#and max and Jess bring their son to visit on Christmas

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

A Look at the slate of Countdown to Christmas Movies airing this year on the Hallmark Channel

Jingle Bell Bride  Premieres: Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Julie Gonzalo, Ronnie Rowe Jr.  Official synopsis: “Wedding planner Jessica Perez (Gonzalo) travels to a remote town in Alaska to find a rare flower for a celebrity client and is charmed by the small town during Christmas, as well as the handsome local (Rowe Jr.) helping her. 

Chateau Christmas  Premieres: Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Merritt Patterson, Luke Macfarlane  Official synopsis: “Margot (Patterson), a world-renowned pianist, returns to Chateau Newhaus to spend the holidays with her family and is reunited with an ex (Macfarlane) who helps her rediscover her passion for music.” 

Christmas With the Darlings Premieres: Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Katrina Law, Carlo Marks  Official synopsis: “Just before the holidays Jessica Lew (Law) is ending her tenure as the assistant to her wealthy boss to use her recently earned law degree within his company, but offers to help his charming, younger brother (Marks) as he looks after his orphaned nieces and nephew over Christmas.”

One Royal Holiday  Premieres: Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Laura Osnes, Aaron Tveit, Krystal Joy Brown, Victoria Clark, Tom McGowan  Official synopsis: “When Anna (Osnes) offers a stranded mother (Clark) and son (Tveit) shelter in a blizzard, she learns that they are the Royal Family of Galwick. Anna shows the Prince how they do Christmas in her hometown, encouraging him to open his heart and be true to himself.” 

Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater  Premieres: Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Ashley Williams, Niall Matter  Official synopsis: “Single mom Maggie (Williams) is facing Christmas alone until Lucas (Matter) crashes into her life and becomes an unexpected houseguest. Together they overcome Christmas while finding comfort in their growing bond.” 

On the 12th Date of Christmas  Premieres: Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Mallory Jansen, Tyler Hynes  Official synopsis: “Two seemingly incompatible game designers team up to create a romantic, city-wide scavenger hunt themed for The 12 Days of Christmas.” 

Christmas in Vienna  Premieres: Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Sarah Drew, Brennan Elliott  Official synopsis: “Jess (Drew), a concert violinist whose heart just isn’t in it anymore, goes to Vienna for a performance. While there, she finds the inspiration she has been missing, and a new love.” 

A Timeless Christmas  Premieres: Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Ryan Paevey, Erin Cahill Official synopsis: “Charles Whitley (Paevey) travels from 1903 to 2020 where he meets Megan Turner (Cahill), a tour guide at his historic mansion, and experiences a 21st century Christmas. 

A Nashville Christmas Carol  Premieres: Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Jessy Schram, Wes Brown, Wynonna Judd, Sara Evans, RaeLynn, Kix Brooks, Kimberly Williams-Paisley  Official synopsis: “Vivienne Wake (Schram), a workaholic television producer in charge of a country music Christmas special showcasing newcomer Alexis (Raelynn), never lets personal feelings get in the way of business. On the verge of accepting a job in L.A., and with the return of Gavin Chase (Brown) — her childhood sweetheart and manager to the special’s headliner, Belinda (Evans) — she receives a visit from the ghost of her recently deceased mentor, Marilyn (Judd). Her mentor warns her current path leads to a dark future and has recruited both the Spirit of Christmas Past (Brooks) and the Spirit of Christmas Present (Williams-Paisley) to help her get back on track. The Spirits’ time-jumping adventures force Vivienne to take hold of her life." 

The Christmas House  Premieres: Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Robert Buckley, Jonathan Bennett, Ana Ayora, Treat Williams, Sharon Lawrence, Brad Harder  Official synopsis: “Working through some difficult decisions, Wade family matriarch Phylis (Lawrence) and patriarch Bill (Williams), have summoned their two grown sons — TV star Mike Wade (Buckley) and Brandon Wade (Bennett) — home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community. As Brandon and his husband Jake (Harder) make the trip home, they are anxiously awaiting a call about the adoption of their first child. Meanwhile, Mike reconnects with Andi (Ayora), his high school sweetheart.” 

New movie to be Announced  Premieres: Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: TBD Official synopsis: TBD 

A Christmas Tree Grows in Brooklyn  Premieres: Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Rochelle Aytes, Mark Taylor  Official synopsis: “Erin (Aytes) is planning the town’s Christmas celebration and must win over firefighter Kevin (Taylor) in order to obtain the beautiful spruce tree from his property for the celebration.” 

A Bright and Merry Christmas  Premieres: Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Alison Sweeney, Marc Blucas  Official synopsis: “Two competing TV hosts (Sweeney and Blucas) are sent to a festive small town over Christmas. While pretending to get along for the sake of appearances, they discover that there’s more to each other than they thought. 

Five Star Christmas (Working Title)  Premieres: Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Bethany Joy Lenz, Victor Webster  Official synopsis: “After moving back to her hometown, Lisa (Lenz) plots with her siblings and grandparents to help her father’s new bed and breakfast get a five-star review from an incognito travel critic (Webster), but ends up falling for him, not knowing he is the real critic.” 

Christmas by Starlight (Working Title)  Premieres: Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Kimberley Sustad, Paul Campbell  Official synopsis: “Annie (Sustad), a lawyer, must help her loved ones this holiday season. Her family’s restaurant, the Starlight Café, is slated for demolition. The heir to the development firm responsible, William (Campbell), makes her an unlikely proposition: He’ll spare the café if Annie spends the week ‘appearing’ as the legal counsel his father is demanding he hire in the wake of some costly mistakes.” 

Christmas Waltz  Premieres: Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Lacey Chabert, Will Kemp, JT Church  Official synopsis: “After Avery’s (Chabert) storybook Christmas wedding is canceled unexpectedly, dance instructor Roman (Kemp) helps her rebuild her dreams.” 

If I Only Had Christmas  Premieres: Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Candace Cameron Bure, Warren Christie Official synopsis: “At Christmas, a cheerful publicist (Bure) teams up with a cynical business owner (Christie) and his team to help a charity in need.” 

Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing  Premieres: Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Holly Robinson Peete, Colin Lawrence, Rukiya Bernard, Antonio Cayonne, Barbara Niven  Official synopsis: “As Michelle’s (Peete) wedding approaches, Hannah (Bernard) steps up to help finish the launch of the new Evergreen museum while questioning her relationship and future with Elliot (Cayonne).” 

Christmas She Wrote  Premieres: Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Danica McKellar, Dylan Neal  Official synopsis: “When Kayleigh (McKellar), a romance writer, has her column canceled right before Christmas, she heads home to reconnect with her family. Kayleigh gets an unexpected visit from the man (Neal) who canceled her column who fights not only to bring her back to the publisher but also for her heart.” 

Cross Country Christmas  Premieres: Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Rachael Leigh Cook, Greyston Holt  Official synopsis: “Former classmates Lina (Cook) and Max (Holt) are traveling home for the holidays, until a storm hits and they have to work together to make it home in time, no matter the mode of transportation.” 

Christmas Carnival  Premieres: Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Stars: Tamera Mowry-Housley, Antonio Cupo  Official synopsis: “Emily (Mowry-Housley) is a top newscaster who has achieved her career dreams but still has regrets about the guy (Xavier) who got away five years earlier. When the Christmas carnival comes to town, a ride around the carousel takes her magically back in time to the carnival five years before... giving her a second chance at love before she must return to Christmas present.” 

A Christmas Carousel  Premieres: Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Rachel Boston, Neal Bledsoe  Official synopsis: “When Lila (Boston) is hired by the Royal Family of Marcadia to repair a carousel, she must work with the Prince (Bledsoe) to complete it by Christmas.” 

