As always, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Thank you all so much for coming on this journey with me, and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 5

Filia sat in the darkness of the prop room, just down from the fellowship hall where people were starting to gather. To be honest, she hadn't thought that anyone would come either. But here it was, Christmas eve, and the church was jammed full. It seemed that everyone had come to see what Lina Inverse was going to do.

Filia suddenly heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs. "Filia? I can't see. Where are the lights? Filia, wh- AH!"

Before Filia could flip the light switches, there was a loud crash and the sound of a person falling down the steps. Filia turned to see Xellos lying on the steps, a small tree propped on its side near him as though he'd dropped it when he fell.

"Xellos…? What are you doing here?" Filia asked, reached a hand out to help him up. "I thought-"

"The past few days, my cat has decided to declare war on this poor ficus, so I decided that, since I was going to get rid of it anyway, I might as well bring it here for the pageant. I thought it'd look like a palm tree, but… now I see that it doesn't." Xellos brushed off his backside, trying to steady himself, however Filia nearly knocked him over by grabbing hold of him.

"Oh, Xellos! I don't know what's going to happen tonight!" she cried. "We've never once been through the whole thing, and Lina and her friends still think it's some sort of spy story. This may be the first Christmas pageant in history where Mary and the wise men get into a fight and the angel runs away with the baby."

Xellos tried to pry the woman away from him. "Filia, please, we're in a church. Save some room for Jesus, will you?" He chuckled to himself, as though he was proud of a clever joke, and continued. "Everything will be alright. Where are the kids?"

Filia took a step back and dried her eyes. "All the kids in the world are in the basement putting on bed sheets."

"No," Xellos shook his head. "I mean ou- your kids."

"We're here."

Val and Odilia appeared at the top of the steps, having been listening to the last bits of the conversation. Val had been handing out programs in the fellowship hall, but he'd noticed Xellos' unmistakable beat-up convertible driving into the parking lot, and had to find out what the man was up to.

"Val! Odile!" Filia gasped. "What are you doing here? Go put on your costumes- it's almost time to get lined up."

"It's gonna be awful, you know." Val replied, sitting down on the top step defiantly. "They look like trick-or-treat, all fastened together with safety pins… Mary and Joseph, I mean."

Odilia leaned on his shoulder and nodded. "They look like refugees or something."

"Odile!" Filia hissed. "That's-"

"-interesting that you'd say that." Xellos interrupted her, walking up the steps to sit down beside Val. Odilia hopped down a few steps to sit in Xellos' lap. "They were refugees, in a way. They were a long way from home, they had no place to stay, they didn't know anybody- they were probably cold, tired, hungry, and messy."

"I don't know about cold, tired, and hungry," Odilia rolled her eyes. "but they sure are messy."

"Oh, shoo." Filia sighed, waving the two off. She then turned around and began gathering her belongings, murmuring to herself about various things. "…maybe if I just… I could try to… or perhaps it would work better if I… Hey, Xellos? Do you think-?"

"I think you worry too much." Xellos replied, picking up his tree and nudging her playfully with it. "I have everything under control. I'll get the baby angels organized and push them onstage, I hand out the shepherds' crooks and push them onstage… when exactly am I supposed to do all this?"

"Here." Filia handed him the packet of paper she was holding. "It's all here in the script."

Xellos took the script from her and began flipping through it, observing all the notes that Filia had scrawled in with her favorite purple pen. "…okay… baby angels, yes… shepherds, yes… wise men, uh… Filia, I think there's something missing."

"Huh?" Filia snatched the script back. "What are you talking about? I thought I had everything!"

Xellos waved his hands dismissively. "Oh, I don't think it's a big deal. It's just that I don't see where the fire trucks come in."

"XELLOS!"

If Filia hadn't been in a church, she might have strangled him.

"Val, Sylphiel, can you two round up the rest of the baby angels? I think there are a few still out in the hallway." Filia gave orders backstage as the kids started to get lined up. The dull drone of the crowd just outside the curtains was creating an excited buzz in the children. The Christmas pageant usually attracted the same crowd every year, so the Arts Council knew exactly how many chairs to set up. This year, however, the fellowship hall had filled to the point that it was standing-room-only, and some people had to sit out in the hallway as per the fire code.

No matter what happened, this was a Christmas pageant no one would soon forget.

"You all look wonderful… beautiful… lovely…" Filia passed each child, individually complimenting them on their costume. However, she got to one child and stopped. "…I, uh, see you had no luck with the plain white bed sheets?"

The child replied with a shake of the head.

"…no worries, then. Dinosaurs are fine." Filia sighed, moving on to one of the smaller angels. She hardly recognized the girl and had to do a double take. "Amelia? Your costume is beautiful! But, um, where's your halo?"

