A/N: ok, so I know I'm crazy for posting a Christmas story in the middle of May but first, I love doing things that don't make sense! [I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities. - Dr. Seuss] haha
now, the reason why this story happened is because I took a roadtrip with one of my best friends today and while we were driving, Christmas music started coming out of the speakers! we turned to look at each other and burst into laughing! we were in my friend's sister's car! and she had a Christmas cd! we got so excited we listened to all of it and sang like when we were little girls and we got in the Christmas spirit! it was so much fun and then, well, this came out! if it were for me Christmas would be longer!
so, I keep bringing Matt in my stories and I realized he needed one on his own! so here's my one-shot of Christmas Berryford :) I hope you like it - moony
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. If I did, Matt would have never left!
Rachel Berry was walking in the streets of New York the day before Christmas. She was wearing her favorite red coat, black skinny jeans and her favorite black boots. She had her cream hat and gloves on. But it wasn't snowing. She loved snow. It was her favorite thing about Christmas. Ever since she started living in New York after graduating high school, she couldn't wait for this time of the year. The only thing she hated was, once again, her dads couldn't make it. She was used to it, but usually Kurt would be with her. Only this time, since it was the holidays, he obviously went home to spend Christmas with his dad, Carol and Finn. She decided to go shopping to get her mind off things. Since her dads couldn't make it, they let her buy twice what she usually did.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on, our troubles will be out of sight.
Before hitting the stores, she decided to grab a cup of coffee. She entered Starbucks and waited in line with her iPod on. When she reached the counter she ordered her usual coffee.
"That'll be $8.50" the cashier girl said in a not-so-friendly way. Rachel grabbed her purse and took out her wallet.
"Um, I'm short for $3 do you take credit?" she asked a little embarrassed.
"Not for anything under $10" the girl said a little annoyed. Well, aren't you nice?
"Um-"
"I can get that" she heard someone from behind say and walked over to her.
"Oh God no! Really, you don't have to do that" she said looking at the boy.
"Don't worry, is no prob- Rachel?"
"Oh my God! Matt?" she asked smiling recognizing Matt Rutheford.
"Wow, I haven't seen you since graduation" he said smiling. "How are you?" he said hugging her.
"Well, I'm great! How are you?" she asked smiling and returning the hug.
"Can't complain" he said smiling. Then, they heard the cashier girl clearing her throat. "Oh right, here you go" he said paying for Rachel's coffee and his.
"Oh, Matt you really didn't have to" Rachel said blushing a little.
"Is no problem Rach" he said still smiling at her.
"Thank you" she said smiling back.
"So, how you've been?" Matt asked as they waited for their drinks.
"Well I got into Julliard" she said smiling. "I'm living with Kurt!"
"Oh, right! I remember Finn telling us about that" he told her.
"So how about you?" she asked him.
"Well, I got into NYU" he told her. "I live with Mike and Puck but they both went home to spend the holidays" he said smiling.
"What about you?" she asked a little curious.
"Oh, my parents came here, since my sister is also living here with her husband" he said smiling.
"That's great" she said smiling.
"Rachel Berry and Matt Rutheford" the guy with the coffees said handing them their drinks.
"Thanks" they both said at the same time. "So, where are you headed to?" Matt asked her as they walked outside.
"Last minute shopping" she said laughing a little. "And you?"
"I promised my nieces I help them look for a present for their parents" he said sweetly. Rachel felt her heart melt a little bit but maybe it was because she of the coffee.
"Well, thanks again for the coffee" she said smiling. "It was great seeing you again Matt" she said hugging him.
"You too Rach" he said returning the hug, which happened to be a little longer than a 'regular' hug. "Hey, we should get together more often" he said as he pulled away from the hug.
"I'd like that" she said smiling.
"Merry Christmas Rach" he said kissing her goodbye.
"Merry Christmas Matt" she said a little sad of the fact he was leaving. They smiled at each other and went they're separate ways.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Make the Yuletide gay. From now on, our troubles will be miles away.
She put her iPod back on and she went into one of her favorite stores. She grabbed skirts, shirts, scarves, sweaters, bags, everything. She managed to make her way to the fitting rooms with a huge pile of clothes. She tried everything on and decided to take a almost everything. She repeated the same process in a couple of more stores. She had developed this shopping addiction thanks to Kurt. He got her to go shopping every time she felt upset and well, here we are. But for some reason, she couldn't get Matt out of her mind. She started walking around the mall listening to one of her favorite Christmas songs. She couldn't help to get a little sad. She saw all the families together having fun. She spotted an adorable old man sitting by himself. Moments later, an adorable old lady came to sit with him with two ice creams. She sat next to him and he kissed her. It was one of the cutest pictures she had ever seen. She turned to look at a little girl with her dad. He was picking her up, throwing her in the air and catching her while she giggled adorably. She missed her dads. She hated that they weren't here. She had to go back to her apartment all by herself and have sushi for dinner. Kurt had offered her to come along with him, but she didn't feel comfortable with Finn and Quinn over there. They never really got along after they got back together. Puck had offer her to go there too, but being with the Puckermans just made her a little more sad about the fact of her dads not being there, so she kindly declined. She kept on wondering the halls of the mall and spotted a couple of newlyweds. She could tell by the look on their faces. They were holding hands and smiling looking through the windows. And then, she saw a little scared girl. She was looking everywhere. It looked like she was lost. The little girl started running and she bumped into Rachel. She was about five.
