Sam's Sixth Christmas

Setting: Sam is six, Sara is four and Natalie is an infant. A look at Sam's and Sara's Christmas. A Christmas full of kindness, love, fun, laughter and a miracle in the eyes of a six year old.

December 23rd – Mall – Ottawa

Two pair of eyes shining in innocent wonder, one pair cobalt blue and one pair emerald green, reflect the twinkling lights that hung all around Santa's Candy Cane house.

Sam held tightly to Sara's hand.

He felt a sense of duty. Mom put him in charge of Sara so they could stay in line while she went to the bathroom to change stinky Natalie. Little Nattie was stinking up the whole place with her dirty diaper. It was gross, so Mom told him he was in charge of Sara and she would be right back and not to go anywhere with anyone.

Sam looked around at all the red, green, yellow, blue, purple and orange lights and the gold and silver Christmas decorations on the huge Christmas tree by the candy cane Santa house. It was still magical, even though he knew the secret about Santa Claus already.

He had overheard several older boys talking at school and they said Santa did not exist. That it was really his parents that gave him the gift from Santa.

When he got home that day, he asked Mom if Santa was real. She tried to tell him that Santa really lived in the North Pole. But at nearly seven years old, only seven weeks from now he would be seven, Sam was not buying it. He persisted to question his mom until she finally explained the truth of it all to him.

Mom said that Santa really does exist but it is not the jolly fat man that little kids believe in. She explained that Santa is the spirit of giving that actually lives in each and every one of us in our hearts. And that this is the time of year when we get to show all those we love, how much we love them, by letting our inner Santa spirit shine. It was a time to be charitable and show kindness towards others. Mom also said that doing that made you feel really good inside.

As he was thinking about this and looking at all the decorations, Sam felt Sara tug on his hand. Sam looked down at Sara and smiled "Yeah?"

"Sammy how much longer? I wanna see Santa Claus" Sara whined.

"Sara, no whining. Remember, Santa Claus is still making his list" Sam said.

Sara's eyes widened "I've been a good girl."

Sam tousled her hair "Yes you have." But then he teased "Except for painting my plastic army men with pink nail polish."

"But I said I was sorry and Mommy helped me get it all off. Santa wouldn't put me on the naughty list for that would he?" Sara asked worriedly.

Sam squatted down feeling bad about teasing her. So much for following what Mom said and being kind. He messed up and he needed to fix this.

His voice was serious "No Santa would not put you on the naughty list for that. You said you were sorry and you fixed it. You are definitely on the good girl list." Then to distract her he asked "So what are you going to ask Santa to bring you?"

A bright smile lit Sara's face "A two-wheel bike so we can ride together. I cannot keep up on my tricycle. What are you gonna ask Santa for?"

Sam thought a moment. Even though he knew Santa was not real he would not ruin it for Sara so he had to come up with a good answer. He finally answered "That the General gets to be home for Christmas."

Sara cocked her head "Stop calling Daddy, the General. You can call him Dad when you are with me and Mommy. Can Santa do that?"

Sam shrugged "Don't know but that is what I want. Dad's been gone a long time and I miss going shooting with him."

Their father had been gone for three whole months now. Even though when Dad was home he was really strict with him and made him address him as Sir or General, Sam still liked spending time with him. He missed his dad a lot, a whole lot. Especially after all the time he got to spend with him this past summer when he got sick with Q fever.

That was the longest that Dad had been able to stay home in a long time. Dad taught him how to play chess since he could not run around until he got better. He liked chess. Dad had built him the tree house too. He, Scott, Adam and Jeff played a lot in that tree house. His cousins came over often to play with him and give him a break from all the girls.

Dad had also gotten him a rifle, a real rifle, when he was all better. They had gone to the gun range every Saturday morning until Dad had to go to the desert base three months ago. The gun range was one place they had loads of fun together. It was always just the two of them without girls. Sam liked having his dad all to himself when they were at the gun range.

It was their special time and Sam missed it. Dad had been really proud of him the last time they went to the range. He had hit five targets dead center when he shot quickly. Dad said that he was really good and someday he would be better than him.

Sam didn't think that was possible. His dad was the best and fastest shot the Special Forces had ever had. Sam would never be as good a shot as his dad but it was fun to go shooting with him. He had his dad all to himself at the range.

The two moved forward several paces. Then Sara asked "What should we ask Santa for Nattie? Cause you know she can't talk yet."

"How about a stuffed animal?" Sam offered.

Shaking her head Sara said "No." Then a serious thoughtful expression covered her face then she smiled brightly "I got it. Nattie needs a tricycle so she can ride with us too."

Sam looked at his little sister and tried hard not to laugh. He said nicely "Nattie is just a baby. She won't be able to ride a tricycle for a couple of years. Maybe Santa could bring her a doll or something. That way she could play with it right now."

Sara hugged Sam "You're the best Sammy. I didn't think about that. But you gotta ask for something other than Daddy to come home. How about you ask for a new sled." Then she giggled "That way Scott can't run you into a tree again sledding on an oil pan."

