Previously: He was crouching down to pet her as the door opened, and in the next three seconds, chaos reigned.

Sam stepped in the door, balancing supper as he tried to free the key from the door. Kiara took one look at Dean looming over her, one look at the now-open door, and decided freedom was hers for the taking. Dean, seeing the inevitable, lunged, just as she dashed between Sam's feet, causing the younger Hunter to stumble and try to dodge the small furry mass. "What the hell?"

"Damnit!" Dean's fingers brushed against her tail, and he stumbled, regaining his balance as she disappeared into the darkness past the parking lot. "Shit."

For a moment, it almost felt like time had froze, and Dean felt the horrible sense of 'Man, have I fucked up' settle on his shoulders. He turned and glared at Sam, who had already set the bags his hands had been full with on the table, and was pushing past him to get outside. "God damnit Sam."

"Not my fault Dean. How the hell was I supposed to know she was a dog? You yourself even said she'd still be asleep." The younger man snorted in aggravation before pushing past his brother, eyes keen on the darkness. "I don't suppose she comes when called?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" Dean shrugged, eyes alert as he scanned the area. "Kiara! Come here girl…Kiara! Man, I REALLY don't want to explain to a pack why we lost their pup. Kiara!"

"Dean." Sam's voice wasn't loud, but his brother's head whipped around, shoulders dropping with relief at the small puppy wiggling frantically in Sam's arms. "Um…remember what Autumn said? About her being housebroken?" Kiara interrupted him with little puppish nibbles along his jaw, and he laughed, sliding her down out of reach of his face.

Dean slid a hand under her muzzle, checking her over efficiently for any possible injury. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Let's just say she gets a biscuit when we get inside." He tightened his grip on the squirming mass before tickling the booted paw with a smirk.

"What?" Confusion reigned on Dean's face for a moment, before the light from the opened door revealed the light redness that the embarrassment had left on Sam. "Oh….gotcha." He flushed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. "Next time girl, ask, don't just run off. God…you coulda been hit, you know that?"

Kiara wilted a bit; her ears drooped down, her tail stopped wagging, and she stopped her excited squirming. "Dean, take it easy on her." Sam set her on the floor after they'd closed the door, and she instantly laid down, folding her legs under her as she curled up tightly. "It's okay, you just scared him is all. Hey now." Sam jumped as Dean tossed her tug rope at him before digging into the bag, and Kiara eyed the toy carefully. "Wanna play?" He slid the rope enticingly in front of her, dragging it slowly back and forth, and her grey eyes watched it intently, tail uncurling hesitantly to thump against the floor. He paused it for a second before jerking it away from her, and she lunged, yipping as she latched tiny teeth onto it with some fearsome growls. Sam laughed before tugging on it gently, adding his own growls playfully.

Dean watched them with amusement, kicking off his boots as he eased into the chair. "You gonna eat, Sam?" he asked, watching the puppy shake the rope hard enough to jerk her own body.

Sam's reply was a bit delayed, and distracted when he did respond. "Yeah...in a minute. Ack!" he tugged his watch free from her jaws, dangling the rope again as she glowered at him. "Not the watch. Clothing is not a toy." She sneezed, apparently giving her opinion on the subject, before 'launching' the small distance to reach the frayed ends of the toy. Loud and vocal growls filled the room as she struggled to free the rope, and he growled playfully as he tugged against her. "Yeah, you's a fearsome hunter, huh? Killing that evil rope, yes you are."

Kiara considered him warily over the rope for a second before planting her feet firmly, yanking back hard enough to tug the rope free. Which promptly sent her tail over head as she tumbled backwards. "Good job Sam, kill the puppy," was Dean's drawled observation, shaking his head as she bounced to her feet, shaking the rope vigorously as she 'killed' it, the knotted end thumping into her sides. She dragged it back to Sam, dropping in his lap as she stood spraddled, panting.

