Please Come Home For Christmas

[Ben Isaac Winchester]

((GAH, sorry that this' coming so late! I'm not sure if y'all wanna keep this thing going after Xmas in the real world, but...foo. XD I got kidnapped by my family for a few days, so I couldn't post to save my life. lol ))


Ben laughed as the girl in his arms started to struggle and beg her brother for help. He swung her around for a good measure, making a big deal out of the smushy foam bullets being shot at him, until finally, he let the kid join her brother.

…And promptly got shot to death. Okay, so letting the two kids with the Nerf machine guns join forces was a definite miscalculation on his part. GAH, his eyeball! His nose! His ear! Hadn’t ANYONE taught them not to aim for the face?! Where the hell was Lexi when he needed—

“ARK.” The very unmasculine sound escaped him as he staggered forward a step, under the unexpected weight of his sister. His first instinct was to bend his knees and throw the ‘attacker’ off of him, but the familiar squeal of ‘BENNY!’ had him halting in mid-stride.

With a wide grin on his face, the eldest of the Winchester siblings proceeded to do to Chey what he’d just finished doing to the laughing girl still trying to fire Nerf pellets at his butt. Laughing, he swung his sister in a small circle before giving her a tight hug. “Hey there, squirt! And…hey, no insulting your favorite brother on Christmas. I picked out my own clothes, thank you very much, and I know; I look fine.”

Striking a pose- and expecting the jibes and giggles that were sure to follow- his patented’ I’m too sexy’ smile slid onto his face, as he let her slide down onto her feet. For a minute, he couldn’t help but look her over with a critical eye, looking for any signs of shadows lurking around in those beautiful eyes. The year had definitely been a trying one; what with her little breakdown at the Winchester house, the squid in the sky, and then his niece coming into the picture…gah, should he be worried if she didn’t look tired, or scarred in some way? He was so bad at this ‘care and share’ crap…

But he never got the chance to try any of that, as Ryder piped up, followed quickly by a hip chuck from Jessie. Catching himself on the door frame, he couldn’t help but call out after the newly christened DeVoux. “Better hold off on the cake, sister, before you go put me through a wall next time!”

An evil grin was on his face as he turned to his brother, and the little bundle of joy in his arms. Immediately abandoning his sister with a dramatic about face, he went to steal the giggling girl from Ryder’s arms. “THERE she is! The girl I came here to see! Look how beautiful you are, you little piece of curly fluff…who’s gonna enspell a chastity belt for you? Uncle Ben is!”

Tickling the baby’s feet as she laughed and wiggled in her uncle’s arms, he grinned up at Ryder. “I had some last minute business to take care of before I could head up. Did I miss anything else? Maybe…Dad, Curse and Derek try to build a life-size igloo again?”

[/blockquote]

[Simone Winchester]

Christmas Magic All Around.

That was the only way to explain it as Simi watched her loved ones gathered in the family room. With the sounds of children laughing and grown ups teasing back and forth, it almost seemed as if nothing existed in the world but their happy little circle. That mirage, of course, would be gone by the end of the season but for the moment, it was enough.

Releasing Jessie's arm to watch as she greeted the others, Simi caught her own Christmas's miracles gaze upon her and gave him a soft smile. Although there was no time for a private hello, she moved towards him instinctively and took the kiss upon her cheek with pleasure. No words could have expressed her happiness at seeing him anyways since the fraud had told her he probably wouldn't make it... Something he was definitely going to pay for later.

At his kiss on the cheek, she simply smiled.

"Hey yourself, handsome.... You are so in for it when I get you alone" she teased in a whisper right before her mother barreled over and then Uncle Damon entered and took her aside for some teasing. Laughing good naturedly, she kissed his cheek and then looked around for Aunt Karlie also.

"I've no idea, Uncle D... I haven't seen her yet... I imagine shes around here somewhere.... "

From there, people rushed to and fro and the new arrivals were greeted with warmth before everything was put away and warm drinks passed around.


Before she knew it, she saw her beautiful mother standing in the door and a bell rang out through the house in the typical signal for everyone else to meet them in the parlor.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clapping her hands, the older James woman eyed her guest with a smile.



"ALL RIGHT EVERYONE...... Gather round.... ITs that time again now that everyone is here.... Damon?? Ben??? Travis?? Dean?? Ryder??Why don't you gentleman pass around the packages and we'll give these little ones something to do besides drive us all insane with their antics??"

