The holiday season had finally arrived and the Jones-Smith residence was more than ready to get festive. The house was full of Christmas decor. Starting with the giant Christmas tree in the corner of the living room to the stockings hung above the fireplace.
FP was knelt down in front of said fireplace to try to get the fire grow. He stood back up when he felt the warmth flowing around. "There we go."
"Perfect," Alice smiled.
He walked over to her on the couch and took a seat beside her. "Looks like you're almost done." Alice had been crocheting little animals for her grandchildren. "Just in time because the giraffe over there was getting lonely." FP glanced over at Juniper's stocking. Dagwood's was still waiting for an elephant companion.
"Doesn't it look adorable?" Alice proudly held up her work. "I hope they like them. Cheryl said they're their favorite animals."
"Look at you being a grandma." He meant it endearingly. He loved the look on her face when she got excited about making the twins their little animals.
"Don't make me feel old," She pouted. The twins were just shy of turning three years old. Thinking about it reminded her of how everyone was getting older.
"Hey, you make a sexy grandma." FP took her into his arms. She moved her head to look up at him. "Sexy?"
"Drop dead gorgeous, babe."
"I like the sound of that."
"And I like calling you mine," FP tightened his arms around her. "It's too bad I have to share you with the kids. I want you all to myself." He snuck kisses down her neck.
"Uh huh, well that's how we ended up with Charles."
"Two good things came out of that scenario. First being our boy, of course. The second being where we are now."
"Things are great, aren't they?" Alice liked the thought of where their relationship wound up. It was rewarding to finally be this happy.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," FP pulled her into a kiss. They giggled when their lips met.
Jellybean came down the stairs and caught them making out on the couch. "Child in the room!" The couple pulled back and turned their gaze towards the girl. "Is it safe to look now?"
"Jellybelly, don't be ridiculous."
Jellybean removed her hands from her face. "Can I talk to Alice?" She asked insecurely. They hadn't really spent that much time alone together, so this was new.
FP looked at her to see if that was okay with that, which she was. "Yeah, sure." They were both curious as to why that was. "I'll let you girls talk." FP pecked a kiss on Alice's cheek before he excused himself. He pecked another on the top of Jellybean's head before he went up the stairs.
Alice patted the spot next to her. Jellybean shyly went to her. "What did you want to talk about, dear?"
"I..." She stopped briefly. "This is my first year not spending Christmas with my mom and it feels weird. I spent the last four Christmases without my dad and now I'm here. I don't know why I feel weird and it's not like I can tell him that."
"JB, it's okay to feel weird." Alice put a hand on her knee and gave it a small reassuring squeeze. "It's your first Christmas back here with your father and brother. To be honest, we feel nervous too. This is our first Christmas ever together with you kids. It's the first Christmas any of us get to spend with Charles, too. Is there anything you're worried about? Is that what it is?"
"I don't know. The thought of getting a real Christmas this year felt so strange. Yeah, when Jug and I were little we had our own little Christmas with our parents at the trailer. But like this?" She looked around the whole room. "Never."
"Is there anything I or your father can do to make this feel less strange? We would want you to have a happy Christmas."
"I think it'll be okay. I just wanted to talk to someone about it, you know? I thought that if I told my dad he would probably blame himself for how things turned out. I don't want him to think I hate him." She frowned. She knows she had been cold towards him when they first saw each other again. It was hard then. She didn't want to return to those hard feelings, especially now that she knew how much it hurt him too.
"Your father knows you love him. I hope you know that he loves you too. You can always talk to him about anything, but if you feel like you can't, you can always come to me if that's what you'd like." Alice wrapped her arm around her shoulder and pulled her into her side for a hug.
"Thank you, Alice. You're the best." Jellybean hugged her tight. "No wonder my dad loves you."
Alice was touched by her kind words. "You're going to have a good Christmas. We're going to make damn sure you kids all do."
"Is Betty's sister coming too?" Jellybean asked curiously. They were aiming to have them all under one roof for the holiday.
Alice sighed. "I really don't know if Polly will be joining us. I tried working something out with the Shady Grove, but it didn't sound like it was in my favor."
Jellybean simply nodded. "Oh, I guess it'll be okay. She's getting help and that's okay. My dad said sometimes it takes sacrifices."
"I'm hoping to at least be able to make a visit and bring the twins over to see her."
"I think that'll be nice."
"I think so too." Alice agreed. "We should go check on your dad now."
"He's probably taking a nap," She chuckled.
*
It was going to be a full house on Christmas Eve. Alice and FP had invited Cheryl and Toni over to their house days ago. They would be bringing the twins and Nana Rose of course so that they wouldn't be spending it all alone at Thistlehouse. They had also invited their neighbors Archie and Mary. The invite spread over to Mary's girlfriend as well.
"Chuck is here!" Jughead announced when he was looking out the window. Charles was the first guest to arrive. "And he's got presents."
FP opened the door just as he got to it. "It's great to see you, son."