Love, Lights, Hanukkah!  Premieres: Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel Stars: Mia Kirshner, Ben Savage, Marilu Henner  Official synopsis: “As Christina (Kirshner) prepares her restaurant for its busiest time of year, she gets back a DNA test revealing that she’s Jewish. The discovery leads her to a new family and an unlikely romance over eight nights.” 

Info from the ew.com article, Link HERE 

[andrea-lyn]

Ok I’m the worst, but if you wanted to do another Christmas prompt... supernatural fusion sequel...

Yes, I know this says Christmas, but THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DOUBLE REQUEST. I write both. Wait, no, that makes me look weak (except I am).This is a continuation of cruising through the doom days!**

Liz has a mandate – every year, each of them has topick a non-alien case so their skills stay sharp. Max has a propensity forvampires (which Michael teases him about because it’s so absolutely up hisalley with the whole hard-on for the gothic romantic era) and Isobel lovesrooting out incubi to make them suffer. Michael’s a big fan of the cryptid andLiz likes werewolves.“What about this one,” says Alex when it’s his turn, turning his computerscreen to show off the local news from Colorado Springs.Michael whistles under his breath, digging for some money from his back pocket.Alex eyes him warily, not sure why he’s doing that. “What?”“Max bet me that you’d wanna hunt ghosts your first time out,” Michael says,slapping the bill into Max’s hand (who accepts it with a smug ‘thank you’). “Ikind of thought you’d wanna do something a little more fun. Mermaids, sirens,banshees.”“This is all Michael-speak for him regretting his last choice,” Isobel informshim.Liz is already turning the screen back towards her to take some notes. “What happened at Michael’s last hunt?”“Pixies,” Isobel says with a manic smirk. “They put him under a love spell andhe had exams to write the next day. He professed his love to the teacher’sassistant in front of the whole class before Liz and I could dose him with anantidote,” she shares, laughing warmly. She’s expecting Alex to join in, but his jaw is clicking with jealousy. “Don’t worry,” Michael whispers, kissing Alex’s neck. “I learned my lessonabout going after anything that could make you fall in love with someone atfirst sight, up until I met you.” He bites at Alex’s shoulder playfully,clearly hoping that his charm is working on him.

