Hello again, just to say this chapter's a bit slow compared to the others, but I'm working on it, and I hope you enjoy :) All mistakes are mine, unbeta'd and please review or suggest ideas, I love hearing from people.

The week leading up to Christmas was cold but thankfully uneventful; Belle had brought everything into order amazingly quickly after her 'absence' and things were blissfully normal. Ruby was back to living with Belle, though they never really decided on this. It just happened. Belle would spend her time at the library, working away. She had also gained an additional job tutoring Henry for school. With everything that had happened, he was falling behind with his classes, which was understandable. So Henry would come over to the library for an hour or so after school and they would work together on his subjects. Belle was by no means calling herself an expert, but she had amassed a vast knowledge of most subjects and had done some extra research for Henry. Usually Ruby would get off of her shift after about an hour and would bring them some leftovers from the diner, before Henry would head home. But the school had been off for the past week, and Belle had busied herself decorating the apartment for Christmas. She had kept it modest, but had bought a tree, using Grumpy's help to lug it up the stairs, and she and Ruby had decorated it magnificently. The one thing Ruby didn't like about Christmas was the anticipation; not over her own presents, but whether Belle would like hers. They cooked the roast dinner together, and ate at the table with the TV on in the background. It was relaxed and peaceful, and Ruby hoped it would remain that way. When Belle dozed off watching the traditional Christmas movies, Ruby gently lifted her up and carried her to the bed. Catching a glance out of the window, she saw it was snowing heavily again. Laying Belle gently on the sheets, glad that she was already wearing her rather skimpy – not that Ruby was complaining – pyjamas. Belle radiated an immense amount of heat for someone so small. Ruby wasn't much better, wearing a strappy top and shorts to bed, only slightly longer than Belle's. Ruby slipped on said pyjamas and clambered in beside Belle, pulling her close to her chest and wrapping her arms around her waist. Belle moaned a little in her sleep, her hand grasping Ruby's and holding it just above her heart. Ruby kissed her cheek and settled down to sleep.

Belle woke up snuggled in Ruby's arms, just as it should be. She rolled over to see that Ruby was still asleep. Grinning, she reached out a finger and flicked Ruby's nose. Ruby scrunched up her face in the most adorable way possible but didn't wake up. Belle did it again, but to no avail. Tapping her face lightly, Ruby shook her head slightly as her eyes fluttered open.

"Did you just wake me?" asked Ruby sleepily, her words melding into each other.

"No," replied Belle, stroking Ruby's face.

"Yes you did."

"Where's your proof?" grinned Belle. Morning Ruby was by far the most amusing.

"What do you want?" asked Ruby, burrowing into her pillow as if it would bring sleep back to her.

"Well that's a nice way to greet your girlfriend in the morning."

"Good girlfriends don't wake each other," grumbled Ruby with a smile.

"Better girlfriends wake up each other to remind them there's a pile of presents waiting for them."

Ruby's eyes lit up as she realised and she perked up, a puppy-like expression on her face.

"The best girlfriend would make me breakfast," hinted Ruby, before she was hit in the face with a pillow. Ruby hit her back with the other pillow and soon it turned into a short pillow fight, which ended with Ruby pinning Belle to the bed and kissing her.

"Belle…?" said Ruby when she pulled away, a slightly pleading look on her face. Belle sighed, knowing what was on her mind.

"Go," she said as Ruby bounded up and into the living room. Belle laughed and got up, following her. "You're such a puppy, you know," she called as she went to the kitchen.

"You love it," came the reply. Belle chuckled as she made two mugs of hot chocolate, carrying them through to where Ruby had already divided the pile of packages into Ruby's and Belle's while she waited. As soon as Belle sat on the floor opposite her, Ruby tore into the first present.

After they had opened all but one present each, they were left with the ones they bought for each other. Ruby waited nervously as Belle took a sip of her drink before beginning. She soon noticed Ruby wasn't doing the same; instead she was focused solely on Belle.

"Anything wrong?" asked Belle. Ruby shook her head and smiled through her nerves. Belle continued until she had unwrapped it completely.

"Oh my God," she gasped. Ruby's eyes darted from the present to Belle, not sure if this was good or bad. "Ruby…" Belle lifted the gift and then looked at Ruby.

"You… like it?" asked Ruby carefully.

"Like it?" said Belle, her eyes back on the sparkling object.

"It's not much, I know…"

"Ruby, I love it," she smiled, admiring the beautiful necklace. It was a simple black string with a chain at the back to fasten it with Ruby's red wolf charm attached to it. "Help me put it on?" she asked, turning and holding her hair out of the way. Ruby dutifully clipped it securely and Belle turned back around. It hung over her chest, glinting red when the light hit it, casting little spots of red light up on Belle's neck and face. Belle turned it over in her fingers a few times, admiring it.

"Now you," said Belle, tapping the parcel in Ruby's lap. Ruby tore her gaze away from Belle and began unwrapping her own present. Belle watched her with a smile. Ruby finally cleared the last of the paper to see the back of a black book.

"A… book?" she said, a little confused. Belle laughed at her confusion.

