A/N: Here's Chapter three! Sorry it took so long. The last half of 2021 was rough, but thankfully it's a new year, and I'm determined to finish stuff. Enjoy! Thanks to my beta Whatbecomesofyou :)

Thankfully, when they got to her mother's place, Piper hadn't arrived yet. This meant they wouldn't be able to leave as quickly, since the guests wouldn't be distracted by Patricia's supposedly more gifted twin. But, it was also a relief to be able to avoid the judgments and comparisons at least as far as Patricia and Piper were concerned. The jury was sadly still out over whether or not Patricia's mother's side of the family would approve of Eddie.

Before they could ring the doorbell, they heard loud shouting on the other side of the door.

"Well, I'm not sharing dinner with your mistress, Jack!"

"See, this is why I divorced you. You can't even be civil for two minutes. You have to make everything about you!"

"I'm not making it about me! I'm making it about this family. You bringing her to my sister's Christmas dinner makes us look like we-"

"What? Is it tarnishing your precious reputation that Charlotte is a better cook than you, Evelyn!?" They heard what sounded like a dish being thrown and then Patricia's mother shouting at the couple to stop fighting or go home.

"Who-" Eddie turned to Patricia.

"Aunt and uncle. They got divorced because he cheated on her with his receptionist. He still comes to the holidays for their kids."

"That sounds-"

"Messy? Yeah. Duck for flying objects when we walk in."

"Noted." The shouting stopped when they rang the doorbell. The woman who answered the door was sweaty and out-of-breath, like she'd just run a marathon. She cleared her throat and smiled, trying to hide the fact that in all actuality, she'd been shouting at her ex-husband instead.

"Ah, Patricia! Merry Christmas! And this must be your American."

"Aunt Evelyn, this is Eddie. Eddie, this is Aunt Evelyn."

"Nice to meet you." He reached his hand out to shake hers, and Patricia stifled a laugh at how hard he was trying to show good manners. How hard he was trying to impress her family.

"Likewise." She leaned in, so only they would be able to hear her next words. "Make sure your pants are zipped, boy. There's a homewrecker in the kitchen that may try to get into them."

Eddie gasped and choked on air. "I-uh-thanks for the warning?"

"And don't shake Jack's hand; that's my ex-husband. No one knows where it has been."

"Noted."

"Oh, and Patricia dear, the casserole on the left is mine. The one on the right was made by-"

"Let me guess, the homewrecker?"

"And if you want to stay on my good side, dear, you'll avoid it."

"Got it."

X

The only good thing about the love triangle spewing frantic hate at each other was that Piper wasn't a topic of conversation. Instead, most of the guests ate silently as Aunt Evelyn glared daggers at Jack and Charlotte in between bites, only stopping to address Eddie and Patricia.

"What do you think of my casserole, children?"

"It's-" Patricia swallowed hard. "Very good." Truth was it was a bit dry, but she didn't want to start World War Three at Christmas.

"What about you, boy?"

"It's delicious, ma'am." She narrowed her eyes at him and he gulped.

"Really? Then why aren't you scarfing it down and eating like a pig? You're an American, after all."

"I-I guess because I'm working on my manners and being more respectful when I'm a guest in someone else's house." Under different circumstances, Patricia would've snorted at that statement.

Evelyn smiled. "I like him, Catherine." She spoke to Patricia's mother. "I think he'd make a good son-in-law."

Her mother scoffed. "Oh please. Patricia is not getting married before Piper. I won't allow it."

"What if she is!?" Eddie glared at the older woman. "You know I'm getting really sick of my girlfriend having to listen to her family brag about how much better her sister is. Maybe Tricia will get married first! For all you know, I've already got a ring." Patricia's eyes widened as she looked at Eddie, but he wasn't finished; it seemed as though his diatribe was only beginning. "What kind of mother pits her children against each other like that? You have two daughters, Catherine, not one!" He spat out, pure venom in his tone. "And sure, Piper might be good at music, but Patricia is amazing and all she wants is for her family to love her, to accept her, and be proud of who she is. She deserves all that and so much more, and if you can't see that, then maybe you don't deserve her. In fact, I am gonna marry her someday, or I'm at least gonna ask. She deserves better than me, so I'll have to risk her saying no, but I'm damn well gonna ask. And if I'm lucky and she says yes, then maybe, just maybe, we won't invite you, or your snobby ex-husband, for that matter. You both make me sick! Let's go, Patricia!"

They moved quickly toward the door, hearing Patricia's mother's voice behind them. "Get back here! I will not be spoken to that way in my house!" she shouted. "Besides, you would need a musician for the wedding, and Piper-"

"No thanks! We'll go with someone who has real talent and doesn't think she's good simply because her mommy and daddy tell her she is!"

"How dare you! I don't ever want to see either of you again!"

"Fine by me." Patricia muttered, once they were back outside, away from the shouting and yelling.

"You ok?" Eddie wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently.

"I-yeah. Can we go?" She looked at him with a sad look in her eyes.

"You don't have to ask me twice."

"Eddie? Thank you, for what you did in there. I've never had someone defend me like that before." He kissed the top of her head.

"You don't need to thank me for that. I love you. Plus, I've already had to fake being nice about that horrible casserole." He shuddered and she laughed.

"I love you too, weasel. Let's go home."

A/N: One more chapter to go. Thanks for reading :)