Five years later...

It was Christmas Eve morning and his wife was in Staff Sergeant mode. When she had 'asked' if he would peel the potatoes pretty much the same second their alarm clock went off this morning, even in his sleepy state he knew that the only answer was yes. And here he was some forty minutes later, peeling away while she was off doing God knows what.

"DADDY! DADDY LOOK!"

He winced at the high pitched squeal and turned around to find Charlie standing on her chair by the table. Her eyes were wide and excited as she pointed out the large window overlooking their expansive back yard.

"What is it sweetheart?"

"IT'S SNOWING!"

Sure enough, when he turned to look out the window himself he was met with the falling white flakes, twirling and spiralling out of the sky with force. The ground was already covered due to the heavy snow during the past week; all this would do is add to it. "I can see that," he smiled softly. Why she was so excited about it considering she had seen the same thing pretty much every day for the past few weeks was beyond him. Then again, she did tend to get excited about everything.

"We play in the snow, dad?"

His eyes drifted to the soft murmur of his son, Todd. Although she was not as exuberant as his younger sister, he could still see the excitement in his big blue eyes. Dropping the peeler and wiping his hands on the towel draped over his shoulder, he walked to the table and took a seat next to him. "We can play in the snow later. Right now we have to get everything ready for dinner tomorrow or we'll have nothing to eat and mommy will be mad at daddy. And we don't want that do we?" He chuckled at the both of them as they vigorously shook their heads no. "Exactly. So, why don't you guys finish your drawing and I'll..."

"Aren't you supposed to be peeling potatoes?"

Three pairs of eyes turned at the sound of her voice. Mickie was leaning against the door frame, her eyes looking at him in an accusatory manner.

John sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and quickly moved away from the table and towards the sink again. "What? They wanted to know if they could play in the snow."

"And you just had to stop peeling?" she asked, her eye brow rising as she sauntered towards the table.

"Hi mommy!" Charlie said distractedly, her little tongue poking out while she tried to concentrate on staying in the lines.

Mickie smoothed the hair on her head and kissed Charlie's cheek before turning back to her husband. He was standing there with a potato in one hand and the peeler in the other. "Well don't just stand there, start peeling! We are on a schedule here!"

"I'm peeling! I'm peeling!" With a wave of his hand he screwed up his face and got back to work.

She laughed at his expression for a moment before quickly turning serious again. She really wasn't lying when she told him that they were on a schedule. As usual they had left everything to the last minute. But if they stuck to her plan they would be finished by around 1pm which left plenty of time for relaxing together.

"Alright, Todd, this is what we're going to do!" Both heads drew together as father and son decided on a plan of action. John took a sneaky peek over the edge of the garden bench and immediately ducked back down again when he saw the flying snowball heading directly for his face. "Damn your mother!"

Todd's eyes widened and she reached up to cover his mouth. "Dad! You can't say that!"

He just chucked and placed a few snowballs into her glove covered hands. "Don't you worry about that," he grinned as he tightened the pink hat on her head and ran over the plan one more time. "So, you know what you have to do right?"

"I know," Todd nodded, a sudden look of determination crossing his face. "Let's go!"

"Great!" John laughed and watched as she walked out from behind the bench and into the line of fire. He kept running away to the left and he grinned when he saw all the attention move in his direction. Stealthily he shimmied in the other direction so that he was adjacent to his target. His eyes grew wide in delight at the scene in front of him. He had the perfect position.

On the other side of the garden, Mickie and Charlie suddenly stopped throwing the snowballs when they realized that it was just Todd on his own who came out from behind the bench. They both glanced around in confusion for a few moments until Mickie ushered her older child closer. "What's this, huh? Do you guys give up?"

Todd carried out the rest of the plan and did just as his father asked. "We give up. You can go and get him," he said with his best defeated face meanwhile inside she was getting a kick out of tricking his mom and younger sister.

"Where's daddy?" Charlie asked suspiciously, not quite believing her older brother's story. Her eyes darted around the snow covered garden once again.

"He's still over there; probably laying in wait because he knows that we have him beat!" Mickie smiled in victory. "Come on, let's go and get him!"

