A/N: Part of this chapter is lifted from my story Year by Year.

Evy slept the entire way to Bobby's. When they pulled up in his yard, it was close to lunchtime, but a cranky and exhausted Evy was having none of it. She clung to Sam's neck tightly. Every effort to ask her what she wanted to eat was met with a firm shake of her head. Ten minutes later, the tired but infinitely patient Sam placed Evy on Bobby's kitchen counter. Evy did not want to let him go, but settled for Sam holding her hand.

"Cricket, listen. You haven't eaten in almost a whole day. You need something in your stomach." When Evy shook her head again, Sam asked, "Why don't you want to eat, baby?"

"I don't feel good." Evy said.

"I know." Sam said, hugging her and kissing the top of her head. "I know, sweetie. Listen to me, okay? You don't feel good because you're really tired and you're hungry. Once you get a bath and get some food and some sleep, I promise you'll feel a lot better. Okay?"

Evy said nothing, but she didn't resist this time.

Progress, Sam thought. He then got another idea. "Hey, Cricket? I bet if you want, while I'm giving you a bath, Bobby'll make those burgers you like so much."

This definitely piqued Evy's attention. She sat up and looked at Sam with a pouting bottom lip. Sam could tell she was thinking over what he'd suggested. After taking a few breaths, Evy asked pitifully,

"With the cheese in the middle?"

Sam smiled and brushed her hair out of her face. They looked to Bobby, who was smiling at both of them.

"You got it, Baitfish."

"There you go." Sam said. "You ready for a bath?"

"Almost." Evy said. She turned towards John. "Daddy?"

"Yeah, little one?"

"I'm sorry I hit you." Evy said. "I didn't think it was you."

John smiled. "It's alright. I'm actually very proud of you for that."

"You are?" Evy asked.

"Yep. You were afraid but you fought back the best way you could. That was very brave of you." John said.

Had Evy not been so exhausted, she would have smiled at that. But she just nodded, and held her arms out to Sam. Sam picked her up and carried her to the bedroom first, where he picked out some clean, warm pjs for her. He gave her a bath, attempting to get her to play by splashing a little and making some extra bubbles. Fifteen minutes later, when he had her dried off and changed, Sam saw more tears were falling down her face.

"Cricket, what is it?" Sam asked as he wiped the tears away from her face.

"I miss Squish." Evy said.

"I know, honey." Sam said.

"It's my fault he's gone." Evy said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. He had noticed that Squish was torn apart when he picked her up, but had decided not to ask her about it for fear of upsetting her even further. "What happened to him, baby?"

Evy recounted the story slowly, and Sam bit his tongue to stop form getting angry. He knew about the demon pretending to be John, Dean, and Missy, but destroying Squish made him livid. Evy depended on Squish for comfort and for security, and she looked lost without him. When she finally finished her story, Sam grabbed her into a hug.

"Listen to me." Sam said as he held her. "What happened to Squish was not your fault. You did everything you could do to keep him safe. Understand?"

Evy nodded from under Sam's arms but didn't move.

"Let's go eat." Sam said gently as he ran his fingers through her hair. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Evy whispered.

Sam helped her into the kitchen, where he watched her slowly eat a decent meal of three quarters of a burger and a handful of fries. Though she perked up a little, it was still a long, miserable day for everyone. Evy still clung to Sam, not wanting him to leave her line of sight. When Sam's arms got sore from holding her, he sat her on the couch in Bobby's front room and put on a movie, hoping it would help her fall asleep. She eventually did, and Sam picked her up and moved her to the guest bedroom.

Sam fell into a fitful sleep a little later, keeping one hand around Evy's waist to let her know he was there. He woke up not long after, when Evy started whimpering and kicking in her sleep.

"Cricket, wake up."

Evy didn't wake; she only cried more.

"Cricket!" Sam called when Evy started crying in her sleep. "Cricket, wake up!"

Evy only cried harder.

"Cricket! Baby, come on, please wake up!"

Evy suddenly sat up in bed, startled awake by Sam's shaking her. She realized she was not still in the cell, being held by the demon; she was at Bobby's house, sleeping in his guest room. It was Sam sleeping beside her, not the demon. She reached for Squish to hold him, then remembered why he wasn't there and started crying even harder. Sam grabbed her and held her tight, and Evy just sobbed into his shoulder. Sam tried to reassure her she was okay, that it was just a dream, that she was safe now. But his whole world in the last twenty-four hours had been turned upside down. He had not completely lost the pit that he'd had in his stomach when they'd discovered Evy missing.

"You're safe baby." Sam said. "It's okay, you're safe."

"Sammy." She said mournfully, tightening her hold on his neck. "I want Squish."

"I know, sweetie." Sam said. "I know."

"Hey, baby girl."

Sam and Evy looked in the doorway. Dean stood there, holding one hand behind his back and grinning. Sam had wondered what Dean had been doing all day. He'd buried himself in Bobby's garage and refused to come out. Evy watched him, keeping her head on Sam's shoulder. Dean moved towards her slowly, bending down in front of her and placing one hand on her arm.

"I've got a surprise for you." Dean said gently.

Evy sniffed. "What is it?" she asked, breath hitching in her chest.

Dean pulled his arm out, and Evy gasped. He handed her a stitched up Squish. Evy took him from Dean, turning him over in her hands. Dean had wrapped a piece of gauze around his middle, but otherwise Squish looked the same.

"You fixed him!" Evy said, smiling for the first time since she'd gotten back to them.

"Yep." Dean said. "He just needed some stitching up."

Evy climbed off Sam's lap and grabbed Dean around the neck. Dean embraced her, the thought of her smile from a few seconds ago making his heart flutter in his chest. He hated the fact that she was just as aware of the supernatural at four years old as he had been, so he savored the moments like this when he got to put a smile on her face. He felt Evy kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, Deanie."

"You're welcome, baby girl." Dean said, holding her and rocking her slightly. "Anything for you."

Evy pulled away from Dean and looked at her brothers sadly. She knew she was safe with them now, but she was afraid of another nightmare. She wrapped one arm around Squish and asked,

"Will you both sleep with me?"

"Sure thing, baby girl." Dean said.

He climbed into bed beside Evy, and Sam scooted over, so that he was on one side of the bed, Dean on the other, and Evy was nestled between them. Sam laid back down, and wrapped both arms around her. Evy's thumb slipped into her mouth, something she hadn't done in months. Sam, who had patiently broken her of the habit by silently pulling her thumb out of her mouth when she did it, said nothing, just kissed the top of her head and watched her for a moment. Evy was soon in a deep, peaceful sleep.

"Good night, Cricket." Sam whispered. "We love you."