Never Trust a Clown
Dean said that clowns were harmless. He said that they were not evil and that they were there to make people laugh. Little four-year-old Sammy always believed his big brother since he was usually right. Dean was never wrong about anything. That was about to change.
It happened one day when Dean took him to the park as a treat for being the best in his class at school. Even though he was four, according to Dean, he was smarter than all those pansy faced brats in his class and was able to show that he could read and write his name. Sam gave credit to Dean teaching him and that was because Dean said specifically 'I would go insane with all of your snivels and coughing.' Dean had taught him when he had a cold one time and Sam knew he didn't mean it.
The park was close to the motel that they were staying in that week or two. Dean was only eight but he knew how to take care of Sam and there was this nice old lady that watched out for all the kids in the neighborhood. Like that ever convinced Dean that anyone was up to par on taking care of his baby brother.
It was a treat since most of the time Dean and Sam stayed in the motel and were left to their own devices. John usually didn't let them wander far and without adult supervision considering that there were worse things out there than playground bullies. However, Dean managed to convince their dad that the old lady watched out for the kids (the truth) and that nothing bad ever happened there (guessing). In the end John said yes especially when Sam brought home his first award.
Sam was ecstatic since he had only been there once and that was when John took them there to play while he waited for some information on the current job. Now he was going to play and his big brother was taking him. It was going to be an awesome day and he gripped his brother's hand to show how excited he was as they crossed the street.
Normally Dean would have shrugged off his little brother stating 'no chick flick moments' but this time he didn't. It was rare that Sam got to play with other kids his age outside of school and in between moving from place to place. They always had fun together but Dean got the feeling that this was what Sam needed. So he felt pretty good letting Sam hold his hand.
"Dean, which one should we do first?"
Dean considered the possibilities until he noticed a few pretty little girls from his class. Now it was time to lay on the Dean Winchester charm. Sam would be all right as long as he stayed in the sand box and played nice. "Uh I think I'll just watch. This is really for you Sammy. You're the one whose got to celebrate."
Sam was pretty smart. He hadn't failed to notice the pretty girls from school. He knew that meant Dean had spotted them and wanted to go chat them up. It was okay even though he really wanted to play with his big brother. Still he had to try, "I wanted to play with you Dean." He then gave the puppy dog look.
Dean recognized that tactic. Sam only pulled that face when he wanted something and he had different degrees of it depending on how bad he really wanted it. This was a mild version. He could hold out with this one. He replied, "Aw Sammy, we play together all the time. Besides those are the girls I've been trying to lay my moves on all week."
"I know but when have we actually played in a park?"
"Sammy it'll be fine," Dean encouraged. He then spotted something and indicated, "Hey isn't that what's her name Ruby Sue or something from your class? The one you can't stop talking about?"
Sam felt the blush rise up on his cheeks. He liked Ruby. She was funny and made things fun when they played at recess and played games in class. He turned and saw her playing with some other girls. "Yeah."
"Here's your chance Sammy. Go play with her." Dean grinned as he gave his little brother a shove. "Come on be cute and show her the puppy dog eyes." He was still grinning as he watched his brother go off to ask the girl in question if she wanted to play. Now was his chance to get in good with Lilah Burke, the coolest girl in the class.
~0~0~
Sam looked around the sandbox trying to find Ruby. They were playing hide and seek and it was his turn to find Ruby. He shut his eyes and following the rules he didn't peek until he counted to ten. This was their fourth game and Dean was still talking to Lilah Burke. They had been playing for over an hour now and it had been fun. Earlier they pretended that the slides were a big giant fort but Ruby grew bored with that and suggested hide and seek.
After about ten minutes or so, he became worried. He usually found Ruby pretty quickly and that was because she always revealed her hiding place by giggling when he came close. He began calling out her name and stating that it wasn't funny that she was hiding. He began to wander away from the area that he was supposed to be in trying to find Ruby.
