Chapter Five

Evy's Seventh Birthday

Things progressed quickly from that point. Cass had been surprisingly supportive of Sam and Dean keeping Evy. Sam had expected him to, at the very least, try to talk them out of it. But he didn't, and a grateful Sam surprised Cass by asking him to stay in their lives.

"I need all the support I can get." Sam explained.

It was late April when Evy had shown up, so Sam decided against enrolling her in school right away. He would enroll her in second grade in the fall, which would give him time to get them into a semi-normal family routine. Sam had realized quickly that raising Evy in the bunker would not really be practical. He wanted her to have friends, be able to invite them over, be able to go see them. So he had begun the job of looking for an affordable place to live in town. Jody had used her connection with the local police department to find them a house that was in foreclosure. Claire had driven over and spent two weeks with them, helping pack up the bunker and move into the house. Claire and Evy had spent the better part of three days decorating Evy's room. Sam and Dean had not been allowed to see it until they were done. A very proud Evy had led Sam by the hand into the bedroom that night.

"What do you think, Sammy?"

The walls of the room were painted a light green color, with Evy's full first name stamped on the wall. Dean had found her a few toys, and they were neatly packed into a toy box in the corner of the room that had once belonged to Jody's son Owen. Her bed was neatly made, with a rainbow-colored comforter and pillowcase, against which Beanie, Evy's teddy bear, lay looking out at them.

"It looks great, baby."

More through practice than a formal agreement, Sam and Dean had fallen into a routine of who cared for Evy and when. Dean still hunted, but was gone a day or two longer each time. He would hustle pool, earning them enough money for groceries and other things Evy needed. When Dean was home, Sam would leave for the night to go and earn cash, letting Dean spend some quality time with Evy. Sam had called an old contact at Stanford, who had helped him be able to finish his prelaw degree and start online law classes. Dean had told him it was unnecessary, but Sam insisted they "needed a backup". It was a comfortable living for all of them, and Evy seemed to be adapting well to the new life.

Then Sam came across a new problem. Evy had no birth certificate, which she would need to start school in the fall. Again Jody came through, calling a hunter contact who was able to create a new birth certificate for her. Sam had thought briefly about listing himself or Dean as her father, but he didn't want to pressure Evy into calling him dad, even just in public, so he had written 'John Robert Singer' in the space for father and 'Melissa Ann Winchester' as her mother. He kept the story they would tell the school basically the same as what had actually happened. Sam was her brother and cared for Evy after their parents had died. But Sam realized he didn't really know what to put for Evy's birthdate. She had jumped twenty-five years to a completely new time, and it was nearly impossible to pinpoint the right day to celebrate her birthday. So Sam asked Evy when she wanted her birthday to be, and she had a surprising answer.

"When was mommy's birthday?" she asked.

"August 30." Sam answered. "Why?"

"I like that one." Evy decided.

So Evelyn Abigail Winchester was born all over again, with a birthdate of August 30, 2015. Evy woke up early that day, and crept into Sam's room. Sam pretended to be asleep, but of course knew every move that she was making.

"Sammy."

Sam pretended not to hear her, moaning a little like he didn't want to wake up.

"Sammy, wake up." she said, shaking him slightly.

"I don't wanna wake up." Sam whined, sticking his bottom lip out and only opening one eye.

Evy giggled at his funny face but was insistent. "You gotta wake up."

"Why?" Sam asked, opening both eyes now and lifting her onto the bed. He sat up in the bed and placed her on his lap to face him.

"Because it's an important day, and we gotta see as much of it as we can." Evy explained.

"Oh, yeah?" Sam asked, laughing. "What important day would that be?"

"Sammy!" Evy said, exasperated.

"I know, I know." Sam said. "Happy birthday, sweetness."

Sam took her to the kitchen and made her breakfast. He decided to see if she still loved cinnamon pancakes, which he had made her for her fifth birthday. She lapped them up and asked for seconds, and when she was finally full, Sam told her his plan for the day.

"Alright, Cricket. We need to talk."

Evy shifted in her seat, nervous. "Am I in trouble?"

"Why do you ask that every time I say we need to talk?" Sam asked.

