SiCela EstNoël
AnniKay

Sam/Mercedes/Puck

Disclaimer: I own Nothing…Murphy, Falchuk, and Brennen along with Fox and others own this fandom and all the characters there in…Anything you recognize obviously belongs to them

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Summary: Winter Break for the College Sophomores of the Learning French Series.
A time to reconnect with family and friends.
To those who have asked about the previous chapter, Quinn moved so quickly to forgive her father because she, like so many children who are estranged from one…let alone two…they are often desperate for their parent's to provide them with the love parents are supposed to give. She really wanted to believe that he loved her. And the thing was that Russell did love his daughters. His remorse was real and he was truly, really, completely sorry for his actions. He took full responsibility for his actions and made sure that she was absolved of any and all shame or guilt. She needed that. She will never trust him again or put him in a position where he could hurt her again…but she does want and need his love.

Al Hanisim

Tina PoV

Life with Mike was a completely different animal after we had our big blowout. DJ and Nevel were really happy with all the improvements that Mike had made for us because they made him a much better roommate too. The bossest thing was that since we'd all already had all the money in place for campus housing before we'd realized that we wouldn't need it, we each got a big refund from the comptroller's office a few weeks after classes started. It was enough to pay our rent and utilities for the whole semester. Rather than possibly, accidentally spending it or something, I'd sent in four months' rent and paid enough extra on the water bill to put us three months of average usage ahead. I also took a small portion and sent it in to my student loan vendor to get ahead of paying back the loans I had. Besides it was just common sense not to keep the entire surplus just to have to repay it all plus interest later. Since we'd stayed in Cali over the summer, we made it our business to go home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. For Thanksgiving, we flew into Dayton Tuesday evening and came back on Sunday morning.

For Christmas break, we took our exams as soon as we could, had a great cleaning party with DJ, Kimmy, Nevel and his current squeeze Connor, a tall, thin, pretty, Amer-Asian guy with hair even I was jealous of; then we loaded up Mike's Leaf and made the long drive home. We made three overnight stops, spending the last night in Dayton rather than Lima as we'd done the year before. Mike and I didn't have the only relationship in his life that was greatly improved after that summer. He and his father had finally made it past their animosity to see the love they had for each other. It was a nice feeling to hear them talking to each other on weekly calls and finding common ground. Mike finally understood that his father wanted him to achieve the dreams his grandfather had held for his father and the fact that Mike was gifted in ways that Michael had not been had made Michael sure that those dreams would finally be realized. Michael hadn't even considered that Mike may not have had the same dream until it was almost too late for their relationship. But they both now understood the other's positions and they had gained back the respect that had been lost. It did help that Mike had stopped being a fence sitting little shit about things and stood firm instead.

Over the break I found it kind of strange to have so very much free time. With us not living in the dorms and having spent the summer going to classes, studying and working, we'd tested ourselves by keeping our jobs into the semester. It took time management skills and dedication, but at midterms we'd all had high grades. Granted, Nevel and I couldn't touch Mike and DJ's over achiever grades. But not one of us had a B or lower so we were feeling pretty happy and proud. So we continued to work straight through, amazingly enough, our retail jobs had no problems with us taking the holidays to go home. I was scheduled to start back at B-G a couple of days after classes started back in January. I'd been able to save up enough and with my discount, I had actually managed to afford to get Mike something very special for Christmas. A holiday which we'd be celebrating a few days early.

My parents had hosted 'Christmas' the year before, which meant that it was my Aunt Gladys' turn to host at her home in St. Louis. Since we were leaving the evening of the twenty-third and not returning until the day after Christmas, Mike and I were going to spend the twenty-second together. The parents were really happy because it meant we'd get to celebrate the last two nights of Hanukkah with the family. It was didn't usually happen that the two holidays overlapped so closely. Mike was planning something big for our date, though it to be honest, he wasn't the only one. Mike and I had been home for about a week. We'd caught up with Quinn and Finn and Lauren and Vince. We'd had time with our parents and with each other. Mike had played basketball with Finn, Vince, Adams and Jake while Tessa, Lauren and I had let RJC and Quinn drive us insane at the mall. It had been a great week. We'd even met some of the underclassmen who'd joined the New Directions in our absence. I found that I really enjoyed getting to know Roderick probably the best. He and I sang a song together at the bowling alley's karaoke station. His voice was perfect for singing Hozier. He was a nice guy, and Hell was going to have a ton of fun with him. At one point in the evening, she managed to corner him in a dark corner of the bowling alley and I'm pretty she'd gotten him to second base before the end of the night. That was good because as I understood it…their choirmates were really close to locking the two of them in a closet until he got the point that Helena wanted to ride him like a stallion. They were totally my second runner up young Directions OTP. My first runner up place went to Alistair and Spencer. Sorry but I loved the slash. Though even they weren't my ultimate I want them together always OTP. From the second Tessa had told me that she and Joe were getting serious, I knew in my heart of hearts that they were destined for me to root for until they got married and had very religious, but pretty apathetic younglings.

Mike completely agreed with me on the whole Hartman ship…he had no opinion on Alicer and he completely disagreed with me on Helerick. He thought that Roderick and Helena would just be temporary couple not something long lasted. He'd spent karaoke talking with Jake about engineering and what kinds of grades he'd need to pull in order to get into the schools that offered the architectural engineering major and a had good business school. Jake was hoping to stick with with the same school Tessa went to, or schools in Atlanta or New York. He had taken the very mature view point of sticking with cities where he had family who could help him stay on track. He hadn't found his person yet, so college for him could be a veritable smorgasbord that had the probability of getting a little too wild and crazy. Still, Jake was a New Direction and the sibling of one of the originals…he could go to school near any of Commune's classmates and we'd all watch out for him. He was one of ours.

The weekend before Christmas we were invited to join the crew celebrating New Year's Eve in a super swanky club in Manhattan. I was in before Mike could even text me to see if I was in. I mean, the trip wouldn't really cost us much. Given the short notice, Cedes and her boys were handling our airfare and we would be staying with them. We would only be there for four maybe five days which would still give us a few more days with our parents before we had to drive back to Cali. It was a once in a life time experience and we were totally going. I had the perfect dress for it. Well, I would once I got to the B-G's flagship store. I was kind of excited about it. Once everything was all hashed out, Mike texted me about our couple Christmas celebration. "I'll pick you up Tuesday at twelve. We'll have lunch at that RayRay's place Lauren and Finn took us all to when we were in Columbus to record the Toys4Tots song…then we'll explore the Town Center after we check into our hotel. We have dinner reservations at eight, not gonna tell you where but dress up. We're going to be posh."

