A/N: Thanks for your reviews!

Chapter 2

Kate sighed deeply as she made the turn that would lead her into her parents neighborhood. It was silly to dread telling them that she was off for the next two weeks…there wasn't anything wrong with taking time off, especially at Christmas. It was just that her mother was attached to McKenzie…very attached, and not having her for the next two weeks would be the first time since she was six weeks old that she hadn't been in their home for three days a week. She had a feeling that it might be news that her mother wouldn't be happy to receive…but she'd have to accept it. She was well within her rights to take time off for Christmas…after all, her mother had always taken off from work from Christmas Eve through the New Year.

"Christmas," Kate mused; the holiday she had previously dreaded…and sometimes she still didn't know how to feel about it. This year was different though…this year she was a mother and she found herself anticipating McKenzie's first Christmas. Leaving the state hadn't been in her original plans…but the more Castle had talked about it that afternoon and the more she thought about Vermont, the better it seemed. She didn't want any pressure marring her daughter's first Christmas…she didn't want stress. In New York she was sure to find stress…and perhaps even discord. Leaving would be best; a nice cozy Christmas with her husband and daughter at a gorgeous ski lodge in Vermont would be special and lovely…Martha and Alexis would be there too. It would be the kind of holiday she had envisioned for her child…and yet she found herself dreading the moment when she'd have to tell her parents she was leaving the state.

Christmas wasn't something easily dealt with in the Beckett family…it had been obliterated and put in the past when they had thought that her mother had died. When she had come home from witness protection and the case had been resolved, her mother had made it her mission to resurrect Christmas in their family…and she had failed…with help of course. Kate gripped the wheel tightly thinking about her contribution to the epic fail of Christmas 2012. Another sigh crossed her lips…after that epic disaster she and her mother had made a deal, no gifts and no demands to share any part of the holidays together. She had been happy with that deal…a part of her still was…despite seeing the hint of bitterness that the season inspired in her mother. Her parents tradition after that disaster of a Christmas was to head to the cabin and stay there until after the new year with their melancholy and sour attitudes about the season. It felt terrible to think, but she'd be happy to see them off; their way of Christmas wasn't one she wanted for McKenzie and she figured they probably didn't plan on being around anyway like her husband mentioned…so why should anyone care if she and her family went to Vermont?

They shouldn't care…her mother didn't even decorate, with the exception of that small table top tree whose old fashioned looking ornaments were ugly in her opinion. Kate had mistakenly thought that being a grandmother would inspire Johanna Beckett to pull out of her usual Christmas funk and decorate a tree…clear a shelf on the bookcase for the nativity scene…hang up some sparkly decorations and lights that would catch her granddaughter's eye and excite her. Instead she had that ugly little tree…and one tiny, pitiful pink stocking hanging from a shelf to denote the holiday. She hoped her mother hadn't hurt herself with her lack of effort.

Kate blew out a breath as she pulled up in front of her parents house; lack of effort was probably proof that her parents were still uninterested in the holiday and had no plans or intentions of remaining in the city for McKenzie's Christmas…and that was fine with her.

But on the other hand; what if they did plan on being around for the baby's first Christmas?

That would be a whole different kind of stress, she thought to herself. If her parents had planned on sticking around for Christmas when she wasn't going to be in the state, she imagined they'd be a bit put out by the information…but she couldn't help that…and part of her wasn't ready to spend a Christmas with her mother. There was still that corner of her that thought of January 1999 every time the season set in…she thought of the grief, the hurt, the holidays spent in the precinct while her father spent his alone at the cabin…not knowing that her mother was spending her holidays alone in Wyoming, alive and well. It wasn't an easy feeling to get over…especially when her mother had her own demons and bitterness about the season. It was best to go to Vermont and they could go to their cabin and then Christmas could happen in the way they each chose.

It would be fine…she just had to go in there, tell them her plans, collect her daughter and go home…wait for the dust to settle if there was any and then call her mother for whatever lame reason she could come up with and smooth things over if needed. It was all quite simple…and yet she knew nothing was ever quite simple when it came to her and her family.

There was no sense in putting it off, Kate thought to herself as she forced herself out of the warm car; she was already late as it was thanks to additional paperwork that had to be taken care of before she was in the clear for her vacation. She shoved her hands in her pockets and hurried up the walk and then up the steps of the porch, shivering slightly as she knocked on the door. A few moments later, her father pulled open the door and unlocked the screendoor, pushing it open for her.

