"Rose....shhhh....go to sleep baby..." Lily said as she bounced Rose in her arms.

James entered the room. "She still hasn't gone down for her nap yet?" he asked.

"What do you think James?" Lily snapped rather harshly.

"Alright, sorry," he said.

"No James, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that," said Lily looking at Rose.

"I understand," said James.

"It's just that Rose hasn't taken a nap or slept regularly at night for the past three days James and I don't know what to do!" Lily sobbed at tears welled up in her eyes.

"Lily, don't cry!" James moaned. That was the last thing he needed. He hated seeing Lily upset.

"I am so tired and I only have a day left to wrap everyone's gifts for Christmas," Lily sobbed as she sat on the couch.

"I can wrap the gifts, I have nothing better to do," he said.

"Rose better sleep tonight, it is her first Christmas tomorrow after all," Lily sobbed.

"Lily, don't worry, we will all have a great time," James said rubbing her shoulders.

"I am just so tired! I don't see how I can keep moving like this!" she said.

"I know..."

"WHY WON'T SHE GO TO SLEEP?!?!?!?!" Lily sobbed.

"Lily..."

"I want her to sleep for me! Just this once!" she cried.

"Lily she..."

"I need my time to sleep!"

"Lily she is sleeping!" James said.

Lily looked down and laughed at herself. "See? I am too tired."

"And that is why you are going to put Rose in her crib and take a nap while I wrap the gifts," said James, coaxing Lily off of the couch.

"Be careful while you are wrapping them!" she warned softly.

"I am using the spell that my mother taught me last Christmas," James said forcing a smile.

Lily nodded. "Speaking of your mother, James, you should really open that gift," she said softly.

James nodded. "I know, I'm just not ready to open it yet," he said forcing another smile.

"Right, so I am going to put Rose down to sleep," Lily said as she walked up the stairs.

James sighed, ruffled his hair, and went up the stairs to retrieve the presents from the closet. He pulled out the big bag and had them magically follow him to the living room, pausing briefly to get the red wrapping paper out of the coat closet. He sprawled himself out on the floor and grabbed the first gift out of the bag, wrapped it, and stuck a gift tag on it which magically filled itself out. Thank goodness for simple holiday spells.

Lily strolled down the stairs a few minutes later and smiled at James. "How are you doing with the gifts?" she asked, yawning.

"Good. What are you doing downstairs?" asked James.

"Starting lunch, why?" asked Lily, yawning again.

"Go to sleep, I'll take care of lunch and bring it up to you when you are ready," James offered.

"James..." Lily started.

"Go upstairs and I'll take care of it!" James said, more firmly this time.

"Well alright, only if you're sure," yawned Lily.

"I am positively sure," James smiled.

Lily smiled back in relief and walked back upstairs to sleep. James continued wrapping presents and noticed that not only did the present tags fill themselves out, they sorted themselves into piles according to family which was a great help. There was a present for Lily's parents and Petunia and her husband, which only contained on very small package. There was even a small pile for his parents which he and Lily had bought before they had passed away. He had no idea what he was going to do with those yet. James also noticed that the only presents in the pile for their household were for Rose, but of course James had suspected this. Their bedroom closet was the designated place for presents, but Lily and James were both smart enough to hide the presents for each other in a special spot of their own.

James couldn't wait to see Lily's face when she opened her present this year, she was going to love it even more than the heart pendant that she wore every day. He had even gotten something for her from Rose, which she would love as well.

Rose started screaming again in her room and James bolted up to get her. Lily was already walking down the hallway when he was up the stairs. "Go back to sleep, I'll get her," said James, rubbing Lily's shoulders.

"No, I have slept enough," Lily yawned.

James looked at the clock in the hallway. "You have only been sleeping for a half an hour," he said leading her towards their room.

"James..."

"I'll get her, I just finished the gifts. She can help me with lunch," he smiled.

"James..." James closed the door in her face and heard her laugh behind it.

He walked down the hall to the nursery and opened the door to see Rose looking through the bars of her crib, looking positively frightened. James picked her up and noticed that she was shaking. "Rose, what is wrong?" he asked her softly as he took her out of the room.

She clung to his shoulder tightly and buried her little head into his neck. James patted her back to calm her down and pretty soon her crying subsided and she stopped shaking. He walked into the kitchen with her and tried to place her in her swing, but she clung tighter to him and started to whimper. "What is up with you today?" he asked her.

He kept her on his shoulder as he looked through the pantry and fridge for something to eat. "What should we eat for lunch today?" he asked Rose.

When she didn't answer James closed the fridge and pulled out the pot that his parents had given him for their wedding shower. "Should we let the pot decide?"

James placed the pot on the stove and turned it on. Ingredients immediately began jumping out of the cabinets and fridge and measured themselves before landing in the pot. According to the instructions on the box all he had to do was come back in an hour to see how the meal was coming along. "And to see what we are going to be eating," he laughed.

