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underthewingsofthblackeagle · 2 years ago

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Foto: Panorama Helsinki / Finland - Cathedral and Place of the Parliament (by tap5a)

“We only do this for Fergus!” is a short Outlander Fan Fiction story and my contribution to the Outlander Prompt Exchange (Prompt 3: Fake Relationship AU: Jamie Fraser wants to formally adopt his foster son Fergus, but his application will probably not be approved… unless he is married and/or in a committed relationship. Enter one Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp (Randall?) to this story) @outlanderpromptexchange

Chapter 24: Holy Night

At 6:45 p.m., Jamie, Claire and Fergus returned home. There the small group was already expected by Mrs. Curtius and then also warmly welcomed. "Hmmmm, I can already smell the roast goose!" But before Fergus, who had announced this enthusiastic news, could run into the dining room, Jamie held him by his shirt collar. "Not so hasty, Fraser Junior! Shoes off and slippers on!" "Yeheeess, Papa." The boy rolled his eyes and sighed theatrically. "And even after we all put on our slippers, we'll go wash our hands first, won't we?" "Yeheees ...." Fraser gently pushed the boy toward the small room to the right of the front door, which contained a bathroom with a toilet and shower. Shortly after, they reappeared in the hall. But still he held the boy with him. "Now, for now, we'll give Claire time to wash her hands, and when she gets back here, we'll wait until we're called in." Fergus let out another loud sigh, but Jamie called him to silence with a loving, serious look. A moment later Claire had rejoined them, and then Mrs. Curtius opened the large door to the dining room, smiling: "Come in, all you hungry souls!" "Oh!" was all Fergus could say now when he saw the festively set table.

Picture by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

After they were seated, Jamie placed a napkin around Fergus. At that moment, Mrs. Curtius appeared and first served a light soup of broth, vegetables, and egg drop. Then she brought steaming mushroom dumplings, wonderfully spicy smelling red cabbage with apple slices, and lastly the crispy roasted goose.

Jamie poured red wine for himself and Claire, and Fergus got red grape juice. Then Fraser set about serving the goose. Claire was surprised at how deft he was with the poultry knife. Just a few minutes later, Fergus and Fraser's plates each had a leg of goose on them. Claire got a nice piece from the goose breast. Fraser then handed Claire the bowl of red cabbage while he filled Fergus and himself with dumplings on their plates. By the time they got to dessert after the main course, baked apples with custard, they were actually quite full, but ... well, there's always room for something sweet in a person's stomach. Claire enjoyed the meal, trying to watch Jamie and Fergus as unobtrusively as possible. The boy, who had been quite excited at the beginning of the meal, had visibly calmed down in the meantime. The good food had certainly contributed to this. When everyone had finished their dessert, Claire looked at "the men": "Now, gentlemen. You two will now help Mrs. Curtius clear the table. While you do that, I will prepare the presents. You will then please wait here until the bell rings and I open the door to the living room." Claire didn't know whether "the men" simply surrendered to their fate or whether the wonderful Christmas meal had put them in a state that made it too difficult to resist. But that was not important now. She got up and left the room. Shortly after, she unlocked the door that led from the hall into the living room. Everything was already prepared there. First she lit the candles, which stood in their large lanterns at various places in the room. Then she lit the fire in the incense figurines. She was delighted when they began to give off their Christmas scent. When the candles on the “Schwippbogen” and behind the front of the Christmas light houses in front of the fireplace were also lit, she turned her attention to the Christmas tree. Now she would have to accomplish the most difficult task and light all the candles on it. When that was also done, Claire looked around once more. Now she was sure that everything was according to her ideas and wishes. She took another deep breath and then turned off the artificial light. Immediately the whole room was completely immersed in the warm glow of the many candles. Claire couldn't help it, she too smiled radiantly. With all her heart she hoped that the other members of the Fraser household could also feel the joy that filled her.

She reached for the small bell that was ready and rang it. She then stepped to the double door that separated the dining room from the living room and turned the key in the lock. As the doors shifted to the right and left, revealing the living room and, in particular, the glowing Christmas tree, a unanimous, amazed "Ohhh!" rang out from four mouths. Claire was pleased to see the surprise on the faces of Fergus, Jamie, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Curtius. But now she must rouse the small group from their surprise. "Fergus?" He boy looked at her and knew immediately what was to come now. They had discussed it some time ago and rehearsed it several times. Claire asked those present to come into the room, where they took seats on the sofas. Fergus then handed everyone a folded A4 sheet that contained the lyrics to some Christmas carols.

Claire reached for the remote control and turned on the Christmas CD that had been inserted earlier. Together they sang the first song: "Macht hoch die Tür, das Tor macht weit". Again, Jamie was surprised at how well Fergus not only knew the words, but could hold the tune. As the song faded away, Claire, who had settled into an armchair on the sofa across from the small group, reached for a book. She waited a moment, then began to read the story of the birth of Christ as told by the doctor Luke in his Gospel.

