Chapter 14
'Daddy!' Neal heard from faraway as he came back to reality
'Daddy! Wake up!' the voice repeated, more insistently
He stirred in bed, becoming aware of Sara, dead to the world in his arms – their usual pose, with him lying on his back and Sara draped over his chest.
'I'll be right there!' he called back, realizing that Hope needed some help to get out of bed
The sound of his voice woke Sara who moaned in his arms, coming to and suddenly realizing it was Christmas morning.
'What time is it?' she groaned
Neal turned to check. 'Six fifteen' he mumbled, equally unimpressed
'Daddy!' Hope called again, her voice growing impatient
By the time he'd untangled himself from Sara's sleepy limbs, Hope was standing in the doorway to their bedroom, hopping along on one foot.
'Hope! Be careful, you could hurt yourself!' Neal called out as he finally stood and made his way over to her, too late to keep her from hopping the last few feet to their bed and jumping on next to her mom
'Mommy, Mommy! Come on! Santa came!' she called out excitedly as Sara reluctantly opened an eye
Despite the early hour, she couldn't help but smile as she saw her daughter's face, glowing with anticipation.
'Alright' she said, sitting up, bleary eyed 'Let's go wake Liam and go check things out'
Neal returned a moment later with a sleepy baby in his arms, handing him off to his mom so she could nurse him.
'Come on, Hope' he said as he lifted her up into his arms 'Let's go see if we had a visitor overnight'
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The Caffrey family sat under the tree on the living room floor, Liam tucked between his dad's outstretched legs and Hope fluttering from one wrapped gift to another. She was thrilled to discover that Santa had brought her the top item on her list – a sing along microphone with a stand; American Idol was one of Hope's favorite shows and she dreamed of someday being up onstage entertaining the world (a dream her parents knew would remain unfulfilled - sadly).
Liam was getting some help with unwrapping his presents from his big sister and he sat there, totally unaware of what was going on, just living in the moment, rolling a small train back and forth as he lay on his stomach, gurgling.
'Open that one!' Neal said to Hope as he pointed to a small box which lay under the tree, unwrapped except for a bright pink bow around it
She looked up at her dad with a frown; she had no idea what it might be.
'It's from me' he said with a sly smile
Hope carefully untied the bow, setting the pretty ribbon aside as she opened the small box, her eyes alight at what she found.
'It's the charm bracelet!' she shrieked, throwing her arms around Neal's neck
'Daddy sure knows how to pick them, huh?' Sara said, amused as she watched her daughter fawning all over her dad
'Well, Hope's not the only one who's getting spoiled' Neal added as he grabbed for another small package hidden at the back of the tree
Again, the box was not gift wrapped but had a pretty red bow around it and Sara smiled as she took it from her husband. He had a knack for picking jewelry and she hoped he'd managed to work his magic once again.
'Neal!' she said as she reacted in much the same way her daughter had, throwing her arms around her smiling husband's neck 'How did you know?'
He just smirked knowingly and shrugged, winking at Hope who stayed mum; he still had the Caffrey charm with the women, it seemed. Liam wasn't about to let his dad get all the attention and he gurgled nearby, letting out a loud shout of joy.
'Is anybody else hungry?' Neal asked, realizing they'd been sitting there for over an hour
'Yes!' Sara and Hope answered in unison
He'd picked up some cinnamon buns at the local bakery and he looked forward to that first cup of coffee now that Hope had unwrapped all of her gifts.
'Come on, buddy' Neal said as he stood and picked up his son in his arms 'Let's get breakfast for the ladies'
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The rest of Christmas Day was blissfully uneventful. Hope was thrilled with the loot she'd gotten and she spent the day getting familiar with every one of the many gifts that had been left for her under the tree. Unfortunately for everyone else, she'd been delighted with her sing-along microphone which amplified her off-key rendition of every pop song one could possibly imagine. Sara had suggested she set up in the studio down in the basement so she could practice to her heart's content but despite her being behind closed doors one floor below them, Sara and Neal sat on the couch in the family room cringing as they listened to her discordant interpretation of One Direction's latest hit.
