Well, thank you so much once again for all of your lovely reviews, and also welcome to my new readers :-)

I'm really glad you liked the Christmas fluff, because there is more of it… well, maybe not only fluff… but you better see for yourself. Enjoy!

Oh, and to the birthday girl reading this: A very Happy Birthday to you and everything you wish for! :-)

Chapter 10

Her heart was beating up to her throat when they pulled up in front of the jail the next day. She hadn't seen her mother since she had left for New York and to say she was looking forward to meeting her again would have been a lie. Taking a deep breath, she loosened her seat belt to get out of the car. "Thank you for taking me here, Jay. Visitor time is limited to one hour, so maybe you could just be back at around 2 p.m.? You don't have to wait here."

He wasn't going to go anywhere, but he decided not to discuss that with her. "I'll be here at two. Please don't let her make you feel guilty or anything. It's no one's fault but her own that she's here." Leaning over to her, he gave her a gentle kiss. "I love you." He would have accompanied her if he could have, knowing how hard this was on her, but only one visitor was allowed. "I love you, too. See you in a bit." She kissed him again before reluctantly leaving the car to walk towards the entrance of the concrete building.

After having been checked for weapons, drugs or anything else that wasn't supposed to be brought into the prison, she was led into a visitors' room with a table and two chairs. She sat down and put the Christmas cookies she had brought, which had been checked for drugs and metal as well, in the middle of the table. A few minutes passed before a door opened and Bunny was led into the room. It wasn't the first time she was talking to someone in jail, but seeing her mother in prisoner's clothes felt strange, even though she knew this was where Bunny belonged for everything she had done.

"Hello, Mum… uhm… merry Christmas", she said awkwardly, pointing to the cookies on the table. The Christmas wishes sounded weird in her own ears, given the circumstances, but it was Christmas after all and that was why she was there in the first place. Bunny sat down, not saying anything for probably a minute.

"How dare you show up here?", she suddenly hissed at her, causing her to lean backwards startled. Not that she had expected her mother to be overly joyous to see her, but this still wasn't what she had expected. "Well, it's Christmas… I thought you might like to have a visitor." The look Bunny gave her seemed to be meant to kill her instantly. "Right, it's Christmas. And what I would like to have would be my freedom. But thanks to you, I'm locked up in here. So, you're about the last person on earth I want to see."

She took a deep breath, wondering why her mother's hatred even surprised her. "I didn't bring you in here, you did that yourself." She jumped on her chair when Bunny's fist hit the table, causing a ward to come in to see if everything was okay, her waving him off letting him know that she didn't need help. "It would have been your job to cover up for me, to testify in my favor instead of letting them arrest me. After everything I've done for you in my life, you would have owed me that much!"

She stared at her mother in disbelieve, her words making her finally give up on trying to be nice to her. "Everything you've done for me? You mean beating me up all the time, making me steal for you, having me take care of you when you were on drugs?" She shut her eyes for a second, almost spitting the following words at her. "Having your dealer fuck me when I was a kid so he would give you a shot? Having a guy take advantage of me that was more than twice my age, who got me on drugs and basically made me his prostitute? Are you seriously expecting me to thank you?" She was still sitting at the table motionlessly, not even raising her voice at her mother. But deep inside, she was furious. It was the first time she ever directly accused Bunny of everything she had done to her, something she should have done a long time ago.

"I wouldn't be in here if it weren't for you", Bunny snapped. "I just wish I had never given birth to you, you ungrateful little brat." She knew she shouldn't be hurt, but her mother's words still hit her like a bullet. Slowly, she got up from her chair. "You know… there were many times in my life when I wished the same. But I don't anymore. I'm glad to be in this world, because after everything you've put me through, I'm finally happy. And you're never going to take that away from me again."

Turning around and leaving the visitors' room, she heard Bunny toss the Christmas cookies across the room, shouting after her: "Go to hell, Erin! And don't you ever dare to show up here again!" She almost ran back to the cloak room, wanting nothing more than to leave this place as fast as she possibly could. While she had known that visiting her mother wouldn't be fun, she hadn't expected it to be this bad.

