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“Thanksgiving.” Dean repeats, exasperated yet nervous.
Sam, Dean, and Castiel are all standing in front of Jack, finally finding him after several sleepless days and nights. They found him in the same alleyway that Jack had flown off to the last time he got upset. It was strange to think how that it was only a couple of weeks ago they were in the same place, yet so much had changed since then. Cas was back, having literally annoyed a cosmic being into bringing him back to life. At the explanation, Dean had known that the angel standing in front of him was no one else besides the angel that he - that it was truly Cas. No one else could be so annoying, except possibly Sammy. But here they are now, just having worked their first case as Team Free Will 2.0 and things were already falling apart. Dean had only just gotten his win. Excuse him if he wanted to have the good times last a little longer, the Team together for just a few more days before they went back to dealing with their mistakes and talking about their deep, dark feelings. At the bunker - and now in the alleyway - none of their arguments were getting through to Jack, so while searching for the right thing to say, Dean remembered that only in a few days it’d be Thanksgiving. And he realized that he didn’t want to spend that day with a single person missing. He refuses to. Not again. “It’s a day when people get together.”
Sam realises where his brother is going and jumps in. “Yeah, Jack. No matter what’s going on in their lives, they take a break to celebrate. People that know, and care, for each other get together and eat food. To show that they’re grateful for one another.”
“Lots of food” mumbles Dean.
Jack glances between the both of them, then turns and tilts his head in confusion at Castiel. He doesn’t understand how this had anything to do with him. “To show that they’re grateful, they get together. No matter what’s going on.” Jack echos back, trying out the words for himself.
Castiel turns his fast attention from the ground to Jack, one side of his mouth twitching into a small, crooked smile. “Yes, Jack. Thanksgiving is a human tradition that originated from hundreds of years ago when the natives of this land helped starving immigrants to find food. To show their gratefulness to be alive and for the help which they received, the immigrants had a feast which the natives of this land were invited.” Castiel glances back and forth from Sam and Dean. “I believe that moment in history is remembered and celebrated by family and friends gathering together,” He shrugs and sighs, “though later on, the relationship between the immigrants and natives became hostile. Mankind, while thankful, can also be-”
Dean rolls his eyes and steps forward before Cas ends up telling the whole damn history of the United States to a half-angel kid. “Yeah, that. So the point is, since we’re all together, for once, we might as well take advantage of the time of year and kind of - kind of celebrate. You know, with food. Lots of food. And pie. Then you can do whatever you want.” Dean puts his hands up in what he hopes to be a non-threatening, placating gesture. “We won’t force you to stay. Please. Just - just come back to the bunker and... hang around for several days. We can figure things out later, but for now let’s just take a rain check on splitting this Team up.”
Sam walks over to Jack, clapping his shoulder, and giving him a hopeful yet hesitant smile. “What do you think, Jack? Want to experience your first holiday?”
*
Sam and Dean drop Cas and Jack off at the bunker, heading to the nearest Cosco to get groceries. They had decided a huge, most likely crowded, warehouse was not the best place to take Jack, who was already plenty twitchy.
“What’s a ‘rain check’?” Jack whispers to Castiel as they’re walking down the steps into the bunker.
“It’s a human term meaning to hold off on doing something until later.” Jack scrunches his nose at that. Human terms and traditions he finds to be strange. One thing standing for something else. He had agreed to come back until this human holiday had passed, but even he doesn’t know exactly why. Perhaps it was because for the past several days he has seen Dean happy for once. His father, Castiel, has come back to him. He has seen everyone together, and he doesn’t want to be the reason for pain to find its way onto Dean’s face once more. Maybe he’s simply being selfish, wanting to act as if he hadn’t ended a good person’s life, that he hadn’t lost control of his powers. For whatever reasons, he now is standing in the bunker with Castiel and has agreed to stay until this holiday is over.
