Hold You Close with a Thankful Heart

[moviegeek03]

Title: Hold You Close with a Thankful Heart
Author: moviegeek03
Pairing: J2
Word Count: ~6200
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/MPREG with tiny bit of angst and loads of fluff
A/N: A Christmas installment of the Tattooed!Jensen verse since it won in the holiday poll I posted on my LJ ☺. The title is from Muppet Christmas Carol (b/c it’s one of my favorites). It is set after How Will I Know but can probably be read on it’s own.
Summary: After the chaos of handling an unplanned pregnancy, school, work, and a painful accident, the boys are ready to relax and enjoy Christmas with their daughter. Then everyone else in their large family decides to join in…

It was peaceful. For the first time in over a month, everything was calm. The colored Christmas lights cast a nice glow across the room, the television the only other source of light. Clary lay snuggled against Jared’s side; already asleep under the pile of blankets sprawled over the couch. Jared’s fingers slid through her curls, watching her rather than Kermit and Scrooge finish out Muppet Christmas Carol. He didn’t even notice what Jensen was up to across from them in the oversized chair.

Jensen couldn’t help but smile at how entranced Jared appeared to be by their daughter. The two had started a tradition of reading The Night Before Christmas and watching a holiday movie before bed on Christmas Eve when Clary was just one. Jared hadn’t minded that his daughter was too young to know what was going on. He just loved doing it with her. And Jensen loved watching them every year.

This year was no different…except he had finally decided to capture it in his sketchbook. Clary wouldn’t be able to snuggle so close to Jared’s side for much longer. Their son, who they had decided would be named Will, was growing more and more each day, making Jared’s stomach grow bit by bit. He still wasn’t very big, but his bump was prominent and made it very obvious he was pregnant now.

Jensen’s hands were covered in charcoal from his pencils were he had tried to fix the shading. He wanted this to be perfect; the moment was too important not to. Between the pregnancy and being hit by that asshole texting and driving, Jared hadn’t been able to just relax without worrying about something. However tonight he was. Tomorrow would be hectic with all their families coming over. But that was tomorrow and they would deal with it all then.

The drawing was nearly finished when Jared finally looked up and caught Jensen’s eyes. “What are you doing over there? Figured you would’ve moved to the couch hours ago.”

Jensen smiled but didn’t say anything. Instead, he finished the last few lines and shading that he needed to add before standing up and gently sitting down next to Jared so as not to wake Clary. He handed over the sketchbook and wrapped his arm around Jared’s shoulders. “Didn’t want to disturb you two.”

“Jensen,” Jared said, his voice thick with emotions. “This is…wow.” When Jared looked up from the drawing, his eyes shined with unshed tears. “This is incredible.”

Jensen leaned over and pressed a kiss to Jared’s lips. “Well the subjects are pretty incredible.”

Jared couldn’t help but laugh at the corny comment. At his side, Clary began to move. “Wha’s so funny?” she slurred, still half asleep. Her tiny fists rubbed at her eyes as she snuggled into Jared again. He rubbed her back soothingly and let her lean into him more.

“Your Papa is just being silly,” Jared answered, kissing the top of her head. He then turned back to Jensen and the sketch. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Jensen rubbed at the back of Jared’s neck and kissed him on the cheek in reply.

“Ok,” Clary yawned. “Has Santa come yet?”

“Not yet baby girl,” Jensen chuckled. “He can’t come until you’re tucked away in bed upstairs.”

Clary groaned and finally pushed up from her daddy’s side. She still looked like she was more asleep than awake though, much to her parent’s amusement. “But I want to see him!”

“You saw him twice at the mall, remember?” Jared said softly.

“But that wasn’t the real Santa!” Clary argued. “Papa told me those were just his helpers! I want to see the real Santa.”

“Oh he did, did he?” Jared sighed. He looked at Jensen with a raised eyebrow. “You want to handle this one, Jen?”

