Bay's POV

When I woke up Christmas morning, Emmett wasn't there. I assumed that he had left early to get to his mom's house.

I rolled onto my back with a soft groan and glared down at my belly. "Ok, back pain in the morning isn't cool. Just so you're up to speed on this."

I got up and got dressed, pulling on another pregnancy shirt. They were starting to grow on me. It was green, and over my belly it said, "Baby bumps first x-mas".

"You know, next year you're going to be spoiled. If you aren't today. I'd imagine you'll get even more next year, though."

Dressed, I left my room and went downstairs. No one was in the kitchen, though I heard their voices in the other room. I made myself some hot chocolate before I went to join them.

Daphne sat on the floor, her legs crossed, still in her pajamas. Regina and Angelo sat beside each other on the couch, Kathryn and John sat opposite them. Toby perched at the edge of the arm chair. They were laughing, no one quite noticing when I took up residence on the love seat.

Daphne was the first one to notice me and smiled widely. "Your shirt!"

I grinned. "You like it?"

"It's adorable, baby," Kathryn said, smiling slightly. John made a humming noise, not commenting, and I chose to ignore it.

"Did Emmett go to his mom's?"

Regina shook her head. "No, Melody's coming over soon, though. Emmett went to... get something."

Well, that was specific. I doubted I would get more information if I asked, though, so I moved on.

It was only about a half hour later that Melody arrived, gifts in hand. She gave a small, half wave, Angelo getting up to help her get the gifts under the tree with the rest.

She went to me and bent down slightly, giving me a kiss on the cheek. Melody seemed to be getting more and more accepting of me, calling me family more than once.

'I love that shirt. How are you?'

"Good, I'm good."

'And the baby?'

"He's fine. We just had an appointment a few days ago."

'How far are you now? 24 weeks, right?'

"Yeah, 24."

'Only 4 months to go.' She smiled widely.

"Four months seems like an eternity."

She grinned and nodded slightly. 'I remember.' She turned and found a seat of her own, leaving the spot beside me open, presumably for Emmett.

It wasn't long until he arrived, dropping into the seat beside me.

"Hey! Where were you?"

'I had to get something.'

"I don't get to know what it is yet, do I?"

He grinned widely and shook his head. 'Not yet. Not until we start opening gifts.'

"What does your family usually do for Christmas?"

'Not much. We usually open presents in the morning and kind of disperse until dinner. What about you?'

"We do this." I gestured to everyone around us, several different conversations swirling and mixing. "We talk all morning, living off of nothing but hot cocoa, coffee, or eggnog. Sometimes cinnamon rolls are thrown in. If it's snowing, we go outside and play for awhile. We eat a small lunch before we start dinner. Dinner's kind of a family event. Everyone does something. I'm not sure how it's going to work with so many people, though. After dinner we do presents."

'What if it's not snowing?'

"Gingerbread houses."

He smiled slightly and nodded, pulling my legs onto his lap to rub my feet and calves.

A couple hours later, Kathryn got up to look out the window. "No snow this year, guys." She turned and smiled widely. "Who's ready for gingerbread houses?"

...

The kitchen was a disaster. Everyone was making their own small gingerbread house. There were various colors of icing everywhere, sprinkles, candy, bits and pieces of gingerbread.

The room was also filled with laughter. I was happy, having fun, and I felt... warm.

Emmett sat beside me, his house a mess. As I had a few years experience on him, my house looked picturesque, and was almost done.

It wasn't long until the houses were finished, and we set them aside for lunch. Mom shooed me out of the kitchen, then, insisting that they didn't need a pregnant woman working in the kitchen.

"You've gotta be sore as it is, honey, you just go relax. Take Emmett with you."

With my hands raised in surrender, I left the room, Emmett following close behind. I went upstairs, stopping in the hallway. "I should do some of that schoolwork. Get something done while I wait." I turned to my room, but he grabbed my arm, pulling me to him.

Before I could ask what he was doing, he just pointed up. I glanced at the ceiling, rolling my eyes slightly, though I still grinned. Someone had hung mistletoe.

'You know the rules.'

"Yeah, yeah, I know the rules."

He smiled and pulled me closer, leaning down. With the exception of his good night kisses, we hadn't kissed since our ultrasound. I was still a little hesitant about the progress. Yet today, it was just natural to lean into him, to wrap my arms around his neck as he kissed me.

This kiss was slower than any other we had shared. At night, they were all brief, and at the appointment it had been rushed, caused by the excitement of the moment. Now we had time.

He poured a lot into that kiss, and I felt everything. I felt his love running through my veins, I felt every apology he had said for months all spill into me at once, I felt his happiness and his fear, his sorrows, I felt... I felt Emmett. I felt him wrapped around me, in my lungs, in my very soul.

