A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I struggled with it a lot, but I like the way it turned out in the end.

Sittin' In a Tree is on hiatus right now. The recent episode 'Lebanon' has inspired a couple of new ideas that I can't wait to get written down. I know I've said it before, but I am planning to finish it. Might take some time, but I will.

Sam and Ellie and Dean and Tally each have one more chapter after this one.

Sam and Ellie: It's Okay to Not be Okay

Sam had expected Don's return to be emotional. But with the exception of the day Amelia had reunited them and the argument about Don reenlisting, it was as if Don had never been gone. He ate dinner with them four or five nights a week. Ellie's weekends extended from Don picking her up from school Friday afternoons into Sunday nights so that Don could take her to school on Monday mornings. Don even let Rachel come over with Ellie a few times so that Sam and Amelia could work or spend some time together. He became not just Ellie's father again, but a good friend of the family.

As happy as Sam was that Ellie had gotten her daddy back, he started to notice some subtle changes in her. Amelia chalked it up to Ellie becoming a teenager soon, but Sam thought there was more to it. Ellie was quiet. When asked about her weekends with Don, all she would say was that they'd watch movies and 'hang out'. She was having nightmares, which Sam only picked up on because he happened to be walking by her room one night when he couldn't sleep himself. Ellie wouldn't talk about the bad dream, and went back to a fitful sleep. Sam decided that if she wouldn't answer direct questions, maybe the indirect route would produce better results. He surprised her on afternoon by picking her up from school an hour early.

"Sammy?" Ellie asked as she came into the office with her backpack. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought we'd go get some ice cream."

"But school's not out yet." Ellie pointed out.

Sam shrugged. "I won't tell if you don't."

The two of them were sitting inside Baskin Robbins before Sam thought about addressing what was really going on. Ellie was relaxed, and after asking her about how seventh grade was going, Sam finally asked the question.

"Sweetie, I want to ask you something. And I want you to tell me the truth, okay?"

"What?" Ellie asked.

"I want to know what's going on with you." Sam said. "You've been really quiet lately, and I'm worried about you."

Ellie shifted uncomfortably. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"Really?" Sam asked. "Because I think you've been having more than just that one nightmare from earlier this week."

Ellie frowned but didn't deny it.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" Sam asked.

"I know." Ellie said. "I just…I'm scared to talk about it."

"So there is something going on?" Sam asked. Ellie nodded, and Sam breathed a sigh of relief. He was right. "Okay. Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"No."

"Is it about your dad?"

Ellie nodded and said quietly, "Yeah."

"What's going on, honey?"

Ellie didn't say anything at first, but a patient Sam just waited her out. Eventually, she started talking. "Daddy's changed a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since he got his own apartment, he drinks a lot. And he's always mad about something." Ellie said. "He yells at me all the time and then says he's sorry and he won't do it again."

Damn that sounds familiar, Sam said. He'd long since forgiven his father for his constant drinking and occasional alcohol fueled rages, but that didn't mean he had forgotten how they left him feeling-lost, alone, confused, second to a bottle of Jack Daniels. Sam put his hands together and leaned in close.

"First question, Ellie. And you need to be honest with me here. Has your Dad done anything other than yell at you?"

"Like what?" Ellie asked.

"Ellie, answer me. Has he done anything else? Has he ever hurt you?"

"Like, hit me? No."

"Never?" Sam said. "You're sure?"

"He's never hurt me."

"Okay. Second question. Do you still want to see your dad?" Sam asked.

"Of course I do." Ellie said.

"Well, in that case, I think we need to talk to your mom…"

"NO!" Ellie said, panicked. "No, please don't tell her."

"Ellie, if something's going on, she needs to know."

"Please don't tell her. If I tell her, she'll make Daddy come to our house to see me and he'll get mad at me." Ellie begged. "Please don't tell her."

Sam was torn. He knew if he kept this from Amelia that she'd be upset with him. But if he told her, he risked losing Ellie's trust.

"Please, Sammy. Don't tell her."

