Mason was settled into bed for the first night of Winter Holiday, he'd been drained from the past two days of un-packing and meeting his new little sister, and basically getting back into the flow of things before he went to work tomorrow. He grabbed a sheet of parchment and a blue pen and wrote a quick letter to Katherine.


He grabbed a box of colored pencils off his desk and drew, to the best of his ability, Katherine.


Mason opened a window after tying the parchment closed with a blue ribbon from one of his mother's sewing boxes that she never used anymore. He'd have to buy a  royal blue roll tomorrow with some money he'd saved up over summer holiday that he'd kept from himself. He whistled for one of the many neighborhood owls and the Lotusorder's daughter's owl came cooing at the window.

Sonny tied the two pieces of parchment to the owl's leg and shooed him away, sending him off with a small treat in his mouth.

Katherine heard a tapping nose at the window of her balcony and got out of bed cautiously, noticing the owl at her window. A smile crept onto her cheeks, knowing that the letter was from Mason.  The blue ribbon gave it away. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and ran to retrieve the letter. She let the owl rest on her balcony with a snack in its beak as she untied the two pieces of parchment. The drawing brought a smile to her face, and the letter made her feel and that she couldn't be there to make Mason feel better. A spark of jealousy also cropped up as she thought about him telling Chloe about his troubles before her, but she couldn't assume things that she didn't really know about. She pulled out a quill, and scratched a quick letter to Mason as the clock on her wall told her that it was midnight. --- After writing the letter, she rolls up the parchment and ties it off with a red ribbon, securing it firmly to the unfamiliar owl who was asleep on her balcony. She prodded the bird, who looked up at her and went back to sleep. Katherine, not knowing what to do, returned to bed. The owl woke up and delivered the letter three hours later after it's short and restful nap.

Katherine Beckett
Beckett Estate

Mason Hawkins
Oulton Broad, Suffolk, England

December Twenty-second
Dear Mason,

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles, but don't worry, I'm sure Melody will grow on you. And thank you for the drawing, I'll keep it in my desk at home for when I'm missing you and your lack of artistic talent! (I'm just teasing you, Mase.) But really, do not get too worked up over Melody. I'm sure she is a sweet girl and that you two will grow close. Maybe one day she will understand what you are; and you can't just write her off simply because she looked at you funny. Trust me.

I don't have much to report. My grandparents informed me today that Alexander is coming to stay here for a few days. I wish it were you instead, but my grandparents would probably kill us both if you stepped foot on the grounds. Anyways, I'm guessing that on Christmas Eve, I'll be retreating to my room early to avoid the rest of the people attending my grandparents party. It's not even a fun party, we have to dress up in formal robes and actually look presentable. And there's dancing. Which is no fun when your dance partner constantly talks about his future. (Just saying.)

I'll try not to get engaged without you. [Katherine chuckles slightly at this and continues to write, a smile on her face.] Still just teasing you, Mason. I'll write you again soon, but I can only owl you at night when everyone is asleep. Good luck at work tomorrow, and don't worry too much about Melody. I'm sure you'll be a great brother.

With love,

Katherine Beckett

Mason read Katherine's letter that morning where he found it on his window sill. Melody walked into the room and pulled him out of bed, he tossed the letter onto his desk.

Much, much later that evening, Mason sat down at his desk, exhausted from work and wrote a long letter to Katherine.

After heading up to her room for a quick breather, Katherine sees the still unopened letter from Mason on her desk. She’s completely frazzled and almost trips over the hem of her dress as she runs to open, and read, the letter. But the letter makes her smile, and she pens a reply immediately, sending it off with her family’s owl. The sassy little black owl accepts the letter when Katherine ties it to her leg, and takes off the moment the white ribbon is tied off, disappearing into the black night.

Katherine Beckett
Beckett Estate

Mason Hawkins
Oulton Broad, Suffolk, England

December 23rd, 2009

Mason,

Sorry I’m getting back to you a bit later than normal, but things have been a bit hectic around here. (And oh gosh, don’t even think of getting me something for Christmas. Really! Just send me more letters to keep me sane, please!)