"Because you don't look happy." Evy explained. "That's what daddy used to say when I got in trouble."

Sam had always wondered why Evy did that, and it finally hit him. The rare times that she would do anything warranting some kind of punishment, John would sit her down and say "We need to talk". Evy was so sensitive that the thought that she'd done something to upset anyone was enough to make her start crying. John would often lose his temper with Evy crying over what he called "silly" reasons, and at times would even end up swatting her if Sam didn't intervene. Evy never admitted it outright, but she was afraid of John. She had been ever since he'd told her the truth of the supernatural. Sam became overcome with guilt and grabbed her in a hug before continuing.

"I'm sorry, baby." he said. "I'm sorry. You're not in trouble, okay? I promise when you ever are, I'll tell you and we'll talk about it. And if I ever scare you like daddy used to, let me know, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you, Sammy." Evy said, and Sam could feel her become less tense in his arms.

"You're welcome, baby." Sam said, kissing her cheek before letting her go.

"What did you want to talk about?" Evy asked.

"Well," Sam started, "I need to get you enrolled in school. It starts next week. You're coming with me so you can meet your teacher."

"Oh." Evy said, and suddenly she was nervous again.

"What's wrong?" Sam said. "Talk to me."

"I don't like starting new schools." Evy said. "It's scary."

"I know." Sam said patiently. "But that's another thing that's going to change. You're not going to be changing schools like you were before."

"I'm not?" Evy asked.

Sam smiled at how excited she seemed. Before the end of first grade, Evy had changed schools eight times. She had done well in each one, but it always caused her major anxiety to have to deal with new people and new places.

"No. You're not." Sam said. "I can't promise we'll never move, but this is your home now. Even though Dean's still hunting, I'm here with you."

"Okay, Sammy." she said. "I guess I'm ready."

"That's my brave girl." Sam said. Evy smiled from the praise. "You ready to head out?"

"Yeah." Evy said. "Is Deanie gonna be back today?"

Sam frowned. "I don't know, sweetheart. But I promise we'll do something for your birthday tonight. Okay?"

"Okay." she said.

"Alright. Go get dressed." Sam said.

As Evy headed to her room to get dressed, Sam smiled to himself. Dean had actually gotten back the night before, after Evy had been put to bed, and was out with Jody and Claire getting things ready for Evy's surprise party that night. Sam was taking her to her new school, then out for lunch, then bringing her back for her party. Since she hadn't started school yet, she hadn't been able to invite any friends, but Sam hoped that by the same time next year, all that would change. As they pulled up to the elementary school a few minutes later, Evy was uncharacteristically quiet.

"You okay?" Sam asked as he turned the car off.

Evy seemed to think about it before answering. "Yeah."

"Nervous?" Sam asked, turning around to face her.

"A little."

Sam reached over and took Evy's hand. "I'll be right there the whole time. I won't leave you."

"Promise?" Evy asked, practically whispering.

"Promise, baby."

Evy walked inside, holding on tightly to Sam's hand. The school secretary, Mrs. King, was friendly enough, setting Evy more at ease almost immediately. While Sam stood at the front desk and filled out the paperwork, Evy wrapped an arm around his leg, looking for reassurance. Sam patted her head a few times and handed the paperwork back to Mrs. King, who put it on the desk and stood up.

"I'll lead you to your classroom." she said. "Are you ready, Evelyn?"

"Yes, ma'am." Evy said quietly.

"Are you scared, sweetheart?" Mrs. King asked.

Evy nodded, still pressed up against Sam's leg.

Mrs. King turned to Sam and pointed to Evy. "Do you mind?"

"Sure." Sam said.

Mrs. King knelt down kindly in front of Evy. "Can I ask what scares you? Is it being in a new school?"

"Yes, ma'am." Evy said. "I don't know if anyone will like me."

"Well, I do." Mrs. King replied. "And I just met you. And if you got me to like you that fast, don't you think you'll be able to convince your classmates to like you too?"
"I guess." Evy said, her first hint of a smile.

"And your teacher happens to be one of the nicest, sweetest people on the entire planet. And you're going to meet her right now. Are you ready?" Mrs. King asked.

"Yes, ma'am, I'm ready." Evy said politely.

