Captain Becker, walking his last rounds of the ARC before leaving for the holiday, was surprised to find Abby Maitland in the Menagerie. The Anomaly Research Centre was on a skeleton crew over the holiday week. With a winter storm in the forecast, Becker had released most of the remaining personnel early to beat the foul weather home. The only people left in the building were the necessary security staff, himself, and evidently Abby.
"Abby?" Becker said as he entered her office overlooking the animal pens. "What are you still doing here? I thought this wing was empty."
"Just finishing up a few things. I wanted to make sure the creatures will be set up without me for a few days."
"Well, don't stay too much longer. When that snow finally hits you wont be making it anywhere tonight."
"No worries about that. I haven't got any plans for tonight, and I'm sure Rex wont worry much if I'm a bit late getting home."
"No plans?" Becker asked. Abby's response to turn away awkwardly and he frowned. It didn't seem right she should be alone on Christmas Eve but he was hardly one to talk. Until a few minutes ago he'd thought himself nearly alone in the building. "Well then, you've just been recruited to keep me company while I shut this place down. No one but emergency teams will be in till the new year and everything needs to be locked up tight."
"But you said, the snow…" Abby's brow furrowed in confusion.
"I'll pop you home when we're done, I've got all-weather tires." Her lack of enthusiasm was obvious but that was her own misfortune for staying late enough for him to catch her, Becker thought. "I've got the Hub next but I'll be back to help you secure the creatures."
.x.
By the time Becker returned some ten minutes later, Abby had closed down Menagerie herself but he made a show of double-checking the enclosures anyway. Each had a metal cage rigged to descend as a backup in case of power failure. The enclosures themselves, including automated feed dispensers, were rigged to backup generators as well. Only Abby's head staff had the codes to release any of the creatures and, barring the loss of daily affection from Abby, the animals would experience no discomfort while unattended.
When they finally left the building Abby eyed the overcast sky. The pregnant clouds had not yet opened up to give birth to the blizzard that forecasters had been predicting for two days now. The storm stalled over London, teasing with the possibility of a white Christmas. With nothing on the ground as yet however, Abby felt quite safe to drive home. But when she said as much Becker overruled her.
"I insist." he said as he herded her towards his vehicle.
"But that's silly, why should you go out of your way?"
"Oh it wont be out of my way at all, don't worry." He opened the passenger door and bustled her inside without another word.
Abby was pretty confused. As much as she appreciated his concern for her safety, this was going a bit overboard considering not a single flake of snow had fallen yet. Becker was nothing if not practical and efficient so she hardly knew what to think.
As he guided them through the streets of a shopping district busy with people buying their last minute gifts Abby wondered how man like Becker spent his Christmas eve. He wasn't one to chat about his social life but Abby had known him long enough that she ought to know more about his family at least. Did they get together to celebrate? An ugly Christmas jumper party probably wasn't in the schedule for the macho Captain Becker.
Did people still have those? She had only be missing for one Christmas but sometimes the year she had spent trapped in the past felt like a decade; sometimes she still felt out of touch with the modern world. Not that she had ever had much experience with a traditional family Christmas. Abby thought about asking Becker about his plans but suddenly realized he had guided them into an unfamiliar part of London. The homes were elegantly understated, not posh or flashy but definitely upscale. And definitely not Abby's neighborhood.
"Do you need to turn your sat nav on? This isn't the way to my flat"
"We aren't going to your flat."
"What? Where are we going then?"
"You'll see."
He refused to answer any more questions and a few minutes later pulled into the drive of a large home. A number of vehicles were parked outside; Abby could tell there was a party going on inside. Before she could wonder at finding herself there she was whisked inside into the tumult.
The various Beckers were introduced to her in a bustle as she was led through to the party and divested of her coat. Mother and Father Becker were a pleasant couple of retirement age, fit enough to look a bit younger than they were. Captain Becker's father had never lost his ramrod-straight military posture and still kept his iron-gray hair cropped short, but he took Abby's hand in both of his as he greeted her. The Becker brothers three lined up to meet her. Two were of similar height and solid build to Becker himself, but they flanked a third brother who topped them by several inches. The Becker men were tall already and now Abby felt absolutely tiny.
"Hi Abby, Happy Christmas." One brother stepped forward to shake her hand "We're H.J.'s brothers. I'm Richard, this is John and George."
