Hello everyone!
I'm not going to lie, I completely forgot about this story, and I wasn't totally sure what I was going to do with it. With that being said, a few things are going to change with this story. First and foremost, I'm going to need at least 5 reviews for me to keep writing. Secondly, I'm going to be writing much longer chapters, rather than individual chapters dedicated to each couple! I have like a general idea of how many chapters this story is going to be (I think 7-ish more) that would all be around 2,000 words. The little lines (—-) signify switching to a new couple. I think that wraps up it, and please enjoy Chapter 17 of Home for the Holidays!
"That was so boring." Mark said to Lexie, as they headed out to their car.
"Don't say that so loud!" Lexie hissed into his ear, and lightly smacks his arm. Branden and Alexa hop into the back of the car, as Mark and Lexie drive off to 'Brewhouse.'
—
All the couples had decided that they would just rent out a restaurant for Christmas Eve, rather than order room service or eat in the hotel. Brewhouse had burgers, steak, chicken, all the food necessary to make Christmas great.
—
"Did you pay attention to any of that?" Alex says to Jo, who shakes her head no, a guilty look evident on her face.
"I heard the word Jesus, like 100 times." Ryler says, and Jo tells him to shush. The 4 of them pile into the car as they head to 'Brewhouse.'
—
"Did you fall asleep during mass?" Derek whispers into Meredith's ear who looks down sheepishly.
"Maybe if you hadn't kept me up having S-E-X last night, I wouldn't have fallen asleep!" Meredith quips back, earning a smile from Derek.
"If the whole church heard me snoring, I am going to kill you!" Meredith says, a goofy grin on her face. Derek winks at her, as their family hops into the car and heads to Brewhouse.
—
"That was, uh, intriguing." Jackson says, and April shoots him a look.
"Jackson, I'm about as Catholic as it gets, and even I can say that was so boring." April says, giggling.
"Momma, I'm starving." Harriet says, as April was buckling her into her car seat.
"You and me both, Harriet." Jackson says, getting a laugh of April. Nobody could make April laugh like Jackson could. April hops into the passenger seat, as they drive to Brewhouse.
—
Callie and Arizona showed up to mass, halfway through, so they couldn't exactly have an opinion on the mass, when they were barely there. It took quite a bit of time to get 3 girls ready! From the back of the car, Sofia says
"Is it bad that I'm looking forward to spending all of next week on the beach, more than opening presents?"
"You and me both, Sof." Arizona says, getting a
"Arizona!" from Callie.
"Girls got a point." Arizona says, shrugging her shoulder.
"What if we flew there tonight? I mean, we could spend Christmas on the beach?" Arizona says, pulling up flights on her phone.
It was a small Christmas miracle, but there was a flight leaving in four hours, so Arizona obviously booked it. The 3 girls headed back to the hotel to pack their things, so they could make it back to the airport. Callie shot Mark a quick text, and promised that he would get to have Christmas with her, as soon as she came back.
Mark texted back a "Have fun, bring back some tan!"
The 3 ladies made it to the airport in record time, yet, the barely made the cut off for their plane.
"That was excellent work." Arizona says, to Callie and Sofia, who were seated to the right of her.
"I cannot believe we're doing this." Callie says, and Arizona responds with "I can."
—
Everyone, except for April, Jackson, Harriet, and Samuel, had been late to Mass, so they didn't get to all sit together. Everyone looked great, and it was such a nice change of clothes, compared to their Navy Scrubs. The kids all ran off together, as the adults all joined together.
"Okay, so here's what Mark and I are thinking for the rest of the trip. Our kids don't know how to ski, so they'll be in ski-school for all 3 days, but we're going to ski together." Lexie starts to say, only to be interrupted by Meredith.
"I can't ski for the life of me, so I'm doing lessons. I would love to have someone join me!"
"Yeah, Alex and I don't know how to ski, so we'll be joining you, if that's okay?" Jo says, and Meredith nods.
"I'll be with the lessons group, too!" April says, as Lexie begins to talk again.
"Which means, it'll be me, Mark, Derek, and Jackson who aren't skiing with an instructor, and Meredith, Alex, Jo, and April who are skiing with the instructor. I'm presuming all the kids are going to be in ski school?" Lexie says, and is met with mixed responses.
"Bailey and Branden are very insistent on learning how to snowboard, so I think they're gonna snowboard." Derek and Mark say, going in for a fist bump.
"Zola is saying she's too old for ski school, so she's doing a private lesson."
"So, in conclusion, Samuel, Ryler, Gracie, Alexa, Harriet, and Ellis are all doing ski school, Zola is doing a private lesson, and Bailey and Branden are doing snowboard school?" Lexie says, thankful for her photographic memory.
"Lexipedia!" Alex says, getting laughs from the group. Just as the group was wrapping up their plans, the chef came out with platters and platters of food.
—
The kids were all starving, so they came running out. Everyone stacked their plates fully, most of their eyes being bigger than their stomachs.
"That was such an upgrade from the cafeteria food." Jackson announces, and everyone laughs at this.
Not long after dinner, the kids were all getting whiny. They played hard today, and had quite the exhausting day. Mark picked Alexa up, and carried her out to the car. Derek did the same with Ellis, as did Alex with Gracie. After paying the chef and wishing him a happy holidays, all the families went back to their respective hotel rooms.
—
Alexa and Branden managed to muster enough energy to hear Lexie read them "A Christmas Story." The two of them fell asleep within seconds after Lexie finished reading, as she climbed into bed with Mark.
—
Harriet and Samuel heard the Nativity story, complete with figurines, from April and Jackson. Jackson had never even heard of the Nativity when he was their age, yet, the two of them could basically say it themselves. April was the best mom these kids could ask for, and the best wife too.
—
Ryler and Gracie passed out in the car, so Jo and Alex had to carry both of them up to their hotel room. Jo and Alex had a little Christmas magic of their own, if you know what I mean. ;)
—
Meredith, Derek, Zola, Bailey, and Ellis watched Elf, which was their favorite Christmas movie. Meredith thought back to the many Christmasses she spent alone, and was so glad that her children didn't have Ellis as a mom. Meredith was far from perfect, yet she knew she was better than Ellis. After tucking all her kids into bed, Meredith smiled. This place was awesome.
So, how was it? Please leave me a review! In case you all couldn't tell Mark and Lexie are my ultimate OTP, and I would give anything to get them back (beach scenes!) so this fic has been my saving grace for them. While I was on my hiatus from this story, I watched Criminal Minds, and omg its amazing! I'm rambling now, but please please leave a review!
