Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews. Don't worry, this fic is far from over, so keep reading!

The Carrigan apartment was in utter chaos. Max was busy trying to get his son to get ready for bed, using the excuse that Santa would not come unless little Max cooperated. But Max Jr. was simply not in the mood to cooperate; he was too preoccupied with jumping up and down on his bed and annoying the hell out of his sister. Michelle and Max's rooms were directly next to each other, so they shared a wall. Max's bed was up against that common wall, so he'd jump on the bed and pound his fists into the wall at the same time. Michelle added on to the noise by yelling at her younger sibling, and Valerie contributed to it by scolding both of their kids, telling them to just settle down. It was enough to give Max a major headache--which is one thing he didn't need right now.

"Daaad…tell Max to stop!" Michelle hollered.

"Max, cut it out--you're annoying your sister," Valerie told her son, coming to her husband's aid. Max Sr. was leaning against the doorframe of their son's bedroom, massaging his temples. He'd perked up a bit after Lucy had talked to him yesterday, but he'd been in bed all day today with what appeared to be an on-coming cold. "Michelle, please stop yelling and let me handle this."

Michelle rolled her eyes and disappeared into her room, slamming the door closed. Max flinched, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. Valerie looked at Max sympathetically, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Go sit down," she said quietly. "I'll take care of it."

"You sure?"

"Hon, no offense, but you look like hell. Go and lay down on the couch."

"Thanks a lot, Val." Max replied a bit sarcastically. He obeyed his wife's orders and sauntered down the hall to the living room. He flicked on the television and plopped down very unceremoniously onto the couch. Max didn't pay too much attention to what program was on; he was too busy thinking about how shitty he felt. His head was now throbbing, and he just felt tired and achy. It wasn't a very pleasant way to spend the Christmas holiday.

Max slowly drifted off, letting the sounds of little Max and Valerie arguing fade into the distance. He was almost fully asleep when he heard a tremendous series of knocks on the front door. It sounded as if the person on the other side was set on breaking the damn thing down. He shot up, muttering a string of harsh curse words under his breath. He managed to get himself into a sitting position and off the couch. The knocking did not cease as he made his way over to the door.

"All right! All Right! Hold on…I'm coming, damn it." Max bellowed. He finally wrenched the door open, only to find his brother-in-law, Jude, standing there with a huge grin on his face. He looked extremely happy about something. "Jude, man, what the hell's goin' on?"

"Max…you're not gonna believe it, mate," Jude said, slightly out of breath, "It's Lizzy."

"What?" Max asked as Valerie entered the room to see what all the commotion was about. She'd been able to get little Max to settle down, but then she'd heard the knocking and thought that there was some sort of emergency. She approached Max with a look of confusion on her face--she recalled Max telling her about his niece, Elizabeth, once before…

"Lizzy's here. She's down in our apartment." Jude explained.

Max stared at his friend, trying to process this information. "Seriously? She's…she's there? Now?"

Jude nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Why would I lie to you about something like this?"

Max turned to Valerie. "Val, I'm--I gotta go…" He was at a loss for words, jabbing his thumb in the direction of Jude and Lucy's apartment down the hall. Valerie smiled.

"Go, Max." she laughed.

Max grabbed a hold of the sleeve of Jude's coat and the two of them left, sprinting down the hall to the apartment. When they arrived, Max was the first through the doorway. Paul had moved out of the way, and was now standing in the living room quietly, letting his friend reunite with her long-lost family members. For Paul, it was both interesting and moving to watch.

Max instantly spotted his niece, standing with Lucy, Prudence and Rita; Prudence appeared to be introducing Lizzy to Rita. Max couldn't even begin to grasp how much his little niece had changed--she was a young woman now. Lizzy broke from the conversation with her mother and aunts to see her uncle standing in the doorway. Jude had left to go get Sadie and JoJo.

Lizzy grinned. "Uncle Max!" She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He hugged her tightly--she felt her feet lift off from the floor for a moment; Max finding strength within his tired body to give her a proper welcome--a smile on his face and a brightness in his eyes that hadn't been there for a very long time. He pulled his niece away from him in order to get a good look at her.

"Wow," was all he could say. "This is…this is amazing. I mean…you're all grown up and lookin' wicked cool." Lizzy laughed. Lucy looked on with tears sparkling in her eyes; she hadn't seen her brother this excited over something since his own children were born. It was also good to see him in a better mood in comparison to yesterday. Max beamed at his niece, ruffling her hair a bit as Jude, Sadie, JoJo, Jimi and Eleanor entered. Valerie, Max Jr. and Michelle had also come to meet the newcomer.

