Letting out a long yawn, Jesse rolled over in bed, retreating even further beneath the thick covers and burying her face into the fabric of her pillow. Even though she was usually an earlier riser, the chilly air of the bedroom made it so tempting to stay beneath the warm covers on the bed.

A small smile played on Jesse's lips as she wiggled herself further in beneath the covers, letting out a contented sigh. She slowly cracked open one eye, just to make sure she hadn't been dreaming, that she really was where she thought she was. Facing her was a large window, a small gap in the drawn curtains allowing a dim ray of morning sunshine to seep into the room. Outside the grey sky was obscured by several branches, covered in evergreen leaves.

Jesse beamed happily, closing her eyes again. It wasn't just a dream, she was truly home again. In the heart of the forest, with nothing but trees surrounding them for at least a few miles.

The past few years had been incredible. Jesse and Petra had been travelling the word, never settling down for a period of time longer than a couple of weeks. They had seen so many new sights, experienced so many few things, it was a constant adventure. But the thought of putting down roots again began to sound more and more welcoming over the past few months. And what better time to return home, than Christmas time?

Jesse's nose twitched sightly, a pleasant smell pulling her from her thoughts. Surely Petra wasn't up already?

Yawning, Jesse rolled over so she was lying on her back, turning her head to the side. As she expected, the spot on the bed beside her was empty. It was a little surprising, Jesse was used to Petra sleeping until the sun had risen high into the sky.

Finally gathering the courage to leave the comforting warmth of the covers, Jesse threw her legs over the side of the bed. She let out a soft yelp as her bare feet met the cold wooden floor, hopping awkwardly to the dresser where she pulled out the first two socks she found. They were completely different colours, but they kept her feet warm and that was all Jesse cared about at that moment.

A few minutes later, Jesse was making her way down the wooden staircase in a fresh, brightly patterned Christmas sweater, still with her two miss-matched socks. She looked around the house with nostalgia in her eyes, smiling to herself. The atmosphere still lacked a festive feeling, as they haven't had much time to put up any decorations. A bare Christmas tree stood in the corner of the living room, with an open box of tinsel and baubles laying on the floor beside it.

"I thought I heard you come down!"

Jesse swung around at the voice behind her, to see Petra standing in the doorway of the kitchen. The redhead was grinning from ear to ear, her blue eyes sparkling brightly.

"You were up early." Jesse said, walking over.

"I was hungry." Petra replied matter of factly, before handing Jesse one of the mugs she was holding.

"Ohh, eggnog!" Jesse said, before taking a large gulp from the sweet drink.

"You said you wanted to get into the Christmas spirit yesterday, so I thought I'd make you your favourite disgusting drink." Petra said, before taking a sip from her own mug of hot cocoa. "There's waffles in the kitchen if you're hungry."

"What's the occasion? You realise Christmas isn't for several more days, right?" Jesse asked, laughing as she followed Petra into the kitchen.

"What? I thought you were always the one wanting to start celebrating early?" Petra asked, pulling one of the waffles over onto her plate and immediately dousing it in chocolate sauce.

"I do! I'm just not used to you being the same." Jesse pointed out, as she took one of the waffles as well. To her surprise, Petra reached over the table and grasped her one hand.

"Look, Jess, I know how much you were looking forward to coming home." Petra said, smiling. "We haven't had a place to decorate for Christmas for years, and it was almost all you could talk about on the way here." She chuckled. "If it weren't for the fact that we arrived past midnight, I have a feeling you would have leaped right into putting up decorations."

"Exhaustion was definitely the only thing keeping me from doing just that." Jesse admitted, chuckling as well.

"Point is, I want to make this Christmas special for you." Petra said, focussing her attention back on her breakfast. "We have to make up for lost time after all."

"I like that idea, I like it a lot." Jesse said, grinning. "It's going to be incredible."

She glanced around, already picturing tinsel wrapped around the wooden columns, the staircase railing done up with holly...

"Tell you what." Petra said through a mouth full of waffle. "When we've finished up here, we start sprucing everything up immediately."

Jesse nodded vigorously, before digging into her own breakfast as well. She was already looking forward to the holiday, but at that moment she was bursting with excitement. Her mind was filled with all the things they could do leading up to Christmas. Watching holiday movies with cups of hot cocoa and eggnog, playing in the snow outside, opening presents in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve.

When the girls had finished their breakfast, they didn't even bother cleaning up, simply leaving the dirty dishes in a pile in the sink, as they headed out to the living room with fresh mugs of hot drinks.

Petra plugged in an old radio to put on some Christmas carols, while Jesse dropped to her knees beside the box of decorations and eagerly opened it. As the music began to flow through the wooden building, Jesse and Petra began wrapping the tree in white and gold tinsel, hanging baubles and ornaments on almost every single branch. They were smiling and laughing the entire time, occasionally singing along to the music, or playfully throwing one another with one of the baubles.

