Hi all,

Thank you so much for your reviews!

C-Town Chica, RL2- You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for your support and generous reviews, you have no idea how much they mean to me.

Andi, AnimeLoverVS – I am so glad you've discovered and enjoyed my stories. It's reviews like yours that motivate me to continue writing.

And to everyone else, thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy,

Failte

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Sky sighed deeply as her communicator went off. She knew it was her father. It was the fifth time he called her since he and her mother had left her room an hour and a half earlier.

"What Dad?"

"Just making sure you're still awake, Shorty."

"Obviously I am."

"Is Erik still there?"

"Yes."

Erik leaned over her and grinned at the small screen of her communicator, "Hi sir!"

"Shouldn't you be in your own room by now?" Lance asked.

Sky pushed Erik out of the way, "We're trying to watch a movie, Dad, and since we have to pause it every time you call, it's taking forever to watch."

"How much longer do you have to stay awake?"

"Until 2:00, Aunt Becca said she'd check on me then."

"Okay. I will check on you later."

"Lance, knock it off," Darcy called out, her voice partially muffled by her pillow. "Leave her alone."

"Goodnight, Schuyler, we'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Uncle Lance."

"Goodnight Erik. Sleep well…in your own bed."

Erik winked at Sky, "Merry Christmas, sir."

Sky snapped the communicator shut, "That is the last time I answer it."

"If you don't, he will show up here," Erik pointed out.

She curled up next to him, "He is actually making my head hurt more."

"Yeah, he tends to do that."

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Cady felt a moment of panic as she woke feeling a heavy weight pressing down on her. She sucked in a sharp breath and released it as a sigh of relief when she remembered where she was and what was going on.

Tristan had rolled over on top of her and fallen asleep, his chin on her shoulder and his warm breath tickling her neck. She didn't mind having him so close, she enjoyed it actually, but the fact was that Cady was a small woman and Tristan was not a small man.

She wrapped her injured arm across his shoulders and brought her other hand up to gently stroke his hair. "Tristan?"

"Hm?"

Cady kissed his temple and whispered again, "Tristan? Honey, you have to move a little, you're crushing me."

"Sorry," he mumbled, slowly shifting most of his weight off her, keeping his chin on her shoulder.

Giving in to the fact that he wasn't going to completely get off her (not that she really minded), Cady continued to stroke his hair as she hummed softly. She couldn't believe he was really here, with her, and it was Christmas. It was Christmas! Cady looked around, trying to figure out what time it was. There was no clock in the room and Becca had removed her watch when she had wrapped her arm. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tristan's watch on the bedside table. Trying not to disturb him, she reached over and groped the tabletop until her fingers felt the leather strap. It was almost six in the morning.

A sharp knock on the door caused Cady to jump and Tristan to groan as pain washed over his back.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Someone's here."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

The door slid open and Becca shuffled in looking tired. "All right kids, I want to check you out and I want to get it done early. I don't want to miss the kids opening their presents."

Tristan shifted over enough to allow Cady to slide out from beneath him. She tried to compose herself and appear innocent, which was difficult after being caught in bed with your boyfriend.

"Cady," he lifted his head and smiled at her. "Merry Christmas."

She leaned over and kissed his cheek, "Merry Christmas."

"Come on, Cady, I want Nurse Jewelia to check and clean your arm while I check Tristan."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And you're going to want to get a move on it, the kids are starting to get up and we can only hold them back for so long."

Cady hugged her, "Thank you. Merry Christmas, Aunt Becca."

"Merry Christmas, sweetie, now go see Jewelia."

……………………………………………………………………………..

Sky woke to something cold and wet tickling her neck. She swatted at it but her fingers were brushed with something wet. A light weight plopped down on her chest. Giving up on any chance of falling back into her deep, peaceful sleep, Sky slowly opened her eyes.

She was greeted by the sight of a small, white puppy with a brown face and a small brown spot just above its rear right leg. Sky blinked a couple of times and tried to decide if she was really seeing a dog sitting on her or if it was a figment of her imagination. Maybe she had been hit too hard on the head.

