Thank you so much Jenjoremy for everything you do all under the umbrella of beta'ing and friendship. Thank you Gredelina1 for supporting me throughout. Thank you Anon for the prompt that started this whole journey, and you all for reading and reviewing. I appreciate every one of you.

Enjoy the Pilot xxx

Epilogue

Jack carried the bowl of green beans through to the library and set it on the table. It was already piled with food, and there was more to come. Mary and Dean carried through more platters and Sam followed with an enormous ham.

"Sit down then," Dean said, when the table was heaped with food. "I want to eat.

Jack pushed the chairs out for them all, smiling as they laughed, and sat down. Sam placed thick slices of ham on plates and handed them to Dean, Mary, and Jack.

"Load up, Jack," Dean said, reaching for the potatoes.

Jack reached for the buttered carrots and then paused. "I'm still not sure what we're celebrating," he said.

Dean rolled his eyes. "It's Christmas. Baby's Jesus' birthday."

"Baby Jesus, Dean?" Sam asked with a tempered smile.

"Yes," Dean said doggedly. "He was born today, so that's what we're celebrating: Baby Jesus."

Sam coughed to hide a laugh. "Technically he wasn't, you know."

"Wasn't what?" Dean asked, exchanging the bowl of potatoes with Jack for the carrots.

"Born today. It's far more likely that he was born in September."

Dean gaped at him. "You're kidding me!"

"No. It makes no sense for him to be born in December if the story is right. The censuses were never collected in winter as the roads were impassable, and the shepherds wouldn't have been out with their flocks then."

"Then why do we celebrate now?" Dean asked.

"Because it was already the time of a pagan celebration, and they wanted to bring the pagans over the Christianity, so they made it easier by merging the festivals. Right, Cas?"

Castiel nodded.

"So, we're not celebrating a birthday?" Jack asked.

"Yes we are," Dean said firmly. "We're just celebrating a little late. It'd be rude not to. Cas is a big fan of his."

"Yeah, it's about Cas," Mary said. "You're not just interested in the food at all."

Dean shrugged. "I'm not gonna lie, the food does make it a little more special."

Sam laughed.

More confused than ever, Jack looked to Mary for an explanation. She usually untangled these things for him when Sam and Dean confused him.

"It's supposed to be about religion, Jack, but for most people it's just a day to be with family and celebrate each other and to be thankful."

"Thankful," he said musingly. "I thought we did the thankful one last month when we celebrated that massacre of indigenous people by pilgrims."

"Sam!" Dean said loudly, and Sam ducked his head. "You ruined Thanksgiving for him, too!"

"I didn't ruin it," Sam said with a grin. "I just told him the truth behind the story."

Dean scowled. "That is ruining it."

Sam opened his mouth and then seemed to think better of engaging. He turned to Castiel instead and asked, "Cas, did Gabriel really deliver the message to Mary?"

"Yes," Castiel said.

Dean snorted. "Wow, wonder how that went."

"It wasn't exactly as your Bible would have you believe," Castiel said. "Though Gabriel was very different at the time to the angel you knew, he was still a little more lighthearted that my other brothers."

"So we don't do the thankful part?" Jack asked.

"No, this time our thanks are internal," Mary said.

Jack nodded. It was a shame they weren't saying what they were thankful for, because this time he knew exactly what he would say. He was thankful for them all and the place in their family they had offered him. He loved them all.

So… That's where it ends. I think it's a nice place to finish, with them all together and happy. The story feels complete to me. How about you?

Until the next story, whatever that may be…

Clowns or Midgets xxx