AN: Belated Merry Christmas everybody! This was supposed to be out on Christmas Eve but it's been a busy week! We've had Christmas with different family members each day and then it was my boyfriend's birthday, but I finally finished editing this morning so enjoy!
Bright and early on Christmas morning, Jo was woken up by the sounds of her youngest daughter getting out of bed. She heard the squeak of the bunk beds, and her footsteps on the hardwood floors, then felt her climb over her legs as she crawled in between them. Alex was next to her, lying on his back and snoring like a log. However there was just enough space for Edith to crawl over and rest on Jo's chest. She sat there for a moment before whispering in her tiny little voice, "Mama."
"What is it, baby?" Jo whispered, her voice sounding more groggy than she expected as she blinked her eyes open to see Edith perched above her.
"Mama, is it Chriss-mas? Did Santa come?" Edith asked, her eyes big and bright.
Her tiny face was illuminated by the bits of sunlight streaming in from the curtains of the rustic wooden cabin that was their hotel room, casting a golden gaze around the room. Jo wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close and rolled them over. Edith giggled, snuggled into her before returning the favor and pressing a bunch of sloppy kisses to her face. Then Jo reached out for her watch and checked the time. It was a little after 7:30, and to be honest, Jo was surprised that Edith was the first one up and the only one awake.
"I don't know. Why don't you go look under the tree?" Jo suggested, looking over at the tiny tree perched on the table that the hotel had provided them.
Edith whipped her head around and looked around the room for a minute before spotting the tree with a mountain of gifts underneath it. Alex and she had played Santa the night before and had managed to stay quiet as they placed all the gifts. They managed to ship every single gift that girl had gotten this year to Colorado, where they were currently on vacation. Edith instantly popped up and gasped as she stared at the tree, her eyes as wide as plates.
She processed everything for a moment and stared at the tree before letting out a yelling scream, "Santa came! AHH!"
Edith's scream instantly woke up the rest of the family, except for Luna.
""What is it? What happened?!" Alex asked, immediately jumping out of bed half awake, looking around the room.
Jo laughed as he stood there in his boxers and t-shirt, half awake and holding the Bible that was on the nightstand next to him as a weapon.
Helena sat up in her bed with her hands over her ears. "Mama, make her stop!"
"Edith, Edith!" Jo said, wrangling the little girl in her arms and tickling her sides as her screams turned into laughter. "You can't scream, baby girl!"
"But Santa, look!" Edith said as she wiggled out of Jo's arms and ran over to the Christmas present pile.
Alex sighed and set the Bible down as he sat on the bed, wiping his face. Jo laughed as she reached out to rub his back.
"He came, Mama. Santa remembered that we were on vacation!" Helena asked as she turned over in bed and roused Luna awake, signing to her, 'Luna, look, Santa came!'
Luna groggily got up and looked at the presents before widening her eyes, her jaw dropping as she looked between Alex and Jo before signing, 'Daddy, did Santa really bring all these gifts?'
'Most of them, yes, baby, but a few of them are from your mom and me, as well as your aunties, uncles, and grandma too,' Alex signed to her, leaning back into Jo's touch as he sat against her.
'Look, look, this one is for you, Luna,' Edith signed as she walked over with a medium-sized box. Luna smiled as Edith gave her the box but looked over at Jo and Alex before continuing.
'Go ahead, Little Moon, open it up,' Jo signed to her with a nod.
Luna smiled as she immediately ripped off all the packaging, quickly tearing the box open and squealing as she saw what it was. It was a kind of vibration sound that she could feel and that she always made when she was happy.
'It's my camera,' she signed before holding it up and showing off the blue instant Polaroid camera.
'It's pre-filled with film, so you can take as many pictures as you want,' Jo signed as Luna held it up, looked at it, then paused for a moment before clicking the button and taking a picture of them all.
'What does it look like?' Edith signed, bounding over and scrunching up against her sister as Luna pushed her away.
'Edith, don't crowd me,' Luna signed to her before pushing her away again as Edith tried to get closer.
"Don't worry, baby girl," Alex said, scooping up Edith and hanging her upside down before giving her a shake as she roared with laughter. "Come on, let's open one of your presents now."