"Merry Christmas, Sunny."

She turned her head slightly and saw Erik stretched out beside her on top of the quilt. He was fresh from his shower with his wet hair brushed back from his freshly shaved face. Wearing a maroon collared shirt under a dark green sweater, he looked ready for Christmas.

"What?"

Laughing, he leaned over and kissed her, "Merry Christmas."

Sky looked from him over to the dog, which had rolled on its stomach and was rubbing its back on Sky's stomach. "You got me a dog?" She asked, perplexed.

"Yup. I knew you missed Chewy, so I talked to Allura and Keith and I got their permission to have one in the castle. Merry Christmas."

A silly giggle escaped her lips, "You got me a dog." She scooped up the puppy and it wiggled in her hands as she brought it to her face.

"I take it you like your present?"

"Very much so," Sky sat up a little and kissed him. "Thank you."

"What are you going to name her?"

"It's a her?"

"Yup."

Sky studied the puppy who was now tumbling around her quilt, "Figment."

"Figment?"

"Figment. When I first woke up, I thought I was seeing things, like she was a figment of my imagination."

Erik stroked the dog's back with his finger, watching as she flopped onto her back so he could pet her stomach. "I guess Figment works for her. She's from the same litter as your Dad's dog."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was talking to your Mom about what you would like and she told me what she was getting for your Dad and I thought it would be perfect."

"Yes, it's perfect. She's perfect. You're perfect." Sky kissed him again. "Thank you."

"I wouldn't say I was perfect…" he winked at her. "What about my present?"

"Well," a deep blush covered her cheeks. "Your real present is under the tree."

"My real present?"

"Yeah, I, uh, I wanted to do something special, something romantic, but I had a hell of a time coming up with something."

Erik brushed her hair back and looked down at her, "You don't have to…"

She shook her head and smiled, "I wanted to give you something you would appreciate. I dragged Cady along and she didn't get it, I know she didn't approve."

"Schuyler, what did you do?"

Winking at him, Sky pushed the covers down, lifting up her shirt and pushing down the waistband of her pants to expose her hip.

Erik's eyes widened as he leaned closer. On her hip, was a tattoo. It looked like someone had stamped her with the words 'Property of Erik Johansson' using a rubber stamp. "Are you serious?"

She laughed quietly, "Well, it's not real. I thought I could do it, but then I saw the needle and, well, I, uh, I chickened out. It'll wash off in a month."

He traced it with his finger, "How drunk do I have to get you in order for you to make it permanent?"

Laughing, she replied, "There isn't enough liquor in the world."

Erik leaned over and kissed the tattoo, "You amaze me, Schuyler."

"So body art turns you on?"

"No, you do," he teased, moving his way up to kiss her on the lips.

"I was going to get it in the same place you have yours, but I didn't have the nerve to drop my pants in front of a strange man."

"A man did this? They didn't have a female who could do it?"

"I made the appointment on Christmas Eve," Sky said, lifting the puppy off the quilt and setting it on her stomach. "I had to take what I could get, right Figment?"

"Figment. Of all the names…"

"What's this?"

"What's what?"

"Hanging from her collar."

Erik leaned over and looked, "Huh, I don't know. Why don't you look?"

Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, Sky pulled the dog closer and examined the shiny object hanging from the puppy's collar. "Is that a ring?"

"Looks like it." Impatient, Erik undid the dog's collar and slipped it off, shaking the ring from around the blue fabric. "I saw it and I thought of you."

Without realizing it, Sky dropped the puppy, who tumbled unharmed onto her chest. "A ring?"

He handed it to her for her examination.

"It's an elephant," she whispered.

"I was originally going to give it to you for your birthday, but I couldn't wait. After…after last night, I really wanted to give it to you."

"It's beautiful."

"The stone is a garnet. The man in the store said it was the birthstone for January and it represented strong women, soldiers and writers, and love."

Feeling more than a little overwhelmed, Sky slipped the ring on her ring finger, but it was a little too large, so she tried her middle finger and it fit. "I love it, Erik, really. I…I…I don't know what else to say. I love you."

