It seemed that Tris and Eric came to the same conclusion, because as December progressed, she didn't hear much from him. He texted to congratulate her when she placed at her last gymnastics meet before the holiday break. She texted him when the hockey team won. She wanted to invite him to dinner with her family since she knew he was alone over the holidays, but she was afraid to ask. They never did get together to celebrate his graduation.

With her father's Senate campaign came numerous holiday events for the Priors. Tris was glad that Caleb was home so she didn't have to be alone all the time while her parents were gone, and because he could entertain her when they had to attend another boring adult function.

School ended for the semester, and Tris was relieved to have a break from gymnastics and everything else for a while. After watching Caleb leave, then attending college classes herself, Tris' heart wasn't in the high school life anymore. The parties, girly drama, and sports that used to dominate her life were quickly losing their appeal. Natalie called it "senioritis," but Tris didn't see Christina and her other classmates feeling quite the same way she did.

.

On Christmas Eve, Tris woke up to a quiet house. Her parents were both home, as was Caleb, and for the next two days the four of them would have uninterrupted family time. Tris really wanted to relax and absorb every minute with her family, but her thoughts were swirling. Her crush on Eric and their awkward friendship/non-friendship, decisions about college, her dad's campaign, and general holiday craziness overwhelmed her. No doubt the constant diet of Christmas cookies and party food weren't helping. Tris needed to run.

She checked the weather app on her phone, and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was thirty-eight degrees, with a daytime high of forty-five expected. Looks like we won't get a white Christmas this year, Tris thought. Chicago could usually count on more wintery weather in December. But desperate to go for a run, Tris wasn't in the mood to complain. She dressed herself in fleece-lined workout leggings, a thermal top, and a down-filled puffer vest. She added a stocking hat and a pair of thin gloves to her ensemble, and left a note for her family before plugging in her ear buds and taking off.

The run was just what Tris needed. She reveled in the gentle burn she felt in her legs, the fresh air, and the thumping beat of her music. She had planned to run three miles, but it felt so good that she turned away from home to make the trip a little longer.

Tris ran across the parking lot of an abandoned department store. Rumor had it that the building was bought and would be renovated and turned into a church. She thought about that as she turned the corner onto the sidewalk along the side of the building.

Tris noticed a pink rag lying on the ground beside a garbage can, and decided to throw it away properly. Her parents had been strict with their children about not littering, and something in Tris felt like doing this simple good deed on her Christmas Eve run. She reached for the rag, but jerked back when it moved.

Tris pulled out her earbuds and was startled by a weak cry that sounded like a baby. A kitten? she wondered, moving toward the ball of fabric.

She gently pulled on the pink cloth and gasped as she revealed a tiny newborn baby, naked and chalky, with a length of umbilical cord still attached to her stomach. The baby couldn't have been more than an hour old, if that, and she wasn't very big, even for a newborn. Instinctively, Tris sat down on the ground and tucked the tiny infant into her vest to share her body heat. She began to cry and shake as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

She dialed her mom's cell number, and thankfully Natalie picked up right away.

"Tris?" her mom said. "Are you okay?"

"No… I… Mom, I need help," Tris stammered, overwhelmed and unsure what to do or say.

"Are you hurt?" Natalie asked.

"No," Tris replied. "I'm okay, but Mom, I found a baby."

"A human baby?" Natalie asked in surprise.

Tris nodded, then realized that her mom couldn't see that through the phone. "I'm by the old KMart. It was lying on the ground in a blanket. I don't know what to do."

"I'm on my way," Natalie said. "You hang up and call 911 right away."

Tris obeyed her mom, and with shaking fingers she called the police.

Natalie and the first responders arrived at the same time, and the police escorted Tris into the back of an ambulance where it was warm and she could remove the newborn from her vest. As they drove slowly to the local hospital, Tris answered an officer's questions while a paramedic examined the baby.

They bagged up the ragged pink blanket as potential evidence and wrapped the newborn in a clean blanket. Every time the paramedic set the tiny baby on the gurney, Tris would pick it up again. Though she obeyed orders and clearly answered questions, it was clear that Tris was in some kind of emotional shock and running on nothing but adrenaline and maternal instinct.

When they arrived at the hospital, the officer and paramedic helped Tris out of the ambulance. She was still holding onto the baby as they walked her through the busy emergency room and into an exam room. Natalie arrived a few minutes later and sat with her daughter and the abandoned infant while the police and hospital staff buzzed around them.

A pediatrician was brought in, and he took the infant for a thorough exam.

Natalie guided her daughter out of the exam room and into a waiting area. They hoped that the hospital staff, police, or a social worker would give them some kind of update or at least let them know the baby was okay before they went home.

"Natalie?" A woman's voice asked.

Tris and her mom looked up and smiled when they saw Sally Rogers, a social worker they remembered from their many years as a foster family.

"I hope the family is okay," the social worker said in a concerned voice.

"Oh yes," Natalie assured her. "I assume you're here about the abandoned infant? Tris was the one who found her when she was out jogging this morning."

Sally hugged Tris tightly and asked the teenager to tell her the whole story of how she had come across the abandoned newborn. The three women wept together as Tris told her story and they all thought about what would cause someone to abandon a beautiful baby in the cold.