"Sorry I'm late," she said as she met his gaze.

"It's alright, we don't mind," Jim replied. "But McKenzie couldn't wait…your mother tried to hold her off but she had to go ahead and make the bottle; she's drinking it now…she hasn't had her baby food for dinner though, we were just trying to tide her over until you got here."

"It's okay, Dad; I don't want McKenzie to be hungry."

"We try to hold her off for you though…we know how you feel about it when she doesn't have her dinner with you," he said gently.

An annoyed huff crossed her lips. "Can you two just let it go?"

"I wasn't trying to start anything, Katie," Jim said sincerely. "I just said we know how you feel."

"You bring it up because you know I made an ass out of myself and you like to remind me of it."

"That's not true," he replied. "I just wanted you to know that your mother tried to hold her off as long as possible so you wouldn't be mad at her."

Kate sighed, it was hard to forget that flare of jealousy she'd had a few months ago when she had been working late a lot, feeling guilty for the extra time away from her baby and anticipating the moment when she could go home, settle down with her and give her her bottle as they reconnected…but a lot of times McKenzie grew hungry before she got there and her mother fed her. She had gotten angry; accused her mother of purposely feeding her before she got there because she wanted all of those moments for herself. She had accused her of taking over her child. To her mother's credit, she had tried to be calm, tried to talk her down and explain that it wasn't that way at all…that she was letting her emotions do the talking because she was upset about having to be late several days in a row. But her mother's gentleness and understanding about the whole thing had only infuriated her further. That had been the moment when her mother gave her two weeks notice…and spent the first week of that notice waiting for her outside on the sidewalk with the baby strapped into her carseat, diaper bag packed and a warm bottle ready to be given when they got home. For an entire week, her mother hadn't even given her a chance to get out of the car…she had merely opened the back door, snapped the carseat onto its base and sat the diaper bag in the car and told her the bottle was ready before closing the door and heading back to the house.

Three days of a wailing, hungry baby in the backseat had brought her back down to earth. Her mother had accepted her apology, withdrew her notice after being asked to do so and told her she'd do her best to adjust McKenzie to a slightly later lunch time feeding so that she wouldn't be hungry before Kate got home from work. There was still the occasional flare of jealousy when she saw how attached her baby was to her grandmother despite knowing that McKenzie loved her just as much. There was still guilt when she was delayed in getting home…guilt when she knew her mother tried to hold her baby off from eating because she didn't want to chance upsetting her.

As Kate made her way into the kitchen, she saw her mother sitting at the table, McKenzie cradled in her arms as she drank her bottle. She glanced up at her as she paused beside her, worry in her gaze. "I tried, Katie," Johanna said cautiously. "She just couldn't wait any longer…she hasn't had her baby food though; you'll be able to give her that."

"It's alright, Mom," she said as she bent and kissed McKenzie's head. "Hi, baby," she murmured to her. "I missed you."

"Do you want to take her and finish her feeding?" Johanna asked, rising from the chair, ready to shift the baby into her daughter's arms.

"No," Kate said with a shake of her head. It would probably be better if her mother was holding the baby when she gave her the news. "She's content with you, you can feed her."

"I don't mind letting you do it; I know you miss her while you're at work. You should take her."

"Mom, it's fine…finish feeding her. I understand that she was hungry, I'm late, I should've been here an hour ago. She's fine where she is; I'll cuddle her at home."

"If you're sure."

"I am," she replied.

"Coffee, Katie?" Jim asked.

"No, I'm fine," she replied. "How was McKenzie today?"

"She was good," Johanna said, a smile on her lips as she looked down into her granddaughter's face. "We went to Bloomingdales and Macy's and she was a very good girl. She likes when we go shopping."

"I'm glad she did well for you."

"She always does. Are you finished your shopping yet, Katie?"

"No, not yet…I have a few things left to get but work was busy this week."

"I'm sure you'll get it done," her mother replied. "Maybe you can take a day off and go finish up while I have McKenzie next week. What do you think, kitten? Mommy can go shopping and we can do some things here that we talked about earlier."

Kate nervously raked her hand through her hair as she watched her mother cuddle the baby as she drank her bottle. "So…um…actually I'm going to be off for the next two weeks," she stated.

