"So I guess that our Christmas will consist of us going on separate dates and you calling me in the morning to tell me where you ended up, huh?" Felicity asked Stefan Christmas morning. "I bet you don't want to go to Dad's because of Savannah."
Stefan sighed. "You're right about that," he said. "It's too early in the morning for me to be around her. But I suppose if we really had to go somewhere, I could stand going to see Damon and Lucy. Damon gave me an invitation, but I told him I wasn't sure if I wanted to come yet."
"Sure," Felicity nodded. "I could work with seeing your brother and Aunt Lucy. I can always give Dad a call and explain what the plan is, then come over by myself at a later time." She gave Stefan a look. "Is it just me, or are we getting chummier than usual?"
"It's the damn Christmas spirit," Stefan grinned. "I'll be nasty to you again once it's over."
"Well, thank god for that," Felicity grinned. "I feel better now."
"Since we have that decided, I'll go call my brother," Stefan told her. "I'm sure he'll be glad to know we're coming." Stefan went to call Damon and after he got back, Felicity said, "so was he as glad as you thought?"
"Yeah, he was glad," Stefan nodded. "Especially because, according to him, Lenora's not coming."
"Well, did they say where she was?" Felicity asked him. "Lenora, I mean."
"No," Stefan shook his head. "I think he just said she wasn't coming."
"Huh," Felicity nodded. "Okay." She went and got her cell phone, calling her sister. "Hey," she said when Lenora answered it. "Stefan said you're not going to Damon and Aunt Lucy's for Christmas. Don't tell me you're just gonna be by yourself."
Lenora paused and then said, "I'm really not. I'm dropping the kids off at Grandma Selina's, and then I'm gonna spend Christmas with Grandpa Alistair. He's alone too cause Grandma Astrid is in the same boat James is work-wise."
"All right," Felicity nodded. "I just wanted to make sure you had plans. I didn't want you to be alone. I was gonna go to Aunt Lucy's with Stefan, but I can join you and Grandpa if you want."
"Well, thanks," Lenora replied. "Aren't you sweet? But if you and Stefan already have plans, you can go ahead and do them. Or if you think that screams 'We're a couple' more than you'd like, you could go see Mom and Dad. If they aren't going to Grandpa Klaus', I'm sure they'd love to have you."
"All right," Felicity replied. "I'll think about it. Merry Christmas."
"You too," Lenora nodded. "Happy Holidays, sis."
Felicity hung up and then called Adrian and Helene. "Hi," She greeted Helene, when the latter answered the phone. "Merry Christmas!"
"You too, sweetie," Helene replied. "What's up?"
"Well, I just wondered if you and Adrian were staying home for Christmas or going over to Dad and Amy's," Felicity replied. "Cause if you're staying home alone, I thought I might come over and, you know...be with you. Is that okay?"
"Sure, it's okay!" Helene replied cheerfully. "Come over when you feel like it. We'll be waiting for you!"
Felicity ended the call and went back to Stefan. "We'll leave for my brother's in a few minutes," he said.
"Actually," Felicity told him, "would you mind going to your brother's alone? I was thinking of going and seeing Adrian and Helene instead."
"All right," Stefan shrugged. "That works too. In fact, I like that better. Cause we wouldn't want your aunt to think we were a couple."
"No," Felicity shook her head. And as Stefan made his way to his car, leaving her alone in the house, she whispered, "Not yet, anyway."
When Felicity got to Adrian and Helene's, she heard screaming and laughing in the yard. The arrangement of the house made it so she had to go through the house to reach the backyard, and on the way there, she found a note on the fridge: "Felicity: We're in the yard having a snowball fight to see who gets to pick the first activity for the evening. And, just for the heck of it. Come out and join us if you want, or you can stay inside and have cocoa by the fire.
Love,
Adrian and Helene"
Felicity read the note and continued on her way to the backyard. She'd left the presents by the tree, and so was now completely free to throw snowballs with impunity. She opened the back door and called out, "Who's winning? That's the team I want to be on!"
Adrian called a time out and he said, "We're not playing teams. It's everyone for themselves, and the only rule is that no one is allowed to use their powers."
