Three year old Maxwell darted through the halls of the house with eight year old Eve chasing after him. "Maxie! Come back here." Eve called out but the little black haired boy never slowed. With a burst of energy, she tackled her little brother just as he climbed up onto the couch. "You have to get dressed!" She huffed as the boy wiggled in her arms as she carried him back to the bathroom where a very amused Nigel sat on the closed toilet.

"He is a little hellion, isn't he poppin?" He questioned as he dressed his son in green UFO pajamas and let the bath water out. Once Nigel had Max tucked into bed, he joined a tired Eve in the living room. "I never knew bath time could be so hazardous." He muttered and ran a hand through his black hair. He glanced at his daughter. His daughter by love and by law. He had adopted Eve soon after they moved to New York. "You were never that hard to bath and I don't think you ever streaked through the house, naked." He smiled at the blush creeping up Eve's face.

Eve ducked her head as her cheeks turned red and looked at her hands. "Stop it, dad." She muttered. She hated it when her father made her blush. Usually, he did it in front of her friends.

Nigel smiled. "I'm sorry, poppin. You know that I can't help myself." He gave her puppy dog eyes.

She smacked him on the arm and then cuddled against his side. Eve really did love her father and the day that he had announce that he was going to make it legal, was the best day of her life. She didn't understand the whole legal part but she did understand that he was going to be her daddy just like Mark was her first daddy.

He wrapped his arms around the small girl and kissed the top of her head. "Why don't you go to bed, Eve. It's getting late." Nigel was watching the children while Jordan took their youngest to picked Spencer up at the airport.

Garrett had agreed to give Jordan partial custody of Spencer once he got over the shock of finding out that Jordan was married, expecting and living in New York with Nigel. This year, Jordan got Spencer for Christmas.

Nigel eyed the Christmas tree in the corner and smiled. This was their first Christmas with Spencer and Emma as a family. He was slightly embarrassed at the amount of money he had spent on presents but Christmas only came around once a year and this year was special. He slid away from Eve and laid her on the couch, covering his sleeping daughter with a multi-colored quilt from the back of the couch. He placed a kiss on her cheek and went to open the door. He had heard a car pull in the driveway.

Jordan grabbed the car carrier out of the back seat that held her sleeping four month old daughter, Emma. "Spencer, can you get your bag out of the trunk, sweety?"

Spencer Macy was thrilled when he saw his mother at the airport. He missed her. And he was even more thrilled to see his youngest sibling. He didn't get to see his mother much and when he did, she usually flew to Boston for a few days. The kids never came with her. He assumed that his step father got babysitting duty those days. He didn't hate Nigel. On the contrary, he liked Nigel. He was a cool uncle when he was little and now he was a even cooler step father. He always remember his birthday and sent him some cool gadget as a present. "Sure mom." The thirteen year old boy replied and grabbed his bag out of trunk and then followed his mother up the steps of the large, Victorian, two story, house. He was surprised when the door opened before they even reached it but smiled as Nigel appeared. "Nigel!" He ran passed his mother, slipping slightly on the icy steps but catching himself, and gave Nigel a one armed hug. He was very affectionate for his age.

Nigel smiled and hugged the boy back. The boy always amazed him. Being the son of Garrett, Nigel always expected the boy to be shy and awkward when he got older but he wasn't. He acted more like his mother than his father. He was outgoing and had the nack for not following directions and getting into trouble. Definitely Jordan's son. "Ello' Spence." He pushed the boy back and eyed him. "Looking more and more like your father each time I see you." He moved out of the way and grabbed the car carrier off Jordan. "Traffic, love?" He gave his wife a peck on the cheek before ushering them into the warm house and out of the cold. He removed the sleeping baby from the carrier and smiled down at her.

Jordan smiled and removed her coat and gloves, hanging them in the closet. She took Spencer's coat and hung it up as well then took Emma from Nigel since she had to feed the baby. "The guest room is set up for you, Spence." She turned towards her husband. "Where's Eve and Max?"

The boy eyed the pictures handing on the wall and smiled when he saw several of himself mixed with the other children. Spencer turned towards his mother and nodded. "Alright...could you show me the way?" He asked since he never had been in the house before.

"I'll take you, lad." Nigel started up the stairs then stopped. "Poppin fell asleep on the couch and Max is asleep in his room. She had a hard day. The boy didn't want to wear any clothes and she chased him through the house, with him butt naked." He grinned and finished the climb up the stairs, knowing the boy was following him. He pushed open the door of the newly refurbished room. "Here we are." He waited for the boys reaction.

Spencer blinked and flipped the light switch. His eyes widened at the sight of the room. He spun around then stopped, looking at Nigel. "Wha...?" He was at a loss for words.

Jordan carried Emma into the kitchen where she heated up a bottle and fed the baby who fell back asleep. She carried her up to the nursery and laid her down, where she then joined her son and husband. "This is your room, Spence." She heard his question to Nigel. "Your father agreed to let you spend half the summer with us, if you'd like. So we figured that you'd like your own room instead of sharing with Eve or Max. Do you like it?"

Nigel smiled at his wife and then back at the boy. "Your mum didn't want me to buy the computer or tv but I couldn't help myself. Every boy needs the latest gizmo's and such. Especially my step-son." He said proudly.

Tears welled up in his eyes and he launched himself at his mother and step-father. He hugged them tightly. "I love it!" He was excited.

"Get some sleep, tomorrow is Christmas. This is only one of your presents, sweety." Jordan smiled and closed the door as she pushed Nigel out into the hallway. She hugged him and gave him a kiss on he cheek.

They walked down the stairs, arm in arm.

Nigel gathered Eve up off the couch and carried her to her room, tucking her in just like he had done to Max. He then joined his wife in the living room. "I can't believe this almost didn't happen." He whispered as he sat on the couch.

"Neither can I, Nige. If I hadn't agreed to talk things over with you that day..." Jordan trailed off. "I think we've lived through enough drama in our lives that we won't ever have to watch a soap opera." She snuggled into her husbands side and played with her simple gold, wedding band, that matched Nigel's.

"No soap opera's, love?" Nigel raised a eyebrow and smirked. "But I was just starting to get into Days of Our Lives. What else am I supposed to do when I get home from work and my family isn't home yet" Nigel convinced Jordan that he wanted to be a father and even agreed to move to New York with her if that meant they could be a family. They were married in Boston, two weeks later. A week after that they relocated to New York, both working for the New York State Medical Examiners Office.

Jordan smacked him on the arm and gazed at the Christmas tree. Her father had sent his regards on not being able to spend Christmas with them this year since he was spending the holiday with his girlfriends, Ann, family. That was ok since this year, after Christmas, they all were flying to Kentucky to spend time with the Kincade's who had accepted Nigel and all the Townsend children into their family. This year they were looking forward to meeting the oldest and youngest of Jordan's children. "I love you, Nige." She whispered.

"I love you too, Jordan." Nigel mumbled as he was lulled off to sleep by the twinkling lights of the tree and the soft breathing coming from the baby monitor sitting on the end table beside the couch.

Eve shifted in her sleep and snuggled into her comforter as the room suddenly dropped a few degrees. She smiled when she felt something soft brushing against her cheek. "Merry Christmas to you too, daddy." She whispered in her sleep, the smile never fading. She heard the hushed whispered words of Mark Kincade.

The smell of old spice invade Jordan's nose as she began to join her husband in slumber. A soft breeze blew through the house though no windows were open. A picture of Mark, sitting on the mantle above the fire place, glowed softly for a moment. A whispered "Merry Christmas Jo. I will always love you." Was the last thing Jordan heard before slipping off into sleep. A soft smile, etched on her face.