Who: Henrik and Rose Tyler What: what’s Christmas? Where: Rose’s Center When: today Warnings: cuteness
While his wish had helped Henrik understand and be able to speak and write every language that he might come across, it didn’t quite help with understanding all of the new modern day traditions. The festivals that he was used to having around this time of year had all changed. In their places had been Halloween and Thanksgiving--which he’d loved both, how could he not when one involved candy and the other involved pie? But now there was this thing called Christmas and it was quite confusing.
Some people said it was about a baby being born. Others said it was about presents. Still more said it was about families getting together and spending time with one another. Which seemed silly since there had just been a time for families to get together.
It was the traditions that had him even more confused. He had tried watching a few things on the TV about it but the kid getting stuck to the pole because of how cold it was outside wasn’t his kind of entertainment. He had liked the Grinch though.
He wanted to learn more and Rose had said there were books at the library. He had been to the library before with Nik and knew that the place held more books than he’d ever thought he would see. So he wanted to ask if there was a specific book he should try to find.
So after soccer practice he headed back inside to try and find Rose, stopping at her office. He knocked once and peeked his head in. “Ms. Rose?”
~~~
More than anything, Rose was just grateful exams were done and over. While she'd needed to focus on something, anything, differential equations and the fall of Emperial Russia weren't on her list. She'd finished marking the term papers for Elijah's classes and now she could focus on what she really loved: the Center.
Having Kirk to help really took the burden off of her, especially during times like this when the past came back to haunt her. But she loved it more than anything. She loved those kids and seeing them smile and giving them something to focus on, given how many didn't have a lot to celebrate this time of year. She loved the business aspect, too: working with the community, getting sponsors and donors, even dealing with basic day to day things like ordering supplies and plumbing issues. There was no doubt in her mind that this was where she was meant to be.
She heard the small voice and glanced up before breaking out into a grin. The youngest Mikaelson had won her over just as easily as most of his older siblings had. He seemed to have inherited the best of all of them, right down to his expressions and features. "Hi, Henrik. Come on in, you can save me from the wonderful world of budgets." She waved to the chair in front of her, tidying up the paperwork and pushing it to the side. "What did you need, sweetheart?"
~~~
Henrik offered up a small smile as he entered the office, moving to sit down on the chair Rose had indicated. He hadn’t ever been in her office before. He had known where it was but from what any more modern book that he had read said going to someone’s office usually only happened when someone was in trouble. So he had always thought it was a good idea not to head there but it seemed that not everything he read and definitely not everything he watched on the television turned out to be true. Especially because he liked Rose and didn’t think she was at all mean like the people in the stories he’d read.
“I wanted to learn more about Christmas. We did not have it when I am from. We celebrated other things and I do not think they are really celebrated any longer.” Though Floki seemed to want to do so. Henrik hoped that the man was able to find a goat and that they would be able to find a place to keep the goat without getting into too much trouble.
“You said there would be books at the library but I have been there before and it is very large. Do you have any recommendations? Or I could watch a show that tells me more. I tried the Christmas Story but it did not make much sense.” Nor had he bothered to finish it.
~~~
The office was definitely not like the ones he would have seen in his television shows or read about in books about kids being bad. In fact, it was rare kids got taken to that particular office for being in trouble. Usually Rose trusted her counselors to handle the kids who tested the Center's rules. No, her office was meant to be a welcoming sort of place, even though she rarely spent time in it. There were decorations, which most people would eventually figure out were all space themed. The colour was a bright and welcoming pale blue and there were photos all over of friends past and present. Her favorite books lined the shelves side by side with the more business related ones she had gathered.
Rose grinned at his question. It had to be difficult. Not only was he from another world, but another time entirely. And a child should enjoy Christmas. All the kids around him were talking about it, and he was lost.
"Well," she began, leaning back in her chair, "the thing is, Christmas can mean something different to everyone. There's the religious aspect, which is all about the baby Jesus being born. Not everyone believes that, though. There's Santa bringing gifts. Some people don't believe in him but I happen to know he's very real. And then there's always the family gathering. That's my favorite part. No matter what you believe in, there's always friends and family." Even with the issues his family sometimes had, she knew they all loved him and would help give him the best holday possible. Smiling brightly, she leaned back towards him. "Is there any particular part you want to learn? A Christmas Story is probably only funny if you've already celebrated Christmas and know some of the silly things they're doing."
