[Winter at the house. Sam had been home for a couple of weeks and was gradually adjusting to civilian life again. The war was petering out, the weres and humans were close to overwhelming the enemy once and for all. It was welcome news at the house, as it meant that Sam wasn't leaving and the rest of the men were going to be on their way home soon.
Therapy was grueling, but Sam took to it like he did anything else. Tenaciously. Living with one arm was difficult, but he was learning, and when his muscles were strong enough, he'd be fitted with a prosthetic arm and hand.
He was just getting out of the shower and struggling into his robe when the glimmer of white caught his eye. Snow. It was snowing.
Sam smiles and awkwardly tying his robe shut, he pads back into the bedroom in search of Lydia. Time she learned the Winchester tradition of a first snow snowball fight.]
[Lydia's in the library, doing what she's been doing constantly the past few weeks: fighting her urge to help Sam. From the beginning, he's proven quite capable of adjusting, but she can never quite shake the ache in her chest when she watches him struggle while doing something he used to do so easily all because of the loss of his hand.
Or the lingering fear that he's going to get hurt if he slips in the shower or something. Which is what she's battling now, while she works on cataloging some demon lore to keep her mind occupied.
When he enters, his robe tied awkwardly, she smiles a little and crosses the room to retie it for him. She's all for his independence, but the last thing they need is his robe falling open in front of Ellen or Bobby, for Gods sake.
That's when she notices the look on his face.] What's got you so excited?
[Sam gives her a grateful kiss when she leans in to adjust the belt on his robe. It was tricky to tie one handed and there were always going to be some things he would struggle with without his arm. His smiles were coming a little easier the longer he was home and with Lydia.] It’s snowing outside.
[His hand slides into hers and he tugs her towards the window, tucking her in against his side to drink in the peaceful view.] First snow means only one thing. [His grin is absolutely boyish.] First snowball fight of the year. What do you say we get the jump on Dean and Cas?
[Lydia tries to keep him close, to keep the kiss going but he pulls away before she's ready. She wonders, vaguely, if Sam ever notices that she's been doing that lately. She just can't bring herself to let him go as easily as before.
Laughing, she follows him to the window. It is indeed snowing, the window starting to frost over outside.] You're like a giant child, you know that don't you?
...We'll get the jump on Dean. Go easy on Castiel. [He's been. Ahem. Sick lately.]
[Sam knows. He doesn’t like to stay away from her long, always needing the comfort of her touch or her scent. She might not be a wolf, but she’s perfectly attuned to him and to his moods. When frustration begins to mount because he only has one arm, she’s there to help. Quietly, unobtrusively. The nights he has trouble sleeping, she stays up with him, soothing him with her presence.
He’d be lost without her.
Today his good mood won’t be dampened. It’s snowing and he’s home. Sam grins at her comment, kissing her warmly.] After the snowball fight, we’re building a snowman. [It’s going to be harder than hell with only one hand, but by god he’s not going to let that interfere with a tradition he’s had going on since he was a pup.
It takes a moment for her comment to sink in and Sam’s grin only gets wider. Only Dean? He and Cas had been holed up in their room while he was in heat a week ago.] Cas can help with the snowman if he’s up for it then. We’ll gang up on Dean.
We're not doing anything right now, considering the fact that you're still naked. [Lydia nods down at his robe. And she's not much better off, barefoot and wearing only a cotton dress to keep cool in the heated house.]
I finished one of your coats though. It's in your closet. [Wearing a coat with one empty arm defeats the purpose of the coat, given the space for cold air to enter, so Lydia has started up with fixing a couple of his coats, making the left arm shorter and closing it up to keep him warm. As a surprise, She also added some weak magnets to the lining of the front so that it would hold itself together while he buttoned and/or zipped the coat.
Pushing at his back, she shoos him off towards his room.] Go. And dry your hair before you get sick.
Have I mentioned lately that I love it when you're bossy? [Smiling, Sam leans in to kiss her before marching off as ordered. It's probably comical that an Alpha is so easily ordered around by a human he easily outweighed by double, but Sam doesn't mind. She's strong, smart and exactly what he's always needed in his life.
Getting his hair dried and struggling into his clothes is still difficult and Sam's good mood is a little subdued by the time he's done. At least when he gets the prosthetic he'll have something to help. One hand is a reminder of what he's lost. What he'll never get back.
The added surprise to his coat helps his smile return by the time he searches out Lydia again.] Thank you.
[Lydia's by the front door, zipping up her boots. The first thing she looks for is whether or not his coat is zipped and she smiles when she sees it is. She doesn't mind helping Sam. On the contrary, if she could follow him around to compensate for the missing hand, she'd do it in a heartbeat. But she knows Sam will never be okay with his arm being gone, doesn't even have a chance at it unless he gets to retain some of his independence.
