Muppetchild (designation: 2 of 5) reports that a lady does not sip from a faucet directly, one must catch the water droplets with their paw and lap it demurely from there
1. Last Christmas | A Very TF Christmas Masterlist | 3. Santa Baby
A/N: The song doesn’t quite apply lyrically to the fic, but I feel like it’s a Christmas song Benny would enjoy the heck out of. YT link below.
Again, thanks to @kesskirata @green-socks @spanishmossmagnolia and the rest of my discord crew in beta reading and helping me shape the story.
Rating: G
Pairing: Benny Miller & Named GN!OC (Sam)
Word Count: 1,416
Plot: Having to work on Christmas Eve, Benny makes the most of it while being on shift with his favorite co-worker.
Contains: wholesome platonic fun, a little cursing, gender-neutral pronouns
The whole store looks like closing time on a Black Friday. Items are strewn all over the shelves and scuffed linoleum tiles. Perishable products are found in places that are nowhere near where they should be. There are definitely broken or damaged items all around the store, including fixtures. The last customer left fifteen minutes ago and the final thing left to do is to clean up before locking up. Christmas music is still playing throughout the quiet, empty store.
Sam, who is still wearing their blue uniform vest and cheap elf costume including the booties, is collecting misplaced items customers left in random places and tossing them into a cart. Suddenly, a roll of holiday-themed wrapping paper is flying towards Sam and lands on the floor next to the cart. Sam looks up in the direction of where it came from and sees the tip of a different wrapping paper roll peeking out from an aisle. It slowly moves out further until the person wielding it reveals themselves.
"En garde!"
Sam smiles seeing their favorite coworker, Benny, wearing a Darth Vader mask left over from Halloween while still having on his elf costume he was also required to wear during the holiday season. Sam goes to pick up the roll of wrapping paper by their feet and brandishes it with both hands, getting into stance and preparing for battle.
When Benny swings his weapon, he makes a whooshing sound like he's swinging a lightsaber. Sam and Benny battle it out. They've been having these duels all month every time they've had to close up together and Sam is in the lead with 10-8. All the toy lightsabers are sold out so they have to make do with whatever they have available. Benny has a wider wingspan, but Sam's shorter height and speed makes it easier for them to dodge Benny's advances.
Sam is able to quickly block each one of Benny's swings as Benny keeps moving forward. Sam turns into a toy aisle as they back up. Seeing a child's Captain America shield, Sam picks it up and uses it to defend themself.
"Okay, a lightsaber would probably go right through vibranium." Benny pulls his mask up. "So you lose an arm at least."
"Says who?" Sam asks.
"Says Mark Hamill himself! Come on, lightsabers cut through everything."
They both look at each other, thinking for a moment until Sam without warning jabs Benny in the gut with the wrapping paper.
"11 to 8!" Sam drops the wrapping paper and shield onto the floor and throws their one good arm up in the air.
"Hey, that's not fair!"
"The fight never stopped, Benjamin!" Sam starts doing a victory dance.
"Fine, I'll let you have that because it's Christmas Eve." Benny takes his mask off.
"I don't need your pity win. I won it fair and square." Sam sticks their tongue out at Ben.
"Whatever. Let's finish up so we can get the fuck out of here." Benny chucks the mask onto a nearby shelf.
"You can go if you want. I can finish this and I'll just punch you out when I leave," Sam shrugs. "I'll vouch for you."
"Leave you here to do this by yourself? On Christmas Eve? Come on, we're a team." Benny points to both himself and Sam. "We can get this done quickly and then we can both go celebrate Christmas."
"I don't have any plans after this so..." Sam shrugs as they start pushing the cart again. "I know you have your friend Frankie's party to go to."
"You don't celebrate Christmas?" Benny asks, following Sam.
"I do, but my family celebrates it on Christmas day so I'll see them tomorrow." Sam grabs the small tub of ice cream someone abandoned in the chips and dip aisle. A decision was clearly made. Benny grimaces when milky liquid drips from the cardboard carton and Sam tosses it into the cart.
"So what are you doing after your shift?" Benny grabs the mop which he had temporarily put aside for the wrapping paper battle, and swipes the mop over the floor where the melting ice cream fell.
"Go home and watch Christmas movies while eating take out. I do that every year." Sam pushes the cart and continues down the aisle.
