He was just fixing his tie when he felt arms slip around his waist. He smiled as a body leaned into him and started kissing his neck. "You know, if you keep this up we'll never get out of here." he chuckled. A slight moan escaped his mouth as lips attached themselves to his neck and started to suck. At the same time hands un-tucked his shirt and slipped beneath the fabric to touch smooth, warm skin. "You really aren't playing fair," he murmured trying to sound cross, but he failed miserably. Another gasp escaped his lips as teeth sunk into that spot on his neck, and he forgot all about his tie. "What are you doing to me?" he asked softly.

"I want to make love to you," the sultry voice responded, nipping on his earlobe before turning him around to capture his mouth.

Hands made quick work of the tie, tossing it to the floor and slowly unbuttoned the shirt as he tried to regain his composure from that deep kiss. "What about…mmmm," he moaned in response to that kiss. "Dinner…mmm, it's our mmmm last night here." He hadn't even realized that they were by the bed, until he was pushed down onto it. His pants were removed, and his boxers. His lover straddled him and bent down to capture his lips once more.

"Who needs dinner when I have you?"

"Are you still meeting us at the airport," Luke asked as he handed Noah some more folded clothes. They were packing up last minute things, gearing up for their return to the states. Six months had flown by, and as much as he hated leaving, Luke found he was eager to get back to their home.

"That's the plan," James said, a smile on his face as he sat behind his father's desk. "What time are you guys getting in?"

"Well, we should be taking off in about an hour, and we will arrive in Chicago at 10 more or less."

"It will be 10 here," James commented, but you two will still be on European time. Did you enjoy your trip?"

"Yes," Luke sighed contentedly as he handed even more folded clothes to Noah. "And we have more stuff to take home then we had coming here. It was a nice time though, I'm sorry to see it end."

"And did you actually get out to see Florence?" James asked amusement clear in his voice.

"Yes," Luke laughed. "As a matter of fact we did. We also toured Rome, Venice, Sicily, Malta."

"You went to Malta? I thought you had reasons for not wanting to venture there."

Luke shrugged. "I wanted to show Noah, Malta, so we took a tour. I didn't even think about that certain person whom shall not be named."

"Yeah, whatever," James laughed. "I'm glad you guys had a good time, though I must admit I can't wait for you to get home. I missed my brothers."

"Yeah we missed you too," Luke smiled and shook his head in answer to Noah's question. "You will have to fill us in on all the happenings in Oakdale since we've been gone. You kept an eye on my dad right, and Grandma?"

James chuckled again. "Oh….yeah you can say that. There's a lot I need to tell you when you get here. Your dad is fine, he actually checks on me and Maddie often. He misses you and Noah like crazy. Everyone is doing well, Luke. You just need to get back here. And you aren't allowed to disappear for six months again."

"I'm not allowed huh? NO, sweetie don't put that in there, give it here," he said holding his hands out for the framed picture of them in front of the Coliseum. He wrapped it up in tissue paper and a soft pillowcase for cushioning and then placed it carefully in the bag resting beside the suitcase. "Well I don't think we'll be staying away so long anymore," he said continuing his conversation with James.

"I'm going to hold you to that," James replied. "Maddie is going to be psyched to see you guys. I didn't tell her you were coming in, I wanted to surprise her."

"And I'm sure she will shriek loud enough to wake the rest of Oakdale," Luke teased. "I'm looking forward to seeing her too. I better go though, we have to get to the airport, and Grandma's jet should be waiting for us. I'll see you soon."

He hung up the phone and looked at his husband who was smiling at him. "What" he asked placing his cell phone back in his pocket.

"Nothing," Noah replied slipping his arms around Luke's waist. "I just love you."

"I love you too, Noah. He wrapped his arms around Noah's neck and gave him a kiss that quickly turned passionate. "Mmm," he said pulling away when they were both breathless. "We have a plane to catch," he reminded reluctantly. "Are you ready to go home?"

Noah kissed him once more before pulling away to gather up their things. "I am looking forward to going back, actually," he admitted. "It will be interesting, going back home with all my memories intact."

Luke smiled. "Yeah, that part's nice though. "I don't think I'm over my fear of you driving though. And it's coming close to a year since the accident."

"Don't trouble yourself with that," Noah said coming to take Luke's hands. "What happened last Christmas was a freak accident, and I'm glad that nightmare's over. And I'm glad that Randy isn't a part of our lives anymore. I hate what he did to you, and I hate what he did to try to hide it."