Jensen at least had the sense to look sheepish. He had to tell Clary something; the girl had realized that there were different Santas at different malls. There was no way he was going to have his four year old already disbelieving in Santa. “Santa likes to leave you surprises, sweetheart. He can’t surprise you if you’re watching him.”

“He doesn’t have to know I’m watching!”

Jared giggled, trying to cough to cover it so Clary wouldn’t get offended. Jensen sent him a soft glare but continued to try to talk their daughter into going to bed. “But he’s Santa!” Jensen waved his arms wildly. “He knows everything!”

“But how does he know everything?” Clary continued. She moved from Jared’s side and onto his lap so that she was closer to her papa as well.

“It’s…well that’s his secret! Can’t have everyone being all knowing like him now can we? Imagine the chaos!” Jensen reached over and pulled Clary off Jared and toward his chest. He blew a raspberry against her stomach before standing up with her in his arms. “So that means you must go to bed, and stay in bed!”

“Fine,” Clary sighed as she leaned her head against Jensen’s shoulder. “But we have to put out the cookies first! And the apples!”

“Apples?” Jensen said to Clary before looking at his husband.

“The reindeer need snacks too, Jen,” Jared answered in a tone that made it sound like the most logical thing in the world.

Jensen bit his lip to keep from laughing. “Of course! How could I have forgotten? Do you have your letter for Santa already down here, Clary?”

“Uh huh,” she replied with another yawn. “I even drew him a picture of Mrs. Claus in case he misses her tonight while flyin’ around the world.”

Jensen felt his heart swell at his daughter’s words. “That’s very sweet of you, baby.”

“I’ll get the stuff from the kitchen,” Jared commented. He squeezed Jensen’s shoulder as he moved to the other room.

“Want to see the picture, Papa?”

“Of course I do,” Jensen said, kissing Clary on the cheek. He stepped closer to the coffee table and knelt down beside it, Clary still nestled in his arms. He shifted her slightly and picked up the brightly colored construction paper she had used. While most four year olds stuck to stick figures and basic shapes, Clary had attempted, almost successfully, to capture a more human like image. It was still distorted and obviously a child’s work, but it definitely showed how good Clary would be one day.

Clary tugged on his shirt collar. “Do you think Santa will like it?”

Jensen hugged her tightly. “He’s going to love it! I’m sure he’ll feel like he has a piece of home with him.”

“You did a great job, sweetheart,” Jared added, stepping into the room with the tray from the kitchen. The Santa plate Sherry had made for Clary was piled high with the butterscotch oatmeal cookies Jared and Clary had baked earlier that afternoon. Beside it was a snowman mug filled with milk. On the other side of the tray, a reindeer bowl held bright red apples.

“Do we have enough for Santa? Should we have gotten more cookies?” Clary asked, taking it all in.

Jensen tried to hide the way his stomach rolled at the idea of eating more cookies than those on the plate. Jared thankfully saved him. “He has lots of cookies to eat tonight from children all over the world. I’m sure we have plenty. Don’t want to make Santa sick.” He winked at Jensen at the end. The year before Clary had insisted that Santa needed the whole dozen they had baked. Jensen had felt like he was going to burst, having decided he needed to eat them all for his daughter’s sake.

Once Clary was convinced they had gathered enough treats for Santa, she helped her dads arrange everything. She sent one last look at the Christmas tree and the presents underneath before allowing Jared to scoop her into his arms.

“Jay-“

“I’ve got her, Jensen,” Jared cut him off, sending him a pointed look. While Jared still had a few lingering marks and aches from the accident, he felt better.

Jensen let him carry their girl and didn’t comment again. Instead, they worked together to tuck Clary under her polar bear sheets. “Sweet dreams, baby,” Jared whispered, kissing her on the forehead. “Daddy loves you.”

“Love you too, Daddy.”

“Get some sleep and in the morning you’ll have presents from Santa and us and all your family to enjoy,” Jensen added, kissing his daughter. “Love you and Merry Christmas.”

“You too, Papa,” she replied sleepily. She was already snuggling into her pillow with her Nala.

