Hi Everyone, thank you all for favorites, follows, reviews, and just reading my story.
Sorry for the late updates. I have had some medical issues I am dealing with and am writing another story.
Please be patient!
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Chapter 9- First Christmas
He nodded and closed his eyes, resting back against the pillow. Rest was going to be his best friend to get rid of the concussion.
Mia walked out with Jason, directly to her car. She gave him her keys and kissed her daughter before saying goodbye to Jason.
"Keep me posted okay" he said.
She nodded, "yeah, I will" she said goodbye to the rest of the guys as they walked out after them.
The guys stood outside with Jason as he got Ally in the car. "Should we call Stella?" Ray asked.
"Probably, we can call her in the morning" Jason replied as he got Ally settled and made his way around the back of the car.
The guys all separated and went their separate ways with a plan to meet Mia at the hospital the next morning for Clay to be released.
Mia made her way back into the hospital and took a seat in the recliner next to Clay's bed. She reclined so she was laying on his shoulder, his hand entangled with hers.
"You came back" he said sleepily.
Mia smiled and curled into him as much as she could while staying in the chair. "Just rest up" she replied, "I am not going anywhere. I haven't in the past nine months, and I won't in the future."
"I love you Mia" he leant forward and kissed the top of her head as he sagged in sleep.
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The next morning, Clay woke up to the nurse doing his vitals and checking the monitors by his bed.
"How am I doing?" he asked quietly.
Anila smiled at him and held the chart to her chest. "You are doing great. I'll be back in a couple hours when Dr. Scott comes in to see you" she whispered.
Clay nodded and wrapped his arm around Mia's shoulders, digging his fingers in her hair.
Anila walking out of the room smiling at the scene in front her. She knew about the triangle that was her friend's life.
She could see the look of love on Clay's face when he looked at Mia.
Mia woke to feeling someone massaging her scalp under her bun, probably making it worse.
Sitting up, remembering the night before, she wiped the sleep from her eyes, fixing her glasses before looking over at Clay.
"Hi" he greeted.
"Good morning, how are you feeling?" she asked getting up to stretch.
Sitting and sleeping on that uncomfortable hospital recliner was not fun or good for someone's body.
"I am doing alright. The nurse was just in here checking on me and said that I am doing great. She said she would come back when the doctor comes" he explained.
Mia nodded, "great. How are you feeling? Does your head hurt?" she asked leaning over the side of the bed, checking the knot on his head.
It wasn't as swollen as it was yesterday, but it was still pretty swollen.
"Not bad. I still have some ringing in my ears and a headache, but not as bad as yesterday" he replied.
Mia nodded and grabbed her sweatshirt, "I am going to get you more ice" she stated, grabbing the ice packs to refill them.
In the hallway, she filled up the ice packs and spotted Anila by the desk.
"Hey Anila, what's the update from overnight?" she asked.
She knew that Anila was the charge nurse last night and made sure to keep an eye on them.
Anila grabbed the chart and went through her notes with Mia at the nursing station.
"He did pretty good. Around 3am he complained of a headache and double vision, I gave him some Imitrex for the headache and he felt okay a couple hours later. When I grabbed his vitals about an hour ago, he seemed okay. I am waiting for Scott to do his rounds" she informed Mia.
Mia nodded, "thanks Anila. Come get be when Scott gets here. I want to talk to him before rounds" she informed her charge nurse.
Anila nodded and wrote it down to make sure she would remember. "You got it" she said before going to see another patient.
As she got back to Clay's room, her phone started ringing.
She grabbed her phone, "hello?" she greeted.
Walking up to the bed, she arranged the icepacks on the back of his head as she held the phone with her shoulder.
"Hey, how's he doing?" Jason asked as he carried Ally into her highchair for breakfast.
Mia sat in the recliner and laid back so she could rest her legs on the edge of his bed. "He's doing okay. They are bringing him breakfast soon, but his night was okay. Just a headache and some dizziness but that is expected with the concussion" she informed her brother.
As she was talking, the nursing assistant brought in a breakfast tray for Clay, nodding at Mia on her way out.
Mia helped herself to his hot tea as she talked to Jase.
"How's my little girl doing?" she asked.
Jason laughed, "I forgot what it was like having a little girl. She is just like you, calm and cool" he informed her.
"I am giving her some breakfast. After breakfast, we'll be over to check on Spencer. Oh, Mia, Clay's phone has been going off all morning. It was Stella. I am pretty sure she found out that Clay was in the infirmary" he added locking Ally in her chair.
Mia smiled, "sounds good. Damn, okay, so I should expect her at some point" she replied, "hey Jase, I am going to go, Scott just called me" she informed him.
"Alright, I'll see you later" he replied.
Mia hung up and got up to see Scott, who was standing at the door. She turned to Clay who was eating his breakfast.
"I'll be right back" she told him before following Scott out.
Clay just gave her a thumbs up as she walked out.
Mia stood outside the door with Scott. "What's the plan?" she asked him.
"He did okay overnight. The Imitrex seemed to work great for him, so I am sending him home on that and he is going to have to be on the concussion protocol" he explained.
Mia nodded, "yeah okay. Can you have the order sent to the mail order pharmacy. I'll pick it up on our way out" she informed him.
Scott nodded, "yeah for sure" he replied.
As they were talking, Mia saw Sonny walking in with Trent, Brock, and Jason with Ally in his arms.
Jason deposited Ally in her arms and stood there with the guys, crossing his arms across his chest.
"What's going on?" he asked looking between Mia and the doctor.
"Just getting the plan" Mia replied nodding to Scott, cuddling her daughter.
"Well, Master Chief, I am going to send him home today with some medication for the headaches and he is going to be on concussion protocol" he informed Jason.
Jason nodded, "good. How long is he going to be on concussion protocol? Will he be back to operating?" he fired off questions as Bravo One, not Jason, Clay's friend.
Scott held the chart to his chest and nodded, "yeah, for sure. He is going to be on the protocol for at least 7 days. I will reevaluate him at a follow up, but he should be fine for operating when he is off concussion protocol" he explained.
Jason nodded as the guys sagged in relief. They were really worried about their friend and teammate.
Mia nodded in confirmation as she walked back into the hospital room with Ally in her arms.
"Da!" Ally squealed.
Clay put his arms out, Mia gently transferring Ally into his arms careful of his IV.
"How are you feeling Blonde Bombshell?" Sonny asked as they walked into the room.
"Pretty Good Sonny. Better now that I have my Angel" he replied curling his arm around Ally.
Ally settled next to her dad in the crook of his arm, playing with this blanket.
Scott came in and stood at the end of the bed.
"Hi Petty Officer Spencer. How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Not too bad. Just a headache and some dizziness" Clay replied.
Scott nodded, "that is completely normal. I am going to discharge you and send you home today with the medicine that Anila gave you last night for the headaches. You are also going to be on concussion protocol. Anila will go over the dos and don'ts, as I am sure that Mia will keep watch" he informed Clay.
Clay nodded, holding his hands out for Ally to play with his fingers.
"Sounds good doc" he replied.
Scott nodded as he went over to the computer and put in the order from the room.
While they were all in there, the door slammed open, barging against the opposite wall, to see Stella standing in the doorway.
"What happened? How long have you been here? Why didn't you call me?" she exclaimed, coming into the room completely in hysterics.
"It's not a big deal Stel. It happened on the spin up. It's just a concussion, some scrapes and bruises. Mia took care of it. Nothing to worry about" he explained to her.
Stella glared over at Mia. "I am his girlfriend. I should have been called. You have no right to be here or leave me out of his medical decisions" she yelled at Mia.
Mia nodded, holding back her tears.
She reached over the bed and grabbed her daughter, taking the diaper bag from the recliner.
"No problem, but maybe you should take that up with your boyfriend before taking it out on me" she replied walking out of the room.