Luna got up out of bed, carrying her camera over to Jo, who was snuggling next to her. Jo wrapped her arms around her and kissed her forehead before signing to her, 'Do you like your present?'
'I love it, thank you Mama,' Luna signed back before hugging her.
'You're very welcome,' Jo signed as she kissed her forehead.
"Alright, here's one for Miss Edith," Alex said, setting a tall, but skinny box on the bed next to her. Edith didn't even hesitate to tear off the packaging and started jumping up and down as she stared at her gift.
"The Bluey house! The Bluey house!" Edith screamed as she jumped up and down.
Alex opened the box for her, pulling it out of its packaging as Edith immediately stopped jumping and reached for the little Bluey figure before jumping over to Jo.
"Look Mama, it's Bluey! Look Luna, look Helena!"
"I see, baby girl. Are you happy with your gift?" Jo said, laughing as Edith launched herself into her arms so fast that she had to let go of Luna, who dove away. Edith wrapped her arms around Jo like a baby koala.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Edith said before getting up as quickly as she had sat down and going back to her house. Alex helped her put it all together as Edith immediately started to play. Jo spotted Helena poking around the tree, looking at the labels of different gifts.
"Yours is there on the left, Helena," Jo said, looking over at her and smiling.
Helena picked up the gift. It was a hard box that looked too large in her hand as she tore off the lid. She gasped as she held up the baby doll, cradling it in her arms as she looked down at it. "It's the real-life baby, the one that cries and wets and crawls!"
"Yeah, it is. Go on, turn it on," Jo said as Helena set it on the bed. The brown haired baby started to crawl. She looked so happy in that moment, snatching her baby back up, wrapping it in her arms, and giving it a big hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Helena said, reaching out and hugging Alex before crawling on the bed and hugging Jo.
"I'm glad you like it, Princess!" Jo said as she hugged her close.
"But listen, your mom and I are not changing any poopy diapers. We already did enough of that with the three of you," Alex said, tickling Edith, who laughed.
"Okay, Daddy," Helena said with a laugh.
"Alright, now here's one for you, Jo," Alex said, handing her a gift. It was a good size and soft in her hands, and wrapped quite horribly. Jo laughed as she tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a dark blue Lululemon jacket.
"Alex, you didn't," Jo said with a laugh as she held up the jacket, knowing how expensive it was.
"You deserved it. Look, it even has your name on it," Alex pointed to the corner where it had 'Dr. Jo Karev' inscribed on the side.
'We helped Daddy pick it out too,' Luna signed as she sat next to her again, taking a picture as Jo smiled.
"I helped with the color! I know blue is your favorite Mama," Helena said, pointing at the color.
"And we helped Daddy get the pants too!" Edith said before Alex clamped his hand over her.
"Shh, Edith, that's for later!" Alex teased her as Edith wiggled to get out of his grasp.
"Thank you," Jo said and signed, looking at all of them. "Why don't you girls go get your Daddy's gift?"
'I'll get it,' Luna signed before she raced to the tree. She picked up a small package before handing it to Alex. 'Here you go, Daddy. It's from all of us, but Mommy especially.'
'Thank you, sweet girl,' Alex said, leaning over and giving her a hug before he sat down and unwrapped his gift.
He smiled like a kid on Christmas as he ripped off the packaging, and Jo bit her lip in excitement as he opened the box. He smiled as he opened the leather wallet before looking up at her and flipping it open. His eyes started to sparkle as he read the inscription and put a hand over his mouth as he looked at the picture inside. It was a laminated picture of all the girls and Jo together, as well as an inscription, 'Love from your girls,' and then each of the girls' signatures, Jo had helped Edith's wite hers, engraved on the inner wallet.
"Do you like it, Daddy?" Helena asked, snuggling up next to him.
"I love it, baby. Thank you so much," Alex said and signed to Luna, looking up at Jo, his eyes flickering with tears as he hugged them all.
'Don't cry, Daddy. It's Christmas,' Luna signed as she reached over and hugged him.
'They're happy tears, baby girl,' Jo signed for him as Alex nodded, wiping his cheeks.
