"Daddy, Miss Ellie, wake up!" The couple was woken by the excited four-year-old who was climbing up into her father's bed and crawling over to shake them awake, "I want to see if Santa came, and you said I couldn't look without you."
John grunted and used his free arm to pull his daughter in to his side and press a kiss to her head, "Alright, Kid, we can go see if Santa came. Go into your room and get your robe and slippers, on so you don't get cold, while Ellie and I get up."
"'Kay," Alexandra squirmed out her daddy's arm and slid off the bed to do as she was told.
"That was close," Ellie giggled into his chest.
"No kidding," John grunted in amusement, "I didn't expect her to be up at," He looked at the bedside clock, "Six in the gorram morning. I should have told her to go back to bed for another hour or two."
"You and I both know she's too excited for that," Ellie countered, starting to pull out of his embrace, only to be pulled back and given a tempting kiss.
"Yeah, but it would give us an hour to wake up in a couple different ways," He smirked impishly at her, earning a laugh before she gave him a quick peck and slid out of the bed.
Ellie quickly collected her Christmas-themed pajamas made up of red pajama pants with candy canes printed along the fabric and a black long-sleeve t-shirt, with the stems of two candy canes crossed with a sprig of holly where they crossed. She quickly dressed and pulled on her own robe and slippers which were always kept at John's home now. When she finished, she turned to see John had gotten dressed as well, he wore his usual pajamas of red plaid pajama pants and an old USMC PT shirt that was starting to fade with age.
They exited the room into the hall when they heard Alexandra's and Hellen's voices speaking softly in the living room. Turning the corner, they saw Hellen on the couch sipping a steaming cup of coffee as Alex explored the trinkets that had been placed in her stocking.
"I guess we don't have to ask if she was going to wake you up, too," John observed.
"I kind of expected her to be up before the sun," Hellen shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee, "There's coffee in the carafe."
"I got cocoa!" Alexandra crowed, waving the packet of chocolate powder in the air, "And an orange!"
"Would you like me to make your hot chocolate while Nana gets your orange started?" Ellie offered.
"Yes, please," Alex nodded excitedly, "Please hurry, I want to open presents!"
"Alexandra, you know we aren't opening gifts until Mister Chuck and Miss Sarah arrive and we have breakfast." John reminded her, "You can drink your cocoa and eat your orange in the kitchen while Ellie and I start breakfast, then you can play with the toys you got in your stocking."
"Okay," Alex sighed dejectedly and followed the adults into the kitchen, climbing into her seat and waiting while Ellie placed a kettle on the stove to heat up water for the cocoa. Her nana soon sat next to her and got the peel of the orange started. Alexandra was getting more independent and liked doing things on her own when she could, although she still struggled with some things like getting the peel on her orange started, which her adults always helped her with.
A few minutes later, she heard the whistle of the kettle and watched as Ellie pulled down one of the hot drink cups and poured the cocoa mix in along with some of the hot water, stirring it, then stepping over to the fridge to pull out some milk and peppermint creamer from the fridge.
"Do you want some milk in your cocoa, or do you want the peppermint stuff that makes it taste like the cocoa we had at the Christmas tree farm?" Ellie asked, holding up the bottles.
"Mint, please," Alex smiled, watching as Ellie poured the creamy liquid into the cup and stirred until the drink had cooled enough for Alexandra to drink safely. Placing the lid on the cup, Ellie handed it to Alex before turning to make her own coffee, doctored with the same creamer and some hot cocoa powder of her own.
"Daddy," Alexandra got his attention, "My cocoa tastes like Christmas!" Her enthusiasm earning a chuckle from her grownups.
"That's great Kid," John pressed a kiss to her head as he passed with his coffee and pulled out a chair for Ellie before taking his own seat. "Ellie, when are your brother and Sarah getting here?"
"In about 20 or 30 minutes, depending on how long it takes to get through the gate" Ellie shrugged, "I texted him after Alex woke us up."
John grunted his acknowledgement as he drank his coffee.
By the time Alexandra had finished her cocoa and brushed her teeth, the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of Chuck and Sarah, who came laden with bags, most of which held gifts for Alex. While they set to work placing the gifts under the tree, Ellie poured coffee for them, and John plated up some Danish for them to munch on while they opened gifts. Alex pouted when her grownups only allowed her to have one piece so as to not ruin her appetite for breakfast.
