A/N: Hello, you lovely people- This chapter is a little light on the details, because I was rushing to get it finished in time for Christmas. Maybe think of it like an Impressionist painting? :(

"Look, all I'm saying is, it seems a little off-brand that someone who loves Christmas as much as you do" –Paige paused to point to Emily's "This Girl Loves Christmas" shirt, her reindeer handbag and her Santa slippers – "isn't into the Hallmark Christmas movies."

Emily couldn't help grunting and rolling her eyes. "I'm into Christmas," she said with just a hint of annoyance in her voice. "That doesn't mean I'm into cheesy movies that happen to be set in Christmas."

"Okay, but, since when has cheesy been a deal-breaker for you? Need I mention – Rudy?"

"Hey! You leave 'Rudy' out of this!" Emily tried to keep a straight face as she bumped shoulders with Paige, but she couldn't keep a smile from sneaking through.

Paige playfully put her hands up in surrender. "All right! All right! Still, my point is, you could at least give them a try."

"I've seen them all, Paige," Emily said, with a world-weary tone, "I've seen them all!"

"What do you mean you've seen them all? There are like 50 new movies just this season!"

"Yeah. And I've seen one of them, so, I've seen them all. They're all the same: Local girl moves to the big city to escape her hometown, but she comes back for Christmas, but – oh no! – there's a crisis!" Emily raised her voice in mock urgency. "And, she can't just let the town fend for itself, so she tries to help, but the guy she has to work with doesn't trust big-city folk, and they fight like cats and dogs until the spirit of Christmas brings them together. She's not going back to the big city. She remembers what she loves about her hometown."

Paige, who'd been shaking her head through all of Emily's speech, opened her mouth to protest but nodded instead. "Okay, yeah. That does describe about 90% of them."

"Only 90%?" Emily chuckled and nodded with her head to start walking again.

"Well, sometimes," Paige shrugged, "the girl's flight gets diverted to the small town, and she's stuck there until the storm clears, and, meanwhile, she discovers…"

"The true meaning of Christmas. Yeah." Emily squeezed Paige's hand a bit tighter. "Anyway, I would think you would hate those movies."

Paige pointed to her chest. "Me?" Emily nodded. "Why would I hate them."

Emily let out a sigh. "Because," she began slowly, "You escaped your hometown and made a life in the city, and you're only going back for Christmas. Maybe you'll get stuck there."

"Ain't going to happen!" Paige said flatly. "That's the thing – I watch those movies because they're a fantasy; an escape. Real life doesn't happen like that!"

"Ooh!" Emily let go of Paige's hand and reached for an ornament on display in one of the outdoor shops they were passing. "My Mom would love that, don't you think?" Paige nodded but didn't say anything. "What? You don't think she'd like it?"

"No, she'd like it," Paige replied. "But, you know," she said with a pause, "we don't need to carry a lot of gifts back with us on the flight. We'll have plenty of time to shop when we get to Rosewood."

"I know!" Emily tried not to sound hurt as she put the ornament back into the display. "I just like Christmas shopping with you." She felt a little silly admitting it.

Paige put her arm around Emily's shoulder and gave it a rub. "I like it, too." She gave Emily's temple a kiss. "Sorry – I'm just – I hate packing and going through the airport and all that hassle."

Emily pouted sympathetically. "Thanks for going back with me."

"I can't wait! Christmas at the Fieldses' house, are you kidding me?"

Emily laughed. "Yeah. It'll be great to see everyone." As they walked a little farther, she added, "You know what I'm really looking forward to? Going to the Christmas Village in Philly."

"Oh, yeah. That'll be fun!"

"Don't get me wrong. I don't hate Christmas in LA. But it doesn't really feel like Christmas, you know what I mean? I can't wait to put on our hats and scarves – and to hold mittens instead of holding hands."

"Yeah, and drinking hot chocolate as we watch people skating at City Hall."

"Mmm." Emily looked at Paige with a devious smile. "If this were a Hallmark movie, they'd show a close-up of our hands right now, and then dissolve to us holding hands with mittens on in Philly."

Paige laughed at that. "Well, I'm glad it's not a movie," she said, giving Emily a peck on the cheek, "because I don't want to skip ahead. I want to enjoy every day with you."

Emily smiled, crinkling up her nose, and gave Paige a kiss. Every day. Paige wanted to spend every day with her.

