Part three, you beautiful human you.
Special thanks to Jenmm31 and all of you for reading, reviewing, and following. You all are wonderful.
A/N- this is part 3 of a three part story. If you haven't, please read the past two chapters to catch up to this part of the story. Natalie is seven and a half.
Crowley's hands were in his pockets as he smugly rocked back and forth on his feet. "And to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked. He suddenly stiffened, smelling the aerosol paint in the air, and looked down on the ground. Sure enough, he had been summoned right on top of a Devil's Trap. Typical Winchesters. He huffed a sigh, annoyed. "Is this really necessary?" he asked, gesturing to the circle lazily.
"Considering the last time I saw your rat face, you were trying to kidnap my daughter and steal her soul, then yeah, I'd say it's necessary," Dean growled. Two seconds with Crowley and Dean was already wanting to strangle this son of a bitch.
Sam quietly cleared his throat. He and Dean had discussed the necessity of staying calm and cool when confronting the King of Hell. They needed information that only he could get them, and if Crowley was so inclined, it could take forever to get what they wanted because he was a dick. They had to keep a level head if they wanted this done quickly. But Sam had forgotten that Crowley pushed Dean's buttons simply by existing.
Crowley simply made an 'oh that' face at Dean's explanation. "Well, what's done is done," he said lightly. "I must say, I'm surprised that you two summoned me, as I was under the impression that if you ever saw me again, you would- what was it again, Moose?" Without waiting for Sam to answer, Crowley plowed on. "Oh yes- 'skin this meat suit right off of my damned demon hide'." He smiled his smug smile. "So creative for two lumbering piles of flannel. I must admit, I'm still impressed by your rhetoric."
"Alright, can the funny-guy act, Crowley," Dean snarled, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were threatening to split his skin. "We didn't call you here to listen to your bullshit."
"Well, then why DID you call me here? I certainly hope the-" Crowley made a disgusted face "-little princess is safe and sound. Daddy made sure of that, didn't he?" Dean didn't rise to the bait outwardly, but his insides felt like they were going to boil. And Sam knew it.
"That's what we wanted to talk to you about," Sam said in a hurry, before Dean could mouth off. "We want to know why you're trying to get to Natalie this time."
Crowley honestly looked surprised. "Come again?" he said.
"You're gonna tell me why you sent more of your idiot minions after my kid, Crowley, or I'm going to kill you with my bare hands!" Dean barked, completely done with the entire situation and just wanting to throttle the asshole standing in front of him.
Crowley's small, dark eyes darted back and forth between Sam and Dean for a moment. He appeared to be thinking, trying to decide exactly what to say. Finally he focused in on Dean. "As much as I'd like to be a part of whatever shenanigans you two Hardy Boys dream up, Dean, whatever this thing you're alluding to isn't me."
It was Sam and Dean's turn to look startled. "This isn't you? Or wasn't, I guess?" Sam said, trying to remain stoic. This had been the exact reason that Dean hadn't wanted to call Crowley in the first place, the entire crux of their disagreement. They had no true indication that it was Crowley (which had been Dean's argument for NOT doing this)- he was just the only demon that they actively knew and could get them answers (which had been Sam's argument that they DO this). Sam could almost hear Dean's blood pressure rising, and wanted to get to the bottom of it quickly before Dean blew his stack.
Crowley shook his head slowly. "No. Not me. After I decided to let you all be the last time-" he began to say.
"You mean after we kicked your ass so hard you went runnin' with your tail between your legs," Dean interrupted harshly.
Crowley glared at Dean, who was now wearing the smug smile. "After I DECIDED to leave the situation," he reemphasized loudly. "I made the assessment that it wasn't worth my time to mess around with your average child."
"Oh- the one that kicked you in the nuts? That average child?" Dean said, not being able to help himself after Crowley's small dig at his baby girl.
"Yes, well, the littlest nutcracker clearly hasn't exhibited signs of anything supernatural," Crowley replied snarkily. "If she's got no powers, then I'm not interested."
