Disclaimer: see previous chapters.
A/N: MERRY (INSERT CELEBRATED HOLIDAY HERE) EVERYONE! (laughs) It's the all-purpose holiday greeting! For me, it's Christmas Eve…and I can't WAIT! Sheesh, never thought I'd still be this excited about Christmas at age 17. I guess it's because my family had a pretty tough year, and we made it through…anyways, here's a special Christmas-related chapter. Consider it my Christmas present to you, the readers. And as a second & third present, Woody's parents are alive and Devan isn't dead.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Tidings Of Comfort And Joy
"Welcome home Amanda," Jordan said as she opened the door to Woody's apartment. Amanda walked in and looked around. The apartment hadn't changed much in the months she had been staying at Peter's. In fact, the only thing different was the Christmas tree in the living room. Amanda gasped at the sight of it. She remembered that tree. Woody grinned from his spot on the couch.
"I've seen that tree before," she said, walking over to it. "Grandma and Grandpa Hoyt had this tree at their house when I was little. I remember the ornaments and how pretty the star was." Amanda lightly touched the ornaments, giggling slightly at the painted walnut that hung near the middle of the tree. "And I remember making this cheesy piece of junk in preschool!"
"Is there anything else you remember?" her father asked as he got up off of the couch and walked over to her.
"Yeah, actually there is," Amanda said, hugging her father. "I remember the only person tall enough to get the star on the top was Uncle Cal." Amanda looked at the top of the tree. There sat the same old star, resplendent and shining on the top of the tree.
"Wait a minute," Amanda said slowly. "There's only one other person that I know who is tall enough to reach the top of this tree, and he's back at his apartment. So who the hell…"
"Some greeting," a voice said from the hallway. Amanda turned around and gasped. She ran down the hallway and flung her arms around her uncle's neck, hugging him.
"Uncle Cal! When did you get here?" Amanda said, completely and utterly surprised.
"About 15 minutes ago," he replied, laughing loudly. "Decided to bring the family tree to the family in Boston." Cal pulled away from his niece and looked at her. "You've grown up since the last time I saw you," he said. "You're almost as tall as your dad! And a boyfriend too…How long has he been in the picture?"
Amanda blushed. "Ten months," she said. "And no, you do NOT need to rough him up! My friends already gave him the 'hurt her and perish' lecture."
Cal laughed again. His niece knew him too well, something that he attributed to her father. "Let's skip all the formalities and go talk to your parents, shall we?" he said, in a mocking formal tone.
"All right then," Amanda said, matching the tone. "Let's."
"HEY GUYS!" Cal screamed. "Look who's under the mistletoe!"
They were with the morgue crew at the Pogue, which had been opened especially for them to have a Christmas party. Mistletoe had been hung in various places around the bar, and-as Cal loudly pointed out-a couple had just been caught under it.
Amanda and Peter looked at each other, then looked at the ceiling above them. Sure enough, there was one of the many strategically placed bunches of mistletoe hanging above their heads.
"Come on you two, it's tradition!" Cal shouted. "Come on Peter, kiss her! I won't clobber you, but I can't vouch for my brother."
"Hey Uncle Cal," Amanda said innocently, her eyes shining with mischief. "Wanna know what I got you for Christmas?"
"Sure!" he replied, not catching on to what everyone else had realized: that Amanda was up to something. "What is it?"
"Duct Tape," Amanda said with a devilish grin, causing everyone in the bar to laugh, Cal included.
"OK, OK, you got me," he said. "She's turning out to be more like me than you, bro!"
"Oh God, I hope not," Amanda and Woody said at the same time, an act which produced a fresh wave of laughter.
"Now, back to the business at hand," Jordan said when everyone had stopped laughing. "As much as I hate to admit it, Cal's right. It is a tradition, after all. I'll hold your father back, I promise."
Amanda blushed, then grinned as Peter leaned in to kiss her. The assembled guests laughed and applauded as the couple came out from under the mistletoe with slightly red faces. Then Amanda and Peter spotted something that cheered them up almost immediately.
"Sydney, Uncle Cal, it IS a tradition…" Amanda said with mock seriousness, producing the biggest wave of laughter yet that night.
"Everyone listen up!" Woody said loudly. "Jordan and I have an announcement to make." It was a few hours later, and everyone was fully into the swing of the party. Amanda, Peter, Nigel, and Devan looked up from their game of pool, Lily and Bug stopped dancing, and Garret, Renee, Cal, Sydney, and Max stopped drinking for the moment.
