Something - Quinn Fabray

Chapter 50

December 25th

On Christmas Day, Shelby opened her eyes groggily, squinting at the clock on the bedside table. It was a little before nine, and she was a little surprised that Ryan had let her sleep in. Apparently he wasn't one of those kids who woke up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning... oh wait... he did that every day.

She yawned, stretching as she got out of bed and dressed. Going downstairs, she heard a muffled conversation, and she smiled as she recognized the two very familiar voices. She went into the living room and saw James and Ryan set up on the couch, clearly deep in conversation about a topic she wasn't sure about.

Shelby stood there for a moment, just out of their line of sight, watching with a smile as the two interacted. Ryan had been right last night, this was one of the best Christmases in her memory.

Her smile turned a little wistful as she continued to watch the two guys. She was so happy that the father and son had connected so well, but she couldn't help but imagine what their lives would have been like if only she had made some different choices. Maybe they'd all be happier. Maybe this wouldn't have been their first Christmas together. Maybe they would actually be a real family instead of this slightly confusing thing they had going on.

Finally James looked up, a smile lighting up his face when he saw her. "Good morning, sleepy," he teased her, nudging Ryan, who looked up as well.

"Hi Mom!" He gave her a bright smile.

Shelby walked over, sinking down onto the sofa in between the two. She sighed in satisfaction, content just sitting with two of the most important people in her life. She gave Ryan a kiss on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, sweetie." She turned to James, giving him a kiss. "You too."

"Merry Christmas, Shelby," James smiled, leaning in to kiss her again.

"Okay," Ryan interrupted. "You two are sweet and all, but if you're going to keep doing that how about you go find a room. Or alternatively, you could stop doing that and we could open presents."

"Yeah, let's go upstairs, Shelby," James said, nodding. Shelby laughed at the look of horror on their son's face. "Kidding. Let's get cracking."

"Hysterical," Ryan grumbled, going over to the tree to get some of the boxes. "Absolutely hysterical." He started sorting the boxes under the tree, handing several to his parents and keeping some to himself.

"Go on," Shelby said expectantly.

Ryan grinned. "Don't mind if I do." He started unwrapping a box from James. His brow furrowed when he found an unlabeled white cardboard box. Then his eyes widened as he opened it to find a handsome digital watch inside. "Wow, cool!" He smiled at James. "Thanks. My watch is actually falling apart, so this is great."

"I noticed," James said in amusement. "I actually asked Sim to mail that to me, it's the kind that the Special Ops guys use. Swim with it, fall off a cliff with it, whatever. It's pretty much indestructible."

"Did you just tell him to fall off a cliff with it?" Shelby asked disbelievingly.

James smiled at her charmingly. "No."

Shelby just rolled her eyes as she started unwrapping her own present from Ryan. A deep red scarf fell into her hands, and she smiled at Ryan happily. "Thank you, sweetie, it's beautiful." She pulled it open, to uncover a small box of items from Bath & Body Works. "This is great, I love it," she said sincerely. Her lips curved into a sly smile. "Who helped you pick it out?"

Ryan gave her a look. "Quinn, if you must know," he said with dignity. He perked up as he heard a car pull up outside. "I think Grams and Grandpa are here," he said excitedly, flitting over to the closet and scrambling into a jacket.