Not that he really wanted to give Crowley a different impression, but Sam had to know why. "And what makes you think that she's- as you say- average?" he said evenly, his own blood boiling at the slight.
"Because it would have been all over hell, that's why," Crowley snarled, irritated that the Moose was so slow on the uptake. "It's not widely known that Dean has spawned, but if there was any indication that he had, you think I'm the only demon that would be dying to get their hands on the little brat?" He snorted derisively. "Anyone would assume that the child of a Winchester had to have some form of supernatural ability."
"Why the hell should anyone assume that?" Sam asked, confused.
"Well- let's see- because of your annoying habits of not staying dead. Because you both are the true vessels of archangels. Because you're both taller than any human has a right to be. Take your pick," Crowley rattled off dryly.
Sam and Dean exchanged a quick look. "You thought Natalie might exhibit some kind of power or something?" Dean asked carefully, wanting to make sure he truly understood what Crowley was saying. Crowley rolled his eyes, exasperated.
"Yes, you moron. Why else do you think ANYONE would be interested in a plain human child? You two really are idiots, aren't you? That Bobby Singer fellow was on to something."
Dean rolled his eyes and held up his hand. "So if it's not widely known that I have a child, then how did Snap, Crackle and Pop come across the information and try to jump us?"
Crowley shrugged. "No idea."
"Well, you're gonna GET an idea."
"And why on earth would I do that?"
"Because if you don't, I'll exorcise you so far back to Hell that by the time you crawl up topside, we'll all have been dead for five hundred years. And according to you, that's going to take some doing to kill off a Winchester."
Crowley bobbed his eyebrows once, and began pacing inside the devil's trap, looking supremely unconcerned. "Hm. Don't know that you're quite powerful enough in your Latin nonsense to make good on that promise, Squirrel, but it could be rather an inconvenience for me." He stopped, slid his hands into his immaculately tailored pockets again, and smirked. "And I simply don't like being inconvenienced."
Sam exchanged a quick look with his brother. "So then you're going to help us?" he asked, tentatively. It couldn't be that easy.
Crowley held up one finger. "Don't get ahead of yourself. I said I don't like being inconvenienced. I said nothing about helping you."
Sam sighed heavily. Just ONCE it would have been nice for it to have been that easy. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice laced with iron at the thought of a deal with Crowley.
Crowley resumed his lazy pace around the circle. "Don't get your knickers in a twist. This can be beneficial for the both of us, if you two are willing to play nice."
"Just tell us what it is you fucking want, Crowley," Dean barked out.
"See, now that's not playing nice," Crowley purred at him. Dean lunged forward, but Sam's strong arm stopped him.
"Crowley, you have ten seconds to tell us what you want in exchange for your help, or I will exorcise you myself," Sam snarled, as fed up as Dean but desperately trying to keep a lid on it.
"Fine," Crowley said, as if he had all the time in the world. "I want a favor." He let the proclamation hang in the air for a long moment. Sam and Dean looked at each other, before Sam turned back to Crowley.
"A favor- what does that mean?" Sam asked in a rush.
"It means, Moose, that sometime in the future, you two will 'owe me one'," Crowley explained. "I can ask you to do something for me, and you two can't refuse."
"No. No way," Dean spat out. Crowley narrowed his eyes at the older Winchester.
"Before you go all Macho Man on me, let me expand on this offer. You can set the conditions for the favor I ask you to do- now. Not in the future when I ask, mind you, but right now, you may set the rules."
Sam and Dean both froze. They knew that Crowley always had a trick up his black sleeves, and this would be no different. However, if he was offering them the chance to put up parameters on this "favor", they could ensure that whatever crap Crowley was bound to pull would keep Natalie safe. The brothers locked eyes for a long moment, trying to read each other's thoughts. After a solid minute of silence, Crowley finally coughed inconspicuously.
"As much as I do enjoy you two making goo-goo eyes at each other, could you please hurry this up? I have a long list of to-dos today. Those souls aren't going to torture themselves, you know."
