As Stubborn as They Come – Part 2


"I'm so-so sorry, I disobeyed and lied and put everyone in danger. I know 'black magic' is wrong. I know it. I-I was-I was just so scared that you-you were gonna die. I thought I c-could just look. But I was wrong, I was so wrong, I should've just told you truth when I had the chance. Y-You were right, a-about everything and I'm so, so, so, sorry." Ellie blubbered out her honest guilt, through hitched, whimpers and broken sobs, a vulnerability and sincerity emanating in her remorseful tone as she practically poured her little heart out, unwittingly easing the burdening weight she had been carrying for far too long in the safe protection of the man's care.

Although Ellie was expressing things Dean already knew, a heavy portion of weight seemed to lift from his burdened shoulders as well, while not completely taking away his fearful unease of the disturbing happenings, as it was too alarming not to, it did aid the man in some relief to hear her let go of her stubborn conviction and denial and fully admit she was wrong which was the first step in deterring her from doing it again and that was the ultimate goal as it could, quite simply, save her life the next time.

Dean closed his eyes and inhaled a steading and calming breath, the subtle lingering crisp scent of Ellie's cheap citrusy shampoo and the remnants of the damp Nebraska air wafted into his nostrils as he took in the comforting and fortune privilege of being able to hold her, alive and safe, in his protective arms.

Not able to stand it any longer, with a sympathetic grimace weighing against his features, Sam trudged up behind the weeping girl, feeling the powerful need to hold onto the child he cared about as well. Sensing his brother's presence, Dean opened his eyes and tilted his head up. Sensing the longing and tender urge within his brother's gentle green eyes, Dean released his hold around Ellie and grabbed onto her slender shoulders pulling her away from him making Ellie release her tight hold around his waist. A sinking disappointment began weigh against her heart as she felt the hug was broken far too soon for her liking and Ellie didn't miss the irony in the fact that it was the hug she denied in the first place. Now that it was all said and done, there was this odd relief and gratefulness that Dean didn't give her the opportunity to refuse it as she needed, so very badly, no matter how much her stupid stubborn-self denied it and while Ellie's teenage sullenness was still inclined to be vexed towards his demanding and authoritative 'jerk' approach, Ellie felt herself letting it go as the result was, all and all, simply, worth it.

Dean's intentions in breaking the embrace were made clear when he pressed on the back of her right shoulder steering and guiding her small frame to rotate around slightly towards Sam. Instinctually eager for her to go to his younger brother without any stubborn hesitation, Dean reached down and softly patted the flat of his palm over her right denim pocket as a gentle and somewhat affectionate nudge of encouragement, either completely overlooking the fact that she was sore or believing it too trivial of a discomfort to heed to.

Ellie's face muscles winced and her eyes squinted ever so slightly at the gentle pat to her sore seat. Although it wasn't 'comfortable' at the moment, it was, at its essence, a just small gesture of encouraging affection, and the young girl took it that way without a second thought overriding the insignificant twinge as nothing of consequence.

Sam's bare forearms pulled from his sides slightly and that was all the invitation Ellie needed before she took two swift steps in his direction wrapping her arms around the man with a childlike enthusiasm baring her weight forward into the safety of the man's tall solid frame. Sam felt a warm pulsing swell against his heart at her immediate trust and affection which he credited to Dean for forcing that out of her. Although not entirely agreeing with his brother's 'tough-love' blunt approach as it quite simply reminded him far too much of his old man, it ultimately, worked and she was getting what she needed without her foolish stubbornness holding her back. And if Sam was being honest with himself, they were getting what they needed from her too.

Sam wrapped his toned arms around the girl's slender frame, one large palm resting on the back of her shoulder while the other rested on the center of her back, as his toned frame enclosed around her protectively and drew her into him with snug affection. Her slender build practically got lost within the tall man's embrace, reminding Sam of just how petite and young Ellie still was, causing him to be continually baffled at the things this little five foot, one hundred pound soaking wet, thirteen-year-old was capable of. The grave desire within him for her to be away from the Hunting world, somewhere safe, leading the normal teenage life like she deserved, intensified to a grave extent as he held her in his arms. Her poor, dangerous, and misguided decisions which could've led to her death, along with others, reminded Sam of the obvious, that the Hunting world was just no place for the developing and impulsive mind of a growing teenager. He and Dean lived through that hard upbringing, and Sam couldn't help, but wish different for Ellie, thinking if she was somewhere safe and ignorant to all this, this might never have happened. However, the truth of the matter was she wasn't somewhere safe and she wasn't ignorant and there was not a damn thing he could do about it which troubled the man's heart far more than he could've imagined. Therefore, it was vital that she learned from fatal mistakes like this, even if it meant not sitting comfortable for a bit, which, frankly, was nothing to fret over in the grand scheme of things. Sam, like his older brother, had hardened experience under his belt and knew what it took to live in this dangerous world. And having more than his fair share of 'ass kicking' lessons in his lifetime, regarded the spanking as not only appropriate and fitting punishment for the severity, but a compelling step in increasing her chance of survival. Despite his soft and kind-hearted disposition naturally wanting to pull towards mild tenderness and accommodating indulgence when it came to a pair of dewy brown eyes and the innocent freckled features of the little girl he cared about, the experienced man knew that ultimately was not only not going to aid the hard-willed girl in making it through her teen years in the midst of the evil that encroached upon their world, but it was going to lead her to something more harrowing then a quick and early death.

Ellie sniffled, suppressing her sobs down to whimpers and gulps attempting to get a hold of herself and stop blubbering like a damn baby. Although there was an element of embarrassment about displaying her 'weaknesses' openly in front of the men, there was this odd feeling of comfort and release that seemed to override it as she allowed trust to creep into her softened heart making the embarrassment of it all a bit more bearable.

