Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy this chapter. :)

"Mom?" eleven year old Mei-Li knocked on her parents' bedroom door.

"Come in, sweetheart," Lim called from the other side.

Mei-Li entered the room, her ballet bag swung up over her shoulder, her hair in a ballet bun, all ready to go perform as Clara in The Nutcracker with the San Jose Dance Theatre. She had performed in The Nutcracker before, but never in this major of a role, "Are we going soon?"

"Mmhm," Lim replied as she finished brushing her hair, "Dad's meeting us at the theater from work. Abuela and Abuelo will be coming with Tía Gabi, and Uncle Josh should be here soon and he'll ride with us."

Mei-Li forced a smile and answered, "Great."

Lim turned to face her daughter and she could tell Mei-Li was not fine, "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," said Mei-Li.

"Mei-Li Esmeralda Lim-Melendez, I'm your mother and I know when you're fine. Right now, you aren't," Lim said.

Mei-Li's breath shook as she said, "Mom, I don't think I can do this."

"What? Dance tonight?" Mei-Li nodded and started to hiccup, "But Mei-Li, you've danced in The Nutcracker before."

"Not as Clara," said Mei-Li, "What if I mess up?"

"Oh sweetheart, it's just your nerves talking," Lim hugged her tightly, "You've been practicing for months and you've worked so hard."

"But what if I mess up in front of everyone. And what if I let down you and Dad and Uncle Josh and Abuela and…"

"Okay, Tiánxīn, sit down," Lim and Mei-Li sat down on the bed, "First of all, you will never let us down as long as you try your best."

"How are you never afraid of anything?" Mei-Li asked Lim.

"Oh, honey, you really think I'm never afraid of anything?" Mei-Li nodded, "Well, I know a few times in my life where I've been very afraid."

"Like when?" asked Mei-Li.

"Well," Lim thought about it, "My fourth year of residency was my first lead surgery, meaning I was the surgeon doing almost everything and making all of the calls. Your father was my assistant resident. Dr. Glassman, the Chief of Surgery at the time, was my attending surgeon who was supervising me. Goodness, I was terrified. It was a simple gallbladder removal, but I was so terrified I was going to kill my patient. Terrified that Dr. Glassman was going to fire me. Terrified that I would mess up and your father would poke fun of me even more than he already did."

"How did you do it?" asked Mei-Li, "How did you stop being scared?"

"Well, I never really stopped being scared, but I had been through four years of college, four years of med school, and three and a half years of residency at that point, and I practiced over and over again, so I knew I was well prepared. I took a deep breath and I thought through each part of the surgery step by step. You've been dancing ballet since you were five, Tiánxīn. You've been performing in The Nutcracker since you were seven. You've been watching other girls dance the part of Clara for years. You aced your audition and you've been rehearsing for hours. And I believe in you and your entire family believes in you. So I'm not telling you not to be scared; but I am saying to take a deep breath and take the entire dance one step at a time."

Mei-Li hugged Lim tightly and said, "Wǒ ài nǐ, Māmā."

"Wǒ ài nǐ, Tiánxīn," Lim kissed the top of Mei-Li's head.

"Mommy," Carlos called and came into the room, "I can't tie my tie."

Lim chuckled and crouched down in front of Carlos, helping him fix his poorly tied tie, "Well, learning to tie your shoes was more important, but next we'll have to teach you how to properly tie a tie."

Josh arrived and greeted everyone at the front door, "Well, if it isn't my beautiful niece and my handsome nephew," he hugged and kissed them both.

"Hi Uncle Josh," Mei-Li said.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

Mei-Li grimaced a little and Lim said, "She's got butterflies in her stomach."

"Well, don't worry; you'll do great," comforted Josh.

"I know you'll do well, Mei-Li," said Carlos.

"How do you know?" asked Mei-Li.

Carlos shrugged, "Because you're my big sister. You can do anything."

They all arrived at the theater and Mei-Li went to go with the other dancers in the dressing rooms while the other three found Mateo, Maria, and Gabi, "Hi everyone," Lim kissed them all on the cheeks and Mateo and Maria began doting on Carlos.

About twenty minutes later, Melendez arrived, "Hey guys, sorry I'm a little late," he apologized, "Dr. Reznick needed me to help her with a patient at the last minute."

"It's okay. It hasn't started yet," Lim kissed him.

"Hi Little Man," he kissed Carlos's cheek, "Mom, Dad, Gabi, Josh."

"Hi mijo," Maria kissed his cheek.

"So how's our little ballerina?" asked Melendez as he sat down next to Lim.

"Nervous, but I think she'll be fine," said Lim. The announcements were read, the lights dimmed, and the curtains opened. Mei-Li had a nervous look in her eyes, but as she danced throughout the performance, the nervous smile turned into a sheer grin of delight as she was obviously enjoying herself. After the final bows and curtain call, the family went to join the dancers backstage.

"You did a wonderful job, amorcita," Maria hugged her as tightly as she could.

"Abuelita, I can't breathe," said Mei-Li.

"Lo siento," Maria apologized.

"First San Jose, next Lincoln Center with the New York City Ballet," Josh hugged her.

Mei-Li smiled and went over to her parents and brother, "Wonderful job, mija," Melendez kissed her and handed her a bouquet of flowers.

"Thanks Dad," Mei-Li kissed his cheek.

"See, I told you that you can do anything," said Carlos.

Mei-Li smiled, crouched down to his level, and kissed his cheek, "You were right, Simba."

"Mei-Li," he groaned.

Mei-Li looked up at her mother who had a look of pride on her face, "You were right. Just take it one step at a time."

"Oh sweetheart. It was all you," Lim said proudly.

Mei-Li wouldn't deny that she had put in hours of practice for this performance, but with her family by her side, she knew she could do anything she set her mind to in the long run.