When they had just about finished, Jesse began to rummage through, the remaining Christmas decorations. She excitedly produced the golden star, before standing on tip toes to place it on top of the tree.

"Curse these short arms." Jesse grunted as she failed to reach the very top of the tree, sinking back onto her feet in defeat. "You'll have to put it on."

But instead of taking the star from Jesse, Petra playfully grasped her by her waist, lifting Jesse clean of her feet. She responded with a surprised yelp, before immediately bursting into laughter as she reached over and proudly plopped the star on top of the tree. When her feet touched around again, Jesse whirled around and playfully grabbed Petra by her arms, pulling the redhead into a kiss.

"What next?" Petra asked with a grin as they pulled away from each other again.

"Fairy lights!" Jesse said, her brown eyes sparkling with excitement. "I can't wait to turn off all the other lights tonight and only have them shining!"

She spun around on the wooden floor with her socks, like a twirling ice skater, before tilting her head back and dreamily looking up at the wooden ceiling above them.

"Just picture it." Jesse said, motioning with her arms. "Lights of all different colours, twinkling and flickering in the dark, like magical stars in the sky." She laughed excitedly. "We can lay on the carpet and gaze up at them like it's the night sky."

Petra was smiling as she listened to the excitement and happiness pour out of Jesse. God, how much she loved her.

"Do we have a ladder somewhere?" Jesse asked, turning to face Petra again.

"Yeah, I believe there's one in the shed out back." Petra said, reaching over to where her boots lay beside the door. "I'll go get it."

"I'll come too! I want to see how much it's snowed throughout the night!" Jesse said, grabbing her own boots and yanking them on.

The moment the front door opened, she was out, diving head first into the icy powder like a fox. Petra laughed as she jogged down the steps, Jesse emerging from the snow with piles of it on her head an shoulders. She laughed as well as she dusted herself off, shivering slightly.

"Come on, let's go grab that ladder." Petra said, offering a hand to help Jesse to her feet.

The shed was dusty and filled with cobwebs on the inside, causing Jesse to immediately burst into a fit of sneezes when the door opened. Petra coughed lightly as well as she took the old, rickety ladder from beside the door, trying not to get any dust up her nose as well.

"Is it sturdy enough?" Jesse asked when the sneezing subsided, gingerly wiping her nose on the sleeve of her sweater.

"Should be." Petra said, turning back so she could lock the door again.

As she did, the movement of the branches above them caught her eye. Petra tilted her head back, looking up at the many branches criss-crossing the sky above them. She remembered what Jesse said about watching the fairy lights like stars.

"Hey Jess, I think I have an idea." Petra said.

"What is it?" Jesse asked, quickly dropping the snowball she had been planning on pelting Petra with, before she could see it.

"I'm just picturing how incredible it would look out here if we strung the fairy lights beneath the branches." Petra said, eagerly gesturing up the trees. "Just imagine the many lights glowing beneath the snow tonight, with the stars shining above them."

"That does sound magical!" Jesse exclaimed, gazing upwards as well.

"Go grab the box of lights." Petra said excitedly, as she began unfolding the ladder.

Jesse didn't need telling twice, spinning around so quickly she kicked up a small cloud of snow. Petra could hear her boots thudding up the steps and disappearing inside the house, running outside again only moments later.

Jesse came jogging over with the box of lights, stopping as she watched Petra climb up the first few steps of the ladder. Her stomach dropped slightly as she realised just how high up the branches were.

"Be careful, okay?" Jesse said, handing the box to Petra.

"Of course." Petra replied dismissively, before continuing up the ladder with the box under one arm.

Jesse took a few steps back so she could watch, rubbing her chilled hands against each other.

Petra carefully placed down the box, before taking out the first string of fairy lights. She stood on the tips of her toes to reach the branch right above her, carefully beginning to attach the lights.

"Don't lean so far over!" Jesse said anxiously from the ground, beginning to chew her nails. She inhaled sharply, covering her eyes with her hands as Petra hung even further over to the left to attach the other end of the fairy lights as well.

"Don't worry! I've climbed trees taller than this!" Petra called back down. "I can keep my balance!"

"I still can't watch." Jesse said, turning around promptly and keeping her eyes covered. She had a bad fear of heights that's only gotten worse over the past few years, and watching Petra all the way up between the branches was making her queasy. "Maybe we should just put them up inside?"

"Jess, I know what I'm doing!" Petra called back reassuringly as she picked up the next string of lights. "It's going to be worth it."

Jesse just groaned in response, peering over her shoulder and nervously parting her fingers just enough so she could see. Petra was once again leaning over to one side, as she tried to reach the end of the branch.

The redhead bit her lip, transitioning her weight to one leg so she could lean over even further. As she did, the rickety old ladder creaked threateningly. Petra glanced down, right as the wooden step she was standing on came loose right beneath her foot.

