*I didn't follow Saving Hope really closely and this was written back in 2013, so I took many liberties when it came to Alex's family and it probably does not line up with the series. But, this is my version, right? So, keep an open mind to this alternate universe.
The first Thanksgiving is always the hardest…
The First Thanksgiving
Inside a traditional French country kitchen in a sizable house in Buffalo, New York, the spirit of Thanksgiving was in the air. The warm tones of the wooden cupboards popped out amongst the cluttered countertop. Many pots and pans were strewn about, while some copperware hung from an iron frame over the creamy granite of the island. Cooking sheets filled the bronze sink. A turkey cooked in the oven as gravy simmered on the stovetop, a dish of green bean casserole cooling off next to it. Boxes of stuffing waited to be made alongside cans of cranberry sauce yet to be opened...the cook having been distracted by other matters.
"Okay, we really need to stop doing that." Alex panted from the tile floor, clutching an apron to her chest.
"I can't help it. It said ' kiss the cook' in big letters." Chris replied as he stole another kiss from Alex. "I was only following directions."
"So, not the point, Chris. We have guests coming over and I am not the turkey!" She said harshly as she stood up and collected her clothing, "speaking of which…"
Alex bent over and checked on the bird that would be their meal. Chris stared at Alex's unconcealed backside as he still lay on the ground.
"Gobble, gobble."
Alex turned and lightly kicked him. "Oh, would you stop and help me?"
Chris groaned as he sat up. He grabbed his royal blue shirt from the floor and reluctantly put it on, slowly buttoning it up. "Yes, ma'am."
Alex stepped into her black dress that had been a ball on the floor and turned to Chris for help. "Zip me up?"
"I liked it better when I was zipping it down," he uttered, as his fingers pinched material and brought up the metal zipper.
"Good husband," she cooed as she turned around and patted his firm chest.
"Happy wife, happy life." He retorted as she walked to the refrigerator.
She turned from the open fridge door and glared at him until she flashed a smile and laughed.
"You're laughing now, but I'm telling you this is going to be a mess." He warned.
"Chris, we don't know that."
"Honey, I love that you're so hopeful about this—and if it were just your family maybe I would be too, but my dad is coming. When you add my dad into anything the outcome is catastrophic."
"Well, we got guilted in by both sides to do this, so we mind as well make the best of it."
Chris nodded as he recalled him and Alex eloping in a private ceremony on a boat heading to Spain only a year before. When both families found out there wasn't much joy for the nuptials happening so suddenly between them and without family. Well, that wasn't entirely true. It was his father who weighed on it most of all and wanted to meet Alex's family. So, it was decided that Thanksgiving, or midway after Canadian Thanksgiving and before American Thanksgiving, would be the day when the McKenzie's would officially meet the Reid's. Chris hypothesized that this day would be more explosive than TNT next to an already spreading wildfire.
"Maybe you'll be surprised." Alex said and then held up her hand showing off her wedding ring, "You McKenzie's seem to be full of them."
"While I pride myself on being able to keep you on your toes, my spontaneity is nothing like theirs."
"Chris…" She drawled.
"Alex," he cut her off, "you might have met my mom, Carol, and Ryan on separate occasions, but when you add my dad to the mix, all in the same room no less—it's nuclear." He then muttered, "At least my mom booked a cruise and is getting out of it."
"You don't think I think the same way with my family? Believe me, I do. I just—I want this to work. We're all a family now." She shrugged and cast her eyes down. She was really hoping that the day would go well for many reasons, some she couldn't disclose to Chris just yet.
Chris sighed and walked toward his wife. "You and I are family. And for me that's all I'll ever need."
She grinned at him. "I know that. I'm just thinking about the future ."
Chris lifted an eyebrow at her statement.
"When I think about the future," He started to move even closer then began to wrap his arms around her, swaying their bodies closer, "I think about us, upstairs, blocking the rest of the world out."
"That sounds nice," she smiled brightly and then added, "for tomorrow."
Chris let his head hang down as he sighed again, this time dejected.
"Last Thanksgiving we were working long shifts at the hospital eating mac n' cheese out of bedpans because there were no plates." She pointed out.
"It wasn't that bad. I had you and it was perfect, bedpans and all."
Alex laughed, "You still have me. Just me plus seven other guests."
"I'm going to be forced to endure this, aren't I?"
"If you love me." She whispered playfully then grabbed the boxes of stuffing on the counter, focused on finishing up the meal she had been working hard on.
"Oh, that's a low blow. You know that I'd do anything for you because of that."
Alex stopped her preparations and looked intently at her husband. "Chris, if you're that uncomfortable with today, that you honestly can't do it, then I can call everyone and cancel it. My intentions for this day aren't to make you suffer. I don't want to do that to you."
Chris placed both hands on her shoulders. "I love you for saying that, but I think I can manage. It's just one day, right?"
