A/N: This will be an AU Christmas story evolving around a Christmas Eve wedding at a countryside hotel in seasonal fluffy spirit, including as many OG characters as I possibly can fit in.

As you may have noticed, I've developed an addiction to writing fanfic. Another weakness of mine this time of year is romantic Christmas movies, everything from great "classics" like 'Love actually' to substantially lower-quality Netflix productions. I can put up with them being totally cheesy and predictable as long as they leave a warm fuzzy feeling. I just love it, and my husband sighs because he thinks I'm watching crap – lol. My favourites are those that begin like many separate stories which weave together somehow.

This is intended to be a story in that spirit with one chapter for every day until Christmas. Actually, I had planned to take a break from writing in December but now when this idea emerged, I can't resist it. I can't promise for sure I manage to write them real time, but I'll try between juggling work, family and Christmas preparations (and watching Christmas movies). I realise I start a bit early but that increases the chance of finishing by Christmas.

I hope you share my weakness for fluff this time of year, I already know you share my weakness for OG.

25 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS

Chapter 1

Friday, Dec 1

Molly

I criss-crossed between puddles, simultaneously trying to avoid colliding with the many early Christmas shoppers filling the street. December 1, and half the city already seemed to be on the hunt for Christmas presents. A bit previous, if you asked me. I always bought my gifts last minute.

Not a single snow-flake in sight, though, and that was about time. I would love some snow instead of the cold rain that now was drizzling. Almost invisible, yet there and it slowly made me wetter and wetter, as it was impossible to use an umbrella in the crowd without poking someone's eye out. Despite the Christmas lights hanging above, hundreds of them across the street and the beautifully decorated shop windows, it was difficult to get that feeling yet, the feeling of excited Christmas joy. Maybe it was not due to the lack of snow, maybe it is only because I'm not a child any longer. Maybe this is how Christmas will feel for the rest of my grown-up life. I hope not, I want to feel giddy like that again.

Finally, I reached my destination – a café where I was to meet my sister Bella. I hurried inside and tried to shake off the water in manner of a dog, but with limited success and I still felt damp and cold as I sank down in a chair by the table where Bella was already seated.

"There you are, I was beginning to despair."

"All these people, it's driving me nuts. And the rain! It's December today – where's the freakin' snow?"

She laughed.

"I guess we should be glad if we get any even on Christmas Eve. I hope we do, then it will be the perfect winter wedding."

"It will be the perfect wedding, snow or no snow, Bells. I'm 100% sure about that. Now I need a large cuppa before anything else, or I'll freeze to death."

"And we can't have that, can we? That would leave me without my maid of honour and that would be disaster. I probably wouldn't get through the day. I'll get you one."

My younger sister, Bella, is getting married on Christmas Eve. One could be surprised at that she has managed to make people break up from their usual Christmas traditions, but everyone loves Bella, so I think nearly everyone they invited has accepted. It will not be a small modest wedding, but a huge one in an exclusive country-side hotel, the kind we only could dream of when we were kids growing up in Newham. No wonder she is excited beyond belief, but of course not only because of the hotel and other superficial stuff, but because she is truly marrying her soulmate, Matthew.

Bella and I come from a large family, where I'm the eldest and she the second one of six siblings. We grew up in half-misery in a small council house in East Ham, with an alcoholic father who was unemployed for much of our childhood and a mum who always was knackered from taking care of all us kids and being pregnant with the next one, while trying to keep everything together. She and my Nan were the anchor points, as dad constantly ran off to the pub spending the household money and leaving little left for necessities like food and clothes.

Early on, Bella and I both knew we wanted something else, that we had to find a way to get ourselves a better life than this. At night, we used to lie in our shared bed and whisper fantasies of our fantastic future dreamlives and how we would achieve them. As little girls, it was fairy tales we made up but over the years they became more adapted to reality, not including so many princesses and princes. Our plans to reach the dreams also became more concrete and, in the end, we had done quite well. Bella had even found her prince, I think I'm still waiting for mine, but both of us have managed to leave Newham behind.

We had both realised that being good in school offered a way to a life different from mum's, so we fought hard and helped each other with homework as there was not really anyone else helping us, at least not at home. A kind teacher thought she had found two tiny pearls among the many pupils that were completely disinterested in school and helped us, first with the studies, then to get scholarship to a better school and it went on from there. In the end Bella decided to be a teacher and I studied medicine. Initially I had intended to train for becoming a nurse, but my biology teacher in upper secondary school encouraged me to aim higher.

"Nothing wrong with being a nurse, Molly, they're a very much needed skill, but if you'd like to be a doctor I don't see why you should limit yourself. You're brilliant, never doubt that."

So, with that encouragement, a lot of stamina, the fortune to land a scholarship for uni and getting accepted to med school, and then after working hard, I now, years later found myself actually being a doctor. For the past six months, I had been in a hospital as part of my two-year foundation training. A real hospital where they allowed me to practice as a doctor! I still could not believe it sometimes, thinking that someone would find out I was a fraud any day. I had to pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming – but I really was a doctor.

Bella's studies to become a teacher were shorter, so she had already been working a couple of years in a primary school. During uni and her first years working, she shared a room with a new-found best friend from her class, a girl named Ginny Geddings. Over the years, Bella got to know Ginny's older brother, Matthew, too and they also got along really well. So well, that Matt finally summoned his courage and asked Bella out on a date and since that day they were inseparable. He had proposed a year ago and now they were getting married.

