Piper was leaning against of the beds in the crappy motel they were staying at. Someone who was appearing as Santa Claus was killing people, seemingly at random.

It was a couple of weeks after she'd been kidnapped. She was healing at a remarkable rate, but putting her weight on her leg still hurt, so she had been regulated to research. It was irritating, but it was honestly as much as she could handle.

"So, was I right? Is it the serial-killing chimney sweep?" Dean was asking cheerfully.

Sam laughed. "Yep. It's, uh, it's actually Dick Van Dyke."

"Who?"

Piper raised an eyebrow. "Mary Poppins?"

Dean looked at her. "Who's that?"

Piper giggled, while Sam was clearly appalled. "Oh come on… Never mind."

Dean shrugged. "Well, it turns out that Walsh is the second guy in town grabbed out of his house this month."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Piper watched the two of them. Watching them solve a case was one of her favorite things.

"The other guy get dragged up the chimney, too?"

"Don't know. Witnesses said they heard a thump on the roof." They shrugged at each other. "So, what the hell do you think we're dealing with?"

Piper cleared her throat. Here goes nothing. "Actually, I have an idea."

They turned to her. "Yeah?"

She bit her lip, ignoring the way Dean's eyes darkened. "Uh, it's gonna sound crazy."

Sam grinned. "What could you possibly say that sounds crazy to us?"

She closed her eyes. "Um… Evil Santa."

Dean paused, and then nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, that's crazy."

She glared at him. "I'm just saying that there's some version of the anti-Claus in every culture." She started counting on her fingers. "You got Belsnickel, Krampus, Black Peter. Whatever you want to call it, there's all sorts of lore."

Sam smiled. "Saying what?"

"Saying back in the day, Santa's brother went rogue and now he shows up around Christmas time, but instead of bringing presents, he punishes the wicked."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "By hauling their ass up chimneys?"

Piper nodded. "For starters, yeah."

"So, this is your theory, huh? Santa's shady brother?" Sam asked skeptically.

Piper shrugged. "Yeah, I could be wrong."

Dean was looking at her. "Maybe, maybe not."

Sam swung around to Dean. "What?"

"I did a little digging. Turns out both victims visited the same place before they got snatched."

xxxxx

Piper was leaning against the headboard the next evening, research spread out around her, lost in thought.

Dean wanted to do Christmas. It was a first, she had always had to convince him to celebrate. Under normal circumstances, she would have been all for it, but it would be hard to put on a happy face this year.

Dean was going to be dead next year. It was completely unreal to Piper that he wouldn't be there to threaten and cajole into enjoying the holiday with her. If he really wanted to, she would drag up the spirit. She just didn't feel like celebrating when the man she was in love with was going to die in a year.

Piper looked up as the door unlocked and the brothers walked in, already talking.

"How much do you think a meadowsweet wreath would cost?" Dean was asking, dropping his bag and coming to sit next to Piper on the bed.

Sam shrugged. "A couple hundred dollars, at least."

Dean's eyebrows rose as he put an arm around Piper. "This lady's giving them away for free? What do you think about that?"

Piper nodded. "Sounds pretty suspicious."

They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their thoughts. Piper was enjoying the feel of Dean pressed against her when he spoke. "Remember that wreath Dad brought home that one year?"

Sam scoffed. "You mean the one he stole from, like, a liquor store?"

Dean grinned. "Yeah, it was a bunch of empty beer cans. That thing was great. I bet if I looked around hard enough, I could probably find one just like it." He turned to Piper. "Eh? What do you think, kitten?"

Before she could respond, Sam already was. "All right. Dude… What's going on with you?"

Dean turned back to his brother. "What?"

"I mean, since when are you Bing Crosby all of a sudden? Why do you want Christmas so bad?"

Dean was starting to get agitated. "Why are you so against it? I mean, were your childhood memories that traumatic?" Piper put her hand on his thigh and squeezed gently.

Sam sighed. "No, that has nothing to do with it."

"Then what?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair. "I, I mean, I, I just… I don't get it. You haven't talked about Christmas in years, not if Piper wasn't bugging us about it."

Dean shrugged. "Well, yeah. This is my last year."

Pain gripped Piper's heart. She swallowed the sound that wanted to escape. She couldn't let it.

Sam met her eyes, and she saw the same pain there. "I know. That's why I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't just sit around, drinking eggnog, pretending everything's okay, when I know next Christmas you'll be dead. I just can't."

xxxxx

Dean was watching Piper sleep that night, trying not to think. Sam's words had struck him, and Piper's silence afterwards had confirmed that she felt the same way.

He didn't know what to say to them. There was nothing. The deal had been made, there was no way to get out of it. He just wanted some good stuff to go out on.

He let go of a deep breath, pulled Piper closer, and tried to sleep.

xxxxx

Piper was bandaging Sam's finger, fuming. "I'm glad you killed them with a Christmas tree."