"I'm-I'm so sorry I lied to you and-and tricked you like that. I really don't know why I'm a such bad kid." Ellie commented a hint of self-reproach lining her cynical and regretful tone as she simply wished to be better. Her goal never was to be a thorn in their side, but it just seemed to hopelessly work out against her, no matter what she did. Yet, again, she could perhaps listen to her conscience more. If something in her head is screaming at her that it is wrong, it would probably do her well to listen to it, along with simply telling the truth every once and a while.

As soon as the troubling words hit his attentive ears, a potent shot of offense travel up his spine and Sam, immediately, straightened his towering posture grabbing a hold of the sides of her shoulders before gently, but purposefully pulling her away from his embrace at arm's length. Eager to set the records straight, the tall Hunter bent down on one knee until he was somewhat eye level with her, resting his bare forearms on his thigh in a casual manner.

"Listen to me, Ellie, you are not a bad kid. Alright?" Sam declared with a gentle firmness as his wide softened green eyes captured onto her's compelling her to listen and heed to his words, as an air of confident authority set about him. "You got scared and you made a mistake, but the important thing is to accept it, take the lesson, and learn from it. You didn't get punished for being a 'bad kid', you got punished for the poor and dangerous choices you made. There is a huge difference there, kiddo. Don't get those mixed up…" Sam encouraged lifting his dark eyebrows high on his forehead as he tipped his clef chin down leveling his steady gaze on her as he persuaded Ellie to get off the idea that there was something personally wrong with her that dubbed her as a 'bad kid'. According to Sam, Ellie was a good kid, with a kind and noble disposition, who was far too young to be dealing with the harsh and dangerous aspects of the Hunting world.

"Next time you get scared, you need to come to us rather than trying to sort things out on your own. Trying to hide things from us and covering up lies will only make whatever it is worse. Lying will always catch up with you. So, if you got a problem or you're scared, and don't know what to do, please, come and talk to us. We can help you. Whatever it is we can work it out together. You are not alone here, kiddo, you have us." Sam encouraged heartily emphasizing his words in a compelling, but gentle firmness as he looked deep into her dewy brown irises with reassurance and no small amount of parental affection and devotion causing Ellie's chest to swell with a sudden warmth as his words seemed to resonate a feeling of gratitude and comfort.

"We're not just here for our good looks and charm, kid. We know a thing or two." Dean's deep voice rumbled out behind her causing Ellie to twist her shoulders around half way to look up at the man who, now, stood only two boot lengths away from her slender frame causing Ellie to be sandwiched back in between the two Hunters, which this time didn't feel so constraining or discomforting, but almost securing in an odd short of way.

"But that will mean trusting that we aren't stupid and know what the hell we're talking about. When we say something is dangerous and wrong. That means, it's dangerous and wrong. You need to let go of that cocky 'I know everything' attitude you've been sporting with me. As much as you don't like to hear it, you haven't been in this world long enough to know more than two grown ass men who have been Hunting longer than you've been alive. It's not the pissing contest you think it is; it's just a fact of this life you have to come to terms with. I'm not saying you have to like it or agree with everything we say, but, one thing is for damn sure, young lady, you will respect it or you're going to be spending most of your days bent over my knee, sore and sorry, and I don't know about you, but I'd prefer not to take my belt off again anytime soon." Dean informed honestly as there was no getting around it, the young girl's survival depended on her ability to rely on their skills, knowledge, and experience. They knew what it took to survive in this dangerous world and Dean was determined to instill those survival aspects into her, even if it meant resorting to the unpleasant task of taking his belt off a time or two.

Ellie fidgeted with her fingers, picking at her nails, as she swayed and shifted on her feet still feeling the persistent heat and ache radiate off her raw skin through her denim pockets.

"Yes, sir." Ellie acknowledged in a respectfully and surprisingly meek tone that no doubt the belt had something to do with, but also there was this desire in her to be a better kid or, rather, a kid who make better choices as she heard Sam's words echo in the back of her mind. She didn't, honestly, know what made her so reckless about her safety nor why she found the need to challenge their knowledge and experience, but one thing was for sure and that was she did not want the man to take off his belt again.

"I'd-I'd prefer that too." Ellie admitted feeling her rosy cheeks blush with reminded embarrassment as she humbled herself to confess that getting her bottom roasted with his belt was no trivial thing. If her frantic cries during the licking were any indication of just how much she'd 'prefer' to never even see his belt again, she just confirmed it.

"Glad we're on the same page." Dean affirmed with a brisk nod of approval and acknowledgement, an even and steadiness edging his deep and deadpanned tone, satisfied that she was taking him seriously and not giving him lip or feeling the need to add a snide comment about it like she had a tendency to do.

"We're not just saying all of this because we like bossing you around and barking orders at you. We care about you, kiddo, and we want you safe." Sam reassured with a compelling tone of simple care and affection wanting her to understand that their motive in all this was simply because they cared about her.

Ellie felt the ends of her red tinted lips twitch upwards into a brief smile of appreciation, a small radiance fleetingly beamed across her youthful features. Although very short lived and somewhat masked and suppressed to an extent, the attentive Hunter noticed and felt his kind heart yearning to see more of that from her.

"And it would do you and your ass some good to let go of that bullheaded stubbornness of yours. All its gonna get you is into a heap of trouble, whether it's with me or someone else." Dean admonished feeling the need to address the root cause of making situations far worse on herself.

"I'm-I'm not that stubborn." Ellie argued in her defense, a slight grumble of offense lining her mellow tone, unknowingly seeming to further Dean's point.

Dean scoffed out a snort of disbelief the side of his lip tugging up into brief mild sneer. "I hate to break it to you kid, but your about as stubborn as they come." Dean informed bluntly giving it to her straight and honest skipping the subtleties and garnish crap that Ellie never seemed to respond to.

"Hell, you even give Sammy here a run for his money." Dean quipped dryly as he nodded once in an idle gesture towards to his younger brother.

Ellie turned her attention back to Sam, a somewhat inquisitive and surprised look hanging on her delicate features, her red puffy eyes squinted slightly in curiosity.