"Petra!" Jesse's shriek got caught in her throat, as the wrung suddenly gave way beneath Petra and she plummeted down into the snow with a thud.

Jesse ran forward as Petra let out a strangled cry of pain, rolling over on the snowy ground. She was clutching on of her arms to her chest.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Jesse gasped as she dropped to her knees beside Petra.

The redhead couldn't respond, still struggling to get oxygen back into her system after getting the breath completely knocked out of her. But already Jesse could tell she did get hurt, as Petra squeezed her eyes tightly shut, leaning her head back on the snow. Her face had paled within a matter of seconds until her skin was almost as white as the snow she lay on. Cold sweat trickled across her forehead.

To Jesse, the few seconds it took for Petra to get her breath back, felt like hours of waiting in agony.

"F-Flipping piece of crap." Petra gasped out when she could speak again, groaning loudly as she recoiled around her arm.

"You can insult the ladder later!" Jesse exclaimed in exasperation. "Tell me what's wrong, what can I do?"

"My arm." Petra gritted her teeth, groaning again. "This hurts too much to be a sprain-" She groaned again, followed by a few harsh curses.

"Can you move?" Jesse asked anxiously, glancing back at the house.

"I should." Petra replied through gritted teeth.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she stiffly hauled herself up into a sitting position, still clutching her arm to her chest. Jesse carefully helped Petra, letting the redhead hold onto her with her uninjured arm as she got up.

Petra staggered slightly once she stood, leaning slightly forward and closing her eyes again. For a moment Jesse thought she was going to throw up, but then Petra regained her composure and opened her eyes again. Her face was white as a sheet. She gratefully accepted Jesse's help, letting herself be led back to the house with shaky steps. The moment they were inside, Petra gratefully sunk down on the first couch she reached.

"I'll get ice." Jesse said instantly, turning around and jogging towards the kitchen. She returned only a few moments later with two ice packs, which she had sloppily wrapped in a kitchen towel. Some colour had seeped back into Petra's pale face by the time Jesse reached her, and she had managed to remove the thick jacket she wore. Her arm was bruised blue and rapidly starting to swell, although it didn't have a visible break.

"How are you feeling?" Jesse asked when she had carefully helped Petra apply the ice to her arm, the redhead hissing painfully.

"I'm okay." Petra said, wiping some of the sweat from her face with her other arm. "It can't be a bad fracture. I'm going to need to get it checked out though." She grunted slightly on her last words, almost like she was annoyed at the fact that she couldn't just fix up her injury at home.

"Petra, I'm so sorry." Jesse said, leaning up on the couch and letting her head rest in her hands. "I should never have egged you on to put up those fairy lights, I-"

"Hey, shut up." Petra cut her off, giving Jesse a tired smile. "What crap is this, huh? Don't go blaming yourself for an idea I came up with." She shook her head, sighing. "Neither of us could have predicted that the ladder would break. I swear I'm chopping it up and using it as firewood on Christmas eve."

Jesse began to chuckle at Petra's words, but it came out as a held back sob. She could still feel herself shaking from what had just happened.

"Come here." Petra said softly, pulling Jesse closer with her uninjured arm. "Sorry this happened, k? I didn't mean to give you such a big scare."

Jesse only nodded, sniffing as she rested her head against Petra's shoulder. The redhead chuckled.

"What?" Jesse asked, looking over at her with a puzzled expression.

"Just thinking." Petra said, grinning. "I was trying so hard to make this holiday perfect for you, I guess you could say..." She paused, looking Jesse in the eye and winking. "-I really fell for you out there."

Jesse stared at Petra in disbelief for a moment, before she began laughing through her tears. Petra only kept her straight face for a moment longer, before she began laughing as well, hissing slightly when she moved her arm too much.

"You're one of a kind, you know that?" Jesse asked through her chuckles, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"Mm, proud of it." Petra grinned as she leaned back on the couch.

"Petra, this holiday is going to be perfect no matter what." Jesse said, resting a hand on Petra's uninjured arm, and smiling at her. "Even if we're going to spend the next few days just watching Christmas movies because you're too hurt for anything else, it'll still be perfect." She leaned over, giving Petra a kiss on the side of her face. "As long as you're here, it's perfect. You don't have to go out of your way to make it any more special."

"And broken arm or not, as long as you're here, everything is perfect for me as well."

___

Merry Christmas everybody!

At first I wasn't going to post this because I felt like I could have done way better on it, but I didn't want Christmas to pass without me posting anything for you guys! So have Jesse and Petra being absolutely adorable because I have been way too obsessed with these two recently-

I don't want to drag this A/N out, but I hope you all have an incredible Christmas, or just a fantastic few days in general if you don't celebrate! 

2020 may have been a bumpy ride, but here's to a much more exciting 2021!