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Author's Note: Merry Christmas Everyone! Here's the newest chapter. Special thank yous to TvFanaticDayDreamer, Marla's Lost, gotye, Eliza Ghost, and Mr. Kurtwood Smith. Busy weeks delayed this chapter but you all kept me writing and motivated when I had the time to sit and write. Thanks for reading, hope you like, please review if you can, have a very Merry Christmas, and as always, please, Enjoy!
December 15, 1983
6:08 P.M.
Kitty Forman had gotten home from her shift at the hospital an hour ago, she'd had time to change out of her nurse uniform and tidy up a few things around the house, but her mind continued to hold onto the thoughts of the little bits of Christmas she'd been able to experience at work.
Hospitals weren't exactly the merriest of place around Christmas time but that's why it was part of the job of the hospital's staff to help bring a little cheer to the sick patients and worried families who were having to spend the holidays in the hospital. It was a tradition that Kitty loved and one that luckily Red had not been able to stop her from participating in—she was working all the way to December 22nd when her two-week vacation kicked off.
Being able to spread Christmas cheer at work didn't make things any easier. It was often difficult to spend the day decorating patients' rooms and hallways only to come home to an undecorated, un-Christmassy house. Today when she read out loud to the children in the pediatric ward, the book's grouchy, Christmas stealing, green character reminded Kitty of her husband.
At least until Kitty reminded herself that The Grinch didn't have a wife who he was looking out for and had surprised with a holiday cruise.
Descending down the living room steps so she could start on dinner, Kitty stopped in her tracks when she spotted a familiar, but very unexpected, form sitting on the sofa.
"Eric?" she called and when he turned his head at his name, Kitty bounded down the steps like it was Christmas morning (from a year she'd celebrated it). "Oh honey! Oh, what are you doing here?"
"Hi, Mom," Eric returned his mother's hug.
It had been almost two weeks since she'd seen him! Kitty hugged him a tighter before letting go just slightly. "Shouldn't you be in Madison studying for your finals?"
That had been his excuse for staying away for so long, but Kitty had a feeling the distance her son kept from her lately had been partly due to his father's ban on Christmas this year.
"Nope," he seemed happy to announce. "Took my last final yesterday and I am proud to say that this semester I will be passing my classes with all 'A's and maybe a 'B' or two sprinkled in there."
"Oh, sweetie, oh, that is just so wonderful! Oh, I am so, so proud of you, honey!" Kitty managed to exclaim before pulling her son into another much-earned hug and a kiss for each good grade he'd gotten—ever in his life.
Eric didn't appear to mind the attention, he didn't grimace or even try to pull away from her grasp. It was like he was actually really happy to share his good news with someone who would make a big commotion about his success and it was role Kitty was happy to fill.
She pulled away but kept him at arm's length. "Just look at my Baby Boy turned my Successful College Man!"
As Kitty clapped her hands and giggled happily, Eric smirked right back.
"Actually Mom, for the next month, I'll be your Sits Around Does Nothing Man," he stated, and his smile grew into a dreamy one. "It really is the most wonderful time of the year."
The use of the Christmas song used in Eric's words caused Kitty's smile to flatten and she nervously scanned the room to see if Red had by any chance walked in.
"Oh, oh, okay. What…uh…why aren't you relaxing in Madison, dear?" the question left a bad taste in Kitty's mouth.
"I wanted to return a World Book that I borrowed for one of my papers," Eric explained sitting back on the sofa and pulling onto his lap a book, that was certainly not an encyclopedia. "And when I was in Dad's den, I found this little gem. It's a photo album with a bunch of pictures of Christmas from when me and Laurie were kids."
With Red nowhere to be found, Kitty felt as vulnerable as doe left out in the woods; but instead of needing to escape from a hunter, she had to escape from her fawn who had photos of her baby fawns.
"I better go upstairs…"
"But Mom," he called out and when Kitty looked back, she saw saddest little face. "Don't you wanna see how cute I was when I was little?"
Kitty felt her heart crack. "Oh, of course, I do sweetie," She did, she really did. Wanting to look at pictures of her babies with one of her babies, it was every mother's dream! Unfortunately, it was going to have to remain just that for her. "But I can't. Your father wouldn't want me to and I…"
"Come on, Mom. I know Dad said you guys were avoiding Christmas this year," Eric's sad tone could no longer be heard and he lifted his index finger into the air. "But he never said anything about Christmases that have already happened in previous years."
The realization made Kitty's eye open wide. "That is true!"
Before she allowed herself to even give the thought of second guessing herself, Kitty raced over to Eric and joined him over on the couch. Promptly, a smiling Eric scooted over to make room for his mother and reopened the photo album so that it was splayed out on both of their laps. More than a dozen photos filled the first two pages of the book and each and every one of them had either five year old Laurie with her bouncing blonde curls or baby faced three year old Eric—some had the two of them together.