"You're stubborn?" Ellie questioned a little taken back as Sam always seemed to be the one to make peace, being diplomatic and tactful when challenged, and followed his big brother's lead on most hunts.

"I can be, on certain things." Sam admitted nodding his head once in confirmation, a seriousness forming against his masked expression before flicking his eyes away from her briefly.

"Oh." Ellie expressed simply as she tipped her gaze downward, a slight disappointment automatically weighing her tone down as she recalled the heated exchange the Winchester brothers had where Sam, rooted on his quest for revenge, left in the middle of the night to go look for his dad. It was not a fond memory for Ellie to say the least and his absence is what kind of kick started her journey towards a drastic mindset.

Ellie licked her lips as the daunting question that sat in her mind pestered her with a continual fretful concern. Before she lost her nerve, she found herself bravely biting the bullet as she compelled herself to 'talk' to them, like Sam, wisely, suggested earlier.

"Do-Do you guys hate me for…?" Ellie began in a hesitant and worried tone feeling herself pause in apprehension seeming to be unable to get the words out. Although, the expression of care for her was no short of obvious, Ellie still couldn't help, but believe due to the severity of her actions in looking into dark spells that the diehard men of the trade would harbor some hatred towards her for almost defiling the very meaning of being a 'Hunter'.

"What part of 'we care about you' and 'we want you safe' did you not understand?" Sam pressed with a gentle firmness, feeling a slight annoyance pinch at his worn nerves at her inability to see what was so planning written out in front of her.

"But-But I was gonna look into dark spells! I-I was like one of those freaks…" Ellie countered as the guilt of her extreme actions rose back the surface, and an annoying set of fresh tears beginning to reform against her raw puffy eyes.

"Hey!" Sam barked cutting the girl off instantly from her nasty insult, his deep vocals punctuating from his chest sharply causing Ellie to flinch and snap her dewy brown eyes, that were rounded with shock, over to the man giving him her full and undivided attention.

"You are not a freak. You're a thirteen-year-old little girl who made a mistake. Period. Alright? That in no way makes you one of 'them'. And I don't want to hear that kind of talk from you. You understand me?" Sam reproached, a firm and rather intense biting edge to his admonishing tone as he felt a personal offense to her misguided thinking. While it would have been more tolerable to hear Ellie refer to herself as a 'freak' in terms of just being an oddball who did not fit into the norms, Sam knew that is not what she meant. She meant 'freak' as in 'monster' or 'witch', the 'freaks' they hunted down and killed and that struck a personal nerve in Sam that he, himself, battled with and he'd be damned if she thought she was even one ounce of the 'freaks' they hunted.

Ellie was taken aback at the man's fierce objection to, what she thought, was a true statement, but despite his harsh push back and the bafflement it brought her, Ellie was grateful to hear that not only did he not view her as a freak, but was hardily offended by the notion of her even suggesting it.

Ellie bottom lip trembled feeling overcome with appreciation as she turned her gaze down to the carpet and nodded her head in understanding giving him a watery 'yes, sir'. If they only knew her blood relations to the dark craft, that kind and understanding view of her could turn on its head unbelievably quickly and despite the newfound determination within her to stop lying to them, that little secret was just something Ellie needed to keep to herself. Besides, she had no intention of ever going near another spell book again anyways.

"We could never hate you, Elena. Never." Sam affirmed with such confident honesty and profound resolve that Ellie was simply compelled to believe him.

Sniffling the mucus that the was threating to run out of her nose again, Ellie licked her lips in a nervous manner building up some courage before bravely casting her dewy brown eyes up at Dean who was, now, angled slightly to her left shoulder.

Seeing the question glistening in her moist brown eyes, Dean's tight chest heave downwards into a heavy and weighted sigh of worn confoundment.

"Do you really think I would take the time to spank your ass if I did?" Dean questioned quirking a critical eyebrow at her feeling a small twinge of haggard frustration ping against his nerves at her continual questioning on whether they gave a damn. Dean thought it was blatantly obvious, but to the young troubled teenager it seemed continual reassurance was still needed.

Ellie found her shoulders move upwards towards her ears as she gave him a brisk shrug of uncertainty. While she, ultimately, in her heart of hearts, already knew Dean didn't hate her, her insecurities and fears made her question if his feelings had, suddenly, changed in light of everything she had done.

"No, kiddo. I don't hate you. Never have, never will." Dean informed in an honest, blunt, and straightforward manner so that the kid would not mistake his meaning, reassuring her that he would never or could never hold any animosity towards her.

"I'm not gonna to lie to you and say I'm all apple pies and blues skies right now, cause I'm not. I am still very angry about what you did, but that does not mean I do not forgive you. It's over and done and we're gonna move on." Dean declared with a firm authority to his heavy tone. While his tone wasn't gentle, there was a direct honesty to it that brought an element of assured stability and comfort to Ellie to know she had, ultimately, been forgiven despite him still working through his anger at the disturbing happenings. Just because she was now sorry didn't mean Dean was ready to hold hands, frolic through the flowers, and sing kumbaya around a campfire, like everything was all fine and dandy, there was damage left in the wake of her actions and that was a reality that Ellie had to live with.

Ellie bobbed her head a couple times in understanding before subconsciously reaching her hand back and gentling pressing her cupped palm against her denim pocket giving her battered seat a long overdue comforting rub. Realizing what she was doing, embarrassment seemed to jolt through her as she awkwardly removed her comforting hand away from her aching backside, on the fundamental principle of foolish pride.

Stubbornly, Ellie moved her hands to fidget at her sides in a stiff and stubborn manner, as she peered up towards Dean, a sullen pout lining against her red tinted lips. Dean quirked a critical eyebrow down at her as he could practically read the array of insults she was privately sending his way in that sulking glare she was giving him.

