A/N: Thank you for all the reviews for Late Night Thoughts. I can't express how grateful I am to everyone who has supported this little collection of stories in the Grey's lives.

To all who celebrate …Have a very Merry Christmas. Love your family, hug your children and keep in your hearts those who aren't still with you physically, but celebrating right along with you.

This story is a Rewind. Christmas in Aspen… Teddy's girlfriend -Maddie's POV.

I own nothing. Enjoy!

Christmas in Aspen- Maddie POV:

"Hey, are you ok? You seem jumpy"

I look at Teddy, my too good looking for his own good boyfriend, seated next to me as our plane is preparing to land in Aspen. He's always worried about my feelings. It's really adorable the way he cares.

"Yes. I'm just nervous about meeting your parents and the rest of your family"

His blue eyes gaze at me. I melt, he has the most beautiful blue eyes, it's like he's sees right through me.

"My family will love you, like I do" He gently squeezes my hand to reassure me.

I nod. I don't think Teddy understands what a big deal this is to me. Not only am I meeting my boyfriend's parents for the first time...that's nerve-wracking enough in itself, but his parents are Anastasia and Christian Grey, for crying out loud. Freaking billionaires, philanthropists, there are magazine articles written about them, their pictures in newspapers. For crying out loud, there was a whole chapter written about his father in my Economics text book.

After we retrieve our suitcases at the luggage carrousel, we exit the luggage area and walk over to where there are about twenty drivers holding up signs up with names of their clients in the airport terminal. There's one driver holding a sign that says "Mr. T. Bear". Teddy rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"Come on, that's us" Teddy grabs my hand and leads me to him.

"T. Bear?" I smirk.

"Yes, we never use my real name. Security, you know. Taylor, my dad's head of security, must have made this arrangement. When I was a kid, they called me Teddy Bear. Taylor has been with us since before I was born. He's more like an uncle to me. He won't be with us in Aspen this week. He's just busting my chops with that sign, thinks he's funny."

"Ok, Teddy Bear, let's go" I tease. Teddy blushes.

The driver takes my suitcase and Teddy carries his own. We walk to a waiting limousine. Holy crap, a limo! My stomach is doing somersaults. I'm a ball of nerves.

"So, the house we're going to…your parents own it?"

"Yeah, my dad bought it before they were married. We don't get out here too often. Maybe a few times a year."

"So, it's a vacation home?"

"Yeah, I guess" He's so blasé about it. I guess it's all he knows.

We arrive in front of the house. Holy crap...this is their vacation house? I can't imagine what their main residence looks like if this is only a vacation home.

I think I'm going to hyperventilate. I knew they were rich, but actually seeing it…holy crap. Teddy looks over to me and cocks his head.

"Hey, don't overthink this, it's only a house" That's one thing I love about Teddy, he knows me so well.

I nod, swallow an imaginary gulp of courage and watch him turn the knob to the front door. Here goes nothing.

The house is gorgeous…no, no, it's holy fuck gorgeous. Decorated beautifully. Simply stunning.

"Anyone around?" Teddy yells.

"We're in the kitchen" A voice calls back.

"That's my Mom. Come on" He grins.

He takes my hand and leads me to the kitchen. I'm so nervous, I'm holding my breath. I have to remember to breathe before I faint.

Teddy's parents are standing by the kitchen counter. Holy crap, Christian and Anastasia Grey are in the same room with me. I'm standing in their freaking kitchen. Holy crap. Holy crap.

"Mom, Dad…this is Maddie"

"Maddie." Teddy's dad warmly smiles and nod at me. Teddy had already told me he's not a touchy feely guy. I've seen pictures of his Dad on the news and in magazines, but in person, he's even more handsome. I quickly glance over at Teddy. Wow, the resemblance is amazing. Teddy is a carbon copy of his dad, except for his eye color.

"So good to finally meet you Maddie" Teddy's Mom hugs me. Teddy had warned me that his Mom is a hugger. I see where Teddy got his blue eyes. Her eyes are amazing, big, powder blue… amazing. I could say she's pretty but that would be an understatement, there's something that's beautiful about her, something past her obvious good looks. You feel her warmth as soon as you meet her.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Grey. Thank you for having me" I shock myself by managing to speak.

