Work Text:
Uncle Jim
By Patt
Blair was a little nervous about going over to William's house without Jim. Jim was already there, so Blair wouldn't be there alone, but he still felt out of place ringing the doorbell to the house.
William opened the door and smiled. "Come on in, Blair. Merry Christmas," he said as he pulled Blair in for a hug.
Blair was a little surprised to have this happen, but sure didn't want to complain about it. He saw Steven and Beth walk into the room and he smiled at them. "Merry Christmas, you two. Where is Samantha?" Of course, Blair asked about their daughter, Jim's only niece, because Jim was wild about her and so was Blair.
"You're in for a treat," Steven said as he pulled Blair into the living room. "Now sit and don't say a word. You have to hear this."
Blair sat down and wondered what he was going to hear from his lover that would please the family so much. Then suddenly the room was filled with the wonderful sound of Jim's voice and Samantha's voice singing Christmas Carols. Blair couldn't believe how well Jim could sing. Blair was shocked and just sat back and listened. He was spellbound and wouldn't have moved for anything.
When they finished Angels We Have Heard on High, they moved to Away in a Manger and it brought tears to everyone's eyes. Jim was totally surprising Blair. Next up was Deck the Hall and you could hear the laughter and joy in both of their voices. Samantha was only six years old, but yet seemed like she knew all of them by heart.
When they got to Little Drummer Boy, Blair was about ready to cry. His lover had the voice of an angel and he wasn't even aware of it. But William, Steven and Beth knew. Blair felt like he missed out on something. And it was big, too.
Frosty the Snowman came flowing out of the room and made Blair smile again. Jim seemed to be really enjoying his time with Samantha. Blair was glad they were close enough to do this. Why didn't Blair know?
Then suddenly there was silence from the singing and Blair could hear Jim talking to Samantha, but couldn't hear exactly what he had said. She came running out of the room carrying a CD that they had recorded the music on. Samantha went right up to Uncle Blair and jumped in his lap.
"Uncle Blair, this was supposed to be a surprise for you. We made a copy for you, too. Uncle Jim wanted to surprise you," Samantha said, happily.
"Oh, I'm surprised," Blair replied, hugging her to his chest. She smelled like fresh baked Christmas cookies and it was such a nice feeling between the music and the smells, Blair felt like Christmas was really here.
Jim came walking out of the room and said, "Why didn't you tell me he was here? This was supposed to be a surprise, remember?" You could tell Jim was angry at his dad and brother, both.
Blair got up and walked over to Jim and hugged him close. He whispered, "I love you so much, but even more now that I know you can sing like an angel. Thank you for making my Christmas perfect."
Jim pulled Blair's face up towards his and kissed him softly. "I love you, too, Chief."
"So, why didn't you tell me about this?" Blair wondered.
"Samantha and I have been practicing for two weeks in our spare time, when you're at the university. She wanted it to be a surprise, too. Are you surprised?" Jim asked.
"You could say that. I didn't know you could sing at all. You're going to be singing to me a lot from this day forward," Blair teased.
William walked up to the men and hugged them both. "Are you ready for Christmas to begin, Jim and Blair?"
Blair hugged William back and said, "It's here already. Merry Christmas, all."
Steven put the CD into the player in the living room and they all got to listen to Jim and Samantha singing once more. This was going to be a Christmas that none of them would ever forget.
The end