Family Ties - A Reunion Christmas Story: Chapter 3
Title: Family Ties: A Reunion Christmas Story-Chapter 3
Author: shelbecat and rachel_wilder
Rating: T (aka PG-13)
Summary: It's the first Christmas after the Reunion.
Family Ties: A Reunion Christmas Story
Chapter 3
"So, did you get Julie something special for the holidays?" Eric asked as he set his coffee mug down on the table across from Matt.
"Not really," Matt replied. "I mean, I tried to do something nice for her, but she didn't see it that way."
Eric took a sip of coffee and set the mug back down. "What do you mean?"
Matt folded up the newspaper he had been reading and set it on the table. "Well, I just thought that maybe she'd like to have some time with you and Mrs. Taylor-I mean, after everything that's gone on this year, I just thought maybe it would be easier to just be the family again. So, I called my dad and asked if I could come to San Diego and spend Christmas with him."
Eric leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "Do you not feel like you're part of this family, Matt?"
Matt shrugged. "No…yes…I mean, you're just really tight and I know that you say that we're all a family now, but Julie and me…well, we're not married and…"
"And why is that?" Eric asked.
Matt just shrugged, his cheeks reddening slightly.
Eric nodded. He knew perfectly well what Julie and Matt's reason was for postponing their wedding, and he hated that his illness had affected their life in such a way. But over the years he'd learned to respect his daughter's wishes. Now however, he was in remission and he saw no reason why everyone couldn't just forget about him having cancer and get on with their lives.
"So, you offered to go see your dad in San Diego and she got mad?" Eric asked, changing the subject.
"Well, she got quiet and then she didn't talk to me and then she said I should do whatever I wanted. So then I called Landry and he said that meant to NOT do what I was planning to do originally. And then I called my dad back and told him I wasn't coming," Matt explained.
Eric hid his smile behind his coffee cup. "So, you haven't resolved any of this?"
Matt shook his head.
"Well, Matt, that is a mistake," Eric said. "I've known Tami for over twenty-five years and if I have learned one thing about Taylor women, it's to not let things fester. You need to get this out in the open with Julie and figure out what's upsetting her. And you also need to explain to her what you were thinking because these women of ours-they're wonderful and smart and gorgeous as hell, but mind readers they are not."
"Dad, Dad come here!"
Tim shrugged his jacket off and hung it on a hook in the front porch. Jake was yelling his name from the living room and he could hear Tyra and Billy laughing over the strains of Christmas music. He stopped in the doorway of the room, smiling as he watched Billy peek into a gift bag that presumably had his name on it while Jake hung ornaments on the tree and Tyra cautioned their son to 'not break that one, please!'.
When Tim and Billy had arrived two days before, he'd fully expected for there to be a tree already assembled in the Collette household. And there was a tree, a monstrous blue spruce that took up the entire alcove of the living room bay window. But it was completely void of decorations. Tyra and Jake had waited for Tim and Billy before decorating it.
Secretly he thought Tyra just hated putting on the Christmas lights, since he had spent three hours last night stringing a dozen sets of miniature white lights on the tree; but it was the first real tree he'd had since before his parents left, and he was happy to do it.
Tim rubbed his hands together briskly. "Alright, where are the popcorn strings?"
"Dad! Tim!" Tyra and Jake moaned in unison.
Tim laughed and reached for a ceramic candy cane from the nearly empty box of ornaments. He hung it on the tree and stepped back to examine his work.
"Guess we're almost done," he said to Jake, selecting another ornament from the box.
"Oh, I need you to bring down the other boxes from the attic," Tyra said. "And there's a box in the basement too. And maybe one in Jake's closet."
Tim's mouth gaped open at her. Sure it was a big tree, but it was already peppered with ornaments. It looked fine to him.
"How many boxes are we talkin' here?"
"Just a couple. Maybe six or 10. A dozen tops."
Tim rolled his eyes and leaned down to nudge Jake. "How long does it normally take you to decorate this tree?"
Jake shrugged. "Like, a week?"
"A week," Tim repeated. He smiled mischievously at Tyra. "A week when you could be outside playing ball, or watching TV, or maybe…maybe watching the Titans?"
Tim pulled a pair of tickets for the Tennessee Titans out of his back pocket. He saw Jake's eyes widen just as Tyra's smile faltered.
