Chapter Twenty-Two

The Parent Trap

A/N: As you can probably tell from the title, I got the idea for this chapter after watching the movie The Parent Trap.

Evy nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Squish's crying from the other end of the house. She left the couch quickly, where she was reading a book for school, and tore open her bedroom door to check on Squish. She found him sleeping on the bed. When the door opened, Squish woke up reluctantly, letting out a soft, annnoyed meow at his disrupted rest. Evy walked over and picked him up gently.

"You okay, buddy? What was that noise, huh?" she asked.

It came again. That high-pitched squeal that sounded like a cat wailing with a toothache. Squish hissed in Evy's arms, burying his face underneath her arm to get away from it. A familiar male laugh joined the loud squeal and Evy finally realized what had scared her.

"The hyena's back again." Evy said, shifting Squish so she could hold him easier. "Let's get you some dinner, huh?"

Evy carried Squish into the kitchen, where Sam and his girlfriend Meredith were making dinner together. Evy held Squish in one arm, grabbing his food and bowl from the cabinet with the other. She poured the food in the bowl and put Squish down, then went to the sink to get some water. Neither Sam or Meredith said anything until she placed Squish's water bowl down on the floor.

"How are you, Evelyn?" Meredith asked.

Evy bit her tongue hard, then answered. "I'm fine. How are you?"

"Great. How's Squish?" Meredith asked.

She was friendly enough, but Evy couldn't stand her. "He's doing good." Evy reached down and scratched Squish's neck.

"Hey, baby, you ready for dinner?" Sam asked. "It's almost ready."

"I guess." Evy said.

Sam put the pot of spaghetti down on the table. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Evy lied.

"All right. Go wash your hands." Sam said.

Dinner that night dragged on for Evy. Sam was so wrapped up in what Meredith was saying that he didn't notice how quiet Evy was. Evy excused herself and went to her room, Squish following close behind her. She picked up her phone and texted Dean.

Can I come to the garage with you? PLEASE? The hyena's back again.

Funny as that is, it's too close to your bedtime kiddo. Dean answered. Just hang in there. I'll be back soon.

K love you

She'd figured he would say no, so she wasn't too disappointed; but she needed to get away from Meredith. Evy couldn't quite pin down exactly why she didn't like Meredith. Sure, her laugh was beyond annoying, but she made Sam happy. Then it clicked. In the month since Evy had met Meredith, and the two months since Meredith and Sam had been dating, Sam had been leaving work early to spend time with her. For Evy to spend any time with him during the work week, she had to go to his office. When Meredith was around, which was nearly every night, Sam seemed oblivious. Evy was almost tempted to leave the house for hours without calling or texting just to see if Sam would notice. Before she could think anything else about it, Sam knocked on her bedroom door. She'd left it open, so he said,

"Hey, we're going out for ice cream. You want to go?"

"Really?" Evy asked. She looked at her bedside clock. "It's 8:45. My bedtime's in an hour."

"It won't hurt you to go to bed late one night." Sam said.

Evy's eyes bulged. "Who are you and what have you done with my father?"
Sam laughed. "Do you want to go?"

"Just us?" Evy asked.

Sam frowned. "No. Meredith's going too."

"Oh." Evy said, and couldn't hide her disappointment. "It's okay. You two go ahead."

Sam stared at her for a moment, then sat down on her bed. "You don't like Meredith, do you?"

Evy sighed; it was confession time. "It's not that I don't like her. It's just…"

"Just what, baby?" Sam said gently.

"It's not really her. It's you." Evy admitted.

"What does that mean?" Sam asked.

"Well, you've been leaving work early to spend time with Meredith. When I want to spend time with you during the week, I either have to go to your office or ask you weeks in advance so you can ask for the day." Evy said.

"Oh, baby, you think I did that for Meredith?" Sam asked.

"Well, yeah." Evy asked. "You started coming home early when you started dating her."

"I did that for you." Sam said. "When Dean started working more at the garage, I asked for my hours to be cut at work. I did that to spend more time with you."

"You did?" Evy asked.

"Yeah. I did." Sam said. "I met Meredith when I turned in the paperwork to change from full time to part time."

"Oh. I didn't know that." Evy said.

"I'm sorry, baby. I thought I told you that." Sam said. "I guess I have been spending a lot of time with Meredith."

"Look, I like that you're happy. You just seem kind of oblivious to everything else when she's around." Evy said.
"Oblivious to what?" Sam asked.

"It's hard for me to talk to you when she's around." Evy said.

"You can talk to me whenever you want." Sam pointed out.

