Memories

Chapter Fifteen

It was Christmas Eve, and Charles had allowed everyone to open one present. The children had all taken their time deciding, weighing their options and observing which were the biggest. After the children had decided and the adults had picked a random present of theirs, they had all opened them one at a time from youngest to oldest.

The children had been excited at the gifts they had received- Kitty had gotten a Barbie, which she had squealed excitedly about for a good five minutes; Charles had gotten it for her. The twins had received the gift of ten boxes of candy, courtesy of Sean. At Charles's glare, Sean had blushed and smiled sheepishly with a devious gleam in his eyes. Somehow, he looked guilty and innocent all at once.

Marie had received a book about a group of children's adventures, surprisingly given to her by Logan. Marie had thanked him and tentatively given him a hug, which took him by surprise. Bobby had gotten an G.I. Joe doll, gifted to him by Darwin. Bobby had bumped fists with Armando, thanking him earnestly.

Jean got a book, a gift from her sister Ororo. They had hugged, Jean getting a quick glance at the first page with glee. Scott received a baseball and bat, a gift from his blood brother. Scott had hugged Alex, and Alex had been caught by surprise, his arms slowly drifting up to hug him back. Ororo received a bunch of golden bracelets, courtesy of Kitty, who still wanted to play with the shiny objects. Ororo pulled her into her lap, allowing the three-year-old to play with the bangles that she had placed on her wrist.

Sean was gifted with a radio, given to him by Charles. Hank was gifted with a book about some sort of science, given to him by Alex. Ironically, Alex got a baseball glove, given to him by Scott. The two brothers made a pact to play baseball when it got warmer, and Darwin opened his present. It was a book on Darwinism, and Darwin laughed and smiled, thanking Alex with a kiss.

Charles opened his present, and his eyes filled with tears. It was a framed photograph of Charles and Erik, smiling. Erik's eyes had been lit up with amusement, and Charles was grinning, staring at Erik. Their faces were close, a little giveaway to their true feelings. Charles looked to Hank, smiling gratefully, pain in his eyes. Everyone wasn't sure how to react, not knowing what was in the box or why it made Charles sad.

"Thank you, Hank." Charles said, blinking rapidly to make the tears disappear. The twins went over and climbed in Charles's lap, hugging him in an attempt to make him happier. Charles smiled down at them.

Logan opened his present, a box of tools from Charles. Logan thanked the Professor, smiling slightly, concluding the present opening for the night. They all had dinner and went to their rooms under the pretense of sleeping, when none truly planned on actually sleeping.

Charles went into his room, stuffing the stockings that he'd bought all of them. He just had little stuff, such as candy and little trinkets for all of them. After that, he began making sure all the presents from 'Santa' were prepared to be snuck out in the wee hours of the morning.

While Charles was busy getting the presents ready, all the children snuck out of their rooms to camp out, waiting for Santa. Even Sean, Ororo, Alex, Hank, and Darwin were out there with the younger kids.

"Let's make a pillow fort!" Sean whispered excitedly, and all of the others eagerly agreed. The older boys began creating the massive fort, gathering all the couch pillows and forming the basis, while the younger children gathered all of their pillows and some from the guest rooms. The fort spanned the entire twenty foot living room, cutting sideways through the room so as not to completely block the tree.

The children all climbed in, blankets connecting some of the pillows. Darwin opened up the blanket ceiling a bit so they could get fresh air, and the others sighed in relief. Darwin and Alex were cuddling, Kitty was laying on Hank, who was next to Jean, who was leaning against Scott. Ororo had Pietro laying on her next to Sean, who had little Wanda on him. Marie and Bobby were leaning against each other, their eyes drooping.

They were as snug as a bug in a rug, and soon, all the children fell asleep, losing the battle to stay awake and see the mysterious and illusive Santa Claus. They all dreamed of wondrous, impossible things that delighted their childish, imaginative minds.

Hours later, while the children were still fast asleep, Charles woke Logan up with his mind to help him get the presents to the living room. It was four in the morning, and they could hear the snores being emitted from the children's mouths.

Once Logan went back to bed, Charles put all the stockings up, smiling to himself. It would be a surprise for everyone, and Charles was glad. He hoped the children would all love the surprise. Then, he ate the cookies left out for Santa and drank the glass of milk left in the fridge for Santa, too.

Then, Charles went to bed for the few hours of sleep he would get, falling into a dreamless sleep.