Chapter Eight

School's Out

A/N: I realized after writing this chapter that I've kind of gotten into an 'L' pattern naming new characters (Laura, Linda, Lily). That wasn't intentional, but it's too late to do anything about it now. Also, I didn't think about the fact that I named the school bully in the last chapter 'Jessica'. I wasn't intending to tie that to Sam's girlfriend Jessica-when I think about her, it's always 'Jess', not Jessica. When I'm naming minor characters, I tend to just give them random names, and I didn't think about that one. My mistake!

Evy does something in this chapter I've always wanted to have her do. Read on to find out what it is….

Sam waited patiently in the car for Evy and Lily, who had been talking nonstop for the last week about school getting out for the summer. Sam wished he could be as excited for them as they were. He couldn't get Dean's phone call out of his head. Whatever you do, pick up Evy from school and keep her in your sight! I'll explain later. When Dean had said that, Sam felt his breath catch in his throat. Dean was hunting something that he thought might be coming after Evy. Dean had done a good job the past thirteen months keeping Evy out of the hunting world, but this was a day that Sam had always dreaded. He felt he should have known that Dean staying in the hunting world would come and "bite them in the ass", as Dean himself would have put it. It was 3:10, and Sam was getting more and more anxious by the minute. Just as he was about to go inside looking for the two girls, a knock on the driver's side window made him jump. A distinct giggle told him it was Evy before he even looked at her.

"You scared me!" Sam half heartedly scolded her as she and Lily climbed into the backseat and buckled up.

"Sorry, Sammy." Evy said, though she was laughing the entire time. "It was Lily's idea."

"No it wasn't!" Lily protested.

"Okay, okay." Sam said, putting an end to the slight bickering. "Did we get report cards today?"

"Yep." Evy said.

"And?" Sam asked.

Evy took hers out of her pocket and handed it to Sam. No surprise at all-she had passed and was promoted to third grade. Lily handed hers to Sam too. Same result-they'd be starting third grade in three months.

"I'm very proud of you." Sam said. "Both of you."

Both the girls grinned at the praise.

"How about milkshakes? Lily, your mom said she's working until around six or so, so you're staying with us until then." Sam said.

"Okay!" Both the girls said together.

"Alright, let's go." Sam said.

Just as Sam started the car and was backing out of the school parking lot, Evy asked from the backseat, "Sammy? Can Lily stay over with us tomorrow?"

"Sure, Cricket." Sam answered. "As long as it's okay with your aunt Linda."

"Okay. I have everything packed for tonight. I just need to put Beanie in my backpack."

Sam had to stop himself from slamming on breaks. He completely forgot that he had promised Evy she could have her first sleepover away from home if she passed. Dean's phone call earlier had driven it from his mind. The ice cream shop was just a few doors down from the school, so Sam waited until the car was parked before he said anything. He wanted to be honest with Evy about the reason she couldn't go, but he couldn't tell her in front of Lily. Luckily, he didn't need to think up much of an excuse.

"Uncle Sammy? I need to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, sweetie. You go ahead and wait for us inside. Evy and I need to talk for a minute." Sam said.

Lily looked wary, and threw her friend a sympathetic glance. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. I just need to talk to her." Sam assured Lily.
"Okay. I'll wait at a table."

"Okay." Sam had to force himself to smile.

As soon as Lily had slammed the door, Evy slumped back in her seat. "I can't go, can I?"

"No, baby, I'm sorry." Sam said. "Not tonight."

Evy's eyes immediately filled with devastated tears. "Why not?"

"Because Dean says it's not safe." Sam explained.

"That's what daddy used to say."

"Hey." Sam said firmly. "Look at me. This is not like daddy. I'm not gonna keep you from doing stuff just because something might happen. I promise you, as soon as Dean says it's safe, you can have your sleepover at Lily's. Okay?"

Evy looked out the window, a slight pout forming and the tears she was fighting lingering on the edge of her face. Sam wasn't quite sure what to say. She had every right to be upset, but Lily was waiting for them; if she started crying, Sam would have to come up with an excuse on the spot. Sam reached over and placed a hand on her knee. Evy continued to stare out the window.

