Dean pulls up to a diner basically in the middle of nowhere.
"Hey, don't forget the extra onions this time, huh?" Dean tells his brother, handing him some money.
"Dude, I'm the one who is gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions." Sam says. Dean grins and Sam sighs, getting out of the car.
"Hey, see if they've got any pie." Dean says. Sam glares, shutting the door. "Bring me some pie!" Dean yells. "I love me some pie." Dean watches Sam go into the diner before his radio becomes static. Dean fiddles with the radio only for it to completely turn off. He looks up and sees the diner empty.
Dean gets out and after about 5 minutes, he gets back in the car.
"Where daddy?" Evie asks.
"I don't know." Dean mutters.
+++
Dean drove to Bobby's and told him how Sam went missing and how there was sulfur and other signs of a demon being there.
"Well, what can we do with her? Sam would kill me if he knew I brought her on a possible dangerous mission, knowing it was dangerous beforehand." Dean says, pointing to the toddler watching Scooby-Doo in the living room.
"I know a nieghbor. She's got about 5 grandkids, sweet old woman. Owes me a couple favors for fixing up some stuff in her house." Bobby suggests.
"Sweet. That works. Let's go." Dean says, getting Evie.
~ ~ ~
"Thanks again, Charlotte." Bobby tells her.
"Oh, it's no problem. You know I love children." Charlotte says.
"Okay, shortcake, Bobby and I are gonna get find your dad... and we'll be back with him as soon as possible. But, for now, you're going to stay with Mrs. Charlotte and you're going to play games and watch movies and eat good food, okay? I even heard she has some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies."
"I want daddy." Evie says.
"I know... and once we find him, we'll come straight to you and you'll get to be with your dad again. Promise."
"Okay." Evie mumbles. Dean kisses her on the forehead.
"Be good." He tells her and she nods. Evie and Charlotte watch as Bobby and Dean drive off in the Impala.
+++
Evie jumps off the couch hearing a knock on the door. Charlotte answers it to find Bobby with a sad expression. Evie walks to the door, hugging Bobby's leg.
"You find daddy?" Evie asks before noticing Bobby's sad expression. "What wrong? Where's Deanie?"
"Let's go back to my place, Evie." Bobby gently tells her. He grabs her hand and leads her to the car.
"Is daddy there?" Evie asks, but Bobby doesn't answer. "Bobby?"
"Thanks for watching her, Charlotte." Bobby tries to send her a kind smile, but it turns into a grimace. He shuts the door on Evie's side, his truck not having a backseat, but it's only a few streets away from his house.
"My pleasure. Hope everything's okay. Let me know if you ever need help again." Charlotte smiles kindly at him as he gets in the car and drives off.
Evie tries to ask Bobby where Sam and Dean are on the way home, but he doesn't talk at all.
Once they get to Bobby's, Evie races inside expecting to see her dad, but pouts, not finding her dad nor her uncle.
"Where's daddy?" Evie asks.
"Evie..." Bobby sighs, sitting at a kitchen table chair. He gently grabs her wrist, dragging her over to him. "I'm 'bout to tell you something... and it's gonna be hard for you."
"What?" Evie asks, scared confusion in her eyes. "Where's daddy?" She asks as tears start to well up.
"Peanut... you know what happened to your mommy... and where she went?"
"Daddy said she went to Heaven." Evie remembers what Sam told her about where Jessica is now and how they can't see her for a long, long time.
"Well, I'm sorry, Evie, but... your daddy went where your mommy is." Bobby tells her as softly as possible, despite knowing that doesn't help bad news.
"What?" Evie asks, not able to help the crack in her voice. Bobby recognizes the scared confusion that now has some sadness in them. "No." She rapidly shakes her head back and forth. "no, no. I-I want daddy."
"Peanut--"
"I want my daddy!" Evie yells, tears streaming down her face. "He not wif mommy! He wif me!"
"Evie, I'm sorry, sweetheart." Bobby mumbles. A pained, heartbreaking sob escapes the young girl's mouth, her face scrunching up in hurt as she continues to wail.
"No!" She shouts between sobs.
