Disclaimer: I own nothing.

WE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN CLOSED

It wasn't a question Virginia had given much thought to, not when there was so many other things to deal with – the child-wolf cub that was growing inside of her, how to explain her Dad's absence to authorities really set on arresting him, trying to negotiate a job back at the restaurant and of course Wolf, what was he going to do? Still, as New York began to glitter with festive lights, the ice rink was up by the Rockerfeller and familiar (and familiarly annoying) Christmas songs were being played in every store, Virginia started thinking about Christmas.

She felt a painful private pang - she'd always celebrated with her Dad, he'd usually complained about their lack of money of course. Still, Virginia always cooked something and they exchanged presents and sat in front of the TV together, a family, for at least a little while. Virginia thought about her Mom too, the games they'd played together, the decorations on the Christmas tree that had always seemed to sparkle. Virginia had always wished that the glittering star on top had been closer somehow.

Now, God, Virginia was feeling fat and her kid liked sitting on her bladder and her Mom was gone (dead, killed, she'd done it) and her Dad was in another Kingdom. How did they celebrate Christmas there anyway?

"Christmas?" Wolf looked alert and quizzical when Virginia asked him. "What's Christmas?"

Virginia stared at him for a moment before sighing with a smile and a quiet bemused laugh because of course, Christmas. It was a story that didn't exactly fit in with fairytales. She cleared her throat. Okay then.

"There's a story, about a baby and he's got this...big destiny. It's more about getting presents and eating a lot now though."

Wolf's eyes were wide and excited, "Oooh, presents! And eating! It sounds perfect!"

Of course it did. Wolf quickly padded close to curl around Virginia on the couch, one hand on her swollen belly. He claimed he could hear the baby's heartbeat thanks to his sharp wolf hearing. Virginia was grateful, the less hospital visits to explain some of the features her child was probably developing the better, and there was something extremely comforting about Wolf's surety, there was no one else in the city, in the world, who had been through what they had

"What about the other kingdoms? Do they have any...winter festivals?" she asked, digging a hand through Wolf's hair the way he always liked.

Wolf crooned deep in his throat in response and kissed her before answering, "Oh, there's a lot that happens in the forest in winter. There's dances under the changing moon, fatty meats so sweet that they melt on your tongue, there're winter marriages of course to be blessed, oh and the dark nights are sung in by so many voices."

Wolf always managed to create amazing pictures. Virginia's skin still tingled when she thought about how, early on during their initial journey together, he'd described what had happened in the forest the night before, how he'd been able to see and smell it and make her see it too. Virginia had that same skin-tingly feeling now; it was so much better than the pain of thinking about her parents. Wolf was always good, consciously and not, at drawing her away from that. Virginia kissed him, her fingers traveling down to scratch at the nape of Wolf's neck. Wolf crooned again contentedly, a noise he now directed towards their child.

"Virginia?"

Wolf was scratching his head again, the kind of scratching he did when he was nervous. Virginia was working on an idea she'd been hammering out with the restaurant – catering for private occasions, just a small service and it wasn't like she could waitress right now but it seemed like a good idea and with the right people, it could be doable when the baby was born. She glanced over at Wolf, at his brows-lowered expression, his concern so obvious. She put down her pen.

"Wolf, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I've been out smelling Christmas and oh, it's so full of new delicious smells and there were so many people out there together and, huff puff, you're going to miss Tony, aren't you? At Christmas."

Virginia was silent for a couple of moments, Wolf just cut right through the small talk that everyone else armed themselves with, right through to what Virginia had thought she'd been successfully pushing away, from both of them. He was still looking concerned and she knew it would only get worse so she answered.

"Yeah, I mean, we always spent Christmas together, even when things weren't great. But..."

She placed a hand on her stomach – travel between the Kingdoms wasn't safe at this stage of her pregnancy. She was going to miss her Dad, especially this year, now that their relationship was closer than it had been in years and her Dad was doing so weirdly well for himself – he was still trying to find a way to produce the kind of plastic needed for a bouncy castle for Wendell and though he complained, a lot, Virginia knew he was relishing the task and his high standing in Wendell's Kingdom too, unsurprisingly.

They'd been able to travel through the mirror early on in Virginia's pregnancy but not now. So it'd been a while since she'd seen him. Now it was getting close to Christmas and they were in very different places, not together. Instead of Christmas songs, Virginia kept finding herself humming 'A Whiter Shade of Pale.'

Wolf was making soft noises, the kind he made when he was concerned. He hated seeing Virginia down in any way. Virginia made an effort to smile.

"Once the baby's born, it won't be a problem, so. It's just something else to deal with."

