Counting the Blessings
The cold weather was coming in early but it was not felt in the house that was bursting with warmth and anticipation. The kids were playing out in the front yard, jumping in the leaves and chasing each other in a game of tag. A girl with floppy brown hair was chasing her cousins and shouting about something while a dark haired boy, a teenager was laughing as he lounged on the planter. The dog Samantha was watching the children with a watchful eye as it kept an eye on the street.
Samantha was the first to perk up before the kid started screaming, "They're here! They're here!"
We've come to the time in the season
When family and friends gather near
To offer a prayer of Thanksgiving
For blessings we've known through the year
To join hands and thank the Creator
And now when Thanksgiving is due
The smells of the kitchen were the familiar smells that had been grown up with. Jess took a whiff of the bubbling concoction on the stove and could make out the smell of pumpkin, spice and everything nice. There were other things cooking and the kitchen was full of her siblings and relatives getting everything ready.
Ellen Jo was working on some dish that was their father's favorite and was the source of endless jokes since it was probably the only thing that didn't adhere to the health fetish. Kayla, their cousin was busy trying to keep John Robert, Ellen's twin, and Brandon from sticking their fingers into the cranberry sauce she was making. The rest of the house was full of adults setting out the tables and doing their part.
It had been a tradition that the family, which included close friends, like Roman and his family, gathered at the main house for one time out of the year. Well it was twice a year. It was a big deal in Jess' mind since she had been told that she had her whole life to do what she wanted to do but you only had one family and to spend if only one day together, it was something to cherish. Her brothers and sister had been taught that too and they were on board with changing up the location this year; Brandon especially since he had a special relationship with their mother.
Jess looked out the kitchen window and caught a glimpse of her daughter chasing her cousins in the front and smiled. The kids agreed to be the lookout and it appeared that Samantha, or Sammy, was being the ever watchful hell mutt with Roman's boy watching the kids. She couldn't help but smile when she saw the kids starting to shout at the top of their lungs. They were here. They made it.
This year when I count my blessings
I'm thanking the Lord He made you
This year when I count my blessings
I'm thanking the Lord he made you
Jess adjusted the flame to keep the pumpkin mix from boiling over. She was going to be stuck in the kitchen but it was worth it. She could hear the shouts and squeals from the kids outside. She peeked and saw them swamped around the car that had been around a long time.
The Impala had been home the first couple of years of her life. She had been born on the road during a time that had been tough on her family. Granted she knew the details but she couldn't understand since after that she grew up in what had been jokingly called the 'apple pie' life. Life had been good except for the few times that involved what had been referred to as the family business. Still her parents and uncle strove to give her and her siblings a good life. This was the least they could do in return.
"Ya know ya have a good heart as yer dad and as pretty as yer ma."
Jess turned to see the ghostly figure of the man that was like a father to her parents. This time of year he always showed up and that was the result of a spell she did trying to make a nice birthday gift for her mother. It sort of worked but as the spell said, only at a time of thanks and family would he be allowed to come. Of course no one could see him except those who knew him and were healers. She replied, "Stop teasing Grandpa Bobby."
Bobby looked at the girl that looked so much like her mother but was definitely like her father and uncle rolled into one. "Just telling the truth. I heard them brats of yours screaming and I'm guessing them idjits are here?"
"Yep and she'll be happy. You know aside from Papa, you were central in her life. If you hadn't been around when she needed it, it would probably be a lot different." Jess undid the apron she wore and draped it on the chair in the kitchen. She glanced at Kayla who came in to put the spoon she had been using to chase the animal males of the family who merely looked at Bobby and gave a smile and a nod, her mocha colored skin a contrast with her teeth. Jess waited until she was gone and looked at the grizzled hunter, "Well, time to have Mama freak people out again."
"Cheeky little princess. Just like your mother."
