Waking up every morning and being surrounded by warmth was something that prevented Anah from taking Moffitt for granted. The last thing she wanted to return to was the cold emptiness of the temple, with nothing but the sound of desert winds howling outside. The sound of Moffitt's gentle breathing and even heartbeat were preferable.

It was still dark out, but Anah could see the snow falling outside the window. Snow was always a wonder to her, having spent two thousand years in the Sahara, where it never snowed. It was a reminder that her life had changed, and for the better. She watched the snow from her place coiled up next to Moffitt's chest, until he turned over and away from Anah to snuggle up to his wife. Anah slithered to the pillow, watching Moffitt put his arm around Vanora and pull her close. He gave a contented sigh, then Vanora shifted to get closer to him.

Anah smiled to herself. It was truly magical seeing Moffitt was still wildly in love with Vanora after thirteen years together, and it hadn't taken long for Anah to offer the same protection and guidance to Vanora that she had been giving to Moffitt for the last several years.

She was also thrilled to be such an integral part of raising their son, Jules. From the moment Jules was born, he heard her voice and saw her face. He was never afraid of her, despite her being a snake. He was always fascinated by her, and became quite defensive of her when he made the mistake of telling other kids at school that he had a "real life Egyptian cobra at home that talks and doesn't bite."

None of them believed him. Anah wasn't quite sure how to help, so she allowed Jules to put her in his backpack and take her out in front of everyone at recess. The girls screaming didn't bother her, nor did some of the boys running away to tell the teacher. She knew there were going to be consequences for Jules and didn't want to make it worse. At least it started paving the way for Anah to become Jules's tutor. It kept her out of trouble, unless one of the other members of the family were visiting.

It wasn't Christmas yet, but it was the day of their annual Christmas party. Anah looked at the clock, noting that it wasn't even seven in the morning yet. She would let Moffitt and Vanora sleep.

Anah crawled down from the nightstand to the floor. Not wanting to wake anyone, she squeezed under the door, figuring that would make less noise than opening it. She was greeted with the colorful lights of the Christmas tree in the living room, and Jules talking softly. She slithered around the mountains of presents to find Jules sitting with Dietrich and showing him the ornaments on the tree.

"…Dad got this badger for Mum for their five-year anniversary," Jules was saying. "Mum really likes badgers."

"Badgers are only cute when they are not destroying your garden," Dietrich said.

"And these badgers were for their ten-year anniversary." Jules showed Dietrich a glass ornament depicting two badgers, one in a suit and one in a wedding gown, holding a sign with a "10" on it. "Grandma gave us this one—" Jules held up a trio of bunnies, "when I was a baby."

Anah hid within the presents, listening to the conversation and enjoying the safe, comforting feelings flowing from Jules and Dietrich.

"What about that one?" Dietrich pointed to a frosted glass horse up near the middle of the tree.

"I'm not allowed to touch that one yet. That's Dad's. He's had it since he was a kid. He doesn't want it to break. Only Mum and Miss Anah can touch it." Jules pointed to a rubber snake wrapped around a branch. "Mr. Troy gave us this. It's not an ornament, but he said he couldn't find anything that fit Miss Anah. He wanted her to feel included."

Oh, Troy, you proud, stubborn soft-heart! Anah grinned.

"Has he not figured out that we can see through his façade of being annoyed with her at this point?" Dietrich asked.

"What's a 'façade?'" Jules asked.

"An act, to put it simply. He pretends he does not like Anah, but in reality, he cares about her as much as he cares about the rest of us."

Jules was quiet for a moment. "So, it's true that Mr. Troy broke his leg?"

"Yes," Dietrich replied, "so be gentle when he and Shauna come."

"When will he get better?"

"Five months."

"Won't Mrs. Dietrich have the baby by then?"

"No, not yet. We will have one more month to wait by the time Troy gets better, but you will be a whole ten years old by then. Still feels like yesterday that you were so little."

"I'm glad I'm not little anymore. I'm going to be tall, just like Dad."