"Will you be addressing me with an accent?" I teased. We'd seen a guy at Uncle Jesse's club that had an awesome song that we just kept quoting whenever we could work the lyrics into our conversation.

"Maybe. Anyway…smart ass. You have a fabulous ass Tee-Baby. ANYWAY…Make sure that you are all packed for your trip to your aunt's. You won't have time to pack by the time I bring you home." He warned.

Mike thought of everything. He was exactly on time and we chatted and laughed the whole drive to Columbus. Lunch was just as good as it had been with the entire crew plus some, if a whole lot quieter. We talked about the coming trip to Manhattan and the upcoming holiday itself. It was a great lunch. Then we went and checked into the Courtyard Marriot at the Easton Town Center. Mike had gotten us a king room and it was really nice. I kind of wanted to just make love, but Mike was on some shit about going out and looking around at the cool stores and seeing what we could day dream about getting and people watching. I did have to admit we had a blast making up back stories for the people we saw. We were strolling through the mall while they were all running around like maniacs. It was kind of hilarious. We got back to our room a little after five thirty and we sat on the bed making out just because we could until we needed to get ready.

I'd not had much direction on where we were going or anything beyond 'wear something nice' so I'd gone with a great Joie little black dress. In deference to the season, it was a sweater dress with long sleeves and a slouchy, cowl boat neckline. The dress screamed money, but I'd gotten it on sale and with my discount, so I'd paid less than a hundred bucks for a four-hundred-dollar designer dress. I paired the dress with a pair of Nine West heeled booties that Santana had found for me during the shopping spree I'd won the summer before freshman year. The ankle boots were gorgeous, black leather, with more leather overlaid to make a pretty pattern at the sides and a little silver buckle for just a little bit of shiny. After I took a shower, I rodded my hair for waves and volume. Then I took care with my makeup. I wanted to look sophisticated and mature not caked on or overdone. I'd learned tons of tricks every time we went somewhere with Cedes and had our faces done by professionals. I even learned a few that made my eyes pop. I used every one I could remember that night. In the end I was really pleased with the result. A little shimmer to open up my eyes, a barely pink cheek and a ruby red lip and I was looking incredible, if I did say so myself.

Once I was done with my makeup, including the setting spray and the wait on it to dry, I went out to my bags and let Mike have the shower. Only then did I ditch the robe and pull on the blue Natori feathers lace long line bra, matching garter belt, panties and some seriously sheer, silky black thigh high stockings. A pair of black footie socks were added before I pulled on my booties. I donned the jersey dress and as Mike came out and got dressed I took my curlers out and finger combed my tresses before running a wide bore brush through them. I released my bangs and brushed those carefully to bump them under. I looked great but there was still something missing. I dug through my makeup back to find the earrings I'd brought with me. The blue and silver Sorrelli Swarovski crystal graduated drop earrings were lovely, they brought my favorite color into my outfit and they were perfect. I added my silver ladies' dress watch and of course I was wearing the Claddagh ring Mike had given me the year before.

Even having started after me, Mike still finished dressing first. But I guess it was a normal thing. The only guy I knew who took longer to get dressed than his girlfriend was Finn. Lauren was pretty sure it was because he masturbated in the shower to try for more control later in the evening, but still the point stood. He looked great in a pair of charcoal slacks, a navy blue dress shirt and an almost black sports coat. I grabbed my evening purse, where I'd stashed Mike's gift and I shoved my phone, lipstick and wallet inside and I was ready to go. The walk was nice…brisk but fortunately not too long. My black pea coat was warm, but it wasn't any longer than my dress, my legs got cold pretty quickly. I would definitely be taking the long Michael Kors wool and cashmere coat I'd gotten at the outlet store the summer before college with me to New York. We arrived at Mitchell Ocean Club a few minutes before our reservation and were seated after only a short wait. The restaurant was really nice and as Mike had warned it was pretty posh.

For our appetizer, Mike and I shared a nicely done tuna roll. California had taught us to appreciate sushi and their spicy tuna, avocado and cucumber nori wrapped offering was much better than I was expecting to find in Ohio. For the soup or salad course both Mike and I went with the soup. My lobster bisque was a-mah-zing. But I had to give credit, Mike's French Onion…topped with aged Swiss cheese was just a little bit better. Since I didn't know how much Mike was wanting to spend and the prices were pretty ridiculously high for a couple of college students, I suggested that he order for me when it came to our entrees. I was happy when he ordered us the twin lobster tails to share. The entrée came with asparagus, which Mike substituted roasted Brussels sprouts for, and drawn butter. He added another side of steamed broccoli and we were both well pleased with our meal. I was a little surprised when he told, Ben, our waiter that we'd be having dessert and ordered me their warm butter cake which was served with fresh berries, vanilla ice cream and drizzled with a delicious raspberry sauce. He got himself the blueberry lemon cheesecake. As we shared our confections, Mike kept reaching into his pocket.

I put my fork down and grabbed my purse. I took the carefully wrapped ring case from the dark recesses and sat it on the table. "Michael Chang, Jr. I love you. I have only grown in that love for you as I've watched you grow and mature into the amazing young man that is sitting across the table from me in this ridiculously expensive restaurant. I hope to continue to grow in that love for years and years to come. You are one of my best friends. You hold my heart and I cannot put into words how much I pray that you'll accept this gift as a token of my esteem for you and as a promise that one day the Chang in my last name will represent your family rather than the family that gave me to Mom and Dad to love and cherish."

