Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is a short story in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. It is implied to have taken place after the as-yet unreleased Peace Talks, but could potentially be set any time after Cold Days as it contains heavy spoilers for that novel. It was originally posted on jim-butcher.com as "a gift for [Jim Butcher's] fans" on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 2018, but was read so many times that the host website crashed. It was later reposted as a Google Document on Christmas Day, December 25th, 2018. It may be viewed here.

Plot
Harry Dresden and Mouse are staying up assembling a present for Maggie. Throughout the night Dresden is visited by several people, including three prominent figures from the Winter Court. Each of the courtiers provides a gift to Dresden, either for Dresden himself or for Maggie by proxy.

As Dresden receives these gifts and assembles his present for Maggie, he reminisces about past events. During the second courtier's visit, his thoughts turn to "Pain. So much pain", "blood on asphalt", and how "six months was not a long time in which to say so many goodbyes". The second gift shows him "the costs of medical care for tens of thousands, and funerals for thousands more", and Dresden did not want to even think about "the peace talks".

After completing Maggie's gift, Dresden receives one last visitor. This visitor gives Dresden a much less macabre, if no less thoughtful, gift, one that brings to mind thoughts of Dresden's childhood. Dresden remembers the last Christmas he spent with his father, so vividly that "the memories of those Christmas mornings, of the laughter and hugs and the play, ran through [Dresden's] mind in IMAX".

Just as the last visit comes to a close, Maggie wakes up to see who it is, much to her surprise. Father and daughter then run outside to watch as the final visitor ascended into the air and drove out of sight.