Hi, everyone! How is your summer going? I hope you are enjoying it! I found some inspiration for this latest story after watching the latest season finale. However, there are absolutely no spoilers in this chapters, so don't worry if you haven't been able to see it. I had a lot of fun bringing out very little Katie to play again.

As always, please let me know what you thought. I thoroughly enjoy reading your reactions and comments! You guys keep me motivated to write! Don't hesitate to send along any ideas :)

Enjoy!

Dean – 10

Sam – 6

Katie – 2

Friday night. Friday night meant two things in the late 80s for the Winchesters. It meant John was at the local library or the local bar—heck, maybe he'd make a stop at both locations. The point was that John's nighttime absences weren't uncommon to the kids and the younger two weren't quite at the age where they truly questioned his whereabouts yet.

However, Dean didn't mind. He was used to it by now and was just glad that it wasn't bath night for the toddler—that he hated. Sometimes she was all for playing in the water and other times she screamed at the top of her lungs like she was "drowning" to get out of it. The last time she'd thrown a tantrum getting into the tub, John had ended up as drenched as the bathroom floor from all her kicking and splashing. Dean was much happier when his dad got to spin that roulette wheel and not him. He only had to get her into pajamas and to sleep tonight. Easy enough.

"Hands up, midget," the ten-year-old instructed.

Katie obeyed without protest; she knew the drill, just thankful that it wasn't bath night—she wasn't having that today. As Dean yanked the shirt off, she asked, "Read m'am-in-als book?" Animals were her latest obsession, even if she still had a hard time pronouncing it right. If Sam had been in the bathroom with them instead of on the couch, he would have corrected her without hesitation.

"If you hurry up, we can," Dean replied as he tossed the dirty shirt aside. It was just a lie to try and get her to actually speed it up. Earlier this week they had stopped at the library due to Sam's incessant requests to find new reading material and Katie had found a book on animals, which basically only involved her participation as the noise maker. And so, the bedtime tradition of Dean reading to her was born. Truth be told, he'd found the bedtime readings to be a magic worker. Ever since the first time, Katie would happily listen and follow along and then when it was time to sleep afterwards, she always did it with a smile. Dean would continue doing it every day if it meant no fighting sleep.

She was thrilled that the answer was a yes. "Cow go moooooooo!" she declared with joy, repeating a line from the story.

"And a pig?" Dean asked with little emotion. It was hard for a kid his age to get excited about this crap, but it made Katie happy, so he played along.

But she never seemed to notice his lack of enthusiasm. She scrunched up her nose and in an exaggeration fashion 'oinked' a few times.

"Great," he praised flatly. "Now the shirt goes on."

As if she were diving into an underwater tunnel, she squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in a mouthful of air. Only then did Dean know that it was okay to continue with their ritual. He pulled the shirt over her head, tugging a few extra times to get it through. Once it hung around her neck, Katie knew the coast was clear and she could breathe through her mouth again. She opened her eyes to find a face full of rogue hair that had been misplaced from the shirt. Since her arms were now being shoved into the sleeves, her only instinct to remove the facial intruder was to blow it away. Only she horribly miscalculated her motor skills and she ended up blowing a raspberry instead. Although not her first time doing it, she still found it equally as hilarious, even if the spit didn't make it past her strands of hair. She erupted in a wave of giggles.

Once Dean had finished placing her arms, he swiped her hair out of her face. "Well hello there."

Katie grinned back with a laugh. She was loving her newly invented game. Without putting any thought into her toddler idea, she blew another raspberry, this time effectively splashing Dean's face with some spit.

He pinched his eyes shut and didn't reopen them until the attack had stopped. His eyes narrowed. "Hey, knock that off," he reproached firmly, but not trying to scare her like their father would.

However, it was extremely rare that Dean reprimanded his little siblings, so his scolding only enticed her more. She roared with her typical child laugher, clapping her hands together, as Dean helped her slip into her pajama bottoms.

One…two…three…

Another spray from her vibrating lips landed on top of her brother's head. Dean stopped midway from tugging up the pants and looked up at her, square in the eye, clearly not amused. He placed two fingers against her lips. "I said stop." He wasn't used to her misbehaving or not listening to him. It was a very rare occurrence and if and when it had happened, their father was always the one who was there to take care of it. Dean was thrown into this uncomfortable position, so he unbeknownst turned on the dad-part of his brain that he wasn't aware he had. He needed to show Katie he was being serious or there would be a consequence. The thought process lasted all but two seconds, like it had been a natural instinct for him. "Do it again and we skip the book tonight."

Katie thought it was much more fun to approach this as a game, because since when was Dean mean to her anyway? She liked playing with him and he would never get upset with her—Dean wasn't like that. She heard his warning, but chose to disregard it, gearing back up to continue her game. She continued giggling as Dean removed his fingers from her mouth once he was satisfied she had heard his warning. He finished hiking up the pants over her pull-up.

Just as he was about to stand up, she saw her last opportunity for fun before story time. So, she went for it—she blew one last raspberry at him, making contact with his face. She grinned widely.

That was it. The last straw. He was left in shock for a brief moment, not having expected her to actually do it again. Now he knew he had to actually follow through with his threat as much as he hated what would come of it.

His displeased glare was still plastered on as he gripped her hand and said flatly, "Okay then. No story for you tonight." And he started dragging her out into the main (and only) room of the motel.

