Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. The original characters of Abby and Kelsey Winchester do.

A/N: So, this isn't an Evy story, but it's one that's been on my mind for a while. Sam realizes that his relationship with his younger daughter Abby is starting to model the relationship he had growing up with John. Abby comes up with an idea to fix it.

It was Friday, and Abby was excited. She had a video game tournament that weekend, and she won the last two years. At fifteen, she was the youngest ever winner of Captain Jack's Adventure's, and she felt confident she could take the crown for a third year in a row. Abby walked downstairs and into the family kitchen, ready for breakfast, which her mom insisted everyone eat before leaving the house. Before she could even open her mouth to say good morning, her father Sam spoke from the kitchen table.

"What are you wearing?"

Abby stopped and looked down at what she was wearing, a loose fitting white t-shirt and light blue shorts. "What's wrong with it?"

"Your shorts. Aren't they a little short for school?"

"No. I've worn them before." Abby said. She turned to her mother, who was flipping pancakes at the stove. "Mom?"

"Abby, go change." Sam said. "Longer shorts or jeans."

Abby tried to bite her tongue, but it didn't work. "Dad, it's gonna be ninety degrees today. I have to run around outside for gym. There's nothing's wrong with what I'm wearing."

It was Sam's turn to try and be patient, but it didn't work for him either. "Abigail, go change NOW. You don't and you won't be doing anything but sitting in your room this weekend."

"Mom?" Abby turned to her mother, who had just turned off the stove. "Do you think there's anything wrong with this?"

Jess sighed. She thought Abby looked fine, but she also didn't want to contradict Sam in front of Abby or seventeen-year-old Kelsey, who was watching the scene as if it was the climax scene in a movie. Jess wanted badly to give her honest opinion, but she resisted.

"Go change, honey."

Abby, who now felt ganged up on, nodded and turned to go back to her room. "Fine. Good morning, dad. Good morning, mom. Good morning, Kelsey. I slept great, by the way. Thanks for asking."

Jess, who'd noticed the tears forming in Abby's eyes, waited until she heard Abby's bedroom door closed before saying anything. "Was that absolutely necessary?"

"What? You think I was wrong?"

"I think you embarrassed the hell out of her and she looked fine." Jess said.

"Jess, the shorts…" Sam argued.

"Sam, she's fifteen and two inches short of six feet tall. Everything is going to look shorter on her than it is on anyone else. She knows that, and she already feels self-conscious about how tall she is. You pointing stuff out like that is only going to make it worse." Jess said.

Sam stopped arguing. "I guess I was too hard on her."

"Sam, I know you're worried about her. But you need to go easier on her. Just go up and apologize. Okay?"

"Yeah. I will." Sam promised.

In her room, Abby was fuming. As she changed into jeans, thinking about how hard it was going to be to get outside and run in the heat with long pants, she also wondered, far from the first time, exactly what was wrong with her. It wasn't the first time her father had come down hard on her for what she saw as minor things. To make it worse, Abby could tell that her mother disagreed with him, and just didn't want to fight with her dad in front of Abby and Kelsey. Abby decided to skip breakfast, even though she knew it would upset her mother. After she was changed, she grabbed her backpack and started out the door, only to nearly be knocked down when she almost ran into her father.

"Abby, I want to talk to you."

"I changed. Is this good enough?" She asked.

"Honey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped on you earlier." Sam said.

Abby nodded. "Okay."

"Won't jeans be too hot?"

"Are you kidding?" Abby asked, throwing her arms up in frustration. "That's exactly what I said in the kitchen."

"I know. Abby, I'm sorry…"

"Can I go to school now, please?" Abby asked.

"Sure." Sam said, realizing he wouldn't get far at the moment. "I'm sorry."

"Why do you have to jump on me all the time?" Abby asked. "You don't ever say anything to Kelsey."

Sam bit back the because I don't have to since her attitude isn't as bad as yours response that came up, and simply said, "Can we start over? Please?"

A horn honked and Abby thought to herself saved by the bell. "I've got to go. I'll be late for school."

