Hello Beautiful SPN Family! I hope you are all doing well. And staying warm! Big thank yous and hugs and high fives and all good things to all of you for your favorites and follows. And to all of you who take the time to review, a super big massive hug. You all mean the world to me, and I adore you.
I've been having requests for younger Natalie one-shots, so here you go! As always, if there is anything you'd like to read, please let me know, I'd love to hear from you!
The biggest hug in the world to Sammy- Jenmm31. She not only helps me with my material, but she writes fabulous stories of her own. Go check out her sisfic about Kate Winchester, and her daughter fics about Emily, Abby, and Alison! She's even got a killer series in Grey's Anatomy! She totally rocks the house and deserve a Pulitzer along with a month's paid vacation in the Bahamas. Go check out her series and show her some love.
Here we go! As always, read, review, and enjoy!
A/N- in this story, Natalie is 2. Disclaimer- please see profile page.
Sam was dreading it. Dreading it like the plague. It was mid afternoon, and they all knew what that meant.
Nap Time.
Natalie was only two, but she knew when nap time was coming, and she had no problems letting everyone in the general vicinity know that she absolutely despised nap time. She could get herself so worked up between the crying and the tantrums that she would eventually fall asleep from sheer exhaustion. Sam had no reason to believe that this afternoon was going to be any different than any other afternoon.
They were on their second day of driving; their new case taking them back across the country. He and Dean had been switching off on driving duty, catching naps while the other drove. On long trips like this, Natalie would usually pass out in her car seat around midnight, and sleep straight through until about six in the morning. Sam had no idea how a two year old could have enough endurance to stay awake till midnight, but she had always been like that. Even when she was an infant, she often would only sleep for a couple hours at a time, then be bright eyed and bushy tailed all over again. Somehow, she knew she couldn't function without some sleep during the night, but during the day was a complete other story. She didn't like to miss any of the action, even if it was just driving down another stretch of never ending highway- it didn't matter. She didn't want to be asleep during the day at all. However, all the endurance that she had at night time came with a price if she didn't sleep during the day. She was a stubborn little girl, and if she got tired from missing a nap, she was likely to be having a melt down from ten p.m. to midnight that included tears, projectiles, and screams loud enough to bust their eardrums. So all in all, it was much more favorable to try to get her to take a nap during the day, no matter what the cost.
Dean's tired eyes were searching the signs on the highway, just praying that their exit was coming soon. When he finally saw it, he muttered, "Oh thank God." He pulled off and took the first right, ready to stop at the absolute first motel they came to, no matter what condition it was in. Luckily for them, there was a decent looking motel a couple of blocks down. Without a word, Dean pulled in, right up to the front office. Sam tiredly climbed out of the car to check on vacancies. Dean turned around in his seat, just in time to catch Natalie yawning hugely.
"Hey squirt," he said. Her heavy eyes swung to him. "We're here. You tired?" he asked, hoping that he would get lucky on this one just like he had with the motel.
"No!" Natalie said resolutely, and yawned again.
"Of course not," Dean muttered, turning back in the seat. He rubbed his sandpapery eyes with his fingertips. Natalie wouldn't nap in the car during the day, and so she had missed nap time yesterday, making for a very loud evening. She had finally fallen off at midnight, but again, it wasn't going to be enough to get her though today. Dean sighed, knowing there was a battle coming. He moved his fingers from his eyes to his temples, and started rubbing in circles.
Sam came out of the office, having made short work of getting them a room. He thunked back down into the passenger's seat, and pointed in front of him, in the direction Dean should go to park. Dean just nodded numbly, and pulled forward.
"Room Eighteen," Sam mumbled. Dean nodded again. He pulled up right in front of the door, and put the car in park, switching off the motor. For a second, neither brother spoke. They suddenly took a deep breath at the same time, and locked eyes. It was Go Time. They both knew the faster they moved, the more successful they would be.