The Geddings family were wealthy. I'm not sure exactly how wealthy, but enough for his parents to arrange this huge country wedding and insist paying for it. They all loved Bella, completely ignored her simple background and knew she was not into Matt for his money, so there was no weirdness about them arranging the wedding. They wanted to do it as a gift to Matt and Bella. However, like me with my Christmas presents, Bella is a bit of a late planner, even if she likes to plan, and there were still a lot of things to arrange before the wedding could take place. As only twenty-four days remained to Christmas Eve, time was beginning to run out. She was starting to get slightly stressed and had asked to meet today for some planning and advice. After discussing the seating and menu, she went on.

"On Wednesday I need you to come with me to the bridal shop for the final dress fitting and help me decide on veil or not."

"I thought you had decided you wanted veil already?"

"I'm not sure anymore. I have to try it again."

We had already spent countless hours in the bridal shop, but I loved my little sister so of course I would come with her.

"Then there's the cake tasting."

"Isn't it enough if you and Matt agree it tastes good?"

"It has to look good too and he doesn't have any sense of taste for such things."

"You may have a point there."

Matt was an army officer, captain, and despite his somewhat posh upbringing, he was more in his comfort zone roughing it on muddy training exercises, than selecting between posh cakes in a fancy bakery.

"Will there be a hen party?", Bella abruptly asked.

Oh, the little minx was trying to ambush me into telling her something. Of course, there would be, but I did not intend to disclose anything.

"I don't know."

"Of course, you do, you're the maid of honour."

"Okay, I know, but I won't tell."

She looked very annoyed. Bella does not like surprises much, she likes to be in control and a surprise hen would be far from that. The thought of being kidnapped and put through things she had not planned herself terrified her. She sighed, vexed but defeated, changing subject.

"Matt and I have the most amazing idea."

I nodded, so she would tell me, thinking it had something to do with the decorations, the food or something like it.

"We thought it would be awesome if you and the best man sang a duet."

I nearly choked on my tea, then burst into fits of laughter.

"You do remember how I sing?"

I could sing all right, but absolutely not fantastic and I only did it in public after one too many beers.

"You think too low of yourself, you have quite a beautiful voice."

"Not beautiful enough to sing solo for some hundred wedding guests!"

"You won't sing solo, it will be a duet with the best man. A love song, I thought."

There she revealed herself. 'I thought', of course this was her idea, not Matt's.

"I really don't want this, Bells. And he probably won't agree to it anyway."

I know how persistent my sister is, but pulling that card gave me some hope to get out of this.

"Matt has already asked him, and he said yes", she said triumphantly. "You must too. Please, please, please Molly, do this for me. It would be so cute with the maid of honour and the best man signing a duet. Matt and I would adore you for always."

I wonder what wanker of a guy it was who had agreed to this and put me in this spot.

"You can choose any love song you like."

As if that would make things much better. She looked at me with pleading eyes and I knew that if this was what she really wanted for her wedding day I would not be able to deny her that. I would make sure it would happen late during the reception though, so I could drink plenty of champagne before. Or maybe whisky would be better, that might loosen up the vocal chords a bit in a addition to dampening my inhibitions.

"Okay, I'll do it", I said with a sigh.

She jumped up from her chair and gave me the biggest hug.

"You're the best sister in the world. This will be so great."

I was sure the wedding would be great, the singing not so much.

"I'll get you his mobile number so you two can get in contact and rehearse."

She was really serious about this, 'rehearse'. Did that mean I would have to spend time with this bloke and sing already before the wedding? Apparently, she thought so. I was already beginning to feel the pressure rising, what had I just accepted?

"You think it's necessary, really?"

"You need to agree on which song, of course, and Charles is apparently a good singer, so if you feel unsure about it, it will be great to practise together with him."

"Charles?!", I snorted.

Now it made perfect sense that he had accepted singing. With that name, I could picture him singing in a church choir, dressed in a knitted jumper with Christmas motive and well-combed hair. No wait, he would be a bit bald, and probably chubby. And I would have to sing a love song duet with him. If I was unlucky, he would fancy me, and I would have him as a shadow for the rest of the evening. Eeeek! Yes, whisky would definitely be required to live through this.

"I've only met him a few times but he's quite nice actually. Matt and he go way back, since they went to the same boarding school."

Matt had managed to get out as a normal and nice person on the other side of that experience, but I felt quite sure this Charles would turn out not to have been as fortunate. Beside the knitted Christmas jumper and baldness, he would most likely be a stuck-up twat wanting us to sing opera or something.

"Bella, I do this because I love you terribly much, but don't expect me to like this Charles-guy, it's too much to ask."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"If you say so. I'm happy as long as you sing a song."

"I'll be very happy once I have delivered it."

I glanced at my watch.

"I need to get going now. I start at the hospital in half an hour, evening shift."

"Then I'll see you on Wednesday for the dress fitting."

As I took the metro to work, I already regretted my promise bitterly. Why could I never resist Bella? It was not the first time it had gotten me into trouble and it probably would not be the last either. I might as well take the bull by its horns and send that Charles a text message later this evening to get this madness started.