"Oh, please no," Katie says, her voice muffled by her shirt, almost afraid to see what's going to go down.

Jessie's eyes shoot wide open and she whips her head around to the doorway. "Fuuuuck," she says quietly so that only Katie can hear her. She smiles sheepishly and laughs nervously. "Hi guys. So, um, I guess we're doing dinner here tonight huh?" She asks, wanting desperately to sink into the couch and disappear.

"It's about damn time," Grace grins as Katie pulls her shirt back on.

"Oh my god," Karen repeats as she gapes at Jessie and her 'best friend' as Katie climbs off the couch.

"Holy shit!" Zoe yelps as she looks from Katie pulling her shirt all the way down and her stepsister, who is trying to button her shirt back up.

Rick passes out with a thud, Judy and Eli smirk. "Okay then," Lily says, not really sure what to do. "Eli, Grace, Zoe, why don't you guys go...somewhere," Lily orders, her eyes not leaving Jessie and Katie.

"No, I think I want to see this," Grace says with a grin. Lily shoots her a glare and Judy pushes her toward the door. "Fine. We're going," she sighs as they walk out of the house onto the porch.

"Who would have thought Jessie and Katie would get together?" Eli asks with a grin. "Didn't see that one coming," he says with a chuckle.

"So, you're okay with her and Katie?" Grace asks, taking poll.

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be? Jessie's my sister, I love her," he replies with a shrug.

"It didn't freak you out or anything?" Grace asks.

"Nope. But did you see Dad?" Eli asks, bursting into laughter.

"I'd be cool with it if Jessie was gay. Although, there probably would've been a more tactful way of her letting us know," Zoe smirks. "And besides, she might not even be gay. It might not have been what it looked like," she says perceptibly.

"What else could they have been doing Zoe?" Grace asks.

"Strip tackle football?" Eli offers with a grin.

"Exactly," Zoe says. "That's what they were probably doing anyways. So there!" Zoe exclaims while sticking her tongue out at her sister. Grace and Eli start laughing. "You never know with those two," she mumbles defensively.

"So, Zoe. Would you like to explain the rules of strip tackle football?" Grace asks, trying to hold in her giggles. Zoe punches her in the arm before sitting down with her arms crossed and pout intact.

Once Rick regains his consciousness, he moves to the loveseat and sits down with Lily next to him and Judy sits in the chair. Jessie and Katie are sitting on the couch, Jessie with her head down, studying her hands.

Karen just paces, occasionally stopping and shaking her head. Finally, she just stops and takes a deep breath. "So, how long?" She asks.

"How long what?" Jessie asks with confusion.

"You and Katie. How long have you two been...?" She waves her hand, not wanting to actually say it.

"Doing what?" Katie asks with apprehension.

"Each other," Rick says bluntly before Karen has the chance.

"We never have," Jessie states honestly while shaking her head.

"Then why were you were both half naked on the couch?" Karen grumbles sarcastically.

"We haven't!" Jessie yells, standing up. "We just got...carried away," she says weakly, losing her fire and sitting down.

"I believe her," Judy says sincerely, earning a glare from Karen.

Lily decides to interject before things get out of hand. "Jessie, are you gay?" She asks, cutting right to the chase.

Jessie sighs. "If you have to put a name to it, then...yes I guess I am," she says, closing her eyes and tilting her head back down, expecting the worst.

There's a stunned silence. "How long have you known Jess?" Rick asks softly.

"Since after, um, after I tried to...about a week after I met Katie, she admits quietly, feeling tears start to well up. "Are you mad at me?" She asks sounding all of two inches tall and nearly breaking everyone's heart with her vulnerability.

"Jess, oh god no. We aren't mad at you," Karen breathes out, sitting down next to her daughter.

"We can't be mad at you because of this," Rick says incredulously and the others nod silently. "It's just...why didn't you tell us sooner?" He asks sounding genuinely perplexed.

"I was afraid," Jessie says, looking up at them. "I didn't know how you would react," she sniffles.

"This wasn't how I would've wanted to find out, but we aren't mad at you," Rick says sincerely as he goes to hug her.

The room then lapses into an uncomfortable silence. Jessie shifts in her seat, staring down at her lap. Katie sits on her hands, looking five years old. All of the adults just sit there, each staring at a different wall, trying to figure out what to say next.

"When's dinner going to be ready?" Katie asks, breaking the silence.

Everyone laughs, glad to relieve some of the tension. "Don't you think about anything other than food?" Jessie asks.

"You," Katie says before she can stop herself. The room lapses into an awkward silence...again.

"Yeah, um, I'm going to get started with dinner," Karen says, getting up from her seat.

"I'll help," Lily offers, hastily getting up to follow Karen and escape.

"Uh, yeah," Judy says, standing up. She smiles at them before following Karen and Lily.

"You two can get back to...whatever," Rick says, winking at them. He then leans down and hugs Jessie again and smiles before following the other two women.

Both girls simultaneously let out a breath they didn't realize they had held in. Then they both relax and fall back into the couch.

"That was fun," Katie comments with a smirk.

