AN: Okay, this is the first of two Christmas stories for WCTH that I have planned. This is my gift fic for the Holiday Gift Exchange. My person was Katie, . K8eSunbug. Each person was to pick a pairing, a holiday song, and three holiday related prompts. Katie named several with the intent that the person writing could pic. My muse decided to see how many of the pairings I could fit into the story. As two of the pairings involved Elizabeth, I chose to attempt a Jack/Elizabeth story which is technically a first for me (I do not include Ghost Jack as a true Jack/Elizabeth story, lol). Another first is pairing Nathan with anyone other than Elizabeth. I am hoping both go well. The song Katie picked was "Silent Night", which doesn't come in to play until chapter 2. My three prompts were - Ornaments on the tree (indoors), snow on trees, Christmas baked goods (cookies, bread, fudge…something special to you). I challenge you to find them throughout the story. Merry Christmas Katie!
Thankyou to Amy for beata reading and Lauralyn for the storycover.
This story deviates from canon a bit. Jack did go fight in the Northern Territories and he came back and married Elizabeth. He did not however go to Fort Clay. This would be the Christmas of 1915 and the tradition of the Wishing Tree is alive and well.
Disclaimer: The characters of WCTH belong to Crown Media and whoever else have the rights. Only original characters are mine.
Jack stood in the middle of the street and looked up at this year's Wishing Tree. He had picked at a good one, if he did say so himself. While he wasn't quite convinced about Abigail's reasoning that the town's hero should be the one to choose Hope Valley's Wishing Tree this year, he had to admit he liked being a part of the process. Even decorating had been more fun than doing rounds alone.
"You picked out a good tree there, Constable," Rosemary said brightly appearing at his side. "My decorating skills hid the small flaws it had and made it perfect."
Jack grinned. "Wouldn't expect you to be involved in anything that turned out less than perfect, Rosie," he told his friend.
"I choose to take that as a compliment," Rosemary informed him. Looking in the direction of the schoolhouse, the woman's already bright smile got even brighter. "Oh, good! Here come Elizabeth and the children."
Jack followed her gaze to see Elizabeth waddling toward town, the school children clustered about her. Though she hated when he described her walking as 'waddling' Jack couldn't think of it any other way. He had learned to keep the description merely as a thought though. Just like he had learned not to mention that he thought Elizabeth should stop teaching until after the baby came. Elizabeth was due in mid-January. Jack thought she needed to be at home taking proper care of herself and the baby. Elizabeth meanwhile insisted that she needed to teach the children up until the holiday break as a substitute teacher had not been able to be procured for the little town. Though Cat Montgomery and Molly Sullivan were going to take over for Elizabeth in the new year if a proper substitute could not be persuaded to teach in Hope Valley, neither were certified teachers. Elizabeth felt she should teach the children as long as she could. Carson had simply said that both Elizabeth and the baby were healthy and that there was no medical reason for him to bar Elizabeth from teaching.
Jack would have tried to pay Carson to come up with a reason to tell Elizabeth to stop teaching until after the baby, but that would be frowned upon on in both of their professions.
Rosemary fluttered away so she would be ready to pass out the ornaments for the children to write their wishes on. After the children had a chance to hang their wishes, a few parents had brought their little ones who were not quite old enough to be in school yet to participate as well, then the rest of the community would be allowed to post their wishes.
Jack found himself smiling as the children reached their destination in a chorus of excited voices. Just as excited as the children, Rosemary was in her element talking to the children and handing out the ornaments, explaining to each child what to do. Looking for Elizabeth, Jack saw her still making her way toward the tree, Cody and Robert hanging back with her. Jack felt a surge of pride in the two boys. It was the gentlemanly thing to do and Jack planned on it being recognized.
With long strides, Jack soon covered the distance to his wife and her two students. "Robert, Cody, I appreciate you two young gentlemen escorting your teacher but I can take over from here. Why don't you go join the others," he told the boys, nodding toward the wishing tree where their classmates were now gathered.
