Chapter Description: Christmas and movie night at last! There will be movies, singing, dancing, and SO MUCH FOOD!

December 24, 2006 - Sunday afternoon.

Most of the guests opened their gifts on Sunday morning before traveling to D.C., rather than waiting until they got home after Christmas. Elizabeth was delighted with Bride and Prejudice. "I didn't realize there was an adaptation I hadn't seen yet," she told Neal and Sara on the train from New York to D.C. "Of course there wasn't time to watch it before we left, so I'm looking forward to trying it out when I'm back home."

Neal smiled, more at El's enthusiasm than about the movie. She looked and sounded blissfully happy. He caught Sara's eye and glanced at the box at their feet, filled with the origami he'd folded yesterday.

Sara smiled back and squeezed his hand. "Worth the effort?" she asked softly.

"Absolutely."

###

This wasn't the first time Neal had seen his grandparents' home decorated for the holidays as an adult. Three years ago, he and Henry had let themselves in when the family was away, as part of Henry's campaign to convince Neal to connect with their Caffrey relatives. But the experience was different now, as a fully-embraced member of the clan.

It was beautiful, and noisy, and warm, and comforting. It said home to him in ways he was just beginning to understand. This was what he wanted to achieve, when the remodel of June's mansion was complete. When he and Sara hosted events, Neal wanted their guests to feel this same sense of welcome.

He got it now, why his grandparents felt it was so important to host one last Christmas here.

He gravitated to the kitchen, as he was sure his mother did when she was his age. The caterers had done most of the work, but he supervised the remaining preparation, making sure everything happened in the correct order. He dispatched Noelle, Irene, and Eric to send dishes out to the dining room or to gather items he needed from the pantry. He felt a bit like a sorcerer, adding items to a magic spell.

Angela entered the kitchen with a checklist, and she conferred with Neal to confirm that he had everything under control. She seemed to relax as she checked items off the list. Then she burst into tears.

"Hey," Neal said, taken aback. Suddenly she hugged him. "It's going great," he promised, leaning into the hug while keeping an eye on a saucepan to make sure it didn't boil over. "You got us everything we need."

"I know," she sobbed. "It's perfect." She stepped away and wiped her tears. "It's baby hormones. I keep crying, even if it's happy tears. This is going to be the best Christmas."

Noelle swooped in to deliver another hug for Angela. "Oh, sweetheart. I know exactly how you feel."

"You do?"

Noelle nodded. "This is going to be a magnificent Christmas, and they're going to keep getting better every year. Holidays with a little one are absolutely magical."

"Did you cry a lot when you were pregnant?" Angela asked.

"I had to take a box of tissues with me everywhere I went," Noelle confirmed.

They seemed to have things under control, especially when Angela's mom joined the throng around her, so Neal returned to his cooking wizardry.

Celeste consulted with him on what drinks would best complement the meal, and Neal enjoyed collaborating with Sara's aunt. They were still getting to know each other, and he predicted they would make a habit of discussing the best pairings of drinks with meals.

After the feast was devoured, with leftovers set aside for brunch on Christmas Day, everyone gathered in the living room. Somehow Angela and Peter had procured an easel for a flipchart. Peter wrote everyone's name, while Angela explained the first round of this evening's games: guessing what movies each person had nominated.

"If you've told someone what you nominated, they aren't allowed to tell us what you chose," Angela cautioned.

It was a fun game. Neal suggested that Peter had picked a baseball movie, either Bull Durham or Field of Dreams. In return, Peter said he'd expected that Neal would choose Anastasia, in a nod to a con Neal had pulled over the Christmas holidays in Hawaii two years ago, and that Sara would pick Clueless. Multiple people thought that Noelle's choice was The Wizard of Oz, as that movie had become something of a theme leading up to her wedding with Joe.

Neal had to admire Peter's poker face. If any of the guesses the guests called out were correct, you couldn't tell from his reaction.

In the second round, Peter handed everyone a list of movie titles, printed in alphabetical order. "These are the actual nominations. Write down who you think nominated each movie, and we'll see who gets the closest."

Henry won that round, which was probably for the best, as the prize was getting the first piece of fudge. All of the other guests would have to wait until tomorrow to partake in the candy, but given Henry's love of chocolate, he probably would have stolen a piece tonight if he hadn't won.