Sam got out quickly and unlocked the motel room door, then made his way hastily to the trunk to get their bags. Dean swung his legs out of the car, and made his way over towards Natalie's side behind Sam, pulling the door open and swiftly unbuckling her from her seat. She was rubbing her fists into her tired eyes, but wound her tiny arms around Dean's neck when he pulled her out of the seat. She nuzzled into his neck, content. Dean walked into the room, his eyes immediately searching for the location of the sofa. She would only really sleep on the sofas or couches of any given room- she didn't even like roll away beds. As he made his way towards the light orange sofa that was up against the far wall of the room, he chuckled to himself, thinking about Natalie's stubbornness. She was definitely a Winchester, alright. He sat down carefully on the sofa, pulling Natalie into his lap. She sat up, and began playing with her fingers, singing a made up song to herself. Dean couldn't place it, but it sounded a little bit like Back in Black by AC/DC. He grinned- he was raising this kid right.
Just then, Sam came through the door, carrying their duffle bags. He dropped his and Dean's on their respective beds, and then walked as subtly as he could towards the sofa. He gently set the bag down, as if it contained a nuclear bomb instead of a Power Rangers blanket and princess pajamas. Natalie wasn't paying attention, however. She was still too absorbed in her own hands to notice. Dean locked eyes once again with Sam. It was as if they were preparing for a particular difficult exorcism instead of simply trying to get a two year old down for a nap. Dean wondered for a moment if he wouldn't rather do the exorcism. At least when a demon screamed, there was only a fifty percent chance you'd blow an eardrum. With Natalie, it was more like a ninety percent chance.
"Hey kiddo," Dean began cautiously. Natalie blinked sleepily up at him. "I think it's na-"
"No! Don't say it!" Sam suddenly hissed. Dean swung his head to look at Sam in surprise.
"What do you mean 'don't say it'?"
Sam sighed. "She had a complete meltdown yesterday when you said...N-A-P," he explained, spelling the word out. "You really want a repeat of that right off the bat?"
Dean rolled his eyes and nodded, remembering. "Oh yeah, that's right. Good call, Sammy." He turned his focus back to his daughter. He opened his mouth, but then realized he had absolutely no idea how to start this thing off. He turned his head back to Sam. "So...how are we gonna do this then?" he questioned.
Sam shrugged. "I don't know."
"You're the genius; you're supposed to know everything."
"Give me a vampire, and I can gank the hell out of him. However, a stubborn two year old is a bit out of my depth, Dean."
"You never fought this much when you were younger," Dean said wryly. Sam just blinked at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean all I had to do was tell you to go lay down, and that was that. You loved sleeping." Dean looked down at the child on his lap. "Why couldn't you have inherited that gene?" he said jokingly to her.
"Well, it's obvious isn't it? The stubbornness she got from you overpowers the common sense gene."
Dean rolled his eyes again. As usual, he was going to have to pull this one out on his own. He tried shifting Natalie so she was lying in his arms as opposed to sitting on his lap. She tolerated that for about five seconds, and then pushed herself upright again. She began playing with her fingers again, tying them together and pulling them apart.
"C'mon squirt, aren't you tired?" Dean asked, hoping that somehow between the car and now, her answer would have changed.
"No tired," she declared. She dropped her hands and looked warily up into Dean's face. Dean realized she knew what was coming. Before he could tighten his grip on her, she wriggled off his lap and crawled to the other end of the sofa. She leaned up against the arm and continued playing with her fingers, but this time, she was watching both Sam and Dean intently. Dean just sighed and reached for her.
"Noooooooooo!" she wailed, and flipped herself off the sofa. Dean lunged forward to catch her, but she landed on her feet with amazing dexterity. She took off towards the table and chair that was under the front window of the room. She squeezed herself under one of the metal legs of the chair that had clearly belonged in the seventies. She watched them with piercing green eyes, like she was a wild animal, trapped by two hunters.
Sam snorted. "Nice going."
Dean just glared at him. "Well, thanks for your help, douche nozzle."
Sam threw up his hands. "Dean! You can't say stuff like that around her! She's starting to repeat anything and everything we say!"
"Okay, first off? When she swears, that's freaking hilarious. Second- she's not even listening to us right now- she's too wound up. She's not paying attention to a damn thing we say."
