A/N: Evy wins the county spelling bee, but her parents have bad news about her victory.

Evy climbed in the back of the car, smiling and laughing and in a better mood than she'd been in weeks. Dean kept telling her how proud he was of her and recapping the spelling bee like a sporting event. Evy had been surprised that Dean was so excited about the spelling bee. She knew he hated anything academic. As the car started, Evy hugged Dean around the waist.

"Thanks for coming, Deanie. I know you don't like stuff like this."

"I'm proud of you, kiddo. You use that big brain of yours to do big things." Dean said.

Evy was so happy with the attention from Dean that she didn't notice how quiet her parents were. Missy and John were both miserable and dreading the conversation they were about to have to have with her. Evy broke their thoughts from the back seat.

"Mommy, can we stop by Sammy's and tell him about it?"

Missy thought about saying yes, but she didn't want to put off the conversation she had to have with Evy. Sam had planned to come with them but had come down with a bad case of the flu.

"Not tonight, Kitten. He's still sick. You can call him tomorrow."

"Okay, mommy." Evy said.

She wasn't too disappointed. Sam had been near tears that morning when he'd called to say he couldn't make it. He'd apologized over and over, but Evy could hear he sounded miserable. She was glad his semester was over so he could focus on getting better. After reassuring him she would call him the next day, she'd gotten Dean to help her study for the county competition that night.

When the car pulled into the driveway, Dean got out first. Missy handed Evy the keys to the front door. Evy finally noticed that both her parents were quiet, and she got a little scared. She'd just won the county spelling bee, and her parents were saying nothing about it.

"Mommy, is something wrong?"

"Why do you ask, Kitten?" Missy said, pasting a fake smile to try and placate Evy for the moment.

"'Cause you and Daddy are really quiet."

"Everything's fine, Kitten. We just need to talk about something." Missy said. "You go inside with Dean. Make yourself a bowl of ice cream if you want."
"Really?" Evy asked. Missy banned having treats two hours before bedtime, and it was already a half hour past when she was supposed to be in bed. "I don't have to get ready for bed?"

"You can stay up as long as you want. Tonight only." Missy said.

"Alright!" Evy cheered, jumping out of the car and running inside. "Deanie, guess what!"

Missy chuckled and watched as Evy opened the door and ran inside. Once the door was shut, all the happiness of just a few seconds earlier vanished from the car. Missy leaned against the back of the car seat and closed her eyes. John was staring out the windshield.

"Why'd you tell her she could stay up as late as she wanted?"

"We have to give her something to look forward to." Missy replied. "Do you think I should have made her go to bed and told her in the morning?"

John sighed. "No, you're right. Better to get it over with now."

"I feel terrible about this." Missy said. "Like we're punishing her for doing something good."
"I can't quit hunting." John said. "The only other solution is for me to leave and not come back."
"I know." Missy said.

"I feel bad about it too." John said. "I'm crazy proud of her for this."
"Me too." Missy said. She finally opened her eyes and turned to him. "She'll understand, but she's going to be upset. She'll probably cry. You can't get mad at her for that."

"I know." John said. "We'll make it up to her. School gets out in a few days, and we'll figure out something to do for her."

"Yeah." Missy said. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

With heavy hearts, Missy and John walked inside. Dean and Evy were in the kitchen, sharing a massive bowl of chocolate ice cream, which was covered in sliced bananas, whipped cream, and chocolate, strawberry, and caramel syrup. Despite their conversation in the car, Missy felt a smile creep up onto her face. She looked to John, who wasn't even bothering to hide his amusement.

"What?" Evy asked. "You said I could stay up as long as I wanted."
"I know I did. I just didn't think you'd take me so seriously." Missy said, and finally she couldn't hide her laughing.

"You want some, mommy?" Evy asked. "Daddy?"

"No thanks, little one." John said, taking a chair next to them.

"I'm full, Kitten, thanks." Missy said. She let Dean and Evy enjoy their treat a little longer. When it was close to gone, Missy said, "Kitten, your daddy and I have something to talk to you about."

