Just to say, I changed the cover photo as I had a nasty message from a guest reviewer with a creepy comment about the photo I used for little Charlie.

Thanks for all the follows and favs and especially thanks to those who reviewed! Hope you enjoy this one. Warning: contains spanking. I have one more mostly written, then updates will probably slow down a bit!

Chapter 3

Two men and a little lady

The next morning Sam was up early as usual and at 7am he was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and reading the newspaper he had picked up the day before. He heard a small cough and looked up to see a sleepy looking Charlie with impressive bed hair looking cute in her princess Leah PJs.

'Morning Charlie.' he smiled warmly 'how did you sleep?'

'Ok, I had a bad dream but I did go back to sleep.'

'Oh I'm sorry, if you want to, next time come and get me or Dean if you're scared. We won't mind.'

Charlie smiled and nodded.

'Hungry?' He asked

'Yeah.'

'Dean is the cook around here but I can manage cereal or toast, what do you fancy?'

'Cereal please. Do you have granola?'

'No but we have Lucky Charms?'

'Ok.'

Dean still liked his childhood cereal favourite so they always kept a box!

Charlie was tucking into her cereal accompanied by a glass of orange juice when Dean appeared in the kitchen, fully showered and dressed.

'Morning kiddos.' He said cheerfully. He had obviously slept pretty well and it had done him good. 'Hope you left me some lucky charms young lady.' He said in mock seriousness.

'Nope, I ate 'em all because they are not good for grown-ups.' Charlie answered trying not to grin.

'Oh dear, then I guess there will be consequences.' Dean said sternly and he went towards Charlie, whose grin had been replaced by a look of horror.

'No, no Dean I was only joking, there are some Lucky Charms left for you!' She exclaimed holding her arms up in defense.

'Too late young lady!' Dean said grabbing her, turning her upside down and starting to tickle her belly. Charlie started squealing and laughing now that she realised Dean wasn't serious either and he only meant to tickle her.

'Stop Dean, no!' She squealed in between peals of uncontrollable laughter. Sam looked on with a smile on his face.

'Who is the best Winchester brother?!' He demanded, halting his tickles for one moment to allow her to catch her breath and answer him.

'Sam!' Charlie said with a giggle.

'Wrong answer!' Dean said, beginning his merciless assault again.

'Okay Okay!' Squeaked Charlie 'you are, you are!'

'And don't you forget it!' He said triumphantly as he plopped her back down on her seat, where she sat breathing heavily and still giggling. He went over to get his own bowl of cereal winking at Sam as he went by, causing him to roll his eyes.

'If you've finished eating why don't you get washed and dressed then come to the library. There's something we need to talk to you about.' Sam said, realising they really needed to explain to her as soon as possible that there was no way to get her back to her right age and that they were proposing she stay with them.

'Okay.' She said brightly and skipped off to her room. Dean's tickle attack had brightened her morning and put her in a very good mood.

Half an hour later Charlie found the boys in the library sat at the table and she joined them.

'Hi.' She said nervously, anticipating a serious conversation.

'Hey kiddo.' Said Dean.

'So...what did you want to talk about?' She said quietly looking anxious. Sam and Dean looked at each other not quite knowing where to begin. 'It's about the spell, isn't it?' She asked with a furrowed brow.

'Yeah. It is Charlie. We found nothing in all the men of letters archives, everything we read said we needed the witch who cast the spell or the amulet with the power inside it in order to reverse the spell.' Dean began.

'But they're both gone.' Charlie stated matter of factly.

'Yeah, so then we hoped our friend Cas...' Dean continued.

'The angel?' Charlie interrupted.

'Yes, we thought he could help.' Said Sam.

'But he came by yesterday night and when he checked you over he told us he couldn't do anything and that the spell can't be removed without killing you.' Dean explained.

'The Angel was here? You didn't wake me up?!'

'No, you needed your sleep. Anyway, that's not the point.' Said Dean getting frustrated at all the irrelevant interruptions. 'The point is you can't be changed back to big Charlie and I'm afraid you're stuck here with us.'

