A/N: In honor of Holt's 1st Christmas and Sophia's 1st Christmas as a Steele, I am going to do a four part piece: Remington and Laura's perspective first - here; Olivia's perspective, 2nd; Holt's perspective, 3rd; and, finally, Sophia's perspective.

December 24, 1991 (Pt 1)

Laura sat back on her haunches from where she kneeled before the Christmas tree and heaved a long sigh.

"It wasn't me," Remington defended. "If you wish to be put out with someone, you've an entire list to choose from: Marcos and Elena, Zeth and Calista, Christos and Helena, Father and Catherine, Lena and Miri, merely to start."

"I know, I know. It's just…" she lifted a pair of hands and dropped them "…too much." She looked at the stacks upon stacks of presents beneath and surrounding the tree. "Absurd, even," she added under her breath.

"And still more yet to come," he reminded.

It was true. As had become tradition, they would be hosting the annual family Christmas celebration the following afternoon. The guest list was lengthy and each of those guests were guaranteed to arrive with armfuls of gifts for the children: Monroe, Jocelyn and their brood; Murphy, Sherry and their two sets of twins; Bernice, Jason and Bo; Frances, Donald, Abigail and the children; and, Veronica and Maxine.

As was their habit, Thomas and Catherine had arrived shortly before Thanksgiving, installing themselves in the Rossmore flat. Tonight, however, they slept above stairs in the guest bedroom having taken part in Midnight Mass with the family, and desiring to wake with their grandchildren on Christmas morning.

The Steele house would be a very full one, indeed… and bursting at the seams with gifts, it would appear.

"Don't forget, love, positively dozens of these gifts are for friends and family when they arrive," he reminded her, now.

"I know. I just don't want the children growing up viewing Christmas as 'what they can get,' instead of 'how they should give,'" she lamented, placing one of the last four presents under the tree.

"In a couple of years, we can show the through deed what the season is truly about," he reminded. "Before you know it, they'll be passing out gifts at the shelter and serving vegetables at the mission." She gave him a look that said 'you better believe it.'

"Did you remember the Belle dolls? The girls will be heartbroken if they don't find them beneath the tree from Santa. It's the only thing Soph asked for, at all."

The inherent contradiction of her question and her earlier fear left him laughing low in his throat.

"How could I've forgotten? It's all they've spoken of since seeing the movie," he pointed out.

"Which time?" she asked, drily.

They'd taken the girls to the opening of Beauty and the Beast only a few weeks before. In the weeks since, Auntie Mildred and Rusty had swept them away to see the movie a second time as a 'pre-wedding gift' – laughable that was, as the gifts should have been flowing in quite the opposite direction. Lena had promised the girls a 'special day' before her departure for Oia, which had turned into lunch and a third trip to see the movie. Miri, having listened to their non-stop chatter about the story, had been convinced to take them a fourth time.

"Every time," he replied, a wide smile lighting his face. "On the upside, I imagine we know what movie it is they'll wish to next add to their collection." This remark earned a heavenwards roll of her eyes. More movies. Just what the Steele household needed. Placing one final wrapped box around the tree, Remington pushed to his feet and offered Laura a hand up. He gathered her in his arms when she stood, and dropped a kiss on her lips. "I believe there's a Christmas Eve tradition of our own awaiting us upstairs, hmmmm?" he hummed sensually. Her soft laughter filled the air.

"Somehow I knew that Christmas tree in our bedroom was more than a nod to my love of the holiday," she teased lightly, sliding her hands over his shoulders and clasping her hands behind his neck. Her smiled widened when he lifted a pair of brows and pursed his lips as he rocked from side-to-side with her.

"I've grown rather fond of making love beneath the lights of the tree," he admitted , burying his hand in her hair and stealing a kiss. "And we can't very well do so here, with the children, my father and Catherine lurking about, now can we? Hmmm?" Pressing up on her tiptoes, she touched her lips to his neck.

"You know how attractive I find it when you plan ahead," she murmured against his skin, heating it with her breath.

He didn't need a second invitation, swinging her up into his arms and walking towards the stairs.

"Ooomph," Remington grunted, when a child in the form of his first born managed to finagle her way around his wife's slim form tucked against him, and plopped down unceremoniously upon his stomach.

"Da! It's morning, Da!" Livvie's melodic voice registered through the haze of sleep. A pair of bleary blue eyes blinked open when a small hand patted his cheek insistently. His eyes met with his daughter's identical bright blue eyes, which were currently lit up with eager anticipation. With a grunt, he turned his head on the pillow and squinted at the alarm clock positioned on Laura's bedside table. Five-fifty-five. Morning? Just barely.

"So I see," he answered, rubbing his hands over his face to remove the last vestiges of sleep from his muddled mind. Grasping Laura's shoulder he gave her a gentle shake.

