A/N: I can't even lie, this was very fun to write. Also, I've seen a few comments about Scout, and I thought I should say that she'll be coming when she's supposed to! :) I'm also not quite sure how quick my other updates will be, but hopefully I'll get the ball rolling!

-o-o-o-

Despite the fact that Caroline and Joe's impending divorce loomed over Atticus in the days leading up to Christmas, Jean did her very best to keep his mind off of it until it was absolutely necessary. Christmas had always been the holiday that she had enjoyed most, and she was certainly determined to spread her Christmas cheer to Atticus.

She couldn't lie, she was actually excited about the fact that both hers and Atticus' families would be spending the holiday together. Ultimately, it would mean less stress on Atticus since he didn't have to frantically travel all over Alabama, and she was still going to be able to spend time with her family. In her eyes, everyone was going to win. She constantly assured Atticus that things would not only go smoothly between Caroline and Joe on Christmas day, but that he would also have an amusing night due to the presence of both families. She seemed to have been successful, because as the days leading up to Christmas dwindled, her husband actually seemed to be excited.

Of course, neither of them had been prepared for the disaster that would happen.

She should've known that the evening was going to go to hell once Jack came to Maycomb three days before Christmas. In anticipation of his arrival, Jean and Atticus had also invited Louise to stay with them. The figured that if they were able to cause mischief before Christmas, they would cause less damage on the actual holiday.

Yet, Louise declined the invitation.

Jean couldn't help but to be surprised. Any other time Jean invited her sister over, Louise almost immediately jumped on the next train to get to Maycomb. Jean surely thought that Louise would be excited to not only be able to spend time with her and Jeremy, but with Jack as well. When she and Atticus picked Jack up at the train station the morning he arrived, she couldn't help but to bring it up to him.

Even more surprisingly, Jack shrugged it off. "Oh, I knew she wasn't gonna come early." He said, smirking. "We were discussin' her Christmas present for you just a few days ago. I placed bets on you bein' very surprised."

Shocked, both she and Atticus gave Jack quizzical glances. "Really?" Atticus asked.

"Ha, not so much you," he chuckled as he pointed at Jean. "Her."

"Did she tell you what it was?" Jean asked quickly.

"Oh, yes."

"Well, what is it?"

"Promised her I wouldn't ruin the surprise."

"Well, it ain't fair that you brought it up and won't tell me." Jean replied, crossing her arms before quickly glancing at Atticus. "Tell him, sweet."

"I'm choosin' not to get involved in this." He replied, causing Jack to laugh.

"Well, tell me." She glowered.

"Shoot, when you and your sister are agitated, you sure are scary." He teased.

"I taught her how to punch, you know." Jean winked. "If you don't tell me, I'll punch you."

Jack raised his hands in the air. "I've grown immune to that, sweet," he replied. "Your sister's punched me so many times I've come to actually enjoy the experience. Plus, what kind of man would I be if I betrayed my only friend's trust?"

Jean rolled her eyes. "I'm your sister-in-law, you have to tell me." She said, he simply smirked back at her.

"Jeannie—"

"Don't call me that, John."

"Alright, Eugenia."

As she continued to scowl, she could see a slight smile forming on Atticus' face as he continued to look at the road. Hastily, she shook her head. "You're trickin' me." She declared. "You're simply sayin' this stuff to get me riled up. Well guess what? It isn't workin' anymore. I'm excited for Louise's gift."

Jack batted his eyes at her in a joking manner. "You're exactly right, Jean." He responded coolly, despite the fact that Jean would soon find out that he was indeed lying to her.

-o-o-o-

Two days after Jack arrived to Maycomb, so did Edie, Harriet, Jean's two nieces as well as her Aunt Bea. While Jean had Clara and Libby sleeping in Jeremy's nursery during the visit, she couldn't help but the feel thankful that the rest of them were squeezing into Maudie's house. Naturally, of course, Jean made room for Louise to stay with her and Atticus.

But, she hadn't arrived with the rest of her family, further surprising Jean.

"Where is she?" Was the first thing Jean asked when her family greeted her at her house for lunch, causing Hattie to roll her eyes.

"She's with Phillip," Edie replied slowly as she brought Jean in for a stiff hug.

"Who?"

"Her friend, honey, he's her friend." Edie said quickly.

"Well, why is she with him?"

"She went up to Boston to retrieve him, he's coming to Christmas. They'll be here tomorrow by the latest." Jean's mother replied, and Jean was seriously beginning to think that she was in some sort of alternate universe.

"Who is he? Why is he comin'?" Jean asked, scowling at her mother.

"Don't worry about it," was Edie's response. "You're makin' somethin' out of nothin'."

