╔⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╗

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴

╚⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╝

Delaney slowly ran her EMF reader around the living room she stood in. A man had been suddenly vanished when he put up his Christmas tree and the wife had no idea where he went. The place didn't look like it was broken into and Delaney didn't see any blood so far. The boys thought it might be something odd enough for them to look into.

Christmas wasn't exactly something Delaney cared about and would rather skip over it if that were possible. It was something that Will had loved and she tried to enjoy their two Christmases together the best she could, but there weren't too many happy memories surrounding the holiday for her to actually be excited about it.

Something white by the fireplace caught Delaney's eye and she squatted down to retrieve the tooth that had been lying just outside the fireplace. She peered up into the dark chimney with a raised eyebrow. There was no way this woman's husband fit up there because chimneys were way too narrow for a human to fit through. At least, in one piece they couldn't.

"Thank you for letting me have a look around, Mrs. Walsh," Delaney said, stepping outside where the boys and Mrs. Walsh stood on the porch. She fiddled with the tooth she had stuffed in her suit jacket pocket and flashed the woman a polite smile. "I think we, uh, got just about everything we need. We're all set."

"We'll be in touch," Dean assure the blonde woman before the three began to make their way down the steps.

"The police said my husband might have been kidnapped," Mrs. Walsh called just as the three siblings made it to the bottom step.

Sam flashed the woman a sad smile, not really knowing what to tell her as of yet. "Might have been."

"Then why haven't the kidnappers called or - or demanded a ransom? It's three days until Christmas. What do I tell my daughter?"

"We're very sorry," Sam apologized softly to Mrs. Walsh, motioning for his siblings to follow him to the Impala.

"Find anything, Della?" Dean asked.

Delaney grimaced at the question, tugging out the tooth she found near the fireplace. "Stockings, mistletoe... this."

Dean made a disgusted face when he took the small tooth from his sister. "A tooth? Where was this?"

"The chimney... which is odd because no man could ever fit up one of those. It's too narrow," Delaney responded. "At least, not in one piece they wouldn't."

"So, Dad gets pulled up chimney..."

"We have to figure out what pulled him up."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

Delaney sat at the table in the motel room with various pictures of demons pinned to the wall across from her and multiple lore websites opened up on Sam's laptop. The two boys had gone out together to see if they could find anything else and get them some food while she stayed back and did some research online.

The door to the motel room opened and Delaney waved over her shoulder to Dean and Sam when they stepped inside.

"So, was I right? Is it the serial-killing chimney sweep?" Dean mused, placing the brown paper bag filled with food on the table that Delaney sat at.

"Yep. It's Dick Van Dyke," Delaney remarked and glanced up to Dean who stared at her in confusion. "Mary Poppins? You know, the one that Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is from and you used to sing it to me whenever I was upset because I thought the word was funny?"

"Dean, Delaney made us watch that movie every night for a month," Sam chuckled and shook his head when Dean still looked extremely confused. "Never mind, dude. Do we have any idea what we are dealing with?"

Delaney rolled her lips into her mouth and smiled sheepishly at her brothers. "Uh, I have one theory? Don't laugh at me because it's going to sound crazy."

Dean scoffed softly and tossed his jacket on the back of the chair he stood behind, leaning his hands on the back after. "What can you possibly say that sounds crazy to us?"

"Um... evil Santa?"

Dean blinked slowly at his sister, waiting for her to say she was joking and give him the actual answer. However, when she didn't utter another word and just continued to smile sheepishly at him and Sam, he shook his head. "Yeah, that's crazy, Della."

Delaney shrugged and slapped a hand to her side, not really knowing how to defend her theory. "Yeah... I mean, I'm just saying that there's some version of the anti-Claus in every culture. You got Belsnickel, Krampus, Black Peter. Whatever you want to call it, there's all sorts of lore."

Sam picked up the photos Delaney printed out of the various anti-Clauses and shifted through them. "They did say that back in the day Santa's brother went rogue and now he shows up around Christmastime. Instead of bringing presents, he punishes the wicked."

"By hauling their ass up chimneys? So this is your theory, baby girl? Santa's shady brother?" Dean questioned.

"Well, I'm just saying that's what the lore says," Delaney defended, taking the photos back from Sam.

"Santa doesn't have a brother. There is no Santa."

Delaney rolled her eyes and tossed the stack of photos onto the table next to the laptop, leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms across her chest. "I know, Dean. You're the one that told me that when I was seven, remember?" She frowned slightly when Dean glanced away from her guiltily.

That was one of the few memories that Dean hated to be reminded of because it had all been an accident really. Sam and Dean had a small argument about whether they should let Delaney continue to believe in Santa for another three years or just rip the band-aid off then. Sam had thought they should just tell her then because it was getting harder and harder to keep up the charade since they were constantly in different motel rooms on Christmas or at Bobby's. Delaney had stepped into the room just as the two started to yell back and forth.

Needless to say, it was a very dramatic Christmas for the two brothers because John wasn't necessarily happy with either one of the boys that his daughter boycotted Christmas in Delaney fashion since it was all a lie.

"Anyways, I could be wrong, I guess," Delaney sighed, getting back to the topic at hand so Dean wouldn't get too upset. "I got to be wrong."