"Let's go catch our plane," Luke said softly, caressing Noah's cheek. "You're right; it's time to go home."

They were wrapped in each other's arms when Charles announced that they were approaching Chicago, and would be landing in 45 minutes. Noah nuzzled at Luke's neck, causing the younger man to moan contentedly. They had spent the majority of the flight in the bedroom, determined to continue their honeymoon until the last possible second.

"Are you ready?" Noah asked as Luke shifted in his arms, turning to face him.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Luke replied. "I knew we couldn't stay gone forever Noah. There's so much waiting for us back home, and besides its Christmas. We couldn't very well miss Christmas at home. And don't you miss it?"

"Well," Noah said thoughtfully, "I don't care where we spend Christmas; I just want to be with you. But I can admit that it would be nice to actually enjoy being with you on Christmas night."

"Yeah," Luke agreed. "Last Christmas was even white, but that didn't matter at all because…"

He let the thought trail off and Noah reached up to touch his cheek. "I promised you that I wouldn't go anywhere without you…and I'll let you drive. Nothing is going to spoil the holidays for us this year."

Luke smiled and kissed him once more before they reluctantly got out of bed. Soon they were dressed and in their seats preparing to land at Midway Airport. It was strange, touching down on American soil after six months abroad. It was nice though too. There was something comforting about being this close to home again. Luke took hold of Noah's hand as they stepped off the plane, the brisk air hitting them in the face. Noah's feet barely touched the ground before a figured barreled into him and slipped padded arms around his neck and held on tight.

"I guess it's safe to say you missed me?" Noah laughed, letting go of Luke's hand long enough to hug his friend.

"I missed both of you," Maddie said giggling as she moved to give Luke a hug as well. "It's so good to see you guys. You aren't' allowed to stay away this long ever again."

"Is she always this bossy?" Luke asked as James walked up to join them."

James laughed. "Wouldn't you know that better than me?"

"Oh, she can be bossy when she wants to be," Noah said sidestepping Maddie's swiping hand. "What it's true," he said with a laugh. "Sit down, and drink your tea, Noah," He said mimicking Maddie's voice. "I know you don't like tea, but drink it anyway." He laughed at the incredulous look on her face. "Remember that's exactly what you did when you came over that Saturday before Christmas? Luke and I were relaxing on the couch when you came, and you brought tea and insisted that we drink it right then and there." He chuckled. "Luke came out of the bedroom and told you to stop being bossy."

James and Luke chuckled at the memory and Maddie gave Noah another hug. Oh My god," she shrieked. You remember that? Do you have your memory back, Noah?"

"Hmmm, let's see," Noah said wrapping an arm around his husband and looking at his friends. They begin to walk toward the parking lot, knowing that Lucinda's pilot was close behind them with all their bags. "The first thing I noticed about you James was your eyes because they are an amazing shade of green. I can remember answering the door and you and Maddie were standing there with dripping wet umbrellas. And Maddie, I remember my first introduction to you was actually a cell phone video you sent me by accident."

"I don't think I know that story," James teased.

"Me neither actually," Luke laughed lightly.

"And," Noah said as they reached James' car, "I recall a certain double date where Luke spilled water on himself. He grinned wickedly at the blush that stained his husband's cheeks, "I also know that there were several key moments early in my relationship with Luke that crossed directly with my relationship with Maddie, which I will apologize for right now…even though I know I've done that before. I love you guys, all of you, and I'm glad to be one of the musketeers."

Maddie laughed. "We love you too Noah, though I don't think I want to speak for Luke on that one."

Luke kissed Noah's cheek and went to help with the bags. Noah and James helped too while Maddie slid into her seat and buckled her seatbelt. Soon the guys joined her and they begin the trek back to Oakdale. Luke looked out the window for a moment before slipping into Noah's arms. It was good to be home.

"So what do you want to hear about first?" James asked looking into the rearview mirror at his brothers. "We've been keeping tabs on everyone while you guys were away. "

"Well, how are you two?" Luke asked curiously. "You guys went to Lake Tahoe right?"

"Yes," Maddie chimed in, "and it was amazing. The best two weeks ever spent."

"Did you guys leave the hotel room?" Noah asked.

"We got out sometimes," James laughed. "Probably more than you two."

