They had all stayed up late talking, so it was a very bleary eyed crew that stumbled their way around the kitchen the next morning.
Selene had the coffee pot in front of her and was sharing the joy with Virgil, who was slumped in the chair beside her, holding out his cup at regular intervals for a top up.
She'd toasted a pile of bagels -because she didn't want to think what John would be like without at least one- and thrown some frozen croissants into the oven and, after putting out a dish of butter and various jams, had called it good and sunk down into a chair, never to move again.
Gordon was seated across the table from them, his head resting on his arms, asleep again with half a croissant in his hand. Alan and Scott were nowhere to be seen and she knew John was likely still in the shower. When you spent most of your time in space you really appreciated a decent shower when you got back, and his bathroom had one of those tropical waterfall types that soaked you from all angles. He'd could be gone for hours, she just left him to it now.
"We're here!"
They both jumped like they had been shot at, heads snapping up at the booming greeting that accompanied Grandma's entrance. If they had been more awake they would have likely seen the approach of FAB 1 and had more than a second to compose themselves.
"Welcome back, Grandma," Virgil went in for a hug while Selene nudged Gordon awake, brushing crumbs off his chin and finger combing his hair just in time to be semi presentable as Penelope sailed through the door. She was, as always, accompanied by Parker, who had somehow managed to carry six items of luggage at one go.
"Let me help!" Selene eased a couple of the bigger cases out from under his arms and stacked them carefully in a corner out of the way before going back for more but Gordon had beaten her to it.
"Any more in FAB 1?" Gordon asked.
"H'of course there is, " Parker sounded so depressed about the very thought that she had to take pity on him.
After a hasty round of greetings, happy birthday wishes to Penelope, and the hugging of both ladies, Selene took the older man's arm. "Come on, let's get it emptied so we can all have a sit down and relax. It's Christmas after all."
Gordon stared at the car in dismay. "How did that much stuff fit in there?"
The trunk was full to bursting and the passenger area was piled up so far you could barely see the seats. How Grandma and Penelope has squeezed in was a total mystery. There were even a few bags stuffed in around the driver's seat, along with Parkers small suitcase.
"They are two very determined ladies," was all the answer they got.
Even with the three of them it took more trips than they could count. John and Scott had emerged by the time they were done, after having arranged the wrapped gifts under the tree, deposited suitcases in various rooms and packed away the last minute food items that had been bought.
Selene collapsed down on John's lap, having lost her seat to Scott, and took his coffee cup from his hand.
"I could make you your own, you know."
"Stolen food tastes better," she shrugged, leaning over to take a bite of his bagel too.
"She's not wrong," Virgil acknowledged, having swiped and drunk her first cup while she had been busy making breakfast.
Selene shot a squinty eyed glare at him, but he just grinned at her, totally unashamed. Fortunately they knew her too well now to be bothered by any of her threats or moods.
"Anything else you want? Air from my lungs?" Her spaceman was always at his sarcastic best in the morning, which she happened to find utterly adorable.
"No, you can keep that," she passed him his cup back, smiling sweetly then turned to Penelope and Grandma. "How was the shopping trip?"
"Wonderful, we saw the lights of London, had tea at the Ritz, shopped at Harrods and then Carnaby Street, and we took Grandma to see her first pantomime."
"It was so much fun, all the children in the audience were shouting at the stage and singing along to the songs. I can't wait for one of these boys to provide me with great grandchildren that I can take."
Selene felt John's arm tighten briefly around her waist, an obvious warning to be careful what she said next, anything was potential ammunition for Grandma Tracy.
"Well now I'm very sorry I had to turn down your invite, I used to love the pantomime when I was a child, but definitely count me in next time."
"Oh, that's right, you two had a night away. Was it enjoyable? Did you like your early gift?" Penelope smiled as she sipped her tea. Where the cup and saucer had come from was a complete mystery.
John's forehead landed on Selene's shoulder with a thump.
"You two went away?" Grandma zeroed in like a heat seeking missile. "Let me see this gift then."
Selene glanced over her shoulder at John. He heaved a deep sigh of resignation, knowing what was to come but unable to avoid it. He unwrapped one arm from around her waist and lifted her arm to point her hand in his Grandma's direction.
Grandma blinked. There was a moment of silence. She blinked again. And then she moved, grabbing Selene's hand and yanking it closer, almost dragging her off John's lap.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought you'd ordered a necklace or something," Penelope blushed delicately, because she did everything with utter class, even begging forgiveness, something that Selene envied her for.
"It's fine, we were going to tell everyone later tonight after dinner," Selene reassured her. Honestly it was easier to just get it over with.
