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 23: Preparing for Christmas
In the days following Claire and Jamie's foray into the world of Christmas decorating, routine returned to the Fraser household. Jamie worked from home at times, and at times he drove to work. But throughout, he was home relatively early in the evenings to spend time with Fergus. Normally, he had always put the boy to bed alone on such occasions. But since their trip to Wartburg Castle together, it had become more and more common for Claire and Jamie to put Fergus to bed together.
Picture by Guillaume Bourdages auf Unsplash Whenever Jamie was out of the house, Claire took the opportunity to practice or prepare some little surprises with Fergus for Christmas. Fergus was enthusiastic about the task and looked forward to being able to surprise his dad on the upcoming holidays. Claire watched Fergus' enthusiasm with great delight. In general, the past few weeks had brought her so many little and bigger joys. She had to smile when she thought back to Fergu's first St. Nicholas Day. The boy was allowed to put two boots outside the front door of Fraser's apartment the night before St. Nicholas Day. Mrs. Curtius, not wanting to miss the opportunity to give the "Knirps," as she affectionately called Fergus, a present, had encouraged him to put one of his boots outside her apartment door as well. As might be expected, the boy could hardly sleep the night before St. Nicholas Day. Two hours after Jamie and Claire put Fergus to bed, Fraser had retired to his bedroom as well. Jamie enjoyed the quiet evening hours when everything in the house had gone quiet and he could read a few more pages in a book while lying peacefully in his warm bed. Fraser had just finished a new chapter in a book about the Seven Years' War that Matthieu had recommended to him when he heard some suspicious noises in the hallway. With just one big jump, he was out of bed and standing at the door of his bedroom. Sounds reached his ear from the hallway, implying that someone was rattling the door to his apartment. Jamie smiled, then silently opened the door. As expected, Fergus was standing there, trying to open the apartment door that Fraser had wisely locked the night before.
Picture by annca from Pixabay "Fergus? What are you doing?" The boy startled and seemed to freeze into his statue. He closed his eyes and fumbled at the apartment door. Then he turned and walked back toward his nursery, eyes still closed. "Aha," Fraser thought, "we're pretending to sleepwalk." He couldn't help but grin widely. "Fergus?" asked Fraser, then he grabbed the child and took him in his arms. "Fergus, what are you doing here? Did you come to see if St Nicolas had come yet?" The boy, more than aware that his Papa had seen right through him, meekly let the word "yes" escape his mouth. "You're excited, aren't you? You're wondering what St. Nicolas will surprise you with? I'm sure it's little nice things you'll be happy about." "Really, Papa?" "Yes, I'm sure it is." Jamie put the child back to bed and also read him a story from his book about the Middle Ages. Then he said goodbye and went back to his bedroom. When he looked into Fergus' room agaion 40 minutes later, the boy had fallen asleep. The next morning, Jamie woke Fergus and together they opened the apartment door. With enthusiasm, Fergus emptied the two boots. Out came nuts, tangerines, his favorite chocolate and an eraser in the shape of a knight, a new ruler with his name etched on it, and two pencils. Like a robber, Fergus gathered everything up and immediately took it to his room, where he stowed it in an extra box. Jamie followed him, then helped him shower and dress. As Fraser helped Fergus tie his shoes, the boy asked: "Do we have to have breakfast before I can check on the boot at Mrs. Curtius'?" Jamie smiled. "No, you may check first to see if St. Nicolas left anything there, too." Shortly thereafter, they found themselves at Mrs. Curtis' front door and Fergus' joy knew no bounds. In his boot he found a metal box with beautiful crayons, tangerines, an orange studded with cloves on a red velvet ribbon, some nuts, and ... of course ... a bar of his favorite chocolate. "Well?" asked Jamie, "aren't you going to thank Mrs. Curtius for reminding you to put a boot outside her door too?" "Thank you, Mrs. Curtius!" "You're welcome, Fergus!" Jamie and Mrs. Curtius smiled at each other while Fergus packed up the gifts and carried them up to his room. "Come right back down, though, Fergus! We need breakfast and you need to get to school!" "Yes, Papaaaa!"
