Amy was up before the sun on Christmas morning. Evidently her mother had encouraged her to go and wake her cousin and so the small girl threw herself onto the bed, dragging Katy away from her dreams and into consciousness. Unable to be angry with the little girl who was beaming at her, Katy rolled out of bed and grinned at the sight of the stocking at the foot of her bed.
Lifting Ruby into her arms, she shouldered both their stockings and allowed Amy to lead her into Ronnie's bedroom where the two blondes were curled up under the duvet, trying to pretend they were awake. Setting the stockings down beside the bed, Katy glanced at her cousin and nodded. Without warning they both hurled themselves onto the figures under the covers, Katy being careful not to hurt her daughter in the process.
"Argh!" Roxy screamed swatting out at her assailants.
Ronnie simply laughed and sat up, dragging Amy onto her lap and peppering her face with kisses that made the little girl giggle. Then she scooped Ruby up, lavishing the same affection onto her granddaughter, while Katy settled herself in the tiny gap between her mother and aunt.
"Merry Christmas, baby." Ronnie said softly, pressing a kiss to her temple.
"You too, Mum."
"Presents!" Roxy's voice burst through the moment and she disappeared for a moment over the side of the bed to drag the stockings up.
Silence descended as all five of them eagerly ripped into their gifts, only punctuated by the sound of tearing paper and occasional comments and laughter at what they uncovered. Once everyone had finished and Ronnie had demanded that they clear up the mess they had made of her bedroom, they went downstairs to make breakfast, finding Phil already starting to prepare for the dinner.
Turning up the volume on her iPod speakers, Roxy started dancing round the kitchen to Christmas music, whirling Amy and Ruby in her arms with her and singing at the top of her lungs. Ronnie laughed at the sight, slinging an arm around her daughter's shoulders as she waited for the kettle to boil.
When Billy, Lola and Lexi arrived, Phil had them all working hard to make sure the dinner was perfect. Katy didn't see what was so special about Christmas Dinner anyway. To her it was just a glorified roast where everyone was forced to eat and pretend they liked vegetables they wouldn't normally touch with a bargepole, while being nice to people you usually hated. But that logic didn't wash with Phil, who told her that it was tough and they had to make sure Beale had nothing to criticise.
The second the doorbell rang Lola jumped to answer it. Katy and Ronnie exchanged a meaningful look and the blonde muttered that if the teenager and Peter weren't together she'd be incredibly surprised. Her daughter challenged her to a £20 bet that they would announce their relationship at some point that day, but Ronnie refused to take her up on it. Roxy, on the other hand, did so eagerly and the two women shook on it as the Beales walked into the living room.
Katy and Lucy, who had never seen eye-to-eye, largely avoided each other as they made the final preparations to the meal before taking their seats at the table. Katy sat between Phil and Ronnie, Ruby sharing her seat and plate, opposite Roxy and Amy.
It was one of the more awkward Christmas Dinners Katy had sat through with her family. Having Ronnie there was the best Christmas present either Roxy or Katy could have wished for and, perhaps, it was that which kept them sane during the day and the effect the Beales' presence was having.
"What d'you reckon then, Ian?" Ronnie asked, almost challengingly. "Is it up to your exacting standards?"
"Yeah it's very tasty." He agreed with a nod and a smile. "Your handiwork?"
"No, it was Phil. Oh, and you should see him in a pinny. It's really quite a sight."
Roxy and Katy laughed loudly at the image conjured by Ronnie's words. Even Phil snorted in amusement. Ian and his family simply stared as though Ronnie had just announced that Phil had cooked the entire meal naked.
"I can imagine." Denise muttered.
"Oh, go on Phil, get your pinny on." Roxy urged with a saucy wink. "Give Denise a thrill."
Ronnie and Katy cackled harder at that, but the woman in question seemed less than amused. "Please don't."
"What you need is a woman around the house." Ian said with a smile. "You know, a new wife."
"What for?" Phil snapped.
"Well, you know, to clean and cook."
At his words, every single female at the table turned to look at him, disbelief on their faces. Even Billy, Phil and Peter raised their eyebrows at his comment, sensing trouble brewing.
"What?" Ronnie asked in bemusement as Roxy snorted and shook her head.
