Hello! No chapter tomorrow. I'm going for dental surgery. Enjoy!

She always moves to the rhythm she is making.

My forehead falls against Aliza's completely exhausted. I'm almost at the point where I need my inhaler. My chest heaves up and down, my mouth slightly open. "You're killing me smalls." I breathe and she lets out a short laugh. She's in the same position as me, choppy breaths escape her lips. 

Since the night we wrote fine line together. The night we removed the boundaries and dove into the physical part of our relationship. Well, since that night Aliza is a little sex demon. She doesn't stop. I don't complain though, it's every man's dream.

Sex with Aliza is fantastic. It's toe-curling and brings me to the brink of insanity every time.  I'll never say it out loud but I love the soft moments we share. The ones where we're in no hurry and our breathing is the only sound, those are my favorite. "You'd die a happy man I'm sure." She jokes, unwrapping her legs from my waist, only to hook them around my thigh. 

"The happiest," I assure her. She kisses me lazily, my hands going to her hair, thumbs resting on her cheek. "We need a Christmas tree." She says out of nowhere. She's right though, we haven't done much decorating. 

"Then let's do that today? Elijah is at the shop right?" I ask her. "Yes, let's go now." She hops off the counter and walks towards the bedroom. "Come on, gonna take a shower." She yells over her shoulder, winking suggestively.

Not gonna need a Christmas tree, I'll be dead before then. 

"Harry look!" She tells me, her body is half-hidden in the closet but when she walks out fully I can't help but laugh at her. She looks adorable right now. She's wearing my sweater which is swallowing her whole body. "What do you call these things?" I ask, pulling at her denim jeans when she's closer. She stands between my legs, where I'm sitting on the edge of the bed.

"It's called a jumpsuit." She tells me. She waves her arms up and down, creating wings with the sleeves. I grab her arm and start rolling them to try and make them shorter. She's laughing as I do it. "You look beautiful, my little duck," I tell her. "A duck?" She asks. 

"Yea, you look like a duck that's about to take off when you flap your arms like that." She holds her stomach with the hand I'm not busy with, giggling softly. "There, that's better," I tell her when I'm finished. 

"Thanks, daddy." She stares at me. My eyes pinch shut. Since she called me daddy at the cabin, she's been teasing me about my reaction. I may have a slight kink but I'm pretty sure she has one too. 

"You're a little vixen aren't you," I ask up at her, grabbing her waist. "Maybe." She teases me and leans in for a kiss, solidifying the fact that she is indeed a vixen.

"This one!" She yells excitedly, pointing at one of the trees. We've been walking around the yard for about an hour. I look at the tree and then at her. Her cheeks are red from the weather, her breath coming out in short vapors. 

I take her hands in mine, rubbing them to try and warm her up. "You want it; we get it," I tell her. "I do." She says, well, at least she already knows her line. "You cold?" I ask her and she shivers with a nod. I yank the beanie from my head and place it on hers. "Getting major flashbacks right now." She says. 

"The art gallery?" I ask and she nods again. I pull her closer, rubbing her back. "Was a nice day." She murmurs into my chest. I pull back. "Gonna get someone to help," I tell her and walk off the get some assistance. 

Obviously, Aliza decided on the biggest tree to buy, which in turn brought us here. I'm currently holding it upright, my arms are straining from the weight of the tree. Aliza is on the other side doing the same. 

The only problem is, it's taking both of us to keep it from falling. "You need to lay it down and then drag it," Aliza says. "That's just dumb," I say. "That's just mean." She fires back. She's frustrated with me because we've been trying to get the tree inside for half an hour. Her plan is good though. I sigh, I'm too stubborn to admit she's right. 

We shuffle for another couple of minutes until I about to give up. "Just let it fall." She tells me with a long sigh. "No, we're almost there," I say. I push harshly and I lose my grip. 

Aliza dances away with a yelp as the tree falls, now resting in the doorway. She looks at the tree and then at me. Told you so. "We'll guess you don't have a choice now." She shrugs and steps over the tree to go to the kitchen. 

Once the tree is situated in the corner, I breathe a sigh of relief next to the piano. I had to drag the big ass tree alone to the living room. It was my own fault, for not listening to her. I fall onto the couch. She joins me soon after with a cup of tea.

She's removed her jumpsuit and is now sitting crossed legged in only my sweater. "Thanks," I say, taking the steaming cup from her. She cuddles into me, her own tea on her lap. "we have a tree." I tell her. "That we do."

She gets up and sits by the piano. Her fingers find the keys, and Christmas music fills the room. She sings some songs, stopping now and then to take a sip. This is my favorite room in the house. 

