A little Hector and Zip for the holiday. Merry Christmas everyone!


I was late and anxious to get home and probably driving way too fast when the glare coming from our house made me tap the brakes. I didn't think I'd ever seen so many lights in one location before. It was still over two weeks until Christmas but the houses in the neighborhood were teeming with decorations and lights and general holiday cheer. None more so than my own, apparently.

Every available surface, including trees and shrubbery, was drenched in multi-colored twinkling lights. There appeared to be a Santa Claus on the roof trying to climb into our chimney while his reindeer looked on and multiple snowmen complete with top hats, scarves and carrot noses littered the front yard. The two angels dangling from the eaves above the porch, no doubt an homage that would amuse Gabriel and Michael, caught my eye as I rolled up the driveway. There was probably more I'd missed but my brain had gone into overload and I couldn't process anything else. I eased my truck into the garage and vaguely wondered where it had all come from.

I was guessing Gracie was the mastermind. We'd promised her we'd put up lights this year but what I just witnessed was a display way beyond the single strand I'd envisioned stringing around the gutters. Somebody owed me an explanation as to why our house could now undoubtedly be seen from space.

I grabbed the file box I'd trekked out to Newark to retrieve and headed inside. After kicking off my boots in the mud room and hanging up my jacket, I inhaled the sweet scent of what promised to be Christmas cookies as I made my way through the kitchen. The house was unusually quiet and I called out for Zip and Grace.

"In here," Zip responded and I couldn't stop the grin at the sound of his voice. Even after all this time, that deep rumble still made me smile every single time.

I came through the threshold of the great room and found my gorgeous husband reclining on the couch with a tumbler of what appeared to be eggnog cradled in his palm while he eyed the ten foot balsam fir, which was also newly decorated. The white lights from the tree were giving his golden skin an angelic glow and I ached to touch every inch of him.

"You missed all the fun," he said, laying his sparkling gaze on mine. I set the box on the coffee table and then leaned down for the drawn-out, tongue-tangling kiss I'd been craving all day. It was hard to stop once I started because the mixture of eggnog and cookies tasted so good, but I managed to break away before I lost all control. We had to be careful with a five-year-old in the house.

"I thought the fun wasn't supposed to start until Saturday and where is Gracie?"

"Yeah, well our daughter can be very persuasive and she's at my sister's. Probably convincing Zero to put up their lights too. How's the tree look?"

"The tree is great but you look better." I kissed him once more before taking a sip of the eggnog and setting it on the side table so I could tug him to his feet. "We should probably have a discussion about the excessiveness of the lights outside but since I now know we're kid-free, there are about a dozen other things I want to do first."

I touched my lips to his again and pulled his well-muscled body flush with mine. Finding ourselves alone this early was a rarity and I was going to take advantage whenever I could. "We don't have much time," he said against my mouth as I reached for the button holding his cargo pants closed. "Zyla's dropping her off at 6:30."

I checked the clock on the wall above the sofa while I inched down his zipper. "Not ideal but I can accomplish a lot in a half an hour." Zip smiled and slid his warm fingers under the hem of my shirt.

We used only twenty of the thirty minute allotment but it was time well-spent. I could easily fall asleep right under the tree where we'd ended up but Zip was already scrambling to retrieve our clothes and tossed my shirt at my head when I complained about him leaving my arms.

"What are the chances we can get your sister to keep the munchkin tonight and you can stay naked under this tree with me until morning?"

He stepped into his cargos while I admired the view of his powerful thighs and shot down my hopeful thought. "Slim to none. Gracie is so excited for you to see the lights there's no way she'll stay over there."

Right on cue his phone rang from the pocket of the pants he'd just slid over his hips. He plucked it out and answered on speaker. "Hey Little Sis, what's up?"

"This is your five minute warning to get your clothes on; we're two blocks away."

"Very funny, Zyla. And would you stop saying shit like that in front of the kid?" His sister's boisterous laugh echoed out through the small speaker.

