Where Do We Go From Here?
Title: Where Do We Go From Here?
Author: Capricorn86
Characters: Dean, Sam, Emily (4) Alice (2)
Summary: Dean helps Sam get used to the life as a single parent
Warning: Contains mild spanking and mentions of death
Where Do We Go From Here?
Sam Winchester took a sip from his coffee cup as he cast another glance at the wall clock in the kitchen. Why wasn`t Laura back yet? What was taking so long?
“Daddy?”
The small voice of Emily, Sam`s eldest daughter sounded from the entrance to the kitchen. Sam set his cup down on the counter top and walked over to the little girl. He lifted her up and sat her on his hip. She leaned her head against his shoulder, her dark hair tickling Sam`s cheek.
“Emily, you`re supposed to be sleeping. It`s way past your bedtime.”
“I want Mommy.”
“She`ll be back soon, sweetie. You`ll see her in the morning. But now you need to sleep.”
Sam carried the girl to her bedroom and laid her down in the bed. She didn`t voice any objections, though her father could plainly tell by the look on her face that she wasn`t happy.
Laura had left the house to run to the store, and so she hadn`t been there when Emily had gone to bed. But now she had been gone for a long time, and Sam was getting worried. He tried not to show his anxiety to his daughter as he gently caressed the little girl`s face.
“Sleep now. Sweet dreams,” he said gently, tucking Emily in.
But as he turned to leave the room, Emily sat up, moving to get out of bed. Sam turned around instantly.
“No, Emily. Lie down,” he said in a firmer tone of voice. He moved over to the bed and tucked the duvet around the girl one more time. “It`s sleepy-time,” he said.
“But I`m not sleepy,” Emily replied, although she gave a huge yawn while saying it.
Sam chuckled. Of course she wasn`t. It was far past his daughter`s bedtime, but she had found it difficult to settle down because her mother wasn`t there.
“Close your eyes,” Sam whispered, happy that the girl obeyed instantly. He knew that she would be sleeping soon, but he remained sitting on the edge of the bed until the four-year-old`s breathing grew heavy and steady.
Then he quietly exited the bedroom and went to check on his youngest. Two-year-old Alice was sleeping peacefully, her blonde hair flowing on the pillow. Sam stood in the doorway for several minutes, silently watching his baby girl sleep. He knew he could have stayed there forever, content to do nothing else but watch her peaceful face.
When Sam returned to the kitchen, he grabbed his coffee cup and took another deep sip. He checked the wall clock again. Was it showing the correct time? He looked at his wrist watch. What on Earth could be the hold up?
Sam put the cup down, sighing. Now he was really starting to get worried.
He jumped at the sound of the phone ringing. The loud noise almost felt offensive in the deep silence. He grabbed the phone off the hook quickly, hoping the sound hadn`t woken any of his daughters.
“Hello?”
“Sam Winchester?”
“Yes?”
“Are you the husband of Laura Elizabeth Winchester?”
“That is correct. Is something wrong?”
“Sir, I`m calling from Lawrence Memorial Hospital. I regret to inform you there has been an accident…”
There are no words.
“Sammy?”
Dean entered the apartment, finding Sam sitting on the sofa in the living room. The younger man didn`t even react when his brother entered. Not until Dean sat himself down next to him, did Sam turn his head. His face was the very image of pain.
Dean threw his arms around his brother, whispering: “God, Sammy. I`m so sorry.”
Sam broke the embrace and quickly wiped his eyes. “Thanks for coming, Dean. Where are the kids?”
“I dropped Will and Dawn off at the neighbors.”
“Do they know yet?”
Dean shook his head. “I haven`t told them, not yet. I needed some time to… you know. Have you talked to your daughters?”
Fresh tears spilled from Sam`s eyes, and he too shook his head. “No. What can I tell them? How do I make them understand, Dean?” Sam turned to his brother. “How can I tell my girls their Mommy is dead?”
Dean didn`t say anything. Words were useless.