"All right," Felicity nodded. "I think I can do that." She looked between her parents and tossed a snowball at Adrian. He ducked and then peered at her. "Why'd you aim at me?" He asked.
"I had to shoot at someone," Felicity replied. "And Helene gave birth to me, so you get the first ball and she gets the second one." After that remark, Helene took off running. Adrian came with her as they tried to avoid Felicity, who was relentlessly pelting them with snowballs. Eventually, they were all exhausted, wet, cold, and breathing hard. "Okay, okay," Helene breathed, nearly collapsing next to a snowman she and Adrian had made earlier. "I'm exhausted. I have to go inside."
"Does that mean I win?" Felicity asked.
"Yes," Adrian nodded. "You win. And I was doing so well before you showed up!"
"Well," Felicity grinned. "I learned from the best: your father. Heh heh." She chuckled and ran inside the house, leaving Adrian to carry Helene inside after her. Helene took the first shower and while she did that, Adrian and Felicity got warm drinks and sat by the television.
"Thanks for coming," Adrian told her. "I know you probably had ten-thousand other places you could have spent the holidays, and I'm glad you picked here."
"You're welcome," Felicity nodded. "I got a call from Lenora and she said she was gonna go have dinner with Grandpa Alistair because he didn't have any one since Grandma Astrid was gone, and Lenora herself didn't have James here, so she sent Henry and Susanna to Mom's and gave Grandpa company, and that made me think about you, and how you didn't have anyone other than each other. Of course, if you wanted to have a romantic night for two, I'm sorry, but-"
"No!" Adrian interrupted. "We were planning activities for two, but not because we wanted to, but because that was the only option we had!"
"Why didn't you go see Dad?" Felicity asked curiously. "Because of Savannah?"
"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "It might seem kind of selfish, but at the age Savannah is, I know I'd enjoy my holidays much more in the company of people older than her, and Dad gets that. I called him to say 'Merry Christmas' though."
"Good," Felicity nodded. "I did too, this morning."
Just then, Helene came out, wearing a bathrobe, a towel wrapped around her dark hair. "All right," she said. "Who needs to take the next shower?"
"I will!" Adrian replied and zipped out of the room.
"I don't think I'll need a shower," Felicity told Helene.
"Of course you won't," Helene replied, smiling. "You threw most of the snowballs, but didn't get hit with any, so you're practically dry!"
"So true," Felicity chuckled. "So," she continued after a few minutes. "What options can I choose from for activities?"
Helene cleared her throat. "Well, Adrian wants to watch holiday-themed goofy videos, you know the ones where people send in footage of them getting hurt or whatever for money. I want to watch The Nutcracker. We could also decorate a gingerbread house, or I could play the piano and we could sing Christmas carols..."
Felicity sighed. "I know you probably want to do something traditional and cultured, but I kind of agree with Adrian about the goofy videos. That would be a good start. We wouldn't have to think so much watching those. And then after we have recovered from the snowball fight, then we can watch The Nutcracker."
"That sounds fair," Helene sighed. "I guess we can do that." As Adrian came out, Helene told him, "It looks like you won. She wants to watch the goofy videos too."
"All right!" Adrian grinned. "Thanks, Felicity!"
"You're welcome," she said, then stood up. "I'm gonna go get some cider. Anyone else want anything?"
"Could you grab me a beer?" Adrian asked. "They're right in the fridge and they should be cold by now."
"All right," Felicity nodded. Just then, the doorbell rang. "Who's that?" She asked.
"It must be the Christmas pizza," Adrian replied. "I left the money on the table there. Would you pay the guy?"
"Sure," Felicity nodded, grabbing the money and opening the door.
"Hey," the blond delivery boy whose face was covered with acne said. "I have a five-meat pizza and a vegetarian pizza, both medium, and the total is twenty dollars."
"All right," Felicity said. She gave him twenty, plus a two dollar tip. "Happy holidays," she said to him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he grinned. "Happy holidays." He went on his way and she shut the door, bringing the boxes into the living room and setting them down on a TV tray before getting a mug of cider for herself and a beer for Adrian.
