Quinn didn't see much of her wife in the days leading up to the Christmas holiday. Wednesday was Quinn's last day of going into the office, and on Thursday, Judy flew in, so she and Quinn spent the time doing some last minute shopping, and looking at a few houses, Quinn recording the tours so that Santana could later go back and look at them as well. Out of the six that they looked at together, one stood out: a green and orange 1910 Victorian. It was essentially move in ready, 4 bedrooms, 4 and a baths, with five fireplaces, including one in the master bedroom. Even the kitchen had been renovated, and they had a porch. Judy was even already picking out her room. Santana didn't have time to physically go look at it until after the New Year, but since it had already been on the market for over a hundred days, Quinn wasn't too worried about someone snatching it up in that time frame.

"I thought the gazebo was a nice little touch," Judy said once they concluded the tour.

Quinn laughed. "I thought so too. I can't imagine what we could possibly do on it, but now that I've seen it, I just want it."

Judy smiled indulgently. "Do you think that Santana's going to like it?"

"She's going to love the color, and the fact that it's a Victorian. Plus the library. I think she might really like this one. There was one other that's sitting pretty high on our list, only the bedroom lay out is kind of weird."

Judy reached for her daughter's hand, and held on to it. "How are you doing, sweetheart? You look good."

Quinn turned her face slightly towards her mother. "Good?"

"Happy, sweetie. You look very happy."

"I am," Quinn responded. "She makes me…were you…," She hesitated, but then decided to ask anyway. "Were you ever this happy with dad?"

Judy shook her head. "Never. Russell and I were only ever companions."

A hand came up to smooth down Quinn's locks. She was startled when her mom kissed her on the top of her head. "It's okay that she makes you happy, sweetie. Enjoy it."

Quinn smiled. "I am."

Quinn and Judy spent the night catching up, and the night before Christmas Eve she promised that she could entertain herself while Santana and Quinn went to Santana's office party. Santana had come home literally just to change into her dress, and then she was whisking them downtown to 3 Center Plaza. As far as Quinn was concerned, an office party was an office party. She didn't expect them to be good, or fun, just a way to do networking after hours under the guise of gaudy decorations and cheap alcohol. Santana's coworkers differed from Quinn's in that Santana's coworkers were the sort who went to liberal arts colleges and had MFAs, and talked more about stylistic creativity and changing the world through art, instead of corporate hedge funds and mergers. If Quinn was ever looking for stock tips she was always sure to get those at one of her office parties. The Little Brown crowd was more of what she would have gone to school with, if she had had the courage to stick with the degree that she wanted.

Santana and Quinn had pretty much just walked through the door, when a woman who Quinn knew to be Paulianne solely from the many times that her wife had described her, cornered them. If she thought that Santana was looking tired lately, it was nothing compared to this other woman.

"Santana! You're back." She gave a sweeping glance over Quinn. "This must be your Gwen."

"Quinn, yes."

"She's said some wonderful things about you. You're a beautiful girl, Gwen, and you have a lovely son. Santana, can I borrow you for a bit?"

Santana turned her back on her boss, making eye contact with her wife. "Babe, will you be okay by yourself for a little bit?" Santana questioned. "I thought I saw Dex at the bar, and Nichols will be somewhere in the thick of it." Quinn nodded. She knew how to mingle. She'd grown up making nothing conversation with important people. Santana touched their foreheads together. "I'll be back soon. Promise."

As soon as Santana slipped away, Quinn meandered towards the main group, focusing her attention on Nichols, because she recognized him. He was talking with two other people when she walked up, a chubby, amiable man with weather man hair, and a nicely dressed woman who seemed to be very evenly matched with him. "Hi Nichols!" Quinn greeted the man warmly.

Nichols gave her a one-armed hug and left his hand resting across her shoulders. "Quinn, nice to see you again! Where's Santana?"

"She got called upstairs," Quinn explained. Nichols looked about to introduce her to rest of their companions, but was beat to it by the other guy. "Hey, you're Quinn," he blurted out, and then for some reason he turned bright red.

"Excuse me?" Quinn said, kindly.

"Santana's wife. Wow, you're even prettier in person. I'm Thom Broncheau." She hesitantly shook his hand. "This is my wife, Nan."

This seemed the extent of his ability to hold a conversation, and he quickly excused the two of them. "What's that about? Did I mistakenly wear a party-goer repellent or something?" Quinn questioned at the man's departure. Nichols seemed a bit taken aback himself. "I couldn't tell you," he said in response.

Quinn passed another 30 minutes mostly in Nichols company before Santana came back to join them. She pressed a kiss to Quinn's cheek. "Sorry, babe," she whispered. "Things are still kind of," she waved her hands in a kind of nonsensical way, "about the release. I did get a look over that stills that you sent me though. The Victorian was nice. Has everyone been nice to you here?"