“Jesus, Dean...” Sam sighed heavily, dragging a hand across his face. “How did Dad do it? How did he cope, how did he move on?”
Dean remained silent.
“I keep thinking that this isn`t real, like it`s a dream. That soon I`ll wake up, lying in my bed with Laura warm and alive next to me. Or that the Trickster is messing with me again, making me feel like I`m stuck in an episode from Six Feet Under.”
Sam snorted, not bothering to wipe away the tears running down his face.
“A hit-and-run, Dean! A fucking hit-and-run! I caught myself wishing it was something supernatural, something I could hunt down and kill. But the evil of humanity far surpasses any supernatural thing I`ve ever encountered. Why does every woman I love die? Mom, Jessica, and now Laura. You know, after I lost Jess, I never thought I would be able to love again. Then I met Laura. She gave me eleven years and two beautiful children, and now she`s gone. How did we come to this? We used to be such a happy, little family. Just a few weeks ago we celebrated Alice`s second birthday, and the next thing I know, I get a call from the hospital…”
Sam sobbed, his shoulders shaking. Dean swallowed hard and put an arm around his brothers shoulder, offering comfort and closeness.
“Have you talked to the in-laws?” Dean asked, being unable to think of anything to say to comfort Sam. Not that any words could.
“Yes. They`re going to fly in from England and stay for a couple of weeks, to help arrange the funeral.”
“I`m here,” Dean said simply.
Sam gave him a grateful smile.
“Daddy?”
Both Sam and Dean`s heads turned towards the hallway, where little Emily was standing.
“Yes, sweetie?” Sam said, trying hard to force a smile.
“Alice is smelly,” the four-year-old announced.
Sam was about to get up from the sofa, but Dean put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.
“I`ll take care of that, you just sit and relax.”
Dean left the living room and went into the bedroom where the toddler was playing.
“Come on, little Alice,” Dean said cheerfully. “Let`s go change your diaper.”
Emily noticed her father`s tear-streaked face.
“Are you crying, Daddy?”
Sam nodded. “I just miss your Mommy so much.”
“When is she coming back?”
“Oh honey... She`s not.”
“Why not? Where did she go?”
Two Months Later
“Thanks again for all your help, Dean,” Sam said to his brother as Dean parked the Impala outside the mall. “I haven`t even begun thinking of getting a new car yet.”
“No worries, Sammy. You`re my brother, and I`ll help you get through this.”
The two men got out of the car. Sam opened the passenger door and lifted his toddler out of her car seat. While her father was busy with her sister, Emily got out of the car, and in her excitement about going to the mall, she started running. Her legs moved like drumsticks as she ran across the parking lot.
“Emily! Don`t run!” Sam barked, but the girl ignored him. “Dean, stop her!”
Sam, being preoccupied holding the squirming Alice in his arms, was unable to chase down his eldest. But Dean quickly caught up to the girl, grabbing her just in time to avoid her getting hit by a car that was backing out. Dean wasted no time in turning the small child around and delivering three firm smacks to her backside.
Ignoring the girl`s wails, Dean kept a firm grip on her arm as he spoke seriously to her: “Never run away like that! You could have been hit by a car and gotten hurt. When your Daddy tells you not to run, you listen to him. Got it?”
Emily sniffed as she pulled to get away from Dean, one hand rubbing fiercly at the sting on her little bottom. She nodded to show that she understood, and received a quick, warm hug from her uncle.
“OK, good,” Dean said curtly, grabbing Emily by the hand and leading her back to Sam. The little girl immediately let go of her uncle`s hand and ran to her father, wrapping her arms around his leg, clutching it tightly as if she was drowning, and Sam`s leg was a log floating on the water, keeping her head above the waterline.
Sam wanted desperately to drop a hand to his eldest head to comfort her, or even scoop her up in his arms, but his arms were already busy holding Alice, who kept squirming and struggling, wanting to be put down.
“Down, Daddy!” she begged. “Doowwwn!”
“No, Alice,” Sam replied firmly. After seeing his eldest run off like that, he had no intention of letting his youngest have the freedom to roam on the parking lot.
