CONTENT WARNING: Charlie gets spanked and gets her mouth washed out with soap in this chapter...I've already gotten a few anonymous guest reviews complaining and freaking out about the mention of soap at the end of chapter 50...all I have to say is, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED-DO NOT READ IF THIS WILL BOTHER OR OFFEND YOU. If you read this and still leave a negative review, then I will have to assume that you are a troll and you will be deleted and/or blocked.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Once again, a reminder that this is a FICTIONAL story that takes place in a FICTIONAL ALTERNATE UNIVERSE about FICTIONAL CHARACTERS. Charlie Winchester DOES NOT EXIST in real life...neither do Dean, Sam, or John Winchester, however much we might want them to. The things that happen to Charlie in the story are all FICTIONAL too...and because I write about certain things does not mean I advocate for them in real life. In real life I don't advocate spanking or mouth-soaping, or fighting and killing supernatural creatures either...and things that happen in my fic have NOTHING to do with the "real world". So STOP getting all hot and bothered about Charlie's punishments...they are FICTION...and like I have always said, IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT THEN DO NOT READ IT!
To the anonymous guest reviewer who complained that damn is "not even a bad word"- you must not be a parent. I'm a pretty liberal parent, but I don't allow my kids to swear at all, and I don't know ANY parents who would let their 8-year-olds say any curse words either.
To my regular readers and reviewers, THANK YOU for your support and positivity, it means A LOT to me! And welcome to all the new followers! Love to you all! XXXOOO
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I stood there, stock-still, looking up at Daddy. He took my upper arm in his hand, and steered me into the bathroom.
He plunked me down on the closed toilet seat and then opened the cabinet, taking out a fresh bar of soap and unwrapping it. He turned on the faucet and held the white bar under the tap, turning it to make it get all sudsy.
I stared up at him. "You- you can't- this isn't—I'm not gonna!" I exclaimed.
"Oh yeah?" he looked down at me, "We'll see about that," he said angrily.
He turned off the faucet and held the bar up to my mouth. "Open," he said.
I turned my head to the side, saying, "Mm-mm!"
"I said open," he said in a hard voice.
I didn't do or say anything, just folded my arms over my chest.
He sighed and put the soap on the edge of the counter, then he pulled me to a standing position and turned me to face the sink, bending me forwards and holding me there with his hand on my back. He started spanking me, slowly, and I whimpered with each swat, tears starting to gather in my eyes. The sound of the swats echoed loudly off the bathroom walls.
He stopped, and leaned down to me. "You're going to open your mouth, and hold the bar of soap in there until I tell you otherwise, do you understand?"
"Mmmm," I turned my head away from him and shook my head no. Anxious butterflies danced in my tummy.
He swatted me again, harder, and I made another sound in the back of my throat. Tears started to drip down my cheeks.
"OPEN," he said, and his voice was very loud and stern.
I leaned away from him and whimpered again.
"Do I need to get the paddle? Because I will, and then we'll try this again after I've paddled your butt."
I gulped. I did not want the paddle, ever again!
I turned my head back to him, and opened my mouth. Tears were falling and my tummy got an anxious knot in it as I stood there waiting.
He turned on the faucet again and ran the bar under the water for a moment, making more bubbles form, and then he stuck the bar in my mouth.
"Close," he said, and I closed my mouth on the bar of soap. My teeth sunk into it just a little bit. It tasted just like it smelled, and there was a little hint of a sting-y sensation, and it felt slimy and gross against my tongue. I could feel saliva gathering in my mouth, and I leaned my head over the sink, watching the tears drip off my face onto the soap suds that were at the bottom.
I saw him glance at his watch.
"Now," he said firmly, "I don't ever want to hear you using a curse word ever again, or any other words like freakin' or dangit. You're a little girl, and you shouldn't be saying any words like that at all. If you use bad language again, I will get out the paddle, and you'll get your butt paddled as well as getting your mouth washed out again. Have I made myself clear?"
I nodded slightly, afraid to move my head much. I didn't want to risk the soap falling out of my mouth and then having him put it back in my mouth.
I stood there, shifting my weight, feeling more and more guilty and bad. I was glad Uncle Sam and Grandpa John weren't here, I felt so embarrassed and ashamed by this. I blinked, feeling the tears slide down my cheeks.
Daddy glanced at his watch again.
"All right, open," he said. I opened my mouth and he removed the soap and put the bar on the edge of the sink.
I looked up at him through tear filled eyes, waiting to hear what he was going to say next. My chin was dripping.
He turned on the tap, "Go ahead and rinse," he said, and I leaned over and cupped my hand under the faucet and swished and spit and rinsed and swished and spit some more. My mouth still tasted yucky and the sting-y feeling was still on my tongue.