The annoying thing is that it is.With that out of the way, Alex and Liz get to research, Max packs up the cars,Isobel books them a motel, and they head out to Colorado Springs to hunt down avengeful ghost. The first few days pass without incident. Alex heads to the house that’spurportedly haunted to take a few pictures, Liz reads up on the lore of thisparticular incident, and Michael gets their weapons ready. Then, on the thirdday, Alex comes home to disaster.“What the hell?” Alex exhales, barely managing the words past his grittedteeth. The motel is only so big, and it’s impossible to miss the giant Humvee in theparking lot. Given that there’s only so many people who have that car and wouldturn up at an active hunting ground, Alex isn’t surprised to see his fatherlooming outside a room a few doors down, his disdainful gaze fixed on Alex.Behind him, his brothers are unloading weapons briefcases. “No aliens here, Dad,” Alex says sharply. “Not for you to kill.”“I think there are some,” Jesse replies, as calm as ever. “We’re not here forthem. We were hired by a local client to investigate a haunting.”Money must be tight, because Jesse hates taking cases outside of his wheelhouseunless it’s absolutely necessary. It’s the first time that Alex has seen him since he walked out on him. He’s notsure what he’d been expecting, both to feel and for Jesse to do. It’s somehoweven more infuriating when Jesse eyes Alex up and down, and then decides thathe’s not even worth the trouble of a dressing down, which makes Alex want toburst out and provoke him. “If it’s the one at the Pollard Manor, we were here first,” Alex spits out. “I don’t think that matters. You’re ineffective, clumsy, and you were alwaysthe disappointment,” Jesse informs him. Behind him, he can see Flint snorting,but Alex shoots a glare his way that keeps him moving. “Somehow, I’m notworried.”Alex feels the rage welling up in him and he wants desperately to sling aninsult back at him, but the anger clouds his mind and he can’t think ofanything to say. Instead, he’s left fumbling, standing there while his brothersand father lock themselves in their motel room, leaving Alex feeling like theinadequate youngest son that he is. He slams his hand against the door before digging out his key and headinginside, taking a few deep breaths. Michael’s waiting for him, sitting on thebed, and Alex instantly regrets losing his shit like that, but Jesse has a wayof getting to him that no one else does. “We don’t have to stay,” is the first thing Michael says when Alex comes backinside from his encounter. Alex wonders how long Michael has been lurking, but he’sclearly heard plenty. “This is all practice for us. If Jesse and his boys wantto take this on, we can…”“No,” Alex cuts him off.Michael raises a brow, sprawling back on the motel bed. “Alex,” he warnsquietly. “It’s not healthy for you to be around him like this.”“We were here first,” he insists stubbornly. “When I walked out on him, it wasa whisper and it should’ve been a bang. He deserves to know that I’m betterthan him. He deserves to feel what it’s like having the rug yanked out fromunder you. I want…”“Revenge,” Michael fills in for him. “That’s kind of the problem, Alex.”“It’s not!”“We’re hunting down a vengeful ghost who feeds off that energy.” Michaelgestures to Alex, then to the front of the motel. “Are you telling me that it’snot going to be a problem?”“It’s not.” Alex feels like he might be lying, but he doesn’t want to let hisfather get the better of him.If they leave, then Jesse Manes wins and there’s no way that Alex canlet that happen. He’ll do absolutely anything he needs to make sure he can goon this hunt without causing issues, and he hopes that Michael will be on hisside. He knows that it’s dangerous, what he’s doing, but his father has alwaysclouded his judgment.In this moment, he’s back to being that boy – the one who wants to impress hisfather, no matter what he has to do.“The moment that I think it’s dangerous, we’re leaving,” Michael warns, buthe’s conceding. Alex can hear it in his voice.He nods rapidly, cupping Michael’s cheeks so he can bear in and kiss him toshow his appreciation, bearing him down onto the bed. “Yes,” he promises. “Ofcourse, yeah, anything,” he insists, and presses more kisses to Michael’s neck,tangling his fingers in Michael’s shirt to start yanking it off.There’s a voice in the back of his mind asking him why he’s pushing so much,even though he already knows. The way he’s acting, the defiance he’s wielding,it’s all because he needs some finality and closure to his life with hisfamily.Alex intends to get it, no matter how it happens.*The first visit to the house happens without incident. Michael’s actuallyfairly bored, seeing as it gets to the point that everyone splits up to coverthe rooms, but no one finds anything. They return to the foyer and regroup, with no one reporting any EMF activity oranything remotely haunted. Michael gives Alex an encouraging look. “Hey,” hesays, “Just because we didn’t find anything, it doesn’t mean that your Dad willeither.” Something on Alex’s face shifts then, flinches, and Michael kickshimself for bringing it up.He leans in and rubs Alex’s back, kissing his cheek to try and soothe away thatache. Michael’s feeling a little disappointed himself, if only because if theghost here has already been dealt with, then it’s a long to drive to have todeal with Alex’s shitty family. Liz reaches out to collect all the EMF meters,but Alex beats her to it. “I’ll process the data,” he assures. “You and Max can head out, have somedinner.”Liz hands her meter over with a grateful smile. “Thanks Alex, you’re the best.”Michael guesses that means he’s in for a night of logging and research. Hesulks at Alex, but it doesn’t go anywhere, so clearly there’s no sympathy to behad for him. They go back to the motel and luckily, the Manes family aren’tthere, so Michael doesn’t have to worry about rushing Alex inside before he canget into another provocation with them.The night’s pretty boring, as expected.Alex logs, Michael reads, and nothing even happens because Michael ends upfalling asleep while Alex clicks around the internet, then catalogues theweapons, and then goes back to reading. The next day, things start getting a little weird. Later, he’ll feel like a complete asshole for not putting the pieces together,but at first he thinks it’s just Alex making a statement in front ofJesse. He starts wearing thick eyeliner, goes out to a local store and buys tightleather pants, and there’s a mesh crop top at one point. It’s very emo, but italso is very (wildly, in fact) attractive on him, so Michael doesn’t sayanything. He’s also a big fan of the way Jesse’s face contorts like he’s havingan aneurysm when they run into each other. Michael admires his ass in the tight jeans, he plucks at the skin-tighthenleys, and he lets Alex pin him to the wall and make out with him, even inthe middle of research sessions. There’s been no sign of the ghost since the first visit, but they’ve got timeand Michael’s not really too fussed about it. Then it starts getting really odd.Alex doesn’t want to do any research. Every time they sit down to go over thehistory of the house or books on the subject, he says that he’s bored and he’sgoing out for coffee. One time, he comes back with his shirt untucked andaskew, which makes Michael wary about what’s going on. The weird thing doesn’t stop there.He’s not Alex, not really. At night, he pulls away from Michael’s arms, hedoesn’t play the guitar to lull them to sleep, and Max had caught him trying totake the truck for a joy ride. Something’s going on, and Michael’s starting toget scared.His fear still doesn’t prepare him for what happens next. It’s the middle of the night and he doesn’t know where Alex is. He rubs at his eyes and sits up, trying to see if he’s gone to the bathroom,but there are no lights on and there’s no sign of movement, which means that ifAlex is in the room, then he’s lying real still on the ground. Grabbing hisshirt, Michael pulls on the button-down and manages two buttons before he getsup and tucks the key into his pocket, heading outside. He hears a loud shot,like a car backfiring or a gunshot, but given the rough part of town they’restaying in, it could be dealer’s choice.“Alex,” he says with relief when he sees him a few doors down. “Babe, hey,” hecoaxes. “Are you smoking or something, what are you…?”The smoke isn’t a cigarette.It’s a gun in Alex’s hand and there’s a body on the ground. “Holy shit,”he exhales, gaping at the body. It’s Jesse Manes, bleeding out from his stomachand twisting, writhing around. “Fuck!” he snaps, and he hates that he’s aboutto do this, but he’d never let himself live it down if he didn’t. He storms tothe two doors beside his room, pounding on them. “Max! Isobel! Liz!” He keepspounding his fist, even as Alex swivels to look at them, his hand with the gunraising.Fuck, no.Michael focuses and sends the gun flying out of Alex’s hand. The minute Maxopens the door, Michael bolts into the room for the iron bar, heading back outand giving his boyfriend a pleading and apologetic look.“Michael,” is Alex’s warning, his voice sounding airy and hollow, like he’s noteven there.“Sorry, sweetheart,” Michael tells him, before he knocks him in the back of thehead with an iron bar, sending him crumpling to the ground. With Alex (orwhatever’s wearing Alex as a suit because that’s not his boyfriend) outfor the count, they can focus on Jesse. “Heal him,” he begs Max.“Don’t you put your hands on me,” Jesse spits out.“Look, your kids are out on a hunt, right? You’re not going to a hospitalbecause I can’t explain that a ghost shot you and if you think I’m letting youput Alex in jail for this, you’re stupider than I thought,” Michael snaps athim. “So either you die by Alex’s hand or Max heals you. Your choice, asshole!”There’s a frustratingly long moment where Jesse says nothing, but then hepresses his hands to his bleeding stomach and that seems to coax something outof him. Max doesn’t look any happier to be doing this, but Michael doesn’t need Alex tofeel the guilt of killing his father because he’s been possessed by a vengefulghost. It has to be that, right? If Michael thinks back, he could kick himselffor how obvious it’s been.They’d split up in the house and Alex had made sure to grab the EMF meters. Theonly person who’d know that there’s activity in the house would be the onebeing possessed. The rest all falls into place – the clothes, the actions, theway Alex has been succumbing to it. Watching Max heal Jesse, he bends down tocollect Alex in his arms, bringing him into Max’s room.“Liz,” he says roughly. “I need you to douse some ropes in salted holy waterand then tie him up. Please.”Liz looks at him with alarm, her mouth forming questions that Michael doesn’twant to hear.