His Thank You is greeted with a kiss and a laugh.] I'm going, I'm going. Calm down. Child.
[She grabs her coat out of the hall closet, zipping it up as they head outside.] I say we get a good hiding spot and stockpile first.
[He gives her an affectionate nudge at the name. This has been the happiest he's felt since his return. Snowfall brought memories of romping with his brother as a pup, and snowball fights as teenagers. A happier time in his life and he can't wait to share that with Lydia.
A knit cap is too difficult to negotiate with one hand so he simply snags a ball cap out of the closet and tucks her close as they step outside into the peaceful white yard.] He always swings in from the left, so if we set up over by that oak we should be able to get the drop on him.
[Lydia's small, so she's almost entirely covered by the big oak tree in the front yard while she crouches, rolling snowballs to stockpile. She's not sure how much time they'll have, but Cas will probably be coming out for some fresh air soon if his body is adhering to the same schedule today as it has been for the past couple. Which means Dean (poor, confused Dean who probably thinks Castiel is dying) will be right behind him.
Sure enough, after about 20 minutes, Castiel, bundled up and looking a little paler than usual, steps out of the heat of the house to get a few clean breaths of the air outside, Dean right behind him.
Lydia doesn't wait for Sam's signal, taking her clear shot of Dean the minute she gets one.]
[The snowball fight is fast and furious and even Cas gets off a few good shots before getting out of the way and letting Sam and Lydia gang up on Dean. Sam can't pack them quite as easily one-handed, but that was never the point of their snowball fights.
They needed this. All of them. A snowball fight meant a return to normality. The life they had before the war.
Panting, rosy cheeked and laughing, Sam dusts the snow out of his hair awkwardly and watches a confused and worried Dean shepherd Castiel back inside to rest.
Sam wraps his arm around Lydia's waist, still grinning.] How long do you think it'll take before he figures it out?
He'll know when Castiel wants him to. [No offense to Dean, but he'll never figure it out on his own, even if Cas starts showing. He'll just think it's a stomach tumor or something.
Lydia's covered in snow from head to toe from where Dean threw her over his shoulder and dumped her in a huge snowbank as revenge for shoving a snowball down his shirt. Tugging her gloves off, she reaches up to brush the remaining snow out of Sam's hair before hurriedly putting her gloves back on. She's freezing, teeth slightly chattering. Her body's not as naturally warm as the boys'. But she doesn't mention going inside. This is the happiest she's seen Sam since he came home and she's not going to rush it.]
Those two don't do subtle well. I think we'll have to make a sign or something. [Sam is dusted with snow from head to foot after Castiel knocked him headfirst into a snowdrift, much to his brother's sheer delight. He might be carrying, but he wasn't slowing down just yet.
Sam cups her cheek with his hand, his fingers almost totally numb from furiously packing and flinging snow for the last twenty minutes. He catches the slight chatter and nudges her back towards the house.] Yeah. I haven't had that much fun in a long time.
[He could have stayed out for hours, but curling up with Lydia by the fire with hot chocolate was starting to sound a lot more appealing.]
Cas isn't trying to be subtle, I don't think. He's just overestimating Dean a little bit. Or he doesn't know yet either. [Because Cas isn't dramatic enough to not tell Dean immediately.
His hand is freezing against her already cold cheek and Lydia jumps, turning away a little.] Cold! [But she lets him lead her inside, hanging her coat and scarf on the rack near the door. Hot chocolate does sound good, but she's got snow in her bra and her socks, so...]
I'll make it after my shower, unless you want to get on that while I change? [A shower will warm her up at least a little.]
I can make it. Go get warmed up. [Sam steals another kiss before he struggles out of his coat and makes his way to the kitchen.
Making hot chocolate is more than a little difficult with one hand. But Sam bravely soldiers on (ha ha). There's cocoa powder and sugar scattered on the counter where he's spilled once or twice. Slowly he's stirring the cocoa in the pot, warming the milk.
He's not going to let it stop him. He's not going to let it ruin the day he's had with his family.
Some days that's how he gets by. Sheer Winchester stubbornness.]
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Therapy was grueling, but Sam took to it like he did anything else. Tenaciously. Living with one arm was difficult, but he was learning, and when his muscles were strong enough, he'd be fitted with a prosthetic arm and hand.
He was just getting out of the shower and struggling into his robe when the glimmer of white caught his eye. Snow. It was snowing.
Sam smiles and awkwardly tying his robe shut, he pads back into the bedroom in search of Lydia. Time she learned the Winchester tradition of a first snow snowball fight.]
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Or the lingering fear that he's going to get hurt if he slips in the shower or something. Which is what she's battling now, while she works on cataloging some demon lore to keep her mind occupied.
