Got the idea for this while reading an essay for my English exam... and decided to just go with it and see where it leads!

First BDS fic, so review and let me know if I do the characters justice? Thanks!

"Wake up, Carrie!"

A small soprano voice whispered across the dark room. There was no answer, so the girl pounced on her older sister to wake her. The older girl groaned and shoved blindly, her hands connecting with a shoulder. A muffled giggle and a small thump as she hit the ground, and the room was quiet again.

"Carrie!" The small voice called again. Her innocent voice ringing with an unusual accent, a mixture of Scottish and Irish. Scottish and Irish. Just like everything in their home. Just like their names, Sheila Makenzie - affectionately known as 'Shay', and Carrigan Paisley. Just like their holidays, St Patrick's Day, Guy Fawkes, St Andrew's, etc. Just like their TV shows, their toys, their books, and just like the stories they were told before they went to sleep at night. Scottish and Irish, Scottish and Irish... just like their mum and dad.

Carrigan McManus ignored her sister. She was trying to sleep. Something which neither of them had been able to do in a long time. No one in their house had... not since last Christmas. And that was almost a year ago.

In fact, it had been exactly one year ago.

"Oh Christ, it's Christmas!" Carrie exclaimed, sitting up in her bed.

"Lord's name." Muttered her sister.

"Shut it, you." She giggled and stood up, stumbling over toys and clothes to the light switch. The light was way too bright for that early in the morning when she flicked it on. Both the girls instantly squeezed their eyes shut and took a few seconds to adjust. When she could see again, Carrie sighed at the mess in the bedroom. It was always a mess like this. Shay always left her dolls scattered around the place, and she'd never quite learned to pick up her clothes and put them in the basket. It had always been Carrie's responsibility. It made sense to her, though, seeing as she was a good twelve and a half years older, but she was starting to miss having someone else around to do the work for her. She was having to grow up fast, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Hurry up," Carrie said, sighing, "Get yer slippers on."

The six year old beamed and scrambled around the room. She found her prize and trotted after Carrie out of the room and down the hall. They tiptoed through the house and into the living room, feet padding quietly on the carpet as they creeped towards the tree, each grinning from ear to ear as they cautiously checked over their shoulders. Shay was braver, sliding on her knees and carefully sifting through the colourfully wrapped boxes, searching for her name. Carrie smiled and shook her head, standing slightly back as she watched her sister rummage through the presents. Shay frowned at the boxes, looking up at Carrie and whispering,

"They don't have tags. Why wouldn't they have tags? I can't tell which is mine and which is yers."

Carrie shrugged, "Maybe Santa forgot this year."

Shay still looked disappointed. "Why'd he forget me? He kens I like the nametags."

Carrie cleared her throat and raised a brow at her. "Eh?"

Shay rolled her eyes. "'Know'. Sorry."

Shay hated when Carrie corrected her slang. It was always Carrie, or her mum. Her dad never bothered, not caring what slang she picked up from him so long as she never cursed. Shay liked that about her dad, how he was so willing to let her grow up her own way.

Carrie on the other hand, hated it. She wanted that guidance. She needed it. She wasn't as independent as her sister was turning out to be, she really needed that helping hand to show her the way. He father had never done that for her. It wasn't as though he wasn't there for her - he was. More than she could ask for. But when she'd ask for advice or do something wrong, he wouldn't tell her what to do or give her a punishment, he'd let her work through her mistakes and problems all on her own and let her learn from it so she could do it the next time without any help. But she could never trust herself like that. She was always worried she'd do something wrong and then he'd be disappointed in her. And she'd spent her whole life trying to impress her family. She had a big name to live up to.

Shay shrugged her shoulders and scurried to the mantel to her stocking, knowing Santa wouldn't have forgotten that. And her name was embroidered on the front in pretty gold letters, so he couldn't mess it up, either.

Carrie giggled while her sister struggled to move a chair so her short frame could reach the stockings. She clambered up the chair and reached her hand up, small fingers just nearly curling around the edge of the stocking,

"What are you two doing?" A deep husky voice made Shay yelp and fall from the chair, and Carrie nearly jumped out of her skin. They spun around to face the voice and laughed,

"Granddad!" Shay smiled, running to him. Noah McManus picked up his granddaughter and spun her in a circle while she laughed and giggled up a storm.

"Merry Christmas, Granddad," Carrie grinned.

Noah set Shay down, and smiled from behind his shaggy grey beard, "Merry Christmas, Carrigan."

"Where is everyone?" Shay asked impatiently, shifting between her feet.

Noah chuckled, "Yer da's still in his bed, as usual, and yer uncle's out in the kitchen. "

Shay looked to Carrie and grinned. Before Carrie could react, her sister had taken a hold of the sleeve of her pyjamas and yanked her down the hall to their parent's bedroom. Shay let her go and she jumped up onto the bed, making sure her hands pounded on her dad's back and shoved him over. He groaned and rolled over, rubbing his eyes while Shay continued to jump on him and giggle.

"Wake up dad!" She yelled. "It's bloody Christmas! Wake up!"

"Watch yer language, Sheila." He muttered as he sat up. She rolled her eyes and he started laughing. She jumped at him again and he caught her and pulled her into a hug.

"Merry Christmas, dad." Carrie laughed. He looked up and let Shay go,

"Merry Christmas, girls. Now get te the tree, I'll be there in a minute."

"Hurry!" Shay ordered before the two girls ran back to the living room. Murphy watched as his two girls retreated down the hallway and the room fell silent behind them. They reminded him so much of their mother that sometimes it scared him. Shay had her bright charismatic persona and her independence. Carrie had her brown eyes and her strawberry blonde hair. Sometimes Carrie would come out of her little shell enough that he could even see her mother's ambition and curiosity, but then she'd just shrink away again and disappear into her own little world. He worried about her sometimes, locked away in that bedroom with her little sketchbook and pens. He wondered what was going through that quiet little head of hers.

But now wasn't the time to think about it. It was Christmas! It was time to celebrate. And the girls really needed presents to cheer them up before he told them the bad news.