Jocelyn Wolff's Story

The flight from Chicago to Boston was only around two and a half hours so getting home wasn't normally too much of a hassle. However, with it being a major holiday, the airport crowds seemed double the size of what they typically were. When the plane finally landed, Michael and Jocelyn headed to the baggage claim section. He easily picked out their suitcases and grabbed them both off of the line.

"There's our ride," Michael commented. There were a few different drivers in suits holding signs which various names on it, but Michael headed towards an older Indian man who was holding a sign that read 'Michael Porter'. He had told his father that he and Jocelyn wouldn't mind taking a taxi back to the house but John insisted that they use his regular driver, Rajesh. Michael had driven with the man before so he offered him a friendly smile and because he had no free hands, he tilted his head in Jocelyn's direction. "Thanks for picking us up. This is my beautiful girlfriend, Jocelyn," he said, grinning at Jocelyn. Rajesh offered to take their bags but Michael denied, not minding carrying them. They headed out of the airport and into the sedan. After putting the luggage in the trunk, Rajesh pulled off.

"You think Bear's going to be alright with Jen and Rob?" he asked, interlocking his hand in Jocelyn's as he looked over at her. Mike had purchased the puppy only a week or two prior as an early Christmas gift for Jocelyn. He knew that she had wanted a dog for a few years and Michael wasn't against the idea of getting one either. When he was younger, his family had a Golden Retriever named Buddy. It died when Michael was in high school and they didn't purchase a new one, so he missed having an animal companion around. However, he had tasked Jocelyn with training it.

"I know that you know how crazy my family can be, so I hope you're prepared for this week," he said with a smile, although he did truly feel like the week was going to be drama filled. He hadn't been home since the funeral and could only imagine how much things had changed since then. Between the slutty Instagram and Facebook posts that he saw on Annie's social media pages and the idea that his father's assistant had moved in with them, he was sure that their home life was different than before Rose died. Everything seemed like it was going to be different but what Michael didn't want to deal with the most was his brother, Westley. The idea of having to be in the same room with him bothered him enough, but having to live with him and his boyfriend was infuriating. However, Michael planned on trying to just ignore them out of respect for his late mother, and Jocelyn.

Throughout the two hour plane ride Jocelyn felt uncomfortable, she didn't actually have a fear of flying but it sure didn't make her feel happy to be thousands of feet off the ground. So you could imagine her relief as the plane landed, roughly may I add, and Jocelyn and Michael followed the crowd of people onto the tarmac and into the building. They went to go find their baggage which Michael easily picked out, probably because her's was the only camo duffle bag there. After Michael grabbed the bags Jocelyn followed after him towards their ride. Jocelyn kinda wish they would have drove here from Chicago so that she could have brought her truck. She didn't like relying on people to drive her around and she wanted to go pay her dad a visit some time during the holiday.

"Its nice to meet you sir" Jocelyn greeted the driver that held a sign with Michael's name on it. Jocelyn couldn't help a soft blush to form on her cheeks as Michael introduced her. The driver said his name was Rajesh before he ushered her and Michael into the sedan and pulled out from the airport.

"I think he'll be fine he's a good boy, I just wish we could have took him with us I feel like were abandoning him" she said sadly but she didn't stay upset for long as Michael's warm larger hand interlocked with her smaller one. Jocelyn giggled at Michael's next comment.

"You know me I'm ready for anything, I just wish I didn't have to dress like such a girl. How do other females wear this stuff its so uncomfortable" Jocelyn mumbled as she indicated the flowy white lace dress and red high heels, all courtesy of Mrs. Jennifer Daniels aka Jocelyn's best friend and puppy sitter. Jocelyn didn't want to dress all girly and fancy but when they dropped Bear off at Jen and Rob's, Jocelyn had gotten an earful but looking like such a boy from her fashionable friend. Jocelyn sadly went along with Jen as she had dragged Jocelyn into her room to change and quickly do her hair in a neat bun with curls and makeup consisting of mascara, eye liners and dark red lip stick. When Jocelyn had looked in the mirror she had been horrified but Michael didn't look like he was ever going to complain. He probably liked it when she looked like a girl. Jocelyn could only imagine the expressions of her twin brother and father if they ever saw her like this.

