AUTHOR'S NOTE: SevenRuby, AshtynnAlba, Yasmine, Spades4891, Elliesamdeangirl, Melanie21370, Tamilyn313, wandamarie, MariaKata, Marryzinha Black, LexieLou, weregirl21, EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester, sjwmaw, Auphepet, Jani, Hunter1996, jjkaufhold, BrkMyDrms, Calista01, and guests, Thank You for leaving your comments and reviews! It's always interesting to get different perspectives from people.
Just a reminder: "Becoming A Winchester" is primarily a spanking fiction. That means that the story contains many spanking scenes on purpose, and this is one of the goals in writing it, and one of the main things people will read it for. It is not a manual for parenting or a commentary on child discipline in "the real world". It is not a story meant to describe realistic family drama (although it largely does, outside of the spankings). It is an Alternative Universe, and in it, spanking is a legit and acceptable punishment, and this is the premise of the story. So if that bothers you, you should hit the back button, or skip over the parts with spanking in them.
ALSO: Please welcome my friend CrzedPanda to the site, she's just started publishing her fics on here! She writes a wonderful reader-insert series about Sam in a Domestic Discipline relationship (with consensual adult spanking)- check it out and let her know what you think!
CONTENT WARNING for domestic violence and angst.
~ spn ~ spn ~ spn ~
I pulled sweatpants on over my leotard and tights, and then sat down to slip my shoes on. A girl walked by with her mom, and said shyly, "I like your backpack."
I sat up and put my coat on. "Thanks!" I was carrying my Hello Kitty backpack, of course.
Grandpa John stood up next to me and took the bag. "Ready?" He held his hand out to me.
I stood up and took his hand. "Yes sir."
We left the building and walked to his truck, and he lifted me up into it.
It was three days after the playdate disaster with Addi and Aubrey. Things had changed some- Daddy and Uncle Sam had sat down with me and written out all the rules, and put them up on the fridge, to remind me of them. Then they had talked about my chores and made up a chart, and given me more. Grandpa John was going to be "taking charge" of me on Tuesdays and Thursdays to give Uncle Sam a break. Grandpa John oversaw me doing my school work in the mornings and then took me to a gymnastics class they had found, in the afternoons.
Daddy had given me a stern lecture about how I treated people, and how I talked to them, especially Uncle Sam, and then I had gotten a spanking at bedtime because of how rude I had been. I had apologized to Uncle Sam for being so mean and saying I never wanted to talk to him again. He had apologized to me too, he said he was angry when he spanked me and he should have waited.
So now one of the new rules was that I had to say 'yes sir' and 'no sir' to everyone, to remind me to be respectful. And I was done getting chances too, if I was sassy or rude at all, I got in trouble right away.
I had to do what I was told without complaining and whining also.
Grandpa John looked over at me as he started the car. "So, what do you think? Are you still enjoying the class?"
I nodded. "It's fun!"
"How are you feeling? Anything sore?"
"Nope...uh, no sir. Did you see me on the balance beam?"
"I did. Were you nervous this time?"
"Yeah, I was still scared, but Miss Dina said she'd hold my hand until I got to the end. She said that she'd teach me how to do a flip off of the balance beam eventually!"
"You think you'll be able to do it?"
"Umm... I dunno, I'm still kinda getting used to it."
"I think once you get the hang of everything, you won't have any problems." Grandpa John said confidently. "Should we stop for a milkshake today?"
"Yes please!" I grinned at him.
He had said that after exercise it was important to hydrate, but that it was okay if I got something like a milkshake or ice cream, because I needed the extra calories too. Uncle Sam had rolled his eyes and said that milkshakes weren't the best thing for that, and Grandpa John had retorted that he could take me out for ice cream if he wanted to.
When we went home, I went to my room to change out of my leotard. Grandpa John was in the kitchen, and Uncle Sam had just come in.
"We'll make sausage and peppers tonight, Charlie," Grandpa John said to me.
