"Where were you off to in such hurry, Son?" queried the officer as he looked at Dean through the window of the Impala.

"Just going to pick up my brother from school, Sir," responded Dean. 'This day is never gonna fucking end.'

"Do you know why I stopped you?"

'Because you're a prick?'

"No, sir." Better to play dumb than to admit to anything. Then they knew they had you.

"Goin' a little too fast outta that parking lot. It's a school zone, ya know."

'No shit.'

"Sorry Sir."

The officer swept the interior of the car with his eyes but didn't see anything that he felt should concern him, so he simply said, "License and registration, please."

Dean, who had retrieved the items from the glove box while he was waiting for the officer to approach the car, handed them over.

The officer looked at the documents and then proceeded to take a long, slow walk around the Impala before he returned to his vehicle.

'Come on. Come on. I don't have all day.'

Dean glanced at his watch and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel while he waited impatiently for the officer. He watched the officer in the rear-view mirror for any indications of trouble but he didn't seem to be doing anything except taking his time.

After a few minutes, the officer got out of his vehicle and sauntered back to the Impala but as he came up to the car, he stopped and stared at the back of the car. He stood there for a few minutes, just looking at the car.

'Please don't ask me to open the trunk.'

Then the officer walked to the shoulder of the road and casually walked around the car, nonchalantly inspecting it as he walked up the passenger side, around the front and back to the driver's window.

"I noticed that you have an outstanding ticket in Michigan. Gonna clear that up soon?" asked the officer as he handed the papers back to Dean.

"Yessir. Mailed the payment last week. They should be getting' it any day."

"Good," nodded the officer. "You can go – this time. Just slow down driving through town. There'll be no mistaking this car next time I see you drivin' like that. Then I will have to ticket you," he replied taking one last look at the Impala.

"Understood, Sir."

"Bastard."

Dean put the car into gear and carefully set off across town. Sometimes the Impala did have its disadvantages – especially where law enforcement was concerned. It just didn't blend in with the scenery too well – no matter where he went.

As Dean approached the school, he could see a horde of teenagers congregated at the far end of the schoolyard. A feeling of dread swept over him, but he didn't want to rush to any conclusions, so he scanned the schoolyard for his brother. Sam was nowhere to be seen. As a matter of fact, the schoolyard was pretty much empty except for that one group of kids.

Dean parked the car and got out. He didn't want to appear to be too anxious about what was happening at the back of the school, so he meandered around the schoolyard trying to look more relaxed than he felt. As much as it looked like he was just strolling casually through the schoolyard, he was actually advancing on the crowd at a respectable pace. The last thing he wanted was to take his time getting there only to find that Sam was in trouble and everyone else was just enjoying the show.

As Dean drew closer, he saw that Sam was in fact the focal point of the little gathering. Dean could see Rick hovering over his brother in the center of the mob and there were two boys holding Sam's arms in an attempt to immobilize him. Sam was doing his best to try to free himself and was managing to thwart Rick's impending attack by using his legs to lash out at him.

Dean took off running toward the crowd and pushed anyone who happened to be in his way to the side. As he burst through the crowd, Dean rushed up to Rick and spun him around.

"Call off your goons," was all that he said as he and the younger boy engaged in a stare-down.

"Oh…look Sam," replied Rick sarcastically, not taking his eyes off Dean. "Big Brother's here to save you."

"He doesn't need me to save him, Asshole," answered Dean. "Just to make sure it's a fair fight."

Neither Dean nor Rick moved. It appeared as if they were both waiting for the other one to make the first move. Sam stilled in his efforts to free himself even though the two boys restraining him had not relinquished their hold.

Confident that Rick didn't pose an immediate threat to his brother, Dean slowly turned around and faced the boys holding his brother.

"Let him go," warned Dean.

Shocked by the rapid turn of events, the two teenagers let go of their captive and stepped backwards, away from Dean. They had no intention of challenging him. Even the mass of onlookers seemed to take a few steps backwards. The danger level had just risen dramatically and what had started out as a fun distraction had turned into an ominous display of alarm.

Sam stumbled forward a couple of steps when he was released. He quickly regained his balance and turned his attention to Rick. His eyes were filled with anger, but Dean also saw the unmistakable expression of pain on his brother's face as Sam readied himself for a confrontation with Rick.

Dean hadn't budged from his position and he carefully scrutinized his brother for any sign of injury. His eyes fell to Sam's right wrist, which he noticed was swollen to twice its normal size. As he continued his inspection Dean also noticed that Sam's right shoulder was sitting at an awkward angle and that Sam was having a difficult time mobilizing it.

'Fuck. They dislocated his shoulder AND broke his wrist.'

Dean spun around to face Rick once again, but didn't venture from his location.

Rick glanced at him and swallowed hard, but he didn't retreat. He looked back at Sam, who was steadily advancing on him. Rick could see that Sam was injured and figured that he would be easy prey – as long as Dean stayed out of it.

But Dean wasn't about to let his younger brother fight injured. He didn't care how much it would hurt Sam's pride or whether Sam would hate him for injecting himself into the fight. He wasn't going to stand by and watch his brother get hurt worse.

So Dean didn't look at Sam as he repositioned himself in front of Rick and stated, "Fight's over."

As a wicked grin spread over his face, Rick looked at Dean and responded, "I knew you were here to save his ass."

Dean closed the gap between them and stood towering over the younger boy. He didn't much care that he was at least four years older, five inches taller or 30 pounds heavier than the other boy.

"You bother my brother again, and you will answer to me. Got that?"