It was true. He really would do anything for her. He knew it was the same on her end, too. If it meant making her happy, then he could last a day with his family. He just hoped that Alex didn't get caught in the crossfire of a family fight.
"Are you sure?"
She looked into his eyes and waited for his answer. The last thing she wanted was to make him miserable, but she also knew her husband was strong. He could handle a lot and she had seen that through all the time she had known him. The way he handled different situations with aplomb was one of the reasons she had been so attracted to him. She felt that if anything were to happen that he would protect her. She would protect him, too. Today wouldn't be any different.
Chris smiled and lightly kissed Alex on the lips. "As sure as anything that concerns my love for you."
"You're getting really sappy." She chuckled.
"It's your fault." He pointed out.
"Oh, is it now?" She asked as she placed her hand on her hip.
He nodded his head and then maneuvered in to kiss her again. Clothes were starting to be wrinkled and unbuttoned once more. Chris had moved his hands to push up Alex's dress as her hands gripped the belt loops of his black dress pants, all parts of his body pressing into her. The heat of the oven in the room heightened their temperatures, something they were very familiar with having endured the heat of an African sun while trying to control their passion for each other. As they were about to once more give into desire, the sudden ringing of the doorbell snapped the couple out of their haze.
DING DONG
"Oh…um…" Alex said with labored breaths.
"I should get that." He panted with a husky voice.
They smiled as their foreheads touched. Alex gently moved from his embrace, pulling his hand from her side and trying to fix her hair once more.
"Go see who's there and I'll try to salvage what's in here."
Chris licked his lips and tried to calm his body down. He stood tall as he walked out from the kitchen and toward the front door. He did a final check of his clothing, making sure buttons were in their right place and his shirt was tucked in properly. When he was confident in his appearance he opened the heavy wooden door.
Outside stood Alex's older brother Nate holding a bottle of wine in his hand. He was the brother that Alex got along with the best. He was tall, with brown hair, in a long wool charcoal overcoat, a red and white checkered scarf hanging around his neck and a lopsided charming smile on his face. He was the oldest brother, the brother that had seen too much and tried to protect his other siblings from seeing the same. He and Chris got along very well and Chris was glad that Nate was the first to arrive.
"Happy Thanksgiving." Nate said as he held up the bottle. "Should we crack this open now and get drunk before the rest of the party gets here or will that defeat the purpose of the drinking game that I've created for later on?"
Chris looked behind him to see if Alex was in earshot. He tilted his head to the side and moved out of the way to allow Nate over the threshold and into their home.
"I'm tempted to crack it open now." He said.
"So, dinner is going to be that festive this year. I myself am looking forward to commentary that is bound to come my way."
"Is the drinking based on commentary about life choices?"
"It is the basis." Nate confirmed.
"I bet you I have more coming my way than you do."
"I will take that bet, brother." Nate said, poking Chris in the chest.
"Nate!?" Alex called from the doorway of the kitchen.
"The one and only." He said as he opened his arms in a welcoming manner.
Alex beamed in delight and ran for her brother. She wrapped her arms around him tight, giving him the biggest hug she could. When she pulled away she smacked him playfully in the shoulder.
"Where have you been for the last six months?"
"Researching for a new book I'm writing."
"Anything exciting?"
Nate squinted his eyes, his face contorting as if he had sucked on a lemon. "If you find ice fishing exciting…"
Alex's head fell to the side, her long chocolate hair falling behind her. "Don't tell me you've spent six months ice fishing."
His head wobbled from side to side as he shook his coat off. "Eh, well a majority of time has been spent at Lake Athapapuskow in Northern Manitoba. It's actually pretty nice. You two should head on up there sometime."
"If Chris had his way it would probably be in five minutes."
"You said it, I didn't." He said as he bounced on the balls of his feet, a smile plastered on his face.
Alex bit her bottom lip to stop a grin from forming. Whenever he smiled all she wanted to do was jump him. It wasn't the ideal situation for it, so she had another idea in mind.
"How about you take a trip into the kitchen and bring out the hors d'oeuvres?"
"Aye aye." He said and extended his hand out for the bottle of wine, "I'll take that, too," he said then he turned around to walk into the kitchen. Alex tapped him on the behind then sent him a smirk when he turned around. He smirked back then went into the kitchen.
Nate smiled as he watched the happy couple. "I see that you two are still in newlywed bliss."
"Yeah, we are." She stated.
"Is there something else?" He asked.
"Hmm?" She asked, looking up at him.
"Ever since we were kids I could tell when something was on your mind. Is it just about today or is there something else?"
Alex cleared her throat and grinned at her older brother, "Just have my mind on today."
Nate nodded, not completely believing her, and decided to leave it alone for now. "If you need me running offense or defense when everyone starts piling in here, you let me know."
"Thank you." She said with sincerity.
