Good Morning SPN Family!
Sorry if you've gotten multiple notifications about this chapter- something went seriously wonky the first time I tried to publish it. Anyways, here's hoping it comes out normal this time, ha ha.
Thank you all for your patience. I've been working twelve to thirteen hour days recently on a project and just completed it. Thanks to those who have encouraged me to publish, and to Bella Winchester's kind persistence. I appreciate the encouragement! Bella, IDK why it's not letting me respond to your messages, but please know I read every single one. To all who have requested stories- I thank you for your continued patience. As I have explained before I have a terrible turn around time, especially if I only have a 'spark' of a story and not the whole thing in my mind. Please know I see you, I hear you, I'm not ignoring you. I will write it eventually, I promise. Thank you for trusting me and please hang in there.
Special thanks to Jenmm31, because this story would have been lost completely if she hadn't been awesome in helping me with it. Go show her some SPN love because she's the best.
You remember how I said I needed lots of fluff, especially after the finale? Yeaaaaaaaah. This one will freakin' rot your teeth. You've been warned. I'm starting to think blood-and-guts case stories again, never fear :)
Good gravy I talk too much. Here's a Sam and toddler Natalie story for all my Sam girls. In this story, Natalie is 3. Please see profile page for disclaimers.
Sam closed his eyes and sighed as Natalie once again busted his eardrums. This last car ride had been eight hours long, and the three-year-old had done so well, even considering the late start to the day. But the boys realized now that all that manic toddler energy had been building and building in her during the entire drive. To the point where, when they finally got her out of her car seat at Bobby's, she nearly blew the windows out of both stories with her screams of delight at being free. Dean had managed to carry the squirming, thrashing child into the house, but she was writhing around so much, desperate to get down and play, that he finally just set her loose. They had been home a grand total of seven minutes and had already broken out the whiskey to try to drown her out.
Sam was amazed at how one kid with such short legs could cover so much ground so fast. She ran shrieking from one end of the house to the other so many times, he'd lost count. She then graduated to running circles in each room, giggling and shrieking nonsense the entire time. It reminded him of last year; the time that she had destroyed a motel room in about four minutes, all because she was angry at being in her car seat for so long and being told it was nap time. At least this time she was happy. And it was getting close to bath and bedtime. Couldn't hurt for her to get some of the energy out before waging that particular war.
However, patience was definitely wearing thin among the men in the house. Dean had gotten clobbered in the head on their last hunt, and Sam could tell it was still hurting him like a bitch. Anytime Natalie screamed, Dean screwed up his face like he'd just been kicked in the jewels. And Bobby was just too much of a grumpy old man to tolerate the noise for long, period. Sam knew it was time for an intervention, and he was the only one that could handle it right now.
He set his drained tumbler down and stood up. "I'll get Natalie calmed down and ready for bed, okay?" he said bravely, looking at the other two.
Dean barely bit back a groan, and shoved himself away from the table. "She's my kid, you shouldn't have to deal with the-" He winced as Natalie let out a particularly high-pitched shriek. "-that," he finished weakly.
"Dean, it's okay," Sam said, crossing over to his brother and putting a hand on his shoulder. He wasn't so much going for comfort as he was trying to keep Dean in his chair. "It's not a big deal, I got this. Besides, your head is still pounding."
"No it's not. Shut up."
"Really. You don't feel like your head is in a vice grip? You sure?"
"I'm a warrior, Sam, I can handle a three year old."
"Well, this time, I'm saying you're not going to. Just sit, man, I got this." A sudden crash echoed from the living room. Sam saw the fight leave Dean's eyes at the sound.
"Yeah, maybe you're right," Dean said heavily, rubbing his incredibly sore temples. Bobby cleared his throat.
"Not that I want to be ungrateful or anything," Bobby grumbled. "But could you hurry it up before the kid tears the house down?"
"Yeah, on it," Sam said, looking at his older brother with concern. He made quick eye contact with Bobby, who nodded back, knowing what Sam wanted.
"Alright, Dean, c'mere," Bobby said gruffly, digging his hands into his pockets. "Wanna check you out for a concussion." He produced a small flashlight, ready to see if Dean had any major sensitivity.
