16 Unicorn Street, Thursday evening

[bigdamnprincipal]

In the years since she'd first come to Fandom, Zoe had grown kind of fond of Thanksgiving. It reminded her of special meals on Serenity, the ones that came right after they'd finished a job and actually gotten paid for it, when they could afford good food and everyone could get together in the same place at the same time to eat together and relax.

Those days came about as often as holidays around here, so the comparison came easily.

As nice as the dinner at the school sounded, Zoe wanted something a little more personal with just family and friends. She'd actually managed to get the turkey thawed at a decent hour this year, and she was pretty sure they had enough food for everyone, including pie. She knew far better than to forget the pie.

[For the Winchesters and friends!]

Comments

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

That pie was the reason Dean wandered into the kitchen. He figured maybe he could sneak just one piece of something while they waited for it to be time to eat.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Zoe spotted Dean heading into the kitchen and tried to sneak in behind him to watch him.

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean was intent on pie. So he was very much sneak up on-able.

[bigdamnprincipal]

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Zoe asked as she came up right behind him.

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean yelped and spun around. "Zoe! Hi!"

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Dean, hello," Zoe said. "What brings you into the kitchen? If you're coming to check on the pies, I assure you, they're still there."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"Well, good. Good. Wouldn't want pies to go missing."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Definitely not. Nor pieces of pies, especially since we haven't had dinner yet," Zoe said smoothly.

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"You sure you don't want to test it?" Dean asked hopefully.

[bigdamnprincipal]

"I don't think the bakery was handing out poisoned pies," Zoe said. "But, I suppose if you really want to be safe, you can take a small piece. There'd better be enough left over for the rest of us."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean grinned widely. "See, this is why you're the best stepmom ever."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"And don't you forget it," Zoe said with a smirk. "I work hard for that title."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"And it shows," Dean assured her with a smirk. A moment later, he got more serious and asked, "You got any stepmom observations on Sammy's state of mind?"

[bigdamnprincipal]

"He's still very upset," she said, getting serious as well. "And getting angrier day by day. I think his moods might get worse before they get better."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"I hate that I'm not around for him," Dean said, frowning. "Not that I'd be able to do much if I was, but still."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Even if you were here, he'd still be upset," Zoe said. "Your father and I have done all we can, but we can't take the grieving part away from him. It doesn't work like that. You've been calling him, haven't you? When you're not here?"

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

It was still somewhat strange to be having what amounted to a normal, traditional family Thanksgiving celebration, after years without it, but this was the kind of strange John was happy to get used to.

He watched as Grace brought a toy over to show Sam, and smirked slightly as he saw Dean sneak off in the direction of the kitchen.

Some things it seemed, remained the same. Including the lure of pie for his eldest.

[likethegun]

After working at the school's Thanksgiving, Sam was pretty much done with the holiday, especially since he wasn't in a celebratory mood to begin with. Still, he couldn't take his feelings out on Grace, so when she tried to show him her toy, he did his best to muster a smile. "That's really cool," he said.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

Grace babbled at him, gesturing at the toy earnestly.

[likethegun]

"Do you...want me to take a look at it?" Sam asked, wishing he was as good at deciphering Grace-ese as Dean.

[demons-death.livejournal.com]

She took it back from him and ran it along his leg, making vroom vroom noises.

[likethegun]

"Oh, so you want to use me as a playground, huh?" Sam found himself smiling in spite of everything else. "Look out, 'cause the road's getting bumpy," he said, before starting to lightly bounce his leg.

[scruffnfeathers]

Dean had invited him, and though he didn't tend to eat, Castiel knew it would be considered quite rude to turn such an invitation down.

Not that he would have. He was very curious to see the home the Winchesters had made for themselves here, if nothing else.

He wondered, as he arrived, if it was customary to bring some sort of gift. He supposed he could go retrieve one if people seemed to notice the lack.

[bigdamnprincipal]

Dean had told Zoe about inviting Castiel, and she had to admit, she was kind of looking forward to meeting him after hearing the boys talk about him. When she opened the door, the first thing she did was check for the trenchcoat. The boys had been very specific about that, after all.

"Hi there. You must be Castiel," she said, smiling.

[scruffnfeathers]

Castiel dipped his head. "And you are Zoe Winchester. I'm glad to finally meet you."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"It's good to finally meet you too. I'm glad you could join us," she said, making room so he could come in. "Would you like me to take your coat?"

[scruffnfeathers]

Castiel frowned. "I seldom remove it. Did you have specific plans for it?"

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Oh, not at all. I just thought it might make you more comfortable," Zoe said, trying not to let her mind wander to reasons why he might keep that coat on.

[scruffnfeathers]

Cause it made him look all dramatic.

Mostly, it never occurred to him to do so. "I wasn't sure if it's customary to bring a gift. I can retrieve one, if so."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"No, that's not necessary. We have more than enough food, even with an extra person," Zoe said. "Have you been to a Thanksgiving dinner before?" Maybe it was a sign she'd been in Fandom too long, but she had to ask.

[scruffnfeathers]

"I only learned of the tradition a month ago. It's been some time since I last spent extended periods on Earth."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Really?" Zoe said, trying not to look so intrigued by that idea that she made him uncomfortable. "Then, I'm definitely glad you decided to join us. Everyone celebrates a little differently, it seems, but I like our traditions the best."

[scruffnfeathers]

"I suspect you would change them, if you didn't." She had, after all, married John Winchester. He imagined that required a certain amount of force of will.

[bigdamnprincipal]

"There are some things I've compromised on," Zoe admitted. "Like buying enough pie to feed an army and watching it all disappear in record time. If you want dessert, make sure you get to it before Dean does. He has a bit of a thing for it." It was a holiday, so she figured she was allowed to be nice and understating about Dean.

[scruffnfeathers]

"He seemed rather bent on ensuring that I tried pie, tonight," Castiel said. "Apparently, it's an experience not to be missed."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"Oh, it's very good," Zoe assured him. "And trying some of the pie might go a long way to making Dean happy, although I'm not sure exactly how important that sort of thing might be to you. For all the boys have told me about you, I've never quite managed to figure out your relationship with them. At least, versus the other them."

[scruffnfeathers]

"I'm attempting to ensure that neither of them start the apocalypse."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"...well, I suppose I can't argue with that, can I?" Zoe said after a moment. "Should I be worried about them? More than I already do, that is."

[scruffnfeathers]

"I will admit, I'm concerned for Sam at the moment. Grief is a powerful motivator, and one that tends to make an individual act out without rational thought." He glanced around. "He has a much larger support system here, though, one that does not seem to have any demons in it."

[bigdamnprincipal]

"I'm worried about him too, but John and I both know what he's going through. I keep hoping that before he does anything irrational, we'll find out," she said. "And no, we don't associate with any demons."

[scruffnfeathers]

Castiel nodded. "Then I suppose he's likely to be alright."