Warning: Super sapfest. Gets a bit philosopical/religious at the
end, but hey, it's "Silent Night"!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

/Silent night, holy night/
/All is calm, all is bright/

"JAMES! HELEN! HEY KIDS! Get your butts down here! We're gonna be
late!"

Duo's bellow shook the windows. ~Lord help, but that man can yell,~
thought Hilde as she got the children's coats out. ~He's right,
though. If they don't get down here soon this Christmas pageant's
going to be short one angel and one shepherd.~

The pitter-patter of little feet sounded like a stampede of elephants
as Jamie and Helen raced down the stairs. Jamie shoved his arms in
his coat and then went to stand at the door, rolling his eyes at his
parents and younger sister, as if he'd been waiting for them all
along.

"Come on, Dad, let's go!" he said, fidgeting as his parents helped
little Helen with her jacket.

/Round yon virgin, mother and Child/
/Holy Infant, so tender and mild/
/Sleep in Heavenly peace/
/Sleep in Heavenly peace/

"When did you get to be such a smarty pants, mister?" Hilde grinned
wryly at her son's expression. "I remember when you were a tiny
baby, so sweet and even-tempered."

Duo snorted. "With the two of us as parents, the kid didn't have
much of a chance. Neither of them does," he added with a smirk
toward his daughter. He locked up the house as Hilde herded the kids
toward the car.

"I'm sweet! I'm sweet!" Helen smiled beatifically at her parents.
Duo got one glimpse of that look and melted. ~Of course my baby girl
is sweet. How could I ever have doubted.~

When she saw her father's face soften, Helen's smile turned into a
mischievous grin. She grabbed a handful of snow off the car and
tossed it into her Dad's face, humming a few bars of her favorite
Christmas carol at the same time.

"Winter? Wonderland? I'll show you a winter wonderland, little
missy!" Duo's snowball fight with his daughter was prevented by
Hilde's hand on his hair.

"Don't even think about it, Braid Boy. We've got ten minutes to get
these kids to the church. I'm NOT having them show up wet, cold, and
late. Get in the car!"

/Silent night, holy night/
/Shepherds quake at the sight/

Backstage at the grand event was a madhouse. ~Shepherds really would
quake at this sight~ thought Hilde as she sidestepped two wise men
arguing over who got gold and who got myrrh. She dropped Jamie and
Helen off at the costuming area and went to join Duo in the audience.

"Hey, Babe!" Duo grinned at her. "I found us some prime real
estate! Best seats in the house. Let's settle in and enjoy the show."

~I'm so lucky~ thought Hilde as she went to sit by Duo. ~Two great
kids, a wonderful husband. I really am blessed.~ She smiled and
greeted several friends as the lights dimmed in preparation for the
show.

/Glories stream from Heaven above/
/Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia/
/Christ, the Savior, is born/
/Christ, the Savior, is born/

"Well, it could have been worse," said Duo as the children's angel
choir sang the last verse of "Silent Night", only slightly off
key. "That little girl of our's sure is a ham, though!"

Hilde grinned. The music director had walked in front of each child
during the singing, allowing each one a chance to sing into a
microphone so the parents could hear. But when Helen Maxwell's turn
came, a few seconds just would not do, and the voice amplifier was
snatched out of Sister Theresa's hand. Helen belted out an entire
verse of "Away in a Manger" before the nun was able to stop laughing
and retrieve the microphone.

"She's definitely your child, Duo Maxwell. No doubt about that."

"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!" called out the children as the
curtain closed on the production.

/Silent night, holy night/
/Son of God, love's pure light/

~The starlight is beautiful~ thought Hilde as she walked with her
family. The kids were still wired from their successful performance,
and Duo was almost as bad. Jamie and Helen began to race to the car
as Duo suddenly stopped, swung Hilde into his arms, and began to sing
loudly ... and badly.

"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas," he sang, twirling his wife into
a back-bending dip. "Just like the one's I used to know."

"DAA-DEE!!" squealed Helen. James looked around furtively to make
sure none of his friends were watching, then laughed himself silly at
his parents' antics. Hilde slapped her husband on the shoulder.

"You can put me down now, Bing."

Duo laughed as he swung her upright. "Come on, hooligans, let's go
home," he said, and they all piled into the car and headed home.

/Radiant beams from Thy holy face/
/With the dawn of redeeming grace/
/Jesus, Lord, at thy birth/
/Jesus, Lord, at thy birth/

Two days later, Duo and Hilde sat snuggled by the fire, surveying
their Christmas Eve accomplishments. Jamie's shiny new bike sat
propped under the tree. Helen's huge dollhouse had been assembled,
with only a few left over pieces. Hilde sighed and rested her head
on Duo's shoulder.

"What's wrong, Babe?" Duo asked.

"Hmm. It's just so beautiful, being here with you, sharing such a
special holiday with you and our children. But, no matter how hard I
try to forget, no matter how hard I want to forget, I can't help but
remember those Christmas Eve's I spent without you. The one's when
you had to leave me and fight."

"Aw, Babe, I can't forget either. But I'm okay with that now. For
awhile, all I wanted was to forget. But then I realized that it
doesn't work that way."

Hilde turned and looked into his eyes. "Oh Duo, you don't still feel
guilt about fighting, do you? You don't still blame yourself?"

"Nah. Forgiveness came a long time ago. "Redeeming grace" it says
in the song I guess that's as good a way to put it as any. But
forgetting ... that's another story. If we forget, we leave
ourselves open to repeating our past mistakes. For Jamie and Helen's
sake, and for ours, I can't let that happen." He kissed Hilde gently
and snuggled her back into the curve of his shoulder. They sat
there, together, watching the fire. Thinking of the past, the
present, the future. Thinking of their children, asleep upstairs.
Thinking of a tiny Child, born thousands of years before, who gave
them the opportunity of forgiveness without forgetfulness, the choice
of redeeming grace.

/Silent night, holy night/
/Wondrous star, lend thy light/
/With the Angels let us sing/
/Alleluia to our king/
/Christ, the Savior, is born!/
/Christ, the Savior, is born!/

"Let's go to bed, love." Duo stood, pulling Hilde up with
him. "Christmas morning's gonna come awfully early"

Hilde smiled up at her husband and leaned in for a kiss. "Merry
Christmas, my love"

"Merry Christmas."