"IS THIS WHAT I THINK IT IS?" Grandma demanded to know. "John?"
He nodded. "Yes, I asked Selene to marry me."
"And she actually agreed?"
"Should I be insulted by that?" John asked mildly.
"Of course I said yes, he's worth changing my mind for."
"Well, obviously," Grandma sniffed. "He's my grandson, they are all perfect."
"They are," Selene agreed.
"Tell me everything about the proposal, I need to know," Grandma's eyes glowed with excitement and happiness. "Tell me he did it right?"
Selene smiled. "He did it perfectly."
"Details," Penelope insisted.
"Yeah, John, details," Scott grinned evilly.
"Don't hold out on us, bro," Virgil added. "You never did tell us last night."
"Don't make me do this," John's voice was muffled where his face was buried in her neck.
"Best to get it over with, love." She kissed the top of his head. He groaned pitifully in response but lifted his head.
"What do you want to know?"
"When did this happen?" Grandma started the interrogation.
"Winter Solstice, three days ago."
"Where? You weren't up in Five were you?" Virgil wanted to know.
"Give him some credit," Selene defended her man. "He took me to Alaska to see the Aurora Borealis, to celebrate Yule, as that's my Christmas. Hence the early gift."
"It was also six months since the night we met."
"Summer Solstice, " Selene tacked on.
"That's actually quite romantic," Virgil acknowledged.
"So you were out in the snow?" Gordon asked.
Selene shook her head. "No! Way too cold, cabin had a hot tub."
Gordon grinned. "Smooth, bro."
John inclined his head in thanks, a small smile beginning to form.
"Who knew you had it in you?" Scott patted John on the back.
"I did," Selene smiled, sliding an arm around John's waist.
"That's beautiful," Grandma sniffled, wiping her eyes on a hankie she pulled from her sleeve. "I'm so happy for you two, and glad my nagging paid off. When's the wedding?"
"Not for a long time yet," John insisted.
"More time to plan," Grandma smiled dreamily.
Selene could almost see the wheels turning in Grandma's head.
"There's nothing to plan," Selene told her gently, not wanting to be mean but needing to hit the breaks. "Not really, small, intimate and private is key."
"But, there will still be things to organise, right?" the shock and disappointment on Grandma's face was evident.
"Oh, there will be some planning and organising needed, and we'll want help with it, but we have a very clear idea about what we want," John promised her.
"We can make lists together," Selene added to sweeten the deal.
"I like lists!" the smile was back.
"Congratulations," Penny interrupted politely. "I'm very pleased for you."
"Thank you," John replied.
"I just wish your father could be here," Grandma's voice held so much emotion as she patted John's hand. "He'll be with us in spirit."
Selene kept quiet, schooling her face into a suitable expression of sympathy and understanding. No one had asked her, and she wasn't about to cause any more heartache by volunteering the information. Because she knew that Jeff Tracy was not dead, she'd know if he was. No, either he had chosen to stay away, or someone had made it impossible for him to return, and from what she had heard about the patriarch of the Tracy clan, if he could be with them, he would be. There must be a very good reason for his absence and he would never want his boys involved in anything that could put them in even more danger, so she wouldn't do anything to push the subject.
She wouldn't lie to them, if any of them asked her outright, she'd tell them the truth as she knew it. She just hoped she wouldn't have to.
Over John's shoulder Scott caught sight of her face and frowned. He knew that expression, he'd seen it just the day before. She was hiding something. And if there was one thing Scott hated it was being out of the loop and not knowing all the facts. He didn't do secrets. He'd get to the bottom of it soon enough.
Selene had thought long and hard about Christmas gifts for the family. She knew them well enough to be a reasonable judge of their tastes, likes and dislikes, but had had to think out of the box when it came to gift buying. What did you get for someone that had more money than they could possibly spend and wanted for nothing? Buying for just one of them would have been a nightmare, but times that by the ten people she needed to provide for and she had been ready to quit the world and hide away. She had been trapped in the middle of a crowd in Camden and suddenly realised just why John stayed in space and why he had managed to trick her into buying for both of them. Apparently joint gift giving was now a thing, although he had been helpful in tracking down some of the more obscure items she had thought up.
In the end she had bought a few random gifts, ordered a lot more online, then made her escape.
For John she'd picked up some silly bits, one of which was now somewhat redundant, a t-shirt that said "Son of a b*ch, my girlfriend's a Witch!"
Strangely enough, she'd actually picked up a ring for him on her travels, one that was worked in platinum, the chunky band containing etched depictions of the constellation Zubeneschamali, weighing scales, his star sign. She had intended it to be worn on whichever finger it fitted, it was just really pretty with little pinprick stars all around and a brushed finish that looked like the swirling night sky. But maybe her inner voice had led her that way for a reason since he put it on his left hand to match hers.
