Erin woke up the next morning to the delicious scent of tea filling the bedroom, and she sat up and stretched, allowing the covers to pool around her waist as she let out a slight groan. "Erin, it's not Rossi."

Gasping a little, she pulled the sheet up to her chest, blushing deeply as her eyes focused on Alex standing in the doorway. "I guess he failed to tell you that we sleep in the buff, huh?"

"That would be correct. I'm going to close the door, and if you want to shimmy into something, then I'll join you on the bed."

"Okay," she whispered as she heard the door close, and then she slipped out of bed and padded over to the armoire and pulling out a silk nightgown and robe, dressing as quickly as she could. "I'm decent now."

Alex chuckled as she turned around to face Erin, a small smile on her lips. "Well, that was quite the Christmas Eve surprise," she said as they went over to the bed together, taking a seat. Alex handed one of the mugs to her, and Erin wrapped her hands around it, sipping slowly to get the taste of stale breath out of her mouth. "You're still so beautiful."

"So are you. It's a wonder that James allowed you to spend the night here, since you should be spending the entire holiday season with him."

Alex blushed a little as she brought her mug to her lips, taking a small sip before looking at Erin. "He was on shift last night, so I would have been going back to an empty home, if I had left after the movies. Thankfully, Rossi has the extra room to put me up. I just wish that Penelope had stayed, since now I feel a little like a third wheel on your holiday."

Erin reached out one hand to gently stroke Alex's shoulder, shaking her head a little. "No, you're welcome here, even if David might say a few things that will make you blush. At least after this, you don't have to worry about me flashing you?" Alex giggled as she nodded her head. "And I'm glad that you did stay, as I hadn't had an opportunity to give you your Christmas present."

"You didn't need to get me anything. After all, you didn't know that we'd be able to talk like this so soon."

She shrugged a little before taking a song sip of tea. "I had faith, honestly. And if we weren't talking now, I would have saved the gift until your birthday. And if that wasn't an option, then it would have been the next Christmas, and so on. I just knew that I had to keep trying, because our friendship meant so much to me, it always has." Her eyes filled with tears, and Erin let them fall, knowing now that Alex wouldn't think them an attempt to manipulate the situation. They both sighed in unison, and Erin scooted back to rest against the headboard, needing the support in that moment. Alex copied her, and she smiled a little as she took another drink.

"There is so much that I regret, you know. We should have tried to reconcile all those years ago, when you held out the first olive branch. I wasn't ready, though."

"Tabitha wasn't supposed to be the baby of the family. That was why I reached out to you, because I wanted all my children to have the opportunity to know their Auntie Alex."

"Erin…"

"I know, it's Christmas, I shouldn't be so depressing. I'm sorry." She began to cry once more, and Alex made a little sound of comfort as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "I wanted another baby, Lexie."

"Oh, Erin, I wanted another one, too. But when your body says no three times, you have to learn to listen to it." Erin nodded as she began to cry a little harder, turning her body so that she was facing Alex more, her arm closing around her waist as she tried to not full on sob. "You know, Rossi is going to be cross with me."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I made his bella Erin cry, and I know that he'll see your eyes and figure everything out."

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" she asked before taking a few deep breaths. Sitting up, she finished off her tea and then set the mug aside before delicately swiping her tears away. "I'll head into the bathroom and wash my face, that usually helps take away some of the puffiness. Tell David I'll be down in about five minutes?"

"Of course." Alex gave her a small smile as Erin slipped off the bed, and Erin nodded a little before slipping into the master bathroom, closing the door and taking a look at her reflection. It was quite obvious that she had been crying, and she hoped that her usual trick would work wonders. Running the cold water, she turned to pick up a washcloth and then wetted it completely before pressing it beneath her eyes, counting to one hundred as slowly as she could before rechecking how she looked. She was relieved to see that the swelling had gone down, and Erin tossed the washcloth into the hamper before making her way downstairs, wrapping her robe a little tighter around her body as she went into the kitchen, drawing by the scent of bacon and eggs.

"Alex said that you'd be coming down soon, so I went ahead and started breakfast. If you want to pour the juice, I'll plate everything up." She nodded as she kissed his cheek, going over to the fridge and pulling out the carafe of juice and bringing it over to the island, filling all their glasses before taking a seat in the middle. "Penelope texted me this morning, letting us know that she made it home safely last night."

"Good, I was worried about that, given how late it had gotten." Erin smiled dreamily up at him as he set their plates down before taking a seat next to her. She reached out for his hand, and then for Alex's, feeling the surprise in her clasp. "David always says grace before we eat. I know, you're not a believer, but it's our tradition."

Alex nodded as she tightened her grip a little more around Erin's hand, and then David was saying a short blessing over the food. She waited an extra beat after he had closed with amen before letting go of their hands, wanting to hold on to the feeling of connection with them for just a little longer. Finally, though, she had to let go and start eating, and Erin found herself content to listen to the conversation that Alex and David were carrying out.

"All right, Erin, I'll do dishes, since I know that you'll want to give Alex her present before she goes home to her husband."

She smiled brilliantly at her partner before sliding off the stool and looking at Alex expectantly. The woman nodded and joined her, giving her a gentle smile as they went into the living room. "If you want to take a seat on the sofa, I'll get your gift." Erin didn't look to see if Alex had complied with her order, instead making a beeline for the tree and picking up the box she had lovingly wrapped for her friend. "This is yours now."

Alex cocked her head to one side as she took the box from her hands and then rubbed the velvet ribbon tied around it between her fingers. "Do I open it now?"

"If you'd like. I mean, it is Christmas Eve." Alex smiled as she nodded, undoing the bow before carefully slitting the tape with her fingernails, taking her time with unwrapping the box. Erin watched the delicate play of emotions on Alex's face when she pulled out the antique teapot.

"Erin…"

"You know I was an only child of only children. Which meant that I inherited two sets of china. I'll never be able to use two sets in my lifetime, and Tabby is the only one truly interested in family heirlooms, so I thought it fitting that my friend should have my grandmother's teapot."

"This is too dear."

"No, it's just right. Please, take and use it, and know that you are loved dearly." Alex nodded as she tenderly set the teapot back into the box before setting it onto the coffee table. "I was going to give this to you all those years ago, before I fucked everything up. And now, finally, it's yours." Erin smiled through her tears and then Alex was leaning over to hug her tightly, nodding a little as they sighed in unison.

"Thank you, Erin. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you, Alex."