Vin stood on the threshold and looked into the far corner of the room that was dominated by the large, ugly spruce he and Chris had cut down last week. Tinsel and lights liberally covered the tree in a hotchpotch fashion that would have given Martha Stewart apoplexy. Hanging ornaments clung tenaciously to almost every branch, and they were a mixture of old and new, worn and pristine. Some of them were Chris's and some were Vin's but all shared an equal place of honor on the misshapen tree. At the very top, several star ornaments jostled for prominent position and Nathan promptly gave them the nicknames of Alpha, Beta and Proxima after the Centauri triple-star system.
Underneath the tree were dozens of presents in gaily wrapped paper piled up high and spilling into the room from beyond the safety of the overhanging branches. It was a mess, all of it, but it filled Vin with a joy he had long forgotten.
A shout came up from behind and Vin turned to see what all the excitement was about. He had to laugh when he realised Buck had started the party games by himself as was trying to persuade JD to take the orange Buck had clamped between his chin and chest without using his hands. Chris balled up a napkin and threw it, the red and green paper bouncing off Buck's nose and causing him to lift his head in surprise. The orange dropped to the floor and rolled over towards Nathan who quickly snatched it up and started skinning it with a paring knife that seemed to come from thin air. Segments of orange went flying across the room, caught by eager hands, as Buck protested the loss of his game piece.
Vin took a deep breath, soaking up the joyous atmosphere along with the aroma of roasting turkey and all the trimmings. That aroma grew stronger when Chris came back from the kitchen with more chilled beer. He glanced around and smiled at the pleasure on Chris's face as he took in the happy guests, and Chris's next words increased that pleasure tenfold.
"Dinner's still an hour away. How about opening the presents?"
Whoops of excitement filled the room and, like a bunch of kids at Christmas, the merry adults leapt to their feet and stampeded towards Vin. He laughed again and quickly jumped aside to avoid being trampled in the rush only to find his arm caught so he was herded along into the room with the rest. Seats and floor space were quickly taken.
"Damn. That is one ugly tree, Chris."
"Hey, Buck, I picked that one especially."
"If ya think that one's ugly then ya should have seen the rest."
Chris grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured out a drink, his expression growing serious as he stared around the sea of eager faces.
"Who's still sober enough to read the labels?" Josiah raised his hand and Chris thrust the huge tumbler of whiskey into it. "That solves that problem."
Vin grinned and Buck whooped in laughter as Josiah accepted the drink, saluted the crowd and swallowed half the contents in one swallow. Meantime, Chris pushed aside a pile of presents to gain some kneeling space, the task made more dificult as he was still holding the bottle of whiskey. He dropped to his knees beside the tree, placed the bottle aside and started to pick up the gifts, yelling out a name and sending it on its way to the recipient. The sounds of ripping paper filled the air along with raucous laughter and shouts of 'Thanks'. Vin sat cross-legged near Chris and tore into the first parcel. He didn't need to read the labels as he could tell from the wrapping who had given him each gift.
"Yeah! Thanks Buck, JD."
It was the latest Sony playstation, the PS2, with a selection of shoot-em-ups. He looked around eagerly, trying to see where the television was hiding but then another parcel dropped into his lap. With its shiny paper dazzling him, Vin forgot the PS2 momentarily and tore into Ezra's gift to him.
All too soon the last present was open and Buck balled up some of the torn wrapping and lobbed it at Chris to gain his attention. He held up his empty glass but a look of sheer devilment crossed Larabee's face and, suddenly, the air was filled with gaily coloured missiles as everyone got the same idea at the same time. By the time they all collapsed back, exhausted from the fight and from the laughter, with tears of pleasure racing down their faces, the ugly tree had gained more than a dozen new ornaments in the shape of balled up coloured paper.
Nettie banged a couple of saucepan lids together to gain their attention and, in doing so, started a scrabble for the dinner table. Some how or other, Vin managed to find himself squeezed between Chris and Buck.
Platters piled high with steaming vegetables and meat were passed around and they dug into the meal with relish, commenting loudly on how good particular items were. Buck forced Nettie to take a seat and join them even though she kept insisting there was more to be done in the kitchen but he would not take 'no' for an answer. She had already done more than expected for a guest and for that Vin was grateful as, if left up to Chris, they'd be eating charcoal by now.
Everyone had taken a hand in the meal whether it was peeling potatoes, preparing dishes in advance for reheating, or bringing desserts and wine. All the hours of hard work disappeared rapidly as seven hungry men and three despairing women, who looked on in pleasure and exasperation, ate and drank heartily.
"A toast."
"Yeah, a toast."