She was done with this. She didn't deserve that.
"MIA!" Clay called out after her.
He threw the blanket off and went to get out of bed, only to sway as he stood on his feet, Sonny and Brock holding him up.
"Woah there, why don't you get back in bed. We'll worry about the princess" Sonny helped him lay back down.
Clay laid back down, letting out a deep breath, his eyes closed, beyond stressed.
"I'll get her" Jason said walking out before he really lost it.
Once the guys stepped out, Clay lost it.
"WHAT THE FUCK STELLA?" he yelled, losing control.
Stella stood there, seeing that she messed up. "I am sorry, it just freaked me out hearing that you were in the hospital and seeing that Mia has been here with you when I didn't even know you were here. It was just raw, honest emotion" she tried to explain.
"I get that you were scared, but that doesn't mean you unload on Mia. I get that you are my girlfriend, but you need to understand that Mia is my family and that is not going to change. She is not only my family, but she is a doctor. She is always going to be involved in my medical life" he informed her.
"You need to apologize to Mia" he added.
"Clay" Stella sighed, not willing to do it.
He was serious as he sat up and looked at her, "you either apologize to her or we are done, and now I am serious" he replied.
Mia ran out to the car. She was not dealing with this.
Jason ran after his sister. "MIA!" he called out.
Mia turned as she got to the car, tears rolling down her cheeks. She heard her brother and turned to see him running across the parking lot.
"It's going to be okay" he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his chest for a hug.
Mia sagged against her brother, sobbing.
Jason just wrapped his arm around his sister and his niece.
He dug his fingers through her hair. "It's going to be okay Mia" he tried reassuring his sister.
Mia pulled away and wiped her tears with her free hand.
"How the hell is it going to be okay Jase? She completely flew off the handle. That was completely unnecessary and humiliating. What the hell was she thinking? Clay was the one who put me down as his next of kin for medical stuff" she cried to her brother.
Jason took Ally from Mia's arms, so she could take a minute to collect herself. "Come here Gumdrop" he pulled her into his arms.
Mia wiped away her tears and leant against her car completely defeated.
She put a hand on her forehead, "this is such a fucking mess. I am not doing this anymore. I can't deal with this bullshit anymore. I am having lunch tomorrow with Derek and Nikki, Clay was supposed to pick her up after to watch her while I go Christmas shopping and set up the house. He can just pick her up from you. I can't do this" she cried.
Jason nodded, rubbing his hand up and down his niece's back as she settled against his shoulder.
"I get it Mia. Just have Derek bring her over. They live right across from each other. You don't need to deal with him" he stated.
She nodded, looking up to the ceiling, taking a deep breath.
"Okay, let me get my babe home. I have some charts to review" she exclaimed.
Jason nodded and walked around her to the back seat to put Ally in her car seat.
Mia got in the car and opened her car window. Her brother leaning against the window frame.
"Please be careful getting home. I'll call you tomorrow" he said, watching as she pulled out of the parking lot.
He turned to see the guys who had gathered around the entrance of the hospital, standing there waiting for him.
"What the hell was that?" he asked enraged.
The guys all nodded in agreement, Trent and Brock shaking their heads.
"Someone needs to talk to him" Trent said.
Sonny took off his hat, wiping a hand over his face.
"I tried; he isn't listening. I mean he just let her fly of the freakin' handle at Mia and just told her to apologize" he vented.
Jason wiped a hand over his face. "Yeah, it tried talking to him too. He needs to let Stella go. This is getting ridiculous" he added.
"What are we supposed to do?" Brock asked.
"Sonny, you talk to him. You are the closest to him. I am also going to talk to Brian and have him say something" Jason reasoned, coming up with a plan.
Going back to the DEVGRU building, he went on the hunt for Brian.
He could not let his sister go through this for much longer. Being the older brother, he needed to put a stop to it.
Brian was in the gun range, practicing when Jason found him.
"Armstrong" he called as he walked in.
Brian turned, took off his headphones, and nodded his chin at Jason.
"Master Chief" he greeted.
"I need to talk to you Brian. It's about Clay" Jason said, crossing his arms across his chest, leaning against the stall.
Brian nodded in understanding. He put his gun down and turned fully towards Jason.
"You mean about him and Stella?" he asked, already knowing what Hayes wanted to talk about.
Since Clay had gotten with Stella, he was pretty scarce. He didn't hang out with them very much anymore.
Stella was very jealous and clingy. It influenced their friendship.
Jason stood up straight and gave him a look to continue.
Brian sighed, "look, when he first told me that Mia was pregnant, and he was going to stay with her to support her, I thought that I would lose my best friend" he started.
"But Mia made sure that I was part of their lives. We had boy's nights, dinners at Mia's, hell, I even hung out with Clay and the Monkey. But then he met Stella at the bar. I told him then that she was not for him. Man, I haven't hung out with him for weeks. Stella is running that show" Brian vented.
Jason let out a huff and wiped a hand over his face. "Jesus" he was exasperated.
"Stella flipped out on Mia today when she found out that Mia stayed with Clay in the hospital. I mean, she lit into her. Mia is completely done" he informed Brian.
"Fuck!" Brian cursed.
"What happened with Clay? Please tell me that he told her to fuck off" Brian added once he took a breath to process what Jason was saying.
Jason shook his head, "no, he told her to apologize" he explained.
Brian just hung his head. "I'll talk to him" he said. "As a friend, I can't let him do that to himself or Mia" he informed Jason.
Jason nodded and shook his hand, slapping his shoulder on his way out.
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Mia made her way home, unpacked her stuff and her daughter's stuff, collecting her daughter and hibernating in her house.
Dropping her stuff down in the foyer, she made her way upstairs to the playroom and dropped down with her daughter, sitting at the edge of the bed, her daughter sitting in her lap.
"I am sorry babe. I just couldn't take this anymore. That girl was not going to talk to me like that. And your daddy was being a butthead. We are just going to have to go between Uncle Jason" she cried to her daughter.
Ally looked up at her mom, playing with her mom's hands, at the mention of her Uncle Jason.
Mia smiled sadly at her daughter, "yup, you and Uncle Jason will go to Daddy's" she replied.
Ally smiled and lunged forward to give her mom a hug. Mia silently cried as she hugged her daughter.
Rubbing her hand up and down through her hair, taking comfort in her little girl.
She turned her head and kissed the top of Ally's head. "Thank you, baby," she settled against her baby.
After an hour of wallowing and playing with her little girl, she started some dinner of mac and cheese and some garlic bread.
With Ally in her highchair, Mia joined her at the table. Ally ate her pasta with her princess plate and fork.
Mia put a sippy cup of water next to her plate as she had her diet coke. She raised her cup and cheered it with her daughter's sippy cup.
"Cheers Ally" she reached over and kissed her daughters' cheek.
"Eer Mama" she held up her sippy cup with both hands and pressed it to her mom's.
Mia smiled at her, "cheers baby" she teased, "we are having some comfort food. We need some comfort tonight. Mommy is in a bad mood, and she is sad" she replied helping herself to some Mac & Cheese.
Ally held out her fork with some pasta on it for her mom.
Mia leant over and ate the pasta from her daughter, "thank you Ally" she replied.
After dinner, Mia took Ally upstairs to the playroom for an hour before it was bath time and then bedtime.
She leant over and kissed her daughter's forehead, "I love you, Angel. Have a good night and sweet dreams" she kissed her one more time before turning on the nightlight and walked out of the room.
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After Jason talked to Brian about Clay's situation, he went to Derek first and they both walked across the hall to Clay's door.
Stella had brought Clay home from the hospital and got him settled in the living room.
She was in the kitchen making him something to eat when his doorbell rang.
As he started to get up, she came around the corner out of the kitchen, and put her hand up to stop him.