They would never let her live it down.

And dammit this dress itches!

As the driver pulled into the drive way after entering the gate code Jocelyn looked at Michael to see his sour face. She knew that face. That was his 'I'm thinking about something I don't like' and in this case she guessed it was about his brother, West.

"Hey don't make that unhappy face, you look like that cute grumpy cat when you do" Jocelyn teased and gave Michael a peck on the cheek. She felt the car stop and let go of Michael's hand to put on her coat which she had taken off during the ride cause the driver had the heat cranked up high. She then opened the door, stepped out and instantly almost tripped, catching herself on the door.

"Damn you Jen, damn you and your stupid freaking heels!" Jocelyn cursed as she tried to right herself. Who in hell's name walks around in the snow with high heels? When they had arrived at the air port they were early and Jocelyn had spent the time waiting walking around in her shoes since she had never worn heels before. After falling down repeatedly and making a fool of herself a kind woman had helped her and given her some pointer's.

"Honey I'm gonna need your help or better yet I'll switch you shoes" Jocelyn said jokingly even though she was completely serious.

Joe Stepped off to the side, as Emmie left his side to go reunite with her loved ones. This was how he usually played these family get togethers, cool and kind of reserved. She seemed really happy to see her brother West, he knew that he was one of her favorite siblings. He liked seeing her smile because it made him smile. This week was for Emmie and the term "Yes dear" was one that he was planning on using a lot. There was something strange about her recently though. She seemed more clingy, and reluctant to let him go to work. Not that Joe minded, he loved the way that she cared and worried about him. It just seemed a bit more prevalent. He shook the though out of his head and came back to reality.

He noticed that in between greetings John was shooting him a few looks. Joe was used to that by now but there will always be that feeling of unease. He wasn't by any means afraid of John or anyone in her family for that matter. Joe had seen to much shit growing up and on the job to honestly really care what anyone but Emmie thinks of him. He put on a big fake smile as John shot him another look. Hearing the faint sound of several car doors shutting Joe glanced out the window by the door to see Michael, his girlfriend and Mia approaching the house. Hearing an expected knock on the door, He slinked over to the door and opened it to let the three of them in. The gathering area was now officially crowded with the addition of three more people.

Joe resumed his position of being near the back. "The best defense, is a good offense...."He thought to himself.

After greeting Westley, John's oldest daughter, Elizabeth, also appeared. Annie had opened the door for her and John took the opportunity of Westley being occupied with Allie and Emmie with Annie to step back towards Kate. He gave her a reassuring smile, even if it was more for himself than her. Although he didn't feel guilty about dating Kate because he and Rose had been planning on divorcing anyway, his children didn't know about that and he didn't want anyone to get upset with him over it, especially before they got to know Kate.

After Emmie finished with West and Annie, John embraced her in a hug. "It's good to see you, Emmie," he offered. "How was the drive up? It looks like the storm is just rolling in now. Was it already snowing in the city?" Although John had never been particularly close with Emmie, she was his first child and would always hold a special place in his heart, even if he would never express any extra affection towards her. Besides, after giving Joseph an acknowledging nod, John thought that making small talk would be less awkward than silence.

A rush of cold air signaled that someone else had arrived and John glanced past his children to see that Mia had also arrived. "Welcome home," he said, giving his second daughter a hug as well. He was going to ask her about what the weather had been like in California lately, guessing that it was much nicer than it was here, when he felt a gentle touch on his back. As he tilted his head back, he saw Kate standing behind him. She had a warm smile on her face and John was surprised that she hadn't already introduced herself, but figured that there hadn't been much of an opportunity to do so in all of the commotion.

