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toxic_cornSeries: When I Was A Boy
Title: Blue Christmas (4/12)
Author: Toxic Corn
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Well, just the kids. But everyone else is Joss's.
Summary: Christmas on Haven.
Notes: The sequel series to Songs From A Firefly. Catch up on earlier chapters to this story here.
“It’s not really Christmas,” Nettie said, munching her toast.
“No,” Nova agreed. “Christmas falls on December twenty-fifth and today’s only the seventeenth.”
Jamey grinned at his literal cousin as Nettie rolled her eyes.
“No, I mean, it’s not snowing so it’s not really Christmas.”
Nova frowned. “Weather doesn’t affect the calendar at all. Snowing or not, December twenty-fifth will still come to pass, and that’s always Christmas.”
“You don’t get it,” Nettie said with a sigh.
The older kids knew what Nettie meant and exchanged looks over the breakfast table. All of them had grown up on planets where winter brought big, fat fluffy snowflakes around Christmas time and here they all were on a desert planet, waiting for their parents to show up for the holiday. It was still all so new, though they’d been living there since September.
Shepherd Book entered the room just then. “Who’s ready to start decorating the tree?”
Nettie, Nova, and Ben all leapt out of their chairs and tore from the room, making the shepherd chuckle. “No one? All right, then, I guess I can just pitch it-”
“Shepherd!”
Jamey and Lady cleared the table, Jamey glancing out the window every few seconds or so.
“They’re not going to be here, yet,” Lady said, her tone not unkind. “Mom’s last wave said they’d be here the twenty-third at the earliest.”
Embarrassed at having been caught out, Jamey blushed. “I wasn’t lookin’ for them,” he lied. “I was wonderin’ if it was gonna snow.”
“You know it ain’t.” Lady gave him a sad smile and dumped the dishes into the sink for David and Vee to wash. “Let’s go see that tree.”
They went out into the living room where the other kids were gathered. Shepherd Book had had a pine tree sent to them a few days ago just for Christmas. Now he was stringing the lights around it while Nova and Ben hung tinsel, Vee and Nettie hung the ornaments, and David hung the stockings along the fireplace mantle.
The atmosphere was so nice and homey that it almost made Jamey forget that Ma and Pop weren’t there. He grabbed a wreath and went outside to put it on the door, all the while glancing over his shoulder. Zoe had said she thought they weren’t going to make it until the twenty-third but she could’ve been wrong.
He got to thinking about Gramma Cobb’s gingerbread and Uncle Mattie dressing up like Santa and how that fooled his stupid cousin Andy every year and Ma reading them “The Night Before Christmas” and had to stay outside a little while because some dust flew into his eyes.
When he was sure it was all out, he went back inside just in time to see Shepherd Book plug in the tree. The colorful lights blinked on and they all oooh-ed and aaaah-ed.
“It’s beautiful!” Nova said, eyes sparkling.
“It ain’t as good as the trees we always had,” Vee said. “But it’s not too bad.”
Shepherd Book started sifting through one of the boxes and pulled out an angel. “Who wants to put this on?”
“Me!” Nettie bounced on her toes, hand in the air. “I always put the angel on our tree; Daddy lifts me up so I can reach.” Suddenly her face fell and she looked down at her feet.
“Well, you can put the angel up, Nettie.” Shepherd Book handed her the ornament.
Jamey stepped forward. “I’ll help ya up, mei mei.” He knelt down so she could climb onto his shoulders. He wasn’t tall and strong like Pop yet and couldn’t just lift her.
“Careful,” the shepherd said, nervously. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“And don’t knock the tree over,” Vee added.
Even on Jamey’s shoulders, Nettie still had to reach a little and she plopped the angel on top. It looked a little crooked but not even Vee commented on that fact. They all just stood back and admired their work.
“I wish today was the twenty-third,” David finally said.
Everyone nodded in agreement and for a second, Jamey thought that the dust had settled in his eye again.
“How about we make some paper snowflakes?” Shepherd Book asked, smiling big.
~*~
That night, the shepherd made a big fire and they all put on their pajamas and drank hot cocoa around the hearth. Jamey had been surprised at how cold the desert got at night. At some point they all got giggly, tossing marshmallows at each other so they were distracted when there was a thud at the door.
“What was that?” Nova squeaked.
“Burglars?” Ben asked, looking worried.
“Oh yeah, cuz burglars always knock,” Vee said.
“Why don’t you go look if you’re so brave?” Lady said, glaring at Vee.
“Why don’t you?”
“Children,” Shepherd Book gently reprimanded them. “I’ll go see who it is. It’s probably Jeb, he told me he’d be bringing over some fruitcake his mother sent him.”
David made a face. “That’s okay, he can keep it.”
“Our uncle Horace says he used fruitcake as a foundation for his new basement,” Ben said.
Nova looked skeptical. “I don’t think that would make a very good-”
“It’s a joke, Nova.”
