Work Text:
Feedback is welcomed wholeheartedly. Flamers will have a hose turned on 'em.
Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Cherry for beta reading this and for the idea for the title.
*words* is thoughts
WORD COUNT: 5,059
Traditions
By Mickey
Copyright 12/2001
Scott Summers couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the scene in front of him. His children Christopher, the oldest, Rachel, and the twins, Simon and Joshua, where playfully arguing over who would get to put the star on top of the tree this year. This happened every year, even though all four children knew who would be doing it.
"Now, now, children," Jean said as she came into the room, "You all know Mommy puts the lights and star up every year. It's a tradition." She smiled at the four faces looking up at her as she rubbed her swollen belly.
"Mommy, what's a tradition?" Simon asked.
"A tradition is something you always do the same. Just like Mommy putting the star on top of the tree every year, or how we we always get the tree exactly one week before Christmas and decorate it Christmas Eve morning."
"And Daddy puts the first ornament on! The one you got from Great-Grandma!" Joshua added.
"That's right, son." Scott said. "Now, why don't you give Mommy the star?"
The boy got up quickly and handed the star to his mother. Jean took the star, and with a step stool and Scott's help, put it on top of the tree. "Okay, time to light it up." All four children stood back and watched as Jean turned the knob on the cord for the lights, and the tree lit up.
"It's beautiful, Mom." Rachel said.
"It's the bestest tree ever!" the twins said as one.
"It's the best, not the bestest, guys," Chris corrected as he smiled at his younger brothers. His declaration was met by twin raspberries.
Scott laughed as he said, "All right kids, the tree is done. Go eat your breakfast and get dressed, the others will be here soon."
The children rushed into the kitchen.
That was another tradition they had. Every year on Christmas Eve they threw a Christmas party and invited only those they whom they considered family. Scott went over the list silently to make sure everyone was accounted for.
There was Scott's brother, Alex, and sister-in-law, Lorna, and their three children. Jean's sister, Sarah, and brother-in-law Joseph Bailey with the twins. James and Ororo Logan and their two kids, Remy and Wanda Lebeau and their two boys. Warren and Candy Worthington the Third and their two girls. Bobby and Celine Drake and their new son. And Hank McCoy and his adopted daughter.
Jean walked over to Scott, who pulled her into a firm embrace. "It really is a beautiful tree, love," she said.
"Yes, it is," Scott agreed. "The children did a wonderful job." He put his hand on Jean's belly and then looked up at her. "This little one agrees with me."
Jean chuckled. "Oh, really?"
Scott just nodded.
"I hope this one is a girl. What about you?"
It was the same question she always asked him, and he gave the same answer every time. "I don't care. I just want a healthy, happy, baby." He knew Jean loved all the children deeply, but he also knew how badly she wanted another little girl, especially since Rachel was such a tomboy. She didn't like ribbons and curls, and flat out refused to wear dresses and shoes that required any sort of heel or polishing. She'd been that way since she was born. She was a regular spitfire, and, although she and Jean had a good relationship, Rachel was undoubtedly Daddy's little girl.
"I know," Jean said wistfully, "but it would really be nice if this baby is a girl."
They stood quietly for a few minutes and watched the tree lights twinkle. The doorbell rang and they were nearly knocked over by their fully fed and nicely dressed children.
"They're here! They're here!" They cried in unison.
"Now the fun really begins," Scott said chuckling as Chris opened the door and the people dearest to Scott, Jean, and the children began to arrive.
"Merry Christmas!" Everyone seemed to shout as they piled in through the door. Scott smiled broadly as he, Jean, and the children replied in the same jagged course.
All the coats were collected by the Summers' children and put into the closet. Scott collected the gifts and placed under the tree, while the oldest child of each family brought the food into the kitchen. Like every, Christmas Eve dinner was a potluck of sorts, with each family bringing something. When each family had started to grow, it had been decided that they would no longer buy each other individual gifts, instead they would buy one present for the whole family.
Chris quickly gathered his brothers and sister, and they ran upstairs. A few minutes later the children returned with the gifts from their family.
Scott looked around the room, and marveled at the fact that he and Jean had once again managed to make room for everyone in their modest home, despite the newest arrivals. He frowned as he noticed there were a few people missing. He was about to ask if anyone had seen the missing party when the door bell rang and then the door opened. A cry of "Joyeux Noel!" filled the room as one by one the Lebeau's filed in.
"Speak English, Cajun." James growled. He grinned, as he as he and Bobby took the gifts from Remy and put them under the tree.
