Good Morning Starshine!

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. A lot going on. But I'm here now. And holy crap- chapter 75. This is chapter seventy-freaking-five. Y'all, I honestly never thought I'd make it past 15. But you guys have been so supportive and incredible with your ideas and your reviews and your favorites and follows. I could not be more grateful for you.

Biggest thanks to Jenmm31. The Sammy to my Dean-o. Please go check out her amazing stories- you'll be so glad that you did.

Love you all, and don't you forget it.

A/N- in this story, Natalie is 3. Please see profile page for disclaimer.

The rain was unrelenting. It slammed against the Impala's mirror finish from the left, the right, the front, and the back, often changing directions through the blackened night. It was thick and heavy enough to instantly soak anyone who tried to step out into it. But they weren't stepping into it- they were driving through it.

Dean had his hands firmly on ten and two, constantly on edge from the possibility of hydroplaning as the rain made it nearly impossible to see in between frantic swishes of the windshield wipers. The darkness of the night wasn't helping, either. Even though it was only about nine o'clock, the storm had obliterated all lights except the random overhead highway light trying desperately to shine. They weren't much help, except to occasionally illuminate the reflective markers in the road. Dean didn't want to think about how much he was driving by those tiny little things- that scared even him. No way in hell he'd ever admit to being that freaked out, but still. What was paining his heart more than anything, though, were the tiny whimpers coming from the backseat.

His three year old daughter, Natalie, was on the edge of a full blown panic-induced meltdown- he knew it. She didn't like thunderstorms; she never had. She usually could deal with them well if she was in the safety of his or Sam's arms and they were inside a motel or Bobby's house or the like. However, being strapped into her car seat barreling down a highway, where she couldn't reach either of them, was torture for the little girl. She was so well behaved that she didn't fuss, because she knew that Dean had to keep driving. But she was only three- she couldn't quite contain the occasional cries and squeaks of fright, even though she was trying her hardest.

Sam was doing his damndest to keep her mind off the storm. He had turned around as far as he could in his seat from the front, and had reached his hand out to the toddler. He kept stroking her hair and cheek, which usually calmed her down, and murmuring stories and songs, trying to distract her. He tried making funny faces to keep her little eyes on him instead of constantly darting to the rain-lashed windows in fright, but it was too dark for that to really work. He had even considered unbuckling and trying to crawl into the backseat with her, but that risked jolting Dean while he was trying to focus on driving, which could end them all up in a ditch. So he sat tight, trying everything he could come up with to help his poor niece through this.

"Hey, Bug," he said gently, but with enthusiasm. "Do you want to sing a song with me?"

Natalie gulped and rubbed her tired, scared eyes with the back of her hand. "Wh-what song?" she managed to get out, trying so hard to be good and do what Sam wanted by answering him.

"Do you want to pick a song?" he said, bolstered by her answer. "You can pick any song you want to, and we'll sing it together. Okay?" Just then, the rain shifted directions violently again, slamming the window right next to her and causing the Impala to unexpectedly veer, buffeted by the winds. Dean cursed under his breath without thinking, which caused another squeak of fright to come out of her mouth. She bit down on her fingers hard in terror, as if she were trying to keep herself in check. Sam's heart broke when he saw that. He gently took her hand and pulled it away from her mouth, and started rubbing the back of it with his thumb while calmly holding on to it.

"How about that song from Frozen that you really like?" he said casually, as if nothing had just happened. "You know, the one that the princess sings?" She didn't answer him. Her eyes were locked on the window, watching the rain thrash against the glass. "Hey Bug, let's sing together," Sam tried again in a slightly louder voice to recapture her attention. Her eyes darted over to his. Sam quickly tried to take advantage of the situation. "Can you help me remember how the song starts?" he asked, wanting to engage her.

After a moment of heavy breathing and stuttering, she finally mumbled out the words. "…Snow glows…mountain…" she whispered, before pinching her lips together again in fright.

"Oh, that's right, good job," Sam said. He squeezed Natalie's hand gently and began to sing. "The snow glows white on the mountain tonight…" He waited a beat to see if she would pick it up. When she remained quiet, he began to despair that he was losing her again. But just before he was about to try another tactic, he heard a tiny squeak.

"…. Footprint to be seen…"

"Good job, Bug! That's great!" Sam said overenthusiastically.

