A/N: There are probably a few things I need to say about this chapter. I decided to include this for context. In the seventeen year old section, Evy is in bed after being attacked. In my original Evy story, Sensitive Souls are the Strongest, Evy is attacked by a hellhound and suffers permanent damage to her leg. This section is after the attack but before Evy recovers. In the eighteen year old section, Evy has been committed to a mental hospital after having a breakdown when Sam throws himself in the pit. The sixteen, nineteen, and twenty year old sections provide a little bit of comic relief, but I think at this point it's needed.

I'm writing one more chapter like this, with Evy from twenty to twenty-five, then a last chapter. That's all I'll say about that last chapter for now.

Sixteen Years Old

"Really?"

"Really, kid. You earned it."

"Wow. Thanks, Dean!"

Evy grabbed the keys and got into the front seat of the Impala. Dean was nervous the entire time, his knee bouncing up and down, but ten minutes later, she was back. Sam, who had been in the library the entire time, stared in amazement as Evy climbed out of the driver's seat and handed Dean a grocery bag and the keys.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." Dean said. "She earned it."

"You let her drive the Impala? Alone?"

"Just to the grocery store and back."

"Dean! I'm twenty-six and you never let me drive." Sam said indignantly. "Much less drive alone."

Dean, satisfied the car was in good shape, simply shrugged as he took the keys back from Evy. "She's cuter than you."

Rather than respond, Sam simply rolled his eyes and headed inside.

Seventeen Years Old

Sam held in his hands another cup of coffee, his fifth in just a few hours. It most likely would have been more if he hadn't been sneaking them past Dean. He stared down at Evy, who was lying in bed for the third day in a row with a high, delirious fever. She was sleeping now, after being awake and crying for nearly an hour straight. Sam knew whatever exhaustion he was feeling at the moment was nothing compared to what Evy was going through. That and that alone was what kept him awake.

When Evy started whimpering again, Sam put the coffee on the table next to the bed. He checked the clock; it was way too early to give her any more pain medication. Sam sighed; he hated this more than facing any monster. He wished he could trade places with her and be the one on the bed right now, squirming in pain. Sam decided to do the only thing he could think of. He just hoped it would work. He laid down on the bed next to her, then gingerly picked her up so that he could hold her without hurting her. She winced a little in her sleep.

"Shh. It's okay, Cricket."

Evy calmed a little. She opened her eyes and seemed to check to make sure it was him there. Sam realized that she wasn't awake because she was hurting again; she'd been having a nightmare. Sam held her close for a moment before he got an idea. Evy instinctively leaned into Sam's chest, listening to his heartbeat. Sam kissed the top of her head, and felt his heart sink a little when he realized she was still burning up.

"I'm so sorry, baby." He whispered. When Evy whimpered again, Sam said, "Shh. Sammy's here, Cricket." Another idea occurred to him. "Don't you feel it growing, day by day, people getting ready for the news…"

Evy calmed under Sam's soothing voice, and soon fell back to sleep. Sam sang to her a couple more times, before deciding she was asleep for at least a couple more hours. He watched her sleep for a few minutes before whispering,

"Sleep well, Cricket. Sammy loves you."

Eighteen Years Old

For a loony bin, the place wasn't half bad. It didn't even feel to Dean much like a hospital. The walls were painted bright colors, there was artwork up, and the place just had a general cheerful feel to it.

Evy had been there for six months so far. The doctors still weren't sure what to call her 'condition', but Dean knew exactly what was wrong with her. Their life had finally taken its toll on her.

From the day she was born, Dean was convinced, Evy had been doomed. At least he and Sam had gotten a little time with their mother, but Evy's had died just a few minutes after she was born. She'd lost Sam at eight years old to Stanford, lost Dean and their father when Sam had taken custody of her at nine, lost Dean again when he went to hell, lost Sam again while Dean was in hell, and now Sam was gone again.

It made Dean's head hurt to even think about it.

On top of all of that, after being attacked by the hellhound, Evy had never regained full use of her leg. On the best days, her limp was barely noticeable, but on the bad days, Dean knew she had trouble even functioning because of the pain. But, being a Winchester, she wasn't about to complain of it.

There were days that Evy seemed perfectly fine, and Dean would wonder why he had decided to leave her there in the first place. Then, she would slip up and say something, ask him some question like where Sam was, where their father was, or why he hadn't come to see her the day before, and he would remember the reason.

Dean prayed today was a good day. The last four had been bad ones. Really bad ones. Evy couldn't remember why she was in the hospital, would cry and beg Dean to take her home, to find Sammy and Daddy and get them to break her out of here, do anything he could to help her. It tore at Dean's heart in only the way that Evy could, and he had to remind himself of why he was doing this. Even though he had Ben and Lisa, Evy was the only family he truly had left.

So he stood outside her door, took a deep breath to steel the pain coursing through his heart, and walked inside.

Evy was sitting at the small desk provided for her by the hospital. She was writing in her journal, a habit she'd started before she could even properly write by drawing countless pictures in spiral notebooks as a baby, leading up to filling page after page of her thoughts that Dean now treasured when she couldn't remember who she was. She seemed to be intently focused on what she was doing, a good sign for Dean. He knocked on the side of the door and Evy turned and smiled at him.