"Same goes here. Can I get a hand with these?"
"Sure thing," FP grabbed the top of the stack and carried it over to the tree.
"There's my baby boy," Alice kissed his cheek. "Honey, you're freezing. Here, let me take these." Alice took the remaining gifts from him. "Do you want some hot chocolate?"
Charles shook the snow off of himself before he entered. "Please?" He wandered over to the kitchen.
Right behind him in the distance was Cheryl pushing her grandmother and Toni walking hand in hand with the twins.
"Hello, hello." Cheryl said when they got to the door. "We have arrived."
"Welcome," Alice greeted them. She then looked at the twins jumbled up in their big, puffy jackets. She just wanted to attack their cheeks with kisses. "There's hot chocolate and cookies in the kitchen. Please feel free to get some."
"Cookies!" The twins ran over without a second thought.
"Charlie, honey, please help them get a cookie!"
"Gotcha!" Charles waited for the tots to appear. "Hey there, kiddos." He scooped them up. "Who wants a cookie from uncle Charlie?"
"Me!"
Nana Rose rolled herself over to the living room to get to the fireplace, leaving Cheryl and Toni alone at the door. Toni saw FP and went over to say hello.
"Thank you for having us, auntie." Cheryl told Alice. "I know you may technically not be married into the family anymore, I can't blame you on that one, but it's nice to spend it with family who has actually cared about our wellbeing. I know the twins would love to spend it with their actual loving grandma. As for Toni and I, we feel accepted into a family here and you have no idea what that means to us."
"You two are always welcomed here, darling."
"Just don't consider us hobos." Jughead walked by on his way to Betty, remembering her nickname for him that he hated.
"I said I was sorry!" Cheryl remarked. "Did you not watch my tape?"
Alice closed the door and carried the presents to the tree. She loved to see all of the happy faces around the room. Jellybean was watching a Christmas movie on the tv. Charles took a seat next to her with the twins on his lap. The little ones were excited to see Santa on the screen. Betty and Jughead were snuggled up close on the couch watching as well. Cheryl strung up a conversation with her grandmother as Toni found her way back to her girlfriend. That left FP to sneak up on Alice. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on top of hers. "I can't believe we get to do all of this."
"Well believe it, Al. We deserved a merry little Christmas at some point."
"I'm just glad things have gotten better for us all."
FP reached into his back pocket and pulled out a mistletoe he has been dying to use all day. He held it above their heads. "I like to think it can get just a tiny bit better. Look up."
Alice peeked up and giggled. She turned to face him. "Just kiss me already, you fool."
"You don't have to tell me twice." FP tossed it to grab her cheeks. He eagerly planted a kiss on her sweet lips. The room turned to look at them.
Cheryl held up the mistletoe she caught. "Care for a kiss, TT?"
"You know you're dying to kiss me," Toni puckered up.
Jughead casually walked up to them and snatched the mistletoe away from them before returning to Betty. A mischievous smile on his face. "You let go of me for that?" Betty shook her head. "Alright, come back here."
Charles and Jellybean looked at each other. "We need boyfriends," She told him. All the couples in the room got to share a kiss under the mistletoe.
"Tell me about it," Charles laughed. He glanced over at his parents who started it all. "But say it a little louder. You didn't get dad to freak out."
"No, he would scare all potential boys away."
"What do you two think?" Charles asked the twins.
"Cookies," Dagwood answered for them.
"Sounds even better to me." He took a small bite out of the cookie he held up.
Outside were Archie, Mary, Brooke, and even Vegas. Archie had decided to swing by with them before making an appearance at his girlfriend's house for a few hours since Veronica was spending Christmas with her parents and sister.
"What exactly should I expect?" A nervous Brooke asked.
"I don't really know how to answer that," Mary said. "FP and Alice are a unique pair. This shared family of theirs though is what is going to make this an interesting night."
"It'll be fine. They have all been here for my mom and I when my dad passed." Archie was grateful for their neighbors. Especially with FP being there for him when he would have needed his father. "Isn't that right, Vegas?" Archie knocked on the front door.
FP and Alice opened the door together. "Hey, come on in. We were expecting you." Alice said with a smile. "I hope you don't mind a full house."
"Al, the more the merrier. I'm sure they'll be fine."
"I know, I just don't want to overwhelm them."
"We're glad to be here," Mary assured them. "Just like I know Fred would have loved to be here. He's here in spirit though." She put on a small smile.
FP and Alice looked at each other. FP had something to say, "Yeah, a part of him lives on in each of us. He's watching over us with that kind heart of his."
"This is what being family feels like," Alice added. "I'm glad we're here to celebrate together."
Their guests came in and got situated just fine. FP proudly looked at Alice. "Merry Christmas, Alice."
"Merry Christmas, FP." Alice then leaned into his ear to whisper. "Get your hands back on that mistletoe and maybe there's more for you than a kiss tonight."
FP smirked, "Oh, I'm definitely getting that back now. Wherever it is."