Author's Note: I'm so happy that a lot of you are enjoying this story! I hope it will be an interesting one for all of you as I, for one, am really enjoying fleshing out this AU. Today, we meet Sam! I hope you enjoy!

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Let your heart be light

From now on, our troubles will be out of sight."

—Frank Sinatra, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"

Dean slammed the door in her face.

Charlie wasn't really surprised—if the situations had been reversed, she definitely would've done the same—but as she stood outside in the cold, she grimaced. She could knock again, be more insistent, but she had the feeling that he would probably call the cops on her and she wouldn't be able to get her wish fulfilled if she was in jail on stalking charges.

She needed a Plan B.

"Beautiful, Charlie," Gabriel laughed, loud and boisterous as he materialized beside her. "So, you going to give up?"

"Of course not." She shook her head, sighing somewhat. "I just need another way in."

"Give you a hint?" He murmured, nudging her somewhat towards her car.

"Sure."

"Go back to the hospital. Get yourself another way in." The angel counseled and Charlie nodded, running her hand through her hair.

"Got it." She reached for her car keys, only for Gabriel to snatch them out of her hands.

"I'll drive!"

She laughed, feeling somewhat relieved now that she had a back up plan. She would figure out a way to help save Dean, no matter what it took.

"Ah, Charlie, right?"

The redhead froze in the hospital corridor, coming face to face to a middle-aged woman wearing a sheriff's uniform, her chestnut hair tied back in a straight ponytail. Her eyes lit up upon seeing the young woman and immediately, she pulled her into a warm hug.

"Oh. Uh, yeah, I'm Charlie," She answered somewhat sheepishly. "And you are—?"

"Jody Mills," The older woman explained quickly, releasing Charlie. "Well, Jody Singer now, I guess." She flashed her a dazzling grin.

"Oh, Mrs. Singer!" Charlie exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "It's so nice to meet you—"

"Call me Jody please." She insisted, shaking Charlie's hand in a firm grip.

"I've heard so much about you—"

"I'm sure," Jody smirked. "My husband has been causing hell around here I've heard. Scaring nurses, barking at doctors—"

Charlie chuckled somewhat, "Well, Mr. Singer is an interesting patient, for sure, but he means well."

"Sure, he does," Jody murmured. "My husband just likes to be difficult."

"I suppose so." Charlie agreed somewhat, thinking back to when she first started work here and came across Bobby. He'd been a jerk, for sure, but she knew now that it was just a front. In the quiet moments, he'd laugh and grin and make her feel like she wasn't alone in this world.

"I wanted to thank you, for everything," Jody continued softly. "Bobby is being released this week. Would you come to family dinner?"

"Me?" Charlie echoed, completely taken aback by the offer.

"Yes, you." Jody confirmed.

"I would love to."

"Great!" Jody exclaimed, hugging her once more. "I'll have Sam pick you up tomorrow. Bobby mentioned you work at the soup kitchen downtown—"

"Sam?" She didn't recognize that name.

"Dean's brother," She grinned. "The boys are like family to us."

"Your husband said that too." Charlie informed her, wondering why that was. Where were Sam and Dean's actual parents? Maybe they were orphans?

A timer beeped and Jody glanced at her watch.

"Damn," She cursed, then glancing up at Charlie, "I have to run! I'll see you tomorrow!"

And in a blur, Jody was gone.

That night, in her sparsely furnished apartment, Charlie sat down on her wooden floor and let her gaze drift up to the ceiling.

"What am I doing?"

It was true that going to family dinner would get her closer to Dean, but was that really the only reason that she had agreed to go? She liked Bobby a lot. He always made the nights she volunteered there interesting. He treated her like a warm friend, instead of a perfect stranger.

But it was also true that she was running out of time. Christmas would mark the end of her six-month time frame. If she took too long with this final task, if she lost her focus—boom, she would be gone. Heaven didn't mess around and when they gave deadlines they meant them.

She couldn't allow her feelings for Bobby, or his family, to cloud her judgment. She had to mend Dean's broken soul—that's it—and the sooner she did that, the sooner she would get her wish granted and she could go back to the life that she had left behind her.

"Just gotta stay focused."

She doubted that it would be easy to do that though.

"Charlie?"

"Yes?" She turned around to face a young man in a business suit. His chestnut hair was longer, almost touching his shoulders, and his eyes were deep and soulful.