"Yeah, why can't all holidays be this exciting?" Jessie asks sarcastically before bringing a pillow to her face and screaming into it.

"How does it feel to have finally come out?" Katie asks her with a grin. Jessie mumbles something inaudible from under the pillow and Katie thinks it would be best to not know what Jessie had just said.

"Hi," Grace smirks as she walks into the living room. "How did it go?" She asks with cautiousness.

"Better than I thought it would," Jessie confesses with a sigh.

"So...you're gay?" Zoe asks as she walks in, narrowly dodging the pillow that flies at her head. "Hey," she says. "It was a perfectly legitimate question," she defends.

"Yeah, I am," Jessie says warily, leaning back into the couch. As if on instinct, her hand slides over and takes hold of Katie's.

"You two make a cute couple," Eli observes with a thoughtful smile. "I'm happy for you," he says, maintaining the same smile.

"Thank you," Katie says and Jessie just nods and sighs. "What's wrong?" She asks, noting Jessie's behavior.

"I was just thinking, if I had known that everyone would be this great, then I wouldn't have waited so long to tell them," she says with a look of deep reflection.

"Jess, I hate to be the one to point this out, but, technically you really didn't tell them," Zoe points out. Jessie looks at her with confusion.

"Yeah, she's right," Katie states. "They kind of walked in on us about to have sex," she clears up with a smirk.

"Oh, yeah. That," Jessie says. Katie quirks a brow. "What?" She asks, looking at Katie with confusion.

"Nothing. It's just the way you just said that, you made it sound like you forgot your car keys or something," Katie says.

"Sorry I forgot it. How silly of me to forget something like that during a mild heart attack. However can I make it up to you?" Jessie asks, rolling her eyes.

"I can think of a few things," Katie says, raising her eyebrows seductively and Jessie gently shoves her.

"I bet you can and we will do something about some of those things, but not right now," Jessie says and Katie pouts. "You're so cute when you're sexually frustrated," she smirks and tries to get up.

Before Jessie has a chance to make her get away, Katie grabs her by the wrist and pulls her onto her lap. "You didn't think I was going to let you get away that easy, did you?" Katie asks with a grin and Jessie shakes her head with a soft smile. They lean in and start to kiss.

The others laugh at the display. "We should see of the adults need any help with...anything," Grace says while trying to herd Zoe and Eli out as well. They walk into the kitchen, leaving Jessie and Katie alone.

"So, things went well?" Grace asks the adults as they walk into the kitchen.

"Yes, they did actually," Judy says with a smile. "Did you talk to them?" She asks, sounding slightly worried.

"Uh huh," Eli grunts as he goes to see what smells so good.

"Yep," Zoe chirps with a smile.

Grace nods. "We told them that she had our full support. We are really happy for them," she says with a soft smile.

"That's good that we're all okay with it," Rick says with a smile of his own.

"Yeah. By the way Dad, I hope that you didn't hurt yourself too bad when you hit your head on the floor," Eli says slyly with a grin.

"Ha ha," Rick deadpans. They others laugh lightly.

"Need us to help with anything?" Jessie asks as she and Katie walk into the kitchen holding hands.

Later Christmas Night:

"This was a really long day," Jessie sighs as she leans into Katie on the couch.

"Uh huh," Katie agrees dreamily. "How do you feel?" She asks seriously.

"I don't really know," Jessie admits. "I just hope that the rest of the week isn't as eventful," she says while unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn. After a short pause, Jessie looks up at Katie. "How do you feel?"

Katie smiles. "You know how I feel. This is all I've wanted for the past six years," Katie answers softly. "The wait was worth it. You were worth it," she continues softly.

Jessie smiles. "So are you. And, I have to say that I am actually really glad they know now," Jessie confesses.

"When do you go back to school?" Katie asks, changing the subject.

"Monday morning," Jessie says while trying to stifle another yawn. "That'll give me all of New Year's Day to sleep and get ready for exams," she says while snuggling closer to Katie. "Where are you going after the holidays?"

"Not sure. I'm actually fairly certain that it's about time I find a job," Katie says and they both laugh. "I've been out of school since June and I'm pretty sure my parents don't appreciate that their twenty-three year old daughter still lives with them," she smiles.

"Yeah. It's time for little Katie to grow up and act like a big girl now," Jessie teases and then yawns again.

"I should probably get going," Katie says reluctantly. "You're tired and I should let you get to bed," she explains.

"Nuh uh," Jessie grunts, shaking her head against Katie's chest. "It's late and past your bedtime," she teases. "You're not going anywhere," she tells Katie sleepily.

"Okay," Katie relents happily without hesitation. They stay like that a moment longer. "Jessie, can we go to your room at least because, as much as I love you, I also like being able to feel my legs too," she pleads.

Jessie looks up with a mischievous grin. "Only if you carry me," she smirks.

Katie looks up at the stairs, then back down at Jessie. She realizes that it's a long trip up those steps while trying to carry someone. She wonders if it would really be worth it. Jessie notices Katie's torn expression and grins with triumph as she settles back into her previous position. "Okay, let's go," Katie smirks.

tbc