Scott smiled and clapped his oldest friend on the back. "It's about time you got here!" Scott said as he hugged Wanda and each of the children.
Remy smiled at Scott and went to greet the others. The two had been friends long before they'd become the first students at Professor Xavier's School For Gifyed Youngsters. It had really been for troubled kids, but the professor had once told them he'd chosen that name to give the children a better sence of self-worth.
He'd found something in each of them to justify the name.
Scott and Remy had meet shortly after Scott had runaway from an abusive foster home. He'd had enough. He was eight years old and had been in more than fifty foster homes in less than two years. He'd quickly learned that the people who took him in only did it for the money. Anyone who might've been nice didn't want a brain-damaged child. Even if the damage was to 'non functional brain matter' as the doctors had put it. He'd made his way down to New Orleans and met up with Remy there. Over the years the two had forged an unbreakable bond that went far beyond friendship.
It would have been understandable if both boys had let their harsh childhoods rule their lives. With the help of the Professor and the friends they had made at his school, both of them had overcome it and became well-adjusted adults.
Scott was a whiz with anything mechanical and a tactical genius. Remy's only apparent talent was his thieving skills, but Scott had refused to join the school if Remy couldn't join as well. Xavier'd had no intention of turning the eleven year-old boy back onto the streets or into the social services system that had already failed him and Scott so completely. The professor had soon learned the boy was also the most graceful person he'd every met and channeled Remy's talent into gymnastics.
Jean had come a month later. She'd witnessed the death of her best friend Annie a few months earlier. The two girls had been playing and Annie was struck by a car. Jean blamed herself and had since turned from a loving happy-go-lucky girl into an angry rebellious one. After many sessions with Xavier, and long talks with Scott, Jean had finally accepted that Annie's death was not her fault.
Shortly after Jean's arrival, and within a two-week period, the other three of the original six arrived. First came Hank McCoy, an athletic fifteen year-old with an IQ that would have put Einstein to shame and a heart of gold. Hank was adored by the adults in his town for his kindness and amazing football skills. Those same things, however, had turned his peers against him. They'd grown tired of their parents comparing them to Hank and begun to tease him unmercifully. Fearing for the safety and happiness of their only child, the McCoys had sent him to Xavier's.
Then had come Warren Worthington the Third. A rich man's son who's parents who had spoiled their only child rotten and could no longer control him. The fourteen year old had calmed down greatly after arriving at the school. He hadn't wanted the gifts that his parents had showered on him, just their attention.
Last was Bobby Drake. The youngest of the group at the tender age of nine. The boy was extremely shy, small for his age, and had an amazing gift with numbers. All of which were why he didn't fit in at his school and made him an easy target for the older boys. The other five had accepted him immediately and treated him like a little brother.
For the following six months they were the only students at the school and formed a bond that could never be broken. Over the six months after that, Logan a gruff nineteen year-old Canadian who'd been trained from childhood to be a killer by his own government, Ororo a sixteen year-old thief with an attitude, and Wanda (who at the time would only answer to Rogue) an eleven year old run away, had joined.Over the next few years, they where the only students and had grown from schoolmates to friends to a family.
A few months after Rogue had joined, Xavier had learned that Alex had also survived the accident. The two brother's had been reunited. Even though Alex never went to the Xavier Institue and had remained with his adoptive family, the brother's became close again. Eventually, everyone accepted Alex as part of their family. Every summer until Alex turned eighteen, either Scott and Remy spent the summer at Alex's or Alex spent the summer at the mansion.
As the years had passed they'd all gone on to college and started their own lives, but they all stayed in touch and still lived in New York. Jean, Logan, Ororo, Remy, and Wanda had returned to the school to teach full time while the others had started other careers. Scott had returned part time and taught auto mechanics two days a week.
"So how's business been, Scott?" Bobby asked, disrupting Scott's thoughts.
Scott shook his head and looked at Bobby. "It's pretty slow right now, but it'll pick up when the weather gets warmer and the tourists want an ariel tour of New York." Actually, business had been bad for a while, and showed little sign of improving, but the business had been his dream since he was a child and he wasn't about to give it up. He'd built the small private charter service from the ground up.
Jean turned on the radio and set to her favorite station, which was running a two-day program of nothing but Christmas songs, rock, country and all the classics. The day went quickly, filled with the sounds of laughing children, music, and adults chatting. Soon it was dinnertime.
Dinner was a jovial affair, which, as always, started at two, and everyone helped clean up. Then everyone gathered for another tradition, singing Christmas carols. Jean turned off the radio and everyone gathered around the piano. Three years ago the tradition had changed slightly. Leah Logan, who had been taking lessons for two years and had practiced extra hard for that Christmas, had taken over playing the piano. Then the gifts were opened. After that came everyone's favorite part of the night. Scott's reading of Dickens classic A Christmas Carol.
