Authors: Lady Laran and Tisha Wyman Warnings: Bad language and violence. Spoilers: Season Five - so if you’ve not seen it, be warned a few things are a bit weird.Disclaimer - We do not own Supernatural nor A Christmas Carol. The show is owned by Eric Kripke and the book is by Charles Dickens. Neither of us has rights to this nor have we earned anything by doing this. We’re just doing this for fun. Oh..we also don’t own Christmas at Ground Zero or any other carols that might be mentioned. This is a story of healing, family, humor, and horror. Sounds like a typical Thursday night on the CW. (Of course, the CW has gone bonkers and moved them to Friday nights. We will see.)
Christmas Eve Mischief
Dean stopped when they neared the dining hall. "Is that Donald Duck singing?"
He snickered quietly. "Sounds like it."
"Well, has to be our little player. Bobby or Cas?" Dean was chuckling.
"Probably Cas, given his sense of humor." Sam laughed softly.
"Is that another poke at me? What the hell's gotten into him lately?"
"That or appeasing the little ones."
Dean grinned. "Yeah, has to be."
They went in to find the room lit by lanterns, music cheerfully filling the room.
People were arriving, bringing food and setting it on the table. Dean saw the tree. It was huge. Walking over, he slowly strolled around it. "How'd Ben get this done in so short a time?"
Ben walked behind him. "It's from the sitting room. Jacob and I carefully rolled it into here. You like it?"
"It looks great," Sam said with a smile. It was magical in the room.
The twins arrived and ran towards the tree looking for presents. Bobby rolled up behind them and told them the presents would be upstairs in their rooms in the morning. The mother looked surprised.
"Santa comes tonight, sweet ones," Trudy told them with a soft laugh.
Dean wasn't sure if anyone had told her so he kept quiet. Ben began introduce everyone.
It wasn't a large group but each of them were nice people.
Ben walked up and told everyone the food was ready. The ice-cream was in a glass bowl, setting inside a red one filled with snow. There were sandwiches, chips, dips, candy, and cookies. Someone had brought soda, and Cas' cider was in a punch bowl. There was also a pot of coffee.
Jacob had also brought in fruit juice for the twins in special cups just for them.
Everyone filled their plates and sat at the decorated tables. Dean found a seat near Jacob. "How you doing, man?"
"It's been an enjoyable time. Ben has treated me nicely despite everything."
"No one could blame you, Jacob. Ben said you were having a rough time. We'll be around a while, if you'd like to talk. I've been through some stuff and it's easy to fall into self blame. I do know that. I'm available. I know Sammy'd be too. We'd like to be friends."
His voice was sad. "I'd appreciate that."
"Good. For now, enjoy Christmas like it's supposed to be. Have a good time. Over eat. Try everything. You don't get to see this very often. I know I don't."
"No, this is the first Christmas I've ever celebrated."
"Well, enjoy it to it's fullest, my friend. It's the first of this kind I've had in 27 years."
He smiled at that. "It's a great home."
Dean smiled back. "Yeah, it really is. I'd like a to have a home like this some day. Fill it with a wife and kids."
"You'd be good at that, I think."
"I'd like to think I would be. Sam always thought I hated kids. I avoided them. Mainly...well, because it was easier then wanting them all the harder. A kid dealing with a water spirit changed my mind. He saw something as bad as what I saw when I was four. He didn't talk. Me neither, for almost a year."
He winced at that. "Poor child."
"He's gonna be okay. Doing fine, last I heard. Thing was, I could reach him cause I understood."
"That's wonderful," he said, sipping his soda. "You and your brother really do make a difference."
"Nowhere near enough. There's just so much that needs to be done and not enough hunters to go around. Lost some good ones over the last five years."
"It's not always perfect, you just have to hold onto the ones that are positive."
"Yeah, that's something I’ve been learning lately." Dean took a sip of his coffee and ate a sandwich., raising his eyebrows. It was good. "Make sure you get some ice cream. Bet you never had this kind before?"
"What kind is it?"
"Snow."
"You can make ice cream from that?"
"Yup. You can. It's real good."
"I'll definitely have to try it."
"It's something you'll never forget, I promise."
He smiled and nodded.
"If I didn't know better, I'd swear the young mom is hitting on Sammy."
Jacob looked to see what it was Dean was talking about. In actuality the mother was wanting to meet Jacob and trying to talk Sam into introducing her. Sam, remembering that Jacob wasn't exactly straight, was trying to gently set her down and distract her.
"You know what, Jacob, sometimes healing can come in the strangest places. She likes you."
