I'm Dreaming of a Caffrey Christmas

Contrary to holidays past, the Caffrey home was unusually quiet on this Christmas Eve morning. Neal woke to a nagging backache; sadly, it had been relentless over the past few days as he continued to push the limits of his aging body. There'd been holiday baking, shopping and decorating to do, all so he and Sara would be ready to greet the onslaught of visitors who were due to arrive by day's end. Having a houseful of guests might still be one of Neal's favourite things but, to his chagrin - and annoyance - it took a lot more out of him these days.

He sat up in bed and took stock of his deteriorating joints and limbs; these days, his body parts required gentle persuasion to get moving first thing in the morning. He glanced over to his left where Sara slept undisturbed. It had been a long haul since her knee replacement surgery but she was finally reaping the benefits of the long awaited procedure. He forced himself to sit up on the edge of the bed, leaving her to snooze a little while longer. There was food to prepare, a holiday table to set, gifts to wrap and even though Inez, their faithful and dependable cleaning lady, had given the house a thorough scouring the week before, he still wanted to give the bathrooms a quick once over. At least now that Raffie was no longer with them, there wasn't that persistent dog hair all over the house. He smiled sadly at the thought of all those happy Christmases with the family pooch; so much had changed over the past few years - although except for a few notable exceptions, the changes had been for the better.

Luckily, Cam and Jake had come over the day before and had given him a hand lugging up the sleeping bags and air mattresses from the basement, tucking them away in the appropriate bedrooms, ready for their guests. With only three extra bedrooms and the hide-a-bed in the family room, it would be a tight squeeze to accommodate everyone, including Emily who was due to arrive later tonight.

'Sara' he murmured as she mumbled back something undecipherable. 'I'm going to go down and get started on those apple pies. You sleep, okay?'

There was no response from her side of the bed - which was probably a good thing. He'd heard her moving around well into the night. She worried constantly about the kids and with Liam and Cody going through a rough patch and Hope and Cam… well, it seemed there was always something to worry about.

Neal pushed himself off the bed and stretched as best he could, giving himself a moment to adjust before taking a few tentative steps and grabbing for his robe on the nearby chair.

He heard his wife moan in her sleep. Hopefully, she was having pleasant dreams.

WCWCWC

Sara came down, marvelling at how wonderful it was to finally be able to navigate the stairs with alternating feet instead of having to drag her right leg behind her like a wounded animal. The knee replacement surgery had been a godsend - once she'd gotten past the long, arduous rehabilitation process. She could hear Neal's voice emanating from the kitchen. He was either on the phone or talking to an imaginary friend - which, depending on one's perception of Mozzie, could well be the case. She followed the sound of his voice, noticing the sweet smell of cinnamon permeating the air as she got closer to the back of the house.

'Yeah, yeah that sounds great' Neal was saying into the phone as she came into view. She spotted a lump of pie dough on the countertop as he gingerly held the phone in his hand trying, without success, not to get flour all over it. 'We're so excited you're coming.'

'No, there's no way you're staying at a hotel, are you kidding' he said, winking at his wife. 'You can sleep in your old room. We've got it all set up.'

Sara made her way to the coffee pot and poured herself a cupful, settling in at the kitchen table to eavesdrop on Neal's half of the conversation and trying to guess which of the kids he was talking to.

'You know we really don't mind picking you guys up at the airport…' he added, followed by a lengthy silence.

Sara smiled; from all appearances, it was Caitlin.

'All right, all right, well then, we'll see you when you get here. Safe trip honey, love you' he said before hanging up.

'G'morning Repo' Neal called out as he placed a kiss on top of her raven tresses. He spotted just a touch of grey at the very roots but decided to keep mum. There was no way he was going to say a word about the state of his wife's hair - he'd learned that lesson the hard way and was now a card-carrying member of the 'shut up' club.

'How's the old knee this morning?'

'I wish you'd stop calling it the old knee Neal, it's the new knee, remember?' she said with just a touch of annoyance.

Of all their friends who, like them, were entering their twilight years, Sara was easily the most resentful about growing old. Besides, she wasn't all that interested in talking about the state of her aging joints; she'd much rather hear about the telephone call he'd just hung up from.

The frown on her face turned into a bright smile. 'So what time is their flight?'

