The Runt of the Litter

Dog Days

Note: Hey, lovely people. Happy Saturday. I want to say a huge thank you to everybody who has read, voted, and commented on this story. It feels really amazing to know that people are following along and enjoying. Since last week, the story passed fifty and hit sixty votes. Maybe that doesn't sound like a lot, but this is my first story and it means the world to me hitting that milestone, so thank you.

Also, I don't guess that anybody reading this hasn't seen the third season of Supernatural. But just in case, I will put it out there that there are vague mentions of the main plot of that season, so consider this a mini Spoiler Alert.

In this chapter, Anna is nine years old.

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A fantastic wattpader just gave me an incredible gift... She drew pictures to go with some chapters. And I'm adding them because she said I could and because she did such a good job and they're too perfect not to share. Thank you SO MUCH @Musicpotterhead, you're a goddess.

Tap on the photo to see the whole thing, guys, they're all beautiful. And I'm putting this message at the beginning of each chapter that has an image, so you all take a second and look at them. And tell Musicpotterhead how amazing she is. Because she is. She's amazing.

Dog Days

"Are you sure we can do this?" Anna asked nervously even as she held Dean's hand and walked with him onto the sandy shore of the crowded beach. "Maybe Sam was right. There's a bunch of more important hunting stuff. Your deal-"

Dean swooped down and snatched his sister up with enough gusto to make her shriek and giggle with the unexpectedness of it. He lifted her up to sit on his shoulders and held onto her ankles as he continued toward the water's edge. "Today, the words 'your deal' are grounds for dunking. Got it?"

Anna wrinkled her nose at the idea of being dunked. This was the ocean, and she'd never gone swimming in the ocean before. She'd only ever been in local public swimming pools in a handful of small towns. But the ocean was ginormous, stretching farther than she could see. It was almost ominous in its size and its powerful crashing waves. "I won't say it," she promised, reaching down a pinky to make it official.

"Put the finger away, Rugrat. I believe you," Dean's voice dripped with affection in the way it only ever did when they were completely off-duty and his guard was as low as it got.

Looking out over the beach ahead of them while they neared the water, Anna couldn't get over how crowded the place was. Some people lay on beach towels, soaking up the sun, and others splashed in the water, swimming and playing. There were kids, grown-ups, babies, elderly people. "There's so many people," Anna whispered like it was a secret, and her hands, resting on her brother's head, tightened in his hair marginally as if seeking comfort.

"That's a good sign, Kiddo," Dean answered simply. "It means we picked the perfect day to go to the beach." He caught eyes with an attractive young woman as they passed her, and winked at the smile she gave him when she saw his sister on his shoulders. It was a wink that promised the kid on his shoulders didn't mean he was taken. The woman smiled a little and slid on the sunglasses she'd had dangling from one hand, laying back on her towel and soaking in the sun rather than giving Dean more attention. But that wasn't so disappointing today as it might have been any other time. He wasn't here to find love of any variety.

He was here to relax for a day, to give Anna a fun day in the midst of their increasingly stressful and crappy lives. If he could have dragged Sam out here too, he would have, but the kid was so adamantly against it that Dean had been forced to give in and let him research the day away.