The two boys looked to Elizabeth. "Go ahead," she told them with a smile.
Robert and Cody needed no more encouragement as they bolted to join their classmates. Elizabeth's laughed at their enthusiasm. "I wish I had some of their energy," Elizabeth commented even as she slipped her arm through the arm that Jack offered her.
"Are you sure you are not doing too much, Elizabeth?" Jack asked his gaze going to the swollen belly that carried their offspring.
Elizabeth patted his hand with her other hand. "I will be fine. I have three more days, after today and Friday is a half day. I do wish one set teacher could be found for the second half of the school year. Cat and Molly will do their best, I know, but stability is important for learning children."
"Maybe that should be your wish on the wishing tree," Jack said, with a grin.
"I just might, though I kind of like my other wish as well," Elizabeth replied. Putting a hand on her stomach covered by the warm cape that Jack had bought her for the colder weather during her pregnancy, she continued. "Though the other wish is for the baby as well, so maybe I can justify two wishes?"
"I think that sounds very logical," Jack assured her.
"I second it," Rosemary chimed in as Jack and Elizabeth reached those gathered around the wishing tree. She handed Elizabeth two ornaments and a marker. She then handed Jack an ornament. "I hope you don't mind sharing Elizabeth's marker. I am running low."
"I can be patient," Jack assured her, escorting Elizabeth over to a podium for her to lean on as she wrote her Christmas wishes. Around them, the children were using each other's backs or had moved to the boardwalks to write their wish on the ornament.
All but one child.
"Excuse me, Elizabeth," Jack told his wife, gaining her attention. "I want to go check on, Allie," he said pointing in the nine year old's direction.
Allie was standing alone, her back to the tree and arms crossed in front of her. Though not of blood relation, Jack and Elizabeth had become aunt and uncle to the young girl since she had moved to Hope Valley with her uncle, Constable Nathan Grant. Even without the connection he had made with Nathan in the Northern Territories, Allie's story would have been enough to touch Jack's heart.
Reaching the girl, Jack knelt beside her. "Are you going to write down a wish, to hang on the Wishing Tree, Allie?" he asked the girl, reaching out to tentatively rest a hand on the girl's back.
"No," Allie replied tersely.
"Why not?" Jack asked her patiently, needing to understand the girl's emotional state so that he could attempt to soothe it.
"Because the only thing I really want is Uncle Nathan to be my Dad. My Dad left me but Uncle Nathan always comes back to me. Even when he was hurt up North, he said I was what kept him hanging on. He needed to come back to me. But no one could make my wish come true, especially not that tree. There is nothing magical about the tree. It is just a story Mrs. Thornton read to us."
Jack knew first hand how much hanging on for Allie had played a part in Nathan's determination when he was hurt during the conflict up North. It had been Nathan who had spotted one of the gunrunners hiding on a hill. The man who had fired first, had been aiming for Jack who was leading the column of Mounties through the pass. Nathan's horse had taken the bullet meant for Jack. When the horse had gone down, Nathan had gone down with him. In the animal's panicked state, it had gotten Nathan's leg under its hooves in its efforts to get up before Jack had been able to dismount and pull Nathan to safety. While the other squad members had returned fire, Jack had started assessing Nathan's injuries. It had been clear that Nathan's left leg had suffered more than one fracture, one of which was a compound fracture. They had done what treatment they could, splinted the leg to keep from further injuring it, rigged up a travois and set about getting Nathan to where he could receive proper medical attention. Prayers were sent up constantly for the well being of their fallen brother. Those prayers and Nathan's will power, was what Jack attributed Nathan's survival too. Once in the hospital, Nathan had undergone several surgeries, followed by weeks of therapy once the bones had healed. Nathan now walked with a limp and the aid of a cane. His doctors had said the lingering issues could have been worse, or he could have lost the leg, if not for the treatment Jack and the other Mounties had given. Jack wasn't sure if the doctor had just been trying to make them feel better, but he had been grateful for his friend's recovery. So grateful that with Patrick O'Reilly on his side, Jack had talked the Mountie higher ups to allow Nathan to have a desk job in Hope Valley.
