Disclaimer: I own nothing but the scenes of Karen's life, and if I had the time, I'd be inventing my own characters to use, rather than borrowing someone else's and getting no money. Alas, I do not, and so I make nothing, but thrill in putting these characters through my own imagination!
A/N: Karen may get a little OoC as the fic goes on, but at least I'm warning you, and I'm sure the circumstances and context make it alright! I hope.
Summary: Sometimes there's something behind you and you're just waiting for the time when it catches up with you, it affects every scene of your life, and yet no matter how bad, you wouldn't change it because of the things it brought you. Karen reflects as her 'something' catches up with her. No POV's this time, and flashbacks.
Please enjoy! And thanks again to Mars for beta-ing it! This one's forkeisha becauseshe's going away, and didn't want to miss out (plus she nagged me more than everyone else)! Hope it's as good as you thought!
No Place Like
Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays,
'Cause no matter how far away you roam
If you want to be happy in a million ways
For the holidays, you can't beat home, sweet home.
(Home for the Holidays, Perry Como)
Most memories of the children held happiness for her, but it was the special occasions, the birthday's celebrated just by the four of them, the Halloweens where a ghost and a realistic pumpkin would drag her around the city all night to knock on stranger's doors, but the ones she secretly treasured, were the early Christmases, when the children were young. That had been her favourite time of the year in those days.
She'd not always enjoyed Christmas. As a small child she'd been filled with the same awe and excitement that everyone else was, but after her father's death, the day had lost its magic for her, just as she had lost her childhood. And her first marriages hadn't heralded any children, though she hadn't realised at the time that that made a difference. With Stanley's children she'd found her long forgotten Christmas Spirit, with the family together for the day, it had always brought them closer together. She had yet to have as good a holiday as they used to.
: flashback :
"Come on Karen! Hurry up! I want to open my presents this side of New Years!" Twelve year old Olivia shouted at her Step-mother. She'd been bouncing in the doorway for fifteen minutes waiting for Karen to get dressed and go down to the main lounge, where she knew there'd be piles of presents just waiting for her. She loved Christmas, even more now, than when she'd been little, and not because they had more money now, so bigger toys, but because it never started with an argument like they did when her Mother and Father had been married. Her dad and Karen argued, but never like that, and never on the holidays. The only thing she hated was how long it took her Step-Mother to get dressed. Sure it was only half six, but she wasn't a bit tired.
"Okay, okay, jeeze Honey, they're not going to go anywhere, and you know Mason and your Dad will still be eating their breakfast, so what's the rush?" Karen entered the bedroom from her closet as she spoke, her hair perfectly styled, her make-up flaw-less, her shiny black pencil skirt, and a deep red v-neck jumper very fitting with the season.
"I know, but you take so long! It never takes me this long to get ready! Or Rosie, she's done in about five minutes!" Olivia sighed in resignation as instead of heading for the door, Karen sat at her dressing table.
"Yes sweetie, but Rosario only has one outfit! And you, well come here and look at you, did you even brush your hair this morning?" Karen criticized her step-daughters hair; it reminded her of Grace's, but much better styled, usually anyway.
Olivia did as asked, she never knew, she might get downstairs faster. Besides, she secretly loved the moments when Karen got all maternal. She hid it well, behind complaints, but Olivia knew these moments for what they were. With no second seat, she allowed herself to be placed on Karen's lap, even though she knew she was getting too big for it. She loved that Mason, even two years younger than her, could no longer do this, he was definitely his Father's son, and had long ago grown too big for Karen's petite frame to hold.
"Honey, this is called a brush, you use it to get rid of all those knots and tangles in your hair." As she spoke, Karen held out the brush and began running it softly through the girls hair. When she'd finished she was left with a mass of frizzy auburn curls. Dropping the brush and finding a small can of mousse, she rubbed some in hoping to tame the curls.
Olivia watched in amazement and happiness as her hair began to fall in perfect lockets around her face and down her back, without the use of any curlers. She'd always wanted straight hair like Karen's, but looking at her own now, she wouldn't change it for the world.
When Karen stopped, putting the brush and mousse back into their respective draws, Olivia turned, throwing her arms around her Step-Mother.
"Thanks Mom."
