CHAPTER 50
A/N:
Just a reminder of characters:
Nancy: Jackie's mother.
Marlee: Jackie's stepsister, who is eight. Jackie's mother remarried after divorcing Jackie's father, Jacob. Jackie does have one other sister, Kate, who is nineteen and lives in Sydney with Jacob.
And thanks for all of those reviews! I think you guys are going to like this chapter. It's a pretty light, happy Christmas one, so enjoy and don't forget to leave me a review!
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Roger rolled over onto his side and opened his eyes. His arm had been draped somewhat over Mimi the entire night, but now she was curled up under the comforter with her hands tucked under her chin. He yawned and kissed her forehead, not wanting to wake her up right away. Although Jaylynn didn't always let either one of them sleep through most of the night, the baby was starting to get into a more predictable routine, which only required Mimi or Roger to get up about once to feed her and take care of her. She'd be four months old on January fifth, and Roger honestly didn't know where all of the time had gone.
He reached his arm off and grabbed his pills off of the table and dumped the dosage into his hand, quickly swallowing them with the glass of water that had been left on the nightstand from the previous night.
Mimi shifted her body on the bed and opened her eyes. "Hey," she greeted, looking over at him. "Merry Christmas."
Roger pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arm around her back. "Merry Christmas baby."
She yawned and leaned over him to take her pills. "How long were you up?"
"Maybe five minutes? Just watching you sleep," he laughed. "Cause I'm perverted, babe."
She rolled her eyes. "That's the Christmas sprit. What time did Jaylynn wake you up?"
"Um, I guess around 5:30. I fed her and she fell asleep again."
"Okay." Mimi looked at the clock. "Is anybody actually up yet?"
"Didn't hear anything next door, so I guess not. Usually Mark or Jackie are up by now with Luke."
"Maybe everyone just wanted to be extremely lazy and sleep in like I want to do right now. I think this is about the latest I've ever gotten up on Christmas morning. Like when I was a kid, you were lucky to make it to at least seven."
"Seven? Try quarter to six. And that was only because my little brother would run around the house screaming at the top of his lungs to wake up now or we'd get it."
"Yeah well, I'd rather spend the whole morning in bed unless Mark comes and drags us out of here or Jaylynn wakes up," Mimi smiled, pressing her face into Roger's chest.
"I guess you don't want your presents then?" Roger smirked at her.
"They can wait. Plus the bed is warm," she pouted at him.
"Not when I smell sausage."
Mimi made a face at this. "I hope it's not Mark who's making breakfast this year, because last year he accidentally bought that vegetarian sausage, you remember that shit?"
"Yeah. Don't remind me. Collins hated it so much that he went down to the store to get the regular kind. But that was after you forgot to add the coffee grinds to the coffee. What did you make? Watery coffee?" Roger laughed.
"Shut up. At least I can cook! I think I did a pretty damn good job with that lasagna when your parents came over for dinner." She giggled and smacked him on the arm.
Mark's voice came echoing through the door. "Are you guys up yet? Or do you actually have any plans to get out of bed today?"
Roger rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at the door just as it opened, missing Mark's head by inches. "If you're making breakfast, then no. Like that time you made me motzah ball soup when I was sick a few years back and I spent the rest of the night and part of the morning praying to the porcelain god with both ends."
Mimi snorted and covered her mouth with her hands. "Roger that's disgusting! Jesus!"
Jackie walked over to the door and sat on the edge of Mimi and Roger's bed with Mark. "Mark hasn't made me motzah ball soup yet," she laughed.
Roger shuddered and ran his hand through his hair. "And don't let him either. If anyone tries to make you that stuff, let Eva do it. Mark's mom actually knows what she's doing."
"It wasn't that bad!" Mark defended himself. "I ate it and didn't have any problems."
"Yeah whatever."
"Behave," Mimi laughed. "Hey where's your little man?"
"He's in the kitchen with my mom. She wants to spend as much time with him as possible before she leaves on Saturday."
