Holiday On Arus

by Failte

The next story in my series. Pure fluff and fun. Complete Thank you so much for your reviews!

9. Presents And Decisions

Hi!

Thanks for the great reviews!  I'm glad you're enjoying this story.

Anony ~ My next story is going to be all about how Keith and Allura got together…I've already started working on it :-)

Thanks!

Failte

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Keith felt a tiny finger poke him in the cheek.  He slowly opened one eye and found himself nose to nose with his daughter.

"Hi Daddy!"  Cady squealed.

He smiled, stretched and sat up against the headboard.  Cady mimicked his movements and sat up beside him, her little feet sticking straight out in front of her.  She was dressed up in a red and green plaid dress, a matching bow pulled her blonde curls back from her face, and white stockings covered her legs.  Black patent leather Mary Janes were on her feet and beside her was the princess teddy bear she had opened the night before.  Keith felt a surge of intense love for the beautiful little girl sitting next to him. 

"Hi, Cady, where's Mommy?"

She pointed to the open door, "Bruders."

"She's with your brothers?"

Cady nodded and smoothed the skirt of her dress over her legs.

Keith kissed her on the top of her silky head.  They weren't too sure how Cady was going to react when the babies were born, but she turned out to be a great big sister.  She loved her brothers, always wanting to kiss them or pat their backs.  There had been some jealousy at first, Allura had been a bit overwhelmed when the twins had been born, even with Keith and Nanny helping, and Cady sometimes felt a little left out and would cry for her mother, not wanting anything to do with Keith.  He tried not to take it personally, but it had stung a little.

"You know it's Christmas?"

She nodded, "Ho, ho, ho."

"Yup," he tugged gently on a loose curl.  "Santa came last night.  Do you know what that means?"

She nodded again, not knowing what he meant but wanting to make him happy.

"Presents."

Cady looked up at him and gasped, "Pesents?"

"Yup."

"Pesents now?"

"We have to wait for Mommy and the boys."

Cady scooted to the edge of the big bed and jumped to her feet.  She ran half way across the room before turning back and grabbing her teddy bear.  "I get Mama." 

Keith pushed the blankets back, "Okay, Cady Bear."  He followed her out of their room and into the one next door.

He stood in the open doorway of the boy's room and took in the scene before him.  Declan was dressed and strapped into the bouncer on the floor beside the changing table while Allura stood at the changing table dressing Gideon.  Cady stood on her toes beside her mother gently smoothing Gideon's dark hair with her hand.

"Pesents Mama."  Cady said.

"I know, Santa brought you presents."

"Go get dem?"

"Did you wake up Daddy?"

"Yes."

"Well, when everyone is dressed, we'll go and see what Santa brought.  But we have to wait for everyone else to get up before you open them."

"I go wake dem."

Allura laughed as she closed the snaps on Gideon's onesie, "No, sweetie, we wait for them to get up.  It won't be long."

Keith wondered if his father ever did this, just watched his wife and their children.  They were all so beautiful.  Allura was dressed in a red and green plaid skirt, similar to Cady's dress, and a white blouse.  The necklace he had given her the night before hung around her throat, catching the light. 

Allura lifted Gideon off the table and turned.  Keith was leaning on the door jam, his arms were crossed over his bare chest and a slight smile on his lips.  "Merry Christmas, Keith."

"Merry Christmas, beautiful," he walked over and kissed her gently.  "You amaze me."

She raised her eyebrows, "What?"

"You're up and dressed, and you look unbelievably gorgeous by the way, and you have all three kids dressed.  Why didn't you wake me?  I would've helped."

"I know, sweetie," Allura kissed him on the cheek.  "But I don't mind.  You were sleeping so peacefully and, well, to be honest, I really like these quiet early morning moments with my babies."

She watched his eyes darken with emotion before he cupped the back of her head and kissed her in such a way that she knew he forgot Cady was standing beside them.

"Daddy, go dress," Cady pushed his leg.

"What?"  He looked down at her.

"I told her we'd go see what Santa brought after everyone got dressed," Allura explained.