'Just after noon' he said, returning to the pile of dough he'd been forced to abandon. He sprinkled a handful of flour on the counter and returned to the job of kneading it. 'Turns out Will was able to get away from work a few hours earlier than he'd originally thought.'

Sara relaxed; for a while there, it looked like Will and Caitlin wouldn't even make it home for Christmas. Will's schedule as a first year resident at Mount Carmel Hospital in Columbus didn't offer much in the way of flexibility. It was a miracle he'd been able to get a few days off at all - especially at this time of year.

Sara let her hand linger on the large gold and white box that had been pulled out of the basement every Christmas for the past twelve years. She peeked inside and caressed the white fur hidden there, jostling the bells hidden underneath and causing them to echo through the kitchen.

'Honey, you're going to have to try it on… make sure it still fits.'

'What are you talking about?' Neal said, visibly offended. He inhaled deeply and patted his stomach. 'I haven't put on a pound in…' he stopped. Even he couldn't sell that with a straight face.

Sara's eyes widened and she tilted her head. 'Yeah right…' she mumbled, the skepticism dripping from her voice. '…keep telling yourself that, Caffrey'.

The previous year, they'd had to have the Santa suit mended after Neal had ripped the pants clear down the back while kneeling down to reach for a present behind the tree. Everybody had gasped but Neal - always quick with a quip - had blamed the mishap on Mrs. Claus' inferior sewing skills… more like an over consumption of Mrs. Claus' gingerbread cookies, Sara had reflected at the time.

'Just… try it on before they get here and make sure it fits all right. You don't want to disappoint the kids.'

Neal continued with his pie dough, his strong arms kneading away. He turned to look at her. 'Remember the year Jake threw up all over it?'

Sara chuckled as the memory came flooding back. He'd been no more than three or four years old and he'd overdone it with the candies and chocolate; now, they did the gift giving before the kids had time to get carried away with the Christmas goodies.

'I think there's a picture of that somewhere' she replied. 'You sitting there, trying not to break character and Jakey screaming in your ear.'

'Well, the only person who'd find humour in that is Liam - he probably took the picture.'

Sara was off on a tear, memories of the last dozen or so years of her husband playing Santa still fresh in her mind. 'And then there was the year, Lily wouldn't sit on your lap unless I went with her' she recalled as Neal nodded.

'Yeah, I think that's when I started getting this chronic backache' he teased, reaching out to touch his backside.

Sara watched as a white flour handprint appeared on his silk sleep pants.

'And last year' she said, 'I thought your goose was cooked when Caleb kept pulling on your beard and staring into your eyes. Hope and I kept trying to distract him. I was sure he was going to shout 'Hey, it's Grandpa Neal' any second.'

'Well, I hope this year, the guys can coax Gracie into sitting on my lap. She was terrified of me last year' Neal said with an exaggerated pout.

'Maybe just tone down the hohohos a little' Sara suggested.

'Speaking of which' she said, her face suddenly animated. 'Any news from Liam and Cody?'

Neal glanced out the window at the accumulating snow. It was a short four hour drive from Boston but when the road conditions were bad, that could easily double in time.

He shook his head. 'Not yet. I hope they've got good news for us.'

Sara sighed loudly and got to her feet, checking the saucepan brimming with apples on the stovetop and giving them a quick stir. 'It's been hard on them… all this waiting.'

Neal stepped away from the dough he'd been kneading and stood in front of her, bringing his hands to rest on her hips. There was flour in his hair, mixed in with the silvery grey and she reached up and gently ran her hand through his wavy locks to remove it.

'With any luck, we'll be needing an extra high chair at the table next summer' he said with a smile.

'Hope called though' he continued, trying his best to lighten the mood. 'She asked if we could take the twins for a couple of hours this afternoon. They've still got tons to do to get ready for tomorrow.'

Sara gave him a worried look. As much as she loved her grandkids, the five-year-olds were a handful, especially mere hours before Santa's visit - they'd be higher than a kite and ready to climb the walls.

'Oh honey, are you sure that's a good idea? We've still got a lot to do to get ready.'

Neal dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand and returned to rolling out the pastry dough. 'Babe, they'll be fine. Caleb loves to help… do you know he can actually use the vacuum cleaner by himself now. And Lily… well, all she wants is to be near us. Besides, if we stick them in front of the television with a Christmas movie, we won't hear a peep out of them for a good hour and a half.'