"Hi sweetie, are you lost?" Rachel asked worried and the little girl nodded. "I'm Rachel" she said sweetly.
"I'm Sophie" the little girl shyly.
"Would you like me to help you look for your mom Sophie?" Rachel asked her and the little girl shook her head no.
"I didn't come here with my mommy" she told her. "I came here with my uncle and my sister" she said a little less scared.
"Well, let's find them then" Rachel said holding her hand. "Do you remember what they were wearing?"
"Olivia is dressed like me" she said smiling.
"Well, let's start looking ok?" Rachel said sweetly walking with her and Sophie nodded smiling sweetly.
"There she is!" she heard another little girl yell pointing at them.
"That's her!" Sophie told Rachel pointing at the little girl. She wasn't just dressed like her. She was exactly like her. Sophie started pulling Rachel towards her sister.
"Uncle Matty! I found her!" she heard the little girl yell exited. Wait a minute.
"Oh my God Sophie! You had me worried sick! What was I going to say to your mom if I only showed up with one of you two?" he asked kneeling down to hug Sophie. Rachel immediately recognized the voice.
"Well, one of them can easily pass for both of them" she said laughing a little.
"Rachel?" Matt said looking up, noticing her for the first time. "Well, hello again" he said with a little chuckle.
"She helped me find you" Sophie told him sweetly.
"Thank you so much" Matt said relieved. "My sister would've killed me! I got really scared. There are a lot of people in here" he admitted.
"It was nothing" Rachel said smiling. "She bumped into me and told me Olivia was dressed just like her" she told him.
"Yeah, they refuse to dress differently, so it only makes it harder to recognize who is who" he said laughing a little.
"Uncle Matty! Can we go get ice cream?" Olivia said pulling his coat.
"Can Rachel come too? She's pretty" Sophie said smiling making Rachel blush.
"Yeah, she looks like a princess" Olivia said smiling too, making her blush deeper.
"If she wants to" Matt said smiling at Rachel.
"Please?" the twins begged with huge puppy eyes.
"I would love to" Rachel said laughing a little.
"Ok, so what are we going to say to your mom about our day at the mall?" Matt asked as they girls were eating they're ice creams as if there was no tomorrow.
"That uncle Matty is the best uncle in the world" they said at the same time, making Rachel giggle.
"Are we gonna tell her about Sophie?" he asked them as if this was a routine.
"No" they said giggling.
"And about the ice cream?" he asked.
"No. Uncle Matty wouldn't let us have ice cream, so we don't spoil our dinner" they said laughing, making Rachel laugh too.
"Matt! You can't buy your nieces like that" she said between laughs.
"I prefer to call it team work" he said winking at his nieces who started giggling.
"Can we go to the play ground?" they asked at the same time when they finished their ice creams.
"Sure, but stay where I can see you ok?" Matt told them and they nodded running to the playground.
"They're adorable" Rachel said smiling as they saw them walk away.
"Yeah, every now and then. Then they get annoying" he said laughing.
"Don't be mean" she said laughing a little.
"I'm kidding" he said laughing too. "But don't tell that to my sister or she'll make me take care of them more often, and when they team up, they can be really hard work" he said getting serious and she laughed a little more. "So, is there anything left in any of the stores?" he asked laughing when he realized all the bags on the floor. She blushed a little.
"Yeah, I got a little carried away" she said laughing.
"So, what are your big plans for Christmas Eve?" he asked smiling.
"Oh, no big plans" she said with a sad smile. "Just a small dinner that's all" she said not wanting to sound pathetic by telling him the whole story. "How about you?"
"Well, just my parents, my sister, her husband, my nieces and me" he said smiling. "Nothing fancy" he said with a little chuckle. "And, maybe I'll deny it if you say I said this, but it's my favorite holiday. I mean, they really get on my nerves sometimes, but I love Christmas with my family. My sister and my mom are just the best cookers in the world, which I only miss more now living with Mike and Puck" he said laughing. "And well my nieces get all excited with the presents and we play games and everything and I read them The Night Before Christmas" he said smiling sweetly.
"Sounds lovely" she said feeling a little empty inside.
"So, do your dads live here or they just came for the holidays?" he asked curious.
"Oh, my dads aren't here. They couldn't make it" she said casually eating her ice cream again.
"So are you spending Christmas with Kurt?" he asked confused. He was sure Finn told them Kurt was going home for Christmas.