Just as she declared that Xavier darted in and almost knocked her over in his exuberance at the idea of presents. Lexi laughed and shook her head before raising her hands as if to say "See what I mean?" and then introducing her charges.

"For all of you who haven't' met the latest additions to the family.... This is Xavier and the little blond haired imp is Astrid... Talon and Thaila should be joining us shortly and he's the oldest of the three that are now my wards.... We are blessed to have them as part of our family...."

Then, moving forward, she took a seat by the fireplace as Simi sat on the couch and waited.

[Ryder James Winchester]

Its you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why, I can't take my eyes off of you.

Ryder chuckled and let his big brother steal baby Jessica from his arms, reaching to lightly tickle her rosy pink cheek with his index finger before she got too far away from him. It was amazing how a wee little human could elicit such uncharacteristic sounds from grown men; the cooing, the silly faces, the baby talk. Ryder was already wrapped around her littlest little finger, and she hadn’t even learned to bat her lashes at him.

His eyes grew wide as grey-blue moons when Simi leaned up to whisper in his ear something about getting him alone, and of course, his heart beat quickened; thundering so fiercely that he couldn’t hear the sounds of the gathered over the pulse in his ears.
Mouth dry, the young hunter blinked and then cleared his throat, a slow easy smile that exposed the dimples on his boyish cheeks.

It was all he could do to drag his eyes away from Simi when Damon and Travis wandered in, and he gave each of them due salutations and handshakes. It seemed the family tree was taking up root right here in Lexi’s stunning home. Not that everyone here was blood, mind you, but an old friend had once said family didn’t end with blood.

Everyone was introduced, including the older adopted son Talon and the intriguing blonde called Thaila, and before long, presents were being passed out in front of the blazing fire.

The middle Winchester watched the exchange with excitement along with the rest of the family, passing out all the gifts he’d brought save Simi’s. That one wasn’t appropriate for the younger eyes or even some of the older ones.
All the while, and despite all the distractions, Ryder couldn’t keep his eyes off Simone.
She was illuminated by her happiness and radiating a cool white light.
The hunter’s mouth was still bone dry, and he snaked his tongue across his bottom lip and grinned sheepishly when the flaxen haired witch caught him staring, but he could tell by the return smile that she was just as eager to be alone as he was.

When the room was a whirlwind of bows and plates of half eaten dessert and torn wrapping paper, Ryder found himself leaned back on the couch with his arm around Simi, who was so close she could have been in his lap except the middle Winchester didn’t want to irritate a select few including the parent of the female, nor the baby sister of the male.
Some of the younger kids had already fallen asleep amidst their new toys in front of the crackling blaze, and most of the adults were either helping Lexi clean up or helping themselves to the buffet or the bar. Ryder thought he’d been patient enough. He grinned mischievously and stood, grasping Simi up on her feet and tilting his head toward the stairs.

“There’s one more present that needs unwrapped.” He told her and chewed on his bottom lip guiltily. “I wanna’ give it to you now…”
And believing that for the moment they wouldn’t be missed, the young hunter tugged her towards the veranda, stopping along the way to grab a package from his duffel bag before continuing outside.
The moon was large and silver and cast an ethereal glow over the pale beautiful face of his seraph. Ryder didn’t waste another second, and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her close, slanting his mouth over hers in a hot, hungry kiss.
He could have kissed her all night, right there, but for now Ryder was content just to pull back and gaze into her unfathomable azure eyes.

“I’ve been waiting all night to do that.” He laughed quietly, rubbing the back of his neck and hoping his forwardness didn’t vex her. Ryder didn’t want it to bother Simi that when he wasn’t touching her, or kissing her, he was thinking about it. He was completely consumed by the spellbinding woman, and as the path of their relationship had begun at a tough and painful road, he didn’t want to smother her.

Warmth crept up to the tips of the hunter’s ears as he shook the silver and blue wrapped shirt box and lofted his brows up in anticipation. “I hope you like this as much as I do…”
And his gray eyes seemed even more cobalt than usual; lit with cheekiness.

..........

*click me*
...PS...its the red one!

[Simone Winchester]

After her mother called for everyone to join them, Simi had settled into the joys of watching everyone receive their gifts and the little ones dove into the joy of destroying wrapping paper and sending it everywhere. How she loved this whole scene and couldn't wait until she had little ones of her own to enjoy it with like Chey seemed to be doing with baby Jessica. That thought alone brought a soft smile to her face as she glanced at Ryder and then away again quickly so he wouldn't guess what she was thinking.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Talon and then Thaila join them and she cast a gentle smile at the younger girl as she sat beside her mama. Lexi had wrapped an arm around her and gave her a hug but she still twisted the sequins on her dress for dear life. She knew the other young woman was feeling awkward, not only for her vampire state in a house full of declared hunters, but because of all the noise and chatter in general.