"Relax; she and Zaydon are in the back seat with their headphones on watching Frozen for the bajillionth time. I think I'm in love with the inventor of headphones."

Zip rolled his eyes. "It's a good thing Zero isn't the jealous type. Last week you told me you were in love with guy who delivered your pizzas. See you soon." He disconnected, dropped the phone onto the table and I rolled out from under the tree.

"How does she always know when we're naked? It's creepy."

I laughed and tugged my shirt down over my head. "It's not that hard to figure out; we tend to end up that way every time we're alone."

Zip flashed me his dimple. "True. Hopefully we'll have more time when the opportunity presents itself again. You gonna tell me what's in this box?" He tapped the lid as he slipped on his shoes.

I'd temporarily forgotten the reason I'd been late. Zip easily distracted me sometimes. "I went out to the storage unit where we're keeping Emilio's things." It didn't need further explanation.

"Today's the day then?"

"I've run out of excuses," I replied with a shrug. "Do you think it should wait until after Christmas?"

He shook his head. "Not if you're ready. It only gets harder the longer you wait."

Two beeps of a horn announced the arrival of Zyla and we grabbed coats before going outside to collect our daughter.

"Daddy!" Grace Elena was already running up the front walk and I scooped her into my arms. Zyla was right behind her, waddling as fast as she could in her extremely pregnant condition.

"Watch Zaydon," she said to Zip as he brushed a kiss across her cheek. "I gotta pee. Hey, Hec," was her greeting to me on the dash to the bathroom.

"She's gotta go all the time now," Grace informed me while Zip climbed into the back seat of Zyla's car so he could entertain his nephew, still buckled into his car seat. "Do you like the lights? Me and Dad, and Grandma and Uncle Tank spent all morning hanging them. And look, we even got Santa and his reindeer!" She pointed to the roof and I followed the line of her arm.

Gracie loved Christmas and her smile was so big there was no way I was going to tell her I thought it was way overdone. And how the hell had she roped Tank into helping? At least I knew it wasn't only us who had a hard time saying no.

"I think it looks amazing, Baby. We need to get some photos of you in front of this masterpiece."

"Good idea! Where's your phone?"

I set her down and straightened the purple stocking cap on her head. "Inside on the table next to the tree. Go in and get it and make sure your Aunt Zy is okay."

"I think she's gonna pop out that kid any second," Grace observed and ran the rest of the distance to the front door.

Zyla came back a minute later, without her niece, and gave me a real hello in the form of a hug, now that she wasn't racing to control her bladder.

"How're you feeling?" I inquired when she let go.

She rubbed her enormous belly and heaved a dramatic sigh. "I wouldn't mind if he got here now. He kicks me constantly."

Their second son was due on New Year's Day and I don't think Zero shared her hopes for an early birth. He had a hard time keeping up with the constantly-in-motion Zaydon so just the thought of another version running around soon exhausted him.

"Zay did too, if I recall."

"Yeah, he did. It's why I was hoping for a girl this time; I bet Gracie didn't kick 24-7."

The girl in question came barreling out of the house at a dead run with my phone in her hand and what looked like Santa hats in the other. "I wouldn't bet on that."

"I'm ready, but you and Dad need to wear these!" One of the things I've learned in my four short years as a parent is if your kid asks you to wear a stupid Santa hat, you wear the hat.

Gracie held up the hats and looked up at her Aunt. "Will you take our photo?"

"I sure will," Zyla agreed with a wicked grin. "You know I'm going to need copies of these with you wearing this hat, right?" She said as Gracie ran to get Zip out of the car.

"Not a chance in hell, Zy." She was still laughing when Zip arrived and spent five minutes taking photos of the three of us in varies poses, and then some of just Grace.

We said goodbye to Zyla and Zaydon after the impromptu photo session and went back inside the house for dinner. I was informed Zip's Mother had made tamales and left some for us so that's what we had. I was more than willing to wait until our bellies were full and happy before breaching the topic of Gracie's biological father.

