"Ace," Zoe calls for her.
"I got to go, I'll see you tomorrow." Ace is on the phone with Graham.
"School."
"Yes, school."
As Ace enters the living room she can see excited faces. "We have news."
"Did Dad finally propose?"
"No," Zoe looks over at a calm panicked look from Harry.
"We are visiting Jamie for Christmas."
"That means we are not going to be home for Christmas?"
"No."
"I wanted to get something for Graham."
"You still can get something for him, just give it to him before or after Christmas. It took your Dad and I years until he started coming with us on a few Christmases."
"Only a few." Ace looks to her Dad.
"The others he has you and Liam."
"My favorite ones." Ace knows that those were the only years that Christmas was celebrated.
"Your Christmas will be the best." Zoe loves Christmas and wishes every year was better than the last.
"I know it will be, it will be an actual Christmas."
"And Graham will understand."
"I know he will, I better finish getting ready for school." Ace heads back up the stairs and puts on her favorite outfit before heading outside with Mel to meet up with John and Graham. Graham smiles at her and she returns it. After they are dropped off Ace turns to Graham. "Graham, I have to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"My family is going away for Christmas."
"Where?"
"Scotland."
"Wow, that makes you almost 8 hours ahead of me."
"I know."
"We can still talk on the phone, use Facetime."
"I would like that." Someone comes up behind them.
"Coffee as a peace offering," Peri says to the both of them.
"It's ok, Peri right?"
"Yes. Look I am sorry for Saturday night, to all three of you."
"It's fine, it already is forgotten," Ace says as Peri shoves the coffee her way.
"Still we all are teenagers, not all of us have been in love yet. Most of us will have a few boyfriends or girlfriends before we graduate."
"Peri, it's ok. It got Graham and I to have a nice chat."
"I agree, I enjoy every chance I get to talk to Ace." Peri hands the other coffee to Graham. "Ace when are you leaving?"
"I don't know."
"You are not going to like this Ace?"
"How soon?"
"The morning we start winter break."
"That's this weekend!"
"I know, I will help make sure the two of you get to say goodbye at least."
….
That weekend, "Ace wake up," Mel is in her room.
"Why?"
"Graham is waiting out back." Ace gets out of bed and stumbles out until she sees Graham's face.
"Graham."
"Ace."
"I can't believe I have to leave for a week."
"You'll be back for New Years Right?"
"Flying back on the 30th."
"Good. Look, I have something for you." Graham takes a necklace out of his sleep pant pockets. "This was the one thing I was able to save that was my Mom's. I want you to have it."
"Graham, you should keep it. It was your Mother's."
"How about you borrow it until you get back and you can give it to me."
"I can do that. I will be wearing it often."
"I know necklaces aren't your thing, I just didn't have time to get it properly wrapped, and this was speaking to me."
"What was it saying to you?"
"That my Mum would want you to have it. Maybe not now, but in the future. My Aunt knows about the necklace and she agrees.
"Graham, I will hold this necklace close to my heart until the day I get back. Can you put it on me?"
"Of course," he takes the necklace back and fastens it around her neck. He doesn't move his arms, just gazes into her eyes. "I know we talked about Facetiming, but I just want to remember your eyes."
"I'll give you something else to remember me by," she closes the remaining distance and the two close their eyes as they start to kiss.
"Can I give you something more to remember me by?"
"Graham, you already gave me something precious to remember you by."
"Jesus," they hear Mel, "it's not like one of you is going off to war, you will see each other in a week."
"I'll see you Graham."
"I'll see you Ace." They detach from each other and Ace leaves the area with her family.
"Ace," Harry faces his daughter on the plane.
"Yes Dad."
"What are you fiddling with?"
"A necklace."
"Where did you get it from?"
"Graham, he wanted me to have while we are here. It was his Mum's."
"I think you two are getting too serious."
"DA-AD," she feels Liam slump against her shoulder. Liam wanted the window seat on the plane, so she switched with him. "We are going at a pace that makes sense to us."
"Still please, slow down."
"Dad, I will not be able to see him for a week."
"I know."
"I know I like him, more than I have ever liked anyone before."
"You're still young."
"I know that Dad, but I feel like a part of me has fallen into place from the moment Graham smiled at me when I walked into school the first day. I can't explain it. Then we had every class together it was; I don't know."
"Destiny," said a voice across from them.
"Professor, what are you doing?"
"Visiting my family. I have seen how you and Graham shine when you are together. The two of you seem to be cut from the same cloth."
"Mr. McCoy."
"Hello Mr. McShane. Don't worry, all of their teachers are keeping eyes on them."
"What?"
"Teachers sometimes like to get into certain things. We all agreed after the first week that the two of you were going to be great."
"I." Ace decides to plug in her headphones and listen to music playing a song that she heard in her childhood. She starts singing along to it helping Liam fall into a deeper sleep.
"You have an amazing daughter there."
"I know, I wish I could credit, but she did this all herself."
"She's tough."
"Very." Harry looks down at his daughter, "I couldn't be more proud. Ace and Liam made my life brighter since they moved in with us. Not that it wasn't bright to begin with."
"No need to explain it to me. I see how much joy she brings to those who are her friends."
"I know, though it seems she is only close to one."
"Well, I am going to let you be now."
"Nice talking to you." Harry goes back to watching his two children sleep, he soon falls back asleep. Zoe gets up and looks back to see them all asleep, Harry's head on Ace's, her's on his shoulder, her arm wrapped around Liam. She gets out her phone that is on airplane mode and snaps a picture of them.
Hours later Jamie is picking up the family. "How is everyone?"