"Kids," John said, speaking loud enough to be heard over the small conversations happening among the kids. "This is Kate. She's been staying with us since your mother passed away, keeping me and the girls comfortable," he addressed his children as he took Kate's hand in his and smiled.

"I'm so excited to meet you all," Kate said.

Before anyone could respond, John realized that they probably wanted to put their bags away and besides that, he wanted everyone to get settled in so he could relax a bit more. "Annie and Allie can help you bring your bags up to your rooms," John said, glancing towards his two youngest children. "Marco, there are two bedrooms free in the guest cottage that you're welcome to stay in. West can show you out there," John offered, maintaining a friendly. However, he was unsure if his son and his boyfriend would be offended or not. He wasn't forcing Joseph or Jocelyn to sleep in separate bedrooms than Emmie or Michael. Even though John didn't approve of Joseph, the idea of him sleeping with his daughter was a lot less disturbing than Westley sleeping with another man.

Allie enjoyed being hugged by her brother. With their family, it was rare that that ever happened. Finally, she pulled back and smiled. "Don't worry, West. Kate must of recorded all of them from every possible angle." With that, she turned to the man next to West. "You must be Marco!" She thrust her arm out to shake hands with him. "I'm really happy to meet the man who captured my brother's heart!"

At that moment, even more of her family walked in, causing Allie to smile wide. She may not have been very close with them, but they were still family. Her dad had gone to Emmie leaving Allie to wonder where Joseph was. She was eager to see Joe. Finally, she spotted him hidden in a corner. Chuckling slightly, she gave him a small wave. Her dad may not be a fan of Joe but Allie didn't see much wrong with him.

She took a step back as Kate introduced herself and tried to watch her siblings reactions. They more than likely wouldn't be as welcoming to Kate as Allie was. "Oh." Allie took a large step forward and gave a humorous bow at her siblings and their partners. "I'd be happy to take your bags, guys."

Michael laughed when Jocelyn commented on how uncomfortable her outfit was. He knew that she didn't like to dress up but appreciated that she did for the day. "I think you look gorgeous," he said, kissing her gently.

The ride to his childhood home wasn't too bad, even with the snow that was beginning to coat the road. He was glad that the storm hadn't arrived earlier, knowing that his flight would have been delayed if it was. Although Michael suspected that there would be some tension amongst his siblings, he wasn't really nervous for the week's events. He didn't feel like he had done anything wrong to anyone. Sure, he had basically erased West from his life, but Michael didn't think that was any of his other sibling's business. Besides, none of them were perfect siblings either. Emmie and Mia had both disappeared after their mother died, leaving their two younger sisters at home without a female figure. Michael knew that it wasn't their official responsibility to give up their own lives to take care of Allie and Annie, but he did think that as the girls in the family, they would have an easier time relating and consoling Allie and Annie, since they were also girls.

When the car pulled through the gates, Michael knew he was home. He paid Rajesh and grabbed their bags from the trunk before opening Jocelyn's door for her. She seemed to be struggling in her heels and between the coat of snow on the ground and her already known discomfort in the shoes, he didn't blame her. With a grin, Michael crouched down and allowed her to climb onto his back. He gave her a piggyback ride to the door and because he spotted a few cars in the driveway, signaling that his siblings were already home, he didn't bother to knock on the door. He allowed Jocelyn to stand up before pushing the door open.

Just as they entered, Michael caught his father directing everyone to their rooms. He waited for him to finish talking before making he and Jocelyn's presence known. "Merry Christmas," he said, placing the two bags on the ground before stepping past his siblings and giving his father an embrace. "I think most of you know Jocelyn," he said, smiling at his girlfriend.

