Baby's First Christmas

Disclaimer - Didn't get the Tracys for Christmas. Damn. And I think the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is in public domain by now. But my mom sang it to us when we were little, so...

Samantha Tracy leaned back, relaxing as she set the final controls and began to unbuckle from her seat. By the time she climbed out of the plane, her grandfather was running towards her, grinning.

"Sammie!" Kyrano cried out, holding his arms out.

Lieutenant Samantha Tracy went into her maternal grandfather's embrace with a smile. "Poppy," she murmured. "I missed you." Sammie hadn't seen her family since she had graduated in June from the Air Force Academy. Not that she hadn't had opportunity...But she had been a little annoyed.

"Sammie," Alan had smiled as he hugged his oldest daughter. While both Jeff and Scott Tracy had served in the Air Force, they had gone to college and the Air Force reserves while at school before going on active duty. Sammie and her older cousin, Jason – Scott's son – had both chosen to go to the Air Force Academy. To the family's pride, both cousins won the coveted top spot among the graduates.

"That's our gal," Jason, on leave for the weekend, quickly gave Sammie a jaunty salute.

"Thank you, sir," Sammie said, saluting back before she laughed. "You know, I should have saluted you first Lieutenant."

"Well, Lieutenant," Jason stressed, with Sammie a second and he a first lieutenant. "As of next week, I will be Captain."

Sammie smiled at her parents. "Was that the big news you had for me?" Behind the couple, all three of her grandparents were suddenly finding the sky fascinating. Glaring at both Alan and Tin-Tin, Sammie raised an eyebrow. "OK, what gives?"

"We'll tell you at dinner, Sammie," Alan began only for his firstborn to interrupt.

"Ah, no," Sammie retorted. "You'll tell me now."

Alan sighed, kissed his wife's cheek and smiled – even though that smile looked a bit forced. "You're going to be a big sister."

Shaking her head, Sammie sighed, posing a great deal like her father. "I'm already a big sister. Remember – Jo, Val and Grace?"

Smiling, Tin-Tin held out a hand to her oldest. "Your father means a new baby – I'm due in September."

Sammie stood back, glaring at her parents. She had thought her mother had gained some weight, but pregnant? They should be thinking of grandkids, not another baby. Sammie turned slightly, only for Jason to put a restraining arm around her shoulders.

"We are going to dinner, Samantha," he hissed in her ear. "I know this has thrown you for a loop, but seriously – Grandpa and your grandparents have been looking forward to this for days."

"Fine," Samantha had muttered. But seriously, what was her parents thinking of?

Sammie would have never said she was sulking – well, yeah, she knew what they were thinking. Sex. Her parents shouldn't still be...Well, really – she was twenty-two, having turned the August after she graduated. She had been in training and had only been assigned her permanent assignment, with a fighter squadron in Georgia the first week of December.

Sammie hadn't gone home during the summer, even for her birthday. She had sworn it was because of the intensity of the training. She hadn't gone home when Jefferson Tracy the Second was born – again, claiming training. Even for Thanksgiving, Sammie had said it was training but having Jason, recently accepted for training for the space program, chose to spend the holiday with her. He even took her to task.

"Really, Sammie," Jason had grumbled as the cousins had sat at an empty picnic table, a bottle of tequila between them. "He's your little brother and you've never seen him."

"Don't act like I'm not a good daughter," Sammie hissed before tossing a shot of tequila back. Uncle Gordon had taught the kids to all drink and Sammie could handle alcohol better than any of her male cousins. She had downed seven shots to Jason's three and still seemed sober. "I'm a good daughter. I was a good big sister three freaking times already. I've done everything I should have. But do you know how embarrassing it is for my mother to be having a baby when I'm in my twenties?"

"You think any of the elders aren't still sexually active?" Jason asked as he tossed back a shot, shaking his head as it began to hit him. "Please – until Lady P passed a couple of years ago, Grandpa was still taking "business trips" to London."

As Sammie downed her eighth shot, she bit her lip to stop from laughing. "Ugh – I so don't want to think of that. You think she let her hair get mussed?"

The two cousins laughed, leaning against each other. "Well, if you can, Sammie," Jason said, "come home for Christmas."

"I'll be the new kid on the block," Sammie argued, tossing her ninth shot back like it was water to Jason's fascination and annoyance. "I'll never get leave."

"I thought you couldn't get time off," Kyrano said as he pulled Sammie's bag from her hand.

"I technically didn't get leave," Sammie sighed, following her grandfather up to the main villa. "My unit was being sent for a training support mission to Valekstan." Sammie had been annoyed at not going as well, but the leaders of the breakaway country from portions of Afghanistan and Pakistan were not exactly forward in their thoughts towards women in – well, many things. But a woman fighter pilot would be ignored if not at risk, and the newly improved relations between the United States and Valekstan was not to be endangered for Samantha's sake.

"And what have you been doing instead?" Kyrano asked.

"Delivering a plane to a base in Auckland," Sammie said. "And the plane I need to take back won't be ready until the 26th, so my commander "suggested" I take a forty-eight hour pass and enjoy Christmas with my family."

"Yes," Kyrano smiled, as they entered the house. "Isn't he an old friend of your uncle's?"

Sammie nodded. "He and Uncle Scott served in the Terrorist Wars together. But the Colonel swears it's all just a coincidence."

"And you believe him?"

Glaring, Sammie shook her head. "Hell, no."

"Language, Samantha Katherine."

Sammie whirled around. "Grammy!" she cried out in delight, embracing the older woman.

Onaha reached up and brushed her hand through her granddaughter's hair. "Hello, little one."