"You got tickets! Mom! Tickets!" Jake grabbed the tickets out of Tim's hand and raced down the hallway yelling, "I've got to get my jersey!"
He watched Jake scurry off with a smile on his face. He hadn't discussed the tickets with Tyra, but Jason had called last week to offer them to Tim, and of course he had jumped on it.
"Tim," Tyra said softly, bringing back to reality. "It's Christmas Eve."
"It's an early game," he said quickly, taking an ornament from her hand and laying it aside. He pulled her closer towards him. "We'll be back before dark, and you know he wants to go."
"But…"
"Mom, where's my ball?" Jake shouted from his bedroom.
Tyra smiled and shook her head. "I wanted to bake cookies, and finish decorating the tree."
"We've still got time before we leave. We'll finish the tree, but only 6 boxes of decorations."
"But we have these little handmade ones I bought in California…"
"Six more boxes of decorations from any room in the house is my final offer," Tim said. "And Billy will help with the cookies."
Tyra did not look convinced that Billy was interested in or able to help with any sort of baking.
From his seat on the floor where he was creatively rearranging the presents so that all of his were on top, Billy looked up. "Can we make brownies with cream cheese and white chocolate coconut icing?"
Tyra's eyes bugged out on her cheeks.
"Oh yeah, Billy watches the Food Network a lot. Like, a lot, a lot," Tim offered as an explanation.
Tyra still looked wary.
"And he is actually good at measuring. Seriously." Tim held up his hands in submission. She had to say yes. He really wanted this time with Jake to just enjoy Christmas together and be alone with him.
He saw Tyra relenting before she even spoke.
"Thank you," Tim said quickly, silencing her with a kiss.
Jake came tearing into the living room with his jersey half pulled across his body and his Titans cap askew on his head. "I'm ready!"
"Easy buddy," Tim replied. "Let's finish this tree and then we'll go, okay?"
"Okay," Jake said, immediately reaching for a box with a large white angel inside. "Can you help me put on the angel? Lift me up."
Tim reached down to wrap his arms around Jake's midsection, grunting as he hefted his son upwards. It wasn't the strain on his leg, although he definitely felt the extra weight, but the tree brushed the ceiling, and Jake was almost 70 pounds.
"Ugh, you're heavy buddy," Tim huffed. He wavered as Jake reached out with the angel and Tyra stretched up to guide his hands into place.
"Don't you have a ladder for this?" Tim shifted Jake slightly in his arms and reached up one last time for Jake to put the angel in place. "How did you do this last year?"
Jake looked down as Tim lowered his son to the ground. "Easy. Landry always lifts me up."
A chill ran down his spine as Jake turned back to the ornaments. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tyra looking at him, her face filled with concern. He turned away, anxious to get out of this room.
"Boxes in the attic, right?" Tim said to no one in particular, already halfway out of the room. He'd never expected his first Christmas as a father to be free of problems that he'd have to figure out an impossible solution for; but he'd never imagined he'd be replacing someone else as father-figure at the same time. Landry was important to Jake, and today, more than ever before, Tim was keenly aware that he was the reason Landry wasn't here. Tim was in, Landry was out. And Jake missed him.
The phone in Smash's pocket beeped. He pulled it out. Another text message from Kevin.
Dinner?
Smash started to type a message back, then stopped and hit the call button.
"Hey," he said as Kevin answered. "Uh…about dinner…"
He listened to Kevin for a moment. "No, the thing is, I'm kinda busy tonight."
Smash chewed on the edge of his thumb as he listened to Kevin describe the dinner he had planned-at his apartment. They'd only met yesterday, and sure they'd spent last night together-fast, but Kevin was really hot-but Smash wasn't sure he was ready to start something serious with this guy.
"It sounds really nice, honestly, but…"
He could barely get a word in edgewise as Kevin continued to try to change his mind.
"Thing is," Smash started. "It's Christmas and I just need the choir, the kids, the pageant, all of it."
Kevin was silent.
Smash let out a quick chuckle. "Yep, a gay Christian football player. I'm quite a catch."
Kevin's response wasn't one he was expecting. Smash replied quickly, "Are you serious? I mean, I'm cool with it, but just so you know, it's Baptist and honey, it's a black church." He tried to sound cool, but he was freaking himself out. This guy was really getting to him. Did he just say 'honey'? What was he thinking? Why had he just invited this guy to church with him…to his Baptist church?
