Lola sips her wine, watching as John plays with his half-siblings, half-cousin and Greer and Aloysius's younger children outside in the garden. She feels a presence behind her and turns to smile at Bash.

"Hi," she says softly.

"Hey," he replies, smiling when Adrien scores a goal. "Can you believe Christmas is next week?"

She shakes her head, saying, "No. Today is his last day here, isn't it? Before Mary takes him to Scotland to Kenna."

"Yeah. I'm going to miss him," Bash says softly, leaning his head against the cool glass of the doors. "I miss her every day. Just last Christmas, we were together. Well, kind of together."

"She's happy, Bash," Lola tells him gently.

"Has she met someone?"

Lola tuts. "No," she replies, almost rolling her eyes. "She doesn't want to see anyone - she's focusing on herself and Adrien."

"Good," Bash says. At least, he could have a while that he can pretend that she's still his, sort of.

"Are you avoiding her?" Lola asks him, a little angrily. "I've spoken to her a few times and she thought that you guys would remain friends at least. You share a son, Bash."

"What about John?" Bash retorts.

"At least, I'm down the road when my son needs me. You and Kenna are in different countries entirely!" Lola snaps.

She walks off, downing her wine as Bash heads outside to sit down on the patio. He didn't mean to start an argument, but he feels horrible. Incomplete.

He feels like he's mourning. Like Kenna isn't in Scotland, but dead. He thought ignoring her would make it bearable, but it was making things worse.

"God!" A feminine voice calls out, setting herself heavily onto the seat beside him. "Jesus, can you believe I'm this huge?" Greer asks, frowning.

"Jesus, can I have some privacy?" Bash asks lightly.

Greer chuckles. "Considering that you annoyed Lola of all people, I don't think you deserve anything right now."

"I'll apologise later. I'm on edge - being here isn't doing me any favours."

"Not everyone is feeling so joyous this Christmas," Greer replies sadly. "Lola's broody, but Stephane doesn't want kids. She doesn't know how to tell him about John and their whole situation."

"Oh, that's why she's on edge," Bash mumbles.

Greer nods. "I'm not feeling so good about this pregnancy, it's my worse one yet. Mary... Well, who knows how Mary is doing? She's been off since Kenna left."

"It hurts," Bash tells her, his eyes watering. "I understand where Mary's coming from. If she's happy in Scotland, then I can't ruin things for her. This time next year, Adrien will be with her."

"Why can't you leave France, Bash?" Greer asks him. "It doesn't hold great memories for you. You could live in Kenna's place, she hasn't sold it yet. Across the road from your brother-"

"Close as hell to Mary," Bash interjects, rolling his eyes. "Then, Kenna might use that against me."

Greer tuts. "Oh, God. You're insufferable!" She sighs. "Sorry, every time you, Kenna and Mary are mentioned in the same conversation, it's a real killjoy. Not everything has to have a double meaning or link to Mary. You could move here because of Francis, your brother. Plus, it's closer to Scotland than France is so you can visit Adrien easily."

"I've fucked up my life, Greer. I've lost my wife, I'm losing my son... My dad's messed up... Nothing is going good for me," Bash tells her, shaking his head. "I feel stuck."

They turn when the door opens and see Diane come out, closing the door behind her. She takes a seat opposite them.

"Mary invited me to go and see Kenna," she tells her son.

"Great, now my mother is going to see the wife I lost," Bash mutters darkly. "Do you have to go, Maman?"

Diane laughs at his behaviour. "You're acting like a child, Sebastian. It's not my fault you refuse to talk to her."

"Bash, I know I don't have a right to talk about your relationship with Kenna," Greer starts. "But things do get worse if you never get along with her. Adrien's at a very sensitive age right now and he needs his parents to be civil. Come on, you know how that's like."

Diane nods in agreement. "Just start with a phone call, you don't even need to FaceTime or use Skype. As you said, talking to her was always good. Go back to those times and be friends."