"We're done for now kiddo." He scratched under her chin, laughing as she slid grey eyes closed in pleasure, slowly creeping forward. "Hey Dean, toss me a fry."

"No."

"Yes." A bark from the puppy followed, and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He tossed it, raising a brow in surprise as she reared back and caught it out of midair, shaking and killing it before flopping onto the carpet to gnaw on it. "Nice catch."

"You're not tossing her fries to watch her catch them. Hand over mine dude."

Dean handed the Styrofoam container over to his brother, shaking his head. "You're such a spoilsport Sammy." He watched her gnaw the fry into mush, shoulders slowly relaxing as she made progress on it without choking. "Anyway, I'm figuring we can hit Bobby's in about ten hours of driving, possibly more if we actually follow speed limits." The wrinkle he gave was his clear opinion on that. "You figure, leave here around six, stop at the diner we passed and get some decent breakfast, and shag ass outta town. Even stopping for lunch and whatnot, we outta hit the salvage yard around 5. If we bribe the old man with some steak, think he'd let us stay the night?"

Sam's snort was muffled by his food, and he shook his head, swallowing hard. "Dude, he lets us stay even when we don't bribe him. The food is just a perk." He watched as Kiara snuffled the floor thoroughly for any more before glowing briefly, the flare dimming down as the puppy changed back into a toddler, and he shook his head. "Then again..."

"Yeah." Dean frowned, scrubbing a hand across his face before leaning forward. "Hey Kiara, you about ready for a bath?" She tucked her chin down, pouting at him, and he chuckled, standing up and stretching. "I figured. But it's time for little girls to have their three B's...Bath, bottle and bed. You've gotta be tired pup. I know I am, and I haven't had near the day you have."

"You wanna start the water, I can keep an eye on her," Sam offered, pushing his own container away as he started to unlace his shoes before taking them off.

"Nah, I got her." Dean had already scooped her up, latching the door knob's lock and then sliding the security chain, bouncing her lightly as she giggled. "You can put up the charms and the salt though, if you want. Or I can later, no big deal."

"Sounds good to me." The words were a bit slurred as Sam fought off a yawn long enough to say them, and Dean chuckled as the younger brother rummaged through the bag.

"Yeah, somehow I don't think Kiara's gonna be the only one in bed early tonight." Sam casually flipped him a middle finger without breaking his concentration, and Dean returned it without letting the kid see, grabbing the shampoo and lotion and washrag out of the bag and gathering it all up. "Come on kiddo, let's get you washed up and all clean, eh? We'll leave Sam to lock up while we wash the baby. Oh, hey. Meant to tell you, but then we had Miss Houdini here…" he jostled her playfully, grinning as she squealed with excitement. "Autumn left a note for us, it's on the bed."

He debated leaving the door open, but figured keeping her semi-contained was probably a better bet than letting her have free run of the room, considering the speed she escaped with last time. Door firmly latched, he set her down, ensuring she was more or less steady before cranking on the water. An excited squeak of glee sounded from his side, and he glanced at her, watching carefully as she cruised along, hands shuffling over each other as she navigated around the toilet to reach carefully for the lip of the tub. "Careful Kiara. You fall in here, it's gonna hurt." She turned somber grey eyes to him, and he again had the sense that she knew, and understood, exactly what he was saying. "I'm thinking bubbles tonight, how about you?" She let go of the tub, plopping neatly onto her diapered rear, and brought up her fists, scrubbing at her chest. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

The shampoo doubled as awesome bubbles, and he checked the temp again as he eyed the water level. Dean bit his lip for a moment before leaning back, raising his voice a bit. "Yo, Sam!" With a careful creak of the door, Sam peered around.

"Yeah?"

"Warm or cold?" Sam blinked at him, and Dean muttered for a moment under his breath. "Autumn said that she runs warmer than a normal kid. By several degrees. I don't want to freeze her to death, but I don't wanna scald her either."

Sam furrowed his brow, eyeing the toddler. "I dunno."

