Still, Still, Still --A Christmas to Remember Ch. 7
Disclaimer: Still don't own them and still not making a profit. I also don't own the lyrics to the Christmas song Still, Still, Still!
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
Previously: "S'okay Sammy, I've got you" Dean said as he sat down on the bed and pulled his baby brother into his arms. "Everything's going to be alright tiger, everything is going to be just fine."
Dean couldn't remember ever being happier in his life than he was at this very moment. Sam was finally being released after having spent almost a week in the hospital recovering from the effects of the severe electrical shock he had sustained to his body. And even though things were still strained between him and his brother, Sammy had finally allowed him inside that barrier he had erected around himself and accepted the comfort that Dean was so willing to give. Of course Dean wasn't fooling himself, he knew that this was just the beginning, that he still had a lot of work to do if he was going to rebuild that brotherly bond with Sam once again.
His first attempt at rebuilding that bond would be to give his brother the Christmas he deserved. He had went into town to pick up three turkey dinners with all the trimmings and a few presents for his brother while Bobby went to the hospital to pick Sammy up. Those presents were now wrapped and under the tree along with the ones that Bobby had already placed there before this whole mess had begun. Now he just had to wait for Sammy to get home so that they could all spend a belated Christmas together.
The thought had no sooner entered his head when he heard the sound of Bobby's old Ford pickup pulling into the yard. He looked out the widow to see Bobby get out of the driver's side of the vehicle and walk around to help Sammy. He wished he had been the one to pick up his little brother but Sam had asked for Bobby to do it instead. Dean was hurt by it at first, but then he understood that Sam would be tense making an hour long drive with him when things weren't up to par yet between them. Not only that, but the doctor had told him that Sammy would still experience trouble with the neurons in his brain not functioning properly over the next few weeks so he would undoubtedly suffer mood swings. Knowing this, he braced himself to accept whatever reaction Sammy showed to his attempts at giving Sam a proper Christmas.
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
As Sam made the drive home with Bobby, he worried about how tense things were going to be once they got back to Singer Salvage Yard. He couldn't help but remember the last time they had been there. Dean had went off on him and punched him in the face upon losing his temper when he had seen all the Christmas decorations. He knew Dean had felt betrayed by him, but he honestly didn't think he deserved to be on the receiving end of Dean's fist. He sighed as he wondered if he would have to sleep on the couch again. That couch was just not built to hold somebody of his height.
"Sammy, you alright son?" Bobby questioned immediately after hearing him sigh wondering if Sam needed to stop for a break. He knew the kid was still not feeling to well, but the doctors felt that he was doing well enough to be released.
"Yeah, I'm good Bobby, just a little nervous about going back to the salvage yard after what happened the last time I was there" Sam admitted as he unconsciously wrung his hands together.
"Things are gonna be okay kiddo. Dean knows what he did was wrong and he's doing his damnedest to make things right again tiger. Just give it some time, things will get better between you two. I can feel it in these old bones of mine."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I just feel kind of uneasy around him sometimes you know. I'm not sure I'm ready to uh….would you mind sticking around for a while Bobby, just until things aren't so …"
"You can count on it tiger" Bobby informed Sam as he lay a comforting hand on his knee and squeezed it just a little. He wasn't about to let those two alone together until Sam was totally at ease with his brother once again. He knew a lot of Sam's anxiousness was coming from the fact that his head was still a little screwed up from the severe electrical shock to his system. Sammy would never be acting this way otherwise. He hoped that Dean would be ready to face an anxious brother upon their arrival.
As Bobby pulled up into the driveway, he said a silent prayer to John or whoever was listening to help the boys through the upcoming days. He couldn't stand seeing the distance that was between them now. Bobby pushed open his door and climbed out of the truck so he could walk around and help Sammy.
As they walked up to the porch with Bobby lightly supporting Sam, Dean walked out of the house to offer his help. As he did, he noticed that Sam looked at him with wary eyes and that he had started worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. "Damn, he's still not totally comfortable with me yet" he thought while plastering a smile on his face.
"Damn Sammy, it sure is good to see you out of the hospital dude" Dean said as he walked out to meet them. "You doing okay, you need any help?"
"Nah, were good" Bobby stated for Sammy as he kept one arm around Sam's shoulders while helping him up the front porch steps. He could see the hurt in Dean's eyes and felt sorry for the older brother. Dean had always been the one to help when Sammy was hurting and now he had to stand by and watch as another person took his place.
As Sam walked into the house, he gasped to see the Christmas decorations that adorned the place and the decorated evergreen tree that still stood in the corner. He was even more shocked as he noticed the presents that lay beneath the tree. The gifts had seemed to multiply in number since the last time they were at Bobby's. As he made his way over to the couch, he gave Bobby a questioning look.
"Don't look at me dude" Bobby said as he saw Sam's questioning gaze, I didn't have anything to do with this.
"No, it was all my idea. Merry late Christmas Sammy" Dean said with a smile as he took one of the glasses of eggnog off of the coffee table and attempted to hand it to his brother. He was surprised however to see a look of annoyance cross his brother's face.
"What the hell Dean?" Sam questioned unbelievingly. "Why the hell would you all of the sudden act so damned jolly when just a few short days ago you were pissed as hell at me?"