Unfortunately, that really couldn't be helped in the James household. It was just what came with the territory.

Then, Simi noted the fact that the girls eyes seemed to be glimmering with a different emotion when she glanced at Simi's new little "brother". Hiding another smile, the little blond glanced at Talon and saw him working hard to appear indifferent but she suspected there was a romance brewing there too. Good for them. Everyone deserved a bit of happiness and she suspected those two were long over due.

Christmas time... A time for miracles indeed.

As the children squealed in glee over their new toys, the little blond shifted her attention to her various cousins and noted Ben making like a kid himself. Laughing, Simi curled in close to Ryder and then stole a sweet kiss when she thought no one would notice before drawing back to lay her head on his shoulder.

Most everyone had gotten gift cards and certificates from her since they would all know better what they liked but she hoped that it got them something special. Most of the guys had gotten "free passes" to Uncle Curse's stash of weapons in his down stairs lab at the Silver Bullet but... Well, here was to hoping it made them happy. Aunt Karlie had gotten a new pair of stiletto heels and a shoe caddy. Uncle Damon a new traveling laptop desk with a coffee warmer built in, Chey a bunch of new baby stuff with a laptop desk, Thaila had received the complete works of Shakespeare and J.R.R. Tolkien with a Barnes and Noble gift card, Talon a new mechanics toolbox and tools, and Ryder a leather bike jacket with removable armor because of his wish for that bike. Safety first, after all!

Then, almost as suddenly as it had begun, the gift wrapping was over. As everyone lounged together talking and teasing, Simi thought she would float out of her seat with happiness. A contented sigh escaped her right before Ryder got up and pulled her along behind him. Casting him a questioning glance, she giggled as they stole out of the room like two little school kids.

"Is that so?" she teased when they reached the veranda outside and he pulled her against him for a kiss. "and here I thought you'd forgotten all about me."

As his lips closed over hers, she wrapped her arms around his neck and settled more fully against him with a contented sigh. Would she ever get tired of having him near? Nah... Simply wasn't possible.

When they pulled apart, Simi widened her eyes with impish delight at the sight of the package. Slanting him a wicked look, she bit her lip before turning in his arms and placing her back to his as she took it. Shooting him a provocative glance over her shoulder, she tore into it like a little kid and then cooed in glee as she saw what was inside.

"OHHHHHHHH... RYDER... ITS BEAUTIFUL.... But.... a bit revealing to wear to christmas dinner don't you think?" she teased with an angelic smile.

Turning, she spun in the moonlight and held it up to herself.

"I think it will be perfect for the present i have for you later though...." she continued, giving him a hot look that left no doubt about her other "present". "Thank you, baby... I love it.... You'll have to tell how it looks a bit later."

Then, placing it carefully back in the box so that no one else would see it and ask embarrassing questions, she closed the lid and went back into his arms.

"I've missed you..... How dare you tease me that you were going to be able to make it?" she joked, poking him in the ribs softly with a finger. "I should SOOOOOOOOOOO make you pay for that, buddy! Do we have to have another snowball match to resolve this??"

[Kellen Aaron Rawley]

It was CHRISTMAS TIME!! One time of the Year where Kellen got really excited, and loved to bake goodies galore, and being sick this year that wasn’t going to stop him there was no way in hell it was going to stop him the devil can kiss his ass or whoever decided that his cancer was to come back and make his life miserable. He is now married to the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the completely wide world and he loves her dearly and doesn’t know where he would be without her.

Eden was his little bundle of Joy. She already had been asking him if Santa was going to know she was going to be at her aunties for Christmas and if Santa would skip her if she wasn’t at home, and they had to tell the little tot that Santa knows where she would be and knows when she was awake and sleep so she better be a good little girl. When wasn’t she good? She has been a little trooper with him being ill, and he was thankful to have Karlie and Damon around and it was weird that Kayla even stopped in a little more now. He never thought he would see the day, but it was a good change. He liked it.

It was the morning of XMAS eve he couldn’t sleep he was too damn excited, he had looked over at Tameryn, she was still fast asleep her hands on the little baby bump, which he brushed his fingers over her tummy slightly, and placed a soft kiss on the belly and his wife’s cheek before he hopped on out of the bed, and down stairs where he had scampered off to make more goodies. Lexi was surely going to have a house full so he figured he could make some goodies too. It would give him something to do while he makes his wife breakfast. It was still odd calling her his wife, but she has always been like his wife even before they were married.

