Part IV
For twenty years, Jake and his family had run Christmas like it was a game. Since Rose had returned, they had made a routine of one parent taking the Children out and distracting them while the other dealt with the decorations and the presents. This had grown considerably easier in the past few years with the additions to the family and their list of friends. Kailey, Michael and Daemon were now being handled by Luong so that cleared the younger kids out of the house, and with Rose, Erin, Johnny, Jackie and Marissa taking DJ's time, they virtually had every base covered. "Rachel, go to your room and don't' leave it."
"Is this the part where you decorate the house for Christmas?" His daughter questioned.
Jake glared at her and nodded, "Yes, and if you want your gifts then you'll do as I say."
"Fine," Rachel returned the glare one more time before turning on her heels and departing the living room. Jake waited for the customary slam of her door before turning to his Daughter and Sister and giving them a nod and smile. It was time to decorate the house.
Alyssa put her hands on her hips, "Daddy, you shouldn't be so tough on her."
"Lyss, I'm working off of experience," Jake commented before turning to Haley.
The younger Long Sibling had been clearing the Christmas Items out of the various closets in the Apartment. It was clear that Christmas was a well prepared holiday in their home, twenty boxes of lights, ornaments, decorations and various mementos were now sitting on the couch. And of course there was the Christmas tree. It was fake of course. But it was a beautiful tree and it still one of the largest trees that he had ever seen apart from the Rockefeller Center Tree, standing at Nine feet. "Lyss, you help Haley get the tree up."
"And what are you going to do? Sit on your ass?" Alyssa snapped. She didn't like decorating for the holidays in her own home let alone her parents. But it was a tradition in the family.
Jake smiled, "As much as you wish, no, I'm going to go get the gifts from my hiding places and wrap them. I want your brothers and sisters to see what your mom and I got them."
"And tease them?" Alyssa added, and Jake smirked in remembrance.
Back in the days when it was just she and him, he'd the Christmas Tree up and the gifts out on December 1st and toy with her for the entire twenty five day span, he still did that with his other children but to a lesser degree. It appeared that with the addition of age and Rose he had gotten the parenting thing down, his sons were mannered, polite and obedient when they needed to be and his daughters were almost a complete three hundred sixty degree turn from Alyssa. "You'll be happy to know that I've grown up since you were a kid."
"And since I'm no longer a child," Alyssa said quickly walking over to her father and grasping the collar of his shirt, "I demand that you show me that damn hiding place."
Jake chuckled, "We don't even live in the same place, and they've changed."
"Conventional Wisdom says that you'd hide them in the same place as you did when we lived in the old place," Alyssa said tightening her grip, "As the American Dragon and one of your many abused kids, I demand that you show me where you hide them."
The former American Dragon pouted his lips and spoke to her in a falsetto voice that pissed everyone off, "Oh is the little kid inside the big bad American Dwagon angwy?"
"I'd listen to her Jake," Haley snickered from the couch as she unfurled the seemingly endless lights from their spools, "She seems pretty adamant about seeing where they are."
Jake turned his head towards his sister and stuck his tongue out at her, "Bite me."
Returning the gesture in kind, she cleared her throat, "I'm sorry, but I don't want to vomit."
"Seriously Daddy," Alyssa said, she was more serious this time, "Call it a dream of mine."
He looked at her with an amazed expression, "Oh god Alyssa, you're serious aren't you?"
"Yes I am," She affirmed walking forward and burying her head in the crook of her Father's arm and nuzzling him, "Please Daddy, Please, I promise I'll be a good girl."
Jake rolled his eyes and pushed his daughter gently away from him, "Alright you little shit."
"Yay," Alyssa smiled before she shared an amused glance with her Aunt.
Luong wrapped his jacket tighter around him and sighed as watched his cousins swoon over the Statue of Liberty. He hadn't known what to do with them, when his Uncle had called him and told him to get them out of the apartment, he was looking out the window and the first thing that he had seen was the Statue. And if Manhattan was cold during the winter, it was even colder on Liberty Island in the middle of winter, while it was snowing.
The cold had drained him completely and he wondered why his little cousins were so energized, well at least Michael and Daemon were –They were acting like they had never seen the Statue before- Kailey on the other hand was clinging at his side as if life depended on it.
"I want to go home," Kailey whined as she rubbed her hands together, "It's so cold!"
He chuckled and ruffled the little girl's dirty blonde hair, "Your Dad told us to stay out."
"I'm gonna tell Mom on him!" Kailey scowled.
Again Luong chuckled and took the little girls features in. While his other cousin Rachel bore a resemblance to his mother, Kailey and Alyssa looked like their mother. The button nose, the natural blond locks and the penitent for scowling, she might have been eleven years old, but he still thought of the girl as a toddler and probably always would. "That won't work."
"And why not?" She asked again, agitation growing in her blue eyes.
"Because she's doing the same thing with DJ," Luong responded, "They're working together to make sure that you guys have a great Christmas. So let's just suck it up and wait."
Kailey crossed her arms over her chest, "Fine, but I am not happy, Not at all."