"Maybe, maybe not," Dean snapped his fingers and dropped into the chair next to Delaney's, running a hand over his mouth in deep thought. "Turns out both victims visited the same place before they got snatched."

"Where?"

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

"This place gives me the creeps," Delaney shuddered, glancing around the small Santa village the trio walked through together. Christmas music blasted from the speakers that scattered the grounds and people walked around dressed in Christmas costumes. She couldn't tell if she hated it because she didn't like the holiday or because the place looked like a scene out of a horror Christmas film.

"It does kind of lend credence to the theory though, don't it?" Dean asked.

Delaney shook her head, realizing that her theory really was crazy. There was no such thing as Santa Claus so there was no way that there could be anti-Claus. "Yeah, but anti-Claus? No way."

"It's a Christmas miracle! By the way, we should have Christmas this year," Dean suggested with a big grin on his face. Almost practically looking like a kid on Christmas morning.

"No, thanks."

"No, we'll get a little tree for the motel room, a little Boston Market - just like when we were little," Sam added on, nudging Delaney softly in the side. "It'll be fun, Delly."

Delaney sighed and stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets to hide the fact that they shook. She hated talking about Christmas. She hated the holiday. She hated the fact that her father missed just about all of their Christmases. Delaney would rather fight demons, thank you very much. "Guys, those weren't exactly Hallmark memories for me, you know."

"What are you talking about? We had some great Christmases," Dean argued.

"Whose childhood are you talking about? No, just... no," Delaney shot down instantly.

Dean jokingly made a mocking expression at his sister. "Alright, Grinch."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

FLASHBACK: DEAN (14 1/2), SAM (12), DELANEY (8)

Delaney sat on the couch in the motel room with Sam while her little fingers taped up the two presents for John in her lap. Her eyes bounced between the gift and the TV that displayed A Year Without a Santa Claus and smiled brightly when she finished the gift.

"What's that, Della?" Dean asked, turning his attention away from the window of the motel room. He had been stood in front of the thing for the past two hours and Delaney wasn't exactly sure why. She just chalked it up to weird teenage boy behavior.

Delaney held up the gifts to show Dean even though it was wrapped up and he couldn't see what it was. "Presents for Daddy."

"Yeah, right. Delaney, tell me you didn't steal it."

Delaney frowned up at Dean, not understanding why he would think that she would actually steal something. She wasn't that kind of kid. "No, Uncle Bobby gave them to me to give to him. Said it was real special."

"What are they, kiddo?" Sam inquired, shooting Dean a look for clearly upsetting their baby sister and bring her into his lap.

"Ponies," Delaney joked and giggled when Sam tickled her sides for being smart with him. "Daddy will be here, right?"

Sam's eyes shifted from Delaney's big, round green ones and over to Dean's as the eldest boy walked over to the couch and sat down next to the two. "He'll be here, kiddo. I promise."

Delaney played with the wrappings in her hand, the crinkling sound being extra loud in the quiet motel room. She hated that their father was never around because of his job. He had missed the past three Christmases because of it and it made her sad. All the other kids in her class always got to spend Christmas with their parents and Delaney never got to do that. Not that Delaney didn't want to spend Christmas with Dean and Sam, but she would rather the whole family be together.

"It's Christmas."

"He knows, baby girl," Dean said, tucking a piece of curly hair behind Delaney's ear. "He'll be here."

"Where is he, anyway?"

Dean sat back on the couch and flipped through the TV channels, much to Delaney's disappointment because she quite enjoyed the film on the TV. She knew Santa wasn't real, but the movies were still nice to watch. Especially with Sam who would do impressions of the characters from the movies and do silly voices to go along with the movie. "On business."

"What kind of business?"

"He sells stuff, you know that," Sam responded, shifting Delaney so she didn't crush his thighs anymore and the little girl leant against his chest.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Stuff," Dean responded before Sam could open his mouth and make up something. He ignored the look that Sam shot him to be nicer to Delaney who didn't know anything about what John actually did. She was still young and John didn't even want her to know anything about what went bump in the night. He'd rather her be normal and go on as if the world were perfect and happy.

Delaney huffed and crossed her arms with a pout that she was sure would get her a lecture from Dean. "Nobody ever tells me anything."

Dean flipped the TV back to the station that the film was on since nothing else seemed to be on and tossed the remote onto the couch next to him. "Then stop asking questions, baby girl."

"Is Dad a spy?"

"Mmm-hmm. He's James Bond," Dean replied and chuckled softly when Delaney's eyes widened.

"Is that why we move around so much? So the evil bad guys don't know where we live?"

Sam smiled softly and rubbed her back. "You're too smart for your own good, Delly."

"Is that why we never talk about... mommy?"

That seemed to be the wrong question to ask because Dean was on his feet and out the motel room door before either sibling could say anything. He yelled over his shoulder for Sam to watch Delaney before the motel room door slammed closed behind him, causing Delaney's eyes to well up with tears.

Sam was quick to shush his sister and hold her against him, rocking her back and forth while he assured her that she hadn't said anything wrong to their big brother. That Dean was experiencing a weird-teenage-boy-thing and he'd be better the second he came back from his walk in the snow.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

"You'd think with the ten bucks it costs to get in this place, Santa could scrounge up a little snow," Dean commented, glancing around at the bare village area around them.

Delaney blinked, snapping out of her daydream from thirteen years ago. That had been one of the last Christmases that Delaney ever tried for. "What?"