"How did it go?" Uncle Sam asked.
"Fine," I replied, "I walked on the balance beam by myself for a little bit!"
"That's good. Did you put your leotard in the hamper?"
I gave him a look. "Yes sir."
"Don't give me that face, I had to remind you on Tuesday," Uncle Sam said sternly, "Watch it, young lady." He pointed over at the list of rules on the refrigerator door.
I blushed a little. "Yes, sir," I said meekly. I didn't want to get into any trouble today- the first two days after the playdate, I had gotten swatted whenever I was sassy, and I had managed not to get any swats yesterday and today. So far.
Grandpa John got some stuff out of the refrigerator, and began to slice up an onion.
Uncle Sam called me into the dining room, where my desk was. "You got a couple of math problems wrong," he showed me the tablet. "Re-do them, please."
"Oh- kaay," I sighed, sliding into the desk chair.
"Excuse me?" Uncle Sam's voice was stern again.
"I mean, yessir." I gulped.
"Look at me."
I raised my head and looked at him- his face was serious. "If you forget one more time, or give me any more attitude, you're going to get a spanking, understand?"
"Yes sir," my stomach twisted nervously. It was hard to remember to say sir all the time. And it was hard to remember to not say things like "oh-kaay" like that, it was what I was used to. My mom had never said anything about the way I talked to her and never required me to be respectful. I wasn't mean or rude to people, but I guess I was pretty sassy, especially to her. But I had discovered that having a stinging butt does actually help me remember to not be mouthy, because every time I sat down I remembered that I'd gotten swatted for being sassy, and I reminded myself to not be like that. But I wasn't going to tell Daddy or Uncle Sam that!
I worked on the math problems, and then showed the tablet to Uncle Sam.
"That's better," he said. "You got both sets of questions done for the social studies unit?" He set my workbook down.
"Um, yes sir, I did all of 'em...is that okay?" I looked up at him uncertainly.
He nodded. "That's one less thing we have to do tomorrow."
Grandpa John came to the kitchen door. "You ready to do some cooking?"
I looked up at Uncle Sam. "Yeah, we're done," he said.
I got up and went into the kitchen. Grandpa John brought the little plastic step-stool over and I stood on it. He handed me a spatula.
"I've turned the heat on low, you don't want it too high, or it will burn the outside of the meat, and grease will spatter everywhere. Keep an eye on the sausages and turn them every so often, when they get brown. We'll add the peppers and onions later, they cook faster."
"Should I turn the sausage now?" I asked.
"Lift up the side and look at it. See how it's still pink? It's not ready to be turned yet." he explained.
Uncle Sam came in and got dishes and utensils out, setting them on the table. "You can set the table, Charlie."
"But I'm cooking, Uncle Sam!"
"Part of learning how to cook is doing more than one thing. You can set the table while you're waiting for the sausages to cook," he told me.
"They won't burn?" I asked.
Grandpa John shook his head. "They shouldn't burn in the short amount of time it'll take you to put the dishes out. And I'll keep an eye on them."
I got down off the stool and set the table, folding napkins that Uncle Sam gave me and putting them underneath the spoons. Then I stepped onto the stool again. Grandpa John told me to turn the sausages then, so I did.
"Is that okay that they're brown like that?"
"Yeah, they'll get brown marks like that, it's fine. It means that they're cooked."
We heard the sound of the front door opening, and then Daddy walked into the kitchen. "Well, look at you, at the stove!" he came over to me and hugged me.
"Hi, Daddy!" I said happily. He was wearing a striped shirt with the garage's logo on it, and it had stains of grease on it. He smelled like a car engine.
"I was underneath cars all day, I want to take a quick shower," he said, dropping a kiss on top of my head.
"You've got time, go ahead," Grandpa John said. "I think we're ready for the vegetables," he picked up the bowl that they were in and emptied it into the pan. "They're going to cook quicker than the meat, so keep an eye on them. They'll get soft, that's okay."