Johanna's gaze was pulled away from her granddaughter's face and pinned to her daughter's. "Why?"

"Because…I still have a lot of personal days and a little bit of vacation time that I need to use up before it expires…and it's McKenzie's first Christmas so it seemed like a good time to use it…I want to spend as much time with her as I can. It'll also help me get last minute things done for the holiday, like the shopping."

"I can still watch her while you shop," Johanna replied.

"Rick will watch her while I do that," she said. "There's no reason to drag her out if he'll be home."

"Oh," her mother said quietly, cuddling the baby closer as her gaze dropped back to the baby's face.

Jim saw the flicker of disappointment sweep across his wife's face as she gave her attention back to the baby. She was used to having McKenzie for three days a week ever since Katie had gone back to work after her maternity leave. Having the baby around had soothed away that remaining piece of brokenness that had still lingered inside of her…and with their most dreaded holiday rapidly approaching, he had seen small signs that she was drifting back to old habits. There was a pile of gifts in the attic with their granddaughter's name on them…a small, decorated tree had appeared on a stand in the living room; and when asked about it she had merely shrugged and said it was for McKenzie's amusement…as was the tiny Snoopy themed stocking hanging off their bookcase that said 'Baby's First Christmas'. Their tradition of heading to the cabin had been put off with the thought that Johanna would be needed to watch McKenzie up until the twenty-third and by then it would be too late to head to the mountains and decorate when the holiday was only mere hours away. There had been talk of watching their grandchild open her gifts…the slightest hint of hope in his wife's voice that maybe Katie would want to bring her family to dinner. Total disappointment hadn't happened yet…but he already ached for her in anticipation of it.

He cleared his throat, catching his daughter's attention. "Can you at least bring McKenzie over for an hour or two on Christmas Eve so she can open her gifts?"

"Aren't you going to the cabin? You usually do," Kate replied.

"We haven't really made plans, Katie," he replied. "We figured you'd need us to watch McKenzie until the twenty-third…so we figured we'd just stay in town and that maybe you could come over or we could have her for an hour or two so she can open her gifts."

"I don't want her opening gifts here before she gets to open any at home," Kate remarked.

Johanna glanced at her. "Then come over for a little while on Christmas," she allowed herself to say despite anticipating the rejection to come. "I'll be making dinner…"

Kate sighed deeply. "We're not going to be in New York for Christmas, Mom," she confessed.

Her parents stared at her for a long moment. "Where are you going?" Jim asked.

"Vermont," she said lightly.

Her mother's nose wrinkled. "Why would you want to go there? Why would you want to take your baby away from home for her first Christmas?"

"Castle wants her to have snow for her first Christmas…and we're not likely to have snow here in the city…but it's guaranteed in Vermont at the ski lodges."

"Ski Lodge!" Johanna exclaimed. "You're going skiing?"

"We're mainly going for the snow, but…yeah, we'll probably ski while we're there."

"Who's going to watch the baby?"

"We figure Martha will, she doesn't ski and I'm sure she'll be going with us. Alexis will be there too, she might want to spend some time with her sister."

"Katie," Jim said; "Why don't you go skiing after Christmas? You and Rick could go for a long weekend for New Year's and we could keep McKenzie for you; that way the two of you could enjoy yourselves without worrying about the baby."

She laughed. "You're not worried about me enjoying myself, you're worried about not having the baby here for awhile; but she'll be back when I go back to work, I promise."

Johanna put McKenzie up against her shoulder to burp her. "So we're not going to see her the rest of the month?"

Kate shrugged slightly. "I don't know…I mean we haven't exactly decided when we're coming back…and I figured you two would be going to the cabin. I thought you'd be glad for the break so you could do your own thing."

"I don't recall saying that I wanted or needed a break," Johanna said as McKenzie fussed for the return of her bottle.

"You haven't…but you've been watching her since she was six weeks old…and now she's seven months old; I thought you'd like having two weeks off."

"We don't mind having the baby here," Jim stated. "We enjoy her."

"I know you do, Dad…but she is my baby," Kate replied. "If I want to leave town with her, I can…it's not like I need your permission."

"We didn't say you did," Johanna remarked. "But if you're looking for snow; you don't have to go further than the mountains of New York."

Jim nodded in agreement. "We could go up to the cabin and you all could come there for Christmas; you know we always have snow up there."

Kate shifted slightly in her chair. "I don't think Martha and Alexis would be comfortable with staying there."