"Oh, knock it off. I don't have a stupid concussion."
"Don't make me tell you twice, boy."
Sam turned away with a smile as Dean, grumbling, pulled his chair closer to Bobby's. They may both be adults now, but that deep-seated fear from childhood of disobeying the old man was still definitely there. Sam made his way towards the living room, looking for whatever had caused the crash (other than the three year old). Luckily, it had just been a pile of books instead of something breakable. Natalie had plopped her butt down on the ground next to the mess, and was turning pages curiously, laughing with delight at the pictures of the monsters.
Sam heaved a sigh and headed into the battlefield. "Hey Bug," he said with a huge grin.
Natalie's head whipped around at the name and she screamed with laughter again. "Unca SAM!" she shrieked through her giggles. "I not a BUG!" She fell over laughing. Sam couldn't help but join her. A couple weeks ago, he had called her 'Nat', and she responded with a 'gnat is a bug', and a new nickname was born. She thought it was the funniest thing in the world, and Sam loved it when she laughed, so he was obviously determined to keep it up for eternity.
"Oh, you're not a bug, huh?" he asked in a teasing tone. "Okay then, Natalie."
Natalie immediately sat up, a look of consternation crossing her face. "No!" she said. She patted herself on the chest. "Bug," she said with the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster. She loved Uncle Sam's nickname for her and was concerned that he was taking her seriously. Sam just grinned and scooped her up off the floor.
"Well, then make up your mind, Bug," he whispered in her ear, before tickling her mercilessly. That brought on another round of toddler shrieks and giggles. Remembering that he was supposed to be winding her down, he pulled her in close to his chest and gave her a big kiss on the temple. "Did you have fun running around the house?" he asked as he made his way to the sofa.
She nodded vigorously. "My legs needed to run 'cause we were in Baby so long," she explained seriously.
"Yeah, it was a long time, wasn't it?"
"So long! We were there for twenty MINUTES!"
"It was a little longer than that, Bug."
"Oh. Twenty ONE minutes?"
"That's better. You like being home?"
"I like Pops! And my big Legos. And the stairs. And the books. And the cars! Can we go see Pops' cars, Unca Sam?"
"Not right now, sweetheart. It's dark outside. Maybe tomorrow."
"No, now!"
"Not right now, Bug. I said tomorrow."
"Then I can run more now?"
Sam sat down carefully on the sofa, moving the little girl so she was snuggled up on his lap. "No, we're all done with running for tonight." Natalie thought about that carefully for a moment. She shook her head, a determined look on her face.
"No, I run more."
"No you don't."
"Yes I do!"
"Natalie. What do you do when I tell you to do something?"
A mischievous grin crossed the toddler's face. "Do what NATALIE wants!" She giggled like she had just told the funniest joke in the world.
With the patience of a thousand saints, Sam smiled gently at her, knowing she was trying to be funny. "No, that's not it and you know it."
"Yes it is!"
"No, it's not. When I tell you to do something, you are supposed to do it. Do you remember that?"
"Yes."
"Okay then. No more running tonight."
"But Unca SAAAAAAAAM..."
"You can run tomorrow. We're all done for tonight." Upon hearing the final decree, Natalie immediately began trying to wiggle off Sam's lap.
"Down please," she said, grunting as she tried to break Sam's grip on her with her baby strength. In response, Sam just leaned back, pulling her with him so she was laying in his arms instead of sitting on his lap.
"Nope, not getting down right now, Bug."
"No, down!"
"Hey- what did I say about doing what you're told to do?"
"But I don't like it!"
"I know you don't. But it's time to calm down, and you won't do that if you're running around."
"Yes, I will!"
"No you won't. It's a proven fact. Stay here and cuddle with me on the couch."
Natalie was torn. She loved cuddling, but she NEEDED to run around. So she settled for trying to wiggle out of Sam's arms again. "Nooooo," she cried, arching her back to try to break his hold. Sam just flipped her around the other way instead, and she whined loudly.
"C'mon Bug," he said gently. "Time to settle down."
