A/N: Yes, I'm aware it's nearly 2 months after Christmas, but I really wanted to post this. Also, the second chapter of Rose Gold is still being worked on. I'll have more time next week so you will get that update some time next week. I hope this appeases you until then. Also, some things will tie into Rose Gold so now's as good of time as any to post this. Oh, and to save you the trouble of looking it up, Kevin's birthday is December 2nd, 1995.
Takes place between Chapter 18 and Chapter 19 of Worlds Collide
The Wisdom of Snow
"Happy birthday, Kev." Cat says after she kisses him, waking him up. He looks up at her with eyes still bleary from sleep and smiles.
"Thanks, Cat." he replies then pulls her into another kiss. They pull away and he asks, "How did you know?"
She blushes and admits, "I may have hacked your old school records." She did that a few months ago, curious and not wanting to ask him so that she could surprise him.
He chuckles and says, "Of course you did. It would be too easy to just ask me."
"I wanted to surprise you!" she defends, now a deep shade of scarlet. "So the big 18. Now you can vote, order things from TV, and be tried as an adult." she lightly teases. He hates being the younger one in their relationship. She thinks it's mainly because Dean seems to still enjoy calling her a cougar, which makes Kevin uncomfortable. She tried to get him to stop, but that only made him say it more. Sometimes she really wonders if older brothers were something to covet now that she has to deal with them.
"Ha-ha, very funny, Cat." he deadpans. She pushes him playfully then wiggles out of his arms, getting out of bed. "Where are you going? Come back to bed." he complains. He hates mornings and never wants them to leave the bed.
"I'll be back in a bit, just go back to sleep." she tells him, sweetly kissing his head. He snuggles back under the covers and his breathing quickly evens out. They were up late last night and it's kinda early in the morning, so she's not surprised he's already asleep. Cat heads to the kitchen and grabs all the ingredients she'll need to make him something special.
When everything is done, she grabs a tray and piles the plates and cups onto it. Before she leaves, she places a note on the cooling cake.
If you so much as touch this, you're dead.
Love,
Cat
Cat figures it should get the message across quite well. She picks up the tray and careful carries it back to their room. It hasn't been her room in months, and she prefers it that way. Kevin begins to stir as she walks in, the smell of food and coffee waking him up.
"Breakfast in bed? Have I ever told you how much I love you?" he exclaims as she sets the tray on his lap before crawling up next to him.
"Only every day." she laughs. "I made your favorite, omelets, home fries, and buttermilk biscuits." she says as he stares appreciatively at her little spread.
"It smells amazing, Cat! Thanks." he enthuses before picking up his fork and digging in. "This is delicious! Where did you learn to cook?"
"YouTube, mostly. I've been practicing when you visit your mom. You should've tasted my first attempt, I actually threw up!" she admits with a laugh.
"Well all that practice paid off because this is the best omelet I've ever had!" he praises. She picks up her own fork and digs into her omelet. I have to agree with Kevin, this is definitely my best one, she thinks to herself. As they are enjoying their meal, Dean storms in waving her note around.
"What the hell is this threatening note for?!" he exclaims, a mix of confused and upset.
"I thought it was prudent. You have a habit of eating stuff I leave unattended, remember the cookies? I left them to cool and came back to the entire pan being empty!" she reminds him, effectively chastising him.
"I apologized for that, why do you have to keep bringing it up." he complains.
"Because, you said there wasn't a note so you thought they were for anyone. Therefore, I made sure to leave a very straightforward note to avoid another fiasco like that." she explains mockingly. The cookies were actually made for her and Kevin as movie snacks.
"Okay, fine, but did you have to be so harsh?" he comments, not letting it go.
"Yes." Cat replies simply.
"What's with the breakfast in bed, anyway? Is it an anniversary?" he inquires, noticing the tray of food.
"Cat did it for my birthday." Kevin answers, shooting her a grateful smile.
"Oh, happy birthday. I'll let you get back to your breakfast." With that, he walks back down the hall. After they finish eating, they lay in bed and talk for a while before she sends Kevin off to shower while she ices the cake.
They eat the cake after lunch, the brothers joining in. Sam and Dean were very pitchy when everyone was singing, but it's the thought that counts. Mrs. Tran calls and Cat flies with Kevin to visit her for a bit. After that, they fly back home and pass the rest of the day by cuddling on the couch and watching some of Kev's favorite movies.
A month or so ago, Cat found an empty room that was a pretty good size. She convinced Sam and Dean to turn it into a TV room. It now has 2 leather sofas, a wooden coffee table, and a 52-inch TV. Kevin brought in a large fluffy blanket, which they are huddled under now since it's December and getting colder every day.
When Kevin wakes up the next day with Cat in his arms, he realizes he has no idea when her birthday is. While she goes to shower. He goes to hunt down one of her brothers. He's hoping one of them knows. He has no way of looking it up since she isn't from here, at least not in the sense that she would have any records. He has no way of knowing if her counterpart even shares the same birthday so all he has is the brothers.
He finds them both in the kitchen drinking coffee. "Hey, Kevin. How was your birthday?" Sam asks.
"It was great! I got really lucky with her." he sighs happily.
"You've been good for her too. She's happier with you around." Dean comments.
"I was wondering, do you guys know when her birthday is? I want to repay the favor but I have no clue. I would check her counterpart's records, but who knows if it's the same day." Kevin presents his dilemma.