Jared and Jensen stood there for a few moments, making sure she was fast asleep and wouldn’t sneak out on them. They then crept out of her room, pulling the door to behind them.

“So what type of cookies did you make?” Jensen asked as they gathered Santa’s gifts from their closet.

“Butterscotch oatmeal…”

“I love you!” Jensen pressed a sloppy kiss to the side of Jared’s face as he started towards their family room with some of the presents. Jared followed behind with the rest.

“Don’t think you can eat all of them! Your son wants a couple as well!”

Jensen smirked, placing the gifts around in various places under the tree. “Is that so?”

“Yes, he’s quite demanding you know.” Jared walked over to where Jensen had placed the bike Santa was bringing Clary. He made sure the bow was just right. Jensen snuck over and grabbed a few cookies, pooping one in his mouth and moaning at the glorious taste.

“When they taste this good, can’t say I blame him.” Jensen handed a few to Jared for him to enjoy. He walked in front of Jared, resting his hands at his husband’s waist and letting them pull the thick sweater up a little. He ran his fingers along the baby bump, smiling brightly when his son moved against his hands. “Hi baby boy. Hi Will.” He placed a kiss to the spot he felt the kick.

Jared smiled down at his husband, running a hand through his spiky hair. “He’s moving more now. I know it will drive me nuts in a few months when he gets too big to move a ton, but right now…”

“I know,” Jensen replied, instantly understanding what Jared meant. He stood and wrapped his arms around Jared, pressing their foreheads together. “I was scared we wouldn’t get to this point either. But he’s fine. Will is going to be fine.”

Jared opened his eyes to look into Jensen’s. “I love you.”

“Love you too, babe.” Jensen brought their lips together.

“Mmm,” Jared moaned into the kiss. “We really need to finish up in here before it gets too late. Not sure I trust Clary to stay in bed.”

Jensen chuckled. “That’s probably smart.”

“And don’t think you can get out of eating the apples,” Jared warned, poking Jensen in the chest jokingly. “She’ll want proof that the reindeer enjoyed them.”

“You want us to eat all of those? She put like half a dozen in that bowl!”

“No,” Jared laughed. “I just figured we could take a few bites here and there of them all. I also thought we could leave a trail to the door and maybe toss a core on the porch.”

“She’d love that.” Jensen squeezed Jared’s shoulder. “I was thinking about writing her a letter back from Santa. Since she took the time to do the drawing. I can always write with my left hand to disguise my handwriting.”

“That would be perfect, Jen.” Jared sniffled.

Jensen cupped Jared’s jaw and leaned in for another kiss before they went back to finishing everything up for the night. While Jensen wrote a reply to Clary on the notepad they kept on the table, Jared nibbled at the apples and placed a few near the door to make it look like the reindeer had left them.

“You said you wanted a few on the porch didn’t you?” Jensen asked after he finished the note.

“Yeah,” Jared answered around a mouth full of cookie.

“Give me a couple. I’ll take them out. Might see if I can’t find a way to make little hoof prints in the snow on the porch too.”

Jared laughed. “God, we are way too into this.”

“That we are. But she’ll love it tomorrow morning.”

“She will.” Jared reached over and wrapped his arms around Jensen’s neck. “You know I love you for all of this, right?”

“Mmm…and here I thought you just loved me for my body.”

“Well that is a perk,” Jared replied, shaking his head at the smirk on Jensen’s face. “You should go ahead and finish everything outside. I’ll take care of the rest in here and wait on you.”

Jensen furrowed his brow. “I actually need to walk over to Josh and Ellie’s. I left a few of your presents over there.”

“Jen,” Jared sighed. “I thought we agreed not to go overboard on each other?”

Jensen pulled Jared towards him, placing his hands on the sides of Jared’s stomach. “You deserve it. After everything you’ve had to deal with this year and with Will coming in a few months.”

“Jen-MMPH!” Jared huffed as Jensen cut him off with a kiss.

“I promise I didn’t go overboard.”

