Author's Note: I wasn't originally going to release any type of Thanksgiving story this year, since I did the bulk of that last year, and another author, the one who's OC's are the main characters of this story in fact, while other OC's from other authors are mentioned, claimed she was going to release some stories over the long Thanksgiving weekend, but failed to do so, because this author is turning more and more so into Charlotte Pickles every day. Only instead of making work their entire life, not giving much of a flip about their family and friends, they're making their entire life about school, to the point that they work all through their Thanksgiving vacation, not releasing any stories for us fans to enjoy, as they originally promised last weekend, and over the course of this last week. And had my stupid cable not gone out because of a boneheaded idiot in this world for over 36 hours, I would have had this little one-shot released very late on Friday night, early Saturday morning, but then learned the disappointing news that I was stuck with absolutely nothing, after a call to TWC tech support failed to successfully fix things. So before my Thanksgiving break officially ends tomorrow, figured I'd release something, so that Cute-Sean wouldn't be the only one to release a story that was Thanksgiving related, since while I released chapter 27 of Ask the Dynamic Trio as a Thanksgiving themed chapter, I don't exactly count that, since that's within a story, rather than a story on its own. Now, on with the story! And while the title sounds very much like the Thanksgiving episode of Full House, the plot of the story isn't entirely related, if it's even related at all.
The Miracle, of Rosie's Thanksgiving
Summary: It's Thanksgiving for the East coast gendar bender Rugrats, and Rosie learns a very important lesson about the holiday, when she becomes stranded, with hardly anything to eat.
Disclaimer: While none of the original Rugrats characters make an appearance in this story, better cover myself to be safe. I do not own the original Rugrats characters, they're the property of their original creaters. I own any OC's you don't recognize, like Reggie and his family, along with Rosie's aunt Sally, while Rosie and her immediate family, Bonny and Skyler are owned by Nairobi-harper, Natalie is owned by Emma Pickles, Hazel is owned by HazelNutSwirl, Courtney is owned by Tropical Blue Jay, and Aaron is owned by Cute-Sean. Also, there's going to be a reference made to his Thanksgiving story near the end of this story, and parts of this story, may be in Rosie's POV. Not sure if all of the above OC's will appear, but figured I'd better cover myself, to play it safe.
Start of Story
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, Thanksgiving Day, 2014
Three-year-old Rosie looked forward to Thanksgiving as far back as she could remember. Her sister Mary had a few days off from school where they spent some time together, and on the big day, they, along with their parents, would head to their Aunt Sally's house, where the feast was served. They'd have turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes, and Sally's famous pumpkin pie that won the Boston annual pie eat off contest, five years running, and while Rosie had to sadly, see Reggie at this event, very often, her friends Hazel, Skyler, Bonny, Natalie, and Courtney would also appear, at least one or two of them would be expected to be there, even if everybody couldn't make it. And she couldn't recall a Thanksgiving without a bite of turkey or quality time with Hazel, until this year.
Rosie awoke on the morning of Thanksgiving this year to peer out her window. When she looked outside, she saw giant snowflakes coming down from the sky. While it wasn't unusual for winter to hit this early in her neck of the woods living up in Boston, Massachusetts, it had never hit this early before, and this only excited Rosie even more. She loved playing out in the snow, and she was looking forward to putting on her snowsuit, and making snow angels with her best friend Hazel while they waited for dinner to be ready to eat. Sadly though, this wasn't the case.
Rosie POV
I was really excited about the day because it was Thanksgiving, and on this particular Thanksgiving, I'd get to go play in the snow. When I waked up, my sister was already out of bed, so I raced downstairs in excitement, about to tell everybody the good news, only to find everyone sitting around the breakfast table, with frowns on their faces.
"Happy Thanksgiving everybody." I said.
"Happy Thanksgiving sweetheart." Said my mommy, as she reached down and gave me a hug, trying to force a small smile on her face.
I looked up into my mommy's eyes with concern.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
My mommy took my face gently in her hands, making me stare straight into her eyes.
"Rosie, sweetheart, we have a bit of bad news." Said my mommy.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Well, did you look outside?" Mommy asked.
