December Blues
***Chris and David's Apartment***
It's 2 weeks before Christmas. It's been a week since Bridgit told everyone she was pregnant. She is now almost 9 weeks pregnant, and Noah has made it clear he wants no part of it. Jason and David haven't spoken since the meeting at Starbucks, and Jessica made it clear to David on the phone that she didn't want to speak to him further.
Chris is trying to focus on Christmas, since it's her first Christmas married to David, and their first Christmas with Miranda.
Chris had a doctor's appointment this afternoon, so she got home early. She is trying to put up some Christmas decorations.
Chris climbed up on the step stool in the storage closet and pulled the tree box down. She also pulled down a few boxes of ornaments, and the bag she keeps the lights in.
She tackled the tree first. In order to set it up in the den, she had to move a chair to their bedroom, and then put the tree stand and the tree up, before she added the sections. She had a pre lit tree, but she also adds more lights every year. After she got the tree set up, she sat down and starting unraveling the lights, and plugging them up to each other. It was an arduous task, but she was up to the challenge.
Today was her second appointment in a row that they had found something they wanted to explore further. She was beginning to see it never gets easier, it is always going to make your stomach drop when they say those words… and putting up the Christmas tree while she waited on a phone call was a great way to pass the time.
She had the bottom level of the tree wrapped in lights pretty quickly. She started on the next row, and she was basically done adding lights after about 20 or 30 minutes. She added some mirror tiles to catch and reflect the light, and then started on the ornaments. She had paired down her ornaments over the years: Ones that reminded her of Charlie, ones that had been given to her by special friends, like the Lacey's and her work friends, and ones that she and David bought on their trips.
She finished the ornaments in about an hour. It never really takes her very long, because she doesn't like to put all the ornaments on the tree at once. She decided to go for a modern approach for the top, and put some glitter sticks and burlap on the top, instead of an angel or a star.
She moved to the mantle next. She had a garland that had pinecones and lit up that she draped along the mantle, and she hung their stockings there. She moved the other chair next to the sofa into the office, and pulled that bookshelf out to go against the wall there, and hung everyone else's stockings off of the bookshelf. There was going to be 8 stockings this year, and she was determined to find space for all of them.
She hung some mistletoe over the door to the balcony, and then set about replacing all of the candles in the house with Christmas ones. She put the blankets up, and got out the Christmas ones from the closet. She was like a machine, putting Christmas everywhere she could.
David came home at 5, and saw her moving around like a tornado, and realized that she was trying to not think about her doctor's appointment.
"Hi babe, I'm home".
"Hi honey!" She came over and kissed him.
"Let me change clothes, and I will help you".
"Good deal".
She went with him into the bedroom, and while he changed clothes, she put flannel sheets on the bed. She wanted to put the heated mattress pad on the bed, but she loved their memory foam one so much, she decided to skip it. They could always just add electric blankets if they were gonna be that cold. Last week, they had 5 inches of snow and made it without both, so she wasn't too worried.
She finished making the bed right when David finished changing clothes. She had him put all the boxes back in the storage closet. She also pulled some lights out and she wanted to string them along the upper parts of the kitchen cabinets. She was going to let David decide if their room needed any lights strung above the bed, and if they wanted to decorate the balcony.
She had a brand new tree that was a tabletop tree, for Miranda's room. She was going to let her decorate it with ornaments that weekend when she came to stay with them.
She went and set that tree in her room, and put a vase with cranberries and a white candle and tinsel in the center of the table.
She was about to start on clearing out one level of the built in bookshelf to put a Christmas village, when David saw the mistletoe. He grabbed it and brought it to her and picked her up and spun her around and kissed her passionately.
She smiled at him. "I need to start on dinner. What do you want?"
"Honestly, I have been craving pizza all day. Deep dish. Meat lovers. Chicago style."
"Well, let's order one and have it delivered."
"Ok." He kissed her again, and then went and got the menu for his favorite pizza place, Grimaldi's.
They got their order together, a small pepperoni and onion pizza for her, deep dish heart attack on a plate for him, and a big salad for them to share, with a side of marinara sauce. He called and placed the order for delivery, while she started to work on the village.
"Babe, do you want me to get some tulle, and string some lights above our bed? And we need to decide if we are going to put lights on the balcony".
"I don't think we need to put lights on the balcony, because we are up so high that it's not like it's going to be seen. And I don't know what you mean by above the bed lights".
