"Really Dean?"
"Yup," the elder Winchester continued mixing in the bowl he had stuck under his arm. "We need something to celebrate, so Cass and I figured out something we could celebrate."
Sam raised his eyebrow, "So you made Cass a birthday? Angels aren't born."
"It's the day that he pulled me from hell," Dean shrugged. "Figured that's as good a day as any."
"It's just weird."
"Hey, there aren't any holidays for a while," Dean shrugged.
"And you're," Sam paused, "Baking a cake?"
"How hard can it be?"
Sam nodded with his lips narrowed in a tight smile, then shook his head and turned to leave the kitchen. He found Ellie sitting with Cass in the library, bright colored paper strewn all over the table. Sam walked up and looked down at what she was drawing and chuckled.
"It's Uncle Cass's birthday," she looked up and squealed, "I'm making him a card."
"Seriously?" Sam looked over to where Cass was helping her spell out the difficult words.
The angel shrugged, "Dean needed cause for celebration, and both of your birthdays have already passed."
"Everyone needs a birthday, Dad," Ellie rolled her eyes.
"Okay, El," he rubbed the top of her head.
"When's my birthday? I can never remember." Ellie looked up to Sam, who had to think for a second back to the paperwork Crowley had brought from Amelia's home.
"October fifth," Cass supplied. Sam nodded towards the angel, grateful that he never forgot anything.
"So my birthday is kind of close, right?" Her eyes brightened.
"Yes, it's less than a month away," Cass responded.
Sam drew a shaky breath, thinking about the fact that he would have to figure out a birthday celebration for her in a few weeks. He knew Jody and the girls would help, but he still had to start thinking of what he could do special for Ellie.
"I'm going to be seven," Ellie stated proudly as she finished Cass's card. She held it up and smiled, content with how it looked. "How old are you today, Uncle Cass?"
"Uh," Cass tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe your number systems go that high."
"Whoa," Ellie whispered, "How are we going to fit all the candles on your cake?"
"Well I could only find one big candle that would work," Dean walked in, rubbing his flour covered hands on his pants. "So we'll just say that he's turning one eon old."
"I'm actually more than," he stopped, sending Dean's sarcasm, "Oh. Yes."
"Here's your card," Ellie jumped off of her chair and handed it to him. The angel looked down at it as if with fresh eyes, and not like he had helped her make it.
"It's wonderful, thank you," he smiled down at her, and she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a quick hug.
"Happy birthday," she turned and gave his cheek a quick peck, effectively making the angel grin even more.
"Okay, the cake is in the oven," Dean clapped his hands together.
Sam walked over to where Ellie had started playing with some small figurines on the floor she brought out from her bedroom. "Hey El, what do you want for your birthday?"
"I don't know," she shrugged, continuing to play, "I don't really need anything."
"Come on squirt, I'm sure there's something you want," Dean smiled down at her.
She scrunched her face in thought, then sighed and looked up at her uncle. "Nothing."
"Uh-uh, I can tell you thought of something," Dean squatted next to her, poking her shoulder gently. "Tell me."
"It's silly."
"I'm sure it's not," Cass added, standing next to Sam.
Ellie bit her lip, looking down at her skirt and playing with the bottom of the tulle. "I wish I had a house for my barbies."
"That's not silly at all," Sam reached out and rubbed the top of her head. "That's a good idea."
Ellie smiled as she shook Sam's head off of her head, then went back to playing. As Dean stood up, the timer in the kitchen began going off. He gestured with his head for Sam and Cass to follow him, shooting Ellie a quick grin.
"Stay here, squirt," he held up a hand as the three men walked down the hall to the kitchen. He waited until he was pulling the cake out of the oven to ask, "So, doll house?"
"Sounds good," Sam let out a long breath. "I'll look online."
"We're," Cass paused, looking down at his feet briefly, "We're allowed to get her more than one thing, correct?"
"Yes, Cass," Sam chuckled and slapped a hand onto the angel's back. "You want to spoil your niece, don't you."
"I have found that her happiness brings me happiness," Cass shrugged it off.
"You know what brings me happiness," Dean chimed in, carefully capsizing the cake pan and smiling as it fell perfectly onto the wire rack. "Cake."
Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head, then waved a hand at his brother and left the kitchen for library. When he got close, he looked and realized Ellie was not in the same spot they had left her. His gait sped up and as he entered the library, his eyes quickly searched the area as he called her name. He ran to the map room, continuously yelling her name as he looked all over for her. Cass and Dean heard him and rushed to the library, seeing a distraught Sam standing in the doorway of the map room.
"What's going on?" Dean asked, a concerned look on his face.
"I can't find her," Sam hissed, "I don't know if she's just hiding or if something happened."
"I'm sure she's just playing," Dean placed a gentle hand on Sam's shoulder. "She wanted to play hide and seek the other day, remember?"
"And we told her no," Sam growled, then turned and shouted, "Eleanor Winchester, get out here now."
The three men all waited a brief moment before they heard a small commotion from behind them near the telescope. Ellie peeked her head out from around the curtain, her eyes wide as she realized how angry her father was.