"You spanked me harder than my uncle would've." Ellie accused in grumbling manner, embarrassment being the driving factor to her boldness. Although Ellie, honestly, wasn't entirely certain if she would've gotten worse over her uncle's knee or not, but at this point, with the deep-set ache throbbing within the fibers of her glute muscles, Ellie was inclined to bet on Dean, dubbing him as the reigning champ as far as painful ass-whooping go. Not a cheered accomplishment, as far as Ellie was concerned.

While Ellie was fully aware she deserved it, there was still this natural element of teenage resentment that Ellie couldn't fully let go of as her throbbing ass was constantly reminding her of just how horrendously burning and punishing the man's spanks were. And the fact that he had decisively given it to her with her jeans down, not only making the biting sting of the belt so much more intense, but the horrendous embarrassment that came along with exposing her panty-covered rearend to their mature eyes. Although no stranger to it amongst her kin, it still stung her sensitive pride to a massively humbling degree reducing her to feeling like a snot-nosed toddler rather than a tough Hunter in training. It was damn hard to be tough with one's pants down.

"I'm not your uncle, kid." Dean informed plainly, his deep vocals rumbling out even and steady making Ellie immediately dipped her head feeling a slight ping flick against her chest at not only not gaining the sliver of sympathy that she wanted, but being reminded that her uncle was not the one around and Dean would conduct himself as 'Dean' and not be persuaded to be anyone other than himself and do what he regarded was best.

A sinking feeling of longingness rushed against her reeling emotions as it has been several months since she had heard from her uncle.

"And you're telling me Caleb wouldn't have wailed the tar outta you for all that shit you pulled?" Dean challenged not believing for a second she would've gotten off any easier with the ex-marine Hunter, who was a respectable and honorable player in the Hunting profession and saying he wouldn't appreciate his niece endangering her life and play around with black magic was a severe understatement.

Ellie felt a gasp heave up against her chest as she was brought back to the reality that Dean saw right through the bullshit and while Ellie wanted to believe her uncle would've been less 'harsh', Ellie knew she was just lying to herself and clinging onto the comforting idea of wishful thinking.

"P-please don't tell him." Ellie's meek voice pleaded as a newfound horror came crashing over her, knowing full well if her uncle knew what she had done that not only would she'd be in for it again, but he would be utterly disappointed and ashamed of her and Ellie's young heart just couldn't bear the added grief.

"I'll consider it." Dean offered in stride, the words rolling off his deep tone even and brisk. While he was tempted to inform Caleb of his little niece's escapade after he got back in contact with them, Dean did not want to burden the man with more to be concerned about nor was he all that eager to inform him of his personal failure to not see past the kid's sneaky ruses. All and all, it was handled. Perhaps when everything is all said and done and she is back with her uncle, he might be persuaded to brief Caleb on the disturbing happenings, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

"In the meantime, you just remember how 'hard' I spank the next time…" Dean began as he pointed a stern finger down at the young girl reminding her, yet, again if she didn't toe the line on her safety, she could expect nothing less than what she got just a few moments ago.

"I won't, I promise, I won't ever do it again." Ellie interrupted with an urgent insistence, a childlike anxiousness coming out in her tone as she attempted to get her point across that she had absolutely no intention of being so stupid again. "I understand. I'll-I'll never touch one those evil things for as long as I live. Trust me, I won't even go near one." Ellie eagerly professed, her brown puffy eyes still glinting with the remnants of her tears as yearned to be believed. While there was no small part of her that was certainly motivated to avoid Dean's belt cracking over her ass again, the true motivation and eagerness came from simply wanting to do better, along with her conscience, that seemed to be redeemed and untainted by her stubborn denial, thanks in part to the incentive a sore ass could bring, deterring her from doing something so wrong. She wanted to be good person who was honorable and honest and she wanted to prove to the Winchester brothers, who she was coming to admire, respect and care for, that she was competent, useful, and could make better choices.

"And…" Ellie began before dipping her head down and shifting on her feet feeling a fitting embarrassment come over her. "I'll…I'll try to stop lying and-and, um, not be so disrespectful. I-I know I need to work on that." Ellie admitted in a subdued tone as she worked to get the words out, shame tugging on her vocals. Being a disrespectful lying teenager was not something Ellie was proud of and while her impulsive urges and hormones caused her to slip up now and again, there was no getting around it, she certainly had the capability to start thinking before she opened her mouth, along with giving them the element of trust they deserved from her. Although she obviously couldn't tell them everything and spill her family secrets, the truth of the matter was they cared for her and protected her, proving that with no small amount of overbearing vigor, and the least she could do in return was talk straight and stop lying through her ass every time an opportunity arose.

Well, I'll be damned. Dean's eyebrows rose high on his forehead, honestly, surprise at her very mature declaration. Although Dean kind of figured that most of her newfound enthusiasm to turn over a new left had to do with her sore seat still aching through her jeans, it was good to know the motivation was there nonetheless. He just hoped when it came down to it and she was faced with another impulsive choice, she would wise up and choose safety over whatever the hell was convincing her otherwise.

"That's good to hear, kid." Dean's deep voice acknowledged with a slight nod of approval, although it truly was 'good to hear', his fretful agitated nerves left him persistently wary. Even if she expressed a thousand vows to toe the line, the man would still have his guard up with leeriness and paranoia regardless, as the concerned man cared too much about her not to.

"And as far as I'm concerned this 'black magic' crap is over and behind us and I don't want to hear it mentioned again. Not to me, not to Sam, not to anyone, but especially not to other Hunters. If the wrong Hunters ever catch wind of a thirteen-year-old looking into black magic, they could get the wrong idea real fast. There are some shady-ass characters in the Hunting profession and it won't make one bit a difference that nothing happened, or that you're only a kid to these type of men. So, were gonna shut up about it and move on like it never even happened. Am I clear on that?" Dean imposed his orders in an unyielding and intensely serious resolve that demanded nothing less than a 'yes, sir'.