"What do you have to say to me?" he aked sternly.
"Uh- I'm, I'm sorry for cussing, and for sassing you so much, and I, I won't say any more cusses or bad words ever ever," I said, sniffling.
"Good." he turned off the faucet and put his hand on my shoulder. "Let's go," he said, and we walked back out to the bedroom. I wasn't sure if he was going to spank me again or hug me, but he walked me over to the corner.
"You're going to stand here for a few minutes and think about things," he said. I heard him walk back into the bathroom and the faucet running for a moment, and then a thunk, as he threw the bar of soap into the trash can.
I stood in the corner, staring at the yellowish walls, and wiped my chin off with my shirt. The front was damp from where the soap and water had dripped on it.
I licked my lips, still tasting a little bit of the soapy taste, and felt ashamed again. Why did I have to push Daddy like that? Why did I have to keep being bad and getting into trouble? Tears started to pour down my cheeks and I bowed my head.
I still got mad about all the rules sometimes, because I had grown up without any at all and I had liked that freedom. But then it had made me sad when Mommy got sick, because even though I could do whatever I wanted, sometimes it felt like no-one cared about me. I knew that my Mommy did, but she was too sick to do anything. Having Daddy and Uncle Sam take care of me was something I liked, and the rules that they gave me did make me feel good even if I didn't like them all the time. I thought back to before, after I'd gotten out of the hospital, and I was being allowed to do anything and act however I wanted.
I hadn't realized it at the time but it had made me feel confused and that had made me act even more obnoxious because I had wanted someone to do something, anything, to stop me. I had felt like I wasn't in control and I didn't like that feeling, and it felt better now that Daddy was acting the way he had acted when I first came to live with him. He was kinda strict, and there were lots of rules, but I knew now that I did need those rules, they were there to keep me safe and to get me back in line. I had had to take care of Mommy and myself, and I couldn't act like a kid, or be naughty or have a tantrum, because Mommy needed me. Sometimes it felt good in a way to misbehave now, because I knew that Daddy and Uncle Sam were there to help me to behave again, and that was how they took care of me, I didn't have to take care of them.
I was crying harder now and I lifted my shirt up and wiped my face, sniffling hard. I didn't like being bad, and I didn't like getting into trouble, but I felt better about myself now, living with rules, than I had when I was with Mommy. I loved Daddy, even when he was being stern and growly, because I knew that it was because he loved me, not because he was being mean.
Finally I heard Daddy say, "Come here, Charlie."
I turned away from the corner- he was sitting on the edge of the bed. I wondered for a second if he was going to put me back over his knees, but I didn't care, I just wanted to be with him.
I ran over and threw myself at him, curling up in his lap.
"I'm sorry, Daddy!" I wailed, bursting into tears again.
He put his arms around me and pulled me close. "It's all right, Charlie," he said quietly.
"I'm sorry I was so bad! I'm suh- huh- orrryyyyy!" my chest heaved as I sobbed.
"It's all right now, it's been dealt with and it's over, shh," he murmured.
I put one arm around him and gripped the back of his shirt and fisted the front of his flannel with my other hand, burying my face in his chest. I cried and cried, letting the guilt and shame go.
"Shh, baby, it's okay, you're not bad," Daddy murmured, trying to comfort me. "You still need reminders of the rules from time to time, and that's my job, to remind you. You're a good girl, sweetheart. It's all right now." I felt him rubbing my back and stroking my hair. After a long time, I was finally calm. I did feel like everything was all right again.
I had started to doze slightly when Daddy shifted on the bed. "You want to lay down for a while?" he asked softly.
"Mm-hmm," I murmured.
"Let me get you a new shirt, yours is all wet," he said. I got off of his lap and crawled up to the head of the bed. He took another t-shirt out of my duffle and brought it over to me, pulling my shirt over my head and helping me put my arms in the sleeves. Then he handed me a box of tissues so I could wipe my face and blow my nose. He put the other shirt on the dresser and came back to the bed.
I reached up and took his wrist. "Stay," I said.
"All right," he said, and he sat down next to me. I crawled back into his lap and snuggled against his chest, and fell asleep listening to his heartbeat.
I woke up alone on the bed. Daddy and Uncle Sam were in the kitchen. There was a box of funny looking salt, it was big and chunky, and a towel spread out, and little tubes on the towel. There was a measuring spoon and a small funnel next to the box of salt.
Daddy was sitting at the table, and I watched him dip the measuring spoon into the box, put the funnel into a small tube, and then pour the salt in.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
Both Daddy and Uncle Sam looked over at me.
"I'm filling shotgun shells with rock salt," Daddy told me, "Refilling our supplies."
