Silent Night, Holy Night

My usual disclaimer; all copyrights go to those who rightfully own them.

First off, a loud shout out to IcyWaters for hearing out this idea. So thank you so much. I've written this in time for the holidays. I loved the character of Else Krieger so much that I decided to write this little story. This takes place between The Hornet's Girl and The Secret of Mallory House, so this is Christmas of 1931. This is really fluffy.

In any case, enjoy and destroy.

Dark. Cold. Frightened. Papa's angry and scarred face looking down at her. You know what the Jews did to your Mama? They hurt her so badly. Jack is a Jew. It's Jack's fault that you don't have your Mama. It's Jack's fault your Papa is mean.

No Papa! Else wanted to scream but couldn't. Jack was so nice...and took such good care of her…the gun by her head. What was Papa doing?! Jack screaming at Papa to put the gun down. If you don't do as I say, then I'll kill Else…

Else woke up screaming. She looked around the pale pink bedroom in fright. Where was she? What was going on? Where was Papa?

Then it came to her. It was all a bad dream. She had been adopted by Jack and Britt. They were living in Britt's big penthouse. It was Christmas Eve. Her first Christmas without Papa. Because Papa was…

It didn't make sense. Else thought, crying. How could Papa do that? He was so nice and claimed to love her so much. Then he became a monster…and yet she missed her Papa. She missed him so much. And it was her fault…if she hadn't gotten so friendly with Jack, then none of this would've happened…

"Else?! Else?! What happened?!" Jack ran in. She had draped her long red robe over her shoulders. Her cast stuck out from under her robe.

"Papa…" Else cried, holding her arms up. Jack got the hint and hugged her. "He was so mean!" Else buried her head into Jack's warm red robe. It smelled familiarly of her rose and lily perfume. A safe smell. A loving smell.

"It was just a bad dream. It's ok. He's gone now." Jack soothed, rubbing Else's scalp.

"Else? Are you ok?" Britt came in, also dressed in his robe and slippers.

"She had a nightmare." Jack told Britt. Else hiccupped as Jack rocked her back and forth, kissing the top of her head. "Poor baby."

"I'm…scared…" Else gasped between sobs.

"It's ok Ells; we're not going to let him get you." Britt said, sitting next to Jack and Else.

For a moment, they were silent. Jack hugged Else and Britt rubbed her scalp. "Hey…I'm not feeling really sleepy so do you guys want to join me for a mug of spiced cider?" Jack broke the silence.

"Yeah, that sounds great. What do you think, Ells?" Britt added.

Else loved the spiced cider that Kato had made that morning. She nodded, smiling.

"Ok, I'll go make some." Jack said, gently untangling herself from Else's grip. "Britt, do you mind staying with Else while I warm up the cider?"

"No problem." Britt said. "Actually, how about we go into our room and you can bring the cider there? We can all sit together on the bed and drink it there."

"That sounds like a great idea. I'll be back in a couple of moments." Jack left the bedroom, her robe flickered behind her.

"Come on, Ells, let's go get nice and cozy." Britt said, standing up and scooping Else into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried her into the bedroom with its spacious bed. It was nicer looking than Else's bedroom with more things in it. A light burned from the lamp sitting by the bedside. He put her down on the bed. "Now let's get these pillows all situated." Britt muttered, piling the pillows against the headboard into a big fluffy mound. "There. That's all better." Britt sat down on one side, Else snuggled up next to him. He wrapped one arm around her.

They sat there together, nice and quiet. Britt rubbed Else's hair, she could see the golden wedding band glowing by the beside lamp light. She snuggled closer to him. He was so nice to her, the big brother or uncle she always wanted. But then she remembered Grandpa Dan and something he told her when they went to Christmas Eve Mass…

"Ells…are you ok?" Britt asked.

"Grandpa Dan told me I had to call you and Jack Mama and Papa now." Else blurted out. Britt looked at her in surprise.

"When did he tell you this?"

"It was at church. He took me to light the candles. Papa told me that if I light a candle for Mama, she would see it from Heaven. When I told Grandpa Dan that, he told me that you and Jack were my Mama and Papa now and that I should call you that." Britt sighed. "I don't want to!" Else felt sad. "I love you and Jack very, very much! But I can't…"

"Else, it's ok." Britt stopped her and pushed her chin up to look at him. "You don't have to call me and Jack that if you don't want to."

"But Grandpa Dan…"

"Your Grandpa Dan was trying to help, but didn't say it right. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. How does that sound?"

"Thank you, Britt." Else was relieved.

"You're welcome." Britt said. They looked up when Jack came in with the tray. Three cups balanced on it, steaming and smelling of apple cider and spices. "Need any help, honey?" He asked, moving to stand up.

"No. No. I've got it. Thanks though." Jack said, carefully putting the tray on the bed. "Be careful Else, the cider's warm." She warned as she passed out the cups. "Thanks for piling the pillows up Britt." Jack sat down on the other side of Else.

"No trouble. Thought it was more comfortable than the cold and hard headboard." Britt said, sipping the cider. "Hmm, this is pretty good."

"Yeah, wonder how Kato does it." Jack said. "When I watched him brew it, he just added things without measuring it out, like he knew exactly what it needed."

"He's a real wizard, he is." Britt chuckled.

They sat together, warm and enjoying cider. "So…you're excited for tomorrow?" Jack asked.