He continued to talk me through cooking the peppers and onions, while he cut up some bread.
"Looks like everything's done," he said finally.
I got down off of the stool and went to sit down. Uncle Sam poured me a glass of milk and then he sat down too.
Daddy came in just as Grandpa John was setting the pan on the table with the bread.
"This looks good," Daddy said enthusiastically as he sat.
"You did a great job, Charlie," Uncle Sam said after he'd eaten some of the sausage.
"Yeah, it's awesome," Daddy gave me a thumbs up.
"Thanks," I said shyly. "Thanks for showing me how to cook, Grandpa John."
"You're welcome, little one," he said with a smile.
Uncle Sam ate quickly and then said he had to leave. He was going on a date with Imani tonight. He set his plate in the sink and then leaned down to hug me.
"Have a good night, Charlie."
"Have fun, Uncle Sam, tell Imani I said hi," I replied.
Daddy and I cleared off the table after we were finished eating, and then we went into the living room to watch t.v.
"After your show is over, you need to take a bath," he said.
"Okay. I mean yes sir."
He turned his body toward me and tilted his head, considering, "I think you can be off of grounding now," he reached over and tucked my hair behind my ear. "You've been pretty well-behaved and respectful."
"Thanks," I looked down at my lap.
"I want you to continue with it, though, don't start slacking off. And I still don't want you playing with Addison or her sister."
"What'm I s'posed to do?" I looked up at him.
" If you're outside and they come around, you come home. I'll have to see if I can arrange something with Franny's mother. And you can stick with Macy and Cara for now."
"Okay, Daddy," I snuggled into his side and he put his arm around me.
Uncle Sam told me the next morning that he and Imani had gone out for coffee and found a bookstore that sold all kinds of used books, with a special shelf of really old books. He said he would take me there sometime to see it. He seemed more relaxed that he had been, and happy. I got done with my schoolwork quickly, and after lunch he said I could go play with Macy if I wanted.
It was a nice day, and they were outside with chalk again.
As we were drawing, I heard loud voices coming from inside the house. I looked up, and saw Macy raise her head and look over with a scared look on her face.
The front door opened suddenly, and a man came storming out, followed by Stella. "-care what it says, I got rights too, and I'm gonna see my kids!" the man snapped.
"Can't we just sit down calmly and talk about this?" Stella asked. She looked upset.
"I'm done talkin' to you!" The man stopped on the top step. "Macy! Get your sister and let's go!" He pointed at her.
Macy and Cara both had stopped coloring, and were looking at their mom. "Mommy-" Macy started.
"Don't talk to her, you're coming with me!" The man shouted at Macy, and she flinched back.
"Don't raise your voice to her!" Stella stepped forward and put her hand on the man's arm.
"Shut the hell up! You don't tell me what to do!" The man swung around and hit Stella in the face, and she stumbled backwards and tripped, crying out as she fell.
Macy and Cara and I all screamed at the same time, standing up together. I was so scared I didn't know what to do.
The man leaned down, and I heard the sound of another blow.
"Noo!" Macy screamed, and ran up onto the porch. "Get off my mommy!" She grabbed at the man's leg, and he turned, shoving her. She flew backwards off the step, tripped over pieces of chalk, and fell flat on her back, letting out another scream.
The man came down the steps. "C'mon, we're leaving," he said, looking at Macy, and then at Cara. Cara grabbed at me and screamed, "Nooo!", clutching my arm.
He loomed over us, glaring down at her. "You are going to come with me!" he growled, reaching for Cara, who screamed even louder, gripping my arm tightly.
"STOP IT! DON'T TOUCH HER!" A loud voice yelled.
The man looked up, and we turned- Uncle Sam was striding across the lawn, his face angry. He walked right up to the man, his chest out and his jaw tight. "What's going on here?" Uncle Sam demanded, "I think you need to leave."
The man stood up straight. "I think you need to butt the hell out and mind your own business, buddy."