Mark laughed and Jackie stretched out on the bed, settling her head in Mark's lap. "Any more quality time with that kid and she'll be begging us to take him back to Sydney with her."
"Yeah really, it's gonna suck not having the extra babysitter around here. Plus I think I gained ten pounds with all of her cooking," Roger grinned.
Mimi poked him in his stomach. "Oh yeah, you got real fat Roger. Really. Shut up," she sarcastically grinned.
"Hey I cook!" Mark protested.
Jackie looked up at him and shook her head. "He means cooking Mark, not ordering take out every other day," she laughed.
Nancy knocked on the doorframe and stuck her head in. She was holding Luke and balancing a cup of coffee in the other. "So, are we all getting up to eat or did I just cook breakfast for nothing?" she smiled at them. "Oh and Jackie sweetie, Candace Bertrand called for you this morning from the ballet school. She mentioned something about upcoming auditions for Swan Lake and wanted to know if you would be interested in trying out. She didn't know if you were feeling up to it since you just had the baby and everything. She left a number with instructions to call her when you get a chance and she'll give you all the information."
Jackie sat up and nodded. "Okay. Thanks." She took Luke from her mother and walked out of the bedroom carrying him.
Mark stood up as well and picked up the pillow on the floor. He tossed it one handedly at Roger's head and got him right in the forehead. "Get up, loser."
Roger gathered Mimi in his arms and half carried her off the bed and into the living room. "Come on, don't you want to celebrate?" he laughed as she tried to squirm out of his grasp.
"Celebrate you being a pain in the ass, then yes," she grinned at him before kissing him on the cheek. She stretched out on the couch and pulled the blanket over herself. Her gaze settled at the bottom of the tree, where scattered piles of presents were gathered under it. "When did you find the time to put them under there?" she asked curiously.
"What are you talking about?" Roger grinned. "I didn't do anything."
"Yeah," Mark chimed in. "Santa did it."
Jackie laughed before placing Luke in his carrier. "You both are 27 years old! You can't even fit on Santa's lap anymore!"
"Almost. Next month for me," Mark pointed out. "Hey Rog, remember when you pulled the beard off that mall Santa and your mom almost killed you? Then you called him a fake and refused to let "some fat ass" decide at one time whether or not you were good all year," Mark laughed.
"I was nine years old okay! Santa wasn't cool anymore," Roger added, trying to defend himself. He had just walked out of the baby's room with Jaylynn, who was cooing contentedly against his shoulder.
"Marlee wouldn't even sit on Santa's lap this year," Jackie's mother added. "She said that she was too old for it."
"I don't blame the kid. Santa's are usually middle aged perverted men who can't get any from their wives."
"Roger!" Nancy laughed at him. "Honestly."
"Well then it's a good thing you didn't sit on his lap that year."
"Shut up, Mark."
"Are you all opening presents or eating breakfast first?" Nancy started passing out cups of coffee to Roger, Mark, Jackie, and Mimi. Luke had also started to cry and fuss in Jackie's arms, so Nancy quickly picked him up and carried him into the kitchen with her. "Sweetie I'm going to try to get him back to sleep since you already fed him."
Jackie nodded. "Thanks Mommy."
"Aww, she calls her mom Mommy!" Roger laughed.
"Shut up! At least I call my mom!"
"Oh, she's got you their babe," Mimi laughed. She stood up and grabbed a bottle from the refrigerator and stuck it in the bottle warmer before sitting back down on the couch.
Roger dove into the pile and started passing out the gifts. He handed the first one to Mimi and set Jaylynn in her swing so she could open the present. "That's from me for you."
Mimi rolled her eyes and kissed him. "Obviously."
"Hey, no attitude or I'll take it back!" he threatened.
Mimi pulled the wrapping paper off of the gift and opened the box. "You're such a dork!" she laughed at him. She pulled out three pairs of tiny checked boxers, a perfect fit for her frame. "I guess this is a hint then?"
