Chapter Twenty-One
Friendship
A/N: I'm back! Ireland was fantastic. My mom is fifty-two now, and has wanted to go to Ireland since she was five. She started crying the second we hit the ground in Dublin and didn't stop the whole week. We had a bit of a rough flight coming back (turbulence, ugh) but it was worth it. Thanks everyone for keeping me in your thoughts!
I need help. My mom wants to read one of my stories, but I'm not sure which one to show her. She is not a Supernatural fan, so I don't want to show her one of the really detailed ones from the show like Sensitive Souls are the Strongest or Life After Death. I was thinking one of the short funnier ones like Sammy the Chicken or Not all Cute Smiles and Hugs. If you have a suggestion, leave it in a review or a PM please. Thanks!
Evy laughed, handing Jordan back his algebra assignment. "Very good. Much, much better."
"I have a good teacher." Jordan replied.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Evy said, blushing slightly.
Sam watched them from the kitchen sink, where he was cleaning and pretending not to watch them. Though Jordan seemed to be a good kid, Sam wasn't sure how he felt about their budding friendship. Evy insisted that they weren't dating, which Sam didn't entirely believe. He didn't think Evy was deliberately lying to his face, but he believed it possible she felt a little more about Jordan than just friendship. She was fourteen, and didn't entirely understand why it was a bad idea to be alone with a boy. Sam allowed Evy and Jordan a few more minutes together, before breaking them up with a gentle reminder that it was time for Jordan to go home.
"Aww, daddy, can't he stay a little longer?"
"Not tonight. You've got to start getting ready for school. Say goodnight." Sam answered.
"It's okay, Ev." Jordan said. "Thanks for the help. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay. I'll walk you out." Evy said.
Sam wanted to tell her to come back, to help him put the dishes away, to go take her shower and get ready for bed. But he held his tongue, and allowed Evy to walk Jordan out. They stayed on the porch a few minutes, before Evy came back inside and gathered her school stuff up from the table. She was smiling, and Sam hated to have the talk with her that he was about to have. He didn't want to discourage her from having friends, but he couldn't see a way around this conversation.
"Sit down, baby. I need to talk to you."
"Okay." Evy said warily. "What's going on?"
"It's about Jordan." Sam said.
"What about him?" Evy asked.
"Well," Sam said, trying to come across as concerned rather than authoritative, "you and Jordan have been spending a lot of time together lately."
Evy didn't respond at first. She wasn't sure how to. "Yeah…"
"And I know you told me you two weren't dating…"
Evy, exasperated, let out a sigh. "Please, daddy, not this again…."
"Just please. Please listen to me. Okay?" Evy reluctantly nodded, and Sam continued. "I know you told me you two weren't dating. And I do believe you. But like I said the last time we talked about this, I don't want you dating until you're sixteen."
"I know that." Evy protested.
"I know you do. But that's the reason I'm setting a new rule." Sam said. "You can't be alone with Jordan."
"What? I'm never alone with Jordan anyway." Evy said.
"I know. But I don't want you to be alone with him. If you two go out somewhere, I want you to have at least one other person with you." Sam said.
"I don't get it." Evy said. "Am I in trouble for something?"
"No, baby. You're not in trouble." Sam said.
"But you're still telling me I can't see Jordan…" Evy asked.
"No. I didn't say you couldn't see him." Sam said. "I said you can't be alone with him. Got it?"
"No. Not really." Evy said. "What happens if you and uncle Dean are working and we need to study?"
Sam wanted so badly to say you can't do it, it'll have to wait, but he didn't. "You can text me or call me and go to the library."
"Okay. Fine." Evy said.
Sam frowned. "Don't 'fine' me. Talk to me."
"I just don't get it." Evy said. "You're making a rule for something I don't do anyway. It feels like you don't trust me."
"Baby, I do trust you. And I know this doesn't seem fair. But I swear it's meant to protect you." Sam said.
Evy's frown only deepened. "Protect me from what?"
"We've had this talk…" Sam said.
"Yeah. We have. And it's hard enough for me being a teenage girl and having everyone at school assume I'm gonna have sex whether I'm planning to or not. Now you think the same thing." Evy started grabbing her books off the table and angrily shoving them in her backpack.
