Their First Christmas Part 1
December 24th to 25th, 2016
Poulos & Smythe Family Homes
East York & Mississauga, ON
Jon couldn't help the smile that came across his face as he watched his future self and Kaylee interact with one another. He could tell that this version of himself already knew that she had, had a panic attack. He had no idea how he did it, but he looked forward to being able to do that; read someone so well, that they didn't even have to say a word.
"It's funny isn't," Xander chuckled, watching as Jon continued to watch the interaction, "I always thought that you developed that soon after I was born. I mean, I couldn't get away with anything, you two somehow always knew. I was never able to pull the wool over either one of your eyes, but looking at the two of you now, I figured out that it took years for the both of you to develop that kind of communication."
"So, this is just the beginning of it," Jon asked, looking over at his son.
"Yeah," Xander laughed, "Mom tells a pretty good story about it. You'll find out what it is soon enou-oh no, no, no, this isn't what I wanted you to see. Stupid watch, I should have known that this would happen."
"X-man," Colby called, as the moment that swirled around them became dark, very dark, "What's happening?"
''It was only a matter of time; I guess" Xander explained, a sad expression coming across his face, "I mean the watch was bound to malfunction at one point and show you this, we, uh, we call it the alternate reality." Jon looked around and saw that the moment they were watching was very different in comparison to the other moments that they had watched. It was darker in comparison; his older self even looked run down and miserable.
''What's wrong with me," Jon asked, as he watched this version of him, drink straight from the bottle of Jack Daniels; something that he knew would never happen if Kaylee was involved in this future.
"You missed the threading moment," Xander answered sadly.
"The threading moment," Jon asked, "What's that?"
"When you went after Mom when she ran out of that bar on the day you two met," Xander answered, watching this version of his father sadly, "You let Renee convince you not to go after her and that you could work on your relationship. Deep down inside this version of you knows something is wrong. He just doesn't know what that is."
''Do we still have a chance though," Jon asked, looking at his son hopefully, "I mean, I, I mean, he can still go find Red, right? He can still be happy." Sadly, Xander shook his head in response.
"Look at the date."
Jon looked towards the calendar that hung on the wall. It said that it was September 1st, 2016.
"She's in the hospital..."
"No," Xander sighed, "In this version of reality, the one that has a .0005% chance of happening since I was able to come here and show you all of this, but this version of Mom, uh, she, uh, without this version of you in her life and being just as depressed as he is now, she succumbs to her injuries and-"
"When?"
"Twelve hours ago, that is probably why he's drinking so heavily. He's even more depressed than he was before and he doesn't know why."
"Let's move on," Jon croaked, as he watched this version of himself become something he swore he would never would again, "I don't want to see anymore; I, uh, I can't see anymore." Xander quickly nodded and fiddled with the watch on his wrist, putting it right back onto the timeline that he wanted to show them. Soon, the moment swirled around them and they came face to face with an elaborately decorated Christmas tree.
Snow had finally fallen in the city of Toronto and it just so happened that with the first snow fall the heating in Kaylee's apartment broke down, leaving many in the building without the heat that was needed. Jon watched with an amused expression as Kaylee blow dried her hair, shivering the entire time. They were getting ready to go to Christmas Eve dinner at her mother's childhood home, where the rest of her mother's family would be gathering.
"I don't know why you don't just stay at your parents' house until the heat is back on," Jon chuckled, as he finished brushing his teeth, wiping any leftover foam away from his face.
"They won't have it fixed until after New Year's," Kaylee explained, looking at him through the mirror, "We are not staying at my parents' house until we leave on the 28th. My brother is staying there already and I really have no desire to-"
"Oh come on, you love him," Jon responded, "And what's the big deal, we're staying at your parents' house tonight and I'm fairly sure that we're going to stay there tomorrow night, so you and your mother can enjoy Boxing Day together. So, really, what's one more day?" Kaylee continued to look at Jon through the mirror. She knew he was right, but the stubborn woman that she was, she didn't want to admit it to him that he was.
"Come on, Red," he laughed, watching as she pouted, "You can say it, you know you want to."
"I don't want to do anything except get my hair dry and straighten it before it turns into icicles," she returned, taking extra care to roll her eyes at her boyfriend, who just smiled at her in return, "Have you gotten the gifts out from under the tree. The moment that I am dressed, we need to get downstairs and meet my parents at the front of the building."
"I don't get why we just don't take your car," Jon asked, "I mean, we both know how to drive and have valid licenses, it'll probably be a lot less cramped taking your car instead of sharing the backseat of your parents car with your brother." Kaylee laughed and nodded. Once again, he was right.
"Alright, alright, can you give my parents a call and tell them, not to get off the highway and that we'll just meet them at the house," she asked, looking up at him with the best puppy dog pout that she could give him. Jon clutched at his chest mockingly, earning himself another laugh for his efforts.
