On Christmas Eve, Eda had decided to throw a rather large get together. She had invited Cliff and his family, Jessica and her family, Reagan, and Klaus. Marian and Giorgio were also invited as they were all that Klaus had left to consider as family.
Giorgio couldn't attend as he was flying to Milan to spend Christmas with Dia. Marian was thrilled to go however as he had been afraid he would have to be all alone and possibly hang himself in the closet and never being able to come out again. Klaus and Reagan were not amused.
Klaus pulled up to Otmar and Eda's house. Reagan, excited to tell her grandparents that she was getting married, leaped from the car before it had time to come to a complete stop and ran inside. Klaus and Marian entered at a much more leisurely pace. As they entered the front door, Cheryl and a boy who looked to be around 16 or 17 came bounding down the hallway, almost knocking them over.
"Sorry kissey face man!" she called stopping in her tracks when she saw Marian. "Who's that lady?"
"Cheryl, this is my friend, Marian. Marian, this is Reagan's little sister, Cheryl."
"I'm Ben!" Ben suddenly proclaimed excitedly.
"Ben is like Ash only not. Mama called him a retard. Then Cliff and his wife got mad. And Cliff said he wasn't retarded he's just dumb and Anne started yelling so Ben and I decided to play."
"Oh my goodness you are just too precious!" Marian gushed.
Ben's brow furrowed in confusion upon hearing Marian speak.
"You're a man?" Cheryl asked in surprise.
"Oh honey don't get me started," Marian said with a flick of the wrist.
"You're so pretty!" Cheryl exclaimed.
"Oh I am loving you already!" Marian replied excitedly.
"Ben and I are going to go play now. Marian can you play dress up with me later?"
"I would love that!" Marian replied, clapping his hands excitedly.
Klaus looked over at Marian with his eyebrow raised.
"What?!" Marian asked placing his hand on his chest daintily. "Kids love me. It's that whole maternal instinct thingy."
Klaus rolled his eyes and made his way for the kitchen. Marian followed behind him dutifully. Just as they were about to enter, they were stopped by a familiar voice.
"Ms. Latifah!"
Klaus stopped and turned around to find Otmar running towards him. He looked over at Marian who had a look that appeared to be a mixture of confusion and amusement.
"Who is your charming young friend?"
"Otmar, this is my..."
"Wait! Don't tell me! I never forget a face."
"I'm sorry but have we met before?" Marian asked looking between Klaus and Otmar.
He stared at Marian intently, stroking his chin in thought. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, realization hitting him.
"I know you!" he bowed lowly. "Your majesty."
Marian looked over at Klaus who merely shrugged and gave a bow of his own. He looked back at the elderly man in front of him. With a shrug he returned the man's bow with a curtsy.
"Prince Phillip III of January...Sir it is an honor," he grabbed Marian's hand, shaking it violently.
"It's nice to meet you too, sir," Marian said looking back at Klaus who shrugged again.
"Please your majesty, there's no need to be so formal. You were the hero in the great zucchini war of 16 ot 9 after all!"
"I was?!" Marian questioned excitedly.
"But of course!" Otmar exclaimed. "Please come sit by me and I shall regale you with tales of the great vegetable wars."
"Okay!" Marian agreed following Otmar to the couch. "What about Klaus?"
"Oh, Ms. Latifah will need to join up with Billy. He's in the kitchen ma'am but heed my warning. There is a battle most fierce raging on in there. It is a battle reminiscent of the great cabbage war of 9 ot 82."
"Please tell me more of this war!" Marian commanded regally.
"Yes sir!" Otmar agreed.
Otmar and Marian sat on the couch together. Marian completely enthralled by everything that Otmar was saying. Klaus shook his head and made his way into the kitchen unsure of what to expect.
He placed his hand upon the kitchen door, pushing it open slowly. Peeking through the crack that had formed between the door and the jam, he was shocked beyond belief. The scene which lay before him was nothing at all like he had imagined.
There at the kitchen table were Cliff, Ash, and a young boy playing cards and a teenage girl reading a book.
"Oh hey Klaus," Ash greeted, throwing his hand up.
Cliff looked over his shoulder and waved at him, holding up his fan of cards, "Want to play?"
"Maybe later. Where did Bil-I mean Reagan go?"
"Oh, her, the bitch, Anne, and Eda went toward the basement a little while ago. You sure you don't want to play? I figure that if they lynch her or Anne decided to murder her that I didn't want to commit perjury by saying 'I don't know. I was upstairs and the next thing I knew, she was dead. She may have fell down the stairs.' So here we are. This is Garrett and Chloe by the way."
The teenage girl peeked up from her book, nodded her head in greeting, and went back to reading.
"I think it would be wise to sit and join us for a game or two of Rummy," the boy responded, busily arranging his cards.
Klaus pulled out a chair between Cliff and Chloe, sitting down in it heavily. He looked at the door warily.
"Don't worry so much," Cliff said as he dealt Klaus a hand. "Reagan will be okay. I think that her and Eda just wanted to make sure that Jessica and Anne don't kill each other. Personally, I'd be okay with it."
Chloe scoffed and closed her book closed, "Dad!" she reprimanded.
He looked over at her with wide, innocent eyes, "What?! I didn't mean that I'd be okay with Jessica killing your mother."
He turned to look at Klaus, mouthing, "I really would be," to him.
Suddenly there was a loud thumping noise coming from the basement. This noise continued for a short time until a small chiming noise was heard. Klaus cocked his brow, staring back at the door.
"There's a boxing ring in the basement," Ash stated simply. "They must be settling their differences by going a few rounds."