I felt the remains of my wall blow to dust, not leaving so much as a trace of what had once been.

I don't know how long we were pressed together, in a world of our own, until someone cleared their throat. I pulled back and turned to the noise, Emmett looking as well in confusion.

Daphne stood a few feet a way, smiling widely. "Emmett, your mom wants you."

He nodded and gave me a soft peck before leaving me. Daphne clapped slightly and shot me a thumbs up before she turned and followed him down, and I escaped to my room. Though I was intent on schoolwork, I highly doubted I would get anything done.

...

We all settled in the living room, everyone commenting on how good dinner was, or how full they were. Kathryn took her post by the tree, smiling widely. "Ok! Are we all ready?" The room all gave their agreement. "Great!" She bent down and plucked a present randomly from the pile. "Looks like we have... From Bay to Toby!" She passed down the package.

He grinned and opened it, unfolding the shirt and laughing, turning it so everyone could see. 'World's Okay-est Uncle'. "Thanks, Bay."

Emmett snapped a picture before Kathryn picked another present. "This time we have... From me to Regina."

It continued on like that. Kathryn would read who it was from and to, pass along the present, and Emmett took pictures. Toby got various clothes and toys-something for his music. I got a lot of art supplies, along with a few baby things. John ended up with a couple collectibles, Regina with colorful things for her house, Daphne with cookbooks and fancy kitchen gadgets, it went on and on as the pile below the tree dwindled.

Kathryn picked up a card and smiled widely. "Ok, guys, ok. This one is from us to Bay. We all did a little something to pitch in for this one." She handed me the card.

I opened it, and it said only, 'Go to the nursery'. I looked up in confusion and stood. I made my way up the stairs, Emmett close behind, followed by the parade of our families.

I made my way to the end of the hall and opened the door, my eyes widening.

My drawings had all been painted, and the room had been furnished. It was all the furniture Emmett and I had picked out, all white. The crib sat under the window, a line of stuffed animals in it. There was the changing table against one all, and a dresser on the opposite side. Next to the dresser was a small bookshelf, filled with more toys and kids' books. In the corner sat my glider.

I slowly wandered into the room, going first to the changing table. I opened the drawers and cupboards to see it fully stocked. I turned to the dresser, pulling open the drawers. There were a couple more outfits from when I had last checked, but the drawers were mostly empty. I went to the closet and pulled it open. There was a folded up stroller, and collapsed bassinet, among a few other things.

I went to sit in the glider, glancing at the small side table. There was what looked like an audio dock, and when I followed the cords, saw speakers in two upper corners of the room.

I looked up at the waiting, eager faces of my family. "You guys... This is perfect. Thank you."

Emmett smiled. 'You really like it?'

"I love it." I got up and made my way out of the room. "I love it, you guys."

Pleased with themselves, we managed to make it back down to the living room.

"Ok! Next, it's from Bay to Emmett."

Emmett took it, and I stopped him from opening it. He looked up at me. "I just want you to know that I'm bad at gifts, and anything looks bad after that room. Fair warning."

He grinned and shook his head, tearing off the paper. I hadn't had any idea what to get him, and had ended up with a few 'new dad' shirts, and a new deaf horror movie I had found. He had never mentioned it before, and it had only come out a couple years ago, so I was hoping he'd like it. He smiled widely and turned back to me. 'Thank you.' His eyes looked bright, and I decided not to push my luck, just shrugging slightly.

It wasn't long after that until all the presents had been open, and everyone started saying their good nights.

Once most everyone was gone, Emmett stood and held out his hand. 'One more.'

Frowning slightly, I took his hand and stood. He led me outside, and I hugged myself against the chill in the air. He walked down to my car and passed it, stopping at an unfamiliar car. It was a silver sedan, newer than my tank, and much smaller. I looked up at Emmett, confused.

"What's this?"

'A car. I know how much you love yours, but it's not exactly ideal for a baby. So I got a different one.'

"How... How did you get a car?"

'I fixed up my bike and sold it.'

My eyes widened. "Is this because of the accident? Because it was a one time thing, and you love-"

'No, no, no. It's not because of the accident. I was working on this weeks before that. The accident just motivated me to get it done faster. Oh, and come here.' He went around to the trunk, pulling out a key and opening it. Inside sat a box for a car seat. 'What do you think?'

"I love it. I do. You're wonderful, but... You love motorcycles."

'And I'll get another one eventually. But between a motorcycle and my family... There's no contest.'

I smiled softly and kissed him. It wasn't long before he pulled away, shutting the trunk.

'Come on, it's cold out here. Let's get inside.'

I nodded slightly, though I took hold of his shirt and pulled him to me so I could kiss him again.