Roman wakes up with a pain in his arm. It takes him a moment to remember how he got it, then he remembers what day it is.
"It's Christmas!" Shiv yells, jumping on the end of his bed.
"It's my birthday!" yells Kendall, bursting in after Shiv and climbing on the bed too. Roman forces himself to bounce up and down with his siblings.
Connor is staying for Christmas, he arrived last night and the three of them decide to wake him up.
"Connor!" Kendall pushes the door to the guest bedroom open.
"What?" says Connor blearily, pushing himself up.
"It's Christmas!" Kendall throws himself on top of the covers.
"So it is." Connor rubs his eyes. "Happy birthday. Happy Christmas, kids. Shall we go and see if Santa's been?"
They go down the stairs one by one, Roman being careful not to lean on the banister. "Are you okay?" asks Kendall, seeing how Roman is holding his arm.
"Yeah. I think I slept funny." Roman lets go of his elbow.
The French au pair, Ana, is already up. Connor, who is still in his pyjamas, blushes when he sees her. He offers to help her make breakfast. Most of the kitchen staff have been given the day off.
There are presents under the tree, a pile each for the three kids, with a few extra presents for Kendall. By the time Logan and Caroline come downstairs, both fully dressed, Kendall and Shiv are impatient to start unwrapping the gifts.
"Romulus!" Logan greets Roman, bending down to put his hands on his shoulders. Roman manages not to wince. "Merry Christmas. Happy birthday, Kenny."
"Daddy!" Shiv hugs him around the leg. "Can we open some presents?"
"Of course, Pinky." Roman can't remember the last time he saw his father in this good a mood.
The gift-unwrapping commences, but Roman isn't opening his presents as enthusiastically as Shiv and Kendall. His arm still hurts and eventually Ana comes over to check on him.
"Does it hurt, Roman?" she asks in her thick accent, feeling his arm. Roman nods, feeling tears starting to well.
"I think I should take him to the emergency room," Ana announces bravely. She had wanted to take him yesterday after the incident.
"Nonsense, he's fine," says Logan, who is helping Kendall unwrap his gifts.
"Maybe she should, darling," says Caroline, looking concerned. "It could be broken."
"I barely touched him," Logan snaps. "You're fine, aren't you, Romulus?" Roman nods again.
"I really think—" Ana begins.
"For God's sake!" Logan explodes. "Fine. I'll take him to the emergency room, and we can be back in time for Christmas dinner. Caroline, get me the car keys."
"You're driving, Pa?" says Connor, looking alarmed. Logan hasn't needed to drive himself since Connor was a toddler. On the rare occasion he does drive, Logan gives new meaning to road rage.
"Here." Caroline swoops into Logan's office and returns holding a set of keys. "Take the Mercedes." She bends down to look Roman in the eyes. "You'll be alright, won't you, Ro-Ro?"
"Come on, son." Logan takes Roman's uninjured arm with uncharacteristic gentleness and leads him out into the frosty morning.
"Can I sit up front?" asks Roman. He's quite looking forward to spending some time alone with his dad, even in a hospital.
"Sure." Logan holds the car door open for him and helps him climb up. Roman fastens his seatbelt with his good arm as his father gets into the driver's seat and starts the engine. He puts the car in reverse and the car starts to move, too fast, as Logan goes to put his own seatbelt on.
There's a sickening thump and the car comes to an abrupt stop. Roman looks over his shoulder but can't see anything.
"What was…" Logan jumps out of the driver's side. Roman quickly gets out too.
Ana is lying behind the car, almost underneath it. She's conscious, but looks shocked and is struggling to move.
"Don't move!" Logan yells at her. The others are spilling out of the house. Connor is calling an ambulance. Roman has almost forgotten about his possibly broken arm.
"What was she doing standing behind the car?" Logan roars. "How am I supposed to see someone that short in the rear-view mirror?" Caroline pats his arm soothingly and agrees that yes, the shortness was the problem.
By the time the ambulance arrives Ana is close to unconsciousness and Shiv is sobbing uncontrollably. Connor picks her up to comfort her. Ana is taken away in the ambulance and Roman returns to the house with the rest of the family.
Ana returns after a few days in hospital and gets compensated for her injuries in her pay packet. She goes back to France a few months later. Eventually it becomes a funny story, remember when Dad nearly killed the au pair at Christmas?
Roman never did get his arm checked out.