"I'm awake," she mumbled against his shoulder. She'd taken a small foot in the sternum when Livvie had jumped on her father. Rolling to her back, head still pillowed against his arm, she turned and found Sophie silently watching the scene unfold. An arm held open to her by her mother had the little girl scrambling up on the bed.

"Da!" Livvie called, clasping his cheeks in her hands. "Did Santa came? Me and Sophie went right to sleep just like you said."

"I suppose the only way we'll know the answer to that is to go downstairs, hmmm?" He groaned again, when Livvie jumped on his stomach several times in quick succession. Out of sheer self-protection, he plucked her off his tummy and sat her on the floor where her feet danced beneath her.

"Come on, Da! Come on!" she squealed.

"Can we, Mommy?" Sophie asked. She tilted back her head to look up at her mother, a hopeful gleam in her green eyes. Well, what could Laura say to that?!

"Let's go get your brother," she suggested, rising from the bed when Sophie climbed out.

After donning their robes, Laura stepped into the nursery with Sophie while Remington led Livvie down the hallway to the room where his father and Catherine slept. He rapped his knuckles sharply against the door, twice.

"Be right down, son," Thomas's groggy voice called.

"Can we go, Da? Can we? Please?" Livvie danced around at the top of the stairs, tugging at his hand.

"Go ahead," Laura instructed with a wave, as she stepped out of the master at the other end of the hall with Sophie and Holt.

Olivia's excited shrieks rang through the house before Laura, Sophie and Holt had made it halfway down the stairs.

"He came, Da! Santa came!"

"Aye. And from the looks of things, Santa must believe three children have been very good this year," he answered in an exaggerated voice that left his wife smiling. "You may look, but we won't be opening our gifts until Grandad and Grans join us." He disappeared into the kitchen to prepare coffee and tea for the adults, glasses of juice for the girls.

Releasing Sophie's hand, Laura picked up Holt's blanket from where it was draped over the arm of a chair, and spread it on the floor, then sat him down on it to finish slurping his bottle. Her eyes never left their eldest daughter.

She'd worried frequently about how Sophie would respond to the chaos of Christmas Day. Their eldest daughter could still become overwhelmed from time-to-time, as she struggled to reconcile the difference between her two lives: then and now. It was clear Clarissa had worked hard to shelter Sophie from Castoro's cruelty, but what she had been exposed to had left a lasting imprint – ones the Steele's were working very hard to erase.

"Look, Sophie!" Livvie called, pointing to a box wrapped in festive paper. "This one's for me. See?" Sophie inched across the room then kneeled down at Livvie's side to examine the package that had her sister so excite. "It has a 'o' and a 'a'!"

"It is your name!" Sophie confirmed, happily. Sitting down on a nearby ottoman, Laura leaned forward, hands clasped in front of her and watched as the scene played out.

"Look, Sophie! Another one!" Livvie cried out. Sophie nodded as she studied another tag. H-O-L-T.

"That's for the baby! Mommy showed me how to write his name!" she shared.

"Who's this for?" Livvie asked pointing at another box. L-A-U-R-A. Sophie raised her shoulders and dropped them, while holding out both her hands.

"I don't know." She turned in the other direction, her eyes drawn to the purple bow adorning a package. S-O-P-H-I-A.

"That's me! That's me!" she exclaimed. Olivia scrambled over on her hands and knees to verify Sophie's discovery.

"It is you! It has an 's', like you drawed all the time!" she confirmed, clapping her hands for her sister. "And look Sophie, there's another 's'!" Livvie pointed.

"It is me!"

Livvie continued to ferret out 's' and 'o's' while Sophie stood up and walked to Laura.

"Mommy?" Laura reached out and stroked Sophie's cheek.

"Yes, sweet girl?"

"Does Santa think I was good?"

"Oh, Soph," Laura replied, enfolding her in a hug, "Santa knows you are a very, very good girl." Sophie's eyes shone with happiness when her mother released her.

"A veritable angel," Catherine concurred, as she and Thomas, both garbed in their robes entered the room. "Happy Christmas, my darling girl," she greeted, kneeling down to bus Sophie upon the cheek and give her a hug.

"Grans! Grandad! Santa came!" Olivia announced, throwing herself at her grandfather, who swooped her up in his arms.

"So he did. Happy Christmas, my Little Lady." Thomas planted a kiss upon his granddaughter's cheek, turning around as his son appeared from the kitchen bearing a tray of drinks for all. Setting the tray on the coffee table, Remington bestowed an embrace on his father.

"Happy Christmas, Father." He moved to the sofa where Catherine had just taken a seat. "Happy Christmas, Catherine." He bussed her on the cheek. He passed out tea to Thomas and Catherine, and handed Laura her coffee in her favorite mug, before clapping his hands together with relish. "So, Little Ladies Steele…" the girls giggled at the moniker "…are you ready to get this show on the road?"

(TBC)

A/N: Pt. 2 will be published to Vignettes of Steele: Olivia