In Your Arms (A Brannie Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Katie's POV:
I woke up bright and early. I was going with Caleb's parents to bring him home, but the rest of the kids didn't want to. I slipped into leggings and a red sweater. As I tiptoed downstairs I found Ryan and Hayley giggling over a video. I greeted them and watched with them until Ms Katie and Billy came out.
After a few minutes, bully stumbled out, a empty mug in his hand.
"Hey, Katie." He said, giving me a side hug. Caleb's mom came out shortly after, car keys in her hand.
"Let's go get Caleb." She squealed quietly. I realized it was Christmas and ran up to the kids.
"Merry Christmas!" I laughed, hugging Hayley and Ryan. They laughed and pushed me off them. I pretended to be sad and followed Ms Katie.
We got inside the car and started the short drive to the hospital. It was about five minutes away, pretty close. When we got there I ran quickly to Caleb's hospital bed, before his parents came in. I ran to him and gave him a quick kiss.
"Well hello." Caleb grinned.
"Merry Christmas." I laughed and kissed him again. His parents came inside so I separated myself from Caleb to be respectful. We grabbed the few items from his room and headed to the front desk, and I pushed Caleb's wheelchair. We got inside the car and I sat with him until we were home. Annie and Brennan hugged him once again and we sat him in his bed downstairs.
"I think we're gonna be okay. After break, we can finally go back to normal." Annie spoke suddenly.
"I don't want it to go back to normal." I replied.
"In a way, I'm glad this happened. It's made me realize a lot of things."
I looked over at Caleb with loving eyes. He pecked my lips.
"We're gonna go upstairs. Presents and dinner are tonight." Brennan said, helping Annie up. They smiled and shut the door.
Caleb and I sat in silence.
"I'm glad it happened too."

Caleb's POV:
"If it didn't, they wouldn't have found my heart problem. I wouldn't be dating you. I would have never realized how much I've fallen for you." I smiled at Katie.
She opened her mouth, but I had more to say.
"I love the way you turn red when you're flattered. How you hate when I kissed behind your ear because it tickles. I love the way you lean your forehead against my chin when we hug. I love you and all your little perks, Katie. And it's only just began." I finished, grasping for air. She jumped towards me and tackled me for yet another kiss. She laughed and we kissed.
"I love you Caleb."
"I love you even more."

Annie's POV:
I leaned into Brennan as we sat on the couch.
"She's right. If it didn't happen, everything would be different." Brennan said, and I turned my head towards his.
"The doctors wouldn't know about his heart problem." He pointed out.
I shushed him and rested my head against his chests. I just wanted it to be quiet.
He slowly rested his arms on my waist, like I could explode at any second.
We laid there for at least an hour. Completely silent.
Mom interrupted the silence.
"Annie, could you and Katie help me with dinner?" She pleaded. I nodded and kissed Brennan before running downstairs to get Katie. I found her wrapped in Caleb's arms, and Caleb was asleep.
"Katie." I whispered. She looked over at me.
"My mom wants us to help make dinner."
She nodded and slowly creeped out of Caleb's limp arms. She smiled before we left the room and ran upstairs. The house was already filled with the aroma of cinnamon and butter. We tied our hair up and rolled the dough out for our pie.
Katie dusted her hands with chalk and laughed. "It's like chalk." She whispered and I laughed a little. Brennan watched from the couch.
We baked and cooked for a few hours, and when we were finally cleaning up the stray flour and salt on the floor it was almost dark out.
"I'll go wake up Caleb." Katie shouted as she left down the stairs. I sat with Brennan again and waited.

Caleb's POV:
Katie woke me up with a kiss. My eyes shot open and my nose was filled with the smell of gravy and potatoes. Maybe even a little apple pie mixed in the scent.
Katie attempted to pull me out of bed but I yanked her down so she fell into the mess of blankets next to me. She laughed and rubbed her arm.
I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes.
"I just wanna sleep." I groaned. She giggled and slipped from my grasp. Finally, she dragged me upstairs.
"Where are Annie and Brennan?" She asked our moms.
"Upstairs." Ms Jill said as she placed a plate on the table. Katie dragged me up even more stairs into Annie's bedroom. The two were wrestling.
"I will not!" She giggled. They separated when we walked in.
"Dinners ready." Katie giggled as the two blushed.
We all ran downstairs and saw our friends and family seated around the table. Our dads finally separated themselves from the tv to join us.
"Merry Christmas, everyone." Hayley giggled in her playful voice. We all sat down and made our plates. The house was filled with chattering and the smell of fresh, hot food. After, we all sat near the tree. I winced when I walked, probably because I've been pushing my 'walking limits' today. When the parents were doing their own thing at the table, us teens exchanged our gifts to eachother. Brennan handed Annie her gift first, so we all watched. She slowly pulled the tissue paper out of the  bag and gasped. She pulled out a black case that said 'Morphe' and set it down. Next was a small card to a makeup store she always talks about, Sephora. And lastly, she gently pulled out a wooden box covered in pictures. It looked pictures of Annie and Brennan. She opened it to reveal hundreds out notes and letters.
"Reasons I love you. I may have thrown in a couple jokes." Brennan mumbled in her ear. She hugged and kissed him as she handed him his gift. It was something similar, a book with pictures and memories. I guess we all had the same idea.
It also had an Xbox gift card. After, Katie and Annie exchanged unwrapped picture frames. Apparently they had a tradition of giving each other their favourite picture together and framed it. They laughed and Katie and I exchange our gifts. I got her grips (because she never stops complaining about hers after gym) and a photo collage that contained all the pictures of us I could find. From when we were 11 and 13 to now. We had a short kiss and I opened my gift. She gave me new headphones and a gigantic book, full of (guess what) memories. We all laughed, since we had all gotten eachother pictures/memories. The already joined as and we opened mad exchanged the rest of our gifts. A storm of snow started to build up outside.
"I don't know if we will be getting home tonight." Ryan said, poking Hayley and laughing.
"It's only a few doors down. Although I wouldn't mind staying another night." Katie smirked.
"I'm tired. We can fight though the storm, but if you kids want you can stay. We will get your gifts and take them home tomorrow." Her dad said, kissing Katie's forehead. He hugged his kids goodbye and the parents left. Katie followed me downstairs and Brennan followed Annie the opposite way.

Sorry so much #Kaleb. I promise next chapter will have lots of brannie. If you couldn't tell, this chapter was more of a filler chapter. Whatever.
Hope you enjoyed!💚
-M