Wolf pressed close and Virginia wrapped her arms around him, glad she didn't have to say anything else. It'd been a really unbelievable year. And it hadn't ended yet.

"This can still be a family Christmas, my love," Wolf told her, earnestly. "You, me and the cub. Our first Christmas."

That was true. Virginia kissed him, holding onto that thought. Wolf pressed contentedly close, returning her kiss enthusiastically. It all helped, a lot. She'd focus on that and hope that it kept on helping, through Christmas and beyond.

"Mmm, our first Christmas." She smiled despite herself as they parted. "You want to hear about the food, don't you?"

Wolf's noise of excitement, how every part of him seemed to sit up at the very thought of new delicious food, made more of Virginia's sadness fall away for now. And that was enough.

So for Christmas, there was turkey – Wolf had been very taken with it at Thanksgiving – and stuffing and vegetables and bacon and sausage. And there were all kinds of desserts too. Wolf couldn't stop complimenting Virginia's cooking, talking nonstop as he ate. Virginia was glad that her morning sickness – sometimes all-day sickness – had stayed away so that she could enjoy the food too. Wolf was actually a good kitchen assistant, so long as she made him promise not to eat what he was supposed to be preparing. He had a love of food that matched Virginia's, and an enthusiasm that inspired her when it didn't occasionally exhaust her.

The weather was cold and brisk and inside the warm apartment there was a small decorated Christmas tree and a pile of presents. Wolf seemed to love the tree's smell and found the sparklier decorations difficult to resist. He loved Christmas, every morsel of it, and exclaimed over the presents he was given by Virginia. She'd included the Tenth Kingdom's version of fairytales to outrage and amuse him and a piece of paper that promised steaks under his name for collection, with the kind of directions he loved (working in a restaurant meant Virginia knew very good suppliers and Wolf loved any kind of hunt). Virginia was struck silent by a present from Wolf, a wood carving of a pair of wolves with a cub. She ran her thumb across the smooth woodwork, across a future that was very true and fast approaching. She nestled it amongst the Christmas tree branches and met the wolves' gazes more than once that day, her heart pounding.

Her Dad wasn't there. Wolf had jumped through the traveling mirror with a couple of parcels and had jumped back with bundles from Virginia's Dad and Wendell who had apparently wanted to present them with something too. Virginia had thought about both her parents.

Apparently she wasn't the only one – Wendell's gift was a decoration for their tree; a beautiful pink crystal rosebud hung by strong golden thread. Oh. Virginia tried to swallow down the sadness and regret that was rushing back unhindered, her mother was gone, it was her fault, it was the swamp witch, it was everything, and hung the gift on the tree, watching it shiver and reflect a thousand different moments. Wolf wrapped his arms around her and pressed his warm lips to her trembling cheek.

In the evening, the world looking dark and sparkly beyond the window, Wolf sniffed the air and leaped to his feet. "C'mon, Virginia. It's time."

Virginia glanced up, her mind fuzzy from the exhaustion of the day and their child.

"What-?"

"The evening, Virginia, it's time."

Wolf was looking so excited and...right, the end of the day. They'd talked about this. So Virginia layered up and left their warm apartment, her gloved hand intertwined with Wolf's. They made their way into Central Park until they found a spot that Wolf deemed just right. He found Virginia a place to sit and handed her a candle to light.

Then in the darkness, looking up at the moon that always called to him, he began to sing, actually it was more like a song mixed with a chant. Virginia didn't understand all the words but she didn't have to. Wolf couldn't be in the place he'd always called home, and there was no one left there that he counted as family, but he could bring a little of it all to the Tenth Kingdom, to Virginia. He could celebrate the way he always had at this time of year.

At his signal, Virginia sparked up the lighter and lit the candle. Wolf continued to sing and chant, his eyes reflecting yellow and something else so unknown. It made Virginia's breath catch and she couldn't look away, everything else receding in the face of this moment. She tried to learn some of the words, silently shaping her mouth to them until Wolf finished and crossed the thick grass to wrap his hands around hers and blow out the candle.

They talked into the night, in the park and back at the apartment. Wolf lay on the lounge floor, staring up at the Christmas tree, insisting that Virginia should join him, the view was so beautiful and smelled so good. They lay side by side, talking until quite accidentally they both fell asleep. The tree's lights cast sparkling shadow and glimmers over them, formed by roses and wolves, stars and bells. Wolf snored, a hand never far from Virginia's stomach, his warmth exactly what she needed. His legs twitched sometimes, like he was chasing dreams. Virginia slept close to peacefully, 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' echoing through her dreams with the pungent smell of beanstalk, apples and spruce tree, the remains of the candle still clutched in her hand.

-the end