It's finally here! The chapter you have been waiting for!

Chapter 36 - Christmas Day pt 2

Previously

"Where did Jason go?" Caitlyn asked.

"He went to get the door" Nate said as he grabbed himself a cup. Caitlyn grabbed a cup and inhaled the scent of the chocolate. Her eyes drifted upward and she saw Jason re-entering the living room. She thought nothing of it until she saw who was behind him. The gasp coming from Mitchie confirmed that Caitlyn wasn't seeing things. The cup of hot chocolate slipped out of her hands. The crash caused everyone in the room to look at her but all that Caitlyn was looking at was her brother standing only a few short steps away from her.

Not a word was spoken during that next 30 seconds. Everyone could obviously sense that this was a surprise that the girls were least expecting.

"Jake?" Caitlyn questioned, to make sure that this wasn't all just a dream.

"In the flesh" Jake said with a grin. Caitlyn let out a squeal before she ran into her brother's arms.

"I can't believe you're actually here"

"Well believe it" Jake said with a laugh as he spun Caitlyn around.

"But how?"

"You can ask these boys here" Jake said as he turned around to look at Nate, Shane and Jason.

"You guys did this?" Mitchie asked, finally managing to find her voice. Jake grinned as he moved to hug Mitchie. Once Jake had wrapped his arms, Mitchie couldn't help the few tears that fell from her eyes. Jake felt his shirt getting wet and he looked down at Mitchie in alarm.

"What's wrong Mitch?" he asked. Shane watched as Mitchie clung to her "brother"

"She missed you" Mitchie whispered and Jake sighed. Connie had become his and Caitlyn's adopted mum.

"I missed her too" Jake said. Caitlyn realised what they were talking about and moved to join their hug.

"When exactly was all this organised?" Lucy questioned as they all watched the scene in front of them.

"A few days ago" Shane admitted with a laugh.

"It was very last minute" Jason said.

"But why? I mean, this is a huge thing to do for some girls that you've only known a short while"

"We don't know really" Nate said as he continued to watch the girls. He could tell that they couldn't have wished for anything better for christmas. Nate was knocked out of this thoughts as Caitlyn jumped on him.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I can't tell you enough how much this means to me!" she said. Nate laughed as he wrapped his arms around her.

"It was nothing"

"This is not nothing"

"I agree with Caitlyn" Mitchie said as she walked over. "This is a big deal to us and you know it"

"Yea…. well…" Shane started but stopped when he realised that he didn't have anything to defend himself. Everyone in the room laughed. Mitchie moved over and hugged Shane.

"Thank you" she whispered to him. Shane just smiled as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Once all the excitement had settled down, everyone went off to their rooms to get ready for the day. Mitchie and Caitlyn delayed this so as that they could catch up with Jake for a awhile.

"So it appears that I have missed a lot while I've been away" Jake said with a smile. The girls looked at each other.

"You wouldn't believe half of the things if we told you" Mitchie said.

"Try me" Jake pressed, looking back and forth between the girls.

"Well what do you know?" Caitlyn asked.

"Well, I know about Connie and I know about how the boys allowed you to stay with them. I know that they performed to help raise money and that they helped me to come home for Christmas. What have I missed?"

"Well I don't suppose you know about Mitchie performing with the boys and then performing solo. I don't think you know exactly how we met the boys" Caitlyn said with a sly look over at Mitchie. Mitchie narrowed her eyes at Caitlyn.

"You also don't know about how close Caitlyn has gotten with Nate" Mitchie said.

"That's easy enough to figure out" Jake said with a laugh. Caitlyn glared at her brother. "Hey, at least I haven't gone up to interrogate him and ask him what his intentions are for the future with you" Jake defended himself. Caitlyn blushed while Mitchie laughed. "Same goes for you to Mitch" Jake said and Mitchie stopped laughing.

"Well when you get a girlfriend, she's gonna receive the same treatment from us that you give the boys" Caitlyn said. "It's only fair" Jake laughed and nodded his head.

"Deal. So tell me the story of how you met the boys" Jake said as he made himself comfortable. Mitchie blushed while Caitlyn immediately leapt into the story, making sure that she didn't leave anything out. They both went on to explain what had happened with Mitchie and her dad, her performance and what the boys had done for Mitchie.

"Wow" Jake said afterwards. "I should have been here for you two"

"It's not your fault Jake" Caitlyn said. "You had no way of getting here and everything was happening so fast as well"

"But still, I'm your older brother, for both of you. I should have been here for you"

"But you're here now" Mitchie said.

"Come on. You're here for Christmas. It's what we both were wishing for. Now let's go and get ready and see what this day has in store for us"

"That reminds me" Jake said as he walked over to where his bag had been dropped. He opened it and pulled out to similarly wrapped presents. "Merry christmas to my two favourite sisters" He said. The girls laughed.

"We're you're only sisters" Caitlyn said. "And one's not even related to you!"

"Mitchie is as much my sister as you are, just as Connie was our replacement mum" Jake said softly.