"I got it" she called going to the door.
Looking through the peephole, she saw that it was Brian and Derek from Alpha Team.
She opened the door with a smile. For once, she was glad that it wasn't Mia, even though Clay asked for Ally.
"Hi guys" she greeted them.
"Hi Stella, is Clay home? We want to see him and check on him" Brian replied.
She nodded and opened the door, moving out of their way, letting them in.
Both Brian and Derek walked in and greeted Clay with a pat on the back.
They took a seat across from the couch where he was lying, his feet up on the table.
"Hey guys, thanks for coming. What's up? Did you guys see Jason?" he asked.
They all nodded at him, looking at each other trying to figure out how to start the conversation.
"Here you go guys" Stella walked over and gave them each a bottle of beer, and Clay a bottle of water.
She took a seat next to him on the couch, her hand on his thigh as she looked at the boys.
Brian cleared his throat. "Thanks Stella" he started, glancing at Derek before turning back to Stella.
"Do you mind if we talk to Clay alone? We'll just be a minute" Brian asked.
Her face and smile instantly fell. She looked at Clay, as if waiting for him to stick up for her, to find him quiet.
"Oh, uh, yeah, I guess. Shop talk, right" she tried to laugh it off, but everyone could tell there was tension.
Derek laughed, "yeah" he replied.
She nodded and got up to walk to the bedroom. "I am going to work on some gradings" she informed them.
Once she was out of sight, Brian and Derek really got serious with Clay.
"What the hell man? I saw Jason and he told me what happened between Stella and Mia. Why the hell would you let that happen?" Brian asked.
Clay sighed and wiped his hand over his face. He was in between two strong, independent women.
He didn't know what to do about the situation anymore.
"I know man. I don't know what to do anymore. I told her that she needs to apologize to Mia. I don't want her to be treated like that. She is the mother of my child" he reasoned completely defeated.
Derek sighed, "Clay, that girl is hurting. Did you see her at the ball? Stella is being a fucking bitch to her, and you are just sitting there letting it happen. If you don't shape up and start treating her better, someone else is going to come along and replace you in her life" he stated tired of the bullshit.
"I know that. You don't think I don't know that. I am tired of it as much as you are, but what am I supposed to do?" he asked exasperated.
"That is utter bullshit. You need to tell Stella to loosen the reigns. You are freaking BRAVO SIX, and you are treating your boss sister like dirt. You really need to get your act together" Derek pressed.
"Okay" Brian put his hands out between them to calm the situation down. "Everyone, just calm down and relax" he said to both of them.
Brian took a deep breath and turned towards Clay.
"Clay, seriously, you need to do something about Stella. She is really controlling your relationship with your friends, the mother of your child, and even Ally because she can't stand Mia. I mean, open your eyes" he said.
"I am trying" Clay replied. Leaning forward, holding his head as he rested his elbows on his thighs.
"I…" he stopped short when he saw Stella coming out of the bedroom.
"I think the soup is done; would you guys like to stay for dinner?" Stella asked.
"No, thanks, Nikki has dinner ready, and Brian is coming to our house, so we better get going" Derek said.
Stella nodded, "it was good to see you all" she replied before going to the kitchen.
Derek got his jacket and started walking towards the door. Clay walked them out.
Derek stopped at the door, "Mia is coming over tomorrow so Ally can play with Otis and have dinner. If you fix it by then, come over" he said before leaving.
That was his good deed for the day. It wasn't like they were going far, just across the hall.
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The next morning, Mia decided to deeply clean her house from top to bottom, Ally following behind her the best she could.
She was just trying to waste time until lunch and dinner.
After cleaning her house and having some playtime with Ally, Mia made them some chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch.
As they were eating, there was a knock on the door, making Mia pause.
Her heart started racing as she got up to answer the door, thinking it was Clay.
Looking through the peephole, she saw it was Brian, Jeremy, and his little sister Natalie.
She opened the door with a smile, "hey guys, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Natalie reached forward and gave her a hug, "Brian and Jeremy need to talk to you, I just came to hang out with my bestie" she teased as she walked in straight to the kitchen.
Mia waved the guys in as she heard Ally start squealing at the sight of her friend. "Hey Nat, why don't you take her upstairs and play for a while" she suggested.
Natalie knew whatever they needed to talk about was serious. She nodded as she unbuckled Ally from her highchair.
Wiping her face, she lifted her into her arms. "Come on Minnie, let's go play" she carried her upstairs to the playroom.
Once they were out of sight, Brian and Jeremy took a seat as Mia came out of the kitchen with some cups of coffee and a tray of cheese and crackers.
"This is why I love coming over here" Jeremy teased helping himself to some charcuterie and his cup of coffee.
Mia sat across from them with her lemon tea, "okay, what's going on? You two look way too serious for this to be a social call" she informed them.
Brian nodded, "I talked to your brother and then I talked to Clay about what happened in the hospital. Actually, Derek and I tried to talk to him" he explained.
Mia's smile fell as she nodded in understanding. "And did anything come from it?" she asked.
Brian scoffed, "I wish" he replied.
"Mia, Stella isn't just influencing your relationship with Clay, but also the friend group. He barely has time for us because of her. Even when he does hang out with us, she is constantly calling and badgering him. It's insane" Jeremy stated.
She nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "I get it. I don't want to know what you want me to do" she replied.
"We need to figure out what to do about Stella" Brian added.
"Guys, trust me, I get what you are saying. I have talked to him, Jason has talked to him, you have talked to him, Derek talked to him. Everyone has talked to him. He just keeps telling her to apologize. That isn't enough" she vented.
Jeremy and Brian sighed and nodded in agreement.
They didn't know what to do either.
"Are you going to Derek's later for dinner?" Jeremy asked Mia.
Mia shook her head, "no, I am dropping off Ally with Jason and he is taking her to Derek's. I am going to dinner with Connor" she replied.
Both boys looked at each other surprised and concerned.
"Who the hell is Connor?" Brian asked.
Mia laughed as she got up to get some more snacks for them. She put a veggie tray on the table before taking her seat.
"Connor Rhodes, he is a trauma surgeon at the hospital. I met him the first day when I started with Gracie" she explained.
"You are going to have bring him around. He is going to have to get past us to be with our second favorite girl" Jeremy said.
Mia threw her head back laughing, "second favorite huh?" she teased.
The guys nodded in unison, helping themselves to some food. "Yup, you have been replaced by a little red headed beauty" Brian said.
Mia smiled, sipping her tea, "that's okay, I am okay being replaced by that little princess" she replied.
She shook her head, "do you guys want some lunch?" she asked walking into the kitchen to serve them some chicken, veggies, and mashed potatoes.
The boys sat on the island and helped themselves. They would never turn down food from Mia.
After cleaning the house, Mia planned out the Christmas decorations she was going to put up.
Tomorrow, she was going to put up the lights on the roof and work on the outside of the house.
A day at a time, a set of decorations at a time. Christmas was her favorite holiday, so she went all out for Christmas.
Now that she had a house, she had more opportunities to decorate.
Once the guys were done eating, they took their leave, Natalie staying with Mia and Ally.
Mia went to the playroom, standing at the door, "honey I am going to work on some charting. I will be in the office for a little while" she informed Natalie.
The highschooler nodded, "no worries, we'll have fun in here" she said, holding Ally up as she started bouncing.
Mia smiled and nodded before leaving to the office.
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A couple hours later, Mia changed into a short black skater dress, her black block heels, and left her hair down in curls.
Natalie grabbed her coat and one for Ally from the closet. She also grabbed the diaper backpack for Mia.
"Wow, you look beautiful" she said once she saw Mia.
Mia smiled and ran her hands down her dress nervously. She hadn't been on a date in years, even though it was just with Connor.
"You think so?" she asked.
