Author's Note: A few lines in this part were borrowed from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Part 9

Maria unlocked the front door late that afternoon and turned her head, listening for screaming, yelling, or any other sounds of discontent. When she had called to check on Michael and the kids around noon he had been making lunch. He had assured her he had everything under control and for her to be careful coming back home. He hadn't even seemed to be the slightest bit upset that Hugo had gotten caught up at work and wasn't going to make it home early as he had anticipated.

"It's very quiet," Mei whispered.

"Um-hmm, too quiet," Maria agreed.

They crept down the hallway, peering into the kitchen and Maria grimaced at the mess they had made in there. "How many dishes did he really need to use to make grilled cheese sandwiches and soup?" she muttered under her breath. It looked like he'd used every pot, pan and dish in the house.

When they reached the living room she leaned against the doorframe and smiled at the sight that greeted them. Michael was stretched out in the recliner with the kids wedged into the chair on either side of him and all three were sound asleep. She glanced at the clock and shook her head at the hour. It was too late for the kids to be down for a nap and in combination with it being Christmas Eve any chance of getting Carradine into bed early now was nonexistent.

Snow poked his head around the edge of the chair and Maria rolled her eyes when she saw that he had been sleeping under the footrest again. "I'd think you'd have learned by now to not sleep under there," Maria chastised the animal. She snapped her fingers and the dog reluctantly crawled out and stretched lazily before flopping down beside the chair.

"I think it's going to be a long night," Mei said as she took in the scene before them. She shook her head when Maria glanced at her. "Hugo will do the same thing… and then he will go to bed while she's still too wound up to sleep later in the evening."

Maria laughed at that. "Oh, Michael won't be going to bed until Carey's down for the night," she assured her new friend. She crossed the room and leaned over the back of the recliner to look down at her husband. "Michael…" She traced her fingertip over his ear and bit back a laugh when he made a face at the slight disturbance. "C'mon, it's time for you to get up."

Michael opened his eyes and blinked blearily as he turned his head to look around the room. He groaned when he saw the low light in the room and realized that it indicated late afternoon. His gaze dropped to the kids, sleeping heavily against him, and he winced. "Damn, I was just tryin' to get 'em calmed down after lunch, I didn't think they'd fall asleep."

She helped Mei get China up and awake and they bundled her up into her coat and boots. The little girl rubbed her eyes sleepily and came back to hug Michael before being herded out of the house by her mother.

"You three have a busy day?" Maria asked, smiling as she settled into the spot China had vacated. She reached over to brush Carradine's hair back off of his forehead and she smiled when he ducked his head and buried his face against Michael's side.

"I don't think there's an inch of untouched snow on that hill," he murmured as he kissed her.

"No? Kids couldn't get you off the hill, huh?" She laughed and nodded as she carded her fingers through his hair. "Um-hmm, your secret's out… I know once you get out there you're an even bigger kid than the kids are." She reached over to tug on Carradine's shirt. "I also know we're never gonna get him into bed early tonight."

"We can probably do somethin' to wear him out…" he looked at their little boy, "right?"

Maria snorted as she got to her feet. "It's almost five o'clock, Michael, and it's Christmas Eve. We'll be lucky to get him down by midnight."

"Sorry."

"Oh, you're gonna be sorry," she said with a smile. "Because you're not going to bed until he does. I'm gonna get dinner started and you can get him up."

He nodded and sat up a little straighter, nudging Carradine to wake him up. "C'mon, buddy, time to get up."

"No, Daddy," the little boy whined and burrowed closer against him.

"We gotta get up, buddy. Snow's hungry, Mama's makin' dinner, an' later we've gotta make cookies too, remember?"

Carradine lifted his head, revealing hair that was going in every possible direction. "We gotta make Grandma's reindeer treats too, Daddy. You 'member them, right?"

"Um-hmm, but we've gotta get up before we can do all that."

The little boy clambered over the side of the recliner and turned to run into the kitchen with Snow scrambling to catch up.

Three hours later Carradine was still bouncing off of the walls, infused with excess energy after the afternoon nap that had successfully recharged his batteries. Michael was sitting on a stool he had pulled up to the counter, elbow propped on a clear spot on the flour-dusted surface and his chin resting in his hand as he yawned. He jumped when Maria smacked his leg with the spatula in her hand.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"That was for having the nerve to yawn."

He shrugged and watched her remove the cookies from the cookie pan, sliding them onto the waiting plate. He waited until she turned to put the next pan in the oven before he snatched one of the cookies. He was just about to shove it in his mouth to get rid of the evidence when she spoke without ever looking at him.

