Disclaimer : I am not Stephenie Meyer. I just love her characters and am playing with them a bit purely for my own (and hopefully other's) amusement. No disrespect or copyright infringement is intended.
CHAPTER NINE – CHRISTMAS IN LA PUSH
Before they knew it, Christmas was here. Willow had been so busy preparing for the holiday and trying to keep gifts hidden from nosy wolves with their enhanced senses. Jacob had managed to sniff out the leather jacket she had bought him but she stood her ground and made him wait. She relented and gave it to him on Christmas Eve so he could wear it to the pack Christmas party. The pack was having their gathering at the Council Hall. The gathering for the pack, imprints and families. Being that 3 of the 5 tribal council members were going to be in attendance, they were given special permission. Everyone pitched in with the cooking and the pack decorated the hall to look like a winter wonderland.
Willow was enjoying the party but her mother was on her mind. Every now and Billy would notice she would look like she was miles away. She sat at a table while the guys were helping Harry Clearwater organize the packages under the Christmas tree to start the gift exchange. He rolled over and joined her.
"Hey kiddo, how you doing?" He asked gently.
"Missing Mom." She smiled sadly at him. Paul looked over hearing her answer and could see the pain on her face. His heart tightened. He knew she was struggling with memories of her mother.
Billy reached over and squeezed her hand. "Me too. Joanie loved Christmas."
"Yes, she did. She would put the damn tree the first opportunity she had after Thanksgiving." Willow chuckled at the memory. "She put up so many Christmas lights I swear you could see the house from space."
Billy laughed out loud. "She used to steal the lights and hang them in her bedroom when she lived at home." He shook his head.
Willow laughed but tears welled up in her eyes. Billy picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. "I know it's hard. I miss her too. I made so many mistakes. But I honor her spirit by taking care of you and it brings some peace. Your mother loved you more than life itself. She would be proud of how you are doing with everything."
Willow leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thanks Uncle Billy. She loved you too." She whispered.
"TIME FOR EXCHANGING OF GIFTS!" Harry Clearwater boomed over the buzz of conversation. He started calling out names distributing gifts. Soon everyone was ripping into gifts from their friends. The families would exchange gifts to each other privately in the morning. For Willow that included Paul, Embry and Charlie Swan as he would be joining them for Christmas brunch and dinner
At the end of the night Willow was surprised at the thoughtful gifts her friends and their families had given her. She had similarly put a lot of thought into each gift she gave and with the heartfelt thanks she received she thought she had done a decent job. Paul drove her home after the party and carried her packages in for her. He placed them on her bed as she followed him into her room.
"Did you have a nice time?" He asked her as she sat on the edge of her bed
"I did" she sighed. She smiled up at him as he leaned over and kissed her forehead
"I know the holidays are hard without your mom." He said quietly as he looked down at her. "But I hope you felt how much everyone there cares about you. You are pack, family. We can't replace your Mom but you're not alone.
"I did feel it and it helps. I have more family now than I have ever known but there's still a hole." She had tears in her eyes again.
He pulled her up to her feet and wrapped her into a warm hug. "I know exactly what you mean, I still feel that way at the holidays too. I'm here for you. Baby Girl."
She rested her head on his chest and let the tears that had threatened all night flow. He held her, stroking her hair until she quieted. She sniffled and pulled away
"Thanks Paul." She whispered, looking up at him.
He cupped her face, using his thumbs to dry his tears. "Anytime, beautiful." He smiled at her and kissed her forehead again.
"Paul, are you crashing here or what?" came Jacob's voice down the hall. Willow sighed and looked at the alarm clock. It was after midnight.
Paull glanced over to check the time as well and sighed. "Trying to get rid of me, Black?"
Jacob appeared in the doorway and Paul turned so they both could look at Jake.
"Space is tight up in here lately. If you're staying, are you going to be the big spoon or the little spoon, cuz Em has dibs on the couch." Jake teased
Paul growled and his fist flashed out but Jake dodged it. Willow laughed at their antics.
"Go, Go. No fighting on Christmas." She said lightly slapping Paul's arm.
He turned back to her still scowling. She stood on her tip toes and pressed a kiss to his chin. His face smoothed
"Okay. See you in a few hours." He sighed, kissing the top of her head
"You too are so damn sweet. Kind of makes me queasy." Jake teased then darted down the hall when Willow lunged at him.
Paul caught her around her waist, laughing. "No fighting on Christmas, remember?" he whispered in her ear. She sighed and melted against him
"Sure, sure" she mumbled. Paul laughed again and kissed her temple before releasing her and headed for the door.
The next morning Paul and Charlie arrived at the house at the same time. Willow had spent couple of days before the holiday prepping as much as she could so their day would flow nicely without her being in the kitchen all day. She was up early so that the French toast casserole and Quiches she made were all done early enough to get her prime rib she was making for dinner in the oven.
"Present time!" Jake said rubbing his hands together. Willow laughed at him
Jake of course passed out the presents. Again, Willow was touched at the gifts she received. Embry had made her a dream catcher, using shells from the beach and eagle feathers. Her nightmares were fewer but she still had them regularly. Embry blushed when Willow kissed his cheek in thanks. Paul had growled softly and Willow just quirked a questioning brow at him. Jake and Billy had worked on her gift together. Jake had fashioned a picture frame with multiple openings out of a piece of wood. He had carved intricate designs of the beach and wolves into the wood. Billy had located and made reprints of pictures from Joan's childhood and filled every opening.