With the memories of Christmas pasts laid out in front of her, Kitty felt her tears began to well up.
"Oh look at my little snicklefritz," she gushed, pointing at a particular photo.
"Yeah," Eric leaned in a little closer. "Hey, it looks like I'm wearing my raincoat from that year."
Kitty nodded. "You know, I think that was the first time you ever got a raincoat for Christmas. Oh, you just loved it. You insisted on wearing it to Christmas diner."
She laughed at the memory of how her Christmas tradition with Eric had begun while flipping to the album's next page. Then sure enough, on the following page was a photo of Eric in his little yellow raincoat sitting at the decorated dining room table. Kitty touched the photo gingerly.
"You know, Mom, I think our raincoat tradition is gonna be what I miss the most this Christmas," shared Eric, that little melancholy voice now returned. "Hopefully, my raincoat from last year isn't too worn out that'll catch pneumonia or something."
Though Eric had said his words in a casual fashion, his nonchalant tone scared Kitty even more. Did he not realize how serious a thing like pneumonia was? She wondered as she sat there staring at her son as he looked through their family album while she tried desperately to keep herself from breaking into a fountain of tears.
0o0o0o
December 15, 1983
6:28 P.M.
The next twenty minutes zipped by with the help of over a hundred Christmas photos from the picture album and even more tears from Kitty. She'd started off with a few lone tears but by the time she saw the image of her little babies standing in her kitchen years ago, covered in flour and sprinkles from cookies they'd helped her make, the waterworks turned on at high speed.
Eric had welcomed the first few tears, thinking he'd accomplished his mission but then the river of tears started and panic set in. He tried to comfort her and get the tears to lessen by putting an arm around her shoulder and telling her things would be okay and they were grown up now but that only made his mother cry even harder as she hugged the photo album close to her chest.
Which is exactly the way Red found them sitting when he walked into the room.
"What the hell is going on here?" he demanded to know when he saw the upset state of his wife.
"Mom…"Eric started to say but seemed to realize he had to speak louder if he wanted to be heard over his mother's bawling. "Mom's crying."
Red rolled his eyes at the obvious. "I can see that, you, dumbass. What did you do to her?"
"I didn't…I mean I did…" the angry tone Red asked his question in had spooked Eric so much he fumbled with his words, trying badly to string enough of them into a sentence that would make sense. "This isn't…it was supposed to be part of a plan to get you to change your mind about not doing Christmas this year."
His son's explanation made Red sigh and gaze skywards. These dumbasses really were relentless.
"But I think it backfired on me," Eric continued to say, while meekly patting his mother's shaking shoulders. "Like really backfired on me."
Shaking his head, Red made his way to the sofa and sat on the opposite side of Kitty. And luckily Eric knew well enough to move his arm out of the way so that his father could take his place in trying to get his mother to stop crying.
With his arm now taking the place of his son's, wrapped protectively around Kitty's shoulders, Red sent a sharp in Eric's direction while pulling his wife closer to him. The close contact seemed to surprise Kitty, making her realize for the first time that he was in the room.
"Oh, Red," she looked up at him with her tearstained face. "I'm gonna give my baby pneumonia. I'm a horrible mother!"
Kitty practically shoved her crying face into his chest, causing Red to furrow his brow even deeper. How the hell was she gonna give someone pneumonia? He wasn't quite sure but what she'd said about being a horrible mother, told Red that his instincts had been correct, and he knew exactly who was to blame for all of this.
"Well, I hope you're happy," he said to his son. "Now, not only have you made your mother cry, but you have her convinced that she's a horrible mother."
"What? No, I…" Eric jumped up from his seat and aimed his index finger at Red. "If anything, this is your fault."
"My fault?"
Eric quickly nodded, becoming more frazzled by the second. "You and your whole stealing Christmas plan."
"I'm not stealing anything, we're skipping Christmas," argued Red.
"Hey, tomayto, tomahto, pal," Eric brushed off his comment. "The point is if you would just agree to celebrate Christmas then I wouldn't have had to come over here and make mom cry. So you see all of this," he swirled his finger around their surroundings then back at Red. "Your fault."
Red continued to glare angrily. "Well it's gonna be your fault when I shove my foot up your ass."
"Isn't it always?" Eric asked with a tilt of his head before leaving the room through the kitchen.
Though Red was left fuming at the smart-mouth response he'd gotten from his son, he was just happy that the dumbass had left. He turned his attention to his wife who had settled her weeping into a few little sniffles now that she was looking down at the open photobook in her lap.
"Oh Red, look at these cute little happy faces," she lifted the album and showed him the photo that had caught her eye.
