I know that I'm supposed to putting up the Wedding stuff, but I wanted this up before the year was over, as this is something of a late Christmas special.
Jackie leaned back against the wall of the Main Cavern as she watched the various celebrations going on. Music was playing from the stage, where there was a choir singing in their half an hour slot. Jackie couldn't remember where they were from, or properly understand what they were singing, but it was probably Christmas related.
No matter where you were from, what religion you were born into or your family practised, if you were a Descendant of a Guardian, you would celebrate Christmas in some form. Usually by celebrating both Christmas and any other celebrations around this time of year.
The walls of the Main Cavern were lined with fir trees tall enough to very nearly brush the top of the cavern, each one dripping with decorations made of ice, wood, sand, plastic and clay. The top of each tree was adorned with either a crescent moon or a golden star.
The Main Cavern was crowded with people carrying glasses full of drink or plates piled with food from the Mess Hall and talking with each other. Laughing and singing along with the choir as well, in various different keys.
Above everyone the ceiling was strewn with floating snowflakes, candles and tinsel, and this was the same in every main room, even the Medical Cavern and the Armoury had some form of decoration and at least one tree.
Jackie's eye did land on a group of late teenagers, who were talking very loudly and acting erratically. They were easily too young to be drinking in the US, which made her eyelid twitch, but HOG tended to go with European drinking laws; 16 if with parents, 18 if not.
"You don't approve." Taboo noted with some amusement from her side.
No, I don't. Not much I can do about it, they're all 18 or 19.
"Any Descendants of Jack Frost in there?"
You really don't pay attention, do you?
"Once they're too big to ride on my back I stop caring that much, unless you get frustrated at them a lot."
No, there aren't any Descendants of Jack Frost there. Thank moon because if Nancy was there her mom would kill me.
"Don't act like you would act any differently if it was any of your three."
Let's not go there, it's Christmas.
Jackie pushed herself off the wall and walked through the crowd, which parted for her. Taboo and the cloak she was wearing certainly helped with that, although she did have to stop every few paces as people wished her Merry Christmas.
"Yes, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas to you too." Jackie managed to remember to smile instead of yawn.
"Hey Jackie!" Jason called over, his cheeks a little redder than usually. He'd clearly had a little drink. "I thought you weren't in for the celebrations for another day or so?"
"I just popped in, couldn't sleep." Jackie didn't want to mention that she was still getting nightmares, and instead of running around Burgess decided to come down and try to celebrate Christmas a little early.
"Kids keeping you up, huh?" Jason was beaming rather unnaturally, looking more like North than normal.
"The threat of scaring off Santa got them to bed," the pair chuckled at the idea of Nicholas St North being scared off by a trio of enthusiastic children. "Anyway, how much have you had to drink?"
"It's Christmas! I can let loose a bit!" Jason defended.
"That didn't answer my question," Jackie was now backing away.
"I've had a bit, but Claire will be taking over soon," Jason admitted, "Will you be joining us? I think there's a sing-a-long going on in the Mess Hall."
"I think I'll pass," Jackie stepped away again. "You enjoy that though," she added as she made her way through the crowd to the Sleeping Quarters to drop off her cloak. Checking her watch told her that it was about 5 in the morning.
Time to go home I think.
"Bored already?"
More terrified of what Jason might rope me into. Christmas or not, a sing-a-long will not be happening.
"Save it for Nightmares, your singing voice could be an effective weapon."
Ha ha.
"Mom? Mom!"
Jackie shifted, half asleep, having managed to get in a couple hours of sleep.
"Mom! Dad!"
It was Jamie's turn to move under the covers, looking over at the clock before sitting up to look at the twins who had climbed onto the double bed.
"IT'S CHRISTMAS!" the twins yelled loud enough to jolt Taboo awake. Jackie groaned and gave in, so sat up as well.
"It's eight in the morning," Jamie protested, yawning as he did so. "We're not all night owls like your mom."
