Hello Beautiful People of SPN Land! I want to say thank you to each and every single one of you who have favorited, followed, and/or reviewed- it really means the world to me. I cannot thank you enough. If I could, I would send each of you a Chevy Impala ('67 of course).
Muchas Gracias to my dear friend and fellow author Jenmm31. She's been an amazing support system both as a writer and personally. Please go show her some love by checking out any and all of her stories. They're truly fantastic.
So here's a classic one shot for you. I will have more cases coming up (thank you again for letting me know you liked them!) but they're a bit difficult to write. So in the meantime, I'll try to keep you lovely people happy with these little glimpses. If there is anything you'd like to see, please let me know! I really love hearing from you all. Read, review, and enjoy!
A/N- In this story, Natalie is 6 and at the end of kindergarten. They are currently at Bobby's house. Please see Profile for Disclaimer.
"We're back!" Dean announced loudly. Natalie came tearing past him into the house, looking for Sam. She found him, seated at Bobby's kitchen table working on his laptop.
"Hi Uncle Sam! Didja miss me?" she said, crawling up into his lap and effectively blocking his view of the laptop. He chuckled as she gave him her heart melting smile.
"Well, of course I did, Bug!" he said, and kissed the top of her head. "Did you find something nice to wear for your graduation?" Natalie nodded vigorously.
"We found the coolest purple top- I look AWESOME in it," she declared.
"Well, I can't wait to see it," Sam said with a smile.
"I wanted to get the tee shirt with Boba Fett on it, but Dad wouldn't let me."
Sam looked up to see Dean coming through the kitchen door, the clothing bag in his hands. "Really?" he said. "I thought you would be certain to return with Star Wars something for her to wear."
Dean looked offended. "Hey! I'm trying to be responsible here! It's not my fault they don't make kids' dress up clothing without Bounty Hunters on the front." He held the bag out towards his daughter. "Hey squirt, run upstairs and put your new outfit in your room."
"Okay!" she said, scrambling off Sam's lap and accidentally kneeing him in the process. He was used to Natalie crawling all over him all the time, but that still didn't make it hurt any less. Dean laughed evilly as he saw Sam wince with pain. Natalie snatched the bag from Dean's hand and started running towards the stairs.
"Make sure you hang it up!" Sam called after her, still shifting a bit in discomfort.
Dean dismissed Sam's worrying with a wave of his hand. "Ah, she knows." They listened as her tiny feet resounded against the wooden stairs like a tap dancing elephant. Dean shook his head. How on earth could someone so small make so much noise? Just then, they heard Bobby's wheelchair creaking against the wooden floor. It stopped at the base of the stairs.
"Hey! Where's the fire?" he yelled up to Natalie. "Slow down! How many times have I told you not to run in the house?"
"Sorry, Pops!" came the hollered reply. The pounding of her footsteps got significantly slower. Bobby just shook his head and wheeled himself into the kitchen.
"So, you got her something suitable for this graduation nonsense?" he asked gruffly.
"Yup," Dean said proudly. He hated shopping, hated it like the plague, but when Natalie had come home from school with a note announcing the graduation ceremony of the kindergarten class, Bobby had insisted that they get her something pretty and cute to wear for it. Luckily for Dean, Natalie hated shopping just as much as he did.
"She found this little purple sparkly thing with black leggings in about two seconds, and bam, we were out of there," he commented happily.
Sam looked at the clock on the wall in surprise. "Hang on- if you guys found an outfit so quickly, why has it been an hour and a half since you left?"
Dean rolled his eyes in frustration. "Because some douche cop pulled us over on the way home."
Bobby just gave Dean the eye. "How fast were you going?" he asked, as if he wasn't surprised at all.
Dean replied hotly, "Not that fast." Bobby just continued to stare at him. He finally relented. "I mean...fast enough," he mumbled sheepishly.
Sam snickered. "Shuddup," Dean said. "I mean, when the guy walked up to my window, he just wouldn't stop talking. It was like being pulled over by Chatty Kathy. I'm guessing the dude doesn't have anyone to talk to except a box full of donuts. He got all snotty after yakking my damn ear off for ten minutes."
"Why did he get all snotty?" Sam wondered.
"Because I asked him if he was done wasting my time yet. That's when he got all Walker Texas Ranger on me." Bobby rolled his eyes at Dean's lack of social decorum.
"You mean he turned into Chuck Norris?" Sam said with a smirk.
"Yeah, of the douche variety."
"What did he say?"
