A/N: Bobby talks to John after Missy leaves.

Never before had John been so pissed.

He knew he was a crap father. He didn't need Missy to tell him that. Even when Mary had been alive, long before he'd gotten into hunting, he knew he seriously lacked in the empathy department. He believed his kids should be taught to respect him. It was his job to keep them safe, and it was the least he felt he deserved.

Except, in his heart of hearts, John knew better. And he always had. And now, someone had decided to call him on it. For years now, it had become easier to stay in a rut of leaving, hunting, coming back for a few days, then leaving again. He cared about his kids, but Bobby was right. The top thing on his mind had always been finding what had killed Mary. John couldn't quit hunting. It just wasn't an option. But he knew that Missy was right. If he wanted to stay in Evy's life, things had to be different. He couldn't get the look on Evy's face as he'd told her the truth the night before out of his mind. He'd seen, piece by piece, the innocence leave her as he continued to talk. And, though he didn't want to admit it, he felt guilty for it.

"Did anything she said get through that thick head of yours?"

John sighed; he'd forgotten that Bobby was even there. "Yes."

"What?" Bobby asked.

"Bobby…"

"Don't start with me, either." Bobby said. "I came here to help Missy and Baitfish. Not you."

"Well, she's gone now, they both are, so you can leave."

"I'll do that." Bobby said. "But I'm gonna leave you with something to think about. Your kids, including Dean, trust me and Missy more than they do you. They love you, but they can't trust you. If you want some help figuring out how to get them to trust you, stop being stubborn and ask for it."

As Bobby turned to leave, John stopped him. "Bobby, wait."

"What?"

"Help me." John said.

"Help you what?"

"Help me get my family back."

Bobby took a long look at John before speaking, trying to decide if he was being serious or if he was just trying to appease Bobby. John seemed genuine. Bobby had never seen him looking so hurt and confused. He wondered whether or not he'd regret this, but he decided to try.

"It ain't that hard, idjit. Stop treating your kids like soldiers. Talk to 'em about what they want to talk about, not about hunting. Don't assume they know you love 'em, tell 'em. Every day, until they get sick of hearing it. Which with you might take a while. Give your kids a hug without them coming to you first. And this one might trip you up, but don't yell at them for makin' a mistake. Talk to 'em, and listen to 'em. You hear me, listen to 'em. Any questions?"
"I'm assuming since you said them, you're talking about Sam too?" John asked.

"What the hell do you think?"
"Bobby, I can't just stop hunting." John said.

"Now's the time to use those listening muscles I was talking about." Bobby said. "Nobody here said you had to quit hunting. It'll be harder, but you can do both. When you are home, put the hunting away and be a dad."

"What about the sleepover?" John said. "How can we keep her safe where we can't see her?"

"Do you really think that Missy's the only one that let Sam do stuff when you weren't looking?" Bobby said. "You know how many times I let him skip training to go to the park and play soccer?"

"So both of you let Sam go against what I told him to do?" John asked, trying to be furious but not succeeding. "No wonder I had such a hard time with him before Missy…"
"You had a hard time with him before Missy because Missy and I listened to him when you didn't." Bobby said. "You've had your head so far up your ass trying to kill the thing that killed Mary that you haven't realized you got three of the most amazing kids anyone's ever had."

"Of course I know my kids are special…"

"Really? What's so special about 'em?" Bobby asked. When John seemed stunned at the question, Bobby laughed. "I finally got you, huh? Let me answer it for you. Dean likes to pretend he's this big tough bear of a kid. And he's become one of the bravest men I've ever met, but he's also one of the most selfless. Sam has a brain the size of Texas, and a heart to match. Baitfish has a stubborn streak that could put you to shame, but she wouldn't hurt a wasp if it stung her."

John was finally stunned into complete silence.

"And she was right. You are being a selfish prick. Because you had one kid who didn't have your baggage on her. And rather than letting her be happy, letting her be a damn kid, you'd rather take the slim chance that something might happen and make her miserable than just letting her go to the damn sleepover and have some fun." Bobby said. "What exactly are you afraid of?"

"Something happening to her…" John answered.

"That's what could happen. Let me tell you what would have happened if you had left well enough alone. She would have gone to the sleepover, come back grinning and smiling and laughing, and feeling like her daddy loved her and cared about her. How do you think she feels right now?"