Sam laughed. Last night when all the family was over at the house, Adam had told the story of how Scott thought an oil pan with wax was a good sled and Scott and Sam ran into a tree at the bottom of the hill. Sam only remembered it from Adam's story not the actual event.

They moved forward again and Sara started jumping up and down in excitement "We're next, we're next."

Sam looked around for Mom and saw her coming.

Yvonne reached Sam and Sara just as the two were heading up to see Santa. See looked at Mary Griffon that stood just behind them and mouthed a silent 'thank you' for keeping an eye on Sam and Sara.

Mary smiled and nodded. She knew that Yvonne wanted Sam to think he was in charge but Yvonne had covertly asked her to keep an eye on them both as she waited in line with her two kids too. Sam was such a good boy. She wished her son treated his little sister like that. But Evan only ignored or complained about his sister.

She watched as Yvonne tried to get Natalie to go into Santa's arms for the picture with Sam and Sara. But it was a tear fest as seven-month-old Natalie clung to her mother. That is until Sam went to his sister Natalie and took her from his mother's arms. Natalie started to smile and coo as Sam talked to her and carried her back to Santa. Sam sat next to Santa holding Natalie.

Mary smiled thinking, that was a beautiful picture with three smiling blonde kids sitting with an authentic looking Santa Claus. After the picture, Mary watched as Sam took Natalie back to Yvonne and then went back and sat on Santa's lap.

As Sam talked, Mary noted that Santa's face looked a little sad. It was the look that Santa made when the kids asked for something that was difficult or impossible to bring them, like a dead or deployed parent. Mary had overheard Sam and Sara talking and what Sam was asking for, his dad to come home. His father being the General, it was highly unlikely he would be home for Christmas. It made her sad for Sam.

Yvonne came to stand near her and Mary whispered "Do you know what Sam asked Santa for?"

Turning to look at Mary as she held Natalie and swayed a bit, Yvonne answered "I've got a pretty good idea what he's gonna ask for. Sam was talking about the Nerf rocket launcher thingy for his tree house for weeks on end, every time Scott was over he told him about it and how he wanted one."

Mary shook her head and sadly shared "No, poor dear. It is not a thing but a who. Sam is asking Santa to bring his dad home for Christmas."

Yvonne smiled and leaned in close to Mary as she whispered "He's gonna get it then. William's expected home late tomorrow night. After the kids are in bed. We've been keeping it a surprise just in case anything happens to prevent it."

Mary smiled "I hope he makes it then."

Yvonne turned back to watch Sam lift Sara up into Santa's lap because Sara insisted he go first. Her two oldest children had a very special connection. Sara adored Sam and Sam always took such good care of Sara. He took good care of Nat too but there was a deeper connection between those two because they were closer in age and older. It might also have something to do with them sharing the same birth date two years apart.

Sara squirmed on Santa's lap and when he asked her what she wanted she said "First for my sister Nattie, she can't talk yet, she's just a baby. Sammy and I think she would like a dolly or a stuffed animal. I think she would like pony or a kitty cat."

As the little girl spoke, the mall Santa glanced at the little blonde, blue-eyed boy again. He had been the best behaved child to sit on his lap today. This little girl was the second. Both had started out with what their little sister would want. It was so sweet to see kids thinking of others at this time of year instead of just me, me, me.

The little boy whispered to him that he knew he was just a stand in Santa and couldn't really bring him what he wanted. When he asked what that was, he wished he hadn't asked. It wrenched his heart when the little boy said he wanted his dad to come home from overseas.

That was the hardest part of being a Santa close to the base. Kids missed their deployed parents and invariably he had a few that only wanted their mom or dad to come home.

Santa returned his focus to the sweet little girl and responded "That is what your brother said too. I will see what I can do. What is it you want?"

Sara grinned and said "I would like a big girl bike, if it is not too much trouble. When the snow melts then my Sammy and I can ride bikes together. My trike doesn't go fast enough to keep up with Sammy. But Sammy always rides slow for me. I want to ride fast like him."

Santa smiled "Well you have been a good girl this year, so I might be able to do that. I'll check with the elves in the workshop."

Sara's eyes danced with excitement "If it could be a yellow bike, that would be extra awesome."

Handing Sara a candy cane he set her down and he saw the little boy take her hand as he called "Ho. Ho. Ho. Now you be good and I'll be visiting you tomorrow night."

Sam took Sara's hand and walked to their mom. He looked at his mom who was holding Natalie. She looked a little tired. Sam shoved his candy cane in his pocket.

He was about to ask if Mom wanted him to carry Natalie for her when Sara unwrapped her candy cane and it dropped from her hand onto the floor and it broke into pieces.

Sam dug out his candy cane as Sara started to tear up. He held out his candy cane "Here Sara, you can have mine." He unwrapped it and handed it to her.

Sara wiped at her eyes and reached for the candy cane. She smiled and her green eyes lit up. "Thank you, Sammy."

Yvonne looked at Sam. He always was doing such nice things for Sara. Yvonne pulled him close, hugging him and said "That was very nice Sam."

He grinned and then bent down and picked up the bits and pieces of the broken candy cane. Then he hurried over to a trash can and dropped them in.

