Okay, in continuation of yesterday's AN, I realized that as well as having the days for the updates not line up the way I wanted them to, I'm also spending more time on each day than I thought I would. The original plan was to have two Christmas chapters, but somehow I ended up with three. So there will probably be a thirteenth chapter. There will at least definitely be an epilogue. I hope you guys will enjoy it! And while you're at it, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural. I wish I did, but I don't.

After Dean's really really really freaking cold shower, he gets dressed and leaves the bathroom. Castiel is still reading the Bible, his lips silently forming a word every now and then. Sam's over at the kitchen, making some sort of food. Dean's not sure what it is, but it seems to involve fruits, so he's not all that interested.

"So you like it?" Dean asks. Castiel looks up at him.

"These images are beautiful. Not all of them are correct, of course, but I can still appreciate the time that has been put into creating them." Dean grins.

"But you like it? I mean, if you don't, we can go back to Wal-Mart and return it." Castiel smiles slightly as he gently closes the book.

"I love it, Dean. You don't need to worry."

"Yeah, but…" Dean looks down, biting his lip. He sits next to Castiel on the couch. "I mean, you gave me part of your freaking Grace. And I just bought you a book for twenty bucks at Wal-Mart. It just feels like…"

"Dean, I have seen your soul," Castiel says softly when Dean's voice trails off. "When I rescued you from Hell, despite how twisted your soul had became, it was still beautiful. I have never seen a brighter essence, nor have I ever met a better man than you, Dean Winchester. Meeting you was a better present than anything anyone could ever get me, and I thank my father that I was assigned to you every day." Dean's touched beyond words. "I apologize if that is what you refer to as a 'chick flick' moment." Dean grins.

"It's fine, Cas," he replies. Then Sam ruins the moment by coming over with a bowl of cut up fruit. Dean's not sure how he can still be hungry; he ate his entire cinnamon bun before and it was freaking gigantic. And yet here Sam is, eating a giant bowl of fruit. Dean doesn't understand it.

"So what should we do now?" Sam asks. Dean shrugs and looks over at Castiel, who looks a little shy.

"I had an idea, but…"

"What is it?" Dean asks when no more information is forthcoming. Castiel looks up timidly.

"In Heaven, to celebrate the Savior's birth, angels perform a blessing on one another. I believe that, with a few changes, I could perform it on you two, if you wish."

"What do you mean by blessing?" Dean asks. Castiel shrugs slightly.

"Simply a blessing for good health and good luck. If you do not wish for it-"

"No, that sounds great," Dean interrupts. Castiel's face brightens and Dean feels like he's just made the angel's day. Which is weird, because it's Christmas and Castiel should not be so excited just because Dean's told him that he can bless him or whatever.

Castiel goes over to the cabinet and pulls out a jar. It looks like holy oil, but there's something different about it too. And Castiel wouldn't be so casual about one of the few things that can actually kill him.

Castiel takes the oil and dips his fingers in it. It smells far more fragrant than the holy oil they've used before to trap angels. "This is a special type of oil that has been used in blessings for centuries. It was difficult to find for you, but…"

"Did you leave the wards to find it?" Dean asks, suddenly worried that Castiel was being reckless. Castiel shakes his head.

"I've…I've had it for…well, a long while."

"How long?" Sam asks. Castiel looks a little embarrassed.

"Um, for a few years?" His voice raises at the end. Dean's shocked.

"A few years? You mean you've literally been waiting for us to have a Christmas celebration for years? How many?"

"Well, I thought that maybe, when the Apocalypse was imminent, you could celebrate, but…"

"Three years?" Dean asks in shock. Castiel shifts awkwardly.

"Maybe…" he replies shyly. Dean shakes his head fondly.

"Cas, you…you are something else." Castiel look a little confused.

"Do you mean something else, rather than human? Because I am an angel, as you well know. Or do you mean-"

"Figure of speech, Cas!" Dean interrupts. Castiel blushes slightly.

"Oh."

"Dean, stop embarrassing the angel and let him bless us already," Sam chastises. Dean pulls back slightly.

"Right. Sorry, Cas." Castiel smiles slightly.

"It's not a problem, Dean." Castiel dips two fingers in the oil again, then places them on Dean's forehead. He makes a line of oil from Dean's hairline to between his eyebrows, then makes a corresponding horizontal line that crosses the vertical lines in their exact center. He does the same on Sam. Then he shakes his hand slightly and all of the remaining oil is gone. He places one hand on Dean's head and the other on Sam's. He starts murmuring something in a language that Dean doesn't understand, but it sends tingles down his spine. Dean guesses it's probably Enochian, considering it's an angelic blessing. He feels a warmth spreading from the top of his head down to his toes. It feels almost like it did when he was in God's presence, but more...intimate, somehow. When Dean was with God, it felt like a parent's embrace. Now, it feels more like a kiss, maybe, or a lover's embrace. Which is awkward, considering Dean might be in love with Castiel, but Castiel almost definitely (Dean knows it's probably "definitely," but he wants to keep a little hope) doesn't love him back.