"If our house isn't…accommodating enough for them," Johanna said; "They could stay at the hotel in town; it's not far from the house."

"I…I don't think it would work out," she replied. "Besides, Castle and I have already made plans for Vermont…I really didn't think it would be a big deal; I mean, you don't really do Christmas anyway…you haven't even decorated here."

"I usually decorate at the cabin once we get up there," her mother replied; "But we didn't plan on going, we thought you'd still be working."

"Your mother did put out that small tree for McKenzie," Jim remarked.

"Yeah…that's a cop out tree in the big scheme of things," Kate stated. "It's not the kind of tree that used to be here…and it's not the kind McKenzie is used to having at home."

"And you think she's going to have a Christmas tree at a ski lodge?" Johanna asked.

"Yes, she will," she answered. "The lodge that Castle is making the arrangements at have very nice suites that are decorated for the holiday, complete with a Christmas tree."

"How nice," her mother said sarcastically. "A tree decorated by strangers instead of her mother."

"Mom," Kate sighed.

"What?" she asked as McKenzie pushed away her bottle. "I just thought you'd want your baby to celebrate her first Christmas in her own home where she can sleep in her own bed and be surrounded by her family and her own things…Vermont will be a strange place to her; she won't be able to sleep."

"And yet you said we can all come to the cabin…which would also be a strange place to her."

"Not as strange as a ski lodge; we'd all be there…even Scarlett, and you know she loves Scarlett. She'd feel right at home."

"Sounds like a double standard to me," her daughter remarked. "She'll be fine in Vermont; she'll have me and her daddy and her grammy and big sister; she can feel just as at home there."

Jim breathed deeply. "Well…we could go to the cabin and take some of McKenzie's gifts with us, that way if you'd decide that you'd want to come by you could."

Kate laughed. "Dad; I'm not going to drive six hours from Vermont on Christmas; that would be crazy."

He pushed back his chair and got up from the table, his coffee mug in hand to get a refill. "Of course, what was I thinking? We don't share holidays in this family."

"Dad," she sighed. "I'm a grown woman; I have a family of my own, you had to expect that this would happen at times."

"Hey, I haven't seen you on Christmas in fifteen years," Jim stated. "We can make this one sixteen and I can go another sixteen after that, no big deal."

Kate suppressed the urge to roll her eyes as she turned back to her mother. "Mom," she said with a sigh.

"I know," Johanna remarked as she hugged her granddaughter. "We had a deal about not sharing holidays and I'll stick to it; I didn't expect a baby to change things…I just…I'll miss the baby, that's all," she said, her voice cracking a little as her hopes shattered in regard to spending some part of the holiday with her granddaughter. "It's hard to think of not seeing her for so long."

"Oh my God, I'm not moving away!" Kate exclaimed. "We're just going on vacation. I'm not leaving tomorrow. I'll let you know when exactly we're leaving and you can come over and see her before we go, okay? I promise she's coming back…and I'd also like to mention that I remember a time when you used to miss me."

"Yeah; I remember that too," Johanna cried. "But she loves me more than you do."

"That's not true!" she exclaimed. "If anything, you love her more than you love me."

Jim nodded. "At the current moment you have slipped down to the rung below Scarlett," he stated.

"Dad!" Kate said, giving him a look of horror. "You're putting me below the cat!?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod; "Before you came in, you were tied with McKenzie and Scarlett was in third place…but you've taken care of that with your special news bulletin."

"Dad!"

"Well!" he nearly yelled; "Look what you're doing to your mother!"

Kate gave in and rolled her eyes. "You'll all be fine! We'll be back…enjoy your two weeks of not having to babysit; go to the cabin and do whatever it is the two of you do alone together…wouldn't you like that?"

"We're alone together every night," Johanna replied tearfully as her granddaughter toyed with her necklace. "We know how to make the most of our time. Having our granddaughter around doesn't interfere with our time for each other."

"Yeah," Jim agreed; "And we have Tuesdays and Thursdays after work and weekends unless you have something come up and need us but that's never an issue; we just take McKenzie with us if we're going somewhere."

"I know you enjoy having her," their daughter replied; "And I'm glad you do, you're wonderful grandparents…but you'll survive a brief return to your pre-babysitting life…you might even like it."

"Maybe McKenzie would rather stay in New York," Johanna stated.

