From: Louise Kingwood Date: 23 Feb 1999 23:49:43 -0800 Subject: *NEW* "O Holy Night" by Bonnie Drew 1/1 Title: O Holy Night Author: Bonnie Drew E-mail: Rating: PG Category: SR Spoilers: Keywords: XF/HL/Fugitive Crossover; Skinner/Other Romance Summary: Regina and Walter celebrate their first Christmas together with some special friends, including Sally Bradstreet, Joe Dawson, Dana Scully, Fox Mulder, Bonnie Drew and Sam Gerard. Disclaimer: Walter Skinner, Fox Mulder, and Dana Scully belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and FOX, Joe Dawson is the property of Davis/Panzer Produstions, and Sam Gerard belongs to the people that thought up "The Fugitive". Regina and Sam Skinner, Sally Bradstreet, and Bonnie Drew are owned by, well, Bonnie Drew. Distribution: To Gossamer only. Author's Notes: Actually, in this case that should be poster's notes. This is the third part in the Skinner/Regina series by Bonnie Drew. The first two are at Gossamer. They are titled "Breaking the News" and "Bridal Gifts". The rest are being posted here. In order they are "O Holy Night", "Peaceful, Easy Feeling", "Father's Day", "A Quarter Past Three", and "Downtime". They are part of the wonderful universe created by Bonnie and Sally Bradstreet. The characters of Sally, Bonnie, and Regina were introduced in Bonnie's and Sally's other stories, "The Immortal Series", an incredible crossover series with the Highlander universe. The literary Bonnie Drew can also be found in "By any Other Name", "The Tiki Tales", and Sally's "Days" series and "Office Pool". I highly reccomend them all. In fact, go read them when you're done here:) Feedback: Can be sent to Bonnie Drew at . O Holy Night by Bonnie Drew He had strung up the lights just as Gina had asked him to. He had done a good job, festooning the eaves and overhangs o the Maryland townhouse with green and red, white and blue twinkling bulbs. The rest of the house-decorating was supervised by his wife. Regina loved Christmas. She had spent the past few days in the kitchen with Sally Bradstreet, Dana Scully, and Bonnie Drew. The women had baked, and concocted homemade chocolates and candies. It amused him to see his wife, a canny U.S. Marshal, become domestic about the holidays. Regina had hung the stockings, and adorned the mantel with the antique Nativity scene her parents had given them on their first wedding anniversary. Fox Mulder and Joe Dawson had helped him to decorate the tree, and Walter himself had put the star on top of the great Douglas fir. In short, the house looked like Christmas inside and out. All except in the heart of Walter Skinner. It wasn't that he hated Christmas. He was not the Grinch, or Scrooge. He hadn't minded helping Regina. He'd enjoyed having her depend on him to do the things she thought were necessary to the Yuletide season while she took care of Sam. He liked shopping for his wife and month-old son. He had even liked helping her with her part in the church Christmas pageant. But he was not caught up in the season, nor, he thought to himself, was he like to be. He kept his feelings to himself, however, and went to the pageant to see his wife. "Mr. Skinner." The priest had greeted him with a smile at the door. Walter was glad the good father had not called him "Brother" or "Walter." Regina was a devout Catholic. Skinner was an equally devout agnostic, and disdained most of organized religion. "It's good to see you here, sir. And who are these people?" Skinner adjusted his glasses. "Some friends of ours, Father. This is Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. They are two of my agents. This is Dr. Bonnie Drew, and Sam Gerard. Sam used to work with Gina and my son is his namesake. Dr. Drew also works with the FBI." "I'm Joe Dawson, Father. I'm Sam's godfather." The older man reache out to take the priest's proferred hand and shook it firmly. "I thought Mr. Gerard was the boy's godfather." The priest looked puzzled. Sam grinned. "I'm Protestant, Father, and an unrepentant sinner. Joe here is the Catholic. Hence the boy's middle name." Joe nodded his assent and indicated the tall woman standing next to him. "This is my lady, Sally Bradstreet." "How do you do, Father." Sally smiled a dazzling smile. "It looks like you have quite a turnout here." "Yes. We owe Regina for that. Your wife is quite a wonder, Mr. Skinner. She helped with the advertising and has been working with some of the children on their lines. Little Sam has been an angel." "Well, he's a devil at home. Are you sure you got all those demons out of him with his baptism?" The priest's eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled. "Quite sure, Mr. Skinner. I think that little boy is one of God's most blessed children. Why don't you find your seats? The pageant will begin in a few minutes." Skinner nodded his assent and made his way through the waves of people that pooled here and there among the seats. He heard Bonnie Drew murmur something to Sally and Dana. "What?" Bonnie flushed unaccountably. "I was just saying how I've never been to a Christmas pageant." Mulder stared at her. "What do you do for Christmas?" "Chinese." Mulder nodded with perfect understanding and tightened his hold on Scully's waist. Gerard nudged the little coroner and they began to compare Chinese take-out. Soon a heated argument was raging over who had the best Kung-Pau chicken: The Golden Dragon in Chicago, or Bamboo Village in D.C. They scouted out several seats toward the front and in the middle of the hall. They waded through crowds of screaming children who were celebrating the holiday by emancipating themselves from their parents. Skinner found himself sitting on the end of the hard wooden bench, wiping his palms on the thighs of his pants. He itched to grab brts and tell them that Santa hadn't come yet, and