"Okay, I will, should I shave," he asked, looking at her as he held up the razor that he always kept on hand in his travel bag. Kaylee looked at up at him, before shaking her head. She kind of liked the small amount of scruff that he had on his face.
"Come on, Red, I'm going to your grandparent's house for the first time since we started dating, maybe I should shave some of this scruff," Jon said, still holding the razor up. Kaylee frantically shook her head, as she placed her blow dryer back on the counter.
"No, come on, do you really want to deal with the cold of a Canadian winter with a scruff free face," she warned, "I mean, I know you grew up in Cincinnati, Jonny, but Canadian winters are a lot different in comparison to Midwest winters." Jon narrowed his eyes at the red head in front of him jokingly. There was another reason that she didn't want him to shave and he wanted her to actually admit it. Admittedly, he liked making her squirm slightly.
"Just admit it, Red," Jon laughed, holding the razor high and out of her reach, "You like your men with a little scruff."
"I'm not admitting anything until you call my parents," she laughed in response, "They won't take it too kindly if they have to send Luke in to ring the buzzer only for us to tell him that we running a little late and just to go ahead without us."
"Shouldn't you call them," Jon asked, looking at her with a slightly amused look on his face as she continued to jump and reach for the razor he was holding out of her reach, "I mean, they are your parents after all."
"Yeah, but if you call they'll blame me for running late," she explained, as she continued to jump for the razor, "They'll figure it's either me doing my hair or finishing my make-up or going through my shoe closet for the perfect pair of boots to wear, if I call, well than it's your fault because if I have time to call, I'm not the reason we're late." Jon looked down at his girlfriend and knew that she was right. They were now at an impasse.
"Alright, alright, alright," Jon chuckled, "I'll call, you finish your hair and then I'll get the gifts, fair?"
"Completely," she agreed, "Oh, and the reason why I didn't want you to shave is because of I like my men with scruff. Men without it look like teenagers to me."
"I knew it."
Kaylee was smiling and laughing with her mom and aunts as they danced around the kitchen. It looked like they had been doing it for years; Jon wouldn't be surprised if they had been. From the moment that he and Kaylee had walked into her mother's childhood home, he could feel the overall sense of family closeness. The moment Kaylee was down the staircase, she had been swept into her grandfather's arms, while he was greeted with the same hugs and kisses that she was.
"Ugh," Luke groaned beside him, sinking down into the couch, "I don't know why we have to watch the same movie every year. I mean, I could probably recite White Christmas line for line and word for word." Jon shook his head as Kaylee came out of the kitchen and handed him a beer.
"I don't know why you feel the need to complain about this every year," she chuckled, sinking herself into the couch between Jon and Luke, "And every year, you get the same answer."
"Because we like it," the Smythe siblings mimicked together, causing Jon to laugh and turn back to the screen where the movie was playing. Kaylee leaned her head against his shoulder and just smiled to herself. She was glad that he had decided to join them this year instead of flying south with Joe and his family. The weather was obviously colder, but the food and company were the kind of things, that he would have to get used to, if he wanted to be part of her future.
"I'm glad you decided to come," she whispered to him, a slight smile on her lips.
"I'm glad I decided to come too," he whispered back to her, causing Luke to roll his eyes at the two of them. He knew that his sister wouldn't start mauling her boyfriend in front of their grandparents, out of respect for them and their home, but he just wished that they weren't being so damn lovey dovey. It made him sick to his stomach most of the time.
"Lukas Smythe, sit up," his grandmother ordered, causing Luke to groan as he quickly moved from his sloached position, "And Kaylee, you monkey-"
"Monkey," Jon repeated, looking at his girlfriend with an amused look on your face, "I think I need to know the story behind that nickname."
"Back in the kitchen with you, you need to finish making the salad," her grandmother finished, ushering her granddaughter back into the kitchen with the rest of the other women. Kaylee shook her head and offered Jon a smile before following her grandmother back in the kitchen.
"The story isn't all that exciting," Luke offered, as they heard Kaylee start playfully arguing with her aunt about whether or not she should just stuff all of the vegetables into a bowl and leave the cutting and the slicing to the guests that wanted any, "Yiayia was the only one that was able to get Kaylee to do weird things for the camera, a tradition she continued when I came along, Kaylee's called monkey because of it."
"And what's your nickname," Jon teased, sensing the blush that was beginning to creep up onto Luke's cheeks.
"Stinker," Kaylee offered, as she poked her head around the brick corner, "And that's only because no matter what he did, he always ended up with a full diaper while-"
"Kaylee," Luke groaned, hiding his face in his hands, "Mom!"