"Crowley, you can't just expect-"
"Deal."
Sam whipped around, shocked at Dean's sudden declaration. Before he could say a word of protest, however, Dean stepped towards the king of hell, fire blazing in his own eyes.
"But you said we get to set the boundaries on this one. And the number one boundary is that Natalie stays completely out of any deal. No time with her, no blood, not even a hair on her head. You're not even allowed to THINK about her when it comes to whatever 'favor' you decide to ask us for. Got it?"
The boys watched as Crowley appeared to consider Dean's offer, the wheels turning in his head. To their relief, he finally adopted a cross look on his face, which, to them, meant he hadn't been able to find any loophole to get to Natalie. "Very well then," he said irritably. "Anything else?"
"Nothing that will kill either one of us, either," Sam added. Crowley looked insulted for a moment, as if he couldn't believe they would think he'd put them in that position, and then tilted his head.
"Well, I suppose that's fair," he acquiesced. "So, in conclusion, you two will do a favor for me sometime in exchange for information on whoever might be interested in your precious little princess. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Dean said forcefully before he could back out. Sam just nodded, once.
"Very well then. How shall I contact you when I have the information?" Crowley reached into his pocket and extracted his slim, black cell phone. He began quickly scrolling through numbers. He landed on the one he wanted, and extended it to Dean. "Still you?" he said, cocking his eyebrow suggestively.
Dean got close enough to see the number. He also saw that it was listed under 'Not Moose'. He exhaled heavily, and growled his answer. "Yes."
"Excellent, then," Crowley said, slipping his phone back into his pocket and clapping his hands together once. "I shall begin the hunt at once. Now, if you wouldn't mind?" He gestured to the trap below him. Sam quickly drew the demon knife and scratched an opening into the outer circle. As soon as he stood up, Crowley gave him a slimy smile.
"Cheers," he said, and was gone.
*SPN SPN SPN*
Two weeks had gone by since the entire incident, with no hint of anything from the netherworld. Sam and Dean had been lying low, out of fear of ruffling the feathers of whoever Crowley might be tracking. No sense in giving them a target, when home in Sioux Falls was a supernatural fortress with its own supply of militia.
Jody, Claire, Bobby, Castiel, Sam and Dean had all been taking shifts surreptitiously. Even Alex came home for a weekend to offer some relief. It hadn't been necessary- nothing had even hinted at wanting to bother them, but until they all heard SOMETHING, none of them could rest easily.
Natalie, however, was in seventh heaven. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that as long as Daddy and Uncle Sam were there, there was nothing that could hurt her. Plus she had all these extra playmates around, in addition to all her toys. Life was good.
One Saturday morning, she was in Bobby's den, flopped out full length on the floor, practicing her devil's traps while Dean was researching. They hadn't told her about the deal with Crowley. She absolutely hated the demon, so Dean thought it would just upset her, and had forbade anyone to clue her in. However, that didn't stop him and Sam from doing research to see if they could potentially discover a demon that would be interested in young Winchester blood. Natalie thought they were just doing generic research, and Dean did not see the need to enlighten her.
Natalie sat up suddenly, and looked at her father. He felt her eyes on him and looked up from his laptop. She was sitting primly and properly on the floor, waiting to make sure he was giving her his attention and that she wasn't interrupting him in whatever research he was up to. He grinned at her- she was such a good kid. "What's up, squirt?" he asked. She held out her most recent devil's trap to him.
"How'd I do?" she asked. Dean gestured for her to come closer, so she scrambled up off the floor and trotted over to him, dropping the notebook in front of him and leaning against him comfortably. That simple gesture made his heart stop. It never ceased to amaze him when Natalie just wanted to be close and had no problems getting close, and that it was so soothing to him as well. Careful not to let the lump in his throat get the best of him, he dropped a quick kiss on her head before picking up the notebook to examine her handiwork.
