Annie has been such a major part of my life this year so I thought it'd be fitting to write a Christmas ficlet. Just a little family fluff :)
Merry Christmas everyone!
"Leapin' Lizards!"
Annie froze in a daze at the sight before her. The living room was filled with presents—too many to fit under one tree. It was very early in the morning so it was still dark, but she could see by the lights on the tree that the presents were wrapped in colorful paper with ribbons and bows to match. She glanced over at the fireplace and noticed that her stocking that hung off of the mantle was now stuffed full. Eventually moving from her spot, she walked over to the coffee table where she'd left milk and cookies. Picking up the empty plate and glass she thought, so there really is a Santa Claus! Oliver and Grace kept telling her that he was real, but she didn't believe them. If he visited all the children of the world, how come he never visited the orphanage? Their life was miserable; they deserved presents just as much as any other kid. But now that she had been adopted, it looked like Santa was making up for all of those sad Christmases spent at the Hudson Street Orphanage. Miss Hannigan probably scared him away. That's why he never visited; it all was making sense now.
It took everything thing she had not to start ripping open the packages with her name on them, but she knew that Oliver and Grace would want to be awake to sit with her. Besides, there were gifts with their names on them too. They must be excited as well!
She sat down on the floor in front of the tree and waited. For a few minutes, she admired the evergreen. She and Oliver had so much fun picking it out. They'd taken a hike into the woods and chopped it down themselves! Okay, not exactly themselves. Oliver had hired someone to cut it down for them. When they got it home, the staff helped set it up in the living room. Annie insisted that they help them decorate it as well—that best part after all. It was almost as fun as when she and Grace helped Mrs. Pugh bake Christmas cookies. They cut them out into fun shapes like stars, trees, bells, candy canes, and every other Christmassy shape you could imagine. After they were baked, they decorated them with delicious frostings and candies. During this, Annie learned that Grace had a bigger sweet tooth than she did. "If you keep eating the cookies as soon as we decorate them there aren't going to be any left for everyone else!" Annie had to inform her.
If the Christmas preparations were so much fun, Annie couldn't wait to see what Christmas Day would bring. Finally she couldn't wait another second. She stood up and raced upstairs.
"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up it's Christmas!" she shouted as she darted in to Oliver and Grace's bedroom. Hoping up onto the bed, she repeated, "It's Christmas! Santa did come! You were right! Come on, wake up, it's Christmas!"
Both Oliver and Grace wearily opened their eyes and looked at their daughter. "What time is it?" Oliver mumbled.
"After 6." Annie answered, "I waited as long as I could." Pulling both of their hands, Annie pleaded, "Please get up, you have to see all the presents that Santa left! There's some for you too! Come on, come on, come on!"
Grace finally sat up, "Alright sweetheart, we're getting up. We'll be down in a moment. Why don't you go open your stocking while you wait?"
Annie squealed as she hopped off the bed and ran back downstairs.
Grace looked to her husband only to see that he had already fallen back asleep. With a nudge, she said, "Oliver… Oliver dear, wake up."
"Five more minutes."
"Oh, I know it's early but it's our first Christmas with Annie—her first real Christmas for that matter—and it's our first Christmas as husband and wife."
Opening his eyes, he looked up at his wife. She was giving him the same puppy dog look that Annie would give whenever she really wanted something. Obviously she'd been taking lessons from the best. Giving in, he sat up. "Okay, okay… you're right. I'm awake." Leaning over to her, he lightly kissed her before saying, "Merry Christmas, my love." Then placing a hand on Grace's stomach, Oliver sang, "Merry Christmas to you too, little one."
Grace smiled wide as she whispered, "When should we tell Annie the news?"
"Perhaps after she opens her gifts, I don't think she'll be able to take her mind off of what's inside the boxes long enough beforehand." he chuckled.
Reciprocating his laugh, Grace agreed, "Yes, I think you might be right." Standing up off the bed, she held out her hand and proposed, "Shall we go join our daughter in the living room?"
Accepting her offered hand, Oliver nodded, "Splendid idea."
As they started walking towards the door, Grace suddenly stopped. "Oh," she started before she reached up and softly kissed his lips, "Merry Christmas to you as well, my darling."
The End.