A/N: Missy, with the help of Bobby, confronts John not only on telling Evy about the supernatural, but on his treatment of his children as well.
The sun came up and crept into Evy's bedroom. Missy was normally a very early riser, and would have been in the kitchen making breakfast by this time. But she didn't move. Evy had slept, but no more than twenty minutes at a time. Missy had woken her up three times from nightmares. She wouldn't talk about them, just begged Missy to hold her and "Don't let me go, Mommy, please". Missy swore she wouldn't, and never would. Evy finally fell into an exhausted sleep around 7:00 that morning. When she'd been sleeping non-stop for an hour, Missy carefully woke up and walked to the kitchen. John was there, sipping coffee, apparently clueless about Missy's night. Missy said nothing as she went to the coffeepot and poured herself a cup. She checked the clock. 8:06. Sam would be there in fifty-four minutes. She only had to make it through fifty-four minutes, then she could yell, scream, and damn John Winchester to hell as much as she wanted.
"Hey. How was your night?" John asked.
Missy's rage at him reignited and she slammed the coffeepot towards the sink, shattering it. John jumped. So she knew. He thought that he had heard her talking to Evy the night before, but he'd been half asleep and wasn't sure. He sighed; he knew he was in for a fight today. He'd have to hold his ground, which was as easy to do with Missy as breathing underwater. As long as I am breathing when the day's over, John thought to himself.
"She told you?"
"Shut up. Shut the hell up. Do not talk to me right now. Sam will be here in forty-five minutes to pick her up. Bobby will be here right after that. I am going back to your daughter's bed, where I spent last night holding her while she cried." Missy said, walking out of the kitchen with the cup in her hand.
As she passed by John, he stood up and grabbed her arm to stop her. "We need to…"
Missy's hunter instincts reactivated instantly. Though she was nearly four inches shorter than he was, she kicked John in the groin, twisted his arm, spun him around and slammed his head down on the table, effectively pinning him down. The kick to the groin had taken his breath away, and with the strength Missy was applying to him, struggling against her would possibly have landed him with a broken arm. Missy leaned down next to his ear and spoke in a low, dangerous voice, one John had only heard the night he had helped her kill the demon that had murdered her family.
"It will be a very long time before you can touch me again. And even longer than that before you can touch our kid again. I know you think that you are in charge here, but let me make something clear. What happens from this point forward depends on you doing what I say, when I say, and how I say to do it." She grabbed his wrist and gave it a good twist, making John clench his teeth in pain. "Got it?"
"Got it. Let me go." John said.
"I'm going back to Evy's room. Send Sam in there when he gets there. Send Sam straight in there, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars."
Missy let him go and headed back to Evy's room. Sam showed up half an hour later, and walked into Evy's room quietly. Missy told him what had happened. An enraged Sam wanted to confront John himself, but Missy said no.
"Sam, I need you. Is she able to stay in your dorm?"
"Yeah. It shouldn't be a problem." Sam said. "My roommate's out of town, so I've got the place to myself for a few days."
"Good. I need her to stay with you at least today and probably tonight." Missy said.
"What are you gonna do?" Sam asked.
Missy sighed, rubbing between her nose. "I don't know, Sam. I just need her out of here. She's upset enough already. I don't want her around when I start fighting with your dad. I'm sorry if you had any plans or anything like that, but please, Sam…"
"Don't apologize. You're right. I'll take her with me." Sam said.
"Okay. Give me a second." Missy gently shook Evy's shoulder to wake her. "Come on, beautiful. Wake up."
Evy stirred and whined. Missy felt bad waking her up; she was so tired and clearly still upset. Missy was patient. It wasn't time for school, and as much as she wanted to put John back in his place, she wanted Evy to leave in as peaceful an environment as possible. She gently shook Evy again, and this time she opened her eyes.
"Mommy?"
"Hey, Kitten. Come on, sit up. I need to talk to you." Missy said.
Evy sat up, rubbing her eyes that were still heavy with sleep. "What's going on?"
"Listen. Sam's here. He's gonna take you back to his dorm for a while. When I get done here, I'll come join you guys." Missy explained.
"Are you talking to Daddy about last night?" Evy asked.
"Yes, I am. And Sam already knows, Kitten." Missy said. A thought occurred to her that scared her. "Are you mad at me for not telling you earlier?"
Evy shook her head firmly. "No. I don't want to know now."
"I don't want you to know now either, Kitten. Now or ever. And I'm going to take care of your Daddy forcing it on you." Missy kissed her forehead and turned to Sam. "She's got a backpack on the couch. It has clothes and everything in it. Just take her and go."
Sam nodded. "Yeah. We will."
