Farrah's POV
Jimmy, Fernando, Ramona, Jackson and I were all spread among the living room, caught up in a cheesy movie.
Ramona, Fernando, and Jimmy were on the couch, while I say in Jackson's lap on the floor.
"Merry Christmas. Oh, my Santa. Guys, I worked 60 hours this week. It's four o clock on Christmas Eve, and you still haven't gotten the house Christmas ready?" DJ asked, blocking our view of the movie
"You said, 'Get in the Christmas spirit', so we're watching the most heartwarming Christmas movie ever made- Die Hard." Jackson cheered, making me smile
"Die hard?" Dj asked
"Yippee-ki-yay, moth-" we all began to recite in unison
"Hey, don't finish that thought. Oh, come on, people. I don't smell cookies. I don't see tinsel. I haven't checked the halls, but I'm assuming they're not decked." Dj sighed, looking around the bare room
Max walked down the stairs with Tommy, picking up on the conversation, " Mother, I tried, but they just don't have the Christmas spirit like you, me, and Tommy. None of these lollygaggers moved a muscle. They refused to hang stockings with or without care."
"Oh, Die hard. Now it feels like Christmas." Steph smiled, walking through the kitchen door and admiring the screen
"See what I've been working with?" Max asked, sighing in frustration
Kimmy walked in with a giant Santa sack, bringing our attention to her rather than the argument.
"Oh, I knew I could count on Kimmy for some Christmas spirit. Are you gonna put out presents?" Dj asked
"Not unless someone wants my sweaty gym socks. This is my laundry bag." Kimmy admitted
"Okay, that's it." Dj snapped turning of the tv, making everyone else groan in annoyance
"With Dad, Uncle Jesse, and Aunt Becky visiting Michelle, I was counting on you guys. You are all in my naughty list." Dj said
"You're not gonna tell Santa, are you?" Jimmy asked, looking a bit nervous
"There's no option off the table. I'm gonna see him in 45 minutes because I am taking Max and Tommy to the mall." Dj started as she headed to the door
I grabbed for the remote, when Dj snatched it out of my hand, "And when I get back, this room better be filled with so many Santas, that I couldn't even swing a red nosed reindeer without hitting one."
We all groaned, moving from our spots to deck out the living room in an array of decorations.
_______
At first, I was a bit put off by the thought of Christmas this year because of my parents, but seeing all of our hard work really reminded me of everything the season brought.
Music, family, and really a time where it's almost impossible to be upset...almost.
"O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum your SPF protects me." Kimmy sang, as we admired the Christmas tree we had just finished
"Then it hit me. Silent night, holy night. Santa flies his sleigh through a hole in the space time continuum." Jimmy explained, interrupting Kimmy's singing
I started laughing so hard at Jimmy's explanations, I had to lean on Jackson for a bit of support
"What don't you say out loud? Ha ha." Steph sighed, a bit concerned for the older man
Kimmy continued to hum, leaning over the second floor railing to decorate the top of the tree, before Steph called up to her, "Kimmy, What are you doing?"
"Duh. I'm leaning over the railing in a dangerous fashion." Kimmy smiled, unaware of the danger she was putting herself in
"No, no, no. You can't do that. You're pregnant with my baby." Steph gasped
"Why do I keep forgetting that?" Kimmy asked
I ignored the rest of their conversation, and went back to decorating with Jackson.
"Talked to your parents recently?" Jackson quizzed
"I FaceTimed them the other day, but not for long. They had a company Christmas party to get to. At least someone's enjoying the season." I sighed
"Oh, come on. Christmas is your favorite." Jackson insisted, placing a soothing hand on my back
"I know, and I grateful I'm here with all of you. It's actually getting easier to deal with them being gone. I'm just being dramatic." I decided
"Don't be ridiculous. You're parents are being selfish...Uh, no offense." He admitted
"Don't worry about it. I agree." I laughed, finally second where I wanted to place an ornament
"Hey. What are you doing with all these old clothes?" Jackson asked as Ramona walked by with a large box
"Oh, I'm collecting donations for the homeless shelter. I'm volunteering there for school community service." Ramona said
"That's awesome. I have a bunch of old clothes upstairs that I'll bring you later. Also, do they have anymore spots? I just need one more hour of service." I asked, smiling at the thought of making someone else's Christmas better
"Thanks. And, yeah, I'll sign you up." She smiled
"Wow. That's so cool your school makes you do that." Jackson nodded, clearly forgetting we all attend the same one
"You know we all go to the same school?" I asked him, laughing a bit
"Oh, yeah." He realized a bit embarrassed
"I hear Dj coming." Kimmy announced
"Quick, get rid of all the Santas." Dj frantically cried, running through the door
"You mean the hundred Santas that you asked up to put up?" Steph asked
"Don't use my words against me. Tommy is suddenly terrified of Santa. He had a meltdown at the mall." Dj explained
"It couldn't have been that bad." Kimmy said
Dj held up a picture of Tommy screaming in Santa's lap, "Yeesh."