Charlie didn't quite know how to react. She had thought this was temporary and that things would all be back to normal again soon. She would be home, with her parents and her normal life. She didn't mind not becoming big Charlie, as she had no memory of that anyway, but now she had to face the idea that this new life was for keeps. She would never see her Mom and Dad again. She wouldn't live in her house or go to her school. She hadn't had that many friends anyway so she wouldn't miss that so much, but the thought of never being home again, never hearing her Mom's voice, never hugging her Dad, never being their little girl again, it was too hard.

She liked Sam and Dean and she felt safe with them. She knew they had loved big Charlie and they had taken real good care of her so far, but it just wasn't the same and it wasn't fair on them either to suddenly be lumbered with a little kid to look after. But where else could she go? She had no family. She would probably have to go to some kids home. All these thoughts flew through her head as she sat there at the table saying nothing. Sam and Dean looked at each other their faces plastered with worry and just waited for her to say something.

'Charlie?' Sam said gently and she looked up at him, pulled away from her inner turmoil. 'Are you ok?'

She shook her head 'I just want my Mom and Dad.' She said desperately and a lump formed in her throat. Tears started tumbling down her face and she couldn't stop them. She put her head down on her arms and sobbed into the tabletop. Dean reached an arm over and gently stroked her back.

'I know you do kiddo, I know.' He got it, he really did and his heart broke for Charlie. Suddenly she picked herself up and flung herself onto Dean's lap clinging on, like she had done to Sam yesterday when he had told her that her parents were dead. She sobbed and wailed into Dean's chest for what seemed like forever but was probably about 5 minutes, then the tears turned to hiccoughs and she pulled away and took the tissue that Sam was offering her, blowing her nose loudly and wiping her face.

'Sorry.' She muttered

'Don't be, you can cry all you want sweetheart, if it helps that is?' Dean asked.

Charlie shrugged. 'I don't know if it helps, but I just can't stop it.'

'Charlie, do you think it would help you to go to your parents' graves? We could take you there and you could lay down some flowers and say a proper goodbye.' Asked Sam.

'Really? Can you take me?'

'Of course we can Honey. Would you like that?'

'I think so. What about?...what happens now? Where will I live?' She asked in a small, frightened voice, looking down at her hands, not wanting to make them feel uncomfortable when they told her she had to go to some children's home. 'I mean it's not fair on you to be stuck with me when you didn't know this was going to, happen. You were big Charlie's friend and I'm not big Charlie.'

'You're still our Charlie.' Said Sam. 'You're our family, our little sister, you're staying with us.' Charlie looked over at him in surprise and then up at Dean, whose lap she was still on, to make sure he was in agreement.

'We wouldn't have it any other way kiddo.' He hugged her to him briefly. 'There's no way we're shoving you in some home. We didn't expect this to happen, you're right there, but it is what it is and we are not walking away from you. We want you to stay with us, that's if you want to of course...?'

Charlie couldn't help but smile as she nodded 'I think I would like that. Thank you.'

'It's the least we can do Charlie. We love you.' Said Sam.

'Well I don't know either of you very well yet, but I feel like my heart knows you deep down and I love you too. If I can't have my mom and dad back I would like to be with you both more than anything else.' She said sincerely.

'Well I've had my fill of chick flick moments for now.' said Dean gently lifting Charlie off his lap and standing up. 'I'm going to find out where Charlie's parents are and we'll see about paying them a visit today.'

'Ok.' Said Charlie. She felt better for her big cry out, although she thought it would probably not be the end of her tears.

She was right about that. That afternoon they went along to a small cemetery in Lawrence and Charlie wept as she laid flowers on both her parents graves and said her goodbyes. She was surprised to see the different dates of their deaths on the gravestones since Sam had said they had both been killed in a car accident when she was 12, but they explained about her mom being kept alive all those years and how she had made the right decision just a few months ago. It was sad and it was hard but it had helped her a lot to see the graves and be able to lay them to rest physically as well as in her mind.