"It's Christmas," their mother answered, "Leave me out of it and Kaylee, tell your father-"
"I know, I know," Kaylee chuckled, waving her mother off before looking down at her father, who was sitting in the arm chair in front of her, "Everything's ready for you to start the barbeque." Todd looked down at the PVR's clock and looked up at his daughter.
"Don't give me that look, it's the same thing every year, I don't know why you even try to fight it," Kaylee laughed before shooting Jon a quick wink and making her way back into the kitchen, where her grandmother and mother could be heard arguing about an open window in the kitchen that according to the argument was either needed or not needed depending on who's side you took. Luke chuckled and leaned back into the couch once more knowing that his grandmother wouldn't be coming out anytime soon. Jon shook his head; for someone who claimed to hate the movie that was playing, he sure didn't mind it when it gave him a reason not to be helping out in the kitchen.
"It's like this every year," Jon asked, leaning against the back of the couch with Luke.
"Yep," Luke answered, with a bit of laugh coming from his uncle and grandfather, "We argue, we fight, we're loud and we eat a whole lot, but we love each other and we put a limit on the gift amount-"
"That you and Kaylee constantly go over no matter what limit is set," their uncle added when got up and made his way into the kitchen, only to come running back out when all of the woman inside yelled at him about not stealing anymore food before dinner could take place.
"Constantly go over," Jon questioned, looking at the guitarist curiously.
"We both have enough money to spoil our family now," Luke answered, with a bit of a shrug, "We're successful and have the bankroll to make sure that the people we love get the gifts that they deserve. The last thing we're gonna do is spend twenty dollars on a cheap gift, when we have the ability to spend more."
"While making the rest of us feel bad in the process," their uncle added with a pointed look, as Kaylee poked her head around the corner and sneakily threw him a slice of garlic bread before rushing back into the kitchen before anyone noticed her disappearance.
"We love the gifts that you get us," Luke answered, looking at his uncle with the same pointed look before turning back to Jon, "And don't worry, I'm sure Kaylee put your name on all of the gifts that she bought."
"I'm not worried about that," Jon laughed, "I did some of the shopping with her." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Todd make his way out into the back with a tray of steaks that looked good enough to eat and they hadn't even been cooked yet. Excusing himself out of the conversation, Jon grabbed his boots and coat and followed the older gentlemen out into the cold winter.
"Damn," he whispered, the moment that the cold Canadian air hit his face, "I didn't realise that they would actually have you barbeque out in this weather." Todd laughed, and placed the steaks down onto the barbeque that was thankfully sitting in the open garage instead of out in the snow.
"It wouldn't be Christmas without a barbequed t-bone," Todd laughed, lighting up his cigarette, "And they would have Nick do it, but Chris always complains about the fact that he over cooks the meet and that I need to come out and make sure that it isn't." Jon laughed and stuck his cold hands into his pockets. The two men stood out in the cold, the only heat that they had coming from the barbeque in front of them.
"I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something," Jon stuttered, as he watched Todd look over the steaks, "And, well, since I'm so busy, I didn't want to, no, wait, uh let me start over. Mr. Smythe-"
"Todd," Kaylee's father corrected, "You've never called me Mr. Smythe before, don't start calling me Mr. Smythe now."
"Okay, uh, Todd, your daughter and I have been together for pretty close to, um, a year now, and I, uh, I don't have one at this time, a ring, I mean, but, uh," Jon paused, running his hand through his hair, looking up at his girlfriend's father with a slightly pale face even for being out in the cold, "Uh, I was wondering, if it would be alright, um, no-"
"Jon," Todd interrupted, "What are you trying to say or ask me?"
"I want to marry your daughter," Jon answered, his confidence growing slightly, "And she has made it pretty clear that without your permission that would never happen and I, uh, I want to marry her and I was wondering if it would alright, no, if you would grant me the permission to ask for your daughter's hand in, uh, marriage?" Todd looked over at the man beside him before looking down at the steaks on the barbeque. Jon's heart was hammering in his chest as he did this. There was no way, he would be able to go any further with this if he didn't get what he needed from Kaylee's father.
"You make her happy," Todd commented, "So, yeah, you have my permission, but understand something Jon, just because I am giving you my blessing, doesn't mean that I won't hesitate in hurting you, if you hurt my daughter. Do we have an understanding?"
"Yes-"
"Dad," Kaylee called, from the backdoor, "How much time left on the steaks? Yiayia wants to know if we need to start setting the table or if we need to-"
"Give it five more minutes," Todd called, smiling secretly at Jon, "And take the lunatic in with you, I don't think he's cut out for Canadian winters."
A/N: Well, there's another chapter for you all. Jon has asked for Todd's permission to marry his daughter, now all he has to do is find a ring and actually get on one knee. Christmas continues in the next chapter. And just who do you think will be the most help in finding this ring; Luke, Jenn, Saraya, Colby or Joe? Will the watch malfunction again and just what is under the tree for our favourite couple?