A/N - Well, all stories come to an end...well, unless they're abandoned that is : P Anyways, here's the last installment of The 12 Gifts. I want to thank everyone who reviewed and inspired me throughout the story. It's been a fun and crazy ride and I almost can't believe I finished it before Christmas was over! But now I can breathe a sigh of relief much like the Robinsons who are probably glad that there are no gifts on the way! Of course, thanks to Robin (doodlegirll) I'm inclined to belive that if the Robinsons were real, they'd break out into...well, Wilbur would break out into the song, The 12 Days After Christmas! Hope this chapter isn't unclimatic and too boring. I probably should have ended it with humor, but in the sentimental spirit of the holidays...just couldn't bring myself to do it. Again, thank you for all of the wonderful reviews. It's been fun : )


Chapter 12

"What a dream," Wilbur said as he woke up and rubbed his eyes. As he sat up, he realized what day it was. "Yes! It's Christmas. I wonder if I got what I asked for!" Wilbur ran out of his room, not caring that he was still in his pajamas. As he neared the Christmas tree, he couldn't believe his eyes. There were twelve drummers lined up. Wilbur stopped in his tracks and they began playing skillfully.

Cornelius and Franny came up behind their son and watched and listened as well. "I guess your gift was left for last," Cornelius said pondering the matter.

"Yeah, I guess," Wilbur said, still listening to the drummers play as the rest of the family joined the private concert. "But wait…" Wilbur began thinking long and hard as everyone looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "You didn't get a gift, Dad!"

The entire family gasped and every head turned towards Cornelius as they realized that it was true. "Didn't I? I got the best gift of all," Cornelius said sentimentally but nobody understood what he meant. "I got the gift of being able to give the gifts." Everyone gasped again.

"So that's what Lewis meant yesterday when he said that he had a feeling that today would be quite a shock for all of us. How long did you plan this, Dad?" Wilbur asked again.

"Well, I first wrote down the plan Christmas Eve morning, yes the same one that you went and visited me yesterday," Cornelius began. "You see, you all gave me the most wonderful Christmas present ever…a Christmas finally with a family because you all taught me to keep moving forward. I promised that I would make that up to every single one of you someday. So I've kept that promise written down along with the plan and over the years I've selected gifts that I thought would be sentimental or important to you each someday."

"But why?" Franny asked her husband, her curiosity burning inside.

"I just told you," Cornelius responded.

"No, I mean, why did you select the gifts that you did. Honey, some of them were just so…"

"Random!" Wilbur finished.

"Yes, I guess they did seem that way didn't they? But it's because I've learned over the years that the uniqueness of this family is what I love most about it and that's what I wanted to highlight with the gifts. I wanted to choose things that seemed strange at first glance, but at a closer glance shows the value of them. Almost like when I first met you all as a boy. At first I didn't understand but as I got to know you, I realized how wonderful you all were and how much you meant to me," Cornelius tried to explain.

"Well, thank you for the partridge and pear tree, son," Bud said. "It made me feel young again."

"I know. That's why I selected it. I'll never forget the day as a boy that you told me that you once had a pear tree while we were walking through the store and I picked up a can of pears."

"That's right! I did!" Bud recalled. "And I said how much I missed having that friendly tree. But, uh, what about the partridge?"

"Well, the man selling the tree had a partridge he was trying to get rid of because his son didn't want it anymore, so I just took it. But as I started thinking about it, I realized that you're a lot like a partridge. You're simple but you really know how to make the most out of a home," Cornelius complimented his father.

"Thank you," Bud wiped a tear from his eye with the palm of his hand.

"And you all know the sentiment behind the turtle doves. After all, they're still on their second honeymoon," Cornelius joked, eliciting a shudder from Laszlo, Tallulah and Wilbur. "And then the French hens…"

"No need to explain. You probably remember that conversation the night before your wedding don't you?" Art asked, speaking up first.

"Yes, that's exactly right. When you told me that I better take care of Franny the same way a mother hen takes care of its chicks."

"Art, that's so sweet," Franny had never known about the comment.

"And then later the conversation turned towards your dream to make an egg-topping pizza," Cornelius reminded.

"By Jove, he's right! And two days ago I perfected my first recipe!"

"What about me?" Laszlo asked impatiently.

"You're such a colorful person, Laszlo," Cornelius first complimented. "But only when you have nothing but amazing colors to select from."

"I guess it's true. That's why I always ask Wilbur to scan items for me to choose the colors from," Laszlo admitted.

"I wanted you to see the beauty in things that take much more observation," Cornelius continued. "Therefore, four blackbirds that to some people are nothing but nuisances."

"Well, I did paint them, and I submitted them to an art gallery almost a week back, and yesterday they called and said it was the best work I had submitted yet! They want more!" Laszlo said excitedly.

"How did you find the rings?" Lucille asked quietly.

"It wasn't easy but I found them and that's what matters," was Cornelius' only explanation. "And that's why I've been keeping singing Christmas trees in the house, Wilbur. I knew that it would work. So every time you buried it or destroyed it, that's why I had to keep buying new ones!"

"I already know mine," Gaston kept the conversation going. "The baby shower…right?"

"Mm-hmm. You said that you wondered what it would be like to be a dad. And then you said how much you doubted that you'd make a good one because you doubted that you could ever care for anything so weak or fragile," Cornelius revealed.

"But it's not as hard as I thought," Gaston admitted thoughtfully.

"Not hard at all," Cornelius laughed. "And it's because you had it in you all along. You're much more sensitive than anyone gives you credit for. More than you give credit for yourself." Gaston remained silent, thinking it over as he did, bringing the explanation for Tallulah's gift next. "Billie basically already pegged it. When you were a little girl, you always said you wanted to grow up to be a beautiful swan."

