Disclaimer: I own Emily and Sam. Everyone else is Kripke's.
A/N: takes place post-blackout at some point but everyone is in Philadelphia (hints of Ben, Charlie, and others) and no one ever left the Militia. A cameo by *spoilers* Connor, who was been confirmed to be the name of Bass's son.
"Emily. Matheson. Don't. You. Dare."
The hand immediately dropped away from the scalding cookie sheet and the small body in front of Nora turned defiantly to face her. Her expression was contorted into a scowl that matched her father's and Nora refrained from rolling her eyes skyward.
"I just want one."
"Those are for tomorrow. Besides, I just pulled them out of the oven. Do you want to lose those fingers?"
"No one will notice if one is gone."
"Absolutely not. It took ages to get them made. Leave them alone."
"Mommy,"
"Emmy, I said no."
"But-"
Nora cut Emily off with a loud sigh and stepped forward to stand next to her. She took her daughter's face in her hands, looked down with exasperation, and told her, "You are seriously driving me insane tonight. Do you know that?"
"It's just a cookie."
"And before that, it was just running into the snow with no shoes on. It was just breaking three ornaments. It was just knocking your brother off the couch. All on Christmas Eve too. Are we going for some kind of record? Hmm? You know, you still have to be good on Christmas Eve. Santa can still change his mind right up until the last second."
"I don't believe in Santa."
"Why?"
"I've never seen him."
"Just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it's not real. Where do you think all those presents come from?" she paused, waiting for the inevitable retort but Emily merely frowned, unable to come up with one. "But, in addition to Santa, I have a looong list of things to report to your father when he gets home."
"He's not coming home."
"Of course he's coming home."
"No, he's not. He said he'd be back by Thanksgiving! It's almost Christmas!" just like that, Emily's frustration burst and Nora saw a line of angry tears beginning to form. She sighed quietly and knelt down in front of her.
It had been a long three months since Miles's departure on the latest campaign. Add in the fact that it was the first one he had actively participated in in quite some time, and it was a recipe for disaster. Once Emily had been born, he had tried hard to remain in Philadelphia unless his presence was absolutely needed. Nora could count on one hand the number of times he had been gone for more than a week in eight years.
This was also the first time either of their kids had taken an actual notice to the fact that he was gone. Sammy was still too young to completely understand but Emily was well aware of the lack of Miles in the house. She had been fully against him leaving in the first place- the two of them were usually attached at the hip and even if Nora complained her daughter was not a girly girl, she was definitely a daddy's girl. But, she had accepted it and eagerly checked off each day on the calendar, her personality coming back to life bit by bit as Thanksgiving approached.
Then, his letter arrived by messenger only a few days before the holiday, and as Nora read over it, she could feel his own frustration seeping out of the paper. I am SO sorry. I WILL be home by Christmas. She assumed there was supposed to be a line under 'will', as there was a rip in the paper like he had stabbed the pencil through in anger.
Sammy had shrugged, not grasping the concept of time, and Emily went on a temper tantrum. Nora had managed to keep things calm for the time being, reminding the kids that Daddy has a very important job and it's only a couple more weeks. And in true Matheson fashion, Emily stuffed her emotions away, and refocused her attention on the calendar again. Though, there was a cloud of bitterness and obstinacy over her as they prepped the house for the holidays, typically remarking no, not until Daddy gets back or no, that's Daddy's job.
She knew Emily was upset, she herself was definitely upset, but knew whatever they were feeling, her husband was experiencing tenfold. She smiled faintly at the thought of Miles, who had been so anti-romance, anti-family when they had first met, insistent on keeping himself completely locked away. But she had wormed her way under his defenses, slowly chipped at the wall to find he was terrified of opening up to anyone, then Emily had completely demolished the wall unknowingly by simply being born. He had changed completely and was a loving, attentive husband and father. He was more human, smiled often, relaxed. General Matheson still existed but was a complete, separate entity- he didn't want the kids knowing anything, didn't want them exposed to the terrible things he had done. He could still get the job done but that had no place in their home.
"What if he never comes home?" she mumbled miserably, pulling her mother out of her thoughts.
"Oh, Emmy, he is. I showed you his letter. He's on his way home right now."
"What if he doesn't get home for Christmas?"
"Would Daddy miss Christmas?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows. "Huh?"
Emily fidgeted, knowing the answer but not wanting to admit it. Miles pushed himself to make sure the kids had a sufficient Christmas every year, fully indulging in every aspect of it, and not letting the Blackout get in the way of properly celebrating. If he wasn't home in time, he'd be beating himself up.
