Elizabeth woke up around ten o'clock and wearily pulled herself out of bed. She shivered and quickly grabbed her robe. Fifteen minutes later she emerged from her room wearing black sweatpants and a red sweater. She heard her parents downstairs laughing and she slowly made her way downstairs.
"Morning Lizzy." Margaret greeted, laughing over some joke she and Hawkeye had just shared. Elizabeth smiled and settled herself into a chair.
"Ben, go and get us some coffee please," she begged. Hawkeye compliantly got up and headed towards the kitchen, kissing his daughter on the way.
"Merry Christmas Lizzy."
"Merry Christmas Daddy," she smiled up at him and he winked, giving her a glimmer of hope.
He came back five minutes later juggling three cups of coffee. "All right ladies; let's dig into these presents shall we?"
Three hours later they sat around the fire, half asleep. Margaret pulled herself off the couch. "Dad's going to be here soon, I better get dinner started."
Lizzy looked at anxiously at her Father. Hawkeye still hadn't given Margaret a gift.
"Hang on Margaret; I still have your gift." Margaret groaned and sat back down on the couch.
"What is it this year?" she whined.
"Wouldn't you like to know," he called over his shoulder as he walked out to the back porch. He walked back into the room, hauling a large, gaudily wrapped present, about three feet square.
Margaret burst out laughing at the metallic red, paisley paper and blue satin ribbon. Lizzy took one look at the large package and felt tears spilling onto her cheeks.
"Lizzy honey, what's wrong?" Margaret asked, hurriedly walking towards her daughter.
"Daddy why?" she asked standing up.
"Lizzy sit down," he said firmly.
"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Margaret begged.
"I hate him," Lizzy shouted, talking to her mother but looking directly at Hawkeye.
"You're a coward and selfish pig! I hate you!" Lizzy ran up the stairs two at a time. Hawkeye sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Are you just going to sit there?" Margaret asked.
"For now I am; come here." Margaret stared at him blankly.
"Why?"
"Come open your gift."
Margaret stared at him in shock. "What is wrong with you?"
Hawkeye shrugged and patted at the couch. "She'll be okay; now come open the gift.
Margaret was now a deep shade of red. "Your daughter is upstairs crying because of something you did and you're just going to sit here and open presents? I think she is right; you are a selfish pig. On top of that you're an irresponsible asshole!"
Margaret began to walk upstairs but Hawkeye ran after her. "Oh come on Hot Lips."
"Get the hell out of here!"
"Marga…"
"I mean it Pierce, get out! And don't try to show up here again." With that Margaret ran up the last few steps and burst into her daughter's room, slamming the door behind her.
Lizzy looked up in surprise but then laid her head back down on her pillow. "Don't make me apologize," she sobbed. Margaret sat down next to her, stroking her back comfortingly.
"I won't," she assured her, a hint of bitterness entering her voice. "What happened Lizzy? What on earth did he do to upset you so much?"
Lizzy sniffed loudly and wiped at her eyes. "I don't know." She mumbled.
Margaret smiled slightly, "Oh come on; you didn't call him a selfish pig for no reason. Tell me what he did."
"He didn't give you what I told him too." She sobbed.
Margaret's mouth dropped open. "Is that all?" she asked incredulously. "Lizzy, your father has never once given me what you told him too, why would he start now?"
Lizzy sat up and shook her head. "You don't understand," she said between sobs. "I told him to give you a ring."
Margaret waited for her daughter to continue but she said nothing. "A ring? What's the big deal about a…" Margaret fell silent at the look on her daughter's face.
"Oh Lizzy you didn't."
"You love him, I know you do!" Elizabeth insisted.
Margaret began to argue. "I do not, I…"
"Look me straight in the eyes," Lizzy demanded. "Look me straight in the eyes and tell me you don't love him."
Margaret sighed and did as her daughter requested. "Your father means a lot to me Lizzy. He's a good friend, actually, he's my best friend; but I don't love him."
Even as she said it Margaret had to ask herself if it was true, she had never really thought about it before. Margaret smiled at her daughter and gently squeezed her hand.