~~~
Henrik knew that Rose was from a television show about space. He had seen her on the TV once but she had been crying and the Doctor had looked sad as well so he had not stayed on the channel. It felt weird for him to look at people’s lives as they were unfolding or as they had unfolded. But he did like her office and he knew a few of the people in her photographs and had read about some of the planets that he saw as well on her walls.
“I liked the Grinch story. With the dog Max. It was a cartoon and he learned not to be so mean to everyone. I think he was mostly lonely though.” Maybe he had looked down on Whooville all those years and despised them because he had no one to enjoy the festivities with. Why the Grinch hadn’t simply asked to join in was beyond him though. It seemed like it would have cut out a lot of unneeded drama.
“I want to know the parts that the other kids know. About Santa.” He didn’t really care to learn about the Jesus aspects. His religion had been full of the gods and goddesses of what was now Norse mythology and he still held onto those beliefs, even if they had altered some because of what his siblings had become. “Why does he go to everyone’s house? How does he get there? We decorated a tree at my house but I am not quite sure why we did.”
~~~
Admittedly, part of the reason Rose was so eager to help was because she missed her own little brother. She should have gotten to teach all of these things to Tony. Instead she was sharing them with the kids of Lawrence, and especially the ones from the Seal. It wouldn't replace the tiny boy she had left behind in London, but sometimes it did at least ease the ache.
"The Grinch is a really good one. It helps with the Santa parts, too. You chose an excellent start!" If she tried really hard, she could remember being the carefree innocent child who had loved the holiday. She hadn't known then how much Jackie had struggled just to get her the few gifts she did or how stressful holidays were for her mum. She just knew she'd loved it entirely. Even if it did all feel forever ago.
"I have a book for you to try and a television show for you to watch and I think you'll have a pretty good grasp on Santa." For a brief moment she hesitated and then she got to her feet. "In fact... Bo and I were reading this one a few days ago, I may still... Oh good. Here." She handed him 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with a grin. "I think you'll like that one. But first, watch a film called Santa Claus is Coming to Town. That one teaches my favorite of the back stories on Santa and how he came to be. It's short but it's fun and has good music, too."
~~~
Oh! A book about what happened the night before this holiday would surely give him some pointers and a show about how Santa became Santa should help as well. “Thank you. I will read this and watch that and hopefully it will clear up a lot of things.” He hoped it would at least.
“For presents, because I know that you are supposed to give them to the people in your family and to friends...do you have to buy them?” Because he didn’t have any money. It wouldn’t be hard to get some, Nik would no doubt buy him whatever he wanted, but Henrik didn’t feel like that was the right way to go about doing things. It would not be right for Nik to get a present from him that he’d used Nik’s money to buy. “I could make the present instead, yes?”
He wasn’t sure because everyone at the Center was talking about the latest toys that they wanted and everything the other kids wanted was something that would need to be bought somewhere. He didn’t really understand the need to have every latest video game or new action figure that was sold. He did like his Hiccup and Toothless toys but having one of each was more than enough for him.
~~~
He seemed please with her selections and that was more than enough for her. She settled at the edge of her desk as he asked the very important question all kids did at some point. Because kids rarely had money to spend, especially for things like gifts. Rose had often had to be creative to think of things for Jackie and her grandparents and her school friends.
"Not at all!" she replied kindly. "In fact, I think sometimes presents you make mean even more than the things you can buy. I love gifts that are handmade. I don't have to worry about money so I can buy what I need, but presents people make I can't get anywhere else. I bet your brothers and sister feel the same way." At least, she hoped they did. Or else she'd have to give them all a stern talking to.
"Remember how much Rebekah and Stefan loved their wedding gift?" She reminded him. "I know anything you give, as long as you give it with love? It's going to be absolutely perfect. Have you thought what you might ask for?" Wouldn't hurt to relay the message to the Mikaelsons after all.