"Not bad, kiddo," he said, looking at every symbol and sigil carefully. She would get pissed if he let her off the hook, saying it was good if there was something she had screwed up, so he was making sure it was all correct. "Doubt anyone's ever drawn one of these in purple crayon before, though," he said jokingly, causing her to giggle. He did notice one of her sigils was wrong, and he lightly tapped on it. "Close on this one- just flip it around. It's more like a backwards capital J, not a regular one," he said, subtly examining her face to see how she was taking the critique.
Her little nose wrinkled in displeasure. "Dammit," she muttered, causing her father to snicker.
"Don't sweat it. That one used to get me all the time, too. The rest of them are perfect. Good job," he said, ruffling her hair. Upon hearing that he had screwed up that same sigil before too, Natalie's face lit up as she tore the page out of her notebook and wadded it into a ball. She faked back a couple feet like she was a basketball player, and tossed the paper ball towards the trashcan. It fell about a foot short.
"Don't quit your day job," Dean teased. She got an impish grin on her face and rushed him, slamming full force into his legs.
"Shut up!" she demanded, giggling.
"You shut up," he countered, and they quickly erupted into a game of "No, YOU shut up!" while Dean tried to tickle her, and she dodged and screamed with joy. In the midst of this hilarity, however, a nightmare came into being in front of them.
Out of nowhere, Crowley suddenly appeared, but not how they had ever seen the King of Hell before. He was on all fours, gasping, choking, and retching. His clothes had been torn and burned away in places. There was unmistakable marks and bruising around his face and the parts of his arm that was exposed. He couldn't even pick himself up off the floor- reflating his lungs was a bigger priority at the moment, and he seemed like he was having great difficulty with that.
Dean immediately went into protective father/hunter mode. He snatched Natalie up into his arms, holding her tight to his chest in case he needed to run. "SAM!" he hollered. He could hear the loud thumps of Sam's shoes coming down the stairs at a break neck speed, and then he saw his little brother skid to a stop in the room once he saw Crowley. Sam's startled eyes immediately shot to Dean's, begging to know what was going on.
Natalie was shocked- she never expected to see Crowley again. She knew she was safe with Dean right there, but she still wound her arms around his neck, holding on tight and breathlessly, afraid.
Bobby had heard the call as well, and burst into the room, armed with a shotgun full of salt rounds. His gritty determined look promised that if Crowley tried anything, Bobby would end it immediately. All three men stood, bristled and ready to attack.
When Crowley finally got enough air to speak, he looked at them, askance. "Don't offer to help or anything," he wheezed sarcastically, blood dripping from his cut lip. "I'll just be down here, bleeding to death, whenever you decide you fancy a chat."
With an exasperated eye roll, Bobby reached down and hauled Crowley to his feet. The demon wiped the back of his hand across his lips, wincing as he did so, and gave Bobby a little spasm that could possibly be interpreted as a nod of thanks.
"What's got you lookin' like you been rode hard and put up wet?" Bobby asked gruffly. It was Crowley's turn for the sarcastic side eye after hearing that.
"I wish I could tell you," he said grimly, looking down to examine the rest of himself. "Hm. I rather liked this suit," he said, a touch of disappointment in his tone as he saw the damage to the fabric.
"Whoa- hang on," Sam said, waving his hand to get Crowley's attention. "What do you mean, you WISH you could tell us?"
Crowley drew himself up to his full height, and heaved an annoyed sigh. "I MEAN I wish I could tell you. I don't know."
"What the hell do you mean, you don't know?!" Dean blurted out before he could think. "We had a deal!"
Instantly, he regretted his outburst. He could feel Natalie tense in his arms at his words, and he mentally started kicking himself. Now was NOT the moment to go into this- but he had just shot himself in the foot, big time.
"You- had a deal? With Crowley?" Natalie whispered quietly, her eyes wide as she looked at Dean. Suddenly, his seven-year-old looked thirty-five. The disbelief and betrayal in her gaze was more than he could take at the moment- not until he got answers and then got a chance to explain himself.