"Jeez, thanks. That helps a lot."

"Just make it lukewarm. I'm pretty sure she'll holler if it's not right." Sam shrugged, watching Kiara as she made the scrubbing motions against her chest again. "What's she doing?"

"Got me. Probably just excited to get in the bath. God knows we had a helluva time keeping you outta it."

"Alright. I've got the charms up, give me a bit more, and I'll have the salt laid down. Anything else you need?" Sam bit back another yawn, and Dean smirked, reaching over to kill the flow of water from the faucet.

"Someone up past his bedtime?" His younger brother didn't deign to answer, and Dean shrugged. "Nope, we're pretty well set. You called Bobby yet?"

"No, I figured we could do that in the morning, after we've hit the road. Seemed pretty mean to call this late. Never know when he might be asleep. I'm going to finish up though. Yell if you need me." With a lazy wave of his hand, Sam disappeared behind the door again, latching it behind him, and Dean focused again on Kiara.

"He's a butt. Love him, but he's a butt."

"Butt." Dean snickered at the somber and solemn nod that accompanied the word, and shook his head.

"Okay, not a good word to teach you, I suppose. You'll have to tell him later though. First…we gotta get you in the tub!" He dipped his elbow again, and figured Sam was right…She'd fuss if it wasn't good enough. Sam's water had always been a bit cooler, but then, he didn't run a normal temp in the hundreds, either.

Kiara grasped the lip of the tub, hauling herself upright as she swayed for a moment, getting her balance before leaning over, trying to grasp the bubbles floating just out of reach. "Hang on baby girl, you gotta strip first. Then we'll play with the bubbles, okay?"

The shoes were easy, and she gleefully hurled them across the room while he tugged the tiny socks off, stacking them together and setting them on the floor. She struggled as he tried to pull off her shirt, but experience had it stretched and off before she could really start fighting and screaming, and she blinked at him in surprise when it was over so quickly. "Yeah, I've got practice with that. Didn't figure you'd like the shirt over the face anymore than Sammy did. Okay, buttons now, and then bubbles." She didn't fight at all as he laid her on the floor, unsnapping the corduroy pants quickly and efficiently before folding them with the rest of her clothes in a neat pile. He blew a raspberry on the exposed tummy as he quickly unstuck the tabs of her diaper, sliding it free with a flourish. "Ta-da! All done." She giggled madly and squirmed away from him, crawling quickly back to the tub to haul herself upright. "Yeah, yeah, hang on a second."

Diaper in the trash, towel set by his knee, and bathing supplies already in the tub, he turned back to the Loup Garou that was making frantic scrubbing motions against her chest. "Yeah, we're getting there. Up ya go." He eased her in, watching carefully for any sign that the water was too hot or too cold, but she settled in like a duck to water, kicking and splashing and squealing with the glee of innocence. "Okay girl, we're gonna do the hair first, then you can play til you're done, okay? It'll take a few minutes…if you don't fight me." She watched him fold the washcloth, eyes wary, before leaning down and grabbing a fistful of bubbles, offering them to him.

"Thanks. Doesn't change the shampoo thing though. I'll be quick, promise, then you can play until you turn into a prune. Or maybe a raisin." A dab of shampoo to the chocolate locks, and he cupped a handful of water, working the lather up easily. She didn't fight, and he was rather surprised. Or maybe it was just Sam who hated having his hair washed. Most of his child experience was limited to Sam, which did make it a bit biased, he supposed.

He filled the cup with water, keeping it out of her sight as she played. "Okay, time to howl." She watched him with a confused look on her face, and he tipped his head back, howling quietly. Kiara giggled and splashed, tipping her head back as she let loose an eerie cry. "Yeah, only not so Halloweenish." He quickly pressed the washcloth against her forehead, rinsing away the suds with the water. "One more time…big howl!" He demonstrated again, and once more, the tiny howl that broke loose from her sent goosebumps up his arms as he rinsed the last of the shampoo away.