"What?" he asked, missing Kevin's last question. "Oh, yeah-dinner after? Sure."
Church. Dinner. His mom coming in a few days. The game. This was not going to be a Christmas easily forgotten.
"So then I told him that if he didn't really want to spend Christmas with me, he should just go and be with his dad, who he barely ever talks to and hasn't even seen since his grandmother died." Julie collapsed down onto a mall bench and let her packages fall to the floor beside her.
Tami sat down next to her daughter and tried to paint an encouraging smile on her face. She wanted to be supportive, but inside she was wondering what had gotten into her daughter. Tell Matt that she didn't care if they spent Christmas apart, after the year they'd all had? That didn't sound like Julie at all.
"Well, honey, did you ask him why he wanted to go spend Christmas with his Dad?" Tami probed gently.
"Yeah, he said he thought I'd like the chance to spend Christmas with you and Dad. Just us. What kind of answer is that?"
Tami chewed on her lip and tried to hide a grin. It sounded like the type of answer a man gave when he thought it was what his wife wanted to hear, not what he wanted at all.
She took a sip of her chai latte and looked around at the shoppers busily finishing their shopping. She would never understand how people could leave everything until Christmas Eve. Then she glanced down at the sea of packages surrounding her and Julie and smiled. Maybe they were all just like her and her daughter-in need of retail therapy.
Tami looked over at Julie who seemed lost in thought. "Are you sure there's nothing else going on between you two? I know it's been a hard year."
Julie looked down at her hands silently.
"What about your treatments? Is Matt still going to all of your appointments with you?"
Julie shook her head, not speaking, but Tami saw her lip tremble.
"Jules?" she asked, laying a hand gently on her daughter's arm.
A tear rolled down Julie's cheek but there was a small smile on her face. "I didn't want to tell you yet," she said, her voice catching on sobs in her throat.
Tami's eyes widened but she waited for her daughter to continue.
"I saw the doctor a few weeks ago. He said he saw no reason why I couldn't get pregnant naturally, without any more treatments."
Tami tried to suppress her tears but it was hopeless. She grabbed Julie into a hug, ignoring the crowds of people milling about them.
"Honey! That is the best news ever. I'm…I'm so happy for you. For both of you!"
Julie smiled, her cheeks shining with tears, but then her smile slowly faded.
"What is it? This is good news!"
"I know, but I didn't tell Matt yet. I was saving it for Christmas, and then he said he'd rather not be with me anyway. And I just don't know."
Tami sighed, shaking her head. "Jules, let me tell you something. Marriage is hard." She held up her hand to stop her daughter's objections. "I know you aren't married yet, but you are engaged and living together and working on having children-you have a life with Matt. And it's a struggle, I know.
"And I love you honey, I really do, but you are not communicating with that man."
Tami hated to talk to her daughter so bluntly, but she'd watched Julie push Matt away every time a big problem arose. When Julie had first found out about her possible infertility, she kept it a secret. Then when Eric was diagnosed with cancer, she kept her concerns about going ahead with the wedding quiet until it was almost too late to postpone it.
"Baby girl, that boy loves you. He has loved you since the day you started dating, probably before. And he would lay down his life for you. He would certainly spend Christmas wherever you wanted to, and be happy with your news.
"It's not right to keep this from him. You have to enjoy the good moments, Jules. There are too many turns in the road. Don't take away the good stuff."
Tami thought about Eric and the road they had traveled together over the past year. In many ways it had brought them closer together, but it was a difficult test of their relationship. If she could impart anything on her daughter, she wanted it to be the lesson to grab on to those happy times and squeeze every last drop of joy from them. Life was too short to live it any other way.
"I guess I just worry about you and Dad and I want him to be healthy and strong, and not have to worry about grandkids and me getting married and…"
"You do not get to take away your dad's worry-he has earned that!" Tami smiled and gently squeezed Julie's shoulder. "Celebrate this Christmas with your fiancé. Celebrate trying to make a baby-that's the best part! And celebrate Dad's health. Don't let the bad memories cloud this Christmas. We're lucky to have it."
Julie smiled and wiped away her tears. "Can I wait until tomorrow to tell Matt, like I planned?"
Tami matched her daughter's smile. "Of course, hon. Just remember that he doesn't know what you know. He's trying to make you happy. Let him."
"I will. Thanks, Mom."
"Always honey. And get busy making me a grandbaby! But get married first. I don't think your father's heart could withstand that one."