The wheels had already been turning in Emily's head, but that thought got them spinning a little more purposefully.

"Now, the thing you need to know about this party is, stay away from the egg nog!"

"Stay away from the egg nog?" Emily was smiling, thinking that Paige was joking.

Paige nodded her head. "Stay far away from it. Aeryn is – well, she's rather liberal with the booze. Like Marzipan liberal."

"Marzipan?"

Paige laughed out loud. "Did I say Marzipan? I meant Melizopam. You remember? Me making a spectacle of myself at your catering gig and passing out?"

Emily caressed Paige's cheek with her palm. "How could I forget?" Paige smiled to let her know she was okay. "But I'm sure Aeryn's punch isn't that bad, Paige."

"Oh, it is that bad, Em. Look, I'm not saying don't drink. I'm just saying, pace yourself."

Emily loosened her seat belt and slid closer to Paige in their Uber, taking her arm. "Well, I'm not really going there to drink. It'll just be good to see Aeryn and Terry again. It's been – God; it's been forever since we've seen them!"

"Yeah. I mean, we didn't really go anywhere during all of 2021."

"It's good to be able to get out and see people again."

"You know, I don't think you ever told me how you and Aeryn met."

"Oh, I never told you?" Emily shook her head. "We met at a dog park."

"I didn't know you had a dog?" Emily's eyes lit up with excitement for a split second, but she quickly reverted to a neutral expression. It was always hard to lose a dog, and Emily wasn't sure what had happened to Paige's dog.

"Well, it wasn't actually my dog," Paige explained. "One of my colleagues asked me to dog-sit for him when he went on vacation."

"Oh!" Emily gave Paige a wink. "I thought you were going to say you rented a dog, to pick up women."

"That actually wouldn't be a bad strategy," Paige chuckled. "I did meet a lot of women, walking Coco."

"Cocoa?"

"Yeah – Coco Chanel. That was her name."

"Oh. When you said it, I assumed it was 'Cocoa,' with an 'A'."

Paige nodded. "That's what most people thought – especially because she was, like, a chocolate brown. Ted actually got her a 'Chanel' charm for her collar, but, of course, nobody ever looked at the collar?"

"What kind of dog?"

"I'm not sure. She was a rescue. She was small, about 20 pounds. Not, like carry-in-your-purse small, but not one of the large breeds."

"And Aeryn had a dog?"

"She had a Scottie. Actually, it was Liz's dog. They had just broken up, but – well, you know Aeryn. She doesn't know the meaning of the word, 'enemy.' She and Liz were still good friends. Fitzie was Liz's dog, but Aeryn still took her to the dog park from time to time."

"So, you and she hit it off?"

"Fitzie and Coco hit it off, actually. But, yeah, we started talking while they were roughhousing in the park, and we got to know each other. We started getting together for coffee or whatever, and pretty soon, one thing led to another."

"Aww." Emily smiled and rubbed Paige's arm, then kissed her on the shoulder. After a sigh, she said, "We should get a dog."

"Right!" Paige said sarcastically, almost laughing out loud.

"No, I'm serious!"

"Does the building even allow dogs?"

"Not right away, but…" Emily looked into Paige's eyes, not getting the reaction she wanted. "You don't want to get a dog with me?"

"I mean – maybe someday, if we move to a place with more room and some kind of yard. It's hard on a dog to have to live in an apartment, you know? They need room to be able to run around and be a dog."

"Like a dog park?"

"Like a dog park!" Paige shook her head quickly. "No, wait – not like a dog park." She playfully grabbed Emily possessively. "I'm not letting you go to that meat market and get chatted up by other women!"

"Aha!" Emily dramatically pulled out of Paige's grip. "So, you admit that you only kept the dog to go meet women!"

"Emily! Emily, Emily, Emily!" Aeryn stopped mid-conversation and ran to the door when she saw Paige and Emily coming in. She stamped her feet in excitement before giving Emily a long hug. "And Paige!" she added, just as enthusiastically as she shifted over to hug Paige. "Man, it's great to see you two! What are you drinking? Can I get you some egg nog?"

"Just a little one," Emily said cautiously. "I can't really drink the way I did when I was a kid anymore."

Aeryn frowned, tilting her head and wagging her finger at Paige. "What's she been telling you?"

