‘She’ll never learn to concentrate on the heart of Christmas, just its garish over-manipulative commercialism.’ Danni looked at the presents piled under the tree and tried gingerly to fit hers in where best she could. Taking the last one from her father, she turned to see the front door open and heard the pattering of small feet as they ran across the polished wooden flooring.


"Auntie Dan! Auntie Dan!" The small tyke of two and a half years screeched as he leaped up into her open arms.


"Hey," the nurse giggled. "Merry Christmas, my little dumpling."


"Berry Chrissmust to you, too." The boy held on as Danni danced him around. "Hi, Grampa!" He waved to her father as they danced by.


"Hello, Gunther." The smiling man waved and teased as he grabbed the young child’s hand. "You got a kiss for your Grampa?"


Danni held the wide-eyed little boy as he stretched to give her father a kiss on the cheek. "Wuv you." Then he put his head down onto his aunt’s shoulder and hid shyly.


The nurse rocked him in her arms and nuzzled her face in his hair. "You’re not afraid of Grampa, are you, Gunny?"


"Danni, I wish you would call him by his name and not that." Brie whisked into the room, her coat bulging as it showed her advancing stage of pregnancy. "Now tell Aunt Danni what your name is."


The little tyke pouted as he looked up into his aunt’s face. "Gunter, Auntie Dan. Mommy says my name Gunter."


"And a nice name at that." Danni could obviously see that the child didn’t like it. "You know that my name is really Danielle, but everybody calls me Danni. That’s why I’m always going to call you Gunny. Okay?"


The little boy eagerly nodded his head and began giggling. "I wuv you." He leaned into her and kissed her cheek.


Danni smiled as she touched her forehead to his. "Merry Christmas, Brie…Mark." She looked out of the corner of her eye to see the couple standing together.


"Auntie Dan, how’s come you smell?"


"Gunther! You know better than that." Brie’s voice was sharp.


Danni laughed at her nephew’s directness. "It’s okay, Sis. I think what he is referring to is my present from Garrett." She tugged at her leather collar. "Is this what you smell?"


The child took a whiff and wrinkled up his nose. "Yeah!"


"So Garrett got you a leather jacket for Christmas." Brie moved closer to see it. "What’s that writing on it?"


Danni looked down at it, her smile stretching from ear to ear. She looked up with all the pride that she could muster. "It’s embroidered: ‘Flight Surgeon Team, D. Bossard R.N.’ Garrett and I are a team."


Brie looked strangely at her sister. "Danni, you don’t fly. You never could." She looked over to her dad. "You remember don’t you? That time you tried to fly us all down to Disney World and we ended up having to drive down instead."


Mrs. Bossard had entered the room as her younger daughter was speaking. Without any hesitation she joined in the conversation. "I was never so embarrassed in my life. As soon as we started to taxi away from the loading ramp she went into a trance. The stewardess stopped the pilot from going any further and made the whole family get off the plane. She said that it wasn’t safe for her to go up in the air."


"Well, I did perfectly fine after Garrett helped me through my first time."


"I bet!" Brie rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, thinking that Danni was naïve.


"Nobody else would have been so loving and kind when I kind of zoned out on the test flight. They would have all walked away from me but not Gar." Danni shook her head. "Not even when I got grounded. Garrett just told Dr. McCormick that we were a team and if they grounded one of us, they grounded both of us."


"So he lifted your ground restriction?" Mark was showing an interest in the story. "I mean, you fly now, don’t you?"


The blonde wrinkled her nose and kind of squinted at her brother-in-law. "Well…not really. I kind of ungrounded us."


"Danni!" Her mother was appalled. "You disobeyed your superior?"


"Actually, Mother, I disobeyed our superior and Gar both. You have to understand the circumstances though. They needed our helicopter and a surgeon for a rescue but Garrett didn’t want to make me get back on the helicopter again. I…I kind of jumped right in and told that surgeon that I wasn’t going to be the excuse for us not to help that patient. Well, the only thing that I can say is that when a patient’s involved, I have no problem flying." She thought about her last statement. "As a matter of fact, I can say that I have no problem doing anything when someone is in need."


