Chapter 24
"Christmas Day has come; let's prepare for mirth,
Which fills the heavens and earth at the amazing birth.
Through both the joyous angels in strife and hurry fly,
With glory and hosannas 'All Holy' do they cry,
J.L. Peters, 1875
On Christmas morning Jim woke because his bed was shaking. Is it a red alert, his befuddled mind asked? No, he decided, not opening his eyes; it was much too quiet for a red alert. The bed shook some more.
"Wake up, Uncle Jim, it's getting late, and it's Christmas morning!" Peter's eager soft voice spoke in his ear. "I just peeked at the tree, it's full of presents. Come on, Uncle Jim, wake up, please."
"Ummh," Jim opened one bleary eye and looked up at the eager face and shining eyes identical to his own. "Late? How late is it, did I over sleep?"
"It's 7 already, Uncle Jim. It's past time to wake up!"
"Peter! 7 a.m.? It's too early! We were up very late last night, or should I say this morning. Is anyone else up?"
"No, just me, but if you want me to, I can go wake everyone else up."
"Don't even think it, young man. I'll get up, but let's be kind and let the rest of the household sleep at least another 30 minutes. Now if you love me, please bring me a cup of coffee," he smiled into the excited face. "And then you need to go out and feed the animals. After that I'm sure everyone will be awake," he said consolingly to the eager face.
Sure enough, by the time Peter was finished in the barn, the kitchen was filled with everyone drinking coffee and hot chocolate and Peter received a chorus of "Merry Christmas" when he walked in the door.
Winona finished assembling the breakfast egg and potato tacos, and put them on a tray to carry in to the living room, Uhura carried in the pastries, Jim the juice, and Bones carried two carafes filled with more coffee and hot chocolate. Violet, with Davy in her arms, sat down on the floor with him in her lap by the tree and gave him his sippy cup filled with milk and a small pastry. Peter looked at the heap of gifts under the tree and sighed with happiness.
"OK, let's get started. Shall I be Santa Claus?" Jim asked everyone, as he grabbed a taco and downed his juice.
"Yeah, go ahead. We trust you'll be an impartial distributor of gifts," Bones said, smiling at him.
"All right, Peter first. One minute." Jim got up, went to his mother's bedroom and they heard him rummaging around in her big walk in closet. He came out wheeling a brand new bicycle! "This is from me, Squirt."
"Oh! Uncle Jim!" the ecstatic exclamation came out in a whisper. Peter was stunned! He ran over to his Uncle and hugged him; the small arms wrapped around Jim's waist fiercely. Then he walked over to the bike to inspect it. "It's beautiful, it's perfect! Thank you, Uncle Jim. It's just what I wanted." He patted the bike seat softly, entranced with his new vehicle.
Jim smiled, well pleased at the reception of his big surprise. "Here, Squirt. This is from Dr. Bones and Ms. Uhura," he said handing Peter a big package. Peter tore the paper off; inside was a bike basket, perfectly sized for Sorrel to ride with Peter, and there was also a bright shiny bicycle bell and a new red belled collar for the spoiled kitty. Peter's face was flushed with pleasure as he went to Bones and Uhura to give them a hug in thanks.
"Keep going, Jim. Lots more gifts," said his mother, laughing.
Jim handed Violet two gifts, one for her, and one for Davy. She opened Davy's first to find a stuffed toy, a cat that looked remarkably like Sorrel. He clutched it, and kissed it, laughing. In her box, she found a matched set of new gloves, a scarf, and a hat made of soft wool in a crimson and black pattern. "Thank you, everybody," she said.
"Here Ma, this one is from Bones." Winona picked up the heavy gift and opened it to find "Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking" a real paper, cookbook copyright, 2012. It was in pristine condition. "Leonard," she said, in wonderment. "This is fabulous! Thank you so much. How in the world did you find it?"
"I have my sources," McCoy said, grinning in delight at the reception of his choice.
"Ma, these are from me," Jim said putting a small pile of gifts in front of her. She reached for the largest one and unwrapped it. It was a holo, beautifully rendered in color, of the Kirk family. It had been framed with a real antique wood frame to hang on the wall.
"Oh, Jim, sweethart. It's perfect," she said looking with tenderness and love at the picture. "How did you do this? We never got around to having a family picture taken." His mother looked at him with shining eyes.
