'Twas the night before Christmas
"Deck the halls with bows of holly! Fa la la la la la la la la!" James sang, lifting Lacey up above his head and letting her put an ornament at the top of the large Christmas tree in 2J. It was tradition that the Christmas tree didn't go up or get decorated until the night before Christmas.
Lacey clapped her hands as she put on the last ornament and James put her on his shoulders, walking into the kitchen in search of egg nog.
"Icky," Lacey said, pointing down at the cream colored liquid in James's glass.
James set her down on the counter and sipped from his drink. "Good thing it's not for you then, huh?" he asked, poking her nose and causing her to giggle.
"James!" Kendall yelled from his bedroom.
"What?" James yelled back.
Kendall walked out into the hallway and looked at James, a pathetic and beaten look on his face. His hands were covered in tape, there were bits of ribbon hanging off of him and there was a big red bow stuck to his head. James had to control himself from laughing hysterically and spilling egg nog all over his niece.
"What did you do?" James asked, laughing.
"I was trying to wrap presents and... the presents won the fight," Kendall said, looking at the ground in shame.
James motioned toward Lacey. "Are they presents for a short kid?"
"Yeah. Is there anyone here who can watch her?" Kendall asked.
James shook his head. "Nope. Carlos and Stephanie are at a doctors appointment and Camille and Logan are off getting stuff to make cookies for Santa."
"Where my mom and Katie?"
"At an audition. Mama Knight wants Katie to be in a commercial for New Years Eve."
Kendall sighed and walked over to James and Lacey, grabbing the little girl and spinning her in a quick circle before balancing her on his hip. He took the bow off of his head and stuck it on hers. She giggled and kicked, wanting to get down. Kendall set her on the ground and she went into the living room, occupying herself with blocks.
"She's adorable with that huge bow on her head," James said, sipping more egg nog.
"She's adorable all the time," Kendall corrected.
James nodded and looked behind him when he heard the door open. Camille walked in, a huge smile on her face and tears of laughter falling down her face. Both Kendall and James were about to ask what had happened when Logan walked in, flour on his face and hands and egg goo slipping down the front of him.
"Whoa, what happened there?" Kendall asked.
"I could ask the same thing," Logan said, taking in Kendall's similar appearance.
Kendall shrugged. "Wrapping accident."
Logan nodded in understanding. Everyone knew that Kendall sucked at wrapping presents. "I had an accidental run in with a flour display in the grocery store. It spilled everywhere and knocked the eggs out of Camille's hands. It looked like a food crime scene when I was done."
"And this is why Logan isn't allowed to go shopping with me anymore. Are you guys good with watching Lacey for a little while if I leave Logan over her. I have some presents for both of them back in the apartment that I need to wrap," Camille said, setting down her grocery bag on the counter.
"Yeah, sure. Are we supposed to bake cookies too?" James asked.
Camille looked at him oddly. "Last time you tried to bake you set the kitchen on fire. So, no."
The smell of fresh baked cookies, egg nog and pepperment was what was circulating in the air of 2J later that night. All the presents were under the tree and A Christmas Story was playing on repeat on the television. Camille and Mama Knight were decorating the cookies while Katie helped Lacey pick out the best carrots to leave for the reindeer and what kind of cheese should be left out for Santa Mouse.
The boys were sitting in the living room, snuggled up in there pajamas, laughing at their favorite Christmas movie. Stephanie was back at her apartment with Jo, gathering up presents to bring over to the apartment. Stephanie and Carlos had told everyone that they had an announcement to make when everyone was there and accounted for, which included Ruby.
"Come on, Carlos. Tell us what the announcement is!" Kendall said, pushing on the Latino's shoulder.
"No. Stephanie has to be here. We agreed," Carlos said.
Kendall pouted and pulled his blanket over him more. "But when Stephanie is here then Jo will be here and then I'll be upset," he said softly.
James slapped the back of his head. "There is no such thing as being upset on Christmas Eve!" he insisted.
