Aubrey Posen had nerves of steel. She was a shark in and out of the courtroom, she became a partner in her firm in record time, she excelled in high pressure situations. So this feeling in the pit of her stomach, the dread as she raised her hand to knock on the door, wasn't something she was used to.

She had met Stacie six months ago at a fundraiser. She had been immediately attracted to her, and after ten minutes of talking to her, she knew she wanted to ask her out. She had hesitated when Stacie told her she had a kid, but she felt she owed it to herself to at least go on a date with her. Everything had been perfect, and six months into the relationship, she was hopelessly smitten with Stacie.

She'd met Parker, her daughter, a few times. They'd gotten along well enough but they had never spent more than a few hours together, she didn't think they were ready to spend Christmas together. Christmas was big, they had traditions and she felt like she was intruding. But she couldn't say no to Stacie.

So there she was, standing outside Stacie's door on Christmas eve, holding a plate of cookies and feeling like she was going to throw up.

Stacie smiled widely when she opened the door. "You're here!" She pulled her inside and kissed her quickly. "What do you have there?"

"Cookies, for Santa?"

"Oh." Stacie took the plate and twisted her lip. "We usually bake them, but these look amazing, I'm sure Santa will love them."

"Oh, no. I mean, we can eat those and bake cookies for Santa later."

"Are you sure?" Stacie had walked to the kitchen and put the plate on the counter.

"Of course." She grabbed a cookie and bit into it. "I don't want you to change anything about what you do, having me here is going to be disruptive enough for Parker."

"I talked to Parker and she's fine with having you here." Stacie ran her hands down Aubrey's arms. "We're gonna have a great time, baby. Don't worry."

"Okay."

Stacie kissed her, pulling back with a smile and licking her lips. "Is that nutmeg?" Stacie grabbed a cookie and bit into it. "These are too good to be wasted on Santa. Come on."

Stacie took her hand and pulled her out to the living room.

"Parker, Aubrey's here!" The five year old walked into the living room and grabbed Stacie's hand. "Do you remember I told you Aubrey was gonna spend Christmas with us?"

"It's not Christmas yet."

Stacie gave Aubrey a wary look. "I know, hon, but I wanted her to spend the night here so she could open presents with us in the morning after Santa comes. That sounds fun, huh?"

The girl shrugged and Aubrey tried not to panic. She knelt down and reached into the bag she was carrying. "Hey, I brought you something. Do you wanna put it under the tree with the rest of your presents?"

Parker smiled cautiously and nodded, walking towards Aubrey. "What is it?"

"You're gonna have to wait until tomorrow to find out, but I'm sure you'll like it." She smiled at Parker and the girl's smile widened a fraction. She took out a smaller box from the bag and handed both boxes to Parker. "That one's for your mom."

Parker nodded and took the presents to the tree. Stacie watched the exchange with a big smile on her face, approaching Aubrey as Parker walked away, helping her up and pulling her against her side. "You're the best." Aubrey beamed at her. "Park, why don't you show Aubrey the stocking you made for her?"

She led Aubrey to the mantle. Next to Stacie's and Parker's stockings, there was a newer looking one with Aubrey's name on it.

"Do you like it?" Parker looked up at her.

Aubrey swallowed the knot in her throat and nodded. "I love it."

Stacie wrapped her arms around her and kissed her cheek, turning to Parker. "Do you want to bake Santa's cookies now?"

"Yes!"

"Go wash up."

The little girl ran to the bathroom and Stacie turned to face Aubrey. "Are you okay."

Aubrey kissed her cupping her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." Stacie smiled, kissing her again before taking her hand and taking her to the kitchen. "You wash up too."

Parker came running in and Stacie helped her up to a high stool. She handed Aubrey a bowl, kissing her cheek. "You mix while I sift the flour." She placed a rolling pin in front of Parker. "You roll."

Stacie covered Aubrey's hand on the table and brushed her thumb over her knuckles, looking at her in a way that made Aubrey's stomach turn in a whole different way than earlier.

"Are you having a good time?"

Aubrey nodded. "Today has been great."

"Mom, can we open them now?"

Stacie looked at Aubrey and smiled. "Yes, but Aubrey doesn't know about this. We need to tell her first."

"Tell me what?" Aubrey looked between them confused.

Stacie pulled her up and onto the living room couch, sitting her down. "Every year we open one present on Christmas Eve." She turned to her daughter. "Parker."

Parker went to the tree and dragged a large box to where Stacie was standing while Stacie continued with her explanation.

"It's not just any present, it's something you have to wear. We got one for you too, Parker picked them."

The girl looked up at Stacie expectantly. Stacie nodded and she opened the box, handing a wrapped parcel to Aubrey. Aubrey thanked her, feeling a little self conscious about the two pairs of green eyes staring at her as she unwrapped her present.

"Wow, this is-" She shook her head, not really sure what to say.

"Reindeer PJ's!" Parker said excitedly, pulling out her own reindeer onesie from inside the box and handing one to Stacie.

"It's a onesie." Aubrey said unsure.

Parker nodded excitedly. "I'm gonna go change!"

"Meet you back out here in a bit." Stacie held out her hand to Aubrey. "We gotta change before the movie."

Aubrey looked at the pajamas on her lap and then back at Stacie.

"You don't have to wear them if you don't want to, you can borrow a hoodie or something."

"No." She took Stacie's hand and stood up. "I want to."

"Okay."

They went to Stacie's bedroom to change. Stacie finished first and went over to Aubrey, pulling on the hood with the antlers on her and chuckling.

Aubrey turned to face her with a pout. "How do I look?"

Stacie ran her hand down Aubrey's bare stomach and pulled the zipper closed. "Super hot." She kissed Aubrey's pouty lip. "And adorable."

Aubrey wrapped her arms around her. "You're lucky I love you."

Stacie smiled and framed Aubrey's face with her hands, rubbing her thumbs over her cheeks. "Thank you. For being here and wearing ridiculous pajamas and everything. It means a lot to me."

"Thank you for inviting me."

Stacie kissed her deeply, taking advantage of the fact that they were alone for the first time all day. Aubrey pulled Stacie forward by her hips, nipping at her lower lip. Stacie moaned, pulling back with her eyes still closed and rested her forehead against Aubrey's.

"Ready for the movie?"

Stacie reclined against Aubrey, watching Parker play with one of her presents while Aubrey toyed with the ends of her hair.

After Parker had woken them up, they had gone to the living room to open their presents. Stacie and Aubrey had moved to the couch once they were done, where they'd been sitting for awhile.

"Hey, do you want pancakes for breakfast?" Parker nodded without looking up from her toy and Stacie chuckled, looking up at Aubrey. "How about you? Blueberry? Banana!"

Aubrey smiled. "I'd love that."

"But first." Stacie sat up and took out her phone. "Parker, come over so we can take a picture."

"I can take it." Aubrey offered.

Stacie frowned. "But I want you in it."

"Are you sure?"

"Baby." Stacie arched an eyebrow and picked up Parker, sitting her on her lap. "Come on."

Aubrey leaned closer to Stacie, a warm feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. Stacie rearranged her antlers, giving her a quick kiss before lifting her phone. "Say cheese!"