A Foster's Christmas
A/N: HA! My second fic. I thought of it when listening to Christmas music (go figure). Please read and Review!!
Oh yeah!! I almost forgot, again. I've been meaning to thank all of the reviewers for…um…reviewing. XD I wouldn't have been updating this fast if no one was reading it.
And, I know the last chapter should be burned by Santa himself. X(
Foster's is not owned by me…:'(
And neither are the carols I mention…:'((
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Chapter Six: A Foster Christmas
Mac opened his eyes, gazing toward the window, which was a cloudy white. He rubbed the sand from his eyes and sat up on his cot, which was actually pretty comfortable. Normal people would want coffee in the mornings, however Mac didn't need it…
"YOU'RE AWAKE!! COMON, COMON, COMON!! You've been asleep FOREVER!! COMON!!!!!!!!!"
…he had Bloo. Mac had jumped a little from his friend's sudden appearance in front of him. Mac quickly changed and walked after Bloo down to the kitchen for breakfast. He noticed that not many friends were walking about in the hallways or in the dining room.
"Where is everyone?" he asked Mr. Herriman, who was sitting next to Madame Foster.
"I don't know, Master Mac, but I do know that they are going to miss breakfast if they don't get here soon." He answered as he checked his pocket watch.
"Oh, psssh. They can have breakfast whenever they want. Especially today, you know, I didn't wake up early today; and you know what that means." She passed Mr. Herriman a wink.
"Hm? OH, quite right. Just give me the details, Madame" He asked her, whipping out a notebook and a pencil.
"Let's see," she took a quick glance to a confused Mac. Her face wrinkled a bit from an unknown emotion, she brought her gaze back to her funny bunny, "West fireplace, at dark, you-know-who, and I want him with our newest one; and I don't want them to leave tonight." Mr. Herriman finished jotting down what she said.
"Very good, I will arrange it." Mr. H replied as he hopped off. Bloo returned with some pumpkin pie (like half a pie) and milk. Madame Foster turned to Mac and Bloo,
"How did you sleep, dearies?" Bloo muffled an answer through his pumpkin pie filled mouth.
"Fine. This is the first time I've seen you this week, what have you been doing?" Mac said between bites.
"Oh, you'll see. But know, I have to watch my story!" she laughed. Mac still didn't quite understand her, and he probably never would. The intercom clanked 'on',
"Miss Francis, please see me in my office. We have a F253 commencing. Please come immediately."
Frankie was seen walking past the dining room…with a sly grin on her face.
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"So did Grandma wake up late today?"
"It seems that way, Miss Francis."
"So who're the targets?"
"The Madame informed me to get Mac and Jingle to the West Fireplace as it turns dark."
"But, tonight we go caroling, how will we keep them from going out from the others?"
A grin formed from behind his mustache (or whatever it is) "I have that worked out." Mr. Herriman spread a large paper onto his desk. "We need to make a blizzard…" Pointing to the diagram. Frankie straightened up and grinned at the bunny.
"Oh, that's good. I'll get right on it." she walked back to her room, eager to put her Grandmother's plan into action.
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Mac gazed up at the Christmas tree and sighed. He only had a vague memory of when he had seen his last Christmas tree, and even then it was a blur. Just like the rest of the Christmases for the past seven years. Bloo came running up behind him, tackling him to the ground.
"SO, you ready to go caroling, Mac. I'm going to play the drummer boy! Isn't that awesome?" Bloo wasn't prepared for what happened next; Mac merely pushed him off, and walked away, without saying a word. Bloo was obviously offended, "HellOOOOoooo, Bloo talkin' to ya here." Mac continued to ignore him. "HEY! Earth to Mac, are you in there?" Bloo grabbed Mac's arm and spun him around to see his face.
Bloo stared in shock as he looked onto an emotionless face. Even Mac eyes, usually filled with hope, happiness, and creativity, were devoid of any sign of these. They were empty, two black dots of nothing. Bloo loosened his grip as Mac turned around and continued to walk down the hallway. Now, if anyone else had seen Mac, they probably wouldn't have seen what Bloo had. It was that special link between a friend and his creator that allowed one to know exactly what the other was thinking. And that was the problem, the line seemed to be blocked by something, or maybe cut. Hopefully it hadn't come to that. When a child gives up his/her imaginary friend or gets older and mentally changes, that special link becomes very weak or disappears completely.
