Kim came awake slowly and stretched lazily in the early morning light. She looked around, realized that the bed was empty, and noticed that Shane's robe was gone. Turning to the clock, she saw that it was 7:23 a.m. and chuckled. Of course, Shane would be up early. He was almost as bad as Andrew on Christmas morning.
Climbing out of the bed, she quickly donned her robe and got cleaned up. She checked the nursery, but was not surprised to find it empty. As she made her way downstairs, she could hear noise coming from the kitchen.
"But why can't we now?" Andrew whined.
Shane's voice oozed with patience. "Because we're going to be civilized, young man, and only savages would open presents before their mother and sister woke up."
"And we are most definitely not savages," Kim joked as she stepped into the kitchen.
Andrew turned quickly in his chair and leaped out. "Mommy!" he shouted, rushing over to give her a hug.
Still at the table, Shane was holding Jeannie in his lap. He rolled his eyes. "That was civilized."
Kim crouched down and kissed Andrew. "Merry Christmas, honey." Letting go, she crossed over to the table and kissed Jeannie on the cheek. "Merry Christmas."
"I hope I get one of those too," Shane joked. She tilted her head and saw his eyes sparkling. "The kiss, I mean. Though the 'Merry Christmas' would be nice too."
Kim gave him a sly grin that she made sure Andrew could not see while she leaned past Jeannie. Her eyes closed as their lips met. She moaned a little, marveling at how something as little as a kiss could send such strong sensations through her. Her lips parted and she felt Shane's tongue slowly met hers. When they finally broke apart, she breathed, "Merry Christmas. . . but I already said that a few times last night, didn't I?"
Shane smiled, probably at the reminder of the night before. "Yes, you did." They had been up late setting out presents. It had been after midnight by the time they finished putting Andrew's new bike together and then they had toasted Christmas morning with Eve when she arrived home from Wings. By that time, Kim should have been exhausted, but she had pulled Shane upstairs and into their bed, where they had made love until the early hours of the morning. "I hope you don't mind my trying to let you sleep in," he said.
"Like Andrew would let me?" Kim asked.
"I guess not. . . . Hey, Sport. . . ." Shane called out to Andrew, who hurried over. "I have a great idea," Shane said. When Andrew looked at him anxiously, Shane glanced at Kim, then motioned Andrew close, and, with a conspiratorial gleam in his eye, whispered something in the boy's ear. Finishing, Shane pulled away and then said, "Can you do that? Exactly like I asked?"
Andrew nodded, turned on his heels, and ran out of the room.
Seeing the expression on Shane's face, Kim sighed. "What did you just tell our son to do?"
"Nothing," Shane said innocently. In the face of Kim's look, he added, "I just suggested that he wake Eve." After another long pause, he finally confessed, "By sneaking into her room and shouting 'Merry Christmas!'"
"Shane!"
But Kim's cry was nothing compared to the shriek that echoed through the house.
Kim cringed and shook her head as Shane began to chuckle. "Sometimes," she grumbled, but she did not bother to finish the thought. Instead, she held out her arms, took Jeannie from Shane, and switched places with him just in time for Andrew to race through the door and duck behind Shane, cowering as a furious Eve stormed through the door.
"Where is he?" she yelled. "Where is that little twerp?"
Shane gave her a cheerful smile. "Merry Christmas, Sweetheart."
Eve stopped and put her hands on her hips. "You put him up to that, didn't you?" Her question was met with silence and a look of pure innocence on Shane's part. Seeing that she was going to get no admission from Shane, Eve looked at Kim.
I'm not getting in the middle of this, Kim told herself. She quickly shook her head and pointed in Shane's direction.
"Oh, gee, thanks," he said to Kim, though he was teasing. "Stab me in the back, why don't you?" Turning back to Eve, Shane gave her a disarming smile. "It's Christmas morning, darling, and your brother has been waiting patiently for you to join us so he can open his presents. We couldn't have you sleep the entire day away."
Eve gave him an exasperated look, which was followed by an exaggerated huff. "It's not even 8." But seeing she was going to receive no sympathy, she grumbled, "Let me get some coffee, at least."
Shane looked down over his shoulder at Andrew and said, "I think the coast is clear. You can come out now." Andrew scooted around Shane's leg, though he kept a wary eye on Eve. But Shane was right. Now that Eve had some caffeine in her, she seemed to no longer mind the rude awakening.
Kim motioned to Shane, who leaned over so she could whisper in his ear. "As my father would say, 'You could charm the knickers off a nun.'"
"Do they have to be a nun's?" Shane whispered back. "Yours are much more fun to take off."
"Shane!" Kim felt her ears burn, even as she laughed. It was so wonderful to laugh again. In just the week since the charges against Shane had been dropped, it had felt like the darkness had lifted from the house. All of the strain and fear had just disappeared.