3/4 Cena's tentatively stepped out from the playhouse and started tip-toeing towards the bench. Mickie and Charlie with their hands held high just ready to strike with the first sign of movement while Todd hung back when he saw her father signal. He stopped half way across and quickly made up some tiny snowballs of his own, nodding when he was ready.

John saw the almost wicked little grin that crossed his partner's face and felt a complete and utter misguided sense of pride at their deceit! But there was no turning back now. He waited and waited until Mickie and Charlie made it to the bench before taking a big snowball into his hand and getting ready to fire.

"What? Where is he?" Mickie uttered in surprise. She quickly surveyed the area and her eyes narrowed when she realized that he wasn't there. Suddenly Charlie's shocked gasp from behind forced her to turn around and she spun on her heel, her gaze stopping on the strangely ominous sight of Todd standing in the middle of the garden with a fleet of miniature snowballs gathered in his arms. His black coat was starkly contrasted against the fresh white snow and he couldn't help but let out a chuckle. He looked so damn cute!

"He's a traitor!" Charlie pointed out in shock but practically switched sides herself as a rather large snowball sailed through the sky and whacked her mother right in the face causing both her and her brother to erupt into a fit of giggles.

Mickie stood for a moment, cold snow dripping from her face and hair before wiping it all off, her eyes ready to burn a whole right through the culprit. But she didn't get the chance for as soon as she opened her eyes she got absolutely pelted with the soft white balls.

"ATTACK, TODD! ATTACK!" John yelled playfully as both of them advanced on their victims, him hurling well rounded snowball after snowball and Todd pretty much chucking snow into the air at this stage.

"Ahh! John! Stop it! I swear I'm gonna…..ahhhhh!" Mickie squealed as she felt him gently tackle her to the ground, burying them both in snow. Her hands beat at his back and when he pulled back, the devious glint in his eye made her tense in anticipation. He reached out at either side of her head and quickly raked in a huge pile of snow right onto her face, some of it even getting through the gaps in the material of her coat and freezing her skin. She yelped helplessly to the sound of his laughter.

John wiped some of the snow off her face and smiled at his childeren who had quickly joined in on the action. "Well gang, I think it's safe to say that Todd, Daddy and Charlie win while Mommy loses. Don't you think?"

"You and Todd cheated, daddy! You cheated!" Charlie said for the sake of it. She was currently perched at the side of the huge jumble that had become her parents with a huge smile on her face.

"We didn't cheat, lee. We won," Todd stated simply causing John to burst out laughing.

He patted his head and smiled. "That's the right attitude, Toad. It's only cheating if you get caught."

Mickie was going to scold him for teaching bad examples to their children when a much better idea came to mind. She simply grabbed a handful of the white stuff and proceeded to chuck it right in his face.

"Ohhhhhh!" Charilie cried aloud, once again giggling at the un-amused look on her father's snow covered face.

"Stop teaching them nonsense will you?" she teased, trying to wiggle her way out from under him. "And you deserve that!"

"Oh, I deserve it, huh?" John smirked as he spat the snow out of his mouth. "I have a right mind to give you another helping of this stuff," he threatened playfully before getting to his feet and reaching down to drag her up. But he made the mistake of thinking that things were over when they were far from it. As soon as his wife was back on her feet she instantly leapt forward and this time he was the one lying flat on his back while pile after pile of snow was chucked all over him. He could hear the delighted squeals coming from both his kids and it warmed his heart. Lying still for a moment to let them have their fun, he counted to five before softly struggling back. As he sat up his eyes connected with Mickie's and they smiled at each other tenderly…until she smacked him right in the face with another mound of snow and the fight was on again.

"But I don't wanna go bed, mommy," came Charlie's mumbled reply from somewhere in the vicinity of Mickie's neck. "I wanna see, Santa."

"But you can't see, Santa, lee. He won't come and give us presents if we see him!" Todd cried in fear. He didn't want anything messing up his Christmas.

John smirked at the horrified look on Todd's face and smoothed his soft brown hair before looking back to his youngest. "Your brother's right, Charlie. Santa won't come to our house if he knows that both of you aren't sleeping."