"All right," Helene said to Felicity as she and Adrian both took their pizza boxes in hand. "Which one do you want, Felicity? We're both willing to share."
"I'll borrow from yours, if that's all right, Adrian," Felicity said to him.
"No problem," Adrian replied. He gave her the box to hold while he went and got plates.
"You're not a vegetable person either?" Helene asked. "I guess that must only be me, then, and bit down on her first piece of pizza and swallowed the bite. "Oh, that is so good! Felicity, you're missing out, but if you just want to help Adrian eat his meat pizza, that's all right with me."
Adrian came back with the plates and plunked two pieces on his plate and two pieces on Felicity's. As they watched the videos, the lights on the tree came on, and after they'd finished, Helene got up and went to her and Adrian's room, coming back with a present in each hand.
"Who are those for?" Felicity asked.
"You," Helene replied.
"Why did you get me presents?" Felicity asked, amazed. "You didn't even know I'd be coming tonight!"
"Well, we figured that if we didn't see you, we could just give them to you later." Helene shrugged, picking up the boxes Felicity had brought. "Are these for us?"
"Yeah," Felicity nodded. "They're just little trinkets. Nothing super big."
"That's fine," Helene said, hugging her. "It's the thought that counts."
After they watched the videos, they opened presents, and then finally, as Helene requested, watched the Nutcracker Ballet. Felicity sat curled up next to Adrian, trying her best not to make snarky comments about something Helene was obviously enjoying. It was then that she realized that she was glad she'd chosen a quiet Christmas with Adrian and Helene over a louder Christmas with anyone else. "I'm having a great time," She whispered to Adrian. "I'm glad I came."
After The Nutcracker, Helene brought out gingerbread houses and things to decorate them with. "I've got one for everybody," she said. "Come on!"
As they headed toward the table, Adrian reached for Felicity's hand. "You know," he said, "I'm glad you came too. I love Helene, but sometimes, it's nice to have another person with me when being around her when she gets like this."
"I completely understand," Felicity said and winked at him. "You're welcome. I was just thinking that I liked being here with just the two of you better than say, at Mom and Uncle Elijah's where there will be a ton of people and chaos. It's just much better that way."
"I agree," Adrian nodded as he smoothed some white frosting over the roof of his gingerbread house. I agree completely, and I wish everyone who's gonna be at Mom's the best of luck at keeping their sanity."
"I hope Christmas isn't all that awkward," Laura told Edward that afternoon. "I know our first dinner with them didn't go so well, but Christmas will be better!"
"I really hope so," Edward replied. "Because honestly, your father makes me nervous when he's angry, and I know I can't avoid him forever."
"You're right, you can't," Laura replied. "Let's just go, eat, open presents, and not say anything about us having sex."
"At least not until we're married," Edward replied. "Then I'm sure your father will want to know the second you're pregnant."
"You make a good point," Laura replied. "Oh and before we go, I have one more thing to give you." She got a bag out from the coat closet and pulled out an ugly Christmas sweater that had a reindeer on it that played "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" when you squeezed its nose. "I'm not wearing this," Edward replied, staring at it in horror. "What would possess you to buy such a thing?"
"It's an ugly Christmas sweater!" Laura cried. "Everybody wears them." She pulled out another one that was equally hideous. "See? I have one too!"
"That doesn't help your argument," Edward replied. "Wear that ridiculous sweater if you want, but I won't join you."
"All right," Laura sighed. "Fine. But where's your sense of holiday cheer, honestly?"
"I have holiday cheer," Edward replied, pointing to his red tie that had little Christmas trees all over it. "See?"
"Fine," Laura replied. "But I think you're missing out by not wearing your sweater."
"I really don't think so," Edward replied as he followed her out to her car and they drove to Elijah and Selina's where, just as they were coming up the walk, a teenaged boy Laura had never seen before stomped out of the house.
"Who was that?" Laura asked her mother. "The boy who just left, I mean?"