"It's like talking to a brick wall," they hear Francis say as he appears and sits down. "Heard there was a party out here." He grins, waving at the children at the end of the garden.

"Convince your brother, please," Diane tells the blonde man. "There's only so much a mother can do for her child."

Francis turns to his brother, handing him his unfinished beer. He watches Bash take a sip and lean back further into the chair.

"No matter what," Francis begins. "Kenna will always love you. I could see it in her eyes when I gave her the papers sealing your divorce. She's moving on, so should you. You've never had issues doing so."

Turning the conversation on a lighter note, Greer says to Bash, "Keep sipping that for me, yeah? I want to live vicariously through you as you drink that beer. God, I remember why I leave at least a year and a half until the next one!" She pats her bump.

...

Kenna rushes outside, running towards Mary as the woman gets out of the car first.

"Mary!" Kenna yells out, hugging her friend tightly. "God, it's been months! I feel like I'm dying!"

Mary laughs, responding to the hug just as eagerly. "I know. I've missed you so much! It's not nice not having you across the road so I can come over for a sneaky wine or two!" She pouts. "I've brought gifts and people and happiness and joy!"

"Well, there wasn't any joy at her house," Diane says, joining them and opening the door for Adrien, sending Kenna a warm smile. "So, we brought our joy here."

Mary blushes. "Okay, I was in a bit of a mood because you weren't there and everyone's falling apart - I'll get onto that later, but first...!"

"My Adrien!" Kenna laughs, picking her son up into her arms and spinning around. "Oh, look how much you've grown!"

"Auntie Mary gave me chocolate in the car and Meme gave me five dinosaur toys!" Adrien tells his mother. "I didn't open them, I wanted to share them with you."

Tears spring to Kenna's eyes and she laughs, kissing his cheek. "Oh, of course! My good boy!"

They head inside and Kenna introduces Diane to her parents and siblings.

"Diane, these are my parents, Robert and Joanna. Mum, Dad, this is my former mother-in-law, Diane Poitiers."

The three shake hands and Mary greets Kenna's parents warmly with hugs.

"Little Mary Stuart!" Mary hears behind her.

She turns and sees Douglas.

"Fuck," she says under her breath, making him laugh. "Dougie, hey! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."

"And you," Douglas replies, hugging her. "Wow, you look great!"

Mary blushes. "Thanks, you too. Kenna told me about... well, you still look decent, I guess."

Douglas laughs. "Thanks."

He leaves, calling Lockie to play some football outside as Kenna entertains their guests in the kitchen.

"I'm surprised Douglas didn't even look at Adrien," Joanna says, frowning.

"How could he?" Robert asks. "The boy's really small for his age. What is he? Five?"

Adrien shyly looks at them from his mother's chest, turning to nestle his face into her neck.

"Mama, who are they?" He asks in a small voice.

Kenna clears her throat, placing him onto the ground. "That is your other grandmother and grandfather. Mummy's parents."

"I have two Memes?"

Diane's face falls slightly and she gives Joanna a polite smile, turning to face the child again.

"Yeah, exactly," Kenna says, kneeling down to reach his level. "Only, Mama's mummy is Nana."

"Nana?" Adrien repeats.

Kenna nods. "Oui. And Mummy's daddy is Pépé."

Adrien gasps. "He's French like me?"

"No. He's Scottish like Mummy. You're half-Scottish too, cheeky!" Kenna says, laughing. "You can call him Pépé if you'd like. We want you to be happy with what you call him, sweetie."

She looks up at her parents who smile back encouragingly. Turning Adrien around to face them, he holds his hand out to shake theirs.

"Nana and Pépé, I am Adrien and I'm five."

"Hello, Adrien," Robert says, shaking the child's hand. "I'm Pépé Robert. But you can call me Pépé or Pépé Rob."

Adrien turns to Joanna. "And you?"

