It was early the next morning- the sun just starting to creep through the bedroom curtains when he felt her begin to stir.
At some point in the middle of the night, after they'd spent a little while longer together, just the two of them, they finally made their way up to the room Stevie had been staying in.
They talked for a long time, and then, after another couple of soft kisses, her deep brown eyes grew very heavy and she left him to spend a couple of hours in deep thought.
He could hardly get any rest- his mind just kept racing. He was so worried that when she woke up, she'd regret it... She'd regret all the words they had shared, and all the sweet moments, which was probably his biggest fear.
"Are you awake?" She whispered, slowly opening her eyes to meet the morning sun.
Laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, Lindsey nodded lightly. "Merry Christmas, angel." He turned on his side, slipping an arm around her waist to cuddle into her backside.
Turning her head, Stevie cracked a very sleepy smile. "Merry Christmas, baby." She felt his hand dance across her stomach, rubbing the silk of her top in between two fingers.
"Did you sleep well?" He used the other hand to push some of the wild curls back, behind her ear in order to see her beautiful face a little better.
She was perfect, even early in the early morning with no makeup, messy locks and a groggy voice.
Nodding softly, she let off another sweet smile as his lips fell on the curve of her neck. "I slept great," her voice was extra raspy as she tangled her fingers in his. "How did you sleep?" She slowly brought his hand up to her lips, pressing a couple of soft kisses to his knuckles.
It felt good to be that close. It sort of felt like nothing had ever changed- it was just the two of them, together, not worried about anything else... It was right.
"So good," he whispered in her ear, which caused a laugh to escape her instantly.
Turning in his embrace, she gave him a cheeky grin. "Mhmm..." she hummed as her eyes met his deep blue storms.
She had really missed waking up to him.
"Mommy?" Clancy's little voice crept down the hallway as she scurried towards the bedroom door. "Mommy?" She repeated as her hand met the wood.
Leaning in, she gave her husband a quick kiss. "We have some explaining to do very soon." She half smirked as she pushed herself up on her elbow.
Lindsey smiled lightly, sliding more to the other side of the bed. "Can't wait..." he said with a voice full of sarcasm.
"I'm awake, sweet girl." She announced, watching as the door slowly came open.
Clancy was in her reindeer jammies, hair in crazy curls as she carried her stuffed animal. "Daddy!" She shouted, running right towards the bed.
With a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, Lindsey watched his wife help their daughter up. "There's my Clancy." He chuckled as she immediately threw her arms around his neck for a hug.
"Daddy, Santa was here!" She shouted with a ton of excitement lingering in her voice.
"What are we waiting for then? You got gifts to open." He wondered, eyed following her as she jumped off the foot of the bed to lead the way out.
There was something so magical about having children on Christmas morning... He was so glad that he didn't miss out on it.
"Come on, you guys!" Clancy waved a hand, motioning for them to get up and follow.
Tossing her head back, Stevie let a deep laugh fill the air around them. "We'll be there in a second, honey." She assured as a faint smile danced across her face. "Go wake up Crew and Lola, too." She added, leaning to one side to be closer to her husband.
With a mischievous grin on her face, Clancy rushed back out of the room and down the hallway to cause some havoc.
"I've missed us like this." Stevie whispered, tilting her head to stare at her handsome man a little more.
Letting one hand meet her cheek softly, Lindsey leaned in to press a couple of kisses to her plump lips. "I love you, more than anything."
~~~
Stevie and Lindsey sort of kept their distance most of the morning, only because they were both almost totally certain that the older two kids were probably a little confused.
After all, only a couple of days before, their parents were standing out in the driveway, yelling at one another about their fathers infidelity... and suddenly he was there, in Arizona with them, acting as if they were some happy family.
It was weird and if it bothered anyone, it was obviously Lola.
She didn't talk much that morning- instead she just opened her presents, had breakfast and then, without a single word, she slipped back into the room she'd been staying in.
She was annoyed and the last thing she wanted to do was partake in goofy family traditions.
So, Stevie, her mother, and Karen all spent hours in the kitchen, making dinner for the family, while Lindsey and Jess worked on putting together Clancy's new bike... that was quite the sight, for sure.
It was all still fun, even if it upset Stevie a little... She wanted Lola to be happy too, of course.
And just as Lindsey took a seat in the den, with a cup of coffee, his wife's hand danced across his shoulder.
"I hate to interrupt," she smiled, rubbing his neck softly as she bent down a little further . "But can I speak to you for a second?" she whispered, only a couple of inches away from his ear.
Reaching up, he gave her a hand a soft squeeze. "Of course," Lindsey held up his cup with the other hand, silently asking her to take it.
She took a sip as soon as she had the cup. "You did read the instructions for the bike, right?" She teased, patiently waited for him to get a move on as her eyes drifted around all the chaos.
There were boxes, toys and a million other miscellaneous opened presents scattered around the room. It looked like Santa's workshop had thrown up, but all the happy faces made the mess totally worth it.
"It didn't come with instructions." It did, but Jess had accidentally thrown them away with the box.
With a soft laugh, she rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh, great." She replied. "Anyway, I think we should try to talk to Lola..." her voice grew low as she led the way out of the room.
His heart instantly sank into the pit of his stomach as this feeling of pure dread washed over him. "She's gonna hate me." Lindsey wasn't certain of many things, but he was definitely certain of that.
"No..." she shook her head softly, tangling her fingers in his as she turned back to make eye contact. "No, she won't." She assured as she leaned in slowly, letting her lips meet his.
Running his fingers through her hair, he started to caress the small of her back. "I'm really sorry we have to do this..." he mumbled against her mouth.
Wrapping one arm around his neck, she felt him pull her in a little closer. "For the first time, in a long time, we're working as a team to fix this family." With her forehead resting against his, she stared deep into those blue eyes. "We're all going to be okay, Lindsey... don't worry."
