Christmas preparations were in full swing; Derek was handling the cooking like a pro chef, Meredith was contributing by stirring random pans now and then. Em and Chris, both spoilt rotten this year, were happily working their way through the mountain of presents they had received; Mer hated to think about the large amount of gifts yet to come from Aunts and Uncles who were coming round later.
This Christmas has an almost bittersweet feel to it; the magic and excitement were still there but Mer and Derek both knew that this was the last year in Mer's mother's house and that next Christmas they would finally be living in the dream house.
The doorbell rang sharply. "Em, do you wanna get that?" Meredith yelled, knowing that if she herself answered the first question out the visitor's mouth would be 'where's Em and Chris?'
As Em opened the door she was met by an unfamiliar face; a woman of about her mother's age gazed down at her, long blonde hair spilling down her back and a nervous grin splitting her face. "Hello?" Em asked, unsure of how she should react to the stranger.
"Hello Sweetie." The woman smiled reassuringly "Is your Mommy in?"
"I'll go get Mommy" Em replied confidently "Can you wait here?" Remembering what Derek had told her about letting strangers in the house and gently shutting the door behind herself. Em ran to find her Mother only to find her halfway down the hall, coming to find out what was happening. Em began to explain the situation to Mer whilst pulling open the door. "There's a woman at the door who wants you Mommy." in a whisper she then told her Mom "She looks like a princess, like you said Aunt Izzie looked!"
A look of shock registered on Mer's face as she came face to face with the stranger and a familiar voice spoke "You've got a clever kid, Mer."
Dun, dun, dun! Next chapter should be up soon. At the moment I'm posting shorter updates, more often. Would anyone prefer long updates less often? Enjoy. Read and review. Marie X