I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I did ;)

Also, happy new year!

Here's an extra long chapter xoxo


It was finally Christmas Day. Olivia had been looking forward to this ever since Alex had come back in to her life. And while it wasn't the first time she'd spent time with her on the twenty-fifth of December, it was definitely the first time she'd woken up next to her on this particular date. They were married now!

She would be going by Olivia Margaret Cabot for the rest of her life. Nothing thrilled her more.

Sitting up, Olivia stretched and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. They were in for a long day.

Alex woke not long after her, and when she saw Olivia looking at her, she climbed on top her lap.

"Good morning, Missus Cabot, and a very merry Christmas."

"Right back at you." Olivia hugged and kissed her. "Missus Cabot, have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Alex put on her glasses and pretended to think about it. "Only every single day, but how about you get in a few right now? For good measure?"

Olivia obliged by laying Alex on her back and covering her body in a torrent of hot kisses. Lots of "I love yous," could be heard amongst Alex's lusty sighs. This was bliss.

Paradise. Heaven. Their happy ending.

They had done it—they had beaten every obstacle and monster in the past few months, to still come out on top. Nobody could ever take those victories away.

But after a few minutes, Alex heaved a regretful sigh and pulled away.

Time to get back to reality. Diana was awake and letting Alex know it, and it wouldn't be long before Noah and Serena would follow. Both were tip-top grumps in the morning. The crowning jewel was that Harper had spent the night. She was asleep in the guest room, and as she was due any day now, close tabs were being kept on her. But she was a really good sport about it. Today, this Christmas, the House Of Cabot was full to the brim. Everything was perfect.

Alex held her arms out to Olivia. "Help me up, wife on mine. Please."

"Of course, beautiful. Here we go."

Olivia helped Alex to her feet, and then watched her backside as she crossed the bedroom towards their bathroom.

Oh, my God—she's my wife, Olivia thought. Best Christmas ever.


Present opening was fun.

Though Noah was more enthralled by the paper and ribbons, and Serena was too young to appreciate her first Christmas, Harper was quite interesting to watch. It was a national holiday and her birthday. She was the only person in Olivia's life who had such a double whammy to their name. And nobody had forgotten that this was her first time going through this day as a widow.

Olivia spoke softly to Harper when she noticed that she'd gone quiet. "It is okay to feel things. I'm sure that you're missing Xander, and that's okay, but from over here, it looks like you're holding something back."

Harper looked up from a new robe she'd just unwrapped. "I'm definitely missing my husband, but this is about something else."

"How's that?"

"We could only ever afford one or two things for each other around the holidays because we never had much money to spare." she began. "After mom died, I just gave up because I was always back at a city home by this time of year. I was nine. Sometimes I didn't get any presents."

She reached into the package the robe had come in and pulled out a new pair of slippers. She looked from Olivia to Alex, who were both watching her.

"I'm always going to miss my husband, but I'm happy today because I've never had this much of a family to be with during the holidays at all. I love it. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Alex told her. "Olivia and I have never had a big family before at Christmas, either. We want to do all of it justice."

"Both of you are doing very well. What's really been hitting me just now is that by this time next year, Junior and Zoelle will almost be one."

"Are you pinching yourself about it?"

"One hundred percent." Harper suddenly remembered she was holding her new slippers. "Can someone help me put these on? I'm officially a beached whale."

Olivia knelt on the floor beside her sister, helping her into her new footwear. "For the millionth time, Harper Atticus, you are not a beached whale. You're a pregnant mama who looks fantastic."

Harper had on zero traces of makeup like she usually did, and her long dark hair was piled in a messy bun on the top of her head. Her maternity pajamas were even just about stretched to their limits. She also had to use the bathroom frequently. If anything, Harper felt like a hot mess. At least she would be getting two new babies out of the experience.

But she recognized what her sister was trying to do and was gracious about it. "Thanks, Liv. That's really sweet."

"Anything to cheer up my baby sister."

"Hey! I'm your only sister!"

The adults all had a laugh at this.

Wanting attention back on him, Noah seized a parcel from under the tree at random and walked up to his aunt. He even held it out nicely.

"Open, please!" he requested.

Harper examined the tag to find Alex's name instead of hers.

"Ace," she said gently to her nephew. "This is for mama, not auntie."

Now Noah just hugged the box close. He liked it because it was big and easy to carry.

Olivia came to the rescue by holding out a package wrapped in shiny paper. "I'll take that one, Mister Ace, and you can have this one. Okay?"