"Yes, sir." Ellie replied respectfully with a touch of shame in her tone as she was reminded of just another issue she caused in the wake of her stupid actions.

After getting the confirmation from Ellie, Dean swiftly jerked his attention up towards his younger brother standing on the other side of Ellie.

"Sam?" Dean prompted his tone still firm and serious as he awaited to get a verbal acknowledgement from his brother on his orders.

Ellie's lips parted somewhat surprised that Dean orders were not just directed at her, but at Sam too. While they both were grown men it seemed, in Ellie's young mind. that Dean, being the older brother, was, ultimately, the leader and the decision maker regarding most things. Despite, Sam standing his ground on things he felt strongly about, at the end of the day, Dean seemed to be giving out the orders and Sam willingly followed suit. Ellie rotated her neck to look at the younger brother who had his palms cupped on his hips in a casual and pensive manner as he nodded his head in full agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, I agree. Not a word." Sam confirmed fully on board with his brother's decision to keep things completely off the record as he too was well aware of the rough characters that resided in the Hunting profession and while they did not associate with too many, it was still a possibility that if something were to slip and word traveled, they could be targeted and, Ellie, would be no exception.

"Alright." Dean declared in a decided manner causing Ellie to turn her attention back to him. "I want you to go get your switchblade from where ever the hell you've been hiding it and bring it to me." Dean ordered in a direct manner, a testy edge of firmness lining his deep and haggard vocals.

Ellie felt a rush of air shoot up her sore throat, her almond eyes blinking with recalled guilt and surprise, as she had completely forgotten about taking it out of his bag. She was so concerned and wrapped up in keeping the Grimoire and all the other evidence hidden that she completely overlooked it and it slowly began to dawn on her that, perhaps, her missing switchblade is what tipped the man off in the first place.

Ellie heaved down her petite chest in a defeated, if not a little shame-ridden, sigh, as she gave the man a polite, but aggrieved 'yes, sir' before trudging around the man's solid frame to go do as she was told. Dean rotated his broad shoulders around to watch the little girl stiffly make her way through the large archway towards her bags. The brisk movements of her stiff steps caused the sturdy and snug denim fabric of her jeans to chafe against her tender glutes making her crinkle her nose and wince her dreary expression into a bothered pout as she was reminded with every step the importance of not being a completely reckless dumbass. Although Ellie was doing a fairly good job hiding it, her posture and arms were tellingly stiff and from Sam and Dean's observant prospective, and well-acquainted personal experience, they were well aware she was feeling it.

As Ellie stood in front of her open backpack with all the muddied evidence taken out of it, Ellie felt a twinge of self-disappointment and shame weigh against her heart at her stupid belief that she could hide everything and get away with it causing a brief scoffing sneer to tug at the end of her lip as she unnecessarily mocking herself. Traveling her eyes over to her slate brown jacket that was strewn next to her backpack, Ellie bent down and picked it up by the zipper seam. After straightening her posture, Ellie worked to fish out her beloved switchblade from her front jacket pocket.

With the cool silver handle clutched within her grasp, the sturdy fabric of her jacket plopped to the floor with a dull thud as she turned and made her way back to the where the brothers were standing finding that her eyes kept averting back to the comfortable view of the floor as she was not exactly proud of sneakiness. Once Ellie's brown Carhart boots settled in front of Dean, Ellie tilted her head up and extended her arm forward as she offered the switchblade over to him.

"I'm sorry." Ellie apologized ruefully for it seemed like the hundredth time this evening.

With a worn telling expression of frustration, giving off every indication that he did not appreciate her sticky fingers, Dean reach out his toned bare forearm and snatched the closed blade out from between the girl's fingers. Keeping his stern gaze locked onto her, Dean lifted her sheathed sliver switchblade, displaying it in front of her sight line.

"You want this back; you ask me next time and you sure as hell don't go snooping through my stuff." Dean's irritated voice reproached firmly causing Ellie to nod meekly in agreeance.

"Take anything else I should know about?" Dean pressed sternly hoping there was not something else he missed that she had the nerve to take behind his back. With her track record of wrongdoings being as long as the Mississippi river tonight, Dean was not going to rule it out.

"No, sir." Ellie affirmed honestly shaking her head feeling a pitch of offense for him thinking she took more than 'her' switchblade, but she knew she really couldn't blame his suspicion as she gave him nothing, but 'probable cause' to think otherwise.

"Alright." Dean declared with a hallowed worn huff of air expelling from his nostrils. "This has been one hell of long ass night. You go on and get ready for bed." Although his orders were firm and direct, there was a weariness within it that seemed spent and edgily melancholy. The man was worn right down to his core and clearly needed some space and time to himself.

Ellie bobbed her head once in a brief nod like a solider being dismissed before stiffly turning her petite frame around to go get her pjs out of her duffle bag. Dean carelessly discarded her switchblade onto the pale-yellow kitchen tabletop where her muddied jeans and the Grimoire still resided, the closed silver blade clanking abruptly against the faded laminate.

Suddenly feeling a heavy wariness set within his tense muscles, and giving into the need to rest his haggard limbs, Dean turned towards the high back chair from where he just tanned the wayward little girl's hide. With the belt still laying disposed at the chair's feet, Dean lowered his backside down onto the gaudy green floral cushion. Spreading his legs out slightly into a wide stance with his knees jutted outwards, the man leaned his solid torso forward and pressed his bare forearms onto his jean covered thighs which were still slightly warm from Ellie's petite body being draped over them. With his amulet neckless dangling away from his black cotton t-shirt, Dean reached up and ran his calloused palm down his solemn and weary expression before clasping his palms together and resting them on his cleft chin for a brief moment.

With her pjs hooked under her arm and pressed tightly against her upper torso and chest and her modest black toiletry case handle dangling in her other hand, Ellie trekked through the large archway towards the bathroom. However, when she was just few steps away from the open bathroom door, Dean's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"And Ellie…tomorrow morning you're getting your mouth washed out for lying to us." Dean informed in an even tone and although there was no heat to it, as he said it in a matter-of-fact matter manner as if he was informing her of what she was having for breakfast which was, apparently, nasty hotel soap, he was, undoubtably. serious.

