Chapter 65
Last Christmas

Waking up on Christmas Eve morning, Maya's first awareness of the waking world came in the form of her son's babbling sounds. She opened her eyes and there he sat in Lucas' lap, prodding at his arm and possibly trying to get his attention. The moment she saw him, saw them both, her face eased into such a smile. She could just about guess that Lucas had come and sat there after doing his morning routine with Elliott, intending to greet her when she woke as well… and then he'd dozed off. Elliott remained secure in his hold, the only one awake in that bed until Maya had come around, too.

It was really too bad that Lucas had fallen asleep, as she just knew he had been eager to see the look on her face when she saw their boy sitting there, in the outfit Grandpa Shawn and Nana Katy had gotten him, a perfect little Santa's Elf, down to the pointy shoes and the hat with pointy ears, which surprisingly did not disagree with the near seven-month-old to the point where he'd try to push it off his head. He was instead perfectly content, and when he saw his mother's smiling face, he was a spritely looking boy, with a smile of his own and some little hands reaching out to her.

"Hello, my holiday sprout," she carefully dislodged him from his father's protective hold and brought him to sit up on her legs once she'd moved into a seated position. It was still nothing short of a great wonder for her to see that he had grown to this stage, that he was getting more mobile by the day. He'd been keeping all of them on their toes from the day he'd started crawling.

This had started to happen, of all times, just a couple of days after they'd gotten the news about Kermit. She hadn't been out to see him since that day, as she knew better than to think she'd be able to keep herself together. They didn't want to tell the kids, not until after the holidays, and she respected that. At the same time, the last week and the aftermath of that appointment had just left her in such a state that she had no choice but to stay home and take things easy, for her sake but for the baby's sake most of all.

The dinner for Lucas' end of semester had been complicated at best. Obviously, everyone who showed up knew what was going on, the adults at least. Tom and Melinda Friar had arrived, and they'd both checked in with her in turn, embraced her and asked how she was doing. No one had asked if she was okay, because of course she was not. When Shawn had returned with Katy and the kids, the first thing they had to do was pull in their most 'everything is fine' state for the twins and MJ. Lucas had been a big help in that, and Nadine, and Pappy Joe… All of them had gotten in on it, allowing Katy to go with her eldest daughter into the kitchen, bringing little Alex along. He was not two months yet, still so small, and oh how he reminded Maya of her own son.

She'd had herself a good cry when Lucas had come back, and he'd held her through every second of it, but after that she'd just needed to keep it together, to make it through the evening that was meant to be for him, and their families… What it had really come down to was something like a play, where they all knew they were supposed to be having themselves a happy little family dinner, but deep down all they could think about was the news about Kermit, and how it had to be affecting Maya and the rest of the Harts. It had not been a late night for any of them, and everyone had gone home shortly after the meal was over. Maya had gone to bed not half an hour later.

The timing for Lucas to have finished his classes, as horrible as it sounded, could not have been more appropriate. Now with his finals behind him, he was able to devote his attention entirely to his wife, their son, and their unborn child. The day after the news, this had meant keeping a close eye on Maya. He did not know just how deeply the news would affect her as time progressed, but he was preparing to deal with all of it. That first morning, he'd let her sleep in, or at least he'd let her stay in bed, knowing at some point that she was awake, just not doing a whole lot to show it. The last week had finally come crashing down on her, and she needed the rest, so he encouraged it. Tag teaming with Nadine, they would check in on her from time to time and, when she showed she was ready for it, they'd brought her breakfast up.

Nadine being there could not have happened at a better time. Even though they would have preferred for her not to be struggling so much as to decide to pack up her things and move back from Boston, the fact was that her presence helped in getting Maya to wake up, and talk… It was much easier for her to play the distraction game than for Lucas to do it, and even Pappy Joe. And Elliott just loved her so much, too.

Elliott… He'd been such a bright spot for Maya. He always was that, of course, but right now she really just felt it on another level. Maybe it helped that he was so little still. Without a doubt, even if it meant that he would not remember his grandfather, the one saving grace was that he wouldn't remember this part either, the sadness, the eventual loss… He wouldn't have to feel any of it, and that mattered a lot to her, mattered enough that she'd do her best and not allow any of her own distress to be so present around him, not to let it be leeched from her and on to him. It wasn't about burying her emotions, because those were still absolutely present, all jumbled and hard to pull apart. But then it wasn't as hard as she might believe, to shift her moods, when he'd be there with her.

