*So I'm sort of a Christmas nut. A few friends of mine asked if I was going to write anything for Christmas and I wasn't quite sure what I would do. One night I woke up in the middle of the night and the majority of this story poured out of me. As you may or may not know the death of Bobby ran parallel with my own father's death, so the numbness Robin was feeling during this time is something I write from experience. By no means can I claim this as original. Let's call it a cross-over, and it's sort of meant to be a fun piece. To help with the timeline it's after Bobby is gone, but before Robin and Dean are officially together. Hope you enjoy*
Robin had spent another cold December day in front of her laptop trying to find any leads on Dick Roman. More than once she came across something Frank had and hit his firewall. Her phone went off and she looked at the caller id, it was Dean.
"Yeah" she answered.
"Hey" he started "uh how are ya"?
"If you're asking if I found any leads on Roman."
"What" he asked? "No, I'm checking in on you. How are you?"
"Fabulous" she spat. "It's fucking freezing outside and oh yeah, recently became an orphan."
"So an improvement" he told her sarcastically. "Listen, Sammy and I were thinking we'd head your way."
"For what" she asked?
"For Christmas" he told her. "I know you and Bobby were big on it, so we thought we'd come spend it with you."
"I guess that's probably coming up" she muttered with very little interest and having no concept of what day it was.
"Uh" Dean stammered. "Tomorrow is Christmas eve."
"Oh" Robin rolled her eyes. "I dunno Dean, not really feeling festive. No tree, no gifts. Probably just spend the day going after Roman leads."
"You can come up for air Robin" Dean argued.
"Well maybe I don't want to" she snapped. "Christmas was something dad did to keep me normal. You'll have to excuse me if I want to opt out this year."
"Okay." She could hear the disappointment in his voice.
"You keep Christmas in your way Dean," She sighed. "Let me keep it in mine."
"Got it" he sighed. "Merry Christmas, Specks."
The two hung up. Robin smelled herself, she hadn't showered in a few days, she might want to get on that. She went and took a long shower and then came back to the main living area where she poured herself a glass of whiskey. She sat down on the couch with a sigh as her phone started ringing. She looked at the caller Id, Jody. Based off her call with Dean earlier, she could only assume she probably didn't want to take this call. Truth was Jody would keep calling if she didn't.
"Hey Jodes" Robin sighed.
"Hey kid" she said in her best upbeat mom voice. "Just got off the phone with Dean. He's worried about you."
"Why" Robin asked sarcastically? "Because I spent every waking moment hunting the thing that killed my father or at the bottom of a glass of whiskey"? She finished her glass before she got to her feet and poured another.
"Listen" Jody ignored her previous statement and continued. "I don't really have anyone here either, kid. I figured I could head up first thing tomorrow -".
"Jodes, there's a few inches of snow on the ground here" Robin thought quickly for an excuse. "It's not worth the driving conditions to try and get here for me to be a lump on the couch or sitting in front of my laptop."
"Oh" Jody murmured. "Uh, okay. Got it. I'll leave you to your glass then."
Robin hung up the phone and downed another glass, followed by another and another until she lost count and passed out on the couch.
When Robin woke up it was around midnight. She'd been in a deep sleep and was woken by music. She knew the song, but it took her a second for it to register. "REO Speedwagon?" She muttered as she was about to get to her feet.
"Damn right REO" a voice came from across the room.
Robin got to her feet to see Jo walking around the table and fritzing out. "Jo" she asked?
"Hey Prude" she smiled at her.
"Are you actually here" Robin asked? "Or did I drink too much"?
"Can't it be both" Jo asked? "Look Rob, I'm here because you're not doing so hot."
"What are you talking about" Robin mocked. "I'm the picture of mental health."
"You did good when I died" Jo nodded to her. "Kept your promise, kept fighting."
"You made me" Robin nodded. "Good would not be the term I would use."
"Okay maybe I needed to nudge you" Jo shrugged. "But honey, you finally screwed Dean Winchester. By the way, how was that?".
"I don't kiss and tell" Robin scoffed.
"Still a Prude" Jo shook her head.
"Still a slut" Robin replied as she got to her feet and put her glass in the sink. "What are you doing here Jo?" She asked.
"It's pretty cliche actually" Jo explained. "I uh came to warn you. You're letting this Roman thing consume you."
"Yeah well the witch who ganked mom is the one who got away" Robin explained. "Roman doesn't get off so easy."
"But at what cost" Jo asked? "Now listen I get it. You're hurting, and you get to. But you're forgetting how to live here babe. Jody, Dean, Sam they care about you. Let them in, and for God's sake hit that again with Dean."
"I realize you're dead, but I still make the choices in my life" Robin snapped.
