A Series of Unfortunate Events One Shots

Thanksgiving Part 3

Begin!

Universe*

~Normal POV

After Klaus gave Trevor a quick tour of his home, he was put to work helping the others in the kitchen. Trevor could only observe the family curiously as they worked together. They seemed to move fluidly with each other, like a well-oiled machine they completed their tasks without fail. Sunny was chatting happily with her family as he helped her with making homemade noodles. He knew already that Sunny was a skilled chef, but he had never seen her work without it being for a grade before.

The boy couldn't help admiring what he was seeing. This family was obviously very close; especially considering their living arrangements. He briefly wondered what it would be like to be a part of such a family. Just then Quigley entered the room.

"Hey we've got some mail," He announced holding up a few small packages and envelopes.

Fiona went over to him, "Anything from my stepfather?"

He handed her a letter, "Just this, and he sent some presents for the kids."

The cartographer left the room with the three packages as Fiona read over the letter.

"So where is your stepfather this time," Isadora asked.

"The Bahamas for some work related thing; I guess the presents were souvenirs. He says he can't make it to Christmas this year either because he's too busy, but we'll manage without him. We also got a couple cards from Jerome Squalor and Justice Strauss," She handed the two cards to Violet.

Violet smiled at the card, "It's nice to see them get along so well. After his messy divorce, Jerome needed that kind of comforting companionship."

Trevor was standing beside Violet by the counter and glanced at one of the cards in her hand, "Wow Dark Avenue, and a justice on the high court? You guys have friends in high places."

Violet laughed, "Yeah, Justice Strauss is an old friend of ours. She even officiated all our weddings. That's how she and Jerome met; they're good friends now. Jerome is another old friend of ours."

"That's pretty cool," Trevor said, "I plan to open a restaurant on Dark Avenue when I'm older."

Klaus smirked, "That's a daunting idea. You'd have to get past their obsession with being 'in.'"

Trevor laughed, "Oh, I'm not worried about that. Some things stay can 'in' for a very long time." They all laughed at that.

Isadora leaned over to Sunny and whispered, "He's definitely interesting."

Sunny chuckled and whispered back, "Glad you like him; I hope to keep him."

"I'll try to keep my husband from kicking him out then," Isadora joked.

~...

It had been ages since Trevor sat down to a huge family dinner like this. With him having lived at Whitmore Academy for so long he usually spent his holidays there as well. He had friends of course, but he didn't mind spending his days at the school while they went to their own family gatherings. At the table, he sat between Sunny and Violet. Monty was coiled up around Sunny's legs under the table, and she would occasionally reach down and feed him some fruit. Trevor still hasn't gotten over the fact that his girlfriend had a vegetarian snake for a pet. With fangs like those it was a wonder that thing hadn't bitten anyone yet.

"Alright Sunny, I suppose you should tell us how you two met," Duncan said.

"It was in cooking class actually," Sunny replied with a smile, "Our teacher introduced us for an assignment."

"Are you friends with Beatrice too," Isadora asked.

"Well I am now," Trevor said, "I had never met her before meeting Sunshine here. I've been told that she's very close to your family."

Isadora nodded, "Oh, yes she is; we've all known Bea for her whole life."

"I see; is it ok if I ask why?"

Everyone glanced at each other for a moment, which confused Trevor before Violet replied, "It's a long story; maybe some other time."

Suddenly, Sunny's phone started buzzing in her pocket. She quickly excused herself from the table and went into the other room to answer it.

"Hello," Sunny said quietly.

"Sunny, this is Beatrice; my mom is busy chatting with my uncles right now so she told me to call you for her."

"Ok so what's the news?"

There was a short pause before Beatrice answered, "You might want to sit down..."

Sunny felt her heart clench up with worry, "That doesn't sound good."

"I have good news and bad news. The good news is that he isn't a volunteer or a villain. My dad checked every file we have."

Sunny breathed a sigh of relief, "Then what's the bad news?"

There was another short pause, "We found the names of his parents and... they were fire-starters."

Sunny nearly dropped her phone, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, but listen he doesn't have any connection with them anymore. They're confirmed to be dead. Their fire must have been started by another villain. My mom said that keeping him around should be fine, since nobody has come after him in the years after his fire happened, but try asking him about some of this stuff."

"Ok, thanks for telling me," Sunny replied, "Have a good Thanksgiving Bea; I'll try to sort this out before we go back to school Sunday night." She hung up the phone and sighed heavily.

"What am I supposed to tell the others now?"

Surely they couldn't accept this. Even if he wasn't tied to it now, what were the chances that he could decide to follow that path? Sunny glanced across the hall into the living room where the kids were watching a movie while eating their dinner. Would it be too dangerous to have Trevor around them? Sunny had sworn that if anyone dared to harm her nieces and nephew she would personally rip them in half. She was fiercely protective of them.

But Trevor was a nice guy... She really liked this one. He was kind, funny, smart, good-looking, and good with kids; he enjoyed cooking and reading. She remembered something that Quigley had said once upon a time. "Well read people are less likely to be evil." The words rang in her head as she resumed a neutral expression and returned to the dining room to find Trevor talking about something unexpected.

"Then the fire spread through the house like crazy. My dad got me out pretty quickly and he went back inside for my mom," Trevor explained, "But they never came back out."

Sunny took her seat next to him and noticed the shocked looks on her family members' faces.

"That's awful," Violet noted, "And you were only six?"

"Yeah, I was an only child too. After the fire, I got sent to Whitmore by Orphan Affairs. I've been there ever since, but at least it's a nice school."

Sunny spent the rest of dinner contemplating things. As everyone talked, her mind drifted to something she hadn't considered until now: Fernald. She had a strange admiring respect for him. Yet for a long time he was her enemy. But when given the chance to go back to a normal life with his family he took it without a second thought. He had to spend a few years in jail first but he was out now and living with his and Fiona's stepfather. He was trustworthy now...

Everyone else in this room was aware that Fernald had changed his ways. So why wouldn't they be willing to accept Trevor? He wasn't evil at all, and he was slowly gaining the family's trust as he bonded with them during the conversation. Even Violet and Klaus were looking like they were starting to like this guy, and that was all the approval Sunny needed really. Kit did say that keeping him around should be fine. Sunny came to a quiet, happy conclusion, she would let this boy stay in her life.

"He's a good guy," She thought, "Once we're able to be alone I'll let him know that I want this to get serious."

~End of Chapter!

Just because his parents were evil, doesn't mean he is. There will be a final, shorter part to this short story!