Katy was incredibly reluctant to go over to the Beales' for the party Kathy had organised to welcome Louise, Keanu and baby Peggy back to the Square on Christmas Eve. She apparently had very little choice in the matter, as the children were desperate to meet their new cousin and Ronnie decided that she should make the effort to show her face. Things were tense after Jack's attack, but he had told his daughter that he didn't want her getting involved.

At just gone four, an hour after they'd been told to get to the house, they finally arrived. The children immediately disappeared off with William, Janet and Lexi, leaving the adults to accept drinks and settle themselves around the room. Taking a seat next to Lola, Katy was directly opposite Phil and Ben, sending them a hard glare, which they returned equally emotionlessly.

"It is nice having all the family together." Kathy announced, beaming around proudly at the gathered Mitchells. "Is Callum coming, Ben?"

"He's working at the parlour." Her son said, shooting his cousin a dark look.

Katy smirked into her drink. "That's a shame."

"Really? What, on Christmas Eve?" Kathy complained.

"It's that time of year, init? Drink driving… choking incidents… family strife."

"Oh, cheery."

Sharon smiled up at her, holding out a large gift bag. "Here you go… a few little things; mainly for Lexi."

"Oooh!" The little girl in question looked up at the mention of her name. "Presents!"

"Yeah!"

"Here you are, Jay." Kathy held the bag straight out in his direction. "You can hand them out, Santa."

"I was just about to take this off." He complained, pulling at the hat and wig combo he was sporting. "I'm boiling in this thing!"

Everyone except Phil, Ben and Katy laughed. They sat in silence, not finding anything remotely funny about the situation they were in. Katy was sending daggers across the room at her step-uncle and cousin, while they glared back at her. No one else seemed to have noticed the tension or, if they had, they knew better than to bring it up.

Sharon chuckled at Jay's words. "That reminds me of this pack of stags I saw in Santa suits when it was scorching outside… all piling out of a lift in a hotel."

"When?"

"Oh, gosh, years ago… Florida. He just reminded me when he said it was hot."

Katy caught the expression on Phil's face as he listened to his wife's anecdote, barely registering some sort of commotion as Ian accidentally kissed Sharon on the lips under the mistletoe. She continued to watch him as Kathy announced that her elder son had had a crush on Sharon when they were teenagers.

"Don't be ridiculous." Ben told his father, evidently reading the same thing in his expression as his cousin did.

The conversation continued around them until Lisa, Louise and Keanu arrived with baby Peggy and everyone immediately swarmed around them. Katy could see that something was bothering the younger blonde and she guessed that it was more than being a new mum. Watching her for a moment, spotting the way she flinched away from her boyfriend and the expression she was regarding him with when his attention was on someone else, Katy tilted her head thoughtfully to one side and watched more closely.

"We better get going." The young blonde announced suddenly, standing up and smiling at Kathy. "Thanks for having us, Kath."

"So soon? Surely you can stay for a little while longer?"

"Nah, we've gotta get on. Got a few things to do before tomorrow. Come on, kids! See you guys."

"I'd better go, too." Ronnie agreed. "I'll never hear the end of it otherwise."

They said their goodbyes and left the house, promising to see everyone else the next day. Neither Ronnie nor Katy said anything until they were all safely back in their flat and the children were occupied by their toys and a film on the television. Then Katy nodded her head towards the kitchen, signalling that she wanted to speak to the older woman in private.

"I think there's something going on with Louise and Keanu." She announced, leaning against the counters and fixing her mother with a serious look. "There's something very not right there."

"They've just had a baby," Ronnie reminded her, "of course they won't be acting like they usually do. Their priorities have changed."

"No, it's more than that." Her daughter argued, shaking her head. "The way she was looking at him…"

There was a long pause as Ronnie regarded her daughter carefully, trying to work out what she was thinking. "Oh my god… you think Sharon had an affair with Keanu, don't you?"

"Is that so ridiculous?"

"Yes!" Ronnie laughed. "Sharon's older than I am."

"And?"

"You really think Keanu would have an affair with Sharon when he's with Louise? Katy… I think you're reading too much into Lou being a little bit spaced out. She's just had a baby, for god's sake. Remember what you were like?"