Evy detached herself from Sam's leg and inserted her hand back in his. Sam felt mixed emotions. She wasn't scared anymore, so she didn't quite need him as much as she had before. That felt both amazing and saddening to Sam. Before he could think on it anymore, Mrs. King said something else to Evy.

"One more thing, sweetheart. If you ever do get scared here, and you need someone to talk to, you can come find me, okay? I'm here to help you."

"Okay. Thank you." Evy said.

"Come on. Let's go." Mrs. King said.

Mrs. King led them all the way down the hallway to the very last room on the left. The hallway was painted in different bright colors, and Evy was reminded of her bedspread at home. Sam noticed she was smiling by the time they arrived at her classroom door. Mrs. King knocked, and a young woman in her mid-20s looked up from a stack of papers on her desk.

"Mrs. Olson?" Mrs. King said. "I've got one of your new students here. She'd like to meet you, if that's okay."

"Absolutely." Mrs. Olson stood up and walked over to Evy, who shrank back a little more against Sam. Mrs. Olson crouched down a little to Evy's eye level and extended her hand. "Hi there, I'm Mrs. Olson. I'll be your teacher this year."

"Hi. I'm Evy." Evy said quietly, shaking her hand politely.

"Evy? That's an unusual name." Mrs. Olson said.

"It's short for Evelyn." Sam explained.

"Oh, I see." Mrs. Olson said. "I guess you prefer Evy?"

"Yes, ma'am. No one calls me Evelyn unless I'm in trouble." Evy explained.

Mrs. Olson laughed. "Well, I don't think that'll be much of a problem. You seem like a very nice, polite young lady. Are you ready to start second grade?"

"Yes, ma'am." Evy said.

"Well, I'd like to talk to your father for a minute…" Mrs. Olson said.

"Sammy's my brother."

"Oh." Mrs. Olson said, surprised. "I'd like to talk to your brother for a moment then. There's some books over in the corner if you'd like to go take a look at them."

Evy looked up to Sam for permission. "Can I, Sammy?"

"Go ahead, Cricket." Evy ran over to the corner Mrs. Olson pointed out, settling on a book almost immediately. "You said you'd like to talk?"

"Yes." Mrs. Olson said. "Evy seems very shy. Has she always been that way or is it something recent?"

"She…" Sam stopped himself; he had to remember to hold their cover story. "We lost our father not too long ago. She lived with him before. He was in the military and moved around a lot. She's been to eight different schools already."
"Oh, my goodness." Mrs. Olson said, looking over at Evy. "That's certainly a lot. Are you planning to move too?"

"No." Sam said. "No, I'm planning on giving her as much stability as possible. We're staying here barring any unforeseen circumstances."

"Well…" Mrs. Olson said, her eyes still on Evy, "I think she'll be okay." She turned back to Sam. "I'm sorry about your father."
"Thank you." Sam said quickly. "She's still kind of nervous about starting school, I think."

"Does she like school?" Mrs. Olson asked.

"She loves it. She loves to learn, she just hated moving around all the time." Sam said.

"She'll be fine." Mrs. Olson assured him. "Give her two hours her first day and you'll never know she had been scared."

"I hope so." Sam said. "Thank you for meeting us now. I would have come to the open house, but I was afraid she'd clam up even more if there were a lot of other strangers here."

"That's fine." Mrs. Olson said.

"I guess we'll get going." Sam said. "It's her birthday today, and I promised to take her for lunch."

"Really?" Mrs. Olson asked. "How old is she?"

"Seven." Sam answered.

"Wait right there." Mrs. Olson said. "Evy, would you come here a minute, sweetheart?"

Evy jumped off the chair and back to where Sam and Mrs. Olson were standing. Mrs. Olson went back to her desk and pulled out a large cardboard box. She sat it in front of Evy and asked,

"I hear it's your birthday today. Can you tell me how old you are?"

"Seven." Evy answered.

"Well, then, you get to pick seven books out of this box to take home with you." Mrs. Olson said.

"Really?" Evy asked. "I can take them? For me?"

"All for you, dear." Mrs. Olson said, smiling.

"Wow!"