"Alright. I won't. But, you need to call me the second anything happens. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Ellie said.

"Thank you, Sammy."

"You're welcome."

"I mean for the ice cream too." Ellie said. "Thanks."

"My pleasure." Sam said. "Come on. You want to go with me to pick up Rachel?"

"Sure."

Ellie seemed in better spirits, but Sam was still worried. He reminded her each day to call him and let him know if she needed help. Ellie left, and Sam hoped and prayed everything would be okay. He wasn't planning on letting Don completely off; he was planning to stop by the recruiting office to talk to Don on Monday, after Ellie was in school.

He never got the chance.

It was Saturday night, and Sam and Amelia were planning a date night. The date night was scrapped when Rachel came down with the flu. Though her cough, headache, fever, and chills put a definite damper on the night, it was about to get a lot worse. Sam's cell phone rang just after putting Rachel to bed. He didn't recognize the number, but something told him to answer it.

"Sam Winchester."

"Sammy?"

"Ellie?" Sam asked, his senses immediately kicking into high gear. "Are you okay?"

"I…I need your help. I need you to come get me."

"Come get you? Where are you? Aren't you with your dad?"

"No. Just please come get me." Ellie said again. "I promise I'll tell you what happened, just come get me, please."

"Okay, honey. I'm on the way. Tell me where you are."

"Hang on a second."

"Ellie? No, honey, don't put the phone down…."

"Hello?" An unknown male voice answered the phone.

"Who is this?" Sam demanded.

"My name's Brian Jackson. I'm the bartender right now at Flanagan's on Kennedy Avenue."

"I know where that is. Why is Ellie there?" Sam asked. "Where's her father?"

"Ellie came in with her dad about four o'clock. Her dad said they were gonna eat an early dinner then leave before the night rush got here. But her dad kept drinking, and eventually I cut him off."

"Why is she still there?" Sam asked.

"I tried to take her dad's keys from him, but he said he didn't have them. Ellie told me he'd left them in the car, and her dad got kinda rough with her. He grabbed her arm and yelled at her for telling me the keys were in the car. He tried to make her leave with him, but she wouldn't go."

"Got it." Sam said. "Um, I'm about fifteen minutes away. I'm on my way right now."

"Sure. I've got Ellie in the office with a bowl of ice cream. Just ask for me when you get here and I'll bring you back here to her."

"I'll be there. Thank you so much for looking after her."

"No problem. She's a sweet kid. I'll take care of her until you get here."

Sam hung up the phone, grabbed his wallet and keys, and started out the front door before he remembered. Amelia. Sam had a dilemma. He had to go get Ellie, but he couldn't lie to Amelia about where he was going. Especially with Rachel so sick in her room. It didn't take long for him to make his choice. Don had left Ellie at a bar. If Ellie hadn't refused to leave with him, he might have driven drunk with Ellie in the car. The thought of losing Ellie's life made him decide it was worth the risk to lose her trust.

Please don't hate me for this, sweetie. I'm doing it for your own good.

"Hey. Where you off to?" Amelia asked, coming out from Rachel's room.

"Hey. Um…I have to go pick up Ellie."

Amelia stopped mid-stride. "What? Why?"

"Because Don left her alone at a bar."

"Excuse me?" Amelia asked, her voice rising slightly.

"She just called me. Brian took her to Flanagan's for dinner, but he started drinking and didn't stop. Ellie wouldn't leave with him."

"Thank God." Amelia said. "Okay. Give me a second to get Rachel ready…"

"Don't wake her up."

"Sam, Ellie needs me…"

"I know. And I promise, I will pick her up and bring her straight back here. There's no need to make this worse by waking up Rachel and maybe making her sicker." Amelia looked conflicted, and Sam grabbed her shoulder gently. "I promise. I'll bring her right back."

Amelia nodded. "Okay."

"Alright. I'll be back. It's a fifteen minute drive, so forty minutes tops."

"I'll be counting."

