91. Chapter 91

Castiel was a little bemused by what he learned about Santa over the next few days. Dean actually wasn't that familiar with a lot of holiday movies, but, for someone who had lived as a Pagan god for years, Gabriel knew of a surprising amount of them. The stories were intriguing, Castiel had to admit. As odd as it was to know that humans were perfectly okay with the idea of a strange man entering their homes to leave presents around for their children, there was a certain kind of wonder to it all that he could appreciate.

"But of course, Santa isn't real," Dean said. It was close to Christmas and he was helping Gabriel bake cookies, which they were going to bring along to the celebration at Bobby's. The sleeves of his adorable sweater had been rolled up, but that hadn't helped much. He had somehow managed to cover himself in flour from head to toe, but his smile was so wide that Castiel didn't even mind.

"What do you mean?" Gabriel said, turning to look at him.

Dean lifted his head and looked from Castiel to Gabriel. "What do you mean, what do I mean?" he said, sounding puzzled.

"Santa is real," said Gabriel.

"He is not," Dean said automatically. Then he paused. "Wait. Seriously? Then why didn't Daddy know who he was?"

"I don't know everything about the Pagan gods," Castiel admitted. Most angels went out of their way to avoid those gods. Gabriel was really the only angel that Castiel knew of who had dared to mingle amongst them. And it wasn't like Castiel had spent a lot of time on Earth before he met the Winchesters.

"Santa is a Pagan god?" Dean said, eyebrows furrowing. He started to look distressed. "Sam and I had to kill a couple of Pagan gods a few years ago... oh my god, did we kill Santa?"

"No, no," Gabriel said quickly, sensing the oncoming meltdown. "Santa is more of a.... concept now, you'd say, then an actual person. His power comes from how many people believe in him."

Dean frowned. "Does he really deliver gifts to every kid in the world? Sam and I never got anything from him when we were kids." He stared at Gabriel intently, as though gauging whether he should be outraged on Sam's behalf or not.

"I'm not that familiar with him, but I don't think so. Not anymore," Gabriel said. "Humanity doesn't really believe in the Pagan gods anymore. Santa is just a story as far as most people are concerned. Like I said, he's more of a concept now. An idea meant to spread happiness and joy. That's the gift that Santa brings to people now." He smiled at Dean and picked up one of their freshly baked cookies, biting a piece off.

"If you say so. He sure never brought me and Sammy much happiness or joy. Most of our Christmases were spent in empty hotel rooms waiting for Dad to come home." He shrugged a shoulder and bent his head to task, carefully pressing the cookie cutter down on dough. So he missed the quick glance that Gabriel and Castiel exchanged. Neither of them was surprised to hear that John Winchester hadn't had the decency to make it home to his children for Christmas, but it wasn't easy to think about a young Dean and Sam Winchester alone on Christmas.

"So your Christmases weren't great?" Gabriel asked casually, grabbing a tray of unbaked cookies and sliding them into the oven.

"They were okay. I always made sure Sammy had something to open." Dean picked up the cookie he'd cut out and gently set it on another tray. "As he got older, he tried to make sure I had a present too. But I didn't really care."

That was a lie. Castiel didn't even need to know Dean as well as he did to know that. It made his heart ache to know that Dean's previous Christmases had been so terrible. Of course, Dean had put everything into making the experience a good one for Sam at the expense of himself. That was the kind of amazing big brother that Dean was, but it shouldn't have been like that. There was no changing the past now, but it made Castiel even more determined to make all of Dean's future Christmases absolutely amazing.

So he cleared his throat and said, "Dean, Gabriel and I have been talking about it. I know that Bobby and Jody invited us to spend Christmas morning with them and Sam. But there are some gifts you won't want to open around them."

Dean's face turned pink, but all he did was nod. No doubt he was thinking about some of the very childish things that he already owned, and how little restraint Gabriel and Castiel had when it came to buying things for Dean. And it was true: the vast majority of what they had gotten for Dean were toys, clothing that was appropriate for Hatchlings, and other things along those lines.

"So on Christmas Eve, we're going to have our own little mini-Christmas here when you can open your gifts from us," Castiel explained. "Would that be okay?"

"Really?" Dean said, looking relieved. "I would love that."

"Good," Castiel said, smiling. He was proud that the idea had occurred to him, and that he had brought it up before it weighed any heavier on Dean. While Dean was slowly getting a little more comfortable with his family knowing about his life as a hatchling, he was far from okay with sharing everything with them. This would make things a lot easier.

"But wait, what about Anael and Charlie?" Dean said.

"They probably have their own plans, kiddo," Gabriel said, peeking in the oven. The cookies must not have been ready, because he moved back to mixing up some frosting.

"I want to give them their gifts, though." Dean pouted.

"I'll contact Anael. I'm sure we can meet up over the next couple of days to exchange gifts," said Castiel. Gabriel was probably right that Anael and Charlie had their own plans. He knew there were other angels and even other humans that they were close with. Besides that, he didn't know how Bobby, Jody, or Sam would feel about having an angel and a hatchling they didn't know over for Christmas.

"And what about Balthazar?" Dean persisted. "What is he doing for Christmas?"