He had drank some of his favorite orange soda. However, that didn’t go down right with him, and he had choked on it. It wasn’t the way he wanted to start his morning off. Right when he regained his composure, his stomach lurched, and he made it to the waste bin, and puked his guts there. He really wasn’t feeling good at all. He hoped in the shower, got himself cleaned up, and dressed it. Looking at the clock it was now 6 am. How he hated really when he couldn’t sleep. H e was excited to speed the holidays with the family and hook or by crook, he wasn’t going to let being ill beat him. It wasn’t like it was something that they could catch. He made his beautiful wife some breakfast. He made his girls some Christmas shaped pancakes, with some bacon, and scrambled eggs. He hoped that they would like it, and brought it up to his wife in bed and went and got their little tot up to eat some breakfast. Sure she would probably only eat the eggs, but he would be happy if she tried some of the shaped pancakes.

After breakfast he cuddled in bed with her a while, and told her that he was going to make some goodies to bring over to her aunties. It would be his auntie’s house now too seeing as they are married… Threw out the day Kellen had made loads of scrumptious delights to treat the family with as well and hoped he wouldn’t be imposing on Lexi in anyway. He got ready then kept Eden occupied, as her momma got ready… Kel himself got Eden ready to go. He hoped that he would be good today and nothing would go wrong. When Tams got ready he packed up the car, which made him rather winded, but he couldn’t have his pregnant wifey packing up the car now could he? How unfair would that have been… Sure, she wants to take care of him, but he wants to take care of her too. He doesn’t want anything happening to her.

Makayla had even stopped by asking them if they needed anything, which made him arch a brow. He had told her that they were fine and they would manage. He himself got scared when she was nice. He was expecting someone or something to jump out and attack him and kill him at the moment, but nothing happened and he let her go talk with her sister. In a way, Kellen was a little nervous going to this Christmas shindig. He didn’t want anyone to pity him for what is going on in his life. After that was done he had went and got changed quickly so they could be on their merry way and their x -mas eve adventure could start, but before they left he made them some grilled cheese for lunch. “I love you, beautiful. Merry X-Mas Eve” He told her. She did look beautiful. There wasn’t a thing he didn’t love about her.

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Kayla was long gone before they even decided to leave and he was going to let her drive, but had to ask “Baby, are you sure you should be driving?” He had asked. He wasn’t trying to tell her what she can or can not do, because he knew he would get slapped or worse she would give him the death glare. He was scared of the death glare, but one must admit she looked cute behind the wheel. Kel took out his phone and just had to snap a picture of her. “You look stunning, beautiful.”

He had got Eden in the back seat, she was bouncing about like a loon ready to go, and even before he was even in the car she, he could hear her in the backseat… ‘Are we there yet? ‘Kellen had gone to go get back in the passenger seat and slipped and fell down… “Owww, my bum.” He said crawling into the seat, and puckering his lips at his wife to make it all betters. Perhaps he did it on purpose just to pretend to be hurt and get some kisses. She would so know he did it purposely too. She always caught him when he did so.

Driving to Lexi’s they had to stop a few times for him and for Tameryn as well. The baby can sometimes kick when it isn’t wanted to and she always tells him that if he wakes the little bun in the oven when it is asleep she will kill him so he doesn’t try to provoke the baby, but rubs on her tummy when it is awake trying to sooth it back to sleep and tells it and Eden some stories, Esen seemed to be passed out cold by the time that they arrived at Lexi’s it was a good few hours drive could they blame her for clonking off. He was happy to be there and he hoped out of the car to stretch a little and went to the driver’s side to help his Prego wife out of the car. She had to be dying to get out of the car too…

They had made it their safe and sound and there was a lot of cars already there, but her sister’s was not here yet maybe she had went on a booze run who knows with Makayla. He had seen the impala there so maybe Ben scared her away who knows. “Go one in baby and find your daddy he can help me with this stuff, I will be in with our little girl in a minute,” he had told her. He knew she had to be exhausted and she was probably starved and she should get something to drink and eat.

let me know if anything needs changin
wearing : Clicky

[Tameryn Mae Rawley]

