I do not own these characters and make no profit from their use.

A Happy Christmas for All

Prologue

This year was a "First Christmas" celebration for Phoebe in two ways. The first way was that it was her first Christmas as Phoebe Everett. Last year, she had been Nanny to Professor Harold Everett's three children, not to mention himself. This year she was his wife and their mother. Arguably, she had no idea that so many things could change within the short span of a year. But perhaps she had known something could happen.

Looking back to last Christmas Eve, a literally stolen kiss under the mistletoe had alerted them both to the attraction, equally denied by both. However only a few short weeks later, their fates were upended and that attraction became undeniable. It was because of her other "first."

This would be the first Christmas for her and her younger sister following the untimely passing of their parents. Thus mingled with the joy of becoming the mother of her new family was the sorrow at the loss of her old. Throwing herself into the busy season so that she could make it memorable for her new husband and children could only distract her but so much. There were also quiet times when she mourned their loss and wished that they could be there.

When she was alone in the house, sometimes she would go down to the living room where the family creche was that she had inherited from her father. It was really the only thing that she had of them. The house back in Cornwall, full of its family memories and treasures, was locked up and waiting for her to return and sort through what remained of her parents' lives. She had no desire to go there now. The very thought was still too painful.

However, she had very much wanted the creche for Christmas this year. It would be her link between her past and present lives, as well as the future. Someday, it would be passed down to her oldest son. One afternoon, she was looking at the figures when her husband came in.

"It's beautiful," he said from behind her.

She jumped, startled by the sound of his voice. She had not heard him come in.

"Are you feeling all right?" he asked, his voice filled with care and concern. "You never startle. In fact, you usually greet me before I've even gotten through the door."

She felt him slip his arms around her. She felt the warmth of his embrace and the strength of his love. They soothed her aching heart.

"I suppose that I was so caught up in remembering the past that my radar shut down," she replied, weakly attempting to make a joke of it.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said gently. "It's me. You don't have to put up a front. If you miss them I understand. The first Christmas is always the hardest."

She turned and buried her face in his shoulder. She could feel him stroking her hair. He knew. He had spent four Christmases without his first wife. He knew the grief and the longing. In some ways, for him it had been harder. He had been alone with the children that first year, and unable to make the holiday anything for them other than a few token gifts. Yet for her it was hard in its own way. She was surrounded on all sides by love and family and good cheer. Last Christmas, she had spread joy and fun all around. This year, there were times when all she wanted to do was escape it.

But Hal was right. He was there for her to shelter her from the exuberance of her family when she needed peace. He would hold her up when she felt weak. She did not need to disguise her feelings from him. He understood. This first Christmas, their true first Christmas together, would be filled with laughter and good cheer. But in the bittersweet moments like these, he would be there. And his steady light would keep her focused on the good things happening around her.

The Nativity

Phoebe was pleased and proud at the way that the Nativity pageant had turned out. The costumes and sets looked beautiful, thanks mostly to her in-laws, Catherine and Rob Everett. The singing was wonderful and all of her children performed well. Prudence was clearly pleased to be on stage. Butch was less so, but he did seem to enjoy importantly moving props with his friend Tim around in between tableaux. Hal was happy as a clam, working with his good friend Topher on lights and sound. Phoebe really did like the older boy and thought that he was a very good influence on Hal.

Her sister Trelawney was off to the side playing the piano. Her playing was wonderful as always but it was not the focus of the show. The piano was turned so that she could see the stage and know when the singers were ready for her to transition into the next song. She could not be seen over the top of the opened baby grand.

Sitting between Hal and her cousin Emmeline, she was very happy. Behind them sat Rob, Catherine, and Hal's two brothers, Bob and Ben. It had not occurred to her that they would make such a fuss over her pretty cousin, but it certainly made sense. The lady herself seemed entertained by the attention.

When the show was over, she saw Trelawney stand up and look towards the back of the parish hall. She couldn't tell what she was looking at, but Phoebe became concerned. Out of the chaos of families and children laughing and running around strode her good friend Pastor Jason.

"Come with me," he said urgently and took her arm. She didn't have time to even look at Hal. He walked her out one of the back doors and standing in the silvery light she saw Trelawney, who was focused on something in the dark. To reassure herself that the child was safe, she called her name, put her hands on her shoulders, and peered out into the darkness herself.