"No" she simply said. "He went home to spend Christmas too" she told him.
"Wait, so who are you spending Christmas with?" he asked confused. Rachel froze for a minute, realizing she had let slip she was spending Christmas all on her own.
"Um, no one?" she said a little nervous.
"What?" Matt asked confused, sad and worried.
"It's not a big deal" she told him. "I'm used to my dads working a lot" she said with a sad smile.
"But still Rach, you can't spend Christmas Eve on your own" he said a little sad.
"Seriously Matt, is not even the first time" she said as if it was nothing. "My dads are just really busy people" she explained.
"You're coming to my house" he told her.
"Excuse me?" she said a little surprised.
"I'm inviting you to my house, well, my sister's house, to spend Christmas Eve with us" he said smiling.
"Oh God no! Matt, as thankful as I am, I could never impose like that" she told him.
"You're not imposing, and I already told my mom, see?" he said showing her the text he sent his mom.
"Matthew Rutheford!" she said blushing.
"Rachel Berry" he said mocking her tone and laughing. "Now my mom knows. And she loves you, so you can't say no. And if you still say no, I will tell Sophie and Olivia and they will convince you. Seriously they can do that, it's pretty scary" he told her. Rachel thought about it for a while. She would love to spend the night in what Matt just described as the perfect Christmas, but she still felt like she was intruding. "Look, you can stay in the guest's room and spend Christmas day with us too. Rachel you shouldn't be alone in Christmas" he said with a sad smile.
"Ok, but you'll help me find a present for your parents, and another one for your nieces and for your sister and her husband" she told him.
"Is that a yes?" he asked smirking a little, knowing he won an argument with Rachel Berry. Something not just anyone could do.
"Yes. Thank you" she said blushing.
Here we are as in olden days. Happy golden days of yore. Faithful friends who are dear to us. Gather near to us once more.
They arrived at a beautiful cozy home decorated to its fullest. They went inside and no one was there yet.
"Uncle Matty" Sophie said pulling his coat. "Take her coat" she whispered to him.
"Oh, right" he said looking at Rachel. "May I take your coat?" he asked kindly.
"Thank you" Rachel said as he helped her with it. She was wearing a simple gray but beautiful dress, with a black belt and a bow, underneath.
"Wow" the twins said at the same time.
"You look just like my Barbie" Olivia told her.
"Well thank you" Rachel said blushing a little.
"So, what do you girls want to do?" Matt asked them.
"Hot Chocolate!" they yelled running into the kitchen.
"You girls just had chocolate ice cream" Matt complained walking into the kitchen with Rachel following him.
"No. Uncle Matty wouldn't let us have ice cream, so we don't spoil our dinner" they repeated their speech at the same time, making Rachel laugh looking at Matt.
"Those are my girls" Matt said laughing knowing he lost another fight. The twins sat down with Rachel on the kitchen table while Matt made them hot chocolate. "Here you go Olivia" he said handing her the hot chocolate.
"Thank you" she said sweetly.
"Blow on it, it's hot. You too Soph" he said handing Sophie hers. Rachel just felt her heart melting again. He was so sweet with his nieces.
"Uncle Matty, she has more marshmallows than I do" Sophie complained.
"No she doesn't, you each have five" Matt told her. "You have five too" he told Rachel smiling and handing her her cup.
"Thanks" she said smiling back. She took a sip and she could feel a milk moustache on her lip. Olivia and Sophie started giggling. "What do I have something on my lip?" she asked them joking.
"Look there" Sophie told her.
"Oh, oh" Rachel said laughing and cleaning it up. "Thanks" she said winking at her. Olivia went to sit with Matt.
"Oh hi there" Matt said sitting her on her lap.
"Uncle Matty, do Mr. Napkin Head" Sophie told him.
"Yeah" Olivia said excited.
"Um, no, no, no" Matt said blushing a little looking over at Rachel.
"Please… do it!" they both said at the same time.
"Please?" Rachel said too.
"Please? Ok, I'll do it quickly" Matt said laughing and Olivia kissed his cheek. "Oh, well thank you for that" he told her.
"You're welcome" she said giggling. "Now do it!"
"All right, Rachel, may I borrow your napkin please?" he asked her and she handed it to him. "Pass me grandpa's glasses Soph" he told her and she gave them to him.
"Rachel you are gonna love this" Sophia told her. "It's so funny!"
"Hello" Matt said with the napkin on his face and the glasses on. "I'm Mr. Napkin Head!" the girls started giggling and Rachel couldn't help but laugh too. "Who is that?" he asked the girls and pointing at Rachel.
"That's Rachel" Sophie told her between laughs.
"She's our friend" Olivia said laughing too. Rachel was laughing along with them too.
"Wow she's very pretty" Matt said and Rachel blushed a little.
"Now smoke" Olivia said handing him a spoon and Matt started to pretend to smoke. The girls laughed harder.
