Sparatus left work, eagerly wanting to get home to give Shepard an early Christmas present.
There were 10 days until Christmas to go and he knew how badly she wanted to spend it on Earth. They didn't think it was possible due to their schedules as Councillors. He had spent all day clearing both schedules, organising their luggage to be back and moved to the transport, a cabin for them to stay in for 3 weeks and catering for the duration.
The last three years had been rough on the Sparatus-Shepard family. Shepard had a health scare and two miscarriages that had devastated them both. Her last pregnancy had nearly killed both Shepard and their daughter, Gabriella. Now Gabriella was 10 months old and her sleeping had only just settled. Their marriage teetered for a while as they were both so exhausted from trying to raise three children on no sleep.
He wanted to give her something she really wanted. A proper Christmas, with snow, a log fire and a proper Christmas tree. While he didn't fully understand the Human holiday, he liked the idea of wrapping up together in front of fire while the children played.
He walked in the house to find utter chaos. Gabriella was screaming in her highchair, both boys were chucking food at each other and Shepard was nowhere to be seen. "Boys, stop that now." He ordered. He calmed Gabriella, giving her favourite toy to distract her for a little while.
The sound of sobbing reached him as he entered the bedroom. Moving to the bathroom, he saw Shepard on the floor and sobbing. He rushed to her, kneeling down and hugging her close. "Lexi, what's wrong?"
"I'm a horrible mother." She cried.
"No, you aren't. You're a wonderful mother."
"Then why don't the boys listen to me and Gabby hates me."
"Gabby doesn't hate you, and the boys are just boys." He did his best to reassure her. "Run yourself a bath and take some time out. I'll clean up the mess and deal with the kids."
He left Shepard in the bathroom to have a bath and went back to the kitchen to deal with the boys. "Right, boys. You are going to help me tidy up, then we are going to surprise Mahda with an early Christmas present."
Shepard got out of her long bath and walked into the bedroom to get dressed. It was then she noticed a box on the bed wrapped up with a bow. She couldn't help herself and decided to have a little peak. Her hands trembled and tears slipped from her eyes as she picked up a note attached to a pair of furry slippers. "You'll need these. I hear Scotland gets pretty cold at this time of year."
Three days later, they entered the door of their cabin in the Highlands. It was snowing outside, and the ground was already covered in a thick blanket. It was a beautiful house, already decorated for Christmas and proudly housed a huge tree.
Sparatus lit the fire and unloaded the rental sky car of all their luggage and presents. Shepard chased Cassius and Lucian around the house, while carrying Gabriella on her hip.
"Mahda, can we play in the snow?" Cassius asked excitedly.
Shepard leant down to both boys and whispered in their ears. "Ok. First one who gets Pahda on the back of the head with a snowball gets first pick of the Christmas cookies."
Sparatus followed his wife and children outside, knowing exactly what they had planned. They always ganged up on him, but he bloody loved it.
"Get him!" Lucian shouted.
Sparatus pleaded for mercy as he was wrestled into the snow. Gabriella squealed with laughter as her brothers chucked snow at their father. Being cold and wet was worth it, as Sparatus got to see his wife laugh and see that joy in her eyes. They had gone through so much and to see her laugh again healed the heartbreak that they had endured.
The boys ran off to play and throw snowballs at each other, while Shepard still had Sparatus pinned down in the snow. She leant down to give him a kiss, long and lingering as a thank you. "My husband is a wonderful man."
"My wife is an incredible woman. I couldn't love her more if I tried." He caressed her face, smiling at the way her eyes sparkled. "It's good to see you laughing again."
"I love you, Deci." She kissed him again before getting up and picking Gabriella up from the snow that she was trying to eat. "I think Hot chocolate and a movie is needed now."
"Sounds perfect." Sparatus huffed as he picked himself up from the snow. "I'm freezing. Fortunately, my beautiful wife was made for snuggles."
Shepard laughed. "If you're a very good boy, we can have some naked snuggles later."
