"Oh my, this brings back memories."

Looking up from where she was seated, cross legged, at the base of the giant Fir tree that was currently taking up a good part of the common room, Ashley gave her mother a curious look. Up until Mom's statement, she had been stringing popcorn and cranberries to hang on the tree, but she paused to ask, "What, Mom?"

Across the room, Biggie, Will and Kate stopped rummaging through boxes of festive decorations, but the Big Guy did plant a ring of glittery garland atop the former mercenary's dark tresses. From where he was seated, offering helpful suggestions and a running commentary, Tesla raised a brow, but kept on drinking a bottle of the really, really expensive wine. They were all intrigued by the comment, knowing Helen's memories were often interesting and full of historical figures.

Smiling, Helen made a motion with her hand and said, "The two of you. Under the tree."

It was a simple statement, not anything embarrassing, but when Helen walked over to a particular book case, both Ashley and Henry groaned. This made Biggie grin and laugh, while Will, Kate abandoned their hunt for ornaments and scrambled over to where Helen was taking a seat, large tome in her lap. Tesla tried not to look interested, but he shifted closer to her on the couch.

Of course, that could have just been Tesla being Tesla.

Reluctantly, Ashley and Henry moved across the room, the HAP technician claiming an overstuffed armchair, while Ashley perched on one of the arms.

Flipping open the book, Helen spoke, "Ashley was only a few months old for her first Christmas and Henry had been with us for only a month."

She turned the album so that everyone could see the photos affixed to the pages.

There was a giant. Festively lit tree, quite possibly standing in the same spot their tree currently occupied. In front of it was an outdated baby seat sat a small, blue eyed baby with a button nose. Her wispy blond hair was held back by a little headband, the bow matching her red velvet dress. The outfit was completed by snow white tights and tiny, black patent leather shoes.

If it was possible, the baby (clearly an itty bitty version of Ashley) looked supremely disgruntled over being forced into the outfit. Her tiny fists were balled into fists and it looked like a shriek was imminent.

Hovering close by was the kiddie version of Henry, all huge green eyes and messy hair. His sweater was a dark emerald and his pants chocolate corduroy. Oddly, he seemed to be bare foot, small bare toes peeking out from beside Ashley's carrier. He looked torn between being spooked and smiling at baby Ashley, who was gripping his finger in one of her hands.

Overall the picture was adorable.

"Aw," Kate said, smiling and Will shot her an amused look. She rolled her eyes and gave him a quick punch in the arm. "What?"

"Nothing," the profiler said, holding up his hands in submission. After a moments consideration, she seemed satisfied.

Of course Tesla refused to leave well enough alone and said, "Simply put, my dear, you don't seem the sort to go 'Aw' over tiny human…or should I say tiny abnormals."

The mercenary glared, but any retort she might have made was interrupted by Biggie's voice.

"Do you remember how much work it took to get that picture?" he rumbled fondly, reaching out a big hand to ruffle Henry's already rather interesting and gravity defying experimental hairstyle.

"Good Lord," Helen chuckled, a warm expression in her eyes as they got that slightly far off focus. "Yes…."

Flashback

Helen hadn't been much of one to celebrate Christmas, not for many, many years. Bigfoot often attended Father Justin's holiday services, but they never bothered to decorate the Sanctuary or put much stock into celebrating the holidays.

This year however, everything was different. They had not one but two children in residence, one of whom was old enough to comprehend when something special and different was happening.

Well, more different. Poor little Henry was still in the process of acclimating to life at the Sanctuary. Clearly, he and his departed parents had lived a more…undomesticated lifestyle. At five, Helen would have expected most youngsters to have a grasp on language, possibly even able to read simple written words.

Though clearly bright, Henry seemed to have no verbal skills when she found him. Helen wasn't sure how his parents or others of their kind (the ones that lived rough, that is. She'd heard tales of HAP's who lived unnoticed amongst normals) communicated, but he seemed to be catching on.

Over the years, Helen had rescued many orphaned young abnormals and always found them good homes where they would be raised in a loving, safe environment. She'd never contemplated raising on of the foundlings, not until now.

Maybe it was the new mommy hormones (her beautiful one and a half month old baby had been safe at home when she found Henry), but her heart had gone out to the little boy on the Moors. She'd gathered him up into her arms, trying to turn his face from the view of his slain parents, and, as she felt his frail little arms wrap around her neck, she knew she'd be taking this little fellow home with her.

They gave him the name Henry and surname Foss (a tribute to her father's blacksmith) and, after a good scrubbing and haircut, he looked like any other little boy.

She was thankful Ashley was still in the phase where she mostly slept, burbled and ate, because it left time to help their new little housemate adjust.

Fortunately, he was never violent or overly aggressive (both positive signs, considering what was known about HAP strength), though he did put up quite a fuss over having his nails trimmed. He was also less than fond of clothing, especially anything rough, stiff or new. Shoes…well, they never stayed on his feet for long.

Helen would never say it aloud, but on a bad day, the sight of the tiny, naked boy darting down the hall (he was something of an escape artist, very fond of wandering the halls), chased by Biggie (holding the discarded clothes), could make her laugh. After some trial and error, they found he'd wear very soft fabrics, like flannel and much washed cotton without too much objection.

