A Christmas Carol: A Once and Again version
Chapter 1
Author: j_rock873
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The title pretty much says it all. It takes place during the holiday season following the G.S.A. episode.
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story.
Reviews: Yes, I want them.
Author's notes: This is dedicated to an online friend who inspired me to write this story. It will be an attempt at another story with some fluff and a happy ending. As always, words in italics are personal thoughts and in all capital letters required special emphasis.
Friday; December 19, 2002; the last day of school before the Christmas/New Year's break
Katie was looking forward to the upcoming holiday. It would be her first Christmas with Jessie as her girlfriend. The anticipation of that first kiss under the mistletoe, exchanging presents with Jessie, and the hope that Jessie would choose this time to tell her family about them made it hard for her sleep some nights. However, Jessie was feeling varied emotions as Christmas approached. She loved that it would be the first Christmas with Katie as her girlfriend but hated that she didn't have the guts to admit it to her family. The promised support offered by Katie and Grace wasn't enough to change her mind. She didn't know how much longer it would last if she never came out. Katie never put any pressure on her, but she could see she was hurting Katie.
"Hey, Billie."
"Hi, Katie. Are you ready to go?"
"Duh," Katie exclaimed as she slammed her locker shut and grabbed Jessie by her arm before they rushed out of the school.
"What's with the rush, Katie?"
"I want to make the most of our holiday break."
"Is it ok if we just hang out at my house tonight? We can have fun tomorrow."
"Uh, ok," Katie answered carefully, "Is there anything wrong?"
"No, why would there be something wrong?"
"I don't know. It just seems like something is bothering you. Is it me?"
"Of course not. You're the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. You know that."
"Yeah, I do. I just like hearing you say it."
Katie saw no one was around, so she pressed Jessie up against the passenger side door of her car and gave her a hug. Jessie nervously pushed Katie back and looked around to see if anyone had seen them.
"What do you think you're doing, Katie? Someone could have seen us."
"It was only a hug, Billie. Besides, everyone knows we're JUST friends," Katie stated a little coldly.
"I'm sorry, Katie. It's just…"
"Whatever, let's get you home."
It was a quiet ride to the Sammler/Manning home. During the silence, Jessie became lost in thought. When she realized they had stopped, she glanced to her left and noticed Katie was gone. She let out a sigh as she slowly got out of the car and made her way to the front door while searching for her girlfriend.
"Katie, where are you? I guess she's still upset with me. Katie, are you still mad at…?"
Before she could finish the question, she felt something hit her on her left cheek. When she found out what it was, she frowned and turned to her left again.
"GOTCHA, Billie," Katie shouted as she came out from her hiding spot behind a tree with a snowball still in her hands.
"Don't you dare think about throwing that one," Jessie commanded as she pointed to Katie's hands.
"What are you going to do about it, Billie?"
"Well, I'm going to.., "Jessie got out before being hit in the chest with the snowball.
"You were warned, Katie. Now you suffer the consequences."
"Give it your best shot," Katie yelled before running away, but she was hit almost immediately on the head and back by snowballs.
"Not so tough now, are you, Singer?"
"Of course I am."
Katie was tackled to the ground by Jessie, who then pinned Katie's arms to her sides.
"Do you surrender?"
"I guess I don't have a choice, do I?"
"Nope."
"Ok, fine. I surrender."
Just as Jessie was leaning to give Katie a kiss, she was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"You two look like you're having fun."
"We were just having a snowball fight, Grace."
"I know. It was almost annoyingly cute, but it looked like you had more than that on your mind ten seconds ago. Are you coming inside now?"
"Yeah, give us a minute."
As Jessie was helping Katie up, Katie grabbed some more snow, smiled, and then splattered it onto Jessie's forehead.
"I can't believe you did that. Didn't you learn the first time?"
"Apparently not."
Grace sighed heavily as she watched the other two run inside, remove their coats and shoes, and wave hi to Lily as they made their way to the attic.
"What was that all about, Grace?"
"Katie and Jessie had a snowball fight. Katie dumped snow on Jessie's head before coming inside."
"How cute," Lily said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, cute," Grace remarked before rolling her eyes in her mother's direction.
Lily just stared in confusion as Grace headed upstairs to her room.
The attic, a few minutes later
While Jessing was closing the door, Katie leapt onto the bed. Then she smiled at her beautiful girlfriend, whose face was wet and cold from the snow.