Dean narrowed his eyes at his sister, not liking how distant she seemed. He tried to brush it off as it being Christmas and her clearly not liking the holiday very much. "Never mind. What are we looking for, again?"

"Um... lore says that anti-Claus will walk with a limp and smell like sweets," Delaney explained.

"Great. So we're looking for a pimp Santa. Why the sweets?"

"Think about it, Dean. You smell like candy, the kids will come closer, you know?" Sam answered, motioning to the little kids that ran past them to go over to Santa across the way. "It's creepy."

"How does this know who's been naughty and who's been nice?"

Delaney shook her head and her shoulders slumped as she realized if they were in fact going after the anti-Claus, then they'd have no idea how to find it. It could be anywhere. "I don't know."

Sam tilted his head as he watched the Santa speak to the little boy sat on his knee. He was a bit creepy, creepier than the ones you'd find at the mall or shopping center. "Maybe we do."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

The Santa from the village had a limp and smelt highly of candy when he passed by the Winchesters. Of course, the siblings only did the logical thing they could do and followed the man to his house later on that night. Delaney sat in the front seat with her two brothers, squished into the space between them on the bench.

"What time is it?"

"Same as the last time you asked," Delaney replied, answering Dean's question for the third time. They had been sat outside the house for two hours and nothing good had happened. She started to wonder if they had followed the wrong guy home. "Here. Caffeinate."

Dean sighed as he took the thermos filled with coffee from Delaney's hand and took a long sip from it. "Hey, Della..."

"Yeah?"

"Why are you the girl that hates Christmas?"

Delaney sighed and rolled her head around her neck with a groan. "Dean..."

"I mean, I admit it - we had a few bumpy holidays when we were kids."

"Bumpy?" Delaney repeated in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

Sam smiled at his sister and elbowed her softly in the ribs. "That was the past, Delly. We can do it right this year."

Delaney scoffed softly and focused her gaze back on the small house that was decorated for Christmas across from the Impala. "Look, if you boys want to have Christmas, then knock yourselves out. Just leave me out of it."

Dean stared at his sister in disbelief, almost looking sad that she didn't want to celebrate their final Christmas together. "Yeah, that'd be great - making cranberry molds with just Sammy."

"What's up with Saint Nicotine?" Delaney questioned, noticing the Santa guy pull his curtains closed after he inspected the outside.

A woman's scream jolted the three siblings out of the Impala and they rushed into the house to see the guy had just been watching the TV, which was where the scream had come from. It was just so loud that it sounded like it actually came from the house and was real. The boys were quick to act as Christmas carolers, which Delaney was forced to join in with. Thankfully, it kept them from being arrested.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

The next morning, the trio had gone to the house of another family where the father got dragged up the chimney. The son had watched the encounter this time and the poor wife looked a bit beaten up as well. She had noticed a wreath above the fireplace that matched the one that sat on the Walsh's front door the other day. The boys had given Delaney odd looks when she asked the wife about where she got it from.

"Wreaths, huh?" Dean teased as the three made their way back to the Impala. "You sure you didn't want to ask about her shoes, too? I saw some nice handbags in the foyer."

"We've seen the wreaths before, Dean," Delaney countered, crossing her arms across her chest. "Outside the Walsh's house?"

Dean went silent for a long moment, his eyes bouncing between Delaney and Sam who tried to hide the amused smirk on his face. "I knew that, Della. I was just testing you."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

Back at the motel, Sam called up Bobby to get him to look up what the wreaths could mean for them since they had seen the same wreath in both of the victim's houses so far. It had to mean that the wreath was also in the first victim's house that they hadn't been able to get to. He hung up the phone after he thanked Bobby for his help and turned to his siblings. "Well, we're not dealing with the anti-Claus."

"What did Uncle Bobby say?" Delaney asked, sitting up on the couch and removing her feet from the coffee table.

"Uh, that we're morons. He also said that it was probably meadowsweet in those wreaths."

"Wow! Amazing. What the hell is meadowsweet?" Dean inquired, tossing his printed out research onto the coffee table in front of him and Delaney.

Sam sat down at the table in the motel room where his laptop sat and typed in the name into the search bar. "It's pretty rare, and it's probably the most powerful plant in Pagan lore."

"Pagan lore?" Delaney repeated.

"Yeah. See, they used meadowsweet for human sacrifices. It was kind of like a... chum for their gods. Gods were drawn to it, and they'd stop by and snack on whatever was the nearest human."

Dean pushed himself up from the couch along with Delaney and the two walked over to the table where Sam was sat. "Why would somebody be using that for Christmas wreaths?"

"It's not as crazy as it sounds, Dean. I mean, pretty much every Christmas tradition is Pagan," Delaney informed Dean, taking a seat next to Sam to read over his shoulder at the lore website he had up on the screen.

"Christmas is Jesus' birthday," Dean argued.

"No, Jesus' birthday was probably in the fall. It was actually the winter solstice festival that was co-opted by the Church and renamed Christmas. The yule log, the tree, even Santa's red suit - that's all remnants of Pagan worship."

"Delaney, how in the holy hell do you even know that? Next thing you know, you'll be telling me the Easter Bunny's Jewish."

