Mike woke up in his room, with Emily lying in his arms, looking at him lovingly.

"Good morning." She greeted him quietly. "Merry Christmas Eve Eve."

"Um...excuse me?" He asked her. She just sniggered.

"Merry Christmas Eve Eve." She reiterated. "The day before Christmas is Christmas Eve, so since I was a little kid, I always called the 23rd Christmas Eve Eve."

Mike just smiled in response. He had to remind himself constantly how lucky he was to have her. He loved every single thing about her. It was more than a little cute to him how, just like himself, the holiday season brought out the kid in her.

"Christmas Eve Eve?" He asked again, laughing a little. "I like it."

"Have you wrapped your presents yet?" She asked him.

"No, not yet." Mike answered as he held her closer. He saw the way she was looking at him. "Emily, there's a whole other day..."

"Mike, Lauren wants to have all the presents under the tree before midnight tomorrow." She reprimanded him.

"Well, we really can't put all the presents under the tree." Mike said a little cheekily, arching his eyebrow. "You kind of gave me mine last night."

Emily hit him playfully as he held her softly, turning away from him. Mike wanted this to last forever. This was what he had been dreaming about ever since Emily had first gotten together with him. This was where he wanted to be from now on, just him and Emily together, in each others' arms. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Mike, Emily!" Lauren called out. "Guys, wake up, we're having breakfast soon."

"Lauren, this is meant to be a holiday." Mike called back. "Can't we just get something later?"

"Guys, I think you really want to get up now." Lauren suggested. "We're putting on a demonstration. Baron and Parry kind of threw out a challenge last night; they said our parents would show us all how it's done, so we're putting on a demonstration later."

Mike looked to Emily and sighed. He could see the way she lit up. It had been a long time since she had trained with her mother, and she had never seen Baron or Parry in action. He knew that she loved the effect it had on her mother seeing the way she had brightened up since she had caught up with the other members of her team. He just shook his head.

"Can't we even wait a little...?"

"Breakfast in twenty minutes." Lauren interrupted him excitedly. "Jayden and Antonio are already bringing mats up from the gym, move it!"

Mike just looked to Emily as she started to stir to get up.

"Emily, do we have to get up right now?" He asked her.

"Mike, didn't you hear Lauren?" She asked him. "How can you not be excited about seeing...?"

"I'm really not going to win this am I?" He asked as got up, heading for the bathroom to shower. She just shook her head. He just sighed and got up, throwing off the covers.

"Alright then." He sighed. "I guess it would be cool seeing the folks in action again."

"Not to mention we still have to mess with Serena and Terry." Emily reminded him. Mike smiled at this thought. When they checked in at first, he and Emily had noticed that Serena and Terry were acting a little strangely. It was only once they learned that they had also booked into separate rooms, and seen how they acted around their respective parents that they had figured out that they hadn't yet told their parents about their relationship. Clearly they weren't sure how their parents would feel about them moving in together to attend college if they knew that they had only recently started dating.

"Now, that definitely sounds like fun." Mike conceded.

"Then after that, you can finally get around to wrapping all your presents!" Emily added, starting the water running to get it to temperature.

"Emily, I'll do it with Symbol Power on Christmas Eve, it'll take like two seconds!" Mike assured her.

"Mike, you can't do that!" Emily shrieked. "Christmas presents are all about how much you care about the people you give them to. You have to wrap them by hand, doing anything else is cheating!"

She then poked her head around the door frame.

"Well, are you coming?" Emily asked him. He just furrowed his brows. "Mike we only have about twenty minutes to shower and get dressed. This'll save some time."

Not needing to be told twice, Mike scrambled for the bathroom.

Later in the day, after breakfast, the Rangers pulled the tables to the sides of the room, while Jayden and Antonio put down the mats. When Parry had suggested that the previous team would put on a demonstration of their abilities, Jayden and Kevin had suggested that they make a day of it, and that they would show their parents what they were made of.

The Rangers watched as Ava, Baron and Parry performed astounding feats on the mat. While they had learned by watching Ji some time ago that age was not a huge barrier to ability, in a lot of ways it was still amazing to them to watch their parents. Of course, for most of them, they had been trained by their parents, but seeing the others as well just reinforced how much the previous generation had given them. Parry, much like his son, was quite an unorthodox and dynamic fighter, using his natural athleticism to create an unpredictable and exciting style to watch. Baron, exactly as they would expect from Kevin's father had an absolutely flawless technique, with every strike precise to the millimetre. In a particularly impressive display, he got Sadie to hold a melon in her outstretched palm, and cut it in half with a single strike, without so much as touching her hand.

Emily positively gushed as she watched her mother. She idolised her almost as much as she had idolised Serena growing up. Mike grimaced in pain as she clutched his arm tightly in excitement, seeing her mother shatter a breeze block with her bare hands.

After that, the Rangers returned the honour, demonstrating their own skills. They had trained every day, and although their skills had served them well, but this time it was different. There was a part of them, the part that used to take part in swim meets or football games or pageants that loved to perform for their parents. They all knew that their parents would have followed their battles as much as they could, but this was the first time since the war began and they left home that they were able to show their parents all they had learned, and how they had improved.