"Cricket, I really am sorry. I know you wanted this." Sam said. "But it's not forever. Just tonight, I swear."

"What are you gonna tell aunt Linda?" Evy asked.

"That you and I have to head out of town early in the morning." Sam said. "If Dean gets this under control, I'll tell her the trip was cancelled and we can do your sleepover tomorrow. If he doesn't, we'll leave in the morning and go to aunt Jody's for a few days. Does that make sense?"

Evy nodded her head, and wiped her face.
"Talk to me." Sam said gently.

Evy turned to him, the tears starting to leak out. "I thought it was over."

"You thought what was over?" Sam asked.

"Not being able to do stuff because of hunting." Evy explained.

"Oh, baby."

Evy unbuckled her seat belt and stood up, going over to Sam for a hug. Sam held her for a minute, his heart crumbling into pieces. Not having to hunt for so long had given him a false sense of security, making him believe that he could lead a completely normal life now. He felt guilty that Evy couldn't have something so normal as a sleepover at her best friend's house without having to worry about being snatched up by a monster. Sam noticed Lily sitting at a table watching them, concerned.

"We need to go inside, baby. Lily's getting worried about us." Sam said. Evy pulled away from him and Sam wiped her face for her. "Are you okay? Are you going to be able to do this? I can take Lily to your aunt Linda's office and tell her we need to go ahead and leave."

Evy wanted to take Sam's offer, but she looked inside and saw Lily watching them. "No. I don't want to ruin Lily's good time."

"Good girl." Sam said. "Come on. Let's go. You can get anything you want."

Even the promise of whatever ice cream she wanted was not enough to cheer up Evy. She ate her ice cream, laughed and joked with Lily, and broke the bad news to Lily that she wasn't going to be able to stay over. Lily took it surprisingly well, only asking Sam if they could do the sleepover whenever they returned from Jody's. When Linda came to pick up Lily, she offered Sam a raincheck on the sleepover, and wished them a safe trip. Once the front door had shut, Sam turned back to a sad, lonely looking Evy. Sam was still trying to make up the lost sleepover to her.

"What do you want to do, baby?" Sam asked. "Watch a movie? Read a book? Anything you want."

Evy just shook her head. "I'm gonna get ready for bed."

Evy getting ready for bed willingly was a sure sign she was still upset and trying to hide it. Sam sighed and said nothing. He still hadn't heard from Dean yet, and he was getting nervous. Dean knew that Sam was more than capable of watching Evy and protecting her, so why was he so insistent on keeping Evy in sight? Evy got herself a shower and came back down. It was too early for her to go to bed, so she, rather silently, watched a movie with Sam. As she laid down that night, Sam asked her,

"Are you okay?"
"Just upset." Evy said.

"I know, baby. I'm so sorry." Sam said.

"Are you gonna start hunting again?" Evy asked fearfully.

"No!" Sam said. "Listen to me. I'm not hunting again. Not ever. Dean's just worried about this case. Once it's over, you're going straight to Lily's. Okay?"

"Okay." Evy said.

"You want me to sing to you?" Sam asked.

"No thanks." Evy said.
"Read to you?" Sam asked.

"No." Evy answered. "Could you just…"

"Just what, baby?" Sam asked.

Evy was a little embarrassed by what she was about to ask. She was seven years old; she wasn't a baby anymore. But she was sad, and hurt, and disappointed. And no one else was around.

"Could you just hold me? Till I go to sleep?" Evy asked.

Sam was surprised by the request, but genuinely touched. "Sure, baby." Sam said. "Come here."

There was a large rocking chair in the corner of Evy's room, which Sam had found on the side of the road and fixed up. Sam sat down first, then pulled Evy into his lap. She had brought her blanket over with her, so Sam wrapped her up and started rocking her slowly back and forth. He scratched her back gently, and in no time she was sleeping deeply. Sam carefully picked her up and put her in bed, making sure she was safe and secure before leaving the room. He wanted more than anything to stay in the rocking chair and hold her all night, and most likely would have if he hadn't been so curious as to what was going on with Dean.