"Neither am I," Luong said patting the girl on the shoulder with a bored sigh.
He turned to look at the boys. They were currently giggling and running around on the grass as if they were baboons or something. Luong shook his head incredulity and then his eyes widened when he saw Michael – the more hyper of the twins- with his pants around his ankles and mooning the Statue of Liberty. He choked down laughter and looked down at Kailey, who was disgusted by her brothers. "Are you sure that they're related to you Kay?"
It was cold as hell and Rose wanted nothing more than to get inside and eat whatever putrid food Jackie had to offer. When she was younger she would have eaten pretty much anything that was given to her, but then her appetite had gotten severely picker when she was pregnant with Alyssa and it had stayed that way. In some ways she could argue that her five other pregnancies had diminished the food that she loved, but in the years after she had her tubes tied, that statement was less than valid. But it would always be valid for Jackie's food.
Pressing the lock button on her car keys, she stowed them in her pocket and motioned impatiently for DJ to catch up to her. Twelve years ago she had made this very same journey in the rain and with her son in-law, and it was surreal to her that when she had done that, DJ was three and was as tall as her knee. But he was fifteen now and he was just as tall as she was and it made her feel old.
Throwing a hand around DJ's shoulder, she pulled him to her as they walked down the smooth walkway, "Now I want you to be on your best behavior. You remember the story of when I first came to this house and how Jackie reacted to me?"
"How she wanted to fillet you?" DJ asked. His lip twitched in amusement.
Rose nodded with a smile, "Now if you piss her off and she puts a knife to your throat, I don't want to have to kick a sixty year olds ass. Not to mention, Johnny, Erin and Marissa."
When she thought of Marissa, she remembered the fondness that she felt for the girl when she had first met her. But then she also remembered where she had found her and the reasons why. She would also never forget the day that the murderers of those kids were punished, it was a brutal and almost scary day on the Isle of Draco.
And it was also the first time she had seen her husband ever kill someone without provocation. It was a side of Jake that she hadn't seen since and hoped to never see again.
"Your division not only violated my orders," Jake began to pace the length of the room that the interim Dragon Council had provided them, "You not only murdered innocent people, but you killed infants. Children that didn't know any better, that couldn't even talk. You should all be ashamed to be alive after what you did. And I what I hate even more about this, is the fact that you five actually make me want to go back in time and send you to the Huntsclan myself so that they could slay you and skin you all alive. It's only fair."
Before Jake were the five Dragon Captains that had stormed the Huntsclan Academy shortly after Huntsman Sindacco was killed, they had that blank look of discipline that all Soldiers had, but Jake could see that they were just aching to question his logic.
Behind him stood Rose, Jackie and Erin, it was unknown to the soldiers why they were there, but it was for a number of reasons, all of which were not good for the men. It was Dragon Law that if a family member was killed, the family of the victim had the right to take justice. That's why the Dragon Council had allowed them to be there. And the soldiers were in the dark in terms of what was about to happen to them.
"I assume that you are all aware the Wesson Accords of 1838?" Jake said stopping in front of the men and crossing his arms over his chest. As soon as the mention of that law left his lips, the five pairs of eyes shot wide and stared at him in incredulity.
The solider on the far right looked positively astounded, "With all due respect general, what does that law have to do with us? We did not kill any of your family members in the raid."
"No," Jake shook his head a motioned to the two brooding, dark haired women who were standing just behind him, "But you did kill one of their family members, and as of an hour before you arrive here, the Council Approved the Wesson Action. Gentleman, you will be the first people to die from that law in decades. You're families will be given the news of your death in combat as to save you from shame, let's just get this over with."
"General Long," One of the men said quietly.
Jake looked at the man and narrowed his eyes. "Yes, Solider?"
"If you are going to enact the Wesson Accord," His voice broke for a moment before he cleared his throat, "I-I …w-wish, I wish for you to do it yourself, to give me some dignity."
The former American Dragon scowled for a moment before tossing a glance over his shoulder at Erin and Jackie. They gave him a stiff nod and then Jake let out an exhausted sigh, he hated doing this, but these men violated orders and had committed crimes that were unspeakable, "Are you sure that you want me to kill you Solider?"
"Yes Sir," He began shakily, "Jus-Just make it quick."
That had been the retribution that Jackie and Erin could have at the murder of a family member and after it happened, they refused to even acknowledge that it happened. She didn't blame them, in fact she would have wanted bury her head in the sand. But they had gotten to raise Marissa and that perhaps was the silver lining. "Mom, I think you need a CAT Scan. That has got to be the third time today that you've sort of went blank."
Rose shook her and patted her son on the shoulder as they walked up the immaculate porch, "I've just had a lot on my mind. Just shut up and act adorable and interested."
DJ snickered as he reached forward and tapped the doorbell, "If I must."
Authors Note: We're going to have the next chapter devoted to the Hutchinson Family, DJ and Rose. Then we'll send everyone home for the night. Did I mention that its December 23rd currently in this story so that means that there aren't that many parts left to this!
Please leave a review for me and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays too you!
