Searing pain went up his knees as he once again fell on the ice, the front of his legs covered in the shavings from everyone's skates, his legs getting colder each time he fell. And once again, he grinned as Carrie giggled, skating over to help him up, more confident on her little feet than all of them put together. "Listen, you fell when you started your bunny hops, and I never laughed!"
"You weren't jumping, you just fell." Her brown eyes studied his face, her grin mischievous as she held his hands and started skating backwards, pulling him along.
Alexis swung around from behind him, her lips pulled back in the same way as her younger sister, her eyebrow up as she snickered. "Come on, Dad. How many years have we been doing this? I thought you'd be better at it by now."
His mouth dropped as he scoffed, watching his daughters zoom off, Carrie skating backwards with her tongue between her teeth. He turned, finding his wife watching him, amusement dancing in her hazel eyes as she glided over with the stroller. "Did you hear that? The trained figure skater, and her sister who spends enough time on the ice that she should be trained, are heckling me about my abilities."
"There is a reason I am the one pushing our son."
As if on cue, Oliver cooed from his stroller, his cheeks just starting to turn red from the cold. His hazel eyes were wide as he studied his father's face, and he didn't smile until Rick did, allowing himself take part in the joy that swirled around them on the lake. "I fall while pushing you one time."
"I don't want to chase his stroller around because you couldn't stay up!" She bit her lip, trying to hold in her laughter, but her eyes gave it all away.
As the girls passed again, they giggled, only catching the last bit of the conversation as they zoomed away hand-in-hand. Rick looked at his wife, his mouth open as he tried to keep up the outrageous facade, his head shaking back and forth. "You know they get that from you."
She lost it then, her laughter bubbling up from her throat and brightening the world around him. "You provide them with all the ammunition they need." She leaned forward, her chestnut locks obscuring her face from him as she addressed her son. "Right Tater Tot?" At his coo, she rose, her laughter infectious ash her eyes met his. "See, he agrees."
"He can't even talk!"
"Call it mother's intuition. The same thing that's telling me that he needs to go back inside where it's warm."
He looked out to where the girls were skating, Carrie showing Alexis how to wiggle backward. "I'm sure we'll join you as soon as someone is done with her lesson." He turned his head back to his wife, who was skating forward and looking up at him. "Start some hot chocolate for us?"
She scoffed. "Is that a question?" She stretched her body up to meet him, and he guessed that if he looked down, she would be standing on her toe picks. Instead, he watched her lips as they parted until he couldn't anymore, until his eyes closed as their mouths met. She let out the tiniest mewl of pleasure before pulling away, "I love you," tumbling from her lips as she pushed their son off the ice.
The girls didn't stay out that much longer. Carrie practiced switching directions a few times, sometimes pulling her free leg up and over her head, and Alexis gave up on wiggling backwards and zoomed around in circles as fast as she could, the wind blowing her red braids behind her. As the sun set more and the air cooled around them, they both glided off the ice, carefully walking to the bench he was watching them from, and switched to their boots. Both of their cheeks were a rosy red color, and he swore there were icicles hanging from Carrie's ringlets. He pressed a kiss to Carrie's head, on top of her purple knit hat. "You're looking great out there. Maybe tomorrow Mom can help you with your jumps while I sit still with Tater Tot?"
Her head tilted up to look at him, her brown eyes shining with excitement. "That sounds fun!"
"Maybe I'll be skating backwards by then!" Alexis spoke up, hopping up from the bench and waiting by the path for her father and sister.
Rick joined her, his arm reaching around her and pulling her into him. "Remind me why we didn't put you in skating lessons too?"
"I like violin more. Plus, Carrie likes teaching me!"
"I'm a good teacher, Dad!" The five year old answered from the bench, where she was putting guards on her white leather skates, packing them in her special bag that she brought to the rink with her. She slung the bag over her shoulder, the look of determination on her face so much like her mother, it was uncanny. "Alexis is doing a fabulous job!"
He had to laugh at the imitation of her coach, perfect down to the wide smile and the way she threw her head back as she praised her students. As Carrie joined them, Alexis linked arms with her and they ran up the path, giggling and shouting about the hot chocolate that awaited them.
Once inside, the girls toed off their boots and sat at the table, pulling mugs of hot chocolate to their mouths and taking tentative sips, making sure it wasn't too hot before they chugged it down. It was something he should have done himself, instead of reaching for his own mug and taking a huge sip, the molten beverage scalding down his throat and making his eyes water. He coughed a couple times, passing it off as if it had gone down the wrong tube, but one look from his wife told him that he wasn't fooling her. Even Jim, who sat across from his daughter in an oversized chair, was stifling his laughter. At least the girls bought it, turning their heads from him and returning to their conversation.
He put his mug back down on the counter and walked over to the couch, where Kate was singing to their little one. Oliver loved Christmas Eve. Just like Carrie had been when she was younger, he was so interested in music. Every time there was a song playing, even if it was just one of their ringtones, he would stop whatever he was doing and turn his head, his eyes open wide like he was in a trance, and he would listen. After it stopped, he would get upset, his face wrinkling as he started to fuss, refusing to calm down until another song came on or he was entertained by one of his sisters.