Mike's smile was blinding. "I should be mad because you completely stole my thunder." He said as he pulled out a beautiful diamond engagement ring. I squeaked loudly as my eyes locked on it. It was completely different from any ring I'd ever seen before. There were flowers and leaves making up the band. The leaves seeming to make small infinity symbols and the flowers were dotted with tiny, pave diamonds at the centers. There was a swirl of pave diamonds around what seemed to be a half or three quarters carat bright and shiny, glowing ball of diamond light that was acting as the center stone. "I love you Tina. When I'm perfectly honest with myself, I know that I've loved you since I watched you dancing next to me when Mr. Schue was teaching us how to do the moves for that old Vanilla Ice song." I gasped. That was before I'd even started dating Artie. I didn't think Mike had even noticed me that early in our relationship. He nodded and continued. "I remember it like it was yesterday. You were wearing those red leggings and your black boots and you had purply red streaks in your hair. You were beautiful and joy filled and just a gothic little Asian angel. You were strong in ways that I just wasn't even with your shyness. I hid mine behind being a football player and you owned yours. Even if that meant making it even worse. At least you were true to who you were, I just kept trying to be who others wanted me to be. I knew then that you were my one. You were my person. You are the other half of my soul. I look in your eyes and I see my future. You've taught me to be strong. You've supported me when I wasn't. You've taught me the beauty in vulnerability. So…will you be my wife in truth not just in spirit?"

"Gods yes, Mike." I held out a shaky hand and he removed my Claddagh and replaced it with the beautiful engagement ring. It fit perfectly. I smiled as I pushed the Claddagh onto my right ring finger with the heart pointed towards my wrist. I was definitely in a deeply committed relationship. When Mike got his gift unwrapped and opened. He let me put it on his left ring finger. The black titanium and sterling silver ring had a deep channel in which sat two rows of pave white sapphires all the way around the band. The top of the band was sculpted to have recessed 'vines' all around it too. It was masculine and yet gorgeous. I don't even know when Ben came back and wrapped up our desserts for us to take with us, but he had the bill waiting on Mike when we broke the kiss we'd shared to seal our engagement. He was quick an efficient in getting the bill and his tip settled and Mike and I bundled up and out the door. I noticed several of those tables nearest us smiling and giving us thumbs up and otherwise reminding us that we'd just gotten engaged.

I didn't feel the cold at all as we hurried back to our hotel room. The second we were locked behind that door, Mike hefted me up against it, bared his cock and was deep inside me. I was wet and welcoming of his hard thrusting. Our kisses grew even more frantic as our dessert bag banged against his back and my own made repeated contact with the hotel room door. I'd never felt such a strong orgasm without foreplay before. I came with a long loud keening cry of completion that couldn't even be drowned out by Mike's accompanying roar. However as deliciously strong as those orgasms had been, neither of us was satisfied. Mike stripped me down to my garter belt, stockings and boots before divesting himself of his clothing and moving to join me in the king sized bed. Our lovemaking was frenetic and passionate. It was loving and it was glorious. It was also interrupted twice by hotel security. Thankfully once we explained and I showed them my engagement ring, each of the guards were satisfied that we were old enough and everything was consensual. Apparently, our neighbors were sure that my screams meant that I was being killed not pleasured. I didn't actually manage to get completely undressed until the wee hours of the morning. Then it was to celebrate our engagement again with shower sex.

The next morning, we actually made the continental breakfast, then headed back to our room for one last celebration. We showered, dressed and made checkout by the skin of our teeth. Which put us back in Lima in just enough time for me to throw my overnight bag into my room, grab my carryon bag for the flight to St. Louis and us to share the news with our parents. I was a little surprised to see the Changs waiting with my parents. But Mike had, wisely, asked them to come over so we could share some news. Mike and I both held out our left hands to show off our rings, which actually went amazingly well together given they had been picked out completely separately. "We asked each other to marry us and we both said yes." We told them in concert.

There was a little relief, though come to find out that was because with the two rings, for a second all four of our parents had thought we'd eloped. Then happiness crossed their faces. I had to admit to my own sense of relief then that both Julia and Michael Senior looked happy with Mike's choice. I think that the last two years when we'd all seen each other's love for the other and since we'd begun to really treat each other's parents with the same respect we gave our own, the parents were more secure in the maturity of us and our relationship. We were ready for this level of commitment and they were as sure of that as we were. To be honest, I was pretty sure that if my mother and I weren't leaving ten minutes later, she and Julia would have started wedding planning immediately. Even though Mike and I were still at the basking in our happy engaged-ness stage. Besides, we'd totally need some time to save up for the wedding of my dreams. And I'd need time to get Julia to the point that she could handle the wedding dress I'd probably pick.

After the happy news, we were in such a rush to get to the airport that Mike actually ended up driving us in Mom's CR-V. I think Dad fell in love with my fiancé himself for saving him so much in airport parking fees. As soon as we got to Aunt Gladys' house, I showed Rita my ring and she immediately called dibs for my matron of honor and for a flower girl spot for her little Jasmine. Which meant that I would end up with at least two flower girls, because I was already thinking of asking Shelby, Que and Cedes if Beth could be in the wedding. By the time the wedding came around, Nikki would be too old to be a flower girl. Maybe she could be a really young junior bridesmaid. I shook those thoughts off and just enjoyed the holiday with my family. We had a blast and Jazz loved her little LeapFrog play pad I'd gotten her. Rita loved the Bergdorf-Goodman gift card I'd gotten her. The best thing was that we were allowed to buy those with our employee discount too.

Rita never actually bought me anything unless I was there to try things on. Which I guess made sense our body types were very different. She was pretty tall and really thin. She had an amazing eye for color and she loved fashion, but until she saw me in the clothes, she couldn't figure out which pieces would skate the 'sexy' line and which pieces would tip into inappropriate because I had curves she just didn't have. So she had me up at six to hit Plaza Frontenac. After I told her about the coming group trip to Provocateur she'd decided that as her gift to me that Christmas, she was going to get me a really tricked out outfit for New Year's Eve. She worked in Neiman Marcus corporate, which was technically BG's parent company. According to her I wouldn't be able to use my discount at Neiman Marcus, but it didn't really matter. Hers was a hell of a lot better than mine, anyway. Still it wasn't enough to bring the first dress that she saw that she swore was perfect for me, an Etro floral-print slip dress and button-front long cardigan that had pretty colors, but mainly red and blue in the black of the background into our price range. The whole outfit cost more than I would probably spend on my wedding dress.