John was the taller, and upon meeting him she could tell now that George was the eldest. At least she wouldn't have to worry about mixing them up. As she greeted each they pointed out their wives in the press. John's wife naturally barely topped 5'2" and was probably a full foot and a half shorter than her husband. George's wife was bouncing their daughter Stella on her knee. The party was filled out by an aunt and uncle, two cousins, a few military buddies, and others Abby could never hope to remember. After a circuit around the room to meet everyone a teen girl bounced up to Abby for her turn and introduced herself as Charlie.
"Also known as Charlotte." said Becker, ruffling the teen's hair in a typically obnoxious older brother fashion. "Happy Christmas, little sister."
"Happy Christmas!" She hugged him, then stepped back with a scowl. "And Charlotte prefers to be called Charlie these days" Now she wore a smug grin. "And we know what its like to have a preferred nickname don't we, Hilary?" The rest of the family laughed.
"All right, all right," Becker conceded ruefully. "Fair enough, Charlie. You certainly have a point there."
"Hilary?" Abby asked, a bit lost.
"Sure," Charlie answered, "What did you think H.J. Becker stood for? Hilary James. The boys are named after our great-grandparents and my mom's grandfather had a weird girl name. They didn't think they were ever going to get a daughter so they went ahead and used it. I came along later."
Abby glanced at Becker for confirmation and he rolled his eyes as he nodded. She smiled, imagining the teasing he must have got for it as a boy.
"I'd warn you not to tell anyone" he said, "but Matt and Lester already know from reading my personnel files. And Connor already knows from hacking my personnel files. Frankly, you're probably the last to know. Jessica even named the blasted mammoth Hilary."
"Oh, that's a name I expect you'll never escape." Abby teased him. But as she was welcomed into the charming fold of Beckers and their friends, Abby was too gratefully to him for inviting her to taunt him by using the name herself.
.x.x.x.
From there most of the party migrated into the kitchen. Drinks were made and everyone arranged themselves around the walnut dining table, armed with butter knives and bowls of icing to decorate biscuits. Mrs Becker and Richard were manning the ovens and produced trays of delicious smelling bisuits. The radio was tuned to a station playing a nice mix of classic christmas tunes and the best pop covers and everyone chatted easily. With so many hands helping the seemingly endless trays of sweets were soon finished, just in time for the kettle to whistle. Abby was licking a stray smear of icing from her finger when Charlie jumped up and ran to the window.
"It finally started snowing!" Charlie crowed happily and tore out of the room.
"She's been worried it wouldnt be a white Christmas" Mrs Becker said with an indulgent laugh. "The snowstorm has been in the forecast for a week but you'd think it was a one-in-a-million chance."
Charlie soon returned with a knit cap perched atop her head. Her arms were full of coats she had hastily grabbed from the hall cupboard and now began shoving into peoples' arms.
"Come on, we have to go out and see!"
So Abby found herself out on the wide porch of the house, watching the fat white flakes drift heavily down from the sky. It couldnt have been snowing more then ten minutes but everything already wore a coat of white. Charlie and the Becker brothers were already throwing snowballs and chasing each other through the snow but the rest of the party remained on the porch where Mrs Becker soon produced mugs of hot cocoa. As Abby took a sip she saw Mr Becker pull out of a flask and give him cocoa a small tot of rum. He offered it to her but she declined. With a wink at her, he passed the flask to George as he joined them, breathless, for a mug of his own.
The falling snow seemed to close the happy scene in. It muffled the sound and with no traffic to be heard Abby could almost pretend she wasn't in London. Almost. A hallooing sounded across the lawn and from the house next door several people hung over the railing of their own porch to wave. Some of the Beckers waved in return and were soon shouting holiday cheer back and forth. Mr Becker soon spoke up in a stentorian boom and called the neighbors over to join the fun so they didn't all have to shout at each other all night long. The rowdy crowd next door cheered at the invitation and began to make their way over, some hopping right over the railing.
They too were welcomed and ushered inside for cocktails and cocoa. As everyone trooped inside Abby lingered behind to watch the snow for a bit. H.J. Becker joined her in companionable silence until caught a low chuckle from Abby.
"Something humorous?"
