Title: One Magic Christmas
Summary: "There's a one-horse open sleigh outside, I'm assuming ready to take us dashing through the snow, like Mom said. And now three ships have come sailing in." Emma got it before everyone else. "Christmas carols are coming to life, aren't they?"
Spoilers: Post-series, so if you've seen everything, we're good.
Rating/Warning: K+. Family fluff, as per usual.
Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time and its characters were created by Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and are owned by ABC. I simply borrowed them when they weren't looking but I'll put them back when I'm done, I promise!
Author's Note: I have no idea where this plotbunny came from but it was so insistent that I had to indulge it. Here be holiday fluff and silliness (which I hope works because humor is not my strong suit). The title is snagged from one of my favorite childhood Christmas movies, though the plot is not at all similar. Feedback is a writer's Christmas present! Enjoy, and happy holidays. :)
Hope Swan-Jones loved Christmas.
The few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the lights and the colors and the music, was her favorite time of year. She adored decorating the tree with her parents; they always put enough lights on it that they could read by Christmas tree light! A couple weekends before Christmas, her grandmother would take her shopping for presents and and then they'd bake sugar cookies when they got home. At Hope's insistence, she and her dad wrapped the rails of the Jolly Roger in Christmas lights. Thanks to her mom's sweet tooth, there was always some form of chocolate in the candy dish and every night from the first of December all the way through Christmas Eve, her mom made the family peppermint cocoa before bed.
Yes, it was her absolute favorite time of the year.
The only problem was that her mom didn't share her enthusiasm for the season. Oh, Emma tried, of course. She put up the Christmas tree and the wreaths and the advent calenders. She set out Christmas tchotchkes on the end tables and wrapped thick red ribbons around the porch columns so they looked like candy canes. She strung lights on the bushes outside and along the picket fence and she lined the walkway with big plastic snowflakes that lit up. But there was always a sadness behind Emma's eyes that only Hope and her dad could see, one Hope wished more than anything in the world that she could take away.
Take right now, for instance. As part of their traditional Christmas Eve festivities, Hope and her parents were spending the afternoon and evening at the farmhouse with her grandparents and uncle Neal, enjoying a huge dinner – with all those sugar cookies for dessert – and playing party games until they were all doing more yawning than talking. (In previous years, Hope had fallen asleep early and had to be carried out to the car but she was nine now. She could totally stay up until it was time to leave this year.)
Snow had shooed everyone outside so she could cook so Hope, Emma, Killian, Charming, and Neal had all gathered on the small pond behind the house, ice skates on their feet. Neal chased Hope back and forth across the pond in an effort to teach her to increase her skating speed. Charming and Killian skated the edge of the pond in leisurely laps, keeping their eye on the kids in case they got too rowdy. But Emma stood off to the side, watching everyone with that wistful sadness behind her eyes.
Hope was both worried about her mom and trying to stay ahead of her uncle, which was not a very safe combination. She didn't realize how close she was coming to her grandfather until she skated right into him. They both tumbled to the ground. A flailing Charming almost took Killian with him but the former pirate managed to stay on his skates. He did, however, crouch down to tend to his little girl.
"Hope!" Charming cried, his gloved hands reaching out for his granddaughter. "Are you all right?"
Killian, Neal, and Charming all helped her up. A concerned Emma had started across the pond on her skates as well but stopped when it was clear the guys had it under control. "I'm okay," Hope insisted, an embarrassed flush coloring her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I should have been paying more attention."
"I shouldn't have chased you so close to them," Neal said apologetically.
"It's all right, little mate," Killian insisted. "You were both playing nicely. No one's any worse for the wear."
"That's right," Charming confirmed. He brushed the debris off his coat and smiled down at his son and granddaughter. "I think I need to take a little break, though. I don't know about anyone else but my legs are tired."
"Mine, too," Neal admitted.
Hope nodded in agreement. Skating away from Neal was a lot of fun but it also took a lot out of her!
Charming and Neal skated back towards Emma, who managed to come back to herself enough at their approach to wipe the sadness from her face. Killian rested his hand on the small of Hope's back. "You ready to head back as well, little love?"
Hope's gaze darted from her mother to her father. "Yeah, sure, but can I ask you something first?"
"Of course."
"Is there something we can do to make Mommy happier about Christmas?"
Killian's eyes registered surprise at the question, touched affection for his daughter, and sadness for his wife all at once. "I don't know that there is, little love. Christmas is very hard for your mother."
"I know." Her mom hadn't found her family until she was all grown up, which must have made for a lot of lonely Christmases when she was a kid. It wasn't surprising, then, that Christmas wasn't Emma's favorite holiday.