Sara relaxed. Of course, he was right; what did it matter if things weren't picture perfect. Christmas was about family and having their grandkids with them was the best gift of all.

'You're right' she conceded. 'Maybe we can let them open a couple of presents early.'

She glanced over at the pile of Christmas books on the table, waiting to be wrapped. Now that the grandkids had arrived in their lives, the tradition continued: everybody got a Christmas book to open on Christmas Eve, including their grown-up kids.

She returned to staring into her coffee cup, a frown appearing on her face. 'El wants to know if we want to go out for dinner on New Year's Eve' she said, leaning on the counter and taking a sip.

Neal sighed, his face darkening. These days, the mention of El's name brought sadness every time. 'Yeah, of course. Maybe we can have her over and order Chinese like we used to…'

It had only been a couple of years - not quite long enough to get used to not having Peter around. Not that he'd ever get used to his best friend not being there. Sadly, there was no more Burke and Caffrey and there never would be again. Neal felt that familiar lump forming in his throat and he coughed to cover his emotions - not that that fooled Sara anymore. It seemed that the holidays brought with them a multitude of emotions and memories - both happy and sad.

The phone rang and this time, Sara eagerly reached out for it.

'Happy Christmas Eve!' she sang joyfully into the phone, doing her best to inject a little holiday spirit into the sombre mood that had descended upon the room.

'Mom! Hey, how are you doing?'

'Liam! I'm so glad you called. Dad and I were just talking about you. You are still coming, aren't you?' she said, worry creeping into her voice.

'Try and stop us. I just wanted to let you know we're just about ready to start packing the car.'

'Oh honey, be careful on the roads, they're calling for another four to six inches of snow' she said, watching as Neal stopped what he was doing and moved to stand directly in front of her - better to listen in.

'Don't worry Mom' came Liam's voice. 'We've got snow tires on the car and it hasn't even started snowing here yet. And besides, we have precious cargo so we won't be taking any chances.'

Sara could hear giggling in the background and she signalled to Neal to come closer, pulling her ear away from the phone so they could both hear.

'How's our precious baby girl?' Sara asked, her face animated.

'She's right here, she's really excited about seeing you — and she can't wait to play with her cousins. We're having a little trouble getting her to focus long enough to finish eating her breakfast though.'

Neal and Sara heard a ruckus in the background and the childlike chattering intensified.

'Hey Gracie!' Sara shouted into the phone — so loudly that Neal grimaced at the shrill sound of her voice.

'Come say hi to Grandma sweet cheeks' they heard Liam say.

'And Grandpa' Neal added, leaning in so he could be heard over the phone line.

There was a loud shriek of sheer joy followed by the happy voice of a very excited three-year-old. 'Grandma! Grandpa!' she shouted loudly.

'Hi pretty girl!' Sara cooed. 'Are you and your daddies coming to our house today?'

She nodded emphatically as if her grandma could see her from her kitchen in White Plains. 'I have a present for you…' the child replied with glee. 'It's chocolates!'

Sara chuckled. 'Grandpa and I love chocolates' she said.

There was some grumbling on the other end as the child ostensibly squirmed off her daddy's lap and then she was gone.

'Sorry' Liam said with a chuckle. 'We're still working on phone manners… and keeping secrets apparently.'

Neal could see tears forming in Sara's eyes; it was hard to have the kids living so far away from home. He took the phone from her hand to save her from embarrassment; it wouldn't do to have her whimpering into their son's ear on such a festive occasion.

'Hey buddy! Mom and I are so excited you're coming. Any news yet?' he asked cryptically.

Liam hesitated. 'We'll tell you all about it when we get there' he said, apparently unwilling to share more than that over the phone.

Neal's eyebrows shot up. It was hard to make much of his son's response. 'Just be careful driving, buddy. The roads can get slippery…'

'We've got this Dad, don't worry. We'll take our time. We just wanted you to know we'll be heading out in the next hour or so and we'll be there in plenty of time for dinner.'

Neal could hear the voice of his granddaughter, singing in the background, Jingle Bells maybe, he couldn't be sure.

'Gracie says she wants blueberry pancakes for breakfast tomorrow morning' Liam said with a chuckle. 'Apparently, mine aren't up to par.'

