I know I've been slacking on the updating here recently, so I'm really really sorry for that! Hope you all aren't too mad at me! So, on to the good stuff...
Enjoy the new chapter, HUGE thanks to all my faithful reviewers (y'all are freakin' amazing!), please review, yada yada yada...
Again, I still don't own Transformers or anything else you may recognize. The only thing I own is the brain and creativity that's gotten us this far!
Ron and Judy looked at them apprehensively when they first walked in the door, but lightened up considerably when they saw the smiles on their faces. Apologies were exchanged between Judy and Mikaela for barging in and Mikaela's subsequent reaction, and then the whole incident was forgotten. Ron had grilled up some steaks for their traditional Christmas Eve dinner and Judy had made a salad and baked potatoes. Sam couldn't help but be amused by the witty banter between his father and his girlfriend. They both had the same sarcastic sense of humor and could throw insults back and forth at each other without ever getting offended. Every now and then Judy or Sam would pitch in and say something, but for the most part it was the other two who did the majority of the talking.
Sam had made his famous peach cobbler that morning so once they all finished their steaks he got up from the table and served them all cobbler and ice cream. Ron teased his son about showing favoritism when he saw that his future daughter in law had more than he did. Never one to back down, Sam got up and grabbed the bowl with the remaining cobbler and the carton of ice cream and set them on the table in front of his father with a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Oh, you smart ass," Mikaela scolded and hit Sam on the shoulder.
"Aw thanks baby," He replied dryly. "Knew I could count on you."
Judy watched the interaction between her son and Mikaela with interest. There was a subtle difference in the way they acted towards each other, one she wouldn't notice if she hadn't seen their relationship from the very beginning. The two of them had always been serious with each other, but they were almost more in tune with the other now. They were almost constantly touching in some way or another, and it almost seemed as if it was a subconscious thing between the two of them. If she didn't know any better, she would think something had happened while they were away. Whatever it was, it wasn't her business. She wouldn't push either of them. They would tell her if they felt she needed to know. The new dimension to their relationship, however, had her more convinced than ever that Mikaela would be around for a long, long time.
"Okay, you two, I know you're going crazy from all the waiting," Judy spoke up once they were all finished with dessert. "How about you clean up the kitchen and then meet us in the living room?"
"Yes ma'am," Mikaela agreed while Sam groaned. Both woman rolled their eyes and Mikaela yanked him to his feet and pulled him to the kitchen after they cleared the table of dirty dishes.
"'Kaela?" Sam said softly as they started to rinse off all the dishes.
"What is it Sam?" She turned her body to look at him, her hands still at work in the sink.
"I love you," He leaned his head down and gently kissed her, applying pressure slowly. He moved until they were standing with her back against the counter. When his hands held her face, she expected to jump from the cold wetness of them but they were dry. In turn, her hands flattened against his chest and ran her tongue across his lip. A little sigh escaped him and his lips fell open enough for her to slide her tongue through and tease his own tongue.
"What was that for?" Mikaela said breathlessly when he pulled back to catch his breath.
"Promise not to laugh?" He asked.
"Baby, I'm not gonna laugh at you," She looked at him curiously. He usually never worried about her laughing at him; a lot of the times he said the things he did so she would laugh.
"It was just something about us in the kitchen watching dishes. I got this feeling of...forever," He struggled a little with the last word, not because of shyness or anything of the like but he couldn't figure out how to actually put the feeling he'd gotten into words.
"You felt it too?"
"Yeah. It was weird, it just hit me all of a sudden."
"Well, I hope you're ready for forever," She stood on her toes to kiss him again.
"As long as it's with you, I'm ready for anything," He gave her his adorable crooked grin and she couldn't help but kiss him one more time.
"I love you too."