“Just do it,” he reiterates, feeling exhausted as if he’s the one who’s beenpossessed by a spirit. How could he have missed this? How could this have happened right under hisnose without him knowing? He helps Alex into the chair and when Liz movesforward with the ropes, Michael shakes his head and holds his hands out forthem. He needs to be the one to do this. It has to be. “I’m sorry,” he says again to Alex’s unconscious body, gently shifting hislolling head so there’s a pillow behind him. He cups Alex’s cheek the once,even though he knows that right now Alex isn’t in the driver’s seat. The tenderness means more, somehow, because he’s not the one in control. It’slike Michael needs to send whatever messages he can so that Alex knows thathe’s not fighting this alone.“I’m coming to get you,” he vows stubbornly. “I’m not going to let it haveyou.”He swears he won’t, because he just found Alex. He’s not losing him soeasily.*It takes hours before Alex comes around.He says Alex, but Michael knows it’s not. It all makes sense now, from the waythe hunt had gone cold after their first recon, but also Alex’s strangebehavior that Michael had written off as them not truly knowing one anotherthat well. He’d known that this hunt was a bad idea, but he’d gone along withit because Alex had seemed to need it.Next time, he’s trusting his instincts.“Ready?” Liz asks him quietly, pressing the holy water and the salt to one ofhis hands, the iron to the other. Michael shakes his head, not wanting to deal with the ghost that’s possessingAlex, making a hoe of him. He clutches each item tightly and when Alex startsmaking noises, he steps forward in time to see his eyes go black, opening upand hissing as he wriggles against the ropes.“What did you do to me?”“Salted ropes to keep you snug as a shitty little bug,” Michael says. “Youdon’t have to deal with it, though. Just leave him,” he coaxes. “Get out ofhim, and then you can feel better.”“No.”Michael’s nostrils flare as he inhales angrily. “Get out of him,” he repeats,the only thing stopping him from doing anything more is that it’s Alex. It’sAlex’s face, his voice, and the ghost is using him to make a home, but that’ssupposed to be what Michael gets with him. They’ve only just met, but that’s whatAlex feels like to him.It’s like home. He’s not ready to let a ghost take that away from him. “If you don’t leave, we’ll force you out.” “I like it in here,” the ghost says, wriggling Alex’s shoulders like he’s in awarm and cozy blanket. “He’s full of rage and anger. He wants revenge, always,”it says, and smiles a charming smirk at Michael. “I’m keeping him. We belongtogether. Do whatever you want, but I’m not letting him go without a fight.” Michael’s never seen a ghost make a home of a person. Alex isn’t an object or aplace. He’s a person. The need for vengeance and for retribution must be sostrong in Alex, and his family’s presence here has stoked it. “I’m not sure what’ll work here,” Michael mutters to Liz once he steps aside.“I’ve never seen an infestation of a person before. I’m notsalting and burning Alex.”“We can drive him out. What about an exorcism? He’s already bound with saltedropes,” Liz says. “We’ll tuck some iron in there, douse him with holy water,say the words…eventually, that thing is going to want out.”“Okay,” he says, glancing to Isobel. “I don’t care about finesse anymore. Burnthe house, make sure this thing has nowhere else to go. Take it all down.”Isobel and Max go, leaving Michael and Liz to amp up their aggression. Theypour a bucket of blessed motel-sink water over Alex’s head, tuck iron piecesinto the ropes, and it begins to work. Alex is thrashing around, growlinggutturally, and spitting out curses at them. “He doesn’t want you,” the creature spits out at Michael with Alex’s voice.“You’re only a distraction. You’re something that he’s using to make himselffeel like an adult now that he’s outside of his father’s reach.”“Michael, don’t listen to him,” Liz says quietly.Michael keeps his head down, trying stubbornly not to let it get to him, butit’s like the ghost has seen inside Michael’s head, not Alex’s, and isunearthing every last fear that he’s been keeping buried. “He’ll leave you.” Alex’s lips contort up in an ugly smile and he shakes hishead. “It’ll be pathetic. You, left all alone by this weakling of a man,consumed by his need to get revenge.”“You’re a shitty liar,” Michael spits out at him, shoving one last piece ofiron vindictively into the ropes, knowing that he has to be careful. If he letsthat need for revenge against the spirit consume him, then he could be the nexthost. Instead of thinking about vengeance, he focuses on his love for Alex, andwanting to do right by him. It hurts, still, but he thinks that the hurt comes from a place where Michaelknows this is happening to Alex because Michael couldn’t protect him. He should have been louder about not doing this hunt. He should have never let them split up. “He doesn’t love you. He doesn’t want you.”“You know what?” Michael decides that’s fucking enough. “Get,” Michael says,dousing Alex in holy water, “the fuck,” he continues sharply, digging hisfingers into the bible as he gets ready, “out of my boyfriend!”There are some rites and rituals that Michael knows off by heart and anexorcism of a person’s body happens to be one of them. This isn’t a demon, butMichael’s not exactly feeling picky today, as he begins to chant the words,pressing the iron pieces in Alex’s ropes harder against his skin, having toignore the way Alex yelps and howls.It’s not him, he reminds himself.The ghost will do anything it can to make sure it gets to keep Alex, but it’sout of luck, because Michael found him first. Michael’s panting before hefinishes the exorcism rite, but with one final throw of the remainder of theholy water, the ghost expunges itself from Alex through his mouth, his nose,his eyes, dissipating out into the air. It will try and make for the house again, Michael knows.Hopefully by then, it’ll have been burnt to the ground. Alex slumps over andMichael bolts for his side, landing hard on his knees. His fingers yank on theropes, but Liz’s hiss of caution behind him makes him hesitate. Only for amoment, though, because then he’s looking up into Alex’s warm eyes, not that ofa ghost.“…Michael?” he ekes out.“Yeah, babe?”“Why am I tied up? Are we trying something new and kinky?”Michael laughs with relief and hauls himself up to press his forehead toAlex’s, closing his eyes as he kisses him, fingers sliding through his wethair. He’ll definitely have to go over everything with him, but Michael knowsone thing.No more ghost hunts, not for a while.“I’ll explain later, okay? Let’s just get you out of these ropes and into somedry clothes.”No ghost is going to take Alex from him, not without Michael putting up onehell of a fight. *“Alex, you don’t have to do this.”“I need to.”His eyes are still sunken and his face pale, but Alex’s determination won’t bepushed off. Michael still doesn’t think it’s a good idea, but Alex is alreadymoving forward. The Manes are packing up to leave, which is great news as faras Michael’s concerned. The part that’s not as great is how Alex wants to goout there and talk to them.They’ve just conquered a vengeful spirit. This feels a little like playing withfire just because they didn’t get completely torched the first time. Is Michael going to deny Alex this chance?No. He’s also not about to let him do it alone. “I’m coming with you.” When Alexopens his mouth to argue, Michael gives him a pointed look. “I’m not lettingyou out of my sight until that shitty scared feeling in my stomach goes away.” That feels like it could be days or years, but until then, Michael needsthat closeness. He helps Alex outside, but he waits until all his brothers are in the car tocall out.“Jesse!”Not Dad, and there’s no warmth to it. For a moment, Michael thinks that Jesse is going to leave without acknowledginghis son, but he slides the last weapons case into the back before rounding theHumvee to eye Alex and Michael both, standing there with one hand precariouslyclose to the weapon Michael knows is at his side.He reaches out with his powers, makes sure the safety is on, just so he canfeel safe about this conversation. Jesse waits for them to speak, but whatever Alex has to say, he needs to thinkabout it.It means Jesse gets the first word: “I’m not saying thank you.”Michael can tell that’s directed at him, because Alex gives him a confused look.“After I knocked you out, I made Max heal him,” he says, shooting Jesse afurious look. “You’re welcome,” he says anyway, because he and Max savedJesse’s life using their alien powers, and he thinks that should get rubbed inhis face a little more. Jesse scowls, looking at Alex. “What do you want?”“I want to tell you what I should have said years ago. You forced your beliefson me, your life, and when I didn’t fit it, you punished me,” Alex says. Hewobbles slightly, but Michael’s there for him, supporting him with an arm slungaround his back. “I grew up scared. I felt alone. I felt like I was wrong,until I met Michael and his family.”Jesse’s staring at him impassively, while Flint shouts that they need to getgoing.“What are you trying to say, Alex?”“That I’m done with you. I walked out and escaped the worst monster I’ve everseen, and I was just possessed by a vengeful ghost who wanted to take me overand use me until I was a husk.” Alex cocks his head to the side. “You’re stillworse.”If someone had said that to Michael, he might have crumpled up and used hispowers to let out his rage.Jesse Manes looks at him, then to Michael, and he decides that he’s not worthit. “You’re not a Manes anymore,” is all Jesse says.“I never wanted to be one,” Alex guarantees. “I don’t want to see you again.Next hunt we run into one another, you leave,” he says. “You owe us, after all.You owe Max your life,” he adds with a smug finality that has Jessebristling, but not arguing. If Jesse had the first word, then Alex has the last.Jesse’s gone without any further protest, and when the Humvee has vanished overthe horizon, it’s like the relief courses through Alex, making him crumple. Michael’sthere for him, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him in, pressinga kiss to his shoulder. He knows that Alex had looked calm, suave, andcollected, but that Alex is also stronger than his father ever gave him creditfor.“You okay?” Michael asks quietly. “I know that wasn’t easy.”“Nope, definitely not,” Alex agrees, and Michael can see the tears in his eyes.“But I gave a vengeful spirit a home because of my anger at my father. Itwanted to consume me whole because of what I couldn’t let go. I needed to dothat. I needed to call him the monster he was and then I needed to let go.”Michael knows it won’t be that easy. He won’t be able to let him go instantly,but the important part is that he’s taken his first steps down that road.“So,” Alex asks, lump still in his throat from how his words catch, “where arewe going next?”“Home,” Michael says. “We’re going home for a while. You okay with that?”Alex gives him a relieved smile, turning into Michael’s hold so he can pull himin. “That sounds perfect to me. Home,” he echoes. “With my family.”