When he enters, his robe tied awkwardly, she smiles a little and crosses the room to retie it for him. She's all for his independence, but the last thing they need is his robe falling open in front of Ellen or Bobby, for Gods sake.
That's when she notices the look on his face.] What's got you so excited?
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[His hand slides into hers and he tugs her towards the window, tucking her in against his side to drink in the peaceful view.] First snow means only one thing. [His grin is absolutely boyish.] First snowball fight of the year. What do you say we get the jump on Dean and Cas?
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Laughing, she follows him to the window. It is indeed snowing, the window starting to frost over outside.] You're like a giant child, you know that don't you?
...We'll get the jump on Dean. Go easy on Castiel. [He's been. Ahem. Sick lately.]
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He’d be lost without her.
Today his good mood won’t be dampened. It’s snowing and he’s home. Sam grins at her comment, kissing her warmly.] After the snowball fight, we’re building a snowman. [It’s going to be harder than hell with only one hand, but by god he’s not going to let that interfere with a tradition he’s had going on since he was a pup.
It takes a moment for her comment to sink in and Sam’s grin only gets wider. Only Dean? He and Cas had been holed up in their room while he was in heat a week ago.] Cas can help with the snowman if he’s up for it then. We’ll gang up on Dean.
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I finished one of your coats though. It's in your closet. [Wearing a coat with one empty arm defeats the purpose of the coat, given the space for cold air to enter, so Lydia has started up with fixing a couple of his coats, making the left arm shorter and closing it up to keep him warm. As a surprise, She also added some weak magnets to the lining of the front so that it would hold itself together while he buttoned and/or zipped the coat.
Pushing at his back, she shoos him off towards his room.] Go. And dry your hair before you get sick.
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Getting his hair dried and struggling into his clothes is still difficult and Sam's good mood is a little subdued by the time he's done. At least when he gets the prosthetic he'll have something to help. One hand is a reminder of what he's lost. What he'll never get back.
The added surprise to his coat helps his smile return by the time he searches out Lydia again.] Thank you.
Come on, get your coat.
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His Thank You is greeted with a kiss and a laugh.] I'm going, I'm going. Calm down. Child.
[She grabs her coat out of the hall closet, zipping it up as they head outside.] I say we get a good hiding spot and stockpile first.
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A knit cap is too difficult to negotiate with one hand so he simply snags a ball cap out of the closet and tucks her close as they step outside into the peaceful white yard.] He always swings in from the left, so if we set up over by that oak we should be able to get the drop on him.
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Sure enough, after about 20 minutes, Castiel, bundled up and looking a little paler than usual, steps out of the heat of the house to get a few clean breaths of the air outside, Dean right behind him.
Lydia doesn't wait for Sam's signal, taking her clear shot of Dean the minute she gets one.]
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They needed this. All of them. A snowball fight meant a return to normality. The life they had before the war.
Panting, rosy cheeked and laughing, Sam dusts the snow out of his hair awkwardly and watches a confused and worried Dean shepherd Castiel back inside to rest.
Sam wraps his arm around Lydia's waist, still grinning.] How long do you think it'll take before he figures it out?
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Lydia's covered in snow from head to toe from where Dean threw her over his shoulder and dumped her in a huge snowbank as revenge for shoving a snowball down his shirt. Tugging her gloves off, she reaches up to brush the remaining snow out of Sam's hair before hurriedly putting her gloves back on. She's freezing, teeth slightly chattering. Her body's not as naturally warm as the boys'. But she doesn't mention going inside. This is the happiest she's seen Sam since he came home and she's not going to rush it.]
Have fun?
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Sam cups her cheek with his hand, his fingers almost totally numb from furiously packing and flinging snow for the last twenty minutes. He catches the slight chatter and nudges her back towards the house.] Yeah. I haven't had that much fun in a long time.
[He could have stayed out for hours, but curling up with Lydia by the fire with hot chocolate was starting to sound a lot more appealing.]
Hot chocolate time?
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His hand is freezing against her already cold cheek and Lydia jumps, turning away a little.] Cold! [But she lets him lead her inside, hanging her coat and scarf on the rack near the door. Hot chocolate does sound good, but she's got snow in her bra and her socks, so...]
I'll make it after my shower, unless you want to get on that while I change? [A shower will warm her up at least a little.]
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Making hot chocolate is more than a little difficult with one hand. But Sam bravely soldiers on (ha ha). There's cocoa powder and sugar scattered on the counter where he's spilled once or twice. Slowly he's stirring the cocoa in the pot, warming the milk.
He's not going to let it stop him. He's not going to let it ruin the day he's had with his family.
Some days that's how he gets by. Sheer Winchester stubbornness.]
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