Kate held the almost sleeping baby out to him, her voice lilting gently as she swung her voice up to the higher notes in Silent Night. As he sat, he cradled Oliver close, his chest expanding with joy as the baby settled in, letting out a content sigh as he fell asleep. Kate didn't stop her song right away, adding another verse to it to be sure he wouldn't wake. When the song was done, instead of taking him straight to his crib, Rick just held him there, sitting back on the couch and cradling the infant closer. "How is homicide treating you, Katie?" Jim asked, once they were sure that Oliver was down.
She shrugged. "It's different. Some of the cases can be boring."
Jim chuckled, studying her face as she spoke. "Boring how?"
Kate turned her head to look at the girls, gauging how engrossed they were in their own conversation before answering. "You know. The 'you cheated so I'm taking you out cases' that make me lose faith in humanity just a bit."
"Is that really as prevalent as it seems?"
Her emphatic nod made the couch shake. "There is a reason that we check out spouses and romantic partners first. How messed up is that?"
"What's messed up?" A small voice asked, brown curls appearing at the side of the couch.
Kate reached out to her daughter, allowing the girl to climb up into her lap. For as tall as she was, she still managed to make herself the perfect size to rest on her mother's shoulder. "Nothing, sweet girl. I'm just talking about work." They had been trying to keep the true nature of Kate's newest position away from little ears. Alexis was starting to figure it all out, and he was sure they would need to have a talk about it with her soon, but Carrie was still five, and impressionable. They wanted her to see the world as a happy place for as long as possible, before they reality of how unfair it could be settled in.
Kate's hand rubbing soothing circles into the younger girl's back seemed to be putting her in a trance, her breathing slowing and her eyes fighting to stay open. With both of her siblings sleeping, or close to sleeping, Alexis had started to make her way around the cabin's living room, looking at all the pictures of Kate when she was younger. She stopped at the bookshelf, pointing upward with a grin on her face. "Look Kate, elephants!"
Kate's head snapped up, her mouth stretching into a wide grin. "Those were my Mom's. Bring them over here!" Alexis obliged, handling the parade of elephants with a newfound tenderness, examining them as she walked. The look of joy on his wife's face was infectious as she looked at them, her fingers traveling over each elephant in the row. "My Mom used to say that they were a family, just like us. I always wanted two more siblings so it would match better."
"You were enough of a handful, I don't think we would have survived two more." Jim teased, making Alexis chuckle while Kate rolled her eyes.
Alexis counted, her eyes meeting Kate's for permission before her fingers traced their heads. "You, Daddy, me, Carrie, and Tater tot. There's enough for each of us!"
Kate only smiled at the girl, her fingers trailing along the branch they were walking on, her eyes far away as she thought back to her childhood. Jim's voice snapped her out of her trance, her eyes locking on her father as he spoke. "You should take those home with you, Katie."
"It's okay, I don't need to." She answered, handing them back to Alexis and pointing to the bookshelf.
Jim held up a hand, stopping the redhead. "I never do anything with them. They just sit here, collecting dust. Put them on your desk at work or something, just take them with you." When Kate didn't respond, he continued with a slight nod of his head. "I mean it. Consider it part of my Christmas gift to you."
Kate's eyes glistened with unshed tears as Alexis handed the sculpture back to her. She clutched it in her hand for dear life, her thumb tracing over the trunk of the lead elephant. "Thank you."
The kids all went to bed without a fuss, Carrie and Oliver were mostly asleep anyway. Kate helped Carrie change and tucked in the girls, while Rick changed Oliver's diaper and rocked him back to sleep. He pulled the bassinette over to his side of the bed before climbing in himself, pulling the blankets up around his shoulders. When Kate joined him at the bed, she had the elephants and a few pieces of newspaper. He watched her wrap them with a tenderness usually reserved for their children. When she finished, she placed them on top of her small bag, waiting until they packed to find a better place.
He lifted the covers for her, inviting his wife into the warmth of his embrace. She settled on his chest, running her fingers in soothing circles at his side. "I'm sorry that we all teased you so much today."
Laughing, he shrugged, running his hand up and down her back. "You tease me because you love me. If you stopped teasing me, I'd be concerned."
Her head tilted up, hazel eyes meeting his. "I do love you."
He grinned, his chest expanding at her words. "I love you too." Their lips met in the darkness, and he tried to ignore the moan of approval that escaped from the back of her throat. When they pulled apart, she settled back on his chest, yawning. "Yeah, get your sleep. Carrie wants to do jumps tomorrow."
Her groan made him chuckle. "Fine. You have breakfast duty. I'll try and sleep in." It wasn't long until he felt her breathing slow, and they drifted off into a deep sleep together.
A/N: First off, I would love to give a huge shoutout to Brandi, my beta, for looking this over and letting me bounce my crazy idea off of her. Also, a shoutout to Ali for also letting me bounce ideas off of her (She likes when I give her insider info!). Second, I want to stress that unlike Little Bean, I can't commit to a weekly schedule. I don't really have a schedule that's set in stone anymore. What I can do is try my hardest to write at least 1000 words on my days off, so that the updates will hopefully be semi-regular! I'm going to be living at Disney again, so I may slip, but I will do my best to keep up with it. And again, thank you all for your support and enthusiasm!