"Sage, grab the presents." Scarlett hisses, trying to shove packages into her closet as feet run up the stairs.

In a hurry, I kick the boxes and maybe dent a few in the process. The door opens and I jump onto the bed to hide our last gift.

"Relax, it's me." Uncle John comes in dressed as Santa and closes the door.

"Send a text next time." Scarlett shoves me off the last present.

Taking in the crushed box, I shrug. "Whoops, but it's Clay's so I don't feel too bad."

"Sage Forest, that is exactly why it shouldn't be ruined." She whacks me with a pillow repeatedly.

"Okay, I'll fix it." I rub my arm. That was a dick move. I'm still a little bitter about the damage he did to my back. It's been three days and it still hurts.

"Happy first Christmas as a family." Scarlett says.

"How's the Garcia gang feeling?" I raise a brow.

"Don't tell Melissa, but the kids might wake up to discover fake snow in the house." He checks to make sure the door is shut.

"Oh my God." My sister blinks in shock.

"I'm jealous." I turn to her. "Why can't we have that?"

John laughs. "I want it to be special. They've never had Christmas the right way, or any way, and I want to do good."

"They're kids." Scarlett squeezes his arm. "All they care about is being with you."

He sags in defeat. "Right now, I just want to see little Katherine smile. She refused to wrap presents. She refused to help bake cookies. She refuses to talk to me while I wear this costume."

"Then why are you wearing it?" I wonder.

"Because this is tradition." He states proudly.

Nodding, I can't help but feel bad. Uncle John loves his kids so much. The only issue is, they have to learn to love him. That's a process no one can rush.

"Is she seeing someone?" Scarlett asks.

"Liz got us connected with a therapist that specializes in cases like ours. Right now, it's baby steps."

Standing up, my sister hugs our uncle and I join. "Let's make sure they have the best Christmas ever."

Running downstairs, I find our family in the TV room. My eyes narrow on sweet baby Sofia and I hold my arms out. "There's my precious."

"You're not holding her." Clay says, lifting her up to nuzzle her face.

My jaw drops. "You can't hog the baby, Clay."

He smirks, not bothered as she tries to poke his eye out. "I just got her, and she's my favorite in this house."

"That's mean." Saffron crosses her arms.

"She doesn't talk back." Clay winks. "But you can sit with me."

"Fine." She joins him.

In disbelief, I turn to Melissa. "Are you seriously letting this happen?"

"Baby isn't crying. Mathew is off with the twins. Katherine is stealing sweets. I have a glass of wine." She takes a long sip. "Momma is off duty."

"Fine." I grumble. He can have her. My favorite is in the kitchen anyway.

A little blonde girl is on my counter, her face covered in icing and chocolate.

"What do we have here?" I demand and she drops a half-eaten cupcake.

"No." She begs. "Sage."

"This is quite the mess you've made." I tsk, wetting a washcloth in the sink.

Turning the water off, I find Katherine crying on the countertop. Rubbing chocolate all over her face as she tries to wipe her tears. "I sorry."

"Don't cry." I run for her. "It's okay. Sage was just joking."

Her crying continues and, in a panic, I try to think of a solution. Shit, what have I done? The goal was to give her a good Christmas, not scar her for life.

"Look, I'm making a mess too." I make a big show of smashing a cupcake all over my face. Gross, it was chocolate.

The sobs quiet down and she risks a glance at me between her fingers. This is good. Deciding to solidify this, I crumble a cookie in my hair. "How do I look?"

"Silly." She sniffles.

"Good, we love silly in this family." I relax, scooping her into my arms.

My phone buzzes and I don't even have to check to know who it is. Katherine wraps her hands around my neck as I head for the front door.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Chlo-bear." I throw the door open.

She stands there in shock, taking in the dessert all over us. "Do I even want to ask?"

"Nope." I like icing off my finger.

"Can I come in?" She shivers, pulling her coat tighter.

