House of Anubis: House of Homecoming.
Chapter Twelve: House of Holidays.
That weekend was Fabian's concert. Despite everything, he'd managed to secure some extra tickets at the very last minute. His bandmates were a little confused, however, when nearly a dozen strangers joined him and his wife and daughter backstage.
It took several weeks, but the church was eventually cleaned up, with believable excuses dished out to the police and the press.
Eddie had scolded Victor for concealing a gun and shooting Jack, during what later became colloquially referred to as the Jack Climax. In a retort, Victor claimed he was, in his own words, "ten times older" and a "hundred times more experienced", and he was "the only one of the two of them willing to do what was necessary".
After this argument, the two never spoke to each other until days before Victor's death.
With no elixir left, his health continued to deteriorating, struggling more and more with his oxygen mask and his wheelchair, until he died peacefully in his sleep.
He was cremated in early September, his ashes buried in a columbarium, alongside Evelyn and Sarah's own urns.
As for Nina, she'd spent several weeks in hospital, Fabian desperate to keep her safe and confined to a bed until they were all absolutely sure she was a hundred percent fit and healthy.
It was the early afternoon on the 24th before Nina was judged physically fit enough to leave.
She was picked up in Mick's minibus, a big old rusty thing, repainted to match the striped colours of his team back in Australia. She climbed in, with the help of Amber, and made herself comfortable, with Mick constantly apologising for the mess his charity team had made in the back of it, with muddy footprints, neon vests and loose training cones dotted all around.
"Sorry again. You know, with everything that's been going on, I've been super busy and never have the time to really get stuck in and make a start on it all."
"Its okay, Mick. I've been through so much these past few months, it doesn't bother me."
He continued to apologise all along the journey. Amber, eventually managed to interrupt, explaining to Nina that her memories of the fashion show, was all a distorted dream. In reality, it was Jack who had visited the fashion show. Jack had been a person of interest with the police for a separate incident, and he had convinced Amber and Mick he had been framed, and had used them as an excuse to leave. The hooded figures had been Jack's earliest acolytes, and rather than escaping in the SUV, Jack had continued their discussion in his personal limousine.
They drove to a fairly immodest house, beautifully decorated with Christmas lights.
On the front yard, joined by a huge, inflatable Santa Claus, stood Eddie and Patricia, joined by Piper and her twins, a pair of adorable girls called Jade and Nikita, who fidgeted on the iron railings.
Joy and Willow popped out and gave a hand guiding the minibus to parallel park. Nina slowly walked herself to the front step, slightly overwhelmed by seeing the twins for the first time, their energy and curiosity at her plastered arm and the various stitches and bandages that peeked out from her thick winter coat.
"Just wait until you see Nina Junior." Eddie jibed.
Nina blushed.
The house was as wonderfully decorated inside and out. Nina would later learn that the house belonged to Eddie's half-sister, Annabelle, who was spending an early Kwanza in Brazil with her husband and in-laws. A poky two bedroom abode at the best of times, the little semi-detached seemed miniscule when filled with a dozen adults and several children.
Nina walked into the hallway. A mighty grandfather clock was smothered in tinselled. Wreaths dotted every inch of the walls, shelves were bustling with glass, plastic and wooden ornaments.
Since the Jack Climax, Jerome had been suffering heavily from depression, and had to return to his therapy sessions. Luckily for the pair of them, he and Poppy were closer than ever. He sat at the bottom of the stairs, glass of eggnog in hand, accompanied by Alfie.
She gave the pair a brief wave, then turned and peeked into the living room. She saw a magnificent tree sat in the corner, next to an upright piano, from which was coming a beautiful rendition of Winter Wonderland, performed by a handsome young man, with vocal accompaniment from a young girl that sat on the stool next to him.
The pair of them stopped, mid-verse, and turned around.
"Hey, there" Fabian smiled. "Good to see you healthy and sane" he then laughed.
The young girl ran over and hugged Nina, stunning her. After a brief pause, the older Nina wrapped her free arm around the kid.
"Hello Nina. My name is Nina too!" The younger one said, in her usual blunt way.
"It's very nice to meet you." She paused. "Again. Hope you're feeling okay."
