Troy had been unable to sleep on Christmas eve. He felt like a child again. This was going to be the best Christmas ever. Christmases when he was a teenager had been great with Lily there at the house with him and his parents, and they had gone over to Abuela's house for brunch and to open presents over there. But this morning, Troy had a surprise for everyone and he was bursting to share it with them.
He had slipped out of the bed around three in the morning and taken all of the presents from under the tree, leaving the beach house. He was gone for almost two hours setting up things just the way they should be, just to surprise everyone on this wonderful Christmas morning. He felt like Santa Claus. But then, isn't that what parents are supposed to do for their children? But he wasn't just doing this for Tori, he was doing it for Lily and Temperance as well. Dominick had gone home to visit his grandparents for a few days, and it would just be the four of them this Christmas morning.
Troy got back to the beach house just before five, going into Temperance's bedroom first. He lightly placed his hand on her shoulder, shaking her slightly.
"It's Christmas morning, Tempe."
She grumbled, turning and burying her head under her pillow. She didn't want to wake up this Christmas morning. She wasn't going to be able to spend it with Dominick, and he was the only one she really wanted to spend it with... She hadn't spoken to anyone last night. She missed her parents. She knew how miserable they had been to Gabriella when she was growing up, and she was still angry with them for abandoning her now when she felt like she needed them most, so the only person she wanted to spend Christmas with was Dominick. She and Gabriella hadn't really fixed things between them since Gabriella withdrew from everyone and the two of them seemed to drift apart more and more. But this morning, Troy was hoping tofix all that.
"Come on, Temperance. I've got a surprise for everyone. Get up. There's hot chocolate on the table downstairs. I'm going to go wake up Tori and your sister. Get your shoes on and a coat. It's cold outside."
Tempe looked up at him, grumbling. She had no idea why he would want her to get up and get her shoes and coat on. It was Christmas morning, wasn't it? Shouldn't they be gathering around the tree and ripping through the wrapping paper on all the presents under the tree downstairs to get their gifts. She didn't feel like going anywhere. Troy didn't even give her a chance to reply before heading out of the room and down the hall toward his and Gabriella's bedroom. Tempe threw the covers back on her bed and looked around for her shoes and for her coat.
He quietly opened the door to his room, pushing it closed only slightly. He leaned over toward the middle of the bed from his side and ran his fingers through Tori's hair, whispering to her. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Wake up."
Tori slowly opened her eyes, looking up at him. "Daddy?"
Troy smiled, caressing her cheek softly. "It's Christmas morning, sweetie."
Tori's eyes widened and she sat up, ready to run downstairs to the Christmas tree.
"Hold on a moment, Angel. Hold on," Troy whispered, a little more loudly, still wanting Lily to stay asleep until he had Tori up and downstairs ready to go. Tori stopped, looking back at her daddy confused.
"I've got a surprise for everyone. I want you to get your shoes and a warm coat on. We're going out for a surprise."
Tori seemed to be even more excited now. Jumping off the bed, she ran to get her shoes and her coat on.
"There's hot cocoa downstairs," Troy quietly called to him as he ran out of the room.
Crawling up on the bed, Troy wrapped his arms around Lily as he laid down beside her. She happily snuggled into his side, still mostly asleep.
"¿Están todavía dormidos?"
She sighed contentedly. "Si..." She giggled slightly, not wanting to wake up, but wanting to at the same time, being in Troy's arms.
She still hadn't been quite her same since the day of the incident with the wedding dress. She still felt she was fat, and she had put off meeting with Bianca again because of that. She hadn't even wanted to meet with her for anything else either. Gaining this weight had upset her beyond belief and she couldn't think about the rest of the wedding if she couldn't fit into a dress that was supposed to be her size. She had weighed herself, and she had gained three pounds. She didn't think that three pounds would make so much of a difference, a whole dress size at least? But it apparently had, and she couldn't deal with that. She'd been running and doing everything she could to loose that weight, but it wasn't happening. That weight was there and she wasn't getting rid of it.
Troy nuzzled his face in her neck, sliding his hand down over her side. "Come on, baby. Despertarse."
