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It was a bright, beautiful sunny day, but Sam couldn’t enjoy it. He sat at the little isolated spot in the woods, a half mile from the bunker, where the only thing around was trees and a headstone. It had been three and a half long, grueling years since the worst day of Sam’s life, and right now he felt every minute of it. Sam continued to pull out the weeds surrounding the headstone, and when that was done, he sat down on the ground, thinking carefully about what exactly he wanted to say. He read the headstone for the thousandth time that day.EVELYN ABIGAIL WINCHESTER“WHEN I LOOK AT YOU, I CAN FEEL IT. I LOOK AT YOU, AND I’M HOME.”

Sam laid down the flowers he had brought to the grave, a mix of roses, tulips, sunflowers, and wildflowers. He threw out the flowers that he’d brought two weeks earlier, and placed the fresh ones next the gravestone. Sam smiled, thinking about what Evy would have said if she’d seen him out here. Sam had gotten the headstone made six weeks after Evy’s death, and placed it out this far so that he could have a place to be with her. As far as Sam knew, no one else was aware of it, and every couple of weeks he would come out and talk to her. Tell her what was going on, how much he loved and missed her and wished that she was back.

In the first few days after Evy’s death, Sam had been a zombie. He’d sat in the bunker, either crying nonstop or staring at the wall. He actively avoided his bedroom, where Evy had died. Dean had eventually coaxed him back into hunting, but Sam had never felt the same sense of fulfillment from it again. Saving lives just wasn’t the same without Evy around.“Happy birthday, Cricket.”

Sam sat for a few more minutes, talking to her and catching her up on his and Dean’s latest hunt. He talked as if she was listening, hoping that somehow she was. When he finally ran out of things to say, Sam stood up and prepared to leave.“I love you, Cricket. I miss you. Be back soon.”

As Sam turned to walk back towards the bunker, he heard the distinct sound of a twig snapping. Figuring it to be a squirrel or something, Sam ignored it at first; he walked a few feet, but then the sound of shuffling feet was added to the twigs. Sam was immediately on guard, putting his hand to his waist where his gun was.“Who’s there?” Sam asked.

The first thing Sam saw was two small feet walking out from behind the bushes a few yards away. A couple seconds later, Sam had recovered from his shock enough to realize that the feet belonged to a little girl. She looked vaguely familiar, though Sam couldn’t place her right away. She had shoulder length, wavy brown hair, and was wearing jeans, a plain blue tshirt, and blue sneakers. When Sam realized who it was, his heart lodged in his throat and his mouth hung open in shock. The little girl spoke first.“Who are you?” she asked in a tiny frightened voice.“Cricket?” he asked, barely above a whisper.

The little girl backed up into a nearby tree, terrified. Sam crouched down slowly, putting both hands in front of him. His heart was pumping fast, so fast that Sam thought it would beat right out of his chest. He took two breaths and let them out slowly, still not entirely sure he wasn’t hallucinating.“I’m not gonna hurt you, okay?” Sam assured her.“Who are you?” she asked again. “Where am I?”“Sweetheart, please.” Sam said. “It’s me. It’s Sammy. I’m your brother.”Evy’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she looked at him as if he was crazy. “You’re not my Sammy.” She said. “You’re too big to be my Sammy.”Sam smiled. “Honey, I don’t know what’s going on, but I promise, I’m your brother.”Evy suddenly recovered and said, in her best grown up voice, “Prove it.”Sam was shocked by the order. “What?” he asked.“Prove it.” She said again. “If you’re my Sammy, prove it.”

Sam laughed, all doubt as to who the little girl was now removed from his mind. That was a very Evy thing to say, he thought. Sam nodded, and sat back down on the ground, trying to set her a little more at ease.“Okay. Your name is Evelyn Abigail Winchester. You’ve got two brothers, Dean and Sam. Sam calls you Cricket, Dean calls you kiddo or baby girl. Your dad’s name is John Winchester. He calls you little one, but you don’t really like that. You’ve got uncle Bobby, who calls you Baitfish. You don’t have a favorite color, because you think it isn’t fair to choose. Your favorite movie is Pinocchio. Your favorite song is ‘Listen to the Music’, and you know every word of it by heart. How am I doing so far?” Sam asked.“How’d you know all of that?” Evy asked.“I told you.” Sam said, as evenly and calmly as he could. “I’m your brother.”

Evy walked slowly towards him, and Sam stayed right where he was. She walked towards him until she was no more than a couple of feet away, and Sam’s heart broke when he noticed tears shining on the edge of her eyes. She was scared and trying not to cry.“Sammy?” she asked quietly.“Yeah, Cricket. It’s me.” He said.“What’s happening?” she asked, biting her bottom lip.“I don’t know, honey. But if you come with me, I promise you me and Dean’ll find out.” He said.Evy’s eyes lit up. “Deanie’s here too?” she asked.“Yes, sweetheart. Dean’s here too.” Sam said, a sad smile crossing his face.

Evy finally stepped up to Sam and into his open arms. Sam picked her up and held her tightly, reminding himself not to weep or it would scare her. So he walked back towards the bunker, slowly, wondering to himself what the hell was going on as little Evy rested her head on his shoulder and clung to him tightly. Without thinking, Sam reached over and scratched her back as he walked. Evy relaxed and looked around.“You live out here?” she asked.“Yeah.” Sam said. “What do you think?”Evy smiled. “It’s pretty.” She said.

Sam looked around. He had never really noticed, but it was gorgeous in this part of the woods. There were no buidlings, no other people, just the plants and animals.“You’re right. It is pretty out here.” Sam said.

When they reached the bunker, Evy’s eyes got even bigger. As Sam opened the door and stepped inside, she scanned every detail around her. Sam hugged her closely, and Evy squeezed him even tighter. Sam was inside the kitchen before he heard Dean’s voice coming down the stairs.“Sam? You back?” he asked. “Where’d you go?”

Sam walked into the kitchen towards the counter, then turned and waited for Dean. Dean walked in and started to repeat his question, until he noticed the little girl hanging onto Sam. He stared for a moment, going between Sam and the little girl. He knew who she looked like, but it couldn’t possibly be….could it? She looked at Dean and smiled.“Deanie?” she asked.

Dean wanted to answer, but couldn’t. Sam saw the shock on Dean’s face, and immediately felt relief. Dean saw her too, so he wasn’t hallucinating.
Sam patted Evy’s back and set her down on the floor.“Dean and I need to talk alone for a minute. We’ll be right in the hallway. Are you okay?” he asked.Evy nodded.“Good girl.” Sam said, smiling at her. “We’ll be right back.”

Sam stepped out into the hallway with Dean, whose mouth was still hanging open. He said nothing for almost a full fifteen seconds, just continued to start at Evy. Finally he turned to Sam and asked,“What the hell, Sam? Is that…?”“Yeah.” Sam said. “It’s Evy.”Dean shrugged and asked again, “Seriously, dude. What the hell?”“I don’t know, Dean. Believe me, I’m just as confused as you.” Sam said.“How old is she?” Dean asked.“Five or six.” Sam said, realizing he’d forgotten to ask.Dean looked back in the kitchen, where Evy was still taking in her surroundings. “How did she get here?” he asked. “I mean, time travel?”“Yeah.” Sam said. “Apparently.”“Sammy.”Evy had stepped into the hallway with Sam and Dean. Sam bent down and asked her,“What’s wrong, Cricket?”“I’m hungry.” She said.The request caught Sam off guard. “What?”“I’m hungry.” Evy said again, with a small pout and a whine, putting a hand to her stomach.

Sam smiled. He had assumed with the fact that his long dead baby sister had travelled through time to come and see him, and he had no idea how or why, that he should prepare himself for something else that he had to figure out. Relieved to have a problem that he could solve right away, Sam reached over and put both arms around her waist.“Why don’t we go fix that?” he said. “You still like monkey sandwiches?”

Evy’s grin immediately transported Sam back to his younger days, when his primary responsibility had been caring for her. He missed those days desperately; days before breaking her heart by leaving for Stanford, before going back into hunting with Dean, before her attack from Lillith, before hell, before her giving up her own life to save the world. Sam pulled her in for a tight hug before picking her up and turning back to Dean.“Dean, I’m gonna make her some lunch. Why don’t you call Cass and see what you can find out?” he asked.

Dean nodded slowly, still unable to believe what he was seeing. Evy smiled at him from Sam’s shoulder, and Dean finally smiled back at her. He missed Evy too. In all the darkness and despair and muck and chaos that he and Sam dealt with on a daily basis, Evy had been the constant bright light in their lives.“Deanie? You want a monkey sandwich too?”Dean shook his head when Evy spoke. “Monkey sandwich? What’s that?”“Peanut butter and bananas.” She said.Dean pulled a face. “That sounds gross.”“Come try one.” Evy said. “Please.”Dean decided that Cass could wait. Whatever was going on, they’d figure it out later. “Sure thing, baby girl. I’m coming.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Two Hours Later

Evy had been fed, and was now playing on the map table with a puzzle that Sam had found in storage. It was a five hundred piece puzzle, so Dean had worried it would be too hard for her, but Sam had assured him she’d love it. In only an hour, she had just under half of it done, and her tongue stuck out as she worked on the other half. Dean had, by a miracle in Sam’s book, gotten through to Cass on the first call, but refused to give him any details. As Sam continued to watch Evy play on the table, Cass suddenly popped in.“Sam. Dean.”Evy jumped and scrambled into Sam’s arms.“Whoa, whoa.” Sam wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “It’s okay, sweetie. He’s a friend.”

Dean kicked himself mentally for not thinking ahead. He couldn’t remember exactly, but Evy had been fifteen or sixteen when she met Cass for the first time, so it made sense that she wouldn’t remember him as a small child. Cass stood by and watched Sam comfort Evy for a minute before speaking.“I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone else was here. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said.Evy was now staring at Cass from the safety of Sam’s arms, biting her bottom lip nervously.“Sweetheart, this is Cass.” Sam said. “Can you say hi?”Evy waved at him politely. “Hi.” She said quietly.“Hello.” Cass said, offering her a genuine, but slightly uncomfortable smile.“Cr…”

Sam stopped himself from calling her ‘Cricket’. If he did, Cass would pick up on who she was right away. Sam wasn’t sure he would have the self-control not to express how shocked he was. Though that in and of itself wasn’t a problem, he didn’t want it to slip out that she was supposed to be dead.“Sweetie, me and Dean need to talk to Cass alone. We’ll be right over there.” Sam pointed towards the other side of the room, where the bookcases were. “Just call us if you need us, okay?”“Okay, Sammy.”Sam smiled. God, he missed her so much. “Good girl.” He said, kissing her forehead and putting her back down.

Evy went back to the table and continued working the puzzle, though she kept shooting glances at Sam to make sure he was there. Dean, Cass, and Sam walked over to the far side of the room, talking in whispers to avoid scaring Evy.“Who is that?” Cass asked.Sam sighed. “Cass, it’s Evy.”Cass’s eyes popped wide in surprise. “Excuse me?”“It’s Evy, Cass.” Dean said. “We don’t know how or why, but it’s Evy.”“Wha…?” Cass looked back to the table, where Evy was back on her puzzle. “How long has she been here?”“A couple hours.” Sam said. “I found her in the woods behind the bunker this morning.” “Yeah, that’s another thing.” Dean said, turning to Sam. “What were you doing out there so long?”“I’ll tell you later.” Sam said. He had no intention of doing that.

Cass had been staring at Evy, just as amazed at her as her brothers. He heard their conversation but let it go in one ear and out the other. He suddenly had an idea.“Do you know what time she came from?” Cass asked. “Approximately what date?”“No.” Sam said. “Why?”“If you know the date she’s from,” Cass suggested, “we may be able to figure out how she got here. Have you asked her what she was doing before you found her?”

It was Sam’s turn to kick himself. He’d been so shocked at finding Evy that he hadn’t thought to ask her anything about where she’d come from. He turned back to the table and sat next to her, turning her chair around slightly to face him. Her feet dangled over the edge of the chair, and she swung them back and forth. Dean and Cass sat across from them. Sam took her hand gently and Evy looked back up at him.“Cricket, we need your help.” Sam said.“You need my help?” Evy said. “With what?”“We need to ask you something, and I need you to answer as best you can, okay? Don’t leave anything out. Understand?”Evy nodded solemnly.
“What’s the last thing you remember before I found you this morning?” he asked.Evy was confused. “What do you mean?”“What was going on? What were you doing?” Sam asked. “It may help us figure out how you got here.”“Um…” Evy stopped swinging her legs and closed her eyes. Sam smiled; he had taught her to do that when she was having trouble remembering something.“Take your time, Cricket.” He assured her.After a few seconds, she opened her eyes. “I was sick.”“You were sick?” Sam asked. “Sick how?”“My stomach was hurting really bad.” Evy explained. “You took me to the hospital. The doctor said I needed an operation.”

The pieces clicked together in Sam’s brain like the puzzle that Evy had been working on just a few minutes earlier. Though he had no idea how she had ended up near the bunker over twenty years later, he had half the mystery solved. Sam closed his eyes for a moment, blocking out the, to put it mildly, unpleasant memory. When he opened his eyes, Evy was still looking at him expectantly.“Did that help?” Evy asked.“Yes, baby. It helped a lot.” Sam said, standing up. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently. “Thank you.”Evy smiled, and turned back to the puzzle. Sam took note that she was almost three quarters of the way done, and signaled for Dean and Cass to come back and join him where they’d been talking before. Dean and Cass were confused at Sam’s sudden epiphany.“Sam? Care to share with the class?” Dean asked.“Dean, do you remember when she had her appendix taken out?” Sam asked.Recognition suddenly dawned on Dean’s face too. “No way.”“What happened?” Cass asked.“That night she was talking about, the night she got sick? She had surgery to take her appendix out. The surgery went fine, but she wouldn’t wake up later. She was unconscious for three days.” Sam explained. “The doctors couldn’t figure out why.”Cass nodded. “That’s seems to be the most likely explanation.”Dean asked, “Cass, have you ever heard of anything like this?”“No.” Cass said simply. “But that doesn’t rule it out.” Cass turned to look at Evy, the familiar sense of pride he’d always felt about her starting to come back to him. “I’ll see if I can find a way to send her back home. You two stay here with her.”Sam nodded. “Thanks, Cass.”“I’m finished!”

Sam looked back towards the table and was not surprised at all to find a perfectly completed puzzle. Sam checked his phone and looked to Dean, holding his hand out. He and Dean had made a bet when Sam found a puzzle that Evy couldn’t finish it in under three hours.“Two and a half hours, Dean.” Sam said.“Ah, shut up.” Dean said, slapping a five dollar bill in Sam’s hand.

Sam, laughing, took the bill from Dean and shoved it in his pocket. He went over and praised Evy. It had been a long, long time since he’d been able to just play with her like this, and he intended to take full advantage of it. In the back of his mind, though, he thought back to the terrible day Evy had just come from.
Twenty-Three Years Earlier

Sixteen year old Sam Winchester sat in the surgical waiting room, his heart pounding hard in his chest. He’d only been here for four hours, but it felt like a week. When he’d brought Evy in, she’d been crying and shaking in pain. Everything had happened in a flash. The doctor had examined Evy, told Sam that she needed emergency surgery right away, and that it had to happen fast. An hour after arriving, a still crying Evy was being wheeled into surgery. Sam could hear her voice playing over and over in his head.

“I’m scared, Sammy.”

Sam thought about what he’d told her, and hoped that it was all true. That she’d be fine. That she’d wake up feeling much better. That he would be right there the second she opened her eyes. The last one Sam had no doubt about. Heaven, hell, God, demons, ghosts, his father; it didn’t matter. Sam was not about to let anything, natural or supernatural, keep him from his little girl. Especially not when she was sick and hurting like this.

“Sam.”

Sam was shaken out of his thoughts by the voice of his father, who had just appeared in the doorway. Dean and Bobby were right behind him, and all three looked incredibly worried. Sam mused for a moment on the fact that a tiny little girl could cause four grown men who regularly fought monsters without fear to be truly afraid.

“Dad.” Sam said, greeting his father.

“Sam, what happened?” John asked, taking the chair next to Sam.

Sam swallowed hard and ran a hand through his hair. “She was complaining of a stomachache all night. I made her lay down and I thought she’d get better. She woke up a little while later. God, Dad, she was….”

John put a rare hand of comfort on Sam’s shoulder. “What, Sammy?”

“She was screaming, Dad.” A heartbroken Sam said, his voice breaking. “She was hurting, and screaming, and I couldn’t help her.”

“Sam, you did the right thing.” John said. “She’ll be fine, son.”

“Abigail Winston.”

At the sound of the alias Sam had used for their trip to the hospital, he jumped up. The doctor who had taken Evy to surgery, Dr. Kissler, was standing there. John, Dean, and Bobby followed behind him.

“How is she?” Sam asked immediately.

Dr. Kissler noticed all the new people in the room. “Who are all of you?” he asked.

“I’m her father.” John said. “Where is my daughter?”

“Abigail is quite the trooper. She made it through the surgery just fine. We took her appendix out before it ruptured.” He said.

“Great.” John said, smiling with relief. “Can we see her?”

Dr. Kissler sighed. “There was a complication.”

“What kind of complication?” Sam asked.

Dr. Kissler wished, more than anything, he could give them better news. “Is there any chance that she’s allergic to some medication that you didn’t tell me about?”

“No.” Sam said right away. He knew Evy’s medical history better than anyone. “Why?”

“Abigail’s actually been out of surgery for over an hour. She should have woken up by now.” Dr. Kissler said. “We’ve taken her out of recovery and moved her to the ICU. We need to keep her here for observation and try to figure out why she isn’t waking up.”

“Doc, please.” Dean spoke up for the first time. “Can we see her?”

“For a minute, yes.” Dr. Kissler said. “Follow me.”

Dr. Kissler led the four men down the hall to the ICU. There were a few rooms, and Dr. Kissler led them into the one at the farthest end of the hall. The lights were on, and for a moment Sam couldn’t tell where Evy was. When he did, Sam felt his breath catch in his throat. She was lying on the bed, which looked huge compared to her tiny frame which was sleeping on it. Sam sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, brushing her hair away which was hanging in front of her face. I should have given you a bath before I put you to bed, he couldn’t help but think. As Sam leaned down to give Evy a kiss, he heard his father ask,
“Is she in a coma, doctor?”

“No.” Dr. Kissler said. “That’s why it’s so puzzling. Her brain activity is normal, and she’s responding to outside stimulus. For whatever reason, she’s just in a very, very deep sleep. We’ve drawn a little blood to try and run some tests. I’m sorry, I wish I had more answers for you. But I assure you we’re doing everything we can to find out what’s going on.” “Thank you, doctor.” John said.

Dr. Kissler checked the clock and his heart sank again. “Listen, I’m sorry about this, but visiting hours are almost over, and we only allow a parent or guardian to spend the night with a child in the ICU.”

Sam looked at his dad in a panic. “Dad, please…”

“And they have to be over eighteen.” Dr. Kissler said.

Sam’s heart sank. The thought of Evy waking up and him not being there like he’d promised crushed him. He looked at John with tears in his eyes, pleading. John sighed. He wanted to stay with Evy. But he knew that it would not go over well if she woke up, sick and miserable, and Sam was not close by. She would panic and cry, and John couldn’t stand the thought of that.

“Doctor, let me ask. You don’t know what’s keeping my daughter asleep, right?” he said.

“Right.” Dr. Kissler said.

“So this could just be a fluke. She could wake up any second now and be totally fine.” John continued.

“She could.” Dr. Kissler agreed.

“When she does wake up, she needs to be calm, I’m assuming?” John asked.

“That’s true.”

“Doctor, my son takes care of my daughter ninety nine percent of the time. If she wakes up and he’s not here, she will not be, in any sense of the word, calm.” John said evenly. “So if my son is willing to stay, he needs to stay.”

Dr. Kissler sighed. He actually hated the hospital rule that only one person could stay with a child in the ICU. Children who were that sick needed as much family around as was willing to be there. Looking at Sam, Dr. Kissler saw the tears shining in the boy’s eyes. She had clung to her brother while she’d been examined as if it would actually kill her to let him go. Separating them would just lead to heartbreak, and that would hinder any healing that needed to take place. And if the girl woke up and really did react badly to her brother not being there, it could make whatever was not allowing her to wake up worse. Dr. Kissler nodded.

“Okay. I’ll need you to sign a waiver saying that it’s okay for your son to stay here without you. Assuming you are okay with it…” Dr. Kissler said, turning to Sam.

“I’m not leaving her.” Sam said.

“Okay. I’ll let you gentlemen say good night. You can come back in the morning at nine. Mr. Winston, I’ll leave the waiver at the nurses station.” Dr. Kissler said.

“Thank you, doctor.” John said.

Dean and Bobby both said their good nights to Evy, wishing her a speedy recovery and asking her to wake up soon. They stepped out into the hallway to wait for John, who lingered for a moment in the room, staring down at Evy’s unconscious body lying on the bed. Sam still sat on the edge of the bed, holding Evy’s hand. He had been shocked when his father had stood up for him, and allowed him to be the one to stay with Evy. Shocked but incredibly grateful.

“Dad?”

“Yeah, Sammy?” John said, tearing his eyes away from Evy.

Sam swallowed. “Thank you.” He said.

“You’re welcome, Sammy.” John smiled. “Call one of us if she wakes up in the night, okay? I don’t care what time it is.”

“Sure, dad.” Sam nodded.
“And Sam? I get why you want to stay with her. I do. But you need to take care of yourself too, okay?” John said. “I’m not going to make you train while she’s still recovering, but I do expect you to get some sleep and eat like you’re supposed to. If you don’t do that, I will make you leave and I’ll be the one to stay here. The last thing your sister needs is for you to get sick too.”
“Yes, sir.” Sam said. He turned back to Evy, the guilt in his heart threatening to eat him alive. “Dad, I’m sorry.”

“For what, Sam?” John asked.

“She was telling me her stomach was hurting all night. Maybe if I’d gotten here sooner…” Sam said, his voice starting to break.

“Sam, stop it.” John said, pulling a chair up beside Sam. “Listen to me. Children get stomach aches. You had no reason to think it was anything other than that. But as soon as it got bad, you jumped into action. If you hadn’t gotten here when you did, your sister might have died, Sam. You saved her life. Understand?”

Sam nodded, though the guilt still threatened to crush him. “Yes, sir.” He whispered.

“Okay.” John said. Turning to Evy, he took her hand and kissed it, then stroked her hair lightly. “Get back to us, little one. We miss you. Daddy loves you.”

Before John could leave, Sam thought of something. “Dad?” John turned back to him and he asked, “Will you bring Squish with you in the morning?”

John smiled and nodded, then finally turned and left. Sam was relieved. He let go the single tear that had been threatening to fall when the doctor had said that Evy wasn’t waking up. The guilt and the fear threatened to eat him alive, to destroy him, but Sam wouldn’t let it. Like John had said, the last thing that Evy needed right now was for him to get sick too. So Sam turned out the lights in the room, got back on the bed with Evy, and positioned her so that she was completely wrapped in his arms.

“Sammy’s here, Cricket. Wherever you are right now, I’m waiting for you. Come back to me, baby. I love you.”

Sam was snapped out of his thoughts by a tug on his leg. Evy stood underneath him, childish smile on her face, arms outstretched towards him. Sam picked her up again and held her tightly to him. What she said next made the tears he’d fought to keep away come.“I’m here, Sammy. Please don’t be sad.”Sam smiled. This was both the happiest and the saddest that he’d been in years. He knew he’d have to let Evy go soon, but he didn’t have to right this second. So he squeezed her as tight as he could without suffocating her.“I’m not sad, Cricket.” Sam assured her. “How could I be? You’re here with me.”

Sam had forgotten how nice it was to feel needed. Though Evy was bravely facing the situation, especially given the fact that she was only six years old, she kept coming to him throughout the day and wrapping her arms around his legs or his neck, as if checking to make sure he was still there. Sam admired her strength, even as a little kid. Most adults would have been freaking out at that point, but Evy was fine as long as Sam kept reassuring her. Cass returned close to dinnertime, informing them on what he’d found. When Sam and Dean sat Evy down to tell her about it, she said nothing for a moment. She was mulling it over in her head. Finally, she turned to Sam.“So, you’re grown-up Sammy?’ she asked. Sam nodded, and she continued. “And you’re my brother Dean, just older?” Dean nodded. “And all I have to do is stay here with you until I can go back home?”“That’s right, kiddo.” Dean said.Evy nodded and looked away from both of them. She tried to hide it, but Sam caught her wiping a tear away from her eye. It pained him to do it. It had been years, but she needed it. Sam gently took her chin and turned her to face him.“Talk to me.” He said softly.Evy’s bottom lip started trembling. “I want to go home.”

Sam had to stop himself from saying this is your home. The fact was, this wasn’t her home. Not yet. She didn’t belong here. It killed him to admit that, but she couldn’t stay here. Sam put a hand to her cheek. His hand covered almost the whole right side of her face. Evy leaned into it, searching him for answers. Sam wiped her tear away before promising,“You will, sweetheart. I promise. I will get you home.”Evy nodded, deciding that grown-up Sammy would keep his promises to her just like the Sammy she knew would’ve. She smiled, then asked,“What are we gonna do?”“Whatever you want.” Dean answered. “You got three days. It’s up to you.”Evy grinned and turned to him. “Can we go get pie?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Dinner and Bedtime

Though Evy’s request for pie earned an eye roll from Sam, they both took her for pie and spent the rest of the day with her. Dean ran around the yard chasing her, grabbing her and flying her through the air. Sam took her to his room, where he sat her on the bed and played Finding Nemo for her. Though he had dreaded watching it when it was her favorite movie growing up, he relished watching her see it for the first time again. Dinner had been an interesting adventure. Evy wanted to help, but Sam couldn’t find anything in the bunker other than some junk food, the ingredients for the monkey sandwiches, and some days old leftover pizza. So an impromptu family trip to the grocery store became the bulk of their afternoon. While there, an older woman in her sixties approached Sam.“Is she your daughter?” she asked.Sam, who had been looking at some fruit juice for Evy, jumped. “I’m sorry?”“Is she your daughter?” the woman repeated.

She nodded towards the end of the aisle, where Dean was holding Evy and planning something. What exactly, he couldn’t tell, and he was absolutely certain that he didn’t want to know. Sam smiled and chuckled, then turned back to the woman.“Yes. She is.” Sam said.“She’s absolutely adorable.” The woman said. “She looks just like you. You’re a lucky man.”Sam hadn’t thought of himself as lucky in a very long time. He smiled and said, “Thank you. I am a lucky man.”

Sam finished getting dinner and left, Dean holding the bags and Evy clinging to Sam. Sam had a sudden burst of inspiration, and stopped at Goodwill to get a couple changes of clothes for Evy and a set of PJs. She helped Sam with dinner, more so than Dean, who tried to eat everything before it was ready. A couple hours later, around 8:30pm, as Sam finished with giving Evy a bath and changing her into her PJs, she started to yawn. She leaned into Sam’s shoulder heavily.“Sammy, I’m tired.” She whined.

Sam sighed and patted her back. This was the part of the day he had been dreading the most. If he could, he would keep her up the entire four days. He wanted to hold her, talk to her, make her laugh, enjoy as much time with her as she could. But that just wasn’t possible. So Sam scratched her back and said softly,“Let’s put you to bed, huh?”

Evy nodded and let Sam pick her up and carry her to bed. You must be exhausted. Sam thought. You stopped letting me carry you to bed when you were three. Sam took her down the hall and into the bedroom right next to his. He showed her where he was sleeping, then went in the room he had briefly set up for her. He wished he could’ve done more with it, but all he had had time for was making the bed and putting in Beanie, which he had dug out of a box of Evy’s stuff that he kept in his bedroom closet. Sam laid Evy down on the bed, and tucked her in.

His heart ached as he tucked her in. He had numbed himself to his grief for Evy. He’d had to in order to halfway function. Sam found it ironic that the person who had caused him the most joy in the world had also caused him the deepest, most profound heartache. When Evy was finally settled in bed, she looked up and smiled at him. Sam took one long moment to take everything in. He brushed her hair away from her face, and wished for a minute he could stop time.“Good night, Cricket.”Evy yawned. “Good night, Sammy.”“If you need me, call out, okay? I’ll be here in two seconds flat.” Sam assured her.Evy nodded. “Will you stay?” she whispered. “Till I go to sleep?”Sam smiled. Exactly the request he’d been hoping for. “You bet.”

Evy smiled. She grabbed Sam’s hand and put it on her belly, then turned on her side with her back to Sam. Sam smiled and took the hint, lifting up the back of her pajama shirt and gently scratching her back. Less than five minutes later, her breathing was long and drawn out. Sam stood up, kissed her cheek, and finally left the room. He walked out towards the kitchen, more memories playing in the back of his mind.

Sam was frustrated. They had been at the hospital for a day and a half. The doctors were growing more and more concerned with Evy’s condition. It wasn’t deteriorating, but it was not improving either. She was just asleep, and refusing to wake up. Her heart rate, temperature, and everything else was completely normal. Her reflexes were good. No one could figure out what was going on.

Sam read to her, sang to her, even tried shaking her awake when the doctors weren’t looking. Nothing was working. He was entering his second night in the hospital. Dean, Bobby, and John had come for most of the day. John had repeated his instructions to Sam, then headed out.

The sun had long since gone down. Sam was sitting next to Evy’s bed, reading to her again, when he was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. When he looked up, Sam saw one of the nurses with a brown bag in her hand. She was a kind looking woman, with long brown wavy hair. She looked only a few years older than Sam.

“Hey, sweetie, are you okay?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” Sam said. “Are you taking her for more tests?”

The nurse laughed. “Sweetie, I meant you.” She said. “I came to check on you. Are you okay?”

“Oh.” Sam was startled. He’d been so wrapped up with Evy that he hadn’t expected anyone to ask about him. “I’m okay. Just worried.”

“Have you eaten today?” she asked.

“Um…” Sam had eaten, but only bits and pieces.

The nurse smiled. “That’s okay. That’s what I thought.” She handed Sam the brown bag. “My brother fixed this for me for dinner. You take it.”

“What…” Sam looked inside. “Is that…?”

“Peanut butter and bananas.” She said. “He’s been making them for me since I was little.”

Sam laughed. “I thought I was the only one.” Sam nodded towards Evy. “She loves them.”

The nurse smiled. “You eat, sweetie.”

“What about you?” Sam said. “I can’t take your dinner.”

“You can and you will.” She said, pushing the bag towards him.

Sam laughed. There was something familiar about the nurse. She felt like a kindred spirit, someone he was connected to in some way that he couldn’t explain. He took the bag from her and smiled appreciatively.

“Thank you.” Sam said.

“You’re welcome.” She said. She glanced at Evy then back at Sam. “You are a very good brother. Has anyone ever told you that?”

Sam stopped midbite and looked at the nurse thoughtfully. The truth was, only one person had told him that lately.

“She does.” Sam said, pointing at the bed. “All the time.”

“She loves you.” The nurse said. “She loves you and wants you to know that.”

“Yeah.” Sam suddenly looked sad. “I used to take it for granted. Now that she hasn’t said it in a whole day, I miss it.”

“You know,” the nurse said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, “I’m not really supposed to say this, but your sister’s going to be okay.”

Sam looked up at the nurse with unshed tears in his eyes. “How do you know?” he asked.

“Trust me, kiddo.” She said. “She’ll be back soon. She’s just taking an extended nap.”
“Sam!”

Sam was startled out of his daydream by Dean’s voice. He had made it all the way to the kitchen, and had been so wrapped up in his memories that he had no recollection of making the trip there.
Dean was looking at him concerned.“You okay?” he asked. “I called you like six times.”“Yeah.” Sam said. “Sorry.”

Sam sat down at the table, running his fingers through his hair. He hadn’t realized how tired he actually was until he sat down with nothing else to think about. Dean went to the fridge and grabbed a beer, then set one in front of Sam too. No one said anything, both of them still too flabbergasted to know what to say. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Dean finally asked,“Sam? You okay?”

Sam took a long, slow drink of his beer before answering, and Dean waited patiently. Was he okay? How was he supposed to answer that question? He’d dreamed every day for Evy to come back. Now she was, in a way, but not permanently. Sam was grateful, but he was also pissed. What kind of cruel twist of fate would do this to him? Bobby’s words from years earlier floated to the front of Sam’s mind, and made him have to take a deep, ragged breath. She’s the love of my life. How many times do I have to kill her? Sam had lost so many people already. He hadn’t thought it was possible, but he’d lived through losing Evy. Halfway lived through it, anyway. Every day was a struggle. Fifteen minutes of peace would vanish when he’d suddenly remember something Evy had said or done. Though he relished the fact that he still had clear, vivid memories of her, both as a child and an adult, the memories always caused the constant dull pain he’d become accustomed to to sharpen. Sam began to speak, using the opportunity to sort out his own feelings.“I lost her once.”Dean narrowed his eyes in surprise. “What do you mean?”“I lost her once.” Sam repeated, staring intently at his beer bottle. “She was…two, maybe three, I don’t remember exactly. You and Dad were on a hunt, me and Evy were staying at Bobby’s. She was really, really hyper.” Sam laughed humorlessly. “She needed to run off some energy, so I took her to the park. I had to go to the bathroom about thirty minutes after we got there. I took her to the family one, and I told her to put her hand on the bathroom sink and don’t move it until I come out.”“And she did?” Dean guessed.“Yep.” Sam confirmed. “I couldn’t have been in there more than, two, three minutes, but she got antsy and left. I found her back on the other side of the park. She’d gotten impatient and gone back to play where we’d been before.”“Wow.” Dean said. “What’d you do?”“Yelled at her. Mostly.” Sam said. Dean caught Sam’s hidden meaning behind ‘mostly’ and said nothing. “Anyway, she was crying, so I picked her up and took her to a park bench and just held her for probably ten, fifteen minutes. I didn’t want to let her go.” A tear escaped down Sam’s cheek. He waited another few seconds before speaking again. “The reason I was so crazy when she died, was because my brain kept thinking about that day at the park. And I kept thinking that, maybe, if I just let myself feel the pain, the worry of losing her, that, maybe after a few minutes I’d find her again.”Dean wasn’t sure how to respond.Sam sniffed, and when he spoke again, his voice was breaking. “Dean, I don’t know if I can let her go again.”This time Dean did know what to say. “Maybe we shouldn’t.”Sam finally looked at Dean. “What do you mean?”“I’m saying maybe we shouldn’t send her back.” Dean said. “Maybe we should keep her. Raise her.” “Dean…” Sam said.“Think about it.” Dean said. The idea had been floating in his head all day, but he hadn’t wanted to say anything in front of Evy. “Think about all we’d be saving her from. You going to Stanford. Watching Jess die. Watching me and you die. Sam, we’d be saving her from Lillith.”

Sam wanted to object, but found that he couldn’t. Dean had a point that Sam honestly hadn’t thought about. All the bad things Evy had been through in her life would be erased if they didn’t send her back to face them. (A/N: the alternate story starts here) Sam knew it was selfish, but he was leaning towards taking Dean’s suggestion. He didn’t know how it would affect their lives, or even how it would affect history to keep Evy from the time she was supposed to be in and raise her in their timeline. But he also didn’t care. The opportunity to give Evy a life, one possibly free of all the pain and suffering she’d been through, was too good to pass up.“Hi, Sam.”

Sam and Dean both jumped. Standing there in the kitchen was Chuck. He looked exactly the same as the last time they’d seen him. The worst day of both their lives. The day that Evy had died. No one said anything for a moment, until Dean found his voice.“What the hell are you doing here?” Dean asked.Chuck sighed deeply. He’d expected the hostility from Dean. Chuck noted that Sam looked fearful. Chuck realized that Sam was afraid he had come to take Evy away from him again. He took a long look at Sam. Losing Evy had clearly taken its toll on Sam. He looked twenty years older than the last time Chuck had seen him. Chuck could see it in Sam’s face. He had given up. He felt he had no reason to go on. Evy’s death had eaten at Chuck ever since it happened. And now, if Sam wanted, Chuck planned to make it right.“I need to talk to you both.” Chuck said. “Can I sit down?”

Dean looked to Sam, who nodded his permission. Sam figured that Chuck had already done the worst thing to him that he could do, so there was nothing else that could happen. Dean reluctantly sat back down, and they both waited tensely to see what Chuch had to say.“Guys, I’m sorry.”

Whatever it was Sam and Dean had been expecting, that certainly wasn’t it. Chuck was not known for being apologetic about his decisions. He didn’t have a reason to be; he designed it all in the first place. But what Sam and Dean didn’t know was that Chuck did feel regret. He was sorry for the pain some of his decisions caused. Evy, like other sensitives, had been very attached to her family, but she was also one of the bravest that Chuck had ever created. It wasn’t an easy feat to impress him, as he tended to know everything even before it happened, but she had managed to do it over and over.“Sorry for what?” Dean asked.“For taking Evy from you.” Chuck said. “I’m not sorry that I made her the way I did, but I am sorry that I caused you guys so much pain by taking her away the way I did.”Both boys said nothing. To Sam, even though it had been three years, the wound was still fresh. He didn’t mind talking about it with Dean, as Dean was struggling with it almost as much as Sam. To Dean, the wound was fresh too, but it led him to anger, not hurt. Dean had gotten used to loss before Evy died, but he was proud of the fact that, despite all they’d been through together, Sam and Evy were still with him. He had protected them and kept them safe. But he hadn’t been able to protect Evy.“If that’s all you came to say,” Dean said, “you can go.”“Dean…” Sam said.“That’s not all I came for, Dean.” Chuck said. “I came to offer you and Sam the chance to do what you were just talking about. Raise her. Give her that childhood that she and you two never had.”“You mean…?” Sam said, thinking that it was too good to be true. “You mean we can keep her?”“Yes.” Chuck answered simply.“But what about…?” Sam asked, not knowing where to start. “Won’t keeping her here affect the timeline…?”“Yes.” Chuck said. “But I’ll take care of that. As far as the rest of the world, and your father, will be concerned, Evy went missing from her hospital bed and disappeared. Your father will think Azazel did it.
Everything else will be basically the same.”

Sam couldn’t believe it. He wanted to, but he couldn’t. As Dean liked to say lately, things never worked out for them. When something good came into their lives, it meant that it was going to be snatched away from them, so it was better to just not get their hopes up.“Guys, you don’t have to do this.” Chuck said. “I can send her home and have everything go back to the way it was before.”“Will she remember?” Sam asked. “Will she know that we kept her here?”“I can’t alter her memory.” Chuck said. “It could have the same effect on her as healing her. So, if you do decide to do it, you’re either going to have to tell her the truth or come up with a story about why she can’t go home.”

Sam wasn’t looking forward to telling Evy she wasn’t going home. He didn’t want to make her think that he was deliberately braking his promise to her to send her home, but this was too good an opportunity to pass up. Start over. Give Evy a home, a real home, and maybe, in turn, Sam and Dean would get one too.“There’s no catch?” Dean said.“No.” Chuck answered.“Why are you doing this?” Dean asked. “Why now?”Chuck sighed. “Because it’s time something went right for the two of you.”

Sam and Dean were both silent. Could they really do this? Could they raise a child between them? Would they have to give up their hunting lifestyle? Could they still hunt and give Evy a normal life? All these things weighed on Sam’s mind, but they could work through them later.“We’ll do it.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Dean stared at Sam with bulging, disbelieving eyes. Was he seriously considering doing it? Dean had brought it up, but the possibility of it actually happening had not occurred to him. Forget the fact that it was Evy. He would, as he’d often told Evy, do anything for her. But how could Sam and Dean raise a kid? Especially from the bunker? This was no life for her.“Sam…”“No, Dean.” Sam said, putting a definitive end to Dean’s objections. “Look, I’d like you to do this with me, but I won’t make you. She deserves this. We’ll work out the details later, but I’m doing this.”Dean opened his mouth to argue, but he couldn’t. Evy did deserve this. Sam deserved this. And not that he would ever admit it, Dean deserved this. They all deserved to be happier, a chance to start over. Dean turned around to accept Chuck’s offer too, but Chuck was already gone.“What the hell are we gonna do?” Dean asked.“Not talk about it tonight.” Sam said. “We’re both exhausted and there’s way too much to decide tonight.”“We do need to decide what we’re going to tell her in the morning.” Dean pointed out. “Sam, you did promise we’d get her home.”“I know.” Sam said. “Let’s cross that bridge first. Tell her in the morning that she’s not going home, give her a few days to get used to it. Then we’ll work out the details.”“Okay.” Dean said. “Oh, wow.”“What?” Sam asked.“Did we just become parents?” Dean asked.Sam smiled. “Yeah. I think we did.”

Both of them were up for a few more hours. Neither of them could sleep, and neither wanted to admit that it was because they felt guilty. Evy was going to be devastated that she couldn’t go home. They didn’t want to lie to her, but admitting that they weren’t going to send her home when they did have that option was sure to turn her against them, and that would not be entirely unjustified. Every time Sam started to feel guility about lying to her, he’d remember things like leaving for Stanford, Jess dying, John dying, Lillith attacking her, and his resolve would set again. Sam fell asleep at the kitchen table, and was woken up the next morning by small fingers poking him in the side.“Sammy.”Sam jumped. “What?” he said, still half asleep.“Sammy, wake up, please.”

It was Evy. Sam smiled; a part of him had still thought that everything had been a dream. Sam sat up fully, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Evy climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around his chest. Sam returned her hug.“You okay?” he asked as he held her.“Yeah.” Evy said with a yawn.“How’d you sleep?” he asked.“Okay.” Evy answered. “This place is big and kinda scary.”Sam chuckled. “You get used to it.” he said. “Are you hungry?”

Forty-five minutes later, Sam had a happily fed Evy sitting across from him at the kitchen table. They were playing a game that Sam had forgotten about. He placed his hand on the table, Evy placed hers on top of his, Sam placed his other hand on top of hers, and Evy’s other hand was on top of the pile. The person on the bottom of the pile had to quickly pull their hand out and place it on the top of the pile. It was simple, and there was no winners or losers. More often than not, the two of them ended up in a hysterically laughing pile on the floor. It was the sound of that laughter and Evy’s fifth chant in fifteen minutes of “Again!” that woke up Dean and brought him to the kitchen.“What are you two doing?” he asked, his messy hair sticking up all over the place from heavy sleep.“Deanie!” Evy exclaimed happily, jumping off the kitchen chair and running to him.

Dean was so shocked that Evy was nearly able to knock him over. She wrapped her arms around Dean’s waist and held on. Dean had tears in his eyes as he reached down to pick her up. Sam watched the scene with tears too, and he saw in Dean’s face an acceptance that they were doing the right thing. Dean poured himself a cup of coffee and walked back over to the table with Evy.“Did you two save me any breakfast?” he asked.Evy suddenly looked guilty. “No. Sorry.”“You didn’t leave me anything?” Dean asked in mock upset. “You mean it’s all in here?”Dean poked Evy’s stomach lightly, which made her giggle. “Sammy ate some too.” she said between laughs.“He did, did he?” Dean asked. “I guess I’ll have to make lunch then. What do you want?”“I get to choose?” Evy asked. “All by myself?” “Anything other than cookies, candy, or ice cream.” Sam said.“Anything?” Evy asked again.“Anything.” Sam promised.“Pie.”

Dean, who had been taking a sip of coffee, nearly snorted the coffee out of his nose. Sam rolled his eyes, forgetting that, even though she had spent more time with him as she grew up, she had Dean’s mischievous attitude. He had to put his hand in front of his mouth to hide a grin. Once Dean stopped laughing, he very unhelpfully pointed out to Sam,“You did say anything other than cake, cookies, or ice cream.”

Sam just shook his head. He had on his mind what he had been dreading all night. He knew it was time; if they put it off any longer, it would just become harder. Sam reached across the table and took Evy’s hands in his. Dean realized what he was about to do and immediately stopped laughing. He wrapped an arm around Evy’s waist.“Cricket, Deanie and I need to tell you something.Evy looked to Sam first, then up at Dean, scared at their change in attitude and demeanor. “What’s wrong?”Sam took a deep breath and broke the news to her. “We’re not going to be able to send you back home, baby.”“Why not?” Evy asked, her eyes immediately flooding with devastated tears. “You said yesterday…” “We thought yesterday we would be able to send you back, sweetheart.” Dean said, knowing that Evy’s crying would make it impossible for Sam to do the job on his own. “But things have changed.” “What things?” Evy asked, pulling her hands out of Sam’s and pushing Dean’s away from her waist. “I want to go home!”“I know it’s hard to understand, baby.” Sam said. “But we can’t…”“You can’t keep me here!” Evy protested. “I want my family!”“We are your family.” Dean said. “We are your family, just older.”“No, you’re not!” Evy said. “You’re not my family! I want my Sammy and my Deanie! They’re gonna be looking for me…”“We did.”

Sam’s statement was so full of certainty that, had Dean not known it to be a flat out lie, he would have believed it himself. Sam was fighting tears too, and Dean waited to see how he was going to play this out.“We did look for you, baby.” Sam said. “We looked for you for a long time. But you went missing from your hospital bed. Daddy and me and Deanie tried to find you, but we never could. Until now.”Both Sam and Dean held their breath, praying their fabricated explanation would work and Evy would accept it. Evy was crying hard now, and she shook her head and pulled even further away from Dean. She was now sitting on the edge of his lap. Her tears were falling in a puddle onto the table.“Cricket, listen…” Sam said.“NO!” Evy suddenly shouted, jumping off Dean’s lap. “No, leave me alone!”

Evy bolted from the kitchen like there was jet fuel in her shoes. She ran in the direction of the bedroom Sam had put her to sleep in the night before. Dean started to run after her, but Sam stopped him.“She just lost her whole family, Dean.” Sam said. “Give her some time alone.”“We are her family.” Dean said.“No.” Sam said, though it killed him to admit it. “No, we’re not. She was right about that. She doesn’t know us. When she’s calmed down, I’ll go talk to her again.”“Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?” Dean asked.Sam turned to him with a you’ve got to be kidding me look. “This was your idea in the first place!”“I know, but…” Dean said, running his hand through his hair. “I never really thought it was possible. And I just don’t want her to hate us.”“I know.” Sam replied. “I know. I don’t either. And I don’t think she will. She just needs a little time. I’ll go check on her in a few minutes.”

Evy flung open the bedroom door and jumped into the bed, burying her face in a pillow and crying hysterically. She wanted her family back. When she’d gone to sleep on the operating room table, what kept her from being scared was knowing that Sammy was there, waiting for her to wake up. When she thought about Sammy, her Sammy, it caused her crying to get worse. He never allowed her to be sad or scared if he could help it, and she knew he was probably crying right now too. Evy was crying so hard now she thought she was going to be sick. She felt someone sit down on the bed beside her. She hadn’t heard anyone come in, but assumed it was Sammy.“Go away!” she said.“I can’t do that, sweetie.”

Evy jumped. She didn’t recognize this new voice. It wasn’t Sam or Dean, and it wasn’t their friend Cass either. This was a different man. He looked nice, but she was scared enough already. She got as far away from him as she could without actually getting off the bed.“Who are you?” she asked.“My name’s Chuck.” he said. “I’m not going to hurt you, sweetheart.”“What do you want?” she asked. “My brothers are right outside.”“They can’t see or hear me.” Chuck said. “And for the moment, they can’t hear anything going on in this room. So you can do whatever you want. Yell, scream, cry, whatever. Just please, listen to me for a minute.”“What do you want?” Evy repeated.“I know you’re scared.” Chuck said. “But what your brothers were telling you earlier is true. You need to stay here with them. It’s too dangerous for you to go back.”“How do you know that?” Evy asked.“Because I’m the one who put you here from your hospital bed, sweetie.” Chuck explained. “I’m the one who sent you here.”“Then you can send me back!” Evy exclaimed. “If you brought me here, then you can send me back.”“No.” Chuck said flatly. “No. Sweetie, like I said, it’s too dangerous for you to go back.”“I want my family!” Evy suddenly shouted, startling Chuck. She reached over and threw the nearest thing she could get her hands on, a book on the nightstand table, as hard as she could at Chuck’s head. “I want to go home!”“I know.” Chuck said patiently. “I know you do, sweetie.”All of Evy’s anger drained out of her, replaced with sadness. “I’m never going to see them again.”“I know it feels that way right now.” Chuck said. “But trust me, sweetheart, your family is right outside the door.”“Not daddy.” Evy said. “Daddy’s dead, isn’t he?”“What makes you say that?” Chuck asked.“If he wasn’t, Sammy would’ve tried to get him to come back by now.” Evy explained.“Yes, honey.” Chuck said. “Your daddy’s gone.”Evy fixed her eyes on Chuck. “Are you an angel too?” she asked.“No.” Chuck said. “But how did you know Cass was an angel?”“I don’t know. I just knew.” Evy explained simply, as she wiped her face again.“No, honey, I’m not an angel.” Chuck said again. “But I do know all the angels.”“You do?” Evy asked.Chuck nodded.Evy was hesitant to ask this, but she had to know. “Do you know my mommy?”Her question was so innocent, so heartfelt, that Chuck thought his own heart was going to shatter. “I do know her, sweetheart.”“If you brought me back to Sam and Dean,” Evy asked, “can you bring my mommy and daddy back to me?”“I’m sorry.” Chuck answered. “No, I can’t bring them back to you. But you can meet your mommy if you’d like.”“I can?” Evy asked.“Yeah.” Chuck said. “Would you like that?”

Evy nodded, and immediately there was a woman standing next to the bed. She had long, curly brown hair and brown eyes, just like Evy. She was smiling, and was as beautiful as Evy had always imagined her.“Mommy?” Evy whispered. “Is that really you?”“Yes, my sweet, beautiful girl. It is.”“Mommy!”

Evy jumped off the bed and ran to her mother, and got the hug she’d wanted her entire life. She had dreamt of what it would feel like to be hugged by her mommy, and her wish was finally coming true. Mommy smelled like flowers, just like Sammy had always told her. Mommy kept Evy close to her, and wiped her tears away from her face as she asked,“Why are you so sad, sweetheart?”“I’m scared, mommy.” Evy explained. “I miss Sammy and Deanie and Daddy. I don’t wanna stay here.”“I know.” Mommy said. “I know you don’t. But like Sammy and Chuck said, it’s too dangerous for you to go back. Hasn’t Sammy always taken good care of you?”“Yeah.” Evy said.“And he always will.” Mommy told her. “No matter where you are, kitten, me and daddy and Deanie and Sammy are always right here.” Mommy pointed to Evy’s heart, and Evy immediately felt a sense of calm and peace that she hadn’t had before. “You will have a good life here with Sammy and Deanie, sweetness. I promise. Just give them a chance.’“Okay, mommy.” Evy said. “I promise I’ll try.”“That’s my good girl.” Mommy said. “Are you ready for Sammy to come back?”“Can I have another hug first?” Evy asked.Mommy laughed. “Of course.”

Mommy gave Evy another long hug. She held her tightly, and with a final “I love you”, she said goodbye. Evy was again alone in her room, and she climbed back on the bed. She was still sad, but was no longer scared. She knew she’d be okay. There was a knock at the door a few minutes later.“Come in.”

Sam was a little surprised at the invitation, but grateful for it. When he walked in, he saw Evy sitting on the bed. She looked completely drained emotionally and physically. Sam could see the dried tears on her face, and immediately felt even more guilt. He sat on the edge of her bed cautiously; if she asked him to leave, he was going to. She had no reason at all to trust Sam, and he wanted her to trust him on his own.“Are you okay?” Sam asked.“I guess.” Evy said. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”“Oh, baby.” Sam said, his heart breaking again. “You were scared. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”“It’s not fair, Sammy.” Evy said.“What’s not, baby?” Sam asked.“I went to sleep with one family and woke up with a different one.” Evy said.“I know, baby.” Sam said. “You’re right. It’s not fair.” But neither is anything else that happened to you, Sam thought. “It’s not fair, and I wish I could change it. But I promise you, we’ll be okay. Deanie and I will take care of you.”Evy was silent for a long time before asking Sam, “Did you really look for me?”“Yes.” Sam said. “Yes, we did. We looked for you everywhere.”

That was not entirely a lie. After Evy’s death, Sam had found himself looking for her constantly. He would hear water running and his brain would tell him Evy’s taking a shower or washing her face. He would hear Dean watching a movie and think Evy’s in there with him. Several times, especially in the first two weeks after Evy had died, Sam would have a nightmare about Evy, and he would wake up thinking Evy needs me. He had looked for Evy, looked for a way to fill the hole in his heart that had been ripped open when she had taken her last breath. He knew that it was selfish, but he was going to take that opportunity now.“What happens to me now?” Evy asked suddenly.“What do you mean?” Sam asked.“Is it gonna be like it was before?” Evy asked. “Do you and Deanie still hunt monsters?”“I don’t know what’s gonna happen, baby.” Sam said. “Can I sit with you?” Evy nodded, and Sam climbed on the bed beside and pulled her onto his lap. “Dean and I still do hunt. But I’m not going to anymore.” “Why not?” Evy asked.“Because you come first.” Sam said. “You come first before anything else. You deserve to have someone take care of you. And from now on, that’s gonna be me. Full time. Alright?”“You mean a home?” Evy asked.

Sam had to swallow hard to stop from crying. Evy was barely six years old and it killed Sam that she was hoping for a home. He remembered all too well hoping for the same thing at her age. He had always tried to provide her with one, but he knew that it had always fallen short. Sam brushed Evy’s hair gently out of her face.“Yeah, baby. I mean a home. A real one.” Sam said. “How’s that sound?”Evy smiled and wrapped her arms around Sam’s waist. “I love you, Sammy.”“I love you too, my baby.” Sam said. “I love you too.” After a few minutes of holding her close to him, Sam asked, “Do you feel better? Is there anything I can do?”Evy sat up grinning. “Can we have the pie for lunch?”Sam laughed. Though it went against every parental instinct he had, if letting Evy have pie for lunch was all she wanted from him after all she’d been through the last two days, he would swallow the urge to tell her no for now.“Listen to me, Cricket. This is the only time I will let you have sugar for lunch, okay?”“Okay, Sammy.” Evy said. “Come on, let’s go.”“Yeah, baby.” Sam said quckly, kissing her forehead before putting her on the floor next to the bed. “Let’s go.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Things progressed quickly from that point. Cass had been surprisingly supportive of Sam and Dean keeping Evy. Sam had expected him to, at the very least, try to talk them out of it. But he didn’t, and a grateful Sam surprised Cass by asking him to stay in their lives.“I need all the support I can get.” Sam explained.It was late April when Evy had shown up, so Sam decided against enrolling her in school right away. He would enroll her in second grade in the fall, which would give him time to get them into a semi-normal family routine. Sam had realized quickly that raising Evy in the bunker would not really be practical. He wanted her to have friends, be able to invite them over, be able to go see them. So he had begun the job of looking for an affordable place to live in town. Jody had used her connection with the local police department to find them a house that was in foreclosure. Claire had driven over and spent two weeks with them, helping pack up the bunker and move into the house. Claire and Evy had spent the better part of three days decorating Evy’s room. Sam and Dean had not been allowed to see it until they were done. A very proud Evy had led Sam by the hand into the bedroom that night.“What do you think, Sammy?”

The walls of the room were painted a light green color, with Evy’s full first name stamped on the wall. Dean had found her a few toys, and they were neatly packed into a toy box in the corner of the room that had once belonged to Jody’s son Owen. Her bed was neatly made, with a rainbow-colored comforter and pillowcase, against which Beanie, Evy’s teddy bear, lay looking out at them.“It looks great, baby.”

More through practice than a formal agreement, Sam and Dean had fallen into a routine of who cared for Evy and when. Dean still hunted, but was gone a day or two longer each time. He would hustle pool, earning them enough money for groceries and other things Evy needed. When Dean was home, Sam would leave for the night to go and earn cash, letting Dean spend some quality time with Evy. Sam had called an old contact at Stanford, who had helped him be able to finish his prelaw degree and start online law classes. Dean had told him it was unnecessary, but Sam insisted they “needed a backup”. It was a comfortable living for all of them, and Evy seemed to be adapting well to the new life.

Then Sam came across a new problem. Evy had no birth certificate, which she would need to start school in the fall. Again Jody came through, calling a hunter contact who was able to create a new birth certificate for her. Sam had thought briefly about listing himself or Dean as her father, but he didn’t want to pressure Evy into calling him dad, even just in public, so he had written ‘John Robert Singer’ in the space for father and ‘Melissa Ann Winchester’ as her mother. He kept the story they would tell the school basically the same as what had actually happened. Sam was her brother and cared for Evy after their parents had died. But Sam realized he didn’t really know what to put for Evy’s birthdate. She had jumped twenty-five years to a completely new time, and it was nearly impossible to pinpoint the right day to celebrate her birthday. So Sam asked Evy when she wanted her birthday to be, and she had a surprising answer.“When was mommy’s birthday?” she asked.“August 30.” Sam answered. “Why?”“I like that one.” Evy decided.