When Sam got back, Sara broke the candy cane in half and held out her hand for him to pick a half "Here you have half."

Sam took the smaller half and popped it into his mouth. He grinned. Mom was right, being nice did make him feel good inside.

Yvonne smiled at Sara. She was so proud of both her young, caring, children. She hugged Sara and said "That was very nice too, Sara."

Remembering what he was going to ask before Sara dropped her candy cane, Sam looked up at his Mom and asked "Do you want me to carry Nattie so you don't get too tired? It is a long walk to the car."

Yvonne was blown away again with Sam's actions. She smiled and said "Okay. Thank you. When we get home, we can all make cookies together."

Sara squealed with delight, "Can we make sugar cookies and use all the color sprinkles?"

Yvonne nodded and then handed Natalie to Sam and the four of them headed out of the mall.

December 23rd – Braddock Home – Library – 7:30 pm

Sam sat on the couch with both his sisters next to him and all three were wearing comfy pajamas. Mom had a fire going in the fireplace and the tree lights were twinkling. They had a warm comforter over all three of them and Sam was reading Christmas stories to his sisters. Not that Natalie understood, but she was quiet when he read to her.

Yvonne sat watching her three children. This was definitely a Christmas to remember. They had so much fun making cookies together. Little Natalie enjoyed watching from her little bouncer seat.

Sammy picked her up at one point and helped her decorate a few cookies by holding the sprinkles bottle in her hand and shaking it over the cookies. Natalie had giggled and laughed and was very happy about that. However, she and Sammy had so much fun with it that they ended up dumping tons of sugar sprinkles on each cookie. But that was okay; it made it special and memorable.

Sara's cookies were works of art for a four-year-old, almost five-year-old, Sara liked to correct. That little girl would surely be her baking buddy. Yvonne really enjoyed spending time in the kitchen with Sara. She gave her mixing and measuring jobs when they made things together. Sara was a bright one for her age.

Sam was a bright one for his age too. But he was not too into the whole cooking thing. He helped out; especially when it came to making the oatmeal, raisin, walnut cookies. His eyes brightened when he saw her add extra raisins and walnuts.

But he preferred to entertain Natalie for her when she cooked. Sam crawled around the floor with Natalie all the time. It was nice to see him bonding with Natalie like he had bonded to Sara. However, Yvonne did not think the bond between Sam and Natalie would ever be quite as strong as the one between Sam and Sara. That bond was unique, and reminded her of the bond she had with her twin sister Ann. Could Sam and Sara have been meant to be twins but somehow ended up two years apart?

She stopped her wild musing and tuned back into her children on the couch. She smiled as she observed them.

"Sammy read it again" Sara begged when Sam finished Frosty the Snowman.

Sam answered "But don't you want me to read Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?"

Sara shook her head and asked "Do you think if we make a snowman it would come to life?"

Sam grinned "Only if we find a magic hat. Otherwise he will just be a normal snowman."

"Can we look for a magic hat?" Sara asked with expectant, green eyes.

"Not tonight. It is too late. But tomorrow we can" Sam answered.

Sara asked "Promise."

"Promise" Sam answered. Then he read Frosty the Snowman again. When he finished, Sam turned to Natalie who was lying next to him on the couch and showed her the two books "Hey Nattie, Ruddy or Frosty?"

Natalie babbled happily and her little hand reached out for the Rudolph book.

"Rudolph, it is then" Sam said with a grin.

Sam opened the book and started reading. Half way through the book Natalie was sound asleep. By the end of the story Sara was nodding off too. Yvonne got up and said "I'll get Sara if you will carry Nattie for me. After they are tucked in bed you may stay up a bit later with me tonight."

They carried the girls up to their rooms and Yvonne tucked both Sara and Natalie in. Then she and Sammy headed back downstairs.

December 24th – General Braddock's Office – Desert Base – 0430 hours

General Braddock closed the last report and drank the dregs of his cold coffee. He had pulled an all-nighter so he could be on the 0600 flight home. He called out "Enter" at the knock on his door.

Colonel Sutton sauntered in and sat down "I had Corporal Ramirez pack your bags Will. Did you get everything done you needed?"

Leaning back and rubbing his tired eyes William grinned "Yeah all the reports are in order. You have my notes for the briefing on your desk. Thanks for covering for me so I could get home this year."

"Those kids are at the magical age for Christmas" Tom said with a smile.

"Yes they are. Yvonne told me that Sam found out about Santa Claus this year. I had hoped for one more year of him believing. But Yvonne had a beautiful explanation for him" William said.

"What did she tell him?" Tom asked.

William shared "Yvonne said we all carry the spirit of Santa Claus. She said he smiled at that. I wish he would smile and laugh more around me. Things have been tense and he is so rigid around me."

Tom sighed "William we are good friends and it is not really for me to tell you how to raise your son. But if you want him to relax around you perhaps you should treat him more like your son rather than a soldier. I understand the desire to prepare him for a soldier's life, but Will, he is still just a little boy."

William bristled "Samuel will have a hard road in the military. I know what it like to join and have a high ranking father. He needs to toughen up and learn discipline."