Once they were done, they went back to their parents, accepting hugs and congratulations from them. The whole thing was just exactly what they had hoped it would be. As he accepted a hug from his dad, Mike suddenly got an idea.

"Hey, how about some team sparring?" Mike suggested. "We can make a competition of it!"

"Mike..."

"Seriously, it would be really cool." Mike assured them. "I'll team with Emily. Who else is up for it?"

"I guess we're in." Kevin said as he and Mia looked to each other. "OK, it's not much of a tournament if..."

"What about it Parry?" Ava asked as she got up from her chair. "We can't let the kids have all the fun."

"I think I still have a few lessons for my boy." Parry chuckled, straightening up his jacket. "Alright, you're on."

"Alright, we need a fourth team." Antonio announced. "So..."

"How about Serena and Terry?" Emily interrupted abruptly.

"Emily..." Serena started to say.

"Yeah, that would be really cool." Mike added, seeing what his fiancée was thinking. "I mean, you might not have done much of the heavy lifting, but you were a big part of the team."

"Yeah, and I think the two of you would make a great team." Emily said a little mischievously. "Don't you agree?"

"Well...um..." Terry started to say, finding himself suddenly put on the spot.

"Definitely, we've all seen how buddy buddy they are." Mike interjected slyly. "Let's see how the new roomies work out as a team."

"Mike, I really don't feel like..."

"There's no reason why you wouldn't want to do this is there?" Emily teased them. "I mean, it is only a little friendly competition."

"Jayden, surely you and Lauren..."

"Actually, I have some presents to wrap." Jayden told them. "Lauren won't get off my case about it."

"And I was planning on doing a coffee run." Lauren added. "The coffee place will be closed after today, so I figured we may as well take advantage."

"Before that though, I was wondering if I could ask a little favour." Baron chipped in, as she started to take orders. He set his cane aside, stepping onto the mat and taking up a shinai, before pointing to Antonio. "My son told me a lot about your style, and seeing it today, I have to admit that I was impressed."

"Um...thanks." Antonio said a little uneasily. Baron just gestured to the mat.

"Look, I know I'm a little set in my ways, but I guess it just takes me a little longer to accept that just because things are different doesn't mean they're bad." He told him, subtly apologising for his behaviour. "Your style has a lot of strength behind it, and I would like it if you'd do me the great honour of sparring with me. Maybe this old dog can learn a few new tricks."

Antonio smiled a little, taking up his practice tanto, and stepped up to the mat, after seeing an approving little nod from Jayden. He knew that Baron's behaviour up until now had bothered him. Jayden had been young when Baron was in the house, but he remembered enough about him to know that even more than Kevin, he sometimes had difficulty with saying things. This was his way of apologising to Antonio and letting him into the group.

"I'd be honoured Mr Chambers." Antonio answered as he joined him on the mat. He held his two weapons, preparing for the first offence. "Alright, I'll go easy on..."

Baron, despite his hip injury though, moved far quicker than Antonio would have anticipated, knocking the two weapons from his hands, before bringing the blade to his throat. He smiled at Antonio.

"No need to hold back on my account." He assured him. Antonio just smiled in response.

"Be careful what you wish for." Antonio answered, retrieving his weapons. "Ready to go again?"

As they sat aside, watching on, Emily had a little smirk on her face. Serena sat next to her.

"OK, I know what you're doing." Serena told her. Emily gave her an innocent little look.

"I have no idea what you're..."

"You know damn fine what I'm talking about." Serena whispered under her breath. "I hope you think it's worth it once we're on that sparring mat."

The smile slipped from Emily's face as she heard this. Serena got up and walked away to warm up for when Baron and Antonio were finished.

"Oh crap." She muttered. "I so didn't think that through."

Lauren came into the coffee shop, finding Jeremy standing alone, juggling a couple of mugs. It was the last day the shop was open before Christmas, but since many had already finished their shopping, there wasn't that much in the way of business. In fact...he was completely alone in the shop. By the looks of things, he had already cleaned everything down, and was completely bored, hence the juggling. Hearing the bell, he looked around, catching two of the cups, while the third slipped through his grasp, shattering on the floor.

"Lauren!" He rushed out. "Oh...um...I..."

"Sorry I startled you." She giggled nervously. "It looks pretty quiet."

"Yeah, it's been pretty dead." He admitted, looking out a dustpan and brush. "In fact...I've only had one other customer the whole day, and since that was my roommate when he dropped me off, that doesn't really count."

"Well, I knew that this was the last day you were open, so I thought I'd get some decent coffee for everyone before you closed for the holiday." Lauren continued, making her way over to the counter. "So...here."

She passed over the list, at which Jeremy started to make up her order.

"I thought you were out of town for the season." Jeremy commented. She just nodded.

"We're all at the hotel." Lauren informed him. "I just...I don't know. I thought this would be nice."

"And renting out an entire hotel isn't nice enough?" He chuckled. "I wish I had you as a Secret Santa. Your family's really lucky to have you."

"Well, I don't know about that." Lauren told him. "I'm still pretty new to the whole family thing. We've been...kind of estranged for a while now. We only got back together pretty recently."

