Muffin, part 4
Sammy quickly threw on his clothes. Looking down, Sam smiled as he noticed Muffin playing with the army men. “Guess its time for a new game.” He thought. Not wanting to put Muffin back in the small drawer, Sam searched the room for a bigger spot to hide her. His eyes swiftly fell on the closet. It was definitely bigger than the drawer, and she would have plenty of room to walk around. Sammy carefully picked up Muffin and the men, walked over to the closet, and deposited them inside. Shutting the door, he whispered, “Don’t worry Muffin. I’ll be right back.” Convinced that she was safely tucked away, Sam trudged out to greet his father.
A weary John Winchester climbed out of his car and headed towards their latest house and his boys. He was thrilled to see the house still standing. Hopefully that meant his boys hadn’t gotten into too much trouble. “Oh well, time to face the music” he thought as he opened the door. Stepping over the salt line, his eyes immediately spotted Dean sitting alone on the couch in the semi-tidy room. He didn’t have much time to wonder where his other little trouble maker was. Sammy came barreling into the room making a beeline for him.
“Daddy!” Sammy yelled launching himself into his father’s arms.
John caught his little boy and threw him up in the air several times before tossing him on the couch with his brother. Squeezing between the boys to sit, John hugged and tickled both boys sending them into a fit of giggles. “What have my two little monsters been up to while I was gone?” John questioned while wrapping an arm around each of the boys.
“Nothing, daddy” Sammy squealed. “We’ve been good. We even cleaned up, didn’t we Dean?”
“Wait, you guys cleaned up?” John asked hiding a smirk. “Alright what did you do?”
“We really didn’t do anything, dad. Just thought you might be getting too old to clean up.” Dean responded grinning. “Geesh, see if we ever do that again.”
“Too old, huh. I’ll show you who’s too old.” John announced grabbing both boys and tickling them mercilessly. Minutes later the tickle war was over.
“Alright, alright we surrender. You’re not old” Dean gasped out between chuckles. The second John stopped, Dean scampered out of his reach before adding, “You’re ancient.”
John picked up a still laughing Sammy and set him on his lap. “So sport, what did you do while daddy was gone?”
Sam took a minute to catch his breath and think. He spent the next few minutes filling his father in on all of their escapades being careful to leave out any mention of Muffin. He finished his tale just as Dean came back in the room with his journal. Sam thought it would be a good idea to leave before Dean started talking about Ranger Gates again.
“Daddy can I go outside and play with my army men?” Sam asked looking up at his father innocently.
“Yes, Sammy but stay close to the house.” John told him.
Sammy raced off to his room to get Muffin and take her out with him. Opening the closet door, he was happy to see that she hadn’t made anymore messes for him to take care of. Sam snatched up some of the soldiers and stuck them in his pockets. He dumped the rest of them under his bed. Picking up Muffin, he set her in the bucket and placed the lid on top careful not to close it all the way. Sammy toted his bucket down the hall, right past John and Dean in the living room, and out the back door. Once outside he immediately let Muffin out. He used the bucket to make a sand city while watching Muffin explore the backyard.
After thoroughly examining her surroundings and doing her business, she trotted over to Sam. Her eyes took in the sand city with all the soldiers standing in front guarding the entrance. Tail wagging, Muffin growled before pouncing.
It was a fierce battle. The soldiers valiantly fought to save the city from the giant dog monster but they were no match for it. The monster had crushed, eaten, and slobbered her way through the soldiers before trampling the buildings. The once magnificent city was now in ruins.
Sam startled at the sound of his name. Looking behind him, he saw Dean at the door calling him to lunch. Yelling that he’d be right in, Sam loaded Muffin back into the bucket and strolled inside. Once inside he darted to the bedroom to secure the puppy in the closet. He then washed his hands and face in the bathroom and returned to the kitchen to find his dad and brother discussing different tracking techniques. “Great” Sam thought as he sat down at the table. John placed a grilled cheese on everyone’s plates, and they all dug in.
“Can we go to the park dad?” Dean asked timidly between bites.
