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"Sam! Dean! Hey!!"
The Winchesters turned around at the sound of their names; hurrying down the street toward them was a red-haired young woman wearing faded jeans, converse shoes, and a STAR TREK hoodie. She pushed her way through a group of shoppers and gave the two brothers each a bright grin. "Hey strangers!"
"Charlie, hi!"
Charlie pulled Sam into a tight hug. Dean tried to get away with just a handshake, but she caught him as well- and Castiel, too, when he stepped forward to greet her.
"So. How've you been?" she demanded playfully once she'd released them. "You pretty much dropped off the face of the planet since you stopped Hunting."
Sam shrugged. "That was the plan."
"Too many things- and people -that might wanna look us up now." agreed Dean.
"So you're completely out-of-practice?" Charlie dropped her voice almost to a whisper, and moved to avoid a heavily-laden shopping cart.
"Not completely." Cas chimed in. "We are still taking small cases: poltergeists, general hauntings, bogeymen. Larger cases, such as demonic posession, are left to Garth, or Mrs. Harvelle and her daughter."
"Hey, speaking of which," Sam nudged Charlie playfully. "how's your girlfriend?" he emphasized the word, making Charlie blush furiously.
"She's not my girlfriend." she hissed with mock annoyance. Then she grinned at Sam's disbelieving look and added, "Not officially."
"Oh?"
But Charlie was saved from explaining further when the shop door behind them jangled open and a young man emerged, carrying a cup of tea and three cups of coffee in a cardboard tray. He gave the tea to Sam and one coffee cup each to Dean and Cas, and took a long sip from his own coffee before he seemed to notice Charlie. He jumped a little and made a show of adjusting his coat to cover it up.
"Oh! Hey." Gabe extended his hand with a flourish. "Name's Gabriel, we probably haven't met."
"Charlie Bradbury." she shook his hand, then stepped back to look him up and down. "So you're Gabriel..."
"Last I checked. Why, has Gigantor been telling stories?"
"No, it's just..." mischief flashed in her eyes. "I thought you'd be taller." she laughed at the flustered noise this elicited from Gabe. Cas looked bemused.
"But he is an angel. His true form- and mine -is larger than you could imagine. Only his vessel-" he began; Dean silenced him with an elbow to his ribs. Gabriel frowned at Charlie over the rim of his coffee cup; Dean stared uncomfortably into his coffee while Cas gave him a chilly sidelong look; Sam, on the other hand, seemed rather oblivious. He looked cheerfully at the crowds of shoppers, milling around the street and sidewalks in the cold December air. A dusting of snow lay on the ground, turned into a patchwork by many sets of footprints. A breeze picked up and seemed to go right through their jackets; they shivered almost in unison.
"Hey, uh, why don't we head home?" Sam suggested, pawing a few stray locks of hair from his face. He turned to Charlie. "You're welcome to join us; we'll even make lunch."
She shivered and pulled up her hood. "As long as it's warm there, count me in."
~-~-~-~-~-~
The walk back to Bobby's house was long and cold, and they were all grateful to finally get inside and away from the wind. Charlie pulled off her hood and tried to tame her flyaway hair; Sam did the same, and Dean rolled his eyes and chuckled at them both. Soon they were settled at the table, rubbing circulation back into cold hands while Sam tinkered around in the kitchen and made lunch.
"So." said Charlie after a little while. "I feel like you guys are withholding some critical information from me."
"Yeah, sorry Charlie," Dean folded his hands on the table in front of him. "We're actually vampires. Thought you knew."
Her look of alarm, before it turned into a glare, was priceless. "Smartass."
"Just doin' my job." Dean snickered into his coffee. Sam came out of the kitchen with an armload of plates and an apologetic look.
"I hope grilled cheese sandwiches are okay," he said as he passed them out. "it's pretty much the only thing I can make."
"Hey, it's food, and it's hot. That's good enough for me." Dean began to eat with gusto. Gabe planted a kiss on Sam's cheek as he leaned over to set his plate down, earning them both an 'I-knew-it' look from Charlie. Then the room went quiet as they all dug into their lunches. Snow began to fall outside- lightly at first, then harder, gradually covering the fence and the bristly grass. Suddenly, Charlie put down what remained of her sandwich and looked expectantly at Sam and Dean.