there was plenty of coal in the North Pole. Beside him, Sally glanced at his face. "Walter, are you alright?" "I'm fine." Her dark brow sketched a fine arc above her eye. "Oh?" "I'm just - a little nervous, that's all." He managed a thin smile for her, and then asked, "I've been wondering. How did you manage to come down here, anyway? I know Dawson was going to come, but I thought you would be too busy." Dawson put one arm securely around Sally's shoulders. "I spent one Christmas without her, Skinner. I'm not doing it again. You're lucky, Walt. You'll never spend a Christmas without Gina if she has anything to do with it." Before Skinner could reply, one of the kids, about nine and who he considered the lead pew monkey, shouted a greeting to a friend and tried to shove his way through the row of adults. His gum snapped as he stared insolently up at Skinner. "Move it, Gramps." The boy was suddenly eye-to-eye with six-feet-two inches of solid Marine as Skinner grabbed him by his shirt collar. "You wanna say that again, punk?" The kid paled and shook his head. "N-n-no sir." "Good. Sit down, shut up and have a little respect for your elders. Or Santa ain't gonna be the only one who knows when you're sleepin'." The boy gulped, nodded quickly, and Skinner released him. He shot away like a rocket, leaving Skinner feeling much better. "Wow." Bonnie Drew whispered at her place next to Sam. "Santa's little helpers are really cracking down, aren't they?" Gerard murmured back, "You should see him in tights." Bonnie bit back a laugh. "Happy now?" Sally asked sweetly. "The boy probably wet his pants. You know, Regina is going to do just fine. I doubt she's worried. Why should you be?" "I don't know. I feel stupid sitting down here." "Because you're not of Regina's faith?" Sally asked gently. "Because I don't think I have a faith." Sally's blue eyes clouded. She didn'thave a chance to say anything else before a woman's strident voice behind them said, "Who ever heard of a Mexican Mary? I can't believe she got the part. I've been Mary for three years now. I think Father Grant just felt sorry for her. She has that baby, and you've never seen the father, you know." "I know. It's disgraceful. She probably doesn't even know who the father is." Seven heads swivelled as if called by the same name. The two women behind them seemed to shrivel like worms on the sidewalk. "Perhaps," Sally said in saccharine tones, "the good Father was looking for someone with a more spiritual quality to play Mary." Bonnie's voice was more flinty. "Or maybe someone who might have been a virgin at sixteen." Her eyes raked over the disgruntled woman. "You don't see too many of them." "As for her being Mexican," Scully added, "You do realize that Mary and Joseph were Jews, right? I'm sure they tried to find someone more suited to the part, but as you can imagine, not many Jewish women tried out for the role." "And did you have a question about my godson's parentage?" Joe growled. "Let me introduce you to his father. This is Assistant Director Walter Skinner of the FBI. Regina's husband. I'm sure you'll make him feel at home out of a sense of Christian charity, won't you?" "Is there a problem with my wife, ladies?" Skinner asked politely. "I'm sure she would be happy to talk to you about it." The lights dimmed, and the women did not get the chance to reply. Still, their faces were red enough to guide Santa's sleigh through a fog-bank. Sally squeezed Skinner's knee and whispered, "You see? You have faith in Regina." Children singing stilled all conversation. They paraded past in white, with circles of gold crowning their heads. Oh Come All Ye Faithful, joyful and triumphant Oh come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, born the King of Angels. Oh come, let us adore him. Oh come, let us adore him. Oh come let us adore him, Christ the Lord. A troop of tiny angels marched onto the stage and the pageant began. The story was told, of the Immaculate Conception, of the trip to Bethlehem, of the inn that was filled to capacity, and of the young couple who were turned away during the night. Then, the angels visited the shepherds and trumpeted their heavenly chorus. The songs of the season flowed out over the crowd. O Holy Night. Away in a Manger. The First Noel. Angels We Have Heard on High. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. O Little Town of Bethlehem. Walter Skinner saw his wife, dressed in white and draped in blue, tenderly pick up his son from a cradle made of wood. The boy, Sam, was his. The woman with the rich dark eyes and mahogony skin was his wife, was the same woman he had known for twenty years. The same woman who slept at his side every night. He knew every nuance of her voice, every line of her face. But that night, as he watched her soothe their son with a lullaby, he began to understand her beliefs. In his mind, he saw a young virgin mother and her son, the Son of God. Regina was no blind follower. She had seen the evil of the world, and the cruelty of mankind. Yet she did not fear it. If lies were what he fought against, it was Regina he fought for. "I'd forgotten." Sally said quietly, beside him. Joe nodded and took her hand. "I've missed this." Dana murmured, and Mulder kissed her temple. "So. This is why." Skinner wasn't sure if Bonnie had said this, or if Sam had. It didn't matter. Looking up at his wife, backlit in gold, her face serene and beautiful, Walter Skinner began to reclaim his faith. Later in the program, he was ready to sing with the rest of the congregation. Silent night. Holy night. All is calm. All is bright Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy Infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace. The End -- "The blind leading the blind." - Sclly "Rain King" ---------------------------------------------