Hello my dear readers. It's been a long while since I've published or updated anything in a while. I've had a very busy and interesting year in my personal life that has severely hampered me in my writing. I hope to pick back up and start finishing things in the New Year.
In the meantime, I wanted to give this little Christmas present to you.
Also, the coincidence that the actor cast to play Steven Shay in the finale of iCarly going on to play the president in Supernatural, a show if my readers have obviously noticed that I've had plenty of stealth and not so stealth crossovers with in my stories, when I made him the president, certainly does bring a smile to my face.
Baby's First Christmas
By OneHorseShay
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue. For God sakes, don't sue.
Rating: K
Summary: A not so average Christmas Eve visit for President Steven Shay during his first Christmas in the White House with his new wife and son. Takes place in the same universe as 'iActually Like Mean Girls', 'Jade likes Nice Guys' and 'We Love Each Other' series.
Executive Residence
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC
Christmas Eve, 2017
Steven 'Loco' Shay, the forty-fifth President of the United States, poured himself another glass of water from the pitcher sitting on the silver tray on the nightstand in the dimly lit executive bedroom. His blue tie was loose, the top two buttons of his dress shirt was unbutton and his sleeves were rolled up from the last hour of hopefully wrapping up last minute business even if the president's work was only done after he or she left office.
He had missed most of the family evening meal, something he regretted as he had all his children save for one for the holiday meal; Jade was spending her Christmas in Los Angeles with her husband of course and friends that were practically family and wasn't ready to travel with her newborn, Sapphire.
He took a sip from his glass, hoping to finally relax during the Christmas Eve evening. However, his other job, his more important job called out to him with a soft cry from one of the corners of the room. He turned, sat his glass down and walked over to the crib before his wife could stir from her early slumber.
He leaned over the railing and picked up his fussy infant then cradled him in his right arm. He smiled and gently cooed, "Shhh, it's okay… Daddy's here." He rocked the little boy even if he hadn't done so on a regular basis for about two decades several times, feeling or smelling to see if he needed changing.
"Mmmm… you don't need a change and you just ate, so what's the problem buddy?"
The child simply answered with a louder cry, but Shay had an answer for that. He cocked and eyebrow and teased, "Are you just eager for Christmas aren't you? You're just like your mother, but just like your mom, you're going to have to wait until morning."
He walked over to one of the large cushioned chairs in the corner of the room and sat down. He gently began rocking the child in his arm and reached over to the radio they specifically had to play him lullabies. He turned it on, tapped a track and a soft Christmas melody started playing.
The rocking and the music soon calmed the child, causing him to look up at his father with wonder.
Shay smiled to his son and teased, "Hey, look on the bright side; you could be with your cousin in L.A. then you'd have to wait an extra three hours for Santa to show up." He tickled his stomach with this pointer finger, drawing out a giggle from him.
The retired Colonel grinned and chuckled, "You just wanted some attention from me, didn't you?"
The child continued to smile, looking up at the man old enough to be his grandfather, especially since Spencer had a son of his own that was a few months older than him.
Shay put on a sad smile as he continued, "I don't blame you. Sorry I missed dinner; I had to take that call. It seems the world can't go on spinning without me having to answer a phone call…" He sighed as he added, "…leader of the free world… I don't want to miss with you what I missed with your brother and sister…"
The child just contently smiled up at him even as his eyes began to droop to fall back asleep.
The former fighter pilot just gently continued to rock his son as the music softly continued playing in the background, thinking on the weight he carried on his shoulders and not just the responsibility of being the President of the United States.
The television hanging on the wall in the direction of the foot of the bed turned on, catching Shay by surprised. The channel usually left on one of the twenty-four hour news outlets was displaying an old Peppy Cola Max commercial, one he hadn't seen in a few years with a surprisingly familiar spokesman of one of the company's drivers. The commercial played out as it did years ago of selling the product but with a Christmas theme to it with the appropriately added green, red and white. He reached for the remote on the table, picked it up and was about to turn it off when the Peppy Cola driver turned towards the camera and spoke, "Oh hold up there Loco."