He recognized his siblings, obviously, and spotted Emmie's boyfriend, Joe, as well as a guy standing with Westley. Just as West was irrelevant to Michael, the guy who Mike assumed was his boyfriend was as well. Although Michael and Joe never got along well, now that there was an even more hated person in the house, Emmie's boyfriend didn't seem that bad. Michael gave him a nod as a greeting, more than he would have done normally, and then turned back to Jocelyn. "Want to head up to my room? I'm exhausted from that flight," he said, giving her a quick wink.

Annie was pleasantly surprised when Emmie opened her purse and pulled out two gifts for her. Her attention was mostly directed towards the iPhone 6 plus. It was the gold one that she had wanted, but she was surprised when Emmie mentioned that she thought she didn't have a phone. She was right that their father didn't want Annie to have one, but after Kate moved in, Annie was able to influence Kate into convincing her father to buy her the iPhone 5s. Although she had gotten the phone three months ago, she didn't blame her sister for not knowing that. She hadn't seen Emmie since the funeral and because her sister wasn't close with their dad, she doubted that Annie getting a phone would have been a top conversation topic in one of Emmie and John's very infrequent phone calls or emails.

Even though she had a phone, Annie was still very pleased to have the latest model, seeing that she wasn't scheduled to get a phone upgrade for another year. Although she was excited, Annie didn't squeal or jump up and down as she would have in past years when she received a cool gift. She did, however, offer Emmie a genuine smile, half a hug, and a "thanks" before allowing her to move on to greet West and the others.

Annie stepped away from the door too, and approached Allie. She waved the iPhone box in front of her sister's face and said, "be jealous," with a smirk. Before Annie could sneak upstairs, Mia entered and then her father spoke up about Kate and how she and Allie were supposed to help everyone to their rooms. Then, Michael and Jocelyn appeared. They were the last ones that were expected to come and as the door clinked shut behind them, Annie dreaded the idea of having to live with all of her siblings for a week.

"Allie can handle it," Annie piped up after her father stopped talking. She didn't acknowledge Michael or Jocelyn and hadn't had a chance to properly greet Mia, West, Marco or Joseph, but Annie wanted to check out her new phone and before her father could object, she ran up stairs and headed for her bedroom.

Now that everyone was here her father told everyone to get settled in. So far things were going ok....It had only been ahalf and hour but yeah pretty good. Joe went over and picked up their bags and followed suit as people began to go to their rooms. He followed Emmie upstairs to the room she grew up in. Closing the door behind them he set the bags on the bed.

He had been in the room before, seeing all of her high school pictures and and he books, and magazines, A banner with their schools colors. He always got a sense of pride when he was in that room. He could tell that she was well loved in High school and It made him even more proud that she was with him. He thought about his high school, how everyday there was fights, and they had several security guards. Most of his classmates ended up staying in Hells Kitchen. Part of him wished that her family would put their problems aside and actually realize how lucky they really are. Joseph had graduated as one of the top in in his class and his older brother the same. Their mother was a fighter and with god as her witness she was going to make sure her boys had a good education.

Again, coming back to reality he noticed Emmie was looking at her high school year book. He approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her stomach and began to nuzzle and kiss her neck. "Merry Christmas." He knew that she loved it when he did that. "How long do you think we have until your dad wants us downstairs?" He said in a slightly joking tone. He couldn't think of a better person he wanted to be with than Emmie.

"Yeah sure I'll come in a second but first I would like to probably introduce myself since I haven't really met anyone just seen them around when I took piano lesson's with Rose" Jocelyn stated then instantly felt guilty. She didn't know if Rose was still a soft topic for some of them. She pushed down the feeling and smiled brightly. She went to John first, whom was standing beside a ginger haired woman.

"Hello John its nice to see you again and I'm sorry I don't seem to know you but my name's Jocelyn Wolff, Michael's girlfriend, its a pleasure to meet you" Jocelyn said to the ginger haired woman then went over to the other Porter children and did the same thing, though Annie had walked upstairs before she could say hello. She stopped at West and his boyfriend, giving them a kind smile. She felt so bad for them, since they probably weren't able to show affection towards one another. She would miss being with Michael when he was gone for a day of work so she couldn't imagine having to stay indifferent to one another for a week. These boys needed some mistletoe over their heads.