"The truth!" Paige scoffed.

"Oh, Paige!" Aeryn tapped Paige's chest lightly. "That's ancient history. I don't party like that anymore either. Here!" She grabbed Paige by the arm and towed her to the drinks table, with Emily right behind them. "So, there are three levels," she explained, pointing to the handmade signs in front of three punch bowls filled with egg nog. "There's the Blessed Virgin, untouched by alcohol, there's Mary's Donkey, mild, but with just a bit of a kick, and the Gift of the Magi. One cup of this," she confided to Emily, giving Paige a sly wink, "and you'll see a star rising in the East!"

"Okay - I uh, I actually think I'll just stick with club soda for now."

"Club Soda it is!" Aeryn enthused. "Good – You'll need a clear head. I want an honest critique of my décor, from a true pro like you!"

Emily took a look around the room. It was definitely not traditional Christmas décor. The tree was actually a giant pyramid of red Coca Cola cans and green Sprite cans. It was next to a large cardboard box that had been painted to look like a brick fireplace, framing a TV that was showing a video f a roaring fire. Occaisonally, a hand would show up on-screen to stoke the fire or add another log. There were thigh-high socks hanging from the box, instead of Christmas stockings, and, on top of the box were greeting cards with messages like, "Merry Bitchmas" and one with Santa, holding a martini, saying, "Guess who made the naughty list this year." There were so many hand-cut snowflakes in the windows that it seemed Aeryn had been cutting them out since New Year's Day.

"Whoa!" Emily couldn't help but saying.

"Good 'Whoa' or bad 'Whoa?'"

"This is amazing!" Emily's eyes were wide as she tried to take it all in.

"Good amazing or bad amazing?"

"It's wonderful," Emily clarified.

Aeryn laughed at that. "You don't have to be polite," she said. "I know it's not the traditional thing you're used to."

"No," Emily insisted, "this is perfect. My Mom always said that Christmas decorations should reflect the house, and there's nothing more fitting for this apartment!"

"Awww!" Aeryn leaned in and kissed Emily's cheek. "I love ya, dude!"

By the time Terry fired up the karaoke machine, Emily had progressed from Club Soda to the Mary's Donkey egg nog.

"Whoooooo!"

It wasn't just the alcohol that made her respond like that.

"I freaking love karaoke!" she shouted at Paige.

Paige, who hadn't gone beyond the Blessed Virgin, chuckled to herself. "I remember a time when I practically had to drag you up on the stage for karaoke!"

"I know!" Emily said before Paige could even get a breath. "I saw a completely different Paige that night. So confident; so assertive; so – "

"So ballsy!" Paige couldn't help smiling, remembering that night, and her progressive steps of boldness. It was bold just to leave that note in Emily's locker, and then actually to show up; bold bringing up the kiss, and then coming out to Emily; bold to take the first step onto the stage, in front of a room full of strangers, with no guarantee that Emily would join her. She wasn't nearly as confident as she was pretending to be, but she would have done anything to make an impression on Emily that night. Later on, in the parking lot, when Emily stopped in front of her car, shifted her hair out of the way and leaned in, it made it all worthwhile. Fortune favors the brave.

Paige dipped her head. "Actually," she admitted, "I was scared shitless!" Emily's jaw dropped on hearing this, but it did kind of make sense, when she remembered how cagey Paige was, back before she officially came out. "But some things are worth the risk."

Some things are worth the risk. Paige didn't know how true those words were. But this wasn't the night for taking that risk. "Come on, Paige!" Emily pulled Paige onto the stage and grabbed the microphone, holding it between them as they belted out a very loud, very out of tune rendition of "Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer."

"This was a good night," Emily remarked as she slid under the covers.

Paige held out her arm for Emily to settle into. "A good night," she agreed. They sat in silence for a moment before Paige added, "You know, it was great to reconnect with some of our old friends, but what was really great was to be able to reconnect with you, you know? To be able to reminisce about the shenanigans we got up to back when we were kids."

Emily smiled, planting a kiss on Paige's neck. "Yeah, it was really great remembering." She pulled Paige's arm a little tighter around her and kissed her. "I love you, Paige."

"Love you, too, Em."

"Have I mentioned how much I hate flying?" Paige asked, folding a camisole and dropping it into her suitcase.