They finished the dishes with no more interruptions. At least, aside from Mikaela spraying him with water and Sam retaliating by popping her with the dish rag, there weren't any other interruptions. When they made their way into the living room, Judy and Ron laughed at Sam's soaked t-shirt and Mikaela rubbing the backs of her legs and her behind. Both of them gave his parents identical glares which only caused them to laugh harder. She sat on the ottoman while Sam grabbed the presents under the tree and handed them out to whoever they belonged to.
Ron was the first to open his. It was one of the two from Mikaela, and she was glad he'd chosen to open that one first instead of opening the other one first. He looked in the box and started laughing almost hysterically. Sam caught the mischievous grin on his girlfriend's face and was curious as to what she'd given his dad that would make him laugh so hard. Ron stuck his hands in the box and one by one brought out five sets of salt-and-pepper shakers. Judy and Sam started chuckling along with him and Sam reached over from his seat on the chair and squeezed Mikaela's knee. When Sam was 13, he'd gotten his dad a salt-and-pepper shaker set shaped like hippos as a joke and from there it had become a tradition. Each year he'd buy a sillier set. Every one of them was set out all over the kitchen and it was an interesting collection. Somehow Mikaela had managed to find some shaped like socks and another like a liquor bottle. There was one with the San Diego Chargers logo, which was his favorite football team, and the fourth was shaped like the letter 'R' and 'J'. The fifth was probably the most hilarious: the salt shaker looked like a pair of breasts, and the pepper shaker was shaped like a penis. Some people would think that was a really strange gift to give to her boyfriend's dad, but the four people in the room knew it was a classic gift.
"Those are definitely the best ones I've gotten by far and away, Mikaela," Ron wiped away tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.
"I now officially bow down to the master," Sam made a play of getting on his knees to bow at Mikaela's feet so she pushed him over onto his back.
"Okay, Judy, now it's your turn," Mikaela said and then stuck her tongue out at Sam who was looking up at her from his back in shock.
Judy picked up the gift from Sam and set out to begin unwrapping it. Mikaela was curious to see what he'd bought for his parents, just as she knew he was of hers. This year they hadn't been able to go shopping for gifts together because of everything that had happened. There was a smile on Judy's face that went from ear to ear as she unwrapped a brand new set of cookware. She loved to cook and religiously watched just about every cooking show on TV. Mikaela caught the brand name on the side of the box and whistled to herself. The set Sam had bought was nowhere near cheap. In fact, it was pretty damn outrageously expensive.
"Sam, you shouldn't have!" His mother got up from the couch she was sitting on and went to give him a big hug and kiss him all over his face. "You're such a sweetheart!"
Then it was Sam's turn. He started to reach for the biggest box, but changed his mind and instead reached for one of the four other ones. Like a little kid, he tore off the wrapping paper so quickly Mikaela blinked and missed about half of it.
"Aw man, I can't believe you remembered!" He looked over at his dad. "I freakin' love you Dad!"
"How could I possibly forget? You reminded me every time we talked for the last month," Ron replied sarcastically. Sam dug in the box and pulled out a game and two steering wheels to go along with his brand new Nintendo Wii.
"You're so goin' down, 'Kaela. I'm gonna school you on some Mario Kart!"
"Dream on, honey. I'll show you how it's done," Mikaela gave him a cocky smile.
Mikaela opened her gift from Ron next and found a new set of tools. He sheepishly told her he'd bought them before he'd known she'd quit her job. She assured them she loved them and would still use them. The conspiratorial look that passed between Ron and Sam's face was missed by both of the women.