~~~
Henrik let out a big sigh of relief over the fact that he could make everyone a present instead of buying. That was a load of stress off of his shoulders and even if he didn’t know precisely what he would make them yet it was still nice to know he didn’t need to buy anything. “I do remember that they loved it a lot.”
Her next question was harder to answer though. What did he want for Christmas? “I am not too sure. I would like to be able to do things with everyone instead of getting a gift. Or I suppose I could use more art supplies and new books to read. I already have a horse. And Lily is my dog too now so I do not need one of those. And we might get a goat. But maybe I could get a fish.”
Oh wait. He looked wide-eyed at her as he remembered something important. “Do I need to make a list for Santa?”
~~~
He reminded her so much of his siblings. She could see why it had torn at them losing him. The very thought broke her heart a little and she simply hoped the Seal didn’t do its usual jerk moves on this family. Not again. He was bright and honest and open and she wondered what the others would have been like if their mother and father had acted differently. But then, they wouldn’t have been the people she cared about and if she’d learned anything traveling with the Doctor, it was not to question ‘what if?’ It got dangerous.
“It doesn’t hurt to have a list for Santa, though I think sometimes he knows already what your heart most deeply desires,” she confirmed, brushing her hair off of her face. “He’s pretty smart. Got me a bicycle when I was ten and I hadn’t even told Mum I wanted one.” Of course, she knew who her Santa was. But at the age of ten she hadn’t even still believed in Santa. So maybe, even if the old man himself didn’t exist, the spirit behind him did. And if she could squeeze just one year of believing out of Henrik, then it was all worth it.
“I bet he’d be happy to bring some art supplies for you. Might want to ask one of your family members for the fish, though. That way you can make sure it’s one you like. Plus, they might be hard to carry on the sleigh.” If she knew Klaus at all, Henrik wouldn’t get ‘a’ fish. He’d get an aquarium full of them, probably something fancy with a complicated setup. Because they all knew the boy deserved whatever his heart desired.
~~~
Henrik nodded because that made a lot of sense. Fish would probably get lost on a sleigh or maybe even freeze if they were out in the cold that long and he definitely didn’t want that to happen. “I will let them know that one then.” Maybe not each of them though or he would have more fish than he’d know what to do with.
“Thank you for the book, Ms. Rose. I will read it and watch the tv show and try to learn more about this holiday.” He was liking it a lot more now that it was becoming less confusing. It did seem to make people happy and aside from the arguments over toys he couldn’t find much fault with it. “Are there certain songs I need to learn? Because I have seen that a lot of people know songs for this holiday.”
Like the one about bells that jingled and a snowman that was apparently named Frosty. There was no way he’d be able to learn every Christmas song in the next few weeks but he should be able to learn a few of them. He just wanted to know which ones were the best to try and figure out.
~~~
“You’re welcome, love,” Rose assured gently. She liked thinking that the kids knew they could come to her if they needed her. Moreso when it was one of the displaced kids, and yet more still when it was a family member of one of her close friends. Even if it was something as small as figuring out Christmas. That meant they’d be more likely to come to her if things were serious. Which was, after all, more than a little likely in Lawrence.
She laughed when he asked if there were songs he needed to know. “Well, you don’t need to know any of them,” she admitted. “Some people absolutely hate Christmas music. I don’t even know how that’s a possibility but there you have it. Turn on most any radio station and you’ll hear plenty of it. And even if some people don’t like it, we’ll have caroling at the party so you can learn some songs there. Caroling is when you go from door to door singing Christmas songs, but we’ll just be doing it as a group having fun,” she added for his benefit. “There’s actually a live action version of your Grinch movie, it’s got some really great music if you want to check that out.”
Reaching over, she brushed a piece of hair that had flopped into his face back. “You honestly don’t need to worry about anything, Henrik. Christmas is meant to be fun. You’ll learn it all, if not this year, you have many more years to go.”
~~~
“There is?” He was going to need to locate that movie. One of his siblings or Caroline should be able to get it for him to watch. He could add it to the list of movie night choices that they had. “I will need to find that one, thank you. But I do want to learn a few songs so that I can take part in the...caroling too.” He did like to sing and the few songs he had heard were fun songs.