Emily rolled her eyes dramatically. "Only about eight thousand times!" She crinkled her nose to let Paige know that she was only kidding.

"I don't mind the actual flying part. It's just the packing, and the lines at the airport, and waiting for the flight, and the layovers, and waiting for the luggage, and the unpacking." The droning of Paige's voice emphasized the monotony of it all.

"Sorry," Emily pouted. "I really tried to get direct flights, but they were just so much more expensive than flying with layovers."

Paige strode over to Emily and wrapped her arms around her waist. Emily wrapped hers around Paige's, and Paige swayed them back and forth as she kissed her. "It's fine," she reassured her. "Layovers aren't so bad when you've got someone to hang out with. I was just thinking about all those business trips I had to take by myself. It felt as if I was living in these stopover cities." She stepped away, to resume her packing. "But, even so, it wasn't that bad. Each airport is like a little microcosm of the city, and it's nice to stretch your legs and explore while you wait for your flight."

"We'll make the best of it," Emily promised her with a kiss. "And, if I get to be too boring for you, you can watch one of the thousands of Hallmark Christmas movies that you DVR-ed!"

Emily was barely awake, leaning heavily on Paige as they walked through the terminal and took the escalator down to baggage claim. It felt good, to Paige, to have Emily lean on her like that. She liked the feeling of being Emily's protector; her rock.

Emily perked up immediately when she caught sight of her mother waiting for her outside of baggage claim. The two were frozen in place for a second, squealing, with their arms out wide, before they came together in a huge, long hug. "Emmy!" Pam said through the embrace, "It's so great to see you again!" Turning to Paige, she added, "Come here, Paige! Let me give you a hug, too – if that's okay." Paige nodded and went in for the hug. "I hate that we have to have to ask, these days."

"I know," Emily agreed. "I can't wait for this whole thing to be behind us."

"I'll go get the bags," Paige volunteered, focusing on the task.

Emily nodded. Turning to her mother, she asked, "Dad didn't come?"

"He's driving around," Pam sighed. "You know your father," she complained. "He'd rather use up a whole tank of gas circling around than pay for airport parking!"

Paige and Emily climbed into the back seat of the SUV after Paige and Wayne loaded the luggage in the back. Pam turned around from her seat in the front, facing Emily.

"You know, Emmy, I tried to wait till you got home before I put up the decorations, but the house just looked too bare. I didn't want the neighbors to complain."

Emily rolled her eyes. "You couldn't wait to put everything up!" she said, laughing.

"Anyway, your father and I aren't as young as we used to be. One of these days, we're going to have to ship all the decorations out to California, so you and Paige can decorate your house."

"Mom!" Emily said sharply, rebuking Pam with a scowl – as if that could erase what Pam had said from Paige's memory.

"How's business, Paige?" Wayne called over his shoulder, changing the subject to defuse the situation.

"Not as good as retirement, Wayne!" Paige joked. "No, it's fine. I'm traveling a lot less, so that's good."

"I didn't mind traveling when I was younger," Wayne said, "but as I got older, it got to be a hassle. Especially once I settled down and started a family."

"I hear you," Paige said. "So, how's life after the Army?"

"Can't complain!" Wayne said with a shrug. "You know, working as a contractor, I'm surrounded by so many retired military types, that it wasn't that big a transition. But, yeah, it took me a few months to get used to civilian life. But I guess I'm coping. Right, Pam?" Wayne craned his neck in Paige's direction and winked. "Of course, I can never retire, because Pam wouldn't be able to handle having me around the house all day!"

"She'd work you harder than the Army ever did, Dad!"

"Oh, you can count on that!"

Emily's tone grew a bit more serious. "How's your heart?"

Wayne sighed. "I guess I'm never going to be 100%. But, I guess that's true for all of us. We're never going to be able to do the things we did 10 years ago. At some point, you have to learn that you're not a kid anymore, and you have to listen to what your body's trying to tell you." He turned to the backseat with a big grin for his daughter. "Don't worry, Emmy. I'm going to be around for a long time!"