It was a photo taken over ten years ago, the kids had to have still been in elementary school. They were all sitting around the Christmas tree, the whole load of them, their two biological children and the others who had had wormed their way into their lives. The only ones missing were the foreigner and the Burkhart girl. The foreigner was probably celebrating Christmas around a palm tree that year while the Burkhart girl was most likely spending a fancy Christmas with the lush pair of parents she had.
Steven, Donna, and Kelso were in the photograph sitting with Eric and Laurie. The presents they held and mugs of cocoa beside them told Red that the photo must have been taken on during that Christmas Eve tradition Kitty had come up with for them to exchange their gifts that night so that Christmas day could be spent with their own families at home. With the exception of Steven who spent often spent the night over thanks to the traditional "icy roads" Red and Kitty refused to drive on.
Red's attention was drawn the young image of his daughter. He knew the others were pretty miserable right now, but he briefly wondered how this holiday season was treating his little girl.
"How could we take Christmas away from these cute little face?"
Kitty's questions pulled Red right out of his thoughts. "Kitty, we didn't take Christmas away from these kids, that was years ago. We gave them Christmas that year," he gestured at the photo. "That's why they look so happy and why behind the camera the two of us looked like crap."
The preparation that went into making Christmas a magical time for kids was not something that Red missed.
"What kind of parents would spoil Christmas like this for their kids?" asked Kitty, as if she hadn't heard a word of his argument.
"The kind that was left behind, abandoned on December 1st when you wanted to decorate the house and they all claimed that had better things to do," Red firmly reminded the event that had started the spark to their plans to skip Christmas. "Remember that?"
A sigh left Kitty's lips and she closed the family album. "Of course, I remember that. But…but maybe taking away Christmas from them was a bit extreme," she tried to reason but Red only frowned. "Maybe we could sort of ease into it a little by taking Groundhog Day away from them instead."
Red closed his eyes and heaved out a heavy sigh. The dumbasses had managed to plant the whole stealing Christmas idea into his wife's head too.
"Kitty, we're not stealing away Christmas from anyone. We're skipping it. We're giving ourselves a break for a change," he gave his explanation once again. "We're not taking it away from the dumbasses. They're not incompetent, they just act like they are," pointed out Red. "If they really wanted to, they could celebrate Christmas all on their own."
He thought about adding that the group didn't need them that much anymore but knew that would do more damage than good, so he kept the comment to himself.
"How?" Kitty wanted to know, her eyes not so tearful but wide and waiting. "Explain to me just how they are going to celebrate Christmas own their own Red."
He opened his mouth to respond but Kitty raged on in full tangent.
"Who's going to make them Christmas cookies and hot cocoa? Who's going to prepare Christmas dinner for them? Who's going to remind them when their favorite Christmas programs are going to start?" she wanted to know. "You tell me who can do all those things Red Forman and then maybe I'll believe that they can handle Christmas on their own!"
The sort of wild look in Kitty's eyes made Red briefly flashback to the days of her early menopause. He wasn't so sure he could go through that again, so instead he pressed on his best smile.
"They'll figure it out, Kitty. And if they don't, who cares?" his casual shoulder shrug intensified Kitty's glare but he grinned on, painting her a picture of their big picture. "We won't because we'll be too busy, hundreds of miles away on the sunny warm ocean shores of Hawaii."
"Oh, screw Hawaii," was Kitty's bitter sounding reply.
Red's smile flattened instantly when he heard his wife's words. He knew skipping Christmas was hard for her, but he thought she had been looking forward to the cruise and visiting Hawaii as much as he was. He thought this trip was something Kitty wanted, something that would make her happy, he didn't understand.
"What?" he asked in a not so usual soft tone.
"You heard me," she seemed to bark back. "Hawaii's so small, it's barely even a state. You know what is a state? Christmas!"
Now Red was really puzzled. "Christmas? Kitty…"
"Christmas is a state of mind, Red!" declared Kitty before her voice started to waiver. "And I miss it so much."
And now it all made sense. This wasn't about her not wanting to go on the cruise, it was the sadness turned anger that came from her missing Christmas, that was talking. Spotting the tears forming in her eyes once more, Red rewrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him.
"I know you do sweetheart," he patted her upper arm a few times then squeezed her a little tighter. "But you've been so strong in resisting it this past few weeks. I'm proud of you."
Kitty sniffled. "It hasn't been easy."
"I know it hasn't."
"I really do miss Christmas, Red," she said again.
"I know you do, Kitty," he nodded, a new frown furrowing itself onto his forehead. "But I bet you wouldn't miss is as much as you do if it weren't for those darn meddling kids."
