A/N: After weeks of her parents and brothers fighting amongst each other over Sam going to Stanford, Evy decides to try a silent protest to get them to stop. I promised Sam would be more involved, and in this chapter he is.

I do not own the Powerpuff Girls in any way. It is mentioned in this chapter that it's Evy's favorite cartoon, which I think would fit a Winchester little girl the best :).

Evy was sick of her whole family. She loved all of them, but it seemed that all they were doing lately was fighting. It had started ten weeks earlier, when Sam had come home jumping up and down because he was so happy. The way that mommy and Sammy had explained it to her seemed simple. Sammy had gotten accepted to college, and because he'd done so well in school, it was already paid for. There had been a few tears on Evy's part when Sammy told her that the college was in California. Evy was smart, and she was good at geography. They lived in South Dakota. Sammy was going to California. She'd never been away from Sammy for longer than a couple of days. If he was so far away, would she ever see him again? As she packed up her things for school the next day, she thought about what Sammy had told her. He'd pulled her into his lap, and as he gave her one of what Evy called his "teddy bear hugs", he told her,

"I am always gonna be your brother. I'll always love you no matter what. If you need to call me every night, you do that. If you need me to call you, I'll do that. I'll be home every single chance I get. Okay?"

Evy had sniffed and squeezed him. "Okay, Sammy."
"Besides, do you think I could go that long without doing this?" Sammy had asked as he took his fingers and crept them up and down Evy's side, making her giggle and try to tickle him back.

For a week and a half, everything had been great. Missy had been bragging about Sam to friends. Since Sam was happy and Missy was happy, Evy was happy for him too. When Sam and Missy had promised that she could go visit him in California, she'd stopped being so worried about him moving. But then Daddy had come. Sam had shown him the letter, but instead of the happy reaction he'd gotten out of Missy and Evy, John had exploded.

"You are not leaving this family!"

Evy had been sent to her room the second John exploded. She went to her bedroom scared; she had heard her parents fight before, usually about her, but never had the argument been so heated. Eventually, Dean had come in to find her crying. He'd held her until she went to sleep. The next morning, when she'd woken up, John was gone again and Missy was in the living room. She looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep at all. Evy had asked her if everything was okay, and Missy had explained to her that not only was Sam moving, they were moving with him.

"But mommy, isn't that a good thing? Why were you and Daddy so angry at each other last night?" Evy had asked. "You guys really scared me."

"Yes, it is a good thing." Missy said. "And I'm sorry we scared you fighting. We won't do that again."
But they had done it again. They weren't shouting at each other, but John didn't call as much, and when he did, he only wanted to talk to Evy. Sam had eventually explained, against Missy's wishes and only after a promise from Evy that she wouldn't tell, that John hadn't wanted him to leave and would only allow it to happen if Missy and Evy moved there too. Evy promised she wouldn't, and the moving process started right after that.

Missy had tried to be cheerful about it, but Evy could tell she wasn't happy with John. She also didn't talk to Evy about anything anymore. Missy had gone into her room while Evy was in school and packed it up for her, getting rid of toys and books she didn't use anymore. Evy had been very upset with that; she wanted to pack up her own room. Missy had apologized for it, but Evy could tell she was more focused on moving than she was on Evy. Missy had also set up Evy's bedroom without any of Evy's input, again making her upset. But Evy hadn't said anything that time. That was three days earlier, and Evy was about to leave for her first day at her new school. Sam had gone with her to meet her teacher the day before, and Missy, trying to be nice, had told her she could walk to school by herself.

There was just one problem. Evy didn't want to walk to school by herself. Yes, it wasn't far, and she could still see their house from the school, but she wanted someone to go with her. It was her first day in a brand-new place, and she was really scared. She wanted to decorate her room the way she wanted it. She wanted her stuff back that her mother had thrown away without her permission. She wanted her parents to be nice to each other again. She wanted someone to pay attention to her. She wanted so many things that seemed impossible right now.

School actually went fine. Evy was surprised at how much she liked it. Her school in South Dakota had been easy. This one wasn't hard, but she didn't think she was going to be as bored here as she had been at home. She walked in the house excited to tell her mother about it, only to find her arguing on the phone with her father yet again. Evy went to her room and started on her homework. She came out when she got hungry, and found her mom hurriedly unpacking boxes and wiping her eyes. She made herself a sandwich and took it to her room, then went to bed when she was supposed to. The next three days were almost exactly the same. Evy got up, waved goodbye to her mom, walked to school, came home, and ate dinner by herself. John and Dean came back home Friday night, three days after she'd started school, and both had given her a hug but said nothing else to her.

