Disclaimer: I do not believe I own any characters in this story other than Angel, Eddie, and Jesse, which are my own creation. The other characters are property of ABC/Disney.

Rafe stared outside at the falling snow. It had been snowing for what seemed like hours now. He remembered his and Alison's first Christmas together, it was Lucy and Kevin's wedding. Wow, that seemed like ages ago. It'd been over two years since she'd passed. Every now and then he thought he could feel her touch, or he'd smell her perfume around the house.

Everyone was urging him to move on, to find someone to help raise the kids. He knew that it would be hard to do, he was so scared she'd be upset with him. He remembered one of the last things she said to him though, 'I can never be upset with you, Rafe Kovich', and smiled. He also knew that she wanted from the beginning to get a second chance at life. Now that meant raising their two children, and getting to see them experience things for the first time.

He heard the car pull up and he opened the front door. In came a very bundled up Reese. "Sorry I'm late. I wanted to be safe on the road. Where are the kids?" She said, hanging up her coat. Soon she heard the running of feet.

"Aunt Reese! Aunt Reese!" Yelled Angel and Eddie.

"I shouldn't be too long, just need to pick up a few extra things at the stores for Christmas." Rafe said, giving the kids big hugs and heading out the door.

Reese locked the door, and turned around to see two big faces staring back at her. She squatted down to their height, "So what do you two want for dinner?"

"Spaghetti!" said Eddie, though it didn't come out quiet that clear.

"Alright, spaghetti it is. Afterwards we can all watch a movie, how does that sound?" she asked, walking over to the kitchen.

"Yeah!" they both said in unison.

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Wow it's busy, he thought to himself as he brushed through the crowded mall. He had decided to buy an extra present for the kids. He had got a coloring set for Angel, and a new set of toy cars for Eddie. That was it, he was all done shopping. He paused for a second in front of the jewelry store. There was a dazzling set of earrings in the window. Too bad he didn't have anyone to get that for. His thoughts were halted though as another customer ran into him.

"Oh, excuse me," said the red head, picking up the package she dropped.

"Probably was my fault. I had just stopped to look in the window."

"Those are very pretty. You should buy them for your wife," she said noticing he had a wedding band on.

"Oh, I'm a widower, though my wife would have loved those."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I'm so rude, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jesse, Jesse Locke."

Hearing the last name Locke made his mind jump straight to Livvie. "You don't happen to have a relative named Livvie, do you?"

"No, I don't."

"Be glad," he said, grinning to himself. "And my name is Rafe Kovich. So are you done with your shopping now?"

"Yes, pretty much. Would you like to sit and get a cup of coffee?" she asked, already noticing how nice his smile was.

"I would enjoy that, but I need to get back to the house. I left my children with my sister-in-law, and I don't want her driving once the snow gets bad. I hope to see you around though."

"Same here," she thought to herself, same here.

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He pulled in the driveway, the snow had let up a bit thankfully. He saw the kids bedroom lights were off, meaning they were either already asleep or Reese had them watch a movie earlier and they had fallen asleep on the couch.

He walked into the house seeing the television on. Angel was curled up on one side of Reese, and Eddie was on the other with Reese was somewhat asleep already. He came over and tapped her on the shoulder, waking her up.

"How were they?" he whispered.

"They were angels," she laughed sitting up, "You want me to help you get them to bed?"

"No, it's ok. I'm used to it. Did they eat a good dinner?"

"Yeah, they ate fine. How are the roads out there?"

"They are still clear. You can stay the night if you want though."

"No, I better get back to Jack and Maxie," she said. Reese had found out about a month after Alison's funeral that she was pregnant. Alison had always joked about seeing her sister as a mother. It was too bad she wasn't here to see it, Reese was pretty good.

"Ok, Goodnight. Call and let me know you got home safe," he said, locking the door behind him.

He walked over to see his two children still asleep on the couch. He picked up Angel and took her to her room first. He tucked her into the bed, making sure her blankie was nearby. He then got Eddie and took him to his room. He made sure the monitor was turned on, and then headed on down the hall to his bed.

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He had just dropped the kids off at Lucy's when he realized he had forgotten to get Maxie a Christmas present. He decided that he would take an extended lunch break and head over to fight mall traffic again. Today was Wednesday, that meant Jack and Jamal would take Angel and Eddie to the park around 2 also.

Work seemed to drag on for the morning. Finally he looked at the clock and it said 11:30. He figured he'd be back here by 1:30, 2 at the latest.