Gunny tugged at the blonde’s hair then leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I need a cookie, Auntie Dan." He leaned back and let those huge brown eyes of his look into hers as his lips rolled into a pout.


"Okay, Gunny. Enough talk of flying now. I’ve got to get something out of my car along with my overnight bag." She began to walk out towards the front door, the child still in her arms. "I made some special cut-out cookies just for you."


"You’re going to spoil his dinner Danni." Brie nudged her husband. "Mark, take Gunther from her. He weighs a ton."


The petite blonde shifted her precious cargo to the other arm opposite Brie and Mark. "He’s not heavy. Don’t even think I’m giving him up while I’m home. Right, Dumpling?" Danni kissed his cheek. "Now, let’s go get those cookies." Her face was full of joy and laughter as she went out the door, her nephew held tightly in her arms.



* * *

The ruckus of all the arrivals had finally died down when Mrs. Bossard quietly announced that the holiday meal was ready, requesting everyone to take their seats. As everyone assembled at the table, Brie went from person to person filling the wineglass in front of them with their choice of the local favorites. With the many wineries to the north of them along the shore of Lake Erie, they did not have to go far to find excellent wine. Danni had always, without fail, chosen the special holiday wine known as Kir from the Penn Shore Winery. As Brie readied to pour from the bottle into her sister’s glass, a hand was quickly placed over top of it.


"It’s Kir, Danni, your favorite."


"I think I’d better join you and Gunny this year by having some juice instead. I’m not sure that wine would be a good thing for me right now." ‘With the little bit of sleep that I had after yesterday, I’m going to be lucky to make it to the candlelight service tonight,’ she thought.


Brie looked at her sister for a moment then shrugged her shoulders. "Okay. Mark can you give Danni some of the juice that we poured for Gunther and me?"


"Sure, no problem, hon." Mark was quick to make his way over to Danni’s empty glass, making hers the last one to be filled.


With the bottles resting back in their coolers and everyone seated at their place, Mrs. Bossard began her orchestration ritual of the holiday dinner. Her stately mannerism of nodding politely at the appointed person came from being diligent of the duty that never changed over the years. The first official nod went as always to Danni for the prayer.


Danni smiled in acceptance of the duty and looked to her nephew next to her as she whispered, "Are you ready?"


His little head was eagerly nodding in agreement.


Danni cleared her throat and then looked around the table at the gathered family that was present. "I’m going to break with tradition a little bit this year," she explained. "I’ve asked the oldest grandchild to join me, the oldest child, to give thanks." Her eyes roamed the table looking for any sign of disapproval. Seeing none, she looked over to her nephew. "Gunny, would you please start for us?"


With all of the seriousness that a two and a half year old can have, the boy debated which hand to use, then finally deciding on his right, making the sign of the cross on his body as he spoke. "In the name of the Father," he touched his head, "The Son," his hand moved to his belly, "And the Holy Spirit," he hesitated then touched his left shoulder and moved his hand to the right shoulder. His head turned to look at his Aunt who would fill in the middle part.


"Father in heaven, look down on us gathered here in the name of your Son, whose coming birth we are celebrating tonight. May the goodness of your love and mercy live on in us now, and throughout the year to come with the new life that you have graced our family with. Thank you for the good times that we have shared with family and friends during the past year and we ask that you look down with kindness on those that could not be present with us here tonight. Let them feel the love that is held within our hearts wherever they may be." Danni tapped her nephew on his leg and nodded slightly to cue him for his next part.


Sitting up as straight as he could, the tyke began the sign of the cross again as he repeated his words once more. The immediate response for those gathered around the table was a very content "Amen."


Danni smiled down at her nephew with pride at his performance. It was something that she had practiced with him while they had waited for her brother Matt to arrive.


"You have a way with children, Sis. I’ve tried teaching him that and he couldn’t seem to get it right without confusing the order." Brie looked at her sister, amazed at what she had done in such a small amount of time. "I can just see what your kids are going to be like when you start having them."