I apologize to everyone! Yes, I should be updating my stories instead of creating a new one. *humbly bows* I apologize again, but I have terrible writer's block on pretty much all of them, I don't know where my file for Blackest Night Chapter Two went, and I have been gone on vacation for a week. But now I am back, and I present to you this, a tale of joy and thanksgiving during the holiday season. It's a little late, but I trust that you will still enjoy it.

The stockings were hung by the fireplace, all of the Christmas decorations were up and ready, and even the cookies and milk had been left out for Saint Nick.

But something was missing.

Will frowned, hands on his hips as he looked over the bright, multi-colored main room in his cabin. Mentally, he ran over all the items on his Christmas To-Do List.

The star on the top of the Christmas tree? Yes. What about Em's little ornament? Check. So what is it?

"Will! You have company! Someone just knocked on the door!" Alyss called from the kitchen, where she was hurriedly tidying everything up.

Will frowned and glanced at the water clock set on the wall. "Company? At nine o'clock at night? Alyss, what sort of madman would come knocking on people's doors right now, and on Christmas Eve, too?"

She shrugged. "You'd better go check."

Will sighed. "All right. But let me at least get the children down for their bedtime story." And without further ado, he went to the hallway where all the rooms were connected and knocked on the kids' doors.

"Emily, Daniel, Matthew!" he called. "Time for our special Christmas Eve story."

Squeals and shouts of joy rang from the childrens' bedroom, and all three of them rushed out and nearly bowled their father over in their eagerness to get to the chairs in the family room that were right next to the fire. It was always warm and toasty in those three seats.

After recovering from the shock of a trio of powerful young children (aged four, six, and seven, respectively) slamming into him, Will gently led Alyss towards the comfy chair and then sat down in his own chair, farthest from the fire. He cleared his throat.

"Everyone gather 'round, now."

Suddenly, another sharp knock at the door.

Will sighed and reluctantly got to his feet. "Wait right here," he told his three bouncing children, exchanging a glance with Alyss. His wife nodded and winked.

Don't worry; I'll keep them under control. Besides, we all know who's at the door.

Will trudged over to the front door, grumbling to himself and walking heavily, nearly stomping, but restraining himself because of the children. Then he sighed again, unlocked the door, and opened it.

The cold immediately struck him. Involuntarily, he shivered as he took in the icy surroundings of wind and snow and ice blowing all around. And then, finally, he looked the visitor straight in the eye and actually smiled, the harsh features of his face virtually disappearing as he pulled their visitor into the cabin and shut the door, locking it tightly.

The two men embraced for several long moments, and then walked through the main room, past the kitchen, and finally through the doorway leading to the family room.

"Granddaddy!" three high-pitched voices cried as their owners leapt out of their chairs and rushed over to their visitor.

Halt smiled as he wrapped them all into a tight bear hug, and then released his three grandchildren, beaming at their cute, Christmas-themed pajamas.

"And how is my beautiful young Emily today?" Halt asked as he ushered them all back to their seats. "My, how you've grown, Daniel! And what's this, Matthew? No longer a shy boy, eh? Now you're a strong man!"

Will quickly grabbed a chair from the dining table and pulled it up for his former mentor to sit in, close to the fire. Halt nodded his thanks as he leaned back into the chair and sighed.

"It didn't help my old, frail body one bit, you leaving me standing out there for ten minutes, Will," he said loudly, eyes closed.

Will smiled. He always caught on to Halt's jokes nowadays, after more than fifteen years' friendship between them.

"Well, I'm quite astonished that your old, frail body was still able to nearly squeeze the breath out of me after those agonizing ten minutes out there in the freezing blizzard," Will replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'd say that you're doing pretty well for your age, Halt."

Halt smiled, but kept his eyes closed. "Well then, why are we just sitting here talking about how old I am? Grandkids, what should we be doing? What do you think?"

All three of Will's children grinned. By now, they were familiar with the Christmas routine, even Emily, because Matthew and Daniel had run through the special act more than enough times to drill it into everyone's brains.

"Storytime!" they squealed. "Storytime!"