"Is he for real?" Katy asked, looking between her mum and her aunt as though for confirmation that she hadn't just imagined his words.
"You're an expert, are ya? On marriage?" Phil asked gruffly as the three women seated nearest him burst out laughing.
Standing in the doorway, bouncing Lexi in her arms, Lola looked vaguely alarmed. "This is nice, ain't it, all of us being together?"
"Are you being serious?" Katy asked her, arching an eyebrow.
Phil carried on, as though no one else had spoken. "Having done it four times?"
"Yes, well, sometimes it does take a while to find the right person." Denise defended her partner quickly.
"Oh, and you've found the right person, have you?" Phil asked, laughing. Katy caught Roxy's eye and snorted, quickly turning and burying her face in her mum's shoulder so that she didn't laugh out loud.
"Maybe."
"Yeah, Phil, there's nothing wrong with a bit of romance." Lola said. Katy instantly sat up wondering whether this would be the moment she won her bet with Roxy. "Is there Pops?"
"Eh?"
"Romance...?" The teenager repeated.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, course."
Katy grinned. "Oh, Bill."
An awkward silence descended for a couple of moments and Katy was disappointed that Lola hadn't won her the money from her aunt. Having eaten far more than she could usually manage, the brunette leant back in her chair, complaining as her daughter bounced on her stomach.
"Eurgh... I'm stuffed. Go to Grandma, baby." She groaned, lifting Ruby onto Ronnie's lap.
Raising an eyebrow, the blonde pressed a kiss to the little girl's head and began to eat the Christmas pudding Lola had just placed in front of her. Katy grinned and picked up her spoon.
"I thought you were stuffed?"
With a mock look of outrage, the brunette tapped her mother gently on the nose with her spoon. "There is always space for Christmas pudding, Veronica."
"Right."
"Ian? Christmas pud?" Lola asked cheerfully.
"Ahh! Why not." He agreed. "Might get lucky and find a sixpence in there."
Phil snorted. "Yeah, if you can travel back in time; it's 2013, init."
"Alright then. Maybe a shiny, new ten pence piece then." The other man amended.
Katy exchanged a look with her aunt, causing the blonde to almost choke on her mouthful of pudding as she tried to stifle her laughter.
"No, I don't think there's anything in there." Ronnie said, looking at Ian with amusement flashing in her eyes.
"What?" Ian complained. "Oh, come on. It's tradition! You've gotta have a coin in your pud."
Phil glared at him. "You got any other criticisms? Cos I saw you left half your veg and half your turkey and all."
"I had a big breakfast."
"So, it was all perfectly cooked in your professional opinion, was it?"
Katy was biting her lip so hard to stop herself laughing she was sure it would start bleeding any second. Roxy was pointedly avoiding catching her eye, but the brunette could see her shoulders shaking with laughter all the same.
"Perfect."
"You wouldn't lie to me, Ian, would ya?"
Lola turned to him in irritation as Ronnie, too succumbed to the silent giggles that were affecting her sister and daughter. "Phil! Can you just leave it and let everyone enjoy themselves?"
"I am enjoying myself and so's Ian." Phil told her. "Ain't you, Ian?"
"No!" The blonde teenager argued. "No, he's not. No one is."
"I am." Katy muttered. "This is better than a soap."
"Shut up." Ronnie murmured, poking her in the leg.
"I just wanted everyone to get on so we could be honest for once." Lola continued.
Everyone stopped and looked at her. "About what?"
"Tell 'em." The teenager urged Peter, who looked as though he was about to be thrown into a pit full of lions. "Go on, tell them." When he simply continued his goldfish routine, Lola sighed and took over. "Me and Peter... we're together. We're a couple."
"You owe me twenty quid." Katy told her aunt, returning her attention to her pudding while everyone else stared at the young couple.
"Did you know about this?" Phil demanded, staring fiercely at Ian.
Ian looked offended by the assumption. "No, course not."
"Phil, look–" Peter stared, but he was cut off immediately.
"Shut up, I weren't talking to you."
"Don't tell him to shut up!" Lola snapped. "Look, we are together and you either accept that or I will go upstairs, get Lexi, walk out of this house and I won't come back."