A/N: Hey y'all! I know it's been a while, but between work and some family stuff going on, it's been harder than normal to keep a steady momentum going. Hope everyone's doing well!
"Hey, Baitfish, how was school?"
Bobby knew the second the question left his lips that something was wrong. Evy was unnaturally quiet. She placed her backpack next to the door, took her shoes off, and walked into the living room to sit down, all without saying anything to Bobby. Bobby, not used to being ignored by Evy, got up from the desk and sat next to her. His suspicions were confirmed; Evy didn't even move when he took his seat next to her. Though her eyes were staring at the floor, Bobby could tell her brain was a thousand miles away. Bobby gently shook her shoulder, but the six-year-old first grader jumped as though he'd shot a gun right next to her.
"Sorry, Baitfish, didn't mean to scare you." Bobby said. "I was just worried. Did you hear me talking to you?"
"No. Sorry. I was thinking about something." Evy said.
"I can see that. You okay? Did something bad happen at school?"
"No. Not really." Evy said.
"Well, you gonna tell me or do I have to tickle it outta you?"
Evy swallowed and her eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Baitfish, what is it?" Bobby asked. "Come on, you're scaring me. Are you hurt or something?"
Evy shook her head. "No. We had an assignment in class today. We had to draw a picture of our families and talk about them."
"Okay…" Bobby said, and had a feeling he knew where this was going.
"Well, most all the kids in my class went before me. They were all talking about their moms and dads and brothers and sisters. And I got to thinking about…"
Evy wiped her eyes, and Bobby answered, "You got to thinking about your dad."
"Not just daddy, my mommy too." Evy said. "I didn't know mommy and now daddy doesn't want me. And I got really scared."
"Scared of what?"
"If mommy's not here and my own daddy don't want me, what's gonna happen when you and Sammy don't want me no more either?"
As if he'd heard Evy's question from far away, the front door slammed and Sam stood there in complete shock. "How could you ever think that we wouldn't want you?"
"Sammy…"
"Listen to me." Sam said, edging himself between Bobby and Evy. "Do you remember when I had you in Flagstaff? What I said to you every night before we fell asleep?"
"That you loved me?"
"And what else?" Sam pressed.
"That you'd always be there for me?"
"Exactly." Sam said. "I don't know if daddy'll ever come back to see us. But family isn't just a mom and dad, Cricket. It's the people in your life that, no matter what, are always there for you. Now who does that sound like?"
Evy sniffed and smiled. "You and uncle Bobby."
"Who else?" Sam asked. "Think about it. Who calls you every night, even if he doesn't talk to me and Bobby?"
"Deanie."
"Right." Sam said. "See, Cricket, you still have a family. And you always will. It's a little different from normal, but we'll never ever leave you. And we would never not want you."
"You promise? Both of you?"
"I swear on my life, Cricket. I'll always love you and be there for you."
"I second that, Baitfish." Bobby said. "You feel better?"
"Yeah. I feel better." Evy said. "Can I have a snack now?"
The night passed uneventfully. Evy clung to Bobby and Sam tighter than normal, each silent request for a hug or a kiss being answered enthusiastically and with no hesitation whatsoever. By bedtime, she was back to her usual cheerful self, even putting up a bit of fight when it was time to go to sleep. But hours after she had fallen asleep, and soon after Bobby and Sam, the peace was shattered again.
"Sammy!"
Sam stirred and opened his eyes. He thought he'd heard Evy's voice calling him, but decided it had just been a dream. Evy always came to him when she'd had a bad dream, so she must still be sleeping. Just as Sam was about to fall asleep, the voice called again, this time much sharper and louder.
"SAMMY!"
No dream. Evy was awake and screaming his name. Sam checked the clock-2:17am. He quickly jumped out of bed and headed towards Evy's room. He flipped on the light to a disturbing sight. Evy sitting up in bed, clutching at her stomach, tears streaming down her face.
