Happily Ever Christmas

~Forty-Six~

Final Chapter!!!

One Year Later

Christmas Day

"Steve?"

"Yes, Olivia, honey?"

"For Christmas, Bradley and I would like to give you an extra special gift."

"We're ready to call you Daddy!" Bradley, now six, boldly cut off his eight-year-old sister.

"Now that Mommy's pregnant and we're gonna have a half-sibling." Olivia added sagely.

Steve hid his smile well. "I see! Well, I must say, I'm extremely touched. But I can only accept this tremendous gift if you guys are sure you're ready."

"Yeah, we've been ready, Dad. We've been waitin' on you!" Olivia informed him with an expressive eye roll. Then she kissed his cheek and giggled and the siblings both scampered off together into the kitchen to hug their mama, tell me their good news, and steal a cookie from me.

I grinned down at them, happy as a kitten on a warm, sunny porch.

"It's been decided! We're calling him Dad!" Olivia informed me.

"I heard!" I ruffled Bradley's ginger hair and tugged playfully on one of my daughter's golden brown tresses. As she got older, her hair was steadily beginning to turn a dark but subtle auburn.

They were growing up so darn fast.

I couldn't wait to hold my new baby in my arms, couldn't wait to meet them; I imagined that they would have black hair and bright blue eyes, just like Steve, but that they would also have my stubborn chin and freckled, slightly upturned nose.

I ran my hand lovingly over my big belly as I contemplated the baby I was carrying inside.

Our child. Nearly due.

It seemed only fitting that we would have a Christmas baby.

My kids were just under foot now and I soon shooed them from the kitchen.

"Now go off and finish up the last bit of your homework, okay? If you leave it off to the last minute, you know you won't apply yourselves as much. Now go, go; get theeselves to studying!"

My kids sighed and groaned dramatically. Bradley stomped off upstairs to his room, but Olivia lingered.

"Can I go with Dad on his Christmas run tomorrow night?" She asked me, clearly having worked up the courage to do so.

I shot Steve a look, but he was deeply absorbed in the latest addition of The New York Times.

I was only just now starting to even accept and process the idea of my young daughter being the next Santa Claus, but a mother didn't have to let go until she was ready. So never, if I had my way.

"Absolutely not!" I scolded her harshly, and she hung her head and trudged on up to her room. I sighed as I watched her go.

The first female Santa Claus. What an honor, what a burden.

I knew that one day she would get her wish and would be able to go on a ride-along with her step-father. It was inevitable. But it wasn't happening tonight, dammit!

Steve got up and slowly came over to me. "Hey, good lookin'. Whatcha got cookin'?"

I rolled my green eyes up at him. "Nothing for you, you need to stay away from the sweets this year, mister!" I was already chuckling before I'd even finished speaking, however.

His expression was just making me laugh, with how his eyebrows had shot up.

"I didn't want to have to say anything, but you're starting to put on some holiday weight." I burst out laughing now because it simply wasn't true.

Steve was as ripped as ever. And I should know, I examined his body thoroughly at least three times a week.

"Oh yeah? Well, it's all your fault for baking such delicious goodies and then leaving them around where I can find them."

I laughed merrily as he drew me in for a hug. "Come on, I have something to show you."

"Ooh, a present?!" I teased, letting him take my hand and pull me along up the stairs to our private quarters.

He made me close my eyes in the hallway and everything so that it would be a more dramatic reveal.

I gasped when I was finally allowed to open my eyes to see that I was in our nursery.

Steve had made us a crib!

Carved by his own hand from the beautiful knotted pine of Winter's Glen. It smelled amazing and had elaborate depictions of cute woodland creatures all around the supporting edges.

"Oh, Steve..." I breathed, beginning to weep in earnest. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

"Inspired by the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Steve murmured, holding me with my back to his chest as he gently swayed side-to-side with me. "I can't wait to spend the rest of forever with you."

I slowly turned around to smile up at him through my tears. "There's just one problem." I sniffed.

Steve cocked his head and smiled indulgently. "And what's that, snow angel?"

"Forever isn't nearly long enough."

Then he kissed me, and I held onto him like I was never going to let him go.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Years!!!!

HRH