Disclaimer: I don't own 'em except for Samantha.
A/N: I wanted to write a Christmas story and when I mentioned it, my sister asked for one that included Samantha from my AU stories. So, I've made this an AU story. Oh, and I have to give credit to Criminally Charmed as she suggested that Alan escape. While I used her idea to a certain degree, I changed it to Gordon being a little Houdini.-sam1
All We Want for Christmas
Lights flickered on the Christmas tree and around the windows of the living room, creating the appearance of a traditional Christmas Eve. In reality, six children and their mother were missing their father and husband, Jeff. Called away on a training op, he hadn't been given a date of return. As such he couldn't alleviate the feelings of sadness that permeated the home on the day of his departure. Instead he hugged them all that much tighter and for just a bit longer than usual.
THUMP. Glancing towards the stairs, the twins sat side-by-side with their older brother, Scott, on one side of them and their next youngest brother, Virgil, on the other. Shrugging off the noise as nothing more than routine for a household with six children eight-years-old and younger, they turned back to the television. Lucy had allowed them to watch "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" before their bedtime. Unfortunately, that didn't go over really well with the two youngest Tracy children, Gordon and Alan. Lucy had had to carry both squirming toddlers up to the bedroom they shared.
The quietness of the evening was shattered when a scream rent the air. "I DON'T WANT TO GO NIGHTY-NIGHT! I WANT MY DADDY!" Another thump was quickly followed by the sound of someone small running. The four older siblings looked at the staircase just as the youngest Tracy scrambled down the stairs, half sliding on his backside. Their mother, Lucy, was close behind him but having been chased many times by older siblings, Alan had become quite adept at escaping and evading the hands of prospective captors. He quickly disappeared in the darkened hallway before Lucy could grab him. No one noticed the other half of the Terrible Two, sitting midway down on the stairs.
"Are you gonna help, Mommy?" Virgil asked, looking at Scott. John and Samantha glanced over at him as well, waiting to hear the response that they knew was forthcoming.
"Yeah," Scott answered, resigned. He loved his brothers and sister but sometimes Alan just plain wore him out and if Gordy was part of it…he shuddered at the memory of the Terrible Two and some of their antics. Hurrying through the doorway to the dining room, he finally met up with his mother in the obviously empty kitchen. "Where'd he go?" Dropping down on his knees, he looked under the table cloth on the kitchen table.
"At least, I know he didn't go outside. The door is still locked," Lucy said, relief lacing her words. She retraced her steps on the off-chance that Alan may have ducked into the small bathroom or coat closet. With only the buzzing of the fluorescent lights to keep him company, or so he thought, Scott heard something familiar. Listening hard, he heard it again. Sniffle. Stealthily, he scooted across the floor to the cabinets that gleamed with a rich walnut stained shine in the large kitchen. He paused at each cabinet door until he reached the doors beneath the sink.
Sniffle. "I wan' my daddy."
"Have you found him, Scotty?" Scott looked up and saw his mother in the doorway, walking towards him, quietly. Slowly, he pulled the door open and they found Alan curled beneath the pipes, sniffling miserably. Crouching down, Lucy gently pulled her youngest son into her arms. "Shh, Allie, I know that you want your daddy. Just as your brothers, sister, and I want him. But he's at work and I need you to be a big boy until he comes home, okay?"
Stubborn as ever, Alan shook his head. "I wan' Daddy. I won' sweep until him comes home and reads me a story and kisses me nighty-night." Resigned, Lucy simply carried him upstairs and tucked him in. Defiantly, he stared up at the ceiling after she kissed him goodnight.
"I love you, Allie." Her voice was soft and calm. All the things that Alan was accustomed to.
Sliding off his bed, he grabbed her legs, "I love you, too, Mommy."
Kneeling down, she enveloped him in a tight embrace. "I love you, too, Sweetie. Climb back up so that you can go to sleep."
"No sweep until Daddy comes home, 'member," he argued.