She pulled up Pinterest, and showed him a picture.
They ultimately decided it would be a project that would take some time, and they needed to pick which one they wanted. She hung some lights above the bathtub in the bathroom, and liked it so much she decided to find a way to make them permanent.
David nestled some Christmas lights among the shelves in the built ins, and ran the cords behind the wall and plugged them in. After he was done, Chris plugged in the tree, and he turned off the lamps and overhead lights. With all the Christmas lights everywhere, it was just as bright as it was with the lights and lamps on. So they decided to tone the lights down a little bit, and took the lights off the bookshelves.
The pizza got there then, and they took a break. David turned on the fireplace, and Chris got out the plates and silverware. She had just made his favorite peach tea yesterday so she got him some of that and poured herself some water. They ate on the couch, and David turned on a funny Christmas movie for them to watch.
After they ate, Chris did the dishes and then finished with the decorations. After adding a few finishing touches to the village, she was done.
She put all the boxes back in the storage closet, and then came back and settled on the couch with David.
"Honey, what do you want for Christmas?"
"I already have you, babe." He kissed her.
"That's sweet, but I am being serious".
"Me too, Chris. I hit the lottery when you came back to me, and nothing could top that".
"Well, do we want to buy something for the apartment together or take a trip together, or what? We can't be the only ones on Christmas not exchanging gifts".
She had gotten Bridgit some cute clothes, and she also got her some adorable things for her apartment. Chris' brother, Brian, Bridgit's dad, was buying the apartment across the hall from Chris and David, and Bridgit and the baby were going to live there. Bridgit was planning on moving in to the apartment in January.
Chris had gotten Miranda some Nike sweats, and a couple of cute tops. David and Stephanie had decided to get her a laptop for Christmas, so Chris had gotten her a gift card to go pick out a laptop case and laptop bag.
Chris had gotten Lisa several gift cards to places, and a new set of sheets. She and David had gotten Stephanie a gift card to a spa and salon, and a bracelet that had Miranda's birthstone in it. They had gotten her parents a gift card for Broadway tickets, and were going to put enough for 3 shows on the card.
Chris and David got the laptop out and started researching trips to take together.
"Are you sure you can't think of anything you want me to wrap for you, honey?"
"I really feel like I have everything I need, just being with you, honey".
He looked at her and took her hand. "What do you want for Christmas, babe?"
"Hmm. Iphone 6s, in rose gold, 64 gig. A trip with you somewhere. A yeti cup. You make me happy too babe, so I am thinking we need to buy something for us together".
"What if we took a trip to somewhere like the Dominican Republic, or Hawaii? An adults only resort somewhere. I actually went to upgrade my iphone yesterday and they told me I couldn't. I had it all picked out and up at the counter, the black 64 gig 6s plus, and a black Otterbox case, and then they brought the hammer down and said I am not eligible. Bummer".
Chris kissed him and told him she was so excited to spend Christmas with him for the first time. When they dated years ago, she had spent one Christmas with him when she was a drinker, and one with him sober. The drinking Christmas didn't go that well, she remembered them fighting while she was working on a case with Jonah Newman.
Newman. Wow, that had been a long time. She said a quick prayer for him, and then focused on David again.
She decided to go shopping tomorrow during lunch, and maybe again after work if necessary. She suddenly had the perfect idea in mind for David's Christmas present.
***The next morning***
Chris woke up, did her workout, and jumped in the shower. She got out, and woke David up, and then got ready for work. She made them breakfast, and after they ate, she put the dishes in the dishwasher. They walked to the car together like they always did, and he kissed her goodbye.
She headed to work and spent the day with Mary Beth investigating a car theft ring. She left the office at 4, and quickly ran to get David's gift. She couldn't wait for him to open it, on Christmas morning.
She had to run to 5 stores to get everything for it, but she got it all and put it in the back of her car to hide it. She planned on bringing it in and hiding it in Miranda's closet until she wrapped it and put it out.
She stopped and picked up some chicken to make chicken and veggie kebabs, and then headed home. She pulled into her parking spot, and he wasn't home yet, so she quickly grabbed the packages and brought them inside. She set them in Miranda's room, and then went and changed clothes. She started making the kebabs, decided to make some brown rice for dinner as well. She finished getting everything ready and put it in the fridge. David texted then and said he had to work till 7 or 8, and that he was sorry. So she took the time to wrap some of his gifts. She booked them a trip somewhere, and printed out the confirmation. Then she wrapped the other gifts she had bought, and arranged them the way she had planned, and put them under the tree.