Selina sighed as she rolled out some cookie dough. "He's a kid Annaliese knows from boarding school. He was apparently set on getting me back into my old Lonely Heart ways for whatever reason and despite my pleas, your father wouldn't have him staying here and compelled him to go away into the cold. And on Christmas too. Staying here might have been just the thing to turn him around." She gave the dough a hard roll. "Oh, well. Let's not mention it to your father. It'd be best if we want a pleasant holiday."
"Well, he's gone," Elijah replied. "Now, hopefully, there will be no more people coming that are not part of our family." He saw Edward and took his hand. "Hello, son! Nice tie." He looked at Laura's sweater, then back at Edward. "Did she get one of those horrible sweaters for you too?"
"I'm sure she had good intentions," Edward replied. "It's in a closet at the apartment now."
"Well, come in, come in!" Elijah replied jovially. "Come and see everyone!"
"Are we hosting a lot of people?" Laura asked. "Is everyone here?"
"We're still waiting on Katherine, Gregory, and Elizabeth," Selina told her. "But for some reason, I don't think they're gonna come. And Roxie, Vince, and the twins are on some motorcycle trip in the mountains, so they're not here either."
"Because of Katherine? Is that why Gregory isn't coming?" Laura asked knowingly, then pulled Edward after her as she walked through the house greeting everyone. Edward had grown up in a big family, but even he was shocked by the amount of people that had crowded into Selina and Elijah's house: Elijah's brother, his wife, and their daughter, Laura's brother Colin and his friend Valerie, her brother Tristan, her sister Margaret, and Selina's great-grandchildren Henry and Susanna (and their dog, Rusty), Margaret's twin sister Annaliese (who didn't seem to be particularly missing Peter), him and Laura, all these people. Edward had no idea how they were fitting everyone in, much less how Selina was gonna cook for that many people. Just then, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Laura called.
"All right!" Selina yelled back over the cacophony of noise. "I don't know who it would be, though. Well, other than your brother, I mean."
Laura opened the door and saw two people on the other side. "Hello, Alistair," she greeted. "Lenora. Merry Christmas. Wanna come in?"
"Thank you, dear," Alistair said as Lenora followed. "I know we're late and your parents are hosting several people. Is there room for us?"
"Of course!" Laura nodded. "It's a big house!"
"And by the way," Lenora told Laura, "If your mom is wondering where Adrian is, he and Helene are staying at home with Felicity."
"She might already know," Laura replied. "But I'll tell her."
"Who're they?" Edward whispered when they'd gone.
"That's Dad's friend Alistair, who is a warlock, and his granddaughter, Lenora, who is actually Mom's grandchild also because her father is my half-brother Adrian from my mother's marriage to Klaus, my uncle, who is now married to Amy and is the father of Savannah. And Felicity is Adrian's biological daughter, who was raised by my uncle who is her grandfather because Adrian and his wife, who is Alistair's daughter, were having a fight at the time." She let out a breath. "A lot of my family will be explained like that," she said.
"Yeah, I guess," Edward replied, feeling overwhelmed and like he needed to take a breath and sit down himself.
"You look like you need to sit," Laura observed. "Take a seat where you can find it and I'll get you a drink."
"Thanks," Edward replied. "I need one."
Laura went into the kitchen to get eggnog, where Alistair and Elijah were talking. "I hope it was okay for us to come," Alistair was saying. "Originally, it was just Lenora and me at my house because she'd dropped the children off here, James is gone, and Astrid is gone. We were eating when all of a sudden, Lenora suggested we come here because it would be better than being alone."
Elijah smiled. "Well, you know you and she are always welcome."
When Henry saw his mother, he immediately ran to find his sister. "Mommy's here!" He told her. "We hafta go home now."
"I don't want to!" Susanna sighed and burst into sobs, gesturing at Colin and Valerie, who'd been playing with her. "I wanna play with them some more!"
Henry sighed. His sister always fussed about everything. It was very annoying. He went back to Lenora and Alistair and cleared his throat. "Since you're here to take us home, I'm ready, but Susanna is throwing a tantrum."
"Oh, I'm not here to take you home," Lenora assured him. "I'm just here to celebrate festivities like everyone else."
"Oh," Henry nodded. "Okay, good!" He went back to Margaret, who was standing under some mistletoe, and gave her a kiss on the cheek, while Lenora went to try and calm her daughter down.
