A/N: A little fluff before we get into the heavy. ♥️
Ryan's POV
"It's Christmas, momma!" Two small palms slam against my chest, jolting me awake. "Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho!"
"No, Wylie. Go away." I groan, voice heavy with sleep.
"But, momma, it's Christmas! Wake up, wake up, wake up! Santa came and left me a whole buttload of presents!" She slams her palms against my chest once more, nearly knocking the breath out of me.
She's going to be the death of me one of these days.
She plays too rough with her Uncle Tommy and thinks the whole fucking world is her playground to climb all over, including me.
"Why are you on me? Go terrorize your father for once." I mumble, extending my arm to push her down.
I don't give a fuck what day it is, I'm not getting up before eight AM on a non-school day unless someone is bleeding profusely or dead.
And even then, if they're already dead, what the fuck can I do about it?
"Daddy's already downstairs!" She exclaims, bouncing against my legs painfully.
"Baby, get off of momma, please. You can't do that when I'm preg-" My mind snaps into gear, my eyes opening all the way as the Santa hat placed on the top of her head comes into view. "Your dad's already up?"
"Mmhm!" She hums. "We're all waitin' on you, momma. Grandpa Tom says I can't open my presents until you get your lazy ass up!"
Gee, thanks Tom.
When Nikki brought up the idea of inviting him for the holidays, it didn't take me even a millisecond to agree.
Even if the old man never has a filter, he's the father figure I've been craving since I lost my own, and I would take all the crude remarks in the world if he would just stay here forever.
Besides, he means well and I know he loves me, so I just take it as playful teasing.
"What time is it?" I yawn, kicking her off of me to flip over and look at the clock.
"It says nine two-two." She reads the orange numbers proudly, a wide grin forming over her small mouth.
Well, shit.
I guess I'm late to the party.
"Alright." I huff. "Give me a minute and I'll be right down."
"Okay, momma!" She gives me a hard nod before catapulting herself off the bed, her arms raised in the air as she runs out of the room.
"Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho!"
I shake my head at her endless source of energy as I throw the covers off of me, rubbing my eyes in an attempt to wake myself all the way up.
The scary looking Santa on my chest makes me flinch when I walk by the mirror, a deep laugh bubbling up my throat when I realize it's just my shirt.
I really need to find a way to restore this thing. Santa looks like he's been through a meat grinder or been in the hands of Michael Myers one too many times.
But it's my tradition to keep my dad alive, and I'll wear it even when Santa totally peels off.
I run a brush over my teeth and through my hair, and debate on changing my shirt to something a little less grungy, ultimately deciding against it.
It's just my family, they've seen me in worse.
"Merry Christmas, little lady!" Tom hollers as I pad down the stairs, still half asleep.
He's the perfect Santa with his big belly hiding underneath his cherry red shirt, a goofy smile plastered over his face as he sits on the couch.
Wylie impatiently waits cross-legged on the floor in front of her impressive pile of presents, and Nikki gives her the thumbs up to start ripping through them.
A maniacal laughter flows past her lips as she digs her nails into the wrapping paper, giving a few oo's and ah's before tossing it to the side and tearing into the next one.
"Merry Christmas, Tom." I plant a kiss on his cheek before plopping onto the couch in between them.
"Merry Christmas, baby." Nikki wraps his arm around me and pulls me into his side, kissing my temple. "Did you sleep well?"
"I really did. Thank y'all for letting me sleep in. Even if you did call me a lazy ass." I shoot Tom a wink and he squints his eyes at Wylie.
"Tattle-tale." He mutters under his breath.
She pays him no mind whatsoever as wrapping paper flies through the air, a permanent smile carved into her face as she continues to rip open her gifts.
"Where's her big gift?" I whisper to Nikki, and his face lights up with anticipation.
"Tommy should be here any minute."
"I feel bad making him do this when he should be with his family." I frown.
"Nah." Nikki shakes his head. "His family went to Greece and Pam didn't want to go so he stayed, and they got in some sort of fight last night and she took off. He'll be happy to be with us."
While I believe that Pam is one of the most sweet, gentle souls I've ever met, her and Tommy are like oil and fire; explosive.
"I'm so glad we don't fight like that anymore." I sigh, nestling my head into his chest.
"I love you way too much and fought way too hard to get you back to ever let you go." He smacks his lips against my forehead, squeezing my shoulder. "You're stuck with me for life."
"That's alright with me." I hum.
"Better be." He chuckles. "I made you some coffee. It's in the kitchen."
"Is it-"
"Yes, it's decaf." He cuts me off with a wave of his hand. "I'm not dumb, babe."
"That's debatable." I tease, sticking my tongue out as I get up to retrieve my cup of coffee.