She filled his stocking with the stuff that she had picked for him, and she went ahead and filled Miranda's and Bridgit's and Lisa's stockings as well.
She went and changed into her nightgown and robe, because she was planning on laying down as soon as they ate dinner. She had been so tired lately, even though she hadn't done anything differently.
She went ahead and cooked the kebabs on the grill, and got that done. She felt like a socialite, on the balcony in her nightgown, looking at the skyline. She was suddenly thankful nobody could see her up there.
She brought the chicken in, and made the rice, and then put it all in the oven to keep it warm until he came home.
She sat down on the couch, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
David came in at 7:30, and found Chris asleep. He went and changed clothes, and laid down on the couch with her and snuggled her as he woke her up.
"Hi honey. When did you get home?"
"Just now. When did you go to sleep?"
"A few minutes ago, I guess".
She kissed him, and then they had dinner, and she was so tired, she could barely make it through dinner. As soon as dinner was over, she got up and put the leftovers in the fridge, and David volunteered to unload the dishwasher and reload it.
She went to lay down in the bedroom, and she had every intention of not falling to sleep right away, but it didn't happen. Within just a few minutes, she was out cold.
She slept all night, and didn't move even when David came in and got in bed with her, and wrapped his arms around her.
***The next morning***
Chris woke up at 3 a.m., and felt like she was on fire. She sat up and reached for her water, and took a big gulp. She winced in pain when she swallowed, and felt like she was being stabbed in the throat by about a 100 knives. She got up and went in the bathroom, and took her temperature. 102.4. Damn. She took some meds and went back to bed, and tried to sleep.
Her alarm went off at 6, and she let it snooze till 6:30. No workout today, she was still feeling like crap.
She got up and took her temperature, and it was 99.9. She took a shower, and got ready for work. She had decided she was just going to push through.
She went and made them breakfast, and woke David up. He could tell she wasn't feeling well, but knew better than to push her.
He did all of the dishes after breakfast, and when they went to the car, he carried everything for her. He helped her into the car, and kissed her goodbye.
She drove to work, and as soon as she pulled into the parking lot, she took some more medicine.
***Chris and Mary Beth's office***
Mary Beth walked in and found Chris already at her desk.
"Morning, partner".
"Morning, Mary Beth". Mary Beth could tell by the way Chris was speaking that she wasn't feeling her best.
They were waiting on lab results and toxicology results to tell them which direction their case needs to go in, and they were running some car tags that were seen in the area where the cars were stolen.
Mary Beth ran a report, and went down the hall to get it off the printer. She came back, got Chris to sign it, and went to turn it in to Feldberg.
She put it on his desk, and headed back to their office.
She walked in, looking at the note that had been placed on the door, and headed towards her desk.
"Chris, do you know what this is about? Are they really going to change our insurance, first of the year?"
She was looking at the paper and not at Chris.
She turned to look at Chris, and gasped.
Chris was on the floor, having apparently fainted.
She yelled for a uniform to come help her, and then she knelt down by Chris.
She couldn't get her to wake up, but she could tell she was breathing and had a pulse. She put her hand on her forehead and realized she was burning up.
She told the uniform to call the ambulance. She got out her cell phone, and called David.
"Hi, Mary Beth, what's up?"
"David, It's Chris. She fainted. We are taking her to Manhattan General by ambulance. She's breathing, and she's burning up, but she isn't awake".
"Ok, I will meet y'all there. If she wakes up, tell her I love her. Thanks Mary Beth".
Mary Beth stood by as they loaded her onto a stretcher, and as they wheeled her to the ambulance, Mary Beth grabbed Chris' water bottle, purse, and phone. She rode in the ambulance with her.
***In the ambulance***
About 5 minutes after they started towards the hospital, they put an oxygen mask on Chris. She woke up soon after, and was startled.
Mary Beth explained everything to her, and she calmed down some.
They took her temp then, and it was pretty high. 104.2
She closed her eyes for a bit then, and a few minutes later, they were at the hospital.