"Alright, this better not be the first of many. Your old man can't be crying all day," Alex said and signed with a laugh as he went back to the tree and grabbed a handful more presents, depositing them on the bed. "Alright, you three, go wild!"
The rest of the day was a mixture of laughter and excitement as all the girls opened the rest of their gifts. Luna got a photography book, several fictional books, a few new Barbies, and a telescope. Helena got several baby clothes, a stroller, a baby crib, and some more of her favorite tile magnets. Edith got the entire Bluey playset, some Bluey plush toys, and some Tonies for her music Tonie box. The girls also got some clothes, balancing stones, and a sensory swing, which they would have to wait to hang up until they got home.
Jo got the rest of her Lululemon set along with several other gifts, including a few new medicine magazine subscriptions, the new Stanley that she wanted, and some new AirPods. Alex got a beer-making kit, a massage gun, and a hot sauce collection that he had been wanting for a while. Then they ordered room service, ate breakfast, and watched the snowfall on the Colorado mountains from the window.
"Alright, are you girls ready to get going into the snow?" Alex asked as he started to get the snow gear out.
"But what about the mess?" Jo said, looking around at the hotel room. She could barely see the floor with all of the wrapping paper and little toys strewn everywhere and the breakfast trays littered the coffee table and the end of the bed.
'I'm with Mama, we should at least clean a little bit,' Luna signed, looking over at the mess.
"We'll clean it up later, come on Jo, the snow is not going to wait all day," Alex said with a smile, handing her the coat and her new Lululemon jacket. "Plus, you've got to test out your new jacket and see how warm it is."
"Alright, but we have to get this cleaned up before dinner," Jo said, taking the coat from him.
"Yeah, let's go!" Edith shouted as she slipped on her boots and coat. "I'm ready!"
"Hold up, squirt, Mom will kill me if you go out without pants on," Alex said, picking her up as she giggled and going to the closet to get out all of the snow stuff.
"Yeah, plus you'll freeze to death," Helena said and signed with a laugh, and Luna joined in.
"Girls," Jo said and signed, giving them a look as Luna and Helena quickly put on their best sorry faces.
"Sorry," they both whispered and signed as they looked at the ground.
"Come on," Alex said and signed as he tossed them their coats. "Let's just hit the slopes."
After all the girls were snug and warm and everyone had grabbed the innertubes from the bottom, they hiked up to the sledding hill. It was a warm and clear crisp day. The sun dazzled off of the snow and everything was beautiful, but loud. The mountain was surprisingly busy, and there was a line to get to the top of the hill.
"Dad, can we take the snowboards over there?" Helena said, pointing to where they had a small Bunny Hill for newer snowboarders. It was less crowded and the two of them could start snowboarding as soon as they grabbed their boards from the rental place.
"Yeah, sounds good," Alex said, handing his inner tub to the kid behind them. "Do you guys want to come with?"
'I'm good,' Luna signed as she looked over at the sledding hill. 'I like sledding better, less falling on your face.'
"I want to go!" Edith said, jumping up and down and trying to climb on Alex.
"Baby girl, don't climb on your dad," Jo said, picking her up and holding her on her hip. "Besides, you said you didn't want to snowboard when we first got here, and we didn't sign you up for lessons yet."
"Daddy, can I just have some time with you?" Helena asked, looking up at Alex with a pout.
Alex looked over at Jo, as they had a silent conversation. They had agreed to spend one-on-one time with each of the girls, and Helena was the only one who hadn't spent any time with Alex yet. Although she and Jo had their mother-daughter time the first day they got there. Jo gave him a nod as he smiled and looked over at Edith. "Not this morning baby. But how about you and I go sign up for snowboarding lessons this afternoon after lunch?"
Edith sighed as she frowned and crossed her arms, "But I want to go now."
"No means no, baby girl," Jo reminded her as Edith pouted and sat down in the snow.
Helena and Luna exchanged a look before they looked down at Edith then looked up at their parents, and Jo just shook her head. "Alex, why don't you and Helena go, and Luna and I will stay here with Edith in line."
"Alright, I'll see you later," Alex said and signed, leaning in to give her a quick kiss. "Good luck."
