Beauty and the Beast

Chapter Eleven: Kavanaugh and Christmas

John and Rodney spent the next morning together going over equations and playing a few games of prime/not prime. Lunch came and John left, with a smile, letting Rodney return to his research. He hung out with Jinto and explored the castle. They walked into a room where a grand organ sat. "Whoa, I think we should leave Mr. Sheppard. Kavanaugh really doesn't like to be disturbed."

"Too late, Jinto. You have already woken me up." The organ rumbled as his eyes opened. "And who is this?"

"Oh, this is John Sheppard, Kavanaugh." Jinto piped nervously.

"Is he the one everyone thinks can break the curse?" Kavanaugh muttered slyly.

"Ummm, I think so." Jinto replied, "No one's really saying much to me."

"Really? What a surprise." Kavanaugh murmured sarcastically and then he studied John. "So what have you been doing? I'm sure you haven't been exploring the castle with Jinto all day."

John smiled lazily, "You're right. I spent the morning with Rodney. We were working on the equations for Rodney's latest project. We also played a few games of prime/not prime."

Kavanaugh's eyes seemed to frost over and he whispered, "Really?"

"Yep!" Jinto piped, "He was in Master Rodney's lab all morning."

"I see. So why aren't you in the lab right now?" Kavanaugh questioned coolly.

"Rodney moved on to something that did not involve math so I decided to explore the castle some more." John replied, becoming slightly uneasy in Kavanaugh's presence.

"How nice. So what are you going to do next?" Kavanaugh asked.

John looked down at Jinto and raised an eyebrow questionably. Jinto thought about if for a moment and seemed to shrug. "I don't know."

"Well it is Christmas Eve and the castle is a little drab." Kavanaugh pointed out, "You know how much Master Rodney loves Christmas. Why don't you decorate a room or two in the castle? Get a Christmas tree and decorate it. Celebrating Christmas would bring a twinkle to Master Rodney's blue eyes."

Jinto nodded eagerly and John narrowed his eyes. Kavanaugh was up to something. He didn't know what but he would find out. John nodded his head, "That's a good idea, Kavanaugh. Come on Jinto, let's go!" John picked Jinto up and headed out of the room, "Thanks for your help Kavanaugh."

"No problem, John. No problem at all," came Kavanaugh's oily response.

After the two explorers had left, Kavanaugh growled angrily and thought, 'It was me, who was supposed to be aiding Rodney in his research. Not some two bit peasant. I am the one who was hired to be both Rodney's assistant and to teach him how to play the organ. Damn that curse! I should have been turned into Rodney's chalk board not a stupid organ! Not only did Rodney invite that peasant to his labs he played prime/not prime with him. Rodney never played that with me!' Discordant tones filled the room as Kavanaugh vented his anger at the perceived injustice done to his person. After a few minutes the sounds of his anger faded and Kavanaugh sighed and smirked evilly. 'Poor John. Soon Rodney would be kicking him out of the castle in a fit of anger instead of inviting him to his lab. Rodney hated Christmas.'

'Once John and Jinto set up their tree and decorations and Rodney finds them. Heh. John would be gone so fast and Rodney will return to me.' Kavanaugh started to laugh. The dark tones of his laughter rang through the castle. Hollings looked up from his task and frowned. That sound did not bode well. He hoped nothing bad would happen.

Meanwhile John and Jinto had gone outside to go tree hunting. They wandered the castle grounds with Lorne the Axe. "So why are you an axe?" John asked curiously.

"I'm the castles huntsman." Lorne grunted out as they plowed through the freshly fallen snow.

"Cool." John drawled.

After a half hour of futile searching all they found was a puny sapling. John, Jinto and Lorne exchanged looks and sighed. "So what do we do now?" Jinto asked plaintively.

John crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood there for a moment, deep in thought. He sighed and shrugged, "There's no choice. We're going to have to leave the castle grounds to get our tree."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Lorne questioned.

"You're thinking about the Wraith Wolves aren't you?" John asked.

