Shots

Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. The original character of Evelyn Winchester does.

A/N: This has been in my mind for a few days, and I finally sat down and wrote it. It was inspired by watching a friend's little boy get his shots in the pediatrician's office. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

"Evelyn Winchester."

The pediatric nurse had seen many babies in the doctor's office in her long career. She'd seen crying babies, happy babies, babies that threw fits, babies that were clingy, babies that wanted to be independent; she'd seen them all. But this one surprised her. Her father was there, but he wasn't holding the baby. Her brother was holding her. He couldn't have been more than ten years old, but the way he held the baby, talked to her, and soothed her, it was clear that either her brother knew better how to take care of her or her father just didn't care. The boy and his father made their way towards the nurse.

"Hey there, you guys ready? I'm nurse Sally. Right this way."

The father seemed nice enough, if somewhat quiet and withdrawn. The brother introduced himself and the baby right away. As they walked down the hall towards the exam room, Sam, the brother, continued to talk to the happily babbling Evelyn, whom he called 'Cricket'. Every time he said 'Cricket', Evelyn would giggle and touch the side of Sam's face, and he would kiss her hand and hug her, making her laugh all over again. The father watched them like he was watching a 'How-To' video. Before Sally could really watch them anymore, they made it to the exam room.

"Right in here, guys. I'll be right back in with the doctor."

Sally left and went to get the doctor. When she came back, Sam was bouncing the baby on his hip and spinning her around lightly. Evelyn giggled more. The doctor walked in and Sam sat Evelyn down on the exam table. Sally expected Sam to go and sit on one of the chairs in the office and for their father to come and take over. But that wasn't what happened. Their father, who she had figured out from the paperwork was named John, just continued to sit and watch the two of them. Evelyn watched Sam closely, reaching out for him and starting to whimper when she saw the two strangers in the room.

"It's okay, Cricket. I'm right here." Sam said, taking her hand.

"Hey there, I'm Dr. Leonard." The doctor said, taking the rolling chair from under the sink and pulling it so that he was sitting in front of Evelyn. "Who do we have here?"

"This is Evy."

"Well, hi there, Evy. And you are?" Dr. Leonard asked.

"I'm Sam."

"Are you Evy's brother?" Dr. Leonard asked.

"Yeah."
"Okay." Dr. Leonard turned to John. He was also a little concerned about John's lack of communication. "How are you today, sir?"
"I'm fine." John answered, politely enough.

"What seems to be the problem?"

Sam and John both described Evy's symptoms, and the doctor determined that she just had a bad cold. He told them to just keep 'doing what you're already doing'-give her plenty of fluids, clear her mucus, hold her as much as possible while she sleeps so she can breathe better, let her sleep as much as she needs to, and come back if she got worse. Sam listened carefully, taking Dr. Leonard's words to heart.

"See, Cricket. You'll be okay." he said.

"You know, I noticed from Evy's records that she's behind on some of her shots. Would you like to go on and take care of that today?" Dr. Leonard asked.

John started to say something, but Sam cut him off. "How many? Which ones?" When Dr. Leonard answered the question, Sam looked at John. "She needs them, Dad."

John nodded. "You're right."

"Okay. Nurse Sally will sit with you guys until I get back." Dr. Leonard turned and left the room. He came back with what he needed, and prepared the first injection.

"Can I sit her in my lap?" Sam asked.

"Sure." Dr. Leonard answered.

Sam jumped up on the exam table and pulled Evy into his lap. Evy started to whimper, and Dr. Leonard prepared to inject her. Sam had both arms around her stomach, resting his chin lightly on the top of her head. As Dr. Leonard moved closer to Evy, her whimpers increased in volume, but Sam continued to comfort her.

"I'm right here." Sam whispered. "You're safe. I'm right here."

When Dr. Leonard stuck Evy with the first injection, Evy let out her first full cry of the day. Two tears had fallen out by the time Dr. Leonard had taken the needle out, but Sam had already jumped into action. He squeezed Evy as tightly as he could without suffocating her, then turned her slightly so that he could look in her face. Evy was now sitting on Sam's knee, and John had finally left his chair in the corner and was standing next to them. He held a hand on Evy's back, rubbing it slightly while Sam wiped the tears away from her face.

"Cricket, you're safe. Hey. You're safe. Sammy's got you. Daddy's here with you. Nothing can hurt you, baby. We're here."

Dr. Leonard stuck Evy again. She reacted the same as before, this time sticking her hand in her mouth, but as soon as Sam started talking, she stopped crying and looked at him rather than the needle. Tears still fell, which Sam immediately wiped away, but Evy no longer cried out loud. Dr. Leonard looked over and saw that Sally was just as surprised as he was. The way the little girl depended on her brother was a little disturbing to both of them, but to watch it melted both their hearts. As Evy watched and listened to Sam, she seemed to forget about Dr. Leonard and nurse Sally. Dr. Leonard gave Evy her last two shots, and when he took the needle out for the final shot, Sam grabbed her and hugged her again.

"You did it, Cricket! You're so strong!"

Evy wrapped her arms around Sam's neck and held on, speaking the first full word that Dr. Leonard and nurse Sally had heard in the entire visit. "Sammy."

"That's right, Cricket. Sammy's got you. Come on. It's time to go."

Nurse Sally watched as the little family left the office. She waited a moment before calling the next child back. Despite being sick, Evy was giggling again when they went out the door, so loudly that nurse Sally could hear her on the other side of the office. When they were outside, she saw Sam throw Evy in the air gently and catch her right away, spin her around, and kiss her forehead. Evy was smiling, and even her quiet and withdrawn father was now cracking a grin.

You'll be okay, sweetheart. Sally thought, as she called the next child in.

"Daniel Peterson."