Although some names in this story may seem real; they have nothing to do with any person who may exist in the real world. It is pure coincidence that the personalities of those names may match real people! This is fiction or is it? Some characters may seem familiar and that is because they are. Some characters and scenes are from my Christmas Story The Ghost of Christmas Present and my Haven Universe Story There Really is a Santa Clause John Peters. I strongly recommend reading both of those stories before reading this one. Although this is a standalone story reading the other two will enhance your understanding of those characters. All characters used from Haven Universe Story There Really is a Santa Clause John Peters are used with permission of 'Goos' and Str8mayb. All other characters from The Haven Universe are used with permission of Str8mayb as well. Neal was too busy trying to get out of changing the diaper of the 'S' thing he had been given to give permission.

Twas a few nights before Christmas and in a cozy little cabin, Sean Patrick Alexander was sitting in his favourite chair staring out the window of his loft bedroom. 'Life is almost perfect now; Daddy knows I am gay and still loves me. We have a nice roof over our head, warmly clothed and enough food that we never want. Even better is that no one in the village cares whether I am gay, straight or a yeti! All they care is that I help out when needed. In fact the other day our neighbors got stuck on the freeway on their way home from shopping and the Mayor asked me to sit for their three boys until their parents got home. Let me tell you trying to give three, eight and nine year old boys their baths and getting them into pajamas was exciting in all the wrong ways. I ended up wetter than the boys I think. I ended up staying with them for three days, cooking and cleaning as well. Luckily for me the boys behaved well and liked the same TV shows that I did. Of course the neighbors, my Dad and siblings popped in every now and then and gave me a hand. Normally in a situation like this the villagers would drop meals by to make things easier. Not in my case though, they dropped by groceries instead to see what culinary miracles I could whip up. Of course they always brought twice as much as we needed; that way they could share in my culinary endeavours.'

Sean paused his thoughts and took another sip from his dark hot chocolate; looking out the window again he saw a shooting star. 'Dear mother who birthed us all, in this season of love and caring, take your light and love that you would give to our family and share it with those who are in more need than we. Especially share it with those who are suffering hardship because they are gay like me or because they support those who are. You have given us all we need this Christmas; please allow others to share in our bounty.'

Sean had to pause again as the shooting star he was watching blinked and a feeling of loving warmth and peace overcame him.

***************

Tom was sitting at his desk crunching numbers for one of his clients' taxes when his phone rang. Tom Guy was one of the senior CPA's at one of the largest accounting firms in the city. In addition to being a CPA, Tom was a Certified Financial Planner who had a long list of clients and an even longer waiting list. Tom had finally reached a point in his life where it was time to spread his wings. The owner of the firm Tom worked with was unfortunately a fervent bible thumper of the Four Square Church variety. Although Tom had graduated at the top of his class, he had a hard time getting hired as a CPA due to the fact that he wasn't a member of the Good Ole Boy Network. It also didn't help that he wasn't a WASP; his family was of middle class Irish extraction. Being Catholic or even Presbyterian in this town was two strikes out of three against you.

Tom took the job at his current firm because they supported continuing education for their employees. The firm didn't support their employees financially with their continuing education but they let them leave early on the days they had classes. It took Tom three years of night and weekend classes to get his CFP Degree. He couldn't have done it without the sacrifices of his loving wife and their two kids.

Although they had only been married for five years they had a sixteen year old son and a four year old daughter. They had adopted their son Mikey when he was twelve and they hadn't been able to have a child. Mikey or Michael Sebastian Guy, as he was formally known, had been in the CPS system since he was ten and was declared unadoptable due to being perceived as gay. Whether he was or not no one took the time or effort to find out. He was a kid that didn't like rough and tumble sports and would rather read than mix it up with the other boys. Tom and Robyn fell in love with Mikey at first sight, the pain, longing and despair in his eyes reached out and tugged at their heart strings. They weren't even supposed to see Mikey as they were there to supposedly adopt a four year old boy. For some reason, Mikey or Michael or Hey You as he was known then was picked to bring the supposed adoptee into the office to meet Tom and Robyn. If you asked them about that day, they couldn't tell you the four year olds name, hair or eye colour. They never really saw him; all they could see was this forlorn teenager whose eyes were pools of emerald despair, that came shuffling into the office. They saw his auburn hair, freckled face and stooped over walk and decided right then come hell or high water they were taking him home. Their decision was rewarded when they smiled at Michael and they saw a slight twinkle in his eye and a slight curving of his lip.

Tom decided to take matters into his own hands, "Excuse me, son, and just who are you and what is your name?" Tom knew that they had made the right decision when Michael started to smile and his eyes started to glisten with a little moisture.

"His name isn't important and we call him 'Hey You' as he is unadoptable and he is going straight back to his dorm. These nice folks are here to adopt my little angel, Donald. NOW get moving!" Was the unexpected response from the arrogant and supercilious Mr. Trump who was the owner and manager of the orphanage.

Robyn took one look into the 'Angel Donald's' eyes and had to repress a violent shudder. Those eyes showed nothing but disdain and haughtiness.

"Excuse me, 'Mister' Trump, we will decide who we want to adopt and not you!" Robyn's voice was dripping ice it was so cold.

"Son, please answer my husband's question as we would really like to get to know you and maybe take you home with us today. Also could you please tell us why you are deemed unadoptable?" Robyn addressed the young teen who was finally beginning to stand a little straighter and his face was beginning to show signs of life. In fact he was turning out to be quite a handsome lad.

"Donald you can go back to your play time with your friends and since you have been so good, ask Mabel to get you a milk shake." Trump's voice was so saccharine it made Tom and Robyn's teeth hurt.

The look that Donald gave Tom and Robyn as he pranced out of the room was pure malevolent evil.

"His name, not that it is important, is Michael Sebastian something or other. Whatever…. It is not important. He …" The sneer in Trump's voice was unmistakable! "is unadoptable because he is one of those deviant Homosexuallllllllsss…" That was all Trump got out before Tom cut him off.

"First of all, Homosexuals aren't deviant as we believe that they were created by God in his image just like the rest of us. NOW, tell us what we have to do to adopt Michael who will now be known as 'Mikey' so we can get him out of this cesspool into a warm and loving home." Tom's voice wasn't the iron fist in the velvet glove; it was pure cold hard steel and very forceful.

"Get out of my office now, and take that devil's spawn with you!" Trump then violently pushed his intercom button. "Mabel, get the adoption papers for Michael whatever his name is ready and get these apostates out of here; yesterday!"

Tom started toward Trump, ready to deck him; but was stopped by his wife's firm hand on his shoulder. "Tom let's go home and celebrate with Mikey; I don't want to have to bail you out of jail."

They then turned and left the office, pulling Mikey between them and out the door. None of them even looked back; if they had they would have seen Trump's red face nearly exploding with apoplexy.

Robyn, in her sweetest voice, asked Mabel, "Where do we sign and what is Mikey's adoption fee?"

"Just sign here and get him and yourselves out of my sight!"

Robyn and Tom complied quickly and thirty seconds later were outside in the sunshine and much needed fresh air. Mikey grabbed both of them in a big hug and started crying "thank you, thank you." Over and over and over.

***************

Tom didn't recognize the phone number on his work phone's display; "This is Tom Guy how may I assist you?"

"Just get over to the High School and pick up your GAY SON as he has just had the crap beat out of him. He was caught kissing another student, and if the football team hadn't beaten them nearly to death I would have!" Dial tone…………..

Tom could not believe what he had just heard. He quickly recovered and dialed his boss's secretary's extension. "Mrs. Helmsley, I need to speak to Mr. Santorum please?"

"One moment"

"This is Rik what do you need Tom? You know I don't like being interrupted during my afternoon relaxation period!"

"Mr. Santorum I need to take the rest of the day off and probably the rest of the week as well. I just got a call from the High School and I need to take my son to the hospital. He has been severely beaten and is in very serious condition." Tom responded as calmly as he could.

"Why was he beaten so badly?"

"Because the school claims he is gay and was kissing another student." Was Tom's anguished reply.