At 6 months pregnant, Tameryn had started to find it hard to sleep. It would seem that if her baby wasn’t asleep it was jamming her in the kidneys as hard as it could and the worse thing was that everyone seemed to poke or prod her stomach whenever the baby seemed to be sleeping and with a two year old it was impossible to just nap throughout the day. The only time she ever got to herself was when her parents or siblings took the monkey for a few hours. Tammy knew she had to go to her aunts the next day. She knew the day was going to be long and she knew she was more than likely going to have to keep Kellen going and take care of Eden as well as keep herself awake so she’d resorted to praying she’d get some sleep and as luck would have it, she’d fallen asleep to her husband telling her bump a bedtime story. It was strange. Calling him her husband. Over the years, their relationship had evolved many times. They’d gone from friends, to best friends, to lovers, to being engaged, to being parents, but calling him her Husband and being married that was the strangest of all the changes. Maybe it was just that she never expected it to actually happen. But strange as it was, Tammy was the happiest she’d ever been.

After her best night’s sleep in weeks, Tam was woken to a tray of goodies. Trust Kellen, the one out of the two of them who needed to be waited on, to bring her breakfast in bed. He’d gone and woken their monkey and bought her into the bedroom for breakfast. Their daughter was a strange little thing, if you got her to eat anything other than eggs, you were a miracle worker but with the aid of her daddy’s pout, they managed to get pancakes down her. People always said the simple pleasures in life were the best, but Tam saw it now. She saw how watching your little girl dance and bounce on the bed with a grin on her face, that was one of the best things into the world. Once Kellen was ready he’d taken the little one to get her ready and left Tammy to sort herself out. It wasn’t easy when you were lugging about an extra twenty pounds every day. She wasn’t the most pretty but hell, she wasn’t in pyjamas and slippers so that was something, right? Once she was dressed, Tams and Eden sat on the floor playing hungry hungry hippos, eventually being joined by Eden’s aunty Makayla. She loved Kay, god only knew why. She forced her aunt to join the game and once her daddy had loaded the car and made lunch, they were ready to go.

The second youngest of the Rhys-Damara clan had smiled up at her hubby as he told her he loved her. “Well it’s a good job, if you didn’t I don’t think I’d have anyone to make me grilled cheese sammiches at all hours.” She winked at him, showing that he was clearly joking and then headed to the car. She’d shifted her seat and tried to get herself comfortable behind the wheel. If she grew another inch, her feet weren’t going to reach the pedals but like hell was Tammy about to admit it. “I’ll be fine Kelly, just get the little cookie strapped in will ya?” She turned around to poke her tongue out at him, just in time to be complimented and had nothing but a huge grin on her face. She didn’t say anything but the shake of her head said it all. That was until Kellen fell. If it wasn’t for the fact she was belted in and pregnant, she’d have been there already. Instead she just had to attempt to dive across the car with no success. Once he came up and puckered his lips at her, she kissed him and ran her hand gently over his face. “If that was a practical joke, don’t even tell me, cause I’ll want to kick your ass Rawley!” She wasn’t even sure if she was joking, but once he was in the car, they were off to the James estate.

Once they arrived, Kellen had walked around to help her out of the car and of course she didn’t mind at all. She leaned her back against the car for a moment and shook her legs about. He told her to go in and he’d come in with the little one but then she heard her little cookie face mutter something from the back of the car about seeing her granddaddy. Laughing gently, Tammy peeked in. “I’ll take her, you get the stuff, okay? Okay.” She planted a kiss on his lips and moved around to take her daughter out of the car seat. She tried to get Eden to walk on the ground but apparently she didn’t like that plan, so Tammy rested her on her hip and headed towards the house. “Eden, stop bouncing on me. Eden. Eden! If you don’t stop…. Right that’s it.” With all the strength she could muster, the petite brunette held her two year old daughter above her head. The tot giggled away but hell, it was more fun to hold her in the air than have her bounce on her. Smiling and nodding politely at Talon, Tammy pushed through he door and headed into the main room. “Does anyone want a little girl? I have another kid on the way so this one’s just spare…” She announced as she walked in, beaming at her family members and placing her daughter down before wandering over to her daddy and leaning down to hug him, half falling flat into his lap.

