Everything Has Changed- A Taylor Swift Fanfic

Chapter 24

       Author's note: I've never really clarified it but Ryan is now 3. I will (try) to update at least twice a month. Enjoy!

         It's been about a month since Lucy came along. Ryan has been surprising good to her. But tonight is Christmas Eve. I'm in the kitchen baking cookies and Ryan is helping me add the ingredients. My mom and dad are here already but we're just waiting for Austin and his girlfriend.  Ryan is using a cookie cutter to make gingerbread  men while I give Lucy her bottle. It was hard to get Lucy out of my mother's arms... Just as Ryan is finishing cutting out the cookies, the doorbell rings. 
        "UNCLE!" Ryan yells, running to the door. He can't say it properly but it still sounds adorable.
        "Wait, Ryan!" I yell, running to the door and picking him up. 
        "Austin! Marissa!"  My mother exclaims behind me. I guess her name is Marissa.
        "Hey buddy!" Austin says, ruffling Ryan's hair.
        "Hi!." she chimes
        "Hello! Merry Christmas!"  
        We sit in the living room and talk for awhile while Austin plays with Ryan. The timer goes off and the cookies are done! I let them cook on the counter but I catch Ryan sneaking a cookie. After they're done cooling I get started on making the icing to decorate them. Austin and Marissa are now holding Lucy while we're decorating the cookies. Ryan is pretty good at decorating the gingerbread man. Besides when we had to tell him he's decorating the counter as well... 
        By time the cookies are finished it's time to put on the ham. It's only three so it should be done fairly soon. It's too early to get started on the rest of dinner so I start to clean the kitchen. It'll take a long time due to Ryan's artwork displayed on the counter... After the kitchen is finally clean, I've gone through two cloths and they're both a rainbow mess.  I finally get to relax with my family for a bit. 
        "Lucy is adorable." Marissa says while Lucy holds her finger.
        "She's really quiet too." Austin softly speaks.
        Austin and Marissa are both cooing over Lucy. They'd make really good parents. They've been together for three years now and I'm just waiting for them to get engaged. I'm almost certain he will ask her on her birthday rather than Christmas.
        Lucy is sat in her carrier-like high chair while Ryan is in his booster seat. Lucy is dozing off while Ryan is bouncing in his seat. I call everybody to dinner and they loved it. Another Christmas Eve dinner success. 
        We watch The Grinch, Rudolph and Frosty The Snowman after dinner to settle Ryan down. When it's time for bed I help Ryan pour Santa some milk. He picks out three of the cookies he decorated for Santa and he puts nine carrots out for the reindeer. I tuck him into bed but he insists on me reading to him. I read him The Night Before Christmas before he falls asleep. Everybody else is already asleep but Ed and I are already up. We have to stuff the stockings and place presents under the tree. Austin sneaks down to help with Marissa's stocking.
        "Taylor, you're making the Christmas crackers yourself right?" He asks.
        "Yeah. Why?" I question.
        "Can you write everybody's names on them?"
        "I always do."
       "Can you put this in Marissa's please?" He hands me a little baggie with a ring and a slip of paper.
        "OH MY GOSH AUSTIN!" I exclaim. 
        "Shhhh. I don't want her to hear! So are you going to?"
        "Of course! I'm starting on them after I finish the stockings."
        "You know, you could always just ask her in the morning." Ed says, doing mom's stocking.
        "This way is way better than just opening it in the morning." Austin retorts.
        The crackers are kind of difficult to make but I get there. I take out the slip of paper from the little baggie containing the ring. I decide to keep the ring inside the baggie, just incase it goes flying out when she opens it. Ryan is getting a little racecar in his cracker which may not be a good idea. Hopefully he doesn't run it through his mashed potatoes. After they're finished I check to make sure the ring is in Marissa's cracker and to make sure they're all named. It's perfect timing because Ed has finished the gifts.
        "MOMMY. DADDY. WAKE UP!" Ryan yells, jumping on the bed.
        "Morning honey. What day is it?" I jokingly ask Ryan.
        "CHRISTMAS!" He yells. 
        "Ryan." I whisper. "Grab a pillow. Let's wake daddy up."
        Ryan and I hit Ed with a pillow to wake him up.
        "WOAH. I'm up." Ed jolts awake. "Morning little guy."
        "Go wake up grandma and grandpa." I tell Ryan. He still has the pillow from our room...
        I creep downstairs to take pictures of the tree and stockings.  I'm still filled with excitement for Christmas dinner tonight. Once everyone is downstairs I put the waffles on. We open our stockings first. I got more guitar picks finally! They all go missing. I also get more polaroid film which I desperately needed. Ed gets more strings and a new capo. Ryan isn't happy with the socks but he cheers up when he sees the trains. Overall, everybody was happy with their stockings. After breakfast we get started on the presents.
        We all take turns and I open Lucy's presents. She's pretty sleepy so she's being held by my dad. Ryan is super happy with his train set. He's going through a racecar-train phase. Lucy has some cute new clothes which I love. Ed got some more cat stuff. I'm starting to think he likes cats more than me. Austin and Marissa got a lot of house stuff since they moved in together 4 months back. Mom and dad got scrapbooks and picture frames from us.
        We all enjoy our presents until dinner. It's almost done and I'm still super thrilled about the cracker for Marissa. Once we're all settled down for dinner we all take our crackers and open them. Marissa picks up her ring and slip of paper. The paper says:
                         QUESTION
                        Will you marry me?
                        Answer: Yes

        "AUSTIN!' Marissa cries. "Yes!"
        They share a kiss. She's still teary eyed and I don't blame her. I would be crying if I got proposed to like that. Even though I hate to admit it, Austin is a good person. 
        Another Christmas and come and gone. I say this every year but I'm sure this Christmas is my favourite. I have a happy family, healthy kids and a nice home. I don't know how it gets better than this.

I HOPE YOU ALL HAD HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I had to make this chapter long. I just couldn't break it into two. Plus that's kind of my Christmas present to you :) Have a happy new year everybody!