Chapter 10
All I want for Christmas is you.

Lucy scooped Ayva up off the ground and raised her up to hang her sparkly bulb ornament of the tree. The toddler grabbed a fistful of feathery green branches, shoving the string of the ornaments around on of the stalks. Pleased with her decorating job, Ayva looked around and smiled.

"Did I do a good job, momma?" she asked excitedly, smiling at the lit and glittering Christmas tree. It was covered in bulbs, lights, Popsicle sticks that Ayva had decorated in daycare, candy canes, baby's first Christmas ornaments and so on.

Lucy nuzzled her face into her daughter's soft hair. "You did a great job, Ayva Bean."

Ayva wiggled to get down, and then skipped across the room to the coffee table. She placed her tiny dimpled hands on the gold star tree topper, then looked over to Ian, who was placing snow globes on the mantel.

"Inan, can you help me? Momma can't weach the top." Ayva didn't pick up the tree topper; a warning from her mother. The tree topper had belonged to Lucy's own mother, and was very special. And since Ayva had the tendency to be even more clumsy than her father, she wasn't allowed to pick it up.

Ian smiled, setting down the last snow globe on the mantel. The fireplace was lit, the cozy apartment illuminated by the firelight, the Christmas tree, the pot lights and Lucy's favourite candles. The Keurig hummed as it prepared candy cane coffees for Lucy and Ian, and Ayva's favourite hot chocolate, and a pan of fresh gingerbread men sat in a tin, waiting to be frosted. The stereo played a jazzy rendition of Baby It's Cold Outside- the house smelled of vanilla and cinnamon, the decorations were scattered and fluffy tufts of snow were falling in the evening sky. It was pure Christmas, and everyone was excited.

Ian scooped Ayva up in one arm and the tree topper in the other, raising the giggling child up to where she could reach the top of the tree. Lucy watched them, ready to catch the topper should it have fallen. Ian and Ayva cautiously placed the star on the tree, Ian making sure it was correctly anchored before he kissed her cheek and set her down.

"It looks stunning," Lucy complimented, taking Ayva from him and resting her on her hip. She took at few steps back and admired the beautiful Christmas tree. Ian smiled, standing beside them. Ayva had done a great job.

The Keurig beeped, and Ian went over to get their drinks. It was a new machine, top of the line, one that could prepare four different drinks at once. It had been Ian's gift idea, but Lucy, to his dismay already had one. It was the same with the toaster oven and the five-in-one frying pan, Lucy had virtually every kitchen appliance known to man. He was back to square one.

He pushed his and Lucy's coffees to the side for a moment before he poured half of the hot chocolate into a stainless steel sippy cup, replacing the missing half with milk. As he shook the mixture, it dawned on him how good he was getting at his daddy-duties. Ian chuckled to himself, then returned to the living room.

Ayva took a long sip of her hot chocolate, then climbed onto her stomach on the floor to go back to her colouring book. Ian sat beside Lucy on the couch, and she rested her head against his shoulder. They had been engaged in Christmas preparation all day, and it was exhausting. Ian's lips found her forehead, holding her for a few minutes as they admired the tree and the Christmas decorations.

"What do you want Santa to bring you?" He asked her lowly, pressing his lips to her ear. He watched Ayva colouring on the floor, smiling to himself. The little girl had put sparkly nail polish of her own on her Santa list, as well as butterfly slippers.

Lucy chuckled. "I don't need anything. Santa came early this year." She ran her fingers down his arm and interlaced their fingers.

Ian kissed her head again. "You aren't making Santa's job any easier," he muttered, voice still too low for Ayva to overhear. "I have to get you something, Lucy."

"I'll be happy with anything."

"But I want you to at least ballpark ideas for me."

"Hm, okay," she rolled her head back in thought. "Well, I love coffee, and unicorns, and country music."

"I know what you like, silly." Ian grazed his hand against her wrist. "But you won't tell me what you want."

Ayva turned her head then, watching Ian and Lucy sit together on the couch.