Jo let out a sigh, "I was afraid you'd say that. Okay. Tonight, you will be haunted by three spirits."
"Where are the remains" Robin asked?
"What" Jo replied?
"Well I could end this right now" Robin nodded.
"No" Jo shook her head. "It doesn't work like that. You can expect the first one when the clock tolls one -".
"Whoa whoa whoa hold up" Robin snapped. "Jo are you about to "Dickens" me?"
"What" Jo asked?
"Past, Present and Future" Robin nodded at her and thought for a second. "Holy shit, Dickens wrote it because it happened to him, didn't it?"
"I'm not allowed to talk about it" Jo argued.
"Oh you are loving this" Robin shook her head. " Every year you made me watch these movies. "Alastair Smyth is a treasure" " Robin mocked.
"Hey, I'm just the messenger" Jo snapped at her. "Sit down, shut up and enjoy the ride."
"Jo" Robin sighed. "I like sleep. Can't they all just come at once and get it over with?"
"For someone who watched those movies with me all those times, I can't believe you just asked that" Jo snapped at her. "I'm out of time. I miss you Prude but smarten the fuck up."
With that Jo disappeared.
"That's it" Robin sighed. "I'm smoking a joint."
Robin had all but passed out again when she heard a clock chiming. "What the fuck" she jumped to her feet to see a little girl standing in front of her dressed in white and glowing. "Jasmine" she gasped?
"I am the ghost of Christmas past" she replied.
"Y'know you guys aren't too bright haunting a hunter" Robin nodded. The girl said nothing. "So, what's the next line? Oh yeah, "long past"? And then you say, "No, your past". Can we skip to the part where you take me to where I need to see the shit that gets me weepy?"
"Touch my hand" the girl instructed.
"Yeah, yeah, upheld" Robin muttered. "Let's go."
Before she could blink, they were in the library of the salvage yard.
"Damn it Rufus" Bobby's voice rang out as he shouted into his yellow corded phone. "You need to stab the thing eight times, not five" he paused. "Well, if it was five it wouldn't be after you right now, would it?" Bobby slammed down the phone. "Idjit" he muttered.
"Do you know this man" the ghost asked?
"Fuck off, you know I do" Robin snapped.
Just then a thirteen-year-old Robin walked in the room. "And this girl?"
"Why did I ever think that hat looked good" Robin muttered?
"Dad" child Robin smiled at Bobby, a slight lisp from her new braces. "Jo and Ellen are gonna be here soon. Are you almost ready to go pick out the tree?"
"Hang on a sec little girl" he murmured as he rummaged around his desk, littered in paperwork.
Young Robin walked over to a record player in the corner and knelt down to a milk crate beside it before she found the album she wanted and placed it on the turn table. After some static sounds cleared through the speakers, the song little drummer boy by boney m started to play.
Bobby looked up at his daughter. "Okay kid" he sighed. "You got my attention."
"Your father" the ghost started. "He was a good man."
"What do you want me to say to that" Robin asked in a low growl? "Of course, he was".
The scene changed and soon Robin was decorating a tree with Jo as Bobby and Ellen had a glass of whiskey together. The two girls laughing and dancing to the album, Bobby snapping at them when they made it skip.
"You had many Christmases like this" the ghost told her.
"Sure did" Robin rolled her eyes. "Christmas eve and morning like this. Then to the Roadhouse for dinner. Let any hunters who were passing through in too."
"You seemed happy" the ghost remarked.
"I was naive" Robin nodded.
"You said you spent your Christmases with hunters" the ghost told her. "You spent a few with one in particular a few years later."
They were taken to the Roadhouse. The girls were now in their late teens and early twenties and trying to sneak a beer when Ellen wasn't looking.
"Joanna" Ellen's voice boomed!
The girls walked over to a pool table where a familiar face was racking up.
"Mitch" Robin nodded rolling her eyes. "You know Scrooge regretted losing Belle in the original story. I know that needed to end." She watched as a younger Robin and Mitch flirted with each other until finally Mitch kissed her.
"You had no feelings for this young man"?
"Of course I did" Robin snapped. "But it wasn't enough."
They faded back to the salvage yard in the library to a scene that still felt fresh in Robin's memory.
"Bad enough you don't talk to me" Mitch shouted at her. "Then you pull this?"
"Don't talk to you" Robin shouted back? "I'm close with you. I talk to you all the time."
"But you're hiding something" Mitch shouted at her. "Robin, I love you. But you won't let me in. And then you let that thing touch you the way I do."
"The kid had a thing for me in High School" she shrugged. "I knew I could get the upper hand. He didn't get past just feeling me up Mitch. And then I came back here and told you right away. I was honest."