"Of course, you don't have to ask." I move out of the way. Something catches my eye and I hold her in place. "Not so fast."

"Sage, I'm cold."

"Look up."

She follows my eyes to the mistletoe hanging from the porch. "I'm not kissing you while you're covered in that."

"Easy solution." I smirk, turning to the cutie in my arms. "Pumpkin, do the honors."

Lowering her to Chloe's level, she smashes a cupcake in her face. Doubled over laughing while she stands there in shock, I lean in. "Can I have my kiss now?"

"I'm going to kill you." She mutters, closing the space between us.

Our little greeting is broken up by intense giggling and I turn to Katherine. "You get a kiss too."

She squeals as I peck her cheek. Uncle John finds us and the look on his face is priceless. "Pumpkin, what did he do to you?"

"I did it." She strengthens her grip on me. Damn, John wasn't kidding. She hates Santa.

"Hey, go let daddy clean you up." I tickle her tummy. "He might even give you another cupcake."

Reluctantly, she holds her arms out for him and I watch them leave. Once we're in the clear I turn back to Chloe, "Now, where were we?"

"Merry Christmas Eve, Gigantor." She kisses me again.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Beautiful."

Deciding we definitely should clean up; I lead Chloe into the mess that is the Rhodes house at Christmas time.

*****

After chugging eggnog with the twins and finally getting baby snuggles with Sofia, Chloe and I end up in my bedroom.

"You okay?" I ask as she crawls into my bed.

Nodding, she hugs one of my pillows.

Somthing's up. She's been quieter than usual and that's saying something because she's always quiet. Joining her, I pull a candy cane from my back pocket.

Taking it, she sighs. "What's your favorite part about Christmas?"

"That's a tough one." I admit. "For a long time, Christmas meant giving. My parents, they used to take us to a food bank to feed the homeless."

"Really?" She sounds so surprised.

"Giving back was important to them." It's the number one thing dad taught us. Give back to the community today in order for there to be a better community tomorrow. "We stopped... we stopped because it was hard to show up and do those things without them. Now, Scarlett is so busy. She makes donations and does everything she can." Everything except do the same thing we used to.

"What about after?"

After my parents. Sometimes I forget that's still reality. "It was friendship. We used to take pictures with-" I stop myself.

"With Ella?" She finishes for me.

Cautiously, I nod. "Yeah, her family and Stella's. We would get together and have dinner too."

"Are you sad you don't have that this year?" She fixates on my blanket.

"I don't miss my relationship with Ella." I state, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. "But, sometimes it's hard to comprehend that people who were in our lives for so long are gone."

She squeezes my hand in understanding.

"What about you?"

Sucking on the candy cane, she pulls her knees to her chest. "I-I don't like Christmas."

"What?" I demand. Who doesn't love presents and candy?

"I never had Santa or fancy food. It's always just been another day."

Guilt settles in my gut. How could I just ramble on about how much I love this holiday when she had none of that. "I'm-"

"Don't apologize." She points her pointy candy cane at me.

"Deal." I hold my hands up.

Growing comfortable in the silence, my eyes land on a picture of my parents.

"The anniversary of their death is in two days." I whisper.

"I'm so-" She stops herself when I shake my head. We don't say that word. "How many years?"

"Four." It feels wrong to say that.

She hugs me, offering the very little strength she has to spare. "Is there anything I can do?"

Studying her face, I want to cry. "Stay with me."

"Always."

A feeling of relief settles over me. I won't spend that day alone.

Linking my hand through her's, is study them. "Hey, Sage." I hum in response. "How would you describe Christmas this year?"

"Perfect." I have my family, new and old members. I feel better than I have in years. I have Chloe.

*****

One thing I was absolutely horrified to learn was that Chloe has never seen a Christmas movie. Ever. So, to fix the atrocious crime, I force my entire family to watch The Grinch. I felt like she would've resonated the most with that one.