He had been sitting in the car, watching the entrance of the prison in case that she came back outside earlier than she had said. When he saw her storming out of the building less than half an hour after he had dropped her off, he knew something had to have gone seriously wrong. He quickly got out of the car to walk towards her, knowing that she hadn't expected him to stay.

"Erin, wait!"

His voice startled her since her eyes had been on the ground, causing her to almost run into him. When she looked up, she could see a deep concern in his eyes. She didn't even wonder what he was doing here after she had told him not to wait, but to come back after one hour. While him always knowing what she needed rarely surprised her anymore, it was still something that amazed her.

The haunted look on her face broke his heart, so he just opened his arms to pull her into a warm hug and hold her close. He instantly felt her bury her head against his chest, seeking safety in his arms. After a minute or two, he heard her raspy, shaking voice: "Can we please just go for a walk? I need some air before we go back home." He backed away from her slightly to nod and place a soft kiss on her forehead before pulling her into his side to walk over to the field next to the road. "Sure. Whatever you need!" He didn't push her to tell him what had happened with Bunny, knowing she would open up to him when she was ready.

Nestled into his side, enjoying the warmth and safety of his body next to hers, she walked down the small path that led through the field that seemed so peaceful under its fluffy white cover. It had snowed late last night, just in time for a white Christmas. "She's blaming me for her being in locked up in jail… so no surprise there", she broke the silence after a while. Taking a deep breath, she explained: "She thinks I would have owed her to testify in her favor, regarding everything she has done for me in the past."

Her words made him instantly stop on the spot, turning her to face him and staring at her in disbelieve. "You gotta be kidding!?" He pulled her close to him again when she slightly shook her head, avoiding eye contact. From what he knew about her past with Bunny, saying that her mother hadn't done anything good for her would have been an understatement. He gently kissed her hair, whispering: "Don't listen to her… you don't owe her anything!"

She wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of his chest rising and falling beneath her cheek. "That's about what I told her… I actually mentioned everything she has done to me, for the first time ever." She felt him caress the back of her head. "In the end, she told me she wished she had never given birth to me."

His heart shattered at her whispered confession and he felt like he was going to throw up. What kind of mother would say something like that to her own daughter? He pulled her even closer to him, trying to comfort her. "I'm so sorry, baby. She really doesn't deserve you. She doesn't deserve calling herself your mother."

She slowly lifted her head to meet his crystal blue eyes with her hazel ones. "I told her that there were times in the past when I wished the same, but that I don't anymore." Lifting her gloved hand, she cupped his cheek with her palm. "I told her that I'm finally happy and that she won't be taking that away from me again." She got on her toes to be able to kiss him, her lips that were cold from the temperature outside instantly turning warm at the touch.

Returning her kiss gently, he felt his heart grow with pride. Yes, he was proud of her finally standing up to her mother, not allowing Bunny to take control of her life anymore. "Let's go home and just relax for the rest of the day", he suggested as they broke apart. "Sounds great." She gave him a big smile when he tugged her into his side again to walk back to the car.

"As much as I love snow for Christmas… I will never like those sudden onsets of Siberian-like winter! I'm freezing!", she exclaimed once they got back to their apartment, refusing to take her coat and boots off at first. She sighed when he pulled her into his arms, enjoying the warmth radiating from his body. "How about a nice relaxing bath to warm you up?" She lifted her head and smiled at his suggestion. "I'd like that. But only if you join me. Nothing warms me like you do!"

The love sparkling in her beautiful hazel eyes made his heart melt, making him lower his mouth onto hers. "Of course I'll join you", he whispered against her lips. "Sorry to inform you that you need to get out of these clothes though. But take your time, I'll take care of the bath." He let his hand brush over her cheek and gave her another sweet kiss before heading to the bathroom to fill the bathtub with warm water and her favorite bath foam.

While she undressed and put on her fluffy bath robe, she couldn't help thinking about how she never would have thought it possible that a man like him existed, let alone would ever be hers. It surprised her how much she actually enjoyed him being so incredibly caring, considering that she had always tried to not depend on anyone. But letting him take care of her was so easy and felt so right that she didn't question it anymore.