"She seems nice, but not exactly my thing."
"Oh?"
He nodded. "Women are nice, I suppose. I've never been attracted to them."
“Oh. Ohhhhh!!!"
Jacob gave a soft laugh.
"I had no idea, man. I'm sorry."
"It's all right. I don't advertise it."
"Okay. Shame for her. She's cute."
"I think Ben is single."
"Yeah, he is. So's she, with two kids to raise. Now how do we do this?" Dean laughed softly.
Jacob nodded towards a doorway. There was a plant fastened there that was a bit infamous.
Dean stood and walked to the young woman. He looked at Jacob and nodded towards Ben. Dean asked the mother if she could help him with something, putting on his best Winchester charm. Sam was furious. Dean had promised no flirting. He saw Dean head towards the door with her.
Jacob leaned over, whispering something to Ben. The homeowner was quick to stand up to tend to the need of someone, heading to that doorway.
Dean pulled the girl out of the doorway, waiting for Ben and he gently pushed her into Ben, commenting on them being under the mistletoe. Dean walked away. Sam snickered, realizing what his brother was doing as Ben kissed the blushing young woman. As the kiss increased instead of quickly ebbing, Dean's walk got a little more cocky. He looked at Jacob and winked. Jacob chuckled. Seemed that this might work out after all.
Everyone started cheering and clapping. Dean grinned as he went to get some ice cream He fixed two bowls and brought Jacob some.
"I think we did pretty good there," commenting about the blushing pair.
"Yeah, I think she'd be good for him. He certainly would for her. Those girls need a daddy, too. Here, try some."
He nibbled on the ice cream, eyes widening. "This is incredible."
"Yeah, Bobby knows his stuff."
Jacob nodded, enjoying the cold treat.
"I definitely have to live where it gets cold. I like winter. I like Christmas like this. I want a lot more of them."
"Bobby's home, doesn't it snow there?"
"Yeah, it does. We plan to live there. He's been the dad we really never had."
There was a wistful expression on his face. "Must be nice."
Dean saw the look. "You know, we all talked about it some. You'd be more then welcome. Bobby always has room in his home and in his heart for another boy. You could start over up there. Find what you really want to do. The house as rooms I didn't even know existed."
"He offered it to me. I think it'd be a good thing as long as I'm not putting anyone to trouble."
"No. Sam and I are gone a lot right now. Cas is with us sometimes and following his own agenda at times. Bobby's there alone. He would welcome you and we'd be grateful he wasn't up there on his own."
Jacob smiled softly. "I'd like that."
"Great! Welcome to the family."
"Thank you, Dean."
"You're welcome." Dean looked at his watch. It was almost nine. The twins were dozing on a chair. Their mother and Ben were nowhere in site. Dean looked at the kids. He walked toward Sam. "I need your help, Sammy. You gotta pick a lock." Dean walked over and picked up both little girls.
Castiel took one of them after wiping stickiness from his own hands. He'd entertained the girls while their mother had spoken with Ben. Sam grinned and the rest of the group were smiling as well.
The threesome went to the kids' room. Sam picked the lock. Cas looked for the right room. They lit a lantern in the bedroom. Dean and Cas laid the little girls on the bed. Sam found their pajamas. Dean looked around. "Do they still need diapers, you think? Or do they have those plastic lined panties?" He was undressing one little girl and putting her into a nighty.
"I think it's the plastic lined ones. Honestly, I'm not sure." Sam looked baffled.
"See if there's anything in the drawers over there. We got to have something."
Sam found some of the lined ones, bringing two out. "Feels strange doing this," he laughed.
"No....," Dean's teasing sounded nervous. He took off the panties and put on the plastic lined ones. He turned and saw that Cas had dressed the other child. They put them into bed and covered them. Sam blew out the lantern.
They left the door open as Dean went and made a fire. 'I'll stay until Ben brings the mom home. Why don't you guys go back and be with everyone. You can help Bobby with the stuff and clean up. Hopefully, I'll be back before then."
Sam and Castiel agreed,heading out to get things together. Dean sat on the couch, and waited.
Ben brought her back after having coffee together, occasionally laughing at some comment. When they got to the party, she realized the twins were gone.
Bobby smiled. "They conked out so the boys put them to bed."
"Oh, I'm sorry to have been so much trouble."
"It's quite all right; good learning experience for them," he laughed.
“But men that age don't know about raising children. They are so independent nowadays."
"My boys want kids so it's good training."