The shepherd had reached the door and threw it open. A big, familiar figure wearing an orange poof ball hat and holding a huge sack stumbled into the room.
“Some fat guy in a red suit tol’ me these presents were for the good boys ‘n girls who lived here. Judgin’ by all this fussin’ he musta had it all wrong. I bet these go to some kids from the Core.”
“DADDY!” Nettie ran to their pop and hopped into his opened arms.
“Hey, little bit.” Pop cuddled her for a second and then looked up at Jamey, grinning. “What, you’re nine years old and too big to be huggin’ your pa already?”
Jamey shook off his surprise and ran over, throwing his arms around Pop’s middle as he got his hair ruffled.
“Hello!” Uncle Simon’s voice called and Nova and David stampeded over to jump on him, the thud that resounded a moment later Jamey took to mean they’d actually managed to knock him over.
“I thought you all were supposed to be here the twenty-third!” the shepherd said, looking pleased and like he knew what was going to happen all along. Jamey grinned. The old dog.
Wash came in next. “What, and miss the looks on their faces when we show up by surprise?” He held his arms out and had them automatically filled with Lady, Vee, and Ben. “This is way better than if we’d been expected.”
Aunt Kaylee came in next with baby Anna on her hip. “The boys were so excited they ran the whole way here from the ship,” she said, beaming as David peeled himself off of Uncle Simon and ran to her.
Cap came in after, and got some hugs from Lady and Nettie. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as funny as the doc and Wash havin’ a slap fight over who goes in next.”
Zoe, Inara, and Ma came in then, all laughing.
“I think Wash was more surprised than injured when Simon kicked him,” Inara said.
“Yes, that’s it, I was surprised,” Wash said, pointing at her. “Pure surprise.”
“I must have imagined you yelping then,” Simon snapped back.
“You have quite the imagination, doc, it doesn’t surprise me any.”
Jamey missed most of this and sort of regretted it over the years when one of the other kids inevitably brought it up each Christmas. He tuned out everything when his mother came in the door.
She went straight to him and Jamey buried his face in her hair, hugging her tight. It wasn’t dust in his eyes this time.
“I looked out for you all day,” he whispered in her ear.
She ran a hand through his curls and kissed his cheek. “You must’ve heard us thinking about you.”
He grinned at her as he heard Pop loudly announce that he’d brought Gramma’s gingerbread along with him.
Now it was Christmas, even without the snow.
END
Previous < Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood : Next > Let's Hear It For the Boy
Title: Blue Christmas (4/12)
Author: Toxic Corn
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Well, just the kids. But everyone else is Joss's.
Summary: Christmas on Haven.
Notes: The sequel series to Songs From A Firefly. Catch up on earlier chapters to this story here.
“It’s not really Christmas,” Nettie said, munching her toast.
“No,” Nova agreed. “Christmas falls on December twenty-fifth and today’s only the seventeenth.”
Jamey grinned at his literal cousin as Nettie rolled her eyes.
“No, I mean, it’s not snowing so it’s not really Christmas.”
Nova frowned. “Weather doesn’t affect the calendar at all. Snowing or not, December twenty-fifth will still come to pass, and that’s always Christmas.”
“You don’t get it,” Nettie said with a sigh.
The older kids knew what Nettie meant and exchanged looks over the breakfast table. All of them had grown up on planets where winter brought big, fat fluffy snowflakes around Christmas time and here they all were on a desert planet, waiting for their parents to show up for the holiday. It was still all so new, though they’d been living there since September.
Shepherd Book entered the room just then. “Who’s ready to start decorating the tree?”
Nettie, Nova, and Ben all leapt out of their chairs and tore from the room, making the shepherd chuckle. “No one? All right, then, I guess I can just pitch it-”
“Shepherd!”
Jamey and Lady cleared the table, Jamey glancing out the window every few seconds or so.
“They’re not going to be here, yet,” Lady said, her tone not unkind. “Mom’s last wave said they’d be here the twenty-third at the earliest.”
Embarrassed at having been caught out, Jamey blushed. “I wasn’t lookin’ for them,” he lied. “I was wonderin’ if it was gonna snow.”
“You know it ain’t.” Lady gave him a sad smile and dumped the dishes into the sink for David and Vee to wash. “Let’s go see that tree.”
They went out into the living room where the other kids were gathered. Shepherd Book had had a pine tree sent to them a few days ago just for Christmas. Now he was stringing the lights around it while Nova and Ben hung tinsel, Vee and Nettie hung the ornaments, and David hung the stockings along the fireplace mantle.
The atmosphere was so nice and homey that it almost made Jamey forget that Ma and Pop weren’t there. He grabbed a wreath and went outside to put it on the door, all the while glancing over his shoulder. Zoe had said she thought they weren’t going to make it until the twenty-third but she could’ve been wrong.
He got to thinking about Gramma Cobb’s gingerbread and Uncle Mattie dressing up like Santa and how that fooled his stupid cousin Andy every year and Ma reading them “The Night Before Christmas” and had to stay outside a little while because some dust flew into his eyes.
