Family Ties

Take A Drive

Harry's POV

"I'm officially exhausted." Hannah sighed as she plunked herself down on the couch, cuddling up next to me as I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her head.

It had been a long day of excitement with the kids, opening presents and organizing all the new things they got, and Hannah had spent most of the day in the kitchen trying to get dinner ready. I'd done my best to keep an eye on her, and Doug, since I knew they were both aware of the fact that it was the first Christmas without Carol and Emma and it was obvious they were just trying to keep themselves busy.

The kids seemed to be the ones that had adjusted the best, but I suspected it was because they hadn't quite grasped the impact the loss would have on their lives. They had been just as excited has they were all the previous years we'd spent Christmas with them, running around telling everyone about Santa's visit and all the things he'd brought them. The smiles on their faces were enough to make us all remember how much we had to be thankful for, but that didn't mean we didn't feel the absence of the laughter and warmth Carol and Emma always brought.

Hannah had done her best to recreate the holidays the way they'd always been for her and her family, using her mother's recipes and following the same traditions, and I knew it was her way of trying to make Carol proud. It was how she felt close to her, stepping into her role as she tried to take care of everyone the way Carol would have, and I was incredibly proud of how hard she worked to pull it all off. That shift had officially occurred, where my wife had gone from daughter to mother, and I found myself falling in love with her all over again every time I saw her tackle some new challenge and smash it like she always did.

I even caught myself smiling a couple of times as I watched Mitt and Deaks open the presents we'd got them, obviously touched by the gesture as they got to experience a real Christmas for the first time. I knew what it was like to suddenly be surrounded by a completely different life than the ones we were used to, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was glad Hannah and I had been able to give them that. Part of me hoped that maybe catching a glimpse of the other side of life might motivate them to make some changes, but I also knew how deep that life could sink it's teeth into you and I wasn't about to hold my breath.

I was reminded once again just how far we'd come as I'd watched Louis roll around on the floor wrestling with the kids, Liam tearing up when Gemma had given him a positive pregnancy test for Christmas, and the life we used to lead seemed so far away. My sister was having a baby, with the love her life, and she had everything she'd always wanted. All of those things I did that I wasn't proud of, every fight I got in or shady thing I did trying to get us out of there, it all seemed worth it as I saw the smile on her face as she told her husband he was about to be a father. It felt like I'd spent my entire life trying to get her there, and for the first time in my life I felt like I'd finally done enough. She was happy, and taken care of, and I'd succeeded at getting us both the life we'd wanted.

At the same time, with the kids now bathed and tucked safely into their beds, I allowed the reality to creep back in that my old life wasn't nearly as far away as I wanted it to be. I'd promised Hannah that I would give her the holiday, that we would spend Christmas as a family and not let the situation ruin what we'd been working so hard for, but Christmas was officially over and I knew I needed to figure out how the hell we were gonna get out of this mess with Stanks.

"Well, I guess we'll take off now." Mitt announced as he and Deaks entered the living room and smiled at Hannah and I. "We finished cleaning up the kitchen...but I'm not sure where some of that stuff goes so I just left it on the counter."

It was strange to me that I wasn't relieved to hear that they were leaving, considering the initial reaction I'd had to Hannah inviting them. Over the past 24 hours I'd seen a side to them that I hadn't realized was there as they played around with the kids and helped us out around the house, being just as much members of the family as anyone else. We had a complicated history with each other, sometimes friends and other times enemies, but as much as I hated it at times we were bonded in a way that we'd never escape. As usual, Hannah had been right about giving them a chance and I...dare I say...enjoyed having them there for the holidays.