Snuggled deeply in her bed, Kayla reached instinctively for her husband as the first hints of waking made their way through her body. Her eyes opened to nothing but emptiness on his side of the bed. As she adjusted to the dark room, she saw two items on the pillow where Steve's head should have been. Sitting up, she reached for them. She found a single, yellow rose and a small, wrapped box.

Smiling, she pulled back the covers and stepped from the bed. As she wrapped her robe around her, she was thankful that her morning sickness had begun to eased during her second trimester. Well, it was either that or her child had decided to give his mama a break on Christmas. Either way, she was happy not to experience the all too familiar nausea this morning.

Holding the small box she had found, Kayla quietly made her way out of the bedroom, walked down the hall, and peeked into her daughter's room. Stephanie was still asleep, having been worn out by the Christmas Eve festivities the night before. Kayla knew that this would likely be the last Christmas that did not begin with small children waking their parents in breathless anticipation of what Santa had left under the tree.

Moving to the living room, Kayla first saw the beautiful Christmas tree that she and Steve had put up just a few days before. Underneath the tree were wrapped presents. Most were for Stephanie and some would go with them to her parents' house later that morning. After the craziness of the last few weeks, it had taken several marathon shopping trips with Kimberly to cross all of her items off her list.

Turning slightly, Kayla found Steve standing at the window looking out on the snowy street. He was wearing only his pajama bottoms and a Santa hat perched on his head. As she watched, he put his harmonica to his mouth and the quiet strains of "Silent Night" began to filter through the room.

Kayla walked to Steve, put her arms around him, and leaned her cheek against his back. He must have felt her approach, because he never flinched and continued to play the song. When it was finished, they stood there for a moment before Kayla whispered a soft "Merry Christmas, Steve."

Steve slowly turned in her arms and placed his hands on the sides of her face. They stared into each other's eyes, seemingly lost in time. Kayla could read so many emotions in his eye - happiness, peace, perhaps a little regret, but most of all there was love.

"Merry Christmas, Sweetness," he said as he bent down and softly kissed her lips.

They stood together for several moments before Kayla remembered what she was holding in her hand. Pulling away slightly, she held the box up. "Is this for me?"

Steve's green eye twinkled, "Who else did you think it was for, baby?"

Kayla smiled brightly and shrugged. "Well I didn't want to make an assumption. Maybe you left it on the pillow by mistake."

Steve took Kayla's hand, walked her over to the couch, and pulled her down on his lap as he sat. "Why don't you open it and find out."

Carefully removing the ribbon, Kayla opened the box and gasped. Inside was a gold necklace with a heart shaped pendent hanging from the chain. Within the heart, three small stones hung from tiny strands of gold.

"It's beautiful," Kayla said as she lifted the necklace from the box.

"It's our family," Steve explained. "The heart is you and the stones are me and our children." He took the necklace from her and placed it around her neck. "Your love surrounds us and keeps us whole."

"You're amazing," Kayla sniffed, tears filling her eyes. "I love you so much."

"I don't know about amazing, Sweetness. I just know that I love you, and that you and our children are everything to me."

Kayla looked down at the necklace lying on her chest and then back up at her husband. She felt so much love that she thought she might burst right there. She leaned up and kissed his lips softly, and then with more passion, pouring everything she was feeling into him.

Steve finally pulled back and smiled. "Careful, baby. You don't want to start something you can't finish before your daughter wakes up."

Kayla sighed regretfully. "You're probably right." Then she kissed him again, more playfully this time. "But you better not plan on getting much sleep tonight, Mr. Johnson."

Steve chuckled. "I love how you think. Actually, I love how you do everything."

"The feeling is entirely mutual," Kayla replied. She stood up. "And now it's your turn to open your present."

As Steve leaned back on the couch, Kayla walked to the Christmas tree. She carefully moved several presents before pulling out two boxes and carrying them over to the couch.

"Two presents?" Steve asked with a raised brow. "Now I'm going to have to go shopping again."

Kayla just smiled. "Actually, one of them is really for both of us, so we're still even."