She literally built a whole look in her mind. Down to the accessories. Since that wasn't meant to be, she and I started to look a shorter dresses in black or black and red…Rita put the kibosh on blue dresses or black dresses with blue as the primary highlight color. "You wore so much blue from fifth to ninth I started to wonder if you'd been a Smurf in your last life. No Blue!" so we avoided the color all together. After all she was paying. I must have tried on thirty dresses before she took me back to the fifth one I'd tried on. It was a really cool, kind of funky, little bit retro Halston Heritage metallic jacquard black, mini dress with a really cool halter top and a kind of lower back. I didn't have the right shoes for that dress. Like at all. Okay, well I did, but we found this great garnet red, satin, Michael Kors clutch that was on a really awesome sale and I decided that given the retro vibe of the dress, I'd do the whole matching shoes and purse thing. I didn't find any that I liked at Neiman…so we tabled the shoe discussion and I grabbed a great set of silver bracelets. I paid for those myself. We checked out and I assured Rita that I would have time to find the last few pieces with the girls. I was really happy with our finds, and the 'day after Christmas' sale we'd been able to take advantage of plus Rita's discount. I decided to treat Rita to lunch.

We quickly decided on the St. Louis Bread Company…which was actually just a Panera. We placed our orders. Both of us got the 'you pick two' with a soup and a panini. Rita got the vegetarian creamy tomato soup and the roasted turkey and caramelized kale panini while I went with the low-fat vegetarian garden vegetable soup with pesto and the frontega chicken panini. When we took our seats to wait on the food, Rita gave me a really weird look, "so, marriage at twenty, you sure you're ready for that?" she asked me and again I found her tone of voice to be strange.

"Well, I'll be twenty-two or twenty-three before I get to the actual wedding thing. Besides, Mike is my swan. We're it for each other." I gave her a long assessing look. "You're always been my staunchest supporter in my relationship with Mike. What's up?"

My beautiful cousin shrugged and started to tear up a napkin. "I still am…I guess." She stammered. "You can see that there is some tension between me and Jeremy. You know how long we tried to get pregnant and how long the adoption process was supposed to take. Then we ended up with Jazz a lot sooner than we thought it was going to be. Turns out that he liked the idea of having a child but the actual truth of having one is more than he was ready for. His answer to that is that he is pretty much not changing his life at all. I had to do everything to pick out the things for her nursery. He hasn't changed a diaper. He still works sixty hour weeks. The only thing he is willing to do is he will help me get her ready in the mornings. But even though the daycare center is on his way to work and out of my way, I have to take her every morning. I had to do all the Hanukkah shopping and Christmas is his holiday technically. But I had to go and get her something for Christmas too."

I nodded. "Yeah, but Jeremy's always been a selfish douche." I said bluntly. I'd never really liked him. He wasn't a bad person, per se, he just had many more moments of selfishness than I was comfortable with. "You said it before you ever got married. 'Jeremy is a really sweet guy, he just doesn't always put me first'. You were really sure that once he was a husband, he would change. Remember what I said to that?"

"You said that if I loved him…I'd need to accept that he was who he was and love him for that because people don't change unless they want to." She sighed. "I guess I thought that he would want to change."

I shrugged. Before I could say anything, our number was called. I went and grabbed the food while it tried to figure out how to nicely say what I wanted to say. I still hadn't figured it out by the time I had everything set out. "Yeah, so why would he need to change? It sounds like you're allowing the selfishness…the lack of parental assistance. He's been getting away with not treating you like you matter for years. Remember when he went on that weekend vacation with his brothers and didn't even ask you beforehand if you minded…he missed your birthday. If you didn't explain to him that things needed to be different then, why would he change now? A very wise woman told me that 'relationships are a balance of respect, trust and love…you remove any one of those, and the other two are not going to be enough to fully sustain it'. He claims to love you. We both know that he can trust you…but he doesn't respect you. You have a choice now. You need to make him learn to respect you. Or decide if you're done."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" she asked quietly.

I smirked. "We could always see if Gabe will come up from at Atlanta and put the fear of God into his ass." I said referring to our third cousin who was a six foot seven left tackle with the Atlanta Falcons.

Rita laughed. "He just might. When I had to go down there for work, I took Jazz with me because we were staying at his house and he told me to bring her. I swear he took care of her whenever I was in meetings or whatever. He is gonna make some girl a great husband."

"Yeah well, he was raised right." I giggled thinking of Sam's love of that phrase. "You just need to sit Jeremy down and let him know how you are feeling. If he cares he'll listen. Mike and I went through a serious rough patch over the summer. He was taking me for granted and not respecting and appreciating me." I gave her the whole story. I admitted to my own shortcomings…one of which was not saying anything when things were really bothering me until I was full on pissed. "So he's just living his life the way he wants to. Maybe he doesn't even realize that you want and need more from him than he is giving you now."

She looked over at me with a big, if wry, smile on her face. "You know, I'm the elder cousin. You're supposed to be coming to me for boy and relationship advice."

I shrugged. "I guess I just have that Asian wisdom thing going for me." I shot back.

Rita rolled her eyes. "Please…being genetically Asian doesn't mean you have inherited the cultural wisdom. I'm genetically Jewish…am I automatically good with money?" she stopped and shook her head. "Okay, maybe that wasn't the best example." We shared a long laugh. Then we realized how late it was getting and we rushed to get me back to Aunt Gladys' house so Mom, Dad and I could make our plane. Mike was waiting for us at the arrivals gate and he drove us home…I don't know who wanted to kiss him more…me or my dad. Daddy hated highway driving. It bugged him that people drove so fast and merged or changed lanes without their signals and everything. Nothing bothered Mike and he was a great driver too.

We got home with enough time to change and grab something from the only Jewish Bakery in Allen County before hitting the Wyndham for our New Directions Holiday Pot Luck Extravaganza. It was a blast. Me and Mike weren't even the only people there sporting some serious new hand jewelry. I was glad for everyone. Which kind of made me feel bad that I hadn't been as happy for Cedes as I should have been. It wasn't that I was jealous of her relationship or anything crazy like that. It was just that Mike and I had been together a lot longer than they had. I wanted that level of just automatic, visible commitment. Now that I had it, I was happier than I ever thought possible. Of course, we couldn't have a New Direction gathering and not sing. So when I got the mic I dedicated my song to all the love we all shared and our respective maturing relationships. Then I belted out Natalie Cole's 'Everlasting Love'. I loved happy love songs. I may have cried…but I finished singing so I counted that as growth. Then Santana dragged me back up a little while later to sing with her. It was absolutely perfect, until Mercedes and Unique got up and sang their asses off. Oh well, that's why KAMA's already getting written up in Forbes rather than just Entertainment Weekly.