Charlie had her ups and downs over the next few weeks and months. After about 5 months things started to settle into a new kind of normal for all of them. Sam insisted that she enroll in a home school programme and he helped her to keep up with her work. It was easy for her so she didn't complain too much, but she did find some of it pretty boring and there were a few arguments about assignments not done resulting in threats to take away her new-found love of The Munsters, Mako Mermaids and How To Train Your Dragon on Netflix. Generally, Sam was pretty easy going though, only school and eating were his big hang ups.

Dean was stricter with her, insisting on her doing chores around the place, insisting on decent bedtimes (he remembered how grumpy Sam had been when he didn't get enough sleep as a kid!) and insisting on politeness and obedience. He had grounded her to her room more than once, swatted her butt a few times when she had been rude and he too had taken away Netflix privileges.

Considering how they had been thrown in at the deep end Dean and Sam made a pretty good parenting team. Charlie was mostly happy and coping with her grief as Sam made her always tell them how she was feeling and talk about things when she was feeling sad. She was mostly well behaved and enjoyed spending time learning poker and pool with the boys, when she wasn't doing school work.

Sam and Dean had put hunting on hold for the first month and after that they only took local cases or one of the other of them would join forces with another hunter leaving the other to care for Charlie. Now that she was regaining her energy with her grief not so near the surface at every moment, Charlie began to feel a bit claustrophobic. She had always been a fairly bookish child, shy and a bit awkward, so she was generally happy with entertaining herself, reading a book or drawing and she wasn't one for play dates and birthday parties. So, it wasn't that which she felt was lacking, but she had done stuff with her Mom and Dad. They had gone on walks on Sunday afternoons, she had gone to the grocery store and helped her Mom with the shopping, they had gone to the park. Sam and Dean did their best to find things to entertain her, but they didn't think of the fact that Charlie might occasionally like to get out of the bunker and see a bit of natural light, that she might like to venture out into civilisation once in a while. She tried to broach the subject with Dean one morning after breakfast.

'Ok Charlie, do you have some schoolwork to do after breakfast? I'm going into town to pick up some supplies, but I won't be long. If you get your schoolwork done maybe we can play some pool when I get back. We need to work on your break. Or you and Sam can go work out in the gym.'

'Can I come with you Dean. I haven't really been out of the bunker in weeks, except to go to the diner.'

'You don't want to come grocery shopping, it's no fun.'

'I do, I used to help Mom with the grocery shopping, I like doing it.'

'Well, OK I suppose. Let me just check with Sam about your school work. He might say you have to stay here.'

Charlie rolled her eyes and gave a slight pout. 'Sam thinks that schoolwork is more important than breathing, of course he's going to think I should do schoolwork instead of coming with you!' She complained.

'Hey, don't be rude. He's only trying to help you do your best, Charlie.' Dean admonished, but he hid his smile at her comments. He totally agreed that Sam was far too obsessed with studying.

'Sammy!' Dean yelled going off in search of his brother with Charlie following behind him.

Sam was sitting in an armchair in the library looking at a book about vampires. 'Hey Dean, oh hi Charlie!' He said spying her behind Dean.

'Charlie wants to come into town with me, can her schoolwork wait till we get back?'

'You're getting a bit behind on your geography and on your biology Charlie. Maybe you should stay and do some work.'

'I knew you'd say that!' Charlie complained, folding her arms and glaring at Sam.

'Hey kiddo, less of that! Sam, can't she do that afterwards?'

'I guess so, so long as you get down to it when you get back.' Sam said sternly.

'I will, I promise.' She said excitedly and ran to put her jacket and shoes on.

Dean rolled his eyes 'Anyone would think we going to the funfair or something!'

'We should take her out more, she does spend too much time stuck in here.' Sam acknowledged. 'I should take her out running with me in the mornings. There's a nice route through the woods and it'll be good for her to start the day with some fresh air.'

'As long as you don't expect me to come. I only run if something's chasing me!'

'Ready!' Charlie yelled running into the library, beaming from ear to ear.

Dean rolled his eyes. 'No need to shout I'm right here.'

'Sorry!' She said more quietly but still bouncing up and down.

'Come on then kiddo let's get going before you do yourself an injury!'