"Zelgadis' cat buried it." Amelia replied matter-of-factly.

Zelgadis, who had been standing next to Amelia the whole time, grabbed Filia's hand and acted like he was trying to pull the woman to the side for a private conversation. Filia listened with an amused expression, not sure what to expect. "Listen. Amelia and I have been talking, and we think she ought to say something besides 'the baby came.' Why would they all get up and tear off after some baby they don't even know? We think she ought to tell them it's Jesus and she ought to tell them where He is."

"No, Amelia, Zelgadis." Filia assured them with a calm smile. "Amelia tells them 'unto you a child is born,' and that's all she tells them."

Amelia gave an exasperated sigh- a funny sight for a child her size- and joined the rest of the angels in lining up in their places.

"Everyone try to be quiet while the stage is getting set up," Filia instructed, walking out toward the hallway with the few actors who would be entering from the back. "and good luck!"

"Miss Ul Copt," Martina's haughty voice spoke up over the commotion. "actors don't say 'good luck.' Actors say 'break a leg."

Lina, Naga, and Pokota looked at each other with big, mischievous grins. "Break a leg?!" they all exclaimed with the enthusiasm of a child, well, on Christmas. Filia had to intervene quickly.

"No, no, no, no!" she hissed, grabbing Naga and Pokota's arms and pulling them back towards the door. "It's just a theatrical saying. It doesn't really mean break a leg- yours or anyone else's. PLACES!"

The children shuffled out into the hallway and Filia followed. As she began to calm herself down, she noticed the way that Lina was carrying the baby doll. Its head had been reattached with super-glue in a rather odd-looking fashion, but that wasn't such a problem when the doll was wrapped in the bundle of cloth they were using as a prop. Lina still had on her Christmas-ornament earrings and was visibly chewing gum as though she were on her way to a party, not preparing to play the lead role in a pageant. "Lina…" Filia began uneasily, motioning the girl aside. "can I talk to you for a minute?"

Lina shrugged and gave the others a wave before stepping aside with Filia. The woman bent down and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. She was smiling, but Lina was still suspicious about being called out specifically. Filia took the doll from her and began wrapping it in the cloth.

"Lina, I know you've never really been involved in a church before, so this is probably overwhelming. All this Jesus-business is kind of a tough pill to swallow all at once. We don't expect you to understand it or believe it, really, but…" Filia pulled on Lina's sleeves so that she could press the bundle of cloth and doll into the girl's arms. "…at the heart of it all, Christmas is about gifts. About giving gifts, and, yes, getting gifts. When you receive a gift, it means that someone, somewhere loves you. So, for tonight anyway, please remember that this is not just a baby. This baby is a gift, and it's a gift especially for you."

Lina stared at her blankly for a moment, and then offered a shrug in reply. Filia sighed, straightened up again, and walked with the other kids to their places. Lina let the doll fall back to her side, strolling casually toward the group. However, she stopped momentarily. Something behind her caught her eye.

It was a painting hanging on the wall. Most of the paintings in the church were ones of strange-looking old men with beards and odd clothing, so Lina ignored them. This one, however, was different. There was a man with a beard- not Santa, but a younger man, Jesus maybe?- sitting and welcoming a group of children. He had a little boy in his lap and a girl by his side, and the expression on his face was one that made Lina uneasy. It was… love.

The girl threw a glance at the doll in her arms. It was suddenly as though something about it was different. Something had changed- slight, of course- but visibly nonetheless. Lina tugged the blanket tightly around the doll, and gently removed her earrings, tucking them away in her pockets. As an afterthought, she fished her gum wrapper out of her pocket and spit her gum out into it. She heard someone call her name from the end of the hallway, and so she smoothed her hair out, pulling the scarf she'd been given to wear up over her head and rushing toward her place.

O, little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.

"In the days of Caesar Augustus, a decree went out that all the world should be taxed."

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by.

"So Joseph went up from Galilee with Mary, his wife, who was great with child."

Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.

"And while they were there, she brought forth her first born son,"

The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

"wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Sylphiel stood at the podium near the edge of the stage. She didn't have to read the script- she'd played the narrator for so many years that she had her part completely memorized. A portion of her feared that the chaos which was surely going to ensue in the next few minutes would make her forget what she was supposed to do, so she had a script with her- just in case. However, as she finished her narration and the singing transitioned from O Little Town of Bethlehem to Away in a Manger, she saw that Lina and Gourry were entering calmly and just as they'd been instructed to. Gourry was looking around, wide-eyed at the number of people in the fellowship hall, but Lina was focused on the manger on stage and the doll she was holding. Nervously, she pressed the doll against her shoulder and patted its back.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,

Martina nudged Val and motioned toward Lina and Gourry. "Hey, what's she doing with the baby? Is she- oh! I don't think it's very nice to burp the baby Jesus, as if He had colic."

the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.