As her eyes became accustomed to the dim light she could see that she was looking at her friend Lois, and the children's maternal grandparents, Tom and Bernice Williams. The girl's focus was on Bernice, who had resolutely refused to accept her as her grandchildren's new stepmother.

It was a situation that was breaking her heart. Even though she knew that she had done nothing wrong, she still felt responsible. She and Hal had fallen in love years after their daughter had passed away. Hal had begun to date before he had even met her. She had loved and cared for the children without any intention of one day becoming their mother. She wanted the children to know the love of all their grandparents. Trelawney knew how she felt and it seemed that she had decided to take matters into her own hands.

Trelawney had seemed completely unaware of her and was talking about an angel. She was talking in her usual syllogistic constructions about knowing and not knowing. Unlike the five adults around her, she was utterly confident in the outcome. Before Phoebe knew it Trelawney had placed her hand in Bernice's. It all became clear.

Trelawney wanted Bernice to accept her, so that her angel would no longer weep. She could feel the strength of Pastor Jason's prayers behind her. The force of his prayers was powerful, as a being such as he was. She knew instinctively that he was praying on behalf of Helen's spirit, trying to effect a change of heart in her mother that would set her own heart at rest. True love never forgets. Even angels can weep.

She had not realized how much she had wanted the reconciliation herself until this very moment. She was troubled that her presence had caused the division within the family. It made sense that Trelawney had known and when she saw the Williams had been determined to effect that reconciliation. Unlike the rest of the family, she refused to believe that it was impossible. She was determined to make it possible.

It was her Christmas gift to them all. It was one that only she would be able to give. She was no ordinary child. With her second sight she had seen the heartbroken woman for who she was. Phoebe could see the confusion in Bernice's face, but could feel herself begging her to give in.

At that moment, she wanted nothing more than that her family would be healed. She did not know from whence the change of heart came, whether it was the power of prayer or the simple faith of the child, but suddenly Bernice had taken her in her arms. And before she knew it, there were only three of them, Tom, Bernice, and herself. It was Bernice who was now in tears.

"Forgive me, Phoebe," she said. "I have done you a great injustice."

"I have forgiven you," she replied. "You must now forgive yourself. You have done yourself an even greater injustice."

"You are a beautiful person to bear me no resentment," said Bernice. "I can see now why Hal and the children love you."

"They love you too," replied Phoebe.

"No they don't," she answered. "They hate me."

Phoebe looked at Tom.

"Dear, they don't hate you," he said. "You hurt them. But they don't hate you."

"Please come inside and see them," said Phoebe. "I have been trying to teach them about love and family. I want them to see that you can never have too much love or too much family. The greatest gift that you can give them this year is the gift of love. They need the love of all their grandparents."

"I want to come in and see them," said Tom. "I think that you should come in with me. If they see you with Phoebe, if they see that you have accepted her, it will make them all very happy."

"We will go in together," said Phoebe.

Convinced, Bernice allowed Phoebe to walk her in. Phoebe was proud of her children as they came forward and one by one accepted her as their grandmother. But she was very glad when Hal came over so that she could lean on him. Now that the pageant was over, she was very tired. All she wanted to do was go home, but she was grateful for the refreshments. They meant that she did not have to go home to cook and clean up after dinner.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

When they arrived home, Emmeline and Trelawney insisted that she relax in the living room with the family while they got the tea, coffee, cocoa, and cookies. Ben and Bob also insisted on "helping." Trelawney watched in amusement as the two of them fell over each other trying to help Em. After they had been chased out into the living room with the cookies, she looked at her cousin.

"I must be slipping," said the little girl. "I didn't see that one coming."

"I don't think that anyone did," replied Emmeline. "Now I know that you are going to find this situation very tempting, but I ask that you do show some respect for your elders."

"Oh, don't be a spoilsport!" said Trelawney. "You didn't see the lengths that they went to to humiliate Phoebe and the Professor back in October."

"I didn't see it," replied Emmeline. "But courtesy of yourself, I certainly did hear of it. Christmas is time for forgiveness, not revenge."

"True enough," agreed the child.

Emmeline noticed that she would not promise to behave herself. As usual, she wouldn't lie. She certainly had to wonder how such a pair as Rob and Catherine could have three somewhat obtuse sons as Hal, Ben, and Bob. However, Hal had proven that he was not beyond redemption so perhaps there was hope for the other two.