Charlie grasped Dean's hand and they headed to the garage and into the impala. Charlie made to climb in the front but Dean just gave her a glare and she just sighed and climbed into the back.

'Strap in kiddo.' Dean ordered.

She did as she was told but asked petulantly 'How come you never have to wear your belt?!'

'Erm, well...' Dean didn't really have a good answer to that 'You'll understand when you're older.' He said with a smirk.

'That's a stupid answer!' Charlie objected.

'Hey, you want me to leave you here to get on with your schoolwork? because I will if you keep that attitude up.'

Charlie blushed and bit her lip. She couldn't get away with anything with Dean!

'Sorry'. She mumbled and slouched back in her seat, looking out the window as they drove out of the bunker and into the open air.

Shopping with Dean was quite fun, she managed to persuade him without much effort at all to buy all the best snacks. Sam would be horrified! They got Twinkies, chocolate cookies. peanut butter cups, Cocoa Pops, Pop Tarts, M&Ms, Cheetos, barbecue chips, nacho cheese and as a token towards healthiness they also got some grapes and some oranges. Dean bought all the basic milk and bread and some hotdogs, hamburger meat and a whole chicken too so Sam would not be totally annoyed with them! Coming out of the store Charlie spied an ice-cream shop across the street. She nudged Dean.

'Yeah?' He asked

'Can we go get an ice-cream?' She asked with her best puppy eyes.

Dean was used to the power of puppy eyes having dealt with Sam all these years, but he wasn't immune to them and anyway he wouldn't be opposed to an ice-cream himself.

'Sure, why not?!' He replied eliciting a yelp of delight and a giggle from Charlie.

They dumped off the groceries and then headed over to the ice-cream parlour. Charlie ordered the biggest toffee fudge sundae they had and Dean ordered their chocolate fudge mallow delight sundae which was enormous! Neither of them would be defeated and they scraped the dishes despite their brain-freeze and feeling just a little bit queasy!

'That was really good!' Charlie exclaimed with her hand on her tummy and a look of complete satisfaction on her face.

'Yeah, we should do this more often!' Dean agreed with an answering grin.

'At least once a week!' Charlie stated.

'We'll see.' Dean said ruffling her hair .'I don't think Sam will approve.'

'Probably not!' Charlie giggled, that made it all the more enjoyable as far as she was concerned. She loved Sam but he could be really strict about making her eat healthily all the time. It felt good to indulge for once.

'Ok cheeky, let's get out of here before all the groceries overheat.'

Charlie smiled up at Dean and he couldn't resist scooping her up in his arms and giving her a kiss on the cheek, suddenly overwhelmed with how adorable this Charlie was. He was enjoying mini Charlie as he thought of her, more than he would ever have imagined. Yes, she could be a bit of a handful and too smart for her own good but it was nice to have someone looking up to him and relying on him like Sam used to when he was little. He had missed that and although he missed big Charlie he knew he would have her again one of these days, once mini Charlie had grown up!

'You're a good kid Charlie.' He said fondly as he put her gently back down, taking her hand as they crossed the parking lot.

As predicted Sam was horrified when he saw what they had bought at the grocery store.

'Man, did you get anything healthy at all?!' He asked in frustration pulling out the second box of sugary cookies.

'We got grapes and oranges?!' Charlie offered.

'Well that's something. You are such a bad influence Dean!'

'What it wasn't me it was Charlie!' He protested earning a glare from Charlie.

'So you let an 8-year-old dictate your grocery shop, because she must be an authority on what's good for her?!'

Charlie grinned as Dean got told off by Sam, but her grin dropped when he told her she would only be allowed one treat a day and no more. And Dean should do the same. Dean stuck out his tongue at Sam behind his back and Charlie laughed out loud.

After that, Sam and Dean did make a concerted effort to get Charlie out of the bunker more often. She always accompanied one or the other on grocery runs and on other trips out to buy stuff needed for hunting. She also started going with Sam on his morning run, which he took slowly for her benefit. Gradually she got fitter and she was able to run at a decent pace now and enjoyed her time with Sam, except when it was wet or too cold and then she moaned and whined until Sam threatened to make her run twice as far!

