"Peter, come on, we have to get dressed," Cassandra said after coming out of the bathroom and found Peter lying on the bed, wearing nothing, but a towel. Sighing loudly, Peter folded his arms over his chest as she crawled on the bed and slid out of the towel. He looked at her naked body as she hovered over him with her hands on either side of him and she shivered as he stroked the underside of her breasts.
"Wouldn't you rather just stay up here?" he asked while wiggling his eyebrows up and down and she smiled at him.
"Yes, but Jane has been cooking for hours to make Thanksgiving dinner for us. We are obligated to go down and eat it," she said as she kissed his chest and he groaned while her tongue swirled around his nipple.
"Then I guess we better get up," he said as she got off the bed, held her hand out and he got off the bed, taking her hand. Smiling, she led him to the wardrobe then opened the door and he sighed, slid his arms around her and placed his chin on her shoulder, rubbing his hand up and down her stomach.
"Stop," she whispered as he smiled and a few minutes later they were dressed and Peter held her against his side as they left the room.
"Well look who decided to come down," one of the females said while Peter and Cassandra walked down the stairs and Peter was amused that Jane had decided on a picnic setting for their Thanksgiving dinner. The young women were sitting on pillows while Amy and Charlie sat on the floor and Jane was placing the last of the bowls of food on the blanket she had spread out on the floor. Peter flipped the young women off as he walked to the blanket and Cassandra walked to the bar, pouring Midori into the glass. She walked to the blanket when she sat next to Peter and Peter looked down to see the turkey sitting on the platter in front of him. He looked at Cassandra, Jane, Charlie, Amy, Cross, Boe and the young women when he sighed and blinked his eyes a few times. Sitting back on his legs, Peter looked at them when he lifted the glass of Midori to his lips and sipped on the green liquid.
"Right, well, seeing that I am the "father" to this little "family", I guess I better say something. I remember when I was a kid that we didn't have a turkey for Thanksgiving. I mean it seemed silly because there were only three of us and having a big, fucking turkey was a waste. My mom just bought a turkey breast and a drumstick for my dad and Dad would make a big fuss over carving the turkey," Peter said then sipped on the Midori and sighed. "Afterwards, I just didn't give a fuck and would spend the day drunk out of my skull. But now, looking at all of you, I realize that I have a lot of to be thankful for this year."
"Like what?" Charlie asked.
"Well, to start with, I'm still alive," Peter said with a soft smile. "If things had ended badly with Jerry, I would be in the ground with worms eating…." He grunted as Cassandra gently nudged him and he smiled, kissing her lips. "ANYWAY, I thankful for still being able to do a job that I love and I still have all this!"
Peter sipped on the Midori while pointing with his finger around the room and they smiled while Cassandra rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
"I am thankful for you amazing people. Charlie, you helped me see that I was turning into a real bastard and I didn't like the man I was. Amy, you…um, well, you're a sweet girl, but you have to be careful when it comes to guys. If you had fought harder, Charlie and I wouldn't have had to rescue you!"
"Hey!" she said as Peter softly laughed and she flipped him off. Getting up off the floor, he walked to Amy then kissed the top of her head and knelt down next to her. Sighing, Amy hugged him as Peter softly smiled then got up and walked back to Cassandra, kneeling down next to her.
"Now, as I was saying. Jane, I'm thankful that you helped me see that I didn't have to hide behind the bottle," Peter said, raising the glass of Midori toward her. Jane smiled as he sipped on the Midori and looked at the young women. "As for you lot, I am thankful that you stayed with me with the way I treat you. I am a thoughtless asshole and treat you like shit."
"True, but we love you anyway," one of the young women said and they laughed.
"Right, well, I am also thankful for…Hey!" Peter said when Boe moved toward the turkey when Peter coughed and Boe turned its head, looking at him. "No!"
Boe grumbled as it went to lie down next to him and Peter sighed, scratching Boe's stomach and Boe softly purred.
"Like I was saying, I am thankful for this fur ball and Tweety here," Peter said as he stroked Cross' back and Cross softly purred. "Finally, I am thankful for this charming lady."
Cassandra blushed as the young women giggled and Peter leaned over, kissing Cassandra's lips. Cassandra stroked his cheek as he smiled then looked at the turkey, picking up the carving knife and serving fork. A few minute later the food was served as they started eating and Peter smiled, sipping on the Midori.
"Shit, I'm stuffed," Peter sighed while lying on his back and Cassandra's head rested on the center of his chest. His heart thumped softly in her ear while she moved her fingers through the soft hair on his chest and he sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.
"Well, you didn't have to eat three plates of food," she teased and he scowled at her. "Do you want to know what I'm thankful for?"
Cassandra looked up to see that Peter had fallen asleep as she kissed his chest, snuggled closer and stroked the tip of his nipple with her finger.
"You," she whispered then closed her eyes and the last thing she heard before drifting off to sleep was the soft beating of his heart.