A/N: Evy reveals what she's been doing in the months since John, Sam, and Dean were away. The whole family makes a decision that could cause Evy to lose her trust in them for good.

The victory of achieving everything they'd worked for since Mary had died seemed shallow now, but John, Sam, and Dean had no idea what to do about it. All of them had tried to apologize, to beg their forgiveness of Evy and for another chance, but she was not to be moved. Even Missy was lost. Evy got up in the morning, went to school, came home, went to her room, and stayed there. John wanted to try and force her out, to make her talk to them, but Missy said no.

"We earned it this time. We forgot about her. All of us did. Give her a few days and we'll talk to her again."

The second night, Missy appeared at Evy's bedroom door with a peace offering. Evy sat at her desk, focused intently on her homework. Missy knocked on the door and was taken aback when she noticed just how tired Evy looked. There were bags and dark circles under her eyes. There was no emotion there, and that worried Missy more than the outburst the night before had. Evy said nothing to Missy, just sat there waiting.

"Can I come in?" Missy asked.

"Sure." Evy said quietly.

"I brought you something." Missy said, holding out a plate towards Evy. "Remember these?"

On the plate was a sandwich, cut into four triangles, of peanut butter and bananas. It had been Evy's favorite in preschool, and Missy hoped bringing it back might thaw the ice around Evy's attitude. Her heart broke when Evy didn't even crack a smile at the sight of the sandwich, instead just taking the plate and saying politely enough,

"Thank you."

Missy sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Kitten, listen. I know me and your dad and your brothers really let you down. I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am. I let myself get so scared that they weren't coming home that I forgot that you are my home. I swear to you, it's going to be different now. Sam called Stanford and he's going back to school. He got his scholarship back so he's going to finish his last semester and start law school. He's moving in with us. Your daddy and Dean are looking for a job nearby, so they're going to be home a whole lot more. Baby, I'm sorry. If you can't forgive me right now, that's okay. But we are going to do better." When Evy still said nothing, Missy asked, "I meant it when I said you don't have to forgive me yet. Or your dad. I just need to know that you don't hate me."

"I don't hate you." Evy said. "I tried, but I can't."

"What does that mean?"

Evy had been avoiding eye contact with her mother, but finally she explained, "Every morning for six months after Daddy left, I told myself that it would get better. That you'd stop being so sad and that you'd wake up and be my mom again. And every night I went to bed disappointed. All I wanted was a hug from you that I didn't have to ask for, or for you to ask me how my day was. Do you even know how long it's been since you told me you loved me?"

Missy shook her head, ashamed to realize she didn't know the answer.

"Five months and two days." Evy said. "And before that, it had been six months. The day you lost your job. I know because I recorded it in my diary so I wouldn't forget."

"Kitten…" Missy said, breathless.

"I don't hate you. But I can't forgive you because I gave up trying months ago. I'm afraid if I do forgive you and give you another chance I'll just get hurt again. And if you or Daddy or Dean or Sam lets me down again, I don't know if I'll be able to take it." Evy said. "So please, please just leave me alone and let me get back to my homework."

Missy nodded, tears flowing like a river. "Okay. I'm sorry, Kitten. And I do love you. More than anything else."

Evy turned back around and picked up her pencil, not answering her mother. Missy turned and left the room, running back to the sanctity of her own bed. She shut the door and covered her face with her hands, trying to stifle her crying and not succeeding. John came home from job hunting and found her in the bedroom. Missy cried into his shoulder for several minutes, before she finally voiced the terrifying thought that was at the forefront of her mind.

"I've lost her too. I lost Ruthie and now I've lost her too."

"No. You haven't lost her. She'll come back, we'll just have to show her that we mean it. Okay?" John reassured her. When Missy didn't respond, John asked, "Do you hear me?"

"Yeah. I hear you." Missy said.

"It'll be okay." John said. "I swear to you. It'll be okay."

Two more days passed the same way. Sam, Dean, and John all tried to talk to her, but she shut them out the same way she had Missy. Just as Missy was about to give up on reaching Evy, a call from Evy's principal complicated things even further. Missy parked the car and walked inside, unaware of what she was about to walk into.

"I'm glad you're here, Ms. Collins." The principal, Mrs. Goodson, said. "I have to say I'm extremely shocked by this."

