A/N: When Missy allows Evy to get a dog without talking to John about it first, John is less than pleased. But after a scary incident in the park, John starts to think that maybe it's not such a bad idea after all.

I know Dean and Sam haven't been in this too much up to now. Dean's in this chapter, and I promise Sam will be a lot more involved as Evy gets older.

John pulled into the driveway, happy to finally be home. Evy was in school, so hopefully he could surprise her. The hunt had been long and hard, and he and Dean needed lots of rest. Dean parked the Impala and John parked the truck. Missy wasn't home, so John pulled out his spare key and opened the door. Once they walked inside, it was John and Dean that received the surprise. When they were inside, it was Dean that first noticed it. A set of eyes peaking at them from underneath a blanket on the couch. Both of them drew their guns at the unexpected intruder. But when the intruder came out from under the blanket, both of them were stunned. The first thing they saw, after the eyes under the blanket, was a tuft of hair the same beige color as the couch. A tongue panting and a tail wagging.

It took a moment to realize that it was a dog. It seemed to be a friendly dog, but it was one they didn't have. Dean and John looked at each other, both of them puzzled, but before they could say anything, the front door opened. Missy walked in with a bag of groceries. The dog jumped off the couch and ran to her, nipping at her heels. Dean took the groceries from Missy and walked them to the kitchen, while Missy picked up the restless dog.

"Hi, honey." She said, kissing John's cheek while still holding the dog.

"Hi, honey." John responded in kind. "Who is this?"
"This is Sugar." Missy said.

"Why is Sugar here?"

"Because he's your daughter's new dog." Missy said, placing Sugar back down on the floor.

Just what I was afraid of, John thought. "When did she get a dog?"

Missy answered as she started to put the groceries away. "It's been a little over a week."

"A week?" John asked.

"Yep." Missy said.

She was trying to keep an even tone; she knew he was unhappy, but she didn't care. She'd known this argument was coming, and she had prepared herself for it. Missy never made a major decision about Evy without consulting John, but because of their unusual living arrangement, she made all the minor ones. The arguments came because the line of major decision and minor decision was different between the two of them. Dean put the last of the groceries away and headed to his room, sensing the tension between his dad and Missy.

"You didn't think I needed to know about this?"

"No, I didn't." Missy said, pulling out what she needed to make dinner.

"Why not?" John asked. "Whether my kid has a pet or not? I think that's a both parent decision."
"When both parents are here, yes." Missy said. When she saw his eyes flash hurt, she sighed. "Look, I'm not trying to make you feel guilty here. But Evy's had a lot of trouble making friends at school. The neighbors were moving, and they couldn't take Sugar with them. Evy fell in love with him. I thought it was a good way to teach her responsibility."

"She's five years old!" John countered.

"I thought about that. Sam was with us, and he fell in love with Sugar too. He agreed to help Evy until she was old enough to do it on her own." Missy said. "So far, she's done great. She feeds Sugar twice a day, before she goes to school and before she goes to bed, makes sure he has water, plays with him, and even helped Sam train him."

"He's trained? Must not be a very good guard dog." John said. "He didn't even bark when me and Dean came in the door."

"He's still a puppy." Missy said. "And you will not criticize that dog with Evy around. Got it?"

"Got it." John mumbled unhappily.

He wanted to respond that Evy needed to learn how to take criticism or she'd grow up to be too sensitive for her own good, but he knew better. He didn't want to start a proper fight. Before he could say anything else, the front door opened again, and Evy and Sam walked in together. Missy heard Evy's backpack hit the floor, and she decided to let it go. She'd been trying to get Evy into the habit of putting her backpack in her room, but it hadn't quite set in yet. It wasn't something worth getting upset about, so Missy decided to file it away for later. An excited Evy ran into the kitchen and barreled herself into John's side.

"DADDY!"

Despite the tension of just a few moments earlier, John picked her up and swung her around, making her giggle hysterically. "How's my best girl?"

"I'm glad you're home, Daddy. I missed you."

"I missed you too, little one." John said sincerely.

"Daddy, did you see Sugar?" Evy said.

"I did." John said.

"Where is Sugar?" Evy asked.

"He went to your room." Missy said.

"I gotta go check on him, Daddy."

John placed her down on the floor, and she eagerly ran to her room. John and Missy both heard her greet Dean, who made her laugh too. John walked over to Missy, who was standing by the sink washing vegetables to make a salad. He decided to take advantage of their rare moment alone by wrapping both his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. Missy smiled, but begged John,

"I know you're not happy about the dog. But he'll be good for her."