They hadn't displayed a great deal of affection around her, but they also weren't secretive about their relationship. Either way, the toddler hadn't said a word about it, nor seemed to care. To Ayva, there was no downside to having her Ian around as much as possible. Grabbing her sippy cup of diluted hot chocolate, she climbed up onto the couch and plunked down on Ian's lap.

"Is Santa gwumpy?" She asked Lucy, snuggling into Ian's chest. It was nearly seven thirty- which was a late hour for a two-year-old.

Lucy chuckled. "Of course he isn't, silly."

"Do Santa like me?"

Ayva had been excited for a while about her trip to meet Santa that was scheduled for tomorrow. She had gone last year with Lucy, albeit had been less than two, so surely she couldn't have remembered and or understand what was going on. Lucy had helped her prepare a wish list, one that had been steered clear of "a daddy like Ian", and that was where she had gotten the idea for nail polish and slippers. They were heading to the mall tomorrow.

In the last few weeks, Ian had reluctantly opened up to the public about his new family. With his manager's discretion, he had even done interviews in which he'd gushed about his daughter. However, it was told to the public that Ayva's existence had just been kept away from the paparazzi; as far as the world knew, Ian had been a part of her life since day one, and Lucy and Ian's relationship had been put on "hiatus" to benefit their daughter.

Public places of course had been crazy; people snapping pictures like mad and Ian being approached by pap and journalists. They'd done their best to keep Ayva away from the chaos, but it was hard to keep people away from Ian Harding and Lucy Hale's daughter. To no one's surprise, however, the child remained totally unbothered by the nosy cameramen. In one situation, when Ian had taken her out for donuts, she had even waved at them.

She was charming and irresistible, just like her mother and her father.

Tomorrow they were headed for the public mall so Ayva could get her pictures taken with Santa. Ian had been opposed to the idea; they were sure to be bombarded by fans, but Lucy had been adamant on going. She was determined to give Ayva a normal childhood, to even the slightest degree. She was only going to be two years old once, and Lucy planned on making it last.

After about five questions, Ayva yawned, her big blue eyes fluttering shut. Lucy scooped her up off of Ian, sighing as the little girl fisted her tiny hands into Ian's shirt in protest. Soon enough she let go and cuddled into her mother's shoulder, and Ian kissed her forehead.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ayva. I love you," he whispered, deciding to straighten up the apartment while Lucy put Ayva to bed.

When the small brunette came back downstairs, she was pleasantly surprised to see that the living room was tidied. Ian stood at the kitchen sink, rinsing Ayva's cup.

Lucy came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head between his shoulder blades. A second later he turned around and hugged her back, squishing her against his chest.

"How do you think she'll react to Santa?" Ian asked, kissing her forehead. It was moments like these, when they just stood there hugging for no reason in particular, that he loved her the most.

Lucy groaned. "I'm praying that it'll go better than last year. She screamed blue murder until we got her out of there."

Ian chuckled. "Ayva? I find that hard to believe."

"Tell me about it."

Lucy suddenly dropped her arms from around him, and looked him square in the eyes.

"Ian."

Ian knit his brow and nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"I think I know how we should tell Ayva."

Ian smiled. "You do?"

Lucy grinned. "Yeah, I do."

She told him her plan then, and by the time she was done, Ian was smiling and nodding and hugging her even tighter than before.

"I like that a lot," he agreed.

They snuggled up together on the couch for a little while to watch Little Britain reruns, when Lucy suddenly looked up from her phone. "You already know how my mom is coming here for the holidays this year, instead of us going all the way to Tennessee, but I was talking to her today and she said she wanted Ayva to sleep over to her hotel room for a night. She said we deserved alone time."

Ian smirked. "Will Ayva want to stay?"

"Oh please," Lucy said, mindlessly circling her fingers against the skin that his dishevelled shirt had exposed. "She likes mom more than she likes you."

Ian leaned forward, his candy cane breath on her face. His lips were dangerously close to hers. "Hey now," he warned, "I doubt that."

Lucy chuckled, trying to move her mouth to press against his. But he pulled away.