It had been heartwarming to see how taken he was with Ashley. He seemed to know instinctively that she was a baby and thus eminently breakable. Never rough with her, he could usually be found in Ashley's nursery when Biggie, Helen or Brian (Helen's protégée) were not trying to teach him the words for everyday items. Just recently, he'd said his first word and only, "Ash."

So, with the two little ones around, Helen thought they should begin celebrating the holidays again. Ashley was too young to appreciate what was going on, but the baby was going to be a part of everything.

The sudden appearance of a tree inside the house seemed to confuse Henry, who circled the fir warily, peering up at it. After a moment, her turned to Helen and pointed at the tree, expression clearly asking, "What is this?"

Non verbal communication was still communication, so hand gestures were something of a triumph. "It's a Christmas tree, Henry," she said, knowing the sentence would mean next to nothing to him though he did respond to his name. "We're going to decorate it."

As though on cue, Biggie entered the room, carrying boxes of decorations he'd gotten from storage.

Henry was still eyeing the tree in confusion as Helen settled Ashley into her playpen and the baby began to gnaw on the bars. Keeping an eye on the children, Helen helped Bigfoot sort through the boxes, locating the tangled strands of lights. While they unwound the mass of wires and replaced burnt out bulbs, Henry settled himself down beside the playpen with a box of Lincoln Logs.

Michael, who designed and maintained the Sanctuary's weapons and security systems, said the boy was fascinated with anything that could be put together and taken apart. He'd spend hours watching Michael do simple repairs, quiet and focused…until something mechanical would make too loud a noise, then Henry would bolt and it would take hours to locate him. Last time, Helen had found the boy in the ventilation system.

The little fellow had stopped twitching every time someone used a light switch and he would poke at the TV in fascination, but loud noises, particularly crowds and automobiles, were enough to make him run or, if escape was impossible, tremble rather violently.

Everyone was in agreement that Henry was to stay inside the Sanctuary walls until his nerves settled.

Over the course of the next hour, Helen and Biggie decorated the tree with an eclectic assortment of ornaments, collected though the years. Occasionally, Henry could be coaxed to place a bulb or trinket, but he seemed to prefer hanging back by the pen and observing.

Once everything was in place. Helen swept Ashley off to dress her in the adorable holiday frock she'd picked for her, while Bigfoot wrangled Henry.

It was hard to say who had the less enviable task.

When Helen returned to the common room, Ashley in her arms, Bigfoot and Henry were waiting. The boy was dressed, though barefoot, and crouched unhappily on a corner of the couch.

Considering everything, this was clearly a triumph.

Quickly placing Ashley in the carrier seat already set before the tree, Helen prayed that the baby would hold in the imminent tears for another few moments. Scooping up Henry, she placed him by Ashley and, ad expected, he shifted closer, offering a hand to the baby, who grabbed at his finger as Helen backed away.

Ever vigilant, Bigfoot snapped several photos before the dam broke and Ashley began to wail.

Cringing, Henry turned wide, worried eyes toward Helen, having learned someone would invariably step in when Ashley's crying reached a certain volume.

With a sigh, Helen lifted her daughter into her arms, making soothing noises and kissing her soft hair. Ashley continued to sob and Helen knew she wouldn't be fully calmed until she was rid of the itchy tights. Henry was tugging on the neck of his sweater, so Helen took his hand, knowing they'd be much happier once back in their comfortable clothes.

As they left the room, Helen hoped at least one of the pictures came out pleasingly. This was not something she wanted to do again for at least another year

End Flashback

Still smiling, Helen shook herself from her reminiscing and looked at the two grown children perched on the chair.

Ashley, her baby girl whom she'd once thought lost, sitting there, whole, healthy and happy. Henry, the son she'd never had, finally comfortable with his dual nature and at peace.

Of course, there current shared states of contentment could have something to do with the 'secret' relationship they'd been growing into since Ashley's return. They were really quite adorable, thinking they were being so stealthy and subtle.

Helen had to admit, she was quite pleased by this development. Henry had never spoken much about his social life, the only girlfriend she'd ever known him to have was that young HAP doctor, but that brief relationship had been conducted almost entirely on Skype. Ashley's taste in men usually ran to the unsavory arms dealer types, as they were the people she interacted most with outside the Sanctuary.

So Helen knew they'd be a good match for each other.

"Tell me," she said, feeling a bit impish, "Any chance there will be a grandchild to sit under the tree in the next couple of years? I'd like to be a grandmother before I hit 165, you know."

Ashley and Henry gaped, cheeks flushing as they realized they'd been caught. Nikola chuckled, though he tried to hide it behind the rim of his glass. Kate and Will exchanged grins, knowing that they'd be able to tease the couple now that Helen had 'outed' them. Biggie gave a huff of amusement, but Helen knew he too hoped to hear the patter of little feet running the halls again.

"You knew?" Ashley finally managed to ask, while Henry looked like he was trying to will his body's molecular structure to merge with that of the chair so he could disappear. Poor boy was clearly still traumatized by the 'relationship talk' Helen had given him when he was 12.

"We all knew," Kate said with a shrug, never one to beat around the bush.

More gently, Will added, "It's kind of hard to miss how you two act around each other. That kind of love is hard to hide."

For some reason, that made Henry relax enough to give Ashley a soft, affectionate gaze, which she was more than happy to return as she took his hand.

Helen smiled, thinking it was quite possible to think she might have a grandchild within the next few years.

She couldn't wait.

Comments, pretty please?