Archive of Our Own ^beta

'Twas the night before the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring - except a relaxed and lazy bear, an anxious and hyperactive twink, and their exceptionally excited little girl  

Dave laughed softly at his own joke as he tossed another handful of popcorn in his mouth. Damn, it was a good joke too! Sadly, the only person in the room was entirely too young to really get it.  

And of course, the moment he laughed, his ever-attentive daughter latched right onto him - her eyes snapping away from the antics of Charlie Brown and crew on tv to stare right at him. “What are you laughing about, papa?” Amy asked as if the snoopy dance could not possibly be enough to make him laugh. (And it would be a very long time before Dave stopped loving having her call him papa!) She was snuggled against his side, looking up at him, the hood of her red and green dinosaur onesie falling over her eyes. 

Dave was pretty proud of finding her onesie. When asked if she wanted new Christmas pajamas, the answer had been an emphatic yes, but only if they had dinosaurs on them, which he quickly discovered did not exist. But he did manage to find a Christmas colored dino onesie at The Children’s Place. And based on the fact that she’d been wearing it for days now, he figured he'd hit a home run.   

Dave pushed back the hood of his own onesie - a large brown bear - and smiled down at her, “I was just thinking of a stupid joke and it made me laugh.” 

“What was the joke?”

Dammit! Why did she have to ask so many questions, “You’re too young for it. I’ll tell  you when you’re older.” 

“I’m eight! I’m practically a grown-up, papa!” 

Dave’s laugh almost exploded out of him. Shaking his head, he hugged her close and pressed a kiss into her hair. “Oh Amy! Don’t be too eager to grow up too fast! Being a grown-up is no fun.”

“I wanna know the joke! And remember! We’re always honest!”

In the almost two years since he and Kurt had adopted Amy, they had come to deeply regret their decision to enact honesty as an absolute house rule. Amy really took it to heart - and she always knew when they tried to get around it. It had gotten so bad that even visitors remarked on it. Finn usually got the worst of it, as the two were usually attached at the hip when he visited. The last time had almost included an honest discussion of bisexuality because Amy refused to let Finn get away with fudging the truth. 

Dave sighed and shrugged, “I was thinking that if you rewrote T’was the night before Christmas for us, it would be ‘not a creature was stirring - except… uh… a dinosaur, a bear and daddy.” That was at least as close to the truth as he was going to get. He was not explaining what a twink was to his eight-year-old daughter. 

“That wasn’t a very funny joke, papa…” 

“I said it was stupid, didn’t say anything about funny.” Dave glanced at the tv - quite desperate to get away from this potential minefield of a conversation. “Now, do you want to keep going with our movie night?” 

“Yeah! Will Daddy come to watch The Grinch with us?” 

“I dunno. I hope so, but he seemed pretty panicked about tomorrow.” 

“Why?’ Amy dug into the big bowl of popcorn and shoved more into her mouth.

“Because this is the first time we’re hosting Christmas as a family! And he wants it to be perfect - like we all do!” 

Amy sat chewing for a minute, looking around the room - taking in the garland, the tree, the dozens of Santas, and all the other decorations. Then she looked back at Dave. “But it will be! Because we’re together! And when we’re together, everything is always perfect.” 

“Oh, Amy!” Dave put the popcorn bowl on the coffee table and pulled her into his lap, hugging her. “It is perfect because we have you! I love you so much, Amy Bear. And I love Christmas with you!” 

“I love you too, Papa Bear! And I can’t wait for Christmas to start!” 

“And what? You think it hasn’t already started?!” Kurt said as he walked into the living room, glancing at them in their onesies and stifling a laugh. “What on earth are you two wearing!? Have my husband and daughter been replaced by stuffed animals?” Kurt stepped in front of the TV, he was carrying an armful of stockings and stocking hangers. Slowly, he started to set up a long line of the hangers along the edge of the mantle. 

Dave pulled up the hood of his extremely warm onesie, making sure the bear ears were standing up. He raised both of his hands, as if they were paws, and growled, “Rawr!” Which sent Amy into a fit of giggles that almost sent her falling off the sofa. Dave poked her and said, “These are our Christmas onesies, remember? You have one too. And you’re supposed to be wearing it and watching a movie with us!” 

Amy, who had managed to compose herself, was back to shoveling popcorn into her mouth like it was a mission, grinned at Kurt, “Yeah! Come watch the movie, Daddy!” 

“I would sweetie, but there’s so much to do! Which Papa could help with…” 

Dave and Amy looked around the living room - which looked a little like the Christmas decorations department at Saks Fifth Avenue had exploded. The large Christmas tree in the front window was twinkling with a million multicolored lights and the dozens of Amy’s homemade ornaments, and all the little personal ornaments that they’d collected over the years. Which included Dave’s favorite “Amy’s First Christmas” ornament - a dinosaur wearing a Santa hat. And under the tree was an ever-growing pile of presents, mostly for the horde of family that was descending on their home tomorrow. Amy’s gifts would appear when Santa showed up, although there was one or two that Dave had already snuck under the tree.

The mantle, besides being adorned by eleven stockings, was decked out in garlands of spruce, twinkling fairy lights, and a full Christmas Village. The village had been made complete by a little group of caroling dinosaurs, which Dave had found while at a conference in London earlier this year. 

The entire room just screamed Christmas. There were twinkling lights, boughs of holly and spruce, a pennant banner spelling out Merry Christmas, and dozens of Santas and Nutcrackers. On the couch were all their new Christmas pillows. It smelled like pine and cinnamon. Dave had switched on the fireplace, making the room feel incredibly warm and cozy. And through the front hall window, you could see the snow falling outside. 

It was the perfect Christmas moment. Made even more complete by a Christma movie night - which included Dave, Kurt, and Amy, all cuddled together on the couch watching Christmas movies! 

Or at least it should… once Kurt sat the fuck down. 

Looking back at Kurt, Dave patted the spot next to him, “Babe, come on, just watch a movie with us! We really don’t have that much to do! The house looks amazing! We’ve all done a great job! Now, come on, it’s Christmas Eve eve, just sit down and watch The Grinch with us. We’re doing a double feature! And watching Elf next. So, go change into your pjs, grab some hot chocolate, and let’s snuggle with our Amy bear.” 

Kurt stood there, biting his lip and staring down at them - he suddenly looked exceptionally anxious. He threw his arms wide, “Dave, our entire family is coming - we have eight people arriving tomorrow! We need to organize where everyone is sleeping and makeup people’s beds! And they’re arriving at noon, so we should maybe get a start on food for tomorrow. Plus we need to wrap people’s gifts - I haven’t had a chance to wrap Az’s stuff that he sent here. And I need to figure out how to wrap a baseball hat! There are gift tags to write, we need to go make sure we have enough wine, prepare hor d'oeuvres for tomorrow and Christmas Day! Plus, pick up the Yule Log from Butterly! Oh! And we’re losing at least a couple of hours tomorrow when we go to Eataly to pick up the turkey! I just…”

“Okay!” Dave said loudly, grabbing the AppleTV remote and pausing Charlie Brown - not that he and Amy had watched it for the last few minutes, they’d been too enraptured by Kurt’s panic attack. He held out his hands and motioned for Kurt to come closer, then he pulled Kurt onto the couch. “You need to sit down and calm down.” 

“But Dave!” 

“Amy, tell your daddy to calm down.” 

Amy’s head popped up behind Dave’s shoulder, she had grabbed the bowl of popcorn and had gone back to demolishing it - quite used to her dads‘ moments’ by now. “Calm down, dad!” 

“See, our eight-year-old daughter says you need to chill. So chill. Now, let’s work through this. Sleeping arrangements - Finn and Andrew are in my office on that cot we bought… which they’ll hate. Az is on the futon in your office, the grandparents are all in the guest rooms, and Amy’s dying to have Jamal sleep in her room - we even bought him that mattress thing. And we can enlist our favorite bed maker here to help get the beds together tomorrow….”

“Yay!” Amy yelled. 

“So that’s thing number one. See… that was easy.” Dave laughed and squeezed Kurt’s arms. 

“Okay… but what…” 

“Thing number two! We are doing a pretty simple dinner tomorrow - a lamb stew in the slow cooker, which I can put together in the morning - super easy! And we got the sides covered - mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, and a salad and bread from Butterly… which I’ll get to! Plus, Amy asked for a  make your own sundae bar as dessert - so that’s super easy! Now, hor d'oeuvres and appetizers - those I picked up yesterday on my way home, from Zabar’s and Brooklyn Larder. And we have enough cheese in this house to certify for a cheesemonger’s license. Kurt, I promise you, we have more than enough food in this house! We've been buying food for Christmas almost daily for two weeks! And we absolutely do not need more wine or alcohol - I bought four cases of wine from Smith & Vine, plus there is so much beer and our bar is stocked. So, can we be okay with thing two?” 

Kurt sighed and shook his head, but Dave could see the smile forming  - his resistance was wavering. “Yeah, okay.”

‘Onto the rest of it - all of which are easy to deal with tomorrow!” 

“How? Dave - we need to go and get the turkey, log and do so much here!” 

“Super simple! We divide and conquer. Look, how about if Amy and I run into the city in the morning, we’ll hit up Eataly and grab the turkey - which is reserved and paid for! We can head out early, take the train in - you can leave at the same time, hit up Butterly and grab what we need - and probably all kinds of things we don’t. Then, while Amy and I get the turkey, and probably swing past Rockefeller to see the tree, and get a hot chocolate from Magnolia Bakery, you jump into the stuff here and get a ton of it done. And Amy and I can be back way before noon!” 

Kurt bit his lip, clearly thinking heavily about it. He nodded, “Okay… that makes sense! If we time it right, we could get everything before they get here!” 

“Exactly! So, what do you say, Amy?” He could already feel her practically vibrating with excitement at the thought of going to Rockefeller Centre, “Wanna get up early tomorrow and go on a little Christmas adventure with Papa?”

“Yes! Oh, can we go to the Lego store too? And maybe go ice skating?!” She scrambled to sit on his lap, her eyes shining so brightly, she was practically bouncing. 

“I’m gonna say no to ice skating, but we can see. It’ll depend on how crazy it is downtown, okay? But what do you think, Kurt? I’ll go head into the city with Amy and get us the last few things we need. If we head out at like eight, we can probably be back by eleven at the latest. Then, we’ll have an hour to get ready for the invasion. I’m just glad Finn and Az are renting a car so we don’t have to pick them all up.”