"I thought we didn't fight anymore!" He calls after me and I heave out a laugh as I flip the kitchen light on.
My eyes catch on the thick newspaper sitting on the counter, my gut falling with guilt when I see the tertiary headline in small print at the bottom of the front page.
Packsaddle Preschool Dance Bugs Rock the House at their Annual Christmas Recital: Cont'd Page Four
Shit.
I flip through the thin pages and sure enough, there I am, squished in between Slash and Tommy in the biggest picture on the page.
I should've known they'd make the rockstars the heart of the story.
I thought I'd thrown away the copy of this we got last week, but Nikki must've found it in one of the stands outside the grocery store I made him run to last night for more wrapping paper.
I wonder if he's seen it.
The corner of the pages don't look crimped like they've been flipped through before, and I'm sure he would've bitten my head off already if he had.
I tear out the two pictures of Wylie from the page and stick them on the fridge before tossing the rest of it into the trashcan.
I know I need to talk to him, I would just prefer to not ruin our Christmas.
Especially when it's going to be Wylie's best Christmas ever.
Nikki's whole "we need to tone it down next year" fell completely flat and it was all of his own doing, too.
Maybe he's trying to make up for giving her a random sister, or maybe it's just that this is our first Christmas back together, but either way, he outdid every Christmas she's ever had by a landslide.
"Thank you for the coffee, babe." I raise my cup to him as I sit back down on the couch and he nods his head at me.
"A puppy!" Wylie screams, bringing the stuffed animal to her chest to cuddle it. "It's so cute!"
Nikki nudges my shoulder with a mischievous smile and I roll my eyes through a laugh, the doorbell interrupting her happy squeals.
"Hey, Wylie." Nikki sits up, waving his hand at her. "Are you ready to get your big present?"
Nikki is practically vibrating with excitement while Tommy beats on the door to be let in, his wavy mane of hair popping through the window in the front door.
"Big present?" She cocks her head, stuffed puppy still crimped in her arms.
"Yeah. Sit right there and don't move, alright?" He points at her as he gets up to answer the door and she nods her head quickly, on pins and needles to find out what it is.
Nikki opens the door and Tommy walks in with his hands folded behind his back as he looks around the room to find Wylie.
"Merry Christmas, Sixx family!"
A little puff of fur peeps out from his side and I can't help but laugh at the confused look on her face.
"What's your opinion on dogs?" Nikki runs his hand through my hair as I lay my head on his chest, already halfway to dreamland.
"What?"
"Dogs. Do you like them?" He rephrases his question as I flip over to face him.
"I love them. Why?" My brows knit together, unsure of where this conversation is going.
"I think we should get Wylie one."
"You want to get a dog?" I wrap my hands around the headboard to lift myself into sitting position.
"Yeah. You know how fucking ecstatic she would be to have a pet of her own? She would shit a brick." He cackles, staring off into the distance to imagine it.
"I know, but she's four. She's not old enough to take care of another living being by herself."
I hate always being the fucking bad guy.
"Well, I would help. It would teach her some responsibility, too. It takes discipline to train a dog, and that's something she's kind of lacking right now."
"Fair point." I sigh. "But what about when you go off to tour the world? I'll be stuck with taking care of it?"
"We're not going on tour for a while. I can't even get the guys to finish two songs, let alone a whole fuckin' album to tour for. By the time I go anywhere the dog will be trained, and it'd make me feel better to have someone watching out for you when I'm not here if you refuse to go with me."
Can't really argue against any of that.
"And you'll help her take care of it? Water, food, toys, walks, play with it and train it? It's gonna be a big undertaking with a new baby here, too."
"Yes. I promise." A smile starts to tug at his lips from the sound of defeat in my voice.
"Fine." I huff, his teeth starting to show. "But, it has to be a girl. I don't want a boy pissing all over my house. And it has to be non-shedding. I don't want little tumbleweeds of hair blowing around in my house, either."
"Whatever you want, baby." He squeals, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug.
"Uncle Tommy's my present?" Disappointment seeps from Wylie's voice and Tommy breathes out a scoff.
"What? Am I not a good present?"
I can tell he's just as excited as we are by the way he's rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Well, yeah, I guess so..." She pouts.
"I'm not your present." Tommy promises.
Her jaw swings open when he brings the puppy around to his chest, her eyes as wide as saucers.
She whips her head between Nikki and I, tears instantly filling her eyes.
"M-mine?" She blubbers as she points to the ball of black and white fur, the puppy's tail swinging as she wriggles to get out of Tommy's hands. "Is that mine, momma?"
Tears stream down Wylie's face as Tommy sets the dog down and the tiny creature instantly runs right to her and drowns her face in slobbery licks.