"Really?" Evy asked. "Because I've tried to talk to you three times tonight. Every time I've opened my mouth to say something to you, Meredith jumps in and cuts me off. And that's not just tonight. She does it all the time."

"Okay. Baby, I'm sorry. I haven't been paying attention to you, and I'm sorry for that. But no matter what, you are still the most important person in the world to me. You know that, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I know." Evy said.

"You sure?" Sam asked. "You don't sound sure."

Evy took a deep breath. "Can we take an hour every week? Just us?"

"Deal." Sam said. "Feel better?"

Evy smiled. "Yeah."

"Good. Do you want to go with us?" Sam asked.

"No. I do need to go to bed. I've got a game tomorrow." Evy said. "You two have fun."

"Okay. Goodnight, baby. Love you."

"Love you more." Evy said as Sam leaned over to kiss her cheek.

Everything was going semi-well for the next few weeks. Sam made an honest effort to focus a little more on Evy, and talked to Meredith about not interrupting Evy when she was trying to talk to him. In return for Sam's efforts, Evy tried to get to know Meredith better. She actually seemed like a nice person. The laugh was still beyond annoying, but Evy decided to try and look past that. But one thing still bothered her. Squish absolutely could not stand Meredith. When Meredith came over, Squish would hide in Evy's room. If Meredith was there and it was time for Squish to eat, Squish would find Evy and stick closer to her than normal. At first Evy thought it was because of Meredith's laugh. But no matter what Meredith did, if she got too close to Squish, she was hissed at.

"Baby, maybe you should start putting Squish in your room when Meredith comes over." Sam suggested.

"Why?" Evy asked. "Squish lives here. She doesn't."

Sam, not wanting to aggravate tensions between the two of them again, let the matter drop. Evy was making an effort with Meredith, and Sam didn't want to give her another reason to resent Meredith. Dean was another story. Though he was polite to Meredith to her face, he made it clear to Sam that he didn't trust her.

"She's trouble, bud. Just watch your back, okay?"

Towards the end of the basketball season, Evy became more and more wrapped up with her team. Sam was supportive, going to all her games, even bringing Meredith along on a few of them. Things got worse the day of Evy's second to last game of the season. Evy's practices were running longer than normal. The stakes were high-if they won the final game, they went to the state championships. Meredith told Sam she wasn't feeling well that night, so Sam let her sleep at their house while everyone went to Evy's game. After winning the game and celebrating, Sam, Evy and Dean came back home.

"Kiddo, I still can't get over that last shot you took!" Dean said loudly as they came in the door.

"Thanks." Evy said as she put her backpack down.

"Good job, baby. I'm proud of you." Sam said. "Why don't you grab a shower?"

"Okay. I'm gonna check on Squish first."

Sam checked on Meredith, who was lying down on the couch. She claimed to feel better, and after a kiss and a hug from Sam, asked about the game. Dean jumped in with the recap, gladly telling her about the way Evy had 'saved the game'. Evy came back into the living room from her room, looking around for something frantically.

"Kiddo, you okay?" Dean asked.

Evy walked into the living room with tears in her eyes. "Meredith, have you seen Squish?"

"He's not in your room?" Sam asked.

"No. He's not anywhere in the house." Evy said. "I even tried running the can opener and he didn't come."

"Okay. Okay, baby. Dean and I'll help you look for him." Sam said, starting to get up from the couch.

Meredith suddenly looked very guilty. "Sam?" When Sam turned around, she confessed. "I let Squish out."

Sam and Dean stood there, mouth gaping open in shock, but Evy had no problem telling Meredith exactly how she felt.

"You let him out? Out where?" she asked.

"The backdoor." Meredith said. "He was scratching at your bedroom door, I thought he was looking for you so he could go outside."

"He's not an outdoor cat!" Evy yelled. "I don't ever let him outside by himself."

"Evelyn, I'm sorry…" Meredith said apologetically.

"Don't call me that!" Evy screamed, and Dean reluctantly had to hold her back. "When did you let him out?"

"A few minutes after you guys left." Meredith said. "I fell asleep."

"That was four hours ago!" Evy said, breaking down in tears now. "It's thirty degrees out there. There's stray dogs and cars…."

"Hey. Come here." Sam gently grabbed her arms and pulled her towards the couch with him. "I promise you, first thing in the morning, Dean and I will help you go look for him." He wiped tears away as he talked.

"Why not tonight?" Evy asked. "He's lost."

"I know. I know, baby. Listen to me. It's really late. It's pitch black outside. We won't be able to see Squish if we try to look for him right now. When the sun comes up, we'll go out and start looking around." Sam said. "If we don't find him walking around the neighborhood, we'll check the shelters and the pound."