Ellie felt like she got knocked upside the head with a brick. The young girl's sharp jaw nearly hit the floor as a horrified expression of pouty offense flashed over her features.

"Don't give me that look, kid." Dean admonished with a steady firmness to his deep vocals as he fixed her with a hard look of warning that conveyed very little sympathy.

"I told you next time you lied, I would pull out the soap and I meant it. And you lied to us, big time." Dean reminded in a sternly blunt manner that was as uncompromising and rigid as his jawline, seeming rooted in his decision to follow through on his word.

Like belting my ass wasn't enough? Ellie contemplated bitterly, but instead of saying it, she wisely kept it to herself as the motivation to watch her mouth was still, fortunately, fresh in her mind. Although Ellie wanted to believe Dean's hard ass mentality in adding soap to her tastebuds to accompany her sore ass was total unfair, it did, in fact, cross her mind as a possibility as she vividly recalled Dean professing that the next time she lied, she'd be tasting soap. That did not mean it wasn't utterly disheartening to hear that it was going to happen all the same. While Ellie was tempted to argue in her defense that it was unnecessary and that she learned her lesson and that she thought they were 'moving on', she admirably, and probably wisely, forced herself to just simply, and somewhat bitterly, accept it as it was true, she did lie to them to a great extent through manipulation and deception which was no small thing.

Feeling herself scrap her tongue along her upper teeth at the recalled unpleasant taste, Ellie screwed her expression into a pouty and reluctant frown of dread as she suppressed a whiny moan that wanted vibrate against her sore vocal cords. Her uncle saw fit a time or two to wash her mouth out and while it, frankly, sucked to say the least, it was usually over fairly quick and the bitter tang didn't last.

"Yes, sir." Ellie airy sighed in a defeated and tired acceptance, a grumbling reluctance of dread hanging about her tone.

With a weariness setting about his careworn expression, Dean nodded his head once in acknowledgment and approval, honestly, a bit surprised that he did not get any further push back from the bold teenager. Whether it was her sore ass or her conscience talking some sense into her, Dean's tired-self was grateful and found her acceptance, although understandably reluctant, mature and commendable. The Hunter rubbed his rough calloused palms together in a restless and fidgety manner before jutting his cleft chin towards the bathroom.

"Five-minute limit in that bathroom, kid. Any more than that, I'm coming in to get you." Dean warned in an even and serious tone that had mellowed out significantly within the past five minutes. Although not exactly soothing or comforting in his deliverance, there was no testy bite to it.

Ellie bobbed her head up and down in acknowledge as she lowered her chin downwards, hanging her head down with a melancholy deflation and exhaustion before turning around and passing her boots across the faded lanolin flooring of the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

Weariness seemed to pull down on all the fibers of her muscles, from not only being worn out by the enormous, Grade A, ass whooping Dean just gave her and the lateness of the hour, but the pure agonizing stress of keeping her secrets hidden had taken its toll on her young body and now that the burdening weight had been lifted, she was feeling just another draining and damaging affect her lies cost her. However, despite her exhaustion, Ellie forced her worn-out limbs to move at a reasonable pace as to make it within the five-minute time window Dean gave her. Ellie couldn't help, but think his reasoning was to make sure she wasn't going to 'cry alone' or 'pout' because apparently that was cardinal sin to the hard-minded man, but it also probably had something to do with it being past midnight.

Ellie placed her pjs on the top of the closed toilet lid before moving to look at herself in the old tarnished mirror above the pedestal sink. Ellie pulled back her head as a sneer of critical disgust curled on the side of her upper lip making her freckled nose crinkle. Her straight warm chocolate locks were frizzy and all askew, while a rosy-red hue flushed in two large blotches over the apples of her freckled cheeks, looking as if she went on a five-mile run or, more accurately, looking just like someone who had her backside thoroughly roasted. Wariness had her eyelids drooping over her red puffy eyes that were slightly dewy from the evidence of the countless tears she shed. Small red veins of dilated blood vessels cracked out around the outer corner of her eyes, while distinct lines of tear stains ran down the sides of her rosy freckled cheeks with the addition of a line of dried watery mucus crusted in between her right nostril and the top of her upper lip glistening in the dull artificial light of the old bathroom. So that was the face she was sporting to Sam and Dean this entire time? Lovely.

Immediately, Ellie twisted the old cross fossette knob labeled cold and cupped her palms under the spicket and splashed the cool water over her flushed face ridding herself of the tear stains and remnants of crusted snot her sleeve, obviously, missed. After patting her face dry with the thin scratchy hand towel, the tired teen unbuttoned her Levi's and dragging down the zipper. Carefully, she tugged her jeans down, grimacing as the thick denim fabric scrapped against her aching hindquarters.

Eager to see if there was any skin left back there, after kicking off her jeans, Ellie gently tugged her white cotton panties down just below the undercurve of her petite glutes before rotating her slender frame around so her back was towards the mirror. The young teen twisted her toros and peaked behind her at her reflection in the tarnished mirror. A whiny groan of self-pity and frustration shook her raw vocal cords as her face muscles winced into a mild pout. Well, there was certainly still skin back there, but just as she suspected, it was painted in a blotchy reddish-pink hue to match the likeness of a cherry tomato with a few remnants of raised swelling stripes from where the belt had landed and overlapped. Her pair of glutes looked like gleaming red beacons of warning that Ellie would bet if she turned off the lights her ass would be glowing in the dark.

Ellie knew from her unfortunate past experience in the ass whooping department that she was probably going to be sore tomorrow and sitting down would be an annoying pester of discomfort, but, like always, it was nothing more than that.

