"Dean…!" Ellen shouted, swatting her kitchen towel at him. "How many times do I have to tell you? No swiping food! If I catch you in here again, I'll have Ash hunt you down!"
Dean laughed to himself as he retreated from the kitchen at the Roadhouse, a triumphant smirk on his face as he took a bite of his stolen cookie. "Think of it as a testament to your baking skills, they're just so good that I can't help but risk my life to get another."
She didn't look impressed as she guarded the kitchen doorway, arms crossed. Behind her, Uncle Bobby laughed as well.
"Watch yourself, Dean, or Ellen'll find a way to stop you from eating her cookies in a way that you might not like."
"She's welcome to try, it's impossible for me to not like them."
A smile started making its way on Ellen's face, though she tried to fight it down. She pointed her wooden spatula at him, "You stay out of my kitchen. Flattery won't work on me."
"Yes, ma'am." Dean finished his cookie as he walked out to the bar area where his dad, Pastor Jim, Jo, and Ash were surrounding a pool table. His dad looked over at him with an easy smile, taking a drink of the apple cider that Jim brought over.
"It takes a brave man to try to steal food from a kitchen guarded by hunters on Thanksgiving. Much braver than I'll ever be, especially with your mom and Ellen in there."
Dean went to sit on the nearby pool table that they weren't playing on, grinning. "It just smells too good for me to leave it alone though."
"Mom is gonna put chili flakes on your cookies if you keep it up," Jo said, lining up her cue to take her next shot. She hit the white ball that soon knocked her striped one into the far right pocket. She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she stood back up, smiling proudly as Ash held his hand out for a high-five that she eagerly slapped.
Dean made a face, shaking his head. "Nah, that would ruin all the cookies then, she wouldn't do that."
"You really want to bet on her not taking a chance to mess with you after you stole food?"
"Well… If you put it that way…" He glanced over to the door to the kitchen, trying to decide if Ellen would actually ruin the cookies because of him, when Ava came out. She met his eyes and gave a small smile as she walked over, a cookie in her hand as well. "Ava, perfect timing! Did you see if Ellen was putting anything on the cookies that shouldn't be on them while you were in there?"
Her eyebrows furrowed, head tilted slightly. "What?"
"You know, like, say, chili flakes? Or anything else that might not go on them…" Dean's eyes zeroed in on the cookie in her hands. "Also, how did you sneak that out of there without getting caught?"
"I didn't sneak it, Ellen gave it to me."
"What? That's not fair!" He shouted, causing everyone to laugh at his perceived misery. "Why does she give you a cookie but chases me and Jo out like we're criminals?"
Ava shrugged, looking down at her cookie. "I asked."
Dean shared a flat look with Jo, both of them heaving a sigh. "She asked," They said together in defeat.
Ava went to sit on the pool table next to Dean, watching as the others played. He glanced down at her from the corner of his eye; Ava had settled in nicely with Ellen and Jo in the four months since they found her. She had been shy and skittish for a while, jumping at almost everything while she traveled with his family. But she had started to open up to them after a month, not hesitating to wake them up if she had a vision of Sam during the night or occasionally jumping in to tease Dean. They brought her to Ellen after a hunt went sideways though, Ava would've been badly hurt had she not been a psychic. She was reluctant to leave them, but Jo quickly became best friends with her and gave Ava a reason to stay at the Roadhouse where she was safe. They would visit once a month and talk with her over the phone when she had visions (Sam was getting better at his abilities, now able to sense her when she'd look in on him).
She fit in with their group, like the girly little sister opposed to Jo's tomboy. Dean was happy that she was safe with them now.
But her presence also caused a deep longing for Sam as well… There were moments when Ava would do something and it was so painfully Sam-like that Dean could barely breathe. She loved reading fantasy novels, Lord of the Rings being her favorite. Just like it was Sam's favorite. She would sometimes go on rants about her favorite scene and why it was so amazing, something Dean had heard almost word-for-word from Sam.
Or when her powers would move something on their own without her control, and her eyes would go wide and scared and her nose would start bleeding and she'd lapse back into the mindset that Nathaniel had conditioned her to, apologizing for her 'monstrous abilities' or some crap like it. Moments like that reminded Dean of the first time that he saw Sam's abilities, albeit he didn't know what they were at the time. The fear on Sam's face as he realized he had had a vision while on the phone with his dad, with two hunters watching him in the same room. The bloody nose that Dean was going to wipe before Sam retreated to his room and barricaded himself inside.
And now here they were… Dean had gained a younger sister for Thanksgiving, but he lost his little brother.
"Okay, everyone," Mary called, gaining their attention as she came out of the kitchen, pulling off her apron. "We're about ready to serve. Dean, start pulling tables together so we can all sit. Ava, Jo, set the table once he's done. Men, to the kitchen to help bring this stuff out."
A chorus of acknowledgments sounded out, everyone hurrying to do as she said.
It took six tables pushed together before Dean was sure that everyone could sit comfortably. He started dragging chairs over as Jo came back with a pile of dishes in her hands and Ava with a large white cloth that Dean was almost positive was a bedsheet. Once he finished bringing chairs to the table, he helped Ava spread the cloth and set the table. He counted out the plates and utensils, hesitating only for a moment before placing two more sets down.
With that job done, and the girls already taking their seats, Dean went to the kitchen to let them know the table was ready.
The smells that hit him once he walked through the doorway almost knocked him back. It smelled amazing… better than it did before when he was stealing cookies. His eyes locked on the fresh tray of cookies that Ellen was pulling out of the oven, then looked to the plate of cookies that was on the counter already cooled, and grinned. If Ellen thought making a new batch just to sabotage his sweet tooth, then he'd just have to swipe one from the good pile.