“Thanks for grabbing her, Dean,” Sam nodded to his brother, who gave a wave of his hand.
“Don`t mention it. I just hope she won`t do it again.”
“I don`t think she will,” Sam replied, looking down on the dark-haired four-year-old clutching his leg for comfort. “When Emily gets smacked for misbehaving, she usually doesn`t repeat that behavior.”
Dean grinned as he looked at his brother. The young man was standing with a cranky, struggling two-year-old in his arms, and a four-year-old at his feet, clinging to his leg as she sobbed and sniffed. Welcome to single parenthood, Sammy.
“Dean? A little help here?” Sam`s voice snapped Dean out of his thoughts. “Can you take Alice, please? Just don`t let her down until we`re inside the store.”
“Sure thing.” Dean moved over to his brother and held out his arms to take his niece. “Come to Uncle Dean, beautiful.”
When his arms were free, Sam bent down to Emily`s level and quickly wiped her face.
“Remember, no running away from Daddy in the parking lot,” he told her firmly, earning a serious nod. Sam smiled at her as he stood up. “Now be a good girl and hold Daddy`s hand.”
Emily obediently slipped her tiny hand in Sam`s large one, and they followed Dean, who had little Alice on his hip, into the shopping mall.
“So how you doin, Sammy?” Dean asked as the brothers walked down the aisles, Dean pushing the shopping trolley in front of him, Sam leading his daughters by the hand, one on each side of him. “It`s been a while since we talked about it,” Dean prompted.
“Yeah,” Sam said. “It`s been two months now.”
“Time sure does fly, huh?”
Sam scoffed. “Hardly. It crawls, limps and slithers.”
Dean couldn`t help the chuckle that escaped him.
“How are the girls dealing?” he asked, lowering his voice so said girls wouldn`t hear the conversation. He`d hardly need bothered, the two small children were too preoccupied looking at everything around them, they cared not about the boring conversation going on between grown ups.
“In their own way, I suppose,” Sam replied. “I mean… I`m not sure they can truly comprehend what has happened.”
“I don`t think little Alice can, but Emily sure can,” Dean said.
Sam looked at him.
“I didn`t understand exactly what happened to Mom,” Dean continued, “But I sure as hell understood that she was gone and never coming back.”
Sam nodded slowly. “You were four years old too, just like Emily.”
“Yeah,” Dean said curtly.
The men browsed the aisles in silence for a while, slowly filling their shopping trolley. The girls had both been well behaved until they reached the toy section.
Little Alice broke away from Sam and ran over to the shelf where all kinds of lovely toys were on display. Her small hands grabbed a toy from the bottom shelf, and she held it up to show her father, a big smile on her face.
Although the girl didn`t say anything, her meaning was perfectly clear. Sam shook his head. “No, Alice. You are not getting a toy.”
Alice shook the toy, stretching her arm up as high as it would go, willing Sam to see what an amazing, wonderful item she was holding, and how badly she wanted it. Her face lit up when her father took the toy from her hand, thinking he was going to place it in the shopping trolley with the other items they were going to purchase. However, the two-year-old`s expression turned rapidly from light to dark when she saw Sam place the toy back on the shelf. The girl stomped her foot angrily, reaching out to grab the toy once more.
Sam stopped her before she could take it, telling her once more that she was not getting it. “Alice, no. We are not buying any toys today.”
Alice responded by clenching her small fists and letting out a loud scream.
Sam simply shook his head at her. “Throwing a tantrum is not going to work,” he said.
“I don`t think she cares, dude,” Dean commented, and sure enough. In the next second, Alice was screaming her head off, lying on the floor kicking her legs and flailing her arms.
Emily put her fingers in her ears. “Alice is noisy,” she mumbled.
Sam sighed heavily.
“Sam?” Dean sounded a little uneasy. “People are looking, you might wanna quiet your little bundle of joy there.”
“Give me a break, Dean,” Sam snorted as he bent down to pick up the screaming girl from the floor. “You`ve been through this before with two kids.”