"We're so glad you could come. You're going to have quite an introduction. You got the entire Grey clan this week" His mom smiles.

"Yes, Teddy told me. I've been looking forward to it." I smile and look at Teddy. I like his parents and I love their son.

I look around the house while Teddy speaks with his Mom. Wow. Just Wow. I don't know if I belong in this world. I'm just normal middle class. This is so extravagant.

Teddy asked where everyone else is, so all the introductions could get out of the way. I laugh to myself when he asks about the dog. He gets such a kick out of hearing all the dog stories from his sister and Mother. His father's attachment to the dog seems to be a private joke between the three of them. I love that Teddy is so close to his family.

Teddy takes my hand and leads me to the downstairs den.

~~~xxx~~~

We walk hand in hand downstairs to the den. It's wall to wall people. Little kids running around, teenagers and adults ...and it's loud down here. This is definitely party central.

"Teddy!" I see a pretty brunette with twenty hair clips in her hair barreling toward him. I know it's Phoebe, she looks just like her Mom with her Dad's eye color. Once she reaches him, she gives him a big hug.

"Whoa Pheebs. Relax." He hugs her back. "Phoebe , this is Maddie"

She eyes me up and down. I'm a little nervous. Teddy told me a lot about Phoebe, so the new girlfriend introduction can go good or not so good, depending on her mood. He says she looks like his Mom but acts like his Dad with her moods.

"Nice to finally meet you. " She hugs me. Whew…I guess I got her on a good day.

"Pheebs, what's with all the clips in your hair?" Teddy points to her hair. It does look kinda silly.

"Oh, Olivia and Emma have been playing beauty parlor with me and Ava" She rolls her eyes.

Teddy laughs.

He introduces me to the rest of the Grey family. His aunts and uncles seem like a real hoot, especially his Uncle Elliot. He's playing some Alien war video game against Teddy's Uncle Ethan and the things that come out of his mouth are crazy funny. He is really into the game. Every once in a while, Teddy's Aunt Kate yells at him to watch his language around the little kids.

~~~xxx~~~

We're all gathered in the sitting room after having a pizza dinner. Take-out pizza for dinner. That's so…normal. I pictured we'd have formal dinners, with butlers wearing white gloves and serving plates of fancy salads, filet minion and lobsters. But they had pizza, not even fancy pizzas with crazy toppings. Just plain old pizza out of a delivery box.

Before we came here, Teddy kept trying to reassure me that the money was nothing, they were just a normal family, but I couldn't help picturing what I thought I'd be walking into. I feel a little more comfortable now.

The guy who cares for the house had brought out a bunch of boxes full of ornaments. We're going to decorate the tree. I'm a little nervous about decorating the tree. The ornaments are probably worth a zillion dollars, all probably from Tiffany's or custom made by Christopher Radko himself.

Mrs. Grey opens the boxes and I'm so surprised at what's inside. They're mostly homemade ornaments, obviously made by children, pinecones, glitter, school pictures. The rest are ornaments from places, I supposed they've traveled. I recognize some from the Disney Store at the mall. They must have picked them up in Disneyland. Wow. Mrs. Grey is a really sentimental woman. She looks at each ornament with such admiration, it's very sweet.

I really like Mrs. Grey. She has to be the sweetest woman I've ever met. I'm still trying to figure out Mr. Grey.

"Awe, look how cute Little Teddy Bear was" I tease Teddy as I hang one of the school picture ornaments.

Teddy blushes and looks to the ground. He shyly smiles and pretends he doesn't hear me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mr. Grey with his arms wrapped around Mrs. Grey whispering something in her ear. She opens a little box he gave her. I wonder if it's a giant diamond ring or something. She looks up at him and smiles. She whispers something to him, gives him a little kiss and hangs and small picture frame ornament on the tree.

"Teddy, what is that your Mom just hung?" I whisper

Teddy looks over at the ornament.

"That's a picture of my Grandpa Ray, my Mom's father. He died recently. She's been trying to keep up a brave face, but I know my mom, she's having a hard time with it, especially now"

"Oh. That was nice of your Dad"

"Yeah, he can be a real pain in the ass, but he's got a good heart. Especially when it comes to my Mom."