"What is it?" Max asked.
"Guess," Woody said.
"You've changed your mind about the earlier mistletoe ruling," Sydney said, shuddering in horror and earning laughs from everyone except Cal, who glared slightly at his brother.
"You're selling Uncle Cal to the circus!" Amanda said, getting more laughs.
"You're officially cutting off his drinking privileges," Renee said as Max pulled a drink out of Cal's hand. "Since they won't, I will," Max said. Cal glared at him, to which he replied, "Your nose is red enough already Rudolph. No more beer for you."
After the laughter had subsided, Woody said, "That's not it, although we were seriously considering the mistletoe thing…" He smiled at Jordan and said, "Do you want to tell them?"
"Sure," Jordan said. "Um, you guys might be wondering why I haven't been drinking anything tonight."
"Well, duh!" Amanda said. "Peter and I can't be the only designated drivers!"
"That's actually not entirely it," Jordan said, laughing at her stepdaughter's semi-off-the-mark comment. "There's good news and bad news. The good news: Woody and I are getting a very special Christmas gift this year that everyone will love. The bad news: It's not going to be here for another eight months." She waited for the news to sink in, and then the shouting started, beginning-of course-with Amanda.
"OH MY GOD! I'M GOING TO BE A SISTER AGAIN!" she yelled, jumping up and down and clapping her hands. The entire bar soon joined in, shouting, laughing, and congratulating the happy couple.
"Hopefully, this one won't act like its older sister," Cal said with a laugh.
"Hopefully, this one won't act like its Uncle Cal," Amanda retorted with a grin. This time, the laughter could be heard in the building next door.
Jordan woke up suddenly. There was a noise coming from the living room. She got out of bed-being careful not to wake up Woody-and walked into the living room. She saw a figure sitting on the couch, and was about to reach for the phone when the figure turned around.
"Did I wake you up?" Amanda asked. When Jordan nodded, Amanda said, "Sorry. I tried to be quiet."
"It's OK," Jordan said.
Jordan sat down on the couch next to her stepdaughter. On closer inspection, she noticed that Amanda had been crying.
"It hits hardest the first year," Jordan said. "The first year's always the hardest. Birthdays-theirs and yours-and holidays especially. I miss my mom most at the holidays too."
"Mom always made a big deal of the holidays," Amanda said, drying her eyes on the pillow. "It was a big thing in our house. She always took us sledding, and we always had snowball fights when there was enough snow. We made a ton of cookies, and gingerbread men too."
"My mom used to help me make gingerbread houses," Jordan said, smiling at the memory of a happy Christmas when she was young. "They were always really big, more like gingerbread mansions than houses. We even made little gingerbread men and women to put in front of it. Snowball fights were a big thing too, but my dad and I were the ones that did those."
"We tried to make a gingerbread house once, but it fell apart," Amanda said, snorting with laughter. "Grandma Baxter's dog ate it and got sick in Grandpa Baxter's boot."
Jordan laughed, then paused for a moment. "Would you like to make one that won't fall apart?"
"Sure," Amanda said. "But it's kind of late, don't you think?"
"It's only 11:00 at night," Jordan said. "besides, your uncle's staying at a hotel and your dad's a heavy sleeper, so we won't be waking anyone up. I'll bet we can have a gingerbread mansion and some cookies ready for the morning if we try hard enough."
"Sounds like a plan," Amanda said, drying her eyes. "You know, you don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"I know," Jordan said. "But if your little half-brother or sister is going to be a sugar addict like its mother and sister, we'd better start now. Besides, it's a good tradition. Both our mothers had the right idea when it came to holiday baking, it seems."
"Yeah," Amanda said with a grin as they walked to the kitchen. "You know, you're a good mom for someone who's never done it before."
"Thanks," Jordan said with a grin. "Now, where'd your dad hide the gingerbread?"
A/N 2: Shout-out time.
Dan- Thanks! It's good to be back! I feel much better. I decided to put some stepmother/stepdaughter bonding in this chapter. Seeing as how it's Christmas, some sort of bonding was in order anyways. The only down side to writing that last part is that I now have a major gingerbread craving…(shakes her head to get rid of the feeling) Anyways, keep on reading and reviewing! And Happy Holidays to you!