Sunday, I don't think I rolled over until like three that afternoon. My mother, however, she wasn't just up, she had gone out and gotten every bridal or wedding planning magazine that she could find anywhere in the tri-state area. When I finally got up, brushed my teeth and headed downstairs, I found her sitting in the den, with her laptop open on the coffee table trying to create a 'definitive planning list'. "Mom…I'm so positive that Mike would definitely agree with me when I say that we are not getting married for at least two years."

"I know…But…I…look at all the pretty dresses, Tina. I have to know what things cost so I can begin to plan. And I have to plan so I can save up enough to get you 'the dress'." she gave me a huge smile and patted the couch next to her. I was surprised to see that she had googled 'designer red wedding dresses'. My mom was an awesome mom.

I sighed and went for a distraction. "So, what do you and Daddy have planned for New Year's Eve?"

Mom shrugged. "Well, we don't really have much planned. Probably relax at home. Though, your friend Blaine's parents did invite us to a party at the Shawnee Country Club."

"You guys should go. You won't have work the next day. You never get out all that much and Blaine is awesome, so I'm sure that his parents are cool too."

"Oh, I don't know. What would I even wear?" she sighed.

I rolled my eyes. "You can either wear the dress I wore to Cedes, Sam and Puck's record release party or you could wear that really cute…" I stopped myself. Mom definitely couldn't wear the dress I'd worn the night Mike and I got engaged. I thought quickly. "Have you worn that teal dress I got you for your birthday last year…the one with all the ruching and the cowl back neckline?"

Turned out she didn't she and I had a blast going through her closet and finding the perfect shoes and accessories to complete the outfit. Of course, our conversation as we looked led to my admitting that I didn't have all I needed to go to Provocateur. So I showed her the dress and the purse and she laughed. "You are going to love me." She dragged me back to her room. Digging through her closet she pulled out the small safe in the very back hidden behind the dirty clothes hamper and a tower of shoe boxes. she opened it with a deft hand and soon she was holding up a diamond and ruby heart within a diamond heart necklace. "Gladys gave me this when she won that really big bingo night a few years back. When I was in Miami at that conference, I found these." She reached back into the recesses of the safe and pulled out a pair of sterling silver threader earrings with good sized ruby drops. "You can borrow these, take a picture and show your Aunt Gladys that I still have it, will you? She'll love that. Anyway, you can borrow those and all you'll need is some shoes."

"Well, I already loved you…but you're right. I love you." I laughed merrily.

The rest of the day flew by. Mom and Dad both had to work Monday and Mike and his mom were spending the day together which was totes adorbs. I had a great idea. After a quick texting session with Cedes, I called her favorite colorist, Lamar, and he was cool with working me in. I left his chair with great honey blond highlights and the softest, most manageable hair I'd had since the last time I went to that spa in New York that Cedes loved so much. We had a great time laughing and chatting while he worked. And I, finally, knew how Cedes always had the best gossip.

Tuesday, I woke up early enough to have breakfast with my parents. My dad had a half day that day and Mom was doing a telecommute day. Since she didn't have to get dressed for real, she always started those days early. Around lunch time, all the New Directions in our graduating class and Vince's sister Netta met up at the Hudson-Hummel home. From there a car service took us and our luggage to the airport in Dayton. The flight to Manhattan was cool. The whole thing was perfectly timed too, because as soon as we got to baggage claim, there was James with his bag. "Peaches." He shouted happily then he and Queen Que started making like it was VE-Day. It was really cute. It was only then that we saw the sign that said 'New Directions'. Yup, another car service took us to the brownstone in Harlem. Bartana were waiting on us since Cedes, Puck and Sam were doing some family stuff all day. Our time in New York flew by. I went back to that great spa and I'd hit the Bergdorf flagship store and found a cute pair of red suede heels on sale. I was being all fiscally responsible. Until someone, a short, thick, Grammy nominated vocalist, had a word with the shoe lady. Next thing I knew I was trying on a pair of ruby red, suede Louboutin pumps with suede flames that licked adorably at my ankle. I swear, Puck is a Cedes bidding doing ninja. After I finished playing 'richie bitch' in the designer shoes that felt amazing, I put them back in the box intending to have them taken back into the back. By the time I'd gotten my shoes back on and turned to get the box with the shoes I could actually afford, Puck was handing me a bag with the Louboutins inside. Mercedes just gave me a smile that was totally superior. "He's already destroyed the receipt too." She chuckled. "Guess you'll have to keep them."

I kept them. I thanked her profusely and I kept the shoes. My mom had definitely not raised a fool. That night I rocked those high class heels, I rocked my designer dress and my real precious gemstone earrings and necklace and my engagement ring and my much less expensive bracelets that still looked awesome and I had the best New Year's Eve I'd ever had. I got selfies with Lil Wayne and Drake, and I think I even got hit on by the rapper with the ridiculously long locs. I had Dom Perignon after kissing Mike at midnight. It was totally awesome, a night most people only ever dream of experiencing.

The next morning, when we finally all got up, Mercedes, Sam and Puck pulled Mike and me into their study. "Were you two planning to take classes again next summer?" Cedes asked as soon as the door closed.

"I don't know that I've decided yet. I mean it would be easy to stay in Cali since I already have a job. But nothing is set in stone. Why?" I answered her question with indecision and another question.

"Because if we do the size tour they are talking about us doing…then we're going to need more backup dancers and backup singers. At least another two singers and a full six more dancers." She told me with a grin.

Sam took over from there though we both knew where he was going from there. "We'd like to offer you each a position with us. Tina…we already know how beautiful your and Mercedes voices are together…especially when you add in Santana. Mike…we know that you could be a pro now…but we'll settle for just the summer…maybe next summer after this coming one too."

"Yeah, just guessing, but probably that may be Europe or something then." Puck shrugged. "You'd make twenty-eight thou for the summer. You ain't gonna get that working retail in a year yet alone a summer. Plus you don't have to pay rent for the three months you're on tour with us."