"Yeah, that's not disturbing at all. Then again, you is a wolf, huh?" He made quick work of sopping up the worst of the water on her scalp before giving her the washcloth to play with, leaning against the tub on his hip. "Man, I'm getting too old for this."

It was fifteen minutes later that he hauled her out of the tub, sleepy but clean, and bundled her up in the thick towel. "Alright baby girl, let's get you a bottle and into bed, how's that sound?" She nodded against his throat, fist already rubbing at her eyes. "Yeah, that's what I figured."

Sam was sprawled in his bed, sweats already tugged on and television flickering, the noise a distraction while he checked his emails. Dean set Kiara on his own bed, tugging the towel tighter around her. "Stay put. I mean it." She nodded again, wobbling a bit as she rocked, and he kept one eye on her while he fished out a new diaper and rummaged through the clothes, pulling out a fleece sleeper with pawprints tumbling over the cream fabric. He held it up, and she nodded again, yawning sleepily. "Sam, can you grab one of these bottles, add water, and nuke it for me? She's not gonna last much longer."

"Sure." Kiara watched him putter around the tiny kitchen area, not paying much attention to the redressing that Dean was doing to her, other than watching carefully as he slid her feet into the footed area, wiggling her toes before letting him continue.

He was tugging the zipper up as the microwave chimed, and Sam brought the heated water over to the table, and set the formula beside it. "Isn't she a bit old for formula?"

"Not really. It's more of a comfort thing than anything else." He settled her on his hip, smiling as she rested her head on his shoulder, watching quietly as he mixed in the powder and resecured the nipple, rubbing her fist against her face. "Last chance for me to get anything Sammy. I'm beat, she's beat, and I know you're not much better."

His brother shook his head from where he was buried under the blankets again. "Nah, I'm good. She sleeping with you then?"

"For now, yeah. We'll get her a crib if she throws too big a fit. Hard to tell just yet." He set the bottle on the nightstand, and with practice from too many injuries, unfastened his jeans and shucked them smoothly one-handed, his grip on Kiara not wavering in the least. He couldn't quite contain the soft groan of appreciation as the mattress gave under him, and he sighed blissfully, curling his legs under the sheets before settling Kiara beside him. "Alright…I dunno how your Mom and Dad did it, but you get to watch some television until you conk, okay kiddo?" She curled into his side, taking her bottle from him with ease before sighing heavily, eyes already at half-mast.

A little while later, Sam shut down the laptop, setting it beside the bed to charge overnight as they slept. He stretched, and turned to ask Dean if he was ready for sleep, when the image presented to him made him long for a camera.

Dean was out, head tipped down, soft snores already breaking the quiet. His arm was wrapped tightly around Kiara, who was half in his lap, chubby fist curled against Dean's amulet, bottle long since discarded as she dreamt. He shook his head, climbing out of his warm nest to shake his brother's shoulder.

He jerked awake, instantly tense, and Sam squeezed his shoulder. "It's okay man. You wanna lay down, before you get a crink in your neck?" Dean nodded sliding down into the bed bonelessly, tugging the toddler closer to him before started to doze off again. Sam patted his shoulder and checked the locks again since he was up, dumping the remaining formula down the sink and filling the bottle to soak overnight. He flipped off the light as he crawled back into bed, yawning largely into the dark.

Any errors are mine, as always. This was posted just before bed, so I beg you to disregard any errors, or even better, please (gently) point them out so I can remedy them. Thank you a MILLION to everyone who has marked this story for an alert, or marked it as a favorite. And I owe a million thanks to the few who have reviewed. It means a ton to me, since you let me know if I'm doing well or not.

Click the button below, and leave me a comment letting me know how this story is going. I don't often beg, but I'm starting to doubt myself with this story. You can even leave it anonymous, but then I can't reply to it for you...Thanks, and a new chapter up next week. ^_^