Shay hesitated in turning off the television, long enough for the driver to continue, "You know Steven, this is one of my favorite times of year…" He rolled his eyes and chuckled, "…because I had to be the one to tell Mary the good news and all and I thought I'd share some of my seasonal good cheer with you especially since…" His jolly disposition faded a bit and became more serious, "…I can empathize with the burden you really didn't want, but… you know…" He brightened back up and finished, "…so here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas…"
The television turned off, leaving the room in the dimly lit condition.
"Okay… that was unexpected," Shay muttered to himself as he wondered what the archangel had in mind with sharing his Christmas cheer.
"He's beautiful Steven," a soft, familiar and impossible voice called to him from the chair on the other side of the coffee table to his left. He turned his head and saw the sweet, soft smile of his late first wife, Taylor Shay nee Dorfman.
He got his answer in short order. He sat up straighter in his seat, squared his jaw and cautiously eyed the deceased woman dressed in a light white spring dress. She looked just as healthy and the same age before she got sick the last time, which would make her about thirty-seven. Her smile was genuine and her eyes showed warmth and compassion that only a gentle soul like herself could convey.
He eventually found his voice and replied the only way he could think of replying with seeing his late wife, "Thank you."
The former husband and wife sat quietly for several moments, just watching one another as there was no real customs in how to interact between the living and the dead. Everything that needed to be said before she died was said, yet there were probably a great many things he probably needed to say to her.
Taylor broke the silence above the radio, "Merry Christmas Steven."
Shay cleared his throat, trying to rationalize seeing his deceased wife sitting to his left, but managed to whisper out, "Merry Christmas Taylor."
The brunette stood up from her seat and walked around to table to stand in front of him. She leaned down, brushing some hair behind her right ear and looked down at the not quite asleep infant. She beamed a smile to him and gently brushed over his stomach with her right forefinger. "Hello you precious little thing."
The child softly laughed, looking up at the new figure he had never seen before. He warmed to her instantly, sensing the goodness from her.
Taylor idly commented as her face threatened to break from the smile she wore, "He has Ruby's eyes… and your smile."
After several seconds more of processing the fact that he was looking at his late wife, he answered with a half smile as he studied her features, "I noticed that too."
She continued to look at the child and added, "I know Spencer and Carly are thrilled to have a little brother."
"That's just a little younger than Spencer's son…"
Taylor turned her gaze to her former husband and cocked a playful eyebrow.
"Start early… and finish late," he added with a soft laugh.
"Miracles usually are unexpected," she answered with a playful smile.
Shay looked down at his son and replied, "He certainly is that."
"Unexpected or a miracle?" she teased with her childlike expression, something she never outgrew.
"Both. I wasn't expecting to start over again… not at my age."
"Hey, you're more than fine at fifty-five. You still have a lot of years a head of you. You're better than most men half your age."
He lifted his chin and met her eyes, cocking an eyebrow and asked, "Are you trying to flirt with me Taylor?"
Taylor straightened up, "Now Steven, would I flirt with a married man?"
Shay snorted out a laugh, unable to catch himself. He lifted her gaze up at her and commented, "That wasn't awkward at all."
"Steven, I've been in Heaven for the last sixteen years and I'm talking to you. We are beyond awkward," she teasingly laughed, the joy she always felt shining through her eyes.
The former flyer sighed then asked, "So… I take it that you ah… approve of me remarrying? With Ruby? Having a child that is not with you?"
Taylor straightened up and directed a comforting smile to him. She asked in a quiet, surprisingly supportive voice, "How long have you been waiting to ask me that?"
"Too long."
"Yet you never asked?"
He chuckled for a few moments then answered, "And I would have gotten an answer?"
"Some of your Secret Service Agents are actual angels and then there Anna's son, Dusty. He's not shy about flying up for a visit when the occasion calls for it. You would have gotten an answer."
Shay looked back down at his child and remained silent, finding comfort in his son's smile.
Taylor slightly tilted her head to the side and quietly asked, "Were you afraid I would have told you no?"
He slightly shook his head and replied, "No… afraid you would have said yes then…"
She looked to him with a sympathetic gaze and answered for him, "Then I would have truly been gone and us… would have done?"