The older Nina pulled away, "I'm good, the doctors and nurses made me all better. Later on, would you like to draw me a picture on my arm?"
The child looked at the white lump of plaster that stuck out from her coat sleeve, and then looked up to her mother, who was in the middle of carrying food from the kitchen to the dining room.
"Go for it, darling. You know where the felt tips are."
The younger Nina ended up creating a wonderful, wintry landscape, helped by the fact that the plaster was already a natural, bright white. The twins also joined in, but mainly restricted themselves to small doodles and scribbles. Eventually, though, the children got bored, and all of them returned to playing with their Lewis and Clark branded toys.
Nina wasn't the only one confused about her previous encounter at their work. Thought they still didn't fully understand it themselves, the gang had deduced it was an early episode, possibly the first, where Jack had managed to get her completely under her spell. With the help of the gang, however, they'd managed to fix up their office and, despite everything with Jerome, the shop soon returned to being one of the most popular independent toy shops in the whole of England.
The other businesses boomed too, with Willow's spa being host to several parties, Piper being offered her own classical music tour in the New Year, and Mara being nominated a well-paid position at an international journalism company.
But still, Nina felt violated. How often had Jack taken advantage of her? And how much damage had she done to her friends in the mean time? Although she was grateful he was gone and the ordeal was pretty much done with, she would have to live with that feeling for the rest of her life. Luckily, those friends were compassionate and empathetic. They were a family now, her only family. And she was so grateful. Hopefully, whatever damage
The dinner was ready. Beginning with a buffet of hors d'oeuvres, the gang had turducken, with all the trimmings, roasted vegetables and sides, along with a mushroom nut loaf and gazpacho, with macaroni cheese for the kids. They finished off with trifles, chocolate logs and good old Christmas pudding.
After putting the twins to bed, everyone wrapped themselves up in blankets and with the fire on; they watched Christmas movies until the younger Nina's own bedtime. She said her goodnights and handed out hugs to everyone, and went off to sleep.
With all the children upstairs, Eddie walked around the room, pouring everyone a glass of champagne.
Finishing off with his wife's glass, he began a speech.
"These past few years have seen us… all of us… go through so many things. Troubles at work, home and family lives, worrying for the safety of ourselves at the future. But today, we celebrate Nina Martin, the woman who brought us all together, her presence her today the greatest gift any of us could receive."
Fabian chimed in.
"Nina, you've changed all of our lives, absolutely for the better. Whether it was in person, or in spirit, you have helped us grow from the nosy little miscreants…"
Everyone chuckled.
"…to the loyal, hardworking family we all love being a part of, every day."
Mara kissed him on the cheek.
"That goes triple for me, Nina." She smiled.
"You gave me confidence." added Alfie.
"You helped me conquer my fears…" that was Joy.
"Helped me see the best in myself," grinned Mick.
"And see the best in others." Jerome tried a smile.
Piper, Patricia, Amber and Willow also joined in with their praise.
KT was last and simply apologised for staring at her. It was the first time the two of them had actually met, and they were both in awe of each other.
For a moment, the pair forgot they had company. They looked deep into each other's eyes…
The clock that sat atop the piano struck midnight, waking them back from their gazing.
"Ahhh! Merry Christmas! Squee!" Willow squeaked.
Without discussing it, the gang unanimously decided to join in, squee-ing together as they tapped their glasses together, and gulped down the bubbly.
The End
A/N: Happy holidays! Hope you've all enjoyed my story.
For those who were wondering, I had only started watching HoA earlier this year, borrowing DVDs and finding it on whatever streaming sites had it available at the time. Despite being very late to the party, I would like to thank you all for allowing me to re-enter the world of fan-fiction writing, and welcoming me, with open arms, to the House of Anubis fan community.
I won't immediately continue with this story, as I hope to focus on other things, but I am not ruling out a return to the HoA universe, possibly a prequel, at some point. If anyone has been inspired by this work and wishes to collaborate with me, that is something I may also consider.
That being said, in the immediate future, I hope to concentrate on IRL stuff, but also delve into other stories and worlds. If you join me then, I look forward to speaking to you all. If not, then once again I thank you for reading, and I wish you a happy and prosperous 2019.
Sibuna forever.