I woke up early the next morning, needing to pee. Daddy didn't stir in his bed at all as I came back to my bed after I'd used the bathroom. I laid back down and tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't.
I sighed and rolled over, then I got out of bed. I wasn't tired any more, and I was bored of laying there. I walked over to the sofa and turned the t.v. on, putting the volume really low. It was still dark outside, and most of what was on was morning news shows. I found an old cartoon that I used to watch when I was little, about animals that lived in a preschool, and I laid down on the sofa to watch it. The show made me feel comforted, I had loved the adventures that the animals had gone on and the songs that they sang, and the sassy little duck had been my favorite character.
I heard Daddy sigh and then saw him roll over and sit up. He rubbed his hand over his face, blinking slowly, and then turned his head.
"Charlie?" he noticed me, "what are you doing up?" He got out of bed and started to walk over to me.
"I—I couldn't sleep any more, I wasn't tired," I said.
He frowned. "Are you watching t.v.?"
"Yeah, but it's okay Daddy, my head doesn't hurt."
"No, little girl, it's not okay," he walked over to the wall and pulled the plug out, and the t.v. screen went dark.
"Hey!" I protested, sitting up. My head throbbed painfully as I changed position, and I winced and put my hand up to my forehead.
"What's wrong?" Daddy came over to me quickly.
I blushed. "My, uh, my head hurts now," I said sheepishly.
"Dammit, Charlie!" Daddy snapped, putting his hands on his hips, "You see? This is why you were told yesterday to limit electronics. You'd better start listening and doing what you're told."
He came over to me quickly and pulled me to a standing position, then he landed 4 hard spanks on my bottom.
"Oww," I whined, covering my butt with my hands.
He let me go and pointed. "Get your butt into bed. Now."
I hurried over to the bed and climbed under the covers, wiping the tears that had come to my eyes.
He brought over a glass of water, and then poured medicine into the little dosing cup. He handed it to me, and I drank the medicine, and then half the glass of water that he handed me.
"You're resting today, you got that?" he said sternly, "No t.v., no 3DS, no electronics."
I opened my mouth to protest, but the look on his face stopped me.
I laid down and said meekly, "Yes, Daddy."
He pulled the covers up, and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Rest," he said simply.
He walked over to his duffle and got out some clothes, and then went into the bathroom to change. In a few minutes, I heard the buzzing sound of his electric razor.
I didn't think I was going to be able to sleep, but the next thing I knew, I was waking up. I could smell coffee and bacon.
I sat up- Uncle Sam and Grandpa John were sitting at the table across the room with Daddy, and they were eating breakfast.
"Charlie, I got you pancakes," Uncle Sam called.
I got out of bed and walked over to them.
Daddy pulled me over to him and pulled me into a hug. "How's your head?"
"Still hurts a little," I snuggled into his chest.
"It'll be time to give you another dose of medicine in about an hour," he said, "you hungry?"
"Yeah," I sat down next to him. Uncle Sam pulled a container out of a bag and opened it. It had pancakes, scrambled eggs, and two pieces of bacon in it.
"Thanks, Uncle Sam!" I smiled at him, and he ruffled my hair.
He opened a small container of syrup and put it next to me.
"Do you want to try and take her over to Missouri's today?" Grandpa John asked.
"Not if she's still got a headache," Daddy said, "I'll call her after we eat and see what she recommends," he gave me a pointed look, "I think today is going to be a day of enforced resting for Charlie."
I shrank down in my chair a little. "Okay, Daddy," I agreed.
After we ate, Daddy said, "Back in bed, Charlie."
"Aww, why?" I whined, "I don't wanna take a nap!"
"You don't have to take a nap, but being in bed will help remind you that you're supposed to be resting," Daddy gave me a look.
"I can rest just fine on the sofa!" I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest.
"You want to keep arguing with me, little girl? See where it gets you," Daddy gathered some trash and stood up to throw it away.
"I'll bring your drawing stuff in from the car, you can do that," Uncle Sam said.
I didn't feel like drawing. Uncle Sam had also brought in my backpack full of my toys and the bag that had the home-schooling textbook he had originally bought me. I played with my little Hello Kitty figurines for a while, and then I pulled out the Language Arts textbook. It had some short stories and some stories from parts of books in it. I read about a little girl who lived in a log cabin with her family in the olden days, then I read a chapter of a story about a horse called Black Beauty.
Daddy came into the bedroom. "It's about time for lunch, Charlie," he said, "We're going to go out. I heard about this Greek-Italian place, supposed to have the best Gyros and cheese steaks around."
I got dressed and we went to the restaurant. It was busy, and there were a lot of people there—people picking up carry-out as well as people waiting for tables. Classic rock was playing in the restaurant, and there were a couple of video games and a couple of machines at the back that Daddy said were called pinball machines.
"Can I go play one of the games?" I asked.
"No, that counts as electronics," Daddy said.
"Aww, but I don't get a chance to play those old games that much!" I protested.
"The answer is still no," Daddy took a drink of his soda.
I crossed my arms and huffed, pouting. "Not fair," I muttered, kicking my feet against the rungs of my chair. "Can't I play a pinball game? I've never played one of those!"
Daddy leaned forward. "I said no, Charlie," he said sternly. He watched me for a minute. "You better cool it," he said, "You're gearing up for a tantrum, and I'm not having it. I will take you out to the car and spank you."
"I'm not having a tantrum!" I snapped, pounding the table with my fist, "You're just not being fair!"