"Anytime. Come here." He said, pulling her in for another hug.
"Did I mention that I missed you?" She said as her head was against his chest.
"Yes, but my ego would love to hear more. You can pass it along to my editor, too."
Alex started to back out of her brother's hug and led him to the living room. She was happy to get the day started off right.
DING DONG
The laughter in the living room ceased at the sound of the door bell ringing. Alex got up out of the taupe accent chair, flattening out the wrinkles in her dress as she walked to the front door. She took a deep breath, planting a smile on her face, and opened up the door to find her two younger brothers, Robert, the middle brother, and Will, the youngest, accompanied by their visibly confused mother.
Her smile began to falter, "Hi."
"This is a very big house. Alex, did you see how big it is?" Her mother said as she walked it, her eyes upward to stare at the hanging chandelier. "That is so pretty." Her eyes moved back down and landed on Alex. She smiled. "Alex, you look pretty. Like a chandelier."
"Thanks, Mom." She said awkwardly, taking a good look at her mother's eyes.
"Hey, sis." Robert said, interrupting her concentration and grabbing her into a hug.
"I can smell the turkey already." Will said with a smile.
"It's just about done. Come on in. Nate is in the living room with Chris." She turned to her brothers, "Be nice."
"Always, Alex." Robert said, though not exactly an assuring tone.
Alex rolled her eyes remembering when she had introduced her younger brothers to Charlie so long ago. It hadn't been pleasant. They had played hockey and Charlie ended up bruised in places he didn't know possible. Their first meeting with Chris had been brief and separate. Together she was starting to get worried if they would tag team him somehow.
Chris smiled as he saw his wife reenter the room. He stood up to greet the new guests, getting very firm handshakes from Alex's two younger brothers. He stood in front of Alex's mom, unsure of how to greet her when she pulled him into a hug.
"Chris! You're here! I'm so happy to see you!"
"You too, Mrs. Reid."
"Sarah," she corrected him with a bright smile. "You have such nice hair. Don't ever cut it." She said then proceeded to try and touch it.
Alex grimaced as she watched her mother's interactions with Chris. Then she moved to Nate. She thought for sure Nate would get an earful, but her mother was so content with a smile, her eyes moving slowly around the room. Turning to Robert, she pulled him roughly to the hallway.
"Hey! Alex! Whoa!"
"What's she on?" Alex asked.
"What?" He asked, playing dumb. He knew his sister would catch on quickly, but he had hoped that by the time they had arrived at the house their mother wouldn't have been as obvious. Now he was going to get it.
"Mom. What did she take?"
"Nothing?"
"Robert, I swear …"
Robert's shoulders deflated and exhaled a long breath, "Uh, okay, alright. She may have taken something."
"Gee, really? What was it?"
"Valium."
"How much valium, Robert!?"
"Two? Look, you know how mom gets. I thought it would calm her down. And Will said to give it to her, too!"
"What were the milligrams?" she asked.
"I don't know. A friend gave it to me." He could see the anger on his sister's face, "Wait, it was low. I know it was low!"
"Did she drink alcohol today?"
"She might have had something to calm her nerves before coming, but I didn't think that would be enough."
She smacked Robert in the head.
"Ow! Alex!"
"You're lucky that's all I'm going to do to you right now!" she hissed and stalked back into the living room.
Taking a deep breath, she leisurely walked over to her husband and grabbed his hand. With a smile pasted on her face she talked out of the side of her mouth.
"I need to talk to you in the kitchen."
"Huh?"
"Kitchen. Now." She said more firmly.
She tugged him back in haste and through the opening to the kitchen.
"Alex?" He asked.
"Why do I have little brothers? Why?"
Chris let out a breath.
"Your mom?" He asked. Alex's mother's behavior had alerted him. He wouldn't be a good doctor if he hadn't seen signs of substance use.
She cupped her hands around her face. "Chris, I was worried about my mom without meds, but my brothers had the bright idea of giving benzodiazepines after she had alcohol in her system. I can't with them sometimes!"
"Diazepam?" Chris asked, his hearing picking up the Valium somewhere in the conversation between Alex and her brother.
Alex nodded. "It was a low dose he said."
"Alright, well I'll put on a pot of strong coffee." Chris told her. "We'll get some fluids in her, stuff her with appetizers now, then with dinner.
Alex let her head fall in her hands. "When your dad gets here he's going to pick up on it."
"And if he does? All he needs to know is that your mother took medication for her disorder and had a side effect."
"I guess."
"He has a son who is a recovering drug addict, so he'd be one to talk…" He said harshly when thinking of his father's incessant need to point out errors.
"I just wanted everything to go smoothly. I feel like this is the start of more things to come." Alex said sullenly.
Chris brought her into a hug to try and comfort her, but sighed at the realization that she was mostly likely correct in her assumption.