"Really, Mom; you're going to try this road?"

"She has feelings too you know," Johanna remarked as she perched her granddaughter on the table in front of her, her hands holding on to her as she met her eye. "What do you think, McKenzie? Do you want to go to some ski lodge far away or do you want to stay in New York with Grandma and Grandpa and Scarlett; and Santa knows right where to find you and I'll sneak you some little Christmas treats. What do you think?"

"MaMaMa," McKenzie babbled, her hands pressing against Johanna's cheeks as she grinned. "MaMaMa."

"There," Johanna said; "She said Grandma; she wants to stay in New York."

"She did not say Grandma," Kate stated.

"Yes, she did. McKenzie; did you say Grandma?"

"MaMaMa," the baby squealed.

"See, she said Grandma."

Kate's gaze shifted to her father. "Sounded like Grandma to me," Jim stated.

"She says that same thing to me, you know," Kate remarked. "She's saying mama."

Jim shook his head. "It's Grandma, you look like your mother, she gets confused."

"Nice try, Dad."

"I can prove it," he said, moving to stand near his wife. "McKenzie, where's Grandma?"

McKenzie's gaze shifted to Johanna, her small hands patting her cheeks. "MaMaMa."

"See," Jim remarked; "She knows who she's talking about."

Kate smirked at him. "McKenzie, where's mommy?" she asked.

Her daughter's head turned towards her. "MaMaMa!"

"Told you so," Kate remarked. "She says it for both of us but she means mama, which is me…so sorry, but she's going to Vermont with her mommy and daddy."

Jim sighed as he picked McKenzie up so they were eye level. "Listen, sweet pea; if you don't want to spend your Christmas at a yucky ski lodge, you have to work with me."

His granddaughter giggled at him as she pressed sloppy kisses to his face. "That's very nice," he told her. "You can't find handsome men like me to kiss in Vermont…Grandma keeps me here in New York."

"Her handsome father will be in Vermont, she can kiss him," Kate stated.

"I may be biased," Johanna stated; "But I believe my husband is more handsome."

"We're not going down that road," Kate remarked. "We're going to Vermont…you don't have to like it, but we're going…and I would appreciate not being guilted."

"If you have guilt it's on your own account," Jim said before kissing his granddaughter's cheek. "The sight of your mother crying and clinging to your baby shouldn't be anything but a warm fuzzy holiday memory for you."

"Wow, Dad, becoming a grandfather has really upped your guilt game."

"So you'll be staying?" he asked.

"No; but you are closer to Mom's level now when it comes to guilt. Congratulations on your promotion."

"Apparently I'm not good enough," Jim remarked before giving his attention back to his granddaughter. "Well, sweet pea; I wish I had known you weren't going to be around the rest of the month, I would've taken the day off to spend with you and Grandma but Mommy always likes to tell us things at the last minute. I could've called Santa and had him come early."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Kate remarked.

"Sure she is," Jim said, his gaze still on his granddaughter. "Like those pictures we never got of you with Santa."

"I swear to you that I will bring your copy over before we leave," she stated. "I've been busy!"

"Don't bother," Johanna told her as she rose from her place. "I took her to see Santa today and got my own damn pictures," she stated as she went to the counter and picked up the envelope that held the photos. She slid one out to show her daughter.

Kate frowned as she looked at the picture. "This isn't fair, she's not crying on yours!"

"Now we're even," Johanna stated. "At least partly."

"How did you get her not to cry!?" Kate demanded to know. "It took two visits for us to get the pictures we got!"

Her mother shrugged. "Maggie and Noah went with us…Maggie yelled peek-a-boo at her and she cracked up…she loves her Aunt Maggie."

"This isn't fair," Kate said as she gazed at the photo of her daughter laughing as she sat on Santa's lap. "It is so not fair."

"Neither is Vermont but that's the way the ball bounces," Johanna said as she put the picture back in the envelope.

"There isn't anything unfair about Vermont," her daughter replied. "I'm a grown woman with my own family; we can leave the state on vacation if we want to."

Jim glanced at her. "I remember back in February, we left the state and you accused your mother of abandoning you."

"I was six months pregnant and hormonal," she replied.

"Yes, you were hormonal and needed your mommy…and now your mommy has grandma feelings and needs her granddaughter."

"She has her three days a week…go enjoy your two weeks of being off duty grandparents."

"We didn't ask for leave," Johanna stated.