"Hey, I got an idea." Benny continues following Sam. "Why don't you come to my buddy's party? You've met Fish before."
"I don't know. I feel like I'm intruding."
"Trust me. Frankie wouldn't mind. My brother, Santi and Tom will be there too." Ben starts walking backwards with one hand on the cart.
Sam smirks, but is still thinking about it.
"There will be free booze and delicious home cooked food made by Frankie's family," Benny still tries to convince Sam.
"I'll think about it," Sam replies. "Meet back here in an hour?"
"I'll race ya. Whoever finishes first gets a bonus point," Benny throws out there.
"Don't cry about it when the score goes up to 12 to 8." Sam then dashes off with the cart.
***********
Sam looks at their watch and sees it's close to the end of the shift. As Sam heads over to the rendezvous point, the familiar jingle of the one songs that has been playing at least ten times a day for the last month or two comes through the speakers.
Suddenly, a deep voice on the PA system joins in to harmonize with Mariah Carey.
“IIIIII don’t want a lot for Christmaaaas, there is just one thing I neeeeed…”
Sam stops and looks up as if the answers are on the fluorescent lighting.
“Don’t care about the presents, underneath the Christmas tree…”
Sam smirks and then continues walking.
“I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know…”
A hand sticks out from the aisle where the meeting point is to pick up a toy tambourine off the open floor. Sam follows it.
“Make my wish come trueee, ooohh. All I want for Christmaaaaaas iiiiiis…”
Sam turns into the aisle and finds Benny, who is still in his elf costume clutching the handset that allows him access to the store's PA system, without missing a beat, turns to Sam and points the tambourine at them.
"Youuuuuuu!!!"
Benny starts shaking the tambourine in tune with the bells in the song, and then bangs it against his hip to the beat. Sam smiles watching Benny singing and dancing his heart out, putting on a show. Benny has always been Sam's favorite co-worker. He's like a work spouse. He's silly and doesn't take himself too seriously. If it wasn't for him, Sam probably would have quit a long time ago.
Benny puts the tambourine on the shelf and steps closer to Sam. He takes Sam's hand and starts dancing with them, swaying back and forth, two-stepping, then swinging their arm and twirling them around. At some point he brings his face and the handset closer to Sam's face and they sing along with him. They continue to dance and sing to each other.
Benny abandons the handset and grabs Sam's other hand so he's holding onto both. They both jump and twist and spin each other around, really getting into the festive song.
"All I want for Christmas is youuuuuu, babyyyyyyy!"
"Okay, my stamina sucks," Benny says, hunched over with his hands on his knees while trying to catch his breath.
"Mr. Benny 'Knock 'Em Out' Miller?" Sam asks in surprise.
"Shut up. I haven't trained in a while." Benny stands up straight. "I've been doing a lot of holiday eating." Benny pats his belly.
Sam walks over to the dangling handset to place it back onto the receiver.
"You ready to blow this joint?" Benny asks.
"Yup. Let's get out of these terrible costumes and lock up."
Benny follows Sam as they head to the back area that's only allowed for the employees and staff.
"So you coming to Frankie's party?" Benny asks as they enter the locker room. "The night is still young."
Sam thinks about it for a few moments as they both start changing into their regular clothes.
"Okay, fine," Sam smirks. "Let's celebrate this last day of the season because you know the day after Christmas, we're gonna have to start prepping the store for Valentine's Day."
"Let's get the fuck outta here!" Benny and Sam lock up and walk towards their respective cars.
"I won the bonus point by the way. I got there first." Benny proudly grins.
Eliza Anne ‘Annie’ Chapman née Smith (25 September 1840 – 8 September 1888)
In 1840, Annie Chapman's father George Smith was 18 years old and serving in the Cavalry, a trooper in Queen Victoria's 2nd Life guard, and one of the mounted officers controlling the crowds at Queen Victoria's wedding to Prince Albert. Her mother was 22-year old Ruth Chapman, originally from Sussex, who was now living and working in London. At some point Ruth and George's paths crossed and Ruth succumbed to the "Scarlet Fever", a term used at the time for young women seduced by the handsome red uniform of the Cavalry soldiers. Enlisted men were discouraged from marrying and were not paid enough to be able to afford it. Nevertheless, Ruth and George entered into a relationship out of wedlock and she became what was known as a "dollymop"; a soldier's woman who would have been viewed by Victorian society more or less as a casual rather than a 'professional' prostitute.
