DISCLAIMER: The characters do not belong to me…they are all the creation of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer. All are human.

Christmas

Edward's POV

After saying goodnight to everyone, Bella and I headed upstairs to put a sleeping Charlie in his room while Lily got her parents to promise a bed time story right behind us. The children and their mothers were going to bed while Emmett, Jasper, and I were going to be heading back downstairs to make sure Santa visited tonight.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay up with you?" Bella asked through her yawn as she crawled into the bed.

"I appreciate the thought, but you're tired and need your rest," I replied, tucking the blankets around her.

"Don't let Em get too loud and wake the babies," she mumbled, already drifting off.

"I won't. Get some sleep, my love."

"Love you more," she sighed with a smile on her face.

I took the baby monitor with me and closed the door to our room, wanting to make sure Bella wouldn't wake if Charlie did. He was definitely doing a lot better with sleeping through the night, but he still had his nights when he woke periodically. After checking on him once more, I finally headed downstairs to join the guys in the living room.

"No, I think it goes this way," Jasper said, turning a piece of Lily's new bike around.

"Did you look at the directions?" I asked, sitting next to them on the floor.

"What do we need directions for?" Emmett questioned, staring at the piece in his hands.

"To know how to put the bike together," I replied.

"It's a bike. It can't be that hard," Emmett said with a shrug of his big shoulders.

"Okay. Well, I'll leave you two master bike builders to it while I see about Charlie's activity center," I told them. It was a table filled with different types of touches and musical pieces and there was a chair connected to it that would let Charlie scoot all around the table to play with the different items. And it came in many pieces in a box for some poor sap of a father, such as myself, to put together. I pulled the instructions out and started to read over them, ignoring most of the teasing coming from Emmett and Jasper.

"Damn it, Edward. What did you have to marry my sister for? I have a ton of great comments I can't use because of that," Emmett fussed.

"It's her fault," I joked. "She shouldn't have been so beautiful and intelligent."

"Let's play I never," Emmett suggested.

"Let's not," Jasper replied. "We always get into trouble with things like that."

"We can't get in trouble now. We're not drinking," Emmett told him.

"It's not the alcohol that gets us into trouble," Jasper chuckled.

"Yeah," Emmett agreed with a snort. "So how awesome was it to see the kids' faces when Carlisle turned that tree on?"

"It was pretty amazing," Jasper said with a smile. "Libby and Brandon's eyes got so wide and they gave those little baby smiles were you can see their gums clearly."

"Just wait until they get older and want to touch everything," I chuckled. "Charlie would have loved to get his hands on those bulbs."

"And his mouth," Emmett added. "That kid's been slobbering on everything since he started teething."

"I'm sure Alice will love that stage," Jasper said as he rolled his eyes.

Emmett chuckled and then attempted to do his impression of Alice's voice. "My babies will not slobber. They will use a napkin to daintily wipe the drool from their perfect little lips while admiring how fashionably I've dressed them."

"She's not that bad," Jasper argued, trying hard not to laugh. "Ali just uses all of that fashion talk to cope with the things that trouble her. That's why she went on that shopping binge when everything happened with Bella."

"Yeah, she really took that hard," Emmett agreed, completely serious.

"We all did," I said. "Some of us were just more open about it than others."

Emmett shook his head a little as if he was shaking his thoughts right out of himself. "Yeah, well, all that stuff is behind us and Bells is back to being her annoying, pain-in-arse little sister self."

"So, Edward, I have a serious question for you," Jasper started. From the look on his face, I doubted his question was all that serious—he was smiling entirely too much. "A couple weeks ago when we babysat and you had those massive hickies on your neck, how the hell did you get those? Was Bella pretending to be a vampire? And if so, where did she get her costume?"

"God you two are sick," I chuckled, tossing a pillow at Jasper's head.

"Hey, I'm not involved in this one," Emmett said, paying more attention to the bike pieces in his hands than us.

