Disclaimer: I only own the story specific characters I created. The originals belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.

Charlotte was blissfully happy to enter her home to the sights and smells of Christmas. Her decorator had transformed her penthouse in the hours since she'd left for work. Christmas had always been her favorite time of the year. Her father had made sure the holiday was special for her and her brothers. As a little girl, their home was turned into a winter wonderland, and she soaked it up eagerly. She knew she wanted to make her first Christmas in her own penthouse just as special.

"The decorators outdid themselves," Brice greeted his sister as she roamed each room to take it all in.

"Yes, they did," Charlotte's smile widened with each room she entered.

"Barty was in his element as the workers brought in boxes upon boxes. He was sniffing around, searching for who knows what," Brice laughed as his dog plopped himself on his rump, his tail wagging vigorously.

"Such a good boy," Charlotte bent down to scratch behind his ears, adding a kiss to the top of his head.

"You should see Mom and Dad's place," Brice chuckled, "Mom wanted to change things up a bit this year. It looks like some art deco piece. Dad is going to be pissed."

"Christmas is the one time of year he wants everything to be traditional," Charlotte laughed, "Let's stay down here this evening."

"Aiden is already a step ahead of you," Brice nodded, "He's making four of us dinner…it's not too late to add a fifth to our party if you want Eddie to join us. I know you haven't told Aiden yet, but it might not be a bad time to do it."

"Eddie's stuck at the office," Charlotte frowned, "With the office closing for the holidays, it's his last few hours to get some work done for two weeks."

"He's going to work himself into an early grave," Brice observed, "He's been working until almost midnight every night since I've been home."

"And for weeks before that," Charlotte added, "I think his workload is too great. His bosses keep stacking the work on him. It's totally not fair. Even Dad doesn't work as hard as Eddie has been."

"That doesn't sound right," Brice frowned, "You should talk to Dad."

"How do I do that without tipping my hand that Eddie spends the night?" Charlotte asked, "Dad's been pretty cool about us so far, but I don't want to push him off the deep edge."

"I know how unfair it is that Collette and I are pretty much free to do as we wish, and you and Eddie have to hide things," Brice gave her a look of sympathy.

"I'm daddy's little girl," Charlotte shrugged, "I get that. He'd probably be just as neurotic of you if you hadn't found the love of your life in prep school. You should see how he is with Aiden sometimes and his dating life. He's got his P.I. working over time running background checks on all the people Aiden associates with."

"Aiden does seem to have inherited Dad's playboy ways, even if he's a few years behind the curve," Brice chuckled.

"One of us had to inherit Dad's charms," Charlotte snickered. "Where is Collette?"

"She went shopping with her mom," Brice replied, "She should be back soon."

"I bet Ms. Lafonte is super happy to have Collette home for the holidays," Charlotte replied, "Mom is over the moon you're home. I can only imagine what her reaction is going to be when she finds out you're moving home for good."

"Collette says her mom is seeing this new guy, and they appear quite serious," Brice confessed, "She thinks there might even be a ring in her near future."

"How about a ring in Collette's future," Charlotte ribbed her brother, "Come on, Bro, step up and propose already."

Brice's face suddenly flushed and then went pale.

"Are you? This Christmas?" Charlotte translated his ghostly appearance.

"Yeah," he produced the ring from his pocket, "I just picked it up at the jewelry store this afternoon."

"Oh my god, Brice, this is awesome!" Charlotte hugged her brother before examining the ring. "She's going to love it."

"I'm a bit nervous about it," he confessed, "I mean we've talked about it obviously, but she wants to wait until she graduates and moves back. I just…I want her to know how committed I am even though we'll be an ocean apart."

"Don't worry about it, Brice," Charlotte gave her brother some encouragement, "You two are going to get a happily ever after, I know it."

"Even Mom turned Dad down a couple of times before she finally said yes," Brice pointed out.

"That was totally different," Charlotte scoffed. Her parents had been regaling them all with tales of their courtship for years. It nearly broke Charlotte's heart when she'd learned her mother had turned down her father's marriage proposals twice before she finally said yes. It wasn't until she was a bit older that she understood her mother's motives, her need to be her own person apart from her husband.

"I did okay?" Brice's voice waffled nervously as he reclaimed the ring from Charlotte. "Dad hooked me up with his jeweler to customize it."

"It's gorgeous," Charlotte bobbed her head, "Collette will love it."

"Yeah," Brice released a shaky breath.