DING DONG
Chris opened the front door to find his sister quickly trying to hide a small paper bag in her giant red purse. The blonde twenty-something girl pulled on her navy blue pea coat and adjusted everything accordingly. She looked up, her blue eyes shining as smiled brightly at her big brother.
"Chris! Hi!" She said, opening her arms wide to embrace him.
"Hey, Carol."
"Happy Thanksgiving," she said with a chuckle and pulled away.
"You, too. Come on in," he said, motioning his head inside.
Carol's eyes darted around as she walked into the foyer. She craned her neck and saw a group of people in the living room, three men dotting over an older petite woman, giving her finger food and coffee, but there was no sign of Alex.
"So, where's the wife? Did she take your advice and head for Bullmoose Mountain before Daddy Dearest arrives?"
"Someone's been studying Canadian geography. And, I wish. She's just in the kitchen taking out the food that was in the oven. We've moved dinner up a bit."
"Cool, I'm gonna go say, 'hi'." She said quickly and scurried in the direction of the kitchen.
Chris stared at his sister as she held her purse close to her and wondered what she was trying to conceal in her mystery bag.
Across the way, Carol peeked into the kitchen and knocked on the door frame. "Knock, knock."
Alex jumped a little then smiled when she saw her sister-in-law. "Hey! You're here!"
"And I come with presents." She said pointing to her bag. "So, should we do this fast, like now, and then get rid of the evidence?"
Alex's eyes went to the bag, staying there for a few moments, and then to Carol. She and Carol had a long discussion a few nights before. One of the women was in a bit of a predicament and sought the sisterly help of the other. Ever since Alex had married Chris, she and Carol had been close. She felt that had it not been for that fateful day when Carol was in the hospital and spoke of Chris still thinking of her after all their time apart, she might not have had the courage to go after him, to take a risk. That's why when either of them needed something, they were there for each other. No matter how scary or nerve wracking. They both felt it was nice to have a sister.
"Probably." Alex replied.
Carol shifted in her spot. Her feet couldn't stay still and her legs wanted to bounce. She was definitely a little on edge.
"You seem nervous." Alex said.
"Oh, yeah."
Alex smiled as she walked toward her sister-in-law and rubbed her arm, trying to ease the tension.
"How are you today?" Carol asked.
"I'm hanging in there."
"Appropriate we're doing this on 'Thanksgiving'" Carol smiled, "So, let me give my thanks now."
Alex shook her head, "No, thank you."
Carol grabbed Alex's hand and held it. "We really are sisters."
Alex laughed. "Glad to finally have one."
"Same here!" Carol exclaimed. "So, shall we?"
"Mmm hmmm." Alex replied with a quick nod.
Inside the living room, Alex's family chatted, a dutiful eye kept on their mother, when Robert excused himself to use the restroom. Alex and Carol snuck out of the kitchen and up the stairs, hopeful that no one was paying attention. Yet, there were a few curious sets of eyes that caught them, especially one pair in particular.
DING DONG
It was only a short time later when Alex and Chris both looked at each other from their seats at the dining room table as the doorbell rang. A quick scan of the room let them know the probability of who was waiting outside. They both excused themselves and headed for the front. Chris could see the tension in Alex's shoulders was matching his own.
"Don't be nervous. The first signs of him being beyond tolerable and he's out of here."
Alex tried to calm herself, a mixture of emotion swimming within her. She took a breath and extended her hand to open the door. When she did, outside was Ryan, Chris's sandy haired brother, and his tall father who wore a stern facial expression behind his salt and pepper beard. The couple stood together, side by side, Chris taking Alex's hand and squeezing it affectionately.
"Christopher." His father acknowledged.
"Dad." Chris replied dryly.
This time Alex squeezed his hand.
"Alex."
"Dr. McKenzie."
Unlike Alex's mother, Dr. Chris McKenzie II made no correction for Alex to refer to him as anything other than his formal status. She didn't have that much of a problem with it. She just hoped that this meeting went slightly better than the last one. At their last meeting the doctor had seemed to have done his research on her, asking her if she married Chris because she was a Canadian citizen (she has dual citizenship), and knew about her previous engagement to Charlie, something he had harped on. It made for a very awkward evening.
"The trip here was atrocious." The elder doctor said as he walked through the threshold and began to take off his black coat.
"Apparently, I hit every bump on the way here." Ryan said to his brother on the sly, both men suppressing grins. "Happy Thanksgiving, by the way."
"You, too."
"Especially on a day that isn't Thanksgiving," his father pointed out as he held his coat close.
Alex reached out to grab it and said, "Here, let me take that."
"Thank you." He said as he started pacing around, inspecting different things. He had to admit the house was a nice choice for his son. It wasn't too over the top. He hoped that Chris had a nice study and office just like he did. "The house looks nice."
"Thank you." Alex said with a smile.
