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"Right," Sydney stood up from her desk Monday afternoon. "I'm off."

Dixon looked up. "Glad to see that some of us are lucky enough to go home."

"Home? I wish," Sydney said, as she shouldered her bag, "I have to go Christmas shopping."

"Have to?" Dixon asked raising his eyebrows.

"Yes." Sydney laughed. "I have to. I am getting all my shopping done this afternoon so that I do not have to go anywhere near the shopping centre until after Christmas."

"You know what they say- the best laid plans…"

"I know," Sydney said as she opened the door. "But this plan I am sticking to. Can you really see me navigating the shopping centre in a couple of weeks time?"

Dixon smiled. "Oh come on, Syd. We both know that you are up for the challenge."

"Trying to get my year tens interested in Shakespeare, that's a challenge. Navigating Christmas crowds at eight months pregnant is biting off more than I can chew."

Dixon laughed. "So, are you going to get me something good?"

Sydney smiled. "Of course."

"Better than what you're getting Vaughn?"

"Of course."

"Really?" Dixon looked a little surprised.

"Uh huh," Sydney replied. "We decided not to get each other presents this year. Which means that whatever I get you will be better than Vaughn."

"Oh…right."

"See you," Sydney waved with a smile and then pulled the door shut behind her.

When Vaughn got home after hockey Tuesday evening, he found Sydney sitting on the lounge room floor, with wrapping paper and packages spread out before her, and humming to the tune of 'Frosty the Snowman'.

"Getting into the festive spirit there, Syd?" he said with a grin, dumping his sports bag.

Sydney looked up with a smile. "I can't help it. I've never been so organized for Christmas before and wrapping pressies…you know." She paused. "Now, all we need is a tree to put them under."

"Next few days, I promise." Vaughn said. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask- about Christmas Eve."

"What about it?"

"Well, do you still want to have it here? I know how tired you've been getting lately. You up for it?"

"Of course I am up for it," Sydney said. "It's Christmas Eve!" She smiled at the concern written over his face. "You're so cute when you get all worried."

Vaughn laughed. "I'll just ignore that mocking tone and focus on the cute part." He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm just going to take a shower."

Sydney nodded, as she turned back to her final present to wrap.

A short while later, Vaughn got out of the shower and was pulling on a pair of tracksuit pants when he heard Sydney call out his name. Grabbing a t-shirt, he yanked it over his head as he headed towards the lounge room, where Sydney was still sitting on the floor, the presents pushed to one side and an uncomfortable expression on her face.

"What is it?" he asked and Sydney mumbled something incoherently in return. "Pardon?"

Sydney sighed. "I said I can't get up."

"You what?"

"I can't get up." Sydney repeated. "Can you help me?"

Vaughn grinned as he walked across. "Have you been waiting for me to get out of the shower?"

Sydney nodded, biting her bottom lip. She looked at Vaughn for a few seconds before starting to laugh. "Oh my god," she managed to say. "I am stuck on the floor…what if you hadn't have been home?"

Vaughn chuckled as he grabbed her hands and helped her up. "You would have to wait longer for my heroic rescue."

Sydney smiled as she leaned up and pressed her lips into his. "My knight in shining armour."

"Always. Whenever you are stuck on the floor, just call. I'll be there."

"Right," Sydney pat a hand on his chest. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey," Francie's face broke into a grin as Craig walked into Deep Inside Tuesday night. The last of the dinner guests had just left and she was starting to pack up. Given that her car was at the mechanic's for a service, Craig had offered to pick her up.

"Hey yourself," he said, giving her a kiss. "How was it tonight?"

"Good," Francie replied. "Constant, but not busy. Thank god. I had three new wait staff on." She started to stack the chairs upon the tables. "How'd hockey go?"

"We won."

Francie smiled. "Again? You know, this is starting to get a little boring week after week."

"Well, if you think that I'm going to try and lose a match just to keep you interested, you've got another thing coming." Craig said. "I love you, Fran, but this is hockey. Hockey."

Francie laughed. "You, Michael and Eric should establish a new religion. One that worships a hockey puck."

"And a basketball." Craig deadpanned. "We can't exclude basketball."

Francie just shook her head, continuing to stack chairs. Craig followed her lead.

"I spoke to my mum today," he said as they worked. "She wanted to know what we were planning to do for Christmas Day."

Francie stopped and looked at him, a smile on her face. "Wow," she murmured.

"What?" Craig asked.

"It's just that it's been a long time since I had to allocate times for Christmas Day."

Craig grinned. "A lot of people would see that as a good thing. The choosing between families…the potential for upset is huge."

