Author's Note: My plan is to finish this story by Christmas so probably three or four more chapters left! Thank you all so much for the kind words. I really appreciate it!
"It's that time of year when the world falls in love
Every song you hear seems to say
Merry Christmas, may your New Year dreams come true
And this song of mine in three quarter time
Wishes you and yours the same thing too."
—Kristin Chenoweth, "The Christmas Waltz"
Charlie supposes family dinner is a bit of an understatement.
The Singer's house is full of people bustling in. Police officers laughing with Jody, other gruff men dressed like Bobby discussing various topics quite intently and just general loud, organized chaos.
It overwhelms her.
She hasn't been around this many people since the Christmas before her parents died and that was years ago. She'd gotten so used to being alone in this world that being confronted by an alternative—surrounding oneself with a happy, loving, and loud family—it sort of terrifies her. She instantly feels inadequate and like she doesn't belong. Who is she, after all? A volunteer who happened to be the only one to get Bobby to accept life in the hospital. She shouldn't be here—
"Charlie, whoa," Sam grabs her wrist and she freezes, realizing now that she had been turning around to go back outside. The youngest Winchester meets her gaze, concern pooling in what she can only call puppy dog eyes. "You okay?"
She forces a shaky smile on her lips, "It's just a lot of people."
Sam squeezes her shoulder and nods, "Yeah, Jody and Bobby have a lot of friends and Jody must've invited all of them."
"I just . . ." She swallows nervously and Sam waits expectantly for her to go on. "I'm sorry, I just don't think like I should be here."
She should be at home, begging Castiel to give her another assignment. Heal a broken soul, who is she kidding? She can't get through to Dean Winchester. She can barely convey her own thoughts right now. There has to be some alternative task for her to do to get her wish—
"Hey." Sam beams at her and it fills her with a comforting warmth that she hasn't felt since before her parents died. "Bobby has a saying, one that applies to both of us. Family doesn't end with blood."
She chuckles at that, "He says that, huh? Seems a little too sentimental for him."
Sam laughs, hearty and booming, "Yeah, but it's true. Now, why don't—"
"Sam!" A gorgeous blonde calls out and Charlie shrinks back, somewhat intimidated by her. Her hair is back in a sleek ponytail and she's wearing an outfit Charlie could never pull off—a black dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. The blonde gives Sam a quick peck on the lips and then lets her gaze move to Charlie. "Who's this?"
Nobody, Charlie thinks.
"This is Charlie," Sam introduces her and Charlie manages a shaky grin. "And Charlie, this is Jessica, my fiancé."
"Oh, congrats." Charlie immediately replies, somewhat envious of how happy the two of them looked. Sam has his arm snaked around Jessica's waist and she's resting her head on Sam's shoulder, content and at peace.
They're lucky, both of them.
"Thank you for taking such good care of Bobby." Jessica replies warmly. "Jody told me about all the hard work—"
"It was nothing, really." Charlie dismisses. She's not used to having so many people praise her in one day. In fact, it makes her somewhat uncomfortable.
"Bobby can be a stubborn ass, so I doubt it." Jessica winks at her and Charlie huffs out a laugh, taken aback by Jessica's humor. The blonde then turns to Sam. "Jody wants to see you."
"Yeah, okay," Sam replies, then looking at Charlie, he beams. "Help yourself, okay?"
He and Jessica then vanish into the crowd and Charlie is left to awkwardly stand near the door.
"What am I doing?" She murmurs. She should go and call a cab. She doesn't belong here. She needs to find another task or—
"You seem distressed." A crisp voice notes and she turns to the side to see Castiel standing beside her, his cerulean eyes boring into hers.
"I just . . ." She sighs somewhat, running her hand through her hair. "Look, can I get a do-over?"
"Do-over?" Castiel echoes, struggling with the unfamiliar word.
"Like a new task to do." She completes. "Because I don't think I can do this."
"It is because you think that way that you were assigned this task." Castiel frankly states. He surveys the room full of laughing, happy people and then meets her gaze. "Charlie, do you remember why you made your wish?"
"Of course." She answers quickly.
How could she forget that night, almost a year ago? She swore to herself that she would achieve her goal, no matter what pain she may experience or what obstacles came in her way.
"Then, know this," He places a warm hand on her shoulder. "Heaven has a plan for you, Charlie Bradbury. You must simply be strong enough to see it through."
"But what does that even mean—?"
In a flutter of wings, Castiel is gone.
Charlie chuckles darkly, "Typical."
"Hey, look out!" Someone shouts and Charlie is too stunned to move as a small tennis ball comes flying towards her. She shuts her eyes and prays the pain will be quick, only to feel herself being jerked out of the way.
She opens her eyes to see Dean Winchester by her side, having saved her. He glares at the guy responsible for the almost mishap and then looks down at her.
"You okay?" He asks her gruffly.
"Y-yes!" She chirps and he lets her go, starting to move towards the crowd. She quickly calls out, much too loudly, "Wait!"
"What?" Dean doesn't even turn back to face her.