"Yeah, baby. She's yours." I nod.
The deafening screech that fills the room could wake the dead.
"Hi, puppy!" She throws the stuffed dog across the room like chopped liver to pick up the live one, her chest heaving with happy cries. "You're so cute! You're so soft! What's your name, puppy? I'm your momma now. You're my puppy and I'm going to make you so, so happy!"
Nikki quirks an eyebrow at the tears falling down my own cheeks and I throw him the finger as I wipe my face with the back of my hand.
"That's a good lookin' dog. What is it?" Tom furrows his brows as he leans into me and I snort out a laugh at his question.
"She's a labradoodle. A mix of a lab and a poodle so she doesn't shed."
"Ah, one of them fancy designer dogs." He twirls his finger as if to say 'whoop-de-doo.'
"What's her name, momma?" Wylie huffs, out of breath as she tries to calm herself down.
"Whatever you want it to be. She's yours, you can name her." I lift my shoulders in a shrug as I take a gulp of my coffee.
Another glass-shattering shriek reverberates through the room.
"I will name you Fred!" She yells, lifting the puppy above her head to place kisses all over her face.
Fred?
"Fred?" Nikki chuckles, jumping onto my wave length.
"Fred." Wylie confirms with a nod of her head.
"Alright then. Fred it is." He shrugs his shoulders, dropping onto the ground to join in on the puppy-fun.
I guess Wylie never claimed to be creative.
The two grown men and the small child crawl across the floor with Fred for an hour after all presents have been opened, leaving Tom and I to pick up all the discarded paper littering the living room.
But I don't mind, the house hasn't sounded this happy in years, and I'd take over all the annoying chores forever if it meant I could keep seeing the joyful smiles warped into their faces.
I'm suddenly glad that Nikki and I decided not to do gifts for each other this year, watching the love my daughter has for that little ball of fluff is all the gift I need.
"You feelin' alright, doll?" Tom cups his hand over my shoulder as he takes the trash bag from me.
"Yeah. I'm fine." I give him a half-smile as I rip the trash bag back out of his hands. "You're the guest. You don't have to help."
"I'm family." He lowers his eyes at me, grabbing the bag once more. "And family helps. Go sit down."
"Okay, okay." I raise my hands in surrender, sucking in a deep breath as I flop back down on the couch.
I could sleep for a full two days if I was allowed to.
I'm so ready for this kid to get out of my body that it drives me totally bonkers some days, and I'm going to do my damndest to never put myself through this special breed of hell ever again.
Sometimes I feel like the one inside of me will be the death of me more than the one outside of me will.
Nikki's POV
"Long day?" I snort out a laugh at the pillow thrown across Ryan's face, her body sprawled out over three-fourths of the bed.
I'm so used to sleeping in small spaces by now that I could probably sleep comfortably in a coat closet, standing up.
"That fucking dog has more energy than Wylie does." She groans.
A small yip comes from the foot of the bed, the happy little pup spread out against her blanket with her tail wagging.
"She's louder, too." Ryan adds, throwing the pillow off her face.
"Why isn't she sleeping with Wylie?"
I ruffle my hand against the top of Fred's poofy head and she automatically flips on her back for a belly scratch.
"You think Wylie's gonna get up every three hours to take her outside to potty? You're dreaming." Ryan scoffs, sitting up to scoop Fred in her arms.
"You love her." I laugh, earning a dirty glare.
"Of course I love her. Look at her. She's cute as fuck." Ryan holds Fred out in front of her chest like Simba.
"She is really fucking cute." I agree, pulling my shirt over my head to get ready for bed. "I'm glad we went with the blue merle instead of the brown."
"Me too." Ryan sighs, Fred licking all over her face. "Her name kinda sucks, though."
"Yeah, it does." My stomach shakes with a deep laughter as I pull open the top drawer of the dresser in search of the rectangle box I've been hiding for two weeks. "Fuckin' Fred."
"What are you digging for?" Ryan leans back onto her mound of pillows and Fred walks in circles on Ryan's chest before finally laying down.
Where the fuck is the box?
"Nothing." I lie, a soft breath flowing through my nose when my fingers finally run across the slick wrapping paper.
A shit-eating grin floods my face as I turn around and hold it out for her to see.
"What is that?" Ryan moans. "We said no presents this year, Nikki!"
"Shut up. You deserve a gift." I shush her, climbing into bed next to her as I hand her the box.
"You're an asshole."
"I know."
She carefully unwraps the gift, mindful to not disturb the sleeping puppy laying against her breasts.
Tears well in her eyes when she pops open the top to reveal the sterling silver bracelet with all five of our initials carved into the bottom of it.