There was dead air on Mr. Santorum's end of the conversation for quite a long time.

"MR. GUY, you have five minutes to get yourself and your heretical possessions off my property and out of my sight before I have you arrested for trespassing and whatever else I can think of!" CLICK.

To say that Tom was stunned would be misstatement of cosmic proportions. Without thinking about what he was doing, Tom began gathering his few possessions. Four minutes later he was out the door. On the way to the high school to rescue his son Tom's mind was going a thousand miles an hour.

'I need to call Robyn, she is going to be heartbroken and so is Meagan, she adores her big brother. I will never forget the look on both Robyn and Mikey's faces when we walked into the house and heard Robyn's OB/GYN's voice saying that Robyn was three weeks pregnant. Mikey's face went from a look of joy for Robyn and me to a look of despair for himself. Robyn never even noticed as she wrapped Mikey into a bear hug and started screaming "Mikey, Mikey you're going to be a big brother! Isn't that cool?" Poor Mikey almost passed out from relief. Thank our lucky stars that we just paid off the house and have a few bucks in the bank. Oh no insurance, oh wait our insurance is through Robyn's job. However, her salary is barely enough for us to scrape by. Never mind we will get by one way or the other and Mikey is going to be smothered with love. Now who is the other boy?' Just then Tom arrived at Mikhail Pence Academy of Higher Learning.

As Tom started to climb the stairs leading to the very stuffed shirt who ran the high school, his thoughts were interrupted by groans coming from a huddled mass in front of the entrance doors. Tom sprinted up the stairs toward the sounds, and saw that the huddled mass was actually two severely beaten and bloody teen boys. As he got closer one of the teens opened a nearly swollen shut eye and screamed "DAAAAD! Help us please."

Tom stumbled and nearly fell at the sound of his son's voice; he then sprinted the rest of the way. Somehow Tom was able to pull his cell phone out of his pocket while running and pressed the 911 button. He nearly dropped his phone when he saw the sign taped to the two boys in large black letters, 'EXPELLED!' Tom quickly took several pictures of the sign and the two boys. While he was taking the pictures he became confused as he was hearing a voice out of thin air.

"911, what is your emergency? Is there an emergency or not?" Queried the frustrated dispatcher.

"911, what is your emergency? You have thirty seconds to respond before we notify the police about a prank call!" This time the voice had an edge to it.

"Sorry, I am in shock at what I am seeing here. Please send an ambulance for my son and his friend. They have been beaten nearly to death, my son is barely conscious and his friend is unconscious. They are both bleeding and severely bruised." To Tom's amazement his old medic training from the Navy kicked in. He quickly took both boys' pulses as quickly as he could.

"My son Michael Sebastian Guy's pulse is 45 and thready, his breathing is shallow and erratic, his skin tone is pale and his lips are not cyanotic. His friend's pulse is 40 and dropping, his breathing is almost nonexistent, lips are turning cyanotic. There are no signs of pulsing blood or complex fractures. I can't start CPR on the other boy due to extreme bruising and swelling on his chest." Tom paused for a second as he heard sirens approaching.

His thoughts were interrupted by the 911 Dispatcher's voice; "Sir whom am I speaking with?"

"Sorry, my name is Tom Guy." Before the dispatcher could respond, Tom continued with his report on the boys' condition. "My son's pupils are normal and responsive, his friend's are dilated and non-responsive. Oh shit! He stopped breathing…"

"Sir you must begin CPR NOW; we will worry about any chest damage later. The boy's life may depend on you giving him CPR. The EMT's are just minutes away."

"Okay", was all Tom was able to respond with as he concentrated on beginning possibly lifesaving CPR.

By reflex, Tom had placed his phone on speaker mode.

"Sir, have you begun CPR?"

"Yes, and his colour is improving."

"Okay, continue until the EMT's tell you to stop. Now I need to know which hospital you want the boys transported to. There are several within the same distance from the high school. Does your son have a personal doctor? Is there a school official present?" Tom barely heard the dispatcher's questions.

"St. Francis of Lynwood and Dr. Kildare Sloan. No, and I have no idea where in the hell they are." As Tom finished his answers, the ambulance arrived and so did Robyn. He was brought out of his semi-trance by a warm and loving hand on his shoulder.

"Tom, you keep helping the EMT's take care of the boys and I will find out where those idiotic administrators are hiding. Don't worry they won't get away with anything. Tommy is on his way along with his Uncle Neal and they will help me. Normally I would feel sorry for anyone who had to deal with those two, but not now." Robyn's no-nonsense reply still carried a tone of love.

"Not Tommy!" With a slight grin then Tom continued; "Those idiots won't know what hit them. Give 'em hell, Dear and take no prisoners." Before Robyn could respond Tom's concentration was back on the teen he was working on.

Robyn turned and headed toward the school's front doors as she reached for the handle, Tommy Haines and his Uncle Captain Neal Lennox arrived nearly out of breath from sprinting up the stairs to catch up with Robyn.

Robyn grabbed the handle and tried to pull it open; however, the doors were locked and to make matters worse, they were chained from the inside.

"Oh, Shit!" came out simultaneously from the three mouths. As the words came out of Tommy and Neal's mouths, they were pulling out their cell phones and dialing at the same time.

"Sergeant, I need the SWAT Team here at Mikhail Pence Academy of Higher Learning yesterday. Roll all Tactical Squads at the same time; I want this school locked down so tight a gnat couldn't get out." Neal barked his orders to the Duty Sergeant and then hung up before he got an answer.

Meanwhile, Tommy was on the phone to his Uncle and Boss. "Uncle Jens, I need every available Department Officer here at Mikhail Pence Academy of Higher Learning ASAP. Also contact Uncle John Reynolds and have him order control of the school transferred from its district office to our office. Once that is done transfer control to me."

"Tommy, what is going on?" Jens Younger head of the State CPS inquired of his young employee.

"We have two teenage boys who have been severely beaten because they may be gay. I am appointing myself Guardian ad litem for one of them. He is unknown at this time. Hold on one sec, Boss." Tommy then turned and took a Student ID from one of the EMT's.

"Okay, his name is Jonah Timothy Roberts and we have no parental info at this time. Additionally, the school's doors are locked and chained from the inside. That is the reason I want control. Any more questions, Uncle."

"Okay Tommy, both you and Neal will have all of the necessary legal orders sent to your phones and your laptops. Print the orders out from your laptop or have Neal, as soon as possible. I would let Neal and his troops handle the school while you head to the hospital. Which hospital and I will have the necessary orders faxed there as well." Jens replied and asked.

"St. Francis, of course. Got to go the ambulance is ready to leave… Oh SHIT… The National Guard is here and half the State Police. Neal must really be pissed. Call you from the hospital. Haines out."

While Tommy and Neal were burning up the airwaves Tom was assisting the EMT's getting his son and friend stabilized and onto their gurneys. Due to budget cuts, there was no dedicated driver for the ambulance; one of the EMT's was required to drive. Since the other teen was in such a bad state, the non-driving EMT was going to be working on him all the way to the hospital. Because of the situation and Tom's obvious knowledge and skill, the EMT's requested that Tom accompany them and care for his son on the way to hospital. Tom had no choice but to accept. Minutes later the ambulance and its important cargo were headed, sirens blaring and lights flashing, to the hospital.

The emergency room was organized chaos. Beds and ORs were being prepared for anything necessary. Dr. Sloan recognized the name of one of the incoming patients as one of his own. Soon his voice was ringing through the hospital as he paged Dr. Osgood Schlatter, one of the top Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeons in the country. Dr. Schlatter just happened to be visiting the hospital for a conference given by Drs. Anthony and Tina Miller on Adolescent Recovery and Rehabilitation from Orthopedic Surgery. Dr. Schlatter arrived in the Emergency Room at a run, accompanied by the Drs. Miller. They arrived just in time to hear the EMT's report as they were still two minutes out. Without hesitation Dr. Schlatter took command.

"Kildare, you and I will take care of Jonah, and Anthony and Tina will take care of Michael…"

"Mikey, his name is Mikey." Dr. Sloan interjected.