Stella stood up, grabbing onto the porch railing. Her eye was swollen and red, and the rest of her face was pale and drained. She was holding her other arm close to her chest- it looked funny.
"Stella, are you all right?" Uncle Sam asked urgently.
"I'm okay, I just—hurt my arm when I fell-" She replied in a weak voice.
Uncle Sam looked back at the man. "Did you do that to her?"
"I told you, you need to butt OUT!" the man shouted, pushing at Uncle Sam.
I screamed, and I heard other screaming as Uncle Sam and the man fought, and then suddenly the man was face down on the ground. Uncle Sam held him there with his arm twisted behind him, and Uncle Sam's knee on his lower back.
"Charlie, reach into my pocket and get my phone, call 911," Uncle Sam said, breathing hard.
I was scared to come close to the other man, I started to walk forward, but Cara was clinging to me.
"Cara, let go!" I said, and she wailed. I could feel her body shaking as she cried.
"Mommy, my head hurts," Macy had sat up, and she touched the back of her head. When she brought her hand around again, it was covered in red. She looked up at Stella and screamed again. "I'm bleeding! Mommy what's happening!"
I had walked over to Uncle Sam by now, dragging Cara with me, and tried to reach into his front pocket.
"What happened?" Grandpa John came hurrying over from our yard, pulling out his cell phone.
"Call 911," Uncle Sam told him, "This guy assaulted Stella and possibly Macy too."
The man growled and struggled, and Uncle Sam twisted his arm further up his back.
"That's my wife and kid, asshole, and it's not any of your business what happened!" he yelled.
"When you hurt your wife and kid, it becomes my business," Grandpa John retorted, dialing a number.
He spoke into the phone for a couple of minutes, and then put it away. He walked over to Stella, who had sunk down to sit on the top step of the porch. Her face was even paler, and she looked like she was trying not to cry. Macy was sitting next to her on a lower step.
"Are you hurt? Let me see," Grandpa John said gently. "I was a medic in the Marines."
"I'll be okay, check Macy, her head is bleeding," Stella gasped.
Grandpa John tilted Macy's head forward and looked at it. He pulled a bandanna out of his pocket and folded it, pressing it on the back of her head. "I want you to hold this here for me, all right? And sit quietly. You have a little cut on your head, but it'll be fine." His voice was low and reassuring.
We could heard sirens in the distance. People had started coming out of their houses and were standing around watching.
Grandpa John looked at Stella's arm, talking quietly to her. Then he came over to me and squatted down. "Are either of you girls hurt?" he asked, looking from me to Cara. She was still weeping hard.
"Uh-uh," I said, "Just scared."
"I know," he opened his arms to us and gathered us in. Cara threw her arms around his neck and bawled into his shirt.
Two police cars came driving up the street and parked in front of the house. "I need to talk to them," Grandpa John let us go, but Cara clung to him, wailing. He stood up and carried her as he walked over to talk to the officers who got out.
I walked over and sat next to Macy. Tears were tracking down her face as she leaned on her mom's leg. She reached over and took my hand.
Ms. Lynn came hurrying up the sidewalk and came over to us. "Oh god, what happened, Stella?" she glanced around. "I take it Chad wasn't happy about the papers?"
Stella laughed humorlessly. "That's an understatement."
An ambulance pulled in, and two of the police officers came over to talk to Stella.
Grandpa John came over to us, and nodded to Ms. Lynn.
"That's my Grandpa," I told her. We walked over to the side of the yard and stood there while police and the EMTs talked to everyone. I stood between Grandpa John and Ms. Lynn, and he stroked my head and put his arm around my shoulder. Cara clung to him like a monkey, whimpering.
The man was put into the back of a police car in handcuffs, and then the police talked to Uncle Sam and then Stella.
The EMTs looked Macy over and talked to her, and then examined Stella. She motioned to Grandpa John and Ms. Lynn, and they walked back over to her. Ms. Lynn went inside their house, and the EMTs helped Stella stand up. One of them helped Macy up.