When they returned to the living room, she took it upon herself to pour while Trelawney distributed the cups. She noticed that Phoebe was curled up against Hal, obviously quite tired. The children were about as wound up as she had ever seen them. She wondered at the wisdom of loading them up with more sugar, however she suspected that once in bed they would drop off pretty quickly.

Once finished, she purposely seated herself next to Catherine. The children, much to their chagrin, were demanding their uncles' complete attention. Trelawney had opened the piano and was softly playing Tchaikovsky as she talked to Rob who was seated beside her on the bench. Emmeline hadn't realized that she had known, let alone liked the Nutcracker Suite. Catherine noticed her attention on her cousin.

"We took Prudence and her to see the Nutcracker last weekend," she said. "She has quite an ear for music. She has been playing bits and pieces ever since."

"Well, we have always been told that she has perfect pitch," answered Emmeline carefully. "And what has been called a 'phonographic memory.' It's something along the lines of a photographic memory, except it's for sound."

"That makes sense," replied Catherine. "She seems to have an excellent memory for everything. She's a wonderful little seamstress as well."

"Yes," said Emmeline, happy to have moved to a safer subject. "Isn't she? My aunt, Phoebe's mother, was a wonderful craftswoman. She taught both of them everything about sewing, knitting, embroidery, and all the homely crafts. Trelawney would sit with her for hours, usually while all the other children were outside playing."

"I sensed that she was very close to her mother," said Catherine.

Emmeline agreed.

"More so than Phoebe. It is not always easy to see below the surface of either of them," she explained. "For the past year, each has been grieving in her own way. Phoebe has moved on a bit, but that's because she married. Trelawney, I suspect, is still living in the past."

"I enjoy spending time with her," said Catherine. "Rob and I both do. She's not much like the other children."

Emmeline once again was on the alert. How much had the Everetts ascertained about her little cousin? However, she didn't have time to pursue it. Hal must have decided that he didn't want the kids up too late because he called them all together. She decided that she would definitely stay beyond tomorrow for more conversation with them.

She had also not had a chance to speak with Pastor Jason. Mentally she sighed. If she hung around a little longer, no doubt "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" would also stick around. Hopefully the kids would distract them so she could go about her business. It occurred to her that Trelawney's aptitude for mischief and her ability to lead the others into it might actually come in handy.

"It's time for some old Everett family traditions," he said, holding a hammer and some nails.

Then, one by one, each child brought his or her stocking up to be hung above the fireplace. Hal hung his "Dad" stocking and then Phoebe hung her "Mom" stocking.

"What happened to the 'Nanny' stocking from last year?" asked Prudence.

"Oh, it's buried among some of the old Christmas decorations," answered Phoebe.

Once the stockings were hung, Rob read the letter, "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" and Catherine read the poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas."

"Hey," said Bob. "I haven't heard those in years! You used to read them to us every year!"

"Well," said Catherine. "We wanted to share and pass down the tradition to our grandchildren."

"And now," said Hal. "I'm going to follow a Figalilly family tradition. Phoebe's father always read St. Matthew's Nativity story and then the family would put the figures into the creche."

"Mum always put in the baby Jesus," added Trelawney, with a mischievous look at Emmeline. "This year Phoebe will, because she's the Mum."

Hal opened his Bible to the correct passage. Emmeline noted that Prudence had seated herself on Phoebe's lap to listen, while Trelawney had nestled herself under Catherine's arm. A thought crossed her mind and she quickly put it out. That would never do.

They all listened attentively to the story. Emmeline noticed that the kids were settling down now. By the time Hal was done and they had put the figures in the creche, even the boys were beginning to nod off. They had no difficulties getting them up to bed.

Once the children were all tucked into bed, it was time to bring the presents in. Hal grimaced when his father asked to borrow the station wagon to help with the load. As the boxes were brought in, Phoebe's mouth dropped open.

"What is all this? Did you boys buy out F.A.O. Schwartz on your way to town?" she asked.

"Don't blame me, Sis," replied Ben. "Most of this stuff was already in the house when we got there."

Rob chuckled and Catherine beamed.

"The children decided to make Christmas presents this year," she said. "Hal and Butch worked with Rob in the workshop downstairs and Prudence and Trelawney worked with me upstairs in the sewing room. It started out as gifts for you because you don't like store bought gifts and before we knew it, they were making gifts for Hal and each other."

"Well, I'll be," said Hal. "That's why they've been up at your place for the last few weeks during every spare moment."

"It was so wonderful of you to help them," added Phoebe.