Sam was stunned. Hehadn't been thinking the same thing; not even close. The truth was, he liked Jordan, but he was a teenage boy. If he was half as much like Dean had been as a teenager, Evy needed to be protected. But what if he was just jumping to conclusions? Was he being unfair, as Evy accused him of being? Sam ran a hand through his hair, thinking to himself how much he missed the sweet, eager-to-please, tiny little girl she used to be at the moment. Though Evy had not started into full swing teenage rebellion yet, and Sam prayed that she never would, she seemed to Sam to be even more sensitive these days than normal. Just as Sam was about to go check on her, Dean came in.
"What happened?" Dean asked. "Baby girl looks like she swallowed a whole gallon of sour milk."
Sam laughed humorlessly. "I think we had our first real fight."
"About what?" Dean asked. "Baby girl doesn't exactly rattle easy."
"No, she doesn't." Sam said. "I told her not to be alone with Jordan."
"Good." Dean said. "You were right."
"Really?" Sam asked. "You don't think I jumped the gun?"
"Not letting a fourteen-year-old girl be alone with a fourteen-year-old boy? No way." Dean said. "Why are you doubting yourself?"
"She says I'm being too hard on her for no reason." Sam said. "That I don't trust her."
"You're really not, Sam." Dean said, trying to comfort him. "You're not being dad here. You do have a good reason for it."
"Yeah. I guess." Sam said. He looked towards the refrigerator, reconsidering what he was going to make for dinner. "Will you order a pizza? I'm gonna go talk to her."
"Sure. Don't cave." Dean unhelpfully reminded him.
Sam walked down the hall to Evy's room. He stood outside the door for a minute, wondering what exactly to say to her. He suddenly felt very, very tired and ill-equipped to deal with a teenage girl. When Evy had been a teenager the first time, these issues had never really come up, at least with him. She'd spent ninety-nine percent of her time with him and Dean, so she hadn't really had time to meet many guys until she went to Princeton. She'd eventually disclosed years later that she had had sex for the first time at fifteen, during one of the few times that she hadn't lived with them. Sam didn't want to admit it out loud, but that was one of the main reasons for making the rule about being alone with Jordan. He couldn't tell Evy that, so he had to hold his ground no matter how hard she made it for him. Sam finally knocked at her bedroom door and waited.
"Come in."
When Sam walked in, Evy was standing at the foot of her bed, folding her laundry. She had a day's worth of clothes set aside, most likely for school the next day. She didn't look at Sam, just continued folding her clothes with a sense of determination. Sam sat on the edge of her bed and waited before talking.
"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." he said by way of explanation.
"Well, you did." Evy said as she turned to put some socks in her drawer.
"What did you mean when you said everyone expects you to plan to have sex?" Sam said. "It's been a while since I was a teenager. Explain it to me."
Evy sighed and stopped what she was doing. "There's an expectation that teenagers want to have sex. And the more you say you don't the less anyone believes you. It's frustrating."
"I'm sure it is." Sam said.
"And there's already…" Evy started, then stopped suddenly.
"Already what?" Sam asked.
Reluctantly, Evy told him the truth. "There's already a rumor going around at school that Jordan and I are sleeping together."
"Excuse me?" Sam asked, having to restrain himself from shouting. "Why wouldn't you tell me that?"
"Because I was afraid you'd react the way you're reacting now." Evy said. "And I was afraid that you'd tell me I couldn't see Jordan anymore because you'd think it was true."
Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath before responding. "I wouldn't have thought it was true. I just don't like anyone talking about you like that."
"It's not exactly fun for me either." Evy said, looking down towards the floor.
"Do you get bullied because of it?" Sam asked.
"Not really." Evy said. "Some whispering and stuff behind my back, but no one's said anything to my face or done anything bad to me."
"Okay." Sam said, deciding to drop that part of the matter, at least for now. "And as for Jordan, I wouldn't have stopped you from seeing him."
"He's the best friend I've had since Lily." Evy said.
"I know." Sam said. "I understand that. And I do trust you. But I need you to trust me here. Okay? For now, at least, don't be alone with Jordan."
Evy nodded. "Okay, daddy. I promise."
"Thank you." Sam said. "I mean that. Thank you for trusting me. And I'm sorry I hurt your feelings earlier."
"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it." Evy said. She walked over and gave him a hug. "Love you, daddy."
"Love you too, baby." Sam said. "Dean ordered pizza. You want some?"
"Of course." Evy said, eliciting a chuckle from Sam. "Let's go."
The next day was Friday, and as Sam left a meeting at work, he got a text that he didn't check right away. He somehow knew it was Evy. He put his things down on his desk, organized what he had to do and quickly checked his phone.