"You know?" Matt said. "Smoking is really bad for you" he said taking the napkin off his face. The girls and Rachel started clapping for him.
"That was really funny" Rachel said still laughing a little. [A/N: that whole scene is from The Holiday, and so are the name of the girls :) love that movie!]
"You are so much nicer than uncle Matty's other girlfriends" Sophia told her.
"And so much prettier too" Olivia said. Rachel and Matt instantly blushed and looked at each other.
"Hello?" they heard someone from the living room. Thank God! "Matt?"
"In the kitchen mom" he yelled standing up with Rachel and the girls.
"Oh my God! Rachel Berry" Mrs. Rutheford said coming to hug the petite brunette. "It's so nice to see you again honey" she said smiling. Mrs. Rutheford was one of the nicest ladies Rachel had ever met. Even if she saw her a couple of times, she was always so sweet to her.
"It's so nice to see you too Mrs. Rutheford! Thank you so much for having me" she said kindly.
"Oh no honey, please call me Miranda and it's our pleasure to have you here" she said smiling.
"Grandma" the twins came running to hug they're grandma. Rachel smiled at the whole picture.
"All right girls" a pregnant young lady said coming in the kitchen with a few bags. Matt immediately went to take the bags from her. "Go wash up before dinner" she told them and they did as they were told.
"Hey Rach, this is my sister Jennifer" Matt told her. "This is Rachel Berry" he told his sister.
"Hi! Thank you so much for having me. You have a lovely home" Rachel said kindly shaking her hand.
"Wow, so you're the famous Rachel Berry" Jennifer said smirking a little. Rachel looked at her a little confused and then saw Matt blush a little and glare a little at his sister. "It's so nice to finally meet you!"
"You too" Rachel said smiling. "I brought you this" she said handing her a blueberry pie.
"Oh, you didn't have to bring anything" Jennifer told her. "Your presence is more than enough" she said winking at Matt. Matt grabbed Rachel and walked her to the living room.
"Ok, I got all the candy" Mr. Rutheford said coming in with more bags.
"Grandpa" the twins said running down the stairs to hug their grandfather.
"Ok, don't tell your mother I gave you these" he said getting chocolate out of the bags and handed it to them. Rachel laughed a little.
"Yaaaaaay" they said at the same time and went back upstairs.
"Well, hello there" Mr. Rutheford said spotting them.
"Hey dad. You remember Rachel Berry?" Matt said.
"Oh, right" Mr. Rutheford said kindly. "You're Charlie's and John's daughter aren't you?" he asked remembering the little girl that lived in the neighborhood and went to school with his son.
"Yeah" Rachel said a little surprised that she remembered her. He had only seen her in Glee performances and a couple of times at Matt's when there was a party. But then she remembered, he knew her dad because they were both lawyers. "It's so nice to see you again Mr. Rutheford" he said kindly shaking his hand.
"Oh, no, no" he said laughing and hugging her. "I know I am a grandfather but please call me James. Mr. Rutheford sounds really old" he said smiling.
"Ok, I think these are the last bags" a young man said walking in with a couple of bags. "I swear your mom and your sister have the ability to get more food than what's actually for sale in the supermarket" he said laughing. "Oh, hi!" he said looking at Rachel.
"Ryan this is Rachel" Matt said introducing them. "Rach, this is my sister's husband, Ryan" he told her.
"Hi, it's so nice to meet you" Rachel said shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you too" he said smiling.
"Ryan honey?" Jennifer said appearing on the door. "Do you have the rest of the bags?"
"Yes darling" he said rolling his eyes a little bit and going over there to kiss her.
"Oh, I can help you with dinner" Rachel told her.
"No Rach-" Matt started saying, not wanting Rachel and his sister to bond that much. His sister was a bit protective of him.
"That would be lovely Rachel, thank you" Jennifer said smiling and elbowing Matt in the stomach.
"So, how have you been Rachel? I haven't seen you since yours and Mike's and Puck's graduation" Mrs. Rutheford said as they prepared dinner.
"Well I've been great Mrs. Rutheford" she said ignoring she had asked her to call her Miranda. "I got into Julliard" she said smiling as the twins walked inside the kitchen.
"That's great honey! I remember your beautiful voice" she said making Rachel blush.
"Um, thank you" she said shyly.
"Rachel, Rachel" Olivia said pulling her dress. "Would you like to read with us and Uncle Matty?" she said excited.
"Girls, don't make Rachel join your little book club" Jennifer told them.
"You don't like stories?" Sophie said pouting.
"Actually, I happen to love stories and I would be so happy read with you girls" she said looking at them.
"Yaaay!" they yelled running to the living room to set everything up with their grandmother.
"You didn't have to do that" Jennifer said smiling. "They're never gonna let you leave the house" she said laughing a little.
"They're really sweet" Rachel told her smiling. "So, when's your due date?" she asked her.
"March 14" she said excited. "It's a boy!"
"Oh that's great!" Rachel said smiling. "Does he have a name yet?"
