Song: Oh Holy Night, by- John Williams

enjoy

Scott Summer's POV

"Here let me."

I moved forward to grab the large punch bowl Evie was trying to carry to the dining room table but was quickly rebuffed with a flailing elbow into my ribs and a soft growl from Evie. She scowled up at me as she teetered the precariously full punch bowl about in her small hands and I watched, holding my breath, as the liquid sloshed dangerously close to the top.

"I got it! Don't pester me."

She huffed as she continued or at least tried to continue walking forward balancing the large heavy bowl in her small delicate hands. I was but a step behind the whole journey laying my arms out on either side of her but far enough back where she couldn't fully see what I was doing.

She wobbled back and forth as I stood ready to snatch the bowl at a second's notice. My feline instincts on full alert. But she bravely continued to try carrying the large bowl to the dining room table where we had laid out food and snacks in a buffet style so everyone could just grab what they wanted when they wanted it throughout the day. It simply made it easier for everyone if we didn't have to worry about cooking a big meal if everyone just brought already prepared food.

"Be careful...." I muttered as she skidded onto the hardwood floor from the carpet.

We slowly made our way to the dining room table just a few feet away and Evie looked over her shoulder at me just as she was setting the bowl down,

"Told you. I got this." She beamed with pride.

I was going to answer with a light snide remark when Rachel came bustling through with a plate full of cookies and eyes focused on something in the living room only to bump right into Evie.

It was all in slow motion as the bowl of punch lurched and both Evie and Rachel squeaked as they froze watching it begin to fall to its demise. Without a word I quickly went into motion as I dove forward to grab ahold of the glass bowl and gave a shuddering breath as I watched a puddle splash onto the wood flooring.

But it could have been a lot worse.

I carefully set the bowl on the table before turning to give my little sister a hard glare, "Rachel!"

She shrunk back and attempted to smile sweetly as she carefully hustled to Evie's side and hid slightly behind my mate in hopes of saving herself, "Sorry?"

It came out as more of a question than anything else and I couldn't help the huffing snarl that left me as I rolled my eyes at her.

"What happened?"

I turned my slightly sour gaze to Jordan, Rachel's 'friend', and raised an eyebrow as Rachel all but ran and snuggled into his side. She then went on to tell a giant tale of what had happened seconds ago.

She was quite the storyteller. Our father had more than once compared her to a fisherman.

My muscles were bunched and tensed as I watched the two just about ready to rip them apart before I felt the warm familiar hand of my beloved wife fall onto my chest, "You're going to get an aneurysm if you keep glaring at them like that."

I huffed, "Then maybe I wouldn't have to watch them anymore then."

She chuckled tyring to hide it in a cough as the two in question snuggled closer and started whispering sweet nothings to the other. She noticed my narrowing eyes and looked over her shoulder at the two sickening lovebirds and gave a small grimace. But she just shook her head and rubbed my shoulder tenderly as her eyes wandered down to the puddle on the floor.

She sighed, "I'll get some napkins to clean this up."

I smiled sympathetically and watched as she went back to the kitchen. My eyes roamed her body as she walked and I smiled warmly at what I saw. She was wearing a deep red and white sweater dress with slim black dress pants underneath and slippers on her little feet. Her hair hung loosely only reaching a tad below her chin and held its natural curl to it.

She was beautiful.

"I am sorry you know."

I turned my attention back to Rachel who had gone to grab her plate of cookies and was munching on one as she looked up at me. If I hadn't grown up with her I might have thought she was unintentionally being cute but sadly I had and knew this was one of her tried and true tactics to get out of trouble.

"Yeah, alright." I grumbled.

She smiled in victory and I just shook my head as Jordan looked on at the both of us with a crooked smile.

He wasn't a bad guy... I guess...

He was a bobcat, standing a head shorter than me with thick brown hair, thick rimmed glasses, and freckles. Evie had called him 'geeky sexy' which I didn't exactly know what that meant but I guess he had an air of being smart but also good looking.

I guess...

But Rachel seemed infatuated with him and he with her. Since they had arrived they had practically been inseparable.

Practically.

I had put my foot firmly down when they thought they could sleep in the same room. This was my house, it was my rules, and those rules stated quite clearly that anyone not married to the other slept separately...

That meant Rachel.

So Jordan had been exiled to the sofa, but he had taken it well and calmed Rachel's initial fury and assured her he didn't mind. I guess I had nothing against the guy, he hadn't really done much to incur my dislike but I think it was simply the fact that he was dating my baby sister.

The sister who had spent her childhood getting into trouble one way or another by falling for a different guy each week.

She wasn't promiscuous by any means or had ever been thought of as anything but a 'good girl' it was just childhood fantasies about boys that drove her head first into adoring romance in any form. She had never actually loved any of them.

That is until Jordan...

Apparently they had met in Sociology class and that was the end of it.

Ugh...