"Otmar boxed?" Klaus asked while fanning out his cards.
"No," Ash replied absentmindedly as he arranged his cards. "Grandma."
"Eda? Really?" Klaus asked somewhat impressed.
"Did you honestly think grandpa would be a great boxer?"
"Well not really," Klaus answered, "but I didn't really think Eda would be either."
"Well grandpa definitely isn't a boxer."
"Of course I'm not a boxer!" Otmar said seemingly appearing out of nowhere with Marian following after him dutifully. "Damn dogs. Running this economy into the ground and sending our jobs overseas! They need to get a job!"
"No grandpa, the fighting kind," Ash clarified.
"Oh, not one of those either," Otmar began, taking a seat next to Ash. "I am a man of nonviolence!"
Klaus looked at him with one eyebrow raised, "You're always talking about all the 'wars' you were part of!"
"Queeny, do you care if I call you that?"
"Well yeah. Kinda." Klaus replied.
"Queeny, I was willing to do whatever was necessary to protect my fellow citizens, whether it was fighting those juicy, red skinned bastards or sneaking aboard the S. S. Prego.
We lost many a good potato in the war including General Po Tate O'Head in the great battle of Hasbro in 20 ot 16. He was a good man. A bit eccentric what with his bowler hat and blue shoes but he was a good man nonetheless," he wiped a tear from his eye. "I have since become an ambassador of peace."
"Oh, poor General O'Head," Marian said dabbing his eyes with his hankie. "What of the widow and their children?"
"Last I heard, they were all in good health and living somewhere near the intersection of Park Place and Boardwalk."
Suddenly the basement door flew open and in stormed Jessica followed by a very excited Anne. Jessica had a busted lip and was bleeding profusely from her nose. Anne had a black eye. Eda walked out with no signs of injury. Reagan was the last to exit. Her face had some redness and she looked quite disheveled but nothing major. However, she was holding her arm across her stomach, clearly in pain.
Klaus ran over to her , pushing her hair back from her face, checking every inch of it.
"Klaus, I'm fine," she said with a giggle.
"What were you all doing?"
"Working out our differences," she answered with a grin.
"Why I remember working out the differences of the tomatoes and the cucumbers in 13 ot 2. The tomatoes didn't want to go along with our terms but after 15 years of negotiations, we finally wore them down."
"You are the greatest hero of our time," Marian replied, dabbing at his eyes again.
Klaus glared at his friend.
"What?! I love this guy!"
Klaus rolled his eyes and went back to checking on Reagan.
"Well, now that that's all settled everyone was up and get ready for dinner," Eda said. "Reagan, be a dear and go get your sister and brother and show Anne where we keep the ice pack."
Reagan motioned for Anne to follow her and started toward the kitchen door. Klaus held to her hand, concern deep in his face.
"I'm fine, Klaus," she assured him before pulling her hand free and leading Anne out the door.
"She won," Eda said patting Klaus on the shoulder. "My granddaughter might look delicate and like she would buckle when threatened but she's strong and can take a punch as well as she can dish one out."
"Why was Anne so excited then?" Klaus asked slightly confused.
"Mostly because she just wanted the chance to beat the hell out of the bitch and got the opportunity," Cliff answered as he drew a card from the deck. "No offense kid," he said clapping his hand on Ash's shoulder.
"Oh no, I get it," he waved off Cliff's concern.
"Mom was feeling defensive of her children and, much like the mother bear protecting her cubs, mom felt that some form of altercation was in order. This was especially prevalent after her eldest was referred to as a 'retard.' So Madam Eda felt that a round or two of fisticuffs would suffice," Garrett explained. "She really had no grievances with your beloved and vice versa. So for the most part, the brawl in question was a means for mom and Reagan to take out aggression at the source."
"Mama's a bear?!" Ben's voice called from the door suddenly.
All eyes were sudden on the new addition to the room except Garrett, who had become accustomed to Ben's line of questions.
"No Ben," he answered, his eyes on his cards. "It was just a way to describe mom's reaction to what Jessica said."
"Mama felt like a bear?" he questioned.
"Yes Ben. Like a mama bear defending her cubs."
"So she feels hairy and like eating fish?" Ben questioned, causing everyone to look between him and Garrett.
"No Ben," Garrett answered simply.
"Oh you poor baby," Marian said walking toward Ben and holding his head close to his chest. "Which one of you two dears dropped this sweet boy on his head?"
Cliff opened his mouth to respond but closed it quickly, thinking for a moment. He did this a few more times before finally settling on an answer.
"Not Anne," he replied quietly, hiding his face behind his cards.
Eda came back to the kitchen from the adjoining dining room to see what was taking everyone so long.
"Boys, your game's going to have to wait until after dinner. Now everyone into the dining room," she commanded waving them into the dining room.
Reagan and Anne soon joined them. Reagan took her seat next to Klaus. As soon as she was seated, Marian reached behind Klaus' back to tap her on the shoulder.
"I am absolutely in love with your family, honey!" he exclaimed.
Reagan smiled at Marian brightly and nodded in agreement.
"Klaus is lucky to become a part of this family. Don't let him forget that or he will have to answer to moi."
"I won't," Reagan replied with a grin. "He's lucky to have family like you too, you know?"
"Oh but of course. Anyone would be lucky to have this in their family," he replied, indicating himself.
Klaus looked around the room at all of the wonderful people that had made their ways into his life. He knew that he had always had Marian but something always seemed to be missing. For the first time in a long time, Klaus felt that he could finally agree that he had a family of his own. He could hardly wait for the day that he would be able to make it official.