I was curious if it was going to be for the haunted house they were investigating, but Daddy had told me not to ask about it again, so I didn't.
Uncle Sam had one of the small electronic devices on the kitchen counter, and it was in pieces, and he was leaning over it and fiddling with it.
Daddy scooted his chair back and set the funnel and spoon down. "Come here, sweetheart," he said, and I went to him. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me, and I hugged him back. He pulled back and looked at me.
"You doing okay?" he asked gently.
"Yes, Daddy," I nodded.
"Let me finish a few more of these and we can go get dinner," he told me, "Pizza okay tonight?"
"Yes, Daddy," I repeated.
The device on the counter chirped and buzzed, and Uncle Sam said, "All right, I think I got it. Hopefully it won't jam any more."
I walked over to him and watched as he began to put the parts of the machine back in place. Uncle Sam's big fingers looked funny moving all the tiny wires and parts around but he put everything back gently and quickly.
"How did you learn how to do that?" I asked.
"We have a friend who is a tech guy who knows how to fix computers and electronics, he showed me," he said, glancing at me, "and a couple of other hunters know how to do this kind of thing too."
"Funny how the younger generation of hunters seems to be better at the tech stuff," Daddy commented.
Uncle Sam put the back on the machine and picked up a tiny screwdriver. "Not really, think about it, Dad's generation didn't have things like computers and cell phones, so they're not used to those things and it's hard for them to get used to."
Daddy scoffed. "Some of 'em got used to that stuff, and some of 'em didn't."
Uncle Sam chuckled. "Well, we know Dad just isn't a computer guy."
"You got that right," Daddy started to pack the bullets into a small cardboard box. "Why don't you go tell Grandpa John that we're going to leave soon?" he asked me.
"Yes, Daddy," I said, and I walked over to the other room.
Grandpa John was sitting at the desk writing in a thick book. He looked up as I walked in.
"Hey, darlin'," he said to me.
"Daddy said to let you know that we're going to go out soon, to get pizza."
"All right, let me finish this," he said.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Writing in my journal," he told me, "All hunters have a journal for writing about their hunts and other information."
"Cool!" I said, "Can I have a journal too?"
"Well, you're not a hunter, but if you wanted to get a journal and use it like a diary, I'm sure that would be okay."
"Can I pretend that I'm a hunter?"
Something in Grandpa John's face changed. "Sweetheart, that's not a good idea. None of us want that life for you-"
"But why not? You're all hunters, what's so bad about it?"
Now he looked uncomfortable. "It's not that it's... bad, but there are dangers involved, and-"
"You ready?" Daddy asked from the door. He saw Grandpa John's face. "What are we talking about?" he asked, coming over to us.
"Charlie wants a journal and to pretend that it's a hunter's journal, and I'm just explaining why that's not a good idea, and why the hunting life wouldn't be-"
"Dammit, Charlie!" Daddy exploded, "How many times do I have to tell you, you will NOT be a hunter! Not ever, little girl, and if I find out that you're pretending to be one, you'll have trouble sitting after I'm done with you, you got that?"
I stepped back from Daddy's intensity and Grandpa John pulled me over to him and put his arm around my shoulders.
"Dean, stand down, she didn't say anything about wanting to hunt!" Grandpa John's voice was low.
Daddy looked at both of us. "I'm not going to allow her to do anything where she puts herself in danger," he bit out slowly, "I'm not going to lose her."
He turned and started to stalk away.
"Daddy!" I called, starting to cry. I ran after him and grabbed onto his arm. "Daddy, I'm sorry, I won't!"
He turned suddenly and I half expected him to spank me, but instead he grabbed me up in a fierce hug.
"I'm sorry, Daddy," I sniffled.
"Shh, baby, I'm sorry," he murmured, holding me tightly. "It's just- I almost lost you once and I don't ever want to go through that again."
"I—I won't pretend, or anything, I promise-"
"Shh, it's all right," he said.
"Are we all ready?" Uncle Sam asked from the doorway. "What's going on here?"
Daddy gave me one last squeeze and set me down.
"Nothing, we're fine," he said, taking my hand.
We went to the same restaurant that Daddy and I had gone with Lisa and Ben. After we had ordered, Daddy said to me, "I have a surprise for you, Charlie."
I looked at him. "What?"
He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and slid it across the table at me.
It was a brochure for something called "Big Bear Cabins Indoor Water Park and Resort". I opened it up and looked at the photos, and looked back at him.
"Lisa and I are taking you and Ben there this weekend, as a "family bonding" trip!" Daddy smiled.
"Wow," I said, "Is it like a 'musement park?"
