Disclaimer: Obvious as it may be I hereby state that I have no claim as to the intellectual property linked to Blood Ties. And, as it seems equally obvious and therefore worth mentioning, I don't own Christmas either.
Summary: A Blood Ties Christmas story. Diet version (partially not as sugary as one might expect).
Many thanks and Merry Christmas to my beta Marlana.
Christmas Traditions
"No, Mom, that's fine, really. Yes, I'm serious. Go, have fun. Yeah, I know. No, plenty other options, don't worry about it. Yeah, love you too. Bye!"
Vicki put the receiver down and stared at her hand still holding it with a blank expression on her face. She exhaled slowly. Then again. And then she blinked when the burning in her eyes became unbearable but otherwise she remained still.
Her expression was unchanged as tears rolled down her face. And she stayed that way as the night fell outside.
A shadow breezed through the room and there was suddenly someone standing before her with a concerned expression on his face.
"Vicki?"
She blinked a few times before her eyes finally focused and her mind registered the vampire was holding her arms gently. Now she started to blink even more furiously, trying to wipe away her tears with one hand in the most inconspicuous way possible. Immediately he tried to help her, brushing away the teardrops drying on her cheeks.
"What is it, Victoria?" he whispered, looking intently at her.
She took a deep breath and slowly shook her head before speaking.
"It's nothing, Henry, really."
"You will forgive me if I find that hard to believe."
"No, it's..."
"Vicki, look at me."
"No problem, why not? It's not like I'm blind in the dark and there is only the light from the computer screen in here. Oh, wait. I am and there is." She spoke sarcastically but narrowed her eyes as she tried to read the look on his face.
Which proved impossible as he suddenly disappeared from view. A second later the room was flooded by light from a lamp. It took her a brief moment to adjust to the illumination and when she did, the vampire was standing in his previous spot in front of her.
"Any more complaints?"
"Henry."
"You are aware that I'm not about to just let this go, aren't you?"
"So what you're gonna do? You can't vamp me. Do want to just stare at me until I talk?"
"If I must."
"The office faces east. Good luck. You're gonna need it. Badly."
"Ah, but it's December. The nights are long."
"Oh, really? Are you sure they are long enough?"
He smirked and held her gaze. She frowned but after a while she wriggled out of his touch and went to the sofa, grabbing a bottle of bourbon on her way. She sat heavily and immediately poured herself a glass.
A hand was suddenly grasping her wrist preventing her from bringing the drink to her lips.
"This won't solve anything, Vicki." Henry spoke calmly, stroking her hand as if trying to coax her to hand over the glass. Probably trying to coax her to do just that.
"How do you know that? It's not like you could have had a chance to try lately."
"I'm serious. This isn't good for you. What happened?"
"Nothing happened. What could have happened? I mean, seriously."
"Vicki."
"Fine. You want to know that badly? It's my mother."
He raised an eyebrow. "What happened with your mother, if you don't mind me asking?"
"It's not..." She sighed. "I'm pathetic, am I not? I've even scared my own mother away now."
"Why would you say that?"
"It's the truth. I'm driving everybody away. It's some innate talent. But I was hoping that at least my mother would be immune to that. Well, apparently she isn't."
"What did she say exactly?"
"Basically that she doesn't even want to spend Christmas in my company anymore. Not that I blame her. I'm sure I'm awful company compared to her bridge friends."
"I find it hard to believe she said something like that. From everything you've told me about her she always seemed to care about you to the point of being overprotective."
"Well, she's done with that. She called me today to tell me that her friends proposed a skiing and spa trip on Christmas. She called and said I didn't need to bother coming."
"I see." He spoke neutrally which was nearly as bad as him pitying her.
"It's funny, you know. I shouldn't react like this. I mean, I'm a grownup now, it's not like she can't have her own life or that we were doing anything special for Christmas."
"Are you sure she saw it like that?"
"Henry, she called to say that her bridge friends invited her for that trip. Why would she even tell me if she didn't want to go?"
"And what did you tell her?"
"What was I supposed to say? I told her that I was happy for her and I didn't have a problem with her going."
"And do you?"
"What does it matter? If she wants to go with her friends then she wants to go. It's not like I can stop her."
"Perhaps she honestly wanted to know your opinion."
"About what? A better alternative to spending the holidays with me?"
"Maybe she wanted to check if you wanted to spend Christmas with her?"
"Yeah, sure. We've spent Christmas together for as long as I can remember. Maybe this was just her way of saying she was sick of it. But it doesn't matter anymore, does it? I'll just spend the time by myself. After all, when you really come down to it, it's just another day."
She reached for the glass again but before she could touch it, Henry captured her hand in both of his.
"It's not a day like any other as I'm sure you know, Victoria." He paused and met her eyes. "And I know how it feels to spend that time alone. In fact, I'd be honoured if you agreed to spend Christmas night with me."
She went absolutely still to the point of only remembering to breathe when the burning sensation in her lungs let her know about her growing oxygen deficiency. Her hand trembled in his and she closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. Her thoughts were racing as her instincts were battling her common sense. Every defensive mechanism she developed over the years was screaming at her not to surrender but in the end despite her best efforts she crushed under the emotional flood assaulting her.
"Yeah, sure, why not?" Her eyes snapped open as the realisation of what words just slipped out of her mouth dawned. She looked at Henry. His eyes shining inexplicably.
"Thank you, Vicki," he whispered softly.
From his tone one might think she had just promised him some priceless treasure and momentarily she didn't know what to say. She did manage to smile though and was instantly rewarded with a blindingly bright smile. Then he produced a handkerchief from somewhere and gently started wiping away her tears. She tried to swat his hand away.
"Leave it. Don't..." Her attempts only elicited a smile from him.
"You are really not very good at receiving help, are you?"