For Alan and Gordon she had replaced the items they had sacrificed to the demon they had inadvertently conjured, as well as a couple of extras, including hand dying a shirt for Gordon in the best tie dye hippy style.
For Virgil she had hunted through her Grandparents things in storage and selected an old vinyl recording from over a hundred years ago of her Grandfather's favourite piece of music, the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, one that she also loved.
For Scott they had tracked down a hand carved model spitfire made as trench art in the 1940s.
Grandma she had found a beautiful vintage patchwork bedspread which she knew the older lady would love, having told Selene of the fond memories she had of one belonging to her own grandmother.
Brains, Penelope, Parker and Kayo had been harder, she'd really been struggling, but after the conversation that night before she had popped online and booked herself and Brains places on a haunted ghost tour. Now he could study her all night.
For Kayo they had found online a poster for an old movie, Enter the Dragon, signed by the star, Bruce Lee, whom Kayo had told her she was a fan of.
For Parker she had popped along to a little pub near where he had grown up and bought a pewter tankard for his evening ale, bearing the pub name. He had told her stories of sneaking in when he was too young and buying his first pint.
For Penelope she had heard of a lovely pair of earrings up for auction that contained her birthstone, so that was her birthday gift, and as a Christmas gift they had ordered a subscription to the "Teas of the world" loot box. A different tea would be posted out once a week for a year.
She had been more than happy to shop for both her and John, but had felt like she needed to add a little something just from her.
She was a witch, she was a crafter, and when times were tough she fell back on that which she knew better than anything else.
She didn't often show off her skills, and hardly ever volunteered them to people that hadn't asked, but she had been spending more and more time with them and was getting sick of hiding everything she did through fear of rejection or judgement. Once again it seemed that her intuition had been warning her of the upcoming revelations before the conversations had happened.
Handmade gifts were always more personal, so she had set to work, carving small talismans for protection and luck for each of them, choosing a strong oak branch to slice up and inscribed them with a sigil. She had blessed and empowered them during her Yule ritual and tucked them away carefully in her bag.
She had also taken the time to draw up a natal chart for each person, writing out in great detail all the aspects for their birth, star signs, and included numerology of their names and birthdates. She had tucked each person's reading in a separate folder and slid them into an envelope.
She didn't know how they would be received, probably with polite thanks and then shoved in a drawer somewhere to never see the light of day again, but at least she had tried. At best they would have fun reading them out to each other and comparing their accuracy to themselves and the family. They often brought fun and interesting talks after.
She had helped Grandma cook a simple birthday meal for Penelope, one that featured traditional English foods, a plot on her part to get Grandma to allow her to do most of the cooking, being English herself.
They had settled down in the lounge to drink cocoa and think about opening gifts when EOS interrupted them with a report of a storm in the Bahamas that had stranded some holiday makers. Everyone scrambled, John hitting the desk to start organising and Scott, Virgil and Gordon heading off.
It was another four hours before a very wet and tired crew that stomped back in from their crafts. By that time everyone that had waited up for them was ready to turn in, as were they. EOS had been tasked with monitoring during the night, while they got some much needed rest.
The next morning was lazy and relaxed, people wandering in to the kitchen at varying times to grab something to eat before slinking off, leaving Selene, Parker and Grandma to handle the cooking.
It was a constant battle of wills, the sneaky saving of burnt food and distracting of Grandma on the part of Selene and Parker, but eventually they ended up with a mostly edible meal. OK, so the stuffing balls were so rubbery that Alan had tested their bouncing capabilities, the gravy was a bit too thick and a few roast potatoes had been cremated beyond recognition, but she and Parker had managed to introduce everyone but Penelope to the joy that was a Yorkshire pudding, the turkeys weren't too dry and they had more than enough pigs in blankets and mashed potatoes to make up for it.
It was a comfortably stuffed family that sprawled out on various chairs and couches to open gifts and settle in for a night of movies and eggnog.
Their choice of gifts were met with much wonder and appreciation, John was wearing his t-shirt, which everyone had found hilarious, and there had been a lengthy discussion over her natal charts, with everyone swapping and reading each others. Brains still couldn't understand how something as random as when you were born could be so accurate as to affect your personality, but he took it with good humour.
11:45 saw Selene happily snuggled under John's arm, Alan's head in her lap as he dozed, and she had never felt more comfortable in her life. She couldn't have asked for anything more for Christmas.
She smiled as she turned her head to steal a kiss from her spaceman. No doubt their peace wouldn't last much longer, but until reality forced its way back in she would stay blissfully relaxed, never wanting to move again.