"Yeah, we're naming him James after my dad" she said smiling.
"That's a beautiful name" Rachel said smiling.
"How come I never saw you that often when you and Matt were at McKinley?" she asked a little confused.
"Well, Matt and I didn't really run the same circles of people" she said a little embarrassed. "I mean we were together in Glee but that was pretty much it. Later on, I became more friends with Mike and Noah, so, even after he left, we started hanging out a little bit more" she said smiling.
"Noah?" she asked confused.
"Oh, right I mean Puck" she said with a little chuckle.
"Puck's name is Noah?" she asked a little surprised and Rachel nodded. "Huh, I didn't see that coming" she said laughing a little too. "Well, you are a lot nicer than the girls he used to hang around with. I mean Brittany was a sweetheart, but every other cheerio in that school was a total airhead" she said laughing.
"Um, thank you I guess" she said as they finished making dinner.
After that, they set the table and sat down to eat. Rachel was having so much fun. Matt's family was so warm and loving. It was something she wasn't used to, but she liked the feeling. She smiled at the thought of being here instead of being alone eating sushi and watching Home Alone, her favorite Christmas movie. She was sitting between Sophie and Olivia, since they begged for her to sit next to them. Mr. and Mrs. Rutheford were so nice. Mr. Rutheford was so funny and Mrs. Rutheford was so sweet. Jennifer and Ryan were such great parents. You could tell the twins loved them and they were still madly in love with each other. Sophie and Olivia were admiring Rachel the whole night. Matt was sitting in front of her. Every now and then, she would catch him staring at her and smiling at her. She felt butterflies in her stomach. Those butterflies she felt every time he entered the Choir Room when they were in high school. She always regretted not talking to him more and then he moved. She still saw him when she was hanging around with Puck and Mike, but he always had a different girlfriend. But still, she felt so happy to be here with a real family. After dinner, Rachel insisted on helping Ryan clean up.
"I can't imagine anyone being a bigger hit with my children" he said laughing as they wash the dishes.
"They are really great" she said sweetly. "And congratulations on James" she said smiling.
"Thank you! I'm so excited! I mean don't get me wrong, I adore Sophie and Olivia more than anything in this world, but to have a little boy and teaching him all about football and baseball" he said really excited.
"That's gonna be great" Rachel said smiling. "You have a lovely home" she told him.
"Well, you're welcome any time… specially if you bring blueberry pie" he said laughing and she laughed a little too. "So, you and Matt" he suddenly said.
"Um, me and Matt what?" she asked a little confused.
"Oh, come on Rachel. Don't play dumb on me" he said laughing a little.
"I'm not playing dumb on you" she said with a little chuckle.
"So, you're telling me that out of nowhere Matt asks you to come here? For Christmas?" he asked confused.
"Yeah, I mean I ran into him today when he was with Sophie and Olivia and well he asked what I was doing and I said I wasn't doing anything and well, here I am" she finished with a little smile.
"But it's Christmas Eve" he said still confused.
"Yeah?" Rachel said even more confused.
"Look, I've been with Jennifer since forever" he said laughing a little. "I've known Matt since he was a kid-"
"That makes you sound really old" Rachel said laughing.
"Hey!" he said laughing a little too. "Anyways, the point is Matt has bring a lot of girls to the house but never on Christmas. And I mean never. Not even when he called them his girlfriend" he told her.
"Why not?" Rachel asked curious.
"Because he says Christmas is his favorite holiday. And well, he likes to spend it with his family and that he hasn't met a girl to bring home for Christmas" he said casually.
"Well, I'm sure he just asked me because I was spending Christmas alone" Rachel said thinking it made sense.
"Well, for what it's worth, you'd be a cool sister-in-law to be on my team" he said laughing.
"On your team?" she asked confused.
"Yeah, it'll be you and me against the Ruthefords. They're great but well, it would be awesome to have someone on my side" he said joking. "Trust me, I'm never wrong about this things. I know Matt and the way he looks at you... he never looked that Santana chick like that, or his last girlfriend" he said smirking a little.
"I, um, I-" Rachel said blushing a lot and not really knowing what to say or think.
"Hey guys" Matt said walking in the kitchen. "We're opening the presents" he said smiling sweetly at Rachel. She turned to look at Ryan who winked smirking at her.
"Um, ok" she said walking in the living room with Matt and Ryan behind her. She sat on the couch with Sophie sitting on her lap and Olivia sitting on Matt's lap.
"Ok, this one's for Ryan and Jennifer from Sophie and Olivia" Mrs. Rutheford said smiling and handing them a big present.
"Thank you girls" Jennifer told them smiling.
"Uncle Matty helped us" they yelled at the same time. She opened it and it was a beautiful picture of the four of them, well five if you counted James in Jennifer's belly.
"Oh girls this is beautiful" Ryan told her and they both went to hug him.
"All right this is for us, from Matt" Mrs. Rutheford said handing him one of the presents and she kept another one.
