Bubbles in the Bunker

Dedication: For Fay

By the time Fay finished dinner, there was almost as much macaroni and cheese on her as there had been in the bowl. Dean stared at her, and Fay stared back. A little streak of cheese sauce decorated one cheek. Another had somehow made its way onto the front of her baby-doll dress. There were crumbs of browned Treet scattered across the rug beneath the table, and one suspiciously orange fingerprint sat squarely on Sakura's ear. Dean slowly looked down at the empty bowl. Then back at Fay.

"How?"

Fay blinked. "How what?"

"How did you do this?" She looked down at herself.

"Do what?" Sam snorted from where he was gathering up the abandoned coloring books.

Dean pointed at her. "You were eating dinner, not fighting it."

Fay pulled the pacifier from her mouth. "I ate it."

"Oh, I know you ate it." Dean leaned closer and wiped alittle smear of cheese from the end of her nose with his thumb."Apparently, your dress ate some too." Fay giggled.

Cas glanced over from the block castle he was carefully attempting to reconstruct. "There is also food in her hair."

Dean froze. He looked toward Fay's braids. Sure enough, a tiny piece of macaroni had somehow managed to lodge itself near the end of one of them. Dean closed his eyes. "Of course there is." He had spent a half an hour braiding her hair that morning.

Sam laughed. "That's impressive, honestly."

"Don't encourage her."

Fay popped her pacifier back into her mouth and smiled sweetly around it.

Dean narrowed his eyes. "Oh, no. Don't you give me that face." She gave him the face harder.

Cas abandoned the castle and came closer. "I believe a bath would be appropriate."

Fay's smile vanished. Her eyes immediately moved toward him."Bath?"

Dean caught the uncertainty right away. It wasn't that Fay hated baths. Usually, once she was actually in the water, getting her out became the problem. She just wasn't ready to stop playing.

"Yep," Dean said gently. "I think Papa's right."

Fay shook her head. "No bath."

Sam sat down beside her. "Baby, you're sticky."

Fay touched her cheek. Then she looked at her fingers. Then at Sam. "Not sticky." Sam raised an eyebrow and Dean laughed.

"Sweetheart, you have mac and cheese in your hair."

Fay immediately reached for her braid. Dean caught her wrist before she could grind it in farther. "Ah-ah. Don't touch it."

Her lower lip pushed out. "Don't wanna bath."

Dean crouched in front of her. "Why not?" She shrugged and Dean waited.

Fay looked toward the toys scattered across the rug.

"Playing."

There it was.

Dean's expression softened. "Ah."

Sam nodded. Bath time meant the game was over. And Fay wasn't ready for her little world to disappear yet. Cas understood too. "The castle will remain here," he assured her.

Fay looked at him. "It will?"

"Yes."

"Dada dragon too?"