"I don't need help."
"As I said. You aren't."
She rolled her eyes and glared at him, the effect being a bit spoiled by his calmly finishing his self-assigned task of wiping away her tears.
"I don't need anyone babying me."
"I'm not trying to, don't worry. You are truly a little ray of sunshine when offered help."
"Sunshine? So you want to get away from me as fast as possible?"
"No. But I can't help the feeling I'm playing on the edge of getting burnt."
"Don't be cute. You know, just because I relented on one thing it doesn't mean you get to treat me like..."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"Good."
"So now that you've used the obligatory amount of threats, do you think you could calm down and allow yourself to enjoy the evening?"
"Enjoy the evening, huh? And I suppose you'll tell me next that the 'enjoy' part will be thanks to you, right?"
If you allow me to keep you company I'll be honoured, of course. But if you'd rather I left..."
"I didn't say that."
"In that case, perhaps you could tell me what you would like us to do tonight?"
"I don't know. It's not like I had anything planned or was really in the mood for anything. Perhaps we could just watch a movie or something?"
"Fine with me. Any particular movie you are in mood for?" Vicki smiled a mischievous smile. "I'd think you'd have run out of vampire movies by now."
"Now that's something new. You underestimate your own popularity? If I recall there is even a new vamp flick playing in cinemas right now."
"Would you like to go to cinema then?"
"You think we could still catch the show at this hour?"
"It's not particularly late. Nights are longer this time of the year. It's," he took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. "barely seven. I think we have plenty of time to catch the show."
Vicki felt herself relax a bit at the prospect of entertaining and hopefully innocent way of spending the evening.
"It tells something about the quality of the movies these days if you even need to take your own vampire with you to enjoy the show."
"Yours, am I?" He grinned at her.
She blinked, speechless for a second.
"You know I didn't mean it like that."
He laughed. "Don't worry, I know you'd never think if me that way. Not for lack of trying on my part, I may add."
"Henry."
The vampire didn't respond, choosing to retrieve her jacket instead. He held it for her with a lifted eyebrow.
"Shall we?"
With a resigned sigh Vicki let him help her with the jacket.
III
The cinema was rather empty. Only a few more people were sitting scattered around the audience and Henry took care to find them seats away from everybody else. The movie wasn't a particularly good one but it was enjoyable enough when you had an actual vampire offering sharp comments on it, taking full advantage of the fact that everybody else was not only too far but also too busy to hear.
Suddenly as the movie was slowly approaching the end, the penultimate scene showed the rising sun leading to a very graphic demise of one of the antagonists. Suddenly she wasn't feeling so good anymore as she was assaulted by the memory of Delphine's fate.
She reached to her side automatically and felt Henry stroking her arm. He didn't make a single move aside from that until the scene ended. Only then he seemed to relax again.
"I think you might be cheering for the wrong side." She heard whispered into her ear and only now realised that somehow she ended up holding Henry's arm tightly. "If you want to switch you'd better consider the fact that it looks like the humans are going to win this one."
Now he sounded genuinely amused.
"Don't. And that scene could have used some subtlety," she whispered back.
"You didn't even flinch when the last dozen of human characters was killed."
She paused for a second trying to find a reason for what, she had to admit, was coming close to a double standard.
"I've spent a good part of my life looking at actual murder victims directly and in photos. I guess I became desensitised."
"If you say so."
He started to shift away and she strengthened her hold on his arm without even making a conscious decision to do so.
"Who said you were free to go?"
In the light reflected of the screen she could make out him shaking his head in amusement.
III
Coreen came in when Vicki was just sipping her morning coffee and finishing a phone conversation.
"So when are you leaving? No, I'm asking so that I can be sure your gift arrives on time. Yes, I know Kingston isn't far but still. Ok, love you. Bye."
Vicki ended the call and lifted her head to see her assistant looking at her.
"Kingston? Doesn't your mother live there?"
"Last time I checked it wasn't any kind of carefully guarded secret."
"Yeah, but... I thought you were spending Christmas with her."
"Well, not anymore. She is going away with her friends."
"I'm so ..."
"No, Coreen, it's fine. I have other plans anyway. It's no big deal."
"Really?" The Goth asked incredulously.
"Yes, really. And if you don't mind, I'd rather if you dropped that face and brought me the Brown file."
"But..."
"Do you want us free for the holidays or not?"
"Slave driver." The girl grinned.
"If you don't like it, you can always resign. I'm sure I would find some other Goth willing to work on supernatural cases for someone having a vampire as a partner."
"But then they'd learn it required working with you and would run for the hills." Coreen finished casually.
"You've just cost yourself your Christmas bonus."
"You weren't paying me a Christmas bonus in the first place."
"Regardless. The Brown file, remember?"
Vicki saw her assistant walk heavily to her desk and search for a moment before returning with the file. The girl opened it before the PI and eyed it wearily.
'I just feel bad about informing Mr Brown now that that his wife was sleeping around behind his back. We are ruining the family just before Christmas."
"Look at it this way – Christmas time is, at least according to popular opinion, the time of love and forgiveness. When are they going to have a better chance to work this out?"
"Still, I don't like it."
"It's our job, Coreen. And the man wanted to know. Otherwise he wouldn't have hired us. Do you really think his Christmas would be better if he spent it wondering about this all the time?"
"Maybe he just thought he wanted to know?"
"The time for discussions on job ethics definitely isn't before I finish my first cup of coffee, Coreen." She saw the girl's hurt expression. "We are giving him an opportunity to improve his life. Either by bringing things out in the open and clearing the atmosphere or at least by not living a lie."
The girl sighed sadly and slowly went back to her desk.
III
When Vicki came back from lunch, Mike was sitting in her chair, feet resting on the desk.