Jackie opened her mouth to argue, but was interrupted by small hands grabbing at her arms, trying to pull her out of bed.
"Come on mom!" cried little Penny, a ball of energy as always, her blue eyes shining and brown hair rumpled and poking up in all directions from sleep. "J's downstairs already!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Jackie relented, grabbing her glasses, getting out of bed and following her daughter downstairs, while Jamie was having a similar experience with Dan, Penny's twin brother.
'J', or Jack, the twin's older brother, was in the living room like Penny had said. Unlike his younger brother and sister, J's hair was neat, like he'd taken the time to brush it before charging downstairs to inspect the presents.
The presents were crowded around a tree that wasn't nearly as big as the ones in the ones in the HOG base, but just as heavily decorated. J was on his knees, carefully poking the presents and adjusting his glasses so that they didn't fall off his face.
He looked over as the rest of the family came in, half being dragged in.
"Come on!" he waved over his siblings. "You two like mysteries, let's see if we can figure out what's in these."
"Or, we can just open them," Dan suggested. This lasted a grand total of five seconds before he charged forward to join his brother to guess what was in the presents.
Jackie and Jamie sat down on the two sofas that sat on either side of the door with Taboo in the middle as the three kids started to open their presents. Or rather, tear into them like rabid animals.
The married couple chuckled when the kids would loudly proclaim what they got. They trusted North to do his job, but they still bought them gifts too.
"Wendy hat!" Dan cried out, grinning broadly as he pulled a brown ski hat from the bright wrapping paper. He shoved it on his head, although it was a little big for him, so the front slipped down his round face, but his brown eyes still shone as he adjusted the hat on his messy brown hair and dove back into the fray.
"You couldn't find a baseball cap, could you?" Jackie asked Jamie quietly.
"I thought this would be better. Everyone gets the baseball cap."
Jackie's response was drowned out by Penny standing up and screaming, "GRAPPLING HOOK!"
Indeed she was indeed holding a toy grappling hook aloft in the air. Dan stood up with her and they yelled at the same time "MYSTERY TWINS!" while J rolled his eyes and unwrapped a new chess set.
Jackie and Jamie looked at each other.
"That wasn't my idea," Jackie quickly defended.
"Mine neither."
The two sighed at the same time. "North..."
The kids finished unwrapping their presents and Jackie and Jamie were finally able to exchange presents with each other. To neither of their surprise, books were involved on both sides, Jamie did get a model of a sphinx and Jackie got a new dictaphone.
"You always say that you didn't like borrowing off the other Heads," Jamie justified with a shrug.
Jackie smiled and lightly cuffed him on the shoulder. "Alright Lancelot."
"Mom! J's ignoring us again!" Penny suddenly cried, interrupting the moment. Both adults looked over to see J setting up his chess game while Dan was trying to get his attention by poking at him with a new action figure.
"Maybe it would help if you stopped poking him," Jackie responded, deadpan. Her tone got sharper as Dan didn't stop. "Daniel, stop poking your brother!"
"But he's not doing anything!"
"If you want him to pay attention, maybe play a game of chess with him."
"But he always wins!" Dan sulked, but he pulled his toy away and moved back, leaning against the couch pushing his hat back up his head. J sent a smile of thanks before he moved his carefully arranged chess board somewhere safe. He then collected his pile of presents and took them up to his room.
Dan huffed and did the same, his pile mostly toys and clothes while his siblings had mostly books.
Penny rolled her eyes and buried her head in one of her new mythology books.
Once her twin had left Jamie muttered, "J's going to get him back for that."
Taboo growled in agreement and stood up, shaking herself off.
"Well, I'm going outside. Turkey isn't going to cut for me for Christmas dinner."
"Go for it," Jackie said out loud, everyone in the house was used to half conversations.
"Okay mom," Penny added. "I'll go annoy the boys."
"Penny, you know that wasn't at you," Jamie sighed, especially as she looked up from her book, grinning and mischief sparkling in her blue eyes.
