She will never understand just exactly how she convinced him to put on the costume and go through with this, yet here he was, dressed to the nines in red with white fur lining the borders, a long white beard covering his own, and a wide black belt holding the fabric (with a large pillow underneath) close to his body. The beard was covering his entire mouth so she couldn't see his expression, but as he moved closer into the dimmed lights in the living room she could see his eyes twinkle; the skin around them wrinkling like it does when he laughs. He was carrying a large green sack on his back that he promptly placed on the floor beneath the tree and he sat down on the couch, holding out his hand in an effort for her to follow. She put her hand in his and moved to sit down in the space next to him when he pulled her onto his lap.

"Alec!" She giggled.

"Who? He sounds very handsome." She rolled her eyes. "Although, I think I may have seen his name on the naughty list." His words were slightly muffled by the thick beard so she reached behind his ear and unhooked it, finally freeing his mouth.

"Ah, careful. I'm not opposed to making last minute changes." They both grinned before kissing each other, her pulling off his hat so she could stroke his hair.

"Come on, let's put the presents out before they wake up."

She got up off of his lap and started pulling gifts out of the bag, placing them under the tree as he soon followed suit. There were a lot of rectangular (with some other strange shaped) boxes that were wrapped neatly in green and red paper, and a few gift bags that were surprisingly heavier than they looked. She came across a stocking with a paw print on it, presumably holding dog treats within, and she looked over to him with fondness. His brow was furrowed as he was concentrating on how to stack the presents so they wouldn't topple over, which was very amusing as he still had the suit and pillow attached to his body. Once satisfied, he smiled and looked over to her.

"Is that all of them?" she asked.

"Not quite." He said, reaching into the suit and pulling out a small wrapped box, offering it to her. "For you."

She stood in place with a surprised look on her face. "I thought we said no presents for each other, just the kids. I didn't get you anything." She said as he finally handed the box over to her.

"That's alright. I just… saw this the other day and thought of you." She smiled at him. "Go on, open it."

She unwrapped the gift to reveal a velvety box in her hands. She caressed the material for a moment before she opened it.

In front of her was a silver necklace, an anchor charm with a small diamond in the middle of it.

"Oh, Alec it's…beautiful. Thank you." She gave him a quick kiss then embraced him.

"You keep me from…drifting." He muttered into her hair.

"What?" she whispered into the white fur on his lapel.

"You're my anchor." His voice cracked on the last syllable.

Tears threatening to fall from her eyes, she reluctantly pulled away from him when the only thing she wanted to do was to wrap herself into him as tightly as possible. He rubbed her back as she tried to collect herself from the pile of love she just exploded into. She patted his pillow-clad stomach as she calmed down.

"Hey, why don't you walk by the boys' rooms, make them think they just missed you."

"Does Tom still believe in the whole Father Christmas thing?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I think he's clever enough to play along in order to get away with making a huge list each year. Or he might not want to ruin it for Fred, I don't know."

"Hmm." His face was scrunched into an expression of thought as she began to tidy up.

"Go on ahead, though. I'll meet you in the bedroom."

"Oh?" he asked in a suggestive manner.

"To sleep." His face fell into an exaggerated pout. "Go."

He put his hat and beard back on and turned around, but not before she could catch a glimpse of those smiling eyes.

….

It was 7 AM, and everyone was sat in their pyjamas in the living room, anticipation building on Christmas morning. Alec was in charge of handing out the correct presents to each of the kids, and she was in charge of helping Fred with his gifts. Lily was having the time of her life rolling around in all the discarded wrapping paper strewn about the room.

Once Fred was preoccupied with one of his gifts and Tom was showing him how to use it, she got up and procured a final present that was well hidden behind the tree, and she handed it to Alec.

"I know we said no presents but you already broke that promise and said that speech so there we are." She said as she handed over the box.

"El, you really didn't have to." She played with her necklace as she watched him unwrap and open the gift.

"Wow…socks!" he feigned excitement quite convincingly and there was a flicker when she thought he was actually genuinely overjoyed. "These are great El, thank you."

He hugged her, and when they pulled away from each other, she spoke again. "That's not all." And right on cue, the doorbell rang. She nudged him to go open it, and he approached the door hesitantly, keeping his eyes on her until he needed to see where the doorknob was.

He cautiously opened the door at first, but when he saw what, or rather who, was behind it, he swung the door open and changed his demeanor.

"Dad?"