“Ok,” Jared replied, trying to suppress a yawn.

“Go on up to bed, babe.” Jensen squeezed his husband’s hand. “I’ll take care of everything when I get back. Then I’ll join you upstairs.”

“You sure?” Jared asked, despite the way his eyes drooped in exhaustion.

“Of course,” Jensen promised. He gave his husband one last kiss before grabbing a hoodie and heading outside. He paused on the porch, sticking his fist into the snow and trying to make the hoof prints. He also overturned a flowerpot that was sitting near the door to look like a reindeer had knocked it over in his haste. Jensen was quite proud of his handiwork.

He crossed over to Josh and Ellie’s back door, letting himself in as quietly as possible so as not to wake the boys. He crept into their living room and waved at Josh and Ellie snuggled up on the couch with their own plate of cookies.

“I see Santa already stopped here too,” Jensen chuckled, noted the cookie crumbs and the toys scattered near the tree.

“Yep,” Josh mumbled around the chocolate chips. He gulped back some of the milk and cleared his throat. “We’re pretty sure Noah has reached the age where he questions how real Santa is, but he’s still playing along for Aidan’s sake.”

Jensen nodded. Noah, at eleven, was super protective of both his brothers but especially of Aidan. “What about E?”

“Ethan likes getting the toys and is scared that if he says Santa isn’t real that he won’t get them any more,” Ellie explained with a smile. “We’ve probably got another year or two with him at least.”

“That’s good.” Jensen plopped down on the couch next to her. “Not sure who’s going to be more heartbroken when Clary finds out, me or her. I have way too much fun with all this!”

Josh reached over and squeezed his brother’s knee. “Just think, you’ll have it all with Will too.”

“I know.” Jensen got that dreamy look on his face that always came when he thought of his son. “I can’t wait! I know Jared doesn’t mind being pregnant, but he’ll be happy when Will’s born in a few months. This time is taking its toll on him.”

“Is he still getting sick?” Ellie asked, leaning up more and turning towards Jensen.

“No, he’s just really achy and tired. At first I thought it was just because of the accident but I’m starting to think it’s more the pregnancy now.”

“Every time is different,” Ellie sighed. “I was sick as a dog with Noah, perfectly fine with Ethan, and slept through most of Aidan’s.”

Jensen nodded, smiling sadly. “I know. I just hate to see him so exhausted. He’s supposed to start back into classes some and work again in January, and I have no idea how he’s going to manage it all. I wish he’d just take the semester off but he doesn’t want to get behind. I’m just scared he’s going to over do it.”

“You’ll be there to watch out for him. As will we,” Josh promised.

“I know.” Jensen rubbed a hand over his face. “Anyway, enough worrying! I came to grab Jay’s gift!”

Ellie giggled. “It was ridiculously difficult to pry Aidan away from it!”

“Oh no,” Jensen chuckled.

“But we managed,” Josh continued, raising his hands in a placating way. “I’ll go grab it.” He stepped into the laundry room and came back a moment later with a shaking puppy nestled in his arms. “It’s ok, sweetie,” he crooned in her perked up ears. “Here you go, Jen.”

Jensen took the dog and cuddled her into his chest. “Hi Sadie. Hi baby.” He scratched behind her ears and kissed the top of her head. “You’re alright. I promise.”

Ellie rubbed the little dog’s back gently. “Where’d you find her anyway?”

“Jeff has a few friends in the vet program who volunteer at the shelter. They were telling him about a litter that was brought in a few months ago. They’d been abused and God knows what else.” Jensen hugged Sadie tighter. “She was one of the few to have survived it all.”

“Jared’s going to love her,” Josh smiled at the puppy.

“I think it will be a very mutual love affair.”

“How are you going to keep Jay from seeing her tonight?” Ellie questioned.

“Well, she’s really quiet so I don’t think I have to worry about her barking too much. I’m going to put her in our laundry room just in case though. It stays pretty warm in there and I have some blankets already set up. Clary knows to wake both of us at the same time in the morning, that way Jared won’t go downstairs without me. She’s excited to see him with her.”

