AN: Happy thanksgiving! This oneshot almost got away from me! Takes place six months after Jessie gets retrieved and the Syndicate got shutdown.
Pairings: Bobby/OC, Dutch/OC, Tommy/Barbara, Daniel/Amanda, Johnny/Julie, Miguel/Sam, Robby/Aisha, Moon/Eli, Tommy/Kim, Jason/Kat.
Disclaimer: Everything Cobra Kai/Karate kid belong to others. Power Rangers belong to Saban.
"Why did you invite half the neighborhood?" Bobby asked as he busied himself with the task his Fiance gave him. He was tasked with chopping the vegetables for the numerous side dishes; not counting the ones some of the guests will bring. The look she shot him told him she was tired of explaining herself.
"Not half the neighborhood but the new and old people im thankful for in my life. And yes whether you like it or not includes 'pops!'" He tried not to snicker at the nickname she had for Kreese. He just didn't understand why she decided to include the OG Cobra himself in her life, but he'd rather not be kicked out of the master bedroom for the foreseeable future.
"OK I can understand him, Barnes, Cheng and Jimmy." Jessie shot him a long suffering look over her shoulder as she set their son in his 'kitchen bouncer'.
"I know you miss when it was just you and your friends." he caught the guarded tone she used when people got under her skin and she didn't want them to know it.
"No It's because you are the person I'm most thankful for." He pulled her into his arms and held her tight.
"Still I guess I can tolerate them for your sake. Who is bringing the Turkeys this year?" Cause yes between his friends and him alone one turkey wouldn't be enough. "I'm doing one, Barbara, Amanda, Helen, Kim, Kat and Ali are bringing turkeys. Carmen and Rosa are bringing Tamales; Sheri is bringing a Ham." That was just the proteins.
"Daniel is bringing his ma's famous Spaghetti, Pasta e Fazule, and Lasagne." He didn't drool at the mention of his favorite of Lucille's dishes. He had the distinction of being the only Cobra on her good side. "Barbara, Helen and Ali are bringing pumpkin, apple and Boston Creme pieā¦" Jessie went on a tangent about who was bringing what for dinner. He could go on letting her think she didn't play a big role in surviving his severe P.T.S.D. But that would be dishonest.
"Before our paths collided, I lived a miserable, solitary existence." As she began to protest he placed a finger to her lips, ignoring the flames that threatened to ignite between them. "Before you i almost never spent the holidays with friends or the family alive I talk too. The Day I pulled you away from incoming traffic, was the day I truly started to care for anything beyond the mission at the moment. Since that disasterous tournament I carried tremendous guilt for what I did, for what I was capable then as a kid. Since that tournament I didn't care about anything at all. It's a wonder I made it through the 90s and early '10s until I met you." The tears in her eyes made him realize why she hadn't set a date for their wedding. While she accepted his proposal months ago his speech wasn't as true to them as this was.
"It wasn't what you hoped for then was it?" He thought it was as romantic as she deserved, but it was way too cliche.
"Well you surprised me, and I always wanted to feel like a princess...but it wasn't intimate like I'd dreamed of when we first started living together. Now this speech is what suits us best." Jessie flushed as she leaned up and kissed him for a second before she got out of his reach and turned on the various pots and pans to prepare the dressing and sides.
"You dreamed of me proposing when you moved in?" Bobby felt relieved by this.
"Well, neither one of us half asses anything, and when you demanded I move in after two years of dating; I knew then that things were headed in that direction."
A couple hours later, with the bird thoroughly violated and stuffed with Dressing in the oven she began work on one of the only desserts she could make. No bake cookies. She saw from the security cameras the first of her guests arrive. Helen slowly waddled up the walk with Dutch and Silver carrying the dishes with their youngest carrying a bottle.
Seeing that she was at a good stopping place with her dessert. She headed out to the door to greet her guests. Bobby was in his den with their son, no doubt teaching him the family business. Honestly she felt jealous that he had a stronger bond with Jimmy than she did. She didn't begrudge him it, because she was unfortunately detained for nearly two weeks. Two crucial weeks to form a bond.
"Stop it!" Helen scolded as she hugged Jessie when she opened the door and led the way into the kitched unintentially ignoring Silver. She had no ill will towards the terminally ill man. Or towards Cheng for that matter. No the one person she hated for not getting to bond with her son right after he was born is Chozen.
After Dutch and Silver; and she could see the visible hostility Dutch had for the man plain as day. Put the turkey in one of the nine other ovens not occupied. And the Pumpkin pie in one of the three stainless steel fridges they left the room. "Where do you want me to put this Jessie?" Elaine asked as she shoved a raven strand behind her ear. It was a bottle of sparkling cider. She motioned to the unused fridges that held bottles of wine before she moved in. Now it held the bottles of sparkling cider used during special occasions.
"How's college?" she asked the nineteen year old. Elaine sighed as she helped her mom into her chair; at almost eight months Helen needed to keep everything to a minimum being high risk at her age.
"Pre-Med is kicking my ass...butt!" Elaine instinctively corrected at her moms pointed look. Jessie fought back the snicker because she is just that bad around her own mother.
"Well it isn't too late to choose another major. I've always said you could be whatever you wanted when you grow up." Elaine had a stubborn look on her face as she replied. "I've wanted to be a Pediatrician since I was six. So no mom I'm going to stick it out."
Helen had a proud smirk on her face. "That's my baby girl!" Jessie guffawed at Elaine's affronted look. "Mom I'm nineteen! Not a baby!"
"Doesn't matter how old you are you'll still be my mini-me!" Helen Rejoined.