"No." she finally whispered.
"No. He wouldn't." Nora agreed. She smiled softly as she brushed Emily's tears away. "It's okay munchkin. He will be here, okay?"
"Promise?"
"I promise. If he is not here by the time you go to sleep, he will be here when you wake up."
"I'm not going to sleep." the tears were gone and the stubbornness returned. Nora held back a laugh and gave a stern nod.
"Oh, yes, you are. Otherwise Santa is not going to come and if Daddy finds out Santa skipped this house because somebody wasn't asleep, he's not going to be happy. In fact, it is almost that time. Do me a favor, take your brother upstairs, and get your pajamas on while I clean up this kitchen. Then come back down so we can read The Night Before Christmas."
"We can't!"
"Em,"
"That's Daddy's job. He reads it."
"I know baby but it's going to be really late when he gets in. He'll understand, I promise."
"Mommy,"
"You really want to miss out on it? You look forward to this every year."
"But Daddy-"
"If there was anyone Daddy would trust to read, it would be me. Do you trust me?" she smiled as they stared each other down. Emily gave a dramatic sigh, then asked,
"Will you do the voices?"
"I will do my best."
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night." Nora finished quietly, shut the book, and set in on her lap. She glanced at her children, snuggled up to her on either side, then leaned her head against Sammy's. "Okay. Bed."
"Mommy,"
"Yeah?"
"Is Daddy gonna be home?" Sammy asked.
"A few hours. He'll be here when you wake up."
"Do- do-" he broke off with a loud yawn, "do you think Santa's gonna bring him?"
She chuckled quietly at the question, kissed the top of her son's head, sighing a little.
"Maybe but I think he probably is doing just fine with Indy. He has to make sure everyone else gets back home too. Santa can't fit everyone in his sleigh. He has all the toys he has to bring."
"But Daddy's 'portant."
"He is. That's why he has to stay with his troop. It's like he's everyone's daddy when they have to go away." she glanced over to Emily and squeezed her shoulder gently. "You okay Em?"
"It's still snowing." she muttered, her gaze focused on the window. "A lot."
"Yeah. It'll definitely be a white Christmas this year."
"Do you think he's okay?"
"I'm sure he's fine."
"Mommy?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"Do- do-" Sammy yawned again, nuzzled his face in her shoulder, "is Santa gonna have Rudolph tonight?"
"Of course he will."
"Is his nose gonna work?"
"What?"
"Cause his nose lights up but there's no lights."
"Oh." Nora smiled at his logic. "I'm sure his nose still works. Don't worry about that."
"How come he's not in the story?"
"He wasn't born yet."
"How come you know everything?"
"I'm a mommy. I have to know everything." she gave them both a pat to get them to stand up. "Really though, bed time."
"Does Indy's nose light up?"
"No. He's just a regular old horse."
"How's Daddy gonna see in the snow?"
"He knows where he's going. Oh- we didn't get any cookies for Santa. Let's do that and then it's off to bed."
She glanced at the clock, saw the hands moving closer to midnight, and stifled a yawn. Still no sign of him. At the rate this was going, he'd be home after she fell asleep too. Or he won't be home at all. She shook her head, refusing to acknowledge that. If it came to that, she'd deal with it in the morning.
Presents. The thought popped into her head. She was going to have to put them out herself. Quietly, Nora climbed the stairs and peeked into the rooms. She had no doubt Sammy was asleep but wondered about Emily. She crept into her bedroom, hovered over the bedside. Emily was on her side, curled under her blanket, hands tucked under her head. The picture of angelic innocence. Nora snorted a little at the thought. She was not a mother who insisted her children were perfect. They were a mix of herself and Miles. They had to be terrors at some point. She leaned in slightly, waved a hand in front her daughter's face. No response, not even a twitch. Deciding she was out, she adjusted her blanket a little so it was closer to her chin, then left the room.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Emily's eyes popped open. She listened carefully as her mother's footsteps retreated down the stairs, then climbed out of bed. She eased the drawer on her night stand opened slowly, pulled out what she needed from inside, then sat herself by the door, and waited. It seemed to her that she had been waiting forever and was beginning to wonder if Nora was going to ever go to bed. Quietly, she opened her door and listened. From her spot, she knew there were still lamps lit downstairs. A knock caught her attention, then she heard her mother speak.
The knocking had startled Nora out of her thoughts and she shut the door to the study carefully, then quickly made her way into the foyer. She glanced out the window and saw two familiar figures standing on the porch.
