"I want to sleep in Uncle Dean's bed," Ellie murmured as the three of them walked down the hallway. Cass had just left to drive Rowena home, and the brothers knew they needed to get Ellie back to bed. Sam looked down at her, his eyes saddened. He knew that she had been spooked when he didn't know who she was.

"How come?" Sam asked carefully, stopping in the hall and squatting in front of her.

"I just do," she looked at him quickly before reaching up and grabbing Dean's hand.

Sam nodded, swallowing his disappointment, "Okay."

"Let's go then," Dean said quietly, trying to gauge his little brother's mood as they walked by.

"Hey," Sam said quietly, making Ellie turn, "I love you."

Ellie bit her lip before slowly walking towards him and giving him a quick hug, "Love you too."

Sam tried to give her a long hug, but she began pushing against his chest so he released her while he cleared his throat. "Good night."

Ellie turned and grabbed Dean's hand, walking down the hallway to his room. Dean turned his head back as they walked, giving Sam a quick smile.

Once they reached his room, he bent over and spoke to her quietly, "Go lay down, I'll be right back."

Dean hurried down the hall, trying to find his brother. He looked into Sam's room and sighed, seeing him sitting on his bed with his head in his hands. Dean stepped forward, leaning his shoulder against the doorway.

"Hey Sammy," he said quietly.

Sam sniffed loudly and wiped his eyes before lifting his head, pursing his lips as he tried to hide the emotions on his face. Dean tilted his head, sighing. He hated seeing his brother like this.

"She's scared of me," Sam finally spoke, barely a whisper.

"Sam," Dean whispered, walking towards the bed, "It was a super weird situation."

The younger Winchester shook his head, biting his lip, "I knew I shouldn't have gone out on a hunt."

Dean scoffed, "Yeah, because every time you hunt you're gonna get hexed and forget your child."

"I'm serious, Dean," Sam stood suddenly, a frown on his face, "What if Rowena couldn't have fixed me?"

"Then I would've told you she was your daughter like I did three weeks ago," Dean shrugged. "It's not like you would've missed out on years."

"I already did," Sam yelled, throwing his hands out, "I missed six years of her life! I can't risk missing any more."

"Sammy, calm down," Dean held his hands out defensively. "You're overreacting."

"No I'm not," Sam growled, "I finally go out on a hunt and now my own daughter prefers you."

Dean exhaled sharply. So that's what this was about. "You can't be serious."

"Am I wrong?" Sam snorted.

"Sam," Dean stepped forward, resting a hand roughly on his brother's shoulder, "She had a rough night. You are her dad."

"For the last three weeks."

"Shut up, man," Dean was pissed now, shoving Sam backwards so hard he almost fell onto his bed. "You know she loves you more than anyone else in the world."

Sam sucked in a deep breath, his chest heaving. Tears again pricked his eyes, and he bit his bottom lip to try to keep them at bay. Dean took a small step forward, tilting his head to make sure he kept Sam's gaze locked on his own.

"Don't do this to yourself," he said quietly, "Or better yet, don't do this to her."

"Sometimes I think," Sam paused to take a deep breath, falling back onto his bed, "I feel like she'd be better off without me."

"Sammy—"

"No Dean, I'm serious," he clasped his hands in front of him, his head dropped in shame, "She's known me for less than a month and has almost died twice. Am I really the best option for her?"

"You're her father."

"Yeah, so?" Sam scoffed, "There are plenty of fathers out there who suck at being parents. Maybe I'm just not cut out for this."

Dean shook his head, "Sam, you're exhausted, okay? None of this is really you talking."

"I don't know," Sam reached up and ran a hand down his face, his gaze off to nowhere in particular. "I feel like such a failure."

"Hey," Dean replied gruffly, "With everything you got handed, you are not a failure. You could've easily bailed and handed her off, but you took on the responsibility and, honestly? You're great at it."

"Shut up," Sam mumbled.

"Sammy, have you not noticed the way that kid looks at you?" Dean stepped forward, bending over and moving his head until Sam finally met his eyes, "She thinks you are the coolest guy on the planet. She loves you so unconditionally, even when you're making her eat disgusting healthy food. Do you know what I found last night when I put her to bed?"

Sam shrugged, his eyes turned downward but with a hopeful glint in them.

"She has that damn AC/DC shirt under her pillow, man," Dean continued, "From that first night. I asked her about it, and she said it smells like you so she sleeps with it."

Sam couldn't help the smile that crossed his face, tears again welling in his eyes but for a much different reason. "Really?"

Dean sighed dramatically, shaking his head at his younger brother. He was trying to think of another way to show him that he really was an amazing dad. Suddenly his eyes brightened and he reached into his pants pocket, pulling out his phone. He unlocked it and opened the app, scrolling up slightly until he got to the folder he had made the day before.