“I have, but man, I gotta tell ya, the tantrums that one throws puts both Dawn and Will to shame,” Dean chuckled as he watched Sam get kicked in the ribs by the still screaming Alice.
“Alice!” Sam said sternly. “Settle down. You are not getting a toy, and that`s final.”
His words did nothing to soothe the angry girl, who continued kicking and struggling as Sam was holding her. When the girl began pounding her fathers chest with her small fists, Sam couldn`t take anymore. “Alice Marie! You`re heading the right way for a smacked bottom!”
Sam felt certain that his youngest had heard him, even through the sound of her own angry screams, yet his threat seemed to have no effect. Sam knew he had no choice. The threat had been made, but as it didn`t have the desired effect, he now had to act upon it.
He held the squirming child against his hip, and quickly swatted her four times. Alice`s diaper cushioned the blows, but she still felt it, and the sound of her father`s hand connecting with her rear end felt frightening to the small child.
Her angry screams stopped, turning into a pitiful wail and she began to cry. Sam had a tight grip around his youngest, holding her close and rubbing her back comfortingly.
“Shhh, baby,” he soothed. “Daddy didn`t want to spank you, but you were naughty and didn`t listen.”
Emily, who had been watching the whole scene with wide eyes, leaned against Dean`s leg, half hiding behind it. “Poor Alice!” she whispered. “Daddy spanks hard.”
Dean held a hand in front of his mouth to cover his smile.
Sam turned to face his brother, rocking his weeping two-year-old gently. “Laura was always too soft on the girls, I`ve always been the disciplinarian in the family. Now that I`m a single parent, I`m afraid I`ll be too hard on them.”
Dean laughed. “What`s the matter, Sammy? Afraid you`ll turn out like Dad? I can see it now, Emily running laps in the garden while little Alice is practicing shooting with a pink bow that has matching arrows with heart-shaped arrowheads.”
Sam made a noise that was halfway between a snort and a chuckle. “Jerk.”
“Bitch.”
THE END
Author: Capricorn86
Characters: Dean, Sam, Emily (4) Alice (2)
Summary: Dean helps Sam get used to the life as a single parent
Warning: Contains mild spanking and mentions of death
Where Do We Go From Here?
Sam Winchester took a sip from his coffee cup as he cast another glance at the wall clock in the kitchen. Why wasn`t Laura back yet? What was taking so long?
“Daddy?”
The small voice of Emily, Sam`s eldest daughter sounded from the entrance to the kitchen. Sam set his cup down on the counter top and walked over to the little girl. He lifted her up and sat her on his hip. She leaned her head against his shoulder, her dark hair tickling Sam`s cheek.
“Emily, you`re supposed to be sleeping. It`s way past your bedtime.”
“I want Mommy.”
“She`ll be back soon, sweetie. You`ll see her in the morning. But now you need to sleep.”
Sam carried the girl to her bedroom and laid her down in the bed. She didn`t voice any objections, though her father could plainly tell by the look on her face that she wasn`t happy.
Laura had left the house to run to the store, and so she hadn`t been there when Emily had gone to bed. But now she had been gone for a long time, and Sam was getting worried. He tried not to show his anxiety to his daughter as he gently caressed the little girl`s face.
“Sleep now. Sweet dreams,” he said gently, tucking Emily in.
But as he turned to leave the room, Emily sat up, moving to get out of bed. Sam turned around instantly.
“No, Emily. Lie down,” he said in a firmer tone of voice. He moved over to the bed and tucked the duvet around the girl one more time. “It`s sleepy-time,” he said.
“But I`m not sleepy,” Emily replied, although she gave a huge yawn while saying it.
Sam chuckled. Of course she wasn`t. It was far past his daughter`s bedtime, but she had found it difficult to settle down because her mother wasn`t there.
“Close your eyes,” Sam whispered, happy that the girl obeyed instantly. He knew that she would be sleeping soon, but he remained sitting on the edge of the bed until the four-year-old`s breathing grew heavy and steady.