That broke John. He realized that Bobby was absolutely right. He had been so worried about keeping his kids safe he'd completely lost sight of how amazing they truly were. How blessed he was and how undeserving he was of them. Dean hero worshipped him, which John knew was the only reason the two of them got along as well as they did. When it came to Sam and Evy, he was lost. The two of them were smart, as Bobby had said, but they also had, as Bobby said, hearts the size of Texas. John was afraid for them. He was afraid they'd get hurt, not just from anything supernatural related, but from the world in general. His worry and fear often came out sounding like anger and impatience, and it was hurting his kids more than anything that went bump in the night ever could.

"What do I do?" John whispered.

Bobby looked out the window and said, "Why don't you go meet her outside and ask?"

John looked out the living room window and his heart sank. Missy and Evy were walking back, Evy's hand in Missy's. They both looked exhausted, and Evy looked like she had just stopped crying. She was miserable, it was his fault, and worst of all, it was unnecessary. John opened the front door and waited in the doorway. He was shocked when Evy broke away from her mother and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his waist like she hadn't seen him in a long time. John bent down and looked her in the eye, and that nearly killed him. Go

ne was the sweet, precious little girl she'd once been, and in her place was a child that was now burdened with all the bad stuff on her father's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry." John said sincerely. "I'm sorry I put this on you. I never should have done that. You deserve better than that."

Evy looked down at the ground, like she was thinking about what to say to him.

"Will you forgive me, little one?" John asked.

He had thought there was no way for his heart to be broken anymore, but he was wrong. Evy looked back up at John, tears in her eyes again, and it seemed forever before she finally spoke.

"Daddy? I know you have to hunt. And I know you want me to. But I just want to be a kid. I'm sorry."

John swallowed hard. "You have nothing to be sorry for little one. Your mom's absolutely right. You can do a lot better than this. And I promise I'll try to be a better Daddy to you than I have been. I can't be around a lot, but when I am, I promise I'll try and do better."

Evy smiled. "Thank you, Daddy."

"I love you, little one. I love you and your brothers more than anything else in the world." John pushed some of her long hair out of her face. "I'm sorry I don't always tell you."

"I love you too, Daddy." Evy said. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course."
"I think what you do is scary, but I think it's kinda cool too." Evy said.

A surprised John's mouth hung open in shock. "You do?"

"Yeah." Evy said with a smile. "You and Deanie and uncle Bobby are like superheroes. And mommy used to be one too."

"Your mom still is." John said, looking up at a still aggravated Missy.

"Daddy, will you go to the park and play with me?" Evy asked. "Unless you're too busy…"

"No. I'm not busy. Come on, let's go."

Missy gently prodded Evy to go inside and get a thicker coat. The temperature was dropping, and not just in the air. When Evy was inside, the tension between Missy and John was thick enough to be cut with a knife. An awkward few seconds of silence passed, before John asked,

"Please give me another chance. I want to be her father and Sam's father. And I want to be with you. Forever." John said.

Missy thought very carefully about John's admission. She had been with him for years, but she had never heard him be so genuine and open with her. She knew it was hard for him, but he still had a long way to go. It hadn't been him to sit up with Evy and hold her all night. He hadn't been the one to have to listen to her crying, to have to hold her and tell her that she was safe and convince her that the monsters wouldn't get her. As Missy heard Evy inside talking to Bobby, she quickly said to John,

"Take her to the park. Play with her. I'm going to bed. If she comes back tonight happy, we'll talk."

"Deal." John agreed. "I know you might not believe me right now, but I do love you. Both of you."
Missy nodded. "Prove it."

"Daddy?" John turned to the door, where Evy had Bobby's hand in hers. "Can uncle Bobby come with us?"

"Bobby, would you? Please?" Missy asked. She still didn't completely trust John alone with Evy.

"Sure, little one." John said. "The more, the merrier."

"Let's go, Baitfish. Let's let your mom get some sleep."

Evy ran to her mother and hugged her waist again. "Love you, mommy."
"I love you too, baby." Missy said, mothing a quick thank you to Bobby. "You have some fun today, okay?"

"I will, mommy."

Evy broke away from her mom and went and held John's hand. They walked off a few feet and waited for Bobby at the end of the driveway. An exhausted Missy finally thanked Bobby for his help.

"Thank you, Bobby. I was afraid if I confronted him on my own I'd kill him."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything else stupid." Bobby said. "Get some sleep. We'll go somewhere and feed her dinner and bring something back for you."

"What would we do without you?"

Missy took Bobby in for a tight hug, then let him go with a laugh when Evy impatiently called him from the end of the driveway. Missy watched them leave, hoping that John's apology had been sincere and that they were on their way to a healed relationship.

"I love you guys." She said to no one in particular, then went inside and headed to bed.

Next Chapter: When Sam and Jess start spending more time together, ten-year-old Evy gets jealous.