"Got it 'Mikey'." Was Anthony and Tina's response.

"Kildare, you and I will need a Cardiac Team and probably a Chest Cutter as well."

Rather than reply, Dr. Sloan picked up the intercom phone; "Dr. JB Honeywell to ER STAT! DR. Honeywell to ER STAT."

Seconds after Dr. Honeywell arrived in the ER so did the ambulance with the boys. As the boys were wheeled in, Dr. Honeywell took one look at Jonah and said, "get him to the OR NOW! If we don't operate now he will die. Scrub up and let's go. Turning to the EMT, get him type matched and hang five liters immediately. Get five liters of Type O just in case."

Dr. Schlatter inquired as they were scrubbing up; "Why are we going to operate without Xrays or a CT Scan?"

Dr. Honeywell replied; "Because he has at least two if not three broken ribs, a collapsed lung and one or more of the ribs are compressing his heart."

All Dr. Schlatter could get out was; "How?"

"Fifteen years Army Trauma Surgeon, now let's movin' time's a wasting.

It took them three hours to get Jonah's chest repaired and his blood pressure up and colour returning to the teen. Dr. Honeywell was amazing with his speed and skill, but it was Dr. Schlatter who saved the day.

"Dr. Sloan does this OR have a 3D Printer?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because we are going to print scaffolds for those ribs with multiple fractures. They are less invasive than wires and the ribs will heal faster and with less complications. We won't have to go in and remove the wires either. Jonah will be out of the hospital in a third of the time. I have the necessary material in my bag." The scaffolding was printed and affixed, the chest closed and they then turned to the teen's arms and legs.

They used a portable X-ray machine and decided quickly that they were going to need Dr. Anthony Miller's assistance. Dr. Sloan went to switch places with Anthony.

In Mikey's treatment room things were going very well. The X-rays and CT Scan showed no breaks just what looked like some possible soft tissue damage. They scheduled Mikey for an MRI to verify the extent of the soft tissue damage. As they were putting a gown on Mikey, the semiconscious teen let out a gasp of pain. His dad turned around and looked at the X-rays and then the CT Scans again. "Stop! His right shoulder is partially dislocated."

Tina looked over at the X-rays again and agreed; "It is hard to see because his shoulder wasn't flat when we took the X-ray. But it is definitely dislocated; however, it is easily and quickly repaired. Give me a second and I will have it fixed."

Dr. Sloan arrived just then and explained the situation. Anthony quickly left and went to help Jonah. "Proceed, Dr. Miller."

Tina used an air jet injector to inject xylocaine and a small amount of cortisone into the shoulder. She then placed her left palm on Mikey's shoulder and grabbed the exterior of his elbow with her right hand. Tina then gave a quick twist and pull with her right hand. Mikey gave a short gasp and then a sigh of relief.

"What's the prognosis and plan of treatment?" Dr. Sloan asked Tom and Tina. Before the two could answer, he realized that there was something wrong with the situation. Tom shouldn't be there and he definitely shouldn't be treating his own son.

"Tom….?"Was all Dr. Sloan could get out before the Hospital Administrator Welby Marcus entered the treatment room. Welby wasn't wearing his suit he was dressed in scrubs which were rumpled and spattered.

"Kildare, I served with Tom when he was a Senior Surgical Assistant onboard my ship. He has as much training as most PA's. Why he went into accounting instead of medicine I don't know or care. As far as I am concerned he can have full reign at St. Francis; in fact to keep the legal beagles happy the Navy faxed over his medical credentials. So relax." Welby then turned and exited before Kildare could reply.

"A tour bus ran into a crowd outside a theater and the ER came close to a Code Black. In fact, we are still at Code Orange so Welby put me to work." Tom told Dr. Sloan to semi catch him up.

"Now to the prognosis, the patient has multiple contusions, lacerations and abrasions. His right wrist, left knee and ankle are severely strained. He also has a Grade One Concussion and possible slight damage to his right optic nerve. An Ophthalmologist is on his way to read the X-rays and CT Scans. He also wants to review the MRI when completed. Patient has been in and out of consciousness and coherent. We originally thought that he had a Grade Two and possibly Grade Three Concussion. We were able to determine through conversing with the patient that he only had a Grade One. He was able to converse briefly and coherently with one of Captain Lennox's Pediatric/Adolescent Investigators who recorded the interview for the Federal Marshals and Tommy Haines as well. Before you ask, I gave permission for the interview with the concurrence of Andrew and Tina. Tommy, personally chose the investigator. The investigator was thorough and efficient while being caring and compassionate." Tom paused for a minute to let Dr. Sloan pickup his jaw from the floor.

"The patient will need some orthopedic devices, a minor non-narcotic painkiller and a course of physical therapy devised by Dr. Tina Miller. Patient will be bedridden for at least a week or two. He will need to be home schooled probably for several months. Now to the cause of his injuries, he didn't kiss Jonah he was just giving him a hug and consoling him. It seems some jerk of a right-wing religious nut of a teacher gave him an 'F' on an essay and ridiculed him in front of the whole class. Jonah broke down and ran from the classroom. Mikey went after him to console him and they were caught by some of the goons from the football team. Several Admins and Teachers saw what was going on and didn't intervene. It was the Admins who carried the two boys outside and dumped them on the steps. Tommy was standing outside and became so angry and red-faced that one of your nurses had to give him a light sedative. My wife and Captain Neal Lennox are sitting on him to keep him calmed down. Unfortunately we haven't been able to ascertain any parental info for Jonah. Before Tommy could explode, he drew up papers and had custody of Jonah transferred to my wife and me. CPS Head, Younger has already faxed the appropriate paper work to Judge Reynolds who faxed the completed documents to Dr. Marcus's Office."

A nurse stuck his head in and motioned to Tina; who then slipped out to assist her husband.

"Okay, we will keep Mikey overnight for observation unless the MRI or the Ophthalmologist turn up something we don't expect. Now, what is going to happen to Jonah?" Inquired Dr. Sloan.

"I can answer that;" stated Robyn as she entered the treating room.

"For the foreseeable future he will be staying with us. It seems that Mr. Younger and Judge Reynolds and others have been burning up the phone lines. There are some very embarrassed and pissed off Alumni of that high school. Those Alumni have made arrangements for any equipment needed for Jonah's Physical Therapy. Our main bathroom is being remodeled as we speak to make room for a Jacuzzi® Tub. The tub will be needed for both boys recovery. I am not sure how he did it, but Tommy had us declared as Jonah's Foster Parents. Now I have a question; why is Mikey still asleep and when can we take the boys home?"

"Honey, Mikey has been sedated to keep him calm over Jonah and to give his body a head start on healing. He will be perfectly fine in a few weeks; assuming his eye problem is only caused by the swelling. The ice pack should reduce the swelling enough for the Ophthalmologist to do his exam. Mikey should be waking up shortly. Wait a sec did you say Mikey is getting a Jacuzzi®? We don't have one." Tom whined.

Christmas morning found Tom and Robyn in the boys' suite at the hospital. It seems that Santa's Elves with the help of a compassionate Head Floor Nurse had slipped a sleeping medication into both Mikey and Jonah's Candy Cane Milkshakes on Christmas Eve. As soon as the boys were sound asleep the decorating began. Mikey's doctors had decided he needed a few more days in the hospital before he went home. Jonah came through all of his surgeries fine. Dr. Anthony Miller with Dr. Schlatter's help performed miracles putting Jonah back together. Tom and Robyn were watching their two boys sleeping and waiting for them to wake up. Jonah had been taken off the medications that were keeping him in a semi-coma the night before.

Jonah awoke first and looked frightened and nervous, his first words were croaked; "Where, Who, Mikey?"

"Hospital, Parents, Here." Was the sleepy response by Mikey.

Robyn went over to Jonah's bed and Tom headed toward Mikey's.

Robyn and Tom had just finished explaining things to Jonah and Mikey when there was a knock on the door. Tom said, "Come In."

A man no one knew, in a suit, entered, followed by Captain Lennox in full dress uniform.

