A Saurian Christmas

Azhem looked towards the terminal waiting area as they were flying into the facility, and told her that Conh and Lekh hadn't arrived yet.

Transport pods were flying in and out of the building. Incoming pods flew in, turned around and parked, while outgoing pods lifted up off the ground then flew off.

They went to the waiting area to sit down and wait. Each had trouble walking due to her broken ankle and his broken leg, but they were managing nonetheless. They pushed the hand cart with their belongings, both of them using the cart handle as a type of crutch.

Both used crutches, which they'd put on the cart as they walked to the waiting area, but preferred to hobble or limp whenever possible. Aredhiel scooted herself up and down steps rather than using her crutches and hopping.

His friends arrived a few minutes later, arriving in their family's travel pod, a family-sized shuttle. They were both thrilled to see Azhem and ran to him, hugging him before he could even stand up.

They hugged Aredhiel, welcoming her. Conh wheeled their hand cart to the pod, then he and Lekh helped them both inside.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the family home. Conh parked the pod in the landing spot in their parkway.

The yard and outside of the house were fully lit up with Christmas lights and numerous decorations.

He then helped Azhem walk from the parkway into the large, sprawling, two story home. Lekh walked next to Aredhiel, chattering away.

Once they were all inside, Conh closed the door behind them while their children greeted their uncle.

"Look at all of you!", exclaimed Azhem, smiling broadly. Putting aside his crutches for a moment, he hugged them all tightly, kissing them on the cheek. "It's so nice to see you all again!"

"Well look who's finally home where he belongs!", a woman's voice called out.

"Lexia!", Alynx said, hugging Conh's sister, who'd swiftly rushed up and thrown her arms around him.

After they ended the hug, he said to everyone,

"I'd like all of you to meet Aredhiel. Aredhiel, I'd like you to meet my dearest friends."

They then walked, slowly, into the spacious and comfortable Gathering Room and sat down on the dual-recliner sofa.

For a family that was very wealthy, Lekh and Conh's Gathering Room was not at all ostentatious, as some might expect.

The light brown carpeting was soft and plush, the 6-foot tall double bay window was treated with floor-length light yellow drapes.

The sofa was plush with a nice pale blue washable fabric which came in handy when their younger kids, and Conh, got abit too rambunctious and spilled things on it.

There was a square glass coffeetable trimmed in light-brown wood directly in front of the sofa. A large-screen was on the wall opposite the sofa.

There was a cushioned chair to the left of the couch as you walked into the room as well as two recliners between the coffeetable and the window.

They were a couple who did alot of entertaining, so having plenty of sofas and chairs for their guests to sit on was essential.

On the Gathering Room walls were family pictures and curio shelves filled with knick-knacks the couple had collected during their travels over the years.

In the corner to the left of the bay window was a built-in curio cabinet made from cherry-wood. This was also filled with knick-knacks and mementos.

A brightly lit, beautifully decorated Christmas tree stood in front of the window. The entire inside of the home was festively decorated.

All-in-all, the home was extremely comfortable and very inviting, Aredhiel thought to herself. She had never seen Christmas decorations, and thoroughly enjoyed them.

“Would you like some iced tea?", Lexia asked them. "I have a wonderful herbal berry tea as well as a black orange pekoe tea. Which would you like?"

"I'd like the berry tea please.", Aredhiel replied, gazing with wide-eyed wonder at the decorations, especially the tree.

"I'll have black orange pekoe please.”, Azhem said.

He and Aredhiel sat together on the couch, their injured limbs resting on a pillow on the coffeetable.

“So, Azhem and Aredhiel, how did you two meet?”, Conh asked.

“I was on Leave on Sauria. I saw her being attacked by mutants, and rescued her. I was quite intrigued when I saw her. When my Leave was over, I brought her back with me to the ship.”

“How badly damaged is the ship? We heard bits and pieces on the news. Is it as bad as we heard?”, Conh asked.

”I doubt our ship can be repaired. It was really bad.“, Azhem replied.

”Have you been told where your next assignment will be?“, Lekh asked.

”No, not yet. There are rumors several crewmembers are being transferred to a deep space station on the other end of Empire territory. I don't care where we end up, just as long as I can fly.

“No matter where we go, it'll probably be another month or so. I have to be able to get in and out of a fighter unassisted. I can't do that yet. They can't have someone there to get me in and out of a fighter. That'd be a waste of manpower.

”Once I get into a walking cast and can manage without crutches, I'll be good to go back to flying wherever they send me. They might transfer me sooner, but I'd continue to be on Medical Leave until I got my walking cast.

“I could do administrative work, but couldn't work in my official capacity as fighter pilot, Group Captain and squadron leader.

”Aredhiel will continue her recovery, plus intensive physical therapy for her hand, wherever we end up.

”Do you and Aredhiel have any plans to have children?“, Conh asked.

”Eventually yes, we would. I'd like us to have a whole squadron of little Ulzuix running around. I love kids. I'm just a big kid anyway.“, he replied, smiling. \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*

Later that night it was time for everyone to get some sleep. Conh had brought their luggage up to a guest bedroom earlier.

To the left as you entered the room was a king-sized bed with an oak bookshelf head-board, end tables on each side of the bed with lamps, and a dresser with mirror across from the bottom of the bed.

There was also a small sitting nook, an en suite bathroom plus a walk-in closet. A bay window with light blue drapes was in the sitting nook. There was also a ceiling fan with a light in the center of the room near the bottom of the bed.

