Christmas Morning

Khaat asked Brian to help her now distribute other gifts. She had bought for Michael as whole case of the finest firewhiskey she could find, along with a large canister of his favorite pipe tobacco and a collector's Mershon pipe. It wasn't likely he'd smoke this one, but Michael did know the finer things.

She had selected even more carefully for her parents. She bought for her father a pair of one of a kind antique dueling pistols. Her father liked to collect muggle weapons and she had used Michael to find the dueling pistols set. He had apparently used some muggle contact of some sort. For her mother, she had taken one of Michael's suggestions and had given her an antique pendant that was a teardrop shaped teal colored sapphire surrounded in diamonds. Like the dueling pistols, the pendant was a one of a kind piece.

She had bought Angus a black leather bomber style jacket. Khaat knew his love of black leather well, and she watched his eyes light up when he opened it. He could hardly get it out of the box fast enough before he tried it on. He picked up the wand Chase had gotten him and inspected it. It was beautiful. "Thank you, Chase. It's perfect. I can't wait to try it out. Maybe this afternoon, I can spar with Brian a bit and see if it works."

Brian frowned at Angus. "You want to try it on me?"

"Sure. Why not?" Angus said. "Are you afraid?"

"Oh, terrified," Brian rolled his eyes. "You're on."

She passed Brian an envelope quietly. He frowned and opened it. Inside he found hotel reservations for two for a week at the hotel where they had stayed this summer. The place where, for them, it had all changed. She saw the smile on his face. He didn't say a word. He merely kissed her cheek softly. He hesitated a moment and then handed her a box. She opened it, and to her utter surprise and delight, he had bought her the same thing--hotel reservations for two for a week in Venice--at the same hotel. She laughed out loud.

"How did you know?" she asked him.

"I didn't," he laughed. "I had no clue. I was going to ask you the same thing."

Chase was opening some of her wardrobe still when Elijah came and sat down behind her, putting his legs on either side of her. She leaned back against his chest and smiled as he gently touched her stomach. "I love you too." She said with a smile, finishing up unwrapping another pair of underwear from Khaat. She was laughing lightly. These were more stretchy kinds, and were obviously the kind that were meant to be torn off of a pregnant woman. It helped that she was constantly in the mood for sex lately, and couldn't wait to get Elijah in his room later, but when he pointed at the box, she looked at him curiously and leaned forward, finding it a bit harder to lean all the way. Luckily it was within reach.

Chase glanced back at him and frowned slightly before she carefully undid the bow on top. Pulling it off carefully, she lifted the lid to the box and stared at what was inside. It appeared to be a beautifully crafted key. A key to what she wasn't quite sure, but before she had even started to get confused, her eyes lit up and she spun around to look at him. "Is this what I think it is?" She asked her eyes wide. "Is this.. your subtle way of asking me to move in with you?" She asked with a short laugh, her eyes twinkling as she looked down at the key again. "It's beautiful and... Elijah." She said looking up at him her eyes alight as she leaned forward to kiss him. "Have you opened my present yet?" She asked lightly, pulling out her wand and summoning the gift she had gotten him to her. "Go on.. open it.. I want to see your face." She said with a grin, turning around so that she was cross-legged in front of him, facing him. "Be careful though... I mean.. there are.. well little parts.. make sure to look EVERYTHING over.." She said grinning from ear to ear, half looking like a little cat herself, she was so mischievous.

Khaat had clearly gone all out. The underwear did disturb Elijah slightly. He couldn’t help but pick a pair up and pull at them, to see exactly how far they’d stretch. His eyes grew to the size of saucers and he grinned and quickly put them back with the rest. “You could fit at least five people in them!” He told Chase, snickering as he did so. They were rather large and he was half tempted to take his claws to them. As amused as the cat would be, he didn’t think Khaat or Chase would share the sentiment. Elijah kissed her neck again and began to rub circles over her stomach with his thumb. He watched over her shoulder as she reached forward for the key and could feel a sense of anticipation rise up in him, as well as apprehension. What if she didn’t want it? No, he told himself, You’re being silly.

When Chase opened it up, they were both presented with the key that Elijah had had copied. It was beautiful little thing, not nearly as grand as the original but it was a work of art in itself. He met her gaze and smiled at her. “I take it that’s a yes?” he laughed, returning her kiss. He pulled back and watched as she summoned his gift. Elijah took the gift and set it on the floor between them. He ripped the folded corner of the paper off and smiled upon seeing the art supplies. He picked up one of the paintbrushes and reached forward. He ran it down the bridge of her nose, and then flicked it across the tops of her cheekbones.

Elijah put it back down beside the canvas and picked up the envelope. He partly transfigured his hand and cut a hole in the top with one of the claws. He shook his hand, transfiguring it back, and took the card out of the envelope. Elijah looked at Chase and raised an eyebrow as he opened it up. A piece of paper fell out from inside and he picked it up. He read the card and his eyebrows shot to his hairline when he read the end note. Elijah looked down at the paper that fell out and he looked up at Chase with alarm. He met her gaze and a predatory smile spread over his lips. He dropped the card down on top of the gift and slid across the floor. He wrapped his arms around Chase and pulled her back into his lap.

“Why do I have to wait until after dinner?” he whispered in her ear, biting gently on the shell of her ear. “You, my love, are much more delectable than a turkey crown...”