"Nooooooo! It hurts!"
"'It hurts'?" Sam repeated, trying to smother a smile at her dramatics. "What hurts?"
"It hurts my body to settle down."
"Really. It hurts your body."
"Yes!"
"Show me where it hurts."
Natalie looked down on her tiny self, trying to pinpoint the 'hurt'. "Right here," she said, pointing to her shins and sniffing theatrically. "It hurts there if I don't run." Gripping her tightly, Sam pulled her up and shifted her around in his arms. He kissed her shins, one at a time.
"There," he said triumphantly. "All better."
Natalie furrowed her tiny brow. She knew that kisses from Daddy and Unca Sam made everything better, but she wasn't entirely sure she WANTED this to be better. Just as she had almost made up her mind that this wasn't going to fly, Sam leaned in and kissed her shins three times each. The giggle burst from her lips before she could stop it. Oh well. Maybe this was okay.
"Hurts here," she said tentatively, pointing to her elbow. Sam immediately responded by kissing the offending elbow. Okay, now THIS was a fun new game. "And here too!" she said playfully, pointing to her tummy. Sam leaned down and blew a raspberry on her tummy, causing her to shriek with outraged laughter.
"Does it hurt here?" Sam asked, twisting her around and kissing her cheek.
"No!" she replied in a flurry of giggles.
"What about here?" he said, kissing the top of her head as he grinned wildly.
"HAHAHAHAHA no!"
"How about….here?" he asked, bringing her face-to-face with him and kissing the tip of her nose.
"YES!" she hollered, laughing maniacally. Sam kissed her nose three times quickly.
"How about that? Did that fix it?"
"Yes!" she said, reaching for him. Sam smiled and pulled her into his chest again, patting her back gently when she wound her arms around his neck and sighed happily. After a few quiet moments, she leaned back again so she could look him in the face. "More hurts, Unca Sam!" she barked happily, wanting to play again.
Sam gave her one more big kiss on the cheek, to which she responded by giggling and winding her hands into his long hair. "Ah, ouch," he said reflexively as she tugged. Natalie immediately let go, her face crumpling in sorrow.
"I sorry, Unca Sam," she said in a little voice as she pulled her hands into her chest. Sam smiled and nuzzled her with his soft, stubbly cheek.
"It's okay, Bug, it was an accident," he said soothingly, before giving her another sweet kiss. "You didn't mean it." But she felt bad for hurting him and wanted down again. She starting pushing against his chest, trying to break loose. She quickly got angry at her confinement. Sam sighed. Dammit. He thought they were past this. He snorted ironically to himself.
She was three. They were NEVER past this.
"Bug, remember, it's time to calm down so you're sitting with me."
"NO!" This time, it was said with utter defiance. She wasn't playing.
Sam swallowed hard and steeled himself. "Hey," he said, going for the sternest tone he could muster. "Are you allowed to tell me no?" Natalie just whined in response and kept thrashing around. Knowing that they both were going to hate this, Sam gripped the little girl by the arms and turned her so she was sitting on his lap, facing him. "Do you want a Time Out?" he asked, arching one eyebrow at her like he'd seen Dean do a thousand times.
Natalie's face registered absolute horror. "NOOOOOOOO!" she cried, her eyes welling up. "No Time Out, Unca Sam!" she begged. They had just started implementing the Time Out rule for when she misbehaved, and even though it was surprisingly effective on her, she absolutely hated it.
"Then you need to sit with me and calm down. Otherwise you're getting a Time Out."
"But I not being bad!"
"Yes you are. When you don't listen to me, you're being bad."
The three year old was absolutely gobsmacked. She just couldn't be bad- she just COULDN'T. But…but she wanted to play and have fun so much…she didn't know what to do. Her breath caught as she tried to keep the frustrated tears from rolling down her face. She hated crying almost as much as being bad. This was just too much for her three-year-old self to handle.