The mall wasn't as packed as it had been the night before. He went into one of the stores, and his eye was drawn to a blanket. It was pink, and had an appliquéd rose on it. He thought for a second, and decided that was it.

Now he was done, so he decided to go sit down in the food court. He hadn't been sitting long when he heard from behind him "Hello there, Mr. Kovich." Turning around he saw Jesse from last night.

"Well, hello. Would you care to join me for that cup of coffee now?" he asked.

"I guess I can take a slightly longer lunch break. I thought you were all done last night."

"I forgot to get something for my niece," he said pulling out the blanket. "It has a special meaning to our family, and I thought she'd like it later on."

"Oh, that's so sweet. I can tell you are a very caring man."

He started to blush. He then wondered when the last time he had actually blushed. "Thanks."

"So, tell me about yourself. First, what are your children's names?"

"There's Angel, she's 7 now, and then Eddie, and he's 4. Here, I have a picture of them," he said, pulling out his wallet.

"Oh, they are so adorable. They have the biggest blue eyes, I take it they aren't from you."

"No, they aren't mine, that is for sure," he said, noticing Jack out of the corner of his eye. He thought he would keep walking, but it didn't take long for him to notice his brother-in-law sitting at the table with a red head.

"Hey Rafe," he said noticing the attractive woman he was sitting with. "And who is this?"

"This is Jesse. Jesse Locke." When the word Locke came out of his mouth he could tell Jack's mind went to the same place his had the night before. "No, she's not related to Livvie, I already asked."

"Are we still on for our play date today?" he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Angel's expecting it, you better run if you aren't there."

"I'll see you around," Jack said, smiling because maybe Rafe had finally found someone.

"Play date? Aren't you a little too old for play dates?" Jesse asked, curious now as to whom this fine looking man in front of her was.

"When Angel was born Jack and my late wife took her to the park every Wednesday after her nap. Jack and another friend, Jamal, made a promise to her that they would continue the play dates."

"Oh, that's so sweet. You are lucky to have a lot of friends around to help with the kids. I'm new to the town, moved in a few weeks ago."

"I was thinking I hadn't seen you around before. So where is it you are staying?" He couldn't believe those words just came out of his mouth.

"I'm staying with a family friend. Maybe you know him, Kevin Collins." Rafe looked at her in disbelief. She didn't know it, but the chances of her related to Livvie just went up by seventy five percent.

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"Daddy! Daddy!" was the first thing he heard as he walked into Lucy's house.

"Hey there, you two. What did you do today? Did Jack and Jamal take you to the park?"

"Yeah, we made snow angels and had a snow ball fight. Have you ever made snow angels, daddy?"

"Actually, your mommy and I made some before. Its lots of fun, isn't it? Why don't you go get your stuff together so we can head back to the house?" He said, as they ran into the play room.

"A little birdie told me you had lunch with a beautiful woman today," Lucy said, grinning from ear to ear.

"That little birdie has a big mouth. Did he tell you what her last name is?"

"He didn't tell me what her first name is."

"Jesse Locke."

"She's not related to Livvie, is she?"

"She says she's not, but she's staying with a family friend-Kevin."

"Oh my. Well, don't let that stop you from getting to know her better. Well, maybe only having one crazy side of the family will make her only slightly bizarre."

"Haha. Very funny. I bet Alison is up there right now laughing her head off at the mess I've got myself into."

"I'm sure she is," she giggled at the thought of him being related to Livvie again.

"Ok, daddy. We're ready to go," Angel said, running in with a picture she'd drawn.

"Give Lucy a hug bye, and tell her we'll see her on Christmas morning."

"Bye my sweetie's," Lucy said, as she watched them get into the car. As she closed the door she said a little prayer that maybe, just maybe, Rafe would start to move on.

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Alison walked into Ed's office and sat down. She usually just came in when he had called her, but this time she wanted to talk to him.

"Hello, blondie. What's up?" he said, smiling at his daughter-in- law. He had told her when she first came up that if he had some way of keeping that crash from happening he would have. At first she seemed stubborn about not getting a free pass, but accepted that maybe one day in the future she would be given one.

"I know I asked you to get Rafe set up with someone, but did it really have to be a relative of Livvie's?" she asked.

"I just put in the request. I didn't make any requirements as to who he should and who he shouldn't run into while out shopping. Besides, we have to just have a little faith, remember?"

"I know, well I'll let you get back to work. Oh, thanks for letting me send down that blanket for Maxie. Merry Christmas, Ed."

"You're welcome on the blanket. Merry Christmas, blondie."