With her head still resting on his shoulder, Kitty looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
"Just think about it, Kitty," Red began to say, slowly pulling out of their embrace. "I know you miss bits of Christmas on a daily basis but it's only when any of the dumbasses drop by that you end up either all weepy or angry at me."
"I haven't been angry at you," she tried to argue.
"Yes, you have," Red didn't let her continue, "But it's okay because it's not your fault. It's theirs!"
The way Kitty was looking at him, you'd think his nose had started glowing red. "What are you talking about?"
"They're trying to remind you of all the good things about Christmas. The tree, the presents, the decorations and all that crap," Red carefully explained to her. "But notice how they never bring up the other stuff. The traffic, the stress…"
"The crowds," added Kitty.
"That's my girl," Red grinned again, he knew there were some aspects of Christmas his wife was happy to forget about. "They only want you to remember the good stuff so that you'll change your mind about the cruise and then try to do the same to me. Kitty, they're trying to turn you against me."
Kitty appeared skeptical as she shook her head. "Oh, the kids would never do that."
"Kitty, they brought a seven foot tree into our home," he reminded her. "At this point, there's nothing they won't stoop too."
Small wrinkles began to form on Kitty's forehead and she looked down at the photo album in her lap, fidgeting with one of its' top corners. "Do you think that's why Eric was in here looking at all these old Christmas photos?'
"That's what I'd bet my money on," confirmed Red.
"My own baby used my little baby against me, that's…" her curls shook with her head. "That's just not fair!"
Red stared ahead gravely. "Nothing's fair in war, Kitty."
"Do you think they'll be back?" Kitty almost seemed afraid to ask.
"Only ten days till Christmas?" he briefly looked back at her. "I know they'll be back. And probably stronger than ever."
"Oh, dear."
"But it's gonna be okay," Red firmly assured, looking into his wife's eyes and firmly holding her hand. "We just have to be even stronger. For ourselves and for each other. We're a team, Kitty. It's us against them."
It was the way Red had always seen things but now he was sharing his outlook with Kitty and he wanted to make sure she understood how serious the matter was.
"Well," she seemed just a bit unsure, but a smile was breaking onto her lips. "I do like when we're on the same team," she admitted. "Because we really do make a great team."
A smirk was growing on Red's own mouth. "Damn right we do, sweetheart. And this time we won't just be a great team, we'll be a winning team. And you know what this winning team is gonna win?"
"A cruise trip to Hawaii?" Kitty guessed and Red was happy to see the bitterness she'd earlier said 'Hawaii' in was now long gone.
"Exactly! Only ten more days, Kitty," he slipped his arm around her waist this time. "The ocean waves are practically calling out names."
Kitty gave one of her girlish giggles when Red hugged her close to him. "Oh, Red. You know, as much as I miss all the traditions of Christmas, I really am excited about our cruise, honey."
"Good," Red kissed her forehead.
He knew skipping Christmas was not something Kitty was enjoying as much as he was and he hated to think that he was making her do it for something she didn't even want to do.
"And I do not miss hustle or the bustle of the holidays," she continued to share with him. "The other day when I went out shopping for the cruise, I saw the long lines for layaway and giftwrapping and boy, was I happy to not be part of that tradition."
They shared a laugh, thinking about those long lines and their fellow neighbors and friends who had probably spent a few hours' worth of time in them already.
"And, oh, I feel so guilty for even thinking this."
"What?" Red urged, definitely wanting to hear this one.
She looked at him, a smile trying to fight itself onto her lips. "Well, when I was out shopping for the cruise I…" Kitty's shoulders shrugged almost shyly. "I couldn't help thinking that it was nice to be out shopping for myself for a change. Is that horrible?"
"Of course not," he made sure to quickly rid that idea from her mind. "That's what this is all about, Kitty. Not worrying about anyone but the two of us. Not worrying what they think or what to buy them. And you deserve to by yourself something that'll make you happy."
"Thank you, Red," Kitty's smile had managed to break its way through. "And just so you know, I bought something for me for the cruise that I think will make you very happy too."
Red gave her a sort of questioning look which Kitty answered with her own giggle and a coy little smile. His grin grew wider, he knew that look of hers.
"I can't wait to get out on the ocean, so you can show it to me," he told her. This cruise thing really was getting better and better.
"Well, you know," Kitty almost sounded like she was singing the words. "We don't have to wait."
His brows rose with interest, "We don't?"
Shaking her head, Kitty giggled playfully before she reached up to pull the sides of Red's face until his lips met hers for a kiss.
Author's Note: So what did you think? Yay? Nay? A little of both? Be sure to let me know in a review!
Next chapter, Eric reports back to the others and Red and Kitty continue to struggle to get a Christmas free moment of peace. Haven't decided if I'll stop this story at the beginning of January or push through it. Any thoughts?
Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, and have a very Merry Christmas!