"What's so funny?" Jessie asked when she reached the bed as she shivered a little bit.
"You just look so cute right now with that red face. Come here, I'll keep you warm."
"Ok."
"Does that feel better?" Katie questioned after drying the blonde's cheeks with the blanket on Jessie's bed and hugging her.
"Yeah, but you know what would help even more?" Jessie asked as she winked at Katie.
Katie said with a mischievous grin, "Yeah, I do. Could we possibly be thinking about the same thing?"
"I was thinking about some hot chocolate. How about you? Would you like some?"
"That's not what I was thinking about, but that sounds good. With marshmallows and whipped cream?"
"Definitely," Jessie replied along with a soft kiss on the lips before heading downstairs.
Jessie returned five minutes later with two steaming cups of hot chocolate covered with marshmallows and whipped cream. She gently sat hers down on the nightstand before handing Katie the other mug. Jessie advised her to be careful.
Katie carelessly gulped some down before jumping and shouting, "OW, THAT"S REALLY HOT!"
"I told you to be careful. Are you OK?"
"Like you care," Katie sneered when she saw Jessie giggling.
"I DO care. How could you say something like that?" Jessie quizzed with mock hurt.
"Well, it would be more convincing if you weren't laughing at me."
"It wasn't the reaction that made me giggle. It was something else."
"What was it then?"
"You have some whipped cream on your face."
"Really? Where?"
"There," Jessie muttered softly as she gently licked the excess cream off of Katie's upper lip and the tip of her nose.
This made her girlfriend blush tremendously.
"Th-Thanks, Billie."
"You're welcome."
The girls finished their hot chocolate in silence, but not without occasionally gazing at each other fondly. After they set the empty mugs on the night stand, they lay down on the bed and began a slightly heated make out session; but they were interrupted by Lily's voice coming from the other side of the closed door.
"Jessie, dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes."
"Thanks, Lily. Can Katie stay for dinner?"
"Sure, if it's alright with her parents."
"It's fine, Mrs. Sammler. Thank you."
The dining room, thirty minutes later
The girls made sure they appeared alright before they came downstairs, but Grace could tell what they had been doing.
"Are you and Katie ok, Jessie?"
"Huh? What are you talking about, Dad?"
"You two seem a little worn out. Did you have a rough day at school?"
"Uh," Jessie mumbled.
"Yes, it was a rough day for both of us. The teachers want to make sure we'll appreciate the holiday break even more," Katie babbled as she held Jessie's hand under the table.
"I'm glad to see you worked up an appetite, Jessie," Lily exclaimed happily as Jessie reached for a second helping of mashed potatoes.
Katie helped Jessie hold in the frustration of being singled out by giving her hand a soft squeeze. Rick tried easing the tension by directing the next questions at Katie.
"So, Katie, what are your plans for Christmas?"
"Well, due to some scheduling problems, we're celebrating it early this year. We'll probably do the whole get together thing in a few days. Why do you ask?"
"Well, the entire family will be celebrating here on Christmas Day. Lily and I would like to invite you over. You've been such a great friend to Jessie. We'd be honored if you would join us. Would you like to come over?"
"Sure, Mr. Sammler. I would love it."
"Please call me Rick."
"Ok, Rick. Thank you."
"Can Katie spend the night?"
"Sure, what are your plans for tonight?"
"We'll probably just watch some Christmas movies before going to bed. Can we be excused?"
"Yes, Jessie. I hope you enjoy the movies."
The rest of the night was spent with a brief make out session before watching some movies. They snuggled up on Jessie's bed as the watched the first two Home Alone movies and Scrooged with Bill Murray. Katie smiled at Jessie constantly through the movies and happily sighed as Jessie got choked up during the most sentimental moments of each movie. At the end of the final movie, Jessie directed her attention to Katie.
"I'm glad you seem so amused at watching me cry during these movies," Jessie mumbled with a little hurt showing on her face.
"No need to be upset, Billie. I just liked watching you get choked up at certain points of those movies. It explains why I love you so much."
"You love me?"
"Of course I do."
"What moments in those movies were you referring to, Katie?"
"Well, at the end of the first Home Alone, a few times in the second one, and a few times in Scrooged."
"Katie, I-I…"
"I know, Billie. Let's go to bed. I saw you beginning to yawn at the end of the last movie."
Jessie fell asleep about five minutes later while Katie gently ran her fingers through Jessie's hair. A few minutes later, Katie drifted off to sleep as well.