The rest of the evening was more pleasant than Kasey expected. It was partially due to the fact that she had some sort of unspoken agreement with Jace's father- he wouldn't talk to her, and she never made an effort to talk to him, either.
It felt like she'd barely climbed into bed and fallen asleep when she was woken by someone jumping on the end of her bed.
"Wake up!"
Kasey blinked open her eyes, trying to focus on the figure sitting at her feet. It was Ally, wearing cute penguin pajamas.
"What is it?" Kasey asked, trying to sound more awake than she actually was.
"It's time to open presents!" Ally squealed. "Come on, come on!"
Ally pulled Kasey out of bed, laughing. Kasey was surprised, but she followed the girl's lead downstairs.
No one else was in the living room yet, but the stocking labeled 'Ally' hung by the fireplace was stuffed with gifts.
Ally ran back upstairs while Kasey got herself a glass of water. When she returned from the kitchen, Ally was dragging Jace and Jordan downstairs.
"I am so sorry, Kasey," Jordan apologized. "I wouldn't have let her wake you up if I had known."
"Oh, it's fine," Kasey said quickly. "Christmas is always exciting."
"That's true," Jace laughed. "Jordan, remember when mom told us we weren't allowed to open presents until nine o'clock?"
"I do, that was a traumatizing experience," Jordan said. "I was so disappointed. It was your fault, Jace."
"No it wasn't!"
It was entertaining for Kasey to watch the two brothers bicker. Jace and Jordan were both so similar. They had almost the same sense of humor, and they both had thick blonde hair and blue eyes. Kasey sometimes forgot which brother was older.
Ally managed to get Moira and Andrew downstairs.
"Presents, or stocking first?"
"Stocking! You can't do it out of order!" Ally exclaimed.
Kasey couldn't help but smile at that. Something about Ally reminded Kasey of herself- before the accident, before her life changed.
Each of the adults had contributed something to the stocking. Kasey had slipped in a signed Playbill by the Chicago cast, along with one of the shirts from the Hamilton souvenir shop.
Ally grew more and more excited with each gift she pulled out.
A trend was becoming apparent- all were dance or Broadway themed. There was an Anastasia piano book, a Tangled Playbill, and there was a pointe shoe necklace.
After Ally had opened all of her gifts, there was a little bit of downtime, while Moira put the cinnamon rolls in the oven. Jace told Kasey that it was a Christmas tradition.
Christmas traditions weren't something Kasey was familiar with. She'd never stayed in one home long enough to have them, and she had been too little to remember most of her family life.
"What can I do to help?" Kasey asked Moira, as she dripped frosting onto the rolls.
"Absolutely nothing, go sit down and have fun," Moira scolded, shooing Kasey away. "Relax. There's not much I have to do for these, either."
"Alright," Kasey laughed.
She sent Carleigh a quick text.
Kasey: things are going well, i miss you a lot carleigh! happy christmas!
Carleigh replied not two minutes later.
Carleigh: i miss you too, kasey. mom and brooke say hi!
Kasey: tell them 'hi' back for me. i hope they got the gifts i sent.
Carleigh: yup, they're under the tree, don't worry. how's jace's family?
Kasey: his brother/daughter/sister in law are all very nice and sweet, his mum is pretty awesome, and his father and i avoid talking as much as possible. it's not too bad.
Carleigh: i'm glad! we need to get together soon, when we get back
Kasey: we will, haha
Kasey put her phone away after that. Ally was flipping through her Hamilton Chicago Playbill.
"You've met all of them?" she asked Kasey, wide-eyed.
"Every single one," Kasey replied. "I danced with them, too."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Tell Kasey who your favorite from every cast is," Rachel told her daughter.
Ally sat up straighter. "My favorite Chicago cast member is probably Samantha Pollino. I like her Instagram a lot, and she does a lot of cool videos and stuff. And Amber, too. She's pretty cool. My favorite tour member is probably Solea, because her Eliza audios are really pretty. She's so good at 'Burn'. And then my favorite current New York cast member is probably Lexi Lawson, because she has a really pretty voice."
"Who's your favorite original cast member?" Jordan prodded. Ally cast her father a look.
"I have a few, because they're all so good. I really like Renee out of the main cast. And Lin is really awesome because he wrote the show. And then with ensemble my favorite guy is Thayne because he's funny. Carleigh is definitely up there with my top few, but I think you're still my favorite," Ally told Kasey, blushing slightly at the end.
"You're so sweet. I'm honored to be at the top of your list," Kasey said, smiling. "Is that what you want to do when you grow up? Dance?"
"Maybe," Ally replied. "It's fun, but it also looks tiring."
"It is," Kasey laughed. "But it's worth it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ally ate her cinnamon rolls so quickly that Kasey had barely even gotten halfway through her tea by the time Ally had finished. She then started toying with the ends of Kasey's hair.
"Slow down, girl," Jordan teased, poking Ally. "And be polite."
"Come on, it's Christmas, it's fine," Rachel said, gently putting a hand on Jordan's arm.
"I don't care, either," Kasey jumped in.
Ally stuck her tongue out at her father.
"I was thinking we would go on a walk after breakfast," Jordan said after a few minutes. "Maybe for an hour or two, just to get some fresh air."
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Jace agreed. "Does that five-mile loop sound good?"
Ally stuck out her bottom lip and pouted. "Come on, daddy," she complained. "Don't go on a walk. It'll be forever before we open presents then."
"Exactly."
"Oh, boys," Moira laughed. "Stop teasing the poor girl already."
"You did it to us when we were kids," Jace reminded his mother.
"Yeah, we're just carrying on the tradition."
As soon as Andrew finished his last cinnamon roll, Ally dashed into the living room, plopping herself down on the couch. "Now can we open presents?"