Kurt sat there for a moment, thinking. He slowly smiled, clearly seeing the rational idea behind Dave’s plan. “Okay - it’s a great idea! But it’ll be crazy downtown. And you hate crowds…” 

“I’ll have Amy Bear to protect me. But come on, Kurt. We can handle this! You’ve put on two Broadway productions! I run the Economics department at NYU! This is small potatoes! But, tonight let’s have a really nice night with our little girl before everyone shows up tomorrow. Please.” 

Kurt sat back slightly, his face softening. “Yes! Okay, this sounds like a perfect plan. Thank you.” 

“Good! Now go put on your onesie and let’s watch some movies. There’s hot chocolate warming on the stove and I can make more popcorn.” 

Kurt leaned in and pressed his lips to Dave’s. As he pulled back, he whispered, “Dave, you are amazing - you know that?” 

“Yeah, I know - you bring it out in me. And this way, I can practice all my dad jokes on Amy, while we’re on the subway before my real audience gets here.” 

Amy groaned. 

“Wait! Come on… I’ve been practicing…” Dave sat up, he was so excited, he was finally going to be the dad of the house, which meant he could tell a million dad jokes. He and Az were going to slay the crowd. “How much did Santa pay for his sleigh?”

“Oh my god, David!” 

“Nothing. It was on the house!” Dave gave a little jazz hand, laughing loudly at his joke. Amy snorted with laughter.

Kurt laughed and reached over Dave, pulling Amy into a hug and giving her a kiss on the forehead. “Okay, I’m going to ignore everything that just happened and go put my onesie on. I can’t believe I’ve been convinced to wear this thing. Amy, you take Papa and make more popcorn, also grab that box of chocolates on the counter - let’s splurge and just have an awesome night!” He jumped up from the couch and took off towards the stairs, stopping halfway. “I love you both so much. And Dave, if a little something-something ends up in my mug of hot chocolate, well I’ll love you even more!”

“Roger roger!” Dave said, laughing as he pushed himself off the couch at Amy’s urgent insistence.  

“We love you too, Daddy!” Amy yelled, already pulling Dave towards the kitchen. “I can’t wait for tomorrow! Ice skating, hot chocolate, and Uncle FINN is coming! I love Christmas!” 

“We love Christmas too, sweetie! Now, let’s get our popcorn on!”

-/- 

The final credits had long since rolled and the living room was dark - illuminated only by the gentle flickering of the fireplace and the twinkling lights on the tree and mantle. There was the gentle sound of Christmas music playing and through the window, you could see fat flakes of snow illuminated by the streetlights. 

It felt decidedly like a scene in a Christmas movie. 

On the couch, Dave and Kurt sat cuddled into each other, while Amy, leaning against Kurt, was sound asleep and curled up underneath a large soft blanket. The room was comfortably warm, although Dave had unzipped his onesie down to his belly button and was very much enjoying the feeling of Kurt’s hand brushing against his chest hair. He lifted his wine glass and took a sip, sighing audibly. 

The wine had replaced the hot chocolate a very long time ago. 

“I’m really glad you convinced me to just take a moment and do this with you two,” Kurt whispered softly as he took a sip from his own glass of wine. “Although we probably should carry her upstairs soon.” 

“Yeah, but that would require moving and I really don’t want to. Jesus, this fucking onesie is warm.” 

“It doesn’t help that we've had an entire bottle of wine and the fireplace is going. And you’re fucking adorable in that thing - my own personal teddy bear.”

“Well, teddy ruxpin is gonna need a shower before bed.”  

Kurt laughed softly into his glass. After taking a long sip, he let his head fall back, with a soft moan, “Really, Dave, thank you for tonight and for being willing to go into the city tomorrow, it really makes me feel better. But if you think Amy will just slow you down, she can stay here and help me.” 

“You’re welcome, babe. And no, she has her heart set on it now, besides it’ll be fun! I already have a game plan, we’ll get in and go straight to Magnolia, because you know I’m not getting out of Manhattan without buying her a hot chocolate…” 

“I’m certain the stuff runs in her veins.” Kurt laughed softly against Dave’s shoulder.

“Exactly - we have so many different kinds in the cupboard.” 

“I bought her some from Williams Sonoma for her stocking, which is a weird thing to buy for your daughter’s stocking. But, anyway, your plan?” 

“She’s our daughter - it’s perfect for her. Right, so after Rockerfeller, where we won’t be doing ice skating, we’ll go to Eataly - grab the turkey and some other stuff. I thought I could get that really good prosciutto and maybe those good chocolate Italian cookies that we like. And then we’ll get back on the train to get home for ten-thirty or eleven. It’ll be easy! And by twelve, we’ll be having lunch with the whole family.” 

Kurt suddenly stiffened, “Shit.” 

“What?”

“I forgot to organize lunch for tomorrow.”

“Oh, please,” Dave laughed, “We have so much food! We’ll do something easy - if you grab bread from the bakery and I grab stuff from Eataly, we could do a sandwich bar? Look, Kurt, we’re gonna be fine! They don’t care about food - all they want is to see Amy and us.” Dave pulled Kurt a little tighter against him. 

“I know - I just want to give them all a nice Christmas. It’s Finn and Andrew’s first one as an engaged couple and Az and Jamal’s first one without Carla - I want to make it special for them.” 

Dave sighed and looked down at his wine glass, a frown touching the corners of his lips. Over the last sixteen years, he and Az had slowly rebuilt their friendship, managing to fall back into being best friends. And, for the past year, while dealing with a very messy divorce from his ex-wife, Az had come to rely on Dave more than ever before. 

They had decided to invite Az and his son to Christmas as a way to get them out of their townhouse in Columbus and away from some rather unhappy memories. Plus, Amy loved Az’s five-year-old son, Jamal. “Yeah,” Dave said softly, stroking Kurt’s shoulder. “Az is probably going to be a bit of a wreck, but his whole world is Jamal, so his whole focus will be on that kid. And you saw how many gifts he had sent here.” 

“The entire closet in my office is filled with stuff just that he, Finn, your dad, and my dad sent here. Those kids are going to be so spoiled. And, honestly, Dave, I think spending Christmas with you will mean more to Az than anything else.” 

“You’re right - it’ll be nice to have him here too. And we can handle them all for seven days, right?” 

“We have to… Amy will keep them busy a lot.” Kurt fell silent for a moment, swirling wine and staring into the fireplace. 

“Kurt? You okay, babe?” 

“I was just thinking how special we are sometimes, Dave. Like, to have the family that we do, to have Amy and each other… I can’t imagine dealing with what Carla put Az and Jamal through. Or hurting you like that…” 

“Kurt, you know I’d never cheat on you and I know you’d never do that to me. I love you and look…” Dave shifted so he could look at his husband, “Az will be okay. He and Jamal will bask in the wonder that is our home for seven days, but let’s not focus on something so sad, let’s focus on giving our girl - and our whole family - the best Christmas they’ve ever had.”

“You’re right. Okay, enough of this - let’s finish our wine and then tuck this little girl in… and then maybe I’ll join you in the shower.”

“Well, Merry Christmas to me!” Dave wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Is Santa coming early for Papa?” 

“Somebody’s coming… don’t you worry about that?” Kurt leaned in and kissed Dave - he tasted like chocolate, wine, and peppermint. Dave pulled back and drained his wine glass, then pressed himself closer to Kurt - deepening the kiss. 

Laughing, Kurt pushed back a bit, “Dave… Amy’s right here!” 

“Okay, then drink up, and let’s go upstairs. We have a big day tomorrow…” Dave pushed himself up from the couch, and switched off the fireplace, leaving the room lit only by the Christmas lights. Dave picked up Amy, wrapping her in the blanket and cradling her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed against him. “I’ll take her up and get in the shower - come meet me?” 

“Don’t get in yet… I want to take that onesie off you.” Kurt said as he gathered up the wine glasses and Amy’s mug. Dave chuckled as he started up the stairs, suddenly very excited about the rest of his night. 

As he reached the top landing, Kurt’s voice called up, “Dave?”

“Yeah, gorgeous?”

“And you’re sure that you’ll be okay tomorrow?” 

Dave grinned, and swayed Amy in his arms, “Of course! What could go wrong?”  

-/- 

Dave, carrying Amy in his arms, slowly climbed the steps of the 23rd Street Station, emerging into a very snowy Madison Square Park, just across from the Flatiron Building. He frowned at the swirling world of white in front of him. Man, he really just wanted to go home, but he couldn’t, they had a mission to complete. He hugged Amy a little tighter, savoring her warmth. “Oh wow! It’s cold! Papa’s gonna bundle up!”

Shivering as a blast of icy wind slammed against him, he set Amy on the ground and, juggling his coffee cup and the bag from Magnolia Bakery managed to do up his heavy wool jacket. He pulled down his fur-lined hunter’s cap lower on his head and smiled as Amy giggled at him. 

“Are you all snug in there, sweetie?” He looked down at Amy, who was bundled up in a large red parka, her wool dinosaur hat, and a Hello Kitty scarf.  

“Almost, Papa.” She handed him her cup of hot chocolate, which he took a sip of, earning him a dirty look. He just smiled as she pulled her hood up and readjusted her mitts. “Okay! I’m ready!” 

“Then, let’s do this!” They slowly made their way through the plaza towards the large Eataly store, while Dave kept a firm grip on Amy with one hand and his coffee and the bag in the other. Amy, brimming with happiness, was singing Christmas carols quietly. But Dave was tired and really wanted to be on his couch helping Kurt wrap presents, rather than trudging through the snow to pick up a fucking twenty-pound turkey. 

He should have gotten more sleep! But he and Kurt had stayed up much later than they normally did. Plus, his back ached from holding Kurt up against the shower wall last night while they had some rather phenomenal sex. But, great sex aside, today was just not the right day to be exhausted. Eight people were arriving at his house in less than four hours, and they were all going to be crazy! Finn had talked about this for the last month, so he was going to be so hyper about spending seven days with Amy. His dad was going to be his dad - which meant having to listen to lectures on how much weight Dave had gained or whatever marathon he and Ciara had signed up for. 

Plus, there was Az - a ball of neediness and anxiety that was going to crave Dave’s attention almost constantly. He’d already woken up to a text message, I can’t wait to see you! Can we have a beer later, just the two of us?

