"You can't be in here."

Sam sighed, tilting his head and tightening his jaw. He looked over to the spot in the gym where Ellie was currently giving herself 'tough' looks in the mirror.

"Dean."

"I'm serious, man," Dean shrugged, "I can't do this with you watching."

"Why not?" Sam threw his hands out.

"Because it's boxing, and you're overprotective."

"Are you planning on beating up my six year old?" Sam scoffed.

"No," Dean shook his head, rolling his eyes, "But still."

Sam pursed his lips, sighing before he nodded. "Fine. I'll go do some reading. El, come here."

Ellie ran over to him, her pigtails bouncing as she skidded to a stop at his feet. He looked down at her and smiled, squatting in front of her.

"Listen to Uncle Dean, okay?" he rubbed the sides of her arms. He grabbed the sides of her face and smushed her cheeks, pulling her close to his face before whispering, "Kick his butt."

"You got it," she leaned forward and kissed his nose before spinning around and running towards Dean.

Sam stood up and bit his lip before pointing a finger at his brother, "Be careful."

Dean waved him off before squatting in front of Ellie, holding both hands up for a double high five. "You ready for this, squirt?"

Sam walked out of the gym, reminding himself to take slow deep breaths. He knew that Ellie would be fine, that there was no way in hell Dean would let her get hurt, but this situation still made him feel...weird. Between Ellie asking him to help her read lore books at bed time and now this, Sam knew that Ellie was becoming a hunter. Sure, she was only six years old, but her interest had been piqued and now there was no going back.

The night before, after Cass healed her arm and removed her cast, Ellie had been asking all sorts of questions about vampires. Ever since hearing that Rowena had killed one, she seemed to gravitate towards that kind of monster. When she first saw a picture of one in a book of Sam's, he expected her to be terrified, but she just laughed at their pointy teeth.

Sam walked into the library and skimmed the shelves, as he had been doing frequently lately. Due to Ellie's requests for lore books, he had been working on determining which books were appropriate for her. It was quite difficult, Sam discovered, as most books went into a little too much detail for his liking regarding how to kill the monsters.

He pulled a few heavy books into his arms and went to the table, smiling as Cass walked into the library. "Hey Cass."

"Hello," The angel looked around the room, "Where is Ellie?"

Sam gestured with his head to the right, "She's in the gym with Dean."

Cass nodded knowingly, a small smile on his face, "Right, boxing lessons."

"I still don't like it," Sam mumbled as he looked back to the books he had pulled out, opening one of them and flipping through the pages.

"You haven't worked a case since she got here, have you?" It was a question, but Cass already knew the answer. Other than the brothers going with Crowley to take care of Inarus's followers, Sam hadn't left the bunker without Ellie since she had arrived. Dean and Cass had worked a few random cases, a few ghosts and one werewolf, but Sam had been insistent on staying home with Ellie each time.

"I know," Sam sighed loudly, "I'm just grateful she hasn't asked to go on a hunt yet. I don't know how I'll react when that happens."

Cass tilted his head, "She won't be going on hunts for a long time, Sam."

"I know that," Sam waved him off, "But just the thought of it has me going crazy."

"We have years to prepare for that," Cass responded, walking up and resting a hand on the man's shoulder, "But are you going to hunt until then?"

"I just don't feel ready," Sam said quietly, biting his lip. "I don't know if I ever will."

Just as Cass opened his mouth to respond, they heard a high-pitched screech as Ellie came running into the library, her shirt and leggings covered in blood. Sam rushed to her, running his hands all over her body as he tried to determine the cause of the bleeding. He then realized that Ellie wasn't crying, but laughing.

"What the..." he trailed off, standing up.

"I did it," she giggled triumphantly, throwing her tiny fists into the air.

"Did what?" Sam asked, his face showing a look of horror at his blood-covered and yet enthusiastic child. Cass then cleared his throat, and when Sam looked over to the angel he noticed his brother, who was standing in the doorway of the library holding a hand to his face while blood slowly dripped through his fingers.

"I kicked his butt," Ellie smiled, crossing her arms.

Sam tilted his head and tried to muffle a laugh as Dean leaned his head back in an attempt to slow the blood coming from his nose. Ellie walked over to Sam and casually wrapped an arm around one of his thighs, resting her head on him as she looked up.

"Did I do good?" She grinned.

Sam chuckled, resting a hand on the top of her head as he looked at his brother, "What the hell happened?"

"I told her to try and kick my hand," Dean's nasally voice made Sam and Cass clear their throats as they tried not to laugh at him, "She missed."

"Here," Cass turned and found a bandana on a shelf, handing it to Dean to hold his nose.

"I knew I'd be a good fighter," Ellie pulled on the bottom of Sam's shirt to get him to look down at her, "I told you."

"Did you tell him you're sorry?" Sam looked at her with his eyebrows raised.

She looked up at him with her jaw dropped, releasing his leg as she pouted, "Why? He told me to kick him!"

Sam put his hands on his hips, narrowing his eyes at her. Ellie mimicked his stance, her lips pursing. Finally she gave up and turned around, sighing dramatically before Sam reached out and pushed her towards Dean.

"Sorry," she grumbled so quietly, it was almost incoherent, looking at the floor.

"Ellie," Sam warned from behind her.

"Ugh," she rolled her eyes, throwing her arms down in exasperation, "I'm sorry I kicked you in the face, Uncle Dean. There, happy?"

She whipped her head around to once again glare at her father, her nostrils flaring. Sam couldn't help but smile at her, even though he should have been angry with her attitude. Ellie recognized this and flashed her best grin, giggling quietly. Soon all four of the occupants of the room were laughing, even Dean as he held pressure to his nose.

"Uncle Dean," Ellie slowly walked over to where he had plopped down in one of the chairs, "Does this mean I don't get to take lessons anymore?"

Dean chuckled and then coughed from the blood draining down the back of his throat, pulling the bandana away to see that it had mostly stopping bleeding. "No, it means I'm going to be more careful when you're coming at me."

He reached out and tickled her sides briefly, making her squeal before she ran over to Sam. He looked down at her and winced, remembering the dried blood that caked her shirt and pants.

"El, go get changed," he pointed to the hallway. Ellie shrugged and skipped to her room, her pigtails bouncing. Sam looked to his brother, a smile on his face, "Dude."

"Shut up."

"You got beat up."

"Sammy..."

"By a six year old girl."

"Hush," Dean growled, "She didn't beat me up. She gave me a bloody nose. Big difference."

"I believe that making you shed your own blood constitutes as a 'beating', Dean," Cass spoke up, trying not to smile.

"I hate you both," Dean muttered as he stood, giving his face one last wipe with the bandana, "I'm going to go take a shower. You losers can figure out dinner."

"Whatever," Sam snorted, "But Dean?"

Dean stopped in his tracks, taking a deep breath before turning his head slightly, "What?"

"Be careful when you walk past Ellie's room."

Sam ducked just in time to avoid the book that came flying across the room before Dean stomped off to the bathroom. Cass let out a belly laugh, looking over to Sam with his eyes shining with tears from holding it in for so long.

"Suddenly, I'm not so worried about Ellie hunting," Cass took a deep breath, shaking his head with a big smile on his face, "I'm more concerned about Dean."