AN: Hey everyone a really long chapter just for Christmas. I mean it's really long. It's 2,784 words long. That's quite a bit. This chapter is dedicated to everyone who reads these stories. Thanks for sticking with me. I've got a chapter, an epilogue, and an author's note left. The last chapter will be posted next and I'm working on the epilogue now. The epilogue is strongly influenced by a movie that I fell in love over the past couple of weeks.

Happy Reading!

Chapter Thirty – Seven: Santa Buddies

Today's special moments are tomorrow's memories. Genie, The Return of Jafar

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me. Wreck-It Ralph, Wreck-It Ralph

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."Winnie The Pooh

Bianca's POV

Ever since Riley and I got together, we've had two Christmases every year. We really got into it when Carissa was born. Secret Santa made it even more fun for me this year because I got Riley and I've got a big surprise for him, which I now have a way to tell him. I got the thing I had ordered online a few weeks ago and took half of the parts that looked like regular cylinders of wood and put them in a long box and wrapped the box. The rest of the parts I put them in individual boxes, wrapped them, and put them under the tree after Riley went to bed. The secret Santa present, Aaron picked up and kept with him. My parents invited him, Sophie, and Alyssa to spend Christmas with us because they were free and we had known them for a long time.

Around five Carissa came in to our room to wake us up to open presents.

"Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

"Riley, your daughter wants you." I murmured to him.

"Why is it when one of them wants something early in the morning they're my children?" He murmured back, "You get it this time."

"Riley Spencer Poole, get up or you'll be sleeping on the couch till New Year's." I murmured back.

"It's Christmas."

"Should have thought about that when you started arguing." I replied before going back to sleep.

Riley's POV

I groaned and got out of bed. There was no way that I was sleeping on the couch till New Year's. I picked up Carissa and we headed out.

"Are you two arguing again?"

"Nope, just a minor disagreement. We stayed up a little late last night and your mother just isn't a morning person."

"Are you a morning person?"

"More of one than she is." I replied. I wasn't one at all, but I was better about it than Bianca was. "How are you up right now?"

"The sky's awake."

"What?" I asked confused.

"The sky's awake, so I'm awake." She shrugged.

"If I made you hot chocolate, would you try go asleep for a few more hours?" I asked her. She nodded happily. I lightly smiled and shook my head, "That solves that then."

I made her hot chocolate and put her back to bed. I looked at the clock, it was a waste to go back to sleep. It was almost six, I would just have to get up in couple of hours anyway, what would be the point. I filled Bianca's stocking and put it with the others, then I showered and started a pot of coffee. I would have made breakfast, but I really don't cook much. I'm not really good at it. I got myself coffee and one of the Wonka bars that I had picked up the other day and hid so no one else would eat ice and watched the NHL network. That's the problem with living in a house full of women, you never get any chocolate. You put some in plain view, it's gone the next time you look for it. If I liked Reeses, it wouldn't be a problem, but I don't.

Bianca came down a few hours later. My guess is she slept for an hour or two, then showered and came down. She started to make breakfast. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist while she was at the stove. "In a better mood?"

"Maybe." She lightly smiled. I kissed her cheek. She was definitely in a better mood now. She was probably up later than I was. "What are you making?"

"Food."

"What kind of food?"

"Breakfast."

"What's for breakfast?"

"Belgian Waffles with strawberry sauce for Carissa. Double chocolate Tiramisu for us. I'm also making hash browns, bacon and sausage, and eggs, but those I'll make when Carissa gets up. I also have to make a Kentucky Derby pie, fudge, sugar cookies, and apple streusel. The fudge and the fudge and streusel is for when we go to my parents this afternoon. The pie and the cookies are for us. I've gotta make frosting and whipped cream too."

"Marry me."

"I already did that."

"We could do it again. It'll be five years in the summer."

"Six." She corrected.

"Opps." I replied sheepishly, "What's this one?"

"Iron and Calla lilies." She replied, "If you wanna renew vows, best anniversary to do it would be the 15th."

"So nine years, we do it all over again."

"It's interesting you bring renewing up, you didn't really like the wedding aspect of it much."

"It was alright. I'd be more looking forward to the night after the ceremony."

She smiled and replied jokingly, "Like you don't get enough as it is."

"I'm male, what do you expect?" I replied, "If I knew Carissa wasn't going to wake up any time soon, I'd say we could have a go right now if you wanted to."

I leaned in to kiss her and she stopped me with the spatula, "No, I've got work to do and Carissa's going to wake up soon and who knows when Zach is going to wake up. Why don't you go and check on him, see how he's doing. I haven't heard him cry once last night or this morning for that matter."