"I was just curious if you two had stopped being so uptight in the bedroom and started trying new things," Jasper continued.

"Even if we were, that would not be any of your business," I replied. "Can we change the topic to something less personal?"

"Megan Fox is aptly named," Emmett piped up.

"I second that," Jasper chuckled.

"You know who else is hot, like second only to Rosalie hot?" Emmett questioned. "That Nikki Reed chick. Something about her is just wow."

"She's okay," Jasper shrugged. "I sort of like that Ashley Greene girl myself."

I tossed another pillow at them. "Would you two stop it?"

"Come on, Ed! Fess up!" Emmett urged. "You know you see these actresses on TV and you find one or two of them pretty darn cute."

"Be honest," Jasper warned. "I'll know if you're lying."

I figured I might as well give them something or they'd never leave me alone. "I don't know…I guess that Kristen Stewart girl is nice."

"Ooh! Wait 'til I tell Bella!" Emmett said, sounding a lot like a teenage girl instead of a grown man.

"I'll tell Rosalie and Alice," I replied immediately.

"Hey, I didn't do anything," Jasper fussed.

"True, but if Emmett is worried about getting you in trouble, he'll behave. If he's the only one that might get in trouble, he'll take the punishment," I explained.

"Sneaky bastard," Emmett chuckled. "Now help me with this damn bike before I mess something up and ruin Lily's Christmas."

"You may want to start by getting the proper tools," my father said as he entered the living room with a small black case. "Also, reading the directions has been known to help a time or two."

"Thank God for Carlisle," Emmett chuckled.

"Bella says that a man's inability to put things together without help and strict instructions is proof that God is a woman," I blurted out.

"Huh?" Emmett replied, looking extremely confused.

"Oh, I have to hear this one," Jasper said, putting down the toy he'd been working on for Brandon.

"I'm quite interested in this myself," my father added, sitting on the sofa.

I felt myself blush a little, realizing I was about to basically have a sex talk with my father. "Well, Bella thinks that procreation is the best example of this. She says to think of how the egg is female and there's only one, but there's millions of sperm trying to get to the egg—she says that's because none of them will read a map or ask for directions."

Emmett snorted and then the three of them burst into laughter. I shushed them, waving a hand at them and they quickly stopped themselves.

"What else?" Emmett chuckled.

"She says that when the sperm finally gets to the egg, he complains about his long journey, sits on the couch, and props his feet up while the egg starts to transform everything around them into a baby. And since that transformation is considered a miracle of God, God must therefore be a female," I explained.

"Jeezus, Bells," Emmett chuckled, glancing toward the stairs. "That sister of mine."

"She says the fact that scientist can map DNA strands is also proof that God is a woman—only a female would write down the instructions for how to make a human," I added.

"What if God is an architect? That would explain the DNA," Jasper suggested.

"What about the sperm dudes?" Emmett asked.

Jasper shrugged. "It could be an attempt to get the job completed faster. Send out the full workforce and see who gets it done quickest."

"What a riveting conversation for the wee hours of Christmas morning," my father chuckled.

"This is how the Swahallens roll," Emmett chuckled.

It took us two and a half hours to get all of the toys unpacked, put together, and under the Christmas tree to make it look as though Santa had passed in the night. And then we spent another half hour putting out the gifts we'd purchased for our wives—we'd learned over the years that it was best to hide them to avoid Alice doing that freaky thing where she looked at the gift and guessed its exact contents.

"I don't know about you boys, but I'm ready for some sleep," Emmett yawned. "Big day playing Santa ahead of me tomorrow."

"Take it easy with the pants," Jasper chuckled.

"That was one year, just one," Emmett said, holding up a single finger. "Let it go, Jazz."

"I see London, I see France…" Jasper said as he moved away from Emmett and around the couch. "I was forced to see Emmett in his underpants."