"And what makes you so confident?" She decided to tease him back and gently ran her fingers beneath his shirt across the tight skin of his abdomen.
Ian smirked. "I'm irresistible." With that, he crashed his lips to hers and tugged her against him, tucking his hands underneath her thighs. His tongue pushed its way into her mouth at the same time as she hooked her legs around him, and Ian mumbled one last thing before they became to preoccupied to speak.

"I can't wait for that alone time."

Ayva was as hyperactive as usual, bouncing around the living room in a Christmas shirt and her pyjama bottoms as she waited for Lucy to finish getting ready. There was an adorable polka dot red dress on the couch waiting for Ayva to change into, along with pretty little winter boots and frilly socks.

Lucy came down the stairs in her red swear and white scarf, equipped with a facecloth, hairbrush and elastic bands to groom her daughter with.

"Come here, baby." As Lucy dressed and tidied a very impatient two-year-old, the door to her apartment opened and Ian stepped inside.

"You ready to go?" He asked whilst he tapped on his iPhone, the once technology-impaired man now a whiz at it. Lucy scooped up Ayva, who was now outfitted and flaunted a curly little ponytail. She reached for her soother from Lucy's hand and put it in her mouth.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Lucy used her free arm to grab her coat and then passed Ayva to Ian. "My manager said security is going to be extra tight for us."

"Good." Ayva flicked the button on Ian's coat as he bounced her. She seemed slightly unhappy.

"What's wrong, Ayva bean?" He asked.

"Is Santa scarwy?" Her big blue eyes welled up. "I don't want to see him."

"Of course Santa isn't scary!" Ian reassured her as they all headed for his Volvo. "Santa is jolly and bring all the little boys and girls presents!"

"Why?" The toddler flicked the handle of her pacifier.

"For being good all year." Lucy answered as she buckled her seat belt. "But, this year Santa needs your help."

Ian glanced at Lucy, not having a clue about what she meant.

Ayva blinked.

"Santa doesn't have any binkies left in his workshop, and the elves forget how to make them!" Lucy turned around slightly to face her daughter. The small child protectively placed a hand over her pacifier. "So, he told me that if you give Santa your binkies, he's going to make sure that you have the most special Christmas presents ever."

Ayva looked horror stricken.

"What do you say?"

"No." Ayva glowered at her mother.

"Now Ayva, I want you to listen to me. You're a big girl now, right?"

Ayva glared, hand still clamped over her beloved binky.

"And big girls don't have binkies."

"But I like my binky!" She whined, lip trembling.

Ian slowly felt his heart breaking as his little girl protested. His heart had recently become a marshmallow for his child and girlfriend, and lead him to be the biggest pushover there was.

"Hey, I'll tell you what," he glanced at Ayva through the rearview mirror. "How about you and Ian go pick out something extra special at the mall? Something even more special than your binky."

Ayva thought for a moment, staring at the back of Ian's head. "Okay."

Ian smirked at Lucy, gloating his victory with a fist pump. Lucy rolled her eyes and smacked her hand against his arm, but secretly she died for the natural daddy he was to their daughter.

The mall wasn't crowded, seeing as how it was Thursday morning. Lucy and Ian ducked into the shopping centre with their sunglasses and beanies, but no disguise was useful with a noisy and oblivious toddler in their arms.

"No momma, I want Inan's hand!" Ayva practically yelled as they made their way down the corridor. Ian had to lean to reach his baby's hand, and her little legs took five steps for every one of his. She had refused to be picked up and carried, so the walk to Santa's Workshop was taking extra, extra long.

She didn't seem as nervous about Santa as she had in the car, and Lucy figured it was because Ian's exciting offer had distracted her. Her big blue eyes scanned around the windows of the shops, until they finally came to the short lineup for Santa. A few security guards littered the premises, just as Ian and Lucy had requested. Ian kept his head down.

Ayva froze as soon as she saw the red suit. Her eyes widened and her bottom lip started to tremble. "No!"

"Ayva-" Lucy began in a hushed whisper.

"No Santa!" She started wailing then, turning heads from all around the mall. Ian scooped her up and bounced her, trying to soothe the tantrum, but it wasn't working. He exhaled loudly as they made their way from the lineup, heading towards the exit.