"Yeah," Mark agreed. "That he was tired of you wearing his all the time when you were pregnant."
"I hope you're not getting any ideas," Jackie laughed. "Just because I'm not pregnant anymore doesn't mean I'm not going to wear your boxers."
Roger wrapped his arm around Mimi's waist and kissed the top of my head. "You can wear my boxers whenever you want to. I just figured you might want some of your own."
"Well thanks for your permission," she giggled. She grabbed the red Santa hat off the coffee table and placed it on top of Roger's blonde spikes. "You can be my Santa now, baby. But only if you let me sit on your lap."
"Hell yeah," he agreed. "I've got to let you, you are my wife."
"I still can't get used to that."
"Actually, neither can I. It makes me sound too old." He kissed her on the neck as she pulled herself into his lap.
Mark passed a small wrapped box to Jackie. She raised her eyebrow at him as she opened it, revealing a blue velvet box. "Mark I swear, if this is another engagement ring I'm going to kill you! You already spent too much on this one!" she teased him.
"Just open it," he laughed. "And don't tell me how much I'm aloud to spend on you."
"Okay," she smiled at him. "Mark, they're beautiful!" She held up the two silver hoop earrings so Mimi and Roger could see.
"I went through a lot for those earrings. I even had to take Mo shopping so she could help me pick them out. But I wanted to get you something that reminded me of something close to how we first met," he pointed out.
Jackie blushed and rested her head on Mark's shoulder. "Oh yeah, that night—"
"I remember that night," Roger groaned. "You were both were loud."
That statement caused Jackie to blush even more. "It wasn't a night like that! It was the night I stayed here after I met up with Mark at the hospital. I left my hoop earrings in the soap dish and had to come back the next morning to get them."
"Yeah Roger, the night when I collapsed and caused a scene at the Life? Because I was anemic?" Mimi reminded him. She had said it so carelessly that Roger almost couldn't believe it had come out of her mouth that way.
"Yeah." He cleared his throat and wrapped his arms a little bit tighter around her waist. "Yeah I remember. You scared the shit out of me that night. I thought I was going to lose you again."
Mimi squeezed his hand. "But you didn't. I'm still right here." She smiled up at him and kissed him softly.
"I know."
"Wait I have something for you. I forgot about it." She stood up and ran into their bedroom. Roger heard the closet door open and close and then the sound of Mimi running back into the living room. She jumped onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, handing him the small box. "Here."
Roger untied the ribbon and opened it. He separated the white tissue paper to reveal a smooth black guitar pick. White scripted letters formed the word 'Daddy' on the front side, while the back was just plain. Roger grinned as he flipped it over from back to front and kissed Mimi on the forehead.
"Thanks baby. I love it."
"Really?"
"Well there goes his whole bad boy image," Mark joked dryly. "Down the drain." Jackie shoved him playfully and Mark wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Yeah. I love it." He kissed her again and placed the pick back in the box.
"Good," she giggled, reaching her hand up to play with his Santa hat.
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They all exchanged a few more presents between themselves. Mimi had gotten Mark a whole assortment of scarves to add some variety to his wardrobe, along with a few onesies for Luke and a set of pacifiers. She had gotten Jackie a pair of legwarmers for dance, along with a few shirts from a thrift store downtown that she thought were very bohemian and absolutely necessary to turn Jackie fully American. She even bought her a mesh shirt and matching arm warmers.
Mark had ended up giving Roger another pair of plaid pants and a black zip up sweatshirt to replace his ratty old green one that was just about worn through, although Mimi still wore it to bed sometimes and around the house.
"And these," Mark tossed him the box. "Are extras since you never do your laundry."
"Hey, I do his laundry! And yours too!" Mimi laughed.
Roger pulled out the stacks of boxers and grinned. "Thanks. Now you get to pick from even more, Meems," he teased her. She rolled her eyes at him while she walked around the room, feeding Jaylynn her bottle.