"Yeah, you've mentioned that…can I get one of those pictures?"

"Sure," her mother replied. "When I find a minute to cut them apart."

"Really?"

"What? I'm busy too," her mother replied. "I've got all this alone time with my husband and it keeps me from giving out photos."

Kate closed her eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't get your copy of the picture to you…you have sufficiently gotten your revenge by getting better Santa photos than I did…so you know…give me a damn picture!"

"I will…when I see you again."

"Okay, if that's my punishment, I can take it…and I know you don't like my plans but you don't have to make it hard," Kate replied.

"We're not," Johanna stated. "I'll go get McKenzie's things together so you can get on your way, I don't want to keep you."

Kate sighed as she watched her mother leave the room and then she turned her gaze to her father who moved back to the table and picked up the abandoned bottle, offering it to his granddaughter. "Do you want to finish your milk before you go home?" he asked her.

McKenzie took the bottle and Jim sat down in Johanna's chair, keeping his attention focused on his grandchild.

"Dad, don't do this to me," Kate said softly.

"Do what?"

"Make this a bigger deal than it needs to be," she replied quietly. "You two don't care about Christmas…this family didn't celebrate for thirteen years; and then Mom came home and after the disaster of Christmas 2012, the holiday was shunned here. You and Mom have gone away the last two years, I saw no reason why you wouldn't go this year too. The holiday is still a little difficult for me too but ever since I got with Castle, I haven't had a choice but to celebrate it…and now there's McKenzie so it's something I want to be special again…and Castle wants her first Christmas to be special too."

"And having her grandparents around would interfere in that?" Jim asked.

"No; and she is still going to have a grandparent around…but I know how you and Mom feel about the holiday so I didn't think it would be a problem. With me on vacation, you two can go about your normal plans."

Jim scoffed softly. "You couldn't make it any plainer that you don't want us around for the holiday, Katie. You want us up in the mountains, out of sight and out of mind while we're unneeded, which is fine…I guess I just kind of had this delusion that things were a lot better between the three of us than they used to be."

"Things are better."

"It doesn't feel like it at the moment," he remarked. "I know we don't make Christmas a big deal around here anymore…we've made it a quiet affair the last couple years as we've worked through things. I guess I had hoped things would be different this year now that McKenzie is here…but they're not different and it's fine."

It didn't seem like it was fine, Kate mused as she dragged her fingers through her hair once more as she watched her daughter toy with his watch…just as she had always done as a little girl. "I'm not going to apologize for having holiday plans…but Mom struggles with this holiday more than any of us," she said softly. "It's probably better this way for her."

He shook his head. "It's not…she's been making small little efforts for the holiday for McKenzie…she got out that tree, which yes, it's small, but it has lights and decorations and no one coaxed her into using it. She got it out of the attic and put it on the stand for McKenzie so she'd have it to look at. When I came home today she had Charlie Brown Christmas on the TV for her to watch while she was sitting in her walker playing with her toys. She's been singing her Christmas songs at nap time. She bought her that stocking hanging off the bookcase…and a small mountain of gifts that are in hiding…she took her to see Santa today and got pictures. Don't tell me that she isn't trying this year, because she is…it might not be like she used to, but she is doing some things."

She sighed deeply once more. "I don't know what you want me to do. I have a family, we make our own plans…I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he stated. "Like I said, what's another Christmas without you? I'm used to it, so is your mother. We'll be fine, we always are."

"What's taking Grandma so long, McKenzie?" Kate asked as her daughter looked at her. "It feels like it's time for us to go home before Grandpa gets mean."

"I'm not going to be mean," he replied. "I've said all I'm going to say on the subject. I hope you have a safe trip and that you have a nice holiday, Katie."

"I'm not leaving tonight."

"I figured I'd tell you now in case I don't talk to you before you do."

Kate smiled at her daughter. "Definitely time for Grandma to be back in the room…you want to call her or should I?"

"I'm sorry I take too long for your liking," Johanna stated as she carried diaper bag and carrier into the room. "If you wanted out of here faster you should've gotten off your ass and helped me get her stuff together; she is your baby as you mentioned earlier."

"Oh look, Kenzie," Kate said lightly as she held her daughter's gaze. "Grandma's going to take over where Grandpa left off. They're good like that."

Johanna glanced at Jim as she slipped McKenzie's jacket on her while she remained on his lap. "Where did you leave off?"