Can I go to the movies tonight?
What movie, who with, and what times? Sam asked.
Toy Story 5, 6:30 movie and dinner after, with Jordan, Barbara, Katie and Jill
I guess Have fun. Be home by 11 Sam answered.
You're the best daddy! Thank you! xoxoxoxo Love you
Love you more baby
Sam put the phone away and got back to work. He was leaving work early that day, so he was a little disappointed Evy wouldn't be home, but he was happy she was doing something other than staying home all the time. Evy was leaving just as he pulled into the driveway. She gave him a quick hug and kiss and headed out. He walked inside to find a very annoyed Dean sitting on the couch.
"Hey, dude. You okay?" he asked.
"I thought you told baby girl she couldn't hang out with that kid anymore." Dean said. "She's on her way to the movies with him."
"No, Dean." Sam said as he hung his jacket on the hook beside the door. "I told her I didn't want her to be alone with Jordan. And she's not. There's three other kids going with them."
"I don't trust that kid." Dean said. "No teenage boy just wants to be friends with a teenage girl."
Sam sighed; he was starting to see what Evy was talking about when she said everyone jumped to conclusions. "Dean, he's not you. And Evy's smart and more than capable of taking care of herself. She's had a hard time making good friends since we moved. Don't give her a hard time about this."
Dean shook his head. "I still have a bad feeling about this."
"So do I." Sam said. "Evy's so trusting and so forgiving I'm terrified that something's gonna happen to her. But she told me last night, and she has a point, that assuming something's gonna happen isn't fair. She hasn't given us any reason to assume the worst. We have to wait until she gives us a reason not to trust her before not letting them hang out."
Dean was not to be swayed. "Did she tell you where they were going to dinner?"
"No. She'll text me when they get out of the movie to tell me. Why?"
"Just curious." Dean said, though he didn't look at Sam when he said it.
"Dean…?"
"I was going to follow them." Dean admitted.
Sam hated himself for it, but he surprised Dean when he said, "Okay."
"Okay what?" Dean asked.
"I'll tell you where they're going to dinner." Sam said. "But, if they're not doing anything and you get caught, you take the fall when she gets pissed at you."
"Deal." Dean agreed.
Three hours later, Dean pulled up to the restaurant Evy had told Sam they were visiting. He had decided to take Sam's car instead of the Impala. It made it easier to hide. He'd started to regret this on the drive to the restaurant. Evy was a good kid, and she really hadn't given them any reason not to trust her. And as calm as she was, if she got angry, her temper could be explosive. But he was already here, and he decided to follow through.
The place was packed, so at first he didn't see them. When he did spot Evy, he bit his tongue to keep from cursing loudly. Evy was in the corner booth of the restaurant, Jordan seated across from her. Their friends were in a booth just opposite them. Evy was nodding at something Jordan was saying, holding his hand and listening carefully. Dean restrained himself from getting out of the car and going inside to drag her out. Instead he pulled out phone and typed a message to her.
I'm outside in your dad's car. You've got five minutes to get out here. Say goodnight to your friends.
When Dean hit send, he looked back inside. Evy checked her phone and looked outside. When she spotted him in the car, she frowned. She showed Jordan the message, stood up and put her phone in her pocket. She patted Jordan's shoulder, and he stood up and gave her a hug. Evy said goodnight to her other friends and started stalking towards the car.
"What are you doing here? Daddy said I didn't have to be home until eleven." Evy asked.
"Don't argue with me, little girl." Dean said. "You know why you're in trouble."
"No, actually, I don't. And don't call me 'little girl'." Evy said. "I didn't like it when dad did it, I don't like it when you do it."
"Right now what you want is the least of my concerns." Dean said. "You told your dad you and Jordan weren't dating."
"We're not!" Evy said. "That's what this is about?"
"Yes. That's what this is about. If you're not dating, then why were you two sitting by yourself? Holding hands and hugging?"
"I'm not allowed to hug my friend?" Evy asked. "And we were sitting alone, for less than five minutes I might add, because he wanted to talk to me about something and he didn't want the others to hear."
"What did he want to talk to you about?" Dean asked.
"I'm not telling you!" Evy said. "Why should I?"
"Because you're in enough trouble as it is. And if you won't tell me you can tell your dad." Dean said, starting up the car.
Evy didn't respond, just crossed her arms against her chest and slumped back angrily in the seat. She should have known better than to think that either of them, especially Dean, would listen to her. She'd be grounded now for sure. But no matter what, she would not tell them what she and Jordan had been talking about.