Delaney laughed in amusement at her brother's obvious distaste for the fact his favorite holiday was not what he thought it was. "So, you think we're really dealing with a Pagan god, Sammy?"

"Yeah, probably Hold Nickar, god of the winter solstice," Sam responded, scrolling through the page he had opened.

"And all these Martha Stewart wannabes, buying these fancy wreaths..."

"It's pretty much like putting a neon sign on your front door saying come kill us," Sam answered Dean's unspoken question with a nod.

Delaney sighed and leant back in her seat, suddenly exhausted. "Fun."

"When you sacrifice to Hold Nickar, guess what he gives you in return."

"A lap dance, hopefully," Dean mused with a smirk.

"Mild weather... like no snow in the middle of winter... in Michigan," Sam corrected, trying not to laugh at Dean's joke so he wouldn't encourage him any further. "Bobby's working on how to kill the thing right now. We got to figure out where they're selling those wreaths."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

The Winchesters had gone down to the shop in Santa's village to find out the guy had run out of the wreaths. They had tried to ask him questions about it, but he wasn't the one who had made the wreaths so he wasn't much help to them.

"How much do you think one of these wreaths would even cost?" Dean asked, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it onto the couch next to him.

"A couple hundred, at least," Sam guessed.

"This lady's giving them away for free? What do you think about that?"

"Well, sounds pretty suspicious," Delaney replied, placing her jacket on top of her duffle bag that sat on the floor next to her and Dean's bed and collapsed back onto the bed with Dean sat next to her and Sam sat on his own bed.

Dean nudged Delaney's knee with his own to gain her attention and had a wide grin on his face. "Hey, remember that wreath Dad brought home that one year?"

"You mean the one he stole from a liquor store?" Delaney laughed, remembering how proud John was of himself for even getting them a wreath. Regardless of it being stolen or not.

"Yeah, it was a bunch of empty beer cans. That wreath was pretty awesome," Sam recalled with a laugh of his own. "I bet you we can find one just like that, Dean."

Delaney huffed and pushed herself up from the bed, walking to the other side of the room where her water bottle sat. She turned to face Dean and Sam again to see them both look at her worriedly. "Okay, I'm just gonna ask it because if I don't, I'll just keep going crazy. What's going on with you two? I mean... since when are either of you Bing Crosby? Why do you guys want Christmas so bad?"

Dean licked his lips and narrowed his eyes at his sister. "And why are you so against it? Were your childhood memories that traumatic?"

"No, that has nothing to do with it," Delaney countered, crossing her arms. It wasn't exactly a whole lie because any other time she might have been fine with it. However, she couldn't just celebrate this holiday as if nothing were wrong. Dean was gonna be dead in just a few months. Months. How could she celebrate a happy holiday when she was the furthest thing from happy.

"Then what is it, Delly?" Sam asked next, clearly feeling the same way as Dean did.

"I mean, I - I just - I don't get it. You guys haven't talked about Christmas since I was sixteen."

"Well, yeah. This is my last year," Dean reminded and Delaney visibly flinched at the reminder.

Delaney bowed her head, using her hair as a shield to hide her tears. It was her fault Dean was going to be in the pit for the rest of his life. If he hadn't sold his soul to save her stupid one, he wouldn't be one foot in the pit already. She should have just made sure Jake was really down for the count before she focused on the boys and Bobby that night. Maybe then she wouldn't have been stabbed in the spine and maybe then Dean wouldn't be on a highway to Hell.

"I know," Delaney sniffled, finding it near difficult to hide the wetness in her eyes as she lifted her head to look back at the boys. "That's why I can't, boys, okay? I can't just sit around and drink eggnog, pretending everything is okay when it's not. Next Christmas, Dean, you'll be dead. So... I'm sorry. I can't celebrate something that, pretty soon, will be fully ruined for me."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

FLASHBACK: DEAN (14 1/2), SAM (12), DELANEY (8)

Dean had come back from his walk with a brown paper bag in his hands and placed it down on the table next to the window, kicking the motel room door closed before any snow could fly inside. He shrugged off his jacket and took something out of the bag, walking over to Delaney and holding it out for her.

Delaney glanced up from her dolls to see Dean had gotten her a new doll from whatever store he had gone to while he was gone. She beamed brightly as she took the new doll from her brother, scooting over when he gently pushed her side to move over on the bed. "Thank you, Dee."

"You're welcome, baby girl," Dean replied, kissing the side of her head and helping her open the box that the new doll was in. "I'm sorry I stormed out earlier. I'm not mad at you."

"I just wish Daddy was here," Delaney mumbled, smoothing out her new doll's hair that got messed up in the process of removing her from the box. "I don't like that he's never around."

Dean pulled Delaney into his lap and stroked her hair, frowning at the clear pain and depression on his sister's face. "I know, Della, I know. Dad is out there right now protecting us. He is trying his hardest to get home in time for Christmas, okay?"

Delaney played with the doll in her hands, leaning against Dean's chest as she tried to hide the tears in her eyes. "Okay, Dee."

Dean sighed and moved so he could lay Delaney down in her bed under the covers. He knelt down on the side of the bed, brushing the hair that fell into his sister's eyes away. "Just go to sleep and I promise when you wake up, it'll be all better."