Of course, being around Sam and Dean all the time it was hard to avoid the subject of hunting. They tried as much as possible to avoid talking about any cases when Charlie was around, but she was a curious child and inevitably she heard things and she always wanted to know more.

'What's a Vetala?' She asked this particular day. Sam and Dean had been discussing some recent attacks in Illinois and they bore the trademark features of a Vetala, hunting in pairs, leaving bite marks similar to a vampire. They had thought Charlie was in her room, but she had obviously heard more than they intended.

'Were you eavesdropping young lady?' Dean asked sternly.

'No! I just came to ask Sam something about my history paper.' She said indignantly.

'Sure, what is it?' Sam asked glad to be able to change the subject.

'No, tell me first, what's a Vetala?!' Charlie insisted.

'That's not something you need to worry about Honey. Let's go do your history assignment.' Sam tried again to steer her away.

'Please! Why won't you talk to me about your cases, about hunting?! I really want to know.'

'Yeah well that sucks for you little girl because we are never going to talk to you about what we do and the creatures we hunt.' Dean said gruffly.

Charlie put her hands on her hips and glared 'That's just stupid, why?! Just because you tell me about things doesn't put me in danger. I can't get hurt by knowing stuff, it can only help me if I ever do come on a hunt with you.'

Dean's eyes widened and his face grew slightly red 'Firstly, you don't talk to me like that and secondly, mark my words girlie, you are never going on a hunt with us. NEVER! You hear me?!'

'But...'

'Never!' Dean cut her off. Tears welled up in Charlie's eyes.

'Fine, if you won't tell me about Vetalas then I'll find out myself!'

'And just how do you plan to do that?' Dean snorted.

'On the Internet, or I'll find it in one of these books.' She gestured to the vast shelves full of ancient, dusty tomes around the edge of the room.

'These books are off limits to you Charlie, you know that.' Sam said in a calm, but firm voice. 'But, Dean maybe we should tell her some stuff. She is living here with us and there is a chance she may accidentally get caught up in something one of these days. A bit of basic monster knowledge could save her...' Sam tried to reason.

'I don't want her anywhere near this life. Big Charlie only got caught up in it by accident, because of Dick Roman. Maybe this time around Charlie can avoid it altogether and live a normal life.'

'I don't want a normal life, I want to do what you do!' Charlie protested.

'For as long as I have any say in it, that ain't going to happen.' Dean stated firmly.

'Well, you don't have any say in it, you're not my Dad or my Mom and you aren't the boss of me!' Charlie raged and stamped her foot then kicked one of the chairs, watching in horror as it fell sideways and knocked over Sam's coffee cup spilling the contents on the papers in front of him.

'Charlie!' Exclaimed Sam jerking his chair back from the table to avoid coffee dripping onto his lap.

Dean also jumped up, full of anger.

'I may not be your parent, but Sam and I are the closest thing you have to one and we are determined to look after you and do what's best for you. I don't want any more talk about hunting or any more of this unacceptable behaviour. You will go and get a cloth and clean up this mess, apologise to Sam for spoiling his papers and then you can go to your room. I'll be along to talk to you soon.' Dean yelled.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Charlie began, tears now streaking her face. She hadn't meant to knock the chair over, she hadn't meant to make Dean so angry and he was scary when he yelled at her like that.

'Go get the cloth!' Dean cut her off and she scurried off to the kitchen to get a cloth and some kitchen paper to clean up the mess. When she came back to the library Sam was still there trying to salvage his paperwork using a bunch of tissues and Dean was nowhere to be seen. Charlie hoped he had gone to cool off a bit before he came to talk to her!

'I'm sorry Sam, it was an accident.' She apologised in a shaky voice, trying to keep her tears back. Sam gave her a small smile.

'I know Honey. You've got to learn to control your temper though, it only gets you into trouble.'

Charlie nodded, 'I know.' she said quietly as she mopped up the brown liquid. 'What's Dean going to say?' She asked in a tiny voice.