"Okay, I'll go grab a quick shower," he kissed Allura again and ran a hand over Cady's hair.

When he walked out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later, he saw the party had moved into their room.  Declan and Gideon were both strapped into their bouncers and sitting in the center of the bed.  Cady sat in front of them with her teddy bear talking to them, but only making sense to herself.  Allura was sitting at her vanity and was just finishing putting her hair up into an elaborate twist, a few wisps of hair falling around her face.

Keith sat down beside Cady and stroked a gentle finger down Gideon's face.  The little boy grasped his finger and tried to stuff it into his mouth.

"Daddy, pesents." 

"You have a one track mind, little girl," he dropped a kiss on the top of Cady's head.

"You ready to go?"  Allura stood and fastened her earring.

"Yes!"  Cady stood and held her arms up to Allura.

"Ready for presents?"  Allura asked as she lifted Cady onto her hip.

"Pitty, Mama," Cady grasped the heart pendant in her hand.

Keith stood and pried her tiny fingers from it, "You see these shiny stones?"

Cady nodded.

"Well that one is the Cady diamond," he pointed to the top one.

"And dat one?" She pointed to the next one.

"That's the Declan diamond and that one is the Gideon diamond."

"Pitty," she looked up at her father.  "Pesents?"

"Alright, alright," Keith turned and picked up the boys' bouncers by the handles and turned toward the door.  "Let's go see what Santa brought."

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Lance's eyes flew open.  He turned to the clock and saw that it was almost six in the morning.  Darcy was beside him, sleeping peacefully, enjoying the little extra time Schuyler seemed to be giving them.  But it was Christmas morning!  He covered her face with soft, rapid fire kisses until her eyes opened.

"Merry Christmas my beautiful, sexy wife," he declared excitedly.

Darcy waved him away and turned her face into the pillow.

"Come on, Darcy, its Christmas morning!" He started bouncing up and down on the bed.  "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"I swear," Darcy growled.  "If this is what Schuyler is going to be like in a few years I'm going to sell her to the gypsies."

"My parents tried that, the gypsies brought me back three days later and demanded a refund as well as a larger amount for emotional distress and work lost."

She turned her face into the pillow to muffle her laugh.

"Come on!  It's our baby girl's first Christmas, let's make it count."

"Okay, okay," Darcy rolled over and smiled at him.  "You go get her while I grab a shower and get dressed."

"Well, hurry up," he jumped out of bed and grabbed a pair of pajama pants, pulling them on.  "There are presents to open and pictures to take."

"Her dress is hanging on the side of the changing table," she told him as she grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom.

"Don't worry, babe, I'll let you dress her," Lance called over his shoulder as he entered the nursery.

When Darcy walked into the nursery a little while later, she saw that he had been kind enough to put a clean diaper on Schuyler, but that was all.

"Wow," Lance whistled as she walked into the room.

"Why thank you," she twirled in front of him.  She wore a full red skirt that feel to her knees and a white blouse.

He stood and ran his gaze appreciatively over her, from head to feet, lingering on her legs.  "You look hot!"

She gave him a quick kiss, "Go get dressed, Lance, so we can see what Santa brought."

"I'm going," he grabbed her by the hips and pulled her against him.  "But watch for the mistletoe, I may have to ravage you."

"If I'd've known that, I would have hung mistletoe all over the castle."

A low growl escaped his lips as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Go, go, lets not make everyone wait for us."  Darcy pushed him toward their room and turned to scoop Schuyler up off the floor.  It had taken twenty minutes for Darcy to shower, get dressed, and do her hair and in that time, Lance had managed to take out almost every toy their daughter owned and spread them all over the floor.

"What are we going to do about your Daddy?"  She asked her daughter as she set her on the changing table.  "He's just a big kid himself, isn't he?"

Schuyler looked back at her with wide, brown eyes, her fist in her mouth.