"And have been jealous ever since," Emmett chuckled, darting forward and putting Jasper in a headlock.

"As nice as it is to see you boys so relaxed and replaying your childhood, I feel it my duty to warn you both what will happen if you wake the children and their mothers," my father said, pointing toward the stairs.

"Did you ever wake a baby on Esme?" Emmett asked as we started toward the stairs.

My father actually cringed. "Only once, and I've never forgotten it. It's not a pretty thing, boys. Avoid it at all costs."

"I can't imagine Esme being angry. She's the sweetest woman in the world," Jasper said.

"Thank you for that, Jazz. And while I do agree with you, I know from experience that my lovely wife has a temper," my father replied.

"This is my stop," Emmett said, yawning in front of his door. "See you boys in the morning. Or more like four hours if we're lucky."

"Night," Jasper waved, walking off toward Alice's room.

"Tell Mom goodnight for me," I said, hugging my father.

"Edward, can I talk to you for just a moment?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"I wanted to ask you for a favor."

"Anything, Dad."

He smiled and squeezed my shoulder. "When you move into your home with Bella and the baby, can you make a big deal of calling your mom every day, just for a bit? She knows you need to do this and that you have your own family now, but at the same time, you're still her baby in her heart."

"I appreciate you the way you've both always made Bella and I feel welcome to stay, and definitely everything you've done for us since Charlie was born."

"You hope as a parent to never see your child go through the same pains that you went through, but at least you have that firsthand experience to give to help them heal."

"Bella and I learned a lot from Mom and you, and a lot about each other."

"Just remember that you still don't know it all, Son. Your marriage is still relatively new, and everything with Charlie will be a first. Remember that compromise and honesty go hand-in-hand, and that your actions can speak as loudly as your words. And for God's sake, Son, accept your Tutor-boy nickname and embrace it."

"Bella put you up to that, didn't she?" I asked, laughing a little.

"Just that last part. I meant all the rest."

"Good night, Dad."

"Night, Son. I love you."

"Love you, too," I said as I started up the rest of the steps. I headed into Charlie's room to check on him one last time before going to bed. He looked so peaceful sleeping in his crib, with his little arms stretched out above his head and his blanket bunched up around his knees; he looked so much like Bella.

After straightening out his blanket, I headed into my room, laughing quietly when I found Bella to be in nearly the same position as Charlie. She had her arms wrapped around my pillow, and our blanket was up around her knees.

I changed into a set of pajamas, wanting to be prepared for Alice's usual exuberant Christmas morning greeting, and then joined my wife in bed, smoothing the end of the blanket out before taking Bella into my arms. She mumbled something incoherent that sounded a lot like "fell off the motorcycle" before finding a comfortable spot on my chest and relaxing. There was no telling what that wife of mine was dreaming about, and my only hope was that it was a good dream.

"Good night, Love," I whispered as I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

Bella's POV

"Daaaaa," Charlie called out, the baby monitor picking his voice up loud and clear. "Baaaa-Daaaaa."

I chuckled to myself, listening to his cute little sounds and wondering how much longer it would be before those started to turn into real words. And then I decided to go and get my little man before he woke his daddy. Until Alice descended on us, I wanted Edward to get as much sleep as possible for being so sweet and staying up to get Charlie's gifts ready last night.

I walked up to Charlie's crib, finding him sitting up and shaking his giraffe by the neck while he continued to say his nonsense words. "What are you doing, little man?"

He immediately turned his head up, smiling wide and giggling.

"Someone is in a very good mood this morning," I chuckled as I lifted him from his crib and kissed his cheek. I brought him over to his changing table and laid him down. "Let's get you a fresh diaper and then some breakfast. How does that sound?"

"Daaaaaa."

"Sounds that good, huh?"

"Daaaaaa," he repeated, turning his head toward the door. All of those baby books swore he didn't know what he was saying, but that "daaaaa" sound was his favorite and was often accompanied by him looking around for something—I was pretty darn sure that something was Edward.