Two days after the appointment and the news, they had been visited by Sam and Cara. Specifically, Cara had wanted to come bad enough that she'd looked like she was about to sneak off again, so Sam had suggested he go with her. After having their big sister over at the house every day for so long, her absence had not gone unnoticed. They'd given as close to the truth in telling them that Maya was very tired and needed to get some rest for the baby. Really, showing up when they did was about what they should have expected. They wanted to see their sister and know that she was okay.

"Hey…" Maya had smiled at once, seeing those two in the doorway. She'd been sitting in bed, quietly getting back into her knitting as a way of keeping herself busy and relaxed while Elliott napped in his crib. She'd been so happy to see her siblings though, and after setting needles and yarn aside she'd waved them over. Cara had been the first to climb on to the bed, folding herself into her sister's waiting arms without much convincing. Sam had come around to the other side and done the same, his head receiving a kiss just as his little sister's had done a second before. "I have missed you guys so much," Maya breathed, taken with a tremor of emotion for having them back after those difficult days.

"Are you okay?" Cara stared up at her with those clear blue eyes of hers wide and concerned.

"I'll be alright," Maya assured her. "I think my body had been trying to tell me to take a break and I finally had to listen."

"What about the baby?" Cara went on.

"Baby's good," Maya smiled. "Moves around sometimes, if you want to try and feel it." Her siblings didn't need much prompting to reach their hands to her belly in search of movement. Whether or not the baby would oblige, only time would tell. Other telling things were their two faces. Cara, though she had been reassured as to her older sister and future niece or nephew, still carried a whole lot of concern in her young brow, and she didn't have to explain where it came from. As for Sam, who had not said a word since they'd arrived, he had that knowing look about him like he knew very well that it wasn't just exhaustion keeping her down like this.

After a bit of catching up, confirming to her that Kermit and Abigail had not shared the news with any of the kids, Sam had gotten curious over the knitting, showing that similar artistic curiosity Maya had, so she'd set about giving him some starter information. Meanwhile, Elliott had woken up, and Auntie Cara had jumped at the chance to go and play with her nephew. She'd carefully lifted him out of his crib before sitting on the ground with him, picking up a few of his favorite small books from nearby, so he might get a look at them, feel the different textures inside. Maya had just been preparing to hand the needles over to her brother so he might try a bit when Cara gasped.

"Maya, look! Look!" she smiled, pointing to the ground. She couldn't see from where she was, and it took her a few seconds to get up out of the bed and move to see what her sister was going on about, but once she'd gotten there…

"Lucas! Lucas, get up here!" she called out. "Lucas!"

The barrelling of feet on the steps told her she had definitely been heard, maybe not as innocently as she'd intended. Looking back down to the ground, smiling, she carefully moved around her siblings, both of them having seemingly materialized their phones and now recording the whole thing, until she could take in her baby boy, pulling himself along on his arms, almost scooting about as he advanced toward his target, which might have been one of his stuffed toys spotted from his vantage point, just under his changing table.

"What…" Lucas started to ask as he and Nadine both appeared at once. There were slower steps to be heard, suggesting Pappy Joe was also on his way and going as fast as his old injury would allow. The misinterpretation of Maya's call was soon realized, as they spotted Elliott, carrying along. At once, their faces were taken with so much happiness, Lucas especially. He genuinely looked like he was about to cry, even more so when Elliott turned his head and, having spotted him, adjusted his course, the better to head in his direction. The young father approached slowly, crouching in the path of his son and watching in awe until he'd gotten near enough and could be picked up.

He'd been showing signs of working toward this for a few days, but with everything that was happening, with Kermit, it still felt like they'd had no preparation for witnessing this development. Now it had happened, they'd seen it, immortalized it from two different angles… It was easily the most wonderful thing to have happened in a while, and it had done just… ridiculous amounts of good to Maya's heart. It could have been bittersweet, seeing her baby boy growing up like this, but in the end there really was not a drop of bitterness, and instead double the amount of sweetness. Facing her father's impending death, she was just lifted by her son's expanding life.