'I'm not sure Charlie. He is pretty mad and you were very rude, so I expect the punishment will fit the crime' Sam said cryptically. 'If we had spoken to our dad like that he would have roasted our butts for sure.'

Charlie looked horrified at Sam's comment. Sure, Dean had swatted her a few times but was he really about to give her a spanking? The idea wasn't completely alien to her. Her dad had spanked her plenty of times, but this wasn't her dad. She had to admit though, she was beginning to think of Dean like that now she had been living with them for about 8 months. Dean did all the things her Dad had done, he teased her, he tickled her, he did fun stuff with her like getting ice creams, he told her off, he made sure she did her chores and he came and checked on her every night before he went to sleep, although Dean didn't know she knew that. He took care of her. Sam did too, though secretly she thought of him as being more like the Mom in this strange family set up of theirs. With the way he was gentle with her, the way he listened to her, the way he read her stories and tucked her in at night, the way he fussed about schoolwork and about her eating properly. He and Dean loved her and she knew it, so she knew she shouldn't be that surprised at them not only caring for her and protecting her but disciplining her too. It's what parents did and to all intents and purposes with her parents gone that is what they had become to her.

'You think he's going to spank me?' She asked Sam fearfully.

'I wouldn't be surprised.' Sam said and gave her a sympathetic smile. 'It won't be that bad. He's not going to really hurt you.'

'Spanking hurts.' Charlie stated simply, frowning at Sam and folding her arms.

'Yeah ok, but there won't be any permanent damage and maybe you need it.'

'Thanks!' Charlie huffed, unimpressed that Sam wasn't on her side here.

'Well you were very rude just now and you had a tantrum like a 2-year-old, which is why I've got coffee all over my papers now.' Sam pointed out. 'I think he was a bit hurt by what you said too about not being your Dad or your boss and you not caring what he thinks. He loves you and takes care of you and he doesn't need to hear that.'

'I know.' Charlie mumbled, ashamed. She had said that in anger and she knew it was hurtful to Dean. 'I was just mad.'

'I get that. Maybe start with an apology and Dean will go easier on you.'

Charlie nodded then went over to hug Sam. 'Thanks Sam...I love you.' She said, hesitating over the last part.

Sam smiled, his heart touched by her saying that, he'd said it to her before but she had never said it to him.

'I love you too Honey.' He said kissing the top of her head. 'Now you'd better get to your room before Dean beats you to it.'

Charlie scampered back to her room, worried that if Dean came and she wasn't there yet she would be in more trouble. Her stomach was in knots. She was worried about what Dean was going to do and she also felt guilty for being so mean to him. Sometimes her mouth worked before her brain was in gear, especially when she was mad. She sat down on her bed and was wondering what to do with herself when Dean knocked and then opened the door. He still looked pretty mad, but he was a bit less red in the face than he had been when he was yelling at her before.

'Hey Dean.' Charlie said warily standing up.

'Sit down Charlie, we need to talk.'

Obediently Charlie sat back down on her bed. Her heart was pounding, but she noticed that Dean seemed nervous too. Dean wasn't looking forward to this conversation any more than she was. He looked at the sweet little girl sitting in front of him and wished it wasn't down to him to set her straight. But it was and he had to man up. There was no way that she was going to be allowed to talk to them like that and even more so, there was no way she was going to become a hunter if he had anything to do with it and he would do everything in his power to avoid that happening. Yes, big Charlie had been a good hunter, brave and good at thinking things through, but there were so many other better things she could have done with her life and she would not be in the position she was in now if she hadn't been hunting.

'First of all, I am very disappointed in you for the way you just behaved in there. You were rude and disrespectful and I don't expect you to be having tantrums like a two-year-old. You are always telling us you are not a little girl, well then if you want to be treated like a big girl, you have to act like one. I don't expect you to yell and stamp your feet and fling yourself around every time you don't get your way.'

'I'm sorry Dean.' She said, tears welling in her eyes as she looked up at him. He was right, she had behaved like a brat and she didn't want him to be disappointed in her. What's more she knew her words had hurt him. 'I didn't mean what I said either. I do have to listen to you and I do care what you think. You are not my Dad or my Mom but I feel like you are sometimes and I know you do everything you can to take care of me. I didn't mean to make you feel sad. I love you Dean.'