What the hell is going on? Sam quickly typed out in a text to Dean. You better have a good reason for this. Evy is really upset right now.

Please just trust me. I'll explain in a while. Just keep Evy with you. Dean quickly answered.

Frustrated, Sam walked down the hall to his own room and eventually fell asleep in his own bed. He slept fitfully through the night, and woke up before the sun came up the next day. He started to head to the kitchen to make some breakfast, but decided to check on Evy first. Sam opened the door to her bedroom, only to find her bed empty.

"Cricket?" Sam called, a knot of worry forming in his stomach.

Sam searched the rest of the house top to bottom, twice. He even searched outside, although Evy never went outside on her own, especially when it was dark. After confirming she wasn't in the bathroom, kitchen, or sleeping in his or Dean's bed because of a nightmare again, Sam called Dean in a panic.

"Sam…." Dean answered in a half asleep doze.

"Dean, what the hell is going on?" Sam said. "Evy's missing."

"What?" Dean shouted, jumping up. "I told you to keep her with you."

"I did, Dean." Sam practically spat into the phone. He was in the process of throwing on shoes. "I put salt on all the windows and doors too just like you told me. Now what the hell is happening?"

"Damn it." Dean said. "Sam is there a handprint on Evy's window?"

"What?" Sam asked. "Dean…"
"Sam, just look!" Dean said. "Is the handprint there or not?"

Sam ran to Evy's window and, just like Dean had said, there was a handprint there. "Yeah, it's there. Dean, what the hell is going on?"

Dean was hunting something, and wasn't entirely sure what it was yet. It snuck into kid's rooms, took them, and returned them a few hours later, scared and full of anxiety, having nightmares for weeks.

"What the hell, Dean? You kept this from me?" Sam said.

"I didn't want to worry you or her." Dean said apologetically.

"Where are you?" Sam said. "I'm coming to meet you."

"No. Sam, stay there. They always return the kid home. You need to be there when she shows back up." Dean said. "I'll keep looking for her. Try to find her first. Just stay there."
"Dean, I can't stay here." Sam said. "I told Linda that Evy and I were going out of town. If I stay here…"

"Fine. Haul ass to Jody's. Cass'll stay in the house and bring Evy to Jody's if she shows back up." Dean said.

Sam was in the car before hanging up with Dean. Though the ride to Jody's was nearly six hours long, Sam made it in just under five. Jody apparently knew he was coming, as she opened the door for him when he got there and ushered him inside. Before Sam could even say anything, Dean called.

"Sam, I've got her." he said. "She's okay. Cass'll be there in a few minutes."

Sam collapsed onto Jody's couch, letting out a breath he wasn't aware he'd even been holding. Jody sat with him as they waited, and the minutes seemed to crawl by slowly. A knock at the door made Sam spring up all the couch and fling open the door before Jody could even process hearing the knock. There stood Cass, a blanket thrown on top of a shaking Evy, who looked at Sam with the biggest, most fearful eyes Sam had ever seen.

"She's alright." Cass said. "She's not hurt physically, just scared…"

Evy suddenly started weeping in Cass's arms, reaching over for Sam. Sam pulled her from Cass's arms and held her tightly. Evy threw her arms around Sam's neck and continued weeping bitterly. Sam wanted to know everything. What had happened to her? Where had she gone? Why was she crying so hard? But Evy was in no shape to talk right then. Sam held her in Jody's recliner, waiting while her crying slowly tapered off. When she was down to just a few tears flowing out, Sam asked Jody to bring him a washcloth soaked with cold water. He washed her red, puffy face gently.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No." Evy answered quietly.

"Are you scared?" Sam asked.

Evy nodded and she was shaking again.

"You're safe now, baby." Sam assured her. "I'm here, Cass is here, aunt Jody's here, Dean's on his way. You're safe now." Evy said nothing, just kept shaking. "Will you tell me what happened?"

"NO!" Evy suddenly shouted, making everyone in the room jump. "No, I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay. Okay, baby, you don't have to. We can talk about it later." Sam said.