"I was being accused of being mean," he remarked.

"That's not true at all, is it, McKenzie?" she asked her granddaughter. "Grandpa's not mean; you love Grandpa. Give him hugs and kisses."

Jim smiled as he shifted his granddaughter to face him, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I love you, sweet pea. I hope you have a nice Christmas, we'll miss you. Feel free to send your parents back to work early when they start getting on your nerves."

"I thought you weren't being mean?" Kate asked.

"I'm not, I was just giving her a suggestion," he replied before kissing his granddaughter once more and cuddling her close for a moment. "Go to Grandma now and give her hugs and kisses," he said before handing McKenzie to Johanna.

Johanna kissed the baby's soft cheek. "Alright, my sweet girl; I guess we won't be getting to those things we talked about earlier but it's okay. You be a good girl and have a nice Christmas; I hope you have fun. I'm going to miss you like crazy," she told her as she held her close, breathing in her soft scent.

"Jo," Jim said as he saw the small stocking with the image of Snoopy and Woodstock embracing and the words Baby's First Christmas printed on it laying on the diaper bag. "How did McKenzie's stocking get in the bag?" he asked as he pulled it out.

Johanna took it from his hand. "I put it there," she said. "Take it to Vermont with you, Katie; that way you can leave the one you bought at home so it doesn't get lost or left behind so you'll have it as a keepsake…just like I have yours."

"But, Mom, you bought her that for here."

"What do I need it for?" she said with a short laugh that sounded strained even to her own ears. "She's not going to be here…so take it; that way if it gets lost it won't matter; you'll still have yours at home."

"Mom…"

"Just take it," Johanna said as she dropped it back into the bag. "It's hers and I don't have any use for it here. I only hung it up because she was here…what's the point in it hanging in there if she's not here?"

A pang of guilt skittered across Kate's heart as she watched her mother cuddle the baby for a moment more, pressing a few more kisses to her cheeks.

"Alright, sweetheart," Johanna said as she stooped down to hook McKenzie into her carrier. "Time for you to go home with Mommy. I love you…I'll see you in two weeks…we'll have a lot of catching up to do."

"I said you can come see her before we leave," Kate said quietly while her mother tucked the fluffy baby blanket over McKenzie.

"You'll be busy, Katie," Johanna said softly. "You said you have shopping to finish up and if you're going to be traveling, you'll need to pack; not to mention just the everyday job of being a mommy. You're not going to have time for company. We'll say our goodbyes now. Let me know when you'll need me back on babysitting duty."

"You really know how to twist the knife, Mom," she replied as she rose from her chair.

"I'm not twisting anything," Johanna said sharply as she raised the handle on the carrier. "All I'm doing is saying goodbye to my granddaughter…who spends at least three days a week in my home…and about one Saturday night a month lately, you can't expect me not to miss her. I kind of got attached, sorry."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," Kate replied. "I know you're attached…as you're supposed to be and that you'll miss her…but she'll be back before you know it."

"Yeah, I know; be careful getting home."

"I still think you should keep the stocking," her daughter remarked as she picked up the diaper bag to shove McKenzie's bottle in it.

Johanna shook her head. "No; you take it. Since she won't back for the rest of the month, I can go ahead and get that tree put away tomorrow too. No point in leaving it out, it just tempts Scarlett into mischief."

"Where is Scarlett?" Kate asked.

"She's in the living room," her mother replied. "You better get going or Rick will worry."

Kate picked up McKenzie's carrier and put the strap of the diaper bag over her shoulder as they all headed for the threshold of the kitchen to follow her to the entry way. "Let us know you got to Vermont safely, Katie," Jim stated.

"I will; let me know what your plans end up being."

"Yeah, we'll do that," he remarked, a hand rubbing against the back of his neck as his gaze fell to his granddaughter. "Bye, sweet pea."

"Tell Grandma and Grandpa that you'll see them soon, McKenzie," Kate stated. "They look like I'm robbing them."

It kind of felt like they were being robbed of something, Johanna couldn't help but think but she wouldn't dare say so. "Have a nice holiday, Katie," she managed to say instead.

Her daughter smiled. "Have a merry Christmas, Mom."

Johanna scoffed, a tight smile crossing her lips. "What the hell is so merry about it now?" she asked before turning on her heel and heading back toward the kitchen. "Walk her out, Jim; it's dark out."