"I don't blame her for wanting to stay," Valerie told Lenora as Lenora picked Susanna up and tried to calm her. "It's great here. And she's such a sweet little girl."
"Thanks," Lenora grinned.
"We tried to calm her," Colin added. "But I think the only thing that'll make her better is finding out she doesn't have to leave."
"And you don't have to," Lenora told Susanna. "Henry saw me and thought you had to go, but you don't. I'm just here with my grandpa to celebrate like everyone else."
"I can stay?" Susanna asked as Lenora wiped the tears off her cheeks.
"Yes," Lenora nodded. "We're staying."
Susanna smiled, and, satisfied that any danger had passed, Lenora left her under the watchful eyes of Laura's younger brother and his friend.
"Is everything all right?" Alistair asked.
"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "Henry just thought that since I was here, it was time for the kids to go home, and Susanna didn't want to, so she got upset. I just had to convince her we were staying, is all."
"Good," Alistair nodded.
After awhile, Laura finally got back to Edward with his egg nog. "Where'd you go for this?" He asked. "Canada?"
"Sorry," Laura apologized. "I just got so distracted. You have so many conversations going on that you either want to be part of them or eavesdrop on 'em and then you forget what you're supposed to be doing!"
"Well, why don't you sit with me?" Edward suggested, gulping his eggnog down.
"There's not enough room in that chair for two people," Laura pointed out. Edward grinned. "There is if you sit on my lap," he whispered, pulling her onto his lap. She was momentarily stunned, but then cast a look around to see if there was anyone nearby before kissing him hard. She felt his arms go around her and kiss her back. Finally, they pulled apart. "No one saw that," Edward whispered. "Good."
"Wipe your mouth," Laura told him. "You've got lipstick all over it!" He quickly wiped off his face, and then Laura put her arms around him again, prepared to stay put if her father ever came along and saw.
Meanwhile, Klaus came into the kitchen holding Savannah, with Amy coming behind him, carrying Savannah's diaper bag. "I have a question," Amy asked Selina. "Where can we take care of Savannah? Are there bathrooms you'd be less willing for us to use compared to others?"
"Oh, use whatever bathroom you want," Selina replied without looking up. "After six kids, none of the bathrooms can really be called pristine."
"All right," Amy nodded. "I just thought I'd ask."
"I told you we could have used whatever room we wanted," Klaus told her as she pulled the diaper bag back on her shoulder. "We didn't have to ask!"
"Well, this isn't our house," Amy reminded him. "And I just feel more comfortable asking for permission before I barge in and use other people's rooms in ways they might not be comfortable with."
On the way to the bathroom, Klaus and Amy passed by the chair where Laura and Edward were making out.
"Well, well, well," Klaus grinned, causing Edward and Laura to pull apart. "Look at the two of you!"
Edward went crimson and quickly pushed Laura on the floor. "We're not doing anything!" He cried.
"Relax, Edward!" Laura said, wincing. "He's not gonna tell!" She peered at Klaus. "Are you?"
"No," Klaus shook his head. "Not me." He and Amy found the bathroom and changed Savannah, then, as they left, Klaus suggested, "Let's take her to the kitchen."
"Why?" Amy asked.
"Cause Alistair hasn't seen Savannah yet and I want him to," Klaus replied.
"Right," Amy nodded. "I forgot." They brought her to the kitchen where Alistair was nursing a drink and got his attention.
"This is Savannah," Klaus told him. "I thought you'd wanna see her."
Alistair smiled as he took the baby in his lap. "She is adorable," he said. "And as for you two, I'm glad it's working out, although I'm sorry about your parents, Amy. On both counts."
"Well," Amy sighed. "I know Felicity is sorry for what she did, and I knew the second I got pregnant and decided that I would keep the baby if Klaus was okay with it that Mom and Dad would throw a fit, so the fact that I've been disowned isn't really a surprise. But I don't care, because the situation I'm in now is much better anyway." She put her arms around Klaus and kissed him. "I'm happy."