She shook her head, snuggling more into him. "No. Volver a dormir conmigo."
Troy smiled. He really didn't get what she was saying, not completely. He was sure she just asked him to go back to sleep, but he didn't know what conmigo meant. "Lily, babe," he whispered against her ear, his hot breath coursing down her neck, causing cold chills to spring up on the back of her neck and arms. "Es la mañana de Navidad."
She really didn't care. She just wanted to stay in bed with Troy and wait until later for presents. "Come on, Lily. Tori and Tempe are already downstairs."
She sighed softly, opening her eyes. "I'm really not up for this, T." He ran his fingers through her hair, kissing her nose softly. "Not even if I told you I have a surprise waiting?"
She shook her head, but knew she was outnumbered. He was excited, and she was sure he already had Tori and Temperance excited as well. She had to get up.
"Bien," she muttered, moving to get out of bed.
Troy jumped out of bed and went into the closet, bringing out a blackbox wrapped in a bright purple ribbon and her coat. Gabriella stood at the foot of the bed, looking at him confused.
"What's this?"
He walked over to her with it, smiling brightly. "You don't really have any warm pajamas. I thought you could use some this morning." He laid the coat down on the bed and held the present out for her. "Open it."
She didn't know why she needed warm pajamas, and why he had it up here and not downstairs under the tree. Letting it go, she pulled at the ribbon, the two sides falling away, and then she lifted the top off of the box.
Troy parted the paper for her and she reached in, pulling out some purple flannel, snowflake Lakers pajamas. She smiled up at Troy, pulling them to her chest.
"I love them! I've never had any!"
Julian had given her a shirt when he asked her to come to a game before, but she never wore it and she never went to the game. She couldn't go. She knew she'd see Troy there and at that time, she didn't think he'd want to see her, and she knew it would be incredibly awkward if she did. But she was so excited to get these pajamas from Troy, and she loved them. She loved them a lot, and she was excited to wear them.
"I love them!" She leaped headfirst and he let the box drop as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her against him. "Thank you so much." She pulled back, looking up at him. "You want me to put these on right now?"
Troy nodded his head. "Definitely. And shoes, and your coat," he said, turning his head toward her coat he had laid on the bed.
He stood and walked over to the dresser, pulling out some socks for her, reaching out and pushing the door shut, walking back into the closet to get her shoes. Gabriella smiled, putting the pajamas down on the bed so she could change into them. She pulled her nightgown up and over her head, tossing it up by her pillow. She undid the white ribbon keeping the pajamas together, pulling the pants out and sliding them up over her legs. She tied the draw string, picking up the shirt and turning to look at Troy as he came out of the closet and back over to her.
"Shoes, m'lady."
She blushed, actually exhilarated for Christmas morning now. Pulling on the shirt, she began to button it.
"Here," he said, "sit down and I'll put your shoes on for you."
She smiled brightly, sure her cheeks were an even darker crimson than before.
"T..."
He insisted. "Sit down, m'lady."
She giggled slightly, sitting down on the bed and continuing to button the shirt as he knelt down in front of her and started to put on her socks and shoes. "You're so adorable, T," Gabriella told him, running her fingers through his hair as he knelt in front of her.
He looked up at her as he tied the first shoe. "I am excited for today, Lily. I just want everything to be perfect." He looked down to put her other shoe on, starting to tie it.
"It already is. You, me, Tori... even Tempe. We're a family now. Nothing could be more perfect."
He smiled up at her. "We are a family, and we are going to have a great day, I promise you!" He stood, offering her his hands, pulling her to stand up.
"It will be, T."
He smiled even more, leaning over and picking her coat up off the bed. Turning back to her, he held it up to her and she turned so he could help her put it on. She slid her arms in the sleeves and turned back toward him. He zipped her up and then fastened the few buttons over it. He didn't pull up the hat though. She could pull it up when the went outside if she wanted. He took her hand and pulled her with him out of the room.
"Where's your coat?" Bri asked as they walked toward the stairs.
"I left it downstairs with the hot cocoa."
