Hunted {Dean Winchester 3}

Chapter 23

A Very Supernatural Christmas

We walked through the yard of the Caldwell house, heading for the car. "Wreaths, huh?" Dean asked. "Sure you didn't want to ask her about her shoes? I saw some nice hangbags in the foyer."

"I thought so too." I stated.

Dean sighed, smiling. "God, you are so literal."

"We've seen that wreath before, Dean." Sam pointed out.

"Where?" Dean asked. 

"The Walsh's. Yesterday."

"I know. I was just testing you." 

___

Sam hung up his phone after a call with Bobby. He walked across the room, settling at the table by the window. "Well, we're not dealing with the Anti-Claus."

"What did Bobby say?" Dean asked, looking up from the papers he had in hand as he sat on the couch. 

"Uh, that we're morons." Sam stated.

"That isn't all that shocking." Millie pointed out.

"I think we'd all have crashed and burned without Bobby by this point." I sighed. 

"He also said that it was probably meadowsweet in those wreaths." Sam continued. 

"Wow. Amazing." Dean said. "What the hell is meadowsweet? Sounds like some perfume Si would have."

"It's pretty rare and it's the most powerful plant in pagan lore." Sam explained. 

"Pagan lore?" Dean repeated.

"First of all, you don't listen very well. Secondly, what is pagan lore? Another rendition of lore, who we walk about as if it's a person?" Millie asked.

"It's, like, false gods and stuff. Greek, Roman, Scandinavian, ect." I shrugged. 

"They'd use meadowsweet for human sacrifices." Sam continued. "It was kind of like a chum for their gods."

"Oh, so gnawing on human bones and flesh isn't enough?" Millie asked. 

"Gods were drawn to it, they'd stop by and snack of the nearest human." Sam continued. 

Dean stood, moving to the counter where he poured a cup of coffee. "Why would someone be using that for Christmas wreaths?"

"It's not as crazy as it sounds, Dean."

"It sounded crazy?" I asked. 

"Pretty much every Christmas tradition is pagan." Sam stated. 

"Christmas is Jesus' birthday." Dean argued. He looked at me. "See? I listened when you dragged me to church."

"Wow, good job, buddy." I patted his shoulder as I walked by him.

"No, Jesus' birthday was probably in the fall, it was the winter solstice festival that was co-opted by the church and renamed." Sam said. "But I mean the yule log, Santa's red suit, that's all remnants of pagan worship."

"Do you know how unlikeable that makes you sound?" Millie asked. "I'm not even a church goer." 

"How do you know that?" Dean asked with a small shake of his head. "What will you tell me next? Easter Bunny's Jewish?" He moved to sit back down in an armchair.

I leaned against the counter. "Why can't we ever celebrate Christmas like normal people?"

"So you think it's a pagan god?" Dean asked.

"No, Bobby does." I pointed out.

"Yeah, probably Holdenacar, god of the winter solstice." Sam answered, clicking away on his computer before standing and moving to the couch.