"Okay, mama." Noah put big parcel in Olivia's lap. "Here go."

"Thank you." they traded presents. "I think auntie will be happy to help you open this."

Noah decided that this was a good idea and returned to Harper.

"Open, please!" he said again.

"Sure thing, baby boy. Come sit with me."

Noah managed to squeeze himself on to what was left of Harper's lap as she engaged him in conversation about how to unwrap a present. They were both soon completely absorbed. Olivia sat back on the couch with Alex.

"Trade you this parcel for a baby girl?"

Now that Alex had fed Serena her bottle, burped her, and changed her diaper and clothes, the little girl was in a very good mood.

"Sounds like a deal. Here."

They made the trade.

Serena made a small protest at being moved, but Olivia was quick to pacify her.

"You're okay." she rubbed Serena's arms. "I'm sorry about bothering you. Go back to sleep."

Serena just yawned and curled up into the fetal position. Cuddles were her favorite.

Olivia watched her snooze. Her daughter was at peace at the world and even beaming as she started to dream. Serena Diamond was perfection. Every day that they got to hold her was perfection.

And Serena was also yet one more person that Olivia would have missed out on if Sophia had never shown up in their lives.

"Happy first Christmas, baby Stardust." Olivia kissed Serena's cheek. "You are so loved—more than you could possibly know—and right now, Mama Dana is definitely smiling down on you from Heaven. She's even telling you the same thing about love. Yes, she is."

The baby gave her biggest yawn yet before laying an ear to Olivia's shoulder. Now she could finally relax.

Olivia held Serena a little closer and listened to her breathe as she fell into a dream state.

Everything that Olivia had been through in her entire life had lead to this. To sitting next to a happily pregnant Alex, to being Alex's wife, to watching Harper and Noah open Christmas presents together, to snuggling with Serena, to waiting for Sophia to come over later. Every last long night and shed tear had been completely worth it.

She regarded Serena once more.

It was true that Olivia and Alex owed much of their happy ending to Sophia and Harper. Neither of them would ever deny that. But the circumstances around Serena were just… different.

She would have never existed at all if Olivia's path had never crossed with Dana's. All the way back in 2005. Now, Olivia couldn't imagine life without her baby girl.

She gave her daughter's cheeks a few kisses.

"What an extraordinary gift you are, my Serena Diamond." Olivia murmured to her. "But a fun fact is that by this time next year, you and Diana Pearl will be having a ball together. How great does that sound?"

Serena curled up even more, and fell into her deepest sleep yet.

"What are you thinking about, wife of mine?"

Olivia turned to see Alex looking at her.

She replied, "I was just thinking about how extraordinary our lives are, Alex. I'm also thinking about how beautiful you look in that sweater. Do you like it?"

Alex had always appreciated having beautiful things in her wardrobe—especially soft things. The only thing was that she didn't have many non-court clothes in this category. Olivia decided to rectify this by gifting her a few cashmere sweaters. Each were in one of Alex's favorite colors, and the one she was currently wearing was purple.

"I love it, babe." Alex kissed Olivia. "Thanks."

The family continued to open presents together until—

DING-DONG!

Olivia got to her feet, startled. She'd lost track of time.

"That'll be Sophia. I'll get it…"

She navigated her way across the paper-strewn floor, and out to the front hallway.

"Hey, Soph." she greeted her firstborn as she ushered her in and closed the door against the cold again. "Merry Christmas."

"And the same you," Sophia hugged, stepping back to give her a once-over. "Although I see you're not quite ready to go on our expedition through the park yet."

"I lost track of time. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry." Sophia showed her mother a big bag full of wrapped presents. "I brought gifts for you, Alex, Harper, Noah, and Serena; they're from us. I'll go hand them out while you do what you need."

"That's a good plan." Olivia praised. "I'll be down in a few."

As Olivia headed upstairs to get ready, Sophia headed into the front room, announcing her presence in a singsong voice. She was greeted by a warm hello from Alex, a cheer from Harper, and a cry of, "MY FIA'S HOME!" from Noah. Everybody was overjoyed at the sight of Sophia just walking into the room.

Best Christmas ever.


CENTRAL PARK


With no real destination in mind, Olivia and Sophia found themselves walking along together down one of Central Park's many walkways. It was very quiet. Just the way they liked things.

Sophia spoke after awhile. "So what did you do all these past Christmases? Before I found my way back?"

Olivia thought about it. Twenty-four Sophia-less Christmases was a long time. Too long.

