A/N: It's a little late for Christmas, but... hope you enjoy anyway. ;-)

CHAPTER FIVE: 'TIS THE SEASON

About a week later, as Tom had another in a series of late night talks with his father, the subject of the approaching Christmas holiday came up. "Is there going to be a party or anything for the crew?" Jed wondered.

"Mike's still trying to decide. He's worried - and I agree - that it could make morale worse instead of better. End up with the crew thinking about all the people they won't be spending the holidays with. But, at the same time, they've all been working hard through tough circumstances. This is our life now, not just our job."

Jed nodded. "Fine line."

"Yeah... No matter what, I want to do something for my kids. I know they may have some down moments, thinking about Darien, but still."

"Are you going to be okay to handle that?" Jed softly wondered. He didn't want to treat his son like a piece of glass, but he was worried about him now. He also felt guilty for not doing more sooner.

Tom took a deep breath. "I don't know, but I think I have to. They deserve Christmas." They deserved better than what he'd been giving them recently. "I know we don't have much in the way of resources, but I want them to be able to forget they're on a Navy ship at sea."

Jed nodded. "I'm sure we can come up with some things to decorate their room."

Tom could just imagine Ashley and Sam's glee. "Yeah, that would be great. I'd love to surprise them, but I'd need your help." There wasn't much he could do on his own until his cast came off. "Maybe we could put something together while they're getting a lesson from Kelly?"

Jed smiled as he got an idea. "Or we can get Dr. Scott's help. She could keep them occupied for a bit, since I'm sure Kelly would like to surprise Ava, too."

"Oh. Good point."

There was a knock on the hatch, and Slattery poked his head in after being given permission. "Sorry to interrupt," he said when he noticed Jed.

"No, it's fine. We're done," the older man said as he got up. Mike took his place in the chair.

"So, what's been going on?" Tom asked his XO. Mike now did his daily status updates in person instead of on paper - and sometimes twice a day. The Captain was definitely putting in more effort to know what was happening on his ship.

"Well, for starters, we're still on track to reach the Myrtle Beach area tomorrow morning…"

Jed saw Rachel in the wardroom the following day, and she agreed to keep Ashley, Sam, and Ava occupied for a few hours as part of his plan.

When the kids arrived in the lab a couple afternoons later, they didn't seem to have any idea about the surprise.

"Do you want to go outside?" Bertrise asked the trio. "I made you another jump rope." It was a bit chilly out, but sunny.

"Actually," Ashley said, "We had something else we wanted to do."

"We don't have anything to give our families for Christmas presents," Ava continued.

"They'll understand, luv," Rachel told her.

"But Ashley had an idea," Sam piped up.

"Back home, if our dad wasn't on deployment, we'd make cookies for him to take in to work," she explained. "We thought we could do that now."

Rachel smiled. "It sounds like a lovely idea, but we'll need a favor from the galley staff."

"My friend, Bacon, could help," Ava spoke up. "He works in the galley."

Ashley and Sam laughed. "Bacon is a funny name," the little boy told her.

She just shrugged. "We play chess sometimes. He's very nice."

"All right," Rachel told them, "Let's go see what he can do for us."

~ % ~

Bacon was very amenable to their request; he got together flour, butter, and the other ingredients for sugar cookies. However, space was at a premium in the galley; there wasn't room for all the kids plus the staff that was starting to prepare dinner. So instead they took their cookie supplies to the wardroom.

The girls had a little spat as they worked on measuring and mixing the ingredients, and Sam got frustrated trying to precisely cut out shapes with a knife, but Rachel smoothed everything over and all of them had a great time. Once they were ready, Bacon baked everything for them. They ended up with three servings of cookies shaped like stars, hearts, and Christmas trees.

"These are really good," Sam commented as he nibbled on a bit of cookie. They'd broken a lopsided star-shaped cookie into pieces for taste-testing.

"Mmm-hmm," Ashley agreed.

"What have you four been up to?" Jed wondered as he and Kelly came in the room. Rachel had let them know to pick up the kids from the wardroom instead of the lab.

"We made you a surprise, Grandpop," Sam told him, pointing.

"Well, well," Jed remarked as he looked at his cookies. "I won't be going hungry today." He gave Rachel a smile. "You're just full of secrets, hmm?" he asked her. She'd been the key element in everyone's Christmas surprises.

