A Supernatural Christmas Carol Chapter 19

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 Night


Dean had enjoyed watching the little girls with the angel. Cas had done so well. It just drew them all closer. His thoughts turned towards the big meal for the day and how he was going to get past his family to be able to see it through.

"I am going to get dressed and put a ham on."

"I'd say the surprise for the girls was a success," Bobby answered.

Castiel looked at his brother. "Do you need help?"

"Thanks, Cas, yeah."

He rose from his seat, waiting for Dean to dress so they could work on getting the ham started.

Dean came back and headed to the kitchen, grateful that Bobby wasn't after him again about doing. Dean had to do. He took a large ham out of the fridge. It was still cold and he was glad. He turned the oven on. Mixing, mustard, honey, and horseradish, he made a glaze. He coated the ham and tried to lift the heavy roaster. Cursing under his breath, he realized he was still too weak to lift it. Drunkenness, whether intended or not, can make a mess out of a man, he realized. "Cas, I could use some help here. I can't seem to lift it."

Castiel, who had been watching him put the ingredients together, lifted the roaster easily. "Odd mix of ingredients, Dean. It smells different."

"It's good. You won't taste the horseradish. The mustard and honey will glaze it really well and form a nice crust. The horseradish just adds a little bite to it."

The angel put the ham into the oven, closing the door. "Should we work on anything else or have to wait for the ham for a while?"

“Wait awhile. We will probably just eat a light lunch. “

"That sounds good."

"Yeah, it is good. Haven't had it in a long time. Seemed the right time."

He nodded. "I am interested in trying it then."

"I think you'll like it."

They went into the living room and noticed that everything had been put up or arranged somewhere. Dean sat in his chair. "Thanks, Bobby."

"Thank Sam, he did all the heavy work."

"No, thank you for not yelling at me for cooking, or taking the trash out."

He laughed. "Dean, I knew you needed a few moments after getting the pendant, and Cas was with you. As for the meal, Cas has no idea how to do that and it's your first Christmas dinner to cook. Just promise to let Cas and Sam help, ok?"

"I will, Bobby. I promise."

"Good, now what do you say we break out a game or something to keep us entertained?"

"Sounds good. What other games did you guys get? Unless Sam would rather play with his computer. He's got to be wanting to."

"I do but family is more important. Let's see...we have scrabble and a few other board games. I also found a card game online called progressive rummy that sounded like fun."

"I like card games, so sure. What do we need?"

"Pad and pen. I'll grab the cards. We'll need to shuffle a few decks together. Cas, can you get Bobby comfortable near the coffee table?"

Dean wondered what game required several decks of cards. Might just be fun. He grabbed a pad and pen.

Once they were together and seated, Sam went over the rules and handed out the rules and card points for them.

Dean looked at it. "Rummy can be fun?"

"I think so."

"Okay." Dean grabbed some of the cards and started shuffling.

Castiel read over the rules one more time as Sam set up the paper for score keeping.

Dean took a little time. The cards were new. He soon had three decks shuffled well.

"All right, deal and let's play."

Soon everyone was having a fun time with the cards. Dean discovered that this form of rummy required skill. He liked it.

The others were enjoying too, occasionally nagging each other when a card was bought that someone else needed.

When round 13 came round, the game was tied between Dean and Cas. both had incredibly low hands.

Bobby was shaking his head. "How is this one possible?!"

Dean grinned. "What a poker player and angel winning at rummy? It ain't over yet."

"I am sure it will be soon, Dean," replied Castiel.

Dean laughed. "Like this?" He laid his cards down. "Gotcha, Cas!"

Bobby threw his cap at his son, shaking his head while Castiel looked at Dean. "Again."

"You want a rematch?"

"I think so, Dean. Someone shuffle and deal." Sam was laughing as he added it up. "Dean wins but there's a five point difference between him and Cas."

"That close?"

Sam nodded. "Yup."

"Man I thought we were tied at the end of 12. So Cas was ahead?"

"Like maybe a few points."

"Have to be more then a few, Sammy. No one goes down. He had to have a halfway large number."