"Thanks, I'll need it," Jo said, giving him another quick kiss before he left.
The line moved up, and Jo and Helena took a few steps forward as they left Edith where she was. The people in line behind them stepped around her, but Jo kept her eye on Edith.
When they moved up again, Jo called out to her. "Come on, Edith, let's go, otherwise you forfeit your place in line."
"But there are too many!" Edith pouted as she looked at the line. "One, two, five, twelve. That's so lot!"
'You're not counting right, there are only 10 people ahead of us,' Luna signed to her with an eye roll.
Edith finally got off the ground and went up to where they were. "How much longer, Mama?"
"The line's moving pretty fast, so hopefully it'll be just another five minutes," Jo said as they watched the line. "Why don't you watch all the people going down the hill?"
Edith sighed, but was satisfied with that for a few minutes but then looked up at Jo as they moved back up the line. "Mama, there are three people ahead of us, and that one is a baby, she doesn't count."
"Yes, baby, but she still gets to go down the hill with her mama, just like you are with me."
"How come I can't go alone, how old do I have to be?"
'You have to be at least four,' Luna signed Jo could tell she was quickly getting fed up with her little sister.
"I'm three and a half, that's four enough!"
'No, it's not! You're still a baby, and you'll always be!'
"Okay, shut up, both of you!"
"Mama!" They both turned to look at her as Jo just sighed.
"I mean it, it's Christmas day, and you two are out here arguing, so I swear to God, if I hear one more word out of you, I'm going to march us back to the hotel room right now," Jo said and signed, giving them her best 'I mean it' look. They both knew that she was more likely to go through with it than Alex, who would give in.
Both of them sighed and just looked at the line in front of them. They were both silent for approximately five minutes before Edith exclaimed excitedly as she signed to Luna, 'It's our turn, it's our turn, Luna!'
The guy called them, and both she and Luna sat down in their inner tubes. Edith excitedly sat in her lap and practically wiggled as the inner tube attendant got them settled. When Jo looked over at Luna, she was slightly shaking and at the last second she climbed out of the inner tube.
'I don't want to go, I'll go next time,' Luna signed, walking back from the edge.
'I'll go with you!' Edith signed, climbing out of Jo's lap and grabbing hold of Luna's hands before pulling her back to the inner tube. 'We can be brave together!'
Okay,' Luna signed, still hesitant as she climbed in with her sister.
She clung to Edith, and Jo asked the attendant to pause as she pushed the girls. 'Are you guys sure?'
'Yeah,' Luna signed with a slight smile.
"Alright, one, two, three," the attendant called out, also counting down with his fingers before he pushed the girls down.
Luna let out a shriek, but it was one of excitement, and Edith laughed. Jo nodded at them to push her as well. She followed her girls down the hill, and Luna and Edith had the biggest smile in the world. They all screamed and laughed the entire way. The girls got to the bottom just before Jo did, as she stopped about a hundred feet before them. They both instantly got up, grabbing the inner tube, running to her.
'Mama, we've got to go again!' they both signed as they started to drag her over to the line again.
Late that night, they all gathered next to the crackling of an open fire among a crowd of kids and parents who were listening to Santa read the Christmas Story. The girls sat in front with all the other kids, while Alex and Jo lingered in the back, standing with the parents. The enchanting voice of Santa Claus filled the air, weaving a tapestry of Christmas magic. The girls were so spellbound by the story and even Edith managed to remain still. Santa's words painted vivid pictures as he used different tones, elaborate expressions, and gestures. Jo stood behind Alex as his arms wrapped around her waist. He was so diligent in trying to be sneaky and kiss her neck as his hands gently tracing patterns on her waist.
"Did you have a good Christmas, Mrs. Karev?" Alex whispered into her ear, his voice laced with tenderness, followed by a kiss on her earlobe.
"I had a very good Christmas, Mr. Karev," Jo said, tilting her head and moaning as he kissed her again. They received some disapproving looks and throat clearing from someone next to them, but neither of them minded.