"Wrong holiday boys. What can I do for you?"
"She called us boys." Connor Monroe made a face at Jason Neville, then smiled charmingly at Nora. "Miss us?"
"Terribly." she smiled, then crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow expectantly.
"Miles sent us as messengers. He's about fifteen minutes out and said he needed to run an errand but he wanted you to know he is back in the city."
"Thank you." relief bubbled up inside. "How did things go?"
"We got our way in the end."
"Good. Go see your moms. I know they've been worried about you."
"Oh I am." Connor nodded in agreement. Then with a sly smirk, he nodded at his best friend. "This one will be sneaking into the Mathesons' house to get into Charlie's room."
"I am not!" Jason turned bright red at the insinuation.
"Bow chicka wow wow."
"Oh God, you are your father's son. He's the only person I've heard use that phrase in years. Go. Off my porch. I'll see you both tomorrow." she made a shooing motion at them both. "Jason,"
He glanced back at her, letting her know he was listening.
"She is my niece and remember that even though Ben is the more relaxed, peaceful one between him and Miles, that's still his daughter."
Connor cackled loudly with glee but sobered as Nora aimed her 'mom' stare at him.
"Laugh all you want Connor. You think I don't know about Rose Wyatt?" her question drew a snort out of Jason. "Major Wyatt is not a force to be reckoned with."
"Shut up Neville." he shoved his friend towards a snow bank. She watched with amusement as the two twenty-somethings argued and fought down her sidewalk. She shook her head as she shut the door and prayed silently Sam would continue to stay innocent and only worry about glowing reindeer noses.
As she turned to walk back to the study, she paused, and looked into the living room. Something seemed off to her but as she scanned the room, nothing seemed out of place. She gave one last look, then continued on to the study to start hauling out the kids' presents.
In the living room, Emily pressed herself flat against the rug, silently praying her mother would not see her crouched in front of the couch. She peered over the top, saw her disappear down the hall, and quickly moved back to the stairs before she could return. She settled in the corner of the upstairs hall, knowing it was dark enough that her mother would not see her. All she had to do was sit and wait. Soon her father would be home and they would both go to bed and then she would wait. They would never know what she was up to.
Nora busied herself with arranging the gifts under the tree, placing them in various positions to make it seem fuller than it was. She didn't hear the door open quietly, nor did she hear footsteps as she hummed to herself.
She did feel a pair of hands on her hips and she rolled over with a shriek, then shrieked again as she found Santa Claus standing over her.
"Ho, ho, ho?" he laughed questioningly.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" she smacked Miles as hard as she could, then shoved him back, and scrambled to her feet. "You asshole, do you want me to have a heart attack?"
"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist."
"What are you doing?" she scanned his attire, frown collapsing into a bemused smile. "Connor said you had to run an errand."
"Here it is." he swept his hand along the length of him. "I lost a bet."
"Yeah, this is too bizarre, even for you. Hi."
"Hi." he dipped his head to kiss her softly. She hummed against his mouth, sighing as she felt his lips open. She pressed against him, arms wrapping around his neck. Suddenly, he made a noise and pulled away slightly.
"What?"
"What-" he slipped his hand up from her hip to the slight swell of her stomach. "That uh, that wasn't there when I left."
"No." she shook her head, eyes sparkling. He gazed down at her, smile widening quickly. A little laugh escaped his mouth and he lifted his hands to cup her face gently, gave her another kiss.
Emily jerked awake at her perch. She had dozed off. How could she have dozed off? She shook her head slightly, then glanced down the stairs. Then, she did a double take, and leaned close to the banister. In the dim light from the lamps, she could make out the red outfit that was identical to the one in every Christmas picture she had ever seen.
"... missed you so much."
"... love you."
Her mouth fell open as she realized her mother was standing there. Realized her mother was kissing Santa Claus. A hurt and disgusted feeling over came her.
"I have been going crazy. I pushed them to move their asses today. I wasn't spending one more night away from you guys."
"I was worried about you- with the snow, and-"
"Snow doesn't bother me."
"Hypothermia and frostbite should."
"It would have been worth it." he moved slightly, then suddenly was falling backward, accidentally pulling Nora down with him, and landed half on the couch, half on the ground. "What the fuck?"
They both looked at the sound of stomping footsteps coming down the stairs.
"I can't believe you!" Emily yelled angrily. She grabbed pillows and stuffed animals off the other couch and began pelting Miles with them. "That's my mommy!"
