A/N: And now, for part two of this story. This part was a lot more fun to write than part one. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.
Disclaimer: Again, no. I don't own this show or anything affiliated with it. Unless you count my Supernatural socks!
Sam Winchester stood in the cereal aisle picking up a box of his favorite Lucky Charms when his phone rang. Fishing it out of his pocket, he saw that it was his older brother. "Yeah?"
"Hey, Sam. Are you still at the store?"
"Yeah, why?"
Sam could practically hear the proud smirk when his brother answered. "Our little girl's growing up."
"What does that mean?" asked Sam.
"Well..." Dean's voice trailed off for a few seconds. "She needs you to get something for her."
"Okay. What does she need me to get?" Sam was getting a little confused. Why couldn't Dean just tell him what he needed to buy?
"Amelia needs... feminine products," Dean finally said.
All the blood drained away from Sam's face as he stood frozen in the cereal aisle. He could sense other shoppers moving around him, but he just couldn't bring himself to get out of their way. He couldn't move a muscle. "Sam, you still there, man?"
It took all of a minute for the tall man's vocal chords to loosen back up. "Sh-sh-she-she needs... what?! Is she even old enough to need... that?"
"Yep," Dean sighed as he set his daughter's clean clothes on the bathroom counter for her. "Here are your clothes, Amelia."
"Thanks," the younger girl's voice called from the shower.
"That's why she's been so ornery and sluggish this week," Dean explained to Sam once he was out of his daughter's earshot. Even though she knew he was calling Sam, Dean didn't think Amelia actually wanted to hear the conversation. "Can you just get them?"
"Fine," huffed a red-faced Sam. It's not like he had any other choice. There was no way he'd make her wait to get her own when she needed them now. Sam didn't think he could do that to his niece even if he were soulless. "Tampons or pads?" he whispered.
"Pads," said Dean. "No way was I going to explain tampons to my nine-year-old." He shuddered again at the thought.
Sam felt a shudder go up his own spine. "Ugh," he groaned. "Yeah, good call."
"Thanks, man," said Dean.
"No problem," sighed Sam. The call ended with a click, and Sam shakily shoved his phone back into his pocket. He breathed a sigh, steeling himself for what he had to do. "I can do this," he whispered to himself, and he slowly began his trek towards the feminine needs aisle. "I can do this, I can do this, I can do this..." And then he saw his destination. "I can't do this!" Not caring how cowardly he felt, the hunter ducked into the aisle just before the one he actually needed to be in. "I so can't do this! I never even bought them for Jess. No way can I buy them for my nine-year-old niece! Ugh, I'm so screwed!"
"Um, are you okay?" a soft voice asked from next to Sam. He jumped at the sudden sound and found himself face to face with a small woman just a few years younger than himself.
"Uh, y-yeah," Sam stuttered gracelessly, his hands moving up from his eyes to run nervously through his long hair. "Yeah, I'll be okay. I-I'll, uh, I'll be okay."
The young woman didn't appear to believe him. "Yeah," she said slowly, "because everyone's just fine when they're 'so screwed.'" Sam's face hardened and reddened, and the woman smirked at his reaction to her calling his bluff. "Come on, what's the problem? It must be something big if you're over here cowering by the toothpaste."
Sam deliberated whether or not to tell this woman what was really troubling him. He didn't think there was any reason for him to not trust her, at least this little bit. But just to be on the safe side, "Christo."
The woman just tilted her head in confusion. "What?"
"Nothing," Sam said quickly and breathed a deep sigh. Well, now that he knew she wasn't a demon, he figured it was time to face the music. "It's just... my niece. She's nine, and she just started..." Sam trailed off, completely unable to say it out loud.
"She just started...?" the woman repeated, trailing off as Sam had. When his only answer was an even redder face, she caught on to what he was, or wasn't, trying to say. "Oh, I get it."
"Yeah," whispered Sam, his voice shaky. "So my brother asked me to get her some... stuff."
"Ah, yeah. That's never a fun job," the woman agreed, though she spoke from experience.
"I never even bought them for my girlfriend," confessed Sam. Now that he'd actually opened up to this woman, he was on a roll. "How does my brother expect me to buy them for his daughter?"
"Hey, calm down, dude," the young woman said lazily, putting her hands on his much higher shoulders. It took about 30 seconds of slow, deep breaths, but eventually, Sam was relaxed enough to actually continue this conversation. "It's okay, really. Everyone has to do this at some point. It's one of those hideous, terrifying, and humiliating facts of life that no one can escape until menopause or death, whichever comes first."
"Oh, kill me now," Sam mumbled under his breath.
"But, it's okay." The woman gave the hunter a reassuring smile. "I'll help you out. It really isn't quite as bad as everyone always makes it out to be, though it is still completely terrible and embarrassing. We just have to get through it and put it out of our minds until the next time, right?"