"You must be West's boyfriend, sorry I feel rude for not knowing many names, but its nice to meet you I'm Jocelyn and I must say that you and West make a very cute couple" she stated kindly. Michael knew she supported gay marriage and rights and she also knew he was going to try and act civil around then, but sadly being civil in his opinion was completely ignoring the two.

Her last stop was Emmie and her boyfriend but they went up the stairs before she could say hello. Having polity introduced herself she then followed Michael up to his old room. Once they were in Jocelyn observed the room she hadn't seen in a long time and smiled at the quaint charm about it before flopping down on his bed to give her high heeled feet a rest. How do women walk around in these all day?

"Oh hey Mike, on December 26 I'm gonna go see my dad and my brother's visiting from Jasper, we were planning on going hunting do you want to come with us?" Jocelyn questioned.

The door opened to Joseph “Hey.” she said giving him a side hug. Mia heard her father welcome her in and flashed him a smile. The hallway was getting pretty cramped which settled her thoughts on if she was late. Before she could greet any of her siblings a cold breeze on the back of her legs was an obvious sign more people were arriving, and from the looks of it she could guess who it was. Stepping aside she seen her older brother, who didn’t miss a beat before hugging their father, and his girlfriend step in.

Leaning up against the door frame Mia listened to John introduce the mystery women standing behind him. So that’s Kate. She wasn't really what Mia had planned on her looking likeThe whole while John was introducing her Mia kept a sly smirk on. There was something sketchy about their situation and she wasn’t too fond on how quickly John seemed to replace her mother.

She greeted the rest of her family, grabbed her bag and went up to her room. To be frank, she was tired and didn't really want to prolong any greetings. They were going to be living with each other for the next week and there would be plenty of time to talk to everyone. Once she reached her bedroom she was delighted to find that the room was almost exactly the way she left it, except for a few minor details, the major one being that it was spotless and her bed was made. Other than that the first surfboard she ever got was up above her bed. It was in two pieces, the first time she broke a board, it was a momentous occasion and figured it was something worth praising, at least to her it was it sent her mother into a worrying fit and she wanted her to stop it entirely. She was under for a good three minutes and came out with only a couple scrapes and a minor concussion. Mia dropped her bag to the floor and kicked it to the bed. She meticulously pulled off her shoes by simply kicking them off in any which direction and fell onto her bed, her legs dangling off the end. It was like laying on a cloud, completely consuming her, a major enhancement from the dorm beds. She was exhausted, this one day had been more work than her entire school year and there was nothing that she wanted more than to just sleep.

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As the front door opened up, a tall male who was aging quite well for himself appeared in front of them. Marco guessed the man was West's father, John Porter, because of the embrace they shared. Well the hug was quick so, John started to usher them into his home. Marco picked up the bag that he had set by his feet moments ago and walked into the house but set the luggage down, once again, when he was fully through the door and out of the way. Marco kind of wished that West hadn't mentioned that he knew his way pretty well around a kitchen. It's not like he didn't want to help, really he'd be gladly to help out, but he didn't want to be looked at as unmanly.

Once they were all inside, Marco was surprised to see a hand held out to him by West's father. The man looked unsettling and like he really wished he didn't have to do this. John had manners though which was something to admire. Marco grabbed the mans hand and shook it firmly. "Hello sir, nice to finally meet you. Names, Marcello Salvator but I like people to call me Marco." He introduced himself with a smile though John didn't see it because of the lack of eye contact the man was giving. Marco let go of the mans hand soon, he didn't want to make West's father uncomfortable. Though as Marco let go of the mans hand another hand was held out in front of him. "Nice to meet you, you must be Allie." Marco would have said more but the energetic sweetheart left to greet other family.