"Guy Family; my name is Shephard Matthew and I asked Captain Lennox here to bring me here so I could meet with you. He will also verify my bonafides, once I have finished apologizing. I am the President of the Academy's Alumni Council and the new Chairmen of its Board of Governors. I am also the interim Assistant Headmaster and hopefully I will have the name of the new Headmaster before I leave here today. Before I get into that mess, let me apologize to all of you for what happened the other day. The Alumni Council is appalled and ashamed that we allowed the situation to develop to the extent that it has. The Academy was supposed to foster safety and diversity in all things; not become a prison run by the religious right. The Alumni Council allowed the Board of Governors to be filled with all members of a very right wing and ultra-conservative church. It was done very slowly and we totally missed it. The Academy will be responsible for any all bills occurring from your sons' injuries. Yes I said SONS plural. You will receive…"

"Parents I have new parents, real parents? Not some pervert who just wanted my body?" Jonah queried.

"Well, I don't know about 'real' but I like them even if they have all these rules for me. I think you will like our parents; I don't know if we could do any better!" A smirking Mikey told his new brother.

"Why I oughta©"Why I oughta© ("Copyright The Three Stooges")…" Snarled a grinning Tom.

"Don't worry Jonah, you can have Mikey's room and he can have the guest closet." A smirking Robyn told her new son.

"Actually that is one of the reasons that I am here." Interjected Shephard. "Your current house is a little bit small; while you and the boys alone would be comfortable. Once you add in all of the boys' rehabilitation equipment, you will be living and eating in your kitchen. I am here to offer you a solution to that problem; and before you say no hear me out. I do have a bit of bad news; it has been decided to put your bathroom remodel on hold until we finish our discussions. The Alumni Council has found a brand new four bedroom house only two blocks from The Academy. The Board of Governors and The Alumni Council have purchased that house for the new Headmaster. We will have one of the bedrooms converted into a rehabilitation suite for you boys and Jacuzzi® Tubs in all the bathrooms… Please let me continue; I still have a lot of things to do to get The Academy back on track. Any questions so far? Okay hearing none…"

"That's twice that you have mentioned a new Headmaster and then skipped right over who it will be. Also what makes you think I want to go back to that hellhole?" A very indignant Mikey queried.

"Okay, Mikey, you deserve an answer to both questions. We had hoped to get a few other things done before we dealt with the Headmaster issue. But here goes nothing; please wait until I am finished asking and explaining before you bite my head off. Can you do that?" Shephard responded looking directly into Mikey's eyes as he was being held by his father. He then turned and looked at Jonah who was being held by his new mother. "Can you do that for me as well, Jonah?"

"Okay, to start with all the administrators have been fired or demoted. Even most of the teachers were fired as well. The only coach remaining is the soccer coach because he doesn't belong to the church. The administrators and teachers, who have been fired, all belong to the same church. We have replaced the teachers and administrators with people who are kind compassionate and practice diversity. We have also replaced the board of governors with members of the alumni council who want the school returned to its origins. The person we want as the Headmaster will need me as the Assistant Headmaster for legal and accreditation reasons. The person we want as the Headmaster will also serve on the board of governors as the student representative. Mikey, we want you to be headmaster for very many reasons. First of all we want someone with your experiences and honesty to keep the school adhering to its mission statement. We need someone who knows all the tricks that teachers and administrators try to play on students. We also need someone who can act as liaison between parents and students; someone who can understand and represent the students' issues. Mikey, if you take the job you have the board of governors and the alumni council behind you. That's the good news; now for the bad news. You also have to attend all your classes. However, you won't have to attend PE instead of PE you'll be in your office that period. You also have to attend a staffing meeting every morning. Before you say no, I have personally talked to every teacher of yours, including the ones we fired. All the teachers think you can do the job; most of the students want you to take the job. Those students who don't; will be finding another school, as their parents are no longer working at this academy." Shephard paused and took a breath while looking at a totally stunned Mikey.

"Are you completely crazy; are you of your mind; you want me, a junior, to be in charge of the whole school?" A wide-eyed Mikey queried Mr. Matthew.

"So let's get this straight, you want to give us a brand new house and you want our first son to be the headmaster of his school? A very curious, Tom and Robyn asked.

"I realized it sounds crazy, however, all of the people who matter, agree it is the right decision; and that includes Tommy." Stated Shephard decisively.

As soon as Shephard had finished speaking there was a knock on the door and a courier entered.

"May I speak to a Tom Guy please?"

A very curious Tom replied; "I am Tom Guy."

"May I please see some ID?" The courier asked Tom.

Tom handed the courier his Driver's License and for some reason his laminated Certified Financial Planner's License.

"Thank you, sir, you are the person I am looking for." The courier then unlocked the briefcase he was carrying. He then reached inside and bought out a stack of documents on parchment paper bound with blue ribbon. The top page had several seals on it including what looked suspiciously like a Notary's Seal.

As soon as Tom had the documents in his hand; the courier turned and left saying; "have a great afternoon."

The top page of the stack of documents was notarized verifying the authenticity of the following documents. As he looked over each document he became more and more amazed. No, stunned would be a far more accurate description of his mental state. Finally he was able to pull his wits together enough to speak semi-coherently. "I am not quite sure how to explain this, but I am now employed by Haines Acquisitions as their Chief Accountant and internal Chief Financial Planner. I will run the Accounting Office and offer free Financial Planning to all of the employees. The job pays $85,000 a year six weeks paid vacation and fourteen days sick leave complete medical. Now here is where it gets really strange, the job started the minute I got fired and the Medical Insurance started the same moment. If that wasn't strange enough the insurance covers our whole family including JONAH!"

The conversations between all the happy parties went on into the night. As the parties were talking, a shooting star crossed the sky and blinked.

**************

Gregg O'Donnell's thoughts were very busy as he drove to work. The night before he had spent the evening at his sister's house and it was a very eventful evening. Gregg had no idea that the previous evening was going to turn his life upside down and inside out. Dinner was wonderful and everyone was enjoying dessert when the potential bombshell was dropped.

"Uncle Gregg?"

"Yes Christian."

"I'm gay and I have a boyfriend; do you still love me?" Gregg's sixteen-year-old nephew asked him with tears in his eyes and a quiver in his voice.

Gregg slowly got up from his chair, holding his arms out in front of him as he walked toward his very nervous nephew. His sister and brother in law were smiling at each other as the scene played out in front of them.

"Come here ya big lug and give me a great big hug," Gregg told his nephew with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

Christian ran into his loving uncle's arms, tears of happiness rolling down his cheeks.

Before he could say anything his uncle spoke. "Christian, you're my nephew. I love you and will always love you. Now, I just know more about you than I did before. Let's go sit in the family room and you can tell me all about your boyfriend." Gregg took his stunned nephew by the hand and led him into the family room, his sister Kate mouthing "Thank You" as they walked by.

Thinking of the look on Christian's face as he described his boyfriend brought a smile to his face. Luckily for Gregg, his car was on 'auto pilot' as he nearly drove past the parking lot of the restaurant where he worked.

Gregg turned into the parking lot of the 'Ye Olde Biscuit Box' a pseudo Colonial Style Restaurant. It was supposedly based on a Colonial Tavern from somewhere in New England. What wasn't known to a lot of folks was that the restaurant was a prototype spin-off of Cracker Barrel® Restaurant's. It seems that the powers that be wanted to get away from the negative connotations of their existing stores/restaurants; so they came up with this 'brilliant' idea. It might have worked if they had used real wood and other real items for the buildings. Gregg had been working there for almost five years and so far, it had been a fairly decent place to work. There hadn't really been any overt bigotry or discrimination; just some snickered snide remarks here and there. Upper management was a bit overbearing and micro managed a lot, but usually they stayed out of Gregg's hair. The fact that the nights Gregg worked brought in over twenty five percent more business than the nights he didn't might have had something to do with that. Gregg's title was Night Restaurant Manager; in actuality, most of the time he was the acting General Manager slash Kitchen Manager as well. That was because on most nights as soon as Gregg clocked in the GM and the Kitchen Manager disappeared. If Gregg was lucky the Kitchen Manager would return just before closing time. If he was unlucky, they would both be there all night getting into his hair.