Mary Beth helped fill out the paperwork as best she could, and they put Chris in a room to be checked out by the doctor. Mary Beth sat in there with her, and David came in a few minutes later.
***Manhattan General***
David came in and found Chris' room, thanks to Mary Beth's texts.
He ran to his wife's side, and grabbed her hand.
He pulled up a chair, and then Mary Beth handed him the paperwork to fill out and finish. He ran to give it to the nurse, and Mary Beth told Chris she was gonna head back to the office since David was there.
"No, stay. What happened?"
"I went to get the report off the printer, brought it back and you signed it. I went and took it to Feldberg, and came back. There was a note in our door box that said the insurance was going up first of the year, and I asked you if you had heard about it. You didn't answer, so I turned around and you were laying on the floor. I yelled for a uniform to come help me and we got you laying down instead of laying all crumpled. Then we got you straightened up, and I had the uniform call the ambulance while I called your husband. I made sure you were breathing, heart beating and I realized you had a fever. So I told them that, and they gave you oxygen in the ambulance, which woke you up, and then you settled down again".
Chris had no memory of the ambulance ride. "I came here in an ambulance?"
"Yes ma'am."
"I have no recollection of that at all".
David came back, and told her the doctor would be right in.
A nurse came in and drew some blood and took her vitals. Her temp was still at 104.2 and her blood pressure was a little elevated. Chris started hacking then, and told the nurse about waking up at 3 and feeling like her throat was full of knives.
The nurse made some notes and then listened to Chris breathe through the stethoscope, and said the doctor would be in soon.
Mary Beth left, and headed back to work, and David stayed with Chris.
She napped while they waited on the doctor. David woke her up when the doctor came in, and she sat up.
He listened to her breathe also, and ordered a blood panel and some x-rays.
She was taken to get the x-rays and came back about 10 minutes later. She immediately collapsed on the bed again. David was very worried.
The Dr. came in and told her that he had ran her blood screen, and her white cell count was extremely high. He had also seen some spots on her x-ray, and that led him to believe that she had pneumonia. He examined her throat, and had the nurse to a strep test just to rule it out. A few minutes later, it came back positive, so he wrote her several prescriptions, and took her off work for the rest of the week. He told David to take her home immediately, and to get her meds in her as soon as possible.
"Plenty of liquids, rest, rest, rest, stay in bed or on the couch as much as you can. That medicine that I gave you for night time- take it in the bed. Trust me. If you take it in the den, you will wake up in the den. Take it in the bed".
She nodded. "Thank you doctor".
She and David left then, and he had her sit on the bench by the door so he could go get the car. She got in the car when he pulled up and he drove straight to the pharmacy to drop off her scripts.
She fell asleep almost as soon as she got in the car, and he just let her sleep. He pulled up in front of her favorite restaurant and called the owner and told him that he wanted to buy his wife some lemon chicken soup but couldn't leave her in the car. So they did it like a curbside to go order and brought it to him. David thanked him, paid him, and then drove back to the pharmacy to get her meds. He got the meds and then headed home.
They pulled into the parking garage, and he parked the car. He went to her side, and then picked her up and carried her to the elevator. Then he carried her to their apartment and managed to open the door, and took her to the bed, where he laid her gently on the bed. He ran back to the car and got her meds and soup, and her purse and water bottle, and came back to the apartment.
He called his boss and said he was going to have to work from home the rest of the day, so he could stay with Chris.
He texted Mary Beth, told her that Chris had pneumonia and strep, and that she was going to be off work the rest of the week. Mary Beth said she would relay the news to Feldberg.
He fixed Chris some soup, and got her meds ready and put it on a TV tray for her. He took it to her, and woke her up, and helped her change into her pj's. Then she ate some soup, and took her meds.
"You go back to sleep, and I am going to be in the office if you need me". He kissed her blazing hot forehead, and she laid back down. She had never felt this bad in her life.
David wrote the time down on a notepad. 12:15. She wasn't due for meds again until 6.
She slept like a rock till 5, and woke up and had some more soup. She took a shower, and then took some more meds and went back to bed. David was working on his laptop in the den, and brought her a fresh glass of cold water.
She fell back asleep pretty easily, and slept all night.
***The next morning***
David woke her up, and made her breakfast so she could take more meds. He was going back to work today, but Chris was staying home and sleeping all day.
