Participants:
| Scene Title | If Only In My Dreams |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Christmas Eve may not have snow and mistletoe, but there are more precious things. |
| Date | December 24, 2011 |
The Hub's Music Room
She's been working on this for days, trying not to step on anyone's toes. People have donated things, made things, Elisabeth even raided the school supplies and got Elaine to convince the kids that while we can't have a tree — it's just not going to happen, we can still have a little Christmas. So the music room is being decorated for Christmas morning with pictures that the children made. It's tomorrow. And each child has a couple of small gifts. There's never anything fancy, but Isabelle — God only if she'll find anything — is going to try to come up with some coveted hard candies on the scavenging run tomorrow.
Now, there's just putting it together. And Elisabeth stole the red and green yarn from Edward's office so they could make .. something like a garland? "I don't suppose you actually know how to crochet or something, do you?" she asks Elaine with a grin.
Elaine sits, peering at all the little presents, glass of water nearby. Hydration is important. She occasionally sips from it, but her focus is on what is going on in front of her. Which was attempting to make a garland. She grins back over at Elisabeth when she suggests it. "Actually, I did learn when I was little but the odds of finding a crochet hook somewhere down here…"
She stares at the yarn as if it were whispering just how to make a garland in her ear. "Right. I think we should braid it. We can make a chain using slip knots, then braid those chains together and it should be something thick enough to work as a garland… or we can repeat the process and braid those strands together too. Should look fancy, especially since I doubt the kids would know how to make it themselves. Well, the older ones can figure it out."
"Oooh, a braid will work too! I have no clue how to crochet or knit," Elisabeth admits on a laugh. As they work on this little project, the blonde asks Elaine thoughtfully, "Are you doing okay? You're always so quiet that I forget to ask sometimes. But of all the people here, you're the one … who hears all the children's fears, I would imagine. That can't be easy. Do you think this will help a little?"
"Oh yeah, crocheting and knitting would be super useful down here if we had things like vast quantities of yarn. Maybe if we got someone to raid a craft supply store for yarn…" Elaine's clearly thinking on the idea now when Elisabeth asks about her.
"I'm quiet because I'm always scared. Not with the kids. I'm a superhero when it comes to the kids, they need someone really strong so I've gotta be it. It isn't easy and it wears me out a lot but those kids deserve to live someplace where they aren't scared about everything. So yeah, I think it'll help a little. Anything that seems 'normal' to them is important and special. And Christmas presents are pretty 'normal'."
"Everyone seemed happy to do something for them. I didn't want to step in on Dirk's territory — I know he keeps up with birthdays and things." Or at least he tries. The man seems to LOVE his organization skills. "But… with things getting a bit crazy out there, this seemed like a good idea." She brings over the green yarn and starts tying bows around some of the odds and ends that are going to turn out to be gifts. "What's your favorite Christmas song, Elaine?"
With a gentle shoulder nudge, she says softly, "C'mon… tell. Cuz just for today, I get to cheat just a little."
"My favorite Christmas song is kind of silly. 'Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire' the way Nat King Cole sings it. I like it because it's slow and jazzy and sort of… like a compliation of all things that seem to make Christmas Christmas. It makes me miss Christmas when I was a kid." Elaine murmurs, putting a hand on her stomach. "We're going to have some great Christmases in the future though. Some great ones."
Elisabeth quirks a brow, looking … perhaps a little surprised by the other woman's positivity. But the movement sparks a moment of curiosity that brings blue eyes up to look at Elaine and Liz does something she normally wouldn't even consider doing — she listens.
There are a multitude of reactions that blast through her mind when she realizes what she's hearing. Her eyes go rather wide and she looks a bit startled. "OH… wow…" She is still for a long moment, looking unfocused with her gaze fixed slightly over Elaine's shoulder. "Uhm…"
Swallowing hard, Liz brings her blue eyes back to Elaine. "Congratulations." There a lot of thoughts that she bites back. Because she knows Magnes is the one Elaine's been seeing — he told her he was seeing someone. Biting her lip, Elisabeth glances toward the door and then says softly, "Merry Christmas, Elaine."
