Chapter 25 – A Very Supernatural Christmas

They decided to hit the road that evening. Walking through the city center one last time, Sam nodded and looked at Dean.

"Okay."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"Okay, now I can go. It felt great being back here, it felt good to soak up all the memories and take them with me. Now I can leave peacefully."

Dean smiled sadly. "Are you ready to head back to the car?", he carefully asked.

Sam took a deep breath and turned around once more, his arms stretched out. It reminded Dean of the night they had burned fireworks on the field when they were younger and Sam had danced between the sparks.

"Yes, I am ready!", he said and Dean nodded. All of this felt way too sad for an evening this shortly before Christmas.

.

They left the city in silence, Sam was tense until they had put the last houses into their review mirror, then, he slowly started to relax and fell asleep.

About an hour into the drive, he started to cry in his sleep, but Dean did not wake him up. Sam had gone through a lot of emotions today and maybe this was just what he needed.

Dean pulled up at the side of the road, got a blanket from the trunk, covered Sam with it and changed the channel to a station with softer music while starting the engine again. He smiled at the side of his younger brother, all cuddled up against the window of his car. Outside, the world was getting dark, inside it was warm and "The First Noel" played on the radio. For probably the first time ever, Dean enjoyed the song and felt something like happiness over the fact that it was almost Christmas. Maybe this time, they could really make it right.

.

The sight of the small house in Grants in Wisconsin, where Garth and his family lived, was a joy for both of them after having spent almost three days in the car.

They got out at the same time and straightened their coats before walking up to the door.

Dean was about to knock, when the door swung open. The next thing he knew, Garth was hugging him so tight he was trouble breathing.

"Garth… hey… Nice to see you too", he choked and patted the former hunter's back.

Finally, Garth pulled away and looked at him with the widest smile possible. "It's so good to see you, guys!"

Shaking his head at the exuberant greeting, but smiling widely, Dean stepped inside the house while Garth hugged Sam the same way he had hugged Dean.

Jim was standing in the hallway, he was laughing silently. His smile was warm, when he shook Dean's hand. "Welcome!", he said in his soft voice. He had turned completely grey since they had last seen him, but apart from that and a few pounds he must have dropped, he seemed to have taken the death of his wife surprisingly well.

"Thank you for letting us celebrate with you!" Dean said and pressed his hands.

Jim smiled. "Our doors are always open for you and I am very glad that we could invite you."

Dean smiled as well and stepped aside to make space for Sam and great Bess, who had just appeared in the door.

When Dean saw her, his eyes grew wide and he turned towards Garth. "You two are expecting a baby?" he asked and laughed.

Garth nodded and he hugged first Garth and then Beth. "Congratulations!" he said and watched Sam hug them as well.

"Well, that's amazing news to start this!"

At that, Sam caught Dean's eyes and stared at him. Don't tell them. Just this once, I don't want it to be sad.

Dean nodded. Understood.

.

The brothers were let into the living room – and both stopped at the threshold. A Christmas tree was standing in the middle of the room, it was decorated with silver and light blue Christmas balls and silver tinsel. There were strings of lights in every window and candles on every free spot. A soft smell of fir trees, oranges and cloves filled the air.

„Wow!" they said simultaneously, their eyes wide and glistening.

Jim laughed. "You look as if you have never seen a Christmas tree before", he said and Sam and Dean looked at each other.

A tree. A real tree. With lights. And candles. And cookies. And oranges and presents and everything. A real Christmas! They could both feel themselves turning into children again, full of excitement and joy for the miracle of Christmas.

.

They went to church with Garth and his family and watched Jim preached. Sam listened to him, soaking up every word, while Dean observed his brother. Deep down, he remembered going to church at Christmas, when he was three years old, but Sam had never been. The choir started to sing and he closed his eyes. This felt good, like right here was where they were supposed to be, at this church, in this night, with this family.

Christmas dinner was amazing – Bess had cooked turkey and it was the best they had ever eaten.

Singing Christmas carols under the tree was quite challenging since both Sam and Dean were not known to be great singers or even be able to carry a tune at all. They refrained to sitting there and listening, with wide grins on their faces and light in their eyes.

After that, they handed out the presents. Dean got stuff for his car and Sam a book about werewolves that had been written by Jim and Garth. "So you can really understand our nature", he said with a wink.

Sam and Dean shared a look and Dean nodded slightly.

"Well, we've brought something for you as well", Sam said while Dean handed Garth a box that was sloppily gift-wrapped.

"Thank you!", Garth said and removed the paper. He opened the box and stared at Sam and Dean.

"Well…", he said and held up two slices of dried meat.

"We thought, since you are practically vegetarian werewolves anyway, you would maybe like that", Dean said with a wink.

It took them a second, then everyone started to laugh.

Garth looked at the box again and found the letter that contained the actual present. It was a gift card for a trip to a national park close to their home.

"It includes the license to hunt a few deers without having to explain your… hunting methods to anyone", Sam told them and they smiled.

"Thank you!"

Then, Dean looked at Sam. "I might have something for you as well."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "The last two presents had been a sapphire barbie and skin mags, I'm dying to find out what this is going to be", he joked towards Garth, who almost fell off his chair from laughing so hard.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! Just open it!"

It turned out to be a Rubik's cube. "Since you don't need to swallow three books about hunting per day anymore, you have become quite unbalanced so I thought I'd give you something to keep your brain busy", he explained.

Sam smiled. "Thank you, I love it."

He handed Dean a small package. "Here."

Dean carefully unfolded the paper – and froze.

In the middle of a thin napkin that supported it, laid a necklace.

It wasn't the original one, but it was close enough to take Dean's breath away.

"Because, you know, - who knows where our paths will lead us and this way, I am always with you", Sam said and the brothers eyes met. So you won't forget me.

His eyes were burning when he got up to hug Sam. "Thank you!", he whispered.

.

Later that night, they were laying in the guest room, side by side.

Dean stared at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. He kept turning something between his fingers.

Finally, he cleared his throat. "Sammy? Are you still awake?"

Sam turned to his side, so he was facing Dean. "Yeah. What is it?"

Dean turned to his side as well. Their faces were only a few inches apart now.

"Open your hand", Dean commanded and Sam did as he was told.

Carefully, Dean dropped what he had been holding into Sam's palm.

Sam's fingers stroked it and he hold it up to see what it was.

"Thank you!", he said and put the necklace on.

"The pendant", Dean said softly and cleared his throat. "The pendant has been poured out of the bullets Walt and Roy used to kill us when we were running from Zacharia."

Sam's eyes grew wide. "That's… wow."

Dean took a deep breath. "This necklace is a promise, Sam. We share a heaven, remember? No matter, where you are going, Sammy, I am going to find you and join you. Whatever may happen, we will meet again after this life is over, okay?"

Sam stared at Dean and his eyes grew bleary. "Thank you!" he whispered and rolled closer.

Dean put an arm around him and Sam placed his head on his shoulder. When they were younger, they had slept like this every night. It had been decades since they had last lain in this position, but tonight, after the first real Christmas since decades, it felt right. No matter what happened, they always had each other and isn't that the greatest gift of all?

Merry Christmas, I hope you have an amazing time!

Thank you so much for all your support and your messages!

See you in the new year,

Peri :)