A Free Will Christmas
The dulcet tones of Nat King Cole wake Dean up from his nap on the couch. He rubs his eyes while slowly sitting up, and then stretches, his shoulders popping. The Christmas tree twinkles in the corner of the room. Why Sam demanded a Christmas tree is beyond him, but Dean will do anything to make Sam happy – especially after the whole trial debacle.
"Sammy! Turn that down! I'm going deaf in here!" Dean hollers in the general direction of the kitchen.
"Sorry, Scrooge!" he hears Sam shout back. Laughing, he smacks the side of Kevin's foot, waking him from his own nap in the lazy boy. Kevin starts awake, then looks up at him. Dean winks, then wiggles his eyebrows. Together they sneak out of the living room and head for the garage.
Sam and Cas are busy in the kitchen. Sam has decided that since it's Cas's first Christmas as a human, he should have the whole shebang. Last week had the boys out at a Christmas Tree farm, where they wandered the aisles for hours, Dean complaining about the cold and none-to-conspicuously drinking from a flask of whiskey. After Cas picked out his favorite tree, they brought it home and spent the rest of the night decorating it while listening to Christmas carols. Somehow Kevin had managed to download every Christmas carol known to man.
Now Sam is busy making a huge Christmas feast. He had asked Dean for help, since Dean is usually the one cooking for everyone. But Dean wouldn't give him a straight answer, saying he and Kevin had things to do.
Cas watches happily from the kitchen island where he is mashing potatoes in a large pot. Cas asked Sam if he could help, and this was the easiest thing Sam could think of. He didn't want to overwhelm him with cooking instructions. Sam bustled around the kitchen, pulling down the oven door to check on the turkey, and stirring the gravy on the stove.
Thirty minutes later, Cas feels his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Checking to make sure Sam was preoccupied with green beans before he clicks his cell phone awake and looks at the message.
Go time, Starsky. – H. flashed across the screen. Cas smiled, he actually got the reference Dean was making. After living in the bunker for so long, Dean was finally starting to catch Cas up on what Dean calls 'humanity, televised'. Cas looks over at the stove, where the gravy is slowly bubbling. With a slight hesitation of guilt at ruining Sam's gravy, Cas turns the boiler up all the way. Within seconds the gravy is boiling over the top of the pot and splashing all over the stove top. Cas is, of course, sitting back on his stool at the counter.
"Shit!" Sam shouts, diving for the stove and turning the boiler down. "What the hell?" he asks, looking over at Cas. The fake expression of shock on Cas's face slips his notice as he tries desperately to save his gravy.
"Damn it. It's ruined." Sam says, throwing the pot full of burnt gravy into the sink and turning on the faucet. Through all the commotion, he doesn't overhear the clamor in the hallway.
Three hours later, Team Free Will sits around the large table in the dining room. The table is laden with every Christmas dish imaginable. A large turkey sits in the center of the table, steaming and golden brown. Dean clears his throat, standing and raising his beer bottle.
"Sammy this smells amazing, and I'm sure it's gonna taste great too. Thanks for making an awesome Christmas dinner for us. Cas, you too, I'm sure you were helpful." Dean adds with a wink. "So here's to family. Merry Christmas you guys."
After dinner the guys lounge in the living room. Kevin flips on the TV to a rebroadcast of a Christmas parade on the local news. Dean leans over to the mini-fridge and pulls out another two beers, tossing one to Kevin. Sam slowly sips his own beer, picking absently at the label between swigs. Cas stirs his mug of hot chocolate, which he has discovered is his new favorite drink. All four men are feeling lazy and slow after eating the huge meal Sam, and Cas, prepared.
"What'd ya say to some football?" Dean asks the room, after the last of the parade has meandered by and the broadcast switches to a pair of newscasters in a studio.
"No way, I want to watch a Christmas movie!" Sam replies.
"Oh, me too!" Cas agrees.
"I don't care what you guys watch, I'm headed to bed." Kevin says, burping as he rises from the couch and sets his empty beer bottle on the table. He saunters slowly from the room, looking over his shoulder as he heads for the basement stairs.
"Alright fine. But no musicals!" Dean agrees, tossing back the last of his beer.
The next morning Dean wakes everyone up with Jingle Bell Rock blaring from the stereo and the smell of frying bacon, cinnamon rolls, and coffee. As the guys stumble down the stairs and into the kitchen, there's a boyish sense of joy in the air. Their first real Christmas in the bunker. Their first Christmas in a long time. They all stand around the kitchen island, not bothering to use plates as they scarfed down their breakfast and steaming cups of coffee.
