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A/N I felt the previous chapter was becoming it's own book so I split up the day, however now I've changed up the end of their day and really could have kept it with the previous chapter. Well, you all will have to survive ;) I've I also come to realize you all have no idea what day or date it is for the group. So I'll start adding days and dates for things to make a little more sense based on it being a Christmas holiday story.

ANNNND I'm so sorry for the delay, broken back baloney. Hopefully I'll make it up to you in the next chapter. In the meantime, enjoy the BC Fam.

Thursday December 22

The kids were asleep the moment they were strapped into their car seats and stayed asleep until they were woken up back at the house. First order of business for Alex and Olivia was to get the kids out of their ski clothes and into a quick incident-free bath while the other adults went about their business of changing and putting together an early dinner. Nearly everyone was exhausted from their day on the slopes expect for Alexander and Catherine who had spent most of the day watching the kids as they learned to ski on the bunny slope until the children tired of that and chose to simply play in the snow for the majority of their day. It was up to the elder Cabots to come up with a dinner plan for the crew. The easiest and fastest was a spaghetti dinner and a large salad set up buffet-style again.

The rest of the evening was relatively quiet with people heading off in their own directions doing their own things. Theo and Georgia chose to spend some alone time while Melanie and the kids watched a movie on the third floor until all three fell asleep. Alexander and Catherine had retired to an early bedtime leaving just Olivia and Alex sitting alone outside around a fire pit that was constructed in the backyard. The two ladies were cuddled under a blanket watching the fire blaze as they sipped their wine and listened to the sounds of the evening and the fire crackling.

"I can't believe we've never come up here before," Olivia mused.

"Well, last year we were a little busy with a new one year old and a two year old who was very much in her terrible twos. AND we had that big case that had you running all over New York State." answered Alex.

"You're right, I must have deleted last year from my memory, that was a heck of a holiday for us, I thought Lauren was never going to get out of that phase."

"I'm just thrilled it's been fairly easy with Thomas though we are just a few months into his second year so who knows, I suppose I shouldn't jinx us," Alex laughed.

And just as Alex finished speaking she heard the balcony door open above them from the third floor.

"Psst, hey lovebirds," Melanie sibilated from above. "The natives are awake but I'm thinking they're ready for bedtime and since Theo is... unavailable. I'm stealing my godchildren tonight. You guys want to come up and say your good nights?" she asked.

"Yes," Olivia answered, "give us a few minutes to close up shop down here."

"Got it, you can find us in my room," Melanie replied as she closed the balcony door.

Alex was already getting up and covering the fire pit knowing the fire would be smothered without the oxygen it needed to burn. Olivia grabbed the blanket, folded it and replaced it back in the outdoor cabinet. Once the two women were certain the fire pit was secure and safe to leave they headed upstairs to Melanie's room.

Melanie had already moved both kids from the tv room into her bed and built an anti-roll-off-the-bed fort of pillows to ensure there were no accidents in the night. Usually with one child she would just cuddle them all night long to ensure they didn't roll, but with two she wanted to make sure there was no chance either of them could wiggle out of her grasp and fall. For as irresponsible as it always seemed like Melanie was, the safety and security of her godchildren was always at the forefront of her mind whenever she was with them. Sure, she had a habit of having something ridiculous happen when she was with them but she always made sure they were safe. There had been no question as to who the mothers wanted as their children's godmother—they both knew Melanie would do anything for either of their children and their trust in her was never in question.

Alex leaned onto the bed and smoothed her son's hair out of his face before leaning down and kissing his forehead. "Good night my handsome boy," she whispered. She moved over to Lauren and ran her hand down her back before she leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Sleep tight my sweet girl." When Alex stepped back Olivia leaned repeated the actions of kisses for the children before she whispered, "Good night my angels." The two women watched as Melanie climbed into the bed and curled herself around both children.

"Night moms," Melanie grinned.

"Good night our overgrown unplanned toddler," Alex smirked.

The women stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind them. The house was quiet despite it only being 9pm, everyone was worn out from the day of snow and sun, the two ladies included. They walked back to their side of the house and closed the door and began their nighttime routines. Once they were both settled in the bed they naturally gravitated towards each other. Olivia raised her right arm so Alex could settle into her and rest her head on her chest.