"By what?" Missy asked. "What in the world is going on?"

"Evy?" Mrs. Goodson asked, turning to a silent Evy in the seat next to Missy. "Would you like to tell your mother? Or do I need to?"

Evy said nothing, so Missy asked, "What in the world is going on?"

"Ms. Collins, a student in the school was caught cheating earlier this week. He informed us that Evy has been doing his homework for him for the last few months."
"WHAT?" Missy asked. "There's no way that's true. My daughter is not a cheater."

"It's true."
Missy's mouth dropped open at Evy's admission. "What do you mean it's true?"

Evy shrugged and said it again. "It's true."

"What…?" Missy was blown away. "Why would you do this?"
"For money." Mrs. Goodson said. "The student caught cheating alleges that he's been paying Evy fifty dollars a week to do his homework for him. And he also informed us that he was not Evy's only client."

"Is this true?" Missy asked. "All of it?" Evy nodded, and Missy asked again, "Why?"

"Ms. Collins, I've been asking her that question since I brought her in here. She's refusing to talk."

"So, let me get this straight." Missy said, her shock turning to anger. "You've been doing other students' homework for them for money. For months."

"Yep." Evy said.

"Ms. Collins, I'm afraid I have more bad news." Mrs. Goodson said. "Given the extent of this, under normal circumstances, I would have to expel Evy. I've talked to the superintendent, and given Evy's excellent academic and behavioral record up to this point, she's suspended for the rest of the school year."
"It's February!" Missy said. "She's suspended for three months?"

"Yes. This isn't a simple case of Evy allowing another student to cheat off of her. If that was the case, she would simply have detention for a week and would fail whatever assignment she'd been working on. But with the sheer scope of this, she just has to go for a while." Mrs. Goodson explained. "She'll be allowed to finish her school year in summer school."

"I understand." Missy said. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"Yes. Evy's already fulfilled one requirement of her punishment. She's given me a list of the names of students she's been cheating for. I can't give you their names, but I can tell you there were six on the list."
"Okay." Missy said. "May I take her home now?"

"Yes." Mrs. Goodson said. She turned to Evy and said, "Sweetheart, I'm shocked here. Is there any reason you can give me why you've been doing this? You're one of my best students. And I just don't understand it."

"I'd rather not say, ma'am." Evy said quietly.

"I want you to come back in summer school. If you do well there, and complete all your work, you can start over in September. Start fresh. Okay?" Mrs. Goodson said.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you."

"You can go now. Ms. Collins, I hope you have a better day." Mrs. Goodson said.

"Thank you. Evelyn, let's go." Missy said, standing up and fuming. Evy followed her quietly outside. Once they were in the car, Missy asked, "What the hell is going on?"

"You heard her." Evy said. "I've been cheating for money."
"Yes, I did hear that. What I want to know is why? How could you do something so stupid?"

Evy flinched at the 'stupid' comment, but didn't say a word.

"No. No more of the silent treatment. I know me and your father haven't been there for you, but you can bet that's about to change. Buckle up. When we get home, you go straight to your room and you do not come out until I tell you to. Do you understand?" Missy said, voice steadily rising until she was just barely restraining herself from shouting.

"Yes, ma'am."

The ride home was a silent one, but without being reminded, Evy walked inside and straight to her bedroom. She heard her parents talking after John came home forty-five minutes later. There was shouting involved. They were arguing over what to do with her. Evy couldn't help but feel a little fear at whatever her oncoming punishment would be. She was certain a spanking was in order but being grounded for three months probably meant more than one. She wondered if she'd get a chance to explain her actions, then wondered if that would even do any good. She was surprised when the one-hour mark passed and her parents were still talking. She heard other voices in the living room. Sam and Dean were there, and were participating in the 'what to do with Evy' conversation as well. Evy considered packing a bag and slipping out her bedroom window, but those thoughts were quickly abandoned. They probably wouldn't even care if I did leave, Evy thought. They didn't notice when I was here, why would they care now that I'm not? Finally, two and a half hours after John had come home, Missy came to Evy's bedroom door.

"Come to the living room. We need to talk."