"Deanie!"

"Hey, baby girl." Dean said. "How you feeling?"

"I'm good today, Dean."

"Really?" Dean asked skeptically.

"Really. All there." Evy said, pointing to her head.

"Okay. Good. So why don't you tell me what you been up to?"

On the good days, Dean would stay with Evy until late. The hospital had very lax visiting hours, and the only nurse who really enforced them was easily bribed. It was on those nights that Dean thanked the heavens above that he had a woman as forgiving as Lisa. As he left that night around midnight, he saw a text from Lisa.

I take it today was a good day?

Dean smiled and answered her back. Yeah. It was a good day. Baby girl's bouncing back.

Nineteen Years Old

"What do you mean I can't go?"

Dean was shocked. Evy had been taking it easy on hunting ever since the two of them had started back on it, but she seemed almost completely back to normal now. Maybe it was the fact that Sam had his soul back now, and that she wasn't leery of spending any alone time with him, but she seemed to be trying to prove to the two of them her abilities again. The problem was, Dean didn't doubt Evy's abilities. That wasn't what was making him try to get her to stay behind.

"You can't go because the dragon goes after…" Dean squirmed. He hated even bringing this subject up around Evy.

"After what, Dean?" Evy asked.

"Virgins." Sam answered. If he waited for Dean to answer her they'd be there forever. "Sorry, Cricket, I'm with Dean on this one."

The realization hit Evy like a slap to the face. They didn't know. She could talk to them both, about anything, and she knew that. But the magnitude of what she was about to tell them almost made her decide to just stop fighting and not go on the hunt. No, she thought. They're gonna have to find out sometimes. Might as well tell them now. Evy took a deep breath.

"Oh, boy." She said.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Um, guys, I got some bad news." She said.

Sam and Dean both looked at her concerned. "What is it, Cricket?" Sam asked, putting down the book he had in his hand.

"Well, you see, the dragon's not coming after me." She said, waiting to see who would catch her meaning first.

"Look, baby girl, this isn't about what I think you can do…" Dean said.

"Dean, stop." Evy said, interrupting him. "I know the dragon is not coming after me." She pointed to herself for emphasis.

It was Sam who caught it first. He was rarely speechless, but his mouth hung open in pure shock. Dean was still babbling, trying to explain himself. When he noticed Sam not commenting, he turned to ask him for backup, then stopped. He realized what Evy had just told them and stared at her just like Sam.

"Wha…Whe…When?" Sam asked.

When? Evy thought. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"When did this happen?" Sam asked. "You're with us almost 24/7."

"It wasn't recently." Evy said. As amusing as their reactions were to her, she decided to speed the process along and just tell them the whole truth. "It happened when I lived with Bobby. While Dean was in hell and you were off with Ruby."

"You were fifteen!" Dean said, speaking for the first time since he'd realized what she said.

"What the hell was Bobby doing?"

"You're mad at Bobby?" Evy asked.

"Hell, yes!" Dean answered emphatically. "He just let you go off with some kid you met on a hunt…"

"First of all," Evy said, jumping up from her seat on the motel bed. Though she was a few inches shorter than Dean and more petite, the change in her demeanor intimidated him and he shut right up. "I didn't hunt during those four months. Bobby enrolled me in the local high school and I went back to school. Secondly, I've never told Bobby. He thinks that we were at the movies that night. But I wouldn't be surprised if he's figured it out by now. Thirdly, Bobby had met him several times and knew who he was. Finally, I know better than to just be alone with "some random guy". I'm not stupid, Dean. We used protection, and I did all the checks. He wasn't a demon, werewolf, or anything like that. He was just an awkward, shy teenager who thought the world revolved around me. I don't regret it and I never will. Got it?"

"Got it." Dean said quietly after a moment.

"Cricket, why didn't you tell us all this?" Sam asked.

Evy turned to him sadly. "Because I didn't trust you at the time." She said honestly. When Sam turned away, she walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck. "But I do now. Which is why I told you. Are you mad?"

"No." Sam answered. "I just wish you didn't have to grow up so fast."

Evy smiled and turned back to Dean. "Deanie?"

"No. I'm not mad." Dean answered. "Not at you. But who was the kid?"

Evy laughed. "Nice try. I'm not telling you his name."

"What? You trust Sam but not me?" Dean asked.

"I'm not telling either of you his name." Evy answered. "I don't trust either of you not to track him down and kill him."

"Ah, come on…" Dean said.

"No, Dean." Evy said firmly. "Now can I go on the hunt?"

Sam and Dean shared a look before Sam answered, "Yeah, I guess so."

"Thank you, Sammy." She said, kissing his cheek. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom then I'll be ready to go."

Sam grabbed her and hugged her before letting her go. "You know how much I love you, right?" he asked.

Evy smiled. "Yeah, Sammy. To the moon and back. I love you too."

Dean had snuck behind the two of them. "Love you too, kiddo."

