A Present for Santa

Sam's back was killing him. It had been a few weeks, but the deep wounds running down his body still ached. Sam; however, couldn't sit in bed and wait for them to heal. A life or death situation was occurring and he was needed. Christmas was literally only a few days away and the Christmas shopping still wasn't done. Normally, Sam and the others got the shopping done right away so they didn't have to deal with the crazy last minute shoppers at the mall. This year the holiday just snuck up on them and they had nothing for the many little angels that would be showing up at the bunker for their annual Christmas party. That was why Sam and Benny now sat on a bench in a mall food court with aching shoulders from carrying around several boxes and heavy bags. At their feet sat Castiel, Rachel, Balthazar, Crowley, and Abaddon. The five were curled on the floor, picking at the fuzz on their new winter coats and pulling at the strings on each other's hats as they waited for Benny and Sam to get moving again. On Sam's shoulder's sat Gabriel. The angel was kneading at the muscle of Sam's shoulder's lightly, trying to help relieve a little of the pain. He'd been like that lately, Sam had realized. After Sam had gotten all fixed up it was damn near impossible to go anywhere without having Gabriel right at his hip. When he got up for food the angel was right there with him. When he went to the bathroom the angel sat by the door in wait. There were times when it drove Sam up the wall, but he knew better than to say anything about it. He had scared the poor archangel. Hell, he'd scared everyone. If following him around would make Gabe feel better then Sam would let him. He owed that much to the archangel.

"Attention, holiday shoppers!"

Both Benny and Sam snapped out from their thoughts and looked up at one of the speakers nearby as a voice crackled over the soft Christmas music.

"Santa has arrived! Come visit him at his workshop between Sears and JC Pennies for a $5 picture."

"Well," Benny hummed when the speaker's voice dwindled away. "I'm up for a little detour to Santa's workshop. How about you, kiddos?" His eyes cast down to the angels and demons at his feet.

"I wanna see Santa!" Rachel cheered, holding her arms up and clapping her hands together in excitement. Benny looked to the others, receiving happy shouts of agreement from all of them. Benny chuckled under his breath and cast his gaze to Sam. He looked the hunter up and down, a slight wariness in his eyes.

"You up for meeting the big man, Sam?" he questioned. Sam nodded, rolling his shoulders slowly. There was still a dull pain, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

"Yeah," Sam revealed. He reached back, plucking Gabriel off his shoulder. "I'm up for that." Benny nodded slowly and stood up onto his feet. He picked up the bags and boxes he had set down, scooping up a few of Sam's load just to help the injured hunter out a bit. Sam gave him a small, thankful smile as he stood up and started to gather up the few boxes and bags left over after setting Gabriel down between Balthazar and Rachel. Gabriel offered to take a bag too and Sam made sure to give the archangel a lighter bag with unbreakable gifts inside.

With their arms full, Benny and Sam led the way through the mall, tripping over the excited angels and demons once and a while when they skittered around the grownups' feet. It felt like forever for Sam and his aching back, but eventually they made it to Santa's workshop. Between Sears and JC Pennies sat a large throne surrounded by men and women dressed in green elf suits. On the throne sat Santa Clause and stretching from his lap was a growing line of parents and their excited children. Benny whistled when he saw the line and quickly scurried to the end before it could grow anymore. Sam followed with the angels and demons at his side and the group stood silently as they waited for their turn with Santa. Sam set his load of boxes and bags down after a while, relieving himself of the weight for at least a little bit. He knelt down on the floor so he was level with the angels, Crowley, and Abaddon.

"So what are you guys thinking of asking for?" he questioned.

"We no tell," Abaddon announced, crossing her little arms across her chest.

"Yeah, no tell," Crowley parroted, earning a glare from the other demon. Balthazar rolled his eyes at the two demons and looked back to Sam.

"If we tell you, our wish won't come true," he revealed.

"Fair enough," Sam responded with a chuckle. He looked to Cas then. "How about you, Cas? You gonna tell me?" The angel turned his gaze from Santa Clause and he stared up into Sam's green eyes with his big blue ones.