It had been just about a week now, and it had changed so much of their lives, having to factor in Elliott's new talents and making sure as best they could that nothing would be available to incite him toward hurting himself by accident. They were always watching him, wherever he went. They let him go and crawl around as much as they could, let him explore. That was something fascinating to see in and of itself, that he had curiosity. He was a child, a baby with a whole world of new things to find, sure, so it would be all too natural, but at the same time, he wasn't just a child, he was his parents' child, and oh how much curiosity his mother could have passed on to him…

The videos of Elliott's first 'trip' had been shared with every last grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin on his family tree. On Lucas' suggestion, thinking it might be something else to brighten his wife's days, they had not simply sent it out to everyone. They had shared it, but not until after they'd shown it in person to the various grandparents. To see their reactions in person, the gasps of surprise and the blooming smiles… It was kind of everything they could ask for.

Now it was Christmas Eve, and Maya was eternally grateful for Lucas getting Elliott in elf mode, first thing in the morning. She would need this small reminder, telling her what this day was supposed to be, this one and the next. In a lot of ways, it would be impossible not to remember that it was to be Kermit Hart's last Christmas, just as it would be his family's last Christmas with him. They didn't want it to be shaped that way, especially not for the kids. They wanted the memories to be wonderful, wanted them to be able to look back on this time, when the grief of that loss would come and claim them, and help them hold on to how happy their father had been to be there with them.

It would be Kermit's last, but it would also be Elliott's first, and that… that might have been the thing to help them build these days into something good. It would be his first, and their first with him.

"You know, last year, at this time, you were inside my belly," Maya whispered to her little elf sprout as he sat there while she held his hands. "Right here," she nodded down to herself, "Right where your little brother or sister is right now. And your aunts, the twins, when they opened all their presents, they would take the bows and stick them right on top of my shirt, where my belly was. You were a gift, the best one," she smiled. Elliott responded by twisting his little body about with a bit of a squeal, which made her laugh and scoop him up closer, the better to press kisses on his squishy cheeks.

"Wha…" Lucas woke with a start, patting at himself in search of the missing babe, only to find him there, laughing under the peppering of his mother's kisses. "Hey…" Lucas smiled.

"Morning," Maya smiled back. "Don't tell anyone, but our kid might be the cutest in the world," she declared, rocking him about in her arms. "Any chance we can have him work this look a little longer? It's the ears… and the pointy shoes…"

"Won't see me complaining," Lucas laughed now, seeing how the outfit had left her so completely brightened on this morning. It would almost be like a shield for her to carry through this day and the next. It might not protect her from all the blows, as they tried to keep a steady course through their goals, for Kermit and Abigail and the kids, but it would catch a lot of them, and that was all they could ask for.

The twenty-fourth was to be their quiet, home edition of Christmas, just the three of them and Pappy Joe, with Nadine spending most of the day with them before heading to her parents' for the evening. It had been of a rocky few days with the family, with the Zhu parents showing some issues with their eldest daughter's decisions. Nadine had soldiered on the whole time, in some ways urged on by Maya's advice for her not to hide the fact that she was in town, for her to hold on to this time with her parents when she had the chance. By the time Christmas Eve rolled around, it really felt like they had brushed aside a lot of the things standing in their way, and they were looking forward to the next day.

They had embraced the couch, all of them, as though the rest of them had decided to make a show of solidarity for Maya's needing to take it easy. Whether there was an underlying layer of their leading by example, she would not go and attempt to catch them out. She really appreciated their day of peace, as she sat sandwiched between Lucas and Nadine, all of them with their feet on the coffee table and covered with the same blanket. Elliott would be passed from one to the other after a little while, spending most of his time in one attempt or another to touch his pointy shoes. They'd been sure for a moment that he was trying to get them off, only when he'd been obliged he'd immediately started wailing, only calming down again once the shoes had been returned on to his feet.

"This is going to come back to bite us later, isn't it?" Lucas asked, while Maya worked to hush the baby down from his sniffles, rubbing his back and keeping him close.

"We just need to take them next time he goes to sleep. He'll be fine," she assured him, leaning her head to his shoulder as his arm was already around hers. It was easily one of his favorite memories of that first holiday with their son. It also made him think back to the previous year, when he had been there inside her belly, as their Bee now was. He remembered how they'd both been so eager to meet this little person they had created, to get to do… exactly what they were doing now. The unexpected bonus of the Bee now left him with brand new anticipation, thinking of what the following year would have in store for them as a family.

With Nadine off for dinner with her family, the evening had been that much quieter, and knowing how big the next day was bound to be, they had not stayed up all that late.

"I can't wait until he's old enough to do Christmas morning," Lucas smiled, looking into the crib where Elliott was slowly but surely losing his staring contest and dozing off.

"I don't know, I'm kind of okay with him being too little yet," Maya hummed, standing next to him.