"What's wrong?" Evy asked.

"Dean, go to bed…" John started to say.

"No." Missy interrupted. "Let him stay. He should hear this too."

John nodded. "Okay."
"What's the matter?" Evy asked. "Something is wrong, isn't it?"

"Nothing's wrong, Kitten. We just have to tell you something." Missy said. She decided to just spill the beans. "Daddy and I can't let you go to the state competition."

"What?" Evy asked. "Why not?"

"Because if you win that too, it'll draw attention to you, which will draw attention to daddy and Deanie." Missy explained patiently. "And if you were to go on to the national spelling bee, it would bring them even more attention."

"But this isn't about daddy and Deanie." Evy protested, looking to Dean for support. "I'm the one who won tonight. I worked hard for this."
"I know you did, Kitten, and I'm sorry. I know it isn't fair. But it's just too dangerous." Missy said. Her own eyes were filling with tears that she tried hard to keep inside.

"Why did you let me compete if you weren't gonna let me go on?" Evy asked, leaning against Dean for support.

"Um…"

Missy had not been prepared for that question, and apparently John hadn't considered it either. Why had they let her compete if they knew they weren't going to let her go all the way? Evy's next accusation made the breath leave Missy's lungs.

"You didn't think I could do it."

"What?" Missy asked.

"You didn't think I could do it." Evy repeated. "You let me compete tonight because you thought I'd lose. You didn't think I was good enough."

Missy swallowed. The truth was, she hadn't thought Evy would win, but she didn't want to say that. She had thought Evy's stage fright would get in the way, but Evy had proved her wrong on that. Before she could come up with an explanation, Evy jumped from the chair and ran to her room. Dean, who had suspected this would happen but had hoped their dad would find a way around it, avoided looking at John or Missy. John started to go back to Evy's room, but Missy stopped him.

"Leave her alone for a few minutes." Missy said. "Dean, do you understand why we did that?"

"Yeah. But I don't like it." Dean answered.

"Neither do we." Missy explained. "Will you go talk to her please? Get her to understand that we can't bring state or national attention to her, because that'll turn attention on you guys? That if there was a way to let her do it that didn't put you two in danger, we would?"

"I'll go." Dean said.

"And tell her that it's not true." Missy said. "That we did think she would win."

"Is that true?"

Missy's lack of an answer spoke volumes for Dean. He didn't say anything else, just went to Evy's room and tried to talk to her. John and Missy stayed in the kitchen in silence, both hoping Dean could shake Evy out of her misery, but knowing it was a long shot. A long, grueling half hour later, Dean came back and delivered the grim news.

"She's asleep. She says she doesn't want to talk to you guys."

"Well, that's too bad…" John started to say. He understood she was upset, but he wasn't going to let her be a brat about it.

"Leave her alone, John." Missy said. "It'll burn out."

"You're willing to let her give you the silent treatment?" John asked.

"No. I'll tell her tomorrow she has to at least be civil, but I won't tell her she can't be angry about it." Missy said. "If we start telling her how to feel, she'll fight us even harder."

John shook his head but said nothing else. Missy knew he disagreed with her, that they needed to squash Evy's anger at them since there was nothing else they could do. But Missy firmly believed that if they let her be upset for a few days, the anger would fade, and she'd be back to herself in no time. For once, she was wrong. Evy froze her mother and father out for over a week. She was civil, as Missy required of her, coming to the kitchen for meals, saying good morning and good night, but any other conversation was met with a polite but firm "Please leave me alone". Where Evy was silent about her missed opportunity, Sam was vocal. He let Missy and John know that it was completely unfair to take this from Evy, that she deserved any attention she got, and that they could find a way to deal with any negative repercussions that might come from letting her compete. John left on a week-long hunt three days after the argument in the kitchen. The night he called and said he was coming back, Evy was on the couch reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Unable to stand the silence any longer, Missy took her seat next to Evy.

"Will you please talk to me?"

"Please leave me alone." Evy said. She was hurting, sad, and yes, she was angry.