As Ellie looked at the glowing red consequences of her actions, which she grimly noted was a hell of a lot better than the consequences that could've transpired, she made a silent promise to herself to never even look at another spell book for as long as she lived. How she wished she could go back and do things differently feeling like she took 'dumbass' to a whole new level with just how reckless and thoughtless it truly was looking back on it. And all she got from it was one of the worst lickings she had gotten in a long while, coming up just short from the infamous Wendigo incident which beat all. None of which was an accomplishment to brag about.

Twisting her torso back around, with the comfort of being free from their gazes, Ellie reached back behind her and gently cupped her punished seat with her palms. With the increased blood flow inflaming her swelling bottom, a beaming and pulsing heat radiated over Ellie's clammy palms as she carefully and soothingly rubbed some comfort into her tender skin, attempting to alleviate some of the deeply set ache, which she knew was utterly useless as only time and perhaps a bag of frozen peas could fix. Just like every spanking before, she would have to endure it until it faded away, while being continuously reminded of her actions and just how much of a mistake it was, hopefully motivating her to do better. She knew that was the purpose, and no matter how much she did not want to admit it, Dean's belt was a damn good reason to make better choices.

After Ellie rightened her white cotton patties back over her roasted seat, she finished getting dressed into her pjs which consisted of a pair of a lose sleep pants and extra-large t-shirt where the bottom hem stopped at mid-thigh. After brushing her teeth and hair, Ellie emerged from the bathroom to find Sam rummaging through his bag on the far queen bed and Dean standing in front of the sink looking out the window seeming to be lost in deep thought. With one hand planted on the counter and the other holding a short glass, with a fourth of an amber colored liquid, which Ellie, immediately, recognized as whiskey, residing at the bottom. Despite Dean having a beer or two almost every evening and it not being unusual for the man to indulge in a few glasses of whiskey after a Hunt, Ellie couldn't help, but wonder if him drinking at one o'clock in the morning had something to do with her.

Everything was exactly where it was left, the floral high back chair was still sitting away from the table with Dean's belt laying at its feet, the muddied bolt cutters on the floor on the other side of the table where Dean had chucked it, only a few feet to the left of his boot now, along with her muddied jeans, switchblade, and the dreaded evil Grimoire was still strewn on the pale-yellow table top. It was like a still picture of all her wrongdoing staring at her in the face and Ellie felt the linger guilt of it all press strongly against her gut. Although she knew she was ultimately forgiven, that did not mean the agonizing guilt had dissipated, it was still fresh and present in her mind, feeling the lasting affects her actions had caused her and with her blazing bottom annoyingly reminding her with every step and fidget she made, Ellie was not inclined to forget it anytime soon.

With her clothes, boots, and toiletry bag in hand, Ellie treaded her white socked feet through the large archway and put her dirty clothes away neatly in her duffle bag before zipping up her backpack zipper and placing her boot beside her bags in a neat and orderly manner.

A heavy sigh exhaled steadily out of the girl's nostrils as she stared at the man's rigid back, his army green button-up hung snug about his broad shoulders against his sturdy posture, while his bare forearms rested somewhat casually on the counter on either side of him with the small glass of whiskey clutched loosely in his grip. Before she lost her nerve, the tired girl slowly began to trek her white socked feet towards the kitchen area where the man stood. Anxious nerves began to tingle under her sensitive skin as a newfound shyness seemed to take over her about approaching the still agitated man, not because she feared the man in anyway, of course not, but there was this natural awkwardness that came after getting so thoroughly punished along with a shameful embarrassment of all the wrongdoing she accumulated in the last forty-eight hours. Not to mention, this was the first time she got her panty cladded rearend whoop with the man's belt which still mortified her bruised pride and dignity to a gravely humbling extent.

After making it around the kitchen table where she was slightly angled to the left of the Hunter's rigid frame, Ellie halted her socked feet in hesitancy, wondering if she was going to annoy or agitate the man with her presence, as she got the heavy feeling that the man wished to be alone with his thoughts.

A beat of award silence went by making Ellie question if the Hunter was even aware of her presence as the rigid outline of the man's sharp profile was etched in a pensive firmness with his hard eyes never deviating from the window in front of him. Feelings of anxious doubt began to creep into her mind wondering if she should interrupt his concentration and solitude, getting the notion that it was perhaps rude or inconsiderate of her.

Dean was fully aware she was standing there as he could see her slender frame in the corner of his vision feeling her tentative presence press against his flexed muscles. While he waited patiently for the kid to speak up and say whatever it was she had to say, after her silence dragged on far longer than it should have, Dean's sensed that she was perhaps nervous about addressing him. While he understood her childlike shyness around him as his demeanor right now was, probably, not very inviting and her did give one hell of whooping, there was a slight annoyance of offense that he couldn't help, but feel.

"What is it, Ellie?" Dean's deep voice suddenly prompted alerting Ellie that he was very much aware she was standing there, keeping his eyes still attentively fixed on the window in front of him.

The girl's red tinted lips parted a touch feeling an unexpected timed swarm of anxiousness rustle in her gut. Whether that was just the lingering effects of getting her ass handed to her fifteen minutes ago or her uncertainty of how the man would react to the request she had in mind, Ellie was not sure, but she wasn't going to wimp out over her foolish nerves getting to her. Besides, she was stubbornly determined to prove that the ass whooping did not have so much of an effect on her that she couldn't speak up for herself. The tough-minded mentality to just 'get over it' was taking ahold of her mind as she pushed through her pestering shyness.

"Dean, um, could you…wash out my mouth before I go to bed?" Ellie sputtered out her request quickly feeling her body strain in natural resistance as her face muscles winced and crinkled up into a brief wince of reluctance. Of course, she did not want to have the bitter tang of cheap motel soap in her mouth before bed, but the truth of the matter was, if it was going to happen regardless, the young girl would prefer to have it done and over with so she didn't have to dwell on it all night.