Natalie nodded, picking up Ally, pointing to her mom, "don't you think your mom is pretty?" she asked the little girl.
Ally reached her arms out to her mom, "mama" she called out.
Mia reached out and took her daughter from Natalie. "Eetty" she said hugging her mom.
Mia smiled and hugged her daughter, swaying back and forth. "Thank you, baby. Come on, let's go to see Uncle Derek" she informed Ally.
Natalie went with them to Derek's house for dinner.
Ally started wiggling in her mom's arms when she saw Otis in the window.
As soon as they made it to the door, she started bouncing to get down, Otis jumping all over their legs.
Derek greeted them with kisses on the cheek, "hi ladies" he greeted.
"Hey handsome" Mia greeted.
She crouched down and put Ally down on the carpet. Immediately she started crawling after Otis.
The dog was looking after her, pushing her bottom with his nose as they went further into the living room.
Derek wrapped his arm around Mia's shoulder. She greeted Nikki with a hug.
"You look great Mia" Nikki said.
She smiled looking down at herself nervously, "thanks Nikki. I am beyond nervous. The last time I went on a date, I was in medical school" she informed them.
Derek nodded in understanding, wrapping his arm around Nikki's waist. "Don't worry about it Mia. You look beautiful and Clay lost his chance. You need to move on with your life" he reassured her.
She nodded nervously as her phone started vibrating.
"He's here" she said going to crouch down and hug her daughter, kissing her temple.
"Bye baby, I'll see you tomorrow" she said, her daughter not even paying attention.
Derek walked her out, Mia pausing outside in the hallway, staring at Clay's door.
Sighing, Derek wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It'll be okay" he rubbed her arm up and down.
"I hope so" she replied walking down the hall with him towards the exit.
Derek stood at the top of the steps watching Connor get out of the car and walk around to greet Mia with a hug.
He waved to Derek as he led her to the car. Connor opened the passenger side door so Mia could get in.
She turned and waved to Derek, grateful for him to see her safely to Connor.
"I'll see you tomorrow" she said waving to him before getting in the car.
Connor got in the car and looked at Mia. He could tell she was nervous.
"You ready for this?" he asked.
She smiled, "spending time with the rich and famous, who wouldn't be" she teased.
Everyone knew Connor's family history. His dad owned half of Chicago, which is why they were all surprised when he accepted the job in Virginia.
He laughed, "yeah, that's what you think. My family is rich, I am struggling along the way" he replied.
Connor started the car and took her to Maggiano's, a nice fancy Italian restaurant. It was really sweet of him to help take her mind off everything in her life.
They got to talk about Clay and what was going on with her relationship with Stella and Clay.
After they ordered their food, Mia crossed her arms across her chest, looking at him expectantly.
"What?" he asked.
She leaned on the table a little, "so you know all about my family issues. It is time for you to open up a little and tell me why you took a job in Virginia when your dad practically owns all of Chicago" she teased.
"It's complicated" he replied.
She gave him a knowing look with a smirk, "and my situation isn't" she retorted.
Connor chucked and let out a breath. He nodded in agreement. "Okay, okay" he put his hands up in surrender.
"You know that my whole family is from Chicago, right?" he asked.
She nodded, Gracie had told her all of that when she first told her about Connor, and she first started at the hospital.
There were a lot of rumors surrounding his family situation.
"Yeah, I heard the rumors going around the hospital and to be honest, Grace caught me up when I came back to town" she informed him.
He shook his head on a chuckle, "yeah I bet that" he replied.
"Well, I grew up there my whole life. My parents were very uptight, rich, and sophisticated. They are all about a false pretense. It's about reputation. Their marriage was rough and full of affairs on both sides, as long as they kept it discreet and hidden. My sister and I were like pawns that they could use. My sister Paulie left for business at the University of Chicago, so I left for medical school and never looked back. I wanted to get a job on my own merit, not because my last name was Rhodes" he explained.
She nodded in understanding, trying to keep her emotions in check and let him tell his story.
Mia didn't know why, but she felt a connection to Connor. Since she first met him.
"That's pretty rough. Had to be a rough way to live as a child" she said.
He nodded, "yeah tell me about it. Well, there was a time when I was in high school that got really bad. They were screaming at each other. I grabbed Paulie and took her to my room. I turned the music on high and just sat there holding her. Then all of a sudden, the screaming stopped, and I heard my dad call my mom's name. I didn't know what to make of that. I told Paulie to stay put and went to check things out" he took a minute to gather his thoughts.
She could tell this was hard for him to get out. "You don't have to tell me if you want to Connor, I don't want to open wounds for you" she stopped him.
He shook his head, "no Mia, it's okay. Everyone already knows, or thinks they know what happened. You should know the truth" he stated.
She nodded and just stayed quiet, letting him get it out.
"When I got to my dad, he was outside standing on the porch with a blank look on his face. I followed his gaze and saw my mom laying on the ground, blood coming out of her mouth and her head cracked open from the fall. My dad told me that she threw herself off the roof. She had schizophrenia, but because my dad had to keep up reputation, he didn't let her get help. My dad said she was having delusions when she did it" he informed.
Mia grabbed her napkin and wiped her tears. She couldn't help it. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"My God Connor" she cried.
"I don't think my mom threw herself off the roof for nothing. I think her schizophrenia and delusions got the best of her and she couldn't pretend anymore for my dad. She couldn't be okay with the pretense anymore" he stated.
She nodded understanding, finally realizing why he got out of Chicago and away from his dad.
"You blame your dad for everything that happened" she realized out loud.
He looked at her with a sad smile and nodded. "Yeah, talk about an unrepairable relationship" he tried to make light of the situation.
She gave him a warning look, "Connor, that is not funny" she said as she wiped her tears.
"Come on, this was by far the worst date ever. I made you cry; I am just trying to salvage the situation" he teased with a sad smile.
After finishing dessert, and getting ready to leave, she walked around the table and gave him a hug and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you so much for telling me that and for this date. I had a wonderful time" she said with a grin.
He smiled and helped her put her jacket on before wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"You are an easy date then, I mean, we ate, drank, and I made you cry. Oh yeah, it was wonderful" he teased.
Mia laughed and cuddled into his side. "Yes, it was" she defended.
It really was a great night for Mia. She enjoyed hanging out with her friend and having a night out.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;
About an hour after Mia left with her friend, Nikki had dinner ready for everyone.
As with all the team guys, on the weekends, they liked to hang out with each other and their families.
Natalie and Ally were on the floor playing with Otis, Jeremy and Derek were sitting on the couch with a beer in their hands.
Nikki came out of the kitchen, "dinner is ready, get the kids cleaned up" she called out to the boys.
Derek and Jeremy stood up, Derek clapping his hands, "alright Monkey, you heard Aunt Nikki, dinner is ready" he said lifting her up into his arms.
He was about to take her to the bathroom to wash her hands when the doorbell rang.
Walking to the door, he looked through the peephole to see Clay and Stella.
"Well, it looks like your daddy is here" he said opening the door, Ally squealing in his arms when she saw her dad.
Clay grinned brightly when he saw his little girl. Putting his arms out, he took her from Derek as they walked into the house.
"Welcome, how are you feeling?" Derek asked Clay pointedly.
He nodded, "not bad, much better" he cuddled his daughter, kissing her cheek.
"Hi Stella" he greeted as they walked in.
Shutting the door behind them, he directed them to the kitchen, "Nikki just finished dinner. The Monkey needs her hands washed though" he said.
Clay nodded, "I'll do it" he took off towards the bathroom.
Stella walked into the kitchen and stopped awkwardly by the island. "Can I help you with anything Nikki?" she asked.
Nikki shook her head as she started putting serving plates of food on the island. She planned to do everything buffet style.
"No, I am good. Help yourself. There is more than enough. I made extras for the guys to take with them. God knows they don't cook for themselves" she teased.