Val shrugged. "Well, He could've had colic, just like any other baby."

"I don't care." Martina hissed in reply. "It looks awful and they look awful."

The stars in the sky looked down where they lay;

"So what?" Val whispered harshly. "They just came a long way, they don't have any place to go, and now they've got a new baby to worry about."

Martina balked. "Who, Lina and Gourry?"

the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

"No. Mary and Joseph."

Sylphiel sent a wary glance toward the manger where Lina and Gourry had taken their places, but they didn't seem eager to stir up trouble. The chorus transitioned into While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night, and that was her cue to begin reading again.

"In that region, there were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo, an angel of The Lord appeared to them."

There was a pause. That was Amelia's cue, and all the children were expecting the onslaught of Justice. It was a greater shock to all of them that it didn't happen at all. Sylphiel cleared her throat and tried again, wondering if the girl hadn't heard.

"An angel of The Lord appeared to them."

Silence.

By this time, all the children were glancing around in confusion. Sylphiel began to panic, and started reading off the script she'd prepared.

"Th-the glory of The Lord shone 'round about, and they were sore afraid, when the ANGEL OF THE LORD appeared to the-"

"HEY! HEY!"

Finally, Amelia's voice rang out through the hall as she burst out onto the stage. The shepherds and sheep never thought they'd be so happy to see the fiery little girl.

"UNTO YOU A CHILD IS BORN. IT'S JESUS AND HE'S IN THE BARN; GO SEE HIM."

This time the silence was more stunned than fearful. That was definitely not in the script. None of the shepherds or sheep moved.

This displeased Amelia. She waved the shepherds on forward. "Go on. Go see Him."

No movement.

With a huff, Amelia grabbed a crook from one of the shepherds and began to corral them toward the manger. "Go."

Sylphiel turned back to her script, flipping a page so that she could pick up where they'd left off. "A-and suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host, singing glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace among men."

The choir began to sing Angels We Have Heard on High as Xellos helped the baby angels file onto the stage. They walked to their places in front of the risers and stayed still, however, one small child didn't stop when she reached her place. She continued to walk, and would've walked clear off the stage if Xellos hadn't run out and grabbed her before she got to the steps. He picked her up and carried her back to her spot, amidst some muffled laughter from the audience. He waved to Filia and shot her a thumbs-up before running back offstage.

"There came Wise Men from the east to worship Him, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

As the choir began to sing We Three Kings and Naga, Pokota, and Zelgadis filed onto the stage, Martina nudged Val again.

We three kings of Orient are. Bearing gifts, we traverse afar.

"They look awful too." she whispered. "And… what is that Zelgadis is carrying?"

Val looked closer, straining to read the writing on the large can. "…I think it's a ham."

Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.

"A ham? I'll bet he stole it. A little evil for the greater good-"

"No, no. I think it might be the ham from his welfare basket."

Star of wonder, star of might, star with royal beauty bright,

Martina paused. "So you mean it's his own ham? He must really hate ham."

"So what if he hates ham?" Val murmured. "It might just be the only thing he's ever given away in his whole life."

westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.

Sylphiel took a deep breath to begin her last monologue. After this, it would be the end of her role and she could step back and listen to the music.

"Being warned in a dream that they should not return to their own country, the Wise Men departed another way. The shepherds also departed, praising God for everything they had seen and heard. But Mary kept all of these things and pondered them in her heart."

Bells began to chime, and the choir began to sing Silent Night- first softly, and then growing in intensity. The sound of the music reverberated around the room, seeming to bounce off the windows and walls, and grow even greater. It was nearly tangible in the air, with a magic feel that permeated the very being of each person in the room, filling them with an odd calm.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Gourry noticed that Lina's shoulders were trembling slightly, and he began to reach out to her, thinking she was cold. However, he stopped abruptly when he saw a tear fall from her face onto the manger blankets. "L-Lina…?" he murmured, suddenly glancing around helplessly, looking for someone to do something.

Martina noticed the situation at the manger first. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts enough to speak.

"Val…" she murmured. "…Val, look… Mary's crying… M-Miss Ul Copt!" She turned to look for Filia in the crowd, waving at her and beckoning her to come over and fix the situation.

It took a moment for Martina to realize what she, herself, was saying.

"…Mary's crying…"

Maria Nisery wheeled her husband out of the church in a wheelchair, steering with one hand and daubing her cheeks with a tissue with the other.

"Oh, Maria, can you believe that was Lina Inverse and the rest of them?" Pestis sobbed. "Th-this was the best Christmas Pageant we've ever had, and I don't know why, but I think it was them."