Sammie chuckled. At just about six feet, she towered over both of her maternal grandparents. "Not so little – but where is the rest of the family?"

"Mr. Tracy is running command and control," Onaha said. "Everyone else is out on a mission."

"Even Gracie?" Sammie said in surprise. Her youngest sister was only fifteen.

"Grace" Kyrano, knowing his youngest granddaughter despised being called "Gracie Tracy", "Is the same age you were when you went on your first mission, learning crowd control and mobile command."

"Actually," Sammie gloated, "I started at fourteen." Sniffing the air, she groaned. "Oh, Grammy – is that your apple pie?"

"Yes, and it is for Christmas dinner," Onaha chastised and began to say something else. But the sound of a baby crying rang out at the same time as a buzzer began to sound in the kitchen. "Husband, please get Jeffy while I get the pies from the oven?"

Kyrano nodded only for Brains voice to come over an intercom just as Onaha left. "Um – I um...can I g-get s-some help?"

Sighing, Kyrano shook his head. "Professor Hackenbacker upgraded his security in the lab – but he broke his leg and can't reach the override button. I have to go get him. Please go get your brother, Samantha."

Sammie stood there, frozen for a second before she realized there was no real choice. And it wasn't like she wasn't used to babies. Mind you, it had been fifteen years since the last Tracy baby had been born, but with her cousin Elizabeth getting married in February, it was only a matter of time before they started over again.

"Fine," Sammie muttered. "I'll get him. How hard can this be?"

Minutes later, Sammie stood in the nursery – the same one all of her sisters had used – leaning over the fussy baby's crib. "OK, I changed your diaper, you are not apparently hungry, what do you want?"

As if in answer, Jeffy held up his arms towards his oldest sister. His hair had already darkened to almost chestnut and his baby blue eyes were now brownish, promising to make him look more like Uncle Scott or Jason than their father or Sammie. With her blonde hair and bright blue eyes, Sammie was a female version of Alan Tracy. But there seemed to be nothing of either of her parents in her newest sibling.

"Emotionally needy, are we?" Sammie grumbled before reaching down and picking him up. Sitting in the rocking chair her grandfather had gifted her parents with when they told him she was on the way, Sammie leaned back with a sigh. "Throw up on my uniform and you are so busted, buddy-boy."

Jeffy gave a small smile and curled in closer to Sammie with a sigh.

"Daddy used to always sing to me here," Sammie said. "He also did it with the rest of the gang. I suppose -"

Playing with her hair, so much like Alan's, Jeffy just looked at his big sister with pleading eyes.

"Hmm – how about a Christmas carol?" Sammie asked as she began to rock the chair back and forth. At Jeffy's coo, Sammie began to sing.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles will be
Out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the yule-tide gay
Next year all our troubles will be
Miles away
Once again as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday soon, we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then, well have to muddle through somehow
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

"Beautiful," a new voice said.

Sammie looked up, smiling at her father as he stood in the doorway. Alan shook his head. "I wasn't sure if I would ever see this sight."

"Yeah, well -" Sammie sighed, patting Jeffy's back, who had fallen asleep on her shoulder. "I guess he's not so bad."

"You haven't changed one of his diapers yet," fifteen year old Grace walked around their father.

"I have and don't forget I changed yours as well, Stinky," Sammie said smugly as she stood up, still holding onto her baby brother.

"You were what – six?"

"Seven," Sammie sighed. "You were three weeks old, Jo and Valerie were both sick and Mom was being run ragged. I had seen it enough and by the time Grammy got in here, you were cleaned, changed and I had even gotten you into a new onesie. So nyah!"

"Oh, so mature," Gracie snapped. The teenager whirled and walked out of the room.

"Was I that bad?" Sammie asked as she moved closer to her father.

Alan brushed her hair softly. "Yes. And so was I and so were your sisters and cousins. And Jeffy will be as well. So he'll need his big sister."

Sammie kissed Jeffy's head, looking down at the baby who had cracked open his eyes to peer owlishly at the two blondes who were both cuddling him. The soft sigh of contentment and smile made their hearts warm. "What was it that Aunt Kate said – every baby has a purpose, every baby has a reason. I'm not sure why Jeffy here came along now – except to absolutely embarrass me..."

"Grace said the same thing," Alan assured her.

"But," Sammie continued. "I'll have to believe there is a reason."

"There is always a reason for everything, Sammie," Alan smiled, kissing her on the cheek.

"Alan!" Scott called out from down the hall. "Dad says any debriefing can wait until after dinner. Come on!" The oldest Tracy son entered the nursery and smiled at delight at his niece. "Sammie – Bill said...Um, never mind."

Sammie shook her head. "Your family," she glared at Alan. Looking down at Jeffy, she talked to the baby as they headed down the hallway. "You should be warned, Jeffy – our family is nuts."

"And back together," Alan sighed in pleasure as Scott threw an arm around his shoulders.

"Merry Christmas, Sprout," Scott grinned.

"Merry Christmas, Scott," Alan returned. "And don't call me Sprout."

A soft wind blew in, bringing the sent of lilacs with it. Alan smiled as he looked towards the window. "Merry Christmas, Mom," he said softly, Scott not even catching his words as the pair left the room.

Merry Christmas, Baby...the warm breeze seemed to say.

Not sure how good this was, but trying to get back into writing. And thank you for all who have given me the support I so desperately needed. Christmas Eve was the one month anniversary of my dad's death but we tried to hold onto how much he had always loved Christmas and all of us. It helped.

But I still miss him. Merry Christmas, Daddy. I'm keeping my promise.