He handed the pad to Dean to take a look. The two had been really close for most of the game. Bobby was shuffling while they discussed it.

"Cas was in the lead?"

"Yup. You got him good."

"No wonder he wants a rematch." Dean was laughing. "Okay, Cas, you're gonna get your rematch."

Bobby dealt the cards, laughing to himself. He liked this game, as frustrating as it was.

Dean was helping to shuffle the cards. " I think that, if we play this much, we need one of those automatic shufflers. This is a hell of a lot of cards."

Sam nodded. "Definitely."

The game was about halfway through when Dean lifted his head, sniffed, and got up. "I need to get the rest of the meal going. Coming, Cas? Back in a little bit, guys."

The angel rose, following Dean into the kitchen. "What are we going to prepare?"

"Well, two types of potatoes for one thing. I want to try something different for a vegetable. I thought about making butternut squash. You cut it in half, clean it out, and put butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon on it. You bake it on the other rack in the oven. I'm going to clean the Idaho potatoes, cut them up, put them in a pot and boil them. Don't peel them. Put sweet potatoes in another pot, whole. Boil them. that's it for now. I figure we have time to do a relish tray also. There's olives, cheese, raw veggies, and I can put some eggs on and devil them. Not sure it's all needed."

"If there is extra, we can snack on that." He found the potatoes and began scrubbing them. "You can start the squash as I do not know how much of each spice to put on them."

Dean walked into the living room for a moment. "Guys, I was wondering? We are gonna have a lot of food. Ben had plans with Marie and the girls. Think we could invite Jacob, Seamus, and Trudy to dinner?"

Sam rose. "I have no problem with it, honestly. I can go with Bobby and invite them."

"That'd be great. Jacob's gonna be staying with Bobby and be seeing us. I kind of think of Trudy and Seamus like grandparents. Don't know that I could ever say that to them, but I sure do like them."

Bobby laughed. "They're very sweet. Come on, Sam, let's invite them. What time should I tell them to come, Dean?"

“Give us about an hour. I'll be pulling the ham out in a little while to sit. The squash is going in and the potatoes are on. We're making a relish tray."

"All right." The two disappeared to send the invitations.

Dean got out a bottle of wine, some orange juice, lemon juice, and spices. He started heating the wine slowly with the juices and the spices in it. He put eggs on to boil. The squashes were cut in half, seasoned, and put in the oven.

Castiel had gotten the potatoes done, and on the stove, both the regular and sweet kind, before heading to slice cheeses for the tray.

Dean washed baby carrots, broccoli, and celery. He cut the florets off the broccoli. Getting a sharp cheddar, he began to grate it. He opened a jar of chopped pimiento and got the mayonnaise out. The three ingredients were mixed and stuffed into the celery. Taking out a sweet dill relish, he left it on the counter with the mayo. The eggs had come to a boil. He turned them off and put a lid on them, "Muttering something about hating green eggs." He pulled up a stool and sat down on it. "Grab you one, Cas. We got a few minutes."

Bobby came back in alone, called out, and Dean joined him, leaving Cas in the kitchen. "Trudy, Jacob, and Seamus agreed. Trudy is bringing desserts, something from Ireland, and Jacob said he'd bring some rolls and drinks."

Dean sighed a grateful sigh. "I just realized hadn't made a damn thing for dessert. That's a relief. I was trying to figure out when I'd find the time to slip rolls in the oven. There's not any room right now. Thanks, Bobby. Where's Sam?"

"Working on a chore for Trudy actually." He chuckled. "She just asked please and he melted like chocolate on a stove."

"She does have that way about her,” Dean chuckled. "Can't blame him. I can't say no to her."

"She's a sweetheart that one. Reminds me of my mother."

Dean smiled. "Sometime, I'd like to hear about her."

"I'll show you pictures next time you're at the house, I promise. She was a stubborn woman but strong."

"She helped shape who you are, Bobby. That's special."

He gave him a small smile. "Thanks Dean."