“Sounds like you have it all worked out,” Ellie replied.

“Yeah,” Jensen sighed, “I think we do.”

Sadie slowly but surely calmed down in Jensen’s arms, even licking at his fingers a little. After awhile, the puppy fell asleep against his chest. Jensen never stopped rubbing behind her ears.

“Well, I better get this little one over to the house and get some sleep.”

“Sounds good,” Ellie yawned. “I’ll come over around noon to help get things ready for the dinner.”

“Thanks,” Jensen replied. “Mom and Sherry are making a lot of the food and bringing it over. And they’ve both laid claim to the kitchen when they get here. Neither of them want Jared on his feet for too long with it all.”
Ellie shook her head fondly before leaning in to give Jensen a goodnight hug. Josh followed suit a moment later. Jensen wished them both a Merry Christmas before heading back to his house. He made sure everything looked perfect for in the morning and got Sadie situated in the laundry room, making sure she had enough blankets and water just in case.

He headed up the stairs, pausing at Clary’s room to make sure she was still sound asleep. He then stepped towards his bedroom, trying to be quiet in case Jared was as well. He found his husband already nestled under a pile of blankets, his face turned towards Jensen’s side of the bed. He looked so peaceful.

Jensen quickly changed into his pajamas and climbed in next to Jared. He pulled him close to his chest, smiling at the way Jared nuzzled his cheek against Jensen.

Tomorrow might be hectic with all their parents and siblings, but it didn’t matter. They were all there and well, something that Jensen almost didn’t get to have. With that thought in mind, he held Jared tighter and let himself drift off to sleep.

********

Both Jared and Jensen were startled out of their sleep bright and early the following morning as their overly excited four year old jumped up on their bed, landing on top of Jensen’s stomach with her wild curls smacking Jared in the face.

“Merry Christmas!” she squealed once she saw them open their eyes. “I want to see if Santa came!” She bounced in her excitement, eliciting a groan from Jensen and a laugh from Jared.

“I’m sure he did, sweetheart,” Jared said around a fit of giggles. He pulled her off of Jensen’s stomach, much to his relief.

Jensen took a deep breath and glanced at their alarm clock. Normally he would curse a six AM wake up call, but he knew he was worse when he was Clary’s age on Christmas. Donna had reminded him countless times of the Christmas he had woken the whole household up at four in the morning.

Once Jensen had caught his breath, he picked Clary up from Jared and held her above his head, bringing her back down and kissing her cheek with a loud smack. “Alright, baby girl, let’s go see what Santa left you.”

“And I have presents for you and Daddy!”

“I know,” Jensen chuckled. “We have some for you too. Can’t let Santa be the only one getting in on the fun now can we?” He tickled her belly softly before climbing out of the bed. Jared followed behind him, grabbing a hoodie for each of them.

Jared smoothed down Clary’s hair as they headed toward the stairs. “Close your eyes, baby.”

Clary did as she was told and continued to bounce in Jensen’s arms. It was all he could do to hold on to her Rudolph pajama clad body. Jared kissed his husband on his way towards the tree. He turned it and the other decorations on before doing a quick check of everything. The Santa presents were sitting out, unwrapped but with brightly colored bows placed on them. There were various packages from him and Jensen as well. They may have overbought for their daughter, but it was the last Christmas she would have with just the two of them. They wanted to make sure it was special.

“Ok, you can open those baby blues,” Jensen instructed his squirming daughter.

Clary gasped as she opened her eyes and took in all the presents. She pointed excitedly at the empty cookie plate and the apples lying around. But the second her eyes locked in on the pink and black bike, she let out another squeal and twisted in Jensen’s arms even more.

“Ok, ok. Here you go hun. Don’t open anything until Daddy and I get the camera, please.”

“I won’t!” Clary replied as she scurried towards the bike. Jared grabbed the camera from his desk quickly so as not to miss too much. She was already bouncing around her new bike. “Santa brought this?”