As usual, Gregg had to update the evening's out of stock list. It seems that neither the GM nor Kitchen Manager could remember to update the list. It could be a very expensive evening comp wise, if the list wasn't updated nightly. Nothing pisses off a customer who has waited for a table and then had to wait to place an order only to have the waitperson come back fifteen minutes later to say; "I am sorry we are out of Prime Rib this evening!"

While Gregg was updating the list, his mind went back to his conversation with Christian and his boyfriend Ronald. Gregg couldn't believe how excited and relieved both boys were when he said, "Christian if anything happens to your parent's you will come stay with me and Ronald will always be welcome."

The evening went very well for Gregg; the Kitchen Manager showed up in time to close the kitchen and call in his produce and meat order for the next day. The GM sent Gregg a text message asking him to make the deposit and to post the schedule. As Gregg was in the process of replying positively, his night went downhill in a hurry. Just as Gregg's thumb pressed the 'send button' another text came in and his Christmas Eve night off wasn't©Christmas Eve night off wasn't© ("Copyright Str8mayb and Haven Universe©") It seems that at the last possible moment the GM decided that he had a very, very important party to go to. 'More like a bunch of old crony's, cheap Brandy and even cheaper cigars.' Were the thoughts going through Gregg's mind. The text required Gregg to post the following week's schedule as well, as the GM wasn't returning.

Gregg responded with a lackluster okay, by typing the words okay as slowly as possible. 'Great, now I have to call the boys and tell them we won't be able to go see the new Christmas Movie The Little Dragon Boy. I will make it up to them somehow.' Gregg had to pause his thoughts and grin a bit; 'I don't know who is going to be more disappointed the boys or Kate and her husband. Their planned alone time and 'Christmas Cheer' went out the window. Oh well, they will get over it; I can 'teensit' some other night.'

The only other fly in the ointment that evening was a group of programmers who stopped by for dessert after their Office Christmas Party. Unfortunately for Gregg and his staff, the group was all three sheets to the wind. How they got there without being pulled over was a miracle! After fifteen or twenty minutes of raucous discussion over the menu choices, Gregg headed over to the group's table. "Folks, I am sorry to have to tell you that the only desserts we have left are Pumpkin Pie with Homemade Whipped Cream and Hot Apple Pie with a slice of Sharp White Cheddar Cheese.[Don't knock the cheese with the Apple Pie until you have tried it. Apple Pie without the cheese is like a hug without a squeeze!] However, both of those desserts come with free ala mode. Now we have exactly enough for your party so we'll bring them to your table and you folks can choose who gets what." The entire group thought that was a tremendous idea. Gregg quickly signaled their waitperson to follow their plan. Shortly thereafter every waitperson in the house was bringing dessert to the partying table.

Once the table started eating their desserts, Gregg thought that thing would settle down. Not on your life. As soon as the programmers started eating they started arguing over which dessert was best and very loudly at that. Gregg and his staff had tried to avert that very same thing form happening. Instead of bringing four and four of the desserts they brought eight half slices so everyone could have both. Needless to say the few remaining customers weren't too happy with all of the hullabaloo. Gregg ended up giving two tables Complimentary Dessert Gift Cards. Hesitantly he headed over to the partying table and very politely explained to the group that if they could tone things down a bit they would all receive Complimentary Dessert Gift Cards and free Taxi rides home. Gregg's overwhelming generosity did the trick and the group agreed and quickly quieted down. Of course they believed that Gregg was doing that out of the kindness of his heart. Not even close; unlike California their city police could park as close as they wanted to any establishment that served alcohol, and nab customers as they pulled out of the parking lot. To make matters worse, the city had passed a regulation holding bartenders and their establishments liable for any damages caused by their customers who were over the limit. 'Ye Olde Biscuit Box' got around that problem by raising the price of all drinks twenty five cents and putting that amount into the 'Drunk Slush Fund' the cost of those complimentary desserts and the Taxi rides would come out that fund. So that supposedly humanitarian gesture was really a CYACYA ("Cover Your A$$") gesture by the restaurant.

The night ended shortly after that and to Gregg's surprise the two tables he gave the comps to left a large tip especially for him. They also wished him a very Merry Christmas. The waitpersons didn't do too badly either. Gregg helped all of the wait staff cash out and then made sure that the kitchen was under control. He then locked all of the doors picked up the tills and headed to his office. To Gregg's utter amazement all of the staffs' tills balanced and even the rookie cashier's was correct as well. Gregg quickly remade the tills for the next day; completed the deposit. Once he had locked the tills in the safe he picked up the locked deposit bag and headed toward the kitchen. For once the kitchen was completely cleaned and all of the cooks had left. Gregg clocked out just as the Kitchen Manager came out of his office.

"Gregg, could you please come up with a list of Christmas Drinks for the Specials on Christmas Eve? I don't have time the GM and I won't be here and the Bar Manager Aron couldn't make a list if his life depended on it. I mean he doesn't even spell his name right."

"Okay, Gordon; I will do it as soon as I get home and email and Fax it to Aron. I will email a copy to Melissa so she can update her morning wait staff. I will see you next week or whenever." Gregg then headed to his car and to the local bank's night deposit box.

As soon as Gregg got home he logged in to his computer and pulled up the list of last year's Christmas Drink Specials. He quickly emailed it to the appropriate people and then faxed a copy to the Bar Fax and the GM's Office Fax. He also printed a copy for himself 'just in case'. He then sent an email to Kate and Christian explaining his problem and saying how sorry he was. He offered to buy the family Christmas Brunch before he had to report to the Restaurant for the Afternoon and Evening Shifts. Yup he drew the short straw and was now working Christmas Eve and Christmas. However, the restaurant closed at eight instead of eleven pm on Christmas so he could at least spend a little time with his family.

Gregg showed up for work on Christmas Eve with his Christmas Tie and a Santa Hat. He was surprised at how nice the restaurant looked. Melissa met him as he clocked in and whispered conspiratorially; "I heard the bigwigs weren't coming in so I raided the Gift Shoppe and the Petty Cash and gave us a Country Christmas Décor."

"Melissa you should go to work at Corporate and take over the interior decoration for all of the stores. This is beautiful and looks like the store should look like. You did an awesome job hiding all of the plastic wood." Gregg and Melissa broke out into grins at the mention of the 'wood'.

Gregg went to work in a much better frame of mind after his conversation with Melissa. The fact that Melissa was going to stay until nine pm and help handle the wait staff might have had something to do with that. Checking the Out of Stock List, Gregg found it up-to-date and the list of specials was as well. The Dinner Specials were absolutely amazing the GM had gone out of his way to borrow a Chef from another restaurant that was undergoing repairs. The two main specials were Prime Rib and Turkey; not your ordinary Prime Rib or Turkey though. The Prime Rib was smoked and came in two choices Mesquite Smoked or Applewood Smoked. The Turkey also came in two choices as well. The Turkey was deboned and then stuffed with either a Wild Rice and Chestnut Stuffing or Oyster Stuffing. Gregg had to look at the special list again and saw that he had overlooked something. The Turkey actually had four choices Roasted with a choice of stuffing or Hickory or Mesquite Smoke with a choice of stuffing. Gregg liked the Oyster Stuffing but Loved the Wild Rice one; it was made with Wild Rice, Apples, Onions, Sausage, Celery and more. The sliced Turkey Rolls no matter which one you chose were absolutely amazing at least that is what the staff was saying. Gregg had seen the Prime Ribs before they were smoked and they were magnificently marbled and had the perfect fat cap. They would be moist, tender and full of flavour. The aromas in the kitchen were driving Gregg crazy so he quickly headed to the restaurant floor and the work that awaited him.

