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The rocking chair creaked softly, but otherwise the room was silent. It was the kind of silence that only comes when all of the children are fast asleep, and a thick layer of snow blankets the world outside. Lucille was just on the edge of sleep herself, the picture book she had been reading long fallen to the floor. The baby in her arms was snoring softly, tiny fist curled just outside the blanket. She rocked gently, staring out the window as the snow began to fall again. Down the hall, the old grandfather clock struck the hour, and the baby in her arms stirred slightly, pulling back the blanket to reveal thin wisps of ginger hair that matched her own, and the tiniest little nose. His eyes opened slightly. She pulled him close, stood up, and walked over to the window to show him his first snow. The bright light of the moon lit the world in a brilliant white. “Look, Johnny.” She whispered. “Your daddy wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas.”
John collapsed face-first on the couch in his apartment. The final he had just completed had lasted seven hours, which John had decided was unreasonably long for a test to last. He shifted just enough to bring his watch to his eyes. He had exactly four and a half hours before his last final of the semester, which gave him just enough time to catch a short nap before he needed to be awake again.
His alarm woke him thirty minutes before the test started, giving him enough time to grab a large cup of coffee on his way into class. He hated the stuff. It made him jittery and anxious, but given how little sleep he was running on, it was worth it. He could remember doing calculus in his sleep many times, but the answers usually made less sense once he was awake, so he figured it was better to be awake and at least semi-alert.
He finished the test with twenty minutes to spare, and as soon as he was released, hurried back to his apartment. The lights were on when he opened the door, and a pink-clad figure was seated in his armchair. He landed with a thud on the couch, drawing a sniff from Lady Penelope about his lack of manners. "Who schedules finals on Christmas Eve, Penny?" He whined, shutting his eyes against the lights that seemed to be drilling into his skull. "Who does that? And now it's too late to get home for Christmas. I could fly home tomorrow, but then it's already Christmas day, and my classes start again on the 27th, so I'd just have to fly back again right away."
Penny got up and dimmed the lights, plunging the room into blessed darkness. "I know." She soothed. "Christmas is a time to be with family, not stuck at school. But you know I'm staying here for Christmas as well, since Father is out of the country, so we will spend the day together. We will order food, watch old Christmas movies, and we can call your family and talk to them for as long as you would like."
"What would I do without you, Penny?"
"Well, for one thing, you would have no friends." She declared primly, before being distracted by a notification from her phone.
"I don't need friends." John grumbled, shifting to lie down on the couch. "But I do miss my family. We've always been together on Christmas."
Penny appeared absorbed in her phone for a moment before snapping back to reality. She stood and draped a blanket over him. "I know. Get some sleep. I will be back in the morning with tea and doughnuts, and we will call your family together. But right now, you need to sleep."
It didn't take much for John to obey her order. The last thing he heard before drifting off to sleep was her answering her phone as she shut the door behind her, and then sleep pulled him under.
It was late by the time John awoke the next morning. Penny seemed to have anticipated that, because she was nowhere to be seen. He used the spare time to have a shower and dress in comfy pajamas in honor of Christmas. He was just gathering the stacks of study materials scattered around the apartment when there was a knock at the door. He dropped the papers on his desk before pulling the door open.
He looked down, expecting to meet Penny's eyes, and was surprised when all he saw was the center of a broad chest, covered with the ugliest Christmas sweater he had ever seen. He looked up, then stepped back in shock.
His oldest brother took advantage of his distraction to step through the doorway and hug him, the other three close on his heels. Despite his normal dislike of too much physical contact, John found himself enjoying every hug as they filed in, carrying food, drinks, and even wrapped gifts.
"Merry Christmas!" They all cried. By the time he recovered from his shock, they had made themselves at home, presents deposited under his pitiful tree in the corner. Sensing John's need to process, they busied themselves unpacking and putting away the food they had brought.
Penny stepped up beside him. "Is this what you wanted?"
He couldn't help the tears that sprang to his eyes at her thoughtfulness. "It's exactly what I wanted!"