The brothers look at each other guiltily. "We never even thought to ask. We aren't big on celebrating our birthdays and I guess we just forgot." Sam reveals.
"You've known her for almost a year and never once asked?" Kevin frowns.
"We could say the same about you." Dean counters. "You've been in a relationship with her for months!"
"You're her brothers! You made her ID and insurance but didn't get a simple date?"
"Guys! Blaming each other isn't going to help. We'll just have to ask her." Sam halts the argument.
"No! I want to surprise her, that's why I asked you two." Kevin exclaims.
"Well then how about one of us asks when you're not around then tells you later?" Dean suggests.
"That could work, but try to be subtle about it. I don't want her to know I'm planning something." Kevin instructs. They decide Sam should do it, seeing as he is the more likely of the two to bring it up.
Later that day, Sam finds Cat watching Netflix in the TV room. She had insisted on getting a subscription and was often found in this room cuddled up under a blanket watching her latest find. "Hey, Cat. What are you watching this time?" Sam greets as he sits on the other couch.
"Hey, Sam. I'm watching White Collar. I always wanted a hat like that, but I'd never pull it off like Neal." she comments, indicating a scene where a well-dressed man is flipping his fedora onto his head. "Don't tell Kev, but I used to have a crush on him." she divulges with a smile.
"Your secret is safe with me." he chuckles. They sit in silence for a while, watching the episode before Sam decides to broach the topic. "Hey, it was really nice what you did for Kevin's birthday."
"He deserved it. He's had to deal with a lot, some of which I was the cause of. I wanted to thank him for sticking it out with me. I know it couldn't've been easy." she replies with a soft smile.
"That's what love is about, Cat. You'll do anything and put up with a lot in the name of the one you love." Sam responds.
"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't thank him." she counters.
"What about you? You've been through all kinds of crap in the past year. A twenty year old should never have to suffer that much pain and heartache."
"Twenty-one year old." she corrects.
"Huh?"
"I'm twenty one, not twenty."
"Really?" Sam asks in surprise, sad they missed her birthday. While he and his brother may not make a big deal about their birthdays, they always make sure to tell the other "Happy birthday."
"Factoring in time travel, yeah. If you're going strictly by date, then no." she explains, confusing Sam a bit.
"Which do you prefer?" Sam asks. He thinks he's about to get her birth date out of her without having ask outright. This was easier than he thought it would be.
"Well I've always had mixed feelings about the date. Christmas is great, I love the atmosphere that surrounds it, but it's not very special when you can't do anything on your birthday. I remember when I was young, I was always upset that everyone else got presents on my birthday, but not my sister's. As I got older, it changed to I was mad I couldn't celebrate with friends and most of my family forgot in their celebration of Christmas."
"So you're a Christmas baby?"
"Yup, at least I was. Now it has moved to July 25th."
Sam thinks back to what was going on during that time. "That was when you were on the run. You celebrated your 21st by yourself." This is worse than them not knowing. They weren't even around. One of the biggest milestones and she was all alone. That couldn't have been easy for her.
"Not exactly. That was the day I was captured by the witch. I celebrated it by being tied up, and not in a fun way."
"I had no idea…" It's even worse than he thought. She was captive and scared on a day that should've been special.
"It's fine. I never told y'all. Didn't want to distract from everything that was happening." She brushes it off. He swears she is getting more like them in the disregard for herself over others, which isn't a good thing.
"Caitlin." Sam says seriously, causing her to look over in surprise. "We will always have time for you. Don't ever think for a second that whatever you have to say isn't important."
"I guess I'm still adjusting. Most of my life I just stayed silent about my stuff. I'll get better at sharing, I promise."
The episode ends and Sam leaves Cat to her show. He quickly hunts down Dean and Kevin, and they all gather in Dean's room. "So did you get it?" Kevin demands.
"Yeah, but we missed it. She told me that if you factor in the time travel, her birthday happened while she was captured by the witch when she ran away."
"I really screwed up with that one." Dean sighs guiltily.
"The good news is, the actual date hasn't passed yet. Turns out she was a Christmas baby." Sam then proceeds to tell them everything he learned, including her reasoning behind Kevin's birthday surprise.
"I wish she would understand that she's important too. She never seems to acknowledge that she has been through so much and that she deserves nice things too." Dean remarks.
"You know how she is. She cares more about others and ignores her own self-interests. It's what I love and hate about her." Kevin sighs. "We should do something for her to show how much we value and love her."
"That's a great idea, Kevin. We should make this the best Christmas ever! Decorations, cookies, a feast, the whole nine." Dean exclaims.
They continue to meet covertly over the next few days. They include Cas in their plans since he's part of the family and they know Cat would want him there. They work out a plan to make Cat's day merry and bright. On Christmas Eve, Kevin takes Cat to a nearby ice skating rink while the brothers and Cas get to work. Over the past few days, they had gathered a massive amount of decorations, which they stored in a spare room. They quickly set about and soon the Bunker is full of Christmas cheer.
By the end of their skating trip, it's obvious that neither Kevin nor Cat can ice skate. They both kept falling, but it was still fun. They laughed as they helped each other up and held on to each other for stability. They stop and get some hot cocoa to warm themselves up and sit on a bench and watch the other skaters. "Hey, Kev?"
"Hmmm" he hums as he takes a sip from his cup.
"Thanks for this. It was fun, even if it did leave me a little sore. I've always wanted to try it and I'm glad my first time was with you." Cat says sincerely.