'She'll get tired soon enough' Neal said with a soft laugh as they settled in with a nice glass of wine
'Not soon enough for me' Sara responded with a similar chuckle
Liam had been put down for a late afternoon nap and Christmas dinner was in the oven; a scaled down version of the traditional turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. Sara settled her head on Neal's shoulder and let out a sigh before sitting up suddenly, her voice animated.
'I almost forgot. I have one last gift for you' she said, standing
'Me too' he answered as he headed for the basement
They returned, each carrying their offerings and giggled nervously as they made it back to the couch.
'You first' Neal said as he held out the canvas he'd been working on for the past several weeks.
It wasn't a surprise, since Sara had asked for it specifically, but she watched in wonder as he revealed a beautiful painting of Liam in his arms as he sat in the rocking chair, cradling him. Sara had taken the picture about two months earlier and she'd asked Neal if he could paint it in watercolor – not his usual medium; she wanted it for her office, a reminder of the two wonderful men in her life.
'Oh, Neal! It's even more beautiful than I could have imagined' she said as she took in the gorgeous canvas, the delicate watercolor making them both look almost luminous
He watched her face light up as it always did whenever she first set eyes on one of his paintings - that look was one of the reasons he enjoyed painting so much.
'Thank you' she said as she tore her gaze away from the painting to look into his eyes 'I love it...and I love you'
Her lips found his, so easily - as always - and the feel of his mouth against hers made her heart sing as he responded in kind.
'You're very welcome' he whispered as his eyes moved to her hands which were holding the gift he'd unwittingly discovered, earlier in the week.
'This is for you' Sara said as she handed it over, looking into his eyes
He took his time unwrapping the gift, summoning up the last dregs of his Caffrey persona so he could appear surprised. She was taking so much pleasure in handing him the present; he didn't want her to be disappointed in his reaction. The beautiful dream journal peeked out from under the colorful gift wrap and he touched it lovingly as his gaze moved to Sara's warm smile.
'I know it's not much' she began, her voice barely a whisper 'but I thought... well, I see you writing your dreams on those scraps of paper and I thought you needed a special place to keep those wonderful memories'
His eyes filled with tears as he realized that this was so much more than just a journal; in her own way, Sara was giving him back a piece of his past by providing him with a special place to lovingly inscribe those precious memories he was working so very hard to recover. It had been such a long road, recuperating from that terrible accident which had almost broken up their family and he shuddered to think of where he might be if Sara hadn't stood by his side, steadfast, persevering even when he'd almost given up. Through her dogged persistence and her unfailing love for him, she'd managed to give him back the precious life he'd worked so hard for in the first place.
'I love it' he said simply, tears spilling out
His lips returned to hers once again and she felt him trembling, his emotions getting the better of him.
Suddenly, Hope hit one of those impossible notes, her voice a faltering crescendo and Neal and Sara both burst out laughing.
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The following days were delightfully ordinary as the family cocooned, watching movies, eating popcorn, playing board games and just enjoying each other's company. On Friday, Neal and Hope went sledding at the school, as promised, with Neal holding on to his daughter as she squealed all the way down the hill while Sara watched with Liam warm and snug in his baby sleigh. They'd come home for hot chocolate and they'd curled up on the couch to watch a DVD from Hope's collection, all four of them snuggled underneath the blanket, happy and content.
On Saturday night, they sat around the kitchen table to play one of the board games Hope had gotten for Christmas, their stomachs full and their hearts happy.
Neal stared down, concentrating hard, as evidenced by his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, as he tried to remove a 'cranky knee' from Cavity Sam with the tweezers.
'Careful Daddy' Hope said in an attempt to break his concentration 'The buzzer's going to sound'
Neal's hand trembled slightly and the buzzer went off as Hope broke out in fits of laughter, Liam sitting on his daddy's knees, joining in as his sister giggled loudly.
The phone rang and Sara stood to answer.
'Alright, smarty pants, let's see if you can do any better' Neal said as he handed the pair of tweezers to Hope with a put-on pout
'Hello' Sara answered absent mindedly as she glanced back at the action at the kitchen table
'Hey Sara, we're back' Elizabeth said
'El, hi! It's great to hear your voice!' answered Sara as she glanced over at Neal who looked up with a big smile on his face 'How did things go?'