Steve gave her a questioning look, but remained silent as Kayla handed him the first box. "I wanted to find something for you that would symbolize how much I love you and how blessed I am to have you back," she said. Touching her necklace, she smiled ruefully, "Unfortunately, you're not much of a jewelry guy, so I had to come up with something a little more practical."

Steve looked at Kayla but didn't open the present. "You don't need to give me anything to show me you love me, Kayla. I see it in your eyes every day, and I see it in our daughter and in that baby that is growing inside of you."

Kayla leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I know. But there has been something missing for the last week or so, and I wanted to fix it. So open your present."

Steve nodded and carefully opened the box. Kayla watched as his eye widened and a smile crossed his face. Moving the paper inside, he pulled out a leather jacket. It was black with silver zippers on the pockets and the arms. As Steve examined the jacket, Kayla spoke softly.

"I can't seem to remember a time when a leather jacket wasn't part of you. At first, it was a bit intimidating - like you," she said with a smile. "But when I got to know you - the real you - I realized that the jacket wasn't there just to intimidate people, it was there to protect you."

Steve looked up as Kayla continued. She explained, "I realized that the jacket was this shield for you. It projected that 'tough guy' image you wanted everyone to see, but really it was protection for that big heart inside. So now when you wear it, I want you to think of me and our family. We are your protection and will always be here for you. . . ." She grinned. "Plus, it's just weird to see you without one."

Steve's eye was filled with unshed tears as he leaned down and kissed her. "It's beautiful, Sweetness. Thank you so much."

Kayla smiled. "You're welcome. Now there is one more left to open before Stephanie wakes up and has her turn."

"You said this one was for both of us, right?"

Kayla nodded. "Well, sort of. It's actually . . . it's a present you gave me last year, and now it's my turn."

Steve looked at her questioningly. "Last year? Sweetness . . . I wasn't here last year."

"Not in body," Kayla replied with a sad smile. "But . . . somehow, you still sent me a present. It was something you had arranged before you disappeared. It got delivered to the house after I sold it, but Maggie made sure I got it."

Steve's eyebrow rose, and Kayla could tell he had realized what she was referring to. "You mean you actually got that present?"

Kayla nodded and gestured to the box. "Open it."

Steve opened the box and pulled out the bright silver antique teapot. Holding it up, Kayla could see the dual engravings on the side. Just below the engraved names of Emily and Gideon were the names Steve and Kayla and the 1990 date. Steve then reached back into the box and pulled out the card he had included with the teapot the previous year. "A hundred years from now our love will be a legend too."

"When I opened that box last year and saw what you had done, it was like you were still there with me. And even though I knew it was impossible, I couldn't help but feel this tiny bit of hope that, like Gideon returned to Emily when she thought all was lost, you would return to me." She smiled up at Steve as tears fell down her cheeks. "And then you did." She took a deep breath to collect herself. "So I thought it was only fitting that we open this again this year - together. Just like it was always supposed to be."

Steve put the teapot on the coffee table and moved the boxes to the floor. Then he pulled Kayla to him and held her tightly against his chest. She could feel his tears and quietly let hers flow too. She knew that the tears were not of sadness, but of healing. They had been denied this moment by an evil act over a year before, but they had somehow triumphed over that evil and had reclaimed the life together that they had worked so hard to have. The tears they shed now were the final mourning of that time lost.

As they held each other, Kayla heard the tell-tale sounds of her daughter stirring, followed quickly by the familiar calls of "Mama! Papa!" Pulling away, Kayla wiped her tears and then wiped Steve's from his cheek as well. "Sounds like your daughter is ready to open her presents now."

Steve smiled and slid from underneath Kayla and stood. "I'll go get her while you get the camera. I want to capture every moment of this Christmas."

Kayla stood and gave Steve a kiss on the cheek. "I can't think of anything better."

Steve headed for Stephanie's room and Kayla stood still for a moment, listening to the happy squeals of Stephanie greeting her father. She placed a hand over her belly and felt her baby resting there peacefully. She did not know how they had come through everything, but it did not really matter. All that mattered now was that their family was whole and happy and she could only pray that it would always be that way.