"The ambulance is taking them to the hospital," Grandpa John came over to me. "We're going over too, so that they can give Sam a once-over, and Cara, just in case. The police may want to talk to you, too, Charlie, to get your version of what happened."
"Are we goin' in a ambulance?" I asked.
Ms. Lynn came over carrying a ring of keys, handing them to Grandpa John. "I'll pack bags for the girls and bring them to the hospital, all right?"
"We're going to drive Stella's car over, since it already has car seats in it." Grandpa John told me.
Cara fussed and cried when he tried to put her in a car seat, she didn't want to let him go. I sat next to her in the back and held her hand. She had stopped wailing, but she was still crying, tears dripping continuously down her face and her chest hitching.
We parked in the lot for the Emergency Room and Grandpa John set Cara on his hip again. There was a small fuzzy blanket in the back, and Uncle Sam picked it up and handed it to Cara. She had an arm wrapped around Grandpa John's neck, and she scrunched the blanket in her hand and rubbed it on her face.
"You doing okay?" Uncle Sam asked me.
I nodded, remembering how everyone always told me "Be a brave girl for your mom", and "Your mom needs for you to be strong and brave for her right now".
I hurried beside Uncle Sam as we walked to the doors of the ER, trying to keep up with his and Grandpa John's long strides. Uncle Sam was talking to Cara and trying to make her smile, but she just looked at him.
Once we had checked in at the front desk, I sat next to Grandpa John, and Uncle Sam walked away to make a phone call.
The ER waiting area was crowded with people- a teen with a huge bandage on his ankle, an elderly woman in a wheelchair with a breathing tube in her nose, moms holding coughing toddlers, a man with a cut on the side of his head.
We were taken back into an exam area with a table and a padded chair. Stella was laying on the table and Macy was sitting in the chair.
Cara wanted her mom to hold her, but Stella couldn't, because the nurse said her arm was broken. That made Cara cry even harder.
Uncle Sam came into the room. "I called Dean, he's on his way over."
The next couple of hours were busy, with people coming in and out to examine everyone. Stella was taken to get x-rays.
Macy had to get stitches in the back of her head, because she had cut her head on a rock in the grass. She cried and screamed and had to be held down on a stretcher that they brought in. Uncle Sam sat next to her head and tried to keep her calm, but it didn't help very much. Grandpa John sat in a metal chair off to the side holding Cara, with his arm around me as I leaned on him.
When Stella came back, the police were there to talk to everyone. I had to go into a separate area with Uncle Sam and talk to a police lady and tell her what happened.
When we came back, there were nurses there with Stella. They were putting an IV in her arm, and said they were taking her to get something called a CT scan. It made me think of my mom, she had always had to get needles in her arm like that when she was getting her treatment.
Uncle Sam sat on the stretcher between me and Macy. He put his arms around our shoulders and rubbed our backs.
There was a knock on the door and it opened, and then Daddy came in. I got off the bed and ran to him. He leaned down and picked me up, hugging me tightly. "Are you all right?" he asked. I nodded, and he squeezed me and kissed my forehead.
He set me down and opened a plastic bag he was carrying. "Well, I was walking by the gift shop, and I saw something that three brave girls needed," he said, pulling out some stuffed animals. There was a tan colored bear, a gray cat, and a white bunny, they had jointed arms and legs and were each wearing a little flowered dress and had a bow on their ear. Daddy handed the bunny to Cara, the bear to Macy, and the cat to me.
"I remembered how the police gave you that teddy bear and you said it made you feel better when you were talking to them," Daddy said to me.
"Thanks, Daddy!" I said.
"Thank you," Macy said shyly, "I like the dress."
Daddy looked over at Cara. She clutched the bunny to her chest and buried her face in Grandpa John's flannel.
Daddy raised his eyebrows.
"She hasn't said a word," Grandpa John said quietly. "I had them check her over for shock, but she's okay as far as that's concerned."
