The Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas............. Jack finally relented and cut a few branches from the massive fir tree at the end of the garden, the one he had planted for Noel's first Christmas. Arranging them in a manner he hoped was somewhat artful, Jack headed back out to the shed to find the decorations. Unearthing the boxes from underneath a pile of other crap and a few monstrous spiders, he made it back to the house just as the first snowflakes began to fall.

Jack was grateful to see that Nancy, Noel's support worker, had him washed and dressed in his new Christmas jumper, ready to direct the proceedings. They would be lost without her. Despite all the therapy and a supreme effort on his part, Noel had lost a great deal of movement over the previous twelve months, but he could still raise his right hand, and his beautiful smile hadn't been stolen from his precious face.

Noel turned the full power of his smile onto Nancy, and she started the Christmas music, a selection he had painstakingly curated himself. Mariah's voice trilled brightly around the room, and Jack began removing items from the box. First, the fairy, Tallulah, who had been gracing bits of the tree for 22 years. Jack removed her from a wad of bubble wrap and held her up for Noel to see. He pointed to the highest branch, and Jack secured her safely. Various ornaments followed, each one holding a memory, but one in particular caught Noel's eye, and he reached out for it. Jack passed it over to him. A tiny Christmas angel with the label 'Mummy'. It had been ten years since Rachel's death, but the memories of her flitting around, always on the go, especially at this time of year, hadn't diminished. Jack knelt down by Noel's wheelchair, looking up at him, and Nancy moved away, letting them have their father-and-son moment.

The tree was finished, and Jack switched on the colour-changing lights, declaring that the Hooper household was ready for Christmas and Noel's 22nd birthday. Despite what the specialists had told him, Jack refused to believe that Noel wouldn't live to see 23. "Noel is deteriorating rapidly", they kept repeating, but Jack shut their words out, he didn't need to hear them. With Nancy's help, he moved Noel from the wheelchair onto his pile of floor cushions. Holding up one finger, Jack went into his bedroom, returning with a bag containing something small and wriggly. He set it down near Noel and watched as first two furry paws and then a tiny, black nose emerged.

Jack dropped down beside Noel, who was watching in fascination as the rest of the puppy scrabbled his way out of the bag. Noel had the biggest smile on his face as the miniature Schnauzer clambered onto the cushions and began to lick his left hand, the hand he hadn't moved for over a year. Jack and Nancy watched in amazement as Noel's fingers began to flex and uncurl. With immense concentration, he focused on the tiny movements, finally hooking one figure around the pup's paw. "They live for up to sixteen years, you know," Jack said. "So you've got to stay around at least that long." Noel just gave him a look as the puppy curled into him and fell asleep.