The Gift

December 24th 11:21PM

Morgan was in the bathroom when she heard a noise coming from the study. She peered out the door, but the room was dark. Her head tipped to the side, but she returned to washing her hands. With a flick of the light, Morgan exited the small bathroom and made her way across the hall to the study. The door was halfway open, letting a faint light flow through. Gently, she pushed the door open all the way. Cameron was sitting at the desk, his hands holding onto a picture frame, only lit by the soft glow of the computer screen.

"Sir?" Morgan questioned. The older man jumped and dropped the frame onto the desk. He looked up and let out a sigh when he realized it was Morgan standing on the other side of the desk.

"Morgan, you startled me. I thought everyone was asleep," he said, his fingers gently picking up the picture and sliding it into a desk drawer.

"No, Henry just went upstairs a half hour ago or so," Morgan replied, her head tilted to the side.

"Why aren't you with him?" Cameron asked, folding his hands together and letting them rest upon the desk.

"I got put down here, sir," Morgan responded, reaching across her chest with one arm to grab her other arm. Cameron let out a sigh and bowed his head. His knuckles turned white as he grasped his hands tightly.

"Are you okay?" Morgan questioned.

"I, I don't. I made a mistake," Cameron said and looked up at Morgan.

"What do you mean?" Morgan pulled up a chair and sat down, watching the man on the other side of the desk.

"I can't believe I didn't realize it until this afternoon," he began with a shaky voice. "I heard you play that song and she used to play it all the time. I can't remember a Christmas without her playing it on the piano and singing." Morgan bowed her head, realizing why the mood had shifted earlier that day.

"When she died, I couldn't think of anything else. I had to have someone to help out the kids because they all look so much like her that it hurt. The first woman that asked to be apart of my family I let in without even seeing how she treated them," Cameron's voice quivered and shook, tears beginning to build at the corners of his eyes.

"Sir," Morgan said softly and reached across the desk, placing her hand on one of his.

"How could I not have seen it all of these years? How did I not listen to my kids when they told me over and over how she just wanted to take from us and didn't actually care? Why didn't I listen?" He tucked his head and a few tears dripped down his cheeks, landing on the desk.

"Grief affects everyone differently. My cousins, Simon and Alvin, twins, had the same best friend growing up and he died in a car accident when they were fourteen. Alvin went to therapy, broke down for weeks, and then moved on. Simon bottled it up, he never cried, he never talked about it, he erased his friend from his life. He started cutting everyone off, hanging out with people who weren't good influences, and got on drugs. It wasn't until last year he finally broke down when he was at rehab. No one experiences grief the same. It's not too late to fix it," Morgan stated. Cameron sniffled and lifted his head.

"What do you mean?" Cameron asked.

"They're here for you, it's not too late to make it up to them. They all love you, sir," Morgan replied.

"What can I do?"

A smirk began to tug at Morgan's face. "How much are you willing to give up for them?"

"Anything," Cameron responded.

"Okay, here's what you're going to do," Morgan began.

"Thank you, Morgan," Cameron stated as the two walked out of the study. He patted her on the shoulder and she smiled.

"It's no problem, sir," she replied. Cameron grabbed both of her shoulders and turned her to face him.

"Call me Cameron, or Dad, or something that is not as formal as 'sir.' You are absolutely part of this family and so I want you to treat me as such. Come with me," he said, letting go of Morgan's shoulders. He turned and walked towards the stairs, motioning for Morgan to follow. Morgan tipped her head to the side and followed behind Cameron as he led her up the stairs.

"What?" Morgan questioned. Cameron shook his head and continued up to the second floor, turning down the hallway. Morgan gasped in realization and reached out to stop him, but Cameron had already knocked on Henry's door. Henry opened the door, eyelids heavy from being asleep.

"Dad?" Henry asked. Cameron grinned, grabbed Morgan by the shoulder and pushed her into Henry. He grabbed her arms to steady her and she started stuttering, trying to tell him what had happened.

"You should just keep her up here," Cameron said with a wink, watching the two in the doorway. Henry looked from his dad to Morgan, raising an eyebrow. Morgan shrugged and looked back at Cameron.

"Uh, thanks," Henry replied, pulling Morgan into the room and closing the door.

"I'm sorry, he was downstairs and talked to me for a while and then he dragged me up here," Morgan whispered. Henry shook his head.

"Don't apologize, it's okay. You can stay here if you want, if not, that's fine too," Henry said with a sigh. He walked towards the bed and sat down on the edge. "Just wait a few minutes for him to go to bed." Morgan watched Henry's head bow and she looked back towards the door.

"Do you want me on the floor?" She questioned, walking over towards him. Henry looked up at her and shrugged his shoulders, his eyes fluttering, trying to stay open.

"If you're more comfortable, if you're okay, you can just sleep on the other side," Henry motioned to the other side of the large bed.

"Okay," Morgan replied. She climbed up into the bed and crawled across to the other side, sliding underneath the blankets. Henry watched as she made herself comfortable. "Come on," she said and patted the pillow next to her. Henry smiled and shook his head, stretching out into the mattress. He pulled up the blankets over his body and laid on his back.

"Night Morgan."

"Goodnight."