"You're getting so big," Darcy sighed.  "You're Mommy's big girl, aren't you?"  She went about tugging tights onto Schuyler's chubby little legs.  "You're going to be a tall girl, Sky, your Daddy is 6'1" and Mommy is 5'10", the genes are in your favor."  Darcy picked up the white dress she had bought on a whim.  It had a red and green sash that tied in a bow on the back of the dress and red ribbons bows on the cuffs.  "But then your Aunt Becca is 5'7" and Aunt Leslie is only about 5'4", so who knows?  Maybe you'll be Mommy's little girl forever." 

Schuyler watched her silently.  Darcy often wondered if she should worry about how quiet Schuyler was.  She would sometimes babble and she had picked up the words 'hi', 'my', 'ba-ba', and even 'da-da', but very little else.  Cady had always been a talkative baby, even before she knew any real words.  Darcy knew she shouldn't compare, but Schuyler was such a quiet child.  She hardly ever cried and she would watch you intensely when you spoke to her, almost as though she understood every word you said.  Darcy usually kept up a running monologue when she was changing Schuyler or playing with her, hoping she would pick up on the words she said.

"You're so pretty!"  Darcy tied the bow in the back and ran the soft brush through Schuyler's dark hair.  "Mommy's pretty little girl." 

"Ma."  

Darcy stopped, the brush in midair, "What did you say?"

Schuyler looked at her.

"Come on, baby, say it again, Mama.  Come on, Mama."

Schuyler opened and closed her mouth a few times before whispering, "Ma."

Darcy screamed, "Lance!  Lance!  Come here quick!"

She heard him running, hitting the bedside table, swearing, and then running full force into the nursery, a look of concern on his face.  "What is it? What happened?"

Darcy picked up Schuyler and held in front of Lance, "Say it again, Schuyler, say Mama.  Come on, maaa maaa."

"Ma.  Ma."

"She said Mama!"  Darcy bounced up and down excitedly, hugging Schuyler.  "She said it!"

Lance grinned, taking Schuyler from his bouncing wife and kissing her on the forehead, "What a smart little girl!  Good girl."

Schuyler was loving all the attention and she laughed, clapping her hands.  "Ma! Ma!"

"Did you hear that?"  Darcy cried, "She said it again."

"Yes, I heard," Lance smiled at her.  "Merry Christmas, Darcy."

Darcy stopped bouncing, her hands clasped in front of her.  "You did this?"

"No, I'm pretty sure Schuyler said it."

"You were coaching her earlier, weren't you?"

"We've both been coaching her, Darc, I think she just has my flair for dramatics and she knew that this would be the best day to say it."

She leaned over and kissed him, hard, "I love you."

"I love you, too, honey, come on," he slung an arm around her shoulder.  "Let's go see what Santa brought."

"Give me my daughter," Darcy held her hands out.  "Say it again, baby, say Mama."

"Don't pressure her," Lance teased as they headed out to the hall.

"Hey, she's been saying Dada for a couple of months now, let me have this."

"Yeah, but she didn't know what she was saying, she was just making noises."

"That's not what you said the first time she said it."

Lance looked down at his daughter, "Say Dada, Sky."

She tilted her head and looked at him.

"Dada.  Come on, Daaa daaa.  Come on, Sky, Dada."

Darcy leaned down and whispered in Schuyler's ear.

"Mama!"  The little girl cried, clapping her hands.

"Yeah, well, we'll see what you're saying when you see the boring clothes Mommy bought you and the cool toys Daddy bought you."

"You're bribing her?"  Darcy asked, incredulously.

"Good morning!  Merry Christmas!"

Lance and Darcy looked up to see her parents coming down the hall towards them.

"Merry Christmas," Lance hugged Lucy and shook hands with Howard.

"Mom!  Schuyler said Mama!"  Darcy said, excitedly.

"She did?  What a good girl!"  Lucy kissed Schuyler's cheek.

"Say Mama, Sky," Darcy bounced the baby on her hip.  In response, Schuyler buried her face in Darcy's shoulder.  "So you're going to make me look like a liar," Darcy teased, tickling the little girl."

"I believe you," Lucy said, hugging her.  "When she wants to say it again, she will."

