Again a little rushed but wanted to get it posted today. Please forgive any spelling and grammar errors, and let me know if there is anything glaring!

Happy Christmas to You All!

If you head over to AO3 Sordd and Mimi have posted their Christmas card to you all. (Chapter 78 - no change to the story)

*'*

Chapter 76 - Christmas Day 2230

December 25th 2230 - Rose Cottage

There was no need for the family to get up early, a turkey did not need to be put in the oven as they were all vegetarian, and the Vulcan children did not know that it was a human tradition for children to get up very early in the morning on Christmas Day to open up their gifts. Anyway, they were keeping their gifts for Boxing Day when Sordd would be here with them.

At around 9am Mimi, T'Shahel and Avarak were sat around the kitchen table eating their breakfast. Gone were the days when Mimi would have demolished a selection box before 8am on Christmas morning, instead she was having a very grown up breakfast, greek yoghurt, fruit, granola, and a mug of coffee. They were all very tired because of the events of yesterday, so they were glad that the day ahead was going to be a quiet one. It had been decided that they would have Christmas dinner at Rose Cottage today, and they would go to Orchard Farm tomorrow, with Sordd, to celebrate the season there.

Avarak was first to finish his breakfast, which he had eaten in an unusually hurried manner.

"I need to feed the birds Mimi," he said as he stood up from the table and cleared his dishes away. "It's cold outside and they will need extra sustenance."

"Ok," Mimi replied, "you need to change out of your evening robe first!"

Avarak looked down at what he was wearing, he thought it was adequate, "I will not be outside for long," he said neutrally.

"Please change first," Mimi replied. "It was snowing last night."

"Ok, M'aih Mimi," he replied. He then ran up the stairs to get changed. A few minutes later he returned wearing an excursion uniform and warm boots. He scooted out the back door singing,

"Last Christmas I gave you my heart

But the very next day you gave it away

This year, to save me from tears

I'll give it to someone special.."

Mimi suppressed a smile, glad that Sordd was not here as she would have had some explaining to do…

"What do you want to do today?" She asked T'Shahel.

"I have a new book I would like to read," she replied flatly.

"Would you like to go for a walk later?"

"That would be agreeable," T'Shahel responded.

Avarak came back into the kitchen quickly washed his hand then sat back down at the table, his cheeks flushed green from the cold outside.

"What would you like to do today?" Mimi asked him.

"I would like to make a Christmas card to give to Saros, sa'mekh'al Skon, and ko'mekh-il T'Rama," he replied enthusiastically, "and then I would like to continue my study on garden birds."

"Ok, we can start that after breakfast," Mimi answered.

"When will sa-mekh arrive?" T'Shahel asked.

"He should be here by 10am tomorrow," Mimi said, while inwardly hoping the adverse weather would not delay things. Even in the 23rd century snow and ice could cause traffic to grind to a halt. She had not seen him for two weeks and was sorely missing him.

"That is 23hours 10minutes and 23 seconds away," Avarak had quickly calculated. Both the children smiled and quickly schooled it away, they missed their sa-mekh when he was away, but it was not the Vulcan way to acknowledge it. The children both secretly hoped that their sa-mekh had been able to get Mimi a surprise gift from them.

"We will talk to him this afternoon via holo-call," Mimi said. "Lets get breakfast cleared away and then we can get on with things." she continued, changing the subject so she didn't have to dwell on the fact that he wasn't her to be with the family. The children jumped up from their seats and started to clear away the breakfast dishes and condiments. They started to sing another Christmas song,

"Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,

In the lane, snow is glistening

A beautiful sight,

We're happy tonight.

Walking in a winter wonderland…" while using glasses, cups, knives, and spoons as accompaniments.

The doorbell chimed. Surprised, as she was not expecting anyone, Mimi went to answer the door in her dressing gown, while the children continued to tidy things away. When Mimi opened the door she let out a loud scream …

*•*

"Happy Christmas M'aih Mimi," Sordd said flatly.

Mimi squealed in excitement while jumping up and down, she gave Sordd a massive hug and kiss.

"How?" she asked him, so pleased that he was here.

"A seminar was cancelled at the conference, so here I am," he replied.

She kissed him again "Sordd. I'm so happy to see you."

"I have deduced that Mimi," he replied. "Would it be agreeable to you if I came inside?" he asked, "While my clothing is adequate for this kind of weather my preference would be to be inside a warm home."

Avarak and T'Shahel who had heard the commotion from the kitchen came running into to the hallway. When they saw Sordd standing in front of them they were just as excited, if not more so than Mimi and started to jump up and down as well (a very un-Vulcan response). Sordd looked at them with raised eyebrow, they immediately calmed down and regained a more Vulcan disposition. They then proceeded to tell him about everything they had been doing since he had been away to the conference, it was a long list!