"Later, Baby Girl," he murmured back, catching and holding her gaze. "I'll explain later, okay? It's not what you think," he couldn't help but add as he saw the realization and the simultaneous horror break over her face. She pinched her lips together and nodded mutely, knowing that Dean needed to focus right now. She was incredibly unhappy with the situation, but knew better than to interrupt at such a crucial moment.
Dean's heart cracked a little as he watched his seven-year-old, once again, act much, much older than her age. Pushing aside the tidal wave of guilt that came along with that, he turned his focus back to Crowley. Crowley, however, chose to speak first.
"Don't worry, princess," he said snidely. "I'm not interested in you any longer. You can sleep soundly in your little bed tonight."
"Go to hell," she shot right back at him. All three men, even Sam, smiled at that. The demon simply rolled his eyes.
"And there's that famous Winchester charm. Ugh," he said, brushing her off with a wave of his hand, but then cringed as a shot of pain radiated through his wrist. He grimaced, but turned to face the boys again.
Dean spoke first this time. "You wanna tell me why you had the balls to show up here without any information?" he snarled, keeping a tight hold on Natalie.
"I didn't CHOOSE to show up here. Whoever- or whatever- it was sent me here. As a warning."
Natalie pinched her eyes shut, scared at Crowley's words. A moment later, Castiel appeared in the room, right behind the demon.
"Who was it that sent you? Was it the monster who wanted Natalie?" Cas asked, as if he had been a part of the conversation the entire time. Crowley whipped around in surprise, then groaned and gripped his back.
"Maybe it IS time for a new meat suit," he grumbled to himself, massaging the aching muscle. He focused his beady glare on the angel. "I don't know, Castiel. That's what I'm trying to tell you." He shifted his angry gaze to the floor, not wanting to let them see how embarrassed he was about his confession. "I found whoever it was, but they didn't want their secret out. Wanted to keep the proverbial cat in the bag. Whoever it was decided to…play with me first, took themselves out of my memory, and zapped me here to get you to call off the search."
The stunned silence echoed around the room. All of the hunters' brains were going at ninety miles an hour, but none of them could come up with something to say. "How do you know that's what actually happened?" Sam finally managed to get out. "Whoever it was could have planted some false information in your mind- or you could be straight up lying to us."
Crowley looked annoyed, and gestured to his torn suit. "And I beat the hell out of myself for fun- that it?" he quipped sarcastically.
Sam, however, shrugged. "You've done worse to fool people, I'm sure." At that, Crowley stopped and thought a moment.
"Fair point, Moose. Maybe you're not such an 'idjit' after all," he said lightly, with a glance at Bobby, whose eyebrows knit together in a scowl. "You want me to take a lie detector test or what? I'm telling you the truth. I'm keeping my end of the deal."
"No, no, that's not how this works, Crowley," Dean demanded. "The deal was you get us information, and you didn't fulfill your end."
"I can tell you that whoever it is does not want anything to do with Natalie," Crowley shot back.
"And how do you know that? If your freaking memory was wiped?"
"I told you- whoever it was removed my memory of THEMSELVES- but not of the message."
"And what was the message?"
"That Natalie holds no interest for this…whoever it is. But I have been sent to warn you that, and I quote, 'the devil's in the next room' if you don't let well enough alone."
Once again, the silence in the room hung like a guillotine over their heads at the mention of the devil. Sam's blood turned to ice. It couldn't mean…there was no way…he was still in the Cage…wasn't he? The terror at the idea of Lucifer..of the devil himself being after Natalie was enough to make Sam's lungs close off. But it wasn't possible. It couldn't be.
Dean, however, was the first to recover his ability to speak. "Crowley, if you mean who I think you mean," he growled dangerously. In that moment of sheer terror, Sam was grateful that Dean had been keeping up with his line of thinking, and was asking what he simply couldn't get past his lips.
"It's not Lucifer," Crowley said simply, wiping the trickle of still-flowing blood from his mouth again.
"Are you sure?" Castiel asked. The sheetrock behind the angel's tone was enough to make anyone cower.