"We'd put you two with Artie, Santana, Brittany and Darcy when she meets us places. She won't be traveling with us full time." Cedes told us, I think to sweeten the pot. "Look, talk it over, talk to your parents. If the answer is yes, then we'll do the paper work between now and the start of the tour. Your quarter ends before our semester anyway…so if you decide to do it you should be golden."

I wanted to say yes so badly. But I couldn't without talking it over with Mom and Dad and Mike would have to get his parents okay but I really wanted to do it. "I want to do it. I can't say yes yet. But I can say that if my parents are okay with it…then yeah. I'm in."

Mike gave me a huge hug. "Oh thank God. Me too. I mean, we all know that I'm going to have to spent the next six months convincing my father that this is a good thing…but I'm all in if I can manage that."

We were all actually really happy when we headed back out to our friends. The rest of the first day of the new year, we spent chilling around the brownstone, spoiling Nikki and Beth like crazy. On the second we flew home then a few days later, Mike and I drove back to our apartment in California. Two thousand fourteen had been an exemplary year. And call me crazy, but I couldn't help but think that twenty-fifteen was going to be even better.

Saul PoV

I never thought I was going to be That Uncle. Everyone knew That Uncle. He was the guy who didn't have any kids of his own but bragged on his nieces and nephews so much that everyone who knew him got sick of his crowing. Now don't get me wrong I much preferred being That Uncle to being one of those pet people who call their pets their kids and act like actual parents who are proud of their children are missing the entire point and should care more about their animals than their kids…the kind of people that have those 'my –insert pet species here- is smarter than your honor student' bumper stickers. I wasn't a big fan of those people. Kids worked hard to get their parents those honor student stickers. It seemed really fucked up to piss all over that accomplishment for something whose greatest achievement was usually not eating their own feces at worst and being potty trained at best. In those cases, I actually preferred the pets to the owners. The pets were usually less assholey.

Still I had become That Uncle and I just didn't give a rat's ass if me being proud of my platinum selling nephew and his heart's homes or my being proud of my nephews and nieces who were graduating with Masters and doctorates or my niece who was entering the last semester of her senior year in the top five percent of her graduating class. Personally, I felt that the thirteen, no fifteen…Nikki and Beth totally counted…nieces and nephews I had were well worth crowing about. But I wasn't just That Uncle, I was also That Husband, Brother, Son and I was seriously contemplating becoming That Father too. But I wanted my Mills to myself for at least another year or so before we took that step. Though considering her age, we had at least five to seven years to have kids. Which was why I may well end up making the decision to wait until I'd stepped out on my own and built my business before we took that step. When Mills and I laid out these plans, I had no way to know that by the end of twenty fourteen, I would have enough clients who would follow me if I left the firm and they each had large enough portfolios to make it feasible and even more, profitable.

I was happy. Life kept throwing shit into my family's way…but they seemed to weather each and every shit storm. So I was really very happy. There had been an article in The Real Deal about Mills and Francesca's firm. The article was glowing about their business acumen and spoke about how the firm worked with KAMA and was one of the smallest in Manhattan and yet had one of the most profitable years on record for a business of their size. Since the article hit, Mills and Franny had been running around nonstop. Their appointment blockss were literally booked up all the way through the fifteenth of March. All the extra business had been great for us. She'd poured a large portion of the profits back into their business and opened a special savings account that she smiled happily about whenever I tried to persuade her to tell me what she had planned for that money. Franny was using a part of her share to build the business as well, but what she was doing with the rest was planning an obnoxiously ostentatious wedding. She'd booked the Plaza the same night Neil had proposed and she'd still had to wait until April twenty sixteen for a Friday date. She was planning such a big to do that she and Neil were paying for everything and her mother, who'd been saving for her daughter's wedding since the doctor had said it's a girl was just going to buy Franny's, Mills', Maddie's and Nadia's dresses. According to Mills, she'd still have plenty left over so Franny's mom was definitely not complaining. Which was good because she was the only person involved in the wedding who was completely happy. Mills, Maddie and Nadia were getting frustrated about the fact that Franny was determined to make them wear a dark pinky coral color called Guava when they all actually wanted a different shade of peach color called Bellini. I pointed out that they should have been happy because they had talked her out of her mother's suggestion of getting a color no one could possibly look good in because her friends were all so beautiful, that would be the best way to ensure that Franny looked better than them. Besides, she had changed her mind on the color a million times and would probably do so again before they actually had to order them.

But there was plenty of time to deal with all of that. We enjoyed spending Hanukkah with Mom and the kids on the first night, then Mom, Mills and I did Hanukkah with Neil and his family for the second night. Then just the three of us the third night. The fourth we were with the whole big clan in Michigan for the Graduation so we celebrated it with the whole family for the rest of the holiday. That was nice. We really had a great time. There were plenty of kids to spoil. There was a sense of family and comradery that was irreplaceable. It was a perfect holiday. The world around us sucked ass and after my nephews' altercation with the security guards at the Lima Mall and the Kay Jeweler's racist store clerk, I unloaded all Signet Jewelers stock from all of my client's portfolio and spread the word to all the financial advisors of color as to why. With that and the fact that the story of what had happened to 'KAMA's brothers' had not only gone viral, but was supported by anecdotal testimonials of many, many others…by the time the markets opened back up on Boxing Day, the British company's stock had plummeted across the board.

While Mills and I were both using large amounts of Jake's bandwidth checking our professional emails, I was surprised to get a message from Xena Garrison. The background singer was one of the members of KAMA's band that had availed themselves of my expertise and she was building a very nice retirement portfolio. She also had the most colorful background of all of the members of the kids' entourage. Apparently, she was doing some gambling over the break with some friends in Vegas and one of them had hit a huge slot payout. I personally didn't play the slots, they relied too heavily on luck for me. I preferred games of skill. But it was undeniable that if you hit one of the mega machines, you could win millions. Xena's friend had won almost thirty million. I gave her a very quick outline as to the investment strategy I would love to see her utilize. The statuesque singer shot me back a business plan for the single most interesting proposition I'd even seen. I enthusiastically revamped the structure of the investment scheme to allow the woman to move on her business venture and to invest her own funds for her retirement. They must have approved of my ideas, because Xena made an appointment for her and her friend to see me when everyone was back in the city. I couldn't wait to get my hands on her friend…I was going to triple that original deposit in the next two years…I was sure of it.