"Is anyone else up?"  Lance asked.

"We're on our way to the rec room," Lucy told them.

Darcy nuzzled Schuyler's neck, trying to get her to lift her head as they followed her parents to the rec room.

"Wow," Lance stopped short, causing Darcy to run into him.

Keith and Allura were already in the rec room with their three children, Keith holding Cady so she didn't run to the tree and rip open every present.  Isabelle and Nanny sat on the sofa sipping from cups of coffee, while Felix loaded some Christmas music into the stereo and Molly took a picture of the lit Christmas tree and the pile of presents underneath.  A fire roared in the fireplace and the coffee table was laden with slices of coffee cake, a tea pot and coffee pot, a pitcher of milk, and a plate of muffins.

"Mistletoe!"  Allura grinned at Lance and Darcy where they had stopped in the doorway.

They both looked up and saw the small clutch of green leaves.

Lance smiled at her, "Can't ignore the tradition."

"Okay, but lets not give them a show," she whispered back.

Lance carefully lifted Schuyler out of her arms and set her on the floor.  He wrapped one arm around her waist and brought the other hand up to her hair.  Dipping her as far back as he could, Lance brought his mouth down on hers in a soft, drawn out kiss.  Darcy clutched the back of his shirt to keep her balance, but she knew he would never let her fall.

Molly, Felix, Allura, Lucy, and Cady all clapped while Keith whooped and catcalled.

Lance lifted his head and grinned down at her.

"Showoff," she whispered, smiling.

"When you got it, flaunt it."  He stood upright and twirled her away from him.

"Pesents!" Cady yelled.

"No, Cady, we still have to wait for Koran and Becca and Pidge."  Keith told her.

"Where are they?"  Lance bent down and picked Schuyler up, tossing her in the air and catching her.  "It's late."

"It's only 6:30," Darcy pointed out, sitting beside Allura.  "Schuyler said Mama this morning."

"She did?"  Allura grinned at her.  "It's a great feeling, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"But it's 6:30 on Christmas morning," Lance whined.  "That's late."

Lucy stood, "I'll get Becca."

Darcy looked around, "Uh, no, Ma, you stay here, I'll get Becca."

"It's not a problem," her mother insisted.

"No, here," Darcy took Schuyler from Lance and handed her to her mother.  "You watch Schuyler, I'll get Becca and Lance will get Pidge."

"But…" Lance started.

Darcy glared at him, "You go get Pidge and I'll get Becca, I'm sure Koran will be here in a moment and then we can open presents."

"Oh," Lance nodded, suddenly getting it. "Okay.  Yeah, I want to get on with this present thing."

"We'll be right back," Darcy called over her shoulder.

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Pidge watched as Becca slept.  At some point in the night she had grabbed his sweater and pulled it on.  She was curled up with her head on his chest and her hand lightly fisted, resting over his heart. 

He had wakened twenty minutes earlier, but was in no rush to go anywhere.  His hand gently stroked her mussed hair and he smiled as she sighed in her sleep.  This was the life.  Unfortunately, it wasn't going to last.  She was heading back to Terra in a week, the day after New Years.  Pidge unconsciously tightened his arm around her.   He didn't want her to go, but he was going to smile and kiss her goodbye and come back into the castle, alone. 

Pidge sighed and watched as she shifted, flattening her hand on his chest. 

What was really keeping him here?  His friends?  A sense of duty?  He loved the Force and he loved Arus, but he didn't really have family here.  He could go back to Terra with her, find work there.  Maybe the Garrison would take him back.  If he had a letter of recommendation from Keith, he was pretty much guaranteed a spot with them.  Or he could find a job outside the military.  He had money saved up, he didn't have to hurry.  And if Becca still wanted to come back and intern with Dr. Gorma, they could come back together, then.  It was perfect.  He would follow her to Terra and come back with her later.

Becca's eyelids fluttered and opened slowly.  It took her a moment to focus, first thing she saw was Pidge's chest and the light hair covering it.  With a slight smile playing across her lips, she rolled over and stretched.  "G'morning."