At least Burt and Carole would be chill. But Dave knew that as exhausted as he felt right now, the next seven days were going to be far more exhausting. 

And yet, with all that hanging over him, he’d fucking volunteered to come into the city on Christmas Eve - one of the busiest days of the year! The crowds were completely horrendous! It felt like he and Amy were swimming upstream in a river of people everywhere they went! It had been an awful idea to go to Rockefeller Centre, the line at Magnolia had been overwhelming.  

Why the fuck hadn’t they picked up the turkey before Christmas Eve!? Or why hadn’t they gone through that little butcher in Park Slope? Why did they have to pick Eataly? They weren’t that bougie? 

“Look, Papa! The lights are so pretty in the snow!” Amy was tugging on his hand and pointing towards the fountain in Madison Square Park, which was lit up with blue and purple Christmas lights and was shining brightly through the heavy snow. Dave felt his grumpy mood dissolving. As much as he wished he could be at home, he was happy to be having an adventure with his little girl. 

“Maybe we should put some Christmas lights in the tree outside. What do you think?” He might be exhausted, but time with Amy was the best time, and he’d do anything for her. Even if their adventure included filling yet another shopping list, which Kurt had handed him as they left the house earlier, he was fine with it as long as he got to spend hours with Amy. 

“Yes! Please! Can we? It would look pretty in the snow!” 

“I’ll tell you what, if we see a Target or something, we’ll go grab some.” What the fuck was he doing!? Why was he volunteering to spend more time in a store - a Target - on Christmas Eve?!

She bubbled with excitement. “Papa?” Her voice suddenly sounded cautious and unsure. 

“Yes, sweetie, what’s wrong?” 

“Nothing’s wrong…” She took a loud slurp of her drink, and smiled at him with a chocolatey smile, “Are we gonna bring everyone to the city when they visit to look at the Christmas lights?” 

“Of course! And we’re doing a couple of the Christmas markets, and maybe a musical…” 

“I’m so excited for everyone to get here. How come they couldn’t come till Christmas Eve?” 

“Cause Uncle Finn had to work yesterday and fight some fires.” 

“I thought Daddy said he wasn’t fighting fires anymore.” 

“Well, it’s a little complicated. He’s still a firefighter, but he’s a captain now. So, it’s just different, since he works mostly at the fire station and not actually fighting fires.” 

“So, he’s Captain Uncle Finn?”

“Yes. And if you call him that, he’ll brag about it the entire time he’s here.” 

She giggled and sipped her hot chocolate. “He’s still my hero - next to you and daddy.” 

Dave beamed at her, he would never get tired of hearing her say something like that. “Amy, you’re my hero. I love you so much!” He looked back up as they stepped in front of the large grocery store. He groaned internally - not really looking forward to whatever was going on inside. But, he would push that down and totally fake some optimism. “Okay, we’re here! Do you remember everything we need?”

“Turkey! Prosciutto! That smelly cheese! Those little cakes! Fresh Pasta and...uh… I forget the rest.” 

“That’s okay. I have the list. Now, here’s the plan. It’s gonna be busy, just like the bakery, so don’t let go of my hand or the cart! Not even for a second, okay? Deal?”

“Deal!” She gave a firm nod, which told him that she was taking this with the utmost seriousness. 

“We’re going to go straight for the meat - get the turkey and then we’ll deal with the rest.” Dave sighed and stared at the store in front of him, suddenly realizing that he would need to cart all of this stuff home on the subway. Fuck. He didn’t want to deal with Amy, a turkey, and all the other food - that sounded like a nightmare, especially since they’d have to transfer at least twice. Nope - he wasn’t doing that. “Okay - I’ve made a decision.” 

“What?” Amy sipped her hot chocolate, watching him with wide eyes. 

“We’re doing a taxi or Uber home - I’m not carrying you and a twenty-pound turkey, plus all this other stuff on the subway!” 

“Daddy said to tell you to do that after we bought everything. He also said that you’d be too stubborn to do it, so I was supposed to get fussy… but I don’t know what that means, so I was just going to help carry the turkey.” 

Dave laughed at the image of tiny Amy struggling through a bunch of subway stations carrying a giant turkey. He gave her hand a soft squeeze, “Okay, well that was very rude of Daddy. And I’ll be fussy for him when we get home, so you can see what you were supposed to do.” 

“Yay!” Amy grinned, probably already envisioning one of her Papa’s hilariously overly dramatic moments, which Kurt often said deserved an academy award. 

Dave readied himself, he could do this. Get in, get out, get home. He looked at Amy, “You ready?” 

“Yup!”

“Okay! We have three and a half hours till everyone shows up - let’s go get our turkey!” Dave tightened his grip on Amy’s hand and together they charged into the store. 

They stepped through the large glass doors and into a long hallway filled with food displays and the smell of garlic, onions, cheese, and meat. Dave had fully been expecting to walk into a writhing horde of people, all going insane over the last few hours before Christmas really started, but today he was astounded to find the opposite was true. Dave stopped short, his body lurching forward as Amy continued marching into the store. She turned back to see her Papa, grinning madly. 

Grinning because the store was absolutely deserted. They were literally the only people here! Eataly, one of New York’s busiest grocery stores, was completely devoid of customers - it was like a dream come true. This meant they would absolutely be out of here in like thirty minutes! 

“There’s no one here, Papa!” 

“I know! This is amazing! Come on, Amy! Grab a cart and let’s do this!” They grabbed one of the small black shopping carts and took off into the store, Dave walking as quickly as Amy’s little legs would allow. He felt jubilant - hell he even started singing along to the Christmas music playing. He had not expected this - but it made sense, it was only eight-thirty in the morning, the store had literally just opened!  Which meant, if they hurried, they would be able to get home in the next hour and he could be back in his flannel pjs and wrapping gifts by ten-thirty! 

If that happened, they were totally putting on a Christmas movie and he was going to have another - spiked this time - coffee! Oh yes! This was amazing! A Christmas fucking miracle! And he’d actually feel rested when everyone arrived, so he’d have no issue dragging Az to Target to get lights for the tree outside!

They turned a corner at the back of the store and walked up to the meat counter - it was long and filled almost the entire back wall of the store. He stepped up and smiled at the young woman working there. 

“Hi!” 

She smiled back and walked up to the counter, “Merry Christmas, sir. How can I help you?’ 

“I’m here to pick up my Christmas turkey. It should be under the name Karofsky-Hummel.” 

She tilted her head at him, this look of absolute confusion falling over her face - that was the first time he felt a pang of worry. The second was when she started shaking her head. “Uh, I’m sorry sir, but you must be mistaken, all the turkeys have been picked up.” 

Dave couldn’t help the bark of laughter that erupted out of him. Surely, he thought, she was just having a good holiday laugh with him, but then he saw the absolute seriousness with which she was looking at him. He felt his eyes grow huge as his stomach gave a lurch. Oh…

Oh. No. Suddenly the vision of him and Amy in flannel pjs watching Mickey’s Christmas Carol started to disappear. 

“I’m sorry…But, um, could you repeat that again for me?” 

“Mister Karofsky-Hummel…I’m very sorry, but all the turkeys have been picked up. Perhaps your wife…”

“Husband, actually. And no, he didn’t already pick it up.” He felt his heckles raise - fuck, he could feel the first twinge of anger. Not only was he being told that his turkey was gone, but now he had to deal with assumed heterosexuality, which was why his tone went from friendly to annoyed. “And I ordered a twenty-pound turkey in early December to pick up today.”

“Oh! Of course, I’m sorry…” 

“Can you please go look for me?” He unlocked his phone and opened the email confirmation he’d gotten, holding it up for her. “As you can see, I already paid for the turkey, so it should be here.”  

She nodded and fled into the depths of the meat department. 

“Papa?” Dave looked down at Amy, his expression softening. “What’s wrong? Why are you mad at that lady?” 

“I’m not mad, honey. They just made a mistake and are going to fix it, just like you do when you make a mistake on your homework sometimes.” He hoped they’d fix it anyway, otherwise, he would have to actually get mad. Pushing that worry aside, he leaned against the handle of the cart and started asking Amy about what cookies she might want to pick up while they were here. 

His mild sense of worry blossomed into a full-on panic when the horrified looking young woman returned with a very apologetic looking young man. “Mister Karofsky?” It was never good when they brought out reinforcements.

He frowned at this kid - maybe twenty-three - and nodded, “It’s Doctor Karofsky-Hummel, actually. But no need to worry about that, what’s wrong? Where’s the turkey I paid two hundred dollars for?”

“Uh… well, sir. Um…it seems we accidentally sold your turkey!” The kid was blushing so hard, that Dave was momentarily worried he was about to witness spontaneous combustion. 

He blinked and shook his head, not really comprehending what was happening - he was still trying to process exactly what this kid was saying. He knew his heart was starting to beat much faster and he could feel his lower back-breaking out in a sheen of sweat. “Sorry. But could you repeat that? I don’t think I understand.”

The kid looked even more nervous and started blushing more, he glanced down at Amy and bit his lip. “Uh, well, sir, it looks like your turkey was not put with the rest of the paid-for turkeys and we sold it last night.”

Dave opened his mouth slowly, not quite sure what his reaction was going to be, but he could feel his anger slowly rising. All he could see was Kurt’s horrified face when he and Amy came home empty-handed, or the looks of disappointment his family was going to give him. He had one job today - get the turkey - and he was about to fuck it up. He swallowed, and ground out - his voice was ice-cold steel, “You sold my two hundred dollar turkey! A turkey that I reserved and paid for a month ago!” 

He felt Amy wrap her hand in his, clearly worried and probably scared. And his tone was hard enough to make the two behind the counter flinch back. And yeah, Dave knew what anger looked like on him - it was an ugly emotion, and he tried so hard to have it rarely come out. But, he felt a little warranted here - they had sold his fucking turkey.

“Sir, we’re so sorry, but…” 

“Find one!” He growled, brimming with rage as visions of a Christmas dinner without a turkey danced in his head. Shit. Fuck. Shit! He was going to brine it overnight, he had spent weeks researching the perfect turkey recipe! And now… “Go in the back and find me a turkey! I paid for a turkey, young man.” 

He didn’t exactly like the way he was sounding right now...

He envisioned Kurt’s reaction to this. Of the two of them, Dave had always kept a pretty level head - his history and years in therapy had helped him stay calm, whereas Kurt sometimes lost his cool. Very rarely did they ever fight - having kept their promise to always talk things out, so it was only incredibly rare that they argued. And on those rare occasions they did fight, Dave often excused himself from the situation and went for a walk until they both cooled down. 

