CHRISTMAS BONUS CONTENT: 1. ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME. . .
***Albany***
"Why are you up so early, baby?"
I was jerked out of my thoughts by his question. Smiling, I lowered my cup as I turned to look at Kieran. For a moment I took the time to take him in as he poured himself a cup of coffee before I answered him.
"I couldn't sleep."
With his cup in his hand, he turned and leaned back against the cabinet, brows dipping into a frown as his green eyes darted over my face. Whatever he saw made him straighten and close the space between us.
"We've been married for six months," I said.
His frown deepened. "You sound like you're starting to regret getting married to us."
"No, it's not that," I hurriedly assured him. "It's just. . .it's almost Christmas."
"I know." Thomas placed his cup down on the island and reached out to finger a strand of my hair.
My eyes dropped to stare at the coffee in the cup for a few seconds before I looked up at him. I still hesitated but since our relationship was built on honesty, I decided that it was best to tell him the truth.
"I've never really celebrated Christmas. Crystal was there and we had a Christmas tree and all that but it never felt like Christmas. I thought that maybe we could celebrate it together."
"We still can."
"But Severide has the Christmas party." I narrowed my eyes at him when he smirked. "Aren't the twins going to their parents' house?"
Kieran's lips parted but it was Severide who answered as he entered the kitchen, fully dressed in his usual suit. "No, apparently they already have other plans."
I knew that their mother didn't approve of our relationship but the last time we talked it looked like their father was starting to accept it. Although they never talked about it, I could see that they miss their parents.
A sigh fell from my lips. "I want it to be only the five of us," I told them. "No strangers, no drama. Just us celebrating Christmas together."
"We've celebrated it together a few times," Kieran said as he nodded towards Sev, "but I don't think your vision of celebrating is the same as ours."
"I'm sure yours includes strippers and lots of booze," I muttered as I stood.
Kieran grabbed my arm and pulled me to his side as I moved past him. He was smiling down at me with amusement in his eyes.
"We usually just have a barbeque and a few drinks. We've never really exchanged presents or that kind of stuff." Leaning down, he captured my lips in a kiss. "But I'm sure we can make adjustments to celebrate the way you want."
A glance at Severide confirmed his words. They were willing to change things just for me. I could feel the excitement bubbling up as my mind raced with all the things I never had but always wanted to do.
"We don't have a Christmas tree," I said.
"I'll order one," Severide said.
"We don't have decorations."
He pulled out his phone. "I'll hire someone to—"
"No!" I exclaimed, horror washing through me. "I don't want anyone to do it for us; I want us to do it together."
Severide pulled a face as he pushed his phone back into his pocket. The excitement faded only to be replaced by utter disappointment. I knew that look.
"Forget it," I hissed as I pulled away from Kieran. "Just forget it."
I hurried out of the kitchen before either of them could see the tears filling my eyes. Sometimes they just didn't understand the importance of celebrating a holiday.
Only some of the foster houses I stayed at celebrated Christmas but I never really felt included, which meant that I never received any presents.
I had the opportunity now to make Christmas day the celebration I always wanted to have, but there would be no use to go through so much trouble if none of them were going to be home.
"Albany."
I paused but didn't turn around. A moment later, his arms wrapped around my waist from behind and his head dipped to my neck. His lips brushed along my skin.
"I don't want you to cancel anything," Severide said softly. "I want you to have the most amazing Christmas ever."
"It won't be amazing if you're not here," I muttered.
"I can't postpone the Christmas party," he told me. "It's taking place on Christmas Eve but I'll be all yours the next day."
Pulling away, I turned to face him. "I don't want you for just one day. You hired someone to take the load off which went great for the first few months. There was one crisis and you've been working ever since then."
His eyes darted away for a second before he looked at me again. Smiling at me, Sev stepped closer and gripped my hips to pull me against him. His head dipped but I turned my head away before his lips could touch mine.
"It's the holiday season," I said. "I want all of my husband's at home, decorating and helping me make our first Christmas special."
With that said I walked away and headed upstairs. The bakery received a few orders. I would focus all my attention on making sure that all those people enjoyed their Christmas.
***
***Cinders and her four Princes:
Kieran: Family meeting tonight at seven. Everybody needs to be there—no exceptions! (That means you Severide.)
Severide: What about Thomas?
Thomas: What about me?