Abby left the house, still mad and embarrassed at the scene in the kitchen earlier that morning. Sam still felt bad, and tried thinking over the course of the day how to make it up to Abby. He felt just as big a disconnect from Abby as Abby felt from him. He and his older daughter Kelsey got along much better than he and Abby. Kelsey was a straight A student, loved to read, and could discuss almost any topic with Sam easily. On the rare occasion Kelsey was in trouble, Sam and Jess were able to calmly discuss it with her, and more often than not, she accepted whatever consequence they laid down. Abby was exactly the opposite. She didn't usually refuse the consequences for her actions, but if she felt she wasn't heard enough, she would fight with a fiery passion that Sam wished he could borrow for when he went to court. She didn't do as well as Kelsey in school. Her grades in math and science were typically high B's or A-'s, and her grades in other subjects remained around C's. School was a touchy subject between the two of them. Jess tried to remind him that Abby did her best, and pushing her to do more was likely to make her simply resent him. Sam wanted to blame Abby's constant video gaming for what he saw as her poor performance in school. But again Jess was the calming influence. She had told him more than once that taking away Abby's hobby, no matter how unproductive he thought it was, would make her less likely to come to them with any issues she may have.

When Abby got home that afternoon, she was beginning to feel slightly remorseful for how she'd treated Sam earlier that morning. She knew he was trying to make it up to her, and she had only made it more difficult for him. When she walked into the kitchen, Jess had just begun to make dinner.

"Hey."

"Hi, mom." Abby said, walking over to give her a hug.

Jess put down the spoon she had in her hand and hugged her back. "How was school?"

"It was good." Abby said, though she couldn't resist adding, "I was burning up by the end of PE, though."

Jess sighed again. "I know your dad was a jerk this morning. I talked to him after you went back to your room. But you know he loves you, right?"

"I know he does. It just doesn't always feel like he does when he can't say anything nice to me."

"Oh, honey. I know he's hard on you. But please, for me, give him another chance?" Jess asked. "I hate it when you two are arguing."

Abby smiled. "I'll try if he does."

"That's all I can ask. Thank you." Jess said. "You have any homework?"

"I did it in school." Abby answered. "Can I help with dinner?"

"I would love some help." As Abby washed her hands, the front door opened, and in walked Kelsey and Sam. "Hey, guys! We're in here!"

"Hi, mom!" Kelsey said, greeting her mom warmly.

"Hey, Kelsey."

"Hi, Dad." Abby said.

"Hey, sweetie." Sam said.

"I'm sorry about this morning." Abby said right away.

"Me too." Sam said. "Me too."

Abby nodded and smiled, for the moment putting the fight from that morning behind them.

"Report cards came!" Kelsey called from the living room; she had gone to check the mailbox.

"Let me see." Sam said, taking them form Kelsey and opening hers first. "Good job, kiddo. I'm proud of you."

"Let me guess." Jess said. "Straight A's."

"But of course." Kelsey said with a smile, making Abby sick to her stomach.

Sam opened Abby's, and his expression immediately changed to one of barely repressed anger. "Abigail? Do you have something to tell me and your mother?"

"What?" Abby asked.

"What's your English grade?" Sam asked, handing the report card over to Jess.

"I don't know. C?"

"Try D-. And your social studies grade is a C-. Any reason those two grades have gone down nearly twenty points since your last report card?" Sam asked, his voice rising slowly.

"I don't know. I've done all my work." Abby said, honestly at a loss for the drop in her grades.

"Obviously you haven't done something!" Sam said.

"Sam, calm down." Jess said. "Abby, this is serious."

"Mom, I don't know!" Abby said. "I swear, I don't know. All the papers I've gotten back have been passing."

"Have they all been 77 or higher?" Sam asked.

Abby swallowed. "No."

"Abby, honey, why didn't you tell us? You know the rule." Jess said, referring to her and Sam's minimum grades of C or above.

"I know, mom, I'm sorry." Abby said. "I didn't want to make you guys disappointed in me."

"I'm disappointed, but more about you lying to us about your grades than the actual grades. If you had come to me and your mom, we would have gotten you a tutor."

"I still passed." Abby argued.

"Barely!" Sam said. "You know the rule. C or above."

"I know…"

"Good. So this won't come as a surprise. You're grounded." Sam said.

Abby wasn't surprised, but her video game tournament was on her mind. "Please just let me do tomorrow…"

"No. No electronics except for homework, no video games, no TV, no going out with friends. The only thing you're going to be doing from now until the next report card is studying. And if you haven't brought both those grades up to a B by then, no conference either."

Abby's mouth fell open. "But I paid for that conference already!"

"Then I guess you better work your butt off then. Because if you don't bring those grades up, you're not going."

"I'll work the whole summer, I'll do whatever else you want, just please don't take that away from me." Abby begged.

"If your grades come back up, you can go." Sam said. When Abby turned towards Jess, Sam cut her off. "Don't go to your mom."

"Abby, not this time. I agree with your dad on this one."