"Open it," she said. Ruby picked it up. Not that she didn't like books, but Belle was the bookworm. This was unexpected, but she was sure she'd love whatever it was. She noted something else in the bottom of the paper, some sort of clothing, but she concentrated on the book. It was slim, made of beautiful black leather. On the front it was bare, save for pristine golden lettering spelling out 'Ruby Lucas and Belle French'. Ruby opened the first page and immediately knew what this was. It had a picture, the very first picture they had taken together stuck in, plus Belle's rather scratchy but lovely scrawl depicting the circumstances of the picture. It was the same for all of them, though some were just pictures, other pages just words. It was full of their stories, funny and serious, sweet and sour moments in their lives together, though the sour moments were kept short.

"Belle… this is amazing…" said Ruby, flipping carefully through the book. Belle smiled in reply.

"Just in case something happens again… you can show me this and…" Belle trailed off as Ruby stretched forwards and pulled her into a hug.

"It's perfect," breathed Ruby. She looked Belle in the eyes and pressed a quick kiss on her forehead.

They spent the rest of the day lying in. The heavy snow had persisted over the night and now there was a knee high coating of snow. The pair didn't want to face that white wilderness until they had to. So they watched the cheesy Christmas movies, drinking hot chocolate and just having a lazy day. Dinner would be at six in the evening, so they just killed time until then. Finally at five, they began to get ready. Belle jumped in the shower as Ruby looked through her wardrobe for decent clothes. Fifteen minutes later, Belle emerged from the steamy bathroom and passed Ruby on the way to the bedroom wrapped in a towel. Ruby looked up and couldn't resist.

"No," she said as she passed as Ruby opened her mouth, a wolfish grin on her face, as Belle barely even looking at her as she fished in a drawer for underwear. Ruby laughed and hopped into the shower. Belle found a simple but elegant black dress from the wardrobe and pulled it on, slipping her feet into a pair of black high heels and putting her new necklace on along with a black and gold bracelet. She sat in the living room painting her nails to match as Ruby stumbled out of the shower to get ready. A few minutes later, Ruby emerged from the bedroom and Belle turned to see her. Ruby was dressed in a predictably red dress that fell to her knees. It wasn't leather, as Ruby would have chosen, but quite respectable by her standards, the thin straps that held it up leading to a moderately low cut, revealing not too much of her cleavage. It wasn't tight, but it hugged her curves and had a patterned line of little roses trailing down the right side of it. The skirt danced around her knees and it suited her.

"You're beautiful," said Belle simply. Ruby gave a little curtsey.

"Let's see you then," she replied. Belle smiled and stood up in her black dress, a lot longer than what Lacey would have worn, thought Belle gratefully. She twirled gracefully, and was pleased to see Ruby's grin of approval. Belle finished up her make-up, as did Ruby, both of them nudging each other out of the way of the mirror in the bathroom, Ruby ending up with a large mascara smudge across her nose which Belle quickly had to wipe off with a tissue while Ruby grumbled. Finally, they were ready and went downstairs. Belle grabbed her long black coat as Ruby opted for her leather coat that was a recent acquisition from Emma, the dark leather hanging down by her ankles. Bracing themselves, Belle opened the door as the chill swept over them. It was calm, no wind, but the snow still fell heavily, as it had done all day with only a few short breaks. Ruby and Belle looped their arms together as they hurried out, both immediately regretting their choice of footwear. Belle's feet were numb after a few minutes as they trudged carefully through the snow, both of them slipping every few steps. Finally though, Belle rang Regina's doorbell with shaking gloved fingers. They had decided on Regina's as it was the largest. Henry opened the door after a few moments and welcomed them in.

"Merry Christmas!" he said, giving them both a hug as they stumbled into the welcome warmth. "I loved my presents, thanks!"

"No problem," replied Ruby with a smile, ruffling his hair as she shrugged off her coat. Regina appeared from the kitchen and greeted them with a smile, holding out a hand for their coats.

"Please go through to the sitting room, dinner will be ready shortly," she said, flicking her fingers over the wet coats and instantly drying them.

"Neat trick," commented Ruby.

"It does come in handy," replied Regina with a smile, her beautiful black and white dress swaying as she climbed the stairs to put the coats away.

"Shall we?" asked Ruby, motioning Belle to the sitting room. Belle nodded and walked through the door, secretly wishing her feet to unfreeze soon. In the sitting room was Charming and Snow sitting on the sofa, Snow with a nearly empty glass of champagne in her hand. Sitting in an armchair near them was Emma, who rose when she saw Belle and Ruby.

"Hey! Glad you could make it. Warm up in here for a bit. Can I get you a drink?" she asked, all a little quickly, a slightly anxious look on her face as her eyes flickered to her mother every few seconds.

"Uh, yes please," replied Belle, a little taken aback by Emma's obvious nerves. Ruby nodded too, her hand snaking down to clasp Belle's.

"Champagne?" Both girls nodded. Emma nodded and left the room with a sideways glance at her mother, who was finishing her own glass.

"Darling daughter, can you get me one too?" she asked, holding out her glass. Emma sighed as she grabbed the glass and headed to the kitchen. Snow turned to Belle and Ruby. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you," replied Ruby warmly.

"Thank you so much for the present, Snow, it was wonderful," said Belle, genuinely surprised that Snow would have thought of her. Snow waved her thanks away.

"It was nothing, I'm glad you liked it."