"Love you more, Deanie."

Twenty Years Old

"Bobby, how could you just let her go off with that guy?" Dean asked for the thousandth time in two hours.

Bobby chuckled, obviously enjoying Dean's torment. "I know him and Baitfish does too."

"Well, who was he?" Sam asked, only slightly less annoyed than Dean.

"If Baitfish wants you to know that, she'll tell you when she gets here." Bobby said.

"Where'd they go?" Dean tried.

"Dean, she's twenty." Bobby said, exasperated. "If she wants you to know that, she'll tell you then too."

Six Hours Earlier

"Mr. Singer?"

Sam, Dean, and Bobby looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. A tall, skinny kid with messy black hair stood there. He looked to be around twenty, the same age as Evy. Before anyone could reply, Evy came back around the corner from the bathroom.

"Tommy?"

The kid, apparently named Tommy, turned around to face Evy and his face lit up in a smile. "Abby?"

"Wow. Hi!"

As Evy grabbed Tommy to give him a hug, Sam and Dean mouthed to each other "Abby?" Bobby shook his head and watched the two of them, smiling. He had known Tommy was coming and called him to surprise Evy.

"What are you doing here?" Evy asked as she pulled away from him.

"Um…" Tommy looked towards Bobby, who nodded and pointed towards the outside of the diner. "Can we talk outside?"

"Sure." Evy said. She grabbed her bag and saw the confused looks on the faces of Sam and Dean. "Um…" She decided it was best to introduce them and leave. "Tommy, these are my brothers, Sam and Dean."

Tommy quickly shook hands with Sam first, and then Dean. "Your brother Dean? The one who…"

"It's a very, very, very long story." Evy said. "Let's head outside and talk like you said."

Had she not been going outside with Tommy, Evy would have laughed at the looks on Sam and Dean's faces. She just wanted to get away and talk to Tommy in private. Once she was out the door, Sam and Dean started in on Bobby.

"Bobby, what the hell?"

Bobby deftly avoided their protests, and forbade them from going outside and barging in on Evy and Tommy's conversation. He refused to tell them what was going on, more out of amusement than any other reason. He fought back a laugh. Less than a minute after going outside, Evy walked back in and over to the table next to Bobby. She was grinning and looked excited.

"He told me you called him." Bobby just shrugged as if to say yeah, so? and Evy wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Bobby. You're the best."

"You're welcome, Baitfish." Bobby said.

"I have one more thing to ask you for."

Evy leaned in close and whispered something in Bobby's ear, making him laugh. It took her close to a full minute, and by the time she finished, Bobby was simply nodding his head in agreement with whatever she was saying. When Evy pulled away, she simply kissed Bobby on the cheek, thanked him again, and turned around and left, leaving Sam and Dean sitting there with their mouths hanging open.

"Bobby, what the…" Dean started to ask.

Bobby's thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone going off. It was a text from Evy. I can almost hear them griping about this. Would you please give them the basics about Tommy so that I'm not playing twenty questions when I get there? Bobby chuckled and put the phone away. He did as Evy asked and told them how Evy had met Tommy. He had been her only real friend when she'd started back to school while living with him a few years earlier. They'd dated a few times. Tommy had known her as Abigail Singer, and him as her father. Just as he was ending the story, Evy walked back in. She waved out into the parking lot, then turned around grinning to everyone. When she noticed the looks on Sam and Dean's faces, she laughed out loud and walked back over to Bobby.

"You have fun, Baitfish?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah." Evy said. "Yeah, I did."

"What'd you guys do?" Sam asked.

"Nothing." Evy said. "Went and got burgers and talked."

"For seven hours?" Dean asked.

"Yes, Dean." Evy answered, rolling her eyes slightly. "For seven hours. We, um…." Evy looked to Bobby, who nodded in a silent understanding. "We had a lot to talk about."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

Evy sighed. "We were more than just friends." She admitted. "And I kind of left him for another guy."

"Who?" Dean asked.

"Who what?" Evy asked.

"You said you left him for another guy." Sam said. "Who was the guy?"

Suddenly, all of Evy's excitement over seeing Tommy again drained form her face. She looked sad. She looked down at the floor for nearly thirty seconds before answering them. She took Bobby's hand and said,

"I'm going for a walk."

"Alright, Baitfish. Be careful." Bobby said.

Evy nodded and headed out the door without saying anything else to them.

"Bobby?" Dean and Sam asked at the same time.

Bobby, who was watching the door where Evy had just left, sighed. "It was you two."

Sam and Dean looked at each other, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"She stopped seeing him when Dean came back from hell." Bobby explained. "When she went back on the road with you two."

Neither brother quite knew what to say to that. They both knew that Evy had gone back to school during the four months she'd lived with Bobby, but neither fully realized exactly what she had given up. They both felt guilty. They wanted her to have a normal life as possible, but evidently Evy had chosen to give that up and stay with them. Evy returned a few minutes later. Sam and Dean got up together and, without warning, engulfed her in a hug.

"We love you, Cricket." Sam told her. "More than anything."

"Love you, kiddo." Echoed Dean.