"That's because you sleep like the dead. The only thing that wakes you usually is light or touch." I groaned and went to check on Zach. He was fine. He was sleeping. This was one of the first times that he had slept through the night and I get why that worried Bianca, what she doesn't know or need to know is that I put a small amount amaretto in his formula the last time he woke up. She doesn't need to know that either.

"You're doin' just fine, aren't ya, little guy?" I asked him. We always got comments on Zach and Carissa. Zach looked like me and had his mother's eyes. Carissa looked like Bianca, but with my eyes and she inherited her grandmother's blonde hair. Bianca's family showed more Carissa and mine showed more in Zach. "Merry Christmas, Zach."

When I left the room, Carissa was coming out of hers, "Can I get up now?"

"Why can't you get up like this on a regular day?"

"Regular days I have to go to school."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I don't like school. It's boring and it's hard to make friends with people when everyone knows about your famous parents."

"How would you like it if Santa brought you a puppy?" I asked her a plan forming in my head.

Her eyes lit up, "Santa brought me a puppy?!"

"Yes, yes, he brought you and your mom a puppy, but he didn't want to put them in his bag so he left them with family friends." I lied.

"He left them with Aaron and Alyssa?" She asked.

"Yes!" I replied, "But don't tell your mother. Neither of you are supposed to know about it."

"Okay!" She went downstairs.

"Great, now where am I getting those…" I asked myself, "Animal Shelter. There's gotta be one scrooge that doesn't close on Christmas day, let's just hope he hasn't had his transformation into a better person yet."

Bianca's POV

"Merry Christmas, Mommy!" Carissa exclaimed.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart." I replied, "We leave for Grandparents house after Christmas, so after we eat and open gifts, we're gonna have to get ready and go."

"Would it be easier if I got ready now?" She asked.

"You can if you want." I replied, "You don't have to."

"Okay!" She replied happily, going back up the stairs.

"I hope she doesn't get anything on her dress."

"Why did Carissa go back up?" Riley asked when he came down.

"She went to get ready."

"She knows we're not leaving till one, right?"

I shrugged.

"Oh well by the time she gets back down, we'll have enough time to eat and then leave."

"We'll unwrap after we get back. I still have a couple of presents I have to get together."

"It's Christmas day!"

"The idea for these presents came Christmas Eve!"

"Okay that makes sense."

"I'm gonna go out for a bit, I'll be back before breakfast is finished." Riley replied, before heading out.

'Where would he be going? Everything's closed on Christmas.' I thought and then went back to cooking.

Riley's POV

Once I got into the car, I called Aaron.

"What's up?" Aaron answered the phone.

"It's Riley, I need a favor." I told him, "Do you always answer the phone like that?"

"Sometimes. Whatcha need?"

"I need you to meet me somewhere. I give you the rest of the instructions when I see you." I replied.

"Are we actually becoming friends?"

"No." I replied and then I told him where to go and met him there.

"What kind of person is open on Christmas day?" Aaron asked.

"A scrooge or an overly optimistic do-gooder." I replied dryly, "I'm hoping it's the second."

"How much you wanna bet it's the first."

"I'm pretty sure that's a safe bet."

"So why the animal shelter?"

"I'm getting Carissa and Bianca dogs."

"You hate dogs."

"I'm allergic, there's a difference and it's nothing allergy medicine can't solve."

We went inside and found the owner. It was a nice Jewish family.

"What are you looking for?" The wife asked.

"A couple of dogs."

"Wonderful." She replied, "What kind?"

"Any kind really."

"Oh, great. I'll take you to them."

I found four dogs and I only came to get two. All of them were puppies, no older than a year at most. I found a soft colored beagle for Carissa. Most of his coloring was tan, white and brown. His name was Lou. He was tiny and soft. Apparently he was the runt that the family didn't want so he was sent here. I found a brown and white border collie for Bianca. Her name was Nana. She was sweet and soft with lots of fur. I found a golden retriever puppy for Zach, well for when he got older. His name was Shadow. I found a collie puppy for myself. She was red, white, and a little bit a black. Her name was Lady.

"Is there a place around here where I can get collars that's open?"

"Uh, yes. There's a place down the road. He never closes, not even for holidays." The woman replied.

"Thank you." I replied. I gave her the money for the dogs and donated some money to the shelter. Aaron got a few cats for himself and his family. He got a black American short hair named Violet, a Siamese named Mulan, snowshoe twin toms named Chip and Dale, and a Norwegian forest cat named Koda.