"Table's ready…!" He called, quickly grabbing a cookie and ducking out of the kitchen before Ellen could throw something at him. He laughed in victory as he went back to the table, taking a bite from his stolen good. He paused mid-chew though, eyebrows furrowing. There was a new flavor this time, one he couldn't quite place-
Dean's eyes widened, a cough starting deep from his chest as he ran to the trashcan behind the bar to spit the cookie out. His mouth burned and tears welled up in his eyes. He wouldn't be surprised if there was actual fire coming out of his mouth as he tried to scrape the burn off of his tongue. He heard laughter and looked up to give a half-hearted glare to Ellen and the others as they brought their plates of food to the table.
"Ghost peppers," Ellen said with a smile, placing her yams on the table, "one of the hottest in the world. Teach you to steal cookies from me."
"I told you so…!" Jo called from the table, her and Ava in a giggling fit.
He tossed the cookie in his hand into the trash, letting out a loud huff of air to try and cool his tongue. "It's not that bad," He said, putting his hands on his hips and looking up, trying to control his breathing. "It's not that- that bad. I can- I can… I can't handle it, I can't. It's bad." He started jogging back to the kitchen, mouth still open. "You better have left some milk!"
The group all laughed louder at his expense, no one bothering to answer or help him as he searched the fridge and started chugging the milk straight from the bottle.
Once his mouth was no longer actively on fire, Dean set the milk down on the counter, gasping for air. He took a moment to collect himself, glancing at the milk, then shrugged and took it with him back out to the dining area. "This is mine now." He announced to everyone, going to take his seat at the table.
His mom set down her platter of broccoli casserole in front of him as she kissed his head. "You should've known better than to mess with Ellen's food."
"I didn't expect her to ruin a whole batch of cookies though…"
"Not the whole batch," Ellen said with a smile. "Just a few around the edges. Think of it like a ghost pepper roulette."
Dean just grumbled to himself as the adults finished setting the meal and side dishes down. He noted, once everyone had taken their seats, the two empty chairs to his left, a twinge in his heart but he stubbornly refused to let go of his hope that they would be filled.
"If everyone would please join hands for a moment," Jim requested, a gentle smile on his face as his eyes also lingered on the empty seats. Slowly, everyone held hands with each other and bowed their heads, Dean having to reach over the dishes and feel the steam from the casserole as he held Jo's hand. "Father, bless this meal that we are about to partake in. May it strengthen both our bodies and our bonds with each other. We gather today, not as hunters, but as a family, thankful for the ones with us, and the ones who are far away. Wherever they are, may their Thanksgiving be just as filling as ours, and may they know how much we think of them and love them. Amen."
A murmuring of 'amens' went around the table before everyone started to dig into the food. John cut up the turkey, Bobby cut up the ham, everyone else helped with the sides. Once the plate that Dean had handed out was filled up, he set it down in the space next to him and handed out the next plate, then the next, until the two empty seats both had the same amount of food piled high on their plates as his. His parents sent knowing looks to him and the plates but didn't comment on it.
They all ate and laughed and shared stories, even John was smiling openly while listening to Bobby recount his experience with a ghost that forced people to dress up like turkeys on Thanksgiving some years back. And once the food was gone and everyone was starting to lean back in their seats, Mary went to the kitchen and came back with a large apple pie that almost had Dean drooling. Somehow everyone suddenly had room in their stomachs for dessert.
Dean, in the almost-food coma that he was in, was recruited to help clear the table once everyone had finished eating. He and Jim had to make several trips in order to get everything, but on Dean's third trip he paused as he reached the two empty seats.
"Who ate Sammy and his protector's plates?" He asked, looking around at everyone. The table stopped whatever they had been talking about, looking over to see the two previously untouched plates with nothing more than a few food smears and a half-eaten cookie on one.
"No one touched those plates…" Mary said, staring at them with wide eyes. She looked to John, then up to Dean. A ghost of a smile started to spread across her face, one that soon started to spread to Dean and the rest of the table.
Dean picked up the cookie that was left on the plate, looking closely at it before laughing, glancing down at the floor where the jug of milk next to his chair was missing. "Looks like this is one of the trap cookies, and they took the rest of the milk as payment."
The table erupted into laughter, imagining Sam taking the (literal) heat of Dean's punishment. Or even his all-powerful protector receiving a surprise and having to come back to take Dean's milk.
Dean smiled as he picked up the plates. Even if he couldn't see them, Dean still got to eat a Thanksgiving meal with his little brother and his protector. That was all that he needed to make the holiday great.
A/N: A little late, but happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! And a happy Thursday to those who don't! XD I hadn't planned to write this chapter until late yesterday night as I was waking up from a food coma. The last story in the series was meant to be a filler, but the plot snuck in. So now we have a proper filler story and I can finally start working on the final battle!
This Thanksgiving, I'm so thankful to the SPN Family and all the people that I've met through it. Aside from my parents, my blood family doesn't mean too much to me. But as Bobby said, "Family don't end in blood" and I'm always given proof of that every time I interact with the fandom. The amount of love and support I've received since I joined the fandom has been more than I've experienced in any other. It's gotten to the point that even my dad, who doesn't watch SPN, is complementing the fandom for how open and welcoming it is. He says he almost wants to get into the show just so that he can have the same support!
I'm also thankful to everyone who reads this series. I may not know any of your names, but I know your users and find myself looking forward to your comments. The honor I feel of being called someone's favorite SPN author or writing their favorite SPN series, is always such a happy moment for me that I immediately text my friends with screenshots of your comments to show them. So thank you all so much for encouraging me. 3 3 3 You all mean so much to me.