After she took her meds, he got her back in bed, and got her a couple glasses of water and he filled her water bottle with ice water also. He turned the fans on in their room for her, and pulled the curtains, so she could sleep in the dark. He kissed her and headed to work, while she fell asleep.
On his way to work, he decided to go buy her Christmas presents. He couldn't wait to give them to her, too bad Christmas was still 2 weeks away.
***2 days later***
Chris was finally feeling like she could lay in bed and not sleep. Mary Beth had brought her car home, and some case files for her to work on. She had made her some homemade chicken soup. It was a Lacey specialty, and Alice had picked out the noodle shape, just for her Aunt Chris. Chris was the lucky recipient of chicken and stars soup, homemade by Harvey Lacey.
Chris had moved to the couch and was wrapping some presents. David came home at lunch time, and was happy to see her up. He hated to see her so sick.
"I took Miranda to dinner last night while you were sleeping, babe. She says to tell you she missed you".
"That's sweet".
She had wrapped Bridgit's gifts and Lisa's gifts, and Miranda's gifts and put them under the tree. She and David decided they were going to have to move the tree to in front of the built in, in order to fit all the presents under it.
He sat with her a minute, and then had to go back to work. She was sad he had to go, being sick was making her all kinds of emotional.
He kissed her goodbye, promised to come home as soon as possible, and tucked her in again.
She took a good nap and hardly realized that he was gone, since she slept most of the time.
He came home with flowers for her, and she was so excited. She was starting to feel more normal, but she was still tiring out easily.
***The next week***
David had gone and picked up Miranda that weekend, and brought her to their apartment. She had basically stayed in her room, or on the couch, and was quiet so she wouldn't disturb Christine.
Chris felt bad that she couldn't do much with her, but Miranda said she understood, and David took her to do stuff in the city so that she didn't have to sit at home with them all day.
He took her back home on Sunday, and Chris felt well enough to make dinner for her and David. She went to bed as soon as dinner was over and slept all night.
She and David spent the week getting their plans ready for Christmas. Chris planned to make caprese stuffed chicken, wild rice, a big salad, a fruit salad, and grilled vegetables for Christmas Eve dinner. She had already decided to make cinnamon roll waffles and baked fruit for Christmas morning breakfast. She made a grocery list for them to go get. She had gone back to work, but couldn't make it through the day, so she took the rest of Christmas week off, and wasn't going back till the 28th.
She spent most of her days reading and laying on the couch. She was sleeping great at night, she just ran out of energy sooner than expected. She hadn't spiked a fever in a couple days, so that was good.
She assembled David's present while he was gone to work, and wrapped the whole thing and put it under the tree. She saw a big box for her from him, and couldn't wait to open it. The next 2 days were going to have to fly by.
***Christmas eve, morning***
Chris was up at 8, and David was off, so he was home with her. She started cleaning, and helped as much as she would let him.
Bridgit and Lisa arrived around 11, and Chris noticed that Bridgit was really starting to show. She had the cutest little baby bump. Lisa seemed a little on edge, and kept checking her cell phone every 5 minutes.
Bridgit sat on her laptop looking up baby stuff. She was getting very excited. She had taken a blood test to find out if the baby had any abnormalities, and they were able to detect the sex. So as a surprise, she was planning on telling everyone that night, when she and Lisa facetimed with Brian and Ann. She wanted to reveal it in a cute way, and she was deciding between popping a confetti balloon, or tying a bow on her stomach and taking off her jacket. She wasn't crazy about either of those reveal ideas, but she wasn't positive that she could pull off anything else. She went to Miranda's room, supposedly to wrap presents. She punched a bunch of holes in some construction paper, and then she filled the balloons with the confetti. She blew them up and put them on sticks, and made a stick balloon bouquet.
She came out and put them in a vase on the bookshelf by the TV.
"What is that Bridgie?"
"This is how I want to tell everyone what the baby is. We are going to all pop them at once".
"What's in the balloons?"
"Confetti, that reveals if it's a girl, or a boy".
She looked at Chris and then said "I promise I will clean it all up after everyone".
"It's ok, don't be silly." Chris didn't mind messes, most of the time.
She took some more meds and started making dinner, and Lisa helped.
Bridgit researched more baby stuff.
It was a pleasant afternoon, and Chris was excited for family to come over.
