Kate woke slowly to the noise of a television. She was able to maneuver herself around Jack's arm without waking him. "What are you doing, goober?"

Aaron sat cross legged on the edge of the bed, the Thanksgiving parade on the tv. "Parade!" He smiled as he pointed to the television.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" She scooped him into her arms and kissed the side of his face, wiping the stray blonde hairs from his eyes.

"Happy 'sgiving, Mommy," he tried to pronounce the word.

"We have to stay quiet, okay? Daddy's asleep."

"I'll be quiet. I don't want Daddy to go again."

Kate suddenly felt the knots in her stomach. On one hand, she loved the relationship Jack and Aaron had. On the other, realizing that Aaron had blamed himself made her want to wring his neck. She bit her lip as she glanced back to Jack, wondering if she had made a mistake. Had she done more danger bringing Jack back into his life. She owed it to Claire to raise Aaron perfectly but in moments like this, she felt like she was failing completely.

"Oh, no baby. Daddy was helping all the people, remember?"

"Yeah. Him went to fix the back."

"He's a good man, your dad."

Jack stirred, rolling over to catch a glimpse of Kate and Aaron. This was all he had wanted, the three of them to be a family. Seeing Kate step into a motherly role made him love her more, something he never thought possible.

"But your mom is an amazing woman."

"Happy 'sgiving!"

Startled, Kate jumped before looking over her shoulder. Her chin was touching her shoulder as she glanced to Jack with a soft smile. "How'd you sleep?" She asked with a soft smile.

"Better than I have in months," he whispered. "Even if you stole all the blankets."

"I did not!" She giggled. Jack stared at her, wondering how he was able to hide his feelings before. He heard her say she loved him the previous night and now struggled to remain calm. All he wanted was to pull her against him and kiss her until Aaron called them "gross."

"I should probably start with dinner." He said instead.

"Already?"

"I can make you coffee," he offered. He was rewarded with a wide grin.

"I'll never take coffee for granted again," she admitted.

After dinner Kate cleared off the table and cleaned up. It was the least she could do after Jack had cooked a delicious feast for them. Jack and Aaron sat in the living room and watched football while Jack explained it to his son. Kate was grateful she could hear them from the kitchen.

"You know what holiday comes after Thanksgiving?" Jack asked, putting Aaron in his lap during half time. "It's Christmas. Do you remember Christmas?" Aaron stared at him in awe, idolizing him without understanding him. "When you're a good boy, Santa comes to the house and drops off presents. We'll leave Santa some milk and cookies and put up a Christmas tree and decoration. But you have to write Santa a letter first..."

"A letter?"

"You get to tell Santa what you want and if you're good, he'll get you what you want. We'll come downstairs to presents under the tree for all of us."

"You too?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah, I'll be there, too." Jack paused for a moment. "Aaron, you know that even if you spend some special days with Mommy and some with me, we love you. I'm going to try and be here when you wake up Christmas morning, just like this morning."

Aaron smiled widely before hopping off Jack's lap and scurrying off.

"Where you off too, speed racer?" Kate chuckled.

"I have to talk to Santa!" The boy yelled. By the time she turned, Aaron was already racing down the hall. "No running!" She called out to him but he could still be heard running.

"Let him go. It's Thanksgiving," Jack smiled as he moved from the living room to join Kate in the kitchen.

"He are so much food he'll probably end up throwing up," she furrowed her brow at the thought.

"Then I'll clean it up," Jack began massaging her neck and shoulders. He felt the immediate release of tension in her body; he felt her body ease against his without jumping at the contact the way she once did. Although he had hoped to be reunited with Kate by now, he couldn't help but remind himself of those times months ago when she'd jump and flinch if he so much as touched her arm. "Want me to go round up the kid?"

"You know, he's content. He's writing to Santa. We can just relax; if you want there's a game on."

"What are you going to do?" Jack blurted.

"Uh... um ... I was going to just watch the game with you," she suddenly felt nervous, as if she had shown her hands too soon. "But I can easily just tidy up. Actually, I probably should—-"

Before she could back out of it Jack grabbed her waist and carried her to the couch as she laughed and cried his name. He held her so she sat sideways across his lap and he didn't let go until he was certain she wouldn't get skittish and move. Their laughter slowly dissolved until they were just staring into each other's eyes. Kate began to lean in as they both realized what was happening. Jack cupped Kate's face in anticipation.

"Mommy!" Aaron yelled. He broke the kiss that was unstoppable and made Kate jump as the little boy raced back into the living room. "I did this for Santa!"

He slid his mom a piece of paper with large child's handwriting. "Mom?"

"What is it, baby?" She pushed his blonde hair out of his face.

"Daddy said I have to be good for Santa to give me anything I want—"

"Anything?" She raised an eyebrow in Jack's direction.

"But how can I be gooder?"

"The word is better," Jack corrected "but you're already such a good boy."

As they talked, Kate unfolded the paper and read the scribbles. Her eyes seemed watery and her expression seemed to change instantly. "Aaron, we'll keep talking about Santa and how it all works, okay?"

"Yeah," Aaron smiled wickedly, making Kate smile. "I'm going to play!" And again the boy was off.

"How much is this wishlist going to cost us?" Jack groaned.

"Surprisingly, not much at all." Kate held the letter across her chest, letting Jack read it. In messy handwriting, the letter was easy enough to read.

Santa,

I try to be good. I want my daddy to stay home. I don't like him to leave. I can be good.