But he knew how Kurt would respond to this. And he also knew exactly how Kurt was going to react when they got home - without a turkey. And that knowledge fueled Dave’s anger because this situation had the potential to disappoint Kurt and Amy - the one thing Dave had sworn never to do. 

He knew Kurt would yell. Oh, man! Kurt was going to be livid! He was already so anxious about everyone having a perfect Christmas and this was going to ruin everything. The idea that he was about to disappoint Kurt was overwhelming and Dave’s chest felt tight. Oh fuck, was he about to have a heart attack in the middle of fucking Eataly with his daughter standing next to him?

“Sir, I’m so sorry, but it seems we’re all sold out of turkeys. I honestly don’t have one to give you!” The kid sounded both absolutely terrified and like he was about to cry. He was staring at Dave with wide, pleading eyes. 

How the hell!? They were sold out of fucking turkeys? That…was an impossibility. 

Dave let go of Amy’s hand and pushed himself away from the glass meat counter and turned around. He pushed his hands into his hair and yanked on his short hair, something he hadn’t done in years. This was not happening! There was no way on earth this was happening - how the hell does a store sell out of turkeys? On Christmas!? Oh god! He felt an old, now unfamiliar, spike of fury. “FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” He roared.  

“Papa?!” Amy’s voice was scared and unsure - and he knew he was freaking her out. In the year and a half since they’d adopted her, she had only seen him really mad once, and even that had been contained to work and a Ph.D. student who had admitted to a plagiarism charge. But that had been more like a wave of warm anger, something Kurt had talked him down from, this was like a white-hot inferno of rage. 

All he could think about was Jamal’s first Christmas without his mom, or Az’s without his wife, or Finn’s as an engaged man, or his dad’s voice telling him how proud he was to be having dinner with his son’s family. Or Kurt’s joke last night about getting those little white cap things for the turkey’s legs. 

He turned back, practically shaking. “It’s okay, Amy - I’m sorry. I’m so sorry sweetheart.” But then he looked back at the very nervous kid behind the counter and licked his lips. He needed to calm down. “So, young man, what would you suggest I do right now? It is Christmas Eve and the turkey I paid for and reserved to pick up on Christmas Eve was just given away. What am I supposed to do now?” 

“We… have…” 

“Please don’t - you sold my two hundred dollar turkey, so telling me to buy a ham or something isn’t going to make this better. I understand you’re trying to do your job, but I have eleven people coming for dinner tomorrow and you just told me that you sold a turkey that I already paid for!” God! He hated how privileged he sounded. He hated how entitled he seemed - he didn’t want to be this way. But he had spent two hundred dollars!

And...and Az, Jamal, Finn, Burt, Carole, Ciara, his dad, Kurt...and Amy! 

Deep breath, Dave… come on! He closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath, and tried to smile. “Look, I apologize for yelling. But… Can you call your other location...I don’t care what you have to do, kid. Just… help me find a damn turkey, okay?” 

The kid was nodding and reaching for a phone when a new voice interrupted them, “Is everything alright here?” Dave spun around to see an older woman, looking very concerned, wearing an earpiece and an Eataly apron. She was staring at him and Amy - who was clinging to Dave’s leg, sniffling softly. 

God, he was fucking up! He was fucking it all up. He needed to calm down. 

“No - ma'am, I assure you, it is not.” He nearly hissed, that anger surging back up despite his best attempts to push it away. 

“My name is Natalie, I’m the manager, how can I help you.” 

Dave sighed - unsure of how this person was going to help him. Unsure of how anyone was going to make this situation right. The nightmarish vision of having to go home and explain to Kurt that there would be no turkey kept dancing in his head. He nodded at this woman, as he reached down and pressed Amy against him. “Well, Natalie, it seems you guys sold the turkey that I paid two hundred dollars for, and now it appears you’re completely sold out of turkeys… so, I’d love to figure out how we can deal with this.” 

The woman slowly turned towards the young man and woman behind the counter, her face growing pale, “What? What’s happened!?” She looked as angry as Dave felt, and he suddenly felt a pang of regret over making this kid’s life hard on Christmas. 

He found himself backpedaling, feeling like a complete asshole, and not at all like the role model he wanted to be for his daughter, “I’m sure it wasn’t his fault...he…”  He was interrupted by her hand flying up to stop him. And like the admonished child he felt like, he shut up. 

As she started to yell at the two employees behind the counter, he looked down at Amy, who had this sad scared look on her face - devoid of all her earlier excitement and joy. 

Well, fuck, he really was managing to fuck up Christmas, wasn’t he?

-/- 

Fifteen minutes later, Dave and Amy were sitting at a small table in the Eataly cafe. Dave stared at his crestfallen daughter, feeling utterly awful. As far as Christmas Eves went, this was turning out pretty awful. In the span of half an hour, he’d managed to make his daughter cry, an employee cry, he’d yelled in the middle of a store, had probably gotten someone fired, and he still had no turkey to bring home for Christmas. 

Amy was fiddling with her scarf, her eyes sad and a little nervous. He hated himself for making her feel like this - all he wanted was to make her feel good! He wanted to make her feel like Christmas was a time of magic. And he’d so royally fucked up in that. 

“Amy, honey, can you look at me?” His heart hurt as her large wet eyes lifted to meet his. “Sweetheart, I am so, so sorry…” His voice cracked. “I shouldn’t have yelled like that, it was really wrong of me. I was just very upset…” 

“You were really mad papa.” 

“I was. And I’m really sorry I scared you.” Dave’s shoulders slumped, as he quietly said, “But I hope you know that I was upset at the people in the store, honey. I wasn’t mad at you.” 

“Cause they sold our turkey? Why did they do that, papa?” 

“Yeah, baby, because they sold our turkey. And it was just a mistake - like the time daddy accidentally threw out that special dough that I was going to make sourdough bread with. God, Amy, I’m so sorry I got mad.” Dave’s head sagged forward into his hands, and he groaned - guilt rushing over him. His groan turned into a sigh as he felt a pair of small arms wrap around his neck, pulling him into a hug. 

“It’s okay, papa. I accept your apology. I’m sorry you’re upset.” Amy said as she lay her head on his shoulder. 

Dave sighed and hugged her back, relishing how good she made him feel. It still floored him how easy it was for his little girl to make him feel so damn good. “Thank you, Amy. I appreciate that. You have no idea.”

But even so, he still was without a damn Christmas turkey - he had been offered a goose, but one look at Amy’s face had done away with that idea. And if he showed up with a roast or whatever, Kurt would flip. So he was still stuck at square one - no turkey, and no idea what to do. 

Natalie had taken his list and promised that someone would handle all his shopping, hence why they were sitting here waiting. But a pound of prosciutto and all the “little extra surprises” Natalie promised to include weren’t going to replace twenty pounds of turkey. He sighed heavily and sank his head back into his hands, “What am I going to do Amy Bear? I can’t go home to Daddy without a turkey?” 

She stood next to him for a moment, then asked with all the logic of an eight-year-old, “Can’t we just go find another one, Papa?” She settled herself back on her chair and looked at him with her usual sense of childlike wonder, mixed with incredible wisdom. 

He sat back, nodding. Since they’d adopted her, Amy had proven more than once that she was actually a very rational little adult trapped in the body of an eight-year-old. It never ceased to amaze him. And as insane as it sounded, it actually wasn’t that bad an idea. Just because Eataly - both fucking locations - were sold out of turkeys didn’t mean that every damn store in the city would be. He’d just need to be smart about this.  

“Okay. Yeah, we could do that. Okay…that’s totally doable, right? This isn’t the only place in town that sells turkeys! You’re a genius, Amy!” They beamed at each other as he pulled out his phone. “We just need to figure out where we can find a turkey on Christmas Eve!” Dave started to google, his face set and determined. “I mean, if Scrooge can buy a prize-winning turkey on Christmas Day, we can do it today, right?” 

Amy laughed - it was one of her favorite parts of A Christmas Carol, “Yeah! We can do it, Papa! We’re gonna save Christmas!”

He smiled widely at her, suddenly feeling much more optimistic than before, “You bet! We’re going to save Christmas!” When he looked down at his phone, he smiled - there was a list of at least thirty places on the island of Manhattan alone that sold fresh turkeys. They could pull this off! “Amy, get ready! We’re about to go on one hell of an adventure - first stop, Union Square! Now, let’s grab Natalie - she needs to make sure no one touches those groceries till we get back!” 

There was no way Dave was going to let this Christmas get ruined - he and Amy weren’t going back to Brooklyn until they had a damn turkey in their hands. They’d scour this damn city if they had to! But they were going to find a turkey. 

He jumped up, grabbing her dino hat and squishing it on her head - she laughed as he covered her eyes and swatted at him. “Papa!” 

He laughed and picked her up. This might not be what he wanted to do on Christmas Eve - it certainly didn’t include his flannel pajamas or boozy coffee, but he had his best partner in crime at his side and there wasn’t anything they couldn’t do! One way or another, he was going to bring the biggest and best turkey home, no matter what. 

It was time for Dave and Amy to save Christmas. 

Now, while Eataly had been like a scene from some zombie film long after the apocalypse, Whole Foods in Union Square was like the moment the zombies first showed up. People were literally running through the aisles, some of them were even screaming. 

As he walked in, he heard a woman scream, “What do you mean you’re out of cranberries!?” 

Dave sighed - already pretty sure this was going to be a hopeless cause - and glanced up at Amy, who was sitting on his shoulders. “Are you ready for the madhouse, Amy Bear?” 

“Ready Papa! Let’s go!” 

With another loud sigh, Dave pushed forward and into the madness of the store.

They had just maneuvered their way through a literal throng of people in the Union Square Christmas Market - he’d been so freaked out when they got to the top of the stairs of the subway station that he just picked Amy up and popped her onto his shoulders. There was no way she was going to be anywhere near the ground in that madness. 

Staring out at the horde of people in Whole Foods, he started to feel a little less sure about this plan. He was trying to stay optimistic, and certainly, Amy was helping with that, but at the same time, he felt a bit weak in the knees at the idea of racing around the city to find a damn turkey. This was the kind of thing he rarely did on his own - he and Kurt usually did things like this together. They had been a team for sixteen years and he missed his teammate. 