Tom shook his head "Will, on one hand you say you want him to smile and laugh, then in the next breath you say he needs discipline and to be tougher. Do you hear yourself? Those two things are opposites. He is a boy, let him be a child now. There will be time enough to be a soldier."

Seeing the ice in William's eyes Tom sighed "As I said it is not my place. Those are just my observations. Do what you will with them. Is there anything you need to pass down to me?"

William shoved his irritation down. Tom did not know what it was like to be a Braddock. The expectations were enormous. William was raised the same way he was raising Samuel and he turned out fine. He needed to prepare Samuel for the harsh realities of military service. Preparation begun early would ingrain habits that would serve Samuel well in the military.

General Braddock shook his head "No everything you need is already on your desk. I think I'll head home for a quick shower before I catch the flight."

Standing up Tom said "Enjoy Christmas with your family William."

"I will. Thanks again Tom" William said as the two of them headed out of his office.

December 23rd – Braddock Home – Library – 8:30 pm

Yvonne sat on the couch with Sammy's head in her lap as she carded her fingers gently through his hair. She let him stay up later so that they could sit looking at the tree lights, sipping hot cocoa and eating Sam's favorite cookies, just the two of them. Yvonne wanted to spend some special one on one time with Sammy and to do something special just for him for all the help he gave her lately.

She had been having more and more spells of tiredness. They came out of the blue and the doctor had no clue what was causing them. Sammy had helped out a lot.

Sam smiled up at his mom as she ran her fingers through his hair. He felt so loved, safe and warm with his head in her lap. It was really nice to spend some time alone with Mom. It rarely ever happened.

"Mom, do you think there are angels? Or is that like Santa Claus too?" Sam asked as he turned his eyes from the angel at the top of the tree up to his mom.

Yvonne looked down into his innocent, blue eyes and smiled "I truly believe there are angels. But I have no way to prove it."

Sam looked back at the angel and then asked "Does Dad have an angel? I mean like one that keeps him safe."

Yvonne could see that Sam was worried about his father. This happened when William was gone for long periods of time. She nodded "Yes, I believe he has a special angel."

"A special angel?" Sam asked not understanding. He thought all angels were the same.

As she continued to stroke his hair, Yvonne answered "Special angels are called guardian angels. They help guide and keep those they watch over safe."

"Oh, like that angel in It's a Wonderful Life" Sam stated.

"Yes, like that" Yvonne responded.

Sam yawned "Do you think I'll have a guardian angel?"

Yvonne leaned down and kissed Sam's forehead "I think you will have the very best guardian angel sweetie."

Sam snuggled close and drifted off to sleep. Yvonne sat there for hours. Something compelled her to remain where she was and simply enjoy having Sammy sleeping peacefully in her lap. Finally she gently shifted him and picked him up. Soon he would be too big for her to carry. She would miss that.

Yvonne laid Sammy in bed and tucked him. She kissed his cheek "Sweet dreams little one. May the angels keep you safe."

She paused at the door before turning off the light. Her little boy was growing up too fast. Before long, William would be wanting to send him to that military academy for boys that he attended. Yvonne smiled, that was not happening. She would not send her little boy off all alone to the military academy. That was one battle she would fight and win.

December 24th – Braddock Home – Inside – 1:30 pm

Screams and peals of laughter reached Yvonne's ears. She looked out the window in the back yard as she sat sipping coffee. Yvonne had just put Natalie down for a nap. She smiled at the scene outside.

Overnight there was an unexpected snowstorm. It was a clear and beautiful day today but last night's storm had dumped over a foot of new snow. She was glad that Scott, Adam, Jeff, Vicky and Ashley had come over. She was watching all the older Braddock kids today, except for the seventeen-year-old twins Tiffany and Pamela, so their parents could do last minute shopping and wrapping of presents.

Scott and Adam were fourteen, Ashely was thirteen, Vicky was twelve and Jeff was eleven. They were all doing a great job entertaining Sam and Sara.

Vicky and Ashely were currently helping Sara make snow angels in the fresh snow. That was so sweet. They had finished making a snowman a bit earlier. Sara really wanted it to come alive like Frosty and got a little maudlin when it didn't. So, Vicky and Ashley had distracted her with making snow angels.

The boys however, were having an all-out snowball war. Sam had joined them after finishing the snowman with Sara, Vicky and Ashley. Right now, it appeared that Scott and Sam had teamed up against Adam and Jeff.

One would think that Adam and Jeff had the advantage over Scott and Sam, seeing that Sam was so much younger. But Yvonne knew that Sam's accuracy in throwing the snowballs and his speed at running and ducking more than made up for his smaller size. In fact, his smaller size was also an advantage. Sam could hide better behind the trees and bushes.

Yvonne watched a little longer and then rose to go start warming some milk for homemade hot chocolate for the kids. When they finally decided to come in they would all be cold and would need a nice warm drink and some cookies too.

December 24th – Braddock Home – Outside – 1:30 pm

Scott knelt down as he formed snowballs and dropped them into the plastic bucket refilling their arsenal "Okay, here is our plan of attack. We reload. Then I draw them out as you sneak in close behind them. Once you are close you let them have it rapid fire."