Shay replied with a somber, almost haunting voice, "Until death do us part… I was still hung up on that part…"
She reached out and rested a hand on his left shoulder and he felt the pressure and warmth as if she was any other living being. "Yes, until death do us part, but I never wanted you to be lonely… to be alone… I actually wish you would have done it sooner. You wouldn't have been alone for so long… she wouldn't have been alone for so long, but… it was your choice. Always your two's choice."
"Moving on was never one of my virtues," he admitted with an eye roll. "And… there was—"
"Unnecessary loyalty to me?"
"I didn't think it was unnecessary… Ruby didn't think it was unnecessary and… I didn't want to replace you… in my heart… or Carly's."
"Ruby would have been a fine mother to Carlotta… she wouldn't have let Carly forget me and she's been fine for these last several years and… you would have been a fine father for Jadelyn… you're a fine father to her now."
He digested his former wife's opinion of how things would have turned out if he had married Ruby after her divorce with Roy had been finalized. Would they have been a happy blended family with Carly and Jade being raised as sisters? He'd never know, but he couldn't help but smirk on Taylor's latter point about being a good father to Jade since the question of her paternity came up as a debate question during the campaign to try to embarrass and disqualify him. He certainly surprised his opponent and the country with his answer. It most likely gave him an extra ten percentage points with the female vote.
She looked down to the child again and added, "And you'll be a fine father to him too."
"I'm just hoping to be a better father to him than I was to Carly."
Taylor lifted her gaze back to him and retorted, "You are a fine father to Carly."
He answered her with a sharp tone, "I wasn't there most of the time. Spencer was the better father. He's the better man."
She answered him with a softer, calmer tone, "You wanted him to be a better man than you, but… you are a good father to Carly, Spencer, Jade and now Michael."
"I just missed most of his first Christmas Eve dinner with him, Carly and Spencer and with my grandson… our grandson…"
"Well no one said it was easy being the President of the United States," she replied with a soft giggle that was infectious to Michael.
He sighed and slumped his shoulders, "I put my country before Carly… I used that as an excuse for Carly. I don't want to fail him the same way."
She let out an unnecessary breath then quietly replied, "You're trying to make a better world for him… and every other child… the weight of every parent on your shoulders. Every parent has to sacrifice to try to make that happen; you're just… expected to make a few more."
"That's not all that comforting."
The brunette former teacher smiled and replied with a constrained laugh, "You don't want comfort. You want cold hard truth."
"Because it's real."
"Yes it is, just as your love for your children and the desire… the need to do what's best for them… and my love for you and Ruby… and my blessing." She looked back down and brushed her hand over Michael's forehead and whispered, "And you have the best Daddy and Mommy in the world… your brother and sisters love you very much and will always be there for you."
Shay took a deep breath, keeping his head bow. He couldn't meet her eyes, afraid of what he might reveal.
Taylor leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead, causing him to close his eyes. She straightened up and added with a somber tone, "Merry Christmas my Steven."
"Merry Christmas my Taylor," he replied with just a somber voice.
The former artist stood up, wearing her uplifting smile. "If you'll excuse me just for a little bit, I think I'll take the opportunity to meet my grandson."
"Just don't freak Spencer out," Shay was able to chuckle out.
The lovely brunette's childlike smile returned and she teased, "I'll surprise them was ghost of Christmas Past. I'll be a far better surprise for Carly than Mitch was years ago…"
She turned and headed out of the room, but not before she stopped by the bed and leaned over to Ruby. She placed a kiss on her forehead then whispered, "You're the best sister I could ever have hoped for… be happy."
Ruby took a deeper breath, but didn't stir awake.
Taylor left her to have a peaceful rest then headed for the door, intended to take every granted second to enjoy the holiday with the family she left on Earth while Shay rocked his son, feeling a little less burden on his shoulders and a bit more of the Christmas Spirit.
Author's Note: I hope this brought a little smile and uplifting Christmas Spirit to you my dear reader. Once again, have a Merry Christmas.
Special Guest Star: Joe Flannigan as President Steven 'Loco' Shay
Special Guest Star: Tina Fey as Taylor Shay
Special Guest Star: Jennifer Connelly as First Lady Ruby Shay nee West
Special Guest Star: Richard Speight Jr. as Archangel Gabriel
Oh, and in case you're wondering who Spencer wife is, it's Heather played by Emma Stone from iFind Spencer Friends.