"Kindof, it's an indoor water park with lots of water rides, and there's a hotel attached, and they have other things to do there like an arcade, a spa, a mini movie theater, and a couple places to eat. You don't have to leave the whole time you're there."
"Wow, that sounds cool! I've never been to a water park!"
"Should be interesting," Uncle Sam said, "Are there places for the grown-ups to get away?"
"As a matter of fact, there is an "adults only" hot tub area where you can drink alcohol," Daddy told him with a grin, "And you can bet that Lisa and me'll be taking full advantage of that!"
"Hmm, are you and Lisa getting...close?" Uncle Sam raised his eyebrow.
Daddy shifted in this seat. "No, we're just...bonding over the fact that we have kids now, you know?"
"Okay," Uncle Sam chuckled.
"Just watch yourself, Dean," Grandpa John said, "It's going to be a lot harder for people to pick up the pieces if you fall back on your 'love 'em and leave'em routine."
"Dad, I'm not in high school any more," Daddy said defensively.
"Uh, you continued that well after high school, dude," Uncle Sam said, shaking his head, "You're notorious for finding a bar in whatever city we're in and-"
"All right, all right, can we not talk about that any more?" There was a slight blush on Daddy's face. "Things have changed now."
"Well, I certainly hope they have. I hope you have, because it's not just the girl's heart you'll break this time if things go south," Grandpa John said.
"All right, I get it, geez," Daddy said, "Can we drop it?"
The waitress came to the table with the pizza and set in down in the middle.
After we had started eating, Daddy said, "And since it's right before Hallowe'en, you're supposed to bring a costume to wear, they have a couple of different events celebrating Hallowe'en. So we're going to go with Lisa and Ben before we leave and get costumes for the two of you."
"We are? Cool!" I exclaimed, "Can we go trick-or-treating?"
Daddy wiped his mouth off with a napkin. "Umm, sure, I don't know where we can go around here, but I can ask Lisa. Did you go with your mom?"
"Yeah, we'd go through our apartment building and then up and down the block. When Mommy first got sick and I was staying with Aunt Janice, she took me around her neighborhood, but last year...last year Mommy was too sick, so I didn't- I didn't get to go."
It had been another disappointing thing to happen, but that was once again one of the times that Mommy had been getting over being really sick, and I hadn't wanted to bother her about a costume or buying candy to give. I had made a sign for the door that year saying, "NO CANDY HERE" like you were supposed to if you weren't passing candy out, and then spent the evening watching re-runs of 'College Town' while Mommy slept.
Grandpa John looked uncomfortable. "Is it such a good idea to be taking the kids out, Dean?" he asked. "I mean, you know what's out-"
"Dad, it'll be fine. Hey, why don't you come along with us? It'll be kinda fun to get into it this year and see all the kids in their costumes-"
Grandpa John shook his head. "No, no thank you," he said.
"Come on, Dad, it might do you some good to get out-" Uncle Sam said.
"NO," Grandpa John said in a hard voice, "and you know why." He abruptly got up from the table and walked towards the bathroom.
I looked across the table at Daddy. "What's wrong with Grandpa John?" I asked.
"Well," Daddy looked uncomfortable, "Our mother...passed...a couple of days after Hallowe'en, so this time of year is always hard for him."
"Oh," I said. "That's sad."
"Yeah, it is," Daddy sighed, "I was hoping that the fact that we're together this year, and the fact that he has a grand-daughter now, might help him be able to let it go a little bit, but I guess not."
In a few minutes, Grandpa John came back over to the table. "I'm sorry," he said stiffly after he sat down. "I didn't mean to- I get-" he sighed, "Well, you know why I get the way I do." He looked down at his plate.
Daddy put his hand on Grandpa John's shoulder. "We know, Dad, and it's okay." he said sympathetically.
Grandpa John nodded and finished eating his pizza. He didn't talk the rest of the time we were there, but seemed to be lost in thought.
When I went to bed that night, I wanted to say something to him, but I didn't know what to say, so instead I just hugged him extra tight.
In the morning Daddy told me that he and Uncle Sam were going to deal with the haunted house in the evening, and that Grandpa John would take me to dinner and put me to bed. Since it was Sunday, Uncle Sam didn't make me do any school work. Daddy and Uncle Sam spent time cleaning some guns on the kitchen table. I stayed away while they worked, since Daddy was always so strict about me being around weapons.
Right before dinner, Daddy and Uncle Sam packed up the Impala and left. Grandpa John and I walked to the park for a while. There were a lot of kids there. He sat on a bench under a big tree in the corner and I ran around with the other kids.