I'm grateful for the laughter of children
The sun and the wind and the rain
The color of blue in your sweet eyes
The sight of a high ball and train
The moon rise over a prairie
Old love that you've made new
The years had been kind even though old injuries were catching up but after all they were only human. The interesting and funny thing was that they were still doing a few things like when they were in their twenties. Sam checked that last thought as he looked over at the woman who had been more than a partner, his wife and helpmate, and gave a slight smile since it was the oldest family joke that she was older than him and Dean. He reached over and grasped her hand and held it just as Dean purposely drove over a bump in the road.
Even in his fifties, Dean still could be the immature jerk and he insisted on driving them in his baby. Sam shot a bitch face at his brother while Angela grasped his hand and gave a gentle squeeze. Haley merely gave Dean a smack on the shoulder. It was like old times.
Sam looked over at Angela. She still looked beautiful even though she allowed herself to get older. It really brought to life the meaning of aging gracefully. It made him love her more and he could understand why Jess said that she wanted to do the gathering at her place.
Dean pulled up the Impala as the kids came over screaming. Sam couldn't help but laugh as they jumped around like the kids he met in Lakota when they played 'catch the Sasquatch' and he helped Angela out since she was holding the newest puppy that was a clingy little bastard. Sam had sighed inwardly when it became evident that she was raising another dog but the pup chose her and it did just lose its mother. Plus he really couldn't say no to her version of the puppy eyes nor could he to the real ones when she held it out to him.
"Hey there Sammy, you being a good girl?"
Sam cringed as he heard Dean call to the hell mutt that had been named after him. He was sure that it was Gabrielle's idea of a joke since she heard her grand uncle call him by the nickname he had hated but it was a part of him. He looked in time to see his brother split a dog biscuit with the mutt and shook his head. Even after all these years Dean still ate the dog's biscuits.
"You got another one Grandma?"
Angela chuckled as the youngest of the grandkids asked her about the puppy and replied, "Yes. His name is Bear."
Sam watched as she put the puppy down and it started looking around. Samantha trotted up to it and gave a sniff before nuzzling it and guiding it around. Samantha was more like her great-whatever- grandmother Moira, his first dog; a sweetheart and motherly but Jess did say she was a good tracker. He gave a slight smile as the kids pulled him, Angela, his brother and Haley into the house, each trying to be heard over the other about what was going on while he was trying to anticipate Dean's reaction to a surprise.
He felt Angela slide her hand into his and he gave it a gentle squeeze before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He felt pride and love for their family as they greeted their children all grown up as well as the people they met over the years. They were people that he and Dean would have never considered friends until they met her and she taught them that the world didn't always have to be black and white. If it did, then he would never have met her and fell in love with her. Standing in the living room Sam held onto his wife and gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek and whispered, "I love you."
This year when I count my blessings
I'm thanking the Lord he made you
This year when I count my blessings
I'm thanking the Lord he made you
Dean looked at his Kayla as she handed him the tiny bundle wrapped in a blanket that paid tribute to Led Zeppelin. He glanced at Haley who was merely smiling at him and realized that they had been keeping this from him just to see his reaction. He said, "So Kay, this was that special trip you said would take nine months?"
Kayla laughed at her father as her husband gave a wary smile and everyone else laughed. The whole family had been in on it since it was well known that Dean was a prank master even in his old age. She replied, "A little slow in figuring things out huh Dad?"
Dean gave a smile that reflected the fact he had been had but as he looked at the tiny bundle that was his granddaughter, it softened much like when he first found out about Kayla. He now understood how Sam felt about being a grandpa and he understood about being a father. He looked at Mr. and Mrs. Geek, as he still called them, and saw them just watching with a look of contentment but mostly he looked at Angela.
The day she literally walked into their lives, things changed. True they had bumpy patches over the years, some being more physical than others, but they were family. She taught him and Sam a lot about things that they missed growing up; she was a steady influence. If it hadn't been for her, he wouldn't have found out about Kayla. All of this was possible because of her.
