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Author's Note: Hello everyone! How are you all? Hope you're doing well! I am so so terribly sorry fro not updating at all last week. It was finals and I sorta had to cut back on my fanfic time, it was hard but I think it paid off :D But it did put me behind on this story but I am gonna make it up to you all! First with this new chapter and next with an extra day of updates. How's Monday, Wednesday, and Friday work for you all? Maybe a weekend too? Really wanna have this story completed by Christmas or Christmas eve or maybe even a few days after. Also before we get started on the chapter I just want to say thank you so very much to you wonderful readers who give such great encouragement! It really means a lot! Thank you! Hope you like this chapter. A little short but we're getting to the big stuff soon! Again thanks for everything, please review if you can, hope you like, and please, Enjoy!
"Stephy, you better hurry up the O'Brien's will be here any minute!" Edith shouted from the bottom of the stairs.
It was the morning of Christmas Eve and Stephanie was getting ready to leave for her skiing trip, though Edith couldn't say she was one hundred percent happy about it, she was looking on the bright side of being able to spend Christmas alone with her husband for the first time since their first Christmas as a married couple, although then she had been four months along with Gloria.
"I'm coming!" Stephanie said as she bounced down the stairs already wearing her biggest jacket and warmest clothes along with her backpack and second suitcase.
"Oh my, you look just perfect for a trip to a ski cabin." Edith told her niece and she smiled.
"I thought she was going to Hawaii." Archie, who was sitting at the dining room table eating his lunch, said.
"Ha, ha, ha." Stephanie said in the same sarcastic tone Archie had just used.
"Well youse got everything? Asked Archie
"Everything but the money for the plane ticket you owe Mr. O'Brien." Stephanie informed him.
"Jeeze." Archie groaned as he pulled out his wallet and then the dollar bills. "How come youse didn't mention this when youse was trying to get us to say ok, in the beginning?"
"Cause I knew you wouldn't give me the okay." She simply said.
"Here." Archie handed her the money and she began to count it.
"You're missing a dollar." Stephanie informed him
Archie frowned, "What are youse talking about?"
"You're missing ninety-two cents, if you give them a dollar they'll give you the change."
"Oh no!" Archie shook his head, "Edith give the kid ninety-two cents. Them people don't give change."
Edith grabbed her coin purse and handed Stephy the money, "There you go." Right after a car horn went off.
"That's them!" Stephanie exclaimed as she ran towards the front porch.
"My, that was fast." Edith said as she and Archie followed.
"Edith, they live three houses down, how long'd you think it take them? Three hours?"
"Bye Aunt Edith, bye Uncle Archie." Stephanie said quickly before kissing them both of the cheek and then running to the car.
"Bye kiddo." Archie simply said as he waved her off.
Meanwhile Edith had a bit more to say. "Bye Stephy! Be careful, and be on your best behavior, and don't get lost!"
Archie rolled his eyes at the words his wife called out.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien, Merry Christmas!" Edith shouted to them.
"It ain't Christmas yet." Archie reminded
"Oh right…Merry Christmas Eve!"
The two waved a few more times and then went back inside as the car drove off.
"Well Edith," Archie said once they were alone, "One down and only four more to go."
Edith grinned as a thought entered her mind, "Oh I better make sure I have everything for tomorrow's Christmas dinner."
"Wha do youse mean everything?" Archie asked as he followed his wife into the kitchen, "It's just gonna be the two of us, we don't need no big turkey."
"I know, that's why I bought a small one, and everything else is all in sizes made just for two." Edith said cheerfully think about how romantic it was.
"Yeah?" Archie asked with something else on his mind, "How much did you save?"
"Oh fifteen maybe twenty five dollars." She informed him.
"Jeeze, I shoulda thought of this years ago." He said aloud causing his wife to giggle as she continued to check the recently purchased groceries laid out on the counter.
"Grandma!" a young boy's voice called as he entered the kitchen, busting the backdoor open and causing it crash directly against his grandpa's back.
After catching his balance and rubbing his injured back, Archie groaned, "Jeeze I hope one of the gifts youse bought me is a lock, Edith."