“He did baby,” Jensen said, kneeling down next to her. “He must have known you loved pink and black together, huh?”

“Wow!”

Jared snapped the pictures as quickly as he could, trying to keep up with his daughter as she rummaged through her gifts. Santa had also left her some stuffed animals and art supplies, including a brand new easel. She had a pile from her dads as well of course, which she tore into with just as much gusto. She was nearly finished when she realized she needed to give her presents to her dads as well.

“Daddy! Papa! I want you to open mine now!”

They had slowly opened a couple from each other, but didn’t want to open the one’s from Clary until she was paying more attention to them.

“We can,” Jared promised with a smile. He slid off the couch, ignoring the glares from Jensen, so that he was next to Clary in the floor. She already had the two packages, both of which were roughly wrapped, in her arms. She ran over to Jensen to give him his and then scurried back to Jared. She settled in his lap as he leaned against Jen’s legs.

“Papa, open it!” Clary ordered with wide eyes.

Jensen and Jared had each taken out to the mall separately so that she could pick out a gift for the other. It was the first year that she had asked to. They had been surprised, but were happy to let her roam the shelves and pick something out.

“Alright, baby girl,” Jensen laughed once more. He had a hard time pulling the wrapping paper apart; Clary must have used a whole roll of tape on the box. He hadn’t noticed her doing that when he had supervised Jared’s gift. But she apparently had. He felt like cheering when he finally got to the box. Then when he opened it, he thought he was going to cry.

Inside was a ceramic photo frame that Clary had painted. The design, while still childish, resembled tattoo art in a way. It was split in two so that it held two photos. She had placed one of herself on one side and a copy of Will’s sonogram on the other.

“Sweetheart,” Jensen choked out.

“Do you like it?”

He stood up and scooped her into his arms, holding her tight. He mouthed a thank you towards Jared as well. “I love it, Clary. It’s beautiful! Thank you so much!”

He held her close for a few minutes before finally sitting back down. She settled in his lap to watch Jared open his as well. “Your turn Daddy!”

“Alright,” Jared said, holding his hands up in surrender. He tore the paper off his package as well. She had used a ton of tape and ribbons on his, but it looked as if she had had fun doing it. Once he opened the box, he couldn’t help but smile. Inside was a little figurine of Lucy at her psychologist booth from the Peanuts comics. Snoopy and his gang were Clary’s newest obsession.

“It’s for your desk!” she exclaimed excitedly.

“Wow!” Jared replied. He stood up with it in his hands and settled on the couch next to her and Jensen. “I love this!” He placed a huge kiss on her cheek and smoothed back her curls.

She practically beamed at her parents’ excitement and attention for a few minutes before hopping down to finish the last of the gifts off.

“Hey Clary,” Jensen interrupted, “how about we get Daddy’s special gift for him?”

“Ooh! Yes!” She took off towards the laundry room, not bothering to see if Jensen was following behind her yet.

“Special gift?” Jared asked in confusion. “Jen, you’ve already gotten me so much and-“

“Hush! You’ll love it!” Jen kissed Jared once and then hurried to help his daughter.

Jared sat as patiently as possible on the couch while the two gathered up his present. However, he couldn’t stop the gasp of surprise when Jensen appeared a moment later with a small puppy with perky ears and a bright red bow around her neck.

“Jen-“

“She’s a rescue. A friend of Jeff’s found her and had her in the shelter.” Jensen transferred her to Jared’s arms and picked Clary up.

“Well hi there,” Jared cooed to the skittish pup. While she still seemed a little leery, she sniffed at Jared’s offered hand for a moment and then tentatively licked at his fingers. He rewarded her with some scratches behind her ear. “Does she already have a name?”

“Sadie, and she’s just about four months old. She was abused at her first owners; that’s why she’s so nervous.”

“Aww, Sadie, huh?” Jared kissed the dog’s furry head and was garnished with more little licks. “How could anyone hurt you? You’re just too sweet.”