"In alphabetical order, first up is A Christmas Carol," Angela announced. "Who nominated that one, and why was it your choice?"

Angela's mother, Paige Caffrey, raised her hand. "That was me." Her connection with the movie was grief. Scrooge's best friend Jacob Marley had died, and Scrooge led a bitter and lonely life afterward, despite the efforts of his nephew to engage with him. "I hope I wasn't as bad as Scrooge," she said, "but I wasn't participating fully in life after David died. My wake-up call was Angela's wedding this summer. I wanted to be fully present for you, and that made me realize how miserable I was making myself. I know your father wouldn't have wanted that."

It wasn't a surprise that Paige's comments set off the waterworks again. This time Angela sat between her husband and her mother while wiping away tears. She hiccuped and said, "That's very touching, but I'm not naming my baby Tiny Tim."

Michael laughed. "I guess this isn't the time to mention that my father's name is Timothy? I was going to suggest that as a middle name."

The guests chuckled.

"Next up is Back to the Future," Peter said.

That was Henry's movie, and he explained the connection between the time travel plot and his love for his husband, Eric, culminating in a conversation that happened earlier in the year when they took a ride in a DeLorean. Neal found it touching to hear Henry's avowal that he wouldn't change the past, because the present held everything he wanted.

"That brings us to The Blues Brothers," Angela said. "I desperately want to know who nominated this. It was one of my dad's favorites, and whoever you are, we must bond over your excellent taste."

Eric raised his hand. "So we're best friends now?"

"Yes, and you have to invite me over to a movie night at your place to watch it. I'll bring popcorn." Angela paused. "I think I'm experiencing my first craving. I need popcorn."

Noelle volunteered to pop some, and they took a break. Soon she distributed bowls of hot, buttered popcorn, and Eric described his love of the music, dancing, and humor in The Blues Brothers.

Sara's aunt was up next. Celeste chose Casablanca because the film had a hero who didn't have a romantic ending, but he walked away with friends and a community where he played an important role.

Sara had selected Christmas in Connecticut. "What can I say? I'm drawn to con artists and complicated cons! And like the heroine, I can't cook." Neal hadn't seen the movie, and he definitely looked forward to watching it with her.

Edmund had chosen Desk Set, saying the sparring between the romantic leads reminded him of his romance with Irene.

Die Hard was nominated by Peter's brother Joe. "It's set at Christmas, and it's about a divorced father willing to go through hell and back to get to his kids. The girls and I often watch it leading up to the holidays."

Angela's choice was Fantasia. "I love how it introduces classical music to kids in a fun, inventive way. It inspires me in my studies, and different segments speak to me at different times. When I'm overwhelmed, the Sorcerer's Apprentice feature always comes to mind, and I remind myself that I don't have to get stuck in my patterns." Then she introduced the next movie: Miracle on 34th Street.

"That's mine," Peter said. "Yeah, go ahead and laugh," he said to Neal. "You've heard me say plenty of times that I don't believe in miracles. But I do believe in having faith in people, in seeing the best in them. I believe in friendship, and family, and love. And I believe in justice, so a story that centers around a court hearing always gets to me. I spent a lot of time over the last week trying to pick the right movie, bouncing between different ones that reminded me of my recent past. I went with this one because it has the optimism I want for my future."

Angela's husband Michael went next with The Nightmare Before Christmas. "We knew you'd think Angela picked this one," he said. "It's the obvious choice for the goth girl, right? But I think it's an even more obvious choice for the guy who fell in love with the goth girl."

Now it was Neal's turn. "I can be a snob about food and art," he said. "But for movies, often I love something escapist that goes over the top. A few years ago, heading into a long con, I needed to pick an alias. I went with Nick Halden, a variation of Nick Holden in Operation Petticoat. He was a guy from the wrong side of the tracks who'd made himself into someone new. I wanted a persona that was slick without being mean or cruel. Someone likable who knew how to work around the system to get what he wanted. By the end of the movie he realized he needed to think more about others, and once he learned that lesson, he found love and success."

"Even our movies have similar themes. We are two of a kind," Sara said.

"Took you long enough to realize it," Henry called out.

"Stop heckling," Noelle told her son. "It's my turn. I'm the one who nominated The Parent Trap." She recounted two charming stories about growing up with a twin sister and occasionally impersonating each other.

