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On Saturday morning Sam is dressed and ready to go before dawn, with the silver-plated pocketknife he got a month ago for his seventh birthday tucked safely in his jeans pocket. He knows better than to wake the still-sleeping Dean, so he just stands over him, watching and waiting. But after a minute he gets bored.

"Dean," he whispers. "Deeeeean. Dean! Wake up!"

Dean groans and pulls the covers over his head.

"Dean, c'mon!"

"Sam, I swear to god if you don't leave me alone I will kill you before you get the chance to hunt your stupid purple monster."

Sam decides to watch cartoons until Dad and Dean are ready.

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It seems to Sam that he's spent most of his life in the back seat of the Impala, bored and waiting. He stares out the window toward Dover General Hospital and watches another ambulance pull up to the ER.

Finally, Dad and Dean come back out the sliding hospital door. They're dressed nice, like how Dad makes them all dress when they go to Pastor Jim's church. They look almost like strangers to Sam as they cross the parking lot.

"Did they believe you? Did they let you talk to the kid?" Sam demands eagerly the second they get to the car.

"Of course," Dean scoffs. He pulls the clip-on tie from his collar and throws it at Sam, who ducks to avoid it. "I'm Sean's best friend since Kindergarten. They had to let me see him."

"What did he say?

Dad tosses his coat into the backseat next to Sam, then unbuttons his shirt cuffs and loosens his collar. "Big fuzzy purple monster ate his folks," he says.

"Yes! I knew it!"

"You're such a freak," Dean teases.

But Sam doesn't care what Dean thinks. He is so excited that he can't be still. He feels like he can't wait another minute to get started.

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They drive to the neighborhood of the attacks and pull into a nearly empty McDonald's parking lot. Dad stops the car and turns to Dean in the passenger seat.

"Find me the private detective I.D."

Sam watches impatiently as Dean opens the glove box and digs through Dad's large collection of I.D.s until he finds the right one.

"What's the plan?" Dean asks as he hands the badge to Dad.

"I'm going to walk around, talk to some people, listen to their stories." Dad pockets the badge, then pulls a handgun out and checks that it is loaded.

Dean eyes the gun and makes a face. "Do you think that will kill a monster?"

Dad smirks and shakes his head. "Piss it off, maybe. Anything that'll really kill it is too obvious for the daytime. Today is just reconnaissance. We'll come back tonight with the big guns."

Dean grins his approval. Dad puts the gun into a holster strapped across his chest before retrieving his coat from the backseat. With the coat on, it is nearly impossible to see he is carrying a weapon.

In the backseat, Sam is fidgety and impatient. "What do you want us to do, Dad?" he asks eagerly.

Dad looks out the window toward the McDonald's. "You boys can stay here and have some lunch."

Sam groans. "But Dad..."

Dad glances up into the rear view mirror and shoots Sam a stern look. "This thing could be dangerous. It put that boy in the hospital, killed his parent and six other adults."

Sam slides down in his seat until he can no longer see his dad's eyes in the rear view mirror. He glares at the back of Dad's headrest.

Dad turns to Dean. "You watch Sam and if you see something, you stay far away and wait for me."

"Yes sir," Dean says.

"Sam, you mind your brother."

In the backseat, Sam grunts angrily in response. But Dad's already climbing out of the car. He doesn't even notice Sam.

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Dad gives them $10 for McDonalds. Dean, who is eleven and understands more about grownups and money, orders the food. Sam sits in a booth with his arms crossed over his chest and glares at the wall. He's getting left out again. And he has to be watched, like he can't keep himself out of trouble.

Dean slides into the seat across from Sam and pushes a brightly-colored box toward him. Sam continues to stare mutely at the wall. He doesn't touch his happy meal.

"C'mon Sammy, I got you the nuggets," Dean says encouragingly.

"I'm not hungry," Sam says flatly.

Dean unwraps his cheeseburger and frowns at it before taking a big bite. "You know Dad just wants to keep you safe," he points out through a mouthful.

"I should get to help," Sam replies darkly. "It was my idea."

"Yeah, well, you're too little, Sam. I don't get to help either."

"Because you have to babysit me."

Dean shakes his head. "Well at least I'm not moping, I'm enjoying my cheeseburger."

As if to prove his point, Dean finishes off his burger in another bite, then crumples up the wrapper.

"If you're not going to eat, you want to go on the play zone or something?" He grins wickedly. "We could have a ball pit fight til they kick us out."

"Play zones are for little kids."

Dean sighs. "Well, there's extra change. You want a quarter for a video game, or are you too old for that too?"

Sam scowls at his brother and doesn't answer.

"Fine, be like that Sam." Dean gathers his trash and steals some of Sam's french-fries as he leaves the table. "I'm going to play PacMan. You just sit here and be mad."

Yay, part three! Thanks for reading. Here is a teaser for part 4: Sam does not just sit there and feel mad! Will there be a purple monster in Sam's future? Stay tuned to find out!