Anah searched Dietrich's memories, finding one where he was seated in a rocking chair with a two-week-old Jules, while Moffitt and Vanora were getting some much-needed rest. She could tell it was one of his favorite memories, as it was one where he was happy and felt useful, where he was helping care for life, rather than destroying it as he had done in North Africa.

"Try not to grow up too fast," Dietrich said.

"Mum and Dad have been saying the same thing," Jules replied. He moved one of the presents to get to another ornament, and a big smile crossed his face. "Hello, Miss Anah!"

"Oh, you found me," Anah said. "What are you doing up so early, dear?"

"I wanted to show Mr. Dietrich the tree." Jules reached down to pick up Anah.

"You did not wake him, did you?"

"I was already awake," Dietrich said.

"Are you alright?"

"I just woke up and could not get back to sleep. Esther is still sleeping in the sitting room."

"You know everyone will be arriving for the party in a few hours."

"I do. Hopefully, I will sleep better tonight."

"Are Mum and Dad awake?" Jules asked.

"No. Let them sleep a little longer, dear," Anah said.

"Okay, Miss Anah."

"So, it is too early for coffee?" Dietrich asked.

"Wait until it is after seven," Anah replied. "I do not want to wake Esther. She needs her rest."

"I cannot believe it has been three months since we found out we are going to be parents." Dietrich waited until Jules was distracted with something else. "We planned this, but that did not stop it from being a shock."

"You are still terrified. I can sense it," Anah said.

"Very much so. I… never thought I would get to this point. I thought I would be alone for the rest of my life—" Dietrich lowered his voice, "which would have been very short if it were not for you all. Even though I saved Europe from annihilation and fulfilled the prophecy, I still feel that I owe all of you."

Anah smiled. "Your humility is admirable, dear. I told you that was one of the reasons you were chosen. It is something you will be able to tell your son one day."

"You are certain it is a boy?"

Anah nodded. "There were four magpies, correct?"

"Yes." Dietrich sighed. "What was going on with the magpie and Troy a couple of weeks ago?"

"That was a bit strange. I cannot say I have an answer for that, unfortunately."

Dietrich gave her a look. "Do you?"

"I am being serious, dear. I have no idea why that magpie was there."

"Is it possible that Troy was right and that it just happened to be there?"

"Perhaps. Signs get mistaken for nothing and nothing gets mistaken for signs all the time, but it is curious that the magpie showed up just before Troy took his fall into the ravine. Hopefully, in time, we will have answers." Anah smiled a little. "For now, enjoy your Christmas, Dietrich. Think about it—next year, you will be celebrating with your new baby. You have not told Troy about your child's middle name, have you?"

"No. I want that to be a surprise."

The front door suddenly flew open, and Troy entered, shouting, "Merry Christmas!"

Behind him, Shauna was cursing and saying, "Sam, why can't you knock like a normal person?"

Dietrich looked up at a clock. "It is only quarter after seven, and he is already here."

"Are you surprised?" Anah said.

"No, and the fact that he is on crutches does nothing to make it more surprising."

A bleary-eyed Moffitt left the bedroom, fumbling with the band of his bathrobe. "Troy! What the hell are you doing here so bloody early?!"

"I've been asking the same thing!" Shauna said. "He insisted we leave the hotel at seven AM!"

"And even though he's on bloody crutches, you couldn't stop him?"

"I even hid one of them last night! He still found it."

"You're going to have to try harder, sweetheart," Troy said. "I love you."

Shauna sighed. "I love you, too, Sam, even if you are a pain sometimes."

"Jack, what's going on?" A sleepy Vanora left the bedroom behind her husband.

"Guess who decided to show up early," Moffitt said.

"Oh, of course it was Troy."

"You guys can go back to sleep if you want," Troy said.

"I'm not leaving you unsupervised in my house!" Moffitt gave him a look.

"He would not be unsupervised," Dietrich replied, leaning over from behind the tree.