After a day of playing all the kids were exhausted and fell asleep without resistance. It meant that adult time could commence. The wine came out and finished quickly as Shepard and Sparatus talked. It started off innocently enough, but it soon turned into more sexual conversation. Before long, they were making love in front of the fire.
Shepard felt blissfully happy as she lay on a thick rug that felt like a cloud, surrounded by pillows. Her husband was at her side, gently kissing her shoulder. It had been a while since they made love by a fire and Sparatus was especially attentive towards her. Every inch of her skin still tingled from his kisses and she felt like she was on cloud nine.
Turning around in his arms, she caressed his bare chest with her left hand. "Are you ready for more?"
"Ride me. It's always such a glorious view."
She chuckled as she climbed on top of him. "Let's see how many positions we manage tonight."
"Do you think the owners will notice if we have sex on every surface in this house?"
"We can clean up afterwards, they'll never know."
It was past midnight before they crawled into bed, both tired and content after their night of love making. Shepard couldn't thank her husband enough for organising their holiday. She knew he did it to make her happy, but she was more than happy. She hopeful again. After her health scare, the miscarriages and Gabriella's traumatic birth, her mental health had taken a big hit. Now she felt she was herself again.
This was a storm they had weathered together, and the sunlight had started to break through the black clouds.
It was a week later; Christmas day had arrived, and Shepard was suspicious. Sparatus had laid the table, in preparation for dinner. Only the table was huge, and 20 places had been set. He was up to something, and that normally meant it was surprise for her.
It got to the afternoon and Shepard sat with the children as they played with their new toys. The doorbell went and Sparatus called to her from the kitchen to answer the door.
Sparatus listened as he heard her going to the front door. A squeal of excitement from his wife brought a huge grin to his face. Hannah Shepard-Victus appeared in the kitchen, carrying food. He gave his mother in law a hug. "Glad you could make it, Hannah."
"So am I, Decian. She looks happy."
"Even happier now you're here." He opened the carried of steaming hot food, glad that his plan was coming together. "Go take a seat, Hannah. I'm sure the boys are desperate to talk your ears off."
More guests streamed in, including some of her old Normandy crew. "Guys, what are you doing here?" She asked them as she hugged them one by one.
Garrus was the last to hug her. "Your husband said you needed cheering up, so we are here to celebrate a Human holiday with you. I pulled Tali and Liara from important research for this."
"I heard there was free food going and I made Steve, Kaidan and Joker come with me." James added.
"Well, I'm glad you are here." Shepard wanted to cry when she saw all the people she loved most gathered together, talking and playing with her children. This was the proper family Christmas that she remembered from her childhood.
Everyone sat down at the table for dinner, eating the food that Sparatus had ordered. He had fretted if he got it all right for the Humans, but Shepard reassured him that not one thing was missing. They pulled Christmas crackers, wore stupid hats and told each other dreadful jokes. It was perfect and Shepard couldn't have asked for more.
Once dinner had been eaten and everyone was stuffed, the mulled wine had come out and the cheesy Christmas games had begun.
Shepard took a moment to slip outside with her mulled wine, just to have a moment to herself. She had felt stuck for the last three years and now she felt like she was moving again. She no longer felt like a bystander in her own life. Strong, loving arms surrounded her, and she smiled contentedly.
"Are you ok?" Sparatus asked, concerned he had done something wrong.
"I'm more than ok." She leant back again her husband. "Sometimes I wonder how I got such an amazing husband."
"It helps that you happen to be even more amazing. It's in the rulebook."
"Shhh, Decian. Let me tell you how amazing you are without you turning it into a compliment for me." She turned in his arms and pressed her finger against his mouth. "You did all this for me, just to cheer me up and I don't know just how to top this."
"I get the pleasure of waking up to the most incredible, loving, strong, intelligent and kind-hearted woman in existence." He kissed her gently. "I can't even describe how it feels to be with you every day."
"And you'll never know how good it feels to melt into your embrace every day."
"Merry Christmas, Lexi."
"Merry Christmas, Deci."
The snow started to fall again as they kissed tenderly. It was a beautiful end to the day, and it dragged Shepard out of the pit she felt like she had been in for the last three years.