I just shook my head as the two cooed at each other as they went back to the living room. I grumbled and decided to go see where Evie had ended up instead of following the two lovebirds. I found her easily enough when she soon came back out of the kitchen and cleaned up the mess that we had made on the floor. I followed her back into the kitchen.

She seemed slightly tense as she threw the dish towel into the sink and I walked up behind her and rubbed her slim shoulders as she sighed leaning her hands against the counter.

"It never gets easier. No matter how much you try to plan it never gets easier."

I chuckled because I knew she was talking about having our families over for the holidays. But I also knew her words were spoken fondly of the trials the holidays brought because I knew all too well how much she loved Christmas and spending it with family. Sure it was sometimes a pain in the ass but in the end we still loved each other.

I wrapped myself about my beautiful wife and kissed her gently upon her curls and let my fingers wander along her flat stomach knowing by instinct that there was a little life growing inside.

She hummed as she placed her hands on top of mine and followed my lazy circles as I hummed a soft, made up lullaby.

"This time next year we're going to be parents..." She whispered fondly.

I smiled at the thought and laid a warm kiss against her neck loving the soft minty smell that was Evie.

When we had told the family they had been ecstatic. The mothers and Rachel had screeched and flooded Evie with questions as the fathers patted me on the back and congratulated me, Jordan just stood in the background smiling. Rachel in particular seemed very happy for us and wanted to voice it many times but I had a feeling she was more happy about the fact that our news overshadowed her bringing a stranger to Christmas...

"Yeah..."

She chuckled at my hanging words and turned to look up at me with her crystal green eyes, "Worried?"

I shrugged feeling that soft tug in the pit of my stomach that I had felt the last month every time I thought about being a dad. It wasn't a bad tug... just a tug...

But then after the tug I would be filled this type of gooey warmth that would cause me to smile as I fantasized about a little Evie and me running about on Christmas morning, rushing down the stairs to go and see what Santa had brought them. The thought of teaching them how to walk, how to talk, showing them how to catch a ball or build a snowman filled me with a type of joy I had never known existed.

It was a joy relatable to the joy I felt when I was with Evie. It didn't overpower that joy but seemed to meld with it making me feel for the second time in my life, complete.

The first had been when I had married Evie.

I smiled warmly as Evie patted my arm, "It's okay to be worried Scott. I'm a little worried too... But I think that just means we're starting to know what it means to be parents..."

She beamed up at me and I couldn't hold myself back from kissing her square on her delectable rosy red lips. She hummed against me as we swayed back forth in the middle of the kitchen to our own imaginary music.

"I love you Evie Summers."

She giggled as she turned in my arms and wrapped her arms about my neck giving me a light kiss on the nose, "I love you too Scott Summers."

We snickered together like two teenagers stealing kisses behind their parents backs and I held Evie close to me knowing that I would never let her go.

Let them go.

Ever.

"How bout we go and watch some Christmas specials?"

She smiled with a soft sparkle in her eyes and nodded. We didn't disentangle completely but instead walked with Evie safely tucked under my arm and my hand cupping her waste. We made our way to the living room and before we entered she muttered, "If we can get the remote away from your father that is."

I laughed as we came into the medium sized room with a loveseat, a couch, two recliners, a 70 in. Flat screen TV, and a shimmering Christmas tree.

My father was exactly where I had left him two hours prior. Leaning back in a recliner with a cup of coffee securely held in his hands and his full focus held on watching a football game. My mother sat next to Evie's mom as they shared tips on how to crochet different things while they crocheted scarves, Evie's father was dozing off in a recliner, as Rachel and Jordan cuddled on the loveseat.

It was a warm scene of familial love and acceptance that filled me to the brim. I knew I was blessed to have my parents and in-laws get along so well, I knew quite well that not everyone had that. Our parents had liked each other from day one and even went on their own holidays together whenever they got the chance.

I moved forward and snatched the remote from my father who didn't notice a thing before I sat down in the last remaining rocking chair as Evie settled onto the ground between my legs with a blanket and pillow.

I started to click through the channels and my father quickly turned to look accusingly about the room before his eyes met with me.

"Hey!"

He was about to continue but my mother quickly shushed him, "You've been watching those silly games all day. Let someone else have a turn."

He grumbled but said nothing more as I silently chuckled along with Rachel as we both knew my father would never say a word against our mother in fear of her retribution.

I flipped through the channels before I came upon a Christmas marathon of all of the old Christmas shorts.

"Oooh, these are good."

I put down the remote at Evie's happy words and leaned back as Evie used my knee as a pillow as she watched the old cartoons.

Everyone seemed to quickly be enraptured by the old cartoons and soon everyone was fully immersed only moving to go get more food. I ran my hands through Evie's soft curls feeling the hair slip through my fingers as she softly purred beneath my fingers.

I sighed as I leaned down and kissed the top of my beloved wife's head and thanked whoever was up there for giving me such a wonderful Christmas.

Because whoever it was they sure as heck delivered.