"Oh, you didn't have to son" Mr. Rutheford said smiling. He opened it and saw a collection of original vinyl discs from The Beatles.
"Oh my God Matt!" Mrs. Rutheford said with her eyes watering.
"What's that?" Olivia asked.
"This is how grandpa and grandma used to listen to music before CD's and iPods came along" Mr. Rutheford said with a little chuckle. "'I Want to Hold Your Hand' is how I got your grandma to fall for me" he said winking at Mrs. Rutheford.
"Thank you Matty" Msr. Rutheford said hugging him.
"This is great son! Thank you" Mr. Rutheford said smiling.
"You're welcome dad" he said smiling too. Rachel loved this family. They were just so close.
"Well, this one's for Olivia and Sophie from Rachel?" Mrs. Rutheford said a little confused.
"Oh, no! Rachel, you really didn't have to-" Jennifer told her kindly.
"It's the least I could do, honestly" Rachel told her smiling. The girls ran excited to get the gifts and opened it. It was a little stuffed animal for each of them. A puppy and a kitten.
"Wow" they both said at the same time. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" they both said hugging Rachel.
"You're welcome girls" she said laughing. "I'm sorry I didn't know about James" she said a little embarrassed to Jennifer and Ryan.
"Don't worry about that" Ryan told her.
"Ok, this is for Rachel, from us" Mrs. Rutheford said smiling.
"What? Oh Mrs. Rutheford you didn't really have to-"
"Nonsense Rachel" she said handing her the gift. She opened it. It was a beautiful cream scarf that matched her gloves and hat perfectly.
"Oh God! It's beautiful" she said smiling. "Thank you so much" she said hugging Mrs. Rutheford and then Mr. Rutheford. They continued exchanging gifts. Matt got a new iPod from his parents and a sweater from Jennifer and Ryan. Jennifer and Ryan got a DVD Player from Mr. and Mrs. Rutheford and a box of chocolates from Rachel. Rachel got a beautiful sweater from Jennifer and Ryan. Baby James got a little Yankees outfit from Matt. Mr. and Mrs. Rutheford got a bottle of wine from Rachel and ironically, a DVD player from Ryan and Jennifer. The twins got a tea set party from their grandparents and finger paint from Matt.
"Ok, now our present" Ryan told Sophie and Olivia.
"What is it? What is it?" they asked jumping up and down. Jennifer got up to get the gift from the closet. She brought back a big box and placed it on the floor. The girls started running towards it but the box started moving. They ran back and hid themselves behind Mr. Rutheford until they heard something bark. "OH MY GOD!" they yell excited running towards the box again. When they opened it, a puppy jumped out of it. It was an adorable golden retriever. The girls yelled excited and started playing with him.
"So, what are you gonna name him?" Matt asked smiling.
"Skittles!" they both yell at the same time.
"Skittles?" Rachel asked Matt a little confused.
"It's they're favorite candy" he said laughing a little. Mr. and Mrs. Rutheford went to the kitchen to have coffee with Ryan and Jennifer. After a while of playing with Skittles the girls started nodding off. "Ok, time for The Night Before Christmas" he said picking Sophie up. Rachel picked Olivia up.
"Would you read it with us Rachel?" she asked sleepy.
"Of course" Rachel said smiling.
"Ok, here we go" Matt said as Sophie and Olivia curled up against each other in the couch with Skittles sin the middle and Matt started reading. "'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…"
"But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight: 'Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night'" Rachel finished smiling. Olivia and Sophie were profound asleep. Ryan came into the living room and carried Sophie and Matt carried Olivia to their beds. Rachel smiled at the whole picture of that family.
Through the years we all will be together. If the Fates allow. Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
Rachel put on her coat and her new scarf and went outside to the front porch to call her dads.
"Hello?" she heard her one of them say.
"Hi daddy, I just wanted to say Merry Christmas" she said with a sad smile.
"Oh hi honey! Merry Christmas to you too" he said smiling. They weren't bad people. They were just never there. "Hold on, your dad wants to talk to you too" he said putting her on speaker.
"Hello princess, Merry Christmas" he said through the phone.
"Merry Christmas dad" she said a little sad.
"Oh, honey we miss you so much! We can't wait to see you when we get back after New Year" he told her.
"Y-you're staying until New Year?" she asked with her voice breaking a little bit.
"Yeah, we're so sorry princess but we have to work until then" her dad said sadly.
"That's ok dad" she said sadly. "Um, I'm at the Ruthefords" she told them.
"Oh, that's great! Say hi to James and Miranda from us" her daddy said again.
"Well, we have to go but we miss you a lot princess" her dad said.
"We love you!" they both yelled.
"I love you too" she said sadly. "Bye" she said hanging up. She sat down on the front porch steps. It was a beautiful night. The house was decorated beautifully. She loved Christmas lights. The only thing that was missing was the snow. She was looking at the stars when she heard her phone ringing.