'The next time we talk about spending Christmas at Peter's parents place, please don't let me do it!' she said with a laugh 'It is so great to be home'
Sara reflected sadly that there would never be any Christmases with her folks or with Neal's for that matter and she shivered at the realization. She and Neal would need to rely on each other to build future memories for themselves and their kids. She wondered in passing what kind of grandparents her mom and dad would have been; perhaps, they would have been able to recapture some of the joy they'd felt before Emily's untimely disappearance. She shook off the over-sentimental notion before returning to the conversation at hand.
'Well, we missed you...' she said, realizing that Elizabeth and Peter were the closest thing she and Neal had to family
'Same here' Elizabeth said 'Peter told me the kids had been sick. Is everybody okay?'
'Well, it's going to take more than a few minutes to fill you in. Do you want to meet up for coffee sometime tomorrow?' Sara asked as she looked over at her brood, Liam safe in Neal's arms and Hope giggling at something her dad had just said
'Yeah, do you want to come over after lunch?' El asked
'Sure! I'll see you around two' Sara responded as she prepared to hang up
She looked over at her family, everyone smiling and happy and she realized she had everything she could ever want right there in that kitchen.
'Mommy!' Hope said impatiently 'It's your turn!'
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'I really missed you' Elizabeth said as she poured them each a cup of coffee '...all of you'
'Same here' Sara responded with a fond smile
'I don't think we've spent a Christmas apart since... well, since you got pregnant with Hope' El remarked as she thought back to the past several years
'You're right!' Sara said 'It was definitely strange to be on our own this year, what with Mozzie and June away too'
'So, are you going to tell me about that bruise on your face?' El asked as she pointed to Sara's cheek
It had begun to fade but without makeup, it was still apparent, now an unappealing greenish, yellow color.
'Well, it started with Hope getting the flu, just before you guys left and then Neal got it and on the Saturday before Christmas, I was rear ended near the mall - '
'Oh my God' interrupted El as she listened to the tall tale 'Were you hurt?'
Sara lifted the bottom of blouse, revealing the bruising around her hips which matched the one on her face.
'We ended up in the emergency room and then, on Sunday, Liam got the flu and his fever spiked. Neal ended up taking him to the hospital...' she continued as she watched El's horrified face
'Is he okay?' she asked
'He's fine, now. Babies rebound so much faster than we do... but it really scared me, they actually had to put him on an IV, he was so dehydrated'
Elizabeth reached out to touch Sara's hand in commiseration and Sara shook her head.
'Wait... there's more' she continued as El stared in disbelief 'Then, on Christmas Eve, Hope broke her toe and Neal cut his hand doing dishes and we ended up in emergency again'
'That all sounds like a bad dream' El said as she listened raptly
A cold wind swept in as the kitchen door opened and Peter appeared, Satchmo in tow. He took one look at Sara and El, realizing he was interrupting their catch-up time.
'Sara!' he said as he spied her bruised face 'The car accident?'
'You knew and you didn't tell me!' El said, incensed
'Neal said it was a fender bender; I didn't want you to worry' he said to his wife who was giving him the evil eye
'It's good to see you' Sara said as she stood and accepted Peter's hug
'Honey, they've had a horrible Christmas – ' El began as Sara put up her hand in protest
'We haven't, not really...' Sara said, surprising herself at her response 'We had a wonderful Christmas... it's just the run up to Christmas Day that was a little rough, that's all'
'Well, are you ready to get all glammed up for the big party tomorrow night?' Elizabeth asked as she pulled out a couple of tickets and handed them over to Sara
'I got you guys some VIP tickets which include a gourmet meal, dancing, champagne and a suite for the night' she said, obviously pleased with herself
After the week they'd just had, it sounded like a night out on the town was just what the doctor ordered.
'A suite?' Sara repeated as she checked out the tickets in her hand 'I'll have to see if Mozzie can spend the night'
'Oh, and don't tell Neal' she added as an afterthought 'I want it to be a surprise'
TBC