She sighed. "But... they do need training." Laughing, she reached up and kissed Ben on the lips. “Until tomorrow with you and Jacob?"
"That sounds good," he answered with a soft blush.
Dean was half asleep on the couch when the girls' mother entered.
With a soft laugh, she nudged him. "Dean?"
He woke up slowly, rubbed his eyes, smiled, said a soft, "Hi."
"Thank you for watching the girls."
"No problem. Never took care of girls before. Just Sammy. Glad to be able to help."
She smiled. "I appreciate it a great deal."
"It's alright, honest. Well, I got to get going. Good night."
"Sleep well, Dean. Thank you for the idea of the potluck; it was wonderful and the girls had fun."
"You did too. You're welcome. Seemed like a good idea."
She gave a soft laugh. "It was."
Dean smiled, sleepily. Waved and shut the door behind him.
Sam and Castiel were waiting with a group, each of them carrying an item to get the room ready for the family.
"She's probably still awake. Is she supposed to know? Where did you get the tree? " the exhausted hunter asked, forgetting Ben's comments earlier that day.
"It's a small one Ben had; fake tree but it'll work." Jacob answered. "And it might be better to let her know so she doesn't freak."
"Yeah, I think so. Want me to go tell her. Or better, yet Ben should."
Sam laughed at that as Ben headed to talk to her.
The group slowly climbed the stairs with their burdens. They waited outside the door quietly.
A few moments later, Ben opened the door to reveal a tearful Marie and beckoned them in to set things up.
The small tree was set on a table in the center of the room. Soon it was decorated with garland and ornaments. A star was put on top. The presents were set underneath it. Dean placed the small box for Marie on top so she wouldn't miss it among the childrens'. "Santa's elves were very busy today," was his only comment as he smiled tiredly at her, and quietly left the room to find Bobby at the foot of the stairs.
"How'd it go?"
"It went great, Bobby. She was crying. We set the tree up on the table in the living room. Decorated it. We put the kids gifts down first. I set hers on top so she'll find it. I told her Santa's elves had been busy today. I didn't stay any longer, Bobby. Honestly, it's been a long time since I felt this tired. I fell asleep up there."
He smiled. "Let's get the room set up and get you to sleep."
"It'll be Christmas in a little while. I want to be up and see it come in. I used to do that when Sammy was asleep. After midnight, I'd go scrounging. Had to make sure he had a Christmas, you know. He never remembered. I know it hurt Sammy. I always lied. Said he'd come by for a minute but Sammy was so sleepy he didn't wake. He kissed Sammy, left the presents and had to go back to the hunt. At least Sammy thought he'd come. I don't know if it ever crossed Sammy's mind that he was the only one who got gifts." Dean sounded tired but he still laughed softly.
"It did, honestly. Why do you think I tried to make Father's day cards for you, Dean? After a while, it didn't take Einstein to realize who was going to all that trouble for me." Sam had heard his brother and wanted to reassure him.
Dean turned. "Damn it, Sammy, You told me about that card. I'm sorry I never got to see it. It still meant a lot to me that you did it. I never wanted you to know about Dad not showing, but you read his journal and found out that Christmas I screwed up so badly. That pendant has never left me 'til Cas needed it and I feel lost without it. It was and always will be the best thing I've ever gotten. I wasn't complaining or anything. Just remembering the past. This would be the first Christmas we've had together, Sammy, where I wasn't worried about taking care of your basic needs and wants, with nothing to do it with."
Sam gave him a hug. "Thank you for being you, Dean, and for taking care of me."
Dean hugged Sam close to him. "Thank you for just being you, Sammy. You've been my sanity for years."
Bobby smiled, watching them bond even more.
"Let's all go watch Christmas come in. Bobby, Jacob is going to move in with us. He said you asked. I'm glad cause I had asked too."
He's a good kid and has a long way to go to get to where he needs to be. I can help him with that and help him learn to like himself again."
"Yeah, that's something you're good at, Bobby."
Castiel and Sam both agreed as they headed towards their suite.
Dean headed towards the fireplace to rebuild the fire. Bobby watched him carefully. The boy had been running like crazy all day long. He looked at Sam. Sam came over. "Make some eggnog. Pour about a shot glass of brandy in ours. Put a couple in his. He's been hauling stuff all day. He hasn't been walking most places, he's been running, trying to make time for everything he had to do. We stopped for lunch but he didn't unless he snuck something for Seamus and him. That half a sandwich and the ice cream he ate tonight was all he's eaten since breakfast. The eggnog should hit him pretty good, and, yes, I know he can drink a sailor under the table. But, not exhausted, and on an almost empty stomach. Cas, you know how to build that fire? Let's put Dean down for the night after midnight. Get him into that chair and a major spiked eggnog into him."
