Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. The original character of Evelyn Winchester does.
Chapter Five
The End is Near (Again)
Sam didn't sleep that night. When they got Evy back to the bunker, she was excitedly talking about her day, and kept grabbing Dean and thanking him for making it possible. Sam allowed her to stay up longer without much of a struggle. He told Dean it was because she had slept so long in the car, but the truth was, he just wanted to keep her awake as long as possible. They eventually ended up back in Dean's room. Sam held her in the recliner, reading to her from adult Evy's copy of "Charlotte's Web". When they were three-quarters of the way through the story, Evy grabbed Sam's hand to stop him reading.
"Sammy?" she asked, a wide yawn stretching so far that Sam had to stop himself from chuckling. "Can we finish tomorrow?"
No. Sam thought, wanting to scream it out loud. We have to finish now. Right now. But Evy's eyes were heavy, and she was laying her head against his chest. With a heavy heart, Sam put the book on the nightstand and turned back to her.
"Sure, baby." He said. "We'll finish tomorrow."
"Okay." She said. "Good night, Sammy."
"Good night, angel." Sam said. "I love you."
"Love you." Evy said, barely above a whisper. "Will you tuck me in, please?"
You know you don't have to ask. "I'd like to hold you for a while. Is that okay?"
Evy nodded weakly, already drifting off into a peaceful sleep. Dean eventually came to join them. The next morning, around eight o'clock, Evy stirred awake, and went to join Sam and Dean, who were already in the kitchen waiting. She walked in rubbing sleep out her eyes and climbing into Sam's lap without a word. Sam's heart twisted painfully in his chest. But he hid it from Evy. He wanted her last few hours with them to be as painless and fearless as possible. Dean fixed all of them breakfast while Evy sat curled in Sam's lap. After she'd been fed, Sam decided it was time to face the music. He set Evy on the table in front of them.
"Hey, baby. Listen up. Dean and I have to talk to you about something."
Evy tensed up for a moment. "Am I in trouble?"
"Why would you think that?" Dean asked.
"'Cause you're both upset." Evy answered, looking from brother to brother.
"No, Cricket." Sam said. "You're not in trouble. We've actually got good news."
Evy looked back at them curiously. "What is it?"
Sam started to talk, but choked up, so Dean took over. "You're going home later today."
Evy's eyes popped open as if Dean had just told her she was going to the North Pole to see Santa. "Really?"
"Really." Dean said.
"Yes!" Evy cheered, wrapping arms around Dean's neck. After she hugged Dean, she turned to Sam to hug him too, but stopped. "Sammy?"
"Yeah, Cricket?" he asked, trying to fake a smile.
"Are you sad?" she asked.
"Why do you say that?" Sam replied.
"You're crying."
Sam reached up and wiped away a tear he didn't even realize had started to fall. "I'm just gonna miss you so much, Cricket."
Evy frowned. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go home now. She missed her family, especially Sammy. Her Sammy. She was sure he was waiting for her, scared and sad and lonely, wanting her to come back to him. But this Sammy was nice too. He obviously loved her and missed her a whole lot. He'd made her feel safe, and protected her from her bad dreams, just like her Sammy did. Evy then got an idea.
"Sammy? Do you remember what you tell me when Daddy and Dean are gone?" Before Sam could respond, Evy reached over and placed her hand on his heart. "They're right here. I'm right here too, Sammy."
Sam laughed and grabbed Evy into a tight hug. "Come here, you." He said playfully.
Evy allowed Sam to hug her for a couple of long minutes. She knew he was really sad and needed it. She then had another idea. She pulled back from Sam, who reluctantly let her go.
"How long until I go home?" she asked.
"You've got a few hours." Dean said. "It'll be a little while after lunch."
"Why?" Sam asked. "Is there something you wanna do?"
Evy grinned and nodded yes. She reached out her arms in a silent plea for Sam to let her down. Sam complied, and Evy rushed out of the room in the direction of Dean's room. She came back holding something. Sam couldn't tell what it was right away, until she was holding it up to show it to him. It was Charlotte's Web. Sam smiled and took the book from her.
"Sure thing, kiddo." Sam stood up and took her hand, prepared to lead her back to Dean's room.
Evy took Dean's hand. "You come too."
Dean chuckled. "Yes, m'am."