Francie nodded. "I know. My mum will freak if I tell her I won't see her for Christmas lunch. She's been so maternal since the accident."

"Well then," Craig shrugged. "We go to your family for lunch."

Francie shook her head. "No. I have a better idea."

Craig raised an eyebrow, "Ok, I have an pretty good inkling on what you're about to say, and are you sure that it's such a great idea?"

"Oh, come on, Craig. We can hold Christmas lunch ourselves. Us, our parents, my brother, your sisters. It will be fun."

"You think?"

"Yeah. There's plenty of room at my place, we can do it there. That way neither of our families will feel put out."

"For this Christmas," Craig pointed out. "But what about next year? Who are we gonna upset then?"

Francie stopped listening after the first part of Craig's question. "Next year?" she repeated.

"Um…" Craig clamped his mouth shut, realizing exactly what he had said. A slow grin then formed on his face. "Yeah…"

Francie gave him a euphoric smile as she sidled up to him. "Maybe," she whispered, placing her hands on his upper chest, "we could run away to some tropical island next Christmas."

"And upset both families instead of one," Craig nodded. "I like the way you think."

Francie laughed as she leaned in. "Thought you would," she said, placing her lips on his.

"A little to the left," Sydney directed Vaughn from where she was seated on the couch. "Yes…that's it…no, that's it…you've gone too far now. Back to the right a little bit."

Vaughn groaned as he let go of the Christmas tree and leaned against the wall. The two of them had been repeating this process for over ten minutes. Choosing where to put the Christmas tree had never taken this long before, in all the time that they had been together. Vaughn suspected that it was because Sydney had never had the liberty, or a reason, to sit down and hand out the instructions.

Sydney glanced at Donovan, who was sitting on the couch beside her. "What do you reckon, Donny?" she asked, ruffling behind his ears. "Hmm…yeah. I thought so too. Move it back a little when you move it to the right," she said, a cheeky grin on her face.

Sydney was taking way too much pleasure from doing this and Vaughn was collaborating a mental list of possible paybacks. Continuous tickling for at least five minutes was right at the top, along with hiding her Dirty Dancing DVD and buying a stuffed E.T doll for the baby.

"There." Vaughn moved the tree back and to the right. "That is it."

Sydney's eyes narrowed as she surveyed the tree's position, before she broke into a smile. "Perfect," she said. "All we need is decorations."

Vaughn slumped down onto the couch, closing his eyes. "Can I take a break before we start decorating?"

Sydney spoke, and he could tell that she was smirking by her tone. "He who can play hard for an entire hockey match, hold his own on the basketball court, and whatever else, has been worn out by a Christmas tree. I would have never thought."

"He who has been worn out by the Christmas tree had school athletics today," Vaughn said, without opening his eyes. "She who has been sitting on her butt should know how exhausting that it."

Sydney laughed, while giving him a light slap for the sitting on her butt comment. "I forgot that it was Aths day. How'd it go?"

Vaughn opened his eyes. "What do you reckon?"

"Right." Sydney ran a hand through his hair. "I do sympathise with you. Aths days are definitely something I am not going to miss."

Vaughn straightened up in his seat. "You've only got a week left, haven't you?"

Sydney nodded, her face growing pensive. "It's so weird to think that this time next week I won't be a teacher."

"Syd, you're always going to be a teacher." Vaughn said, placing a comforting hand over her own.

"I know, but I won't be teaching." Sydney replied. "What am I going to do with myself? No Macbeth or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or vowels and pronouns or essay structures or issues analysis to fill in my days…" She let out a short laugh. "Who am I kidding? I am going to have plenty to fill up my day…by mid-January at least."

Vaughn smiled. "And until then you should just enjoy yourself."

Sydney looked at him. "I will…just as long as it doesn't involve the floor."

"Oh, Donovan will be so disappointed." Vaughn said with a dead-straight face. "I promised that you would play Twister with him."

"Hmm, interesting. A bulldog and a woman a month off giving birth playing Twister…it has reality show written all over it."

"Yeah," Vaughn grinned. "Weiss could host."

Sydney smiled as she gave him a soft kiss. "How about we start decorating this tree?"

"Only if you help. I've had enough of the Bristow Dictatorship for today."

Sydney raised her eyebrows. "Don't you mean Vaughn Dictatorship?"

"Uh, uh." Vaughn shook his finger. "There is no way that name is being associated with that side of you," he said, standing up.

"Ok, ok." Sydney grinned, holding out her hands. "Then the Bristow Dictatorship orders you to help me up. We got a tree to decorate."