A/N: I can't believe it took me this long to get Charlie in one of these one shots. :#
"Birthday Party"
Ryn carefully navigated her way down the stairs with her arms full of shopping bags, and deposited her load on the map table, Dean and Charlie right behind her.
"Thanks so much for letting me take over the party planning," the spunky red-head said.
Ryn just smiled; she honestly didn't mind letting Charlie go to town since the human obviously enjoyed it so much. Charlie was better at it then the rest of them, too, and always loved coming up with themes that Ryn never would have thought of. She still wasn't entirely sure what Moondoor was, but it had elves or fairies or something, so was probably appealing to a little girl.
Speaking of which, Amala came bounding into the library, dressed in black leggings and a teal and green paisley blouse that was long enough to almost look like a dress. Ryn had plaited her hair back that morning and pinned it with a simple flower clip.
"Hey, there's the princess of the party!" Charlie beamed.
"I'm not a princess," Amala replied.
Dean shot her an affronted look. "Of course you are."
Amala shook her head. "A princess is an ascribed status. They don't do anything to earn it, but people are supposed to fawn over them. I don't want to be a princess."
Both Dean and Charlie turned to Ryn with raised brows.
Ryn held up her hands. "I did not teach her that."
After a beat, Charlie grinned and turned to Amala. "High-five for girl power."
Amala slapped her hand against Charlie's.
"Wait, what about Rapunzel?" Dean asked incredulously. "You love that movie."
"Rapunzel didn't know she was a princess, so she didn't think she had to act like one," Amala replied matter-of-factly.
"And she saved the hero, Flynn Ryder," Charlie put in. "And herself. No damsel in distress there."
"Nope!" Amala chimed.
Dean cast a lost look at Ryn, who shrugged. She just hoped there wasn't any princess paraphernalia in these bags.
But then Charlie was reaching into one of them and pulling out a plastic crown.
"I had to earn my title of Queen of Moondoor," she said, placing the crown on her head. "By leading my army into battle against the Dark Elves and defeating them."
Amala's eyes widened with interest. "Really? Can I lead an army into battle?"
Charlie stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps one day, young grasshopper. But today, your mission is to evade all party preparations. Catching sight of even one decoration before everything's ready could break the spell and turn you into a toad!"
Amala canted a dry look at her. "I don't think it works that way, Aunt Charlie."
The red-head crossed her arms. "Does so. Or maybe it is something else." She waved a dismissive hand. "Either way, only princesses peek when they're not supposed to because they think they're entitled."
Amala rolled her eyes, but turned to scamper off back to her room, passing Sam and Castiel on the way.
"Hey, Charlie," the younger Winchester greeted, gaze roving over the bags. "Wow, uh, need some help?"
"Actually, I need someone to pick up the cake," she replied. "I didn't want to risk it getting smashed with all the party supplies."
"I can get it," Castiel offered.
Charlie's smile lit up. "Perfect! I'll give you the address."
Ryn started opening the other shopping bags to see what was inside. Streamers, glitter, party tablecloths, and an assortment of plastic shapes for decoration, from flowers to shield-maiden crests. Not too princess-y, then.
After giving Cas the location of the bakery, Charlie started instructing everyone on where to set up things. They covered the library study tables with green plastic tablecloths, and then taped streamers of red diamond cut-outs around the edges. Plates and cups were then set out on one table, while presents were placed on the other.
Charlie also had vases and fake gerber daisies, which she set around as centerpieces. Sam hung more streamers from the tops of bookcases to cross the room above their heads, and Dean had started bringing in chips and soda from the kitchen.
It didn't take Castiel long to return with the cake, since he'd decided to fly, claiming it was more stable than driving. He placed the large bakery box in the middle of the table with the other food and opened the lid, revealing a rectangular cake covered in decorative buttercream frosting depicting an enchanted forest.
"What flavor did you get?" Ryn asked curiously.
"Lemon with raspberry filling," Charlie replied.
Nice. Ryn gazed around at the library, amazed at how quickly they'd been able to transform it. "Is everything ready?"
"Hold on!" Charlie squealed, and made a mad dash to hang one of the shield-maiden crests over the back of the chair in front of the cake. "Okay, now we're good!"
Ryn headed down the corridor to retrieve Amala, who was sitting in her room reading. "You can come see now," she said.
Her daughter bounded off the bed and darted forward, eyes dancing with excitement. They made their way back out to the library, and once there, Amala's face lit up even more.
"Happy birthday!" Sam, Dean, and Charlie shouted.
