Karen comes into the house carrying bags of presents for the girls. Lindsey takes them from her to lay them out under the tree and she is instantly attacked by Aria and Willow.

"Auntie Karen!" Aria squealed, finally awake.

"Hey, Aria! Merry Christmas!" Karen says, hugging her. "Jeez, you're getting tall! I don't have to bend down so far now!"

Aria giggles "Yeah, mommy says I'm going to be taller than her soon!"

Karen chuckles and chooses not to comment, though she gives me a look like she's dying to say something. "Where's Willow?"

"Here!" She says, but Karen looks the other way, playing with her.

"Where? I can't see her! Did she leave home, Stevie?"

I shrug and it makes Willow laugh. "I'm here!"

"Ohhhh! There she is!" Karen says finally. Our littlest Buckingham launches herself at Karen and is promptly picked up. "Merry Christmas, Willow"

"Merry Christmas!"

"Auntie Karen, mommy made muffins!" Aria says, a muffin in each hand. "Want one?" She holds one out for Karen to take and she accepts.

"Are they yummy?" I ask.

"Very yummy!" Aria tells me, taking a big bite.

"Alright girls, Daddy is going to put a movie on in the living room. Go sit on the couch so mommy and Auntie Karen can talk" I tell them and they listen, racing each other out of the room and jumping onto the couch with such force that I thought it would flip over.

"How are you?" Karen asks, taking the cup of coffee I just poured for her.

"I'm fine" I say. I lean onto the counter and let myself breathe. It's been a long couple of years. We have been so busy and I'm using today to try to rest.

"Now I know that's not true" she says, touching my hand. The sudden warm contact causes tears to spring to my eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I'm so happy right now." I tell her. "My girls are growing up so fast and I really want to savor it. I'm just so tired."

"I know. It's been go, go, go for years! You haven't given yourself a break and you need to. It was The Dance, then Aria, Trouble in Shangri-La, Willow, the vow renewal, Say You Will and then the tour... you're running yourself into the ground."

"It's better if I stay busy, then I don't have to think about..."

"I know it's hard, but you have to. If you keep doing this, you're going to go postal" she says in a very serious tone but then cracks, laughing. I laugh too, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"So what comes next?" I say, changing the subject.

Karen sighs, looking at my schedule. "Well...you've got the Caesar's Palace dates, 10 dates with Don, Gold Dust..."

"My God" I say, realizing how busy I will be next year.

"Have you talked to Lindsey about Two Voices?"

"No, I'm honestly dreading it. He knows I'm co-headlining with someone but not with whom..."

"Oh Stevie..."

"I don't want to fight about it. We've been doing so good"

"I know, there will be time after the holidays. Let's have fun today" she says and I nod.

Lindsey answers the door and lets my parents and my brother, Lori and their girls in. I join them at the door, hugging them.

"Merry Christmas, Chris" I say, hugging him.

"Merry Christmas, sis" We pull apart and I take their coats to hang them up in the hall closet. "You look good"

"Thanks! You look good too." My nieces make a bee line for the cookies that just came out of the oven, my daughters following close behind.

"I'll help them" Karen offers and I give an appreciative smile.

"TeeDee, you look beautiful!" My mother says, hugging me.

"Oh, thank you! So do you, all dressed up!" I kiss her cheeks and she goes to greet Lindsey and make over her grandchildren. "Daddy! I missed you"

"We're right down the street. We're not going anywhere" he says, hugging me.

"I know but it's nice to be all together"

"It's what the holiday's all about" he says and I couldn't agree more. "Now where are my girls?" I point in the direction of all the giggling and he follows.

"Steph, come here!" Lindsey says, motioning for me to come upstairs with him.

"Oh no...what do you want, trouble?"

"I think you know..." he says, a mischievous look in his eye.

"No way! We have guests" I exclaim, turning bright red.

"Fine, second best thing. Can I give you a present?"

"You may" He leads me to our bedroom and I'm distracted by the view. "It's snowing" I say, staring out the window in wonder. The Magic of Christmas was before me, and it was beautiful.

"I got you a little something. Well, a couple little somethings but I wanted to give you this, away from everyone else" He hands me a box and I slide off the ribbon. I open it and I start to cry. Inside is a beautiful white gold bracelet and he tells me it's actually upside down so I could read the engraving first.