"Sam?" the angel questioned.

"Yeah?"

"Does anyone ever ask what St. Nicholas wants?"

"Cassie…" Gabriel began, putting a hand on his little brother's shoulder. "First of all, who in Dad's Earth calls Santa Clause St. Nicholas? Second of all, what are you talking about?" Castiel shoved his brother's hand off of his shoulder and he pointed at the jolly old man in a red suite and white beard.

"Santa always asks what we want to make us happy, but has anyone asked what he wants so he can be happy too?" The angel's words sunk in and silence surrounded the group. Cas' shoulders slumped as he took in their reactions. "I will take that as a no."

"Yeah, I've…" Sam shook his head as he tried to think. "I don't remember anyone ever doing something like that for Santa."

"Can we?" Rachel questioned.

"Hey, yeah," Gabriel joined in, eyes brightening suddenly. "We could get Santa a gift and give it to him when we take our picture with him!"

"That's not a bad idea," Sam said with a small smile. He frowned though and looked over to the jolly old man sitting a little ways away when a new thought crossed his mind. "What would we get him though?"

"Well, cookies are always an option," Benny stated. "Man loves cookies and sweet stuff almost as much as you, Gabe."

"Hey, no one likes sweets as much as me," Gabriel countered, challenge in his voice. Benny laughed and knelt down to pat the archangel's head.

"I did say 'almost', kid," he chuckled. Gabriel stuck his tongue out at the vampire and looked to Castiel.

"What do you think, little bro? Think cookies will do?" Castiel nodded in answer, but he still didn't look happy. His eyes were fixed on Santa. No, not just Santa. His eyes were on Santa's gloves. They were simple white gloves and looked perfectly fine at first glance, but on looking again it was easy to see that they were worn.

"Maybe some new gloves too?" Castiel offered, looking to the others.

"Yeah," Sam agreed, eyes still flicking over the worn fabric on Santa's hands. "We can do that."

"Alright then!" Benny boomed. He poked a finger at Sam and stared the hunter down. "You go glove and cookie shopping with the kids and I'll watch our stuff and spot. Deal?" Sam held out a hand and Benny took it, shaking it hard.

"Deal," Sam agreed. He pulled back his hand and looked to the angels and demons on his feet. He waved at them with a large smile on his face. "Okay, guys. Let's get Santa his present."

It was a good twenty minutes before Sam returned with the angels and demons in tow along with two brightly wrapped gifts. Benny waved at them from high up in the line. He was at the front of the line at last and Santa was waiting patiently on his throne with his smiling elves.

Sam quickly hid the gift behind his back and fell into line beside Benny and the angels, Crowley, and Abaddon quickly followed.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Santa chimed on seeing the angels, Crowley, and Abaddon. "What a big group we have here. It's a good thing I've got a big lap. Come on over!" He waved a big hand at them and with a little shove from Sam and Benny the six scurried over to Santa and climbed up onto his lap. "Have you all been good this year?" Santa started off like he did with all the children that came to see him. The six each chimed a big yes and ignored the snickers and teasing eye rolls from both Benny and Sam. "Ho! Ho! Well done, little ones. Now…what would you all like for Christmas?" His eyes went to Castiel first and the little angel sat up straighter, determination glistening in his eyes.

"Mr. Kris Kringle?" he started. Santa's eyes widened slightly at the use of his name and Balthazar and Gabriel each smacked themselves on the forehead. Castiel ignored the odd looks though. "What would you like for Christmas this year?" Santa's eyes widened even more and he stammered slightly, struck by the question.

"Oh, I…well, no one has really asked me before," he stated.

"That okay!" Rachel chimed, face split in a wide grin. "We got you."

"What she means is that we got you something, Santy," Gabriel clarified.

"Me?"