Sam moved next to Evy, his heart breaking at the fear in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to cry again. Sam was sick to his stomach at the thought of his precious little sister knowing what the rest of them did about the world. He'd hoped to let her remain optimistic and hopeful. But all he saw in her eyes at that moment was fear and pain.
"Let's go back to my place, huh?"
"Sammy…"
Evy broke down again, reaching for Sam's neck and holding on. Sam picked her up and held her, bouncing her up and down slightly like a baby. She cried into Sam's shoulder, keeping her eyes shut tight, refusing to look around for fear of seeing her father. Missy felt a little jealous of Sam; she wished she could still pick Evy up and hold her like that, but at least he could. Sam walked to the living room, where Missy picked up Evy's backpack and put it on Sam's shoulder, as his arms were still full of a crying Evy. John sat on the couch, watching them closely. His brain was telling him Evy was just being a brat for making her miss her sleepover the night before, but his aching wrist told him not to voice his opinion just yet. He was fairly certain Missy had sprained his wrist but knew if he pushed his luck she could easily turn a sprained wrist into a broken arm or worse. Missy laid a hand on Evy's back.
"Mommy'll come get you soon, okay?"
Evy nodded and whispered quietly, "'Kay, mommy. Will you take care of Sugar today, please? I haven't fed him yet."
"I'll take care of him. You go get some sleep. I love you." Missy said, putting everything she had into it.
"Love you too, mommy."
Evy reached out an arm for a hug from Missy, then left the house still holding on to Sam. Dean and Bobby had shown up while Missy was getting Evy out the door, and both were sitting on the couch. Dean was next to his dad, but Bobby was sitting as far away from him as she could. Missy didn't bother to ask him how he'd gotten there so fast. As Sam closed the front door behind him, Missy immediately addressed Dean.
"Dean, I don't care where you go, but go."
Dean was about to question her, but as soon as the front door closed, the look in Missy's eye changed from concerned and caring mother to fierce and pissed off protector. Dean knew what his dad had done the night before, and while he didn't agree with it, he didn't think that yelling at John for it was the best way to handle it. But Dean knew better than to question her.
"Yes, ma'am." Dean stood up and clapped his dad on the shoulder. "Good luck, Dad."
"Dean, get the hell outta here." Bobby spoke up from the couch.
Dean left, and Missy stood in the middle of the living room, arms crossed, fire in her eyes. Even though Bobby was pissed at John too, he was a little worried. He could almost feel the anger coming off Missy in waves. He'd noticed John rubbing his wrist earlier and wondered if Missy had done something to it. Once the Impala was driving away, Missy finally started to confront John.
"Of all the stupid, mean, selfish, inconsiderate things you have ever done, this tops all of it."
"I thought she needed to know…" John began, and Missy blew up.
"No, she didn't need to know, you selfish prick!" Missy shouted. "Are you incapable of letting any of your children be children?"
"She needs to be safe."
"You don't think she's safe with me?" Missy asked, furious. "Are you saying I can't take care of her?"
"I didn't say that. But I told you I didn't want her going last night…" John explained, trying to keep his voice level to counter Missy's shouting.
"That's what the hell this is about? The damn sleepover? Do you have any idea how many sleepovers I let Sam go to?" Missy said through clenched teeth.
John shook his head; one suspicion confirmed. "If I had I would've taken him with me."
Missy then did something that actually took John by surprise. She started to laugh. Not the small laugh she did when she was tired and needed some rest, but a full-on belly laugh. Even Bobby wasn't sure what to do with Missy's reaction.
"What the hell is so funny?" John asked.
"Do you want me to tell you what would have happened if you had taken Sam away from me?" Missy asked. Before John could respond, she told him, "There's a box in Bobby's garage. Is it still there, Bobby?"
"Yep." Bobby said.
"Good. Anyway, if you had taken Sam from me, I would have gone to that box, and I would have taken out Sam's fake birth certificate." Missy said.
"What are you talking about, 'Sam's fake birth certificate'?"
"The one that has him listed as my son with my last name." Missy said, trying not to laugh when John's jaw hit the floor. "I would have gotten that birth certificate, and I would have called my contact at the FBI and reported Sam kidnapped. You would have the feds on your ass and you would have gone to jail. I would have had him back inside a week."
"Why the hell would you do that?" John asked, and for the first time, he wasn't defiant, he was hurt. "Why would you try to take my son from me?"
"I did it when I was pregnant with Evy. I did it because your ten-year-old son was crying on my shoulder when you yelled at him for being a kid. Do you want to know what he said to me that night?" Missy asked. Without waiting for John to answer, she delivered the blow. "He told me that he sat awake at night sometimes wondering if you would have been happier if he had died in the fire instead of Mary."
