Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. The original character of Savannah Winchester does not.
A/N: This is a fragment I found buried in the deep recesses of my computer. I've written a story with Savannah Winchester before. That Savannah was Sam's daughter. This Savannah in this fragment is Dean's daughter. I wrote this long before I ever started my Evy stories, so I hadn't even conceived of any of my other original characters yet. The scene takes place in the episode from season 9, Road Trip, where Dean and Sam part ways on the bridge. Dean leaves his little girl behind with Sam, who finds himself slightly overwhelmed at having to take care of her by himself.
Big, fat, miserable crocodile tears dripped down the face of Savannah Winchester faster than she could wipe them away. Daddy had been gone for days, and her stomach hurt. Really, really hurt. She had tried a little while earlier to tell uncle Sammy about it, but he'd just gotten mad and told her to go back to bed. She'd tried, she really had, but her stomach just wouldn't stop hurting. She'd gotten out of bed and tried to go to him again, but he'd threatened to ground her if she got out of bed one more time. So, rejected, brokenhearted, and in pain, Savannah had climbed back into bed, crying her little heart out.
And there she sat, wondering what to do now. She was sure that she would throw up if she didn't do something. But if uncle Sammy had gotten mad at her getting out of bed to tell him she felt sick, how mad would he get if she threw up in her bed? Poor Savannah was lost, confused, and hurting. The one thing she wanted, some love and comfort from either her daddy or her uncle Sammy, was the one thing she couldn't have.
Then she got an idea. Daddy had told her once that if she ever needed help and she couldn't get to him or uncle Sammy, to call for her uncle Cass. She didn't need a phone or anything, just call his name as loud as she could and ask for his help. Savannah definitely needed help right now, and uncle Sammy was refusing to listen to her. So, not knowing what else to do and hoping that it would work, Savannah very, very carefully sat up, being careful to not put any pressure on her stomach. She winced and narrowly avoided screaming when a jolt of pain ripped through her. When she could finally talk again, she spoke as clearly as she could, without alerting her uncle Sammy to the fact that she was awake again.
After all, she didn't want to get grounded.
"Uncle Cass." she said into the room. "Uncle Cass, I need your help. I'm really sick. Please come help me."
Almost instantly, a whooshing sound came from next to her bed. Savannah was a little scared, but she had seen uncle Cass come and go many times; she knew right away it was him without even looking. Uncle Cass immediately turned on her bedroom lamp and crouched down next to her, concerned.
"Savannah." He said, the worry in his voice making Savannah relieved. She'd wondered if he'd get as upset as uncle Sammy had. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"
"My stomach." Savannah said. "It really hurts."
"Let me see." Cass said, gently moving her hand away from her stomach.
Savannah reluctantly moved her hand away, and when Cass gently touched the side of her stomach, Savannah's tears immediately started flowing fresh down her face. Cass knew right away what the problem was.
"Savannah, listen to me. I can heal you, but it will hurt a little more for just a moment. I need you to stay as still as you can. Then it will be over. Do you understand?" he asked.
Savannah nodded but didn't speak. She knew Cass hadn't meant to hurt her, but when he'd touched her stomach it felt as though he was sticking a knife into her. Cass grabbed one of her hands in his, then set to healing her with the other.
Savannah did her best to stay still. It did hurt, a lot….and then, as suddenly as it had started, it didn't. Cass was still holding her hand, and it took Savannah a moment to realize that that she didn't hurt anymore. When she realized it, she looked at Cass with a weak, watery smile, and wiped away the tears that were still streaming down her face.
"Thank you." she said quietly.
"You're welcome." Cass said, offering her a kind smile in hopes of making her feel better. "Do you feel better? Does you stomach still hurt?"
Savannah shook her head. "No." she answered.
"Then why are you still crying?" he asked. Then Cass realized something. "Why didn't you tell Sam you were sick? Why didn't he call me?"
"I tried to tell him earlier." Savannah explained. "He got mad at me and told me to go back to bed."
"I see." Cass answered. He opened his arms, inviting Savannah to climb into them. "Why don't we go see him together?"
Savannah nodded, climbing into Cass's embrace gratefully. He lifted her off the bed gently, and she laid her head carefully on his shoulder. She did feel better, a lot better, but she was tired and desperately in need of some comfort. So far, he had been the only one to offer it to her. Cass led her into the study, and she heard Sam's voice before she saw him.
"Cass? When did you…?" Seeing Savannah in Cass's arms, his tone immediately changed.
"What happened?" he asked, getting up and walking over to them.
"I just healed her. Her appendix was about to rupture." Cass told Sam matter-of-factly.
"What?" Sam asked. "Savannah, why didn't you tell me you were sick?"
Savannah turned her big, brown eyes towards her beloved uncle. Sam was startled for a moment; she looked so much like Dean it was scary. But she didn't reach for him, just kept a tight hold on Cass.
"I tried." Savannah said, not without a touch of accusation in her voice. She was wiping tears away again with her fist. "You got mad at me and told me to go back to bed."