It had been at his insistence that Nathan had brought Allie here, and Jack wanted to do all he could to make sure they both felt at home. So, despite it being cold and the ground covered in snow, Jack sat down. "Want to hear a true story about a previous Hope Valley wishing tree?" Jack asked her.
Allie looked at him. "How do you know it is true?" she asked skeptically, giving him a look that reminded him so much of Nathan that there was no doubt in Jack's mind that the two were related.
"Because it happened to me."
"You made a wish?"
"No. It was Mrs. Thornton's wish, but it still involved me," Jack told her. "Sit with me and I will tell you."
Though the skeptical look was still in place, Allie did sit in Jack's lap. Trying to make it sounds more magical than simply Bill Avery calling in some favors, Jack told Allie how Elizabeth had placed a wish on the tree the year before to spend Christmas with him. "Just when I thought, I was going to have to go back, a telegram came about a snowstorm. It delayed anyone going North right then and I spent last Christmas with Mrs. Thornton. Now, no person can conjure up a snowstorm, so it had to be the magic of the tree. If the wishing tree could keep me here for Christmas, then surely it can do something as simple as making your Uncle your Dad."
"That doesn't sound that simple to me," Allie countered, skeptically.
"Well, it is more simple than my wish. I am wishing that no one needs my Mountie services on Christmas Day and I get the whole day with my wife and friends."
"You do need magic for that to happen," Allie scoffed. "Seems like everybody needs a Mountie on a holiday."
Jack laughed. "Yes, it does seem to happen that way," he agreed. "So, if I think my wish can be granted by the wishing tree, I think your wish could too."
Allie looked from him to the blank ornament she held in her hand and back to Jack. "Can we hang them together?"
"We most certainly can," Jack said, hugging the girl to her.
Still sitting in Jack's lap, Allie wrote her wish on the ornament. She then handed the marker to Jack. Making sure to hold the ornament so Allie could see what she wrote, Jack wrote his wish down. The two then got to their feet. Most of the other children had already hung their ornaments. Jack noticed Cody offering to hang Elizabeth's ornament for her. He was happy to see the kids being so considerate of their teacher.
"Where do you want to hang them?" Jack asked Allie.
The girl surveyed the tree and then pointed to a spot. "Right there."
"Looks like a prime spot," Jack told the girl.
Together the two of them hung the ornaments.
"I still don't think it is going to work," Allie informed him, looking up at him skeptically.
"Well, I believe," Jack told her. "So, we are just going to have to wait until Christmas to see which one of us is right."
Allie nodded. The girl then leaned in and hugged him. "I hope it is you, Uncle Jack," she said in a voice so low that Jack almost missed it.
Jack patted her back as he looked around. He spotted Nathan making his way from the Mounted Police office in their direction. Even with the limp and the cane, Nathan walked at a moderate pace. Today he looked to have a purpose.
"There is your uncle, Allie," Jack said, pointing him out.
The girl's frown was replaced with a smile as she hurried in Nathan's direction. He knew Nathan had been planning on being out here when the kids arrived, so Jack headed in his direction as well, wanting to see what had delayed his fellow Mountie. He purposely went slow enough as to allow Allie a few moments alone with her uncle.
"I hung my ornament but I don't think there is an ounce of magic in that tree," Allie said, as she took a step back from Nathan.
"You and I haven't experienced much Christmas magic over the years, have we, Allie?" Nathan commented as he took his niece's hand and started forward again.
"What is Christmas magic?" Allie asked.
"It is a feeling that makes all things seem possible at this time of year as you celebrate with family and friends."
"Only one I remember celebrating Christmas with is you and other Mounties. Even Mrs. O'Reilly had a hard time with Christmas last year with her husband away. We all just missed you and Mountie O'Reilly."