Thirty-nine minutes later, Sam was back. An anxious Amelia was pacing the living room, and pounced on Ellie the second she walked in the door.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Ellie said.

"Come on, sit down." Amelia said. She led Ellie over to the couch and sat her down, looking her up and down as she did. "What happened?"

"Daddy said we were going out to an early dinner, then we were going to see a movie. But he kept drinking and drinking and he wouldn't stop. When he stood up, he couldn't walk straight. So when he tried to leave I wouldn't go with him."

"Okay. I know that was hard, sweetie, but you did the right thing calling Sam to pick you up." Amelia said. "If Daddy had gotten in an accident with you in the car, you could have gotten hurt really bad. So I'm proud of you for that."

"He was so mad…" Ellie said, breaking down in tears.

"Oh, honey." Amelia pulled Ellie to her, and couldn't help but think of the day that she'd told Ellie that Daddy wouldn't be coming home again. "Listen…"

"I remember what it was like when Daddy was here the first time." Ellie said.

"What do you mean?" Amelia asked.

"I remember you and Daddy fighting a lot. Because of how much he drank when he was home." Ellie said. "I just hoped it would be different this time."

Amelia didn't know what to say. She always thought she'd done Ellie a favor by letting her hold on to the romanticized version of her father. Don had never been a bad father or husband, but when he was home, he tended to want to spend most of his time hanging out with friends and going to bars. Amelia would often have to force Don to stay at the house and spend time with Ellie, resulting in fights between the two of them. Don would usually be resistant at first, but would end up thanking her later in the night, long after he'd tucked Ellie into bed.

"I hoped it would be different this time too." Amelia said. "I really did, sweetie."

"What do we do?" Ellie asked. "We have to help Daddy."

"Let me worry about that." Amelia said. "You hungry?"

"No." Ellie said.

"Okay. Why don't you go get a shower?" Amelia suggested.

"I don't know if I can sleep right now." Ellie said.

"I didn't say you were going to bed, did I?" Amelia asked. "Get your PJs on and you and me'll have a sleepover in here. Movie, popcorn, the works. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Go on." Amelia said, kissing her cheek. "I'll be right here when you get out."

Ellie walked to the bathroom, and when Amelia heard the door shut, she said very calmly, "If it wouldn't upset Ellie so much, I'd kill this son of a bitch."

"What are you planning to do?" Sam asked.

Amelia sighed. "I thought about it while you went to pick Ellie up. I think I'm gonna call Dad and get him to go over and talk to Don."

"And say what?"

"That he has to get help. Get sober if he wants to see Ellie." Amelia said.

Sam nodded. "Sounds good." Sam decided to come completely clean. "Look, I need to tell you something before Ellie comes back out."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?"

"Ellie told me about Don earlier this week."

"You KNEW about this?" Amelia asked. "How could you not tell me?"

"I didn't know it was that bad…"

"Don't be mad at Sammy, Mommy." Ellie came into the living room, hair still damp from her shower. "I asked him not to tell you. He was only doing what I asked him to."

"Why didn't you want him to tell me?"

"Because I was afraid you wouldn't let me see Daddy again if you knew." Ellie said. "You're not gonna stop me from seeing him, are you?"

Amelia frowned. "Honey…"

"Mommy, please don't…"

"Elizabeth, listen to me." Amelia said firmly. "I would never keep your Daddy away from you unless it was dangerous for the two of you to be together. Right now, it is. I can't trust your Daddy to take care of you anymore."

"Yes, you can…"

"You're not listening to me." Amelia said, then waited calmly for Ellie to calm down. "Now, Grandpa is going to talk to Daddy tonight. He is going to let your Daddy know that if he wants to see you anymore, he has to get some help to stop drinking."

"What if he won't?"

"Then he can't see you until he does." Amelia said. Ellie was completely crushed, and Amelia wanted nothing more than to take back what she'd said. But she couldn't. "Ellie, baby, I'm sorry. I know it's not fair, and I'm not trying to be mean. But until I can be sure that this won't happen again, you're gonna have to stay here with me and Sam."

