Chapter 25, The Christmas Miracle
Another year had passed, and things had really blossomed with their friends. Rosemary Albany was now three-years-old, and saying more to the adults. Melenda, Chuckie and Nicole's daughter was a year old, and just starting to take her first steps. And let's not forget the newest baby to the gang, the first born son of Tommy and Silvia Pickles, little Darin Milton Pickles. He was five-months-old, and just starting to sit up. But little did anybody know that more surprises would soon be coming.
Just a few days shy of Christmas, Kimi was noticing she was feeling funny, so she took a visit to her doctor, and found out the news that she was pregnant. Overjoyed by this news, she couldn't wait to tell her husband, but with Christmas around the corner, she sort of wanted to surprise him. Meanwhile, Zack was worried, as it was getting near their fifth wedding anniversary, and as far as he knew, his wife had still not managed to get pregnant yet. Looking through photographs taken at the past twenty-five Christmases they had known one another, Zack decided to make what he could call, a Christmas collage, that he'd have laminated, and after he gave it to Kimi, they could place it on their bedroom wall, to remember the first twenty-five Christmases they had been together.
Finally, it came time for Christmas eve. Kimi wasn't feeling all that wonderful, so they decided to skip going to the party this year. Though truthfully, Kimi wanted to be alone with her husband when she first told him the news. The following day, on the morning of Christmas, Zack made Kimi breakfast in bed, with all of her favorite foods, including a bowl of Dummi Bear Sugar Lumps, and brought it into the bedroom, along with the large poster that was the Christmas collage.
"Merry Christmas little dumpling." Said Zack, as he lay the tray of breakfast food down on the bed, and handed his wife her special gift.
Kimi studied the poster and saw what Zack had done.
"Oh my goodness! You made this? For me?" Kimi asked.
"I sure did. Look, here's one picture from each year we've known one another, taken on, or around that particular Christmas." Explained Zack, as the couple studied the collage together.
It had everything. The picture of them kissing under the mitheltoe as toddlers, the picture of them, both with Chicken Pox, curled up asleep together on Kimi's couch the following year, the next picture was one taken of Zack and Kimi when Kimi had dropped hby to cheer up Zack and his aunt, who was sick with the flu that Christmas, then, there was a picture taken at their forth Christmas, when everybody was on the couch together at Zack's aunt's house, about to watch their traditional Christmas movie together that year on DVD. Next was separate pictures, one of Zack in Wheeling and one of Kimi back in California at the Christmas concert at the Java Lava that raised money for their elementary school's security system after the bomb threat. Since neither one of them could be together that Christmas, Zack placed two pictures to signify this fact, but that deep down, they were always together, even if it was only in spirit. The next picture was taken the following year at the Christmas eve service, with Zack and Kimi holding the turtle doves that Zack had given to Kimi, explaining the legend to her, and the picture after that, was of Zack and Kimi, curled up on the couch at the Deville's house, Kimi, wearing a huge bandage on her knee, recalling the scrape she had received that year post caroling, that Zack nicely helped clean up. Next up, was a picture of them making gingerbread men cookies together at the Advent Workshop, and after that, was a picture that somebody had taken, of them throwing snowballs at one another outside of school on the night of their Christmas concert, at what ended up being their final Christmas together for the next five years. The next ten pictures, were school photos that Zack and Kimi managed to send to one another while Zack was living away in Wheeling, and it was when looking at these, that Kimi noticed how much she changed over that time, from a young girl, into a beautiful teenage woman. Zack recalls noticing that too, and remarked that it was partially that detail that made him become more attracted to her.
The rest of the pictures on the collage, were taken post Zack's return from Wheeling, when they were more or less, together every year, even if some of their Christmases were short changed, because of other happenings going on. There was a picture of them together, wearing the promise rings they had given to one another, taken by Peter at the cabin they had rented in the mountains, a picture of Zack dressed as Santa Clause, with Kimi by his side, being reminded of the fight they had that Christmas their senior year in high school, when Zack dressed as Santa Clause to get Kimi's attention, because she had been giving him the silent treatment after their fight, followed by several pictures of Christmases they spent together while in college. A picture of them on the broken down T train trying to get home for the holidays, a picture of them at the hospital, the year Kimi held an internship, holding the new baby they had helped deliver, and a picture of them taken the following year by Zack's aunt, when she came up to visit. They had a good laugh over this one, as with Celeste being blind, she cut off part of Zack's head, making him look kind of funny.
Then, they were down to the last few years they were together. There was their wedding picture of them cutting the cake at the reception, which was as good as any, since it was still technically Christmas when it was taken, a picture of them in Japan attending Hiro's funeral, this one was taken by Chuckie on Christmas day while they were at Hiro's house, going through his old things, then it hit Kimi that she had skipped over one, as that was taken the second Christmas post getting married. Realizing this, she skimmed further over, to see the picture taken by Dil after pranking them with woopy cushions when they went to Florida for a visit, and to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary. Then, she saw a picture taken two years ago by Peter and Violet, of Zack and Kimi holding Rosemary, recalling their first babysitting experience together, and what an exhausting night it was, and finally, in the bottom left hand corner of the poster, was a picture taken of everybody last Christmas, right after Silvia had delivered the news that she was pregnant.