"I… I'm just so glad it was warm today," Tris sobbed as her mother put her arms around her. "What if I didn't pick up the blanket? I would have run right by, and that baby might have died there, alone by a bus stop." For a few minutes, Natalie just held her daughter as she sobbed, overwhelmed by the 'what if's' of the situation.

"It's not going to be easy to find a foster family on Christmas Eve," Natalie said to Sally.

The social worker sighed. "Nearly impossible. People love babies, but it'll be a miracle if we can get someone today. Especially since her future is so unknown. We don't know if the baby has parents or other family out there. We don't know if this was an abandonment, or attempted kidnapping, or what. This could be a long-term placement or a short one. There's a lot of uncertainty, and a needy little newborn to place on Christmas."

"We're still licensed," Natalie said quietly. "We haven't been active recently, but we're still able to take a placement. We're all home for the week, and the kids are out of school. I think it might do Beatrice some good to see that the baby is okay. Perhaps if the doctor releases her we could take her at least until the New Year, when you'd have an easier time finding someone else."

"Would you really do that?" Sally asked.

"We would love to," Natalie assured her.

.

The unnamed baby was released from the hospital that afternoon. Tris insisted on staying until the little one was allowed to go home with them, but Natalie and the social worker made a run to Walmart for emergency supplies. The Priors still had a bassinet from their previous fostering work, but they needed a carseat, diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, and a few little outfits and blankets for the tiny visitor.

They returned home from the hospital in the late afternoon. Per Tris' texted instructions, Caleb had pulled the bassinet and rocking chair from the attic, dusted them off, and put them in Tris' bedroom. She had him take the shopping bags of supplies up there as well. It was obvious that Tris had become attached to the tiny baby, and that worried her parents. They knew the little one would only be with them for a short time, so they were concerned about their daughter getting too attached.

Once they were home and everything was unloaded from the car, Natalie insisted that Tris eat something and take a shower.

"But… but…" the teenager stammered.

Natalie gave her a stern look. "We all want a turn to hold the baby," she said to her daughter. "You need to eat and shower. And I don't want you getting too attached. She's here for a few days, and that's probably it. The police are looking for relatives, and social services will look for a long-term foster option next week if nothing turns up."

Tris' chin quivered as she handed the tiny bundle to her dad. "She needs someone to be attached to her," Tris said as a fat tear rolled down her cheek. "She deserves that."

Natalie sighed. "I know, Sweetheart. I just don't want you to get hurt when she has to go."

Tris ate the snack that her mom put in front of her, sniffling occasionally and watching her dad and brother like a hawk as they cooed over the infant.

"Does she have a name?" Caleb asked.

"No," Natalie answered. "We can call her something, but we have to know that her real family will probably change it."

The family discussed names while Tris ate her snack. When Tris was in the shower, Natalie and Andrew talked with Caleb about Tris' traumatic experience, and her firm attachment to the baby. They agreed that they would allow Tris to care for the little one as much as she wanted to, but that they would keep reminding her that the baby was only a temporary visitor in their home.

When she came downstairs freshly showered and dressed, Tris lifted the baby into her arms and rested her against her chest. Natalie could have sworn that both Tris and the newborn sighed when they were reunited. Tris made herself comfortable in the big recliner in the family room, and messed around on her phone while the little pink bundle slept against her chest.

When the family sat down to their Christmas Eve dinner, Tris placed the baby in her infant carrier, and set it on the floor beside her own chair.

"I have a name for the baby," she announced. "I did some digging online. I looked at what names mean, and I want to call her Ava. It's a variation of Eve, and she was born on Christmas Eve, but it also means 'breathing' or 'living'. It made me think about that moment when I opened the blanket and she… she was just so tiny, but… but she was alive."

Tris took a minute to gather her thoughts and get her emotions in check. Natalie reached for her daughter's hand and gave her a teary smile.

"I know that she won't be with us for long," Tris continued, choking on a sob. "But while she's here I want her to know what it means to be loved. She's a Christmas miracle. If I hadn't woken up early…" Tris shook her head. "If I hadn't gone for a run. If I didn't feel so good I decided to do an extra mile. If I had turned right instead of left. If I didn't stop to pick up what I thought was litter…"

Tears poured down Tris and Natalie's cheeks, and Andrew and Caleb had lumps in their throats as well. The Priors reached for one another's hands around the table.

"I didn't do anything to save that baby," Tris told her family. "I was just in the right place at the right time. I don't know how anyone could look at that amazing series of coincidences and what-ifs and not believe in God. That little girl has a future because He put the pieces together. That's why I want to call her Ava Hope. Where there is life, there is hope."

Andrew released his wife's hand and raised his wine glass. Giving his daughter a watery smile, he proposed a toast. "To God, who put the pieces in place. To Tris, who was in the right place at the right time. And to Ava Hope, our Christmas miracle."

Tris and Caleb raised their water glasses and clinked them gently with their parents' wine glasses.

Caleb swiped his hand across his eyes after taking a drink from his glass. "If you keep talking like that, Dad will have you giving campaign speeches," he said to his sister.