Picture by Jessica Fadel on Unsplash

She then reached for the remote again. She smiled at Fergus, a broad smile flitting across his face. "Now we're going to sing 'Am Weihnachtsbaum, die Lichter brennen,’" he announced like a master of ceremonies who had done nothing but announce Christmas carols his whole life. They sang the verses of the song and as the last words faded, Claire approached a small table next to the Christmas tree on which were some packages wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper. "I'm not Santa Claus," she said with a mischievous smile, "but I'm still going to be in charge of distributing the presents now. Fergus, will you come, please?" As Fergus stepped up beside her, she handed the boy three small packages and whispered something to him. The boy nodded, then went first to Jamie, then to Mr. and Mrs. Curtius. Each of the three people received one of his packages, accompanied by the wish, "Merry Christmas!" He also pressed a kiss to his father's cheek and whispered, "I love you, Dad!" As the adults unwrapped their packages, round wooden disks appeared inside, with something burned onto them with a children's handwriting. Mr. Curtius received a disk with a locomotive on it. Above it was written - in somewhat scrawly children's writing - "Zugführer". On the back of the wooden disc was a double-sided tape to attach it. "This is for your train room, Mr. Curtius," Fergus said. The addressed, pulled the boy to him and gave him a hearty squeeze. "Thank you, Fergus! That's a great gift. I'll put the disc on the door to the room the next time you come to check the trains with me!" On the wooden disc from Mrs. Curtius was a large soup tureen. Underneath it read, "Five are invited, ten have come, pour water to the soup, welcome all!" There was also double-sided tape on the back of this wooden disc. "Oh, how beautiful. I'll put that on the door of my storageroom," Mrs. Curtius says delightedly, and she too gives Fergus a warm hug. When Jamie unwraps the wooden disc Fergus handed him, he sees his family's coat of arms on it and the words "Je suis prest!" underneath. Fraser had to pull himself together or he would have had tears in his eyes again in a moment. His voice failed, so he just pulled Fergus to him and gave him a warm, long hug. Then he whispered: "Thank you Fergus, thank you very much. I love you very, very much too."

Picture by Andréas BRUN on Unsplash

Fergus responded with another kiss on Jamie's cheek. Then he turned to Mr. and Mrs. Curtius: "Claire has been very helpful in helping me make these gifts for you." Claire blushed a little, and to distract herself from her own excitement, she called Fergus to her again. Then she handed him several packages wrapped in wrapping paper and decorated with red and green bows. And then Fergus's patience, which he had admirably maintained for so long, was completely over. He quickly tore open the wrapping paper and when he saw the special locomotive he had long wanted, he was unstoppable. He fell around Claire's neck and before she knew it, both of her cheeks were covered in kisses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" whispered Fergus in her ear. "Didn't I promise you that you'd get a very special gift if you did a good job helping to make the party already? You've been great, Fergus!" The rest of the evening went more quietly. Jamie and Mr. and Mrs. Curtius also presented Fergus with their gifts. Jamie had picked out a large model of the Wartburg for him, which they planned to assemble over the next few days. He also got some knight figurines, a toy figure with a quill and a book, which represented Martin Luther, and a female toy figure that was clearly recognizable as Elizabeth of Hungary. "As a reminder of our wonderful trip to Thuringia," said Jamie, who was visibly pleased with the boy's enthusiasm.

From Mr. and Mrs. Curtius there was a big coloring book, which of course was also about knights and castles, an audio book CD called "The three ??? and the missing dinosaur" and of course some sweets. Fergus was busy with his presents and immersed in his own world, while Claire and Jamie gave presents to Mr. and Mrs. Curtius and were also given presents by them. Jamie opened a bottle of wine and Claire spread some bowls of pastries, nuts and fruit on the coffee table. Together they all sat on the sofa for another hour, talking and enjoying the evening. Now and then Fergus appeared, helped himself to the cookies, snatched some nuts or helped himself to the tangerines. Afterwards he disappeared again almost silently in the direction of the winter garden, where he devoted himself to his (new!) locomotive and his other gifts.

Incense Men (burner) for Christmastime * Picture by André Karwath aka Aka - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6832555

Around 10:00 p.m., as one candle after another slowly went out on the Christmas tree, the Curtius couple said their goodbyes. Jamie looked questioningly at Claire. Did she want another glass of wine? No, she declined with thanks. Jamie stood up and took a few steps towards the conservatory. There Fergus was lying next to his train, surrounded on the right and left by his presents and - asleep. "Claire!" whispered Jamie softly, but clearly. She stood up and when she saw the sleeping boy, she shook her head with a smile. "Christmas is very tiring," she whispered softly. "Shall we ..." Jamie looked at her questioningly. "Yeah, take him. Let's put him to bed. I'll take the presents." And so it happened. Jamie gently took the boy into his arms. Claire grabbed some of the smaller gifts the boy had received and together they took Fergus upstairs to his room. There, the exhausted knight-locomotive-guide-burgomaster woke up once again, but not properly. Together, Claire and Jamie helped him put on his pajamas. As Jamie tucked him in, the boy murmured: "Thank you for a lovely party." But before any of the adults could say anything back, he had fallen asleep. They looked at each other and smiled. "Christmas is really very stressful," Jamie whispered again. Then they carefully slipped out of the room.