"I can see that," Alistair replied. "And I'm happy for you. I just wish I could come around more, but you know what Astrid said: that it would be best for me to limit my contact."
"Maybe she only meant at the beginning, so you could learn what it's like to have a life of your own," Amy suggested. "Maybe, if you talk to her now, she and Hazel will let you come and see us."
"I hope so," Alistair replied. "Cause I have not thought of one thing to do with myself since you took my place, Amy. It's been horribly boring. I feel incredibly useless."
"Well, we can't have that!" Amy replied. "Talk to Astrid the next time she gets off of work, and hopefully we'll get to see you more. We'd love it if you'd come and visit us."
"Well, thanks," Alistair replied. "That means a lot." He handed Savannah, who was starting to get fussy, back to her mother, just as Selina announced that she'd finally gotten all the food ready.
"Anyone who feels like eating now can just fill up a plate," she said. "Also, there's a cooler of blood bags in the kitchen for those who want or need them, and if we run out of those, just let Elijah or me know and we'll go down to the basement and get some more. We also have pretty much every other beverage one can think of, so just feast to your heart's content."
"And just so there'll be no stampeding that results in injury, death, or a big mess," Elijah added, "guests will serve themselves first, then family who don't live here, then family who do live here. Does that make sense? Does everyone understand? And then after that, we'll open presents."
Using this system, everyone got food, and after an hour, there were mountains of dishes by the sink.
"Let me help with those," Amy said. "You cooked."
"You're a guest, Amy," Elijah told her before Selina could answer. "You don't have to worry about that."
"She's a witch, Elijah," Selina told him. "She has powers. If she is offering to get the dishes clean and put away in the blink of an eye, I will tell her 'Thank you', and let her get to it."
Elijah sighed and looked at Amy. "Are you sure you're willing to do this?" He asked. "Remember, you don't have to."
"I don't mind," Amy replied, zapping the plates clean and sending them to their proper cupboards. "It's no trouble, really."
Soon, the kitchen was clean and everyone had either settled down to play board or card games, or see a screening of "Miracle on 34th Street" Selina had set up in the movie theater. Selina was glad to have everyone around her for Christmas. As she and Elijah sat in the back of the movie theater, she leaned against him as he put an arm around her. "Merry Christmas," she whispered, kissing his cheek. He chuckled. "Merry Christmas, Darling." She looked around. Everyone one of her kids was there, except Gregory. Like she'd said before, she understood why he and his family weren't there. She just hoped they were having a good Christmas nonetheless.
"Can we just skip meeting your parents for Christmas?" Katherine asked Gregory for the thousandth time once night fell, even as she put Elizabeth in a red dress with a little red bow in her hair. "We could probably have much more fun by ourselves. And too much stimulation would be bad for Elizabeth."
"You can come up with all the excuses you like, Katrina," Gregory replied as he straightened his suit jacket. It was a little rumpled after spending the day with all the girls and their kids at the holiday party for the shelter. "But we're going. Although based on how much you've dawdled, we've probably missed it all."
"I don't think you realize how awkward this is for me!" Katherine replied. "I used to date your father, and I caused your mom to die! I'm sure they don't want me there! Take Elizabeth by yourself."
Gregory paused and turned to face Katherine, who held Elizabeth out to him. "You're serious, aren't you?" He asked. "It would really make you uncomfortable to come?"
"Yeah," Katherine nodded. "I would much rather be with just you and Elizabeth, you know why? Cause you're the only reminders I have of what I've done right in my life, and your parents are reminders of what I've done wrong. Do you understand? I'm trying to be better for you, and I can't do it if I'm surrounded by failure!"
Gregory sighed. "I don't want to leave you alone," he said. "I'll call my parents and tell them we can't make it, then we'll have a nice family Christmas here. Is that all right?"
"Yes," Katherine nodded. "That's perfect for me."
Gregory got on the phone and called his mother. "Hello, Mother," he said when Selina answered the phone. "I bet you've been wondering all day where Katherine, Elizabeth and I are."
"Don't worry about it, sweetie," Selina told him. "I figured that you two would probably want to stay home. If you're having a good family Christmas, that's all right with us. We'll just bring your presents over and see Elizabeth at a different time."