Sam nodded making another snowball and said "They will never see me coming. I wish had a snowball rifle. I could take them out without having to get close."

Chuckling, Scott said "Snowball rifle. I like it. Yeah, I wish we had one. Maybe we can rig something up later that might work something like that."

"Hey, I bet that nerf rocket launcher thing might work. I wonder if Mom and Dad got that for me. I hope so" Sam remarked.

"Isn't that what you wanted Santa to bring you?" Scott asked.

Sam looked at Scott and then looked around to see where Sara was. She was all the way on the other side of the yard with Vicky and Ashely so he whispered "I know about Santa now. The Santa spirit is in all of us. Mom told me."

Scott grinned but he was a little sad. Sam was getting bigger now. He was not such a little boy. He was gonna miss that.

Sam was like the little brother he always wanted. Sure, Vicky and his baby sister Amelia were great but he liked having a little brother to teach things too and do boy stuff with. But he figured when Kyle was born he would have a real little brother he could do those things with too. It was one of the reasons they were over here today. Mom said she needed a little rest.

So, Scott guessed it was okay that Sam was growing up. He smiled and said "That's right. So now let's go spread some snowball joy to our cousins."

Sam laughed. He liked Scott so much. He wished Scott was his big brother and lived here so they could do cool stuff every day. He packed another snowball and his bucket was full. He said "I'm full of ammo."

"Same here" Scott said as he hefted a snowball into his hand. Then he said "Ready?"

Getting ready to run from the cover of their base towards Adam's and Jeff's based Sam nodded "Ready."

Scott stood up and yelled "Adam and Jeff you are going down." He lobbed snowball after snowball at their base.

Adam and Jeff had been making plans of their own but had to stop to retaliate to Scott's assault on their base. Both began lobbing snowballs at Scott.

Sam raced the long way around the yard in the opposite direction that Scott was moving and without Adam and Jeff seeing him. He snuck up quietly. Well almost quietly, he could not stop the soft, playful snickers from erupting from his mouth as he moved in closer. Adam and Jeff would never know what hit them.

Adam teased loudly as he lobbed a snowball at Scott "So did Sammy give up? Was this too much for him."

Jeff joined in and taunted "Come out from hiding Sammy and face us like a Braddock. You're leaving your teammate hanging. Come out. Or are you too afraid?"

Sam stood behind them and threw a snowball at Jeff's head. Bulls-eye.

Jeff was whacked in the back of the head with a snowball. He spun around and said "What?" as Adam was pelted in the back with two snowballs.

Sam stood up and yelled "Not afraid, just implementing a better strategy. Stealth. Two-pronged assault."

He then threw the snowballs rapid fire at Adam and Jeff as they both tried to duck and get out of the path of the snowballs.

Scott raced forward with his ammo and was laughing loudly as he and Sam pummeled Jeff and Adam into submission with one snowball after another finding its mark.

Adam and Jeff were too busy ducking, covering and laughing as they were pelted to bother throwing any snowballs back. They were bested by a six-year-old.

When Sam and Scott ran out of ammo, they stood waiting for Jeff and Adam to surrender.

Adam stood and brushed off the snow and looked at Scott and then at Sam. He said "Good plan. Never saw it coming."

Jeff was trying to get the ice-cold snow out of his shirt where it had gotten into his jacket. He shivered as he looked at Sam and said "You got stealth down. And your aim, criminy, you're good. You are on my team next. Together we can take out Scott and Adam no problem."

Sam grinned. This was fun. They switched up teams and began another round.

Jeff and Sam won the next round when Jeff lured Scott and Adam to a location under one of the trees. Sam had scurried up the tree beforehand and then rained down snowballs on them. They had laughed and said they never thought to look up in the tree.

Next up was Sam and Adam against Jeff and Scott. Adam had brought his sling shot and they rigged it up so Sam could send snowballs flinging into Scott's and Jeff's base but be out of their throwing range. Sam kept them so busy dodging snowballs to the head, that Scott and Jeff never saw Adam sneaking up on their flank and behind them with their secret weapon.

Once Adam was in position, Sam started a faster barrage of snowballs. Adam hefted a huge snowball, the size of which approximated a snowman's head, then threw it at their backs. The snowball bomb hit both Scott and Jeff in the back with a thud. It sent both of them face first into the deep snow.

As Scott rolled over and spit snow out of his mouth, he could hear Sam cackling loudly along with Adam's more sedate snickering. He looked at Adam and said "What the heck was that?"

Jeff rolled over as Sam raced up to their base holding the sling shot. Jeff wiped the snow out of his eyes and said "Feels like I got bowled over by a snowman."

Sam cackled impishly "Not a snowman, a snow bomb. I win again. I win. I win."

Scott sat up and brushed the snow from his hair and looked at Adam and Jeff. Sam had been on the winning team each time and not been hit by any snowballs. Scott smiled mischievously and said "Let's get em'."

Sam's eyes widened in glee then he turned and ran. His three cousins chased after him throwing snowballs. He swerved and ducked as he ran, laughing the entire time. Sam scurried up a tree and out of the reach of their snowballs.