Back at the house, Sam was waiting nervously for some kind of report from Dean. He felt bad for allowing Dean to follow Evy, and he prayed that Dean had enough sense not to get himself caught by Evy. Before he could text Dean and ask him how things were going, his car pulled back into the driveway. He saw Evy get out and stomp towards the house, throwing open the front door, immediately followed by an angry Dean.
"Did you know he was following me?" Evy asked.
"What happened?" Sam asked.
"Sit down." Dean commanded Evy. She obeyed, although reluctantly. He turned to Sam and told him "I caught her and Jordan alone."
"We were not alone!" Evy shouted.
Sam held up both hands to stop their squabbling. If he didn't, they'd fight all night. "Enough. I want both stories. Dean, what did you see?"
"Why does he get to go first?" Evy asked.
"Because I sent him after you. To make sure you were following the rules." Sam said. "Let him talk. I'll hear your side next."
"I knew you didn't trust me." Evy said.
Sam was losing his patience. "Stow the attitude or you're grounded just for that." When Evy turned away from both of them, Sam asked Dean again. "What did you see?"
"She and Jordan had their own booth. They were talking and holding hands. I texted her to come out, and she got up and gave him a hug." Dean said.
"Okay." Sam said. "Now what's your story?"
"What happened" Evy said, with a pointed look at Dean, "is that when we got to the restaurant, Jordan was upset about something. He asked me if we could talk alone. I said I couldn't, and I told him about the rule you set. So we sat at the next booth over and we talked."
"About what?" Sam asked.
"I promised him I wouldn't say." Evy said.
"Holding hands and hugging?" Sam asked.
"He was upset, so yes, I held his hand. And I gave him a hug when I left and told him everything would be okay." Evy said. "Nothing else happened."
"You're not supposed to be alone with him." Sam pointed out.
"We weren't!" Evy said. "What exactly do you think was going to happen in a restaurant full of people?"
"Sitting alone is being alone. Whether there's other people around or not." Sam said. "Because of that, when you two study, it has to be here with either me or Dean home."
Evy's mouth hung open. "That's not fair! You guys are never home when we need to study."
"Then Jordan finds another tutor." Sam said simply. "Or you two come to my office. Unless you give me a good enough reason not to do this."
"What does that mean?" Evy asked.
"It means you tell me what Jordan needed to talk to you about. If it was a good enough reason for you to break my rule, I'll consider changing my mind." Sam said.
"I'm not breaking my promise to him." Evy said. "I told him I wouldn't tell anyone."
"Is he in trouble?" Sam asked.
"No." Evy said. "If he was in trouble or in danger, I'd tell you. Or his parents."
"Fine. Then you can see him here and in class. That's it." Sam said. "And you're grounded for a week for breaking the rule in the first place."
"So because I'm being a friend and not breaking his trust in me you're grounding me?" Evy asked.
"You broke my trust in you." Sam said evenly. "That's what you need to be more worried about right now. I trusted you to follow this rule, even if you didn't entirely understand it. We can always talk when you disagree with me, but you are not allowed to just disregard my rules whenever you feel like it. Do you understand me?"
"Yes." Evy answered through gritted teeth.
"And if you keep fighting me on this, I'll add another week. Is that what you want?" Sam asked.
"No."
"Fine. Go to your room." Sam said.
Evy bit back the Don't 'fine' me comment that came to her mind. She still felt she'd done nothing wrong, and both Sam and Dean were being completely unfair. She'd done nothing to deserve their distrust, and she wasn't going to tell them what Jordan had said to her unless he gave her permission. So she stomped down to her room and slammed the door. Sam flinched, and sat on the couch rubbing his head to try and fend off a coming headache.
"Are you okay?" Dean asked.
Sam laughed. "No."
"I miss the old her sometimes." Dean said. "The sweet kid she used to be."
Sam looked up, surprised. "The hunter?"
"Yeah." Dean said.
"Dean, are you saying you'd rather have her back?" Sam asked.
Dean shrugged his shoulders, as if to say Yeah, why not?
"That's a terrible thing to say." Sam said. "Yeah, she was pretty great, but she was also in pain every day of her life. First it was from dad ignoring her. Then it was from Jess dying, me dying, you dying, Lillith's attack, me going to hell, Bobby dying, Jack cheating on her. The poor kid never caught a break. If she heard you say that, she'd wail on you."