"I'm glad you had fun. I was worried it was a bust with how often we fell." he admits.
"That just made it more fun and challenging." she laughs, her eyes sparkling. Kevin is captivated by how happy and carefree she looks. He can still remember when her eyes were dull and unseeing. While he enjoyed being able to help her, he hated how depressed she was. The day they danced together was the happiest he saw her for a while.
They finish their cocoa and it starts to get late so Kevin directs her to fly to the exterior of the Bunker. He won't tell her why, so she just shrugs and lands near her tree. They can still see the spot where she was buried, even with the light blanket of snow.
"Grab my hand and close your eyes." Kevin instructs.
Cat gives him a weird look, but complies. He begins leading her to the Bunker. She stumbles a few times, but they make it down the stairs and to the door pretty quickly. "Keep your eyes closed and wait here for a minute." he tells her. He opens the door and steps inside, leaving Cat to stand alone in the snow. She's thankful she dressed warm today in her thick gray wool coat, black sweater, fur boots, red scarf, and red knitted beret.
Soon, Kevin opens the door and grabs her hand again before pulling her through the door and stopping at the balcony that overlooks the two main rooms. He removes her hat and places a holly wreath on her head. "Okay, open your eyes." he says. Cat's eyes flutter open and she's struck speechless. All she can do is gasp in awe as she takes in the sight before her.
The Bunker is completely decked out in Christmassy cheer. The stair rails are wrapped in tinsel, there's a huge Christmas tree in the center of the library with the tables pushed to the side, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas begins playing from the record player, and there is garland, holly, and mistletoe everywhere. The tree is draped in twinkling lights, popcorn garland, and ornaments of various shapes and colors. There are lights hung around the map table and various other surfaces as well.
"Cat got your tongue?" Dean teases as he, Sam, and Cas walk out of the library. He's sporting a Santa hat while Sam has reindeer antlers and Cas has a ridiculous looking Christmas tree hat.
"Do you like it?" Kevin questions nervously.
"I don't have the words. This is incredible! Y'all did all this yourselves?" she breathes in amazement as she and Kevin descend the stairs. She'd never seen anything as beautiful as this. Her family did minimal decorations so this blows her away.
"We wanted your first Christmas here to be special. Kevin is the one who came up with all this." Sam tells her.
She turns to Kevin and sees that he's also wearing a Christmas hat, an elf hat. "This was your idea?"
"Yeah, you made my birthday so special and I wanted to return the favor." he blushes.
"Y'all went through all this trouble for me?" Cat just can't wrap her head around it. Sam and Dean don't really celebrate holidays, unless you count the Christmas before Dean went to Hell.
Kevin pulls her into a quick kiss and then says, "You're worth it." She looks up and sees that they are under some mistletoe. She returns the kiss then wanders up to the tree. As she's gazing at all the décor, she's overcome with emotion. It's beautiful! "Cat? Are you okay?" Kevin questions. He can see tears running down her face as she stares at the tree.
"Huh?"
"You're crying. Did we upset you?"
She raises her hand to her cheek, as if to check that she's indeed crying. "It's just- All this….it's so heartfelt. Y'all put a lot of thought and effort into this. I'm just so happy to know y'all think I'm worth all this. It means more then you'll ever know."
"You're our sister. Even better, you're our sister by choice. We chose to be a family, and we're never going to regret that." Dean emphasizes.
"This is our way of showing you how much we love you. We wanted your first Christmas with us to be memorable." Sam explains.
"Caitlin, one of these days you will finally believe that we all love you. I know you've had doubts and there have been rough patches, but our feelings have never changed." Cas adds.
"You have a family who loves you unconditionally. You've proven your love and devotion again and again, dying to save me, coming back from the brink of death for your brothers, it was about time we did something to prove we feel the same." Kevin says sincerely.
"Guys I- I don't know what to say. Thank you!" she breathes, gathering them all in a hug. "Oh!" she suddenly exclaims and runs off, too excited to fly. She runs to an old storage room and grabs a few packages before running back to the library and setting them under the tree with all the other gifts. "There." she smiles happily as Kevin comes up behind and wraps his arms around her, nuzzling her cheek.
"Merry Christmas, Cat."
The spark in Cat's eyes as she gazes around, the lights reflected in her eyes, mesmerizes Kevin. Her cheeks are rosy and she looks beautiful with her dark hair haloed around her face under the holly wreath. "Want to know a secret?" he asks quietly.
"Absolutely." she affirms.
"The hats were Dean's idea." he whispers slyly.
"What? Really?" she laughs. She sees Sam, Dean, and Cas sitting at the map table and walks over. "You never cease to surprise me, Squirrel. Christmas hats were a nice touch, though." she ribs, as Dean turns red.
"You weren't supposed to tell her!" he accuses Kevin.
"I think it's cute. I especially like mine. I feel like a princess!" Cat giggles, filled with joy. She's acting like an excited child and the guys all exchange fond looks. They've never seen her like this, filled with child-like wonder and joy. She's positively radiant and they can't help but congratulate each other on their success. The whole goal of the production was to make her happy and prove that she deserves good things too. They also wanted to make her truly feel like part of the family. Cas had told them about how she doubted that she deserved to be in their family so they decided to show her, once and for all, that she belongs and is deeply loved by all of them.
"Well Princess, you should go get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day." Dean says affectionately, getting up and ruffling her hair.
"But I'm not tired." she whines.
"The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner it will be Christmas morning." Sam coaxes.