At one point I could feel something funny, like the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I turned, and saw a tall man with short dark hair standing on the edge of the playground. He was standing still, looking right at me. He looked normal, with a button down shirt and tie, except that he was wearing a long tan rain coat, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It had been hot and dry for days now. I stood there looking at him and he looked at me, and I realized that what was so odd was that he didn't blink! It gave me a funny feeling. I turned towards the bench where Grandpa John was sitting, to see if he was watching me and if he noticed the man. But when I turned back, the man was gone. I looked around to see it I could see him walking away, but it was as if he has just disappeared.
I was going to go over and tell Grandpa John about it, but then the group of kids that I was playing tag with all ran in front of me and I forgot about it, because I got tagged as 'it'.
Grandpa John took me to a diner for dinner. He told me that I could get ice cream for dessert, since he had promised me ice cream a couple of times and hadn't been able to take me out. I reminded him again that he'd also said it was a grandparent's job to fill their grand-kids up with candy, and he still hadn't done that, and that made him laugh. He let me get a grilled cheese sandwich and french fries and didn't make me get a vegetable. After we ate we shared a big banana split.
At bedtime, I asked him to read to me, so he read some of one of the Warrior Cats stories that Uncle Sam had put on my Kindle.
I woke up hearing Daddy talking kind of loudly. I stumbled out to the living room. He and Uncle Sam had just gotten back from the haunted house, and their duffles were next to the door.
I ran up to Daddy and hugged him. "Are you guys okay? Nobody got hurt? Is everything okay now?" I looked up at him.
Daddy looked at me and smoothed my hair back from my face. "Yeah, we're fine. Uncle Sam got body slammed at one point, but he can take it. We ganked it."
"What's ganked?" I asked.
"Uh, we...took care of things," Uncle Sam said quickly. He passed a bottle of beer to Daddy.
I looked at Uncle Sam. "Why do you guys have dirt all over your shirts?" I asked.
"It's, uh, part of the investigation process," Daddy said after a moment, "I want you to go back to bed now, Charlie," he said. I gave him and Uncle Sam a hug and a kiss and went back to bed. When I was almost asleep I heard Daddy come into the room and get in the shower. I woke up for a moment, later, and thought I heard the front door open and close, but I wasn't sure.
On Monday Uncle Sam took me to PT and I worked hard to get all my schoolwork done by the afternoon. This week Lisa had to work late because of her promotion. So Daddy was going to pick Ben up from school every day, and then Ben was going to come to the hotel and stay with us until Lisa got home late in the evening and picked him up. I was excited to spend more time with Ben.
Daddy and I drove to Washington Elementary School and parked in the parking lot. There was a line of cars at the curb in front of the school and a line of yellow school buses on the side of the building.
"Why do we have to go in?" I asked Daddy, taking his hand.
"I have to go in and show my ID the first time," he explained, "Tomorrow I can be in the pick-up line."
We walked into the front office and Daddy talked to the woman sitting behind the front desk. He took his driver's license out of his wallet and handed it it her.
A woman in a business suit came out of the back and looked at us. I tensed up a little bit, because suits like that still reminded me of Aunt Michelle, even though this woman looked nothing like her.
"And who do we have here?" she asked, looking at me, "Are you going to be a new student, sweetie?"
"Uh, no, we're here to pick up a student," Daddy said gruffly. I could tell he was uncomfortable.
"Well I don't recognize her, she's not one of ours, is she?" the woman said, looking at the secretary. She extended her hand to Daddy. "Margaret Collins, Vice Principal."
"Dean Winchester," Daddy said, shaking her hand, "I'm here to pick up Ben Braeden, he's my son. This is my daughter, she's uh, I'm home-schooling her right now."
The secretary gave Daddy back his license and handed him a clipboard with a piece of paper on it. "Fill this out, it tells us what kind of car you have so that we know what to look for, and gives us your contact info."
"Home-schooling, huh? What's the matter, she not like school?" the Vice Principal said.
"Uh, no, she was...she had an illness and was hospitalized for a while, and we thought it best to home-school afterwards," Daddy said stiffly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I hope she's in remission now!"
Daddy nodded and held up the clipboard. "I've got to fill this out," he said.
She nodded, "I'll leave you to it."
A door on the other wall opened and Ben walked in carrying his backpack and a small duffle bag. He smiled when he saw us. "Hey, Charlie, hey, Dean!" he said happily.
"Hey, Ben!" I hopped up, "This is gonna be fun!"
When we walked back to the car, Ben said, "Hey, Dean, can I sit up front?"
Daddy looked at him. "Don't think so, buddy, it's a law in this state that you have to be 13 to sit in the front, I think?"
Ben sighed and frowned, "I know, it's not fair..." he grumbled.