Stella smiled awkwardly.
Clay came back from the bathroom with Ally in his arms. "Where's Mia?" he asked Derek and Jeremy from the living room.
Derek and Jeremy looked at each other before looking at Natalie, glancing at Clay, not sure how to answer.
"She had a date" Natalie said unaware of the complicated situation that was Clay and Mia's relationship.
Clay looked at his brothers, "what do you mean she had a date?" he asked Derek.
"You really want to know?" Jeremy asked.
Derek shook his head, "I told you this would happen" he replied.
"She is out with her friend from the hospital" Jeremy stated.
Clay fell onto the couch with Ally in his arms, sitting, curled into his daughter, bouncing her on his knee.
"Connor Rhodes?" he asked.
He remembered him from when Mia was pregnant. The smiles on her face when they were together got to him then and still get to him now.
"I met him you know. When Mia was pregnant, I went to meet her for the ultrasound and she was standing at the desk talking and laughing with him" he informed them, "she seemed happy. Her smiles were radiant" he explained.
"Clay, I told you this was going to happen if you didn't act" Derek said, "if she seems happy, then let her be happy" he replied.
"Yeah, I know" he sighed in defeat.
"Come on, let's get something to eat" Derek led them into the kitchen.
"Everyone help yourselves, the food is buffet style" Nikki said, standing at the center of the kitchen, next to the island, proud of herself for the display.
Derek walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "thanks babe" he kissed the side of her neck.
Stella made a plate for herself and Clay, while Clay made a plate for Ally of the soft stuff.
He put a piece of chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots and some water in her sippy cup.
"How are you feeling Clay?" Nikki asked as they all sat down for dinner.
He nodded as he put Ally in her highchair so she could help herself to her princess plate.
"Thanks for getting this stuff for her Nikki" Clay said referring to the highchair and the baby supplies.
Derek scoffed, "are you kidding me? I think she had more fun buying stuff than Ally does using it" he retorted.
"Um, excuse me, I am not the one who got all the toys and dollhouse" Nikki defended herself.
"They were cute. She needed something to play with at our house. Jeremy has Natalie, we needed ammo" he reasoned.
"You are ridiculous. You have Otis, that is a one up" Natalie added to the fire.
"True that Sunshine. That is why you are my favorite Junior" Derek teased, putting his fist out for Natalie to bump.
She laughed as she gave him a fist bump.
"Why am I friends with you?" Clay asked shaking his head.
Derek smiled, "because you love me, and I am special" he replied.
Jeremy snorted, "really special" he added, causing Nikki to smack his shoulder.
"Be nice" she reprimanded.
The whole dinner, Stella just sat there eating, watching how everyone else interacted.
It was like they had their own language, and she didn't know how to include herself in the conversation.
"How is your dissertation, Stella?" Nikki asked.
Stella nodded, "really good. I am doing a TA, graduate job, for my professor. My parents are actually coming for the holiday coming up" she informed them.
"That's great. Are you going to introduce Clay to your parents?" Derek added.
Stella looked at Clay and shrugged, "we haven't really talked about it yet" she replied.
"That's a big step" Jeremy stated.
"I'm sure we'll discuss it between us" Stella said causing everyone else to be quiet.
They got the hint that she didn't want them included in their relationship.
It was why Stella was outside the Seal family because she never wanted them included.
All the other girlfriends or spouses understood that due to the seriousness of the job, the guys were like a family.
Their extended families were always going to be connected.
After dinner, Nikki passed out some fruit and whipped cream dip for everyone. Derek put some cut up grapes and watermelon on Ally's princess plate on the highchair.
"Where is Mia tonight? I am surprised she is not here" Stella commented.
Derek smirked, looking from Jeremy to Natalie to Nikki. They all knew exactly what she was doing.
"She is on a date" Natalie answered her.
"Oh, wow. That's good" she replied genuinely surprised and with a little relief.
"Ally is coming home with us tonight. Mia said she was going Christmas shopping and decorating her house tomorrow" Clay stated, taking a bite from his fruit.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Connor dropped Mia off at her house and walked her to the door.
"Do you want to come in for coffee or tea?" she asked at the door.
Connor shook his head, "no, thanks, I need to get home and go over some charts that are piling on my desk" he said.
She nodded in understanding, "yeah, I get that. Natalie was over today, so she watched Ally for me, so I was able to get a lot of that done" she replied.
"Well, thank you for taking my mind off it. I had a great night with you, Mia. We definitely need to do it again" he stated.
Mia nodded and leant forward to give him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "I appreciate you taking me out and treating me like a girl. I really felt like a 29-year-old woman today instead of a mom" she teased.
He looked her up and down before wiggling his eyebrows, "trust me, you are definitely a woman to most people, not a mom" he replied.
Mia just threw her head back laughing. "You are such a nut. Thank you" she gave him one more hug before waiting for him to get in his car and leave.
He honked from the driveway, Mia waving as he drove off.
She waited until Connor was out of sight before going into the house.
Changing into some shorts and a tank top, she made herself comfortable in bed with a cup of tea and some Netflix.
It was really nice to have a night to herself.
The next morning, Mia woke up and immediately started getting boxes of decorations from the basement and garage.
She put everything in the living room and made a list of what she needed to get.
Mia was going to get Natalie a gift card for a mani/pedi, some spa gift cards for the girls, she got Jason some barbeque supplies, and all of the guys on the Teams a decanter for their whiskey or scotch with the Seal emblem and their Team engraved on it.
The only person she had trouble buying for was Clay. She wasn't sure what to get him and didn't want to cause issues with Stella again.
As she was going through the Christmas decorations, she found some ornaments from her, and Jason was little, and it got her thinking.
She browsed the internet to find a personalization website to design to make dog tags with a family picture of all three of them on it and a St. Michael charm on the necklace.
She also found a black military bracelet with an angel on it with Ally's birthstone of a light pink diamond for June. It matched the push present he got for her when she gave birth.
It was going to be perfect for him.
She went to Walmart and got more Christmas lights and other little knickknacks for the house before leaving.
When Mia got home, she immediately started putting up Christmas lights on the roof. She trailed the whole roof and attached them to the gutter.
As she was decorating the outside with lights and light-up decorations for her garden, Mrs. Vitucci was outside trying to shovel her driveway.
"Hey Clara" Mia called over as she slowly made her way across the street.
The older woman greeted her with a hug, "hi honey, how's my little bambina?" she asked.
Mia laughed, "she is good. She is at her dad's house. I am trying to get the house ready for Christmas with her" she replied before waving around, "what are you doing?" she asked.
"I was trying to break some ice and shovel a little. Mark wanted to do it, but you know with these medical issues, it is harder for him to breathe when he exerts himself" Clara replied.
There wasn't a lot of ice or snow on the ground, because they did live in Virginia Beach, but they did get some wet hail overnight.
Mia shook her head, "don't worry about that. I am going to call my nephew and he can do it" she stated.
Clara started protesting when Mia put her hand over the elder woman's, "please, he was coming to do mine anyway. He wouldn't mind, please let us do this" she pleaded.
The older woman nodded, "thank you dear" she started crying as she went into the house.
Mia went back across the street and finished her decorations outside. It was really cute.
She did all the lights. She put a Santa on the porch that lights up, some candy canes and reindeer that lights up in the garden.
Grabbing her phone, she texted Mikey so he was prepared when he got there.
It wasn't long before Mia started decorating the inside when Mikey came from hockey practice.
"Hi Aunt Mia" he said dropping his hockey bag in the laundry room.
Mia came out of the kitchen, "hi Mikey, are you hungry? I am making some pepperoni bread for lunch" she greeted him with a hug.
He shook his head, "no, thanks Aunt Mia. I am going to get started on Mrs. Vitucci's driveway and then I will finish with yours. Is the snowblower in the garage?" he asked.