"That sounded really good, kiddo," Dean called over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving the rain-slicked road. "Can you sing some more?" Silently, Sam thanked Dean for speaking. Anything like that from Dean was, to Natalie, like catnip to a cat.

Just as expected, she instantly tried to sing again to make Dean happy. "A kingdom of isolat'n…" she said, having trouble with the word in her three year old mouth, but singing a little bit braver.

"That's my girl," Dean said, still white-knuckling the steering wheel. Sam picked up where she left off.

"And it looks like…"

"I'm the queen!" she finished, almost back to her normal volume. Sam squeezed her hand. The two of them continued with the song, Natalie getting braver and braver as she clung tightly to Sam's hand. When they were nearing the end of the chorus, Sam heard Dean speak lowly to him.

"Dude, there's an exit up there. We're packing it in for tonight. I gotta get her out of this before she full on freaks," he muttered out the side of his mouth. When Natalie started singing a bit louder on the next verse, Sam took that opportunity to mutter back in the affirmative, not wanting to distract her from her song. Dean pulled onto the exit, trying to read the roadside sign for a motel, but it was too dark. Luckily, he could see a sign shining towards the right of the highway that looked enough like a motel for him to take a chance.

He turned right, and with a relieved sigh about thirty seconds later, he pulled into the motel parking lot and right up to the door next to the front counter. He threw the car into park, and then turned his full attention to the backseat. Natalie's eyes had widened at the warm light from the interior of the front lobby. He took that as a good sign.

"Alright squirt, I'll be right back and we'll get out of this freaking rain. What do you say?" he asked, fully expecting her to be excited about the prospect. But she shook her head vigorously.

"No, Daddy! Don't go in the rain!" she said loudly and emphatically. Dean exchanged a surprised look with Sam, before returning his attention back to the child.

"Hey, calm down there, kiddo. I ain't no Wicked Witch, okay? Rain ain't gonna hurt me," he said, trying to reassure her. She continued to shake her head.

"Daddy, the rain is bad. Don't go please," she said in what Dean knew was her 'serious' voice. He reached out a hand towards her, stroking her cheek with his finger. She kept her eyes open, but relaxed ever so slightly at his touch. Dean knew it was the only chance he was going to get.

"Listen, Baby Girl. I gotta go get us rooms so we can all get out of the rain, okay? I'll be right back." At that, he withdrew his hand, causing his daughter to tense up all over again. Sam was still holding her other hand, and jumped in to try to help.

"He'll be gone just for a minute, okay, Bug?" Sam said gently, as Dean threw open the car door. He tried to rush so that no rain would get in Baby's interior, but he couldn't help but hear the heartbreaking whimper from the backseat right before he slammed the door shut. Feeling like the world's biggest ass, he darted into the front lobby as fast as he could.

Sam watched as Natalie's wide and fear-filled eyes got even wider with every step Dean took. His heart wrung inside his chest as he felt her grip tighten on his hand.

"Hey- you wanna sing again? Huh, Natalie?" Sam asked in a light voice, hoping to cajole her. She just shook her head, but her eyes never left the window through which she had last seen Dean. "C'mon, Bug, let's sing another song," Sam said in desperation, but he already knew he had lost the fight. The poor little girl's eyes were getting wider and wider. When Sam saw them start to fill with tears, he knew he had to intervene, and quick. "Hey, you wanna come sit up here with me while we wait for your dad to come back?" That got her attention quickly. Her head snapped back to Sam. She mutely nodded, thrusting her hands to the side of her car seat, like she always did when they were unbuckling her.

Trying to do it from the front seat was a bit interesting, but Sam managed to release the catch. He reached over to help her pull her arms from the straps, but she yanked herself free like Houdini from a straight jacket. In her haste to escape, she tumbled forward out of the car seat. "Whoa, Nat, you okay?" Sam said loudly, the tension of the night catching up to him. But he saw her little hands grab at the front seat and haul herself up. He quickly unbuckled, and spun around in the seat, reaching over and plucking her from the floor. "Watch your head," he said as he gently pulled her over the seat. She obediently tucked her head and feet in. The second she was fully over the seat, she held her open hands out to Sam, making a desperate sound that caused his heart to crack with pain at her obvious fear.