Lyla tiptoed into the bedroom. Jason's eyes were still closed and his breathing even-from all signs he was still asleep. She set down a cup of coffee on her bedside table and slid the soft terry robe from her shoulders. She pulled back the sheets and slid back into bed next to Jason.
"Mmm…" he sighed as she slid her hand up his arm, her thumb skimming across the soft skin where his inner arm met his body. She knew he was overly sensitive there-he'd told her once that it was the quad's 'G Spot'. If the coffee didn't wake him up, that would. She slid over his body and leaned in to kiss him.
"Merry Christmas Eve, baby," she said as she sat back up.
Jason opened his eyes slowly. "Well, don't you look nice, Mrs. Claus!"
Lyla laughed as she raised her hand to touch the Santa hat sitting rakishly on her long dark hair. "So, have you been good or bad this year, Jason Street?"
"Very bad," Jason replied.
"That's not what I heard," Lyla answered as she leaned down to kiss him again. Jason pulled her close to him as she laughed. "Careful-no molesting Mrs. Claus! What would Santa say?"
"I think he'd understand," Jason whispered into her ear. "There's no way I could resist her."
Lyla rolled on her side next to Jason, her finger tracing along his chest where she knew he had sensation.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly.
She shrugged. "I don't know-just how amazing this year has been. Just think, a year ago we were in New York and didn't know what would happen between us and now, we're engaged, living together, building a house…"
"Building a life," Jason added.
"Yeah," Lyla said quietly.
"What are you worried about?" Jason asked.
God-he always knew her so well. But she didn't want to ruin Christmas, or at least not do any more damage than their parents already had done.
"Lyla?" Jason asked as he ran his hand down the edge of her face. "What's going on in there?"
She forced the smile across her face and sat up, the Santa hat still perched on her head. "Nothing-just thinking about our parents in the breakfast room down at the hotel. I hope Buddy isn't causing a scene."
Jason pushed down on the bed and slowly lifted himself up into a seated position, his back resting against the headboard. "I'm pretty sure that's not it, but you'll tell me when you're ready."
Lyla nodded, trying to stop the tears from filling her eyes.
"Are you sure you don't want to tell me?" Jason asked again, his voice gentle and soft.
Lyla looked down, her finger picking at a string on the sheet covering Jason's lower body. She finally looked up, the tears now welling up beyond her control. "I was late this month and I know we're going to have to go to the fertility clinic, but we had that great weekend in San Antonia and the tournament in Phoenix and I guess a little part of me thought that maybe it had just happened."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jason asked. He reached over and took her hand in his.
She shrugged. "Because I knew it wasn't really true and if it was…"
"Christmas miracle?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, maybe," Lyla replied.
Jason leaned in and kissed her. "The miracle this year will be us all surviving our first Garrity/Street family holiday." He reached down and put his hand on her stomach. "And maybe next year our miracle will be here for sure."
Lyla nodded, as she raised her hand up to wipe away a couple of tears that had escaped.
"And honestly, I'm a little glad to know that behavior last night was PMS," Jason added.
"Jason Street!" Lyla called out as she slapped him on the arm. She hit him a bit harder than she expected and before he could catch himself, he began falling over sideways on the bed.
"Hey!" he called as he slid on his side. "Easy."
Lyla slung her leg over him and leaned in for another kiss. "Santa never says 'easy' when I take him."
Tyra had snuck another three boxes of ornaments onto the tree before Billy, who appeared to be completely engrossed in his GameBoy, admonished her 'Tim can count you know.' She'd laughed and hidden the evidence of her decorating, then set about making Billy's requested cookies. It turned out that Billy had a good idea of how to make icing, and sure, it was pretty sweet, but everyone could use a little more sugar at Christmas time.
She had just finished setting the table for dinner and sat down with a glass of red wine when she heard someone at the front door. It was too early for Tim and Jake to be back. Curious, she pushed through the swinging door and walked toward the front porch.
Shocked, she stopped still in the hallway when she saw who was standing there.
Landry dropped his bag on the floor and looked up at her. "Merry Christmas."
/tbc/
Disclaimer: All characters who appear in these stories belong to their respective creators, including Imagine Entertainment, NBC Universal Television Studio and Film 44.
Authors' Note: Thanks to our beta, devilc, once again. We had hoped to have this story finished before Christmas, but other stories and our own holiday plans kept us busy. Hopefully you are all still feeling the festive spirit.