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[Dean Winchester]

They say you lose the excitement of Christmas when you grow up, but for Dean Winchester this wasn’t the case. Dean never had a real Christmas. For him it was fighting nail and tooth to keep him and Sammy alive, keep Sam believing in Christmas, in Santa, in their own father. For him, the excitement started twenty five years ago. His first family Christmas. Then as Dean’s own brood grew, so did the exciting atmosphere. Ben, by the time Dean joined the Braeden family, had lost a lot of the initial Christmas buzz, but watching Ryder and Chey crawl down the stairs and bounce in excitement when they saw that ‘Santa’ has been was what made Christmas. Over the years that same excitement left them as well. It was to be expected. Children grew up. But the last couple of years? They were the worst. Last year, Dean’s youngest child didn’t even come home for Christmas and since Christmas their entire lives had been turned upside down. But now, it was like everything was coming together again. When his children started talking again, Dean started to feel like he actually might have a reason to celebrate this year. But it was a few weeks ago, when Dean got one of the biggest surprises a father could ever have, he knew he really did. Dean Winchester was a grandfather. In all fairness, with his eldest having turned thirty five, Dean was coming to realize it was something he couldn’t avoid forever. He knew one day he’d be faced with the line “You’re going to be a grandpa”. But Dean didn’t expect to be made a grandparent by the youngest of his three children, and he definitely didn’t expect his daughter to walk in to the house and shock him with the child she had given birth to in secret, a whole ten months before hand.

After spending the morning with his granddaughter, Dean had spent some time with his wife. Their relationship hadn’t been easy for a long time, but having their family around them yet again and having it grow, gave them more reason to fight for what they had. Always one for leaving things to the last minute, Dean had to quickly wrap all his gifts. It wasn’t hard for him to get himself ready, quick shower and throw on some clothes and he was ready to go, it was waiting for Lisa to get ready that took the most amount of his time. Once they were both ready, they locked up and headed out to the car. Climbing up into the truck, Dean got himself settled and turned the key in the ignition. Sometimes he missed his baby, just the feel of her and the way she purred, but he knew Ben was treating her right. Treating her the way only a true Winchester could. His dad dared to pass it down to him after all, who was he to deny his own son such a pleasure? Once everything was in and Lisa was settled, Dean started off towards Lexi’s. It wasn’t a long drive really, not for the guy that travelled across the country on a daily basis, so they were soon pulling up into the to the James estate. The couple had got themselves out of the car and headed towards the house, but it was the young boy stood outside that caught Dean’s attention. The same young boy that Lexi had told her a lot about, the same boy Dean had discussed with Chey only days before, and the same boy who’s story had caused Dean’s heart to want to reach out to him.

Placing a hand on Lisa’s back, Dean encouraged her to go through the door. The slightly greying hunter pulled his jacket closer around himself and moved his hands in front of him, gently cupping and rubbing his hands together in an attempt to keep them warm. Stepping closer towards the sixteen year old, Dean made an attempt to smile warmly at him, his lips turning up awkwardly into what could only be described as a smirk. “It’s Talon right?” Dean was almost certain of the answer to the question, but he asked it anyway. “Dean Winchester. Nice to meet ya.” Out of politeness, as well as the fact his wife had spent years beating manners into him, Dean held out a hand to Talon, not fussed whether he took it or not, but happily ensuring the offer was there. “You not cold out here?”

[Ryder James Winchester]

Ryder let the breath he’d been holding in rush out as Simi gave him her back to open the wrapped package. The gift was a little forward, he knew, especially since they’d been taking things deliberately easy on account of what Gregg and the others had done to her. Not to say they hadn’t made love yet. On the contrary, they had…and every time it had been amazing; miraculous, but each and every time it had been spontaneous; an unbidden reaction to the remarkably intense feelings they had for one another.

But this …this was an indisputable invitation to such kinds of activities, and for that, Ryder couldn’t help but feel as guilty as he did giddy with thoughts of said actions.

Cheeks colored by those thoughts, the young hunter rested his forehead Simi’s shoulder as she tore into the box; hoping she wouldn’t take the invitation the wrong way. It wasn’t as thought he expected it, or even that it was as important as the way his heart beat pounded when ever he was near her; but Ryder couldn’t help that simply thinking about the lithe blonde did things to him that no other woman had ever been able to…not even his deceased fiancé; the woman that had taken his virginity.

When she spun back to him with a glowing smile that lit up the shadowy night, Ryder felt relief wash over him like a soothing balm. She hadn’t taken it wrong…or gotten offended…in fact, just the opposite.

The middle Winchester teased his bottom lip with his teeth as his animated gaze traveled over the red satin that was held against her front, and suddenly his mouth was salivating something fierce as he imagined what she would look like in it. He clucked in surprise at her next comment and the heated look she offered, barely able to keep from immediately catching her hand to pull the witch upstairs to somewhere more private, but she made it easier on him by replacing the nightie in the box and sliding back into the cage of his arms.