"Fine." she concedes. "There better be apple cider tomorrow, and pie!"
"Sweetheart, you know there will be pie." Dean chuckles.
"Ooo, can we make sugar cookies?" Cat requests, using her puppy eyes on each of them. "Mom and I used to make heart-shaped Santa cookies for my birthday every year. We always gave them to friends and family."
"Of course, Caitlin. We'd be honored to participate in one of your traditions." Cas replies with a smile. She's quickly becoming like a little sister to him. He can tell why Sam and Dean took to her so easily. She has a way of being so unconsciously open and he has seen her kind heart. She treats him like a best friend or even a brother.
"Cas, I thought I told you to call me Cat." Cat sighs as she pulls out her phone and sends a text. Shortly after, Sam's phone goes off. "I texted you the ingredients we'll need. Goodnight and Merry Christmas!" she says before heading with Kevin to their room.
"Alright, what all do we need?" Dean asks Sam after Cat and Kevin head to bed.
"Sugar cookie dough, 4 cans of white spray frosting, 2 cans of black spray frosting, red sprinkles, red M&Ms, and a medium sized heart-shaped cookie cutter. We've already got the dough, sprinkles, and M&Ms. All we need to get is the frosting and cookie cutter."
"You two go to sleep. I can get the missing ingredients." Cas offers.
"Are you sure, Cas? We can all go." Dean responds.
"I'm sure. It's just a quick shopping trip, should only take about ten minutes."
"Alright buddy, if you're sure. Night, Cas."
"Goodnight Dean, Sam." The brothers head off to bed while Cas heads out to his car. A short drive later, he is in the infamous Wal-Mart. Two of Cat's worst experiences started here, but it's the nearest place open this late at night.
"Merry Christmas." a woman says as she exits with a few bags in her hand.
"Merry Christmas." Cas replies. He walks in and continues down the aisle until he finds the baking aisle. He scans the shelves and finds the white spray frosting, but they're out of black. He grabs some dark blue instead and selects what he hopes is the right size of heart cookie cutter then proceeds to checkout.
"Nice hat, dude." the cashier chuckles. Cas reaches up and realizes that this entire time he has been wearing the ridiculous Christmas tree hat Dean insisted he wear.
"Thank you. It was to make a girl smile, and it worked better than expected. Merry Christmas." Cas says before leaving and returning to the Bunker. He puts the sack in the kitchen then goes to check in on Cat. He smiles as he sees her cuddled against Kevin's chest, both wearing matching smiles as they slept.
He notices a light is still on in Dean's room and walks over, knocking on the door. "Dean? Are you okay?" he asks through the closed door.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Dean replies in a rough voice. Cas can easily tell that he's lying.
"Can I come in?" he requests. Dean grunts in reply and Cas opens the door. He sees Dean sitting on his bed looking at something in his hand.
"Hey, Cas?"
"Yes, Dean?"
"Are we completely certain Cat can't be returned to the dimension she grew up in?"
"As far as I am aware, there's no way to get her back, at least not back to her own time. Why are you asking? I thought you loved having her as a little sister. I thought that was why we did all this." Cas replies in confusion.
Dean sighs and drops what he's holding. Cas looks down and sees it's a picture of four-year-old Dean with his mother. "I do, Cas, I really do, but what about her actual family? She never says anything, but I can tell she misses them. There are these little moments that I glimpse that hidden pain, like when she was talking about making cookies with her mom. We made her a promise months ago that we would get her back home, but we failed. She deserves to have her actual family with her for Christmas. I'd do anything to have my mom and dad back, I can only imagine she feels the same, especially since hers aren't dead."
"Dean, I understand where your heart is, but I can promise you she's happy here. She's told me that while, yes she does miss her old family and friends, she's also glad she came to be a part of your family. She loves all of you dearly. You are her actual family, and she couldn't be happier."
"She told you that? When?"
"We had many conversations like that while she was on the run. The real reason she didn't want to return was that she was afraid of being rejected. You had kicked her out and she was still devoted to you. She played it off as if she was mad and seemed to have convinced herself, but I could sense the truth and managed to get her to admit it before she came back to the Bunker."
"Wow. I never knew that. All that time…"
"You see, Dean. She's happy here. You saw her earlier, she was practically glowing!"
"Thanks, Buddy. I guess I was just overthinking."
"You Winchesters can be so dense sometimes. It's been in front of your face this whole time if you just bothered to pay attention."
"Yeah, guess I should get some sleep. Night, Cas."
"Goodnight, Dean." Cas exits Dean's room and returns to the library where the Christmas lights are still on. He's surprised to see Cat sitting on the floor in front of the tree. "Caitlin? Why aren't you sleeping?" he questions.
"I tried, but it only lasted about an hour. I came in here so I wouldn't wake Kevin up with restless fidgeting. And it's Cat, now." she reminds him.
"My apologies, Cat. Do you want to talk about anything?" he asks. He's been her confidant for a few months now so he knows if something is bothering her, she'll talk about it.
"I guess I just miss my family. I don't want to lose y'all, but I also miss them. Holidays are hard. I've always celebrated every national holiday with one side of the family or the other. I'm not complaining, I love all of you deeply, I guess I'm just nostalgic."
"You know, you've never really told me much about them. What were they like?" he encourages. Judging by the smile spreading across her face, it was the right thing to say.