Delaney nodded sadly and clutched onto the doll that John had gotten for her the Christmas prior, shutting her eyes and trying to trust her big brother like she always did.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

The next morning, the three Winchesters walked up to a big, white house with Christmas decorations littering the lawn and front door. They stared up at the large house where the supposed wreath maker, Madge Carrigan, lived. Just the thought alone sent a shiver down Delaney's spine.

"This is where Mrs. Wreath lives, huh? Can't you just feel the evil Pagan vibe?" Dean retorted and climbed the porch steps while his siblings followed. He knocked on the door and stepped back from the door when it swung open to reveal a woman with graying hair and a welcoming smile. "Please tell me you're the Madge Carrigan who makes the meadowsweet wreaths."

"Why, yes, I am."

"Well, we were just admiring your wreaths in Mr. Sylar's place the other day," Sam explained with a false smile.

Madge's jaw dropped in surprise and the action just looked odd to Delaney for some reason. "You were? Isn't that meadowsweet just the finest-smelling thing you ever smelled?"

"It sure is," Delaney replied and hoped her voice didn't sound as fake as it did to her own ears. "But the problem is, is all your wreaths had sold out before we got the chance to buy one."

"Oh, fudge!"

"You wouldn't happen to have another one that we could buy from you?"

Madge pouted and shook her head. "Oh, I'm afraid those were the only ones I had for this season."

Dean glanced at his siblings with a silent look for a moment before he turned back to Madge. "Tell me something - why did you make them out of meadowsweet?"

"Why the smell of course! I don't think I've ever smelled anything finer."

"Yeah, um, you mentioned that," Sam awkwardly said, obviously uncomfortable by the fakely sweet encounter just like his siblings.

A man with graying hair and a pipe in his hand stopped next to Madge and Delaney wondered if that was Madge's husband. The two looked like a 1950's couple next to each other with Mr. Carrigan's cardigan and Madge's pearls. "What's going on, honey?"

"Well, just some nice kids asking about my wreaths, dear."

"Oh, the wreaths are fine. Fine wreaths," Mr. Carrigan complimented his wife who beamed at him. "Care for some peanut brittle?"

Delaney slapped Dean's hand before he could reach into the tin that Mr. Carrigan held out to them. "Um... thanks, we're okay. The boys are allergic to nuts."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

After doing some research at the motel, Sam had found out that the Carrigans were what they looked for. The decorations in their house weren't for Christmas, but rather vervain and mint. Two serious Pagan plants that only solidified more that they had found their Pagans. Bobby had even called to let them know to use evergreen stakes on the couple to kill the Pagan god.

Once they were sure that everything was in order, the three Winchesters went back over to the Carrigan's house and picked their way into the home where Christmas still played. They each held an evergreen stake in their hand while they crept around the home. Plastic covered the couches in the living room and snow globes littered the bookcases and desks that lead the way to the kitchen where cakes and cookies sat on a counter.

Delaney found a locked door that lead to a basement where the trio quietly crept down into. Bones covered in blood sat in a bowl at the bottom of the stairs and random bones littered the floor. The whole place looked like some kind of butcher room you'd find at a slaughter house. She found a bag that hung from the ceiling and poked it, causing whatever was inside to stir and scream.

Madge grabbed Delaney by the throat when she spun around in surprise and pushed her up against the wall behind her. She struggled to breathe as Madge put an inhuman strength on her airways. The boys had tried to come to her aid, but Mr. Carrigan had blindsided them and knocked them both unconscious when he hit their heads into the wall next to Delaney.

"Dean! Sam!"

"I really wish you three hadn't come down here," Madge tutted with a disappointed shake of her head. Both her and Mr. Carrigan's faces appeared monster like when she shined her flashlight in their faces and returned to normal when she lowered the flashlight to her side. She flashed Delaney a disappointed frown before her world was clouded in darkness.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

Delaney blinked her eyes open to find herself now in the Carrigan's kitchen next to their table. Her, Dean and Sam were each tied to a chair that were tied to each other. Her back was to Dean while Sam's back was to the both of them and tied to their side. Next to her on the table were a number of bowls and a knife that were set up as if they were to be used in a ritual.

"Dee? Sammy? You boys okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Dean rasped, sounding like he had just come to as well.

"I guess we're talking to Mrs. and Mr. god," Sam noted with a sigh, blinking his eyes to try and refocus his eyes. "Nice to know."

The Carrigan's walked into the kitchen which effectively cut off the siblings' conversation. The couple were dressed in colorful Christmas-themed sweaters and the whole thing just made Delaney want to vomit. These people were batshit crazy.

"Ooh, and here we thought you three were gonna sleep straight through all the fun stuff," Madge cooed, walking around the trio to get to the table.

"Miss all this? Nah, we're partyers," Dean quipped.

"Isn't he a kick in the pants, honey?" Mr. Carrigan mused, fiddling with the pipe in his hand. "You're hunters is what you are."

Delaney flashed a fake smile at Mr. Carrigan, just imagining her staking the guy right in his chest. "And you're Pagan gods. How about we call this even and go our separate ways, yeah?"

Mr. Carrigan balked at the idea and barked out a laugh. "Why? So you can bring more hunters and kill us? I don't think so!"

"Should have thought about that before snacking on humans," Sam retorted.

"Oh, now, don't get all wet."

