It's been only a few days since the twins have been back, both remaining cooped up in their rooms for the majority of the time. Sam and Larissa have been trying to split their time evenly between both girls, doing what they can. Delaney never leaves Evie's side, specifically at the twin's request -- not that she'd leave her alone anyway. Ethan stays with Libby as much as he can, but has remained at the bunker, the girl not wanting him too far away. Everybody else has done what they could, trying not to overstep any boundaries or crowd the two eighteen year olds.
After finding Sam and Larissa both asleep at the kitchen table with Athena drawing shapes on the table in chocolate syrup, the other four young adults assured they could take care of the twins while the couple focused on themselves for a night. Ophelia managed to convince them after insisting they couldn't take care of their daughters if they were half dead.
"Okay, so, what? We just... we just all hang out with one and then switch later?" Nathan asks.
"We could split up into twos." Daphne says.
"That's a much better idea." Billy points to his sister.
"Okay, so... so me and Lia? Then you two?" Nathan asks.
"As much as I love you, I don't think making them feel like a third wheel would be best." Ophelia says.
"But we wouldn't be focusing on each other. We'd be focusing on the baby. And then the-- the other baby." Nathan says.
"Still." Ophelia says.
"Oh, come on. It's not like they're single." Nathan says. "Which, by the way, we still gotta talk to that punk."
"Agreed." Billy nods.
"You get my point, Nathan." Ophelia says. Nathan pouts, resembling a puppy dog, and Ophelia gently pats his cheek in sympathy.
"How about boys and girls?" Billy suggests.
"That works." Daphne nods. "Who wants who first?"
"Why does this feel like picking favorites?" Nathan frowns. "Cause if it is, I'm not. They're both my adorable little crackheads."
"It's not picking favorites." Daphne rolls her eyes. "You want the girl who shuts down and does everything you say or you want the girl who shuts you out and might give attitude?"
"We want Libby." Billy states.
"We do?" Nathan asks.
"Yes." Billy gives him a look, it taking a moment for Nathan to get it.
"Right. Yeah." Nathan nods. "Yeah, we-- Libby probably wants us, too, anyway."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Ophelia frowns.
"No-nothing. Nothing bad for you guys. Just... we-- we have similar experiences with... with certain things." Nathan says. "We know to look for certain signs."
"Okay, whatever." Daphne says. "So, boys get Libby and we get Evie... plus Delaney cause she probably still won't leave her side."
"Whatever keeps her calm." Ophelia says and Daphne nods.
"If she falls asleep, can we go hassel--"
"No." Both girls state, walking off.
Nathan pouts and Billy sighs.
"He'll get what's comin' to him." Billy assures.
+++
Billy and Nathan walk into Libby's bedroom, both glancing at the TV that is playing Criminal Minds. Nathan watches it for a few moments, recognizing it as the "North Mammon" episode.
"Um... ye-yeah, no, I think we should--" Nathan grabs the remote.
"Leave it." Libby orders, her tone tired but stern at the same time.
"Libs, you really want to wa--"
"Yes." She cuts the brunette boy off.
"Well... this is a new coping mechanism." Billy mumbles, sharing a look with the blonde boy.
"I don't think this is healthy." Nathan voices.
"Who cares." Libby mumbles. "Healthy is stupid."
"It's really not, kiddo." Billy argues.
"If you guys are gonna be this fucking annoying, could you leave? I don't need more people hounding me and then treating me like a porcelain fucking doll." Libby sneers.
"We should've picked Evie." Nathan whispers, Billy smacking him in the chest. "Ah!" Nathan rubs his wound. "Look, L, we just... we wanna help you." Nathan says, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Oh, yeah?" She sits up. "You wanna help? Then get in a fucking time machine and make my dad go to the fucking store. Make sure that demon never found us. And while you're at it figure out how trauma pushed us away from each other when it usually glues us to each other. Cause I'd really like to know why the fuck I have the sudden urge to vomit any time I see my own fucking twin sister and why that seems to be vice versa. Doing all of that will fucking help me. So until then, fuck off."