Rachel playfully pretended to lock her lips and throw away the key. "Tis the season," was all she said.

Once everyone was gone, Rachel finished straightening up where they'd been working. The kids had put some effort into cleaning, but left behind a few things on the table.

As she started to pick up what looked like scrap paper, she realized there was writing on it - plus two heart-shaped cookies. 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' was scrawled out in Ashley's handwriting. She and Sam had both signed their names.

Rachel smiled at the sight. She'd gotten a little Christmas surprise of her own.

Ashley and Sam were very excited to give their father his present. Jed hung back and watched as they knocked on the door to Tom's stateroom. Confused frowns crossed their faces when there was no answer. "Where's Daddy?" Ashley wondered.

"I don't know. I thought he'd be here."

The siblings shared a look. Maybe their dad wasn't feeling well again and didn't want to see them. "Oh."

"Let's just leave these in your room, and you can give them to him later, okay?" Jed suggested.

They nodded. "Okay."

Ashley opened the door to their stateroom, directly across the hall, and then froze. Sam ran into her from behind. "Hey!" he cried, but then saw what she was staring at. "Whoa…"

A four foot tall drawing of a fully-decorated Christmas tree was on one wall, and a drawing of a wreath was on the other. Intricate snowflakes, cut out of paper, hung from the ceiling and their beds. Two white socks had been put inside of red ones to make 'stockings', which were hung from the side of their desk/dresser. Three balled up sheets of paper had been stacked to make a snowman, which was sitting on top of their dresser. Their room was a Christmas wonderland.

"What do you think?" Tom asked. He'd been sitting on the lower bunk, waiting for his kids.

Ashley reached a hand up to touch one of the snowflakes. White Christmases had been very rare at their home in Norfolk, but she'd always loved playing in the snow at Jed's cabin. "It's so pretty," she whispered.

Sam went to peek inside of the stockings, which made his father laugh. "It's not Christmas yet, buddy," Tom reminded him.

He gave a sheepish grin. "I know. It's awesome, Dad."

"Good. I wanted to surprise you, make things a little more like home."

The kids suddenly remembered their own surprise, and looked toward their grandfather, who was lingering in the doorway. "We made you a surprise, too," Ashley said as she retrieved Tom's cookies and handed them to him.

A bright smile crossed his face. "These are fantastic, guys, thank you."

"We made them with Dr. Rachel," Ashley explained. "It was really fun."

Sam was thoughtfully looking up at their Christmas tree. "It doesn't have a star," he pointed out. Kelly Tophet had been the artist behind the tree and wreath, and she'd put an angel atop the tree. Back home, the Chandler family had always had a lit, silver star on their tree.

"It's still pretty, though, isn't it?" Tom asked his son. He'd been amazed when he first saw Kelly's artwork; her casual hobby had been critical for pulling off their surprise.

Sam nodded. "She looks like Mommy."

The angel did have blonde hair, with a white dress and wings. Tom did his best to force a smile. "Yeah, she does… And I know Mommy's watching over us."

Ashley had looked up in surprise at her brother's comment, but then looked away. She climbed around her father onto her bed and laid down, facing the wall.

"You okay, Ash?" he softly asked, laying a hand on her shoulder.

She pulled a novel out from under her pillow. "Fine," she replied, very unconvincingly. "I just want to read."

Tom glanced over to his father, wondering if Jed had any suggestions. He shook his head slightly, indicating to just let her be. Sam had always been more willing to talk and remember than his sister. "Okay, sweetheart. Is it a good one?" Ashley just shrugged, but showed him the cover: A Wrinkle In Time. Tom kissed her forehead. "Well, I hope you enjoy... I love you."

She met his eyes for a moment. "Love you, too, Daddy."

Tom started to get up, and smiled when Sam reached a hand to help him. "Thanks, bud, but I've got it."

"Okay… Dad?"

"Mmm?"

"Do we get presents in our stockings on Christmas? Please, please?" he softly added, putting his hands together pleadingly.

Tom laughed. "I'll see what 'Santa' can do about that."

After a lot of thought, Mike and Tom decided not to have any large holiday celebrations on the ship. They'd had another bout of engine trouble that was lingering on, so there was no shortage of things for everyone to do. Nobody needed the distraction of being extra homesick.