Daddy leaned against the stretcher, putting his arm around me. "So what's the plan?" he asked.
"We're going to bring the girls home with us," Uncle Sam said, "Lynn's going to pack some clothes for them and bring them here, and stay with Stella for a while. She said she can't have the girls at her house right now because Franny's fighting a cold, and she doesn't want to introduce new germs."
"That's fine," Daddy stroked my hair, "They can stay with us as long as they need to."
"Macy and Cara are gonna spend the night?" I looked over at Macy. "That'll be fun!"
"I wanna stay here with Mommy," Macy whispered, tears filling her eyes.
"I don't think you can, Macy," Uncle Sam said.
There was another knock on the door, and Ms. Lynn came walking in carrying two backpacks and a duffle bag.
"There's pull-up diapers in here for Cara, she's been sleeping without them, but...you might want to put one on her tonight, just in case. Stella said last time she and Chad had a—disagreement like this, Cara went backwards in her potty training for a while, so..." she set the bags down.
A nurse came walking in holding a clipboard, and said she wanted to talk to the grownups.
Uncle Sam, Daddy, and Ms. Lynn all followed her into the hallway for a few minutes.
When they came back in, Ms. Lynn leaned down to talk to Macy. "Your mom has to stay in the hospital overnight, so they can watch her. She might have something called a concussion, which is like a boo-boo in her brain. I'm going to stay with her for a while, and you're going to go to Charlie's house for a sleepover, all right?"
"I don't wanna leave!" Macy wailed, bursting into tears. "Wanna stay with mommy!"
"I know, sweetie, but you can't. Mommy needs to rest, and so do you." Ms. Lynn stood up. "They've got her in a room, let's go and say goodbye to her now."
Stella sat propped up in bed, with her arm all bandaged and strapped to her chest. She had an IV in and a blood pressure cuff on her arm, and there were machines next to her bed that were beeping.
Macy sat on the bed and carefully hugged Stella, but then she started crying and wouldn't let go.
She started to whine, "I wanna stay! Don't make me leave her! I don't wanna leave my mommy!"
All of a sudden, everything hit me. The hospital smells, the beeping machines, seeing Stella in a bed hooked up to machines, how scared I had been earlier- I burst into tears.
Everyone turned to look at me.
"Charlie-?" Daddy's forehead was wrinkled in concern.
"I—I- it was so scary before, I couldn't- an' all this, makes me th-think of, of be-before, when my m-mommy wuh-was sick!"
"Ohh," Daddy leaned down and picked me up. I buried my face in his shoulder and sobbed as he carried me out of the room.
I felt him sitting down, and he put me in his lap and held me as I cried, rubbing my back.
After I had calmed down, he leaned over and grabbed some tissues. He held one up in front of my nose. "Blow."
I took it from him and blew my nose. "M' not a baby," I wiped my face off with another tissue.
"That was quite an experience for you today, no wonder you cried," he said quietly, "You know that you're safe, and the girls are safe, and so is Stella, and she's going to be taken care of here? It was scary, but it's all right now, and you're going to be okay."
I leaned on his chest. "I was tryin' to be brave, for Macy an' Cara. People always told me to be brave for my mommy, too."
"Well, it's fine to be brave, but that doesn't mean that you push your feelings aside. You can let yourself cry too, or feel scared. I'm glad you were able to let go."
I looked down at my lap, shame-faced. "I—I didn't—mean to start cryin'-"
"It's okay, Charlie, what is it?" Daddy asked when I hesitated.
"When I- when Mommy first started getting' her treatments it was scary an' she got real sick, an' I didn't know what was happening an' no-one would talk to me, an' they took her away, then she came back and looked really yucky. An' I started to cry 'cause I was scared, and one of the nurses got mad at me an' said that I shouldn't cry, that this wasn't about me, it was about my mommy, an' I was being selfish an' trying to put the attention on me. So I tried to be brave an' not cry after that." I felt myself blushing again, remembering how awful I'd felt when the nurse had been scolding me and glaring at me, and feeling like I was a bad kid for crying and upsetting my mom.