Her hearts grown recently.

"This is a children's movie?" She whispers, curled into my chest.

Pulling my eyes away from the screen, I take in Uncle John's kids watching the movie with smiles on their faces. "Yeah."

"It's sorta scary." She remarks.

"It's the Jim Carry affect." I shrug. "Now watch."

After The Grinch, we transition to the The Santa Clause movies and I'm living my best life. Clay and I can't agree on much, but we're sharing a popcorn bowl and hushing everyone around us.

"I'm home!" Avery calls, slamming our front door shut.

"Shhh." I hiss.

"Where is my little handsome man?" She walks in. "I need my Mathew."

"Shut up." Clay throws a pillow at her.

"Where are the kids?" She asks, searching the room.

"Left 10 minutes ago." Saffron sighs, still upset they left. She's way too used to getting her way.

"You'll see them tomorrow." I turn the volume up. "Now sit."

The credits roll and while everyone raids the pantry, I take Chloe outside. Shivering, she pulls a blanket tight around her. "Why are we outside?"

"I wanted to spend time with you."

She rolls her eyes, sitting on our swing. "Hug me while you do before I freeze to death."

"I like hugging you." I admit, wrapping my arms around her. "What time do you want me to take you home?"

"It doesn't matter." She shrugs. "Zoe isn't there, so it's just me."

My jaw drops. "There's no way I can take you home knowing you will be alone."

"I'll be fine." She huffs. "I told you, this isn't an important day for me."

"But it's important to me and so are you." I state. "You're staying here."

"You can't force me." She pulls back.

"No, but I can beg, and I've proven to be quite persuasive." I lean in and she shoves my face away.

"So you think you can just lure me into bed and magically I forget all about what I said?"

"No. If I could get you to relax, the urge to run would lessen." I explain. The whole luring part is just fun.

"I am relaxed." She crosses her arms and I hold back laughter. Relaxed is the last word I would associate with Chloe.

Watching our Christmas lights twinkle, I sigh. "Why do you always freak out when I ask you to stay over?"

"I don't" She tenses.

"You do." I counter. "You said you don't want to impose, but we've already expressed that you're welcome." What holds her back?

Gnawing on her lip, she hesitates. "I don't want to ruin memories for you."

"What?"

"Think about it." She turns to me. "I've spent the last couple months watching you deal with all of the memories and reminders you have of your ex. How can I do that to you? We're dating right now, sure, but senior year will end sooner than we know. One day I'll just be an unimportant ex that ruined memories."

I've never even thought of it that way. "Chloe, the memories I have with Ella are painful because I never realized how bad they were. These moments I have with you are nothing like that. Don't even try to put yourself on the same playing field."

She nods.

"I appreciate that you put so much thought into something I never even considered, but you're an important part of my life. One day, when I'm old and wrinkly, no matter what happens, I'll remember my little Chlo-bear who protected me fiercely."

That gets a smirk out of her.

"Is that all?" I ask, knowing she's holding something back.

"I feel like I'm imposing on family time." She admits. "You are... so lucky to have so many people who care about you. You deserve them."

Why is it always what I deserve? What about her? "Chloe, in case you didn't notice, we have a 6'5 tattooed, silent, scary, low-key funny, African American in our house. He's not technically family, but he's here. Our house is open to everyone, including you. Please let us spend time with you."

Swallowing, she fixates on her hands. "I'm sorry for bringing it up again. I feel stupid."

"Don't. Your feelings are valid." I wink. "Especially your feelings for me."

"And snarky Sage is back." She stands up.

"You love snarky Sage." I point out.

Fighting a smile, she goes back inside, and I follow.

*****

Why is it so difficult to see in the dark?

Feeling the wall up, I flip the switch to light up the TV room. Trying to ignore my presents, I make way to the empty corner of the room. Opening the bag I've had hidden in my closet, I lay out Scarlett's presents.