“Well, Need to check the food." Dean headed back into the kitchen. "Sam is doing something for Trudy. Bobby's back. They're all coming. Jacob's bringing rolls and drinks. Trudy is bringing dessert. Irish of some kind. I like that." Dean checked the white potatoes. They were done. He drained the potatoes, got out salt, pepper, butter ,milk, sour cream, shredded cheddar, and potato toppers. He mashed the potatoes and then added milk, butter, and seasonings. Using a fork, he whipped until the potatoes were smooth. He added the sour cream, cheese, and the toppers.

"What can I do?"

"You can drain the sweet potatoes, carefully cut off the ends and, peel them. Add butter, cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Whip them like I did the white potatoes."

Dean ran cold water over the eggs. He gently crushed each one and shelled it under the water. He cleaned the sink, then halved eggs lengthwise. He took out the yolk and mixed it with sweet dill relish and mayo. Refilling the eggs, he sprinkled paprika on them. He opened the oven and took the squash out and sliced it. He place it in a large bowl. The ham was ready. Dean leaned in to lift and carefully put it on a hot pad on the counter. It never crossed his mind that he could lift it again. He got a large fork and a sharp knife and carefully sliced the ham and placed it on a platter. "People should be here pretty soon. Hey, Bobby, I think we'll move the dining table into the living room and set the food on it. We got paper plates, if you don't mind. Save on dishes."

"Like I'm going to care, less dishes means less of a headache later."

Castiel started to work on the sweet potatoes. Sam came back in a short time later, humming.

"Hey, Sam, would you help move the dining table? The thing isn't that heavy, just massive."

"No problem." He started to work, pushing the couch out of the way to make sure there was enough room.

Dean left the kitchen and met Sam in the dining room. "It's gonna take two to get it around the corner. Cas, is doing the sweet potatoes. I thought it'd be easier to have it in the living room and put the food on it. We're using paper plates today. Less dishes. Are ya'll gonna get mad at me for doing this?"

"Works for me, keeps most of us from being busy." Sam stared at his brother and the table, shaking his head. He worked with Dean to get the table and chairs in, then afterwards set a few of the oil lamps on the table. Bobby rolled up and stared at the brothers.

"Dean, what the hell are you doing?"

"Too late, Bobby, it's already done. I like what Sam has done to the table." Dean looked at Sam for help.

"Well, it's not real Christmassy but it's warm and the food should be good."

"The important thing is friends and family, right?" He looked at his brother.

"Oh yeah." Dean smiled a huge grin and headed to the kitchen to bring out the food. He stuck his head out. "They should be here any minute, right?"

+
"I think so. She was getting it together when I left and damn, did it smell good."

"Really? What is she bringing?

"An Irish Chocolate Cake."

"That sounds good. I like chocolate."

He laughed. "A little bird informed her of that."

"Really? That shouldn't have mattered. Should have been something she thought everyone would like. But it's nice."

"It's chocolate, Dean. Practically everyone loves it."

"Yeah? You want gingerbread. Cas wants anything sweet. Bobby prefers pie. Well, so do I but when it's chocolate, well. Anyway, it sounds good." Dean laughed and Sam knew then he was teasing.

"There's gingerbread here too," he grinned.

"Yeah, and that was what I was gonna serve. Forgot about dessert."

"You can still serve it. I can eat both." He goosed his brother as they set up the chairs.

Dean laughed. "Your wish is my command."

Sam grinned and then set the table so Dean wouldn't have to.

Dean set gingerbread and whipped cream on the counter. He took a taste of the sweet potatoes. Cas had done a great job. "Let's all go sit down and wait for our guests. Everything’s ready."

There was a knock on the door just after Dean had said that.

Heading to the door, Dean opened it, saying, "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," the trio chimed to him.

"Come on in. Dinner's ready." He reached for the plate Trudy was carrying. "Here, let me take that for you. Sam, will you get everyone's coats and hang them. Cas, you want to help Jacob. Trudy, Seamus, why don't you go join Bobby?"

Cas and Sam had moved to do just that, listening as the chatter filled the room as Bobby greeted their guests.

Dean placed the cake with the gingerbread. He started grabbing food and putting it on the table.

Once Castiel had finished, he worked to help Dean put the food on the table.

