It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

3.

Mrs. Shepherd stood in the living room carefully shifting a few things around in the living room as she cleaned up the toys and wrapping paper from the children's gifts. She sighed softly as she bent down to pick up a fire truck that one of the boys had 'driven' under the tree.

"You didn't wait for me to put the lights up." A male's voice startled her slightly, though she didn't show that she had.

"If I waited for you dear, it would have been valentines day." She said with a laugh as she turned around, finding her son standing there with his hands in his pockets, grinning like a fool.

"I'm sorry." He said, giving his mother a sincere glance as she stood up and walked towards him.

"It's alright dear... we all have our own lives too... we can't all be rushing off to family functions at every single holiday." She said, her eyebrows raised as she took a nice long look at her son. "You're looking healthy."

"Is that a crack at the belly?" He asked, pulling his hand from his pocket, patting the front of his sweater.

"No dear..." She laughed. "You do... you have a lot of color in your face... and you have put on a few pounds... but it fits you nicely." She smiled.

"How did I do?" he asked.

"You were magnificent." She replied. "The children loved it."

"I wish dad could have seen it." He sighed, giving his mother a sad smile as he watched her smile disappear. "Mom... I'm sorry..."

"No... no..." She said softly. "You know... it's just the first Christmas without him. I knew...that it was going to be hard... but I'm so glad that you came... I'm so glad that you were able to come." She said happily as she pulled her son into a hug, feeling his arms wrap around him so tightly. "You're looking more and more like him every day." She said, pulling from the hug, she reached up and touched his face as she looked into his eyes. "You had better stop getting to be so handsome... women will be afraid to talk to you."

"Mom..." He shook his head as he gave her another hug, laughing into her shoulder. "Speaking of women... who is..."

"Oh! Meredith! I forgot, I was going to show her to her room... poor thing..." She said quickly as she moved towards the kitchen. "She's such a sweetheart, Derek..."

"Mom... Mom I..." Derek said as he followed her into the kitchen.

"Meredith..." She said as she watched her turn around in surprise. She smiled at her entrance, and her smile disappeared as Derek followed her in, though the playfulness was still radiating in her eyes, she was not about to reveal anything just yet. "Meredith, I'd like for you to meet my son." She said proudly as she held her hand out to Derek. She grabbed his hand and held it out to Meredith. "Meredith, this is Derek."

"So the prodigal son returns." Meredith said with a sly smile, watching Derek as he smiled back at her, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he shook his head and laughed, reaching his hand out to her, his smile becoming warmer as she accepted his offer and shook it. "I've heard a lot about you this evening."

"If it came from my mother, I know it was good... if it came from any of my sisters, they're pathological liars." He replied, feeling his mother smack him lightly as his eyes never left Meredith's.

"Meredith... Derek was our Santa tonight..." She smiled. "We used to have Derek's father do it every year... but he passed on in January of this year..." She said softly.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Meredith said softly, unsure of exactly what to say. She then suddenly realized, that she was still shaking Derek's hand, his eyes holding that mischievous look again, his smile growing wider as she quickly pulled her hand from his. "I... I should probably go to sleep... I'll probably have to go dig my car out of a snowbank tomorrow morning..." She said quickly as she took a step back, glancing to Mrs. Shepherd.

"Of course dear..." She said with a smile as she watched her son watching the young woman. "Derek... say goodnight..."

"Goodnight, Mom...Goodnight, Meredith." Derek said softly with a smile, still mesmerized by her as he watched her fidget and turn.

"Goodnight, Derek." She said with a smile as she followed after Derek's mother. "It was nice to meet you...again..." She said softly as she slipped out the kitchen door after his mother.

🎄🎄🎄

Mrs. Shepherd kindly led Meredith up the steps that the other family members had disappeared up. She smiled as she heard the giggling of the children in the bedrooms as their parents hushed them. She was led down the long hallway to a bedroom in the corner, opening the door to find a moderately sized guest room.

"There are extra blankets in the closet... and Michael brought your bag and coat up here so that you have them nearby as well." She smiled softly as she watched the young girl look around in awe as she stepped over to the window. Meredith stepped over to the window and looked out on the property that the house was sitting on, seeing the bright moonlight reflecting off the snow below them. "It's a beautiful night..." She whispered.

"It is." Meredith said softly. "There are some clouds moving in though..." She whispered as she turned around. "I just would like to thank you again... for letting a stranger intrude on your family like this... I really had no intention of..."

"Hush... You're fine..." She said with a smile. "As long as you're respectful and kind, which you have shown to be, you're always welcome in my home. Now get yourself comfortable... get some sleep... and we'll talk about all of this stuff in the morning."

"But... tomorrow is Christmas morning... and I don't want to..."

"You don't want to what, dear?"

"I don't want you to feel like...You shouldn't have to put me up like this..."

"It's late... Christmas eve... the busses aren't running... and we're not about to let a young lady sit out in the cold on Christmas eve. We'll figure all of this out in the morning... you can call your mother... or Michael can bring you to your car... but we'll figure it out in the morning..." She smiled soflty. "Goodnight, Meredith."

"Goodnight...Mom." Meredith smiled, shaking her head as she said it, grinning at the older woman's laugh as she turned and quietly slipped from the room.