Savannah noticed that uncle Sammy no longer looked mad. He looked sad. Really sad. She didn't know what to call it at only four years old, but her uncle was feeling guilty. He didn't say it because he didn't want to scare her, but he realized that if Savannah hadn't thought to call Cass, she very likely could have died. He also felt guilty because she'd been hurting so bad and he'd sent her away to go through that alone.
"Baby, I'm so sorry." Sam said. "I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you. Please forgive me."
Savannah seemed reluctant at first, but she finally pulled away from Cass and reached over for her uncle. Sam took her and held her close, until he remembered that her stomach had been hurting.
"Does that hurt when I hug you like that?" Sam asked.
Savannah shook her head and squeezed him tighter. Sam walked over to a chair with her, pulling her up into his lap. When he felt something wet fall on his shoulder, he pulled her away from him for a minute. She was crying again.
"Honey, what's wrong? Does your stomach hurt again?" he asked.
"No." she said.
"Then what is it, baby? Please tell me." Sam urged her, rubbing her back.
Savannah took a moment to answer. The fight that daddy and uncle Sammy had had that night on the bridge was still fresh on her mind.
Four Days Earlier
Savannah stood on the far side of the bridge with uncle Cass, looking back sadly at her daddy and uncle Sammy. They were fighting over something. What exactly they were fighting about, she didn't know, but she hated it when they were arguing. When they got along, she felt safe and loved. But when they argued, it made her feel sad and scared. She was afraid that uncle Sammy would leave this time, or that she and daddy would be packing up and leaving. She turned away from them for a moment, but before she turned back around, daddy had come over to her.
"Savannah. Come here, sweetie."
Savannah had walked over to him. She didn't like the look on daddy's face. Either the two of them were leaving or uncle Sammy was going to leave. She'd have to say goodbye to Sammy one way or the other, and she didn't want to do that.
"Daddy, what's wrong?" she asked.
She didn't expect him to say what came next. "I have to leave, baby."
"What do you mean?" Savannah asked. "Where are you going?"
"I don't know, sweetheart."
"What about me?" she asked.
"You're gonna stay with uncle Sammy and uncle Cass." Daddy answered, brushing some stray hair out of her face.
"When will you be back?" Savannah asked.
Daddy seemed really, really sad now. "I don't know, baby. I might not come back. It's not safe for me to stay here with you."
"What do you mean?" Savannah asked. Surely daddy wouldn't just leave her for good. He wouldn't do that.
Daddy didn't answer her. She didn't know this, but he didn't answer her because he couldn't. He was fighting back tears of his own, and he was afraid if he talked anymore he would start crying and scare her. So instead he kissed her forehead and hugged her, long and tight. He told her he loved her, and Savannah held onto him as tightly as she could, and when daddy finally pried her off of him and started to walk back to the car, she was crying and running after him.
"Daddy, no! Come back, please!" she shouted.
Before she got halfway to the car, however, she felt a pair of strong arms lift her up. She knew it was uncle Sammy, and she struggled against him but it was no use.
"Savannah, stop!" he said. It wasn't really an order, more of a request. "You cannot go with him."
"Daddy, come back!" Savannah screamed over Sam's shoulder and directly into his ear. "Don't leave me!"
"Savannah, honey, he's gone. I'm sorry, baby." Sam said.
Savannah screamed one more time as the Impala drove away. "Daddy!"
She continued to struggle and fight against Sam, but when the Impala was out of sight a few seconds later, she stopped screaming and just sobbed into Sam's shoulder as hard as she could. Through broken sobs she kept repeating 'Daddy'. Sam said nothing, just continued to hold her and rub her back. They climbed into Cass's car. She expected Sam to put her in the backseat, buckle her up, and sit up front with Cass. But he didn't. He got in the back with her and held her in his lap. No one tried to shush her crying, no one turned on the radio to drown her out. She cried for her daddy for what felt like forever, eventually falling asleep in the backseat of Cass's car.
"Savannah?" Sam's voice broke Savannah out of her daydream. "Honey, what's bothering you?"
Sam asked.
Savannah felt bad admitting it. She knew uncle Sam was trying, and she didn't want to make him feel bad or get angry at her again.
"I don't want to make you sad too." she said.
"Please, baby. Tell me what's wrong." Sam said. "Maybe I can fix it."
"You can't fix it." she said quietly.
"Try me." Sam said, smiling, trying to make her stop crying.
"I miss my daddy." she admitted sheepishly.
"Oh, baby." Sam said. "I know you miss him."
"Did daddy leave because of me?" she asked.
"No!" Sam said firmly. "Listen to me. Daddy left because of daddy. You had nothing to do with it. Okay?"
"Okay." Savannah answered. She sniffed and wiped another tear away from her face. "Does he still love me?"
"Yes." Sam answered again, just as firmly. "Your daddy loves you, honey. He always has and always will. Just like me." Sam said.
"Then why did he leave me?" she asked.
Sam didn't get a chance to answer, because Savannah started to cry again. She buried her face into Sam's shirt and sobbed. Sam wanted to comfort her, wanted to tell her that everything would be okay. But he resisted that urge. He didn't know if Dean would come back, and that was all that Sam knew she wanted. So he did all he could. He held her close, rubbed her back, and told her over and over again that he loved her.