He had just started to take off his own clothes when she came into the bathroom, the big fluffy robe making her seem even tinier than she was. "Water's ready", he informed her, reaching out for her as soon as he was ready to get into the bathtub. He pulled at the belt holding her bath robe together before slowly pushing it off her shoulders. "I will never get used to how beautiful you are", he whispered, kissing her softly before taking her hand and helping her to step into the tub.

The warm water felt amazing on her skin and she happily nestled herself into his embrace, her back rested against his chest, as soon as they were both seated. She put her arms on his that were crossed in front of her, closing her eyes and taking in the spicy scent of oranges and cinnamon. The peaceful atmosphere carrying her away, she allowed herself to doze off, knowing that he held her safe in his arms.

After everything that had happened earlier that day, he was happy to feel her relax in his arms. He rested his head against hers and took his mind off everything else, just enjoying being here with her, surrounded by nicely warm water and the feeling of love. Only when he felt the water slowly become a little chilly did he start to place soft kisses to the side of her face. "Wake up, sleeping beauty."

She moaned slightly as he gently woke her up, turning around in his arms to snuggle up even closer to him. "We need to get out of the water if you don't want to get cold", she heard him whisper against her ear. Sighing, she lifted her head, only to smile at him and meet his eyes with hers. "I'm sure you could easily make me feel warm again…" The intense look he gave her made her heart skip a beat.

"I'd love to make you feel warm… a lot warmer than you are right now." He met her lips with his in a deep, promising kiss before he got up to help her out of the bathtub. Wrapping a big, soft towel around her, he went on kissing her while tenderly drying her off. Once they were both dry, he lifted her up into his arms to carry her back to their bedroom where he gently laid her down on the sheets.

She held her breath when he came to lie above her, the love in his eyes overwhelming. Wrapping her arms around him, she turned them over gently until she was on top of him. Not breaking eye contact for even a second, she took his hands until he was sitting up, straddling him so she could sit on his lap. "Hold me close", she whispered when she slowly lowered herself onto him, feeling him inside of her making her tremble with bliss.

He felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest when she took him in, wrapping his arms around her to pull her as close to him as he possibly could. When she cupped his face in her soft palms and locked her hazel eyes with his, kissing him deeply as she started moving in his lap, it completely took his breath away. Gently caressing her back, he began rocking his hips against hers in a slow rhythm. "I love you so much, baby", he whispered against her lips.

"I love you, too", she answered raspily. Being so close to him, buried deeply in the safety of his embrace while being connected to him in the most intimate way, felt simply amazing, and it was all she needed right now. She didn't know how long they had been fondly making love when their bodies began trembling in ecstasy in perfect unison. Burying her head in the crook of his neck, she felt him pull her with him as he lay back on the bed, not able to sit up straight anymore. She instantly snuggled up to him, feeling nothing but happiness and peace.

He didn't let go of her even the slightest bit while his breathing and heartbeat settled back to normal, except for pulling a blanket over their heated bodies. It didn't take long until he felt her chest rise and fall slowly and regularly against his, indicating that she had fallen asleep. He couldn't really explain why, but it made him incredibly happy that she fell asleep so easily in his arms. After all, it showed him how much she trusted him, how safe she felt being with him, which meant the world to him regarding her past.

He allowed himself to doze for a little bit, but then looking at the alarm clock on his bedside table showed him it was time to start cooking. He reluctantly let go of her, not wanting to leave her in bed by herself, but also knowing that she would appreciate a nice home-cooked dinner. When pulling out underneath her, he put one of her big pillows between her chest and the mattress, chuckling as she snuggled up to it immediately.

When she woke up after a while, she realized his bedside was empty, which surprised her because she hardly ever woke up alone after they had made love. She opened her eyes and sat up, noticing it was already dark outside. A smile came to her face when the faint smell of food tickled her nose, telling her why he wasn't lying next to her anymore. She got up, put on some warm tights and a black jersey dress she knew he liked on her and left the bedroom to look for him.