"Alright let's do presents," Sam says, pouring himself another cup of coffee and refilling Dean's cup as well.
They shuffle into the living room, where there is a pile of badly wrapped Christmas presents under the tree. Sam had gone to the dollar store in town earlier that week and picked out the most gaudy wrapping paper he could find, bringing home more than enough paper for everyone.
As everyone settles on the couch, or in Dean's case, the recliner, Sam goes over to the tree and picks up a medium sized box, wrapped perfectly in shiny red paper with white snowflakes. Reading the card, he tosses the box gently to land in Dean's lap.
"From Cas." Dean picks up the box and shakes it, but it doesn't make a noise.
"Cas, where did you learn to wrap so good?" Dean asks, sliding his finger under one of the flaps on the end of the package.
"I found a tutorial on the internet." Cas replies with a smile.
Dean rips into the paper, wadding it up in a ball and tossing it at Cas. Cas dodges the ball of paper and laughs.
"Your reflexes are getting better, Dude," Dean says, lifting the lid off the box in his lap. "Oh my God, Cas. What the hell is this?"
"It's a sweater. For warmth. And Christmas cheer of course." Cas says, smiling as Dean lifts a green sweatshirt from the box. Holding it up, he looks at Cas with a raised eyebrow.
"Really?" The sweater has a large Christmas tree on the front, complete with miniature ornaments and lights, and a big yellow star on top. "Well thanks, Cas. I don't know what to say…" Dean says, standing to pull the sweater on over his t-shirt.
"Wait, there's more," Cas says. "Press the star."
Dean does and the sweater lights up. The bulbs on the tree flicker different colors, and the star glows a bright yellow. Jingle Bells begins to play from a little speaker in the star.
"Wow. Umm, this is awesome. Thanks again. Really." Dean says, smiling at Cas and walking over to give him a hug. Over Cas's shoulder he can see Sam and Kevin, both red in the face, barely managing to stifle their laughter. Dean gives them the finger behind Cas's back, and laughs.
"Alright, my turn." Dean says, going to the tree and picking up a large box wrapped in green and red stripes. "Here Kev, this is from me and Sam," he says, putting the box on the floor in front of Kevin's feet.
Kevin tears the paper away, revealing a brand new PlayStation 4.
"Oh man, guys, this is amazing! Thanks so much!" Kevin says, turning the box around to read the stats on the back of it.
"No problem man, Game On," Sam says, grinning from ear to ear and thinking to himself that he couldn't wait for Kevin to get it set up so they could play with it.
Cas goes to the Christmas tree and picks up a small green box, which he hands to Sam.
"That's from Kevin and myself," he tells Sam.
"Thanks guys," Sam says, lifting the lid from the box. "Oh this is great!"
"You put that on your shoe when you're running." Kevin explains. "It will track how far you go, your route, how many steps you took. Pretty much everything. And it sends it all to your computer or phone so you can trend your workouts."
"Man, this is perfect. Thanks so much," Sam gushes. "I can't wait to use this."
"Here Cas, this one's for you," Dean says, handing Cas a red gift bag. Cas opens it up and pulls out a big, fluffy, black robe. "You're always saying how cold it is around here," Dean adds.
"Thank you Dean. This will be very warm and comfortable." Cas replies, running his hands across the soft fabric.
Kevin stands and hands Cas a flat package wrapped in silver paper. Inside is a thick book about gardening and different types of flowers.
"I know you like flowers and bees. Maybe you can grow a garden outside the bunker?" Kevin asks, then laughs at the expression on Dean's face.
"I would like that. Thank you Kevin." Cas replies, then goes to the tree to pick up a box wrapped in red plaid, which he hands to Kevin.
Kevin unwraps the paper to reveal a radio for his room. "Thanks Cas, this is great!"
Sam stands and bends to pick up a green gift bag, which he sets in Cas's lap. Cas opens the bag and pulls out another smaller leather bag, with a 'C' stamped into the leather.
"It's for your shaving stuff, and your toothbrush and stuff." Sam explains. Cas smiles at him, "Thank you, Sam."