"Can we watch Elf?" She asked as we were cleaning up the dinner mess and Zip shot me a look from behind her back. It was hard to take him seriously as he was still wearing the Santa hat.

"Sure. Why don't you go find the DVD and Zip and I will finish up in here."

"Yay!" She squealed and bolted from the room. I went back to loading the dishwasher and Zip slipped his arms around my waist from behind before gently kissing the tattoo on the back of my neck.

"You're stalling again," he commented against my skin.

I leaned into his chest and let him kiss me some more. "I know. Maybe I'll wait until after Christmas."

He probably wanted to tell me to suck it up and get it over with but remained silent, letting what he wasn't saying linger in the air around us.

"Okay, I'll tell her before the movie," I relented when he stopped gifting me with his soft lips.

"Good." Zip whipped me around and took my mouth in a very not-for-children's-eyes kind of way which, of course, our not-so-patient daughter cut short a second later.

"Dads!" She whined. "Can't you do that after I go to sleep?"

"We'll be doing that and a whole more after she's in bed," Zip whispered in my ear before he spun around and faced the notorious interrupter.

"Only if you promise to go to bed without whining about it being too early, otherwise we'll have to start kissing in front of you all the time."

Gracie dramatically rolled her eyes, just like her Aunt Stephanie. "Oh, alright. But I still think 9:00 is way too early to go to sleep when I don't even have school the next day. Can we start the movie now?" Zip cut his eyes to me and I took a calming breath before replying.

"There is something I want to talk to you about first."

That got me a quizzical head tilt. "Okay...but...am I in trouble?"

"No. Let's go to the living room."

Zip gave my shoulder an encouraging squeeze as we followed her out to the couch. She eyed the box still waiting on the table as she settled into a cushion. Zip filled the chair across from us and I sat gingerly beside her, rubbing my suddenly sweating palms on the knees of my jeans.

My nerves were getting the best of me and the ever-observant Grace picked up on it immediately. "What's wrong? You seem really nervous."

I shot a quick look to Zip and he gave me a nod. "Nothing is wrong I just..."

"Is this about me being adopted?" She interjected. The girl would never cease to amaze me. Zip's eyebrows shot up and I had to swallow before I could answer.

"You already know you're adopted?"

Gracie shrugged. "Well, sure." She looked from me to Zip and back again. "I mean, you are two men and I know how babies are made, Daddy." How is it possible that she is only five?

"How and why do you know that?" Zip blurted with a slightly panicked expression, which I'm sure mirrored my own.

"I read about it in one of the encyclopedia's Grandma gave me last year."

It was way too soon to be having the "sex talk" so I quickly changed the subject before I broke out in hives. "Let's get back on track. Yes, you are adopted but what I really wanted to discuss is the fact that your Dad -"

"You are my Dad," she broke in. "You and Zip," she added flicking her eyes briefly his way. "You're the ones who take care of me, who love me to the moon and back, and that is what matters not the biology."

"You're right," Zip said which was good because I seemed to have a lump in my throat. "But we just wanted you to know where you came from, biologically, in case you were ever curious about it."

I nodded my agreement, grateful he always knew what was in my head.

"I am kind of curious," Gracie responded. "Did you know my parents?"

I swallowed the lump and reached for the box. "I knew your Father. His name was Emilio and he was my brother."

Pulling out the last picture ever taken of the two of us together, I handed it to Grace. It had been about a year before our Mother died and one of the last times the whole family had been together. One of our cousins had snapped the photo of us standing side-by-side next to the long table where we frequently had large family dinners in the backyard of our childhood home. We were dressed almost identically and my Mother was the only one who could ever tell us apart in photographs. This particular one had sat by her bedside until the day she died. I'd been surprised to find it amongst Emilio's possessions when I went to empty his apartment.

"Now it makes sense," Gracie was saying, bringing me out of the memory.

"What does?"

"Why you smelled different. And your voice, it wasn't quite the same." Could she really remember that? She was barely a year old when he died.

"Do you remember him?" I asked

"Sort of. Impressions mostly. Wow, you were twins. That's pretty cool. Like Luke and Logan!"