"You're gonna burn the hell outta your mouth if you do that," she warned as she slid the pan onto the rack and closed the oven door. "Finally, the last batch." She straightened up and reached back to press her fingertips against her back as she stretched.

Michael dropped the cookie on the counter and reached out to take her hand, tugging her to stand between his knees. "Why don't you take a break," he suggested as his fingers took the place of hers and he sought out the knotted muscles.

"God, you're so good at that," she groaned against his neck as she leaned into him. "I'll be finished in here soon enough and then we can try to occupy him with a movie or something. Why don't you and Carey take Snow for a walk while I finish up in here?"

"We have a yard for a reason."

"And a walk might just help tire Carey out a little bit."

He thought about that for a moment. "Good point. Alright, I'll have him pick out a couple movies when we get back."

Maria nodded and smiled, knowing that he was sure their son would fall asleep during a movie but she knew better. There was no reason for her to shatter his illusion though. He would find out soon enough.

Michael kept his stride short so Carradine could walk beside him at a comfortable pace and he looked around at the decorated houses and yards on either side of them. His mind wandered to the others and he wondered if Isabel was driving Kyle crazy again this year, organizing everything down to the last detail. He couldn't say he missed her holiday insanity, but he did miss her. He was glad she and Kyle had stayed together even though they weren't a couple because neither of them deserved to be alone.

Max and Liz would be spending their second Christmas with their own son and he smiled a little as he remembered Carradine's second Christmas and how disappointed he had been when his little boy hadn't really understood what the big deal was. Max would have to deal with that this year and he wished he could be there to tell him it would get better.

"Daddy?" Carradine tugged on Daddy's hand when he didn't respond to him. "Daddy!"

Michael looked down at his son. "What's up, buddy?"

"Is Mama sad 'cause Grandma couldn't come for Christmas?"

"She's a little sad about it, but she's okay. She understands that Grandma couldn't come again this year." He glanced around, checking to make sure Snow was still close by.

"Will Santa bring her somethin' since she's kinda sad?"

"I think there's a very good chance she'll get somethin' special… maybe not from Santa though." He patted Carradine's shoulder. "Your present will make her smile, buddy."

The little boy smiled proudly. He had picked it out all by himself. "You buyed somethin' for Mama, Daddy?"

He smiled and shrugged one shoulder. "We'll see tomorrow."

Is it almost tomorrow yet?"

Michael smiled and shook his head. "We've got a little ways to go, Carey."

Carradine held onto Daddy's hand tightly as he jumped over a frozen puddle. "Is Santa comin' soon?"

"Not until after you're asleep."

"But I'm not tired, Daddy."

"Not even a little?"

"Huh-uh."

"Well, maybe you will be after we watch a couple of your movies."

"Can we watch Rudolph first?"

"I don't know, buddy. Last year you didn't like the scary Bumble."

"He's not scary this year, Daddy. I'm bigger now," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Okay, we'll watch that one first." He grabbed Carradine under the arms and swung him up to settle him on his shoulders as he whistled for Snow to come back to them. "Let's see if we can talk Mama into makin' some of that sweet an' spicy popcorn she makes sometimes, whatcha think?"

The little boy agreed enthusiastically and high-fived Daddy when he held his hand up.

Carradine ran across the room and jumped up on the couch between Mama and Daddy when the abominable snowman roared onto the screen. Snow was seconds behind him and he flopped down across their laps and buried his muzzle in the corner of the couch.

"I thought the Bumble wasn't gonna be scary this year," Michael teased as he tickled the little boy.

"He's not scary with you an' Mama here," he whispered.

"Oh, gotcha."

Maria ran her fingers through Snow's coat as she fought back a yawn. It was just a little after nine o'clock and it had been a very long day. Carradine was too wired to sleep but he had been fairly stationary since Michael had put the movie in a little while ago.

"It tomorrow closer now?"

She looked at him and couldn't hold back a smile. "It's still gonna be a while, Carey."

He sighed heavily. "It's takin' too long, Mama." His head jerked to the side when he heard something outside and he scrambled down from the couch to run to the window. His excitement dimmed when he shoved the curtains aside and turned his head back and forth and his eyes landed on the old man across the street shoveling his driveway. He wrinkled his nose as he watched him for a few moments and then he turned to go back to the couch, dragging his feet all the way.

"C'mon, buddy," Michael said as he leaned forward and picked Carradine up, settling him against the cushions between him and Maria.