Picture by Lucas Hoang from Unsplash Afterwards, as they ate breakfast together with Claire, Fergus could hardly contain his delight at the St. Nicolas issues. He talked without stopping, so Jamie and Claire had to keep reminding him to eat his roll or drink his cocoa. Finally, Jamie was able to drive the child to school. When he returned, Claire was standing in the living room with her big notepad, measuring the space around the fireplace. "What's this going to be when it's done?" asked Jamie, dropping down on the sofa with a loud sigh. Claire looked at him with a smile. "Well, Dad? Did our little knight talk your ear off? How many more times did you hear the word 'St. Nicolas' on the ride to school?" "Too many times!" replied Fraser, closing his eyes. Then they laughed together and Jamie sat up. Claire sat down with him and showed him a drawing on her pad. He could see that it was a plan showing where the Christmas tree and other decorations would be placed. "Oh, that looks good, yes, I can even picture it a little bit already." They talked for a while longer about preparations for the holiday, then Jamie took his leave for his study. At noon, Fraser picked Fergus up from school again. But now, to his surprise, the child was almost completely silent. When Claire had greeted Fergus and they were finally seated at the lunch table, Fergus was still silent. Silently he spooned his soup, silently he stuffed his fries, chicken and salad into his mouth." Claire worried. Where had the happy child from the morning gone? What had happened? She couldn't hold on any longer, and after the child ate the last bite, she asked: "Fergus, you're not telling anything. What happened at school?" Thick tears now welled up from the boy's eyes and ran down his cheeks. Claire was with him immediately, taking him in her arms and carrying him to her chair. She stroked his hair as Fergus continued to cry and sob. Jamie looked to her in alarm. She made a gesture and he understood that she needed a handkerchief. He quickly handed her a fresh handkerchief. She wiped Fergus' tears and let him blow his nose. While rocking him back and forth on her lap like a baby, she gently asked him again: "Fergus, what happened?"
The traditional lunch at the day of Holy Night * Picture by 3268zauber - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5544789 "At school ... we ... all found a chocolate with the image of St. Nicolas and a little candle in our seats. Mrs. Dynevor lit the candle on the Advent wreath on the teacher's desk and then all our little candles. Then Mr. Baltumeit came and read the St. Nicholas story to us again from an old book, and at the end we sang a Christmas carol." "But surely that was nice?" asked Claire in amazement. "Yes, it was very nice ..." "But?" "At the big break, I was with Joshi and Claus in the schoolyard and then ..." The boy sighed audibly before continuing: "... Max Hohenfels came and Peter and Bernhard were also there ... and when I told Joshi and Claus what Santa Claus had brought me .... Max, Peter and Bernhard laughed at me. They said I was stupid. Because ... St. Nicolas doesn't exist and the things we found in the boots were from our parents ..." Fergus began to cry again. Jamie and Claire looked at each other and without exchanging words they knew what to do. Fraser stood up, took Fergus from Claire's lap and carried the boy into the living room. Together they all sat down on the sofa, Fergus in their midst. "Fergus," Jamie began, "it's true that St. Nicholas, I mean, the St. Nicolas who brings gifts to children, is a mythical figure. But he has a role model in history who really lived." "I know ..." the boy answered softly. "Were you sad, then, because the story about St. Nicholas bringing presents is just a legend?" asked Claire, who had difficulty understanding exactly what was troubling the child. "No," Fergus replied, "I know it's a legend. It's not like I'm stupid. But it's still nice to pretend it's true for a day." Claire hugged the boy to her: "Yes, of course, and you're allowed to do that. As long as we know how to distinguish truth from made-up, it's not a problem." Once again Jamie and Claire looked at each other. Then suddenly they heard a voice from the dining room: "Doesn't anyone want their dessert today?" Of course, no one wanted to give up their dessert, so shortly after, all three of them were back at the table eating a delicious berry compote with cream. After dinner, Fraser took the boy to his study where he helped him with his homework. When they all met again later for tea, Fergus had regained his enthusiasm and when he and Jamie played together with his train set after tea, she could even hear "the men" laughing out loud from time to time. Unstoppably, the month of December progressed. The first Advent, was followed by the second, then the third, and finally the fourth. On Monday, December 22, the Christmas tree was brought in first, followed by the Christmas decorations. Claire had scheduled the times so that Fergus was at school. With the help of Mrs. Bodenser, she stowed the packages of Christmas decorations in a room that faced the living room and was not in further use. The two women then sat down in the dining room, where they shared a cup of coffee and discussed the list of delivered items. Then Alice Bodenser brought up the conversation of some craft classes she was planning to offer in the coming year in Berlin and Potsdam for both children and adults, and invited Claire to attend. When they said goodbye, they had not only agreed to address each other by their first names in the future. Claire had also gained the impression that a new, good friendship had been formed.