Despite the fact that Jean dropped the subject, it was still very present in her mind. Why, Louise loved Christmas just as much as Jean did, and always talked about how she looked forward for the two of them to be together during the holiday and now it seemed as though her sister had become some sort of phantom.

"Don't sulk, Eugenia," Edie said after a few moments. "It doesn't look well on you."

Before Jean could respond, Aunt Bea sat up and looked around. "It's awfully quiet, where are the children?" She asked.

"They're napping in the nursery." Jean replied matter-of-factly.

"Speaking of children," Hattie said, causing Edie's eyes to widen. "Jean, are you still tryin'—"Quickly, Hattie jumped and stopped speaking, and Jean suspected that her mother had something to do with that. In an effort to show how completely fine she was, she remained collected.

"We are perfectly content with it just being the three of us," she responded, though part of her knew she was lying. After what happened in Montgomery, Jean didn't approach the subject of having more children again. She knew that she and Atticus had agreed upon their condition of just trying that one last time, but in her heart she knew she couldn't give up that quickly. She knew it was selfish of her to think this way, to continue to want a baby so badly despite the fact that she already had a perfectly healthy child and that it unhinged Atticus to no end when he thought about what could happen to his wife, but she simply couldn't convince herself to just give up. "We have quite a good life," she added truthfully, perhaps as an attempt to convince herself that one child was enough for her.

"That's probably for the best." Edie replied, still glaring at Hattie. "Though, are things alright between you and Atticus?"

Jean furrowed her brow. "Why wouldn't they be?" She asked. "We're always fine, we discuss—"

"I'm not talkin' about that, dear," Edie replied. "I'm talking about…" her mother trailed off, nodding her head as though Jean was supposed to guess what was supposed to come next.

"About what?"

"Honey, she means in bed." Aunt Bea nodded.

"Jesus Lord Almighty!"

"Eugenia!"

"I am not talkin'—"

"I'm just sayin', if you're havin' problems in—"

"We are fine, I promise." Jean said hastily as she stood up.

"Eugenia, you're not a child anymore, where the hell are you goin'?"

"I'm gonna go drown myself in my tub, that's what I'm gonna do." She replied quickly, now more desperate for Louise's presence than ever.

-o-o-o-

Louise still hadn't arrived in Maycomb and Christmas day, and it wasn't until they were leaving to go to Finch's Landing that Jean's mother informed her that they would simply be meeting Louise at their destination. Despite the fact that Jean found that she could actually enjoy herself during the holidays without Louise's presence, it still seemed as though something was missing, and she couldn't help but to be disappointed by the fact that it had been so long since she'd seen Louise. Throughout the day, Jean simply needed to remind herself that she'd be seeing Louise at the Landing, and things would soon feel like normal.

When they had arrived to the Landing, it appeared as though everyone else had arrived before they had. Instead of being greeted by Alexandra at the front door, they faced Henry, her twenty-three year old son. He had taken after his mother and married young, and for the past two years Alexandra had been pestering him about when he was going to give her grandchildren. Despite the fact that the young man was just as annoying as his mother, he already looked dejected.

"Ha, let me guess, kid," Jack said as they walked through the doorway. "Your mother's already on a rampage."

"Aunt Caroline, actually." He responded, causing Jack and Atticus to give each other surprised glances. "She's been basically attached at mama's hip because she and Uncle Joe are in a fight or somethin' and she just about tore Ruth's head off because she refuses to speak a word."

Ruth was Caroline's sixteen-year-old daughter, who was the exact opposite of Henry. While she displayed a certain amount of self-confidence, she wasn't pompous about it, and she was far more personable than her cousin. Usually, at family gatherings, Ruth's laugh could be heard from miles away and it wasn't until this moment that Jean realized that her niece was probably perfectly aware of whatever was happening between her parents.

"Maybe she's just havin' a bad day," Jean tried to rationalize.

"But it's Christmas," Henry replied.

"That doesn't mean you can't have a bad day," she retorted quickly as the younger man shook his head.

"Boy, I'm scared to see you and your sisters together," he mumbled to himself. "I reckon it's like Medusa and her heads."

-o-o-o-

As Henry had described, both Caroline and Joe were in horrific moods. The two of them could hardly stand being in the same room as one another, and when they were together, the atmosphere of the room became so tense that even Alexandra herself felt uneasy. All the while, poor Ruth did as best as she could to avoid her parents. Instead, wherever she went she took Clara and Libby with her, as though the younger girls were to guard her from any discomfort that may arise.