"Fine." Abby said. "You always tell me I have to work hard for what I want. I guess that only applies if it's something you two want too. I'll be in my room."

Just as that morning, Abby left and went to her room. The kitchen was now silent. Both Jess and Sam were fighting the urge to take back their threat to not let Abby go to the conference. She had worked a part time job every Saturday for eight straight months in order to pay for it. Sam was the one to break the silence.

"Do you think the conference was too much?"

Jess sighed. "No. I hate it with a passion, but no. But, I think we need to make it clear to her that she doesn't have to do this by herself. We'll get her a tutor, we'll help her ourselves. Getting that grade up thirteen points and seven points is going to take more work than she can do by herself."

Sam nodded. "You're right."

"Sam. I am with you on this one. But you're going to have to encourage her along the way too. You can't just tell her to do this and not make her feel like it's possible. Okay?"

"I got it." Sam said. "You want me to talk to her?"

"I'll go." Jess said.

"Mom? I'll help Abby too." Kelsey said from the table.

"Thanks, babe." Jess said. "Can you two finish dinner?"

Jess walked up the stairs and headed to Abby's room. The door was still open, and Jess heard sniffling. She expected to find Abby crying on her bed, but was surprised to see her sitting at her desk with her schoolbooks open. Jess knocked on the door, but Abby didn't bother to look up.

"Can I come in?"

Abby sniffed again. "I guess."

Jess walked in and grabbed a chair Abby kept next to her closet. As she placed it next to Abby's desk, she asked, "What are you working on?"

"Homework." Abby answered, wiping her face.

"It's hard to do homework when you're crying." Jess said. "Talk to me, please."

"You and dad said everything there is to say downstairs." Abby said bitterly. "You made yourself pretty clear. I didn't work hard enough in school, so you're taking away what I did work for."

"Abby, look at me." Jess said, slightly more firmly than before but still compassionate. Abby was slow in responding, but Jess waited her out, and when Abby did look up, Jess wiped her face and said, "I understand it seems harsh right now."

"Mom…"

"Don't interrupt me." Jess said. "I understand it seems harsh right now. I know this conference means a lot to you. I am proud of you for working so hard to go. And I want you to go. But you know that if you don't follow the rules your dad and I set out, we will take stuff from you. Now, I want you to think about this before you answer. Did you really not know that your grades were going down?"

Abby squirmed. "I thought they might be."

"So why didn't you come to us?"

"Because you guys make such a big deal over Kelsey's grades. It made me feel stupid to admit I needed help." Abby said.

Sam, who had appeared at the door, couldn't keep quiet at that. "You're not stupid." When Abby looked up, Sam asked, "Can I come in?"

Abby nodded.

"Honey, you are not stupid. I'm sorry I made you feel that way, but you're not stupid." Sam said.

"Then why can't I do as well as Kelsey can?"

"Sweetheart, listen. We know you try hard. We're not asking you to be a straight A student like your sister. But we know you can do better than this." Jess explained. "And we're not expecting you to do it completely on your own. Your dad and I will help you. We'll get you a tutor. Kelsey will help. We're not throwing you out to drown. We'll help."

"I don't know if I can do it, mom." Abby said.

"We know you can." Jess said, still wiping tears off Abby's crying face. "We're here for you. Okay?"

Abby nodded.

"How about this?" Jess asked. "Put your schoolbooks away. Come eat dinner with me and your dad and sister. We'll talk about anything except school. We'll start tomorrow on studying for school."

"Okay. Thanks, mom." Abby said.

"Abby?" Sam asked. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad about yourself. I just want you to do your best, baby. I know we don't always get along, but I do love you. Do you believe me?"

"I believe you." Abby said. "I love you too, Dad."

Abby made up her mind that night to bring up her grades no matter what. She knew both her parents loved her, and just wanted what was best for her. The constant reassurance from both her parents, and even the help from her older sister, gave her the desire to keep going. She missed her video games, but the confidence she gained in her academics made the six week long struggle worth it. Finally, report cards came out again. Abby opened hers holding her breath, then took the results to her mother.

"Hey, mom. Can we talk?"

"Sure, sweetie." Jess said. "What's up?"

"Report cards came out again."

"And?" Jess asked.

"Good news, bad news." Abby said. "The good news is my social studies grade is a B+."

"Abby, that's fantastic!" Jess said seriously. "What could possibly be the bad news?"

Abby handed the report card to her mom. "English is a C+. I'm one point away from a B-."

"Oh." Jess said. "That's still great, baby."

"Good enough to go to the conference?"