"You've said enough," he replied quietly, leaning close. "I love you too."

Sky jolted back and grabbed her head as the movement caused a dull pain to spike through her skull and her forehead smacked into Erik's. Something warm and wet spread over her stomach. Figment was squatting on her and the excitement of the moment had caused her to empty her bladder. "Figment! No! Oh, bad, bad dog!"

Chuckling, Erik lifted the dog off her.

Sky threw the covers back and stood, holding the shirt from her skin using her thumb and forefinger, "Take her outside, Erik, and have her go."

"I don't think she needs to go anymore."

She scowled at him, "I'm going to jump in the shower."

"Please do, you smell of dog pee."

"Actually, I have to scrub a tattoo off," she grumbled.

"Do you need help?" He asked.

"No."

"I'm serious, Sky, how's your head?"

She grabbed some clothes from the dresser and disappeared into the bathroom, "I'll be fine."

"I'll be right here if you need anything!" He called through the closed door.

Ten minutes later, Sky came out of the bathroom looking pale but mischievous.

Erik looked up from where he was sitting on the floor playing with the puppy. "Uh oh, what are you thinking?"

She sat down next to him, "I was thinking we could have a little fun with my father."

"How so?"

"Just follow my lead."

"Is my life in danger?"

Sky kissed his cheek, "You told me once you would slay a dragon for me."

"I would. I would gladly slay a dragon for you, take on an army, or even take on the twins. But, as much as I love you, I won't take on your father."

She stood slowly, cradling the puppy to her, "Come on, you sissy. Let's go see if anyone else is up and have you prove your love for me."

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Cady entered the rec room to a loud boisterous scene. The adults were trying their hardest to contain the children. It was tradition to wait until everyone was together before any presents were opened and with each year, it seemed the children were more impatient with each passing year. But then their impatience only made it more fun for the adults. Now, everyone had to be showered and dressed and they had to wait until cameras were set up.

Cady had learned the year before to not keep Nicky waiting too long when he had run into her room and landed on top of her at six in the morning. To this day, she was sure the twins had something to do with that.

She paused in the doorway and looked around. Her extended family had taken every seat and spot on the floor. The twins were egging Nicky on, trying to get him to go up to the tree and sneak a gift out of the pile. Hunk sat on the floor with his youngest, Natalia, on his lap and his two sons, Casey and Mykel, sitting beside him, their eyes studying the pile of presents under the tree. Keith and Lance were standing beside the fireplace where her father was stoking the fire and Lance was setting the camcorder up on a tripod.

"Cady! Honey, how are you? Come, sit down." Allura stood and rushed over to hug her daughter. "How's your arm? Are you in pain?"

"I'm fine, Mother, really," she assured her.

"Where's Tristan?" Keith asked.

"He's, uh, he's still in the hospital, Aunt Becca and Nurse Jewelia are checking on him."

"Cady's here!" Declan shouted. "Now we're waiting for Aunt Becca, Sky, and Erik."

"I think I'll go see what's keeping Sky," Lance said nonchalantly.

"Excuse me for sleeping in a little," Sky appeared in the doorway. "I was hit rather hard in the head."

"Good morning, sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Darcy stood and started to cross the room but stopped when Sky held up a hand, her other hand behind her back.

"Hold on a sec, Mom, Erik and I have an announcement to make."

Trying to hide his curiosity, Erik stood beside her and slid an arm around her shoulders.

She looked up at him and smiled lovingly before turning back to the roomful of people, "We, well, we wanted you all to know that Erik and I are welcoming a new addition to our family."

There was a moment of silence before Lance lunged in Erik's direction. The poor, unsuspecting young man stepped quickly behind Sky, using her as a shield. Keith and Hunk grabbed Lance by the arms and held him back as Sven started shouting at his son in Norwegian, his face turning an angry red as Romelle held him back. The noise level rose to an almost deafening level as everyone spoke at once.

"You didn't tell me that messing with your father would cost me my life," Erik hissed in her ear. "End this now!"