Elizabeth had selected the 1940s version of Pride and Prejudice. "As much as I love the more modern versions, this one has a special place in my heart. Much like Darcy and Elizabeth got off on the wrong foot with each other, I actually disliked this movie the first time I saw it. It dared make significant changes to the plot of the novel, and that annoyed me. But over time I realized the changes were charming. I can always re-read the book when I want the original version, and I think it's important to accept — and even celebrate — things and people who don't fit into my preconceived ideas of how they should be."

Irene smiled at her. "I wish you'd been around to advocate for me when I told my parents I wanted to be an actress. That definitely didn't fit with their ideas of who I should be." There was only one movie left on the list, which meant it was hers. "Singin' in the Rain is a bit like the movies Neal and Sara picked. It's exuberant and silly, and there's some not-quite-straightforward dealing going on. And it's like Peter's choice, too, with love and friendship and optimism. I adore musicals, and I had the opportunity to work with Gene Kelly on one of his earlier films. Such a dear man."

Neal chuckled. "Talk about a personal connection to a movie!"

Irene blew him a kiss and then bowed theatrically.

"I want to watch them all," Sara declared.

"Me too," Irene agreed. "When Edmund and I get settled in our new home, I want to buy each of the movies we don't already have. Then we can entice all of you to visit and watch them with us."

Angela held a sealed envelope. "And the winners are..." She opened the envelope. "Miracle on 34th Street and Singin' in the Rain! That will be tomorrow's double feature."

###

Monday began with a brunch that Neal was particularly proud of. As with dinner, he took the lead on directing things in the kitchen, and while he acted as the culinary conductor, Irene told him about the past Christmas that had inspired this meal. It helped Neal feel a deeper sense of connection with his mother as he recreated her dishes.

When the feast came to an end, Sara slipped away to get the gift-wrapped box she and Neal had brought.

"We said no gifts," Edmund objected.

"This is more an offer than a gift," Henry explained. "It's from me and Neal and Sara. From Win-Win, really."

Sara handed the box to Angela. "We'd like to have you open it, and then you can pass it around for everyone to pull something out of the box."

Angela shook the present. "It's so light. There are actually multiple things inside?" She tore into it, pausing to place the bow on her husband's head. When the box was open she said, "Oh! How cute!"

The box was filled with the origami Neal had folded. Everyone took an animal from the box, and then they passed it around again until all of the animals were claimed. "Unfold them," Neal directed, "and tell us what's written on the paper."

"Unfold them?" Celeste said. "But they're so perfect."

"I can refold them if you want," Neal promised.

Each origami animal had the name of a children's movie, and the guests exclaimed in delight at fond memories.

"What's the offer you mentioned?" Angela asked.

Henry grinned. "One of the things I love about Win-Win's Baltimore office is that it's kid-friendly. Now that you're expecting, and one of my employees recently had a baby, I want to make sure the New York office is the same way. I'm going to set aside a kids' space with toys and movies. Our employees and our families should always feel welcome."

Neal glanced toward Peter and El, who were smiling in secret delight.

After the double-feature, guests shared lines and scenes from the movies they had nominated. It was no surprise that Henry and Eric sang songs from Back to the Future and The Blues Brothers.

Sara's aunt laughed, saying that her bartending skills were another thing she had in common with Casablanca, and then she offered to help serve refills of eggnog.

"It's time," said Angela ominously. She walked over to the piano. "Are you ready?"

"Bring it on," Henry said, reaching for his guitar.

"What's going on?" Sara asked Neal.

"No idea."

They learned that Henry and Angela competed each year to perform the best version of the "Lucy and Linus" song from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

When the two cousins demanded a vote from the audience, Neal stood up. "Not yet. We need to hear it again. This time, play it together." Neal reached for Sara's hand when the music began, and he twirled her. Then he launched into one of the dance moves the kids in the cartoon had performed to the song. Sara tried another of the moves. Others stood and joined in with amusing dances of their own.

"I'm not missing out on this," Henry declared. He found the CD with the soundtrack, started the song and then pulled Angela into the fray with him.

Irene danced over to Neal and kissed his cheek. "This is what we were missing all of those years without you."

A/N: Noelle's wedding and Neal's Anastasia con happened in Caffrey Aloha. Angela's wedding was in Lavender Dreams. Henry drove a DeLorean in On Ice.