"So when are you going to ask her?" Charlotte asked, "Do you need any help planning?"

"Christmas Eve, actually," Brice admitted, "After our traditional small family gathering, I'm going to ask Collette to take a carriage ride through the park. She's always wanted to go on one."

"That's perfect," Charlotte felt herself getting a bit misty eyed at the thought of her younger brother getting engaged.

"Not too cheesy?" he asked.

"Even if it was, for proposals cheesy is okay," Charlotte assured him.

The elevator chime sobered them up pretty quick. Brice quickly pocketed the ring to greet Collette as she stepped off the elevator loaded down with bags from her shopping trip with her mother.

"Wow, Lettie, did you leave anything in the store for the rest of us?" Charlotte teased.

"Mom was trying to make up for all the shopping trips we've missed together since I've been home last, so she went a bit overboard," Collette confessed as Brice dutifully unloaded a few of the bags from her. "I tried to remind her it wasn't necessary, especially with Christmas less than a week away, but she insisted. She's feeling especially generous since her boyfriend was footing the bill."

"Really?" Charlotte raised a curious brow, "Using the significant other's credit cards, that usually a pretty big step. What's he like?"

"He's a nice enough guy, but I still find it weird to think of either of my parents dating other people. They weren't altogether happy together, but I guess I was naively hoping someday they might get back together," Collette frowned.

"I guess every kid of divorce goes through that to some degree," Charlotte put an arm around Collette's shoulders to offer comfort. She and her brothers knew how lucky they were to have two parents so completely devoted to each other. Though they'd argue and sometimes go days without speaking to each other, none of the kids had ever really worried about them separating or divorcing.

"Yeah, I guess," Collette bobbed her head.

Aiden popped out of the kitchen, "Hey, Lettie," he greeted her with a smile, "Dinner will be ready in like thirty minutes."

"Gives me time to get all this stuff put away," Collette disappeared into the guest room she was sharing with Brice.

"Is she okay?" Aiden looked a bit concerned about his brother's girlfriend as she wandered off. There was a look in her eyes he didn't like.

"Yeah," Brice assured his younger brother, "I'll go check on her."

Aiden and Charlotte watched him wander off, his dog hot on his heels, knowing he'd be an effective pick me up for his lover.

"Did he tell you about the ring?" Aiden motioned his sister to follow him into the kitchen so he could continue his preparations.

"He did," Charlotte hopped up onto a stool to watch her younger brother work, "It's so exciting. I'm a bit jealous too. My little brother should not be allowed to get engaged before me."

"Come on, Sis, you're probably not too far behind with that mystery man you're seeing," Aiden teased, "Even Dad seems okay with it, which is really weird. He never liked any of the other guys you've seen."

"About that mystery man," Charlotte began, "I should really tell you about him. It's not fair that Mom and Dad know, and now Brice and Collette do."

"You mean you're finally going to tell me you're dating Eddie Fraser," Aiden teased.

"What!" Charlotte sputtered in response, "You knew!"

"Of course I knew," Aiden rolled his eyes, "You two weren't as sneaky as you may have thought. I saw him leaving the building a few mornings at the butt crack of dawn when I was returning from the farmer's market."

"Oh god," her hands went to her face to hide her embarrassment, "You didn't tell Dad, did you?"

"Of course not," he almost sounded offended she thought he would, "I like Eddie. I always have. I wouldn't want to subject him to Dad's wrath…You could have just told me."

"I'm sorry," she admitted, "At first we just wanted to see if there was anything beyond the initial attraction, and when we figured out there was, we were going to wait until Christmas to tell everyone…then I was suspended at work and things went a bit sideways. Dad sort of outed us. Slowly but surely everyone started finding out. I didn't mean for you to be the last one…I was going to tell you and Brice together at Christmas, but he guessed when we were having lunch with Daddy at his office."

"It's okay, Char," Aiden assured her, "I figured you had your reasons. I'm just glad it's finally out there."

"He loves your food," Charlotte stated, "It says a lot because he knows some really great places to eat. He took me to this one place in Queens with the best Greek food I've ever tasted, even during that winter break we spent in Greece. We have to get you there. You will love it."

"Sign me up," Aiden responded eagerly.

"So we're okay?" Charlotte hesitatingly asked.

"Oh yeah, totally," Aiden assured her, "No hard feelings at all."

"You're the best little brother," Charlotte got off her stool and went to hug him.

"Don't say that too loud or Brice might hear you," Aiden teased.