"Morning."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's Christmas morning and you're lying there like a dead fish.  Come on!  Presents."

Smiling, Pidge rolled over onto his side, "I've been thinking."

"About what?"

He traced his finger down the side of her face and down under her chin, tipping her head back and kissing her.  "About us."

"And?"

"I was thinking…" Pidge stopped, suddenly feeling nervous.  What if she didn't want him to go to Terra with her?    What if she thought he was pressuring her too much or he was smothering her?

"Pidge?"

"I was, uh, I was thinking, maybe, that I would come back to Terra with you."

"Really?"  Her face lit up.  "For how long?  I mean, school doesn't start for a couple of days after I get back, I can take you to the campus and show you around and introduce you to my friends.  Will Keith let you come?  It is short notice."

"No, Becca, I was thinking I would go back to Terra, permanently."

She furrowed her brow, thinking for a moment.  "But, you can't.  What about your job here?  What about the Force?"

"Caleb can take over the computer work and there are enough people here to take over flying…flying Green."  He had forgotten about Green, he wouldn't be able to fly her anymore.

"That's a huge decision," Becca said, brushing the hair back from his face and cupping his cheek.  "You need to think about it some more.  They need you here."

"There is no more major threat, I only stayed because I didn't have anywhere else to go.  Now, I can go to Terra, find work there, be with you."

"That isn't the only reason you stayed, what about your friends?"

"My life has changed, my priorities have changed."

She studied him, seeing how serious he was.  "This is huge, Pidge, I think you need to take some time to think about it and…"  She stopped when there was a knock on the door.

Pidge stiffened and looked at the clock, it was 6:43.

Very slowly, Becca pushed the covers back and called, "Who is it?"

"Rebecca!"  A deep voice answered.

She crept to the door, her heart racing, "Dad?"

Someone on the other side giggled.

"Lance is that you?  Darcy?"

"Yeah it's us, we were wondering if you'd seen Pidge, he's not in his room," Darcy called through the door.

"What's going on?"

"Everyone's up and we want to open presents, but Allura won't let us until everyone is in the rec room."

"Okay, we'll be right there."

"Don't you mean I'll be right there?"  Lance teased.

"Yeah, whatever.  Give us, I mean me, ten minutes."

"Alright, hurry up!"

Becca turned back to the bed where Pidge was sitting up, watching her.  "Looks like we're holding them up."

"I don't care," he muttered, watching her.  The dark brown sweater she wore barely covered her and the sleeves were longer than her arms.  She had no idea how beautiful and sexy she was.

"Go get dressed," she sat on the edge of the bed.  "But we're not done talking about this.  I don't want you to make a rash decision because of me."

"Would it really be a bad thing if we didn't show up?"  He asked, toying with the edge of the sweater.

"Yes, it would, it's Christmas."

He raised an eyebrow, "I need my sweater back."

She laughed, "Just go before Lance sends my father after us."

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Becca walked into the rec room fifteen minutes later, the last to arrive. 

"Finally!"  Lance declared.

"Now, one at a time," Allura said, getting up and sitting beside the tree.

"Oh come on," Lance whined.

"Don't make me pull rank on you," she warned him.

Slowly and with a lot of laughter and teasing, they worked their way through the pile of gifts under the tree.

"Oh, Pidge, this is great, thanks," Lance opened the photo album Pidge had bought.

"Whoa, Keith, Allura this is awesome," Pidge said as he opened the book on computer animation they had given him.

The piles of baby clothes and toys grew with each new package opened.  Cady was overwhelmed and having the time of her life while Schuyler spent more time playing with the wrapping paper than any gift she had been given.

It took them nearly an hour and a half, opening presents one at a time and 'oohhing' and 'ahhing'.  Schyler crawled over to her mother and climbed into her lap.  Cady ran around, her teddy bear in one hand and a new pink dress in the other.  Declan watched the whole scene with wide eyed wonderment as Gideon dissolved into tears.  Isabelle picked the little boy up and cradled him to her.

"Is that everything?"  Keith asked.