When he was sure it was all out, he went back inside just in time to see Shepherd Book plug in the tree. The colorful lights blinked on and they all oooh-ed and aaaah-ed.
“It’s beautiful!” Nova said, eyes sparkling.
“It ain’t as good as the trees we always had,” Vee said. “But it’s not too bad.”
Shepherd Book started sifting through one of the boxes and pulled out an angel. “Who wants to put this on?”
“Me!” Nettie bounced on her toes, hand in the air. “I always put the angel on our tree; Daddy lifts me up so I can reach.” Suddenly her face fell and she looked down at her feet.
“Well, you can put the angel up, Nettie.” Shepherd Book handed her the ornament.
Jamey stepped forward. “I’ll help ya up, mei mei.” He knelt down so she could climb onto his shoulders. He wasn’t tall and strong like Pop yet and couldn’t just lift her.
“Careful,” the shepherd said, nervously. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“And don’t knock the tree over,” Vee added.
Even on Jamey’s shoulders, Nettie still had to reach a little and she plopped the angel on top. It looked a little crooked but not even Vee commented on that fact. They all just stood back and admired their work.
“I wish today was the twenty-third,” David finally said.
Everyone nodded in agreement and for a second, Jamey thought that the dust had settled in his eye again.
“How about we make some paper snowflakes?” Shepherd Book asked, smiling big.
That night, the shepherd made a big fire and they all put on their pajamas and drank hot cocoa around the hearth. Jamey had been surprised at how cold the desert got at night. At some point they all got giggly, tossing marshmallows at each other so they were distracted when there was a thud at the door.
“What was that?” Nova squeaked.
“Burglars?” Ben asked, looking worried.
“Oh yeah, cuz burglars always knock,” Vee said.
“Why don’t you go look if you’re so brave?” Lady said, glaring at Vee.
“Why don’t you?”
“Children,” Shepherd Book gently reprimanded them. “I’ll go see who it is. It’s probably Jeb, he told me he’d be bringing over some fruitcake his mother sent him.”
David made a face. “That’s okay, he can keep it.”
“Our uncle Horace says he used fruitcake as a foundation for his new basement,” Ben said.
Nova looked skeptical. “I don’t think that would make a very good-”
“It’s a joke, Nova.”
The shepherd had reached the door and threw it open. A big, familiar figure wearing an orange poof ball hat and holding a huge sack stumbled into the room.
“Some fat guy in a red suit tol’ me these presents were for the good boys ‘n girls who lived here. Judgin’ by all this fussin’ he musta had it all wrong. I bet these go to some kids from the Core.”
“DADDY!” Nettie ran to their pop and hopped into his opened arms.
“Hey, little bit.” Pop cuddled her for a second and then looked up at Jamey, grinning. “What, you’re nine years old and too big to be huggin’ your pa already?”
Jamey shook off his surprise and ran over, throwing his arms around Pop’s middle as he got his hair ruffled.
“Hello!” Uncle Simon’s voice called and Nova and David stampeded over to jump on him, the thud that resounded a moment later Jamey took to mean they’d actually managed to knock him over.
“I thought you all were supposed to be here the twenty-third!” the shepherd said, looking pleased and like he knew what was going to happen all along. Jamey grinned. The old dog.
Wash came in next. “What, and miss the looks on their faces when we show up by surprise?” He held his arms out and had them automatically filled with Lady, Vee, and Ben. “This is way better than if we’d been expected.”
Aunt Kaylee came in next with baby Anna on her hip. “The boys were so excited they ran the whole way here from the ship,” she said, beaming as David peeled himself off of Uncle Simon and ran to her.
Cap came in after, and got some hugs from Lady and Nettie. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as funny as the doc and Wash havin’ a slap fight over who goes in next.”
Zoe, Inara, and Ma came in then, all laughing.
“I think Wash was more surprised than injured when Simon kicked him,” Inara said.
“Yes, that’s it, I was surprised,” Wash said, pointing at her. “Pure surprise.”
“I must have imagined you yelping then,” Simon snapped back.
“You have quite the imagination, doc, it doesn’t surprise me any.”
Jamey missed most of this and sort of regretted it over the years when one of the other kids inevitably brought it up each Christmas. He tuned out everything when his mother came in the door.
She went straight to him and Jamey buried his face in her hair, hugging her tight. It wasn’t dust in his eyes this time.
“I looked out for you all day,” he whispered in her ear.
She ran a hand through his curls and kissed his cheek. “You must’ve heard us thinking about you.”
He grinned at her as he heard Pop loudly announce that he’d brought Gramma’s gingerbread along with him.
Now it was Christmas, even without the snow.
END
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Date: 2006-10-27 04:10 am (UTC)And yeah, Christmas fic when it's not even Halloween yet. I couldn't resist. I'll have to write an actual Christmas fic around Christmas time.