This is my first ever-solely Charmed ficlet. This is a feel-good happy Christmas fic, no demons, just Christmas and a Charmed Extravaganza. The main pairing in here is Paige and Kyle, but we will also see hints of Piper and Leo, Phoebe and Leslie and also Darryl and Sheila. I hope you enjoy and Happy Holidays.
The dusty box top slid off of the square container, unleashing stacks of white tissue paper covering precious decorations that were handed down through the years. Hues of crimson and emerald glittered in the dim lights that hung on the side walls of the attic, ricocheting in every direction as the newly Mrs. Emera Brody searched for the Christmas decorations that had been passed down through the generations of her family.
Crimson bulbs would dangle on the tree, emerald stars would glitter in the light and a Christmas Angel would sit atop the tree, raising her hands up towards the sky and donning a silver lined robe straight from the heavens.
The Brody's faux but beautiful Christmas tree was placed in the corner, twinkle lights flickered the colors of the rainbow and illuminated the family room reminding the newlyweds that it was Christmas time again.
This would be their first Christmas as husband and wife, celebrating two years of a relationship that they would cherish forever. And tonight, Emera had the best Christmas present for her husband, Jackson.
Jackson trotted down the stairs, all dressed up in his jade colored sweater and swooped into the family room, giving his bride a great big smile.
"Merry Christmas Eve," Emera's soft voice called out to him and said. Her lips curved into a delicate smile as he moved towards her, taking her slender body into his and embracing her in a loving hug.
"Ditto."
"You always say that," Emera swatted at his sweater and turned around towards the Christmas tree again, admiring its symbolism and beauty. Jackson's arms slid around her waist and he started to nuzzle her neck.
"Okay, okay. Stop that," Emera said, leaning over to the fireplace mantle and picking up a small package, skinny enough to fit Jackson's favorite candy, Pixie Sticks in. But that wasn't his Christmas present. "The Christmas Eve present."
"Christmas Eve present?" Jackson took the skinny package in his hands, running his fingers over the golden metallic ribbon wrapped around the golden paper and looked up at her.
"New tradition. A Brody tradition. Open it," Emera curved her mouth into a smile, hoping her husband would open up the present and be as happy as she was. As he slowly started to untie the small package with a big gift inside, all she could think about was that their lives were going to change forever.
Jackson dropped the top of the box to the floor when he uncovered her present: a pregnancy test. They were going to be parents; the most wonderful gift that Santa could give them.
"Oh, yea, and this," Emera pulled out another box from inside the evergreen tree and handed it to her husband.
"Please don't tell me that this is the actual baby."
"No, silly," Emera pulled on the tiny silver strand of ribbon wrapped around the box and let her husband finish the rest.
Jackson took the lid off and threw it onto the fireplace mantle that was already covered with tiny knick-knacks with Christmas themes and a nativity scene depicting the reason for Christmas. Jackson looped his index finger through the string that was sticking out and lifted it out of the box.
A round, multi-colored ornament hung from his hand, dangling and twinkling in the dim light that surrounded the Brodys.
"An ornament?"
"Not just any ornament. Our first ornament."
Paige pressed her finger pads to her temples and started to rub her head, anxious for the headache in her brain to go away. She loved the head mistress at Magic School gig, but she was getting tired of student progress reports when the school day hadn't started and the constant battles between the teachers.
Right now, at this moment, Professor Henderson was in her office along with two students who had been blamed for the fire that started in the lab. And of course, all three of them were arguing back and forth. This was the time of day that she wished she had Piper's powers, all so she could freeze them.
Of course, they would only stay frozen for a short while seeing as they were all emerging witches minus the Professor who would stay frozen and that didn't seem all that bad.
It was a crazy time of year. It was the Christmas season and around the Halliwell household that meant traditions and trimming the tree and setting out cookies and milk for Santa and then there was the whole tradition of actually finding time between vanquishing demons and buying presents to see her boyfriend or lover or whatever the appropriate title was for him.
She missed Kyle. She missed coming over to his place, insulting his décor and then taking him out into the city and the sunlight. The last time she had seen him was a week ago when she actually had some free time up her sleeve.