"He was going on and on about 'respecting the law' and 'speed limits were there for a reason', you know, getting all high and mighty. And I'm thinking to myself, I bet he's never even drawn that pistol hanging from his damn gun belt, and he's lecturing me about safety and crap like that." Dean shook his head. "Man, that guy was a douche bag." Just then, he saw a small pair of green eyes peeking around the edge of the door to the kitchen. He cleared his throat and nodded subtly towards them, to alert Bobby and Sam to Natalie's presence. He sent up a quick prayer that she hadn't just heard him say "douche bag". She had an uncanny knack for picking up words that she really shouldn't know at the age of six, and using them at the worst possible time.
"Hey kiddo," he said as she walked into the room. "Did you put your outfit up?"
"Yes sir!" she chirped excitedly, climbing into his lap this time.
"Good girl."
"Did you get something nice for your graduation there, munchkin?" Bobby asked. She nodded.
"Uh-huh! It's really cool- it's got these sparkle thingies on it, and it's purple, and I look awesome."
Bobby chuckled as Dean beamed in agreement. She certainly had gotten Dean's self-confidence. Natalie piped up again.
"And it's NOT a dress," she emphasized dramatically. "Which is good, because dresses are stupid."
All three men at the table laughed at that one. "And what makes you say that, Bug?" Sam chortled.
She shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "They're just dumb. You can't climb on the cars in the back yard in a dress."
"Hold on there, missy," Bobby said, suddenly breaking out of his mirth. His eyes narrowed at her. "When were you climbing on the cars out back?" he asked sternly. Dean felt Natalie freeze in his lap. She turned around and blasted her smile at her father.
"So! What's for dinner?" she asked with an angelic smile. Dean had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her blatant attempt to change the subject. Sam pushed himself away from the table, walking over to the kitchen counter, where the salads that he had made were waiting.
"Fried chicken salad," Sam announced, grabbing the plates and transferring them to the table. Dean scooted Natalie off his lap, and she clambered into her own chair next to where Bobby was parked. As Sam set the dishes down, he caught Dean's disapproving eye.
"What? Salad is good for you," Sam said defensively. Unless he was mistaken, Dean hadn't voluntarily eaten a vegetable in months. And no matter how much he tried to lobby for it, ketchup did not count as a vegetable in Sam's book.
"C'mon. I put extra onions and bacon on yours," he wheeled his brother. Dean's expression didn't change.
"Just think of it as a fried chicken sandwich."
"Sammy, clearly you don't know the definition of the word 'sandwich'," Dean said, poking around in the salad for the meat. He popped a forkful of the chicken into his mouth. "My stomach isn't going to recognize what this rabbit food crap is."
"Well, then, just pour a bowl of grease over it. You'll be fine."
Dean rolled his eyes at Sam's suggestion, but continued eating. Sam turned to Natalie, who was stabbing away at her salad in six year old fashion.
"So, what's going to happen at this kindergarten graduation ceremony of yours?" he asked his niece.
"We're going to graduate from kindergarten."
Sam snorted. "Yeah, we got that part. What else?"
"We're going to get di...di..." she stammered, forgetting the word.
"Diplomas?" Bobby said. Her eyes lit up, and she nodded at Bobby.
"Yeah! Diplomas! Thanks Pops!" she said, beaming at him. He just nodded back at her, pleased at being able to help.
"Is your teacher going to be there?" Dean asked nonchalantly.
"Yup. She's the one who's running the whole thing," Natalie said proudly. Dean just smirked, and bobbed his eyebrows at Sam. Sam rolled his eyes. Of course Dean would ask if Miss Benson was going to be there. He still couldn't believe that Dean had managed to pick up Natalie's teacher at the school's bake sale. Natalie didn't notice any of the exchange between brothers, and continued describing the ceremony.
"And then at the end, we're going to get up in front of a microphone, and Miss Benson is going to ask what we want to be when we grow up, and we get to tell everybody."
"And what are you going to say?" Dean asked around a mouthful of salad.
"I'm going to say I want to be a hunter!" she announced. The three men around the table froze in various states of eating. Sam and Dean locked eyes and had one of their instant silent conversations. How on earth were they going to explain the need to keep hunting a secret to a six year old? Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Hey now, kid- that's...that's not a good idea," he said hesitantly.
"Why not?" she asked innocently, her eyes going wide. Dean's eyes shifted to Sam. Help me, they begged silently. Sam cleared his throat.
"Well...not everyone is going to understand what a hunter is," Sam said gently. Natalie's gaze swung around to him, and he suddenly felt like he was in the hot seat.