"Can we open presents now?" Andrew asked, his tone midway between a whine and a plea.
Shane and Kim exchanged a wry glance as Shane pointed out, "Seeing as he risked his life in the quest to open presents early. . . ." He nodded in Andrew's direction. "Lead on, good chap."
Andrew turned and ran from the room. Eve rolled her eyes and then followed calling for Andrew to wait until the others got there. In Kim's lap, Jeannie fidgeted and leaned forward, her signal that she wanted to be put down. Complying, Kim lowered the little girl to the ground and Jeannie immediately toddled in the direction her siblings had gone. Shane held out a hand to Kim, who took it and stood up.
They followed the kids down the hall, where they could hear Andrew excitedly pointing out who different presents belonged to. They had just reached the foyer when the doorbell rang.
Shane looked at Kim with a quizzical expression on his face. Kim was just as confused. Who could be here this early on Christmas morning? She stood there as Shane walked over to the door and opened it. On the porch stood a man that Kim had never seen before. He wore a dark, expensive overcoat that exposed a little of his well-tailored suit.
"Captain Donovan, I presume?" asked the man as he held out his hand. "Martin Baker, Associate Deputy Director. . . CIA."
Kim stepped close to Shane. The cheer in the house had dissipated and she felt a chill run down her spine. What could the CIA want? She silently urged Shane to shut the door in the man's face, but Shane just crossed his arms and spoke evenly.
"I can't imagine why the CIA would have any business with us, particularly on Christmas morning," Shane said.
"I can understand your hesitancy, Captain, but-"
"I'm no longer a Captain," Shane replied. He spoke in a curt tone that Kim could tell was an attempt to mask the bitterness he must have felt. Kim wondered if the other man could tell how hard that was for Shane to acknowledge.
"Yes, about that. . . ." The man's voice trailed off and he hesitated before he said, "If you would just give me a few minutes. I flew here from Washington to speak with you and it's very important. Please . . . just a few minutes."
Shane looked over at her and, despite her misgivings, she nodded. Whatever it was, a CIA official would not have flown to Salem on Christmas morning if it wasn't important.
"Very well," Shane said. "Please come in." He waited for the man to enter and then shut the door. The man took a moment to look around the foyer, catching sight of Eve and Andrew, who were just inside the doorway of the library. They were both staring at the stranger.
"Perhaps we could talk in private," he said to Shane, who looked apologetically at Kim and the kids, told them to start opening presents without him, and then led the man to the study.
Kim debated following them, but she looked at Andrew's expectant face and sighed. She shrugged when Eve asked what Kim thought was going on and then suggested that Andrew open a box that contained some action figures he had wanted. Kim picked up one of Jeannie's presents - a stuffed bear she had wrapped the night before. She figured the kids could play with those while they waited for Shane to return.
That seemed to work. She and Eve were left to sit nervously, while Andrew began putting his new ninja turtles through their paces and Jeannie bounced on Kim's lap, giggling at the new bear she clutched close. Meanwhile, Kim felt an uneasy fluttering in her stomach.
Had they overlooked something, she wondered. Maybe Steve's plan had worked too well. They should have know they couldn't undermine the ISA's plan like that without problems.
She told herself she was being silly. If the government was going to seek retribution, there would be federal agents storming the house, not a lone official on the doorstep, pleading to be heard.
So what do they want?
It felt like an eternity before Kim heard voices outside the library. Lowering Jeannie to the ground, Kim started to rush toward the open door, but stopped herself. She figured Shane would prefer that she remain composed - outwardly, at least. Steeling herself, Kim walked slowly to the doorway.
". . . I hope you understand," Shane was saying. He was standing by the door, and seemed very calm, but sounded resolute.
"I do, Captain," the man replied as he pulled on the overcoat that he must have removed in Shane's study. "And I understand that this has been a difficult time. . . . Look. . . ." He finished putting on his coat and faced Shane. "It's Christmas, so nothing is getting done in Washington until after the new year. Spend the time with your family and think about what we discussed. Take the week. Maybe you'll reconsider."
Shane seemed to mull it over, but then responded, "I'm pretty sure my mind's set."
"Think about it," the other man said. "You have my card. Call me at the end of the week and tell me then." He looked up at Kim and nodded. "Mrs. Donovan-"
"It's Brady," Kim said, almost instinctively.
The man flushed a little at his faux pas. "Of course, I'm sorry. . . Ms. Brady. And I'm sorry to have intruded. Merry Christmas."
He disappeared through the door before Kim could respond. When he was gone, she looked at Shane.
"Shane?"
He looked back and said, simply, "He offered me a job. I said no."
"What job?" Kim asked.
Shane started walking to the library. Casually - too casually - he said, "Chief of the ISA."