I saw a muscle in Daddy's jaw jump, and I got nervous. Was he mad at me now, too?
"Well that's just—that's- Jesus," he ran a hand through his hair, and looked down at me. "Charlie, you did nothing wrong, you hear me? God, the more I hear about these nurses and all-" he shook his head, "And how they talked to you, it sounds like they didn't have much compassion at all. She shouldn't have said that stuff to you, and if I had been there, I'd've given her a piece of my mind. Of course you're going to get scared and cry, you were a little kid, and no one was explaining anything to you!" He pulled me close and hugged me, and tears filled my eyes again. "I'm so sorry that happened, baby girl, I really am," He rubbed my back.
I looked around- we were in an alcove of a waiting area. "Where's Uncle Sam?"
"They left already," Daddy said, "You can ride with me."
Cara was asleep on the sofa when we walked into the living room, the bunny and the blanket from the car in her arms. Macy was in the kitchen eating ice cream with Uncle Sam. Her eyes were damp and her face was red but she looked calm. She was holding the bear in her lap.
Uncle Sam handed me a container. "We stopped at McDonald's for a treat, I got you a sundae too."
"Thanks!" I sat down next to Macy and started to eat.
Grandpa John walked in. "The sleeping bags are set up on the floor of Charlie's room."
"Sleeping bags?" I asked.
"We thought the girls should sleep in your room," Uncle Sam stood up. "I guess one of us should get Cara changed. Uhh, how do we, uh, do that?"
Daddy rolled his eyes. "That's right, Sam's the only one here who hasn't had any experience dressing a little kid."
"I'll do it," Grandpa John said, and left the room. He came back a moment later, looking confused. He held up a sleep diaper. "Uh, I assume this is the diaper she wears to bed, but- how do I open it?"
Daddy reached for it and turned it over. "It looks like it's all one piece- wait, it's got these strips of tape up the sides-"
"Cara steps into 'em like underpanties," Macy said.
"Oh, okay," Daddy looked relieved.
Grandpa John left again, and I finished my sundae.
"Well, I guess you girls should get to bed too," Daddy said. Macy got off of her chair, and followed me upstairs to my room.
There was a pile of thick blankets on the floor next to my bed with a sleeping bag opened up on top, and Cara was laying down on it, with a sleeping bag draped over her.
Macy and I brushed our teeth and got changed into nightgowns.
"Can I sleep with you?" she asked me shyly.
"Um, okay," I agreed.
She pulled a couple of books out of the duffle bag that Daddy had brought into the bedroom. "We read these at bedtime." She looked up. "Can Unca read them?"
"Oh, uhh, okay," Sam came over to the bed. He sat down against the headboard and Macy and I sat on either side of him.
"Daddy, come sit on the bed," I called, and he came over and sat on the foot of the bed.
There was a picture book about all the animals on a farm going to sleep at night, and then another picture book about a giant red dog, and a book about a frog and a toad who had adventures.
Macy was yawning by the time Uncle Sam had finished the third book.
"You gonna have enough room?" Daddy asked, as Uncle Sam got up. Macy and I scootched down under the covers.
"Yeah," I mumbled sleepily. I didn't mind having her in bed with me.
Daddy and then Uncle Sam and Grandpa John all leaned down to hug and kiss both of us.
"You were very brave today, I'm proud of both of you," Grandpa John said to us.
I hugged my stuffed cat to my chest, and fell asleep.
When I woke up, I felt someone laying on me. I opened my eyes- Cara was in bed next to me, curled up with her head on my shoulder and her leg on my hip. Then I noticed I felt wetness on my leg.
I felt motion and turned my head. Macy was on the other side of me, and she was sitting up and looking around.
"Oh no!" she gasped, "I—I peed the bed!" She burst into tears.