Emily couldn't stay awake on the drive back to Rosewood. It had been a long day, and the rumbling of the SUV acted like a massage chair, lulling her off to sleep. Paige nudged her awake as soon as they hit the Rosewood city limits. She knew that Emily would want to see every set of Christmas lights. It wasn't a totally unselfish move, though. Paige wanted to see Emily's reaction – the way her face lit up like a child's; her mouth agog with delight; her hands silently clapping every time a light show reached its crescendo. When they turned onto her block and she caught sight of her old house, she put her hands on her cheeks, barely able to back the tears. She was home. Make no mistake: She loved her life with Paige in LA. It was just that every statue, every set of lights, every display in her old Rosewood house brought back a wave of memories: Decorating with her mom, while her dad was away on deployment; introducing Paige to Pingy and Wingy; baffling her friends with her uncanny ability to bring a set of dead lights back to life by figuring out just which light needed to be replaced.

"Well, Honey," Pam said, looking into the back seat before Wayne pulled the car into the garage, "how did we do?"

Emily opened her mouth, but she couldn't form words. "She loves it," Paige assured Pam, as though there were any doubt.

"Sorry," Emily said, giving Paige a hug good-by on Christmas Eve. "I wish you could come with us."

"I get it," Paige replied. Her chin was resting on top of Emily's head. "It's girls' day, not girlfriends' day."

"Well, you'll get to see them all on Christmas. Everybody's coming over for Christmas dinner."

"I can't wait."

Emily took a half-step back, still in Paige's arms. "Are you going to be okay with my Dad all day?"

"With your dad?" Paige smiled broadly. "Of course! I love the Colonel!" Emily eyed her skeptically. "Seriously," Paige reassured her.

"What are you guys doing, anyway? Going to the shooting range?"

"Yeah, right!" Paige scoffed amiably. "No, I think he wants some advice on a gift for your mom."

Emily smiled to herself. Her dad never had a problem finding a gift for Pam. He probably told Paige that he needed help just to make her feel included. She gave Paige a quick kiss. "See you at dinner?" Emily backed away, not letting go of Paige's hand.

"See ya."

"What if she says no?"

"You think she'll say no?" Aria asked, looking concerned.

Emily shrugged. "She might."

"Paige adores you," Hanna assured her. "There's no way she says no."

"Old Paige, maybe," Emily said sadly. "But she's not the same person she was in high school." Emily let out a deep sigh. "You guys don't know how it felt when she rejected me – every time she rejected me. I don't think I could handle it if she turned me down this time."

"Well," Spencer said, using her logical voice, "there's no way she'd turn you down in front of everybody – and on Christmas day! Not even Paige is that much of a Grinch."

"Okay, but I don't want to force her to say yes!" Emily protested. "What gives the right to put her on the spot like that?"

"What do you mean, what gives you the right?" Hanna screeched. "You have every right, Em! You have the right to do whatever you want! After all, the wedding is all about the bride, not the –" She stopped dead, in the middle of the thought. "Oh, right. Never mind – I see it, now."

Emily pressed on. "And what if she says yes in the moment, just because she doesn't want to embarrass me, but when we're alone, she gets mad at me for forcing her hand?"

Aria rubbed Emily's hand comfortingly. "Has she said anything to give you any idea what she might say?"

"I guess. A couple of things." Emily half-chuckled. "Like, she said she didn't want skip forward to Christmas, because she wanted to enjoy every day with me. And she talked about getting a bigger place, so we could get a dog. And that I was worth risking everything." Somehow, those statements didn't seem as convincing as they had in the moment.

"That sounds like forever, doesn't it?" Aria asked.

"Maybe. But maybe it just means that she wants to live together. Or maybe she wants to get married someday, but she's not really thinking seriously about it."

"What about your dad?" Spencer offered. "Maybe he can feel her out. Maybe you should text him?"

"Oh, God – no! Are you kidding me, Spence?" Emily scoffed, shaking her head. "Jeez – I can just imagine how that would play out."

"So, Paige," Wayne said matter-of-factly, "What are your intentions towards my daughter?"

Paige almost spat out the bite that she had just taken out of her muffin. "I – uh – they – uh – What are my intentions?"

"I'll be blunt." Wayne's Army persona was coming out. He wasn't in uniform, but it really felt as though he were. "Pam and I want grandkids while we're still young enough to enjoy them." Paige nodded, parting her lips, but Wayne pressed on before she could respond. "And I know that my little girl has been looking forward to having her old man walk her down the aisle in my dress blues ever since she knew what dress blues were."