She nodded, "yeah, do you need help?" She went to help him as he made his way up the driveway.
"No, I'm good Aunt Mia. I'll be back in a little while" he said pushing the snow blower down the driveway.
Crossing the street, he went up to the Vitucci's door and knocked.
Clara opened the door, smiling at the sight of Mikey.
"Hi honey, thank you for coming and helping us" she greeted him with a hug.
He nodded and waved her off. "No problem, I just came from hockey, so it is not that big of a difference" he teased, walking into the house.
Mark was sitting on the couch, watching some football.
Mikey walked in went straight to the couch and leant over to hug the elderly man.
"Hi Mr. Vitucci, how are you feeling?" he asked.
Mark smiled up at him, "I am alright. This damn hip is kicking my ass though" he replied.
Mikey chuckled, nodding in understanding.
"Well, that beats being slammed into boards every day. I swear Emma freaks out every time she sees me without my shirt. I am so bruised it is not even funny" he teased.
"But you love it" Mark reasoned.
Mikey smiled and nodded, "absolutely" he replied.
Mark nodded with a chuckle. "Do you need any help out there?" he asked.
Mikey shook his head, "no I am okay. I have Aunt Mia's snowblower. Uncle Clay and Dad pretty much raided Home Depot and put it in her garage. Do you have salt? I will salt your driveway after I am done" he said.
"There should be some in the garage. I think Clara ordered some a couple days ago" Mark replied.
Mikey nodded and went outside into the garage. He did see the bag of salt, grabbing it and carrying it to the front of the driveway.
He put it on the steps and got to work.
Starting the snowblower, he started going up and down the driveway, pushing the snow on the sides, so the snow was on the grass.
As he started up the driveway, Mark came out and stood on the porch with his cane, watching Mikey.
Clara came out and started going behind him, spraying salt on the driveway.
Once Mikey finished snow blowing the driveway.
He grabbed the shovel he brought with him and started shoveling the stairs, salting to make sure they were able to safely go up and down the stairs.
"Thank you so much for this honey" Clara patted his back.
Mikey nodded, "no problem Mrs. Vitucci, it wasn't a big deal" he replied.
"Come on in for hot chocolate" Mark called out from the porch.
"Thanks Mark, maybe next time. Aunt Mia has lunch ready for me" he stated.
Clara nodded, going up to stand next to Mark. "Next time you come over okay" Clara said.
Mikey nodded and waved as he drove the snowblower across the street.
When Mikey walked in the house, it smelled like pepperoni bread and Christmas.
"Wow Aunt Mia, you made progress" he looked around the house and saw that it looked like a wonderland.
She smiled as she looked around proud of herself. She really did make good progress.
"You think so? I thought I did good" she replied.
"Ally is going to love it" Mikey replied helping himself to some pepperoni bread and lemonade.
Mia smiled and made herself a plate, sitting next to him at the table.
"What time is Ally coming back?" he asked, "I want to see her before I have to go finish my homework" he added.
"She's coming. We are going to get the Christmas tree and decorate it tonight, so I think she is excited" Mia stated.
He laughed and nodded in agreement. He knew his cousin. Even though she was little, she was smart.
She understood things and caught onto things. She was going to love Christmas.
"I am ready for our Santa visit tomorrow. I think she is going to flip" Mikey teased.
Mia laughed, "I know honey. I am excited. It is her first Christmas; I want to do everything" she replied.
Mikey nodded in understanding. It was going to be fun watching his cousin experience everything for the first time.
After lunch, Mikey made his way home and Mia continued to decorate.
Since they were going to get the tree, she wanted to take out everything and get it ready, so all they had to do was get the tree.
Mia finished up some charts before starting dinner.
She was in the middle of making some chicken stuffed bacon and vegetables when the doorbell rang.
The door opened to reveal Clay and Ally. He walked in "Mia" he called out, dropping Ally's bag off at the door.
Mia walked out of the kitchen, smiling as she watched her daughter look around the living room.
She smiled at Clay as she took Ally into her arms, "what do you think Princess?"
Ally kept looking at all the Santa's, the lights, and reindeer.
Sitting on the floor next to the fireplace in the living room, Mia had reindeer and Santa's and danced and made noises.
"Look Ally" she pressed the button on Santa's hand and the reindeer's ear as they started wiggling.
Ally squealed and started bouncing in her mom's arms.
Clay discreetly pulled out his phone and recorded the video. It was really cute.
He put his phone away and stood by the couch, his arms crossed, still in his jacket.
"You ready to go get the tree?" he asked.
It was beyond awkward. Clay wanted to apologize, but he didn't know how.
Mia looked up at him and nodded, "how are you feeling?" she asked.
He nodded, "better, thanks Mia" he replied.
She got up and handed him Ally as she grabbed her coat, bag, and Ally's backpack.
"No problem" she waved him off.
He shook his head, "no, I mean thank for everything that happened when I was in the hospital. I am sorry for what Stella did" he said.
Mia froze from the living room. "That isn't something for you to apologize for" she replied.
He nodded, getting the message that she didn't want to hash this out with him.
It wasn't his battle to fight. It was something Stella needed to do.
He opened the door as Mia walked out, closing the door behind him.
She walked over to Clay's jeep and got in the passenger seat. Clay got Ally settled in her car seat in the back.
"Where are we going?" he asked, getting the driver's seat.
"There's a little church that is selling trees by Target. It is right in the parking lot" she informed him.
He nodded and made his way towards the supercenter plaza. There were a lot of people in the parking lot.
It was really cute, because there was fake snow, a hot chocolate stand, and pine trees everywhere.
They even had a Santa that was passing out candy canes.
There were different sections of a variety of trees.
"Look Ally" she pointed to Santa and all around.
Mia walked over to Santa with Ally in her arms. Ally squeezed her arm around her mom's neck as she got closer.
"Say hi Santa" she said, bouncing the baby a little.
"Hi" Ally squealed.
Santa belly juggled, "ho ho ho" he handed her a candy cane.
Mia smiled, "thank you" she said taking the candy cane.
Clay wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her away and towards the Douglas Fraser trees.
Mia wanted a real tree, but she also wanted something that wouldn't hurt them or shed a lot.
Douglas Fraser was the perfect kind. It had soft bristles and smelled beautifully.
Clay just smiled as he walked around the lot with Mia and Ally, watching as they inspected each tree looking for different details and characteristics.
He watched as they went around multiple times, stopping at the same tree each time.
"What do you think about this one?" she asked looking back at Clay.
He nodded, just smiling at her. "You are a nut you know that. We have been here for over an hour, and you have stopped at this same tree three times" he teased.
She scoffed, "we had to make sure to it was the right one for us, isn't that right Princess?" she asked looking at her daughter.
Ally just cuddled into her mom's neck, her head laying on Mia's shoulder.
Clay just shook his head, "you wore my baby out" he said taking her from her arms.
Mia walked over to the guys working the tree lot.
"Excuse me, we'll take this one over here" she waved the guy down and led him to their preferred tree.
Clay watched Mia walk over and pretty much walked the guy over to help them.
"Your mom is a boss" he mumbled against Ally's temple.
He laughed as Mia directed how she wanted to cut the tree and wrap it so they could put it on the top of the jeep.
Clay got Ally settled in her car seat as the guy finished tying the tree to the car. Mia got in the front seat.
"I'll go pay for the tree. Do you want hot chocolate for the ride home?" he asked.
She nodded, "yes please" she replied from under her lashes.
He just shook his head chuckling, leaving his girls in the car so he could go pay for the tree and get Mia a hot chocolate.
"That's quite a gal you got there" the guy noted referring to Mia.
Clay looked back at the car and saw Mia smiling and singing with Ally from between the seats.
