Dad to the Rescue

CJ was playing in her room, playing with her toys, crawling around on her hands and knees. That was where she spent most of her time. If we had a yard, with a fence around it, I'd consider letting her go out and play. But, I wasn't taking any chances. Now, CJ did get fresh air and exercise. Trust me, Sam insisted on it. Sometimes, the three of us would head down to the nearest park, two blocks away. We had gotten CJ a two-wheeler, because a kid shouldn't be without one. It's a child's necessity, in my opinion. However, Sam would disagree. There are other things a child needs, than a bike.

Speaking of my brother. Sam had taken off, to investigate a potential case, and since Cas was busy, doing who knows what, I had to stay back with CJ.

Things were quiet, inside the bunker. I sat at the table, in the main room, binge watching, How I Met your Mother, on Netflix. Hey, don't judge. I saw you watching that one show, the other night. Okay, I didn't, but I bet you have a guilty pleasure show no one knows about.

Anyways, I was sitting there, laughing it up, when I heard CJ cry out for me. I mean, it echoed throughout the place. My first instinct was to run in there, as fast as I could, grabbing my pistol from my room, first.

I poked my head into her room. "What's wrong, CJ?" I asked of her, trying to remain calm until I knew what was the cause of her screams.

CJ was sitting there, on the floor. Her face was covered in tears, it looked like she had splashed water on her face. My kid has so many toys and she has a wild imagination. I mean, it's crazy the things she'll come up with. CJ'll make up some random story about a paper clip and a shoe hiking up a volcano, while it's raining, and by the end, they are celebrating their friend, Antonio's birthday, at the top. I'm not sure what Antonio is, if he's human or an object like his friends, but it's still pretty detailed and leaves me, in awe.

Besides, her creatively, CJ is very curious. She always is asking questions, to me, to Sam, and even to Cas. She wants to know everything. I mean, EVERYTHING. Why is the sky blue? Why do fish swim in the ocean? Why is Uncle Sammy so tall? Why does Cas wear a coat indoors? You get the point.

That being said, when I walked in my daughter's room and asked, what was wrong. I noticed her finger, lodged inside her toy dinosaur's open mouth.

"My...my...my...my..." CJ couldn't get a full sentence out. She was bawling up a storm, as she heaved, in and out.

I, quickly, put my pistol, away, behind me, pulling my over shirt over it and knelt to her level. CJ was holding onto the dinosaur, in her other hand, trying to pull it off.

"Hey, take it, easy, kiddo," I told her, remaining calm, now that I knew someone or something wasn't, physically, harming her. Unless you count Rexy, there. I tried to get CJ, to settle down, telling her to breathe normal and take deep breaths. Pretty much what I had always snapped at Sam about when he told me, that crap. Hey, it worked. With me there, I managed to calm her down.

I took the dino from her, and tried to give it a good tug. That sucker was on there, good. Remembering my knife, at that point, I pulled it out, flipping it, open. I had CJ lower her hand, so, I could put the dino on the floor and tried to expand its mouth, further. It didn't work. CJ had some chubby fingers, so the mouth was already at the furthest it could open.

CJ continued to cry, making more tears. It was breaking my heart, to see my little girl in so much pain. I could see the bottom part of her finger, start to change color. I knew the dino's mouth was starting to cut off the circulation and I had to move, faster.

Since it was made of plastic, I decided to try my lighter, next. I flipped the cap off, with my thumb and started trying to light it. It took several tries before I finally got a flame. I held it under the dino's jaw. I held the flame underneath, but nothing was happening. Why did it have to be made with plastic that doesn't melt?

Finally, I ran out of the room, and into the kitchen, where I grabbed a tub of butter from the fridge, bringing it back. When I returned, I dropped down, onto my knees, ripping off the lid. I stuck my fingers in the slimy stuff, that Sam would, surely, be pissed about, as he had just bought that tub of butter and only used it, once, so far. But, this was for CJ, and I did not give a rat's ass, at the moment.

I smeared the butter around her finger and tried to yank it out. Her finger was in there, pretty deep. I started twisting the dinosaur around. It moved, so the butter was working. I hoped, anyway.

"The teeth are scraping my finger, Daddy," I heard her say, between sniffles.

"I know, kiddo. I'm trying my best. Don't worry." I tried to come up with a new solution. Nothing was coming. Should I just take CJ to the emergency room or what? I, then got an idea. I hurried from the room, again, and returned with a hammer.

Laying Dino-boy back down, I held the hammer, steady.

CJ whimpered. "You're going to hit my finger."

"No, I won't. I promise." I touched the front of the hammer to the side of its mouth, making sure I'm lined up, before I started smashing the mouth. I hit it until the lower jaw came loose and CJ was able to pull her finger out. I took a hold of her hand, looking the finger over. I ended up, carrying CJ into the kitchen, setting her on one of the metal tables. I made her a homemade ice pack, wrapping it in a paper towel. CJ didn't like the coldness touching her finger, but I told her, it'll help bring the swelling down.

I held the ice pack on there, for a few minutes. Now, that the worse part was over and CJ was calm enough to speak, I finally asked, what had happened.

"I was pretending like the dinosaur was eating my finger, and then, I wanted to see how far my finger could fit in his mouth."

"Oh, so the dinosaur wasn't anorexic and you weren't helping him, to throw up, so he could stay thin." I couldn't help smirk.

She looked up at me, with a confused look on her face. "Huh? What does that mean?"

"Nothing," I, quickly, said. "It's something you should never do. How ya feeling?"

"Okay, now," she said. "Thank you, Daddy."

I smile at her. "You're welcome, kiddo." I removed the ice since the ziplock bag was now leaking, tossing it into the sink. I took a hold of her hand, and held a kiss on it."

CJ reached up, wanting me to pick her up, which I did. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me. Guess, now, she'll think, twice before sticking her finger into a dino's mouth.