So Evelyn Abigail Winchester was born all over again, with a birthdate of August 30, 2015. Evy woke up early that day, and crept into Sam’s room. Sam pretended to be asleep, but of course knew every move that she was making.“Sammy.”Sam pretended not to hear her, moaning a little like he didn’t want to wake up.“Sammy, wake up.” she said, shaking him slightly.“I don’t wanna wake up.” Sam whined, sticking his bottom lip out and only opening one eye.Evy giggled at his funny face but was insistent. “You gotta wake up.”“Why?” Sam asked, opening both eyes now and lifting her onto the bed. He sat up in the bed and placed her on his lap to face him.“Because it’s an important day, and we gotta see as much of it as we can.” Evy explained.“Oh, yeah?” Sam asked, laughing. “What important day would that be?”“Sammy!” Evy said, exasperated.“I know, I know.” Sam said. “Happy birthday, sweetness.”

Sam took her to the kitchen and made her breakfast. He decided to see if she still loved cinnamon pancakes, which he had made her for her fifth birthday. She lapped them up and asked for seconds, and when she was finally full, Sam told her his plan for the day.“Alright, Cricket. We need to talk.”Evy shifted in her seat, nervous. “Am I in trouble?”“Why do you ask that every time I say we need to talk?” Sam asked.“Because you don’t look happy.” Evy explained. “That’s what daddy used to say when I got in trouble.”

Sam had always wondered why Evy did that, and it finally hit him. The rare times that she would do anything warranting some kind of punishment, John would sit her down and say “We need to talk”. Evy was so sensitive that the thought that she’d done something to upset anyone was enough to make her start crying. John would often lose his temper with Evy crying over what he called “silly” reasons, and at times would even end up swatting her if Sam didn’t intervene. Evy never admitted it outright, but she was afraid of John. She had been ever since he’d told her the truth of the supernatural. Sam became overcome with guilt and grabbed her in a hug before continuing.“I’m sorry, baby.” he said. “I’m sorry. You’re not in trouble, okay? I promise when you ever are, I’ll tell you and we’ll talk about it. And if I ever scare you like daddy used to, let me know, okay?”“Okay. Thank you, Sammy.” Evy said, and Sam could feel her become less tense in his arms.“You’re welcome, baby.” Sam said, kissing her cheek before letting her go.“What did you want to talk about?” Evy asked.“Well,” Sam started, “I need to get you enrolled in school. It starts next week. You’re coming with me so you can meet your teacher.”“Oh.” Evy said, and suddenly she was nervous again.“What’s wrong?” Sam said. “Talk to me.”“I don’t like starting new schools.” Evy said. “It’s scary.”“I know.” Sam said patiently. “But that’s another thing that’s going to change. You’re not going to be changing schools like you were before.”“I’m not?” Evy asked.

Sam smiled at how excited she seemed. Before the end of first grade, Evy had changed schools eight times. She had done well in each one, but it always caused her major anxiety to have to deal with new people and new places.“No. You’re not.” Sam said. “I can’t promise we’ll never move, but this is your home now. Even though Dean’s still hunting, I’m here with you.”“Okay, Sammy.” she said. “I guess I’m ready.”“That’s my brave girl.” Sam said. Evy smiled from the praise. “You ready to head out?”“Yeah.” Evy said. “Is Deanie gonna be back today?”Sam frowned. “I don’t know, sweetheart. But I promise we’ll do something for your birthday tonight. Okay?”“Okay.” she said.“Alright. Go get dressed.” Sam said.

As Evy headed to her room to get dressed, Sam smiled to himself. Dean had actually gotten back the night before, after Evy had been put to bed, and was out with Jody and Claire getting things ready for Evy’s surprise party that night. Sam was taking her to her new school, then out for lunch, then bringing her back for her party. Since she hadn’t started school yet, she hadn’t been able to invite any friends, but Sam hoped that by the same time next year, all that would change. As they pulled up to the elementary school a few minutes later, Evy was uncharacteristically quiet.“You okay?” Sam asked as he turned the car off.Evy seemed to think about it before answering. “Yeah.”“Nervous?” Sam asked, turning around to face her.“A little.”Sam reached over and took Evy’s hand. “I’ll be right there the whole time. I won’t leave you.”“Promise?” Evy asked, practically whispering.“Promise, baby.”

Evy walked inside, holding on tightly to Sam’s hand. The school secretary, Mrs. King, was friendly enough, setting Evy more at ease almost immediately. While Sam stood at the front desk and filled out the paperwork, Evy wrapped an arm around his leg, looking for reassurance. Sam patted her head a few times and handed the paperwork back to Mrs. King, who put it on the desk and stood up.“I’ll lead you to your classroom.” she said. “Are you ready, Evelyn?”“Yes, ma’am.” Evy said quietly.“Are you scared, sweetheart?” Mrs. King asked.Evy nodded, still pressed up against Sam’s leg.Mrs. King turned to Sam and pointed to Evy. “Do you mind?”“Sure.” Sam said.Mrs. King knelt down kindly in front of Evy. “Can I ask what scares you? Is it being in a new school?”“Yes, ma’am.” Evy said. “I don’t know if anyone will like me.”“Well, I do.” Mrs. King replied. “And I just met you. And if you got me to like you that fast, don’t you think you’ll be able to convince your classmates to like you too?” “I guess.” Evy said, her first hint of a smile.“And your teacher happens to be one of the nicest, sweetest people on the entire planet. And you’re going to meet her right now. Are you ready?” Mrs. King asked.“Yes, ma’am, I’m ready.” Evy said politely.

Evy detached herself from Sam’s leg and inserted her hand back in his. Sam felt mixed emotions. She wasn’t scared anymore, so she didn’t quite need him as much as she had before. That felt both amazing and saddening to Sam. Before he could think on it anymore, Mrs. King said something else to Evy.“One more thing, sweetheart. If you ever do get scared here, and you need someone to talk to, you can come find me, okay? I’m here to help you.”“Okay. Thank you.” Evy said.“Come on. Let’s go.” Mrs. King said.

Mrs. King led them all the way down the hallway to the very last room on the left. The hallway was painted in different bright colors, and Evy was reminded of her bedspread at home. Sam noticed she was smiling by the time they arrived at her classroom door. Mrs. King knocked, and a young woman in her mid-20s looked up from a stack of papers on her desk.“Mrs. Olson?” Mrs. King said. “I’ve got one of your new students here. She’d like to meet you, if that’s okay.”“Absolutely.” Mrs. Olson stood up and walked over to Evy, who shrank back a little more against Sam. Mrs. Olson crouched down a little to Evy’s eye level and extended her hand. “Hi there, I’m Mrs. Olson. I’ll be your teacher this year.”“Hi. I’m Evy.” Evy said quietly, shaking her hand politely.“Evy? That’s an unusual name.” Mrs. Olson said.“It’s short for Evelyn.” Sam explained.“Oh, I see.” Mrs. Olson said. “I guess you prefer Evy?”“Yes, ma’am. No one calls me Evelyn unless I’m in trouble.” Evy explained.Mrs. Olson laughed. “Well, I don’t think that’ll be much of a problem. You seem like a very nice, polite young lady. Are you ready to start second grade?”“Yes, ma’am.” Evy said.“Well, I’d like to talk to your father for a minute…” Mrs. Olson said.“Sammy’s my brother.”“Oh.” Mrs. Olson said, surprised. “I’d like to talk to your brother for a moment then. There’s some books over in the corner if you’d like to go take a look at them.”Evy looked up to Sam for permission. “Can I, Sammy?”“Go ahead, Cricket.” Evy ran over to the corner Mrs. Olson pointed out, settling on a book almost immediately. “You said you’d like to talk?”“Yes.” Mrs. Olson said. “Evy seems very shy. Has she always been that way or is it something recent?”“She…” Sam stopped himself; he had to remember to hold their cover story. “We lost our father not too long ago. She lived with him before. He was in the military and moved around a lot. She’s been to eight different schools already.” “Oh, my goodness.” Mrs. Olson said, looking over at Evy. “That’s certainly a lot. Are you planning to move too?”“No.” Sam said. “No, I’m planning on giving her as much stability as possible. We’re staying here barring any unforeseen circumstances.”“Well…” Mrs. Olson said, her eyes still on Evy, “I think she’ll be okay.” She turned back to Sam. “I’m sorry about your father.” “Thank you.” Sam said quickly. “She’s still kind of nervous about starting school, I think.”“Does she like school?” Mrs. Olson asked.“She loves it. She loves to learn, she just hated moving around all the time.” Sam said.“She’ll be fine.” Mrs. Olson assured him. “Give her two hours her first day and you’ll never know she had been scared.”“I hope so.” Sam said. “Thank you for meeting us now. I would have come to the open house, but I was afraid she’d clam up even more if there were a lot of other strangers here.”“That’s fine.” Mrs. Olson said.“I guess we’ll get going.” Sam said. “It’s her birthday today, and I promised to take her for lunch.”“Really?” Mrs. Olson asked. “How old is she?”“Seven.” Sam answered.“Wait right there.” Mrs. Olson said. “Evy, would you come here a minute, sweetheart?”Evy jumped off the chair and back to where Sam and Mrs. Olson were standing. Mrs. Olson went back to her desk and pulled out a large cardboard box. She sat it in front of Evy and asked,“I hear it’s your birthday today. Can you tell me how old you are?”“Seven.” Evy answered.“Well, then, you get to pick seven books out of this box to take home with you.” Mrs. Olson said.“Really?” Evy asked. “I can take them? For me?”“All for you, dear.” Mrs. Olson said, smiling.“Wow!”

Evy was indecisive, and the process of picking seven books took nearly twenty minutes. Mrs. Olson was apologetic by the end, thinking that she was holding them up but Sam was thrilled; he explained to her that she had never had much of anything to call her own, and it made him happy to see her so happy. When she finally had her books picked out, Evy grabbed her new teacher in a hug.“Thank you.” she said for the fifth time.“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” Mrs. Olson said. “Happy birthday. I’ll see you next week, alright?”“Bye!” Evy said, grabbing Sam’s hand to go back out to the car with him.

Evy chattered nonstop on the short journey to the parking lot. It was a complete reversal of her attitude coming in. She was excited, ready to start school now. Just as Sam was about to open her door for her, Evy shouted,“Deanie!”

Dean was parked next to Sam’s car, waiting for them standing on the side of the Impala. Sam allowed Evy to break away from him once they had crossed over to that section of the parking lot, away from the threat of oncoming cars. Dean picked up an overjoyed Evy, who he hadn’t seen in nearly two weeks. Sam placed the books she’d just gotten in the front seat of his car.“Deanie, you made it!” Evy said, arms still around his neck.“You didn’t think I’d miss your birthday, did you?” Dean asked.“What are you doing back?” Sam asked.“I came to take baby girl out for pancakes for her birthday. How’s that sound?” Dean asked.“Yay! Let’s go!” Evy said, grabbing his hand excitedly. Dean laughed; Evy was certainly easy to please. “Alright, kiddo. Get in the car and wait for me. I have to talk to Sammy for a minute first.”“Okay!” Evy said, making a dash for the front of the Impala.“Backseat!” Sam said without even taking his eyes off Dean.“Aww!” Evy said, turning around to face Sammy. “Sammy…”“Aww, Sammy, nothing.” Sam said. “Backseat.”“Okay.” Evy said, reluctantly, walking around to the backseat and climbing in.Once Evy was settled and buckled in the backseat, Dean explained, “Jody and Claire are at the house. They kicked me out, said I wasn’t being too helpful.” Sam laughed. “Everything’s on track, right?” “4:00.” Dean confirmed.Sam checked his watch. 2:35. “Perfect.” he said. “Meet you there?”“Sure thing.” Dean said.“And Dean?” Sam said as he turned to get into his car. “No letting her ride up front part of the way.” “Aww, Sammy….” Dean said mockingly.

Sam chuckled as he got into his own car, knowing full well that Dean was going to let her crawl up front the second he was out of range. Ten minutes later they were sitting down to order at The Pancake Shack, Evy’s favorite restaurant. Cass ended up joining them, and Sam had to stop him from blowing the surprise of the party waiting back at the house. Sam got a text from Jody at 3:50pm that everything was ready.“Alright, Cricket. Time to head home.”

Cass teleported out, claiming to “have business to attend to”. Sam laughed when Evy got annoyed because Cass didn’t give her a hug before leaving. He laughed again when Cass came right back, gave Evy a hug, and popped right back out again. They headed back to the house. Evy jumped out of the Impala and started running to the front door. “Cricket, wait!”Evy looked back towards Sam, confused.“You’re not in trouble, just wait a second.” Sam said. He closed his car door and walked over to her. “Close your eyes. We’ve got a surprise for you.”Evy grinned. “For me?”“Yep. Come on.” Sam said.

Dean came up behind them as Sam picked up Evy. They walked inside slowly, Evy keeping her eyes shut tight to keep from ruining the surprise. Jody met them in the front room, and Sam put a finger to his lip to silence her. Jody nodded and led them back into the kitchen. Claire, Jody, and Cass were all silent as Sam said,“Okay, Cricket. On the count of three. One. Two. Three.” “SURPRISE!”

As soon as Evy opened her eyes, she squealed and buried her face in Sam’s neck again. Sam hugged her and took her over to the table, which held a few more birthday presents and a book shaped birthday cake. Sam had rarely heard Evy giggle and laugh so much. He allowed her to stay up much too late, and she ended up falling asleep on the living room couch while watching Sam’s present to her for the second time-a DVD of Pinocchio, which had been her favorite movie at that age. Sam took her from Cass’s lap and brought her up to her bed.“Happy birthday, Cricket.” he whispered as he kissed her forehead. “Sammy loves you, my baby.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As Mrs. Olson had predicted, Evy did do great at school. She was a straight A student, loved learning, and made a few friends. One friend in particular, Lillian Summers, who lived three doors from them, started to spend as much time at Evy, Sam, and Dean’s as she did at her own home. Evy’s only friend before had been Squish, a stuffed, beat up, raggedy black cat who was missing an eye. Lillian, who preferred to be called Lily, was a sweet kid. She was more outgoing than Evy, and helped Evy make more friends at school by introducing her to different students. She had even stuck up for Evy on more than one occasion against bullies. Whereas Evy was more like Sam, Lily reminded Sam a lot of Dean.

On this particular day, Sam was in the kitchen making the girls a snack. Lily’s mom, a family court lawyer, was working, trying to keep from having to work on Christmas Eve or Christmas day. Sam had found out they were spending Christmas alone, just the two of them, so he’d invited them over to spend Christmas with him, Evy, Dean, Jody, Claire, and Alex. Sam finished the girls’ snacks and brought it out to them in the living room.“Alrighty, chef Sammy at your service.”Evy was in the middle seat of the couch, Lily on the far right side. “Thank you, Sammy.” she said as reached over and took a cookie off the plate.“Thanks, uncle Sammy.” Lily said.“You’re welcome, girls.” Sam said, ruffling Evy’s hair a little. “What are you two up to?”“We’re watching it snow.” Evy replied.Sam looked out the window, surprised. “Wow. I didn’t even know it was snowing.”“Can we go up out and play later?” Evy asked.“If it stops soon, sure.” Sam answered.

Evy grinned and reached over to hug him. Sam sat and watched the snow with them for a while. It was falling steadily, but not particularly hard. Dean came home a few minutes later, and Lily’s mom Linda came and picked her up. After confirming for Lily she didn’t have to work, Lily asked excitedly,“Mommy, can Evy and I play in the snow tomorrow?”“Sure.” Linda said. She turned to Sam and asked, “You want to take turns watching them? So neither of us has to spend all day outside?”“Sounds like a plan.” Sam said. “You guys still coming Christmas day?”“Wouldn’t miss it.” Linda said. “But someone,” she continued, grabbing Lily’s hand, “needs to get ready for bed soon.”“Aww, mommy…” Lily said.“Same here.” Sam said, getting the same “Aww” in response.“Alright, you two. Say good night.” Linda prompted.Evy and Lily gave each other a hug and continued to chit chat for a minute. Sam and Linda watched them, both of them grateful all over again that their girls each had a friend. Linda turned to Sam and said,“Thanks again for watching her.” Linda said. “And not just this time.”“Anytime.” Sam said. “I mean that. We’ve got to stick together.”Linda looked over to the couch and laughed. “You know, for someone who wasn’t a single parent until this year, you’ve adapted remarkably well to it.”“What are you…” Sam asked, and saw she was pointing at the tray of cookies. “Oh. Yeah. Well…”“Sam, I’m sorry I laughed. I’m just not used to that. I’ve gotten so used to taking care of Lily on my own it still feels weird to have someone who’ll help me out willingly.”“I feel the same.” Sam said. “With Dean gone so much, especially while I’m working at the bookstore, I like that there’s someone else I can trust.”“Well, anytime you need to talk, you know where to find me.” Linda said. “Good night, Sam.”“Good night, Linda.”

Linda and Lily left, and Sam got Evy ready for bed. As he tucked her in later that night, after the usual requests of “Can I please stay up a little more?” and “Read me one more, pleeease?” Sam finally had her settled down and ready to go to sleep.“Alright, baby, time to go to sleep.” Sam said as he handed her Beanie.“Okay.” Evy said as she yawned. “Where’s Deanie? He’s not gonna miss Christmas with us, is he?”“He’s on his way back now.” Sam told her, praying it was true. “Are you excited about Christmas?” “Yeah.” Evy said. “Thank you for letting Lily come over.” “I’m happy you’ve got such a good friend, sweetheart.” Sam said.“Thank you, Sammy.” Evy said again.“For what, Cricket?”“Giving me all this.” Evy said.Sam smiled. “You don’t ever have to thank me for that, baby.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Goodnight. I love you.”“Love you too.”

Sam turned off her beside lamp, kissed her cheek one more time, and got up. He stood in the doorway for a minute, watching her sleep. When he thought about where he was at the same time the year before, sitting in his bedroom, crying yet again over losing Evy, he felt something he had gotten used to never feeling. Lucky. Blessed. Happy.

Lily and Evy spent the next day alternating between houses, playing out in the snow. Sam and Linda took turns playing with them. Jody, Claire, and Alex showed up, followed by Cass and Dean. For once, Dean didn’t complain that Evy wanted to play with Lily instead of spend some time with him after getting home from a case; he got in, put his duffel bag in his bedroom, and went and started a snowball fight with the two thrilled girls. Dinner was a bit of a complicated affair, with Jody and Linda both contributing the majority of it. Sam alternated his time between the kitchen with them and the living room with the girls, where Dean was entertaining them with jokes. After reminding Dean to keep the jokes age appropriate, Sam went back into the kitchen. At one point, he caught Jody staring at him. After making sure that everyone else was occupied, Sam asked,“What?”Jody thought for a long moment before speaking. “I’m proud of you.”Sam, who was just finishing up cleaning the kitchen, turned off the running faucet. “Proud of me? For what?”“For all this.” Jody said, pointing around the kitchen. “For taking Evy and giving her a life. You…you’ve done good, Sam. Really good. You don’t even look like the same guy anymore.”“Jody…” Sam said, searching for words that weren’t coming.“You know, I’ll admit, when you first told me about this, I was skeptical. Jealous even.” Jody said.“Jealous?” Sam asked. “Why…?” When it occurred to Sam the reason why, he suddenly felt guilty. “Oh, Jody. I’m sorry. I never thought about that.”“It’s okay, Sam. Really, it is.” Jody said. “I’m glad you’re finally happy. Both you and Dean.”

Before anything else could be said, Evy walked in the kitchen and grabbed Sam and Jody by the hand, dragging them into the living room. She gave Sam, Dean, Cass, Alex, Claire, Jody, and Linda Christmas cards that she’d made at school earlier in the week. They all watched a Christmas movie together, before Sam announced it was Evy’s bedtime.“Aww, Sammy…”“Come on, kiddo. You got to be asleep for Santa to come.” Dean reminded her.Evy pouted a little; it was usually easier to convince Dean to let her stay up than Sam.“Alright, baby, say goodnight to Lily and aunt Linda. They’ll be back at lunchtime tomorrow.” Sam said gently.“Okay.”

An hour later, Sam was tucking Evy into bed. She was practically vibrating with excitement about Christmas day, and Sam had a somewhat harder time than normal getting her down to bed.“Dean was right, you know.” Sam said. “No Santa unless you’re asleep.”“I know, I know.” Evy answered. “I’m just too excited.” “You want me to read you a story?”Evy shook her head and placed an arm around Beanie. “No.”“No?” Sam asked, surprised. “You don’t? That’s a first.”Evy shook her head again. “No. Sing to me, please.”Sam smiled. “Okay.” He turned off the lamp next to her bed. “Close your eyes.”

Evy grabbed Sam’s hand and put it on her belly, then flipped over on her side. Sam gently scratched her back and started the song he’d learned almost thirty years earlier just for her.“Don’t you feel it growing, day by day…”

Before he finished the last verse, Evy was asleep. Sam pulled her blanket up to her neck, and smiled when she stuck her feet out. He had given up trying to make her keep her feet covered; it always either ended with her waking up or Sam waking her up the next morning to find her feet sticking out anyway. Sam kissed her cheek and said quietly,“Merry Christmas, Cricket. Sammy loves you, baby.”
Next chapter: Evy gets in trouble at school.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Alright, Laura. You need me for anything else?” Sam asked.“Nope, I think that’ll do it, Sam. Thanks for coming in. I know it’s your day off.”

Before Sam could answer her, the phone rang. Laura answered it as Sam gathered his things and started to leave, thinking about what to pick up for dinner that night. He made sure he had his grocery list in his pocket, and turned to wave at Laura, only to see her waving at him.“Yes, he’s right here. Hold on.” Laura covered the mouthpiece and looked at Sam, concerned. “It’s Evy’s school. They need you to come pick her up.”“What?” Sam asked as he took the phone. “This is Sam Winchester.”

It was Evy’s school principal. The story she told Sam was one Sam had heard before, though he could hardly believe it was happening again. Evy had been in a fight at school, and Sam needed to come get her as soon as he could. Sam told the principal he’d be there soon. By the time he hung up, Sam was rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying to fend off a coming headache. As he gave the phone back to Laura, she asked,“Everything okay?”“No.” Sam said. “Look, I know I said I’d come in tomorrow, but Evy just got suspended for the rest of the week.”“What in the world?” she asked. “What happened?”“I’m not entirely sure yet.” Sam said. “I’ll come back in Saturday.”“Take the time you need Sam.” Laura said kindly. “We can finish inventory Saturday.”“Thanks.” Sam said, turning to leave.

Sam arrived at the school a few minutes later, dreading what was about to happen. He had been trying to come up with what to do with Evy. He had ultimately decided to get the full story before making his decision. Sam turned off the car and walked inside. Evy was sitting in a chair, her backpack off to the side, looking down to the floor. Sam walked over and kneeled in front of her.“Are you okay?” he asked.“Yeah.” she said quietly.“What happened?” Sam asked.Before Evy could answer, a voice called him from the other side of the room. “Mr. Winchester?”Sam turned and saw Evy’s principal standing in the door of her office. “Can I speak to you a moment, please?”Sam turned back to Evy. “I’ll be back.”

Evy said nothing, just nodded and turned to look back at the floor. Sam sighed and stood up, walking over and joining the principal in her office. Sam took the chair in front of the desk and waited to hear what she had to say.“How are you today?” the principal, Mrs. Goodson, asked.“I’ve been better.” Sam said. “What happened?”“Apparently, Evy and Jessica were on the playground together. Jessica started picking on Evy’s friend Lily. Evy asked her to stop and when Jessica didn’t, Evy jumped on her and they started fighting.” Mrs. Goodson explained.“Jessica? That’s the other girl involved?” Sam asked.“Yes.” Mrs. Goodson said. “I’m afraid Jessica’s the class bully. This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with her on bullying issues. She’s received the same punishment as Evy.”“Suspension?” Sam asked. “Isn’t that a little harsh, given that she was picking on Lily?”“Had Evy not started the physical fight, I would agree with you.” Mrs. Goodson said. “I really didn’t want to suspend her. But Evy threw the punch. She hurt another student, and I can’t just let that go.”“I understand.” Sam said. “You said she was suspended for three days?”“Yes.” Mrs. Goodson answered. “It’s Tuesday. She can come back on Monday. Mrs. Olson’s given Evy her homework assignments. They’re in her backpack.”“Okay. Thank you.” Sam said. “Is that all?”“Just one more thing.” Mrs. Goodson said. “And this is off the record. Evy is a great student, and a great kid. I really, really didn’t want to do this. Just tell her, please, the next time Jessica’s being a bully to her or to Lily, walk away and come find an adult. Whatever happens, just do not hit anyone.”“I will. I’ll talk to her.” Sam promised.“Okay. Have a good rest of your week.” Mrs. Goodson said.

Sam got up and walked outside, where Evy was still sitting and staring at the ground. Sam dreaded having to do anything to her, even though he knew he had to punish her in some way. Evy had a tendency, even at seven years old, to be much harder on herself than Sam ever could be. That came from six years of living with John, who expected much more out of her as a six-year-old than she could really give. After gathering his thoughts, Sam walked back over to her.“Come on, Cricket. Let’s go.”

Evy obediently stood up and followed Sam outside and to the car. She was quiet the whole ride home. Sam’s heart sank a little when he saw that Dean was home. The last thing he wanted was Dean approving of what had happened at school today. Sam stopped the car in the driveway and told Evy to go inside and go straight to her room. She grabbed her backpack and went in without a word. Sam couldn’t tell if she was scared, feeling guilty, or a little of both. Sam finally got out himself and walked inside. Dean was waiting, standing in the front room looking confused.“Hey. Is baby girl okay?” Dean asked. “She gave me a hug but wouldn’t say anything.”“No, not really.” Sam said, walking past Dean to the kitchen.“What happened?” Dean asked.

Sam grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, opened it, and took a long sip before answering Dean. He told Dean the story of what had happened at school, having to pick up Evy, and her being suspended. After a few moments of stunned silence, Dean remarked,“Atta girl.”“Dean, do not tell her that this was okay.” Sam said. “She has to be punished for this.”“Why?” Dean asked. “You didn’t punish her before…”“That was different.” Sam explained. “Randall knocked her down and hurt her first. Evy didn’t start it this time, but she did throw the first punch.”“So what are you gonna do?” Dean asked.“I’m not sure yet.” Sam said.“Well, you know what Dad would’ve…” Dean said.Sam cut him off before he could finish that sentence. “Yeah, Dean. I know what Dad would’ve done. It’s part of the reason I took her away from him in the first place.”“What do you mean?” Dean said, a little taken aback at how defensive Sam was.“Dad would’ve made her feel like shit for being a kid.” Sam said. “He would’ve either spanked her and grounded her for days or yelled at her for “drawing attention” to us. Or both. She needs to know what she did was wrong, but that it’s okay to make a mistake and be a kid.”

Sam expected Dean to continue arguing with him, but he surprised Sam by just nodding and accepting his decision. No one said anything for a few more minutes, the length of time it took Sam to finish his beer. He finally figured out what to do, although it killed him; Evy would hate it, but it would help Sam get his message across. Sam dug out a spiral notebook, got out another beer, and spent a few minutes working in the notebook. Sam knew Evy was anxiously sitting in her room, waiting on him; he decided to end her anxiety and brought the notebook with him.

When he reached Evy’s room, Sam started to knock, then stopped himself. He considered the fact that he was coming to punish Evy, which he knew his father would’ve considered a negation of any right to privacy. Sam ultimately decided to knock. He wanted Evy to have a much improved relationship with him and Dean over the one she had with John. He waited a moment, then barely heard it.“Come in.”

Sam opened the door and walked in. Evy was sitting on her bed, head hung down just as it had been in the school office when Sam had picked her up. Sam fought the urge to pick her up and hold her, tickle her, make her laugh somehow. Tell her not to do it again, that everything was okay. He hated watching her beat herself up like this. Hopefully, after the punishment he’d decided on, Evy would realize that it was okay to make mistakes and that they could all move on. Evy looked at him, and the look on her face made Sam’s heart ache. She didn’t light up like she normally did; she was afraid. Sam sat on the bed and put the notebook next to him.“Okay, baby. What happened today?”

Evy slowly gave him basically the same story the principal had given him. Jessica, the class bully, had been picking on Lily all day. Evy had asked her to stop, and everything had come to a head on the playground. Jessica was picking on Lily again, and Evy asked her to stop again. When she didn’t, Evy had lost her temper and hit Jessica as hard as she could.“Alright. Look, I’m proud of you for sticking up for Lily. I really am. But you know hitting Jessica was wrong, don’t you?”“Yeah. I do.” Evy said.“But you were mad and lost your temper.” Sam guessed.Evy nodded sadly, still anxious about what was coming.“It happens to the best of us, baby.” Sam said kindly. Evy looked at him, surprised at his sudden attempt at comfort. Sam continued. “But it was wrong. Do you know why?”“Because I hurt her.” Evy answered.“Exactly.” Sam said. “What are you supposed to do in that situation?”Evy thought for a moment before answering. “Tell a grown up. Or walk away.”“Or both.” Sam said. “The only time it’s okay to hit anyone is when they’re coming after you. Do you understand?”“Yes.” Evy answered. She couldn’t stand waiting anymore and finally asked. “How much trouble am I in?”“Well…” Sam said, “you’re suspended for three days, so you’re grounded for three days. You can do anything that’s in this room-play with toys, read, but you can’t leave this room unless you’re going to the bathroom or getting a shower. I’ll bring you your meals up here. Okay?”“Can I see Lily?” Evy asked.“No.” Sam said right away. “No Lily, no dessert, no TV, and you go to bed half an hour early each night. Alright?”“Okay.” Evy said quietly.“That’s not it.” Sam said. “Do you have your homework that Mrs. Olson gave you?”“It’s in my backpack.” Evy said.“You have to do that. All of it. I’ll look at it to make sure it’s done, but I’m gonna trust you to do your best on it. If you need help with anything, just tell me when I bring you your food and I’ll help you. Okay?”Evy nodded.“One more thing.” Sam said, taking the notebook and opening it up. “You’ve got lines. A hundred of them. Read what I wrote at the top.”“I will not get into fights, and I will tell an adult when I need help with a bully.” Evy read.“Exactly.” Sam said. “I’m taking this as a promise. You get in another fight, and you’ll be grounded for a week next time. Okay?”“Okay.” Evy said.“Something else is bothering you. What is it?” Sam asked. “Are you upset about being grounded?”“No. I deserve it.” Evy said. “I just feel bad for letting you down.”“Baby, look at me.” Sam said. “Listen. I’m not happy with you for what happened today. But you made a mistake. You do everything I just gave you to do, and apologize to Jessica when you go back to school, everything’s wiped clean. We’ll start over. Understand?” Evy nodded and Sam finished by saying, “You could never, ever let me down. I am proud of you, no matter what.”Evy grabbed Sam’s neck and gave him a long, relieved hug. She’d been worried that he’d yell at her, try to make her feel bad about herself for what had happened on the playground today. But he didn’t. He had been calm, and helped her see that she’d done wrong, and wasn’t a bad kid; she’d just made a mistake. As long as she paid for it, everything would be okay.“Why don’t you get started on your homework, baby?” Sam suggested. “I’ll go start on dinner.”“Okay.” Evy said, but before she let him go, said, “I’m sorry, Sammy.”“I know, Cricket. I know.” Sam said. “I love you.”“Love you too.”

Evy pulled away from Sam and walked over to her desk. She put the notebook Sam had given her on the desk, and pulled out her homework. Sam watched her for a minute, relieved she hadn’t started crying. Maybe he was on to something. This grounding would be hard on both of them. Evy hated being alone, and Sam knew he’d have to fight the urge all week to tell her she could come out. But, as he’d been prepared to tell Dean downstairs and been surprised when he didn’t have to, it wasn’t about doing what was easiest for him. It was about doing what was best for Evy. Sam turned and went down to the kitchen to make them dinner.

The three days were tough, but Evy did do exactly what Sam had told her to do, and more. She had even written an apology note to both Jessica and Mrs. Olson without being told. As Sam put her to bed that Friday night, she seemed excited.“I can come out tomorrow, right?”“Yes.” Sam said as he sat on the edge of her bed. “I am very, very proud of you for being so good this week.” When she grinned, Sam got an idea. “You want me to read you a story?”“Really? I thought you said…” Evy started.“You earned it.” Sam said.He had not been reading her bedtime stories that week. He knew her; as much as she wanted to be good and make it up to Sam, she craved company too much and would use the bedtime stories to try and keep him in the room with her. Evy picked out a book, and was asleep just as Sam finished it. He was just as relieved as she was that the week was out. He had to work the following night, but planned to spend the day with her. Sam turned out her light and kissed her cheek.“Good night, Cricket. I love you, baby.”

The next morning, Sam woke up early, fixing Evy her favorite breakfast. The smell of his cooking usually woke her up, so when it didn’t, Sam went up to her room, concerned. Thinking she was still asleep, Sam opened the door slowly and was surprised to see her sitting up on the bed, rubbing her eyes.“Hey, you okay?” Sam asked. “You know you can come down now, right?”“Yeah.” Evy said.Sam didn’t like the sound of her voice. “Cricket? What’s wrong?”“I didn’t sleep last night.” She said.“What? Why?” Sam asked. “Are you sick?”“No.” Evy said. “I had a bad dream.”“Baby, why didn’t you come get me?” Sam said.Evy looked as if she wanted to cry. Whether it was from confusion, sadness, frustration, or exhaustion, Sam couldn’t tell. Maybe it was all three. But she stopped rubbing her eyes and said,“You said I had to stay in my room.”

Sam felt his heart drop. She’d tried so hard to do exactly as he said that she’d sat up for who knew how long, scared and all alone. He realized that he hadn’t told her she could come to him with a bad dream; he didn’t think he’d had to. Sam took her hand and kissed it, then brushed her hair out of her face.“Cricket, I don’t care what’s going on, you can always come find me if you’re scared. For any reason. No matter what. Okay?”“Okay.” Evy said. “Can I go back to sleep in your room?”“How about this?” Sam said, pulling her over and putting her in his lap. “I made some breakfast. Your favorite pancakes. Why don’t we go eat a little, then we’ll both take a nap. Sound like a plan?”Evy nodded, laying her head down on Sam’s chest.“You want to go to work with me tonight?” Sam asked. “Miss Laura’s been asking to see you.”“Yes, please.” Evy answered quietly.Sam stroked Evy’s hair a little before saying, “I love you, Cricket. More than anything else in the world.”After a loud yawn, Evy answered back, “Love you too, Sammy.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sam waited patiently in the car for Evy and Lily, who had been talking nonstop for the last week about school getting out for the summer. Sam wished he could be as excited for them as they were. He couldn’t get Dean’s phone call out of his head. Whatever you do, pick up Evy from school and keep her in your sight! I’ll explain later. When Dean had said that, Sam felt his breath catch in his throat. Dean was hunting something that he thought might be coming after Evy. Dean had done a good job the past thirteen months keeping Evy out of the hunting world, but this was a day that Sam had always dreaded. He felt he should have known that Dean staying in the hunting world would come and “bite them in the ass”, as Dean himself would have put it. It was 3:10, and Sam was getting more and more anxious by the minute. Just as he was about to go inside looking for the two girls, a knock on the driver’s side window made him jump. A distinct giggle told him it was Evy before he even looked at her.“You scared me!” Sam half heartedly scolded her as she and Lily climbed into the backseat and buckled up.“Sorry, Sammy.” Evy said, though she was laughing the entire time. “It was Lily’s idea.”“No it wasn’t!” Lily protested.“Okay, okay.” Sam said, putting an end to the slight bickering. “Did we get report cards today?”“Yep.” Evy said.“And?” Sam asked.Evy took hers out of her pocket and handed it to Sam. No surprise at all-she had passed and was promoted to third grade. Lily handed hers to Sam too. Same result-they’d be starting third grade in three months.“I’m very proud of you.” Sam said. “Both of you.”Both the girls grinned at the praise.“How about milkshakes? Lily, your mom said she’s working until around six or so, so you’re staying with us until then.” Sam said.“Okay!” Both the girls said together.“Alright, let’s go.” Sam said.Just as Sam started the car and was backing out of the school parking lot, Evy asked from the backseat, “Sammy? Can Lily stay over with us tomorrow?”“Sure, Cricket.” Sam answered. “As long as it’s okay with your aunt Linda.”“Okay. I have everything packed for tonight. I just need to put Beanie in my backpack.”

Sam had to stop himself from slamming on breaks. He completely forgot that he had promised Evy she could have her first sleepover away from home if she passed. Dean’s phone call earlier had driven it from his mind. The ice cream shop was just a few doors down from the school, so Sam waited until the car was parked before he said anything. He wanted to be honest with Evy about the reason she couldn’t go, but he couldn’t tell her in front of Lily. Luckily, he didn’t need to think up much of an excuse.“Uncle Sammy? I need to go to the bathroom.”“Okay, sweetie. You go ahead and wait for us inside. Evy and I need to talk for a minute.” Sam said.Lily looked wary, and threw her friend a sympathetic glance. “Is everything okay?”“Yeah. Everything’s fine. I just need to talk to her.” Sam assured Lily. “Okay. I’ll wait at a table.”“Okay.” Sam had to force himself to smile.As soon as Lily had slammed the door, Evy slumped back in her seat. “I can’t go, can I?”“No, baby, I’m sorry.” Sam said. “Not tonight.”Evy’s eyes immediately filled with devastated tears. “Why not?”“Because Dean says it’s not safe.” Sam explained.“That’s what daddy used to say.”“Hey.” Sam said firmly. “Look at me. This is not like daddy. I’m not gonna keep you from doing stuff just because something might happen. I promise you, as soon as Dean says it’s safe, you can have your sleepover at Lily’s. Okay?”

Evy looked out the window, a slight pout forming and the tears she was fighting lingering on the edge of her face. Sam wasn’t quite sure what to say. She had every right to be upset, but Lily was waiting for them; if she started crying, Sam would have to come up with an excuse on the spot. Sam reached over and placed a hand on her knee. Evy continued to stare out the window.“Cricket, I really am sorry. I know you wanted this.” Sam said. “But it’s not forever. Just tonight, I swear.”“What are you gonna tell aunt Linda?” Evy asked.“That you and I have to head out of town early in the morning.” Sam said. “If Dean gets this under control, I’ll tell her the trip was cancelled and we can do your sleepover tomorrow. If he doesn’t, we’ll leave in the morning and go to aunt Jody’s for a few days. Does that make sense?”Evy nodded her head, and wiped her face. “Talk to me.” Sam said gently.Evy turned to him, the tears starting to leak out. “I thought it was over.”“You thought what was over?” Sam asked.“Not being able to do stuff because of hunting.” Evy explained.“Oh, baby.”

Evy unbuckled her seat belt and stood up, going over to Sam for a hug. Sam held her for a minute, his heart crumbling into pieces. Not having to hunt for so long had given him a false sense of security, making him believe that he could lead a completely normal life now. He felt guilty that Evy couldn’t have something so normal as a sleepover at her best friend’s house without having to worry about being snatched up by a monster. Sam noticed Lily sitting at a table watching them, concerned.“We need to go inside, baby. Lily’s getting worried about us.” Sam said. Evy pulled away from him and Sam wiped her face for her. “Are you okay? Are you going to be able to do this? I can take Lily to your aunt Linda’s office and tell her we need to go ahead and leave.”Evy wanted to take Sam’s offer, but she looked inside and saw Lily watching them. “No. I don’t want to ruin Lily’s good time.”“Good girl.” Sam said. “Come on. Let’s go. You can get anything you want.”

Even the promise of whatever ice cream she wanted was not enough to cheer up Evy. She ate her ice cream, laughed and joked with Lily, and broke the bad news to Lily that she wasn’t going to be able to stay over. Lily took it surprisingly well, only asking Sam if they could do the sleepover whenever they returned from Jody’s. When Linda came to pick up Lily, she offered Sam a raincheck on the sleepover, and wished them a safe trip. Once the front door had shut, Sam turned back to a sad, lonely looking Evy. Sam was still trying to make up the lost sleepover to her.“What do you want to do, baby?” Sam asked. “Watch a movie? Read a book? Anything you want.”Evy just shook her head. “I’m gonna get ready for bed.”

Evy getting ready for bed willingly was a sure sign she was still upset and trying to hide it. Sam sighed and said nothing. He still hadn’t heard from Dean yet, and he was getting nervous. Dean knew that Sam was more than capable of watching Evy and protecting her, so why was he so insistent on keeping Evy in sight? Evy got herself a shower and came back down. It was too early for her to go to bed, so she, rather silently, watched a movie with Sam. As she laid down that night, Sam asked her,“Are you okay?”“Just upset.” Evy said.“I know, baby. I’m so sorry.” Sam said.“Are you gonna start hunting again?” Evy asked fearfully.“No!” Sam said. “Listen to me. I’m not hunting again. Not ever. Dean’s just worried about this case. Once it’s over, you’re going straight to Lily’s. Okay?”“Okay.” Evy said.“You want me to sing to you?” Sam asked.“No thanks.” Evy said. “Read to you?” Sam asked.“No.” Evy answered. “Could you just…”“Just what, baby?” Sam asked.Evy was a little embarrassed by what she was about to ask. She was seven years old; she wasn’t a baby anymore. But she was sad, and hurt, and disappointed. And no one else was around.“Could you just hold me? Till I go to sleep?” Evy asked.Sam was surprised by the request, but genuinely touched. “Sure, baby.” Sam said. “Come here.”

There was a large rocking chair in the corner of Evy’s room, which Sam had found on the side of the road and fixed up. Sam sat down first, then pulled Evy into his lap. She had brought her blanket over with her, so Sam wrapped her up and started rocking her slowly back and forth. He scratched her back gently, and in no time she was sleeping deeply. Sam carefully picked her up and put her in bed, making sure she was safe and secure before leaving the room. He wanted more than anything to stay in the rocking chair and hold her all night, and most likely would have if he hadn’t been so curious as to what was going on with Dean.What the hell is going on? Sam quickly typed out in a text to Dean. You better have a good reason for this. Evy is really upset right now. Please just trust me. I’ll explain in a while. Just keep Evy with you. Dean quickly answered.

Frustrated, Sam walked down the hall to his own room and eventually fell asleep in his own bed. He slept fitfully through the night, and woke up before the sun came up the next day. He started to head to the kitchen to make some breakfast, but decided to check on Evy first. Sam opened the door to her bedroom, only to find her bed empty.“Cricket?” Sam called, a knot of worry forming in his stomach.

Sam searched the rest of the house top to bottom, twice. He even searched outside, although Evy never went outside on her own, especially when it was dark. After confirming she wasn’t in the bathroom, kitchen, or sleeping in his or Dean’s bed because of a nightmare again, Sam called Dean in a panic.“Sam….” Dean answered in a half asleep doze.“Dean, what the hell is going on?” Sam said. “Evy’s missing.”“What?” Dean shouted, jumping up. “I told you to keep her with you.”“I did, Dean.” Sam practically spat into the phone. He was in the process of throwing on shoes. “I put salt on all the windows and doors too just like you told me. Now what the hell is happening?”“Damn it.” Dean said. “Sam is there a handprint on Evy’s window?”“What?” Sam asked. “Dean…”“Sam, just look!” Dean said. “Is the handprint there or not?”Sam ran to Evy’s window and, just like Dean had said, there was a handprint there. “Yeah, it’s there. Dean, what the hell is going on?”

Dean was hunting something, and wasn’t entirely sure what it was yet. It snuck into kid’s rooms, took them, and returned them a few hours later, scared and full of anxiety, having nightmares for weeks.“What the hell, Dean? You kept this from me?” Sam said.“I didn’t want to worry you or her.” Dean said apologetically.“Where are you?” Sam said. “I’m coming to meet you.”“No. Sam, stay there. They always return the kid home. You need to be there when she shows back up.” Dean said. “I’ll keep looking for her. Try to find her first. Just stay there.” “Dean, I can’t stay here.” Sam said. “I told Linda that Evy and I were going out of town. If I stay here…”“Fine. Haul ass to Jody’s. Cass’ll stay in the house and bring Evy to Jody’s if she shows back up.” Dean said.

Sam was in the car before hanging up with Dean. Though the ride to Jody’s was nearly six hours long, Sam made it in just under five. Jody apparently knew he was coming, as she opened the door for him when he got there and ushered him inside. Before Sam could even say anything, Dean called.“Sam, I’ve got her.” he said. “She’s okay. Cass’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Sam collapsed onto Jody’s couch, letting out a breath he wasn’t aware he’d even been holding. Jody sat with him as they waited, and the minutes seemed to crawl by slowly. A knock at the door made Sam spring up all the couch and fling open the door before Jody could even process hearing the knock. There stood Cass, a blanket thrown on top of a shaking Evy, who looked at Sam with the biggest, most fearful eyes Sam had ever seen.“She’s alright.” Cass said. “She’s not hurt physically, just scared…”

Evy suddenly started weeping in Cass’s arms, reaching over for Sam. Sam pulled her from Cass’s arms and held her tightly. Evy threw her arms around Sam’s neck and continued weeping bitterly. Sam wanted to know everything. What had happened to her? Where had she gone? Why was she crying so hard? But Evy was in no shape to talk right then. Sam held her in Jody’s recliner, waiting while her crying slowly tapered off. When she was down to just a few tears flowing out, Sam asked Jody to bring him a washcloth soaked with cold water. He washed her red, puffy face gently.“Are you hurt?” he asked.“No.” Evy answered quietly.“Are you scared?” Sam asked.Evy nodded and she was shaking again.“You’re safe now, baby.” Sam assured her. “I’m here, Cass is here, aunt Jody’s here, Dean’s on his way. You’re safe now.” Evy said nothing, just kept shaking. “Will you tell me what happened?”“NO!” Evy suddenly shouted, making everyone in the room jump. “No, I don’t want to talk about it.”“Okay. Okay, baby, you don’t have to. We can talk about it later.” Sam said.“Please don’t make me.” Evy said, and she started sobbing and crying all over again. “Please don’t make me tell you what I did.”

What you did? What the hell? Sam thought. He calmed her again, and saw she was fighting sleep. Sam took her to Jody’s guest room and laid her down. He tucked her in, and she was still fighting going to sleep. Sam knew she was afraid of nightmares. His desire to know what she’d been through in the few hours she’d been gone was intense, but Evy was beyond exhausted. She grabbed Sam’s hand and said one simple word.“Stay.”

Sam picked her up again, sitting on the bed until he was sitting up straight against the headboard. Evy laid sideways on the bed, using Sam’s legs as a pillow. Sam stroked her hair, trying to make her fall asleep, hoping she would wake up calmer and more ready to talk.“I’m right here, Cricket. I love you so much.”

Sam had thought he was done with surprises for the day. But Evy’s response to something he’d told her a million times before took Sam’s breath away. It surprised him so much that he stopped stroking her hair and stared at her, mouth gaping open in pure shock.“Love you too, Daddy.”

Evy fell asleep, and Sam carefully placed a pillow under her head. He walked out into the living room with the rest of the adults. Dean had made it back, and was discussing with Jody what had taken Evy. Sam was still in a daze over Evy’s response to him. “Hey. Sammy. How’s baby girl doing?”“She’s sleeping.” Sam said.“Are you okay?” Dean asked.
Sam heard his cell phone beep in his pocket. He didn’t know what made him check it, as there was nothing that could be more important to him at the moment than Evy. It was a text from Linda.
Hey, just checking on you guys. Did you get to SD okay? I’m sorry about the death in the family. Call me if you need to talk. -Linda
“If Evy wakes up I’m in my car. I need to go make a phone call.”

Before anyone could say anything, Sam was out the door and in his car. He dialed Linda’s number and waited for the ringing to stop. He was surprised when it wasn’t Linda who picked up the phone.“Hi, uncle Sammy!”“Lily?” Sam asked. “Hi, honey.”“Can I talk to Evy?” Lily asked.“Um…Evy’s asleep, honey. I need to talk to your mom. Can you get her for me?” Sam asked.“Are you okay, uncle Sammy? You sound sad.” Lily asked.“Yeah, honey, I’m okay. Where’s your mom?” Sam asked again. “I really need to talk to her.”“I’ll go get her.” Lily promised. Sam heard Lily moving, presumably to take the phone to Linda. “Mommy, it’s uncle Sammy. He says he needs to talk to you.”“Hey.” Linda said a few moments later. “You okay?”“No. I’m not.” Sam said. “Can you get somewhere where you can talk?”Linda didn’t like the tone of Sam’s voice, but figured it would be faster to just do as he asked. “Sure. Hang on.”

Sam waited nearly a full minute, listening as Linda made sure Lily was occupied. Sam heard a door shut, and could picture in his head Linda sitting down on her front porch. He formed the story he would tell her in his mind before she came back. Finally Linda’s attention was completely his.“What’s going on?” she said. “Is it about the funeral?”Sam nearly said what funeral? before remembering that a funeral was the excuse he’d given Linda for leaving town so quickly. “No. The funeral’s kind of been put on hold.”“What happened?”“On the way here, a few miles from Jody’s house, me and Evy stopped for gas. Evy had to go to the bathroom. When she didn’t come back to the car after five minutes, I went to check on her.” Sam said.“Was she sick?” Linda asked.“No. She wasn’t there. Some guy had snatched her and taken her.” Sam said.“Sam! Oh my God! Is she still missing?” Linda asked.“No.” Sam said. “No, we found her. She was missing for about six hours.”“Oh, that poor baby. Is she hurt?” Linda asked.“No. At least not physically. She won’t talk about what happened yet.” Sam explained.“Did he…?” Linda choked, unable to finish the question.“Did he what?” Sam asked. When it occurred to him what Linda might have meant, Sam shuddered. “No. He didn’t do that.” “Who was the guy?” Linda asked. “Why did he take her?”“We don’t really know yet.” Sam said. “Dean’s actually the one that found her. He wouldn’t let Evy go so Dean shot and killed him.”“Good.” Linda said. “Tell Dean I said way to go.”“I will.” Sam said. “Linda, she was with me. I should have taken care of her.”“Sam, this is not your fault.” Linda assured him. “This is the fault of the crazy bastard who took her. No one else. Evy needs you right now. Don’t waste energy blaming yourself.”Sam cracked a sad smile. That was one of the two things he had needed to hear. “Thanks.”“Do you need anything?” Linda asked.“Um,
I just wanted to let you know about what happened. We’re probably gonna be gone longer than I planned. I don’t want to come back until Evy’s ready.” Sam explained.“I get it.” Linda said. “I do.”“Can you talk to Lily? Let her know that Evy might not want to talk for a little while? And that it might be a while before we have the sleepover at your house?” Sam asked.“I’ll take care of that. Is there anything you’d rather me not tell her?” Linda said.“No. I trust you.” Sam said.“Okay.” Linda said. “You’ve got her back, Sam. That’s something to be celebrated.”“She called me daddy.” Sam said suddenly.“What?”“She called me daddy.” Sam said. “I put her to bed a little while ago, and she called me daddy as she was falling asleep.”“Oh, Sam.” Linda said.“Is it wrong that I felt happy when she did that?” Sam asked.“Why would that be wrong?” Linda said. “You’ve been the only daddy she’s had for a long time. It seems natural to me.”“Yeah, but she’s traumatized.” Sam said.“So what?” Linda asked. “Sam, this happened. It’s bad, but it did happen. It’s not wrong for you to feel happy at something good coming out of it.” “Thank you.” Sam said sincerely. “Thank you. I really needed to hear that.”“Anytime.” Linda said. “Just don’t be upset if it’s not permanent. Remember you said she said it as she was going to sleep. It may have just been a reflex.”“I know.” Sam said. “But even if it was…”“It still felt amazing.” Linda answered.“Yeah.” Sam said.“Sam, I’m gonna go talk to Lily. Call me if you need to talk. Okay? I mean that, anytime.” Linda said.“Thanks, Linda.” One more thing occurred to Sam. “Can you talk to Laura for me?”“Sure.” Linda said. “I’ll take care of it.”“Goodnight, Linda.”“Goodnight, Sam.”

Sam hung up the phone, feeling better about himself than he had before. He’d felt guilty for being so happy about Evy calling him daddy. He wondered a moment if it was gonna be a permanent thing or not. His answer came quickly. Jody opened the front door, holding Evy and waving Sam inside.“She’s asking for you. At least I think she is.”“What do you mean you think she is?” Sam asked.Evy picked her head up off Jody’s shoulder and reached for Sam. “Daddy.”Sam pulled her form Jody’s arms. “You okay?” he asked. “What’s the matter?”“I don’t want to sleep alone.” Evy answered.“Okay. You don’t have to.” Sam said. “Come on.”

The end of Jody’s couch reclined, so Sam sat at the end and pulled the recliner out. He laid Evy down so her head was in his lap. At some point, Cass had teleported back to the house and picked up Beanie, which he handed to Sam. Evy cuddled Beanie and almost immediately fell back to sleep. Jody wrapped her up and kissed her goodnight. Sam felt as if it had been days since Evy went missing, but it was only the middle of the afternoon. Jody placed a blanket on Sam’s legs.“You need some sleep, too.” Jody said. “I have a six hour shift. I expect you to sleep for at least half of that. Got it?”“Got it.” Sam said. “Thanks, Jody.”“Get some sleep.” Jody said in response, though she squeezed Sam’s hand affectionately in a silent ‘you’re welcome’.

Jody left for her shift, and Sam looked around. He could hear a TV going softly down the hall. Alex was in her room. Claire had left to take a walk. Dean was snoring lightly in Jody’s other armchair. Cass was staring at them, and after some light prodding from Jody, left the room. Evy stirred and started to whine in Sam’s arms. Sam pulled her to him, so that her ear was resting right where she could hear his heartbeat.“Daddy’s got you now, baby. Get some sleep.”
Next chapter: Evy reveals what happened to her. Sam and Dean get into a fight, and Sam gives him an ultimatum.

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The next forty-eight hours were a long, repetitive string of Evy sleeping, refusing to eat anything, crying, and clinging to Sam. She refused to talk about what had happened. She answered every request, no matter how gentle, with a firm “I don’t want to talk about it. Leave me alone.” Dean seemed taken aback when he heard Evy call for her daddy, but he didn’t say anything about it. Sam wondered how he felt about it, but honestly didn’t care. He always had been Evy’s father, and she had just chosen to make it official.

It was almost midnight on their third full day at Jody’s. Evy had fallen asleep in Claire’s bed, while watching a movie with her. Sam had offered to put her to sleep in the guest room, but Claire had threatened that if he moved her and woke her up, she would “gank him like a werewolf”. Claire was just about to go sleep in the guest bed when a scream came from down the hall.“NO! PLEASE, NO….!”

Sam raced down the hall, tore open Claire’s bedroom door, and picked up a still screaming Evy. Sam woke her up, and she collapsed into his arms, sobbing all over again. Sam brought her into the living room. He sat down with her, calming her again. He made up his mind to try again to get her to talk. He didn’t want to upset her more, but she had to talk about what was going on. Evy’s nightmares were more than just fear and pain. Something was eating her up with guilt inside. Sam knew the feeling all too well. Evy shook against him, and Sam took a deep breath. He pulled her towards him, wrapping both arms around her stomach.“Cricket, please listen to me.” he said as he wiped her face. He pointed towards Evy’s heart. “Something is hurting you. Something deep inside. Inside here. Right?”Evy nodded sadly. “Yes.”“I know you don’t want to talk about it. But you need to. It’s the only way it’ll get better.” Sam said gently.Evy shook her head. “Please don’t make me.”“Are you afraid to tell me?” Sam asked.Evy nodded again.Progress, Sam thought. “You asked me that first night you were back not to make you tell me what you did. Are you afraid I’ll be mad at you?”“I don’t want you to hate me.”Sam felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. “I could never hate you.”“No.” Evy insisted. “You don’t know what I did.”“It doesn’t matter.” Sam said. “It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing, nothing, you could ever do to make me hate you. Nothing. Do you understand?”Evy nodded.“So baby, please, please, please tell me. All of us are here for you. We’ll help you get past it, just please tell me.” Sam begged.Evy shook her head again, and Sam was close to giving up.“Evy.”
Cass joined Sam and Evy on the couch. “Is it too hard to talk about what happened?”“Yeah.” Evy said.“I might be able to help with that.” Cass said. “If you’d like, I can access your memories. See what happened in my own head and explain it to Sam. Would you like to try that instead?”Evy thought it over. “Will it hurt?” she asked.“No.” Cass swore. “You won’t feel a thing.”Evy looked to Sam. “It’s up to you.” Sam said. “If that’s easier for you, it’s okay with me.”“Okay.” Evy said, turning slightly in Sam’s lap so she was facing Cass.“Alright. Give me your hands.” Cass said.