When we got back to the room, Daddy realized that we had less than an hour before we had to go to Ben's baseball practice. Dinner hadn't been started, so he took us to a fast-food restaurant near the park where Ben's practices were held. We couldn't go into the play area because we had to get to practice, and then we couldn't go to the playground after, because we had to go back to the hotel so that Ben could do his homework. And then before we knew it, Lisa was there picking up Ben. I felt like I had barely seen him.
The next day I worked hard with Uncle Sam on my school work so that I could spend time with Ben when we picked him up. We got to go through the car rider line at his school, and Ben enjoyed everyone looking at Daddy's car and pointing at it. It was a noticeable car, not only because it was shiny and fancy looking, but because the engine rumbled loudly.
When we got to our hotel, Ben went straight to the desk and sat down. "I gotta do my homework first thing," he told me, "and get it outta the way."
I picked up the tablet to move it out of the way and set it to the side. Then I walked over to the sofa and sat down.
In a couple of minutes Ben turned to me. "Hey, Charlie, can I use your tablet for the calculator?"
"Sure," I agreed. He turned it on and I saw him tapping the screen.
Uncle Sam called me into the kitchen and asked me to set the table, since he was cooking dinner for us tonight. He made spaghetti with meat sauce, with salad and green beans if you didn't want salad. Grandpa John wasn't there, so it wasn't crowded at the table.
"Do you want salad or green beans, or both?" Uncle Sam asked.
Ben made a face. "Green beans," he said, "When I was a dumb little kid I liked dinosaurs, and Mom got me to eat salad by telling me to pretend to be a leaf-eater, and I did!"
I giggled.
"That's actually pretty creative," Uncle Sam said.
"Yeah, and broccoli was trees," he shook his head, "I was a dork," he made another face, and I giggled again.
"When Sam was little I had him convinced that brown cows made chocolate milk and that cheese was made when cows got scared. I told him that there was a worker on each farm who went around scaring cows to get them to make cheese," Daddy told us, and Uncle Sam shook his head.
Ben and I laughed.
"And you wonder why I think you're full of it sometimes, jerk," Uncle Sam said to Daddy.
"Just doing my job as an obnoxious older brother, bi—Sam," Daddy corrected himself.
After we ate I took Ben into my room and showed him my bag with all my Hello Kitty figurines and Polly Pockets- Ben was fascinated with how small the Polly Pocket dolls were. I showed him my 3DS games and we talked about which games we liked, because he had a 3DS too. We made plans to play some games together, because you could connect them. Then we went out to the living room to watch t.v.
We were flipping through all the channels when I saw Uncle Sam walk over to Daddy, who was cleaning up the kitchen.
They talked in low voices for a couple of minutes, and then went into the bedroom. Uncle Sam closed the door partway and I could hear them talking some more.
The bedroom door opened and Uncle Sam stood there. "Charlie, come here please," he beckoned me.
I got up and walked into the bedroom, and he closed the door part way again. Daddy was standing by the dresser, and his arms were crossed. He was frowning and there was an angry line between his eyebrows.
Uncle Sam sat down on the end of the bed and picked up the tablet. I hadn't seen him bring it in with him. He tapped the screen a couple of times, and then turned it around to show me.
"What is this?" he asked me.
I looked at it- it was a space game with rocket ships that I'd never seen before. "I—I don't know, Uncle Sam, I've never seen tha-"
He looked up at me and his jaw twitched. "You're telling me that you didn't download this game onto the tablet?"
"N-no, Uncle Sam, I didn't!" I looked from him to Daddy, and my tummy started to twist into a knot. Daddy just stood there watching me.
"Charlotte Anne, what did I tell you would happen if you downloaded any more games without asking me first? And you're going to add lying now?" Uncle Sam set the tablet down on the bed, stood up, and crossed the room.
Daddy reached into his duffle on the dresser, and took something out, handing it to Uncle Sam.
It was the paddle!
My mouth went dry and I took a couple of steps backwards.
Uncle Sam walked over to the bed and sat down again, on the edge.
"Come here," he said in a hard voice, setting the paddle next to his thigh.
"Uncle Sam, I didn't- I swear, I don't know how that game got on there, I-" I gulped uneasily.
"Really, young lady? Really? Get over here, now," and he leaned forward and took my wrist, pulling me towards him.
I stumbled over my feet, tears coming to my eyes.
He held me so that I was right in front of his knees, and looked at me again. He was frowning just like Daddy now and his jaw was tight.
"I'm giving you one last chance to come clean before I add swats for lying to me," he said sternly.
"Please, Uncle Sam, I didn't- I mean I don't- I didn't put that game on there, I've never seen it b'fore, please believe me!" My words tumbled over each other in a rush as the tears in my eyes spilled over.