"Okay, then how about you just lie in your bed quietly so that you don't wake Gordy," she countered, glancing at the red-head's bed. "One of the few times, I've ever seen him so still. He must have been exhausted."
"Okay, Mommy," he agreed. "I not wake Bubby." Pulling himself back onto the twin-sized bed, Alan settled beneath the blankets and stared up at the ceiling, arms tucked under his head.
"Is he going to sleep?"
Startled, Lucy jumped before she realized that Scott was standing in the hallway. "You startled me, Scotty." Drawing her first-born son against her in a one-armed hug, she led him away from the door and towards the stairs. "He's adamant that he'll stay awake until your father gets home."
"When is Dad coming home again, Mom?" Scott's voice trembled just a bit and she knew that her other children were missing their father just as much as Alan was. Only Alan was more vocal than the others.
"I'm not sure, Scotty." She admitted, reluctantly. "All that he could tell me before he left was that he was assigned to a training op as leader."
"Will he be home for Christmas?" The small shake of her head was the only answer he received before he turned and ran to the bedroom he and Virgil shared. Stunned, Lucy could only watch him run from her.
"Mommy, what's wrong with Scotty?" For the second time that evening, Lucy was startled. Samantha, John, and Virgil stood at the top of the stairs, watching her.
"He's a little sad, Sammie," she answered, shepherding them to the bathroom. "It's bedtime for all little boys and girls. Brush your teeth and go to bed. I'll be around to tuck you in after I lock everything up downstairs." Leaving the three children to brush their teeth, she hurried downstairs to shut the lights and television off and then make sure that the doors were locked for the night. A small draft near the bottom of the stairs drew her towards the heavy front door. The same heavy front door that had been locked all day. The very same door that now was unlocked and cracked open. A quick scan of the snow boots neatly lined up along the wall showed that one small pair of boots was now absent.
Outside and all alone
Huffing and puffing in the frosty night air, the slight figure pulled his knit hat down over his ears. "Gramps can make Daddy come home. Daddy has to listen to his daddy or he'll be in big trouble." Stumbling on, he kept the bright lights of his grandparent's home in sight. It was lucky for him and his siblings that Grandma and Gramps had given Jeff and Lucy a couple of acres of land and helped them build a house on it when they'd first announced their engagement. It wasn't so lucky for the little boy who had left his coat in the coat closet and was only wearing his knit hat and one-piece fleece pajamas with his feet shoved in his boots. For even just an acre and a half in freezing temperatures was quite a distance for a small child. Even if he were extremely determined to reach his destination. A lone howl echoed the frozen landscape, making his hair stand on end along the nape of his neck. "Go 'way, Wolfie. I'm not 'fraid of you. Go 'way!" Picking up his pace, he didn't notice the snapping of a few twigs.
"SCOTT!" Lucy's sudden shout brought her children to the top of the stairs. All except one. "Watch your brothers and sister. Gordy snuck out of the house." Zipping her coat and shoving her feet into her boots, she all but ran through the front door, slamming it firmly behind her. "GORDON? WHERE ARE YOU?" Peering down at the little bit of snow that had fallen, she could make out the faint tracks from a small pair of boots. Trying to follow the tracks and listen for any wild life that was surely out hunting for food, she prayed that she'd find her son, her miracle before something bad could happen.
"Gramps, Gordy snuck out and Mommy went out to try and find him," Scott said, speaking into the phone. "Can you help her find him? She didn't take a flashlight or her rifle."
"I'm heading out now, Scotty. You stay indoors and watch over your brothers and sister, understand?"
"Yes, Sir." Scott replaced the receiver on the base and stared at his brothers and sister without really seeing them.
"Scotty?" Reaching out, Sammie gently touched her big brother's arm. "Gordy'll be okay, won't he? Gramps and Mommy'll find him before Wolfie gets him, right?"
Trying to be brave for his younger siblings, Scott nodded. "Yeah, Sammie, they'll find him but—"
"WISH ON A STAR!" John rushed for the big window behind the couch, clambering up on it and shoving the curtains aside. "No stars, Scotty, there are too many clouds." Dejected, John slumped on the couch with Sammie and Virgil next to him.