He pulled her straight into his chest. She grabbed for a handful of his flannel shirt, and tucked it up into her face like a blanket. Sam wrapped his long arms around her tiny frame and put a consoling hand on the top of her head. "Shhhh, you're okay, Bug, you're okay," he whispered as he cradled her. He could feel her breathing slowing down, but she didn't lose the death grip she had on the front of his shirt. He knew how afraid she really must be. He was rocking her like a baby, and lately, she had been growing increasingly frustrated at anything that even hinted that she was 'still a baby'. The fact that she was not only tolerating this but also welcoming it was a painful realization for Sam.

He continued rocking and cuddling her, whispering that she was okay and that everything was fine as she buried her face in his shirt. But she didn't cry, or even whimper. Sam knew she hated crying, for whatever reason, but he still had expected the waterworks tonight.

"Hey, Bug, you're being really brave, you know that?" he murmured softly to her. "You're being a brave, big girl." Natalie peeked one eye out from behind the flannel. She knew the word 'brave'- and she liked it.

"I'm the bravest, Unca Sam?" she asked in a quivering little voice. Suppressing a smile at the irony of the moment, he nodded.

"You sure are. You're being the bravest Bug ever." At that statement, Natalie gave a tiny giggle, which lifted his heart. "You know that the rest of the bugs aren't nearly as brave as you." More giggling, this time a bit louder. "You're braver than all the ants, and the beetles…"

"And flies?"

"Oh, yeah. Way braver than flies." Sam saw her thousand watt smile light up at that as she full on laughed. Just then, Dean wrenched the car door back open and quickly slid into the driver's seat. The five seconds he had been out in the rain had soaked him thoroughly, redoubling his resolve to get the kid inside and undercover sooner rather than later. As he wiped his face off, he noticed that Natalie was in Sam's arms. Well, good. Saved them a couple seconds having to pull her out of the car seat with the door open and the rain pouring in on her. Dean nodded appreciatively at Sam, who understood what he meant.

"Got a room a couple doors down. We can get in in just a couple seconds." Dean leaned in and tapped Natalie on the head gently. She looked up from the crook in Sam's arm at him. "See, squirt? I'm A-Okay, nothing to be worried about," he said, grinning at her. She carefully looked him over, never letting her death grip go on Sam's shirt.

"Okay. You're brave, too," she announced. Dean's eyes darted up to Sam for an explanation.

"We were just talking about what a brave Bug she is," Sam said, grinning down at his niece. She giggled softly again.

"I'm braver than flies, Daddy!" she announced.

"Glad to hear it," he responded with a grin. "Well, you keep being brave for just a couple more minutes, okay? We'll get out of this damned rain." Dean shifted into drive, and inched forward out of the awning. The second Baby was back out in the deluge, the loud smacks of each drop suddenly thundered inside, seeming to be louder than before. Sam felt Natalie instantly tense up and bury her face in his chest again. He tightened his grip, praying that Dean was right and that they would get out of the rain sooner rather than later.

True to his word, the desk clerk had gotten them a room only a couple doors down from the awning. Dean found a spot that was thankfully right in front of the door. As he threw the car in park, his eyes sought his brother's, wondering the best way to get Natalie indoors and try to keep her dry. Dean shrugged off his leather jacket, trying to brush some of the moisture off of it. "Here," he said, handing it to Sam. "Drape it over her. Should keep her pretty dry. You bolt for the door, I'll meet you there with the key. Okay?"

"Alright," Sam said, tucking the jacket in close to Natalie as he could.

"Almost there, kiddo, almost there," Dean murmured in a soothing voice. He looked at Sam, and at the same moment, they opened their car doors in tandem. Sam went as quick as he could, taking care to not bump her unnecessarily, but still trying to speed through the process. He felt her fists twist in his shirt as her fear grew, but she still didn't make a sound. Once out of the Impala's cover, Sam was also instantly soaked through. He didn't really care about it- he just wanted to keep Natalie as dry as possible. He met Dean at the motel door in about 2.5 seconds. Dean jammed the key in, twisted the deadbolt, and put his hand on Sam's back, guiding him through. The warmth from the heater in the room was instantly soothing, and Dean reached over and snapped the lights on, bathing them in a golden glow. Both brothers sighed in tandem.