"Oh," she said, her little brow furrowing as she tried to puzzle that one out. She looked up at them again. "So should I explain what a hunter does?"
"No!" shouted all three of them. The sudden loudness in the room scared her, and she froze. Her eyes moved over to her daddy, trying to understand what she had done wrong. Dean took a deep breath, and went for it.
"Look, kiddo. Hunters are...well...okay, you remember when you wanted to get a puppy, and I told you that normal people have puppies?" She nodded slowly, her eyes still locked on him. "Well, normal people don't get to hunt. They don't understand it. And sometimes, when you try to explain it to them, they get scared. You don't want to scare people, do you?"
Natalie thought for a moment, and then shook her head. Encouraged by this, Dean continued. "It's fine that you want to be a hunter when you grow up-" At this, both Sam and Bobby cleared their throats, but Dean ignored them. "-but for right now, how about you pick something else to say?"
"Like what?"
"Like anything. You can be whatever you want to. Anything in the whole wide world." Natalie's eyes widened as she realized all the possibilities.
"Wow. I could be anything?" she asked with wonder.
"Anything," Dean repeated.
She thought for another minute. "Could I say that I want to be one of those people that drive the blue cars?" she asked.
"Blue cars?" asked Dean, confused.
"Uh-huh. With the flashing lights on the top? You know, Daddy- the ones that make you stop when you're driving too fast?"
Bobby stared at Dean incredulously. "How many times have you gotten pulled over, boy?"
Dean cleared his throat, and pointed to Natalie's plate. "Sure you can. Now finish your dinner," he commanded, putting an end to the conversation.
*SPN SPN SPN*
The next evening, the boys and Bobby were crammed into a packed, tiny auditorium, with what they estimated to be about every relative that every kid on that stage had, their own Natalie being no exception. Dean sighed, looking around at the room. There were tons of cameras, phones, and iPads, all recording every second of this ceremony. Sam was sipping on his cup of coffee, grateful that someone had the aforethought to provide the caffeine for the rest of the non-recording participants. Dean looked over at the family across the aisle. The kids were having a sword fight with pens they had snatched from their mother's purse. The dad was clearly falling asleep, and the mom kept nudging him back awake. He snickered to himself, grateful that he wasn't the only one who was bored. The principle of the school was also sitting on the small stage with the graduating class, looked like he was being forced to sit through a silent foreign film. Dean couldn't remember himself or Sam ever going through one of these rituals when they were in school, except of course, their ACTUAL graduation. He wondered how in the world someone thought it was a good idea to have a graduation ceremony with twenty rambunctious kindergarteners. He sat up in his chair, looking once again for Natalie. She was sitting in one of the small red plastic chairs with the other kids, swinging her legs and looking bored out of her mind while her teacher droned on and on. He grinned to himself- bored from the lack of action- yeah, that was his kid, alright. Natalie caught his eye, and waved at him. He smiled and waved back. She really did look adorable in that purple outfit.
Finally, Miss Benson stopped talking all about the amazing achievements of the kids, how far they'd come, blah blah blah, and started handing out the fake diplomas. Dean and Sam exchanged another silent look, praying that this meant that they were close to the end. The cameras all around them clicked feverishly. Dean just shook his head. When Bobby had told them about this little end of the year thing, he knew that he was going to have to make it back to South Dakota to be there, come hell or high water. But it was still nothing short of torture, and Dean knew a thing or two about torture.
The kids continued to make their way to the microphone as their names were called. Miss Benson would then ask what they wanted to be when they grew up. The typical answers of "a Doctor", "a Mommy", "a Movie Star", were shouted out. He fidgeted nervously, wondering about what Natalie was going to say when Miss Benson asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. He knew she understood that being a hunter wasn't something to talk about in public, but he also knew that she was just stubborn enough to decide to do it anyways. He continued to squirm in the tight confines of the uncomfortable chairs, till Bobby smacked his leg.
"Knock it off," the old man growled at him.
"Sorry," Dean muttered. "My ass is asleep."
Bobby snorted, and looked down significantly at his wheelchair. "Yeah. Tell me about it," he replied snarkily. Just then, Miss Benson called Natalie's name. All three of them sat up a little straighter in their chairs, craning to get a good look at her. She slipped off the end of her chair and walked over to the microphone that was set at the lowest height possible for all these kids. Natalie beamed at the audience, which made Dean snort again. Trust his kid to milk her moment in the spotlight.