Bacon was already frying on the stove under Virgil's watchful eye as he mixed dough for biscuits. Gordon and Alan were busy comparing the sizes of their presents, and Scott was setting the table. John was suddenly grateful that Penny had made him buy real plates instead of living off paper plates and takeout containers.
Virgil turned to him. "Your oven is in Celsius, and I'm too jet-lagged to calculate the temperatures." John smiled, brushed the tears from his eyes, and jumped into the bustle of Christmas.
Later, bellies full and presents opened, they sprawled around the room to digest and share stories of the past year. It was a perfect Christmas.
"Scott, where are you?" John muttered under his breath while carrying on a rapid conversation in Spanish. The woman had video-called him, which meant that not only had she told him what had happened, but he could see just how precarious the situation was. This was the best time of year to climb the Andes, but mountains were treacherous, even to the most experienced climbers.
The woman, Sofia, had climbed six out of the seven summits, saving the one closest to her home for last. But disaster had struck on her way down. Strong winds pushed her over the edge, and her harness had given way at just the wrong time, sending her tumbling to a ledge thirty feet below. A broken leg left her unable to climb to safety, and to further complicate the situation, her impact had weakened the ledge she was resting on, sending cracks spider-webbing through it with each movement or shift in the wind.
John muted his feed with Sofia for a moment to turn to Thunderbird 1's icon as it hurtled across the globe. "How is it that you fly the fastest ship on the planet, and it still takes you so long to get here?"
"I was at the North Pole thirty minutes ago, Johnny. I'm pushing her as fast as I can."
"I know, Scott. I just...there isn't much time. Every second counts right now." He took a deep breath before reaching for Sofia's muted link. "And don't call me Johnny."
Scott chuckled, but kept his focus on squeezing every ounce of speed he could out of his 'bird rather than being drawn into a sibling debate. He secured the straps of his jetpack tightly as he flew, checking the tank and ensuring he had enough to lift off the mountain. Absently, he could hear John chatting with Sofia. Although his rusty Spanish wasn't enough to catch most of the words, he could tell she was scared.
John was scared, too. He had managed to distract Sofia with their conversation, but the way the camera was resting gave him a perfect view of the slowly growing cracks. Even if Sofia held completely still, they had five minutes at most before the ledge completely gave way.
He glanced back at Thunderbird 1's icon, which was close, but not close enough for comfort. "Scott, the second you are close enough, give me controls and jump. We are cutting this awfully close."
John could see the tiny twitch that Sofia made when she finally heard the sound of his brother's 'bird's engines. That little movement was the final straw, and the ledge began to crumble away underneath her. "Hold on." He ordered her, switching comms to coordinate with Scott. "The ledge is gone. I need you down there now!"
"FAB, Thunderbird 5." Scott's voice came over the call clearly. "Handing you controls in three, two, one..."
"Jump." John ordered, hands flying to arrest Thunderbird 1's speed and bring her around to retrieve the two now on the mountain. "I have control."
Scott dove out of the belly of his 'bird, jetpack already engaged to speed his descent. "I have a visual, Thunderbird 5. She's still holding on, but her grip is slipping."
"Hold on, Sofia." John urged again. "Almost there."
He held his breath until he heard Scott back on the line. "Got her."
"Good job, Thunderbird 1. Bringing her around now."
As John brought Thunderbird 1 to a stop above the hovering pair, he had to stifle a snort at his brother's best attempt at "Feliz Navidad." Although Scott's flirting seemed to be working, if the adoring gaze Sofia was shooting towards her rescuer was any indication. John rolled his eyes before releasing control of Thunderbird 1 back to Scott.
"Thanks, John. I'm going to drop her off at a hospital, and I'll meet you at home. We still have Christmas to celebrate."
John smiled as he cut the feed and turned to prep the elevator to head back to earth. A long time ago, Christmas had been a day the whole family spent together, no matter what. But what they had now was even more special. They had learned to treasure what they could get, and the fleeting moments together made the long days and nights apart worth it.
Besides, what other family would have stories like this to share around their Christmas tree?