I went over and took the Santas off the tree, hoping to save everyone from a toddler meltdown, before Tommy and Max walked in.
"Hey, Max. How did you like Santa?" Kimmy asked
"It was terrific." Max replied in a monotone voice, grabbing Tommy's hand and pulling him into the kitchen
"What's wrong with him?" I asked
"I'm not linguist, but it's almost like he was saying it wasn't terrific." Jimmy decided
"But Max is Mr. Christmas." Jackson argued
"Not anymore. I mean, he was fine until we got in line to meet Santa, and then he suddenly announced that he was over Christmas." Dj said
Jackson, Jimmy, and I sighed and walked away to let the women talk.
Max was still in a bad mood later, so we decided to do a presentation for him. Jackson and I brought out a shower curtain to block the surprise
Tommy came out first with newspaper for Max.
Then, Jimmy came out and broke a board with his head.
"Does anybody else taste pennies?" He asked, rubbing his bruised skull
"I appreciate the effort, but how is this supposed to get me in the Christmas mood?" Max asked
"He was supposed to sing Jingle Bells." Dj said
We finally convinced Max to help us finish decorating the tree. He went up to the tree and started hanging ornaments.
We all grabbed ornaments to join in on the fun. Max was hanging a fire hat one, when he dropped it and it shattered.
"Oh, no." I sighed
Max ran upstairs, as DJ's eyes followed him in worry, "I know what this is about."
____________
After DJ talked to Max, we were all gathered around the couch to watch old home videos of the Fuller's with their dad.
"Oh, Max, look how cute you were." Dj smiled, pointing to the TV
"I miss Dad, too." Jackson sighed, putting his arm around Max in a brotherly manner
"I miss when you knew how to frame a shot." Max joked
"There's the Max we love." Dj cheered
Suddenly Kimmy gasped, and we all looked at her as she ran off to the kitchen
"Mom you alright?" Ramona called, trying to figure out why she had run off so suddenly
"Feeling better Max?" Dj asked
"I am. Man, was I cute." Max smiled
Kimmy walked back in holding four gifts in her arms.
"Kimmy, what's going on?" Dj asked
"You know in the video when Tommy Sr took the phone call and.. none of you could hear it? Well, I could with my Gibbler hearing. Tommy wanted to give his kids the best Christmas ever. He even bought these special presents and hid them here at Danny's house." Kimmy explained, looking down at the gifts she carried
"I had no idea." Dj replied, standing up from her spot on the couch
"They were in that weird cabinet above the washer. It's a Christmas miracle." Kimmy said
"Wait. We have a washer?" Steph asked
Kimmy handed them their gifts so they could open them up. Tommy opened his to reveal a new firefighter helmet ornament.
"Tommy, it's just like the one I broke. Be careful, little man." Max said
Then, Jackson opened his, "Wow, a Wii U. That's exactly what I wanted when they still made them."
Max opened his next, "It's a watch. It's just like the one Dad used to wear. It's perfect."
"Well, since I'm handing out Christmas miracles...he left one for you, too." Kimmy said, handing Dj a box
Dj teared up as she opened it, "Merry Christmas, my beloved wife. All I ever want for you is too be happy each and everyday. Love, Tommy."
She opened the box to reveal a very blingy necklace, and started crying harder, "It's so ugly. Oh. He always had such awful taste. I love it."
"Thanks, Mom. Maybe I'm not too mature for the holidays." Max said
"Welcome back, Mr. Christmas." Dj replied, as everyone gathered for a hug.