"So you prefer this?" Dean asked, pointing down the hall towards Evy's room. "Moody teenager?"
"Yeah, actually. I do. She's not too happy with me right now, but most of the time, she's a happy kid. If I had to do it all over again, I'd make sure she stayed lost when she went in the hospital and waited for her to land at the bunker." Sam said.
Dean sighed. "Yeah. You're right." he said. "I'm going to bed. Good luck."
"Thanks."
It was approaching nine o'clock, an hour before Evy's normal bedtime. Half an hour, Sam reminded himself. When she was grounded, she was required to be in bed half an hour early. Sam headed down to her room and knocked lightly on the door. When he didn't hear an answer, he knocked again.
"One second!" Evy said. She still had the bad attitude Sam had warned her about earlier, but he chose to let it go.
The door opened and Evy went straight back to her bed. She refused to look Sam in the eye. Sam wondered if he should add a week to her grounding, just for the attitude alone. He decided against it. That was a classic John Winchester move-add on to the punishment for any sign that you disagreed with it or were angry. It had driven Sam away from John and he didn't want it to drive Evy away from him. Sam leaned against the wall next to the door.
"I don't want to fight with you."
"If you'd trust me, we wouldn't have to." Evy answered.
"I want to." Sam said. "But you haven't exactly given me a reason to."
Evy finally turned to Sam, angry tears burning in her eyes. "I didn't do anything wrong. We weren't alone. Barbara, Katie, and Jill were in the next booth over. And the restaurant was full of people. Nothing happened."
"But it could've." Sam said. "What would've happened if you guys had left the restaurant? If your friends had assumed you two wanted time alone and left?"
"That wouldn't have happened." Evy argued. "Jordan just wanted to tell me something that he didn't want anyone else to hear. He was going to tell me, then talk to me more about it later. We were in the booth together less than three minutes when I got that text from uncle Dean."
"That's another thing I don't understand." Sam said. "You keep saying he had something to tell you. That he's not in trouble or in danger. So why can't you tell me? You usually tell me everything."
"Yeah, I do. About me. This isn't about me, it's about Jordan. It's Jordan's life, not mine. He asked me not to tell anybody until he was ready, so I'm not going to." Evy insisted. "If I told you a secret and asked you not to tell anyone, would you do it?"
"Of course not." Sam said.
"Why wouldn't you?" Evy asked.
"Because I'd want you to trust me." Sam said. "Sweetie, it's not going to get out. I won't tell anyone else."
"No!" Evy protested again. "I'm not going to tell you!"
"Then I'm sorry. You're grounded." Sam said. "I need to know what was so important that you decided to break your word to me. If you won't tell me, then you have to go through the punishment for it."
"Got it." Evy said.
"Okay." Sam said, standing up to leave the room. "Did you eat while you were out? Are you hungry?"
"I'm fine." Evy said.
"All right. I love you." Sam said, brushing a piece of hair from her face.
Evy waited a long moment before answering, but she finally said, "Love you too."
At least she's not mad enough not to say it back, Sam thought, and dreaded the day she ever would be. He walked out and into the living room, where Squish was sitting on the back of the couch staring at him.
"You mad at me too?" Sam asked as he approached Squish.
As if he understood perfectly what Sam was saying, Squish jumped off the back of the couch and scrambled down the hall towards Evy's room. Sam heard Evy's bedroom door open again, letting Squish inside. Sam sighed; it was going to be a long week. Around eleven, Sam knocked gently at the door. When Evy didn't answer, Sam opened the door slowly. Evy was sleeping, with Squish curled up on top of the blanket. Sam adjusted her blankets a bit before leaning down and kissing her cheek.
"Good night, baby. Daddy really does love you."
The next day, Evy barely spoke to either Sam or Dean, staying in her room as instructed. Sam brought her meals, which she took silently, returning to her homework without a word. Towards the end of the night, there was a knock on the door. Sam got up to answer it, to find Jordan standing there.
"Sorry, Jordan. Evy can't see you. She's grounded right now." Sam explained.
"Actually, I came to talk to you. Can I come in?" Jordan asked.
Sam was surprised, but agreed. "Sure."
Jordan stepped inside and went to the living room, followed by Sam, who called in Dean from the kitchen. Dean stood at the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, defensive and ready to throw Jordan out. Sam waited for Jordan to begin. Jordan shifted a little, intimidated by the both of them.
"I, um, I wanted to talk to you guys about what happened last night."