"Yeah…" Lucas reached down, gently brushing at their boy's blond hair. They could really do with him being this way for as long as possible. It would all become so different once they had both kids to look after together. This, right here, this was good.

Before they knew it, Christmas morning was upon them. This time around, Maya was the first one awake instead of the last. There was just a bit of chill in the air, and looking through the window she could see the skies had chosen to gift them with just enough of a snowfall as to be seen… She'd been so unsure of how she would feel this morning, with everything that had been going on, and everything this day would have to be, but now… Oh, it would be difficult, she didn't doubt it, but at the same time… It was Christmas, her son's first, and her father's last… No… Her father's first, if only, in Texas with them, and with her since so very long ago. They had that to cherish, and they would not squander it.

"Hey, hey, good morning," she whispered, having risen quietly out of bed and walked up to the crib to find Elliott awake and staring up at the mobile hanging overhead. She became a much more interesting sight though, and he didn't have to reach his arms up too long before she'd lifted him up into her own. "Merry Christmas, Elliott," Maya smiled, rocking him about as she moved closer to the window and looked outside. "You just wait, this day is going to be pretty special," she promised, ignoring the fact that he'd have no recollection of it himself. They would tell him all about it when he grew up, and they'd show him the pictures, the videos… In the end, it would almost be like he did remember.

Lucas woke up right about then, and to have his first sight be his wife standing by the window, their son in her arms, their second child existing within that rounded belly… It was just as wonderful of a place for this day to start as it had been for her.

"Merry Christmas," he spoke, drawing Maya to turn around.

"Hey," she smiled. "Merry Christmas," she replied, walking back toward the bed. "Want to go wish your dad a merry Christmas, too?" she asked Elliott before 'flying' him down to where his father could receive him and wish him one, too.

"Did you hear Santa last night?" Lucas asked in a cheerful whisper, pleased for the laughter it earned him out of his son.

Even though they would be heading out very early, the better to make the rounds and finally end up at the Hart house, they had their boy's first Christmas morning to experience, the first in this house, too. So, everyone gathered downstairs to take in the small bounty waiting under the tree, delivered personally – on his insistence – by Santa Claus himself. Elliott may not have heard him pass, but his parents absolutely woke up, briefly, at the sound of the creaking floor and stairs as Pappy Joe went on by.

It had been very tempting to go a little crazy with presents, this being Elliott's first Christmas, but in the end they had shown remarkable self-control. It wasn't so hard, really: the grandparents would be the worst offenders on that front, no matter how much Lucas and Maya both told them not to overdo it. Elliott had all the toys and books his near seven-month-old self could ever need. If they had any doubt that some of them would have had trouble resisting the urge, finding the number of presents put forth by 'Santa Joe' that morning was an all too telling starter.

Their next stop, at the Hunter Hart house, had followed the trend. Katy had at least looked a little sheepish about it, while Shawn had just fully assumed himself in this bit of grandfatherly excess. In what was a very welcome echo of the previous year, the little Hunters had gone and welcomed baby Bee into the fold by planting several more bows upon their sister's belly.

After this, they had made their way to the Matthews' house, where they were to be met with their friends out of Houston. It had been meant to be all of them and the ones back in New York, too, but somewhere between now and Thanksgiving, the families had decided they'd liked being up north so much with the previous holiday that they wanted to experience this one there, too. So, they would have to find time to put in a call with them, so they might exchange well wishes.

By the time they made it to the Friars', it was just about lunch time, which turned into a brunch, after passing through the new load of gifts from the grandparents. Elliott the elf had barely spent more than a few minutes out of his Granny Mel's arms, as she just could not get enough of his outfit, especially when he'd be set down on the ground and his crawling around would be tuned to the bells on his pointed shoes.

The whirlwind of the day so far had finally landed them at the Hart house. They would have loved to spend so much more time with the people they had seen so far today, but then everyone understood their desire to spend the bulk of the day with Kermit and Abigail and the rest of the family out there. They had Granny Lizzie, and they had Aunt Luna and her daughters, they had Sam, Cara, Eliza, Wyatt, and now they had Maya, Lucas, and little Elliott. No one could say how many times they'd looked to Kermit and found him with that smile on his face. How long would he have been imagining a Christmas like this, with his mother, his sister, all his children… It would be the one and only, but no one could take it from him wherever he went, however long he had left.