***Later that afternoon***
Chris went and took a shower, and changed into destructed skinny jeans, boots and a green sweater. David showered after her and changed also. Bridgit and Lisa finished putting their stocking gifts in everyone's stockings. Dinner was cooking.
Lisa looked at her cell phone, and then jumped up and ran to Miranda's room and shut the door.
She came out all happy and excited.
Chris was tired, but she was trying to hang on. Christine Cagney Keeler was a tough cookie, but pneumonia had flat out kicked her ass.
Miranda, Stephanie, and Stephanie's parents arrived then. Everyone was so excited to see them.
They wasted no time bringing presents in, and filling stockings. Miranda headed to put her stuff in her room, and Chris got the wrapping paper and took it back to the office.
David turned the fireplace on, and everyone helped themselves to a beverage.
Lisa facetimed with Brian and Ann, and when she got them connected, she told Bridgit.
Bridgit spoke up and said "I have an announcement".
She stood up, and turned sideways, to show off her baby bump. Everyone oohed and aahed. Then she handed out the balloons and Miranda got to pass out stick pins to everyone. Bridgit counted to three, and everyone poked their balloon.
The room got seriously loud with all the yelling. Everyone was so happy it was a girl!
Brian and Ann were so happy to have a granddaughter on the way.
Lisa spoke up then. "Now it's my turn".
Everyone looked at her. "I graduate from Fashion design school in 1 month, and today, I was offered a full time job here in the city, working with Nicole Miller. I am proud to say I accepted, and I am going to be living here full time!".
After a chorus of congratulations, and hugs, Brian and Ann spoke up.
"Lisa, your mom and I were talking and we think it's time that you move out of the apartment too"
"I love the loft! It's so me!".
"Sweetheart, you are in a dangerous part of the city, and in a few months you will be there alone, when Bridgit moves out. Don't you want to move closer to your Aunt Chris and David, and your sister and niece?"
"I will think about it daddy."
"Well think about it while you find something. We will extend the same deal to you as we did Bridgit. We will buy the apartment and then flip it when you move out".
"Ok daddy".
They hung up, and Chris announced that dinner was ready. This was the first time that they were eating at the new table that would seat everyone.
They had a very nice meal, and afterwards, everyone insisted on doing the dishes and letting Chris sit and rest.
Lisa came over and got on the laptop, and started looking at places to live. She found a few really good prospects, and fell in love with one just from the pictures. It had a bedroom that you stepped up into, and the bed was on a platform. It had a shower stall, with a glass door, and beautiful tile. The kitchen was huge and had an island. And she would have a balcony.
She showed Chris the pictures.
"Lisa, this is gorgeous!". She looked at the listing, and then turned to her. "Do you know where this is?"
Lisa shook her head.
"It's 3 buildings down".
"No way! That means I will be like 7 or 8 blocks from work". This apartment had just shot to #1 on her list.
She was so excited and couldn't wait to go look at it.
After that, everyone sort of trickled into the kitchen, and then David passed out the stockings.
"Let's go one at a time, youngest to oldest, so we can see everything". Everyone was ok with that. He passed out the stockings and then Miranda went first. They did this over and over until everyone was done.
Chris received some perfume, a few gift cards, and some pretty nail polish and earrings. Miranda got a bunch of candy and gift cards, and Bridgit and Lisa had gotten tons of gift cards and makeup. Everyone was happy with their stocking presents.
Miranda picked a funny Christmas movie for them to watch on Netflix, and David brought out bean bags from the office closet, so that they could lay on the floor. Bridgit and Lisa and Miranda got on the bean bags, and everyone else took chairs and the sofa. Chris was really tired, so David made her some tea with honey.
Stephanie and her parents made it almost through the whole movie and decided to head back to the hotel.
"We will be here around 8 in the morning".
"Sounds good". Everyone said goodnight, and then returned to the movie. David walked them to the elevator and told them they could have the doorman get them a cab.
He returned to Chris who was laying on the couch. The movie ended about 20 minutes later, and then Chris headed to bed.
Bridgit and Lisa were staying in the office. David had also put a couple roll away beds in Miranda's room, in case she wanted them to stay in there with her.
He locked the doors, and set the alarm, and grabbed Chris some water, and headed to bed.
She had just changed into a nightgown, and told David she had a surprise for him.
He took the surprise and came back to the bedroom, wearing new pajama bottoms that were red. She took off her robe and revealed a Santa outfit.
