First of all, if you haven't read "All the Time in The Universe", I doubt you'll understand this fic.
Second, this is a Christmas fic, however, as you know, in BSG they have a politeistic faith, so a celebration with the name Christmas wouldn't make much sense as this version of Earth is different from the real one. Therefore, it will be referred as the Winter Solstice.
Hope you liked this.
The city of New Delphi in the province of North America was covered with a thick blanket of snow. Everything was in tones of white, children played in the streets, the morning sun illuminated the city making it look like a scenery taken right out of a postcard.
Seven months had passed since the Colonial's arrival to Earth. The formerly abandoned town of North Stone had been resuscitated by the colonials (95% of its current inhabitants) and only recently finished. It was a perfect place to finally breathe real air, compared with the one they had to live with for the years they had been confined to spaceships.
"So, tell me more about this Winter Solstice celebration thing," Kara Adama asked Jane Anders (formerly Natasi), who was cleaning her bar's counter. Right after their arrival to Earth, Sam had taken Jane and her daughter (also his daughter for all intents and purposes) to a city in the middle of the desert – often referred as 'Earth's playground' – where they were married by an impersonator of some deceased rock star.
Jane looked up at her friend. "Why don't you just google it?"
"It's easier to ask you. I heard you explaining it to the Old Man yesterday and you seemed to know a lot about it…" Kara said. The Solstice was two weeks away and the kids seemed to be pretty excited about it.
"Because I bothered to investigate," Jane explained.
Kara sighed. "I'm just so tired all the time. Zak's pregnancy was a lot easier…" She rubbed her eight-month baby bump – another girl to the team. Luckily, she wasn't having twins like Sharon Agathon, who seemed to be highly uncomfortable with her overgrown bump these days.
"Fine, I'll explain," Jane said. If she knew Kara well, the other woman would just keep asking until she gave in. "The Winter Solstice is an annual planet-wide holiday, celebrated in the day of the December solstice, which is the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. During this holiday season people decorate their houses with ornamented fir trees, lights, candles, stars, mistletoe…"
"Ornamented trees?" Kara asked in confusion. "Why would people bring ornamented trees to their houses?"
"I don't know, it's tradition," Jane said. "I did this entire ornament thing yesterday and let me tell you that Sam, JJ and I had a great time decorating the tree. See, it is a family thing, the whole celebration brings us together."
Kara made a metal note to try that at home. Kacey and Zak might like it…
"In Solstice Eve there are religious celebrations and after that there is usually some kind of a family or friends dinner where they eat turkey, ham and other foods. Then, in Solstice day people give gifts to each other, like you did in the colonies during Colonial Day… well, before they were blown up," Jane added. "Still, they lie to the kids and say it was Santa Claus who gives them the presents if they behave."
"Hum, that sounds interesting," Kara mumbled. "You know, we could all do this Solstice Eve thing together: You, Sam and JJ, Me, Lee and the kids, Sharon, Helo and Hera, Dad and Laura… maybe even Tigh, so the guy won't end up alone…"
"That might be a good idea," Jane agreed. They acted all family-ish these days. If the Solstice was a family thing, they should bring the family together. "We still have two weeks to prepare…"
"Yeah, that'll give me something to do for a change," she grumbled. "Stupid Lee won't let me move a finger. Always telling me to put my feet up. If I wanted them up, they'd be up, damn it! This is so our last kid…"
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Winter Solstice Eve arrived and confusion followed. Lee and Kara's place was filled with people – there would be a total of thirteen by dinner, which wouldn't be a problem if their house by the lake was finished, but, as it wasn't, the two bedroom apartment would have to do…
As Lee insisted she was to be treated like an invalid due to her very advanced pregnancy, Kara was simply in charge of lounging on the couch and stare at the damn tree. Gods, it had been a pain to decorate it… When they had gotten to the store, Kacey had fallen in love with a pink tree, to her mother's horror – in her four-year-old innocence, the kid was convinced that she should like pink 'cause she was a girl.
"Kace, you didn't even like pink," Kara told her daughter, sitting on one of the benches in the store.
"I'm a girl, Momma. Every girl likes pink," the little girl replied. "That's what Sally said."
Sally, right. One of Kacey's friends from school, who happened to be one of these very girly girls. Kara cursed the kid… "Kacey, I'm a girl and I don't like pink," Kara declared.
"But you're a grown up, Momma," her daughter pointed out.
"But a pink tree, Kacey?" Lee said, holding Zak by the hand so he wouldn't run around like crazy. "Honey, I'm sure your brother would love a blue one, but isn't a real tree – a green one – a lot prettier?"
Kacey pouted. "But I want the pink one," she insisted in a low tone.
Great, it was turning into a tantrum… Kara prayed for a peaceful resolution. Her back was just killing her.