After moving things around, I feel pretty proud of myself. Remembering my other mission, I sneak over to the presents for Ashton. He won't open them until tomorrow night, but I can't help myself.

Propping the box of condoms up, I read the note I wrote.

Dear, Honeybun, thanks for the stash. Please wrap it before you tap it, I'm too young to become an Uncle.

Scanning to make sure I haven't messed anything up, I zone in on the plate of cookies.

"Don't mind if I do." I shove a sprinkle cookie in my mouth.

"What are you doing?"

Turning around, I choke on my cookie. Squinting, I find Chloe staring at me. "Want a snack?"

Yawning, she takes half my cookie. "Why are you up?"

"Setting out some presents for you and Scar." I take a sip from the milk.

Scratching her head, she freezes, "You-you got me presents?"

"Don't freak out." I beg.

With wide eyes, she looks around and I direct her to a pile of presents wrapped in gray paper. "These are mainly from Scarlett and Saffron. They got excited shopping for you." I had to force them out of the mall.

"Wow." She studies the pile in awe.

"They sorta love you." I offer.

"Which are yours?"

I grab the thin package wrapped in black. "This."

Wringing her fingers together, she licks her lips. "Can we exchange gifts right now?"

"Of course." I hold the package out, but she runs upstairs. Turning off the lights, I follow after her.

She's on my bed, clutching a stack of papers to her chest. "You first."

Overly intrigued, I hand it over and she opens it. The look of awe on her face makes me smile, "Do you like it?"

"How did you..." Her voice dies out as she flips the card-stock around.

"Spray paint." I shrug, studying the night sky in her hands. The blacks and blues with purple added in. "The night sky makes me think of you."

"Why?" She scoffs. "Because I'm dark and moody?"

Smartass. "Because you're a star that shines bright surrounded by the dark."

Silently, she holds the papers out.

Grabbing them, I try to pinpoint the correct words. "There once was a giant who wanbereb alone in the woods." The heat creeps over my skin. "Wandered, sorry."

"Don't." She chews on her thumb. I try to read in my head to save myself the embarrassment and she taps my hand. "Let me."

With wounded pride, I give back my papers. Laying down, I rest my head in her lap and wrap my arms around her. She tenses and I try to sit up. "My bad, let me–"

"Stay." Her hand rests on my back. "There once was a giant who wandered alone in the woods. He was quiet and mean. If his height didn't scare you then his scowl would send you running. One day, in his usual walk through the woods, where he would knock down trees and scare the creatures that dwelled within the woods, he ran into a pixie. This pixie was nothing special. Alone, trying to build her home with walls of protection, the giant crushed it. Unlike all the other creatures, she did not cower in fear. Instead, she flew up and tugged on his ear."

I laugh, having a pretty clear image of what that pixie looks like.

"They bickered and bantered for weeks on end. All of the other creatures thought that she was crazy, but this pixie had nothing to lose. Eventually, their bickering turned in banter that resulted in laughs. Their anger turned to peace, knowing deep down, someone cared enough to be there."

Goosebumps spread across my arms as her nails trail up and down my spine.

"Her house was rebuilt, with love and care one would never expect a giant to have. A path was carved through the woods, so he could visit without causing a ruckus."

"And they lived happily ever after." I yawn, forcing my eyes to stay open.

"The verdicts still out, Gigantor." She tsks, turning my lamp off.

"Hey, Chlo-bear." I mumble. "You're my pixie."

"I know." She whispers, scooting so she can lay down. "Hey, Sage."

I hum in response, hugging her tighter.

"Thank you for giving me an amazing Christmas." She flattens my hair.

"Thank you." I kiss her hand. "Night."

Sleep finds me like a baby.

*****

This chapter took FOREVER to write. But my new favorite saying is you're my pixie.

LiH had to catch up with LiL... because we all know what's coming next for the Rhodes fam. Be prepared to cry.

Be on the look out for a new chapter of LiB soon!