Christmas market at Palace Charlottenburg * Picture by Reiseuhu.de from Unsplash Now time was flying by. On Christmas Eve, a Wednesday, Jamie and Mr. Curtius got up early. Then, with the help of long ropes, they hoisted the Christmas tree, which had been well hidden from Fergus' eyes, down in the garden, first onto the balcony and then from there into the living room. Together, the men freed the tree from the net that held its branches together and then made sure it came to rest safely in a heavy stone block. After about one hour everything was done. Claire locked all the doors leading into the living room and lowered the shutters both in front of the windows and in front of the conservatory door, through which one could see into the living room. Then she sent Jamie to Fergus to wake the boy, shower him, and get him dressed. At 8:30 a.m. they all sat together at breakfast and discussed how they were going to spend that day. Jamie and Fergus would go into town first to, as Jamie said, to get some last minute gifts. They would be back for lunch. Afterwards, “the men” wanted to take a trip to the Potsdam Christmas market. That's just what happened. Claire was grateful that Jamie had offered to do something with the boy that day. So she was able to decorate the living room and especially the Christmas tree with the help of Marthe Alderburg, a young woman who had worked for them many times before as a very trustworthy temp. Promptly at 12:30 Fergus and Jamie were back. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Curtius served the traditional Christmas Eve dinner for everyone: Sausages with potato salad. Then "the men" went on their way again. Claire and Marthe did the remaining chores and Mrs. Curtius started preparing the Christmas dinner in the kitchen. Surprisingly, "the men" returned home at 3:00 p.m. already. Both looked a bit exhausted. Jamie explained that they had decided to get some more rest because the evening was going to be long. Jamie and Fergus adjourned to the boy's room, where Jamie read to Fergus from his medieval book, and they both fell asleep a short time later. Shortly after 4:00 p.m., Jamie was awakened by the vibration of his smartphone. Claire informed him that he and Fergus needed to get changed now, as they had tea at 4:45 p.m. and had to leave for the Christmas Eve service at 5:30 p.m. if they wanted to get a seat in the church yet. Claire herself, with a great feeling of happiness, had finished the work in the living room and then locked it. No one was to see the room before the actual festive moment. She had then gone to her apartment and changed her clothes. The generous salary she received and the fact that she didn't have to pay rent or pay for her meals had allowed Claire not only to pay off her late husband's debts each month, but also to save a little. A few weeks earlier, on her day off, she had been in Berlin and picked out two new dresses. One, in a dark red tone, for Christmas Eve and another, in a dark green death, for the visit to Matthieu and Teresa von Klarenberg on the secon Day of Christmas. When Fergus and Jamie entered the dining room, where Claire was already standing at the table lighting the candles of the Advent wreath, they were amazed to see Claire in her new dress. She was also wearing a gold necklace, gold earrings with garnet stones, and a ring just like them - jewelry that her Uncle Lambert had given her and that perfectly matched the color of the dress.