"Are you kidding?" said Rob. "I got to spend a lot of time with my grandsons. I feel like I know them better than I ever have before. It was a Christmas present before Christmas!"

"And I've had the pleasure of spending time with two delightful little girls!" added Catherine. "What fun it was discovering how much Trelawney loved sewing and embroidery. Not many girls today are interested in those crafts anymore. And of course Prudence wants to do everything that she does so now we have two budding craftswomen."

The grandparents exchanged a conspiratorial glance, but no one paid much attention. There were so many things, some of them odd sizes, to bring in. There was one very large, unwrapped gift however that stood out. Rob had gotten a kit for a large size wooden Victorian dollhouse from a catalogue in New York City. Such dollhouses needed to be constructed and painted by a master craftsman. It was his gift to Prudence, via Santa of course. Ben and Bob assured them that it would be lavishly furnished.

Because of the expense of the other children's toys, Trelawney was getting several cartons of books. Emmeline rolled her eyes.

"I guess we won't be seeing her for the rest of vacation," she commented.

"No great loss to me!" replied Bob.

Emmeline raised her eyebrows at him and he quickly apologized. Ben coughed to cover a laugh and Catherine had to look away. It had been a while since she had seen either of her older sons make fools of themselves in front of a woman. She suspected that the sophisticated, young British woman before them would show no mercy if either got out of hand.

When everything was finally moved in and Santa's milk and cookies disposed of before Waldo could get to them, Phoebe and Hal could finally go upstairs to their bedroom.

"You first," said Hal, as he locked the door.

Phoebe smiled gratefully and went in the bathroom. She never took long. When she came out, Hal couldn't help himself. He gathered her in his arms. He had missed her. Throughout the day he could show his affection in a hundred different ways through kisses and hugs and allowing her to rest against him. But only when they were alone could he demonstrate his full passion. Picking her up, he lay her on the bed and whispered, "Wait."

When he returned, she was ready for him. Tonight he was eager for her. He always felt that way when they spent their day surrounded by family who demanded their attention in different directions. It was almost harder for him to be in the same room and not be able to touch her the way he wanted to than to be off at the university by himself. Her proximity was an aphrodisiac and to deny himself was a strain. But now she was there. Responsive in his arms to every pleasure that he offered her, and offering a few to him herself.

When they were finished, he pulled her close again. He knew that she was weary, but he needed to tell her something.

"I love you more than anyone I have ever known," he said softly. "You are my angel wife."

She looked into his eyes with astonishment. She knew what it took for him to say that. There were many things about his relationship with his first wife that she did not know. Just as he allowed her to have her own private thoughts, so she permitted him. In fact, if she was aware that he was thinking about Helen, she never tried to discern his memories. When he was ready, she would let him tell her himself. However, she did know that they had had a strong marriage and that he had loved her deeply.

A love such as that never dies, but it can be superseded by a later relationship. This was an admission that he had let go of his first wife completely and was now absolutely committed to her. She had not expected it, at least not so shortly after they were married. Earlier in the evening, Prudence had been talking about her angel Mommy and her earth Mommy. To be his "angel wife" was very special indeed. But looking back into his eyes she recognized the truth of his words. He had saved them for this most special night of the year for them. It was a most precious gift.

"I have never loved anyone as I love you," she said quietly, wishing that he could understand just how many other "anyones" that that included. "I will never love anyone this way again."

He smiled and then adjusted them so that he was surrounding her as she slept, "spooning," as it was called. On a night like tonight, with the door locked, there was nothing in between them. He always wanted to sleep like that now. She didn't mind. It made her feel safe and special. He seemed to be guarding her, watching over her. She didn't know why, but it was nice.

Christmas Morning

Due to the limitation of only being able to look in their stockings, Christmas morning was not nearly as crazy or as early as it otherwise might have been. The kids were up at a reasonable hour, seven am. They went down to check their stockings after they had awakened Emmeline, Phoebe, and Hal. When they entered the living room, Prudence's eyes grew large as saucers.

"Is that for me?" she asked, looking at the dollhouse.

"Well, it's certainly not for me or one of the boys," said Trelawney. "Why don't we have a look see?"

The two girls went over to inspect it. Butch and Hal were smiling at each other. They had watched the progress of the construction over the past month and had even helped a little bit themselves. Trelawney was inspecting the craftsmanship.

"Well it took Santa and his elves quite a bit of time and effort to build this beauty," she said. "I should think that such a wonderful house as this could only come from his workshop. What do you say, Phoebe?"