In September 1841 Eliza 'Annie' Chapman was born and it is likely that Ruth would have lost her employment once her pregnancy became obvious as Victorian society would not tolerate "immorality" amongst working class women (despite the unspoken, hypocritical behaviours of the middle and upper classes at the time). Five months after Annie was born, Ruth was pregnant again. Fortunately George's application to the Army for permission to marry was successful in February 1842 and through the compassion of an unknown person the date of their marriage was backdated two years, so as to allow Annie to have her father's name and rescue Ruth's reputation.
Marriage did not mean George's circumstances changed and Ruth and the children would have had to move into the Army barracks where he was still required to live, with perhaps only some sheets hung up for some privacy from the men living in the barracks alongside them. Living conditions in the barracks would have been grim; ill-ventilated, damp and dark with limited washing or latrine facilities. In some barracks a barrel would have been used as a communal latrine and then emptied out and used for bathing and washing in.
Ruth gave birth to Annie's brother in 1942, a sister in 1844, a second brother in 1849, another sister in 1851 and a third brother in 1854. In 1848, however, the army began allocating a small allowance called to allow families to rent accommodation outside of the barracks, which would have been gratefully received by Annie's parents who by then had three young children. One of the other benefits of army life was access to the Regimental School and children were required to attend organised lessons funded by the army, to which parents had to contribute 2 pence a month for the oldest child and 1 penny for any further children. As a result Annie would have likely had a more superior education to that of her working class peers, although she may not have been fully literate by the end as this was not a priority in the education of girls.
George and his family had to move frequently due to him being posted in different places around London and between 1840 and 1860 the family had 12 different addresses. When Annie was twelve there was an outbreak of actual Scarlet Fever in their neighbourhood, a streptococcal illness that affects children in particular. Annie's two and a half year old sister, newborn baby brother and 5 year old brother died quickly within days of each other. Then two weeks later the family lost their eldest son to Typhus. Four of Ruth and George's six children were now dead. However, Ruth and George went on to have two more daughters.
A few years later Annie entered into domestic service as was fairly common at the time, in order to provide some financial contribution to her family. She would not have been able to see much of her family, however, as half a day or a day off per month was all that housemaids could normally expect.
George's posting in the cavalry brought him into contact with the aristocracy within the upper ranks of the army and this served him well when he was forced to think about his retirement as he entered his forties. George was able to secure a role as a gentleman's gentleman, a valet, a prestigious role that excused him from a number of military duties and afforded an intimate relationship with his employer. Despite George's good fortune and significant improvement in his circumstances, he had struggled with a serious drinking problem and in June 1863 he committed suicide by cutting his own throat with a razor. His employer, Captain Thomas Naylor Leyland paid for his funeral and paid his widow what was left of George's quarterly wage.
Ruth made ends meet by taking in lodgers and doing laundry. One of Ruth's lodgers was John Chapman, a gentleman's coachman, and the unmarried 27 year old Annie Smith clearly took a shine to him as they got married in 1869. John earned a good wage as a private coachman and Annie was set to have quite a comfortable life, but unfortunately, like her father, Annie struggled with alcohol. Annie's remaining family, who were teetotallers and had signed “The Pledge”, stated that she first began drinking alcohol when she was "quite young". In 1870 Annie gave birth to a daughter Emily Ruth and three years later to Annie Georgina. Annie was by then an alcoholic and her sister wrote in a letter about teetotalism to a newspaper that of 8 children Annie gave birth to "six of these have been victims to the curse of alcohol" as they all died shortly after being born. Emily began to have epileptic seizures when she was 8 and little Annie had the physical characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. In November 1880 Annie gave birth to John Alfred who had paralysis. In 1882 her daughter Emily contracted meningitis and died. Annie coped by drinking and was not present when her daughter passed away and shortly afterwards she was admitted to a sanatorium by her sister.
Despite spending a year in the sanatorium (which her husband paid for) and the efforts Annie's family and husband made to attempt to help Annie overcome her addiction to alcohol, it was ultimately in vain and Annie and John separated. John agreed to pay Annie 10 shillings a week and she left to live with her mother, an arrangement that failed within weeks of her arrival due to her inability to stop drinking. Although there were cheap lodging houses in Knightsbridge near her mother's home, as well as many other areas of London which were described as "hopelessly degraded" by social researchers of the time, Annie moved out the immediate area. Annie paired up with Jack Seivey in Notting Hill, who shared her love of drink and whom she followed to Whitechapel. Annie was now a "fallen woman" and "morally ruined" in the eyes of Victorian society. She now became known locally as Annie Seivey or "dark Annie" on account of her wavy brown hair.