"Please don't make me." Evy said, and she started sobbing and crying all over again. "Please don't make me tell you what I did."

What you did? What the hell? Sam thought. He calmed her again, and saw she was fighting sleep. Sam took her to Jody's guest room and laid her down. He tucked her in, and she was still fighting going to sleep. Sam knew she was afraid of nightmares. His desire to know what she'd been through in the few hours she'd been gone was intense, but Evy was beyond exhausted. She grabbed Sam's hand and said one simple word.

"Stay."

Sam picked her up again, sitting on the bed until he was sitting up straight against the headboard. Evy laid sideways on the bed, using Sam's legs as a pillow. Sam stroked her hair, trying to make her fall asleep, hoping she would wake up calmer and more ready to talk.

"I'm right here, Cricket. I love you so much."

Sam had thought he was done with surprises for the day. But Evy's response to something he'd told her a million times before took Sam's breath away. It surprised him so much that he stopped stroking her hair and stared at her, mouth gaping open in pure shock.

"Love you too, Daddy."

Evy fell asleep, and Sam carefully placed a pillow under her head. He walked out into the living room with the rest of the adults. Dean had made it back, and was discussing with Jody what had taken Evy. Sam was still in a daze over Evy's response to him.
"Hey. Sammy. How's baby girl doing?"

"She's sleeping." Sam said.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked.
Sam heard his cell phone beep in his pocket. He didn't know what made him check it, as there was nothing that could be more important to him at the moment than Evy. It was a text from Linda.

Hey, just checking on you guys. Did you get to SD okay? I'm sorry about the death in the family. Call me if you need to talk. -Linda

"If Evy wakes up I'm in my car. I need to go make a phone call."

Before anyone could say anything, Sam was out the door and in his car. He dialed Linda's number and waited for the ringing to stop. He was surprised when it wasn't Linda who picked up the phone.

"Hi, uncle Sammy!"

"Lily?" Sam asked. "Hi, honey."

"Can I talk to Evy?" Lily asked.

"Um…Evy's asleep, honey. I need to talk to your mom. Can you get her for me?" Sam asked.

"Are you okay, uncle Sammy? You sound sad." Lily asked.

"Yeah, honey, I'm okay. Where's your mom?" Sam asked again. "I really need to talk to her."

"I'll go get her." Lily promised. Sam heard Lily moving, presumably to take the phone to Linda. "Mommy, it's uncle Sammy. He says he needs to talk to you."

"Hey." Linda said a few moments later. "You okay?"

"No. I'm not." Sam said. "Can you get somewhere where you can talk?"

Linda didn't like the tone of Sam's voice, but figured it would be faster to just do as he asked. "Sure. Hang on."

Sam waited nearly a full minute, listening as Linda made sure Lily was occupied. Sam heard a door shut, and could picture in his head Linda sitting down on her front porch. He formed the story he would tell her in his mind before she came back. Finally Linda's attention was completely his.

"What's going on?" she said. "Is it about the funeral?"

Sam nearly said what funeral? before remembering that a funeral was the excuse he'd given Linda for leaving town so quickly. "No. The funeral's kind of been put on hold."

"What happened?"

"On the way here, a few miles from Jody's house, me and Evy stopped for gas. Evy had to go to the bathroom. When she didn't come back to the car after five minutes, I went to check on her." Sam said.

"Was she sick?" Linda asked.

"No. She wasn't there. Some guy had snatched her and taken her." Sam said.

"Sam! Oh my God! Is she still missing?" Linda asked.

"No." Sam said. "No, we found her. She was missing for about six hours."

"Oh, that poor baby. Is she hurt?" Linda asked.

"No. At least not physically. She won't talk about what happened yet." Sam explained.

"Did he…?" Linda choked, unable to finish the question.

"Did he what?" Sam asked. When it occurred to him what Linda might have meant, Sam shuddered. "No. He didn't do that."
"Who was the guy?" Linda asked. "Why did he take her?"

"We don't really know yet." Sam said. "Dean's actually the one that found her. He wouldn't let Evy go so Dean shot and killed him."