They went around in circles opening their gifts. Ron got a new set of grilling utensils from Sam, Mikaela also bought him a year's subscription to his two favorite automobile magazines, and Judy bought him a new pair of work boots and some clothes and movies. He'd just bought a new Range Rover, what more did he really need? Mikaela had made Judy a scrapbook of Sam's time at college, a gift that the matriarch had absolutely loved and gave her a teary eyed hug in thanks. She'd also given her a couple cookbooks and gift certificates to a spa in town. Sam had gotten a new 42" flat screen high definition TV, a Blu-Ray player, and gift cards to his two favorite clothing stores from his parents. Mikaela had bought him tickets to see his favorite band play in Philadelphia. From Judy, Mikaela received a pair of diamond earrings and a matching silver and diamond bracelet as well as a gift card to Victoria's Secret with an outrageous amount of money on it. Judy had slyly told her to "take Sam out shopping" when she'd opened the envelope. Sam's gifts to her were a pair of shoes she had really wanted and a necklace with a heart shaped pendant that was outlined in diamonds.
Each of them began to clean up the messes they made, and stuffed all the shredded wrapping paper in a big empty box. Ron carried the box out to the garage. While he was gone, Judy took both of their presents and put them away and Mikaela and Sam each took theirs upstairs to his bedroom.
"Hold on, we're not done yet," Sam pulled two boxes from behind his back and handed one to his mom and one to Mikaela. "Mom, you first." Judy opened her box and pulled out two tickets. When she read what they were for, she dropped the box and gave her son a wide eyed look.
"A cruise?!"
"Yes, Mom, a cruise. You and Dad deserve it."
"How the hell did you get these?"
"I don't need much money. Between the money we get from Keller every month and the money from working at the restaurant, I had plenty to spend," She gave him a tight hug and kissed him on the forehead. Sam scuffed his foot against the carpet in embarrassment before turning to his girlfriend with an almost nervously shy look on his face. "'Kaela? Open yours?"
Inside the box, Mikaela found a set of keys. She didn't recognize what they were for and gave him a confused look.
"Keys?"
"There's something taped to the lid," She turned over the lid and pulled off the paper that was there. Once it was off, she realized it was a picture. Turning it over, she saw a '69 Chevy Camaro SS sitting in a familiar driveway. More than that, it was an exact replica of how she'd pictured her dream car to be right down to the type of wheels and tires on it.
"Tell me this isn't what I think it is," This time it was Mikaela's turn to give Sam a wide eyed stare.
"Merry Christmas, baby. It's your dream car."
"How?"
"I called in a couple favors. Keller knew someone who had one, and when the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States show up to buy a car, it's easy to get a really good deal."
"You bought me a car, Sam. Not just any car, but a classic muscle car that I've always dreamed of having."
"Anything for the best," He turned her head and found her lips in yet another passionate kiss. Her hands traveled to the back of his hair and gently tugged when he sucked on her bottom lip. Sam blindly moved until he felt the couch cushions hit his knees and laid her down on her back before covering her with his body. Neither noticed his parents still standing in the room because their kissing never stopped. His lips traveled down the side of her neck where he grazed his teeth at the base. She arched her back against the sensations and raked her nails through his hair. Mikaela felt his hands tighten around her waist the way they always did when he wanted her so bad he could hardly control himself.
"God, do you guys EVER stop?" Ron teased and they jumped apart.
"Ron, I think they're worse than they were at Thanksgiving," Judy laughed.
"Well, if you people would quit interrupting us!" Sam growled and shot his parents dirty looks.
"We just wanted to give you guys your stockings," Ron said slyly and waited for them to sit up before he handed each of them one. "Should come in handy, I'm thinking."
"Dad!" Sam groaned when he realized their stockings were stuffed to the brim with condoms. He looked over at his girlfriend and saw she had her elbows on her knees and was hiding her face.
"You've obviously proven you both are horny teenagers, might as well be careful," Judy said simply.
"Mom, I think we've got that covered now," He stood up and pulled Mikaela to her feet. "Now if you'll excuse us, we're leaving. This is entirely too awkward."
Ron and Judy watched as the couple hurriedly shuffled out of the living room and through the front door.
"Notice how neither one of them left behind their stocking?" Judy gave her husband a look and they both laughed.
"Or how neither of them was wearing shoes?"
"I don't think either of them is going to be driving that car."