"Look," he handed Sam his phone.

As the younger Winchester slowly took it and looked down, his breath caught in his throat. It was an album in Dean's photos entitled 'Squirt + Sammy'. Sam swallowed loudly before opening it, a smile on his face.

He could've scrolled to the top, to start at the beginning, but the most recent photo caught his eye so he decided to start there. It was from a few days previous, when Ellie had given Dean his bloody nose. When Sam went to help her get cleaned up, Dean had told them to pose for a quick picture, both of them holding their arms up in muscle man poses. Ellie had still had her bloody clothes on, so the image held quite the story.

Sam swiped left, and chuckled when he saw an image of him signing Ellie's cast. Although she only had it on for less than six hours, she had insisted on Sam signing it. As he had taken the sharpie to write on it, he had realized it was the first time he was writing 'dad' on anything.

The next image made Sam cringe, as although it was from their nice family dinner with Rowena, the moment that was captured was when Ellie had gone onto her knees on her chair, pretending to give Sam a kiss on his cheek only to wipe sauce from her own face onto his. The picture was immediately after, with Sam making a grossed out face and Ellie laughing hysterically.

As he swiped left again, Sam sighed, his smile growing. It was a picture from their dance party, with Ellie and Sam somehow jumping in the air at the same time. Their hair was matching, flopping in the air and their faces scrunched up as they sang the words to the rock song.

Sam immediately recognized the next photo from when Ellie had the 'demon sickness' and had only wanted to sit on his lap in the kitchen. So many of these pictures he never realized Dean had taken, but when this one happened he was too concerned with Ellie not feeling good to notice. She was straddling his lap, her legs dangling on either side of his hips with her arms lazily falling on both sides. Her head rested against his chest, her eyes closed.

Sam wanted to frame the next picture. It was taken, if he was correct, the day that he had left with Dean to find Inarus's followers. He was rubbing his stubbled chin into Ellie's neck, making her giggle. Her face was lit up as she tried to squirm away from him, her mouth open from laughter.

The following image was from their spaghetti dinner, when Ellie insisted on trying the 'lady and the tramp thing' with Sam. He declined at first, but eventually the puppy dog eyes won and Dean had captured the moment right before the noodle broke and their lips met.

Yet another photo that Sam wasn't aware of Dean taking, the next picture was one of him doing Ellie's hair as she sat still and he focused on brushing her hair into a ponytail. Ellie's eyes were lifted up, as if she was trying to watch what Sam was doing.

He rolled his eyes as he flipped to the next image, remembering the moment well. When Cass had given Ellie another cookie because she used her puppy dog eyes on him, even though Sam had said no. The picture was snapped as Ellie looked at Sam with part of the cookie in her mouth and a cocky smile on her face, while Sam's eyes were rolled back in his head.

Sam laughed out loud at the next picture, from the first night Ellie had spent in the bunker. Her tiny body somehow taking up most of her bed, while Sam had been subjected to sleeping with his neck bent at an awful angle and his body curled up on the edge of the bed.

As he swiped to the last photo, Sam felt tears sting his eyes yet again. That first time he had really held her in his arms as she snuggled into his neck, upset after asking if her mom was in heaven. In the image Sam had his eyes closed as he pressed one hand to the back of her head, the other gently rubbing her back. That was the first time he had felt such a strong connection like that to any human.

Sam sniffed a few times and sighed, handing Dean his phone back. He looked up at his brother and nodded, clearing his throat.

"You have already changed that little girl's life for the better, Sammy," Dean whispered, sitting next to Sam on the bed, "She needs you, and you need her."

"Thanks Dean," Sam slapped his brother's knee, shooting him a quick smile, "For everything."

"Yeah well," Dean replied, standing back up and stretching his back, "You should thank me, because I'm the one who has to sleep with the freezing starfish tonight."

Sam chuckled, shaking his head, "I didn't know you had that many pictures of Ellie and I."

Dean shrugged as he walked to the doorway, "I was thinking of printing them out to hang in her room. You know, for her birthday."

Sam smiled, "That's a great idea."

"I know, I'm full of 'em," Dean winked before walking down the hall.

Although he was exhausted from the day's events, it took Sam a little longer than usual to fall asleep. His mind kept going back to seeing Ellie's face when Rowena's spell took effect. She had hidden behind Dean's legs, gripping his jeans tightly in fear. Even when Sam had squatted down to her level, she still looked up at her uncle before slowly walking towards him.

Just as Sam finally got the images out of his head, instead replacing them with the photos Dean had shown him, he started to drift off to sleep. Right before, however, he felt a small dip in his mattress followed by a familiar cold nose rubbing into his spine.

He would be able to sleep just fine now.

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, they're helping to feed my muse! : )