Edith laughed as she knew he was joking, turned to the blonde boy, "Hello Joey," she said kissing the top of his head, "What are youse doing over here?"
"Yeah? Youse finally take my advice on running away from home and living over here?" Archie asked taking a seat at the table beside his grandson.
Joey shook his head as he grabbed another one of his grandma's homemade cookies, "Mommy said to tell you goodbye cuz we're leaving."
As Edith's expression became sadder, Archie's became angrier. "Jeeze listen to our messenger here. Sent here sos we wouldn't shoot."
"I didn't say that." Gloria announced as she and Gracie came through the backdoor, "I said let's get ready to go to Grandpa and Grandma's house so we can say goodbye before we leave."
"Did I hear something?" Archie asked and Gloria's face dropped into a sad, ready to cry, expression.
"Oh Archie, please don't it's Christmas." Edith said while holding her granddaughter in her arms.
"Oh alright, alright." Archie began, "Even though they ain't gonna celebrate it with their family the way this holiday is supposed to be celebrated, I'll stop."
Knowing the guilt her father as trying to lay on her and not liking it one bit, Gloria hit her father's arm.
"Ow!" he exclaimed getting no attention.
"Well we just came over for a little bit, we really better get going." Gloria said and her mother passed Gracie back to her. "Gracie, you wanna say Merry Christmas to Granma and Granpa?"
"Erry ismas!" the little girl happily said earning her a few laughs.
"Oh erry ismas to you too, Gracie." Edith said before kissing her cheek. As the two women cooed over the young girl Archie couldn't help but smile as he watched the scene before him, only to have it drop as a manly voice called form outside.
"Gloria, kids, come on we gotta go!" Mike called before walking through the door disrupting the scene. "Traffic's gonna be even worse with all the snow."
"Jeeze, leave it to youse to break up a Camack moment." Archie said and both women frowned, as if telling him once more 'Don't, it's Christmas.' "Don't be looking at me like that, no holiday is gonna change the way I treat this guy."
Mike shook his head and sighed, "Have a Merry Christmas Arch."
"Yeah, youse to Meathead." Archie relied, "Unless youse atheists prefer to call it something like…Mas."
Mike's frown increased as he looked at his father-in-law, he shook it off as he turned to Edith who had been wishing Gloria a Merry Christmas.
"Oh, have a Merry Christmas Mike!" Edith said throwing her arms around him.
"Thanks Ma, you too. And I'm sorry."
Edith looked confused, "For what?"
"For leaving you here to spend Christmas alone with Archie."
Everyone but Archie seemed to smile at Mikes words, as they all headed out the kitchen. "What does he mean by that?" he asked but was ignored.
"Are you sure you don't wanna take more cookies?" Edith asked.
"No thanks Ma, we've already got eight boxes, anymore and it'll weigh the car down and we're already gonna be driving at a slow pace because of the snow." Gloria replied.
"Did you get all the presents?" Edith questioned.
"Loaded them all in the car." Mike replied.
"We even left yours and Daddy's." Gloria informed her mother.
"Really?" Archie raised an eyebrow as he looked over at the tree, "I don't see no big ones."
While Mike shook his head, Gloria moved hers skywards after hearing Archie's words.
"Come on son, let's go." Mike said before he helped lead his family outside and into the rented car as his in-laws remained on the porch.
"Bye! Have Fun! Don't forget to leave Santa some cookies!" Edith shouted as she waved.
"Yeah, and Joe hit your dad with a snowball for me, will ya?" were the words Archie used, Joey gave a thumbs up from inside the vehicle.
After a few more waves the car took off and Archie and Edith returned inside. They each smiled some as they realized they had the house to themselves. Archie smirked as he grabbed a hold of his wife and took her in his arms, and then he began to sway with her.
"Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful and since we're all alone let it snow…"
"Let it snoooww, let it snoooww!" Edith soon joined in her husband's song, singing in her unique way that always made Archie cringe just a bit.
This time was no different but once she'd finished the two lines he'd managed to return the smile she was sending his way.
Author's Note: And there you go! Chapter 3 of "Home for the Holidays" Hope you liked!
Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, stay tuned, take care, have a nice day and remember only 8 more days till Christmas!