"Oh, why, we used to take over a hundred tributes a year and that's a fact," Madge said and it sounded like she was stood in front of Dean now. Delaney tried to twist her head to see what the woman did to Dean, but she couldn't turn her head enough to truly see anything. "Now what do we take? What, two? Three?"

Delaney rose an eyebrow when Madge placed a napkin gently in her lap with happy-go-lucky smile.

"Hardy kids here make six," Mr. Carrigan informed as if that made what they did any better.

"Now, that's not so bad, is it?" Madge asked Delaney who give her a deadpan expression.

"You say it like that, you guys are the Cunninghams," Dean mused over his shoulder.

"You, mister, better show us a little respect," Mr. Carrigan warned Dean, pointing his pipe in Dean's direction from his spot at the table.

Delaney moved her deadpan expression to Mr. Carrigan and she could sense that Dean had done the same thing. Sam was turned away from the couple so he couldn't necessarily do anything, but sit there and pout because he couldn't flash them any dark looks. "Or what? You'll eat my brothers and I?"

Mr. Carrigan wagged his finger at Delaney and gestured to the table with all the items on it. "Not so fast. There's rituals to be followed first."

"Oh, we're just sticklers for rituals."

"And you know what kicks off the whole shebang?"

"Let me guess - meadowsweet," Dean replied and Delaney felt his head shake against the back of hers. "Oh, shucks - you're all out of wreaths. I guess we'll just have to cancel the sacrifice, huh?"

Madge rounded the siblings and grabbed something from under the counter that Delaney couldn't see. "Oh, don't be such a Gloomy Gus." She ran around the siblings and Delaney huffed when a necklace of meadowsweet was placed around her neck. Great. "Ohh.. don't they just look darling?"

"Good enough to eat," Mr. Carrigan agreed, smacking his lips together hungrily which earned him another duo-deadpan expression from Dean and Delaney. "Alrighty-roo. Step number two."

Delaney tensed up when Mr. Carrigan grabbed the knife and one of the bowls from the counter and stopped in front of her with the knife. She screamed in pain when the knife cut into her skin and she could feel her blood trickle down her arm and into the bowl.

"You better leave her alone, you son of a bitch!" Dean barked, struggling against his binds to try and get to his sister.

"Hear how they talk to us? To gods?" Mr. Carrigan chuckled, handing Madge the bowl and knife. "Listen, pal, back in the day, we were worshipped by millions."

"Times have changed!" Sam yelled and Delaney noticed him try to look at her arm over his shoulder, but it was difficult with how they were all tied up.

"Tell me about it. All of a sudden, this Jesus character is the hot new thing in town. All of a sudden, our altars are being burned down, and we're being hunted down like common monsters," Mr. Carrigan ranted, as if any of the Winchesters cared how he felt.

Madge frowned and shook her head sadly. "But did we say a peep? Oh, no, no, we did not. Two millennium. We kept a low profile. We got jobs, a mortgage. We - what was that word, dear?"

"We assimilated."

"Yeah, we assimilated. Why, we play bridge on Tuesdays and Fridays. We're just like everybody else."

"You're not blending in as smooth as you think, lady," Sam remarked with a scoff.

"This might pinch a bit dear."

Dean's groan could be heard from behind Delaney and Delaney knew he glared at the woman in front of him. "You bitch!"

"Oh, my goodness me! Somebody owes a nickel to the swear jar. Oh, do you know what I say when I feel like swearing? Fudge."

"I'll try and remember that!"

"You three have no idea how lucky you are," Mr. Carrigan announced, inspecting the plier in his hands and walked around Delaney's chair to Sam's. "There was a time when kids came from miles around just to be sitting where you are."

"What do you think you're doing with those?" Sam's voice shook harshly.

"You fudging touch me again, I'll fudging kill you!" Dean yelled at Madge as she neared him.

Delaney gasped when both boys yelped in pain at the same time and she struggled against her binds, even though she knew there was no getting out of it. "Dean! Sammy!"

"Oh, we've got a winner!" Mr. Carrigan cheered in excitement and Delaney's eyes widened when she saw a fingernail between the two pinchers on the pliers. Sam's fingernail.

"What else dear?" Madge asked Mr. Carrigan.

"Well, let's see. Uh, fingernail, blood... sweet Peter on a popsicle stick. I forgot the tooth!"

Delaney felt her head start to swim a bit from the loss of blood and she tried to not to make a fist since that would only cause more blood to seep out of her wound. The boys panted on her side and behind her, all feeling the effects from being cut and Sam losing a fingernail.

"Merry Christmas, guys," Dean panted.

Delaney merely groaned and glared at Mr. Carrigan when he stopped in front of her, lifting her chin with the hand that didn't hold the pliers. "Go to Hell, man."

Mr. Carrigan smirked at Delaney and forced her mouth open, wrapping the pliers around her back molar tooth. "Open wide and say ahhh."

Delaney desperately tried to get out of Mr. Carrigan's hold and he was just about to tug the tooth out of her mouth when the doorbell rang. She relaxed visibly when the pliers were removed from her mouth and the couple's attention turned to the front door.

"Somebody gonna get that?" Dean snapped, hoping that it would get the two away from his baby sister. "You should really get that."

Once the two were out of the room, it wasn't long until Dean had somehow gotten out of his binds and he used the knife in his hand to cut Delaney and Sam out of their binds. He motioned for Delaney and Sam to follow him through the door to their left to hide behind the wall in the living room. When he saw the couple make their way back towards the kitchen, he snuck around the wall to hide behind the wall next to the other door of the kitchen.