"Well, my mom and I look a lot alike…" They spend the whole night talking. At one point, Cas has her pause and leaves the room before returning with a blanket and two mugs of cocoa. He learns more about her life growing up. Her love of music and animals, the birth of her snake phobia, the reason she used to be so withdrawn and quiet.
"So you were a troublemaker growing up? You?"
"I know, hard to believe. I was constantly getting in trouble. Mom used to tell me about a certificate from pre-k that marked my first day without a time out. It was in October! It took going to the principal's office and being paddled to finally get me to straighten up. The quiet table was a good motivator too. We got our food last and had to sit in complete silence at a special table then during recess, we had to stand and face the cafeteria wall. Of course, before that we had to sit on a bench and watch the other kids play. My dad used a belt too, but it didn't really work, just made me regret getting caught."
"Wow. I never would have thought that of you."
"Yeah, people who didn't know me back then are always shocked when I mention it. What about you? I told you about my life, can you tell me a bit about yours?"
"I've lived for millennia. It would take forever to recount everything."
"Okay, then narrow it down. What was your family like? Your angel brothers and sisters."
Cas begins telling her various stories of his brethren. Some make her laugh, some make her sad, and some fill her with wonder. Sometime during his reminiscing, she falls asleep against his shoulder. He stops talking when he realizes this and smiles. He carefully lays her down, resting her head in his lap. "Sweet dreams, young Caitlin." he whispers tenderly.
In the morning, Kevin, Sam, and Dean wander into the library together and see Cat sleeping on Cas' lap. "Aww, isn't that cute." Dean says as he snaps a picture on his phone. Cas looks up at them and whispers, "She couldn't sleep so we talked until she finally fell asleep."
"Let's go make breakfast and let her sleep for now. She must be exhausted." Sam suggests.
"Good idea. She looks so peaceful." Kevin agrees. The three of them quietly walk to the kitchen and Dean makes her favorite, pancakes. While he's doing that, Sam and Kevin begin working on the food for Christmas dinner. After the pancakes are done and the food is in the oven, they grab plates, silverware, and everything else needed before heading back to the library.
The smell of food causes Cat to stir. "Is that pancakes?" she asks groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she sits up.
"Still have a great nose I see." Dean chuckles.
"You know I love pancakes." she replies. Cas helps her up and they walk over to where the boys have setup the breakfast spread. Not only are there pancakes, but a variety of different kinds. There's the typical buttermilk, chocolate chip, blueberry, and even a completely chocolate one. There's also a can of whipped cream, scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and some sausage. "Wow. How many people are you feeding?" Cat exclaims as she sees the buffet before her.
"What? I can't make all of your favorites?" Dean questions.
"You know I can't eat all of this." she laughs.
"Yeah, but Sammy and I can." he winks.
"It's Sam, jerk." Sam retorts.
"Bitch."
"Twits."
They laugh and sit down to eat. Cas declines, saying that he can't taste food anymore. Cat still insists he sit and talk with them. After everyone has eaten as much as they can, the boys gather all the dishes and head to the kitchen. Cat tries to help, but is told they will call her in when they get everything ready for the cookies.
A little later, she and Cas are called into the kitchen where all the ingredients are lined up on the island. They're both handed aprons, Cat's is black with white polka dots and a red ribbon across it to tie in the back while Cas' says Caution: Extremely Hot. Dean, Kevin, and Sam also have aprons with different sayings like Mr. Good Lookin is Cookin, This is What an Awesome Cook Looks Like, and Hot Stuff Coming Through.
"I'm gonna guess the aprons were your idea." Cat says to Dean as she puts hers on. Her apron is actually one she's had for a few months now, the boys', however, those are new.
"At least I didn't get the cliché Kiss the Cook." Dean defends.
"True, but I don't need an apron to tell me that for Kev." She replies as she walks up and kisses Kevin.
"Really?" Dean complains.
"Hey, you mentioned it, not me." she smirks.
"Okay, Cat. You're in charge. Tell us what to do." Sam interrupts the sibling rivalry.
"Alright. The first thing you need to do is cover the surface in a thin layer of flour and also spread flour on the rolling pin." she directs.
Dean fetches the flour and coats the table and the pin before dumping some in Cat's hair. "Dean!" she exclaims in shock as she tries to get it out before giving it up as a lost cause.
"It looks like it snowed on you." Kevin chuckles.
"Hmph, see how you like it!" she grins as she grabs a handful of flour and throws it in his face.
"Pfft" Kevin spits out some that landed in his mouth. "I'll get you back for that." he threatens.
"Are we making cookies or having a food fight?" Cas asks in confusion.
"Both." Dean answers as he pours some of the flour in his hair too.
"Guys." Sam tries to be stern but can't hide his smile. "Let's get these done. After that you can mess around."
"I thought I was in charge." Cat pouts playfully. "Okay, fine. The next step is to roll out the dough. You don't want it to be too thin or the cookies will be rock hard."
Kevin takes over this task, claiming he is the best at using a rolling pin. After the dough is rolled out, Cas cuts out the heart shapes and Dean puts the M&Ms he doesn't eat at the point where the two curves meet. Sam adds red sprinkle to the bottom portion of the heart and Cat places the first completed sheet into the oven.
They end up with three sheets or 36 cookies. When they're done baking and have cooled, they split them up into four plates and take them to the little kitchen table. "Now's the fun part." Cat says happily. "We get to add the frosting to make them look like Santa."
"How is a heart cookie going to resemble Saint Nicholas?" Cas questions.