"Yeah? You think?"
"I know."
"Then trying saying N-A-P and see what happens."
"I'm not that dumb, Sammy." Both boys looked back at the crouching child underneath the chair. She was still watching them intently, ready to bolt if need be. Dean turned back to Sam.
"So fine then. How do we get her down for a na-"
"DEAN!"
"FINE! For an N-A-P then?!"
"No! NO NAP!" Natalie suddenly screamed. Both boys' eyes swung back to her, surprised.
"How the hell did she know what you were spelling?" Sam asked, flabbergasted.
Dean just shook his head. "She's smart- she must have figured it out."
Sam stared at Dean, incredulous. "She's two."
"Bigger fish right now, Samuel!"
"It's Sam!"
"Yeah, well, maybe you need to go down for a nap." At the mention of the dreaded word again, Natalie let out another cry. Sam opened his mouth to chastise his brother for using the word again, but Dean cut him off.
"We were already down the rabbit hole," he growled as his excuse for using the forbidden word. Dean walked over to the table, and got down on all fours right in front of the chair. Upon seeing her father come for her, Natalie scooted back as far as she could go, which wasn't very far, considering the table and chair were right up against the wall. Dean gently picked the chair up and away from her. He didn't want to try to drag her out through the bars of the seat, afraid he might hurt her. Upon losing her over head coverage, Natalie crinkled up her face, and started to cry real tears. Big fat drops began rolling down her face, and she hastened to brush them away. They were blinding her vision, and she needed to keep an eye on Dean in order to escape him.
"C'mon, kiddo," he said quietly. He stretched out his hands towards her, and she darted to her left, getting her feet under her quickly. Dean sighed. The advantages of being two years old and having very short legs were definitely factors to be desired at the moment. Natalie made a wide arc around the room, stopping behind Sam. She grabbed his leg, attempting to hide her face behind his knee. Sam just looked around behind him. Natalie was clinging to him desperately. Her tear stained face was turned towards him, pleading. Sam sighed heavily. She was starting to do this more and more often- running to Sam when she didn't want to do what Dean told her to do. Which did not sit well with her father. Dean pulled himself to his feet, and began walking towards them.
"Natalie, stop it. Come here, now," he said, with a touch of sternness in his voice. Natalie just gripped Sam tighter.
"No nap, Unca Sam," she said desperately, holding on to him for dear life. Sam twisted around and reached down for her, gently.
"Come on, Natalie," he said in a soothing tone, attempting to pick up the toddler. Once she realized he wasn't on her side either, she let out another ear piercing scream, and, pushing off from Sam's leg, tried to run away. She was so worked up, however, that she wasn't watching where she was going in the unfamiliar space. She ran right into the corner of the end table next to the sofa. Her momentum was so great that it knocked her backwards completely. She hit the ground hard, landing on her bottom. She stared at the offending piece of furniture for a moment, then slowly began a cry that got progressively louder and louder.
Dean and Sam rushed immediately to where she had fallen, Dean getting there first. He grabbed Natalie's face in his hands, desperately searching for blood or any gashes. When he found none, he heaved a sigh of relief. Natalie's water works weren't stopping, though. He knew that she was more than likely just scared from the sudden impact, and not really hurt.
"Sshhh, shh, shh, it's okay. It's okay, baby girl," he said, trying to pull her in close. Even in her upset state, she knew that the closer she got to Dean, the less likely it was she was going to be getting out of nap time. She pushed away from him, wailing.
"No nap! No nap!" she screamed. Dean pulled her hands down from his face where she was attempting to stop him.
"Hey- hey- Natalie, calm down," he said, trying to restrain the fighting two year old without hurting her.
"NO NAP!" she screamed loudly, the tears still pouring down her face.
"Hey!" he said, pulling her hands down quickly, looking her right in the eye. "Okay!" he said over her cries. She immediately stopped fighting and stared back at him. "No nap, alright? No nap," he said, making sure she was looking right at him. She heaved one more sob, and breathed heavily, exhausted from all her running, but didn't move.
"It's okay, Natalie, no nap," he said once more.