He so badly wanted to call Kurt and ask his advice on what he should do, but the idea of sending Kurt into a frenzy of anxiety made him feel a little unwell. So, he pushed the urge down - he and Amy would fix this. She would be his partner - his teammate! She might not have Kurt’s almost six-sense when it came to shopping in the city, which paired well with Dave’s inner GPS, but she was a perfect cheerleader. So, they would find a turkey and then get back to Eataly to get their other groceries and be back in Brooklyn. And they’d do it before the family arrived. 

They had to.

As he hurried through the produce section, Amy’s small hands gripping his hunter’s cap, he kept an eye out for anyone with a turkey in their cart. So far he hadn’t seen a single one - that was either a very good sign or a very bad one. 

When they got to the meat counter, he pulled Amy off his shoulders and placed her down next to him - grabbing her hand. “You don’t move from next to me, okay?” 

“Okay! There’s a lot of people here!” She looked around nervously. Dave knew it wasn’t so much the crowd that bothered her, it was just her natural inclination to be a homebody, which came from her time as a foster kid. And as much as they encouraged her to engage socially, they were just as happy to give her whatever space she needed. 

“There certainly are! But keep your fingers crossed that we’ll be out of here and headed home in no time and then…” 

“Merry Christmas!” A bright and very cheerful voice interrupted him. He and Amy turned towards the counter where an older woman with bright white hair was smiling kindly at them. She had on a pair of tiny half-moon glasses, and was dressed in this long white dress covered with cartoon images of Christmas puddings, she also had on a long Whole Foods apron, and her hair was pulled back into a severe bun that seemed to stretch her face back a little. 

Kurt called it a lazy man’s facelift. 

The entire effect oddly made Dave feel incredibly calm inside. As though, even before she opened her mouth, Dave just felt like he was standing inside a warm motherly glow. And that was something totally foreign to him - his mother hadn’t been a part of his life for seventeen years. But the moment this woman smiled at him, he just felt like all the troubles of the day were washed away. 

He actually breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her. “Merry Christma to you.” He could almost smell the slight hint of freshly baked cookies in the air - which was odd because they were nowhere near the bakery. 

She smiled and then glanced down at Amy, “Oh! Well, hello young lady - that is a mighty fine hat you have on!” 

Amy absentmindedly touched her dinosaur hat, giving it a tug, and smiled warmly, as if feeling just as strange as Dave was. She muttered a soft, “Thank you.” Then, like a light turning on, her entire demeanor changed to one of the utmost seriousness. “We need a turkey, it’s an emergency!” 

The woman’s eyes widened and she nodded gravely at Amy. “Well, a turkey emergency is a very serious situation.”

The words came out in such a rush that Dave barely could keep up, “Papa bought a two hundred dollar turkey at Eataly, and they sold it and then they didn’t have anymore and papa got mad and then they tried to find a new turkey, but there wasn’t any and now we’re trying to save Christmas by finding a different turkey!” 

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise and she glanced at Dave, “They sold your turkey?” 

“Yeah - apparently there was a mix-up. But I’m hoping you can help.” 

The woman pursed her lips thoughtfully, then nodded towards a door behind her. “Let me go see what I have.” She slipped through the door, her dress rippling around her ankles. It was the longest dress Dave had ever seen someone wear while working at a Whole Foods, he was pretty sure it wasn't a standard-issue uniform. 

He gave Amy’s hand a tiny squeeze, “What do you think, Amy Bear? Think she’ll have one for us?”

“I hope so! She’s really… nice. And she smells like cookies.”

“Yes, she does. Weird right? That a woman working at the meat counter would smell like cookies?” He looked back towards the door the woman had disappeared through, it felt like she was familiar somehow. Like he’d met her - or heard of her somewhere before. And he had no idea where or how. 

Just as his brain was starting to piece together the mystery, she reappeared, bringing with her that waft of freshly baked cookies and something else… icy cold air, perhaps. Unfortunately, she was not smiling. “I’m so sorry, sir. But it looks like we’re out of fresh turkeys - I might have a frozen one or two, but I can’t promise they’ll be defrosted by tomorrow!” 

Without meaning to, Dave grunted, “Well, fuck!” 

He heard Amy’s shocked gasp, “Papa!” And he knew he would never hear the end of that. She was very vigilant when it came to cursing, having heard at school about how vulgar it was. She had even made them put out a swear jar - which Dave had to make regular use of during grading season. And non-grading season.

He grimaced and looked down at his daughter - who was looking back at him with reproach. “I’m sorry Amy Bear, I’ll put a dollar in the jar when we get home, okay?” 

“Promise? That was the worst word, papa!” 

“I promise.” He gave her his most reassuring smile, knowing full well he would be reminded about this the moment they got home - and probably multiple times before then. Looking back at the now bemused saleswoman, he asked, “I don’t suppose you have any thoughts on what we might do?”

‘I do actually! Do you know the Westside Market?” 

“I don’t, I’m afraid.” 

“They probably still have some in stock and they’re not very far away, maybe a ten-minute walk over on seventh. If you take fifteenth, you should get there pretty quickly.” 

“Well, if they’re only ten minutes away, it might be worth popping over - we are trying to save Christmas after all! What do you think Amy Bear…” He looked back down, “shall we continue our adventure.” 

“Yes! We’ll find one papa, I know we will!” 

“You bet!” He smiled at the lady, “Thank you for your help though.” 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a turkey! But, before you go, would someone like a cookie?” She asked while producing a gingerbread man, seemingly out of nowhere. Where the fuck had that come from. Dave balked at it but felt Amy’s insistent tug as she reached for it. 

“May I, papa?” 

“Uh, yeah… I guess.” He mumbled, unsure why he was okay with a random woman working the butcher counter at Whole Foods giving his daughter a cookie. But he was. “What do you say, Amy?” 

“Thank you!” 

As they walked away, Amy happily munching on her cookie, the woman called out, “Merry Christmas!” He turned back and waved at her, once again struck by how familiar she seemed. And the weird sensation of comfort that he’d felt just being near her. It was something he’d want to think about later - possibly over a glass of wine. 

But then, then they were back out on the street. As Dave picked Amy up to settle her on his shoulders, the strangeness of the woman was forgotten. 

He glanced at the time, it was edging towards 9:45, they needed to get a move on. “Ready to go fast, Amy Bear?” 

“Yes!” 

“Okay, get ready - we need to go! I want to get to this place as fast as we can!” He crossed the street, back towards Union Square Park, deciding to cut through the damn Christmas market again. Then, they’d fly down fifteenth, which he could do in less than ten minutes, as long as Amy kept her grip on his hat. 

The market wasn’t quite as packed as it had been - maybe people were finishing their last-minute shopping and heading home or something, which was what he wished they were doing. Instead, he hurried across fourth, past the Starbucks, and started along fifteenth. 

“Okay, Amy Bear, here we go - I’m gonna start jogging! Hold on tight!” 

“Go, Papa!” 

Dave sighed. He was no idiot. He knew that in the last couple of years, he’d let himself go, so he was really fucking out of shape. Kurt affectionately liked to say that Dave had wholeheartedly bought into the whole dadbod aesthetic, but Dave knew it was more than that - he was getting fat. This meant that jogging along a busy New York street with a small child on his shoulders, screaming in joy, was going to be rough. 

As he started jogging, he instantly knew he’d made a mistake. His fucking back was screaming in agony, especially with Amy bouncing happily on his shoulders. His somewhat large stomach was bouncing exceptionally unsightly, almost like he had a basketball tucked under his coat. He looked ridiculous. But there was no way on earth he was going to stop running. 

“Amy, Remind Papa to think about a gym in the house after Christmas. I feel a little like I’m carrying Santa’s sleigh in my gut here.” 

As he charged along the street, Amy laughed and wrapped her arms tightly around his head. Her laughter echoed off the tall buildings on either side. She started yelling at people in front of them, “PAPA BEAR COMING THROUGH!” He laughed with her and yelled out apologies as people dove out of his way. 

As he passed the third block, his legs screaming in exertion, he settled into a rhythm. His breathing was still heavy, but not laborious. And he started to feel lighter, started to feel like he could run a thousand miles - especially with his little girl on his shoulders. 

As he ran, Amy, in between yelling at people to get out of “papa bear’s” way, was pointing out all the Christmas decorations. As they passed Irving Plaza, it started to snow again and Dave felt himself starting to laugh. 

“Papa? What’s funny?” 

“All of this, Amy Bear! It’s Christmas Eve and I’m running through New York in the snow, it all feels so unreal!” 

‘It’s fun!” She yelled. 

And Dave was surprised to find that he was having fun. He was having a great time! It felt like his exhaustion from earlier - even from five minutes ago - was gone. So he fell into it and let himself be pulled along with the excitement of the moment. “It is fun!”

The snow had started to come down heavier, almost whiting out the world around them, which meant neither Dave nor Amy saw the older portly man stepping out of a restaurant until they were right on top of him. Quite suddenly, Amy yelled, “Papa! Watch out!” 

Somehow, Dave was able to swerve and leap into the street just before he would have collided with the man. He did a little hopping dance, gripping Amy’s legs tightly, as he spun around in a circle, desperately trying to stop Amy from tumbling off his shoulders. Heaving, he turned back to the man, “My goodness! I’m so sorry! Are you alright, sir?” 

“Me!? Young man, I should be asking you the same, you nearly toppled over, taking your little girl right with you! Where on earth do you need to be going so fast on Christmas Eve?” 

The man stepped a bit closer and both Dave and Amy sucked in a deep breath. The man was short - maybe five feet, and he was exceptionally portly, with a long white beard and kind sparkling blue eyes. If Dave didn’t know any better, he would’ve sworn he was looking at a very good mall Santa. 

He had on a dark maroon wool coat, a fedora, and a long brown scarf that was fluttering in the wind, and in one hand he held a silver walking stick. He smiled at them, “Well? Where are you two running to?” 

“Uh…” Dave suddenly couldn’t quite remember exactly what they were doing, except that they were trying to get to a butcher shop. Amy patted his head and giggled, “Turkey Papa!” 

“Right. We’re hoping to find a turkey! I bought one at Eataly, but there was a mix-up and now my family doesn’t have one.” 

“Oh!” The man said, his voice was like silver bells - fuck, that was the only way Dave could think of describing it! The man’s voice sounded like silver bells! “That sounds quite unfortunate, although Christmas is about more than a turkey, young man.” 