Annie and Jack moved into Dorset Street, which would be later be known as "the worst street in London... a cesspool into which had sunk the foulest and most degraded". At the time the entire street was owned by just two landlords, exploiting the impoverished and the most unfortunate of society in a ruthless and unprincipled manner, charging 10 pence per night to stay in their crumbling properties. In December 1886 the payments Annie received from her husband suddenly stopped and Annie learned that John was seriously ill. Over two days she walked the 25 miles to see her dying husband. Sadly, after the collapse of his marriage, John had also started drinking heavily and was dying of cirrhosis of the liver. Annie's friend Amelia, who lived in the same building, stated that when John died Annie "seemed to give way altogether". In early 1887 Jack Sievey decided to abandon Annie and return to Notting Hill, leaving Annie to fend for herself. By this time Annie was also suffering from what appears to have been tuberculosis but remained determined to earn a living by "crochet work, make antimacassars, and sell matches and flowers... selling anything she had" according to her friend Amelia. Annie's family were heartbroken by the path Annie had taken and her sisters would give her clothes, a little money and tried to persuade her to come home, but the pull of alcohol was too strong.
By 1888 Annie was known to be in a relationship with Edward 'Ted' Stanley, a 45-year-old known as "the pensioner" and they would spend Saturday to Monday together at a lodging house, which Edward would pay up until the Tuesday on the understanding with the landlord that Annie would not share the room with any other men. The rest of the week Annie would have to fend for herself in order to pay for a bed for the night.
By this time Annie was seriously, possibly even terminally ill with suspected tuberculosis. On 1st September 1888 her friend Amelia gave Annie tuppence after seeing her "looking very pale" and having "had not even had a cup of tea that day". A week later Amelia saw Annie again on Dorset Street and looking just as unwell, telling Amelia "I am too ill to do anything... It's no use in my giving way... I must pull myself together and go and get some money or I shall have no lodgings". It is likely that, as seriously ill as she was, Annie would have had to sleep rough some nights of the week if she was unable to earn enough money to pay for a bed.
The local lodging houses or "doss houses" would often allow prospective residents a place to sit in the communal kitchen and get warm before heading out again if they could not afford to pay for a bed. On the 7th of September 1888 Annie did just this in the early evening. Annie then left and came back at around midnight whereupon she persuaded another lodger to bring her a pint of beer from a nearby pub, giving him 5 pence. This would have paid for her bed for the night, the charge being 4 pence, but once again Annie chose alcohol. As the time approached 2am the lodge keeper started to clear the kitchen of those who could not pay for their beds. Unwell and drunk Annie set off into the night, promising that she would return soon with the money for her bed, although this might have been said in a fit of pride. Annie had headed for 29 Hanbury Street, a place where people disregarded the homeless using the communal spaces as a place to sleep, possibly a place that as an occasional rough sleeper Annie would have been well acquainted. Shortly before 6am on the 8th September Annie's body was discovered by John Davis, an elderly resident of Hanbury Street.
There was little evidence that Annie prostituted herself, although it is possible that she may have occasionally offered sexual favours in return for a few pence. But, like Polly Nichols, she was identified as a prostitute after her death and 'The Pensioner' was named as one of her regular clients by the media- even though he had clearly stated to the lodging keeper that it was an exclusive relationship. Police questioned known sex workers and none were familiar with Annie as someone who sold sex for money. Her friend Amelia was clear in her testimony that Annie made a living buying matches and flowers to sell as well as making antimacassars, although she conceded that Annie would be out late at night at times. Annie was not viewed as an individual by Victorian society, whose middle classes made sweeping moral judgements on the poor, and her life as a broken woman was assumed to be the life of "a fallen woman". Tragically, if Annie had taken up her family’s many offers to come home or if she had not bought that last beer she would have had the money to pay for a bed and would not have been out on the streets that particular night. And so Annie Chapman became known as the second victim of Jack The Ripper, the second of the canonical five.
[Source: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold (2019)]