Carradine watched the movie for a little while before he started to kick his left leg out. "Daddy, how come it's takin' so long for Santa to get here?"

"It just seems like a long time 'cause tomorrow's Christmas and you're excited about it." He glanced at Maria over their little boy's head as he grabbed the foot bouncing against his knee.

"Carey, I think you should go get into your pjs while Daddy puts the next movie in."

"Okay, Mama."

Michael picked up the stack of movies Carradine had picked out and placed on the coffee table. "Which movie did you wanna watch next?"

The little boy paused in the doorway. "Can we watch the Grinch one?" He bit his bottom lip as he held onto the doorframe. He nodded when Daddy held up one of the movies, the colorful cover depicting the animated version of the movie.

"You want a cup of coffee?" Maria asked after Carradine and Snow had disappeared down the hall.

He stretched his arms over his head before getting up to switch the movies out. "With a couple cookies?"

She smiled. "You know if he sees you eating a cookie he's gonna want one too and he's still winding down from that nap."

"He's startin' to look a little tired." He put the movie back on the shelf and turned to look at her. "Right? Just a little bit?"

She smiled at his hopeful tone. "Um-hmm, sure he is. I'll grab our coffee and be right back."

Half an hour later they were no closer to getting Carradine into bed and Michael wasn't helping the situation. They were on their second viewing of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' and now the two of them were singing along with it. She smiled and shook her head when her husband shifted to sit on the edge of the couch as they reached the middle of the song.

"Your heart is full of unwashed socks

Your soul is full of gunk

Mr. Grinch!

The three words that best describe you are as follows and I quote:

Stink! Stank! Stunk!"

Carradine was in his lap, leaning back against his daddy's chest and he turned his head to bury his face against Michael's shoulder as he collapsed in a fit of giggles. His eyes sparkled with happiness as he looked at Mama and halfway through a laugh he yawned.

Michael glanced at her over Carradine's head as he settled back against the cushions and started humming along with the music. Snow was dozing next to Maria, his eyes opening every once in a while to check on things before closing them again and going right back to sleep. He smiled when she glanced at their son and then back at him, nodding to let him know that their little boy was starting to get sleepy.

When the movie ended Maria got up and switched it out with another one, this time choosing something geared more towards adults but safe for Carradine to view. It wasn't filled with action so as he began to wind down he lost interest; yawning became more frequent, he started rubbing his eyes and moving around in an effort to stay awake, but before long he lost the battle and his eyelids started to slide closed. It was just about the time when the veracity of Santa Claus was being called into question that they realized he was sound asleep.

Michael smiled as he looked down at their little boy, limbs everywhere as he slept stretched out across their laps. "Finally," he whispered.

"Hey, don't look at me."

"Yeah, yeah, I know… I'm the one who let him take that nap." He leaned over to kiss her. "I'm gonna go put him to bed and then we'll finish the movie just to make sure he's down for the night. Once it's over we can get his presents put out and then you can put me to bed."

"Poor baby," Maria murmured with exaggerated sympathy. "Are you tired?"

"Not that tired." He carefully eased out from under Carradine and Maria reached out to tuck the blanket around him so it wouldn't drag the floor and trip Michael up. He waited while she pressed a kiss to his tousled head before he crouched down and gathered their little boy up in his arms.

Snow jumped down and walked beside him as he carried his little boy down the hall to his bedroom. He hopped up on the foot of the bed and turned around several times before finally settling down to sleep.

Michael pulled one corner of the covers back and laid Carradine down, holding his breath when the little boy sighed softly. He tucked him in and leaned back to snap the switch on the little nightlight plugged into the wall.

"Daddy?"

He turned back to lean his elbows on the bed when he heard the quiet whisper. "What's up, Carey?" he asked quietly.

"Santa's comin' soon?"

"Very soon, buddy. He's just waitin' to make sure you're really asleep."

"'Kay, Daddy." Carradine smiled tiredly and rolled over, wrapping his arms around a stuffed animal as he closed his eyes once more.

Michael leaned over and pressed a kiss to his little boy's temple, brushing his hair back and watching him for a moment before getting up. He scratched the dog behind his ear before pointing at Carradine. "Watch him." He walked over to the door and pulled it to, leaning against the frame for a moment to watch his son. "G'night, Carey," he said in a hushed voice. "I love you, little man."

He rested his forehead against the door, waiting for it. "Love you too, Daddy." It was faint and slurred but he heard it and he smiled as he pulled the door nearly closed.