Then he quietly exited the bedroom and went to check on his youngest. Two-year-old Alice was sleeping peacefully, her blonde hair flowing on the pillow. Sam stood in the doorway for several minutes, silently watching his baby girl sleep. He knew he could have stayed there forever, content to do nothing else but watch her peaceful face.
When Sam returned to the kitchen, he grabbed his coffee cup and took another deep sip. He checked the wall clock again. Was it showing the correct time? He looked at his wrist watch. What on Earth could be the hold up?
Sam put the cup down, sighing. Now he was really starting to get worried.
He jumped at the sound of the phone ringing. The loud noise almost felt offensive in the deep silence. He grabbed the phone off the hook quickly, hoping the sound hadn`t woken any of his daughters.
“Hello?”
“Sam Winchester?”
“Yes?”
“Are you the husband of Laura Elizabeth Winchester?”
“That is correct. Is something wrong?”
“Sir, I`m calling from Lawrence Memorial Hospital. I regret to inform you there has been an accident…”
There are no words.
“Sammy?”
Dean entered the apartment, finding Sam sitting on the sofa in the living room. The younger man didn`t even react when his brother entered. Not until Dean sat himself down next to him, did Sam turn his head. His face was the very image of pain.
Dean threw his arms around his brother, whispering: “God, Sammy. I`m so sorry.”
Sam broke the embrace and quickly wiped his eyes. “Thanks for coming, Dean. Where are the kids?”
“I dropped Will and Dawn off at the neighbors.”
“Do they know yet?”
Dean shook his head. “I haven`t told them, not yet. I needed some time to… you know. Have you talked to your daughters?”
Fresh tears spilled from Sam`s eyes, and he too shook his head. “No. What can I tell them? How do I make them understand, Dean?” Sam turned to his brother. “How can I tell my girls their Mommy is dead?”
Dean didn`t say anything. Words were useless.
“Jesus, Dean...” Sam sighed heavily, dragging a hand across his face. “How did Dad do it? How did he cope, how did he move on?”
Dean remained silent.
“I keep thinking that this isn`t real, like it`s a dream. That soon I`ll wake up, lying in my bed with Laura warm and alive next to me. Or that the Trickster is messing with me again, making me feel like I`m stuck in an episode from Six Feet Under.”
Sam snorted, not bothering to wipe away the tears running down his face.
“A hit-and-run, Dean! A fucking hit-and-run! I caught myself wishing it was something supernatural, something I could hunt down and kill. But the evil of humanity far surpasses any supernatural thing I`ve ever encountered. Why does every woman I love die? Mom, Jessica, and now Laura. You know, after I lost Jess, I never thought I would be able to love again. Then I met Laura. She gave me eleven years and two beautiful children, and now she`s gone. How did we come to this? We used to be such a happy, little family. Just a few weeks ago we celebrated Alice`s second birthday, and the next thing I know, I get a call from the hospital…”
Sam sobbed, his shoulders shaking. Dean swallowed hard and put an arm around his brothers shoulder, offering comfort and closeness.
“Have you talked to the in-laws?” Dean asked, being unable to think of anything to say to comfort Sam. Not that any words could.
“Yes. They`re going to fly in from England and stay for a couple of weeks, to help arrange the funeral.”
“I`m here,” Dean said simply.
Sam gave him a grateful smile.
“Daddy?”
Both Sam and Dean`s heads turned towards the hallway, where little Emily was standing.
“Yes, sweetie?” Sam said, trying hard to force a smile.
“Alice is smelly,” the four-year-old announced.
Sam was about to get up from the sofa, but Dean put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.
“I`ll take care of that, you just sit and relax.”
Dean left the living room and went into the bedroom where the toddler was playing.
“Come on, little Alice,” Dean said cheerfully. “Let`s go change your diaper.”
Emily noticed her father`s tear-streaked face.
“Are you crying, Daddy?”
Sam nodded. “I just miss your Mommy so much.”
“When is she coming back?”