"Well, now Natalie," Miss Benson said sweetly, looking in the audience. When she saw Dean, he just gave her his rock star smile, and her face flushed red. She stammered for a moment, tripping over her words due to the sudden blush in her cheeks.
Sam, having caught the exchange between the two of them, leaned over to Dean. "Really?" he hissed patronizingly. "Across the whole room, dude?"
Dean just flashed him his cocky grin. "What can I say? I'm just that good."
Miss Benson seemed to untie her tongue, and continued. "Natalie- what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Natalie stepped towards the microphone confidently. "When I grow up, I want to be..."
Dean sat upright. Here we go- Moment of Truth.
"...a douche bag!"
Dean jerked back at her words, surprised as all hell. Sam spit out the mouthful of coffee that he had just been trying to swallow. Bobby leaned over to the boys. "Whuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut did she just say?" he asked in a shocked whisper.
Dean just shook his head- he had no idea what Natalie meant. The shock at hearing the word "douche bag" come out of her mouth was quickly burning away, and he felt the mad laughter rising up in him. The small amount of social decorum he had left forbade it from bursting out, and he quickly clamped his lips together, trying to keep the mirth in. Miss Benson, however, had not recovered so quickly. Her mouth was hanging open as she tripped over her words again, trying to figure out what Natalie had just said.
"I...I'm sorry...what did you just say?" the poor teacher stammered. Natalie turned to look at her, then leaned closer into the mic, enunciating clearly.
" A douche bag," she repeated loudly, convinced that Miss Benson hadn't heard her the first time. Dean couldn't help it- he blurted out a short laugh, then slapped his hand over his mouth. He wasn't the only one. The dad across the aisle was snickering, with his wife madly elbowing him. The principle onstage had stuffed his fist into his mouth to keep from laughing, his face turning beet red. Dean focused back on Natalie, who was shrugging at her teacher's lack of understanding.
"You know. One of those people that drive around in the blue cars with the lights on the top. That make you stop when you're driving too fast!" she explained. Sam turned to Dean with an outraged bitch face. Dean was still trying to keep from guffawing, and Natalie's explanation certainly didn't help. So apparently, she HAD heard him call the cop a douche bag last night, and now she thought that was what they were named. His insides shook from trying to hold in the explosive laughter. As the audience made the connection- that Natalie was calling a 'cop' a 'douche bag'- they began to giggle and chuckle themselves. Miss Benson was looking flustered, and desperately tried to do damage control.
"Oh, Natalie," she said, trying to catch her breath. "That's not what they're called, sweetie."
Natalie shrugged. "That's what my Dad calls them." She then turned and gave her angelic smile to the crowd again.
"Oh my god," Sam said, slinking down in his seat, covering his face with his hand. Bobby just stared at her, his jaw on the floor. Dean, however, was having one of the Greatest Moments of his life. He couldn't hold it back anymore. He burst out laughing, as did most of the crowd. The principal on the platform was doubled over, almost in tears from the mirth. The whole room exploded in laughter, and someone started applauding. Dean had never felt so proud in his life. Natalie just smiled again, and pranced back to her seat. Miss Benson rushed through the rest of the kids- luckily, since Natalie's last name was Winchester, she had been towards the bottom of the list, so there were only two more kids to go. It was a good thing too- the room was still chuckling and tittering, unable to contain itself. Miss Benson wrapped it up as neatly as she could, and dismissed everyone, practically diving off the stage in an effort to get out of the room.
Natalie came rushing off the stage, making a bee line straight for her father. Dean stood up, and walked into the crowded aisle with all the parents trying to collect their kids. He saw a middle age dad give Natalie a high five as she passed him. Dean chuckled again. When she reached his feet, he picked her up and set her on his hip.
"Congratulations, squirt! You were awesome!" he said. Natalie beamed at him.
"Thanks, Daddy!" He began pushing his way through the crowd towards the exit, with Sam wheeling Bobby out, right behind them. Bobby's jaw was still on the floor, not having recovered from Natalie's announcement. Dean just kept snickering. Best. Day. Ever, he thought to himself.
Natalie tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention, then leaned into him like she was sharing a secret. "I didn't talk about being a hunter!" she whispered excitedly into him ear. Dean's face twisted in amusement.
"No, no you certainly did not," he said, still laughing. "You did great, kiddo."
"Do you think everyone liked what I said?"
Dean looked at his precious baby girl. Her large green eyes were searching his for approval. "Natalie," he said. "Trust me. No one is ever going to forget what you said tonight."
She smirked, satisfied. "Yeah. I'm awesome."
"Yes you are."