The little music nook. Her piano is standing in front of a window, looking out at the pond. Other instruments hang on the wall. I love making music with her. She's placed a small wooden Christmas tree on the top of the piano. 

"Do you remember that one Christmas, when someone gave us this huge tree and we didn't have a place for it? The only place it fit was right in the middle of the living room." Elijah explains animatingly. 

Somehow everyone just decided to show up for dinner. We're all sitting in the living room now, scattered around after eating. Elijah is entertaining the crowd. 

"Yes, we had to rearrange the whole living room. Everything was crammed into a corner for a month because we convinced Lydia to keep the tree." Aliza says. 

I smile at her. She has ants in her shirt, she can't sit still for more than two minutes. She's sitting on the ground next to the couch, painting her nails.

"The only thing I remember is taking the blame when someone busted the light bulb with a ladder." I give Elijah a pointing look. "I wanted to put the star on top." He whined, just like he did all those years ago. 

Aliza rushes over to me. "Let me paint your nails please babe?" I smile brightly. It's the first time I did not react to being called babe. Aliza sees it too. "She jumps onto me, laughing gleefully. "I'm so proud of you." She whispers in my ear.

I pull her tighter to me. She remains on my lap. she turns her body so my hand can rest on her thigh. "Did you guys ever... Did you guys get presents and stuff?" Sarah asks. Her voice wavers from uncertainty. 

Aliza doesn't look up from my fingers. "Someone always brought some toys over. They were more for the little kids but I remember I got a very cool hairbrush one year. It was old but like the one in Little Mermaid. I wonder where it went..." She trails off.

"But daddy, I love him," Elijah yells from the couch. He sinks into the couch a little. "I remember getting a flower once." I think out loud. 

Aliza turns her head to me with a knowing smile. "That was me, you charmer." She scoffs. Mitch laughs silently next to me. "You got flowers every Christmas and birthday; you should remember all of them." She adds, going back to my nails. 

"I bet you a hundred dollars he'll name them all and in the right order too," Elijah says to Amy. She shakes her head. "I'll take you up on that," Mitch says. 

Elijah looks at me amusingly. "Let's hear it, Harry." I sigh loudly. "Okay so the first flower you ever gave me was a zinnia for friendship. I still have no idea where you got it..." and that's how we spend half an hour as I describe every color and shape of every flower I ever got. 

"You missed one." She says. She moves from my thighs over to Elijah. She sticks her palm out to him, gesturing in a give-me motion. He reaches for his pocket. "No, I want your hand." She sits next to him, on the arm of the couch.

He does it without any question, and she starts to paint his nails. I look at her in awe. She always gets what she wants. "No, I didn't," I argue. "You forgot the most important one." She says. 

"You mean the yellow freesia you gave me this morning?" I raise an eyebrow. Mitch groans next to me and Elijah shakes his shoulders. "Never bet against the misfits," I tell him. 

"Hey, we should all go to Holmes chapel sometime," Aliza suggests. "What's in Holmes Chapel?" Sarah asks. "It's where we grew up. It could be fun, make a huge road trip out of it." Elijah shrugs. 

Aliza picks up his hand, holding it in front of her. She looks happy and moves on to Amy. Amy doesn't even blink when Aliza starts to paint her nails.

How is she doing this?  She doesn't walk to the beat of life, she creates her own. "I'm in," Mitch says. "Me too," Sarah replies. Amy nods her head and I guess now I don't have a choice. 

"Okay, let's got to Holmes Chapel." I smile. A sudden memory fills my mind. It hits me right between the eyes.

"Do you think one day, we'll have a Christmas like in the movies? With lights and presents and a family?" Aliza asks. We're sitting in the field. My heart is heavy today because I have to tell her something. Something that will break us apart. 

I'm angry and irritated and so fucking mad at life right now. Why give me something and then take it away? I look at her.

She's fucking gorgeous, she's everything I dream of. "I think so, I don't know how long it's going to take but there will be a time where family will surround you. You'll be happy while you sing Christmas songs and hang up lights." I promise her.

"Can I come?" Elijah interjects. His voice is small. He's afraid to be left out." I pull him closer onto my lap. "Of course Eli, you'll always be a part of it," I say. He's still too small to realize. 

Aliza smiles at us fondly. "One day, we're all going to experience it. There will be no doubt that we are loved and the smile will almost break the corner of your mouth." She says to him. 

He claps his hands excitingly. In her mind, she imagines three different Christmases, three other families. I'm not going to tell her that I'm talking about one Christmas and this family.

Aliza is standing in front of me, taking me out of my thoughts. "It finally happened huh?" She asks, sitting in my lap again. I pull her into me, kissing her on the back of the head. "It did Sunshine, it sure fucking did."

Mkay Bye!