Gregg was flying around from table to table in absolute amazement; the orders were coming out on time and all correct. The customers were very happy with the Food and Drink Specials. The Drink Specials were some of Gregg's favourites; Hot Spiced Apple Cider with Frangelico and a splash of Applejack and served with a Cinnamon Stick as a swizzle. Hot Dark Chocolate with Bailey's™ Irish Cream, Peppermint Schnapps, Whipped Cream and a Candy Cane for a swizzle; for the Chocoholics, Bailey's™ Chocolat Luxe is used instead of the Irish Cream. For the coffee aficionados, there was Bailey's™ and Coffee with Peppermint Schnapps Whipped Cream and a Candy Cane Swizzler. Of course, there was also a choice of Chocolate Whipped Cream and Chocolate Peppermint Whipped Cream as well.

'This night is going too well, I am afraid that the other shoe will drop very soon.' Gregg thought with a bit of apprehension. As the saying goes 'Be careful what you ask for'! Gregg headed to the Host/Hostess Stand to seat a regular couple that had come in while Melissa was seating some other guests. Gregg greeted Tom and Darryl with a big hug and a smile. Tom and Darryl came into the restaurant quite regularly; strangely enough only on the nights that Gregg worked. The restaurant wasn't exactly gay-friendly but it wasn't outright homophobic either. At least that is what Gregg thought. Gregg got Tom and Darryl seated and then went to seat another foursome that had just entered.

'Oh NO!!!! It is the Kings and Queens of the Bigots; the only thing missing is their hooded white robes.' Gregg was thinking quickly as to how he could refuse serving them. These wonderful folks belonged to a church that espoused White Purity. Their church also believed that only the elect of their membership would be admitted to heaven. Simply put unless you were a WASP WASP ("White Anglo Saxon Protestant") you were beneath them and shouldn't be seen or heard. The foursome was the Elder and his wife, the Deacon and his wife. More sanctimonious folks you couldn't find.

Gregg quickly looked around the restaurant and began to smile slightly. There were no empty tables. With the utmost professionalism Gregg inquires;

"Do you folks have a reservation as we don't have any tables available at this time?"

"We don't but Gordon invited us and he expressly said that WE would have no trouble getting a table!" Was the sneering reply by the Elder's Wife.

And as the saying goes 'The fight was on'.

"I am sorry folks Gordon didn't make a reservation for you or inform me that you would be coming in. If he had I would have gladly saved you a table." Gregg informed them lying through his teeth.

Just as his words left his mouth 'Murphy' struck and a table began to vacate. If that wasn't bad enough it was a four top near Tom and Darryl's table!

"You are wrong YOUNG MAN; there is a table right there." The same witch pointed out in a ringing condescending tone of voice that could be heard throughout the restaurant. "Now get busy and get that table ready for us and make it snappy."

Every eye in the place was turned toward the Host/Hostess Stand. Melissa began making her way there as fast as she could to help. Unfortunately, she got waylaid on the way.

"I'm sorry folks it will be at least fifteen minutes before we can have that table cleared and set for you. As you can see we are very busy at this time and I need to get to the kitchen; the Chef is signaling me." Gregg tried to buy time while he thought of a way out of this dilemma.

"Nonsense young man that heathen can wait; now get busy and clean OUR table." The woman's voice changed from being merely condescending to imperious and condescending.

Just as Gregg was going to respond he noticed that Melissa had snagged two busboys and they were rapidly getting the table ready. 'Now what do I do, if these wonderful folks ask Tom and Darryl where their wives are WWW III is going to break out.'

"Let me go see if I can help them;" Gregg said and then turned toward the table not waiting for a response.

When Gregg arrived at the table he quickly pulled Melissa aside. "Mel we need another table I can't seat those people here." Gregg then nodded over to Tom and Darryl who were busy eating their Turkey Dinners.

Melissa's face turned into one huge frown; "Oh crap; you're right!"

They both quickly scanned the restaurant to see if they could save their bacon by finding another empty table. However, before they got halfway done…

"Merry Christmas Gentlemen and when are your wives joining you?" The Deacon's wife's snooty voice rang out this time.

Darryl looked at Tom and decided to bite the bullet and answer truthfully. After nearly fifty years together they had decided enough of the bullshit; just tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may.

"I am sorry but we aren't married; is it important to you?" That wasn't exactly the truth, however; it was the truth to the question that was asked. Tom and Darryl had actually been married, married to each other for over five years. That wasn't relevant at this time.

Unfortunately for Gregg and Melissa, that answer was the wrong one. It was exactly the answer they had been hoping for. Before either of them could respond WWW III had begun.

"What kind of restaurant allows these Deviant, Perverted, Homosexshuallll Perverts to eat among Decent God Fearing Normal People?" The Elder's booming voice rang out through the restaurant in sanctimonious condemnation.

With that, you could have heard a pin drop in the place.

Darryl stood slowly as he gathered his thoughts and began to speak in a controlled and well-modulated tone of voice. "We are neither Deviants nor Perverts we are just loving and caring normal God Loving folks! And mister whoever you are you seem to forget that there are THREE HUNDRED and SIXTY-TWO Admonitions against Heterosexuals like yourselves and only SIX Admonitions against Homosexuals in the Bible! Now we would like to finish eating our dinners in peace." Darryl then calmly sat down and resumed eating as if nothing had happened.

Darryl's calm and logical defense had stunned and turned the foursome speechless.

Gregg chose to use the temporary silence to his advantage and the proceeded to do the absolutely worst thing he could do. He did the right thing.

"Folks if you would kindly take your seats, I will bring you your drinks on the house. Those gentlemen have almost finished their dinners and will be leaving shortly. I promise you that they won't bother you…" Gregg began speaking in a very placating tone of voice but never got to finish.

Unknown to Gregg, Gordon had snuck in and was watching the whole encounter from the kitchen door. Once Gregg began to 'defend' Tom and Darryl, Gordon headed to the GM's Office who had also chosen to sneak in. It seems the 'fix' was in.

"While I have never before in my life had someone stand there and defend despicable deviant creatures like those! How dare you??? What kind of person are you to stand here and defend those creatures? Are you one of those shameful Fag lovers? I bet you are one of…" Whatever else the Elder was about to say was cut off by the arrival of a very irate GM whose face was the colour of a Fire Truck.

The GM Ted Cruise stopped at the table of Tom and Darryl and unleashed a stream of vituperative speech. [The following is sanitized synopsis of his rant.]

"Get your contemptible apostate carcasses out of my fine establishment and never darken the doorstep again!!!"

By then Tom and Darryl had finished eating as they weren't going to let a few misguided souls ruin their meal. Tom and Darryl slowly and calmly stood up and headed toward the door. Tom decided to respond in a very cold and calculating manner.

"We were just leaving; I am afraid my digestion is a bit upset by all the slanderous and libelous speech that you allow in your supposedly 'Fine' establishment. We will not be returning, however, you will be receiving a visit from the Law Firm of Clemets, Clements and Clemons ©Law Firm of Clemets, Clements and Clemons © ("Copyright Str8mayb and Haven Universe©") and when they got done, you and these supposed Christian Folks will be lucky to have the clothes on your back and a pot to piss in. Good Night and Merry Christmas." With that, they were out the door.

Tom could have saved his breath as Mr. Cruise didn't hear a word he said. The foursome did hear him and the name of the Law Firm struck fear into their hearts.

"Mr. O'Donnell give me your keys NOW and get your sorry excuse for a human being out of my sight and out of my restaurant. Your final check will be mailed to you. Now leave so I can take care of these fine and upstanding God Fearing Christian Folks." Before his boss could say anything else Gregg tossed his keys to Melissa and then said.

"Mel you might need these. Mr. Cruise thank you for your wonderful Christmas Present, I can now spend time with my family and celebrate Christmas with them as well. Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night© Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night© ("Copyright by Clement Clarke Moore or Henry Livingston, Jr.")." With that last parting shot Gregg was gone.

Things began to get really interesting then. Half of the Wait Staff Melissa included and half of the remaining customers all walked out. While most of them may not have been that supportive of gays and their rights; they were human beings and could not in good conscience stomach the actions of Mr. Cruise and those so-called Christians.