"She's gotten more comfortable with it over the years." Killian twirled a few of the blonde curls that had peeked out from beneath Hope's winter hat around his gloved fingers. "I attribute a lot of that to you."
Hope fixed her father with a bewildered stare. "To me?"
"Aye. Creating holiday traditions with you has eased some of that ache for her, I think."
That got Hope to smile. "I'm glad, then. I just wish we could do something special for her, you know? Maybe something to make this Christmas special so she likes it even more next year."
Before Killian could say another word, the skies opened up. Everyone cried out in surprise as thick white flakes fell fast and furious, obstructing their view of the farmhouse in front of them and each other. "Bloody hell," Killian muttered, fumbling for her daughter's hand. "Come, little love. We have to get inside."
Hope couldn't see a thing through the flurry of white. She skated blindly, letting her dad lead her by the hand to the edge of the pond. A moment later, Hope felt her mom grasp her other hand. "Are you two okay?" Emma asked.
"Aye, love," Killian answered. "This is odd, though. I didn't know there was snow in the forecast for today."
"There wasn't," Emma replied.
They'd reached the end of the pond. "Hope, love, I'm going to pick you up and carry you back to the house, all right?"
"Okay, Daddy." She wasn't all that good at walking in her skates, which must have been why her dad wanted to carry her.
After a mad dash through the yard in the blinding snow, the entire family burst into the farmhouse. They shook clumps of the white stuff from their clothes and hair, shivering in the warmth of the heated kitchen. "Oh my, are you all right?" Snow asked, drying her hands on a dish towel.
Upon spying the state of her snow-shocked family, she instantly went into fluttering grandmother mode. "Wet clothes off." As everyone stripped off their coats, hats, scarves, and gloves, she retrieved a laundry basket and gathered the discarded items.
"We're fine, Mom," Emma said as Snow tucked the wet garments into the dryer and started the cycle. "Just surprised."
"And cold," Neal added through a shiver. He took a deep breath through his nose and smiled. "Mom, It smells so good in here!"
It really did. Christmas Eve dinner was always cheese ravioli, meatballs and sausages, and garlic bread. The warm aromas of simmering tomato sauce and baking bread filled the air. Hope's stomach growled; she couldn't wait for dinner!
"Thank you," Snow smiled. "I can't believe the weather, though! Looks like we'll have a white Christmas after all."
Something clicked in Hope's brain, making her snap to attention. Just as quickly as the thought had come, though, she dismissed it. This was just a freak winter storm; they happened on occasion. Nothing to worry about.
"I'm going to get a fire going in the fireplace," Charming said, ducking past his family to head to the living room. "That should take the chill out of our bones."
"Can I help build it?" Neal asked.
"Sure thing, kid."
Again, Hope frowned. Building a fire in the fireplace to warm them up while snow fell outside sounded like a wonderful idea but it also sounded … kind of familiar.
Hope followed her parents into the living room to sit in front of the fire. While her parents cuddled on the couch and her grandfather and uncle built the fire, Hope stood beside the Christmas tree at the front window and watched the snow. The freak storm had already slowed down; the flakes were still thick and heavy but they lazily drifted to the ground. The damage had been done, though, as the street was covered with a thick blanket of white.
After a moment, Hope heard the distinct sound of jingle bells somewhere outside. And then to her shock, a single horse trotted up to the house pulling an actual sleigh. "Oh my God!"
The rest of her family gathered around the window at her cry. "Where did that come from?" Neal asked. Behind him, Killian shrugged.
Snow had come running from the kitchen. "Oh, Charming, you shouldn't have!" she exclaimed.
"I didn't," Charming admitted, his tone as bewildered as his son's.
Five sets of eyes landed on Emma. "Don't look at me," she said, holding her hands up in surrender. "Does dashing through the snow in a legit sleigh sound like something I'd plan?"
Once again, there was that click in Hope's brain. First the snow, then the fire, now this? Something was going on.
The ringtone of her father's phone interrupted her train of thought. Killian ducked away from the window to take the call. His voice was a murmur but when he returned, he said, "Now that's odd."
"What's odd?" Emma asked.
"That was Leroy. He asked if I'd had knowledge of three ships coming in to make berth in the harbor for the night."
Three ships? At Christmas? Oh no. "Guys, I think I know what's going on," Hope said.
"What?" Emma asked.
"Well, first we had the snowstorm come out of nowhere, right? So all of a sudden we have a white Christmas and we're building a fire that is so delightful while we let it snow. Then, there's a one-horse open sleigh outside, I'm assuming ready to take us dashing through the snow, like Mom said. And now three ships have come sailing in."
Emma got it before everyone else. "Christmas carols are coming to life, aren't they?"
"I mean, I don't know for sure but yeah, I think so."
Emma sighed. "Wonderful."