Soon all of the Porter children and their significant others had arrived which cued John to introduce a beautiful red headed woman who's name was Kate. Marco wondered if she was some nanny or something. The woman seemed to be nice and heart warming unlike John was. What came next out of John's mouth that caught Marco's attention the most was the fact that John only mentioned him sleeping out in the cottage and not West which wasn't much of a surprise though Marco knew West wouldn't be so cruel to have him sleep alone. Or would he?

A smiley blonde woman appeared in front of West and himself. She introduced herself and commented on the relationship he shared with West. If Marco remembered correctly, Jocelyn was Michael's girlfriend and she seemed like a total sweetheart. Really Marco was picturing a republican woman who never put on a smile but then again, his imagination was off a bit when it came to people. Plus he didn't like Michael all that much so he kind of pictured his girlfriend to be just as distasteful. Marco was completely wrong though and smiled back at the woman. "Thanks, nice to meet you, my names Marcello but you can just call me Marco." The blonde woman soon walked off to greet others. Really, Marco wished there were more of Jocelyn around right now.

One of the Porter children ran up stairs, she looked around his age so he guessed the woman was West's twin sister. Marco turned his head to his boyfriend and nudged him in the side with his elbow. So he was touching him but it wasn't like he was kissing West in front of the whole Porter family so they were good for now. "So are you going to show me to our room?" Marco stepped back a little and closer to the door since the cottages were outside. He knew John had meant for Marco to sleep out in a cottage while West sleep inside and probably in his old room but Marco didn't like the idea. He had been nice and behaved so he deserved the right to sleep next to West tonight.

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It seemed all the family was here which made West happy but best of all he got to see Emmie again after what seemed like years, he was thrilled when his lovely older sister came to embrace him. It was true, he hadn't called anyone in quite awhile but he was already juggling between school work and spending time with Marco. He still felt bad that he wasn't able to continue a healthy relationship with Emmie, even when she needed him most like their Mother's death. "Merry Christmas my sweet and wonderful big sister! I've missed you too...I know it's been awhile but we're here now!" Emmie was more beautiful than the last time he had seen her, it seemed she was getting prettier every day. Even though Westley had been in a situation where he wasn't seeing much of his siblings, he still had an observant eye and could just tell that something was bothering his older sister. He wondered what it could be but maybe they could talk later, right now everyone needed to get settled in and comfortable for the Holidays. With one last gesture, Westley placed his hand on Emmie's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "If you want, we can talk later. You should go to your room." Then West left to go show Marco his room, he spotted Mike's girlfriend leaving Marco's side just as he arrived.

"She's heavenly, isn't she?" West could tell what Marco was thinking, Jocelyn was someone who didn't judge other's based on their belief's or who they fell in love with, she only cared for their actions and that's why she won most people over. She had such a kind heart and only if her kindness was some sort of disease, then it might be able to spread to Michael. Speaking of which, West had seen Michael a few minutes ago, he watched his older brother from the corner of his eyes but he didn't try to say anything. He knew Michael, he was too stubborn and hard headed about his beliefs to give West a chance. West would just wait for the right moment to talk to Mike and even if he was sure his brother would shoot him down, he still had to try at least but right now was not the time.

His attention was drawn to John and the strange woman as John spoke up, leaving the rest of the house silent for a moment. The woman he had been wondering about a little while ago was living in the Porter home apparently and while it seemed a little weird, he didn't ask any other questions. Kate would obviously announce herself more later in the evening, in his opinion the red head seemed very sweet.

Westley also saw his twin sister but she left for her room in quite a hurry, he would speak with her later but right now he needed to show his Lover to his room. "Of course, I'll show you the way to your room. Grab your suitcase and we can head out. I'll be back in a minute Dad." With that Westley gestured Marco to follow him as he opened the door, the wind seemed to have lighten down. West might have been teasing his boyfriend a little to harshly, by the looks of it Marco might not being getting his wish but that was not the case. Westley found the idea of taking his suitcase into the cottage as well just a bit embarrassing and shameful. His father obviously wasn't comfortable with West sleeping in the same room as Marco or any other man for that matter but at least he was trying to understand, better than Michael could do.