He looked down at them and said "You can't get me." Then he shook the branches sending snow falling down on them.

Scott chuckled "Ya gotta come down sometime doppelganger. We can wait."

Jeff sat down and started making more snowballs as he said "You forgot to plan an exit strategy Sam."

Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Sam retorted "Nu uh. I have the perfect exit strategy."

Sam watched Vicky, Ashley and Sara sneaking up behind Jeff, Scott and Adam. They were loaded with snowballs. All he had to do was wait until they launched their attack on his unsuspecting cousins.

Sara glanced up at Sam and smiled. She had seen Adam, Jeff and Scott gang up on her Sammy. She saw him make it to the tree and up to safety. Sara had then whispered to Ashley and Vicky and they quickly made a bunch of snowballs.

Sam smiled at Sara. Little sister to the rescue. He shook the tree again, sending more snow down to distract his male cousins.

Sara yelled "Now."

The three girls let loose their hail of snowballs. The guys were caught off guard and scrambled to take cover and begin to lob snowballs back.

Sam scurried down the tree and joined Sara, Vicky and Ashley. When they were out of ammo, Sam grabbed Sara's hand and he and the other girls beat a quick retreat towards the house. The guys were on their heels the whole way.

December 24th – Braddock Home – Inside – 4:00 pm

Sam pushed open the kitchen door and skidded to a halt inside as Sara came crashing in after him. Within moments Vicky, Ashley, Scott, Adam and Jeff were all standing in the kitchen dripping snow on the floor.

Yvonne looked at the motley group of wet kids and smiled. "Who wants some hot chocolate and cookies?"

Seven kids all yelled "Me!"

"Okay. Well, go take off your outerwear and hang it in the mudroom. I'll have hot chocolate waiting when you are done" Yvonne instructed.

They all headed for the mudroom laughing and joking about the last epic snowball battle.

When they all returned, they settled around the table and happily tucked in the cookies and hot chocolate.

Yvonne sat down after wiping up all the water on the floor and sipped her coffee. She listened to the happy chatter as the kids recounted their snowball war stories. She finally asked "So who won the snowball war?"

Sam beamed and said "I did. I was on the winning team each time."

Scott, Adam and Jeff all tossed their hats at Sam.

He ducked and none hit him. "See I even win at hat balls" Sam chortled with a WOW smile on his face.

Scott groaned "Just wait until this summer. Dad said you could come play paintball with us this year because you are old enough now. Just you wait, we'll get you then."

Sam shrugged and said cockily and with pride "You can try. But you do realize my Dad is the best sniper in the world and he is training me to be a sniper. You will never see me and I will not miss."

Everyone laughed except Yvonne.

Yvonne just smiled. William would be so happy to hear that Sam had such confidence and she was so happy that William's training methods had not driven a wedge between them. She hoped it would remain so but she had serious doubts.

December 24th – Braddock Home – Garage – 10:30 pm

Yvonne sat watching William trying to put together the bicycle for Sara. It had been hidden in the garage for two weeks now. Neither Sam or Sara had found it. Erik had offered to put it together this afternoon when he picked up the kids but William insisted he would be home in time to do it.

Well he got home about a half hour ago. After a nice quiet welcome home and a stealthy peek in at the kids, William had come out to put it together. Yvonne bit her lip to stave off the laughter that wanted to erupt. General Badass was being defeated by unclear instructions. She shouldn't laugh but William looked so comical with his face screwed up as he flipped the instructions this way and that as if reading it upside down would work.

William looked up at Yvonne and he did laugh "Some Santa Claus I am. I can't even figure out how to put together a bicycle."

Yvonne let out a small chuckle "You did say there were instructions in Chinese too. Why don't you try reading them? Perhaps something was lost in translation."

William looked up at Yvonne with a 'why didn't I think of that look'. He grabbed the other set of instructions, the one in Chinese, and began reading them. His love of languages had some very practical uses. The light bulb went on as he read. Yeah who ever translated the instructions had no grasp of English.

He stood up and came to Yvonne. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her ardently. When he was done he said "Mrs. Claus to the rescue again. How can I ever thank you?"

Yvonne gave William a come hither look and said amorously "I can think of many ways. Finish up Santa and I'll be waiting upstairs."

"Oh you tease. I'll be up shortly" William said as he gazed at Yvonne keenly. It had been a long separation and there was nothing more he wanted to do but to take Yvonne to bed and make passionate love to her. He should have taken Erik up on his offer to put together the bike. Damn he wasn't thinking?

Yvonne kissed him back then seeing that she needed to cool his jets a bit so he could actually finish the bike she said "Do you want to know what Sammy asked Santa for yesterday?"

William headed back to the pile of parts and picked up the one that he needed and answered "Sure."

"Well he asked that you would be home for Christmas" Yvonne said.

He turned to look at Yvonne dumbfounded "Samuel really asked Santa for me to come home?"

Yvonne looked at William and spoke with sincerity "Yes William, Sammy loves you and he misses you. You should have heard him this afternoon. He spoke with such pride as he said you were the best sniper in the world. That boy adores you and loves spending time with you at the gun range."

