Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. The original character of Evelyn Winchester does.
Evy picked up Squish with one hand, and rubbed her eyes with the other. Uncle Bobby had put her to bed for a nap, and she had slept, so it was time to get up now. She was sleeping in a big girl bed now, and it was still hard to get down from it sometimes. She knew Sammy didn't like it when she tried to get down herself, but he wasn't here. Sammy, Deanie, and Daddy were on a trip until tomorrow, and she was staying here with uncle Bobby. Evy climbed down carefully off the bed and started to walk down to the kitchen to find uncle Bobby. After her nap, he had promised her a snack, and her tummy was making funny noises.
"Unca Baby?"
"In here, Baitfish." Uncle Bobby called from the kitchen.
Evy walked into the kitchen and over to uncle Bobby, who was sitting at the table with someone else. The new man looked kind of grumpy, but she wasn't scared. Uncle Bobby was grumpy a lot too, but he was really, really nice. Uncle Bobby picked her up and hugged her, then sat her in his lap.
"You sleep good, Baitfish?" Uncle Bobby asked.
"Yeah." Evy said, hugging Squish and yawning. "Can I has my snack now?"
Uncle Bobby laughed. "Sure, I guess. A deal's a deal."
Uncle Bobby got up, still holding Evy, and walked to the cupboard, still holding Evy. He pulled one of her cups out for her, filled it with milk, then sat her at the table in her own chair. As Uncle Bobby got her snack ready, Evy drank a little of her milk and stared across the table at the new stranger. Uncle Bobby didn't seem scared of him, so he must have been a friend.
"Hi." Evy said politely.
"Hey, kid." He said.
"I'm Evy. What's you name?"
"Rufus." The stranger said. He seemed just as scared of Evy as she had been of him at first.
Evy took Squish and sat him on the table. "This is Squish. He my friend."
"That's nice." Rufus said.
Uncle Bobby sat the cookies in front of her. "There you go, Baitfish."
"Tank you, uncle Baby!" Evy said.
She loved staying with uncle Bobby. The pile of cookies was enormous. He always gave her a lot more than Sammy or Daddy did. She grinned, thinking about the face Sammy would have had if he'd seen the cookies on the table.
"You're welcome, Baitfish."
"Mr. Wufus, you want some cookies too?" Evy asked.
"No thanks."
"You sure? They really good." Evy said. She took one cookie and held it to Squish's mouth. "Here you go, Squish."
Rufus Turner did not like kids. They were annoying, loud, messy, and a nuisance. Bobby had told him he couldn't go on the hunt because he had the kid here. Rufus hadn't said anything, but that only deepened his feelings about kids being annoying. So now he was taking a break at Bobby's for a few hours before setting out on the hunt. But as he watched Evy, something changed. She fed cookies to Bobby and Squish. She giggled when Bobby took the cookies from her hand, and was thoroughly convinced that Squish was eating them too. Before long, Rufus found himself doing one of the only things in the world that scared him worse than hunting. Talking to a kid.
"Hey, Evy?"
Evy giggled as Bobby took another cookie from her hand. "Yes, sir?"
Damn, why's this kid so polite? Rufus thought, as he asked her, "I changed my mind. Could I have one of those cookies?"
"Sure!" Evy said. "You want a chocowate one or vanilla one?"
Miracles do happen, Bobby thought to himself later that night. He made dinner as Rufus entertained Evy in the living room. He had believed no one or nothing could change Rufus' curmudgeon nature, but apparently he was wrong. It made sense when Bobby thought about it. More than once, he'd seen John melt like butter in Evy's hands, so why should Rufus have been any different? After feeding them both dinner and washing the dishes, Bobby found Rufus in the living room, with Evy in his lap. They were watching Pinocchio, Evy's favorite movie. Evy had Squish in one arm and a cup of milk in the other. When the movie was over, Evy yawned loudly and her eyes were opening and closing.
"I think it's bedtime, Baitfish. What do you think?"
Even as she yawned, Evy said, "I not think so, unca Baby."
"Oh, you don't? And why's that?" Bobby asked.
Evy pouted a little. "'Cause Sammy not here to put me to sweep."
She wasn't just pouting and trying to avoid her bed; she missed Sam. Damn it, John, why'd you have to take both of them with you? "I know, Baitfish. But he'll be back before you go to bed tomorrow night, and you can bet he'll put you to bed."
"I miss him, unca Baby."
"I know." Bobby said, kissing her on the forehead. "But you don't want Sammy to get mad at me because I didn't make you go to bed, do you?"
Evy thought about it for a minute, frowning in concentration. "No. I guess not."
Bobby bit back a laugh. "Thanks for that, Baitfish. Come on."
"I coming." Evy said. She was still sitting in Rufus' lap. She turned around and grabbed his neck, then kissed his cheek. "Night night, Mr. Wufus."
A stunned Rufus didn't know how to react at first. "Uh…"
"Hug her back and tell her good night, ya danged idjit."
After glaring at Bobby, Rufus placed a hand on Evy's back, patted it, and said, "Good night, kid. Sweet dreams."
Evy released Rufus' neck and held her arms up to Bobby. Bobby picked her up and carried her back to her bed. He'd been planning to spend a little time with her, maybe read her one of her stories before she went to sleep, but Evy was breathing deeply and sleeping soundly before Bobby even laid her down. Bobby pulled her blanket up to her chest, made sure she had Squish, and kissed her cheek.
"Good night, Baitfish. Love you."
Bobby turned and left the room. Rufus was still on the couch, flipping through the channels on Bobby's TV. Bobby picked up the handful of books and toys that Evy had strewn throughout the living room that day, smirking the whole time.
"What the hell are you grinning like an idiot for?" Rufus asked.
"Don't like kids, huh?" Bobby asked.
"Shut up, Singer." Rufus snapped.
Before he fell asleep that night, Rufus went to the room Evy was sleeping in and checked on her. She looked so peaceful, sleeping with the cat in her arms and the blanket wrapped over her. She squeezed the cat every few seconds, and her feet were twitching slightly. She was having a dream, and she was running in it. Rufus had a thought that made him feel sorry for Evy. This kid's in for a lifetime of pain. He didn't know how likely he was to see her again, so Rufus walked in, patted her arm, and whispered to her.
"Good night, kid. And good luck."