"Um, look about the other night—" She's not really sure how to explain everything without giving herself away. She couldn't exactly come right out and explain that Heaven had ordered her to heal his broken soul. She had tried that anyways and it had only gotten the door slammed in front of her.
"It's fine." Dean tells her, interrupting her train of thought, before he goes to his brother's side.
It's for the first time, seeing Dean with his little brother, that she actually sees the older Winchester smile. He's like a totally different person with Sam, more at ease, more confident. He's laughing with Jessica, he's talking with his brother and the cold, stoic man of before has been replaced with an easygoing, confident one.
"Amazing, isn't it?" A man in a cowboy hat slides next to her and she can't help but nod her head in agreement. "First time I met the Winchesters, Dean nearly killed me."
"He did?"
The man chuckles, "Yeah, well to be fair, I almost dented his car." He sticks his hand out. "I'm Garth."
"Charlie."
They shake and instantly, she feels more at ease. Garth is the kind of man who goes with the flow, who can make mistakes, but is beloved by those who know him. With their connection, she can sense his soul and see how complete it is. Letting go, she grins.
"What?" Garth asks.
"You're quite lucky," She tells him. "Dean acts like I'm the plague when I'm around him."
"Yeah, well," Garth shrugs. "He's been through a lot, he and Sam both."
"I've heard that." She replies, unsure of whether she really wants to hear the fully fleshed out version of their tragic backstory. From the little bit she's already heard, it's devastating. How the two of them had even managed to become functioning adults, it's a miracle really.
"Look, you seem nice," Garth comments. "And trust me, persistence helps a lot."
"Don't be quitter then." She remarks and Garth chuckles.
"True," He replies and then spying someone in the crowd, nods to her. "If you'll excuse me."
"Of course."
She can do this.
She can mingle with the crowd and find Dean and try to help him. What other choice does she have? She's running out of time. If she doesn't figure something out, then she'll be—
"Charlie!" Jody envelops her in hug. "What are you doing in the corner like that? Come here and get some food."
Then, like a determined mother, Jody grabs her wrist and drags her through the crowd and towards the center of the room. Numerous tables have been set up and food is piled high on them. Everything from warm apple pie to mashed potatoes to a fully baked ham is out and Charlie hasn't seen this much food since she went to Anna's birthday part, almost three months ago.
This isn't her scene—being with so many people. Sure, back before all this happened, she enjoyed LARP-ing, but she had been a queen then, not some wimpy redhead who had no friends. She'd been able to be confident and happy.
Now, hopefully after she got her wish, she could go back to being that way.
"Charlie," Bobby greets from his seat. "You came."
"Found her standing in the corner," Jody is piling her plate high with way more food than Charlie knows what to do with. "Poor girl must be overwhelmed."
"You did invite half the town."
Jody glares at him and then hands Charlie the plate.
"Eat up."
Charlie takes a bite like she's told. She listens to Jody and Bobby and bicker and eats the savory food and for second, if she closes her eyes, she thinks like she could belong here.
But her eyes are open and she stiffens when she sees a familiar figure in the crowd.
"No." She breathes as he smiles maliciously at her, like a cat that caught the canary.
"Hey, Charlie." He snaps his fingers and the room freezes around her.
"Lucifer." She inclines her head ever so much, trying to be respectful and formulate a plan out. She was warned about him, of course, and knew that if she failed, she would end up being stuck with him in Hell, but she's never encountered him personally before.
"Don't act so scared." He grabs a fork from the table and eats a little piece of ham from her plate. "I just thought we should meet in person in case you fail to get your wish granted."
"I am not going to fail." She glares at him, though her heart is beating wildly. She's terrified right now and all she wants to do is run and hide, but she can't. She has to stand her ground. She needs to be strong.
Lucifer smirks at her, "Maybe." He tells her. "Maybe not."
"You have no claim over me right now—"
"Relax, would you?" He laughs at her puzzled expression. Moving a stray strand of her hair out of her face, he tucks it behind her ear. She does her best not to shudder as ice races through her skin at her contact.
His soul is black, so pierced by evilness that there is nothing left to save. Not that he would even want to be saved and she quickly jerks away, severing their connection.
"Like what you see?" He whispers and she backs up, terrified.
"Leave her alone." Castiel is in front of her now, a sword in his grasp, one that he points at Lucifer. "She is protected by Heaven. Should you interfere, you shall be—"
"Yeah, yeah," Lucifer mutters, shrugging somewhat. "Spare me your empty threats." He meets Charlie's gaze and smiles maliciously. "See you around, Charlie." Then, he fades back into the crowd and as time speeds up, the noises assault her ears as the adrenaline runs through her.
"Charlie—" Castiel reaches out for her, but it is all too much and she feels like the walls are closing and she needs to go.
Running through the crowd, she throws open the door and escapes into the cool night breeze.
Author's Note: Buckle up everybody, we're ramping up the drama! Also, hurt!Sam, because, let's face it, I'm a sucker for hurt!Sam. I hope you guys enjoyed. Please review if you have a moment. Thanks!