Hey everybody! Sorry I've been gone so long. I'm having a hard time writing recently. I'm not done, I promise- just dealing with a lot right now, I'm sure you all understand. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I'll try to post more frequently.

Special thanks as always to the best sister/hunter/writer/all around badass in the world, Jenmm31.

A/N- in this story, Natalie is 6. Please see profile page for disclaimers.

Ah, September. The leaves were just on the verge of turning, the weather was finally cooling down after the blistering swells of summer, and Natalie Winchester was happy as a clam, back on the road with her beloved father and uncle, all three of them determined as hell to make Hunter Homeschooling work.

Natalie was 6, and by all accounts should have been enrolled in the first grade back in Sioux Falls. But between their recent run-in with Crowley, who'd tried to kidnap the child, but failed due to her well-timed kick in the balls, and her abhorrent hatred of systematic learning, Natalie had convinced Sam and Dean to take her with them, teaching her what she needed to know on the road. They'd gathered books on math, science, history, vocabulary, spelling, you name it, they had it. They didn't have to bother with computer skills. She had put together a rather impressive power point presentation on the merits of homeschool, leaving both the boys in shock, but their wheels turning.

Dean had hated this past year. Having Natalie farther away than ten minutes from him had made him feel incomplete. He couldn't stop thinking about her, couldn't stop worrying about her, couldn't focus without her. Even Sam had troubles with it. There had been a couple close shaves due to the lack of focus, but they were the Winchester brothers- they always pulled it off, sometimes by the skin of their teeth. They both had a little girl who was counting on them to get home, so they did.

Having made the decision to homeschool Natalie had come a lot easier than Dean had expected it to. From the first thirty seconds of Natalie's presentation, Dean had been convinced. He'd spent the rest of the time marveling at how the six year old put together a freaking power point, and then how to convince Sam that this was the right move. Sam had been the one who had pushed for Natalie to have stability in her schooling, unlike they had growing up. Moving from school to school had definitely taken a toll on both boys, and Sam knew the school system in Sioux Falls was pretty decent, owing to Jody's recommendation of it. He'd pushed Dean into it with the idea that it was what was best for her. Sam, however, had been completely wrong.

Natalie balked at the slow pace of the classroom, at the other kids, at the structure of it all. She had way too much Dean in her to ever be happy in a schoolroom. After a disastrous start to kindergarten, Natalie had been forced to buck up and behave in the classroom, which she did- for the most part. There had been several phone calls home, and requests for parent-teacher conferences. When Dean started sleeping with her teacher, he automatically assumed that 'parent-teacher conference' was just a code word for 'booty call', and it usually ended up being just that.

Regardless, Natalie was on the road with the boys, and they had been at the homeschooling thing for about a week now. They were in South Bend Indiana, working a case of ghost possession. They hadn't had a lot of good solid leads to go on, so the boys found themselves at the police station the last couple days, going over years and years of unsolved cases, trying to make the connection. Although hesitant at first to do so, they had found that if given the proper perimeters, Natalie would do her schoolwork on her own, without the need to oversee consistently. If she had questions about her work, she would save them until they got back, and finish her schooling each day with aplomb. It was working so far.

This morning started no differently than the past couple. Sam had set Natalie a page of math problems, a sheet of vocab words, and a series of comparison words- a little advanced for her age, but Sam was already discovering why she had thought all of her classmates were dumb as rocks. She obviously wasn't being challenged enough by the standard curriculum, so he'd been pushing the boundaries a little bit, just seeing what she could handle.

Natalie was sitting at her own little workstation on the motel room table, swinging her legs and watching Dean finish his morning ministrations. Sam was in the bathroom brushing his teeth and had the door closed. She watched her father earnestly, as if he was going to disappear from her view or something. Dean noticed and chuckled at her.

"Take a picture; it'll last longer," he teased her. She giggled in response and rolled her eyes dramatically.

"I'm just watching all what you do, cause I'm going to need to know how to look like FBI soon too," she replied primly. Dean's eyebrows raised and he gave her a stunned, if amused, look.