"Just myself." she said. "Earlier, on the way here, I wondered about you, your family… if you spent your holidays alone. It seems rather funny now."
He had to chuckle at that. As everyone grew more jovial and more people joined them, the noise level grew. If the snow didn't prevent any of the other guests from arriving later the house was going to be packed full by dinner time. Abby seemed a bit amazed by it though.
"And why are you spending this holiday alone, Abigail?" his voice was a comforting rumble. she knew the question was asking as much or as little as she would care to say about the matter. For a moment she did considered shrugging it off.
"Connor's with his parents, they went to stay with family in Kent. After spending last Christmas not knowing if he was alive or dead, they're all very anxious to spend time with him. His aunt rang the flat twice to make sure he'd got the entire week off from work. Connor and Duncan exchanged gifts the night before he left, they picked up takeaway and watched Battlestar Galactica while wearing Santa hats." Abby's lips quirked a moment in remembered amusement before falling sadly. "Meanwhile, Jack… has gone on a skiing holiday with friends. I expect he'll remember to call me on Boxing Day whenever he finally surfaces from a hangover."
She chewed her lip for a moment. Abby knew that she didn't blame Jack, nor did she take it personally. Christmas had never been an elaborate affair in his life. Whereas she still had a few hazy golden memories from her young girlhood, the happy homey holidays ended before Jack was old enough to recall them. In financially rough years their father had even been guilty of deliberately downplaying Christmas, celebrating it as quietly as the children would allow so as not to excite their hopes to expect countless presents and their favorite homemade sweets and visits around to all the relatives. Those traditions had left along with Abby's mother.
"I guess I envy you your family, your mom baking sweets, the holiday music, the yule log. All the things Christmas should be. With the people you love." she tried for an apologetic smile but it didn't reach her eyes.
"Being alone for the holidays can be rough." Becker said, coming to lean against the railing beside her. Flakes drifted down to settle in his hair, melting away after a moment. "And even a large family doesn't offer immunity to spending an occasional quiet Christmas by yourself. I was alone last year."
"Really? All the people in this house who would clearly love to have you around and no one to spend Christmas with?" Abby could hardly credit it.
"My brothers were overseas on active duty. Rather than face Christmas in an empty house, staring at empty chairs, my parents look my sister to Scotland. I could have gone with but I didn't have much festive spirit. You and Connor were missing and," Becker paused a spare second to clear his throat "Sarah had died just a month before. I didn't want to be a damper on anyone's festivities. This is actually the first year in a while the entire family has been able to make it together for Christmas. There's usually one or two of us missing."
"It doesn't seem right for you to be standing around out here with me when you could be spending time with them. You go on, I'll call for a taxi and head home." She slipped her mobile phone out of her pocket and shooed him inside.
"Good luck with that, Abigail" was Becker's mild taunt as he plucked the phone from her hand and dangled it above her head. Abby made a grab for it and he lifted it higher, out of reach. As a short woman who had played any number of unwilling games of keep-away with taller people, Abby was not having any of it. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him pointedly. Her face reminded Becker so much of his younger sister's expression of mutinous teenage disdain that he had to laugh as he tucked the mobile into his pocket. "And if you try to use the phone inside, I will get my Charlie to sit on you. "
The threat made Abby laugh despite herself. It was good to hear her laugh. Becker had noted the changes in Abby since she was stranded in the past. Connor had come out of it as battle-tested version of himself; more confident and more competent but still very much Connor Temple. Abby was harder to read. He hadn't considered her a particularly chatty person to begin with and since her return he found she was even quieter. Calmer, more serious and level-headed, Abby rarely spoke without thinking these days and it kept her guarded.
Well it was time she let her guard down.
"I'm sorry your childhood didn't come with the happy Christmases kids deserve. But you have more family than you realize. I sound like a bad holiday television special but family isn't just relatives. Family is who you choose to be around at times like this. You don't have to feel like the odd man out because we chose to invite you. Just like we chose to invite that lot next door, even though one of them knocked over the tree about five years ago." He smiled. "Come on, we'll get you a beer and join the party. I expect there will be caroling after cocktail hour so you can experience the joy of a large group of people who mistakenly believe they can sing. By the end of the night you'll be a member of the family. I'm serious. Any person here would help you move or drive you to the airport"
Draping an arm around her shoulder, he drew her inside and into the family.