Libby lies back down, facing away from them. Nathan and Billy share sad, frustrated looks. Nathan hesitantly reaches out, lightly putting his hand on her arm. When she doesn't yank away, he rubs her arm a bit.
"Libs, we would if we could." Nathan cautiously starts. They hear her sniffle making Billy walk over and gently squeeze her leg. "We can't and we know we can't even begin to understand what you and E went through. But we just want to comfort you. We want to help you. We-- we wanna make sure--"
"That I don't stop eating or try to kill myself." Libby quietly says.
"Yeah." Billy mumbles, wincing. "We know you miss Evie and we know she misses you too. You guys will be okay eventually -- tomorrow, weeks or months from now, in a couple days. You'll be yourselves again."
"No." Libby argues, her voice cracking. "No, we're never going back to that." She lets out a choked sob, burying her face in her hands.
Nathan leans down, resting on top of her, his arms wrapping around her as much as they can.
"No. No." She whines, trying to get out of his hold. Nathan only tightens his grip, gently shushing her.
"It's okay. I'm here. I got you." He whispers into her hair, the girl continuing to sob. She rolls over, her face digging into his chest and Nathan tightens his grip around her. He kisses her on the head a few times, smoothing some of her hair down.
Billy sits on the bed, rubbing her leg to comfort her, putting her feet in his lap.
"We got you, munchkin." Billy promises.
+++
"Here. Got you a sandwich." Ophelia gives her younger cousin the food.
"Thanks." Evie mumbles, picking at the food.
"I'm, uh... I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick." Delaney says, knowing Evie should have some time with her two surrogate sisters.
"Okay." Evie nods. Delaney kisses her on the cheek before leaving.
"How you holding up?" Daphne asks, taking Delaney's former place.
"'M fine." Evie shrugs, taking a small bite of the sandwich.
"Can we do anything?" Ophelia asks.
"Go back and make dad or Rissy go shopping." Evie scoffs.
"That... anything humanly possible we can do?" Ophelia makes it more specific.
"No." Evie frowns.
"I'm sorry, honey." Ophelia frowns, hating all the pain radiating from her cousin. She gets in the bed and cuddles into Evie's side. "It'll get better." She mumbles.
"Yeah, sure." Evie sighs.
"You and Libby will be okay." Ophelia promises, knowing that's one of the main things bugging her.
+++
The four young adults spent the rest of the day with the respective twin they chose, just deciding to switch the next day.
Ophelia and Daphne go into Libby's room, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody playing.
"Oh, lovely. Something non-traumatic to watch." Ophelia says.
"Billy said he'd take away my chocolate milk if I put something depressing on. Like Criminal Minds or Disney." Libby says.
"She takes that drink that seriously?" Daphne mutters.
"It's her lifeline." Ophelia whispers. "Here. Mac and cheese." She holds the bowl out to her cousin.
"Lovely." Libby mumbles, taking the bowl.
"Just eat what you can." Daphne says, sitting next to the girl with her own bowl of macaroni and cheese.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Don't overdo it. After having this problem for about 15 years, I think I got it." Libby says.
"After you eat, go take a shower." Ophelia says.
"Opi..." The girl whines.
"You're gonna shower." Ophelia firmly states. "It'll make you feel better. We'll get clean sheets on your bed and everything."
"You're gonna drag me into the shower kicking and screaming if you have to, aren't you?" Libby questions.
"Drag, carry, float. Take your pick." Ophelia grins and the eighteen year old rolls her eyes.
"Fine." She relents.
"Perfect." Ophelia grins, as if she was giving her cousin a choice.
+++
Nathan sits behind Evie, attempting to French braid her hair.
"You know, giving up isn't always a sign of weakness." Evie quips.