He smiled at her. "Join the club."

She finished and stood to clean up, keeping her weight on her left leg. "Where did Dean go?"

"Beer."

She smiled and had turned away when he put a hand on her arm. "Piper… Do you feel like celebrating?"

She turned back around and studied him for a minute, then decided on honesty. "No." She fought to keep tears out of her eyes, and won. "No, I don't. But if we were going to, I would suck it up. I think he wants happy memories to take with him. I think he's scared, and he's trying to cover." She took a deep breath. "But I have never felt less like celebrating Christmas."

Sam seemed to think for a long time while she cleaned up. When she was done, she sat on her and Dean's bed with a sigh of relief.

It ended when he looked up at her. "I need your help, Pipe."

xxxxx

Dean's face when he walked in to see the decorations she and Sam had put up was worth the dull ache in her leg.

"What's all this?" He was looking around, amazed, at the lights and the tiny tree they had found.

Piper smiled. "It's Christmas."

Dean looked at the two of them, shocked. "What made you change your mind?"

Sam ignored him. "Here, uh... Try the eggnog. Let me know if it needs some more kick." He handed Dean a plastic cup.

Piper stifled a laugh when Dean almost choked on the eggnog. "No, we're good," he coughed.

Sam was grinning. "Yeah?"

Dean held his cup up in a toast. "Yeah." As soon as Sam looked away, Dean gave Piper a what the hell face. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

Sam moved some chairs so they were sitting in a circle. "Good. Well, uh, have a seat. Let's do… Christmas stuff, or whatever."

As the men exchanged gifts, Piper stayed quiet. This was a moment for them. She sipped her not spiked eggnog and just enjoyed being there, smiling at their gas station gifts to one another.

They seemed to realize that she was there a few minutes later, both of them shooting her guilty glances.

She smiled. "I didn't get you guys anything either, so no worries, guys."

Sam frowned. "That's not fair."

A light bulb went off in Piper's head. "Tell you what, you can make it up to me. Bring me my phone."

Sam got up and dug through Piper's bag to bring her her cell phone. She handed it to Dean. "Take a picture of us, Winchester."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Sam helped Piper stand up. "I don't have any recent pictures of us!"

She stood next to Sam, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Her leg twinged, but she kept her smile on. It was Christmas, after all.

Dean directed them around a bit and finally took the picture. She was more tired than she had realized, because her leg was on fire, and she was getting a headache.

"All right, now one with Dean. Get over here, Winchester," she said, smiling at him as they switched places. When Dean stood next to her, she leaned heavily into him, taking weight off of her leg, still trying to keep her face still.

Despite her efforts, Dean must have noticed that she was in pain. Before she could protest, he bent and picked her up, with her knees dangling over one arm and his other arm supporting her shoulders. She squeaked and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Dean!"

He made a show of nuzzling her ear, whispering so Sam couldn't hear, "You have a good poker face, kitten, but you can't fool me."

"Stop being gross and look at the damn camera," Sam barked cheerfully.

Piper turned and smiled, staying still as Sam snapped the photo. Then she turned and looked back at Dean, losing herself in those ridiculous green eyes. He grinned and leaned down to press a kiss to her lips, murmuring "Merry Christmas kitten," into her lips.

Dean carried Piper to her chair again, moving his own closer to hers so he could wrap an arm around her shoulders.

There was an awkward silence. "Do you feel like watching the game?" Sam asked, finally.

Dean smiled in relief. "Absolutely."

Piper rested her head on Dean's shoulder and watched the game with her Winchesters.

xxxxx

Dean lay on his back with Piper's head resting on his bare chest, hand idly playing with her long hair. Sam was asleep, so he kept his voice low. "Piper, I'm sorry."

She lifted her head to look at him. "For what?"

He looked up at the ceiling, he couldn't look at her right now. "You know for what. Playing dumb will not win you sympathy here, Finley."

He felt her smile as she laid her head back down on his chest. He resumed playing with her hair. "I just… I'm sorry."

She kissed his chest. "I know, Dean. I know."

For some reason, he didn't want to let it lie. "Piper, I'm serious. I didn't have a choice, and I'm not sorry I did what I did. But I'm…"

"Sorry," she finished softly. She didn't lift her head, but Dean's hand stilled. "I know, Dean. I know you are, and I know why you did what you did. I just…" A soft sigh. "I just wish things were different."

He held her for a while, trying to think of something to say to cheer her up. Dammit, the only way he was good at comforting her was with his hands, but taking her didn't seem like an option right now, she was still in pain.

They fell asleep before he could think of anything.

xxxxx

A/N: Hi, everyone! Here's my notes:

I own only Piper Finley, the original character. I don't own Supernatural, or the characters (heartbroken).

Reviews and comments give me the warm fuzzies and keep me going.

If there are any mistakes in continuity, canon, or geography, blame me.