Aredhiel sat down on the edge of the bed on the side farthest from the door. The mattress was as comfortable as the mattress on the ship, she commented to Azhem. He agreed with her.

She exhaled slowly and deeply, a sigh of relief that things had gone so well with his friends. She hadn't been sure if they'd accept her since she wasn't Ulzuix.

“It feels great, and abit strange, to be in this room. This is my old room, the one I always stayed in, you know.

”The night my wife divorced me, this is where I came.

“Conh and I have been friends practically since the day we were born. We're more like brothers than friends. That's why I came here.

”If someone had told me that night that one day I'd be back in this room with a woman who loved me, I'd have told them they were crazy! I was 26 and divorced, robbed of my children, feeling completely unloved.

“My parents and siblings wanted nothing to do with me. My wife had convinced them I was a monster. I was disowned because of her lies. To this day I'm disowned by my family, and have no relationship with them. That night, I was sure my life was over.

“I didn't know what I was going to do. I looked out that window at the stars, trying to come to grips with what had happened that day.

”The next day I requested a transfer, and never looked back. The only family I had was Conh, his family, and my fellow warriors.”, Azhem said, opening up about his heartbreak ten years prior, and the ensuing years.

“I thought your Christmas holiday is about family? That's what I've overheard other crewmembers say.”, Aredhiel said.

“It's supposed to be, yes.”, he replied.

“Will they contact you over the holiday?”

“I doubt it. I'm not considered to be family by them. The only family I've got are Conh and Lekh, their family and, very happily, you.“, he replied, kissing her tenderly.

After taking their pain medicine, they got under the covers, laid down, and turned off the lights on the nightstands.

Azhem laid on his back with Aredhiel laying her head on his chest and her left arm around his waist, his arms around her as well, kissing each other occasionally.

Eventually they fell asleep in that position, and slept straight through the night, not moving once.

The next day Lekh made Azhem's favorite dish and showed Aredhiel how to make it. It was a spiced meat dish wrapped in a large round piece of thin fried bread.

It was filled with shredded seasoned pork, seasoned rice, lettuce, plus seasoned shredded cheese, and covered with a spicy red sauce. It was served with a side of more seasoned rice.

After three full plates, Azhem smiled and said,

“I'm full. I'm so full I'm not going to be able to waddle to the Gathering Room after this meal!".

He then burped loudly, causing the children to dissolve into giggles.

”Excuse me, please.“, he said. Conh and Khalis, their oldest son, followed suit, causing even more giggles.

While sitting, Aredhiel helped Lekh dish up some apple brown, the Aezkhean dessert she and Lekh had made that day, and served it as well.

After a bite or two, Lekh said, "Oh my goodness! Aredhiel, if we end up eating the other pan as well, is there a way you can make another one for Christmas dinner?”

She replied, "Sure, I'll be more than happy to make another if we need one."

After the meal, Lekh said,

"Well, looks like we're going to need another apple brown for Christmas dinner. I can't believe we ate all of that! We've only got about three servings left, if that.“

”Give me a minute or two and I'll take care of those for you.“, Azhem said before burping loudly once more."Excuse me.”, he said in response to all the giggles.

Conh and Khalis then "sacrificed themselves", as they called it, and all three finished the dessert.

They then slowly waddled, with Azhem hobbling on his crutches, to the Gathering Room and parked themselves in the recliners. Within two minutes, all three were snoring loudly.

“Ladies, I think we need a Beauty Night.”, Lekh said to her three daughters and Aredhiel. Everyone agreed. “Go get our nail polish and pedicure kits please, girls.”

She told Aredhiel she was a nail tech and cosmetologist, and offered to paint designs on her nails if she was interested. Aredhiel happily accepted the offer.

Lekh brought a tray with legs over and set it in front of her. The girls brought out their nail polish and sat down in front of her. She did their nails, painting Christmas designs on their ring fingers. She did the same for Aredhiel.

The next day Lekh, Aredhiel, and the girls prepared some of the dishes for Christmas dinner.

The men were ordered to stay out of the kitchen, but Azhem simply couldn't resist.

Under the pretense of checking on Aredhiel, he hobbled over to her, gave her a kiss and, while she was distracted, grabbed two cookies she was cooling on the rack in front of her.

He was immediately shooed out of the kitchen, but not before he grabbed some more cookies for himself and the guys!

”Azhem, you're simply incorrigible!“, said Aredhiel.

”Don't I know it!“, Azhem replied with typical snarkiness when caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, as he handed some of the cookies to the guys.

The next morning, it was finally time to open gifts. The kids were ecstatic.

Aredhiel's gifts included a Christmas card with a gift card, a makeup bag filled with expensive makeup, skincare items, a bottle of perfume from an upscale cosmetics store and other "frilly girly stuff", as Azhem jokingly called it.

Azhem received a Christmas card with a gift card plus toiletries, men's cologne and other more ”manly, un-frilly, un-girly stuff“, as he called it.

It was eventually time for dinner. The menu consisted of turkey, ham, roast beef, sweet potatoes baked with brown sugar and marshmallows, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans with mushroom soup and onions, and dinner rolls.

Dessert consisted of holiday cookies, apple and cherry Apkha, plus banana, apple walnut, and cranberry orange walnut breads that Aredhiel, Lekh, and the girls had made.

Lekh warmed the breads up and served them along with the desserts they'd made.

Everyone enjoyed the gargantuan meal and desserts. Azhem cut Aredhiel's food for her since she couldn't do that yet. She'd be able to in a few weeks.

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