"Wow," Sam says a moment after Castiel stops chanting and takes his hands off the brothers' heads. "That was…"

"Awesome," Dean puts in as Sam's voice trails off. "Completely awesome. Thanks, dude." Castiel smiles shyly. The jar of oil disappears behind him.

"I am glad you found it enjoyable." Now there's an awkward silence when no one knows quite what to do or say. Finally, after quite a few long minutes, Dean breaks it.

"I wish Bobby were here," he says softly. Sam and Castiel both look at him. "I think he'd like this."

"What happened to him?" Castiel asks softly. "I know only that he died. His spirit is up in Heaven…"

"It is?" Dean asks excitedly. Castiel looks at Dean in confusion.

"Yes. Why would it not be?" Dean feels relief course through his body. One of his biggest fears when he burned the flask was that Bobby would be stuck in Purgatory or some type of nothingness rather than going to Heaven, but apparently that worry was unfounded.

Castiel is still looking at Dean with a curious expression. Dean doesn't really want to talk about it, but Castiel deserves to know sooner or later. Bobby was like family to him as well, Dean knows.

"We were running from Dick Roman. Bobby had been kidnapped by him. Sam and I went in to save him. And we got him out and in the car. But just before we closed the door…" Dean's voice breaks. Sam takes over.

"Roman shot him in the head. We brought him to a hospital, but there was nothing they could do. He didn't make it."

"But then he came back as a ghost," Dean adds. "He fought off his Reaper. He was the one that led me to you, actually."

"Really?" Castiel asks. Dean nods.

"We, amnesic human you, anyway. He was attached to his old flask. After he started to go all vengeful spirit, we burned the flask."

"And that was why you were afraid he would not end up in Heaven?" Castiel asks. Dean nods. "After its time as a ghost, a human soul travels to wherever it was destined to go before it became a ghost. Only occasionally do the events that occurred after death play a role. Bobby is in Heaven."

"That's a relief," Sam says. Castiel looks down.

"So Bobby was killed by Leviathans," he remarks. "Which means it was my fault."

"No it wasn't," Dean replies sternly. Castiel laughs bitterly.

"Yes it was, Dean. Don't try and defend me. I brought those creatures out of Purgatory and onto Earth. It was my fault."

"You were making the best of a bad situation. And you tried to send the dicks back. It wasn't your fault, Cas." Sam looks mildly surprised at Dean's vehement pronouncement; after Bobby's death, he had spent a fair amount of time cursing Leviathans and, sometimes, Castiel as well. But he hasn't meant it, not really. He just wanted someone to blame and Castiel was a convenient scapegoat.

"I should never have worked with Crowley," Castiel mutters. Dean shrugs.

"Sam and I did. We really can't blame you too much."

"That's not what you said two years ago," Castiel reminds Dean. He sighs.

"I was a hypocrite. And I've grown. Now can we stop arguing and have a nice Christmas?" Dean demands. Castiel nods once. It's barely more than a dip of his head, but at least it's something.

"I know what Bobby would say if he was here," Sam says after a moment. Dean looks at him. "He'd say we're being idiots for not taking advantage of these wards. We should be celebrating. Which means Dean, you need to quick picking fights with Cas and Cas, you need to quit being such a martyr that Dean wants to argue with you." Dean feels a little ashamed and, from the expression on his face, Dean assumes Castiel feels about the same.

"Sorry," Dean replies. Castiel murmurs an apology as well.

"It's fine," Sam replies. "Just don't start arguing again." Dean nods. He can do that. He doesn't want to argue with Castiel, but when the angel says stuff like what he's been saying, Dean just can't help it.

"What time is it?" Dean asks after a pause.

"Nine thirty-seven," Castiel replies before Sam can pull out his phone. Dean nods.

"Okay. So what should we do for the rest of the day?"

Sam shrugs. Castiel looks from Sam to Dean. "What do humans normally do on Christmas?" he asks. Dean looks over at Sam.

"Um…"

"Normally visit family," Sam cuts in smoothly. "But we don't really have any family to visit and you can't leave the cabin anyway, so…"

"If my presence is preventing you from doing something you wish to do, then by all means leave," Castiel offers. Dean shakes his head.

"Cas, you're pretty much the only family we've got left at the moment. We're not leaving." Castiel looks a little embarrassed and a little pleased.

Sam grins. "Anyway, you don't want us to leave, do you? You can't get enough of us." Dean wants to shut his brother up desperately, but he has to be subtle about it. But it doesn't matter; Castiel doesn't get it.

