Happy Almost New Year, everyone! =D With the end of this year, so I bring an end to my festively-themed arc of Bayley's Universe (*fist pumps over having something festive and Christmas-y for people to read written*), Christmas With The Gems. I hope everyone likes this end of the arc and all its cuteness. Enjoy, my loves. =)

(Disclaimer: The author is not responsible for any blood sugar spikes, "Squee!"s, or "D'aawww!"s you may have while reading this. I only write what I feel/know will work in each chapter.)

It had been quite a ride of Bayley introducing Sasha to a lot of the Christmas traditions that she and the other Gems had to watching Sasha come to grow and actually like a good number of these traditions; and, after it was all really said and done, the brunette was proud of the progress she had made in introducing the magenta-haired Gem to some of the holiday traditions that she held so near and dear to her heart. And with Christmas Day being that day, Bayley was feeling so excited to introduce the last Christmas tradition that she and the other Gems shared.

Before Bayley and the other Gems knew it, Christmas Day had come. While Bayley slept peacefully in her bed, the other Gems were busy at work putting their wrapped presents for the brunette under the Christmas tree and, in Dean's case, eating the cookies and drinking the milk the young brunette had set out for Santa Claus the night before. Even though Sasha was well aware of the fact that this "Santa Claus" was nothing more than a figure of Christmas fables and tales, she didn't question it as Seth explained to her "We just let Bayley believe in Santa Claus so that she can have a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world. Besides, it's not really causing anyone any harm." Nodding in understanding, Sasha placed her present for Bayley under the tree with the other presents Dean, Roman, and Seth got for the brunette.

'I sure hope Bayley will like this,' Sasha thought, casting one last glance at her present before walking away with Seth.

...

Christmas morning had come around, and Bayley was still sleeping peacefully in her bed. It wasn't until she felt a pair of hands shaking her and a voice saying "Wake up, Bayley! It's Christmas morning!" that she almost leapt out of bed. Finally managing to get her bearings right, Bayley looked over and saw a grinning Dean kneeling on the floor next to her bed. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Bayley yawned a bit. "Morning, Dean. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Bayley," Dean smiled at the still sleepy brunette. "You ready to see what Old Saint Nick brought here for you last night?"

"Yeah, I, uh," Bayley yawned before continuing, "I think I am. I can't wait to see what I got this year."

"I think you're gonna like what the jolly old man left you this year," Dean grinned at the brunette as she climbed out of bed.

"I think I will, too," Bayley smiled a sleepy smile up at the now standing sandy blonde Gem. Making her way downstairs with Dean, Bayley soon found herself greeted with the smells of food just finished getting cooked for breakfast and, after a quick glance over at the Christmas tree, a fair number of presents. 'Looks like I got quite a lot of stuff. I can't wait to see what I got from everyone,' Bayley thought, an excited smile starting to tug at the corners of her lips.

"Merry Christmas, Bayley!" Seth, Roman, and Sasha all said as soon as Bayley and Dean reached the bottom of the staircase.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Bayley chirped, a smile firmly settling on her face.

"So, how'd you sleep last night?" Seth asked. "I'm guessing it was great, seeing as how you didn't wake up during the night."

"I did, actually," Bayley nodded. "I know I'm probably sounding a bit greedy when I say this, but I'm pretty excited to see what I got this year."

"I'm sure you'll like what we all got you this year. And don't worry about sounding greedy. Christmas is just another day where it should be all about you," Roman smiled to reassure the brunette.

"Yeah, I...I guess so," Bayley smiled a bit. Sure, she knew Roman was fairly right-as next to her birthday, Christmas tended to be a day in the year where the others would try to make the day all about her-but, this year...she wanted to do something a bit different, seeing as how there was a new addition to their little family this year.

"So! Bayley, how's about we sit down to Christmas breakfast first, and then after that, you can open up your presents?" Dean suggested.

"OK! That sounds like a good plan to me," Bayley smiled.

Heading over to take a seat at the kitchen island that was partially covered with a buffet of food from scrambled eggs to waffles to bacon to sausages to cinnamon rolls, Bayley sat down and, after Seth got a plate and utensils for her, helped herself to some of each of the foods that were made. Taking her time to eat her food and drink the hot chocolate Seth poured for her, the brunette couldn't help but let her own plan for Christmas ping around in her thoughts. 'I just really hope Seth, Dean, Ro, and Sasha will like this. This is going to be the first time we've been so complete of a family, and I just want to make today special.' Eating as much as she could hold in her stomach, Bayley let out a satisfied breath as she rubbed her stomach.

Seeing that Bayley seemed full from her breakfast, Dean took a bite of the cinnamon roll he had as a snicker escaped him. "Looks like someone's stuffed themselves a bit too much on breakfast."

"Can't help it. Was sooooo good," Bayley moaned in satisfaction.