Slowly everyone fell silent and watched as Buck raised his glass high.
"To good friends and happy times."
"Hear, hear."
"Yeah."
"Good friends!"
It was now almost one o'clock in the morning and Christmas Day had past. Nathan stretched, dislodging Rain who was tucked up against him on the couch and nearly sending her tumbling to the floor. She stretched as well and smiled sleepily.
"Time for bed?"
"Hmm. You go ahead, Rain. I'm gonna hang around a while longer. Be there soon though."
Rain gave him a heart-warming smile, understanding his need for a little space with just the team but knowing he would come to her soon enough. Slowly, she picked her way across a floor littered with paper and bodies, pausing on the threshold to bid everyone a goodnight before wandering off to the room Chris had prepared for her and Nathan. Nettie had retired an hour earlier to what had once been Adam's bedroom and Vin smiled as he noticed Casey eyeing the door. JD was too engrossed in one of the games that came with Vin's present to notice how tired Casey looked so Vin gave him a nudge and, ignoring the annoyed exclamation, he leaned in close.
"Reckon Casey is thinkin' on goin' to bed."
JD looked across at Casey, and blushed. He shoved the controller into Ezra's hands and, with a cheeky grin, he hauled Casey from her seat. He waited while she said goodnight and then escorted her from the room.
"Young love."
"Thought ya were asleep there, Josiah."
"Nope. Just taking in the ambience of a magical day."
Ambience wasn't a word Vin was familiar with but he did not need to know it to understand what Josiah was saying. It had been a magical day and was, most certainly, the best Christmas he had spent since leaving the orphanage. A grin crossed Vin's face and Chris raised an eyebrow in query as he carried on pouring his finest single malt whiskey into offered glasses.
"Just figured out why today has been so great."
"The pleasant company?" Chris grinned.
"The culinary delights?" Ezra's gold-tooth glinted in the fairy tale lights from the Christmas tree as he patted his full stomach.
"The spirit of Christmas?"
"Reckon Josiah's referring to the free booze."
Vin laughed at Buck's remark. He noticed JD slipping back into the room and dropping to the floor to lean up against the couch. Chris passed the kid a glass of whiskey which JD eyed cautiously before taking a sip.
"Yeah, all of those things and more. First two Christmases after I lost my Grandfather I spent in the orphanage. They used to make such a big thing out of Christmas. We'd get this big tree donated by a local farmer and we'd spend all afternoon throwing tinsel and ornaments on top. Hell, Nathan, the top of that tree had so many stars it looked like a galaxy. Old Alpha star up there belonged to my grandfather and we used to have it on the tree every year."
He nodded up to the shining silver star that was shaped more like a sheriff's badge.
"On Christmas Day the whole place had this smell... just like here... of roasting turkey, chocolate, cinnamon and other spices. And the smell of paper. That tree would be knee deep in presents. Some we bought with our pocket money for friends, others given by the people who run the orphanage or donated by local people. We'd spend the whole day gorging ourselves on sweets and playing party games... and then Santa would turn up. Hell, 'cept for the little kids, we all knew it was just Mr. Johnson dressed up but it didn't matter none."
Vin fell silent.
"Only thing that marred Christmas was wondering if yer best friend would be there, or if they'd be farmed off to a foster home just days before. But the day itself was always magical."
Vin looked at the smiling faces around him and felt embarrassed.
"Hell, Vin. If I'd known earlier I'd have got Josiah here to dress up as Santa for ya."
"Ho. Ho. Ho."
Josiah threw a cushion at Buck then deftly caught the one Buck aimed back at him and placed it behind him for added comfort much to Buck's annoyance. Ezra frowned.
"Now, let me get this straight, Mr. Tanner. You are likening us to a rowdy bunch of children gorging themselves on candy and generally running amok all day long?"
"Best of times." Vin grinned, raising his glass in a mock salute to the men around him and gave them a wink.
"What was the worst of times?"
Vin grew silent, falling deep into thought for a moment as he pondered JD's question.
"Have to be the last year with my grandfather. He was so sick an' I knew he was dyin'. Tried to make it a good Christmas for me but I was so scared of losin' him. We struggled through the season with the help of Grandpa's friends, and he died a month later. I was eleven going on twelve at the time."
Vin snorted gently and glanced up at Alpha star sitting proudly, if not at a strange angle, on top of the lopsided tree.
"That next Christmas was one of the best in my life and, with Grandpa's star on the tree, I didn't even feel any guilt 'cos' I knew he was there with me."
A warm and comfortable silence descended, and then Nathan spoke up.
"How 'bout you, Chris. Best of times? Worst of times?"
... but that is another story....
THE END