Castiel smiled. He could feel the warmth and happiness radiating from the two souls now sleeping sound in their bed, cuddled together. When two soul mates realized their feelings, it was a beautiful event. Their souls did back flips for one another. He was resting on top of the covers, beside his hunter, who was cuddled beside him. Sam was on the cot, sleeping.

"Cas?" He had been making an effort not to read minds, and hadn't realized Dean was awake.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry the plan didn't work. It was a good idea." Castiel forced himself not to reach inside Dean's mind. He could tell that the hunter had been planning on saying something else.

"It could still work. Saint Nickolas normally only comes when everyone is asleep."

"Right…Cas?"

"Yes?"

"Nothing. Just…I love you. Thank you, for everything you've done." Castiel turned towards Dean, deep blue eyes met a bright green gaze.

"I love you too. Now what were you really going to say?"
"Damn it. Why are you so good at that?"Cas laughed a little.

"I know you well."

"Right. It's just…I mean, you haven't really talked a lot about seeing people's souls before. I'm just wondering-"

"You want to know what your soul looks like, if it is broken, and mangled after your time in Hell."

"I told you to stop doing that, man."

"I did not read your mind. I read your eyes. There cannot possibly be a rule against that."

"Fine. So?" The hunter's normally brave face looked very vulnerable in the dull moonlight pouring in through the hotel window.

"Dean, I have loved you since the moment I first laid a hand on you in Hell. My siblings would say that I was lost, but I believe that I found myself in that instant. I will likely love you until at last I die for a final time, but sometimes, you can be such an idiot." Dean looked shocked. "I gripped you tight and raised you from perdition. Do you think it was easy battling the armies of Hell? Do you think I would risk rescuing just anyone? Crowley and his crossroads demons have tricked thousands upon thousands of innocent souls into making deals and ending up burning for eternity. I knew when I saw you, without a shadow of doubt, that it was you I was supposed to rescue. Your soul was broken, and burnt, and imperfect, and it still is. I will not lie to you. What made me realize that it was you was that even through the scars and burns, and pain, even though you were torturing souls by that time, you shone more brightly than all the rest. You were not just innocent, and meant for Heaven like so many others, you were the righteous man. I could see how your love for your brother shone more brightly than all of the flames of Hell, how you sacrificed your own soul to save his life, and I knew it was you I was to save. So, that was the moment I lost track of Heaven, and fell in love with humanity, with you, and your beautiful soul, Dean Winchester."

"Wow," Dean looked awed. "I have no idea what to say."

"So don't say anything." Cas leaned in, pressing his lips against Dean's. It was a wonderful feeling. He opened his eyes to examine the flawless face before him, and gasped, pulling away.

"Mm, s'matter?" Dean asked, leaning in for another kiss.

"Dean, its Saint Nickolas!" Cas sat up. Saint Nickolas was standing in the middle of the hotel room. Castiel had seen Saint Nicolas in many visages before. Right now, he was in a traditional red coat, and pants. He even had on the traditional Santa hat, and was sporting a long white beard. Cas met the twinkling eyes of the old fellow. "Do you think you could make yourself visible to my friends? I know you don't normally allow humans to see you, but this is a bit of an exceptional case." Dean sat up, and gasped. John and Sherlock woke up, and looked up in amazement. Sam rolled out of the cot, standing and turning on the light.

"Thank you so much for coming!" the younger Winchester said.

"I would have made it sooner, but there is a rule stopping me from coming when people are awake. I managed to defy that for now, but my magic isn't as strong as the magic binding me to the rules I am meant to follow, for good reason, of course. So, let us get to the point. I know what my brother is doing. You can come out now, Krampus."

Everyone stood up, and Cas pulled out his angel blade. Standing beside Saint Nickolas was the evil man they had seen slaughter a woman. His claws shimmered, and his red eyes flashed. It was a horrible sight, this wicked abomination in a Santa Clause suit.

"Brother, please understand-" Saint Nickolas' evil brother began. He spoke in a hoarse voice that made Cas wrap his arm protectively around Dean, point the angel blade at the threat.

"I understand," Saint Nickolas said. He turned towards Sam, Dean, Cas, John, and Sherlock. "He is not doing this of his own free will."

"What do you mean?" John asked.

"Krampus loves people who despite Christmas. If he went on a murder spree, he would not target such people. That is how I immediately knew that this was not his doing," Saint Nickolas said.

"I was trying to send you a message with my victim choices," Krampus said.

"I understood. Brother, who is forcing you to do this?"

"A man who made a deal with a demon named Crowley for control of me. He is making me kill innocent people." Sam, Dean, and Cas exchanged a worried look. If the king of the crossroads was involved, this was worse than they thought.

"What was this man's name?" Saint Nickolas asked.

"Jim Moriarty." Castiel had never heard of this man, but the name clearly meant something to John and Sherlock, who exchanged a horrified look.

"What can we do to stop him?" asked Dean.

"That would be up to us, now," Sherlock said. John nodded.

"You've entered our territory, now, demon hunters," John explained. "If Jim is involved, we are about to come face to face with human evil."

Everyone stood there, waiting for someone to come up with a plan. No one said anything for a long time. Castiel hugged Dean close to him. He saw that Sherlock was holding John's arm with an iron grip.

"Merry Christmas," Saint Nickolas finally said in a soft voice. The sun was starting to come up outside. Saint Nickolas and Krampus vanished. It was officially Christmas morning. Cas supposed they were going to have to fight this Jim Moriarty.

It was an unusual Christmas. New friends were forged, new enemies made. They ate pop tarts from the vending machine for breakfast as they planned their attack on this Jim character. Sherlock agreed to go to one of the few pubs open on Christmas with John to celebrate their vacation while they still could, before Jim made his next move. Sam whispered something in Dean's ear, and the older Winchester looked resigned. A few moments later, he pulled Cas aside, and said that they could continue their driving lessons. Castiel knew this was a big decision for Dean. Damage done to the Impala was not taken lightly by the hunter, even if it was only minor. Cas pulled Dean into his arms, and kissed him for several moments in thanks. Sam coughed, and they all laughed. It was a nice Christmas, despite the impending fight with this Jim Moriarty villain. Of course, when were any of them not preparing for a fight? There would probably never be a time when they were not in preparation mode for some battle against evil. Sam, Dean and Cas were together. Sherlock and John were together. Now the two groups could work together, and that was something.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much to everyone who has read/followed/favorited/reviewed this story. Happy Holidays! Sorry that I didn't finish this by Christmas, but I suppose worse things have happened lol. By the way, I also wrote a short Supernatural Christmas story in the theme of the traditional story "Gift of the Magi." You should totally check it out. Pretty please with pie on top? Moving on from my self pimpage...So, I know I didn't quite conclude the story. If anyone is interested in doing a sequel, that would be so awesome. Anyone is welcome to do so, and I would be very excited if anyone, or more than one person, wanted to try. Please write in and say that you are doing it (if you decide to) in the review section so that anyone reading the reviews (including me!) can go to your page and check it out. Anyway, Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukah/Kwanza/whatever you celebrate (sorry, I could not list all of the Holidays)! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday season, and continues to do so. Again, thank you to all of the support, and remember, reviews are love!