It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

31.

They all ran for the family room, the source of both the screaming and the crash. Neil and Joe had come from the front door to see what had happened and Justin was standing beside the couch, looking behind it.

"What happened?" Nancy asked as all of the children stood watching as whoever was behind the couch continued to scream.

"Donnie... come out here, buddy..." Justin said, his voice begging as the little boy screamed his refusal.

"Justin, what happened?" Mrs. Shepherd asked.

"Donnie pulled on the cord to one of your little Christmas houses, it hit his head and then smashed into a million pieces on the ground." He said nervously.

"Justin, is he hurt?" Kathleen said nervously as she moved towards the couch. "Donnie... come out and see mommy..."

"NO!" He screamed loudly as he continued to cry.

"Move the couch..." Kathleen said as she tried to reach behind it, watching as the little boy moved out of reach as he continued to sob louder.

Without even thinking, Meredith stepped forward and knelt down carefully. Her frame was much smaller than any of the other adults, and she was able to slide herself behind the couch.

Everyone listened as they heard her voice speaking softly.

"Donnie..." She whispered. "Donnie, are you okay?" She said softly as she reached for the little boy, as he squirmed backwards away from her. "It's alright, buddy... it's just me..." She whispered. "It's Meredith..."

"Go away!" He exclaimed as he felt her hands reach for him. "Go away... I'm bad..." he whimpered.

"You're bad?" Meredith asked.

"I broke Granny's Christmas house." He sobbed.

"Aww..." Meredith whispered. "I'm pretty sure that Granny is going to be much more concerned about whether or not you have a bump on your little head than if her Christmas house is broken."

"But I did it, I broke it..." He sobbed.

"It's alright... but you can't tell her you're sorry if you're hiding behind the couch."

"She's gonna be so mad at me..." He sobbed.

"Did you do it on purpose?" She whispered, watching the light from above them shine down on the little boy's features as he gave her that puppy dog expression that Kathleen had warned her about. She imagined that Derek had once had that same little boy face, those same sweet, innocent blue eyes, and guilty, worried conscience when he had done anything wrong.

"No." he whispered.

"Then I don't think that you have anything to worry about..." She said softly. "Come here... let me see that bump..." She whispered as she reached for his hand.

The little boy watched the sincere look on her face, her hand reaching out to him. He sniffled as he reached for her hand, allowing her to pull him closer to her, she reached up and touched his forehead, feeling a bit of a bump forming on the top of his head, maybe a small scratch, but nothing too major. "Is it bad?" He whispered.

"It might need a Spiderman band aid..." She said with a cringe, watching the smile on his face starting to appear.

"That sounds serious..." He whispered back.

"Let's get you a mommy and daddy hug... then we'll check it again..." Meredith said as she started to back out from the couch, holding the little boy against her as she slid out from behind the couch. When she was able to get the little boy from behind the couch, she looked up at the dozen or so faces looking down at her, and she could feel her cheeks starting to burn. "Geez guys... he was behind the couch, it's not like he was stuck in a well or something." She laughed as everyone else started to laugh.