Dean desperately wanted to pluck Natalie out of Sam's arms and hold her himself, but he needed to get the bags out of the car so they could all change into dry clothes, and he wasn't about to send his little brother out into that hurricane again. As if reading his mind, Sam unwound the leather jacket from Natalie and tossed it at Dean.

"Be careful," Sam said. Dean was still too worried about his kid to tease Sam about being such a safety nerd. With a gruff nod, he shrugged on his jacket and headed back out into the rain.

Still dripping wet, Sam kicked his shoes off. He looked down at the child still clinging tightly to him. She didn't seem to have gotten too wet, but her hair was a little damp, and he could feel her shivering. He cuddled her in closer and bounced a couple times like he used to when she was a baby. "Sshhh, it's okay Bug, Daddy will be right back with warm clothes, okay?" She didn't answer him, so Sam moved over by the heater to try to help her warm up.

Dean suddenly came bursting back through the door, his hands full of their duffle bags. He dropped them all with a loud thump on the floor. He walked over towards Sam, desperate to hold his daughter and make sure she was okay. "Hey, kiddo, c'mere," he said, holding his hands out towards Sam. Sam moved to hand him the toddler, but she suddenly shrieked out in terror.

"Noooooooo!"

Sam reared back in surprise, as did Dean. They locked eyes for a moment. Natalie had never refused to go to Dean before. They didn't know what to make of this. Dean tried again.

"Natalie, it's me…it's Daddy. Come here, it's okay."

"NO!" she screamed, clinging tightly to Sam and burying her face in his chest. Dean's heart cracked. Why didn't she want to go to him? Was she mad because he left her in the car to get checked in?

Sam saw the utter confusion turn to heartbreak on his brother's face. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Dude, go get changed, you're soaked through," he said quietly. "She'll probably want to go to you then. I'm sure she's just scared." In response to that, Natalie just twisted Sam's flannel even deeper into her hands. Dean nodded mutely and went to do as Sam said.

As quick as he could, he changed into warm, dry clothes. His heart tore even more every time he thought about Natalie not wanting to come to him. He had no idea what he had done wrong, or even how he was going to get her out of Sam's arms so Sam could change. Clamping down on his own feelings, he tossed his wet clothing into the bathroom and made a beeline for Sam. He hesitated as he got closer, but he had to help his brother out.

He reached towards Natalie again, only one hand this time. He began stroking the back of her head; the only place he could touch that wasn't buried in flannel. "Hey kiddo," he said in a softer voice than even he knew he was capable of. "Let's get you into some dry clothes, huh?"

"Don't wanna, Daddy."

"C'mon, squirt. We need to let Uncle Sammy get dry. And hey- " he said, darting over towards her little bag. He quickly unzipped it, and sent up a silent prayer of thanks. "I got your favorite Batman pajamas all ready, right here. You don't even need to take a bath tonight. What do you say?" he asked, moving back towards them, hoping against hope it would work.

She peeked one eye out from her flannel fortress. "Batman 'jamas?" she asked quietly. In response, Dean held them up. Both boys held their breaths as they waited to see if she would acquiest or have a meltdown. After an intense moment of staring at her favorite pajamas in Dean's hands, she gave a tiny nod. "Okay, Daddy."

Feeling his heart lift ever so slightly, Dean reached out his hands towards her again. "Okay, then! We got a plan," he said in a voice full of false bravado. Without any hesitation this time, Natalie leaned right into his arms. His heart mending as she went to him, he scooped her into his chest. "Now we're talking. Come on, let's turn you into Batman. Whaddya say?" he asked, looking her in the face. But she looked down at her hands instead of answering him.

Dean had no idea what was going on, or what was going through his child's head. He looked up at Sam, hoping he had an explanation, but Sam just shrugged. Dean jerked his head towards the duffels, and Sam was only too grateful to obey the silent command to go change. Dean sat down on the closest bed, making sure to keep a tight grip on his kid. "You, uh, you wanna help me out?" he asked. Natalie had been on a kick lately of insisting that no one dress her. She was perfectly capable of doing it herself, thank you very much. But once again, she didn't answer Dean. Normally, he couldn't get her to shut up, especially about her Batman pajamas. He felt at a complete and total loss as to what to do.