[seekfirstme]

The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager © 2019. Don's website is located at Dailyscripture.ServantsOfTheWord.org

Meditation: What kind of Messiah did God promise to send to his people and how would he bring God's kingdom to them? The prophet Isaiah foresaw the day when God would raise up a Messianic King long after King David's throne had been overthrown and vacant for centuries. God promised that he would raise up a new king from the stump of Jesse, the father of King David (Isaiah 11:1). This messianic king would rule forever because the Spirit of God would rest upon him and remain with him (Isaiah 11:2).

Isaiah's prophecy of the Messiah

Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be equipped with the gifts of the Spirit - with wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2 - for an explanation of the gifts see this helpful article). This king would establish the kingdom of God, not by force of human will and military power, but by offering his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world. Through his death on the cross, Jesus, the true Messiah King, would defeat Satan, overcome death, and win pardon and reconciliation for sinners. God's plan of redemption included not only the Jewish people but all the nations of the earth as well. Through his death and resurrection Jesus makes us citizens of heaven and friends of God. The Lord Jesus wants us to live in joyful hope and confident expectation that he will come again to fully establish his kingdom of righteousness and peace.

John the Baptist's prophecy of the Messiah

Why did John the Baptist prophesy that the Messiah would come and "baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11)? Fire in biblical times was often associated with God's presence and with his action in the lives of his people. God sometimes manifested his presence by use of fire, such as the burning bush which was not consumed when God spoke to Moses (Exodus 3:2). The image of fire was also used to symbolize God's glory (Ezekiel 1:4, 13), his protective presence (2 Kings 6:17), his holiness (Deuteronomy 4:24), righteous judgment (Zechariah 13:9), and his wrath against sin (Isaiah 66:15-16). Fire was also used as a sign of the Holy Spirit's power and presence (Matthew 3:11). When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, tongues of fire appeared over the heads of the apostles and disciples of Jesus (Acts 2:3). The fire of the Holy Spirit purifies and cleanses us of sin, and it inspires a reverent fear of God and of his word in us. Do you want to be on fire for God and for the return of the Lord Jesus when he comes again in his glory?

John pointed others to the coming of Christ and his kingdom

John the Baptist's life was fueled by one burning passion - to point others to Jesus Christ and to the coming of his kingdom. Who is John the Baptist and what is the significance of his message for our lives? Scripture tells us that John was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15, 41) by Christ himself, whom Mary had just conceived by the Holy Spirit. When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth John lept in her womb as they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41). Like the prophets of the Old Testament, John devoted his entire life to prayer and the word of God. He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where he was tested and grew in the word of God. John's clothing was reminiscent of the prophet Elijah (see Kings 1:8). The Holy Spirit prepared John for the mission entrusted to him as forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus Christ - the Word of God who became man for our salvation (John 1:1,14). John pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world by offering his life on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sin of the world (John 1:29).

John broke the prophetic silence of the previous centuries when he began to speak the word of God to the people of Israel. His message was similar to the message of the Old Testament prophets who chided the people of God for their unfaithfulness and who tried to awaken true repentance in them. Among a people unconcerned with the things of God, it was his work to awaken their interest, unsettle them from their complacency, and arouse in them enough good will to recognize and receive Christ when he came. Are you eager to hear God's word and to be changed by it through the power of the Holy Spirit?

A new era of God's restoration begins

Jesus tells us that John the Baptist was more than a prophet (Luke 7:26). John was the voice of the Consoler who is coming (John 1:23; Isaiah 40:1-3). He completed the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah (Matthew 11:13-14). What the prophets had carefully searched for and angels longed to see, now came to completion as John made the way ready for the coming of the Messiah, God's Anointed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. With John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit begins the restoration to the human race of the "divine likeness", prefiguring what would be achieved with and in the Lord Jesus.

John's baptism was for repentance - turning away from sin and taking on a new way of life according to God's word. Our baptism in Jesus Christ by water and the Spirit results in a new birth and entry into God's kingdom as his beloved sons and daughters (John 3:5). The Lord Jesus gives us the fire of his Spirit so that we may radiate the joy and truth of the Gospel to a world in desperate need of God's light and truth. His word has power to change and transform our lives that we may be lights pointing others to Christ. Like John the Baptist, we too are called to give testimony to the light and truth of Jesus Christ. Do you point others to Christ in the way you live, work, and speak?

"Lord, let your light burn brightly in my heart that I may know the joy and freedom of your kingdom. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and empower me to witness the truth of your Gospel and to point others to Jesus Christ."

The following reflection is from One Bread, One Body courtesy of Presentation Ministries © 2019.

 

ADVENT TO THE MAX

  "...a herald's voice in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.' " —Matthew 3:3  

The purpose of Advent is to prepare the way of the Lord, Who is coming to us in a new personal way this Christmas season. But there are different kinds and degrees of preparation. The Church teaches with John the Baptist that our preparation for Christ's coming this Christmas needs to be very extensive. We even need a baptism of repentance, that is, to be immersed in repentance (see Mt 3:11).

Our preparation for Christ this Christmas is comparable to a major excavation where mountains are made low and the fill dirt is used to fill in the valleys so as to make a rough road smooth and a crooked road straight (Lk 3:5). While the world gives us the picture of Santa Claus with a bag of presents, the Church presents the scene of the wild prophet, John the Baptist, driving a Komatsu super earth-mover to bury our sins.

Very few of us believe that Christmas is so great and we are so sinful as to require such an earthquake of preparation. However, the Church is right. We need a big Advent to have a true Christmas.

  Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit so that I will not minimize but maximize Advent. Promise: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord." —Is 11:2 Praise: "God freed him from death's bitter pangs, however, and raised him up again, for it was impossible that death should keep its hold on him" (Acts 2:24). Alleluia!    

  Rescript: In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") for One Bread, One Body covering the period from December 1, 2019 through January 31, 2020.

†Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 2, 2019.  

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements

[goldstarrsandbigsmiles]

