Victor Hoffman was sitting in the study of the house he and Bernie shared on the island of Azura. He was writing out a couple of last minute Christmas cards. The smell coming from the kitchen was wafting under the door. It was starting to smell pretty delicious. He found it hard to remember the last time he had a proper Christmas meal. He made his way to the kitchen to see if Bernie needed any help with preparing dinner.

"Hey, need any help"

"Well, I killed, skinned and stuffed the turkey myself so I think I can handle it"

"Well, sorry I missed that bit" he replied sarcastically. If anyone could make a Christmas meal from scratch it was her. She knew how to live off the land, being a survival expert, she had to. He could smell the turkey cooking in the oven and Bernie was chopping up various vegetables. It was still fairly early but she wanted to get a head start on things. He looked around the kitchen and saw something dark brown.

"What's that?" he asked.

"That, is the Christmas pudding"

He walked over to it and gave it a smell. "No offence babe but what the hell is in that. It stinks."

"Well lots of various dried fruit and it's got flour, suet, um, rum . ."

"Well if it's got rum in it, I guess I will give it a go"

"Oh your definitely having some of this. It's been ageing for a month"

"That long"

"Yeah. The longer the better. Trust me you'll love it. It's tradition."

"We never had these back in Ephyra"

"It originated from where I came from"

"I should have known, you crazy South Islanders. It does stink"

"It's supposed to smell like that. Trust me once

it's cooked, it will be lovely with a bit of cream"

Victor could only hope she was right. "Are you sure I can't help you with something"

"Well, those carrots need peeling and chopping"

"I can do that. Can't let you do everything yourself"

"Where were you when I was chasing the turkey at 6 AM, oh that's right, you were asleep."

Victor began to chuckle at the though of Bernie trying to catch a turkey.

"It's not funny" she said with offence.

"Oh I'm sure it was very funny." he said as continued laughing.

"Keep laughing and you won't get any turkey. Now come on, those carrots aren't going to chop them selves."

He carried on chopping the carrots. He was really impressed that Bernie had grown all the vegetables and potatoes her self. Not to mention raising a turkey as well. After chopping the carrots Bernie told him to relax and she would handle the rest.

"The turkey should be ready about 1.00 so if you can lay the table just before that would help."

Victor laid down on the sofa and soon drifted of. He woke up just in time to get the table ready, They even had a bottle of wine that was given to them by Dizzy. He had made it himself so god knows what it would taste like, but they appreciated the gesture. Bernie then brought in the vegetables and potatoes along with the gravy. Victor sat down at the table and poured them a glass of wine each. He tasted it and it wasn't actually bad at all. Then Bernie brought in the turkey. It was bigger than he thought it would be and it looked delicious. She put it on the table and handed him the carving knife and fork.

"Would you like to do the honours?" she asked

"I would, but I think you would do a much better job of it than me."

Bernie agreed and began to slice the turkey. She gave herself and Victor a generous helping. They then helped themselves to the vegetables, potatoes and gravy. He didn't know where to begin it all looked so good. A few years ago he never thought he would be eating like this again one day. He looked over at Bernie who was already tucking in.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Yeah. Just don't know where to begin it all looks delicious."

"Well try the turkey. It's really good"

He did exactly that and it was good. It didn't take them that long for them both to finish there platefuls. It was the best meal that he'd had in so long.

"Would you like some more" she asked.

"I don't think I can eat another bite"

"Niether can I. Well that's ok, we can have some sandwiches later. And I can use some of the turkey to make a nice stew."

"You really waste nothing do you"

"Of course not. You can't these days"

They sat there for a while talking and drinking their wine. After about half an hour, Bernie went to get the pudding. It did smell a lot better cooked when she put it down on the table. She served up a generous portion for them both and added the cream. Victor was still unsure about the pudding but he knew how much effort she had put into it. He was surprised at how it tasted, much nicer than he was expecting. It was actually pretty delicious. He soon finished it off much to Bernie's surprise and said "More please"

"You really like it, you're not just saying that" she asked.

"No I really like it." She gave him some more and had some more herself. After eating pudding as well they were both completely stuffed. After sitting there for a while letting there food go down, Bernie got up and said,

"I have something for you" She went to get a small packed wrapped in some brown paper. "Now I know we said that we weren't going to do this but, I got you a small Christmas gift. Here" she said as she handed him the package.

"Bernie, you really shouldn't have"

"I wanted to. Go on. Open it"

He unwrapped the paper to find a bottle of brandy. He looked at the date and realised that it was very well aged. The date was before emergence day and the bottle hadn't even been opened.

"Where did you get this?" he asked amazed.

"Oh, I have my ways" she replied with a hint of mystery.

"Well, however you got it, this is an amazing gift. I don't know what to say. Thank you"

"No problem. Don't drink it all at once ok"

"I won't. Bernie, I actually got you something as well. Let me just go and get it"

"You didn't need to do this Vic" she said as he went to get her gift. He came back with a box tied with ribbon. He handed it to her.

"You certainly deserve it after preparing such a lovely Christmas meal. Open it."

Bernie untied the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a necklace that was made up of beads and semi precious stones. It was natural looking very, Bernie as she wasn't into fancy jewellery.

"Oh Victor, it's beautiful I love it. Where did you get this?"

"Oh, I have my ways to. Here, let me put it on for you." He took the necklace and put in on for her. "There. Really suits you."

"Well this is a lovely gift. Thank you"

"And thank you for my gift. I will definitely enjoy that"

"Well, don't forget we're meeting everyone for drinks tonight so don't drink too much of the brandy"

"Don't worry. I want to make it last as long as possible. Thank you Bernie"

"For the brandy?"

"Not just the brandy. For giving me something I thought I'd never have again. A wonderful Christmas"

"Well, lets just hope that they get better each year that passes"

Victor put his arms around her. "Hey, how about we go to bed for the afternoon"

"That sounds like a good idea. You do mean to just sleep right?" she asked.

"Oh god yes, I'm not a young man any more. Besides, that huge dinner made me very sleepy.

Bernie smiled as the two made there way to bed for a well deserved rest.