*
Sam stretches, groaning as his shoulder pops. He should’ve been paying more attention at the store. Dean had gone overboard and it ended up taking half an hour just to unload all the food from the Impala into the bunker. Now he watches as Dean makes Cas and Jack help put all the food away, filling the cupboards with more food than they’ve probably ever held. Four people. Their team, their family, is only made up of four people. Sam huffs out a laugh at the idea that they’ll most likely still have leftovers come Christmas time.
“What are you laughing at? Get your lazy ass over here, Sam.” Dean yells from over his shoulder, shoving a bag full of cans in Sam’s direction.
No one ever said family was easy, but Sam thinks his family, while more complicated than any other, is more than worth it.
*
Dean wakes to the smell of coffee and the sound of Cas and Jack’s voices softly echoing around the bunker. He can’t help but to allow a smile onto his face despite his leftover soreness from the hunt; not to mention carrying in all the food (who knew putting away food could be a workout?). Even if their problems aren’t solved, even though Jack will probably disappear after Thanksgiving, at least he’s here now. Dean blames himself for some of Jack’s self-hatred - okay, for the majority of it - but he’s found a way to keep them together for a little longer, and it’s time to enjoy himself.
He tosses the covers off and walks through the hallway into the main area of the bunker. Someone must have cleaned up during the night, no traces of Jack’s hectic departure to be seen. Dean finds Cas and Jack sitting at the table together, a thick book in between them. Sam is at the far corner of the table, computer open as usual. He nods and gives a small smile to Dean, then goes back to whatever it is he finds so incredibly interesting.
Dean clears his throat and Cas glances up at Dean. At Dean’s raise of questioning eyebrows, he nods towards the coffee machine where a half pot is waiting, still warm. Dean quickly pours himself a cup and slides into the seat across the table from Cas and Jack. After taking a long drink of coffee, Dean uses his cup to point at the book sitting open on the table. “So what have you two angels been up to all night?”
“Castiel has been telling me about the different traditions and holidays that are celebrated throughout the world.” Jack spreads his arms out, gesturing widely. “There’s a lot. People can be very creative.”
Cas smiles fondly at Jack, “Yes. Life is very difficult, but humans have a talent of finding the good things and making a celebration out of them.”
Dean chuckles. “Damn, Cas, don’t get too deep. Holidays equal food and that’s as far as I go.” He takes another drink of his coffee, then scoots his chair back and stands. “Speaking of food, we’ve got a long day of cooking before we can have any. Oh, and umm,” Dean says as he looks Cas over, “You might want to change out of your new fancy coat. Cooking can get messy.”
*
Sam walks back into the kitchen from retrieving his computer, but stops in the doorway to take in the scene before him. It’s pure domesticity. Who would have thought a hunter, angel, and half-angel child could look so natural in a setting so normal?
Sam watches as Dean digs around in the freezer, handing a t-shirt wearing Cas the pie crust boxes he’s pulling out. Meanwhile, Jack (who is wearing a similar shirt) is awkwardly standing by the oven and squinting at the display. He tentatively reaches out and turns one of the knobs. A flame bursts into life, catching Cas’ attention and he quickly walks over and asks Jack to turn it off, explaining that they will use it later but for now it would be best to leave it alone.
Sam decides he’s been a creeper long enough and stops his observations, fully walks into the room, setting his computer on the island. “I looked up all the recipes we need, so we’re good to go on that front.”
Dean turns around and nods. “Alright,” he says as he turns back to the freezer and continues to hand Cas pie crusts. “You and Jack go get all the pie filling.”
All the pie filling, Sam finds out, is two pumpkin, three pecan, four apple, and one blueberry. He really should have paid more attention during their shopping trip.
Once Sam and Jack place the pie fillings on the counter, Sam turns to Dean. “Why? Why on earth would we need this many pies? We can’t eat all this in a week.”
Dean turns around from where he and Cas were putting the pie crusts into pans and crosses his arms in defence. “Just watch me. Pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You ever had pie for breakfast, Sam? It’s fucking amazing. Especially apple.”