Sam tilted his head to the side, his jaw tightened as he pointed first to her, then to the ground directly in front of him. Ellie slowly crossed the room, her head hung low until she stood at Sam's feet, her gaze slowly moving up his body until it met his eyes.
"Sorry daddy," she whispered, biting her lip.
"You should be," Sam stayed at his full height, looking down at her. "Go to your room."
Ellie sniffled quietly before nodding and running past him to the hallway. Dean looked at Sam with an eyebrow raised, then snorted and shook his head.
"What?"
"You're getting real good at this 'dad' thing," Dean chuckled, "I can't believe you just sent her to her room."
"Shut up," Sam rolled his eyes, "She knew that would scare me. Why did she do it?"
"Because she's six?" Dean shoved his brother in the shoulder, "You keep forgetting that she's just a little kid."
"Well she keeps saying things that aren't normal for a kid to say," Sam ran a hand down his face, "Like last night, she told me that she wanted to learn how to shoot a gun."
"What?" Cass replied in surprise.
"Yeah," Sam scoffed, "She said that she needs to know how to kill monsters."
"Damn it," Dean shook his head, "This is what we were trying to avoid."
"I know," Sam pursed his lips, "She's growing up a hunter, whether we like it or not."
"Well I vote she doesn't touch a gun for a long ass time," Dean held his hand up.
Cass tilted his head in confusion, "Weren't you her age that first time you shot a gun?"
"That's different," Dean scoffed.
"How?"
"It just is," Dean shrugged his shoulders.
"Because she's a girl?" Cass raised his eyebrows.
Sam held up a hand, "No, because we don't want her to end up like Dean."
"Hey!"
Sam turned and gave his brother an exasperated look, holding his arms out. "You seriously saying that's not true?"
"Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt," Dean grumbled, "We all need to be on the same page with hunting stuff."
"I agree," Sam nodded, "We have to come up with a plan."
"I feel that she should be allowed to look at the lore," Cass stated plainly, giving a defensive look when he got concern from the brothers, "We can't exactly tell her she can't read, can we?"
"Fine," Sam responded, "But no weapons. At least not for a while."
"She should probably learn how to protect herself," Dean muttered, holding up a hand when Sam opened his mouth to interrupt, "Just hand to hand stuff."
"You want to teach her to box?" Sam scoffed, looking up at the ceiling, "I don't think she'll be getting into any street fights any time soon, Dean."
"True but, as much as we don't want to think about it, she could get kidnapped."
Sam looked over to the angel, his eyes wide. "Why would you even say that?"
"Sam, you and I both know that just because Inarus is dead does not mean no more monsters will ever come after her," Cass continued, ignoring Dean holding a finger to his throat behind Sam.
"That's what we're for, Cass," Sam hissed, "To protect her."
"I just think Dean should be allowed to teach her some beginner combat moves," Cass held up his hands.
"Fine," Sam bit his bottom lip, looking to the floor. "If she asks again about hunting."
"Okay," Dean rested a hand on his shoulder. "Sounds like a plan."
"Now," Sam inhaled deeply, "I have to go try and discipline her while she looks at me with those awful eyes."
"Now you know how the rest of us feel when you do it," Dean chuckled. "Cass, you want to help me decorate your cake?"
Cass followed Dean to the kitchen while Sam headed for Ellie's bedroom. When he got to the doorway, he found her sitting on the end of her bed, her hands clasped in her lap while her legs swung slowly.
"Ellie," he cleared his throat, taking a few steps towards her bed. She looked up at him with those big eyes, the few tears welling up making them look much more green than normal. "We told you no hide and seek."
"I know," she sniffed quietly, reaching up and wiping her eyes with her sleeve, "I'm sorry."
"You scared me," he whispered, biting his lips as he reached her bed and looked down at her.
"I know," she sighed loudly.
Sam let out a long breath, then bent over and put his hands on her shoulders, making her look into his eyes. "Don't do that again."
"Okay," her bottom lip pouted out before a couple tears fell down her cheeks.
Sam inhaled sharply before picking her up, wrapping his arms around her and standing up straight. "Love you."
"I love you too," she mumbled before she wiped her nose on his shoulder, a quick giggle escaping her lips.
"Ew, really," Sam rolled his eyes, pushing her out of his arms onto her bed. She fell backwards in a fit of laughter, her hair getting messed up as she plopped onto the pile of pillows and blankets on her bed. Sam looked at his shoulder and made an exaggerated disgusted face, reaching for the box of tissues on her dresser to clean it off.
"Is Uncle Dean done with the cake yet?" Ellie jumped off of her bed, wiping the last of her tears away.
"Probably," Sam shrugged, "Race you to the kitchen."
"Okay," she squealed, trying to push past him to get into the hallway. Sam stuck his hip in her way, shoving her backwards onto her butt before rushing out of her room. "Hey, no fair!"
"Sucks to be tiny," Sam turned his head as he walked briskly, then tripped over his own feet and fell on his chest on the floor. Just as he tried to push himself up, he felt small feet stomping on his spine as Ellie ran over him.
"Sucks to be clumsy!"