Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

Another one-shot for the McSwarek Advent Calendar.

Enjoy!

He woke and smiled as he realized his wife was snuggled against him. She had pulled the short straw and had late night shift. He had told her to wake him when she got home but he wasn't surprised that she had ignored his request. He couldn't fault her, he had done the same on countless occasions.

He dropped a gentle kiss on her forehead before slipping out of bed. Their girls would be waking up soon and he didn't want them to wake her up.

As he opened the door, he found a note taped to the handle.

Sam,
Sorry I didn't wake you. B&E at the end of shift so I got home late.
I know you're going to try to keep the girls quiet so I can sleep
so I figured I'd let you get your rest.
Remember to record them opening their presents for me.

I love you,
A.

Sam glanced at her. She had snuggled under the covers after he had left the bed, moving into his spot for warmth, all without stirring.

He heard the pattering of footsteps and quickly stepped out of the room and closed the door. "Good Morning girls."

"Morning Daddy" two voices greeted him. "Merry Christmas."

Sam smiled. "Yes it is." He had not understood what Oliver meant about loving your child unconditionally until the birth of his first daughter. By the time the second one came along, it was a part of him that he couldn't explain, nor did he want to.

"Guess who came last night?" They said to him.

"Who?" he asked, playing along.

"Santa. And he ate our cookies."

Sam smiled and stretched out his hands. Each girl slipped one of their hands through his hand. As they walked down the stairs, he was thankful that Andy remember to either eat or dispose of the cookies when she got home.

When they got to the living room, the girls pointed under the tree. "Look Daddy, we got presents."

"I see." He grabbed the video recorder he and Andy had purchased a few days earlier from its place on the bookcase where Andy had left it so he wouldn't forget to video. She had informed him as soon as she found out she had night shift that if he wanted her to sleep, he had to video the girls when they opened their presents. Normally she would have said 'just wake me' but this year she really needed her sleep.

Sam mentally cursed when he couldn't figure out how to switch the machine from a camera to the video. He probably should have read the directions but he told Andy he was a big boy and didn't need them.

"Daddy?"

He looked up. "What's wrong Rachel?" The five and a half year old girl had a puzzled look on her face.

"Where's Mommy?"

Almost three, Natalie had to copy her sister. "Where's Mommy?"

Sam sighed. "Mommy explained this to you. She had to work last night so she's sleeping right now."

Rachel looked thoughtful. "Can we wait?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. Clearly she got her genes from someone other than him (although he had waited for Andy all that time). "You want to wait?"

"Daddy" she said in an exasperated tone that she had either picked up from Andy or in school "you can't figure out the video camera and Mommy's sad. She will be really happy and smile if we wait for her."

Sam hid his surprise, barely. It had been a rough year for Andy but they made the joint decision to hide it from the girls. Evidently they hadn't done as good a job as they assumed.

He looked at his watch. They would be driving to St. Catharines later and Andy would be able to sleep in the car but he still wanted to give her at least another hour of sleep. He wished she would have woken him or at least written a time on the note so he would know how long she had slept already.

"Natalie?" he asked, wondering if she was okay with Rachel's plan.

She smiled at him. "Mommy gonna be happy and give us hugs and kisses".

That settled it for him. "Fine. Let's have breakfast and then see what time it is."

He managed to kill over an hour on breakfast and play time before the girls asked him when they could wake their mommy.

They made breakfast for Andy, killing another half an hour. They placed it on a tray and Sam lifted the tray into his arms before following the girls up the stairs.

They knew better than to barge into the room and waited for Sam by the door. He knocked first. "Andy?" he called gently, hoping to wake her up.

He opened the door.

"Mommy" the girls cried as they ran towards the bed.

Andy opened her eyes and bit back a yawn. "Hi girls." She waited for them to climb onto the bed and snuggle with her under the covers before hugging both of them. "Merry Christmas."

Sam looked at her, a silent apology in his gaze. "They wanted to wait for you before they opened their presents." He looked at the girls. "Let Mommy eat breakfast first since you two worked so hard to make it and I don't want it to get cold."

The girls nodded. Andy suggested they get dressed while she ate.

She looked at the tray as Sam sat down next to her. "You okay?" he asked softly.

Andy nodded. "Just tired but I'll sleep on the way to Sarah's place." She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Thank you for waiting."

"Not my idea. I was going to record it until Rachel said she wanted to wait for you." He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "Merry Christmas. I love you."

She tilted her head to find his lips. "Same to you." She pushed herself up after a minute. "Come, I'll eat on the couch while we watch them open their presents."

Sam grabbed the tray and followed her down the stairs.

Andy curled up on the couch next to him and ate as they watched the girls open their presents.

As soon as Andy finished eating, Sam set the tray aside and wrapped his arms around her. He smiled as he felt her relax.

He kissed her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Sam" she murmured. "Not in front of the girls." She gently rubbed her stomach.

"Andy, you're past four months already. You've been wearing baggy shirts but people are going to start to talk soon." He knew what she was afraid of, what he was afraid of. She had had a miscarriage a few months back and then got pregnant before the doctor told them it was okay. The doctor was watching her carefully but had given her the all clear two days before Christmas.

"I know" she murmured and then froze.

Sam released her and she hurried towards the bathroom.

"Daddy?"

"What's wrong Rachel?"

"Where did Mommy go?"

"Bathroom." Technically, it wasn't a lie.

"Oh."

To Sam's surprise, Rachel sat down next to the couch to wait for Andy. He wasn't surprised when Natalie sat next to her.

Andy returned with a puzzled look on her face. "What's wrong girls?"

"Mommy," Rachel said "we wanted to make you smile but you're still sad."

Andy smiled as she sat down next to Sam and motioned for both of the girls to join them on the couch. "I'm not sad sweetie." She glanced at Sam. He nodded. "Daddy and I have another present for you but you are not going to get it for a few months."

Natalie's eyes widened. "Another present?"

Sam smiled. "Yes sweetie." He took Andy's hand a gave it a squeeze.

The squeeze was the encouragement Andy needed. "You two are going to be big sisters."

Rachel squealed with delight. "There's a baby growing in Mommy's belly Natalie."

"A baby?"

Sam brushed a lock of hair out of Natalie's eyes. "Yes sweetie. You're going to be a big sister."

"Like Rachel."

At Andy's nod, Natalie clapped in delight.

"So you're not sad?" Rachel asked Andy.

"No sweetie. I'm very happy. Now why don't you finish opening your presents and throw out the wrapping paper so we can get ready to go to Aunt Sarah's."

"Can I tell Aunt Sarah?"

Andy glanced at Sam. He smiled. "Sure sweetie. You can tell Aunt Sarah. Now, we should clean up like Mommy asked and let Mommy rest." He winked at Andy. He knew the girls would help him without complaint if he played that card.

Andy settled back into the couch with a smile on her face as she watched her husband and daughters clean up. "Next year you'll be here too little one" she whispered "and it will be an even merrier Christmas than this one."

A.N. Reviews make my day so let me know what you think.