"Go ahead, make yourself comfortable." She said sarcastically in lieu of greeting.
"Hi, Vic. I heard you're spending Christmas in Toronto?"
"You heard? Let me guess – my dear assistant decided to become suicidal?" She said the last part a bit louder and was rewarded with a snort coming from the general direction of Coreen's desk.
"Something like that. She might have been operating under the assumption that you wouldn't murder her in the presence of an intimidating officer of the law."
"Perhaps I wouldn't." She made a show of looking around. 'Where is he?"
"Very funny, Vic. Listen, I was wondering, since you'll be in the city, would you like to come with me to Molly's for Christmas dinner?"
"No thanks, Mike. But I appreciate the offer."
"Don't you want to at least think about it, Vicki?"
"Not really. I already have plans."
"Sitting by yourself watching movies and eating pizza doesn't qualify as plans, Vic."
"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm not going to. I'm spending Christmas with Henry. And I will probably be catching up on my sleep after the whole night."
"Oh, just great. So now being invited as a Christmas dinner is a better option than being invited to one?"
Vicki narrowed her eyes and tightened her fists.
"It certainly beats being treated like a charity case and then told off when you don't jump at the opportunity to accept your gracious invitation."
"It's not like that, Vic."
"Well, it sure as hell sounded like that."
"In any case, it wasn't supposed to. Please, Vicki, reconsider."
"Why should I? What suddenly makes you so much better than Henry that I should cancel my plans with him because you deemed me worthy of your oh-so-generous offer?"
"Vicki, I just..." He sighed. "I'm not gonna win this one, am I?"
"Not really, no. And you aren't making your position better, if you were wondering."
"Listen, I'm sorry. It's not that I have anything against Fitzroy..." Vicki snorted and raised her eyebrow. "Ok, it has nothing to do with the fact that I might have something against him."
"As long as you're honest with yourself, Mike."
"But if you get some sleep and then have nothing to do, the offer is still open. You know, Dylan would love it if Aunt Vicki was coming to the dinner. And he could use some cheering up on Christmas this year. I asked him a couple of days ago what he'd like to get from Santa and he told me he doesn't believe in him anymore."
"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Strange as it is, children do grow up, you know. And stooping to emotional blackmail is low."
"God, Vic, give it up, will you. I didn't mean anything like that. I was just saying. Do you remember that time four years ago when we visited Molly just before Christmas? How Dylan's eyes were glowing with excitement every time Santa was mentioned?"
"Yeah. Every bit the eager kid expecting Christmas." The PI smiled.
"Well, not anymore. He is missing that flicker he had then. It's almost as if he is a completely different kid."
"Unless you mean that seriously and want me to take the case, I'm afraid you will just need to get used to that thought."
"I know. I was just thinking it would be nice if things could be the way they were."
"Well, I'm afraid that my presence wouldn't be enough anyway, if that's what you want."
"It wouldn't hurt to try."
"Oh, it would. If you tried to convince me like that any longer it would hurt you. Or rather I would. Very much."
"How nice to see the Christmas spirit got you too, Vic."
She glared at him.
"So, aside of informing his behind-times uncle that Santa doesn't exist, did Dylan happen to mention what he wants?"
"Oh, a number of things. I think he decided to make it a challenge to prove his point about Santa."
"Okay, how long is the list?"
"About arm's length. Gotta admire the kid's restraint."
"I see. How far did he go to bankrupt his parents?"
"Santa, you meant to say. Let's just say that Molly and Richard drew the line at a bicycle and five computer games. I agreed to take the action figure, which might be a good thing because without a bit of abuse of authority I would have gotten stampeded in that shop. I wanted to take care of the complete set of 'Lightning Jack' books that Dylan wanted so badly but they told me it's been sold out for a month already. I'm beginning to think Dylan asked for that on purpose."
"Anything he might want that I'd be able to get?"
"You don't need to, Vicki. He is getting too much as it is."
"Hey, I'm still his unofficial aunt, right?"
"Never said you weren't."
"Good. Because last time I checked it meant some serious spoiling privileges."
"Don't assume that just because you are dealing with monsters out of a story book you'll be able to face Molly if Dylan gets out of hand because of that."
"I'll keep that in mind." She rolled her eyes before looking at him expectantly. "Well? What else was on that list?"
"Star Wars Lego blocks, a Lamborghini model and a real cell phone."
"Cell phone sounds sensible."
"As long as he doesn't spent a couple hundred dollars during his first few days."
"Prepaid cell it is then. But still, it's a useful gift. I'd think you'd jump at the opportunity. Remember the O'Brian case?"
"I don't particularly want to remember it. Especially in connection to what might happen to Dylan."
"Still, it might work as a lesson to keep him safer. That's a good thing, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose. Listen, Vicki, I need to get back. I'll see you later, alright?"
"Sure. See you, Mike."
III
By the evening she had gifts for both Mike and Dylan bought and still not the faintest idea what to get Henry. Or Coreen for that matter but when it came to the girl it would be just a matter of time before she found something, which she definitely couldn't say about shopping for a gift for the vampire.
Speaking of whom, she suddenly felt someone leaning over her shoulder as she looked at the box containing a brand new cell phone.
"Children grow up fast, don't they?"
"With enough of a perspective, everything in life happens fast. What child are we talking about?"
"Dylan." She replied and seeing apparent lack of recognition on the face that swam into view before her, she elaborated. "Mike's nephew. Just because I'm not an item with Mike it doesn't mean I lost the title of Aunt Vicki with all the privileges and duties it carries."
"I see. And he wanted the phone this year, I assume?"
"Yeah." Before Vicki even realised it, she summarised most of her conversation with Mike.
"So Celluci invited you to a Christmas dinner."