Evy cried a little more, before sobbing out, "He's gone, daddy."
"I know, baby." Sam said, wiping her face again before pulling her in for a hug. "I know."

Dean walked over and sat next to Evy, laying a hand on her back. "We'll help you find him, baby girl."

Meredith was standing next to the couch, still looking lost and guilty. "Sam…"

Sam, who was still holding the sobbing Evy in his arms, looked up at Meredith for the first time with anger and annoyance in his eyes rather than the adoration she had gotten used to. It was enough to make Meredith flinch.

"You should go." Sam said.

Meredith was shocked. "Sam, it's late…"

"You heard him." Dean said, barely holding his temper. "Leave. Now."

Meredith grabbed her purse slowly and walked out. When her car had driven off, Evy was still crying. Sam continued to try and comfort her, but Evy was inconsolable. She eventually fell asleep there on the couch. Sam gently laid her down to sleep, kissed her goodnight, and walked into the kitchen, where he got a beer with Dean. Sam could tell that Dean wanted to say something , but seemed reluctant.

"Just say it." Sam said.

"I want to." Dean said. "But I'm afraid you'll sock me if I do."

"Just say it, Dean." Sam said again.

"Fine." Dean took a breath and confessed, "I think she did it on purpose, Sam."
"Look, it was stupid. I'll give you that. And I'll talk to her about it tomorrow." Sam said. "But I don't think she did it to hurt her."

"Sam…" Dean sighed, exasperated. "You were so worried about whether Evy liked Meredith, that you haven't see that Meredith doesn't like Evy."

"That's ridiculous."
"No, Sam. It's not. Think about it." Dean sat at the table in front of Sam and tried to make him see what was crystal clear to Dean. "When was the last time Meredith initiated a conversation with Evy?"
"She's nervous. She's not good with kids…." Sam attempted to explain.

"As much as I hate to admit it, baby girl's not a kid anymore. She's almost an adult." Dean said. "Sam, Evy's only trying so hard with Meredith because she doesn't want to hurt your feelings. But she tells me."

"Tells you what?" Sam said.

"Meredith told her she was too close to you. That she needs to, and I quote, 'quit being such a baby' and let her have her time with you." Dean told him.

"What?" Sam asked in disbelief. "When was this?"

"The night after you talked to Meredith about her interrupting baby girl." Dean said.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Sam asked.
"Because she didn't want to hurt you." Dean answered. "She talked to me about it. I confronted Meredith, made her apologize to baby girl. I thought everything was getting better, but after tonight…"

"No. I think you're right." Sam said. "I didn't want to admit it, but I think you're right."

"So what are you gonna do?" Dean asked.

"I'll help her find Squish tomorrow. Then I'll tell Meredith to get lost." Sam said.

Dean nodded. "I'm sorry, Sam. I know you liked her."

Sam and Dean got up very early the next morning. Evy was eager to get out and start looking for Squish, but Sam forced her to put on two additional layers of clothing. The temperature had dropped another few degrees and it was bitterly cold outside. Dean took Evy out and help her search for four fruitless hours. Evy begged Sam to stay at the house in case Squish came home. Sam did stay, but called neighbors and friends to let them know that Squish was missing. When the four hour neighborhood search turned up nothing, and Sam's efforts with the neighbors proved useless, Evy and Dean moved on to the shelters. There were four in town, but after a half hour long visit at each checking each and every cat in all the buildings, Squish still hadn't been found. Evy and Dean returned to the house around lunchtime, when Evy cried herself to sleep again. Just as she was in a deep sleep, there was a knock on the door. Praying that it was Jordan with Squish, Sam went and answered it eagerly. But it was Meredith.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

Sam sighed. Now was as good a time as any to have the conversation with her he needed to. "Sure."

Meredith stepped inside and asked immediately, "Did you find him?"

"No, we didn't." Sam said, pointing towards Evy sleeping on the couch.

"Sam, I'm really sorry…" Meredith said.

"Come on. We need to talk. Meet me in the kitchen." Sam said. "Don't wake her up. She didn't get a lot of sleep last night. None of us did."

Meredith looked worried. She followed Sam into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Sam stood against the kitchen sink and took a couple of deep breaths before speaking. He didn't want to start yelling and risk waking up Evy. When he'd collected himself enough, he asked,

"Did you let Squish out on purpose?"

"What? No!" Meredith said.

"I thought you said you did. I thought you said last night that you let him out because you thought he was asking to go." Sam said.