"Here. I'll show you." She grabs a cookie from his plate and turns it so the red sprinkled point is facing up. "Now you just add white frosting here," she informs as she grabs a can of frosting and sprays it to fill the two curved areas of the heart "here," she continues to add a line of frosting along the bottom of the red sprinkle line "and here." She adds a dollop on the very point. "Then use this color" she continues to grab the dark blue "to do the eyes." she finishes as she adds two small dots of frosting, completing the Santa.
"You each have nine cookies, well except Cas now. I'm going to judge who made the best Santas after I take a shower. May the best decorator win!" she challenges with a wink then walks out after hanging up her apron.
"Well we all know who's going to win." Dean boasts.
"In your dreams." Sam retorts.
"You're both going down." Kevin challenges. "I've been baking for years with my mom."
They all quickly start making their cookies. Sam and Dean end up sabotaging each other after Dean "accidentally" smears one of Sam's eyes. By the time Cat returns to judge, there's a huge mess. "What the hell happened here?!" she shouts just as Dean grabs the blue frosting and squirts it in Sam's hair. "Really guys?" she huffs. "I leave you alone for ten minutes to take a shower and now there's frosting all over the place!"
"They started it." Kevin pipes up. He has white frosting on his shirt from where Sam sprayed him and red sprinkles scattered in his hair from Dean dumping the entire jar on him and his cookies. Sam and D ean are similarly covered in frosting and sprinkles. Sam has green sprinkles all over himself and his area from Kevin's retaliation and of course to blue frosting from Dean. Dean has white frosting smeared on his face and is covered in white sprinkles from Kevin. Sam was the one to smear frosting on his face after they ruined each other's cookies. Only Cas is left unscathed. His perfect little Santa cookies are all lined up on the plate.
"Well it looks like Cas won. His are the only cookies that survived and he's the only one who actually acted like the adult he is." Cat proclaims.
"That's not fair, Dean sabotaged me first. I was just retaliating." Sam protests.
"Sorry, Moose. Better luck next time." she grins. "Now, Cas. Your reward is that you get to help me give these out to our friends who aren't here. You three," she says as she glares at Sam, Dean, and Kevin "get to clean all this up and continue cooking dinner. We should be back soon." She motions Cas to grab his plate and follow her. They can hear the boys bickering as they walk to the library.
"I always gave most of my cookies to friends and family, so I thought I'd continue that tradition." she explains to Cas. She grabs her wreath and places it on her head before placing Cas' tree hat on his head. "Is there anyone you want to visit first?" she asks Cas.
"I don't know very many people." he replies sadly.
"What about that lady from the Gas-N-Sip?" Cat suggests.
"Nora?"
"Yeah. I bet she would love a cookie." Cat encourages.
"Okay. She was very nice to me when I was human." Cas agrees.
Cat flies them to Nora's house and then goes invisible as Cas rings the bell. It is lightly snowing and the lights twinkling in the window make it beautiful. "Oh, hello Steve. Merry Christmas." Nora greets.
"Merry Christmas. I was wondering if you would like a cookie. We just made them so it's fresh." Cas explains.
"Thank you, Steve. That's so sweet. Would you like to come inside?"
"No thank you. We still have to deliver the rest of these cookies."
"Okay. Bye, Steve. Have a Merry Christmas."
"You too, Nora." Cas replies. As soon as she shuts the door, Cat becomes visible again. "Why did you disappear?" Cas questions.
"She might have recognized me from when I visited you at work. Besides, she likes you."
"I like her too. She's a very generous woman." he smiles. Cat knew she would be a good choice. Besides, it's always good to repay a kindness when you can.
"My turn. Have you ever met Jody Mills?"
"No, but I know Sam and Dean trust her."
"Well this could be awkward then. I want to give her a cookie from Sam and Dean. She's helped them a lot and I know they consider her a friend. She's also the closest thing to a mother figure they have. Which reminds me. After we deliver the cookies we need to pick up Mrs. Tran."
Cat flies them to Jody's house and ring the bell. "Yes?" Jody asks as she answers the door.
"Hello Sheriff Mills. I know you've never met me, but I'm the Winchesters' adopted sister Cat and this is Castiel." Cat introduces.
"It's nice to meet both of you, Sam and Dean spoke so highly of you. Come in. You must be freezing!" she insists. She's not wrong in Cat's case. The temperature is well below freezing and it's snowing heavily.
"Thank you. We can't stay long, though. We left the boys to clean up and cook. If we leave them too long they'll make another big mess." Cat tells her with a chuckle.
"Those two can be a handful some times." Jody agrees good-naturedly.
They talk together for a bit until Cat says they still have a few more stops to make. "It was nice meeting both of you. Merry Christmas." Jody says as they get up to leave.
"Merry Christmas Sheriff Mills. Sorry to have disturbed your Christmas." Cat tells her.
"Jody, please. You didn't disturb anything. It's just me here."
"Would you like to join us then? I could use another woman to help keep the boys in line. We can drop you off at the Bunker if you'd like." Cat suggests.
"I'd love to. Thank you. That's very sweet of you."
"It's no trouble. I know Sam and Dean would agree as well."
"Hold on tight, it may be uncomfortable your first time." Cas warns as Jody grabs ahold of Cat's arm and they fly to the Bunker.
"UNBELIEVEABLE!" Cat shouts as she surveys the three soaked men in front of her.
"Cat! You're back early. Is that Jody Mills?" Dean says sheepishly as he tries to hide the sprayer behind his back.