365 to the 3-5

This past year has been nothing short of amazing, namely watching a chunky blob of cuteness become a non-stop, hearty rock of handsomeness…and no, I’m not talking about Jeff’s dad bod. Net-net, I’m amazed at what I’ve learned in 35 years on this precious planet and love taking this time every year to reflect on my greatest hits. So as we say to Max when getting him out of the bath: ready, steady…SPAGHETTI! 1. Pretty sure one of the most terrifying things as a mom is the undeniable fear of getting back into the workforce after months of maternity leave. The insecurities/self-doubt I thought I squashed years ago once again reared its ugly head, and the thought of rebuilding all over again sounded even worse running while on five hours’ sleep. But where there’s a will, there’s a way – and the countless list of colleagues who believed in me and cheered Mama Jess back on the horse will never be forgotten. 2. My four years in Houston have made me quite fond of this special little city, but nothing felt quite as magical as watching our town literally rise up from the waters, come together...and watch our ‘Stros bring home a World Championship. Harvey was awful, but it brought out the best of so much and so many. 3. We finally pulled of a “two weddings in one weekend” stint – and with two of the most deserving brides I have the pleasure of knowing, no less. This brings Jeffica’s wedding count to 39…just waiting on that special 40th to put us “over the hill.” 4. 80% of the reason you have kids is to create Halloween costumes that are mainly for your entertainment…right? So not everyone dresses their kids up as human cheese wedges, dubbing them “Maxaroni and Cheese?” No? Okay cool cool cool, good talk. 5. I used to think extracurricular classes for kids were some whack way for parents to compete against one another. ERRONEOUS. It’s a way for someone else to help you entertain and educate your child because that shit is EXHAUSTING. They're super cool, super helpful…and I was super wrong for ever thinking otherwise. 6. I legit wasn’t sure if Max had teeth inside of those gums after a full year of sprouting NADA. Luckily he’s well on his way (with six more popping thru as I type!), but it was a bit touch-and-go for a while. 7. I can see my parents becoming better, happier versions of themselves these days. It not only inspires me but also makes me truly believe all things happen for a reason…no matter the things. 8. Seeing my brother play with my son will never, ever get old. 9. It’s remarkably easy to forget how freaking cold winters are in the northeast…until you go back for Christmas and freeze off your croutons on a Saturday night. That cold, piercing wind. OY. Do NOT miss. 10. Watching a kid learn how to get on all fours, crawl and eventually walk feels like it takes forever but is such a cool process to observe. Now…if only he’d stay put. 11. It looks like Toys-R-Us threw up in our living room, and the Virgo in me has completely surrendered to this reality. 12. Moms: If something doesn’t feel right, trust your gut. You’re probably right. Be it a weird feeling about daycare or a cough that’s worse than normal – you know that kiddo best. 13. I miss having the energy to watch television post-bedtime. 14. But don’t get it twisted – even if it takes me 8 sit down sessions, I will continue to keep up with my Housewives. 15. Whenever I see Max and his big, strong physique, I’d like to think the full year of being hooked up to a breast pump contributed to his off-the-charts stats and good health. But I also think about how much it freaking suuuucked…so I briefly pat myself on the back and immediately return to blacking it all out. 16. Hosting our child’s first birthday at a bar and making it totally about us was a FANTASTIC decision. 17. I was worried Max’s hair wasn’t going to curl again after his first haircut: I was wrong, thank GOODNESS. When it’s long, it looks like a birthday bow is sitting on his precious little head, and I LIVE FOR IT. 18. As happy as I am to watch everyone grow up, I’m running out of cousin bar/bat mitzvahs and am kind of bitter about it. 19. Life hack: If you have food poisoning but need to jump on what will eventually become your first home purchase — bring a barf bag, (literally) suck it up, take that house tour and hope for the best. Houston real estate be cutthroat, y’all. 20. Most people that hear we bought a house are like “wow congrats that’s awesome,” but those who have visited from the east coast are more like “wow okay soooo you’re saying we can’t use your apartment complex pool when we come down?” Sorry, friends. I’m just as sad. 21. Pretty sure Houston weather will find a way to ruin any holiday weekend. Memorial, July 4th, Labor…name your celebration, and a freaking flash flood will follow. 22. Nothing made me more confident in our home buying decision more than when we told our neighborhood friends and they let out a collective sigh of relief. SO sweet they were being supportive on the surface, but even sweeter when they confessed they were only being supportive on the surface. 23. Dave Matthews Band has STILL. GOT. IT. 24. Moving to Texas was one of the balliest, scariest things I’ve ever done, but the gift of my business has been one of the most rewarding outcomes EVER. It’s so cool to genuinely say I love what I do. 25. Really love how our kid went through a clingy phase when we had seven willing babysitters during the week we spent at the Outer Banks. Cute. 26. I did NOT watch enough HGTV to prepare for the endless decisions necessary to renovate a home. I know more about grout and appliance ratings/reviews than I ever thought imaginable. 27. Traveling the world with my mom was always a dream of mine, and bringing it to life was one of the coolest experiences ever. 28. Italy is a breathtaking country, filled with fresh food, amazing history and remarkable scenery – and sharing it with some of my favorite, friendly east coast faces made it all the more special. 29. I have tried to Julia Childs my way from here to next Sunday, but it never fails: my son will reject any and all of my culinary efforts to hide vegetables in delicious, homemade meals. The self-restraint I have exercised while I watch him reject said made-with-love meals deserves a medal of valor. 30. I will NEVER, EVER be able to thank my mother-in-law enough for everything she is doing to help make our first house a home. She truly is a carpenter that makes miracles. Here’s hoping for her next trick she can turn water into wine. 31. If you injure your groin post-partem, buy an inflatable donut from CVS and blow that bad boy up wherever you need. Do what you gotta…and YOU DO YOU, GURL. 32. Making time for girls’ trips as a mom can be tough, well, as a mother. Tough…but so, so, so worth it. 33. Normally there’s one or two crazy things going on in my life, but lately, it’s literally been every. Single. Thing. And there’s no one in the world I would rather be conquering them all with besides Jeff. 34. Having a birthday on Yom Kippur is a pretty big downer…except when it revolves around a work trip and gives you a chance to spend more time with your family. 35. This upcoming year is going to be a giant slice of crazyberry pie, and I am so, so excited for what’s to come. Here’s to happiness, health and let’s be real – making time for Housewives.

[andrea-lyn]

I'm bad at prompts but I'd love a good prison AU! Jesse imprisons the aliens as kids. Alex joins his dad at the prison throughout his childhood so Jesse can pass on his legacy. Malex become friends and have this cosmic connection. They celebrate Christmas every year together, even though it's through glass. It's sad but Michael looks forward to this every year because he spends it with Alex. Years later Alex breaks them out just before Christmas- their first real one and fall madly in love!

(This one got a little sadder, so some warnings in here for Jesse being a terrible Dad and hints of experimentation)

7

When Alex is seven, his father brings him to a place called Caulfield and takes him to a sterile white room. Alex goes with a toy in his hand. He’s nudged inside and told to sit down and wait. When he says he doesn’t understand, his father looks at him and says, “You will, someday. For now, you do as you’re told, like a good Manes boy.”

Dutiful and brave, Alex nods and clutches the Lego set in his hands as he sits on the ground and opens up the box to start building the spaceship. Maybe this is just like when he’s early at school and he’s taken to a room to be watched.

He plays alone for a few minutes until he hears a door open nearby and then three children are ushered in. Alex perks up and smiles at them with a cheerful wave. “Hi,” he greets them, eyes skipping from one to the next. “I’m Alex. Do you wanna see what I got for Christmas?” he suggests, holding out the box to the boy with curls, who’s standing closest to him.

None of the children speak to him.

Alex glances warily over his shoulder to see if his father will tell him to stay back, but he doesn’t. There’s a long pause and eventually he hears the crackling of static. “Give them the toy, Alex.”

It’s an order. Even at seven, Alex understands orders.

He nervously holds out the toy to them, feeling strange about it. “Here,” he says, to the curly-haired boy. “I’m Alex, like my Dad said,” He bites his lip, trying to fight the nerves that threaten him when none of the kids say anything. The blonde girl and the other boy exchange a look and then advance to take the set out of Alex’s hands, but the curly-haired one doesn’t move.

He hasn’t stopped staring at Alex.

“That one is Michael,” comes a bored voice over the intercom. “The others are Max and Isobel. Play with them.”

Alex frowns at the order, which seems to be the right thing for the other kids to see. Suddenly, Michael is all smiles and friendship, holding out his hand for Alex to take. Alex does, being led to the corner where there are a few blocks that look like they’ve been picked up from a discount bargain bin, but as Michael sits down with them, Alex sees that there are scribbles on them in pen.

They look like fancy math equations, the kind that he’s seen in Hunter and Harlan’s books. Alex’s eyes widen as he stares at the alien and thinks, that’s so cool.

He doesn’t understand why his Dad is so scared of them. They just want to play with blocks and be smart. Alex smiles as Max and Isobel approach and sit with them to assemble the Lego planet in the kit that he’d brought.

Eventually, his time is up. As he goes, Michael holds out the completed spaceship to him, but Alex shakes his head.

“You should keep it,” he says, because his father had wanted Alex to give it to them to build, but he’s the one who wants them to keep it. It’s almost Christmas and everyone deserves a gift for the holidays, especially if they’re stuck in a terrible old prison like this. Alex doesn’t understand it, not entirely, but maybe they’re here to be safe?

Maybe it’s to protect them.

“It’s for you. From me,” Alex insists again, holding out the spaceship. “Happy holidays, Michael.”

Michael takes it and holds it in both hands, staring at it reverently. Alex makes eye contact with him once more before he goes, but he’s giddy on the drive home, chattering to Flint about how they’d played and the spaceship they’d built. He can see his father’s unhappy expression in the mirror, but Alex doesn’t care enough to stop.

When he visits next week, the spaceship is gone from the white room.

Alex catches the steely look on his father’s face and decides not to ask.

He already knows what happens when Dad gets upset. Maybe it’s better if he just pretends that it got lost, because then no one has to get hurt.

*

10

Once Michael started talking, the guards joke that he won’t shut up.

Alex has been busy at school, but he wants to make sure to get there for the holidays because he hasn’t seen Michael since Thanksgiving and there’s a lot to talk about. Plus, he’s got a great gift to share this year, bringing the tape player with him.

He doesn’t get a chance to give it to Michael, though, because the guards take it from him. “It’s a present!” he protests. “They let me bring food to him.”