From what I've read about Christian Grey, I thought he'd be cold and business like, even in his personal life. I never would have imagined he could be so…thoughtful.

Olivia or Emma, I can't remember which one is which, point out that Mr. and Mr. Grey are standing over the mistletoe. It's cute really; she keeps calling it mistle-toad. She tells Teddy's Dad that he has to kiss Teddy's Mom.

"Well, who am I to argue with mistle-toad?" He grins.

He swings Teddy's mom around, dips her and gives her a big kiss. I mean a big holy cow, get a room kiss.

Teddy's mom is bright red and giggling. It's obvious they are still pretty hot for each other. This family never ceases to surprise me.

"Ho Ho Ho" I hear coming by the front door. The whole room turns and it's Teddy's Uncle Elliot dressed up like Santa. This guy is a riot.

He takes each of the three younger kids on his lap and goes through the typical Santa conversations.

I almost peed my pants when Emma asked about Santa's missing pants. Seems Teddy's Aunt Mia and Uncle Ethan like to role play. Holy shit. They both look mortified. Everyone else is cracking up. Oh My God…this was priceless.

"My family is insane" Teddy whispers in my ear

"You may be right about that...and very horny." I whisper back

"Ugh, I don't even want think about that, Maddie." He rolls his eyes.

~~~xxx~~~

We're settled in the den after a few hours of video games and karaoke. Phoebe and Ava have grabbed the pull out couch. Billy is sleeping on a reclining chair. Nicky's on the other. Emma and Olivia are each on air mattresses. Teddy and I are sharing a Queen sized air mattress.

"My family really likes you" Teddy whispers in my ear.

"You think?"

"Yeah. My Mom loves you and my Dad would have said something to annoy the both of us, if he didn't like you. He's not exactly silent about his opinions on anything"

"Your Mom is really sweet."

"My Mom is the best. I don't know how she puts up with my Dad sometimes."

"He loves her...anyone can see that"

"Yeah, he does. He always says his greatest accomplishment was getting my mother to agree to marry him"

"That's kinda sweet." I laugh.

Teddy moves in close to me, scooting behind me, holding me tight.

"So, you want to fool around?" I feel his grin in the crook of my neck.

"Teddy, the room is full of people"

"We'll be quiet" he whispers

"Keep your hands to yourself, Teddy Bear. It's not going to happen here."

"I'm not going to last the week. We may have to sneak out"

"Good night Teddy" I smile to myself. I love him so freaking much.

"Good night Maddie" He kisses my hair.

~~~xxx~~~

"Wake up, you have to get up. Santa came." I feel a little hand pulling my arm.

I open one eye and see Olivia, or is that Emma...well, one of the girls is pulling my arm.

"Err..ok, ok. I'm getting up" I nudge Teddy. "Wake up Teddy. They want us upstairs"

"I don't care" he mumbles as he turns over and goes back to sleep.

I nudge him harder.

"Teddy, I can't go upstairs without you. Please wake up" I whisper.

He sighs.

"Fine" He opens his eyes. I love looking at his sleepy blue eyes.

He sits up and stretches. Damn, my man is hot.

Phoebe, Ava, Teddy and I wrap blankets around ourselves and go upstairs to a room full of people.

Ugh, I must look hideous.

Everyone starts opening their gifts. The room is loud and crazy. The Grey's even had a gift under the tree for me. A new Coach handbag with a matching key ring, wallet and cell phone holder. I love it.

"I have a present for you, but I'd rather give it to you later." Teddy whispers in my ear

"Ok" I smile.

Teddy's parents disappeared to the kitchen to get coffee going. I've noticed that they touch each other a lot, a hand on the shoulder, arm around the waist, small kisses when they think no one is looking. That must be why Teddy is so attentive to me, he has great role models.

"Come on, let's get out of here" Teddy grabs my hand and leads me back down to the den.

Once we're in the den, he goes straight to his suitcase and pulls out a small box.

"This is for you" He hand the box to me.

I unwrap it and open the box. It's a gold heart locket with a floral design engraved on the front hanging on a delicate gold chain.