"I always get weepy at the pageant- all the children and the carols…" Maria sniffled. "But you're right. This was the best one, and it should've been the worst."

"There was something different."

"Well, the Angel of the Lord was different."

"I liked that. She had spirit." Pestis chuckled through his tears. "Sometimes you can't even hear the Angel of the Lord. I have to find Filia and tell her… maybe I'll even use some of her ideas in future pageants…"

Maria sighed. "I just wish I'd talked my sister into letting her use little Daisy for the baby Jesus."

"Who was the baby Jesus?"

"It was a doll."

"Maria!" Pestis barked, tapping his glasses. "My vision may never have been 20/20, but I can see well enough to know that was no doll."

Maria was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. "It did seem real, didn't it?"

"It did seem real, didn't it?" Zelgadis murmured, glancing at the ceiling as he paced back and forth over the stage. Everyone has left the fellowship hall- everyone except the six kids who didn't really know where to go from there. "Like it might have happened just that way. I've always thought that Christmas was just about Jesus, but it turns out that's only part of it. It's about a family with nowhere to go, no place to stay, and nobody they knew. Then, suddenly, arriving from the east… some rich friends."

"Yeah." Naga agreed. "Like our uncle from New Jersey."

The group laughed and Pokota nudged her playfully.

"I think we made it pretty believable! I mean, Lina burping the baby, and the Wise Men bringing sensible presents… you can't eat Frankincense, right?"

"And Amelia!" Naga agreed. "He's in the barn, go see him! So the shepherds don't have to wander all over the countryside."

After their laughter had died down, they collectively glanced at the girl who was sitting by herself on the edge of the stage. Lina hadn't spoken since the play, and while each of her friends was eager to talk to her, no one really knew what to say. Gourry finally walked over to sit beside her, tugging on her sleeve.

"They're having a party in the basement, you know." he spoke. "What do you say we go drink all the hot chocolate and walk away with all the cookies? Huh?"

Lina shook her head, her smile finally returning. "No thanks. It'll just be kids on a sugar-high running around and fighting over food. I get that enough with you guys around."

As the group chuckled in agreement, Amelia ran over to Lina, holding out the extra candy cane that Filia had given her for Lina's sake. "Here." Amelia offered. "Miss Filia said to give this to you."

Lina gave the girl an affectionate smile. "No, thanks. You keep it- a Christmas gift from me." She stood up, brushing off her pants and digging in her coat pockets for her earrings. "Let's go home." Lina said as she finished placing them back in her ears.

As the group walked out of the fellowship hall and into the cold night air, Gourry and Zelgadis noticed that Lina was still carrying the doll that had been used in the play.

Neither said anything about it.

"Are there any kids left downstairs?"

"No, everyone's gone home." Filia sighed in relief as she finished turning off lights in the kitchen and joined her family just outside the fellowship hall's doors. She leaned on Xellos' shoulder. "I can't believe it. I just can't believe it."

"What can't you believe? The obscene amount of hot chocolate that fifty children can drink?"

She glanced at him, too tired and relieved to even think of a snarky comeback.

"Hey, you guys? What should we do with this ham?" Odilia held the can in her hands and offered it to Xellos. He took it from her and walked back inside to put it on the kitchen shelf.

"This is Zelgadis' ham from his family's welfare basket, but he wouldn't take it back. He said that it's a present, and you don't take back a present."

"Zelgadis said that?" Odilia's mouth hung open. "He must hate ham."

"You and Martina." Val muttered, giving Odilia a gentle knock over the head.

"The lights are still on in the chapel." Filia pointed across the courtyard. "Should we-?"

"Don't worry about it." Xellos interrupted her. "They're on a timer. They're set to turn off at midnight."

Val pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Y'know, it's almost that time now."

Odilia gasped loudly. "It's almost Christmas?! Mom, mom! It's almost Christmas!"

Filia smiled. "It's almost Christmas, Odilia."

"Xellos, it's almost Christmas!"

"It's almost Christmas, Odile."

"Val, it's-"

"Hey!"

The family's conversation stopped as they heard a voice approaching them from across the parking lot. It was a loud voice belonging to a small person, and for those who had just been at the Christmas pageant, it was unmistakable.

"Hey!"

"Amelia?" Filia gasped and ran to meet the child. She couldn't figure out any reason why the little girl would be back like this, unless-

Amelia interrupted the woman's train of thought by holding out the object she was carrying. It was the doll, still wrapped in the clothing from the pageant, but it looked… different. The head was no longer crooked, and all the joints looked as good as new. The paint on the face, previously having been tarnished and worn, was now as vibrant as the day the doll had been made. Filia took hold of it, staring in shock at the miracle before her. Amelia, however, just smiled.

"Unto you a child is born."