“This is different. Too many electronic parts,” the guard says without looking Alex in the eye.

He might only be ten, but he can tell that there’s something like fear in the guard’s eyes. Alex wonders what it is that they’re scared of, including what they think that the aliens would do if they had the electronics in their hands.

He doesn’t need to wait long to find out.

When Alex gets to the glass that separates him from Michael, his eyes widen with wonder. Michael’s in the testing lab, sitting on a chair with a testing cap on, and he’s juggling three pieces of fruit – and he’s doing it all with his mind.

“Whoa,” Alex breathes out. “You’re like a Jedi.”

The two doctors glare at Alex over their shoulders when orange, banana, and pear all go colliding to the ground. “Alex!” Michael says excitedly the moment he sees him. He tries to wriggle free, but they stop him, even though Alex turns to the guards with the fiery look of a Manes heir.

“Let him go,” he imperiously demands.

The guards exchange a look, like they’re not entirely sure what they should be doing. Alex sucks in a breath through his teeth, his anger building. His father runs this whole prison, he’s the youngest son, and one day this is going to be his to oversee. He plans to change a lot of things and if these guards aren’t careful, Alex is going to remember them.

“Let him go,” he repeats, his voice icy, “or you may not like it when I complain to Dad that you didn’t listen.”

That seems to do the trick. They dismantle Michael from all the wires and trappings and step aside when Alex rushes in, even though he loses the battle of giving the present to Michael. He throws himself into an embrace, even though the guards shout at him, and holds him tight.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get you the gift.”

“You got me unhooked,” Michael says quietly. “It’s the only gift I want. Thank you, Alex.”

That sends a weird, bad feeling through Alex. Not for the first time, he wonders if maybe he and his family are the bad guys here. It’s an uneasy revelation to have, but as he watches the guards escort Michael back to the cell, he thinks that they look like stormtroopers and it’s never been clearer.

So what does that make his father?

Who does that make him?

*

16

Alex has been sitting with his back to the glass, sniffling, for the past hour. His Dad doesn’t know he’s here, because his Dad is overseas. It’s just him and Flint at the house, which makes for a terrible Christmas. He’d come straight to Caulfield, where he’s been sitting with Michael, since the guards refuse to let him out so that Alex can see him and hug him.

“He’s an asshole,” Michael says.

Funny how that doesn’t make Alex feel any better. “He was my best friend,” he protests, his voice wobbly as he thinks about all the terrible things that Kyle said about him. He sniffles and shifts so that his shoulder is pressed to the glass as he presses his hand to it, wishing that he could be with Michael.

The glass can be opened, but he’d need a guard to do it for him, and then Dad would know that he’s here without permission. It’s better that there’s some distance, even if it’s the last thing that Alex wants.

“It’s all because of who I like,” he gets out, not thinking.

Because then Michael asks, “Who do you like?” and Alex freezes.

Kyle knows about Caulfield because of his father, and knows all about the curly-haired alien that Alex has taken a shining to. He knows who Michael is, so when he’d caught Alex with his hand on his dick and moaning his name, he’d known instantly who Alex had been thinking about. Then the bullying had grown worse and now Alex is here, and it’s almost Christmas, and the only present he wants is a kiss from Michael, but he can’t have it.

“Does it matter?” he whispers, and he feels like he’s answered with a name by not answering at all, staring up at Michael with sad eyes.

There’s a wall of glass that separates them. There’s his father’s ideology and the threat that the aliens are supposed to represent. It doesn’t matter that Alex is deeply in love with one of them, it’s never going to change.

“If I ever get out of here,” Michael says.

“When,” Alex cuts him off.

“If I ever get out of here,” Michael reiterates, and starts on a fantasy that he’s been telling Alex since he was thirteen. “You’re going to take me for burgers, and then we’ll go watch a movie, and when we see Valenti, I’m going to punch him so hard in the face that he’ll wish he had someone to kiss it better.”

Alex can’t help the way he smiles at Michael and he lets his fingers slide over the glass, stroking it lightly. “He made me feel so angry, but I know it’s because I can’t change it. I can’t change this,” he whispers.

It’s almost Christmas, and all he wants is Michael.

“One day,” Michael says wistfully. “It’ll be Christmas and I’ll get to hold you.”

“If,” says Alex glumly.

This time, it’s Michael who responds fiercely with, “When,” and gives Alex a look that puts the matter to rest.

*

18

“Alex, you can go in.”

Alex glances over his shoulder to his father, confused why he’s being led down a different hallway than usual. Every month when he comes to visit lately, he gets to spend the time with the three aliens in a small room where they talk about the outside world, Alex plays them songs on his guitar, they end up doing homework together, and they talk. He’s started to question it recently, why they’re being treated the way they are.

Why is his father keeping them separate like this? Why is he treating them more like students than prisoners? There’s been a sick thought in the back of his head that maybe he’s trying to convince them over to their side, like maybe Jesse wants their powers for his own selfish intentions.

Still, Alex doesn’t know why there’s a change of pace today.

When he enters the small room, he finds a large bed, the lights dimmed, and the smell of lavender and roses permeating the air. There’s also Michael sitting on the bed, in a soft sweater and a pair of sweatpants. “Michael…?”

“Hey,” Michael replies, his smile lazy and his pupils dilated.

He’s been drugged.

Alex feels his stomach twist and drop out from under him. He can see the supplies on the nightstand past the twinkling holiday lights, and he instantly knows why he’s been brought here. It looks like the crush he’s been developing on Michael isn’t as secret as he’d thought. He’s not the boy he was at six. He knows better now, and knows that his father wants to study something, and wants Alex to be a part of his legacy to help.

Maybe he thinks Alex has been faking his feelings.

Or maybe he’s just intending to capitalize on them in order to learn more about the aliens. Either way, it makes him sick and he moves to sit beside Michael, threading his fingers through Michael’s and holding his hand. There’s a camera in this room somewhere, but he doesn’t have time to try and dismantle it.

Besides, he’s only starting to learn those skills (under his father’s nose). He doesn’t trust what would happen if he fails while under his supervision.

“You smell so good,” Michael mumbles, turning to press the tip of his nose to Alex’s neck, breathing out softly and pressing kisses there as he bears in on him. It’s the first time that Michael has ever touched him like this and Alex is only human.

He’s human in a room with a drugged alien, one that he’s fantasized about for years.

Alex really doesn’t think that it’s his fault that he moans when Michael’s tongue gets involved in the biting little kisses to his neck. It takes every last ounce of strength he possesses to put both hands on Michael’s shoulders and push him away. When he does, it seems to break something in Michael, who whimpers in a fucking desperate way, trying to climb into Alex’s lap.

“Please,” he begs, staring at Michael. “Not like this.”

“No?” Michael sounds rough, but he searches Alex’s face, trying to break through whatever it is they dosed him with.

Alex shakes his head wordlessly, not sure that he can verbally tell Michael no again. He knows how weak he is, he knows how badly he wants this, so all he can do is shake his head and hope that Michael is stronger than he is. It does the trick. Michael wraps his arms around Alex and pulls him in close, but he stops. He bears him to the bed, wraps his leg around Alex’s waist, and holds him tightly.

Alex’s lashes flutter against his cheek as he closes his eyes and hopes that he can make this last.

It doesn’t. Of course it doesn’t. They’re still in a prison and no matter what special treatment and task Jesse has in store for them, Alex isn’t allowed any tenderness. When the guards hustle in and pry Alex off of Michael, there’s a sob that comes from Michael, but Alex feels his own choked version in the back of his throat.

They drag him out and push him towards Jesse Manes, standing at the end of the hallway.