Due to her absence, Jean had expected Louise to behave strangely once they were reunited, and unfortunately her suspicions were correct. Louise, much unlike her usual self, was incredibly bubbly. Her pitch was higher than usual, and there seemed to be some sort of nervous energy about her as she talked to Jean about where she had been the past couple of days.

What was even stranger was the fact that there was no sign that Louise and Jack were plotting their usual shenanigans. It made Jean believe her sister was hiding something.

What was also strange was the fact that Phil, her friend from up north, followed her everywhere like some sort of lost puppy (both the Finch's and Graham's were incredibly overwhelming people, so Jean couldn't blame him too much). He was a solemn looking thing who was a good foot and a half taller than Louise, making her look much younger than she actually was. Rather than speaking, he simply observed everyone in the room as Louise animatedly talked to her sisters.

"This is the most important man in my life," Louise informed Phil seriously as she lifted Jeremy into her arms. At first the toddler, who was enjoying his independence more and more with each passing day, attempted to resist his aunt's efforts at constraining him. However, after a few minutes of serious coercion, the little boy was happily rested on Louise's hip. "His name is Jeremy, he's two years old and will certainly be an economics professor at Harvard one day because his daddy reads him all the borin' stuff in the newspaper."

Jean chuckled as Phil seriously extended his hand to Jeremy. "Pleasure, Dr. Finch." He said. After a few moments of careful consideration, Jeremy hit his hand.

"Jeremy," Jean warned. "That wasn't very polite."

In response, Jeremy laughed mischievously as Phil gave the small boy a smile. "Forgive me," Jean smiled at the strange man. "Behavin' isn't his strong suit yet."

"Nuh-uh," Jeremy said, vigorously shaking his head. Louise mimicked him, causing the boys cheeks to go scarlet with delight.

Still smiling, Phil shrugged. "At least he acknowledges it."

"Forgive me again," Jean said slowly. "But who are you?"

Louise's eyes seemed to flash with worry as she directed her gaze at her sister, giving her an awkward smile. "I'm a friend of your sister's," he responded carefully, and Jean couldn't help but notice Louise relax quite a bit. "I'm actually her teacher-turned-friend."

"Teacher-turned-friend?" Jean asked as Atticus approached her. Jimmy, Alexandra's husband, was so apathetic towards his wife and what she did that Atticus was usually tasked with doing the chores that he never got around to during the day.

"A very interesting relationship," Atticus remarked, smiling at the other man. "Atticus Finch." Politely, Atticus extended his hand to Phil, who weakly shook it.

"You've got a lovely family," Phil told him. "I appreciate being able to come."

Before Atticus could answer, Jean cleared her throat. "So, what does that mean?" She asked, trying to see what exactly was putting Louise on edge.

"What does what mean?" Louise responded.

"Teacher-turned-friend," Jean responded, a smirk growing on her face as Louise shifted in place.

"It means exactly the way it sounds, he was my teacher and became my friend," Louise responded. "He didn't have anywhere to go for the holidays so I invited him here."

"That was very gracious of you, Louise." Jean said quickly. "What kind of teacher is he?"

"Literature and poetry," Phil responded before Louise could say anything. "Louise was in poetry seminar for the fall at a small school in Boston."

So, that's why Louise had apparently gone missing.

"I didn't know you were doin' that," Jean responded, the smile on her face growing progressively fake with each passing minute.

"It's no big deal, Jean," Louise said quickly, shrugging. "I was stayin' with Julia from school and she was takin' classes there so I thought I'd do it too for fun."

"Good!" Jeremy cheered before Jean could even respond. In response the two sisters laughed at the little boy, whose grin grew at the sudden burst of attention he was receiving. "Good, Lou!" He said again.

"Very good," Louise responded as she smoothed some hair away from his face.

"Well, that is good for you." Jean responded. "I'm glad to see you're learnin' things even at your old age."

Louise rolled her eyes. "Honey, you're even older than me." She smirked as Alexandra entered to tell them that their dinner was ready.

-o-o-o-

"I'll sit at the table with the children, Aunty." Ruth had insisted as Alexandra told her that she finally was able to eat with the adults. Alexandra, who thought that her decision to include Ruth at the adult table would make her happy, looked genuinely surprised. "Jeremy's gettin' older and more mobile now, and it's easier for me to help him than Clara." She quickly explained.

"I appreciate that very much," Jean said quickly, smiling at her niece, knowing that the girl wanted to be anywhere but at the same table as both of her parents. "Jeremy's a ball of energy, it'll be a big help to your uncle and I."

Ruth instantly looked relieved. "I'll gladly do it," she smiled as she took the place settings that Alexandra had in her hands and took them to the children's table in the kitchen, where she would obviously have a much better time.

