for a nap before returning to the porch where Josh and Bobby were deep in a discussion about the new info they had acquired. John attempted to listen to the details of the hunt but his eyes kept drifting over to Dean who was quietly sitting on a bench throwing a baseball up in the air.
Noticing John's lack of attention Bobby gazed over at his friend. Following John's stare he saw the lonely little boy and decided he needed to take care of that problem. "Johnny" he called punching him on the arm. "Go play with your boy. Josh and I have this under control."
"You sure?" John questioned not taking his eyes off Dean.
"Yes, now go before I change my mind." Bobby teased. He watched John race over and start playing ball with Dean. "Now that's more like it." He thought as the two threw the ball back and forth. "Come on Josh. Let's go back inside. I could use some more coffee." He said as he got up and walked to the door.
John and Dean played ball for most of the afternoon only stopping when Sammy came running out with Josh and Bobby right behind him. Setting the ball and glove down on the picnic table John sat down on one of the benches and looked at both his boys. "What do you say we play hide and seek? You two can hide first. Just remember to stay together. Okay?"
"Alright, dad. But no peeking. And Josh and Bobby can't help." Dean put in.
"Fair enough." John replied. "Ready? Go!" He laughed as he watched his boys race out of sight. Glancing down at his watch he set the timer for a minute and then turned to his friends. "It's been a good day. Can't believe we made it through the day without a meltdown."
"I can't believe we've made it through the whole day without seeing a clown anywhere." Bobby added.
"You do know the day's not over yet." Josh pointed out. "Don't go jinxing us now. I kinda like seeing the little guy smiling."
"Aww quit your griping. Where could they possibly see a clown out here?" Bobby muttered.
"I knew you shouldn't have said that Bobby." Joshua growled as a scream rang out across the junkyard.