"So he did. And I told him I had a better offer so drop that look." Actually there wasn't any particular look to speak of but as soon as she said it, a smirk appeared on his face.
"When do you plan to drop off the gifts you bought then?"
"After Christmas, I think. If Dylan already suspects something there is no reason to give him more clues. And the kid takes after his uncle when it comes to his investigative skills."
"Hopefully only when it comes to them. Otherwise I fear for this world."
"Honestly. What is it with the two of you? Can't you drop it, if only for the duration of the holidays?'
"Very well. But only as long as he doesn't initiate anything."
"Good enough for me. So what do you think I should get Coreen?"
"I assume your price range doesn't allow for the purchase of the original of Necronomicon?"
"Perhaps I'll save that for the next year. And anyway, since when do you promote books like that?"
"The only books I promote are my own and even that rarely. If, however, you are asking what Coreen might wish for, that answer does come to mind. And with a bit of luck she might not even misuse it."
"Now that's reassuring. Seriously though, do you have any idea?"
"The one I had already used."
She lifted an eyebrow. "Do tell."
"A book on Celtic rituals and celebrations came out about a month ago. I managed to see Coreen looking at it on a webpage but it seemed to be out of her price range. I decided it made a good gift opportunity and given that Betty claims an acquaintance with the author I managed to get it signed.'
"Oh, great, raise the bar, why don't you? Now I'll never find anything suitable."
"How about a piece of silver jewellery? That might be something Coreen would like."
"Can you honestly picture me shopping for jewellery? Gothic one at that?"
"I'm an artist. I have a vivid imagination." He smiled. "Do you want me to help you pick something out? The shops are still open."
She considered that. Usually she despised Christmas shopping, with all its rush, pressure and eventual disappointment the recipient of the gift tries to hide. But having a vampire prince to keep her company and offer advice somehow seemed inviting. Not to mention there would be someone to share the blame if the girl proved not to like what she got.
"As long as you remember that I don't have an unlimited budget. You didn't seem to be bothered much by limitations yourself."
"A reasonable provision. But the expense wasn't that bad in my case either. If I had an unlimited budget I might have really considered Necronomicon."
"Remind me to treat gifts from you with more caution from now on."
"You? Treat something with caution? Are you feeling alright?"
"Very funny. So are we going or not?" He smiled and held her coat for her. "Don't overdo it." She warned in mock-seriousness.
"I wouldn't dream of doing anything that might earn your ire."
She rolled her eyes and pretended not to notice that he held the door for her.
"Honestly. Could you water down the knight routine?"
"It's called manners. And it is regrettable that you can observe them so rarely that you don't even recognise them for what they are anymore."
"Henry." She shook her head as she locked the door and then, when he offered her his arm, she took it with a dramatic sigh of resignation. He grinned.
III
The morning of Christmas Eve started early for Vicki. Not really because she was anticipating the day or because she needed to get up. If anything, it was the opposite. She was actually considering sleeping in on that day but apparently the omnipresent Murphy's Law had other plans, as she woke up early enough that she could still probably... She reached for her phone and dialled.
"Hi, Henry." She said quickly as soon as he picked up before she could start questioning her sense for calling him now. "I just wanted to check if you want me to bring anything tonight."
"Vicki." He said slowly and she suddenly started wondering if it was the effect of his being surprised by the call or the short time until sunrise. "Are you still up?"
She smiled at the phone. "Actually, I'm already up."
"Getting up before the sunrise in anticipation of Christmas. How old are you again?" He sounded beyond amused now.
"Do you want that in comparison to you? And you didn't answer my question."
"Ah, yes. You only need to bring yourself. Why would I want you to bring anything?"
"I just thought I'd ask to be sure. When do you want me to come?"
"Normally I'd say that whenever you come it would be fine but I'm leaving at half past ten to go to mass so either you come before that time or after midnight. I will be waiting for you from five. Or just before five to be exact."
"You don't want any time to yourself?"
"You wouldn't believe how much time to myself I've had in my life. I much prefer the alternative."
"Okay then, see you at five, I guess?" She did her best to make that sound casual as if she wasn't actually making any decision but stating a long established fact.
"At five then. Have a nice day, Vicki."
"Thanks. Sweet dreams."
"You know that I don't really..."
"So what if I do? Still."
"See you this evening, Vicki." He definitely sounded amused.
"Yeah, see you. Bye."
Only when she realised that she was grinning to herself after ending the call did she wipe the expression off her face. Deciding that the lack of productivity was driving her mad, she finally decided to at least pretend she had something to do other than preparing for Christmas.
III
When she reached her office, she could hear a sound inside, which made her immediately go on alert. Without even a conscious thought she reached for her asp before carefully opening the door. It wasn't locked.
As soon as she entered, she came face to face with Coreen, who was sitting at her desk, reading something. Some Christmas song was playing quietly from her computer.
"What the hell are you doing here? It's your day off." She confronted her assistant in lieu of a greeting.
"Oh, hi, Vicki. I'm hiding out, actually."
"From what? Henry seemed adamant that evil has no power on Christmas and if any human is causing you a problem, just give Mike a call. That is, if you aren't able to handle it yourself."
"No, it's not like that. Actually it's my mother I'm hiding from."
"That's something new. What did you do?"
"Hey! Why do you just automatically assume I did something?"
Vicki rolled her eyes.
"Do you really want me to answer that?"
"Besides, it's not like my Mom is angry with me or anything. It's just that with all the preparations... well, she gets a bit hyper. She's been going on like that for a couple of days now. I needed some peace and quiet and thought you wouldn't mind."
"I don't. And actually it gives me a great opportunity to give you your Christmas present. I planned to drop it off later to make sure you would manage to restrain your curiosity until tomorrow morning. By the way, you are saying your mother is hyper?"