"I didn't even realize you were there, Dietrich. What are you doing sitting by the tree? Are you trying to peek at your presents?"

"No. Jules was showing me the ornaments."

Moffitt rubbed his face. "Oh, great, Jules is up, too."

"Speaking of presents," Troy spoke up, "there's more in the car."

"By 'more,' he means 'a lot.' You would think he stole Santa's sleigh with how much is in there," Shauna said.

"Honestly, Troy could steal Santa's sleigh if he wanted to," Dietrich said. "He stole a tank, after all."

"If that was the case, Santa must've thought you were really good this year." Troy limped over to pat Dietrich's head. "Most of the stuff in there is for you."

"Oh, joy."

"Hans was not good this year." Esther had appeared in the doorway leading to the sitting room. She grinned before folding her arms over her chest.

"How was I not good this year?" Dietrich asked.

"You are a huge distraction whenever I do anything around the house. You are extremely naughty."

"Am I now?" Dietrich grinned at her. "Have my good qualities not made up for my naughtiness?"

"Well, you have been very patient with me the last three months. And you did give me a wonderful birthday back in October even though I was not feeling well."

"I'm not sure Santa consulted with your wife on your presents," Troy said.

"Santa—" Shauna pointed to Troy, "hasn't consulted with anyone's wife in regards to Christmas presents in over ten years, which is why Hitch has a motorboat despite Molly saying, 'no, those are too dangerous and you're not getting one.'"

"He also doesn't always consult with parents," Moffitt said. "I know I said 'no' several times in regards to Jules having a dirt bike."

"I honestly don't see the difference between him riding a dirt bike and riding a horse," Troy replied.

"Horses are more controllable."

"A bike is controllable when you know what you're doing."

"I only fell off the bike that one time, Dad," Jules said, appearing behind Moffitt.

"Yes, and you and Anah were covered in mud. That was a bloody joy to clean," Moffitt muttered through grit teeth.

"Doesn't Snowstripe roll in the mud sometimes?" Troy asked.

Moffitt rubbed his face and groaned aloud. "Yes. Yes, he does. Right after I groom him, no less!"

"I remember the first time we saw that, and Dietrich was laughing the hardest I've ever seen."

"I was laughing more at Moffitt's reaction than at what Snowstripe was doing," Dietrich said. "I have never seen a man more disappointed in a horse until that day."

"Yes, my disappointment in Snowstripe is so very entertaining for you two," Moffitt grumbled.

"Are you ready for your morning tea, dear?" Anah asked. "You are becoming rather grumpy."

"I'm beyond ready for my tea, Anah."

Anah headed into the kitchen, where she started preparing the tea and coffee for everyone else. She had a feeling it wouldn't be long before Hitch, Tully, their families, Preisner, and Luden showed up, so she made extra.

Troy was insistent on getting the rest of the presents out of the car, despite being on crutches, so Moffitt and Shauna went out to take care of it before Troy did it himself. Anah poured Troy's coffee, sighing, "You are aware that you broke your leg, right?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Troy asked.

"You are not supposed to be straining yourself for five months."

"Shauna has already given me this talk. I don't need it from you."

"Too bad. You are going to stay put today."

Dietrich went into the kitchen to get his coffee. "Troy, you are the one who said you do not want any mother hens while you are recovering, and I told you not to do anything that would result in any mother hen behavior from everyone."

Troy rolled his eyes. "I will be fine. Nobody needs to do anything or help me with anything. I'm fine."

Anah exchanged a look with Dietrich. "We may have to tie him to a chair," she said.

"Where does Moffitt keep his duct tape?" Dietrich asked, smirking.

"In the junk drawer by the sink."

"Why are we duct taping Mr. Troy?" Jules asked, suddenly appearing next to Dietrich.

"So he does not further injure his leg," Dietrich replied, "since he is incapable of sitting still."

"None of you are duct taping Troy," Vanora said. "Not unless he really gets out of hand."