Halt smiled and opened his eyes again. Sitting directly in front of him, staring right at him with those pleading puppy eyes, holding their hands clasped out in front of them, silently begging him to keep going.

"Oh, all right, fine then," he said, pretending to scowl darkly at them, which only made the three children even happier. "But first, let's join hands and pray to the LORD for giving us this wonderful day. Gather 'round, everybody."

So Will and Alyss pulled their chairs up closer to where Halt and the three kids were gathered in front of the fire, and everyone held hands and sat in a circle, lowering their heads and closing their eyes to pray.

Will began.

"Father God, we pray tonight that you may bless this night and the anniversary of Your Son's birth. Let us all sleep peacefully tonight, and may we all enjoy the spirit of Christmas and of Saint Nicolas. Help us prepare for festivities and joy, and get rid of any pain or sorrow hanging in our hearts. May we rejoice in Your glory, Your power, and Your Kingdom. Amen."

After a moment's pause, Matthew cleared his throat and said quietly, "Lord Jesus, I pray that we may all be safe tonight and on Christmas Day. I pray that everyone could be happy and that they would celebrate Your Son's birthday, and that there would be much gift-giving and getting. May we all live in peace tomorrow. Amen."

Daniel waited a bit, and then continued, strongly and with passion, "Dear Father, I hope that tomorrow will be a wonderful day for everyone in the world, even the bad guys, if they can stop doing bad things and just think about what they've done with their lives so far. Lord, I pray that they will turn from their bad deeds and help others do the same. I pray that they will instead do good deeds and help others out and not be selfish or greedy or foolish or lazy. Amen."

Emily sat still for several moments, gathering her thoughts on what she was about to say. She frowned, knowing it was important to get every word right, and then began.

"Lord, I pway... I pway that evwybody could have fun," she said, struggling to pronounce the words correctly. "I want en-mies to stop fighting and become fwiends. I hope that famwies like ours can cel-ah-bwate and not fight but be happy. And may St. Nick also have fun and get pwesents. I hope he gets mine. Thank you, Lord. Amen."

Everyone smiled and waited until they were serious again, and once Alyss felt that everyone was ready, she continued the group prayer.

"Lord God, we thank You right now for everything You've done for us. We thank You for our clothes, our joyful decorations all over the house, our innocent children, and our great big, happy family. We pray that everything stays happy and peaceful on Christmas Day, and all through the holiday season. May Your will be done. Amen."

And then, at last, it was Halt's turn. He sighed once, paused another moment, and then did the closing prayer:

"Our dear Father, You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You are the Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. You are strong and powerful as our Savior the Lion. And You are merciful to us in Your forgiveness, the washing away of our sins through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank You for all that You have done for us. You have saved us so many times from the evil one, You have forgotten our iniquities, You have strengthened our faith, love, and understanding. You have protected us from the grave and destruction. You have given us such a wonderful, joyous family that holds together well. We thank You for all that, for everything we have, for all that You have given us, and we pray that our lives may stay that way until Your kingdom comes. Bless all that believe in Your Holy Name, and bestow grace upon this Christmas Day and the coming year. Thank you, Lord. Amen."

Everyone else repeated, "Amen."

And then everyone smiled and opened their eyes, hugging each other, cheering, singing merrily. But Halt made himself heard over all the commotion, somehow.

"Well, are we reading the bedtime story or not?"

Instantly, the three children stopped what they were doing and gathered around him, staring at him with their innocent puppy-eyes.

"Oh, please, please, please read it! Please, Grandpa Halt!" they cried, over and over again until Will and Alyss shushed them.

Halt smiled and leaned back in his chair, holding his arms out to his three grandchildren. With squeals of delight and shouts of joy, they clambered into his lap and waited as Will gently handed the old storybook to his ever-faithful mentor. The two men smiled at each other and shared a look of understanding before Will sat down.

Now everything was complete. It truly was Christmastime.

Halt cleared his throat and somehow managed to open the book with three squirming children bouncing around to get the best possible view of the pictures.

Then, at long last, he began the fabled story of old:

"'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house..."

Well, there it is! Please review to tell me what you thought of it.

And also, MeL, the 'other' story is coming right up. ;)