Author: shelbecat and rachel_wilder
Rating: T (aka PG-13)
Summary: It's the first Christmas after the Reunion.
Family Ties: A Reunion Christmas Story
Chapter 3
"So, did you get Julie something special for the holidays?" Eric asked as he set his coffee mug down on the table across from Matt.
"Not really," Matt replied. "I mean, I tried to do something nice for her, but she didn't see it that way."
Eric took a sip of coffee and set the mug back down. "What do you mean?"
Matt folded up the newspaper he had been reading and set it on the table. "Well, I just thought that maybe she'd like to have some time with you and Mrs. Taylor-I mean, after everything that's gone on this year, I just thought maybe it would be easier to just be the family again. So, I called my dad and asked if I could come to San Diego and spend Christmas with him."
Eric leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "Do you not feel like you're part of this family, Matt?"
Matt shrugged. "No…yes…I mean, you're just really tight and I know that you say that we're all a family now, but Julie and me…well, we're not married and…"
"And why is that?" Eric asked.
Matt just shrugged, his cheeks reddening slightly.
Eric nodded. He knew perfectly well what Julie and Matt's reason was for postponing their wedding, and he hated that his illness had affected their life in such a way. But over the years he'd learned to respect his daughter's wishes. Now however, he was in remission and he saw no reason why everyone couldn't just forget about him having cancer and get on with their lives.
"So, you offered to go see your dad in San Diego and she got mad?" Eric asked, changing the subject.
"Well, she got quiet and then she didn't talk to me and then she said I should do whatever I wanted. So then I called Landry and he said that meant to NOT do what I was planning to do originally. And then I called my dad back and told him I wasn't coming," Matt explained.
Eric hid his smile behind his coffee cup. "So, you haven't resolved any of this?"
Matt shook his head.
"Well, Matt, that is a mistake," Eric said. "I've known Tami for over twenty-five years and if I have learned one thing about Taylor women, it's to not let things fester. You need to get this out in the open with Julie and figure out what's upsetting her. And you also need to explain to her what you were thinking because these women of ours-they're wonderful and smart and gorgeous as hell, but mind readers they are not."
"Dad, Dad come here!"
Tim shrugged his jacket off and hung it on a hook in the front porch. Jake was yelling his name from the living room and he could hear Tyra and Billy laughing over the strains of Christmas music. He stopped in the doorway of the room, smiling as he watched Billy peek into a gift bag that presumably had his name on it while Jake hung ornaments on the tree and Tyra cautioned their son to 'not break that one, please!'.
When Tim and Billy had arrived two days before, he'd fully expected for there to be a tree already assembled in the Collette household. And there was a tree, a monstrous blue spruce that took up the entire alcove of the living room bay window. But it was completely void of decorations. Tyra and Jake had waited for Tim and Billy before decorating it.
Secretly he thought Tyra just hated putting on the Christmas lights, since he had spent three hours last night stringing a dozen sets of miniature white lights on the tree; but it was the first real tree he'd had since before his parents left, and he was happy to do it.
Tim rubbed his hands together briskly. "Alright, where are the popcorn strings?"
"Dad! Tim!" Tyra and Jake moaned in unison.
Tim laughed and reached for a ceramic candy cane from the nearly empty box of ornaments. He hung it on the tree and stepped back to examine his work.
"Guess we're almost done," he said to Jake, selecting another ornament from the box.
"Oh, I need you to bring down the other boxes from the attic," Tyra said. "And there's a box in the basement too. And maybe one in Jake's closet."
Tim's mouth gaped open at her. Sure it was a big tree, but it was already peppered with ornaments. It looked fine to him.
"How many boxes are we talkin' here?"
"Just a couple. Maybe six or 10. A dozen tops."
Tim rolled his eyes and leaned down to nudge Jake. "How long does it normally take you to decorate this tree?"
Jake shrugged. "Like, a week?"
"A week," Tim repeated. He smiled mischievously at Tyra. "A week when you could be outside playing ball, or watching TV, or maybe…maybe watching the Titans?"
Tim pulled a pair of tickets for the Tennessee Titans out of his back pocket. He saw Jake's eyes widen just as Tyra's smile faltered.
"You got tickets! Mom! Tickets!" Jake grabbed the tickets out of Tim's hand and raced down the hallway yelling, "I've got to get my jersey!"