Once she caught on that they were leaving, Ayva stopped crying, looking up at Ian from his arms with her big puffy doe eyes. She looked- apologetic, almost, which wasn't something that a two-year-old was supposed to look like. Her little thumb made its way to her mouth and she snuggled into her father.

They found a bench at the end of a corridor and sat down onto it, Ian placing Ayva on his knees.

"Why did you cry?" Lucy asked gently, wiping the tears from Ayva's cheeks. "Santa isn't scary one bit. And you have to tell him that you want butterfly slippers for Christmas!"

Ayva pouted again. "But Santa- Santa be mad at me," the toddler reached for Ian's shirt and toyed with the collar.

"No he won't be!" Lucy knit her perfectly defined eyebrows. "You're a good girl."

"But my pwesent is too big!"

Lucy suddenly knew exactly what this was about. The day Ayva had made her list, Lucy had talked her out of the whole "daddy" thing. She had said a daddy was just too much to ask for and that Santa wasn't going to be happy with her gift because the elves couldn't make daddies. It had been mumbo-jumbo; just something to make things easier on herself. But Lucy quite often forgot Ayva's soft heart and good memory. Yeah, she was initially intimidated by the noise and the excitement and the enormous fat suit, but she was mostly afraid of Santa being mad at her for wanted too big of a gift.

"Ayva, you can ask Santa for Ian to be your daddy if you want. He won't be mad at you." She squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Momma was just kidding."

Ayva scrunched up her face. "But is he gwumpy?"

It took about ten minutes of persuasion, but Lucy and Ian finally convinced Ayva to go back. Hand in hand with both parents, they walked all the way back, stood in line, and placed Ayva in the lap of good Saint Nick.

She still wasn't enthusiastic. Her blue eyes were wide with caution of the man with the fuzzy synthetic beard, but when she asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she replied with, "I want a daddy who is just like my Inan but is my daddy that is my weal daddy." Her head bobbed as she made the statement. Santa tried to hide his confusion.

He talked with her for another few minutes before Ayva made it clear that she'd had enough, and the photographer snapped a picture. Then, the little girl sprung off his lap and took off for Lucy and Ian, wrapping her arms around Lucy's thigh.

"No more Santa today, right momma?"

Lucy sighed and picked up her baby. "No more Santa."

On the way out of the mall, Lucy remembered she needed a new set of tea lights for her candle holders. They entered a holiday-decorated Hallmark, and as Lucy went off to look at candles, Ian and Ayva wandered the knickknack isle.

While browsing the ornaments, Ayva noticed a pair of polar bear mittens on the shelf. She giggled at the image of two chubby polar bears stitched on them, but didn't ask for them.

Ian smiled.

"Why don't we get those for you and you momma?" He suggested, picking up the mittens in a child's size and an adults. "You lost yours to that mean swan and I'm sure your mother would really appreciate the matching glove idea."
He could just imagine her disgust and decided it was necessary to buy them.

Ian hurried and paid for the mittens before Lucy had picked out the candles, then he and Ayva bought a soft pretzel and waited on the bench outside of Hallmark. The little girl reached into the bag and Ian helped her try on the new gloves.

"Oh, they're so beautiful," Ian dramatically gushed and kissed Ayva's nose. He held the cinnamon pretzel out to let her take a bite.

Lucy finally sauntered out of Hallmark, pleased with her candles. She had been approached by a fan in the store and had taken her time to speak with them.

"Momma Inan buyed me mittens!" The little girl stood up on the bench excitedly. "And he buyed mittens for you too!"

Lucy glared at her boyfriend. "I thought we agreed no buying her things until Christmas."

Ian ginned smugly. "She's just like me. Irresistible."

This took forever. I'm sorry. But I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Next chapter is the last, but I'm sure it'll end the story off with a bang. However, I might write an epilogue if I have too bad of separation anxiety haha!
Thanks to my live saver, Kate who inspired many parts of this chapter, and Cami and Brooke who thankfully informed me that there are in fact Hallmark's in the US.
The fear of Santa was inspired by my little cousin, who was deathly afraid of Saint Nick until age 4. And who still is deathly afraid of people getting mad at her.
Adieu!
Emily