“I know. But my husband and I are hosting Christmas for the first time since adopting our daughter, Amy, and we just want it to be special…” 

Nodding the man pointed with his stick down the road, “Well, in that case, I approve of the running, although I might recommend being a little more careful.” 

“Of course, sir. I apologize.” 

“No need to! I do hope wherever you’re going, they have a turkey for you! Although, I’m confident you’ll find what you need.” 

“Thank you! And Merry Christmas!” Dave started to move away, wanting to get away as quickly as possible - it wasn’t that the man-made him uncomfortable, it was more that Dave had this urgent need to not impinge on the man’s time. He waved over his shoulder as he started to jog again. 

And as he moved further into the heavy snow, he was sure he heard, “Merry Christmas Dave. Merry Christmas Amy.” That brought him up short and he turned around, but he could no longer see the man through the snow. 

“Amy, did you hear that?” 

“What Papa?” 

“That man...did he…” Dave paused, and stared back in the direction of the man, trying to see if there was a shadow or movement or something. But there was nothing except the blowing of the snow. And had he heard… did the man… 

No. There was no way. It was the day, the weirdness of the day was getting to him! This was ridiculous! The man had not said his name. Dave was just tired - exhausted. He’d stayed up too late, got up too early and they’d been running around like mad people for too long. Utter foolishness to think anything else. 

“Papa?” 

“Yes, Amy Bear?” 

“He looked like Santa!” 

Dave sighed as he started to walk quickly towards seventh, trying not to start running again. He didn’t want to risk any other encounters or near accidents. And despite what he thought he’d heard, there was no way… that was an illusion better suited to his eight-year-old. “So he did, Amy Bear!” 

Yes, it must have been his exhaustion and the snow and the Christmas decorations and the anxiety over this whole turkey conundrum. That was all. He needed to just get to this damn butcher and buy a turkey. 

He was done. That’s what it was, his brain playing tricks. He was just fucking done. He wanted to go home. He didn’t want to have some kind of weird Christmas fantasy about Santa. He quickened his step, Amy bouncing happily on his shoulders. 

He saw glowing lights in the snow and a bright sign for Westside Market. He sighed in relief, it was almost done. “We’re here!” 

Westside Market was not quite what he was expecting - it was not exactly a butcher shop, rather it was a full-on neighborhood grocery store. And the moment he saw it, his hopes deflated. This was not going to be the kind of place where you’d get a turkey, no this was the kind of place he went to buy a salad for lunch. 

But still, they walked inside. And indeed, it was a thoroughly typical small grocery store in New York, which did have a small butcher counter. But as the guy listened to Dave’s plight, he sadly started to shake his head. There were no turkeys to be found here. 

“Sorry, I had a couple of turkeys last week, but they were pretty small and went super fast. I think I’d probably recommend The Big Apple Meat Market up by Columbus Circle - if you wanted to go that far.” The guy held out a business card.

Dave took the card and stared at it - his stomach was starting to hurt a lot. And, once again, all he could picture was the look of disappointment that was sure to be on Kurt’s face. 

But, Dave did not want to get on a fucking subway and go all the way to Columbus Circle - that was the last thing he wanted to do. That would take hours. He smiled and thanked the man at the butcher counter, who was clearly cleaning up to go home for Christmas. 

As they sat at a little counter facing in the front window, while Amy had some juice and a cookie, Dave knew he couldn't keep going. All that optimism and hopefulness that he'd felt earlier was gone. He sighed, “Amy, I think I need to admit defeat. I’m just so tired.” 

“No! We need to keep trying, Papa! It’s an adventure, remember! It’s like The Grinch! He had to go through all those bad things to make sure that Christmas came to Who-ville, we need to keep trying so we can bring Christmas to our house!” 

“Sweetie, Christmas is going to come no matter what - turkey or not. Uncle Finn, Uncle Andrew, and all your grandparents, plus Jamal and Uncle Az - they’re all still going to come. Christmas will be just as much fun - we’ll just need to find something else for dinner. I’ll call Daddy and…” 

“NO!” She reached out and grabbed the business card, shoving it at him. “Call them! I know Christmas is going to come - it does in The Grinch. But, Papa, we need to find a turkey.” 

Dave picked up the card, confused at the intensity of Amy’s insistence. “Why sweetie? Why is this so important?” 

“Because it’ll be special! And Jamal’s mom always made chickens, just like Debbie always did on Christmas! He’s never had a turkey! And you make the best turkey. Papa, we need to keep trying.” 

Dave held the card for a moment, remembering Az’s complaints every year that he wanted a damn turkey for Christmas. But what worried him more was that this would be Amy’s second real Christmas. They’d discovered how little she understood about the holiday last year when the family had gone all out. 

His little girl needed him to do this. So, he nodded and pulled his phone out, starting to dial, “Okay, Amy Bear, we’ll try just a little more.” 

The phone rang barely once, before a soft lispy voice with a strong New Jersey accent answered, “‘ello? The Big Apple Meat Market, what can I do ferya?” 

“Hi, uh, I’m wondering if you have any fresh turkeys still available.” 

“Hold on, will ya?”

“Sure.” Dave closed his eyes, willing the guy to give him some good news. He had to wait for maybe two minutes. 

“Yo, sorry mister, but we’re all sold out. This is a real shit time to be looking for a turkey, ya know?” 

Dave sighed, disappointment riding every molecule of air. “I know - I had one, but there was a mix-up and the place I bought from gave it away. Thanks anyway, guess my husband and I will need to figure out something else.” 

Dave was about to end the call, when he heard a loud, “Wait-a-minnit!” 

Dave put the phone back to his year, “Yeah?” 

“Husband huh?” The guy’s voice sounded gruff. Oh god, was he about to be the victim of some kind of verbal homophobic attack? If that was the case, then he was picking Amy up, and going straight home, where he could just cry in Kurt’s arms.

Dave groaned, ready to go on the defensive. “Yup, my husband and I and our daughter are hosting Christmas this year.” 

“Cool. Look… uh, I’d suggest  Dickson's Farmstand Meats - they’re family, don’t you know?” Ah, Dave thought, he wasn’t about to be yelled at. No, this was another case of that weird gay community thing that seemed to happen in New York far too often. So yes, Dave knew exactly what he meant. 

And he was quite familiar with Dickson Farmstand Meats - which was a very gay little butcher in Chelsea. The place made one killer sausage on a bun, something he often got for lunch. “Yeah…I know them. Think they might have a turkey?” 

The guy laughed, “Well if ya ask me, there’s one way to find out. Can you get down there?” 

He looked outside at the swirling snow, it was heavy but still navigable. And Chelsea was maybe a fifteen-minute walk from here. He and Amy could easily get there. If they did this, it had to be their last attempt. “Yeah, I can. I’m near the village, my daughter and I can go now.” 

“A’ight. Tell ya what, I’ll call them and get them to put whatever they have aside - I’m pretty sure they still have some. I wouldn’t make ya go out on Christmas Eve for nothing.” 

Dave motioned at Amy to drink up, as he pulled his hat down onto his head, “Thank you! I really appreciate it!” 

“Not a problem, dude, you and your family have a Merry Christmas!” 

Muttering Merry Christmas in return, Dave hung up and hurried to bundle Amy back up into her coat. “I think we found one, Amy Bear!” 

“Where are we going now, Papa?” 

“Chelsea. This has to be it, Amy. But if it’s not, then we’re going back to Eataly and I’ll just get something else. I can’t keep running around the city - but let’s keep our fingers crossed okay?” 

She looked down at her mittened hands and giggled, “They’re crossed inside!” 

“Good girl!” As he wrapped her scarf around her neck, his phone started to ring - Kurt. Shit. “Okay, it’s daddy. We don’t say anything about the turkey okay? He’s going to be really upset if he finds out! Promise, not a word until we get home?”

“Deal!” 

Dave answered, putting on the most affected cheerful voice he’d ever used, “Hey, babe! Merry Christmas!”  

“Where are you!? You’ve been gone for hours, and I’m getting worried! Plus, everyone is going to be here in like two hours, Dave!” 

“Things are a little busier than we expected, Kurt. So, we’re just having a little Christmas adventure, but I promise we’ll be home soon.” 

There was a long pause. Dave knew that everything about this was being evaluated - his tone, the way he laughed, background sounds. They had made a promise to each other to always be honest about the big things - their marriage, raising Amy, their jobs, their feelings - but once in a while Kurt or Dave would slip in a little white lie, usually to surprise the other. And he knew that Kurt was evaluating him to double-check this wasn’t a big lie. Dave knew Kurt could tell something was wrong - Dave had always been shit at hiding things. Finally, after what felt like a very long time, Kurt said softly, “Something happened? Didn’t it?” 

“Kurt - it’s fine, we’re just having a little adventure…“

“Are you both safe? I don’t care about whatever’s happened, but just tell me that you two are okay.” 

“We’re okay, Kurt. I promise, just… I’ll tell you about it when we get home, which I hope will be in the next hour.” 

There was a very audible sigh followed by what Dave recognized as the clink of a mug being put down on their marble table. “Okay, I know you would tell me if it was something serious. If you’re going to be longer than an hour, will you call? You do have all the stuff for lunch!”

“I will Kurt. I promise…” Dave wondered if Kurt’s opinion on what was serious would change if he found out about the lack of a turkey.

After letting Amy say hi and bye, and telling his husband he loved him, Dave led Amy back out into the snow, which was coming down even harder. And his back was starting to ache even more, especially after carrying Amy around so much. There was no way he could make it to Chelsea with her on his shoulders, not unless he was going to have to call Kurt from the hospital. So, he needed to take a break for a few minutes. 

“Hey, Amy Bear, do think you can handle walking for a bit.” The look he got in response made him think he was raising a teenager as opposed to a third-grader. He smiled and took her hand, “Okay, then, let’s go!” 

They slowly made their way along West Fifteenth, walking deeper into Chelsea. The streets were snow-covered and almost shimmered with the reflection of Christmas lights off of flakes of snow. It felt entirely otherworldly. Dave couldn’t help but notice just how silent the world was - it felt like they were the only two people alive.  

As they walked past a small toy store, Amy paused to look at the large Christmas tree in the window as other shoppers and people hurried past them. For a moment, it felt like they were a part of a Christmas movie - maybe Miracle on 34th Street, and as the snow fell heavily around them on this New York street, the magic of Christmas was all around them. 

