Author's Note: Thanks reviewing as always! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I know I did. I really like this chapter. Keep them coming!

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Chapter 36: Christmas Eve

Brad smiled a few days after his first night with Diane, on Christmas Eve as she trotted into the living room and handed him a small wrapped box.

"Di," he sighed. She laughed and sat down.

"Calm down, it's cookies," she rolled her eyes. "I didn't buy you anything, I just felt like you should get a present."

"Thanks," he said with a soft smile. He was guarding staunchly against falling in love with her. It would be easy. He'd mentioned her in a quick email to Angela who'd responded gleefully that she was so glad he'd found someone. But he still wasn't sure Diane was real. After all she wasn't like any of his other girls. She wasn't some longed after ideal like Elena or Gabrielle, she certainly wasn't squarely out of reach like Angela or Julie, or some ghost of the past like Kyla, she was just here, present in this moment. "Come here," he whispered and she slid into his lap and they kissed. She cooed softly and buried her head in his chest. "You think we can sneak away today?"

"Sure," she mumbled. "But I thought we said just the once?"

"I changed my mind." He said, "if you don't care." She pushed his hair off of his forehead. "I wish you were graduating this year."

"Mm, me too," she sighed and he saw that dreamy far away look in her eyes. They wished it for very different reasons, he was sure. For him, Diane's graduation would mean getting to be with her, if that was what she wanted, for her it meant getting to go away, like she'd always wanted. "Will we still be friends when you've been at Yale for a year? Or will you think I'm just some stupid farm girl?"

"Are we friends now?" He asked. She looked at him. "And I don't think you're stupid." She smiled. He couldn't help but think of what Lena had said to him, months ago, that she wanted him to find someone who wanted and needed him. The kind of love she had with Dean, that made little sense, but was complete and whole anyway. He kissed her. "Diane," he whispered her name softly and tenderly. She sighed as he kissed her neck. It felt unbelievably good.

"Hey you two," Claire said and stepped back startled. The last time she'd seen Diane before this visit she'd been barely fifteen and still wearing braces. Seeing her all cuddled up with Brad was pretty startling, especially since she knew Brad's way with girls. "Um, I'll just," she swallowed. "Really? Di?"

"You won't tell my mom will you?" Diane swallowed, standing up. Claire sighed. She liked her niece, who had always felt more like a little sister. After all, Beth had married Ray right after high school, when Claire was barely eight, and had Diane three years later, before her eleventh birthday. She remembered way too clearly her own teen years and Beth's many lectures about her behavior. She'd promised to never put Diane through the same thing.

"No, I won't tell her," Claire sighed, "but you two really should be more careful than making out in the living room with everyone in the kitchen." They nodded. "Brad your parents are on the phone." Brad nodded and left. Diane looked down shamefully. "Di, really, be careful."

"We're just fooling around Claire, really," Diane insisted.

"I have no doubt of that," Claire laughed. "From you I expect as much, but Brad, he," she sighed, "he gets attached sweetheart. Be careful, for his sake."

Cassie stood in the kitchen with Ana gently peeling a potato. Ana looked at her.

"Have you told him?" Ana asked. Cassie shook her head. "Honey, you have to."

"I know," she said. "But things are finally good again, and," she sighed. "It's just not the right time."

"Cassie," Ana said. "It's a better time than when you had Eva."

"Not really," Cassie sighed. "I mean, we're older and more stable, yeah, but we're not," she sighed. "I know I should be happy."

"Have you talked to Lisa?" Ana asked. Cassie shook her head. "She might have some advice for you."

"Ana, Kevin wanted a baby." Cassie sighed. "Besides I don't even know if I am or not."

"You should find out," Ana said, "and talk to your husband about it."

"Talk to her husband about what?" Rick walked in and kissed Cassie on the cheek.

"Um, Eva's preschool," Cassie said. Ana looked at her and sighed. "You know we have to still register her."

"Ana, can you please tell Cassie to calm down," Rick laughed, "it's Christmas after all." Cassie laughed and he kissed her. "Anyway, we're going to do presents in a minute."

"We'll be right out," Ana nodded shooting Cassie a serious look. Rick nodded and walked back into the family room.

"Ana, please," Cassie sighed, "I will tell him, just, after Christmas."

"Cass, I love you," Ana said, "like you were my own daughter, but you have to talk to him. Keeping it a secret won't make it go away. I know better than most." Cassie nodded and they wandered outside. She put her hand against her stomach as they sat down. If there was another little life inside of her, well then, she was happy that it was being born into a family full of so much love.

"Mommy," Eva ran over in her pink full body footsie pajamas.

"Yes baby," Cassie said, her fears and nerves evaporating at the sight of her beautiful baby girl.

"Look what Aunt Tammy gave me for tomorrow," she held up a beautiful red velvet dress, pure little girl elegance. "I'll look like a princess!"