When Moffitt and Shauna returned, Moffitt was grappling with several wrapped boxes while trying to open the door. "This is absurd, Troy!" he grunted. "Every bloody year—" One of the boxes fell into his face. "Oh, this one's for me!"

"Yeah, be careful with that," Troy said.

"Is it breakable?"

"Maybe."

"It had better not be another mug," Vanora said. "Jack has enough mugs."

"I'm not telling. You'll find out Christmas morning. Or tonight, if he decides for that one to be the gift he can open early."

"I think I will!" Moffitt said. "Anah, I see some labels with your name on them."

Anah looked over at Troy. "I tell you every year I do not need presents, yet you get me things anyway."

"You're still part of the family, Anah. You get presents," Troy replied. "That's not going to change, so you can stop insisting that you don't need presents."

"No, because all this does is prove how much you care. No matter how many times I tell you not to do something for me, you go and do it anyway."

"That's Sam for you!" Shauna said.

"I can attest to that," Dietrich added. He looked at the ever-increasing mountains of presents by the tree, counting the ones with his name on them. "Troy, this is honestly ridiculous. You make it look like I am the favorite."

"Oh, everyone knows you're the favorite," Moffitt said.

"I have more gifts here than the children! That is not fair!"

"Are we sure most of this is not just stuff for the baby?" Esther asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not telling," Troy said.

"I would assume anything for the baby would be labelled for both of us," Dietrich said.

"Maybe, maybe not."

Within the next few hours, the rest of the family, along with Preisner and Luden, had arrived. Anah kept on top of the tea and coffee, and watched as each of the couples had a chance to kiss under the sprig of fake mistletoe that Moffitt had hung in the doorway to the sitting room. The Christmas tree had been completely surrounded with presents, like it was being guarded with a wall of brightly colored bricks. There was an overwhelming air of love and laughter, and Anah allowed that sensation to wash over her as she put the finishing touches on the goose before putting it in the oven.

Tully approached as Anah was closing the oven. "Hey, don't you want to join in the party, Anah?"

"I am making your dinner, dear," Anah replied.

"Yeah, but someone else can take over for a bit. Come on, everyone wants to see you." Tully held his hand out so Anah could crawl up his arm and get to his shoulders. He walked with her out to the sitting room, where Troy was having a conversation with Luden, Hitch, and Dietrich. "Here she is, Sarge."

"Thanks, Tully." Troy looked up at Anah. "You do know you're allowed to have fun, right?"

"I am having fun," Anah said.

"Well, it kinda seemed like as soon as everyone showed up, you disappeared."

"I apologize if it seemed that way. I wanted to make sure everything is ready."

Tully sat next to Troy. Anah stayed on him, enjoying how soft the Kentuckian's sweater was. "Like I told you," Tully said. "Let somebody else do a bit of cooking. Most of us here are pretty good chefs anyway." He glanced at Troy.

Troy gave him a look. "I'm capable of cooking."

"It is passable, dear," Anah said. "We can work on it."

"You know what? I'll prove I can cook. Does Moffitt have almonds?"

"In the snack cabinet, dear. You should not be up, though."

Anah quickly realized how futile that was. Troy was already limping into the kitchen on his crutches, leaving the others rolling their eyes and sighing.

"Come on, you knew that was going to happen," Hitch said.

"We all knew that was going to happen," Dietrich added. "What is he making and why did he ask about almonds?"

"I suppose we will find out eventually," Anah replied. "I just hope he does not ruin the goose in the process."

From the kitchen, everyone heard Troy shouting, "Moffitt! Your damn horse is making faces at me in the window!"

Moffitt sighed before looking in the sitting room. "Anah, did you—"

"No, dear," Anah said.

"Then who let Snowstripe out?!"

Anah left the comfort of Tully's shoulders and went out to the kitchen, seeing Troy and Snowstripe having an angry staring contest. Preisner and Jules came running up to the horse, with Preisner saying, "I accidentally let go of him! Sorry!"