"You're welcome, Cas. Here Dean, this is for you," Sam adds, passing Dean a small black leather box with a red bow on top. Dean swings the lid up and stares at the gorgeous watch inside. It's a titanium black military ops watch, waterproof, with blacked-out carbon fiber face and numbers. Dean lets out a low whistle between his teeth and pulls off his old black watch.
"Sammy, this is bad ass." He says, lifting the watch from the box and putting it on. He holds his wrist out and admires the watch. "Damn, Dude. This is awesome. I love it."
Sam grins at his brother, feeling really happy at the look of joy on Dean's face.
"Here Dean, this one's for you too." Kevin says, interrupting Dean's admiration of the watch. He plucks the last box from under the tree and hands it to Dean. Unwrapping the box, Dean reveals a set of stainless steel whiskey stones with a pair of steel glasses to match.
"Thanks Dude. These are awesome!" Dean says, grinning at Kevin. "I've got a new bottle to open tonight, too."
"You're welcome. You can thank me with a glass of whiskey later." Kevin adds with a laugh.
Setting the gift aside, Dean stands and stretches.
"Alright, Sammy. Last but not least. Your gift isn't under the tree. Come on." Kevin and Cas jump up from the couch, practically bouncing with excitement. Sam stands a little more slowly, confusing spreading across his face. He follows the guys out of the living room and down the basement stairs.
"It's In here," Dean says, stopping in front of an unmarked brown door.
"It's in the storage room?" Sam asks, tilting his head to the side as he looks at Dean.
"Yeah, dude, just shut it and go in." Dean replies, giving Sam a light push on the back as he swings the door open.
A large puppy jumps up from the bed its laying on and starts to run towards Sam. His paws slip on the tile floor and he plops to the floor, legs splaying in all directions. Sam laughs, moving into the room and holding his hand out to the puppy. It stands again, more slowly, and then runs to Sam, ears flopping and tongue hanging out.
"Dean! What?!" Sam exclaims, surprise coloring his face, and a smile spreading from ear to ear. He drops to the floor and folds his legs underneath him. Sam glances over his shoulder to see Dean leaning against the door jam, arms crossed, with a shit-eating grin on his face. Standing next to him are Cas and Kevin, both smiling as they watch the interaction.
The puppy crawls into Sam's lap and starts vigorously licking Sam's chin. Sam laughs and pushes the dog's mouth away from his. He scratches behind the puppy's ears and rubs his chocolate fur. The puppy barks once, then goes back to trying to lick Sam's face.
"Big puppy." Sam says, looking over his shoulder again.
"It's a Great Dane. Huge, floppy dog. It's like a dog version of you. We should call him Moose." Dean says, laughing at his own joke.
"Moose." Sam repeats, looking down at the playful puppy in his lap. "I like that."
Apparently Moose does too, as he barks his appreciation and then snuggles up against Sam's chest. Sam wraps his arms around the dog and scratches at his fur. He looks around at the room Dean has set up. A raised bed sits in one corner, lifted by wooden legs about 6 inches off the floor. The pad on it is thick and fluffy. Two big bowls are in another corner, next to a big container of dog food. The floor is littered with tennis balls and rawhide bones. There is a leash and collar hanging off a hook by the door.
"I'll help you move all his stuff upstairs later. I just put him down here to keep the secret."
"Dean, thank you so much." Sam says, turning to look at his brother, his eyes tearing up. "Definitely the best Christmas present ever."
"Yeah, Sammy." Dean replies, winking. He crosses the room and picks up a squeak toy shaped like a cat. He squeezes it and Moose looks up, then leaps from Sam's lap to run for the toy. Dean tosses it up into the air and Moose jumps, trying to catch it. He misses, then scrambles around to pick it up off the floor and carry it proudly over to Sam. Moose drops the toy in Sam's lap.
"Good boy, Moose." Sam says, rubbing the top of the puppy's head and picking up the toy. He squeaks it, then throws it across the room, laughing as the pup chases after it.
Cas and Kevin come into the room and sit on the floor with Sam and Dean. They play with Moose for hours, throwing the squeak toy and some tennis balls, before they go back upstairs to their own gifts.
Early that evening, Sam passes through the living room, Moose right beside him. Sam is wearing sweatpants and a fleece jacket, and his running shoes are unlaced on his feet. Moose is wearing his new collar, the leash dragging behind him on the floor.
"Going for a jog, we'll be back in a bit." Sam tells Dean as they pass.
"Later, Sammy."