Kate blew out a breath and stepped forward to follow her but her father caught her arm. "Let her go," he said quietly. "She did her best not to get her hopes up that we'd be spending some portion of the holiday with you and our granddaughter but she hoped anyway and now she has to handle the feeling of knowing she was right and the hurt that comes from not being able to shield herself from it. Come on, I'll walk you out."

"You don't have to."

"One of us always does," he remarked as he opened the door. "She'll be fine…I'll take care of her…I always do."

Kate pulled the hood up on the carrier to protect McKenzie from the air and made sure the blankets were still snugly tucked around her. "I should've waited until I was on my way to Vermont and then called and told you we wouldn't be here for Christmas," she stated as she stepped out onto the porch. "I should've known that in person was a bad idea…in fact I did know but did it anyway."

"It's fine, Katie," Jim replied. "We don't expect you to want to spend a big chunk of the holiday with us…we did hope to see you and the baby for at least an hour but we'll get over it as always. We'll try to work on hiding our disappointments better."

"You always say that and somehow it never works out," she remarked.

Jim sighed. "We once again apologize for you getting shafted in the parents department, Katie; hopefully you'll do better than us for McKenzie."

"I didn't say I got shafted," she said as she unlocked the car. "It's just anytime I have to tell you two that I won't be around you act like I'm doing it as a personal offense to you."

"That's probably because there was a time when you were doing it as an offense."

"I was not."

Jim held the car door as she hooked McKenzie's carseat into its base. "Let's just forget about this conversation, Katie. It won't get us anywhere. Be careful getting home…have a safe trip to Vermont, have a nice holiday and we'll see you after the New Year."

"As I've already told you ten times, we're not leaving tonight or even tomorrow as far as I know; Rick's still waiting on confirmation of our arrangements and then we'll know when exactly we're leaving. I'll let you know…I will text you a picture of McKenzie every day if it will make you two feel better."

"We'll be fine, Katie; don't worry about it," her father replied, conjuring up a smile for her. "We'll find something to do for the holiday; either the cabin or I'll make your mother's dream come true and take her somewhere warm for Christmas."

"You'd have to go pretty far for that," Kate remarked as she closed the door.

"She likes Hawaii; we could go there."

"You just went there in February!"

"So, we can go back if we want."

"You'd probably have a hard time getting reservations this time of year, Dad; you may as well just go to the cabin."

Jim eyed her. "I feel like you're telling me I can't take my wife and leave the state…which is funny coming from someone who was sitting in my kitchen minutes ago reminding us that you're free to leave the state with your child anytime you want."

"You can do what you want, Dad; you always do anyway," Kate replied as she rounded the car.

"True," he replied. "Maybe we'll go to Vermont…I haven't been skiing in a long time."

His daughter whipped around to face him. "You're not going skiing! You're a grandfather!"

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?!" he asked.

"You know what it means," she replied. "You're getting too…mature…to go flying down a mountain on skis."

Jim's eyes widened. "Did you just call me old?"

"No, I reminded you that you're a grandfather and have no business being on ski slopes and neither does my mother…who should consider giving up ice skating one day soon."

"Your mother and I are in excellent shape and health, young lady."

"Hey, I said no skiing and ice skating; you can keep your favorite hobby of sex, that's the least dangerous…unless you two tend to get adventurous, and no, I don't want to know…because knowing the two of you, you probably do…God, I hope I never get that phone call," she muttered.

Jim eyed her. "Yeah; we definitely love Scarlett more right now…I'm going in the house and tell your mother that you've insulted us both and she'll feel better about not seeing you for Christmas. Drive safely."

"Okay if that will make you both feel better," she said as she opened her door. "Thanks for babysitting."

"Yeah; that's all we're good for…just the babysitting; we don't get holidays."

"We were here for Halloween!"

"My mistake," Jim replied. "We get the babysitting and the minor holidays like Halloween and Flag Day."

"Goodnight, Dad," Kate said, a hint of a laugh in her voice although she knew he was serious.

He gave her a wave and then turned away, hating how disappointed he felt about missing out on his granddaughter's first Christmas…hating that the universe had failed him and his wife once more. Now he'd have to go in and pick up the pieces…find some way to celebrate the holiday with his wife before she shut it out completely again; because despite wanting to let her declare it off limits again, he knew he couldn't let that happen.