"He won't?" That piece of information quickly caught Charlie's attention and she lifted her head to look at her father.

"Nope," John shook his head. "He won't come and you won't get any presents. You don't want that do you?" At the vehement shaking of her little head he simply laughed. "Well then that means that you have to go to bed so you can get up early in the morning and open up all your presents."

There were a few moments of silence until she finally gave in and sighed. "Alright! Time for bed," she half-huffed and clambered off her mother's lap to the floor. She rubbed at her eyes and glanced back at her brother. "Coming?"

Both John and Mickie bit back their laughter at the interaction between the two.

"Wait!" Charlie suddenly pulled up short. "We didn't leave any milk and cookies for Santa or carrots for Rudolph!"

"That's right," John nodded his head. "Come on, let's go make up some plates to leave for them and then both you guys gotta go to bed, OK?"

The two happy replies he received were enough and around fifteen minutes later, a plate of cookies sat beside the fireplace alongside a glass of milk and a handful of carrots while both Todd and Charie were both finally snuggled up in bed. Wasting no time, Mickie played lookout at the top of the stairs while John began moving the load of toys from the spare room at the back of the house down the stairs. With box after box littering the floor of the living room, he carried on until all the gifts were in front of him.

"Micks! They're all here!"

Mickie had one last peek through the open bedroom door. She listened and satisfied with the sound of both kids' deep breathing, quietly pulled the door shut and made her way down the stairs. She walked into the living room and joined her husband on the sofa. "I thought they were never going to go!"

"Yeah," John smiled in response. "I think they're both going to be pretty hyper tomorrow."

"Of course they are, John. We've only gone and bought out a damn toy store not to mention all the other gifts they'll be getting from our parents. They'll be spoiled."

John shuffled over to the fireplace where he picked up a cookie and bit into it. "I bet you ten bucks they both end up playing with the boxes, Todd at the least!"

"Speaking of which, do you remember what ones are which?" she asked with a nod of her head.

He looked at the various wrapped boxes in front of him and took a moment to think. Holding the cookie between his teeth, he got to his feet and inspected a few. "I remember. The red and gold are for Toad and the red and green are for Lee. Right?"

Mickie got up from the sofa and came to stand beside him. She reached up and tugged the cookie out of his mouth and bit into it herself. "Right," she laughed at the scowl that crossed his face and quickly stuffed the rest of it in her mouth before he could grab it back off her.

"Oh that's how it's going to be, huh?" he grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist and tugging her close. "You're going to deprive me of having cookies and at Christmas no less?"

"Maybe."

"You're a cold hearted woman, Mickie Cena. I think I just might have to show you the true meaning of Christmas." His hands began to run slowly along her back.

"And what's that?" she whispered as their faces drew closer.

"Love and lust," he mumbled against her mouth before their lips fused together in a slow, tantalising kiss.

Before things could get heated between them, Mickie pulled back and her eyes smiled into his as she looked at him. "First of all, that has to be one of the corniest lines you have ever used on me and second of all, the sooner we get this done the sooner you get to unwrap one of your presents from me."

His face lit up. "Really?"

"Really. Now come on, let's get this done so you can open your gift."

The two worked together, separating their children's Christmas presents tagged from Santa to opposite sides of the large spruce tree. Mickie added a few final touches and went about switching off the lights and TV while John quickly munched on the remainder of the cookies, drank down the milk and turned up his face at the carrots. He held them out towards her and scowled. "Carrot?"

"No!" she laughed in response. Grabbing them and chucking them into the dying fire.

"You just burned Rudolph's carrots!" John cried in faux horror, setting the glass back down beside the empty plate. When the kids get up in the morning it would look like Santa had been there and eaten the food himself. He lifted the fire guard and placed it securely in front of the glowing embers. Mickie had already headed up the stairs. He flicked off the light and followed her up the stairs and to their bedroom after another quick peek inside his daughter's and son's room. They were fast asleep and no doubt dreaming of the toys they were going to get in the morning. With a small smile on his face, John walked into the master bedroom where his smile suddenly faded. Mickie was nowhere to be seen. "Micks? Micks!"

