The 12 Days of R.J: Holiday One Shots

The East High Express (Inspired by the Polar Express)

A/N: UNEDITED I am not re-writing the full movie. There's just a few scenes from the movie that would fit the story line. Ricky is 32 and his son is 4. The hsmtmts drama isn't in this.

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Ricky's POV:

It's Christmas Eve night which means that Santa is coming tomorrow to bring gifts for all the nice boys and girls and it also means that E.J and I will have a very hyper 4 year old awake all-day and high on hot chocolate and Christmas spirit. But the good thing is that his godmothers and aunts are coming to play with him tomorrow while E.J and I exchange gifts and go on a Christmas date at night when our boy is asleep. We've planned this date for a while now so Addie know that we're leaving for the night time. He's more excited to see if his Aunt Nini got him a Nintendo switch which I told her not to get him because he was too young.

We adopted Addie 3 years ago. And he's been the love of our life and Christmas miracle since then. He was living in Europe in one of those under-staffed and under construction adoption homes at the same time E.J and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary. I had been asking E.J if we could look at options to have kids since we couldn't have them ourselves and he was busy working on films for a big company he worked at back home in L.A. So adoption seemed a lot better and easier than IVF or fostering. It was a lot of paperwork and waiting but it was easier than getting needles stuck in your body or having to see if the kid was going to be yours or not.

Now E.J works full-time at CBS studios and I'm a stay home dad who makes music albums and pays off the bills by doing performances and selling merch. I know that E.J contributes more than I do finance and money wise but stay at home dads do a lot of work too. I also drive him to his private school and to basketball games when E.J can't go to home games.

Life has been a roller coaster for us but I'm thankful that we made it through this holiday season without a tantrum from Addie.

"Hey, Ri. Did you give Addie a bath yet? Sorry, traffic was heavy coming from Howie and Kourtney's place. Thankfully, they aren't having anymore problems with the LED Kwanzaa candles anymore. I had to help Kourtney find them and set them up above their fireplace mantle since their son is too young to appreciate the holiday that starts on the 26th." I hear my husband's voice come from the front door where he's standing on the door mat taking off his light jacket since it's not too cold here.

"I just finished giving him a bath and helped him brush his teeth. He's waiting for you to come so that we can read a bedtime story before Santa comes." I go over and kiss him on the lips under the mistletoe I placed on the door frame while Addie is in bed waiting for us.

After our kiss, I hand I head to the stairwell with him so that we can see Addie before he falls asleep. Sometimes he's a deep sleeper like I am and other nights he's too excited for Santa and stays up all night.

"Was he 'okay' in the bath tonight? I know that he hates baths because of his bruises and scars." I listen to E.J stop me on the stairs and whisper the last part in my ear.

"E, stop worrying about him. He's fine. He loves Christmas and isn't thinking about that. I know where he came from and it was a long time ago but we need to be positive dads for him." I grasp onto his shoulder and look into his eyes to reassure him that our son is fine.

"I know. It's just hard since Ashlyn's a social worker and she sees kids like Addie all the time in those homes. I'm just grateful to have you two in my life." I listen to him talk as we stop on the top stair.

Before he can say anymore buts or worries, I kiss him again to make the worries go away and hold his hand as we walk to Addie's room. Everything is Mario World themed even his bed which was custom made for him. He really did get his video game phase early from his uncle Big Red. Sometimes I have to remind myself that 6 year olds are allowed to play with technology at such a young age while E.J spoils him.