The breath left John's lungs. "He really thinks that?"
"I don't know if he thinks it anymore. He never told me that again." Missy said. "Bobby, has he ever said anything to you?"
"That he felt like he wasn't good enough for this family. That he wished he could trade places with his mom so that he could do something to make you happy." Bobby said, directing his answer to John.
"Why didn't either of you tell me about this?"
"Why didn't you see it?" Missy asked. "He was your child for nine damn years before I came into your life. Why are your best friend and your girlfriend having to tell you?"
"I did the best I could…"
"Bullshit." Missy said fearlessly. "You didn't try at all. But nice job changing the topic. This fight isn't about Sam. It's about what you did last night. If you think you were so right, then why did you purposely wait until I was out of the driveway before you did it?"
"Because I knew you never would have let me."
"You're damn right." Missy said. "You're damn right I never would have let you do it. And it's one thing you told her about the supernatural. That's bad enough. But you had no right to tell her about Mark and Ruthie."
John deflated. "You're right about that."
"I used to think that the worst thing that had happened to me, other than the two of them dying, was all the tramps that Mark ran around with. But you definitely topped that." Missy said. Her voice was low now, overflowing with hurt and disappointment rather than the rage and frustration of earlier. "You betrayed me last night in a way I didn't think was possible."
"Honey, I…"
"If you think that I'm still your honey right now, you got another thing coming." Missy said. "You've got one chance to convince me not to kick your sorry ass out of this house and never let you come back."
John said nothing, the thought of Sam thinking he should have died when Mary did making him want to take his gun out and shoot himself.
"John?"
"There's nothing to say." John said. "I'll be gone in a few minutes."
"The hell you will. You aren't getting away that easy."
"I thought you said…" John asked, looking up in surprise.
"I said to tell me why I shouldn't kick you out. But that's too easy. You are gonna work on getting your daughter's trust back. Then, maybe, just maybe, you can start working on mine." Missy said.
"Tell me what to do." John said.
"Smartest thing you've said all day." Missy said. "I'm gonna tell you some things right now, and you are gonna listen. If it pisses you off, I don't give a damn. You need to hear it, and you are going to hear it now. And I am gonna tell you how things will be from now on. Understand?"
John nodded.
"When I was pregnant with Evy, and we talked about how we were going to raise her together, I said to you that I had no problem with you hunting. And I meant it. I understand that you want to find the thing that killed Mary. But I also told you that you would no longer put hunting ahead of what was best for your children. Was that in any way unclear?"
"No." John said.
"Are you sure? Because you didn't seem to get it last night." Missy said. "The first thing you are going to do, if Evy comes home tonight, is apologize. Profusely and sincerely. You will tell her that you're sorry for scaring her, that you should have waited for Mommy, and that you're sorry you took her sleepover away from her. You will not try to justify yourself and tell her that you thought you were doing the right thing."
"Understood."
"You told her you were going to train her. That is not happening." Missy said firmly.
"She needs to be trained…"
"You have absolutely no credibility to be telling me what she needs right now." Missy snapped. "You are not training her. She will never hunt. Period. If I decide later in her life that she needs to learn to shoot, it will Bobby or Dean that does it. You are never to so much as think about hunting when she is anywhere close to you."
John finally stopped trying to object.
"She is not losing her friends. I am talking to the mom from the sleepover she was supposed to go to last night and I am rescheduling it for next week. She is going." Missy said.
"Fine."
"Like you're so fond of telling Sam and Dean, knock off the damn attitude." Missy said. "You like to claim when one of us disagrees with you that we need to respect you as the father of this family. You need to earn that. It doesn't come automatically." At the shocked look on John's face, Missy laughed again. "That's the first time anyone's ever said that to you, isn't it? Good. Let it sink in. And one more thing. You kept saying that you thought she needs to be trained. You thought it was best for her. Newsflash, John. It is not about you. What you think and what you want for your kids is not the center of the universe here. Stop being selfish."
"Selfish?" John asked, finally allowing his own anger to come out. "I've thought of nothing but my children…"
"John, sit your ass down." Bobby said, finally speaking for the first time. "You've thought of how to avenge your children's mother. But you've never once thought of what was best for your kids before you took a hunt."
"You're on her side with this? Really?" John asked, shocked to be betrayed by the closest thing to a best friend he'd ever had.
"I'm on your kids' sides. Which is the side you should have been on. Now sit your ass down and listen to what she tells you." Bobby said.