"Mmmm… if you say so."

The older blonde let out a deep sigh. "Look… it's Christmas Eve. The kids will be going to be in a couple of hours and then it'll be Christmas Day. Let's not let Phil's issues mess up our Christmas, eh?"

"No. No, you're right." Her daughter smiled, taking a breath and then turning to the kettle. She really didn't want their first Christmas back together to be spoilt by her family's drama. "Right… you go and make sure they're not running wild and I'll make a cuppa."

Ronnie sent her a searching look, before nodding and heading back through to the living room. Katy chewed the inside of her lip as she waited for the kettle to boil, thinking over what she'd seen at Kathy's. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She was sure that Keanu and Sharon had been suspiciously close at the beginning of the year and she honestly couldn't think of another explanation for the look that Louise had been giving Keanu. She wondered what Phil would do if he figured it out as well, guessing that what he'd done to Jack would look like child's play next to the revenge he'd take on his daughter's fiancé.

The rest of the evening passed without further mention of any of anyone else in the family and, as soon as the children were in bed, Katy had sent Ronnie and Glenda out for a few drinks over at the Vic so that she could have a bit of peace and quiet to finish wrapping presents and getting ready for the next day. She was just in the middle of pushing the children's filled stockings into the cupboard, ready to put on the ends of their beds later on, when her mobile started ringing.

"Hey, darlin'."

Katy knew from the tone of her father's voice that he was about to say something she wouldn't really like. "What's happened?"

"Nothing's happened… there's just a slight change of plan for tomorrow."

"Right…?"

"Me and the kids are going over to Patrick's with Denise. She wants a bit of moral support with Sheree."

"Seriously, Dad? You're cancelling on Christmas Eve? The kids are in bed… what am I supposed to do now?"

"You're welcome to join us." He told her hastily.

"And Mum, Rox and Gran?" When there was a slight hesitation, she sighed. "Didn't think so. Thanks, Dad."

"I can bring over the food that we were gonna have for ya. I really am sorry, Katy."

"Yeah, well… at least we won't go hungry, I suppose." She muttered. For a moment she had thought about suggesting she phoned Phil and asked to go over to theirs for lunch, but decided that might be pushing things a bit far after what had happened. "We'll still see you at some point, though, yeah? Ruby'll be devastated otherwise… especially after the play."

"Of course I'll see you. I wanna give the kids their presents myself. I know Amy and Ricky have spent their pocket money buying you lot some presents, too."

Letting out a long sigh, Katy leant back against the sofa cushions. "I suppose you haven't told Roxy she's not having lunch with Amy?"

"I thought it might be better if it came from you."

"Of course you did."

"I am sorry, darlin'."

"I know. You gotta keep Denise happy, I get it."

"I'll call you tomorrow. Love ya."

"Yeah, you too." Katy said softly.

Ten minutes later the doorbell ringing signalled Jack's arrival with the promised food. He apologised again, before heading back across the Square. Katy watched from the window as the door of his house open and closed again, before doing her best to stuff everything into the 'fridge. Looking round, she chewed her lip and wondered how on earth they were all going to fit in her tiny kitchen, let alone manage to cook everything.

She was still pondering the problem when Ronnie arrived back with Glenda and Roxy. Listening to the change of plans for the next day, the three older women immediately started criticising Jack's timing, leading Katy to jump in and defend his reasons. Ronnie arched an eyebrow at her daughter, but shot her sister a look to stop her continuing to complain.

"Why don't we take everything over to the R&R?" Glenda suggested suddenly. "We can use the kitchen and there'll be more than enough space for all of us."

"And there'll be enough booze there to make the food bearable." Roxy joked.

"Thanks, Aunty Rox." Katy rolled her eyes. "But that sounds like a plan."

"Who's going to get up early to put the turkey in?"

"We'll just eat later." Ronnie suggested with a shrug. "Why don't we take the food and some of the presents over there now? There'll be less to do in the morning then and we can just enjoy it."

Agreeing, Glenda and her daughters carried what they could over to the bar. Katy waited for them to return, before thanking them and handing out glasses of wine. She settled on the sofa between her mother and her aunt, catching her grandmother's eye and smiling happily. She couldn't believe how lucky she felt in that moment.