Delaney quickly shut the door her and Sam hid on either side of while she heard Dean's door slam next. She pushed herself up against the door with Dean while the Carrigan's tried to get to them. Dean was at their side a few seconds later and leant a hand against the door to help them keep it closed.

"What do we do now? The evergreen stakes are in the basement!" Dean reminded his siblings.

"Well, we need to find more evergreen, Dean!" Sam grunted, struggling to keep the door closed against the Carrigan's. His eyes trailed to the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room and he froze. "I think I found us some more. Help me move the cabinet."

The three siblings moved the cabinet in front of the door and rushed over to the Christmas tree, pushing it over when they were behind it. They broke off a branch each from the tree to use as their new stakes. It was silent behind the kitchen door again when the siblings approached it again and Dean was tackled to the ground by Mr. Carrigan while Madge went after Sam and Delaney.

"You little things..." Madge trailed off and her face momentarily morphed into his monster-like counterpart before it snapped back to a human-like face. "That was my favorite tree." She punched Sam, sending him flying into the couch and then the floor below.

"You can get a new tree in Hell," Delaney growled, raising her stake and stabbing it through Madge's back from behind. She sighed in relief when Madge dropped to the floor, dead, and she rushed over to Sam to help him up while Dean plunged his own stake into Mr. Carrigan.

The three siblings stood over the now dead couple and took the moment to gain their breathing back. Delaney glanced up to her brothers and smiled tiredly at them. "Merry Christmas?"

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

FLASHBACK: DEAN (14 1/2), SAM (12), DELANEY (8)

"Della, wake up, baby girl," Dean whispered, shaking the sleeping girl awake.

Delaney rubbed her heavy eyes, sitting up in the bed with her arm still wrapped around her doll. "What is it, Dee?"

"Dad was here. Look what he brought," Sam informed his sister, pointing over his shoulder to the Christmas tree in the corner of the room that hadn't been there when she fell asleep.

"Daddy was here?"

"Yeah. Look at this, Delly, we made a killing," Sam grinned at his baby sister who still blinked sleepily up at him and Sam.

Delaney yawned and continued to rub at her eyes to try and get the sleep out of them. "Why didn't he try and wake me up?"

Dean chuckled and playfully pushed Delaney's head, messing up her curls even more than they already were. "He tried to, like a thousand times. You just sleep like a rock, kiddo. I told you Dad would give us Christmas. Go ahead and dive in."

Delaney grinned excitedly at her brothers and rushed over to the Christmas tree, grabbing the two presents that sat underneath it and climbed onto the couch to sit between Sam and Dean. She opened the first present to reveal it was a Spiderman action figure. "Spiderman?"

"Dad probably thought you'd like it since it was a doll," Dean tried to assure his sister, taking Spiderman from her hands and encouraged her to open the next one.

Delaney took the other present from her lap and opened it to reveal a small charm bracelet in a small box with the letter W on it and two cheerleading charms. She furrowed her eyebrows at the charm bracelet. "W?"

"Winchester, silly," Sam teased, taking the bracelet from Delaney to put it on her when she pulled her wrist away.

"Daddy didn't come, did he?" Delaney accused, shooting her gaze to Dean for answers.

"He did, Della, I swear," Dean assured, crossing his heart with his fingers.

Delaney narrowed her eyes at Dean and held up the two gifts that were clearly not for her. "Where'd you get this stuff, Dee?"

Dean opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when Delaney only got more annoyed at him. He sighed heavily when he realized he had been caught in his lie and took the gifts from her, placing it on the coffee table between the TV and the couch. "Sammy and I both took a present from the nice house up the street. We swear we didn't know what was in them."

Delaney deflated and a frown took over her face, eyes welling with tears at the fact that John had missed yet another Christmas. It sucked because she thought they'd finally have a holiday together as a family. Delaney figured that was just childish thinking on her part.

"Delly, I'm sure Dad would have been here if he could."

"If he's alive," Delaney mumbled, finding her hands to be fascinating at the moment so she wouldn't have to look at her brothers with tears in her eyes.

"Don't say that, Della," Dean chastised softly, tapping Delaney's chin to look at him even though the sight of her broken expression broke his heart. "He's alive. He is Dad."

Delaney nodded sadly and hopped off the couch, walking over to her duffle bag where the two presents she got for John were. She walked back over to the boys and handed them each a present once she was sure which one had which item in it. "I want you guys to have this."

"No, kiddo, those are for Dad," Sam denied softly, not wanting to take something that she had gotten just for their father.

"Dad lied to me. I want you guys to have them instead."

The boys exchanged a look with each other before they both took the presents so they could make their baby sister happy. She hopped back onto the couch and gestured for Dean to open his gift first.

Dean looked reluctant, but he did as Delaney said when he realized she wouldn't go back on her wish and give them to John still. He unwrapped his gift to reveal a gold amulet on a black string which glinted in the light of the motel room. A smile spread across his face and placed the necklace around his neck. "Thank you, baby girl. I love it. I'll never take it off."

Delaney beamed at Dean's happiness with his gift and turned to Sam as he opened his next.

