"DAAADDDYY!" a green eyed little girl cried from her crib, big dumpy tears streaking down her face, "SAMMMMYYYY!"
Dean had awoken at the start of Isabelle's calls, but he still hadn't left his bed yet. This is the third night in a row, he thought as he rubbed his eyes, What could possibly be bothering her so much? Shaking himself loose from sleep's grasp, he started padding down the hallway to the pale yellow room that belonged to his eighteen-month-old baby girl.
When he got there, Sam was already lifting the sobbing child from her crib, crooning, "What happened, baby girl?"
"Mana in da dawk," she whimpered into his chest. A monster in the dark. This was what that was about.
Sam cradled her against him, starting to sway and turn, "Where's the monster, sweet pea?" Dean watched them anxiously as he waited for her to answer. She pointed a chubby finger at her bedroom door.
Both brothers let out a breath that they hadn't known they were holding. She was just being a skittish little girl. Now that they knew there was no real danger, they could easily handle this.
Sam handed the little girl over to her father, who perched her on his hip and flicked on the light switch. The younger brother started to put on the show that had become an almost nightly routine.
"Now let's see. Where would a monster hide to scare a little girl?" he tapped his chin dramatically, then crossed the room and lifted up the rug, "Under here?" this earned a little giggle from the child.
This show repeated in all the most ridiculous hiding places that Sam could think of all over the house. They checked the fridge and the oven and under the coffee table, in all the cabinets, and under all the beds until they found "the monster's hiding spot": under the guest bed.
"I think Uncle Sammy found your monster!" Dean exclaimed with the most frightened face he could manage. There really was a monster under the bed: Crowley had taken a liking to the child and sometimes played along with her little phobias. The brother's, of course, hated that he did, but they couldn't really stop him from playing as long as Isabelle was safe, "Izzy, do your scary face and scare him away!"
Crowley picked this moment to zap out from under the bed and into the far corner of the room as the little girl started to bare her teeth at him, "Oh, goodness! I came here looking to have some fun, but I didn't expect her to be so scary!" he winked at Sam, who was glaring pointedly at him, "If she does that face whenever she sees a monster, they'll NEVER want to scare her! I'm out of here!" he vanished, probably to a bar. Dean looked down at Isabelle, who was now giggling happily at her accomplishment.
"See, Daddy? I sca da mana!" she exclaimed excitedly, and Dean's heart melted, "Yeah, Sweetheart, you did a good job. I'm proud of you!"
They stayed up for a few more minutes, but then Sam gave an exaggerated yawn. Dean chuckled, "Looks like your moose needs a nap," Isabelle gave a yawn of her own and laid her head against her father's chest, while he started to walk them back to her room.
It looked like everything was wrapping up for the night as Dean put Isabelle to bed (again), but as he started to pull the door shut, he heard a quiet whine emerge from his daughter, "Daaaadddyy."
Her eyes were getting misty again and her lip was starting to quiver. Dean crossed back to her crib in two strides and lifted the little girl out of her crib, "It's a Daddy's Bed kinda night, huh kiddo?" she nodded and laid her head against his chest again, "Alright then. Daddy's bed it is."
Once both Isabelle and Dean were settled in his bed, she was out like a light. Dean, on the other hand, laid between sleep and awake for hours, terrified that he might crush the little girl in his sleep.
As the sky lightened, Dean looked down at the sleeping girl on his chest and smiled to himself. This is so freaking worth it.