Joanna chuckles. "Hello, Adrien. I'm your Nana Jo. It's very nice to finally meet you and what a big boy you are!"

"Pépé called me small!"

Everyone laughs and the tension is gone much to Kenna's relief. She is surprised when Adrien leaves her hold and starts up a conversation about his new toys with his grandparents.

All three look on adoringly at the boy and Kenna turns to Mary, gesturing for her to follow her upstairs to her room.

"Kenna, what's wrong? You look like someone ran over your dog. Again."

Kenna laughs a little. "Little Mackie was the best, wasn't he? Before he got ran over and all..."

"Yes, he was. And so was Mackie II and they are both buried outside in your garden," Mary teases her, but it's the truth of the fate both dogs suffered. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

Kenna sniffles, meeting Mary's eyes nervously. "I don't think I can ever escape Bash," she says, as tears fall down her cheeks. "Mary, I'm pregnant."

Mary's eyes widen in surprise.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Kenna replies, nodding. "I've not told anyone yet and I had it confirmed by my doctor."

Mary breathes out, still surprised. "What are you going to do? We were only joking when we thought you'd get pregnant. Now, you guys are divorced and literally live in different countries! How can you raise another kid much less, Adrien?"

"I said that in the hopes that we could make things work," Kenna admits. "We've seen that we couldn't and we're reeling from the consequences. I've always wanted another baby. Last time I kept my pregnancy from him, things didn't end so well."

Mary nods sadly. "Jesus, Kenna..."

"I lost a bit of my soul during the miscarriage. I don't think I've recovered from that," Kenna says. "I can't literally believe I'm pregnant, Mary... I don't know what to do."

"Okay, here's what you're going to do," Mary tells her, taking her hands in her own. "You're going to invite Bash here to spend the rest of the holidays with you and Adrien. It will make it easier for him to pick up Adrien and take him to France."

"Mary-"

"Just listen," Mary pleads. "You're going to tell him, face to face. You are also going to tell him that you are willing to co-parent this child too. For now, Adrien will be with Bash in France and you'll have the baby with you, here. During the holidays and breaks, you both can visit each other."

Kenna glances towards her stomach, placing a hand on it. "Here I thought things were going to be simple. How wrong was I? Things are a million times more complicated!"

"I know," Mary says sadly, placing a hand on Kenna's cheek. "I'm here, the girls are here. You have your family... We're all here to help you out this time. You're not far away in France, you're home."

Kenna believes that things could work out.

...

Bash walks up to Lola, smiling when she notices him. "I just wanted to apologise for last week." It's two days until Christmas Day and he ought to make amends with everyone he's annoyed.

"No, it's fine," Lola says, sighing. "I was a bit emotional. It just gets difficult, you know? Being so close yet so far from your own kid. I was fine with it until Stephane said he didn't want any more kids. I know he has two already who are practically my age, but still..."

"Tell him the truth about John and how you feel. I'm sure if he really loves you, he'd change his mind," Bash assures her. "He's a decent guy from what I'm told."

Lola smiles. "I'm heading to Scotland with Stephane to see my parents and siblings. Do you want to come with us so we can drop you off at the Beatons'? I'm sure Adrien would love having both parents for Christmas."

"I don't want to get in Kenna's way. She and her family need time to recover, I don't want to mess things up."

"Come on," Lola urges him. "Your mum is there!"

Bash turns to see Francis playing with his children, bright smiles on their faces as his brother picks up Anne and kisses her cheek. Bash misses that for him and his own family.

Now, his family consisted of him, his mother and Adrien.

"Bash, I'm sure Kenna wouldn't mind. Christmas is the time for family."

"Let me pack my things and tell Francis," Bash finally says.

Lola beams. "Yes! Great, I'll meet you in my car."

He heads towards Francis and the children, ruffling James's hair and receiving a glare from the boy.

"I'm going to Scotland, Francis," says Bash. "Lola's convinced me to come with her so she can take me to Kenna's."