"You are a princess," Jimmy scooped the little girl up and Eva giggled and he rasperried against her cheek.

"Uncle Jimmy that's gross!" She squealed. Jimmy laughed. "Where's Aunt Julie?" Jimmy looked over and locked eyes with Rick, his own filling a little bit with tears. If they'd been teaching her that Julie was her Aunt, that just meant the world to him.

"She's with her family," he said. "Her daddy, and her step mom, and her little brother and sister."

"She has a step mom too?" Eva said. "Like Grandma's my step grandma, because Nana died?" Jimmy looked at her, her big brown eyes full of wonder and questions.

"A lot like that," he nodded. "But Julie's mommy didn't die like Nana, she and her daddy just decided to not be married, like Grandma and Tommy and Tammy's daddy." Eva nodded, still looking confused, but understanding more. He swallowed thinking of Jaime. He still hadn't shared with Rick and Kelly what he'd found out about her relationship with Evelyn, he'd been waiting for a good night.

"I think it's time for little girls to get to bed," Tom said taking her. She frowned. "The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner Santa comes!"

"Let me say goodnight!" Eva struggled in his arms. She toddled around giving hugs and sweet kisses to all of her aunts and uncles and then Rick picked her up and spirited her upstairs to the room where the "little family" as they'd been calling them had lived for the first year of her life.

Later, after everyone had fallen asleep, Rick, Kelly and Jimmy sat up in Jimmy's room, just the three of them, as they still felt prone to do Christmas Eve, their old tradition. Jimmy figured now was as good a time as any.

"I found something out this fall," Jimmy whispered. Rick and Kelly looked at him. "About Mom."

"What do you mean?" Kelly asked, even Rick leaned forward intently.

"I mean," he sighed, "well, like, do you remember all of her little projects and charity cases?"

"Sure," Rick nodded. "Why?"

"Um, do either of you remember a waitress who she took care of?" He sighed. "A young blonde woman?"

"Sure," Kelly said, "they met in the park. While Annemarie was really sick, although, I guess she wasn't sick. That's still how I remember it though."

"Do you remember her name?" Jimmy sighed. Kelly shook her head. Rick nodded.

"Something with a J," he said. "Jackie, maybe?"

"Jaime," Jimmy croaked, "her name was Jaime Gaffney." They stared at him.

"Julie's mom?" Kelly whispered, covering her mouth. Jimmy nodded. "Oh my God! How did you, I mean, did Jaime know?"

"No, she didn't," Jimmy said, "I was over there, and she was looking through an old photo album, and one minute I was looking at Julie's baby pictures and the next there was this picture of Mom." He walked over to his book shelf and pulled it out of the two books he'd hidden it between. "Jaime never knew her last name, otherwise she would have probably put it together."

"Wow," Kelly said and smiled, suddenly wiping tears from her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Rick asked.

"Well, nothing I guess," Kelly sighed, "it's just like, well, it's kind of like having a tiny piece of her back. Like she's watching over us, like she sent Jimmy Julie. Like her way of knowing Jaime's little girl was OK was by sending her to her little boy." The boys smiled and Rick hugged her tightly.

"We should all get some sleep," Jimmy whispered. Kelly and Rick nodded and walked away.

"Merry Christmas Jimmy," Kelly whispered and kissed him on the cheek. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed number one on speed dial.

"Hello?" Julie's voice echoed groggily on the other end.

"Hey, it's me," he said

"Hey," she whispered. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," he said. "Were you asleep?"

"Mm hm," she sighed. "It's OK though." He smiled. "I'm sorry I freaked out on you."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he said, "it just, it wasn't my secret to tell."

"No, I know," she whispered. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," he said. "I love you Jules."

"I love you too," she said. "I'll call you tomorrow OK?"

"OK," he said. "Goodnight."

"Night," she mumbled and hung up.

Lisa and Kevin sat quietly on the couch. She closed her eyes and relaxed and then squeaked sitting up.

"What?" Kevin said.

"The baby kicked," she whispered, "here," she ran his hand onto her stomach. He felt the light kick again. He laughed. "Kev," she said softly.

"That's amazing," he whispered. She laughed. "Lisa, that's our baby." She kissed him. "You seem sad."

"Well, I mean, it's good, that David's spending Christmas with Patrick," she sighed, "I just miss him." Kevin kissed her.

"I miss him too," he whispered. "We've come a long way in a year, we were talking about a divorce this time last year." She laughed.

"Mm," she sighed, "what a stupid girl I am." He laughed and kissed her. "I know you said you wanted to be surprised." He nodded. "But I do know the sex."

"You do?" He said. She nodded. "But we said,"

"I know," she whispered. "But when she asked me, I couldn't help saying I wanted to know." He laughed. "Do you?"

"I kind of do," he said. She smiled and kissed him. "Well?"

"It's a girl," she said. "Which means,"

"Elizabeth," he said. "Elizabeth Tanya," she nodded. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered and kissed him.

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