Laughing, Sky waved her arm and tried to get everyone's attention, but they couldn't hear her. Seeing her plight, Gideon stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out an ear-splitting whistle. Slowly silence fell.

"…and then I am going to shove them down your throat!" Lance yelled before stopping to catch his breath.

Erik squeezed her shoulders almost painfully.

Sky brought her hand to her head as the laughter caused it to throb.

"I don't see what's funny about this," Romelle said angrily.

"I'm talking about my puppy," Sky giggled, bringing her other arm out in front of her and holding the wigging, excited dog in her hand. "I want you all to meet Figment, my Christmas present from Erik. What did you think I meant?"

The silence hung heavy as everyone mentally digested what she had just said. It was broken when Nicky, Tori, Mykel, and Natalia jumped up and ran over to see the dog, chattering excitedly. Then the twins started laughing and everyone else joined in except Lance.

"That. Was. Not. Funny." He gasped, breathing hard.

"Yeah it was, Uncle Lance," Declan said. "I just wish we had thought of it first."

Brina shook her head, "No, I don't think so."

Sven took a deep breath and chuckled, "I can't believe my son vas using a voman as a human shield. I am so disappointed, Erik."

"It wasn't just any girl," Erik replied, walking into the room, careful to avoid Lance. "It was Sky and she is the only one who could protect me from Uncle Lance."

They all gathered around Sky who was sitting on the floor with Figment.

"Where did you come up with that name?" Darcy asked her daughter.

"Erik set her on the bed and let her wake me up, when I woke up and say this cute little pup I thought it was a figment of my imagination."

"She's so cute," Cady sighed, rubbing the dog's head. "Careful, Nicky, don't pull her tail."

"I'm not," he insisted.

"Daddy, can we get a dog?" Tori called to Pidge.

"We'll see."

"We'll see what?" Becca asked as she entered the rec room. "Oh what a cute puppy!"

"This is Figment, Erik gave her to me for Christmas." Sky held the little dog up for her aunt to see.

Becca looked at her husband, "Ah, so I see we'll see about getting Tori a dog."

Pidge shrugged sheepishly.

"How's Tristan?" Cady asked.

"He's all right, considering. He's going to be sore but I gave him something for the pain. He's getting dressed now so he can join us. Just beware that he won't be up to doing much, I don't care if he is a soldier and if you all think you're invincible, don't let him push himself."

"Yes, Ma'am," Cady nodded, excited that he was going to be able to join them for Christmas morning.

"Uh oh," Keith called out with a smile. "Looks like we have to wait for Tristan now."

"Oh come on," Nicky whined. "He's not family."

Cady patted him on the head, "Oh yes he is, kiddo, get used to it."

Natalia groaned and fell dramatically back onto the floor, "Make him hurry, we've waited forever!"

"I hope you're not waiting on my account."

Cady jumped to her feet and helped Tristan as he moved stiffly into the room. "Merry Christmas, Tristan."

He smiled at her, "Merry Christmas, Cady."

She stood on her toes and brushed her lips over his.

"No kissing! Present opening!" Mykel shouted.

"Yea!" Tori clapped.

"One at a time!" Allura called out. "It's Tess's turn to hand out presents."

"I wanna help," Natalia whined.

"Nat, Tori, Nicky, you can help hand them out, but it's one at a time," Keith said.

Paton, Allura, and Darcy deserted the couch so Cady, Tristan, and Becca could sit. The Princess wrapped her arm around Tristan's and whispered in his ear, "Having you here is the best present I could have."

He smiled at her, his eyes a little hazy from the painkiller he was on. "Ditto."

The wrapped pile of presents shrank as the pile of discarded paper grew.

Erik tore into the box from Sky and gasped excitedly. He jumped up and ran to where she was sitting in the chair by the fire. Taking her face in his hands he declared, "You are best girlfriend ever!" Before kissing her hard.

"You like it?" She teased.

"I love it! I love you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He punctuated each declaration of gratitude with a kiss before lowing his voice and whispering so no one else heard, "But I do love my other gift even more."

"You are so easily bought," Delora said, rolling her eyes.