As Tom drove him and Darryl home Darryl was on the phone not to his lawyers but to another very good friend of theirs Fernando Varela owner and Executive Chef of Rainbow's Hope the largest and most successful Gay Restaurant on the East Coast. They had a very positive and successful discussion. Darryl then called his lawyer and put phase two of their new plan into action. Fernando was already hard at work on Phase One.

In the meantime a somewhat happy and somewhat sad Gregg was headed home. As he was listening to some Christmas Carols on the radio the DJ announced the time. Suddenly an ear to ear smile graced Gregg's face. He quickly made a right turn and then headed to Kate's house. Needless to say when Christian answered the door his jaw hit the threshold in shock. Gregg gave his obviously gobsmackedgobsmacked (" In honor of Crackerwriter, Crackerwriter May 25, 2012&#160;<em>Requiescat in pace<\/em>") nephew a bear hug.

"Can I come in or do I have to stand out here until I am an icicle?" A grinning Gregg inquired of his beloved nephew.

In typical teenage style, Christian answered by turning and shouting loud enough to hear at the North Pole.

"Mom, Dad come quick Uncle Gregg is here." Christian then came to his senses and grabbed his uncle's hand and dragged him into the house. Gregg was able to close the door before the two of them were swamped by a very surprised family.

As Gregg began to explain why he was there, Christian headed to the kitchen to fix his uncle a very special snack. He knew his uncle loved Dark Chocolate and he didn't have time to make Hot Cocoa from scratch so got out his new favourite Swiss Miss® Indulgent Collection® Dark Chocolate Sensation. While the milk was heating in the microwave, Christian grabbed the other ingredients he needed. He had to work quickly as the family's Christmas Surprise had an unmistakable aroma that Uncle Gregg could smell from miles away. He quickly prepared the Hot Chocolate added the secret ingredientsecret ingredient ("You'll have to read <em>The Ghost of Christmas Present<\/em> to find out the secret ingredient. Secret ingredient Groucho not 'The Secret Word'") then topped it all off with some left over Peppermint Whipped Cream that his dad Doug had made earlier that evening. Christian then put a candy cane into the hot chocolate and put half a dozen 'Cinmon Crumbles'©'Cinmon Crumbles'© (" Copyright by Jonah, 'Goos' and John from the <em>Dragon Earl Universe<\/em> by TSL. AKA Snickerdoodles.") onto a plate and headed to the family room. Christian was right; he was only halfway into the family room when he almost ran into his uncle and his boyfriend. Ronald was unsuccessfully trying to stop Gregg from going into the kitchen. Luckily all survived the near collision and no 'Cinmon Crumbles' were harmed.

Feeling much better now that he had some wonderful comfort food and the love of his family, Gregg began to explain why he was there. His family was amazed and saddened by what they heard. Of course Christian thought it was all his fault. It took Gregg, Kate and Doug a lot of talking to persuade him otherwise. However, it was Ronald who spoke up and finally convinced Christian that it wasn't his fault and that it was probably going to happen anyway from the way things went down.

"Christian love, please listen to what everyone is saying you weren't at fault. Those religious bigots were entirely at fault! Uncle Gregg would have reacted exactly the same way even if he didn't know about us. That is just the type of person your uncle is. You are always talking about how your uncle likes people for who they are and not what they are. Didn't you say that he told you that it is the person inside who is important not what they look like or the color of their skin? Why else would he have accepted us so quickly no questions asked? Now stop thinking you are the center of the universe and get me something to drink." Christian then smacked his boyfriend on the back of his head.

"Okay you all win I surrender but I get the rest of the 'Cinmon Crumbles'" With that Christian was on his feet and out the door and a mad dash began. Gregg caught Christian just as he got to the cookies. He grabbed him and held on until Doug had rescued the cookie from his crazed son.

When the hilarity had finally calmed down, the family decided to have Christmas Brunch at Gregg's house on Christmas. When Gregg left later that evening he was feeling much better. As a friend of his was known to say 'Que Sera, Sera'© 'Que Sera, Sera'© ("Copyright by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans&#160;and 'Goos'").

The next morning dawned bright and beautiful the snow was glistening and the birds were chirping carols of comfort and joy. Gregg was just pulling the last batch of 'Cinmon Crumbles' from the oven when the doorbell started chiming Jingle Bells© Jingle Bells© ("Copyright James Lord Pierpont ") Gregg went and answered the door and was nearly bowled over his excited nephew. Luckily for Gregg, Christian was held back just enough by his boy friend Ronald. After all the hugs and greetings were over and the presents all placed under Gregg's tree, everyone congregated around the big table in the kitchen. Of course it took longer to place the presents than for the greetings to finish. Everyone had just started eating when Jingle Bells© rang out. Gregg went to answer the door and couldn't believe who was there. Standing on his porch were Tom and Darryl and two gentlemen that Gregg didn't recognize.

"Gregg may we come in; we have several Christmas Present Ideas to discuss with you. Hopefully, this will be a wonderful Christmas for you and your family?" Darryl asked with a smile.

Gregg took them into the family room and got them seated. "I'll be right back." He then headed to the kitchen.

"Folks, I have some people in the family room that I need to talk to. Go ahead and eat I will be back as soon as I can. And Christian, I expect to find LOTS of 'Cinmon Crumbles' when I return." Christian just blushed.

Gregg returned to the family room; "Okay Mr. Darryl who are these gentlemen and how can I help you on Christmas Day?

"Gregg, the Latin gentleman I believe you should know; he is Fernando…" Darryl was interrupted by Gregg.

"Varela, I am sorry I didn't recognize you, Mr. Varela although in my defense I only met you once at that fundraiser three or four years ago."

"That's okay Mr. O'Donnell or may I call you Gregg? Funny you should mention that fundraiser that is one of the reasons I am here, and I am Fernando?"

"Gregg will be fine, Fernando."

Darryl saw some movement out of the corner of his eye and turned and saw Gregg's family crowded into the doorway. "Gregg and everyone, I think we need to take these conversations into the dining room so everyone can get comfortable. What we are discussing will have some effect on all of you. So Gregg, please lead us into the dining room. And before I forget, this other gentlemen is our lawyer Fred Clemets yes he is one of those Fred's."lawyer Fred Clemets yes he is one of those Fred's." ("TSL pays Str8mayb a quarter for royalties.")

Once everyone was settled in the dining room, Darryl began speaking again.

"Tom, Fernando and I are very glad that last night happened, not the way it went down and not that it happened last night. I will let Fernando explain why and believe me he is being perfectly honest with all of you. Fred is here to make sure that all of the 'I's' are dotted and the 'T's' crossed. After our initial business is done he may become your lawyer as well. But let's worry about that when we get there." Darryl had to speak a little rapidly to get that first sentence out. Kate and Christian started to object but a glance from Gregg stopped them.

"Gregg I am going to cut to the chase I want you to come to work for me as my General Manager. I want you to be in complete charge of my restaurant floor. I want you to run my restaurant as if it was your own. I want you to do everything exactly as you tried to do at your past job with those closed-minded micromanaging idiots. Your compensation will be more than adequate and probably double what you were making." Fernando had to stop because of the completely stunned look on Christian's face. Christian was making fish faces trying to speak but no words were forthcoming. Kate took pity on him and gave him a sip of his hot chocolate.

"I just have a few more words to say, Gregg, and then you can give me all of your reasons why you can't take the job. You will have complete and one hundred percent medical coverage. No deductibles and all prescriptions covered. I also want you to retrain my wait staff and develop a Training and a Safety Program. Now Tom is going to take notes so we can see who guessed right about your objections.

Gregg took a deep breath and tried to get all of his thoughts together. Once he thought he was ready he began to cautiously speak.

"I do want to say thank you for this completely unexpected and unwarranted job offer. The first reason off the top of my head is I am not gay. Second, I don't have the training or experience to run a restaurant the size of Rainbow's Hope. Third, I have never worked in a restaurant of the class that Rainbow's Hope is. Okay that is all that I can think of right now."

Fernando turned to Tom and said, "you win; he didn't claim my last objection." Tom just smiled.