"Can Daddy come here and see me with you or Sammy here? I won't leave with him, I promise."

"If he'll get help, then we'll see." Amelia promised. "If it is at all safe for you to see your Daddy, I will let you see him. I swear."

"I know you're not trying to be mean, Mommy. I just really hope he'll get help. I don't know if I can lose him again."

Sam and Amelia took turns to cheer up Ellie. The next day, they were still taking turns, and it halfway worked. Ellie was so focused on whatever the two of them were asking her to do or listening to whatever they were talking about that she almost forgot about Don.

Almost.

It was getting close to lunchtime. Amelia had made soup for Rachel's flu, and Ellie wanted some for herself, so the soup became lunch for all of them. Amelia's cell phone rang, and she approached Ellie looking slightly nervous.

"Your daddy wants to come over. He wants to talk to you and apologize for what happened last night. Do you want to see him?"

Ellie bit her lip. "Is it okay?"

"Sam and I will be here, so it's okay." Amelia said. "Only if you want to, though."

Ellie nodded. "It's okay."

The next few minutes passed slowly, but finally the front door opened and Jack walked in. Don followed and smiled at Ellie. Ellie didn't want to admit it, but she was mad. He'd left her behind in a place she didn't know, leaving her scared and alone. He'd yelled at her in front of strangers, embarrassing her. When Don tried to hug her, Ellie didn't push him away, but she didn't hug him back either.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Hi, Daddy." Ellie said quietly.

"Listen, I owe you an apology for last night. A big one." Don said. "I'm so sorry, baby. I know I left you alone and there's no excuse for that."

"Why did you do that?" Ellie asked. "I was scared, Daddy. I didn't know where I was."

"I know, honey. I know you didn't. And I'm proud of you for not getting in the car with me."

"You are?"

"Yes. I am. I could've really hurt you last night. Or worse." The thought seemed to make Don wince. "I couldn't have lived with myself if that had happened."

Trust me, you wouldn't have lived if that had happened, Amelia thought but didn't say.

"I'm sorry, honey. I'll never stop being sorry for that. Can you forgive me?"

Ellie nodded. "Yeah. I forgive you, Daddy."

"Good." Don said. "Thank you, honey. But I'm afraid that's not it."

"What do you mean?"

Don braced himself for Ellie's reaction. She was the only one he was afraid could talk him out of what he was about to do. "I'm leaving for a while."

"You're going back overseas, aren't you?" Ellie asked. "You promised!"

"No, honey. I promised you I wouldn't do that and I won't. But I need to leave for a little while to get myself some help."

"What kind of help?" Ellie asked. "Can I help you?"

"No, honey. The kind of help I need can only come from doctors. Grandpa's driving me right now to a clinic. I'm staying there for a while."

"How long?" Ellie asked, the tears starting to come again. "Can I see you?"

"I don't know how long. But they do allow family visits after a couple of weeks. If your mom's not too pissed at me, I'm sure she'll bring you to see me."

Amelia nodded. "Of course I will."

"And after a week, assuming I'm doing okay, I'll be able to call you. And I promise I'll call you every chance I get." Don wiped away Ellie's tears and choked back some of his own. "Baby, please don't cry."

"Please don't go, Daddy." Ellie begged. "Please don't leave me again."

"Listen to me. Do you remember telling me once that I was the best Daddy you could have ever been given?"

"Yeah."

"Did you mean that?"

"Of course I did."

"Well, that's why I need to do this. I need to go away for a while and get better so that I can get back to being that Daddy that you remember. You deserve him, not me like I am right now. Okay?"

"If you leave I won't see you again." Ellie said.

"I am coming back to you." Don repeated. "I swear to you, Ellie, I am coming back to you."

Don's departure was heart wrenching for everyone involved, but he was eventually out the door and gone. Amelia went to the kitchen to work on the soup, leaving a deeply depressed Ellie with Sam. Before Sam could think of anything to say, Rachel had appeared from her bed.