"'Soon'?" he asked her. "When exactly do you think you're going to be going on cases with us, squirt?"

"I know I can't go on like CASES cases until I'm taller-"

"And much older than six."

"-But I'm on cases with you now!"

Dean couldn't help the stupid grin that crawled across his face. "That's right, you are," he said boisterously, leaning down to tie his shoes. "You think you can help us crack this one?"

Natalie nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I totally can!" she squealed with uninhibited six-year-old candor. "Can I see the files?" she asked, swinging her legs around to the side and preparing to hop down off her chair.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there tiger," Dean said holding his hand out to her before resuming his shoe tying. "You got some school work to do first. Remember the rules?"

Natalie nodded again, slightly less enthused this time. "Homework comes first, then play," she recited. "But this isn't play, Dad!"

"I know it's not. But the deal is homework first, and you know it."

"I'll get it done superfast later. Can't I please look at the case now?"

"Natalie," was all Dean said. Her shoulders slumped slightly before she tucked her legs back under the table and pulled her school papers towards herself. Dean looked up from his shoes to see her start flipping through her work, shaking his head slightly. He shouldn't have said what he'd said about the case- she was always wanting to help do research and look into whatever they were doing instead of doing her own stuff. He'd dangled the damn carrot in front of her. That one was on him. Maybe he'd make time this afternoon to actually look over the files with her, if she got her homework done this morning.

He finished off the lace just in time to see her making a face at one of her papers. "Problem?" he said lightly, not wanting her to think she was in trouble. He'd made plenty of faces at his own homework growing up; he wasn't going to call her out on something she probably got from him.

"Uncle Sam has me doing math this morning."

"You don't like math?"

"I HATE it."

"Well, get it done super quick like you said and then it'll be over with."

"I don't even want to start it."

"That's going to make it hard to finish then, isn't it?"

"But it's so dumb!"

"Hey," Dean said sharply, looking up and pointing his finger at her. She instantly looked down at her papers, her little shoulders growing tight from the rebuff she knew was coming. "You know better than to get mouthy about work that you're supposed to do." His eyes bored into her, but she didn't look up. Hm. She also knew that she was supposed to look him in the eye when she was in trouble, but she was deliberately not doing that. Dean wasn't sure whether to chase that dog or let it lie. Natalie picked up her pencil and started working on her math as soon as the words left his mouth, so he decided to let it slide. For now. Just as Dean was turning away from her, he heard her mutter under her breath.

"…Math is STILL stupid and I don't care…"

"Excuse me?" he said sternly, spinning around on his heel. Natalie was resolutely working, but he didn't miss the flush of her cheeks at his words. Dean continued to glare at her until she finally looked up with a gulp. He arched one eyebrow at her- the only muscle he allowed himself to move. Giving a small sigh, Natalie pushed herself off the chair and headed straight for the corner. Good. Looks like she hasn't forgotten how this works, Dean thought to himself. He looked at his watch to mark the beginning of her five minutes in Time Out.

Dean carefully loaded his gun, double checked his badge, and made sure he had extra fake cards in his pockets, all while keeping one eye on his wayward daughter. He usually made her sit in a chair while she was in the corner. However, Bobby had usually just made her stand during this past year, and it looked like she was still in that mindset. He wondered what else he was going to have to undo now that she was back with him full time.

Once her five minutes were up, he cleared his throat. "Alright, Nat," he called out. He wasn't surprised that she turned around without him having to tell her that Time Out was over. He WAS surprised that she tried to make her way straight back to the table. "Uh uh," he called out loudly. "You know how this works, little girl. Come here."

With an uncomfortable fidget and her eyes firmly planted on the floor, Natalie made her way over to him. Dean's brow furrowed. What the hell was going on in her head? She knew that they talked after Time Out; she knew she was supposed to look him in the eye. He gritted his teeth, realizing all the things he was going to have to do to get her back into shape. This was going to suck. He sank down onto the corner of the bed as she made her way towards him.