"I don't understand that reference," he says, his eyebrows furrowed and his head tilted to the side. Sam grins.

"It means-"

"It's nothing, Cas," Dean interrupts. "Sam's just being an idiot." Dean's not sure if Sam knows how he feels about Castiel, but he wouldn't be surprised if his brother did. He also wouldn't be surprised if Sam decided to do something stupid to try and set the two of them up or something. But if Dean is going to seduce Castiel or whatever, he'd rather do it without Sam's help.

"I wish you could enjoy the snow, Cas," Sam remarks with a sigh. "I mean, you brought it here, so you should get a chance to play in it."

"Unlike you, Cas isn't a five year old," Dean shoots back. Sam gives him one of his signature bitchfaces. Dean's not surprised.

"What exactly does one do in the snow?" Castiel asks, tilting his head to the side. Dean looks at him in shock.

"You've never played in the snow before?"

Castiel looks at Dean almost pityingly. "Dean, there are more important things to do in Heaven than play in the snow," he replies in a voice that shows he thought that should have been clear. Dean shakes his head.

"Okay, after your angel thing blows over, we're going to Alaska or something and we are having a snowball fight."

"I thought you and Cas were above such things," Sam remarks sarcastically. Dean rolls his eyes.

"Well, Sam, considering what I want to do isn't make a snowman-"

"I thought we weren't supposed to be arguing," Castiel cuts in, looking confused. Sam and Dean look at each other.

"He's right," Sam remarks. Dean nods.

"Yeah. Sorry, Cas, we'll stop. So, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Castiel replies, looking a little shocked that he was asked. "I was thinking I would continue reading."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Killjoy," he mutters under his breath. Castiel frowns.

"What is a 'killjoy'?" he asks, air quotes and all. Sam rolls his eyes.

"Dean's just being a jerk," he says. "Ignore him."

"Bitch," Dean retaliates. Castiel takes Sam's advice and picks up the same damn book that he's been reading for the past week. Dean wonders how Castiel can practically finish reading the Bible in a matter of hours and yet is still only three quarters of the way through this book. Granted, it's much bigger, but still.

"Well, then," Dean asks, turning to Sam. "Found a case yet?"

"Yeah, actually," Sam replies. He pushes his laptop towards Dean. "Looks like a wendigo."

"A wendigo?" Dean asks with a groan. "Really? Isn't there anyone else that could deal with it?"

"The closest hunter we know that isn't on a case of their own is in Nevada," Sam replies. "I called Garth. I knew you wouldn't want to do it, but people are dying and we're their best hope."

"Damn," Dean swears. "Fine. Are you sure it's a wendigo?"

"Pretty sure," Sam replies. "Not a hundred percent positive, of course, but pretty sure." Dean groans again.

"So we're either fighting a wendigo, which is a pain in the ass to kill, or we're fighting something else that likes snacking on humans."

"Pretty much," Sam replies. Dean groans for a third time. "Any chance you could help us out on this?" he calls over to Castiel. The angel looks up at him, seeming lost.

"Help with what?" he asks. Dean sighs.

"Never mind." Dean grabs one of the books on the table at random and opens it. "Guess we better start researching."

"Dean, in all likelihood, it's a wendigo," Sam replies. Dean rolls his eyes.

"Sam, when is it ever what we think it is?" he asks. Sam thinks for a moment, then nods.

"True. But still, shouldn't we wait until we get there to start researching?" Sam asks. Dean shrugs.

"Got nothing better to do," he replies, sitting down next to Castiel with the book. Sam's about to say something else, then a smirk curls his lip and he returns his attention to his laptop. Dean's not sure what his brother was thinking, but he's pretty sure he doesn't want to know.

And if it's something about how he's sitting with Castiel, Dean's sure that'll have no affect on his researching at all. You know, because he's not going to shoot sideways looks at the angel when he's sure he's not looking or anything. He's not a teenage girl sitting next to her first crush.

Five minutes later, Dean catches himself watching Castiel rather than reading his book. The angel is occasionally writing quick notes in the margins, but when he's not, the pencil keeps finding his way to his mouth. Without even seeming to realize it, Castiel's chewing absentmindedly on the eraser. Occasionally, a small indulgent smile will cross Castiel's face and he'll jot down something in the book. He hasn't noticed Dean's staring yet.

Dean shakes himself mentally. He needs to focus on researching, not on watching Castiel like some sort of creep. He turns his eyes back to his book.

He's still on the first page of the introduction.

Maybe sitting next to Castiel will be distracting after all. Especially if he keeps chewing on the pencil like that.

Sorry this one wasn't quite as long as the others, but I liked the stopping point and it was either this or have a break and a super long chapter. I decided I would have it be a bit shorter rather than much longer. I hope you don't mind!