Author's Note:

Based off of Hallmark's super adorable "A Crown for Christmas" movie. I will put the link for this movie that I found on youtube on my tumblr page. It's like SUPER SUPER adorable. I normally don't watch them, but this one I even want on DVD...and obviously it inspired this story!

The royalty stuff is probably all screwy, but I sort of decided to stop worry over it and figured that most people will just enjoy the story and won't poke holes in it. I tried to research, but my brain started to spin. So, hope you enjoy! 3

= London =

She'd just been fired.

It was a week before Christmas.

Jemma Simmons didn't cry, but she was downright shocked. It had been a stupid reason to fire her. It wasn't just her that had been fired, it had also been her adopted sister, Skye, who didn't even know yet...she was off at some interview for her dream job. Jemma just couldn't bring herself to hold Skye back and had been confident that she'd be able to finish all the rooms by herself. That hadn't been the case, she'd been left an extremely messy room that had been obviously the site of a mass occupant party. Even though she'd returned a guest's expensive watch to her boss, she'd still been fired. What did her boss expect, though? Even IF Skye had been there, it would have still taken them at least an hour to both thoroughly clean just THAT particular room...not to mention all the other VIP rooms on their list.

When she got home, she felt horrible. It was a week before Christmas...they had needed that money. Both of her siblings were adopted and even though they were not THAT much younger than she was, she felt responsible. They had no parents and Jemma had raised them on her own, giving up pursuing any higher degrees even though she'd wanted to so badly. It just hadn't been in the cards for her. The three of them, even though all well enough adults, lived together in the small family house together.

They had a very small and spartan tree that was decorated with decorations that had been used year after year. Jemma was fairly sure that Michael had found the tree alongside the road on his way home from work one night. No matter how bleak it looked, she knew that she couldn't give up. They were counting on her and she knew that there had to be another job out there.

"You have that face."

Busted.

She stopped and turned to see Michael standing in the kitchen stuffing his face with biscuits. Of course, this wasn't something unusual for him. She sighed. "What face?" she asked in exhaustion.

"The face of having the weight of the world on your shoulders," he told her and moved towards her and offered he a biscuit. "Sorry, already ate all the chocolate ones."

"Of course you did," she said and then shook her head before crossing her arms across her chest. "And I wouldn't say I have the weight of the world on my shoulders...exactly."

He rolled his eyes in response. "Jemma…"

"Don't 'Jemma' me," she told him and grabbed one of the biscuits from his hands and shoved it into her mouth. This was terrible. Simply terrible. It was a week before Christmas. She moved to sit on the couch. The worry was starting to hit her. It wasn't like her, but there was the fact that they had rent due...and they needed to shop for groceries and at the very least she wanted to buy SOMETHING for Skye and Michael. Without the money she should have gotten with the next week, they just weren't going to make it.

"Budge up," Michael said, forcing her to scoot over even though there was more than enough room for him to sit on the other side of her. "Tell me what happened."

Jemma couldn't stand it. She couldn't keep it in. "Skye doesn't even know yet," she explained. "She's off at that interview that she was hoping for."

"You got the boot, didn't you?"

Jemma looked over at him and nodded. "Both of us."

"Well, that posh hotel doesn't apparently understand that they lost the two most brilliant employees that they had!" Michael told her. "If they fired you, then they're rubbish."

"It was an impossible task-"

"Hey, you don't have to defend yourself to me," Michael told her. "I think impossible task was managing to raise Skye and me for as long as you did while working two jobs."

He was right. They had been quite impossible when she'd had to give up what she'd thought was her only future. As much as she missed science and that world, she wouldn't have traded it for the experiences they'd had together as a family. They were Simmons and that meant not giving up and making it work. They were going to make it work.

"I just...we're going to be behind on the rent and-"

"I should be able to get my check tomorrow, that can go towards rent...and we'll figure out the rest," Michael reminded.

"I'm sure I can get another job-"

"A week before Christmas?" he asked, eyeing her.

Jemma just shrugged. "I have to, right?"

"We'll work it out. We always do."

"What about your test? Did you do well?"

"I think so," Michael told her. "I have a shift later, too."

"Well, best try to get some rest before your shift."

He held up the biscuits. "Sustenance and then sleep," he promised.

