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Chapter 35: Pick and Choose

Nicolette sat in white jeans and a black top at the piano bench silently willing Max to walk through the door she was staring at. Not that he would, she was pretty sure that her father had told security that he wasn't allowed anywhere near her.

Taking her eyes off the door they trailed to where her mother and father stood chatting and laughing with their family. Mia sat on the long couch with a glass of white wine in her hand, Ana sat by Mia with Kate across from her- both were drinking hot chocolate, Christian stood by Ana, a possessive arm around her waist, Elliot stood to Christian's side and Carrick sat across from them, Grace sat by Carrick. To Nicolette they seemed like the perfect little family.

"Cookie?" Gretchen asked, her usual blonde pig tails had festive holly wove through them.

"No thank you." Nicolette whispered, her green eyes fell to the keys and tears pricked the back of her lids.

The last day her mom lived, she had sat Nicolette in her lap- wheezing and all- and played with Nicolette's hands over hers.

The good bye song, or at least that's what she called it when she was five, it's really Vienna by Billy Joel. Her mom always told her that Vienna was Heaven, unlike the city with old people being treated with respect and kindness.

Nicolette couldn't help but play the first few notes, which turned out to be the first few measures, in which turned out to be the entire song... she got lost in the music, just how her mother explained it.

Nicolette relaxed her back and bit her lip, knowing what the next day was going to be... Nine years to the day her mother died.

Christmas hadn't been the same since her mother died on the day.

Nothing the Grey's could do would make it better.

Nicolette turned her head towards the clapping, to see that every family member had turned to look at her and were smiling.

"I didn't know you knew how to play Christmas songs." Kate laughed... Nicolette responded without thinking.

"It wasn't a Christmas song." Everyone's smile faltered for a second.

"What kind of song was it?" Grace asked softly, coming to Nicolette side. Nicolette panicked, she didn't want to ruin their festive moods with her depressed one.

"Just something my mom taught me. Nothing special." Nicolette answered, Grace nodded and sat next to her on the piano bench.

"Will you play something else for us?" Grace asked. Nicolette bit her lip.

"I don't know any Christmas songs. We never really celebrated it, the past two years all I've done is eat dinner with the boys. Max did everything else and pa and I never really celebrated it." Nicolette answered honestly.

"Why not?" Mia grinned. Nicolette took a breath.

"Honestly?"

"That's usually where you start." Carrick laughed.

"My mom, died on Christmas morning. She, uh, sat me on her lap, played that song... and then, she was gone. The next year, my dad asked me when I wanted to get a tree and I just walked away. Every year after that, we just didn't talk about it. As if we were both oblivious to season." Nicolette answered, one by one she watched as faces fell.

"Oh Nikki." Ana breathed, she knew that Nicolette had been so confused when it came to Christmas. That she was just going along with whatever she or Christian said, but she hadn't realized that it had nearly been nine years since she had celebrated it.

"Don't worry about me. I'll just watch. It'll be fun. Go do whatever you guys do." Nicolette forced a grin, but Ana threw an arm around her daughter and nuzzled her neck.

"It'll be our first Grey Christmas together." Ana smiled, she tugged Nicolette off the bench and looked at Grace.

"What first?" Grace grinned at Ana's question before leading the girls to the kitchen, and throwing an apron around her granddaughter.

"First we bake cookies."

An hour and a half, five aprons, two flour messes, one cocoa crisis, six pans of cookies and a one cookie dough thief later... the cookies are done and everyone's spirits are lifted.

Even Nicolette found herself enjoying the tradition of chocolate chip cookie making.

"Alright, ladies, now these are for Santa- we only made two batches because the men will eat an entire batch themselves." Mia giggled, Nicolette grinned at her Aunt as her mom untied her apron.

"Now that our cookies are made, and so is our dinner." Grace motioned to the team of chefs that were putting the finishing touches on the food around them, "Mia go get your father and brothers, ladies, follow me to the table."

000...000...000 With the Men...000...000

Gramps had joined the guys while the girls were cooking, Grams had passed the last summer and never got to meet her granddaughter. Gramps, however, took every possible moment to spoil his living grandchild.

Everyone grabbed a cigar from the cigar pack as it was passed around.

"So what is happening with all of you?" Elliot grinned lighting the cigar and popping it in his mouth. Carrick shook his head.

"Taking down some 'lady' who thought it'd be funny to key her ex's car." Carrick answered, Gramps shook his head.

"In my day boys, ladies were supposed to cry behind closed doors and take revenge by being strong. Not writing a repulsive message on an already repulsive car." Gramps sighed, "What about you Christian? How's that boy who's courting our little Nicolette doing?"

Christian snorted.

"What'd I say?" Gramps asked, taking a puff.

"What'd he do?" Elliot asked.

"Caught them in bed together this morning. Like, naked in bed. He'll be lucky if I don't kill him the next time I see him." Christian hissed, taking a puff of his cigar.

"You're shitting me." Elliot, removed the cigar from his mouth to fold over and laugh, carefully keeping the cigar from flesh.

"Nope, they fell asleep, got curious to where they were this morning and found them on the tapes like that." Christian answered, taking a long puff.

"What'd you do about it boy?" Gramps asked, knowing that Christian lost his short temper.

"What do you think I did? I kicked him off the property, took away Nicolette's cell, laptop and IPad, told security not to let him near her until my say so." Christian grunted. Carrick and Gramps rolled their eyes as Elliot laughed again.

"Christian, don't you think that is a little harsh? Grounding, is quite alright, but keeping them from each other? Don't you think that is a little much?" Carrick asked.

"Dad, what would you do if you found seventeen-year-old Mia in bed with a guy who is nineteen?" Christian asked.

"I thought he was eighteen?" Elliot interrupted.

"His birthday was last week; Nicolette, Max and the boys went out for dinner. So dad, what would you do?" Christian asked.

"You mean what did I do? I grounded her for a week for irresponsibility, but as she was- and Nicolette is- a consenting adult for it. I did not separate them, instead I had a talk with your mother and put Mia on birth control and educated her a little bit more about safe sex and STD's. Christian there isn't much we can do about it at their age, but we can not keep them apart. Nicolette will probably go against your wishes and meet up with him anyway. You have to choose your battles as a father, and doing something that they will do without your knowledge anyway, isn't a battle to fight." Carrick sighed, Gramps nodded.

"Who was Mia caught doing it with?" Elliot asked.

"That's what you paid attention to?" Gramps groaned.