Grandpa John looked at me. "Calm down. It's very important that you let your brain rest. Your father is trying to take care of you, we all are."
"Not you're not, you're just being mean!" I kicked the chair again, and it made a clanging noise.
Grandpa John raised his eyebrows. "Do you need an attitude adjustment, little girl?" he growled.
I gulped, feeling my face get red. "N-no, Grandpa John," I said quickly.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" his voice was stern.
"Sorry, Grandpa John, sorry Daddy," I said, looking down at the table.
The waitress brought our food just then, and we ate quietly for the next several minutes.
"Well, I have to say, I think this is the best gyro I've ever had," Uncle Sam said.
"The cheese steak is pretty awesome too," Daddy agreed, "We'll have to come back before we leave."
"Charlie?" Uncle Sam asked, "You okay?"
The noise of the restaurant, plus the music playing, and the sound of the video games had all combined to make my head start feeling funny. I was feeling pressure inside, and a little dizzy.
"Don't feel good," I murmured, putting my hand up to my head.
"What's wrong?" Daddy's face was concerned.
"The noise and everything...it's too much."
"I'll take her out to the car, you finish up here and grab the check," Grandpa John slid out of the booth and held his hand out to me, "Come on, darlin'."
I took his hand and we walked out to the car. He sat in the back with me, and I leaned against him while he rubbed my head. The quiet felt good after all the noise of the restaurant.
Daddy and Uncle Sam got in the car carrying white styrofoam boxes, and Daddy started the car.
By the time we got to the motel, my head was hurting. I whimpered as I sat forward when Daddy parked.
"Bed, Charlie," Daddy said as we got out of the car.
"Yeah," I mumbled. Grandpa John picked me up and carried me into the room, setting me down on my bed and taking my shoes off. Uncle Sam gave me a dose of medicine, and then I laid down. Daddy sat next to me and rubbed my forehead and stroked my hair like he had done before, and I fell asleep feeling his hand in my hair.
When I woke up, Daddy was sitting on the sofa, watching t.v. with the sound low. He came over to the bed and sat on the edge. "How are you feeling, baby?" he asked.
"A lot better," I rolled onto my back, "I'm starving!"
He chuckled. "Yeah, you slept through dinner last night. I figured that you needed it. There's bagels and sausage if you want some."
I got up and Daddy heated the sausage up in the microwave for me.
"Do you feel like going to Missouri's today?" he asked.
"Yeah," I agreed, "My head feels fine."
"All right, but the second you start feeling bad, you say something, got it?" he looked at me seriously.
"Yes Daddy. Where's Uncle Sam and Grandpa John?"
Daddy got an uncomfortable look on his face. "They got a call...about a potential case, they're doing some research at the library," he stood up from the table, "I'll call Missouri, and let her know we'll be over soon."
~ ~ spn ~ ~ spn ~ ~ spn ~ ~
This time when I picked up Missouri's Grand-Mere's shawl, I didn't see anything. I opened my eyes and looked at her. "Nothing," I said.
"Good job, honey!" she smiled at me, "What were you doin' that was different?"
"I, uh, imagined that I had gloves on that were made of adamatium," I said.
"Ada- what?" she asked with a confused look.
"It's, uh, this pretend stuff that Wolverine's claws are made out of. It's s'posed to be really strong," I said sheepishly.
She laughed. "I heard of Wolverine, whatever works for you, child. You keep that in your mind, and see if that helps you to keep blocking."
Daddy came into the room. "I got a call from Dad...can I talk to you?" he said to Missouri. She got up, and they went into the kitchen. In a few minutes, they came back to the living room.
"How do you feel, Charlie? Do you feel like you've got a handle on things?" Missouri asked me.
"Yeah," I said.
"All right, good." she nodded.
"We're going to have to leave, Charlie," Daddy told me.
"But why?" I asked.
Daddy looked uncomfortable again. "Well...this case, we need to...help Dad with it. It's a couple of states away, and time is of the essence. We need to get there as soon as possible."
There was a knock on the door, and Grandpa John and Uncle Sam came in. Grandpa John seemed agitated. All of them went into the kitchen and spent a long time talking. I started to get bored, but they were all being so serious I didn't want to complain.
Finally they came back to the living room.
"We're going to pack up the motel room and go, Charlie, say good-bye to Missouri," Daddy said.
Missouri came over to me and hugged me tightly. "You take care of yourself, and keep practicing," she told me, "You call me if you have any questions or problems, all righty?"
I felt a little sad to be leaving. "Thanks for everything, Missouri," I said.
"You're welcome, honey," She stood up and hugged Daddy and Uncle Sam, then she crossed the room to the desk in the corner. She got something out, and handed it to Grandpa John. She hugged him for a long moment, and said, "You come back to me, John Winchester. Be very careful, and don't you be making any deals, hear?"
"I won't," he said.
She pulled back and took his hands, looking him deep in the eyes. "I mean it, you be very careful," she said cautiously, "All a' y'all got to be careful with this."
"We will," Uncle Sam said.
We left Missouri's and went back to the motel. While Daddy and I packed up our room, Uncle Sam went to take care of the bill. All of them were acting distracted, so I didn't want to ask what was going on.
"We ready to go?" Daddy asked me, "Did you use the rest room?"
"Yes, Daddy," I said. We went outside, where Grandpa John was loading up his truck.
"All right, let's hit the road," Daddy said.
We got into the car, and followed Grandpa John's truck out to the highway.