"I invited her to join us. I need someone responsible to monitor everything." Cat explains. "Good luck, Jody." she says sympathetically before flying to their next target.
"Cat, are we in London?" Cas asks. They are standing in the snow on a little London street. Christmas decorations are hung in the shop windows and on the porch of the little inn across the street.
"Yes. There was a really nice lady who let me stay in her hotel for free while I was here. I'd like to show her how much I appreciate it." she explains. They walk into the inn and Cat rings the little bell on the desk.
"Nancy? Nancy Zevon? Is that you?" a frazzled looking woman asks as she appears from a room behind the counter.
"Hello, Elle. How're Rosie, Sarah, and Henry?"
"A bunch of heathens, but I bet they would love to see you again. They still talk about those times you watched them for me." she smiles.
"I'd love to see them too. I brought y'all some cookies." Cat replies with a grin. Cas can see that Cat feels a deep fondness for this family. He remembers her mentioning watching some kids while she was on her own, this must be that family.
"Who is this gentleman?" Elle asks.
"Elle Carlyle, meet Clarence Novak." Cat introduces formally.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Carlyle."
"Oh please, call me Elle." she replies.
"Nancy, Clarence, would you like to come back and see the kids?"
"Of course, but we can't stay too long. We have a flight to catch." Cat tells her, stretching the truth but not outright lying. Elle leads them behind the counter and through the door to her little apartment. They are soon surrounded by three children. "Hey, guys! Miss me?" Cat asks the excited children, stooping down to their level and giving each of them a hug.
"Nancy! Are you spending Christmas with us?" the older girl asks.
"No, Sarah. I just came to drop off some cookies before I fly home." Cat informs them.
"Awww. I wanted you to play house with my new dolls." the younger girl whines.
"I'm sorry, Rosie. Maybe next time."
"What kind of cookies did you bring us the eldest, a boy, asks.
"Some homemade Santa sugar cookies. Clarence actually decorated them." she replies as she grabs the plate from Cas and hands it to the children. They immediately run off, arguing about who gets which cookie.
"Thank you, Nancy and Clarence. I wasn't able to do any baking this year so at least now they can have some cookies."
"Still working two jobs?"
"The hotel isn't making as much as it used to."
"I wish I could help, Elle. Do you want my number? I'm in London quite often so if you ever need someone to watch the kids just give me a call. I'd be happy to do it, no charge." Cat offers. She has a soft spot in her heart for this family. She may not have stayed long, but she fell in love with them.
"Thank you so much, Nancy! It's nice to know there are still kind souls out there."
"I'm just returning the favor. You helped me when I was feeling lost. You even took time away to show me the sights. It's the least I could do."
After they exit the hotel, Cas turns to stop Cat before she flies them home. "Cat, I'm so proud of you. That was a very generous thing you did for that little family. I always knew you had a kind heart, but seeing it in action is beautiful."
Cat blushes and simply replies, "Tis the season. Christmas is a time for giving. Before this turns into an even more Hallmark-y moment, let's go get Mrs. Tran and go home. Hopefully Jody and the boys finished dinner. I'm starving!" With that, she flies them away.
"Cat! Cas! Mrs. Tran! You're just in time." Sam greets them as they appear back in the library.
"Hey, Kevin. Mind grabbing the rest of the food?" Dean calls over his shoulder as he and Sam set their food down on a table that has been covered with a red and green tablecloth. There's ham, turkey, cranberry sauce, baked sweet potatoes, and much more.
"Wow. Y'all really went all out!" Cat exclaims as she takes in the feast laid out on the table.
Sam scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, we may have went a bit overboard."
"I love it." Cat says as she raises up on tiptoes and kisses his cheek.
"What? No love for the guy who did most of the cooking?" Dean pouts.
"How could I forget." Cat laughs and kisses his cheek. She then turns to Cas. "Thanks for going with me and keeping me company last night." she thanks before kissing his cheek as well.
"Hey, mom. Welcome back, Cat. How was the cookie delivering?" Kevin greets as he and Jody walk in with the last of the food.
"It was great." she replies, kissing his cheek as well. "How was cooking? Did Jody keep y'all in line?"
"All they needed was the mom voice and they were well behaved." Jody reveals with a grin.
"Ah. That explains it. I'll have to work on that." Cat jokes. They all sit down to dinner and it is far from a formal affair. The boys toss rolls to each other, there is constant reaching over to grab stuff, and boisterous conversation. In other words, it's perfect. Even Mrs. Tran lightens up.
After everyone is stuffed, they pull their chairs over to the tree. Cat passes out the presents, including one for Jody. "How?" Jody questions as Cat hands her the gift.
"We don't leave anyone out. I hope you like it." Cat replies with a genuine smile. She had made a detour to get it before she and Cas had went to get Kevin's mom. She refused to leave anyone out. She also secretly returned to the Carlyle's hotel and left some presents for both Elle and her children.
The presents having been doled out, they all tear in to their gifts. Unsurprisingly, Cat has the most presents. The boys really wanted to spoil her so they each got her a Christmas present and combined their efforts to get her what they hope is an amazing birthday present. "Wow, guys. I love it!" Jody exclaims as she unwraps the custom leather holster Cat found in a small shop that was surprisingly open. It has her name and a rose carved into it. The man was very quick with adding her name and it came out wonderful. Mrs. Tran got a tasteful scarf, which she thanks Cat for.