"Are you sure you are up to this, babe?" She nodded. She kissed him and climbed into bed.
"Mrs. Claus, you are so beautiful".
He kissed her tenderly before turning out the light. They made love and then she took her meds and slept all night.
***Christmas morning***
Chris woke up at 6:30, and took a shower. She got dressed and headed for the kitchen. She almost laughed out loud when she walked out of her room. Apparently, Miranda, Bridgit, and Lisa had fallen asleep in their jammies in front of the TV. Bridgit was on the couch, under a blanket. Lisa was on one of the rollaway mattresses on the floor, and Miranda was on the big bean bag that fit 4 people. They all looked so peaceful.
She woke David up and then took a pic of the girls, and headed to the kitchen to start making breakfast.
David came and turned the alarm off, and walked up behind Chris. He grabbed the mistletoe, and held it over her and wrapped his arms around her.
"Merry Christmas, babe". He kissed her.
"Merry Christmas honey". She kissed him back. David went and woke up Miranda so she could go get dressed. Chris woke up Lisa and Bridgit, and told them they could shower in the guest bath or in Chris and David's bathroom.
Stephanie and her parents arrived at 10 till 8 and started putting presents under the tree.
They all ate a nice breakfast when everyone was ready, and then opened presents.
Bridgit loved her outfits, and couldn't wait to wear them while she still could. Lisa was so excited about her gift cards and tops. Miranda was over the moon about her laptop, and getting to pick out the accessories.
Stephanie and her parents were so thankful to Chris and David for their gifts. They had given Chris and David season tickets to the Yankees. Chris was thrilled.
"Chris, it's your turn to open your present from me". David pushed a heavy box towards her.
"You get to open yours from me as well".
She went first, and unwrapped it, and saw that it was a very nice cooler. David went next and saw that his gift was a very nice cooler also. They both opened the cooler and laughed. Everything was the same, in both. They had even used the same wrapping paper. She picked a gift to unwrap, and found a monogrammed Yeti cup. She was so happy. He picked next and unwrapped a pair of binoculars. She went and unwrapped an iphone 6s, in Rose Gold, just like she had said.
"Thanks honey!".
He went and opened up a black iphone 6splus.
"How did you…?"
"I used my upgrade to get it for you, and told them I wasn't ready to put my sim card in yet".
"I did the same thing to get yours honey".
They opened the rest of their cooler gifts, and found that they had each gotten each other a gift card to their favorite store, and David had an otterbox for his phone. Chris had a phone case, and a small box to open. They both had envelopes to open. Chris opened the small box, and it was a diamond anniversary band to go in front of her engagement ring.
"Oh honey, it's beautiful!". She put it on and then kissed him.
He picked up his envelope from her. She had planned a trip for them, to Punta Cana, to the Secrets resort. 6 days, 5 nights. Oceanview room, and all inclusive.
He laughed and said "Open your envelope".
She opened it and then saw that he had also planned a trip for them. "Maui. 6 days, 7 nights at the Sheraton Maui. All inclusive, and beach front".
She kissed him and they started laughing.
"I guess we can always do one in the summer and one in the fall".
"Good plan".
Everyone helped clean up the wrapping paper, and then had seconds on breakfast.
They all sat around afterwards and enjoyed their gifts, and then around lunchtime, Stephanie and her parents headed back to the hotel for a nap. They arranged to come get Miranda at 6, before they headed back to Tarrytown.
Bridgit and Lisa headed home around 4, and promised to come back in a few days.
Chris and David were sitting there on the couch, after Miranda had gone to her room, talking about stuff.
"I can't believe that we got each other the same presents".
"We know each other so well, babe".
"We do". He got up and got the tools he needed to open their phones, and did the backup to the ICloud. Chris wrote down what apps she had on which pages, and then they did the new sim cards in the new phones, and put their cases on. They spent some time looking up their trips, and deciding when they wanted to take the trips.
Stephanie called and said she was in the lobby to get Miranda, so they said goodbye to her and David walked her to the elevator.
He came back, locked the door, and set the alarm. It was only 6, but it felt so late.
"What do you want to do, honey?" She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"How about you put that Mrs. Claus outfit back on?"
"Sure, Mr. Claus. Merry Christmas, Mr. Keeler". She kissed him.
"Merry Christmas, Mrs. Keeler". He kissed her back, and then carried her to the bedroom.