Seeing this, Kimi couldn't help herself, as tears of joy started to come to her eyes.
"So, what do you think? Do you like it?" Zack asked.
"Oh Zachary, I love it! And seeing last year's picture just reminded me of something." Kimi replied.
"What?" Zack asked.
"Zack, I have a very special gift for you this year, but, it won't be here for several more months." Said Kimi, as she rubbed her lower abdomen area.
As Zack saw her rubbing that particular spot, he figured he had an idea as to what Kimi was talking about, but before jumping with joy, he waited for Kimi to deliver her news.
"Honey, remember how I was experiencing some weird feelings, and skipped my monthly cycle?" Kimi asked.
"Yes honey I remember." Zack replied.
"Well, we did it. We're gonna have a baby." Announced Kimi.
Zack was speechless, as he reached in on to the bed, and gave his wife a huge hug.
"Oh, thank you honey." Said Zack.
"No, thank you. We made this gift together. And if it weren't for you continuing to encourage me and helping me to never lose hope, we couldn't have done this. Thanks to our long term love and dedication, we finally will be getting something we've always wanted, a little bundle of joy of our very own, and just think, next Christmas, we'll have a new baby to show off at the party." Said Kimi.
"Uh huh, though I also have to partially thank Angelica. I now realize that maybe she's not always such a big old lying, promising breaking snob after all." Said Zack.
"What do you mean Zachary?" Kimi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, back when we were little, and she made us kiss under the mitheltoe, she told us that if we did that, we'd be together forever. And look at what happened? We ended up together, for the last twenty-five years. And before you say there were a few years we were apart, we were never apart. I mean sure, maybe we were apart physically, but we were never apart in spirit." Explained Zack.
"You're right. Even when we couldn't be together, we either spoke to one another, texted one another, or sent one another letters to tell how we were doing." Commented Kimi.
"And thanks to our life long friendship, we're about to bring a new baby to call our child and friend into the world, or as I like to call it, our very own, Christmas miracle." Said Zack.
"But Zachary, the baby will most likely not come until next summer or fall." Said Kimi.
"I know, but it got created around Christmas time, and so, I declare our new child, our little Christmas miracle." Said Zack, as he leaned his head down to Kimi's stomach.
""Merry Christmas little one, daddy loves you." Said Zack, as Zack gently kissed Kimi's abdomen, and Kimi just stared down at her husband, smiling, as tears of joy, filled her eyes.
Later on that day, as they were getting ready for bed, Zack reached into the drawer to pull out his pajama t-shirt, when he came across two little boxes. One was a purple heart shaped one, and the other, was a small square shaped white box. He opened the boxes and saw a turtle dove inside each one. Just then, Kimi walked up behind him and saw what he was doing.
"What are you doing?" Kimi asked.
"Oh just looking at another piece of proof that kept us together. Remember the legend of the turtle doves?" Zack asked.
"Mmmm hmmm." Said Kimi, as she nodded.
"Well, we kept them, and look at us, we're still together." Said Zack.
"You know what, you're right. I guess that makes us, friends, to the end." Said Kimi.
"It sure does. Merry Christmas, my little dumpling." Said Zack.
"You know, when the baby is born, you'll have to think of a new nickname for me, as I won't be the littlest dumpling around here anymore." Kimi said with a giggle.
Zack chuckled.
"You're right sweetie, but we'll worry about that, when the time comes." Said Zack.
"Awe, you big sentimental lug. Merry Christmas Zachary." Said Kimi, as Zack closed the door, turned to his wife, and the two of them, shared a kiss.
When they stepped back, they looked up to see that some mitheltoe was strung above them.
"Wait a minute, who decorated the bedroom?" Zack asked.
"I did, the day I found out I was pregnant." Kimi replied.
"I guess this means it's official, we've kissed beneath it twice, guess that makes us soul mates." Said Zack.
"It sure does." Replied Kimi, as she took her husband's hand, and they headed into the living room, where they sat down on the couch.
"Wait a second Kimi, I thought we were going to bed." Said Zack.
"Not yet. Come on, for old time sake?" Kimi begged, as she pointed the remote to the DVD player and started up the Reptar DVD they watched together the Christmas they had Chicken Pox.
"Oh all right, for old time sakes, we'll watch the Reptar Christmas movie." Said Zack with a smile, as they snuggled together on the couch, and enjoyed the movie.
And just as before, they were asleep by the movie's end, only it was two adults on the verge of becoming parents asleep on that couch, opposed to two toddlers with the Chicken Pox. No matter, they couldn't be anymore happier than they were that Christmas, and they fell asleep that night, with dreams of looking forward to many joyous Christmases ahead.
And this, ends the story, of Zack and Kimi's Christmas Collage.
Author's Note: I do hope you all enjoyed this story. Don't know if I'll ever do anything like this again, unless somebody other than TCKing12 or Boris Yeltsin requests I do another story next December with another pairing's Christmases together, and I say that, as I'm trying to encourage people who don't talk as much, to speak up a little bit more, but while at points, I found it impossible to release a chapter each day, and suffered from Writer's Block quite a bit while writing this story, I finally made it, to the very end. I did have a lot of fun putting it together, and I'd like to thank everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. It's fans like you, that keep me going. Happy holidays everybody, may the spirit of Christmas, be upon you this upcoming Christmas day.