She shifted a little nervously as she realised that she had said more than she intended to.

"It's..."

"Complicated." Jeremy concluded. Lauren had to admit that she had used that word more than a few times describing her situation any time she talked to him. He just smiled. "You know, I find most people's lives are complicated. I can totally get the whole family thing. My dad and I haven't talked in a couple of years."

"Really?" Lauren asked him. "Why?"

"Let's just say that he doesn't think philosophy exactly opens the door to many lucrative career options." He explained. "I've been working here to pay my tuition, because dad refused to pay. He just doesn't get that this is something I really want to do."

"I'm sorry." Lauren said a little sympathetically. She had lost her father, but before he died, they had always been close. She couldn't imagine how much she would give for a chance to see him again, so she couldn't understand why anyone who still had the chance would intentionally push their family away.

"I'm still hopeful." Jeremy told her. "I'm a big believer that any rift can be healed eventually. Especially at this time of year, there's kind of a...magic about it." He continued, finishing off her order and making up the tray.

"So...I hope things go well for your family." He told her. As she leaned across the counter to pick up the tray, he stopped her. As he pointed up, she looked up and saw some mistletoe hanging overhead.

"Mistletoe?" She asked. He leaned across, gently pressing his lips to hers. Lauren felt her face growing incredibly warm as he did so. As he parted from her, he smiled.

"Merry Christmas." He whispered.

"Merry Christmas." She replied nervously, putting some money down on the counter and backing away, stumbling slightly. "Um...keep the change."

As she turned and left the shop, she felt her heart pounding and a huge smile on her face. There was magic at this time of year.

Back at the hotel, Emily was sitting in the bar, holding an ice-pack to her shoulder. Serena, exactly as she had promised, had gotten some measure of revenge. Martin came over to check on her.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" He asked his daughter. Emily just nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She assured him. "It's not like it's the first time I've been bruised up."

"I know, I just...you know I always hated to see you hurt." Martin recalled as he put his arm around her. "Do you remember the time you fell off the horse and broke your arm? I think I was more upset than you were."

"I remember." Emily answered as she hugged him. He looked up as he saw Mike approaching.

"Well, it looks like the new man in your life wants a little time with you." Martin said as he got to his feet, kissing the top of Emily's head. "I think your mother could use a little help with the wrapping."

"I thought you'd done that already." Emily commented.

"Well, we had, but then we realised we hadn't labelled the presents." He informed her. "So, we kind of have to do it all again."

"That sounds like mom." Emily giggled. "I'll see you at dinner."

Mike sat with Emily, and smiled, leaning back in his chair, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Well, it's done." He told her. "It should be..."

"Uh...Mike?" Emily cut him off, pointing towards Serena as she and Terry stormed over to them. Mike started looking for somewhere to hide, but finding nowhere to run, he just looked up to them in alarm.

"Serena..."

"What the hell? I thought you'd learned your lesson by now!" Serena hissed as she got closer, hoping no one would hear her.

"Serena, it was a joke..."

"What do you think Mom would say?" Serena asked her. "Don't you think I...we want to tell them?"

"It's bad enough that Serena's not going back to the farm. How much do you think your parents would like me if they found out?" Terry asked them.

"So...you're just going to pretend for the rest of your lives?" Mike asked him.

"No, of course not!" Serena snapped. "But we were going to tell them in our own time."

"We were planning on telling them after we had been living together a while." Terry told them. "We were just going to...you know...not be too exact with the details of exactly when it happened."

"In the meantime, we could really do without all the pranks!" Serena put down flatly. "I mean, the sparring idea was one thing, but the mistletoe?"

"Wait...pranks?" Mike asked in shock. "What pranks? All we did was the sparring thing."

"Give it a rest Mike, there's been mistletoe popping up all over the place!" Serena chastised him aggressively. "Everywhere we turn, usually always in front of either my parents or Terry's...who else do you know can do that?"

"Just give it a rest Mike." Terry warned him. "You remember how the last prank war turned out."

As they left, Emily just looked to Mike uneasily.

"Maybe we took this too far." Emily suggested. "Maybe we should lay off them now. We only meant to tease, but they seemed pretty upset."

"Emily, I didn't do anything. I don't know what she's talking about." Mike pleaded with her as she looked at him. "I've been spending the last couple of hours in our room wrapping Christmas presents."

"Mike..."

"Emily, I didn't do anything, I swear!" Mike reiterated. Emily just looked to him, seeing the look in his eyes. She could tell he was telling the truth.

"Wait, so if you didn't do it...who did?" She asked. At that moment, Parry came walking down the hall, tossing Mike his Samuraizer.

"You know, you really shouldn't leave that thing lying around." He told his son. Mike just looked up, his mouth hanging open in amazement. "They're really not that subtle. I've noticed the stolen moments."

"Dad!"

"Hey, your old man still knows how to work a Samuraizer, and they're still great for pranks." Parry told his son with a shrug, before turning and walking away. "Best fun I've had in years!"

Mike just looked to Emily a little apologetically.

"You think you have problems with your family?" He asked. "I think my dad's trying to get me skinned alive by my future sister-in-law."