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Christmas Eve, 2008

Dean's eyes snap open, heart pounding, hairs on the back of his neck at attention. Sitting up in bed, he squints in the dark, past the shadows, searching the room for any movement, any twitch of abnormal, any sign of what woke him. Snoring from his brother in the next bed lowers his internal alarm a decibel, though it still jangles enough to make going back to sleep impossible.

Huh…all seems quiet enough. His ears prick up and he tilts his head, disbelieving his own senses. Is that…it is! What the hell-?

He gets out of bed, rubbing the last of sleep from his face and listens intently. There it is again! Crossing to the window, he pushes back the curtain slightly, barely moving the fabric enough for one eye to peek out.

A lone figure, his back to Dean, stands just outside their motel room, sleigh bells dangling from a loosely held fist. As if on cue, the person begins to shake the bells without pause, the annoying jingle-tinkle making Dean's teeth hurt the same way as fingernails on a blackboard.

Letting the curtain fall back into place, Dean puts his hands on his hips, shaking his head in disgust. Freaking bitch doesn't even care if people are sleeping! It's the middle of the freaking night!

"Great…," he grumbles quietly, careful not to wake Sam. Poor kid's had a rough enough time these past few months…better to let him sleep.

Fuming, Dean slides on his boots and grabs his coat, muttering in his head, "Middle of the night…now, I'm gonna freeze my ass off..."

Yanking open the door and stepping out into the frigid December wind, he shuts it firmly behind him before moving forward, shouting, "Hey! Dude! Some people are sleeping here! Take your jingle bell crap somewhere else or I'll shove 'em where the sun don't shine!"

The tinkling of the bells fades away, leaving a peaceful silence in its wake as the tall, imposing figure slowly turns towards Dean.

Dean skids to a stop in mid-huff, taking in the familiar smile, the sad, gentle eyes. His mind turns away, tries to deny what his eyes have touched upon, the unbelievable, the impossible, the wished for.

"Dad?" he croaks in disbelief. "Is that you?"

"Hello, Dean."