He felt like the luckiest man alive. He had his daughter, he had his husband and he had his city. 

And just like that, he knew. He just knew that there was going to be a turkey waiting for them at the end of this walk. Even if they didn’t need it - even if they would have a perfect Christmas without it - he wanted to believe that Christmas would work its magic and give him, Kurt, and Amy the perfect Christmas they’d dreamed out. 

“Come on, Amy Bear, let’s keep going.” 

He smiled as they continued on their way, remembering all the times he and Kurt had walked through this area while students at NYU. He remembered long romantic walks and quiet hushed dinners at the cheapest places possible, and stolen kisses in doorways. The streets of Chelsea and the West Village had been the bedrock for their relationship and their marriage. 

As they turned into the Chelsea Market, which was surprisingly not busy, Dave suddenly stopped walking, eyes scanning the large room, decorated with hundreds of strands of tiny twinkling white lights. He smiled and laughed as he remembered another Christmas, a long ago, when he and Kurt had walked through here, hand in hand. 

“What’s funny papa?” 

“You know, Amy, I come here for lunch once in a while, but it's been years since I was here at Christmas. I forgot what happened here.” 

“What happened?” She looked excitedly at him, always so eager for stories from her dads’ pasts. 

“This was where daddy and I realized that we wanted to get married. We’d been living here for three years, and just before going to see your grandparents and Uncle Finn for Christmas, we came here to find some Christmas gifts. I told your daddy that I wanted to marry him one day - right over there, under the clock.” 

She gazed up at him, her eyes were bright with joy. “What did daddy say?” 

“That he wanted it too. Of course, it took daddy like another two years to ask me to marry him, but eventually, he did.” 

“Why?”

‘He’s daddy… why do you think?” 

“Cause he wanted it to be perfect.” She gave him a small determined nod. “But why didn’t you ask daddy?” 

Dave smiled, remembering Kurt’s anxieties over succeeding on Broadway, and his promise to Kurt that although he was ready to pop the question that day in Chelsea Market, he would only do it when Kurt was ready. And how years later, Kurt had shocked him by getting down on one knee. Shaking his head, “It’s complicated, Amy Bear, but he wanted to ask me… it’s uh, an adult thing.”

He heard her mutter something about practically being an adult, but then she brightened again and gave him a hug. “I’m glad you got married, papa. Because it meant you could adopt me.” 

“Sweetheart,” Dave dropped down onto one knee, “not a day goes by when I don’t thank my lucky stars that daddy and I adopted you. We love you so much, Amy Bear. And now, I have another special memory of this place.” 

“Yeah?” She smiled at him. 

“I got to come here with you on Christmas Eve, trying to find a turkey. Now, let's go! Our poultry awaits.” 

They hurried through the market, coming to a stop in front of a small, brightly lit store - Dickson's Farmstand Meats. Taking a deep breath, Dave and Amy pushed through the store and into a long room that was taken up by an enormous meat counter along one side, and narrow space for eating on the other. Dave was familiar with this space, as he was often standing at the counter eating his lunch while texting Kurt. 

Holding Amy’s hand, he pulled her through the nearly deserted store that smelled of cooking meat and mulling spices, which gave the space a warm and welcoming feel. He stopped behind a young woman, who was holding out her credit card and chatting with the guy behind the counter. The guy was young, maybe nineteen, with a very impressive mustache and shockingly red hair.

When he saw Dave and Amy step up behind the counter, he gave them a thumbs up. But Dave wasn’t paying attention, his eyes were sweeping across the contents of the meat counter - searching for something - searching for the one thing that would let him go home and bring this incredibly long morning to an end. 

“Papa! Look!” Amy was nearly yanking on his hand, her finger extended and jabbing at the air. Dave leaned over to see what she was pointing at. And there, just in front of the woman, was a huge turkey. It was definitely larger than what he was supposed to get from Eataly, but not excessively so. 

Without thinking about what he was doing, Dave nearly shouted, “A turkey!” and moved forward, jostling the woman aside. She spun towards him, snapping out a “Hey!” He muttered a quiet apology and just stared at the turkey. 

It felt like they had found the holy grail. 

As the woman moved away, casting a final dirty look in Dave and Amy’s direction, Dave straightened up and pulled out his wallet. “That turkey, I’ll take it.” 

The guy looked slightly taken aback, “Uh, okay. Did you want to know the weight or anything?” 

“Bud, I have been searching for a turkey for the last three hours, I honestly don’t care. I just want to buy a turkey, so we can go home.” 

“Oh! You're the guy Mitch called me about!” The kid said, smiling, clearly meaning the guy from The Big Apple Meat Market. “He said your turkey got given away - that’s shitty, man.” He paused, casting a glance down at Amy, who was giving him a very stern look. “Uh. Sorry, kid.” 

Dave, fighting the urge to laugh as his daughter looked about seconds away from demanding a dollar for the swear jar back at home, pointed back at the turkey. “Yes, that’s me. And I’d really like that turkey please.” 

The guy, looking rattled from Amy’s vigilant anti-curse word gaze, nodded. “Sure! You’re lucky, we ended up with an extra one from our order. I was gonna stick  it up for sale day after Christmas.” 

Dave nearly leapt for joy but paused as he started to pull out his credit card. “Why not donate it?” 

The guy gave a shrug, “Yeah, I called but they didn’t want to come all the way over here just for one.  Anyway, it’s yours if you want it. It’s a twenty-five pounder, by the way.” 

Not one to spit in luck’s face, Dave handed over his credit card, “I’ll take it - just… god, I’ll take it.” He sighed and glanced down at Amy, who was staring at the turkey with a look of wonder. 

Deciding to ignore whatever was going on with his daughter for the moment, Dave turned his attention back to the guy wrapping up the turkey. This all felt so anti-climatic. All the stress of the day - the pressure to find a way to save Christmas, as Amy so happily kept intoning - it felt like there should have been more drama. Like he should have had to fight someone for the damn bird. 

But wasn’t this how all Christmas movies ended - in the most anti-climatic way possible? Dogs eat the family Christmas turkey, so the family goes out for Chinese food. Or after a horrible misunderstanding, Rosemary Clooney shows up for the big finale. Or a stupid bell rings and Clarence gets his wings. So, in Dave and Amy’s weird Christmas movie, naturally, they would find a turkey at the last minute. 

And if this was the final big anti-climactic moment, he wanted his credits scene to involve his house, living room, a coffee, and a hug from his husband. All he wanted was to go home, he didn’t want to spend any more time running around New York, no matter how much he’d enjoyed spending the day with Amy.  

The appearance of a huge box in front of him disrupted his thoughts. “Okay! Here we go, all set. It’s heavy, though.” The kid leaned against the counter, smiling. Dave took one look at the box and felt his heart sink - he needed to cart that and an eight-year-old back up to Eataly to get the rest of their stuff before going back to Brooklyn. Fuck. 

He smiled weakly. “Thanks! I appreciate it.” 

“No problem man, I threw some of our jerkies in there and a black truffle - you know, as a Christmas gift.” 

Dave mumbled a thank you and hefted up the box - he’d need both arms to carry this thing. “Amy Bear, you’re in charge of doors, just don’t go where I can’t see you.” 

“I won’t papa. Thank you for the turkey, mister!” 

“Merry Christmas, kid! Merry Christmas, sir!” 

Dave followed Amy through the Chelsea market and back out onto the street, his eyes moving quickly, searching for a cab. He couldn’t see a damn thing and the box was straining on his arms. He looked down at his little girl, “Okay, Amy, grab my phone - you’re in charge of getting us an Uber, can you do that?” 

“Yes!” She reached into his coat and pulled out his phone. As she unlocked it and opened the Uber App, she paused and looked at him, her face was thoughtful and odd. “Papa?”

“Yeah, Bear?” 

“Do you think Santa helped us find our turkey?” 

Dave felt a wave of exhaustion hit him. The last thing he really wanted right now was to have the talk where she figured out that Santa wasn’t real? Please don’t let him have to have that talk while holding a twenty-five-pound turkey in the middle of a snowstorm in downtown Manhattan. He was so going to text Kurt to have a drink ready when they got home. Cautiously he said, “What do you mean, honey?”

“I was just thinking about how we met that guy who looked like Santa, but what if that was Santa? And what if Santa made it so we’d have a turkey!?”

Dave just sighed as a car pulled up in front of them. 

-/- 

The snow was coming down even heavier as the car pulled up outside their modest Brooklyn brownstone. You could see the bright colored lights of the tree in the front window and a small black cat sitting on the windowsill staring out at the snow. Dave shoved open the car door and heaved himself and the giant box out of the car. Then he carefully placed the box on top of the car to help Amy out. She bounded happily out of the car and ran up the front steps. 

“So, I’m not getting any help then, huh?” He called after her.

She laughed and disappeared inside the house. 

Dave groaned and moved to the trunk, starting to pull bag after bag out and placing them on the curb. The driver honked impatiently - he had not been too happy to drive into Brooklyn in the middle of a snowstorm, so Dave was slightly surprised he was even waiting for Dave to unpack. The guy honked again, which made Dave give one of the rear tires a swift kick, he supposed the Christmas spirit didn’t exactly extend to Uber drivers today. 

Every fiber of his being was tired. Honestly, he felt like he’d run some kind of marathon. He had a headache, he was starving, cold, grumpy, and just overall exhausted. While in the Uber, he had realized that the last time he'd had something to eat was at Magnolia, almost four hours earlier and all he’d been doing since was running around the city. At least, Amy had gotten cookies along the way, but Dave was running on empty.

Plus, he’d had to listen to an unending lecture of “how Santa helped us save Christmas” from Amy the entire way back. A theory that continued to evolve to include Mrs. Claus at Whole Foods, plus the elves at Dickson's Farmstand Meats, The Big Apple Meat Market, and Westside Market. It had become some kind of Christmas conspiracy to help Dave and Amy find a turkey. 

Dave had nodded and smiled, not entirely sure he should be letting Amy indulge in this fantasy, but at the same time, he kept hearing a kindly voice calling out through the snow, “Merry Christmas Dave. Merry Christmas Amy.” Which he knew he’d imagined, but the more Amy talked, the more Dave found himself buying into the idea. This was ridiculous, a thirty-seven-year-old man should not be justifying the existence of Santa Claus. 