"I trust you." John said.

"Mommy." Evy had come back into the kitchen and grabbed John's arm. "I need you and Daddy in the living room, please."
"For what, honey?" Missy asked.

"It's a surprise." Evy said. "Pleeeeasssseee?"

"Okay, okay." John said. He couldn't get over how much she sounded like Sam when she did that. "We're coming."

An impatient Evy was waiting in the living room for him and Missy. Sugar was sitting on the floor. Dean was already on the couch. Sam stood there with a bag of dog treats, which Sugar kept an intense eye on. Once everyone was seated, Evy announced,

"Me and Sammy finished training Sugar. I want to show you guys what he can do."

"Okay!" Missy said. "Go ahead."

Evy turned towards Sugar, cleared her throat, and said clearly, "Sugar, speak."

Sugar stood on all fours and barked loudly.
"Good boy, Sugar." Evy said, looking to Sam, who gave Sugar a treat from the bag.

"Sugar, roll over."

Sugar laid back down and rolled completely over, standing back on his feet once he was done.
"Good boy, Sugar." Evy said, and the snack process was repeated.
"Sugar, mean face."
Sugar bared his teeth and growled, but didn't move from his spot.

"Stop." On Evy's command, Sugar immediately went back to the panting, sweet dog he'd been before. "Good boy, Sugar."

The mean face trick started to change John's mind about the dog. He still wasn't thrilled with the idea, but that trick could definitely be useful. Missy had been one of the best hunters he'd ever seen, so he had no doubt that Evy and Sam were protected with her. But having Sugar could end up being an extra layer of protection. The next trick blew his mind.

"Sugar, get mommy." Sugar ran to Missy, pushing her foot and whining loudly. "Sugar, get Sammy." Sugar went to Sam and did the same thing.

"Good boy, Sugar." Evy said, and Sam gave him his final snack. "What do you think?" she asked, grinning, clearly very proud of herself.

"You did great, honey!" Missy said. "You too, Sam."
"You can keep him." John said simply, with an air of finality.

Missy shook her head and glared at John.

Luckily for himself, John caught on to what he did. "You did do great, little one. I'm proud of you. Both of you."
The praise from John lit up the faces of both Evy and Sam. Evy climbed into John's lap for another hug, and even Sam joined in for a now rare display of affection. Sam put the bag of treats up, and Evy asked Missy,

"Mommy? Can I take Sugar for a walk?"

"I can't take you right now, baby. I'm sorry." Missy said.

"I'll take you, kiddo." Dean said. "If it's okay with your mom."

"You sure, Dean? You just got back." Missy said. "I can take her after dinner if you want to get some rest."

"No, it's okay. I'll go with her."

"Okay. I take her to the park down the road. She needs to take the leash and run with Sugar a few laps, then she can play for thirty minutes." Missy explained.

"Thank you, mommy!" Evy said, surprised she was being allowed to play at the park on a school night.

"You're welcome, baby. Do not, for any reason, wander away from where Dean can see you. If you do, you stay in your room for a week. Understand?"

"I understand, mommy." Evy promised.

"Okay. Go, have fun." Missy said.

Dean walked slowly down the road with Evy and Sugar, enjoying his alone time with Evy. He wasn't crazy about the dog either, but the mutt wasn't that bad, and doing something simple for once, like playing with Evy, made it worth it. He supervised her as she ran Sugar around the small soccer field in the park, then let her go towards the play area. Sugar followed, and Dean played with them for a few moments before a beautiful girl caught his eye.

"Hey, baby girl, I'm going right over there to talk to a friend. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." Evy said.

"Okay. Remember, stay where I can see and hear you, okay?"

"I will, Deanie." Evy promised.

Dean went over to talk to the girl. Things were going well, and the girl, whose name was Nancy, was just giving Dean her number when Dean heard a string of sounds that made his heart stop. He heard a scream of "LET ME GO!" and "HELP!", followed by the growl and barking of a dog, and finally, the sound of crying. Dean looked over and saw Evy lying on the ground, crying hysterically, and Sugar standing beside her, barking ferociously at a guy that was running away as fast as he could towards the other side of the park. Dean ran to Evy and grabbed her arms, looking her up and down for any sign of injury.

"Baby girl, what happened? Are you hurt?"

"He grabbed me!" Evy cried. "He tr…tried to ta…take me away!"

"Who did?" Dean asked.

Evy pointed to the other end of the park. "He did. The m…man running a…away."