"Well, some years, I'd be stuck a work because of a case. That's just inevitable when you're in the NYPD." Olivia told her. "I'm also a longtime donor to The Children's Defense Fund, especially around the holidays. That organization got me out of numerous jams with my mother when I was younger."

"Wow."

"I'm also an anonymous donor to the children's wing at Mercy General. I always give a little extra around this time of year."

Sophia continued to marvel at her mother. "That's all so amazing."

Olivia caressed her daughter's face. "I've done it in your name, because I liked to think that if you were out of the state, that you and I could at least be helping other children. What do you make of that?"

"I think all of this is some of the best stuff you've ever told me, Olivia. Thank you." Sophia hugged her; suddenly, she couldn't get enough of her mother. "I've benefitted from the fund and the hospital many times over the years."

Hearing this admission made Olivia's heart do a funny flip—she'd been looking out for Sophia for all these years without even realizing it.

"You're welcome." she gave Sophia's hand a gentle squeeze. "Ask me another question."

Sophia had one ready immediately. "Then how did I get my first name? I asked Alex once, and I guess she knows, because she said that I should ask you."

Olivia gathered her thoughts again. "Soph, do you believe in God, or at least some kind of higher power?"

"Definitely a higher power. I also know that Sophia means 'wisdom' in Greek."

"That's correct." Olivia confirmed. "I gave you a name because even if I wasn't going to be able see you grow up, I wanted you to feel like a person. And it would be a way for one us to find the other when you were old enough."

"It was a good train of thought. I've never met another Sophia Rose, which has always made me like my name even more."

Olivia took some breaths to steady herself. Sophia deserved to hear this all the way through. It was just a lot.

"I believe in God, so I asked the universe for a sign about a name for my baby girl." she said at length. "When I got a book of baby names a few days later and opened it at random, Sophia was the first name I saw. How could I ignore such a blatant sign?"

Sophia was fascinated. "You couldn't."

"That isn't even all."

"No? But what else could possibly be left?"

Only Alex knew this next part. This was going to be the hardest to tell.

"I still wasn't talking to my mother when you were born. I didn't even have a real support system in place." Olivia ran her fingers through her hair. "It was just me, the midwife, and the nurses. I was otherwise alone…"

She trailed off as the memories came flooding back. She hadn't spoken of them since the rainy night in 2000, when she'd turned up drunk and weepy on Alex's doorstep. That seemed another lifetime ago now.

"Sophia Rose, giving you up devastated me, and the postpartum really did a number on my head. I can't begin to tally up the amount of hours I spent crying. Before and after." In the cold air, Olivia's breath came out in a particularly big cloud as she sighed heavily. She looked a few steps short of crying. "There was one nurse in particular who really went above and beyond for me, and she didn't even have to. I'll never forget."

Sophia was hanging on to every word because she had a feeling that she'd never hear this again from her mother. "What did she do?"

"This nurse held me while I grieved over what I'd just done, and without a single word about long hours, she helped me cope with all of the afterbirth business. All of it. I wouldn't have been able to handle that alone."

"My nurse was very good, too, after I had Melissa." recalled Sophia. "The one assigned to you sounds like the epitome of exceptional. Did she do anything else for you?"

Olivia nodded slowly as even more memories came back. "She reassured me that none of what I'd just been through was in vain. She also told me that I was a great mother for making such a hard choice, and that you and I would be together again one day, celebrating Christmas."

"Here we are." Sophia remarked. "Twenty-five years later, and we've been reunited. We're even on a Christmas Day stroll in Central Park."

"Here we are, indeed."

There was a beat of silence as it hit Sophia that Olivia had only hit the climax of her tale.

"What became of the nurse?" she prompted. "Have you bumped into her on the job since I was born?"

Olivia shook her head regretfully. "Uh-uh. I never saw her again, but I learned her name on my last day."

"What was it?"

"Sophia."

"Wow."

Olivia's heart swelled at the look of awe on her daughter's face. "She was the last sign from the universe that I'd chosen the right name for you. And because of the love she showed me when I needed it the most, I was able to believe that things would work out for you in the end."

"Which they did. The rewards for our patience are overflowing now."

Sophia stopped walking. Seeing this, Olivia also paused.

"You okay?" she queried.

Now Sophia looked like she was the one about to cry. "I'm good—I promise. I just wasn't expecting that kind of a story at all. No wonder Alex was insistent that you be the one to tell it."

