Chapter One
"Daddy!" shouted the little girl, running to the door. "You're home!"
The door swung open, and the girl's father and his friend walked inside.
"Any luck?" called another male voice from the next room over.
"Daddy, daddy! Carry me!" She tugged on her father's leather jacket. He scooped her up. "Hiya, Daddy. Hiya, Papa!" she said to the two men.
"Hello, Molly," said the other man.
"Yeah, we found something. How was Molly?"
"She was fine." The source of the third male voice walked into the front room, rubbing his face with a dish towel.
"How was Uncle Sammy, pumpkin?"
"He's so silly, Daddy! See, he's tryin' to wash off the pretty!"
"The pretty?" asked Molly's father.
Sam's voice was muffled by the constant scrubbing. "Do we need to go into this?"
"Sammy, lemme see your face. I wanna see this pretty stuff."
"Nope." Turning around, he walked down the hall and into the kitchen.
Father and daughter chased uncle to the kitchen, where they caught his head under the sink.
"What? Ow!" He pulled up and smacked his head on the faucet.
"Is that crayon?"
It appeared that somone had taken a marker or crayon to Sam's face, attempting to make him look prettier. The make up was not as good at making Sam more attractive than it was making him look like a deranged clown who had put his make up on at the bottom of a lake.
"Trying to impress Cas?"
"Shut up, Dean."
"Look how pretty he is, Daddy!"
Dean laughed. "You did a fantastic job, pumpkin. He's beautiful. Hey Cas-wahoh!"
Castiel had snuck up behind Dean very quietly. "Yes?"
"Personal space, buddy."
Taking a step back, Cas looked at Sam curiously. "Your face, Sam. It's… Well…"
"Yeah, shut up." Sam's cheeks were hot with embarassment.
"You let a six year old overpower you? That's weak, even for you, Sammy," said Dean, who was still chuckling.
"I'm not gonna punch a six year old, Dean!"
"Don't punch me!" cried Molly, sounding either like she was ready to laugh or to cry. She hid her face in Dean's jacket. "Noooooo!"
"Shh, no one's punching anyone, pumpkin."
"Oh, okay." Immediately she recoverd. "I want some ice cream."
"That was quick. You're weird," said her father, kissing her forehead.
Molly made a scoffing noise. "Nuh-uh!"
Sam had finally managed to rub most of the marker from his face. "You just had some pie like a half hour ago!"
"Hey, that was my pie! I was gonna eat that!" Dean made a ridiculous angry face which made his daughter laugh. "It's nearly bedtime anyway. It's time for someone to get her pajamas on and go to sleep."
For a moment, Molly decided to be very dramatic. "Noooooooo! Never bedtime!" She whined and squirmed and threw a fit. "It's dark!"
"That's what happens at night, Molly. It's a fact of life," said Castiel.
"I swear I'm gonna drop you if you don't cut it out." It was less of a threat and more of a reality.
Molly calmed herself, but still frowned. "I want Papa to put me to bed."
"Oh, you're too good for me now, are you? Well see if I care." Dean nearly forced Molly on the poor angel. "She's all yours, Cas."
"I love you Daddy! Nighty night!"
Dean smiled a gentle smile. "Goodnight, pumpkin."
"'Night, Molly."
"Will you read me a story, Papa?"
"That can be arranged, yes," said Cas, carrying Molly away to bed.
Resting against the counters, Dean sighed. "Do you think I spoil her?"
Still patting his face dry, Sam replied, "Yeah. What'd you and Cas find?"
"You've still got a little—" Sam rubbed his face over once more. "Got it. Anyway, couple towns over there are some demonic omen things happening. So we should go check it out."
"Wait, I thought you'd given up hunting?" interupted Sam.
"I did, but it's really nearby. I just want to make sure Molly's safe." He opened the refridgerator and looked in.
"Jesus, Dean. This is the first hunting trip we've been on in what? Five years?" Sam folded the towel and set it down. "Look at us! We're upright citizens! With jobs!"
"Yeah? So?"
"Molly's going to school!"
"And?" Dean looked over at Sam, raising his eyebrows. "Do you have a point?"
"What if you decide to start hunting again?"
"What'd be wrong with that? We saved people, Sammy."
"We settled down! You've got a life! A daughter! A job!"
"I have a shitty job, and Molly's gotta learn to hunt sometime," said Dean gruffly. "How much pie did you let her eat?"
"You're not serious? You want Molly to grow up like we did? Have you not noticed how royally screwed up we both are?" Sam glared at his brother. "You want to put your own daughter through all of that?"
Dean took what was left of the pie from the fridge and grabbed a spoon. "No, Sam, I don't. I'm not thrilled about teaching her how to hunt, but there are innocent people out there being slaughtered by undead assholes. I can't live peacefully with that on my conscience."
"There are other hunters. Why would you bring your daughter into it?"
"Sam, listen. I know there are other hunters but there are more monsters. We can't just sit around and let everyone else deal with them." Frustration rose in Dean's voice. "Do you think I want to bring her into this shitty kind of life? Sam, we're Winchesters. Normality isn't now, and never has been an option. Mom tried to escape the life of a hunter and you know what happened to her! I'd rather have Molly know how to protect herself than let her live oblivous to reality." Dean slammed the fridge shut and stomped up the stairs.
"Jesus Christ, Dean. She's six," muttered Sam, shaking his head sadly.
Please let me know what you think. It should get better. I just need to type it out. Thanks so much for reading!