The food was all on the table, when Dean brought out the paper plates. "It's ready, everyone."

Sam helped Trudy into her seat while Castiel assisted Seamus. The woman smiled at Dean. "This looks delicious."

"Thank you. Cas helped. He's quite a cook."

"A recently discovered talent," the angel replied as he took a seat.

Bobby took the head of the table, with Trudy at his side. Everyone was soon seated.

Jacob watched, obviously new to the whole family style meal.

Dean put a little of everything on his plate, passing everything to Jacob on his right. "Try some of everything,... little at first. Go back for seconds on what you really like. Works great that way."

He nodded, doing just that. Castiel, having overheard the instructions, did the same.

Soon everyone was eating and chatting like old friends. "Trudy, I never did ask. Where do you guys live?"

"South Dakota, actually."

Bobby and the boys grew quiet. "South Dakota?" Dean looked surprised. "What are you doing down here?"

Seamus chuckled. "My Trudy got an itch to see the ocean and while I was looking up places to go, we found out about the Dickens on the Strand. The rest, as they say, is history."

Bobby smiled. "Kind of the same story for us. I was trying to teach the oldest idjit over there a little culture. I'm from South Dakota. The boys are also when they aren't working."

Dean stared at Bobby. "Idjit? I knew who Dickens was." He was grinning.

"I think he meant Cas," Sam said with a grin. Trudy gave a soft laugh at that.

"Now that would be a nice change. He's always saying that to me...or you are, Sammy." Dean grinned.

Cas paused as he was about to take a drink. "I am not an idiot; I too am aware of Charles Dickens. It's just not something I have had time to read."

"I have Dickens at the house, Cas. I'll see to it you get the chance once things calm down."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Son."

Trudy smiled before taking another bite of her meal, watching the family interact.

It was discovered a short time later that the elderly couple lived in a town not fifteen minutes away from Bobby's.

Dean grinned. "Once things settle down, where Sam, Cas, and I are at home, we'd love to visit with you a lot, but I know Bobby would now."

"And we'd love to have you and let you meet the rest of the family. Children and grandchildren. We're a large group," she said with a laugh.

"We're not yet. He looked at Sam. Hope to be."

Seamus grinned. "I have a granddaughter that's single," he laughed as his wife nudged him.

Dean looked up from his ham. "The mechanic?"

"That's my daughter whose the mechanic, she's got three boys and all are rambunctious little lads.

No, Eileen is an artist and a very talented one at that."

"What kind of art does she do?"

"Eileen is a painter but she also does pottery."

"I'd like to see what she does sometime."

"She's got talent," Trudy said with a proud smile.

"What kind of stuff does she paint?"

"Anything that strikes her fancy, really. Landscapes, portraits..."

"Wow! Then she paints real things? I'd really like to see it."

Seamus chuckled. "If we had access to a computer and internet, Trudy could show you. Eileen has a website."

Dean grinned. "If the internet is running, we have laptops."

"That sounds good then."

"Yeah, it does."

Bobby, Sam and Cas were watching Dean curiously. What was he doing? An artist?

Jacob gave a soft laugh at the expressions on their faces.

Dean looked at them quizzically. "What?"

Bobby coughed. "You've never struck us as the artsy type."

"Careers aren't the whole thing, guys. Besides, I bet she's not the mechanic type either. But, I do woodworking and that is kind of artsy." Dean smirked.

"It'd take a special kind of man for our Eileen to be honest," Trudy said. "Plus she's got three brothers and a whole crew of cousins to go through."

Dean laughed. "I haven't even met her. If she was the right one, I'd go through them. Way things usually end up for me, we might be friends."

She gave him a soft smile. "You never know, right? She could use a good friend. Eileen tends to stay at home a lot, either with Seamus and me or her parents. She's deaf, so she doesn't feel very
comfortable with others."

"She read lips, or do I need to learn sign language or something?"

Seamus laughed. "She reads lips and can make herself understood quite well in several languages."

Dean grinned. "Right now, our job takes us on the road a lot, but we're hoping it will end soon and I will be helping run the yard."