Evy offered them to Cass, who took them in his own. Cass held her hands for close to a minute, leaving everyone in the living room on pins and needles, afraid to do so much as breathe. Finally, he released Evy, who had tears trickling down her cheeks again. Cass put a warm hand to her cheek, which she held onto as if it was a life raft.“You did nothing wrong.” Cass assured her. He turned to the other adults in the room, and proceeded to tell them the full, complete, ugly story. “The creature that took Evy from her bedroom was a Genai. They’re cousins to the Jinn. Instead of inducing a pleasant life in it’s victims, however, the Genai induce nightmares. They don’t kill the victims, as they can feed off the fear they induce, even from a long distance.”“Cass, we know all this.” Sam said.“The situation he put Evy into was relatively simple. He put her in a room with the four people she loves the most. You, Dean, your father, and Evy’s mother. And he made her choose.” Cass said.“Choose what?” Dean asked.“Who had to die.” Cass said. “He made her choose one of you to die, and the other three got to live.”“Oh, my God.” Sam said, placing a hand on Evy’s shoulder. She pushed it away.“He repeated the scenario twelve times. Evy tried to refuse to make the choice eleven out of the twelve times. When she refused, the Genai killed all four of you.” Cass explained.“Son of a bitch!” Dean exclaimed.“What happened the twelfth time?” Jody asked, though she had a sinking feeling she already knew.“Evy made the choice.” Cass explained. He turned to Sam and explained, “Sam, she chose you. That’s why she thinks…”“…that I’m gonna hate her.” Sam finished.“Yes.” Cass answered.Sam tightened his grip on Evy. She was looking back down at the floor, her breath coming in short hitches in panic. Her secret was out now. Sam squeezed her hands and she shut her eyes tightly, fear and guilt making her want to crawl away from him.“I’m sorry.” she whispered in a broken voice. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Cricket.” Sam said again. “You know that wasn’t me, right?”“I didn’t know when it happened.” Evy said. “I thought I killed you.”“Do you know how I know it wasn’t real?” Sam answered.Evy shook her head. “Because I would’ve died of my own free will before you had to make a choice like that.” Sam explained. “Dean would have too.”“That’s right, kiddo.” Dean said from the other side of the room.“You mean you don’t hate me?” Evy asked. “Even though I picked you?”“Never, baby. Never.” Sam said.“I didn’t know what else to do.” Evy said.“I know. I know, baby. You did nothing wrong.” Sam said again.Evy started sucking in big, gulping breaths, as if she had been stuck underwater and was just coming up for air.“Let it out, baby.” Sam said. “Let it out. It’s okay, we’re all here for you.”

Evy let out a wail that suddenly dissolved into big, gasping sobs. Sam had tears of his own running down his face now. Evy had watched him die, watched their father die, her mother, and Dean. Not once, not twice, but twelve times. And she had been forced to make the choice the last time. Evy was a seven year old girl having to deal with a case of guilt that would have crushed most adults. Sam held her on the couch well into the next morning, hours after she had fallen asleep and everyone else in the house had too. He eventually fell asleep himself, only to be awoken a couple hours later by the sound of Dean talking on his cell phone.“Yeah. I’ll be there soon. Thanks. Bye.”

Sam stood up and carefully placed Evy onto the couch. He breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t wake up, and followed Dean into the kitchen. Jody was sitting there, cup of coffee in her hand. Dean started to pour himself one when Sam asked,“You’ll be where soon?” Sam asked.“I just picked up another hunt.” Dean said casually. “I’m leaving for Tacoma in a minute.”“Dean!” Jody exclaimed from the table.“Jody.” Sam said. “Would you go to the living room and make sure Evy stays asleep, please? I need to talk to Dean alone.”“Sure.” Jody said, picking up her coffee cup and shooting death glares at Dean. “If you’re gonna kill him, though, make sure you drag him outside and bury him before you tell me.”“Will do.” Sam promised. As soon as Jody was gone, Sam shut the door to the kitchen and exploded. “What the hell are you thinking?”“What?” Dean asked, honestly lost.“Evy is traumatized, Dean. And you’re doing exactly what Dad wouldn’t done in this situation. You’re packing up and leaving.”“You seem to be comfortable enough as her dad right now.” Dean answered bitterly. “You don’t need me.”“Is that what this is about? You’re jealous?” Sam asked.“No. I just don’t think she should…” Dean started to say.“You don’t think she should what, Dean? Call the person who’s been there for her, fed her, taken care of her when she was sick, hurt, or upset daddy? Is that what you think?” Sam asked.Dean said nothing.“You know, I wanted to call you dad when we were growing up.” Sam said. “The only reason I didn’t was because I didn’t want to make dad mad.”Dean was floored. “What…?”“Yeah, Dean. I wanted to call you dad. Because you were my real father. You were the one who was there for me. So no, I’m not gonna tell Evy she can’t. Because I am her father.” Sam said. “And if you don’t like it, you can go to hell.”“You’re right.” Dean said. “You’re right.”“And as for this hunt…” Sam said, preparing himself mentally to give Dean the ultimatum he had been considering all night. “You need to make a choice, Dean.”“What kind of choice?” Dean asked.“Between Evy and hunting.” Sam said. “This is it. Too many times now she’s been hurt by this lifestyle. That was it. If you want to keep hunting, you need to pack you stuff up at the house and move back to the bunker.”“You’d cut me out of baby girl’s life?” Dean asked, hurt by the mere suggestion.“No.” Sam explained. “You can still visit, come for birthdays, holidays, whatever. But if you want to be there, full time, you need to quit hunting.”“What do you suggest I do?” Dean asked. “I don’t exactly have the job skills for much else.”“Dean, any garage would hire you as a mechanic in a heartbeat.” Sam said. “I don’t care where you get a job, as long as it isn’t hunting.”

Dean felt the entire foundation of his life coming apart. Hunting had been the only constant in it, the one thing to never leave him. His mom, dad, Sam, too many friends, and even Evy had left him before, but hunting had always been there. He didn’t know how to respond to Sam, who stood there waiting for an answer. Before he could say anything, a knock at the kitchen door startled both of them. Jody stood there, holding the hand of, to Sam’s delight, a smiling Evy.“I have a very hungry little girl here demanding pancakes from her daddy.”Sam smiled. “You do, huh?”Evy walked over to Sam, who picked her up and held her tight. “Do you feel better?”“Yeah.” Evy answered. “Just hungry.”Sam laughed. “Okay, baby. We’ll work on that.”“Can I help?” Evy asked.“I would love your help.” Sam said. He sat her down and pointed to Jody’s bottom cabinet. “Grab the mixing bowl.”Evy turned to Dean and took his hand. “Uncle Deanie, will you help too?”Dean’s eyes shone with happy tears, his decision already made for him. “Sure, kiddo. I’ll help. Let’s go.”
Next Chapter: Evy celebrates Father’s Day at Jody’s.

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Jody walked down the grocery aisle slowly, Evy trailing behind her. They were picking up supplies for a Father’s Day party Evy had begged for help with. When they had finally picked up the last ingredient, Evy and Jody started to go and check out. The line was a bit long, so Jody watched Evy. Evy was keeping one hand on the cart at all times, but that was not a rule that Jody insisted on; Evy was still clingy after her experience with the Genai. She was slowly getting better, but she could not be alone for more than a few minutes without searching for company. Jody noticed she was also getting quieter and quieter.“Hey.” Jody asked, placing a hand on top of Evy’s. Evy looked at her and seemed startled, as if she had been a thousand miles away. “What’s eating you?”Evy looked back in the direction she’d been staring a moment earlier. Jody followed her eyes and saw it. In the corner was a father, with a little girl a couple years younger than Evy. The father was helping the little girl tie her shoe, showing her how to do it on one then helping her do it herself on the other. When she did it, the little girl lit up in a bright smile and hugged her father’s neck. Evy finally couldn’t stand looking anymore and turned away. Before Jody could say anything else, Evy asked,“Do you think my daddy misses me?”“Honey, we’ve only been gone an hour.” Jody said, as she started to load the groceries onto the conveyor belt.“I’m not talking about Sammy.” Evy said.Jody stopped what she was doing and bent down to Evy. “Of course he does, honey. Why would you ask that?”“I don’t think he liked me very much.” Evy said.Jody allowed the customer behind them to go first. “Why do you think that?”“He wasn’t there when I got sick.” Evy said. “He wasn’t there a lot.”“Even so,” Jody said, “you know who was there for you? Think about it.”After a moment, Evy smiled and answered, “Daddy was. Sammy.”“That’s right.” Jody said. “He loves you, kiddo. He always will.”“Thanks, aunt Jody.” Evy said, grabbing Jody’s neck in a hug.“You’re welcome, babe.” Jody said. “Let’s go get ready for this party, huh?”“Okay.” Evy said, her earlier exuberance coming back. “Daddy and uncle Deanie’ll be gone tonight, right?”“I made sure.” Jody answered, glad to have her little girl back.

The party preparations proceeded flawlessly, Jody keeping Evy distracted while Sam prepared a surprise of his own. Sam and Dean returned a half hour earlier than expected, so, at Evy’s request, Claire and Cass kept the two of them in the living room. Dean kept trying to sneak away “to go to the bathroom”, and Cass finally locked him down on the couch forcefully.“Come on, Cass.”“Dean, you keep trying to get up and we’re going to throw this surprise in your face.” Jody said, finally emerging from the kitchen with Evy in tow.“About time!” Dean said.“Be patient.” Evy said. “Or you don’t get your present.”Laughs all around, and Dean replied, “Yes, ma’am.”

Evy brought over a bag and set it in front of Sam, then brought another one over and set it in front of Dean. She sat on the couch between them, waiting anxiously for them to start. When neither of them moved, Evy said impatiently,“Go on!”

Both of them laughed and opened up their gifts. Dean finished first. His was a box with an apple pie inside it. Evy also had given him a handmade card, drawn in marker which read ‘Happy Father’s Day Uncle Deanie’ with a picture of her and Dean on the front. Sam also had a card in his, with some oatmeal cookies that Evy had made for him. When neither Dean or Sam said anything, Evy got worried.“You like them, don’t you?”Dean and Sam both grabbed Evy in a tight hug. “We love them.” Sam assured her.“Best present I ever got.” said Dean.Evy allowed them to hold her for a few seconds, until she got embarrassed from all the attention. “You’re squishing me!”Dean laughed and winked at Sam, who figured out what he was planning to do and nodded. “Well, kiddo, we’ll let you go, but there’s a rule.”“What rule?” Evy asked, still caught under Dean and Sam.“If we’re not hugging you, we have to be…” Dean said.Sam finished for him. “Tickling you!”Evy let out a squeal of surprised delight as Dean and Sam’s fingers started making their way up and down her sides. Only when she was gasping for breath and asking them to stop did the commotion end.“Come on, kiddo, I’m ready to try some of this pie you made.” Dean said.“Aunt Jody helped.” Evy reminded him.“Well thank you too, aunt Jody.” Dean said, giving Jody a peck on the cheek.“Dean, wait.” Sam reached under the couch and pulled a neatly wrapped gift. “Cricket, this is for you.”

Evy took the gift from Sam and unwrapped it carefully. When she saw what was inside, she gasped. It was an eight by ten inch photo in a frame, a black and white picture of a woman that Evy recognized but had never officially met.“You know who that it, Cricket?” Sam asked, pulling her close to him and placing an arm around her shoulder.“It’s mommy.” Evy whispered, holding the photo tight in her hand.

Evy took a long look at her mother, taking in every detail. Her mother was sitting on what she recognized as Bobby Singer’s front porch. She was in a rocking chair, one that Evy remembered Bobby rocking her in many times. John stood behind her, doing something that Evy didn’t remember a lot of: smiling. He had his arms wrapped around Missy’s neck, and was kissing her cheek. Missy was holding his arm, and looked genuinely happy. Evy noticed something about the photo.“Is that me?” she asked, pointing to Missy’s very swollen belly.“Yep. That’s you, baby, right before you got here.”Evy stared at the photo again, then hugged Sam. “Thank you, daddy.”

The rest of the day was spent lazing around Jody’s house, eating the sweets that she and Evy had made. As Sam tucked Evy into bed that night, Dean surprised them by asking if he could join them. He claimed to have big news to give them. He announced that he was leaving the next day to start a new job on Tuesday.“Does that mean you’re not hunting anymore?” Evy asked excitedly.“That’s right, baby girl. I’ll be home a lot more.” Dean said.

Evy had already been tucked in and was laying down, so it surprised both Sam and Dean when she jumped out of her covers, sat up on the bed, and grabbed Dean’s neck tightly. Dean, once he was over the shock, wrapped his arms around her neck.“That’s the best surprise ever!”

Dean’s eyes shone with tears. He’d spent the two weeks at Jody’s wondering how he was going to help care for Evy without hunting or hustling pool. The answer had finally come that morning. He’d received a call from Scott Myles, husband of Sam’s boss Laura, explaining that he’d fired a mechanic that afternoon who’d been embezzling from the business. He needed someone right away he trusted, and wanted Dean to take the job if he was interested. After mouthing to Sam I’ll tell you about it later, Dean patted Evy’s back.“Sleep tight, kiddo.”Evy pulled away from Dean with another big smile on her face. “Thank you, Deanie.”“Thank you for what, kiddo?” Dean asked.“Staying home with me. I know you love hunting.” Evy said.“I do love hunting.” Dean admitted. “But I have a secret for you.”“What is it?” Evy asked.Dean leaned in close to Evy’s ear and whispered loudly, “I love you even more.”

Evy smiled again, that big, brilliant, childish grin that had lighted the dark worlds of Sam and Dean for so long. Dean kissed her forehead and wished her good night again, before turning and leaving to go give Jody the good news.“That’s pretty cool, huh?” Sam asked.“Yeah.” Evy answered. “I like that you’ll both be home now.” “I like it too.” Sam answered.“Daddy?”“Yes?” Sam asked.“Can we go home with uncle Deanie tomorrow?” Evy asked hopefully.Sam looked at her thoughtfully. “Are you sure you’re ready to go home?”“Yeah.” Evy said. “I like staying here with aunt Jody, but I miss our house.”“And Lily?” Sam asked.“And Lily.” Evy confirmed.“Well,” Sam answered, “we could go home with uncle Deanie tomorrow.”“But…?”” Evy asked.“Or we could use the tickets I have in my wallet to go to the zoo on Friday, and then go home Saturday.” Sam said with a smile.“The zoo! Really?” Evy asked.“Really, baby. You want to go?”“You bet I want to go!” Evy said.Sam laughed. “Okay. But we can’t go to the zoo with no sleep. Time for bed.”“Okay.” Evy said.Sam tucked her in again and kissed her cheek. “Goodnight, Cricket.”“Goodnight, daddy. I love you.” Evy said.Sam felt a sudden surge of emotion towards Evy. “I love you too, my baby.”“Will you sing me to sleep?” Evy asked as she laid down.“You bet.” As Evy turned over, he scratched her back and started. “Don’t you feel it growing, day by day…”
Next Chapter: Evy’s eighth birthday.

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The clock was approaching nine, and Sam heard Evy and Lily giggling again from the bedroom. It was Evy’s eighth birthday, and she was happier than Sam had seen her all summer. From the time they’d been at Jody’s, Evy had been slowly recovering from her ordeal with Genai. Thankfully, neither Lily nor Linda had asked anything about what happened. Evy had fallen back into a halfway normal routine, except for one thing. She no longer wanted to have her sleepover at Lily’s. She didn’t want to be away from Sam. Linda and Lily had both been understanding, and Sam hated the thought of her leaving the house anyway. But he’d known the time would finally come, and on her birthday, it did.

Her birthday fell on a Saturday, and Evy had decided that she wanted Lily to sleep at their house on Saturday and stay at Lily’s Sunday. The girls were having a great time in Evy’s room, and Sam considered letting them stay up later. He decided on a compromise. At exactly nine, he walked to the door of Evy’s bedroom.“Alright, girls, you don’t have to go to sleep, but you do have to go to bed.”“Aww, daddy, can’t I stay up a little bit? Please?” Evy begged.Sam hated himself for it, but he cracked under the pressure of Evy’s big, cute, begging eyes. “Fine. But listen to me. When your bedside clock says 9:30, I want you in bed. Understand?”“Okay. Thank you, daddy.” Evy said with a grin.“You’re welcome, baby.”“Hey, uncle Sammy?” Lily asked.“Yes?”“You said we don’t have to go to sleep, right?” Lily wondered.“Right….” Sam answered, wondering where exactly she was going with this.“Well, can we pull out the sofa bed and watch a movie?” Lily asked.Damn it. Sam thought to himself. I knew I shouldn’t have fallen for that one. “Sure.”“Yay!” Both the girls said together, making a sprint for the living room.

After pulling out the sofa bed and fixing it up for them, Sam started the movie and walked over to Evy’s side of the bed. He kissed her cheek and made sure she was tucked in. Leaning over her with one hand on either side, he said, “Good night, baby. Happy birthday.”Evy wrapped her arms around Sam’s neck and pulled him close so she could whisper in his ear. “Thank you.”“For what, baby?” Sam asked.“Letting me do this.” Evy whispered, not wanting Lily to hear her. “Letting me be a normal kid.”“You deserve it, Cricket.” Sam said. “I’m going to my bed. You two have fun. Love you.”“Love you too, daddy.”

Sam felt his heart flutter when Evy called him daddy. He wished Lily a good night, reminded them not to be too loud, and headed to his bedroom. He remembered Dean was still out with friends, and shot him a text before laying back to go to sleep. Evy and Lily are watching a movie in the living room. Turn the TV off when you get in please. The next morning, Sam went to the kitchen to start making the girls breakfast, and was surprised to find Lily already sitting there with a glass of orange juice.“Hi, uncle Sammy.”“Hey, Lily. It’s not even eight, what are you doing up?” Sam asked, walking to gather the supplies to make breakfast.“I couldn’t sleep.” Lily said. “I got me some orange juice, I hope that’s okay.”“Of course it’s okay. Why couldn’t you sleep?” Sam asked as he gathered what he needed for breakfast.“Uncle Sammy, whatever happened to Evy when school got out? I think it’s still bothering her.” Lily said.Sam stopped what he was doing and turned to stare at Lily. “What do you mean?”“She had a bad dream last night.” Lily said. “She woke up crying.”“Why didn’t she come get me?” Sam asked. “She was worried you wouldn’t let her stay at my house tonight if she did.” Lily answered.She was probably right, Sam thought, though he bet his tongue to keep from saying it. “Okay, sweetie, you did good telling me.”“Are you?” Lily asked.“Am I what?” Sam said.“Not going to let her come tonight.”Sam stopped himself from frowning. “If she still wants to go, honey, I’ll let her go.” When Lily smiled, Sam got an idea. “You remember what we need to make pancakes?”“Yeah.”“Why don’t you get the stuff together?” Sam said. “I’m just gonna go check on Evy.”“Okay.”

Sam walked into the living room and sat next to Evy. His movement on the bed made Evy stir awake. She yawned and turned to Sam.“Hi, daddy.”“Hey.” Sam said. “How’d you sleep?”“Okay.” Evy said.“Did you?” Sam asked. “Lily told me you had a bad dream.”“Oh.” Evy said, looking away from Sam.“Baby, why didn’t you come get me?” Sam asked.“I thought you might not let me go to Lily’s tonight if you knew.”Sam sighed. “If you still want to go, baby, you can. I just wish you’d told me last night. I don’t like you sitting up alone, scared.”“It wasn’t about aunt Jody’s. And it wasn’t a scary dream.” Evy said. “It was a sad one.”“What do you mean?”“It was about mommy.” Evy said. “We were having a birthday party. For me. We were waiting on her to show up, but she never came.”“Oh, baby.” Sam said.“If I tell you something, you promise not to be mad that I didn’t tell you before?” Evy asked nervously.Surprised by her sudden question, Sam asked, “Baby, what is it?”“Remember when you found me at the bunker?” Evy asked. “When I got mad at you because you couldn’t send me back?”“Yeah, I remember.” Sam said. “I always wondered what made you change your mind about that.”“It was mommy.” Evy said.Sam, stunned, wasn’t quite sure how to respond.“She came into my room and told me that you were gonna take care of me now.” Evy continued. “She promised me I’d be okay with you.”“Are you glad you listened to her?” Sam asked.“Yeah. I am.” Evy said. “I liked that you were there before, but…” “But what, baby?” “But I’m happier now.” Evy said. “Everything’s so much better.”Sam stroked Evy’s cheek for a moment, unable to believe how blessed he was, yet again. “Do you know how much I love you, my baby?”“Love you too, daddy.” Evy replied.“Evy?” Sam and Evy looked towards the door leading from the living room to the kitchen. Lily was standing there, watching them and looking worried. “Are you okay?”“She’s okay, sweetheart.” Sam said. He turned to Evy and asked, “You want to help us make pancakes?”“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Evy had a great day, and towards dinnertime that night, the girls prepared to go to Linda’s. Sam took them over, and helped Linda make dinner. As he prepared to leave, Linda made sure the girls were occupied and told Sam,“You know, if you want to sneak back after they’re asleep and stay on my couch, you can. You can sneak back home before they get up.”Sam laughed. “Am I that obvious?”“Sam, it’s okay. I can only imagine if something like that happened to Lily how scared I’d be for her to stay somewhere without me.” Linda said.“No, it’s okay. I trust you.” Sam said. “I’m just gonna say goodbye to Evy.” Sam walked down the hall in the direction of the girl’s giggling. “Hey, baby, I’m headed home.”“Okay, daddy.” Evy said. She got up from the floor where she and Lily were looking at a book.Sam knelt down in front of Evy and told her, “Have fun baby. But remember what we talked about.”“Tell aunt Linda if I have a bad dream.” Evy said. “And call you if I want to go home.”“Right.” Sam said. “I love you.” “Love you more.” Evy said.

Sam smiled and turned to leave. He arrived back home about five minutes later, to find Dean sitting in the living room with a beer, watching TV. Sam locked the door behind him and walked in, sitting on the other end of the couch. The house felt strange without Evy in it. Empty and hollow.“Baby girl okay?” Dean asked.“Yeah.” Sam said. “How was work?”“It was okay.” Dean said.
Sam noticed that Dean sounded less than thrilled. “Do you miss hunting?” he asked.Dean thought a long time before answering. “Yeah.” He said honestly. “But seeing baby girl happy makes it worth it.”“You know what she told me tonight?” Sam told Dean about the dream and about Evy seeing Missy the day she showed up at the bunker. “You think it was real?” Dean asked. “Did Missy really…?”“Yeah. I think she did. I think she brought Evy to us.”“Damn.” Dean said.“I’m going to bed.” Sam said. “Night, jerk.”“Night, bitch.”

Sam put on a pair of sweatpants and a light shirt and washed his face. Before going to bed, he stopped into Evy’s room and sat on her bed, looking around. He grabbed the photo he’d given her on Father’s Day, which she kept on her bedside table.“Thank you.” Sam said sincerely. “Thank you.”
Next Chapter: Sam and Evy’s Halloween night takes a terrible turn.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The movie ended, the credits rolled, and the lights came up in the theater. Evy, who’d been sitting in Sam’s lap through the majority of the movie, got up and started to walk down the aisle to head back outside.“Cricket, wait. Come here.”Evy walked back towards Sam, who was still sitting down. “Sorry, daddy, I thought you were behind me.”“It’s okay, Cricket. That’s not it.” Sam said. Once she was close enough, Sam pulled her near enough to him that he could talk to her without anyone else in the crowded theater could hear them. “Listen, you’re not going to like this, but I’m going to carry you out of here.”“NO!” Evy protested loudly. “Daddy, please don’t.”“There’s too many people around, Cricket.” Sam explained.“I’ll hold your hand. I’ll hold it tight, I promise.” Evy said. “Just please don’t carry me.”Sam had known it wasn’t going to go over well, so he was extra patient. “Come on, baby.”“I’m eight.” Evy said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m too big to be carried.”“Cricket, I know.” Sam said. “I don’t think you’re a baby. That’s not what this is about. There’s just too many people around and I don’t want to lose you.”Evy’s eyes filled with tears, but she knew she was defeated. “Okay, daddy.”The way Evy slumped in defeat made Sam feel guilty. “Is there another reason you don’t want me to do it?”Seeing a spark of hope, Evy tried again. “My friends are here. I’m gonna get picked on if you carry me. It’s embarrassing.”

Sam looked around. The crowd was thinning slowly, and Sam noticed that the majority of the kids in the room were around the age of second, third, or fourth grade. He honestly hadn’t considered that, and felt like an idiot for not. The entire reason they were here was because it was snowing outside, and it was too cold to go trick-or-treating. The local movie theater had announced a movie night for parents and kids of the local elementary schools, as an alternative way to celebrate Halloween night. Evy was still looking at him hopefully, pleading with him silently. Sam did what he’d gotten very good at doing since Evy had arrived; he put himself in the shoes of an eight year old, and realized that what he was asking was a little too much.“How about we wait for everybody to be gone first?” Sam suggested. “Then you can hold my hand when we get outside.” Evy smiled and wrapped her arms around Sam’s neck. “Thanks, daddy.”“So a hug’s not embarrassing?” Sam asked with a laugh as he returned it.“Never.” Evy said.

The two of them stayed there for a few minutes, talking about the movie and other things that popped into their heads. Once Sam was satisfied that the theater was empty enough, he and Evy started to head outside. They got to the car and started home. As it turned out, the crowd was the least of Sam’s problems. Sitting at a stop light at an intersection only two streets away from their house, Sam said to Evy,“I’m sorry you couldn’t go trick or treating this year.”“It’s okay.” Evy said. “I had more fun with you anyways.”“Awww….”

Sam didn’t get a chance to finish what he was saying. His brain worked a little faster than his mouth did. He heard himself say “I had fun with you too” but it never came out. As Sam started to roll into the intersection, he heard the slamming of brakes and breaking glass. He only had a moment to process what had just happened-a car had slammed into them-before he was plunged into total darkness.

He was awoken by a light shining in his face and the sound of people’s voices around him. His head hurt like never before, but he seemed to be okay. Sam started to sit up, until he was stopped by a sound that made his heart hammer in his chest.“Daddy!”

Sam jumped up and looked in the rearview mirror towards Evy. The sight made him sick. The car that had hit them had smashed almost directly into Evy’s side of the car. Evy was crying hysterically, close to screaming. Sam was frozen in fear. How could Evy had made it through that?“Dude, you okay?”Sam jerked in shock. “What?” A teenager who was passing by the accident had stopped in the driver’s side window. “You okay?”Evy crying again snapped Sam out of his shock and made him jump into action. “Call 911!” Sam said as he unbuckled his seat belt.“I already did.” The teenager said. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine, just wait for the ambulance.” Sam said. Once he was facing Evy, he leaned in and checked her quickly. “Baby, are you okay?”“Daddy, I can’t move!” Evy cried.“What?” Sam looked over and saw what she was talking about; the door was pinning her leg down. “Okay, baby, it’s okay. Help’s on the way. I’m right here.”“Daddy…” Evy cried again.“Shh.” Sam said, grabbing Evy’s hand. “I’m right here.” Evy finally looked at Sam and the pain and fear in her face nearly made him lose his mind. “I’m right here.”“It hurts.” Evy said pitifully.Sam’s brain immediately went back to eighteen years earlier. Evy had just been attacked by a hellhound, and was lying in Bobby’s house, broken and bleeding and crying. Sam remembered what she’d said as clearly as if it was happening just then.
“It hurrrrtttttssss….” Evy cried, reaching out to Sam with the hand on her bitten, but somewhat whole, arm.
Sam squeezed Evy’s hand and told her what he’d told her before. “I know, baby. I know it hurts. But help’s on the way. And I’m not leaving you. Okay?”Evy was crying so much her tears were dripping onto Sam’s outstretched hand. “I’m scared.”Sam opened the door and went around to the passenger side as quickly as he could. He climbed in next to Evy and grabbed her arm. He was relieved she didn’t start crying harder; it seemed her right side was okay. Sam wiped her face, refusing to look down. He was afraid what he would see if he did.“I’m here, baby.” After nearly two full minutes of Evy steadily crying and shaking in Sam’s arms, Sam screamed out the window. “Where the hell is that ambulance!?!”

As if in answer to his question, sirens were suddenly blaring towards the scene. The sudden loud noise startled Evy, who did start screaming this time. Sam calmed her as best he could. He stroked the side of her face and pulled her hair back so that it wasn’t sticking to her tear stained cheek. She stopped screaming but was still crying and whimpering. Finally, after what seemed like forever to Sam, a firefighter appeared at the window on Evy’s side of the car.“Hey there, kiddo. How you doing? I’m Scott, I’m gonna get you out of here, okay?”“Help me.” Evy begged.“I will, honey, I promise.” Scott said. “Sir, are you okay? Do you need medical attention?”“Help my daughter first.” Sam insisted. “Her leg’s pinned beneath the door.”“Okay, we’ll do that.” Scott replied. “What’s your name, sweetie?”“Evy.” Evy said, leaning against Sam.“Okay, Evy, listen to me, honey. We will get you out, but it’s going to take a few minutes. Hold on to your dad and I’ll be right back, okay?” Scott said.“Okay.” Evy said. “You’re a brave kid, Evy. Just hang on.”

Scott turned and went to discuss something with two other firefighters. Sam turned back to Evy and continued to try to keep her as calm as possible. The job was even more difficult than normal because Sam was close to panic himself. Some minutes later, Scott came back to the car and leaned in slightly in Evy’s window.“Alright, sweetheart, listen. You’re gonna hear a loud noise in a minute, but it’s just us getting you out of here, okay?”Evy whimpered loudly and clung harder to Sam.“Okay, baby, listen to me.” Sam said. He turned to Scott and asked, “Can you give me a minute to calm her before you start?”“Yeah.” Scott said. “Do it quick.”“Can you bring me a blanket?” Sam asked. Time was wasting, so Scott didn’t ask why he needed the blanket, he just yelled for someone to bring him one. Sam turned back to Evy. “Do you remember, when you really little, what I would do when you got scared?”Evy nodded. “The rabbit hole.”“Do you remember why it’s so dark in the rabbit hole?” Sam asked, taking the blanket offered to him by Scott. “Cause that makes it safe.” Evy said.“That’s right, baby.” Sam said, wrapping the blanket on top of Evy. “Just close your eyes and stay in the rabbit hole, okay? I’ll get you out when it’s safe.”

The sound from the rescue effort was very loud, so loud that it even scared Sam. The door lifted off the car and Evy came free. She still couldn’t move after the door came off, but she was loaded onto a stretcher and being carted away before Sam could protest. Sam followed close behind, holding tight to Evy’s hand.“Mr. Winchester, we have an ambulance waiting for you.”“I’m not leaving my daughter.” Sam repeated, jumping into the back of the ambulance with Evy.Evy, who had been keeping a grip on Sam’s hand, panicked when she lost it in the transfer from the ground to the ambulance. “Daddy!”“Shhh. I’m here, baby.” Sam said, grabbing her hand again. “I’m here.”

Sam looked at Evy’s face and noticed something that made his heart sink. Evy wasn’t crying anymore. She had exhausted herself crying so hard that she couldn’t do it anymore. He also saw that her eyes were getting heavy.“Listen to me, baby. I know you’re tired, but don’t go to sleep. Not yet, okay?” Sam said. “Hold on to my hand as tight as you can.”Evy squeezed his hand a bit.“Come on, baby. As hard as you can.” Sam encouraged.Unfortunately, his encouragement had the exact opposite effect on Evy. “I am. Don’t you feel it?”She’s losing strength. Sam thought. “Yeah. I do, I feel it. You’re doing good baby, just keep trying.”“We’ll be at the hospital in a couple minutes.” the ambulance driver called from the front seat.Sam pasted on a smile, one he definitely didn’t feel but he hoped helped Evy out at least a little. “You hear that?” he asked. “We’re almost there.”“Am I gonna be okay?” Evy asked. “It hurts so much.”“Yes.” Sam swore. “Yes, you’re going to be fine. I swear, baby, you’ll be fine.”They pulled up to the hospital and Evy was wheeled into the hospital. Sam was surprised when he was allowed to stay with her as she was examined. Her leg was clearly broken where the door had pinned it, and the doctor made it clear she would need an x-ray and brain scan. After being given some pain medication, Evy was sleeping as peacefully as she could. The doctor gently approached Sam.“Mr. Winchester? I’m Dr. Cooke. Listen, I
know you want to stay with your little girl, but we also need to check you.”“No.” Sam said automatically. “Not until I know how bad she’s hurt.”“Mr. Winchester, I know you’re worried. I get that. But you won’t do your daughter any good if you pass out too. Now outwardly you do seem okay. But we need to see if you have any internal injuries.” Dr. Cooke said. “I promise it won’t take long. Your daughter’s fast asleep, and she won’t wake up before our tests are done. But we can test you in the same room she’s having her exam. You’ll be right there the whole time.”Not having to leave Eyv convinced Sam the doctor was right. “Okay. I’ll agree to an exam.”“Good.” Dr. Cooke said. “It’s right this way. Now, before we go, is there anyone you need to call?” Dean, Sam thought. “Yes. My brother lives with us. He’ll be wondering why we’re not home yet.”“Why don’t you go on and call him quickly?” Dr. Cooke suggested. “It’ll take a moment to get your daughter prepped. What’s her name?”“Evelyn.” Sam answered. “She likes to be called Evy.”“Alright.” Dr. Cooke said. “Call your brother and we’ll take good care of Evy.”

Sam nodded, and pulled out his cell phone, which he was amazed was still in his pocket. There were fifteen missed calls from Dean, and six voicemails. Sam skipped the voicemails and dialed Dean’s number directly.“Sam, where the hell are you? Are you guys okay?” Dean said when he answered the phone.“Dean.” Sam said, his heart starting to beat even harder from the barely suppressed panic he’d been hiding for Evy’s benefit.“Sam? What is it? What’s wrong?” Dean asked.“You, um…” Sam said, swallowing hard to stop himself from crying. “You need to get to the hospital now. Evy’s been hurt.”Dean didn’t bother asking what happened; he could convince Sam to be calmer and tell him what happened at the hospital. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in less than twenty minutes.”Sam hung up the phone and his panic started to catch up with him. “Please be okay, baby. Please be okay.”
Next Chapter: Evy’s condition get worse. Dean and Cass find the driver of the car that hit Evy, and handle the case themselves.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Despite the weather outside getting worse, Dean drove at breakneck speed to get to the hospital. What should have been a twenty-minute trip from the house took less than twelve. Dean ran inside the emergency department, eyes scanning around for any sign of Sam or Evy. When he didn’t see them, he ran to the admission desk.“Excuse me.” he said.The admission nurse, who had been looking down at some paperwork, looked up at the sound of Dean’s voice and smiled. “Can I help you?”“I’m looking for Sam or Evelyn Winchester.” Dean said.“Are you family?” the nurse said.“Yes. Sam’s my brother, Evelyn’s my niece.” Dean said. “Where are they?”“Hang on, sweetie. I’ll call and try to find out where they are.” The nurse picked up a phone and dialed a number. She talked no more than thirty seconds, but it felt like hours to Dean. “Thank you.” As she hung up the phone, she said to Dean, “Your brother’s in the surgical waiting room, sweetie.”“Surgery? Who’s in surgery?” Dean asked.“That’s all I know, sweetheart. Go down the hall, take that elevator three flights up.”

Dean ran down to the elevator and took it up. The ride wasn’t long, but again it felt like forever. When Dean arrived on the floor, the first thing he saw was Sam sitting in a chair, one knee bouncing up and down at the speed of light, his hands on his head.“Sammy.”Sam looked up quickly and seemed relieved to finally have someone there with him. “Dean.” Dean took the chair in front of Sam. “Sam, what the hell happened?”Sam took a ragged breath. “We, um, we were coming back from the movie. I was going through the intersection at Kennedy and Myers and somebody ran the red light.”“What the hell?” Dean said. “Where’s Evy?”“The car slammed right into her. God, Dean, it slammed right into her door.” Sam said.“Sam, come on. Tell me. Where’s baby girl?” Dean asked.“She’s in surgery.” Sam said.“How bad is she hurt?” Dean asked.Sam took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Her leg’s broken in three places. She’s got cuts and bruises. She’s in surgery so they can try and see if anything else is wrong with her.”“God.” Dean said. “It’s just like…”“Don’t say it.” Sam said. “Please. I’ve been thinking the same thing all night.”“What happened to the other driver?”Sam’s knee immediately stopped bouncing and he stared at Dean. “I didn’t even think about that.”“What do you mean?” Dean asked.“Dean, she was awake until they took her into surgery.” Sam said.“Son of a bitch!” Dean exclaimed loudly.“I can’t get the sound of her screaming out of my mind.” Sam said, barely holding back tears. “She was pinned down by the door. The fire department had to cut it off. She was crying so much…”“Sam, stop. Do not blame yourself for this. The only person whose fault this is is the asshole that slammed into you and ran away.” Dean said.Sam nodded.“Are you hurt?” Dean asked.“Um, I have a minor concussion and I had to get a few stitches. Other than that, I’m fine.” Sam said.Before Dean could ask anything else, a man and a woman came up to them. “Sam Winchester?”“Yeah?”“I’m detective Morris.” the woman said. “This is detective Landau. We’re with the Lebanon police department.”“Okay.” Sam said.“We need to ask you some questions about what happened tonight. Is that okay?” Detective Landau asked.“I’d really rather not. I need to wait on…” Sam started.“Sam.” Dean said, stopping Sam in his tracks. “Baby girl’s in surgery. They need to know what you know. Now’s as good a time as any.”“I promise we’ll be brief, Mr. Winchester.” Detective Morris said. “May we sit?”“I didn’t really see anything.” Sam said.“That’s okay.” Detective Morris said. “Just tell us what you do remember. Every detail helps.”

Sam recalled for them as best he could what had happened, starting with the conversation he and Evy had had after the movie and ending with coming to the hospital. He gave them a description of the boy at the scene who had called 911, and a couple other people that he saw there. When he was done, Detective Landau asked,“So you didn’t see the car at all?”“No!” Sam said, his patience beginning to wear thin. “No, I didn’t see the damn car! I was too busy trying to make my daughter stop crying.”“Mr. Winchester, it’s okay.” Detective Morris said. “What you gave us is enough. We’ll leave you alone now. This is my card. If you remember anything else, or you have any questions, call me.”“Thank you.” Dean said, taking the card for a now very distraught Sam.As the detectives turned the corner, Sam said, “I was useless, wasn’t I?”“No. You kept baby girl safe. That’s the most important thing, Sam.” Dean assured him.

It was past midnight at that point, but neither Dean nor Sam even thought about falling asleep. Dean called Jody, who agreed to come as fast as she could; he also called his boss Scott, who agreed to have Sam’s car towed and keep a lookout at the shop for any damaged cars that contained traces of the same color paint as Sam’s car. Sam called Linda, who agreed to come to the hospital after dropping Lily off at school. It was approaching five am when a doctor finally came into the waiting room.“Evelyn Winchester?”Sam and Dean jumped up off their seats immediately. “Yes?”“Are you her family?” the doctor asked.“I’m her father.” Sam said. “Is she okay?”“You need to sit down.” the doctor said. “She’s alive, but we need to talk.” As Sam sat back down, the doctor began. “I’m Dr. Monroe. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Evelyn has no other bone breaks than in her leg. The leg was broken in several places, as we told you. We inserted a rod to help it heal, but she’s going to be in the hospital for a while. She’ll need some physical therapy. She also had to have quite a few stitches put in.”“Okay.” Sam said. “You said that was the good news?”“Yes. Evelyn sustained a head wound in the accident. She had pressure building up in her brain. We gave her another X-Ray and checked, but there’s no skull fracture. We put in a shunt to help relieve the pressure, but she’s still unconscious.” Dr. Monroe said. “That’s the bad news. There’s no way to tell how long she’ll be unconscious.”“Is she in a coma?” Sam asked.“No. But it is possible that she’ll slip into one. We’ll have to keep monitoring her reflexes every couple of hours. I’m sorry, I wish I had better news for you.” Dr. Monroe asked.“Does she have brain damage?” Sam asked.“We can’t tell that until she wakes up.”“She seemed okay after the car hit us.” Sam said. “She knew what was going on.”“Sometimes it takes time for the damage to become clear.” Dr. Monroe said. “Mr. Winchester, I’m gonna be honest with you. Your daughter’s got a long road ahead of her. But it’s amazing she’s even alive. I know it’s hard to see right now, but that is a blessing.”“You’re right.” Sam said. “You’re right. That’s everything.”“Can we see her?” Dean asked.“Yes.” Dr. Monroe said. “Although she’s in the ICU. I can only allow a parent to stay in the room with her unless it’s visiting hours.”“That’s okay.” Dean said. “I just want to see her for a minute. We have family coming over, I can come back in the morning.” When Dean looked out the window and saw the sun was coming up, he said, “Well, later this morning, anyway.”“I should warn you.” Dr. Monroe said. “She doesn’t look like herself.”“Please.” Sam begged. “Please just take me to her.”“Alright. Let’s go.”

Dr. Monroe led them down the hall towards the other end of the hall, where ICU was located. Dr. Monroe led them into a room, where Evy was lying on the bed. Sam paled at the sight of her. Her leg was in a heavy cast, and the top of her head was wrapped in gauze. She had stitches all over, and so many bruises that from a distance, her entire left side looked black and blue. “Mr. Winchester? Are you all right?” Dr. Monroe asked.“I will be. When she’s okay.” Sam said.“I understand. I’ll have a cot brought in for you.” Dr. Monroe said.“Thank you.” Sam replied, without looking at the doctor.

Once the doctor was out of the room, Sam approached the bed as if it was full of snakes. He sat on the chair closest to the bed and stared at her. Dean walked up behind him, in almost as much shock as Sam. To Dean, Evy looked like a porcelain doll that would break easily if so much as touched the wrong way. As if Sam heard what Dean was thinking, he said,“I’m almost afraid to touch her. I might break her.”“Wasn’t it you when she was little who was always telling me and dad not to treat her like she would break?” Dean asked.“Yeah.” Sam said, letting out a chuckle.“She needs you, Sam.” Dean said, laying an encouraging hand on Sam’s back.“I wonder if she can even hear me.” Sam asked. “If she even knows we’re here.”Dean hesitated; he didn’t know whether or not adult Evy had ever revealed this to Sam before she died. “She can.”“What?” Sam asked.“Remember when she was in the coma? When she was attacked by the Shtriga?” Sam nodded. “She told me later she knew everything that was going on. She saw us talking to her, felt it when we were holding her hand.”Sam looked at Evy again, this time grabbing her hand gingerly. “I’m here, baby. I’m not gonna leave you.”“Sam, I’m gonna head home and wait for Jody. You gonna be okay?” Dean asked.“I’m not really sure how to answer that right now.” Sam said. “But it’s okay if you go.”“I’ll be back once Jody’s here.” Dean promised. “It won’t be long.” Sam nodded and Dean walked around the chair to face Evy. He gently kissed her cheek and squeezed her arm. “Get better, baby girl. We love you.”

Dean left and Sam was finally faced with what he’d been dreading ever since the accident. Being alone with Evy. A nurse came in with the cot, but Sam wasn’t able to sleep until he got on the bed next to Evy. He couldn’t help but think that he had to be there in case she had a nightmare, even if she wouldn’t be able to tell him about it. Jody came the following day and mothered Sam, forcing him to eat and drink at regular intervals. Laura came by, encouraging Sam to take the time he needed. Linda came, and offered her support to Sam. Everything was in one ear and out the other for Sam. All he could focus on Evy. She wasn’t getting better, but wasn’t getting worse.

Later that night, another visitor came by. It was Scott, Dean’s boss. He quickly visited with Evy, but seemed eager to talk to Dean about something. Dean walked out into the hallway with him, assuming that Scott wanted to discuss when he’d be able to work next.“Scott, just give me a couple days to figure this out…”“Dean, wait. That’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about.” Scott said. “Listen, the guys at the shop all donated three vacation days each for you to stay here with Evy. You don’t have to use all of it if you don’t want to, but that gives you close to a month if you need it.”Dean, who clearly wasn’t used to such generosity, stuttered as he said, “Tell them I sa…said thanks.”“I will. But listen, I wanted to talk to you privately for a different reason.” Scott pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Dean. “The car you asked me about came into the garage.”“What?” Dean asked. “Are you sure?”“It’s a Honda Civic, front end damage, paint matches Sam’s car.” Scott said. “I have to let the police know…”“Give me two hours. Please.” Dean said.“Dean, what are you gonna do?” Scott asked. “I know you want to get this guy, but…”“I’m just gonna scare him.” Dean said. “I swear. Try to get him to turn himself in. If he won’t, I’ll call you and you can call the cops.”“Alright, Dean. Whatever you do, just don’t get arrested. And if you do, this” Scott said, pointing at the paper in Dean’s hand, “does not come back to me.”“You got it.” Dean said, grabbing and shaking Scott’s hand. “Thanks, bud.”“Anytime.” Scott said. He took another look at Evy. “Get in a shot for me. I can’t stand assholes that hurt kids. Especially ones that run away.”“Thanks again.” Dean said. “For everything.” Scott left, and Dean walked back into the room. “Sam, I’ll be back.”“Where are you going?” Sam asked. Not that I really care, he thought.“Work errand.” Dean said. “Scott wants me to take care of something before I take my vacation days.”“Okay.” Sam said. “Wait, what vacation days?” Dean told him about the offer from the guys at the shop, and Sam let out his first smile since the accident. “Dean, that’s great.”“Yeah.” Dean said. “It is. I’ll be back soon.” He turned to Evy and said, “I’ll be back, baby girl.”

Thirty minutes later, Dean and Cass had arrived at the destination Scott had given him. Dean had expected Cass to be against the plan, but he supported it whole heartedly. He’d also assured Dean he’d be able to tell if the suspect, Jason Kensington, was lying. Dean knocked at the door and waited impatiently. A few seconds later, a teenager, no older than twenty, came to the door.“Can I help you?” he asked.“Jason Kensington?” Cass asked.“That depends. Who’s asking?” Jason said.“Look, are you him or not?” Dean asked.“Yeah, I am. What’s it to you?” Before Jason could react, Dean and Cass had pushed him inside. “Dude, what the hell?”“Do you drive a Honda Civic?” Dean asked.“What? Yeah….”“You were in an accident last night.” Cass stated matter of factly.“No, I wasn’t.” Jason said.“You were.” Cass said. “You have whiplash.”“Really?” Dean said. “You see, that’s interesting. My brother and my niece were in an accident last night too.”Jason started to run out the door.“Cass. Now.”

Just as Jason got to the door, he suddenly doubled over in pain. He lay on the floor, screaming like a baby. Dean took note he was crying, and shook his head. An unsympathetic Cass stood watch at the door. Dean knew he was muting Jason’s screams from the neighbors. Dean bent down and got two inches away from Jason’s face.“Shut the hell up and look at me.”Jason stopped screaming but looked at Dean, crying and clutching his leg.“Hurts, don’t it?” Dean asked. Jason nodded pitifully. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with you. What you’re feeling right now, is exactly the pain you put my niece in last night.”“I’m sorry!” Jason said. “I just got scared….”“You got scared?” Dean asked. “Do you know she was awake after you hit her? The door pinned her down and broke her leg in three places. She’s got fifty stitches from broken glass. She hit her head so hard they had to drain blood out of it. How scared do you think she was?”“Please, please take it away….” Jason begged.“Why should I? My niece has to deal with it.” Dean said. “Tell me the truth. Right now. Were you drunk? High? Both?”“High.” Jason answered.“So you got high on a night where visibility was next to zero, got behind the wheel of a car, hurt my niece, totaled my brother’s car, and ran. Does that about sum it up?” Dean asked.“YES!” Jason screamed. “Please, I’ll do anything, just please make it stop!”“Shut. The hell. Up.” Dean said again, this time low and dangerously. “You are gonna do something. We’re gonna heal you. We’re gonna make the pain go away. And as soon as it’s gone, you’re gonna get your ass up, and take yourself down to Lebanon PD. You’re gonna turn yourself in to Detective Monroe or Detective Landau. You’ve got six hours to do that. If we don’t get a call by tomorrow morning that you’ve turned yourself in, we’ll be back. And you’ll feel this all over again when you hit the sidewalk outside from that window right there. Got it?”“Got it!” Jason said. “I’ll do it, I’ll turn myself in, I swear.”“One more thing.” Dean said. “My niece is in the third grade. She was out with her dad celebrating Halloween. She loves school, and it’s pretty damn likely her dad’s gonna have to tell her she can’t go until she can learn to walk again. That could take months. If you had done this two years ago, it’s likely I never would have given you a chance to turn yourself in. I suggest doing it quick. Because if my niece wakes up anytime soon, and I have to listen to her cry about not being able to go to school or because she’s in pain, I might just change my mind about giving you the chance to do the right thing.”“Dude, please…”

Dean and Cass walked back out to the Impala. Cass healed Jason from the car, and they headed back to the hospital. There was no change in Evy’s condition, and Dean had to take everyone and go home again. The call eventually came that Jason had turned himself in. While Dean and Jody were happy to hear it, Sam was too worried about Evy to react much. The next three days were more of the same. Sam keeping a practically constant vigil at Evy’s bedside, broken only by Jody making him leave for fifteen to twenty minutes to eat three times a day. Sam slept in the same position every night, lying down next to Evy to try and fend off any nightmares.

The day finally came. Sam was half asleep, in the process of waking up and beginning another long day of hoping for Evy to wake up. Sam almost missed it. It was like a bug running across his hand-that light, the airy. Sam almost reached down and brushed it away. Until he saw it. Evy’s eyes were open. It wasn’t a bug running across his hand, it was Evy squeezing it.“Daddy.” she whispered.A relieved Sam smiled and almost laughed. “Hey!” he said.“What happened?” Evy asked.“I’ll tell you, honey, I promise.” Sam said. “Hang on one second, okay?”Sam went into the hallway and called for Dr. Monroe. After a quick examination, Dean and Jody had showed up. Dr. Monroe sat himself on the edge of the bed and faced Evy.“I need to ask you a few questions, sweetie. They might seem like silly questions, but I need you to answer them, okay?”“Why?” Evy asked.“Well, you hurt your head. I want to make sure you haven’t hurt your memory. Does that make sense?” Dr. Monroe asked.“I guess.”“Do you know your name?” Dr. Monroe asked.“Evelyn Winchester.”“Very good. Do you know where you are?”“The hospital.” Evy said.“Right. Do you know why you’re in the hospital?”“We got hit by a car.” Evy said.“Who did? Who was in the car with you?”“My daddy.” Evy said.“Alright. That’s good, sweetie. Do you have any questions for me?” Dr. Monroe asked.“How long do I have to stay? When can I go home, go back to school?”“I’m sorry, honey.” Dr. Monroe said, and he was genuinely sorry. “You’re gonna be here at least a couple weeks. Your leg is hurt really bad. And it’s gonna take some time for you to be able to walk on it again.”Any happiness Sam had been feeling over Evy waking up went out the door when Evy’s eyes filled with tears. Sam asked the doctor to give them a few minutes alone. Once he was gone, Sam turned back to Evy.“Talk to me.” “I want to go home.” Evy said.“I know. But you have to stay here for a while, baby. You have to get better before you can be at home.” Sam noticed a tear slipping down. “What’s wrong?”“I’m sorry I gave you a hard time at the movie.”“A hard time? What are you talking about?” Sam asked.“About carrying me.” Evy said.“Baby, don’t worry about that. That’s not important.” Sam said. “Why is it bothering you?”“’Cause I wish you could do it now.” Evy said, tears starting to fall faster and faster.

Two weeks passed, and although Evy was getting better, she still hadn’t been released. She did well with her physical therapy, but was frustrated at being stuck inside the majority of the time. She could walk a short distance with crutches, but the cast was so heavy she couldn’t stand up for very long. Sam pulled her outside one day in a wheelchair, out into a garden kept on the bottom floor of the hospital. She was quiet, and Sam wanted to know why. He had a feeling he knew, but if she didn’t talk about it, he was afraid she’d get so frustrated that it would hinder her recover. She’d been in the hospital for nearly three weeks. Dean was going back to work soon. Lily had been to visit a few times, and caught Evy up with what they’d been doing in school. She did a good job keeping up a bright face for Jody, Dean, and Lily, but Sam saw the truth once everyone went home. She was sad, sadder than Sam had ever seen her. She missed her life, and wanted it back. Sam wheeled the chair next to a stone wall and sat down beside her.“Talk to me.” he said. “Why are you so sad?”Evy waited a minute before she spoke. “I feel like a baby.” she said.“What do you mean?” Sam asked.“I can’t do anything without help. I can’t get dressed, I can’t take a bath, I can’t even walk. I hate this.” Evy said, her voice cracking.Sam sighed; he’d been spot on with what was wrong with her. She’d expressed the same frustrations several times. But she surprised him with something else that was on her mind.“And it’s not fair.”“What’s not fair?” Sam asked.“Whoever hit us.” Evy said. “I got hurt and they got to run away. I wish it was them here instead of me.” She suddenly looked mildly ashamed. “Is that bad?”“No.” Sam said without hesitation. “No, baby, it’s not.” Because I wish the same thing, he thought, but kept to himself.He decided to try a different approach. Sam kneeled down in front of her, one hand each on either side of her wheelchair. He wiped the few tears that were starting to fall down. He finally said,“The man that hit you? You’re right, he didn’t get hurt in the accident, and that’s not fair. I can’t really explain it, but he shouldn’t have been driving that night, and he knew that. But Uncle Dean and Cass made sure he couldn’t hurt anyone else.” Sam said. “He’s in jail now. He won’t get out for a long time. And as for feeling like a baby, do you know what I see when I look at you?”“What?” Evy asked.“I see a superhero.” Sam said seriously.“You do?” Evy asked, surprised at his answer.“You bet I do.” Sam said. “Baby, you had a car on top of you and you’re still here. You’re being brave and doing everything you can to get better and get back out there.”“I don’t feel very brave.” Evy said.“That’s what I’m here for.” Sam said. “When you don’t feel brave, you find me. Or uncle Dean, or aunt Jody. We’re all here for you, baby.”Evy thought about what Sam was saying, and finally nodded her head. “Okay, daddy. I will.” She looked up at Sam and asked, “Are you okay?”“What do you mean?” Sam asked.“You’re crying.”

Sam hadn’t even realized it, but he was crying. Comforting Evy had made him think about how close he’d been to losing her. The sheer panic brought on by seeing her pinned in the car had started to bubble back to the surface. He’d thought he’d done a good job hiding that panic, but apparently had not been completely successful.“I was scared too, baby.” he admitted. “When I saw you in that car. Watching you get better sometimes reminds me of that and I get scared again.”Evy reached over and wiped the rear off Sam’s face. “I have an idea.”“What’s your idea?” Sam asked.“I’ll be brave for you if you’ll be brave for me.” Evy said, finally smiling.Sam laughed in relief that she finally felt better. “You got a deal, baby.” They shared a hug and Sam asked, “I’m hungry. How about you?”Evy scrunched her face in disgust. “Do we have to eat the gross hospital food?”“No.” Sam said. “Miss Laura’s bringing you some of her mac and cheese. Mr. Scott’s bringing you some of his burgers.”“Really?” Evy asked, her eyes growing to the size of saucers.“Really.” Sam said.Laura, Scott, Dean and Claire had been taking turns bringing Evy one meal a day, but it had typically been dinner, as they all had to work. Jody had spent every weekend with them since the accident, and Claire had been there the entire time. It was lunchtime now, and Sam felt a heavy weight off his soul at the look in Evy’s eyes for the unexpected treat. Sam kissed her cheek and stood up.“You ready to go back to the room?” Sam asked.“Can we eat out here?” Evy asked. “Please?”“Sure, baby.” Sam said. He knew he should take her back to her room, but she more than deserved to be a little spoiled at the moment. “Sure. I’ll call Miss Laura.”“Daddy?”“Yeah?” Sam asked.Evy grabbed his hand and pulled on it a little. Sam knelt back down and Evy threw her arms around his neck. “I love you.”“I love you too, baby.” Sam said. “I love you too, my brave little soul.”
Next Chapter: Evy goes home.