"So what? She is, trust me. And just for the record, judging by the gift that mysteriously appeared under my tree last night, Henry trusts me with my gifts more than you do."
"Well, if he is that trusting after nearly five centuries, I'm afraid there isn't much I can do to help him. He seems to be the textbook example of a lost cause." Vicki rummaged through her bag and finally fished out a small wrapped package. "Merry Christmas, Coreen."
The girl grinned and shook her present next to her ear.
"Thanks, Vicki! Wait just a sec." She sunk under her desk for a moment and emerged with a sizable box. "And this is for you. But if you don't mind, I would prefer if you opened it right now so I can see your reaction."
"Ok, whatever."
Vicki delicately started removing the tape, not so much for the desire to spare the paper but for the fear of being seen behaving so childishly. Once she was done with the wrapping paper, she opened the box revealing a dark green velvet material. She frowned in confusion and gently, as if expecting the fabric to come to life any second, took hold of it and lifted it into the air.
She froze when she realised what she was holding suspiciously resembled a dress. After the first shock passed, she eyed her assistant with a lifted eyebrow, hoping for some explanation. The girl grinned and didn't say anything.
"Uh, thank you, Coreen." The PI finally managed as the girl's grin grew even more.
"You know, that's exactly the way I imagined you'd react."
"Was that the idea then? Think of a gift that would shock me most?"
"Actually I thought that since you are spending Christmas with Henry..."
"You weren't supposed to eavesdrop."
"That since you are spending Christmas with Henry," Coreen went on as if she was never interrupted, "you might feel better if you are wearing something nice. A practical gift."
Vicki considered that for a moment.
"Actually that is a surprisingly sound idea. I may actually consider that. That is, if it fits."
The girl chose that exact moment to pull the PI into a hug.
"Merry Christmas, Vicki."
"Merry Christmas once again, Coreen. Listen, how about we go to a Christmas Eve lunch and then you can go back to your family before your parents blame your absence on me and make sure Mike has a busy Christmas?"
"If it came to that, it would be them I'd be worrying about, not you. But I like the lunch idea."
"So let's go. Before the sight of my Goth assistant humming 'Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer' burns too deeply into my mind."
"I did not hum!"
III
Vicki opened her coat and looked critically at her reflection in the elevator doors as she was riding up to Henry's floor. She had to admit that the girl did a reasonably good job picking the dress. While the PI felt distinctly out of her element wearing it, it did fit and was simple and elegant.
In other words, something she could really believe Coreen bought with her in mind and not simply following her fashion instincts. And it probably earned her Goth assistant a few curious looks when the girl was looking for it. Of course, Vicki added in her mind, if she learned Coreen used the excuse of shopping for her mother, Mike might end up having a busy Christmas at work after all.
The elevator dinged and she stepped outside, suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable dressed like that. She took a deep breath and collected herself. Just when she got to Henry's apartment and was about to raise her hand to knock, the door opened. Henry gestured her inside without tearing his eyes from her for even a second.
"Good evening, Vicki. You look breathtaking."
"Hi, Henry. And don't exaggerate."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
She shook her head at his smile and took the opportunity to look around a bit.
The place was changed but not in the cheap commercial way of Christmas decorating.
Henry had a Christmas tree alright, but not decorated in any way she could ever claim seeing. Delicate silver ornaments sparkled from the light of actual candles sitting on their branches. Other than that, Vicki could see miniatures painted on wood, depicting various holy images. She suspected she could guess their creator. Next to the tree stood a triptych made in a similar style, presenting the holy family. It had icon-like metallic elements which reflected the candlelight.
All the lights were on, indicating that Henry was already awaiting her arrival. Aside from that, all over the room she could see candles alight, hidden behind colourful glass.
"Wow." The word escaped her before she realised.
"I'm glad you like it."
"I must give you one thing. It's unlike anything I've seen before. But yeah, it looks great."
Henry wore a self-satisfied smile as he gestured her to sit. Only when she did, did she notice the soft classical music, possibly an instrumental version of some carols, playing somewhere in the background."
"Can I offer you something to drink?" She heard him ask, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Do you have coffee?"
"With you around, how could I not have it?" He teased and disappeared for a moment only to appear again next to her. "As soon as it's ready. I hope you don't mind one with almond and cardamom?"
"I never tried it, why? I didn't even know they produced such a thing."
"Just for the record, coffee is something you grow, not produce. And you just grind coffee with additional spices. Not that I should be the person to tell you about it. I never drank coffee in my life."
"You poor thing. However did you manage to survive?"
"Believe it or not, but I have my ways."
"Weren't you ever tempted to at least try it and get an idea of the taste?"
"Weren't you ever tempted to try drinking blood?" he shot back without a pause.
"At least I have an idea that it's nasty and coppery."
"And I know that coffee is bitter and has unpleasant aftertaste." He replied nonplused and Vicki snorted.
"Okay, to each their own I suppose."
"Yes. Speaking of which..." he disappeared again only to return with a steaming cup of coffee, the smell of which seemed to immediately fill the room.
III
About an hour after she came there was a knock at Henry's door. She frowned and Henry disappeared from the room to let whoever it was inside. She heard voices of some sort at the entrance and soon enough Henry appeared at her side again. The voices however remained.
"Do I even want to know?"
"I suppose you will, at least at some point."
"Henry."
"I promise, you have nothing to worry about." Vicki heard the door close and the voices gradually faded away. "In fact, if you'd accompany me, you can get your answer now."
She sighed but figuring she had nothing to lose she allowed him to lead her to one of the rooms where, she was pretty sure of that one, he previously left his paintings to dry. Now it was changed.
