Chapter Text
It was Christmas Eve.
It had been over a year since Cas fell from grace, and Dean fell for Cas. FINALLY. Seriously, it was about. Freaking. Time. Sam thought to himself with an inward chuckle, remembering back to that day he came back to the bunker after a hunt only to bear witness to his very naked brother folded up into a very naked angel’s arms (and wings). Ugh, I was rooting for them, but damn I did not want that image burned into my brain. Dealing with the aftermath of Dean thinking he had lost Cas for good had Sam worried his brother would never recover from that blow. But then Cas fell and… well… they had already been going at it for a while now but damn, at least the eye sex was quiet! Sam scrunched up his nose, shook his head and turned back to pouring some drinks. He felt a hand on his back and looked over his shoulder to see Dean standing next to him with a huge grin on his face, wearing a red and green striped elf hat and a ridiculous sweater that said “Let’s Get Elfed Up!” The cliché ugly sweater Christmas party had been Dean’s idea. He had insisted on going all out for this. “Well, Sammy, cheers to our very first real Christmas!” he said, holding up his glass. Sam smiled back, picked up a glass for himself and clinked it against Dean’s. “I’ll drink to that!” Sam turned around, leaning against the edge of the table, taking a long sip of fresh (and freshly spiked) eggnog, and surveyed the scene before them.
The bunker library, living room and war room were fully decorated in Christmas lights and garlands draped everywhere. The library tables were moved to one corner to accommodate all the food and drinks. A real Christmas tree stood twinkling in another corner, completely surrounded by gifts all wrapped up in shiny paper and topped with ribbons. The smells of pine trees, cinnamon, and cookies wafted throughout the bunker. A fire was crackling lazily in the war room and upbeat Christmas music was drifting through the halls. Mingling in the library were the ones that Sam and Dean now considered family, all wearing goofy festive garb. Sam’s eyes roamed over each one, feeling his heart fill with love and pride at having them all here together when they weren’t surrounded by evil or the threat of doom and death for once. Mrs. Tran was chatting away with Jody, Claire and Donna. Elaine, Mary and Jack were sipping drinks and adding ornaments to the tree. Garth and his werewolf wife were laughing with two hunter friends of theirs who, once upon a time, would have shot first, asked questions later. Chuck, Amara and Adam were here along with a few of their children; Meg, for all her pretend loathing, was trying (and failing) to flirt with Gabriel, who was wearing a highly amused expression. A now-human Crowley stood scowling in one corner with a glass of whiskey, clearly uncomfortable but Sam couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him in a flashing red suit jacket and springing mistletoe hat that Dean had forced him to wear. It was truly their first Christmas… and definitely a Christmas to remember.
“We haven’t had a Christmas since before you were born.” He heard Dean say. Sam glanced over at Dean who had a far away look in his eyes. “Mom was only 4 months pregnant with you. Dad brought home a big tree and I got to help decorate it that year.” Dean broke into a chuckle before adding “I have to admit, I was not happy at the prospect of it being my last Christmas where I had everything all to myself!" Sam laughed at that. Dean's smile slowly faded from his face. "But then mom died and your first Christmas was spent in a dingy motel with dad passed out drunk. I'm sorry we've never had a real Christmas, you and me." Sam looked over and met his big brothers eyes. "You did the best you could in an impossible situation." Dean simply shrugged and took another sip of egg nog. "Yeah but you deserved better Sammy." "We both did but hey, we dealt with what was handed to us, and look..." Sam gestured around the room to all the happy, smiling faces. "Look where we are now!" A smile began creeping back into Dean's face. "And hey, Dean?" "Yeah, Sammy?" "I don't think I've ever thanked you. You know, for basically raising me. That couldn't have been easy on you." "Yeah, you were a real pain in the ass Sam, you know that?" Dean said, smirking up at Sam. Sam couldn't help but scoff at that. "Whatever, I thought we were having a nice moment. Jerk." "Bitch," Dean automatically retorted with a smile and playful punch to Sam's shoulder.
Laughing, Sam's gaze wandered back out into the room where he made eye contact with Chuck. After a secretive nod, Chuck excused himself from a conversation with Mrs. Tran and exited through the opposite door of the library into the war room. Sam turned to Dean and put his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “Are you ready?” he asked. Dean took one more large gulp of eggnog, set his glass down, took a deep breath and looked back at Sam. “Ready as I’ll ever be!” Together, the two brothers walked out to the end of the library. The conversation around them quieted as their guests watched and waited. Suddenly, one by one, white human figures began to materialize within the room.
Sam knew what was going to happen – he had personally discovered the spell deep in the archives and arranged it with Chuck – but he still felt himself holding his breath at the sight of all his and Dean’s lost loved ones making their way down from Heaven. First there was Bobby, still as gruff as ever, but wearing a rare smile under his familiar trucker hat. Then Ellen, Jo and Ash faded into view, both looking happy and peaceful, followed by Kevin who reunited with his mom. Benny emerged from a corner, giving Dean an affectionate nod. Both their grandfathers, Henry and Samuel appeared, both exactly as Sam remembered them. Charlie silently gave her boys her signature “what’s up, bitches?” Sam felt his heart skip a beat as one of the figures solidified into Jessica. She gave him a soft, understanding smile. Finally, he heard Dean draw in a sharp breath. Sam looked up from Jess to see the final figure make his way into the room. John Winchester took his place next to Mary where the two were beaming at their sons, full of a parental pride that Sam had never had the chance to see.
Tears began to well up in his eyes. The brothers glanced at each other with a breathless chuckle and smile. Somewhere, soft, slow Christmas music began to play and everyone in the room parted down the middle. On the opposite side of the library in the doorway to the war room, stood Chuck with Castiel on his arm. Cas was wearing a smile so huge he was practically glowing, despite the Santa hat and an equally ridiculous sweater featuring a gingerbread man and read “Let’s Get Baked!” It took a full hour to explain the pun to him. The love glowing on Dean’s face at the sight of them nearly had Sam welling up in tears again. He cleared his throat and tried to inconspicuously brush away the tears by turning to grab some papers from a nearby table. Chuck and Castiel began making their way across the library.