However as much of a letdown with the state of humanity as the whole Kay Jeweler's bullshit had been, we didn't let that stop us from having a great holiday. Christmas wasn't something I just had to celebrate. Most years growing up, we hadn't bothered with even the most secular aspects of the Christian holiday. But Mills had some amazing memories of the holiday so we celebrated it with our family. Not that it was a hardship. We got some great gifts. Apparently where for Hanukkah, you mainly gave to charity for adults, at Christmas everyone cleaned up. Now, granted the adults got fewer gifts than the kids…but the gifts were of much higher quality. They were all very thoughtful. I appreciated the stun gun phone case Devon got for Mills, even if it was technically illegal in New York. I liked the idea of her having more than just pepper spray if things got dicey when she was showing properties. I loved the antique Russian silver Torah pointer that Mom had gotten me. It was a gorgeous piece of Jewish history. I loved the crystal decanter set, it was something I'd wanted for a long time, but hadn't put forth the effort to find one that I liked. But my favorite gifts actually cost a lot less. Stevie had given me some gift cards for Starbucks…because he "wasn't sure which kind of coffee was good, but that one has to be, because they're everywhere". Nikki had gotten me a mini fridge that looked like a Coca-Cola vending machine, "I thought you could put it in your office…Bubbie says she's sure that you don't drink enough water to combat all the coffee you drink. So you can fill it with water and not have to go far for it and make her happy." The gift itself was thoughtful, but the best part was the look of sheer embarrassment on Mom's face. Yup, as Gabby is always saying 'lil pitchers have big ears'. But all the gifts were wonderful and thoughtful. I wondered if I put a bug in Noah's ear would he and his loves be up to getting me a Porsche the following holiday season. It could be all eight nights of Hanukkah and Christmas all rolled into one.

Dinner was absolutely amazing. Mom had done a great job stocking the wine fridge and getting the kids' wine cellar started. The pairings she'd come up with for the dinner itself were awe inspiring. The food was even more amazing than it had been the year before, if that was possible. Then again Mrs. Mae and Mrs. Rose had gotten into the kitchen with their daughters and granddaughters, so it was more than possible. While most of the family and extended friends played games in the basement, Mills and I tip toed up to Mom's room. The room was gorgeous, a lighter cherry hardwood floor, a really nice reading nook with a built-in bookshelf and a chaise lounge, and a private balcony with brown wrought iron patio furniture. The furniture in the room was super dark and really rather modern when compared to the feminine lines and very light upholstery of the soft pieces. It was clear to see that someone had made sure that the room would represent all of my mother's personality and not just a few superficial traits. The bed was nice and soft and she'd made it, so we'd napped on it. Mills teased me about getting the itis, but the food had been great and it was worth it.

Even better than dinner itself had been the desserts. There were cakes and pies and cookies and fruit and crème anglaise trifles. To be honest, after dessert, I may have needed another nap. But then when we got back to Jake's, he and I changed into some workout clothes and went for a run. That definitely helped. He and I talked during our run. It was a brisk, snowy Lima night…but the air was pretty clean and the scenery as we ran was really pretty. He finally told me that he was only having sex with his one girlfriend, and her friends just hung out with them most of the time for lack of anything better to do. All three girls would be graduating with Tessa so he'd be back on his own the next year. I wondered aloud how he felt about that and he just shrugged. "I don't think that Chase is my forever love any more than I am hers, but it's nice not to have to always be scamming on chicks to get some action when I need it, ya know."

I did know. Sometimes that shit got really old. "I know. It's good that if you aren't with the forever chick, you've found someone you care about who cares about you and has the same needs. I think I kind of, may have dicked a few women over…I never dated them very long…because I knew I wasn't ready to commit. Hell, at the time I didn't think I would ever be ready to commit. Still, there were more women than just Francesca who thought I felt more than I did or thought that I was talking forever when I was only talking about a month or so."

He nodded in understanding. And Jake really did understand. His relationship with Marley hadn't been the same, but he had felt far more for her than she had for him. "I think that Marley is probably like Hudson…she just doesn't understand what that means yet. Cede had Huds give me a call after me and Marley broke up and she explained to me what asexuality was and how it affected those who were born that way. So maybe she just couldn't give me what I needed in a relationship and that wasn't her fault or anything. I wish she wouldn't separate from the rest of us so much…I'd have liked to be her friend at least since, I mean, I can understand her so much better now and everything."

"Yeah, but you know that you cannot control anyone's actions or the choices they make…only your own." I reminded him. We ran the rest of the way talking about everything and nothing at all. It was a really good run. The next morning, we all went back over to the triad's big ass house. Puck had called and asked us to come back over for breakfast. He'd also asked Mills advice on something Mercedes was doing while they were asleep. Apparently, she 'd gone to get them cars to match the ones they'd gotten her. None of the women could make Noah and Sam put aside their feelings of righteous indignation to understand exactly why little Cede was making the move she did. Yeah, they were still overly concerned about her knowing how they cared about her and them not needing anything beyond what she'd already gotten them…until they saw the boss ass cars she'd picked for them. That was all kinds of hilarious.

When we got back to Jake's we helped him clean up the house and I talked him down from packing enough for all the time he'd be in New York. "If you do that, you won't have any room in your bag to bring back the clothes Mom or one of the sisters will see and decide that you just have to have. You saw what happened in Ann Arbor." I advised.

"You know Nikki is freaking out about all the clothes that she will outgrow before she can ever wear them." he told me with a wry smile. To be honest, I kind of understand where she was coming from. She had a full closet at Mom's house and another at Noah's…probably a third one in the kids' Lima house. "I just told her that if it happens she can donate the clothes to a shelter like Sam's and help some other kids who had things a lot worse than we all did."

"That was good advice. You've got a pretty good handle on this whole uncle thing." I teased him.

He just scoffed. "Yeah, I've got the easy stuff. But then she asked me why the shit at the mall had gone down the way it did. I don't know how to explain racism to an eight-year-old kid who doesn't have a mean or hateful bone in her body. Shit, I barely understand it. One of the best things Alicia ever did for me, was make me take a real black history course. They white-wash the hell out of American history in school. And even knowing the history doesn't explain the why."

"Kid, I don't understand the why either." I told him honestly. "One of the guys I went to college with said that it all boiled down to fear of the big black cock. Maybe that's the real reason I don't have any racism in me…my dick's big enough that I don't have to worry about compensating by denigrating and subjugating anybody."