"Sleeping, little man. Daddy was up late last night. And guess who else was up late? Santa Claus! He had lots of presents to deliver with his reindeer, just like in the story Daddy read you."

"Oh, good! I'm not the only one up," Rose sighed, walking in with Lily on her hip.

"How early did she get up?"

"About ten minutes ago and she flat out refuses to play quietly or go back to sleep. I wanted to give Em another half hour at least, though."

"Same with Edward. There's more than enough toys in here so we should be able to keep them entertained."

"Charlie make stinky?" Lily asked as she walked over to Charlie and me.

"Not this time," I chuckled, closing up his fresh diaper.

"Morning, Ladies," Alice chirped as she entered the room with a baby in each arm. I was still amazed she could do that so well.

"Don't even think about waking anyone up yet," Rose warned.

"If I were going to wake them up, I would not have come up here with my babies," Alice replied, passing Brandon to Rose. They set the twins in Charlie's crib and turned his mobile on for the babies.

"Do you think they managed to get everything set up correctly?" Alice asked as Lily handed her one of Charlie's toys.

"Carlisle promised to check on them before it got too late and make sure of it," I replied.

"And he did as promised," Esme confirmed as she slipped into the room. "Look at all of my grandbabies up so early. They may not understand what this day is about, but they know it's something special."

"A really great plus to them being up so early is that they should all be having a n-a-p around the time we're handing out gifts," Rose said, glancing at Lily.

"Are we at the spelling stage already, Dear?" Esme chuckled.

"Yes, we are," Rose laughed.

"What the heck are you guys all doing in here?" Emmett yawned. "I want to see if Santa passed yet."

"Me too," Jasper said from behind, not looking much more rested than Em.

"We were attempting to let you guys sleep in," Alice explained.

"Not today. That's what tomorrow is for," Em replied. "Come give Daddy kisses," he said, holding his arms out to Lily. She giggled as she ran to him, jumping at the last second and letting him catch her. He swung her up and held her close while kissing all along the side of her face. "Ready to see what Santa brought you, Princess?"

"We have to wait for Grandpa and Uncle Edward," I reminded my brother.

"Here," Edward yawned from somewhere out in the hall.

"So much for that idea," I chuckled.

"I think they're excited since it's a first Christmas for three of our little Cullens," Alice said as she lifted Libby up while Jasper took Brandon.

The room slowly cleared out of all of our family members and Edward was able to get inside, greeting me with a kiss before taking Charlie. He rubbed his nose against our son's, getting him to giggle. "Did you sleep good last night?" Edward asked him.

Charlie's response was to try and get Raffe into Edward's mouth.

"No, thank you. I know where that thing's been," Edward chuckled. "Come on, little man. Let's go downstairs and see what Santa brought for everyone."

"Daddy, I not see," Lily whined as we caught up with the rest of the family on the stairs.

Emmett had his big hand over her eyes, keeping her from seeing anything before we were ready. Rose had reminded him again and again that she wanted to video Lily getting her gifts this year, especially that new pink bike with the little white basket and the red horn; I sure hoped the guys had put it together correctly.

"That's the point, Princess. You'll see in a minute," he replied.

We took up spots all around the tree while Rose got her video camera turned on. She pointed it at me and I lifted up Charlie's hand, getting him to wave.

"Alright, Em. We're good," Rose announced.

"Okay, Princess. Are you ready to see what Santa brought since you were such a good little girl this year?" Emmett asked.

"Ready, Daddy," Lily confirmed.

He pulled his hand away and no words could accurately describe the look of pleasure and elation on Lily's face when her blue eyes landed on that pink bike. She wiggled right out of Emmett's arms and rushed over to it, smiling wide as she carefully lifted her leg and sat down on the seat.

"My blocks go here," she announced, tapping the basket on front. "What this, Daddy?" she asked, pointing at the horn.