"I can't deny the truth," he replied, opening the box and pulling out the manual.

"We're not done opening presents, Erik, you could try to be polite and wait before you do that," Romelle chided.

"Is that the new Playstation?" Luke asked.

"Mm, hm," Erik didn't look up from the book he was studying.

"Let's hook it up," Gideon said.

Casey picked up the box, "Do you have any games?"

"It came with a racing game," Erik said.

"Boys!" Allura clapped her hands. "We're not done. You can hook it up after all the presents are opened and the wrapping paper is thrown out."

Grumbling, they pushed aside the game system.

"Come on, Tess, who's next?" Hunk asked.

"This is for Cady," she handed the small box to Nicky who walked over and gave it to their sister.

"It's from Tristan," she said, smiling.

"I hope you like it," he whispered.

Cady untied the red ribbon and ripped off the light green paper. She lifted the lid off the flat box and looked at the contents, bewildered.

"What is it?" Allura asked.

"I don't know," she mumbled, pulling out the long, thin brown leather billfold.

"Open it," Tristan said.

She flipped it open, her eyes widening in surprise.

"They're tickets to Terra," he explained. "Once my tour of duty is up with the Garrison, I want to take you to Terra so you can meet my family and see my home."

Tears blurred Cady's vision and studied the tickets, "There are four."

"Well, I figured your father wouldn't let you go alone with me, so I got tickets for Sky and Erik too."

This caught their attention and Sky's expression mimicked Cady's. "What?"

Rolling his eyes, Tristan picked up the billfold and spoke slowly, "These are four tickets, no dates so we can decide together when we want to go, for a roundtrip to Terra."

"That's so generous," Allura said.

"Very much so," Keith said, mentally ticking off what he needed to do to make sure the flight to Terra was safe for his daughter.

Cady cupped his face with her hand, a tear sliding down her cheek, "Thank you, so much, Tristan."

"Anytime, love," he whispered back, kissing her gently.

"Poor Figment," Darcy said as she and Lance sat side by side on the floor playing with the puppy.

"What's wrong with her?" Charlotte asked.

"She's lonely."

"What?" Lance asked.

"She's lonely," Darcy repeated. "She misses her brothers and sisters."

"We can be her brothers and sisters," Nicky said.

She stood, "Good idea, Nicky, but it's not the same." Darcy left the room and came back a few moments later with her hands behind her back. "Merry Christmas, Lance."

He jumped to his feet and met her halfway across the room. "You didn't."

"I did," she held up her hands and presented him with Figment's brother, a small white dog with a brown spot around his left eye and a large brown spot on his back.

"Oh, Darc, this is awesome!" Lance exclaimed, taking the dog with one hand and his wife with the other. "I love you."

"Love you, too, honey. Merry Christmas."

He captured her mouth in a gentle kiss, "Merry Christmas."

………………………………………………………………………..

Nearly an hour later all the presents had been opened and the wrapping paper thrown out. Erik, Declan, Gideon, Casey and Luke sat around the televiewer playing one of the games Erik had gotten to go along with his new Playstation. Becca sat back in the chair Sky had deserted in favor of lying on the floor beside Erik, dozing. Lance sat on the floor with Tori, Nicky, Tess, Charlotte, Mykel, and Natalia, playing with the two puppies. Tristan was stretched out on his side, his head resting on a throw pillow on Cady's lap. The others sat around the room, everyone picking at Nanny's homemade coffee cakes and drinking coffee, tea, or juice.

Allura sighed and leaned against her husband's shoulder as she looked around at her large family. It was hard to believe that there had ever been a time when she had felt all alone, when the Force and their families hadn't been around.

"You okay?" Keith whispered, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm fantastic," she replied, watching as Cady gently stroked Tristan's hair and watched the boys play their videogame. She turned her attention to her three youngest playing with the dogs, "Maybe it was time we just gave in and got them a dog."

"We can go see if there are any left in Figment and Greedo's litter," Keith suggested.

"Maybe."

"Merry Christmas, Angel," he kissed her silken hair.

"Merry Christmas."