He watched Jake scurry off with a smile on his face. He hadn't discussed the tickets with Tyra, but Jason had called last week to offer them to Tim, and of course he had jumped on it.
"Tim," Tyra said softly, bringing back to reality. "It's Christmas Eve."
"It's an early game," he said quickly, taking an ornament from her hand and laying it aside. He pulled her closer towards him. "We'll be back before dark, and you know he wants to go."
"But…"
"Mom, where's my ball?" Jake shouted from his bedroom.
Tyra smiled and shook her head. "I wanted to bake cookies, and finish decorating the tree."
"We've still got time before we leave. We'll finish the tree, but only 6 boxes of decorations."
"But we have these little handmade ones I bought in California…"
"Six more boxes of decorations from any room in the house is my final offer," Tim said. "And Billy will help with the cookies."
Tyra did not look convinced that Billy was interested in or able to help with any sort of baking.
From his seat on the floor where he was creatively rearranging the presents so that all of his were on top, Billy looked up. "Can we make brownies with cream cheese and white chocolate coconut icing?"
Tyra's eyes bugged out on her cheeks.
"Oh yeah, Billy watches the Food Network a lot. Like, a lot, a lot," Tim offered as an explanation.
Tyra still looked wary.
"And he is actually good at measuring. Seriously." Tim held up his hands in submission. She had to say yes. He really wanted this time with Jake to just enjoy Christmas together and be alone with him.
He saw Tyra relenting before she even spoke.
"Thank you," Tim said quickly, silencing her with a kiss.
Jake came tearing into the living room with his jersey half pulled across his body and his Titans cap askew on his head. "I'm ready!"
"Easy buddy," Tim replied. "Let's finish this tree and then we'll go, okay?"
"Okay," Jake said, immediately reaching for a box with a large white angel inside. "Can you help me put on the angel? Lift me up."
Tim reached down to wrap his arms around Jake's midsection, grunting as he hefted his son upwards. It wasn't the strain on his leg, although he definitely felt the extra weight, but the tree brushed the ceiling, and Jake was almost 70 pounds.
"Ugh, you're heavy buddy," Tim huffed. He wavered as Jake reached out with the angel and Tyra stretched up to guide his hands into place.
"Don't you have a ladder for this?" Tim shifted Jake slightly in his arms and reached up one last time for Jake to put the angel in place. "How did you do this last year?"
Jake looked down as Tim lowered his son to the ground. "Easy. Landry always lifts me up."
A chill ran down his spine as Jake turned back to the ornaments. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tyra looking at him, her face filled with concern. He turned away, anxious to get out of this room.
"Boxes in the attic, right?" Tim said to no one in particular, already halfway out of the room. He'd never expected his first Christmas as a father to be free of problems that he'd have to figure out an impossible solution for; but he'd never imagined he'd be replacing someone else as father-figure at the same time. Landry was important to Jake, and today, more than ever before, Tim was keenly aware that he was the reason Landry wasn't here. Tim was in, Landry was out. And Jake missed him.
The phone in Smash's pocket beeped. He pulled it out. Another text message from Kevin.
Dinner?
Smash started to type a message back, then stopped and hit the call button.
"Hey," he said as Kevin answered. "Uh…about dinner…"
He listened to Kevin for a moment. "No, the thing is, I'm kinda busy tonight."
Smash chewed on the edge of his thumb as he listened to Kevin describe the dinner he had planned-at his apartment. They'd only met yesterday, and sure they'd spent last night together-fast, but Kevin was really hot-but Smash wasn't sure he was ready to start something serious with this guy.
"It sounds really nice, honestly, but…"
He could barely get a word in edgewise as Kevin continued to try to change his mind.
"Thing is," Smash started. "It's Christmas and I just need the choir, the kids, the pageant, all of it."
Kevin was silent.
Smash let out a quick chuckle. "Yep, a gay Christian football player. I'm quite a catch."
Kevin's response wasn't one he was expecting. Smash replied quickly, "Are you serious? I mean, I'm cool with it, but just so you know, it's Baptist and honey, it's a black church." He tried to sound cool, but he was freaking himself out. This guy was really getting to him. Did he just say 'honey'? What was he thinking? Why had he just invited this guy to church with him…to his Baptist church?
"What?" he asked, missing Kevin's last question. "Oh, yeah-dinner after? Sure."