The second she was in front of him, he gently placed his hand under her chin and tilted her head up. Reluctantly, she looked him in the eye. But she did it. Dean forced the tense muscle in his jaw to relax.

"You and me need to have a little talk," he said low in his voice. Natalie's eyes darted away for a split second before refocusing on his. Just then, the bathroom door opened and Sam stepped out. He took in the uncomfortable scene. With a heavy sigh, he headed towards the coffee pot. He wished that he hadn't just brushed his teeth, but there was no escaping the fact that he was going to need caffeine to deal with everything this morning. It also took him out of Natalie's line of sight, which would be better for Dean in the long run. Natalie hated getting in trouble in front of the both of them. She'd either lose focus on Dean, or try to elicit help from Sam. Either way, it was just better if he wasn't in her eye line.

Dean was grateful that Sam knew Natalie well enough to get out of the scene. He tapped one finger lightly on Natalie's jaw where he was still holding it to refocus her. Her cheeks burned red, but her eyes refocused. "Seems like you're thinking that you're allowed to mouth off about your work. Which is strange, because I JUST reminded you not to do that," he said firmly. When she didn't answer, he continued. "Were you this mouthy with Miss Benson about the work she told you to do?" he asked roughly.

As hard as she tried not to, Natalie squirmed and her eyes darted to the side, confirming that this was exactly the way she'd treated her kindergarten teacher. She hadn't entirely meant to be bad, it had just usually kind of happened. Her mind forgot what her mouth wasn't supposed to say.

A meaningful cough came from the direction of the coffee pot, making Dean's eyes tense and his mouth press into an irritated line. Sam had often chastised him for turning those parent teacher conferences into a roll in the hay, and it seemed like he was silently doing it again. "Shut up, Sam," Dean snarled in his direction, his eyes not leaving his daughter's face. Out of his periphery, he saw his little brother turn back towards the coffee pot, keeping the rest of his judgmental phlegm to himself.

"Look at me," Dean instructed Natalie quietly. Her eyes met his again obediently. "I know it's been a while since you've had to do school stuff, and I know that this whole thing is entirely new. Okay? It's new for me and your uncle too. And up till now you've been doing real good. But this? This crap this morning? Mouthing off, not wanting to do your work? That ain't gonna fly and you know it, kid."

The fight suddenly went out of her shoulders, and a repentant look crossed her face. "I know, Dad," she said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Dean removed his hand from under her chin and used the knuckle to stroke her cheek affectionately. She responded the way she always had, by tilting her head and leaning into his hand. His heart settled a bit to know that not every reaction was changing with her. "That's my girl," he said with a smile, getting one in return. He dropped his elbows to his knees, watching her face intently. "So what's up with you? Why are you acting like this?" he asked, his casual pose making her instantly more comfortable now that she knew the scolding part was over.

Natalie bit her little lip and thought, but she couldn't come up with a good answer. "I…I dunno," she said, ducking her head a little, embarrassed that she couldn't come up with a reason. "Do I have to go back to Time Out till I can figure out why?" she whispered to Dean, her eyes full of sorrow.

In response, Dean pulled her onto his lap. She gave a slight squirm of protest at first- this was kind of babyish behavior- but the comfort of having Dean so near after he'd been gone so much was still too much for her to combat. She rested her head against his chest, then suddenly her body went limp and she nuzzled into him. Dean cuddled her against his chest, stroking her hair intermittently and kissing the top of her head.

"Maybe we're pushing too hard, kiddo," Dean said quietly, trying to get to the heart of the matter. "Trying to make you do too much too fast." Natalie suddenly sat bolt upright, a look of consternation on her face.

"I can do it!" she insisted stubbornly, causing Dean to chuckle. Dammit. That's right. She was exactly like him, not willing to admit she couldn't do something.

"Hey, I didn't say you COULDN'T do it. All I'm saying is maybe we shouldn't."

"Oh. That's okay then," Natalie said, satisfied. She snuggled back into Dean's arms. He worked to contain his laughter as he held her tight.

