Happy Christmas! Hope y'all had a good time. And i decided our favourite ladies deserved a good christmas too, so i hope this chapter does them justice. Enjoy, and feel free to leave a review :) x

"Mommy, Sara! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" The little girl catapulted onto the bed. Two groans emanated from beneath the covers.

"Lindsey, sweetie, it's 4am." Catherine mumbled, disentangling herself from Sara and sitting half up to face her daughter, who was on her knees with a cheeky grin.

"But it's Christmas day!" She explained, grabbing the covers firmly in her small hands and yanking it down, causing Sara to grumble and curl up into a tight little ball. Catherine laughed and stroked Lindsey's hair, before turning her attention to her girlfriend.

"Hmm, is Miss Grumpy-pants going to get up?" she asked, leaning down to Sara's ear.

"No." she mumbled, snuggling closer to Catherine. The blonde looked up at Lindsey, a smile twitching at her lips. Lindsey understood her look and pounced on Sara, tickling her until she shrieked and struggled away from her. Suddenly she sat upright and lifted Lindsey up, holding her high above her head. "Alright, alright! I'm up," she laughed. She placed the child back on the bed and Lindsey scampered off downstairs, urging them to hurry up. Catherine kissed Sara's cheek.

"Happy Christmas baby." she whispered. Sara smiled shyly and reciprocated with a kiss on the lips.

"Mommy, Sara! Hurry up!"

"Thank you! Thank you!" She squealed, throwing her arms around the women tightly before dropping back onto her knees to peer into the cage of her new pet. The fluffy brown and black hamster crept out of the nest of bedding and shuffled to the cage door to sniff his spectator curiously. "I'm gonna call him Henry." She grinned, poking a treat through the bars, which he grabbed with his sharp little teeth and nibbled on happily. "Henry the Hamster."

Catherine and Sara had each gotten Lindsey presents, and when Catherine had been probing Sara for ideas for a main present Sara had suggested a pet. At first the idea had been instantly rejected, but the more Cath thought about it the more it sounded like a good idea: it would teach Linds responsibility and keep her company when Catherine was at work. And, since Sara had come up with it, Cath insisted it was to be a joint present from them both. They initially decided on a kitten but opted for a smaller pet to start with. And thus, Henry the Hamster was welcomed into the Willows' household.

After dinner, with the washing up done and half a box of chocolates mysteriously gone, Catherine and Sara collapsed onto the couch in a comfortable heap. They could hear Lindsey moving things around her bedroom upstairs to make room for her new gifts. Every now and then they'd hear a crash and thank God that Henry was still sat in front of them, as Linds hadn't made space for him in her room yet.

Sara stood up, disturbing Cath who had settled herself comfortably on Sara's shoulder. She watched the brunette go across the room and take something off the bookshelf. How had she not noticed it sat there?

"I know we said we were only going to get each other one present but I couldn't resist." She handed the little blue box to Catherine. "Think of it as a thank you gift." Cath raised an eyebrow and opened it carefully.

"Oh my goodness." She gasped. Inside was a white gold chain necklace with a heart pendant. Interlinked with the heart was a smaller, diamond-studded heart that looked like it was made of ice crystals. "Sara, it's beautiful." She traced the outline of the pendant delicately.

"It's diamond, your birthstone. Diamond is revered as the greatest stone because of the beauty, the strength, the strong positive spiritual energy surrounding it." Sara explained as she carefully removed it from the box and draped it around Catherine's neck, fastening it at the back. She let her fingers linger on Cath's neck, caressing the soft skin, an action that sent tingles down the blonde's spine. "It's perfect for you." Catherine didn't know what to say, what could she say? In her own way Sara had just given her the words she desperately wanted to hear, and she could wear them every day.

You know when you are standing on the edge of a cliff and you have two choices: you can turn around and return to the safety of familiarity, or you can jump, knowing that the fall will be the best feeling in the world, but not knowing where you might land. That is how Catherine felt right now. In this very moment she was stood on that cliff, and she had to make a choice that would change her world.

Andre Gide once said 'Art begins with resistance - at the point where resistance is overcome. No human masterpiece has ever been created without great labour.' And tonight Catherine and Sara gave a completely different meaning to that. They had resisted temptation, and when that temptation got too much to bear, they overcame it. And the result was a human masterpiece like they had never imagined.

Naked, hot, wet. Their bodies moved as one, their fingers gliding across skin like water on ice. Their breath blending together, tongues dancing a routine that only they could master, hands seeking every area, lips kissing every inch of skin. They could feel the fire of passion burning through their blood with every touch. The memory of this night would be scorched into their minds and their bodies forever: the texture, the taste, the feeling of skin on skin.

Their bodies moulded together perfectly, as if they had been designed that way. They had found their missing piece – like a jigsaw puzzle – and finally, after a lifetime of living with an emptiness they never knew existed, they were complete. They were one.

And at long last Catherine heard those words that brought her tumbling over the edge.

"I love you too."