The kids had a great day. It was easier and easier to tell that Sam knew his father was dying, but like his older sister, he was determined for this day to be a good one, and they could not have achieved this without him. The one who struggled the most in keeping up appearances was Luna Hart, who couldn't help but look at her big brother and start to well up. Their mother, Elizabeth, was not doing too much better at the prospect of burying her son, her firstborn, but she was handling herself a whole lot better. She was here, when she might not have been, and she would take all the time she had left with him.

"This is for you," Kermit told Maya, when the two of them managed to get some time together, sitting on the couch, while the kids had gone out to play, under Lucas' supervision. Abigail was nearby, humming the little elf babe into a nap. Maya looked to the box sitting before her. He'd had Luna bring it over, didn't trust himself to carry it now, with how his strength would waver. There was no way of saying anything like 'you didn't have to.' Everything he did today was important to him, and so they followed along. As much as her time relaxing back home had helped, now Maya was back here, looking to what would be the thing her father wanted her to have on this day, and she didn't know if she was ready for it. She started to wonder how many more big occasions they would have left.

"Both of us together, okay?" she told Kermit, reaching over to hand him her own present. The way he looked at it, still wrapped… He was having some emotions over this, as much as she did with his gift.

"Together," he agreed, even as she could see he took his time in unwrapping, busy as he was watching her as she unwrapped her own. "I've got some things up in the attic," he told her. "For Elliott, and the baby, and you… I tried to make it so, if you and Lucas have more kids after this, they'll be covered, too. There's notes, you'll know what the kids' things are, so you can decide when to give them… Abigail will help you with those, when the time comes." Her hands had stilled on the wrappings, looking back at him. She knew he would be looking to prepare for the future, but this… It was already so much. "There's more, for Sam, and Cara, and Eliza and Wyatt… If you could hold on to those for me…"

"Of course, yes," Maya nodded, no need to consider.

The present sitting before her could have been described as Kermit's contribution to her budding baking dreams and to the business she was looking to get off the ground while she was home with Elliott and the Bee. Everything inside the great big box could be filed under 'things I wouldn't even bother looking at for the time being, as I am so, so far from being able to afford them, especially with one and soon two small children to provide for.' He didn't have to do it, but he'd done it, so he might look after her future in this small way, when he hadn't done it for so long. Maya had embraced him, giving him many thanks as she tried to control her tears.

Kermit had finished opening his own gift next, and while it was much smaller than the first, it did not lack for impact. When Maya had started knitting again, she'd been all set to churn out any number of items for the Bee, and some for Elliott as well. Instead, she'd set herself to work on a great big blanket, not for a small child but a tall man to cover himself with to ward off chills. She'd chosen the colors and the pattern with care, and the result was what she presented to him now. She wanted him to have this thing she had made with her own two hands, to keep him warm and comfortable whether she was by his side or not.

After what felt like a very charged but also very memorable day, Maya, Lucas, and the sleeping elf were homebound again, after stopping over at the Zhu house to pick up Nadine.

"I was sure I'd have to sit on the roof or something, with all the grandparent gifts," she teased.

"I have to go back and pick them up another day when there's no one else in the car," Lucas informed her.

"Oh…" she blinked.

"He might have to make a few trips," Maya added, looking back at her with a face that said 'they really tried, I think.'

Driving up the lane and toward the house, they noticed right away a rental van sitting in the driveway. It was impossible to resist the joke of this being the grandparents' work, to aid them in moving all the presents, but then as the car turned on to the path, the lights flashed to show someone was sitting in the driver's seat. Whoever it was, having seen them coming now, hopped out of the van, and before they could wonder who was sitting here, waiting outside their house on Christmas night, the headlights illuminated the familiar face of one Isaiah Babineaux. Maya turned in her seat to look at Nadine, who in turn was looking straight ahead to her nervous looking ex-boyfriend standing in the melting snow. The van behind him now suggested a clear message: he had left New York, returned to Austin to stay, just as she'd done.

Nadine got out of the car, while Lucas and Maya shared a look, unsure whether they should follow. They watched Nadine as she slowly approached, and as she and Zay shared some words they couldn't hear. The next thing they knew, Nadine had all but vaulted into his arms, and Zay caught her quick, looking as though all his nerves had faded off of him.

"I'm not going to say it…" Maya spoke, her voice trembling in what felt like the flipside of her emotional flares back around Halloween.

"Want me to do it?" Lucas smiled back at her. She nodded rapidly. "It's a Christmas miracle," he reached for her hand, which she squeezed in gratitude.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you next week! - mooners