Since Mason had used a similar word after finding out about her illness, the children rarely used it again, content in calling her Karen, or Kare. But occasionally one of them would let it slip out, and as amazing as it was, as much as it made her heart stop and jump into her throat whenever she heard it, it always sounded natural, and never forced.
When Olivia pulled away, Karen smiled brightly down at her, her features softening and one of her hands coming up to brush a few of the curls behind her ears and out of her face.
"You're welcome Curley"
Olivia giggled at the favored nickname, and jumped up off of Karen, her hear bouncing around her shoulders.
"Are we ready now? Can we go down, please?" She was back to jumping up and down in the doorway. Karen laughed at her.
"Sure we can, wouldn't want to keep the boys waiting any longer." And she followed her Step-daughter down to the lounge.
:kw:
Wrapped packages flowed out from beneath the six foot tree like a rainbow river. Parcels of all shapes and sizes were stacked around the floor. Olivia ran to join her brother on the floor, and Karen smiled as she sat down on one of the sofas beside Stan, pausing to give him a sweet kiss, before leaning back into the cushions and watching as the children tore their gifts apart. She hoped they liked what she'd gotten them this year, she'd put a lot of thought into it.
An hour later and there were two neat piles of gifts in the centre of a Christmas bomb-site. Unraveled ribbon hung from the lights and picture frames, hundreds of bows lay scattered about the room, all beneath a sea of coloured paper. In amongst it all sat two uncommonly dismal children. It wasn't that they hadn't gotten everything that they'd asked for in the last year, they had, but what they hadn't got, what they had noticed when opening the hundreds of presents, was that they didn't have their annual gift that Karen picked and bought herself, without any help from their Father or her friends. They always looked forward to that present, both saving it till last, to make the moment longer. It was always something they had never asked for, but that they needed, or had secretly wanted, and it always reminded them that their Step-Mother paid more attention to them than she let on most days. This year however, that present was noticeably missing, and it had created a storm cloud above their heads.
Karen watched them from her seat, knowing the reason behind their grim expressions. Getting up quietly, she reached beneath the sofa, pulling out two small boxes, one wrapped in green with a red bow, and one in red with a green bow. The two children were looking at the floor between them and neither saw her approach nor the soft smile on their Father's face as he watched the scene play out.
Dropping down until she was sitting between them, Karen placed one box in front of each of them. Their gazes moved swiftly from the floor to the presents to her face, and she smiled sweetly at them.
"You didn't really think I'd forgotten did you?" She would have fallen over as two bodies hit her own, had she not been prepared. She held them close for a few moments, until she could feel them shifting in her embrace, and then released them to open their presents, staying on the floor beside them.
Being the oldest, and having the most self-control, Olivia nodded to her brother, and watched as Mason tore open his gift. Nestled within the box was a white gold bracelet. The chain-like links joined on either side of a small flat strip. Leaning closer, Olivia could see the indentations of an inscription on the strip, but was unable to read it from that angle. Karen saved her the trouble of having to ask, as she leant across, ad removed it from the box, taking Mason's right wrist, and securing it there.
"Diligo mos nunquam intereo ut memoria ago in." They waited for her to provide a translation, but she merely turned to face Olivia and nodded towards her own box.
Curious now at what she could have, and slightly jealous of her brother's present, Olivia tore into her own box. Looking into the velvet lining, she found a small white gold band. Upon which was what she first thought to be a pattern, but was in fact the same inscription as Mason's bracelet held. She looked at Karen in shock and watched as her right hand was raised and the ring slide delicately on her ring finger. Karen continued to hold her hand, and went to pick up one of Masons, repeating the Latin inscription.
"Diligo mos nunquam intereo ut memoria ago in. 'Love will never die when the memory lives on'." Stan came to sit behind his wife, twisting the ring similar to his daughter's he had on his own finger, and the family embraced as one, with Karen in the middle, a place where she found she was happiest.
: end flashback :
tbc.
Hope you all enjoyed it! I know it's a little weird reading a christmas scene in the beginning of summer, but well, I really wanted to do a chap where I could get Karen with the Kiddies, and it was between this or one of thier birthdays, but as Mars suggested, this was I could get it to be a special day for all the characters, so...
Please let me know what you thought, and thanks so much for everyone that actually did review both of the last chapters, I love you guys!