"Dean," Sam hissed.
"Shut up, Sam," Dean grumbled back without turning his head.
"No nap, Daddy," Natalie said miserably, wanting confirmation on what Dean had just declared.
He nodded. "No nap."
Sam gasped again. "Dean!" he barked.
Dean shot his brother a death glare. "I said, shut up, Sam." He put his hands underneath Natalie's arms, and picked her up, setting her on his hip. "Okay, kiddo. So no nap. What do you want to do?"
Natalie was still pushing away from him at arm's length, not entirely sure that this wasn't a trick. When she didn't answer, Dean started throwing out options for her.
"Do you want to...color?" he asked. Natalie relaxed her arms a bit, but shook her head.
"Okay, no coloring. How about some cartoons?" Dean tried, making his way towards the sofa. An old and cracked remote was sitting on the end table next to the sofa. He picked it up and handed it to her. She examined it for a moment. When Dean thought that she might be interested, he moved to sit down on the sofa. Upon realizing this, Natalie shoved against him again, and howled.
"Noooooo!" she said, apparently thinking that TV was code for getting her down on the sofa to sleep. Dean sprang back up quickly, wincing at her screams, pulling the remote out of her hands.
"Okay! Okay, no TV," he said, dropping the remote on the couch. He began rubbing small soothing circles on her back. She relaxed again, dropping her head onto his shoulder. He could feel how tired she really was, and his heart twisted.
"How about we read, huh? Do you want to read?" he asked gently. Natalie thought about it for a moment. She was all achy and didn't feel good- that was a direct result of her exhaustion, but of course, being only two, she didn't understand that. A nice book sounded perfect. She nodded into her daddy's shoulder.
"Okay then." Dean made his way towards Sam's duffle bag. He looked to Sam for a bit of help, but Sam just crossed his arms, annoyed. He couldn't believe that Dean was letting a toddler call the shots on this one. Dean rolled his eyes at Sam, and yanked open the bag. He pulled out the first child's book he could find, which just happened to be their old copy of "Green Eggs and Ham". "How about we sit on Daddy's bed, huh?" he asked his daughter. She once again nodded into his shoulder. "Alright then, let's do this." He tossed the book onto the bed, and put her down carefully. He kicked his shoes off, and sat up against the headboard. He pulled Natalie in close to him, on his left side. She snuggled into him, laying her head on his stomach. He reached down, and grabbed the book. He began reading in a quiet tone, doing the voices of the different characters that she loved. She giggled intermittently at him. About three pages in, Dean suddenly shivered.
"Whew," he said, shaking his arms. Natalie sat up, wondering why he was stopping the story.
"It's kind of cold in here, don't you think?" he asked Natalie. She turned her head for a moment, thinking about what he said. She suddenly scrambled off the bed, and went over to her duffle bag by the sofa. Sam watched as Natalie pulled her favorite blanket out, and waddled back to the bed. She held it out to Dean as a gift.
"Well, thanks, kiddo," he said. He picked her back up, blanket and all. She immediately nestled down into him again, pulling the blanket with her. Dean carefully covered them both with it. Sam just shook his head, dropping into the seat under the window. Not only was Dean letting Natalie get away with no nap time, he was having her run around, getting him blankets when he was cold. He just shook his head again, annoyed at his brother's lack of common sense.
It wasn't much longer after that. Dean got another three pages into the book, when he heard the slow, rhythmic breathing start. He looked down, and sure enough, Natalie was sound asleep. He grinned triumphantly.
"Yahtzee," he whispered to Sam. Sam's head shot up, and saw Natalie out for the count. His eyes widened upon looking at the snoozing toddler.
"She's asleep," he muttered in disbelief. Dean just shrugged as if to say, nothing to it.
"So all that book and blanket stuff was..."
"A ruse to get her to calm down," Dean confirmed. "I knew that all I needed to do was get her quiet- she was too tired to do anything BUT fall asleep," he whispered conspiratorially.
Sam's mouth dropped open in amazement. "Genius. You're a genius."
"That's what I've been telling you all along, Sammy."
