▪■▪ Soft flurries of snow spun in the crisp evening air. They spun and danced to a winter tune as they glided towards the frozen earth beneath them. One snowflake in particular, moved by Jack Frost himself, rerouted and landed gently upon a tiny nose, bundled closely to it's mothers chest.
"Joe, please hurry. It's so cold." The mother urged her husband. Her green eyes pleading.
"I'm coming." A tall blonde man answered, carrying bags. The couple soon buckled the baby into his car seat and loaded the bags into the trunk of their SUV. Jack watched patiently from a distance. "This could be it." He muttered. "I just know it."
Alyssa sat in the passenger seat of the SUV, her hand reached out behind her, settled on the top of her son's carseat. Her husband, Joe drove through the familiar streets towards their home. She sighed. Excitement to finally bring their son home was overwhelming. But more so, was the outstanding fear in the back of her mind for her son. He was such a small pale thing that had fought hard for life for 3 months in the hospital. He hasn't even been home yet, she thought, sadly. She was pulled from her thoughts as her husband reached out to her. "Alyssa." His familiar voice warmed her. "Everything will be alright. We're going home." She nodded, slowly turning back around in her seat. Conciously, her hand moved from the carseat and folded into Joe's outstretched hand.
Joe. Her heart whispered. Oh how she loved him. She had never truly felt that anyone could love her with their whole being as she could until Joe. She began to loose herself in thoughts as she watched the flurries of snow in the headlights.
Before she knew it they were arriving at their house. She let out a sigh and a little laughter at seeing that her house had indeed been decorated for the holidays despite their staying in the hospital.
"Looks like your mother got here already."
As they began to unpack the baby and their belongings, Jack Frost skidded to a stop in a tree nearby. His pale hand framed his face in thought and a small smile spread across his lips as he watched the small family enter the house below him. As light as a feather, he drifted down to the window, his breath casting a sheen of snowflakes on the glass pane.
Alyssa cradled her son as tears spilled from her eyes in the warmth of her own house. Her voice shook. "Look tommy. Nana has us all set up."
Around her, lights fluttered and the tree blinked back at them, hung with delicate ornaments. In the hallway leading in towards the living room, a mistletoe hung. She made a small note of how the mistletoe wasn't quite mistletoe but looked more like holly leaves as most bought "mistletoe" seems to be.
She stepped forward and grinned, Joe wrapping his arm around her. As they stood held together, full of hope and relief under the holly leaves, Alyssa tilted her neck and placed a kiss upon the child.
Jack grinned and kicked his heels from the window. "Yes" He whispered with excitement as small golden flecks of light floated from the family and towards the window. He reached down, cupping his hands into the powdery snow and guided the golden light towards the ball in his hand. Despite it being snow, it glowed warm in his hands.
After the light began to fade, Jack revealed in his hands a small puppy with fur as white as snow with holly leaves glistening behind it. The puppy yawned and looked up at Jack with curious eyes.
"Ahh hello little one." Jack cooed. "I've been waiting for you." He pulled the puppy close to him out of instinct and shot away into the snowy night. Jack had first come across Joe and Allysa when she had given birth to their son in the hospital. He was premature and weak but they had held onto his tiny fingers with as much love and hope as possible. And tonight, with the kiss of absolute pure true love under the holly leaves, the holly leaf dog was born.