Bobby gets up and walks over to her, picking her up, and hugging her as tightly as he can without hurting her. He lets her sob into his shoulder letting the grief consume her. His heart breaks at the sounds of her cries, but all he can do is rub her back and try to comfort her.
"I'm sorry." Bobby whispers to her, knowing she probably didn't hear over her sobs.
"Daddy!" Evie sobs out, wanting nothing but her father's hug.
+++
Bobby walks into the building where Dean has Sam's body. Dean hasn't left Sam since they brought him back, not even to see Evie. Bobby enters, holding a bucket of fried chicken.
"Dean? Brought you this back." Bobby puts the bucket down.
"No, thanks. I'm fine." Dean says.
"You should eat something." Bobby says.
"I said I'm fine." Dean states, taking a swig from the bottle of whiskey.
"Dean... I hate to bring this up, I really do. But don't you think maybe it's time... we bury Sam?" Bobby asks. He's a little tired, having spent every second comforting Evie aside from when she manages to sleep.
"No."
"We could maybe..."
"What? Torch his corpse? Not yet."
"I want you to come with me."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Dean, please."
"Would you cut me some slack?"
"I just don't think you should be alone, that's all. I gotta admit, I could use your help. With this stuff and Evie. She needs her uncle."
"You're fine."
"Dean, Something big is going down-- end of the world big."
"Well, then let it end!"
"You don't mean that."
"You don't think so? huh? You don't think I've given enough? You don't think I've paid enough? I'm done with it. All of it. And if you know what's good for you, you'd turn around and get the hell out of here." Bobby doesn't move making Dean shove him. "Go!" Dean stands for a second, calming down. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, just go."
"You know where I'll be. And where your sobbing niece will be." Bobby says, leaving the room.
+++
Evie is lying on the couch, cuddling her stuffed dog tighter than ever and watching The Aristocats on the TV while Bobby does research. The movie used to cheer her up if she needed it, but now it does very little for her.
Evie barely sleeps and when she does it's here and there and not for very long. She wants Dean, but Bobby says he's not going to come over. She wants her dad, but she knows he isn't coming. She wants her mom, but she knows she also isn't coming.
There's a knock at the door and Bobby sighs, getting up to answer it. He looks at Evie when passing her, wishing he could do something to cure the child's heartbreak. Bobby answers the door, stopping short when he sees both Winchester brothers standing there, alive and well.
"Hey, Bobby." Dean greets, not able to look him in the eyes.
"Hey, Bobby." Sam greets.
"Sam. It's good to... see you up and around." Bobby says.
"Yeah, thanks for patching me up." Sam says, patting Bobby on the shoulder, walking past him into the house.
"Don't mention it." Bobby mutters as Dean walks inside, Bobby staring at him.
"Well, Sam's better. And we're back in it now, so... what do you know?" Dean asks.
"Let me go get Evie. I'm sure Sam's dying to see her." Bobby says, sending a look to Dean, him now having to explain to a 3 year old how her father is back from Heaven.
"Right." Dean nods. Sam perks up at the mention of his daughter, it being half the reason he wanted to get to Bobby's so quick.
"I can go get her." Sam offers, wanting to see her as soon as possible.
"Uh, no. I think... she's gonna need a minute to process you're back with us. I should go do it." Bobby says, leaving Sam confused as he walks into the living room.
"Trust the old man, Sammy." Dean tells him.
"Uh, okay." Sam mumbles.
Bobby carries Evie into a different room to talk to her. He sets her down, squatting in front of her.
"Okay, Evie, I'm going to tell you something. And I promise I'm not lying." Bobby tells her.
"Okay." Evie mumbles, not having the energy to make him pinky promise. Bobby stares sadly at the bags under her red eyes, dried tear streaks still coating her cheeks.
"Your daddy's back. He's back and he's completely healthy." Bobby tells her making him look at her.
"I thought you can't come back from Heaven." Evie says, confused.
"Well, you can't. But he got to come back. And it's a little touchy subject right now, so don't really talk about it much." Bobby tells her.
"So daddy's home?" Evie asks, her hopes getting up.