And when the time comes to be going
It won't be in sorrow and tear
I'll kiss you good bye and I'll go on my way
Grateful for all of the years
I thank for all that you gave me
For teaching me what love can do
Jess looked around the table at the family. They were all chattering and joking about things. Toni, Kayla's daughter was still being held by her overprotective grandpa but it was normal. It was like how he looked after Papa and Mama whenever they were sick much to Mama's amusement and annoyance.
Looking at her parents, Jess could see the world written on their faces. It was more so on Papa's face since he was human and she could see it on Uncle Dean's face. Mama had a different look since she really didn't have to age if she didn't want to but she chose to and Jess knew why. Mama found what she was looking for and that was Papa.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out Granpa Bobby watching his three idjits. She knew that they could see him but they weren't going to say anything about it. Jess studied them while going through the motions and thought about all they did.
It wasn't fair that things happened the way they did to Papa and Uncle Dean and even Mama. Yet if things didn't happen, she wouldn't be here now with her daughter Gabrielle, her brothers and sister and cousins; none of it would have come into being. Looking at them though, they didn't regret the decisions they made. Sure there may have been some painful ones but…
Jess studied her mother as she finally convinced her uncle to release little Toni. She noticed that it was that motherly tone she used combined with the puppy eyes and she suppressed a chuckle. She saw that her siblings and cousins noticed too since they all grew up hearing about the badass Winchesters but they always laughed when they were beaten down by the 'most gorgeous healer to walk the earth' that was gentle but firm.
Everyone grew quiet though when her mother started humming a tune and started singing softly a tune. It was one about joys and struggles but in the end the greatest of things conquered it. Jess remembered that tune since she often heard her mother sing it to her father, especially the couple of times when he had been seriously sick or hurt.
It was a song she had sung to all the kids at some point in their lives and it wasn't so much as the words but the voice. This time though the words were sung clearly as Jess watched her mother hold the tiny baby and rock her while singing. Her mother always had loved children and she suspected that was something that endeared her to her father more than the selfless generosity over the years. Even now when the traditional gathering was moved and the kids put on the dinner, her mother was still putting her hands in and helping.
They had all felt that helping hand from her and the lessons on family came from her father and uncle. Together the three of them provided a home that had some moments that were considered freakish but it was home. It was family. In the end Jess concluded that if it hadn't been for the ghost that was hovering near her mother, they wouldn't have had the benefit of such lessons.
Thanksgiving truly was a time to count the blessings that one had. Sure it wasn't perfect but it was a good life. Jess could see that the three people that gave her a good life had learned that lesson long ago. She could truly say that she was blessed with a family that was rich; not in wealth but in what truly mattered and that was in family and love shared among people that were not only blood kin but the people that were with you thick and thin.
Thanksgiving Day for the rest of my life
I'm thanking the Lord he made you
Sam smiled as he watched Angela hold little Toni, his newest grandniece as she sang that song that he never really learned the words to. Dean didn't either but tonight it seemed that they were more clear than ever. He could make out the words that spoke of what they had shared through the years; the long road of pain, suffering, joys and everything that the hunter's life brought the three of them.
He understood why she chose that one and it was easy to see that the kids saw it too. He looked at Dean who was giving him that grin, his brother always said that she was the best thing and he had to agree, and returned it with a smile of his own. Even as they were getting older and they had friends who actually died of old age, they truly felt that they were blessed.
Sam looked at his children and the ones that the three of them sort of adopted over the years and the grandkids. It was always as Angela had said. Things did work out in the end. He turned to look as he saw Bobby hover nearby and his wife holding the tiny baby and finishing her song about blessings and love.
Thanksgiving Day for the rest of my life
I'm thanking the Lord he made you…
Lyrics- Thanksgiving Prayer by Johnny Cash
A/N: Here you go folks, a nice Thanksgiving piece with the Winchester family as it has grown over the years. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving you all! Enjoy!