After what seemed to be ages, the entire family was finally settled into their seats and beginning to indulge in everything that Alexandra had prepared. Despite the fact that the end of the table where Caroline and Joe sat seemed slightly uncomfortable, the dining room was filled with the sound of pleasant conversation.

"So, Henry," Edie said. "How are you and Maggie enjoyin' bein' married?"

"Quite well, Mrs. Graham." He responded briskly. "It's been quite nice so far."

"The only thing missin' is children," Alexandra interjected as Henry flashed his mother an irritated glare.

"Mama, please."

"For Christs' sake, Zandra, the boy was just toilet trained last year." Jack retorted, causing Louise to laugh. She sat directly across from Jean, sandwiched between Jack and Phil. Noticing that he had amused his neighbor, Jack quickly extended his hand to Louise for a victorious high-five.

"Jack, I'm certain there's a spot at the children's table destined for you." Caroline smirked as Jack haughtily shrugged his shoulders. In response, Joe muttered something.

"What did you say?" Caroline asked tersely, glaring at her soon-to-be ex-husband.

"Nothin'."

"Yes you did,"

"I didn't."

"I heard you."

"Your hearing's gone bad, then."

"Joe—"

"Well, aren't we all pleasant on this beautiful day of our Savior's birth?" Jack said mockingly as Caroline directed her dagger-eyes to him. "Ok-aay, then." He said, quickly looking down at his place, his sneer still wide on his face.

"Well, I have somethin' excitin' to tell y'all," Louise said abruptly, sitting up straighter in her chair.

"Joe, you're a right old ass." Caroline nearly growled, causing everyone's eyes to be directed at her.

"Caroline," Alexandra nearly shrieked.

"Man, Liney." Jack chuckled. Jean noticed that all Atticus could do was stare at his sister with wild perplexity in his eyes.

"Caroline, you're ruinin' everything as usual." Joe grumbled, and Jean almost could've sworn that Alexandra was about to have a heart attack.

"Really, Joe? Really? I ruin everything?"

Jean's eyes quickly met with Louise's, who was trying her hardest not to look amused by all that was happening. "Shit," she mouthed, making Jean want to laugh.

"That young lady over there was tryin' to say something," Joe responded. "If you could stop makin' a fool of yourself for one minute—"

"I'm not the fool here, Joe," she huffed. "And her name is Louise, if you paid any attention—"

"Caroline," Alexandra warned, her face a shade of red Jean had never seen before. "I don't know why you're behavin' this way but for goodness sake, stop it and let Louise say whatever she was going to say."

Just as Louise said: "Phil and I got married last week," Caroline tersely declared: "Joe and I are getting a divorce."

"What?!" Jean and Alexandra nearly screamed at the same time.

"Wait, wait, wait," Jack said, quickly looking from Louise to Caroline. "That's not what I thought…wait what, what?"

"Are you kiddin' me?!" Alexandra asked, nearly knocking the table over as she stood up.

"Louise, what the hell do you mean?!" Jean asked as Louise's face progressively grew red.

"Louise, you told me you were engaged." Edie said seriously, glaring at her second daughter. "Engaged."

"I was, and then I got married." Louise said meekly.

"Alexandra stop actin' like you're some sorta saint because God knows that you aren't!" Caroline shrieked back.

"I'm going to kill you, Caroline, I'm going to kill you." Alexandra said.

As Jean attempted to stand up, Atticus put his hand on her shoulder preventing her from doing so. His eyes quickly moved from Alexandra to Jean as things slowly began to deteriorate in the living room. "Zandra, just sit down." He said calmly.

"Atticus, don't tell me what to do!"

"Don't talk to him that way!" Caroline retorted.

"See what you did there, Caroline?" Joe piped up.

"Hey Joe, why don't you just shut up unless you want me to kill you!"

"Jack!"

"Sorry, Atticus, I was just feedin' into everyone else."

"Louise, I don't understand why you would do this!"

"I don't understand why it's a big deal!"

"How about we all just take a deep breath—"Henry started.

"Be quiet!" Jean and Alexandra snapped.

"Louise this is by far the stupidest thing you've done!"

"Phil's right here, you know!"

"I've stopped caring!"

"Eugenia, Louise."

"Caroline, I'm never goin' to forgive you. Ever."

"Zandra…"

"Atticus, I swear I'm gonna kill her, I'm gonna kill her," Alexandra replied, pressing her hand against her mouth. "Mama wouldn't want—"

"She's been dead for years, Zandra!"

"Caroline, enough." Atticus said in his courtroom voice.

"Zandra if you knew what he did—"

"What I did? Ha! Like you're a saint!"