"A good trade there, solid one that never runs out of work," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm good with my hands. One thing I can do right." Dean laughed softly.

Trudy scolded him. "I'm sure you can do a lot right."

"Well, some things I'd rather not have to do, right or wrong. I can cook, I can fix any vehicle, and I can work wood. I've not been very good with relationships."

Seamus looked at him. "No one is good at relationships, Dean. That's the great mystery to it. No one is good at them. You have to work at them every moment of every day."

"That's why I'm not good at them, Seamus. Right now, in my life, I don't have the time to work at one. I'm on the road all the time. I want one and I hope to have one some day. Just not now."

He smiled. "Then wait until you're ready and have the time to try. Until then, just focus on your goals and get to that point."

"Thanks, Seamus. That's what I plan to do. This Christmas was to get our family back on the right track. I think we did it. Added to it too."

"Honorary grandsons," she chimed in with a warm smile.

"That would be great! We don't have grandparents. Never knew ours. Sam, Cas, this is awesome!"

Sam grinned. "I think so too."

Seamus laughed softly. "Our house is lively during the holidays. All of our children married good Irish girls and boys, and all of them gave us a handful of grandchildren each. All of you would be more than welcome, that's for sure."

"Thanks, but not without Bobby. And Jacob. He's new to the family."

"As if we would leave out any of our family."

Dean grinned.

"In fact," the older man commented, "which of your brothers aren't trained in carpentry?"

"Ummmm....I am not sure about Jacob and Cas. Sam isn't."

Jacob and Castiel both shook their heads, and Seamus grinned. "It's a tradition that each grandchild comes to spend time with us and I usually train them in the woodshop to learn how to handle some of the tools. It never hurts for a man to be able to make some repairs around his home."

Dean grinned. He took a bite of sweet potatoes.

The meal passed with warm chatter, allowing the new family to learn about each other even more.

When the meal was over, Dean grabbed Sam, Jacob, and Cas. "C'mon. Let's clean this up fast so we can get back in here."

Jacob picked up the dishes and headed towards the kitchen, followed by Sam and Castiel. Trudy got up as well, wanting to help.

"Nope, it's kids' job."

She laughed. "All right, all right. At least I tried to offer."

Dean laughed as he carried food into the kitchen, looking for containers to put it in.

Sam was dividing up the leftovers so everyone could have some for later tonight or tomorrow.

"Thanks, Sam, for doing that." Dean turned on the water and got ready to wash pots and baking dishes.

Jacob had nudged Dean out of the way so he could wash, tossing the other a dishtowel.

Dean's brows went up. He grabbed the towel, grinned, and started drying.

Between the four of them, kitchen duty went by quickly. Castiel had started the kettle for tea, leaving Sam to figure out how to use the old style percolator for coffee.

Dean was feeling a little tired. It had been a busy day. But, it had been such a wonderful one. He decided he loved Christmas.

Bobby noticed it and decided he'd have Sam and Cas serve up dessert later. Once their guests were gone, they'd do their stockings and relax with a glass of wine or something.

Dean sat in his chair, leaned his head back and listened to the conversations around him, taking it all in.

The conversation passed idly, covering Christmas traditions back in Ireland to all sorts of things.

After a while, Bobby sent the two in to serve dessert and coffee.

Dean was almost dozing when Sam placed a cup of coffee under his nose. His nosed wiggled a little and his eyes opened. "Thanks, Sammy. Is that Trudy's cake? It looks awesome." Dean took his coffee and the slice of cake offered him.

"It is. Smells even better than it looks."

"I bet it tastes even better then it smells."

Sam handed out the small plates and beverages before sitting down to take a bite.

Dean had taken a bite and not chewed at all. His eyes were closed and his face had an expression of awe. Finally, he started to slowly chew. After swallowing, one word left his mouth. "Damn!"

Trudy blushed and laughed at the reactions she was getting from the group. She was happy they enjoyed her baking so much.

Dean ate the cake slowly, savoring every chew.

Bobby set his empty plate aside and sighed. "I'm going to have to get the recipe."

"I'll second that."

She smiled. "I'll write it down for you later."

Thank you. That would be great."

