more than i can hold in my heart.

a merry little christmas

It's Christmas morning, and Miranda is daggone tired.

She'd slept at 1 in the morning, after a long-standing surgery, which was very successful, thank God.

When she arrived home, she barely saw her son, and her boyfriend, before she dropped to the bed, asleep as soon as her head landed on the pillow.

Miranda woke up, and Ben was there, with Tuck settled at her other side. She smiled sleepily. Her boys were the most precious thing in her world. She loved them to bits.

She stirred and faced Ben, careful not to wake her son just yet. "Baby?"

Ben's face contorted into a frown and his eyes fluttered open. She smiled again, much wider and more awake this time. "Hey, baby. Merry Christmas."

He closed his eyes and smiled, his perfect teeth showing. Damn, this man was charming. She was certainly lucky to be his girl. "Merry Christmas, my love."

They kissed, and as she pulled away, she giggled, a little loud, waking the other love of her life. "Mommy?"

Miranda turned around, seeing Tuck's grumpy face. "Hey, my baby. Merry Christmas."

At the greeting, Tuck's face lit up. "It's Christmas! Merry Christmas, Mommy! Merry Christmas, Ben!"

The boy jumped up and down, then hugged both of them with his little arms. "Let's open our gifts!"

Miranda rolled her eyes playfully. "You should go down first, sweetie. Ben and I will be there."

Tuck looked at Ben first before sitting down at the foot of the bed. "Uh, I'll wait for you, Mommy."

She frowned. He loved opening his gifts first. He always insisted on being the first. And why did he look at Ben like that? She looked at her boyfriend questioningly.

He chuckled, then shrugged. "Maybe he has a surprise."

Miranda squinted her eyes at him suspiciously. "Or maybe you do."

The guys both laughed, looking at each other. "Maybe."

"Come on!" Tuck jumped out of the bed, staying at the doorway. "The gifts, Mommy!"

He bounded down the stairs, his little feet going down, echoing through the walls.

Ben chuckled and kissed her cheek. "Your son is adorable."

Miranda blushed. "Thank you, stranger."

He rolled his eyes, and kissed her passionately, leaving her breathless. He got out of bed, and reached his hand out for her to grab. "Come on, milady. It's Christmas."

×+×+×+×

As soon as she put on her robe, her and Ben went down the stairs, hand in hand.

They turned the corner to the living room and she frowned as she saw the Christmas tree.

"Ben? W-what… What happened to all the gifts?" Under the tree, all the gifts she'd prepared for Tuck and for Ben were missing. She was pretty sure they were all still there last time she looked. Instead, there was a single, tiny box underneath the tree, in a simple green wrapper, with a red ribbon to finish it off.

Miranda let go of Ben's hand, and went closer. "Ben? Tuck?"

Tuck giggled, then shrugged. "I don't know, Mommy."

She raised an eyebrow at her son as he went beside Ben. "Benjamin Warren," she warned. "What is going on?"

Ben shrugged too. "I don't know, Miranda," he echoed. "Maybe open it?"

She squinted suspiciously at them. What could this be? It's Christmas, they won't prank her, would they? Her heart beat loudly in her chest. She was nervous. What the hell was this? "A-alright. But if this is some prank…"

"We'll never know if you don't open it."

Miranda sighed. He was right. But God, she was so nervous. She leaned down to get it. It had little weight, and it was small enough to fit in her hand. Suddenly, she felt as if all the air in her lungs left her body. "Ben, if this is what I think it is…"

Ben stared at her from across the room. He knows she knows what it is. The intensity of his gaze was burning her. "Open it."

With trembling hands, she pulled on the ribbon, and ripped the wrapper apart. And just as she thought, there it was. A small box, and no doubt, when she opened it, there would be a ring waiting for her.

Small patches of water dropped down to the ripped wrapper in her hand. "W-what's that water? Where… where is that coming from?"

"Miranda, baby, you're crying." Ben walked to her, and held her shoulder. He wiped her tears, as he took the box from her hand. "A-are you okay?"

She nodded, speechless. "Alright, good. Miranda Bailey. Look at me."

She followed his instructions and looked him in the eye. "Miranda, you are the love of my life. I never thought I'd love anyone as much as I love you. But I hoped, and here you are. Woman, you are feisty, proud, a great mother," he looked back at Tuck, who showed him a thumbs up, making her laugh, "a brilliant surgeon, and a wonderful lover. And I hope you'll make me the happiest man alive, by becoming my wife. So, Miranda Denise Bailey, will you marry me?"

The tears were all falling down her face as he kneeled down and opened the box, showing the most beautiful, elegant ring she'd ever seen. She nodded, not hesitant at all. She was sure. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with this man. "Y-yes, Benjamin Warren. Yes!"

Ben smiled and took the ring from the box, and put it on her left ring finger. He let go of the box, and hugged her tightly, spinning her into the air. She squealed, the smile on her face wide.

He set her down, and grabbed her face to kiss her on the lips. He poured all of the love, adoration, and happiness to the kiss, making her moan.

"Yuck!" Tuck blanched, making them pull away. They all laughed.

Miranda pulled away from Ben, and walked to her son. "Hey, Tuck. Are… are you okay with this?"

She felt Ben behind her. "Love, I asked for his blessing, of course. And your dad, and your mom, and Callie, and the Chief. They all know, I promise. Even Tucker knows."

She felt her heart warm. She turned around and kissed Ben's cheek. She cupped his cheek adoringly. "Of course you did. God, I love you."

"I love you too, my future wife."

"I love you guys, too!" Tuck exclaimed. "Can we open our gifts now?"

The trio laughed, and as Miranda admired the ring on her finger, she knew she's right where she needs to be.