I looked over at Daddy again and then back at Uncle Sam."Please, please believe me!" I pleaded.
Uncle Sam pulled me closer. "Are you telling me the truth? You're not just saying that to get out of being paddled?" He looked me right in the eyes.
"B-ben had the tablet, maybe he—he put it on, he likes space games like that one! I don't like games like that!" I put my hand up and swiped at the tears on my face. "Please!"
Something in Uncle Sam's face softened, and I saw his jaw unclench. He let go of me and stood up.
"All right, let's go talk to Ben," he said. I followed him out to the living room and Daddy walked behind me, holding the tablet.
Daddy and Uncle Sam stood next to each other. "Ben, did you put anything on Charlie's tablet?" Daddy asked.
Ben got a scared look on his face for a moment, and then it smoothed out. "Uh, I, yeah, I did." he said casually, "It's this game that I play on the laptop all the time, it's cool-"
"Ben, that's not the point," Daddy said.
Just then his phone rang. He answered it, "Hey, Lis, how's it going?" he asked, "You are? All right. Ben can fall asleep on the sofa here. Hey, listen, we have a bit of a situation here- Charlie has her tablet for school work, and she's not allowed to have any games on there unless Sam has vetted them and okayed it, and Ben put a game on there without asking. I know you had said before that you had basically the same rule, he had to check with you first- oh, you did? What do you want to do?"
Daddy handed the phone to Ben. "Uh, h-hi Mom," Ben said, ducking his head guiltily, "Y-yeah, I did. But it's a game I played before, and we know it's safe! Oh...no, I, I didn't think of that. Yeah, I guess I didn't think...aw Mom! Mooooom!" Ben's face got red as he protested, "No, I don't want a span-" he glanced at me and his face got more red. He sighed. "Okaaaay, Mom. See ya later. Yeah."
He handed the phone back to Daddy. "It's me," Daddy said, "What did you—oh, all right, that sounds fair. Okay, we'll see you later."
He disconnected and looked at Ben. "Well, what do you have to say?"
"Uh, sorry for not checking what your rules were and for putting something on your tablet without permission. Sorry, Charlie," Ben glanced at me, "I can't play my 3DS for the rest of the week now," he said sourly.
"Your mom is going to be late tonight, so you can just fall asleep on the sofa here, all right?" Daddy said to him, "Charlie, you need to get ready for bed."
"Yes, Daddy," I said, feeling relieved that I wasn't in trouble.
When I was finished getting ready, I went up to Daddy and asked, "Would you read to me? Grandpa John started reading the Warrior Cats book."
"Sure," Daddy said, standing up. He had been sitting on the sofa next to Ben.
"Wanna come listen?" I asked Ben.
He looked a little uncomfortable. "Uh, my mom hasn't read to me in years, but, uh, sure," he said.
He followed us into the bedroom, and Daddy sat in the middle of the bed with me and Ben on either side of him. I explained the story to Ben first because he'd never heard of it before. After Daddy read a chapter, he went to the closet and got out an extra blanket and one of his pillows.
"You can use these to lay down," he told Ben as they went out to the living room. I could hear them talking as they watched t.v., and felt a little bit jealous that Ben was getting to stay up and talk to Daddy, but then, he was older than me.
Imani came up to me when Uncle Sam and I walked into the PT room the next day.
"Well, Charlie," she smiled, "Dr. Miriam said that based on all the tests she did recently, you're ready to graduate from PT! You don't need to keep coming!"
"Wow, really?" I asked.
"Yes! You've done really well. Your father told me that you won't be here on Friday, so when you come back on Monday, that will be your last session and we'll have a little celebration, all right?" She smiled up at Uncle Sam.
While I did the exercises with the other kids, I glanced over a couple of times. Uncle Sam stayed, and he was watching Imani as she walked around helping the kids. At one point she walked over to the counter to write on some clipboards, and he went over and talked to her. They chatted and smiled at each other.
When Uncle Sam and I left, he said, "This is great news, Charlie!" He had a big smile on his face.
I remembered what Daddy had said to him about Imani when I was in the hospital. "Hey, are you gonna ask her out now?" I looked up at him.
He blushed. "Geez, Charlie, I don't know, I don't even know if she's still interested."
"Oh come on, Uncle Sam, she is!" I told him.
He shook his head.
"You guys were looking at each other like two people from Doctor Sexy, MD, when they're about to get all lovey-dovey!" I said, and he laughed loudly.
"We'll see, Charlie, we'll see," he shook his head again.
I fell asleep on the way home from PT and slept for a long time, longer than usual. I hadn't been sleeping well, I kept waking up from bad dreams, but then I could never remember them, just feelings of being nervous and scared. I had been feeling a little more tired than usual because of it. Because I had slept for so long, I had to stay and do my school work with Uncle Sam instead of going with Daddy to pick Ben up from school.