"No, no, I know what I'm doing." Nathan insists. "Lia taught me."
"Ow!" Evie cries out. "Taught you what? How to pull hair out?"
"I already know how to do that." Nathan says. "I can do this."
"No, you can't." Billy argues.
"Shut up, William." Nathan sneers making Billy quietly chuckle.
"Ah! Okay, no, you-- you're done." Evie pulls away after Nathan yanks on her hair again.
"But E--" He pouts.
"No. Practice on your wife. She's forced to let you do that kind of stuff." Evie says. "I, however, can tell you to back away, dude." She makes Billy scooch over on the large bean bag chair and squishes next to him.
"Ha!" Billy laughs at the blonde, wrapping his arm around Evie's shoulder.
Nathan sticks his tongue out at Billy.
"You okay?" Billy quietly asks the girl, rubbing her scalp.
"'M fine." Evie grumbles.
"You know what I mean." Billy says.
"Yeah, I know. I'm fine." Evie insists.
Billy kisses her on the head, pulling her closer.
"Hey." Nathan squats by the chair. "You don't have a favorite brother, do you? And if you do, it's me, right?"
Billy puts his hand on Nathan's face and shoves him back, the blonde crashing onto his butt with a grunt. Evie quietly laughs.
+++
Nathan and Billy fell asleep on bean bag chairs, Evie and Delaney asleep in the bed.
"No. No, no, no." Evie whimpers. "Get off me. Get off of me." She whispers, starting to hyperventilate. She whimpers, trying to move, her legs kicking, her arms seeming to be pinned down.
The movement wakes Delaney up, the girl looking down at her girlfriend.
"Evie?" She whispers. "E." She gently shakes her. "Evie, hey, baby, wake up. It's just a bad dream. It's a bad dream. You're safe. Come on, baby, wake up."
Evie gasps as she jolts awake, wildly looking around.
"Hey. Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay. You're okay." Delaney coos, her hands resting on Evie's cheeks, wiping her tears away. "You're okay. You're safe."
Evie breathes heavily, Delaney helping her calm down.
"You wanna talk about it?" Delaney asks.
"He-- he-- it-- God, he did so many things." Evie whispers, her voice cracking.
"I'm sorry, baby." Delaney whispers, pulling her into a hug.
"I don't... h-he-- he wou-- he--"
"I know. I know." Delaney whispers, stroking Evie's hair. Her blood boils as the demon's words before Sam killed him ring through her own mind. She has half a mind to go down to Hell herself and torture it.
Delaney continues to comfort Evie, slowly relaxing the girl until she's able to fall asleep again.
+++
Sam and Larissa somehow managed to spend most of the day asleep, Natalie and Jacob taking care of Athena.
Larissa wakes up, quietly groaning as she moves around. She opens her eyes a bit, seeing Sam awake and holding something. She moves closer to him, wrapping her arm around his stomach and he wraps his arm around her shoulder.
"Hey." He mumbles.
"Hey." She whispers. She finally gets her eyes open, looking at the object in Sam's hand. The double picture frame, each frame consisting of a photo of the twins. The first one is from when they were three and are smiling at the camera while Ophelia gives them bunny ears, only her hands seen in the photo.
The second photo of the twins when they're teenagers, both grinning at the camera -- a photo Natalie forced them to take a few months ago.
"Where'd I go wrong?" Sam lets out a heavy sigh.
"You didn't." Larissa argues. "You guys were dealt the shittiest hand on this planet, in this universe. You couldn't have protected anything that happened to them."
"I could've protected them better." Sam says. "I could've... could've never tried to help find my dad. I could've stayed out of hunting when I had the chance. I could've left."
"Baby..." Larissa props herself up onto her elbow. "We both know you probably would've gotten pulled back in, one way or another. Whether it be Dean or-- or demons or angels or... or Chuck."
"Yeah, I guess." Sam whispers.
Larissa frowns, kissing his jaw.