She closes her eyes and stretches out her ability, which she hasn't negated after yesterday's fiasco because she's been monitoring Magnes and wants to check on Ruiz if Lynette will allow. Thanking Conrad silently for everything he taught her about listening to the human body, she isolates a tiny, fast sound and brings it to the level of audibility for Elaine.
Elaine has just enough of a reason to be positive. There are a lot of reasons to be scared, but she knows she's got two people who need her cheering them on, and one of them is barely there. Barely there but enough there that Elisabeth can pick up something.
She blinks for a long moment, unsure as to what she's hearing before she gasps sharply, her hands flying up over her mouth. "Is that…?" She asks the question she already knows the answer to. Tears well up in her eyes and she does her best to wipe them away. "Oh god, I don't know how I should be feeling right now. It's like… excitement and worry and then excitement again and then I just feel overwhelmed." She pauses. "Thank you."
There are tears in Elisabeth's blue eyes as well. "You are very welcome," she says softly. She could say so many things… this is a DYING WORLD. But what's the point? What's done is done. What she now knows just means we have to get the fuck out of here that much sooner. We're working with a deadline.
"Well…" She chuckles a little and wipes her face. "That wasn't what I intended for your Christmas present… but since I'm at it, how about I give Nat King Cole a try, huh?"
It takes a lot of focus. She can't work on the things in her hands and she closes her eyes, raising the memory in her mind of what that version of the carol sounds like. Using her own voice and simply shifting the tonalities, she sings, "~Chestnuts roasting on an open fire… Jack Frost nipping at your nose… Yuletide carols being sung by a choir… And folks dressed up like Eskimos…~"
It's nowhere near a perfect Nat King Cole rendition. It requires manipulation of too many elements, Liz is realizing. But she can bring it down into that key and give it the right cadence, a deeper sound than her own usual singing voice. It's not nothin!
Elaine had her tears under control until Elisabeth starts singing. Then they trickle down her cheeks again, the redhead wiping them away with the back of her hand as she tries to retain some sense of composure. She hums along lightly, smiling amidst the tears. "You're too sweet, Liz. Too sweet. I really hope that whatever you and Magnes have planned that it works. Even if not for the rest of it, for you guys at least."
It makes Elisabeth pause, and she says quietly, "It's got to. This is not a world to bring a child into, Elaine. It has to work." She blows out a breath and admits quietly, "I love that carol too…. but this year, I have a different one stuck in my head." Her hands go back to braiding the yarn to make the garland bits they're trying for, but her voice lifts with subtle undertones of music to it.
"~I'll … be home for Christmas… You can count on me….~"
"I know. This wasn't something really planned, it was a risk, but I never knew that this was what I wanted. I didn't realize I wanted a family, that it was an option for me. I though it was always going to be just me and those kids and an empty classroom when they all grew up." Elaine nods slowly, wiping the last of the tears from her cheeks. "Maybe you aren't home home, but you've got people who care about you here and it's our home. So maybe for this year you can share it."
Elisabeth smiles. "I'm certainly trying," she replies, holding up a set of jingle bells made of metal bits someone scavenged. "~Christmas Eve will find me… where the love light gleams…~ If nothing else, Elaine, the children's faces in the morning will be worth every bit of it. And they've been working on some carols for all of you, too," she confides with a smile. "So for breakfast, we'll have a small concert. Sound like a plan?"
"I think a breakfast concert sounds like a superb idea. I think something like that will raise everyone's spirits. And while things aren't as dark as they've been, we can always use some spirit-raising." Elaine offers a genuinely warm smile, then nods her head again. "Sounds like a perfect plan to me."
~I'll be home for Christmas....~