"Teddy, it's beautiful"

"Open the heart" I can tell he's pleased with whatever is in the heart, by the grin on his face.

I open it and there's a tiny picture of Teddy and me taken at the food drive where we both volunteered and met.

"Thank you, I love it" I softly kiss him.

I already gave Teddy my gift to him on Hanukkah at my parents' house, a remote control flying helicopter. He calls it Little Charlie Tango.

~~~xxx~~~

Once again, I'm surprised that dinner was prepared by Teddy's Aunt Mia with help from his Grandmother, Mom and Aunt Kate. Although I suspect his Aunt Kate doesn't know her way around the kitchen very well.

I thought it was going to be a fancy dinner out at a fancy Aspen restaurant, or a huge staff of butlers named Reginald or Jeeves serving foods I couldn't pronounce. But I was wrong, it's just family.

I help set the tables with Phoebe and Ava. Both of them have been very welcoming to me. Phoebe has been trying to get dirt on Teddy from me, Teddy warned me she would, but I keep our secrets to ourselves. Ava even tried to needle information out of me. Jeez, Ava can be quite tenacious. It's not easy to side step their questions without seeming rude, but I think I managed alright.

We sit at the table and Teddy's Dad makes the sweetest toast to their Grandpa Ray. Mrs. Grey looks very emotional. Mr. Grey winks at her and gives her a quick kiss.

Teddy insisted we sit at the kids table. I don't know which table is louder, the kids table or the adults table. But it's fun. Practically every time Teddy's Uncle Elliot speaks, he gets a punch in his arm from Teddy's Aunt Kate. He does tend to say a lot of very inappropriate things.

I've noticed that every time Mr. Grey calls Mrs. Grey "Anastasia or Mrs. Grey", she looks down and blushes. I've worked out it has to be a sex code word. I wonder if anyone else has that figured out. You can tell they are most definitely into each other.

~~~xxx~~~

It's been a long exhausting day. We're back in the den. The room is so dark, with everyone passed out cold for the night. I stare up at the ceiling, Teddy asleep by my side.

Do I fit in this world? I mean, the wealth, the privilege they've all grown up in. It's crazy how wealthy they are. I still can't get over the fact that this is just a vacation house. You could fit four of my houses at home in here.

I need to use the bathroom. I sneak out of the room. I walk through the hallway to the bathroom. It's locked. Great! Emma must have locked the bathroom door and shut it again. She did that twice already today. I'll just sneak upstairs and use the bathroom at the top of the stairs.

As I reach the top of the stairs, I see Teddy's Mom standing alone in the dark, with just the light from the Christmas tree in the sitting room.

She's holding the ornament Mr. Grey gave her earlier in the evening, the one with the picture of her father. It looks like she may have been crying. Awe, poor Mrs. Grey, she misses her dad. I see Teddy's dad, leaning against the archway at the entrance way to the sitting room, silently watching her. He looks so sad.

I feel like a voyeur, but I can't help myself. I can't take my eyes off of them.

She turns around and sees him. He walks over to her and holds her. They speak, I can't hear what they say, but she caresses his face and smiles at him. She says something to him that makes him quietly laugh and he holds her tighter.

I've seen too much. Clearly this is a private moment. I need to leave. I quietly turn around and head back to the den. I'll just hold it in, or try the bathroom later. I climb over sleeping bodies and maneuver my way through the sea of air mattresses and sleeping bodies to Teddy, who is fast asleep on the air mattress on the floor. I crawl in with him and curl up next to him, holding him close by the waist.

I'm blown away from what I've witnessed. They have all the money in the world, but I know it doesn't matter. They have each other and it's clear to me that that's all that means anything to them.

"Hey, where were you?" Teddy asks in an adorable sleepy voice

"Just off to the bathroom. Go back to sleep" I whisper

"Ok. Love you baby" he sleepily says as he drifts back off to sleep

"Love you too" I kiss his cheek.

I no longer feel like I don't belong in Teddy's world, because after what I witnessed, I know that his family is not about the money, houses, jets and all the trappings of their wealth. What makes them truly rich is their love for each other.

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