"I had a little help," he said nodding over at Spock. "Spock and Chekov, computer expert that they are, helped me put individual pictures of us together in a family group. Go on, Ma, open the others," he said.
Winona opened a smaller package to find a new bridle for Dapple. It was red like Sorrel's collar and had silver bells hanging from the sides. She laughed. "That silly donkey will love this, and he'll look very handsome," she said. "Thank you, dear." She reached for the last gift from Jim. It was a keepsake box, flat and square, made of teak wood. The top of the box was constructed of dozens of tiny pieces of wood in many colors, assembled to form the image of the farmhouse as seen from the front. "It's gorgeous," she said, looking at the exquisite workmanship, reaching over to kiss her son. "Just gorgeous. It looks exactly like the farmhouse. Thank you, darling."
Winona reached under the tree and handed Jim a gift. "This is from me," she said. Jim opened the heavy package to find a boxed 2007, 1st edition set of the 20 books series of Patrick O'Brian's "Master and Commander". "Ma...," he whispered, overcome. "This is amazing. I've wanted this for years, but could never find it, or afford it, if I found it." he added. "It's too much, Ma."
"No, darling. It's not too much," she replied, "and I wanted you to have it for your collection." She smiled into his eyes as he reached over to hug her.
"Thank you. It's an amazing gift," he said, still a little overcome by the magnificence of the gift.
Distribution of more gifts quickly followed. There were hand knitted sweaters in soft cashmere, for Nyota a sage green, for McCoy a heathery blue, for Jim a burnished gold, and for Spock a chestnut brown.
"How in the world did you manage to finish these in time, Winona?" McCoy asked, tracing his fingers over the soft cashmere wool. "They're all beautiful."
"I've been working on them every spare minute since I knew you were coming six months ago," Winona smiled at him. "I hope you'll enjoy wearing them."
Jim handed out more gifts to everyone. Spock gave Winona an IDIC pendant, finely made of silver, bronze and gold. Uhura gave her an African shawl, the batik patterns done in purple, gold, and lilac. Winona smiled her thanks at Spock and Nyota. From Spock, Peter received a travel chess set and a book on the planet Vulcan, its history, geography, and culture. Peter sat and looked through it happily. Jim, with a grin on his face, gave Spock "The Collected Works of William Shakespeare." It was not a first edition, naturally, but it was an old edition, real paper, and in beautiful condition.
"Thank you, Jim. I will enjoy this immensely."
To McCoy's delight, Jim gave him a bottle of Kentucky Southern Bourbon, Hennessey's Wild Turkey and an antique stethoscope. He looked at it in awe. "Thank you, Jim. Never thought I'd ever have one of these old ones," he said, blue eyes alight with happiness.
Jim smiled at him enjoying his reaction.
Nyota was thrilled with the new travel case for her lyre with her name engraved on the front.
Then Spock handed Jim his gift. It was beautifully wrapped and Jim opened it carefully. Jim looked down to find a silver framed holo of his beloved Enterprise as she looked traveling in real space through the midnight darkness with the stars gleaming softly all around her. Underneath the ship, were the printed words:
High Flight
"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds,
and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of
wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence.
Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air...
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."
John Gillespie Magee, Jr. 1941
"Spock," Jim whispered his hazel eyes soft, looking down at his beautiful lady. "This is perfect…thank you, my friend, the picture is perfect, the words are perfect. It will hang in my cabin in a place of honor." Spock nodded, pleased with Jim's reception of his gift.
Jim distributed the rest of the gifts and opened several more himself. Bones gave Jim new hiking boots, and Uhura gave him a new hiking vest and socks for the new boots which delighted Jim. Peter gave him new binoculars, which Jim said he badly needed; his old ones had broken.
At last all the gifts were opened, the breakfast food had disappeared and the paper and ribbon debris disposed of. The living room was neat as pin once more. Winona hurried off to the kitchen for dinner preparations and to check on the ham and turkey. Those would finish cooking at 2:30 pm and rest on the side board until it was time to put them on the table.
She consulted her master to do list. It was time to start the Cranberry Cherry Sauce; she turned to McCoy. "Leonard, everything is in the pantry and cooler: dried cherries, apple juice, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. Please put the cherries to soak in the apple juice for an hour, and then we'll cook it and refrigerate it until dinner."
