Home for Christmas
A/N: If you knew the music that was playing in my head while I wrote this, you'd be tearing up too. I love this story…I maybe spent five hours max on the actual writing part, and there are less typos in it than there are in something I've read over three times in as many days…ah well. I hope you enjoy this last (and hopefully not too late) chapter!!
Chapter Four: Home Again
I'll be home for Christmas…
If only in my dreams.
"Mom! Mom, please wait!" Dora froze at that voice, and turned around very slowly, as though she almost couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Isaac, looking road-weary and quite cold, was standing under Vale's gate, with Garet and some other man behind him.
"Mom!" Isaac called, running to her. Dora ran, as well, and halfway between both starting points they embraced.
"Isaac!" Dora cried happily, running one hand through his golden-blond hair. "Isaac, my son. You are home for Christmas."
"Well thanks a lot," Garet muttered, though he wasn't bitter in the least. He had almost made it through the gates when something sprang from the nearby foliage and tackled him to the ground. "Gah!"
"Garet, you big oaf!" Jenna said, giving him a sound whack on the side of the head. Garet saw stars for several seconds, and then kept seeing them as his daze wore off and Jenna kissed him. "Don't you ever make me wait for you like that again," she said softly, tears streaming down her face and melting little patches of snow. "You idiot," she added, pulling him off the ground.
"Isaac," whispered a voice, and Isaac opened his eyes and saw, over his mother's shoulder, the rest of the Adepts, Mia in front of them, hurrying over to greet the returning men. Isaac let go of Dora, and Mia flung her arms around him, squeezing tight enough to make breathing difficult and not minding in the least.
"Mia," Isaac croaked out. "Nice to see you too." He hugged her equally as tight, though, and he and Garet were soon surrounded by the rest of the Adepts and Dora, all either cursing them, congratulating them, or both.
It was Sheba who noticed the man, standing quietly, leaning against the gates of Vale, under the small sprig of mistletoe. She pointed him out, and the others turned, though none but Isaac and Garet could possibly know him.
Except someone did. Even after so many years, Dora could have recognized Kyle anywhere, and she ran to him (as she seemed to have been doing a lot lately) and threw her arms around him. He was a bit slower in returning the embrace, but it was returned.
"But this can't be," Dora said quietly, tears falling from her eyes, trailing down Kyle's back and into the snow. "You…you died, Jenna's parents told me so…they told me you could never come back."
"I made a vow to come back for my family," Kyle said just as quietly, speaking into his wife's ear. "I couldn't break that. Not even the edge of death could stop me." Beaming, Kyle looked over at Isaac, and Dora's gaze followed her husband's.
"Isaac, is this what you went out searching for? Did you know?" she asked animatedly.
"Yes and no, respectively," Isaac said, as the group of them began to walk toward the giant Christmas tree, where the rest of Vale was fast gathering. Everyone was taking their presents from under the tree, and Garet's family let out cries of delight when they saw him—even his younger brother gave him a hug, though it was short and followed by an embarrassed grumble.
Isaac sighed, realizing that he hadn't had time to get anyone any gifts. Sheba and Ivan reassured him that his being there was plenty in the way of a present, but Isaac still felt that he'd cheated his friends, somehow. Still, he only found one present for him under the tree—knitted gloves, socks and a hat, from Garet's mother. She was always giving away presents like that.
The day wore on, and it was entirely about festivities. As a special surprise, Sheba and Ivan presented Garet with another wrapped Mimic, as they'd done every year since the initial prank—they kept finding better and better ways to disguise it, though (this year's presentation resembled a wrapped miniature of a lighthouse), so Garet was always caught by surprise.
There was food, and music, and laughter and a lot of Christmas merriment. As morning turned to afternoon, the Adepts and many of the other children and young adults (and some older adults, too) of Vale used large sheets of ice to sled down the steep cliffs.
At one point, Garet slipped right off his ice sled and kept on going, rolling over and over into somewhat of a snowball (though it had a head and legs) before barreling into Picard, who was just standing and waiting for the chance to teleport back to the top.
"Garet?" asked Picard in a calm voice.
"Mmnph?" replied the snowball.