Christmas market at the Gendarmenmarkt/Berlin * Picture by Birk Enwald from Unsplash "Well, are you amazed?" she asked, amused, when she saw the surprised expression on "the men's" faces. "You guys got dressed up too, am I supposed to celebrate Christmas in my everyday clothes?" "No, no!" they both said as if from the same mouth. Shortly after, Jamie found his voice again and said: "You look ... quite wonderful ... Claire." The thus addressed said nothing, but only smiled. Somewhat disconcerted, Fraser nudged Fergus and prompted: "Say it, Fergus! Claire looks quite ... wonderful, doesn't she?" "Yes, yes, quite, quite wonderful," the boy hastened to agree with his father. Claire looked at them in amusement, then pointed to the table where Mrs. Curtius had provided tea, sandwiches and small cakes: "Come, sit down, we don't have quite as much time today." At 5:30 p.m., they left the house to go to the Christmas Eve service. A few weeks earlier, Claire and Jamie had agreed that they wanted to attend this service at the Friedenskirche (Peace Church) in Potsdam. The Friedenskirche, located on the edge of the park of palace Sanssouci, was built from 1845 to1854 to plans by Ludwig Persius and August Stüler based on designs by King Frederick William IV. Together with the neighboring Predigerhaus (Home of the Pastor) and the small, so-called Marly Palace, the three-nave basilica is part of an architectural ensemble that combines the king's romantic religiousness with his admiration for Italy. Thus, the Friedenskirche has its model in the early Christian building of San Clemente in Rome. Although all the buildings of the Friedenskirche are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, they are also home to a lively church congregation of around 1,600 people. It was this blend of tradition and modernity that immediately appealed to Jamie and Claire and that they wanted to explore.
Friedenskirche Potsdam in wintertime * Picture: Sybillesonne - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28655825
When they arrived at the church, it was already one-third full. They quickly looked for empty seats. It wasn't long before the rest of the church was also filled with visitors and the service began. Since they had entered the church, Fergus had looked around with interest. He knew churches, even richly decorated churches. During the time he had lived on the streets of Paris, he had also stayed in churches from time to time to sleep there. But what he saw here was new to him. Again and again he asked Fraser questions in a whisper: "And is it true, Papa, that the king who built this church is buried here?" "Yes." "With his wife in a micesoleuhmmm?" "Yes, that's called a mausoleum." "Can we see the tombs sometime? I've never seen a king's tomb before!" "Not today, but I promise you we'll come back here and take a good look at everything." "Oh yes! When are we going to do that?" "Shh, Fergus. We'll talk about that later. The service is starting." The organ intoned a first carol - "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen ..." - and the visitors present joined in the old familiar carol. Jamie was silent, for he did not know the song. To his surprise, Claire and Fergus say along vigorously. When the song had faded away and they sat down again, Fergus whispered to him, "We learned that song in school. It's one of the oldest German Christmas songs." Jamie saw a sly smile slip across Claire's face. Then he patted Fergus on the shoulder and said approvingly, "Well done."
Altar of the Friedenskirche, Potsdam (view from the organ loft) * Picture by Stefan14776 - Eigenes Werk, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11392888 Three more times, father and son experienced a similar situation. After a few announcements, "Es kommt ein Schiff gerladen" was sung together. Then followed Bible readings and the song "Silent Night, Holy Night." Then the pastor addressed his sermon to the congregation present, and at the end of the service all sang together "Oh du fröhliche, oh du selige". Just before the carol was sung, the lights in the church hall were extinguished, leaving only the candles on the Advent wreath and the lights on the two Christmas trees to the right and left of the pulpit shining. A slight shiver ran over Claire as the carol then sounded and she was able to sing along with it at the top of her lungs. This was, in a long time, the first joyous Christmas she had experienced. Jamie was amazed every time that Fergus not only knew the words and melodies by heart, but could hold the tune. Did his son possess musical talent? Should this be encouraged? He would have to take Claire up on it later. After the song, the lights were turned on again and the pastor gave the blessing. Slowly, people moved out of the church building. Jamie glanced at Fergus, who had hooked himself between him and Claire. Both looked at him with happy faces. He looked at them and smiled back. A comforting feeling rippled through his chest. He was with the two people he loved more than anything, his sister and her family excluded. Not only did he get to be with these two loved ones, but he also got to celebrate Christmas with them, Merry Christmas. They were just walking through the large oak door of the church when James Fraser sent another prayer to heaven. He had only one wish. That the two loved ones by his side would be well and that they could spend many, many more decades together. In any case, he promised God at that moment that he would do whatever was necessary to make that happen.
