Title: Reminders of You
Characters: Robert Plant
Word Count: 670
Rating: PG
Warnings/Spoilers/Summary: Robert is alone on Christmas Eve, 1977. This is a bonus ficlet (not one that was voted on).

Inspired by Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong


Looking out the window, Robert sighed. The lake glittered with ice; snow covered the hills and trees. Behind him, a Christmas tree glittered with lights and ornaments, wrapped packages tucked underneath. Not nearly enough filled the space. There should have been gifts for Karac, gifts for Summer. But neither were there, for different reasons. As he focused on the moonlight casting silvery shimmers on the snow and ice, Robert could not help but see both his love and his young son twirling in the snow. Sometimes Summer danced with Karac in her arms, though Robert had only seen her with his son once. Other times they twirled separately. But always, always together in his visions.

If it had not been the first Christmas after the loss of Karac, he might not have been there. However, with that very dark spot on his family, Robert could not leave his daughter and wife alone for the holiday. He would have rather been with Summer – though to be honest he had no idea where or whom she was with. Since Karac’s funeral, he lost all contact with her, only briefly seeing her on Thanksgiving. Oh how he missed her.

Sighing again, he pulled away from the window and paced over to the library. His fingers reached up for his favorite copy of Lord of the Rings. Pulling the book from the bookcase, he sat back down near the window, his blue eyes glancing out the window at the frozen landscape. Flipping through the pages without looking, his fingers found exactly what he sought: a hidden picture of Summer. His gaze dropped down to the image as his fingers outlined her face. He had repeated a simple gesture many times in the lonely moments since he had seen her.

Leaving his focus on the stars in her eyes, he looked up to the star on the top of the tree. It was a simply cutout star covered in glitter – that Karac had made the previous Christmas with his sister. It had broken his heart to remove the star from its storage box. For a few moments, he considered not breaking it out of the box, replacing it with something else. However, Carmen convinced him otherwise, so he lifted her up and she placed her brother’s star on the top of the tree. Now as she slept and he looked at the star on the tree, his heart ached more than he thought possible months after losing his son. If he had Summer with him, everything would have been different.

“Oh I miss you now, my love,” he muttered softly.

The large grandfather clock in the foyer chimed, indicating Christmas had arrived. He wished joy and happiness filled the air. If she had been there… if she had been there… He could not be thinking things like that. He needed to focus on the blessings he did have, like his beautiful little girl. He needed to make certain her Christmas, their Christmas was perfect. Therefore, he tucked the picture of Summer back into its safe location, closed the book and returned it to the shelf. His fingers caressed the spine of the book before he turned to the Christmas tree. He needed to help Saint Nicholas visit the household before retiring to his room. Oh how he wished to be spending it with Summer.

Once the stocking were filled and a few other packages signed by Saint Nicholas slipped under the tree, Robert returned to his book. Flipping it open quickly, he smiled at the smiling girl’s visage. With little thought, he lifted the photograph up and gently kissed it.

“Merry Christmas, my love,” he muttered.

With a half smile, Robert tucked the book away once more and headed towards his bedroom, flicking off the single lamp in the room. He slipped into his bed – in a separate room from his wife – and closed his eyes. Within moments, he could feel how Summer’s body felt beside him. That was his one Christmas wish that he knew would go unfulfilled.