Neal had the distinct impression the blueberry pancakes were more of a request from Liam than from his daughter. 'Done' he said with joy. 'Tell her I'm counting on her to help.'

There was more grumbling in the background and Neal and Sara could hear Cody's voice, urging their daughter to finish her breakfast so they could hit the road.

'Look, I gotta go Dad' Liam said. 'We just wanted to tell you we'll be on our way soon. We can't wait to see you guys.'

Far off in the distance, they heard Cody call out. 'See you soon!'

'Love you honey' Sara shouted into the phone. And then, Liam was gone.

WCWCWC

Over in Brooklyn, Cameron Armstrong had been doing his best to assemble the training wheels on not one but two shiny new bikes when Hope made her entrance, her large belly protruding through her open bathrobe.

Cam glanced up at her as she shuffled over, her ankles swollen. She handed him a cup of coffee and ruffled his hair lovingly.

'What's it going to be like when the twins are old enough to have computers and phones and all that stuff that was on Jake's Christmas list?' she sighed, looking around the room at the overabundance of gifts still waiting to be wrapped.

Cameron kept working in silence, his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth as he concentrated.

Hope examined her husband's handiwork. 'They're going to love these honey' she said, letting her hand linger on the bright blue streamers at the end of one of the handlebars.

Thanks to the unprecedented success of the Raphael Gallery, they were able to offer plenty to their brood this year and they were thankful for that. Three years earlier, the owner of the café next door to the gallery had put his place on the market and Hope and Cam had snatched it up, eager to double the space they'd occupied previously. It had cost them plenty and had been a calculated risk but considering the Armstrongs were now the rightful owners of the gallery, Neal and Sara had stayed well out of it — although Neal had lost more than a few nights sleep over their decision.

The Raphael had been his baby, it was his legacy and he hated to think of it going belly-up. But a gift was a gift and after the twins were born, Neal had sold the Raphael to his daughter and her husband for the tidy sum of one dollar. There were no strings attached and Neal had bitten his tongue on many occasions as he let them navigate the waters of gallery ownership in the Chelsea District. Not that they didn't frequently ask for his advice. But both Hope and Cameron had been around the gallery scene for years, they knew their clientele well and they had slowly begun to diversify their offerings which had brought in a whole new following.

In the end, no one had been happier than Neal when the profits had started to climb thanks to some shrewd and strategic decisions on their part and the gallery was now well on its way to doubling its profits, following a couple of rocky years.

With the twins' arrival, it had become obvious to the Armstrongs that they could no longer stay in their cramped apartment and they had found a nice, albeit modest, three bedroom house in Cobble Hill, not too far from Hope's aunt Elizabeth. And just in the knick of time too… Hope had unexpectedly gotten pregnant and they were counting down the days before baby Ella joined her brothers and sister to complete their family.

Hope glanced around her; the basement was overrun with gifts. It was the one and only room in their home that the kids knew not to go snooping in if they wanted some surprises on Christmas morning. Like her parents before her, Hope had always told their kids that Santa brought one gift per child while parents picked up the slack for any extras. It made hiding stuff from them a lot easier and for the past three mornings, she and Cam had been getting up before dawn to assemble toys and get everything wrapped up before the big day.

'How did we get so carried away?' she asked as she squeezed her oversized body into the only available armchair. As she let herself fall, she wondered if she would be able to get herself back up again - probably not without some help.

She grabbed a box with a picture of a telescope - a gift destined for their twelve-year-old - and reached awkwardly for some wrapping paper nearby. Meanwhile, Cam continued working away, screwdriver in hand, oblivious to the mess around them. He stopped suddenly, his ears perked.

'Did you hear that?' he asked in response to the creak above their heads.

'Mommy? Mommy?' they heard in the distance.

'Oh shit!' Hope said, struggling to try to get out of the chair.

Cam knew the drill by now. He got up off the floor and took a few steps, intent on rescuing his wife from the claws of the cushy armchair. He huffed, giving a good solid tug and she sprung to her feet, landing in his arms inelegantly.

'Hey' he said with an impish grin. He brought his arms around her as best he could. 'You wanna dance?'

She smacked him playfully across the chest in response to the inside joke. Dancing barefoot in their kitchen one night after a bottle of Riesling was precisely the reason she was standing there before him with a belly the size of a small condo.

