Hello friends! This is the Christmas chapter I had promised at the end of "No one is going to love you the way I loved you". I want to remind you that I'm not the owner of the characters, it's just a fan-to-fan story.
Steve woke up with a small hand pressing his nose. He opened his eyes to see his little prince smiling at him with expectation. Steve smiled and Kenny babbled something in his baby language. 'Hey, buddy! What are you doing? My nose is not a toy."
Kenny grabbed Steve's cheek and tried to kiss him on the cheek.
"Oh, I got that!" Catherine was filming Kenny wake Steve up. She smiled at Steve and photo him with Kenny. "Moment dad and son."
"Come here," Steve called her to bed and she lay down next to him and they had Kenny sitting between them.
"Now a family moment," she took a selfie from her, Steve and Kenny.
Kenny opened a huge smile and pulled Catherine's hair. "You love my hair, don't you?" Catherine told the baby.
Steve stroked Kenny's head. "Seven months, son. I don't remember what my life was like before you were born."
"Neither do I," Catherine said and smiled.
"I need to pick up Mary and Joan at the airport," Steve said to Catherine.
"Yes. We need to finish the decor too. Time is against us, Steve. Let's get out of this bed and act."
"You are right. It's Kenny's first Christmas and I want it to be perfect," Steve replied.
"Will Danny come?" Catherine asked.
"I don't know, Cath. He didn't get the news very well that you don't want Susan here at home."
"Steve, understand me, I'm not a bad person, I'm just afraid she's gonna try to do something with our son. She must be angry with him because he was born and her son wasn't. My mission as a mother is to protect my son, and I see Susan as a threat."
"But at no point did I think that, Cath. And you're right, we can't trust Susan, and it's our job to protect Kenny. I'm sorry if Danny was upset, but my son's safety comes first," Steve said as he dressed.
Catherine stroked Kenny's back and he stretched out his arms asking her to hold him in her lap.
"Come here, my love. Mama loves you, you know that?"
Steve went to the airport while Catherine worked on the decor. Kenny was in his stroller watching Catherine work. "Are you enjoying it, Kenny? It's your first Christmas, my love." She took a Santa Claus hat and put it on Kenny's head. "You look handosme, son," Catherine kissed Kenny's cheek and continued working on the decor.
Steve went to the airport and Joan ran to him when he saw him. "Uncle Steve!"
Steve opened his arms and picked her up when she approached. "Hey, Joan! You've grown, baby!"
"I'm almost 7, Uncle Steve!" Joan responded with a smile showing the lack of two teeth in front.
Mary approached and Steve passed his arm around her shoulder. "Hi, Mary."
"Hi, Steve," she answered and put her arm around his waist.
"Did you have a good trip?" Steve asked her.
"Oh, yes. It was great," she answered, and they walked to the car.
Steve put Joan in the car and then sat down next to Mary. "How's my favorite nephew today?" Mary asked him.
Steve smiled. "He's fine, he woke up happy, and he woke me up with a squeeze on my nose."
"He's really cute, isn't he?"
"He's the sun of my life, Mary. He was like the breath of hope, the soft breeze in my life," Steve answered.
"And you and Catherine?
Steve smiled again. "We're great. And she's loving being a full-time mom, too."
"Uncle Steve, I want to see Kenny and Aunt Cath. I have a gift for them and for you, too."
"We're almost there, honey. And I have a present for you, too," Steve told her.
"Yay! Joan celebrated and Steve and Mary smiled.
Steve arrived home with Mary and Joan and Catherine were giving baby food to Kenny.
"Kenny!" Joan ran to him and he smiled with his mouth all dirty with baby food.
Joan gave him a hug and he pulled Joan's long hair. "Help me, Aunt Cath," Joan asked.
Catherine smiled and took Joan's hair out of Kenny's hand. "Okay, Joan. Now give me a hug."
"Hello, Aunt Cath," Joan hugged her.
"Welcome, dear," Catherine kissed her on the cheek.
"Hello, Catherine," Mary greeted her and then hugged Kenny. "Hey, my boy! Auntie Mary missed you."
Kenny extended his arms to Mary and she caught him.
"Since you caught him, finish giving him the food, Mary." Catherine gave her the baby food and went back to work on the decor. At the beginning of the night, everything was ready and Catherine was sitting in the couch exhausted.
Mary and Joan were already dressed for Christmas Eve and they put the presents around the tree.
"What about Kenny and Steve?" Mary asked Catherine.
"Steve made a point of buying Kenny's clothes and wouldn't let me see it. He made a mystery and now he went to give Kenny a bath and put it on and asked me to wait here in the living room."
Mary laughed. "That's pretty typical of my brother. He loves to make surprises."
Some time later, Steve came downstairs with Kenny in his lap. They were dressed equally from their shoes to their clothes. Kenny was a mini Steve.
"Oh, my boys! You two look handsome," Catherine told them. She smiled and kissed Steve lightly.
"You liked it? like father, like son," Steve told her.
"I loved it," she answered and kissed Kenny on the forehead. "I'll get ready now," she said to Steve and went to the bedroom.
"You both look charming, my brother," Mary said to Steve.
Steve smiled like a proud father, "I can make a handsome son, right? I'll propose to Catherine that we do one more."
The guests began to arrive. Tani arrived with Junior, then Quinn and Lincoln arrived, and finally Danny, Rachel and Charlie arrived. Adam would spend Christmas with his new girlfriend and Lou had traveled with Renee. Noelani went to Steve's house and would stay there for a while before going to his parents' house.
"Merry Christmas, Uncle Steve!" Charlie was excited.
"Merry Christmas, Charlie! Welcome, buddy." Steve hugged him. "Joan's here, go see her," Steve told the boy.
"Welcome to Kenny's first Christmas," Steve told Danny and Rachel.
"Thank you, Steve. Merry Christmas," Rachel hugged him and so did Danny.
"Merry Christmas, Steve."
"Merry Christmas, Danny," Steve looked at Danny with an interrogative look. After Catherine returned to the living room and Rachel went to talk to her, Danny approached Steve. "I hate to say it, but you were right. I was crazy when I started dating Susan. Rachel and I are going to try one more time, and I'm going to try hard to make it work."
"I'm glad about that, Danny. Look at Charlie, he's happy to be spending Christmas with his parents together," Steve pointed to Charlie who was talking to Joan. "And Rachel seems happy too."
"Yes, it's true," Danny answered.
Although there were fewer people than in previous years, it was an atmosphere of peace, friendship, and love. Kenny was happy and smiled. He was a joy in Steve and Catherine's life and was an ally of the love that united them.
At midnight, Steve raised a glass of champagne and toasted with his family and friends. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," everyone responded as Kenny smiled on his father's lap.
Ps: I know we're all going through hard times this year, but receive my Merry Christmas wishes with a lot of love and a lot of strength to overcome adversity. Merry Christmas, readers. I love each one of you!