“Oh honey... She`s not.”
“Why not? Where did she go?”
Two Months Later
“Thanks again for all your help, Dean,” Sam said to his brother as Dean parked the Impala outside the mall. “I haven`t even begun thinking of getting a new car yet.”
“No worries, Sammy. You`re my brother, and I`ll help you get through this.”
The two men got out of the car. Sam opened the passenger door and lifted his toddler out of her car seat. While her father was busy with her sister, Emily got out of the car, and in her excitement about going to the mall, she started running. Her legs moved like drumsticks as she ran across the parking lot.
“Emily! Don`t run!” Sam barked, but the girl ignored him. “Dean, stop her!”
Sam, being preoccupied holding the squirming Alice in his arms, was unable to chase down his eldest. But Dean quickly caught up to the girl, grabbing her just in time to avoid her getting hit by a car that was backing out. Dean wasted no time in turning the small child around and delivering three firm smacks to her backside.
Ignoring the girl`s wails, Dean kept a firm grip on her arm as he spoke seriously to her: “Never run away like that! You could have been hit by a car and gotten hurt. When your Daddy tells you not to run, you listen to him. Got it?”
Emily sniffed as she pulled to get away from Dean, one hand rubbing fiercly at the sting on her little bottom. She nodded to show that she understood, and received a quick, warm hug from her uncle.
“OK, good,” Dean said curtly, grabbing Emily by the hand and leading her back to Sam. The little girl immediately let go of her uncle`s hand and ran to her father, wrapping her arms around his leg, clutching it tightly as if she was drowning, and Sam`s leg was a log floating on the water, keeping her head above the waterline.
Sam wanted desperately to drop a hand to his eldest head to comfort her, or even scoop her up in his arms, but his arms were already busy holding Alice, who kept squirming and struggling, wanting to be put down.
“Down, Daddy!” she begged. “Doowwwn!”
“No, Alice,” Sam replied firmly. After seeing his eldest run off like that, he had no intention of letting his youngest have the freedom to roam on the parking lot.
“Thanks for grabbing her, Dean,” Sam nodded to his brother, who gave a wave of his hand.
“Don`t mention it. I just hope she won`t do it again.”
“I don`t think she will,” Sam replied, looking down on the dark-haired four-year-old clutching his leg for comfort. “When Emily gets smacked for misbehaving, she usually doesn`t repeat that behavior.”
Dean grinned as he looked at his brother. The young man was standing with a cranky, struggling two-year-old in his arms, and a four-year-old at his feet, clinging to his leg as she sobbed and sniffed. Welcome to single parenthood, Sammy.
“Dean? A little help here?” Sam`s voice snapped Dean out of his thoughts. “Can you take Alice, please? Just don`t let her down until we`re inside the store.”
“Sure thing.” Dean moved over to his brother and held out his arms to take his niece. “Come to Uncle Dean, beautiful.”
When his arms were free, Sam bent down to Emily`s level and quickly wiped her face.
“Remember, no running away from Daddy in the parking lot,” he told her firmly, earning a serious nod. Sam smiled at her as he stood up. “Now be a good girl and hold Daddy`s hand.”
Emily obediently slipped her tiny hand in Sam`s large one, and they followed Dean, who had little Alice on his hip, into the shopping mall.
“So how you doin, Sammy?” Dean asked as the brothers walked down the aisles, Dean pushing the shopping trolley in front of him, Sam leading his daughters by the hand, one on each side of him. “It`s been a while since we talked about it,” Dean prompted.
“Yeah,” Sam said. “It`s been two months now.”
“Time sure does fly, huh?”
Sam scoffed. “Hardly. It crawls, limps and slithers.”
Dean couldn`t help the chuckle that escaped him.
“How are the girls dealing?” he asked, lowering his voice so said girls wouldn`t hear the conversation. He`d hardly need bothered, the two small children were too preoccupied looking at everything around them, they cared not about the boring conversation going on between grown ups.
“In their own way, I suppose,” Sam replied. “I mean… I`m not sure they can truly comprehend what has happened.”