Missy sighed. "Fine. You don't have to talk. But you do have to listen. I know you're angry, and I know you're hurt, and I am sorry. But I need to know. Do you understand why we can't let you compete?"

Evy nodded, flipping a page in her book.

"I have to think of your daddy and your brother here. I know it's hard to understand, but if you got attention outside of this town, it would draw attention to them. And there's a lot of people and other things that could come after them. So I'm sorry we hurt you. But this time, they come first. Whether you want to or not, you have to accept that." Missy said.

"Yes, ma'am." Evy replied. "Can I get back to my book please?"

"Sure." Missy said. "Your daddy will be home soon. He's bringing uncle Bobby with him."

"Okay."

A crushed Missy got up and walked to the kitchen. She'd hoped that if Evy knew Bobby was coming, she'd cheer up a bit, but apparently not. She realized now that Evy wasn't just angry, she was still hurt. She kicked herself again when she realized that she'd never apologized for what Evy had said in the kitchen. Your kid thinks you don't believe in her, and you're too concerned about how she's acting to tell her it's not true. Just as she was about to beg Evy for forgiveness, she heard the Impala, the truck, and Bobby's car pull up.

"Any change?" John asked as Missy came to greet him.

"Nope." Missy said. "Still a stone wall."
"You want me to talk to her?" Bobby offered. "Soften her up a little?"

"Would you? Please?" Missy asked.

"You got it." Bobby said. "You two get in the kitchen and pretend like you ain't listening."

Missy kissed Bobby's cheek, relieved to have a way to finally make some headway. She hoped that Bobby would be able to, as he'd said, soften Evy up, and make her more willing to accept the apology from her and John. She desperately missed her little girl and wanted to hold and hug and cuddle her again. Missy and John made their way to the kitchen and sat down at the table, both eagerly waiting on Bobby to start talking to Evy.

In the living room, Evy greeted Bobby with a hug and a kiss, unknowingly making both her parents jealous. Bobby was surprised too. From the way John had described Evy's attitude the last few days, he'd expected to find a brick wall there that he'd have to penetrate. Bobby took his seat next to Evy and asked her gently,

"So what's going on, Baitfish?"

"Nothing." Evy lied, not wanting to talk about it.
"Really? Cause your mom and dad tell me you're kinda upset with them."

"Yeah." Evy admitted. "I am."
"About the spelling bee?" Bobby asked. "And not competing anymore?"

"It's not fair, uncle Bobby!" Evy said.

"I know it's not, kid. But there's something you're old enough to realize now. Life ain't fair. We can't always have what we want." Bobby said.

"I know that." Evy said with a pout.

"Really? 'Cause you're not acting like you do." Bobby said. Evy pulled away from him and buried herself in the opposite arm of the couch. "Your mama does everything she can for you. She'd die for you. And you hurting her with your little temper tantrum ain't fair to her either."

Evy continued her angry silence.

"I know you wanted to go. But it's just too dangerous to draw that kind of attention to your dad and Dean…"
Evy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That's what they told you? That I wasn't talking to them because I couldn't go?"

"Ain't that why you're acting like this?"

"No!" Evy said vehemently. In the kitchen, Missy and John looked at each other, brows joined together in confusion.

"Then why are you so miserable?" Bobby asked, perplexed. He'd lost his stern tone from moments earlier and was completely lost now.

"Yes, I was upset I couldn't go. I get why I can't. I don't want anything to happen to daddy or Dean either." Evy said. "But did they tell you the whole story?"

"What whole story?" Bobby asked.

"When I won the county competition, Dean cheered so loud for me I could hear all the way on the other side of the auditorium. But mommy and daddy were just sitting there. When we got in the car that night, they didn't say anything the whole way home." Evy said.

Missy put a hand to her mouth. She was starting to see where this was going.

"When we got back that night and they told me I couldn't go, I asked them why they let me compete if they weren't gonna let me go all the way." Evy continued, voice shaking.
"What did they say?" Bobby asked.

