Well, I was feeling a bit guilty for not updating on this story, so I put together a little apology chapter. Plus, this is such a special time of the year!!! Well, Merry Christmas!

The holiday season

around Christmas day

is a time for giving

yet it also has a way…

what's inside the presents

isn't all it can show,

like on this California day,

without any snow…

Read and review,

Raven's secret-keeper

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Unforeseen Surprises

Special Holiday Chapter: Dove's Christmas Confusion

"Christmas?" Dove asked. It was December 20, two days before her birthday, and Beast Boy had just yelled, "5 days 'till Christmas!"

"You've never heard of Christmas?!" he was now asking.

"The girl's only been here for a few months, B. Go easy on her," Cyborg responded.

"Well," Dove said, "my mother did say a little about it being a Christian holiday, but that's it. Azarathians don't celebrate Christmas, and we're always peaceful - well, before, you know… And my mother used to almost laugh at the phrase 'peace on Earth.' And the decorations never seemed necessary to her – or me now that I'm thinking about it – because Azarath is already so beautiful." Dove sighed. "Well, it was…"

"Christmas isn't just a holiday," Robin told her. "It's a season. Yeah, everyone loves the presents, but there's more to it."

"Presents?"

"Your mom never mentioned the presents?" Beast Boy seemed amazed and puzzled.

"Um… yeah. So, what are they?"

Robin answered her. "Presents are gifts people give to each other."

And Starfire elaborated. "They are wrapped in brightly colored paper with a ribbon and a bow on the top, with- "

"Oh, yeah! She called them gifts, not presents. And... you put them… under a… tree…" Dove's expression became one that said "and I have absolutely no idea why you would do that."

Robin noticed immediately and explained. "It's a tradition. I saw an interesting documentary about Christmas, and it said that it began in the colonial times."

"Wha - ?"

"In the 19th century, actually."

"Why?"

"They – the colonial Americans – wanted a tradition of their own. They had sailed to a new land for their lives to be different from their lives in England, and they didn't want it to be the same Christmas as the European version."

"Ok… But it makes no sense. It's a tree!" Dove nodded her head to the now vibrantly decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the room. "And why would you decorate it? Isn't nature beautiful enough?"

"That actually has religious roots… sort of. People – Vikings – were amazed with how the evergreens stayed alive and well in the winter, so they cut thought it had special powers. They cut down the evergreen trees and brought them inside their homes for protection and hope of getting through the harshest time of year. When the tradition was carried to Germany and Great Britain, people put apples on it to represent the Garden of Eden. It's a Christian story."

"Can you spare me that?" Dove was a full-hearted Azarathian, and honestly didn't care for anything "Earthenly religious."

"I don't see why not; I was going to. Well, basically, the apples became tradition, and people started using ornaments instead."

"Okay, then. So, the Christmas season is supposed to be a time of peace on Earth. And giving, right? Something like that…"

Robin nodded.

And Beast Boy couldn't resist cutting in, "And Santa Claus for the kids."

Dove suddenly laughed so swiftly, Raven jumped. She had been reading on the couch and was now giving Dove a silent look. "Dove," she said.

Dove sighed and wiped her near-tearing eyes. "I-I'm sorry, it's just – My mom told me about a fat guy – going down a chimney, too – ! It's always seemed humorous. I mean, really. Can you imagine it? And the reindeer! Let's not go there." Dove bit her tongue to keep from giggling. "Well, it's cute…"

"Which is why Santa only give to the children." Raven sighed and settled back into reading position.

Robin said, "Most people imagine Christmas as a happy time of year. And almost everyone knows there's supposed to be snow, but this is California. It hasn't snowed here in a long time."

"I've read poems – haiku, mostly – about snow. It sounds so beautiful."

"It is," Robin told her.

"And my birthday's only three days before it… So you celebrate birthdays too?"

"Most of them," Raven said.

Dove, not really knowing about the End of the World incidents, thought Raven was talking about her own birth in Azarath.

"Not really," Raven said. Dove blushed a bit, knowing she should be watching herself- 24-7 was what Raven had said.

The other four team members glanced at each other.

"Well, then, what?" Dove began.

Raven looked up at her. "Let's just say last year wasn't exactly a perfect birthday."

Dove gasped softly. She had locked eye contact with Raven and was accidentally doing something she had never done before: she was reading Raven's memories.

"Oh god.." Dove stumbled a step, and sat down on the couch. "I didn't mean to… Raven, I'm… Oh…" Dove felt a bit dizzy, and put her head down with her eyes closed.

"Dove?" Raven, having an empathetic soul, was sensing Dove's pain, and knew Dove had seen her soul as it always was with Dove's telepathetic powers… and she knew Dove was almost in major shock.

"That's part of the reason of why you need to stay in control…" Raven put in her bookmark and got up before sitting down next to Dove. "It's not that bad... Dove…?"

Dove moaned. "I… think I'm OK… Just disoriented…"

"She was caught off-guard," Raven told the others. "And with a new ability. She'll be fine… Just relax, okay, Dove?"

Dove sighed. "Okay… I think I'm okay… Really." Dove looked up at Raven. "I need to meditate," she whispered, and then she left the room in slow, careful steps.

Raven watched her the entire way with alert, concerned eyes.

"Is she okay?" Robin asked Raven.

"She'll be fine."

"Aren't you going to go coach her or something?" Beast Boy asked.

"Not now. She's going to be sensitive to my soul for a little while, then she'll be okay… I don't want her empathy to go out of control any more than her telekinesis. And… She's doing a lot better."

Dove, who was resting with her back against the wall outside the room, heard Raven and smiled a bit before she started of again.

Once she was in control again – and this dizziness went away – she'd think about what she saw, and wonder… But not until she meditated, and she was entirely better. Which would lead to her asking Raven about it, and Raven barely answering. Eventually, Raven would tell her, but not now. Not yet. For now, all Dove had on her mind was calming down, then figuring out how and why she read Raven's memories, and then she would tell Raven so they could get it into the category of "know how to teach Dove to control it."

Well, some presents come early. Some can't be explained, only guessed at. Some don't seem very good, but will eventually prove their worth. And some aren't even tactile. This new ability happened to be Dove's and the 'From:' is followed by 'Fate.' And there are many more, soon to come. But for now, Dove had a very interesting Christmas.

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-Raven's secret-keeper