𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 | 𝐬𝐩𝐧

𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

SHE finished her shower and changed into comfortable clothes, then carefully sat beside Sam. "No." He told her. He had never rejected her company before now. Carter felt her eyes begin to burn with oncoming tears, but just nodded and moved beside Dean's bed, who seemed shocked by his brother's action. "Can I--" She began. He nodded and she flipped over so her back was turned against Sam and she was facing Dean.

"I'm sorry." She mouthed. "I know." He replied, pulling her into his arms. He felt her tears hit his chest and he listened to her try to muffle her sniffling. Sam turned his head slightly and huffed guiltily. "I need some air." She stuttered, going outside. "Sam, I swear to God if you don't go out there right now, I'll---" Dean began. Sam got up and glared. He sat outside on a curb with his friend.

"I don't wanna die, Sammy." She told him. "I---I thought I did, I---I wanted to die f-for something good, y'know? I wanted you to be happy and I wanted Dean to live, I wanted everything to be fine. I realized I'll never be able to hold you again or---We can never do anything ever again--- I'm so scared, Sam."

Sam didn't know how to respond. He scratched the back of his head and let silence take over.

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄

Carter picked the lock and admired the Christmas decorations for a split second before wandering the home quietly. She led the guys to a basement door and slowly turned the doorknob. When they went down, they realized they were definitely in the right place. There were bones, blood, and ritualistic things scattering the basement floor. "Okay, Mr. and Mrs. Gingerbread are a little bloody," Carter whispered. "Look out!" Sam shouted. A hard object hit the back of her head, knocking her out cold on the floor.

When she woke up, she and the Winchesters were tied to chairs in a triangle shape. "I hate old people." Carter groaned, her head aching. "Carter? Carter, you okay?" Sam asked. "Splendid, Winchester, I'm doing splendidly." She replied. "So, I guess we're dealing with Mr. and Mrs. God. Nice to know." Dean sighed. "Ooh, and here we thought you lazybones were gonna sleep straight through all the fun stuff." Mrs. Carrigan giggled. "Do you have any wine for this party?" Carter remarked. "My wife and I will party when you're dead, no worries!" The old man said, smoking his pipe. "Can I have a hit before I die?" She requested.

"I hate Hunters. We used to take over a hundred tributes a year and that's a fact. Now, what do we take? What, two? Three? You three make six! Isn't that just darling?!" Madge laughed. "You talk like my grandma. She's dead, maybe you should meet her." Carter said cheerfully. "This one has a big mouth, doesn't she? Well, we'll just have to deal with that." The man stuffed a rag into Carter's mouth.

"Let's begin!"

-

Madge slowly sliced Carter's arm into a deep gash and began draining her blood. She screamed in pain. "Leave her alone, don't you hurt her!" Dean yelled. "Don't lay a finger on her head!" Sam shook his chair. "Hear how they talk to us? Heh heh. To Gods? Listen, pal, back in the day, we were worshiped by millions. All of a sudden, this Jesus character is the hot new thing in town. All of a sudden, our - our altars are being burned down, and we're being hunted down like common monsters." Mr. Carrigan complained. "This might pinch a bit," Madge said, placing the bowl under Dean's arm while her husband bled Sam.

Madge put the bowl with their blood in it on the countertop and grabbed the pliers, then walked over to Carter. "Oh, look at her nails! They're perfect. This'll sting a little." She chirped, grabbing the hunter's hand. "Please, no. Please, please don't. Sammy!" Carter cried out. Madge pulled her fingernail out of its skin. Carter screamed and Mr. Carrigan sliced Dean's other arm. "Now, we need a tooth!" He smiled, grabbing Sam's chin. While the plier entered his mouth, knocks erupted from the door.

Carter winced in pain. Sam and Dean untied themselves as the Gods walked away to answer the door, then helped Carter. Dean wrapped a rag around her arm and Sam applied a band-aid to her finger. "Come on," Dean whispered, running to a different room. They followed him and boarded up the door. Sam snapped a branch from the evergreen tree, making perfect weapons to kill the monsters outside.

"I can't wait to kill these sons of bitches." Carter said as the door knocked down. Mr. and Mrs. Carrigan rushed into the room. Carter swung at Madge, a tight grip on her stake-like branch. Madge grabbed her arm and brought it to her side, then shoved Carter into the wall. Carter jumped onto her and pulled her grey hair back so her eyes faced her own. She stabbed the branch into her throat and jumped off of the lady. "Madge!" Her husband yelled.

Dean took the opportunity to stab him in the heart and they watched their bodies fall. "Merry Christmas, boys." Carter panted.

𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐋

Dean and Carter came back from a beer run and opened the motel door. Their hearts dropped at the sight of Christmas decorations scattering the room. Sam stood with eggnog in his hands. Carter smiled brightly. "It's Christmas. Here, uh ... try the eggnog. Let me know if it needs some more kick." Sam chuckled, handing her a cup. She passed it to Dean and he handed her the other one. "This is...amazing." She whispered.

"Well, uh, have a seat. Let's do... Christmas stuff, or whatever." Sam laughed. "Presents first?" Carter offered. They nodded and sat down, taking out newspaper-wrapped items and exchanging them. Dean got a candy bar and oil from Sam and a bulky silver ring from Carter, Sam got shaving cream and two porn magazines from Dean and a hairdryer from Carter, and Carter got a locket from Dean and a scrapbook from Sam. "Merry Christmas, Winchesters." She toasted.

They clinked their glasses and Carter listened as growling lurked outside. The boys didn't seem to notice, so she tried to block it out. "Here's to life, a journey, and death." She thought.