*
“Cas, you and Jack make the mashed potatoes.” Dean says, once all the ingredients are out. They ended up having to move a table into the kitchen to create more counter space, ingredients placed in piles according to the recipes. “And don’t forget to put away stuff as you use it. Makes cleaning up at the end not much as a hassle.” Dean places a bag full of potatoes into Cas’ arms and playfully pushes him towards the sink. Jack follows. Cas puts the plug in the sink and turns on the water. Meanwhile, Jack rips a hole in the bag and dumps the potatoes into the sink. Once there’s a couple inches of water in it, Cas grabs two rough sponges and hands one to Jack.
“Try to get all the dirt off.”
“Why do you buy them dirty in the first place?” Jack asks, as he watches Castiel begin to scrub and does his best to mimic him.
“The dirt helps the potatoes to last longer, and taste better. I - when I lost my grace, I worked in several soup kitchens. You could say I learned a few things about food during that time.”
Jack looks at him questioningly. “Soup kitchen?”
“Soup kitchens are for people who don’t have food, or homes. Hunger is a persistent problem for humans.”
“You didn’t have a home? Where were Sam and Dean?”
“No, I - no. I was not able to stay in the bunker due to some... extenuating circumstances.”
Jack nods. “What is Dean like?” Cas raises his eyebrows at the sudden question. “What I’ve seen of him, he acts very different now that you’re back. He confuses me.”
Cas huffs out a laugh and unplugs the sink to let the dirty water drain out before he responds. “He confuses me at times as well. Humans, overall, can be confusing. But I would say that what is most important to Dean is the people in his life. Once he accepts you, he is loyal.” Cas gets out a bowl and dumps the potatoes into it, carrying them to the nearest counter to begin chopping them. “When Sam has left in the past, he was greatly troubled. But I assume it was different with me; I’ve left and come back many times. You’ll have to ask Sam for a better understanding of Dean’s actions.”
*
“Dean, how have you been?” Sam asks as he takes a break from making the homemade cranberry sauce.
Dean looks over his shoulder and raises his eyebrows at Sam, then goes back to creating a lattice pattern on the blueberry pie. He hasn’t allowed anyone to help with the pies, even though they merely need to be assembled. “Good. The Team’s together, even though Jack is troubled. But we’ll figure that out. We’ve gotten one win, I don’t see why we can’t get another. And Thanksgiving, man. At least we have Thanksgiving. I don’t know, at first I was grasping at straws with this whole Thanksgiving thing, but I’m really glad we have this. Ya’ know?”
Sam grins at the cranberry sauce and finds he has to clear his throat before speaking. “Yeah, I do.”
*
The end result is quite the display. Turkey cooked with rosemary underneath the skin, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, fluffy fruit salad (with more fluff than fruit, despite Sam’s protests), green bean casserole, stuffing, dinner rolls, and a actual vegetable salad for Sam. All the desserts are currently either in the oven baking, or cooling on the counter or fridge.
Dean adds a ladleful of mashed potatoes onto Jack’s already-filled plate. “There you go, this is the right amount. On holidays you always pretend the serving suggestion doesn’t exist.”
“But, that amount is too much for me to eat. I won’t feel good.”
“Eating so much that you don’t feel good afterwards is part of Thanksgiving, kiddo. Though on second thought, better save some room for pie.” At this, Dean removes a third of what he had given Jack.
Jack looks at Castiel for help, and finds that Castiel is currently slowly eating the red berry sauce, cranberry sauce, he remembers. “Castiel?”
Dean turns his attention to Cas and notices the angel’s hesitance at eating. “You okay there, Cas?”
Cas doesn’t respond at first, giving his concentration towards finishing what’s on his spoon. “As I’ve said before, all this food tastes like molecules to me. It’s quite overwhelming. The texture is also very… interesting.” Cas sets his spoon down and looks up at Dean. “I believe Thanksgiving is not the best human tradition for an angel.”
Jack nods slightly and goes back to questioning Dean. “What does food have to do with anything?”
Dean groans and gives himself a serving of green bean casserole before answering. “Food has to do with everything.” Everyone blinks at Dean, waiting for a further explanation that doesn’t come.