Between Dean's firm grasp and his declaration, Katie finally realized what was happening—he had been serious after all and she didn't like it one bit. This wasn't okay.

She knew better than to resist his pull now, but that didn't stop her from protesting. "Nnoooooo! Please, De! Book, pleeeeeeeeease!" she repeated over and over with a wave of tears. "Book!"

Dean ignored her until they reached the bed they shared. Ever since she had a small bed wetting accident a month ago, Sam had refused to sleep with her again. It was a fight John hadn't bothered to fix yet. The eldest sibling reached down and picked the toddler up effortlessly, depositing her tiny frame on the bed. Her bottom lip quivered mixed with her wet green eyes begging him. For a moment, he almost broke—he was only 10 after all—but his newly found paternal instinct, whether he knew that's what it was or not, told him he had to stay strong.

Leaning down to her, he explained matter-of-factly, "I told you to stop and you didn't listen. So, we're not reading tonight, Katie. Now go to sleep."

Those were the words that broke the dam. Her tears came pouring out. "Book…..Noooo, Dean!"

Dean attempted to block it out as he lifted the blanket over her, trying to signal it was time to sleep, but the kid wouldn't even lie down. She was too worked up. Between sobs, she managed to say, "I be good, pleeeeease!"

It was too little, too late. Dean successfully ignored her and to make his final point and prevent her from grabbing it later, he picked up the animal book and stated one last time, "Go to sleep." But it was as worthless as trying to tell a cat what to do.

He then shut off the lamp and disappeared over to the couch, leaving Katie all alone in her despair. He tossed the book over to Sam, who was more than happy to grab it. He hadn't been able to read this one yet because Katie was so protective of it. But when she saw who had their gross paws on her book, her cries only intensified.

Sam threw both hands over his ears in exaggeration and turned to Dean. "Make her stop."

Dean ignored the request and flipped on the TV, careful not to have it too loud because he knew eventually the kid would tire herself out. "Just read, Sammy."

Five minutes…

Apparently, she had more energy left in her than Dean had originally thought because her cries hadn't decreased even a decibel.

Seven minutes…

Finally, her wailing died down a notch or two, but she was still going strong. It was as if this was the worst possible thing that could have happened. But to a two-year-old, it really did seem like that.

Sam sighed loudly, looking up from his book. "She's still crying," he complained.

"You think I'm deaf?" Dean retorted without taking his eyes off the screen. Sam was just annoyed by the noise, but Dean…he was hurt by it; something he'd never admit. It pained him to know she was crying because of something he had done to her.

Ten minutes…

The cries had significantly decreased, but she was still going at it, calling out Dean's name every now and then. That he was used to; he could tune it out. She was trying to get his attention, draw him in, but he fought it.

However, he did want to know if she'd finally laid down, because if she had, that meant that she'd fall asleep any time now and he could erase this from his memory. Ever so slowly, he turned around to take a peek and instantly regretted it. Katie had been lying down, but her eyes were wide open, staring at the couch. The second Dean showed interest in her by looking over his shoulder, she shot up and her tears ramped up again.

But then she did something he hadn't been expecting. She reached out with her hand, as if she was trying to grab him. She whimpered, "Deeee."

Dean shot back around and tried to ignore it.

"Will she ever stop?!" Sam exclaimed in frustration.

Dean was too busy trying to forget the image to reply to his brother.

Eleven minutes…

No, she was just trying to lure him in. It was all in her secret plan. But how methodological could a two-year-old girl really be…

Twelve minutes…

He was set on being strong. He'd made it this far. The kid couldn't cry forever, could she?

Thirteen minutes…

Since it was impossible not to drown out her noise, he didn't miss her newest plea. It was actually quieter than her others, like she was saying it out loud only to herself, but his ears instantly picked up on it.

"I want De."

That was it. He couldn't bear it any longer. One of his siblings was in distress, calling out to him, and God help him, he couldn't hold back any longer. He got up and went over to the bed, scooching in on the opposite side. Like a magnet to metal, Katie instantly appeared stuck to his side, tucked under his arm. The cries instantly dwindled to whimpers as she snuggled into the newfound affection.

Much to his shock, she didn't say anything. He had at least expected her to try to weasel reading the book out of him, but she didn't even broach the subject. She just nestled into him as he caressed her hair, wet from all the tears. She'd really worked herself up over this one. Within a minute, her whimpers vanished and were replaced with evened-out breathing.

She'd fallen asleep.

And it only made Dean feel worse. At first maybe she'd been crying out for the book, for their bedtime routine, but at some point, that had shifted. She'd been seeking comfort and affection instead. And to think he'd almost deprived her of that tonight. What kind of brother was he?!

He wasn't just a brother, that was it. Who was supposed to comfort their children when they were upset?

His eyes squeezed shut as he realized the answer.

A mother, that's who.

That was something little Katie would never get to experience.

Right then and there, Dean had one of the biggest realizations of his life as he continued to stroke Katie's dampened hair.

He couldn't just be a brother to these two rugrats. He couldn't just be a father. No, he had to be a father and a mother.

That was his job. Later he'd contemplate if it was his purpose in this family. He'd never deprive his siblings of what they needed again. Ever.

Because if he didn't do it, who else would?