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It was the day after Thanksgiving, exactly four weeks since the accident, and the day had finally come. Evy was still in a cast, but was able to get around much easier with it. Jason Kensington had written a letter of apology to her, which Sam hadn’t given her to read. She was in much better spirits, not having to be confined to her hospital room anymore. She was going home. She was dressed and packed, and Sam was doing a final sweep of the room to make sure she didn’t leave anything behind. He laughed when Evy said how nice it was to wear her clothes instead of the hospital gowns she’d been wearing for a month. Sam set up her wheelchair and helped her get into it. He started to push her out into the hallway, where Dean was signing her discharge paperwork, when Evy grabbed his arm.“Wait. Stop.”Sam knelt down beside her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”“I’m scared.” Evy admitted sheepishly.“Scared of what?” Sam asked. “Baby, we’re going home. It’s all you’ve talked about for weeks.”"I know. I do want to go home. But…”“But what?” Sam asked, brushing a piece of hair out of her face.“I’m scared of getting in the car.” Evy said.“Oh.” Sam said.Dean suddenly appeared in the doorway. “Hey, slowpokes, what’s taking so long? I’m ready for some Thanksgiving dinner.” Seeing the look on Evy’s face, Dean stopped. “What’s wrong?”Sam sighed and looked to Dean for some help; he didn’t know how to convince Evy to get in the car. “She’s scared to get in the car.”“What are you scared of?” Dean asked.“Getting hurt again.” Evy said.“Would it help if I sat in the back with you?” Sam asked.“A little.” Evy said. “But I’m still really scared.”“Evy.” Cass had appeared in the room, making them all jump a little. “Would you like me in the back with you as well?”“There you go, baby.” Sam coaxed. “You’ve got me and an angel in the backseat. You can’t beat that.”“And I’ll let you choose, baby girl.” Dean said. “I can go normal speed and get us home in just a few minutes, or I can go really slow so you don’t feel scared. It’ll take a little longer to get home that way, but we’ve got all day.”Evy grabbed Sam’s hand and gripped it tight. “You won’t let me go?”Sam shook his head. “No. I won’t let you go. And if you get scared, Dean’s got a blanket in the car. I’ll put you in the rabbit hole until you get out of the car.”“You’re going to put her in a hole?” Cass asked. Sam ignored him.

Evy turned to Cass. “Cass? You’ll hold my other hand?”“Of course.”“There you go, baby girl.” Dean said. “You ready?”“I guess.”

Evy held Sam’s hand tight the entire way to the car. She was crying and shaking when Sam placed her in the backseat, but didn’t fight him. Cass sat on the other side of her, holding her hand as he’d promised. Sam sang quietly to her, over and over. Dean drove slowly, going no faster than seven miles an hour. It was almost an hour later when they pulled up to the house, even though it was only a few miles away. When Dean stopped the car, Evy was smiling.“We made it.” she said.“Told you I’d get you here.” Dean said. He turned around and faced Evy. “How you doing kiddo? You okay?”“Yeah. I’m okay.” Evy said. “Can we go inside now please?”“You bet.” Sam said. “Let’s go.”

Sam wheeled her inside and helped her get settled in the living room. The house smelled of food-Jody, Linda, and Laura were in the kitchen finishing up dinner. They each took turns fawning over Evy, who at first hated all the attention then finally took advantage of it. Sam was happy to see her appetite had returned, that it wasn’t inhibited anymore by the pain medicine she’d had to take at the hospital. Later that night, after dinner had been eaten and all the dishes cleaned, everyone moved into the living room to watch a movie. By the time the movie was over, Lily was fast asleep and Evy was in Sam’s lap heading in the same direction.“Time for bed baby.” Sam said.“Okay.” Evy replied with a yawn.Sam leaned closer to Evy and whispered in her ear. “Do you want to go in your wheelchair, use your crutches, or let me carry you?”Evy slinked her arms around his neck and whispered back, “Can I say goodnight to everyone first?”“You bet.” Sam replied. He picked her up and turned around to face everyone.“Thank you, everyone.” Evy said, sheepishly laying her head on Sam’s shoulder.“For what, sweetheart?” Jody asked.“Moving Thanksgiving for me.” Evy said.“Oh, honey.” Linda said, getting up from the couch and walking over to Evy. “You know we all love you, right?”“I love you too.” Evy said.“I’m gonna take Lily home. We’ll be back tomorrow, okay?” Evy nodded. “Good night, sweetie. I’ll tell Lily you said good night.”

Evy got her goodnight hugs and kisses from everyone else, even Cass. Sam carried her to her bed. Evy savored the feeling of her own mattress, her blanket, her teddy bear. Evy grabbed Beanie and hugged him as Sam sat down on the edge of her bed. He savored the feeling too; it had been nearly a month since he’d put Evy to bed in her own room.“Feel good to be home, baby?”“Yeah.” Evy said with a big smile. “Yeah, I missed my room.”“We missed you in your room.” Sam said. He felt bad bringing this up at bedtime, but she had to know. “You know that it’ll still be a while before you can go back to school, right?”“I know.” Evy said sadly.“It’ll be a while, but it will happen, baby. Okay? I promise. You will go back to school.” Sam said.“I know.” Evy said. “I just miss it. I miss my friends.”

Sam felt a sudden, powerful, overwhelming surge of emotion towards Evy. Life isn’t fair was taking on a whole new meaning. She was eight years old. All she wanted was to be able to go to school, see her friends, play; all things she should be able to take for granted. It had gotten taken away from her the first time because of John’s hunting. It had gotten taken away from her this time because of a stupid jerk getting behind the wheel and driving when he shouldn’t have. Sam vowed that this time, as soon as she was completely healed, she’d be back to the life she deserved.“I’m sorry, baby.” Sam said, rubbing her back. “I’m sorry. It’s so unfair what’s happened to you.”“How am I gonna catch up?” Evy asked. “I haven’t done any school stuff at all.”“Your aunt Linda’s kept all your schoolwork in a folder for me.” Sam explained. “We’re gonna work on that next week. Once you’re caught up, aunt Linda’s gonna keep bringing me your work and giving it Lily to turn in for you.”“Okay.” Evy said. “But we’re gonna wait a couple days to start. You need a break. You want to come to work with me tomorrow?” Sam asked.“Yeah.” Evy said.“Okay. Dean and I are both off on Sunday. Think about what you want to do. Movie, make something, read, whatever you want.” Sam said.“Can Lily come over for the day?” Evy asked. “I know we can’t have a sleepover because it’s a school night, but I haven’t played with her since I was in the hospital.” “I’ll talk to aunt Linda, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem.” Sam said. “You want me to read you a story?”“Yes, please.”

At first, Sam didn’t have a hard time keeping Evy’s mind off not going to school. She had a month of school to catch up on, and Sam made her pace herself. He only allowed her to work for four hours a day, two on days that she had to go to the hospital for checkups or to continue her physical therapy. Even with the restrictions Sam placed on the amount of time she could work on her homework, she was completely caught up in two weeks. Her cast came off a week after that. Sam was surprised that she only asked about going back to school a few times. Every time he said no, he waited for her to start crying, or yell and scream about how unfair it was, but she just frowned and nodded her head. Sam felt terrible about it, but she just wasn’t ready.

Evy finally got a point where she couldn’t stand it anymore. It was a little more than a week before Christmas, and Sam was doing everything he could to make it an amazing one for her. He was at the kitchen sink, washing dishes that he’d let build up over the course of two days. Evy was at the table, working on her schoolwork from the day before. Sam was distracted, trying to come up with some more things for them to do for Christmas. Suddenly, he heard Evy throw down her pencil and shove her work off the table. When Sam turned around, she had buried her head in her hands and was crying. Alarmed, Sam turned off the water, threw the dishrag in the sink, and grabbed the chair next to her.“Baby, what is it?” Sam asked.When Evy didn’t answer him, he looked around for clues. It didn’t take long. On the table in front of them, off to one side, was Evy’s finished schoolwork for the day. In front of her was an envelope. It was full of “get well” and “come back soon, we miss you” type of cards from her class. Sam had told her she could look at them after she finished her work, but he realized now he should have told her to wait for him to open them.“Talk to me. What’s wrong?” Sam said. When Evy lifted her head, she was breathing hard. “Breathe, baby. Breathe.” Once she had calmed, he tried again. “Talk to me.”“I want to go back to school.” she said, words clogged by tears and hitching breaths.“I know you do, baby.” Sam said patiently. “You can’t go back yet. Getting around school’s gonna be too hard right now. I’m sorry.”“You let me play outside with Lily.” Evy pointed out.“That’s different, baby.” Sam said. “Aunt Linda and I can watch you here. If you fall or get hurt…”“Mrs. Jackson can watch me at school.” Evy protested.Sam, feeling guilty, finally snapped and said something that he’d hoped to never say to her. “Evelyn, the answer’s no! Stop asking.”

Before the words were even out of his mouth, Sam regretted them. He knew how much he sounded like their father, and it killed him. Evy completely crumbled. She started crying again, turning away from him. Sam took a deep breath and walked around to crouch down in front of her. He wiped her face and was relieved when she didn’t back away.“Baby, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I snapped at you.” Sam said. “I just…”“I’m tired of thinking about it.” Evy said.“What do you mean?” Sam asked.“Being at home all the time.” Evy said. “It makes me think about the accident and why I can’t be with my friends.” Evy sniffed hard and Sam pulled a tissue out of the box on the table. Evy blew her nose and said, “You said the man that hit us couldn’t hurt anyone else. But he’s still hurting me.”

Sam felt his heart break as Evy spilled hers to him. The truth was that she had been cleared to go back to school two days after the cast had been taken off. Sam had told himself he kept her home so he could be sure she was completely healed, but he’d done it mostly out of selfishness. Having to hold her and convince her that everything would be okay in the back of that car and the ambulance had shaken Sam to his core, and he’d found it impossible to let her out of his eyeline after that. So he had conveniently forgotten to let her school know that she could come back. Only Linda and Dean knew the truth. Sam took a deep breath and decided to be completely honest with Evy.“Listen, baby. I owe you an apology.”“For what?” Evy asked.“The doctor said you could go back to school after you had your cast taken off.” Sam admitted. “I kept you at home because I didn’t think you were ready.”Sam had been holding Evy’s hands, but she immediately pulled her hands out of his. “That was over a week ago!” She said. “I could’ve been back the whole time!?”“Yes.” Sam said. “I’m sorry, baby.”“You lied to me.” Evy said.Sam hadn’t seen Evy this hurt with him since she’d confronted him for abandoning her at Bobby’s nearly two decades earlier. That had nearly destroyed their relationship. Sam shook his head at the unpleasant memory.“I did, baby. I’m sorry. But I’ll make it up to you.” Sam said.“How?”“School gets out for Christmas in two days. On Friday.” Sam said. “You can go back after Christmas.”“Really?” Evy said. “You promise?”“I swear. I’ll drop you off myself and pick you up.” Sam said.Evy nodded.“And your class is having a Christmas party Friday. You can go if you want.” Sam said.That got a smile from Evy. “Really? You mean it?”“I mean it.” Sam said. “You want me to go with you or drop you off and pick you up later?”Evy thought before answering. “If you promise I can go back to school after Christmas, you can come to the party.”Sam laughed. “Deal. Does that mean you forgive me?”“I forgive you, daddy.” Evy said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.“I love you so much, baby.” Sam said, putting everything he had behind it as he said it.“Love you too, daddy.”

The party proved to be exactly what Evy needed. Her teacher turned it into a combination Christmas and welcome back party for Evy. When Sam walked in with Evy, her class clapped for her. Lily couldn’t stop saying how great it was going to be to have Evy back, and Sam saw Evy smile more in two hours than she had in the previous two months. After they’d gotten to the car, a replacement given to Sam at a deep discount by Scott, Evy grabbed Sam’s waist and squeezed it. Sam, taken by surprise, put Evy’s present she’d gotten at the party in the front seat and returned the hug.“What’s this for?” Sam asked.Evy looked up, her chin resting against Sam’s stomach. “You’re the best daddy in the whole world.”Sam swallowed back tears of joy. “And you’re the best Cricket in the whole world.”Evy grinned.“Why don’t we go see uncle Dean?” Sam suggested. “Tell him how the Christmas party was.”“Okay!” Evy said, climbing into the backseat.“What do you want for dinner?” Sam asked.“Ice cream.”

Sam rolled his eyes, started the car, and headed to the garage. The conversation about dinner finally landed on tacos, with the agreement of ice cream for dessert. Dean and Evy argued over what kind of ice cream to have. Evy won, and Sam felt as he tucked her into bed that night that life was getting back to normal.“Good night, Cricket. Daddy loves you.”
Next Chapter: Evy and Sam’s life takes another bad turn.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ada Jeffries despised the little backwater town of Lebanon, Kansas. She’d been dumped here six months earlier after being told that she was “damn lucky she wasn’t losing her job” in the City of Topeka Child Protective Services department. She’d worked there for nearly forty years when her new boss, a kid barely out of diapers in Ada’s view, had called her into his office one day and said there was a “problem”. Ada remembered the conversation as if it had happened yesterday.
“Ada, I’m transferring you.” Sean had said.

“You’re what? I retire next year! You can’t transfer me!” Ada had protested.

Sean, with his little smug little face and his smug little suit and smug little demeanor, had opened a file folder on his desk. “Ada, I know you were used to pretty much free reign under Gene Carter, but I’ve been looking over your cases. In forty years, you’ve been the social worker for over five hundred families. Does that sound right?”

“Sure.” Ada said. She hadn’t been counting, but that sounded right.

“Take a look at this.”

Smug little Sean had pushed the folder in front of Ada. Ada had taken it, and she saw that a good portion of the list was highlighted. She flipped through the list and her sense of dread became overpowering. But there was no way she was going down easy.

“What is this?” she demanded.

“In every one of those families, over forty percent of them, you removed a child for suspected abuse. That’s over two hundred names. Every one of those cases was dismissed for lack of evidence.” Shawn said.

“So?” Ada responded.

“Ada…” Shawn said, and Ada was reminded of how she talked to children. “Ada, removing a child from a home where they’re not being abused is very traumatic. Taking them from a place where they’re loved and cared for can damage them as much or more than an abusive home can.”

“That’s bull.” Ada had said. “My job is to take children from homes where abuse is suspected….” “No. Your job is to remove children based on evidence. You have a reputation of taking children first and then asking questions later. We’re not working that way here anymore. Unless there’s ample evidence saying a child has been abused or you actually catch the parent or guardian in the act, removal is not an option.” Shawn said.

“Fine.” Ada said, fuming. “I get it. But transfer?” “I thought you might need to see what it was like.” Sean said. “To be taken from your home and put in a place you don’t know. Look, to be honest, I wanted to fire you. But I’m not completely heartless. If I fire you, you lose your pension from the city. So you’ve got two options. Take the transfer and finish out your year, or resign right now.”

So here she was, at Lebanon Elementary School, doubling as the resident guidance counselor and social worker for the school. The principal of the school was thrilled to have her, even if all Ada generally did was sit in her office and shuffle papers all day. But there was one student who had caught Ada’s attention since she’d arrived at the school. Evelyn Winchester. Ada had only been at the school for a couple of days when the little girl had gotten into a serious wreck. She’d been in the hospital for a few weeks, and come home right after Thanksgiving.

But why had she stayed out of school until after Christmas?

Ada was bothered by that. But other than being out of school for longer than necessary, Ada could find no evidence that anything bad was going on with her. She was a straight A student, appeared to be happy and well-adjusted, and was one of the best behaved kids in the school. But that hadn’t stopped Ada from opening a file on Evelyn. She’d talked to Evelyn’s second grade teacher, who had nothing but glowing things to say about Evy. Her current third grade teacher, Mrs. Jackson, also loved Evy. She had called her “one of the brightest kids I’ve ever had.” It made Ada sick. No kid was perfect. And no parent either, which was another focus of Ada’s investigation. Sam Winchester was Evelyn’s brother, as was Dean Winchester, her other emergency contact. But Evelyn called them “Daddy” and “Uncle Dean”. Where were her parents? Her real parents? She had been unable to find any evidence that the two parents listed on her birth certificate even existed, much less when or if they had died.

A thought had occurred to Ada. An epiphany. Maybe it wasn’t entirely the accident that had kept Evelyn out of school. It was plausible-big brother gets sick of taking care of little sister day after day, gets upset and impatient, and does something to her that he later regrets. She hadn’t been able to shake that feeling, that something was going on with Evelyn. Ada finally decided to talk to Evelyn herself. She sent a note to Mrs. Jackson to have Evelyn come to her office when the class was having their free time. Evelyn showed up and knocked timidly on Ada’s door. Ada prepared herself for the upcoming talk, and got up to answer the door.“Hello, Evelyn. Come in.”“Hi.” Evy said nervously.“Come on in, sweetie. Sit down.” Ada said as she sat down behind her desk. “I’d like to talk to you about something.”“Am I in trouble?” Evy asked.“No, sweetie. You’re not in trouble.” Ada said. Evy finally took a seat, and Ada began. “How are you doing, Evelyn?”“I’m okay.” Evy said. “I don’t really like to be called Evelyn though.”“Why not?” Ada said. “That’s your name, isn’t it?”“Yeah, but I just don’t like it.” Evy said again. “Can you call me Evy please?”“Sure, sweetie.” Ada said. “I’m sorry about that.”“It’s okay.” Evy said, more awkward than nervous now.“So, I just wanted to talk about some things. How are you doing since the accident you and your daddy were in back on Halloween?”Evy shifted in her seat. “I’m better now.”“That’s good. I bet it was scary though, right?” Ada asked.“Yeah, it was.” Evy said. “I don’t like talking about it.”“Sweetheart, you seem nervous. Are you okay?” Ada asked.“Yeah, I just don’t know you. And I don’t want to talk about the accident.” Evy said, trying hard to be respectful like Sam would want her to.“Okay, we don’t have to, sweetie.” Ada said. “We can talk about something else. What can you tell me about your parents?”Ada’s unexpected question made Evy’s intuition kick in. Something was very wrong here. “Can I go back to class, please?”Ada sighed. “Sure, sweetie. Go back to class.”

Evy jumped off the seat and practically ran out of the room and back to her classroom. Evy was relieved the unexpected interview was over, making a note to herself to tell Sam about it when she saw him at dinner that night. She thought she had done the right thing by ending the interview. That Ada would leave her alone, not ask her about the accident anymore.

How wrong she was.

Ada sent another note to Mrs. Jackson to hold Evy after class. She made a call to Lebanon social services, informing them that she was removing a child from her parent’s custody. She bit her tongue when the head of the department asked if she was sure, and Ada said she was. Five minutes before class let out, Ada was waiting patiently at the door of the classroom with the other social worker, whose name she had already forgotten. The bell rang, the door opened, and kids started pouring out. Ada heard Mrs. Jackson’s voice over the crowd.“Evy, stay behind for a second, honey.”

The crowd thinned, until eventually no one else came out. Ada nodded at the other social worker, and they both went into the room. Ada was surprised to see another student, Lillian Summers, waiting with Evy. Ada gently told Lillian to go ahead and leave.“I can’t leave. My mommy’s picking both of us up today. I have to wait for Evy.” Lillian said.“Evy won’t be going home today, sweetheart. You can leave now.”

Ada had seen children react badly to being removed from parents before, but she was not prepared for the full frontal assault of both children screaming. Between Lillian screaming that “You can’t keep her here!” and Evy screaming “What do you mean I can’t go home?”, Ada could barely hear herself think. Mrs. Jackson spoke up from her desk.“Lily, come here, sweetie.”Lily walked over to the desk, where Mrs. Jackson pulled her aside and whispered something into her ear. A crying Lily nodded and left the room quickly. Ada stared at Mrs. Jackson, deciding to confront her later on what she had said to Lily. Evy was at the desk, still crying and frozen in fear. Ada began to explain to her what was going on.“Sweetheart, you’re going to stay with another family for a couple days while we sort some things out.” Ada said.“No! I don’t want another family.” Evy said loudly. Suddenly the soft spoken, nervous child Ada had seen in her office a few hours earlier was replaced with a new girl entirely. “Let me go. I want to go home.”“No.” Ada said in a tone she had mastered over years of work in this field. She was firm but not unkind, at least not in her view. “No, you’re not going home right now.”“What in the hell is going on here?”

Ada turned to the doorway of the classroom, where an angry looking Linda Summers stood. Ada quickly put everything together. Mrs. Jackson had sent Lily outside to get her mother and tell her to come inside. Ada knew she was a lawyer, but she was prepared for a fight.“Aunt Linda!” Evy yelled from her seat, jumping up and running over to her.Linda felt Evy shaking as she placed a comforting hand on her head. “Are you okay, Evy?”“They’re saying I can’t go home.” Evy said without looking up.“What?” Linda asked, rounding on Ada. “And who are you?”Ada produced a badge from her pocket, one that was barely used anymore. “Ada Jeffries, Lebanon Social Services.”“And what exactly is going on that makes you think it’s okay to practically kidnap this child?” Linda asked. She was quickly going from mother mode to lawyer mode, while still trying to comfort a distraught Evy.“We don’t need to talk to you.” Ada said. “The only person we’re required to contact is her parent or guardian.”“Guess again. You’re talking to her lawyer.” Linda said. “Now I’ll ask you again. Why are you taking this child?”“We’re not kidnapping her. We have a court order.” the second social worker said, producing the said court order from his pocket.Linda looked it over quickly. “Sam is suspected of abuse? And kidnapping? Are you serious? You two are crazy!”“There’s a court hearing on Monday. If you have concerns, you can speak to the judge then.” Ada said. “But she is coming with us right now.”The second social worker walked to Evy and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, sweetie. Everything’s gonna be okay.”Evy started swinging the second he started leading her away from Linda. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” she screamed.Linda wanted to fight just like Evy, but it wouldn’t do any good right now. “If you don’t let me calm her down, she will beat the hell out of him.” “Calm her down. But don’t take her.” Ada said.“I should.” Linda said. “But I won’t.” Linda got on her knees. “Evy, come here, baby.”Evy walked over to Linda, tears streaming down her face. “I want to go home.”“I know.” Linda said. “But you can’t right now, sweetie.”“Then can I go with you?” Evy asked.“If it was up to me, I’d take you straight out this room and right to your daddy, honey.” Linda said. “But I can’t do that. I know you’re scared, but you need to go with Mrs. Jeffries.”“Why?” Evy said. “Why can’t I go home?”Linda wanted to tell her the truth, but it would scare Evy even more. “Listen, baby. Do you trust me?”“Yeah.” Evy said.“Okay. You’re going to stay somewhere else for the weekend. I don’t know where, but I promise you’ll be safe. And it’s only for two days. Maybe not even that long, but I can’t promise that. But I can promise you this. I’m going to do everything I possibly can to get you back home as fast as I can. Okay?” Linda said, fighting back her own tears.Evy shook her head and started crying even harder.“Hey. Evy, look at me. Do you remember how you and Lily met?” Linda asked.“Yeah.” Evy said, barely getting it out through spilling tears.“It was the first day of school. Lily was afraid of coming to class, because she hadn’t met her teacher or seen her classroom yet. Do you remember what you did?” Evy nodded, but Linda could see she was crying too hard to answer. Please don’t get sick from crying, Linda thought briefly before continuing. “You walked up to her, grabbed her hand, and said, ‘I’m scared too. Let’s do this together.’ That was really, really brave of you. I know it’s hard, but you need to be that brave again. Okay? Do it for me, baby. Please.”Evy finally stopped crying, more out of exhaustion than anything else. “Will you tell daddy and uncle Dean that I love them?”“You bet I will.” Linda said. “I love you too baby. Everything’s gonna be okay. I promise.”

Evy nodded and hugged Linda, who reluctantly let her go so as not to drag out the process. Linda grabbed Evy’s backpack and handed it to her, then turned with a scowl towards Ada.“Don’t take her out by the office, please. That’s where my own daughter is.” Linda said.Ada nodded, and the other social worker walked out the door with a defeated, depressed Evy. “We’re doing this for her own good. If everything checks out, she will go home Monday.”“When everything checks out,” Linda said menacingly, “I will make sure you lose your job over this.”“Good luck with that. I retire in six months.” Ada said, walking out to follow Evy and the social worker.

Linda left the classroom, going to the office to quickly collect Lily. She told Lily a little of what was going on, and had to have basically the same conversation with her that she’d had with Evy. Linda drove quickly to the bookstore, trying to get to Sam before the order from the court came in to appear on Monday. No luck.“Linda, what the hell is going on with this?”“Sam, I asked them the same question when I got there.” Linda said. “You saw it?” Sam said. “Why didn’t you stop them?”“Sam, I know this is hard to believe, but that would have made it worse.” Linda said. “I need you to listen to me. Okay?”“Linda…” Sam said, distraught. “Sam.” Linda said firmly. She walked to Sam and grabbed both his arms forcefully, guiding him over to a chair. “Listen to me, and listen to me right now. Believe me, I wanted to snatch Evy up and run, but that would have scared her even worse. They would have arrested me and taken her anyway. Now do you have the paperwork you got from the court?”“By the register.” Sam said. Linda picked it up and read it through quickly. “Okay. This makes a little more sense now.”“It makes sense?” Sam asked. “Linda, they’re accusing me of abuse!”“Sam, I know. I know. Just listen to me, okay? I’ve done these kinds of cases before. This is one of the flimsiest I’ve ever seen. That works in our favor. Basically what she’s saying is that after the accident you kept Evy out of school too long and she’s suspicious of that. But she can’t keep you from Evy just on suspicion alone. She has to have proof for that.” Linda explained.“So, what now?” Sam said. “I’m going to go down to night court. I’m gonna try and get a court order releasing Evy to your custody until the hearing. I’m gonna be honest, that’s not likely. A judge doesn’t usually overturn a protective removal. They’re too afraid something will happen and it will fall back on them.” Linda said.Sam was nearly as sick as Evy had been in the classroom. “Linda, I’d never hurt her…”“Sam, I know that. I know that, I do. And I’m telling you, when the judge sees the lack of evidence they have, he will too.” Linda said. “Sam, I am going to fight for you. But you have to trust me, okay?”“What happens if you can’t get her released?” Sam asked.Linda hated it, but there was no other alternative. “She’ll spend the weekend in foster care.”

Across town, Evy sat in the backseat of an unfamiliar car, staring down at the floorboards. The other social worker had given Evy his name finally, Derrick, but Evy had just ignored him and looked down to the floor. The last time she remembered being this scared, she was four years old and had been kidnapped by a demon. She had a pit in her stomach just like that day, and wanted nothing more than to go home and sit in Sam’s lap for the rest of the weekend. The car stopped, and Evy wiped her eyes; she had started crying again. Derrick opened the car door and grabbed Evy’s hand. “Come on, sweetie.” he said.“Don’t touch me!” Evy spat at him.“Alright.” Sean said. “Alright, I won’t. But we’re here.”Evy glanced towards the house they were parked in front of. It was a small, one story house with a dog in the front yard. An elderly couple in their seventies sat on the front step, waving and smiling at Evy. Evy teared up again and begged,“Please, please take me home.”Derrick softened; he felt genuinely sorry for what Evy was being put through. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I can’t. But the Morgans are really nice. They’ll take good care of you.”“My daddy already takes good care of me.” Evy said; but she got out of the car anyway and walked towards the Morgans.Back at Sam and Dean’s, Sam was explaining the situation to Dean. Whereas Sam had been about to cry from devastation when he heard the news, Dean’s hunter instincts became reawakened, and he saw it as a rescue mission.“Come on, Sam. We’ll get Jody to make a call, find out where she is, go get her and split.” Dean said.“No, Dean.” Sam said.“No?” Dean said. “You want to leave her with strangers?” Sam rounded on Dean. “You really think I want this? Seriously?” “Well what then?” Dean asked. “Explain it to me.”“I promised her, Dean. I swore to her she’d have a life, a home. A real one.” Sam said.“Sam, if she’s not here, you can’t give her that.” Dean replied. “Come on, we can do this. Dad would’ve….”“For the last damn time, Dean, I am not dad!” Sam shouted. “I am not going to break a promise to her unless it’s the last possible option. We do this the right way. I’m going to court Monday if Linda can’t get her home tonight.”“You are?” Dean asked. “Am I not going?”“No. I want you in the parking lot in the Impala. With a go bag packed and ready to go.” Sam said.“Why?” Dean asked. He knew the answer, but wanted to hear Sam say it. “In case we do lose.” Sam said simply.

Evy sat on the couch in the Morgan’s living room, her backpack on the floor in front of her. She was determined to just sit on the couch until the hearing on Monday. The Morgans seemed really nice. Betty kept trying to get her to eat something, and Marty kept trying to get her to talk. If Sam were here, Evy would have looked to him for permission to talk to them. But he wasn’t there. And that was all Evy could focus on. She wanted Sam. She wanted to talk to him, have him hold her, tickle her, read to her, anything. She wanted Dean. She wanted him to play with her, roughhouse with her, argue with her about what flavor of ice cream was the best. She wanted to go home, not sit in this unfamiliar house with two strangers.

It was approaching eight o’clock. The Morgans were talking in hushed tones in the kitchen. Evy could hear them. They were talking about her. They weren’t mad, but they weren’t happy with her either. They were confused. They wanted Evy to talk to them, but she couldn’t do that. She didn’t know how. Eventually Evy got tired of hearing them talk about her and got up to go to the kitchen with them. But before she made it, a familiar voice called out to her.“Hello, Evelyn.”Evy turned back to the couch and was surprised to see a familiar person there. “Mommy!”Mommy sat down on the couch and extended her arms out towards Evy. “Come here, sweetheart.”

Evy ran towards her and jumped into her arms, relieved to see someone she knew. She cried again for a minute, and Mommy waited patiently until she was calm again before she talked.“I know you’re scared, sweetheart. But you’ll only be here for two days. I promise.”“Mommy, I don’t know these people! I want my daddy!” Evy said for what felt like the millionth time.“I know you do.” Mommy said, wiping her tears again. “You won’t be able to see me, but I’ll be here the whole weekend, baby. I’ll be watching over you. Just be brave for me, baby.”“Mommy, please. Please don’t go.” Evy begged.“I won’t.” Mommy swore. “I’m gonna be right here.” she said, pulling one arm around Evy’s shoulder and placing one hand over her heart.

Mommy left and Evy walked into the kitchen. She held Beanie tightly to her, thankful that she had thought to pack him in her school stuff that day. Maybe that was mommy too, she thought as she reached the kitchen. The Morgans saw her come in and immediately stopped talking. They seemed unsure how to approach her, how to talk to her, so Evy spoke up.“I heard you talking about me. In the living room.”Betty looked guilty and walked over to Evy. “We’re sorry, sweetheart. We were just trying to talk about how to help you. You seem so sad.”“Why did they take me?” Evy asked. “I just want my daddy back.”“Sweetheart…”“Marty, no!” Betty said.“Betty, she should know.” Marty protested, and Betty reluctantly nodded. “Sweetheart, come here.”Evy cautiously approached Marty, who took a seat at one of the kitchen chairs. “I should know what?”“Sweetheart, the reason Mrs. Jeffries took you is because she thinks your daddy might be hurting you.”“My daddy wouldn’t hurt me!” Evy said, the very idea of it ridiculous to her. “He loves me!”“I believe you, honey. I do.”

Marty Morgan and his wife had comforted too many distraught children to count in their twenty years as foster parents. Most of the children that came to them defended their parents. It seemed to Marty at times that the worse the parents treated the kids, the more the kids defended the parents. It was usually self-preservation. They thought if they defended their parents, life would be better once they got home.

But somehow Evy seemed different. Very different. She was scared, not of what she knew, but of what she didn’t know. She was scared of him, of Betty, of the unknown house where she sat. Now Marty couldn’t explain why, but that was enough to convince him Evy wasn’t being abused-she had a loving, caring home, and had been ripped away from it to go and live with strangers. Even for two days, that was terrifying.

Besides, Marty didn’t trust that new social worker, Ada “Toady Face” as he referred to her, as far as he could throw her. He wouldn’t put it past her to falsely take a kid to make herself look good. But Marty had already agreed to care for her for two days, whether he wanted to or not.“Listen, sweetheart, I know this might be hard to believe right now, but you you aren’t here because we’re trying to be mean to you.” Marty explained. “Do you know what foster parents are?”Evy shook her head.“Well, sometimes adults like Mrs. Jeffries, who are called social workers, will take kids to a different house if they think the kids are being hurt or treated mean at home. It’s not meant to be mean, it’s meant to give them a safe place to be until everything’s sorted out. Does that make sense?” Marty explained.“Sort of. But my daddy’s not mean to me.” Evy said.“I believe. I do. Sweetheart, sometimes grownups make mistakes. Big ones. And kids sometimes pay the price when that happens.” When Evy threatened to cry again, Marty cautiously touched her shoulder. When she didn’t back away from him, he continued, “Look, sweetie, you’re going to court with us Monday. I’ll tell the judge you need to go back home with your daddy. I can’t guarantee that’ll work, but our recommendation means a lot more than Mrs. Jeffries’.”“So I can go home Monday?” Evy asked.“We will do everything in our power to make that happen.” Marty swore.“Could I call him?” Evy asked. “Call my daddy?”

Marty looked to Betty, their fifty years of marriage allowing them to have an entire conversation in the space of a few seconds without either of them uttering a word out loud. Both of them desperately wanted to say yes, do something, anything to relieve the pain this child was clearly in. But they couldn’t take the chance.“No, sweetie, I’m sorry. If it were just up to me, you could. But if we let you call your daddy while you’re with us this weekend, they might not let us help any more kids.” Marty explained.“Kids that really do need your help?” Evy asked.“Yeah.” Marty said. “I’m sorry.”The fear Evy had felt arriving at the house, which had started to subside, came on again. “But I have bad dreams in new places.”Betty took over this time. “What does your daddy do when you have a bad dream?”“Sings to me.” Evy answered.“Well, I don’t have that great a voice, but if you want, I’ll sit beside your bed and hold your hand until you go to sleep. And if you do have a bad dream, I’ll be there with you to help you through it.”“You’d do that for me?” Evy asked. “Stay with me all night?”“If that’s what it takes, you bet I would.” Betty answered.

It still hurt to be away from Sam, but Evy decided not to fight the Morgans. Mommy had told her everything would be okay, and Evy definitely trusted her, even if she didn’t completely trust the Morgans. They were strangers, but they were being really nice. Evy was surprised that they seemed just as upset as she was that she had to be here. Just as Evy was about to say something, her stomach rumbled loudly.“I think there’s a bear in my kitchen.” Marty joked. “Or just a very hungry little girl.”Evy couldn’t help it. She giggled at the joke. It sounded like one that Dean or Sam would make to make her laugh when she was upset. Mostly winked at her, and Evy felt much more at ease.“Oh my goodness! No wonder she’s so hungry. It’s almost eight o’clock!” Betty said. “What do you like to eat, sweetheart?”“Um…” Evy said, “pretty much anything.”“What’s your absolute favorite food in the world?” Betty asked.Evy blushed. “You might think it’s gross.”“Try us.” Marty said.“Monkey sandwiches.” Evy said. “Peanut butter and bananas.”Marty looked surprised, but agreed to the unusual suggestion. “Why not? Let’s try it.”

The next two days were challenging for everyone. Sam wandered aimlessly around the house, lost without Evy to care for. Dean drank in the local bar at night, hustled pool in case they needed to get away, and worked on Saturday. Despite her not being there, Sam went into Evy’s room all three nights at bedtime. He pulled her covers back, sat on her bed, and nearly suffocated from the emptiness he felt inside.“Daddy’s here, baby. I miss you so much.”

As much as she missed Sam, it was slightly easier for Evy than it was for Sam. The Morgans were kind to her, playing with her as much as they could. Betty, a former schoolteacher, was able to help Evy with her homework. When Evy accidentally broke a vase in the hallway, she expected to get in trouble, but all she got was a wink and a smile from Marty.“I hated that old dust catcher anyway.”

As Betty tucked Evy in on Sunday night, she noticed Evy looked much calmer and happier than three days earlier. But Betty noticed she also seemed nervous. Evy settled down but didn’t whisper good night as she had the previous two nights.“Are you alright, dear?”Evy gripped Beanie with a death grip and asked, “I get to go home tomorrow, right?”“I don’t see why you couldn’t.” Betty answered.“But it’s not for sure.” Evy said fearfully.Betty sighed. “No, sweetie, it isn’t for sure. But if your daddy’s missed you these past few days as much as Marty and I will, then the judge will look at that.”“You’re gonna miss me?” Evy asked, surprised.“We sure will, kiddo.” Marty said. He had come to say good night and was standing in the doorway listening.“Will I have to talk to the judge tomorrow?” Evy asked.“I don’t know, honey. You might.” Marty said.“That sounds scary.” Evy said.“It’s not as scary as it sounds. Just answer the questions as honestly as you can. And tell the judge anything you want to say. Marty explained.“That I miss my daddy and I want to go home?”“Exactly.” Marty said.“Thank you.” Evy said. “You’ve both been really nice. But…”“But we’re not home?” Betty guessed.“Yeah. I’m sorry, I didn’t say that to make you feel bad.” Evy said.“It’s okay, sweetie. We understand.” Betty replied. “You ready to go to sleep?”“I’m ready.” Evy said. She said her good nights, then thought of something as Betty and Marty started to exit the room. “Wait. If I do go home tomorrow, can I come back and visit?”“You better.” Marty said. “You’re the only person that’s gotten me to eat yucky bananas in fifty years.” He pulled a face as if eating something disgusting, and Evy giggled. “Good night, sweetie.”“Can I have a hug?”

Betty and Marty happily gave Evy one hug each, then another for good measure. Twelve hours later, Betty and Marty were sitting on a bench inside the courthouse, a very nervous Evy sitting between them. She held one hand of each of them, and was looking around the hallway for the one person she didn’t see.“Are you okay?”Evy looked up to see Betty watching her. “I thought I’d see my daddy by now.”“You will, honey.” Betty promised again. “No matter what, we’ll make sure you see your daddy today.”“Evelyn Winchester?”Evy jumped and buried herself into Marty’s side. Marty squeezed her hand and comforted her. In front of them was a security guard, who immediately apologized for scaring her. “Sorry, sweetie. I’m George. I didn’t mean to scare you. But the judge asked to see you before she goes into court. She wants to talk to you.”Evy looked up to Marty and Betty, panic starting to set in.“It’ll be okay.” Marty assured her.“Can one of us go with her?” Betty asked. “She’s scared to death of strangers.”“You can walk to the judges chamber’s with me. I’ll ask the judge when we get there if you can sit in.”

So Evy walked down the long hallway with Betty and the security guard, her heart racing the entire time. The judge was more than willing to allow Betty to come in. Evy surprised Betty by climbing into her lap. The judge reminded Evy of her mommy. She was around the same age, had brown curly hair just like her, and had a soft, very kind face. She came in and sat down in front of Betty and Evy, folding her hands on top of her massive desk.“Hi, sweetie. I’m Judge Reynolds. Are you Evelyn?” she asked.“Yes, ma’am.” Evy replied quietly.“Are you nervous talking to me right now?” Judge Reynolds asked. Evy nodded her head and bit her lip. The judge continued, “I understand. But you’re not in trouble, okay? I just want to ask you a few questions. So I can get some things straight in my own head. Okay, Evelyn?”“I don’t really like being called Evelyn.” Evy said. The judge seemed nice like the Morgans. Evy figured if she didn’t get mad at her request, it would be okay to talk to her.“I’m sorry, sweetie. What are you normally called?” The judge asked. “Evy.”“Well, if you like Evy better, I’ll certainly call you that. Are you okay with answering my questions? And you can ask me any that you have to.” Judge Reynolds said.“Okay.” Evy said. “I will.” “Alright. I don’t want you to think you have to rush anything, okay? We’re here for you, so you can take all the time you need. Do you understand why everyone’s here today?” Judge Reynolds asked.“Because Mrs. Jeffries thinks my daddy was hurting me.” Evy said. “So she took me to go live with the Morgans because I’d be safe there.”“That’s very good.” Judge Reynolds said, genuinely impressed. “You’re very smart.”“Thank you.” Evy said.“Sweetheart, is it true?” Judge Reynolds asked.“No!” Evy said, her first tears in three days starting to fall. “No, my daddy loves me.”“Okay, sweetie. Okay.” Judge Reynolds. “I actually believe you. I just had to talk to you first.” Judge Reynolds waited a breath and said, “Just a couple more questions. My file here that I have for you says that Sam is your brother, not your father.”“Our daddy died. A long time ago.” Evy said. “I don’t remember a whole lot about him. Sammy’s always taken care of me.”“That makes sense. Does he love you?” Judge Reynolds asked. “Have you ever doubted that he loved you?”“No. He loves me.” Evy said.“How do you know?” Judge Reynolds asked.“I don’t understand.” Evy said, confused.“Give me some examples. Of things he does or says so you know he loves you.” Judge Reynolds clarified.“Well, he tells me every day.” Evy said. “Stuff like that?”“Exactly. Stuff like that.” Judge Reynolds said. “What does your daddy do, say, when you’re scared?”“Holds me and sings to me.” Evy said. “If I’m really scared he puts me in the rabbit hole.”“The rabbit hole? What’s that?” Judge Reynolds asked.“He puts me in his lap and puts a blanket or a jacket on top of me until whatever’s scaring me is gone.” Evy said.“Does it work?” The judge asked.“Yeah. It’s dark so I can’t see whatever’s scaring me. All I can feel is daddy’s heartbeat and feel him holding me. All I can hear is him singing to me and talking to me, telling me it’s gonna be okay.” Evy explained.She tried hard not to show it, but Judge Reynolds’ decision was cemented in her mind at that point. “That sounds wonderful. You’re certainly a lucky little girl. Can you give me an example of when your daddy put you in the rabbit hole?”“The accident.” Evy said. “I was hurting really bad, and I was scared because of all the noise and stuff outside. He pulled a blanket on top of me and held me real tight.”“That sounds really scary. You’re a brave little girl, sweetheart.” Judge Reynolds said.“Thanks.” Evy said. “Do we have to talk about the accident? I don’t really like thinking about it.”“No, sweetie. We don’t. I do have a couple more questions though. What does your daddy do when you’re in trouble?” Judge Reynolds asked.“Talk to me. Until I understand why what I did was wrong. If it was really bad he grounds me.” Evy said.“What exactly does it mean when he grounds you?” Judge Reynolds asked.“I can’t leave my room unless I’m going to the bathroom or going to school.” Evy said.“Does he leave you alone the whole time?” Judge Reynolds asked.“No. He brings my meals into my room and he’ll eat with me if I want him to. He’ll help me with my homework if I need it. He’ll tuck me in bed too.” Evy said. “And I can leave and go find him or uncle Deanie if I have a bad dream.” “Do you have bad dreams a lot?”“Sometimes.” Evy said.“Does he have you do other things while you’re grounded?”“Sometimes I have to write lines.” Evy said.“I see.” Judge Reynolds said. “What’s the longest you’ve ever been grounded?”“Three days.” Evy said.“What was that for?”“Fighting. And getting suspended from school.” Evy said.“Okay.” Judge Reynolds said. “Do you ever get punished any other way? Does your daddy ever yell at you, hit you, spank you…?”“No. He promised he wouldn’t do that. Our daddy did all that and I was scared of him.” Evy said.“I see. Does your daddy ever say mean things to you? Make you feel bad about yourself?”“No. Never.” Evy said.“Never? Not even once?” Judge Reynolds asked. “He never says he’s disappointed in you?”“No. He says he’s not happy that I’m in trouble, but that he’s always proud of me.”Judge Reynolds smiled. “Okay, sweetie. I think that’s all I need. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”“I miss my daddy.” Evy said, squeezing Betty’s hand for courage. “I want to go home.”“I know you do. And that’s why you’re going home today.”Betty laughed and grabbed Evy in a hug, just as Evy said with a grin, “Really?”“Yes, sweetie. You’re going home.” Judge Reynolds said. “I want to tell you something first though. I am really sorry for everything you’ve been through this weekend. But I’m gonna make it right.”“Can I see my daddy now, please?” Evy asked.“Not quite yet, sweetie. I have some boring adult stuff to take care of with the Morgans and your daddy and Mrs. Jeffries. That won’t take very long, but since it’s close to lunchtime, George’ll take you down to the cafeteria and get you something to eat. I’ll send your daddy down there to get you when everything’s done.”“You promise I can go home today?” Evy asked. “Yes. I swear to you, as soon as I’m done in court, your daddy will come down to the cafeteria and pick you up.” Judge Reynolds promised.“Thank you.” Evy said. “Can I ask you for one more thing?”Surprised by the request, Judge Reynolds waited patiently. “Sure. What is it?”“Well,” Evy shifted slightly in Betty’s lap, “Mr. Morgan explained to me what social workers are supposed to do. They’re supposed to help kids that need somewhere else to go other than home, right?”“Right.”“And he told me that sometimes they make mistakes. That all grownups do.” Judge Reynolds nodded, and Evy kept going. “Well, she really hurt me, taking me away from my daddy. She scared me, made me think I wasn’t going to see him again. Can you just tell her to be more careful? Make sure she doesn’t hurt another kid like this again?”“Yes.” Judge Reynolds promised. “I promise you, honey, after today, Mrs. Jeffries is not going to hurt another child ever again.”“Thank you.” Evy said.“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Judge Reynolds said. “You ready for lunch now?”“I’m ready.” Evy said. She turned to Betty. “You’ll tell me bye before you go home, right? Come down to the cafeteria with daddy?”“You bet we will, sweetie.” Betty said. “Can I have a hug before you go?”

Evy wrapped her arms around Betty’s neck, and headed out with George down to the cafeteria. Judge Reynolds walked in to the courthouse, fighting hard to control her smile. She couldn’t wait to deliver this particular verdict. As the case was called, she took a glance at both the tables. Ada Jeffries was at one table by herself. Cocky. Very cocky, the judge thought. She was smiling, as if she was already triumphant. On the other side sat a lawyer, Linda Summers, who seemed more determined than anything. But it was the man who sat on the other side of Linda Summers that destroyed Judge Reynolds. Sam Winchester. He seemed lost, confused, hurt, lonely, and, more than anything, terrified. That’s okay. I’ll fix that too.“All right. Let’s get started.” Judge Reynolds said. “Since everyone’s here, I’m gonna get right down to business. I asked you both to submit your cases to me in writing. You were both given a chance to respond to the other side in writing. I want to thank you both for doing this and doing it so quickly. I also want to thank you for being patient and allowing me to explain here. So, first, I’m going to ask. Does either side have any new evidence to offer? Anything that isn’t already in the case file?”“No, your honor.” Linda said.“Your honor, I just want to say…” Ada started.“Mrs. Jeffries, I don’t want to hear anything unless it is completely new evidence. If what you are about to say is something that’s already in this case file, I’m going to fine you fifty dollars for wasting court time.” Judge Reynolds said briskly.“Uh, um….” Ada stuttered, not sure how to respond.“Is there anything new, Mrs. Jeffries? If not, the answer is ‘no, your honor’.”“No, your honor.” Ada said.“Very well.” Judge Reynolds said. She turned to Sam. “The first thing I’m going to say is to you, Mr. Winchester. I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am for what you’ve been put through this weekend.” “Your honor!” Ada protested from her table.“Mrs. Jeffries, I am going to warn you. Once. I am not in a good mood right now. And it is mostly because of you. So I am going to tell you, once, if you interrupt me, I will fine you. Five hundred dollars. Each time. Do you understand me?” “Yes, your honor.” Ada said.“Very good.” Judge Reynolds said, turning back to Sam. “As I was saying, I’m sorry. I talked to Evy before we came into court today. You’re raising a very smart, polite, and well-rounded young lady. I’m very impressed.”A stunned Sam said, “Thank you.”“You’re welcome.” Judge Reynolds said. She then turned to Ada. “Mrs. Jeffries. The reason I had you write your case down was so that I could confirm on paper how ridiculous it is. Mrs. Jeffries, this child is eight years old. She went through an accident that would have easily killed an adult. She stayed awake through all of it. What you have in this folder as evidence of abuse is not evidence of abuse. It’s evidence of trauma and speculation. Now tell me what made you think it was that gave you sufficient cause to remove this child from her father’s custody.”“She was out of school for two months. For a broken leg.”“She was in the hospital for one of those months. Learning how to walk again. Dealing with the fact that someone who should’ve known better decided to get in the driver’s seat of the car and end up hurting her.” Judge Reynolds said. “And as for keeping her out of school another month, let me ask you something Mrs. Jeffries. Have you ever had to hold your child when they’re screaming in pain?”“No.” Mrs. Jeffries said.“Well, I have.” Judge Reynolds said. Every single eye in the room turned towards her. “My daughter died in my arms when she was seven years old. We walked into a grocery store that we didn’t realize was being robbed at the time. The robber got scared, fired off a shot, and hit Olivia. That’s something that takes a hold of you, changes you, makes you a different person.” The judge swallowed, and looked down for a minute before continuing. “My point is, if my daughter had lived, and had a chance to recover and get better, you can bet I would have kept her close to me for a while. So while keeping Evy out of school longer than necessary might have been overprotective, it’s certainly understandable and nowhere near the level of abuse. Now what else made you think it was okay to do this?”Ada was starting to stutter, but she refused to back down. “She seemed nervous when I asked her about the accident…” “You mean when you pulled her out of class and into your office and started asking her about something that had happened months ago? She didn’t know you. Most kids will clam up talking to a stranger.” Judge Reynolds said. “Anything else?”“There’s no record of Evelyn’s parents…”“Her name is Evy. And as for records, I have a sworn affidavit in my hand from Jody Mills, the sheriff of Sioux City, South Dakota, saying that the part of the records buildng that contained both her parents’ death certificates burned down. And that she knew Evy’s parents, both of them, and that they died exactly the way that Sam has told the school.” Judge Reynolds said. Both Sam and Ada gasped; Sam with relief and Ada with surprise. “So that shoots down that part of your argument. Anything else?”Ada slumped in her seat and looked down and away from the judge.“Now that that’s out of the way, I have something else to address. You see, Mrs. Jeffries, Sean Callimore is a friend of mine.” Ada looked back up, her mouth gaping open. “And I can see from that look on your face that you don’t consider him one. You see, when I graduated law school, I spent two years as a pro bono family court attorney. Sean and I worked together on a lot of cases. I recommended him for the head of social services job. I called him when this case landed on my desk and he sent me a list of all your old cases from Topeka. He said he showed you the same list when he told you you were being transferred.”Ada suddenly went from a scowl to paling like a ghost.“Mrs. Jeffries, this is my point. In the six months that you’ve been in Lebanon, you’ve brought four suspected abuse cases to this court. All of them have been dismissed, and all those children are doing fine. Evy was the fifth. And your last.”“My last what?” Ada said.“Your last case. Ever.” Judge Reynolds said.“You can’t fire me!” Ada said. “I’ve got forty years on this job!”“And while that thought truly terrifies me, I’m not firing you. You’ve got twenty four weeks left on this job. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be retaking the Kansas Social Services beginner’s course. Twice.”“That course takes twelve weeks.” Ada said. “If I take it twice…”“You’ll spend the last six months of your career in a classroom. Relearning the basics. Which should have happened a long time ago.” Judge Reynolds said. “You can take the course, or you can resign.”“I won’t get my pension.” Ada weakly protested.“The good deeds you have done on this job does not excuse the hundreds of good families you’ve nearly destroyed by your accusations.” Judge Reynolds said. “Tell me your choice. Right now.”“I’ll take the course.” Ada said. “Good choice.” Judge Reynolds said. “And I really hope, for your sake, that none of the parents you’ve done this to decide to bring a lawsuit against you.” The judge looked towards Sam. “Mr. Winchester, I don’t know if you’ve had that thought…”“I just want my daughter back, your honor.” Sam said.“Also a good choice.” The judge finally turned around and faced the center of the courtroom, more than ready to deliver her verdict. “I am hereby awarding full custody of Evelyn Winchester to her brother, Samuel.” The judge grabbed her gavel and gave Sam a smile. “Go pick up your daughter, Mr. Winchester. She’s in the cafeteria waiting for you.”

When the gavel came down, Sam let out a relieved laugh and grabbed Linda in a hug. The Morgans smiled, though they were both sad to see Evy go. When Sam and Linda stood up to go to the cafeteria, Marty walked up to Sam with his hand outstretched.“Mr. Winchester? I’m Marty Morgan. This is my wife, Betty. We took care of Evy this weekend.”Sam stopped, taking Marty’s hand slowly. “Hi. No offense, but I wish I could say it was nice to meet you.”“I understand.” Marty said.“We’re sorry this happened to you.” Betty said. “We really are. We just wanted to come with you to the cafeteria to say goodbye to Evy. I promised her we would.”Sam seemed reluctant to let them, but agreed. “Okay. Come on.”

Down in the cafeteria, Evy had been stealing glances towards the entrance every few seconds. Sam had sent Linda to the Impala to ask Dean to come in, but was too eager to wait. George the security guard sat at the table with Evy, trying to keep her preoccupied, but eventually gave up. Half an hour after they arrived, George saw Sam standing in the entrance with Marty and Betty. Marty caught George’s eye, and held a finger to his mouth, asking him to keep quiet. George nodded, and Sam finally saw them. He walked up quietly to the table, crouched down on his knees, and placed a hand on Evy’s shoulder.“Can I join you?”A startled Evy jumped and stared into Sam’s face for a few seconds before screaming, “DADDY!”

Evy jumped off the chair and into Sam’s arms. Sam held her tight for a minute, when Linda and Dean came inside. Evy hugged both of them, and Betty and Marty cautiously approached the group once everything had calmed down. Evy smiled and waved them over. As Linda explained who they were, Dean stepped between them Evy, who was still in Sam’s arms.“Nope. You’re done….”“Uncle Deanie, wait.” Evy said. “Don’t be mean to them. They were nice to me this weekend, they kept me from being too scared. They’re my friends.”“We just want to tell her bye. We’re headed home now.” Marty said. “I swear that’s all.”“Wait, don’t go.” Evy said. She got an idea and whispered something into Sam’s ear.“It’s okay with me. Ask them.”“Will you two come to dinner with us tonight?” Evy asked. “Please?”“What are we having?” Marty asked. He crouched over slightly like a monkey.Evy giggled hard. “No yucky bananas. Promise.”
“Alright. I guess we could make it.”“Yay!” Evy said.“We’ll meet you a little later, sweetie. You spend some time with your daddy, okay?”“Okay. Thank you.”

As Betty and Marty left, Linda and Dean left right behind them, and Sam and Evy brought up the rear. Once everyone else was out of earshot, Evy grabbed Sam’s neck and squeezed tight.“I missed you, daddy.”“I missed you too, Cricket. I’m so happy you’re home.” Sam said. He decided Dean and Linda could wait; he took a chair and held Evy, something he’d been wanting to do for days. “I love you.” “Love you too, daddy.”
Next chapter: Sam leaves to spend the weekend with some old friends, leaving uncle Dean in charge.

A/N: I know the last few chapters have been pretty intense emotionally. The next one will be a fluffy/funny chapter. Promise!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Daddy, you can go now!”Sam laughed. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”“YES!” Dean and Evy said together.

Sam was packed up to leave for a weekend with some friends from Stanford. He was nervous; it was the first time since Evy’s arrival at the bunker that he was leaving her voluntarily with someone else. He’d expected her to be nervous, but it was the opposite. She was excited about Dean being in charge for the weekend. Sam wondered what Dean had promised her they’d do, but had learned long ago not to ask unless he really, really wanted to know. Sam placed his bag by the door and turned back to Evy.“Can I at least have a hug before I go?”

As eager as she was to start her weekend with Dean, Evy happily gave Sam the hug he asked for. Sam could hardly believe that Evy’s ninth birthday was the next weekend. The sweet little six year old who had practically fallen into his lap almost three years earlier was growing up. She was a little taller, but still basically the same little girl.“Alright. I’ve only got one rule for this weekend, okay?”Evy groaned.“Just listen to me, okay? I want you in bed at the time you’re supposed to be.” Sam said. “School’s gonna start soon and you need to be getting enough sleep.”“9:30?” Evy asked hopefully.“9:00.”“But you said…” Evy started.“Your birthday hasn’t happened yet.” Sam said. “9:00.”“9:15. Please….” Evy begged.