"Today was amazing," Olivia mused out loud.

"It really was, our kids are amazing, and we are so lucky to have such a wonderful family," Alex answered.

"Definitely a wonderful family," Olivia repeated, "odd though that Theo brought a woman none of us have ever heard of before don't you think?" Olivia questioned.

"Yeah, it is a little odd. I can't believe they've been dating for 7 months already and we really had no clue at all. And why did he bring her for a family holiday vacation? Not that I mind, it's just strange behavior for Theo." Alex murmured, the exhaustion from the day starting to take over.

"I'd like a chance to get to know her a bit more," Olivia said but as soon as the words left her mouth she realized that Alex had fallen asleep. Olivia kissed the top of Alex's head before she closed her eyes and let sleep take her over as well.

Friday December 23

The two women were deep in sleep as Melanie and the kids quietly snuck into the mothers' room. As they creeped closer and closer the children fought to contain their giggles. All they really understood was that Aunt Melanie said they were going to wake up the mommies but in a sneaky way. They had no idea what Aunt Melanie's plan was but she was creeping through the room in an over-dramatic silly way and would have made an adult think of Jim Carrey's Grinch sneaking around. As the reached the edge of the bed Melanie picked up both children, one in each arm and quietly counted to three as she swung the two children over the bed. On three she let go of the children and with her perfect aim Thomas landed between Alex and Olivia and Lauren landed at their feet.

"WAKE UP MOMMIES!" Melanie shouted at the top of her lungs which caused the children to shout their own versions of "wake up mommies". Thomas sounded more like "wadeupmommas" and Lauren's version was just jumping up and down and shouting "mommas up, mommas up".

Both Alex and Olivia rapidly woke up and came to a sitting position with sleep and confusion on their faces.

"Wha...What's happening?" Alex panicked.

"What the...?" Olivia blurted out.

Before the women could get an answer or a full idea of what was happening as they were both still shaking the sleep off of their brains, Melanie leapt onto the bed where there was space without crushing an small child or injuring an adult. She, alone with both children, continued to bounce of the bed as the children shouted random words.

"Enough sleeping ladies," Melanie shouted as she continued to bounce of the bed.

As the two mothers finally put things today, Olivia grabbed a bouncing Thomas and laid back down with him cuddling and kissing his face which had him belly laughing. Alex leaned forward to the end of the bed where Lauren was still bouncing and grabbed her and repeated the same actions her wife had done with their son.

"Awww, what about me?" whined Melanie as she slowly stopped bouncing.

"If you don't leave right now," Alex warned, "you'll be getting a very up close and personal hug to the face with my pillow." she stressed to Melanie as she glared over Lauren's head.

Melanie knew Alex would absolutely slam her in the face with a pillow if she didn't beat it; Alex wasn't known for her "just woke up" patience. Especially if she was in "just woke up" mode because of Melanie so Melanie backed off the bed with her hands in the air signaling her retreat as she continued to back away to the bedroom door. She stepped through the door and just as she was about to close it Alex launched a pillow at the door and would have hit Melanie had she not slammed the door before she heard the pillow thud against the door. She could hear Alex's laughter from inside the room which made her smile and laugh as she wandered downstairs to the kitchen. Shortly after, the Benson-Cabot family entered the kitchen ready for the day ahead. Catherine was standing in the kitchen organizing the makings of breakfast when Alex stepped in.

"Absolutely not mom. You are not making breakfast again. It's our turn," she insisted as she gently pushed her mother out of the way. "Go play with your grandkids." Catherine didn't need to be told twice, she was more than happy to give up cooking breakfast for time with her grandkids.

Alex, Olivia and Melanie got started making breakfast. Usually if the Cabot family was going to be together for a week or so they would split up meals and each day some part of the Cabots would cook the meals for that day and they would all trade off so no Catherine didn't try nor need to cook all the meals all week long. For shorter family vacations like this one they would kick Catherine out of the kitchen as much as they could.