"I'm Sam," He extended a hand and she immediately shook it, taken in by his blinding smile. "Jody asked me to swing by and pick you up."

"Right!" The redhead exclaimed and then turning around to see people staring, she quickly lowered her voice, "Just give a minute to let Anna know I'm leaving."

"I'll be right here." He told her with a quick nod of his head.

Anna was in the back, opening up packages of canned goods and sorting them into piles. Upon seeing the younger woman, Anna beamed.

"Charlie, what's up?"

"I actually have to take off now—"

"Oh, right, family dinner!" Anna snapped her fingers, remembering that yes, she'd been told that before. "Have fun! Let me know if anyone is single."

"You're incorrigible." Charlie sighed dramatically and Anna winked at her.

"Big word."

Charlie chuckled and began to move towards the door when Anna called out, "Have fun!"

Sam was waiting right where she left him, his careful gaze taking in every detail of the soup kitchen. It was a slower night—it was the middle of the week—and most of their patrons had left for the day.

"Ready?" Sam questioned upon seeing her.

"Yeah," She smiled. "Let's go!"

He motioned for her to follow him. His car was parked outside, a vintage black Impala.

"Wow." Charlie couldn't help but gape. It was the most beautiful car she had seen. The paint seemed to sparkle under the dim moonlight and its form was so sleek. She'd always wanted a car like this, but resigned herself to never being able to have enough money to own one.

"She's Dean's baby," Sam explained, gesturing to the car. "Our dad left it for him in his will."

Their father was dead and she mentally kicked herself for inadvertently bringing that up into conversation.

"I'm sorry—" She immediately apologized only for Sam to shrug.

"It was a long time ago." He dismissed her fears.

"Still . . ." Her voice faded away as she thought about her own parents, about how she was wreck for years after and even to this day, thinking too much about them brought tears to her eyes. Losing them had forced her to grow up much too quickly; it had resorted in numerous foster homes that hadn't cared about her.

She was here though, alive.

She had a chance to finally set her life straight.

She just had to get her wish fulfilled.

"Don't worry about it, Charlie." Sam grinned. "Really."

"Okay." She managed a smile.

Sam turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. Classic rock began to filter in from the speakers and she wasn't all too surprised by that.

"Jody said you were the only volunteer that Bobby liked?" Sam turned out of the parking lot and they got onto the main road. Glittering Christmas lights from the nearby shops sparkled in the dark.

"I guess." Charlie answered.

"He can be stubborn," Sam informed her, "But he's a good guy. He took care of Dean and I."

"Yeah?" She wanted more details. Knowledge was power and if she was going to heal Dean's broken soul, the more she knew the better.

"Our mom died when I was just a baby," Sam began, frowning somewhat. "Dad kind of checked out after that. You know, drinking too much—"

"He was an addict." She surmised, having known a few of those at the soup kitchen. People serving an invisible master, a slave to the chemical imbalance in their brains.

"Yeah," Sam answered. "And one day, he just couldn't handle it anymore and just . . ." His voice faded at this point and he bit his lip, preventing any more words from coming out.

"He died?" She ventured.

Sam nodded.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry." She couldn't stop herself from reacting. How horrible for them, to lose both their parents. They were like her though—an orphan—though she wouldn't dare compare her loss to his. What he had went through—he and his brother both—no one should have to go through.

"It's okay," Sam replied softly. "It's been a long time since then."

She didn't say anything, unsure of what she could possibly say to make the situation better.

"You have family here?"

"No," She answered quickly, "My parents died when I was little. A drunk driver."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," She forced a grin on her lips. "It's been years since then."

Years ago but even now it still haunted her dreams.

They drove a bit longer, the rock music serving as a comfortable companion to the silence.

"We're here." Sam directed and she let her gaze follow his pointed finger.

"A salvage yard?" She questioned, eyeing all the damaged cars sitting in perfect rows on the dusty grounds.

"Yep!" Sam confirmed.

The car came to a stop and Sam turned off the engine.

"This is my first family dinner." She confessed sheepishly and then blushed, unsure of why she was telling him this.

"You'll do great." He told her, dazzling her with a blinding smile. "Now, let's go inside."

Nodding, she followed him outside, walking towards the unknown.

Author's Note: Next chapter, the family dinner, more on why Dean is being so mean, and more background on Charlie's wish. Please review if you have a moment. Thanks!