"Okay!" Paige stood up and stopped the students and Professor Henderson from voicing another one of their arguments. "Okay, Professor, you have students waiting in your classroom."
Professor Henderson exited the room, his black robe whooshing behind him as he closed the door from the outside. The two students eyed each other and then turned to the Head Mistress of Magic School like their lives depended on it; it did.
Paige rounded the sharp corner of her executive desk and sat on the edge, looking at the two boys with her detective eye. "Did you set the fire in the lab?" She asked, watching as the two boys looked at each other and let their heads drop down.
"Okay, that's enough for me. I know it's Christmas and we all want to get home in time, so all you have to do is help clean it all up."
"All of it?"
"All of it." Paige confirmed, hoping off the edge of her desk and retreating behind the stacks of paper and books piled atop of the deep cherry wood. She started to gather papers up, putting the important memos into a file folder and looked up to still see the boys sitting in front of her desk. "You can go now."
They left the room as she wished and she cleaned up most of the papers on the surface, hoping that she could get home before seven today. She could only pray for a divine intervention.
She should've stayed at school. Definitely.
Phoebe was walking up and down the hall with Chris, who was fussy as usual. Piper was freezing everything in sight because of Wyatt's expanding telekinesis powers and Leo was hovering over the Christmas tree, mostly just trying to stay out of the way and place the angel on top of the evergreen that overpowered the family room.
School was the answer. Back to school and maybe order take out from that fabulous Chinese place downtown and then she could actually get some of her Christmas wrapping done. But before she could take two steps backward and orb back to the school, Phoebe caught a hold of her hand and prevented her from doing so.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Oh, nowhere," Paige answered her older sister and shrugged her shoulders, brushing off any hope that this would be a quiet evening at home.
"Good. I need your help."
"That was a given," Paige muttered under her breath and halfheartedly followed Phoebe up the stairs as Chris calmed down and laid his head upon Phoebe's shoulder.
The second floor was quieter, but they all could still hear Piper's motherly "no's" and "Wyatt's!" echo through the hallways. Phoebe walked up towards Paige's room and set Chris on Paige's ultra-comfy bed. This would be his first Christmas and the aunts had everything planned but there was just one name that was left off the list of the Halliwell's Holiday Extravaganza list: Kyle Brody.
"So?"
"So what?" Paige shrugged her shoulders, letting her shoulder bag slip onto the vanity chair and went over to her closet, ridding of her shoes immediately.
"So…you know what I'm talking about Paige." Phoebe sat on her bed next to Chris and waited for Paige to give her an answer. Phoebe was the empath and the advice columnist and the Cupid for most of San Francisco and of course she could tell when something was up with her sister and her boyfriend. "Did you ask him yet?"
"Ask who what?"
"Paige!"
"I haven't had time," Paige shrugged off Phoebe's persistent questions.
"Yes you have. You come home from school and what do you do? You…"
"Vanquish the big bads, change stinky diapers and oh yea, grade papers because some of my teachers are slackers."
"That's still not an excuse. He's your boyfriend."
"Yea, well, I don't see him picking up the phone and making an attempt to call me."
"Paige, you told him not to and like a pet dog, he obeyed, which is a good asset mind you."
"Phoebe, what's the point of this conversation?" Paige asked, pulling on her sweat pants and walking her way back over to the bed in the middle of the room.
"The point is that we've invited everyone and they've accepted. Dad's gonna be here, Sam, our whole maternal side of the family, Leslie is coming, Elise and Darryl with Sheila and the kids too…"
"You want Kyle there?"
"Yes."
"Fine. I'll call. Satisfied?"
"No, it'd be better if you orbed." Phoebe said, propping Chris up against the pillows and shooing her sister out of her own room.
"But I'm in my sweats."
"Go!" Phoebe shooed her sister out again and this time Paige took the bait. She orbed and with that Phoebe pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and speed dialed Kyle Brody's home number.
"Brody."
"She's on her way."
"Thanks Phoebe."
Phoebe flipped back the phone and looked over at Chris, who was about to fall asleep there on Paige's bed.
"That's right, Mr. Halliwell. Phoebe is Cupid and knows how to match make, doesn't she?" Her aunty voice said to the baby boy that was now in her arms. "How about you and me go take a nap?"