"Okay, I don't think we're the right people to be in animal shelters." Aaron said as we left the animal shelter.

"Really?" I replied, "I think the family in there would say the opposite."

"Now why am I doing this with you?" Aaron asked, "You don't like me."

"Because you're holding on to the dogs until I can come and get them." I replied.

"No way. I just got five cats. I'm not showing any dogs Sophie cannot keep. Have you ever seen a little kid around pets?"

I shook my head.

"That explains a lot." Aaron nodded, "Just get the collars, dog tags, and the leashes. They should have sweaters and bows. Think about something like that for them when you set them next to the tree and just make sure neither of them are on the main level when you bring them in. Just dress them up and sit them next to the tree."

Aaron went home.

I went to the pet store down the road for the supplies. I got a black leather collar for Lou, a brown leather collar for Shadow, a pink and blue braided collar for Nana, and a blue and grey braided collar for Lady. I got a pink nylon leash with cherries on it for Nana. Lady got a similar one, but hers was blue with daisies. I found a black Mickey Mouse nylon leash for Lou, and a brown and black leash for Shadow. As for clothing, I got a few Disney holiday bows. I got a black Minnie sweater for Lady, a red Minnie sweater for Nana, a grey, orange, and black Tigger sweater for Lou, and a black Mickey sweater for Shadow. I got four crates, all wood. They had good reviews and looked sturdy enough. I got four carriers: a plaid for Nana, a red for Lou, a black for Shadow, and blue for Lady. I got four dog beds, all of them the same color. By this point I was too lazy to choose special colors. Then I got to my favorite part: the toys. I got four cylinders of tennis balls, four huge big chew bones, a plush squirrel squeaky toy, a plush pig, a plush duck, a plush hedgehog, a blue and green braided rope bone, several white braided rope bones, knotted rope and tennis balls (two in pink and purple and two in yellow and blue), a few five knot tug toys, a couple of two knot tug toys, and one three tug know toy. I got dry and canned dog food, cleaning supplies, and training supplies. I got eight dog bowls. All four of the water bowls were ceramic. The boys had blue ones with bones. The girls had pink ones with skulls and hearts. The food bowls were stainless steel. Lady had a purple bowl with some type of Tinkerbell pattern. Nana had a pink one with a Minnie pattern. Shadow had a blue one with Darth Vader and the Star Wars Logo on it. Lou had a green one with Pluto pattern. I got dog treats for them as well. I also got a bunch of books on dogs and how to train and take care of them.

When I got home, I dressed the dogs and put them in their carriers. I put them by the tree with their accessories. They started to cry.

"It's alright…" I shushed them and pet their heads.

"What was that?" Carissa asked running down the stairs. She was in a black velvet and red tartan dress. The top was short-sleeve and black velvet and the bottom was long red tartan, the belt had a little red flower. Her hair was down and curled with a tartan headband in it. She was wearing white tights and black Mary Janes.

Bianca was right behind her in a burgundy sweater dress, black leggings, and brown boots. Her hair was down. She was carrying Zach, who was wearing black pants, a white long sleeve shirt, and red pullover sweater. Bianca had his navy microfleece jacket in her hands. Carissa had her black peacoat in hers.

"Yeah, I heard something too." Bianca said.

"I thought we might as well open a few gifts now. I mean what's Christmas morning without opening a couple of gifts." I said coming out of the living room.

Bianca looked at me confused, "I thought we were going to wait-"

"These ones aren't going to wait that long." I replied. She looked confused. "Let me get them and I'll show you what I mean."

"Okay…" Bianca replied setting Zach down in his play pin.

I got Lou and Nana's carriers first and set them down in the family room and then I got Shadow and Lady's carriers.

"I need you both to sit." I told them. They sat and I gave them their respective carriers. "I'll get these two and you open your own."

Carissa opened hers first and then Bianca, and then I let Shadow and Lady out.

"Puppies!" Carissa exclaimed. Bianca looked shocked.

"Carissa, the beagle is yours. His name is Lou. The golden retriever laying by the play pen's name is Shadow, he belongs to Zach, but he's a little too young to look after him right now, so you're going to look after them till he's a little bigger. Bianca, the border collie, you have in your hands is Nana. The collie I have in mine is Lady."

"There's four of them…" Bianca replied, "The house isn't big enough for-"

"Don't worry about it."

"But-"

"I've got everything handled." I replied.

We feed the dogs and got them settled and then we ate. Before we left for Patrick and Emily's, we made sure they were okay and settled in a place where there wouldn't be any problems if they had accidents.