They came into the room later than usual, and Ben had a Slushie from the Gas-n-Sip that was near us.
"Hey, no fair!" I protested.
"I wanted to have a little Dad- son bonding time," Daddy said, bringing me over a cup. "I got you a Slushie too," He handed it to me- it was bright blue.
"It's raspberry flavored, and it'll turn your tongue blue!" Ben told me, and he stuck out his tongue- it was blue! I laughed.
"Great, just what the kids need before dinner, sugar and dye," Uncle Sam said sarcastically.
"I'll take them to the playground after dinner and let them run it off," Daddy told him.
As we walked back from the playground later, Ben said, "When we get back I wanna watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
"Nooo, they're dumb!" I protested.
Ben bristled. "They are not!"
"Yuh- huh!" I said, "Kitchen Wars is on tonight, and I watch that with Uncle Sam!"
Ben stepped close to me and tried to step on the heel of my shoe. "But I'm the guest, and you have to watch what the guest wants!"
"Stooooop!" I said, moving my foot away from him and stumbling over my feet.
Daddy grabbed my arm so that I didn't fall. "Hey...guys..." he said.
"Not if it's Teenage Mutant dum-dums!" I snapped, nudging Ben away again with my shoulder.
"Hey! They are not! Cut it out!" Ben nudged me back.
"You cut it out!" I said, and we both shoved each other at the same time.
"All right, enough!" Daddy said, pulling us apart. He took my arm and swatted my bottom, and then turned to Ben and swatted his butt too.
"Ow!" Ben hissed, reaching back to rub.
I glared at Ben. "It's all your fault!" I snapped, rubbing my stinging butt.
Daddy looked at me. "No, it's both your faults, and if you two keep it up, you're going to both have trouble sitting comfortably for the rest of the night! You got it?"
"Yes, Daddy," I said.
Daddy looked at Ben. "Ben?"
Ben glanced at him and nodded.
"I want a verbal response, buddy," Daddy said.
"Yeah, okay," Ben said grudgingly.
"Charlie, you walk on this side of me, Ben on the other. And keep your hands to yourselves." Daddy said.
When we got back to the room, Grandpa John was sitting on the sofa with his feet on the coffee table, watching a baseball game. "Well, there they are," he said. "How was it...what's wrong, Dean?"
"Dad, I just want to say...I'm sorry for all the times that Sam and I bickered and drove you crazy," Daddy said to him.
Grandpa John looked at me and Ben, and then he laughed. "What, you mean these two...?"
Daddy nodded.
Grandpa John laughed louder. "Go get yourself a beer, Dean, it's going to continue for at least the next couple of years."
I woke up in the middle of the night again, feeling scared and uneasy. I got off of the bed and walked over to Daddy's bed, wanting to cuddle up with him. His bed was empty!
The bathroom door was open, and there was no-one in the living room when I walked in. The door to Uncle Sam's bedroom was open. I hurried over to his bed, feeling tears starting.
I shook his shoulder. "Uncle Sam, wake up, Uncle Saaaam," I whimpered.
He rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow, squinting at me.
"What is it, Charlie?" he asked in a rough voice, "What time is it?"
"I—I dunno, it's the middle of the night, an' I woke up all scared from a bad dream, an' Daddy's not here, where is he, Uncle Sam?" I burst into tears.
"Shh...it's all right, he, uh, he went out," he told me.
"But where did he go? Why isn't he back yet?" I asked.
"Uh, I don't, I don't know, he should be back soon," he said, pulling the covers back, "Get in bed, and tell me about this dream you had, hmm?"
I climbed into bed next to him and curled up. "I—I can't remember," I sniffled, "Just, darkness and feeling scared an', an' weird in my chest, I keep having them."
He put his arm around me and pulled me close. "Well, it was just a dream, and you're safe now. Go back to sleep."
I woke up early. Daddy still wasn't back. I looked out the window- the Impala wasn't in the parking lot, and I burst into tears. Uncle Sam called Daddy's cell phone, and then made another call. He and Grandpa John sat on the sofa with me, and they both looked mad.
Finally we heard the Impala's engine outside, and keys in the door. Daddy came into the room- his hair was messy, and his shirt wasn't buttoned right.
He looked over at us. "Uh, sorry-" he said sheepishly.
"Where were you? I woke up last night from a bad dream and I was scared and you weren't there! It made me more scared!" I burst into tears again, and Uncle Sam pulled me to him.
"Yeah, Dean, where were you?" he asked tightly, "Explain that to us. Explain that to your daughter."