"Okay, stay here, baby girl."

Dean had every intention of running after the son of a bitch, but he never got the chance. A crowd had started to gather, but it was Sugar that caught Dean's attention. He had caught up to Evy's would be kidnapper, tackled him, and was currently jumping all over him trying to bite every available surface. Someone had already gotten the attention of a cop who was walking down the street just a few feet away from the park. Dean picked up the still distraught Evy. She cried and shook against Dean, but somehow was able to tell the cops what had happened. Dean wanted to kill the guy, but was instructed to take Evy home, calm her down, and wait for a detective.

"Deanie, where's Sugar?"

"He's on the other side of the park, baby girl." Dean said. "Don't worry, we'll get him before we go home."
"Deanie, I want to thank him. He saved me." Evy said.

"What do you mean he saved you?"

"He sc…scared him a…away." Evy said.

"Okay, kiddo. Come on."

Dean walked her over to the other side of the park, then set her back down. Evy called Sugar, who was still barking, as if he could summon the guy back to the park so he could bite him some more. A sniffling Evy grabbed Sugar around the neck and squeezed him tight. Sugar stopped barking and started whining.

"Thank you, Sugar." Evy said. "I'm okay. You scared him away."

"Yeah, Sugar." Dean said, reaching over to scratch the eager pup's ears. "You did good. Very good."
Evy, who was fiercely independent, normally hated to be carried anywhere. But she begged Dean to pick her up and carry her home. So in one arm, Dean carried Evy, and with the other, he held the leash and guided a still whining Sugar home. Sugar kept jumping on Dean's leg, wanting to get to a still upset Evy. When Dean opened the front door, he was prepared to be peppered with questions. They'd left over two hours earlier, and the sun was now going down.

"Dean, where were you?" Missy asked, clearly worried.

John appeared at the doorway, angry and ready to yell. But Missy saw Evy's face, still damp from crying, and her worry turned to panic. John was a little slower to realize something was wrong. Only when Evy reached for Missy did he hear the fear in her voice.

"Mommy…"

"What happened?" Missy asked, taking the distraught Evy from Dean's arms. Evy immediately wrapped both arms around Missy's neck and refused to let go.

Dean let Sugar go from the leash and explained, "We were at the park and some son of a bitch tried to take her."

"WHAT?" Missy nearly screamed.

"Dean, what the hell are you talking about?" John asked.

"Baby, is that true?" Missy asked.

"Yes." Evy said.

"Oh, my baby…" Missy said, squeezing Evy's waist as tightly as Evy was squeezing her neck.

"Dean, where were you when this was happening?" John asked with clenched teeth. "Why weren't you watching her?"
"John! This isn't Dean's fault." Missy said. "Evy needs you right now."

John clearly wanted to yell at Dean again, but Evy had an arm out, looking for his comfort too. "I'm here, little one. You're safe now."
"The cop that came to the park said there would be a detective here later tonight." Dean said.

Missy nodded. "Thank you, Dean."

"It's not me you should thank." Dean said. "It was Sugar."

"Sugar?" Missy asked.

Evy finally took her head off her mother's shoulder. "Sugar saved me, mommy. He scared the bad guy away."

Missy handed Evy to John and picked Sugar up off the floor. "That settles it. Welcome to the family, cutie pie."

Even John, who was in no way a dog person, reached over and pet Sugar. "Yeah, buddy. Thank you."

A very pleased Sugar licked John's hand, and hung around Evy for the rest of the night. Evy talked to the detective and told him what she remembered, and the detective commended her for being so brave. Evy refused to sleep alone that night, a request neither parent had the heart to deny. Sam and Dean stood on either side of her as she was getting ready to go to sleep.

"Good night, Cricket. We love you." Sam said.

"Yeah, kiddo. Love you."

"Good night, Sammy. Night, Deanie. Love you."

Five minutes later, an exhausted Evy was fast asleep, her thumb stuck in her mouth. Missy had broken her of that habit months ago, but she let it go this time. Sugar slept at her feet. John was feeling guilty; he knew how to protect Evy from anything supernatural, but it had taken a puppy to keep her safe from some maniac trying to kidnap her. Missy had an arm around Evy's middle, not willing to let her go.

"We almost lost her today." He whispered.

Missy smiled and placed a hand on his cheek, something she did with Evy when Evy was upset. "But we didn't."

John grabbed Missy's hand and kissed it tenderly. "Good night, love."
"Good night, my handsome prince."

"Let's go to sleep." John said. "Good night, my girls."