"Wait until we're outside to find out," Emmett told her.

Lily nodded her head, still all smiles. She climbed off of the bike and rushed over to her blocks, grabbing an armful and bringing them over to dump into her basket.

"Charlie's turn," Alice chirped. "I wonder which of these is for the little man," she said, pretending not to know.

"Look, Charlie. Santa brought you something special," I said, bringing over the activity center Edward had put together for him; from what I could see, he'd done a great job with it.

Edward carefully set Charlie into the seat, putting him in front of the musical part of the toy. "You have to press down on the buttons," he said as he demonstrated for our son.

Charlie's eyes widened at the sound of the music and he looked down at Edward's hand, putting his own on top.

"That's right, you have to press it like Daddy's doing," I said, moving his hand to one of the buttons. Charlie gave it a try and as soon as he figured out he could press those buttons on his own, he forgot all about everyone else in the house. We didn't hear a single peep out of him the entire time we were opening the rest of the gifts.

Jasper gave all of the ladies in the family a gift certificate to the spa we liked to go to with Alice. He gave Emmett a new football game for his Xbox 360, he gave tickets to Carlisle for a play he had wanted to see downtown, and he gave Edward tickets for the two of us to go and see a famous pianist who was coming to town. Uncle Jasper took care of his niece by giving her a brand new set of blocks; these were wooden and came with a variety of shapes so that her houses could have different types of roofs. And for the little man, Uncle Jasper had a baby swing to add to the playset outside.

"Lily Bear gave her permission for that," Jasper assured me as I pulled the rest of the wrapping paper from it. "And the guy at the store promised all the straps on that thing will make sure Charlie is perfectly safe to enjoy some outdoor fun. Plus, by the time he can actually use it, he'll be a lot bigger."

"Teaching him to go fast and get a rush is going to start early I see," I joked, grinning at Jasper.

"Hey, it's a man thing," he replied, patting his chest.

Emmett's gifts for everyone had his usual flair, but a little extra thoughtfulness this year as well. He'd taken the time to make and print out free babysitting coupons and he gave a set to Rose, Alice, and me. He'd also put in the fine print at the bottom that Jasper and Edward were required to help with said babysitting. For Esme and Carlisle, he'd found a frame that said "Best Grandparents in the World" and he'd put a picture of all of us together at his barbeque inside of it. Jasper received a new level with the laser guidance thing on it—you'd have sworn Emmett had given him cash or a car! My big brother knew me well and he gave me a set of hardback books to read to Charlie. Brandon, Libby, and Charlie each got a small stuffed football as their gift—Emmett reason that with the women in our family being as tough as we were, he wouldn't be surprised by Libby liking football. My favorite gift of all that day was actually from Emmett to Edward. It was by the far the nicest, sweetest thing my brother had ever done for Edward…He hugged him, told him that he loved him, and that he was proud to have him as a brother; he'd also taken the time to find a copy of that Amadeus movie on DVD that Edward had been wanting.

Edward gave Emmett and Jasper new games for their Xbox machines so they could have more things to fight over, which they loved. He gave Rose, Alice, and Esme gift cards to their favorite stores, and he purchased a year's subscription to Carlisle's favorite medical journal for him. Lily received a stuffed dog since she was still very much on a doggie kick, and Elizabeth and Brandon each received a Baby Einstein music CD. And because he was Edward, he had a gift for me too, but just the one. It was a new charm for my necklace—a silver heart with three birthstones on the side; one for Edward, one for Charlie, and one for me.

Alice and Rose had worked together on their gifts to everyone, knowing that with all of the changes this year—and the number of babies in the family—we were all in dire need of clean, spit-up free clothing. We each got a new outfit, complete with shoes.

Esme and Carlisle shocked us all by having had the same line of thinking as Emmett—they gave each couple a coupon for one baby-free weekend. And for the children, they opened savings accounts for the three little ones and added money to Lily's account.