"That is what I thought. Do you enjoy being cold and wet?"
"Rrrn gmmf pgrr rrm."
"Oh. Well when you find your way out of there, we are all going to Isaac's house for dinner. Feel free to join us."
When the rest of Garet's head came free of the snowball, he couldn't see any of the Adepts anywhere. With a groan—he'd been up for more than twenty-four hours by then—he sent heat out from his body, melting the snow and releasing him. As quickly as he could, he hurried to catch up with the others, who he now spotted on their way to Isaac's.
"Oh…how wonderful!" Dora exclaimed when she saw the small, living tree that now grew in one corner of her house. "What a marvelous present!" She and Kyle walked over to the little tree and took their time studying the beautiful ornaments and strings of berries that decorated the shoulder-high pine.
Isaac, struck speechless by the thoughtfulness of all his friends, turned to them wordlessly to find that each one held a wrapped gift in their hands (even Garet) and all of them were wearing nearly identical mischievous, satisfied smiles.
"Merry Christmas Isaac!" they said, and he was buried in a seven-person bear hug, gifts and all.
Isaac laughed. He hadn't known at all if he was making the right choice when he'd left just under a week ago. But now, now that he was back with his friends and his entire family, he knew that what he had done had been right.
Things always work out as they should, Isaac, a voice said in his mind alone. Most humans just never come to realize that what should be and what they'd like to be don't always coincide.
"Then I am fortunate indeed," Isaac whispered, though no one really heard him.
"Well, come on, Venus Adept," Ivan said mock-sternly. "Open your gifts!"
~*~
That night was, as it always had been, a party of grandest occasion. With Felix and Jenna's help, Picard had rigged up brilliant red-and-green lights that would randomly burst, with a very soft 'pop' sound, into stars of colored light.
"You Lemurians have to be fancy with everything, don't you," Ivan said quietly, giving Picard his best imitation of Mia's icy glare.
"Fancy? This is normal," Picard replied impishly. "You should see it at midsummer."
Dinner was served, and for a good five minutes there was silence as everyone dug in. Christmas day dinner was the largest meal that Vale shared all year, and the long table was lined with every kind of main dish and dessert that a person could think of, including Imilian chili and Laliveran fried chicken.
"Ah, I love Christmas," Garet said, leaning back in his chair and looking at his heaping second helping. "Food and gifts and the woman I love. What more could I possibly ask for?"
"Jenna and Garet, sitting by the tree!" sang Cannon cheerfully.
"Perhaps some silence in what passes for your mind," Jenna said, gesturing as though she would flick Cannon off the table. The Djinni jumped back, landing in Sheba's bowl of soup. Sheba pulled the Djinni out and set him on the table again, then went back to eating.
"You're going to eat that after Cannon stood in it?" Ivan asked incredulously.
"It was getting cold," Sheba replied with a shrug.
A bit farther down the table, next to Mia and Felix and across from Dora and Kyle, Isaac watched his friends eat. It was more like watching Garet eat, really, he decided, while Jenna, Sheba and Ivan tried to protect their food from his fast-moving hands. Fastest he's ever moved in his life, unless it was raining, Isaac thought with a smile.
Then he looked at his parents. Kyle's hair was back to his normal length now, and he was wearing a clean shirt and pair of pants—he looked very much like the Kyle he'd been when Isaac was fourteen, albeit with some grey in his hair and a more world-weary look to his face. But his azure eyes—so like the color of Isaac's own—still held the sparkle that must have attracted Dora to him when they'd been younger.
Dora looked up at Kyle with nothing but happiness in her heart. Finally, the heavy weight seemed gone from her shoulders, and her laughter was clear and ringing. And Kyle looked down at his wife and wrapped her in his arms, remembering how well she'd used to fit there and enjoying the way she fit still.
Isaac smiled. Finally, all was as it should be. If it were any time but Christmas, the Elemental Spirits would have had to intervene, to create more chaos, because to all things there must be a balance. But it was indeed Christmas, and they sat back and watched, knowing a bit of what was to come.
It was very late by the time the festivities were over—most of the Adepts had been up all night and had decided to leave early. As they were walking towards their house, however, Kyle stopped Isaac and pulled him to the side.