"You're doing the best you can, Sammy." Larissa assures. "Bad stuff happens. Really bad stuff. Awful, horrible, life shattering things."
"I think I get it." Sam says.
"Sorry." Larissa winces, feeling her chest ache at her description involving her daughters. "But all we can do now is be there for them. Help them recover. Just like every other time something shitty happened to them."
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess." Sam sighs.
Larissa tightly hugs him, resting her head on his chest.
"They love you, you know?" Larissa quietly says. "I know you question that sometimes, but they love you more than anything."
"Mm... not more than chocolate milk." Sam counters making Larissa laugh and his lips quirk up.
+++
Sam and Larissa go into Libby's room, the girl sitting on her bed and coloring while Ophelia and Daphne are asleep in bean bag chairs.
"Hey." Sam whispers, not wanting to disturb the older two. Libby looks up at them, weakly smiling.
"Hi." She mumbles. "You know, the babysitters suck. They're sleeping on the job."
"That-- they're not just babysitters, baby. It-- they wanna help." Sam says.
"Yeah, I know. Opi's kinda a drill sergeant, though." Libby says.
"Tough love." Sam shrugs.
"Right." Libby mumbles. "How's Evie?"
"She's... she's Evie." Larissa says. "Coping in her own way."
"Right." Libby mumbles.
"She misses you, too." Sam says.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Libby sighs, scratching the back of her neck. "So, uh... are you two here to actually talk about something or stand on eggshells."
"It's-- it's walk on eggshells." Sam says.
"Well, you're just standing there, so..." Libby gives him a slightly annoyed look.
"It just-- we love you very much." Sam says, kissing her on the head.
"More than anything... minus your siblings." Larissa says, hugging the girl. "You need anything?"
"I'm good." Libby promises. "Ate, like, an hour ago before they fell asleep."
"Okay." Sam nods. "Just let us know if you need anything. Wake them up if you need something."
"I will." Libby assures.
+++
The couple go into Evie's room, the girl stuck between the two boys, all three awake.
"Hey. Big brother sandwich." Larissa gently smiles.
"These bitches kicked me to the curb." Delaney sneers.
"Hey, you snooze, you lose." Billy holds his hands up in defense.
"She's my girlfriend." Delaney says.
"She's our sister." Nathan shoots back.
"Not even biologically." Delaney retorts.
"Who cares." Nathan sticks his tongue out at her.
"Can you three shut up?" Evie asks.
"You need anything?" Sam asks.
"They could be a little less clingy." Evie says.
"You love us." Nathan grumbles, resting his head on the girl's shoulder. Billy ruffles her hair making her grimace.
"You eat lately?" Sam asks.
"Oh, yeah, no worries, my dude. Got her eating and sleeping." Billy assures, giving a thumbs up.
"Okay." Sam rolls his eyes.
"I'm fine, dad." Evie says. "How's Libby?"
Sam and Larissa share a small look, admiring how the twins are both terrified yet only care about each other.
"She's... she's Libby." Sam says, glancing at Larissa who gives him a look. "Coping in her own way."
"Like, a... the super unhealthy way or--"
"No. No, no, no. She's eating." Sam quickly assures, the boys feeling Evie relax.
"She misses you. You're both worried about each other." Larissa says.
"I'm good with the distance." Evie mumbles, the group sharing looks.
"Well... you know where to find her." Larissa says. "We love you very much, Strawberry." She blows her a kiss.
"Very, very, very much." Sam adds.
"I know." Evie mumbles, weakly smiling. "You can go now. Stop walking on eggshells. It's weird and uncomfortable."
"All right." Sam rolls his eyes, sharing a look with Larissa. "Deja vu?"
"Mm-hmm." She nods, the two leaving.
+++
Evie is in the kitchen, getting herself cereal, Ophelia, Daphne, and Delaney having all fallen asleep.
She looks up when somebody walks in, freezing when she sees Libby. The shorter twin quickly freezes once she lays eyes on her sister.