They had mutually agreed that there would be no more dancing barefoot in the kitchen - at least not after a bottle of wine. Little Ella, unexpected, accidental little Ella would be loved like her brothers and sister but she would remain their baby forevermore.

Hope waddled towards the stairs. 'Coming Lily!' she called out.

WCWCWC

Cody sat at the kitchen table of their Cambridge home, coaxing their daughter to take a few more spoonfuls of yogurt while Liam stuffed Gracie's favourite teddy bear into her large diaper bag.

'Why is it the younger the kid, the more luggage there is' he commented as his husband looked on.

'That…' Cody replied with a crooked grin, '…is one of the great mysteries of life. At least this year, we don't have to lug around the playpen for you to sleep in' he added, gently tapping the tip of his daughter's nose and bringing on a fit of giggles.

'Where am I going to sleep Daddy?' the child asked, looking up at Cody with her dazzling brown eyes.

'You get to go camping on an air mattress in Poppa's old room' he said.

The men exchanged longing looks and sighed; truth was, as annoying as it had been to lug that thing around, they wouldn't mind one bit having to drag the damn playpen with them again this Christmas. They'd been waiting for almost a year to hear back from the private adoption agency that had helped facilitate Grace's adoption from Haiti more than two years before.

Gracie had come to live with them at the tender age of eight months, a gorgeous baby with radiant brown eyes a few shades darker than her mocha coloured skin. She was beautiful, full of life, the apple of her daddies' eyes. Liam and Cody had each taken consecutive four month parental leaves before settling on the services of the workplace child care centre at Boston University where Cody was employed as supervisor in the microbiology research lab. It was practical to have her cared for nearby, especially since Liam was working such long hours getting his own accounting business off the ground. He'd paid his dues working at a large firm in downtown Boston and he was looking forward to running his own business. For the time being, he was working out of their den as he continued to burn the midnight oil building up his clientele.

Now that they'd settled into life with Gracie, the two men were more than ready to grow their family and for the past year, they'd been jumping through all the adoption hoops in the hopes of finding a brother or sister for their little girl. It seemed a little simpler this time around, considering they had proven their mettle as adoptive parents but it was still a painstakingly long, slow process.

Three months earlier, they'd finally received confirmation from Arms Open Wide that the orphanage where they'd found Grace had identified a four-month-old baby girl for them. After that, the bureaucracy had slowed to a crawl… at least until the previous week, when they'd finally gotten a call that they could come down to Port-au-Prince and start working out the details. With any luck, they would be adding a new baby to their family by Valentine's Day.

Gracie squirmed on Cody's lap and let herself slip to the floor. At just shy of three years old, she was cute as a button and smarter than most kids her age. It was amazing, considering she hadn't even been sitting up when they'd first brought her home. A little coaxing, some patience and a lot of love and she'd been babbling almost immediately and walking just before her first birthday, right on schedule, according to their paediatrician.

'Daddy!' she cried out gleefully as both men turned to look at her.

'Yeah?' they both said in unison.

Cody looked up at Liam and sighed in exasperation. In an attempt to reduce confusion, they'd been trying to get her to refer to Cody as 'Daddy' and Liam as 'Poppa'. They'd both been responding to 'Daddy' ever since she'd started talking - which seemed rather impractical - although lately she'd taken to calling out 'Daddies!' whenever she needed something.

'We really need to figure something out babe' Cody told his husband with a good natured smile.

Gracie Miller-Caffrey toddled over to Liam and tugged on his pant leg. 'Can we go in the car now, Daddy?' she asked, her face scrunched up in a question mark.

Liam looked over at his better half. 'I guess that one was meant for me.'

'Yes, Gracie-girl!' he said as he scooped her up in his arms. He yanked up the bottom of her t-shirt and blew a raspberry on her perfectly round belly as she giggled irrepressibly, filling the house with joy.

'We are going in the car to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Are you gonna be a good girl? It's a looooong drive.'

She nodded enthusiastically and clapped her hands in glee. 'I want to eat in the car' she said as she glanced over in Cody's direction. That was usually a no-no in his book but a clever three-year-old like Gracie could sense when she had her dads on the ropes.

'Today is a special day so yes, you can eat in the car' Cody said, holding up some baggies with fish crackers and pieces of cheese and fruit. 'Now, go get some books in your room and we'll put them in your backpack.'