"Yeah." Bobby nods. "Come on." He grabs her hand, leading her into the kitchen where the brothers are. Evie's eyes widen seeing her dad who grins at her.
"Hey, pumpkin." Sam says. He squats and holds his arms out and Evie immediately races to him, hugging him tightly. Sam hugs her back, knowing being away from him is never good for her and she always gets sad. Sam kisses her on the head, rubbing her back before realizing she's crying.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm okay. I'm right here." Sam comforts her. They both miss the glare Bobby sends the oldest Winchester who absolutely refuses to make eye contact with the older man.
~ ~ ~
"Well, I found something. But I'm not sure what the hell it means." Bobby states as they're in the living room. Sam is sitting down with Evie on his lap, his arms wrapped around her comfortingly and she won't let him go.
"What is it?" Sam asks.
"Death omens... like a frickin' tidal wave. Cattle deaths. Lightning storms, they skyrocketed from out of nowhere. Here." Bobby points to Wyoming on a map. "All around here, except for one place... Southern Wyoming."
"Wyoming?" Dean asks.
"Yeah. That one area's totally clean-- spotless. It's almost as if..."
"What?" Sam asks Bobby when he stops talking.
"The demons are surrounding it."
"But you don't know why?" Dean asks.
"No, and by this point my eyes are swimming. Sam, would you take a look at it? Maybe you could catch something I couldn't." Bobby says.
"Yeah, sure." Sam nods, studying the map.
"Come on, Dean. I got some more books in the truck. Help me lug 'em in." Bobby says.
"Yeah." Dean nods, following Bobby outside, a little scared for the possible upcoming conversation.
"Daddy?" Evie asks after a few moments.
"Yeah, pumpkin?" Sam asks, still studying the map.
"Did you see mommy?" Evie asks making Sam freeze. He looks at her, confused.
"Why and where would I see mommy?" Sam asks.
"Bobby said you went where mommy went."
"Baby, I didn't go where mommy went. I didn't go anywhere."
"But they said you did."
"Well, I didn't. So forget about anything they told you. I'm here with you and I'm perfectly okay." Sam softly assures her, although his confusion grows.
"I confused." Evie says.
"Yeah, me too." Sam mumbles.
+++
Bobby and Dean came back inside with Ellen. Her and Bobby are sitting on opposite sides of the table while the Winchesters stand up. Sam's back still hurts, so he's not holding Evie, but she's clinging to his leg.
Bobby fills a shot glass up with holy water and pushes it towards her.
"Bobby, is this really necessary?" Ellen asks.
"Just a belt of holy water. Shouldn't hurt." Bobby says. Ellen downs it before sliding the glass back to Bobby.
"Whiskey now, if you don't mind."
"Ellen, what happened? How'd you get out?" Dean asks.
"I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to be in there with everybody else." Ellen says. "But we ran out of pretzels, of all things. It was just dumb luck." She downs the whiskey. "Anyway, that's when Ash called. Panic in his voice. He told me to look in the safe. Then the call cut out. By the time I got back, the flames were sky high. And everybody was dead. I couldn't have been gone more than 15 minutes."
"Sorry, Ellen." Sam apologizes.
"A lot of good people died in there. And I got to live." She tears up. "Lucky me." She scoffs. Evie reluctantly lets go of Sam's leg and goes over to Ellen. She hugs the woman around the waist as much as she can. Ellen puts her hand on Evie's back, rubbing circles in it, smiling appreciatively at her.
"Ellen, you mentioned a safe." Bobby says.
"A hidden safe we keep in the basement." Ellen states.
"Demons get what was in it?" Bobby asks.
"No." Ellen answers. She takes a map out of her pocket and unfolds it, putting it on the table. There are several black lines and X's on it.
"Wyoming. What does that mean?" Dean asks.
~ ~ ~
"I don't believe it." Bobby says, reading a book, setting it on the table. Evie is back to hugging Sam's leg.
"What? You got something?" Sam asks.
"A lot more than that. Each of these X's is an abandoned frontier church-- all mid-19th century. And all of them built by Samuel Colt." Bobby states.
