Love Thy Neighbour *editing*

"Kid's going to grow up with some sort of a complex."

"But how does the baby get in your tummy?" Mattie asked, peering at my belly. I bit my lip and pinched the bridge of my nose. It was Christmas Eve and I was round at Niall's, along with my mum, Auntie Francis and Tommy, who were all sitting in the living room with me and Mattie. Niall, Declan and their dad were out at God only knows where and the twins and Tommy were upstairs shouting.

I looked around for help. I refused to tell Mattie the facts of life; it was just too embarrassing for words to describe. Then I heard the click of the door opening and I turned back to her expectant little face.

"Ask Niall," I said, "he knows more about putting baby's in tummy's than I do, okay?" She grinned and disappeared through the living room door.

"Ask Niall what?" he called out to me as Mattie skidded to a halt on the slippery floor. I heard the murmurs of Mattie repeating her question and then the awkward silence, in which I tried hard not to laugh. Auntie Francis and mum narrowed their eyes at me and I held my hands up. Niall came into the room, his face flushed, shaking snow out of his hair.

"You couldn't resist, could you?" he said, flopping down on the seat beside me. I shook my head, a smile creeping across my lips. Niall clicked his tongue; he wasn't really angry. He was just taking the piss because he could.

"Did you tell her then?" I asked, leaning against his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head.

"Funnily enough," he replied, "I didn't really want to discuss the ins and outs of sex with my little sister." I laughed and my Auntie Francis shot me a scowl. Yes, we were back to our old bickering ways. This morning she had kicked up a fuss because I accidentally threw out one of her bridal magazines when I was tidying up. And of course it had to be the one that had the only dress that she wanted to wear in it.

When I had told Niall he had laughed. Not because the whole situation was completely ludicrous, no. It was because he couldn't believe that I was cleaning in the first place, because my room was always such a mess. Sarky bugger.

"So where is she now?" I asked him.

"I told her to ask my da'." He shrugged. "He's in the kitchen trying to explain the birds and the bees." I snorted and tried to get comfortable, elbowing Niall in the process. In response, he began to tickle me until I couldn't breathe.

"Niall," I gasped, "I'm going to pee myself!" He rolled his eyes and stopped, draping his arm around me and pulling me close. I really wanted to know where he had been; his dad had come into the living room that afternoon and told Niall and Declan that they were going out, no questions to be asked. But I didn't really want to kill the happy mood that had descended on both of the households. Everyone seem to be a lot chirpier in the lead up to Christmas. I mean, even I was getting into the spirit of things and I absolutely hated the bloody holiday. I had even found myself humming hymns over the past week. Hymns! My only fear was, that once this ordeal was over, I would be back in the land of misery I seemed to occupy for the rest of the year.

"So, Evie, what's Santa bringing you?" Pam asked, biting into a liqueur chocolate and looking over in my direction.

"I don't know, " I replied. "I never wrote him a list this year."

"That's a shame," Niall muttered. "Could've given it to Sian; she seems to know Santa pretty well." I rolled my eyes. He was never going to let Sian live down the fact that she was working as an elf at the Christmas Grotto at the shopping centre. Every time "Santa" or "Elves" were brought into the conversation, he would snigger and say something about Sian. It didn't really help that she had slept with the guy pretending to be Santa; she was spending Christmas day with him and his family.