He smiled and nodded in understanding. "Yeah, that's one way of putting it" he teased.
The guy handed him a to go cup of hot chocolate as he processed his card to pay for the Christmas tree.
"Thank you for coming to support the church. Merry Christmas and may God bless your family" he said handing Clay the credit card back.
Clay nodded with a smile, grabbing the hot chocolate, "thank you, you too" he replied as he turned back towards the car.
Handing Mia her hot chocolate, he got in the driver's seat.
"Thank you" she said taking a sip of her cup, "do you want to decorate tonight?" she asked.
He nodded, "sounds good" he replied.
She nodded and continued to drink her hot chocolate.
When they got to Mia's house, she pulled Ally out of the car seat and carried her into the house.
"Come on babe, we have to open the door for daddy" she said, bouncing her into the house.
Mia put Ally in her playpen and opened the front door for Clay. She had Mikey move the furniture, so everything was already prepared.
Clay untied the tree from the top of the jeep and brought it down to the front steps.
"Can you get me the tree stand? I am going to put it in out here, so it can settle" he said.
Mia nodded and went in to grab it from the living room. She brought it out and put it on the ground, helping Clay put it in the stand.
"Hold it up for me, I am going to tighten the stand" he said kneeling, twisting the nails into the stump.
Mia held the tree by the middle of the trunk as Clay went around the bottom tightening the nails on the stand.
Once he was done, he stood up and stood next to the tree. "Okay, what do you think?" he asked.
She went up on the porch to look and make sure the tree was straight.
"It's perfect. I had Mikey move the furniture, so let's get it in the house" she clapped excitedly, bouncing in the house.
Clay carried the tree into the house and straight to the corner in the living room, in front of the window.
He set the stand down, "is it good?" he asked.
She looked it over and nodded. "Yeah, it is good" she replied, taking off her coat.
Bringing a liter pop bottle with some sugar water, she handed it to Clay to water the tree.
"Let's give it time to settle. We can eat first. I have chicken stuffed bacon with mozzarella cheese and veggies in the crockpot" she informed him.
He nodded, "yeah, sounds good" he replied taking off his coat, grabbing hers to put in the closet by the door, closing it behind him.
He grabbed Ally out of the playpen and went over to the table.
Mia tied her hair up and grabbed some plates for them. She took the chicken and veggies out of the crockpot and dished them out.
Cutting up some chicken and veggies, she put them in a princess dish and poured some water in a sippy cup.
Putting the dish on the highchair, Mia teased her daughter, "let's go Princess, time to eat" she picked her up and put her in the highchair, fastening her bib on.
Ally picked up her fork and started eating.
Mia grabbed the plates from the counter and put them on the table. "Do you want some beer or do you want to try my Christmas cocktail?" she asked.
"What is it?" he looked at her curious.
"It is basically Tequila spiced lime. It is delicious" she replied, making herself a glass.
"Here, taste mine" she handed him her glass.
He took a sip and put it down by her plate. "Not bad, I'll take one" he replied.
Mia made him a cocktail consisting of silver tequila, lime juice, cranberry spiced syrup and ginger beer.
It sounds really gross, but it tasted delicious.
She handed him a glass, before taking her seat, digging into dinner. The chicken stuffed bacon was something new that she was trying.
"What do you think? It was a new recipe" she said.
He nodded, "Mia, nothing you have done is ever bad. This is the bomb" he replied.
She smiled and nodded, "good" she laughed at her daughter, as Ally squealed and lifted up her fork with some chicken on it.
Clay smiled at his daughter and leant over, taking a bite from Ally. "Thanks Angel" he replied.
After dinner, Mia cleaned up and made them all some peppermint hot chocolate.
Clay started moving the boxes in the living room. Mia started going through the boxes, grabbing Ally and walking over to the tree.
Each ornament she picked up, she helped her daughter put it on the tree.
Ally was so amazed and excited as she put each ornament on the tree. It took them a couple of hours to decorate the whole tree, but it was beautiful.
Every once and a while, Clay would stop and take pictures on his phone of his girls.
The excitement and joy on Ally's face was contagious.
He just smiled at her reactions to everything.
"What do you think baby?" Mia asked, holding Ally in her arms, facing the tree.
"Etty Mama" she replied.
Mia smiled and looked over to Clay happy with their night.
The awkwardness and tension they felt at the beginning of the night had dissipated. They were just enjoying being a family together.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The next day, everyone met up at the mall for pictures with Santa.
It was really cute because at the mall, they set up a Christmas wonderland, with the Santa chair in the middle.
There were elves everywhere, fake reindeer that move, Christmas trees, and poinsettias, it was just beautiful.
Stopping to get Christmas cookies, they all stood in line to take Ally's first picture with Santa.
Jason was teasing RJ and Jameelah, pretending to be oblivious about Santa.
"Are you telling me that kids believe in Santa and that he flies all over the world in a sled, pulled by reindeer, to deliver toys?" he asked, surprised.
"Yeah, Uncle Jason, it's magic" he explained.
Clay laughed, "this line is taking forever" he complained, looking to see that they were still towards the end of the line.
"It's the week before Christmas. Of course, the line is taking forever" Ray reasoned.
"I am just saying this is ridiculous. I didn't realize what a big deal this is to everyone" Clay replied.
Jason took the bag of cookies from Emma, opened one and took out a piece, handing it to Clay.
"Eat this" he said.
"Why?" Clay asked as Ally held the cookie for her dad, up to his mouth.
"Because if you are talking, you aren't eating" Jason reasoned causing the girls to throw their heads back laughing.
Ally followed her mom and aunt's lead, laughing, causing the cookie to be waved around as she flailed her arms.
They slowly moved their way through the line, getting closer and closer to Santa.
As they got to the front of the line, the kids got more excited.
"Uncle Clay, there's Santa" RJ was jumping up and down excited.
"I see buddy, what are you going to ask for?" he asked with a smile at his excitement.
"I don't know, maybe a truck, or a baby brother" RJ replied, causing all the guys to look at Ray bursting out laughing.
"I don't think Santa is going to help you with that buddy" Mia tried to say with a straight face.
RJ just shrugged like they didn't know what they were talking about.
Moving with the line, it was their turn to see Santa.
Jameelah and RJ walked right up to him and sat on his lap. Clay walked up with them, Ally out of his arms, trying to sit her with JJ.
"Come on Ally it's Santa" RJ stated, waving his friend down.
"NO!" Ally cried, holding onto her dad for dear life. "No daddy no" she squeezed her arms tighter around his neck.
Clay laughed, standing up with her in his arms. "Okay, it's okay. You don't have to. Maybe next year we can try this again" he kissed the side of her head, rubbing his hand up and down her back.
"No" Ally whined again, fighting to stay in her dad's arms.
Clay shifted her in his arms and went away from Santa.
Mia shook her head with a smile. Ally really had him wrapped around her finger.
"No, you have to try. It's Santa" she took Ally from Clay, rubbing her back.
Ally wrapped her arms around her mom's neck, curling into her mom's arms.
Mia walked over to Santa and stood next to Jameelah, so she was next to Santa, but Ally was still in her arms.
"Ally can sit with us Aunt Mia" Jameelah said opening her arms for Ally.
Mia smiled and leant over, placing Ally in Jameelah's lap standing next to them in case she started freaking out again.
The older man who was playing Santa, put his arm around the girls, helping hold the little princess.
Santa looked at RJ and Jameelah, smiling at them. "HO HO HO" he called out.
"I am assuming you have been good this year and are on the good list?" he asked.
The kids nodded enthusiastically. Jameelah handed Santa their lists. "We have been super good" JJ said in representation for her little brother.
"And I got good grades this year, and RJ got soccer trophies. We also play with Ally and help Aunt Mia and Uncle Clay with Ally" JJ informed Santa.