For better or for worse, he seemed to have fallen into the role of disciplinarian, keeping their home organized and maintaining order whereas Liam tended to be 'relaxed dad', always ready to play and make up excuses to bend the rules - perhaps yet another example of the apple not falling far from the tree.

The two men watched her saunter away, pure joy on their faces. Liam walked over to the fridge and reached for the photograph that had been hanging there for the past few months amongst their daughter's many works of art and the array of family photographs: pictures of his niece and nephews, several of Gracie as a baby, the whole Caffrey clan on their wedding day.

'I can't believe this is really happening' he said as Cody brought his arm around him to gaze at the photograph of the baby who looked surprisingly like Grace had looked at that age: same big, curious brown eyes, curly head of hair, easy smile. 'She's beautiful!'

'I can't wait' Cody said, his eyes growing moist. 'Bring the picture babe, so we can show everybody' he said as Liam tucked it into the edge of one of their suitcases.

Gracie reappeared, arms laden with books and a few stuffed animals tucked under her chin for good measure. Her daddies laughed heartily.

'Come on, munchkin!' Cody said. 'Let's get your coat on. We're going to visit Grandma and Grandpa!'

WCWCWC

'Did you see my curling iron anywhere?' Caitlin asked as she ran around the small apartment she shared with Will Allenby.

He gave her a look of consternation. 'Do I look like I know where your curling iron is?'

'Oh never mind. Here it is' she said, leaning into her overnight bag and spotting it there.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the glimmer off her finger and took a moment to admire the ring on her left hand. It had only been there a couple of weeks and she was still getting used to seeing it there.

'You still didn't tell them, did you?' Will asked as she shook her head.

He continued working, placing things methodically in his suitcase while his girlfriend - hum, make that his fiancée - ran around the apartment like a chicken with her head cut off.

'Did you… did you tell Liam?' she asked as if a light had just come on.

He looked away, pretending to tuck some undies into the corner of his suitcase.

'William Eugene Allenby!' she cried out accusingly.

He looked up. 'Yes?' he said innocently.

'You did, didn't you. I'll bet Sara and Mr. C know already.'

'No, they don't' he reassured her. 'I told Liam we wanted to tell them ourselves.'

'Yeah right, like when you told him we were moving to Columbus. Sara knew all about it before I could get a word out.'

Will avoided her stare and moved to the bathroom to collect his toiletries.

Caitlin stopped suddenly and flopped on the edge of their bed, glancing around the apartment. She still couldn't believe they'd managed to snag this great place - and at a price they could afford. The 19th floor apartment was located right downtown amongst the many high-rises, away from the bustling noises from the street below. The main criteria for choosing this place had been its proximity to the hospital. As a first year resident, Will was frequently on call and it was nice to be able to run home for a nap between those long shifts instead of having to use those god-awful cots in the residents' room.

The salary of a first year resident was, to put it mildly, rather modest considering Will's enormous student debt but alongside her teaching salary, they found a way to make it work. She glanced at the picture of this year's grade three class she kept by her bedside. It was her third year teaching, after a couple of years of subbing in the school system first in New York, then in Ohio. Caitlin had quickly gained a reputation as a competent and caring teacher and that, along with the requisite hours she'd put in as a sub, had earned her a full-time job with the Columbus Public School Board. So far she'd had a first grade class and this was her second year teaching grade three - an age she simply loved. The kids in her class were smart and inquisitive and now, almost half-way through the school year, she'd finally gotten them into a routine they could all live with. She looked at the fresh faces staring back at her; she loved them all.

Now that she was settled in a job she loved, it had become less scary to think about a future with Will. She loved him, of that she had no doubt, but after half a lifetime of being bounced around the foster care system, she was still skittish about commitment. She set down the photograph and reached for the other one she kept on her night table: the one they'd taken on Liam and Cody's wedding day. Of course, there'd been a few additions to the family since then. The huge belly Hope sported in the photograph had produced little Lily and Caleb - who was cute as a button but hell on wheels. And of course, Gracie was now part of the family. In a few months, they'd be welcoming Cam and Hope's new baby and with a little luck, the baby girl Cody and Liam were desperately waiting to adopt would also join the family.