Saturday morning, Evy woke up feeling lonely. She'd hoped that the lack of attention the week before had been because of her going to school and everyone else being busy, but now she knew. Her family had forgotten about her. They didn't care anymore. Evy grabbed Sugar and cried silently into his neck. Sugar tried to lick her tears away to make her feel better, but it didn't work. She laid there crying for what felt like hours, until there was a knock at her bedroom door. Evy quickly wiped her tears away, not wanting anyone to see she'd been crying. She didn't want to give them a reason to fight all over again. She didn't invite whoever it was inside, but after a minute or two, the door opened anyway.

"Good morning, Cricket." Sam said with a smile.

Evy waved at him halfheartedly, not looking up into his face.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked immediately, coming in and sitting on her bed. "Have you been crying?"

Evy shook her head 'no', but Sam didn't believe her.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

Evy shook her head 'yes'.

"Cricket, are you sick?" Sam asked. "Come on, baby, tell me. Something's wrong. Talk to me."

That started Evy's tears flowing again.

"Are you mad at me?" Sam asked. Evy shook her head, but Sam was done with the nonverbal answers; he grabbed Evy's chin and pulled it up so she was looking him in the eye. "Why aren't you talking?"

Instead of responding, Evy let go of Sugar and launched herself onto Sam's lap. She was crying again, but this time was different. Now she felt like someone was listening, and someone cared. Even if her mom and dad didn't. Sam held her for a minute, knowing better than to try and force her to talk while she was still upset. Once she'd calmed down, Sam asked,

"Why are you so upset? Is it because of the move?" Evy shook her head again, and Sam got impatient with her not talking. "Enough. Talk to me."

"I haven't said anything since Tuesday." Evy said, wiping her face.

Sam was stunned; surely he had misunderstood her. "What do you mean you haven't said anything?"

"I haven't talked to anybody since Tuesday. I haven't said a word, and no one's cared."

"Baby, that's not possible. It's Saturday." Sam said. "You mean to tell me no one's talked to you at all in four days?"

"Nobody. Mommy's been fighting with Daddy and she won't talk to me anymore. You've been gone and Daddy and Deanie have been asleep since they got back last night." Evy said miserably.

"Baby…" Sam said, not knowing how to respond. "Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you call me?"

"I never had to before." Evy pointed out.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, baby." Sam said, taking her in for another hug. "I'm sorry I haven't been around. I was unpacking my dorm room and getting ready for classes to start."

"Do you have to leave soon?" Evy said, leaning against Sam's chest like she'd done as a baby.

"No." Sam said, leaning down to kiss her hair. "No, I don't. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"I just want someone to talk to me." Evy said.

"I'm here now. What do you want to talk about?" Sam asked. When she didn't answer right away, he asked, "How's school?"

"I like school, but I don't have any friends yet." Evy said.

"It's only been three days. Give it a little more time." Sam said. "You'll find a friend."

"I hope so." Evy said.

"You want some advice?"

"Sure." Evy said. "What is it?"
"Well, you're new to school, right?" Evy nodded, and Sam continued, "Think about it this way. You're new to school and everybody else is new to you. Be really friendly with everybody else. Talk to someone and ask if you can play with them or go sit with someone that no one else is sitting with. Show them that you want to be friends, and you'll make a friend faster. Does that make sense?"

Evy smiled. "Yeah, it does. Thanks, Sammy."

"You're welcome, baby." Sam said. He suddenly felt guilty; he was the reason she was struggling now. "I'm so sorry you had to move because of me."

"I'm not." Evy said. "I'm glad we're close to you. I'm sorry too. I know you wanted to live on your own like a real grown-up."

Sam chuckled. "I do live on my own. But I'm glad you're close too." He rocked Evy a little, then reminded her, "I know mommy and daddy have been fighting a lot lately. If it ever gets bad and you want somewhere else to go, call me. Anytime. I'll come get you and take you back to my dorm with me. Okay?"

"Okay, thanks Sammy." Evy said.

"You're welcome." Sam replied, then heard a rumble. He checked the clock and saw it was after ten. "I think there's a bear in here. What do you think?"

"I just see a big teddy bear." Evy said, reaching up and touching to bridge of Sam's nose.

"Oh, yeah?" Sam said, tickling her stomach to make her giggle. "Why don't you and I get some breakfast?"

"Okay." Evy said.

"You want to go see my school? You can eat in the cafeteria there, then I'll show you around campus." Sam offered.

"You don't have to go to school today?" Evy asked.

"I start classes on Monday." Sam said. "I don't have to do anything today but hang out with you."
Evy grinned. "Deal."

"Go outside and wait on me. I have to talk to mom first."
"Are you gonna tell her about what we talked about?" Evy asked.

"Do you not want me to?" Sam asked. "I won't if you really don't want it, but I think you should tell her. I don't think she's been ignoring you on purpose, she just needs to be reminded."

Evy thought it over. "I don't know how to tell her without hurting her feelings. Will you tell her and ask her if we can talk about it when you bring me home tonight?"