"Samuel Colt-- the demon killing, gunmaking Samuel Colt?" Dean asks.
"Yep. And there's more. He built private railway lines connecting church to church. It just happens to lay out like this." Bobby connects the points on the map until the shape looks like a star.
"Tell me that's not what I think it is." Dean says.
"It's a devil's trap. A 100 square mile devil's trap." Sam states.
"That's brilliant. Iron lines demons can't cross." Dean says.
"I've never heard of anything that massive." Ellen says.
"No one has." Bobby says.
"And after all these years none of the lines are broken? I mean, it still works?" Dean asks.
"Definitely." Sam nods.
"How do you know?" Dean asks.
"All those omens Bobby found. I mean the demons, they must be circling and they can't get in."
"yeah, well... they're trying." Bobby says.
"Why? What's inside?" Ellen asks.
"That's what I've been looking for. And, uh, there's nothing except an old cowboy cemetery right in the middle." Dean says.
"Well, what's so important about a cemetery or... what's Colt trying to protect?" Sam asks.
"Well, unless..." Dean trails off.
"Unless what?" Bobby asks.
"What if Colt wasn't trying to keep the demons out? What if he was trying to keep something in?" Dean asks.
"Now that's a comforting thought." Ellen sarcastically mutters.
"Could they do it, Bobby? Could they get inside?" Sam asks.
"This thing's so powerful, you'd practically need an A-bomb to destroy it. No way a full blood demon gets across." Bobby says.
"No. But I know who could." Sam states.
~ ~ ~
"I'm not taking Evie." Sam states as they get ready to leave.
"We can take her back to Charlotte." Bobby suggests.
"Charlotte?" Sam asks.
"One of my very few neighbors. She stayed there while we were looking for you." Bobby tells her.
"Uh, okay, yeah, sure. Evie, did you like Charlotte?" Sam asks.
"She's nice." Evie says.
"Okay." Sam nods.
They get to Charlotte's and Sam's the one who leads her inside this time.
"Okay, pumpkin, we'll be back later." Sam tells her.
"But what if you don't come back this time?" Evie asks.
"We will, I promise." Sam says.
"But Deanie promised last time and even he didn't come back." Evie states, pouting.
"I'm coming back to you." Sam tells her in a firm yet gentle voice. "I am. Nobody will stop me."
"Okay." Evie whispers, hoping he's right.
Sam kisses her on the head, hugging her, before he leaves.
+++
Sam and Dean walk back to the Impala after defeating Jake, the person who killed Sam, and the yellow-eyed demon.
"You know, when Jake saw me... it was like he saw a ghost. I mean, hell, you heard him, Dean. He said he killed me." Sam says.
"Glad he was wrong." Dean says.
"I don't think he was, Dean. I think you're hiding something. Similar thing happened with Evie. She asked if I saw Jess and that Bobby told her I went where Jess went." Sam says, looking at his brother. "What happened? After I was stabbed?"
"I already told you."
"Not everything."
"Sam, we just killed the demon. Can we celebrate for a minute?"
"Did I die?"
"Oh, come on."
"Did you sell your soul for me like dad did for you?"
"Oh, come on! No!"
"Tell me the truth. Dean, tell me the truth."
"Sam..."
"How long do you get?"
"One year. I got one year."
"You shouldn't have done that. How could you do that?"
"Don't get mad at me. Don't you do that. I had to. I had to look out for you. That's my job."
"And what do you think my job is?"
"What?"
"You've saved my life over and over. I mean, you sacrifice everything for me. Don't you think I'd do the same for you? You're my big brother. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. And I don't care what it takes, I'm gonna get you out of this. Guess I got to save your ass for a change."
"Yeah."
"Well... Yellow-Eyed Demon might be dead. But a lot more got through that gate." Ellen states.
"How many you think?" Dean asks.
"Hundred. Maybe 200. It's an army. He's unleashed an army." Sam states.
"Hope to hell you boys are ready. Cause the war has just begun." Bobby states.
"Well, then..." Dean closes the trunk after putting the Colt in it. "..we got work to do."