"I'm so sorry!" Skye practically wailed after Jemma broke the news to her. She laid her head on the kitchen counter and huffed. "I shouldn't have-"

"No," Jemma said quickly. "It was a once in a lifetime chance for you...you have to follow your dreams, Skye."

"But you haven't been able to," Skye pointed out. "You left school, so that you could take care of Michael and I."

"And it's been well worth it."

"But it's not been fair on you," Skye kept on. "Feeling like you needed to take care of us...no matter what, but we're grown up now…"

Jemma let out a laugh as she continued to prep for dinner. There wasn't much, but she always figured out how to make it work. Tonight was what she liked to consider leftover casserole, which included pretty much anything that was going to be needing thrown out in the next two days. "You two may legally be adults, but let's be honest with ourselves...I'm still raising you both."

Skye seemed amused by that.

Before there could be any further conversation, the door opened and in came Michael with an older man dressed very smartly following him in. "Jemma, there's a butler...from Perth-"

"Perthshire," the man said quickly.

"Right, from there," Michael continued. "He wants to talk to you."

Jemma found herself panicking. They couldn't be kicked out of their house the week before Christmas as well. "If this is about the rent, we have-"

"I'm not here about the rent," the older man said.

Well, that made sense...she realized a moment later. Michael had said something about the man being a butler. Why would there be a butler in their home? "Then...then how can I help you?" she asked, at a complete loss for who he was or why he was there.

"I heard about your being terminated from your position at the hotel," the elder man explained. "My employer is the owner of the watch that you returned. He has asked me to ensure you receive this."

Jemma was presented with a check. She took it from him, amazed at the fact that the man had tracked her down. Returning the watch had been nothing. It was part of her job, well it HAD been part of her job...but it was definitely in her nature. She didn't like the thought of taking things that weren't yours. She liked the idea of earning and working for what you wanted or needed. When she saw the number on the check, she almost fell over. "Four THOUSAND pounds?" she questioned, feeling like she must have read it incorrectly.

Skye was there over her shoulder in a moment. "Oh my God! Thank you so much!"

It was so generous. It was TOO generous. It wasn't something that was earned. "I'm sorry, this is extremely kind and generous of you," Jemma said as she handed the check back. "But I can't accept it."

"Yes, yes we can," Michael said quickly.

"All I did was return a watch," Jemma explained. "I can't take this...I appreciate the gesture...but we don't need charity." She could tell that that wasn't the popular opinion with Michael or Skye. She couldn't help but be who she was, though.

"What are you making, if I may ask?" the man asked.

"Leftover casserole," Jemma responded.

Skye shrugged. "Glamorous, isn't it? But it tastes WAY better than it sounds…"

"Jemma can make absolutely ANYTHING taste good," Michael added.

"Would it be imposing if I requested to stay and have some? It just...it smells like something my mother used to make," he explained.

Jemma just smiled. "We'd be happy to have you," she told him. "The more the merrier."

"They'll be enough?"

"There's always enough to go around, we're Simmons...we make it work," Skye told him.

It took some time and Mr. Coulson, as he later properly introduced, or Phil as Michael insisted on calling him...seemed to know nearly every part of their history. He knew all about how their parents had died and how Jemma had done everything she needed to in order to take care of Skye and Michael. By the time everyone was going for seconds, Michael had named 'Phil' an honorary Simmons.

"Here's a thought," Mr. Coulson spoke up. "My employer could use someone with your exact skillset for the Christmas holiday." He brought out the check and set it in front of Jemma once again. "How do you feel about spending two weeks in Perthshire? All expenses paid for. Think of this as your wages, if you wish?"

"But it's going to be Christmas…" Jemma argued.

"Do it!" Skye spoke up. "When will you have another chance?"

"She's right! We can always do Christmas in January," Michael chimed in.

They were right, of course. This was definitely an excellent opportunity. The check would cover more than what she'd expect with two months of wages. It would definitely be enough to get them far enough until she could find another job somewhere. "Are you sure?" Jemma questioned.

"We are in need and you won't accept this check unless you feel as if you've earned it," Coulson pushed. "So, it makes sense for both of us." He shrugged. "Think it over...and if you decide that you wish to take up the position, then you can call me in the morning and I'll have a car sent over." He presented a business card atop the check a moment later.

TBC...