"Maybe you can lighten up on your rules for him. Sammy is such a good boy but I fear what you expect of him is too much for someone his age. You treat him like he is an adult with adult responsibilities. But he is just a little boy. He should not be burdened with things like that yet." Yvonne pleaded her case hoping that William would relent or at least see the danger of continuing down the path he chose.

"Not you too? Tom gave me the same lecture. I grew up just fine and my father was ten times stricter with me than I am with Samuel. Yvonne, he needs to learn. Braddock's are military men and it is my duty to prepare him for that life. It could save his life one day" William explained away his actions, believing deeply that he was right and this was necessary.

Sighing Yvonne said "Yes you are just fine honey but you are not Sammy. He has such a tender heart. You do not see what I see. I fear you will drive a wedge between you two. Erik, Mark and Ryan have not raised their sons according to your father methods. Scott, Adam and Jeff are growing up happy, healthy, well-balance and they will be prepared for the military life. Perhaps for Christmas you could cease correcting him if he calls you Dad."

William looked at Yvonne. She just didn't get it. Samuel needed to be ready for military life. It was unrelenting and demanded the highest level of discipline. Lives depended on it. Making exceptions would impact the behaviors that needed to be ingrained. They needed to be second nature to Samuel. He needed to know that following orders was always expected, no exceptions. It was a simple rule he was using to instill that, call him Sir instead of Dad.

But the look on Yvonne's face spoke volumes. She was worried about Samuel. His son had stepped up a lot while he was away. Yvonne had been having bouts of tiredness that were unexplained. Samuel was indispensable to her and helped a lot with Sara and Natalie.

William conceded to Yvonne to make her happy "For Christmas only. I will not correct him if he calls me Dad instead of Sir."

Yvonne smiled "Thank you William. I'll see you upstairs shortly."

She turned and headed out of the garage. William had finally conceded that point. It was progress. Sure Sammy would be going into the military; it was what Braddock's did. But that was when he was grown.

Right now, Sammy needed time to be a carefree kid. Too soon Sammy would be burdened with protecting others. Right now, it was her responsibility to protect her son's tender heart.

Yvonne would continue picking her battles and try to win this war of wills with William. She hoped she could win the war before any real, lasting damaged to their relationship was done. It would sadden her greatly if those two did not continue a beautiful father/son relationship.

She knew that William loved Sammy deeply and his mind logically thought he was doing the right thing. But she needed to get William to think with his heart rather than his mind when it came to their only son.

December 25th – Braddock Home – Library – 6:30 am

Sam held Sara's hand as they went down the stairs. Both of them had wanted to go down when they woke up at five am. But Sam knew he would eventually be dressed down if disobeyed what Mom told him to do last night.

The General might not be here, but the General seemed to always know when he disobeyed, even when he was not here. The General was sorta like Santa Claus that knew if kids were naughty or nice or in his case if he obeyed or disobeyed his mother. Sam did not want to risk getting dressed down when the General got home. So, they waited.

Mom had said that they had to wait until six-thirty because Natalie was on a sleeping schedule that should not be disrupted or she would be cranky all day. Personally, Sam had to agree, having a cranky Natalie was never good. Her cranky cries were the worst and nothing he ever did would stop them.

So he had kept Sara entertained in her room until six-thirty. But that was after he had made his bed, folded and put away his pjs, brushed his teeth, dressed and squared away his room. He had helped Sara brush her teeth, well at least put the toothpaste on for her, she could do the actual brushing herself.

While she got dressed, Sam made her bed for her. Sara was only four and he didn't want her getting in trouble if it wasn't made perfectly. Not that she was held to the same standard as him but Sam wanted today to be fun. So, doing everything that was expected without being reminded should start the day off right.

A little part of him wished that he still believed in Santa. That way he could pretend that Santa might actually bring him what he wanted. Even though Dad was strict, Sam really wanted him home. Not only for himself, but for Sara, Nattie and Mom too. It wouldn't feel like Christmas without Dad.

Sam and Sara entered the library. Mom was sitting on the couch feeding Natalie. The Christmas tree lights were turned on and the fire are going in the fireplace. It was warm and cozy.

Sara pulled out of his hand and raced forward and around the tall wingback chairs that were facing the tree so she could see what Santa brought her.

Sam's face did not hide his disappointment. He knew his dad would not be here. But knowing that and actually experiencing it were two different things. When he went to bed last night, Sam had said a little prayer asking for Dad to be here on Christmas day with them. He fell asleep hoping against hope that Dad would miraculously be here this morning.

But Dad was not here.

Sam looked at Mom and tried to smile even though he was really sad. As he slowly walked into the room, Sam thought at least he was not tearing up over it. That would make his mom sad and Sam did not want to make her sad. Not on Christmas.

Sara's squeals of delight deafened him as she ran to the tree. "Sammy, Sammy, Santa brought me a yellow bike. A two wheel one. Look, look. It has training wheels. I'm gonna learn real fast Sammy. Then we can race."

Sam made his way towards the tree to see Sara's new bike. He was happy for her even if he didn't get what he wanted for Christmas. He rounded the winged back chair looking at Sara as she looked over her bike.