"Too late," Brice entered the kitchen to see the two embracing, "What's going on?"

"Charlotte finally copped to dating Eddie Fraser," Aiden replied, "I made her squirm for a bit, but that's my job."

"Jerk," Charlotte smacked at his shoulder, "How much longer on dinner?"

"Twenty minutes," Aiden replied.

"I'm going to go up and see the deco piece Mom created," Charlotte stated, "I'll be back before we eat."

"Oh god, talk Mom into changing it, will you," Aiden groaned, "It's hideous. It's going to give me nightmares until next Christmas."

"I'll do my best," Charlotte snorted.

"Oh my god!" Charlotte gasped as she entered her parents' home to see the so-called Christmas decorations. She could hear her mother's ranting from her office all the way from the entryway. She'd apparently just gotten home herself to see the decorator's handy work and was not pleased.

"Don't say anything about it to your mother," Chuck cautioned his daughter when he emerged from his office to greet her with a hug.

Charlotte frowned in the direction of one of the decorations, "Is that supposed to be a Christmas tree?"

"Your guess is as good as ours," Chuck winced at the language he was hearing from his wife's office.

"When we met with the decorators to discuss our Christmas visions, Mom wanted something a bit artsy, but she didn't want abstract," Charlotte followed her father into his office to get away from the shouting. Her mother was using words a seasoned sailor would blush at. "Pablo Picasso would be given nightmares by what's out there."

"You and your siblings are wise to stay at your place tonight," Chuck laughed, "Your mother's mood is going to be difficult to neutralize, even using my seductive powers."

"She's going to give herself a stroke," Charlotte could still hear her mother's voice waft into her father's office.

"It's best to let her get it out of her system," Chuck assured his daughter, "I'll pay to smooth things over later."

"Good. I really like what they did to my place, and I'd hate to have to find another decorator to replicate it next year," Charlotte replied.

"We'll have to come down to see it after your mother has cooled off," Chuck replied.

"So after New Year's," Charlotte stated.

Chuck could only laugh in reply.

"Dad, I have a question to ask you. You can tell me it's none of my business if you want, but…" Charlotte began.

"What is it, Princess?"

"Is Eddie in over his head here in New York?" Charlotte asked.

"Why would you ask?" Chuck was a bit curious.

"It's just an observation," Charlotte's voice cracked a bit as she spoke. Eddie would probably be furious with her for even mentioning anything to her father. "He's been working a lot of hours lately, like until midnight every night for weeks. I wouldn't he surprised to see him take a stack of files home to work on over the holidays…that's just not right, Dad. Ever since he came back from taking that weekend off with his brother I've barely seen him."

Chuck sighed heavily in response. He was afraid this was going to happen.

"What's that sigh all about?" Charlotte asked. She was usually pretty good at reading her father, but his response was a new one for her.

"He's trying to push himself," Chuck explained, "He's been trying to prove himself since he got back from London, taking on extra assignments, doing the work of three people. I've talked to his superiors twice already about reducing his workload, but apparently those talks have fallen on deaf ears. I'm glad you told me. I'll handle it."

"He can't know I talked to you," Charlotte fidgeted nervously with her hands.

"He won't," Chuck assured her, "Eugenia has been in my ear about this a few times already. It's important for my employees to find the work-life balance that works for them, but from the sounds of things, Mister Fraser hasn't gotten a grasp on that concept yet."

"Do you think this has anything to do with me and us dating?" Charlotte asked.

"It might," Chuck bobbed his head slowly, "One day, hopefully fifteen, twenty years down the road I'll be retiring and you'll be taking over. You'll be Eddie's boss. That's not an easy pill for some men to swallow."

"How do you and Mom manage?" Charlotte asked, "I mean technically you're her boss."

"Sweetheart, your mother has always been the boss," he chuckled, "While my company does own hers, she's always been able to work autonomously."

"You've never stepped in?" she asked.

"I've never had to," Chuck replied.

"So you're saying in order for me and Eddie to work, we're going to need to find something he can do which allows him to do work separate from me?" Charlotte asked.

"That might be the best way," Chuck bobbed his head.

"But he's good at his job," Charlotte frowned.

"Yes, he is," Chuck agreed, "Too good."

"If I wasn't being groomed to take over for you, where would Eddie end up?" Charlotte asked.

"You know the answer to that," Chuck's eyes locked with hers.

"So no matter what I'm going to hold him back. He could be CEO of Bass, but because of me, he never will be," Charlotte swallowed hard on the realization.