The only paintings in the room were the framed ones on the wall, also in distinctly Christmas-related range of topics. In the middle of the room stood a set table with what looked like the most picture-perfect meal she had ever seen, even if the lack of meat of any kind was noticeable. Old looking chandeliers assured the presence of the room's share of candles. In the background something that sounded suspiciously like a music box was playing a melody she did not recognise.
She had a distinct feeling that she stood there staring at it all for longer than she should. Finally she came to her senses.
"Are you expecting someone else? Because this would probably be too much even if you actually decided to switch to normal food for tonight."
"It's just the two of us tonight, Vicki. Though I may consider sharing a glass of wine with you, if you want me to."
"Then what's with all this?"
"This holiday is a time to celebrate Vicki."
"And for you that means throwing a feast?"
"Blame it on the upbringing."
"Not that it would help any." She shook her head. "But if I find out you ordered a dinner that size yourself, I'm out of here."
He laughed.
"I don't really need to feed tonight. So unless you offer I will wait until tomorrow night. It's the time of fasting until midnight anyway."
"If you say so."
III
They talked for a while and then Vicki saw Henry check his pocket watch.
"It's already past ten. I need to go to the church and while you can, of course, wait for me here, I'd be honoured if you came with me."
"To a Catholic church?"
"Does that really come as a surprise to you?"
"You know I'm not a..."
"And I honestly doubt it will make any difference to God." He cut in. "Besides, as the closest relative of the person responsible for your dilemma you have available, I think I can assure you that it shouldn't be a problem."
"It will probably be strange to be at a Catholic mass." She sighed getting up, which earned her a smile from the vampire.
"So less of a chance it will be nothing but routine." He held her coat for her and, as she let him help her with it, she wondered what she was getting herself into.
Only when they were already in the car did another thought occur to her.
"How come the mass is at eleven? Wasn't it supposed to be at midnight?"
He laughed."There is another one at midnight, yes. The earlier one won't probably gather such crowds as the English one."
"Could you repeat that? For a second there I could swear you said it wasn't in English." The dread in her voice elicited another laugh from Henry.
"It's not. As it happens, some time ago the church was struggling to raise money for a new roof until an anonymous investor came along and had only one condition. He would cover the missing sum if an additional mass, a Tridentine one, was held at eleven pm each Sunday and on religious holidays."
"Tridentine?"
"Latin."
"Ah. And nobody figured out who the mysterious benefactor might be? Such a mass can't gather too big crowds and, let's face it, you would stand out if only for the apparent age."
"You'd be surprised. Once word spread among the classic philology students, even those who weren't Catholic started coming. Out of curiosity, I have to assume."
"And you had nothing to do with the word getting out, right?"
"Actually, I didn't. A certain university professor might have."
Vicki snorted.
"So they have an eleven o'clock mass on Christmas too?"
"A promise is a promise. And for once it doesn't require any of the priests to stay up longer than usual."
"So a Latin catholic mass. Anything else you might want to share beforehand?"
"No, that seems about it, actually."
"Oh, good. I'm not sure how I'd take more."
III
They entered the church to the sound of 'Adeste Fideles' echoing though the building and suddenly Vicki felt a bit overwhelmed and intimidated by the place. The church wasn't by any means full but that only made her feel more exposed in the unfamiliar surroundings.
Silently telling herself not to be ridiculous she held onto Henry's line as he guided her along the rows of pews. While he didn't exactly lead her to the very front she still felt she was too close and, by extension, even more out of place.
The song ended with the last tones still vibrating in the air when the priest entered and everybody stood. Vicki managed to react appropriately to the "In nomine Patri..." but was completely lost as soon as "Introibo ad altare Dei" came. Suddenly all her knowledge of Latin seemed very distant and college related. She could catch an occasional word that she understood, which helped her to get the idea of how the mass proceeded but with every second she was feeling more like an intruder in the ceremony. An undereducated one at that.
The only relief she had was that Henry seemed too focused on the ceremony to notice that she sat there like a complete idiot, trying to copy the movements enough not to draw attention to herself and mouthing words she couldn't even make out properly in the murmur of the crowd.
Somewhere near the middle of the mass she actually allowed herself to stop panicking and tried to pray as she should in the church. A part of her mind that was currently unoccupied registered the thought, that if God held her rather unimpressive record of attending church against her, after this one he would probably consider them even.
By the end of the ceremony she had calmed down enough to treat her presence in the church as something not so shocking and actually did manage to take in some of the atmosphere of the place. When Henry offered her his hand so they could leave she was able to bring herself to actually enjoy the unique air of the holiday present there.
Somewhere above them the melody of 'Nascitur cum Christo' was filling the building, dampening all the other sounds.
III
Descending the steps of the church in silence, Vicki held stayed close to Henry. Slippery winter sidewalks and nearly absolute night blindness weren't things particularly wise to mix.
"Thank you for coming with me, Vicki." She heard him say softly. "I realise you are unused to that."
"Hey, I survived, so it wasn't that bad. I never realised how much I had forgotten from my Latin classes in college."
"If my choice was proving so uncomfortable for you..."
"Hey I told you, it's fine. It's probably a long running habit with you."
"It's not so much about a habit as it is about having things around you that remain unchanged. That always offers some stability among increasingly faster changes of the world."
"And even that eventually changed?"
"Yes. Although not for very long having even that small piece of stability taken away was hard. To my relief it was less than thirty years before it was restored, if in marginalised form."
Vicki didn't know what to say to that so they walked in silence the rest of the way, the mood of the conversation slowly fading into the icy night air.
III
They returned to the Jaguar and once Vicki turned on the interior light for a moment, she realised Henry had a suspiciously mischievous expression on his face. She stared at him expectantly and saw him grin.
"We still have a lot of time tonight. What would you say if we used some of it to get your gift to Celluci's nephew?"
She blinked.