Sadie gasped once she caught sight of Lizzy, and immediately came up to her, giving her a short hug. "Well, what do ya know? It was you at the concert after all. I knew I recognized you, sweet pea." Lizzy was sorry that she hadn't recognized Sadie or JoJo that night, since it wasn't until after the fact that she learned about her adoption.

Meanwhile, as Lizzy was saying hello to JoJo, the rest of the kids were standing there awkwardly. They had heard their parents talk about Lucy and Jude's only child, but not in a lot of detail. They'd obviously never had the pleasure of her acquaintance, and vice versa. Finally, Max did the honors of introducing everyone. He stepped aside and put an arm around Valerie's waist, saying, "Lizzy, this is my wife and your aunt, Valerie," The two of them shook hands. "And these are your cousins, Michelle and Max." Lizzy gave them a small wave and a grin. Max the gestured to Sadie and JoJo's children. "This is Jimi, and his younger sister, Eleanor." Jimi, being the gentleman, stepped forward and shook hands with his older cousin, while Eleanor offered a somewhat timid smile.

"It's very nice to meet you all," Lizzy said. She motioned for Paul to join her, and he did so after dropping their bags onto the floor. Once Paul was at her side, she did her own introduction. "Everyone, this is my friend, Paul. Paul, this is my family." She couldn't help but beam at the group of people surrounding her. She felt as though she'd found somewhere to belong. She felt like she was finally home.

--------------------------

The family stayed in Lucy and Jude's apartment, gathered in the living room, until well after midnight. They laughed, talked and enjoyed each other's company, asking Lizzy a million different questions about herself. What her favorite color was, what music she liked, what Florida was like, what her hobbies were.

"Art." she'd said in reply. Lucy shared an excited glance with Jude, whose grin got just a bit wider. So, she had taken after them after all…it was a comforting thought.

"Are ya any good?" Max had asked, in a sort of joking manner.

"Of course she's good," Sadie stated matter-of-factly. "She is Jude's child." At that point, Lizzy had gotten up to dig through her belongings. She pulled out her portfolio of artwork and handed it to Sadie. Sadie went through them, and picked out her favorite, holding it up for Max to see. "I rest my case." she told him smugly, and proceeded to pass around the artwork for everyone else to see.

"So, you kids came here by yourselves?" JoJo inquired, curious.

"Yeah…" Lizzy said, shifting nervously.

"Let's just say it was a long trip." Paul added.

"Well, let's hear all about your adventure, then." Prudence encouraged. Lizzy looked at Paul, and launched reluctantly into the story, conveniently leaving out the part where she borrowed the Harrisons' car without permission and ran away without their knowledge. (She would explain the whole situation later, to her parents.) Lizzy told them about Sgt. Pepper and his band--Sadie and JoJo were thrilled to hear that the teens had met them--and finally colliding with Jude on the street.

An hour or so after, the family slowly filtered out and went back to their own apartments, promising to see Lucy, Jude, Lizzy and Paul at Max and Valerie's place tomorrow afternoon for their Christmas party. Once Jude and Lucy saw everyone out the door, they sat down onto the couch on either side of their daughter, while Paul settled himself into a chair.

"It's so good to have you back." Lucy mused, kissing Lizzy on the top of her head.

"It's nice to finally be here again," Lizzy said sincerely. "At the rate Paul and I were going, I almost thought it would never happen."

"But it did," Jude said. "and that's all that matters."

--------------------------------

Lizzy spent the night in "her" room, while Paul agreed to sleep on the couch in the living room. She was surprised to find that they'd technically set a room aside for her, expecting her to return home at some point. (She was also surprised to see that her parents had not had any other children after her.) It was nice for Lizzy and Paul to get some rest in a soft, stable, non-cramped space under warm blankets and comfortable pillows. It was the best sleep they'd had in a few days. For Jude and Lucy, it was nice to see that guest room occupied by their own daughter. They could sleep soundly, knowing that she was finally under the same roof.

Christmas morning, Lizzy slept in until ten-thirty. She awoke feeling revived and ready to celebrate the holiday with her family. She rolled out of bed and went to the window, where she saw the road below covered in a good two feet of snow. It had stopped snowing as hard; now the flakes were floating down slowly, almost gracefully. What few trees there were, their bare branches were coated in ice. It was quite a beautiful sight, when you weren't outside walking through it.