Penny went to go back to her book, but her head shot up as an almighty clunk could be heard from upstairs.
Everyone, even Taboo shot their heads up to look, and the two parents quickly went upstairs to check on the boys.
On the landing sat Dan, looking very indignant at the party streamers that were hanging decoratively from his new hat and his shoulders. Nearby was a bucket, most likely the source of the crash, since it had colourful bits of paper falling out of it.
Suspiciously, J was nowhere to be seen.
"I didn't think he'd get back so soon," said Penny, coming up the stairs behind him and speaking in a perfect mimic of her mother's deadpan.
Taboo let am amused huff and stalked off while Jamie and Jackie looked at each other in a mental battle to decide who would confront their eldest. It was quickly decided that Jamie would go, since Jackie would most likely comment on the not all that creative prank.
Jamie went to boy's shared room while Penny and Jackie helped Dan pick off streamers.
"I only poked him," Dan whined and Jackie sighed, but it was Penny who chimed in.
"You know how this works, J will get his own back. I've never seen it this fast," Penny admitted.
Probably explains why it's so basic. He barely had any time. Jackie knew better than say this out loud.
"Well, he better watch it, I'm going to get him back!" Dan grumbled angrily.
"You two start a prank war and I'll freeze you to each other."
There was no way of knowing whether Jackie would go through with that, so Dan just shut up and shoved the streamers back into the bucket.
Once Dan was cleared Jackie checked the time, and saw that more time had passed than she had thought, it was actually coming up to ten. Opening presents took a lot of time.
"Right, your grandparents and your aunt and uncle are coming over for lunch, so I want you two teeth cleaned and dressed to help me clean up while your dad takes care of dinner. Dan, make sure you tell J."
Dan grumbled at that.
"Right, Dan?"
"Fine," he sighed, getting up and going to his room. A few seconds later Jamie left, rubbing his forehead and dodging Penny as she scampered back to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
"I'm pretty sure none of us had breakfast," Jamie noted.
"I think chocolate was their breakfast," Jackie noted. "Taboo's gone out to get her breakfast, and I'm okay with just grabbing an apple."
"Completely insane, as usual," Jamie sighed. "I'll at least get toast before I start cooking, since no one will help me," he added in mock irritation.
"Oh Jamie, you know I'd help you. If I could cook without running the risk of burning myself just from standing next to the oven, or fainting from the heat of a kitchen in use," Jackie was smiling serenely as she said this, and it was Jamie's turn to cuff her lightly on the shoulder.
"Alright Ice Cube, I get it," Jamie sighed. "Toast, turkey."
"Good luck," Jackie hadn't dropped the smile.
"Have fun with the kids," Jamie smiled right back, before going down to the kitchen.
Taboo, any chance you can come back to help with the kids?
"Hmmm, nah. Your fault for having three."
Thanks so much for your help.
"Welcome."
Jackie went downstairs to get herself that promised apple before getting dressed herself.
So, first one with all of Jackie's post main series family.
You've got Jack, Or 'J', the oldest at nine, then the twins Dan and Penny who are eight. I also know that I do have quite a wide variety of eye colours going on, but I'm taking some creative liberties since we know nothing about Jamie's dad.
To explain the Gravity Falls thing, I have a headcannon that that would be a show that Jamie would love, to the point where he would save up for the boxset or something like that. This boxset sits in the attic for a few years until he has kids and he decides to show it to his own kids. Penny and Dan take to it like fish to water. Also, for those who don't know, one of the main characters, Dipper, where's a baseball cap for most of the series, while an older character, Wendy (who Dipper has a crush on) wears a ski hat. The two swap hats at the end of the second season.
Final thought, the second paragraph, I got rather nervous about that. I know that not everyone celebrates Christmas, but when you've got proof like the Descendants have that Santa Claus exists, I thought it would only make sense that they would celebrate Christmas, and would also celebrate any other celebration that would be going on at that time of year with their families.
Basically I'm trying to not be insensitive to religion and I don't know if it's working.