"Sounds like a plan." Sam ushered Evy out the front door. Missy was in the living room, working on putting up the books she'd packed and brought with her. "Hey, mom, can I talk to you?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"So, I had a talk with Evy. She's pretty upset." Sam said.

Concerned, Missy stopped what she was doing and looked at Sam, confused and hurt. "What? She hasn't said anything."

"That's sort of the whole problem in a nutshell. She hasn't said anything at all, to anyone, since Tuesday and no one's noticed."

Missy started to argue that it wasn't possible, but she realized that Sam was right. She had noticed that Evy was withdrawn, but she had just assumed it was because of the move. Missy also realized she hadn't talked to Evy about school at all, hadn't put her to bed since they'd moved, hadn't even given her a hug or told her "I love you". Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach. How could she have been so forgetful?

"Where is she?"
"I told her I'd take her to school and show her around." Sam said. "She's not really in the mood to talk right now. She's kind of hurt. Let me take her for a few hours, cheer her up, then I'll bring her back later tonight and you guys can talk. Deal?"

"Yeah." Missy said. She wanted to talk right then, but she knew Evy. Evy would feel pressured to forgive her if they talked right then, and Missy wanted it to be genuine. "Thanks, Sammy."

"You're welcome. We'll come back around dinnertime."
"You want a home cooked meal instead of school cafeteria food?" Missy asked.

"I'd love it." Sam said. "I'll see you tonight."

It was a long day for Missy. The guilt threatened to eat her alive. She loved Sam, Dean, and John, but Evy was her reason for getting up in the morning. Missy had made it her life's mission to make Evy's life as happy as she could, even if it meant sacrificing parts of her own life in order to make it happen. But all week, Evy had been miserable right in front of Missy's face, and she hadn't even noticed. She came up with a plan and woke up John and Dean to make it happen.

When Evy got back home a few hours later, the first thing she noticed was that everyone was in the yard waiting for her. Sam had walked home with her, and Sugar ran to meet Evy in the driveway. Once she got to the rest of her family, and everyone had their turns for a hug, Missy took Evy's hand.

"Come inside. We've got a surprise for you. It's in the kitchen."

Evy gasped when she got to the kitchen. The walls were decorated with pink balloons and streamers, both dark pink and light pink, Evy's favorite color. There were strawberry cupcakes on the table, decorated with red, pink, and white sprinkles. There was a homemade lasagna, barbeque chicken, corn on the cob, peas, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese on the table; all of Evy's favorite foods. There was a gallon of Missy's homemade strawberry lemonade. There was even Powerpuff Girls party plates and cups, Evy's favorite cartoon.

"What's all this for?" Evy asked. "It's not my birthday."

Missy knelt down and explained, "This is a just because party."

"Just because?" Evy asked.

"Yeah. Just because we love you. And because we're sorry. None of us have really paid attention to you lately, and we know it's hurt your feelings. We're sorry about that, Kitten." Missy apologized.

"Yeah, little one. I know me and mommy have been arguing a lot. And I know we've promised this before, so I won't promise this time. But we will try to stop fighting in front of you." John said.

"We do love you, baby girl." Dean said, echoing everyone else.

Evy's bottom lip shook. "I thought you guys didn't care about me anymore."

"Kitten, nothing could be further from the truth." Missy assured her.

"Then why won't you talk to me anymore?" Evy asked. Now that she had her mother's attention, she intended to let her know everything about how she was feeling. "You took my room apart without asking me, then you put it together here without letting me help. Then you told me I had to walk to school by myself, and you wouldn't go meet my teacher with me."

"Kitten, I thought you wanted to walk to school by yourself." Missy said. "I thought you'd be happy I was giving you some space."

"Mommy, I was scared. It was my first day in a new school. I needed you." Evy said, starting to cry again.

"I'm so sorry." Missy said. "I'm so sorry, Kitten. And I didn't mean to hurt your feelings about your room. I should have asked you first and let you help. Please forgive me, baby. I didn't mean to make you feel bad or leave you alone when you were scared."

"There's some stuff I want to change in my room. Will you help me?" Evy asked.
"Yes." Missy said. "What do you want to change?"
"I just want to move some stuff around. But I can't do it by myself." Evy said.

"I will help you with it." Missy said. "And Daddy and Deanie will too."

"We will?" John asked.

"Yes, you will." Missy said, throwing him a look that said I dare you to say otherwise. "But let's do your party first."

"Yeah. Let's do it." Evy said. She wrapped her arms around her mom's neck and squeezed. "Thank you, mommy. I love you."
"I love you too, Kitten." Missy said. "Do you want me to go to school with you Monday?"

"There's a family night tomorrow night. You can meet my teacher and some of my other classmates. Will you go to that?"

"We all will." John promised.

"Yay!" Evy cheered, grabbing John in a hug too. The smell of the food finally got to her. "I'm hungry. Let's eat."

"That sounds like a plan." John said. "Let's go."