"She's always right about that kind of thing." Olivia quipped.

"That's for sure." Sophia gave Olivia a quick hug. "I love you so much. I'm glad that out of everyone there's ever been, that the universe chose to make you my mother."

Olivia was instant mush. "I'm glad, too."

When the air grew too cold to stay still for much longer, they continued along the walking path again.

At one point, Sophia probed, "Is there anything in particular that you asked the universe for this year?"

Olivia answered with true contentment. "Just a family that's happy and healthy."

No sooner were those words out of her mouth, when—

"Olivia! Sophia!"

They both turned at the sound of their names being called. Looking around, it was to see that they'd made it to the Alice In Wonderland statue. Already.

It was also to see Carisi and Amanda hurrying towards them.

"Hey, you guys." Olivia said as they all exchanged hugs. "Merry Christmas to you."

"Right back at you, Olivi—"

Carisi was cut off by Amanda, who was at the most joyful that Olivia could suddenly recall her being in awhile.

"Olivia, Sophia, look at this!"

Amanda showed them her left hand.

Upon which was a new engagement ring. It was very clear what had just happened.

Olivia and Sophia congratulated the couple.

"Oh, I'm so happy," Olivia added. "And it's about time!"

Sophia winked. "I totally agree. Did it just happen?"

"Five minutes ago, Soph, over at the statue." Carisi told her eagerly. "We were actually just about to call you both."

Olivia checked their surroundings again. "So I guess Jesse is elsewhere?"

"She is." Amanda confirmed. "She and Frannie are at Blue's place because they live nearby."

The smile on Amanda's face was now just so big that Olivia found her more endearing than usual.

She laughed. "Amanda, what is it? Something about the baby?"

Amanda pointed to her jacket-obscured baby bump. "Genes run really strong in this family—we found out the day before yesterday that Jesse is getting two siblings, instead of one! More twins!"

Both Olivia and Sophia looked at her in surprise because neither had been expecting that; the coming spring was going to be very busy. None of their lives were ever going to be quiet again. Ever.

All the same, the duo were quick to recover, hug their friends again, and congratulate them.

"That's really great!" Sophia chirped as she felt her own twins wiggle around inside her. "How are you feeling?"

"Shocked, but twelve hundred percent over the moon about it all."

Carisi nodded in agreement. "Me, too. That's the perfect description."

"I'm also excited for you both," Olivia added. "But why didn't you say anything about this yesterday?"

"Because it was your wedding. We didn't want to take the attention away from you and Alex."

"Thank you. That was really nice."

This time Carisi was the one to wink. "You're very welcome, and feel free to tell the others."

He meant their extended precinct clan.

Olivia laughed again. "You can read me like a book, Dominick. That was my next thought."

Amanda chimed in, "We're going to head on our way again—we've got some calls to make."

"Of course." Olivia gave her friends' hands gentle squeezes of affection. "Merry Christmas. Congratulations, again."

They thanked her, and with a parting wave from Sophia, were on their way again.

Olivia felt like she was on Cloud Nine after hearing such wonderful news from two people she loved so dearly.

But then she remembered something which caused her to look to Sophia with somewhat of a serious expression.

"I love Dominick and Amanda like they were my own, but she's your sister, and he's your future brother-in-law. What's going through your head?"

Sophia bore a grin worthy of The Cheshire Cat. "There aren't enough words to say how happy I am right now. This has truly been the best Christmas of my entire life."

"We're not even through the day yet."

"Yes, but this—meeting you and everyone else—has been much more than I could have ever bargained for."

Olivia was in agreement right away. "It's also more than I bargained for, too, and I can really back you about being happy."

"I wouldn't trade any of this for anything, especially since it's all brought me back to you, and you welcomed me with open arms." reflected Sophia. "Even with all my baggage."

"Hey." Olivia put her hands on her daughter's shoulders to look into her eyes. "I wondered about you and prayed good things for you every day that you were gone. I also made a promise that when you were back, I would still love you, no matter what you'd been through. I'm a person of my word."

"That's for sure."

Olivia smiled at her. "So I will always love you because you are my daughter. Everyone goes through something, and none the things that happened to you when you were growing up were your fault. I'm forever proud of you for surviving all of it. Do you understand?"

Sophia hugged her mother for the umpteenth time that morning. "I do understand, and thanks, mom. I love you."

Olivia would never tire of hugging Sophia, so she returned the hug without hesitation. What was one more? "I love you, too. Nothing will ever change that."

And they continued on their way again.