Jess was torn. The deal had been two B's. Jess believed Abby deserved her trip. She had worked harder than Jess had ever seen before, and she had brought each of her grades up one whole letter grade in just a few weeks. Deciding to risk a fight with Sam, Jess answered,

"If your dad says it's okay, you can go."

The change in Abby was immediate. She lit up in a smile and squealed in delight, grabbing her mom's neck in a tight hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, mom! You're the best!"

"I'm very, very proud of you. Just promise me you'll keep up the hard work, okay?" Jess said.

"I will, mom, I promise."

"Promise what?" Sam asked.

Sam, don't screw this up, Jess thought. "Report cards came out today." She said, handing the card over to Sam.

"Let's see." Sam quickly scanned the card.

Abby waited with baited breath for his verdict.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry. I do see where you've done a lot better, but the deal was two B's." Sam said. "The conference is out."

"Sam…" Jess said.

"Don't bother, mom." A devastated Abby said. "I get it. I didn't do a good enough job. I'll be in my room."

"Abby…"

Abby pushed past Sam, and for the third time in six weeks, Sam felt like the world's crappiest dad. He knew it was harsh, but he felt it was necessary. All the reasoning in the world, however, did not prevent him from feeling Jess's eyes boring into the back of his head.

"Say it."

"That you're an idiot? Okay, you're an idiot." Jess said.

"The deal was for two B's." Sam said.

"Sam she is one point away from the B." Jess said. "One point. She has pulled her social studies grade up seven points, and her English grade twelve points. She has worked her ass off, and you cannot say that's not worth a reward."

"I never said she wouldn't get a reward for it. She's got her video game privileges back." Sam argued.

Jess shook her head. "You know as well as I do that she did all that work for two things. One was that conference. And I'm worried if you don't change your mind that she's going to give up trying because she doesn't see the point."

"What's the other thing?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"You said she did all that work for two things. What's the other thing?" Sam asked.

"Think about it and figure it out." Jess said. "I'm going up to talk to Abby."

Just as Jess reached Abby's bedroom door, she heard Sam go outside. Abby was laying on her bed, a familiar binder out in front of her. It was the three ring binder she'd used to organize her trip to the conference. Schedules, a log of how much she'd worked and what she got paid for it, a list of things she wanted to ask some of the game developers who were attending. Jess's heart ached as she watched Abby. True, she was just as lost as Sam when it came to understanding Abby's passion for gaming, but Jess saw how happy it made Abby to be good at something, so she made a genuine effort not to criticize it.

"What are you working on?"

Abby looked up with the saddest eyes her mom had ever seen. "Just thinking about what I'll be missing."

"What will you be missing?" Jess asked. "Is there a special reason you wanted to go to this conference so badly?"

"What does it matter now?" Abby asked. "Dad already said I can't go. And you're not gonna go against him."

"I'm sorry, honey. I really, really am. Please don't hate us for this."

"I just don't get it." Abby said. "You always tell me that grades aren't the most important thing."

"Yes, but they are important."

"I get that. I do. I just wanted…" Abby said, then shook her head as if the effort was futile.

"Wanted what, baby? Come on, help me here." Jess said.

"I wanted a genuine compliment from Dad. One that didn't come after us fighting." Abby said. "I just wanted him to say something nice to me."

"He's been cheering you on this whole time."

"Yeah, he's been telling me I can do it." Abby said. "But I can't remember the last time he actually complimented me on something I had already done. He's always telling Kelsey she's smart or she's pretty. He never says stuff like that to me unless you make him."

"He told you that the night he grounded you." Jess pointed out.

"He told me I wasn't stupid. That's not the same thing." Abby responded. "I'm just tired of it being so hard to talk to him about anything. I…"

"What, honey?" Jess said after a long pause.

"I thought about asking Dad if he'd go to counselling with me. I don't want to fight all the time." Abby said. "Is that a dumb idea?"

"I think that's a great idea!" Jess said.

"Really?" Abby asked. "What if Dad doesn't go for it?"

"I'll make him go for it." Jess said. "And I want you to remember something. No matter what you think anyone thinks about you, I don't ever want you to doubt that I think you are a smart, pretty, funny, courageous, and kind person, and I am incredibly proud of you. Understand?"

"I understand." Abby said. "Thanks, mom."

"And if you ever need to hear that again, come find me, call me, text me. Whatever and however you need to hear it. I'll write it down for you and hang it up on your wall if you want." Jess offered. "Okay?"

"Okay, mom. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Jess said. "I'm going to talk to your dad, okay? But I want you to think about something. I've seen how happy it made you to do better in school. Please keep trying that hard. Not for me, not for your dad, but for yourself. Okay? Please?"