Church. Dinner. His mom coming in a few days. The game. This was not going to be a Christmas easily forgotten.
"So then I told him that if he didn't really want to spend Christmas with me, he should just go and be with his dad, who he barely ever talks to and hasn't even seen since his grandmother died." Julie collapsed down onto a mall bench and let her packages fall to the floor beside her.
Tami sat down next to her daughter and tried to paint an encouraging smile on her face. She wanted to be supportive, but inside she was wondering what had gotten into her daughter. Tell Matt that she didn't care if they spent Christmas apart, after the year they'd all had? That didn't sound like Julie at all.
"Well, honey, did you ask him why he wanted to go spend Christmas with his Dad?" Tami probed gently.
"Yeah, he said he thought I'd like the chance to spend Christmas with you and Dad. Just us. What kind of answer is that?"
Tami chewed on her lip and tried to hide a grin. It sounded like the type of answer a man gave when he thought it was what his wife wanted to hear, not what he wanted at all.
She took a sip of her chai latte and looked around at the shoppers busily finishing their shopping. She would never understand how people could leave everything until Christmas Eve. Then she glanced down at the sea of packages surrounding her and Julie and smiled. Maybe they were all just like her and her daughter-in need of retail therapy.
Tami looked over at Julie who seemed lost in thought. "Are you sure there's nothing else going on between you two? I know it's been a hard year."
Julie looked down at her hands silently.
"What about your treatments? Is Matt still going to all of your appointments with you?"
Julie shook her head, not speaking, but Tami saw her lip tremble.
"Jules?" she asked, laying a hand gently on her daughter's arm.
A tear rolled down Julie's cheek but there was a small smile on her face. "I didn't want to tell you yet," she said, her voice catching on sobs in her throat.
Tami's eyes widened but she waited for her daughter to continue.
"I saw the doctor a few weeks ago. He said he saw no reason why I couldn't get pregnant naturally, without any more treatments."
Tami tried to suppress her tears but it was hopeless. She grabbed Julie into a hug, ignoring the crowds of people milling about them.
"Honey! That is the best news ever. I'm…I'm so happy for you. For both of you!"
Julie smiled, her cheeks shining with tears, but then her smile slowly faded.
"What is it? This is good news!"
"I know, but I didn't tell Matt yet. I was saving it for Christmas, and then he said he'd rather not be with me anyway. And I just don't know."
Tami sighed, shaking her head. "Jules, let me tell you something. Marriage is hard." She held up her hand to stop her daughter's objections. "I know you aren't married yet, but you are engaged and living together and working on having children-you have a life with Matt. And it's a struggle, I know.
"And I love you honey, I really do, but you are not communicating with that man."
Tami hated to talk to her daughter so bluntly, but she'd watched Julie push Matt away every time a big problem arose. When Julie had first found out about her possible infertility, she kept it a secret. Then when Eric was diagnosed with cancer, she kept her concerns about going ahead with the wedding quiet until it was almost too late to postpone it.
"Baby girl, that boy loves you. He has loved you since the day you started dating, probably before. And he would lay down his life for you. He would certainly spend Christmas wherever you wanted to, and be happy with your news.
"It's not right to keep this from him. You have to enjoy the good moments, Jules. There are too many turns in the road. Don't take away the good stuff."
Tami thought about Eric and the road they had traveled together over the past year. In many ways it had brought them closer together, but it was a difficult test of their relationship. If she could impart anything on her daughter, she wanted it to be the lesson to grab on to those happy times and squeeze every last drop of joy from them. Life was too short to live it any other way.
"I guess I just worry about you and Dad and I want him to be healthy and strong, and not have to worry about grandkids and me getting married and…"
"You do not get to take away your dad's worry-he has earned that!" Tami smiled and gently squeezed Julie's shoulder. "Celebrate this Christmas with your fiancé. Celebrate trying to make a baby-that's the best part! And celebrate Dad's health. Don't let the bad memories cloud this Christmas. We're lucky to have it."
Julie smiled and wiped away her tears. "Can I wait until tomorrow to tell Matt, like I planned?"
Tami matched her daughter's smile. "Of course, hon. Just remember that he doesn't know what you know. He's trying to make you happy. Let him."
"I will. Thanks, Mom."
"Always honey. And get busy making me a grandbaby! But get married first. I don't think your father's heart could withstand that one."