"You're most welcome."

Dean joined into the conversation. He went into the kitchen and looked at the mulled wine he'd made. He slowly heated it and put some into two thermoses to be taken home with the food. He went back into the living room and sat back down.

After a bit, Trudy gave a quiet yawn. "I think, boys, I'm going to rest. Thank you so much for having us."

Dean went and got the thermos and the food and brought it out in a large bag. He looked at Trudy and Seamus. "I'll walk you to your rooms. I want to check your fire and bring this stuff for you."

The elderly couple rose, Jacob as well, and donned their coats. "I'd better get back as well. Thank you for the invitation and the wonderful meal."

Dean headed back into the kitchen and brought out a bag for Jacob. "I want to thank all of you for coming. It made the day."

Sam, Castiel, and Bobby agreed.

Dean followed everyone out.

Sam and the angel got the living room back together and dishes done from the dessert.

Thirty minutes later. Dean returned. "Thanks for cleaning up, guys." He lay back in his chair. Sam came into the room and turned on the cd player and put the Pachabel Canon in D that Cas had bought Dean into it. The music started playing and soon Dean had relaxed and a soft smile was on his face.

"You three ready for stockings?"

A chorus of yeses followed the question . Dean yawned, "There's mulled wine in the kitchen."

Sam poured that for everyone while Castiel retrieved the full stockings.

Dean grinned. "Thanks, Cas."

"You are most welcome."

Sam returned with a tray of mugs. Everyone was soon drinking the wine. "Who's first?"

"I say Bobby," Castiel answered.

"Sounds good. to me."

Bobby began opening his stocking. There were two movies from Dean on top. The War Wagon and Ben Hur. “I haven't seen these in years!"

Dean grinned. Cas and Sam's gifts were next. At the bottom was a large, apple, an orange, some nuts, and a large candy cane. Dean, remembering his childhood, bought them. There was incense and other things from Castiel, which bobby definitely appreciated. Sam got him a couple of Tom Clancy paperbacks.

Bobby thanked them all with a warm smile.

"Okay, Cas, you’re next."

Castiel nodded and began opening his stocking.

At the top was a can of pick up stiks from Dean.

"What is this?"

“Well, it's a game. You hold the sticks in your hand and let them go. You have to get them out of the pile without moving another stick."

"Interesting."

"It's fun, Cas. Ah, go ahead and open the rest." Dean smiled.

He nodded and did just that.

Dean's other gift was on top. An MP3 player

"I could use this for music, correct?"

"Yeah, you can download off the internet onto the computer and put it on the player. Anything you like to listen to."

"I do not have a computer though."

"No, but I do. We'll go looking for music for you and fix you up."

"Sammy has a new laptop. I bet he'd let you have his old one to keep this charged and stuff. Doncha thing, Sammy?

"I'll get it set up for him and teach him how to use both before he goes on his quest again," answered the youngest Winchester.

"Thanks, Sammy."

"Not a problem," he smiled as Cas went on to continue opening his gifts.

Cas found the fruit, nuts, and candy cane.

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, Cas."

Sam and Bobby said welcome as well, Bobby having given Cass a few pocket books.

Dean looked at Sam...."You or me dude?"

"Go ahead," Sam grinned, "but first, change places with Cas. Want you here when you open yours."

Dean frowned, feeling comfortable, but saw the look on Sam's face. He got up and joined his brother.

Dean opened his stocking. Castiel had gotten Dean a better pocket knife to carry.

"Wow, Cas, this is nice. Thank you."

"You are welcome, Dean." The next one was from Sam, which was an Ipod, charger, and adapter for the Impala so Dean could have his music.

Dean's eyes widened. "For my new music?" Sam nodded. "Oh man, thanks, Sammy."

"You're welcome, Dean." Bobby's gifts included music and a gift card for another music store.

Dean hugged everyone. "Thank you."

"Your turn, Sam."

Sam dug into his stocking with gusto.

At the top was an envelope. $100.00 in Starbucks gift certificates were inside it.

"Oh sweet! Hot chocolate here I come!"

There was a GI Joe Doll. Sam looked almost misty eyed at it.