"Horrible location, though. Getting up here was miserable. You also face the south." He added.
"And the comments begin." Chris mumbled with a roll of the eyes.
"I tried to get him to be less grumpy, just so you know." Ryan said.
Dr. McKenzie had been staying with Ryan down at his apartment an hour outside of Penn State. Ryan was in the middle of taking classes at the school of architecture, having an apartment away from the campus. The whole three hour ride, Ryan tried to coach his father on being less critical of others at the dinner. It seemed it had been for naught.
"All the bumps in the world aren't going to bump the grump out of him." Chris said, eyeing the situation. He wondered if he'd need to rescue Alex, though he knew his wife could certainly hold her own.
"Dinner is going to start shortly if you want to join everyone else in the dining room."
"Sounds good," Ryan said and dragged his father toward the room.
"The south?" Alex whispered as she walked back over to Chris.
"Well, I predict a civil war in our future here, so…"
Alex swatted him in the arm and he shrugged.
"Remember that time in Chad when we got cornered by that lion?"
"Yes."
"This is worse." She commented, then began to walk to the kitchen to bring all the food out.
"Now, you agree with me…" he said and followed her lead.
Dinner had just about begun. Plates and bowls were being passed around over the red, brown, and gold designed tablecloth, everyone taking spoonfuls of their favorite dishes. They sat at the neat place setting, porcelain white china, with three autumn flower centerpieces lined up down the table. Alex sat at one end of the table, while Chris sat at the other, the turkey right in front of him. The Reid's were on the left side while the McKenzie's sat on the right. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, but Chris settled for cutting the turkey.
"Is that the knife you're using, son?" His father's rough voice questioned.
Chris sighed, "Yes."
His father scratched the stubble of his beard and cleared his throat. Chris had a sudden urge to start stabbing the bird due to his frustration. His eyes darted to Alex. She gave him a reassuring smile then sipped her water seductively. He couldn't hide the smile trying to come out. It calmed him for the moment until he got a good look at her eyes. While she was teasingly looking at him, there was something unusual in them, apprehension swimming. He couldn't tell if it was the dinner or something else entirely.
Chris took another breath, focusing on carving the damn bird when the sound of the doorbell interrupted him.
DING DONG
Chris dropped the utensils quickly. "I'll get it."
Alex gave him a sour look, clear that she wanted the excuse to leave the table. He shrugged and headed for the front door, curious as to whom it could be. With a quick twist of the knob, Chris was met with a complete stranger. The man in front of him wore an expensive gray suit under a black coat, a manila envelope in hand, and black fedora on his head, which the man quickly took off and planted on his chest at the sight of Chris's presence.
"Can I help you?" Chris asked.
"Are you Chris McKenzie? The son of Dr. Christopher McKenzie who worked at Mercy Hospital over twenty years ago?"
Chris tilted his head to the side, eyeing the individual in front of him carefully.
"Yes," he answered.
"I know this out of the blue, and I'm sorry to just come here like this, but I wanted to meet you."
"You're going to have to help me out here."
"I'm sorry," the man said, shuffling his feet then running a hand through his brown hair, "I've been agonizing over this conversation. I couldn't figure out what the best way to say it, so I guess I'll just say it. My name is Lucas Clarke. My mother, Rose Marie, was a nurse at Mercy…" he trailed off.
Chris felt his breath catch in his throat. Suddenly, all the pieces connected in his brain. He didn't need the man to go on; he knew exactly what he was going to say next. Chris knew of his father's infidelities. It was one of the reasons why his parents had broken up. He just hadn't known that one of his affairs had produced a child. Carol and Ryan were from his second marriage to a different nurse at UCLA, who tragically had been killed in a helicopter transport crash in Seattle. His father had been alone ever since.
"So, you're saying you're my brother." He slowly stated.
"Yes." Lucas confirmed. "I'm sorry to just show up like this. I just…my mother gave me the full story years ago. I don't know what prompted me, but I decided to look you up and, I don't know, I just felt the need to meet you."
"Have you contacted our father?"
"No," he shook his head. "Eventually, I guess, but he just doesn't seem to like the guy who would let me have the time to explain. I thought maybe meeting you, getting to know you, might be enough for now."
"Does he know about you?"
"Yes. He and my mother settled out of court. She wanted nothing to do with him so she moved us."
Chris let his head hang low, unsure of what to do. All the information he was receiving, plus knowledge of what was going on inside the house. He started to rub his left temple.
"I would invite you in…"
Lucas's blue eyes widened, "No, I understand. I dropped this bomb on you—."
Chris cut him off. "Yes, but that's not it. We're having Thanksgiving dinner in there and my—or our—dad is here."
Luc's legs faltered a bit at that information. "He is?"
Chris nodded.
"Wait, you're having Thanksgiving? Aren't you a bit early?"