Lyla tiptoed into the bedroom. Jason's eyes were still closed and his breathing even-from all signs he was still asleep. She set down a cup of coffee on her bedside table and slid the soft terry robe from her shoulders. She pulled back the sheets and slid back into bed next to Jason.
"Mmm…" he sighed as she slid her hand up his arm, her thumb skimming across the soft skin where his inner arm met his body. She knew he was overly sensitive there-he'd told her once that it was the quad's 'G Spot'. If the coffee didn't wake him up, that would. She slid over his body and leaned in to kiss him.
"Merry Christmas Eve, baby," she said as she sat back up.
Jason opened his eyes slowly. "Well, don't you look nice, Mrs. Claus!"
Lyla laughed as she raised her hand to touch the Santa hat sitting rakishly on her long dark hair. "So, have you been good or bad this year, Jason Street?"
"Very bad," Jason replied.
"That's not what I heard," Lyla answered as she leaned down to kiss him again. Jason pulled her close to him as she laughed. "Careful-no molesting Mrs. Claus! What would Santa say?"
"I think he'd understand," Jason whispered into her ear. "There's no way I could resist her."
Lyla rolled on her side next to Jason, her finger tracing along his chest where she knew he had sensation.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly.
She shrugged. "I don't know-just how amazing this year has been. Just think, a year ago we were in New York and didn't know what would happen between us and now, we're engaged, living together, building a house…"
"Building a life," Jason added.
"Yeah," Lyla said quietly.
"What are you worried about?" Jason asked.
God-he always knew her so well. But she didn't want to ruin Christmas, or at least not do any more damage than their parents already had done.
"Lyla?" Jason asked as he ran his hand down the edge of her face. "What's going on in there?"
She forced the smile across her face and sat up, the Santa hat still perched on her head. "Nothing-just thinking about our parents in the breakfast room down at the hotel. I hope Buddy isn't causing a scene."
Jason pushed down on the bed and slowly lifted himself up into a seated position, his back resting against the headboard. "I'm pretty sure that's not it, but you'll tell me when you're ready."
Lyla nodded, trying to stop the tears from filling her eyes.
"Are you sure you don't want to tell me?" Jason asked again, his voice gentle and soft.
Lyla looked down, her finger picking at a string on the sheet covering Jason's lower body. She finally looked up, the tears now welling up beyond her control. "I was late this month and I know we're going to have to go to the fertility clinic, but we had that great weekend in San Antonia and the tournament in Phoenix and I guess a little part of me thought that maybe it had just happened."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jason asked. He reached over and took her hand in his.
She shrugged. "Because I knew it wasn't really true and if it was…"
"Christmas miracle?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, maybe," Lyla replied.
Jason leaned in and kissed her. "The miracle this year will be us all surviving our first Garrity/Street family holiday." He reached down and put his hand on her stomach. "And maybe next year our miracle will be here for sure."
Lyla nodded, as she raised her hand up to wipe away a couple of tears that had escaped.
"And honestly, I'm a little glad to know that behavior last night was PMS," Jason added.
"Jason Street!" Lyla called out as she slapped him on the arm. She hit him a bit harder than she expected and before he could catch himself, he began falling over sideways on the bed.
"Hey!" he called as he slid on his side. "Easy."
Lyla slung her leg over him and leaned in for another kiss. "Santa never says 'easy' when I take him."
Tyra had snuck another three boxes of ornaments onto the tree before Billy, who appeared to be completely engrossed in his GameBoy, admonished her 'Tim can count you know.' She'd laughed and hidden the evidence of her decorating, then set about making Billy's requested cookies. It turned out that Billy had a good idea of how to make icing, and sure, it was pretty sweet, but everyone could use a little more sugar at Christmas time.
She had just finished setting the table for dinner and sat down with a glass of red wine when she heard someone at the front door. It was too early for Tim and Jake to be back. Curious, she pushed through the swinging door and walked toward the front porch.
Shocked, she stopped still in the hallway when she saw who was standing there.
Landry dropped his bag on the floor and looked up at her. "Merry Christmas."
/tbc/
Disclaimer: All characters who appear in these stories belong to their respective creators, including Imagine Entertainment, NBC Universal Television Studio and Film 44.
Authors' Note: Thanks to our beta, devilc, once again. We had hoped to have this story finished before Christmas, but other stories and our own holiday plans kept us busy. Hopefully you are all still feeling the festive spirit.