"Uh huh, it's snowing! Me and Hazel get to play in the snow at Aunt Sally's!" I replied excitedly.
"Sweetie, I'm afraid we won't be going to aunt Sally's this year." Said my mommy disappointingly.
"Why not?" I asked.
"The roads are closed, and it's too deep and slippery to try to drive anywhere." My daddy explained, as I turned my gaze away from mommy and stared at daddy, who was wearing the same sad expression on his face.
"What if we walked? Or took the T?" I asked.
"That's a great idea sweetheart, but the snow is too deep, and it's a white out outside. That's where the snow is coming down so hard, it would make it impossible for us to see where we were going. I'm afraid we're gonna have to stay home this year." Explained my daddy, as a tear started to roll down my cheek.
"Awe, but don't worry, we're gonna have a nice day here." Said my mommy, gently patting me on the back.
"But it won't be the same. No turkey, no stuffing, no pumpkin pie." I complained angrily, as I jumped off my mommy's lap in anger, and walked into the living room, where the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was starting on the TV.
I noticed that while it wasn't snowing as hard on the TV, it was snowing, and some of the floats and marching bands, were having trouble walking on the slippery paths, that plows and people shoveling had trouble keeping up with. I gasp as I saw this site.
"No wonder my mommy and daddy want to stay home." I thought to myself, as my sister walked into the room, laying a hand on my shoulder.
I spun around to look at her.
"Hey Rosie, since we're cooped up inside, how about we play a game!" Mary suggested.
"What game?" I asked.
"Well, we could play that new Candy Land moble game on my iPad." Said Mary.
"That's a great idea!" I cried, as Mary ran off to get her iPad, returning to the living room a few minutes later.
However, no sooner had she booted up the iPad for us to play the game, when all of the lights and the TV shut off. I looked around in shock, as I peered towards the window, which was the only thing bringing light into the room.
"What happened Mary?" I asked.
"Looks like that snow storm blew out the power." Mary replied, as she grabbed my hand and we joined mommy and daddy at the kitchen table.
"Is everything ok girls?" Mommy asked.
"Yes mommy, everything's fine." I said, as I sat down at the table and ate my Dummi Bears Sugar Lumps cereal, and drank my juice.
"So, since we're not going to aunt Sally's, what are we gonna eat for Thanksgiving dinner?" I asked in between bites of cereal.
"Well, we have that ham in the freezer we can cook, provided the power comes back on." Said my mommy.
"And I was gonna make spinach casarole for the dinner. Got all of the ingredients for that in the fridge and freezer as well." Said my daddy with a smile.
"Hopefully the power comes back soon so we can do that." Said my mommy.
"How come?" I asked.
"Because things like the stove and oven, need running electricity to work." Explained Mary.
I just sat there and frowned. First, we weren't getting to go have the big turkey dinner at aunt Sally's because of the snow, and now, we had no power to make a nice dinner for us. It was going to be the worstest day of my life.
"This is the worstest day of my life!" I complained in frustration, standing up from the table, making my way towards the stairs.
"Now Rosie sweetie, we're going to do everything we can, to make it a special day." Said my mommy.
"Well you all can do it without me, cuz I quit. I don't wanna celebrate Thanksgiving no more. In fact, let's not celebrate at all. Besides, we can't celebrate without a turkey." I screamed, as I made my way to the stairs, gripping on to the bannister with all of my might.
"But Rosieā¦" Mary started to say, before I continued.
"Don't but Rosie me. I'm going back to bed. Wake me up when it's Christmas." I snapped, as I ran up to my room and buried myself under the covers, closing my eyes, hoping to go back to sleep.
End of Rosie POV
Shannon, Terry and Mary all looked at one another with what little light was coming in through the windows, and a set of candles that Shannon had placed on the table. They were sad to see that Rosie didn't wish to be a part of their Thanksgiving day, because while Rosie was upset that there'd be no turkey, she didn't quite understand that there was much more important things to the day than the food. However, her family knew this fact, and they were saddened by Rosie's absence.