He walked Rose into the living room and lay on the couch with her. "So Rose, what are we going to do for a whole hour?" James asked her.

She laughed as he lifted her into the air above him. "Like playing air plane do you?" Then a thought jumped into his head. "Hey Rose, how about going for another broom ride?" he asked her.

Rose only giggled in his arms. James got off of the couch and got his broom and new wrist guards from the front closet. He strapped the guards onto Rose's wrists and walked outside with her, after grabbing their coats, hats, and scarves. He mounted the broom with Rose in his arms and flew around the house a few times before he heard Lily's voice calling through the window. "James! What do you think you are doing! She is going to get sick and that is way too high!" Lily shrieked.

James flew over to the open window. "Sorry Lily, Rose and I will be back in a minute. We were only having some father daughter time," said James.

"Well try having some father daughter time doing something a little less dangerous," Lily called as she closed the window and walked back to her warm bed.

James landed on the snow covered ground and walked back inside with Rose. "Come on kiddo, your mother is right, you are going to catch a cold if we stay out here too long," he said.

Rose giggled as they stepped inside. James put away their coats and hats along with the broom and wrist guards. "Let's go and see what we are eating for lunch," James said. "It smells really good," he added.

James and Rose looked into the pot and saw a mountain of squiggly pasta noodles sitting at the bottom. "Sounds good," he said, walking out of the kitchen. "Well we still have about twenty minutes to kill until it will be ready. What do you want to do now Rose?" he asked her.

Rose didn't answer. "How about you finish your nap?" James suggested.

Rose whimpered. "Alright, then lets read the Daily Prophet," he said sitting on the couch and picking up the paper.

He opened it up and Rose giggled again. She lifted her hands out to the paper and crinkled the top left corner in her hand. "Hey! Don't do that to daddy's paper!" James laughed.

Rose giggled at him and continued to rip and tear at the paper. "You aren't making the crossword puzzle any easier for me," he laughed.

Rose just kept giggling and tearing apart the paper. Pretty soon it was in shreds and all of James' hopes of reading it flew out of the window. "Come on, let's check on lunch," said James as he cleared the mess up with his wand.

The pasta was done and James moved to put Rose in her swing. Once again she started to fuss and clung to his shoulder tighter. "What is with you today?" James muttered as he set the table. "You aren't making this easier either," said James.

Rose clung to his shoulder and made the simple task of spooning pasta onto plates a very difficult procedure. "Are you going to let me eat?" asked James, very frustrated.

"I take it Rose has been difficult for you," said Lily as she entered the kitchen.

James looked up and nodded. "She won't let me put her down, not even in the swing," said James as he sat down at the table.

Lily took Rose into her arms and held her for a moment. "Have you been behaving for daddy?" she asked.

Rose just looked up at her. "Playing the silent game are we?" Lily sighed as she tried to set Rose in her swing. Rose slung tight to her mother's shoulder and started to fuss.

"See, she won't let anyone put her down," said James, pulling a seat out for Lily to sit in.

Lily sat down with Rose on her lap and began to eat the pasta that was sitting in front of her. "So did you finish the gift wrapping yet?" asked Lily.

James nodded. "They are in piles in the living room. Those gift tags are really helpful," he said.

"That is why I bought them. Your mother recommended them a while back," Lily said.

"My mother always had good ideas," James sighed. "What are we going to do with the presents for them?" he asked.

"I forgot about those. I don't know what we are going to do with them," said Lily.

James nodded and continued to eat. "James, could you warm up Rose's bottle that is in the fridge? I think she is getting hungry," said Lily.

James leaned back in his chair and reached into the fridge. He used his wand to heat it and passed it across the table to Lily. "She has been acting very strange lately," sighed James as he began to clear the table.

"I have no idea why. I think it might be a phase, like she is afraid that we are going to leave her or something," said Lily, feeding Rose.

"That might be it," said James. "Phases only last a few days, right?"

Lily sighed and shook her head. "In the muggle world this parental attachment phase could last years," she said.

James groaned. "So she is going to be attached to us for a few years?"

Lily nodded. "Possibly," she said.

"How are we going to get Rose to sleep tonight?" asked James.

Lily shrugged. "I don't know."

"Tomorrow is Christmas, I don't want to be tired on Christmas!" groaned James.

"I know, especially since it is her first Christmas," sighed Lily.

Rose just looked up at her and smiled. "She is fine when she is being held by one of us," said James.

"I think that she is going to have to sleep in our bed tonight," said Lily.

"Well as long as we all get sleep," sighed James.

A/N-Sorry about the long wait between posts, a whole week!! Well I will continue with Christmas in the next chapter, this one seems to be long enough for now and I don't want to leave you in suspense at the end of this chapter because I am pretty sure the next chapter will end in suspense. Don't send me the hidden meanings yet, I haven't posted enough for you to get them all. There is a whole segment of my profile/bio that talks about the contest, so take a look at that if you want more information. Till chapter 36 then....leave me a review!