At one point he wandered too far away and he couldn't see his big brother Dean. Sam realized that he broke a rule that Dean said he must stick to and that was to stay in sight of his big brother. Sam turned to head back but in the wrong direction and ended up wandering further away. He didn't recognize anything and he was starting to get scared.
"Are you lost?"
Sam jumped when he heard the voice but when he turned, he saw a clown. It was one of those clowns that came by and made balloon shapes for the kids. Dean said those guys didn't know how to make an animal even if they went to school for that but he did say that clowns were nice people since they made you laugh.
Sam wasn't sure though. Normally he would be confident when Dean was around. Right now he was scared and wanted his brother. He could only nod at first and then said, "I need to find Ruby and Dean."
The clown smiled which seemed to overemphasize the painted smile. He replied, "I can help you find them," and held out his hand.
Sam hesitated but then took the clown's hand. After all it was a clown. Clowns didn't hurt anybody right?
~0~0~
Dean knew something was up the moment he couldn't hear Sam's shouts. He broke off his chat with Lilah Burke and started looking for his little brother. He couldn't see him anywhere and he almost started to panic. "Sam? Sammy?"
"Dean you were just telling me the funniest story."
"Not now Lilah."
"Why are you even bothering with your brother? He's probably playing with that geeky Ruby."
Dean ignored her as he began a systematic search for Sam. He started with the sandbox and checked all the swings and slides. He then moved to the grassy areas calling his brother's name every so often. "Sammy?"
"Ruby?"
Dean turned to find a girl wandering around, looking for something. He asked, "Looking for someone?"
"My little sister Ruby. She was playing with a boy in her class. Cute as a puppy with shaggy hair," the girl replied.
Dean had to resist the smirk that threatened. Sam always could manage to look cute and adorable around girls. The fact that this one compared him to a puppy was downright hilarious. At the moment though that had to wait since his first priority was Sam and he replied, "That's my little brother Sam. I can't find him either."
The girl shook with worry, "I gotta find my sister. Mom warned me that there was some creepy guy that just got out of jail and he 'likes' little kids."
Dean didn't like the sound of that. He had an idea of what the girl meant by that and he was ready to go protective big brother mode and he didn't have anyone to beat the crap out of. He had to stay calm and come up with a plan. That's what Dad would do. He said, "Hey don't cry. Why don't you wait by the sandbox just in case they come back and I'll look over here? We'll find them."
The girl seemed reassured that Dean was on the case. She gave a watery smile and nodded. She went back to the sandbox to keep looking around there. Dean meanwhile doubled his efforts and continued to search the area he was in. He had to find Sam before he got into serious trouble. He walked around with a determined stance unaware that some bullies decided to back off from pushing him around after seeing him.
"Sam? Sammy? Ruby?"
Dean searched around looking for the little couple. He knew Sam could be sneaky and run away but he always came back after a few calls. The kid did that to tease him and then Dean would beat him up like the awesome big brother is supposed to do with the pain in the ass little brother. He almost cursed when he thought he found Sam but it ended up being a wig that someone threw away. Gross.
~0~0~
Sam started getting the feeling that he was not going towards Dean. He was beginning to have second doubts about this clown. He said, "I don't think this is the right way."
"It is the right way kid. Now shut up and keep moving."
Sam didn't like the tone of voice. He tried to pull away but was yanked roughly along towards a van. He tried to get away from the clown as he opened the door but the clown was too fast and grabbed his arm. Sam felt himself being flung against the van and he nearly cried because his head hurt.
"Leave him alone you bully."
Sam turned to see Ruby had managed to jump out and was trying to hit the clown. He tried to help but the clown hit him across the face and he fell down. The slap was stinging and Sam put a hand to where he had been struck. He saw Ruby get hit too and she started crying. It was too fast when Sam was yanked up by the clown and he saw the meanest face ever.
There was a loud barking and a growl and Sam felt himself drop. He landed hard on the ground and his arm hit the edge of the van jarring it a little. He bit back the tears as he watched a dog bite the mean clown on the arm and gave a violent shake.