Since Alex had the most presents under the tree, it was decided that she would open a gift in between when the adults opened theirs. She was soon surrounded by mountains of colorful paper and had more than a couple bows on her head. Most of her 'fun gifts' came from Santa while the less exciting items such as clothes, books, and coloring supplies came from her family members.
The adults had exchanged gifts lists to help make the gift exchange easier. Alex deemed the books that most of the adults received, including a Reagan biography for her dad and a Julia Childs cookbook for Ellie, boring. Although she was the first to want to see the jewelry and watches the adults exchanged. John and Ellie had given Hellen a pair of diamond earrings that Ellie had seen her eyeing at the mall during one of their Christmas shopping trips.
When it seemed as if all the gifts had been handed out, John said he'd found one more tucked behind the tree. He handed the small square package to Ellie and took his seat beside her to watch in anticipation as she opened the colorful paper to reveal a black box.
Ellie gave him a questioning look before lifting the lid off the box to see what was inside. "Oh John," She sighed, lifting the necklace out of the box to get a closer look. It was a simple silver chain with a locket. The locket was inscribed with the logo of the US Marine Corps, the globe, eagle, and anchor centered on the front of the pendant. Opening the locket revealed a picture of John and Ellie at the Marine Birthday Ball earlier that year. She remembered the night fondly; it was the first time she had seen him in his dress uniform, her dress was a deep blue, off the shoulder gown that skimmed her figure and flowed down from the waist to move gracefully with her. The other picture was of the three of them – her, John, and Alex – taken during their vacation to San Diego. Alex was seated on John's lap, chocolate ice cream on her face a goofy grin on her face, Ellie was seated next to John, and they were both looking down at the girl with amused smiles on their faces. You could see the love the make-shift family shared.
"Do you like it?" John asked, a slightly nervous tone in his voice.
"I love it," Ellie reached out with the hand not currently holding the necklace and pulled him down to give him a warm kiss. She then handed the locket to him, "Would you like to do the honors?"
John smirked and accepted the necklace, nodding for her to turn. As soon as her back was to him, she swept her hair out of the way and waited patiently for him to place her new jewelry around her neck.
A shiver swept down her back at the warm, but feather-light brush of his fingers along her neck and grew to a thrill as he secured the clasp and bent down to press a kiss to the side of her neck.
"I love you, Doc," He whispered low in her ear.
"I love you too, Marine," Ellie replied turning to accept one more kiss from her boyfriend.
"Okay, enough mushy stuff," Chuck teasingly protested, "We're starving over here while you two are over there making goo-goo eyes at one another."
John growled low in his throat but was soothed by Ellie's hand on his forearm, allowing him to find his calm once more.
"I'll go pop the casserole in the oven," She stood, "John, would you care to fry up the hashbrowns?"
John knew it was more of an order than a request and dutifully followed her into the kitchen. Hellen followed them and retrieved a garbage bag before retreating back to the living room to clean up the wrapping paper and strewn boxed and packaging from the various gifts that had been exchanged that morning.
The family shared brunch and spent the day enjoying each other's company and alternating playing, reading, and snuggling with Alex. They shared dinner and dessert before Chuck, Sarah, and Hellen took their leave so that Alex could go to bed.
John and Ellie were enjoying a glass of wine, the yule log feed playing on the tv, when John noticed Ellie admiring her locket. She turned it around to see an inscription on the back reading, "To Doc, love your Marine."
"I know it ain't much, but I wanted you to have something to remember us by when you're off at your fellowship," He shrugged, "I know once it starts, it will be harder to see each other as often as we have up to now."
"John, this means everything to me," Ellie assured him, "I love it, and I love you."
John gave her a gentle kiss, his hand caressing her jaw, as he deepened their contact. He knew he wanted to move their relationship further, knew that this woman was his future, but there was part of him that was counseling him to wait, that it wasn't quite time yet. Trusting his instincts had gotten him this far, so he chose to put the small box that had been hidden in his footlocker for safe keeping.
New Years Eve came and went, the family gathering for a small celebration, letting Alex stay up until 9 to watch the ball drop over Times Square and toast the new year with sparkling cider before being sent off to bed. Hellen excused herself shortly after, bidding the younger adults a happy new year with hugs and kisses on the cheek for her son and Ellie before heading home. The adults continued the celebration with champagne when the strike of midnight hit, the couples exchanging kisses before they all exchanged embraces as they welcomed in the new year. Since they knew it would be a late night, Chuck and Sarah stayed in the guest room for the night.
Two days later, the Stanford duo returned to Palo Alto to complete the last quarter needed to complete their graduate programs. A week after that, Ellie's fellowship began.