"Emily, stop it!" Nora had been torn between laughing and yelling but had decided to be stern. She pushed herself off Miles and stood, hands on her hips. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Why are you kissing Santa?"
There was a choked laugh out of Miles. His head hit the couch as he tried to contain himself. Emily glared and threw a teddy bear at him.
"No one asked you!"
"Emily, enough!"
"What about Daddy? Why are you doing this?"
"Honey, calm down." Nora quieted her voice. "It's okay."
"No, it's not! He's old and weird!"
"What the hell is this?" Miles pulled a long strand of thin rope out from underneath him. He tugged on it, then saw the end was tied to the leg of one coffee table. He followed the length until it ran up the stairs and disappeared into the darkness. "Did you do this?"
"I-I-" Emily spluttered in anger and guilt, "I didn't think you were real! So I was gonna trap you so I knew you were! But then you were kissing Mommy and I got mad!"
"So you tripped me."
"Yes!" she looked angrily at Nora. "Do you do this every year? You told him you love him! What did Daddy do?"
"Daddy didn't do anything. Honey,"
"Emmy, calm down, kiddo." Miles sighed and pulled the hat off, then the beard. "It's just me."
She stared wide-eyed at her father, mouth gaping like a fish as she tried to process what was happening. Nora watched as her face went from pure joy, to disbelief, then a quick flash of sadness, before it settled once again on anger.
"You lied to me!" she accused before spinning on her heel and racing back up the stairs. Her door slammed shut with a bang and Miles winced.
"Are you okay?" he looked up at his wife with worry. "You didn't get hurt did you?"
"No, I'm fine." she grazed her hand over her stomach, frowning up the stairs. Then she looked down at the rope. "Where would she learn something like that?"
He gave an awkward cough as he averted her eye and she rolled her eyes.
"Seriously? You're teaching her to build traps?"
"That's hardly a trap. I'm rather disappointed in her. She's made a couple good-" he stopped as he saw the look on her face. "What?"
"She's eight Miles. She should be having tea parties and playing with Barbies. Not building traps."
"I'm teaching her life skills."
"Good. Now you can go teach about Santa Claus and that she could have seriously hurt someone with this little stunt."
"Do I have to?"
"You've been home five minutes and you're already driving me crazy." she muttered, pushing her hands through her hair. He grinned as he pushed himself to his feet, then pulled her into a long kiss. She sighed and dropped her hands onto his shoulders, returning the embrace with equal fervor.
Afterward, he climbed the stairs, and quietly entered Emily's bedroom. She was hidden under her blanket, which was a large mound in the center of the bed. He watched it quake a few times with her silent tears, then walked over.
"This looks like a nice, comfy bed."
"Go away!"
"I think I'll lay right... here." he fell onto the bed, leaned his head slightly where her legs were, then dodged a kick to the temple. "Hey, take it easy. Come on, where are you?"
He found one edge and peeled it back until they were face to face.
"Hi baby girl. I missed you so much."
"I don't like you!"
"I don't believe that."
"You lied to me."
"When?"
"You said Santa was real."
"He is real."
"No he's not. If he was, why are you dressing up like him?"
"Did you ever stop to consider I'm Santa?"
"Go away." she rolled over so her back was to him, clearly not amused with his tactic. He sighed and stretched out next to her, wrapping her in his arms. She whined, trying to break away but he only held tighter. "Daddy!"
"Shh. It's okay baby. I know you're upset." he kissed the back of her head gently. "I didn't mean to do that."
"Why did you do it?"
"Uncle Bass and I were... playing a game and he said if I lost, I had to dress up like Santa. No one really does it anymore but before the lights went out, a lot of people did. It was to celebrate and kids got to take pictures with him. You've seen some people do it a couple times when we've had Christmas parties. He's a... symbol for Christmas. No one is trying to do anything bad by it."
"So he's not real." despite her apparent skepticism, he could detect the layer of disappointment at the revelation. He pressed his face against her hair with a sigh, then shook his head a little.
"Yes, he is. It's just that... well, he has a lot of places to be and he has to move very quickly." he lied, not willing to take this bit of innocence from her just yet. "He doesn't mind when people act like him because it helps them remember that he's there when he can't be."
"...are you sure?" she asked meekly.
"Positive. I've never seen him. Like tonight. He already came before I got home. I thought I saw something on the roof and when I came in, I saw someone in the living room. But when I looked, he was gone and all the presents were out. I thought maybe it had been Mommy but she was in the kitchen. Which brings me to my next point. If you were looking to trap Santa, you were absolutely not going to. He has magic. There's no way you're going to catch him. But if he didn't have magic, and you decided to pull that rope like you did just now, you could have gotten him really hurt and there would have been no Christmas. You don't want to hurt anyone right?"