Sam rolls his eyes. “So!” he says, clearing his throat, “Food can equal happiness for some people,” He pointedly looks at Dean, “it can mean comfort. Both cooking-wise and eating. It can be a reason to get together.”
“I think I understand.” Jack blinks, and follows Dean’s example, adding more food to his plate.
Once their plates are (for the most part) empty and the leftovers are cleaned up and put away, Dean declares that they’re going to watch a movie while they eat dessert.
“Sounds good, Dean.” Sam responds, “But I’d like to point out that we don’t actually have a living room. Or a couch for that matter.”
“Actually, we do. In my room. We can watch it in there. With my bed, the couch, and if we drag a chair in there, there’ll be room for everyone.” At that, Dean hurries them all out of the kitchen and tells them to get the chair and pick a movie.
Several minutes later, Dean comes in carrying dessert for everyone. Sam is on the couch, his size making the already small couch look even smaller. Jack and Cas are sitting on the bed, leaving the chair for Dean. He hands everyone a slice of pumpkin pie, but on Jack’s plate there is also a second dessert. It’s white and square-shaped, with nuts inside. Dean’s grinning as Jack looks at it questioningly. He lifts it to his face, sniffing it and raising his eyebrows. He looks at Dean and takes a hesitant bite. Joy erupts on his face. “Nougat!” he practically yells, causing Sam to laugh and Cas to smile.
“Thought you’d like that little surprise.” Dean says. “Now let’s get this after-party started.”
Dean ends up getting thirds, trying every kind of pie and even a piece of nougat. Sam, to Dean’ convincing, gets seconds. Jack enjoys the pie, but focuses on eating as much nougat as he can. Even Cas finishes his piece of pie, though it takes him the majority of the night to do so. In the end, Jack falls asleep at the start of a second movie, his head resting on Castiel’s shoulder.
*
Dean wakes up not remembering having fallen asleep. His head is uncomfortably high, resting on the wooden chair’s armrest. Gladly someone had the kindness to have placed a pillow under his head during the night, but this position was still far from comfortable. I’m getting too old for this, he thinks, rubbing sleep from his face as he lets his eyes adjust to the poorly-lit room. Sam is still asleep on the couch, it doing a poor job of containing his huge frame, a leg uncomfortably swung over an armrest while the other is slowly slipping onto the floor. He then notices Cas, sitting on the edge of Dean’s bed with his elbows resting on his knees, eyes cast down in thought. A yawn escapes from Dean as he sits up.
“Dean.” Cas speaks in his rough yet gentle timbre, his eyes never leaving the floor.
“Hey, Cas.” Dean gets up and walks over to stand in front of him.
“He’s gone.” Cas says, the words loud in the otherwise quiet room.
Dean nods, kneeling in front of Cas so that they can be on the same level. “We all knew he would probably leave. It’s a miracle he came back and stayed for as long as he did.”
Cas sighs heavily, and attempts a nod that turns into a faint tremble, moving his eyes to look at Dean’s own. “I just - if anyone can understand what he’s going through, its us.”
“I know, buddy.” Dean places a hand on Cas’ shoulder. “We’ll find him, and we’ll get through to him.”
Dean gives Cas a comforting pat and rises to gently wake Sam. Sam scrunches his eyes before opening them, and after glancing around the room as he sits up, nods sullenly with understanding. Dean walks back to Cas and sits beside him on the bed, silence filling the room as they prepare themselves for the journey they have ahead of them, comfortable in each other’s presence, yet the emptiness is a hollow presence of its own. Their new mission is to find Jack, and show him that he doesn’t need to be saved: he already is. Jack is stubborn when it comes to guilt, something that runs in the family. He just needs to learn that the world isn’t simply black and white, that accidents happen and mistakes can be made. But he isn’t going to learn it all alone. Jack may be gone for now, but they will find him. They will face whatever odds necessary, but in the end, Team Free Will 2.0 will keep fighting. Together.