The mean clown cried out in pain and hit the dog with his fist once and the dog squealed but didn't let go. He was going to hit the dog again when his arm was grabbed and a voice said, "That's not very nice you pervert."
Sam's head was aching and he closed his eyes. Occasionally he opened them but all he could see was the mean clown and his ugly face. He woke up completely when he heard the most wonderful sound ever. He heard his big brother calling his name.
~0~0~
Dean looked at the red spot on Sam's face and said, "It's all right Sammy. We'll just say that you fell off the swing or something."
"That clown was mean Dean. He hurt Ruby." Sam was trying hard not to cry. He had never been so scared in his life.
"Yeah and the scumbag is going to pay for it. The cops took care of it," Dean tried hard to console his brother.
He had found Sam on the ground unconscious along with Ruby. The scumbag clown was handcuffed to the van in an awkward position and was guarded by a dog. The dog looked like his superhero dog that he had since he was four. He thought it totally cool to see a life size version of Xander.
There was a lady there too. She was tall and she had light brown hair with lighter highlights in it. It was short and it swung like a skirt. She wore sunglasses but Dean could tell that she was a nice lady. He could see it in the way that she helped him with Sam and Ruby. She even called the cops on that guy but before Dean could thank her, she was gone.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Sam jumped but Dean said it was okay. Dad was away on a hunt at the moment and he had a way of knock and plus he had a key. Dean told Sam to stay put and went to grab a shotgun. He knew how to use it even though he was a little small for it. He opened the door just a crack and saw the lady from earlier. "What do you want?"
"I just came to check and see if your brother was okay."
"He's fine."
The lady smiled at Dean with an amused smile. She then said, "I thought he could use some cheering up. I brought my dog with me."
Dean looked down and saw the dog from earlier sitting there panting. The minute Dean looked down the dog stood up panting happily. "He's fine," Dean repeated trying not to sound rude since she was nice but there were rules to follow.
"I believe you. If you want I'll go. I know you must have rules."
Dean eyed her suspiciously. He had a gut feeling though that she wasn't like that scumbag who tried to hurt Sam. Dad was gone so it wouldn't hurt. He didn't know though that his father welcomed her to drop by any time. He relented, "Alright. Let me open the door."
Dean undid the chain and opened the door to let the pair in. The dog streaked right in and bounded towards the room where Sam was hiding and started licking and sniffing his wet nose. When Sam started giggling Dean felt a bit better as he invited the lady in who was carrying a big bag of food stuff. He said, "You didn't have to do that?"
"My pleasure."
The rest of the evening was spent with Sam playing with the dog and Dean making sure the place was secure. He happened to come across Sam talking to the lady as she was tucking him in. Normally Dean would do that and the lady stayed out of his way but he asked her to do it. The words his brother spoke nearly broke his heart but it was bolstered by what the lady said in return. Sam said, "Dean said that clowns weren't all that bad and they make you laugh but this one was mean. He tried to hurt me."
"How do you feel about that?"
"I don't like them."
"I don't like them much either but your big brother was there. He'll always be there for you."
"I know. Dean is the bestest," Sam got excited as he hugged the dog that was lying on the bed. "But I still don't like clowns."
The lady laughed a little just as Dean came in. She made room for him and let him sit next to the dog where the dog promptly started licking him and making him say that it was gross. She laughed and left the brothers alone with the dog.
Sam smiled, "I like her Dean."
"Me too Sammy. You feeling better?"
"Yeah. I don't like clowns."
"Yeah well never trust em."
When Dean woke up the next morning, he found the lady and her dog gone. It had Dean wonder if it was a fluke. A glance at Sam and the red spot had faded to almost nothing. He looked around for the lady and found no sign of her except the bag of food stuffs she brought. Mom said that angels watched over him. What if it was Mom's angel? Did angels have dogs?