"Yeah. Come on, Kendall. Jo can't be that bad still. I mean, she hates Jett again and her and Camille made up. Shouldn't you leave the past in the past?" Logan asked.
"Easier said than done," Kendall said.
The apartment door opened and Stephanie and Jo walked in, carrying presents. Jo had only let Stephanie take two presents, resulting in her carrying so many that she looked like she might tip over. James and Carlos rushed over to help and Logan stayed with Kendall in case of a break down.
"Thanks guys. Where's Ruby?" Jo asked, looking at James.
"She's on her way. She just got off of work," he said.
They put all the presents under the tree and snuggled back up on the couch, Jo sitting next to Stephanie instead of Kendal. Katie and Lacey came over and sat down on the ground, snuggling up together as Lacey started to get sleepy. Ruby arrived fifteen minutes later, still in her work clothes. James greeted her with his usual hug and kiss before they went and snuggled up in a chair. Stephanie and Carlos glanced at each other and smiled.
"Camille? Mama Knight? Will you come out here?" Carlos asked.
The two women looked at him and walked out in the living room, leaning against the counter. Stephanie and Carlos stood up, standing in front of the Christmas tree, their fingers laced together.
"So, this is everyone, right?" Stephanie asked.
"I believe so. Why? What's going on?" Mama Knight asked.
Stephanie took in a deep breath. "Well, Carlos and I went to a doctor's appointment today and we found out some interesting news that we thought you guys might like to know," she said.
Everyone leaned forward in anticipation, except Katie who couldn't because of the now sleeping girl in her lap.
"The doctor told us that it's twins," Carlos said, smiling so big that it didn't look real.
Everyone clapped after a moment of silence, where they were trying to figure out if it was was the truth or not. Kendall hopped up and wrapped Carlos in a huge hug, Camille running over to do the same to Stephanie.
"You two are going to be excellent parents!" Jo said happily.
Kendall let Carlos out of the hug and sat down on the couch, ending up directly next to Jo. Their hands touched and they both looked at each other, pulling their hands away quickly.
"Sorry," Kendall mumbled.
"It's cool," Jo mumbled back.
Logan clapped his hands together. "Who's up for some egg nog and a story?" he asked.
Everyone raised their hands. Mama Knight helped Logan distribute the egg nog. Logan grabbed The Night Before Christmas off of the kitchen counter and curled up in a chair, Camille sitting in his lap.
"Mama Knight decided she wanted me to read it this year. She said something about growing up and getting married and then she started crying and I couldn't understand the other reasons," Logan explained.
"It's sad, ok? You're like my son and you're growing up too fast!" Mama Knights said, sitting down on the end of the couch.
Logan smiled and opened the book. "Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse..."
It took ten minutes to read the entire book, considering the fact that James kept interrupting him with meaningless questions and Logan had to wait for everyone to stop laughing before he could continue. By the end of it Camille had layed her head on his shoulder, Carlos and Stephanie had curled up together under a blanket, Katie was just as asleep as Lacey, Ruby and James had their fingers laced together and her head was on his shoulder, Mama Knight was curled up and sipping hot chocolate and Jo and Kendall were sound asleep.
Logan smiled, looking at the two blondes. Jo was curled up next to Kendall and had her head on his chest while he layed back and rested his head on the back of the couch. They were holding hands and Kendall had one arm wrapped around Jo's shoulders.
"They look so happy," Camille whispered to Logan.
"It's a Christmas miracle," Logan whispered back.
Camille smiled and pecked a kiss on his cheek. Logan held her tight to him and set the book on the ground. "I love you," he said quietly.
"I love you too."
TBC..
Kendall: *blush*
Me: Hahaha I had to throw SOMETHING in there!
Logan: Yeah, poeticjustice13 would have killed her if there wasn't some kind of Kenjo happening.
Kendall: But still!
Me: Shut up and enjoy the Falala!
*questioning stares*
Me: What? My mom yelled that at me a couple nights ago and I thought it fit.
James: Your family is... odd.