"Good." Zoe says as Jamie looks in the back to find Ace and Mel on their phones.
"Texting your friends?"
"I am texting my friends, Ace is probably texting her boyfriend."
"So what if I am. I want Graham to know we got here safely. I'm sure Tegan will tell Adric, and Graham will tell Yaz so everyone who knows us, knows that we are in Scotland."
"You just want an excuse to talk to him."
"Who helped make it so I could say goodbye to him."
"I just didn't want you to be moppy while we are here."
"I wouldn't be moppy."
"Like you weren't while you were packing." Ace is about to say something but decides against it.
"Will Christmas be good," asks Liam.
"Of course it will, this will be our best Christmas yet." Ace says, hugging her brother.
"Are you sure Ace?"
"I am positive, we have a big loving family now. We will be having a whole lot of firsts with all of them. Most of them will be good."
"Why not all?"
"Because we are human. We are a family that loves each other." They arrive at where Jamie lives.
"Mel, you and Ace will be bunking together."
"Please don't be up all night talking to Graham."
"Mel, we are 8 hours apart, not 12."
"Still."
"Okay you two stop. Mel, same rules as always."
"I am not to be on my phone all hours of the day."
"Good, Ace, the same rule applies to you, you are allowed to talk to Graham twice a day, but not for hours." Harry informs her.
"Okay." Knowing she shouldn't argue, she agrees.
"Good." As they are getting things inside Ace shoots a quick text off to Graham about not being able to talk much.
That night, "hey Ace."
"What Mel." Ace hears Mel turning.
"What do you envision with Graham?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can you foresee a future with him?"
"If I am honest, I only recently have been able to see past the next day. Yes a lot of the time now I see Graham in it, but I also see you, Liam, Dad and Mom."
"But how often do you see Graham?"
"Lately it's been more and more frequent."
"In what ways?"
"I can see myself dancing with him when our parents get married."
"Anything else?"
"I don't understand my feelings for him."
"What do you mean?"
"I have never felt like this before."
"Ace, I won't say anything, but maybe ask Mom about it, after Christmas of course."
"Mel."
"Yes Ace."
"What's going to happen to us here?"
"Nothing, Uncle Jamie will probably take us to the tourist traps."
"I think I will pick up something for him."
"Graham?"
"Yes, Graham. Who else? He is my best friend and boyfriend."
"He makes you happy."
"He does."
"Good," Mel turns back around and falls asleep. Ace stays up thinking of Graham.
Over the next few days Ace and Liam get a tour of where Jamie lives, Christmas Eve night Ace is on the phone, "so how was your day?"
"A bit boring, got to spend time with Yaz."
"That's nice, how is she doing?"
"Like usual. She asked about you."
"She did?"
"I told her we talk a little bit each day. Though I wish I could see your face."
"One sec," Ace takes the phone away from her ear and presses a few buttons, "Graham take your phone away from your ear and press the camera on the phone screen."
"Got it, there's your beautiful face."
"Graham," Ace tries not to blush.
"I love it when your cheeks go pink." Mel comes into the room as Graham says this.
"Person in the room, if you want private conversation mike up."
"Hi Mel, don't worry. I was just catching up and waiting for the next hour."
"Why?"
"It will be Christmas for you guys."
"You want to be the first to wish me a happy Christmas?"
"Of course."
"Graham, you don't have to."
"I know, but I want to. You are the most important person to me."
"Oh Graham."
"Don't worry, I know Liam is that to you. It's one of the things I admire most about you."
"Graham, you do mean a lot to me."
"I know."
"Good, only a few more days until we see each other again."
"I am waiting."
"So am I, I barely take off the necklace."
"You can keep it."
"Graham, we talked about this."
"I know, but something tells me we are going to be together for a long time. You match my soul Dorothy McShane."
"And you match mine. I know what I didn't tell you a few days ago, Dad took Mel and I aside asking if he should ask Mom to marry him tomorrow."
"She's going to say yes."
"She is."
"That's good to hear."
"If I am able to bring a plus one, you are going to be mine."
"I will, will I?"
"Oh yeah, you're my boyfriend after all." An alarm on Graham's side goes off.
"And you're my girlfriend, happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas to you too."
"Merry Christmas Graham," Mel tiredly says.
"Happy Christmas Mel. Ace, I should probably let you get some sleep."
"Yeah, I'll talk to you soon."
"And we'll see each other in a few days."
"Mmm, I can just imagine it now. Have a good rest of your day Graham."
"And you have a good sleep." Ace and Graham hang up, and she quickly falls asleep.
The next morning Ace and Mel are woken up, "Mom and Dad say it's time to be awake."
"Liam, you woke us up from a dead sleep, give us a second."
"Dorothy, it's Christmas and there are many presents under the tree."
"Liam you have to get off me so I can even get up." Mel is sitting up on her bed laughing. "What?"
"Oh just that Liam came running in here when you were probably dreaming about Graham."
"So what if I was."
"DOROTHY, MELANIE," Liam whines.
"We're getting up." Ace and Mel get up as Liam grabs both of their hands dragging them to the living room.
"I got them," Liam announces a little too loudly. Hours later Ace drops something on the ground.
"We forgot one," Liam asks.
"It seems we did son, can you please hand it to me." Liam does that. "It says it's for you Zoe."
"Really?"
"Yes," Harry gets off the couch.
"Harry?"
"I have been wanting to do this for a while now, Zoe, you have my heart and my soul. You are a mother to my kids. You have an amazing heart. I love you more and more everyday, Zoe Heriot, will you marry me?"
"Yes, I'll marry you," she leans to kiss Harry as their family celebrates.