He laughed and shirked away from the rib poking to arch a tawny eyebrow at her. “Really? You think you can take me this time? I’m a whoooole…different man since that night you know.”

And with that the young hunter leaned in to thieve a kiss before pulling away to scoop up a hand full of snow. His eyes were bright with impishness as he grinned and patted the handful into a ball, taking a few steps backwards before tossing the fluffy white weapon with a laugh and then breaking into a sprint towards the front of the house.

And they were like kids again; running around, tossing snowballs at each other, rolling around in the frigid white stuff and laughing their fool heads off. That was until a familiar vehicle pulled in front of the estate, and Ryder narrowed his eyes in confusion.

It was just a coincidence. One of the other family members or friends drove the same kind of car as Cristine. It couldn’t have been anything more…

But Ryder’s face paled as if he’d seen a ghost when the car door opened and that shiny brown head appeared from within.

He could have died right there in Simi’s arms…

..........


(( obviously I’m bringing Cristine in but ran out of time…I’ll get her a reply up asap!! ))

[crisgraves]

It was time to make her return from the dead. Long overdue, actually. It had been torture waiting until just the right moment; when all the Winchesters and extended family were gathered for the holidays, and not the kind of torture the little demon enjoyed. Cris was so eager to see the look on all their faces when she walked through the door that she’d even passed up the chance to slice and dice an obnoxious human officer when he’d stopped her for speeding on the way here. Now -that- was dedication.

The drive seemed to take forever, but the demon passed the time by picturing the reactions she would get from all her old family-members-to-be, especially her dear sweet fiancé Ryder. Word through the grape vine was he’d made the deal to bring her back one night when he was knee-walking drunk, two sheets to the wind, basically so far in the bottle that he didn’t remember ever completing the transaction.
The reunion was bound to be bitter sweet. He’d loved the human Cristine enough to trade her damned soul for his own, but then again she’d heard that the young hunter had moved on…hooked up with the pretty little daughter of the famous Lexi James.
Cris let out an audible snort. There was no way in hell he wouldn’t come rushing back into her arms despite the witchy blonde; not when she was going to let him think she’d come back completely whole…unborn Winchester baby and all.

The chocolate haired demon was fairly bouncing up and down in her seat when she pulled her modest sedan in front of the James estate (she had done a little digging to find out where everyone would be this year) and that excitement grew when her dark eyes caught sight of one Ryder Winchester and his little new bitch running around in the snow like a couple of kids hopped up on too many Christmas cookies.

Cris waited until the couple had made it around the side of the house enough that her dramatic entrance wouldn’t be missed, deliberately taking her time in putting the vehicle into park and pushing open the door.
Finally, the demon climbed out; a blithe smile on her lovely face as she took in the disgustingly pure scene around her.

Snow falling, Christmas lights everywhere, the smell of baked stuffs wafting out of the house like a noxious fume…
It was all she could do not to gag, and so she held her breath and acted as guileless as possible when she turned her head and dark eyes met those wide silvery-blue ones.

“Ryder!” The demon gasped and dropped her bag, rushing towards the stunned hunter like a scene right out of a romantic film.
Ignoring Simone James for the moment, Cris threw her arms around the man, hugging him just like a woman would have if she hadn’t seen her man in a few days. Damn, she was a good actress.

The demon pulled away; lifting a hand to brush innocently at some snow stuck in Ryder’s short hair, and then pressed her lips to his in a heated kiss. Ryder didn’t exactly respond to the kiss, but he didn’t pull away either, which she -knew- would eat the blonde witch up…and made this even sweeter for her.

“I missed you so much.” Cristine broke the kiss and gushed breathlessly; acting completely oblivious to the fact she’d been ‘dead’ for over half a year. “The storm was getting so bad I wasn’t sure I’d make it in time…”

Nonchalantly, she turned her attention to Simi, and retained the innocent smile. “Who’s this, baby?”

[Simone Winchester]

It was a true Christmas miracle.

Between the pristine landscape of the winter evening, the Christmas lights sparkling on the yard, and the sound of laughter floating on the air , Simi thought she was in heaven. With eyes that danced with joy and mischief, she chased after Ryder and the pair romped like a pair of long legged colts kicking up their heels for the first time. Everything was perfect in the world and it was like a dream come true.

Right up to the moment the bottom fell out and it turned into a nightmare.