"Well, my apartment is on the way, but when I asked for a Christmas ceasefire between you and Mike I didn't exactly imagine you volunteering to see him on the very Christmas night."
"Actually, I never intended to."
"Okay." Vicki said slowly. "Then what gives? You decided to just meet his family to get a chance to embarrass him?"
"I never needed going this far to achieve that end. I would remind you what an excellent job he was doing himself if it wasn't for the promise I gave you. And no, I don't intend to see anybody from his family either."
"Then what? You want me out of your sight already and are using my delivering Dylan's gifts as an excuse for us to separate?"
"Never. If anything, I intended to deliver the gifts myself."
"Yourself? Wait, gifts in plural?"
"There is a considerably lesser chance that you'd manage to have the gifts seem to appear under the tree overnight without anyone's involvement."
Realisation dawned on Vicki as she looked at his grin.
"Okay, secret Santa, what were you saying about the gifts as in more than one?"
"You mentioned the books the boy wanted badly."
"Yeah, the ones impossible to get anywhere."
"Unless you happen to know the editor."
"You didn't."
"Why not?"
"I find it hard to believe that you would willingly go to such great lengths for Mike's nephew."
"Perhaps I wouldn't, if you hadn't cared about the boy yourself. As it is, it will be enough of a reward to see Celluci try to take it with a straight face. And I assure you, the lengths weren't as great as you seem convinced."
"You do know that Mike would rather start believing in Santa Claus again than admit you might have something to do with it? Besides, believing that a vampire whom you always happen to argue with left a present for the kid probably sounds crazier, all things considered."
"Seeing him come to that conclusion should be amusing enough."
"Henry."
III
Dylan was half-drowsing on the couch, having long abandoned attempts to pretend he was asleep in favour of putting all his energy into staying at least partially awake. He probably wouldn't have managed even that if it wasn't for the noise his parents, grandparents and Uncle Mike made when they came back from church. He was pretty sure he didn't hear them leave in any case.
Actually, he didn't know why he wanted to stay up so badly. It wasn't as if he had anything to really wait for. Not this year. When Robbie's brother told them that Santa was just make-believe, neither of them believed it. But while Robbie had run to his mother to complain, Dylan started analysing facts.
The movies never seemed to agree on one version of Santa's story. Wouldn't they know better if he was? And would they dare to use his image like that when, Dylan was pretty sure, no money was being shipped to the North Pole? Then there was the thing with the story not fitting even in his own family. While before he had always written down his Grandpa's slips whenever he said that Babbo Natale would come on the sixth, now it seemed suspicious. Two different names could be possibly explained away, two different dates didn't check out. And what about the crowds in toyshops before every Christmas? Why would adults suddenly show such interest in shopping if it was the Santa who delivered toys?
After that he started noticing signs everywhere. In stupid commercials, in the unfairness of the amount of gifts some kids received and finally in the hushed conversations of parents occurring more often as Christmas drew closer.
It became official. Dylan stopped believing in Santa Claus.
Still something in him wanted to stay awake on Christmas night. Even if most of that was a habit he still didn't want to admit to himself that his wait was purposeless.
Suddenly a strange breeze went though the room as well as a chill as if someone opened the window. A few bells on the Christmas tree sang softly, drawing his attention. They were still rocking slightly on the branches when he noticed two packages resting under the tree where he was pretty sure nothing was a moment ago.
He cried out in enthusiastic surprise at such a turn of events, drawing the adults to the room. As he tried to excitedly tell his parents what he just witnessed he met surprisingly little understanding. If anything, they seemed wary of the gifts and his dad immediately went to check the windows in the room. Only Uncle Mike approached the matter with a cool head and instead of looking very much at a loss he bent down to examine the gifts. He looked at the cards attached to them and made a strange face before straightening.
"I think those are okay, Molly."
"How do you know?"
"A hunch. But I wouldn't work where I do if I didn't have good ones." Dylan heard Uncle Mike reply before he turned to him. "Hey, kiddo, how about you open those now and spare your parents the worry?"
This wasn't the kind of opportunity anybody sane would miss, so Dylan jumped at it. Before his uncle could change his mind he was already next to the gifts. He glanced at the cards Uncle Mike examined so closely. They were written in that old-looking handwriting nobody really used except in the movies. And they stated the gifts were for him.
Deciding quickly this was all the encouragement he needed he enthusiastically ripped off the paper. And grinned upon seeing a box with a brand new cell, he was pretty sure he had no chance of getting. The second gift he unwrapped even faster. A short exclamation of enthusiasm escaped him as he saw what was there. He thought the books were impossible to get...
He glanced at his parents who looked even more surprised. Uncle Mike not so much though.
"I think it's safe to say that the only risk those gifts pose is that he will be too busy with them to concentrate on schoolwork. And you can treat that as my professional opinion if you like, Molly."
"Why do I have a feeling you aren't telling me something, Mike?"
"No idea. Why do you?"
Dylan saw his Mom roll her eyes and shake her head. Then he looked back to his gifts. While he was still sceptical on the whole Santa issue, remembering how the gifts appeared out of nowhere under the tree, he had to admit that he should take a better look before dismissing the magic of Christmas so easily.
III
When they arrived at Henry's condo it was already a bit past two in the morning. While Vicki couldn't say she felt tired yet, she asked for another cup of coffee, figuring it was a sensible precaution. It didn't hurt that the taste of the drink itself wasn't half-bad either.
She was holding the steaming cup when Henry disappeared for a second. Then he was suddenly next to her again, holding a package.
"I think it's time you received your gift, wouldn't you agree?" He smiled at her.
"Henry, you already invited me here, you didn't need to... And besides, I'm not very good at the whole surprise thing...."
"If you open it, it won't be a surprise any longer."