"You're still doing better than last time, Mr. Preisner," Jules said. "We'll have you comfortable around horses in no time!" He took Snowstripe's lead. "Come on, Snowstripe, quit making faces at Mr. Troy."

The group wouldn't learn until after dinner that Troy had been making almond cookies, which everyone was content with snacking on at their leisure throughout the evening. It was a little after sunset when Moffitt announced it was time for everyone to pick a single present from under the tree to open—although, given that there were so many that year, Moffitt made an exception and allowed everyone to pick two.

Anah's first gift was from Tully. Inside was a knitted pouch of sorts, made of the same material as Tully's sweater. "May I ask what this is?"

"That's a winter hat gone wrong," Tully said. "Mabel was knitting it for D—"

He was stopped by his wife elbowing him sharply and hissing, "Secret, remember?"

"Sorry. Uh… she was knitting it for one of the kids, and the opening came out too small. We talked it over and thought it would make a nice little hideaway for you on cold days."

"Oh, dear, you did not have to." Anah couldn't deny that she thought it was a very cute idea, and she loved the material.

Moffitt had unwrapped the box from earlier, and held up a glass mug. "It is a mug, Vanora."

"Damn it, Troy!" Vanora rubbed her face. "We have enough mugs!"

"But do you have one like that?" Troy asked.

"It doesn't matter! We have too many mugs!"

"Jules can take some when he moves out," Moffitt said. "It'll be alright, darling."

Troy nodded. "See? I'm helping your son."

"Oh, please, we all know you're going to fly over and provide everything when Jules gets his first home!"

"No, I won't."

"Yes, you will. We know you." Shauna nudged him and pulled his hat below his eyes.

Dietrich opened both of his gifts next. He was quiet while pulling a dark-green turtleneck sweater out of one, and a pair of black trousers from the others. "Well, this was unexpected," he said.

Troy looked at the others. "Should we tell him?"

"Tell him what?" Moffitt asked. "Oh, right! Uh…" He blushed before turning to Dietrich. "We… may have a reason why you got so many gifts this year."

Dietrich raised an eyebrow. "So, you were just playing around when you noticed that I received so many gifts?"

"Yes." Moffitt looked at Troy. "This was your idea. You tell him."

Troy nodded, then faced Dietrich. "When was the last time you had new clothes?"

"I told you this past summer, I will keep my clothes until they wear out," Dietrich said.

"And when did you get your current clothes?"

Dietrich fell silent for a moment. The whole room did. "When I was a… a prisoner in the States at the end of the war."

"You haven't had new clothes in sixteen years."

Tully spoke up next. "And when Hitch and I visited you for the first time when you moved into your house, we noticed you had clothes with burn marks on them. We asked and you said they were things that survived when your apartment was bombed, and you were adamant that we didn't get anything new for you."

"We listened at first," Hitch said. "You kept insisting—"

"And then I decided enough was enough when I got a good look at your boots in Australia," Troy finished. "I got everyone organized, and we either bought or made new clothes for you."

"You really did not have to," Dietrich said.

"No. We had to."

"Mum and Miss Anah showed me how to make a scarf for Mr. Troy's project," Jules said. He pulled a long box out from under the tree. "It's this one."

Anah tried to read Dietrich for a moment. There was definitely a part of him that wanted to argue, but the realization that he had gone sixteen years—longer, really, as Anah could see from Dietrich's memories that the clothes he acquired in America were donated and well-worn—without new clothing was starting to hit him. She could see the tears building up inside him.

"Troy," Dietrich said while trying to suppress a sniff, "you are never going to learn to follow instructions, are you?"

"No," Troy said. "I did at first, because I hoped you would actually go and get your own clothes without us prompting you, and when you never did after thirteen years, I decided something had to be done."

"Are you crying, Mr. Dietrich?" Jules asked.

"Well, no one is cutting onions, are they?" Dietrich glared at Troy. "You really are crazy."

Troy took that as a compliment. "Thanks. Merry Christmas, Dietrich."