"No! I'm sorry!"
"It's okay. I didn't think you did. You don't ever trap anyone. You almost hurt me and Mommy. If Mommy got hurt, that could have been bad for the baby."
"What baby?" she rolled over quickly, confusion in her eyes.
"...what?" his heart stopped as he realized Nora hadn't told their kids and this only meant more trouble for him.
"What?" she sat up. "Mommy's having a baby? I don't want a baby! We already have Sammy!"
"Okay, okay, chill out." he soothed her gently, patting her shoulder. "My point is, traps are bad and though it's good to know how to use them, it's only for emergencies, like if you got lost and had to catch an animal to eat. And, really, Emmy, that wasn't what we've talked about. You could have done a lot better."
"I didn't have time. Mommy was coming."
"You knew you would get in trouble if you got caught."
"Yeah." she mumbled, blushing deeply. "I was supposed to be asleep."
"And we agreed no traps in the house and no traps in front of Mommy. But you risked it anyway."
"It was worth it! I needed to know if he was real. They said he's not at school."
"So... did you plan on kidnapping Santa and bringing him in as evidence?"
"They said I was a baby."
"Does it matter? They're the ones not getting any presents. From the looks of downstairs, you and Sammy made out pretty good." he smiled faintly, brushing her hair out of her face. "I missed you baby girl."
"I missed you too."
"Thought you didn't like me." he teased. She smiled slightly and shrugged. "Come here,"
He pulled her into a warm hug and held onto her tightly. She pressed her face into his chest and sighed, curling up as best she could against him.
"I don't want you to go away again." she mumbled.
"Don't worry about it." he kissed her forehead, then helped her settled back into bed. "Go to sleep, okay?"
She gave a huge yawn as a response and he smiled as he gave her another kiss.
"I love you."
"Love you too." her eyes were already closing as she whispered at him. He waited a moment, then left the room, and went to check on Sam. He was convinced his son could sleep through the apocalypse, since he hadn't even stirred during Emily's blow up. After kissing the five year old and readjusting his blanket, he left the room, making sure to leave the door partially open.
"Solve everyone's problems?" Nora asked quietly as she came up the stairs.
"That's what I'm here for."
"Good. I need help."
"All the presents out?"
"Just one more. It's in here." she grabbed his hand as she walked by, pulling him with her. "Up to the task?"
"Always. So, uh, a baby, huh?"
"Yeah. Some time in May."
"How long have you known? Did you tell the kids?" he asked casually.
"Ah... a few weeks now. And no, no, no. I have the feeling that Emily is not going to be happy. Thought we could tell them together."
"Yeah I could see that." he muttered, shutting their door behind them. She paused, then turned to look at him. She scanned him with a questioning gaze, then sighed.
"You cause more problems then you fix, don't you?"
"She's asleep. We can worry about it in the morning."
"Uh huh. Just letting you know, this is totally going to be your area for the next few months."
"Yeah, well, tomorrow I'll deal with it. More important matters to handle right now." he walked up to her, gave her a sound kiss as his hands slipped under her sweater.
"Yeah, like that present." she mumbled, tilting her head as he kissed down her neck. "Mm, Miles, really... the present,"
"Yeah, I know. I'm unwrapping it now."
"So cheesy. So unbelievab-" the rest of her sentence died on her tongue.
"I know. I'm unbelievable."
"Sammy's bike is up here. I need you to put it downstairs." she muttered out weakly.
"Wait- what?" he peeled away from her, clarity suddenly in his eyes. "You're- seriously?"
"Yes."
"It's- Nora,"
"You're the only one who thinks dirty, Christmas thoughts."
"You played me."
"No, you're horny and confused. Seriously. In the closet. If you hurry, we can continue this."
"Why wasn't it downstairs?"
"Nowhere to hide it. Jeremy put it together the other day. Ran out of room in the study."
"Damn it." he swore softly and took a deep breath. "Five minutes."
"I'm going to time you."
By the time he got back to their bedroom, she was in the middle of their bed, with a smile and completely different outfit on. His eyes ran over her as he shut the door carefully.
"Now you can unwrap your present." she teased quietly. His grin widened as he went to join her.
"Well, Merry Christmas to all-"
"Nope. Mine was the last joke. And it wasn't even a joke. I was making fun of you."
"-and to all a good night." he sealed it with a kiss before she had a chance to scold him again.