"Well, I'm sure the others appreciate you complimenting the meal they made for breakfast," Dean smiled.

Looking over to Seth and the others, Bayley was rewarded with the other three Gems giving her smiles as a sign of their thanks. Smiling back, Bayley stretched her arms and let out a moan. "OK! I think I'm ready to open my presents now." Climbing down from the stool she was sitting on, Bayley made her way over to the Christmas tree with the other Gems following and then taking seats in the chairs that surrounded the small table so that they could watch the brunette open her presents.

Taking a seat on the floor in front of the tree, Bayley looked at the array of presents for her-all in different sizes-she didn't know which one to open first. Her eyes roaming over all of the wrapped items, Bayley reached for a rather lumpy-looking present that had a gift tag with "To Bayley, Love Roman" written on it. Running a finger under the edge of the green and white wrapping paper, Bayley tore away at the paper as she was soon rewarded with her first present, said present being a dress that was a sleeveless light pink and white plaid dress that came with a white polo shirt sewn in underneath. Her eyes seeming to shine at this, Bayley said "Aww, Roman. This is so cute! Did you pick this out for me on your own?"

"I'm glad you like it," Roman smiled. "But, it wasn't all me that found it. Your Aunt Naomi helped me out."

"Really?" Bayley asked. Seeing Roman nod, Bayley said "I'll have to be sure I tell her Thanks next time she comes to visit."

Cutting in under his breath while Bayley was still rambling on a bit, Dean mumbled "Oh, I think Aunt Naomi already knows", only to receive a swift elbow to the side from Seth.

Not even seeming to notice what was going on between Seth and Dean, Bayley said "Thanks again, Ro."

"You're welcome, baby girl," Roman smiled.

The rest of Bayley's present opening went fairly the same as when she opened Roman's first gift to her. Among the other presents she got were a pink Nintendo 3DS and a copy of Pokémon X from Seth, a set of five toy Hamtaro figures from Dean, and a few other assorted goodies from the Gems. Just seeing everything she got was making Bayley feel so happy. She had gotten some pretty great hauls of Christmas presents over the years, but this year's felt like one of the best she had ever gotten.

...However. Even though she was happy with everything she had gotten, Bayley couldn't help but notice that pretty much everything had come from Dean, Seth, and Roman...nothing from Sasha. This was making the ponytailed brunette feel a bit upset because she felt she made a lot of progress with introducing Christmas to Sasha; so, seeing that the magenta-haired Gem didn't participate in helping Santa Claus and the other Gems with getting her presents felt a bit disappointing to the brunette.

...But, this sense of disappointment all but disappeared when she looked under the Christmas tree and saw one last present that was a rather boxy shape. Grabbing and pulling this from under the tree, Bayley was surprised to see that on the gift tag "To Bayley, From Sasha". Her curiosity growing at just what the magenta-haired Gem could've gotten her, Bayley slowly tore the wrapping paper off of her present before being rewarded with something that made her say "Oh my god. This is so cool!"

"What? What is it, Bayley?" Dean asked, curious about what it was that she had now.

"It's what Sasha got me," Bayley said, a wide smile splitting her face. Turning around on the floor, Bayley held up just what had her so excited. "I got the complete box set of the graphic novels for Scott Pilgrim! I've been wanting these for myself ever since Paige let me borrow her copy of the first volume. This is so cool that I have the full series for myself now!"

"Wow. That is pretty cool," Seth smiled, feeling happy to see Bayley loving the present Sasha got her.

Leaning over to the magenta-haired Gem, Dean whispered "Nice getting that for Bayley. She must've told you how much she really liked the first one."

"Thanks. Although, Bayley told me no such thing. I simply went with my instincts when I was out with Seth a few days ago," Sasha whispered back. "And it looks like I was right to trust them."

Standing from the floor now that she was done opening all of her presents, Bayley looked down at all of her new treasures and then to the four that were responsible for getting them for her. Her smile softening from excited to thankful, Bayley said "Thanks so much you guys for a really great Christmas haul this year. I know I'm probably going to maybe say this next year, but I'm meaning it this year. I think this is the best that I've ever gotten. And it's not because a lot of it is just what I wanted, but because it's all stuff I got from my family. And, that...that's something I'm going to be thankful for for the rest of my life." A stray tear rolling down her face, Bayley wiped it away before continuing. "And, since I'm down getting all of my gifts from you guys and Santa, I want to play the part of Santa myself and give you all something. Hold on sec."

Watching as Bayley dashed away from where her presents were and up the stairs to her "bedroom", Sasha asked "What's going on? Is Bayley okay?"

"Yeah, she is. It's just...she's never done this before," Dean began to feel a bit confused. "Seth? You got any idea what's gotten into Bayley?"

"None. This is something that's pretty new to me," Seth said. Looking over to Roman, Seth asked "Roman? What do you suggest we do?"