And now, standing in the blowing snow, reality set back in. He’d fallen into the fantasy. And he let Amy get carried away, and he went right along with her. Grunting as he pulled the last couple of bags out of the trunk and dropping them on the sidewalk. Then he grabbed the turkey off the car and gave the trunk a slap, sending the driver back off to Manhattan. As the car disappeared into the blowing snow, Dave turned to face the pile of bags, while gripping the turkey, sighing deeply. Well, fuck, he’d need to do at least a couple of trips. 

Dave very much felt like he was on the verge of tears. All he wanted to do was go inside, have a drink, and maybe lie down for a nap. He dropped the box on the ground and started looping bags onto his arms.  

“You look like you’re about to either fall over or burst into tears.” 

Dave looked up, a smile growing on his face, as Kurt appeared through the snow, his knit hat pulled down low over his forehead. Bending down, Kurt picked the box with the turkey and nodded at the bags, “Think you can handle those?” 

“Yeah. Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome, love. Now, come inside and let's get you warmed up - I’ll make us hot toddies - and then you can explain to me how you saved Christmas and exactly how Santa found us a turkey.” 

“Yeah,” Dave said, hefting the bags in his arms, “You are not going to believe the morning I’ve had. Also, we now have twenty-five pounds of turkey to deal with.” 

“That’s a shit ton of bird, Dave…” 

“It is. And that reminds me, I owe the swear jar a lot of money.” 

Kurt just laughed and walked up the stairs, motioning for Dave to follow, which he did, gratefully. 

-/- 

An hour later, Dave was curled up on the couch in his plaid flannel pajamas, with a second hot toddy sitting next to him on the side table. He was writing out a small stack of gift tags and was humming along to Michael Buble, and he felt absolutely serene. He could hear Amy and Kurt happily chatting away in the kitchen as they put together a build your own sandwich bar for lunch. 

The living room, which smelled like cinnamon, felt warm and cozy with the fire flickering away and the tree twinkling by the window. He glanced over at the tree, where the collection of gifts had grown in the time he and Amy had been out. Smiling, he sipped his drink, happy that the stress of the morning had long since dissipated. 

The moment he’d walked in and taken off his coat, he’d gotten a long hug from Kurt and been ordered to go put his pajamas on, and then just sit in the living room and relax.

He didn’t need to be told twice. 

Glancing around, he realized he’d finished all the gift tags, which meant he could just stretch out on the couch and maybe doze off. He pushed himself off the couch and slipped the gift under the tree, then he flopped back down on the couch, sighing contentedly as he stretched his legs out and switched on the TV. White Christmas was paused, which meant Kurt had been wrapping gifts in the living room, he unpaused it and settled back to watch. 

Within five minutes, his tranquility was broken when Amy launched herself into his lap and Kurt lifted his feet up to settle himself onto the couch. As Amy lay on Dave’s chest and Kurt started to massage his feet, he sighed in happiness. “That feels really nice, thank you.” 

“Well, you two literally did run all over the city, so you deserve a foot rub. I got a text from Finn, they picked up their car and are on their way and will be here soon.” Kurt dug his knuckles into the balls of Dave’s feet - working out the hard and tense muscles. 

“When Uncle Finn gets here, Christmas really will start!” 

“Young lady, I’m pretty sure Christmas started the moment we met Santa earlier.” Dave laughed and gave her a little tickle, causing her to squirm and bury her face into his chest. He looked over at Kurt, with hope in his eyes. “Do we have to get up and do stuff, or can we chill here for a little bit?” 

“Oh, we have nothing left to do - lunch is laid out, I put fresh coffee on, there’s champagne chilling… we can just lie here and relax, my love.” 

“Thank you. God, what a morning.” 

“But papa! We saved Christmas, and it was fun - except when you yelled.” 

He heard Kurt giggle softly, as Amy’s version of the morning had been vastly exaggerated, making Dave out to be some kind of terrorizing bear in Eataly. Dave smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “I’m still really sorry about that, Amy. But we did it and you’re right, it was fun.” 

Amy sighed and settled against Dave’s chest, watching the movie. As they lay there, Judy and Keynes wandered in and curled up on the rug in front of the fire. It was the perfect end to a very tumultuous morning. Dave held his hand out to Kurt, who slipped his hand easily into Dave’s. Dave smiled and said, “Merry Christmas guys, I love you.” 

“Merry Christmas, Papa,” Amy whispered. 

And just as Kurt was about to reply, the front door flew open, freaking the cats out. Finn’s loud voice echoed through the front hallway, “Merry Christmas! Where’s my niece!? I demand hugs, right now!” 

Amy screamed and leaped off of Dave, kneeing him in the stomach. Groaning, Dave sat up, rubbing his stomach with a pained expression. He glanced at Kurt, “If I disappear suddenly, I’ve escaped upstairs, just cover for me, okay?”

“What are you talking about, I fully intend to let Amy play host so you and I can go for a nap in about twenty minutes.” Kurt leaned forward and kissed Dave, whispering, “I love you and Merry Christmas, my Christmas savior.” 

As they got up, ready to face the invading horde, they heard Amy’s excited voice, “Jamal! I met the real Santa and my papa saved Christmas!”

-/- 

Dave was perched against the counter in the kitchen and watched as Az carefully filled mugs with hot chocolate. He could tell from the really intense way Az was concentrating that the man had had way too much to drink, no one needed to focus that hard on pouring a liquid. But then again, Dave was in a very similar state. 

He took a minute to really take in his friend - the man looked worn out. But there was this sense of happiness coming off of him, which he was because not only was he here, with Dave and Kurt but because the last year was over. Dave could still feel the crushing hug he’d gotten earlier when Az had walked in the door.  

They both were wearing Santa pajama bottoms - part of Amy’s required Christmas Eve attire. Dave also was wrapped up in his large brown robe, while Az had on a shirt that declared, “Santa’s a Brotha.” 

After what felt like an hour of hard concentration, Az stood up, satisfied with his work, and looked around, frowning. Dave took a sip of his red wine and pointed towards a cupboard next to the sink, “Hard booze is in there. I also bought that gross candy cane vodka that dad wanted.” 

“Shut up man, that shit’s awesome…” 

“Don’t let Amy hear you use that language, you’ll be adding to the swear jar.” 

“I know, I’ve had to pay in like three times already. And she got Jamal doing it too, and that kid knows how much I swear. He’s going to bankrupt me!”

“Yeah, I had to drop a ten in after this morning…” 

“Did you really meet Santa? Amy seems quite convinced.” 

“We met someone who looked like Santa! Although, earlier I was almost starting to convince myself...” Dave trailed off as he watched Az add a disgusting amount of candy cane vodka to each cup, except two. “Jesus! Slow down, man! We still have stockings to do after they go to bed. I don’t want to be so drunk I can’t see what I’m doing.” 

“Fuck off…” Az straightened up and sighed, “Dammit! You know what, I’m just gonna put like fifty bucks in that jar, that’ll have to cover me.” Az laughed and smiled at Dave, “Thanks for having us, man. This means a lot.” 

“I’m glad you’re here. Are you doing okay?” 

There was a long beat of silence, then Az shook his head. “She didn’t even send him a bloody Christmas gift, Dave. Like, what the... “ Az heaved a sigh. “His own mom didn't even send him a gift. I bought him something extra, I’m gonna put her name on it.”

“I’m so sorry, Az. Is there something we can do?”

“I know she hates me, but…”  Az grew quiet and looked towards the living room where they could hear Amy and Jamal laughing and talking to Finn. He shook his head and smiled. “No, I don’t want to get into this, okay? Maybe we can go out and get drunk after Christmas, but I don’t want to be sad tonight. Tonight, I want to go watch the Muppets with our kids, and tomorrow I want to give my son the best Christmas he’ll ever have. Okay?” 

Dave lifted his wine glass in a salute, “Okay!” 

“What are you two doing!?” Kurt walked into the kitchen, he had changed into his long grey robe and Christmas tree pajamas, and he looked annoyed. “Are you two almost ready? My brother is acting like a hyperactive five-year-old by pretending to be Rudolph and giving the kids piggyback rides around the living room. And I just got a lecture from your dad, Dave, about all the snacks I put out. A lecture he gave while eating half of a box of chocolates. And I’m almost certain we’re going to need an electric fence to stop those kids from getting at the gifts before tomorrow. So, please just…” Kurt sighed as Dave pulled him into a hug. 

“I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to leave you all alone out there. We’re ready. And did my dad get into the Jacques Torres chocolates? I’ve been saving those!” 

Kurt just nodded, and Dave felt his face fall. Goddamnit! 

They walked into the living room, to find Amy and Jamal were cuddled up on the couch with Paul, Ciara, Burt, and Carol. Finn and his finance, Andrew, were sitting on the floor in front of the couch, holding up a giant bowl of popcorn for Amy and Jamal. Dave also noticed that his dad had a box of chocolates on his lap, and was happily working his way through them. 

Dave would be sure to bring that up during the next lecture about how much weight he’d gained. 

Az put the tray of mugs down on the coffee table and sank down into Dave’s favorite reading chair, only to have Jamal clamber into his lap a moment later. Dave watched as Az snuggled his son with a  sad smile. He made a mental note to talk to Kurt about what Az had said earlier, maybe they could think of ways to take Az and Jamal’s minds off things - he was sure they could also get Amy in on that plan too. 

“Papa! Daddy! Come on! We wanna watch the movie before Santa gets to our house!” Amy pointed at the floor, next to Finn. 

Dave sighed, his back was still aching from earlier, so sitting on the floor was just going to make it all the worse. But maybe if he put on enough of a pitiful puppy dog face, Kurt might give him a back rub. But still, he settled down on the floor next to Finn and wound an arm around Kurt’s shoulders. It lasted all of a minute before they had a lapful of Amy, who snuggled herself in between Dave and Kurt. He cuddled her and smiled as Finn started the movie. 

He felt his dad’s hand press heavily down onto his shoulder, giving him a squeeze, and Amy’s small head pressing against his chest, and Kurt’s hand slipping into his. For a moment, he flashed back to the incredible trek he and Amy had taken across the city earlier today, it felt so long ago now. And he wondered about all the people he’d encountered - he really hoped they all were as warm and loved as he felt right now. 

And if it had been Santa that they had met… well, he might leave a few extra cookies out tonight, just in case. 

But for now, he’d settle in and watch a movie surrounded by his family, safe in the knowledge that with or without Santa, he and Amy had saved Christmas. 

{fin - for now...}

Amy Karofksy-Hummel and her Dads Will Return