"I know what happened last night." Dean said. "I was watching from the car."
"All due respect, you really don't know what happened last night." Jordan said.
"Dean, calm down." Sam said. "Jordan, go on."
"Well, the reason I was talking to Evy alone last night was because…" Jordan stopped and took a breath; this was proving harder than he thought it would.
"I came out to her last night."
Sam and Dean sat in shocked silence for nearly thirty seconds before Sam said, "What do you mean?"
"I'm gay." Jordan said. "I've been thinking about telling my parents, but I was worried. No one else knows. I told Evy first. I asked her not to tell anyone until I started telling people myself."
Sam and Dean looked at each other, guilt etched clearly on their faces.
"Look, Evy emailed me last night before she went to sleep. I think you need to read it." Jordan took his phone out, pulled up the email, and handed his phone to Sam.
I'm sorry about what happened at the restaurant tonight. My dad and my uncle don't want me to be alone with guys, and they kind of freaked when they saw me sitting at that booth alone with you.
What you told me is going to stay between us. No matter what. If and when you want it to come out, it's on you. But there is something you should know. They told me I can't see you unless we're here and someone can watch us, or I tell them what you told me tonight. I like you too much as a friend and I don't want to lose you. I'm grounded right now, which means I'm not going anywhere other than school or home. But when, or if, that eventually get lifted, we'll talk more. I promise.
See you at school Monday. Everything'll be okay. Swear.
Sam handed Jordan back the phone. "Jordan, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you had to tell us this."
"Evy didn't want me to. But she loves you both. I didn't want her to risk her relationship with you over this." Jordan explained.
"You're a good friend." Sam said. "If you want to see her after I apologize to her in a minute, you can."
"I'll see her at school on Monday." Jordan said.
"Okay. You have a good weekend Jordan." Sam said.
"Thanks. You too." Jordan said, getting up to leave.
"And Jordan?" Sam asked. Jordan turned back towards Sam. "I get it. Feeling like you can't talk to your parents. If you ever do need to talk to an adult about something, you can find me. It'll stay between us."
"Thanks." Jordan said, genuinely touched. "That means a lot."
"Sure."
Jordan left, and Sam and Dean took a long, meaningful look at each other. They'd screwed up and they both knew it. Without a word, they walked down to Evy's room, and Sam knocked on the door. Evy answered the door, Squish under her feet.
"Can we come in?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. Sure." Evy said.
She stepped away from the door and back onto the bed. Squish crawled into her lap and curled up. Evy absentmindedly ran a hand through his fur, waiting for Sam or Dean to start talking.
"Jordan came to see us. He told us his secret." Sam said.
"He shouldn't have had to do that." Evy said bitterly. "He's already worried about telling his parents. You two made him choose between keeping me as a friend and telling you something that he didn't even want to tell his own parents."
"You're right." Sam said.
"Kiddo, we're sorry." Dean said. "We should've listened to you."
"You know," Evy said, looking up at both of them, "you two get this idea in your head every few months that I'm just going to start rebelling against every rule you've set for me. I'm not planning to do that. I've never felt the need to, because I've always felt like I can talk to both of you. But if you want me to start doing whatever I want, whenever I want…"
"No. We get the point." Dean said. "We really are sorry, kiddo."
"Yeah. We are." Sam said. "And you're not grounded anymore."
"And seeing Jordan?" Evy asked.
"Same rules as before." Sam said. "You can have friends over until seven. If you go out, you have to tell me where you're going, who you're with, and what time you'll be home."
Evy nodded, and looked down to Squish. "What do you think, buddy?"
Squish meowed loudly, jumped off Evy's lap, and went to Sam, nuzzling up against Sam's leg.
"I guess that means I forgive you too."
Sam picked up Squish and brought him back over to the bed. "Can I hug her? Is that okay with you?"
Squish batted Sam's hand with one paw.
"Okay, you can have one too."
Though it was slightly awkward, Sam put one arm around Evy's neck and scratched Squish's with his other hand. Dean joined into a group hug, which ended up with Squish trying to get everyone to scratch his belly.
"I love you, baby." Sam said as they left her room to go make dinner. "I'm sorry."
"I love you too, daddy." Evy said. "It's okay."
"What do you want for dinner?" Sam asked. "Your choice."
"Anything?" Evy asked with a smirk.
"Anything but cookies, cakes, or ice cream." Sam said.
"Pie."
Next Chapter: Sam gets a girlfriend.