Sam saw the struggling warring in the toddler, and took the opportunity to pull her back in, cuddling her close by putting one hand on the side of her head and bringing her towards his heart. He looked down and saw her rubbing her scratchy eyes. He began gently rocking her back and forth, stroking her hair and patting her softly until he felt the fight leave her. She grabbed a handful of his flannel shirt and buried her face in it. Sam's heart broke a bit- she only did that when she was really upset or tired. And he knew she definitely wasn't tired.
"It's okay, Bug," he said soothingly. "We're going to have a lot of fun tomorrow running and playing, okay?"
"Okay," she mumbled, sniffing. She let out another little whimper and Sam, softie that he was, couldn't handle it. He leaned back to look at her again.
"Hey," he said in a sweet voice. "I have a new game that we can play that's calm." Intrigued as always by the possibility of a game, Natalie looked up at him.
"What game?" she asked cautiously.
"It's a game where we see who can hug the longest," Sam answered, making it up on the fly. "You have to take turns counting and hugging and we see who can get up to the highest number." He grinned as Natalie's eyes lit up. She had recently begun counting and thought it was the coolest thing ever. "See, I'll go first," he said. He squeezed Natalie gently in his strong arms. "One!" he counted, then released his grip and leaned back again to see her face. "Now you hug me and you count to two."
Natalie tilted her head. Sam could see the wheels turning in her brain as she processed this new game. Tentatively, she snuggled into his chest. "One, two," she counted softly, before popping back up. "Like that?" she asked, her eyes tired but bright.
"Whoa, that was such a good hug!" Sam said, praising her. She smiled her thousand-watt smile and giggled.
"Okay, now you, Unca Sam."
"One, two, three."
"Unca Sam! Good hug."
"Thank you Bug. Your turn."
Delighted by this new game, Natalie hauled herself up to stand on Sam's lap and threw her little arms around Sam's neck, squeezing tightly. Sam wrapped his arms around her lovingly. "One, two, three, four, seven, eight, nine, ten!" Natalie said, giggling with glee. She leaned back and threw her hands in the air in triumph. "I DID IT!"
Sam laughed and nuzzled her cheek again, causing her to giggle. "Yes, you did, Bug, you absolutely won," he said. "But you forgot a few numbers in there."
"What numbers?"
"Five and six."
"Oh. Okay." Natalie threw her arms around him again and commenced squeezing. "Five, six, one, two, three, four, seven, eight, nine, ten. I DID IT!"
"Close enough for government work," Sam grinned, squeezing her back and standing up with her in his arms. "How about we play this game before and after your bath?"
"Okay!" she said happily. "I love you!"
"Love you too, Bug."
"What's the game called?"
"I don't know. Why don't you name it?"
"Huggies! Cause I give you huggies!"
"I like it. Huggies it is."
*SPN SPN SPN*
Natalie took her bath and went to bed with no fight at all that night- just about a thousand games of 'Huggies'. Sam was completely willing to take that trade, any day. The boys decided to rest up at Bobby's for a while. Dean didn't have a concussion, but his head was still definitely sore the next morning, so they figured it couldn't hurt to take a breather.
They spent the day chasing the three year old around the junkyard and the house while unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning guns- you know, typical hunter life. That night, Dean was determined to give Natalie her bath and put her to bed, still feeling slightly guilty about bailing the night before. When Natalie didn't put up a fight upon the announcement of bath time, Dean's eyes about fell out of his head. He scooped his daughter up before she could change her mind. As he ascended the stairs, he caught Sam's eye.
"What did you do?" he mouthed in wonder at his little brother. Sam smiled back softly.
About thirty minutes later, Sam was nursing a beer while updating their dad's journal. Dean came down the stairs, a stunned look on his face.
"Everything okay?" Sam asked, a touch of concern creeping into his voice. In response, a shit-eating grin spread across Dean's face. He made sure he had his little brother's full attention before speaking.
"The… 'Huggies'?" Dean asked, slowly and deliberately, cocking an eyebrow at his brother, the massive amounts of playful torture already racing through his mind as his grin got wider. "Quite the new game you've invented there, Sammy."
Sam sighed with a smile of his own as he threw back the rest of his beer in one long chug. Oh boy. He was never gonna live this one down. But truth be told, he was a little okay with that.