"Are you sure?" Francis almost whines. "I mean, you've never properly met her family and it would be awkward as her ex-husband to show up."

"It's for Adrien. Don't worry, I won't try and convince her to get back with me. We've tried many times and it never worked out."

Francis sighs in relief. "Good. Spending Christmas Day with Adrien should be the only thing you're there for. You might want to pack some extra jackets."

"It's that cold?" Bash asks.

"Just saying, I was freezing my arse off in November," Francis replies. "Good luck. For the weather and your ex-wife."

"Oh, Bash!" Lola calls out, popping her head through the door. "We're taking the train. For a more scenic route. As a Frenchman, you'd love it!"

Bash sends Francis an exasperated look. "What's the difference?"

"Don't even ask me," Francis says, laughing. "I took a plane!"

...

On Christmas Eve, Kenna heads downstairs and finds Adrien already up and playing a game with her brothers.

"Look how adorable you all look!" She coos, kissing her son's head. "No Alexander?"

Douglas shakes his head, starting to tickle Adrien. "No," he replies, smiling at the child's laughter. "Here Ma thought we were going to have a full Christmas. We have you, me, Adrien and your former mother-in-law joining them this year."

"And no Alexander," Lachlan says, rolling his eyes. "It's not like he even cares, right?"

Kenna tuts, hitting Lachlan's head gently. "Hey, you never know what's been going on. Until a few months ago, I still believed Dougie had two fleshed legs!"

Douglas laughs. "And I thought you were still my darling, innocent, little sister. Who knew you dated an older man and married his son whilst you were at it?"

"You did what?" Lachlan gasped.

"Mama, what's 'dated'?" Adrien asks, running from Douglas' grip.

Glaring at her brother, Kenna smiles at her son. "It's just means time, baby. Oh, never mind. Why don't you go and wake Meme up? I'm sure she'd love to make some crepes for us."

Adrien nods and runs upstairs, allowing his mother to hit Douglas on the arm.

"Can you not blurt out my love life, especially in front of Adi, please? I'm embarrassed enough - I'm a divorced single mother of two now."

"Sorry," Douglas replies, genuinely apologetic. "How's the pregnancy going?"

Kenna rolls her eyes. "I feel like throwing up every second. Not because of morning sickness although I do have that - but because Mary told me to tell Bash face to face now... I can't do that. I haven't been able to call him up and ask him to come."

"Does his mother know about you being...?" Lachlan asks her.

"No," she confesses. "Another reason for you guys to keep things on the down low. I just have to accept that I'm doing this alone."

"What if Adrien tells his father, it slips up in conversation? He's a kid who doesn't know what secrets are," Douglas says. "Mary's right, you need to tell Sebastian quick."

"Tell my son what?" They hear Diane ask as she enters the living area with Adrien by her side.

Kenna sighs. "Your stupid book and son have put me in a difficult position."

Slowly, a grin starts to form on Diane's face. "You liked my little gift, hmm? I told you, I have the sight, Kenna. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Kenna replies, blushing. "I'm blaming you for willing it! And for Bash wanting it too as we-"

"Blame away. It was all a part of my master plan," Diane jests, cutting her off, heading into the kitchen with Adrien. "Happy for you, darling, I am!"

Kenna groans loudly. "What am I going to do?!"

"Eat your feelings?" Lachlan suggests.

"Be an adult and face your mistakes?" Douglas adds. "Then, you can eat your feelings.

She rolls her eyes. "I knew there was a reason we didn't speak for over ten years, and six for you Lachlan."

...

Lola gets out of her car first, smiling up at the house in front of them. She was relieved to find out that the gates were open.

"This is where Kenna grew up?" Bash asks in shock.

Lola nods, helping him get his suitcase from the boot. "Yeah. We would play in the garden out back. There are woods behind it, leading to the lake her older brothers used to dunk us in when we were little. We have so many great memories here."