"Cat, this is amazing! Where did you get the picture?" Kevin exclaims as he gazes down at the framed picture of the two of them cuddling together as they slept.
"Is that the picture I took after you got back from Purgatory?" Sam questions as he looks at the photo in Kevin's hands.
"Yeah. I got it printed then framed it."
"Really, Cat?" Dean says as he frowns down at the stuffed squirrel in his hands.
"What? I thought it was cute!" she teases. She then hands him another package. "Here. This is your actual present, though I hope you keep that squirrel."
Dean takes the new package and opens it to find, "Whoa! Is this…?"
"Yup, the Hey Jude album signed by every member of the Beatles." Cat replies.
"How did you-?"
"I have my sources." she replies vaguely with a wink.
Sam opens his next and reveals moose patterned socks as well as some new flannels and an ancient looking book. "I love it, Cat. Thanks!" he says to her as he picks up the book and begins looking through it. It's an ancient text that he had mentioned Bobby had but it was lost. Apparently, Cat managed to find it.
"Well we lost Sam. Aren't you going to open yours, Cas?" Cat asks questioningly.
"Oh, of course." he replies before unwrapping a bee patterned tie and a scrapbook. He opens the scrapbook and sees a few pictures of him and the Winchesters as well as various little notes and letters. He flips through it and sees that it contains something from every instance he saw Cat, minus the most recent. "Cat, I don't know what to say." he says as he stares down at the collection that was obviously put together with thought and care. There are even little handmade cutouts of them and various other items.
"I know you don't really care about stuff so I went with something more sentimental. I hope you like it." she replies. Cas sets it to the side and gets up before crushing her in a hug.
"Thank you." he says passionately. After he lets go and sits back down, everyone turns to Cat expectantly.
"Your turn, sweetheart." Dean drawls.
She grabs a gift from Kevin's mom first and receives a crocheted blanket. She thanks Mrs. Tran before grabbing the next one, this one from Dean, and opens it to reveal, "Kiss the Cook? I thought that was cliché!" she laughs as she pulls out the blue apron.
"It's also a classic." he responds with a smirk.
She continues to the next present, this one from Kevin. "How-how did you know?" she asks him and she stares down at the stuffed dragon with an unreadable expression.
"You love that movie so I thought you'd like your own Toothless. I endured an hour at Build-a-Bear to get you that." Kevin explains, confused by her reaction.
"I had one of these before. I used to cuddle it when I was feeling sad." she says under her breath before turning a truly brilliant smile towards Kevin. "Thanks, Kev. I love it!"
Leaving the dragon in her lap, she grabs a package from Sam. She opens it to reveal a few books she had been wanting to read. "Thanks, Moose!"
Next, is one from Cas. She expects it to be something random, like the Grumpy Cat he will give Claire in the future, but is surprised by what she pulls out. In her hands in rich dark brown leather jacket. "I thought you could maybe wear it if you hunt." Cas explains.
"It's great, Cas. Thank you." she tells him before moving on to the last present. This one is from all four of the guys. She removes the paper and opens the box, gasping at what she sees nestled in it.
It's a rose gold oval locket engraved with her initials and opens to reveal a picture of her, the brothers, Kevin, and Cas. She recognizes the picture she had insisted they take a few weeks ago. The back has an Enochian symbol that she recognizes means family. "Wow, guys. It's beautiful! Thank you." she breathes as Kevin helps her put it around her neck.
"Happy sorta birthday." Dean says, happy to see her eyes glowing. He's glad they were able to do this. He knows that soon things might go bad. Between Abaddon, Metatron, and the Mark, a lot could happen. Ever since he touched the First Blade, he can feel the Mark affecting him, making him more violent. He's worried that soon things like this will stop happening, that he'll never see the glow of happiness on Cat's face or hear his brother's laughter as they goof off in the kitchen.
Present time done, Cat returns Kevin's mom back her home. When she gets back, they make mugs of eggnog and apple cider and move to the TV room to watch It's a Wonderful Life at Cat's request. She wants Cas to finally understand why Meg called him Clarence. Cat, having stayed up most of the night, falls asleep against Kevin's shoulder before the movie is over. "Looks like the princess is all tuckered out." Dean comments.
"Jody, we have an extra room you can use for tonight. Cat can fly you back home tomorrow." Sam offers.
"That would be great, Sam. I really must thank her for inviting me. I haven't had this nice of a Christmas in years." Jody replies, looking over at the young woman in question warmly. She had quickly grown to like the newest Winchester.
"She has a big heart." Cas responds, also looking at Cat. "You should've seen her with the family we visited in London today."
"You went to London?" Kevin questions. Cas tells them all of Cat's interaction with the Carlyle family. "Her heart is one thing that made me fall in love with her." Kevin admits.
"She's definitely something else." Dean says affectionately.
"We should probably get her to bed. She's had a long day." Sam declares. He gets up and scoops her into his arms before carrying her to her and Kevin's room. He removes her wreath, tucks her into bed, and kisses her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Sleeping Beauty." he whispers before returning to the others.
He misses the smile that spreads across her face and the whispered, "Goodnight, Moose." before Cat falls back asleep, the smile still on her face. She has had an amazing Christmas and knows she will treasure the memories forever.
A/N part deux: Does anyone else find it strange that Cas and Jody have never met? It's been like 7 or 8 seasons! Also, tonight's episode hit me right in the feels. I don't know why a lot of people are hating on this season, I'm loving it!