"Hello?"
"Hi roomie" Kurt said happily.
"Hi Kurt! How are you?" she asked smiling.
"I'm great! Just calling to say Merry Christmas" he said with a little chuckle.
"Merry Christmas to you too roomie" she said smiling. "And say that to your dad and Carol and I guess Finn" she told him.
"Oh, I miss you" Kurt told her. "So, what are you up to?"
"Um, actually I ran into Matt" she told him.
"Wait, Matt, Matt? Matt Rutheford Matt?" he asked getting a little excited.
"Yeah, and well, long-story-short he invited me to spend Christmas with his family" she told him.
"Oh my God! Why does everything happen when I leave?" he asked pouting.
"Kurt! Nothing happened. Don't start planning our wedding ok? He just felt bad cause I was spending Christmas on my own, which I know I decided to" she said knowing he was going to argue that he offer for her to go with him.
"Well, I want to know every detail ok?" he said excited. She rolled her eyes a little.
"Of course Kurt" she told him.
"Ok, gotta go roomie but I'll talk to you tomorrow ok? Love you" he told her.
"Love you too roomie" she said hanging up. Just as she hung up she got another call.
"Noah?" she said excited.
"Hey midget" he said smiling. "How are you?"
"I'm great, how are you?" she said smiling.
"Well, I'm good, could be better without mom and Dani complaining about you not coming with me" he said laughing.
"Sorry about that" she said blushing a little.
"That's ok" he told her. "So, what are you doing?"
"Um, well I'm actually at Matt's" she said waiting for his reaction.
"Rutheford? What are you doing over there?" he asked curious.
"I ran into him and well, he asked me to come spend Christmas with his family" she told him.
"So, you and Rutheford now?"
"What? No! Why does everyone think that?"
"Everyone?"
"Well, you, Kurt, Ryan" she told him.
"Ryan, Jennifer's husband?" he asked.
"Yeah" she simply said.
"Yeah, it's you and Rutheford now" he said laughing.
"What?" Rachel asked confused.
"Well, he was the one that said Mike was going to end up with Britt and I was going to end up with San" he told her.
"That doesn't mean anything" she argued. "Does it?"
"I don't know midget but I trust him and well, it wouldn't be that bad but I will have to talk to him" he said in a serious tone.
"Of course you will" she said rolling her eyes a little.
"Hey! No one messes with my little sister" he said laughing.
"I know Noah" she told him.
"Look, I have to go. I'll talk to you in the morning ok? Merry Christmas Rach" he said sweetly.
"Merry Christmas Noah. And to your mom and Dani too" she said. "Bye" she said hanging up.
"Hey" she heard someone coming outside. She turned to look at Matt and he went to sit next to her. "I was wondering where you were" he said handing her a cup of hot chocolate.
"Thanks" she said smiling sweetly. "Sorry I just called my dads to say Merry Christmas" she said looking sadly at the floor. He placed his hand on her chin and gently lifted her head so she could see him.
"I'm really sorry about your dads Rach" he said sympathetically.
"Thanks" she said softly. "Is not your fault" she said looking away. "Thank you so much for inviting me Matt" she said with a weak smile. "You have an amazing family!"
"Well, they love you too" he said smiling. "I don't think Sophie and Olivia will ever let you go" he said laughing a little too. "Um, I um" he said looking for something in his pocket. "I forgot to give you um this present" he said taking a little box out.
"Who is it from?" she asked a little confused.
"From me" he said smiling.
"Oh, Matt you didn't really have to" she said smiling. "Wait, when did you get this?" she asked him.
"When you took Olivia and Sophie to the bathroom" he told her smiling. She opened the box and gasped surprised. It was a beautiful silver necklace with a snowflake.
"Oh my God! Matt, it's beautiful" she said smiling and felt her eyes water a little.
"I remember you always said how you love snow" he said smiling.
"Y-you remember that?" she asked surprised.
"Yeah" he said blushing a little.
"Um, I actually have something for you too" she said getting up. She handed the hot chocolate and her amazing gift to him and went to Matt's car and opened the trunk. She got a gift out of a bag, walked back to him and handed him the gift.
"When did you get this?" he asked a little surprised.
"I didn't really took Sophie and Olivia to the bathroom" she said blushing a little. "I just wanted to know my choice was right" she told him. He looked at her a little confused and opened the gift.
"Oh my God!" he said excited. It was a book of the best baseball players.
"I know you played football and basketball, but I remember you would never stop talking about baseball" she said laughing a little. "Specially about the Yankees" she told him.
"I've wanted this book since I was sixteen!" he said getting up to hug her. "Thank you so much! I can't believe you remembered that" he said picking her up and spinning her around.
"Well, I like baseball a lot too so…" she said blushing a little as he placed her down again.
"This is the coolest gift someone has ever given me" he said smiling.
"Well, this is the most beautiful gift someone has given me" she told him.
"Here, let me help you" he said as she took of her scarf and turned around so he could put on the necklace.
