As always thanks to everyone who has reviewed or alerted this story, I'm thrilled. It seemed really odd writing a Christmas story in June, but that's what needed to be written next. It also is rather fluffy, which made a change from my other story 'To protect innocence' so I hope you enjoy.
Sairs
What are Aunts for?
Chapter 10 – Jake's first Christmas
Andy stood by the crib, enthralled, she couldn't believe that she was responsible for the tiny baby that was nestled, asleep; his fingers gently opening and closing as he slept. It was Christmas Eve and Jake was two days old and just as everything was new for Jake, it was new for Andy too. She hadn't realised that she could love anything quite like she loved Jake, she knew she would fight tooth and nail to protect her son. She smiled at the thought, her son, she was a mother and on some level that thought still terrified her, but it also thrilled her at the same time.
She couldn't help but gently reach out with her forefinger to gently stroke Jake's cheek, marvelling at how soft his skin was. She felt Sam's presence rather than heard him; she leaned into him as he stood behind her, gently resting his hands around her waist. "You should be asleep," he whispered into her ear as he gazed down at their son.
She nodded, "I know, but I couldn't, I just wanted to watch him." She knew Sam was grinning without even having to look at him.
"He is pretty amazing," Sam replied, "But then he does have his father's irresistible genes."
Andy smiled, "Not that you're a proud father and all that, but I agree he does share some of his father's better qualities."
Sam turned slightly so that he could plant a soft kiss on her cheek, "But you really should get some rest."
"But it's Christmas Eve and there are things that I should be doing," she replied adamantly.
"Like what?" he asked.
She thought for a moment, "Wrapping presents, helping to prepare for Christmas dinner tomorrow."
"Emily and I have those things covered. You're job at the moment is to rest, make the most of Emily and I, tomorrow's going to be busy enough with Tommy and Sarah coming over. Make the most of some quiet time before Jake wakes up," he gently released his hands from her waist, taking one of her arms in his hand, pulling her towards their bed. "How about we both just lie down and watch Jake from here; then I know you're getting some rest."
She smiled, "I'd like that," she let him pull her down onto the bed, she automatically turned towards Jake's crib, relaxing as Sam snuggled behind her gently resting his arm across her stomach. She gently rested her hand on top of his, "I miss the bump."
Sam chuckled against her neck, "You didn't feel like that the other day at Doctor Jackson's office."
"Things change, but I wouldn't want to go back; I couldn't imagine life without him. I could just watch him forever," she sighed.
"I think the novelty will probably wear off," he replied.
She giggled, "Probably when I'm sleep deprived, but until then I'm enjoying every minute," she paused, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb, "But I'm still terrified I'll get it wrong," she admitted quietly.
Sam lifted his head so that he could drop a kiss on her cheek, "We're not going to be perfect at this, we've got a lot to learn about parenthood, I'm terrified too, but we're partners and we've dealt with life and death situations, we've survived labour, I'm sure together we can survive parenthood. Look at our parents, they didn't get it right, but we turned out okay and we certainly know how not to be parents."
She shifted position slightly so she could look at him, "We're going to be okay, aren't we?"
"We're going to be fine. I might need to work on my diaper skills and the ability to move quickly to avoid unpredictable showers," he winked.
Andy laughed as she remembered Sam's first attempt at changing Jake's diaper, he had lifted him from the changing mat, proud of his efforts to find the diaper suddenly sliding down the baby's legs, leaving him naked and poor Sam unprotected from his son's sudden need to pee. "As they say practise makes perfect and I can see lots of diaper changing in our future."
"That and lots of other memorable moments," he replied, gently kissing her lips.
Jake's cries woke Andy from her nap, she instantly stood and walked over to the crib, gently stroking Jake's head before picking him up, "What's wrong, little man?" she asked him quietly as she began to rock him. Glancing at the clock she smiled, "Hungry?" she asked as she moved towards the rocking chair Sam had brought into their bedroom, next to his crib. She lowered herself into the chair and gently began to feed Jake; she loved the closeness of their time together.
Sam had heard Jake's cries from the living room and had hurried upstairs to help, as he opened the door to their bedroom, he couldn't help but smile, his heart growing with pride as he watched Andy nursing their son, "I was coming to check on him," he said quietly.
Andy looked up from Jake, "He was hungry," she replied, "But you can burp him if you like."
Sam grinned, and sat on the edge of the bed, he might not be able to feed their son, but he could help out with burping him. A few minutes later Andy handed him Jake and a towel. She watched him as he positioned Jake on his shoulder, gently patting Jake's back with his hand, talking gently to him as he patted; waiting for him to give him the prize he desired. A few moments later, Jake released a loud burp and relaxed in his father's arms, gently gurgling. "Well done, Jake," Sam encouraged his son, "You must feel better."