"Let's make a deal, Kacey. We take a green tree and you can put something pink in there," her father suggested.
The kid seemed to consider the offer for a while and finally nodded, not looking completely satisfied. "'kay," Kacey mumbled.
Of course, Kara hadn't believed in the slightest that Kacey would just accept to have her way with a single pink item. She was her daughter after all. So, several puppy-dog eyes later, half the tree's decorations were pink.
Kara sighed, looking at the tree. That was one ugly thing… The only reason she loved the damn tree was because the four of them had had a great time decorating it. Currently, little Zak and JJ, were lying under it, surrounded by presents and staring up at the lights – it had been their favorite past-time the whole afternoon. She heard some giggling coming from behind the tree. It was surprising how these two got along so well even though JJ was a girl and seven months younger than Zak (not to mention that she was still a crawler).
"Momma," Kacey said, showing up by her side. "Grandma is yelling at Grandpa."
"Really?" Kara got up – she couldn't miss seeing the Old Man being yelled at. Roslin and the Old Man had only been married for two months and they were already at each other's throats.
"Bill, you were supposed to watch the ham while I set the table with Kacey," Laura shouted at her husband in the moment Kara entered the kitchen. "Couldn't you smell it burning?!"
"I have a cold," Bill replied. "I can't smell anything. It's not my fault."
"Gods, where is everyone when we need them?" Laura turned to see Kara standing by the door.
"Seems like we never left Galactica…" she said.
"Where's everyone?" her mother-in-law asked in disbelief. "Really, shouldn't they be helping?"
"Jane had to go to the store, Helo and his people are gods know where and Lee is with Sam and Tigh making Eggnog in the bar," Kara stated. Seemed like her only job that day was to know everyone's agenda. "But I can help. Really, give me something to do."
"You can lie on that sofa and watch TV," the Old Man said in his Admiral tone.
"But…" she protested.
Laura put her hands on Kara's shoulders and all but pushed her back to the living room.
Before she managed to enter the room, the apartment's door opened and Jane entered along with Little Hera, who went looking for Kacey the moment she stepped into the house. "Well, Helo and Sharon can't come. Their twins are coming. They called me to get Hera before they went to the Hospital."
"Oh gods," Laura murmured. "That's it, this day officially not going well…"
"What's burning?" Jane inquired, sniffing the air.
"The Ham," Kara said before entering the living room and settling back on the couch.
"No, not the Ham!" She heard Jane saying.
At some point, Zak and JJ gave up playing around the tree and settled on the sofa by Kara's side. The little boy resting his head on his mother's bump trying to hear his unborn sister and JJ was half-napping.
Once again, the apartment's door opened and Lee entered along with Sam, face down.
"How's the eggnog?" Kara enquired.
"Not so well," Sam said, approaching his sleeping daughter. He kissed the little girl's forehead and she opened her eyes, mumbling "Daddy". He lifted her to his arms and settled back in another sofa, letting JJ nap on his lap.
"Sam here misread the recipe and instead of putting either rum, whiskey or brandy in the mix, he put all of them," Lee told his wife. He turned back to Sam. "Some bar owner you are."
"Hey, I never made eggnog before," Sam said. "Jane's usually the one in charge of the mixes…"
"Right, and thanks to that Tigh is back home puking his guts out," Lee stated.
Kara laughed at the thought of the former XO spending the night gagging. "Colonel Pukeface," she said with a laugh. "Aren't cylons supposed to be extra-resistant to alcohol?"
"Apparently not the final-five," Sam pointed out.
Lee turned the TV on and they watched some Solstice-special program. Kacey and Hera re-entered the room at some point and they sat on the floor, against Kara's legs.
The Old Man, Roslin and Jane joined them in the living room. "The Ham's ruined," Jane announced. "Where's the Eggnog?"
"In beverage hell," Sam mumbled, looking up at his wife. "We kind of made it wrong and ended up with some sickening and potentially explosive drink. Ask Tigh, he's still choking it back."
Laura reached for the phone and sighed. "I guess we're eating pizza in Solstice Eve…"
Jane occupied the sat at her husband's left and he put one arm around her shoulders. She brushed a few brown curls from her daughter's sleeping face.
While Roslin ordered several pizzas, Kara Adama sighed. "Well, let me voice all our thoughts. This Winter Solstice Eve was a piece of crap."
"Couldn't have said better," the Old Man agreed.
"Hey, at least we're all together on Earth," Lee pointed out in his positive self. "We always have next year."
Kara leaned her head against his shoulder. "Yeah, next year." It didn't matter that their party plans had crashed and burned. The best of that day is that they were all together and in peace times. That was more than she had expected one year earlier.
It's just a little thing I felt like writting. Hope you liked it. Review!
By the way, Happy Christmas!