"I am going to start with the objection you didn't mention. That is that you are too young for the job. Yes you are young and that is one of the reasons you are perfect for the job. Most of our staff and most of our customers are younger. It is only the late afternoons early evening when we get the old fogies as customers." Both Tom and Darryl flipped him the bird.

"As I saw at that fundraiser, you have an innate ability to get along with and express yourself to any age group. You were as comfortable talking to the octogenarians as you were to the twenty-somethings. You also don't care about people's status in life; you treat everyone the same. You treat them just as you would like to be treated. We need you and that way of thinking at Rainbow's Hope. In spite of what I said earlier we do get a lot of the older well-heeled crowd. Our former GM couldn't handle them and was alienating a huge group of moneyed and experienced folks. The exact people that went through hell so people like me could open a place like Rainbow's Hope for them to have a place that will treat them with compassion and courtesy. Not kowtowing to them but not being rude either. Our former GM didn't realize that some of the younger generation that he was sucking up to quit coming to Rainbow's Hope because of the way he was treating the older generation. He would do snarky things like seat them all in the farthest corner of the restaurant at times even in closed sections. You can imagine how that went over." Fernando paused for a minute to catch his breath and noticed that he had everyone's attention. He could see that Gregg was beginning to think about the things he had said.

"Okay I am going to deal with your second and third objections at the same time. They are really the same objection. Did you ever wonder why your old restaurant was busier the nights you worked and not just a little busier. You do know that the nights you worked were twenty five percent busier than the nights you didn't work. For an owner that is a nice chunk of change and it should have been worked with. Before you say anything I know that whenever you had to sub for a shift you wondered why it was slow. Did you ever wonder why so many of the High Society Parties were booked on the nights you worked? Did you know that you were the only floor manager who helped out in the kitchen as Expediter; or the only Floor Manager that ever ran the line when the kitchen was short a cook? Can you tell me which Floor Managers also worked as a Host at the same time he was working the floor? You can't because you were the only one. With your people skills and time management skills, working our floor will be a piece of cake. You won't ever have to cook or play bartender unless you want to." The last remark brought a smile to Gregg's face.

"Now to your first objection which brings us right back to that fundraiser. You do realize that only a quarter of the folks at that fundraiser were gay. The rest of them were straight. Even though Rainbow's Hope is a high profile Gay Restaurant we have a large number and I do mean large number of straight customers. And that brings us to our major problem and one of the reasons our former GM is a former GM. On top of the rest of his faults he was an out and out Heterophobe! He treated our straight customers exactly as those cretins treated you and Tom and Darryl last night. He may have been a little more subtle, but the results were the same. He was costing us money and costing us money big time. Now back to the fundraiser and your 'class' issue. I was stopped several times that night by a lot of different people wanting to know who you were and who your family was. You impressed them with your manners and intelligence. You especially impressed them with the way you would alter your interactions depending on which group of people you were interacting with. And before you say anything that is a very positive trait to have in our business. You make people feel comfortable talking with you, you don't talk down to anyone you talk to them. You have the ability to make people think they have known you all their lives. We need you and we need you yesterday! However, because I am a nice guy and Tom and Darryl would shoot me if I didn't get you, you don't need to start until Friday. You will have to come in and take care of the HR paperwork, get fitted for your suits and Tux. So what time should I make your appointment for on Wednesday?"

Gregg's only answer was to say; "As my nephew has been known to say 'Okay, you win I surrender."

"One moment before you folks break out the champagne and begin celebrating, I have a few things to take care of." The previously silent lawyer spoke up and woke everyone up to his presence.

"First, Gregg, I need you to give me a dollar bill as my retainer, then you need to sign a few documents for me. Unfortunately, we don't have time for you to read them." Fred quickly explained and then stuck out his hand for the dollar.

"Why do I need to retain you as my lawyer and what are those forms that you want me to sign?" A very curious Gregg asked Fred.

"You need me as your lawyer so I can sue your former employers and their corporation. I am also going to sue those four so-called Christians. Per Darryl's request when I get done with them they won't have any clothes on their back or a pot to piss in. If things go as Fernando and I have planned, you will get enough money to go into partnership with Fernando and his partner. To start with we are going to sue for Libel, Slander, and Defamation of Character with Prejudice. That way those claims fall under the Hate Crime Statutes this automatically triples the amount that can be awarded. We are going after the corporations for Conspiracy for creating a hostile work environment just to start with. With that corporations track record, this is going to be a lot of fun. Why only a dollar you may ask, just to make everything legal. Those creatures are going down and going down hard; they are going to be very sorry that they made your acquaintance." Fred enthusiastically replied.

Gregg's answer was to wave his dollar in surrender and ask; "Where do I sign?"

As the sun began to set on a very wonderful Christmas for Gregg and his family, a star shot across the sky and blinked.

*****************

Christmas Night Sean slept as peaceful and restful as he hadn't since he was a kid. He had several dreams that night and they were all full of love, caring, peace and the Christmas Spirit. For in Sean the Christmas Spirit was alive and well and shared across the land.

***************** 

The Christmas Spirit

The Christmas Spirit passed me by

Again and again and I know not why?

The Christmas Spirit passed me by

Yet I will not cry, Still, I wonder why

The Christmas Spirit passed me by?

Christmas Spirit what can I do?

Can you tell me why you pass me by?

Open your heart and open your eyes,

for the Christmas Spirit is always nigh.

Christmas Spirit what do you mean,

Open my heart and open my eyes,

cause the Christmas Spirit is always nigh?

Open your eyes and open your heart

and you'll see the caring and warmth

that comes from the giving

and not the receiving.

For the Christmas Spirit comes from the heart.

So open your heart to feel some warmth

and open your eyes to see the glow that

only an open heart can know.

The Christmas Spirit is alive and well

just open your heart and open your eyes.

If the Christmas Spirit passes you by

just open your heart and open your eyes

for the Christmas Spirit is nigh.

THE END

Well another Holiday Season and I have finished another Christmas Story. As usual it isn't completely a Traditional Christmas Story yet at the end it is. At least in my humble opinion anyway. This story has bits and pieces of more stories than I care to count. It has real characters and make-believe characters and it is the readers' job to determine which is which. Here's wishing a Safe and Happy Holiday Season to All. Please remember the true Joy and Spirit of Christmas is in the giving not the receiving. Anyone can receive only those who are filled with love and the Spirit of Christmas can truly give.

The Story Lover

Please let me know what you think about this figment of my imagination. TSL

Str8mayb: Thanks, TSL. I'll try to not spend the quarter all in one place. Very nice story. Fred told me the case was going well and that Fred was doing a good job.

I agree with Str8Mayb. That was a fine Christmas Story or stories, as the case may be.

Unlike a few other times, I did actually recognize my appearance in the story.

I know I will never be allowed to forget my missing my existence in not one, but at least two different stories by more than one authors.

Thank you for the opportunity to edit another wonderfully heartwarming story.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

'Cinmon Crumbles'

Ingredients:
1 cup soft Butter  
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
2 eggs 
2 3/4 cups flour 
2 teaspoons cream of tartar (Fresh if possible)
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoons salt (optional) 
For rolling:
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon (Gourmet or Fresh Ground is Best)
Directions:
Cream butter, sugar and eggs till fluffy. Sift together and stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt (optional). Then chill dough for about 30 minutes to an hour. If making a double batch when removing from refrigerator split the dough in half and return one half to refrigerator. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll into a mixture of 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon (Gourmet or Fresh Ground is Best). If the dough starts to melt or becomes gooey place back in refrigerator until chilled again. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet (you can also use aluminum foil). Place in preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Do not overcook, edges should be golden brown and slightly crisp, centers should still be slightly puffy. Always use a cold cookie sheet for each batch if you use a warm cookie sheet you will end up with spread out cookies that will brown too quickly.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, Happy Kwanzaa, Holy Ramadan, Frohe Weihnachten! , Christmas Alegre! , Joyeux Noel!,God Jul! , Glaedelig Jul! , Nadolig Llawen, Gledelig Jul, Nollaig Shona Duit, Mele Kalikimaka.