Andy giggled.
"What?" Sam asked incredulously.
Andy shook her head, "Nothing, you're just so adorable with him."
Sam raised an eyebrow, "I hope you're not going to share that thought with anyone outside this room, because I have a hard man image to keep up."
Andy continued to giggle, "Wouldn't dream of trying to ruin your reputation, but you do realise that you don't have everyone fooled with that gruff exterior. I think there are a lot of people who know there's a cuddly teddy in there somewhere."
Sam smiled, "As long as the bad guys are scared."
"Oh they're very often petrified," she replied as seriously as she could.
"Good," he stood and gently lowered Jake into his crib, he grasped Andy's hand when he was sure Jake was settled, "Now how about we go and have a quiet supper and watch some sappy Christmas movie?"
Andy grinned, "Sounds great. Jake should be asleep for a little while."
Sam pulled on her hand, "We'll hear him if he wakes."
She nodded, following her husband out of the room.
Andy stood in front of the Christmas tree, Jake cradled in her arms; she was pointing out the decorations, quietly talking to him.
Emily smiled, Andy was proving herself to be the mother Emily knew she would be, patient, loving and gentle, "Hey, Sweetheart how's my favourite Niece and Great Nephew?" She asked as she walked over to them, peering down at Jake whose eyes were looking intently at his mother.
Andy smiled, "We're great; I was showing Jake the decorations on the tree before Tommy and Sarah get here. Are you sure there isn't anything I can do?"
"I'm sure, Sam's doing a great job, he really is quite domesticated," Emily smiled.
Andy chuckled, "Yep he certainly is quite good in the kitchen; his cooking skills certainly outshine mine."
"We can't all be good at everything; you have your talents too."
"My talent usually involves getting into a situation I probably could have avoided," she grinned, "But at least Jake will grow up with one parent who can cook a decent meal, rather than spaghetti and sauce, or anything that comes out of a packet."
The sound of the doorbell ringing interrupted their conversation, "I'll go and get that," Emily said as she hurried out of the living room to answer the door.
A few moments later Tommy walked into the room, a large Christmas decorated bag filled with parcels in his hand, "Hey, Sweetheart," he said to Andy as he kissed her cheek, before looking down at his Grandson, "And how's my big grandson?" he asked.
"Wondering what on Earth is going on?" Andy replied as she passed Jake to her dad.
"This time next year he'll be crawling and trying to pull the tree over," Emily said; a huge smile on her face as she imagined Jake and the Christmas tree.
Andy chuckled, "Christmases will never be the same again."
"No, Sweetheart, children have a way of making the holiday seasons really special," Tommy said as he gently rocked Jake, "And I'm sorry that not all of yours were as special as they should have been."
Andy walked over to Tommy and hugged him gently, carefully minding Jake, "I know you did your best and now we get to make Jake's as special as we can. But it doesn't look like we've got to try hard, you seem to have brought a lot of presents."
Tommy grinned, "Couldn't have my Grandson's first Christmas without lots of presents."
"But he's not going to appreciate them," Andy replied.
"He mightn't but I'm sure you and Sam might," he replied and winked at Andy.
"Now I can't wait to see what's in those presents," She replied, "Now why don't you and Em look after Jake and I'm going to help Sam in the kitchen." She left Tommy and Emily cooing over Jake.
She stood in the doorway and watched Sam as he checked the turkey and stirred pots on the stove, he was completely lost in what he was doing and didn't appear to notice her. She enjoyed watching him, some days she still couldn't believe how lucky she was that he loved her, especially after she went out of her way to push him away.
"Are you going to stand there and stare, or are you going to help?" he asked from the stove, without looking at her.
She grinned, "Have you developed a sixth sense?"
"No, I just know you when you're there," he replied, finally turning to look at her. "Who was at the door, Tommy or Sarah?"
"Dad, he could barely carry the bag of presents into the living room," she walked over to him, stopping lifting the lid from a saucepan and stirring it with a spoon, "He and Emily are now fussing over Jake."
"And when Sarah gets here there'll be another doting relative, he won't know what's hit him," Sam smiled as he closed the oven.
"He's lucky though, to have a family that'll love him and I know our friends are going to love him too," Andy walked over to Sam and he pulled her into his arms, she rested her head against his chest.
"He is a lucky baby and I know Sarah will spoil him rotten too," Sam replied.
A short time later, Sarah arrived, her hands filled with brightly wrapped packages, "How's my favourite nephew?" she asked as she deposited the packages next to the Christmas tree and instantly went over to see Jake who was currently in Emily's arms. Emily offered Jake to Sarah who eagerly accepted the infant, cradling him and rocking him gently. After a few moments Jake began to cry, a panicked look crossed Sarah's face, "He obviously doesn't like me," she said her voice laced with disappointment.