"Well, that's what I meant. I didn't do it to hurt her…" Meredith said, stumbling over her own words. She suddenly stopped and stared at Sam, hurt. "Are you trying to catch me in a lie?"

"Is there a lie for me to catch you in?" Sam asked.

"Sam, no!" Meredith protested. "You really think I'd want to hurt her like that? I thought Squish was asking to go outside, so I let him out. That's all there was to it."
"See, that's what I don't get. All the times that you've been in this house. She has never once let Squish outside without her. She's the only one that can make him come back inside. So what made you think that it was okay to do that last night?"

"I don't know. I was sick, and I couldn't think straight, the cat kept hissing at me…" Meredith said.

"He was hissing at you?" Sam said. "He only hisses when you get close to him. I thought you said you were lying on the couch and heard him scratching."

"Sam, I…" Meredith started.

"Save it. Dean told me about the conversation he had with you. Where he made you apologize to Evy." Sam said. "What did you say to her?"

"Sam that was weeks ago…."

"What did you say to her?" Sam asked.

Meredith licked her lips and said, "I told her to stop being so clingy. That she was stopping you and me from spending any time together…"

"That's not your call." Sam said, white-knuckling the countertop in anger. "She is my daughter. I'm her father. She always comes before everything else."

"I understand that, Sam, but…"
"No buts. You are not allowed to be mean to my kid. Ever. That's a deal breaker." Sam said.

"What are you saying?" Meredith asked. "You want to break up?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Sam said. "After you leave, I don't want to see you again."

"Sam…"
"And if Squish isn't back in this house tonight, I'm calling the cops." Sam said.

"You'd have me arrested? All because of that stupid cat?" Meredith asked.

"That 'stupid cat'is my daughter's pet. And she's heartbroken over this." Sam said. "Meredith, what you did was beyond hurtful. It was petty and vindictive. And I'm just sorry I didn't end it earlier."

Meredith finally gave up pretending. "Fine." She stood up and shoved the chair back under the table loudly. "Sam, she's got you wrapped around her finger. If you let her keep doing this, you'll never find anybody."

"She's all I need." Sam said, effectively ending the discussion. "It's time for you to go."

Meredith stomped out of the house towards the living room. Sam followed her, afraid she would wake Evy out of spite. The doorbell rang before she had the chance. Sam went to get it, and found Dean and Jordan standing there. Squish was sitting in Jordan's arms.

"He made his way to my house." Jordan said with a broad smile. "He was sitting on the front porch when Dean dropped me back off."

Sam let out a sigh of relief. "I have never been so glad to see you, buddy." Sam reached out and took Squish from Jordan's arms, scratched his ears, then set him on the floor. "Go on. Go wake up your mom."

Squish ran to the couch and jumped up. Evy was sleeping so hard that she didn't feel Squish jump. Squish, unhappy with the lack of attention from Evy, pushed his face under her chin and pushed. Evy woke up slowly, reaching a hand out to push whatever was waking her away. When she realized what she was holding, Evy laughed.

"Where did you come from?"

"He made his way to my house. It took a while, but he found me." Jordan said. He made his way towards the couch next to Evy. He reached out and scratched Squish's ears. "He's pretty smart."

"I missed you, buddy." Evy said, hugging Squish.

Sam looked over and saw that Meredith had slipped out. Or that Dean had escorted her out. He let Evy hold Squish a little longer before going over and telling her what had happened.

"Listen, baby. I owe you an apology. A couple of them, actually."

"For what?" Evy asked.

"Well, Meredith did let Squish go. On purpose." Sam said.

"Why?" Evy asked. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she was jealous of you and me." Sam said.

"So she hurt Squish because she didn't like me?" Evy asked.

"Looks that way." Sam said. "Baby, I'm so sorry."

"Where's Meredith?" Evy asked.

"I kicked her out. She won't be back." Sam assured her. "I told her I'd go to the cops. Do you want to do that?"

Evy looked down at Squish, who had settled in Evy's lap. "You promise she won't be back?"

"If she does come back, I will definitely go." Sam said.

"Then no. It's over, Squish is home and safe." Evy said.

Sam smiled sadly, still feeling guilty that Meredith had hurt her. "I'm so sorry, baby." he said again.

"I'm sorry too." Evy said.

"You're sorry? For what?" Sam asked.

"I know you liked her." Evy answered.

"Yeah. I did." Sam said. "But I like you even more."

Evy smiled, reached over and gave him a hug. "Love you, daddy."

"I love you too, baby."

Next Chapter: Evy starts acting strangely.