if my girls are ready to open the presents." she tells us, her features having clearly relaxed since we last saw her and the colour having returned to her skin.

I look to Lexi, waiting to see her response.

She takes a moment, her eyes flashing between Baba and I as she contemplates the current situation and our responses, before she settles her gaze on me and provides a soft nod in answer to Baba's question.

I give her a delicate smile to reassure her, standing up first so that I can help her up off of the floor. I take her hand and she holds on tightly to it as she follows me out of the room to the living room where Baba has walked to and where Dad awaits.

Lexi takes a seat on lounge while Dad and Baba are seated in armchairs across from her and I sit on the floor beside the Christmas tree to pass around the presents as I always have done. I take my random pick of the presents which lay arranged beneath the tree, just about to check the tag attached to it to see who it was for when Baba interrupts me.

"Could you please give this present first?" she asks me, handing a box I had not seen before.

I hesitantly take the box from her hands and check the tag to find Lexi's name hastily scrawled across it. I turn to Lexi, outstretching my arms to pass the gift over to her. She accepts it with just as much hesitation as me, if not more- looking to Baba first before she slowly unties the ribbon and removes the lid.

Once the lid is discarded she stares down at the contents of the box, what lies within hidden to me from this angle. She looks up at Baba in response, her expression unreadable to me, making me wonder what she had been given.

Lexi begins to take the contents of the box out, removing the tissue paper which had been surrounding Baba's gift to Lexi, so that I can see  it clearly for myself.

Infant sized, white shoes lay in Lexi's palm on full display. It takes a moment to recognise the pair as the same pair which I had spied a few times amongst the various things that Baba had collected of ours over the years.

"My baby shoes." Lexi says, proving my guesses right.

"For the baby," Baba explains, "This baby may not be what we would have planned for you Lexi right now but remember that your baba will always be there for you."

Following her words, Baba rises from her seat to walk over and sit beside Lexi, taking her within her arms. Lexi begins crying with happiness, the different types of tears a welcome sight nonetheless.

I notice Lexi look over Baba's shoulder to where Dad is still seated, observing the situation before him.

"Dad?" Lexi asks openly, awaiting his reaction.

I worry for a moment as no response comes. When he abruptly gets up onto his feet and walks over to where Lexi and Baba are seated, joining in on their embrace, a heavy sigh of relief rushes through me.

"Of course I'm always going to be there for you. You'll always be my baby," he declares.

"Get over here, Ella." he calls out to me, gesturing for me to join them.

I leap up onto my feet, rushing over to them to be joined into their rather tight embrace.

At least, no matter what was to come, we would always be together like this- just the way it should be.

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Hope you enjoyed this Christmas themed chapter! I know that Christmas is still a couple of weeks away but I didn't want to wait for it to put up this chapter and just wanted to wish you all an early happy and safe holidays. Hopefully your holidays aren't as drama filled as Ella and Lexi's lol.

Hope you enjoyed this rather long and crazy chapter :) Also just gonna add that a certain something always comes right after Christmas that you might have to look forward to next chapter 😁

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TheFictionDreamer

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