"Don't worry, Sarah," Emily soothed, "I think he's just hungry," she added, gently taking Jake from Sarah's arms, "I'll go and give him to Andy and I'll check how long dinner will be too."
As Emily walked out of the living room she nearly bumped into Andy, who was hurrying towards her from the kitchen, "Don't worry, Andy, I think he's just hungry," Emily smiled at the panicked look on Andy's face.
"I just heard crying and I went into panic mode," Andy explained as she took Jake and instantly began to soothe him.
"I know, Sweetheart. How's Sam getting on with the dinner? Does he need any help?"
"He says he's got it all under control, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind a little help, especially as I'm going to be busy for a while," Andy said as she walked to the stairs to head up to the rocking chair.
"That was delicious, Sam," Sarah said as she placed her knife and fork on her plate, "I didn't realise your culinary skills were quite so well developed," she winked at her brother.
Sam grinned, "There are some things that when you live alone you have to learn to do, especially if you don't want to eat out of a packet for the rest of your life."
Sarah chuckled, "Glad you learned something whilst living on your own and Andy will obviously benefit from your cooking."
Andy grinned, "That's one of the reasons I agreed to marry him," she teased gently, "because I certainly missed out on the culinary skills, plus he's not too bad too look at."
Emily, Tommy and Sarah chuckled as a slight blush crossed Sam's cheeks, "Well I'm pleased Andy you can recognise some of my many talents," he sent her a dimpled grin and waggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing Andy to blush.
"How about we clear the table and we can open presents?" Emily suggested as she stood. The others agreed and within a few minutes the dishes were in the dishwasher and the table clear they sat down in the living room.
"So who's going to open Jake's presents?" Tommy asked as he reached under the tree and pulled out the first package labelled for Jake.
Andy glanced at Sam and shrugged her shoulders he grinned, "How about we take it in turns?"
A little while later there was a pile of coloured paper on the floor and a range of baby toys and clothes. Andy lifted a little blue dungaree set with puppies' appliquéd on the front up and held it up for the others to see, he's going to look really cute in that."
Emily smiled, "Make the most of selecting his clothes whilst you can, because in a few years time he'll be telling you what he wants to wear and what he doesn't."
"Thank you," Andy smiled at her Dad, Aunt and Sarah, "You've made this Christmas really special and thank you for all of Jake's presents; he's going to be the best dressed baby in the neighbourhood. But when did you all manage to shop for boy's clothes?"
Tommy grinned, "Emily and I went out the day after he was born; we had a great time shopping for boy's clothes. Best shopping trip I've had in a long time."
"I had a great time last minute shopping in St Catharines too. Nothing better than having an excuse for shopping," Sarah chirped up.
"Well Jake's certainly going to wear every outfit before he grows out of them," Andy replied smiling.
"And we'll enjoy buying more outfits for him to grow into," Sarah smiled as she stood, "Now I really need to make a move, it's a long drive home."
Everyone stood, "I'm going to make a move too, it's been a great day, but this old guy needs his rest," Tommy explained, walking over and hugging Andy, "Thank you for a wonderful Christmas present," he said quietly in Andy's ear, "My grandson."
Andy smiled, "You're welcome, thank you for Jake's presents."
"It's what Grandpas are for," Tommy replied before kissing Andy on her forehead and walking over to Sam and shaking his hand, "Thanks for the dinner, son, you certainly know how to lay on a good spread, thought you were just the King of the barbecue, but I take it back now," Tommy winked.
Sam and Andy walked Tommy and Sarah out, hugging them both again before waving from the doorstep as they made their way off into the late afternoon light.
"Thank you for today," Andy said to Sam.
He grinned, "It was a good day, wasn't it?"
She nodded as she closed the door, "And Jake won't ever remember any of it."
"No but we do have photographic evidence, I think between Tommy, Emily and Sarah the camera should be full of pictures," Sam replied taking Andy's hand and leading her back to the living room where Emily was picking up the wrapping paper and putting it in the trash.
"You don't have to tidy up, Em," Andy said as she noticed what her aunt was doing.
Emily smiled, "The least I can do, this is the best Christmas I've had in a very long time; the last one I remember being this good was the Christmas you starred in your school's Christmas play."
Andy nodded, "Yes that was a good family Christmas, but we've started our own tradition now. Thank you, Em."
"You're more than welcome. Now I'm going to pop this in the trash and then I'm going downstairs to watch 'Miracle on 34th Street' it's on in a little while and I love that film."