"Just a minute!" Mickie cried from the bathroom. She took a look at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but chuckle. Placing the Santa hat upon her head, she hid herself from view behind the door and called out to him. "John?"

John looked up from the bed and his face scrunched up in confusion when he saw her hiding behind the door. "Yeah?"

"I need you to follow my instructions alright?" At his nod she continued. "First of all, grab the remote to the stereo and then sit down in the chair."

He did as told, taking the remote and sitting down in the chair that he hadn't even realized was there when he came in. It looked like his office chair and all. What the hell was she up to? "I'm sitting."

"Okay, now hold out the remote to me and then close your eyes, Okay?" She waited until he did what she asked before stepping into the bedroom and walking towards him. She took the remote control from his hand and couldn't help but grin at the stupid smile on his face.

"This dominat side to you is very intriguing baby, I have to say. Strange, but intriguing," he said to the darkness, still not quite fully sure what to expect from her. Suddenly the first notes of an all too familiar classic Christmas tune softly filled the room and he opened one eye, the other immediately following after it at the sight before him.

"Santa baby, just slip a sable under the tree for me, I've been an awful good girl, Santa Baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight..."

His eyes hungrily drank in her half naked form as she slowly ground her hips directly in front of his face. She wore a tight red bra with a fluffy white trim and a tiny pair of red panties, also with a fluffy white trim to go along with the Santa hat on her head. A pair of red heels finished off the ensemble and John was at an absolute loss for words. His lips curved into a sly smile and he relaxed back into the chair and let her body work its magic. "You're unbelievable," he groaned.

Mickie grinned right back at him and lifted the hat off her head and placed it on his. She danced around the chair before straddling his lap and singing into his ear. "Santa baby, a fifty four convertible too, light blue. I'll wait up for you dear, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight."

John chuckled in sheer enjoyment at her little performance. To say it was turning him on would be an understatement. He was already hard as a rock and she'd barely even done anything yet. His eyes suddenly slid shut when he felt her grind against the stiffness between his legs. He was just about to lift his hands and respond when she got to her feet and turned around, bending over right before him and wiggling her ass in his face. He was speechless as she turned back around with a wicked smile on her face. She knew exactly what she was doing to him right now and was loving every second of it.

"Santa baby, I want a yacht and really that's not, a lot. Been an angel all year, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight," she sang again, straddling his lap once more, this time grabbing his head and thrusting it into her breasts. She heard him mutter an expletive and laughed to herself as his hands began to roam all over her back, forcing her to bite back a sigh. The second she felt his hardness against her she wanted him and was now silently praying for the song to come to an end so they could get serious.

The song played on with her continuing to tease the hell out of him while he gladly sat there and took it, biding his time for he knew it was coming and coming soon. Mercifully, the tune came to an end and he lifted his head from her neck to look her in the eye, a playful yet lustful expression on his face. "That was one hell of a present," he smiled, his eyes sparkling at her.

"Did you like it?"

"I loved it. And you look incredible," he hushed, unable to take it any longer. He leaned in and they instantly joined together in a heated, tongue filled kiss. Without breaking their embrace he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and stood up, carrying her to the bed. She kicked off her heels and grabbed the sides of his face before trailing her hands down his arms to his sides. They slowly broke apart and she sighed as his lips began to nip at her jaw line and neck. His arms rose as she pulled up his t-shirt and threw it to the floor. It was immediately forgotten. Paul gently lay her down on the bed and stroked his hand across her cheek, a small smile playing on his face. "You really are unbelievable."

Mickie ran one hand along the waistband of his sweatpants while the other tugged playfully at the fluffy ball on his cap. "You're pretty unbelievable yourself, Santa." As she gazed into his wonderful eyes, the playful tone to her voice slowly faded away and was replaced by an intense wave of emotion. She brought her hand down to caress his coarse cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," he hushed and once again captured her lips in a passionate kiss as they lost themselves in each other. It was the perfect end to a perfect Christmas Eve

Thats it for this story! but don't worry, i have another idea for another story! And i'll try to update on that story more than this one. Stay tuned;)

-SR