“That’s what I thought at the shelter,” Jen added, stepping closer so Clary could pet the dog. “I couldn’t just leave her there. I know you didn’t want to get a dog for a few more years but-“

“She’s perfect, Jen.” Jared pulled him in for a kiss. “Thank you!”

The family moved to the couch again, petting and playing with Sadie as she warmed up to them all. She seemed to trust Jensen and Clary, but it looked as if she was well on her way to adoring Jared. She still seemed rather shy overall, however she became more playful as they went. Jared was head over heels for the dog already.

Their playtime with the new pup was broken by the front doorbell. Jensen motioned for Jared to stay on the couch since he had a lap full between Sadie and Clary. He scurried towards the door, expected to see Ellie or Josh. Instead, he opened it to see Gerry, Sherry, and Megan with their arms full of various presents and dishes.

“Um…hi,” Jensen greeted in confusion.

“I know,” Megan sighed, slipping in past him. “We’re early. Blame Mom.”

“Meg!” Sherry chastised. “It isn’t my fault that the snow storm knocked out our power last night and I can’t start the cooking at my house.”

“So you decided to come this early?” Jensen asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Well…not exactly. But I thought the roads would be worse and that we’d have trouble getting here. So I wanted to leave early.”

“You live less than twenty minutes away,” Jensen deadpanned, blinking at his mother-in-law.

Gerry laughed and stepped inside as well. He set down a few packages and clapped Jensen on the shoulder. “I said the same thing. Didn’t work.” Jensen sighed and nodded his head. “Come on son, help me with the rest of the stuff from the car.”

Before Jensen could yell in to warn Jared, Sherry was scurrying in toward their kitchen, ready to take over and start cooking.

“Mom?” Jared sputtered when she passed him.

“Grandma!” Clary exclaimed in excitement, hopping down from the couch and hurrying towards Sherry.

“Merry Christmas sweetheart,” Sherry said to her granddaughter as she wrapped her little arms around her legs. “Have you guys eaten breakfast yet?”

“What are you doing here already?” Jared continued, ignoring the question.

“Not yet,” Clary went on, not noticing her daddy. “We opened presents. Santa brought me a bike! It’s pink and black and so awesome! And Papa got Daddy a puppy!”

“He did, did he?” Sherry cast a glance toward Jared and Sadie. “She’s pretty. How about chocolate chip pancakes? I used to make those for your Daddy every Christmas.”

Clary nodded enthusiastically. Jared, on the other hand, came into the kitchen slightly less happy. He kept Sadie in his arms, unsure of how she was going to react to all the new people. “Mom? Why are you guys here so early?”

“Our power lines went down in the snow last night and I needed to start cooking. So I thought we’d go ahead and come over.”

“And you didn’t think to call ahead?”

“I didn’t want to interrupt your Christmas morning with Clary. I was hoping you guys would be done by now.”

Jared shifted from foot to foot as Sherry started to rummage through their cabinets. “We are but-“

“Then I’ll make you boys breakfast while you get dressed. It’s fine!”

Jared groaned to himself. He felt a hand at his shoulder and turned to see his sister giggling. “How about I take the munchkin back into the living room to play while you and Jen get dressed?”

“Thanks,” Jared sighed, still a little annoyed. He stepped back into the living room to find Jensen with a matching expression as he placed the gifts around the tree. It was going to be a long day…

********

Thankfully, the rest of the day went off without any hitch. Everyone else came on schedule, bringing lots of presents and food. Donna set up shop in the kitchen with Sherry and Ellie. Mackenzie and Katie joined Megan in entertaining the kids; the Noah and Ethan ran around with a few of the toys Santa had brought them while Aidan and Clary stayed cuddled up with Sadie on the couch. Jeff, Alan, Gerry, Jensen, and Jared went back and forth between checking on the kids, the food, and the football scores.