"I wouldn't doubt that," Luke replied as he snuggled closer to Noah.

"Lake Tahoe is beautiful, especially in the summer," James explained. "And actually we were sad to leave, but we had to get back. Dad insisted that I work with him over the summer, and Maddie was working too. And then school started-"

"And you guys were lucky," Maddie continued the story. "To get to take a semester off."

"But we didn't take a semester off," Luke informed them.

"Yeah, we were taking courses from our bed…I mean we were using the internet," Noah amended when Luke elbowed him in the ribs."

"You guys actually took time to study?" James, asked, extremely impressed.

"Yes, and we toured Italy for credit. It worked very well for what we needed to accomplish," Luke added proudly.

"Nice," James laughed. "We just took our last finals the other day, so we're all set for Christmas."

"And how's Dad? You said you guys heard from him a lot?"

"Yeah. Your dad invited us out to the farm a lot for horseback riding. I think he missed you guys a lot, and he wanted to exercise the horses. But it was fun. Bastien likes me a lot, he recognized me immediately the last time we were out there."

"That's great. I'm glad you guys were keeping Dad company. Have the girls and Ethan been with him as well."

"Yeah," James said slowly. "Your Mother hasn't really been around much, honestly. I wish I could have better news about that…I'm sorry."

'You need to stop that," Luke sighed as he sat up. "You don't need to apologize for my mother's behavior. And I shouldn't be surprised by her behavior anymore, so whatever."

James frowned as he watched Luke through the mirror. He wasn't certain he believed him, but he was willing to drop it for now. They were just getting home after all. "Well do you want to know about anyone else?" he asked.

"Hmmm just tell us what's going on," Noah said pulling Luke back into his arms.

"Well there's the fact that Aaron and Ali are engaged."

"Will and Gwen are having another baby," Maddie added.

"Henry and Vienna are thinking about expanding Al's.

"Plus Henry gave us a puppy; I wanted to name it George."

"You wanted to name a puppy after James' dad," Luke laughed.

"That was my response," James chimed in, keeping his eye on the road. "I told her we should save that for the baby."

"And Ethan's growing like a weed," Maddie added with a giggle.

"My dad is dating your grandmother."

"And Faith and Natalie are in the Christmas play they will be excited that you are home."

Luke looked at Noah with his mouth agape, and noticed immediately that Noah was just as shocked.

"You're having a baby?" Noah said.

"MY Grandma is dating your dad?" Luke exclaimed at the same time.

"And what did you name the dog?" They said at once and burst out laughing as James shook his head. The laughter was contagious and for a few minutes the four friends dissolved into giggles.

"Now are you serious?" Luke asked once things had calmed down. "Your dad is dating my grandma? When did that happen? How did that happen? How did we miss it?"

"I want to hear more about this baby," Noah piped up, earning a swipe from his husband. "Okay so I want to know about Grandma Lucinda and your dad too."

"It happened right under our noses apparently," James explained. "A lot of cafeteria coffee and conversation, along with companionship it just grew into something more than that. It's very interesting to watch Dad dote on her like he does. She's doing much better now, but when you guys left she was still getting chemo. She just refused to stay in the hospital anymore. So Dad would take her every day and he takes care of her."

"It's so sweet to watch," Maddie agreed. "She seems to adore him as much as he adores her."

"So the flirting at the wedding wasn't just flirting," Luke mused, a smile crossing his features.

"Wow, I guess the family just got a little more complicated," Noah stated.

"Here's a scary thought, James," Luke interjected. "If your dad, you know marries my grandma, you'll be related to my mom."

"I was hoping to forget that part actually."

"James," Maddie exclaimed, playfully punching him in the arm.

"So what about this baby?" Noah changed the subject. "You're pregnant Mads?"

Maddie nodded and turned to face her friends. "Three months along, just found out two weeks ago."

"Three months eh?" Luke smiled. "So the baby's due in June."

"Just in time for our anniversary, yeah," Maddie sighed contentedly. "I'm so scared though."

"Me too," James said squeezing his wife's hand.

"You both are going to make wonderful parents," Noah assured them. "I'm so happy for you. You guys deserve a little happiness."

"Well the puppy's good practice," James admitted as they entered the city limits. "And speaking of which we named him D'Artagnan, but we call him Dart."