This particular tradition had started when the Summers' had gotten their first home, which had also been the start of the annual Christmas Eve party. Back then the Professor had done the reading. When he'd passed away, three years ago, everyone had agreed Scott should take over.
"Okay, everyone, it's time!" Scott said. "Chris, light the candle."
"Okay, Dad." He ran to the tree and tuned the knob on the lone candle located near the top of the tree. The year the Professor had died, they brought the candle and lit it just before the reading of the story as they'd done every year since.
"Unca Scott, what's the candle for?" Etienne LeBeau asked.
Scott looked into the four year-old boy's inquisitive eyes. "I know you don't remember him, but a few years ago a man named Charles Xavier died. We light the candle in remembrance of him."
"Cause he's the one that took you and Daddy in and gave you a home and brought all of you together, right?" the boy asked. "I 'member. Well, not really, but you and Daddy talk about him a lot."
"That's right, Etienne."
"But won't the tree catch on fire?"
All the adults chuckled and Scott was about to answer the boy when Simon spoke up. "It's not real, Etienne. It's 'lectric right, Dad?"
"That's right." Scott sat in the old rocker and Jean handed him the book as everyone gathered around and sat on the floor. When everyone was settled Scott began the story.
"Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail. . . "
"Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.
He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!"
Scott smiled as he finished the story and looked up. All of the younger kids had fallen asleep halfway through the story and now all the children were sleeping soundly, small smiles on their faces. Scott couldn't help but think of how angelic they all looked. He looked at his watch. It was well after midnight. "I think it's time to get these little rugrats off to bed," he whispered.
The adults quietly woke the older children, who helped get the younger ones into their coats. They said their good-byes in low voices, the smaller children sleeping soundly in their parent's arms. "Don't forget the New Year's Eve party at the mansion," Logan said as he and Ororo came to the door.
"We wouldn't miss it for anything, James," Jean replied.
Scott and Jean said goodnight to their guests, then quietly shut the door and went back into the living room. It was time to get their own sleeping children off to bed. "They look like little angels," Scott whispered.
"Yes, they do," Jean agreed. She knelt down and gently shook Rachel. "Wake up, sweetheart. It's time for bed."
Scott knelt next to Chris. "Come on sport. Santa won't come if you kids are down here."
"'s not real," Chris mumbled sleeply.
"Says who?" Chris had always been a skeptical child; questioning the reality of things he couldn't see or touch. Children grew up and lost their innocence soon enough, Scott wanted Chris to keep his a little longer. Longer than he'd been allowed too keep his. He was sure that, after tomorrow morning, Chris would once again be a firm believer in Santa Claus. Scott smiled at his son and shook him again. "Come on, Chris. Get up."
Chris got to his feet and stumbled up the stairs. Scott picked up Simon, while Jean picked up Joshua. They carried the sleeping twins to their room and put them into their new pajamas. Simon in Superman and Josh in his airplane. Another Summers family tradition. Each year they brought the children a new pair of pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve. They tucked the boys in, who never stirred once, and stood in the doorway watching the children sleep. Of their four children, the twins always slept the soundest. After a few minutes Scott went to check on Chris while Jean slipped into Rachel's room.
Jean chuckled softly as she entered her daughter's room. She'd fallen asleep standing up again, her new Winnie The Pooh night shirt bunched around her waist. Jean pulled the night shirt down and guided Rachel to her bed.
The girl's eyes opened slowly. "'Night Mommy," She said in a sleepy voice. "I hope Santa brings my puppy this year." A smile crossed the little girl's face as she drifted off to sleep, most probably dreaming of what fun she and her new puppy would have.
Jean pulled the blanket over Rachel's arms and tucked her in.
Scott entered Chris's room as quietly as he could. The boy had fallen asleep with his stuffed dog clutched tightly in his arms. Uncle Alex had given it to him last year and Chris rarely went to bed without it. Chris had been begging his parents, and Santa, for a puppy since he was four. Scott couldn't help but wonder if the fact that he had not yet gotten one was part of the reason why Chris recently decided he didn't believe in Santa anymore. He pulled the covers over his son and left the room as quietly as he'd entered.
Scott and Jean meet in the hallway. "I can't wait to see their faces when 'Santa' comes tomorrow," Scott whispered.