She turned to Spock. "Mr. Spock, I'm putting you in charge of the roasted vegetables. All the vegetables are in the cooler. Everything has to be peeled and sliced into ¼ in. slices, (6 mm. translated Spock) drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, pepper, coriander, garlic, marjoram, dried mustard, and mace. We'll put them in at 400 degrees for 45 minutes at 2:30 pm," she told him as she consulted her list.
"Violet, the appetizer is Dill Dip." Winona handed over the recipe. "Everything you need is in the cooler, the herbs are in the pantry. I'm going to start the Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentil Salad," she said, "and then the garlic green beans.
"Jim, dear, please peel and cut the potatoes and put them to boil for the mashed potatoes. I also have to start on the Bronzed Brussels Sprouts with Maple syrup, Bacon and Shallots. Don't worry, Spock, the bacon is made with soy," she told him, "so you can eat that dish. I also, have a soy substitute for your turkey. It's really good," she added smiling at him.
"Thank you, Dr. Kirk, but it is not necessary for you expand so much extra effort for me," Spock told her.
"I think it is, Spock. You're not going to miss out on all this delicious food, not if I can help it." Winona smiled her radiant smile at him.
Everyone went to work following Winona's master list and time-table, and before long it was 1:00 pm. The front door bell rang.
"Bones," said Jim, glancing at the clock and at the busy workers. "Would you answer the door? I'm knee deep in butter and cream now, and I don't know where Peter is."
"Sure Jim." McCoy cleaned off his hands and went to the front door and opened it.
"Daddy! Daddy! It's me, Daddy!" Joanna McCoy stood there, eyes shining, grinning from ear to ear at him. Beside her, stood Gavin Bradford and Tom Jeffries, grinning at him.
"Oh. My. God! Joanna," Bones grabbed his daughter, picked her up and hugged her tight. "I can't believe it," he gasped." How, why?" He brushed his hand over eyes that were suddenly suspiciously bright with tears. "Jo, how did you get here?"
"Uncle Jim, Daddy," Joanna said, her arms tight around his neck. "He talked to mama and she let me come." McCoy turned, still with Joanna in his arms, and saw everyone looking on, smiles on their faces. He put Joanna down and walked over to Jim.
"Jim, how did you manage this? How did you ever convince Jocelyn to let her come? I don't understand?" He grabbed Jim's shoulders and shook him gently, then hugged him hard.
Jim returned the hug. "Bones, when we talked about how great this shore leave has been, you said that seeing Joanna would make it perfect. I made up my mind that somehow you were going to see her during this leave." Jim looked into the misty blue eyes that were steadfast on his face. "I commed Jocelyn from Jonathon's office." He glanced over at Joanna, who was chatting happily, and said softly, "I told Jocelyn that Joanna loves you and that she's old enough now to understand that Jocelyn has been keeping her away from you, that if Jocelyn isn't careful, Joanna will come to resent her. I said that if she would take Jo Jo to the main transporter station in Atlanta, I'd have Gavin and Tom meet her this morning at the transporter station in New York and bring her here. I also told Jocelyn that Tom was a doctor and Gavin a Star Fleet officer and that she couldn't be in better hands and would be perfectly safe with them. I said we would send her back the same way. It took a little convincing, but she finally agreed. Joanna can stay until the 28th."
"I don't know what to say. You're the best friend a man could ever have, thank you, Jimmy, from the bottom of my heart. You've made this leave perfect!"
"You're welcome. I'm very happy she's here," Jim told him, patting him gently, happy that Bones would have this time with his daughter. It had been worth every minute of his unpleasant conversation with Jocelyn.
Smiling down at her, Winona took the little girl's hand and her overnight case. "Come with me, Joanna, and we'll put your things away. We'll sort out sleeping arrangements later, but for now, let's get you settled." She smiled over to McCoy who still looked a little stunned, and said, "we'll be right back."
Spock and Uhura came over by McCoy. "Doctor, I am gratified that your daughter is able to be here with you," said Spock.
"Yes, Len, it's wonderful! I'm thrilled for you, and so happy to finally meet Joanna." Nyota gave him a big hug.
"Thanks, both of you. It's gonna' be the best Christmas ever. But knowing Jocelyn, I know it wasn't as easy as Jim makes it out to be; only Jim coulda' done it; that man and his silver tongue could convince Lucifer back into Heaven," McCoy sighed happily.