"Ah the fourth Musketeer," Luke exclaimed, immediately getting the reference. "Dumas would be proud."

"You named the dog after all of us?" Noah said in awe. "That's really cool."

"Well you guys are home," James said as he pulled up in front of the apartment complex.

"There isn't a surprise party or anything waiting for us in there, is there?" Luke asked cautiously.

"Maddie wanted to plan one but I talked her out of it," James chuckled. "I figured you would want to relax and sleep off the jet lag you're sure to have tomorrow."

"And he said you wanted to surprise everyone with your return." Maddie added.

"When's the Christmas play?"

"It's tomorrow night at the Church," James responded. "But if you guys need to miss it…"

"NO that's okay, James, just call us to remind us. I'm sure we'll be awake. Thanks so much for meeting us at the airport."

"We have something for you guys," Noah said reaching for the bag Luke had on his shoulder. Luke handed it to him and he pulled out the picture. "We have another copy for ourselves, but we wanted you to have this for your mantle.

"We have other things for you, but you'll have to wait for those." Luke smiled. He moved forward to give Maddie a hug, and then James. Noah repeated his movements before stepping back to stand beside his husband.

"Thanks guys. We'll see you tomorrow, and welcome home."

They were silent as they carried their bags to their bedroom. Together they unpacked their belongings, sticking their clothes in drawers and placing gifts on the bed to be wrapped. Luke placed their toiletries and medications in the bathroom while Noah worked on fixing up their bureau. Clothes were hung in the closet carefully and Luke carried all the gifts out to the living room so they could wrap them. Noah prepared huge mugs of hot chocolate for them and they settled on the couch to label and wrap presents.

"Thank you," Luke said as Noah handed him a second mug of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. The wrapped presents sat in a pile by the chair and Noah grabbed the remote before taking his seat beside Luke on the couch.

"You're welcome," he said smiling at his husband before leaning in for a kiss. Luke placed his cup on the table and scooted closer, allowing Noah to wrap his arms around him. Noah turned on the TV and turned it to the American Movie Classics channel. Miracle on 34th Street was on, and Noah put the remote down and rested his head against Luke's as they watched the movie.

They watched movies for the rest of the morning into the afternoon. Luke was determined to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to fall asleep without Noah. As strange as that sounded, he liked it when they drifted off at the same time. It was after noon when they drifted off to sleep, while Scrooge was visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future. Noah's arms wrapped protectively around Luke, and Luke nuzzled into his favorite spot in Noah's neck. They were comfortable, they were together…and it was time to sleep.

The phone rang around six, and Noah blindly reached for the receiver. "Hello," he said his voice groggy. "Not a chance we're going to make it bro…yeah, bye." He yawned and hung up the phone, his eyes closed again before his arms wrapped tightly around his husband.

Holden was quiet as he followed his mother into the building. He had been thinking a lot lately about his sons. He supposed it was the holiday season that brought the thoughts more frequently, but he couldn't be certain. Neither of them was ever far from his thoughts. Yet today as he followed behind Emma, with Christmas presents to be opened when the boys returned, he found himself wondering what they were doing at that exact moment. Would they be home for Christmas? Or would they decide that they needed to spend one more month away? He knew they had decisions that needed to be made…but what if they didn't come back at all? His heart ached just thinking about it. He loved his kids, from Abby and Aaron all the way down to little Ethan. But it couldn't be denied that Luke and Noah held a place very special in his heart.

"MY word," Emma exclaimed as she opened the door with the spare key.

"Momma," Holden said coming up behind her. "What's wrong?" Emma didn't speak as she smiled back at her son and pointed into the apartment. Holden looked and his eyes brightened with a smile that could fill a room with light.

Luke and Noah were cuddled together on the couch. Luke's head rested neatly beneath Noah's chin, their arms wrapped around each other.

"We should wake them," Holden said, ready to move past his mother to get to the sleeping boys.

"No, let's not," Emma whispered. "They must be exhausted." She placed the packaged down and retrieved a blanket to cover them up. "They'll come home to the farm when they're ready. Just knowing they're back here is enough for now. Set the presents over there on the table and do it quietly."

Holden stared at the sleeping figures for a long time before being ushered out the door by his mother. They were as quiet as mice, and neither Luke nor Noah stirred. Emma locked the door and slipped the spare key beneath the welcome mat. Their boys were home at last. It was going to be a merry Christmas.