"Call Santa." Alan's little voice broke the silence. "Mommy told me to push this button." Holding the cordless receiver, he pushed a button. When it was answered, he spoke, "Santa, can you bring Gordy home? He lefted home and we not know why. But you bring him home for us, 'kay?" Scott snatched the phone from his baby brother's hand and disconnected the call without checking to see who his brother had called.
"SCOTTY! IT'S SNOWING HARD!" Jumping up on the couch, Scott peered out the window in disbelief. It wasn't just snowing hard; it was the start of a blizzard…the same one that had been predicted earlier in the day.
"Just where do you think you're running off to, young man?" A thick arm scooped him up and was rewarded with a piercing scream of fright.
"MOMMMYYY! HHEELLLPPP MMEEEE!" Gordon's cry of fright cut through the darkness. Kicking and hitting for all he was worth, he didn't hear the next thing that this person said. Suddenly, he felt warmer and realized through his fear that he had been zipped up in the coat that the man wore. A familiar scent tickled his nose. "Daddy?"
"Who'd you think I was, Gordy?" Holding his son tight, he jogged back towards where his car had slid off the frozen driveway. Grabbing his cell phone, he dialed his parent's home to let them know that his car was off the driveway and stuck so that they didn't see it and worry.
"I'll let your dad know when he gets back in. Lucy called, upset, because Gordy ran away."
"Call Dad, I've got Gordy right here," Jeff said. Relieved that he'd seen his son as he was hoofing it up the drive to their house.
"Oh, thank the Lord that you found him."
"Mom, I've got to run. Blizzard conditions and I've got something important to get back to the house."
"Run, Jeff, and call when you reach the house."
"Will do." Holding tight to Gordon, he ran towards their home.
"GORDON? ANSWER MOMMY!" Lucy's shouts were just about lost but a slight niggling sensation along her neck had her turning back towards her home. Blindly running the way she came, she slipped and fell on her knees, scrambled back up and continued to run.
"Grant, Jeff found Gordy and he's heading home with him now. Come home."
"Be there quick as I can, Beth." Snapping his cell phone closed, Grant put his ATV into gear and headed back to his barn. After shutting down the ATV, he ran to the warmth of his home.
A loud banging on the door startled the children staring out the window. Bravely, Scott led them to the door and cautiously opened it.
"IT'S THE BOMINABLE SNOWMAN!" Alan screamed, running for the stairs.
A child's laughter stopped him before he'd run to far. "It's not the Bominable Snowman. It's Daddy and me." Shaking the snow from his coat and hat, Jeff laughed with his son.
"I got a phone call from Santa saying that I was needed at home," he said. "And well, since my family needed me, here I am." Pushed forward by someone running into him, he stepped into the house with Lucy right behind him. She slammed the door closed, shivering. "A simple hello would have been nice, Honey."
"JEFF! Oh, you're home," she cried, frozen tears on her face. "Gordy, he ran away."
"Daddy found me, Mommy," Gordon piped up from where he was still fastened against his dad. "We wanted Daddy to come home so I was gonna get Gramps to make him come home."
Fumbling to unzip her husband's coat, Lucy finally managed to hug her son. "Don't you ever do that again, Gordy. You scared me so much. Thank you Lord." More tears slid down her cheeks as one by one her other children hugged her until the whole family was standing in the entryway, hugging.
"How did you know Gordon was AWOL?" The Tracys were gathered at the dining room table with Gramps and Grandma, enjoying Christmas dinner. A small Christmas tree sparkled in the corner of the room, adding to the warm family get-together.
"Santa told me." Grinning, he refused to elaborate. "I'm glad that he did because this has been a Christmas that I'll never forget." Glancing at the jovial red-head, he added, "And one that had never be repeated."
Giggling, Gordon nodded, "I'll be good, Daddy." Four snorts of laughter from four very different children sounded around the room. Sheepishly, Gordon corrected himself. "I'll try to be good but…"