"Forever in our hearts, sweet angel" I read aloud. "Oh my God" I reach out to hug him and he holds me tightly. The bracelet was beautiful when I flipped it over, it had a mother of pearl inlay.

"Can I put it on you?" He asked when we pulled apart. I could only nod as he fastened it onto my wrist. "Do you like it?" I nod again. He pulls me back into an embrace as I stand there sobbing for a few minutes.

"Thank you" I say, finally.

"You're welcome, Steph."

"Thank you for remembering"

"I will never forget, baby."

I go into the bathroom to fix my makeup before going back downstairs, holding Lindsey's hand. Everyone is ready to open presents and we all help pass them out. The girls were thrilled to see what they got and they were so grateful for everything they received. It was really so sweet how they said thank you after every present they opened.

Dinner prep was finished by Karen, Lori and myself and it was so much fun! We had a little glass of wine and laughed, I needed this. I made plates for everyone and served them in the formal dining and I was the last to sit down. I felt Lindsey's eyes on me the entire time, Mr I-can't-wait-until-after-dinner. He kept trying to steal kisses from me and made the entire process a lot longer. I sat next to him, caressing his thigh while everyone at the table talked and told each other what we were looking forward to in the new year.

Lindsey clears his throat and I know I should stop teasing him but the way he's squirming is quite entertaining. "Can I talk to you a minute, upstairs?" He asks in a whisper. I shake my head, biting my lip.
"Steph, upstairs!" He begs. I shake my head again and he removes my hand from his lap. I whimper and he yanks me from the table into the kitchen. It wasn't as forceful as it looked to everyone else. He's actually very gentle with me. "You are driving me wild, you beautiful woman" he says, kissing all over me as he pulls me into his body against the counter. I can feel his desire pressed against me and I smile to myself. I guide his face to mine and we start kissing frantically, my arms around his neck. The temperature in the room, I swear, goes up by 100 degrees and we are desperately trying to get out of our clothes to no avail. "You're so fucking sexy" he tells me, pulling apart slightly.

"I want you so bad" I say, my body trembling with anticipation. "Take me upstairs." He looks at me, making sure that's what I want. "Shit, we have guests" It's as if I had forgotten in our passion, in our desperation.

"I really don't want to wait..." he tells me.

"Neither do I..." We are just staring at each other. The heat is radiating off the both of us. I look around nervously and pull down my tights and panties, leaning over the counter. "Fuck me right here. Please, Lindsey."

"Sweet Jesus, do I love you!" He frees himself from his tight jeans and we find a little relief once he is inside of me. "Hush!" He tells me when I let out a loud pent up moan. I bite my lip to keep myself quiet as he continues to pound into me, pulling my hair lightly with one hand while the other is working on my clit. He lets go of my hair to grope my breasts and slap my ass occasionally. No matter how rough we are now, there is so much love in his touch. What we have is so beautiful.

"Ahh, god...mmmm" I moan and I look over my shoulder at him. He's definitely enjoying himself. We both know we have to be quick. Once again, I bite my lip to stifle my moans as we push each other over the edge. He climaxes with me, slamming into me hard from behind a few more times and sighing. Once he's finished, he holds my hips to his. I don't want him to withdraw but I also don't want to be caught. He puts himself back into his jeans and I pull my panties and tights back up, adjusting my dress.

"Wow, Stephanie" he says, breathless.

"Was it okay?" I ask, turning around to face him. "I promise I will make it up to you later"

"What, are you kidding? That was...wow." I giggle at him and kiss him hard on the mouth. "I love you so much"

"I love you too" His beautiful blue grey eyes staring down at me only makes me want him more. I can't even take looking at him. I turn away and go back to our guests without another word.

The conversation was light and lively when I re-entered the room and it was like we never left. We were home free, it seemed...that is, until Karen gives me a knowing look. Lindsey joins us only a couple minutes later with a huge smile on his face and she gives him the same one, smirking.

Busted!

A/N: sorry for any mistakes. I try to proofread the best I can before posting but sometimes I miss something out. Also warning: sexual activities?