I had to smile at the mention of the Santos boys. "Yes, just like that."

Grace glanced back down at the photo and ran her thumb over my face. "You had a tattoo removed," she observed astutely.

"A few," I admitted.

"People would be able to tell you apart now...if he was alive. He did die, right?"

"Yes, baby, he did. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, looking up at me. "I'm happy you and Zip brought me home."

"We are too. More than you will ever know, but if you have any questions about Emilio or want to know anything about before we adopted you, I want you to know you can ask and I will do my best to answer anything you want to know, okay?"

She nodded and glanced at the picture again. "Can I keep this?"

"Yes, and everything else in this box. I brought some of his things for you and there is more if you ever want them."

"Okay...I do have one question."

"Ask away."

"Did you know my Mother too?" And that was the one question I was dreading. I looked at Zip but he could only shrug. Unfortunately, I knew very little about the woman who had given birth to her.

"I didn't. I don't know much beyond her name but I'll find out whatever I can if you want to know. Deal?" I was sure Ranger could help if it came to that.

"Deal," she agreed with a grin and then she got me all emotional again when she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and said, "Thank you for adopting me and taking care of me and loving me." I had to leave the room to get myself under control when Zip got the same treatment.

I still didn't know what I'd done to deserve those two beautiful people but I wouldn't change a single second of our life together.

"Daddy," Gracie called as I was swiping at my eyes. "Come back so we can watch the movie!"

When I went back into the room, she was snuggled on Zip's lap, waiting for me to start the movie and my heart did a little flip in my chest at the sight of the two of them. I didn't think I'd ever get used to how full it felt in their presence.

I settled beside them, draping my arm across Zip's shoulder so I could bring them closer and he hit play on the remote. By the time the opening credits were over, Gracie's eyelids were starting to droop and just as Buddy the Elf made his way through the Lincoln tunnel into New York City, she was fast asleep against Zip's chest.

"She's out," he whispered. "Do you want me to take her up?"

"No, I'll do it and then you and I are going to do other things."

"Yes, we are," he said. "Do you have anything in particular in mind?"

"I have a whole list of particular things."

"Then you should hurry."

I gathered Gracie in my arms and carried her quickly up the stairs and to her room. The day's activities must have worn her out because she didn't stir even a little. I tucked her in, pressed my lips to her forehead and then went to hopefully begin some adult activities. I headed back downstairs but Zip was no longer on the couch and after a quick scan of the rest of the bottom floor, I decided he must have snuck past Grace's room and into our master suite.

I took the stairs two at a time and made my way silently down the hall. The vision greeting me when I slipped through the threshold had me flipping the double deadbolts and trying to determine if I'd ever seen lights used in a better way than how Zip had placed them inside our room.

He was lounging on his side in the middle of our bed with an arm bent at the elbow to prop up his head and wearing nothing but that infernal Santa hat and a strategically placed string of colored lights.

"She made the Emilio talk really easy," he commented casually as he tracked my progress across the room. I'd started to remove an article of clothing with every step with the intent of being naked by the time I reached the bed.

"Yes," I agreed. "Surprisingly so." I whipped off my shirt and took another step.

"Are you okay with how it went?" He shifted his legs, drawing my attention to below his waist.

"Yes. Per usual, I was worried for nothing where she's concerned." I kicked off my pants taking my socks with them and started on the boxer briefs.

"Do you want to talk about her already knowing about the human reproductive system?" He let his hand drift toward the only part of his human anatomy on which I wanted to focus. His fingers enclosed the tip and I didn't think I'd ever been so hard.

"No, I don't ever want to talk about that." The boxers slid down my legs and I kicked them away as I hit the edge of the bed.

He was trying not to smile but it wasn't working. "Fair enough. We still have some Christmas shopping to do, should we talk about that?"

"Zip?" I said, placing one knee on the bed.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

He grinned and pulled me on top of him. "Te amo, Hector."

It was the last thing he said until the sun rose the next morning.