Sam sighed. The ‘bedtime battle’ had been going on all summer. Evy thought that if she wasn’t in school, she should be able to have a later bedtime. Sam disagreed; he wanted her to stay in the habit of going to bed at the same time, so it wouldn’t be hard to get back into the habit when school did start again. Evy had given him a bit of a harder time than she normally did about it, but had listened to him. Sam had eventually reached a compromise. On her ninth birthday, he agreed to move up her bedtime by a half hour if she followed her 9:00 bedtime every night until then. If she refused to go to bed on time, even once, her bedtime would be a half hour earlier until Sam decided she’d earned the thirty minutes back, and she’d have to wait another year before she had the chance to get a later bedtime.“Remember our deal.” Sam said patiently. “9:00.”“Okay, daddy.” Evy said, shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Good girl.” Sam said.He hated making her so disappointed, but bedtime was one of the few rules he wasn’t willing to be flexible with. He hadn’t told her this, but he’d been planning on increasing her bedtime every other birthday anyway. He’d changed it to 9:00 from 8:30 when she’d turned seven; he’d planned on 9:30 at age nine, 9:45 at age eleven, 10:00 at age 13, and so on. When she’d started advocating for a later bedtime earlier that summer, he’d pretended to put up a fight for a few days, then ‘gave in’ and agreed that she could have a later bedtime on her ninth birthday. Evy had thought she’d won some great victory, but it would have happened anyway.“Cheer up, kiddo.” Dean said. “We’ll still have plenty of fun.”“That worries me a bit.” Sam said. “On that note, I’m gone.”

Evy gave Sam another hug before he went out the door, although this one was much less enthusiastic than the first one. She was growing up, and just wanted a little more freedom than she’d been getting. She knew Sam wasn’t trying to be unfair, but she had really wanted her new bedtime to start this weekend so she could spend as much time with Dean as possible. As Sam walked out the door, she wondered if telling Sam that would have made a difference. Maybe if he’d known it wasn’t just because she wanted to stay up later…“Hey, kiddo. You okay?” Dean asked, interrupting Evy’s thoughts.“Yeah.”“You don’t sound okay. What’s up?” Dean asked, gently taking her arm and pulling her over to the couch with him.“I don’t ever get to spend time with just you.” Evy explained. “I just wanted a little more time. You have to work until 7:00. If I have to go to bed at nine, then by the time I get a bath and get ready for bed…”“We’ll spend time together at work tomorrow.” Dean said, trying to cheer her up. “You’ll have fun, I promise. Remember how you used to help uncle Bobby? It’ll be just like that.”“I know. But…”“But it’s not the same?” Dean guessed.Evy nodded.“Well, think about this. Your dad said you had to be in bed at nine, right?”Evy looked up, wondering where Dean was going with this. “Yeah…”“Did he say you had to be in your bed?” Dean asked, pointing at the couch.“No.” Evy answered.“Did he say you had to be asleep?” Dean asked.Evy grinned. “No.”“And he didn’t say I had to be in my bed either.” Dean said. “So think of what you want to do, and as long as we can do it on the sofa bed, we’ll do it.”“Won’t daddy be mad if he finds out I wasn’t asleep?” Evy asked.Not at you, Dean thought. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”“Deal.”

They spent that Friday night together, Dean teaching her how to play poker with M and M’s and Skittles. She turned out to be a more than capable player, and Dean left the table owing her two bags of M and M’s. The next morning, he was surprised to find her up and waiting for him at 8:00am, ready to leave for the garage. She had already dressed herself in sneakers, a white tshirt, and overalls. Dean smirked as he poured a cup of coffee.“Are you laughing at me?” Evy asked as she dramatically threw her hands on her hips.“No.” Dean said, although he was laughing as he said it. He kissed her forehead and said, “You’ll fit right in today.”

Evy grinned and made her own breakfast. Dean knew Sam would have frowned at it, or insisted she at least eat a piece of fruit with it. But Dean said nothing except “Pass it here” as she poured the Froot Loops into her bowl and added chocolate milk to it. Dean, who had spent his entire childhood taking care of Sam, found it fun to be the “good cop”, and let Evy do pretty much whatever she wanted when she was with him. Once breakfast was finished, Dean packed Evy into the car and drove over to the garage.

Dean had been afraid that the guys at the garage would treat Evy either like a fragile little kid or a burden, but neither was true. All day he heard them asking for help, and she brought tools, cleaning supplies, coffee, and even told them some third grade level jokes she’d learned at school. As Dean prepared to leave that night, Scott told her,“If you’re ever looking for a job, kiddo, come find me.”“Okay!” Evy said, delighted at the praise.“You ready, kiddo?” Dean asked.“I’m ready.”

They made it home a little earlier than expected, so Dean let Evy help make dinner instead of getting her shower like normal. By nine, they were sitting on the sofabed, watching Finding Nemo together. Dean would never admit it to Evy, but he actually liked this movie. It made him think of the way she’d been gone from them for so long then come back. When the credits rolled, he checked on Evy. It was 9:52, and she was fast asleep.“Good night, kiddo. Deanie loves you.”“Uncle Deanie. Wake up.”Dean groaned. He’d just fallen asleep. He didn’t want to wake up yet.“Uncle Deanie. Please wake up.”She’s crying, Dean thought, which made him jerk wide awake. He checked the clock on his nightstand. It was 2:25am. Dean switched on the lamp and looked. Sure enough, she had tears running down her cheeks.“What’s wrong, kiddo? You have a bad dream?”Evy nodded sadly, wiping her eyes with her fist, looking more like a four-year-old than an eight-year-old.“You wanna talk about it?”“No.” Evy said. “Can I sleep with you? Please? Daddy’s not here.”

Dean didn’t answer, just pulled the cover back on the bed and patted the empty space beside him. She was asleep again in five minutes. They slept peacefully until 9:00 the next morning, when Dean woke to find Evy watching Netflix on his TV.“Hey, kiddo. What you watching?”“Finding Dory.” Evy said.“Did they find her yet?”

Dean had been planning to take Evy out to the local park to play that day, but the weather was miserable. It was rainy, hot, and humid, so they spend the day inside. They finally left the bed at 11:00, made a late breakfast, and played some more poker. Dean owed Evy five bags of M and M’s now. He joked that he’d let her win, but he really hadn’t; it worried him a bit how expert of a bluffer she seemed to be. Towards the middle of the day, they were both lost as to what to do. The rain had stopped, so Dean suggested going to Lily’s.“They’re out of town this weekend too.” Evy said. “Besides, I like staying with you.”“Aww. I like staying with you too, baby girl.” Dean said. “But I’m kind of bored. What else do you want to do?”“Let’s make something we’ve never made before.” Evy suggested.“Like what?”Evy thought about it for close to a full minute. “Pizza.” She finally said. “Let’s make our own pizza.”

Dean shrugged. He didn’t really like to cook, but decided that it might be fun with Evy. Even if it turned out terrible, it would be worth the quality time with her. He looked up the ingredients and was surprised that they had everything they needed. As they sat at the table patting out the dough together, Evy suddenly asked,“Uncle Deanie? Do you ever miss it?”“Miss what, baby girl?” Dean asked.“Hunting.” Dean stopped patting out the pizza and looked at her in surprise at the sudden, unexpected question. “What made you ask that, baby girl?”“That’s what my bad dream was about last night.” Evy said. “You and daddy got in a big fight and you left us to start hunting again.”

The pieces clicked in Dean’s brain like a puzzle. He had chalked up Evy coming into his room because of her nightmare to the simple fact that Sam wasn’t in the house, but he knew there was more to it. She knew she could call Sam, even in the middle of the night. And she hadn’t wanted to talk about her dream when he’d asked. He’d chalked that up to just being tired and wanting to go back to sleep. But maybe she’d been afraid that he would tell her that her dream would come true.“Are you afraid I’m gonna leave?” Dean asked.“You seem really unhappy sometimes. I didn’t know if it was because you had to stay here with me and daddy.” Evy said.

Guilt hit Dean like a stabbing knife. He had felt restless lately, and had been considering leaving his job at the garage to go back to hunting. The only thing that had stopped him was Sam’s threat after Evy had been taken by the Genai. If he went back to hunting, he’d be restricted to basically birthdays and holidays with Evy. Had Evy somehow picked up on his feelings?“I do miss it sometimes.” Dean admitted, and Evy slowed down patting out the pizza. “But do you know what I do when I start to miss hunting?”Evy looked up at him. “What?”Dean swallowed. “I think about how much I missed you. Baby girl, I thought about you every single day. The best day of my life was the day you came back into it. And now that you’re back, there’s nothing that’s going to keep me away from you. Okay?”Evy smiled. “Okay.”“Okay?” Dean asked with a grin.Evy giggled. “Okay.”

Dean attacked her with tickles, making Evy double over in laughter. What they had been planning to make into pizza became fuel for an impromptu food fight. They were disrupted when Dean’s cell phone rang. Evy looked at the screen and gasped.“What is it?” Dean asked, surprised at how quickly she had stopped.“It’s daddy!” Evy said. “He’s gonna ask what we were doing!”“Give it here.” Dean said, taking the phone from her.

Dean handed the call like a pro. At least he thought he did. Sam didn’t buy for a second that Evy was getting ready for bed at 5pm, and that Dean was making salad for dinner, but the house seemed to still be standing, so he didn’t complain. He told them both he’d call back before Evy went to bed, and Dean hung up to a furiously giggling Evy.“You’d make a terrible accomplice!” Dean said as he placed the phone on the table.“I can’t help it!” Evy said. “He’s my daddy!”“Yeah, it’s a good thing he can’t see you right now.” Dean said. “How exactly did you get pizza sauce in your ear?”

They worked together to clean the kitchen, and Dean ended up ordering a pizza rather than trying to make another one. It was close to seven, and Dean told Evy to go get her shower so the sauce wouldn’t dry in her hair. Just as he was about to go to the living room to wait for the pizza, he heard a loud banging crash from the bathroom, followed by a wail and a cry. He ran to the bathroom and his heart stopped at what he found. Evy was on the floor. Her pajamas were on the back of the toilet, where she kept them until she got out. She had laid a towel on the floor, which was scrunched under her; she had tripped and fallen hard on the floor. Dean saw under Evy what he at first thought was more pizza sauce. But when he saw the glass kept on the bathroom sink in pieces, one of which was directly under Evy’s cheek, he realized it wasn’t sauce. It was blood.“Hey, kiddo. Sit up, look at me.” He helped her sit up and lean against the bathtub. She held a hand to her cheek. “Come on. Let me see.”Evy reluctantly moved her hand away. Dean couldn’t help it; he drew a sharp breath at the site of her cheek. There was a gash in the middle of it. He was surprised it wasn’t bleeding more, but it was enough to worry about. Dean picked up another towel from the rack on the wall and ran a cold water over it. He held it to her cheek as gently as he could, trying to stop the bleeding.“What happened, baby girl?” Dean asked gently.“I got a drink of water before I turned the shower on.” Evy said, her breath hitching. “When I turned around to put the glass back I tripped and dropped it.” “And fell on top of it?” Dean asked.“Yeah.” As Dean pulled the towel away to check, Evy asked, “Is it bad?”“Nah.” Dean said dismissively, trying to make her feel better. “You are gonna need stitches though.”“Can you fix it?” Evy asked.“You want me to?” Dean asked. “Your dad would want me to take you to the hospital.”“I want you to do it.” Evy said. “Please. I’m not scared when you do it.”“Of course I’ll do it, baby girl.” Dean was relieved when he took the towel away; the bleeding had finally stopped. “Can you get up? Did you hurt anything other than your cheek? Your leg? Your arm? Your feet?”“No.” Evy said. “Just my cheek.”“Come on.”

Dean helped her up and led her into the kitchen, gently seating her at the kitchen table. He saw the cut wasn’t as bad as it had looked when it was bleeding. It was deep and did need stiches, but the blood had made it look longer than it actually was. Dean told her he’d be right back and got something out of the Impala he hadn’t used for a long time. His first aid kit. The pizza guy pulled up just as Dean headed back inside. Dean placed the pizza on the table, and asked if she wanted to eat first or fix her cheek.“Fix my cheek.” Evy said. “It hurts.”Dean quickly checked her mouth to make sure she hadn’t knocked out any teeth or bitten her tongue. He figured that if she had done any of that she would have complained about it, but it was better to be safe than sorry. When her mouth checked out, Dean got to work. Evy had stopped crying, but looked nervous. She whimpered when Dean pulled out a needle.“I know it looks scary, but this’ll numb your cheek so I can stitch it up.”

Evy said nothing, she just watched as he came closer with the needle. Dean held her hand with one of his as he numbed her cheek with the other. She didn’t cry again, just closed her eyes tight when she felt the needle go in. Dean tried to keep her distracted, and fifteen minutes later, poked her hard right next to the cut.“Does that hurt?” he asked.“Does what hurt?”

Dean smiled and knew it was time to start. She ended up getting twelve stitches, and Dean wondered how many he was going to need when Sam saw that Evy had been hurt under his watch. Ever since the car accident and their run in with social services, Sam had been ultra-protective of Evy. It had taken weeks to convince him to go see his friends from Stanford. Dean wasn’t too worried about him finding out Evy had stayed up late, learn how to play poker, gone to the garage with him, ate junk for breakfast, and started a food fight in the kitchen. But there was no way to hide Evy’s cheek from him. Her stitches needed to stay in for around a week. When he finally cut the last one, he asked,“How’s that feel, kiddo?”“Weird.” Evy said.“Weird? What do you mean?”“I can’t feel it.” Evy said, touching her cheek lightly.“Don’t do that.” Dean said, pulling her finger away. “That’s the medicine I gave you to numb your cheek. It’ll wear off. Does it hurt?”“No.” “You think you can eat?” Dean asked.“I’ll try.”

She struggled a bit with the pizza slices, as a whole half of her mouth was numb, so Dean ended up cutting it into small pieces. He was surprised she didn’t complain, as she didn’t like to be treated “like a baby”, but Dean figured she just wanted a little babying after what had happened.“You want to watch a movie?” Dean asked. “Shouldn’t we clean up the bathroom?” Evy said.Dean had completely forgotten about that. He wanted to tell her to forget it, but if Evy was asleep when Sam got home and Sam found the mess in the bathroom, particularly the blood on the floor, Dean was sure he would end up needing a body bag rather than just stitches.“I’ll take care of that. Why don’t you lay down and start another movie?” Dean suggested. “I’ll join you when I get done.”“Okay.” Evy said, taking her place on the sofa bed, which they hadn’t bothered to put back that morning.

Dean went and cleaned the mess up in the bathroom, throwing the bloody towel in the laundry and starting it. When he came back to the living room, he took his seat on the sofa bed. Evy curled up to him, laying her head down in his lap as they watched Finding Nemo for the second time. Dean heard a yawn underneath him.“Uncle Deanie?”“Yeah, kiddo?” Dean asked, looking down into her face.“Thank you.” She said. “I had fun this weekend.”Dean smiled and pointed at her cheek. “Even with this?”“Even with this.” Evy said, before another loud yawn and returning to the movie.

Sam had never been so glad to return home. It was 2:00 in the morning, and he was so tired he could physically feel it. He turned the car off and decided to leave his bags there until the following morning. He walked up and unlocked the front door, then walked inside.

What he found made him smile, despite how tired he was. All the lights were off, except for the dim glow of the television. Dean leaned against the back of the couch, and Evy slept peacefully with her head in his lap. Sam turned off the television, where the menu to Finding Nemo was playing on a loop. He decided to leave the two of them sleeping where they were. It would be easier than waking Evy and forcing her to move to her bed. But he couldn’t go to bed and not tell her good night, so he walked over to where she was sleeping. Everything in the hose seemed to be okay, so Sam, for a moment, felt guilty for doubting that everything would be okay under Dean’s watch. Sam gently kissed the top of Evy’s head and started to stroke her cheek. Which is when he found it. What the hell? Sam thought. When he saw the stiches, Sam’s plan to not wake anyone was suddenly thrown out the window.“Dean!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Samuel Winchester.”

What had up to that point been a very solemn ceremony changed to a celebration. Half the middle row erupted into cheers and chants. Sam took his law school diploma from the dean, whispering apologies for the noise. The dean just smiled and shook Sam’s hand. He couldn’t tell Sam, but the dean was actually bored and was glad for the distraction. As Sam walked back to his seat, he turned towards them, slightly embarrassed and prepared to ask them to calm down.

All that changed when Sam saw Evy’s face. She was grinning, blowing Sam kisses from the stands. She held up a banner that she’d made that said ‘Good Job, Daddy! We Love You!’ The pride and the love Sam saw there made him want to run to her and scoop her up, kiss and hug her until she couldn’t stand it anymore. Sam blew her a kiss back and went to sit down.

Sam was the last graduate to cross the stage, so the ceremony only lasted a few more minutes. When the dean dismissed them, Sam walked back towards his family. Evy was there, along with Dean, Jody, Cass, and Claire. Linda and Lily had called earlier that morning to offer their support. Evy ran out through the crowd and nearly knocked Sam over when she ran into him to give him his hug.“You did it, daddy!” Evy exclaimed. “I’m proud of you.”“Thank you, baby.” Sam said as he kissed her cheek. “That means more than anything.”

Jody and Dean both congratulated Sam too, and they left to get some dinner. Evy convinced Sam to stay in his graduation robe as they ate. Sam felt ridiculous, sitting in a fast food restaurant with his graduation robe on, but he’d learned long ago it was easier to just listen to Evy. Sam had tried to get Evy to stay home for the graduation, spend the weekend with Lily, but she wouldn’t hear of it.“No way.” she’d said. “If you try to make me stay home, I’ll sneak into Baby and go anyway.”

Jody and Claire started back home that night, so Dean took the motel room she and Claire had been occupying the night before. Evy finally allowed Sam to take off his graduation robe. Sam sent her to get her shower, and sat on the bed staring at his diploma. He spent the fifteen minutes she was in the shower thinking about his life, and how it had finally, at least somewhat, turned out the way he wanted it. He didn’t even realize Evy had gotten out of the shower until she was climbing on the bed and into his lap. Sam wrapped his arms around her middle, pressing his cheek to her damp, slightly apple scented hair.“Thank you for coming.” Sam said. “Not many eleven-year-olds would rather hang out with their dads than their friends.”“I’m not most eleven-year-olds.” Evy said, earning a chuckle from Sam.“That’s right. You’re not.”“Are you a lawyer now?” Evy asked.“Not quite. I have to take a test called the bar exam first.” Sam explained.“When do you take it?”“You think I should?” Sam asked.“Why wouldn’t you?”“Well, I don’t know if I want to work as a lawyer yet.” Sam said. “It would take a lot of time away from you.”“Can you take the test and not work as a lawyer?”“I guess.” Sam said. “I was only doing this as a backup anyway.”“Why don’t you take the test? Then if you change your mind you can.”Sam smiled. “When did you get so wise?”Evy blushed at the compliment, then tried to change the subject. “Can we play a game?”“Sure.”

Evy took Sam’s diploma and very carefully placed it on the table in the room. Sam watched her curiously, not sure what she was going to do. Evy came back to the bed, sat across from Sam, and placed her hand on the bed with a grin. When Sam didn’t move, Evy took one of his hands and placed it on top of hers. Sam finally got the hint, “completing the sandwich” as Dean called it, and they were off. They played a full ten rounds, before Sam looked at the clock and saw it was after eleven.“Time for bed, baby.”“Okay.” Evy said. She hugged Sam and told him again, “I’m proud of you.”“Thanks, baby.” Sam said. “Thanks.”

Evy climbed into the other bed in the room, and was asleep quickly. Sam had become more flexible with her bedtime, finding it easier to let her stay up a little longer and go to bed happier than have to keep telling her over and over to go to bed. He missed the days of tucking her into bed, spending that close time with her. She still occasionally asked him to, but the days were becoming fewer and farther between. What Evy didn’t know, or maybe she did and just didn’t care, was that after she was asleep, Sam would walk over and kiss her cheek.“Good night, baby. Daddy loves you.” As Sam walked away, he heard a sound so soft that he almost missed it.“Love you too, daddy.”
Next Chapter: Sam unfairly punishes Evy, leading to a fight between Evy and Lily.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sam Winchester was normally a patient man. He’d been caring for Evy in some way or another since he was ten years old. He was used to how active she was, and could normally tune her out if he needed to. Today, however, was different. Sam had a massive headache, and just wanted some peace and quiet. He had to work at the bookstore that night, and wanted a nap before he left. Twelve-year-old Evy seemed unusually needy, however. She was coming in and out of the house every few minutes, getting water or juice or asking him if he could come and watch her practice. She was trying out for the seventh-grade basketball team the following week. He’d humored her the first two times, but when she came running in for the third time, Sam finally lost his temper.“Daddy, can you come…?”“NO!” Sam shouted. “I told you I don’t feel good! Leave me alone!”

Sam regretted it before he’d even finished speaking. Evy’s face fell, and had he not known better, Sam would have sworn he’d slapped her. Not since they’d lived together with John had Sam seen her look so depressed.“Sorry, daddy.” she whispered, starting to walk back to the front door. “I won’t bother you again.”“Cricket, wait.” Evy stopped; he had almost completely stopped calling her ‘Cricket’, so it caught her attention quickly. “Come here, baby.” Sam, who had been laying down on the couch, sat up and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”“It’s okay.” Evy said. “I know you’re sick.”“That’s not an excuse.” Sam said. “But you’re right, I am. I can’t come outside because it makes my headache worse. I’m sorry.”“I’m just nervous.” Evy said.“About the basketball tryouts?”“Yeah.” Evy said.“I know you are. But trust me. You’ll do fine.” Sam said. “Even if you don’t make it this year, you can try again next year.”“I know.” Evy said.Sam checked the clock. “Why don’t you get a shower and start getting ready for Lily’s party? You don’t want to show up sweaty like that, do you?”“No. I don’t.” As Evy stood up, she asked, “What are you gonna do while I’m at the party?” “I’m gonna lay back down. If I don’t feel better soon, I might call off work and just go to sleep.” Sam said.“Okay. Feel better, daddy.” Evy said, kissing his cheek like he did when she was sick.“Thanks, baby.”

When Sam heard the water running, he decided to go to his bed rather than the couch. He turned off the lights downstairs, and started to head to his bedroom. He couldn’t tell what made him look outside, but he did. What he found made his head throb even worse. The side mirror on the driver’s side of his car was sitting on the front porch, with the glass missing. Sam sat back on the couch, rubbing his head and waiting on Evy to get out of the shower. When she came out, dressed and ready to go for the party, Sam confronted her.“Is there anything you want to tell me?” he asked.Evy, confused, answered, “No…”“What happened to my car?” Sam said.“What are you talking about?” Evy asked. “Go take a look.” Sam said.Evy opened the front door and looked at Sam’s car. “The mirror?”“Yes.” Sam said testily. “The mirror. What happened?”“I don’t know. I didn’t do that.” Evy said truthfully.“You’re the only one that’s been playing out there.” Sam pointed out. “Look, I’m not mad, just tell me the truth…”“I am!” Evy protested, hurt that he didn’t believe her. “I didn’t do that. It was like that when I went out to play this morning.”

Sam took a long, hard look at Evy. She didn’t lie to him normally, but he had been very impatient with her that day and wouldn’t put it past her to fib to him if she thought she would get in trouble. No one had been by to visit that day, and Dean was gone for the majority of the day. He had left at five that morning and wouldn’t be back until around eleven that night. In Sam’s mind, Evy was the only one who could have broken his mirror.“Call Lily and tell her you’re not coming.” Sam said. “You’re grounded to your room until you tell me the truth.”Evy’s mouth gaped open. “Daddy!”“Now.” Sam said sternly. “Or you can tell me the truth about what happened and still go.”“I am telling you the truth.” Evy said, a tear slipping down. “Why don’t you believe me?”“Now, Evelyn.” Sam said. Evy bristled at her full name. “Call Lily and tell her you’re not coming.”

Evy tearily picked up the phone and dialed Lily’s house. Sam had to harden his heart when he heard Evy start crying on the phone and telling Lily how sorry she was. Sam texted Linda and told him that Evy was grounded for lying to him and wouldn’t be coming. He promised to make it up to her, doing a party for just Lily and Evy when Evy wasn’t in trouble. Linda wasn’t happy about it, and asked Sam to reconsider. Sam said no, that Evy had to learn not to lie to him. Linda pointed out that he was punishing Lily too, but reluctantly accepted Sam’s decision. With a final ‘Lily, I’m sorry’, Evy hung up the phone, sobbing bitterly. Sam’s dropped his stern tone from earlier, a little worried about how hard that conversation had gone.“Baby, what happened?” he asked, reaching a hand over to comfort her, only to be left shocked and hurt when she pulled away from him.“What do you care?” she asked, still crying hard as she put the phone down on the couch beside her.“Of course I care.” Sam answered, hurt she would even think to ask.“Can I go to my room now, please?” Evy asked, wiping tears away with her sleeve.“Sure.” Sam said. His headache was suddenly forgotten; he hadn’t meant his impromptu punishment to cause this kind of hurt. “Will you please tell me what Lily said?”“She didn’t invite anyone else to her birthday party. Only me.” Evy said. “It’s cancelled now. And she’s not talking to me.”That’s what Linda meant when she said I was punishing Lily too, Sam thought. “I didn’t know…”“Because you didn’t ask.” Evy said bitterly. “Can I go now? Please?”“Yeah.” Sam whispered.

As Evy ran down the hall to the sanctuary of her bedroom, Sam seriously considered telling her to forget the grounding until after the party and to go. It wasn’t fair to Lily to take away her birthday party for something she didn’t do, and Sam’s mirror wasn’t worth the risk of damaging the relationship between the girls. But it wasn’t the mirror that worried Sam. Dean could easily fix that in under an hour. It was the fact that she had lied to him, more than once, when asked about it. Sam decided to give her fifteen minutes to calm down, then go down the hall and give her another chance to tell him the truth. He used the fifteen minutes to call Laura, who was more than happy to let him have the afternoon off. Sam hung up and waited another few minutes before finally, he couldn’t stand waiting any longer. He walked down the hall and knocked gently on the door of Evy’s room. When she didn’t say anything, Sam opened the door quietly, thinking that maybe she’d fallen asleep. Instead, she was laying down on the bed, clutching Beanie tightly to her chest, tears still running down her face.“Can I come in?” Sam asked.
Evy sniffed and asked, “Do I have a choice?”“Yes. You always have a choice.” Sam pointed out.“Then no. Please don’t.” Evy said, turning over and away from him.

Sam wanted to protest, disregard her choice and beg her forgiveness, but he resisted. He had always made it a point that her room was her space, and if she didn’t want someone in there it was okay to tell them to leave. But Evy so very rarely shut him out that he honestly couldn’t remember the last time she’d done it. But you sure shut her out earlier, yelling at her like that. Sam thought to himself. Good job not being dad, buddy. Sam almost wished he could call Laura and tell her that he felt better, that if she still wanted him to, he’d come in. But running away wouldn’t solve the problem, it would only exacerbate it. So he went to his room and attempted sleep, which was impossible. He got up and made them dinner, Evy’s favorite sandwiches and juice, hoping to calm the storm just a bit. Evy gave him a half-hearted ‘Thanks’ and refused when Sam asked if she wanted him to eat with her.

Sam’s was close to breaking. Evy wasn’t angry at the punishment and pouting about it. She was genuinely hurt. Sam was keeping her away from her best friend for something relatively minor. Sam hated it, but lies were not acceptable. Baby, please, please just come tell me the truth. I’ll take you to Lily’s myself, just please tell me the truth.

The battle of wills dragged on and on well into the night. Sam heard Evy getting her shower around seven o’clock, then head back to her room. He knocked on her door and asked if he could come in to talk, but again Evy refused. It was hard, but Sam respected her decision and left her alone.

Dean pulled up to the house that night, surprised to see the living room light on. Sam in the last few years had become much less of a night owl, and was usually asleep well before ten at night. Evy’s bedroom light was also on. Why were they both up? Dean turned off the Impala, less worried now about waking them up. He walked up the steps and opened the door. Sam wasn’t in the living room, so Dean decided to check on Evy first. He knocked on her door and was surprised by the greeting. “Daddy, please leave me alone! I’m trying to sleep.”Dean opened the door a few inches to see Evy sitting up in bed, not even remotely trying to sleep. “Hey, kiddo, it’s me.”Evy jumped at the unexpected voice. “Oh. Hi, uncle Deanie.”“Hey. Can I come in?”“Sure.” Evy said.“How was the party?” Dean asked.“I don’t know. I didn’t get to go.” Evy said.“What?” Dean asked. “You’ve been talking about it for days. Why didn’t you go?”“Because Daddy grounded me for something I didn’t do.” Evy explained.“What was it you supposedly did?” Dean asked.“Broke the mirror on his car.” Evy said.Dean’s eyes went wide. “Kiddo, I’m so, so sorry.”Evy looked up at Dean, afraid that she knew what he was going to say. “Sorry for what?”“I broke the mirror on your dad’s car.”Evy’s started crying all over again. “Why didn’t you tell him? I got in trouble for it!”“I’m sorry, kiddo.” Dean said again. “It happened early this morning and I didn’t want to wake anyone up. I left your dad a note saying I’d fix it tomorrow, but I guess he didn’t get it.”“I told him it wasn’t me.” Evy said.“I’m sorry, kiddo.” Dean said, a sharp sense of guilt threatening to eat him up. “I really am.”“I’m not mad at you.” Evy said. “You didn’t ground me for nothing.”“Stay here for a minute, okay? I’ll go talk to your dad.”

Evy nodded, and Dean left her to go say something to Sam. Dean walked down the hall towards Sam’s room, anger starting to replace the guilt. It just wasn’t like Evy to lie about something. The kid was honest almost to a fault. Sam and Dean’s trust meant too much to her to risk breaking it for a lie. Dean knew that, and he didn’t spend half the time with her that Sam did. Dean pounded on Sam’s door, and Sam answered the door fairly quickly.“Cricket…”

Sam suddenly felt an explosion of pain on his face and stumbled backwards, narrowly avoiding hitting the floor. He was so stunned he didn’t say anything at first. Dean leaned against the doorframe and waited for Sam to recover.“Dean what the hell?” Sam said.“I broke your damn mirror!” Dean said.“What?”“I broke your damn mirror.” Dean repeated. “Not baby girl. Me.”Sam’s heart sunk. “Oh, no.”“I left you a note on the fridge.” Dean said. “I told you to leave the mirror where I put it and I’d fix it in the morning.”

Sam walked past Dean and went to the kitchen. Sure enough, there in the middle of the refrigerator was a note scribbled out from Dean. Broke the mirror on your car backing out this morning. I’ll fix it tomorrow. -Dean Sam felt sick all over again. The thought of the look on Evy’s face when he’d accused her made him wish he could get his headache back. It would hurt less.“What the hell did I do?” Sam said.“What did you do?” Dean asked. “Baby girl wouldn’t lie to you. Why did you think she did?”“It just didn’t occur to me that it could have been you.” Sam said. “She was out there playing and that’s when I noticed it.”“Well she’s in her room crying right now and it looks like she’s been doing that all night.”“She’s still up?” Sam asked. “I thought she was asleep.”“Go fix this, Sammy.”

Sam nodded and walked slowly towards Evy’s room. Dean had left her door cracked, and sure enough the light was still on. Sam grabbed the doorknob and knocked lightly. Evy turned around and her face fell. She clearly had thought it was Dean again.“Can I come in?” Sam asked.“Are you gonna yell at me again?” Evy asked.“No. I just want to talk, I swear.” Sam said.“I guess.” Evy said reluctantly.Sam walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. “Uncle Dean told me what happened to the mirror.”“Yeah?” Evy said.“Baby, I’m sorry.” Sam said, realizing that it sounded hollow.Evy said nothing, just moved a little further away from Sam.“I should never have grounded you for this…” Sam started to say.Evy looked up in indignation. “I don’t care about you grounding me!”“You don’t?” Sam asked.“No!” Evy said. “I care that you didn’t trust me. I told you, three times, I didn’t do it!”“I know, baby…” “I’m not done.” Evy said.Sam’s mouth snapped shut at the unexpected interruption, and he let her continue.“I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. But you did.” Evy said, wiping a tear away from her face. “And Lily’s still mad at me. That’s your fault. You can’t fix that.”

Sam’s emotions were threatening to short circuit as Evy spoke. He felt guilty for distrusting her, for hurting her, for causing a rift between her and Evy. He was scared she wouldn’t forgive him, although deep down he knew she would. But what surprised Sam was the pride. He was proud of her for standing up to him. To Sam, it meant he was raising her the way he wanted. She felt safe enough to tell him anything, even that he’d treated her like a jerk. Sam tried hard to fight a smile. His little girl was growing up. She’s not so little anymore, he thought sadly, which helped him resist the urge again to smile.“Why didn’t you believe me?” Evy asked again.“Because I’m an idiot.” Sam said. “Because I was stupid and I jumped to conclusions. I know I hurt you, baby, and I’m sorry for that. And as far as Lily goes, I’ll make that up to both of you.”“How?” Evy said.“You think about it. Whatever you come up with, I’ll do it.” Sam said.“Can we throw her a surprise party here tomorrow?” Evy asked.Sam smiled. “You got it.”“Will you help me practice tomorrow?” Evy asked. “After the party?”“Done.” Sam said. “Anything else?”“Yeah.” Evy said. “Promise me if I tell you I didn’t do something, you’ll believe me.”“I promise.” Sam said. “I swear this won’t happen again.” “I’ll make sure of that.” Evy looked at her bedroom door, where Dean was standing. “And I’m really sorry too, kiddo.”Evy finally smiled. “You can help me practice tomorrow, too.”“Deal.” Dean said. “We good?”“Yeah. We’re good.” Evy said. “Almost.”“Almost?”

Evy held out both arms to him, and Dean was brought back to her being much younger. Whenever John and Dean would come home from a hunt, if she had been put to bed, she would stay where she was and reach out for both John and Dean to come to her. John had tried one night to get her to come to him, but Evy refused.
“No. I supposed to stay in bed. Sammy say so.”

John chuckled, even as he moved to oblige her. “Are you sure he didn’t say you were supposed to be asleep in bed?”

As John let her go and Dean moved to hug her too, Evy bit her bottom lip. “Um, I not remember, daddy.”

Dean laughed as he wrapped his arms around her neck. “Atta girl. Way to bend the rules.”

“Dean!” John scolded mildly, although, if he was honest, he was impressed too. “Good night, little one. Daddy loves you.”

“Deanie does too.” Dean said.

“Good night, Daddy. Night, Deanie. Love you.”
Dean hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Good night, kiddo. Love you.”“Love you too, uncle Deanie.”As Dean left, Sam asked the same question. “Are we good?” Sam asked.Evy grinned. “Almost.”“Almost?”Evy laid down and pulled her covers over her. She grabbed Beanie, the only remaining remnant of her old bedtime routine with Sam. She still slept with him every night. Evy let out a big yawn and grabbed Sam’s hand. She put his hand on her back and asked,“Sing to me?”Sam nodded and started gently scratching her back. “Of course I will.”Evy’s heavy eyes closed slowly as Sam started.“Don’t you feel it growing, day by day, people getting ready for the news…”By the time he finished, Evy was fast asleep. Sam stood up, leaned over Evy, straightened her blanket, and kissed her forehead. Evy’s feet stuck out of the end of the blanket after a few seconds, and Sam fought the urge to wrap her feet back up. It wouldn’t do any good.“Good night, baby. Daddy loves you so much.”
Next Chapter: The death of two friends changes the lives of the Winchester family.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Time had not been kind to the Winchesters.

The last nine months had been some of the most trying of Sam, Dean, and Evy’s life. It had started one morning when Sam got to work, surprised to find that Laura wasn’t there. Figuring her to just be running late, he’d waited about ten minutes before getting a call from Dean. After figuring out that neither Scott nor Laura had shown up to work, Sam and Dean had immediately raced towards Scott and Laura’s house. They’d arrived to find the fire department there, and the house reduced to nothing but rubble. It appeared that, during the thunderstorm the night before, a stray bolt of lightning had hit a power line right next to the house, knocking it down and hitting the old wooden house, setting it ablaze and burning the house down in no time.

Sam and Dean had tried to find other jobs in town, but Scott’s garage and Laura’s bookstore had been the two biggest businesses in town. The garage was eventually shut down and sold by the new owners, as was the bookstore. Sam had even taken the bar exam, in the hopes of getting a job at Linda’s firm. But despite Linda trying to convince her bosses to hire him, there was a hiring freeze that they refused to lift. Three months of fruitless job searches led to Sam and Dean having to make the painful decision to move. Sam had a lump in his throat as he told Evy, who seemed to take the news fairly well. She was clearly upset, but realized that they didn’t have a choice. Watching Evy say goodbye to Lily was one of the hardest things Sam had ever had to deal with. Sam had sold his own car to give them a little more cash, so he climbed into the backseat with Evy as Dean drove off towards their new home. Evy leaned against him, watching the town she’d grown up in get smaller and smaller through the window. Sam couldn’t help but be reminded of all the times he’d faced this same situation, and how it made him feel every time. When he saw Evy wipe her face, trying to hide her tears and not make Sam feel worse than he already did, Sam wrapped one arm around her shoulder and used his other to wipe her face for her.“I’m sorry.” Sam whispered in her ear.Evy said nothing, fighting the tears that were threatening to spill over.“It’s okay to cry.”

That was the only reminder Evy needed. Sam felt her start shaking under his arm. She turned and buried her face into his side, sobbing quietly. Sam held her and comforted her, but didn’t say anything. He wanted to promise her that they’d be okay, that once they got to their new home she’d make friends. But he couldn’t do that. Evy had been friends with Lily since age seven, the first day of second grade. Though she had occasionally brought over other friends to play with, Lily had been the constant presence at the Winchester house.

But Evy did do well, at least academically. She convinced the coach of her new school to let her try out for the basketball team, despite tryouts having been done over two months earlier. The coach had taken her eagerly, calling her “one of the best players he’d ever seen”. Despite being popular with her team, Evy expressed no interest in doing anything with them outside of practices and games.Sam had found a job almost right away, at a law firm as a paralegal. There was no room for another lawyer, but as soon as there was Sam had been promised a promotion. The new job required a lot more hours than the bookstore had, which meant that Sam was home a lot less often. He made it to as many of Evy’s games as he could, but it became rare for him to be there when she woke up or went to bed.Dean had less success finding a job. It became his responsibility to make sure Evy got up for school, got there on time, pick her up, and make sure she went to bed on time. At first, Evy had been excited about the change in routine. Although she missed Sam, she had thought it would fun to be at home with Dean. She was wrong.Because she rarely spent any quality time with Sam, Evy didn’t tell him that Dean’s attitude had changed. He seemed meaner, more distant and less willing to talk to her. Any attempt at conversation about school or homework was met with a demand to get ready for bed or do some chore. Evy got frustrated, and eventually stopped trying. With Sam gone, Dean not willing to talk to her, and her difficulties making friends at her new school, Evy felt lonelier than ever.Things started to boil over one afternoon in late February. Dean was supposed to pick her up from school, but when 4:00 rolled around and he hadn’t yet arrived, Evy went to the library and sat down to start on her homework. She pulled out her cell phone and texted Dean, with no reply. There were no free tables in the library, so she approached a table with a boy from one of her classes who seemed friendly.“Do you mind?”The boy, Jordan, looked up and smiled. “Sure.” he said, pointing at the chair in front of him.Evy set her backpack in the chair next to him. “You’re Jordan, right?” “Yeah. Jordan Tyler. You’re Evelyn?” he asked.Evy bristled. “I hate that name. I’m Evy.”“Oh, right. Sorry. I’m kind of bad with names, so just remind me if I forget.” Jordan said.“It’s okay.” Evy said. “What are you working on?”

Evy pulled out her math book, intending to start on her algebra homework, but she and Jordan ended up talking instead. Evy started to think to herself maybe I’ve finally found a friend. She checked her phone again and shook her head, annoyed. It was 5:45.“Are you okay?” Jordan asked.“Yeah.” Evy said. “My uncle was supposed to pick me up, but I think he forgot.”“Oh.” Jordan said. “Did you try to call him?”Before she could respond, an announcement came over the loudspeaker. “Evelyn Winchester, come to the office, please.”“That’s probably him. I should go.” Evy said, packing her things into her backpack. “It was nice to meet you. For real, not just seeing you in class.”“You too.” Jordan said.Evy left and walked towards the office, where she was met by an angry looking Dean. “Where were you?”“I went to the library.” Evy explained.“Get in the car.” Dean said moodily.

Evy did as he said, irritated. He was the one that had been nearly two and a half hours late picking her up, and he was angry at her? She got in the backseat, a sure sign she was angry. Dean got in the front and turned around to face her.“You know you’re supposed to wait for me out front.” “Why are you mad at me?” Evy asked, her temper threatening to explode. “You’re the one that was almost three hours late without calling. It’s twenty degrees out here!”“Watch it, little girl.” Dean said. “Watch it.”

Dean said nothing else and turned to start the car. Evy stared out the window, thinking about how unfair everything was. She gave serious thought to telling Sam about Dean being so late, and about his worsening attitude towards her. She missed Sam more than ever, and didn’t know if she could handle Dean on her own anymore. She decided to do it. She knew Sam was exhausted from his long hours at the law firm, but she needed help. She only needed to keep the peace with Dean for a few more hours.

This proved easier said than done. They arrived back at the house just before six, and five minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Dean yelled from the kitchen for Evy to get it, and she bit her tongue to keep from saying “I am getting it!”. She didn’t want to risk another scolding for having a bad attitude, which seemed to be Dean’s favorite thing to say when she was the least bit angry with him. Dean was starting to remind her more and more of an angry John Winchester. Evy opened the door to see Jordan standing there.“Hi!” she said, surprised.“Hey.” Jordan said, slightly awkwardly. “You left this in the library.” He held up her algebra book.“Oh!” Evy took the book from him and checked the name inside. “I didn’t even know it was missing. Thanks.”“You’re welcome.” Jordan said.“How’d you know where I live?” Evy asked.“Oh, my mom.” Jordan pointed to the car in the driveway. “She’s the school secretary. She looked up your address so we could bring it to you. I knew you didn’t get your homework done in the library so I figured you might need it.”“I do. Thanks again.” Evy said.“Sorry about that, by the way.” Jordan said.“Sorry? For what?”“It’s kind of my fault you didn’t get your homework done.” Jordan said.“Oh. Don’t worry about that. I liked talking to you too. It won’t take me long to do my homework tonight.” Evy assured him.“So, I wanted to ask you something. You know Katie Simpson and Barbara Jackson from our science class?” Jordan asked.“Yeah.”“Well, tomorrow we were all gonna meet together at the café after school. We go there once a month to help each other study. Tomorrow’s a half day, so we were gonna meet there and hang out for a couple hours. Do you want to join us?” he asked.Evy smiled. “Um, I’ll have to ask my dad when he gets home…”“The answer’s no.”Dean had come behind her and was listening to Jordan and Evy’s conversation.“What?” Evy asked.“I said the answer’s no.” Dean said again. He turned to Jordan. “It’s time for you to go.”“Uncle Dean!” Evy said, horrified at how rude he was being to Jordan.“If I have to say it again,” Dean threatened, “you’re grounded for a week.”Evy turned to Jordan. “I’m sorry.” she said.“It’s okay.” Jordan said. Evy was relieved he didn’t seem mad, just sympathetic. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”“Okay. Bye.”

Evy waved at Jordan once more, and watched him and his mother pull out of the driveway. Once they were out of sight, she slammed the door shut and turned on Dean, shaking with anger and embarrassment.“Did you have to do that?”“Do what?” Dean asked.“Embarrass me like that.” Evy said. “Be so rude to Jordan. He was just trying to be nice to me.”“You’re too young to be hanging out with boys.” Dean said. “And watch the attitude.”“So you’re allowed to be mean to me? What did I do to you?” Evy asked.“Go to your room.” Dean said. “Do your homework, which should have been done already, by the way. You can come out when you drop the snotty attitude.”“Fine.” Evy said, getting her backpack and shoving her math book into it. “I don’t want to be here with you anyway.”“I’m not that crazy about you either.”

Evy tried to hide it, but that last comment had stung terribly. She’d wondered in the back of her mind if Dean didn’t love her anymore, and apparently it was true. She ran to her room, threw her backpack on the bed, and cried as she typed out a text to Sam.
Are you going to be home before I go to bed? I really need to talk to you.
Sam replied a few minutes later. I’m leaving in a minute. I’ll be home around eight. Are you okay?Just come to my room when you get here, please. Evy answered.
Okay I will. Love you.

Love you too.

When Evy put her phone down, she was weeping. She missed Sam, missed her home, missed Lily more than ever. She thought about calling Lily, but due mostly to distance, the two of them had grown apart from each other. They’d at first talked nearly every day, which had turned into once a week, and had eventually faded to once in a while. Evy hadn’t talked to Lily in close to two months. Before she knew it, she heard Sam’s car pull up in the driveway. But instead of going outside to meet him as she usually did, she waited on him to come inside. She heard him move around a little in the living room, probably looking for Dean. A minute later, there was a knock at her door.“Come in.”The door opened and Sam came and sat on the edge of her bed. “Hey, baby. You okay?” He saw her face and grew worried. “Have you been crying?”“Yeah.”Evy told him everything she’d been holding back-Dean’s attitude towards her since they’d moved, him being late picking her up that day, getting mad at her about it, being rude to Jordan, what he’d said to her, and refusing to let her go to the café the next day. She finally asked Sam what she’d been fearing all along.“Did I do something wrong?” she asked. “Is this my fault?”“No, baby.” Sam said. “No, it’s not.”“Then why doesn’t he like me anymore?”Sam sighed. “Listen, baby. Dean loves you. I know it’s hard to believe with the way he’s been acting, but he does. He’s just frustrated. He wants to find a job, but he’s having a hard time with it. I don’t think he means to take it out on you, and I’m gonna talk to him about that. But don’t let him make you think he doesn’t love you. Okay?”Evy nodded, but she still felt unsure. “Can I go?”“Go where?” Sam asked.“To the café tomorrow.” Evy asked.Sam frowned. “I don’t know.”“Why not?” Evy asked.“I don’t know how I feel about you hanging out with kids I don’t know.” Sam said.Evy was devastated. “You told me to make friends.”“Yes, I did, but…”“But how am I supposed to make friends if I can’t do anything with them?” Evy asked.Sam didn’t want to, but he agreed. She was right; it wasn’t fair to make her introduce her friends to him if he was almost never home. And if Dean’s attitude really was getting out of control, he didn’t blame her for not wanting to bring them around. Evy was a responsible kid. She’d proved that over and over. Sam trusted her, so he decided to give her a chance.“Okay. I’m going to let you do it.” Sam said. “You’re right. I can’t meet them because of work, so I’m trusting you. You need to be home by dark.”Evy smiled. “Thank you, daddy.”“You’re welcome. But I need you to do something for me.” Sam said.“What?”“I’ll talk to Dean in the morning.” Sam said. “I’ll let him know I gave you permission to go. And I’ll tell him to stop being a jerk to you. But I need you to be a little patient with him. It might not change overnight. If he’s really mean to you, like what he said earlier, you can tell me, but just try not to take anything he says personally. Deal?”“Deal.” Evy agreed.“Do you have any homework?” Sam asked.“A little.” Evy admitted. “I was going to do it earlier, but…”“Why don’t you bring it to the kitchen table?” Sam said. “I brought your favorite pizza. You can eat and do it there. And catch me up on school.”“Okay.” Evy said, grabbing her backpack. “What do you want to know?”“For one thing,” Sam said as he walked just behind her, “who is this boy that came to the house today?”“Daddy!” Evy said, blushing from slight embarrassment.

Sam tried to wait for Dean to come back, but ended up falling asleep on the living room couch. When he woke the next morning, Dean was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in his hand. Sam poured himself one and began the conversation about Evy.“Hey, dude. How’s it going?” he said, hoping to ease his way into the subject.“Not bad. How about you?”“Same.” Sam said, taking a sip of coffee. “Listen, Evy’s kind of upset. She says you’ve been riding her really hard lately.”“Well, she’s had a bad attitude lately.” Dean answered.“Really? Because in all the years of taking care of her, I’ve never once seen her have a bad attitude that wasn’t brought on by someone treating her like dirt.” Sam said, surprising himself with how defensive he was.Dean’s head snapped up at the accusation. “Is that what she said about me?”“Dean, look. I know you’ve had a hard time with this job search. But Evy’s had a hard time too.” Sam said.“She’ll just have to learn to deal with it.” Dean said bitterly.Sam slammed his mug down on the kitchen counter, causing Dean to jump. “Damn it, Dean! I don’t have time for this. Telling you to stop being mean to her is not her having a ‘snotty attitude’. Evy’s a kid, and she’s acting more like an adult than you are. She had a problem, and she asked me for help. You could learn a thing or two from her. So I’m only gonna say this once. Stop treating her like shit. I need you to be here to look after her, but if that’s too big a task for you, you can go back to hunting and move back to the bunker. Is that what you want?”“No.” Dean said.“Then stop acting like it. And for now, I’m going to tell her that if she wants to do something, she can text me and ask me. Got it?” Sam asked.“You don’t have to do that.”“Yeah, Dean, I do. Because she’s afraid of you. You really hurt her yesterday.” Sam said.Dean finally seemed at least a little guilty. “She’s afraid of me?” “Yes.” Sam said. “Which is why I expect you to apologize.”Dean nodded.“And Dean? I gave her permission to go out with her friends after school today. She’s earned it. Do not give her a hard time about it. I told her to be home by dark, but I don’t know if she’ll be home before that or not. Got it?” Sam said.Dean’s mind seemed far away, and he didn’t respond to Sam.“Dean?” Dean looked up and at Sam. “I said, do you understand? Do not give her a hard time today.” “Yeah.” Dean said. “Yeah, I got it.”

Sam nodded, convinced that Dean finally understood him. He drained the last of his coffee, put the mug in the sink, and started to head to his car. His phone beeped and he checked the text from Evy.
I overheard you talking to uncle Dean. I left to walk to school and let him squirm a little. Thanks Daddy :) Love you <3
Sam smiled and responded Love you too, baby. If Dean does anything, yells at you, hurts your feelings, anything like that, let me know. I’ll try to come home by six tonight, but no promises. I’m proud of you xoxoxo

Sam told Dean that Evy was already on her way to school, then headed out to work. Dean did squirm, unable to get his mind off what Sam had said about Evy being afraid of him. Dean decided to make her favorite pancakes for a snack when she got home from school. Around two o’clock, he started on the pancakes, then left the house to go pick her up. Sam’s warning was still fresh on his mind; but he had not heard what Sam said about letting Evy go out after school.

At the same time Dean was trying to pick up Evy, Evy was having a great time with her friends from school. They’d eaten lunch at the café, and when the café had begun to get busy, Evy had texted Sam for permission to go with her friends to the park. She’d apologized to Jordan for the way Dean had acted the day before. Jordan assured her it was okay, and was impressed that she’d gotten her dad to agree. Sam agreed on the park trip, and Evy and her friends were in the middle of a game of horse when they heard it.“EVELYN!”

Evy, who had just thrown the ball, jumped and looked to the other end of the park. An angry Dean was stomping across the park towards her. Evy’s heart sank. Sam’s talk with Dean that morning had apparently accomplished nothing. Dean reached her in just under a few seconds, and scared Evy when he grabbed her arm hard and shook it.“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you home?”Evy tried to pull her arm away from him as she said, “Daddy told you this morning I could come!” Dean gripped her harder. “I told you no! I’ve been running all over town looking for you! Come on. Now. We’ll talk about this at home.” “Let me go!” Evy said, pushing hard against Dean’s hand.

It was that moment that Dean snapped. He pulled her around and wrapped an arm around her waist, pinning her to his side. Dean’s hand fell hard ten times across Evy’s backside before her horrified crying brought him back to reality. Once he realized what he was doing, he released her. But it was too late. The damage was done. A shocked Evy had a hand to her mouth and was breathing hard, tears streaming down her face. Her friends stood frozen, not sure what to do or even if they should step in. Evy took a quick glance towards them, hoping they had somehow disappeared and couldn’t see her. When she saw them staring, she turned away, crying even harder in embarrassment. Dean put a hand to her shoulder.“Kiddo, I’m…” “Don’t touch me!” Evy said. “I’m going to the car.”Dean nodded, sick to his stomach. “Okay.” he whispered.

Evy ran away from him as fast as he could. The line he had just crossed made Dean sure that Sam would kick him out this time. The fear that Sam had told him about was all too clear now. But an apology wouldn’t fix it this time. Dean walked towards the car, and the less than five minute ride home was one of the longest of both their lives. Evy climbed out of the car and ran inside to her room, throwing herself on her bed and crying harder than the day at the bunker where Sam and Dean had told her she wouldn’t be going home. After standing outside the door pacing for five solid minutes, Dean tentatively knocked and opened it.“Kiddo, can I come…” Before Dean could finish what he was saying, a pillow came flying at his face.“GO AWAY!” Evy screamed.

Though Dean was sick with guilt, he did as she told him. He went to the kitchen and got a beer, but it did nothing to kill the guilt. He was on his third when he heard Sam’s car pull up. It was before six, two hours before Sam usually got home. Dean thought about leaving, but at that point, Sam would have just tracked him down. So Dean finished the beer he was on and waited for the inevitable fight.

Sam walked in the house completely oblivious to anything being wrong. The sun was going down, so he hoped that Evy was home. He hoped that Dean had apologized to her, and that they were on the way to getting along like they had before. When he walked in the house, the first thing he noticed was that no one was around. The lights were off in the living room. He heard a beer bottle clink in the kitchen and headed that way.“Hey, I’m home.” Sam said as he poked his head into the kitchen. When he saw only Dean, he asked, “Where’s Evy?”“She’s in her room.”The tone of Dean’s voice made Sam’s heart sink. “Dean what the hell did you do?”Dean told him the whole story, start to finish, and Sam had formed two fists by the time he was finished. Sam said nothing to Dean, just turned and went to Evy’s room. Though he could hear Evy still crying, he took several deep breaths at her door before knocking.“I said go away!” Evy yelled.“Baby, it’s daddy. Can I come in?” Sam said, his voice much gentler than when he’d talked to Dean.“Yeah.”Sam opened the door and found Evy lying down and looking heartbroken. He sat on the edge of her bed and asked, “Dean told me what happened. Are you okay?”“No.” Evy answered.“Did Dean hurt you?” Sam asked, his voice turning slightly harder.Evy shook her head and sat up. “No more than dad did when he spanked me.”“Talk to me then, baby. Why are you still crying?”“Because it’s embarrassing!” Evy said. “It’s hard enough for me to make friends. It’s gonna be impossible now!”“Oh, baby.” Sam said.“I thought you talked to him this morning.” Evy said as she wiped her eyes.“I thought I did too. Apparently Dean wasn’t listening.” Sam looked in the general direction of the kitchen and scowled. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Let’s get out of here. Just you and me.”“And go where?” Evy asked.“Anywhere you want.” Sam said. “What do you say?”“Do I have to talk to him first?” Evy asked.“Nope. Let me handle that. You go wait in the car for me.” Sam said.“What if he doesn’t listen to you this time either?” Evy asked fearfully.“He’ll listen to me or he’ll have to leave.” Sam said simply. “I swear to you Dean’s going to change after today. I’ll make sure of it.”Evy swallowed and nodded. “Okay.” she said.“Okay.” Sam said. “Do you need a hug?”

Evy answered by throwing herself into Sam’s arms. Sam loved the fact that she still fit in his lap. Even though she was upset, it felt right having her there; as if the universe was telling him she’s your responsibility. Treat her right. Evy climbed off the bed and went out to the car quickly. Sam went to the kitchen the second he heard the car door slam shut. Sam dropped the gentle father persona he’d put on for Evy and went to the kitchen to deal with Dean. Dean was still sitting at the table, staring at the far wall. Sam walked to the kitchen sink, where Sam was sure Dean could see him. Sam crossed his arms, not wanting to hit Dean. Yet.“Do I even need to say how bad you screwed up today?” Sam asked in a low, dangerous voice.“No.” Dean said. “How’s baby girl?”“How do you think she is, Dean!? She’s thirteen and you spanked her in front of her friends. She’s humiliated. And she’s terrified of you now.” Sam said.“I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry…” Dean started to say.“You know, it would have been one thing if she actually had gone against what you told her to do. That still doesn’t excuse what you did, but it would at least be a little more understandable. And I wasn’t crazy about her going either, but I gave her permission because you were being such a jerk to her lately. In return for letting her go, I convinced her to give you a second chance. I feel really, really stupid for that now.” Sam said. “Dean, we talked about this. What the hell were you thinking?”“I thought she was being defiant….”“’Being defiant?’” Sam asked. “You know who you sound like right now, right?”Dean flinched; he knew exactly who he sounded like.“Dean, we talked about this. Years ago. I’ve forgiven dad for pretty much everything he ever did to me and Evy. But I am not raising her the way dad did us. It wasn’t good for us, and it’s definitely not good for her.”Dean hadn’t done it in years, but he couldn’t help it. “Dad did the best he could…”“You know what she said to me when I asked her if you’d hurt her? She said ‘no more than dad did when he spanked me’. You did to her exactly what dad would have done if he’d been here. So you tell me, Dean. Was it worth it? Trying to mimic dad here? Because she adored you. Now she’s afraid of you. Think about that. Seven years of trust and you broke it by acting like dad.” Sam said.