In a really twisted way, Sam compared this highly uncomfortable shopping trip to a hunt. "Right," he agreed softly, lost in his own thoughts. "Just like any other hunt. Know what you're hunting, research it, and get it done before you move on to the next one."
The younger woman's slender jaw dropped in disbelief. "Uh.. hunt?" she repeated, clearly flabbergasted.
"A what?" asked Sam, coming back to himself. "Oh! Uh ne-never mind what I just said!"
"If you say so," the woman said before looking up at the taller man with a smile. "Come on, let's go get what your niece needs."
Taking a deep breath, Sam self-consciously made sure there was no one else around before following his new acquaintance over to the next aisle. This was not a place he wanted to be! "Alright," a feminine voice said from below his shoulder, "since your niece is nine, you said? She's just starting, so she'll only need something light for now." She looked up and saw that Sam's face was still beet red, but he seemed to be listening. "Unfortunately, it'll get heavier, so she'll also need something a little more... heavy-duty. Is she going to want pads or tampons?"
"She doesn't even know what tampons are," Sam scoffed. "She's nine. No way was my brother going to explain how tampons work to his nine-year-old."
The younger woman laughed. "I totally don't blame him. Get her these," she dropped a box into Sam's basket, "and these." Next was a plastic package of thicker pads. "It kinda helps to arrange the other things in your basket to hide what you're buying," she whispered conspiratorially before shuffling Sam's groceries around to hide the feminine products.
"I-is, is it normal?" asked Sam, stumbling for words. "Is it normal for someone to start so... young? I mean, Ames is nine. Don't most girls start at least after they're ten?"
"It varies," the woman explained. "Everyone's different, of course. It just depends on the girl. Family history has a lot to do with it, too. Surprisingly, so does region. Are you and your family from the South?"
"No, we're from right here in Kansas," answered Sam. "We were born in Lawrence, but my brother and I grew up traveling all over the country ever since I was a baby, and the last year and a half, we've lived here in Lebanon."
"Southern-raised children have a tendency to mature earlier than kids in other regions of the country. It might sound stereotypical, but it's due largely to food. Chicken is a staple in the southern diet, and most farm chickens are given steroids. When people eat the meat, they get the chemicals as well, so kids tend to start developing more quickly."
"Well, Amelia's mother was from South Carolina," Sam recalled. "She grew up there until she came to live with Dean and me. That could have something to do with it. And we eat a lot of meat, especially Dean and Ames."
"That's probably got some to do with it," said Sam's new friend. "Her mom might also have started early. It all just depends on the person."
"Thank you for all your help," Sam said gratefully. "As I said before, I've never actually bought feminine products. To think the first time I have to buy them is for my nine-year-old niece. Dean so owes me."
"You're very welcome," the woman chuckled pleasantly. "Good luck."
"Thanks again," said Sam, and he and the kind stranger went their separate ways. When he got to the register, Sam didn't have enough energy left from his earlier freak out to care what the cashier thought about the items in his cart. He was just ready to get back home and bury his face in his pillow for the rest of the year. That, or kill Dean for making him do this.
But, as he walked back to the Impala, Sam thought about the real reason for buying the awkward products. 'This was for Amelia,' he reminded himself. And, deep down, Sam knew he would do anything for his niece, even if it meant buying her feminine needs for her. But he could still hope it never came to that.
By the time he got back to the bunker, Sam had mostly calmed down, and he was able to get the groceries to the kitchen without anymore awkwardness. "Dean," he called as he put away the food. The older brother stepped into the kitchen a minute later. "Here," Sam held out one of the grocery bags. "Take these to Ames."
"Thanks, Sammy," said Dean as he looked over the bag's contents. "Two kinds?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah," answered Sam. A bit of his earlier annoyance returned. "I had to get a little help from another customer since I didn't know what the heck I was doing."
Dean laughed heartily at that. "Dude, you've never bought tampons for a girl? Not even Jess?"
"Not even Jess," Sam huffed. Dean just laughed more. "Just go take that to your kid already, will you?"
""Yeah, yeah. By the way, we're going to get ice cream as soon as Ames gets out of the shower," said Dean on his way out.
"'Kay," called Sam, and he went back to putting away groceries. A little bit later, Dean and Amelia entered the kitchen. Sam saw the slight discomfort on his niece's face, but he didn't mention it. "Hey, Midget."
"Hey, Skyscraper," Amelia said as she hugged her uncle. "Thanks for getting stuff for me."
Despite his earlier embarrassment, Sam couldn't keep the warm smile off his face as he hugged the tiny girl back. "You know I got your back."
"Can we go get ice cream now, Daddy?" Amelia asked her father as she let go of her uncle.
"Sure thing, Baby Girl," answered Dean with a smile. "Let's go."
A/N: Everything the unnamed stranger told Sam at the store is true. As a southerner, I know from personal experience. Children in the southern regions of the United States do tend to start developing at younger ages because of all the fried chicken we eat. Don't forget to leave me a review! Thanks for reading!