Disclaimer: none of the characters belong to me; they belong to Shoot the Moon Enterprises to whom I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to take them out for a spin and bit of light humour.

A/N: I'm trying something new here, and I hope you enjoy it. Over the next 25 days, I am going to post 25 seasonal stories as a kind of countdown to Christmas. Each story is standalone, and can be read by itself, or even out of order from the other ones without losing any of the sense. That said, there are little interconnections throughout so they will also stand together as a whole. They range in length from 600 words to 5000, so like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get! Pretty much everyone gets a word in along the way (except for Fred Fielder - no pie for Fred!) so I hope everyone finds at least one they like.

These could not have been done without the unwavering support of my beta and friend, Lanie, and a few stories in particular might never have left the ground without the superb input of Raizelinplaid, who kept me on the straight and narrow and made some fabulous suggestions.

On with the show!

Thanksgiving, 1987

Lee leaned back from the table, angling slightly so that he could stretch his legs out to the side. He was blissfully full of turkey, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie – no fighting 400 guys for the dark meat here, not when Carrie and Joe had brought a turkey as well just to make sure that all four boys got a drumstick with no fighting. In fact, between them, Amanda and Carrie had produced enough food to actually satiate both Phillip and Jamie's teenage appetites – they had the same sleepy expression on their faces that he imagined was on his.

"That stuffing was fabulous," Amanda complimented Carrie. "Could you bring it again at Christmas?"

"It's my go-to dish," beamed Carrie. "Old family recipe." She winked at Amanda across the table. "The secret ingredient is Brussels sprouts."

"Yuck! Really?" Phillip asked, with a slightly queasy expression. "I thought it was so good before that!"

"Time you started expanding your tastebuds, Chief," Lee poked him gently with his foot. "It didn't stop tasting good just because you think you don't like something, did it?"

"I guess not," said Phillip. He glanced up at Lee as he was gently kicked again. "Sorry, Carrie," he said promptly, picking up on the hint. "I guess that sounded kinda rude. I really did like it. And I hope we get two turkeys again at Christmas so we can have it again." He eyed Lee, relieved when he was given a quick wink of approval.

"Oh my gosh, you know, I didn't even think when I asked – do you two have plans for Christmas? I mean, I just asked you without even checking if your parents would be back from their cruise by then, Joe."

"They will be, but they already asked if we could do Christmas Eve with them, so if you really want us underfoot on Christmas Day…" Joe let the question trail off.

"Well, of course we do!" said Amanda promptly. "You and the boys can do Christmas Eve with them and then you two can come here the next day. I mean, as long as that's alright with my wife-in-law." She turned to look at Carrie questioningly with a bright smile. There had been much discussion from the boys after Joe's marriage about how everyone was related now and it had been Dotty who'd suggested the term wife-in-law as a shortcut for the two women, reserving the title of Dowager Mother-in Law for herself.

Carrie meanwhile was looking pleased at the invitation. "That would be great," she enthused. "Growing up, I was always jealous of the big families who got to have a nice noisy Christmas like something out of a TV show while I was lighting menorahs and playing with dreidels." She reached over to take Joe's hand. "I expect some effort, Mr. King. You get to impress me with all the Christmas traditions."

Joe looked comically horrified. "Oh Lord. I'm sure I've forgotten half the things you're supposed to do at Christmas after so many years out of the country."

"Well don't look at me," laughed Lee. "I'm still learning the ropes myself."

Amanda and Dotty exchanged a look, half-amused, half-exasperated.

"Well, I'm sure we can teach you a thing or two," remarked Dotty, standing up. "Starting with this one… the youngest members of the family get to clear the table and get started on the dishes. Come on, you two"

"Aww, Grandma!" both boys protested, but cut it short when four sets of parental eyes landed on them with the same expression. They got to their feet, still grumbling slightly but resigned to their fate.

"If you move fast, you won't even miss kick-off," grinned Lee.

With that incentive, the boys began to move more quickly, earning only a few shrieks from Dotty as their enthusiasm endangered the good china.

"I have to admit, this not working on a holiday weekend thing could grow on me," Lee said contentedly, putting his feet up on Philips' recently vacated chair and letting his head drop back and eyes close. "I may just lie on the couch all day tomorrow and not move except to eat leftovers."

"Oh Amanda, Darling, didn't you tell him?" asked Dotty, reappearing in the doorway from the kitchen.

"Tell me what?" asked Lee, all attention now, especially when he heard Joe start to chuckle.

"Oh boy, you're in for it now, Lee," he said with a look of mischief that Lee knew boded no good.

"What does that mean? Amanda? What am I in for?" Lee was back to fully upright now and looking at his wife suspiciously.

"Well, Sweetheart," she began a little too brightly. "You did say you wanted to learn the ropes around Christmas…"

"I'm pretty sure I didn't," he answered, apprehension growing.

Amanda's face lit up with laughter. "Well, you see, tomorrow is when all the Christmas sales start and Mother and I go and try and get as much as we can and the best way to do that is if we have a bodyguard."

"A bodyguard? To go shopping? You're not serious?" Lee looked from face to face and realized with a sinking feeling that they were.

"You see, we do the shopping and you guard the cart," Amanda went on explaining. "In case anyone tries to steal our bargains while we're not looking."

Lee still looked like he didn't quite believe them. "People would steal things out of your cart?"

"Oh yes!" Amanda nodded vigorously. "Black Friday shopping can be cutthroat!"

"Black Friday?" Lee repeated weakly. "It has a name?"

"I'm sure she has my old shin guards in the attic," remarked Joe, helpfully. "Believe me, you'll want them. And steel-toed boots if you have them."

"Really?"

"Really." It was Carrie who answered him this time. "It really can get messy out there sometimes with some of the good deals. Seriously, how are your self-defense skills, Lee?" She turned to look at Joe with concern as he went into a coughing fit to try and hide his laughter, while Amanda sunk her face in her hands to cover her mirth.

"I can hold my own," Lee had been hard-pressed to contain his own laughter at her innocent question. "I've, uh taken a few courses. I think I can probably handle it."

"Well, that's good," Carrie nodded with relief. She glanced at Amanda, almost wistfully. "Would you mind if I tagged along? I don't get to do too much girly things anymore with my family so far away."

"Of course you can!" said Amanda promptly. "The more the merrier!"

"You should probably bring your own bodyguard though," suggested Lee, seizing the opportunity to spread the misery. "Guarding three of you might be too much for one man."

"Good idea," chorused Amanda and Carrie, turning to look at Joe with broad smiles.

"I'll get you for this, Stetson, see if I don't," Joe muttered good-naturedly.

"I'll make sure and dig up those shin pads for you," responded Lee, toasting him.