"You don't have to go, Em," Sam said.
She smiled, "I've had plenty of excitement today; I'm looking forward to a quiet night. If you need me you know where I am."
"If you're sure," Andy said as she briefly hugged Em.
"I'm sure, now you and Sam enjoy some time together before Jake wakes up," she replied as she headed to the stairs and the door to her apartment. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Night, Em," Sam said as he pulled Andy gently by her hand towards the sofa, when he heard the basement door click, he gently turned Andy so that he could look at her, resting his nose briefly against hers before gently kissing her, "Now sit down, I've got a little something for you." He waited for her to sit down and then he went over to the Christmas tree and pulled out a little box, carefully wrapped in red paper with a large red bow on top, he walked over and handed it to her.
She looked at him, "What's this?" she asked as she gently fingered the red bow.
"Something that I bought you to say thank you," Sam replied quietly.
"For what?" she asked, studying his face.
"Open it and see," he replied, shifting a little on his feet, his movement betraying his nervousness.
She carefully pulled at the bow and lifted the ribbon from the box, before gently unwrapping the package, revealing a blue velvet jewellery box, "Sam?"
He grinned, "Put me out of my misery and open it!"
She smiled and opened the jewellery box revealing a silver locket, she gently lifted it from the box; opening the locket she found a picture of herself holding Jake and the other a picture of her and Sam. As she turned over the locket she noticed a message engraved on the back, "Andy, thank you for giving me a family, love always, Sam." She couldn't help the tears that rolled down her cheek as she looked at the beautiful gift Sam had given her.
"Hey," he said tenderly closing the distance between them, "I didn't want to make you cry," he gently wiped away the tears from her cheek.
"They're happy tears, Sam," she explained quietly, "It's beautiful, thank you."
"You're welcome," he replied, gently dropping a kiss on her forehead.
She tilted her head slightly, "Thank you for giving me a family too."
The sound of Jake's cries through the baby monitor interrupted them, "Guess he wants his diaper changed," Sam grinned, "I think I'll go and see if I have more success than last time."
"You might want your waterproofs," Andy teased.
Sam shook his head, "I'm not going to make that mistake again."
"I'm sure you're not, but it's one of those stories that we can tell to Jake when he's older, how he had a pretty good aim."
Sam chuckled, "You're going to enjoy telling him that too, aren't you?"
"Of course and by the time he's able to listen to stories, you're bound to have some funny stories to share about me too, like the time I arrested his father," she smiled following Sam up towards their bedroom.
"I don't need an audience," Sam called over his shoulder as he walked towards their bedroom.
"No maybe you don't, but Jake might need a witness to record his early Daddy adventures," Andy replied a huge grin on her face.
Sam shook his head, "Well hopefully you're in for a boring few minutes."
She shook her head, "Couldn't ever be boring watching you with Jake, I've been dreaming about such moments since I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't wait for you to be with our child, I've seen you with Oliver's girls and I knew you'd be great with our baby."
He stopped and turned in the doorway and smiled, "I like watching you with him too, but he doesn't sound like he's going to stop, so I think my diaper skills are still required," he turned again and walked over to the crib and gently lifting Jake out, Sam wrinkled his nose, before turning to Andy, "Are you sure you don't want to do this one?"
She grinned, "No you offered and I want to see your skills, Officer Swarek."
He took Jake over to the changing mat and began work, his face contorting into a grimace when he revealed the contents of Jake's diaper, "I can see what Oliver meant by needing the face mask for the first few diaper changes… If we bottled this it would be a fabulous interrogation tool, a truth serum."
Andy chuckled, "A tool for torture? I don't think we'd get many convictions."
He laughed, as he finished changing Jake's diaper, "Who would have thought that this time last Christmas Jake wasn't even on the horizon."
She walked over to his side and smiled at Jake, "A lot can change in a year."
He nodded, "But definitely for the better."
She bent forward and placed a gentle kiss on Jake's forehead, "Happy Christmas, Little Man, Mommy and Daddy are really pleased you couldn't wait."
"Yes, could you imagine the fun we would have had if you had gone into labour at the dinner table on Christmas Day? There would have been mass panic and turkey and trimmings every where."
She laughed, "I guess Jake had pretty perfect timing."
"Just like his mother," he replied as he tied the diaper bag. "Merry Christmas, Andy," he said placing a kiss on the top of her head.
"Merry Christmas, Sam," she replied as she lifted Jake up and gently rocked him, "Merry Christmas, Jake, welcome to our family."
I hope you enjoyed ~ If you have any suggestions what scenes you might like in this series, please feel free to share them and I'll see what I can do! :)
Have a great day and enjoy the new series if you're fortunate to see it today!
Sairs