Gabriel muttered something in Enochian that was hardly appropriate for a hatchling's ears. Castiel threw a piece of cookie at the back of Gabriel's head, which made Gabriel yelp and Dean giggle.

"I'll get Balthazar to drop by," Castiel said, still shooting Gabriel a look. He was positive that Gabriel was right about what Balthazar would be doing, but that didn't mean Gabriel had to say it where Dean could hear!

"Okay," Dean said after thinking it over. "And one of you is picking Sammy up, right?"

"That would be me," Gabriel said, raising a hand. "His last exam is on the 23rd. I promised to fly over and pick him up at 3pm."

"So that's everyone," Castiel said, giving Dean a gentle smile. It was amazing how caring Dean was even after everything that he had been through. "Maybe we should wrap your gifts after we're done with the cookies. That way, you have everything out of the way."

Dean nodded and finished cutting out the last of the cookies. Gabriel took the ones in the oven out and put some more in, but the cookies would need more time to cool before they could be frosted. So once Dean had been cleaned up, Castiel and Dean left Gabriel to baking the rest of them and went into the living room, where Dean sat down on the floor with some wrapping papers, tape, scissors, and nametags. Castiel sat down on the couch and looked on with curiosity as Dean set about wrapping up the first gift: the earrings for Anael.

"Have you ever wrapped anything?" Dean asked. He didn't look up but could apparently sense Castiel's gaze.

"No. I'm afraid I cheated when it came to your gifts and used angel mojo," Castiel said. Wrapping the human way looked complicated. Dean was being very careful to make sure all of his lines were neat and that there were no creases in the paper as he went.

Dean smiled at the gift. "That's okay. I don't mind. Most people don't like wrapping. I don't think Uncle Gabe would have the patience for it." His eyes were twinkling when he glanced up.

"I'll have you know I have tons of patience," Gabriel called out from the kitchen. "I put up with Michael's and Lucifer's bitching for centuries before I finally left heaven."

"Maybe that's why you're so impatient now," Castiel replied, winking at Dean.

Gabriel huffed. "I don't know why I stay where I'm so unappreciated." He appeared at the door of the kitchen and leaned against the frame, arms crossed over his chest and doing his best not to smile.

"I appreciate you. You're my favorite uncle," Dean said, looking up with a cute smile. Gabriel blinked at him for a moment before sighing.

"There is no way that should work as well as it does," he muttered, and Castiel laughed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dean said innocently, setting aside Anael's gift and moving on to Charlie's. Gabriel just sighed and disappeared back into the kitchen. As soon as he was gone, Dean winked at Castiel who had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing again.

It took Dean a couple of hours to get everything wrapped, since he staunchly refused any offers to help - by angel mojo or by hand. So Castiel settled back on the couch and just watched, wondering when Dean would wrap the gifts for Castiel and Gabriel. Either Dean had already done it, or he was planning to do it when Castiel wasn't around, because Dean didn't wrap anything that they hadn't helped him buy. It was almost enough to make Castiel sigh with frustration.

"Okay, who wants to help me frost cookies?" Gabriel said loudly just as Dean was finishing up. "Though honestly, I'm not sure I should let any sneaky little nephews of mine help..."

"Nooooo, I wanna help!" Dean cried, jumping up and running into the kitchen. Castiel shook his head fondly and got up, quickly tidying away the mess that Dean had left behind. He stacked the newly wrapped presents against the wall until they could be given out to their recipients before he went into the kitchen. Dean was already helping to frost cookies, but he was also yawning.

Castiel allowed him to help until the time between Dean's eyes opening after each blink grew longer and longer. Then he stepped in and gently swept his complaining baby into his arms. He left the remaining cookies to Gabriel and carried Dean upstairs. Dean's quiet grumbling didn't bother him anymore; he just pressed Dean's bee into his arms and laid Dean out on the changing table to change his diaper.

"I don't need a nap," Dean mumbled, yawning even as he spoke.

"Of course you don't," Castiel murmured, wrapping Dean up in a fresh diaper. He helped Dean to sit up and removed Dean's dirty shirt, replacing it with a fresh t-shirt that would be comfortable to sleep in.

"I don't!" Dean said, scowling as Castiel scooped him up and moved over to the crib. Castiel set him down and Dean pouted up at him. Maybe it was time to pull out the secret Castiel had been keeping in his back pocket, as Dean would say. He grinned and used his grace to activate the vibration feature of the crib.

Dean squeaked in surprise when the bed began to vibrate, his eyes blowing wide. "Is - is that -?!"

"I had your crib made with a vibration feature just for you. I remembered how much you liked it on the motel beds," Castiel told him, reaching up to switch on Dean's mobile. Then he leaned down and pulled the blanket up around Dean's shoulders.

"I - you didn't - thank you," Dean said, looking at once overwhelmed and pleased. "It's great."

"You're welcome. Sleep well, Dean," Castiel told him, pressing a kiss to Dean's forehead and a pacifier into Dean's mouth before he straightened up. The vibration feature seemed to have knocked Dean right out of a brewing bad mood, fortunately. By the time Castiel got to the nursery door, Dean's eyes were already shut. He'd be out in no time, Castiel knew. He smiled to himself and slipped out of the room.