The three ladies made the family breakfast quickly; having divided the cooking duties into thirds. Olivia was making pancakes, Alex was making bacon and sausage and Melanie, being the bachelorette that she was, knew how to burn water. She was told to crack and scramble eggs but not cook them because could easily ruin even scrambled eggs. She would have taken offense but she once nearly burned down her apartment and possibly the entire building making microwave ramen in a cup. Had the fire department not gotten there on time she probably would have succeeded. She did get a date with a hot firewoman because of it so in her opinion, "the apartment was FINE Alex it only took a few days to fully air out and the building was fine so what's the big deal?". Alex wasn't sure she would ever understand how it was that Melanie was such an accomplished lawyer and so professionally put together but was such a disaster in her personal life and yet, still kind of not a disaster. Somehow she always managed to turn her messes into something charming or a date.

Once the breakfast was finished and set out, the family grabbed plates and filled them before sitting down at the table. Lauren insisted on sitting with her grandma and Thomas was being doted on by his grandpa leaving the adult children at the other end of the table together.

"So Theo," Melanie started, "seven months huh and no one here has met or even heard of Georgia?"

Alex kicked Melanie under the table and then glared at her, though if you asked her privately she might say that she was glad Melanie had said it because they were all wondering.

"That's partly my fault," Georgia admitted. "My hospital shifts are the 7pm to 7am shifts and it makes it really hard to have a social life much less date and get to know a new person so it was a bit of a slow start dating Theo."

"The rest is my fault," explained Theo. "I wasn't really ready to share Georgia yet and I knew once I mentioned her I would be answering all sorts of questions about her and would have to share my time with her with you guys."

"Try to contain your disdain at the idea of that Theo," Melanie quipped.

"I actually wouldn't have minded if I didn't have to include you in sharing my time with her," Theo ribbed back then ducked as Melanie threw her wadded up napkin at him. The two laughed together; for all the joking and teasing they loved each other like brother and sister.

"I can understand not wanting to share your precious together time," Alex said as she beamed at Olivia.

"Ugh," Melanie sassed. "Give us a break, you two have been married for what feels like decades AND you work together. You two have so much time together it's borderline weird... Oh! Unless you mean se... OW! Damnit Alex!"

"Ammit!" Thomas shouted from the other side of the table.

"Melanie!" shouted Alexander, Catherine, Alex and Olivia all in unison.

"Ow! Dammmmmm...arnit Alex! Stop doing that!"

"Stop making me do it!" Alex glared at Melanie.

"You know, I think I liked it better when you just gave me that stupid stare you thought scared me," Melanie stated as she rubbed her shin and made a face.

"If you would just pretend is scares you and shut your mouth she wouldn't kick you," muttered Olivia.

"Are you saying my stare doesn't scare you Liv?" asked Alex.

"What baby? Of COURSE it scares me, absolutely," feigned Olivia.

"Uh huh," Alex hummed as she stared stone-faced at Olivia.

"See Theo now I'm not in trouble," whispered Melanie.

"For now," he answered back.

"Annnyway, we're glad you're here Georgia," smiled Melanie.

Everyone nodded their agreement. Breakfast continued without any more kicks to the shin for Melanie. Olivia chatted with Georgia about her work in the ER and what things she enjoyed doing when she wasn't in her scrubs. Theo and Melanie chatted about Melanie's dating life; it always amazed Theo that Melanie wasn't in a monogamous relationship. It amazed the entire Cabot family actually because they knew how wonderful a person Melanie was and how easy it was for her to get dates. Theo knew it was just a matter of Melanie not having found that one person yet. Theo understood Melanie in a way Alex didn't. Alex was never a big dater; more prone to throw herself into work. Theo and Melanie however, had their fair share of dates, so Theo understood the dating game and the search for "Ms. Right". He also knew that one day Melanie was going to find "The One" and when she did she would fall hard and probably very fast.

Once breakfast was finished and the kitchen was cleaned everyone went to their rooms to prepare for the night. Today everyone but Alexander and Catherine were going to snowmobile up to a yurt campground where they would drop off the snowmobiles and stay for the night. They would be treated to a 5-star dinner before going off to their individual yurts where they would stay until the next day when they would cross-country ski about a mile to their pick-up. It was tradition for the Cabots to snowmobile up to the yurts and spend the night. Usually Alexander and Catherine would snowmobile up too but this year they were going to drive since the family would split up after the dinner and the grandkids would go with their grandparents back home for the night.