Evy walked out without a word. She sat on the far end of the couch, separated from everyone in the room. She took a quick glance at everyone's faces. John was, of course, angry, Missy was upset and crying, and Sam and Dean just looked lost. Evy looked away from all of them and down to the floor.

"Okay. Talk. Tell us why you did this." John opened, his voice more like a growl.

"Because I needed the money."

"For what?" John asked. "You better start talking, little girl. The harder you make this on us, the harder your punishment is gonna be for you."
"What do you care about how hard things are for me?" Evy said, looking up from the floor and into John's eyes with an anger that for once matched his own.

"Don't give me a little sob story about how hard things are for you." John said. "You wanted my attention, your mom's, and your brother's, and now you've got it."
"Cricket, that's thousands of dollars that you made from this." Sam said, trying to be gentle but firm at the same time. "What would you need that kind of money for?"

"And where is what's left?" John asked. "You certainly aren't going to be using it."

"There is none left." Evy said.

"You spent all of it?" John raged.
"Yes, sir, I did."

"What the fucking hell…?" John said, running a hand through his hair in more frustration than he'd felt in years. "You are thirteen years old."
"Fourteen."

"What?" John asked, clearly annoyed at the interruption.

"I'm fourteen." Evy said again.
John stopped, racking his brain to remember the date. "That's impossible."

"It isn't when you forgot my last two birthdays." Evy said bitterly.

Missy looked at the calendar and realized Evy was right. Not only had they forgotten Evy's birthday, but it had been over a month since it had passed. "John, she's right."

"What?" John asked.

"Kiddo, we're sorry." Dean apologized sincerely.
"Yeah, I'm sure you are." Evy snapped.

"Enough!" John raged. "Forgetting a birthday is not reason enough to do something so incredibly stupid. Had you said something, we would have made it up to you. But this lazy, sour attitude you've had since your brothers and I got home ends now."

"Dad…" Sam and Dean said together.

"John…" Missy added, trying to quell his anger.

"No! Just like she said when we got home, I'm done." John turned to Evy and explained, "You may not believe me, but I am sorry that I hurt you like I did. But what I did had to be done, and I am finished apologizing for it. And I am finished listening to your brothers and your mom apologize to you for it. I understand you are angry, but I am no longer going to allow you to make the rest of the family miserable because of it. If you're so angry, hurt, and pissed off with us, maybe being away from us for a while will help you put into perspective how lucky you are to have so many people that love and care about you."

"What does that mean?" Evy asked. "Being away from you?"

"You're going back to your room and packing a bag." John said.

"Where are we going?"

"We aren't going anywhere." John said. "You are not going to laze around this house for the next three months moping. You're going to spend time thinking about the way you've been acting and what you've been doing. You will tell me what you've been doing with that money, and you will do something worthwhile with your time while you're gone."

"Gone where?" Evy asked again.

"We're putting you on a bus to Bobby's first thing in the morning."

Evy felt her heart twist painfully. "So you abandon me, and your solution to my little 'temper tantrum' as you call it, is to send me away."

"Cricket…"

"Did the three of you agree to this?" Evy asked.

Reluctantly, the answer was 'yes' all around.

Evy nodded. "Fine. I'll go pack."

Without giving anyone a chance to talk further, Evy stomped to her bedroom, threw her suitcase on the bed, and started angrily throwing clothes into it. She'd been called stupid by both her parents and worthless by her father in the span of four hours, and now her whole family had made the judgment it was better to send her away from them than to work on gaining trust back. She packed her things and laid on her bed for the rest of the night, ignoring attempts from her mother and brothers to explain their reasoning. The next day, at the bus station, she boarded the bus, ticket in hand, having not said one word to her mother or father since the argument in the living room the night before. Missy watched the bus leave, and John wrapped an arm around her shoulder when it was finally out of their line of sight.

"Tell me we're doing the right thing." She whispered.

"We're doing the right thing." John said. "She'll realize after a while that if she'll just start talking, things will start getting better." He kissed her cheek and embraced her hard. "We've got to start rebuilding our family. That's all we're doing here. It will work out in the end, okay?"
Missy nodded, but a sad thought occurred to her. "Or she'll hate us forever."

Next chapter: Evy reveals to Bobby the reason behind what she did with the cheating scandal.