"This year, will be different. I promise."
Jack saw Allie nod but she did not look convinced of her uncle's words. His heart ached for Allie and for Nathan. They had been through so much. When he had heard Nathan's story, he wondered why Nathan had entered the fight in the Northern Territories. After both his sister and mother had passed from influenza, his brother-in-law, who had a problem with alcohol, had signed away parental rights before leaving town. Nathan's own father was in jail. That left Nathan with the choice to either take Allie or place her in an orphanage. In need of experienced men up north, the Mounties had ordered Nathan north with his only other option being breaching his contract. Though Nathan's girlfriend of a couple of years, Avery Scharp, would have taken Allie while Nathan was away, Avery had also been nursing her sick mother. Hearing about the situation, Corporal Patrick O'Reilly had felt terrible about the situation, and asked his wife to watch Allie while Nathan was in the Northern Territories. The O'Reillys and Avery had supported both Grants during Nathan's recovery.
Hearing Nathan's promise and Allie's response to it, Jack made a silent promise to help Nathan keep that promise even as Nathan addressed him.
"I hope you got to hang your wish already, Jack, because I got a call requesting your help locating a wagon of orphans that didn't make it to a destination as planned. Constable Kinslow is escorting the group. Two women and six children, who were making a trip to Brookfield where they were going to set up a new orphanage. The Mounties in Pine Hill Grove were expecting them about an hour ago. One of the constables from Pine Hill Grove headed out on the road they were traveling but their path would have taken them through Kroger's Crossing, and it is though that if something happened near or before that, then Constable Kinslow may have turned there to bring them down to Hope Valley, as it would be the closest town from Kroger's Crossing."
"Leave it to Kinslow to ruin my quiet day," Jack said easily. "I'll get Sargent and ride out that way see what I find. Hopefully, it is nothing more than they are running behind schedule."
"I hope so too," Nathan replied.
Jack said good-bye to Nathan and Allie and went to tell Elizabeth where he was going. As he walked away, he heard Allie tell her uncle that he needed to put a wish on the tree as well. Jack smiled. At least the girl was interested enough in the Wishing Tree know to share it with her uncle.
Making his way over to Elizabeth he wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her stomach. Their baby rewarded him with a firm kick.
"Maybe we can get another small snowfall to put snow on its branches. The Wishing Tree would look perfect then," Elizabeth commented.
"It had snow on it in the woods," Jack told her.
"You couldn't leave it on?" Elizabeth teased back.
"I will remember that question when I bring our tree in the house," Jack replied with a grin.
"Not funny," Elizabeth told him, though she was smiling herself.
"Putting joking aside though, I have to go. It could be nothing, but a band of travelers didn't show up where they were suppose to when they were suppose. As they could have turned and headed this way at Kroger's Crossing, I am going to ride out and see if I can meet up with them in case they need some assistance."
Elizabeth nodded. "Just be careful," she told him.
"I will be," Jack replied, leaning in to give her a kiss as Elizabeth tilted her head back to make it possible. "You be careful too. Perhaps ask Cody or Robert to escort you home."
"To put your mind at ease, I will," Elizabeth told him. "Just hurry home."
"I will do my best," Jack assured her, releasing her as he headed for the livery to get Sargent.
Stepping into the café, the smell of peppermint greeted him. Bill smiled, at the now familiar smell that now reminded him of Christmas. It hadn't always been like that. The smell of pine, use to be what he associated the holiday with. After all, wreaths and trees usually decorated every home and building. Tom usually had at least two trees up at the White Stallion.
However, with Abigail around, smells of peppermint filled the air. It was her favorite kind of tea. Her peppermint fudge was unrivaled by any that Bill had ever tasted. During the holiday season, if you did not specifically request a plain hot chocolate at the café, a peppermint stick would be sticking out of your mug. Abigail baked peppermint cookies, peppermint pancakes and this year Elizabeth had requested a peppermint scone. Abigail had indulged her pregnant friend and the scones were proving to be most popular.