"It's a long story about eloping, avoiding family, and guilt dinners." Chris then thought about it then said, "Or, maybe not that long." His brows furrowed at his next statement, not sure if he thought it through completely as it tumbled out of his mouth. "If you think you're up to it, you could join us."
Luc's mouth hung open. He was happy for the offer, but knowing his biological father was in there frightened him. "Thank you, but I don't want to put you out and I feel like if I come in there I'll ruin dinner."
"Believe me, there's a long list for those in the running to ruin dinner."
Inside the house, unable to sit any longer, Alex excused herself from the table and went to find what her husband was doing.
"If he left this house, so help him…" She muttered on her way to the door.
She saw Chris talking to someone and quickly sidled up to him, placing her hand on his arm.
"Honey? You're taking awfully long." She then turned to see the man her husband had been talking to. "Oh, hi. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."
Chris looked next to him to his wife. "Alex, this is Lucas. Lucas, this is my wife, Alex."
"You can call me Luc." He said as he extended his hand. Alex then extended hers and shook it.
"Nice to meet you." She said then looked at her husband with curious hazel eyes.
"Lucas is my—he's my brother."
"Oh." Was all she managed to say. She looked from Luc back to Chris and saw the resemblance between the two. Of all days for this to happen…
"Yup."
"Mom or dad?" She uttered out of the side of her mouth.
"Dad." He replied.
"Ah." Alex turned to Luc. "Don't just stand there, come on in."
She immediately shut her eyes when she said that. Then she wondered what difference it would make. Mind as well throw fire on the fire.
"Are you sure? This might not go well." Luc said, still contemplating if it was a good idea or not, yet thankful for the offers.
"Yeah, well, it'll hardly be a change." She concluded.
Luc lifted up the envelope and handed it to Chris. "In case you had any questions, like if I was trying to pull one over on you."
"Thanks." Chris said, taking the envelope. "Come on."
The three of them walked back into the dining room. They halted when they saw Dr. McKenzie was up out of his seat and carving the turkey.
"You were taking so long, son, that I decided to just start. There's a specific way to carve the bird anyway. I figured you didn't know."
"No problem, Dad. I only carve into people for a living…" All eyes were on him and he cleared his throat. He walked to his end of the table, picked up his glass of wine that had been poured, and lifted it up in the air. "By the way, we have another guest for dinner. This is Lucas Clarke—" Chris's father's eyes immediately were on the guest. Chris pointedly looked at his father, "Your other son," then he looked at his siblings, "Our long lost brother. Cheers."
While Chris took a drink, the only sound heard was the dropping of utensils against the turkey plate.
There was awkward silence at the table as an extra setting was made between Carol and Ryan. No one knew what to say, or if they wanted to say anything. Food remained untouched on everyone's plates.
Nate looked around the table and leaned toward Chris. "Is it okay to eat?"
"Yes, please, everyone eat."
The table was once again lively as hands started moving toward utensils and across the table to bowls and plates of food.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" the elder Chris voiced. "Like, saying grace or giving thanks? I know this isn't the exact holiday, but wouldn't it be appropriate for this… dinner ?"
"Love the way you said 'dinner', there Doc." Will said and was met with a glare from the doctor. He quickly cast his eyes down and stared at his plate.
Carol snorted and said, "Grace? Don't you mean disgrace, sir?"
"Carol, don't start." Ryan muttered.
Nate took his glass of wine and started sipping it down. "The game has begun," he said between sips.
Alex narrowed her eyes. "You made a drinking game out of dinner?"
Nate nodded as he took another sip.
"So, drinking is another vice of the Reid family." Chris's father said unpleasantly.
He couldn't say he was too fond of the family his son had married into. Not that it mattered because his son never listened to anything he said. He was surprised that his threat of becoming a professional golfer had gone unfulfilled. Clearing his throat, he let his eyes continue to examine the Reid's.
Nate stopped mid sip and put his glass down, his eyes quickly going from Chris to Alex. The couple then looked at each other trying to figure out the best tactic, seeing that dinner was quickly going downhill.
"Says the man who has a cart of drinks in his office." Ryan remarked..
Alex's mother looked around the room then looked at Alex, her head swaying slightly.
"Honey, is there a switch to make the room stop spinning?" Her eyes started to droop as she looked at her plate.
"Mom, you need to eat more." Alex prodded. "Have some more coffee, too."
"Mrs. Reid are you alright?" Luc asked from across the table.
She smiled up at him with heavy eyelids. "I like your hat."
"Mom?" Robert asked beside her. "You have too much turkey or something?" He said hoping to ice over his mom's state, yet knowing the table full of medical practitioners wouldn't buy that.
The elder doctor studied the woman, noticing her disorientation and inattentive eyes.
"Unless that turkey has something other than tryptophan in it. I'm being very educated about the Reid family tonight."
"Educated about our family? You just had a long lost son drop on my sister's doorstep." Nate retorted.