"Me neither," Jean said as she took Scott's hand into her own and theu made their way down the stairs. They took the presents from their hiding place and arranged them around the tree. They sat on the couch after they'd finished. Jean stretched out and laid her head on Scott's lap. Most of the gifts under the tree were for the kids, and the biggest part of those were for the twins. Money was tight this year and they'd agreed to limit what they spent on each other. There was a good reason why most of the gift under the tree were for Simon and Joshua. After years of wishing and being disappointed, Rachel and Chris were finally going to have their Christmas wish come true.
At first, Chris hadn't cared what kind of puppy he got, he'd just wanted one. Three years ago Hank had taken the children to a fair, where there had been a demonstration with police dogs.
German Shepherds.
Afterwards people were allowed to pet the dogs and ask questions. Both children had decided right then that there they wanted a German Shepherd. They were actually Scott's favorite breed as well. Scott and Jean had decided that this year, the kids were finally ready to take on the responsibility of caring for a dog. They'd saved for months, found a reputable breeder in the area, and picked out a puppy for each child. A female for Rachel, a male for Chris, just like the children had asked for.
It had been rough. Jean's salary was decent, but she'd hadn't gotten her raise this year, none of the staff had. The school simply couldn't afford it. Charles had left a substantial amount of money for the school, but the student body had grown drastically in the years after his death.
No one complained, though. They all agreed that the children were more important. If not for the school, many of the students would still be out on the streets. Not even one-sixteenth of the student's parents actually paid tuition. So, Scott and Jean had found ways to stretch the money and managed to save enough for two puppies. They'd even managed to put extra aside for future medical bills. Both puppies would need shots, and at six months of age, they'd be fixed.
The breeder was a generous man. He'd remembered Scott from a flight he'd chartered a year ago, and was aware of the family's financial situation. He'd made arrangements with his vet, whom Scott and Jean had decided to make there vet as well, to get the puppies shot's for a good rate. The vet had also agreed to give them a discount on the operations to fix the puppies if they got both puppies done at the same time.
After reserving the puppies, they had gone to see Alex. He and Lorna had agreed to take the puppies for a few days. Scott had picked up the puppies the day before and dropped them off at his brother's house. The only other alternative would have been to keep them in the garage. He and Jean had quickly dismissed that idea. The children's bikes and other outdoor toys were stored in the garage. Besides, it was much to cold out there.
Keeping them at Alex's house was also the better alternative because of Scott's plan to restore Chris's belief in Santa. He smiled as looked at his watch. Eleven forty-five. If he and Jean wanted to get enough sleep they'd have to go to bed now. The kids would have them up at exactly six am. The couple sighed together and went to bed.
"Mommy, Daddy, wake up! It's Christmas! Santa was here!" Scott groaned as the twin boys jumped on him.
"All right, all right, we're up," Jean mumbled. She smiled as she heard four excited kids run down stairs.
Scott and Jean followed the children, laughing as they reached the living room. The children were all shaking packages. "You know the rules, kids, breakfast first, then presents." The children grumbled in unison. Reluctantly, they all stood and went into the kitchen. Jean made the traditional waffle breakfast. As always, the children ate quickly and ran back to the tree.
A little over an hour later, the floor was littered with wrapping paper and bows. Simon and Joshua were sleeping soundly on the floor. Each boy had a toy clutched to his chest and a broad smile on his face. The older children sat on the floor by their parent's feet. "What's the matter, kids? Why such long faces?"
Rachel and Chris looked up at their father and sighed. "Nothing," they said together. At that moment there was a knock on the door and Rachel jumped up and looked through the peephole.
*Right on time,* Scott thought.
"OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod!" Rachel said excitedly. "It's him."
"Him who?" Jean asked as if she didn't know, exchanging a smile with Scott.
"Santa."
Chris ran to the door and opened it.
"Ho Ho Ho," The man in the red suit said cheerfully. "Merry Christmas!"
Both children took a step back at starred at the jolly man in wide-eyed surprise. "You look awfully familiar," Chris said after a moment. "Come here."
'Santa' complied and kneeled in front of the skeptical child. Chris promptly reached up and grabbed the man's beard before anyone could stop him. "You really are him!" He cried when the bread remained on the man's face.
"I told you he's real!"
Chris ignored his sister and asked, "Why are you here now?"
"Well," 'Santa' began, "I was sitting at home drinking my hot chocolate when Jingles, my head Elf, informed me that there was still two presents in my sleigh. Apparently I'd forgotten to deliver them. Close your eyes. Quickly now." When both children's eyes were tightly closed, 'Santa' turned around and picked up the sleeping bundles out of the large box he'd put them in.
"All right, open them."