"All right," Gregory nodded. He looked at Katherine. "When do you want my parents to come over and drop off our presents? Is tomorrow good?"
"Yes," Katherine nodded. "Tomorrow is good."
"How about tomorrow at one o'clock?" Gregory asked. "Would that work for you?"
"Sure," Selina said after a moment. "We'll be there. Merry Christmas, Gregory."
"Merry Christmas, Mother," Gregory replied. "And tell Father the same too, please."
"I will," Selina nodded. "Bye."
"So what did your mom say?" Katherine asked. "Was she glad that we weren't coming cause she didn't want me in her house?"
"No," Gregory shook his head. "She would have been happy to have us there, but she said she understood us wanting to have a nice, quiet family Christmas with Elizabeth."
"Well, good," Katherine nodded. "Great."
"So, what is it you want to do during our nice, quiet family Christmas?" Gregory asked.
"I don't know," Katherine replied. "I could order us a pizza, and then we could put on some Christmas music for a bit, and then go out and look at some of the lights. If I get Elizabeth dressed up, someone should see it."
"Let's look at the lights first," Gregory said. "I'll go warm up the car."
"It's not really cold," Katherine replied. "If we put a coat on Elizabeth and put her in her stroller, we could probably walk."
"All right," Gregory replied. "If that's what you want."
So the walked around for a bit looking at all the lights on their neighbors' houses, and then drove downtown to see a bigger light display in the park, then they came back and had cocoa and did a sing along, after which, Elizabeth fell asleep. After Katherine tended to her and put her to bed, she came back to the living room and sat wrapped up in Gregory's arms as they ate delivery Chinese cause Katherine had decided she wanted that more than pizza.
"Was this the sort of Christmas you had in mind, Katrina?" He asked her.
"Mostly yes," She grinned and began undoing his tie. "But there's one more present I want to unwrap."
Gregory grinned. "I was just about to say the same thing," he replied and carried her off to bed. They undressed each other quickly, but the act of sex itself was done at a much more leisurely pace. Their bodies quickly warmed as they ran their hands over each other.
"You know," Katherine panted as Gregory kissed down her bare stomach, his lips around her nipples. "It was cold out, but I'm really warming up now."
"Good," Gregory said, penetrating her with his tongue and causing her to let out a shriek. He swirled it around inside her as she squirmed on the mattress, straining against the scarf that had been used to restrain her wrists.
"You're very good," he whispered. "So delicious." He grinned wickedly at her, which sent another wave of heat coursing over her body.
"Why do I let you do this to me?" She whispered as he loomed over her, his dark eyes gleaming.
"Because you like it," he said simply. "And let me tell you something." He got right next to her ear. "I like it too."
Katherine groaned and strained. "Just kill me!" She pleaded. "That would be kinder!"
"I guess I can give you what you've been waiting for," Gregory replied and pushed into her. "Yes, oh, my god!" She yelled. They went on like this for some time before they heard Elizabeth crying and he rolled off her.
"I'll go," he said. "You stay and catch your breath.
"Thank you," Katherine panted. "And may I say, you're damn good at giving Christmas presents."
Gregory grinned. "I do my best to give satisfaction. Merry Christmas, Katrina."
"Merry Christmas, Gregory," she replied before he headed off to calm Elizabeth.
Just before midnight, Felicity arrived back at the boardinghouse, finding Stefan in her bed.
"How were things at your brother and Aunt Lucy's?" She asked.
"Not bad," Stefan admitted. "But let's just say I'm glad I only have to go through this once a year."
"I'm glad you had a good time," Felicity nodded. "Did Sam end up going with you?"
"Yeah," Stefan nodded. "He drove me."
"Well, good," Felicity replied. "I had a good time with Helene and Adrian." She paused and looked up at him. "So what do you want to do now?"
"I was actually gonna go out again once I saw you were back," Stefan replied. "Wanna come with me?"
"No, thanks," Felicity replied. "You go out and have fun. I'm gonna stay here."
"All right," Stefan nodded. "Bye, Felicity."
She smiled. "Goodnight, Stefan."