"Better forgiveness than permission huh" Mitch grumbled before he pinched the bridge of his nose? "Robin, I don't think I can do this anymore."
"Seriously" Robin snapped? "I was ganking a werewolf Mitch."
"You want to be this great hunter" Mitch shouted. "Today all you were being was a slut". As soon as he said it, he'd wished he could have taken it back.
"What did you call my daughter boy" Bobby appeared in the room with a growl?
"Robin" Mitch shook his head.
Bobby had grabbed his shotgun and pointed it at him. "Get the hell out of my house."
"Robin please" Mitch pleaded.
Bobby fired off a warning shot and for the sake of his own life Mitch ran out of the house.
Present day Robin looked back at the ghost. "Congratulations, you were able to pull guilt out of me" she grumbled. "Not all that hard to do".
"I merely show you -" the ghost started.
"Shadows of my past" Robin nodded in irritation. "I get it. I had good memories, and I became too focused on the job and messed with my personal life. Can we go now?"
In the blink of an eye Robin was back at the cabin. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass and her whiskey.
"Better make that two glasses little girl" a familiar voice sounded. "Shouldn't be drinkin alone."
She spun around, "Rufus?"
"What did you expect" he snapped at her? "Some oversize white man with a wreath around his head."
"Kinda" she nodded taking a sip.
"Please" Rufus scoffed. "Like you ever would have listened to him. Come on now, we're burning moonlight."
Suddenly she and Rufus were sitting in the back of the impala.
"Dean" Sam sighed, "all I'm saying is, maybe Robin needs some space."
"Oh you're telling me when someone needs space" Dean scoffed. "When dad died you basically jumped down my throat."
"That's different, you're my brother" Sam sighed.
"And Robin's not family" Dean asked him?
"Of course she is Dean" Sam sighed. "I just don't want her to push us away."
"Now why would they think you'd push them away" Rufus asked her?
"She's not Bobby Sam" Dean snapped. "She's not going to come after us with a shotgun telling us to get off her property."
"Yeah that sounds like him" Rufus shook his head.
"I don't want her spending Christmas alone either Dean" Sam sighed. "I care about her too. I know I don't know her biblically."
"I'm sorry" Rufus interrupted. "Dean knows you biblically?"
"You realize I'm in my late twenties right" Robin cocked an eyebrow at him?
"Whoa" Dean snapped at Sam. "You think this is because I slept with her? No man, we grew up with Robin, she's one of us".
Robin gave them both a gentle smile. Had she really been so blind? She was grieving Bobby, so were they. But these two had the added weight of worrying about her.
"And Bobby was right" Dean murmured. "I'm nuts about her."
"Robin Elizabeth Singer" Rufus asked her in amazement? "Are you blushing?"
"What? No" she snapped. "It's the brake lights from the car in front of us."
"That car ain't breaking" he shook his head.
"You have another present day location for me I'm sure" she replied , ignoring his comment.
"Brake lights my ass" he murmured as he took her to their next location.
They appeared in Jody's house. There were some boxes of Christmas decorations sitting next to her front door with a duffel bag. The house was quiet until Jody walked in with a beer and sat down in her chair. She looked like she'd been crying.
Robin didn't say a word but walked over to her and knelt down beside her chair and watched in silence. Jody looked at a picture on the table beside her and broke down in tears. Robin got to her feet and turned to see what the picture was. It was Jody, with her husband and son.
"Fuck" Robin whispered. "I didn't even think. Christmas must be tough for Jody without them."
"You're the closest thing she has to family these days kiddo" Rufus explained to her. "But hey, it's not worth the driving conditions, right? You'd just be a lump on the couch or glued to your laptop."
"Okay Uncle Rufus" she snapped. "I get it. I'm being selfish and just because dad's gone doesn't mean I'm dead too."
"Good" Rufus looked at her. "Always knew you were smarter than your father."
With that the clock started to toll and the walls grew grey. Suddenly Jody's body was on the floor, half eaten.
Robin jumped to her feet with a gasp. "Uncle Rufus" she called out.
"Quite grisly" a voice came from behind her. "But then God did lock them in Purgatory for a reason."
Robin looked at the man's face in astonishment. "Death" she asked?
"So it would seem" he nodded. "I suppose I'll be taking the role of the proverbial ghost of Christmas future in your yule tide epiphany?"
"Uh" Robin shrugged. "I guess."
Death let out a sigh. "Well come on then, let's get this over with."
They walked out to the street, screams echoed through the air.
"What happened" she asked?
"You and the Winchesters didn't stop Roman in time" Death explained.
"How" Robin asked? "I've been parked at my laptop constantly."