She examined the faces of her foster parents beaming back at her. Nowadays, Mr. C had a fair bit more grey in his hair than he'd had in the picture but the last time she and Will had visited, he'd seemed just as strong and energetic as ever. Sara never seemed to age although those wrinkles in the corner of her eyes had grown deeper with time.

Some days, Caitlin still couldn't believe her luck. Walking into the school of art that day, so many years ago, had been her saving grace, an unexpected introduction to this wonderful family which, over time, had become her own.

Her eyes moved to admire the ring once again and she sighed, seemingly in a trance.

'Sweetie, hurry! We're going to miss our —' Will stopped, noticing her holding the photograph in her hands.

He joined her on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his and caressing her engagement ring, a symbol of the promise they'd made to one another.

'You know if you want to get there in time to have dinner with these lovely people, we're going to have to get a move-on' he said, his tone playful.

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

'Awww Blondie' he said, bringing his arm around her and holding her tight. 'Don't cry.'

Almost as if he knew what she'd been thinking, he continued. 'Don't ask why. Nobody knows… we're just really lucky, that's all. Lucky to be a part of this family… lucky to have found each other.'

She nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat, setting down the photograph. She seemed to shake off the nostalgia and she got to her feet, returning to the task of packing the last of her things. She gave Will a playful hip check, breaking the mood.

'What are you waiting for?' she managed to say. 'We're going to miss our flight.'

WCWCWC

'Ella… Ella… Ella' Sara repeated in her sleep.

Neal hovered nearby, dressed in red and white, his Santa beard hanging from his neck like a string of pearls.

'Sara! Sara! Wake up!'

Her eyes opened but her mind remained momentarily trapped between sleep and consciousness. She blinked as his face came into focus.

'Santa?' she murmured in wonder like a two-year old who had come face to face with jolly St-Nick and wasn't quite sure if he was real or not.

Neal stared down with a gentle smile and pulled the beard up to cover his face. He stood, rubbing his belly and let out a jolly 'Ho, ho, ho. Hello little girl!'

'It still fits just fine' he announced with pride, turning on himself to show her the back of the pants. 'And the cleaners managed to get that stain out' he added, holding up the white trim on his sleeve where he'd spilled coffee the year before.

Sara sat up with a grimace, looking around the room as if she'd never seen it before. For a moment there, she didn't know where she was or what day it was. The details from her bizarre dream came back in bits and pieces, so real she couldn't distinguish whether they were fact or fiction.

Neal started to remove the suit, putting the beard, then the Santa jacket back into the gold box with the white stripes.

'Oh, my God…' Sara said, sitting up. 'I just had the strangest dream.'

There was worry on her face as the jumbled thoughts became clearer. She stared at Neal and rubbed her eyes as he continued to change out of his holiday disguise.

'I don't want the kids to see me before it's time' he said, carefully placing the belt in its keepsake box.

'Peter…' Sara murmured. She looked up at Neal, her eyes narrowing. 'Is Peter all right?'

'Peter?' Neal repeated with a frown. 'What do you mean, is Peter all right?'

'I just…' Sara stopped, unable to articulate what she'd been dreaming.

Neal frowned, unsure what she was getting at. 'He's fine. He called a while ago to say that El was bringing some eggnog and those little quiches Moz likes.'

She let out a sigh of relief. 'I dreamed that… Never mind.'

'Honey you better get up. The kids will be here soon' he urged as he put the box back under the bed and smoothed his greying hair.

'How do I look?' he asked her.

He stood before her, looking just as handsome as ever, his silver hair giving him an air of respectability. 'Come on babe, I need you to help me set the table. They're going to be here any minute.'

But Sara didn't move, both her body and mind taking their sweet time returning to reality.

'Come on, let's go!' Neal repeated with a sweep of his arm.

Sara sat up, trying to get her bearings. For a moment, reality remained fluid. What was real and what was an illusion - part of the crazy dream she'd just had?

She heard the front door opening in the distance and Neal welcoming their first guests. She recognized the familiar voices as they drifted up the stairs.

Happy voices.

There were children's voices, the sound of their own grown-up kids' voices, creating the most amazing cacophony she'd ever heard.

The sounds of joy and love and family.

And then above all the loud chatter, she heard footsteps running up the stairs and voices calling out in glee, a chorus of happy little people.

'Grandma!' she heard.

La fin