"With you at Bass, he never would be," Chuck reminded her, "No matter your personal involvement with Mister Fraser, your career has always been predetermined, unless it's not what you want."

"Some days it's hard to know what I want," Charlotte admitted, "One thing I do know, I want to be with Eddie."

"You'll figure things out, Sweetheart," he grasped her hands and brought them to his lips, kissing them softly, like he'd done dozens of times over the years. The gesture always brought her comfort, but not today.

"I should get downstairs. Aiden was nearly done with dinner," Charlotte replied.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Chuck tried to rally her suddenly turbulent spirits.

"I'll be okay," Charlotte tried to reassure him, giving him a hug before she turned to leave. Her mother was still giving the decorator a severe tongue lashing when she emerged from her father's study, so she figured she'd wait for a different day to speak with her.

Eddie was hard at work when he caught a figure in his doorway late in the evening.

"This office is shutting down for the holiday," Chuck was leaning casually against the young man's door frame.

"I know," Eddie looked appropriately contrite.

"Then I'm curious why you're here with your head buried in paperwork rather than at home with your family or having dinner with my daughter," Chuck entered Eddie's office and took a seat in one of the available chairs.

"I just have so much to get done and there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to do it," Eddie admitted.

"Are you enjoying being back in New York?" Chuck asked the younger man, "I know it's a change of pace to London, but is it too much for you?"

"No, not at all," Eddie assured him, "I can handle the work, I just wish I had more time to do it."

"Mister Fraser, you know I think quite highly of you. I've given you a lot of opportunities I wouldn't give other young executives because of our familial connections. You have all the tools and talents to take you as far as you wish, but there is another side to life you need to figure out," Chuck told the young man, "You need to find a work-life balance, and from what I've been observing, your life right now consists of just work. That's not okay."

"Maybe I'd find the balance if I could get out from under all of this," Eddie motioned towards the mounds of work on his desk.

"You'd get out from under all of this, if you learned to say no a bit more," Chuck countered, "I don't want any of my executives taking on more than they are capable of. I certainly don't expect them to work seven days a week until they pass out only to get up the next morning to do it all over again."

"I just want to show my worth," Eddie sighed heavily, "I want to prove I'm worthy of all the opportunities you've given me…that I'm worthy of her."

"Charlotte," Chuck realized, "You're working yourself to the bone to prove to everyone you're good enough for my daughter, but you're forgetting one thing…The only person you have anything to prove to, is Charlotte, and from what I've seen, she already thinks you're good enough for her."

"I wish I felt good enough for her," Eddie ran a hand through his hair, "Sometimes I feel like we come from two different worlds. I didn't go to the fancy prep schools, and my family doesn't belong to the snooty country club. We don't summer in the Hamptons, and I've never even ridden a horse."

"Your parents raised you differently than Blair and I raised Charlotte, but not because they couldn't afford all those things you've mentioned. Your mother's salary is considerable, and if she felt prep school, country clubs and homes in the Hamptons were important, your family had the resources. Your family has different priorities, which is one of the things I love about Eugenia and why we work so well together. She offers me a different perspective.

"Do you know what our charitable foundation's reputation was when I first started at Bass? It was a joke. Your mother was the one to make it a priority for me. She pushed and pushed to make Bass one of the most generous companies in the world. Now I write checks to our various charities without batting a lash, and we're talking millions of dollars a year," Chuck replied, "Honestly, I hope that philanthropic desire gets passed on to Charlotte."

"I never thought about it that way," Eddie admitted, "Justin and I just saw this world you and your families lived in, and we so desperately wanted a way in."

"And many in my world desperately want a way out," Chuck laughed, "I want you to show Charlotte your world, where material things don't seem to matter as much, where happiness is more important than social status. Blair and I have done our best, but until Charlotte can truly see it from the eyes of someone who has experienced it she's never going to fully understand it."

"Yeah, maybe," Eddie bobbed his head, "I have to admit though, your world is pretty spectacular."

"Yes, it is," Chuck laughed, "Now hand me a stack of files. Let's see if we can reset some of your priorities and deadlines so you can enjoy the holidays like the rest of us."

Eddie did as Chuck requested, and together they worked pile down to a manageable size. Chuck even rolled up his sleeves and tackled some of the tasks himself, finding it a bit invigorating to get back into the trenches a bit. For so long he'd been the captain steering the ship. He'd forgotten what it was like to be a sailor following the captain's commands.

TBC…