"Alright then, I am on it. Just call me Alfred," Dean joked, or tried to anyways, as he pulled her tiny shoes off. He peeled her socks off, relieved that they weren't wet. She hadn't touched the ground at all, but still. Balancing her carefully on his lap, he grabbed the bottom hem of her shirt. She still looked down, appearing to study her lap. "Arms up, Batman," Dean said. Obediently, she put her arms up, but still didn't say a word. Dean hurried to pull her pajama top on, worried that she might still be cold. But just as her little face came through the top of the shirt, Dean noticed that it was streaked with tears.

He leaned down and looked at her, gently wiping her tears away with his thumb. "Hey now, squirt. What's this about?" he asked, frightened. Natalie never cried. She hated it. So something must really be wrong. In response to his gentle words, she lost it completely. All the terror she had been feeling and had been keeping repressed, trying so hard to be good, came bubbling up and overflowing. She burst into full-blown sobs, pressing her small hands to her eyes, trying to stop the flow of the hateful tears.

Dean didn't know what to do, but he reacted instinctively. He pulled her in tightly, making sure to keep one hand on her head. That had always soothed her. He let her cry herself out as he just held her. Finally, after a couple moments of her hitched breathing, he could just barely make out that she was trying to say something. He loosened his grip just a bit, and leaned further down, trying to hear her.

"What did you say, Baby Girl?"

" 'M….not….brave." Completely the last thing he was expecting.

"Hey, hey now," he said, pulling her back a little. His heart ached to see her face lined in misery. "Who says you aren't brave? Remember in the car, both Uncle Sam and I said how brave you were?"

She shook her head vehemently. "Nun-uh."

"Yes-huh," he responded. "You were so brave. You didn't yell, or distract me when I was driving, or nothing. You were the bravest."

"I not!" she said angrily, thumping her fists into her lap before rubbing her eyes again and giving off another sob.

"Why do you think that, Natalie?" he asked, completely bewildered by her obviously strong feelings about the situation. He watched her face closely as she struggled to answer.

" 'Cause… 'cause I scared," she finally managed to choke out.

"Hang on. Who said being scared means you're not brave?"

"When you are brave, you are not scared," Natalie answered stubbornly. Dean had no idea where she was coming up with this junk, but he wanted to nip it in the bud.

"That's not true. But you know what? It's called another name when you're brave and scared." Natalie blinked her tired, wet eyes, looking up at her beloved father.

"What's it called?"

"That's called courage, Natalie," Dean answered back. "Courage is when you're scared, but you gotta do something anyways, and you do it." Natalie blinked at him, so he knew she was listening, but not quite getting the concept yet. He struggled for a way to make a three year old understand. "It's like…like when we have to hunt monsters. You know?" She nodded, showing that she understood. "Sometimes, the monsters are…well, they're not easy to go after." Dean couldn't admit to her that some of the stuff they went after was scary as shit- he wasn't ready for that yet. "But Uncle Sammy and I go kill the monsters and the bad guys anyways."

"And you are scared and brave too?"

"Sometimes," he said quietly. Dean Winchester never admitted to anyone else that he was scared, but his daughter was different.

Natalie's breathing evened out more as she calmed down. "What's it called again please?" she said in a quiet voice, her wet green eyes boring holes into Dean's as she grappled with the concept.

"It's called courage. Can you say that?"

"Courrrrrrrage."

"Close enough," Dean said, grinning. He poked her gently in the tummy. "And you had lots of courage tonight."

Her eyes widened with understanding. "Like you and Unca Sam when you fight the bad monsters?"

"Yup, just like me and Uncle Sam," he answered. That settled her down, hearing that she was like them both.

"I like courage," she said quietly, tilting her head to the side in that way that Dean found so endearing.

"Well, good thing, because Batman has lots of courage too," he said. "So let's finish off the Bat suit and see if we can get into some trouble before bedtime. Good idea?"

She nodded, her smile returning. He quickly changed her into her pajama pants with some warm socks, and then they had a rousing play-fight about who was better at saying Christian Bale's famous "I am Batman" line. Finally, exhausted from the whole night's endeavors, Natalie collapsed into a puddle on Dean's bed, instantly asleep. Deciding not to move her to the couch as per usual, he gently moved her under the covers, where she settled in quickly with a sleepy smile on her face.

Leaning down to kiss her forehead, Dean whispered into her ear. "You're the bravest girl in the world with the most courage, and don't you ever forget that, Natalie Grace."