"Good." Linda said. "Tell Dean I said way to go."

"I will." Sam said. "Linda, she was with me. I should have taken care of her."

"Sam, this is not your fault." Linda assured him. "This is the fault of the crazy bastard who took her. No one else. Evy needs you right now. Don't waste energy blaming yourself."

Sam cracked a sad smile. That was one of the two things he had needed to hear. "Thanks."

"Do you need anything?" Linda asked.

"Um, I just wanted to let you know about what happened. We're probably gonna be gone longer than I planned. I don't want to come back until Evy's ready." Sam explained.

"I get it." Linda said. "I do."

"Can you talk to Lily? Let her know that Evy might not want to talk for a little while? And that it might be a while before we have the sleepover at your house?" Sam asked.

"I'll take care of that. Is there anything you'd rather me not tell her?" Linda said.

"No. I trust you." Sam said.

"Okay." Linda said. "You've got her back, Sam. That's something to be celebrated."

"She called me daddy." Sam said suddenly.

"What?"

"She called me daddy." Sam said. "I put her to bed a little while ago, and she called me daddy as she was falling asleep."

"Oh, Sam." Linda said.

"Is it wrong that I felt happy when she did that?" Sam asked.

"Why would that be wrong?" Linda said. "You've been the only daddy she's had for a long time. It seems natural to me."

"Yeah, but she's traumatized." Sam said.

"So what?" Linda asked. "Sam, this happened. It's bad, but it did happen. It's not wrong for you to feel happy at something good coming out of it."
"Thank you." Sam said sincerely. "Thank you. I really needed to hear that."

"Anytime." Linda said. "Just don't be upset if it's not permanent. Remember you said she said it as she was going to sleep. It may have just been a reflex."

"I know." Sam said. "But even if it was…"

"It still felt amazing." Linda answered.

"Yeah." Sam said.

"Sam, I'm gonna go talk to Lily. Call me if you need to talk. Okay? I mean that, anytime." Linda said.

"Thanks, Linda." One more thing occurred to Sam. "Can you talk to Laura for me?"

"Sure." Linda said. "I'll take care of it."

"Goodnight, Linda."

"Goodnight, Sam."

Sam hung up the phone, feeling better about himself than he had before. He'd felt guilty for being so happy about Evy calling him daddy. He wondered a moment if it was gonna be a permanent thing or not. His answer came quickly. Jody opened the front door, holding Evy and waving Sam inside.

"She's asking for you. At least I think she is."

"What do you mean you think she is?" Sam asked.

Evy picked her head up off Jody's shoulder and reached for Sam. "Daddy."

Sam pulled her form Jody's arms. "You okay?" he asked. "What's the matter?"

"I don't want to sleep alone." Evy answered.

"Okay. You don't have to." Sam said. "Come on."

The end of Jody's couch reclined, so Sam sat at the end and pulled the recliner out. He laid Evy down so her head was in his lap. At some point, Cass had teleported back to the house and picked up Beanie, which he handed to Sam. Evy cuddled Beanie and almost immediately fell back to sleep. Jody wrapped her up and kissed her goodnight. Sam felt as if it had been days since Evy went missing, but it was only the middle of the afternoon. Jody placed a blanket on Sam's legs.

"You need some sleep, too." Jody said. "I have a six hour shift. I expect you to sleep for at least half of that. Got it?"

"Got it." Sam said. "Thanks, Jody."

"Get some sleep." Jody said in response, though she squeezed Sam's hand affectionately in a silent 'you're welcome'.

Jody left for her shift, and Sam looked around. He could hear a TV going softly down the hall. Alex was in her room. Claire had left to take a walk. Dean was snoring lightly in Jody's other armchair. Cass was staring at them, and after some light prodding from Jody, left the room. Evy stirred and started to whine in Sam's arms. Sam pulled her to him, so that her ear was resting right where she could hear his heartbeat.

"Daddy's got you now, baby. Get some sleep."

Next chapter: Evy reveals what happened to her. Sam and Dean get into a fight, and Sam gives him an ultimatum.