Bill had decided he kind of like the smell of peppermint even if he didn't like eating it in everything.
"I am not sure I like that look," Abigail commented, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked to her to see a concern expression on her face as she cut her peppermint fudge into squares. "Please tell me that you are not cancelling our dinner tonight."
"After all the begging it took me to get you to agree to having dinner with me, not a chance," Bill told her. "However, I have been getting this nudge from somewhere to confess something about my past to you before you have dinner with me. My last secret did not come out the way I wanted, and I thought perhaps I would just get the confession over with."
Abigail put the knife down on the cutting board and let her hands dropped to the side. "If there is another wife you have not mentioned then just walk right out that door, Bill Avery."
"No, second wife, I promise," Bill told her. He motioned to the settee. "Can we sit?"
Abigail nodded and walked over to the settee. Bill let her sit first and then sat beside her. Bill wasted no time saying what he had come to say.
"Abigail, when I was a young man, I had a bit of a wild streak. Joining the Mounties tamed it a little, but even then, when not in uniform I was known to have a good time. However, I never wanted a serious relationship. I used the force as an excuse for starting something serious but the truth was, I thought a serious relationship would interfere with my fun. That did not stop me from enjoying female companionship from time to time. Usually it didn't go beyond a little flirting. I was honest with the women about not wanting anything serious. I didn't see how anyone could get hurt."
"I suppose we are all entitled to some questionable behavior when we are young," Abigail acknowledged.
"When I was twenty-five, I was posted in a little town called Pine Springs. I met this young woman and our relationship went beyond a little innocent flirting. On more than one occasion. I think I could have fallen for her if I let myself. I panicked and put in for a transfer. It was granted fairly quickly. I left Pine Springs and never saw her again, though I often thought about her. She was actually the reason I consented to marry Nora. When I found out another man had gotten her pregnant and then left her, I felt guilty in a way. What if I had left a woman in that condition in my wake? Well, you know how my marriage to Nora turned out. I still think I did the right thing marrying her to support her and her son, despite how things turned out. I didn't think much more about what I may have left in my wake, until I got this second chance with you."
Bill reached out for Abigail's hand and clasped it in his own. "Ever since you agreed to go out to dinner with me, all I could think about was what if this relationship progresses and suddenly a kid I didn't know I had came searching me out. I already hurt you with how I dealt with my failing marriage to Nora. You are giving me a second chance, and I don't want to do that to you a second time. I care about you Abigail. I care about Cody. I don't want any of my past mistakes sabotaging this relationship we are starting."
Abigail took a deep breath and let it out slowly, though she did not try pulling her hand out of Bill's grasp. "Well, that is quite a confession," she commented. "I do appreciate you being up front this time."
"Guess you can teach an old dog new tricks," Bill said wryly.
Abigail smiled. "Maybe so," she agreed. "I have also not observed you chasing after a bunch of women since you came to Hope Valley. As small as this town is, I would have heard about that."
"That's for sure. Seems like if I get a splinter in the morning, the whole town will know about by noon," Bill joked.
Abigail laughed. "Probably sooner than that now that the phone lines are in." She took a deep breath. "Seriously though, I will forgive you your past mistake. I know it wasn't an easy confession to make. As for the remote possibility that someone comes claiming you are their father after all these years, and you are convinced their claim is true, then I will accept them as part of your family just as I am expecting you to accept Becky and Cody as part of mine."
"Then you will still have dinner with me tonight?"
"Yes, Bill, I will still have dinner with you," Abigail performed. "Now let me get back to my dessert preparations to make things easier on Clara tonight while running the café."
"All right," Bill said, as they both got to their feet. Leaning in, he kissed Abigail's cheek. "I am looking forward to finally having dinner with you," he whispered in her ear before finally releasing her hand and heading out of the café.
Now he just had to figure out what to wear.