They would need to leave by 10am in order to make it to the yurt in time for the early dinner. Bringing the kids along would mean more stops and slower rides when the kids were riding with them. Alexander and Catherine would follow along in the car and meet them at points along the ride where the off-roading would meet the road to allow them to have lunch together or bathroom breaks and snacks for the kids. They also planned on trading the kids back and forth between the car and the snowmobiles along the way. Usually it took about 4 hours for the whole family to get to the yurts but with the kids they were certain it would take a few hours longer.

At 10am on the dot everyone was piled into the two vehicles ready to head to the snowmobile pick-up. They drove the short 10 minutes to where they met with the rentals company. Since the elder Cabots would be driving a car and not the snowmobiles they got the kids ready for their ride while everyone else got in-depth directions, instructions on the usage of the vehicles and signed release forms. When it was time to head out Lauren rode with Alex and Thomas with Olivia. It was a beautiful day for snowmobiling and everyone was enjoying the scenery and the ride. It took an additional 3 hours with they kids and snack breaks and pee breaks and switching them back and forth from the car to the snowmobiles.

By the time they arrived at the yurts the adults were all a little exhausted and hungry. Once again the grandparents were on baby duty while the adults checked in and found their yurts. The main yurt where the dinner would be held was big enough to hold 15 people but the Cabots didn't want to worry about the children possibly bothering other people who had also paid a fortune for a pleasant experience so they bought out the yurt for the night. They felt better about doing that, otherwise the kids' moms would spend most of the dinner worried the kids were taking away from the experience for the other diners. Everyone would be happier and able to enjoy the dinner this way.

After checking in the adults went to find their yurts. The yurts were all spaced apart by about a quarter of a mile to give people privacy during their stay. The yurt Alex and Olivia would be staying in for the night was a little bigger than a hotel suite. There was a deck that led you to the front door and wrapped around the yurt leading to the small bathroom. Inside there was a king size bed against the wall just to the left of the door. In front of the bed along the wall was an old fashioned wrought-iron stove that seconded as a fireplace. There was a small table to the left of the bed with two chairs and to the right was a lounging sofa big enough to fit two people easily. It was the perfect combination of rugged and a nice hotel; a true "glamping" experience.

The women's didn't have long to settle and get too comfy as they were scheduled to be back at the main yurt for dinner by 5:30. So after a quick unpack and an ever quicker shower they both headed back to the main yurt to find their family and the beginning of one of the best 5 course meals they had ever had. They dinner yurt is more rustic than nice hotel, everything is done by candlelight and wood stove. They started with mulled wine and cider for the kids served along with appetizers. The first course was a salad of fiddlehead ferns and heirloom tomatoes. Next came a light Andalusian Gazpacho. The entree was a choice of a salmon or venison and for the kids they had chicken nuggets unless they really wanted the salmon or venison. They chose the nuggets. The fifth course was dessert which was a choice of a sorbet more so for the kids and a 7 layer chocolate cake or a fresh apple tart. To no one's surprise the kids chose the cake and both Alex and Olivia had a brief moment of feeling sorry for the grandparents who would be looking after them for the night.

Once the meal was done finished and everyone was happily stuffed, they all said their good nights to the children—their mom's promising to see them tomorrow and making them promise they would be good for their grandparents. They watched Alexander and Catherine load up their children and waved goodbye as they drove off before walking back to their yurt.

"I have a surprise for you," Olivia told Alex as they walked the quarter mile to where they would be staying for the night.

"Oh really?" Replied Alex as she raised her eyebrow at Olivia.

"Don't even try, I can't even see your face and your eyebrow" responded Olivia. "You'll just have to be patient and wait to find out," she smirked. Then she broke into a run, "I'll race you back Al."

"Cheater!" Alex yelled as she attempted to catch her wife.

As always reviews make authors happy but also help us. HUGE prop to Chely99 for sticking with the stories, my take on the characters and most for sticking with me. Thanks! I'm lucky to have you as a reader. But that doesn't mean I'm NOT lucky to have ALL of you as my readers, because I absolutely am! Thank you all for reading. The next chapter should make you a bit happy, or so I hope. 😉