"Sissy?" Rachel asked with her raspy voice. "Why are you crying?"

"Rachel, not now." Sam said gently.

"Is it because your Daddy had to go away?" Rachel asked, ignoring Sam. She'd heard Don talking from her room.

"Yeah." Ellie said.

"Oh." Rachel said. She then had an idea that made perfect sense to her. "Don't worry, Sissy. You don't have to be sad. Your daddy'll come back. But until he does, you can just share mine."

Amelia had been about to announce that dinner was ready, but Rachel's simple yet generous gesture to her sister made her stop in her tracks. She could Sam thinking the same. Ellie smiled.

"Thanks, Rachel."

"Come on, Rachel. Let's put you back to bed. You can eat in there." Sam said.

Rachel didn't like being sick without one or both of her parents there, but Ellie was hurting more than she was. Rachel remembered a punishment Amelia had given her when she was little. Amelia had made her sit in her room for what felt like hours, wondering when or if she'd ever be able to see him again. Ellie's daddy would probably be gone a lot longer than just one day. Rachel turned to Sam and said,

"You should be with Sissy today, Daddy. She needs you a lot more than I do."

When Ellie was going to bed that night, Sam decided to take Rachel's advice. "Hey, kiddo. You okay?"

"I'm okay." Ellie answered, entirely unconvincingly.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked. "It's okay if you're not."

"No." Ellie said. "No, I'm not okay."

Sam sighed. "I wish I knew what to say to make it better."

"It's not fair. Rachel gets you, so why can't I have my daddy?"

"Sweetheart, I have something to tell you. My dad used to drink a lot too."

"He did?" Ellie asked. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"It's not really something I like to talk about." Sam said. "I've forgiven him for it, but it took a really long time. He never really saw what his drinking did to me and your uncle Dean."

"Did it make you feel like I do right now?"

"I don't know. Tell me how you do feel right now." Sam said. He could easily guess, but wanted Ellie to open up.

"Like he left me."

"I definitely know how that feels." Sam said. "My dad was away from home. A lot. And every time he left, it made me feel like his work mattered more than I did."

"Did he yell at you a lot?"

"Sometimes. It felt like all the time."

"Did you feel like he didn't love you?" Ellie asked.

"I did. A lot. Most of the time, actually. I know now that I was wrong, but I felt lonely most of the time when I was your age."

"Did you ever make up with him?"

"He tried to make up with me before he died. And I forgave him. But I really do wish he had tried a little harder when I was a kid. Maybe both of us could have had a better few years." Sam picked up Moonpie and handed him to Ellie. "I think it's a really good sign that your dad is leaving to go to rehab, sweetie."

"You do?"

"I do. It shows me he really wants to make it up to you. That he loves you and wants to be there for you. It's not an easy thing to admit you need help with something like that."

"So you think he'll come back?"

"I think he'll come back and be even better than he was before." Sam said. "And until he does come back, you've got a lot of people that love you right here. Me, your mom, Dean, Rachel, your grandpa. All of us are here for you."

"Thanks, Sammy." Ellie said.

"My pleasure. You feel better?"

"Mostly."

"I'll take it." Sam said. "Goodnight, kiddo."

"Hey, Sammy? Rachel's lucky."

"Lucky? Why?"

"'Cause she has you." Ellie said. "Will you do what Rachel said?"

Sam was still recovering from Ellie's compliment, and asked with a bit of a stutter. "What she said?"

"Will you be my dad too 'till mine comes back?"

Sam leaned over and kissed Ellie's cheek. "I would love to. And I will always be there for you, even after he does come back. Don't forget that, okay?"

"Okay. I won't. Goodnight, Sammy. I love you."

"I love you too. I couldn't love you any less if I were your dad in the same way I was Rachel's. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Lay down. Go to sleep." Sam said. "Sweet dreams, kiddo." Sam walked towards Ellie's room and turned off her light, turned around and looked at her for another few moments. "Sweet dreams."