Sam unwrapped his own gift to reveal a watch with a black band on it and the engraving on the back of the watch read MERRY CHRISTMAS. I LOVE YOU. - DELANEY. He smiled softly at her while he wrapped the watch around his wrist and hugged her close to his side. "Thanks, Delly. I love it. I won't ever take mine off either."

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

Delaney smiled softly to herself at the memory of that Christmas and the fact that both boys stayed true to words, never taking off the amulet or the watch that she had given to them. Sam even made sure to keep up with his watch constantly to make sure it never broke and always worked no matter what. The engraving on the back of his watch was a bit faded out now, but it was still readable to this day.

The door to the motel room swung open and Dean and Sam froze when they saw that the room had been decorated for Christmas by Delaney while they were gone for the past hour. The tree by the border between the living room and the two beds stood lit up with cheap lights and decorated with a multitude of car fresheners.

"Hey, you get the beer?" Delaney asked, smiling innocently as if she hadn't done anything to the room while they were gone.

"What's all this, Della?" Dean countered her question with another question, looking amazed at the decorations she had done.

Delaney grinned and threw her arms to the side dramatically. "Merry Christmas, Dean and Sammy!"

Sam chuckled softly and admired the quick work that Delaney had done to their room while Dean stood stunned. "What made you change your mind?"

Delaney rolled her lips into her mouth, not wanting to express her reasonings for decorating the room last minute and handed both boys a cup with eggnog. "Here.. try the eggnog. I never really made it before... so... let me know if it needs more of a kick or not."

Dean took a sip of his cup and coughed into his fist afterwards. "Nope. We're good."

"Good because that would have been embarrassing," Delaney giggled nervously and gestured to the couch behind her. "Well, uh, have a seat. Let's do Christmas stuff... or whatever."

"Alright, first things first," Dean announced, placing his cup down on the coffee table and grabbed the bag he and Sam had walked in with. He sat down on the chair across from the couch while Sam took the open spot next to Delaney on the couch. "Merry Christmas, Della. From Sammy and I."

"Where'd you get these?"

"Some place special," Dean replied and sighed when Delaney shot him a look. "The gas mart up the block, okay? Just open it, brat."

Delaney usually would punch Dean for calling her a brat, but she knew that he meant it out of jest so she laughed instead. She reached under the couch and held up two other gifts wrapped in the same paper bag. "Guess Winchesters think alike, huh?"

"Delly..." Sam trailed off, taking his present from Delaney while Dean took his. "How did you..?"

"Unless you forgot, I've learned how to be stealthy now that I hunt," Delaney reminded her brothers with an innocent smile. She opened her first gift to reveal a stuffed gray bunny, which she knew was from Dean instantly. When she was younger, Delaney would beg Dean almost daily if they could get a gray bunny and name it Thumper like the bunny from Bambi. It had been a running joke between the two siblings anytime they saw a gray bunny that it was Thumper and Delaney's wild life pet.

"See, now you can't ever say I never got you a Thumper," Dean mused as the three siblings laughed at the running gag.

The present from Sam was a necklace with the letter D in gold and she was quick to put it on with a smile. "Thanks, Sammy. I love it." She beamed at her brothers, excited for them to open their own presents. "Okay, okay. Your turns!"

Sam laughed loudly when he opened his presents to see that they were skin mags. He waved it in Dean's face who merely rolled his eyes and opened his gifts next.

"Hey, fuel for me and fuel for my baby!" Dean cheered, grinning down at the candy bar and car oil in his hands. "Thanks, Della."

Delaney nodded and a sad smile took over her face, the thought that this was their last Christmas together settling heavily on her chest. "I'm glad you guys like them."

Dean noticed his sister's mood switch and moved from his chair and over to the couch, squishing Delaney between him and Sam. The two boys hugged Delaney tightly in a three-way hug and only squeezed tighter when she squeaked out that she couldn't breathe. "Merry Christmas, baby sis."

"We love you," Sam added, the two boys pressing a loud and obnoxious kiss to either of her cheeks.

Delaney groaned in disgust at her now soaked cheeks from her brothers, but didn't actually mind it at all. They hadn't been able to be like this in a long time and she decided to live in the moment with her brothers because they only had so many of these little moments left together before it was just Delaney and Sam.

"Hey, you guys want to watch the game?" Dean asked, reaching for the remote to put on the football game. "Della, Sammy and I can do what we used to and make dramatic calls about the game so you understand."

"Unless you forgot, I was close to marrying a future professional footballer," Delaney mused, absentmindedly jingling her charm bracelet Will had given to her that had a little football, little cheerleader, a D and a W on it to represent the two of them. "I understand quite well, maybe even better than you."

"Okay, let's not get too big headed now, kiddo," Dean chuckled, switching on the game and settling back against the couch with his siblings.

The three just enjoyed each other's company the rest of the night and tried to make the memories last for as long as they could... while they still could.

AUTHORS NOTE

Hi hey hello

WELL, HAPPY EARLY CHRISTMAS, FOLKS! I was going to wait to do this chapter next week, but I just couldn't wait any longer to do this episode because it's one of my favorites of the whole series. Also, I lowkey DID NOT cry writing those flashback scenes for Delaney, Sam and Dean. Nope. Didn't happen. At all.

THIS STORY HAS EIGHT CHAPTERS LEFT BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO SEASON THREE/BOOK THREE WOW!