After a particularly enjoyable round of "catch me if you can", the slender little witch found herself caught up in her loves arms and was just about to steal another kiss when the sound of an approaching car caught her ear. Not really caring who it was, she was just turning her bright eyes up to Ry's when a funny expression crossed his face and he stilled as if frozen in place.

Frowning, Simi followed his gaze with her own and was surprised to see an unfamiliar vehicle just coming to a park. A shiver of doom seemed to crawl across her skin and instinctively she knew that her perfect evening was about to come to a jarring halt.

Even as her arms dropped from Ryder neck, the drivers side door opened to reveal a beautiful brunette stepping from its interior. Something inside made her step back a bit as the woman's gaze swung towards them. As soon as the womans features were fully in view, the blond felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach.

On a purely feminine level, Simi knew just who she was looking at and the knowledge was confusing, terrifying and altogether so unexpected that she could only stand there like an idiot when the lady opened her mouth and gave a glad cry.

"RYDER"

Before Simi could so much as blink, the lovely girl was propelling herself across the distance to where they stood and into Ryders arms. Not even just into his arms but pressing a heated kiss to his stunned lips and wrapping her body around his in a manner that suggested the log time intimacy of lovers.

OH HELL NO!! was the icy response THAT drew from the witch.

It was only by the barest thread that she was able to keep herself from doing something vindictive. The moment the woman's lips found Ryders, Simi's emotions had exploded and she would later swear that it had been all she could do to draw a breath as she forced a well of magic back down in her soul. She wanted to reach out and draw the woman off of her beloved and it was only her strong will that kept her from committing murder on the spot.

As it was, the air around them seemed to crackle with sudden energy and wind whipped around the trio. With stunned disbelief and gritted teeth, Simi stared at the pair. As she stood there, her brain began to work once more and she remembered the picture she'd once sneaked a peek at in Ry's wallet. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind who this woman was and Ryder's reaction just solidified it.

The only question that remained was how she'd come to be here and why.... and Simi had a sick suspicion she knew the answer to both. The night that they'd spent at that crossroads came roaring back and she heard his voice telling her about how many times he'd wanted to make the deal for Cristine's life... For the baby's life that she'd carried. The thought made her hand go instinctively to her own stomach for just a moment before she jerked it away and took a step back from the pair.

No... No.. This could NOT be happening....

Only... It was.

And then the woman started to talk. What on earth was she on about? Confusion glittered in the young blonds eyes as her gaze shot to Ryder's in question but found no answers. He looked about as shell shocked as Simi felt herself. Obviously, he had no idea where his supposedly dead fiance had come from and she would have laughed if she hadn't felt like her heart was being torn apart.

God, this was like something out of a very bad romance movie and she had the part of "the other woman". Son of a fucking bitch, she thought to herself savagely even as the woman turned towards her and gave her a look that any woman could read. It was a she cat smile of satisfaction that she hid from Ryder and made the blonds fists clench. Her words only pounded her claim home and wiped up Simi's emotions to boiling.

Before she could tamp down the surge of violence, the air around them hummed hard and snow swirled into a particularly dense gust to splat right in the other womans face. Simi took intense delight to notice that the womans fresh beauty was smothered under what looked to be a full frontal snowball and a cool smile twisted over her lips as she ignored her and turned her hard gaze directly on Ryder.

"Baby..." she said a bit snidely, "I think that theres something you might have forgotten to tell me..... or hell... Forgotten entirely... "

Ok, so maybe she wasn't being fair to Ryder at the moment.. But she didn't feel very much like being fair. There was only one explanation Simi could come up with for Cristine being here and it wasn't that she'd taken a trip to disney land and had just come back from vacation.

Instinctively, she knew that Ryder would never betray her intentionally but her heart was feeling as if someone had stabbed it with a knife. Cristine was his first love and the woman he'd almost thrown his life away for. She was enough for him to climb inside a bottle and almost drink himself into an early grave. She'd been enough to make him think about doing the one thing that was forbidden beyond any other for a hunter.

Or maybe she HAD been enough for him to make that ultimate sacrifice. That thought alone had Simi shaking with terror.

Struggling to hold on to logic and reasoning, she looked right into his blue eyes and begged him to tell her any other explanation for what was unfolding in front of her. She knew her own were pleading and that she probably looked as if the world were coming undone but.. that was exactly how she felt.

"Ry.... You and I both know that there is only one way for this to be happening.....Please.. PLEASE tell me that what I'm thinking isn't so.....What the hell is going on here???"