"I – uh – well, I – uh –"

"Just kidding!" Wayne said with a forced smile. "Well, not about the grandkids and the walking Emmy down the aisle." He slapped Paige amiably on the shoulder. "But, seriously, I would never put any pressure on you or Emmy. I just want you to know that – well, you're a great young lady, Paige, and I'd be honored to welcome you into our family. Well, I mean, you're already part of the family, but I want you to know that, if you and Emmy wanted to make it official, I would have no objection to that. She dated a lot of girls." Wayne rolled his eyes, and Paige smiled nervously. "Some of them were okay, some of them, not so much. But none of them cared for her or looked after her the way you do." Wayne took a deep breath. "When you're a dad, you want to be able to take care of your children and to be there whenever they get into a jam, when they need someone to fix things or a shoulder to cry on. But you know that you can't be that guy forever, and you just hope that, someday, she'll find someone who can take over that role." Wayne smiled genially. "Well, Paige, all I'm saying is, if you want to, I can't think of anyone more qualified to take on that role."

Paige tightened her lips and nodded, with a faint smile.

Emily was acting cagy all through dinner. Paige kept looking over her, her brow furrowed, and whispering, "Are you okay?" Emily was obviously not okay. She was jittery and detached. She couldn't stop her leg from bouncing up and down.

Paige was concerned for her girlfriend, but she couldn't help feeling concerned for herself, too. She'd seen this behavior in Emily before, in similar circumstances. Emily wasn't saying much, she wasn't able sit still, and she was surrounded by her friends for moral support. That's always how it was when Emily told Paige that she had committed some unpardonable sin, and they weren't together anymore. It didn't seem like Emily, to break up on Christmas day, but, then again, it had been a while since Paige had been around Rosewood Emily. It would have been easy for Paige to blame all of their previous breakups on the fact that they were young and still figuring things out, but there was no denying the fact that Rosewood Emily was different from California Emily.

Rosewood had a way of corrupting people; bringing out their dark side. There was something in the atmosphere – an oppressive spirit, or maybe it was just all the pent-up trauma that the girls had suffered through in high school.

Still, despite her fears, Paige was more concerned that Emily was okay. She kept assuring Paige that she was, but her body language told a vastly different story.

Emily still hadn't decided whether or not she was going to propose to Paige after dinner. She wasn't sure that she had the guts to do it, and she still wasn't convinced that it was fair to Paige. Perhaps, she thought, it would have been better for her to propose in California, on Paige's turf, with Paige's friends, where Paige would feel comfortable and not pressured. She looked at Paige's face and saw the deep concern there. She probably knows, she thought to herself. Maybe she'll make it easy on me.

Before Emily realized what was happening, dinner was over, even though she had barely touched her dinner. "All right!" Wayne's voice boomed, after everyone pitched in to clean up, "Everybody into the living room! Let's open some presents!"

Emily held Paige's hand so tightly that Paige's fingers turned white. "Em," Paige whispered, "It's going to be okay." Paige didn't know what "it" was, but she couldn't stand to see Emily so distressed.

Once everyone was seated, Pam, oblivious to what was going on with her daughter, cheerily called out, "Who's first?"

"Me! Me! Me!" Hanna yelled.

Emily stood up and waved her off, doing her best to control the trembling in her hand. "Let me go first," she said, her voice cracking. She stood in front of Paige and held out her hands, helping Paige to her feet. "Paige," she said, looking into Paige's eyes with a serious expression on her face, "it's been one hell of a ride, hasn't it? We've had our ups and downs, and some crazy twists, but, when it comes down to it, the rollercoaster always stops at the same place it started. And, whoever and whatever came before, it started with you and me. And Rosewood." Emily shakily got down on one knee. Pam gasped, holding her hands in front of her face. "Paige, will you marry me?"

Paige was stunned. It took her a second to process what was happening. To Emily, that second felt like an eternity. Her throat felt as if it were choking on her heart, and she was trying not to cry. Paige pulled her up to her feet and cupped her face in her hands. "Of course, I'll marry you," she rasped softly, before the kiss.

A/N - Huge thank-you to my friend subway20 for inspiring me to write a Christmas chapter! (Do yourselves a favor and read her classic Paily one-shot, "Back to December - A Christmas Paily tale").

And thank you all for sticking with this story (and this rambling chapter). Have a merry Christmas and an amazing 2023!