Her eyes lightened up a little more. "Hot chocolate too?"
He laughed, nodding his head down at her. "Of course. We all need to be as toasty warm as possible."
She still had no idea what he was planning, but she knew she shouldn't have to wait long to find out, so she didn't ask questions. When they got downstairs to the kitchen, Tori and Temperance were already there drinking their cups. Troy picked up the last two, handing one to Bri.
"Alright, so are you gonna tell us what's up, or are you going to continue to leave us in suspense?" Tempe asked, obviously still annoyed with being woken up for a holiday she didn't feel like celebrating.
Troy nodded. "We're getting in the car and going on a drive."
Tempe looked at him blankly. "A drive? Whooee!"
Tori hopped up away from the table. "Actually, I want to know where all the presents are, Daddy!"
Tempe looked over at her niece, giving him a queer glare. "When Santa came last night, he TOOK the presents instead of leaving some from him."
Tori'seyes widened as she looked to her parents confused. "Santa... too... took the presents?"
Both Troy and Gabriella looked at Temperance as if to ask "Did you have to?"
She smirked back at them, shrugging her shoulders. Troy took a step toward Tori, shaking his head as he crouched down in front of her.
"No, Tori. Santa did not take the presents. In fact, I moved the presents that were under the tree, and Santa went somewhere else to leave presents. They will be where we're going. I promise you."
Tori smiled brightly, taking her Daddy by the hand. "Bien, bien! Vamanos!"
Troy laughed as Tori pulled him toward the door. "Ladies," Troy called back to them when Tori opened the door, pushing him outside and turning back to Gabriella and Temperance.
"Vamanos. Andale! Andale!"
Gabriella smiled at her daughter and then looked back at Temperance who was slowly pulling herself up off her chair.
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
Gabriella wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders. "Tempe, I'm sorry for how things have been between us lately, but it is Christmas. Do you think we can have a good day?"
Temperance looked at her big sister as they walked out the door following Troy and Tori. "Yeah. We can," she barely spoke.
She knew her sister was trying, even if she hadn't tried for almost a month now, give or take. She had figured out her sister pretty much to a T since she moved in, and she knew when Gabriella was serious.
It took about twenty-five minutes to get where they were going. After a fifteen minutes, Gabriella figured out where they were going and turned to smile at Troy from the passenger seat. He smiled over at her, knowing she knew where they were heading and reached over to take her hand. They kept quiet, still wanting it to be a surprise for the two in the back seat.
He pulled into the driveway and Tori about jumped right out of her seat. "What are we doing here, Daddy? This is that house with the theater in the basement! I love this house!"
Troy laughed at her excitement, nodding his head. "Yes, it is, Tori, but now it's our house with the theater in the basement."
Tori's eyes about popped right out of her head. "Our house? This is our house?"
Troy pulled his seat belt off after parking, turning back to look at his little girl. "It is! Nice Christmas surprise?"
Tori opened her door and jumped out onto the driveway. "Best Christmas surprise EVER!"
Troy got out, shutting his door and walking around to open Lily's door. Opening it, she took his hand, stepping out of the car. He shut the door and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her against his side. Temperance came up beside the both of them, looking up at the grand building and then looking over at them.
"We're seriously moving here?" Tempe asked, following Tori up the front stairs.
"That's right, Tempe. All four of us."
Tempe looked back at them, concern washed over her face. "And we're just going to leave Dominick behind? That's not really nice, now is it?"
And just then, the front door opened and Dominick stood in the doorway. Temperance froze for a moment before sprinting up the rest of the stairs, past Tori, and jumping up into Dominick's arms. He wrapped his arms around her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, hugging him tightly around his neck.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, pulling her head back to look at him, not getting down. "I thought you were going to see your family."
He held her in his arms, smiling back at her. "I was with them last night, flew out after she went to bed. I wanted to be here with you this morning."
Tori came in the door beside them, looking up at Dominick. "Hey, Nicky! Feliz Navidad!"
Dominick looked down at Tori, nodding down to him. "Feliz Navidad, Victoria!"