"Alright, Edward," I said, putting the odd shaped gift in front of him. "This is the last gift of the day and it's all yours."

He smiled as he excitedly ripped into the package. And once all of the paper was gone, he just stared at his gift, making me laugh.

"Want to know why you got this?" I asked.

"Please," he replied, still looking so confused.

"Well, I was reading about traditions for a first home and I came across this great Southern one," I started. "Whenever a baby is born, a fruit tree is planted in the yard for the baby. It's supposed to symbolize the strong roots of the family, the baby growing tall and strong, and being nurtured, both by the fruit and the family. So I thought you should plant an apple tree for Charlie."

Edward smiled as he touched the small leaves of the apple tree he'd unwrapped. "That's a great idea, Bella."

"I'll help you plant it, if you would like," Esme offered, smiling at her son.

"Yes, I think I'd like it to live," Edward chuckled.

"Bells, if you're giving the boy a tree, that means you'll have to let him climb it without freaking," Emmett piped up.

"Just so long as you understand you'll be the first person I call to come get him out of it," I warned.

"Do I get a ladder and fireman hat to do it in?" he asked, winking at me.

"Sure," I chuckled."

After we'd enjoyed a morning of receiving, we headed to the hospital for an afternoon of giving. Emmett and Rosalie reprised their roles as Mr. and Mrs. Claus while the rest of us were helpful elves. Alice once again outdid herself, remembering every room assignment and the name of every little brother or sister that was visiting with a sick sibling. The whole thing was as heartwarming and heart-wrenching as it always was and by the time we were done, all I wanted to do was hold my son and be thankful that he was healthy.

As we walked through the halls of the hospital, I tried to picture our future as a family, seeing my nieces, nephew, and son one day helping us to deliver gifts to the children in the hospital. I hoped that this would become another Swahallen tradition to be passed down and honored for many, many years to come.

"What are you thinking, Love?" Edward whispered as he pulled me closer.

"I'm thinking of how lucky we are as a family and how I hope we give enough of that back."

"Between all of the little weekly things my mother does and our day here every Christmas, I think we definitely make an effort to share good times with those around us."

"We'll teach Charlie to do that, won't we?"

"Of course," Edward promised. "But since I know for a fact he has your heart, there won't be much teaching involved."

"You've got a pretty nice sized heart yourself, Cullen," I replied, smiling up at him.

He stopped us from walking and pulled me into a hug. "Only because you came along and showed me how to open it."

"Oh, Honey, you say the corniest things," I teased, smiling at him.

He smiled back and lifted his eyes up a little. I followed and found that we were standing under a piece of mistletoe. "Merry Christmas, Bella," he said before kissing me. It made me remember one of my first real kisses with him, at that the hospital Christmas party. I'd been an unsure girl, in awe of Edward and dying to get to know him better.

And now I was his wife and the mother of his child—and somehow even more in love with him than ever before. This year had not been easy by any stretch of the imagination, but at least it was drawing to a close and leaving me with my wonderful family. All I had to tackle now was moving into a new home, throwing a New Year's Party, and leaving my son to go back to work. Never a dull moment being a Cullen and I wouldn't have it any other way.

We are starting to wind it all down, faithful readers! We're going to be skipping ahead from this point forward, showing little snippets from their lives at different times. I figure we have about eight to ten chapters left. When I'm all done, I'm going to take a break from fanfiction to focus on some of my own writing, but I promise that if any ideas for Twilight stories strike me, I'll write them down for you guys.

Big huge thanks to George for all of her help throughout this story. As well as to Lizbre and CMC, my loyal pre-readers. Also a thanks to Blinding Firefly for the apple tree idea. It was just perfect and much better than my original gift idea for Edward.

And a thanks to all of you readers for sticking with this story and caring about this family. I've had many requests to turn Charlie over. LOL You guys rock and I appreciate all of the reviews and support so very much!!