Bloo stood there, like a blue statue. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He snapped back to reality when one of the only people that can access these private links effectively started talking to him in a worried, he's-makin'-the-wrong-move tone.
"He's losin' it, almost like I did." Madame Foster stood next to Bloo, looking in the direction Mac took. Bloo turned to her and was about to ask something when Mr. Herriman hopped up.
"Madame, your room is ready for tonight."
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you-know-who won't be joining us."
"Oh, well, would you still like to see Jingle?"
"That would be nice, and tell Frankie to get that blizzard off my window."
"Of course, Madame." He hopped off in search of Jingle.
"Would you follow me, Bloo?" Bloo nodded and walked behind Madame F through the many twists and turns of the Mansion.
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Bloo had followed her for what seemed like hours; in fact, it probably was, due to the size of the home and the speed of Madame Foster. However, the two finally arrived at their destination, the West Fireplace. The room was cozy with two chairs facing west in front of a blazing fire. There were no other lights in the room save the small window on the South side. Why that window was there? Architectural flaw after a renovation.
Mr. Herriman was waiting inside for them, holding a tray with three martini glasses filled with a clear liquid and two olives each. Frankie could be seen entering the room through the window carrying her 'Blizzard' in, which happened to be a large TV displaying static. Jingle was trying to get a ball on a string into a hole, and failing, miserably. Madame Foster jumped into a chair grabbing a glass Mr. H was holding and started sipping it.
"Would you like one, Bloo?"
"Aren't these, like, alcoholic?"
"Oh, heavens, no. It's just water with olives." She said before she took another sip. She sighed before continuing, "Well, we need to figure out a way to get Mac out of the hole he's in, before it's too late."
"What do you mean, before it's too late?" Bloo asked desperately.
"Well, when I was his age, you wouldn't believe how alike I was to Mac. In fact, I have yet to find another difference other than he has an older brother, while I am an only child. Anyway, the point is, he's going through the same struggles I went through at his age and life might not be the same if I hadn't gotten out of them. Now if I remember correctly on how I got out of this, Bloo you need to talk to him. He might not respond, but he can still hear you. Maybe you can get through to him…and," she glanced at Jingle, "that's all I can remember at the moment, so…"
Bloo had already dashed out the door with Frankie closely behind and Mr. Herriman hopping after them both, "NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS!!" leaving Jingle and Madame Foster in the room. She closed her eyes with a smile.
"It's been a while hasn't it?"
"huh?"
"oh, You can drop the act Kris, I know it's you." I light snow flurry flew in from the window.
"Well, I see your senses have only gotten better since I last saw you, Francis." Kris said in his semi-deep tone, after growing a few feet and shift in clothes.
"Are you trying to help him?"
"Of course, I can't deny a child a Christmas, never have and never will."
"How are you doing with him?"
"Well, he's my toughest case for a while now, almost the same as yours was. It's going to take a little more to help get his spirit back." He walked to the open window, "but don't worry, he'll find his spirit, even if I have to do what I had to do with you." He smiled and plucked a holly leaf from his staff and threw it perfectly to Madame Foster.
"I'm getting a collection now." She laughed. Kris laughed as well as he vanished out the window. She could hear Foster's carolers outside singing,
Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la la la la la,
Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la la,
Don we now our gay apparel, fa la la la la la la la la,
Toll the seasons yuletide carol, fa la la la la la la la la.
Mac leaned against the rail on the rooftop of the building, listening to the music from far below. He thought he heard a Spanish accent singing "Feliz Navidad" amidst the other carolers, and cracked a smile.
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A/N: Well, what do you think? I need to think of better titles. Sorry if a word in the last chapter offended you, I thought it was in-character and I couldn't think a nicer word… X(
Also, I don't know if the last line of the song is right or not. XD
Please read and Review!!
Next Chapter: Christmas's Eve: Bloo attempts to re-light Mac's dead spirit. But will that be enough, or will he need additional kindling?