Dean's face softened slightly at her words. He would be lying if he said he hadn't been hurt by what she had said. He really did love the kid and did everything he could to make her feel happy and safe. The fact that she told him he had no right to tell her what to do had grated. But here she was apologizing and saying she thought of him like a second Dad, well that really touched him, more than he was prepared to admit.

'Right back at ya kiddo. That's why you are not allowed to ever come hunting with us or learn how to hunt. I am never going to let you put yourself in danger like that. Besides, although you think you are really grown up, you are not. You're just a kid and that is no life for a kid.'

'But….'

Dean held his hand up to stop her going on. 'I'm not going to argue about this, this is non-negotiable.'

She looked desolate and a tear rolled down her cheek. If she was never going to be allowed to learn how to hunt then what use was she to them? She would only be a burden and she would just get in the way and be a nuisance.

'Does that mean you are going to put me in a home or something? I mean I just get in the way being here. I stop you and Sam doing your job properly. If I can't come hunting then…..'

'What?!' Dean exclaimed, not believing what she was saying. He put his hand under her chin and swiped away a couple of errant tears on her cheeks, gently lifting her face to look at him. 'You are not in the way. Sam and I love having you here and we would never send you away. You are our family. You say you sort of see me and Sam a bit like your Mom and Dad, well we see you a bit like our baby sister or even our daughter. This is your home, we are your family, Family doesn't just throw you away when it's not convenient. You help us get a bit of perspective on our lives Charlie. Please don't ever think that you are anything but wanted.' Dean said passionately.

Charlie couldn't help a smile spreading over her face and she threw herself forward to throw her arms around Dean, burying her face in his chest. 'Thank you Dean!'

'But that doesn't mean that you are going to learn to be a hunter….' He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back slightly so he could meet her eyes and held up a finger as he saw the frown on her face. 'But I guess Sam is right for once, and we should teach you the basics about what is out there and how to defend yourself, in case you ever get caught up in it, which I sincerely hope never happens.'

'Really? You're going to teach me about monsters and how to kill them?!'

Dean nodded reluctantly. 'Just to keep you safe and not so you can go out and hunt, got it?'

'Got it Dean, thank you!' she grinned.

'Which brings us back to your earlier behaviour.' Dean said more sternly again and Charlie looked down, averting her gaze.

'I said I was sorry Dean.' She pointed out.

'I know you did and that's all well and good, but I'm afraid I can't let you get away with behaving like that. It's happened all too often recently and Sam and I won't let you speak to us that way. We are adults, we are in charge of you and you need to listen to us and talk to us respectfully.'

'Ok Dean.; Charlie nodded 'I promise I will.'

'I'm afraid you are still due a spanking.' He said, feeling slightly sick himself at the prospect. He had spanked Sam a number of times when they were younger. Once he was 14 his Dad had given him the job of disciplining Sammy when he was away on hunts. He had not enjoyed that one bit, but he had done it because it was the right thing to do at the time. But that was his brother, he wasn't a tiny 8-year-old girl, who looked more like a 6-year-old. Sammy had been at least 10 years old and although he too had been small for his age, it somehow felt much worse to have to spank this tiny, sweet girl. But, it was the way he had learned from his Dad and he was not going to let her turn into the world's biggest brat because he was too much of a coward to discipline her. This was the parenting style he knew. He wasn't going to be over-critical and harsh like his Dad had sometimes been, but he was going to expect respect and obedience from his surrogate child without turning her into a soldier. If not, this wasn't going to work.

Charlie looked down again. Well, she had known that's where this had been heading, but she had kind of hoped they had worked it all out with talking instead. She was not looking forward to Dean spanking her. He was big and strong and she knew it would hurt. But she wasn't scared he would really badly hurt her because she did trust him and she knew he loved her.

'Lets get this over with then.' Dean said gruffly, patting his thighs.