___________
After all the gift opening, we all moved to the tables in the living room for a group dinner.
"Okay. Well, normally on Christmas Eve, my dad would be up here giving some long winded speech about an obscure relative we've never heard or met. So if he asks, just tell him I did that." Dj said
"Hear, hear." We all cheered
"Good story." Jimmy nodded, making me giggle
"But I do wanna say how grateful I am that we're all able to spend the holiday together." Dj continued
Then a cell phone beeped, making everyone in the room look around
"Jackson, I said no phones at the table." Dj sighed
"Sorry, it was nothing." He blushed, turning his phone off
I winked at him, because I was the one who had sent him the text.
"So where was I? We are truly blessed." Dj said
We heard some bells jingle and Tommy stood up, "Santa. Santa."
"Oh no, I hope we didn't miss another Santa." Dj groaned, scared the boy would throw a fit
"Ho,ho,ho!" Joey yelled coming into the kitchen dressed as Santa, grabbing Tommy's hand
"It's Santa!" Jimmy yelled
"Hey, Joey!" We all cheered
"Oh, yeah, Joey, right." Jimmy agreed, trying to cover up his previous statement
"Aw, Tommy you're not afraid of Santa anymore?" Dj asked
"I love Santa Joey." Tommy smiled
"Joey, what are you doing here?" Steph asked
"Well, a few of Santa elves named Jackson, Farrah, and Ramona texted me and said that someone here was afraid of Old Saint Nick. So, I hopped in my sleigh and flew right over. Luckily, I was wearing my Santa suit. Ginger has a thing." Joey smirked
Jackson and I looked at each other and shivered in disgust.
"Great. We were just about to have Christmas Eve dinner." Dj said
"Well, you know me. I'm never one to turn down a turkey leg. Oh, look, there's one right there." Joey said
We all sat back down in our seats so Dj could continue her Christmas speech.
"As I was saying... Christmas is one of the most holy and sacred days of the year." Dj said
A phone went off again, interrupting her ongoing speech
"I said no phones at... Oh. That's mine." Dj sighed, picking it up.
"Steve, hi. Oh, I miss you so much." Dj smiled, once the man's image appeared on her FaceTime
"Me too. There's so much I want to say to you." Steve said
"Yeah, like what?" Dj asked
Steve walked up behind her and we all smiled, "Like, I'm standing right behind you."
"That's not that romantic." Dj groaned, still looking at her phone.
"Oh, no, I'm actually right behind you." He repeated
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with the Lakers. Aren't they playing right now?" Dj asked, turning around hugging him close
"I quit. Kind of. If Magic Johnson calls, don't tell him I'm here." Steve admitted
"You quit? But that's your dream job." Dj asked
"Yeah, but I have dreams that are more important than that." Steve said
"Aw." We all cooed
"Look, Deej, we've been waiting 25 years. We owe it to ourselves once and for all to just see how we are as a couple." Steve admitted
"Aw." Joey said
We looked at him, making him sigh, "Oh, we're not doing that anymore?" He asked
"Aw, I knew this was going to be a great Christmas. Come on everybody, let's eat." Dj said
"Oh. Does anyone here that?" Kimmy asked standing up, "It's snowing in San Francisco."
"What it doesn't snow here?" We said
We all went outside and it was actually snowing. We all stood playing in the snow which would probably never happen again. I smiled and hugged Jackson.
___________
"Jackson.. Jackson wake up." I groaned, poking him with my finger
"Whattt?" He sighed, shifting around in his spot
"Did you forget my text? Remember.. meet me at 12am?" I asked
"Whaaaa... no." He lied, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes
"Get up." I snapped, pushing him gently
Once he stood up, I pulled his arm and dragged him into the backyard.
"Why are we in the backyard?" He asked
"I want to show you something my dad taught me." I admitted
"Which is?" He asked, smiling
"How to find the Big Dipper. Give me your hand." I said, gently taking his hand and showing him how to do it
After five minutes, he finally got it down, "That's what you got me up for?"
"Well.. my dad and I used to do it every Christmas, but since he's not here this year I thought I'd teach you how to do it." I admitted
"I'm sorry he couldn't be here, and thank you for teaching me. Merry Christmas." He replied, hugging me
"Merry Christmas." I said
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Woah, super long chapter... more than 2000 words. You're welcome.