"How did you remember I liked snow?" she asked curious.
"I um, actually remember a lot of what you say" he said blushing a little as she turned around to face him.
"You do?" she asked him confused.
"Yeah, I remember your favorite color is purple, and that your favorite musical is Wicked, your favorite food are french fries with ice cream, even if you always said it was a salad" he said laughing. "Your favorite movie is Finding Neverland. You didn't stop talking about it for weeks! I remember every single of your performances in Glee. You just blew me away every time" he said blushing a little. "I remember that no matter how much you liked musicals, you loved The Beatles and Frank Sinatra as much as me. And I remember you were a Yankees fan, something I didn't see coming" he said laughing a little.
"How can you remember all that?" Rachel asked amazed. None of her ex-boyfriends, excepting Noah, even knew her favorite color. Finn never even knew when her birthday was. No one really noticed her taste in music. They all assumed it was just about musicals. And no one in her life knew about the french fries with ice cream.
"I um- actually-" he said stuttering a little. "You're gonna think it's stupid but I um, kind of had a crush on you back in high school" he said not looking at her.
"Y-you did?" she asked not believing him.
"Yeah, Mike was the only one who knew, and then Puck" he said still not looking at her.
"Oh God" she said laughing a little.
"What?" he asked confused.
"I um" she said shaking her head and laughing not believing she was about so say this. "I had the biggest crush on you in high school" she said blushing a little.
"You- you did?" Matt asked more confused than ever. And she nodded. "B-but you and Finn, a-and you and Puck and J-Jesse-"
"Ugh don't remind me about Jesse, till this day I can't eat eggs" she said shivering from the memory of being attacked with eggs. "Noah and I dated because, well he asked" she said laughing a little. "But we realized we were so much better as friends. I mean we didn't even last a week, but we've been best friends since that. Jesse was sort of there and well he liked some of the things I liked, and he thought I was pretty" she said with a little smile. "Finn was really the only guy that talked to me and was nice to me and liked me that way" she said with a sad smile. "I realized I wasn't in love with him when I finally saw that he was just playing with me" she said a little sad. "And well, I always, um, well, I just thought someone like you would never look at someone like me" she said avoiding his eyes. "Kurt was the only one who knew, that's actually how we started being friends. And well… remember when we did Give Up the Funk?" she asked him and he nodded. "I was so excited because I got to dance with you and Kurt told me that I should tell you all about it and well I was going to, but then we had Regional's and then-"
"I left" Matt finished sadly for her and she nodded. "How could you think I wouldn't look at you?" he asked sadly that she didn't see in her what he saw.
"Well, you dated Santana and a bunch of other cheerios" she said as if it was obvious. "And I'm Rachel Berry, I mean I wasn't the pretty girl, or the smart girl, or the funny girl, so I just thought it was useless" she said ashamed looking down. Matt placed his hand gently on her chin and made her look up again.
"Don't ever look down Rach" he said smiling. "You are the most amazing person I know, and what I admire of you the most is that you always walked with your head high. And you should, because you're so beautiful and everyone should see that. You weren't the smart girl? Rach, you were the smartest girl in that school. The funny girl? You're the funniest girl I know, and I'm sure Sophie and Olivia would kill anyone who says otherwise" he said making her laugh a little bit. "And how can you not know that you weren't not only the prettiest, but the most beautiful girl in that school?" he asked her and he saw her eyes water. "And you're so much more than that. Rach, you're sweet, and kind, and so talented, and you're just-" he was cut off by her standing on her tiptoes and crashing her lips against his. He was surprised at first and then he deepened the kiss placing his hands on her hips as she wrapped hers around his neck. After a while they both broke apart gasping for air. "Perfect" he whispered smiling down at her.
"Wow" she said blushing a little. "I just kissed Matthew Rutheford" she said giggling like a little girl.
"I know, I just kissed Rachel Berry" he said kissing her head. "I've wanted to do that since high school" he said laughing a little.
"Can I ask you something?" she said remembering what Ryan said about the girls Matt dated.
"Anything" he said smiling, still hugging her.
"Well, is just that um Ryan said you don't bring girls home for Christmas and well, I just wanted to know, um, why did you ask me to come?" she asked stuttering a little.
"You're not just any girl Rach" he said and he leaned down to kiss her again. He felt her smile against his lips. They broke apart when they felt something falling on them.
"Oh my God" Rachel said excited. "It's snowing" she said looking at the sky. Matt wrapped his arms around her tightly pulling her back against his chest as they saw the snow falling down from the sky. "It's so beautiful" Rachel said with dreamy eyes looking at the snow.
"I know" Matt whispered to himself looking at Rachel. "Merry Christmas Rach" he said kissing her head.
"Merry Christmas Matt" she said resting her head against his chest.
And have yourself, a merry little Christmas now…
A/N: Merry Christmas to you all :) hahahaha hope you liked it! let me know what you think :)