"You fucker." She sniffs. "You even put Frankie's on here. I hate you."
"I know." I repeat, handing her a tissue from the bedside table.
"Thank you. It's beautiful." She puckers her lips and I bend down to press mine against hers. "Go into my underwear drawer and get the box in there."
"I thought we said no gifts?!" I mock her words and she waves her hand to dismiss me.
"It's not technically for you. Just go get it." She shoves my shoulder and I hop off the bed.
If I would've even slightly opened her drawer at any point, I would've seen the box haphazardly thrown on top in a terrible hiding place.
"Bring it over here."
She waves her hand for me to come back and I gratefully oblige, Fred's eyes popping open at the dip in the mattress.
"Okay, open it."
I nod my head as I pop the tape off the corners and lift the box, a heavy sigh falling from my lips as I see a pink blanket embroidered with Frankie-Jean on the bottom right hand corner.
"You didn't have to do this." I squeak, holding back the overflowing emotion.
The fact that she loves a baby she's never even been around just because she's mine completely warms my heart.
She may be a tough broad on the outside, but she has the biggest heart I've ever gotten the privilege to know.
"What's yours is mine, babe. I will love her just as much as the ones that came out of me."
"Thank you. I'll take it to her when I see her tomorrow." I clear my throat as I run my fingertips over the soft fabric.
"I'm sorry you couldn't be with her on her first Christmas, Nik." Ryan reaches over for my hand and wraps her fingers into mine.
"It's fine. It's not your fault." I rub my thumb across the scars on the top of her hand and she smiles at the nostalgic gesture.
"It is, though." She laughs. "She's an even bigger bitch now that I kicked her ass. Speaking of-" Her voice trails off as she lifts the blanket to reveal a business card. "That's for Donna. The best plastic surgeon to fix that trashed fuckin' nose."
"You're evil." I shake my head through a laugh as I put the top back on the box carefully.
My wife would do something petty like that.
It's not enough to snap Donna's nose in half, she's gotta dig the knife in deeper by reminding her that she was the one to do it.
"And speaking of evil-" She lets out a deep breath as I put the box on the nightstand, my brows knitting together at the guilty look on her face. "I need to talk to you about something."
That's the line that fills every man with unbridled fear. Nothing good ever comes from needing to talk.
"Okay..." I sit back against the bed and start to pet Fred to have something to do with my nervous hands. "What is it?"
"Wylie's recital." She sighs, her voice laced with shame. "Slash was there, and he sat with Tommy and me during the show. There was some dude from the local paper there snapping pictures and he got one of the three of us. It's in the paper. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just got so caught up in all the Donna shit and then I just didn't want to upset you. Which, I know I should've just-" She starts to ramble and I cut her off with a flick of my hand.
"I know."
"You know?" She tilts her head to the side in confusion, her eyes wide.
"Yeah. I know." I repeat, cupping Fred into my left hand and wrapping Ryan into my right. "I read the article. I saw the picture."
"Why didn't you say anything? Aren't you upset?"
"No, I'm not." I shake my head. "I knew he was engaged to Renee, I figured he might make an appearance. I'm not thrilled that you hung out with him the whole time, but I trust you. I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me, especially with Tommy's big ass mouth sitting right there."
That's only a half-lie; I was pretty pissed until I sat down and thought about it.
She wouldn't have gotten back together with me if she had any feelings for him, and she had plenty of chances to be with him while we were apart and she still didn't. That means something.
I didn't like that she didn't tell me about it, but how can I be upset about that when I didn't tell her about Donna's CPS threat?
I was more upset with Tommy for not telling me, since he was all holier-than-thou about me not telling Ryan about Donna. I'm starting to think he's more her best friend than he is mine, but I can't really blame him on that either.
She's my best friend, too. And she's a damn good one to have.
"Wow." She rasps. "I'm really impressed at how far you've come, babe. I expected you to throw one of your signature Nikki-fits."
"Nikki-fits?" I repeat coldly, brows raised.
"Yeah. You know, you get all mad, stomp around, yell at me for an hour, question my love for you, that sort of thing." She gestures with her hands as she talks like it's the most obvious answer in the world.
"Okay, rude ass." I scoff, squeezing her into me.
"It's true!"
"Whatever." I roll my eyes. "There will be no more Nikki-fits. I know you must love me if you put up with all my bullshit. I don't question it anymore, I just thank my lucky stars that you do and hope like hell that you never stop."
"Okay, fuckin' cheese." She lets out a throaty cackle, cupping my cheek in her palm as she looks up at me sweetly. "I'll never stop loving you, baby. I'm yours until I croak."
"Better be." I wrap my hand around her chin to shove my lips onto hers.
I just pray that won't be anytime soon.