"Yep," Benny said proudly. He reached out and patted Sam's shoulder lightly and the hunter pulled the wrapped boxes from where he'd been hiding them behind his back. Sam stepped forward and handed the two gifts to Santa. Santa took them, staring at the two gifts like they were something conjured from a dream. Slowly, he began to tear open the red and green Christmas paper of the first present. When he finally cleared away the paper a big laugh bubbled from his lips at that sight of dozens of brightly decorated Christmas cookies. He gave them all a big thank you for the gift and then moved on to the last present. He untied the big red bow on the top and lifted the lid to the golden box. Everyone held their breath as he looked inside and the look on Santa's face definitely warmed their hearts.

"Oh…oh my," Santa whispered as he reached into the box. He pulled out a red pair of gloves and held them in his hands like they were glass.

"Fluffy inside," Crowley revealed, pointing at the gloves happily. Santa pulled off his old gloves and replaced them with the new. He grinned as the fluffy fabric of the inside brushed over his hands. He held up his hands, looking at the gloves with a bright twinkle in his eye.

"Thank you," he said at last. He wrapped his arms around the six, hugging them tight. "Thank you all."

"You're welcome," they whispered back, smiling at the happy feeling from making the old man smile.

After a moment, Santa pulled back. He wiped his watery eyes and set the empty boxes and his cookies to the side.

"Well, now it's your turn," he said. "What would you like for Christmas?" He was given a wide smile then and the six turned their gaze away from Santa and onto Sam.

"We want Sammy's back to be better," they all said in unison. Shock sparked in Sam's eyes and his mouth fell wide open. He was their Christmas wish?

"Oh?" Santa questioned. He looked to Sam then over his glasses. "It's been bothering you?" Sam swallowed, but nodded.

"Yeah, I uh…had an accident a while back. It's been bothering me a little." Santa nodded at that and then looked to the six on his lap.

"Alright, little ones," he said softly, giving them a small wink. "I'll see what I can do." The six whispered soft thank yous and wrapped Santa in a giant hug. Benny nudged one of the elves running the cameras then and the elf quickly shot a picture of the moment.

"Five dollars please," the elf said and Benny handed over the cash. He took the picture from the elf then and held it out to Sam. The hunter took it, smiling at the happy faces printed out in ink. He reached over his shoulder with his free hand, kneeing at the sore muscle of his back, eyes sliding over to the angels and demons still sitting on Santa's lap.

"Thank you," he whispered softly under his breath. He knew that there wasn't anything this Santa or anyone else could do about his pain, but just the fact that his angels, Abaddon, and Crowley had given up their Christmas wish for him was enough to melt his already big heart.

Christmas Eve came and went. Baby angels and their families slowly started to arrive at the bunker along with old and new friends. On Christmas day, Sam woke up to the sound of excited shouts from the bunker's library. He chuckled sleepily into his pillow and rubbed the sleep from his eye. He sat up and the smile on his face shifted into a frown. Slowly, he rolled his shoulders. Nothing happened. He stretched his arms up over his head. Again, nothing happened. No pain rocketed up his spine from the deep wound on his back.

"What the?" Sam questioned while reaching over his shoulder and squeezing at the pain free muscle of his right and left shoulder. Was he dreaming yet? How could the pain be completely gone?

Sam cut off the thoughts jumbling through his mind. He looked around his bedroom, trying to find something that would tell him whether or not he was dreaming. What he found instead was the picture of the angels, Crowley, Abaddon, and Santa.

"That's strange," Sam whispered as he reached out for the picture. "I thought I put that in Charlie's Album?"

Sam picked up the picture and stared at the smiling faces on it. He grinned at the smiling faces and then flipped the photo over. Sam's eyes widened as he stared at the back. In thick, curling letters there was a small message. Sam read it to himself in his head and then he read it again and again and again, unable to believe what he was reading. He dropped the photo onto his bed then and ran from his room, calling for the angels, demons, and Benny. The photo fluttered onto Sam's bedsheets picture side down, leaving the message visible for anyone to see.

Merry Christmas, Samuel Winchester. Enjoy your pain-free holiday.

Love,

Santa Clause

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!