"I owed you that one, Sammy, after we gave the sex change operation to the Barbie doll.

Bobby nearly spat out his wine. "You what?!"

"I... er...um...cut its boobs off."

"Dean..that leaves holes on the chest."

"Yeah but those were military wounds. GI Joe could handle those.”

Sam grinned, setting the toy carefully to one side.

Dean looked at Bobby. "Well, it's true, Bobby. Joe would get by a lot better with chest wounds then he would trying to cross dress. Much better to cut the boobs off."

He shook his head, covering his eyes.

"Come on, Bobby. He was six and I was ten I did the best I could. It wasn't a GI Joe. I had to do something with it.”

Bobby laughed softly. "You did good, Dean, honestly. Not many brothers would do that."

"You ever try to cut the boobs off a Barbie? Those things are rock hard."

He snickered. "No I can't say I tried that."

"Well, you don't want to. I cut a little hair off and glued it to the chest to cover the holes. I shaved the head and gave it a burr. John wasn't happy when he got home and found all his razors gone."

Sam blinked. "Was that what he was all pissed about?"

"Yeah. There was probably other stuff but it stands out in my mind."

He shook his head, fingers stroking over the toy. "Thanks, Dean."

"You're welcome, Sammy. Enjoy it. It's never too late to be a kid."

He smiled at that. "Get yourself one?"

Dean grinned. "Soon's I can drive around here, I will."

Sam grinned. "Works for me!"

"Yeah, me too. Hand to hand against the bad guys." Dean laughed. "Be fun."

"I think so!"

"Me, too, Sammy! We'll do it."

Bobby smiled to himself, watching the brothers interact.

Dean laid his head back and closed his eyes for a few minutes. He was soon fast asleep.

Sam yawned as well, quickly dozing off and using his brother as a pillow.

Castiel looked at both of them and Bobby swore there was a smile on his face. He looked at Bobby.

"This Christmas was what they needed. Even the hauntings helped them in the end."

"I think so," Castiel answered. "They will have new energy and zest in regards to facing what comes. Something the opposition will never expect."

“I believe they will trust and support each other now. Better then they ever have, Cas. They'll make it."

He nodded. "I know."

“It's an early time to turn in. I am tired. You think we can get the pallets made without them? Check the fires, ours and Seamus and Trudy's"

The angel rose, setting up the pallets and their fire before heading out to check on Seamus and Trudy's fire before it grew too late.

Bobby quietly went over to the boys. "Sam, wake up."

"Mmm..don't wanna."

"Just want you to get your brother and the two of you go to bed. The fire's done, and the pallets are made. Cas is checking on Seamus and Trudy. Let's go to bed, Son."

"Kay," he nudged Dean.

"Not now, Sammy. Tired."

Sam shook his head, trying once again.

"Bed time..bed ready."

"Don't wanna get up, Sammy."

He nudged him again. "Bed time."

Dean opened his eyes. "I was asleep. I really don't want to move. Comfortable."

"This is where Bobby sleeps. C'mon..pallet's ready. Tired too."

"Pallet?" Dean looked down. "Okay." He rolled off the couch onto the pallet. He pushed the blanket down, laid down, and pulled it back over him. He was back to sleep in seconds.

Bobby laughed to himself as Sam was at his side and sound asleep just scant seconds later.

Castiel entered and saw the two brothers, side by side, sound asleep. Sam's head up against Dean's neck. He stared for a second. He made Bobby's bed and helped him get into it since the boys were blocking a good portion of the couch.

"Bobby, Thank you. This has been the most unusual Christmas I have ever seen. It has also been the most wonderful. The family brought back together. The brothers are healed, or very close to it. Christmas was spent like it should be spent. Family and friends. Merry Christmas, Bobby. Cas blew out the lanterns. He lay down and went to sleep."

Bobby smiled to himself in the darkness. Granted, it hadn't quite been what he'd thought it would be with the odd snow storm but he wouldn't change this holiday with his boys for anything. Yup, the Winchester-Singer family was ready to face the world again..and tear it a new asshole while they were at it.


The End