"You know, after this we could set the girls up with a movie and hop in the shower together," Alex murmured, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"We could," Jo said, turning as her lips easily turned up in a smirk, as she conjured up a myriad of dirty things they could do in the shower. But then she looked back at her daughters. "But this isn't going to end for another 20 minutes."
Alex groaned and gave her his signature frown as Jo shifted to his side and put an arm around him.
"Be good," Jo said, turning to look at him, but rewarding him with a little peck.
"Fine," Alex said, his eyes returning to their daughters.
"How was your time with Helena?"
"It was really good. She's such a natural, and better than her old man. We're going to have to try and find some slopes for her back home. How were Edith and Luna for you?"
Jo's gaze shifted to the girls. Helena was sitting in front of Luna, signing to her, and glancing back at Santa every now and then. While Edith sat in her lap and snuggled against her big sister.
"I didn't tell you?" Jo said, her eyes widening as she smiled. "Luna was scared to go down the first time, but then Edith went with her. They laughed the entire way and Luna has been kinder to Edith since then. I'm hoping it'll last at least for another day."
"She really did that! Our sweet girl," Alex remarked, his heart swelling with pride as he looked at their youngest. "We have raised such good and kind girls."
"Yeah, we have," Jo said, looking at them before she shook her head. "I have no idea how we did it, though."
"Me neither," Alex chuckled, shaking his head. "I swear, I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants every time I have to really parent them."
"Well, we must be doing something right," Jo said with a laugh as she shook her head.
"I got to tell you, though, I think their daycare teachers are the ones that really get through to them," Alex admitted, and Jo nodded in agreement. "By the way, did we get them something good for Christmas?"
"We got them a $40 gift card to Sephora and a gift box that I'd ordered off of Etsy."
"Good."
A comfortable silence settled over them as they smiled at their girls. Santa finished the story and invited the children to sit on his lap and receive a gift from the large bag beside him. Edith, always eager, shot up and was one of the first in line, waving her sisters over to her. As she sat on Santa's lap, Edith beamed as she talked to him. He gave her a soft brown bear and she immediately ran back to them, her face radiant with joy.
"Look, look!" Edith exclaimed, holding up the bear before pointing to the bear's arm. "Daddy, read it?"
"It says 'Pinewood, Colorado' that's the name of the place where we're staying."
"Wow," Edith said, hugging her bear close to her chest before Helena and Luna both came back with their gifts.
"What did you girls get?" Jo asked them, kneeling down to their level.
"I got a deer," Helena said, holding up a white spotted deer.
'I got a moose,' Luna signed, showing off their brown fuzzy animals.
"Very cool," Alex said as he brushed the fur on Helena's deer. "Now you guys have a special souvenir from Santa himself!"
'Mama, did you know that Santa knew how to sign to me?' Luna exclaimed, her cheeks flushed a delicate pink.
'I saw that Little Moon!' Jo signed as she giggled before looking over at Alex's displeased expression.
'Oh, did he now?' Alex signed, raising his eyebrow at them before looking over at Jo, who shook her head.
"Relax, Alex," Jo said, putting a hand on his chest.
"I'm relaxed," Alex said, his lips a tight line as he glared daggers at Santa.
"Come on, girls, ready to go back to the room?" Jo said and signed as she reached out and took Luna's hand as she led them out of the crowded great room.
"Yeah, and you guys can watch a movie when we get up to the room," Alex added and signed, his smile returning with a glint of his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands dipping a little too low.
The prospect of a cozy movie night seemed to amplify their excitement as the girls scampered down the hallway, their voices echoing through the air. Jo and Alex walked behind them as Helena had started to sing along to the Christmas carols playing in the hallway. Edith did her best to sing with her while Luna danced along.
"Merry Christmas," Alex murmured, his voice husky as he pulled back to look in her eyes before he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and pressed a tender kiss to her lips.
"Merry Christmas, Alex," Jo's arms instinctively reached up to encircle his neck, her heart mirroring his sentiments.
She leaned in and gave him a deep kiss. Savoring the sweetness of his lips and the feeling of being enveloped in his embrace. In that moment, surrounded by the magic of Christmas and the warmth of their love, everything felt perfect. It was, without a doubt, a truly wonderful Christmas.