“I don’t see why not.” John answered. “We’ll go after lunch. I’d like to meet this Ranger Gates for myself.”
“Thanks, dad” Dean exclaimed finishing off his sandwich. “I’m gonna go get my knife!”
Sam and John exchanged amused looks as Dean raced out of the room. They silently started back in on their sandwiches knowing Dean would bug them until they finished.
A moment later the silence was broken by Dean. “Dad! Come quick!” he shouted.
John and Sam bolted out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. Dean was standing next to the bed. Putting his finger to his lips he pointed at the closet door. A faint scratching noise could be heard.
“Shit” Sammy thought staring between the closet and his father.
“Stand by the bedroom door, boys” John ordered taking out his hunting knife and walking to the closet.
Sam’s thoughts were running a mile a minute. He didn’t know what to do. His perfect plan was going to hell in a hand basket. And he didn’t know how to stop it. Seeing his dad take out the knife, jump started Sam into action. He couldn’t let Muffin get hurt. Screwing up his courage, he was about to holler out and confess everything when his dad opened the door to an empty closet.
John’s eagle eyes inspected every area of the closet. He saw nothing unusual or out of place. Making a mental note to check the closet with the EMF reader later, he put his knife away, turned to the boys, and spoke. “I don’t see anything, guys. There must be rats in the walls. We’ll set some traps for them tonight. For now, let’s forget about the closet and go enjoy the park.”
As soon as his dad and Dean left the room, Sammy ran over to the closet. Looking around all he saw were some shoes and old toys. Where was Muffin? “Here Muffin” he whispered. “Where are you?” A slight movement caught his eye. His eyes widened as his stuffed lion seemed to come alive. It moved up and sideways. Slowly Muffin emerged from under the lion’s paws. Sam laughed as he realized that Muffin had managed to hide herself. “Come on Muffin” he said scooping her up and putting her in his backpack. “It’s time to go to the park to play.”
When the family arrived at the park, they began to look for Ranger Gates. Spotting him by the picnic tables, John and Dean headed that way only to be stopped by the youngest Winchester.
“Can I go play on the playground, daddy?” Sam asked turning his puppy dog eyes on full blast. “Please?”
One look at that small face was all it took to melt John’s defenses. “Sure, Sammy But stay where I can see you.” John told him. Okay, champ?”
“Yes sir” Sam answered. He turned and dashed to the playground.
John watched his youngest go straight to the sandbox and sit down. Smiling he turned around and walked up to the ranger.
Sammy checked to make sure his family was occupied with the ranger before letting Muffin out of the bag. Sam and Muffin played with the men and a truck someone had left in the sand. He was about to make another city for her to destroy when Muffin suddenly froze. Cocking her head to one side, she listened intently before taking off at a gallop. “Muffin, come back!” Sammy softly shouted. Sammy jumped up and started after her. He couldn’t let her get away. She was too small to be on her own.
Ranger Gates was thrilled to meet John. He told John about the week and how quickly Dean caught on to things. When the talk turned to the different hunts the men had been on and the techniques they had used, Dean’s mind started to wander. Remembering his brother’s strange behavior and the bed-wetting incident, Dean decided he better check on Sammy. His eyes grew wide as he took in the scene at the playground. “Dad” he said. His father and the ranger kept talking.
“Dad!” he said louder.
“Not now, Dean” John told him before he continued his conversation with the ranger.
“DAD!” he shouted while tugging on John’s arm.
“What is it, Dean?” John asked exasperated
Pointing at the playground, Dean stammered out, “Look.”
John took in the whole playground seeing nothing but a child’s backpack lying on the ground. “Look at what Dean? I don’t see. . .” The rest of the words died on John’s lips as his eyes landed on the backpack. Sam’s backpack. But where was Sam?
Racing into action the three men searched the playground and the areas surrounding it with no success. Sammy was gone.
AN- Muffin is the puppy on my icon. She weighed less than a pound at 6 weeks. She didn’t hit 2 pounds until she was a little over 3 months old. So you really could hide her just about anywhere.
Chapter 5