"OH!" Willow exclaimed when she saw it. She ran her fingers over the carvings. "It's amazing you guys." Tears spilled down her cheeks seeing her mother as young girl.
"This kind of goes with that." Charlie said quietly. He was uncomfortable with displays of emotion.
Willow was startled that Charlie was giving her a gift even though she had given both him and Billy some ice fishing gear.
"Thank you, Charlie. You didn't have to." She said, wiping her tears.
"You always bring a gift for the hostess." He mumbled then cleared his throat. "Besides, I knew your mom too. She was like my baby sister."
Willow opened the package. There was another hand carved frame and a photo of her mother posing on the beach between Billy and Charlie. It looked as if it had been taken just before she left home. More tears ran down her cheeks.
"Thank you, Charlie." She whispered. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder gently.
"Excuse me a minute guys." She said softly. She took the gifts she had received and retreated to her room.
Paul watched her go, his heart aching for her. Jake nudged Paul's leg. He handed him the small gift that Paul had placed under the tree for Willow and jerked his head toward the hall. Paul nodded, slipping the box in his pocket and followed her.
He found her standing in front of her dresser, where she had placed the picture frames. Tears were flowing down her cheeks and she had a small smile on her face.
"You okay, Baby girl?" He asked from the doorway. He still wouldn't go into her bedroom unless she invited him.
She turned to face him, wiping her tears. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a bit overwhelmed." She admitted. She made her way over to him as he watched her closely. She reached out for him and he closed the distance to take her into his arms. He held her for a few minutes, allowing her to take comfort from him. She pressed a kiss to his chest and pulled away.
"You ready for your present?" she asked, smiling up at him.
He kissed the tip of her nose. "I already have everything I want." He murmured.
She rolled her eyes at him and backed out of his embrace. "Sit down and close your eyes" She motioned to the chair next to her bed as she made her way to the closet. She turned before opening the door to be sure he obeyed
Paul did as his imprint told him. He really couldn't deny her anything. He heard her movements as she opened the closet and shifted things around before removing something. He smelled leather, wood and metal. He felt her place a large item I his lap.
"OK" she said quietly.
Paul did and looked at the case in his lap. It was a beautiful leather guitar case. "What did you do?" he asked frowning as she sat on the edge of the bed.
She grinned at him. "I couldn't stand looking at that beat-up thing you called a guitar anymore" she teased as he flipped the case open. Nestled inside was a brand-new Martin acoustic.
"Willow, this is too much." He said in awe as he lifted it out of the case. She pulled the case off his lap and put it on the bed next to her.
"No, it's not Paul. You are so patient and gentle with me. I know it can't be easy for you." She watched as he ran his hand over the wood before strumming to check the tune.
Paul cocked an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"
"I've talked to the girls, as well as Billy and Old Quil. I've been trying to learn about the imprint and the connection we had even before." Paul frowned. "Don't be upset. With everything I've been through, I'm scared."
Paul stood and put the guitar in the case before sitting next to her and taking her hands. "I'm not upset. I understand." He assured her, squeezing her hands. "I've had my own conversations with them as well as Sam and Emily. I'm scared too. I never felt like this before and I know what you have been through. I never want to make you uncomfortable."
Willow kissed his cheek. "I know and I thank you. And that is exactly why the gift is not too much." She said smiling.
He chuckled at her and leaned back to pull her gift out of his pocket. "Your turn." He said handing it to her.
"No ring" she teased.
"No ring" he confirmed solemnly.
Willow removed the paper and ribbons revealing the small black box. It was bigger than a ring box thankfully. She opened it to reveal a necklace with a silver heart shaped pendent. Etched into the surface was a wolf's head.
"Paul it's beautiful" she whispered as she removed it from the box.
"Turn it over." He murmured.
She did and found engraved "My heart I surrender" engraved in script on the back. She noticed it was a locket. She popped it open but it was empty. She looked up at him questioning.
"I thought I'd let you decide what you were going to put in there." He smiled at her. "That and I don't have any pictures of us."
She pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "Thank you, Paul. It's beautiful. I love it."
"Here, turn around." He instructed as he took the necklace from her.
She turned, lifting her hair off her neck. Paul brought the chain around her neck and fastened the clasp. He leaned down and placed a kiss on the back of her neck. She shivered at the touch of his lips as he ghosted them across her skin, placing another kiss at the junction of her neck and shoulder before skimming his nose up her neck and kissed the sensitive skin behind her ear. "Merry Christmas, Baby Girl" he whispered in her ear making her shiver again. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her back against his chest.
"Merry Christmas, Paul" she whispered turning to face him. They looked in each other's eyes and Paul slowly lowered his face to her. Just before their lips met there came a shout down the hall.
"What the hell is taking you so long! We're waiting for you." Jake was complaining as he started down the hall.
Willow blushed and pulled away from him. Paul sighed as he stood and pulled her up with him. Black has the absolute worst timing he thought as he followed Willow back to the others.
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
I have no excuses as to why I haven't posted. Just distracted.
I have been doing some major re-writes from the original story and really trying to fit in the lost legend.
Thanks for sticking with me. A few more chapters to come soon as the rewrites on them are completed.