"H-hi." Evie stammers.
"Hi." Libby barely gets out, her voice just above a whisper. "I-- I was just-- I can come back."
"N-no. No, it-- it's cool." Evie says.
"Okay." Libby mumbles.
They stay in silent as Evie continues to eat and Libby gets her own bowl of cereal, standing diagonal from her sister.
"How, uh... how are your guards?" Libby asks.
"They're fine. Asleep." Evie says. "Yours?"
"Uh... I-I got them addicted to the Barbie movies, so... so they're barely giving me the time of day now." Libby weakly laughs. "That's a lie. They-- they're still super obsessive. Took me five minutes to convince them to let me come here alone."
"Right." Evie mumbles.
The two fall back into silence, it being much more awkward than either of them would prefer.
Evie puts her bowl in the sink, filling it with water. She hesitates before standing across from her sister.
"Thank you." She says making Libby look up at her. "For-- for everything that you--" She harshly swallows.
"You don't have to thank me." Libby says. "Would've done anything to make sure you lived. Can't die for my baby sister just to not give my favorite sister the same treatment." She forces out a small laugh making Evie force her lips into a small smile.
"I'll, um... I-I'll talk to you later?" Evie asks.
"Yeah." Libby nods, forcing a small smile. "Yeah."
"Okay." Evie whispers, retreating back to her room.
Libby sighs as she watches her sister leave. She quietly groans, rubbing her forehead out of frustration.
"Should've done more." She mumbles to herself, sighing, knowing what pain her sister's in. Pain she never should've been in.
~ ~ ~
Libby goes into the guest room, quietly shutting the door.
"Hey." Ethan softly greets.
"Hey." She weakly smiles. "Billy and Nate fell asleep. I just had a bowl of cereal. I'm fed and off the hook."
She climbs into the bed, lying next to him. He holds his hand out, Libby immediately starting to play with his fingers.
"How you doing?" He quietly asks.
"The same, I guess." Libby shrugs. "Traumatized, angry, annoyed, sad. Probably a thousand different other emotions that I don't even know the names for."
Ethan scoots closer to her, kissing her on the head.
"I talked to Evie." She informs. "Kinda."
"Yeah? How'd that go?" Ethan asks, knowing her relationship with Evie has only been causing more distress to her wellbeing.
"Super, super weird." Libby sighs. "She tried to thank me for making sure she would be the one to get out of there alive."
"And?" Ethan prompts.
"I didn't really let her." Libby says. "Could barely protect her, anyway."
"You did everything you could." Ethan says.
"Wasn't enough?" Libby scoffs.
Ethan frowns at her, wishing he could help her more.
"Want a hug?" He asks.
Libby considers for a moment before grabbing his arm and wrapping it around her. He pulls her into his side, letting her cuddle into him, her head resting on his chest. He strokes her hair, feeling her relax.
+++
Billy and Nathan run through the bunker in a panic. Nathan opens one of the doors, stopping at the sight.
"Oh, fuck no." He declares.
"What?" Billy runs in. "Oh, unh-unh. So not happening."
"Hey, hey." Larissa rushes up. "What are you two--" She stops at the two in bed. "Aww." She smiles.
"That's not "aww." That's "ugh!"" Nathan argues.
"Shut it." Larissa hisses. "You know she deserves this. Out." She orders.
"But-- but he's a-- she's-- this isn't--" Billy stammers.
Larissa grabs the boys by their ears, both quietly crying out in pain, somehow managing to still be respectful of the sleeping girl. She drags them out of the room and quietly shuts the door after.
"Leave them alone." Larissa says. "And given everybody's main concern, they're asleep, they're not gonna have sex. All right? So drop it." She walks off.
"That little punk." Nathan mutters, his hand balling up into a fist.
"He's so getting destroyed when they both wake up." Billy says, Nathan quickly nodding in agreement.