"Cricket, what's wrong?" Sam asked.
"My stomach! It really, really hurts!" Evy said.
"Let me see." Sam said. "Do you feel sick?"
"Yeah." Evy said.
Sam was alarmed. Evy had been through the stomach flu before, but she'd never been this pained and weepy with it. Sam lifted her shirt and fought a gasp. Her stomach looked swollen, and when Sam moved to gently touch it, Evy shook her head fiercely.
"No, no, no, no…."
"Okay, Cricket. Hang on, I'm just going to touch your forehead to check for a fever, okay?" Sam said.
"No stomach, Sammy, please." Evy wept. "Please, it hurts so much."
"I won't, Cricket, I swear." Sam placed his hand to her forehead and there was no doubt about it. She was burning up with fever. "Cricket, how long have you been feeling like this?"
"I woke up and felt like there was too much in my tummy. I tried to go back to sleep but it just got worse and worse."
"How long ago was that? Do you know?" Sam asked.
"Just a few minutes." Evy cried.
"Cricket, I'll be right back."
"Don't leave!" Evy begged.
"I'm just going to get uncle Bobby. I swear I'll be right back." Sam said, kissing her forehead and not giving her a chance to answer. Sam closed the distance between Evy and Bobby's room in less than two seconds and pounded on Bobby's door. "Bobby! Wake up!"
Bobby flung the door open. "Sam, what the hell…?"
"It's Evy. She's sick, really sick." Sam said.
Bobby then noticed how pale Sam seemed to be. "What's wrong?"
"Her stomach. She said she woke up feeling full then the pain got worse. She's got a fever too."
Her appendix, Bobby thought. "Sam, go get the thermometer out of the bathroom. Now."
"Yes, sir." Sam said, without hesitation.
Bobby walked down the hall into Evy's room, finding her still in the same position she'd been in when Sam left. "Hey, Baitfish."
Pitiful, sad, sickly eyes turned on Bobby. "Uncle Bobby, help!"
"Okay, okay, let me see your stomach."
"No touch it. It hurts. It hurts a lot." Evy begged.
"Relax, Baitfish. I'm not going to touch it, I just need to see."
Evy reluctantly lifted her pajama shirt and let him examine her stomach. Bobby tried to stay calm, but he could see she was in distress. There was no doubt they'd be going to the emergency room. Sam came back with the thermometer, and Bobby nearly jumped when he read the results. 102.9.
"Come on, Baitfish. We're going to the hospital."
Sam held a still crying Evy in the car, not bothering to buckle her in. Time went quickly, and less than two hours later, Evy was on her way to emergency surgery. The nurses allowed Sam and Bobby to walk down the hall with her but stopped short of the operating room.
"You guys have to wait out here."
"Can we talk to her first?" Sam asked.
"I can give you a minute. But we have to get her in the OR soon."
"Okay." Sam turned to the now sleepy Evy on the bed. She had been given a painkiller, so she had finally stopped crying so much, though she was still in some pain. "Cricket, you're going in now."
"I'm scared Sammy."
"I know. But me and Bobby will be right out here, and you'll see us when you wake up." Sam assured her.
"You'll feel better once the doctor takes out what's making you sick, Baitfish." Bobby said.
"Promise?" Evy asked.
"Promise."
"I'm sorry, guys. We have to go." One of the nurses said.
"Okay, Cricket. Just close your eyes and go to sleep, and when you wake up you'll feel better. I love you." Sam said.
"Love you too, Baitfish."
Evy never responded, because she was already drifting off to sleep and being ushered into the OR. Sam called Dean, who agreed to get in the car and speed towards them as fast as possible. Sam wanted to fall apart, and tried hard to hold it together, but when the third hour from Evy being wheeled into surgery passed with no word about her condition, Sam nearly lost his composure altogether.
"What is going on?" Sam shouted, pacing the room for the fifteenth time.
"Sam, sit down or you'll wear a hole in the floor."
