As requested, here's the start of the rest of Christmas day.

"Hands off," Ruth said, slapping his hand away from the carrots, as he pinched one. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You look wonderfully calm," he said, before kissing her neck. "Cooking for everyone, I expected you to be panicking."

"I'm not too worried," she said. "Get everyone drunk and they won't notice the food." Harry chuckled into her neck and she smiled back. "Could you grab me the champagne from the fridge?" Ruth held up her glass. "It's empty. And a really good thing about Christmas is the excuse to drink at any time of day."

"Sure," he said. He opened the fridge, grabbing the bottle and noticing the Christmas pudding. "You didn't make that did you?"

"Oh," she said. "Yes, I did. I need to get it steaming actually." Harry watched as she moved around the kitchen with a practised ease, which astounded him. She really was a marvel.

"You really didn't have to go to all this trouble," he said.

"It's our first Christmas together," she said. "I'd have done it even if it were just the two of us." He kissed her lips softly and she smiled into the embrace. "Mm, you smell good." She pressed her palm to his freshly shaven cheek and felt the warmth under her skin. "How is it possible that I want you all over again?"

"I'm irresistible," he deadpanned.

"You really are," she said sincerely. Harry touched her neck gently, his fingertips touching her necklace. "It really was too much. And I feel bad that I didn't get you anything."

"Don't worry about it," he said. Then he rolled his eyes as the phone rang. He answered it quickly, and was surprised to hear Catherine's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hi dad," she said, and he could tell she was wary.

"Merry Christmas," he said.

"Yeah, listen," she started. "I have a… small problem this morning."

"Go on," Harry said. "Just tell me."

"Well, Daniel's ex has had a complete breakdown, today of all days, and his son has now been handed over to us for the day."

Harry tried to keep up, and after a moment he nodded. "Right." He had known that Catherine's boyfriend had a son, but not much more than that.

"We still want to come over, absolutely, but is it okay if we bring Alex?"

"Of course it is," Harry said instantly. He could hardly say no. "Can I ask, how old is Alex?"

"Oh, he's nearly four," Catherine said. "He really is a good boy, and Daniel's thrilled to have him on Christmas day, but I wanted to make sure it wouldn't be a problem."

"Sweetheart, it's fine," he said, privately wondering how they were going to cope with a hyper four year old.

"Okay great," she said. "Thank you. We'll be down in a couple of hours."

"Great," he said. "Love you."

"Love you too. See you later." He put the phone down and went back into the kitchen.

"So, who was on the phone?" she asked.

"We have an extra guest today."

More soon (but maybe not today.)