The what? The foyer seemed to spin and Kim felt her mouth moving, but could find no words. She looked at the library doorway to see an equally stunned Eve. Meanwhile, Shane had spotted Andrew.
"We seem to have far too many presents left to open, young man," Shane said, crouching down beside the boy. "How about you go pull a few more from under the tree for you and your sisters to unwrap."
As Andrew ran over to the tree, Kim finally recovered enough to speak. In a low voice, she asked, "Someone from the CIA just offered you the job as head of the ISA?"
Shane looked up and nodded.
"What about Tarrington?" Kim asked.
Shane chuckled a little. "Tarrington. . . Tarrington has been sacked." At Kim's wide-eyed look, he stood, walked over to her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. In a low, even voice, he said, "None of that matters, Kim. I told him no. . . okay? If the last few months have taught me anything, it's that what's important to me is what's right here in this house. You and our children are all that matters, and I told him I won't give that up for the ISA."
Kim felt her heart swell as she looked into Shane's eyes. They told her that his words were sincere. He meant it. She reached up and cupped his face with her hands.
"And you and our children mean everything to me," she said, before she pulled his head toward hers and kissed him.
"Are they kissing again?" Andrew asked, groaning.
Shane pulled away. "We may be testing the scientific limits of a five-year-old's ability to be patient when there is a roomful of presents to open."
They took a seat on the sofa and watched as Andrew began sorting gifts for everyone. Kim barely paid attention; her eyes were on Shane, who was holding Jeannie in his lap and helping unwrap her presents. He was showing the wide-eyed little girl a new doll, though he kept looking over to the other children so he could share their excitement with each gift Andrew and Eve opened.
This is how it should be, she thought. Had it really been just several days earlier that they had faced not just Christmas, but years apart? Now they had their entire future together, in this house, as a family.
As if he could read her thoughts, Shane looked up, his eyes sparkling. Kim flushed a little, but he reached out, squeezed her hand, and then turned to Andrew.
"Why don't you see if there's anything under the tree for Mommy?" Shane suggested. His conspiratorial wink to their son gave Kim an inkling that something was up. When Shane pointedly did not meet her look, she knew it.
"Shane. . . ."
He did not answer, but waited for Andrew to carry over a small box wrapped in red and gold paper and hand it to Kim. She took it from her son, who looked at Shane as if waiting for directions. Shane patted the sofa on his opposite side and Andrew climbed up.
"Go on, Mommy," Andrew urged. He was sitting on his knees so he could look across Shane, who had one arm wrapped around Jeannie. Behind them, Eve had taken up a position so she also could watch. There was an expectant smile on Eve's face that added to Kim's nerves.
Kim felt her heart begin to beat faster as she looked down at the small package. Her hand trembled as she picked at the wrapping. As the paper came away, revealing the little velvet box, it began to slip from her palm, but Shane caught it before it could fall.
She could only stare silently at the box now in his hand. The box actually began to blur as she felt her eyes fill.
"Kim," Shane said tentatively, but she just nodded and then looked up at him.
"Yes," she said, the word barely audible. She forced herself to take a deep breath and repeated, "Yes, I will."
Shane started to grin, but then stopped. "You haven't even opened it," he pointed out. "You don't even know what's inside. How do you know it's not a key to a new garden shed or something like that-"
"A key to a garden shed?" Kim raised an eyebrow and then looked down at the box. "I know you, mister. You and velvet boxes."
Shane shrugged. "So call me predictable," he said. "I guess there are worse things." He was still holding Jeannie on his lap with one arm, so he could only use one hand to open the little box. It came open with a flash as the diamond inside caught the morning light.
Kim glanced at it, but the ring was not what she wanted to see. She looked instead into Shane's eyes, which shone back at hers. There's so much love there, she thought. What did I do to deserve this much love?
"I'm trying to think of something to say," Shane said, his eyes not leaving hers. "'Third time's the charm' seems a bit trite, doesn't it?" Then he grew a bit more somber. "No. . . . what I want to say is that I can't think of anything more perfect than to do this now, this way, with our children here." He looked up at Eve and then at Andrew and finally down at Jeannie. "Our family, Kimberly, this family that has been through so much. What I said before is true. It has taken me a long time - far too long - to recognize what matters, and what's most important is our family, our love - and I will fight for that love and trust that love and do whatever it takes to keep that love, because without it . . . without you, this family is not complete. I'm not complete."
Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but Kim ignored them. She stared back into Shane's eyes and breathed, "I'm not complete without you, Shane Donovan."
"Then would you do me the honor of becoming my wife - again?" Shane smiled softly and held up the ring. "Will you marry me, Kimberly?"
Kim tried to answer, but the words caught in her throat. For a long moment, she could only nod. Finally her voice returned and she managed to say, "Yes. . . . Yes, I'll marry you."