"And you two were the siblings I never had" Mitchie said as she sat down to open her present. After tearing away the wrapping, both girls were shocked to find that Jake had given them small music boxes.

"Jake…" Caitlyn trailed off as she stared at the small box in her hand. Jake smiled.

"I had them made for you. When you open it, it plays the lullaby that Connie used to sing to all of us"

"But how?" Mitchie asked. The little music box was gold with music notes scattered along it. Their names had been engraved on the lid.

"It doesn't matter how" Jake said with a smile. "Merry christmas" The girls jumped up and hugged Jake.

"Thank you and merry Christmas" they both said.

Hours later, once everyone was ready, more family members started to arrive for lunch. Mitchie, Caitlyn and Jake stood off to the side as they watched people appear everywhere within the house. In all the commotion, the girls had lost sight of the boys and they didn't try and weave their way through everyone for fear of losing each other.

"This is so much bigger than our normal christmas" Caitlyn commented to Mitchie as they watched people walking everywhere. Mitchie snorted.

"Ya think? We only had 4 people for our Christmas for half the time!" Jake laughed.

"Well this certainly is different to what we are used to"

"There you guys are" Jason said as he walked over. "We've been looking for you for ages"

"Feeling a bit overwhelmed?" Shane asked as he went to stand next to Mitchie. Mitchie nodded.

"There are so many people here"

"It gets like that" Nate said. "But you'll eventually get used to it"

"It might take me a while" Caitlyn said as she smiled at people walking by.

"Come with me" Nate said as he grabbed Caitlyn's hand. "I want to introduce you to some people" Mitchie, Shane, Jason and Jake watched as Caitlyn's face showed nervousness as she followed Nate.

"I've never seen her that nervous" Mitchie commented with a laugh.

"She has reason to be" Jason said. "Some of the aunts and uncles here can be pretty tough when it comes to new people"

"She should be fine. Stop scaring them Jase" Shane said with a grin.

"I still feel for her" Mitchie said.

"You do realise that you're going to be doing the same thing eventually" Shane said to Mitchie.

"Can't we just hide away from everyone?" Mitchie jokingly asked. The boys laughed.

"It's not that bad. Man up Mitch" Jake said as he crossed his arms. Mitchie glared at Jake before walking away.

"So how long have you guys known each other?" Jason asked. Jake thought for a moment.

"I don't know exactly. Mitchie and Caitlyn have been friends for as long as I can remember. After our mum died, Connie took us in quite a bit until I was old enough to get a job to help support myself and Caitlyn if we weren't at their house. After a few years we just adopted each other as our family. We spend every birthday, holiday, special events together"

"Wow" Jason said.

"Yea" Shane said softly as he looked over around at his family. There was only one more thing that would make this Christmas good. Looking over at Mitchie, Shane smiled when he saw her conversing with his family. She looked over at him and smiled before returning to the conversation she was having.

They carried on as it does on Christmas. Everyone would catch up with each other, meet the new people and place gifts that they have brought with them under the tree. They would all then move into the dining hall for a late lunch and talk with whomever you were seated next to. Lucy had been kind enough to place Nate, Shane, Jason, Mitchie, Caitlyn and Jake together at the end of the table with a few scattered cousins close by. By the looks on the boys faces, Lucy could tell that this was becoming their favourite christmas. After lunch everyone would go in their separate ways to spend some time with each other while the adults went into the living room for coffee before the presents were given out. The boys had quickly made a claim on the gazebo outside before anyone else got there. Bundled up in coats, gloves, scarves and hats, the group talked about anything and everything that came to mind. More stories were told about childhood memories as well as some of the more embarrassing things that everyone did at some stage. Jake found out that Caitlyn had told everyone about when he was dancing along to Beyonce and was told a more detailed version of how Mitchie and Caitlyn met the boys. Jason once kept a dog hidden in his basement for 2 weeks when he was younger after he found it wandering the streets. Nate used to be a bully in pre school until he was told off by a girl who went on to become his best friend for the next week before they never spoke to each other again. Shane told Caitlyn and Jake about his brother and some of the mischief that they used to get up to. Caitlyn told the boys about how she once stormed out of a school assembly after a teacher told her school was not a fashion show so there was no need for the outrageous clothes that she wore. Mitchie told stories about the adventures she had with her mum when they would get bored on weekends. Jake mainly told stories about England and what he could remember when Caitlyn and Mitchie were little. Over time, some of the boys cousins and siblings joined them outside. There were plenty of laughs and many pictures taken that afternoon. All too soon, Lucy came out to call everyone inside to open some more presents. Mitchie, Jake and Caitlyn took over a seat and smiled as they watched everyone receive their gifts. They were more than surprised when they received more themselves.

"We're just welcoming you to the family" one of little girls said before she ran off to sit with her mum. The girls smiled to themselves. Little did they know that the night was going to get a lot more interesting.

I do hope to get the next chapter up soon and then finish this story. It is coming to an end in the next few chapters unfortunately.