A couple of hours past, as Mary and her parents played Uno by candle light with a deck of Uno cards, and Rosie took a nap. She would have slept longer had an unfamiliar sound not awakened her. It was a loud crash from outside her window, as a huge pile of snow was moved out of the way, to reveal an elderly man. He had light gray hair and a beard to match, wearing a dark blue jacket, red gloves and tan pants. The man appeared to be shivering, and looked to be all by himself, as there was nobody else in sight. Realizing this man might be lost, she sprung out of bed quickly, and ran down the stairs, alerting her family at the top of her lungs.
"Mommy! Daddy! Mary! Quick! We gotta help him!" Rosie cried, as she ran for the front door.
"Help who?" Shannon asked.
"There's a man outside, he looks like he needs help!" Rosie cried, as she ran outside before either one of her parents could catch up.
"Rosie come back." Called Shannon from the doorway, but despite being in nothing but her pajamas and stocking feet, Rosie ran to the elderly man in the snow, and tapped him on the shoulder.
The man turned to look at the little three-year-old girl with pink hair that stood before him.
"Go away little girl I'm busy." Snapped the man.
Rosie stared up at the man in shock.
"Why are you so grumpy?" Rosie asked out of curiosity.
"My car skitted off the road, I'm cold, and now, it looks like I'll never see my family on Thanksgiving. Now would you just, leave me alone?" The man snapped, as Rosie stared up into the man's eyes, a sad expression on her face.
Then, she got a brilliant idea, just as her parents, who had put on their boots, had caught up to them.
"What if you came inside to our place, until the snow cleared?" Suggested Rosie.
"And why would I wanna do that?" The man asked.
"So you don't get too cold." Rosie replied.
"That's a great idea. Hi, my name is Shannon Hall. I don't believe we've met." Said Shannon, coming up behind Rosie, reaching a hand out to shake the man's hand.
"The name's Hank. Came all the way down from Maine to visit my daughter, but the snow storm got too bad, causing me to skid off the road. My car is stuck and the snow is too deep to try to drive, so I've been waiting in the cold, hoping someone would come along to help." Explained Hank.
"Well, the storm seems to be stopping, but it will be a while before the plows have the roads cleared." Said Shannon.
Rosie looked around, and noticed that while it was no longer snowing, there was still a great deal of it on the ground.
"Thank you." Said Hank, as everybody headed back into Rosie's apartment, and the little girl changed into some dry clothes.
They spent the afternoon, listening to Hank tell them stories about fishing trips he'd take to Cape Cod with his family, and how every year at the holidays, they'd enjoy a nice family vacation together. Soon, it started to get dark, and everyone was growing hungry. Rosie also realized, that she hadn't spoken to Tommy that day, and it was their first Thanksgiving since they became friends.
"Mommy, can we call Tommy and Peter, and wish them a happy Thanksgiving?" Rosie asked.
"Who's Tommy and Peter?" Hank asked.
"Oh, they're some friends of ours, they live out in California." Explained Shannon, as she put a comforting hand on Rosie's shoulder.
"Well, our power hasn't come back, so it will need to be a short call." Said Shannon, as she got out her iPhone and turned it on.
"Why?" Rosie asked.
"Because we can't have the iPhone use up all of its battery while there's no electricity to charge it. What if an emergency happens?" Said Mary.
"Oh, ok." Said Rosie disappointingly, as Mary called Peter's phone.
Peter answered on the third ring and Mary put the phone on speaker.
"Happy Thanksgiving!" Said all of the Halls and Hank in unison.
"Happy Thanksgiving Rosie." Said Peter.
"Yeah Rosie, Happy Thanksgiving." Said Tommy.
"Thanks Tommy." Said Rosie with a smile, just as a low battery indicator came up on Shannon's phone.
"Well, we'll have to call you later, but we wanted to call and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving." Said Shannon.
"We'd let Rosie talk longer, but Shannon's phone is starting to die." Said Terry.
"Well, thanks for calling, and we'll talk to you later." Said Peter.
"Bye." Said everyone in unison, as Shannon disconnected the call, and turned off her phone to save power.
They noticed that it was nearly dark outside, and everyone was growing hungry.
"I'm hungry mommy." Said Rosie.
"Well, let's see what we have to eat." Said Shannon, as she turned on a flashlight and looked around the kitchen for something to eat.
A few minutes later, she returned to the table with a can of green beans.