Brian handed Khaat a box from her parents. She'd opened several boxes of clothes from them already, and she had really needed things that fit. But this box was rather small. She opened it and found a very elegant glass bottle in a deep indigo color that had an overlay of gold filigree wrapped around the glass. There was a matching indigo glass stopper. This was not one of her father's potions.

She took the stopper out of the bottle and sniffed it. It was wonderful. It was perhaps the most wonderful perfume she had ever smelled. She had never ever smelled anything like it. It seemed to play on her senses and sweep her away to another world entirely.

"This is incredible," she said softly, looking at her father. She hadn't known of him to make perfumes--ever.

"That is a one of a kind blend," he told her. "Made specifically for you in Paris,, with your body chemistry in mind. Its only at its best when you wear it-- no one else." That intrigued her. She dabbed the slightest bit on her wrists and smelled it. It seemed to come to life with notes of flowers and spices and something else she just couldn't put words to.

"Its wonderful," she said. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome," Robert said. Brian wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

"I could get to like that a lot," he said. "I don't think you should ever wear any other scent."

"I could do that," she said. She waas glad that Eli and Chase were happy, and so was everyone else this year for that matter. Or they seemed to be. She looked over at Angus, who unwrapped a couple of toys for Abbey and Dakota and gave one to each of them. The girls seemd to know exactly what to do with the colorful noise makers. It made Khaat laugh.

Chase looked over at Elijah when he picked up some of the underwear. "Oh haha, but they will be fitting two technically." She said putting her hand on her stomach lightly and grinning at him, snatching the underwear away from him before he could think of something else to say about them. "Clothes gotta be looser and less fitting so that the baby doesn't get squished or anything." She said shaking her head and giggling as she put the underwear back in it's box and gave a thumbs up to Khaat from across the room.

Chase stared at the key for a long moment and when he asked her if it was a yes. She looked up and half tackled him, hugging him hard around the neck. "Yes! It's a yes! Yes." She said hugging him, kissing him hard on the lips before pulling back and blushing lightly. She stared at the key in her hands and realized something that she hadn't quite grasped when she first saw the key. She had a home now.. her own place, her own key. Sure it looked like it should be hung on a chain and worn as a necklace, instead of used to open a door, but it was a key to her new home. A home with Elijah, with the kids, with a family. Chase almost teared up, but she kept them down and set the box down carefully, watching him open his presents.

She giggled at the face he made when he read the card, She couldn't stop giggling at his faces when he gave her a rather predatory smile, and she could feel her knees go weak for a moment, even though she was sitting on the floor, had she been standing up, she might have had to sit down rather quickly at the look he gave her. When he pulled her into his lap, she giggled, butterflies darting around in her stomach when his lips gently nibbled her ear. "Because then it makes you all the more eager to get at me my love. Besides, it gives you more time to think of what you would like to do with that gift." She said her cheeks flaming as she giggled and moved away from him, turning quickly to see his face to see his reaction to her pulling away. Picking up his paintbrush she flicked him across the nose with the soft end. "And not any time before." She said with a giggle.

Sofia. Elijah was half expecting Chase to give him a half answer or a ‘let me think about it’ answer. He knew somehow that she’d say yes though. He’d have to go back for good. It was all well and good going over and doing up a couple of rooms. He had yet to move all of his crap out of his room, not that it wasn’t fun to look at, but apart from that it was just days at a time. He didn’t go out into the grounds, he smoked out of one of the windows if he was feeling particularly sneaky and most of the time it was just painting and heavy lifting. It was doing his arms good, Elijah didn’t know about anything else but they certainly felt better. He hadn’t been playing Quidditch for a while. They needed the work out.

He didn’t think he was ready for the grounds yet. He’d have to go back. He’d have to go and see. It was barren land there for a long time. Maybe it was time to see if something had grown over. He doubted it though. Nothing could ever grow over there. It would be an insult to her. At least...that was what Elijah thought it would be.

Elijah kissed Chase back and smiled a little although it was most wry. “I’ve never been a patient man, though Chase. I was a spoilt child. I always got what I wanted when I wanted it.” He grinned at her. He was lying of course. Stelladora did her best to keep him grounded and she succeeded too, well for the most part. “I don’t like waiting...you’re far too gorgeous for your own good.” Elijah crawled forward and took her lips with his. He had his gift right in front of him. He didn’t want to wait to play with it.

Once the gifts were open, Angus got up and went to the kitchen to serve Christmas breakfast. Kate followed him, saying, "Let me give you a hand, Angus. I think I know my way around a kitchen."

"I would like to be able to help," Khaat said softly to Brian. "I always pictured Abbey's first Christmas as being very different than this. LIke I would be...."

"Forget it," Brian nuzzled her, kissing her softly. "We're just very glad you're still alive to see her first Christmas. Just enjoy spending the day with her. You don't have to do anything else."

Khaat looked over at Abbey, who was playing with a piece of red foil wrapping paper, and seemingly enjoying the crinkling sound it made. Dakota had lost all interest in the chaos and was crawling after Max again.

"There she goes," Khaat sighed. "I really need to move something and block the sofa so she can't go back there."

"Nah," Brian laughed. "At least if she disappears we always know where to find her. You know, she's going to end up liking tents made out of blankets and all sorts of hiding places. We're going to have to be prepared to give her playhouses and all sorts of places that are all her very own. She is extremely independent."

"Just like her mother. Mis is that way herself. She gets that honestly from her."

Brian took a sip of his coffee and scowled. He didn't like cold coffee. He got up and took his cup and Khaat's and headed out to the kitchen. Anyone need a drink refill?" He asked.