Everyone chuckled, and Ava began to fuss in her carrier. "I want to hold her," Caleb said, pushing back from the table to gather the infant in his arms.

"She's probably getting hungry," Natalie commented.

Tris jumped up to prepare a bottle. By the time she returned, Ava was crying fully. She smiled at the little one as she handed her brother the bottle and a burp cloth.

"Ava," Tris said. The baby turned her face, looking for Tris when she heard her voice.

"You two are getting attached very quickly," Andrew commented, observing the way his daughter and the infant gazed at one another over Caleb's shoulder.

"You good?" Tris asked her brother.

"I've fed a baby before, Beatrice," he teased her, sticking out his tongue.

Tris returned the gesture, then helped her mom clear the table.

.

Every year the Priors' Christmas Eve traditions started with family dinner around the table, and once that was over and the dishes were done, they each got to open one gift. The Christmas Eve gift was always a new pair of pajamas, and they all immediately changed into them. Once dressed in their new pajamas, the family would gather in front of the television for dessert and one of their favorite Christmas movies.

When Tris and Natalie finished the dishes, the family gathered to open their pajamas. Natalie distributed wrapped boxes to each member of the family, and gave Tris a gift bag as well.

"Hey!" Caleb protested. "We only get one present on Christmas Eve."

"She only got one," Natalie assured her son. "That second gift is Ava's."

Tris ripped into the baby's gift first, and pulled out a tiny red and white sleeper. "Baby's First Christmas," it said across the front.

"Mo-om," Tris said, holding the tiny garment to her chest and squealing over it's tiny cuteness.

"I saw it at Walmart when we were getting baby supplies," Natalie said, "and I just thought Ava needed to be part of our Christmas tradition."

Tris hopped off the couch and took the sleeping baby from her brother's arms. She gently changed the little one into her new sleeper while the rest of the family opened their gifts. Once everyone had changed into their new pajamas and returned to the family room, they picked a movie. Tris and Ava sat in the recliner, while Andrew and Natalie curled up on the couch and Caleb draped himself across the loveseat.

Halfway through the movie, Tris' phone lit up with a message.

E: Hope I'm not interrupting your family time, I just wanted to say Merry Christmas.

T: Merry Christmas to you, too

E: Doing anything exciting?

T: You have no idea.

T: I can't really talk about it, but my parents took in a new foster child today.

E: On Christmas? That's sad.

T: Actually, it was a Christmas miracle. Maybe someday I can tell you about it.

E: Why can't you talk about it?

T: Privacy. All I can say is that we have a foster baby. Her story is pretty incredible.

T: I wish I could send you a picture. She's just beautiful.

Tris adjusted Ava on her lap and made sure the flash was shut off on her phone before snapping a few pictures of the baby in her Christmas sleeper. She couldn't show them to Eric, but she wanted to have some pictures for herself, to remember the little one once she was gone. She moved the baby onto her chest and shoulder and took a selfie. Since the baby's face wasn't really visible in the picture, Tris used her phone's photo editor to cover it a little more and sent the image to Eric.

E: Wow, that's a tiny baby.

Tris decided to change the subject before she got tempted to say too much about little Ava.

T: What did you do today?

E: Slept in. Worked out. Went to Christmas Eve service. Watched some TV. You?

T: Got up early. Went running. Spent time with my family and the baby.

T: Are you alone on Christmas?

E: I'm fine, Tris

"Mom," Tris said, interrupting the movie. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Natalie replied, turning her attention to her daughter.

"A friend of mine doesn't have any family. His parents died and he's an only child, so he's alone on Christmas. Can I invite him over tomorrow afternoon?"

"Who is this friend, Beatrice?" Andrew asked, obviously concerned.

"You met him at the college graduation. His name is Eric. He graduated from Factions two years before Caleb, and we met again when he did his student teaching there this fall," she replied.

"He's your teacher?" Natalie asked.

"Eric Coulter?" Caleb asked. "I remember him. He was the running back on the football team. He set all kinds of school records. I think his parents died in an accident in the Caribbean or something."

"He's not my teacher," Tris said, rolling her eyes. "He's only three years older than I am. He just did his student teaching at Factions. We became friends. It's not weird."

"Uh oh," Caleb teased his sister. "Sounds like somebody's hot for teacher."

"Mo-om!" Tris whined.

"Don't start with each other; it's Christmas," Natalie said. She looked at Andrew and they exchanged a few meaningful glances before she turned back to her daughter.

"You can invite your friend over in the afternoon. We have more than enough food for one more," Natalie said. "And I'd hate for someone to be alone on Christmas when we have more than enough."

Tris grabbed her phone.

T: Come over and have dinner with my family tomorrow.

E: What? Tris, I'm fine.

T: I'm serious. We have more than enough food, and it's casual, just the four of us sitting around eating and watching movies and stuff.

E: It's Christmas. I can't just intrude on your family's Christmas.

T: You didn't intrude; we invited you.

E: Tris…

T: Come anytime after 2:00. Dress casual, like jeans or even sweats. We're just relaxing and overeating.

It took a few minutes before Eric replied.

E: Thank you.