"Tell you what," he murmured into her ear. "You do as much as you can this morning, okay? If it gets to be too much, then you just set it to the side and we can work on it later. Then, when Uncle Sam and I get back this afternoon, we can all look at some police files. Deal?"

Natalie leaned away so she could see his face. "You and Uncle Sam are coming back this afternoon?" she asked. Thrown a bit by a question he wasn't expecting, Dean nodded.

"Yup. We'll get lunch and come check in. That been working for you?" he asked. It had been the routine the past week, and she hadn't balked at it. Had he missed something? His eyebrows knit together, wishing not for the first time that he could see into her head and figure out what was really bothering her about all of this.

Natalie nodded enthusiastically again. The wound up little monkey he loved was back. "Yeah, that's really good," she said. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged tightly. "I'm sorry I was bad," she said, low. "I'll go do my homework now and I won't get mouthy about it." Without waiting for a response, she released her arms, turned on his lap and hopped off, padding back over to the table and immediately hauling herself up.

Dean watched her carefully, but she started working diligently, kicking her feet back and forth like she did when she was interested in something, and didn't falter. He wondered if she was doing her math after griping about it, and a couple minutes later when he kissed her goodbye, he surreptitiously looked to see. Sure enough, it was her math. And she was fine now. What the hell was going on with her?

*SPN SPN SPN*

"Sam, we need to talk schedule."

"Uh…okay," Sam agreed, looking sideways at Dean. Dean's eyes didn't stray from the road. It took about ten minutes to get to the station, so Sam knew that Dean had something specific in mind and basically just needed to spit it out. "What's up?" he asked, giving his brother the floor.

"So the kid threw a mini tantrum this morning, complaining about her math, but when we left, she was working on it just fine."

"Do you think that was a result of the Time Out?"

"Naw, I don't think so. Something's eating at her."

"Okay. What?"

"I think it's the schedule we're on."

"How so?"

"Think about it. When she was littler and on the road with us, we never left her alone in the room, ever. She was either with one of us or had a babysitter, right?"

"Right, so…?"

"So then she does school for a year, where she's in a classroom with a bunch of kids, most of whom she hated-"

"She didn't hate ALL of them, Dean."

"Not the point. She was with people. Never alone. Now we're pushing her back into school stuff on the road, but she's being left alone for three to four hours every morning."

"You think she's acting up because she doesn't like being alone?"

"Maybe. I dunno."

"She's usually fine when she's playing by herself."

"Yeah, but that's when SHE chooses to do that. Otherwise, she's all over the both of us to play with her. And this ain't playtime either- this is work."

"You want to go back to only one of us doing the FBI thing at a time, like how we used to?"

"No, I don't. That's the problem. You and I, we're better as a team- we figure things out faster when we're together, meaning the cases get solved quicker. But how am I supposed to do that if she's freaking out that I'm not with her?"

"Hold on. I don't think she's freaking out yet. But I do think it's really good that you're seeing this in her and wanting to address it, Dean," Sam complimented hesitantly. Dean was never one to seek praise, but it usually helped him when he was feeling unsure about Natalie. Even now, he nodded once in acceptance of what Sam was saying, but his face relaxed a bit.

"Cool," he said gruffly, hiding his feelings. "So this is what I'm thinking. We have one day a week where you stay with her, or I do. The days can change, since we can't predict which way the wind'll shift on a case, but we'll promise her one day with each of us. And we'll spend that day working on school or lore, depending on who it is. I mean, she's gonna start needing us there more now that she's getting into more complex stuff with you, right? I think that'll help her get the feel of this new 'normal', you know?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think that's a great idea," Sam said with a smile. Dean nodded, a smile creeping onto his own face. So what if other parents put their kids in schools, or homeschooled them full time, or gave them nannies or whatever? None of them had a parent as cool as Dean Winchester, and for sure none of those kids were nearly as cool as his. The two of them would be just fine. He'd figure out her new normal and let her keep being awesome, just like she always had been. He'd known it was always the Winchesters against the world, and they would always come out on top.