"That might not be the only new member to your family." Robert said, taking a bite of the green bean casserole.
"What does that mean?" The gruff voice asked.
Carol and Alex visibly stiffened as thoughts ran through their minds as to what Robert was referring to.
"You'll know in 9 months." He answered coyly and eyed Carol.
Robert had overheard a conversation between Carol and his sister when he had gone to use the bathroom earlier in the day. He waited out of sight, curious to the words used in their conversation, especially some of Carol's words; he let curiosity get him and peered into the trash receptacle, finding his answer.
"Carol?"
Carol felt her chest tighten with all eyes on her. She glanced quickly at Alex's face and could see the distress. Deciding to bite the bullet, she took a deep breath and stopped toying with the cloth napkin in her lap.
"Yes. It's true. I'm preggers." She announced.
Chris let his head fall as he put his elbow on the table and placed the palm of his hand against his forehead and over his eyes.
"Cheers!" Nate said and drank the rest of the wine in his glass, making sure Chris's father saw him.
"Congratulations." Luc said to his half sister, only to receive an icy glare from her.
"Congratulations? Are we congratulating my daughter for getting knocked up?" Luc shrunk in size when he heard his father's voice get louder. "I knew this would happen when you went to New York City."
"Yes, dad. Everyone who moves to New York City is required to get knocked up in a subway station by a random stranger. Preferably, in a bathroom stall. It's in the ' Welcome ' pamphlet."
Her father raised his voice, "Don't get smart with me, young lady!"
"Fine, I'll get dumb then!" She yelled back.
"You already did when you got pregnant."
Carol looked down at her belly. "You hear that little one? Grandpa loves you!"
"Please, stop." Chris said.
"This is your fault." Their father said, turning toward him.
Chris placed his hand on his chest, exasperated. "My fault? How is it my fault?"
"You told her to move."
"Dad, it's not his fault. She would have moved anyway." Ryan said.
"Well, this is fun." Will said, with a light chuckle. "Dinner and entertainment."
Alex sent her brother the nastiest look. "Shut up, Will."
"What did I do?" He asked.
Alex glared at him and then looked at their mother who was half asleep.
"You did that. " She said, tilting her head towards their mom.
"Hey, that wasn't just me. That was Robert, too."
"I already confessed to it." Robert shrugged.
"Confessing a lot today, aren't we?" Carol asked.
"Don't be so mysterious in the bathroom next time."
"Don't be a pervert and look through the garbage next time!"
"You looked through the garbage?" Nate asked, his face expressing a bit of disgust.
"I said I was curious . Just like I've been curious as to where you've been, brother. You've been keeping mum about a lot."
"I've been writing." He answered.
"What boring topic this time?"
"Something more interesting than your waits on the unemployment line."
Will snorted at his brother's bickering.
Robert turned and pointed his finger in Will's face. "I wouldn't laugh at that, Pee-wee. You flunked out of your semester at university."
"Hey!"
"Drunks, flunks, and unemployed garbage pilferers. Great family you married into, son." The elder McKenzie proclaimed.
"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa." The three brothers all echoed at the same time.
"I can see from your mother's state that you didn't have a decent role model."
"Dad, she took valium and it had side effects in her system, alright?" Chris said. "You would have to take one to get through this dinner. So, stop with the jabs at my family."
His father slowly leaned back in his chair. "Is that right? And they're your family?"
Chris felt confidence run through his veins. "Yes, from the minute I said 'I do', and no offense to Ryan, but our family isn't clean on the drug path either."
Ryan raised his arms, "No offense here."
"Maybe he wouldn't have if he had put his brain to better use and gone to medical school. He could have educated himself about drugs. Not about buildings."
"Oh, here we go. Like doctors don't abuse drugs…" Ryan said.
"No, my children just don't educate themselves like they should!"
"I went to Yale." Luc muttered to himself.
"Good one, dad. Keep them coming." Carol said and took a sip of the wine in her cup.
"And you're drinking wine while pregnant? This whole family is a disgrace!"
"Disgrace!" The McKenzie children exclaimed. It was a word they were very much used to.
There continued to be a myriad of voices from both families. Alex tried to keep quiet. She couldn't sit back anymore and let the train wreck go on. She couldn't do it to her family, to Chris, and especially to Carol. Placing her teeth over her bottom lip she let a loud whistle sound. There was a sudden silence where everyone's eyes, even her mother's still drooping ones, were on her.
Alex stood up and began, "This dinner was supposed to be about our families coming together," she looked up and down each side of the table, "There were so many reasons why we shouldn't have done this, too many to list or even count, but we did it. For one day I hoped that we could all put aside our differences and be civil. This is something new, something both sides asked for. I'm sorry that Chris and I got married without you there, but we did because we love each other and we want to spend the rest of our lives together. But it's not just us, we both come with families and we accept that. We accept our families for what they are. This was a chance for us to really mesh our life together, but it just turned into a mess."