Both children opened their eyes. "A puppy!" They squealed with delight. "Thank You Thank You Thank You!"
'Santa' laughed. "You'r welcome. Merry Christmas!" That said, he turned and left.
Rachel shut the door, and both children turned to face their parents, who were now standing, smiling at the kids.
"I knew he'd bring them this year! I just knew it!" Rachel was hugging the puppy close to her.
"Listen up kids. There are a few rules we have to go over now." Scott waited for the children to stop bouncing and sit down on the floor. He and Jean sat on the couch. "First, the puppies are your responsibility. You will feed them, walk them, and make sure they have fresh water everyday. They are to stay in the kitchen at all times unless you are with them. If one of the has an accident in the house, the owner of the offending puppy will clean up the mess. The puppies are to stay in the kitchen all the time until they are completely housebroken. Your mother and I will pay for their food and medical bills. However, if you want your puppy to have treats and toys you'll have to buy them. If you break the rules, you lose the puppy. Do you understand?"
Both kids nodded enthusiastically.
"One more thing," Jean added, "they are your puppies, but your father and I ask that you allow your brothers to play with them too, at least some of the time.
"Okay," Came two happy responses.
"Okay." Scott reached behind the couch and pulled out a thick book 'The Complete Book of Dog Care' and a thinner one simply titled 'The German Shepherd Dog'. "You two will share these books. Read them carefully. We know you both already spent all your money on Christmas gifts so we brought some treats and toys for them. They should last until you can earn some more." He paused as Jean pulled two bags filled with Snausages, Pedigree Dentabones, and a few chew toys and handed one to each child. Each bag also had a collar and leash. Green for Rachel's puppy, blue for Chris's.
"Chris, Mr. Thomas has offered to give you ten dollars to clean out his garage and five dollars to shovel his driveway each time it snows. He's also offered to pay you five dollars every two weeks to mow his front yard. I'm sure some of the other neighbors will let you cut there grass as well." Jean told her oldest son. Then she looked to Rachel. "Rachel, he's offered you five dollars to weed and water his garden as needed. Mrs. Jamison and a few of our other neighbors have made the same offer."
"Have you picked names yet?" Scott asked.
"Bear!" Chris said. "He looks like a little bear cub. Kinda."
"Mickey!"
"Now, put the puppies in the kitchen, put up the baby gates, and help us clean up this mess," Scott said, indicating the ripped papers and bows still strewn all over the floor. He was amazed to see that the twins were still sound asleep. *A Mack truck could roll through the kitchen and it still wouldn't wake those two up.*
"Okay, Dad," the children said reluctantly. They each grabbed a gate from the hall closet, put one in each doorway, and gently placed the puppies inside. Chris took some newspaper off of the table and spread it in one corner, while Rachel took a plastic container from under the sink and filled it with water.
"Daddy, do you think Santa fed the puppies this morning?"
"I'm sure he did, Princess. You can feed them again when this mess is cleaned up." Scott answered.
"But we don't have any food."
"I'm sure Santa left food and bowls for them."
Rachel ran to the front door and opened it. Sure enough there was a forty pound bag of Pedigree puppy food, two food bowls, and two water bowls outside the door. Rachel picked up the bowls. "You're right Daddy. He did! But I can't lift up the food. It's to heavy."
Scott smiled as he walked to the door. He picked up the food and put it in the hall closet. Then all four of them set about cleaning up the mess, careful not to wake up the twins. In less than a half hour the living room was clean again. Chris and Rachel hurried into the kitchen, fed their puppies, then ran outside to play with them.
"This was a wonderful day," Jean said as she and Scott cleaned up in the kitchen. It was a little past three and they'd just finished eating Christmas dinner. Jean suddenly put her hand to her stomach. "Scott, it's time."
"Time for what?" There was a pause as it sunk in. "Oh. OH. Chris, Rachel, come here!"
Both children rushed into the kitchen, puppies in tow. "What Dad?" Chris asked.
"It's time for Mom to have the baby. Put the gates up and put down some fresh paper for the puppies, then get your brothers ready."
Both children did as they were told. Scott quickly called Jean's sister, then Alex, who promised to call everyone else. He helped Jean into the living room. Then he went to the closet and pulled out the bag Jean had packed weeks ago. He was about to yell for the children when all four of them bounded quickly down the stairs. They rushed out the door to the car. Scott helped Jean get in as Chris and Rachel strapped the twins into their booster seats.
Seven hours later, Noel Lynn Summers was born. As Scott held his newborn daughter, he nodded in silent agreement with Jean's earlier sentiment.
This was the most wonderful Christmas ever.
The End.