"Thanks, Bobby, but I'm almost done." Missy said, genuinely appreciative of his help. She turned back to John and wrapped up her speech. "I want you to think about something while I'm gone. That little girl adores you. She thinks that you get up thirty minutes earlier than her to bring the sun up for her. You need to seriously think while I'm gone about whether you want to be her father or if you want to be the guy that comes in and out of her life whenever you feel like it."
Missy turned, thanked Bobby for coming, and left. She walked the quarter mile to Sam's campus, her mind spinning. Once she got to Sam's dorm, she walked up to his room and knocked on the door, absolutely exhausted. Sam answered and ushered her inside.
"Is she still sleeping?" Missy asked.
"Yeah." Sam said. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Nope." Missy asked.
"Why don't I go to the library to study and you two sleep in here?" Sam asked.
Missy looked around and noticed that there were books, papers, and notes scattered everywhere. "Oh, Sam, you've got finals starting Monday! I forgot, I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine. Don't be sorry, I'm glad you called me." Sam said. "Did you talk to Dad?"
Missy laughed bitterly. "Oh, yeah. I talked."
"And?" Sam asked.
"Sam, I don't know if I can stay with your father." Missy said. "I'm seriously thinking about taking Evy and disappearing."
"Really?" Sam asked.
Missy noticed that Sam looked hurt at that. "Sam…"
"So you'd just leave me?" Sam said.
"Sam, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I'm exhausted and I'm pissed and I'm mad and five thousand other things too. I swear I didn't mean that."
"I don't care if you leave Dad. I really don't. He deserves it after this. But I need you too." Sam said, and a tear appeared at the corner of his eyes. "Please, mom. Don't leave me alone."
Missy walked up to Sam and grabbed him in a tight hug. She only came to Sam's shoulders, but she held him like she had when he only came up to her shoulders. Sam returned her hug, and Missy swore,
"I'm sorry. I won't leave you. I promise. I'll always be here for you."
Sam nodded and was the first to let go of the hug. "So what are you gonna do?"
Missy ran a hand through her hair and started to answer before being interrupted.
"Mommy?"
Missy turned and flashed a smile at the newly awake Evy. "Hi!"
"Are we gonna have to leave?" Evy asked.
"No. Why would you think that?"
"I heard you tell Sammy you didn't know if you were gonna stay with Daddy." Evy explained.
Missy sat at the edge of Sam's bed next to Evy. "I don't know what's gonna happen, baby."
"Mom? I'll leave you guys alone to talk." Sam said, gathering his things into his backpack.
"Thanks, Sam." Missy said. "For everything."
"Anytime." Sam walked to Evy and placed a hand on her cheek, which always calmed her when she was upset. "I know what Daddy told you last night was scary. But everything's gonna be okay. I'll be back later."
"'Kay, Sammy. Love you."
"I love you too, Cricket. I love you too." Sam said.
Sam left, and Missy turned back to Evy. "How you feeling?"
"Okay, I guess." Evy said, though she wouldn't look at Missy when she said it.
"Really?"
"I'm scared." Evy finally admitted.
"Scared of what?"
"Why did Daddy have to tell me that?" Evy asked. "I didn't want to know monsters were real. It's scary."
"I know it is." Missy said. "And I didn't want Daddy to tell you."
"And I'm scared for Daddy and Deanie. I don't want anything to happen to either of them." Evy said.
"Listen to me, Kitten. As unhappy as I am that you daddy told you this last night, he is good at what he does. So is Deanie. I can't promise nothing will ever happen to them, but they stay as safe as they possibly can." When Evy still seemed skeptical, Missy asked, "Would it make you feel better if I made one of them call you every night to let you know they were safe?"
"Yes, please." Evy said.
Missy knew John would hate it, but his needs were way past the bottom of her priority list at the moment. "Done."
"Mommy? Do you miss your family you had before?"
Missy felt a prick in her heart at the mention of her long dead family, but she answered, "Yes, I do. Every day."
"I'm sorry you lost them." Evy said.
"Thanks, baby." Missy said. "But one good thing came out of losing them."
"What?" Evy asked.
Missy smiled and brushed Evy's hair out of her face. "You."
Evy finally smiled and Missy felt her heart leap. But Evy's next question made Missy want to cry.
"Daddy said he told me cause I have to grow up and know the real world. But I'm eight. Why can't he just let me be a little girl?"
Missy grabbed Evy and said, "I don't know why your Daddy wants you to grow up so fast. But you don't have to. You be a kid. You have friends, you go to school, you play, you make mistakes. Mommy won't let Daddy hurt you, and she won't let him make you grow up before you're ready. You hear me?"
"I hear you, Mommy."
"Just hang on to Mommy, Kitten. Mommy's got you, and I swear, I'll never let you go." Missy said. "I'll never let you go."