Castiel went to build the fire while Sam made the eggnog and snacks for everyone, coming back with a tray full of goodies.
Dean and Cas were arguing over the fire. Bobby finally raised his voice and told Dean to sit down. Again, Dean froze when Bobby raised his voice. He quietly said, "Yes, Sir., and sat down.
Sam snickered, handing out the drinks once Castiel finished with the fire.
Dean looked up at Sam, a question in his eyes, but Sam couldn't read them. He stared at the drink. Finally, he took it and took a sip. His eyes watered and he looked at Sam with a very strange expression on his face. "You trying to get me drunk, Sammy? This could strip paint off my baby."
"You need to relax. You've been running ragged all day."
"We all have."
"You have even more," he murmured, settling in a seat.
Dean looked confused. He always did things this way, so why now?
Castiel tilted his head. "Dean, you tend to take everything on your shoulders and not utilize the family around you."
"Wait a minute, Cas. I utilized everyone today. I even utilized Seamus and Trudy. You got stuck with the cooking. Don't say I didn't utilize everyone."
He nodded. "You did, and we are still worried that you overdid it."
"Overdid it? Yeah, I probably did. I always do. It's part of the life I have, and I get used to doing things a certain way. It's quicker then having to tell people what needs to be done."
"Telling others how you would like to see things done is a good thing."
"You're right, Cas, it is. Did you see how much had to be done? If I had to take the time to tell everyone what would be a good thing to do, we'd still be doing it, Cas. You guys did a lot that I asked you to do. I'm grateful, but I couldn't explain what to look for in the snow in the amount of time it took me to do it. The breakfast, I just normally do when there's food, unless Bobby cooked it. It's habit. You have no idea what a bad cook Sammy is. Trust me. The woodwork, well, it's just a skill I have and it needed me. Running is just to get it done faster. Sam will tell you I can be lazy too."
"He can, but honestly, Dean...he's got a point. Sometimes, you do need to slow down. Yeah, I can't cook but it seems Cas can. Bobby can help supervise it."
"Look, guys. I said I'd try. I am trying. I'm 30 years old, Bobby. I've run things and looked out for Sammy for 26 of them. I’ve said this before. It's hard to give up habits. I'm not an old man. I did start watching what I eat. I've begun realize that my life can kill me, and I ought to laugh at that one. I'm just saying give me time, okay? Just...just..don't yell, okay?"
"We're not, we're trying to help, Son."
"Okay."
"Now, feel up to a reading?"
"Yeah."
"Choose a book, Son." He sipped his eggnog.
Dean got a mischievous look on his face and handed Bobby a very slender book.
Bobby looked at the book. "You're serious?"
Dean just smiled. He chuckled and began to read. Dean kept smiling and leaned back and sipped his eggnog, his eyes drooping, but alertly watching his brother and Cas. Sam laughed, recognizing the book immediately while Castiel was listening to the story intently. Dean slowly relaxed, enjoying the story and Cas' intentness. The story didn't take long to get through and it was obvious that Cas was enjoying it. Dean loved Cas' expressions as the story went on. He realized that it would have to be the new Christmas Eve tradition.
"I haven't heard that one in years," Sam said with a laugh.
"Saw the movie when I was in the hospital one time. The live action one. Not as good as the cartoon though."
"There's movies on this?" Castiel asked quietly.
Yeah, Cas. A cartoon with characters that look like in the book. The story stays strictly with the book. The live action story is different but still good. Just not as good."
"When power returns, do you think we could see it?"
"Yeah, I'll see about getting the live action one. I bought the cartoon version when we were out."
"Thank you."
Dean grinned. "You're welcome, Cas." He finished the eggnog, got up to take the glass into the kitchen. He was halfway to the kitchen when the dizziness hit. A hand reached out for something to grab hold of and found nothing. Sam caught him as he went down.
"It's about time," Bobby said.
Sam laughed. "Come on, let's get the pallets set up."
Cas and Bobby worked together while Sam laid Dean on the couch. The three of them fixed the pallets. Sam unclasped the belt buckle, unfastened Dean's jeans, and pulled them off him. Cas had his pajama bottoms. The two of them got them on him. Sam lifted him up and Cas took off his button down shirt. They worked together to get him onto the pallet next to Bobby. This time it was so Bobby would watch over him.
The family finally settled to rest, watching over and taking care of the older brother for a change.
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