Evy was indecisive, and the process of picking seven books took nearly twenty minutes. Mrs. Olson was apologetic by the end, thinking that she was holding them up but Sam was thrilled; he explained to her that she had never had much of anything to call her own, and it made him happy to see her so happy. When she finally had her books picked out, Evy grabbed her new teacher in a hug.

"Thank you." she said for the fifth time.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." Mrs. Olson said. "Happy birthday. I'll see you next week, alright?"

"Bye!" Evy said, grabbing Sam's hand to go back out to the car with him.

Evy chattered nonstop on the short journey to the parking lot. It was a complete reversal of her attitude coming in. She was excited, ready to start school now. Just as Sam was about to open her door for her, Evy shouted,

"Deanie!"

Dean was parked next to Sam's car, waiting for them standing on the side of the Impala. Sam allowed Evy to break away from him once they had crossed over to that section of the parking lot, away from the threat of oncoming cars. Dean picked up an overjoyed Evy, who he hadn't seen in nearly two weeks. Sam placed the books she'd just gotten in the front seat of his car.

"Deanie, you made it!" Evy said, arms still around his neck.

"You didn't think I'd miss your birthday, did you?" Dean asked.

"What are you doing back?" Sam asked.

"I came to take baby girl out for pancakes for her birthday. How's that sound?" Dean asked.

"Yay! Let's go!" Evy said, grabbing his hand excitedly.
Dean laughed; Evy was certainly easy to please. "Alright, kiddo. Get in the car and wait for me. I have to talk to Sammy for a minute first."

"Okay!" Evy said, making a dash for the front of the Impala.

"Backseat!" Sam said without even taking his eyes off Dean.

"Aww!" Evy said, turning around to face Sammy. "Sammy…"

"Aww, Sammy, nothing." Sam said. "Backseat."

"Okay." Evy said, reluctantly, walking around to the backseat and climbing in.

Once Evy was settled and buckled in the backseat, Dean explained, "Jody and Claire are at the house. They kicked me out, said I wasn't being too helpful."
Sam laughed. "Everything's on track, right?"
"4:00." Dean confirmed.

Sam checked his watch. 2:35. "Perfect." he said. "Meet you there?"

"Sure thing." Dean said.

"And Dean?" Sam said as he turned to get into his car. "No letting her ride up front part of the way."
"Aww, Sammy…." Dean said mockingly.

Sam chuckled as he got into his own car, knowing full well that Dean was going to let her crawl up front the second he was out of range. Ten minutes later they were sitting down to order at The Pancake Shack, Evy's favorite restaurant. Cass ended up joining them, and Sam had to stop him from blowing the surprise of the party waiting back at the house. Sam got a text from Jody at 3:50pm that everything was ready.

"Alright, Cricket. Time to head home."

Cass teleported out, claiming to "have business to attend to". Sam laughed when Evy got annoyed because Cass didn't give her a hug before leaving. He laughed again when Cass came right back, gave Evy a hug, and popped right back out again. They headed back to the house. Evy jumped out of the Impala and started running to the front door.
"Cricket, wait!"

Evy looked back towards Sam, confused.

"You're not in trouble, just wait a second." Sam said. He closed his car door and walked over to her. "Close your eyes. We've got a surprise for you."

Evy grinned. "For me?"

"Yep. Come on." Sam said.

Dean came up behind them as Sam picked up Evy. They walked inside slowly, Evy keeping her eyes shut tight to keep from ruining the surprise. Jody met them in the front room, and Sam put a finger to his lip to silence her. Jody nodded and led them back into the kitchen. Claire, Jody, and Cass were all silent as Sam said,

"Okay, Cricket. On the count of three. One. Two. Three."
"SURPRISE!"

As soon as Evy opened her eyes, she squealed and buried her face in Sam's neck again. Sam hugged her and took her over to the table, which held a few more birthday presents and a book shaped birthday cake. Sam had rarely heard Evy giggle and laugh so much. He allowed her to stay up much too late, and she ended up falling asleep on the living room couch while watching Sam's present to her for the second time-a DVD of Pinocchio, which had been her favorite movie at that age. Sam took her from Cass's lap and brought her up to her bed.

"Happy birthday, Cricket." he whispered as he kissed her forehead. "Sammy loves you, my baby."