Tori ran into the house and Troy and Gabriella came up into the house and Dominick stepped back, letting Tempe down to her feet. She looked up at Troy.
"Did you know about this?"
Troy nodded his head, looking at Gabriella and smiling and then looking back at Tempe. "Also another surprise for you too." He looked over to Dominick. "Did you wanna tell her?"
Dominick looked back down at Temperance, "I'm moving into the loft above the garage."
Temperance's smile widened and she jumped up, hugging Dominick tightly again. "That's great! That's so great!"
Dominick laughed, hugging her to him. Troy and Gabriella laughed as well and Troy turned to shut the door, calling into the living room from there in the foyer.
"Tori, are you tearing apart all your presents already?"
Gabriella giggled up at Troy, wrapping her arm around his waist when he wrapped his arm around her again, walking with her behind Dominick and Temperance into the living room where Tori was already sifting through the several DS games that Santa had left for her. "I left my DS home..." She shook her head quickly, "I mean, at the penthouse." She stopped there for a moment, looking at her parents as they sat down on the couch. "What are we doing with the penthouse now? Is it still our home too, or are we just living here now?"
Troy looked down at Lily and then over at their daughter. "We're still keeping the place on the beach," he told her, nodding his head, "but we're living here now."
That place was Lily's. It was the place she had wanted to live in since she first wanted to move to Santa Monica. They weren't going to get rid of it. Besides, they'd both like someplace to stay in the at the beach when they wanted to get away alone together for the night or if someone needed it for some other reason. They weren't about to let it go for any reason.
Tori nodded her head. "I love this house! Mama! Have you SEEN the theater downstairs? It's sooo amazing!"
Gabriella nodded her head. "Yes, mija. Daddy brought me up here one night when you were with Auntie Tay and Uncle Chad." She turned, smiling brightly at Troy. "But I didn't know we were ready to move in yet."
He smiled, proud of himself. "I know. I had Nancy be vague on that when you were signing the final papers. I wanted this to be a surprise for all of you this morning."
Lily hugged him close to her. "It was." She kissed the side of his head, whispering softly. "Gracias, mi rey. Te queiro."
He turned to face her, kissing her lips softly.
"Can we open presents now?" Tempe looked up at Gabriella and Troy from where she sat on Dominick's lap on the floor across the tree from Tori.
Troy turned his head toward them, nodding his head. "Go ahead. Open your presents."
Both Tempe and Tori started opening their presents feverishly. Troy reached over onto the table beside the couch, grabbing a long jewelry box and handing it to her.
"This is your present from Santa," Troy said, smiling at her.
She took the box, biting her lip and shaking her head. "Santa didn't need to get me anything."
Troy laughed slightly. "Well, you have been a very good girl this year, and Santa wanted to get you something."
She blushed, holding the box in her small hands, looking into Troy's eyes. "Did you get me anything?" She hadn't even checked under the tree to see if he had.
"Of course I did, babe. Do you think I wouldn't get my favorite girl something?"
She giggled, crinkling up her nose just a little bit, looking down at the box in her fingers. "Can I open it?"
He looked over at Tori and Temperance who were knee deep in wrapping paper and presents, looking back at Lily. "You're far behind, baby."
She giggled again, taking a deep breath and slowly opening the box. It popped open and she looked down at the necklace, gold lilies studded with diamonds on a gold chain.
"Santa says it's not to replace the one you wear all the time, but to add to it."
Gabriella bit her lip, looking up at him, tears sparkling in her eyes. "Thank you, T," she whispered, leaning forward and kissing his lips softly. "Feliz Navidad."
Smiling, he kissed her lips softly again. "Feliz Navidad, Lily."
Troy held his fiance in his arms, holding her while Tori and Temperance unwrapped their presents. Once they were done, they asked if they could go up and see their new rooms. Both Troy and Gabriella said they could and the three of them went upstairs, carrying their new presents, and leaving the two of them alone. They opened their presents from each other and decided to go up and see their new bedroom themselves, leaving their presents behind. They were going to make love in their new bed in their new house. Everything was perfect with them and the rest of their family. Nothing could ruin this.