'Do we have to?' Charlie said in a small voice, in a last-ditch attempt to get him to change his mind.

'I'm afraid so Sweetheart,' he patted his lap again and raised his eyebrows at her. 'If I have to lift you over my knee I will add on 5 more.' He said, sounding sterner than he really felt.

Charlie quickly scrambled across his knee, laying the top half of her body on the bed and burying her head in her arms. Dean quickly pulled up her skirt and she gasped.

'You can keep your underwear and leggings on.' He said to reassure her. There was no way he was going to strip her bare, that would just be too humiliating for all concerned. 'I'm giving you 20.' He explained, so she knew what to expect. Charlie said nothing, but just squeezed her eyes tight closed and tensed up. Dean could feel her little body tensing up and he rubbed her back.

'Try to relax, it will hurt more if you tense up.' He advised. Charlie rolled her eyes, glad he couldn't see her face. She'd like to see him relax if he was in her position right now, but she did try to untighten her muscles.

'Ow!' she yelped as Dean's large hand came down firmly, so big it covered both her cheeks. He didn't wait before bringing it down again. Not speaking or scolding her, as everything had been said, but just laying down swat after swat without pause. She began to try and squirm away after number 10 since her bottom felt like it was on fire. Dean just tightened his grip around her waist and told her to stay still. That's when the floodgates burst and she started to sob.

'Ow Dean, I'm sorry, I'll be good, please stop!' Just like Sam used to do and so he knew he was getting through to her and the point was being well made. Dean hardened his heart to her pleas and finished the punishment.

He rubbed her back and gave her a few moments to calm her tears, before he helped her up off his lap to stand in front of him, She promptly threw her arms around him and leaned into him, continuing to cry into his chest as he soothed her by stroking her hair and muttering nonsense about what a good girl she was and how she was all forgiven, it was all over, it was ok now. Eventually her tears dried up and she began to breath more deeply. Dean realized she had fallen asleep, as Sammy often did after a spanking. He laid her gently down on the bed, facedown and pulled a blanket over her. Sighing as he saw her tear streaked cheeks and blotchy skin. That had been hard, but he knew she had learned her lesson, so hopefully it was worth it.

Sam was still in the library when Dean went back out there. He jumped up when Dean came into the room.

'Is she okay?' he asked with concern.

'Yeah, she'll live.' Dean said dismissing his brother's concern and sitting down in the armchair, pouring himself a glass of scotch. Sam knew he was more stressed than he was letting on, just by the fact that he was drinking. He did that a lot less since little Charlie had been around. He knew disciplining Charlie had taken it out of him.

'That must have been tough.' Sam empathized.

'Well, I had plenty of practice with you, if you remember.' Dean smirked and noticed Sam blush in response. 'Seriously, that was pretty difficult and I hope I don't have to do it again, but I guess I probably will! She has a lot of growing up to do yet and she is far too clever for her own good not to get into trouble again before long.'

Sam laughed 'You're right there. She always was one smart cookie and her curiosity is bound to get her into more mischief sooner rather than later.'

Dean rolled his eyes 'What have we signed up for?!" he said rubbing a hand over his face.

'Come on Dean, I know you and I know that mostly you are loving being a surrogate Dad to Charlie.'

'How come I get to be the Dad, what about you?!' Dean asked.

'It's just the way it is and you know it.'

Dean chuckled 'Hey, that must make you the Mom then Sammy, sounds about right. You even have the hair for it.'

'Shut up Dean, I'm not the Mom.'

'Well, it's not an insult Sammy. Moms are the greatest, you know that.' Dean said fondly, for once complimenting his brother, 'You're the one who tucks her in, reads her stories, helps her with her schoolwork, all that Mom stuff.'

'Yeah and you're the one who makes her laugh and keeps her feeling safe and protected, as well as laying down the law of course.'

'Damn it Sammy, we make a pretty good team, but don't think about moving into my room any time soon.' Dean said with a grimace.

Sam rolled his eyes 'Yeah alright Dean, you're an idiot. Last thing I ever want is to share a bed with you.' He shuddered at the thought and Dean did the same.