"Are mom's always like that?" Jasmine Oliver asked. Jessie turned to the door as three of Encino's newest residents arrived.
"Where do we put these?" Kim asked with a smile on her face. "The pies can go into the 'pie fridge'" Jessie showed Kim as she opened the fridge in question. "The turkey can go into that oven." She pointed to one of eight other ovens she had preheated when she put hers in the oven. As was routine when she started hosting the holiday dinners. She watched as Dr. O put the turkey in. "The men are in the den watching the Cowboys tame the Lions" He snickered as he went to join the other men.
"I would hardly call it a game being so one sided, makes me almost ashamed to be from Michigan." She explained to Kim who just nodded her head. "I'm surprised they're still a team with their infamous record." Jessie then turned to Elaine and Jasmine. "Aisha and Robby are getting Christmas decorations out in the living room." She sent the two teenage aged girls into the living room and spent the next hour chatting with her friends as they arrived and showed them where to put the turkeys and sides. The men she'd send to the den, and the new generation of Miyagi-kai into the living room where she could hear talking and laughter.
"Am I late?" Pops asked as she gave him a stiff hug which he returned equally stiff. They were still feeling each other out. She's no fool despite what most think of her life's choices. She just chose to live her life the way she saw fit and the mistakes she made she learned from. As far as Pops goes, she knows he wasn't a good man in the past, that he still wasn't a good man just because he turned on Chozen. However as long as he doesn't mislead her, she'll accept him in her and Lil Jimmy's life.
"The women are in the kitchen, Miyagi-kai.." She caught his grimace at the name. "Are in the living room setting up Christmas decorations, and the men are in the den." She gave him the no-win choice. His smirk told her he knew what she was up to.
"The kitchen." He told her instantly. There was no right choice in that bunch, just what he could handle most.
"Follow me!" She smirked as she led him into the viperess' nest. She wasn't upset that he didn't bring anything. Probably hadn't had a good holiday meal in years if not decades.
When they made it to the Kitchen she saw the hostility in Barbara, Ali's, Lucille's, and Amanda's eyes. "Lets put hostility aside for the Holiday dinners!" She warned the women who knew who Pops was and had personal reasons to hate him. "I could leave?" Pops offered uncertainty krept into his voice. "If we can accept Silver and Dugan, we can accept you." Julie said as she stood up from her corner where she was chopping up potatoes to go into the three pots.
"What she said, It's not like you're plotting universal domination." Kim and Kat shared smirks. "Not since I was a kid." He quipped. Kim shook her head. "Good." Kim said with a wink.
She heard Jimmy's fussing as Bobby came in with her hungry baby. She grabbed one of the bottles she pumped ahead of time from 'Jimmy's' fridge and warmed it up in the microwave and accepted her son as he reached for her.
"You won't believe this!" Bobby told her in a state of shock as the other men came into the kitchen Dugan and Silver in the very rear.
"What you look like Zordon reappeared after two decades alive and well." Kim and Kat asked. Jason and Dr. O looked at each other. "That would be awesome, but it pales in comparison!" Jason said as he accepted a glass of pepsi from his wife.
"The Lions finally won?" Miguel asked as he, Carmen and Rosa were the last to arrive with the Tomales. She didn't miss the scowl Miguel shot at their dad.
All the men could do was nod. She handed Jimmy over to his namesake along with his bottle to avoid dropping both in her shock.
A couple hours later after the announcement that Hell froze over happened, Dinner was ready. Miguel sat between his girlfriend and her brother as he couldn't help the anger he felt towards his dad. His mom and Abuela were seriously hurt several months back because of his connections with Chozen.
"Kid cut the man some slack, he had nothing to do with it." Boiling hatred filled the pit of his stomach as Silver spoke to him low enough from across the table. His girlfriend squeezing his hand prevented him from being a total Gryffindor.
"Like it or not, he's right, beside Jessie would school our butts in the ring outback if we caused a major scene." Miguel shuddered at that one. He's 'sparred' with the older woman several times since the new miyagi-kai opened in September. If he thought his original Sensei was bad her and Kreese made him seem tame. As if sensing his thoughts the smirk Jess sent him from the doorway was positively vicious.
His friends and fellow students took her warning to heart. "I thought my dad and godfather were tough, she and Aunt Aisha gives them a run for their money."
"There is a reason why she and Julie-sensei decided to take on the girls." Aisha sweetly said as Robby nodded his head fiercely. Aisha was clearly the 'Alpha' in that relationship.
"This years tournament will be interesting, that's for sure." Robby added as he rubbed his shoulder with a smirk in his direction. "What tournament?" Dave Mills asked from the otherside of Anthony. He forgot Dave, Hannah and Jasmine were the new transfers.
He and Robby shared a look as they gave them the quick run down on the tournament. Dave and Hannah shared a look. Dave seemed alright but had a bit of hero worship to his sensei which seemed to border on obsession. Not that he blamed the new kid, once you got past Johnny-sensei's exterior, he was a cool guy.
Hannah though, is how should he put it in Percy Jackson terms? A daughter od Aphrodite. She is nice enough but he caught the hungry look in her eyes when she laid eyes on several boys in school; him in particular. Sam shot the vipress in disguise a dark look shared by Aisha and Moon.
"Relax Your the one I want." He whispered in her ears that made her shudder. He didn't yelp as her brother gave his shins a particularly sharp kick.
As soon as all the food was laid out on the huge tressle table that practically dominated the room, they filled their plates to the brim with the delicious smelling foods. Once everyone was seated at the table. Jessie said grace and gave them one final toast. "To all my friends Happy Thanksgiving!"