One look at Jesse’s face tells Alex that he failed whatever this test had been meant to be. He doesn’t even determine him worthy of a dressing down. He sighs, shakes his head, and then walks off to call for one of Alex’s brothers.

Alex watches him go and thinks about how Michael had felt in his arms. He thinks about how in a few days, it will be Christmas and Alex will be at a dinner table with his father and not the person he loves.

He makes a promise that day.

There’s no more ifs about it.

Alex is breaking Michael and his siblings out of this prison. He doesn’t know when, but he refuses to leave them in here for the rest of their lives. They want him to follow in the Manes family footsteps and serve a legacy, but he has plans of his own.

He’s going to get Michael out of this prison so they can have a life together.

Let that be his legacy.

*

22

Alex waits outside the door nervously, gift in hand.

T’is the season, but he’s still feeling completely unnerved about everything.

“Can I come in?” he asks, knocking on the bedroom door. It’s his apartment, but it’s Michael’s bedroom, and after the escape from the prison, there are some things that he tries to be cautious about. Even though it’s been months, Alex still wakes up feeling like he’s in the middle of that nightmare.

The smoke, the shouting, the shooting – it’s all there in his nightmares where he can’t avoid them, but he’d managed to get out Max, Isobel, and Michael before the alarm had been triggered. The rest of it is up in smoke – including the rest of Michael’s family.

It had taken some of Alex’s with it.

It’s cruel to think, but Alex is okay with his father being buried under his life’s work. Thinking back to all the terrible things that Jesse had done over the years makes him okay with it. Remembering all the ways that Jesse had used him like a pawn is what makes him truly enjoy the knowledge that Caulfield had brought Jesse down with it.

There’s a long pause, then a quiet, “Yeah,” that gives Alex the determination to head inside.

When he heads inside, he sees Michael curled up with the blankets. Max and Isobel have just left, so there’s the shreddings of wrapping paper around him and there’s still a glittery red bow in Michael’s curls that Alex fondly picks out. The twins had seemed okay when they’d left, but Alex suspects them having each other is what’s making it easier for them.

Still, Michael has Alex, and he’s determined to do right by him.

“What’d they give you?”

Michael reaches over to lift up a cozy looking sweater. Alex takes it in his hand and settles on the bed beside Michael to breathe it in. “It’s nice,” he says, and tries to hand it back, but Michael stubbornly refuses to take it. “Michael,” he chastises.

“Wear it? For a little,” is his request. “Please?”

Alex feels his heart pounding in his chest, but he nods as he begins to understand. It’s more of a gift if it comes from Alex, because then it will make Michael feel safe and protected. He tugs it on, mussing up his hair in the process, but he gives Michael an encouraging smile as he shifts onto the bed with him, curling up in Michael’s arms as they lay there.

Even though he has a bedroom of his own, everyone knows that it’s a storage room at best. There isn’t a night that Alex doesn’t sleep next to Michael, both because he wants to and because he’s still paranoid that someone is going to come and take him away.

He knows that won’t happen logically. With his father gone, they’re safe.

And yet, Michael keeps looking for cameras and Alex understands. He knows why they don’t feel safe even if it’s a ghost that’s haunting them. The best he can do is curl in with Michael, giving him the gift in his hand. “Merry Christmas, Michael,” he says quietly.

His father’s will had cleared recently and it turned out that Alex had done an excellent job of faking being the dutiful son taking after his father, despite a few rocky bumps along the way. The will had left a quarter of Jesse’s assets to Alex. At first, he’d refused them, but sounder minds had convinced him to think about it. He’s glad he did, because he’s able to give this gift to Michael.

It’s a slip of paper inside the wrapped box and Michael doesn’t understand.

“It’s for you. If you want, it’s your tuition,” he says, having written a note after he’d put the money in an account with both their names on it. It had taken a lot of hacking to make sure Michael had an identity, but one that’s worth it. “Care of Jesse Manes’ death,” Alex says triumphantly, feeling smug and victorious that his father’s death could give Michael some of his life back.

Michael’s eyes widen and he gets out a surprised sound before he closes his mouth, clearly gearing up to deny it.

“Think about it,” Alex tries to cut him off. “Okay? You don’t have to decide now. The money’s gaining interest, it’ll be there when you need it, when you want it.” He adjusts himself in Michael’s hold, pulling himself in. “I want you to have it. I want you to have school and a normal life and me. I want you to have everything.”

Michael seems to understand that, and he promises to think about it before pressing a kiss to the top of Alex’s head. They fall asleep together in Michael’s bed with the twinkling string-lights dazzling in the window, with Alex in Michael’s sweater and both of them curled up snugly beneath the blanket.

The next day, Michael gives Alex a Christmas present of his own.

He signs up for an undergrad stream in engineering at UNM with the money from Jesse’s death.

It’s the best gift Alex has ever received.

*

23

This year, Alex has a special gift for Michael.

He’s been planning it for months and he thinks that Michael’s probably on to him. Still, if he has, he keeps it quiet as the holidays grow nearer. It’s been over a year since the aliens were broken free of Caulfield and Alex thinks that it’s long enough and that they can get on with their lives.

Or maybe they can start the life they’ve been trying to have since they were little and the glass separated them for the first time. For Christmas, they don’t make big plans. They’re not party people and seeing as Michael is still learning about the world, it’d be too much to take him out for Alex’s big surprise.

Instead, he does what he’d wanted to do when he was sixteen when they sat on opposite sides of the glass. He crawls right into Michael’s arms, exhausted from classes – he and Michael are both at UNM and while Alex wants this, it’s also been a long exam season. “Hey,” Michael says with surprise as Alex burrows in. He puts down the book he’s reading to make room for him, laughing warmly. “That bad, huh?”

“Conserving my energy for the dinner with your siblings later,” Alex says, pretending that he’s completely out of it, even though his heart is pounding and he’s sure Michael will be able to feel it. He’s nervous, even though he has no right to be. “I did want to give your present to you now, though,” he admits, staring at him with a hopeful look in his eyes.

Michael leans over to put the book on the table, rubbing his palm over Alex’s chest. “Yeah, of course,” he agrees with a crooked sweet smile, and gives Alex a wary look. “You okay? Your heartbeat’s racing.”

“Yeah,” Alex gets the word out, but he doesn’t even bother making an excuse. There’s no reason to, especially when he doesn’t intend to drag this out. “When I met you at seven,” he says, “you looked at me and I felt like I knew who I was. It was like you were the one holding all the answers, like you somehow made me know myself better than anyone else could.”

Michael’s sitting up, staring at Alex with an awed look. He already knows where this is going, Alex suspects, but he’s staying silent.

“I let my father believe he had a legacy that would continue on in me, but he didn’t. All I had in that prison was a hope for a future with you,” he says. “And now we’ve got that, a real one, and we’ve been living it for almost two years and I want more. I want to be selfish and stupid and demanding. I want to be owed the fifteen years we didn’t get outside that glass. I want you,” he finishes, and reaches into his back pocket for the velvet pouch where the ring is waiting. He raises both his brows and presents it to Michael with a hopeful look in his eyes. “I want you to be my husband.”

Michael reaches out and reverently lets his fingers slide over the band, a tender look on his face. “…Alex,” he gets out, and his words are choked up, but not with sadness.

That’s the important part.

“Let’s make a legacy of our own,” Alex says, and unearths the ring from the pouch, holding it in his palms for Michael to study. “Our own family, our future, something that no one can take from us, that they can’t separate us from.”

“Yes,” says Michael, fierce and determined as Alex feels, protective of this thing they have – this future, this legacy.

When Alex slides the ring onto Michael’s hand, it doesn’t feel like he’s claiming him so much as making a promise that he intends to keep – no glass, no person, no universe can keep them apart now and Alex will fight to the death to make sure that stays true.