"Dad?" Kate said in a little girl's tone as she walked into the office.
"I really wish you wouldn't just walk in here," Johnny sighed, "You work in packing if you'd forgotten."
"I only wanted to know when the family meal would be this year," Kate said scuffing her shoe against the floor.
"I wasn't planning on having one," Johnny said not even looking up from his computer.
"Why not? Dad we can't not have the Connor family dinner. It's a tradition, it has to-"
"Are you in here again?" Aidan said eyebrows raised as he entered the office.
"Dad doesn't want to have the family dinner this year," Kate informed him.
"What? Come on Dad we have to!"
"Have to what?" Carla asked as she returned from her meeting.
"Every year we have a Connor family dinner just a few days before Christmas," Kate informed Carla, "We all get together and talk about the year and everything it's always great. But moody pants here, doesn't want to have one this year," Kate said prodding Johnny with a pen.
"It's not the same now we're here," Johnny said, "It's not going to be how it was."
"Ey and what's wrong with Weatherfield?" Carla said pretending to be offended, "Apart from the rain and the weather in general."
"It's not exactly Spain is it?"
"Well no Dad, but we could still have the meal," Aidan said, "It would be even better; we could have Michelle and Carla."
"Yeah like an extended Connor dinner," Kate smiled.
"Where would we have it though?" Johnny said just trying to make excuses to avoid the dinner. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with his family but everything had changed so drastically in the past few months. All of a sudden he was a partner in knicker factory business and living above a taxi office. When just months previous he'd been in Spain, in a luxury seaside house.
"I think you're forgetting my lovely fiancée owns the restaurant on this street," Carla said, "I could ask him if he could fit us in tonight?"
"Yeah," Kate said like an excited school child, "You should invite Nick to join us and well seen as Steve's not about she could always bring Liz," Kate said teasing her Dad.
"Why would we invite Liz to our family dinner?" Johnny asked bluntly.
"She might keep you company you never know," Kate laughed before leaving the office to get back to packing. She bumped into Nick in the doorway who greeted Carla with a warm smile.
"Is everyone and anyone walking in here today?" Johnny snapped causing Nick to look confused.
"Just ignore him, everyone else does," Aidan told him.
"Um I just came to see if you wanted to do anything for lunch?"
"I'm a bit busy darling but, we're having a Connor family dinner tonight and wondered if you'd join us?" Carla said standing from her chair so she could quickly hug Nick.
"Yeah I'd love to," Nick said with a smile. He enjoyed watching Carla with the Connors; he enjoyed watching her let go and have fun, "Suppose you want a table at 'The Bistro' then?"
"Yes please darling," Carla said sweetly.
"Okay um is six okay?" Nick asked and Carla nodded in response, "Okay, I'll see you then," Nick kissed Carla gently before leaving the office.
The Bistro wasn't quiet but it wasn't busy. Nick had set a table out in the corner of the restaurant for the family meal. The corner being the chosen place after the volume and the attempts of table dancing at Kate's birthday.
"Hey," Carla said as she came up behind him, her arms fit around his middle perfectly.
"Hey," Nick mirrored as he turned around to face Carla; he kissed her gently before pulling out a chair for her to sit on, "Where are the others?"
"Kate wanted to change, Aidan is still on a conference and god knows what Johnny's doing," Carla said sighing.
"Is he still acting off?" Nick asked as he took his seat beside Carla. She nodded then fiddled with the rings on her fingers.
"It's been ever since he visited Rob; he said that he didn't want anything but I can tell. I know there's something going on," Carla sighed.
Nick went to reply, to offer some comfort but was interrupted my Michelle walking in an sitting at the table.
"Hiya darling," She said cheerfully to Carla who put on a smile.
"Hiya, you okay?" Carla replied; Nick kissed the side of her head before walking to behind the bar to get some bottles of wine. The three of them sat and the table and made small talk before the others arrived.
They were half way through their meals when the Christmas talk began.
"I remember we had to write our lists in October; Mum always had be so prepared," Michelle laughed.
"No, we wrote our lists and then posted them to Santa so how did you ever know what to get us?" Kate asked Johnny.
"Because I'm not that thick and wrote it on a separate piece of paper before letting you post them," Johnny said tapping his head.
"Oh," Kate commented, "Well, do you not think Santa was a weird concept?"
"Yeah," Carla agreed, "Like a random man coming into your house and giving you things."
"Want do you want this year Carla?" Kate asked. "Designer shoes? Handbag?"
"Well seen as I've just had this," Carla said gesturing to her engagement ring, "I'm not expecting anything."
"There must be something you want," Aidan said winking at Nick.
"I'd really like a new bag I suppose. This one is getting so old now."
"You taking notes Nick?" Aidan laughed.
"Very funny; I was just gonna get you a cabbage patch doll darling," Nick laughed making Carla slap him lightly on the arm.
"Thirty years too late."
"What was the obsession with them anyway?" Kate asked.
"You're too young to understand sweetheart," Michelle laughed.
They laughed all evening, they spoke of presents from partners, presents they'd hated and presents they'd given. They spoke of Christmas morning traditions and Christmas dinner disasters. Of course they ended on the main Connor Christmas tradition.
They stood together in a circle, everyone was linked with crackers. On the count of three they pulled them; Kate and Aidan would always go head to head, a battle which Kate won every year. Nick and Carla went against each other and she won; she knew he'd let her win. He always allowed her to win and he always would.
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