Alexander has been here all day long. (And you are much more dashing than he is, in case you were wondering.) He arrived earlier this morning, and his parents arrived this afternoon. He isn’t as snobby as I probably made him sound before, but he definitely has a bit of a superiority complex. (And please, you have my permission as of this moment to ruin any wedding involving Alexander and I. Please. The look on his face would be priceless.)

I’m glad to hear about Melody! She seems like a sweet girl, I’m sure you won’t be able to get rid of her now that she’s got you wrapped around her little finger! Did you really buy all the books she wanted? She’s going to love you forever, Mason.

How is everything else? Besides Melody and your new found sibling relationship. Have you seen Rohan around? (You have my permission to be violent if he annoys you, I really wouldn’t mind if he mysteriously disappeared…) And how’s Chloe doing? I know she was talking about her boyfriend the other day, are they still together? You know me; I’m just trying to keep up with all your fun neighborhood gossip.

I need to run, I’ve locked my door to keep everyone out while I write to you, but I can only hold off the persistent aristocrats so long!

With love,
Katherine Beckett

Mason brought Katherine's letter with him as he sped off in his car for work. He read it at the counter of the Crooked Shelf. He smiled and started scribbling down a quick poem. When he got home, he was informed of little Jack Windell's mother was murdered by his father. Mason had babysat the poor kid once or twice. Mason was feeling a little depressed as he sat down to write to Katherine.

Katherine Beckett
Beckett Estate

Mason Hawkins
Oulton Broad, Suffolk, England

December 24th, 2009

Dear Mason,

I’m so sorry to hear about that! That is simply horrid and I cannot believe that something so atrocious could happen in such a quiet neighborhood like yours… Will the son be alright? Do you know if he has family to go to? Is Cynthia going to bring him in like she does to every other child in need of a home, like you told me before?

Sorry, that was a lot of questions. But Merry Christmas Eve! It’s only five o’clock, and my grandparents are busy talking to guests, who are arriving right now actually. I should probably change out of my sweatpants… maybe in five or ten minutes. Or twenty.

Thank you for the poem! Even if it is sort of really sad, I like it when you write them! I hope nothing is stressing you out too bad, just think happy thoughts! (I know, my advice is terrible…)

Sorry if my owl bit you, she’s been biting people more often lately. But I think it’s just because she doesn’t like Alexander any more than I do and she is in a terrible mood. It was really funny though, Alexander and I were walking outside, and Nyx (the owl) just flew up and bit his ear! And drew blood! I know it’s terrible, but I laughed really hard. I shouldn’t have, because it was unladylike apparently.

How’s Melody? Is she excited for her first Christmas with you guys? Give her a hug for me!

Katherine

Katherine Beckett
Beckett Estate

Mason Hawkins
Oulton Broad, Suffolk, England

Dear Mason,

Sorry I’ve been so distant and haven’t sent a letter, it’s just… I’ve had a really rough day. Sorry. Well, actually Christmas Eve was really lovely. A few relatives traveled to come to celebrate with us and a few adorable little second cousins I didn’t know existed arrived. Two little girls in matching dresses, I think they are twins but I couldn’t be sure. They followed me around the entire night and I got to teach them how to dance. It was a welcome relief from all the pressure. Because hey, once the eleven year olds take their shoes off, it was appropriate for me to take my shoes off! And nobody thought anything of it because they thought I was just doing it to be nice to the girls!

I just, I wish that you were here. I could teach you how to dance, and I could make you wear a bowtie that matches my dress and it would be stupid and perfect. We could piss Alexander off and maybe push him into the fountain or feed him to my goldfish. There are quite a few goldfish actually, I’m sure they could make quick work of him.

Thank you so much for the cookies and the present, I’m sending one along with this owl even if it is a little bit late.

Hope to see you soon,
Katherine Beckett

Attached is another small cardboard tube, rolled up inside is a copy (not original) of Katherine's favorite Marvel comic complete with a million tiny sticky notes with all of her thoughts on every single page.