He forced his voice to be happy as he said "It is very cool. Just what you wanted. See, I told you that you were on Santa's nice list. I'll help you take it into the garage in a little bit so you can ride it."

Sam moved forward and saw the Nerf launcher. It was the launcher he had wanted. But it was just a thing. He didn't want a thing. He wanted Dad. He missed Dad. He wanted to sit in his lap. He wanted to play chess with him. He wanted to go shooting with him.

His eyes scanned all the prettily wrapped presents. They were all just things. Sam felt the prickle of tears trying to form. He couldn't cry. Not on Christmas. That would make Mom really sad. But he felt like crying. He missed Dad and he wanted him here.

Sam gnawed on his lower lip as he looked at the things. He had to try and be happy for his mom and sisters. His eyes landed on a medium sized stuffed pony. He assumed the pony was for Nattie. He picked it up and headed for his mom who was now just holding Natalie.

He said in the cooing voice that made Nattie smile "Look what Santa brought you Nattie. A pony. You like ponies don't you?" Sam set it in her arms as Nattie babbled happily.

Sam leaned over and kissed his mom's cheek and said "Merry Christmas Mom."

Yvonne saw the sadness in Sammy's eyes. She had watched him come around the chair and he saw the Nerf launcher that was his Santa gift. But he had only commented on Sara's bike and then brought Natalie's Santa gift to her.

Softly, Yvonne said "Sammy, I want you to turn around. Santa brought you something else."

She realized her mistake when Sam turned the opposite direction than she had intended. Yvonne saw the confusion his face as he tried to figure out what else Santa brought him.

William watched his son from the wingback chair. What he saw both filled him with pride and heartache.

His son had ignored the Santa gift. The launcher he had talked about for weeks and weeks Yvonne had said. Samuel had focused on his sisters and his mother before himself. Samuel's voice sounded happy but his body language showed he was sad.

It was Christmas. Samuel should be happy not sad.

Yvonne caught William's eyes. She lifted her hand and made her fingers go up and down against her thumb like you would do if you were working a sock puppet's mouth.

William looked at Yvonne in confusion. Oh! Duh.

His voice pitched softly, William said "Merry Christmas Samuel."

Sam spun in the other direction and his shocked eyes landed on the wingback chair that faced the tree. The chair he walked right past to see Sara's bike.

"DAD!" Sam yelled and raced toward the chair.

Sam launched himself at his father with the biggest, happiest, grin that lit up his entire face and shone in his eyes.

William caught a flying Samuel, just barely. His grin matched his son's grin. My god, Yvonne was right, Samuel had missed him as much as he had missed Samuel.

As William hugged Samuel, Sara turned and added her squeal of "Daddy!"

Then Sara raced to him too. William gathered Sara up into his lap along with Samuel. He was a happy, happy man this morning.

Sam settled into his dad's lap making room for Sara when she joined him.

It was a miracle. Dad was here. His eyes bright with wonder, Sam asked "How did you get here Dad?"

Sara's eyes were wide with joy as she exclaimed "Sammy, don't be silly. Santa brought him home like you asked." Then she looked at her daddy and asked "Did you get to ride in Santa's sleigh and was Rudolph pulling it?"

William started to tell Sara about riding in Santa's sleigh and all about the reindeer, even Rudolph. He winked at Yvonne and she smiled at him.

Yvonne looked on and her heart swelled with love seeing the kids in William's lap. She had gotten her Christmas wish. The family was all together and happy. And William had not corrected Sam twice for calling him dad.

Sam snuggled into the crook of his dad's neck as he listened to his dad's tall tale. He would not ruin it for Sara. In a way, Santa did bring his dad home for Christmas because Santa lived in all of their hearts.

William finished his story for Sara and she climbed down to go look at the other presents after giving her daddy a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

Sam was content to just sit in his dad's lap with his head laying on his dad's shoulder. The other presents were just things. What Sam really wanted he already got. Dad was here.

William shifted Samuel a bit so he could look into his son's eyes. He saw the innocence and pure joy in Samuel's eyes. It touched William's heart and soul. Samuel's eyes had always been so expressive.

He tousled Samuel's hair and smiled. William said "I have four days of leave. How about we play some chess and go to the gun range each day, just the two of us?"

Too happy to form words, Sam just nodded vigorously.

Then Sam realized that his dad did not correct him when he called him dad, twice. Sam's smile got bigger, if that was possible, at that thought.

Sam thought that this was the best Christmas ever! It was a miracle. Sam got what he truly wanted for Christmas ... something much better than a thing ... he got his Dad.

.

AN: Merry Christmas. This little story is my EARLY Christmas present to all my wonderful readers. I hope you enjoyed it and that it brought a smile to your face. I love to hear from my readers, drop me a quick review and let me know if you liked it.

I have plans to write Sam's Second Christmas with Team One too. It will be posted closer to Christmas.

Also looking to write a collection of twelve little really short stories titled Twelve Days of Christmas, SRU Style. It is starting to jell in my head and I plan to post a chapter a day beginning on the 12th. However, this might be a bit ambitious.