"You had me at woods," Bash says, approvingly. "Maybe, we should wait a few minutes."

"Why?" Narcisse asks, getting out of the car, ending the call he was on. "The sooner the better, Sebastian."

Bash winces. "Do I have to?"

They all turn around when they hear a car and watch as it drives down the driveway, around the fountain piece and stops just behind Lola's car.

It's red, Italian, new and loud.

"Oh my God," Lola says under her breath, heading towards the car. "Hi!" She says to the people inside.

Bash and Narcisse wait, watching as Lola speaks with the person in the expensive sports car. Bash wonders if the person is related to Kenna and her family and wonders just how wealthy they are exactly.

Narcisse frowns deeply, hearing Lola laugh at what the driver tells her. "Darling?" He calls out. "Care to introduce us?"

Lola turns back to face them. "Oh, yeah! Sorry, it's been a while!" She says, standing back as a smartly dressed man leaves the car first.

He's wearing a five-piece, blue tweed suit and some expensive leather dress shoes. He quickly rounds his car and opens the door for the woman he comes with.

"I can't believe that it's you, Lola!" The man says in a thick Scottish accent, closing the door behind the woman. "You were a little chubby thing as a child."

"Alexander!" The woman scolds, hitting his chest.

She's dressed differently. Way differently. She wears jeans, combat boots and a leather jacket. Her hair is cut short, jet black and it's dyed blonde at the tips.

"Forgive me," Alexander says, laughing. "Lola, meet my fiancée Archie. Archie, meet my little half-sister's dear friend, Lola Flemming. Whom I called Chubby Lola when she was a child."

Archie winces. "I've been trying to get him to be kinder in his words. I'm so sorry."

Lola giggles. "It's no problem. Alexander was always a big teasing bully. Nice to see that he's smartened up a little."

"It's all me," Archie says, winking. "Who are the lovely gentlemen behind you? Looking as if we've all grown three heads..."

Lola yelps, apologising to Narcisse and Bash before pulling them over to Archie and Alex.

"Alexander and Archie, meet my fiancé Stephane," she says, kissing Narcisse's cheek with a bright smile. "And this is Sebastian Poitiers."

Alex nods, shaking both of their hands whilst Archie gives them a nod. "How is Sebastian related to you, then?" Alexander asks her.

Lola falters. "Sorry, what?"

"You've brought a random man to my family's home. Unless he's not just some stray you've picked up? You girls did love bringing strays home for dinner. I remember Gary, Leith, Colin and-"

Lola laughs nervously, turning to Bash and cutting Alexander off. "Uh, this is so awkward, but Bash isn't any stray of mine. He's Kenna's ex-husband, Alexander." She wrings her hands.

"Her what?" Alex asks, turning to Bash in shock. "Ex? As in, former and no longer? Then my question still stands, why is he here?"

"Oh, shit!" They hear behind them.

Kenna awkwardly passes through Lola and Narcisse to get to Alex, giving him a tight hug. "Hi, Alexander! Welcome home, big brother! I've missed your smartarse so much!"

"I knew we should have gone to your parents' instead, Archie," Alex mumbles to Archie over Kenna's shoulder. He pats Kenna's back. "Missed you too, you little bitch."

"No, I live for the drama," Archie tells him with a smirk. "And don't call your sister a 'bitch'! Nice to meet you, Kenna."

Kenna clears her throat, resisting the urge to laugh at her brother. "And you, Archie." She turns to Bash. "Hey," she says to Bash. "Welcome to my family's home. Adi's inside with our mums so, you can see them."

"Who is Adi?" Alexander asks.

"Your nephew Adrien, Alexander," Kenna replies. "I don't have the time to explain the drama that is my life, but a lot of things went down since you've been gone."

"You're right, I've been gone and I need a drink. I'm off-call for two days, I'm going to make the most of my days off," her brother announces, heading inside with Archie trailing behind, admiring their family home.