"You know your father almost asked me to marry him once, I think he even bought the ring."
Lizzy stared at her mother in shock. "You turned him down?"
Margaret shook her head. "No, but I probably would have if he had asked. I was pregnant at the time and I didn't want him to feel that he had to stick around."
Margaret shrugged, "I certainly was surprised when he bought a house just down the street from me. He loves you Lizzy, please don't be mad at him."
Lizzy nodded and stood up, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve. "Grandpa's going to be here soon," she muttered. Margaret stood up and followed her daughter.
"Come on Lizzy, it's Christmas, don't cry."
Lizzy tried to smile and the pair quickly walked down the stairs and bumped into a very surprised Alvin Houlihan.
"I tried knocking but no one would answer," he looked at Lizzy's puffy, red eyes in concern. "Is everything alright?" he asked.
"Everything's fine Dad. We were just reading a new book of Lizzy's; it's really sad."
Alvin seemed to buy it and shrugged muttering something about women. "Alright, well come on you two I have some gifts for you." He looked around the room curiously. "Where's Ben?"
Margaret blushed and looked at the floor. "He ran out for some turkey broth," she lied. "He'll be back soon."
Alvin nodded and sat down on the couch, reaching for several packages he had placed there a few minutes before.
"Who does this belong too?" he asked in disgust, indicating Hawkeye's gift to Margaret.
Margaret smiled sadly, feeling incredibly guilty for yelling at Hawkeye. "That's Ben's gift to me." She explained. Alvin laughed loudly and shook his head.
"That boy never learns does he?"
"Why don't you open it Mom?" Margaret looked at her daughter who was looking considerable better. "I kind of want to see what he came up with."
Margaret nodded in understanding and sat down in front of the large box and began to peel away wrapping paper, frowning in confusion.
"Oh god not another one!" she moaned. She had unwrapped cardboard box with a picture of a vacuum cleaner on the front. Lizzy's mouth dropped open.
"No way," she shook her head in disbelief.
"Isn't that what he got you last year?" Alvin asked. Margaret nodded and began to look at the picture.
"Yeah, it's the exact same one he gave me." Margaret frowned again and then smiled and quickly opened the top, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Well I guess I should give him a little credit, he just reused the box." Alvin rolled his eyes and began to shuffle around, picking up pieces of wrapping paper, he looked up when he heard his daughter laugh.
She pulled out another box, one foot square and wrapped identically to the first one. "He never ceases to amuse me," Margaret joked, bringing a chuckle from her father and a halfhearted smile from Lizzy, who was wishing her father was with them.
Margaret pulled the paper off and found the box that had contained a set of silverware, two years before. Lizzy laughed genuinely and sat down beside her grandfather as Margaret pulled out a very small box, only four inches square, but identical to the other boxes in every other way.
"Well at least I know he's never gotten me anything this small before," Margaret laughed. She looked up at Lizzy whose face had turned rather pale.
"Don't open it," she said quietly. Margaret looked at Elizabeth strangely.
"Why on earth not?"
Lizzy swallowed nervously and looked at her grandfather. "Well because he seemed so excited about the gift, I think you should wait for him." She prayed her mother would take the hint.
Margaret realized that Lizzy didn't know about her argument with Ben. Of course her daughter didn't know her father wasn't coming back, not today anyway.
"I'm just going to open it," Margaret said, wondering at her daughter's insistence.
"She's right Margaret," Alvin piped up," You should wait for him."
"Besides I think I can guess what it is."
Margaret sighed and tossed the gift down beside her on the couch. "Oh fine, you win," she paused, looking at Elizabeth's anxious face. "What do you think it is?"
"Well I can't be sure, but don't you think a jewelry box would fit perfectly in that box?" Margaret's head snapped up as she realized what her daughter was thinking.
"Oh my god," she breathed. She nervously picked up the box and then stood up. "I have to go find him," she said, almost to herself.
Lizzy knew her parents must have had some sort of argument and she wisely pulled her grandfather towards the kitchen as Margaret yanked on her coat. "Come on Grandpa, help me with the turkey."