"I will, mom."

"Good girl." Jess said. "I'll be back."

Just as Jess was getting back to the kitchen, Sam was coming back inside. He'd called Dean to blow off steam about the situation, but ended up getting an earful from him too. I know you don't want to hear this, but you're treating her just like Dad treated you. Only this time it's not hunting and school. It's school and games. If she really did bust her ass the last few weeks, and she's that close to what you wanted, let her go as long as she promises to keep it up. If you don't, she'll pull away from you like you pulled away from dad. Is that what you want? Knowing it was not in fact even close to what he wanted, Sam knew what he had to do. He prepared to go up the stairs towards Abby's room when he was stopped by Jess.

"Sit down. We need to talk."

"I was going up to Abby's room to tell her she could go to the conference." Sam said.

Jess was surprised, to say the least, but firm in her resolve. "That's good, but there's a lot more going on here. Sit down."

"What does that mean?" Sam asked as he took his chair.

Jess took Sam's hands in her own and said, "Babe, listen to me. School gets out in one week. I need you to promise me, at least until next year, you are done tracking Abby's grades. Let me handle that."

"Look, I know I'm tough on her about that…"

"And everything else. I know you don't want to hear this, but you are tougher on Abby than you are on Kelsey. And she feels it, and it hurts. A lot." Jess said.

Sam chuckled humorlessly. "That's the second time I've heard that phrase today."

"What do you mean?"

"I called Dean to blow off steam about this. He said exactly what you said. 'I know you don't want to hear this, but you're treating her exactly like Dad treated you. If she really did bust her ass the last few weeks, and she's that close to what you wanted, let her go or she'll pull away from you like you pulled away from Dad'." Sam recounted. "I don't want that."

"Is he talking about when you left for Stanford?" Jess asked. Sam nodded, and Jess said, "He's got a point."

"I know. I just wish I could talk to her and be connected with her like I am with Kelsey."

Jess shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah. About that. Abby brought up the idea of you two going to counselling."

"That's actually not a bad idea."

"You mean you're for it?" Jess asked, relieved she didn't have to talk him into it.

"I always wanted to try something like that with my dad, but he didn't believe in therapy." Sam said. "He hardly ever admitted we had any problems."

"Things can be different for you two." Jess assured him. "Abby wants to feel close to you too. Maybe sitting down and talking everything out will help."

"Dad?"

Sam glanced up from the table and saw Abby in the doorway. "Hey."

"Hey." Abby said. "Did mom tell you my idea?"

"She did. I think it's an awesome idea."

Abby smiled; it was the first genuine compliment she remembered getting from him in a long time. "Really?"

"Yeah. I do." Sam said. "I'm just sorry things got so bad that we need it."

"Look, I've been thinking. You're right. I didn't hold up my end of the deal. So I'll stay home instead of going to the…"

"You're going to that conference." Sam said, and bit back a laugh when Abby's face lit up. "It was wrong of me to take that off the table in the first place. I'm proud of you for working so hard for it."

"You mean it?"

"As long as you promise me you'll keep working hard in school, yes." Sam said. Before he knew what was coming, Sam had a lap full of Abby, who was flinging her arms around his neck. "What's this for?"

"You're the best." Abby said, kissing his cheek.

"You're the best." Sam repeated. As he hugged her back, he said, "Baby, I'm sorry things have gotten so bad. You do know I love you, right?"

Abby sighed. "I don't doubt you love me. I never have. I just don't think you like me very much. I feel like you don't want to take the time to know me like you do Kelsey."

"Well, how about we fix that?" Sam asked. "We can hash all that out with the counselor. Right now, how about we go to the movies tonight? Just you and me?"

"Really?" Abby asked.

"Really. Come on, let's go."

"I'm gonna go change out of my school clothes. Be right back." Abby said.

As she dashed up the stairs, Sam turned to Jess. "Guess I've got a date with another woman tonight."

"You're doing a good thing. It might be hard, but you won't regret it." Jess said. "You know, though, counselling might not be all roses and sunshine. You might hit some more rough spots before it starts to work."

"I know. But if it keeps me and Abby from pulling apart, it's worth it."

"Dad, I'm ready! Let's go!" An excited Abby called from the stairs.

"Coming!" Sam shouted with a smile. "Bye, babe. We might be late."

"Take all the time you two want." Jess said. "I mean that. Bye." When she heard the front door shut, she whispered to herself, "Please, let this work. I love you both so much."