Winona and Joanna came back to the living room and McCoy said, "Peter why don't you and I go show Joanna around. We'll go out to the barn and she can meet Ginger and Dapple, and the chickens. What do you say, Baby Girl?"
"Oh yes, Daddy. Let's do that."
Everyone else went into the kitchen and Violet decided to put Davy down for a nap. "He'll be hyper if he doesn't rest," she told everyone, picking him up and taking the protesting baby out of the room.
"Spo, Spo." Davy reached out his small arms for Spock on the way out of the room, definitely not liking the fact he was leaving all the fun.
"I am very sorry, Davy, but you must rest for a short while," Spock told him, sympathy in his voice.
Winona looked around her kitchen. Everything was ready except for the rolls and the gravy. She'd already prepared the stuffing, and the bird and the ham were resting on the side board. She glanced at the clock. "Time for us to dress for dinner," she said. "Jim, please call Peter so he can change, and Violet, before you change, would you please put out the dilled appetizer tray for me? Gavin and Tom, I'm putting you two in charge of drinks, the red wine is in the wine rack in the pantry, and the white is in the cooler being chilled."
Everyone went to change for dinner and Winona took Joanna to her bedroom to help her with her Christmas dress. McCoy and Spock decided to wear their new Christmas sweaters. Nyota also wore hers with a long wool brown skirt, and Violet put on cream-colored trousers and a matching sweater. Gavin, glancing at her, thought she looked lovely with her black curls and red cheeks and lips. She caught his glance and smiled at him, dimples out in full force. Jim also wore his new gold sweater and Peter his new green tunic. Winona wearing black slacks and a silver tunic, came back with Joanna. She looked adorable in a powder blue velvet dress with long sleeves and a flowing white lace collar.
"You look beautiful, darlin', I like that dress," he told his daughter.
The door bell rang again. It was Jonathon with a bottle of wine in his hand. He was out of uniform and all the women's eyes in the room turned to look at him. He looked handsome and dangerous all in black; slacks, a black sweater, and a black leather jacket.
"Come in, Jonathon." Jim told him. "Good to see you. Make yourself at home. I think you know everyone except for Dr. Tom Jeffries; he's friend of ours from New York," he added as the two men shook hands.
The back door slammed and Father Joe O'Brian came in from the kitchen. "Winona, Jim, I come bearing gifts; my housekeeper made a pecan pie for the occasion." He handed it over to Winona, who gave him an affectionate peck on the cheek.
"Come in, Joe. Jim, introduce Father Joe to your Enterprise friends and to Tom.
With all the guests present, happy conversation buzzed around the warm and cozy room. Winona disappeared into the kitchen and began to put all the food on the table. She placed the turkey at one end, and the ham at the other. She arranged all the dishes down the center of the large table and the wine bottles and other drinks she placed on the side board. She stepped back satisfied. The table looked wonderful.
"Dinner is on the table, everyone. Please sit whereever you want."
Violet set Davy in his high chair, Joanna and Peter sat side by side and the adults settled themselves around the table with Jim at the head and Winona at the foot.
"Father Joe, would you please say a Christmas blessing?" Jim asked.
"Be glad to, Jim. Let us bow our heads," Father Joe said. His voice, gentle, and deep with feeling, carried across the table and through the room.
"Today as we share this holiday feast, may we also share with one another a joyful heart and a warm smile. May our Christmas dinner be filled with love and kindness. And may the memories of today warm our hearts for years to come. Amen."
"Thank you, Father Joe," said Jim. He stood. "Now let's lift our glasses for a toast," he said. "To my mother, whose presence makes this house a warm and loving home, and whose kindness, hospitality and love inspires good will and happiness in all of us!"
Winona's cheeks went pink with pleasure as everyone clinked their glasses. "To Winona."
"One more," said Jim. "To my dearest Enterprise friends, Spock, Bones, and Nyota. It has been a joy to share my home and family with you. Merry Christmas everyone! Let's eat."
They lingered long at the dinner table, enjoying the great food and conversation; afterward they went into the living room for dessert and coffee. The children sat on the floor with the new chess set and Jim put another log on the fire. Nyota and Spock got out the guitar and lyre and began a soft rendition of the ancient carol, "What Child Is This." Jim, standing a little apart watched everyone and drew a breath of deep contentment. His mother smiled up at him and a glance of pure love and shared happiness passed between them. It had been a perfect Christmas Day.