The food was miraculously finished without any major catastrophe occurring in the kitchen; it was delicious and left everyone stuffed beyond belief. Before moving on to the desserts, they gave in to the kids’ begging to open presents again. Most of the adults settled in to the chairs and couches, except for Jared, Jensen, and Josh who chose to take up residence in the floor to help the kids pass out gifts. They allowed the children to open theirs first so that they have something to keep them occupied while the adults passed around their gifts to everyone.

“Hey Clary?” Sherry spoke up from her place on the loveseat. “Can you hand your daddy that long box by your feet, sweetie?”

Clary nodded and quickly did as she’s asked. She loved getting to play Santa and pass out presents.

Jared took the gift from her and carefully undid the elaborate wrapping. His mom had always been one to go all out in that area. He untied the bow and slid the lid off the top of the box. He pulled back the tissue paper, revealing a beautiful handmade quilt underneath. He carefully picked it up from the box, noticing the old baby clothes that Sherry had used in the pattern. “Momma,” he choked out, his voice thick with emotions.

“I used some of your old baby clothes I had saved. There are some of Jensen’s in there that Donna gave me too. I know you haven’t settled on a theme for Will’s nursery yet but I was hoping it would fit into whatever you chose.”

“Sherry, it’s-Wow,” Jensen sputtered. He scooted over to Jared and ran his fingers along the material.

“I saved a little of all my babies’ clothes so I could do this one day. I-I should’ve made one for Clary but I was…” She trailed off as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

Jared handed Jensen the quilt and pushed himself off the floor. He went to his mom and pulled her into a big hug. “You’re here now, that’s what matters.”

Sherry nodded into his neck and squeezed him back. “Merry Christmas, Jare.”

The quilt was passed around a little after that. Both Donna and Sherry shared stories of the boys as babies before everyone tucked back into the last of the presents under the tree. Desserts soon followed. But while everyone else cuddled up around the fireplace with their coffees and hot chocolates, Jared escaped outside for some fresh air.

“Should’ve known I’d find you out here,” Jensen called as he stepped outside minutes later. He sent Jared a smile as he crossed the porch. He held out a large wool blanket and motioned for Jared to scoot over some on the wooden swing they had hanging from the rafters. He threw the blanket over them both, making sure Jared was protected from the cold wintry air.

“How’d you know I’d be out here?” Jared laughed.

“You have a thing about sitting out in the snow.” Jensen wrapped his arm around Jared.

“Well,” Jared sighed, “then you have a thing about coming and finding me out in the snow and saving me from freezing my ass off.”

Jensen chuckled and pulled Jared down so that he was resting against Jen’s chest. “That I do.” He placed a kiss on the top of Jared’s head and let his hand fall on top of Jared’s belly. “You know, I never realized how much I love snow.”

Jared twisted a little so that he could look up at Jensen. “Who knows if we’d have gotten together if it wasn’t for the snow?”

“Well…pretty sure we would’ve hooked up no matter if it was snowing or a hundred degrees. You were too damn fine not to.”

Jared blushed and smacked at Jensen’s arm. “You know what I meant.”

“I do,” Jensen relented with a smile. “We definitely owe the snow a lot. You probably would’ve gone home that morning to work on your essay and I wouldn’t have gotten to know you as quickly.”

“And I wouldn’t have gotten to see how amazing you were with kids or how much you loved just hanging around your house with me that day.”

“I definitely love snow.”

“Me too, Jen.”

Jensen pulled Jared tightly against his chest, wrapping his arms around him. They had so much more than just the snow to be thankful for. A lot had happened since the night they first met, and neither would change it for the world. Moments like this, nestled in each other’s arms, brought that home all the more. No matter how hectic things could be, or how crazy their lives would get, they were in it together. Nothing could change that.

The End

A/N: Happy Holiday to you all and thank you for reading my fics once again this year. All the holiday traditions I wrote in here in regards to how Jared and Jensen handled Santa are actually the ways my dad did it for me as a kid <3. Found some of the old letters he had written the other day and decided I had to include it. Hope you enjoyed this and have a wonderful holiday!