Lance and Allura dug through the discarded paper.

"Looks like it," Lance said, feeling a little hurt that neither he nor Darcy or Schuyler had received anything from Keith and Allura.  Especially after the toys and clothes they had bought their babies and the picnic basket loaded with enough crystal and china for a romantic picnic for two.

Allura looked at Keith, "There has to be one more, what did you do with it?"

"Hmmm," he rubbed his chin, thoughtfully.  "I don't really remember."

"Keith," she smiled at him.

"Okay," he stood.  "I think I know where it is."

"Lance, Darcy, I hope you don't mind, but Keith and I took the initiative and bought you something for your new home.  I know you've been hinting around about it, Lance." Allura explained as Keith left the room.

Lance looked at her, confused, trying to think of what it could be, "What do you mean?"

She winked at him, "You'll see."

Becca smiled at Pidge, enjoying the fact that they were in on the secret, and laid her head on his shoulder.  At that moment, he knew he needed to talk to Keith as soon as possible.

"Merry Christmas!"  Keith entered the room, carrying a large box and dangling a big gift bag from his hand.

Lance's eyes widened, "What is it?"

Grinning, Keith set it down beside the tree, "Come see."

Lance looked at Darcy and stood, offering her a hand to help her up.

"Oh wow!"  Lance cried, excited and touched.

Looking up at him from inside the box was a small bundle of golden fur, a big red ribbon tied around the puppy's neck.

"You got us a dog?"  Darcy asked.

"Yup, is, uh, is that okay?"  Allura asked, uncertainly.

"Okay?  This is awesome!"  Lance told her, lifting the puppy from the box.  It wiggled in his hands and licked his nose when he brought it close to his face.

Darcy felt her eyes moisten and she turned to hug Allura, "Thank you so much."  She turned to Keith, "You guys are unbelievable."

"There's more," Keith brought the gift bag over.  "Here's a collar and a leash, a food bowl, a bone and a couple of squeaky toys.

Schuyler turned her head, wiping her nose on her mother's shoulder before lifting her head and looking at her mother.

"Look, Sky," Lance held the puppy up in front of her.  "A puppy dog."

Schuyler reached out with a hesitant hand and touched the soft fur.

"The breeder said these dogs are great with kids," Keith said.

Lance set the puppy on the floor and turned to hug his best friend, catching Keith off guard.  "Thank you so much, man, this is awesome."  He turned and hugged Allura tightly.  "You have no idea how much we appreciate this."

*************************************************

All the wrapping paper had been cleaned up and all the gifts piled back under the tree.  Schuyler was sitting on Lance's lap, gently patting the puppy.  Everyone else was relaxing on various chairs and couches, giving in to the lull that comes after all the presents are opened and before the big meal.  Chatter was light and fun, reminiscing about Christmases past and bad presents.

"You realize, don't you," Keith whispered to Allura.  "We're going to have to get Cady a dog now too."

She looked up and saw Cady sitting next to Lance where he was showing her how to gently pet the puppy.  "We'll see."

"Please?"

She smiled up at him, "Maybe after Lance and Darcy move out, I think two dogs would be too much."

Pidge watched everyone around him.  He was sitting on the loveseat, Becca beside him, and his arm across the back of the couch.  Without realizing it, he picked up a lock of her hair and twirled it between his fingers.  He had been quiet most of the morning, thinking about his decision and going over the pros and cons in his mind, but it seemed like all signs pointed to him to go to Terra.  Was that the right thing to do?  He wasn't sure who he should talk to about this.  Becca said they would talk about it some more later.  And he had to talk to Keith about it. 

Pidge had just figured he would settle on Arus.  He hadn't had anywhere else to go and he had been here for eight years, the longest he had ever been settled anywhere and he loved this planet.  They had done so much; fighting for Arus and its people, helping to rebuild the towns.  When you were that involved with a place, you found yourself emotionally tied to it.

Tonight after dinner, Pidge decided, he was going to take Keith aside and talk to him.  If he was going to go to Terra, he needed to get his affairs in order as soon as possible.