"I did!?" Tallulah blushed, not remembering it since she had been so young. "But I don't always feel beautiful," she sighed. "Some days I feel too skinny and other days I feel too fat and other days I hide behind my stylish clothes…"

"I know. And that's why I wanted to show you that you have grown up into a beautiful swan and it's okay to finally believe it. But even more, you should know that you were never an ugly duckling," Cornelius complimented his cousin with a warm tone.

"Really?" Tallulah asked with a huge smile and sparkle in her eyes. She turned around to see a mirror that Carl had produced from his robotic innards. "I'm a swan," she whispered, seeing her beautifully colored hair and eyes and other features.

"You don't need to explain my gift," Billie said, giving Cornelius time to catch my breath. "I've missed the old country for so many years. And I've always reminisced about how I used to spend my summers vwith my cousins on their lovely yak farm. Thank you, Cornelius."

"You're welcome, Aunt Billie," Cornelius gave her a small hug. He skipped Carl for the moment and went straight to Joe. "And of course there's the reason why you gave up the old country. Because you saw the sweetness and gentleness of Uncle Joe."

"It is true. It's the reason vwhy I have stayed so many years by his side. I love him more than any old country," Billie said with a smile.

"Uncle Joe may not say it in too many words, but he knows how lucky he is to have Billie and dancing is how they met to begin with."

"Also true. Vwe vwere both in New York. He vwas there to audition for a dance scholarship and I vwas there because of a train convention. Vwe met in the lobby of the Grand Marquois Hotel and it vwas like vwe say back home, love from first glance from far away," Billie sighed at the memory.

"Um, I was skipped," Carl didn't mean to be rude, but couldn't help but wonder why he was skipped.

"Oh, well, that's because your gift was for pure entertainment purposes only," Cornelius responded.

"Alright, Dad!" Wilbur cheered.

"Swell," Carl crossed his arms and looked away.

"I'm just kidding, Carl. Maybe it was slightly for that reason," he admitted. "But I wanted to show you that you didn't need to make the teapot whistle to be happy. I think you have a lot that you don't even realize and you should know that it takes more than muscles to be a man…well, robot of a man anyway."

"Great, so mine was a lesson," Carl said unenthusiastically.

"So was mine basically!" Laszlo protested.

"And mine," Tallulah said, still holding the mirror that Carl had given her.

"I guess a lesson is what I needed then," Carl admitted with a sigh. "And what a lesson it was. I don't think I'll ever dance again!"

"Me either," Wilbur shouted.

"And the bagpipes were because of my loving them but never being any good as a girl?" Franny asked.

"Yes…and no. I did it," Cornelius finally admitted.

"Did what?"

"I destroyed your bagpipe," Franny gasped at the revelation. "Your mother did give me permission and actually let me into the house to destroy it since she didn't have the heart."

"And how did you have the heart!?" Franny exclaimed.

"Please don't be angry. I wanted to love you but that stupid bagpipe was really testing my patience. I almost didn't want to love you it was so bad," Cornelius tried his best to explain to his wife the reason.

"It was pretty bad," Gaston added.

After a moment of silence, Franny let out a laugh. "I guess you're right. And you didn't want to hurt my feelings or risk our friendship at the time. So it was you."

"Yes, it was me. And I've felt guilty ever since for not telling you the truth so I just had to give you the bagpipe band that you wanted," Cornelius said.

"You remember!" Franny said excitedly. "I only told you once that if I had been good at bagpipes that I would have taught my frogs to play!"

"And now you don't have to teach them, and maybe they'll be able to teach you…maybe," Cornelius chuckled nervously.

"Oh, Cornelius, thank you!" She started to kiss him but was interrupted by Wilbur's protests.

"Hey, now, none of that! I want to know about my gift. It's obviously twelve drummers drumming," Wilbur demanded an explanation.

"That's easy. You're the reason I was able to come to the future in the first place. A drummer keeps the rhythm. A drummer keeps the rest of the band going. And you're the one who kept me moving forward even when I didn't want to. You're a vital part of this whole crazy family. You keep us young, you keep us laughing, and yet you keep us sane. You're a wonderful leader, Wilbur. You'll embrace it someday. But for now, why don't you just lead us this Christmas?" Cornelius motioned for one of the drummers. "Merry Christmas, son."

Wilbur stood in awe as the drummer handed him his drum and drumsticks. Without thinking, he began to beat the drum. It wasn't the best sound in the world, but quickly the other drummers began tapping their own drums quietly. Next, the bullfrogs began playing their bagpipes. Next, the lords leapt into the room followed by the ladies dancing. Tallulah's swans flew into the room gracefully followed by the other birds, with the exception of the geese, and followed slowly behind by the French hens who clucked along with the music.

"Now that's a hypnotic leader," Franny said with a smile, wiping a motherly tear from her eyes as she watched her son lead the menagerie of Christmas gifts.

"I couldn't have put it better myself," Cornelius replied.

"You didn't have to," Franny looked at him lovingly. "Your gifts were better than any words you could have said." She looked back at the family, watching as the rest of the family joined in on the Christmas celebration. Bud and Lucille were dancing, as were Joe and Billie and even Carl was dancing again. Tallulah skated around with her swans while Laszlo flew around with his birds. And Gaston had left to go check up on his geese while Art fed his hens. And in the midst of it all, Wilbur playing his heart out as it appeared.

"And like I said," Cornelius watched on with a smile, his eyes just like Franny's resting on their son and seeing the way he really did seem to keep the rhythm of it all. "I got the best gift of all..." he remembered his first Christmas as a Robinson and saw how that family had now grown and he let out a deep sigh of contentment, "…a family."