"That's it?" Mary asked, looking puzzled.
"It's the only non perishable item in the apartment." Said Shannon, as she opened the can of green beans and dumped them into a bowl.
"Hey, I'll take a can of cold green beans any day. Maybe I didn't see my family on this Thanksgiving day, but I couldn't be more thankful right now than I am to have been rescued from the cold, thanks to little Rosie here." Said Hank.
As Shannon dished up small portions of the green beans for everybody to eat, it was then that Rosie realized something. Hank was happy to be there, even if he wasn't with his family. Curious as to why this was, she spoke up.
"Why's that?" Rosie asked.
"Well Rosie, I was about to freeze to death, had you guys not come out and rescued me. Thanks to you, I've had a nice, warm place to wait out of the cold until I can get on my way." Explained Hank, as he took a bite of green beans.
Rosie POV
After Hank said that to me, it was then that I realized what this holiday was all about. Realizing that Hank didn't have very much to eat, I did something I had never done before. I took my bowl of green beans, and piled my bowl on to Hank's plate.
"Here, have mine." I said with a smile, as Hank took the green beans from me and smiled back.
"But Rosie, that's the last of the green beans." My mommy said worriedly.
I let out a loud grumble of hunger, but I didn't care. This man needed the green beans more than I did.
"Yeah mommy, but this man needs the green beans more than I do. And you know what? I'm happy." I said.
"How come sis?" Mary asked.
"Well, this man was cold and lonely, but thanks to us, he's happy now. And I was just thinking, isn't today spose to be a day when you say thank you for all of the things you do have? We have a warm home to live in, that also allowed Hank to warm up till the storm went away. And maybe green beans isn't much food to eat on Thanksgiving, but who cares. It's better than no food at all." I said, as everyone was staring at me and smiling.
End of Rosie POV
Terry looked over at his youngest daughter and smiled.
"That's exactly what this holiday is about, and thanks to helping to rescue Hank, it looks like you understand the true meaning of Thanksgiving." Said Terry, as he reached over and gave Rosie a hug.
"And not to worry, when the storm clears in a couple of days, we'll go to aunt Sally's for some leftovers. Chances are she probably had to cancel her big get together as a result of the storm, so she's gonna have plenty of leftovers." Said Shannon.
"That's ok mommy, even if all there is to eat is green beans, I'm just glad to have you." Said Rosie with a smile, as everybody got up from their places at the table, and gathered together for a group hug.
Rosie POV
I had never been so happy in my entire life. That night, Hank stayed with us, and by the nextest day, the roads were cleared and our power came back on. By the afternoon, Hank was able to get some help with getting his car towed out of a snow drift, and he was headed back home to Main. However, it also turns out I wasn't the onliest one to have a different kind of Thanksgiving. My friend Aaron called me the nextest day. He had gone to visit his cousins for Thanksgiving, and while playing ball in the kitchen, they accidentally turned up the temperature on the oven, causing the turkey to burn. They tried to find a replacement turkey for Thanksgiving, but they couldn't, so they had to eat chicken instead. However, while they had to eat chicken, Aaron and his cousins were fine with that, because in the end, it didn't really matter what they ate on Thanksgiving day, all that mattered, was that he and his family were all together.
I was happy to learn that I wasn't alone, but most importantly, I was thankful to have a great family, right by my side.
End of Rosie POV
The End
Author's Note: Well, I hope you all enjoyed this little one-shot story about Thanksgiving. Another reminder that it's not the food that makes the holiday, it's family. Anyway, I hope to be back with more stories, very soon. To anybody who follows, favorites, or reviews this story, I thank you in advance. Sorry if I ranted a little bit in my note at the start of the story, but I do find it disappointing that most of the authors who's OC's I use in some of my stories, don't release material to this fandom anymore. I surely hope that with the holidays coming and a break from school, more people will find time during the cold winter months to release more stuff, not leaving me and TCKing12 to do the brunt of keeping this fandom alive. But even if we're the only two that releases stuff on a regular basis from here on out, we're too dedicated and too much of a loyal fan to give up that easily. And so, I plan to be around for a while, being Thankful for Fan Fiction, a place, where I can relax, and be creative.