*•*

Mimi was over the moon that Sordd had made it back for Christmas day, every time she looked over towards him a broad smile would appear on her face. Of course there was enough food for an extra mouth and they all sat down to have Christmas dinner together. Mimi pulled out all the stops, nut roast, stuffing made from parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme, cranberry sauce, roasted parsnips and potatoes, cauliflower cheese with leek, mashed swede, carrots, sprouts, and roasted chestnuts. For pudding there was a choice of fresh fruit pavlova, mince pies, or cinnamon buns, Avarak opted for the cinnamon buns.

When clearing away the dishes from dinner Sordd asked Avarak to take some food out to the compost bin. Of course Avarak did what he was asked..

" You can go

But be back soon

You can go

But bring back plenty

Of pocket hankerchiefs

And you should be clever thieves.

Whip it quick

And be back soon... " He sang on the way out the door.

Sordd raised an eyebrow wondering why his son was singing a song about thieving. When Avarak came back in he had moved onto something else,

"I'd do anything for you dear anything,

For you mean everything to me,

I know that I'd go anywhere,

for your smile anywhere,

For your smile everywhere I'd see.."

"Aduna?" Sordd asked Mimi with a note of concern in his neutral voice.

"We watched Oliver last night," she replied.

"I do not recall their being any songs in the Dickens novel," Sordd replied.

"It's a musical adaptation," Mimi replied, "we only watched it once but Avarak seems to be able to recall all the songs."

"Indeed," Sordd replied flatly, "Vulcans are adept at memorising song lyrics and tunes."

Mimi bit her lip, "He has listened to quite a lot of Christmas songs, I'm sorry," she said in an apologetic tone.

"Indeed," Sordd replied, he gave her a little peck on the cheek. "It is important for Avarak to have cultural experiences and therefore it is acceptable in the privacy of a home.."

*'*

That evening they all gathered in the family room, Sordd lit the wood burner while Mimi lit some candles. They then sat down on the couches, or on the floor depending on preference, and exchanged Christmas gifts.

Although T'Shahel's face remained expressionless throughout the whole evening and there was no way of telling what she was 'feeling', she was inwardly delighted with the gifts she had been given. She immediately hung the glass bauble Sordd had gifted her on the tree. Mimi and Sordd had picked her a silver Celtic 'Tara' Brooch, which she found to be most agreeable, and Avarak had gifted her some scented candles, coconut and lime, as well as rose and sweet-pea, which she thought was a very logical gift.

Avarak and T'Shahel gifted Sordd a blue soapstone incense bowl, another logical choice. They were both inwardly pleased with the gift they had chosen for him, but refrained from showing it on their faces. Although they could not tell from the expression on Sordd's face, they could tell by his eyes that he found the gift to be more than agreeable.

Mimi then handed him a gift from her, "Guess what it is," she said.

Sordd tilted his head, "Vulcans do not guess," he replied neutrally.

"Just for fun!" she replied.

Sordd frowned, Vulcans did not do 'fun' either. Sordd acquiesced though and decided to play the game Mimi wanted him to. It was wrapped in paper with a reindeer design. It was a rectangular shaped box and light weight. Sordd stared at her blankly.

"Shake it!" she said.

When Sordd shook the gift it rattled a little.

"Mimi, it is impossible for me to deduce what is inside with such limited data," he said to her.

"Ok," Mimi said, giving up on the game, he just wasn't getting it. "Just open it then!"

When he opened it up he found a silver candle wick snuffer, with a celtic knot work design, another most agreeable gift.

Mimi received an eternity ring from Sordd and a box of Swiss chocolates, which she immediately began to tuck into. T'Shahel and Avarak then handed her a gift, which as we know was a total surprise to her, when she opened it up, there were desert boots inside which she was obviously delighted with, no restraining of emotions there.

Avarak received a water colour set from T'Shahel, she knew he liked the gift from the small smile that appeared on his face, which he quickly schooled away. Mimi and Sordd gave him a ka'athyra, Vulcan lute, which was the next size up from the one he already had.

Abigail and Hugh bought them tickets to go and see 'The Nutcracker' performed by the Royal Ballet in London. T'Shahel and Avarak wrote them a thank you letter and said that this was a most agreeable gift, as they have never been to see a ballet before.

There were also some stocking fillers, which we wont go into, and gifts from Mimi's family.

After the gift opening, they all settled down to watch "White Christmas" at Avarak's request. The movie took longer to watch than usual as Sordd kept on pausing it to ask Mimi to explain the logic behind what was taking place...

Have yourself a merry little Christmas now!

Notes

M'aih - I wanted to use a word that could be used to show Mimi's status as a stepmother, so I went with this one which does mean mother according to the Vulcan language database, as opposed to ko-mekh which I use for T'Rama, Sordd's /

sa-mekh - father

T'Shahel's brooch - www. glencara. ?