"It was the first thing I checked," Crowley answered back. "I had to think of someone truly powerful enough to order demons around, so naturally, he came to mind first. He's still locked in the Cage." Crowley shot a nasty grin at Sam. "Sends his regards." Sam turned pale as paper- and that made Natalie furious.
"You mother fucker!" Natalie shrieked from Dean's arms and tried to propel herself towards the demon, her tiny fists flying. Dean just managed to keep a grip on her, enough to keep her from tumbling face first onto the floor. "Let me go!" she snarled, still flailing. "I'm gonna kick his ass!"
"Settle down," Dean said firmly, secretly enjoying the warrior spirit Crowley had unknowingly unlocked in the kid, but knowing he needed to get her under control before she got hurt or said something that couldn't be taken back. Natalie obeyed instantly, folding her arms tightly across her chest in a move that clearly said she was only doing this because she was ordered to. Dean nodded once in approval, then focused back on Crowley.
"You better learn to watch your mouth around her, Crowley," he said with an evil grin. "I might just let her loose next time."
Crowley curled his lip at the little girl. "I tremble in fear," he said lazily, but Dean couldn't help but notice that Crowley turned slightly away from them, as if he could still feel Natalie's last kick. "Be that as it may, I've lost interest, and whoever it was lost interest in her as well, wanting to let this whole thing rest. You two, however," he said, gesturing to the brothers. "Are still fair game in the supernatural world."
Dean's eyes narrowed. "Well, you tell whatever son of a bitch wants a piece of Dean Winchester, to come get it himself," he said in his no-nonsense tone.
Crowley rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, masters of the universe and all that. Noted. Now- about our deal."
"You didn't keep your bargain," Sam said immediately. "Deal's off."
Crowley glared at him. "Sad to say- that's not exactly how this works. I brought you information, and if you think about it, it's almost exactly what you wanted to know."
"You weren't able to tell us who was after her! That was the whole point of the freaking deal, Crowley!" Dean yelled at him.
"But you now know that whoever it is no longer has any interest in the child, and will leave you alone," Crowley shot back at Dean, matching his volume and intensity. "I'd say that's pretty damn close to what you were hoping to hear, now isn't it?" Before Sam and Dean could argue, Crowley held up both hands. "As a gesture of goodwill, I will modify our deal further," he said, letting the offer hang in the air for a moment, like every good salesman does. "I will make sure that all the demons know she is off limits, basically, that she's a dead-end. She will officially be Switzerland when it comes to the underworld. All I ask- is that you keep your end of the deal." He leaned back, one eyebrow cocked, letting the information sit with the boys.
Sam and Dean looked at each other for a moment, another silent conversation ensuing. Crowley keeping the demons from Natalie was interesting enough for them to consider it. It also meant that she couldn't be used as a bargaining chip, should anything happen to either one of them. Finally, they turned back to the demon at the same time, and spoke in tandem.
"Deal."
*SPN SPN SPN*
About ten minutes later, after Crowley had vanished without a trace, the Winchesters, Bobby, Castiel, Jody, and Claire had made a full sweep of all of Bobby's property, checking and double checking warding, salt lines, and everything in between. The brothers hadn't been able to truly express their thanks to the rest of their 'family' for all of their help, but they all knew it without words, exchanging hugs and squeezes before taking off.
Dean hadn't let go of Natalie the entire time, needing to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was safe. She had been unusually quiet while he had helped survey the area, keeping her arms firmly locked around his neck, but not saying anything. Dean found himself dreading the conversation he knew was about to happen. He, Sam, and Bobby had plopped down wearily in the living room; the drama of the last hour combined with the tension of the last month was finally getting to them.
Bobby rubbed his eyes tiredly, but made sure that he caught his adopted granddaughter's gaze. "Don't you worry, Little Bit, this place is secure as Fort Knox," he said reassuringly. "Ain't nothing gonna get through here. You're safe." Natalie nodded her understanding.