“And I will try to just have fun and not worry about learning everything all at once.” Though that would be hard with his thirst for knowledge but he didn’t want to overwhelm himself either. Then it wouldn’t be a fun experience. “It is odd that there are no goats in this holiday though.” He would miss the addition of those for this time of year. Though maybe he would still get that part as well with Floki being around.
“Is there anything else that I should know?” ~~~
Rose smiled again. He was so bright and eager, he’d handle the holiday just about as well as he’d handled everything else since arriving in Lawrence. She was sure it had to be difficult, being thrown into an entire other world. But he did it brilliantly. It probably helped having as much support as he did, but she knew integrating into any new society was never simple.
“I think you’ve got all the basics, love. But you know if you’ve got any other questions, you only need to ask. If I’m not here, I’m on the boards. Or get one of your siblings to text me, I’m around.” Already she was trying to think of ideas for things to get the boy for Christmas. “Besides, you’ll get to meet the real Santa, and isn’t that important?” She was desperate to make the boy believe, even if just this once. And she would fight anyone who even breathed that the man at the party wasn’t Santa himself.
With a sly grin, she leaned forward, as if waiting for a secret. “And you’re also going to have to teach me about the celebrations you had back home. Pretty sure I don’t know of any that require a goat. I like learning new cultures and things.” It had, after all, been her favorite part of traveling through space. That was the bit she missed the most.
~~~
“We used to celebrate the Winter Solstice. I do not think they celebrate it here really.” His siblings hadn’t talked about doing so at least. It didn’t seem like it was something that was celebrated to the degree that Christmas was. “The Yule goat would bring us gifts and we would decorate trees as offerings to the gods to bring back spring faster. We also had a big feast to honor them.”
It did seem like some of the traditions carried over to what people did now, they were simply altered in various ways. Yule had been a much needed reprieve every winter from the long cold months. It had been a celebration that carried them all onward as they did their best to survive until the spring came and warmer weather prevailed.
“Christmas should have goats. Though they do try to eat a lot of people’s things and they can be quite a handful to try and take care of.” He much preferred horses. “If we do celebrate it, would you like to come over?”
~~~
It didn't sound entirely different than what she'd expected. Part of her mulicultural studies minor had included learning the Norse traditions. Though they were the modern ones, several things hadn't changed.
She grinned, crossing her legs at the ankles. "Hmm. A decorated tree? Someone who brings gifts? And a large feast, too? All sounds a bit similar to me. I think it'll be easier for you to celebrate Christmas when you remember that a lot of it is based on the celebrations of the Winter Solstice. It isn't all so different. There's the Christian aspects, of course, and we modernized some things and added in a few other cultures, too. But in the end, it's all about celebrating being together as the year ends and a new season starts."
And if anyone needed the reminder in all of that it was that family. Rose would have done anything to have had her family there to celebrate with them and this one had almost all of its members and they were still broken. It was awful to watch. ~~~
Maybe it wasn’t really all that different. The traditions were simply called different things now and didn’t quite mean the same things either, but that was okay. The basics of it were all the same. “I think I will understand that better after reading the book and seeing the tv show.”
It was still all a lot to take in. He glanced over at the clock, noting that it was nearly time for him to be picked up to head home. “Thank you for the book. I will read it and get it back to you as soon as I am done with it.” Perhaps if he liked it a lot he could ask for it as a Christmas present as well.
~~~
Straightening, Rose nodded. "Of course, Henrik. Take your time. Read it twice, even. It's a fun little story." Bo had enjoyed it and, honestly, Rose had forgotten how much she'd enjoyed it, too.
She, too, glanced at the clock. "We'll be starting displaced lessons soon. I'd better make sure all the kids get home okay. Want me to walk you out to the parking lot?"
~~~
"That is alright, Ms. Rose. I can make it by myself and you have a lot of others to look in on." Henrik grinned, offered up a wave and headed out of her office and toward the parking lot with a bounce in his step. He couldn't wait to return home and learn all that he could about Christmas.