“I don`t think little Alice can, but Emily sure can,” Dean said.
Sam looked at him.
“I didn`t understand exactly what happened to Mom,” Dean continued, “But I sure as hell understood that she was gone and never coming back.”
Sam nodded slowly. “You were four years old too, just like Emily.”
“Yeah,” Dean said curtly.
The men browsed the aisles in silence for a while, slowly filling their shopping trolley. The girls had both been well behaved until they reached the toy section.
Little Alice broke away from Sam and ran over to the shelf where all kinds of lovely toys were on display. Her small hands grabbed a toy from the bottom shelf, and she held it up to show her father, a big smile on her face.
Although the girl didn`t say anything, her meaning was perfectly clear. Sam shook his head. “No, Alice. You are not getting a toy.”
Alice shook the toy, stretching her arm up as high as it would go, willing Sam to see what an amazing, wonderful item she was holding, and how badly she wanted it. Her face lit up when her father took the toy from her hand, thinking he was going to place it in the shopping trolley with the other items they were going to purchase. However, the two-year-old`s expression turned rapidly from light to dark when she saw Sam place the toy back on the shelf. The girl stomped her foot angrily, reaching out to grab the toy once more.
Sam stopped her before she could take it, telling her once more that she was not getting it. “Alice, no. We are not buying any toys today.”
Alice responded by clenching her small fists and letting out a loud scream.
Sam simply shook his head at her. “Throwing a tantrum is not going to work,” he said.
“I don`t think she cares, dude,” Dean commented, and sure enough. In the next second, Alice was screaming her head off, lying on the floor kicking her legs and flailing her arms.
Emily put her fingers in her ears. “Alice is noisy,” she mumbled.
Sam sighed heavily.
“Sam?” Dean sounded a little uneasy. “People are looking, you might wanna quiet your little bundle of joy there.”
“Give me a break, Dean,” Sam snorted as he bent down to pick up the screaming girl from the floor. “You`ve been through this before with two kids.”
“I have, but man, I gotta tell ya, the tantrums that one throws puts both Dawn and Will to shame,” Dean chuckled as he watched Sam get kicked in the ribs by the still screaming Alice.
“Alice!” Sam said sternly. “Settle down. You are not getting a toy, and that`s final.”
His words did nothing to soothe the angry girl, who continued kicking and struggling as Sam was holding her. When the girl began pounding her fathers chest with her small fists, Sam couldn`t take anymore. “Alice Marie! You`re heading the right way for a smacked bottom!”
Sam felt certain that his youngest had heard him, even through the sound of her own angry screams, yet his threat seemed to have no effect. Sam knew he had no choice. The threat had been made, but as it didn`t have the desired effect, he now had to act upon it.
He held the squirming child against his hip, and quickly swatted her four times. Alice`s diaper cushioned the blows, but she still felt it, and the sound of her father`s hand connecting with her rear end felt frightening to the small child.
Her angry screams stopped, turning into a pitiful wail and she began to cry. Sam had a tight grip around his youngest, holding her close and rubbing her back comfortingly.
“Shhh, baby,” he soothed. “Daddy didn`t want to spank you, but you were naughty and didn`t listen.”
Emily, who had been watching the whole scene with wide eyes, leaned against Dean`s leg, half hiding behind it. “Poor Alice!” she whispered. “Daddy spanks hard.”
Dean held a hand in front of his mouth to cover his smile.
Sam turned to face his brother, rocking his weeping two-year-old gently. “Laura was always too soft on the girls, I`ve always been the disciplinarian in the family. Now that I`m a single parent, I`m afraid I`ll be too hard on them.”
Dean laughed. “What`s the matter, Sammy? Afraid you`ll turn out like Dad? I can see it now, Emily running laps in the garden while little Alice is practicing shooting with a pink bow that has matching arrows with heart-shaped arrowheads.”
Sam made a noise that was halfway between a snort and a chuckle. “Jerk.”
“Bitch.”
THE END