"Very nice," Quinn replied. "A guy named Tom…? Kind of blushed and then took off. Do you know anything about that?"

Santana smiled and shook her head. "I work with some weird people, babe. Has Dex come over?"

"No, I haven't seen him actually."

"Lucky for you."

"I thought you liked Dex."

Santana rolled her eyes. "No one really likes Dex; they just tolerate him until he disappears. Come on, there's some people I want you to meet…including the girl that I'm inviting to our threesome. Ow…just kidding babe! Geez, it was just a joke!"

On Christmas Eve, Santana was up and gone early. At 6:15, when Quinn was just getting up, Santana was heading for the door pausing, like she normally did on early mornings, to give Quinn a kiss before she walked out of the door. "Don't be home too late," Quinn requested.

"I'll try my best," Santana fired over her shoulder before walking out of the room. Quinn got dressed in a warm sweater and corduroy pant combination. Russell and Prudence would be getting there at 10, and the Lopezes would be arriving on a flight two hours later. Other than pick up the parents, Quinn didn't have much to do with her day. She'd sent out all her Christmas cards, her gift to Beth would be arriving this afternoon, everything was gift wrapped, and placed under the tree. She had done all of her shopping, food for tomorrow was already purchased. They had decided that instead of worrying over a big Christmas dinner, Christmas breakfast would be their thing, their tradition, so Quinn didn't have to worry about cooking anything tonight.

As far as she knew, she didn't have anything she had to do, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something she should be doing. She wished that Santana wasn't working because then they could be spending the day watching their favorite Christmas movies.

Quinn arrived at Logan a half hour before Russell and Prudence. She passed the time by sending Santana texts, and playing elf bowling on her phone. She chanced a glance up, and made her father and his wife in the crowd. Every time Quinn saw her dad, she had to take a moment to reset herself, to reconcile the Russell she'd grown up knowing, and the Russell he was now trying to be. Prudence was helping with that a lot. She was just 'adult' enough to put things into perspective, and friendly enough to assuage tense situations. She just seemed to do things, without hesitation. She was assertive without being aggressive, and amicable, pleasant, but not a push-over. While Quinn and Russell were still figuring out how to act around each other, she just acted and worried about things later.

Prudence surged forward with a hug, and Russell quickly followed suit. "Good to see you again, Quinn. Thanks for inviting us."

Quinn spent the entire afternoon with the parents, mostly watching her and Santana's families blend in with each other. It was interesting to watching the five of them blending into each other's lives, but mostly she missed her wife and wished that she was here with them.

Santana came shrugging home a few minutes after the rents had gone back to their hotels for the night. "Babe?" Santana called out into the apartment. "Are you still awake? I didn't miss them did I?"

Quinn met her near the door. She nodded. "Yes, but they'll be here first thing in the morning for breakfast. How was the launch?"

Santana yawned and reached for Quinn in the same gesture. "The title is live and that's all that matters. That and I don't have to be back at work until next year. I'm bummed that I missed my parents, though." She buried her head in the crook of Quinn's neck. "And you, I really missed you. Are you really tired, babe? Can we watch Elf before we go to bed?"

Quinn yawned, too, but nodded. "Sure, San."

In return Santana smiled back. Quinn found the movie while Santana changed and got a blanket for the two of them. Quinn was certain she'd be asleep before they were even halfway through the movie, but if San wanted to watch the movie, they were going to watch it.

She couldn't say how far into the movie she got before she passed out, but when she opened her eyes her back was a little achy, and the credits were on the screen. She was also alone on the couch.

"Santana?" She started to sit up, but paused at the sound of a noise coming from across the room. "Santana?"

There was that noise again, a rustling, coming from the same direction as the Christmas tree. Quinn got a glimpse of heavy boots, a red cap, and a sack. Quinn stood up and made her way closer to the tree. "Santa?"

Music suddenly filled the apartment. Santana stepped out fully from behind the tree wearing the world's skimpiest elf/Mrs. Clause outfit, with a bow attached jauntily on her head. Words made their way over to her. "Santa baby, just slip a Sable under the tree for me; been an awful good girl, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight."

With a broad smile Santana guided Quinn back down on the couch, while she continued to sing. "Santa baby, a '54 convertible too, light blue; I'll wait up for you, dear; Santa baby. So hurry down the chimney tonight."

Quinn founded herself straddled by her wife, who didn't break stride as she continued her song and dance. When Quinn placed her hand on Santana's hips, Santana smiled and shook her head, gently removing them. "Santa honey, one little thing I really need...The deed... to a house that's just mine," Santana winked, "Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight."
Santana finished the song, singing the words only a few inches away from Quinn's lips. "Merry Christmas, baby."

"Merry Christmas, Santana."