"Bobby, where is she?" Sam asked, his voice cracking.
"I don't know. We have to wait and find out, Sam. I know it's hard, but worrying so much about it won't do any good."
As if he'd heard Sam and Bobby talking, Evy's doctor came out and walked towards them. Sam's heart nearly came out through his throat. There was blood on the front of the doctor's scrubs, and he had a grave look on his face.
"Mr. Singer?"
"Where's Evy?" Sam asked immediately. "Dr. Love, where is she?"
"I need the two of you to sit down." Dr. Love said. "There's been a complication."
"What kind of complication?" Bobby asked as he pulled gently on Sam's arm to convince him to sit.
The doctor took a seat of his own. "We got her appendix out, but not before it burst."
"Oh, no." Sam whispered.
"They're closing Evy right now. We need your permission to start her on antibiotics for the infection."
"You got it." Bobby said, taking the clipboard Dr. Love had been hiding under his arm.
"Is she allergic to any medication?" Dr. Love asked.
"No." Sam answered. "When will we be able to see her?"
"It's going to take about another hour to finish closing her up and get her stable. I've already prepared a room for her. You guys can go up there and wait for her if you want."
"Doctor, I promised her we'd be there when she woke up. Will that be possible?" Sam asked worriedly, the idea of Evy waking up without him scaring him worse than anything.
Dr. Love shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid I can't answer that question right now. We took some samples of her blood, and we're going to test to see how severe the infection is. We also gave her some really strong medication. Those are the two strongest factors that will determine when she wakes up again."
"Thanks, Doc." Bobby said. He could see Sam was eager to ask more questions, but he wanted Evy in her room, stable and hopefully feeling a little better, before they took up any more of his time.
"I need to get back to Evy. If you have any other questions when Evy's dropped off back to her room, please feel free to ask."
Another hour passed, and finally Evy was wheeled back into the room that Sam and Bobby had been escorted to by a nurse. She looked even tinier and more fragile on the bed than she had before going into surgery. There was a small breathing tube attached to her, along with a heart monitor that seemed to be beating erratically. Sam tried hard not to cry, but lost the battle. He was staring at Evy from next to the bed when Dr. Love began speaking.
"Evy's infection seems to have kept itself to her abdomen." He explained. "That's not good, but it could be much, much worse. We have to give the antibiotics a chance to work, so all we can do now is wait and see if the treatment will work."
"Wait how long?" Sam asked.
"I'm going to give it twenty-four hours. If there's no change, I'll reevaluate and see where to go from there."
"Thanks, Doc." Bobby said.
Dr. Love nodded and left. Sam was still staring at Evy, willing her to move, to speak, even to cry. Anything other than staying completely silent. It wasn't even nine in the morning yet, he noted to himself, and he'd already had enough drama for an entire month.
"Sam…"
"I'm not leaving her." Sam said resolutely.
"That's not what I was going to say. You need to eat. I'm going to get breakfast, and I'll bring it back here, but if you don't eat, I'll make you go home and get some sleep. Got it?"
Sam looked up and smiled. "You're not going to make me leave her?"
"As long as you promise you'll eat like you're supposed to, no."
Sam nodded. "Promise. Thanks, Bobby."
Bobby nodded in agreement, then walked up to the other side of Evy. He placed a hand to her cheek, and pulled it back quickly. Her fever was still there, blazing. Bobby took her hand and kissed it.
"I'll be back, Baitfish. Uncle Bobby loves you, little girl."
Once Bobby was gone, Sam climbed up on the bed next to Evy. He wanted badly to hold her, cuddle her, take her in his arms and never let her go, but he didn't want to disturb the medical equipment and risk it harming her further. So he took her other hand and pleaded with her,
"Please, Cricket. Please, please, please wake up. I can't do this without you. You mean everything to me. I know you don't feel good right now, but just fight through this thing and come back to us, okay? Until then, I'm right beside you, baby. Don't give up. Keep fighting."