A Playmobil figure representing Martin Luther photographed inside Turku Cathedral in Finland * Picture by Niera - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98755117

They went back down to the living room. Claire immediately set about cleaning up. She didn't notice Jamie taking a small rectangular package from the living room closet. Jamie watched as, after arranging a few things in the living room, she went into the conservatory. There, she created order in Fergus’ play corner with just a few moves. Fraser took another breath, then followed her. As he entered the conservatory, he saw her standing at the large window looking out into the garden, where electric candles still glowed on a fir tree and on the small light other plants she had provided. Carefully he approached her, hoping not to startle her. "Claire?" he said softly. "Yes?" She turned and looked in amazement at the gift Jamie held out to her. "It's not so much a Christmas present ... Than a thank you ... For everything you've done for us this year, especially ... For this wonderful Christmas." Claire accepted the package and removed first the bow, then the paper. A gray package emerged from underneath. On it was imprinted a gold-colored diamond and below that the name of a well-known Berlin jeweler. With trembling hands, she opened the package. On the black velvet display lay a slender gold bracelet with amethysts set in the shape of small Scottish thistles. "Oh, how beautiful!" From Claire's eyes, Jamie could tell she really felt the way she said it. He took the little box from her hand and puts the bracelet on her. Then, without her really noticing, he leads her back into the living room. Still puzzled, Claire looks at the bracelet on her wrist. "But..." she says suddenly, searching for words. But Jamie interrupted her. "No buts!" A moment of silence fell. Then Jamie gathered all his courage: "Claire, you don't even know what you've done for us. Last year ... that was no Christmas. I just came from a business trip .... I ... I had given Mr. and Mrs. Curtius time off and they had gone to visit relatives for Christmas. Of course, I had a Christmas present for Fergus, I ... I gave him the train set and a book and... Candy. But we didn't have a Christmas tree or .... candles or... well. We didn't have Christmas dinner either, I ordered pizzas, made sandwiches and .... The other days we ... ate out."

Picture byJohn Matychuk on Unsplash He sighed. "I tried ..." "You did what you could do at the time. And more important than anything, you gave Fergus a home. You can't devalue what you did either. Fergus loves you. Do you think he would if he wasn't comfortable with you and trusted you?"

She saw how his eyes slowly filled with water. He wanted to turn away, didn't want her to see his tears. But she reached for him and held him back. Then she embraced him. He also put his arms around her, then squeezed her tightly. When they broke away from each other again, he smiled at her. "I'm so grateful we can do all this for Fergus." "Me, too," she replied, and then she turned and pulled a flat, A-4-sized gift from behind the Christmas tree and held it out to him. "Merry Christmas!" Jamie took the package, smiled at her, and then said jokingly: "But ..." Before he knew it she gave him a light poke in the ribs. "Oof!" "Yeah, oof! And, no buts!" They laugh briefly, then head back to the sofa. After they sat down, Jamie opened the present. Out came a photo album Claire had designed herself. She had been taking pictures with her smartphone almost every day since she moved to Potsdam. Her pictures showed Fergus - in the garden, with his train, eating ice cream, on the way to school, together with Mr. or Mrs. Curtius. There were quite a few pictures showing Fergus with Jamie and also one together with Matthieu von Klarenberg. At the end of the album, Jamie found photos of Fergus sleeping in the car on the way to Wartburg Castle and pictures of Fergus and him at the castle. All the photos had been lovingly assembled, pasted and labeled. "Claire, I don't even know ... it's beautiful ... such a wonderful ... Collection of beautiful memories." Again, his eyes filled with tears. "Thank you, thank you so much!"

Picture by Bruno /Germany on Pixabay

They had sat together for some more time, looking at individual pictures and sharing when they had been taken and the story associated with them. Some memories made them laugh together. Sometime after midnight, they too were exhausted from the wonderful day. They rose and took the elevator first to the second floor. There Jamie had said goodbye to Claire and gotten off. Claire had continued on and gotten off in front of her apartment. As she slid under her covers ten minutes later, she glanced again at the bracelet that had been placed on her nightstand. The last thing she thought before falling asleep was: "That man ..." As Claire slipped gently into the land of smiles, Jamie once again quietly opened the door to Fergus' room. The boy was sleeping peacefully in his bed. Once again, feelings of great contentment and gratitude ran through his entire body. What a wonderful day, what a wonderful celebration! Carefully he closed the door, then went to his bedroom. Ten minutes later, as he sat on his bed in his pajamas, he once again reached for the photo album that Claire had designed for him and that he had placed on his nightstand. When he saw the funny picture showing Fergus and Claire eating ice cream, he thought: "That woman ..." Then he too slipped under his covers and turned out the light. Before he fell asleep, a crazy wish crossed his mind: "Christmas," he said aloud to himself, "should be at least once a month."

#Outlander #Outlander Fan Fiction #Jamie Fraser #Fergus Fraser #Claire Beauchamp #Berlin #Potsdam #Germany #Modern AU #Holy Night #christmas #We only do this for Fergus

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