Dean hadn’t meant what he’d said, but Sam was right. Dean had always known, deep down, that John was a terrible parent to Evy. He hadn’t done it deliberately, but Evy had never trusted him. Whereas John had raised Sam and Dean with a firm hand, Evy needed lots of patience, reassurance, and gentle guidance. She was a good kid, but didn’t feel like one when John would come down hard on her. As Evy had gotten older, John had come down on her less often. But that had been because she spent more time with Sam and Dean and Bobby, not because she was getting closer to John. All too often Dean had seen the crushed look on Evy’s face when John would say something insensitive to her, or punish her for no good reason. It was almost the same look she’d given him in the park, and it made him sick.“Where is she?” Dean asked.“I’m taking her out. I don’t know where, but somewhere. We’ll be gone for a while. If we come back tonight, you have two choices. Be ready with one hell of an apology, or have all your stuff in the house packed up and gone.”

Sam didn’t give Dean a chance to answer, just stormed out of the house and out to the car with Evy. Evy decided she wanted Mexican food, so they stopped at the only Mexican place in town and had a blast. The restaurant was offering a ‘sample the whole menu’ special, and that was exactly what they did. For three hours, they both tried various dishes, most of which were hits, some of which were misses. At various points, both of them found themselves wishing Dean were there. It was the kind of thing Dean and Evy would have loved to do together. When Sam paid the check and they were back in the car, he checked the clock. 9:15. Perfect. Not too late. he thought. Sam turned to Evy with a mischievious grin.“What are you doing?” She asked. “Why are you smiling like that?”“I have a surprise for you.” Sam said. “Do you trust me?”“Of course I do.” Evy said.“Good.” Sam looked around, and saw a scarf Evy had left in the backseat a couple weeks earlier. He picked it up and said, “Enough to let me blindfold you?”“WHAT?” Evy asked. “Why?”“Just trust me, okay? It’ll be worth it.” Sam assured her.Evy asked after thinking it over, “How long?”“Fifteen minutes.” Sam promised. “I promise, no longer than that.”“I guess.” Evy said.

Sam reached over and tied the scarf around Evy’s eyes. She told him it wasn’t too tight, and Sam started driving. Evy moved to the middle seat and kept a hand on his jacket; she didn’t like not being able to see him, so she wanted to at least feel him. She could tell they were headed out of town somewhere. When Sam finally parked the car, Evy reached over to take the scarf off, but Sam stopped her. “Not yet.”

Sam grabbed a blanket from the backseat. Evy giggled, completely unsure of what he was doing. He came back to the car a few seconds later, reached in, and grabbed Evy’s hand. He helped her out of the car and a few feet over to where he had placed the blanket. He held her hand as he sat down on the ground. He pulled Evy down gently. She smiled; she was sitting in his lap now.“Alright, I’m gonna take the blindfold off, but don’t open your eyes until I say. Okay?”“Okay, daddy.” Evy said.Sam took off the blindfold, wrapped his arms around her, and rested his chin on top of her head. “Open up.”“WOW!”

They were in the middle of a field outside of town. Sam had laid a blanket on the ground, and all Evy could see above them was stars. It was a cloudless night, so they shone against the black sky like fireflies. Sam smiled. He hadn’t seen her so excited over anything in a long time. They sat in silence for a couple minutes before Evy asked,“How did you find this place?”“Magicians don’t reveal their secrets.” Sam said simply. “Neither do daddies.”“Wow.” Evy whispered again.After a few more minutes of stargazing, Evy asked, “Daddy? Do you like your job?”Sam thought about it for a minute before answering. “Yeah. Yeah, I do like my job. Why do you ask?” “Just wondering.” Evy said.“Do you like your school?” Sam asked.“Yeah.” Evy had tried to hide it, but Sam had heard the crack in her voice.“Talk to me.” Sam said gently, tightening his grip on her just a little.“I’m sorry.” Evy said. “You’re trying to make me feel better and I’m ruining it.”“No.” Sam said firmly. “You haven’t ruined anything. Talk to me, baby. What’s going on?”Evy finally said, after a solid minute of crying in Sam’s arms, “Everything’s all different.”“What do you mean?” Sam asked as he wiped her face for her.“I miss you.” Evy explained. “I miss you at home with me. I thought it would be okay with uncle Dean there, but he’s a whole different person.”“I know.” Sam said. “I know he is, baby. And I know this probably won’t help much, but he’s sick over what happened at the park today.” “He scared me.” Evy said. “He’s never been that mean to me before.”“I know. I ripped into him good before we left the house. And things are gonna change, baby.” Sam said.“What do you mean?” Evy asked.“Well,” Sam said, shifting slightly, “Dean didn’t just hurt you today. He hurt me too. I thought I could trust him to take care of you, but apparently I can’t. So, if you want, a couple days a week I’ll give you bus fare so you can come to my office after school.”Evy narrowed her eyes, which Sam took to mean she wasn’t very happy with the thought. “You don’t have to.” Sam said. “But a lot of my job is sitting at a desk shuffling papers. I can’t promise we could be together the whole time, but it would help us spend some more time together.”“No, I like the idea.” Evy said. “Are you sure your boss will be okay with it?”“I asked her today. She said she was afraid it would be kind of boring for you, but if you wanted to come, you could.”“I can handle boring.” Evy said. “I’d kind of like to see what you do.”“Really?” Sam asked. “I didn’t know you were interested.”“Yeah.” Evy said. “You always like to know what’s going on at school. I’d like to see what you do at work.”“Sure, baby.” Sam said. He was touched she was that interested in his life. “I’d love to have you there.”“Are there any other changes?” Evy asked.“Yeah. I know you want to forgive Dean for what happened today.” Sam said.Evy looked up into his eyes. “Yeah. I do. How’d you know that?”Sam smiled. “Because I know you.” Evy grinned and looked back at the sky above them. “There’s nothing wrong with that, baby. In fact, I think it’s wonderful you’re so forgiving. And I’m not saying don’t forgive him. But you need to make him earn your trust back, just like he’s going to have to earn mine back.” Sam said.“How’s he gonna have to earn it back?” Evy asked.“If you want to do something with your friends, I want you to text me and ask me. If he says anything to hurt your feelings or yells at you when you didn’t do anything, you tell me. If he has a bad attitude with you, then you tell him again to quit being a jerk.” Sam said. “Whatever Dean’s problem is, he’s got no right taking it out on you.”“I can still talk to him, right?” Evy asked. “About school and stuff like that?”“Yeah. You can. But at least for now, anything you need permission for, you come to me. If he treats you like crap, you either tell me or you tell him to back off. Does that make sense?” Sam asked.“How long should we do that?” Evy asked.Sam hadn’t considered that question. Forever, he thought but didn’t say. “When you decide that you want to let him off the hook, talk to me. But give it at least a couple weeks.”“I will, daddy.” Evy promised. “I was planning to forgive him, but you’re right. I don’t really trust him not to do this anymore.”“And if he ever hits you again,” Sam said, grabbing Evy’s shoulder and turning her around to look him in the eye, “you hit him as hard as you can. In the face. Knock him down. I mean what I said about not spanking. It’s not good for you, and you deserve better than that.”Evy nodded. “Okay. Thanks, daddy.”“You’re welcome.” Sam said. He checked his watch. “You ready to go home?”“Do we have to?” Evy asked. “It’s not a school night and you don’t have to work tomorrow.” Sam laughed. “How do you know I don’t have to work tomorrow?”“I was guessing.” Evy said. “You mean I was right?”“Yeah, you were right.” Sam said.“So do we have to go?” Evy asked.“No.” Sam answered. “No, we don’t.”

Evy smiled and turned back around. The weather was getting steadily colder, so an hour after arriving, Sam told her they did have to leave. He promised they’d come back, and around midnight, they were pulling back into their driveway. Evy was telling Sam some more about school. They talked a couple more minutes before Sam saw Evy yawn.“You ready to go in?”Evy looked over to Dean’s car. “I guess.”“You don’t have to talk to him tonight. I’d actually rather you didn’t. You’re pretty tired.” Sam said.As she yawned, Evy said, “We’ll see.”

The two of them headed in together, Sam keeping an arm on her shoulder for support. They found Dean sitting in the living room, a box in front of him. He held a photograph in his hands that he was staring at intently. “Uncle Deanie?” Dean looked up and gave Evy something that she hadn’t seen since they’d moved-a smile. “Hey, kiddo.”“Are you okay?” Evy asked.“You don’t have to, kiddo. But would you come sit with me for a minute?” Dean asked.Evy looked up to Sam, who shrugged. “It’s up to you.”“Okay.” Evy said, approaching Dean slowly.Dean handed the photo to Evy. Evy was three years old in the photo. Dean was holding her upside down, tickling her stomach. Evy looked at the photo for a long moment before looking at Dean.“Do you remember that photo?” Dean asked.“A little.” Evy said. “I know you and Dad had just gotten back from a hunt.”“Yeah. We had.” Dean said. “But there’s more to it.”“What do you mean?” Evy asked.“Dad and I had just gotten back from a hunt. It was late at night and you were supposed to be asleep. The hunt had been…bad.” Dean explained. He looked to Sam, who was standing against the living room wall, listening. “Anyway, when we got back, Dad saw that you were still up. He was irritated and he grabbed you and spanked you for not being in bed yet.”Evy looked down at the photo again. She had a vague memory of John being unhappy that night, but the stronger memory was in the photo. “I don’t remember that.”“I do.” Dean said. “As soon as dad let you go, you were crying and sniffling. He felt bad about it, but when he tried to pick you up, you wouldn’t go to him. You told him after you calmed down that you were waiting for us because it was his birthday and you wanted to surprise him with…”“The best birthday hug ever.” Evy completed.“Yeah.” Dean said. “Kiddo, I couldn’t take that look on your face when dad let you go. You were just so hurt and scared. I had to do something to make you feel better.”“Is that why you did the rocket?” Evy asked with a smile.“Yeah.” Dean said, the memory quickly crossing his mind of lifting her through the air gently and ‘landing’ her upside down. Dean took a breath and said, “Listen, baby girl. I was being so cranky with you because I was disappointed in myself, not you. I’ve always taken care of you and Sammy and I feel like I’m not doing it now. You deserve so much and I can’t give it to you.”Evy said something that stopped Dean in his tracks. “I’m proud of you. I don’t care about what you can give me. I want you.”Dean swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat, and continued his apology. “Baby girl, I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you like that. Or embarrass you like that in front of your friends. I hope you’ll forgive me.” “We’re having a long talk about all that tomorrow, Dean.” Sam said. “Evy can forgive you right now if she wants, but you’ve got some work to do to get her trust back. And mine.”“That’s fair.” Dean said. He turned to Evy and said, “Baby girl, I’m not asking you to trust me right now. I don’t deserve it. I just hope you don’t hate me.”

Evy jumped into Dean’s arms. A relieved Dean hugged her back, grateful that she wasn’t holding any kind of a grudge. Evy spoke as she held onto him, refusing to let him go until he got her message loud and clear.“You know what I remember about that night?” Evy asked.“What, kiddo?”“I remember waiting on you and Dad to get back. And feeling like you loved me no matter what.” Evy said. “That’s all I remember.”Dean felt a tear slip down his cheek, which he normally would have wiped away but left alone. “I still love you, kiddo. Always.”“I love you too.” Evy said.Sam watched them for a moment, then announced, “Bedtime, baby. It’s almost one am.”“Okay.” Evy said. “Good night, uncle Deanie.”“Good night, kiddo.”Evy hugged and kissed him one more time, then turned to Sam for his turn. “Good night, daddy. Love you.”“I love you too.” Sam said. “Love you too, baby.” When Evy had closed her bedroom door, Dean looked to Sam. “So do I need to go?”Sam took a hard look at Dean. “This cannot happen again, Dean. Ever.”“I know. It won’t.” Dean vowed. “I’m sorry, Sam.”Sam nodded. “Okay. I’m giving you another chance, Dean. Don’t screw it up.”

Sam turned and headed to his own bedroom. He changed into pajamas and walked back to Evy’s room to check on her. She was fast asleep, Beanie cuddled next to her, reminding Sam more of the tiny three-year-old in Dean’s photo than the thirteen year old teenager she actually was. Sam checked to make sure she wrapped up, then leaned over and kissed her cheek.“Good night, baby. Daddy loves you.”As soon as Sam left the room, Dean came in. “I love you too, kiddo. Sleep tight.”
Next Chapter: Evy and Jordan grow closer.

A/N: I know that the last couple of chapters have been about Dean and Sam coming down too hard on Evy unfairly, but I am planning on writing some chapters about Evy getting into legitimate teenage trouble. It’ll be a while before I get there, mostly because of the trip I’m about to take, but it is coming.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was seven in the morning, and Sam had to leave quickly. He had to be at work in an hour, and Evy had to be at school in forty-five minutes. He was ready, but Evy had not come out of her room yet, which was unusual. Worried, Sam knocked at the door. He heard Evy say something, but couldn't make it out. She sounded quiet, so Sam opened the door and looked inside. "Hey, baby. You okay?" Sam asked. Evy, who was still in bed with her blankets above her head, pulled the blankets down and looked at Sam. "I don't feel so good, daddy." Sam sat next to her on the bed and felt her forehead. "Are you sick?" Evy nodded. "Yeah, you've got a fever." Sam said. "What hurts?" "My throat and my head." Evy answered, barely above a whisper. "Okay. I'll be back in a minute." Sam said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. He left the room and came back less than five minutes later. "Alright, baby, looks like it's you and me today." "You don't have to work?" Evy asked. "Nope. Took a sick day." Sam said. "You need me more than work does." Evy smiled. "Thanks, daddy." "You don't have to thank me for that, baby." Sam said. "But you're welcome. Why don't you come in the living room? I'll make you some soup and we'll watch a movie." "Okay." Evy said. Sam moved her into the living room, where she propped herself up on the couch and was lying down in the middle of Finding Nemo when Sam finished her soup. He hated doing it, but Sam left her alone for thirty minutes while he went out to pick up supplies-a thermometer, Nyquil, and some more canned soup. When he came back, Evy was sleeping on the couch, the menu from Finding Nemo playing on a loop. Sam had meant to give her the Nyquil before she went to sleep, but decided it was better to let her sleep now and give her the medicine later. He took the bag to the kitchen, laid it on the table, turned off the television, and placed a hand on her forehead. The fever was still there, but it seemed to be no higher than that morning. "Sleep, baby. Daddy's right here." he said as he pulled her blanket a little tighter around her. Sam sat at the end of the couch, gently lifting Evy's feet and placing them on his lap. He turned the TV back on very low, passively watching it as Evy slept for the next forty-five minutes. Sam got an idea and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Dean, who had found a part time job as a mechanic on the other side of town, had left for work before either Sam or Evy had even gotten up that morning. Sam turned off the sound on his phone and quickly typed a message to Dean. Evy's sick. High fever, sore throat, headache, coughing. We're both at home. She may not eat it, but could you bring home some pie from that place you two go on Friday nights? She could use a little TLC from you too. Less than a minute later, Dean responded. You got it. Tell baby girl feel better and I'll be home soon. Sam smiled. Evy and Dean's relationship had been tested the first few months they'd lived in the house. Dean, frustrated at his inability to find a job, had become mean, distant, and cranky towards Evy. Tensions had finally exploded one day when Dean had believed Evy to be disobeying him. He'd found her in the park with friends instead of home like he believed she was supposed to be. Fueled by his frustration and the belief she was defying him, Dean had spanked Evy in front of her friends and embarrassed her so much that she'd refused to have anything to do with him until late that night. After setting Dean straight for Evy, Sam had made it clear that another slip up like that would mean Dean leaving the house. Dean had apologized, and worked hard towards regaining their trust in him. That had been three months earlier, and Sam couldn't even tell that the relationship between the two of them had ever been less than perfect. Evy had worried that word of what had happened at the park would spread around school. But the next day, she'd received a text from her new friend Jordan checking on her. He'd assured her that he "didn't see anything and no one else did either". Evy had never heard about it at school, so it appeared that Jordan, Barbara, and Katie had kept it all to themselves. The four of them were now inseparable, spending as much time as possible together outside of school. Evy woke up coughing, hard enough that she was starting to gag. Sam jumped from the end of the couch, pulling her close to him so he could rub her back as she coughed. Once she'd calmed down, Sam asked, "Do you want to eat or go back to sleep?" Evy only groaned in response. "I know you feel bad, baby. But you have to take this medicine. It'll make you really sleepy, so do you want to eat first or take it and go right back to sleep?" Sam asked. Evy thought for a minute. "I'm not hungry." "How about I heat you up a little more soup?" Sam asked. "You don't have to eat all of it." "Okay, daddy." After eating, Sam took the bowl from her. "What do you want to take this with?" "Milk." "You got it." Sam poured her a glass of milk and brought it out. Evy forced the cup of medicine down her throat, followed quickly by the milk. The milk did not completely kill the taste of the medicine, but she was so sick she didn't care. Sam took the medicine and the cup of milk to the kitchen. When he came back, Evy was sitting up on the couch. "You should be resting." Sam said gently. "I've been resting all day." Evy whined slightly. "And you need to rest some more." Sam said, getting on the couch beside her. "Do you want to go back to bed?" Evy shook her head. "No." Sam smiled. He knew what she wanted and felt too old to ask for. "Lay down." he said. Evy smiled and did what he said. She laid down and placed her head in his lap, immediately relaxing as Sam started scratching her back with one hand and stroking her hair with the other. Almost thirty seconds passed between them in complete silence, before Evy opened her eyes and stared at Sam as if expecting something else. "What is it?" Sam asked. "You know what I want." Evy said, and a small cough came out as she finished what she was saying. Sam laughed. "Really?" "Please?" Evy asked. "Okay." Sam said. "Close your eyes, baby." Evy settled back down, and Sam resumed scratching her back and stroking her hair. "Don't you feel it growing, day by day..." Evy smiled and before Sam even finished the song, she was sleeping in long, deep, drawn out breaths. Sam grabbed a pillow and placed it carefully under her head. Evy stirred a little on the couch but didn't wake up. Sam felt her forehead and was relieved to see that her fever was going down, though he knew it could easily come back up when the medicine wore off. Sam kissed her forehead and went off into the kitchen. Just as he started to wonder what he would do while Evy slept, a text from Dean answered the question for him. Don't be mad. Dean said. Dean what the hell did you do? Sam asked. I swear I went to go get the pie. But...? Sam asked. I got this instead. The picture Dean sent him made Sam's mouth drop open. It was a kitten, no bigger than the size of Dean's hand. It was solid black, with big black eyes. Dean what the hell? Sam texted again. I know I should have asked you first. Please let me give it to her. Dean I have no problem with Evy having a pet. She's more than responsible. I just can't believe YOU got it for her. What happened to the no animal rule? I'll explain when I get there. Sam shook his head, amused. He couldn't shake how bizarre the whole thing felt to him. The kitten was adorable, and Sam thought it would be good for Evy to have a pet. But Dean getting it for her? What was that about? Sam picked up the house a little, before Dean walked in, carrying the kitten in one hand and a grocery bag in the other. "Dean, what...?" "Uncle Deanie?" Evy asked, stirring at the sound of Dean walking in the door. Dean set the bag down and handed the kitten to Sam. "Hey, kiddo. Your dad told me you didn't feel good." "Yeah." "I have a surprise for you." Dean said, reaching over to take the cat from Sam. When Evy took the kitten, her eyes lit up. "Who is this?" "He's yours." Dean said. "Really?" Evy asked. "What about the no animal rule?" "You can name him whatever you want. But I got him because he reminded me of..." Dean started. "Squish." Evy finished for him. "That's his name." As Evy hugged and cuddled the kitten, Sam clapped Dean on the shoulder. "You did good." he said simply. Squish bonded with Evy right away, and spent the rest of the night cuddled up with her. When Evy coughed, Squish nuzzled her cheek, and wouldn't leave her alone until he got his belly scratched. Squish also bonded with Sam, who let Squish play with and bat his hair when Evy was asleep. When he thought the rest of the family wasn't looking, Dean was even guilty of sneaking Squish a cat treat. Evy spent three days at home sick, and heard Dean on the last day as he said, "Maybe you're not so bad, you little fur ball." Evy walked into the kitchen and wrapped an arm around Dean's neck. "You're the best, uncle Deanie. Love you." "Love you too, baby girl."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Evy laughed, handing Jordan back his algebra assignment. "Very good. Much, much better." "I have a good teacher." Jordan replied. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Evy said, blushing slightly. Sam watched them from the kitchen sink, where he was cleaning and pretending not to watch them. Though Jordan seemed to be a good kid, Sam wasn't sure how he felt about their budding friendship. Evy insisted that they weren't dating, which Sam didn't entirely believe. He didn't think Evy was deliberately lying to his face, but he believed it possible she felt a little more about Jordan than just friendship. She was fourteen, and didn't entirely understand why it was a bad idea to be alone with a boy. Sam allowed Evy and Jordan a few more minutes together, before breaking them up with a gentle reminder that it was time for Jordan to go home. "Aww, daddy, can't he stay a little longer?" "Not tonight. You've got to start getting ready for school. Say goodnight." Sam answered. "It's okay, Ev." Jordan said. "Thanks for the help. I'll see you tomorrow." "Okay. I'll walk you out." Evy said. Sam wanted to tell her to come back, to help him put the dishes away, to go take her shower and get ready for bed. But he held his tongue, and allowed Evy to walk Jordan out. They stayed on the porch a few minutes, before Evy came back inside and gathered her school stuff up from the table. She was smiling, and Sam hated to have the talk with her that he was about to have. He didn't want to discourage her from having friends, but he couldn't see a way around this conversation. "Sit down, baby. I need to talk to you." "Okay." Evy said warily. "What's going on?" "It's about Jordan." Sam said. "What about him?" Evy asked. "Well," Sam said, trying to come across as concerned rather than authoritative, "you and Jordan have been spending a lot of time together lately." Evy didn't respond at first. She wasn't sure how to. "Yeah…" "And I know you told me you two weren't dating…" Evy, exasperated, let out a sigh. "Please, daddy, not this again…." "Just please. Please listen to me. Okay?" Evy reluctantly nodded, and Sam continued. "I know you told me you two weren't dating. And I do believe you. But like I said the last time we talked about this, I don't want you dating until you're sixteen." "I know that." Evy protested. "I know you do. But that's the reason I'm setting a new rule." Sam said. "You can't be alone with Jordan." "What? I'm never alone with Jordan anyway." Evy said. "I know. But I don't want you to be alone with him. If you two go out somewhere, I want you to have at least one other person with you." Sam said. "I don't get it." Evy said. "Am I in trouble for something?" "No, baby. You're not in trouble." Sam said. "But you're still telling me I can't see Jordan…" Evy asked. "No. I didn't say you couldn't see him." Sam said. "I said you can't be alone with him. Got it?" "No. Not really." Evy said. "What happens if you and uncle Dean are working and we need to study?" Sam wanted so badly to say you can't do it, it'll have to wait, but he didn't. "You can text me or call me and go to the library." "Okay. Fine." Evy said. Sam frowned. "Don't 'fine' me. Talk to me." "I just don't get it." Evy said. "You're making a rule for something I don't do anyway. It feels like you don't trust me." "Baby, I do trust you. And I know this doesn't seem fair. But I swear it's meant to protect you." Sam said. Evy's frown only deepened. "Protect me from what?" "We've had this talk…" Sam said. "Yeah. We have. And it's hard enough for me being a teenage girl and having everyone at school assume I'm gonna have sex whether I'm planning to or not. Now you think the same thing." Evy started grabbing her books off the table and angrily shoving them in her backpack. Sam was stunned. Hehadn't been thinking the same thing; not even close. The truth was, he liked Jordan, but he was a teenage boy. If he was half as much like Dean had been as a teenager, Evy needed to be protected. But what if he was just jumping to conclusions? Was he being unfair, as Evy accused him of being? Sam ran a hand through his hair, thinking to himself how much he missed the sweet, eager-to-please, tiny little girl she used to be at the moment. Though Evy had not started into full swing teenage rebellion yet, and Sam prayed that she never would, she seemed to Sam to be even more sensitive these days than normal. Just as Sam was about to go check on her, Dean came in. "What happened?" Dean asked. "Baby girl looks like she swallowed a whole gallon of sour milk." Sam laughed humorlessly. "I think we had our first real fight." "About what?" Dean asked. "Baby girl doesn't exactly rattle easy." "No, she doesn't." Sam said. "I told her not to be alone with Jordan." "Good." Dean said. "You were right." "Really?" Sam asked. "You don't think I jumped the gun?" "Not letting a fourteen-year-old girl be alone with a fourteen-year-old boy? No way." Dean said. "Why are you doubting yourself?" "She says I'm being too hard on her for no reason." Sam said. "That I don't trust her." "You're really not, Sam." Dean said, trying to comfort him. "You're not being dad here. You do have a good reason for it." "Yeah. I guess." Sam said. He looked towards the refrigerator, reconsidering what he was going to make for dinner. "Will you order a pizza? I'm gonna go talk to her." "Sure. Don't cave." Dean unhelpfully reminded him. Sam walked down the hall to Evy's room. He stood outside the door for a minute, wondering what exactly to say to her. He suddenly felt very, very tired and ill-equipped to deal with a teenage girl. When Evy had been a teenager the first time, these issues had never really come up, at least with him. She'd spent ninety-nine percent of her time with him and Dean, so she hadn't really had time to meet many guys until she went to Princeton. She'd eventually disclosed years later that she had had sex for the first time at fifteen, during one of the few times that she hadn't lived with them. Sam didn't want to admit it out loud, but that was one of the main reasons for making the rule about being alone with Jordan. He couldn't tell Evy that, so he had to hold his ground no matter how hard she made it for him. Sam finally knocked at her bedroom door and waited. "Come in." When Sam walked in, Evy was standing at the foot of her bed, folding her laundry. She had a day's worth of clothes set aside, most likely for school the next day. She didn't look at Sam, just continued folding her clothes with a sense of determination. Sam sat on the edge of her bed and waited before talking. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." he said by way of explanation. "Well, you did." Evy said as she turned to put some socks in her drawer. "What did you mean when you said everyone expects you to plan to have sex?" Sam said. "It's been a while since I was a teenager. Explain it to me." Evy sighed and stopped what she was doing. "There's an expectation that teenagers want to have sex. And the more you say you don't the less anyone believes you. It's frustrating." "I'm sure it is." Sam said. "And there's already…" Evy started, then stopped suddenly. "Already what?" Sam asked. Reluctantly, Evy told him the truth. "There's already a rumor going around at school that Jordan and I are sleeping together." "Excuse me?" Sam asked, having to restrain himself from shouting. "Why wouldn't you tell me that?" "Because I was afraid you'd react the way you're reacting now." Evy said. "And I was afraid that you'd tell me I couldn't see Jordan anymore because you'd think it was true." Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath before responding. "I wouldn't have thought it was true. I just don't like anyone talking about you like that." "It's not exactly fun for me either." Evy said, looking down towards the floor. "Do you get bullied because of it?" Sam asked. "Not really." Evy said. "Some whispering and stuff behind my back, but no one's said anything to my face or done anything bad to me." "Okay." Sam said, deciding to drop that part of the matter, at least for now. "And as for Jordan, I wouldn't have stopped you from seeing him." "He's the best friend I've had since Lily." Evy said. "I know." Sam said. "I understand that. And I do trust you. But I need you to trust me here. Okay? For now, at least, don't be alone with Jordan." Evy nodded. "Okay, daddy. I promise." "Thank you." Sam said. "I mean that. Thank you for trusting me. And I'm sorry I hurt your feelings earlier." "It's okay. I know you didn't mean it." Evy said. She walked over and gave him a hug. "Love you, daddy." "Love you too, baby." Sam said. "Dean ordered pizza. You want some?" "Of course." Evy said, eliciting a chuckle from Sam. "Let's go." The next day was Friday, and as Sam left a meeting at work, he got a text that he didn't check right away. He somehow knew it was Evy. He put his things down on his desk, organized what he had to do and quickly checked his phone. Can I go to the movies tonight? What movie, who with, and what times? Sam asked. Toy Story 5, 6:30 movie and dinner after, with Jordan, Barbara, Katie and Jill I guess Have fun. Be home by 11 Sam answered. You're the best daddy! Thank you! xoxoxoxo Love you Love you more baby Sam put the phone away and got back to work. He was leaving work early that day, so he was a little disappointed Evy wouldn't be home, but he was happy she was doing something other than staying home all the time. Evy was leaving just as he pulled into the driveway. She gave him a quick hug and kiss and headed out. He walked inside to find a very annoyed Dean sitting on the couch. "Hey, dude. You okay?" he asked. "I thought you told baby girl she couldn't hang out with that kid anymore." Dean said. "She's on her way to the movies with him." "No, Dean." Sam said as he hung his jacket on the hook beside the door. "I told her I didn't want her to be alone with Jordan. And she's not. There's three other kids going with them." "I don't trust that kid." Dean said. "No teenage boy just wants to be friends with a teenage girl." Sam sighed; he was starting to see what Evy was talking about when she said everyone jumped to conclusions. "Dean, he's not you. And Evy's smart and more than capable of taking care of herself. She's had a hard time making good friends since we moved. Don't give her a hard time about this." Dean shook his head. "I still have a bad feeling about this." "So do I." Sam said. "Evy's so trusting and so forgiving I'm terrified that something's gonna happen to her. But she told me last night, and she has a point, that assuming something's gonna happen isn't fair. She hasn't given us any reason to assume the worst. We have to wait until she gives us a reason not to trust her before not letting them hang out." Dean was not to be swayed. "Did she tell you where they were going to dinner?" "No. She'll text me when they get out of the movie to tell me. Why?" "Just curious." Dean said, though he didn't look at Sam when he said it. "Dean…?" "I was going to follow them." Dean admitted. Sam hated himself for it, but he surprised Dean when he said, "Okay." "Okay what?" Dean asked. "I'll tell you where they're going to dinner." Sam said. "But, if they're not doing anything and you get caught, you take the fall when she gets pissed at you." "Deal." Dean agreed. Three hours later, Dean pulled up to the restaurant Evy had told Sam they were visiting. He had decided to take Sam's car instead of the Impala. It made it easier to hide. He'd started to regret this on the drive to the restaurant. Evy was a good kid, and she really hadn't given them any reason not to trust her. And as calm as she was, if she got angry, her temper could be explosive. But he was already here, and he decided to follow through. The place was packed, so at first he didn't see them. When he did spot Evy, he bit his tongue to keep from cursing loudly. Evy was in the corner booth of the restaurant, Jordan seated across from her. Their friends were in a booth just opposite them. Evy was nodding at something Jordan was saying, holding his hand and listening carefully. Dean restrained himself from getting out of the car and going inside to drag her out. Instead he pulled out phone and typed a message to her. I'm outside in your dad's car. You've got five minutes to get out here. Say goodnight to your friends. When Dean hit send, he looked back inside. Evy checked her phone and looked outside. When she spotted him in the car, she frowned. She showed Jordan the message, stood up and put her phone in her pocket. She patted Jordan's shoulder, and he stood up and gave her a hug. Evy said goodnight to her other friends and started stalking towards the car. "What are you doing here? Daddy said I didn't have to be home until eleven." Evy asked. "Don't argue with me, little girl." Dean said. "You know why you're in trouble." "No, actually, I don't. And don't call me 'little girl'." Evy said. "I didn't like it when dad did it, I don't like it when you do it." "Right now what you want is the least of my concerns." Dean said. "You told your dad you and Jordan weren't dating." "We're not!" Evy said. "That's what this is about?" "Yes. That's what this is about. If you're not dating, then why were you two sitting by yourself? Holding hands and hugging?" "I'm not allowed to hug my friend?" Evy asked. "And we were sitting alone, for less than five minutes I might add, because he wanted to talk to me about something and he didn't want the others to hear." "What did he want to talk to you about?" Dean asked. "I'm not telling you!" Evy said. "Why should I?" "Because you're in enough trouble as it is. And if you won't tell me you can tell your dad." Dean said, starting up the car. Evy didn't respond, just crossed her arms against her chest and slumped back angrily in the seat. She should have known better than to think that either of them, especially Dean, would listen to her. She'd be grounded now for sure. But no matter what, she would not tell them what she and Jordan had been talking about. Back at the house, Sam was waiting nervously for some kind of report from Dean. He felt bad for allowing Dean to follow Evy, and he prayed that Dean had enough sense not to get himself caught by Evy. Before he could text Dean and ask him how things were going, his car pulled back into the driveway. He saw Evy get out and stomp towards the house, throwing open the front door, immediately followed by an angry Dean. "Did you know he was following me?" Evy asked. "What happened?" Sam asked. "Sit down." Dean commanded Evy. She obeyed, although reluctantly. He turned to Sam and told him "I caught her and Jordan alone." "We were not alone!" Evy shouted. Sam held up both hands to stop their squabbling. If he didn't, they'd fight all night. "Enough. I want both stories. Dean, what did you see?" "Why does he get to go first?" Evy asked. "Because I sent him after you. To make sure you were following the rules." Sam said. "Let him talk. I'll hear your side next." "I knew you didn't trust me." Evy said. Sam was losing his patience. "Stow the attitude or you're grounded just for that." When Evy turned away from both of them, Sam asked Dean again. "What did you see?" "She and Jordan had their own booth. They were talking and holding hands. I texted her to come out, and she got up and gave him a hug." Dean said. "Okay." Sam said. "Now what's your story?" "What happened" Evy said, with a pointed look at Dean, "is that when we got to the restaurant, Jordan was upset about something. He asked me if we could talk alone. I said I couldn't, and I told him about the rule you set. So we sat at the next booth over and we talked." "About what?" Sam asked. "I promised him I wouldn't say." Evy said. "Holding hands and hugging?" Sam asked. "He was upset, so yes, I held his hand. And I gave him a hug when I left and told him everything would be okay." Evy said. "Nothing else happened." "You're not supposed to be alone with him." Sam pointed out. "We weren't!" Evy said. "What exactly do you think was going to happen in a restaurant full of people?" "Sitting alone is being alone. Whether there's other people around or not." Sam said. "Because of that, when you two study, it has to be here with either me or Dean home." Evy's mouth hung open. "That's not fair! You guys are never home when we need to study." "Then Jordan finds another tutor." Sam said simply. "Or you two come to my office. Unless you give me a good enough reason not to do this." "What does that mean?" Evy asked. "It means you tell me what Jordan needed to talk to you about. If it was a good enough reason for you to break my rule, I'll consider changing my mind." Sam said. "I'm not breaking my promise to him." Evy said. "I told him I wouldn't tell anyone." "Is he in trouble?" Sam asked. "No." Evy said. "If he was in trouble or in danger, I'd tell you. Or his parents." "Fine. Then you can see him here and in class. That's it." Sam said. "And you're grounded for a week for breaking the rule in the first place." "So because I'm being a friend and not breaking his trust in me you're grounding me?" Evy asked. "You broke my trust in you." Sam said evenly. "That's what you need to be more worried about right now. I trusted you to follow this rule, even if you didn't entirely understand it. We can always talk when you disagree with me, but you are not allowed to just disregard my rules whenever you feel like it. Do you understand me?" "Yes." Evy answered through gritted teeth. "And if you keep fighting me on this, I'll add another week. Is that what you want?" Sam asked. "No." "Fine. Go to your room." Sam said. Evy bit back the Don't 'fine' me comment that came to her mind. She still felt she'd done nothing wrong, and both Sam and Dean were being completely unfair. She'd done nothing to deserve their distrust, and she wasn't going to tell them what Jordan had said to her unless he gave her permission. So she stomped down to her room and slammed the door. Sam flinched, and sat on the couch rubbing his head to try and fend off a coming headache. "Are you okay?" Dean asked. Sam laughed. "No." "I miss the old her sometimes." Dean said. "The sweet kid she used to be." Sam looked up, surprised. "The hunter?" "Yeah." Dean said. "Dean, are you saying you'd rather have her back?" Sam asked. Dean shrugged his shoulders, as if to say Yeah, why not? "That's a terrible thing to say." Sam said. "Yeah, she was pretty great, but she was also in pain every day of her life. First it was from dad ignoring her. Then it was from Jess dying, me dying, you dying, Lillith's attack, me going to hell, Bobby dying, Jack cheating on her. The poor kid never caught a break. If she heard you say that, she'd wail on you." "So you prefer this?" Dean asked, pointing down the hall towards Evy's room. "Moody teenager?" "Yeah, actually. I do. She's not too happy with me right now, but most of the time, she's a happy kid. If I had to do it all over again, I'd make sure she stayed lost when she went in the hospital and waited for her to land at the bunker." Sam said. Dean sighed. "Yeah. You're right." he said. "I'm going to bed. Good luck." "Thanks." It was approaching nine o'clock, an hour before Evy's normal bedtime. Half an hour, Sam reminded himself. When she was grounded, she was required to be in bed half an hour early. Sam headed down to her room and knocked lightly on the door. When he didn't hear an answer, he knocked again. "One second!" Evy said. She still had the bad attitude Sam had warned her about earlier, but he chose to let it go. The door opened and Evy went straight back to her bed. She refused to look Sam in the eye. Sam wondered if he should add a week to her grounding, just for the attitude alone. He decided against it. That was a classic John Winchester move-add on to the punishment for any sign that you disagreed with it or were angry. It had driven Sam away from John and he didn't want it to drive Evy away from him. Sam leaned against the wall next to the door. "I don't want to fight with you." "If you'd trust me, we wouldn't have to." Evy answered. "I want to." Sam said. "But you haven't exactly given me a reason to." Evy finally turned to Sam, angry tears burning in her eyes. "I didn't do anything wrong. We weren't alone. Barbara, Katie, and Jill were in the next booth over. And the restaurant was full of people. Nothing happened." "But it could've." Sam said. "What would've happened if you guys had left the restaurant? If your friends had assumed you two wanted time alone and left?" "That wouldn't have happened." Evy argued. "Jordan just wanted to tell me something that he didn't want anyone else to hear. He was going to tell me, then talk to me more about it later. We were in the booth together less than three minutes when I got that text from uncle Dean." "That's another thing I don't understand." Sam said. "You keep saying he had something to tell you. That he's not in trouble or in danger. So why can't you tell me? You usually tell me everything." "Yeah, I do. About me. This isn't about me, it's about Jordan. It's Jordan's life, not mine. He asked me not to tell anybody until he was ready, so I'm not going to." Evy insisted. "If I told you a secret and asked you not to tell anyone, would you do it?" "Of course not." Sam said. "Why wouldn't you?" Evy asked. "Because I'd want you to trust me." Sam said. "Sweetie, it's not going to get out. I won't tell anyone else." "No!" Evy protested again. "I'm not going to tell you!" "Then I'm sorry. You're grounded." Sam said. "I need to know what was so important that you decided to break your word to me. If you won't tell me, then you have to go through the punishment for it." "Got it." Evy said. "Okay." Sam said, standing up to leave the room. "Did you eat while you were out? Are you hungry?" "I'm fine." Evy said. "All right. I love you." Sam said, brushing a piece of hair from her face. Evy waited a long moment before answering, but she finally said, "Love you too." At least she's not mad enough not to say it back, Sam thought, and dreaded the day she ever would be. He walked out and into the living room, where Squish was sitting on the back of the couch staring at him. "You mad at me too?" Sam asked as he approached Squish. As if he understood perfectly what Sam was saying, Squish jumped off the back of the couch and scrambled down the hall towards Evy's room. Sam heard Evy's bedroom door open again, letting Squish inside. Sam sighed; it was going to be a long week. Around eleven, Sam knocked gently at the door. When Evy didn't answer, Sam opened the door slowly. Evy was sleeping, with Squish curled up on top of the blanket. Sam adjusted her blankets a bit before leaning down and kissing her cheek. "Good night, baby. Daddy really does love you." The next day, Evy barely spoke to either Sam or Dean, staying in her room as instructed. Sam brought her meals, which she took silently, returning to her homework without a word. Towards the end of the night, there was a knock on the door. Sam got up to answer it, to find Jordan standing there. "Sorry, Jordan. Evy can't see you. She's grounded right now." Sam explained. "Actually, I came to talk to you. Can I come in?" Jordan asked. Sam was surprised, but agreed. "Sure." Jordan stepped inside and went to the living room, followed by Sam, who called in Dean from the kitchen. Dean stood at the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, defensive and ready to throw Jordan out. Sam waited for Jordan to begin. Jordan shifted a little, intimidated by the both of them. "I, um, I wanted to talk to you guys about what happened last night." "I know what happened last night." Dean said. "I was watching from the car." "All due respect, you really don't know what happened last night." Jordan said. "Dean, calm down." Sam said. "Jordan, go on." "Well, the reason I was talking to Evy alone last night was because…" Jordan stopped and took a breath; this was proving harder than he thought it would. "I came out to her last night." Sam and Dean sat in shocked silence for nearly thirty seconds before Sam said, "What do you mean?" "I'm gay." Jordan said. "I've been thinking about telling my parents, but I was worried. No one else knows. I told Evy first. I asked her not to tell anyone until I started telling people myself." Sam and Dean looked at each other, guilt etched clearly on their faces. "Look, Evy emailed me last night before she went to sleep. I think you need to read it." Jordan took his phone out, pulled up the email, and handed his phone to Sam. I'm sorry about what happened at the restaurant tonight. My dad and my uncle don't want me to be alone with guys, and they kind of freaked when they saw me sitting at that booth alone with you. What you told me is going to stay between us. No matter what. If and when you want it to come out, it's on you. But there is something you should know. They told me I can't see you unless we're here and someone can watch us, or I tell them what you told me tonight. I like you too much as a friend and I don't want to lose you. I'm grounded right now, which means I'm not going anywhere other than school or home. But when, or if, that eventually get lifted, we'll talk more. I promise. See you at school Monday. Everything'll be okay. Swear. Sam handed Jordan back the phone. "Jordan, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you had to tell us this." "Evy didn't want me to. But she loves you both. I didn't want her to risk her relationship with you over this." Jordan explained. "You're a good friend." Sam said. "If you want to see her after I apologize to her in a minute, you can." "I'll see her at school on Monday." Jordan said. "Okay. You have a good weekend Jordan." Sam said. "Thanks. You too." Jordan said, getting up to leave. "And Jordan?" Sam asked. Jordan turned back towards Sam. "I get it. Feeling like you can't talk to your parents. If you ever do need to talk to an adult about something, you can find me. It'll stay between us." "Thanks." Jordan said, genuinely touched. "That means a lot." "Sure." Jordan left, and Sam and Dean took a long, meaningful look at each other. They'd screwed up and they both knew it. Without a word, they walked down to Evy's room, and Sam knocked on the door. Evy answered the door, Squish under her feet. "Can we come in?" Sam asked. "Yeah. Sure." Evy said. She stepped away from the door and back onto the bed. Squish crawled into her lap and curled up. Evy absentmindedly ran a hand through his fur, waiting for Sam or Dean to start talking. "Jordan came to see us. He told us his secret." Sam said. "He shouldn't have had to do that." Evy said bitterly. "He's already worried about telling his parents. You two made him choose between keeping me as a friend and telling you something that he didn't even want to tell his own parents." "You're right." Sam said. "Kiddo, we're sorry." Dean said. "We should've listened to you." "You know," Evy said, looking up at both of them, "you two get this idea in your head every few months that I'm just going to start rebelling against every rule you've set for me. I'm not planning to do that. I've never felt the need to, because I've always felt like I can talk to both of you. But if you want me to start doing whatever I want, whenever I want…" "No. We get the point." Dean said. "We really are sorry, kiddo." "Yeah. We are." Sam said. "And you're not grounded anymore." "And seeing Jordan?" Evy asked. "Same rules as before." Sam said. "You can have friends over until seven. If you go out, you have to tell me where you're going, who you're with, and what time you'll be home." Evy nodded, and looked down to Squish. "What do you think, buddy?" Squish meowed loudly, jumped off Evy's lap, and went to Sam, nuzzling up against Sam's leg. "I guess that means I forgive you too." Sam picked up Squish and brought him back over to the bed. "Can I hug her? Is that okay with you?" Squish batted Sam's hand with one paw. "Okay, you can have one too." Though it was slightly awkward, Sam put one arm around Evy's neck and scratched Squish's with his other hand. Dean joined into a group hug, which ended up with Squish trying to get everyone to scratch his belly. "I love you, baby." Sam said as they left her room to go make dinner. "I'm sorry." "I love you too, daddy." Evy said. "It's okay." "What do you want for dinner?" Sam asked. "Your choice." "Anything?" Evy asked with a smirk. "Anything but cookies, cakes, or ice cream." Sam said. "Pie."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Evy nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Squish's crying from the other end of the house. She left the couch quickly, where she was reading a book for school, and tore open her bedroom door to check on Squish. She found him sleeping on the bed. When the door opened, Squish woke up reluctantly, letting out a soft, annnoyed meow at his disrupted rest. Evy walked over and picked him up gently. "You okay, buddy? What was that noise, huh?" she asked. It came again. That high-pitched squeal that sounded like a cat wailing with a toothache. Squish hissed in Evy's arms, burying his face underneath her arm to get away from it. A familiar male laugh joined the loud squeal and Evy finally realized what had scared her. "The hyena's back again." Evy said, shifting Squish so she could hold him easier. "Let's get you some dinner, huh?" Evy carried Squish into the kitchen, where Sam and his girlfriend Meredith were making dinner together. Evy held Squish in one arm, grabbing his food and bowl from the cabinet with the other. She poured the food in the bowl and put Squish down, then went to the sink to get some water. Neither Sam or Meredith said anything until she placed Squish's water bowl down on the floor. "How are you, Evelyn?" Meredith asked. Evy bit her tongue hard, then answered. "I'm fine. How are you?" "Great. How's Squish?" Meredith asked. She was friendly enough, but Evy couldn't stand her. "He's doing good." Evy reached down and scratched Squish's neck. "Hey, baby, you ready for dinner?" Sam asked. "It's almost ready." "I guess." Evy said. Sam put the pot of spaghetti down on the table. "You okay?" he asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." Evy lied. "All right. Go wash your hands." Sam said. Dinner that night dragged on for Evy. Sam was so wrapped up in what Meredith was saying that he didn't notice how quiet Evy was. Evy excused herself and went to her room, Squish following close behind her. She picked up her phone and texted Dean. Can I come to the garage with you? PLEASE? The hyena's back again. Funny as that is, it's too close to your bedtime kiddo. Dean answered. Just hang in there. I'll be back soon. K love you She'd figured he would say no, so she wasn't too disappointed; but she needed to get away from Meredith. Evy couldn't quite pin down exactly why she didn't like Meredith. Sure, her laugh was beyond annoying, but she made Sam happy. Then it clicked. In the month since Evy had met Meredith, and the two months since Meredith and Sam had been dating, Sam had been leaving work early to spend time with her. For Evy to spend any time with him during the work week, she had to go to his office. When Meredith was around, which was nearly every night, Sam seemed oblivious. Evy was almost tempted to leave the house for hours without calling or texting just to see if Sam would notice. Before she could think anything else about it, Sam knocked on her bedroom door. She'd left it open, so he said, "Hey, we're going out for ice cream. You want to go?" "Really?" Evy asked. She looked at her bedside clock. "It's 8:45. My bedtime's in an hour." "It won't hurt you to go to bed late one night." Sam said. Evy's eyes bulged. "Who are you and what have you done with my father?" Sam laughed. "Do you want to go?" "Just us?" Evy asked. Sam frowned. "No. Meredith's going too." "Oh." Evy said, and couldn't hide her disappointment. "It's okay. You two go ahead." Sam stared at her for a moment, then sat down on her bed. "You don't like Meredith, do you?" Evy sighed; it was confession time. "It's not that I don't like her. It's just…" "Just what, baby?" Sam said gently. "It's not really her. It's you." Evy admitted. "What does that mean?" Sam asked. "Well, you've been leaving work early to spend time with Meredith. When I want to spend time with you during the week, I either have to go to your office or ask you weeks in advance so you can ask for the day." Evy said. "Oh, baby, you think I did that for Meredith?" Sam asked. "Well, yeah." Evy asked. "You started coming home early when you started dating her." "I did that for you." Sam said. "When Dean started working more at the garage, I asked for my hours to be cut at work. I did that to spend more time with you." "You did?" Evy asked. "Yeah. I did." Sam said. "I met Meredith when I turned in the paperwork to change from full time to part time." "Oh. I didn't know that." Evy said. "I'm sorry, baby. I thought I told you that." Sam said. "I guess I have been spending a lot of time with Meredith." "Look, I like that you're happy. You just seem kind of oblivious to everything else when she's around." Evy said. "Oblivious to what?" Sam asked. "It's hard for me to talk to you when she's around." Evy said. "You can talk to me whenever you want." Sam pointed out. "Really?" Evy asked. "Because I've tried to talk to you three times tonight. Every time I've opened my mouth to say something to you, Meredith jumps in and cuts me off. And that's not just tonight. She does it all the time." "Okay. Baby, I'm sorry. I haven't been paying attention to you, and I'm sorry for that. But no matter what, you are still the most important person in the world to me. You know that, right?" Sam asked. "Yeah, I know." Evy said. "You sure?" Sam asked. "You don't sound sure." Evy took a deep breath. "Can we take an hour every week? Just us?" "Deal." Sam said. "Feel better?" Evy smiled. "Yeah." "Good. Do you want to go with us?" Sam asked. "No. I do need to go to bed. I've got a game tomorrow." Evy said. "You two have fun." "Okay. Goodnight, baby. Love you." "Love you more." Evy said as Sam leaned over to kiss her cheek. Everything was going semi-well for the next few weeks. Sam made an honest effort to focus a little more on Evy, and talked to Meredith about not interrupting Evy when she was trying to talk to him. In return for Sam's efforts, Evy tried to get to know Meredith better. She actually seemed like a nice person. The laugh was still beyond annoying, but Evy decided to try and look past that. But one thing still bothered her. Squish absolutely could not stand Meredith. When Meredith came over, Squish would hide in Evy's room. If Meredith was there and it was time for Squish to eat, Squish would find Evy and stick closer to her than normal. At first Evy thought it was because of Meredith's laugh. But no matter what Meredith did, if she got too close to Squish, she was hissed at. "Baby, maybe you should start putting Squish in your room when Meredith comes over." Sam suggested. "Why?" Evy asked. "Squish lives here. She doesn't." Sam, not wanting to aggravate tensions between the two of them again, let the matter drop. Evy was making an effort with Meredith, and Sam didn't want to give her another reason to resent Meredith. Dean was another story. Though he was polite to Meredith to her face, he made it clear to Sam that he didn't trust her. "She's trouble, bud. Just watch your back, okay?" Towards the end of the basketball season, Evy became more and more wrapped up with her team. Sam was supportive, going to all her games, even bringing Meredith along on a few of them. Things got worse the day of Evy's second to last game of the season. Evy's practices were running longer than normal. The stakes were high-if they won the final game, they went to the state championships. Meredith told Sam she wasn't feeling well that night, so Sam let her sleep at their house while everyone went to Evy's game. After winning the game and celebrating, Sam, Evy and Dean came back home. "Kiddo, I still can't get over that last shot you took!" Dean said loudly as they came in the door. "Thanks." Evy said as she put her backpack down. "Good job, baby. I'm proud of you." Sam said. "Why don't you grab a shower?" "Okay. I'm gonna check on Squish first." Sam checked on Meredith, who was lying down on the couch. She claimed to feel better, and after a kiss and a hug from Sam, asked about the game. Dean jumped in with the recap, gladly telling her about the way Evy had 'saved the game'. Evy came back into the living room from her room, looking around for something frantically. "Kiddo, you okay?" Dean asked. Evy walked into the living room with tears in her eyes. "Meredith, have you seen Squish?" "He's not in your room?" Sam asked. "No. He's not anywhere in the house." Evy said. "I even tried running the can opener and he didn't come." "Okay. Okay, baby. Dean and I'll help you look for him." Sam said, starting to get up from the couch. Meredith suddenly looked very guilty. "Sam?" When Sam turned around, she confessed. "I let Squish out." Sam and Dean stood there, mouth gaping open in shock, but Evy had no problem telling Meredith exactly how she felt. "You let him out? Out where?" she asked. "The backdoor." Meredith said. "He was scratching at your bedroom door, I thought he was looking for you so he could go outside." "He's not an outdoor cat!" Evy yelled. "I don't ever let him outside by himself." "Evelyn, I'm sorry…" Meredith said apologetically. "Don't call me that!" Evy screamed, and Dean reluctantly had to hold her back. "When did you let him out?" "A few minutes after you guys left." Meredith said. "I fell asleep." "That was four hours ago!" Evy said, breaking down in tears now. "It's thirty degrees out there. There's stray dogs and cars…." "Hey. Come here." Sam gently grabbed her arms and pulled her towards the couch with him. "I promise you, first thing in the morning, Dean and I will help you go look for him." He wiped tears away as he talked. "Why not tonight?" Evy asked. "He's lost." "I know. I know, baby. Listen to me. It's really late. It's pitch black outside. We won't be able to see Squish if we try to look for him right now. When the sun comes up, we'll go out and start looking around." Sam said. "If we don't find him walking around the neighborhood, we'll check the shelters and the pound." Evy cried a little more, before sobbing out, "He's gone, daddy." "I know, baby." Sam said, wiping her face again before pulling her in for a hug. "I know." Dean walked over and sat next to Evy, laying a hand on her back. "We'll help you find him, baby girl." Meredith was standing next to the couch, still looking lost and guilty. "Sam…" Sam, who was still holding the sobbing Evy in his arms, looked up at Meredith for the first time with anger and annoyance in his eyes rather than the adoration she had gotten used to. It was enough to make Meredith flinch. "You should go." Sam said. Meredith was shocked. "Sam, it's late…" "You heard him." Dean said, barely holding his temper. "Leave. Now." Meredith grabbed her purse slowly and walked out. When her car had driven off, Evy was still crying. Sam continued to try and comfort her, but Evy was inconsolable. She eventually fell asleep there on the couch. Sam gently laid her down to sleep, kissed her goodnight, and walked into the kitchen, where he got a beer with Dean. Sam could tell that Dean wanted to say something , but seemed reluctant. "Just say it." Sam said. "I want to." Dean said. "But I'm afraid you'll sock me if I do." "Just say it, Dean." Sam said again. "Fine." Dean took a breath and confessed, "I think she did it on purpose, Sam." "Look, it was stupid. I'll give you that. And I'll talk to her about it tomorrow." Sam said. "But I don't think she did it to hurt her." "Sam…" Dean sighed, exasperated. "You were so worried about whether Evy liked Meredith, that you haven't see that Meredith doesn't like Evy." "That's ridiculous." "No, Sam. It's not. Think about it." Dean sat at the table in front of Sam and tried to make him see what was crystal clear to Dean. "When was the last time Meredith initiated a conversation with Evy?" "She's nervous. She's not good with kids…." Sam attempted to explain. "As much as I hate to admit it, baby girl's not a kid anymore. She's almost an adult." Dean said. "Sam, Evy's only trying so hard with Meredith because she doesn't want to hurt your feelings. But she tells me." "Tells you what?" Sam said. "Meredith told her she was too close to you. That she needs to, and I quote, 'quit being such a baby' and let her have her time with you." Dean told him. "What?" Sam asked in disbelief. "When was this?" "The night after you talked to Meredith about her interrupting baby girl." Dean said. "Why didn't she tell me?" Sam asked. "Because she didn't want to hurt you." Dean answered. "She talked to me about it. I confronted Meredith, made her apologize to baby girl. I thought everything was getting better, but after tonight…" "No. I think you're right." Sam said. "I didn't want to admit it, but I think you're right." "So what are you gonna do?" Dean asked. "I'll help her find Squish tomorrow. Then I'll tell Meredith to get lost." Sam said. Dean nodded. "I'm sorry, Sam. I know you liked her." Sam and Dean got up very early the next morning. Evy was eager to get out and start looking for Squish, but Sam forced her to put on two additional layers of clothing. The temperature had dropped another few degrees and it was bitterly cold outside. Dean took Evy out and help her search for four fruitless hours. Evy begged Sam to stay at the house in case Squish came home. Sam did stay, but called neighbors and friends to let them know that Squish was missing. When the four hour neighborhood search turned up nothing, and Sam's efforts with the neighbors proved useless, Evy and Dean moved on to the shelters. There were four in town, but after a half hour long visit at each checking each and every cat in all the buildings, Squish still hadn't been found. Evy and Dean returned to the house around lunchtime, when Evy cried herself to sleep again. Just as she was in a deep sleep, there was a knock on the door. Praying that it was Jordan with Squish, Sam went and answered it eagerly. But it was Meredith. "Can I come in?" she asked. Sam sighed. Now was as good a time as any to have the conversation with her he needed to. "Sure." Meredith stepped inside and asked immediately, "Did you find him?" "No, we didn't." Sam said, pointing towards Evy sleeping on the couch. "Sam, I'm really sorry…" Meredith said. "Come on. We need to talk. Meet me in the kitchen." Sam said. "Don't wake her up. She didn't get a lot of sleep last night. None of us did." Meredith looked worried. She followed Sam into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Sam stood against the kitchen sink and took a couple of deep breaths before speaking. He didn't want to start yelling and risk waking up Evy. When he'd collected himself enough, he asked, "Did you let Squish out on purpose?" "What? No!" Meredith said. "I thought you said you did. I thought you said last night that you let him out because you thought he was asking to go." Sam said. "Well, that's what I meant. I didn't do it to hurt her…" Meredith said, stumbling over her own words. She suddenly stopped and stared at Sam, hurt. "Are you trying to catch me in a lie?" "Is there a lie for me to catch you in?" Sam asked. "Sam, no!" Meredith protested. "You really think I'd want to hurt her like that? I thought Squish was asking to go outside, so I let him out. That's all there was to it." "See, that's what I don't get. All the times that you've been in this house. She has never once let Squish outside without her. She's the only one that can make him come back inside. So what made you think that it was okay to do that last night?" "I don't know. I was sick, and I couldn't think straight, the cat kept hissing at me…" Meredith said. "He was hissing at you?" Sam said. "He only hisses when you get close to him. I thought you said you were lying on the couch and heard him scratching." "Sam, I…" Meredith started. "Save it. Dean told me about the conversation he had with you. Where he made you apologize to Evy." Sam said. "What did you say to her?" "Sam that was weeks ago…." "What did you say to her?" Sam asked. Meredith licked her lips and said, "I told her to stop being so clingy. That she was stopping you and me from spending any time together…" "That's not your call." Sam said, white-knuckling the countertop in anger. "She is my daughter. I'm her father. She always comes before everything else." "I understand that, Sam, but…" "No buts. You are not allowed to be mean to my kid. Ever. That's a deal breaker." Sam said. "What are you saying?" Meredith asked. "You want to break up?" "That's exactly what I'm saying." Sam said. "After you leave, I don't want to see you again." "Sam…" "And if Squish isn't back in this house tonight, I'm calling the cops." Sam said. "You'd have me arrested? All because of that stupid cat?" Meredith asked. "That 'stupid cat'is my daughter's pet. And she's heartbroken over this." Sam said. "Meredith, what you did was beyond hurtful. It was petty and vindictive. And I'm just sorry I didn't end it earlier." Meredith finally gave up pretending. "Fine." She stood up and shoved the chair back under the table loudly. "Sam, she's got you wrapped around her finger. If you let her keep doing this, you'll never find anybody." "She's all I need." Sam said, effectively ending the discussion. "It's time for you to go." Meredith stomped out of the house towards the living room. Sam followed her, afraid she would wake Evy out of spite. The doorbell rang before she had the chance. Sam went to get it, and found Dean and Jordan standing there. Squish was sitting in Jordan's arms. "He made his way to my house." Jordan said with a broad smile. "He was sitting on the front porch when Dean dropped me back off." Sam let out a sigh of relief. "I have never been so glad to see you, buddy." Sam reached out and took Squish from Jordan's arms, scratched his ears, then set him on the floor. "Go on. Go wake up your mom." Squish ran to the couch and jumped up. Evy was sleeping so hard that she didn't feel Squish jump. Squish, unhappy with the lack of attention from Evy, pushed his face under her chin and pushed. Evy woke up slowly, reaching a hand out to push whatever was waking her away. When she realized what she was holding, Evy laughed. "Where did you come from?" "He made his way to my house. It took a while, but he found me." Jordan said. He made his way towards the couch next to Evy. He reached out and scratched Squish's ears. "He's pretty smart." "I missed you, buddy." Evy said, hugging Squish. Sam looked over and saw that Meredith had slipped out. Or that Dean had escorted her out. He let Evy hold Squish a little longer before going over and telling her what had happened. "Listen, baby. I owe you an apology. A couple of them, actually." "For what?" Evy asked. "Well, Meredith did let Squish go. On purpose." Sam said. "Why?" Evy asked. "Why would she do that?" "Because she was jealous of you and me." Sam said. "So she hurt Squish because she didn't like me?" Evy asked. "Looks that way." Sam said. "Baby, I'm so sorry." "Where's Meredith?" Evy asked. "I kicked her out. She won't be back." Sam assured her. "I told her I'd go to the cops. Do you want to do that?" Evy looked down at Squish, who had settled in Evy's lap. "You promise she won't be back?" "If she does come back, I will definitely go." Sam said. "Then no. It's over, Squish is home and safe." Evy said. Sam smiled sadly, still feeling guilty that Meredith had hurt her. "I'm so sorry, baby." he said again. "I'm sorry too." Evy said. "You're sorry? For what?" Sam asked. "I know you liked her." Evy answered. "Yeah. I did." Sam said. "But I like you even more." Evy smiled, reached over and gave him a hug. "Love you, daddy." "I love you too, baby."