"No." Was the simply response that graveled out against the man's deep vocals, short, clipped, and frustratingly decisive, without a second thought or consideration. The man didn't even turn to look at her as he said it which only seemed to add to Ellie's baffled annoyance that seemed to shoot past whatever timidness she was feeling.

"Why not?" Ellie pushed a hint of a whine creeping into her disappointed tone that held an irritated and pouty edge to it, genuinely wondering why it was such an issue to just do it now and be done with it, sparing her the added anxious anticipation of waiting till morning.

While Dean's tired and agitated-self was tempted to just respond with a good old 'because I said so', the man commendably opted to reign in his temper and give the baffled girl the explanation she seemed to require. Turning his head to face his little wayward teen for the first time, his brow furrowed as he regarded her with his stern countenance.

"Because, young lady, it's one o'clock in the freaking morning and I don't feel like it. I just wore your ass out with my belt fifteen minutes ago and, excuse me, if I'm not all gung-ho on punishing you again." Dean informed, frustration lining his tone as he bit of his words briskly. Not only was the man physically tired, he was emotionally drained and had no intention on furthering the girl's discomfort any more tonight, no matter how much she'd prefer to get it over with. If he was being honest with himself, his wary heart just didn't have it in him.

Pressing her red tinted lips together tightly, Ellie dipped her head down feeling a pinch of guilt for asking as it was clear the man took no pleasure in punishing her, even if deserved. Despite the sharpness of his cracks saying otherwise, it appeared the man did hold an ounce of sympathy for her, at least sympathy enough to not want to punish her twice in one evening.

"You been punished enough for one tonight, what you need right now is sleep." Dean asserted his deep guttural tone mellowing out into a mild firmness before he turned his attention back toward the window bringing the short glass up to his lips and taking a controlled swig of the strong whiskey. Allowing the alcohol to burn around his tastebuds for a brief moment before swallowing it, Dean savored the familiar the rich, smooth, and woody taste without twitching a single muscle out of place. Appreciating the minor buzz it gave him, temporarily numbing the disquieted fear that lingered, just enough to gain the fabricated relief he craved, Dean actively worked to ease the tension from his shoulder and neck muscles.

With a meek and mellowed 'yes, sir' of acceptance, the sinking guilt of being the cause of the man's discontentment came back to weigh against her troubled heart. Without another word, Ellie rotated her shoulders around to do as she was told, only get two steps before Dean's deep voice halted her.

"Ellie." Dean called, his tone even and calm, causing the young teen to look over her shoulder at him.

Turning his broad frame around, Dean rested his backside against the edge of the black counter top, his stiffened posture becoming slightly slackened in a casual manner as he portrayed himself to be somewhat relaxed.

The girl's rounded eyes blinked at him with innocent attentiveness just above her left shoulder and with the healthy flush of the rosy-pink hue that blossomed across her freckled cheeks, it gave Ellie the appearance of a one much younger than thirteen to Dean.

"Come 'ere." Dean encouraged in a steady tone as he cast his attention to carpet awkwardly for a brief moment not looking at her directly.

Ellie's eyes squinted ever so slightly in curiosity as to why he was calling her back to him. Guessing that he perhaps had more he wanted to say or possibly lecture her further on her multitude of 'fuck ups', Ellie turned her body around and walked back over to him like he had asked.

As Ellie was pacing towards him, Dean tipped his gaze up slightly at her as he reached his bare forearm out towards her, opening up the side of his body, while keeping a loose grip on the glass of whiskey in the other. As soon as she was in his reach, the Hunter, without a word, cupped his palm at the base of her cranium, her brown chocolate locks brushing against his calloused skin, as he gently, but promptly drew her towards him until her rosy cheek pressed against the side of his chest and under his arm. Without thinking much of it, Dean tilted his head down and planted a quick kiss at the base of her hairline.

Ellie felt her eyes flick wide in surprise as a gentle rush of air travel up her throat, while there was a brief awkwardness that came with it, an overpowering warm rush of affection and appreciation surpassed it and Ellie immediately closed her eyes in a savoring gesture as she nuzzled her cheek further into the muscles of the man's solid chest with a childlike trust and warmth that had Dean's heavy heart give with momentary release. The lingering musk of whiskey that taint the man's breath, along with the faint woody notes of the damp Nebraska country air, and the subtle tang of body odor drifted within the girl's nostrils giving her a familiarized comfort. Although the side hug was unexpected, and the impromptu kiss to her hairline was surprising, Ellie found a radiating warmth that filled her body with a reminded and reenforced comfort that the man truly had a place in his heart reserved for her, no matter what she did, and in kind, so did she, which made the deep ache against her throbbing backside more bearable, encouraging an honest trust towards him to seep into her troubled heart.

Almost too soon, Dean broke the embrace releasing his hand from the base of her cranium and grabbing the side of her slender shoulder pulling her away from him slightly.

"Alright, get your ass in bed." Dean's deep vocals encouraged, his masculine features wilted in a careworn, but stoic expression as he jutted his cleft chin towards the bedroom section of the room.

"Goodnight." Ellie expressed politely, her red tinted lips twitching up into a brief, but genuine smile before turning to go bed which Ellie was now longing for.

"Goodnight, Elena." Dean offered back in kind as he watched her petite frame trek away from him towards the queen bed, still an element of stiffness in her manner.

Shifting herself under the thin starchy sheets and scratchy comforter, Ellie purposefully settled her slender frame on her stomach, turning her head to the side and resting her warm cheek against the cool and sparely patted pillow. With the burden of guilt and anxiety of concealing her secrets being lifted, and the comfort of knowing that she was not only not hated for her misdeeds, but in fact cherished, it wasn't but a minute before the tired wayward little girl was out like a light.


TBC (?)

Hope you enjoyed those two long chapters!

Despite still having several ideas of where to take this story and my muse running strong, I find myself running out of steam as far as my motivation goes. So, I'd appreciate it, if you're liking it, to please review or comment. Favorite or follow if you'd like me to continue and see more of these characters together.

As always, thanks for reading!