"Absolutely," her sister agreed. "Why I believe that he brought you one like it when you were Prudence's age."

"Well," said Trelawney. "Mine was a Queen Ann and this is a Victorian, but yes it was also quite large and detailed. It's a good thing that Father Christmas has a bit of magic to help him deliver such a monstrosity. I can't imagine how he got it down the chimney."

"Christmas really is magic," said Prudence awestruck. "This was my secret wish."

"Your secret wish?" asked Butch.

"Trelawney told me that Father Christmas doesn't like greedy little children who want lots and lots of toys," she explained. "But if you wished in secret for one really special gift and you were a very good little girl, you got it."

Phoebe and Emmeline were doing their best not to smile too broadly. This was actually an old Figalillly family game used to keep the letters to Father Christmas short. Last night when asked how he decided to take on such a project for Prudence, Rob had replied, with a twinkle in his eye, that a little bird had told him. Trelawney being Trelawney, they had no doubt that she had gotten the secret wish out of Prudence without her realizing it and passed it along.

It was a sweet gesture on the part of the older girl. It was not always possible to read her motives, but Phoebe suspected that it was her own way of thanking Prudence for being her "wee fairy" to light the darkness when she had nightmares.

"I never heard of that before," said Butch skeptically.

However, his older brother must have decided not to spoil his little sister's Christmas fun and said, "It must be an English thing, right Mom?"

"Right, Hal," said Phoebe. "Now let's have some breakfast and then it's off to church."

"Oh, man!" said Butch. "It's Christmas, do we have to?"

"Yes, son," said Hal. "It's Christmas, therefore we have to."

"I do believe that we'll be seeing the two heathens there as well," commented Trelawney. "Although I doubt they'll be complaining if they know that Em is to be there."

Emmeline simply arched an eyebrow and casually commented that she had no idea of what she was talking about. Serves them right, thought Hal to himself, after what they put me through last October. He had decided that for once he would let Trelawney cut loose and have some fun. Between her and Emmeline it could be quite a show.

As Trelawney predicted, both Ben and Bob were in attendance at the Christmas service, smiling and cheerfully participating in the service, even (badly) singing. Emmeline, an agnostic herself, was once again amused.

Because it was Christmas, there was no Sunday school. Instead, for his sermon, Pastor Paul called all the children up to the front of the sanctuary so that he could read them the tale of "The Little Drummer Boy."

Before he read the story, he had a couple of questions for the children.

"So, do you know why we're all here this morning?" he asked.

One little boy was frantically waving his hand.

"So that my Dad can finish building my new bike and then say that Santa forgot to bring it last night," he said cheerfully.

Everyone laughed. Another girl raised her hand more politely.

"We are here because Jesus was born in Bethlehem," she said.

"Very good," said Pastor Paul. "Does anyone know what his parents names were?"

More hands went up.

"Mary and Joseph," said a little boy.

"Very good," said Pastor Paul. Now does anyone know how they got to Bethlehem?"

Once again several hands went up. This time, Pastor Paul called on Butch's friend Martin.

"They flew on a plane," he said confidently. There was a ripple of laughter through the congregation. Seeing that Pastor Paul was looking at him funny, he added,

"You know, Pontius the Pilate flew them in his plane, right Dad?"

Dr. Pulski, one of Hal's colleagues from the math department at the university, slid down in his seat as the laughter increased. Prudence however decided to set him straight. Tossing her head in a gesture that she now frequently copied from Trelawney, she said,

"Mary rode on a donkey and Joseph walked along side them."

"Very good, Prudence," said Pastor Paul, ignoring the foolishness that preceded.

"Now, how many of you got presents this morning?" he asked.

Every hand went up.

"How many of you gave presents?" he asked?

Almost all the hands went up. Butch called out, "Does it count if you're going to give presents later?"

"Yes, Butch," said Pastor Paul. "It does."

The rest of the hands went up. Emmeline inwardly laughed at the literal minds of the children.

"This is a story about a little boy who was too poor to buy a present for Jesus. So he gave him the gift of music," he said and began to read the story.

Watching her cousin sitting and holding her husband's hand, Emmeline had to wonder at the change in her. There was a glow of serenity and happiness about her, no doubt due to her own blessed, albeit unknown, condition. There was a time not so long ago that she would have scoffed at the idea that she would settle down, marry, and have a family of her own. Yet there she was, clearly content with the way her life had worked out.