"Hey, baby." He smiled at her when she came into the living area, still looking a little sleepy. "You woke up just in time, dinner's almost ready." Making sure nothing was burning on the stove, he went over to her, wrapped his arms around her and gave her a long, tender kiss. "Would you like some wine?"

"What are we having for dinner?" She folded her hands behind his neck and blinked her eyes at him expectantly. "Your favorite chicken alfredo." Her eyes widened and she gave him another deep kiss. "You're the best! And yeah, I'd like some wine along with it." She pulled away from him to set the table and put some candles on it. Standing in front of the Christmas tree that sparkled with lights and beautiful ornaments, she couldn't believe all this wasn't a dream. It was Christmas Eve, she was here in the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, he had bought her a Christmas tree and cooked her favorite dinner. If anyone had predicted this to her a few years ago, she wouldn't have believed him.

"What are you thinking about?" He gently hugged her from behind, resting his head against hers. He felt her lean into him, covering his hands with hers. "I was thinking how all this is something I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams." His heart skipped a beat. "I know… I think this is already my favorite Christmas since when I was a little kid." The lights from the tree reflected in her sparkling hazel eyes when she slowly turned around in his arms. "I love you! And this is my favorite Christmas ever!"

Sometime later, after having enjoyed his chicken alfredo and a great rosé wine, they were cuddling on the couch. "That was so delicious", she sighed, still savoring the taste of pasta, chicken and parmesan cheese on her tongue. "I got myself a perfect househusband here", she teased, squeaking as he began tickling her. "Mercy! Mercy, please!", she laughed, holding her hands up in defeat. "I didn't mean it!"

Joining her laughter, he stopped his attack and pulled her against him. "Oh, I know you absolutely did mean it. But since it's Christmas, I will graciously forgive you." He buried one hand in her hair at the back of her neck and met her lips with his in an affectionate kiss. When they broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers. "How about we open our presents tonight? We will be pretty busy tomorrow."

"That sounds great", she whispered against his lips, kissing him again before getting up and getting a small present from underneath the tree, a new leather wallet since his old one was basically falling apart. After he had opened and admired it, she watched him get up and bring her two big presents and a smaller one. "They all belong together", he told her, handing her the smallest one. Inside she found a pair of gloves, a scarf and a wool hat, all in the same cream color. "Awww, thanks, I love those! And they look really warm!"

"They better be, at least that's what the lady at the store promised." He handed her the biggest box, containing a warm, comfortable but stylish night blue down coat with a brownish grey fur collar that they had seen at a mall a few weeks ago. "Oh my God, you remembered this?" He smiled at her surprise, gently caressing her cheek. "Well, you liked it when you saw it in the window, and I'm sure it'll look great on you."

"Thank you, I absolutely love it!" She gave him a loving kiss before opening the other big box, her eyes widening when she found matching Ugg boots in it. "I know how easily you get cold in winter. So I thought you might appreciate these things." Her heart melted at his words and at him caring for her like that. She put down the box and sat down on his lap, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you so much, baby! This was a perfect idea!" After another sweet kiss, she got up to get an envelope that had been lying underneath the tree.

He opened the envelope and pulled out a photo, showing a big flat screen. "It didn't fit under the tree, but it's waiting for you and your installer guy in the spare room." He looked at her in disbelieve. "Are you serious?" She nodded, adding with an innocent smile: "And my posters will look just as good over there." He couldn't help but shake his head, not believing what she said, before he pulled her back onto his lap and kissed her tenderly. "Thank you, baby! You're making your househusband really happy", he whispered when their lips parted after a while. "Oh, and I've got one more present for you."

"Another one?" She was surprised when she watched him get up again, coming back handing her a small rectangular box. When she opened it and saw what was in it, she let out a small gasp and felt her eyes fill with tears. "Jay…", she whispered as she carefully pulled out the delicate necklace that had a diamond-studded infinity sign on it. "This is beautiful." Her heart almost burst with love when he took the necklace and gently put it around her neck. "It symbolizes that we're in this forever." She closed her eyes when he kissed her softly. "Merry Christmas, Erin!"