"Yes of course" Death sighed. "If it's on the internet it must be true."
"Well Sam and Dean" she shook her head.
"Without you they didn't stand a chance" he explained.
"I thought this was a Christmas Carol, not It's a Wonderful Life" she snarked.
"Amusing" Death rolled his eyes as they continued through the street strewn with discarded human remains.
"So they're dead" Robin asked?
"Sam is" Death nodded. "An ancient God actually killed him."
"When the hell did an ancient god come into play" Robin asked? She paused. "Dean is alive. So, there's still hope right?"
"Why do you mortals all think that death is the worst thing that could happen to you" Death asked?
He waved his hand, and they were in a small building with aquariums lining the wall each one containing a Leviathan head. Robin looked around the room in horror. There was a Singer salvage yard hat sitting on a shelf on top of John Winchester's journal.
The door opened, and Dean walked in with a burlap sack over his back. He opened it and a Leviathan head hissed and bit at him.
"Where's Roman" he shouted? The creature didn't answer. Frustrated Dean threw the head in one of the only aquariums that remained empty.
"So what" Robin asked? "Dean has gone all Governor?"
"Just watch" Death sighed.
Dean walked to the counter and grabbed a bottle of whiskey before he went out the back door, Robin followed him. He walked towards what looked like a headstone. She soon read the name, Robin Singer.
It was slightly jarring to see her own name on the stone.
"Robin please" Dean whimpered as he fell to the ground in front of the stone. "Come back. Haunt me."
"Am I buried" she asked? "Not cremated?"
"Dean wanted you to come back" Death shrugged. "So no, you weren't cremated. Of course, he went crazy before you died. You pushed him away, but he kept trying."
"Okay" she nodded as tears welled up in her eyes. "I get it. You want me to realize there are people who still care about me. And even though my dad died, I'm still here. I need to keep living and keep fighting right?"
Death shrugged. "I don't really care what you do with the information I provided. My job was just to show you this."
With that Robin woke up back on the couch of the cabin as the sun came shining in. She looked out the window. "So now I have the, was it all a dream moment" she huffed as she got to her feet and looked out the window. She soon spotted Jody's truck pull up. Dream or not, she was excited to see her.
Robin shot out the door of the cottage barefoot and in a pair of shorts, running through the snow without a second thought.
"Look kid I know what you said" Jody started but was cut short when Robin hugged her.
"I'm so glad you're here" Robin sighed. "Did you bring Christmas decorations? We can get a tree and deck the halls and all that shit?"
"Uh yeah" Jody replied in surprise. "The boys are on their way too."
Robin pulled back and smiled at her. "Jody I gotta run into town. Last minute Christmas shopping. But I'll be back soon, okay?"
"Maybe put some shoes on" Jody nodded to her. "And pants. Your little shorts aren't going to leave much to the imagination."
Robin ran in the house and got herself ready. Realizing time was of the essence and the odds of her finding the perfect gifts all in that one town were slim she started teleporting to and from location to location. By the time she'd finished it was getting close to lunch. Robin sat and enjoyed the meal with Jody laughing and talking, something the two hadn't done in a long time, but very much appreciated.
The two set out into the woods after lunch finding a tree suitable for their needs. As they approached the house they spotted the Impala pulling into the driveway.
Sam stepped out of the car and smiled, "a tree"?
"Well you guys came all this way" Robin smiled as they got closer to the cabin.
"I don't think I've ever had one bigger than something that could sit on a table" Sam remarked.
"Got a turkey in the oven too" Jody told them with a smile.
"Oh now you're speakin my language" Dean came into sight.
The boys intercepted the two women helping to stand the tree up.
"Give it a good shake" Jody instructed. "Get those loose needles out."
Watching the excitement grow on Sam's face as they got the tree up was enough to make Robin smile through the whole experience.
Robin had climbed in behind the tree to string the lights and Dean had done the same. "Hey" he smiled at her. "Listen -".
That was all Dean got out when Robin grabbed him by the collar and kissed him. He was surprised for a second before he put his hands on the small of her back and pulled her close to him and reciprocated.
Jody popped her head around the back of the tree and smiled. She gave them another second before she said, "Okay you two. Hands where I can see them and step out from behind the tree."
Robin pulled back from Dean and smiled again before doing as she was told.
The day was completely different from any other Christmas she'd spent before but life changes. We lose people, we gain people along the way. What Robin needed to remember that year was even though her family had changed, she still had one and she wasn't alone.
Robin was cuddled on the couch with Dean and sitting with Jody and Sam. She looked at the three of them with a smile. "Family don't end in blood" she whispered to herself in the light of the Christmas tree.