Lorne nodded his head, "They almost got you and your horse. Hell, your horse had a couple of the wolves on his tail when he barreled into the castle courtyard last night."

John tilted his head, acknowledging Lorne's very valid point. "Unfortunately if we want this Christmas to be a success we need a Christmas tree. We're leaving the castle grounds to find one. We'll just have to keep our ear out for the wolves."

Lorne grumbled for a bit and then said, "There's a sled in the shed that you can hook you're horse to."

John smiled his lazy smile and drawled, "Well let's go get our tree."

They trudged through the woods looking for the perfect tree. After about twenty minutes they found it; the perfect tree. John smiled in triumph and Jinto cheered happily. Lorne hopped around the tree looking at it carefully and then began to chop it down. "Timber!" Lorne cried out as the tree fell down. John manfully struggled with the tree, getting it on board the sled. After he had it secured on board, the intrepid group of tree hunters headed back to the castle. About halfway there, Rodney burst into the clearing they were passing through. He looked them over worriedly and then demanded, "What do you think your doing?"

John looked at Rodney and arched a brow, "Just getting a Christmas tree."

"A Christmas tree! You left the safety of the castle grounds for a Christmas tree! What are you? Crazy? You risked getting attacked and drained by Wraith Wolves for a god damned Christmas tree!" Rodney bellowed angrily.

John leaned forward, frowning a little. "Well, Kavanaugh said you loved Christmas. What's Christmas without a Christmas tree?"

"Yep! Uh-huh!" Jinto chirped.

"Kavanaugh said I loved Christmas did he?" Rodney asked softly.

"Yeah." John drawled out slowly and Jinto eagerly nodded his agreement.

Rodney frowned and then hissed, "I hate Christmas! Bad things always happen to me on Christmas!" Rodney whirled around, "Kavanaugh lied to you!"

"So that's what he was up to." John murmured.

Rodney looked back at John. "You thought he was up to something?"

John nodded slowly. Rodney sighed and shook his head. He looked up at John, Jinto and Lorne and the tree on the sled. He smiled at them and said quietly, "I may dislike Christmas but because you cared about making me happy I think I'll have to love this one."

Jinto beamed up at Rodney and John's hazel eyes showed how happy that statement made him. The group continued their journey back to the castle. John and Jinto began to set up the tree in the ballroom. Rodney headed to the room where Kavanaugh dwells, a grim look in his eyes. He stopped and picked up a length of chain and a padlock and then continued on his journey. On reaching the door, he set the chain and padlock down and then entered the room.

"Ah, Master Rodney, you have returned so soon. Have you dealt with your little problem?"

Rodney glared at Kavanaugh, "Not yet but I'm about to."

"Whatever do you mean, Master Rodney?" Kavanaugh questioned nervously.

"I mean that you sent John and Jinto out on their little quest. You lied to them and then you lied to me. You could have gotten them killed with your manipulations Kavanaugh." Rodney bit out.

"Now master, I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted that peasant out of the castle." Kavanaugh replied his distain for John dripping from his voice.

"Peasant?" Rodney regarded Kavanaugh for a moment and he saw the jealousy burning in his eyes. "You're jealous of John. That's why you did this." Rodney strode forward and began to disconnect the organ pipes.

"Master! Master, what are you doing?" Kavanaugh screeched out.

"I never want to hear you ever again." Rodney replied coldly and stepped back. "Never again!"

Turning, Rodney left the room, shut the door, picked up the chain and ran it through the door handles and padlocked it shut. "Is that really necessary?" John asked from behind him.

"He could have gotten you all killed. Jinto can be killed if he's broken you know. He is a teacup. If you and Lorne had gotten into a fight with the Wraith Wolves he could have easily been destroyed in the chaos." Rodney whispered.

John closed his eyes and nodded. "You're right." John opened his eyes and smiled up at him. "You're a good master, Rodney. You care about your people even though you don't often show it."

Rodney smiled back, a glow filling his heart. John approved of his decision. "Let's go to the ballroom. We have a tree to decorate." Rodney stated happily.

TBC