Taking in the various worried and confused tones in the other Gems' voices, Roman said "Nothing. Whatever it is that Bayley has in mind, I say we just wait and see what it is. After all, this is Bayley we're talking about here. It can't be all that bad."

Just as soon as Roman said this, Bayley came bounding back down the stairs carrying a fairly big red cloth bag. Once she was at the bottom of the stairs, the brunette worked to catch her breath. Feeling as though she had her wind back, Bayley said "OK. I know every year you guys ae always getting me stuff for Christmas, so I decided that this year, you guys should get something, too." Walking over to where the other Gems were sitting, Bayley reached into her bag and, walking over to each Gem, gave each of them one present, all of them ranging in size. With her bag now empty as she went to stand in front of the TV, Bayley smiled adn said "Well? Go ahead. Open your presents", a somewhat nervous edge to her voice.

This was definitely a surprise for Dean, Roman, and Seth as this was the first time that Bayley ever decided to give them a present for Christmas; it was a strong promise that they kept to always make days like Christmas and other days like it all about Bayley, so the fact that Bayley was giving them all something this year was pretty sweet. As for Sasha, she wasn't really expecting to get anything; so, to be holding a present from Bayley now was definitely a surprise to her. Not wanting to keep the brunette waiting any longer, the Gems all tore into their presents and were surprised with what they got: Roman got a pair of black fingerless gloves, Seth got a cookbook of different breakfast, dinner, and dessert recipes, Dean got a few bags of candy-all kinds that he liked-and Sasha got a copy of the book 'A Christmas Carol'.

At first none of the Gems could say anything over the surprise they were feeling at Bayley's presents to all of them. So, it surprised everyone when Sasha was the first to break the ice.

"Wow, Bayley. This is great. Dickens is considered a classic of English literature, so I can't wait to read one of his most well-known works. Thank you." And, in a move that surprised everyone-Bayley included-Sasha rose from where she was sitting and, wrapping her arms around Bayley once she reached the brunette, gave Bayley a hug as her thanks.

This surprised Bayley as, to her knowledge, this is the first time she ever saw or got a hug from the magenta-haired Gem. So, not wanting to leave her fellow Gem hanging, Bayley returned Sasha's hug as her smile seemed to spread across her face.

Watching the girls as they hugged, the other three Gems shared a smile over everything that happened with their Christmas. While they weren't human themselves, that didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy a holiday like this; especially when it was a time that they could come together as a family. And with Sasha now joining them, their family was feeling more complete than it was before.

Even though he didn't want to interrupt the sight before him, it was getting fairly late in the day, and they were going to have to clean up before it got too awfully late. Clearing his throat, Roman said "Bayley. Perhaps we should clean up all of the wrapping paper before we settle down."

"OK, Ro!" Bayley chirped as she and Sasha released their hugs on each other.

Watching as Bayley walked over and began to pick up all of the torn wrapping paper, Sasha suggested "Let me help you, Bayley. That looks like quite a bit of work for one to do on their own."

"OK, Sasha!" Bayley nodded as she and the magenta-haired Gem went to work at cleaning while the other three went to work preparing a fairly light Christmas dinner, seeing as how they still had a fair amount of cinnamon rolls leftover from breakfast. Looking over and watching as Sasha picked up some of the wrapping paper, Bayley let a soft smile cover her face as she thought 'Merry first Christmas, Sasha. I hope this'll be the first of many you can celebrate with me and the guys.'

And thus ends the 'Christmas With The Gems' arc of Bayley's Universe. I'm just feeling so happy that I was able to get something festive written for the reading pleasure of everyone that read this. ^^ And I'm even happier with how the arc as a whole turned out. ^u^ From Bayley introducing Sasha to the Christmas traditions she and the others have to a pretty darn great Christmas Day filled with good food, presents, and the Gems coming together as a family, all of it was just so sweet and great and it all really shows that, even though there may have been troubles in their pasts, these five really do love and care about each other. So precious! =')

Now, as for my next arc, I've got a few different ideas bouncing around. On one hand, I'd actually like to work on the earlier proposed Natalya backstory arc...just so that it can be a learning experience for Bayley to learn more about her mom that she never got to meet...and maybe even the dad she never got to meet either. On another hand, I'd want to go on with the arc where Dean goes about trying to help Sasha fix her Gem. Then on another hand, I have this idea where another Gem with a Peridot-esque personality (pre-Reformation Peri, that is) arrives in the city that Bayley and the others live in and targets them (not the best pitch, but I'm hoping you guys get my drift). And on other hands...I have other arc ideas, but none as concrete as these two. If either one piques anyone's curiosity, let me know, and that just might be the next one I start on. ;)

So, if I don't have anything new for this story posted before the new year rings in, I just want to wish everyone an early Happy New Year. =) Hope everyone is safe doing whatever it is that they do for New Year's, and I hope you all enjoy ringing in 2017. Until my next update, don't forget to R&R please. =)