She stared at the gift and the card with her name written in Henry's more than elegant handwriting, almost afraid to touch it. Finally she took it from his hands. It was a bit heavier then she expected looking at the size."
"Thank you." She managed.
"Aren't you going to open it?" She heard his amused voice say when she continued to stare at the gift for a while. She blinked and very slowly removed the wrapping.
A small box appeared before her eyes. A wooden one, incrusted with what looked like gemstones on the sides and with a suspiciously familiar red and white rose mosaic made of dyed wood on the top. Vicki dearly hoped it was some sort of copy, if only to spare her sanity from the implications it would carry otherwise, but with Henry she couldn't be sure.
A small key fell to her lap and only now she realised that the box was locked. With her hands shaking slightly she unlocked and opened it, revealing a piece of black fabric. From her limited knowledge on the topic she suspected it to be satin. It was lying unevenly, revealing something underneath. Cautiously she lifted it.
Earrings and a necklace glittered in the candlelight. She took one of the earrings and closely examined it. It was elegant, with gold embracing a tiger eye stone.
"I don't think I've heard of such mix before."
"It was custom made from my design. Tiger eye supposedly has protective abilities. I wouldn't put too much faith in that but with everything you seem to have a rare talent of involving yourself in, any protection can be of value."
Vicki had a distinct feeling that while the answer was truthful it wasn't a complete one. After some serious consideration she decided not to question him any further. Instead she focused on something else.
"Henry, those are practically two separate gifts. Don't think those aren't wonderful, they are, but isn't it a bit too much? And do I even want to know where you got that box from?"
"It's been lying around for some time. I thought you might like it."
"You do know this isn't very comforting coming from you, right?"
He grinned at her.
"You should know that my only concern is whether you like it or not. Do you?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"If your opinion indeed matches what you show wordlessly then I'm glad you find yourself liking the gift."
"Henry, this is more than... It's beautiful..." Vicki struggled to break out of speechlessness. "But compared to this, my gift for you seems really pitiful."
"If you'd give me nothing but your smile, it would already be a treasure that could not compare to any other."
"Smooth as usual. But I was serious."
"So was I." Vicki felt herself tremble under his intense gaze. She reached into her bag and retrieved a small package. Now that she looked at it, it seemed even smaller and less impressive than she remembered. If she could turn back time and look for something else she would have used the opportunity without batting an eye.
She looked down.
"I wish I had found something better for you." She whispered avoiding his eyes as she handed the gift to him.
"Vicki," Henry cupped her chin and gently lifted her face, making their eyes meet, "your presence here tonight alone is already a gift for me."
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Try to make me feel better. It only makes things worse."
"I wouldn't tell you anything if I didn't mean it, Victoria."
"Still, don't."
"Very well, if that's what you want. Am I at least allowed to enjoy your presence and like the gift once I open it?"
"Only if you honestly mean it."
He smiled amusedly at her and with an artistic precision removed the ribbon and then the tape from the wrapping paper. The process took him less than a minute but he still somehow managed to do that without any damage to the paper.
Vicki sighed and watched him as if hypnotised, waiting for the inevitable negative reaction to the gift.
III
Henry glanced at Vicki. She wasn't doing a very good job hiding the nervousness he felt radiating from her. Deciding to spare her the feeling, he looked back at the present and removed the wrapping, revealing a small sketchbook. In it, he found a white envelope. Intrigued he looked inside. It contained the photograph of Vicki in her uniform, that he remembered always seeing on her desk. The picture was torn into four pieces.
"You never met her." He heard her speak before he could turn to her for some explanation. Now he looked at the woman he loved, speaking quietly and staring at her hands. "Her name was Victory Nelson. She's been gone for about two years now but I still miss her. So does Mike. After all, she is still the one he loves."
"Vicki?"
"I'm not sure he even realises he does. But he always acts as if I was hiding her away somehow. He drops clues how I could go back to the force, allow things to be the way they were.... As if I could. Anyway, admitting to myself she wasn't coming back was hard. I always tried to keep things the way that if there was any chance of bringing Victory back I could, without a backwards glance."
She sighed heavily.
"I couldn't think of anything I could possibly give you that you might want. So letting go of her for good and allowing myself to go on with my life, allowing decisions that could not be taken back... that was supposed to be my present for you. I'd give you a new picture to go with that one but I figured you could do a much better job creating one yourself if you wanted. I know, the whole idea was pathetic..."
"I wouldn't say that." He put both the sketchbook and the envelope on the table and took her hands. "As far as I'm concerned it's anything but. It was a very hard decision for you and I'm honoured you considered me worthy of this gift." He allowed a moment for his words to sink in before he continued. "If I may ask, do you consider what is between us one of the areas where you avoided going further?"
"And if I do?"
He didn't respond, choosing instead to slowly close the distance between them, watching closely for any signs of her wishing to shift away. She didn't give any so he placed a soft kiss on her lips.
"If you do, this Christmas may mark the beginning of one of the happiest times in my life."
"One of the happiest?" Underneath her overwhelmed tone he could still hear the typical Vicki shining though.
"It wouldn't be nearly as interesting if we didn't give ourselves some room for improvement."
III
It was nearly six when Vicki started to lose her battle with sleepiness. She shifted a bit, finding a more comfortable position in Henry's arms and felt him kissing her hair.
"Henry?" She spoke quietly.
"Yes?"
"Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas to you too, Victoria. Thank you for this night."
"No. Thank you." She shifted once again, suddenly almost unable to fight sleep anymore.
She was happy, she realised suddenly just before she fell asleep. Honestly happy. She couldn't remember if she ever felt this ecstatic before.
Perhaps if she woke early enough she would even consider taking Mike up on that invitation, if just to see Dylan's reaction to the gifts. It was Christmas after all.
THE END
Merry Christmas to all the readers.