She took a breath and continued, "None of us are perfect," her eyes fell on her father-in-law, "not even you Dr. McKenzie. You can point out all the flaws you want, but it doesn't make a difference because you have them, too." She looked back at the rest of her family, "We all do. I embrace them. It doesn't make me look down on any of you, either."
She lifted her water glass and continued, "So, on this non-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Day, I give thanks for flaws. I give thanks for family, no matter how insane you all are because family is there when you need them," She said looking at her brothers and then directly at Carol. Her eyes then fell on Chris, "I give thanks for love, because without it I wouldn't have had the courage to go to another continent and find the love of my life. I give thanks for it. As should all of you. Whether you like it or not, we're family. One big dysfunctional one."
Alex let out a breath and sat back down, exchanging the glass for her fork and poking it into the turkey. "By the way, Carol isn't pregnant. I am. She said that to try and keep it a secret. So, there you go. Gobble, gobble." She said, staring at Chris's wide eyes and then put the piece of turkey in her mouth.
Mouths were hanging open from her revelation. Eyes moved all across the room falling on every stunned face. Smiles started to form. The sound of Chris's chair scratching across the floor filled the room. Alex pushed hers back and they both walked toward each other, speechless. Chris suddenly just grabbed his wife, his hands gripping her upper arms and pulled her close, placing a hard passionate kiss on her lips, not caring who was present. There was a small round of applause for the couple from the table.
The only voice that sounded was that of Alex's mother, who, coming out of her drowsy state, managed to ask, "Alex is pregnant?"
There was actually laughing at the table as the mood seemed to lighten. Chris's father's attitude changed minimally. Luc seemed to be a tad more relaxed and in a conversation with his half siblings about architecture and the fact that he also lived in New York City. Alex's mother was able to sober up enough and grasp what happened at dinner. News of Chris and Alex's impending bundle of joy had actually worked the way Alex had hoped. At least, for the moment. It wasn't perfect; she and Chris knew it wouldn't be. However, they could revel in a moderately successful circus of a dinner. Forgetting all the parts before, they could keep this part of the dinner in their memories. Also, there was happiness in knowing they had fulfilled their deal.
Chris let his fingers wrap around hers on top of her stomach as they enjoyed dessert, having switched seats with Nate in order to be closer to her. Being in each other's vicinity enabled them to block out the rest of the world. They had been able to do that so many times before—in a tent in Chad, on choppy seas across the Mediterranean, and in supply closets at the hospital. It was the most pleasant and serene feeling.
The next part of the night they were looking forward to was something that would be equally pleasant—
Everyone going home.
Chris collapsed on the bed in his gray tank shirt and black pajama pants, exhausted from the day's events. Alex shut the light off from the bathroom and walked to the foot of the bed, staring at her husband. Chris lifted his head up then slowly lifted the rest of his body. He turned and arranged his body in a crawling position. He inched to the edge of the bed, sitting on his knees in front of her.
"Big day." She said casually, standing in her pajamas of a light blue tank top and pink and blue checkered bottoms.
Chris nodded and let his hands rise to grab her waist, pulling her closer to him until her legs hit the bed. He then let one hand slide over the soft fabric of her top and settled on her stomach. He never wanted his hand to leave that spot.
"A lot of things to be thankful for."
Alex frowned. "It wasn't exactly how I wanted you to find out. I wish we could have a do-over."
Chris licked his lips and closed his eyes for a moment. He smiled at her when he opened them.
"Tell me about what?" He asked, playing dumb.
Alex narrowed her eyes at him and quickly picked up on what he was doing.
"Oh, well, there's something I need to tell you and I don't know how."
"Alex, you can tell me anything." He told her.
"I know," she nodded. "I just want you to know that I love you so much."
"Oh, I knew that the day you got off that jeep in Chad."
She bit her bottom lip and then asked, "You did now, did you?"
Now it was Chris's turn to nod his head. "I also know that I would have waited for you the rest of my life. That's how much I was in love with you." He then quickly added, "Still am."
Alex giggled. "That's a good fact to know." She then pulled him in for a kiss.
"So, you had something to tell me," Chris said when their kiss ended, bringing her back to what she wanted to say.
She let her lips inch closer to his once more and whispered, "I'm pregnant."
"YES!" He bellowed with a smile and kissed her deeply.
He wrapped his arms around her tightly and pulled her with him as he fell back onto the bed. Their kiss broke momentarily as Alex squealed from the sudden movement. Her hair cascaded down, creating a curtain around their faces.
"Despite everything else that happened today, you made this the best non-Thanksgiving ever."
Alex kissed him quickly and stated, "Just imagine Christmas."
Chris began to groan, but was quickly silenced by Alex's lips.
THE END?