"They didn't say anything. I asked if it was because they didn't think I could do it. If they didn't think I was good enough. They still haven't answered me."

"Of course you're good enough…" Bobby said.

"Neither of them think so. They didn't answer me."
"We're such idiots." John whispered in the kitchen, and Missy nodded in agreement.

"I called Sam the next morning and told him I won. He told me how proud of me he was. My class threw me a party on the last day of school. Everybody else believes in me and is proud of me. Everybody except my own parents." Evy said, tears streaming out uncontrollably now. "That hurts, uncle Bobby."

"Ah, Baitfish…"

Missy and John were still in the kitchen, stunned at how thoughtless the both of them had been. They were proud of Evy, so proud they couldn't stand it. But their hearts were crushed. John felt especially guilty, accusing her of just having an attitude and being bratty about the whole thing. He was thankful he hadn't said it to her face. Both of them got up slowly, walking to the living room to apologize, where they found Evy in Bobby's arms, shaking and sobbing. Missy bent down next to the two of them and placed a hand on Evy's arm.

"Kitten, we're so sorry. Me and Daddy are so proud of you, and we should have told you."

"Yeah, little one. We're sorry." John said simply.

"And Kitten, I need to tell you something. Will you look at me, please?" Missy asked.

Evy turned her head so she was looking at her mom.

"You're right. I didn't think you could win that spelling bee. And that was wrong of me. But I am so proud of you for proving me wrong. And I promise I'll never doubt you like that again." Missy said. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, Kitten."

"I'm sorry I hurt yours." Evy said with a sniff. "You too, Daddy."

"We forgive you." Missy said. "You forgive us?"

Evy nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"And Kitten? Please, if me or Daddy does something like that and hurts your feelings, you can tell us. We didn't do it on purpose, and if you stay quiet, we can't fix it or make it up to you. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, mommy." Evy said.

"Can mommy have a hug?"

Evy climbed off Bobby's lap and over to her mother, who took her in for a crushing hug. John joined them, and Bobby resisted the urge to call them both 'danged idjits'. He wasn't surprised at John's cluelessness, but he was surprised at Missy's. She knew better than anyone else how sensitive Evy could be. Was she really surprised that Evy would be upset when they didn't tell her they were proud of her? Bobby had had a suspicion that something else was going on, something other than Evy just pouting that she couldn't get what she wanted. That just wasn't the way Evy was. She was too concerned with how everyone else felt. There wasn't a selfish bone in that child's body. If he could see that, why couldn't her parents?
"Little one, listen up." John said. "If you could do anything in the whole world, what would it be?"

Startled by the question, Evy asked, "What do you mean?"

"Anything at all. Tell me." John said.

Evy thought about it and answered, "I'd want to go to the zoo."

Missy started to say something, but John shocked her. "Go get in the truck."

Evy's mouth dropped. "We're going now?"

"Yes." John said. "Go, get in the truck."

"Can I call Sammy to go with us?"

"We'll go pick him up." John said. "Jess too if she wants to go."

"Thank you, Daddy!" Evy almost shouted, grabbing John's neck again.

"You're welcome, little one. You earned it." John said. "Go on, get in the truck."

As Evy ran out the front door towards the truck, Missy asked, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah." John said. "Let's do it."

"You just got back from a hunt." Missy said. "And she'll wear you out."

"I'll sleep tonight." John said. "Come on, let's go."

"Alright." Missy said. "Bobby, you coming?"

"You bet I am."

"Let's go." Missy said.

She closed up the house behind her and climbed into the truck with Evy and John. Evy was practically vibrating with excitement, talking about everything she wanted to see once they got to the zoo. When they reached the zoo, Evy gave her mom one last hug.

"I really am sorry I hurt your feelings, mommy."

"I know, Kitten. Me too. How about we go have fun and we put it behind us?" Missy suggested.

"Deal. I love you, mommy." Evy said.

"Love you too, Kitten." Missy said. "And I'm so, so proud of you."

"I know, mommy. Come on, let's go."