By eleven, they had almost finished with the presents. Roger had gotten Mark an assortment of independent films as well as a stack of films directed by Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg, who Roger always knew Mark had admired. But perhaps the biggest surprise Mark encountered was the brand new digital video camera that Jackie, Mimi, Collins, Dan, Maureen, Harvey and Roger had all pitched in to buy for him. Even after Mark had read the instruction manual front to back and started charging the battery, he still couldn't pull himself away from it until Jackie told him that they were going with her mother over to Shawn and Jillian's to exchange presents there.
Roger entered the baby's room once Mark and Jackie had left with Luke and Nancy. "Hey. She fall asleep yet?"
"Shh." Mimi put a finger up to her lips and passed the baby monitor to him. She closed the door halfway and walked back out into the living room. "Yeah she's asleep. Hopefully she'll sleep for a few hours."
"So what do you want to do?" he asked, yawning.
"I don't know. Want to try and get some more sleep before Collins and Dan get back from Dan's parent's house in Philadelphia?" she suggested, taking his hand and leading him towards their bedroom.
"Sure." He settled himself out on the bed and pulled her next to him. "Did you have a good Christmas?"
"One of the best. Sure beats last year's experience, if you know what I mean," she smiled.
"Yeah it does. I can't believe it's been a year since then, your—" Roger sighed and pulled the comforter around them.
"Near death experience?" she finished softly for him. "I know."
"I'm just really thankful to still have you, you know that? Like I know we argue, and we piss each other off, but I don't know where I'd be without you. After—" He paused again and flipped over onto his side to face her.
"You can say it. You can talk about her." She pressed against him and linked her hand through his.
"After April, I never really thought I'd be open to finding someone again. Especially someone like you. And even if I found somebody, I never thought I'd have a kid with that person. But now, this whole year and everything that's happened, my perspective has really changed."
"So has mine. I'm not just talking about Jaylynn either. I'm talking about everything else, too. I mean, one year ago, you and me were just starting over in a way, but now look where we are. We're married. Do you believe that?" she laughed. "Collins has even found somebody else. Even Mark's about to get married pretty soon. He's even got a kid! I mean, talk about you having a kid is one thing, because honestly I don't see what that didn't happen any sooner."
"Hey!" he laughed.
"But Mark? He used to be so virginal."
"Yeah you're right. But now it's like we're two old married couples with children. I mean, I'm fucking Aunt Mimi and you're Uncle Roger," she pointed out. "Last year I never would have saw any of this coming, but I'm glad it did. Because I think we all needed a change like this to move on with our lives."
"Yeah." Roger rested his head against the pillow. "But you're happy, right?"
She nodded. "Of course I am. Are you?"
"You have no idea how happy I am. I don't think I've ever been this happy in a long time."
"Me either." She sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I love you Roger."
He kissed the top of her head. "I love you too."
They stayed like for a good amount of time. Minutes were lost as Roger's fingers stroked Mimi's curly hair and she protectively kept her arm around his chest.
He looked down at her for a minute. "You know something?"
"Hmm? What?" she asked quietly.
"I have another present for you," he grinned. He sat up pulled open his sock drawer. He hid the item behind his back as he crawled back on the bed.
Mimi sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest. "What's that?"
He opened his hand and held the vanilla candle out in front of him. "A candle."
Her eyes settled fixedly onto it as she bit her lip. "You remembered?"
"Yeah." He grabbed the lighter off of the nightstand and held it near the candle. "You have to say it though."
She smiled at him as a tear slid down her cheek. "Would you light my candle?" she asked him before starting to cry. He lit the candle with the lighter and she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "What are you staring at?"
He grinned at her and leaned in to kiss her. "Nothing," he whispered. "Don't cry."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "I can't help it."
"Merry Christmas baby." He held the candle with one hand and started rubbing her back with the other.
"Merry Christmas," she sobbed into his shoulder. "Thank you."
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