"I hate you so much, Joe, I hate you so much I could kill you right here."

"Louise, you shouldn't have rushed into this—"

"Edie, I know what I'm doin'!"

"Obviously not!"

"Jean, I don't get why you're so mad at this!"

"Because I want what's best for you, that's why!" Jean said, pushing Atticus' hand off of her shoulder as she stood up. "You've made a mistake, a big mistake!"

"Caroline, you ain't a peach either!"

"Thank God Atticus is filin' the papers tomorrow!"

"What?!"

"Zandra, now—"

"Atticus, have you lost your mind?!"

"I'm doin' what I've been asked!"

As she crossed the room to go into the kitchen, Jean was able to get a quick glimpse at everyone in the room, and couldn't help but to notice how terribly hurt Louise looked. While a certain part of her felt guilty for hurting her sister like that, she stood by that Louise was making a mistake. Quickly, she went into the kitchen, where sounds of the fight were still audible. The three girls were old enough to know perfectly well what was going on (and poor Ruth looked like she wanted to die on the spot), Jeremy seemed highly amused by the amounts of noise coming from the other room. At the sight of his mother, Jeremy slid off of the chair he was sitting in and immediately attached himself to her leg. Hobbling across the room, she approached the sink where the dirty dishes sat, and not knowing what else to do, she began washing them.

"I can't believe them," Ruth muttered dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, sweet." Was all Jean could think to say.

A few moments later, Jean heard the kitchen door swing open, but refused to look behind her. "Jean?" Louise asked nervously. "Jean, what was that?"

"I'm not talkin' about this in front of them."

"Please," Louise said as she approached the sink. Absent-mindedly, she picked up a washrag and began drying the things Jean had already washed. "I just don't understand—"

Finally, Jean looked at Louise. She wasn't crying, but the look on her face indicated that anything that Jean said could dissolve her into a fit of tears at any moment, which made Jean's heart ache. In her entire life, she never wanted to hurt her sister. Jean's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I think," Jean said slowly. "I just think you moved too quickly."

"I love him," she responded, almost embarrassedly.

"Do you even know him?"

Louise shot up and inhaled deeply. "Of course I do, he—"

"From what I can tell, it's only been a few months, that's hardly enough—"

"I'm not like you, Jean," she said. "I don't wait four years, I-I just knew—"

"Your impulsiveness is going to be your downfall."

"I'll prove it to you," Louise said, forcing a smile. "I'll prove to you that I made the right choice."

In response, Jean forced herself to smile at Louise. "I hope you do." Was all she said.

Before Louise could say anything else, the kitchen doors swung open again. "Att'cus!" Jeremy, who was now sitting on the floor playing with one of Alexandra's pots, exclaimed as his father picked him up. His cheeks were flushed and he looked downright exhausted. His eyes moved from Jean to Louise as he chuckled to himself.

"Alexandra's locked in her bedroom, Caroline in the study," he began. "Jack has scared Joe into the front yard and everyone else is pretendin' like nothin' happened, so I think it's time to go."

"Phil's drivin' Hattie, Aunt Bea and I to Maudie's," Louise smirked. "So I'll see y'all tomorrow. After today I'm sure we'll all need a good night's sleep." She laughed to herself as she said that last part. She and Jean hugged stiffly before she kissed Jeremy and hugged Atticus and the girl's goodbye and left the kitchen.

"What a night," Jean sighed as she and Atticus exchanged weary glances.

-o-o-o-

Unlike previous Christmases, saying goodbye to everyone was incredibly awkward. Both Caroline and Alexandra refused to leave where they were stationed, no one was quite sure where Ruth had gone and Henry was so traumatized it was as though he had gone mute for the rest of the evening. Before leaving to go back to Maycomb, Louise awkwardly said goodbye to her mother who either looked as though she was going to be sick or murder someone.

"Jack Finch, I could kill you." Edie mumbled as she joined him and Jeremy in the backseat. At this point in the evening, Jean and Atticus could hardly be phased by what anyone said anymore.

"Um, why, ma'am?"

"I know you knew."

Jack sat up, startling Jeremy who was just falling asleep. "Oh no," he said, shaking his head and trying not to chuckle to himself. "I knew she was engaged, but I didn't know what she did. Trust me, if I knew that she was plannin' on sneakin' off and goin' through with it I would've told all y'all, I would've shouted it from—"

"I get your point." Edie said dryly.

"So, I wasn't expectin' Caroline—"

"Jack?" Jean asked.

"Yes?"

"Stop talkin'." Maybe Atticus' previous concerns were right; maybe change wasn't what this family needed this year.