Lola gives Kenna a hug. "I'm going to go inside and see your parents before Stephane and I go back to my own. It's good to see you, you're glowing and you look so much healthier."

Kenna chuckles, tightening their hug. "Thank you. You look great too, Lola. Don't mind Alexander with all the 'chubby' stuff, you're beautiful!"

"It's not like kids are allowed to have a little chubbiness, right?" Lola laughs.

She and Stephane head in, the man complimenting her family's home from the inside. Kenna notices that Bash never went in.

"Hey," he says softly. "You look great. Your hair-"

"Little changes," Kenna replies just as quietly as she rubs her arms for warmth. "I was going to ask if you wanted to come for Adi, but you're here."

He laughs his first genuine laugh in a while. "Yeah, Lola convinced me. We took a train last evening here and I stayed at her parents' house. Scotland is a really lovely country. The scenic tour was great."

"It is, yeah." She smiles. "Bash, I really need to talk to you before we go inside." She looks over to her brother's car. "I think he's left it unlocked. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Being a little rebellious?" Bash teases her.

"We have an archery range out back, I can show you how rebellious I am!" She replies, giggling. "No, I don't want to drive it, just sit in it. Question how he can afford such a car being a doctor."

They chuckle, getting into Alexander's car and readjusting the seats since they can't start the car without the key out of distance.

"Makes me want one, now," Bash says, feeling the leather dashboard. "This interior is definitely custom-"

"Let's not talk about the car," Kenna cuts him off, turning to face him. "I'll be honest, Bash. What I am about to tell you, I've known for a couple of months now. I just didn't think it was real so I've kept it a secret to myself to process things." She doesn't want to tell him that her whole family know already.

"Okay..."

She swallows deeply. "I'm pregnant."

There is silence and it lasts for about ten minutes until she breaks it.

"Bash?"

"Oh," Bash finally says. "Shit, okay. Uh, I was joking when we... Fuck. Okay," he stumbles across his words. "Let me say this out. We're divorced?"

"Yeah."

"We have a son?"

"Yeah."

He continues with, "We live in two different countries."

She nods. "Yeah."

"And now, we're having another baby?"

She nods again. "Yes."

"Fuck," he breathes out.

"I know, right," she replies. "We finally leave each other's lives and then this happens? What are we going to do Bash? Co-parenting was easy enough with just Adrien, but now we have another child to think about. Would that mean I'd have to leave Scotland and move again to be with you and Adrien? Would that force us to get back together?"

Bash turns to her. "I want to do whatever you want to do. I'll follow your lead. Whatever you want, I'll go with it."

Tears slip down her cheeks and she nods. "I want to keep it. I mean, I've always wanted another baby. Bash, this shouldn't mean we need to get back together. We're better apart, I think. I would like it, though, if you were there for me when I'm in labour and give birth. You were there for Adi, it's only fair. I want you to be a part of this child's life too. I would never keep any of them away from you."

"Francis suggested that I should move to England, to your house with Adrien. He's familiar with it and it's closer to Scotland than France."

"That's a good idea," Kenna replies. "It's just over an hour flight or four hours on the train so Adi can visit any time."

"But he should be with you, his mother. Both of them should. I wouldn't know how to go about caring for Adrien by myself. I had my mother help me since you've been here."

Kenna smiles a little. "She's a Godsend. Well, I could have him live with me and every Friday he could fly to England and spend the weekend with you. My parents joke that he needs his Scottish side broken in so, he can get to know them better."

"Then we're agreed? You have sole custody and we'll move during the Easter holidays. Make the transition smooth from a French school into a Scottish one."

"You're acting as if they're so different," she chuckles softly. "I'm glad we can be civil about things considering you've been avoiding me, mister!"

"I just needed time," he admits.

"And today?"

He gives her a smile. "I was ready to see how much better you are without me." He places a hand on her small bump. "Considering I'm always going to be with you."

Her hand covers his.