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Sam opened Evy's door and flipped on the light. He'd heard her crying as he came down the hall, and she wouldn't answer her door when he knocked. Sam found her still wrapped up, crying hard, pushing some invisible force away in her sleep. Sam grabbed her arms and shook her gently, trying to wake her. "Come on, baby. Come on, wake up." Evy kept fighting and crying in her sleep. "Baby, wake up. Wake up." "Let me go…." Evy said, still asleep. Desperate to get her awake, Sam finally yelled. "CRICKET! WAKE UP!" Evy finally woke up, breathing hard and still crying. Sam tried to hug her, but she pulled away. Sam tried not to show how much that had hurt, but he was scared. Evy still had bad dreams on occasion, but they'd gone down drastically in the years she'd lived with them. It had been a long time since she'd had a nightmare as intense as this one. Sam was a little lost, but waited by her side as she calmed down. "Breathe, baby. You're safe now." "I'm okay." Evy said, still having trouble catching her breath. Sam thought he had heard her wrong. "You're okay? Really?" Evy nodded, but was still crying. "Yeah. I'm fine." "Baby, you're not fine. Talk to me. What's going on?" Sam asked. "It was just a bad dream." Evy said. "I'm going back to sleep." Sam was lost. Clearly she was not okay. Something was bothering her more than she could handle on her own. But she had always come to Sam when her fears got to be too much. Why was she pushing him away now? "Baby, please. Talk to me. Is something scaring you? Bothering you?" "I'm fine." Evy insisted. "I just want to go back to sleep." "Okay, I guess." Sam said. "Good night, baby. Love you." Evy smiled, but Sam could see right away it was fake. She was trying to make him leave. "Good night, daddy. Love you too." Sam leaned over and kissed her forehead. Evy stiffened, but let him do it. Sam left her room, taking one more look at her from the doorway. Evy assured him again she was fine, and Sam went down to his room. He laid down on his bed, but was a long way from sleep. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on with Evy. For the last three weeks, she'd been distant with both Sam and Dean. She wasn't willing to talk like before, but she didn't want to be alone. Perhaps the most obvious difference, she didn't want to be touched. She didn't hug Sam or Dean like before, and when they went to hug her, she would gently push them away or stiffen up. Until tonight, Sam had just put it down to increasing school pressures and being a bit of a moody teenager. Sam remembered that when he had turned sixteen, the only person who'd been allowed to hug him whenever they wanted was Evy. But the nightmare had convinced him that it was more than just Evy being a moody teenager. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong. He decided to keep Evy out of school the next day to try and coax the answer out of her. He checked the clock and saw it was just a little after midnight. He got up and walked down the hall to Dean's room. He knocked and walked in at Dean's invitation. "Hey, bud. Can we talk?" Sam asked. "It's about Evy." "Yeah, sure." "Do you think something's going on with her?" Sam said. "Definitely." Dean said. "What do you think it could be?" Sam asked. "This is so unlike her." "I don't know." Dean said. "But I'm worried about it. At first, I thought she was just being moody, but even when she's been pissed off at us, it's never lasted this long." "Yeah. And she had a nightmare tonight. I tried to give her a hug, but she pushed me away." "She pushed you away?" Dean asked. "Yeah, something's definitely wrong." "What you think we should do?" Sam asked. "We can't really force her to talk, she might shut down." "I'm not sure." Dean said. "I don't have to work tomorrow. I'll keep her home from school, see if some quality time will help her open up." Sam said. "You want me to stay too?" Dean asked. Though it was tempting to have backup, Sam decided against it. "Thanks, but no thanks. If you stay too, she'll know something's up." "She won't know when you make her stay home from school?" Dean asked. "I'll just tell her it's because of the nightmare." Sam said. "Good luck with that." Dean said. "Call me and let me know, will you?" "Sure." Sam suddenly felt more tired than ever before. "Good night." "Night." Sam walked back down towards his bedroom, then made a beeline for Evy's room instead. He didn't hear her crying, and opened the door slowly. She was asleep again. Her light was on, and Sam could see she'd been crying again. He wanted to kiss her goodnight like almost every night since she'd been born, but he was afraid it would wake her up. Not only had she been withdrawn and emotional the last three weeks, she'd been defensive too. Something else caught Sam's eye. Squish, who normally slept next to Evy on the bed, was laying on top of Evy's dresser. Sam waved at Squish to come to him. Eager to get off the top of the dresser, Squish ran to Sam and waited for him in the hallway. Sam took one last look at Evy for that night. It tore his heart to shreds that she was so clearly hurting and he could do nothing about it. He whispered from the doorway, "Talk to me, baby. Please tell me what's hurting you. I love you." Sam discovered that the problem was worse than he thought. He decided, after a lot of back and forth within himself, to email Evy's principal. Since Evy had turned sixteen, Sam had stopped checking on her schoolwork as much as he had before. She'd always been a straight A student, and had almost no trouble keeping up with her studies herself. But maybe, if something was going on, Mrs. Moreau would have seen something that he'd missed. The message he'd typed was fairly simple. Mrs. Moreau, I was wondering if you'd noticed anything off with Evy lately. At home she's been very withdrawn most of the time. It seems like something's bothering her, but I can't get her to talk to me. She doesn't want anyone to get close to her. That's very unusual for her. What really concerns me happened tonight. She had a nightmare, a bad one. She used to have them a lot when she was little, but it was fairly easy to calm her down. I'm just really worried about her. If you know anything, please let me know. Thank you, Sam Winchester Sam texted Jordan an abbreviated version of the email he'd sent to the principal. He figured that if anything was going on that she wouldn't talk to him about, she'd talk to Jordan. Sam finally got to sleep about two in the morning. When he woke up around eight, there was an answer from Jordan. Yeah she's been acting funny with me too. She'll listen to me when I talk, but I can't get her to talk about herself. I'm worried too. Frustrated, Sam put the phone away. If Evy wasn't talking to Jordan, it made it that much harder to figure out what was going on. Sam made his way to the kitchen and started to make breakfast. Evy came in around nine, looking frantic. "I overslept. Sorry, I'll start getting ready for school…" "Baby, stop." Sam said. "I turned off your alarm. I thought we'd both take a day off together." "Really?" Evy said, surprised. "Why?" Sam shrugged. "Why not?" "Oh. Okay." Evy said, sitting down at the table. "What's for breakfast?" "Remember these?" Sam set the plate on the table. For the first time in weeks, Evy smiled. "Cinnamon pancakes?" "Yep. Eat up. They're all for you." Evy started eating her breakfast, saying nothing else other than thank you to Sam. Sam wanted to ask her, again, what was going on. But he knew it wouldn't do any good. He watched her eat her breakfast, and suddenly it occurred to him why the way she'd been acting bothered him so much. She had withdrawn like this when she was four years old, after she'd been kidnapped by a demon and held for hours. Though the demon hadn't actually hurt her physically, he'd convinced her that her family didn't want her anymore, and left her with a permanent fear of being a burden to them. But she had withdrawn from everyone except Sam. The fact that she wouldn't talk to him either made Sam feel sick to his stomach. What had hurt or scared her so badly that she felt she couldn't talk to him either? Before he had a chance to ask anything else, his phone beeped. Evy's principal had answered the email. "I'm going to the living room. I'll be back, okay?" "Okay, daddy." Evy said. Sam walked towards the living room, being careful to avoid running so as not to tip off Evy that anything was wrong. He sat on the couch and opened the email. His breath caught in his throat as he read the reply from Evy's principal. Mr. Winchester, I'm glad you sent your email, because the truth is, I'm worried about Evy too. I didn't want to call you, because I thought at first it was just a phase and would pass in a few days. Evy is one of the best students in the entire school, but her behavior and academics have started slipping drastically. She's fallen asleep in class several times. She's snapped at her teachers and skipped class twice. Most concerning to me, she's not done any homework or been to any basketball practices in three weeks. Her grades have dropped from straight A's to a B- average in the span of those three weeks. Mr. Winchester, I really think that something is bothering her. Changes this dramatic just don't happen simply due to teenage rebellion. I don't think she's just acting out for the sake of acting out. Please try to find out and get back to me if you can. If you need her, our school guidance counselor is also a licensed child psychiatrist who specializes in treating teenagers. With your permission, I'll speak to her about Evy today and ask her to expect to see Evy soon. Yours truly, Cynhia Moreau Sam didn't think it was possible, but he was even more confused than he'd been before. Not only was Evy acting differently at home, she'd done a complete 180 degree turn at school. He emailed Mrs. Moreau back, explaining that he was keeping Evy out of school for the day and giving her permission to talk to the guidance counselor. He promised to update her if he found anything out, then put the phone down. What could he do now? Evy had been lying to him and Dean for three weeks. She'd been acting as if everything was the same, and she'd been skipping basketball practice. A small, tiny part of him wanted to be angry that she'd lied to him, but his dominant emotion was worry. Sam decided to text Dean and get him to come back. I need you home ASAP. This problem with Evy is a lot bigger than I thought. It was a full two minutes before Dean responded. I got one of the guys to switch with me. I can come home now for a few hours but I'll have to come back tonight. That'll work. Just get home. Sam said. I'll explain when you get here. An hour later, Dean walked in to find Evy and Sam on the couch watching a movie. Sam put a finger to his mouth and pointed to the tv. Finding Nemo was on it's last few minutes, so Dean sat down and waited. He watched Evy more than the movie. She was sitting on the opposite side of the couch from Sam, as far away from him as she could get while still being in the same room. Sam turned to Dean and mouthed follow my lead. Dean nodded, and when the movie ended, Sam reached over for the remote and turned the tv off. Evy didn't move. "Baby, we need to talk." Sam said. Evy turned towards him and waited. "We know something's going on with you. I don't know what it is, but we need to know. No more games. What's wrong?" Sam asked. "Nothing." Evy said, a little too automatically. "Baby, I know that's not true. Between the nightmare last night, and the way you've been acting lately, something's going on." Sam said. "What do you want me to say?" Evy asked, her voice rising. "Do you want me to make something up? Nothing's wrong!" Dean started to say something, but Sam cut him off. "Baby, I'll give you one more chance. What's going on?" "Nothing!" Evy said through gritted teeth. "Why don't you believe me?" "Then why haven't you been to basketball practice or done any homework for the last three weeks?" Sam asked. Evy looked defensive for a brief moment before she turned guilty. "How did you find out?" "So it's true?" Sam asked. Evy swallowed, prepared for a lecture. "Yeah." "Kiddo…" Dean said, shocked. "What is going on with you?" Evy looked down, playing with her fingers and avoiding looking Sam or Dean in the eye. "I quit the team." "Baby, why?" Sam asked. "I thought you loved basketball." "I did." Evy said. "I just…I just don't anymore." "So where have you been going every day for the last three weeks?" Sam asked. "You've not been getting home until five or five thirty." "The library." Evy said. "Doing what?" Sam asked. "You haven't been doing your homework." "Reading." Evy said. "Watching movies." The familiar headache when he couldn't figure out what to do with Evy was coming back with a fierce vengeance. Sam rubbed his nose to try and fend it off, but it wasn't working. Evy was looking down, biting her bottom lip. She's scared of me, Sam thought. Why? Sam wanted to be firm with her, to ground her for lying to him for so long and for not doing her work, but he decided not to. "Listen to me, baby." When Evy kept looking down, Sam let himself be a little more firm without being overly strict. "Look at me." Evy looked up, the fear in her face evident to Dean and Sam both. "I'm not mad. I'm really not. If you want to stop playing, that's your choice. Okay?" Evy nodded sadly. "But homework is not optional. I'm not grounding you, yet, since your grades are still pretty high. But I'm going to call your teachers and make sure your homework is getting turned in. If one teacher tells me you didn't turn in one assignment, you're grounded for the rest of the school year. Understand?" "I understand. I'm sorry, daddy." Evy said softly. "All right, baby." Sam said. When she said nothing else, Sam asked her again, "Are you sure you're okay?" "I'm fine." Evy said. "I'm not feeling real good, though. I'm gonna go take a nap." "Okay." Sam said. When Evy's bedroom door closed, Sam asked Dean, "Did you buy any of that?" "Not a word." Dean answered. "What do you think?" "Dean, I don't know what the hell to think anymore!" Sam said, frustrated. "What could possibly be going on? I just don't get it." "I don't know." Dean said. "I told her principal to have her see the school guidance counselor tomorrow. Maybe something will come out then. Until then, I guess we just wait." Sam said. The waiting was brutal for Sam, especially after Dean went back to work that night. Sam was pleasantly surprised at Evy's bedtime, when she came into the kitchen, where he was making himself some hot chocolate, and grabbed him around the waist. "I'm sorry, daddy." Sam was so shocked he didn't think to return her hug immediately. When he did, he asked, "Sorry for what, baby?" "Not doing my homework. Quitting the team and not talking to you." Evy said, her arms still around Sam's waist. "I was afraid you'd be mad at me." Sam frowned, running his fingers through Evy's hair. Even though she sixteen, she barely came up to Sam's chest. He thought back to her being three, four, five, and six years old, when she'd come to him and climb in his lap, silently begging him to hold her and comfort her. Sam had never missed those days as much as he did right now. "I wasn't mad, baby. I'm just worried about you. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Evy looked up and smiled at Sam. "I know. I do. I love you, daddy." "I love you too. I love you so much." Sam kissed her forehead and held her a few more seconds. "Goodnight, baby." "Goodnight, daddy." When Evy left him, Sam dared to feel a little better. Maybe she had just slipped a little and was getting better. He was still worried, though, and decided to wait until the next day after Evy talked to her guidance counselor to see if things really were turning around. The next day, Sam could barely function at his office. Evy had been a little more open that morning before leaving for school, promising Sam again that things were going to turn around. Around lunchtime that day, Sam was called to Evy's school. The principal would give no reason for the call, just urged Sam to get to the school as soon as possible. When Sam arrived, he was directed by the secretary to the office of the guidance counselor. Dr. Landry sat behind her desk. Mrs. Moreau stood next to the filing cabinet, arms folded across her chest. Evy was sitting in a chair in front of the desk, and looked as if she'd been crying. The mood in the office immediately put Sam's guard up. "What's going on?" he asked cautiously, absolutely certain that he didn't want to know. He sat in the second chair next to Evy. "Are you okay?" Evy said nothing, but Dr. Landry spoke up. "Mr. Winchester, we called you here because Evy finally told us what's been bothering her for the last few weeks." "What?" Sam asked. He turned to Evy. "Baby, what's going on?" Evy looked pleadingly at Dr. Landry. "Not again. Please." Mrs. Moreau spoke this time. "Sweetheart, I know it's hard, but you need to tell your father what you just told us." "No." Evy said, burying her head in her hands. "What is going on?" Sam asked. "Evy, he needs to know." Dr. Landry said. "Do you want me to tell him?" Evy looked up and nodded reluctantly. "Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Sam asked again, his curiosity rising to the level of panic now. "Mr. Winchester, we've called the police. They'll be here in a few minutes. You need to take Evy to the hospital when you leave here today." Dr. Landry said. "The police? The hospital? Why?" Sam asked. "Is she hurt?" "She's been assaulted, Mr. Winchester." Dr. Landry said. "Assaulted? What do you mean?" Sam asked. Sam had been to hell and back. He'd faced down demons, angels, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, spirits, and a hundred other supernatural creatures that could have killed him at any moment. He'd fought the forces of heaven. He'd feared for his life, Dean's life, and Evy's life at various points along the way. He'd been through his death and Dean's. Even Evy's. And somehow, he'd come through all of it. But none of that could have possibly prepared Sam for what Dr. Landry told him. As Dean had said to him once, "Demons I get. People are crazy." Dr. Landry took a deep breath and broke the news to Sam. "Mr. Winchester, Evy's been raped."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Mr. Winchester, Evy's been raped." There's no way I heard that right, Sam thought. "Excuse me?" "She's been raped, Mr. Winchester." Mrs. Moreau said. "She told Dr. Landry right before I called you and the police." Sam turned to Evy, who was looking down at the floor, afraid to meet his eyes. "Is that true?" Evy's breath was hitching in panic. "Yes." "Baby, why didn't you tell me?" Sam asked. "I didn't want you to know." Evy said. "I'm sorry…" "Hey. Hey, baby, look at me." Sam said, turning his chair to face her. "Please look at me." Evy turned to look at Sam, and his heart broke when he saw that the wall she'd worked so hard to put up the last few weeks was beginning to crumble. Sam felt an enormous, painful lump in his throat. His own emotions were going haywire, but he had to push that aside right now. Sam swallowed hard and cautiously took Evy's hand. "This is not your fault. Do you hear me? It isn't your fault. Don't say you're sorry. It's not on you." Sam reached up and wiped away a tear falling down Evy's face. "I'm here now. You're safe, okay?" Evy nodded. "We'll get through this." Sam assured her again. "Okay, daddy." Evy said. "Do you know who did this?" Sam asked. The question made Evy tear up again, so Mrs. Moreau answered for her. "Bill Evans. She told us it was Bill Evans." "Bill…" The name sounded familiar, but it took Sam a few seconds to place it. "Bill Evans, your basketball coach?" "Yes." Evy said simply, unable to say much else at the moment. "So you didn't just quit the team?" Sam asked. "No. I just didn't go back." Evy answered. "Son of a bitch." Sam said, unable to hold it in. He felt Evy squeeze his hand, and reassured her for a minute before something else occurred to him. "Wait, is he here in the building now?" "He's in a class." Mrs. Moreau said. "I've sent him a note to come straight to my office once school's out." "I will kill this bastard." Sam said without thinking. "NO!" Evy suddenly shouted, grabbing Sam's face and pulling it to her. "Promise me you won't go after him." "Baby..." Sam said, shocked at how intense her reaction was; it was more emotion than he'd seen from her in weeks. "Promise me you'll let the police go after him." Evy said. "I need you now. Please don't go after him." "Okay. Okay, baby, I won't. I promise." Sam said. "I'm sorry, baby, I'm just…really hating that he hurt you like this." "Make uncle Dean promise too. And Cass." Evy said. "Please." "I will. I swear." Sam said. "I will." He turned towards Mrs. Moreau. "Can we go to the hospital now or should we wait for the police?" "They should be here in just a couple minutes. I'd wait for them, but it's up to you." Mrs. Moreau. "What happens now?" Evy asked. "The police are going to talk to you for a few minutes. Then when they release you, you'll go to the hospital to get checked out." Dr. Landry explained. "It's been three weeks." Evy said. "That doesn't matter." Dr. Landry assured her. "You still need to get checked. Okay?" "Okay." Evy said. "I won't lie to you. This will be a long process. But you've taken the hardest step." Dr. Landry said. "Sweetheart, I need to tell you something." Mrs. Moreau said, finally coming away from the filing cabinet. She stood in front of Dr. Landry's desk and leaned against it, looking down slightly towards Evy. "I know you feel like you're alone right now. But you're not. Unfortunately, this happens a lot. Just like it did to me when I was just a little younger than you." Evy, surprised, asked, "It happened to you too?" "Yeah. Yeah, it did." Mrs. Moreau said. "I was fourteen. My parents called a babysitter so they could go out for their anniversary. It happened while they were at dinner." "What happened after that?" Evy asked. "I told my parents when they got home. But, um…they didn't believe me." Mrs. Moreau said. "Why not?" Evy asked. "Because the family friend that was watching me was a policeman. They didn't believe that he could do something like that. So he got away with it." Mrs. Moreau said. "He got away…" Evy said, panic setting in again. "That's not going to happen with you." Mrs. Moreau promised. "We all do believe you. Me, Dr. Landry, your father. We're all here for you. Okay?" "That's right, baby." Sam said. "We're here for you." "Does it ever go away?" Evy asked Mrs. Moreau. "What, honey?" "Feeling like it'll never be over." Evy said. "Being afraid all the time." "After you come back to school, set up some weekly appointments with Dr. Landry. More than once a week if you need them. When you start feeling afraid like that, talk to someone. Her, me, your dad, anybody you trust. I'll be completely honest with you. It's probably going to get worse for you before it starts to get better. But the day will come when you'll realize that you haven't thought about this in a whole day. Then it'll be a week. And then one day, you'll realize that you survived it. You moved on. Think about that day when you start feeling overwhelmed. Does that make sense?" Evy nodded. It did make sense, but at the moment, she felt like her whole life was wrapped up in what had happened between her and the coach. Mrs. Moreau smiled. She stood up again, before there was a knock, and the door to Dr. Landry's office opened. It was the school secretary. "Dr. Landry? Mrs. Moreau? The police are here." "Okay." Dr. Landry said. She turned back to Evy. "Do you want to talk to them in here? It'll give you more privacy." "Yeah. Thank you." Evy said. "Okay. Mrs. Moreau, let's go bring them in." Dr. Landry said. "Mr. Winchester, they're gonna want to talk to her alone." "No way. I'm not leaving her…" Sam started. Evy grabbed Sam's hand again and cut him off. "Daddy, it's okay. I..." She stuttered a bit, then took a breath and let it out slowly. "I'm not ready for you to hear all the...details yet." Sam nodded. He wasn't sure he was ready to hear them either. At least not without exploding. After reminding himself that he promised Evy he wouldn't go after the coach, he forced himself to get ready and go. "Okay, baby. I'll be right outside." Sam said. He thought of something else. "I need to call Dean. Do you want me to do it now or wait until we get to the hospital?" "Um…" Evy thought for a minute, then answered, "can you tell him to meet us at the hospital and we'll tell him there? Don't tell him over the phone." "I can do that." Sam said. "I'll be right outside." he assured her again. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" "Yeah. I'll be okay." Evy said. "I mean it this time." "All right." Sam said. He stood up to leave and squeezed Evy's hand. "You'll be okay." The doubt in Evy's eyes hurt Sam to his core, but she nodded. When Sam was out in the hallway, two female detectives made their way into the office. They introduced themselves to Sam as detectives Jackson and Morris, and explained that they just needed to talk to Evy. Sam gave them permission, then started to sit down in a chair outside. "Mr. Winchester? Do you want to come wait in my office?" Mrs. Moreau asked. "It might be a little while." "Yeah. Thanks." Sam answered. "And call me Sam." "Call me Cindy." Mrs. Moreau said as they went to sit down. "What the hell?" Sam asked, to no one in particular. "How are you feeling?" Cindy asked as she took the seat behind her desk. "How am I feeling?" Sam asked. "Is that really important right now?" "Yeah. Actually, it is." Cindy said. "You can't take care of her if you don't take care of yourself." "I'm...worried. Confused. Beating myself up for not protecting her." Sam said. "All of the above." "Sam, you can't do that." Cindy said. "Listen to me. Blaming yourself will not help. Just like you told her, this is not your fault. It's not her fault. As hard as it is for me to believe right now, it's not my fault for not protecting her here. She should have been safe at basketball practice. The only person at fault is the son of a bitch that hurt her. And he will go down for this. But right now she needs you. The floodgates are just starting to open here. You need to focus on being there for her right now. Okay?" "Okay. Thanks." Sam said. "I'm really sorry about what happened to you." "I appreciate that." "Whatever happened to that family friend?" Sam asked. "If you don't mind me asking." "He committed suicide." Cindy said. "Good riddance." Cindy tried to keep Sam distracted, but it was a long interview. Around a half hour later, Evy came back to the office, escorted by one of the detectives. Sam noted she'd been crying again, but chose not to ask her about it. As they drove out to the hospital, Evy sat in the middle seat directly next to Sam, a hand on his jacket the entire way. It was the exact opposite of the last few weeks. Instead of being distant and not wanting to be touched, she didn't seem to want to let him go. Which was fine with Sam-it would be a while before he willingly let her out of his sight too. When he parked the car, there was a text from Dean. Just got back from a tow. What's going on? My boss said you called and told him you were taking Evy to the hospital. Sam sighed; what was he supposed to say? Just get to the Emergency Room. Evy asked me not to tell you over the phone. She's okay right this second, but she wants to tell you. In person. What the hell, Sam? Dean answered. If she's okay why can't you tell me what's going on? Trust me, Dean. Just get here. This is not a conversation for the phone. Sam insisted, putting the phone back in his pocket. Sam helped Evy out of the car, then brought her to the emergency room admissions desk. He sat her down in a chair and walked to the desk. He got a surprise when he gave the nurse Evy's name. "One second." The young nurse said, pulling a phone from next to her. "Dr. Moreau, come to the ER admissions desk. Your patient has arrived." A young female doctor came around the corner that looked remarkably like Cindy. "Evelyn Winchester?" "I'm her father." Sam said. "Evy's right here. Did you know we were coming?" "Mrs. Moreau's my aunt. She called and asked me to take care of you." Dr. Moreau turned to Evy. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go where it's a little less crowded." Dr. Moreau, who asked to be called Jane, explained to both of them what she was planning to do. A rape kit, a pregnancy test, and STD tests. Evy nodded that she understood what was going to happen, but she was thinking about what would happen after the hospital. Going to school, facing the other students and teachers, even sitting through class seemed impossible. She felt guilty for treating her teachers badly, and she wanted to apologize to them. She had done it because she hadn't been able to shake the feeling that Coach Evans was in the school, so there was no way she was safe, even in class. Just as Jane finished her explanation, a nurse knocked on the door. "Dr. Moreau, there's a Dean Winchester here." "Let him in." Evy said. "Please. Just for a minute." Jane nodded to the nurse, and Dean walked in like a hurricane. "Kiddo, are you okay?" "Dean, I'll talk to you in the hallway." Sam said. "It's okay, uncle Dean." Evy said. "Go with daddy." "Are you sure?" Dean asked. "I can stay." "Dean." Sam said, grabbing his shoulder. "Hallway." "Okay." Dean said. He hugged Evy again before going out. "We're here for you." "I know." Evy said. Dean reluctantly went into the hallway, followed closely by Sam. He didn't like the look on Sam or Evy's face. Something had happened, something very bad. He couldn't imagine what it was, but it was time for him to stop being in the dark. "Sam, what the hell is going on?" Dean asked. Sam opened his mouth to start talking, but was interrupted by Jane. "Mr. Winchester?" Sam turned to face the doctor. "Yeah." "I'm about to start Evy's exam. She asked to be left alone for that." Jane told him. "Okay." Sam said. "She said there's a café near here that you three go to a lot? Parker's?" Jane said. When Sam nodded, Jane continued, "She asked me to ask you two to bring her a piece of lemon pie from there." "Can she have that now?" Sam asked. "She can in about a half hour." "Okay. Sure. We'll go." Sam said. "Will you tell her we'll be back soon?" "Yeah." Jane said. "I'll tell her." "Dean, let's go. I'll tell you on the way." Dean was getting frustrated, but he followed Sam out. They took the Impala, so as Sam was getting in the front passenger seat, Dean stared at him, waiting to get the story. When Sam didn't say anything, Dean finally lost his patience. "Will you please tell me what the hell is going on?" Dean asked. "It's been two hours since you called me." "Sorry. I still don't quite know how to tell you." Sam said. He took a deep breath, as he'd had to do several times that afternoon. "She didn't just quit the basketball team, Dean. Her coach hurt her." "What do you mean 'her coach hurt her'? Hurt her how?" Dean asked, his voice rising in fear that he already knew the answer. "He raped her, Dean." Sam said, waiting for the inevitable blast wave of anger to come from Dean. Dean did not disappoint. "SON OF A BITCH! Where is he? I will kill him!" "Dean, you can't. I promised Evy we wouldn't go after him." Sam said. "She wants us to let the cops handle it." "No way." Dean said. "No way we're letting him get away with this." "He won't Dean." Sam said. "If he doesn't go away for this, I agree with you. But Evy needs us more right now. She's still really hurt and upset. We can't be getting angry about this around her. She already feels like it's her fault." "What? That doesn't make sense. Why would it be her fault that he hurt her?" Dean asked. "Dean, I get it. I do. But listen to me. Evy was already sensitive before this happened. Her nerves are frayed right now. She's feeling a lot of stuff that's not going to make sense to her. We can't tell her that it doesn't make sense, or it'll make her feel worse. You need to just listen to her when she talks, tell her over and over again that she's not responsible for this. Just be gentle." Sam said. Dean leaned against the driver's seat, his mind and heart raging. He heard in the back of his mind Evy as a baby calling for him. Deanie!, she'd yell, then coming running and jumping into his arms. Every instinct in his body told him to hunt down the coach and do anything that came into his mind to him. Hurt him the way he'd hurt Evy, and more. Make him pay for hurting his baby. But Evy didn't want that. Dean also felt helpless. She was hurting, and a hug and a kiss wasn't going to fix it this time. It wasn't a skinned knee or hurt feelings that could be fixed by making her laugh. There was a monster he could kill, but that wouldn't take the pain away from her. "Dean?" Sam said. "What are you thinking?" "I want to kill this bastard, Sam." "I know. Believe me, I do too." Sam said. "How the hell did this happen?" Dean asked. "I don't know. But let's not push her to tell us. She will, with time. Let's just focus on helping her right now." Sam said. "How? How the hell do we help her through this?" Dean asked. "We can start by going to get this pie." Sam said. "Yeah. We're not getting her a piece of pie, though." Dean said, starting the car. "What do you mean?" Sam asked. "We're getting the whole pie." Three hours later, Evy had been put into a room. She wasn't being admitted, but the room was empty, and she had wanted privacy. They were waiting on Jane to clear her to go home. The two detectives had come back. They told her that Coach Evans had been suspended from the school pending an investigation, and that he was at the police station being interrogated by another detective. A protective order had already been issued, ordering Coach Evans to stay away from Evy. If he came close, he would be arrested automatically. Dean's response had made the detectives cringe. "If that bastard approaches her again, he'll never go near anyone else." "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Detective Morris responded. "Mr. Winchester, I understand that you want this guy off the street. We do too. But let's do this the right way." "Uncle Dean, please, please let them handle it." Evy asked. Dean softened at the look on Evy's face. "Okay, kiddo. I will." "All right." Detective Morris said. "Evy, do you have any other questions for us?" "This won't get out, right?" Evy said. "It won't get around school?" "It won't come from us." Detective Jackson promised. "It will hit the news that your coach has been suspended. But your name won't be brought into it." "But we have to be honest." Detective Morris said. "If the grapevine at your school works like most others…" "People will figure it out." Evy finished for her. "Probably." Detective Jackson said. "Would it be better at all if we came out and said it was her….?" Sam started to ask. "No." Evy said. "No what?" Sam asked. "No. We're not telling anyone else we don't have to that it was me." Evy said. "Baby, that's not what I meant…" "I said no." Evy said through gritted teeth. "It's my choice. My story. I'm not sharing with anyone else." "Okay." Sam said. "Okay, you're right. It's your choice." "I'm just not ready for everyone else to know yet." Evy explained, slightly softer than before. "He already took my choice away from me once. I want to control this as much as I can." Sam nodded. "That makes sense." "I understand that, sweetheart, but I should warn you about something." Detective Jackson said. "There's nothing stopping Coach Evans from leaking your name. Most reporters won't release the name of a minor rape victim, but that doesn't mean there's not one that won't do it. Especially if he offers them a payoff." "Why would he do that?" Sam asked. "Revenge for turning him in." Detective Jackson said. "I've seen it happen a few times." "Won't that be a confession?" Dean asked. "Not if he just says that she's accusing him." Detective Morris explained. "So, even though he's not allowed to come near me, he can still hurt me." Evy said bitterly. Detective Jackson said seriously, "We are going to do everything to make sure he does not get away with this. Make sure he does not hurt anyone else. I don't know if anyone else has told you this, but you're brave for coming forward and exposing this guy. A lot of people don't." "I don't feel very brave." Immediately, Sam's mind went back to eight years earlier, in the hospital in Lebanon where Evy was recovering from the car accident. She'd said the same thing to him verbatim. "I don't feel very brave." Sam was sitting on the bed next to her, so he reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight. "That's what I'm here for." he said. "When you don't feel brave, you find me. Or Dean. Or Cass. We'll be brave for you. We're all here for you." Evy looked relieved, and laid her head on Sam's shoulder. "We'll leave you guys alone for now. We'll update you soon." Detective Morris said. After the detectives left, Evy asked them, "Do I have to go to school tomorrow?" "Not if you don't want to." Sam answered. "Do you want to stay out for a while?" "No. It's Thursday now. I'll go back Monday. I just need a couple days to catch my breath." Evy said. "No problem." Sam said. "And guys? I'm sorry. I know it hurt your feelings when I wouldn't let you hug me." Evy said. "Kiddo, don't worry about that." Dean said. "Just, be patient with me, okay? Ask me for a hug, or let me hug you. And don't surprise me." Evy asked. "I still feel really jumpy about being touched. Especially if I'm not expecting it." "We will, baby." Sam said. "You take your time. Just worry about getting better." "Yeah, kiddo." Dean said. "We'll ask first. Promise." There was a knock at the door. Jane told them that Evy was cleared to go home. Her pregnancy test was negative, she would have to wait for the results of her STD tests, and her rape kit results had been turned over to the police. Jane told her to come back in a few days to go over her test results, and they were on their way back home. When they pulled up to the house, a very anxious Jordan was waiting on them. "Do you want me to tell him to go home?" Sam asked. "No. It's okay." Evy said. As she climbed out of the car, Jordan came to meet her. "Are you okay?" "Let's talk about it inside." Evy said. "I just left the hospital. I'm really tired." "The hospital? Is that why you weren't there today?" Jordan asked. "Wasn't…" Evy was confused for a moment, then it clicked in her brain what Jordan was talking about. "Lunch! Jordan, I'm so sorry!" "It's okay. Come on, tell me what happened." Evy walked in behind Sam, and trailed by Jordan and Dean. Squish, who had been sitting on the back of the couch watching the street, pounced to the floor and scurried over to Evy. Squish waited as Evy sat down. He had gotten used to her pushing him away. Evy smiled at him and patted her lap. "Come on. It's okay." Squish happily jumped into her lap, turning so that she could pet every square inch of him. "I've missed you." Evy said. "I'm sorry I haven't been very nice to you lately. But that's over now." "Evy, what's going on?" Jordan asked. Evy broke the news to him. "Is that why you've been acting funny the last few weeks?" Evy nodded. "Yeah." "Are you okay?" Jordan asked. Evy's patience, worn thin from the endless questions and probing that day, snapped a little. "I wish everyone would stop asking me that!" When Jordan flinched, Evy sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, it's just been a really long day." She opened her eyes again and turned to him. "Can I call you tomorrow?" "Yeah." Jordan said. "Sure." He stood up, then seemed to think twice about something. "Can I have a hug?" Evy smiled and embraced him, never before so grateful to have him for a friend. "You're the best. You know that?" "No. You are." Jordan said. "Call me. Please. Let me know you're okay." "I will. Promise." Evy let him go and sat back down. "Good night." "Night." Jordan started to walk to the door. "Good night, guys." "Night, Jordan." Sam and Dean echoed. By the time Jordan had shut the door, Sam noticed that Evy's eyes were heavy. "You ready for bed?" Evy nodded. "Yeah. I'm gonna sleep here, though." "Why?" Sam asked. Evy frowned. "I didn't tell you, but I've had nightmares every night." Sam nodded. "Okay. We'll leave you alone." "Will you stay?" Evy asked. "Both of you? At least until I fall asleep?" "You bet we will." Dean said. "Of course we will, baby." Sam took his seat at the head of the couch, and Dean sat at the opposite end. Evy's feet were in Dean's lap, her head in Sam's. At Evy's request, Sam stroked her hair and sang her to sleep. "Don't you feel it growing, day by day…" Though Evy was asleep before Sam even finished the first verse, he sang it through three more times. He looked to Dean, who simply nodded and grabbed a blanket to wrap Evy up. Neither of them left the couch that night.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was around 4:30 the next afternoon, Friday, and Evy seemed to be in much better spirits. Dean stayed home from work, and Sam took a leave of absence. Sam was surprised the news didn't break about the coach. Jordan came over the second school was out, and was there when the doorbell rang. Sam went to answer it, and let Mrs. Moreau in. She had a grim look on her face. "Jordan, I need to talk to Evy and her father alone." "It's okay, Mrs. Moreau." Evy said from the couch. "Jordan's family. He can stay." "All right." Mrs. Moreau said. "I have good news and bad news." "What's the bad news?" Evy asked. Sam and Dean were standing on the other side of the room, so Jordan grabbed and held Evy's hand. "Coach Evans was arrested last night. But he made bail today." Mrs. Moreau said. "He's out?" Sam asked. "How the hell is that possible?" "I'm afraid that's not the worst of it." "What could be worse than that?" Jordan asked. "His lawyer made a motion today at his bail hearing. That it was wrong for him to be suspended from the school without being convicted." "Please tell me the judge didn't go for that." Sam said. "He did." Mrs. Moreau said. "I tried, and I tried hard, to get the judge to accept suspension with pay, but he didn't go for it." "Why not?" Sam asked. "Because 'it's unfair to take away either his pay or his reputation when he hasn't been found guilty'." Mrs. Moreau said. "What does that mean?" Evy asked. Mrs. Moreau seemed shaken. "It means I have to let him come back." Evy's mouth dropped open in shock. "I have to go to school with him?" "No way in hell you're going back to school." Dean said. "No. No, that's the good news." Mrs. Moreau said. She pulled a yellow envelope out of her bag and handed it to Evy. "This is a homeschool registration form. All it needs is my signature and your father's. You can finish out the school year here at home." "That's great!" Jordan said, as Sam and Dean nodded in agreement. "What's so great about it?" Evy asked bitterly. "Baby?" Sam said. "What's wrong?" "What's wrong?" Evy asked. "Do you hear the same news I do? I either go to school and be scared because he's in the building with me, or I stay home, away from my friends, so that I don't have to be there with him." Mrs. Moreau, Sam, Dean, and Jordan all looked unsure what to say. Evy let go of Jordan's hand and stood up. "I'm going to my room." No one said anything as Evy angrily stomped off to her room. Mrs. Moreau seemed lost, Dean was still fuming over the news, and Jordan was looking towards Evy's room. Sam stood up and prepared to walk down there. "Can you wait before you leave?" Sam said. "Let me talk to her?" "Yeah." Mrs. Moreau said. "Don't come down on her for it, though. I should have thought about that before I brought it up." "It's okay." Sam said. "I'll be right back." Sam walked down the hall towards her room, expecting to find her still angry. Which made him all the more surprised when he heard her crying. He knocked but opened the door without waiting for an answer. Sam found her curled up in the fetal position on her bed, crying bitterly. Had he thought for half a second more, he never would have sat on her bed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Baby, talk to…" Sam started to say. Evy suddenly jumped up and scrambled to the other side of the bed. "Baby?" Sam asked. "What is it?" Evy swallowed hard and put a hand to her heart. "Don't do that. I didn't know you were behind me." "Sorry. I thought you heard me knock and come in." Sam said. "No." Evy said. "I didn't." "Okay. I'm sorry, baby." Sam said. "I just came to check on you." Evy dropped the hand she was clutching to her heart. "I hate this." She said with more tears in her eyes. "Hate what?" Sam prodded gently. "Feeling like this. Scared." Evy said. "It won't go away." "Is there anything I can do to help?" Sam asked. Evy looked down and studied her bedspread closely. It felt like forever to both of them, but Sam waited patiently for her to speak. Just as Sam was about to extend the question again, Evy said, "When that car hit us, when I was eight? I don't know if you remember or not, but you were unconscious for a few seconds right after it happened." Sam did remember being dazed, and he did remember that it was Evy's screaming that made him wake up completely. "I remember." "When it…when he…" Evy swallowed; she was still having trouble saying it. Sam nodded to show he understood so she could keep going. "That was what I kept thinking about. Not you being unconscious, but when you finally woke up." "What do you mean, that's what you kept thinking about?" Sam asked. "It's how I got through it. I was just as scared as I was in that car, but I knew…" Evy had to keep stopping to catch her breath, so Sam waited and just let her talk. She wiped at her eyes and said, "I knew that, eventually I'd be back home with you." Sam felt the air leave his chest. At what had to be the scariest moment of Evy's life, she'd been thinking of him. He didn't quite know how to take that. A part of him, one that he hated to admit was there, actually liked it. It meant she trusted him to protect her. But that was exactly the problem. He hadn't been there when she needed him more than ever. And the guilt for that had been eating him alive. "I'm so sorry I didn't protect you." Evy looked up at him, surprised at his sudden admission. "What?" "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you." Sam said again. "I wish I could take that back." "I didn't tell you that to make you feel bad." Evy said. "I don't blame you." "I know. I just wish I could do something more than…" "Stop." Evy said. "Just like you told me it wasn't my fault, it wasn't yours either." "Okay. Alright." Sam said. Attempting to change the subject, he asked, "What do you want to do about school?" That set off more tears from Evy. "Breathe, baby. Take your time." Sam said. Everything in him wanted to grab her and hug her, but he resisted. After a few seconds, he asked, "Do you want to take some time to think about it?" "NO!" Evy shouted. "No, I don't want to think about it! I want him gone!" "I know, baby." Sam said. "I wanted to go back to school and feel safe." Evy explained. "That's why I stopped doing anything. I was scared he was going to pull me out of class or something." "That can't happen." Sam and Dean looked at the bedroom door, where Mrs. Moreau was standing. "Can I come in?" Evy nodded and Mrs. Moreau stepped in. "He can't call you. The protective order is still in place. If he comes near you, even at school, he gets arrested." "But he's still going to be there." Evy argued. "Yeah. I'm sorry, sweetie." "I was so excited to go back. I just wanted to feel safe." Evy said. "You don't have to make a choice right now." Mrs. Moreau said. "I can leave the form with your dad and he can turn it in when you're ready." "Or, if you want to go, we'll back you up on that too." Sam said. "The hell we will…" Dean was there now too. "Would everybody just stop talking? Please?" Evy asked impatiently. When everyone looked guilty, she explained, "I don't know what I want to do yet. I feel like if I don't go to school, I'm letting him win." "Baby, listen to me." Sam said. "No matter what you decide to do, you are a strong, brave person. No one in this house right now will think any less of you if you decide to stay home." "I shouldn't have to be strong and brave just to go to school." Evy said. The tears were finally starting to slow down, from exhaustion rather than feeling any better. "It's exhausting and it's not fair." "No, it's not." Mrs. Moreau said. "Listen, sweetie. I'm going to leave the form with your dad, okay? Just think about it. Take your time and think about it." Evy nodded. "Thank you. I'm sorry I stomped out on you. I know you're just trying to help." Mrs. Moreau walked over to Evy's side of the bed and sat down next to her. In Evy's eyes she saw herself at fourteen, scared and hurting. She knew that Evy had never had a mother, so she reached out and took Evy's hand in hers and squeezed it. Her own mother had never believed what happened to her. So she would be the supportive mother for Evy. She would work with Sam and Dean and help Evy to get through this. "Don't ever apologize for being angry about this. You should be angry about this. He took something from you that was not his to take. He hurt you in the worst way possible. Taking time to recover, to get your strength back, and your mind right is not letting him win. Do you understand me?" Mrs. Moreau said. Evy nodded slowly. "I understand." "Okay. I meant what I said. Take your time, think about it. And call me. I don't care what time of day it is. Call me if you want to talk. About this, about school, I don't care. If you need me, call. All right?" Mrs. Moreau said. "Thank you." Evy said. "Anytime." Mrs. Moreau said. "I have to get home. I'll see you soon." "Bye." Evy said. She looked around and noticed someone missing. "Where's Jordan?" "Oh. He told me to tell you that he had to go and make sure you watch the eleven o'clock news tonight." Mrs. Moreau said. Puzzled, Evy looked to Sam, who shrugged. He too was intrigued. "Okay. We will." Everyone said goodbye to Mrs. Moreau, then Sam turned back towards Evy. Dean left the room, fuming that Sam was even considering allowing Evy to go back to school. He was reconsidering his promise to Evy that he wouldn't go after the coach. Back in the bedroom, Sam was waiting. He wasn't sure if Evy wanted him there or not. Evy was staring at her blanket again. She had the homeschool agreement in front of her. "Do you know what you want to do?" Sam asked. Evy looked up and Sam saw tears forming again. She's exhausted, Sam thought. "I can't do it." Evy whispered. "I can't be there with him." "And that's okay. Look, school ends in six weeks. We'll finish up your year here. Hopefully, by the time September rolls around, that bastard will be in jail for what he did to you." Sam said. "Staying here does not make you weak or mean that he's won. It means that you'll be that much stronger when it's time to put him away." Evy smiled, the first real, genuine smile that Sam had seen from her in weeks. She climbed over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing tightly and holding on as if Sam was a life preserver and she was drowning. It wasn't far from the truth-she had been feeling lost, confused, and overwhelmed for so long that she'd forgotten it was okay to let out all those feelings. Especially here at home, the safest place she could be. "I love you, daddy." Sam nearly cried himself. Evy hadn't said she loved him at all since the entire ordeal had started. Sam hadn't doubted that she did, but he had wondered before yesterday if he was losing her to some unseen, menacing force. The thought alone was terrifying. But maybe, just maybe, she was coming back to him. Sam embraced her, swearing to hold her up and help her however she needed. "I love you too, baby. I love you more than anything else in this whole world." When Evy pulled away from him, she was reaching up to wipe her face, and Sam took over. He thought of the many times he'd done that in his life, and felt a renewed appreciation for being able to do it again. "Why do you think Jordan wanted us to watch the news tonight? His mom does the six o'clock show." Evy asked. Mrs. Tyler had once been the secretary at Evy and Jordan's school, but had completed a degree in journalism since then and gotten a job as a producer and newscaster at the local station. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out later." Sam said. "You hungry?" Six hours later, they did find out. Dean had been preparing to leave to blow off steam, but had decided to stay behind when Sam told him that Evy had decided on the homeschooling. Sam had another conversation with him about saying things like he was going after the coach in front of Evy. He reminded Dean that it scared her and made her feel worse, so he told him firmly to "reign it in." At ll:00 that night, the theme music for the local broadcast started. The top story made them gasp in surprise. "Our top story tonight. Local high school basketball coach Bill Evans was arrested earlier this week and accused of sexually assaulting one of his female players. But in a bizarre twist, he has been allowed to return to work. More coming up." "What in the…?" Dean started to say. None of them knew what to make of it. Evy's phone beeped with a text from Jordan. She had told him earlier that she was taking the homeschooling option, at least until the case was over. She'd thought it odd that his only answer was 'okay' when he'd been worrying and fussing over her ever since she'd started acting funny the month before. The text she got now told her why. Don't let him make you feel weak or unsafe. Nobody messes with my family. I told my mom about him being let go. They're not going to mention your name, but nobody's going to want their kids with Evans now. Hope you're not mad at me for not telling you I was going to do it. Evy showed the text to Sam and Dean. "Son of a bitch." Dean said. "I always liked that kid." Sam and Evy laughed, then Sam said to her, "See, baby? You are strong." You rock. You're the best. Love you brother 3 "Why don't you get ready for bed, baby?" Sam asked. "I will." Evy said with a loud yawn. "Good night, uncle Dean." "Night, kiddo. Love you." "Love you more." Evy said. "Good night, baby." Sam said. Evy turned back to Sam, biting her bottom lip. The look in her eye immediately reminded Sam of what she'd been through with the Genai. Pulling her from Cass's arms when she'd arrived back to Jody's. Holding her during the next three days while she cried and shook in fear. Listening to what had happened to her, and reassuring her that he didn't hate her, no matter what. Sam shook the unpleasant memory out of his head. "Will you stay again? Till I go to sleep?" Sam stood up and kissed her forehead. "Anytime you want, baby."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It had been a long four months for everyone. Evy had finished her school year at home as planned. Evy's name had come out, and her teachers had all allowed her to make up the homework she hadn't turned in. Jordan's prediction had come true. The leaked news report led to almost a hundred complaints from parents that had children in Coach Evans' health class or on his basketball team. Before the end of the following week, not a single parent allowed their children to go to class with him. Mrs. Moreau was suspected and investigated for the news leak, but wouldn't allow Jordan to take responsibility for it. She was finally able to suspend the coach, since there were no parents that would allow their child to stay in his class. Evy's nightmares had gone down drastically, but Sam found himself sitting by her bed nearly every night. Whether because she asked him to or because he felt like he needed to, he wasn't able to get any rest until she was sleeping. With Sam's blessing, Jordan all but kidnapped Evy once a week and made her go with him to the movies, shopping, eating, or hanging out with friends. Though she acted as if she was reluctant, she soon came to look forward to the weekly outings. Jody and Claire came to visit more often. Cass was confused as to why he couldn't just 'drop the coach off a tall building and fly away'. Though Dean was a particular fan of that plan, Sam had the conversation with them again about watching what they said around Evy. The trial had started a couple of weeks earlier. Evy had refused to go until it was time for her to testify. The prosecutor in the case kept them updated on the progress of the trial. The local news covered it, and Sam had fought off an overzealous reporter wanting an interview with Evy. It was now the night before Evy was due to testify. She sat on the couch, looking out the window, her mind drifting. Squish was in her lap, purring contentedly as she was startled back to reality when Sam called her name. He was standing above her with a mug in his hand. "Here you go, baby." "Thanks, daddy." Evy said, taking the mug from him and taking a sip. "That's an…odd choice for the middle of July." Sam said as he sat down. "What?" "Hot chocolate." Sam said, pointing to the mug. "Oh." Evy took another sip. "I guess." "Dean said he'll be home in a minute." Sam said. "What did you want to talk about?" "Wait until uncle Dean's here." Evy said. "Okay." Sam said, though his curiosity was killing him. He decided to redirect it. "Why the hot chocolate?" Evy smiled. "You don't remember." "Remember what?" Thirty-Six Years Earlier Sam walked into Evy's room, only half expecting her to be asleep. Sure enough, Evy was buried under the covers, shaking. There was a roaring thunderstorm outside. Sam sat on the bed and pulled the covers back. Evy grabbed them in protest. "No!" she said. "Hey. Hey, Cricket, it's me." Sam said. "Come on out." "No, Sammy. I'm scared." "It's okay, Cricket." Sam said. "I won't let anything hurt you." Evy pulled back the covers reluctantly and looked up at Sam, eyes wide with fear. She was clutching Squish with one arm and grabbed Sam around the waist with the other. Sam kissed the top of her head and comforted her for a minute before he got an idea. "Come on, Cricket. Come with me." "Where we going?" Evy asked as Sam picked her up. "Just come with me." Sam took her into the kitchen and sat her down on the counter. Evy watched as Sam made them a mug of hot chocolate. He held it in his hand as he helped her take the first sip. Evy felt warmer and less afraid right away. "How's that, Cricket?" "It's good, Sammy." Evy said. "What's the hot chocolate for?" "What hot chocolate?" Sam asked. "I don't see any hot chocolate." Evy giggled. "This hot chocolate." she said, pointing to the mug in Sam's hand. "Oh, this? That's not hot chocolate." Sam said. "It's not? What is it?" Evy asked. "It tastes like hot chocolate." "That's because it's chocolate flavored. It's scare juice." Sam said. "Scare juice? What's that?" Evy asked, looking carefully inside the mug. "It takes away your fear when you're scared." Sam said. "It makes you not be scared anymore. Is it working?" Evy smiled; she did feel better, and not as scared anymore. "Yeah. It is working." "Drink up, baby." Sam laughed. "I had forgotten about that." "Yeah. It worked, though." Evy said. "So what's scaring you?" Sam asked. "Is it testifying tomorrow?" Evy didn't say anything, just looked out the window. "Baby, you'll do fine. Just tell them what happened." Sam said. "I'll be right there the whole time." Evy looked guilty, but before she could say anything, Dean came in. "Hey, guys." "Hi." Evy and Sam said together. Once Dean was sitting down, Sam asked again. "What did you want to talk about?" Evy sighed. "I need to ask you two a favor." "What is it, kiddo?" "I don't want you in court with me tomorrow." Evy said, bracing herself for their reactions. Neither of them spoke for a moment, before Sam asked, "You don't want us there with you?" "Please don't be hurt." Evy begged. "The thing is, they're gonna ask me tomorrow details about what happened. Really, really specific details. And I just don't want you two to hear that." "Kiddo, we…" Dean started, but Evy cut him off. "I know it's a lot to ask." Evy said. "And I want to tell you guys what happened. I'll do that now, if you both promise me you'll let me do this on my own." "Baby, you don't have to tell us if you're not ready." Sam said. "I am. But like I said, they're going to be asking details tomorrow. I want you to know, but I don't want you to hear that. Please." Evy begged. Sam and Dean looked at each other for a moment before answering. "We're going." Sam said firmly. "But we'll wait in the hallway." Evy, relieved, grabbed Sam's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you." She said. She looked to Dean and said again, "Thank you." "Sure, kiddo." Dean said. He wasn't happy about it, but it made him feel better that he'd be there anyway in case she changed her mind. "You sure you want to tell us about it?" Sam asked. "Yeah." Evy said. She took a couple more sips of her hot chocolate, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Take your time, baby." Sam said. Another long pause, and then she started her story slowly. "I got to practice a little early. There was no one else there yet. I started running laps, and coach walked in." Evy took another sip. "He asked me why I was so early and I told him I just wanted to run. Then he told me that he needed to ask me something." "What?" Dean asked. "He asked me to go with him to his office. He told me to sit down, that he had a surprise for me. When we got there, he asked me if I was interested in going to basketball camp for the summer. That he'd sent in a video of me practicing to the camp and they were offering me a scholarship." "Was any of that true?" Sam asked. "No. I asked him for a brochure. I wanted to do it, but I told him I had to talk to you. He said he'd forgotten it and that he'd bring me one the next day." Evy explained. "We went to practice and it was just like normal. When he let us all out, he asked me to come back to his office after I'd showered and gotten changed." Sam's heart sank; he had a feeling he knew what was next. "When I got there, he told me to close the door. He said he was upset that I hadn't taken him up on the offer for the scholarship. That's when I started to get a really bad feeling. I wanted to tell him that I had to leave and get home, that you were expecting me, but he was blocking the door." Evy's voice cracked and she looked away from them, wiping at her eyes. When she looked back up at them, Sam was sad and Dean was angry. "I told him anyway, and I got up and started to walk towards the door. When I got there, he grabbed me by the hair and told me I wasn't going anywhere. He locked the door and pulled me to the desk…" "And that's when it happened?" Sam asked. Evy nodded. "Yeah." "What happened after that?" Dean asked. "I screamed at him to let me go. That I was late and my dad would be looking for me. He pulled my hair so hard he snatched some of it out. He told me if I screamed again or told anyone, he'd kill you two and then me." Evy said. "Son of a bitch." Dean whispered under his breath. "When it was over, he told me to get out and go home. That we'd talk more later about how I could make it up to him." Evy said. "I was crying and shaking but I got up and ran out as fast as I could." "I don't remember you crying." Sam said. "I usually can tell when something's upsetting you." "It was that day I texted you and said I was running late." Evy said. "I didn't get home until after seven." The pieces clicked then in Sam's mind. He remembered her being late one night, but he'd let it go because she had let him know and, although he couldn't remember exactly what she'd said, she'd given him a decent excuse. It was the night after that he noticed her starting to become withdrawn. "What did you do after you left the coach's office?" Dean asked. "Wandered around mostly." Evy said. "I went to the library and Dairy Queen, trying to get control of myself before I came home." Evy looked to Sam and asked, "Are you okay?" "What do you mean?" Sam asked. "You're crying." Sam reached up and wiped his cheek; he was crying and didn't even realize it. "I'm just sorry that you were hurting for so long and I didn't see it." Evy pushed Squish off her lap and grabbed Sam's neck. "You see it now. That's what matters." She pulled away from him and said to them both, "Thank you for being okay with me doing this tomorrow." "To be honest, we're really not. But if it'll be easier for you to talk without us there, we'll wait in the hallway like your dad said." Dean told her. Evy got up from the couch and hugged him too. "You're the best, uncle Deanie." "I love you, kiddo." "Love you too." Evy said. "Now let's eat. I'm starving." The next day, Sam waited anxiously in the hall after Evy had been called in to testify. He felt like he'd been there forever, and his patience was wearing thin. He was itching to open the door and go in, despite Evy's wishes, but he had made a promise and intended to keep it. Dean had been pacing the building, unable to stand the wait. It had been close to thirty minutes, and Sam finally pulled out his cell phone. He scrolled through his pictures, most of which were of Evy. In nearly every photo, Evy was smiling or laughing. In most of them, she had an arm around Sam or Dean, or was blowing kisses to them. He missed his little girl sometimes, but was so proud of the woman she was growing into that it took his breath away sometimes. Finally, forty minutes after Evy had gone into the courtroom, the doors opened and people began to file out. Evy came out wiping her face, but smiling. "How'd it go?" Sam asked right away. The prosecutor, Assitant DA April Lang, who had spent the previous week prepping Evy for her day in court, walked out and over to Evy. "You are the best witness I've ever had." "Really?" Sam asked. "Yes." April said, clapping Evy on the shoulder. "Good job, sweetie." "Thanks, April." "So are you done for the day?" Sam asked. "Not quite." April said. "We have to come back in an hour." Evy said. "The judge dismissed for lunch after I questioned her." April explained. "She gets questioned by Evans' defense attorney next." "Yeah." Evy said, biting her bottom lip. "Hey." April said. "You did good. Just hold your ground when we come back and everything'll be okay." "Thanks." Evy said. "Eat a good lunch." April suggested. "It'll help. I'll see you in a bit." When April left, Sam asked her, "Did it really go okay? How are you feeling?" Evy sighed. "It was…it was tough. He kept staring at me." Bastard, Sam thought but didn't say. "Do you want me to come in when you get cross examined?" Evy thought about it and decided, "Let's see how I feel when it's time." "That's fair. You hungry? You want to go across the street to the deli?" "I'm gonna run to the bathroom first." Evy said. "Okay. I'll go find Dean. Meet us over there?" Sam suggested. "I will." Evy said. "Can I have a hug?" Sam asked. Evy hugged him around the waist, and Sam told her sincerely, "I'm proud of you." "Thank you, Daddy." Evy said. "For everything." "I'll see you in a minute, baby." Sam walked out and Evy walked down the hall to the restroom. As she stood in front of the mirror washing her hands, she double checked to make sure that there was no one else in the restroom with her. She looked in the mirror and smiled. "You're stronger than him. You've almost beat him. Keep it up. You got this." Evy threw her paper towel away and walked outside. She heard her phone beep and expected it to be Sam checking on her. It was Jordan, who was out of town with his mom and dad, wanting to know how everything was going. Or, in his words, did you put that SOB under the jail yet? Despite the seriousness of what was going on, Evy laughed. She started to type an answer when she heard a voice that chilled her to the core. "Evelyn." Evy briefly thought please let that be dad coming back from the dead. But when she looked up, her worst fear was confirmed. Bill Evans was walking right towards her. Evy backed up against the wall, his warning from that afternoon in his office keeping her from screaming her head off. Evans got closer, until he was only about a few feet away from her. "Get away from me." Evy said. "I'm not going to hurt you." Coach Evans said, though he continued to walk slowly towards her, closing the gap between them. "I said leave me alone." Evy said a little louder. Evans got closer and closer, until he had placed one hand on either side of Evy's face. Evy was shaking now, trying hard not to cry in front of him. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, so hard that it took her breath away. She heard Coach Evans start to say something, and she prepared herself to scream out for someone as she kicked him hard in the stomach….until she felt him pulled violently back from her and heard him slammed against the wall opposite her. When Evy opened her eyes, a very angry, protective Sam Winchester was holding Coach Evans against the wall by the scruff of his shirt. His voice was low and dangerous. "If you ever come near my daughter again, I will personally march you into hell and throw you into the fire. If you ever put your hands on her again, I'll make you wish you were dead. Do you understand me?" "I was just going to tell her…" Coach Evans started, before Sam threw him against the wall again. "You have nothing to say to her." Sam said. "Daddy, let him go." Sam stared at Evans a few seconds longer, before pointing in the direction of the opposite side of the hallway and telling him, "Walk that way. Don't stop. If I see you near her again, I don't care whether or not she's here. I'll kill you." Sam reluctantly released Evans from the wall, who glared at both of them one last time before walking in the direction that Sam was pointing. When Evans was out of eyesight, Sam turned to Evy, who was still against the wall shaking. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Did he hurt you?" "No." Evy said. She grabbed Sam's waist and held on. Sam couldn't tell which question she was answering 'no' to. He checked her over once, then grabbed her hand. "Come on. Let's go find April." Sam said. April was furious, and went right to the judge, who nearly jailed Coach Evans all over again for breaking the protective order against Evy. The judge asked Evy whether she wanted to postpone the case for the next day, but Evy refused. Never before had Sam been so unbelievably proud of her than when she said, "I'm not going to let him scare me again. I want to finish this today." "Very well." the judge said. He turned back to Evans' defense attorney, who looked as if he wanted to sink though the floor. "You tell your client that if he approaches Miss Winchester again, he will go to jail for thirty days, no matter what. He will not intimidate her." "Yes, your honor." "Okay. This case is the only one I'm dealing with today, so I'll give everyone an additional two hours. Be back here at 4:00pm." When Sam finally made it back across the street with Evy, Dean and Jody were waiting. Sam told them what happened, and while Jody was more worried about comforting Evy, Sam pulled Dean to the side. He had formed a plan in his head from the time that he'd left the judges' chambers to the time he'd made it to the deli. He shared the plan with Dean, who agreed with him enthusiastically. Sam made an excuse as to why he and Dean needed to go, and together they headed out the door. Twenty minutes later, Sam and Dean were sitting in the Impala with Cass. They were waiting for someone they hadn't seen or talked to in years, but who had enthusiastically agreed to help. Soon enough, Crowley made it back to the car. Coach Evans sat between him and Cass. "What in the hell…?" Evans said, jumping so far in fright that his head hit the ceiling. "We'll get to that." Crowley said. "Right now, you need to listen to all of us." "And who are you?" Evans asked. "We're here about Evelyn Winchester." Cass said. Evans looked in the front seat and finally seemed to notice Sam there. "Look, I'm sorry I approached her…" "That's the least of your problems." Dean said. "Shut up and listen to our deal." "Deal? What deal?" Evans said. "Where you go once you leave this car." Sam said. "I go back to court…" Evans said. "Wrong." Crowley said. "You see, you've messed up. In a colossal way." "What does that mean?" Evans asked. "Well, you see, everyone in this car is rather fond of Evy." Crowley said. "He is an angel. From heaven." Crowley pointed to Cass, who stared at Evans with a glower that made Evans wither. "My name's Crowley. I'm a demon. The demon, actually. I run hell. And these two," Crowley pointed towards Sam and Dean, "are in charge of everything in between." "All of you are crazy!" Evans said. "Let me out." "We will." Sam told him. "We're not going to kill you. That's too good for you." "What does that mean?" "When you leave the car," Sam explained, "you're going to go find your lawyer, and tell him you want to plead guilty." "And why exactly would I do that?" Evans asked. "Because if you don't, these two get to duke it out over which one gets to take you." Dean explained. "Take me where?" Evans asked. Dean nodded to both Cass and Crowley, who simply touched Evans' forehead with one hand each. They were both showing him where he would end up and what would be done to him if they took him. Sam and Dean simply continued to stare at the coach, who screamed until Crowley and Cass let him go. "I'll do it." he said. "I'll do it. I swear. Just please let me go." Sam laughed bitterly. "See that's funny to me. Why should we let you go? My daughter begged you to let her go." When Evans stuttered, Sam said, "Never mind. You'll go straight to your lawyer. You'll tell him that you want to plead guilty. You'll admit what you did in open court and tell the judge you want the maximum penalty." "Fine. Fine. I'll do it. Just please, please don't send me….wherever it was you were planning to send me." Evans said. "Oh, you'll end up there." Crowley promised. "But whether it's today or when you're an old man, that's up to you." "If you ever do get out," Cass put in, "we will keep a very close eye on you. If you ever so much as approach another child, we will grab you off the street and, shall we say, dump you somewhere." "Dump me where?" Evans asked. "Somewhere worse than the little special effects show we just gave you." Crowley said. "One more thing." Dean said. "You tell anyone about this little meeting, you do die. Not until you're alone, but you do die. And then you end up with one of them." "Okay. Okay, I swear I'll do it. Just please let me go." Sam and Dean nodded, and Cass touched Evans' shoulder. Evans disappeared, and the four of them sat in the car together, not talking at first. Finally, Crowley spoke from the backseat. "Well, this has been fun." Crowley said. "What did you two show him?" Sam asked from the front seat. Bitter enemies though they were, Cass and Crowley smiled at each other. "His jail cell." Cass explained. "With a few special effects added." Crowley said, without elaboration. "Crowley?" Sam said. "Thanks." Crowley nodded. "I would say call me, but…don't." And with that, Crowley was gone. Cass, Sam, and Dean made their way back to the deli. Jody was still comforting Evy, who was so distraught after her confrontation in the hallway with Evans that she didn't ask where the three of them had been. Jody was suspicious, but didn't ask them about it. Evy decided that she wanted everyone in the courtroom with her when she was questioned the second time. So the entire front row behind the prosecution's table was Evy, Sam, Dean, Cass, and Jody. Evy gripped Sam's hand tightly, and Sam tried not to smile. The rest of the courtroom filed back in slowly. April came in and looked dazed, as did the judge and Evans' defense lawyer. Evans kept stealing glances towards Sam and Dean, until he saw Cass reach up and snap his fingers lightly. Dean leaned over and asked, "Why'd you snap your fingers? What'd you do?" "Nothing." Cass said simply. "But he doesn't know that." Before Dean could respond, court was called back into session. "All right, everyone, settle down." The judge leaned forward and finally spoke. "I've been a judge on this bench for thirty years, and I have to say what I'm about to do is by far the weirdest thing I've ever had to do. Mr. Evans, I understand that you now want to plead guilty to all charges?" An audible gasp was heard throughout the courtroom. Evans' attorney stood up. "Yes, your honor. Over my very strenuous objections, my client wishes to plead guilty." "And you are not interested in any kind of deal from the DA?" the judge asked. "No, your honor, he's not." "And Mr. Evans, you make this deal willingly and knowingly? You understand that you will be convicted of felony sexual assault of a minor?" the judge asked. "Yes, your honor." Evans finally answered, his voice shaky. "Very well." The judge answered. Evy looked up to Sam. "What does this mean?" she whispered. Sam smiled and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "It means it's over. He's going to jail." Evans made a full confession, turned to Evy and apologized. When the judge sentenced him to fifteen years in prison, the rest of the courtroom erupted in cheers. The case was dismissed, and Evy was laughing in relief as Evans was led away. Jody leaned over and asked Dean, "You don't know anything about this, do you?" Dean was smirking mischievously, but responded, "About what?", and Jody dropped the matter. Evy was still hanging on to Sam. "How do you feel, baby?" "I just can't believe it's over." Evy said. "He'll never hurt another kid again. And that's all because of you. Because you turned him in." Sam said. "I'm very proud of you." "Can we go home now?" Evy asked. "I want to do something that doesn't have to do with this case." "Sure, baby. Let's go." Sam said, and he released her so they could walk out of the courtroom. "I love you." "Love you too, daddy."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"No. No way." "Come on, why not?" Jordan asked. "I'm not getting Squish a girlfriend!" Evy exclaimed. Both of them dissolved into giggles, and Squish, sensing the conversation was about him, planted himself firmly between the two of them and patted each of them on the cheek. Evy and Jordan both scratched his belly, still laughing at him and each other. Both of them had graduated high school two weeks earlier. Jordan had been accepted to Minnesota State University, only a twenty-minute drive away from where they lived. Evy's ordeal with coach Evans had caught the attention of the local community college, where she had won a full scholarship. After some back and forth about not wanting "to be recognized for the worst thing to ever happen to me", she had decided to accept and would be starting in the spring. Evy and Jordan hadn't told anyone yet, but both of them were saving up enough money to get their own apartment together before Evy started school. Evy was nervous that Sam would say no to the plan, so she decided to wait and make sure it was feasible before bringing it up. When she and Jordan finally calmed down, and Squish was napping on top of the couch, Evy noticed that Jordan had gotten quiet. "You okay?" she asked. "Yeah." Jordan said, looking away from her. "Hey." Evy said, and Jordan turned to look at her. "Don't lie to me. What's going on?" "Luke broke up with me." "What? Why?" Evy asked. Jordan and Luke had dated the entire senior year. "I thought he was 'the one'." "Yeah. Me too." Jordan said. "When I said that to my mom, she told me I was too young to be thinking that way." "Don't you hate that?" Evy said. "When you're told you're too young for something?" "With a passion." Jordan said. "So what happened with you and Luke?" Evy asked. "He got accepted to Columbia. Said he doesn't want to be dating long distance when there's so many other guys he could meet there." Jordan said. "Bitch." Evy said, crossing her arms with a huff. Jordan laughed. "I thought you liked him." "I did. He was cute. But not if he's gonna treat you like that." Evy said. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "It might not help, but you still got me." Jordan smiled. "That does help. Thanks." Jordan stayed a couple more hours, before Evy kicked him out. Sam and Dean were both gone for the weekend, giving Evy the house to herself. She loved Sam and Dean, but over the last year, they'd been even more overprotective of her than normal. She didn't know how she'd ever talked them into leaving her alone for the weekend, but she had. She relished the feeling of having some time to herself, especially since she didn't have to worry about school. She tried to go to bed, but couldn't sleep. Nothing in particular was keeping her up, she just couldn't get to sleep. She eventually put on a load of laundry, watched another movie, and put on another load before going to sleep. She woke up the next morning and finished and folded up all the laundry. She decided to put it away as a surprise. She put her own laundry away first, then Sam's. As she put up the last of Dean's shirts in his closet something caught her eye. A box on the top shelf of his closet that she'd never seen before, labeled "Evelyn Winchester". Curious, she took it down and into the living room. Inside were photos and papers. Evy started looking through them. She found things she was surprised Dean kept-report cards, letters from her school, pictures that she'd drawn for him. She was also surprised at how meticulous Dean had kept these mementos. They seemed to be in order of date. Evy laughed at some of the things she found. She was nearly halfway through the box when something caught her eye. A photo of herself, eight years old, with a timestamp of March 15, 2001. How was that possible when she'd disappeared in 1999? As Evy dug deeper into the box, more questions popped up. Two photos of herself with John, older than age six. Pictures of Evy and Sam with a girl with long, blond, curly hair. Letters written in her handwriting to Dean that she had never seen before. Birthday cards from John for her tenth, eleventh, and twelfth birthday. Report cards from Capstone High School dated from 2005. And what really took her breath away-a high school diploma from Capstone High School, awarded to Evelyn Abigail Winchester, dated 2006. There were other photos in the box, but after finding the diploma, Evy couldn't look at any more. Evy felt numb. Had Sam and Dean been lying to her about how she ended up with them? She vaguely remembered another man showing up the day she'd landed at the bunker, telling her that he'd taken her out of her hospital bed and put her with them. Had he been lying too? But she did clearly remember her mother. She hadn't wanted to stay with Sam and Dean. She'd wanted to go home, back to what she knew, but everyone had told her it was too dangerous. Before she could think anything more about it, her phone beeped. It was a text from Sam. Dean and I are arguing about what to get for dinner. You choose. Anything you want. Evy thought for a minute. Did she want to confront them about this yet? The answer was yes. If she didn't, it would be bothering her all night. She decided to take the straightforward approach. I don't care about dinner. I need to talk to you both. How far away are you? It seemed like forever before Sam answered. She could picture him in the Impala, getting her answer and showing it to Dean, wondering what could possibly be going on with her. Neither of them were used to her being angry, especially with them. Sam eventually answered, We'll be there in a little less than an hour. Everything okay? I'm fine. Just get home as quick as you can, please. Evy answered. She turned her phone all the way off, certain that Sam would try calling her next. She was angry, and wanted him to squirm and wonder what was going on. She put the photos and mementos back into the box, leaving out the diploma from Capstone. She shoved the box back into the top of the closet, not caring that she didn't put it back just the way Dean had it before. She didn't care if she got in trouble right now. Evy took the diploma from Capstone and her own diploma and moved into the living room with them. She put both the diplomas under one of the couch cushions and sat on the other one. She crossed her legs and scratched Squish's ears. Nearly an hour later, the front door opened and in stepped Sam and Dean. Dean seemed annoyed, and Sam seemed both annoyed and worried. "Want to tell me what that was about?" Sam asked. "I need to ask you something. And I need you both to be honest with me." Evy said. Evy's statement made them both stop in their tracks. "Kiddo, what's going on?" Dean asked. "Are you mad about something?" "You could say that." Evy said. "Would you guys sit down, please?" Sam took the recliner nearest the couch and Dean stood against the wall. "Baby, what's wrong with you?" Evy took a breath and got it out. "I couldn't sleep last night so I caught up the laundry." "Okay." Sam said. "Thanks, but that's not really a good reason to drop a line like that and then ignore my calls." "I folded and put the laundry away too. And I found something in your closet when I was hanging up your work uniforms." Evy said, throwing glares at Dean. Dean suddenly withered under Evy's glare. "Kiddo…" "What did you find?" Sam asked. "Anything either of you want to tell me?" Evy asked. "Look, I don't know what's going on, but it'll go a lot quicker if you stop…." Sam said. Evy finally gave up and pulled both her diplomas out from under the couch. No one in the room spoke. Sam and Dean looked like they'd seen a ghost. Evy was angry, angrier than she'd ever been. This, to her, was worse than being hit by the car or attacked by her coach. Sam and Dean were the two people in the world she trusted to never hurt her. Apparently she'd been wrong to think that way. Evy glowered at them and said, "You know, I thought it was sweet at first that Dean kept everything form when I was little." Evy said. "Then I started finding stuff from 2001, 2002, and finally this. Which is weird, because how did I graduate from high school in 2006, when I supposedly disappeared in 1999?" Sam, unable to think of anything to say to her, turned to Dean and said, "You kept everything?" "I…I used to look at it sometimes. After she…" "After what?" Evy asked. "After I disappeared? What? Will someone please tell me what's going on?" "Okay, baby. We will." Sam said. The entire story came out. How Evy had actually woken up from her surgery and they'd gone home. How they'd all lived together for another couple of years before Sam went to Stanford. How Sam had left for a year to go to Stanford before Evy eventually moved in with him and his girlfriend. How she'd lived with them for three years before joining Sam and Dean on the road as a hunter. Falling into a coma. Graduating high school at thirteen. Sam dying. Dean going to hell. Sam leaving her at Bobby's and developing an addiction to demon blood. Being attacked by a hellhound and developing a limp that lasted the rest of her life. Going to Princeton and meeting a guy that later cheated on her. Her death from a monster virus, and finally landing at the bunker almost four years later. When Sam and Dean finally stopped talking, nearly an hour had passed. Evy hadn't said a word, and wasn't looking at either of them. Both of them were nervous. They had expected her to ask questions at some point, but she'd said nothing. Sam waited for her reaction, his stomach clenched in dread and fear. He'd known this day was coming, but that didn't mean he'd wanted it. "Baby? You okay?" Sam asked. Evy stood up and started walking back to her room. "I really don't know how to answer that." "Where are you going?" Sam asked. "Look, I know you're upset, but let's talk about this." "No." Evy said, whirling around to face him. "I'm not upset. Like I said, I don't how I feel about this right now. I'm going to Jordan's." "What are you going to tell him?" Sam asked. "When he asks why you're so upset?" Evy turned back to him, her anger full and certain now. "That's what your worried about? What I'm going to tell him?" "That's not what he meant…" Dean said, trying to defuse the situation. "That's exactly what he meant!" Evy said. "I was just going to tell him that you two have lied to me for years, but now I'm not so sure." "What does that mean?" Sam asked. "You don't get it, do you?" Evy asked. "When I landed at the bunker, I spent months feeling guilty because I thought you'd been left alone for years. I thought I needed to make that up to you somehow." "You never…." Sam said. "Don't tell me I never had to!" Evy said. "I felt like I did. And no matter how great you two were to me, for a long time living with you never felt like home. As great as it was, I wanted the you back that I knew. I didn't care about the motel rooms, living in the car, or dealing with dad, I just wanted you. Now I find out all that was for nothing." "Kiddo, please. Let's talk about this…" Dean begged. "We'll see." Evy said. She marched to her room, followed by Sam, Dean, and Squish. "Kiddo, don't go. Please." Dean asked again. "I'm leaving." Evy said firmly. She reached down and pet Squish. "Love you, buddy. I'll be back for you soon, okay?" "Baby, please…." Sam begged. "Just let me go." Evy said. "I'll come back, just…I need some space. Just let me go." Something in the way Evy said she'd be back made Sam freeze. He walked to her and grabbed her shoulder. She tensed, but didn't move. She also wouldn't look him in the eye. Her mind and emotions were raging, and Sam wanted to help. But would she let him? "Please stay." Sam begged. "Please. I don't care if you yell, scream, whatever, just please don't go." Evy picked up her backpack and flung it on her opposite shoulder. "Let me go." "No." Sam said firmly. "We need to talk about this." "Let. Me. Go." Evy said again. "Or I swear to you I'll start screaming at the top of my lungs." She's not bluffing, Sam thought, and released her. Evy left the house and did go to Jordan's. They went down to the local park, sat on the swings, and Evy started talking. Once she started, it was hard to stop. She told Jordan everything. From the truth about monsters, to the life story Sam and Dean had told her, to landing at the bunker, being raised by Sam and Dean the first and second time, all the way to finding out the truth earlier that same day. When she finished talking, it was long past dark, and Jordan was staring at the ground. "Say something." Evy said. Jordan stuttered a moment before saying, "Sorry. I'm still stuck on ghosts are real." Evy snickered. She'd been so wrapped up in feeling angry at Sam and Dean that she'd forgotten how much of shock finding out the truth would be for Jordan. "Sorry. I forget sometimes that not everyone knows about that. So, do you think I'm crazy?" she asked. Jordan took a long look at her. "No." he said. "I don't know why I don't think you're crazy, but I don't think you're crazy." "Thank you." Evy said, grabbing Jordan in a hug. "I didn't plan to tell you about all that tonight, but I was so scared you'd think I was nuts." "You are nuts." Jordan answered, and Evy laughed. "But I believe you." "Thank you." Evy said again. She released him, wiping relieved tears from her eyes. "What do you think about everything else? Am I wrong to be ticked off at them?" "Nope. Not even a little." Jordan said. "Really?" Evy asked. She'd been feeling guilty about storming out on Sam and Dean earlier. "Nope. You've got no reason to feel guilty. They lied to you. It's not like they didn't tell you you were adopted. They basically kidnapped you." "Why do I sense a but coming?" Evy asked. "But," Jordan said, "they did it because they love you and want to protect you. And I think you know that." Evy sighed. She did know that. She had no doubt in her mind or heart that Sam and Dean loved her. They had both given up their hunting lives to raise her. They'd both proved themselves to her over and over. She had been mad at them before, and they'd all worked through it together. So why did it feel so different this time? The answer came to her in a flashback. It's not fair, Sammy. I went to sleep with one family and woke up with another one. Sam had looked her right in the eye and told her he couldn't change it. He'd known how to send her back and just hadn't done it. "Earth to Evy." Jordan was tapping Evy's shoulder. "What?" "I said I'm starving. Do you want to go get some dinner?" he asked. "No thanks. I'm going to make my way home." Evy said. "You sure?" Jordan asked. "You want me to go with you?" "No. I'm gonna be enough trouble for telling you the truth." Evy said. "I'll go. Sit with you while you talk to them." Jordan said again. "No. It's okay." Evy said. "Assuming I don't get in too much trouble, I'll call you later." "Okay." Jordan said. He made a fist in the air and left it there. "Remember this?" Evy laughed and bumped his fist lightly. "Dork." "Geek." Jordan said. As Jordan walked away, Evy fought within herself over the plan she had been forming. She had her cell phone in her hand, which she saw had six missed calls from Sam, two from Dean, and two from Cass. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but she was so confused and hurt that the thought of going home was unbearable. With a heavy heart, Evy laid her cell phone on the swing next to her, looked to see if anyone was around, and walked off in the opposite direction of home.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Evy had been missing for five days. The first night, fueled mostly by anger, she'd simply walked until her feet got tired. Which, for Evy, after years of basketball and walking everywhere she went, wasn't until early the next morning, She didn't know where it was she ended up, but she stayed there until kids in the local neighborhood started leaving for school. Sitting on that bench next to the road, she made up her mind where she was going. She thought about Jody's, but she knew that Jody would call Sam and make them make up with each other. Evy wasn't ready for that. Claire was also a possibility. She knew Claire was hunting, and would be sympathetic. But she didn't really want that either. SO, as she stood in the raggedy bus station with all the money she'd saved for her share of the apartment with Jordan, the answer came to her. She'd go to the bunker. She didn't think that anyone would look for her there. She vaguely remembered where it was. They'd spent nearly two months there before finding their house. Dean had taught her how to backtrack and find her way back to the bunker if for some reason she ever got separated from them. Now definitely qualified as one of those times. It took all of the first day and most of the second to make it to the bunker. She was relieved to find that no one else had claimed it, and, exhausted, she'd simply found a room and fallen asleep. It was the afternoon of the third day that her anger started to shift. She had been so exhausted that she'd slept for nearly twenty hours straight. But when she woke up, she was starving. Her first thought was I wonder what daddy's making for dinner. She felt a little of her anger dissipate and slowly turn to guilt. I really messed up. Evy thought about calling Sam and asking if she could come home. As unlikely as she knew it was, she couldn't stand the possibility that he might say no. She also couldn't stand the thought of hearing how hurt and upset he, Dean, and Jordan were bound to be. She decided to start making her way back home. She went into town, bought some food and water and a backpack, then started to hitchhike back home. She spent the trip back thinking of her life up to that point. Sam giving up hunting for her. Getting their house in Lebanon and taking care of her. Constantly making her feel loved and cared for. Encouraging her to try things that scared her, but not forcing her to. Holding her constantly after being kidnapped by the Genai, even when she knew he was tired and his arms were aching. Making her feel like a superhero when she'd gotten hit by the car. How happy he'd been when she'd come home after spending the weekend in foster care. How patient he'd been with her as an oversensitive teenager. How supportive he'd been when coach Evans had hurt her. She also thought of Dean. He'd played a mostly supporting role, but he had had just as big an impact on Evy's life as Sam. He had taken the role of uncle to heart. He mostly supported and upheld Sam's decisions, but would constantly indulge her when they were alone. One more scoop of ice cream? Sure. Stay up thirty more minutes? Absolutely. If she was sad? Hurt? Scared? Lonely? That almost always led to a tickle fight that would leave her crying from laughter rather than sadness. As she thought of all they'd done for her, suddenly not telling her about how she'd ended up at the bunker didn't seem so bad. "I'm so sorry." she whispered to herself as she climbed a bus back home. Now, it was the end of the fifth day. It was approaching ten pm. There was one light on in the house, the lamp in the living room. She saw Squish sitting on the back of the couch, and someone scratching his fur. Evy took a breath and rang the doorbell, her heart hammering hard in her chest. Dean answered the door and stood there staring at her. Evy fought back tears, wanting to at least give them a chance to start yelling at her before she broke down crying. "Baby girl?" He asked, still unsure she was actually there. "Yeah. It's me." She said. "Can I come home?" Dean reached out and grabbed Evy into a long, crushing hug. Evy cried in relief. At least Dean was still speaking to her. Dean led her inside and over to the couch. As soon as she hit the couch, Squish jumped into her lap and nuzzled her neck, refusing to stop until she starting petting him. Dean had left the room, and came back in with Sam. It took a moment before Evy realized Sam was standing there. When she looked up, she saw that Sam looked exhausted, and her guilt threatened to choke her. "Hi, daddy." Sam stared at her another few seconds before asking, "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm okay." When Sam just continued to stare at her, she let out a choked sob. "Daddy, I'm so sorry…" Evy had expected him to be hurt, maybe even angry, but it worried her that Sam hadn't hugged her yet. Evy braced herself for the storm she saw brewing in Sam's eyes. Gone was the patient, caring, loving man who'd raised her. In his place was a bitter, tired, angry man she didn't recognize. "You're sorry!?" Sam asked, his voice slightly raised, but still calm and in control. "Do you have any idea what you've put us through this week? Me, Dean, Jody, Claire, even Jordan? We didn't know what happened to you! We thought you'd been taken, or worse!" Evy winced at the thought of Sam believing she was hurt, and not able to do anything about it. More than once, when she'd cried from pain that Sam couldn't take away, it had made him cry too. Ashamed, she looked away from him towards the floor. Even though she wasn't looking directly at Sam anymore, she could almost feel the anger radiating off him in waves. "You didn't think to at least call someone and let them know you were okay?" Sam asked. "I was scared." Evy explained. "I didn't know if you'd want to talk to me or not." "I don't care how scared you were. How angry, upset, pissed off. I don't give a damn." Sam said. "You should have called, emailed, something." Evy nodded and wiped her eyes. Tears were now flowing freely. Dean stood in the corner of the room, arms folded against his chest. He was angry with her too, but he was more relieved that she was finally home. She did need a reality check though, so he remained silent while Sam let out his hurt feelings. "I have taken care of you since the day you were born. I know it doesn't seem like that long to you, but that's almost forty years of my life. And I have never once been so damn angry with you." "Daddy, I'm sorry…" Evy choked out. "Stop talking." Sam snapped, making Evy jump. "You went way beyond messing up here. And apologizing or crying or staying in your room isn't going to cut it." Evy looked up, terrified. "What does that mean?" "Do you remember what dad did to me when I ran away to Flagstaff with you?" Whatever color had been left in Evy's face immediately drained away. She did remember that terrifying night, all too well. She had been four and Sam fourteen at the time. Though she hadn't been there for Sam's actual punishment, since John had made Dean take her out of the house, Sam had been very quiet and sullen for hours after that. She could also tell that he'd been crying. Evy had never asked him about it directly, but she'd filled in the blanks easily enough. Surely he didn't mean…? "Sam." Dean finally broke his silence. "You don't mean…" "Relax, Dean." Sam said, without breaking his stare on Evy. "The only thing making me not do it right now is the fact that I'm so pissed at you I'm afraid I'd hurt you. Do you understand that?" "Yes." Evy whispered, wiping her eyes. "What are you going to do?" "Nothing." Sam said. "Like I told you, this goes way beyond grounding you or lecturing you. I wasn't always there the first time around, and I've regretted that every day of my life since. But I have always, always been there for you. Am I wrong about that?" "No." Evy whispered. "So let me make sure I've got this straight." Sam said, running a hand through his hair. "You get pissed at us for not telling you the whole story about something that happened when you were six. We tell you the truth, and give you the space you demand, rather than ask for. We tell you you can basically do what you want, as long as you talk to us about it. And your choice, instead of working it out with us and explaining how you feel, is to run away and make us think you were kidnapped, or hurt, or maybe even dead." Evy still wasn't looking at him, so Sam continued. "You know, when Dean took you out of the house that night, dad told me something I never forgot. He said if I ever had kids of my own, and I treated them the way I treated you, I'd regret it. After everything had calmed down, and he told me you were my responsibility, I promised myself I'd prove him wrong. I thought I had." "Daddy, I'm sorry…" Evy sobbed again, unable to think of anything else to say. "SHUT UP!" Sam yelled. Evy put a hand to her mouth to quiet her cries, but Sam wasn't finished. "I used to tell you I was always proud of you, no matter what. Now I'm…" "Sam!" Dean shouted from the corner. "Enough." Dean nodded in Evy's direction. She had her hands in front of her face, her whole body shaking in sobs. Sam stopped talking, realizing that nothing else would get through to her right now. She had completely shut down. Dean grabbed her shoulder gently. Evy flinched as though he'd hit her. "Why don't you go to bed, kiddo?" he suggested. Evy nodded, scrambling off the couch as fast as she could. She ran to her bedroom, Squish on her heels, and slammed the door. Her muffled sobbing could be heard all the way in the living room. "You think I was too hard on her, don't you?" Sam said. Dean sighed. "No, actually, I don't." "Really?" Sam asked. "No. You were borderline, but you didn't cross." Dean said. "What do you mean?" "Well, threatening to do what dad did to you was way overboard." Dean said. "But telling her that you're not proud of her…" "Well should I be?" Sam asked. "She was reckless, thoughtless, selfish, and stupid all at once." "Should you be proud of what she did? No. Of who she is? Yes. And baby girl's so fragile she might not see the difference." Dean said. "And remember, she didn't do this for no reason." "What does that mean?" Sam asked. "This is our fault?" "Partially, yes. We did lie to her, Sam. We took her away from the only family she'd ever known. And we told her that we couldn't send her back. That part is on us." Dean said. Sam huffed and looked away from Dean. "Sam, there's something else you don't know about that night." Dean said. "The real reason Dad made that speech about you being in charge of Evy from now on." "What?" Sam asked. Dean sighed. "After dad sent you both to your own rooms, he asked me if I thought he'd been too hard on both of you." "What did you say?" "I said that you actually running away was on you. But you making the decision to run away was on him. That you and him were both equally responsible." Dean explained. "Is that why dad calmed down after that?" "Yeah. He realized he'd basically punished Evy for no reason and that you were good at stopping him from being too hard on her. He calmed himself and talked to you two a little while later." Dean said. Sam was shaking his head. "That was different, Dean. I ran away to protect her from dad. I didn't do it to hurt him. She did this because she was angry and wanted to hurt us. Well, she did it." "Sam, don't do that…" Dean pleaded. "I'm going to bed. Good night, Dean." Sam said. "Say good night to baby girl, too." Dean said. If Sam heard Dean, he didn't say anything. For the first time ever, Sam felt no compulsion to check on Evy. He walked right past her door, to his own room, shut the door, and laid down to go to sleep. Evy had heard him go by. When she saw Sam's feet go past her door, she whispered, "I'm sorry, daddy."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It had been three days since Evy returned. Though Dean was upset with her over running away, he felt sorry for her when he realized that Sam wasn't going to let her off easy. So he welcomed her the next morning with a tight hug, a kiss on the cheek, and a simple request to not scare him by doing it again. Evy swore she wouldn't, and Dean let the matter drop as far as he was concerned. Jordan was angry when she told him she had run away on her own, but Dean had warned him that Sam was giving her the silent treatment. Jordan made her promise him that she wouldn't do it again, and they were back to normal too. Sam was the complete opposite. He wouldn't talk to Evy, wouldn't look at her, and would leave the room if she came in. Dean tried to convince him to talk to her, to hash it out more calmly than he had the night she'd come home, but Sam refused. Evy went to bed crying every night, which Dean pointed out to Sam, but Sam seemed unfazed. Evy decided to try and force him to talk. She woke up one morning an hour before Sam did. She made the coffee for him and Dean, made pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Sam walked in just as she was cleaning off the counter. He was already dressed for work. "Hi." she said. When he didn't respond, she said, "Good morning." "Morning." Sam said, without enthusiasm. "I made you some breakfast." Evy said, pointing to the table. Sam poured himself some coffee into a travel mug. "I have to get to work." he said, turning and starting to walk out the door. Sam had been in the kitchen for forty-five seconds, but he had not looked at her the entire time. Evy leaned back against the kitchen sink, devastated. She wanted to cry, but felt like she was out of tears. Just before Sam made it to the kitchen door, she asked, "How much longer is this going to go on?" Sam froze. "What are you talking about?" "This!" Evy said, pointing to herself and Sam. "Ignoring me." "I don't know." Sam said. Evy was desperate and couldn't think of anything else to do. "Talk to me." she begged. "Please." Sam actually laughed at this. "Now you want to talk?" "Yes! Please. Don't do this. Don't shut me out." Evy said. "I don't have time for this." Sam said. "I'm going to work." Evy went after Sam as he started to head towards the front door. "Do you hate me?" Sam's hand was on the front doorknob when she said that. Her question made him stop, and for one glorious moment, Evy thought he'd turn around and actually say something to her. She'd take anything at this point, as long as it wasn't an answer of 'yes' to her question. Instead, Sam opened the door, walked out, and closed it behind him. Dean had woken up when he heard the two of them talking, and held his breath, hoping they would make up. When Sam left, Dean cursed at him under his breath. Dean crawled out of bed and went to the living room, where he found Evy quietly crying on the couch. He didn't say anything, just sat next to her and wrapped both arms around her. "He hates me." Evy sobbed into Dean's shoulder. "No. No, he doesn't." Dean assured her. "Then why won't he talk to me?" Evy asked. "And why wouldn't he answer me?" "I don't know, kiddo. But I'll talk to him tonight and try to find out." Dean said. "This has gone on long enough." Dean ate the breakfast she'd made before leaving for work himself. He'd tried to cheer her up by acting liking it was the best thing she'd ever made, but Evy barely responded. She picked at her breakfast, and when Dean left, he urged her to get out of the house and do something. Evy promised she'd think about it, but she had no desire to get out. When she heard Dean's car pull out, Evy picked up her phone and called Jody. "Hey, kiddo. How's it going?" "Hi." Evy said. Jody didn't miss the fact that she was sniffling. "What's wrong?" "Can I come stay with you for a while? Until I start school?" "You just got home, sweetie. Why do you want to leave again?" Jody asked. "Won't your dad be upset?" "I doubt it." Evy said sadly. "What do you mean, baby?" Jody asked. "What's wrong?" Evy told Jody the whole story about what had happened when she got home. Sam blowing up at her, giving her the silent treatment ever since, ignoring her, and finally what had happened when he left that morning. Jody bit her tongue. She knew Sam was hurt, and angry, and he had every right to be. But Evy had more than shown genuine remorse for her actions, and was trying to make it up to him. Sam was the adult in this situation, and it seemed he needed a reminder of it. "Listen, sweetie. You know you can stay with me anytime you want. But let me come get you, okay? I'm off for a couple days. I'll be there in a few hours." "Okay. Thanks, aunt Jody." Evy said, grateful she had a place to go this time. "Sure. I'll be there soon." Jody repeated. "Love you, kid." "Love you too." Evy hung up with Jody and headed to her room. She started to pack, glad that Dean wasn't around to stop her. She wondered how Sam would react if he was there, and thought about calling or texting him to tell him she was leaving with Jody. He won't care, a voice in the back of her head told her. Once the bag was packed, she sat on her bed wondering what to do now. Jody was still more than four hours away, and no one else would be home for even longer than that. She decided to write Sam a letter, explaining herself, since he wasn't letting her do it when they were together in person. Dear Daddy, I want to tell you again I'm really sorry for hurting you. I know you think I did, but I didn't run away to hurt you. I only realized later, once I was gone, that I had done that. I was mad when I ran away, but that's not all. I was feeling guilty, confused, and sad. I ran away because I didn't know who I was anymore. You told me about this amazing person that you and Dean had raised, who grew up helping you two fight monsters and that eventually saved the world. You lost her, so when I came back into your life, you kept me so you'd have what you called a 'second chance'. Here's the problem. She's not me. Sure, we have the same life until age six, but she isn't me. We don't have the same experiences, like the same things, or feel the same feelings. And all I could think as you and Dean told me about all this was, if you kept me because you wanted her back, then how badly could you really want me? It made me feel like a copy of someone else you really wanted around. And based on what you told me, a bad one. That's why I ran away. I wasn't happy that you guys didn't tell me, but that had nothing to do with me running away. I was upset you lied about it, but I get it now. I was way too young back then to understand it. I do love you. You have always been there for me, and I've never doubted that you loved me. I know I ruined that. I'm going to Jody's so maybe you can have a break from being so angry. I don't want to go, but you've made it pretty clear the last few days how you feel about me right now. If you ever do want to talk to me again, I'll be there. Please reconsider, daddy. Do what you want-talk to me, yell at me again, scream, hit me, whatever, just please stop shutting me out. It hurts too much. Love, Evy xoxo Evy was crying again when the letter was written, but she folded it up and put in an envelope, addressed it to Sam, and left it in the living room in front of the TV. She laid down on the couch and fell asleep. She dreamt while she slept, mostly flashbacks of happy memories she had with Sam. She was woken up by someone shaking her and calling her name. "Wake up, kiddo." "Huh?" Evy asked, sleep still heavy over her. "It's me." Jody had used her spare key to come in. "Here, drink this." Jody handed her a cup of coffee, and sat next to her on the couch. "All right, tell me what's going on." Evy recapped everything for her again. "I don't know what else to do." "I'll take care of it." Jody said. "Just trust me, okay?" Dean came home a few minutes later. He was surprised to see Jody, but Jody simply told him she was there to help them and to wait and see how. When Sam pulled up in the driveway, Jody sent Evy to her room. "Dean, follow my lead." she said, to which Dean simply nodded. Sam walked in and stopped at the sight of Jody. "Hey, what are you doing here?" "I came to see you guys. Do I need a reason?" Jody asked. "Of course not. But you usually do." Sam said as he came in to give her a hug. "How you doing, Sam?" Jody asked. "I'm okay." Sam answered as he sat next to her, although he couldn't look her in the eye when he said it. "Yeah?" Jody asked. "Then why did Evy call me a few hours ago, crying and begging me to come get her?" Sam did his best to seem unbothered by that, but it stung. "She did, huh? It's her choice. She wants to go, she can." "And when I asked her if you would be upset she said 'I doubt it'." Jody continued, as if Sam hadn't even spoken. That stung too. "She said that?" "Yes." Jody answered. "I've heard her story. What's yours?" Sam gave her his version of the last week or so. He tried to rationalize his reaction to her, but his resolve was starting to crumble. If she was believing he didn't care about her at all, he needed to rethink how he was acting. Even given his thoughts on the way he'd treated her the last few days, Jody's strong reaction surprised him. "Sam, you selfish bastard!" "What?" Sam asked. "You heard me." Jody said. "Sam, I told you when Evy first got here that you were going to run into stuff this time around that you didn't know how to deal with. You wanted to give her a normal life, and you did a great job with that. But, newsflash, you got a normal teenager too. They do stupid, reckless things, especially when they're mad, or hurt, or confused. She was all three. She's mostly been a smart, responsible kid, but the first time she does something stupid that hurts your feelings you turn your back on her." Sam suddenly felt just as ashamed as Evy had when she'd returned home. "Read this." Jody said. Jody handed him the letter Evy had written him. Evy had shown it to her, and given her permission to give it to Sam. Sam read it through and felt sick to his stomach. He'd thought her motivation for running had been purely selfish. But it hit him hard that Evy was absolutely right. She wasn't the same person that had died in his arms nearly fifteen years earlier. She did have a similar personality, but had lived different experiences, done different things, and had a different life. He had known that in the back of his mind for years, but refused to acknowledge it. If she wasn't the same person, then it meant he really had lost her and would never get her back. "Sam." "What?" Sam asked. "Go talk to her. Fix this before it's too late." Jody urged. Sam nodded, got up and walked slowly down the hall towards Evy's room. He knocked softly and waited, remembering the first time he'd explained to her at age six that she could refuse to let him come in if she didn't want him in her room for some reason. "You can always come in, Sammy." she said innocently. "Come in." Sam pulled the door open. Evy was sitting on her bed, her suitcase packed and zipped up. She looked away from him, and had Squish in her lap. Squish meowed loudly at Sam, as if he could tell that Sam was the one causing Evy's pain. "Can I talk to you?" Sam asked cautiously. Evy looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes. "I wish you would." Sam frowned and sat next to her on the bed. "Baby, I'm so sorry." "Sorry for what?" Evy asked. "The way I've been treating you. You didn't deserve that." Sam said. Evy's bottom lip started quivering. "Did you mean what you said when I came home?" "I said a lot of things." Sam reminded her. "About not being proud of me anymore." Evy asked, fighting back tears. "And regretting it…" "No." Sam said firmly. "No. I was angry, and I was hurt, and I said a lot of stuff I didn't mean." "I'm sorry, daddy…" "I know, baby. I know you are. I'm sorry too, okay?" Sam repeated again. When Evy just nodded and didn't respond, Sam showed her the letter. "Jody gave me this. I have a couple more things to tell you. Will you let me explain?" "Sure." Evy said. "You're right. You are a different person from the Evy I knew before. When she died, it ripped my heart out. It hurt so bad I thought I'd die from the pain alone. When you landed at the bunker, it was like I told you back then. I thought it was a second chance." Sam said. When Evy wiped her face, Sam reached out and took her hand in his. "When you went missing, and we didn't know where you were, it was like I was going through that all over again. Then when I realized that you did it on purpose, that's why I got so angry. But that's not an excuse. I should have talked to you about it, like I'm always telling you to do, not screamed at you like that." Evy nodded. "Thank you." "But, just because you are a different person from her, does not mean that I don't love you just as much. Baby, I never would have made it without you. You're the reason I didn't die from a broken heart. You saved my life." Sam said. Evy smiled for the first time in days. "I did?" "You bet you did. I love you, baby." Evy jumped up and wrapped her arms around Sam's neck. "I love you too, daddy." "And please, if you're ever that mad or that hurt because of me again, just talk to me, okay? Like I said, I don't care if you yell, scream, whatever, just talk to me." Sam asked as he held on to her. "I will." Evy promised. "Good. Because if you don't…" Sam pulled her away from him a little so he could look in her eyes. "If you scare me like that on purpose again, especially because you got mad and didn't talk to me about it, I will follow through on my threat. You'll get the same punishment dad gave me when I ran away. You understand me?" Evy swallowed hard. "I understand. I won't, daddy, I swear." "Okay. I believe you." Sam said, brushing some of her hair out of her face. "How about we start over?" "Sounds good." Evy said. "I feel bad aunt Jody came all this way for nothing though." "I have a feeling she did exactly what she set out to do." When Evy's stomach growled, Sam laughed. "What do you want for dinner?" Evy grinned. "Pie." Sam laughed again and pulled her into another hug. "I love you so much." "Love you too, daddy." "Seriously, what do you want for dinner?" San asked again. "Who says I was kidding?"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"I'm not leaving him!" Sam stood behind Evy as a now lethargic Squish lay on the vet's table. Evy grabbed a chair and pulled it in front of him. She grabbed one of Squish's paws and petted his face gently. The tears wouldn't stop flowing, but she spoke clearly. "You're gonna be okay. The doctor's just going to give you a little prick. It'll put you to sleep and make you feel all better." Squish meowed weakly and licked Evy's hand. "Shhhh. I'm right here. I won't leave you. I love you." Evy looked at the doctor and nodded. The doctor found it hard to work though his own aching heart. He so often dealt with neglected and abused animals, or well-meaning owners who just didn't know how to care for their animals properly, that it killed him when an owner who was as loving and conscientious as Evy was had to be in this situation. Squish had seemed healthy until a week earlier, when Evy had brought him in because he wasn't eating. After some testing, the doctor had delivered the news two days earlier that Squish was in the end stage of cancer, and was no doubt suffering. Evy had taken him home and spent one last day with him. The doctor cleared his throat, looked to Sam for approval, then, as gently as he could, injected Squish. Almost immediately, Squish took his last breath. Evy buried her face in her arms and sobbed, until Sam put a hand on her shoulder. She stood, threw her arms around Sam's neck, and sobbed into his shoulder until she couldn't cry anymore. "Evelyn Abigail Winchester…" The crowd erupted. Cheers, claps, and whistles filled the small gymnasium. As Evy took her college diploma, she looked over and saw that it wasn't the entire crowd erupting. It was one row-Jordan, Sam, Dean, Jody, Claire, Alex, and even Cass. She waved to them, and returned to her seat. "You may now kiss the bride." Evy and Mickey shared a kiss, for a moment oblivious to the rest of the room. The pastor announced them, and they turned to walk out. Evy caught Sam's eye, and she saw he'd been crying. Forgetting about the 'order' of the wedding, she walked over, grabbed Sam's neck with one arm, kissed his cheek, and proceeded out. "Happy birthday to you…" The party was now in full swing. Evy was enjoying the birthday cake that Jody had made for her. Mickey attempted to take Evy's piece of cake off her plate, but she playfully slapped his hand away. She smiled and shared a kiss with him. Mickey grabbed a chair and sat next to her, grabbing her hand. Sam wasn't aware of any of this, however. He was over in the corner, double counting the candles from Evy's cake. There were twenty-six of them. "Daddy? We have a surprise for you." Evy handed him a birthday card, which Sam did read. It was thoughtful, and Sam started to thank her for it. But when he opened the card, he suddenly forgot everything the card said. The message inside didn't read happy birthday. Instead it was a note written 'don't make any plans for Halloween'. Sam opened the small package she'd given him. Inside was a baby bottle, two onesies, one blue and one pink, and an ultrasound photo. When Sam realized what she was telling him, he looked up at her with his mouth gaping open in shock. All of this was running through Sam's head as he sat in the waiting room. Evy's doctor had remarked that Evy had the biggest family waiting for her that he'd ever seen. Jordan and his partner Scott were there. Dean was pacing the entire waiting room; he had placed two gigantic teddy bears in a chair in the corner. Cass seemed curious and detached from the proceedings, though Sam knew he was eager to meet the new additions to the family. Jody was trying to convince Dean not to go down to the delivery room. Sam's leg was bouncing up and down quickly. Mickey finally came out, dressed in a pair of blue scrubs, running a hand over his face and wearing a broad smile. All commotion in the waiting room suddenly stopped. "Everyone's fine." he said. "Mom and babies both. One boy, one girl." Everyone congratulated Mickey, clapping him on the shoulder and offering him a hug, except for Cass, who simply offered him a firm handshake. "What are their names?" Jody asked eagerly. "Sorry. Evy made me promise to wait. She wants a few minutes alone with Sam first." Mickey said. "She's down on the last room on the right." "Okay." Sam said. He got to the room and knocked, then slowly walked in. "Hello…?" "We're over here." Evy was lying on the bed, towards the far left side. She was holding her little boy in her arm while her little girl lay just beside her on the bed, on top of a blanket. She had one hand on the little girl's chest, rubbing it gently. Sam walked over slowly. "Oh, my goodness." "Can you pick her up please?" Evy asked. "I would love to." Sam said. He reached down and very, very carefully pulled the little girl into his arms, then sat down on the bed next to Evy. She stared at Sam with the biggest brown eyes he'd seen since the first time he'd met Evy the day she was born. "Hello, gorgeous." Sam said. "I'm your grandpa Sam. What's your name?" "Roberta." Evy said. "Roberta Johnnie." Sam nearly choked. It can't be, he thought. "And this," Evy said, shifting the little boy in her arms a little, "is…" "Samuel Dean." Sam said at the same time as Evy. "How'd you know that?" Evy asked. "Mickey and I kept their names to ourselves." Sam thought about telling her the truth. He'd had a dream just before the first Evy had died about the life she would never have. In it, she'd gotten married and had a set of twins, a boy and a girl, named Roberta Johnnie and Samuel Dean. But Evy still felt insecure about herself at times, and didn't really like to hear about her own 'twin', as she called her. "Lucky guess." Sam said with a smile. Evy shrugged, too tired to argue with him. She yawned and asked, "Aren't they beautiful?" "Yes. They both are." Sam said, taking his first real look at Samuel while still holding Roberta. He was sleeping. Sam looked at Evy, who seemed exhausted. "Just like their mommy." Evy smiled and laid her head against the pillow behind her. "Mommy. I like that." Roberta suddenly stuck her arms up in the air and made a loud gurgling sound. Evy laughed. "She wants your attention." "Yes, ma'am?" Sam asked, and Roberta gurgled again. "I think she's gonna be a grandpa's girl." Evy remarked. "She already likes you." "Of course she will. Why wouldn't you be?" Sam asked. "You're the one that kept mommy up every night, aren't you?" "Let's hope that doesn't last." Evy said with a loud yawn. "You want to get some sleep?" Sam asked. "Not yet. I want to enjoy them a little more." Evy said. Samuel continued to sleep soundly, and Roberta suddenly started to whine. "No, no, none of that now. Come on." Sam said. When Roberta refused to stop fussing, Sam got an idea. "I know what'll calm you down." Sam pulled his legs up onto the bed, and Evy laid her head on his shoulder. Samuel slept contentedly. Despite her wish to stay up with the twins, Evy's eyes closed slowly as Sam's voice lulled a still wide awake Roberta to sleep too. Sam decided everyone in the waiting room could wait. "Don't you feel it growing day by day, people gettin' ready for the news. Some are happy, some are sad…"