"I know," she said simply. "Thanks, Pops." Her gaze wandered to her uncle, who was sitting in a chair in front of the desk, kicking his shoes off. "Uncle Sam?"
"Yeah, Bug?" he said, trying to disguise the exhaustion in his voice.
"I'm sorry I swore at Crowley," she said quietly. "It just made me really mad that he made you upset." Tired as he was, Sam had to laugh. He held out his arms to her, and she pushed herself off of Dean's lap to come over to him. He scooped her up and cuddled her for a moment before answering.
"Thanks for being willing to beat up Crowley for me," he whispered into her ear, hugging her tight. "I'll let the potty mouth go- this time." She giggled in response.
Hearing her mirth lifted Dean's heart, but only slightly. He knew she was still upset by the fact that Crowley had been brought into the mix in the first place, so he decided to tackle that straight on and get it over with.
"Listen, kid. We need to talk about Crowley," he began. As he knew it would, her gaze swung to him with an oh-so-familiar stoicism about it. She was listening, but she was clamping down on her emotions, just like she had seen him do a thousand times. That didn't make this any easier. "We only contacted him because we needed to know who had sent the demons. We had no other way of getting that information." He swallowed hard, wanting to plead with her, but knowing that it would do no good. "We needed to know who the son of a bitch was, so we could take him out to keep him from trying anything again. You understand?" he asked gently. Natalie didn't respond- she just kept her gaze firmly locked on his.
Sam could feel the tension in the room, and tried to help. "Listen, Bug, you were never in any danger," he said soothingly. "That's why Jody and everybody else has been here this entire time, okay? They've been watching out for you, making sure that Crowley wasn't going to try anything."
Bobby felt compelled to help Dean plead his case as well. "Little Bit," he began in his gruff tones. "Sometimes we have to do things and partner up with people we don't like in the hunting world, because we have no other options. And believe me- if your daddy had had any other option other than that slime bucket, he woulda taken it."
All three men were silent for a moment as Natalie digested this information. They held their breaths collectively as she studied her fingers, thinking. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Dean, she looked back up at him.
"Dad, I'm really sorry that you had to work with Crowley just to find out who the demon was because of me," she said in a small voice. Dean's heart cracked completely in two upon hearing that. To find out that she wasn't mad at him for contacting Crowley- that she was feeling bad because she thought he HAD to in order to figure this out in order to keep her safe- something she wasn't even concerned about- it was just too much.
"C'mere," he said, holding his arms out to her again. Sam set her down gently, and she took off running, diving into her father's lap, burying her face. Dean reached down and picked her up, setting her on his lap, pressing her head into his chest. He felt her relax, just like she always did upon feeling his touch.
"Listen up. I would cross the world over a thousand times for you, Natalie," he whispered into her hair. "I would do anything to keep you safe. No matter what. If that means working with Crowley, then so be it. Okay? You hear me?" He felt her nod against his chest and relax even more. "Don't you ever think there's nothing I wouldn't gladly do for you, okay? Nothing in the whole world."
"Okay," she said shyly, finally accepting Dean's words and letting go of the guilt. Dean kept rocking her for another moment, then finally felt okay to speak again.
"I'm really proud of how you've handled everything, kiddo," he said, his voice thick. "You kept your head when Jackie got possessed, you helped your uncle fight her, hell, you were willing to take on Crowley to defend our family." He leaned back, looking into her face proudly. "You're made of tough stuff, you know that? That's that Winchester thing coming out in you, kid."
Natalie giggled, blushing at Dean's praise. "So…since whoever it is isn't going to bother with me, and Crowley's gonna keep the demons away," she said, leaning back a bit from Dean so she could see him better. "Does this mean I don't have to have a babysitter anymore when we're on cases?" she asked, the hopeful, childish spark back in her eyes.
It took Dean by surprise so much, he had to laugh, as did everyone else. "You never give up, do you?" he asked his daughter, chuckling.
"Nope," she said, grinning. "It's a Winchester thing."