Amala grinned from ear to ear. "This is awesome!"
Charlie struck a queenly pose. "Of course it is. Now, first things first—presents!" She walked over to the gift table and picked up a medium size package wrapped in bright yellow paper with balloons.
Amala tore into it. The paper had only been covering a plain cardboard box, which she then had to pry open, but inside was a figurine of a fairy with fiery wings that looked like actual flames.
"Ooh, it's so pretty," Amala gushed.
Charlie grinned happily.
The next one was from Sam and Dean, and was a combination of a purple hat and matching purple jacket, which Amala thanked them both for heartily.
Castiel picked up the last gift and passed it to Amala. "This is from your mother and me."
She ripped open the wrapping paper and let out a stunned gasp. Ryn smiled as their daughter looked up at them with wide eyes.
"Really?" she squeaked.
Ryn nodded. She and Cas had decided that since Amala's interest in photography was continuing to develop and didn't appear to be a phase, that she should have a real camera instead of those disposable ones.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed as her attention became absorbed in the features listed on all the sides of the box. "I can print pictures from the computer! No more waiting to get them developed."
"That's right," Castiel said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Sam said he can help you with that."
Amala started trying to get the box open. "I want to take pictures of the party."
Sam laughed. "Okay, okay. How about I get that open and the batteries put in, and you blow out the candles on your cake so we can eat it?"
"Deal," she proclaimed, handing him the box and hurrying over to the other table.
Dean got out a lighter and started to light the candles, and then the rest of them gathered around to sing "Happy Birthday." Amala sucked in a deep breath, and then blew hard to extinguish all the candles in one go. They cheered when the last one blew out.
"No trick candles?" Dean asked Charlie, appearing slightly disappointed.
She rolled her eyes in response.
"What's a trick candle?" Amala asked.
"See, now you ruined it," Sam joined in, holding the brand new camera.
Amala hopped out of the chair and went to look at it.
Dean shook his head as he picked up a knife to cut the cake. "You're raising a nerd, Cas. She'd rather geek out over a camera than have sugar."
Castiel's mouth quirked.
Dean started placing slices of cake on paper plates and handing them out while Sam was showing Amala all the buttons and features on her new camera. The adults mingled about, chatting and eating as Amala began testing out her gift and snapping shots of them. With the memory card Ryn and Castiel had gotten to go with the camera, she could take as many as she wanted.
"Is Uncle Gabriel coming?" Amala spoke up.
Castiel nodded. "He said he'd be here, so he will."
She smiled and went back to taking pictures.
Castiel took a step toward Ryn. "I hope he's not late because he's getting her a unicorn," he said under his breath.
Ryn's mouth quirked, but only in half amusement—one never knew what to expect from the Trickster archangel.
She canted her head at the slightly morose look that had suddenly overtaken her husband's face. "What is it?"
His shoulders sagged a fraction. "I understand the concept of birthdays celebrating the joy of the person who came into the world on this day," he began. "But I don't think I enjoy them very much. She's growing up too fast."
Ryn slipped an arm around his waist and gave him a side hug. "Yeah, they do that."
Amala bounded up to them and raised her camera. "Say 'cheese'!"
Ryn and Castiel dutifully did so.
"I still don't understand the correlation of cheese and photography," the angel commented once Amala had darted away again.
Ryn just grinned. She noticed Kit had slunk out of the back to come investigate the hubbub and was now slapping a paw at some of the discarded wrapping paper on the floor, as it made a crinkly sound. Ryn bent down and picked up a nearby piece, wadded it up into a ball, and tossed it behind a chair. The cat went skittering after it.
Charlie sidled up to her and Cas. "I'd say this party was a success," she declared.
Ryn smiled. "I'd say so, too. Thank you, Charlie."
The woman blushed. "Oh, it was nothing. I never thought I'd be an aunt. Not to mention an aunt to an amazing half phoenix, half angel."
Castiel smiled at her, too. "Yes, well, family doesn't end with blood."
Charlie's face pinked ecstatically. "Oh, you said the classic line! Well, one of them. But that was awesome!"
Cas's brow quirked in confusion. "Um…you're welcome?"
Charlie grinned and patted his arm, then turned to head over to Sam and Dean. Amala was taking pictures of Kit wrestling with the ball of wrapping paper.
Ryn slipped her arm around Cas again and leaned into him, just enjoying the family gathering. She never thought she'd be here, either, surrounded by loved ones like this. Sure, maybe there was some sadness in Amala growing up, but Ryn had been through this once before with her son, and she was looking forward to the future. One with boundless possibilities.