"Yes, very much so." Else couldn't deny feeling excited for the brightly wrapped presents waiting for them underneath their Christmas tree.

"What was the best Christmas present you ever got?" Britt asked.

"I can't remember." Else said. The question was a bittersweet one. The one thing she really wanted for Christmas this year was for Papa and Jack to get married and they'd be a family. Papa…it was her fault. Else drank her cider quietly.

"Is the dream still bothering you, Else?" Jack asked, putting her now empty cup down on the tray. "You're awfully quiet."

"It's my fault Papa became nasty." Else finally admitted. "If I hadn't gotten so friendly with you and Britt, then he wouldn't have found out you were a Jew and gotten so mad…" a tear rolled down her face.

"Else," Britt wiped the tears away from Else's face. "It wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong."

"But…" Else tried to explain.

Jack held up her hand to stop Else. "Your Papa would've found out eventually that I was Jewish. I think he was in so much pain and had so much anger after what happened to your Mama that he didn't realize just how…mean…he had become." Jack explained. "He didn't understand how badly he was hurting you and everyone else around him. It was nothing you did. Does that make sense?" Jack asked.

Else felt the burden fall off her shoulders. Of course it made sense. "Thank you Jack and Britt."

"No problem." Britt said, sighing as he leaned back.

But it didn't answer the question Else had. Was it still wrong to miss her Papa, even after what he did? "Is it bad that I miss my Papa, even after what he did?" Else asked as she put her now empty cup on the tray.

There was an uncomfortable pause. "I'll take these back, ok?" Britt finally said, putting his cup down on the tray. "Don't worry, Jack, I'll clean up for you." He picked up the tray and left quickly.

"What's wrong?" Else asked. She knew Britt enough to know that something was upsetting him.

"Britt isn't comfortable talking about your Papa." Jack said, taking the pillows down and fluffing them up. "He's still mad at him for what happened. It's not anything you did."

"Do you think Papa's in Heaven with Mama, then?" Else asked.

"I believe so, Else." Jack said as they lay down she tucked an arm around Else. "I got to know your Papa much better than Britt did. I believe your Papa was a good man who had a terrible amount of pain and couldn't see past his hatred. It's ok to miss him, Else. He was still your Papa and he adored you."

"I wish it wasn't Christmas." Else felt really sad. "It's so hard to be happy and yet you feel so sad."

"And that's ok too." Jack said. "This is the first Chanukah I've had without Liam. You would've loved the presents he made for us, Else. He made them himself, saying that it always meant more if they were homemade. It was hard being there and not missing him."

"And the first Christmas without my mom was hard too." Britt said, coming into the room. He sat on the other side of Else. She was safe between Jack and Britt, nice, warm and safe. "I remember how she used to set up the Nativity scene, a wedding gift from Dad, on a little pile of hay. It would be empty and every day we'd add a new figurine. First were the animals. Then the Kings, shepherds and angels. Mary and Joseph were added together on Christmas Eve. When we got back from Midnight Mass on Christmas morning, we'd add the baby Jesus."

"Papa told me Mama's family used to do that too…" Else stopped, afraid of upsetting Britt.

"You can talk about it Else." Britt smiled at her. "Does it help to talk about all the nice things you and your Papa used to do on Christmas?"

"A little bit." Else nodded, smiling. "Papa always told me the story on Christmas Eve, about how Mary and Joseph were unable to find a place to stay the night so Jesus was born in a stable. We would sit up after getting back from church, drinking hot chocolate, eating Mama's butter cookies and singing Christmas carols."

"What was your favorite?" Jack asked.

"Stille Nacht," Else tried to think of the English words.

"Oh, we call it Silent Night here. It is a pretty song." Britt allowed Else to snuggle closer to him.

"Uncle Frank told me the story how the song was written. The priest of a church in Austria wanted music for the Christmas Eve services but they couldn't use the organ because it was broken. So he asked his friend, the choirmaster of the church, to write guitar music for a poem he had written." Jack said, pulling the blankets closer to them.

Britt nodded. "Mike also told me about a story he covered in the trenches during the Great War. It was 1914 and the war had reached a stalemate. On that cold Christmas Eve, the Germans began to sing Silent Night, homesick and lonely. The English and French heard them singing and joined in, having recognized the melody. The next day, they had a truce, played a nice game of soccer and had a meal."

"Wonder why they kept fighting for as long as they did. Especially considering what happened that Christmas Eve." Jack yawned.

"I know." Britt's voice was getting softer, he was falling asleep. Else was feeling tired too, her eyes were slowly closing. Yet…she felt so safe and secure. Jack and Britt were there, her family.

"Jack…you asked what the best gift I ever got for Christmas?" Else whispered.

"Hmmhmm…." Jack was falling asleep.

"This was what I always wanted. To have a family." Else said, falling asleep.

A/N: The stories Jack and Britt share about Silent Night did actually happen. Silent Night was indeed composed by the choirmaster of an Austrian church for a poem the church priest wrote. The organ was indeed broken and the song was composed for two soloists and guitar accompaniment.

And the Christmas Truce of 1914 did happen in Ypres, Belgium. The soldiers sang Silent Night, each in their own language on Christmas Eve and did get together the next day for an unofficial true, playing a friendly game of soccer and having a meal together.

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah (or Hanukah) wishes to everyone. May your holidays be merry and bright and lead to a Happy New Year.

Regards,

JanEyrEvanescence12