However, they did recognize that the crew deserved a break. At some point, it came up in conversation that Mars would be visible after sunset on Christmas Eve. So anyone who wasn't on duty gathered on the flight deck for some stargazing, hot drinks, and down time with their shipmates.

"I don't see it," Sam complained from his seat on the deck beside his sister and Ava, staring up at the sky.

Lieutenant Burk was passing by and knelt down next to the little boy. "Okay, can you see the moon over there? It's just a little sliver."

Sam squinted, but finally nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. Look to the left of the moon… There's a kinda orange light."

Sam frowned. "That's Mars?"

"That's Mars."

"But it just looks like a star." He'd been expecting to see the planet just like in the pictures his grandfather had shown him. They'd had a lesson about the solar system that morning.

Burk laughed as he got up. "It's really far away, little man."

~ % ~

Rachel was making herself a cup of hot cocoa when Jed stopped beside her. "I am amazed you managed to get away from your work," he teased her.

She smiled. "Bertrise made me. She's inside finishing up a few things." She turned around, looking up at the clear, cloudless sky. "It's a gorgeous night, isn't it?"

"Mmm-hmm. Sure is... Would you like to come join us?" Jed pointed to where Tom was standing on his crutches near the children. "Nothing goes with a beautiful night like a beautiful lady." He gave her a mischievous wink.

Rachel burst out laughing. "You're quite the charmer, Mr. Chandler."

He just nodded as he took her arm. "Yes, ma'am."

"Hi, Dr. Rachel!" Sam exclaimed when he saw her and Jed approach. "Did you see Mars?"

She smiled. "I haven't yet. Did you find it?"

He nodded. "It's really tiny."

Tom also gave Rachel a smile. "I'm glad I get to thank you in person," he told her. "For keeping the kids busy and helping them with their cookies."

She shrugged. "We had a nice afternoon together. I'm happy you made it down here; the children must be very pleased."

Tom nodded. Getting to the flight deck had been a challenge with his crutches and bum leg, but it had definitely been worth it. He was starting to feel more like himself. "Yeah," he told her with a grin. "I'm glad, too."

The following morning, Tom was awakened when his children burst through the door to his stateroom. "Dad, Dad, it's Christmas!" they exclaimed as they sat on his bed.

"Since when?" he teased them.

"Six hours ago," Sam matter-of-factly replied.

Tom chuckled. "It's 0600 hours?"

"6:14," Ashley corrected him.

"Ah, so you slept in late this year?" Sometimes the kids had been awake and clamoring for presents before 5am.

"Can we open our stockings now?" Sam wondered.

"What stockings?" Tom feigned ignorance.

"Da-ad!"

He laughed. "Go get your Grandpop and two cups of coffee first, and then, yes, you can."

~ % ~

Tom was waiting for his kids in their cabin when they got back with their grandfather. "Alright, what's in those stockings?" Jed asked as he handed his son a coffee and sat with him on the lower bunk.

The kids knelt on the floor to open their gifts. Ashley's first item was a clasp for her hair, while Sam got a deck of Uno cards. Both children received a few random pieces of candy - Hershey kisses, caramels, and peppermints. And then they got to the good stuff.

"Oh, Dad, this is perfect!" Ashley proclaimed as she pulled out string, a few lengths of different colored wire, and a few little bobbles she could use as charms.

Tom smiled. "Gotta keep the Chandler Jewelry Store in operation." She'd always loved making little gifts - bracelets, necklaces, pins, etc. - for everyone and every occasion.

Sam's face broke into a wide grin as he pulled a baseball out of the bottom of his stocking. "Yes!" he exclaimed. He'd missed his baseball team from home terribly.

"I'm still working on getting a glove for you," Tom explained, "But this is a start. Maybe we can play catch sometime."

Sam got up and hugged his father. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, buddy. Just be careful not to hit your sister in the head."

Sam giggled, tossing the ball up into the air once and catching it. "Okay."

"Should we go have Christmas breakfast in the wardroom?" Tom asked his family.

Ashley and Sam shared a look. "Can we just have it here?" she finally asked. "Just with us?" Eating with the other officers was an obvious reminder of their new life. When they did things with just their family, it was easier to pretend they were home.

Tom smiled, ruffling Sam's hair. He was so grateful to have his kids with him. "Sounds like a plan to me."

TBC...

A/N 2: "Thank you" x 1 million to those who have been leaving feedback. It's so fun to see your thoughts about the characters and the story.