"It feels like ages ago, Isaac," he said, looking at his son proudly, "but I once told you that you had to fight for what you had, to fight for the things the Elemental Spirits gave you life for."
"I remember," Isaac said.
"One of those things is going to leave for Imil at the spring thaw unless you do something about it, son. I've seen you look at her—I know how much you love her, and how much she loves you in return. Don't let all that go to waste."
Kyle handed Isaac a small box. Curiously, Isaac opened it and peeked inside. His eyes widened and he gasped. "But…Dad, I…"
"You know I'm right, son," Kyle said. Isaac was shocked. It wasn't the bad kind of shocked, though; it was the good kind, where the warm fuzzy feeling spread from his heart right down to the ends of his fingers and toes. He smiled, put the box in his pocket, and nodded.
"Thanks, Dad," Isaac said, turning to hurry after Mia. He had to catch her before she got back to the house, and it had to be away from anyone else. He knew exactly where he could take her, too.
He caught up to her just before she got to the stairs that would take her up the cliff to her house. "Mia, please wait!" he called, and the Mercury Adept turned around, looking down at him with questioning eyes. "I…I have something to show you!"
"Isaac, it's late. I haven't slept for nearly two days straight now. Please, can it wait?"
"No. No, this can't wait another instant!" Isaac insisted, and he grabbed Mia's hand and began walking, as slowly as he could without bursting from the effort, to what remained of the peak of Mt. Aleph.
"Isaac, what did you bring me here for?" Mia asked, actually shivering with the cold. Isaac looked at her and his heart nearly broke—it wasn't really fair, bringing her up here like this when it was nearly midnight and cold and snowing the tiniest bit.
And yet, the still-bursting lights from down below, and the few stars showing through and the way the snow was blowing in little spirals in the breeze…it all seemed right. This was how it was meant to be.
"Mia…I…well…actually, now that I'm here, I really don't know what to say. My mind never really took me past this point."
"Isaac," Mia began, annoyance creeping into her voice.
"No, Mia. Please, listen. This…this is important. Really." Isaac took a deep breath, reached one hand into his pocket, and began writing a speech as he spoke it. "I know you're going to leave for Imil in a few months and I know you have your duties there even though the lighthouse is lit now and you'll be wanting to see Megan and Justin and the other Imilians again after being here for so long and all and I think you stayed this long because of me and that really makes me feel good inside and I wanted to tell you not to go because…" Isaac had to pause for another breath. "Because I love you. I really, truly do, with all my heart and more besides. And I…I wanted to ask you…"
Isaac pulled the box from his pocket and took a step forward, going down on one knee. Grinning like a fool in love, he opened the box towards Mia, revealing a silver ring set with light blue gems in a circle, a dark sapphire sparkling in the center. "Mia, will you marry me?"
Mia gasped. All thoughts of cold and tiredness and irritation at this man who had first left her and then come back for her when it was almost too late…this man who had so often put himself in danger rather than let harm come to her…who had risked his own life to save Weyard in a way that could have ultimately destroyed it…who had put up with Garet for seventeen years before ever meeting her…who could light up each day with just a smile…all her annoyed thoughts fled in the face of the proposal being made by the man she loved. Elated, Mia laughed, unable to stop herself.
Isaac's face fell. Was she laughing at the idea that he might even suggest that he…no, she couldn't be. But there she was, laughing so hard tears were coming to her eyes. Isaac started to close the box and mumble an apology, but he found himself wrapped in a hug that was primarily many-layered white-and-blue robes, with a pair of arms mixed in somewhere.
"Oh, Isaac…the look on your face…" Mia was still laughing, though much less so now. "Of course, Isaac. I wouldn't have it any other way. I accept!"
Isaac began to laugh, too. And as midnight struck, the newly engaged Adepts stood together, smiling all the way home. Tomorrow, they decided, they'd tell everyone the news.
~*~
Well, there you have it. The end (so very sorry it took me so long!) of the 2003 GS Christmas ficcy. Did you enjoy it? Didya didya didya? I hope so!! Now, push that little button down there if you ever want to hear about the fiasco that was the wedding…oops…did I say that out loud??
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