Severide: You may be there but you're not always present
Steven: We'll be there, don't worry.
Kieran: You better be! If you're not home by seven, I'm driving to your office and dragging you home.* **
I smiled as their banter continued for a few minutes more before the group fell silent. Letting out a sigh, I locked my phone and placed it aside to focus back on the task at hand.
Time seemed to pass slowly or was it just because I was curious about the sudden meeting? By six, I left the bakery knowing that Megan would lock up when she finished.
I was surprised to find all their cars parked in the garage. It was the first time that they showed up before said time—except on our wedding day. They showed up hours earlier to make sure that everything was going smoothly.
Parking my car in its spot, I got out and used the garage entrance to enter the house. I followed their voices straight to the living room where I found all of them seated with a beer in their hands.
Steven was the first to notice me. He smiled and leaned forward to place his beer down before patting his thigh. Smiling, I walked over to him and planted myself on his lap. He wrapped an arm around my waist and reached up with his free hand to cup my cheek.
The smile slipped away when he captured my lips in a kiss that lasted way longer than I expected. Breathless, I pulled away and raised a questioning eyebrow at him. Steven only winked before he turned his attention to the others.
"Okay," Kieran said when the clock struck seven. "Albany wants us all home this December."
"Which means no work or anything work-related," Thomas continued. "This whole month will only revolve around Albany."
"Me?" I gasped in surprise.
"Yes. You." Kieran leaned forward, holding my gaze. "I want you to have the best first Christmas you can think of. We'll be at your service for the whole month."
"Every day and every night?" I asked.
"Every day and every night," Steven muttered against my ear, making me shiver.
Some of the excitement returned. I was going to have them all to myself for a whole fucking month! Thomas leaned forward, clearing his throat and for a moment my stomach dropped but he gave me a reassuring smile.
"While we're all here," he started, "there's something else I'd like to talk about. Kieran and I talked about it briefly this morning but it is best if we all talk about it."
Severide's phone started ringing, making me tense. I watched as he glanced at the screen, frowned, and then excused himself to answer it. Shaking my head, I shifted into a more comfortable position on Steven's lap and lowered my head to his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Severide apologized when he entered the room again. "I asked them to call me once everything's sorted out. Go on."
Kieran glared at him.
Thomas hesitated and then continued. "We talked about starting a family," he said softly. "We all agreed to wait a few months before we try for a baby. It's been six months since we talked about it."
"You think that now is the perfect time to start trying?" Steven asked him.
"We're not getting any younger." Kieran gestured between him and Severide.
"True. I'd like to be able to run around with our kids before age starts beating my ass," Severide said.
"You still have a few years to go," I told him.
He glared at me but there was mirth dancing in his eyes.
It took me a few minutes to realize that they were all waiting for me to speak. "I've always wanted a family, you know that. If you're all ready to take that step I'm definitely in."
"Great! Let's get to the baby-making part then," Thomas said.
"Not yet." Severide stood, and walked over to us.
My eyes dropped to the hand he held out to me and then up to his eyes in question.
"I want to show you something."
I glanced at the others but their expressions gave nothing away. Sliding my hand into his, Sev pulled me to my feet and led me out of the living room. Halfway down the hall, I figured out where we were going.
He paused outside the double doors and glanced at me. "Close your eyes."
I hesitated and when I didn't immediately follow his order, hands slipped over my eyes. My breathing sped up as I was led into the room. Nervousness flooded me the longer I waited. Just as I was about to start questioning him, the hands slid away.
I sucked in a breath and blinked at the tree in front of me. There was nothing fake about it. In the corner of the family room was a huge ass Christmas tree. I blinked at it again before I turned to look at Sev with questioning eyes.
He shrugged. "You said that we didn't have a Christmas tree so I got you one."
"Where are the decorations?" Steven asked as he moved closer to the tree to inspect it.
I didn't even know that they were following us. Thomas looked just as surprised as his brother, but Kieran had a smile playing around his lips so I knew he had been in on the whole thing.
"That should be arriving tomorrow."
I frowned at him. "We're supposed to go out shopping for all the stuff. There's no fun if you keep ordering them online."
He pulled me closer but kept his eyes focused on the tree. "It's only the decorations. We'll be doing all the decorating and other shopping together, cupcake."
"Starting tomorrow," Kieran muttered.