"For real, though, guys." she continued. "Not that I'd ever want your job- no offense - but what happened? I mean, you were DEDICATED to Hunting."
"Like I said: vampires."
Sam smacked Dean upside the head.
"Ow...! Okay, sorry, jeez." Dean glanced at his brother. "The thing is, we'd been Hunting for most of our lives. It WAS our life. And it killed us- both of us -more than once...we couldn't do it anymore. It's how I met Cas-" Cas smiled, just a little, and Gabriel coughed pointedly. "-and it's how Sam and Gabe met -but me and Sam were burning out. And that's the worst thing that can happen to a Hunter; if you're not on top of your game, you'll get killed, or worse."
"But...that doesn't mean there's not still, y'know..." Charlie gestured vaguely. "monsters and shit out there."
"No. But we're not- I mean, we weren't the only Hunters out there, not by a long shot. And like Cas said, we're still taking minor cases. We just...we needed to spend more time on what really matters and son of a BITCH I sound like a goddamn chick-flick...!" Dean put his head in his hands, and Sam cackled. But Charlie nodded.
"I guess that makes sense. If I was in your line of work, I'd wanna keep whatever life, limb and loved ones I had left..."
"Exactly. Imagine if you had to live every day with the possibility that Jo might get killed-" Sam began.
Charlie flapped a hand at him. "Okay, okay, I get it. Let's not tempt fate here." she folded her arms on the table and gazed out the window.
Sam filled the following silence by gathering plates and taking them to the kitchen. Over the clanking of dishes, his voice rang out. "...Since we're on the subject, I have some, uh...some news of my own."
"You're getting a buzz-cut?" Dean blurted out.
"Ha, no. Nice try." Sam appeared behind him and smacked him upside the head again. "Just for that, I'm growing it even longer."
"Bitch."
"Jerk."
"Alright you two, quit flirting. If you've got news, Sammo, why don't you actually tell us instead of just beating up your brother?" said Gabriel. Sam stayed right where he was, leaning on the back of Dean's chair and looking around at the group with a gleam in his eyes. He was keeping them in suspense, and they knew it.
"C'mon, Sammy, you're killin' me." said Dean, craning over his shoulder. "I'm gonna start guessing again if you don't say something."
"Well," Sam began. "I was going to tell Gabe first, but since you're all here..." a smile grew on his face.
"Uh-oh, I know that look." said Gabriel. "What's the news, Sam?"
He took a deep breath. "...I'm pregnant."
You could have heard a pin drop. Sam looked around at the circle of shocked faces. Gabriel in particular was white as a sheet.
"You're kidding...!" Charlie gaped at him; he shook his head, still smiling broadly. "You're not kidding." she laughed. "Dude, that's awesome! Congrats!"
Sam put his hands to his abdomen. This seemed to break whatever spell Gabriel was under; he turned to look at Sam, his eyes dancing. "Th- you...you're really..." he shook his head. "For once, I'm speechless. You're really pregnant??"
"Seven weeks. Just found out yesterday."
Gabriel gazed at Sam's still-flat belly with a tenderness you might not expect from a Trickster. At length, he sniffled. "Dammit." he said wetly. "C'mere, you." he surged up from his chair, flung his arms around Sam's neck, and kissed him, hard.
"Awwwww." Dean cooed teasingly. Without breaking the kiss, Gabe casually flipped him off.
At last Sam and Gabriel pulled apart, though Sam kept his arms around the shorter man's waist. He looked a little embarrassed; Gabriel, of course, did not. He never did. The Trickster looked around at Dean, Charlie, and Cas. "Could you guys maybe, uh...give me and Gigantor some privacy...? We've got a lot to talk about." he arched his eyebrows meaningfully. One by one, they all got up and wandered away. Charlie pulled up her hood and stepped out into the front yard. It was quiet there, and it smelled like snow: crisp and metallic, even a little tangy. Her phone buzzed in her pocket; she pulled it out. The name JO HARVELLE blinked on the screen. She smiled as she crunched down the driveway...thick, fuzzy snowflakes filled the air around her, along with the promise of great things to come.
~** ☆☆☆ **~