"We would like new bikes, a new soccer ball for me, a computer for JJ. And I want a baby brother" RJ spouted off their demands.
"Well, I think we better talk to your mom and dad about the brother huh?" Santa teased, looking at the adults.
The adults started laughing, Jason nudging Ray with his shoulder. "Yeah Ray, you better get on that" he teased.
"And what does your cousin want?" Santa asked, referring to Ally.
"Probably a doll or something to chew on" RJ said.
"Yeah, she is starting to eat real food, so her mouth hurts, so she should probably get a new stuffed doll she can drool on" JJ added.
Laughing, Santa nodded for the lady elf to get ready and take the picture.
"Wait, can we take one with mom and dad too?" Mia asked.
Santa nodded, waving them over.
Jason grabbed Mia's cellphone and stood ready to take the picture.
She grabbed Clay's hand and dragged him over to Santa. Mia got on one side, while Clay got on the other.
While the little elf took the picture, Jason snapped some with Mia's cellphone.
"Thanks Jase" she took her phone back, while Clay grabbed Ally.
It was really fun. They all took advantage of being at the mall and together. They walked around and took advantage of the Christmas decorations. It was beautiful.
Besides, it was fun for Mia to spend some family time with Clay and Ally without Stella and it being awkward.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Christmas Eve, Mia spent the night at her brother's house with Clay. They were all gathering there anyway for Christmas day.
Jason woke up first and heard Ally from her bedroom. He walked in to see her standing at the gates of her crib, looking up at him, waiting for someone to pick her up.
"Someone's awake awfully early. You must know there are presents for you downstairs" Jason whispered, picking up his niece out of her crib.
Trying to be quiet, he kissed her cheek before she rested her head against his shoulder, as Jason walked down the hallway.
He peaked into the boy's room first. Cole was sleeping on one bed while Mikey was sprawled against another one, both snoring loud enough to wake the neighborhood.
He chuckled, as Ally lifted her head at the noise. "I know what you are thinking Princess, but you are the one that said he was your favorite Seal" he whispered, shutting door.
Walking down the hall a little more and he opened the door to see Clay and Mia, completely wrapped in each other fast asleep.
Mia was practically on top of him, her head resting peacefully on his chest, as he held a protective arm around her.
Jason looked at Ally, staring at her parents lovingly and smiled, "you won't be sleeping like that with a guy until you are at least 40 and I am good and dead" he teased, laughing a little when she giggled.
He shut the door and then peaked in on Emma. She was fast asleep, her head sandwiched between her pillows.
Shutting the door quietly, he made his way downstairs to the living room.
He plugged in the Christmas tree and turned on the lights. Jason sat on the recliner, putting the feet up, cuddling Ally in his chest, as he laid back and just enjoyed the moment with his niece.
It wasn't long before he heard footsteps from upstairs. He looked up and saw Mikey and Cole coming down the stairs, sounding like a herd of elephants.
"Merry Christmas Dad" Mikey greeted as he jumped off the last step and walked into the living room, plopping on the couch, taking Ally from Jason.
Mikey cuddled her on his chest, "Merry Christmas Gumdrop" he kissed the top of her head.
Ally rested her head under his chin and her little body on his stomach.
Cole sat next to them, "Merry Christmas Master Chief" he greeted.
Jason nodded at them. "Merry Christmas" he said to Cole before turning to Mikey, "did you wake up your sister?" he asked.
Mikey shook his head, "no, she was still sleeping when I checked" he said.
Jason nodded, before he could go up and wake up Emma, he heard her jumping down the stairs, two down at a time.
"Morning dad, Merry Christmas" she jumped right over and wrapped him in a hug before moving to her brother and boyfriend.
"Merry Christmas boys" she kissed their cheeks.
She sat down next to them, settling against Cole, resting her head against his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.
He leant forward and kissed the top of her head, "Merry Christmas Angel" he said against her head.
"We'll open gifts when your aunt and uncle wake up" Jason informed them.
Clay woke up first, smiling when he smelled cinnamon and vanilla spice. Cuddling into the crook of her neck, he pressed kisses under her earlobe, at the point where her neck met her shoulder.
Mia moaned and stretched, titling her neck for better access. "Merry Christmas" he whispered.
She smiled and turned to face him, "Merry Christmas" she greeted him.
"Thank you for letting me be here Mia. I don't know what I would do if I missed my daughter's first Christmas" he thanked.
"I wouldn't keep you away from your daughter Clay. I told you that, I promised you that, and that is never going to change. We have to be there for each other" she replied.
He nodded, "let's go have Christmas then" he stated, getting up, holding his hand out for Mia.
She got up and threw on a sweatshirt over her pajamas before following him downstairs.
Mia smiled to see Ally cuddled into Mikey. She walked over to her brother and greeted him with a hug.
"Merry Christmas Jase" she greeted.
It was her first Christmas with her brother and her family in a long time.
He kissed the top of her head, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, keeping her cuddled to his chest.
"Merry Christmas Mims" he said.
Jason was really glad to have his sister home for his first Christmas without Alannah, and his little Ally. He didn't know what he would do without his little Gumdrop.
Mia greeted the kids each with a hug and kisses, wishing them Merry Christmas while Clay did the same, starting with his boss.
Everyone else was coming over later for dinner for Christmas, so they had all morning for themselves.
Mia picked up Ally from Mikey, "should we see what Santa brought us under the tree?" she asked, sitting on the floor in front of the tree.
"Mama" Ally squealed, sitting in her mom's lap, laying back against her.
"Or what daddy spent until two in the morning building?" Clay mocked, laughing as Mia smacked his stomach.
"Shut up Clay" she warned him. She wanted to make this Christmas and holiday perfect.
Clay and Jason just started laughing. "You two hush! I want this Christmas to be perfect" she informed them.
They just saluted her, "whatever you say boss" they teased.
Jason started getting presents from under the tree and passed them out to the person they were meant for.
Mia helped Ally open her gifts. She got some Fisher Price toys for her to play with, princess dolls, a soldier teddy bear with Clay's voice in it for when he was spun up.
The best gift she got that she loved beyond reason came from her favorite Uncle Jason. He got her a little tyke Barbie car that was battery operated.
Cole and Emma got her some floaties and pool accessories and toys for her to play with. Mikey got her a mini trampoline and T-ball set.
He was determined to make her into an athlete.
"Wow, say thank you Princess" Mia passed her around to everyone.
Ally wrapped her arms around everyone for a hug. Slowly, grabbing onto the table, she walked her way to each person, resting against her cousin Mikey when she got to him.
Mia handed out her gifts to everyone, feeling a little nervous when Clay started opening his gifts.
When he got to the necklace of the dog tags, he froze, looking up at Mia surprised.
"Mia" he was beyond words.
She shook her head, "it's not from me, it's from Ally" she replied.
He leant forward, wrapping his arms around both of his girls, kissing the side of Mia's head, before grabbing Ally, kissing the top of her head.
"Thank you, Angel," he said.
"And this is for you" he handed her a small box.
Mia unwrapped the gift and saw that it was a black velvet box. Looking up at him surprised, she opened the gift, Ally still in her arms.
Tears started rolling down her cheeks. She looked up at him smiling. "Thank you, Clay," she said, reaching up, kissing his cheek.
She pulled out the infinity necklace and put it on. It was beautiful. Similar to the locket one she got him, it was an infinity with each of their names engraved on it, intertwined with each other.
The symbolism meant something to Mia.
She hugged him, Ally, in the middle of them. Clay sighed and wrapped his arms around Mia's waist, pulling her tight against him.
"Thank you so much Clay" she whispered again against his ear.
He nodded in the crook of her neck, "you're more than welcome" he replied pulling away.
"Good Christmas Mia?" Jason asked.
She smiled and wiped her tears, "the best Christmas" she stated.