"Sammy please, I'm sorry. I never should have acted the way I did earlier. I was too focused on my own pain that I couldn't see that you were hurting too and just trying to make things a little bit better."
"And that's supposed to make it better Dean? I'm supposed to understand that it's okay when you want to do things but that I better damned well ask first or risk getting punched again, that it's okay to celebrate the holiday now because you say it is?"
"God Sammy no, that's not what I am trying to do here. This is my way of trying to apologize to you little brother, my way of trying to say that I'm sorry" Dean looked with pleading eyes at his baby brother hoping he would understand the meaning behind what he had tried to do.
"Whatever Dean" Sam said in dismay as he placed his head in his hands. He was starting to get a nasty headache. Sam was surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder a moment later and looked up to see Bobby holding two white pills out to him.
"Take these kiddo, they'll help you to feel better" Bobby said as he gave Sammy some of the pain medicine that the doctor had prescribed for him. Sam smiled up at him gratefully as he swallowed the two pills and then washed them down with the eggnog. He felt Bobby thrust a pillow beside him on the couch and then lay down to relax his aching body. It only took fifteen short minutes before the pills had kicked in and he was sleeping in a drug induced sleep.
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
As Sam slept on the couch, Dean sat talking quietly with Bobby in the kitchen. Dean had become depressed over Sam's reaction to celebrating Christmas and felt that he had let his brother down once again.
"How could I have been so stupid Bobby? I should have realized how Sammy would feel about celebrating after what I did. I should have known better than try to push this on him so soon. Damn it, am I ever going to stop hurting him all the damned time?"
"Dean stop blaming yourself for the way Sammy reacted. He's just stressed right now as well as a little mixed up with his emotions. Give him a chance to adjust, I'm sure he'll appreciate what you're trying to do."
"You think so Bobby? I mean I could go in there and remove the presents and we could just pretend nothing happened. I don't want to upset him anymore."
"Let's just wait and see how he's doing when he wakes up. We'll take our cue from there" Bobby stated as he poured him and Dean a cup of steaming black coffee.
For the next three hours, Bobby and Dean discussed the yellow eyed demon and everything they knew about the son of a bitch that had destroyed the Winchester's lives. They were determined to find a way to finish the demon off once and for all so that the boys could get on with their lives without the shadow of the demon hanging over every thing they did. As they discussed different spells and weapons that might work, they heard the sound of Sam's moaning in the living room and went to check on their youngest.
"Hey tiger, you feeling better?" Dean questioned with a hopeful gaze towards his brother.
"Yeah, M'fine" Sam mumbled as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. "I'm feeling kinda hungry though."
"Well, I went to town early and bought three turkey dinners with all the trimmings if you're up to it, but if you'd rather not, I can cook us up some hotdogs or something" Dean offered.
"Turkey sounds good" Sam replied with a smile as he pushed himself up off the couch. "I'll just go wash up while you're getting it ready."
Dean beamed with happiness as he rushed off towards the kitchen to warm up the dinners. At least he had did something right today. As they sat down to the meal, Dean could tell that Sammy's mood had definitely changed for the better. His brother was actually smiling and making small talk about the Christmas decorations that bedecked the kitchen walls raising his hopes that Sam would be willing to open presents later on.
After they had finished dinner and cleaned up the kitchen, the Winchesters and Bobby carried their coffee into the living room to watch the Sunday football game that was playing on the television. As Sam noticed the presents under the tree once again, he felt a little remorse at the way he had acted earlier not knowing what had gotten into him and made him so angry.
"So, uh, anything under that tree for me?" Sam asked as he looked at Dean and Bobby with sparkling eyes.
"Sure there is bitch" Dean said with a smile so brilliant that it lit up the whole house.
He walked over towards the tree and pulled out the few presents he had wrapped wanting Sammy to open them first. Picking up a small one wrapped in gold paper and a silver bow, he laid it into his brother's hands. "I want you to open this one first" Dean said with a gleam in his eyes.
As Sam opened the present, he was surprised to see a small plastic replica of a toy bridge. "That Sammy is my promise to you to bridge the gap that has been between us since Dad died. I swear to you that I'm going to do everything I can until that bond between us is solid once again" Dean informed his baby brother.
The next present he handed to Sam was wrapped in red and green foil paper with a silver bow on top. When Sam opened it, he found a squishy stress ball. "That one Sammy is my promise to never strike out at you again in anger. I know I have a hot temper at times and that I have a habit of taking it out on whoever is closest to me. I swear to you I will do my damnedest to make sure that I never ever hit you in anger again baby brother" Dean said with tears flowing down his cheeks.
"Th-That means a lot Dean, thanks" Sam replied with a few tears running down his own cheeks.
The last present Dean handed him was a small square package wrapped in blue. When Sam opened it, he was shocked to find a silver money clip with the letters JW engraved into it. "Dean I can't take this, I know how much it means to you man" Sam said as he tried to hand over his dad's favorite money clip, the one that Mary had given to him for his last birthday before she had been killed.
"I want you to have it Sammy. He was your dad too and I know you loved him just as much as I did. Dad would want you to have it too kiddo."
Sam was too choked up to speak as he held the money clip tightly in his grasp. Maybe, just maybe things were going to get better again.
TBC The next chapter will be the epilogue to this story.