The seventeen-year-old padded out of her room and down the hall to living room, where Lucy and Jude were talking to Paul while enjoying what appeared to be a steaming mug of either coffee or hot chocolate. She figured Paul was the one with the hot chocolate, since he wasn't much of a coffee person.

"Hey you," Lucy said, grinning. She couldn't help but crack a smile whenever her daughter was around. It was just so surreal that she was here with them. "Nice of you to join us. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Lizzy answered, plopping down in between her parents. She gave them each a kiss. "I hope you weren't telling them anything embarrassing about me." She said to Paul.

Paul shrugged. "Nah, nothing too bad." Jude got up from his seat, muttering something about "being right back" before departing to his art studio. Lucy shared a slightly confused glance with Lizzy, both wondering what he was up to. Jude returned a short minute later, carrying with him a small package. He sat back down and handed it to Lizzy.

"Happy Christmas." he said cheerfully.

"You didn't have to get me anything," Lizzy told him. "Being here is a present in itself."

"Ah, it's all right. I wanted you to have it anyway." Jude reassured her. Lizzy glanced down at the package, wrapped in newspaper. She tore it off to reveal one of her father's charcoal drawings. It was the one of Lizzy, smiling and covered in paint. He'd secured it to a piece of cardboard in order to wrap it--a job he'd done hastily early this morning when he realized Lizzy wouldn't have any presents to open on Christmas.

"It's incredible," Lizzy said, admiring Jude's work. She gave him a hug. "Thank you."

The rest of the morning was spent getting ready for the party at Valerie and Max's apartment. Lizzy and Paul were able to take a real shower, and change into some new clothes--they actually looked presentable. When they arrived at the Carrigans', Lizzy immediately felt comfortable, surrounded by family again. It was a great atmosphere to be a part of; there was a lot of love radiating from everyone.

The celebration was laid back, compared to other holidays Lizzy had spent with the Harrisons, where various family members usually talked about business, dining on sophisticated, fancy-looking foods. The teen generally spent those parties avoiding snobby "relatives" she didn't care for, hiding in an unoccupied room with her sketchbook and a pencil. Here, she laughed and talked with her family members, listening to her uncle Max's jokes or Sadie and JoJo's tales about life on road, traveling with their band. She ate foods that she could actually recognize, and spoke openly about her passion for art. She could spend time with Paul and not worry about anyone judging him.

Lizzy watched as her younger cousins tore open presents, little Max putting the colorful wrapping paper in a pile to jump into. She also saw Prudence sneak a few cookies for Michelle, Eleanor, and even Lizzy herself. Valerie had her camera out the entire time, snapping pictures of everyone to commemorate the holiday. Lizzy realized, as she took in her surroundings, that she hadn't been quite this happy--really, truly happy--in awhile.

The group of adults felt the same way. Everything seemed so much more cheerful now that they were really all together again. Lucy and Jude were back to their old selves, Max was celebrating, his mind now taken off the night terrors and flashbacks. And Valerie was thrilled to see her husband telling jokes and acting immature again, as was everyone else. It was just good to see everyone thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Toward the end of the night, JoJo pulled out his guitar that he had made sure to bring along and played some of the standard Christmas carols while they sat around the living room. Some of the adults had had too much to drink (it wasn't as if they had to drive anywhere) and got into it a bit too enthusiastically, but it was fun to watch. JoJo then went into a song that apparently they had made up two years ago and as another one of their traditions, they always ended the party with it. Lizzy didn't know the song, but as everyone sang, she and Paul were able to join in because the song was extremely simple and kind of random. Soon, their voices blended together, singing the tune with a lot of energy:

"Christmas time is here again
Christmas time is here again
Christmas time is here again
Christmas time is here again

Ain't been round since you know when
Christmas time is here again…"

"…O-U-T spells "out"…" Max added, slightly drunk and obviously enjoying himself immensely. It was the most random part of the song, but Max made it that much more hilarious by yelling it each time in a different accent or tone of voice. They sang the song until they got all tired out and it became too repetitive and annoying. They were all pretty sure that on some level, they were annoying the neighbors, but not a single person cared.

"Christmas time is here again
Christmas time is here again
Christmas time is here again
Christmas time is here again…"