We shared a long laugh…but what could I, a white man who'd never really faced racism, say. I mean, yeah there were the odd anti-Semitics, but they were a lot less prevalent than the anti-black or brown types. Then again, maybe they weren't and it was a lot easier to tell when someone is black or Hispanic than if they are Jewish so it was harder to tell who was anti-Semitic and who wasn't . Jake looked at me and I could tell that he didn't expect me to say anything more. We finished packing and went to the dinner with all his and Noah's classmates from their show choir. It was an evening filled with good food, good company and some really good music. Tana and their Asian friend Tina did a duet of Beyoncé and Lady Gaga's Telephone that was really, really good. But then that Unique girl and Mercedes did a version of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey's 'When You Believe' that blew it completely out the water. Mills recorded it to her phone. "When we get home, remind me to upload that to my hard drive, I'm listening to that always and for freaking ever." She told me later when she played it as she got dressed after her shower.

The next morning came pretty early, but not as early for us as for the kids, they were driving back. As soon as we got home, we locked ourselves in our bedroom until we had no choice but to come up for air. I had to go back to work and so did she. In fact, her first clients that Monday morning were Noah, Cede and Sam's housekeeper and laundry dude. They had set their parameters well. They had a budget that they were very firm on, no more than three grand in rent. They wanted two to three bedrooms. They needed at least two bathrooms. In order to make things easier on themselves they were only looking in a five-mile zone around the brownstones. When she called me at ten to see if I wanted to have lunch together I was shocked. It turned out that they both knew what they wanted and they were in full agreement on it. She'd shown them two places and they immediately decided on the second and that it wasn't necessary to go to anymore. It was a third story walkup in Astoria with three bedrooms and two bathrooms as requested. It had a huge living and dining room, a fully renovated kitchen with all new stainless appliances, and hardwood floors. The two friends had letters from Noah and his loves and their HR man, Ben Zizes that acted as both character references and proof of income they had their deposit together and within an hour had all the paperwork done and the keys in hand. Mills said it was one of the easiest appointments she'd ever had. So, to celebrate we had lunch together in my office…which was, thankfully, soundproof.

My meeting with Xena and her friend Blair after lunch was interesting from the very beginning. Knowing Ms. Lehane's previous professions, I was certainly not expecting her to look as she did. I could easily see why the two young women were able to get away with calling each other sister without being questioned. They both had dark hair and very light eyes, Blair's eyes were a shade of blue so light they were almost the color of ice. The similarities stopped there. Where Xena was at least six feet tall, Blair was only about five three or four. Even more, where Xena would be considered pretty by most people…Blair had a very interesting face. Her wide smile and quick wit ultimately made her pretty, but I'd have never believed that she could have made a living in the sex trade. But then again, her body was nice enough, though she didn't illicit any arousal in me…to each their own. After talking to her, I found myself liking the person in front of me. She was pragmatic in a way people who didn't face as many hard ships as she had…well they had a very hard time understanding her.

Blair was also as loyal to Xena as Xena was to her. So much so that not only did she make Xena the beneficiary of her entire portfolio, with a gentleman named Micah Sierra as their beneficiary if Xena and she die at the same time or in very short order, but she also set aside two million dollars that she wanted invested in index funds under Xena's name. I loved that. So we set it up as a trust to make sure that Xena wouldn't face a huge tax burden but would have the interest available to play with or to roll back into the fund. That still left me eight million dollars to put into those funds for Blair. Another five million went into high yield bonds. Then four million went into stock and other bonds. She'd already put four million into the corporation they'd established to build and set up their big, money earner in Nevada. She was worried about the costs of running the business, which would actually boast three to four revenue streams. She asked me to help her set aside some money that they could use the interest of and small amounts of the principal when absolutely necessary to help ensure they had the operating cost covered until the revenue streams were really established and built up. So I helped her to create a five million dollar fund that would give them money to draw on for operating costs and I set it up so that any of the interest that wasn't pulled for payroll or inventory or whatever, would be rolled back into the principal fund. I finished off by setting her aside a million dollars in several easily accessible checking and saving accounts that would allow her funds for her own personal needs. As I'd anticipated, I had a hell of a lot of fun getting her money set up to work for her.

As much fun as Monday had been, Tuesday we had to suffer through a day at the photographer's studio to make Mom really happy. I had managed to get out of going clothes shopping with them the previous day…a trip Mom was determined we all needed so that we'd all be in blue…but Mills hadn't been that lucky. Thankfully as long as Mom didn't make her get a dress, she was okay with shopping with Mom. Plus Mom was helping Shelby shop some of the sales to get clothes for the honeymoon Noah, Sam and Cede had given her and David for Christmas. Still, that didn't stop my beautiful wife from sharing the wealth. Mills made sure that I ended up with a new sweater to match her new long sleeved romper. The next day, I wasn't complaining at all Mills' legs looked incredible in that romper and the bold shade of bright blue looked amazing with her pretty brown skin and almost blue black hair. After the full day of posing, which only Noah, Sam and Cede were really any good at, we all went out for dinner before heading home. It was a really nice time for all of us. Watching Nikki and Beth talk and really act like the sisters they were was a beautiful thing for their entire family. It was a blast and a half.

The next day, I didn't bother going into the office. I finished putting everything in place for Ms. Lehane's portfolio. I finalized the fourth quarter deposits of KAMA's residuals, and moved the money over to pay off their holiday 'excesses'…Sam's word's not mine. They were pretty bad, but I had Rick Castle as a client, so I knew that they could have been worse. Besides Mills absolutely loved the emerald and diamond tennis bracelet that 'Santa' had gotten her for Christmas. On top of that I answered a ton of emails and moved a few of my other client's investments around to make their coming year more profitable and I did it all from the comfort of my home office. It was perfect because we were hosting the family, minus KAMA and their friends, for New Year's Eve and I was able to be there to accept the food and drink deliveries. During a break in the queries into how on earth I'd found a new multimillionaire in the current economy and wooed them to my client base from my coworkers, I rearranged the great room and kitchen for the party. We had a great time.

It was almost a shame to see the family go, but it was nice to get back to the real world. I had a lot of plans for twenty fifteen and I couldn't wait to get started putting them in play.

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Anni