Westley escorted his lover into one of the cottages outside, it was surprisingly warm inside and the bed was made for two, how cruel for Marco. West closed the door behind him and looked at Marco, moving towards him and cupping his face. "Sooo..I'm gonna keep my luggage in my old room but later tonight when it's dark i'll sneak out and come to comfort you in bed. Sounds fun, right?" Westley moved in to kiss Marco, presenting him with one more smile. "I just don't want anybody feeling uncomfortable or make my dad upset, he's really trying, I can tell. So is this okay Marco?"

Once they reached his old bedroom, Michael set their bags down by the closet. Although they would only be there for a week, he knew he would need to hang his shirts and pants in the closet. With his mother being gone, he knew he wouldn't be need to worry about her pestering him about wearing wrinkled clothes, but by now it had become a habit. He grinned when he looked back and found Jocelyn sprawled out on his bed.

"You can leave those off for the night, you know," he said. "You see Mia? She was wearing jeans and Converse. Obviously the dress code died with my mom. Besides, you look amazing in anything," he added. Although his words were judgmental, his tone was light and playful. Michael frequently commented on other people, but he didn't do it to intentionally put them down. It had become a bad habit of his to make a point of how he was superior to others and even though he had gotten better about it since meeting Jocelyn, he still did it, especially around his siblings. Growing up in a large family meant that Michael always had to work hard to be the best at everything. He had his father's high expectations weighing on his shoulders and although he did exceed at most things he did, criticizing his siblings was his backup plan to look better than them if he did fail at something.

It was always nostalgic to be home, even if things were different with his mother gone. Michael took a few minutes to examine his old things: trophies and medals, old photos and his high school diploma which was hung on the wall. He blew a thin film of dust off of a plaque that he had received in eleventh grade after winning the school's science fair, before moving back to Jocelyn.

He sat down next to her and nodded when she brought up visiting her father. "Of course I'll come," he began. "I'm always up for spending some time with Rick and Savannah," he said with a smile. Although Michael's family was more preppy and less country-ish than Jocelyn's, he had no negative feelings towards them. Besides, his father had taught him to shoot a gun at a young age and while he had never been hunting before, he was up for the challenge. "As long as I'll be with you, I'm down," he said a moment later before kissing the blonde.

"Thanks for being friendly to my siblings," he added. Michael had already been on his way up the stairs when Jocelyn began to greet the others and once he heard her talking to West, he continued without looking back. He wasn't ready to face his brother and honestly, he wasn't sure if he was going to acknowledge him at all during the week. It seemed like it was going to be inevitable but Michael was going to put it off for as long as possible. "I told you that Annie turned into a brat though. Did you see her barge up the stairs like that? I feel bad that my dad's been stuck dealing with her attitude," he said, shaking his head. John had mentioned that Kate had been living with them, but Michael still wasn't sure of what extent of a role she played in his life and really assumed that John had been a single parent since Rose passed away.

After the kids disappeared from the foyer, John entered the kitchen. Although he had never been much of a cook, John offered to put the food in the oven for Kate. It wasn't a huge deal considering that their personal chef had already fully cooked everything earlier that morning and they only had to heat it for a few minutes to prepare it for their meal. He didn't mind doing it, but it was strange to be doing work in the kitchen. They were serving the same meal to nearly the same group of kids, but everything felt different this year. Rose wasn't running in and out of the kitchen, making sure that everything was cooked to perfection. She wasn't helping the kids up to their rooms and showing them the decorating changes she had made to the house. Her cheerful voice was gone. It had been gone for four months and even if he and Rose had grown about, it killed John to know that he would never hear it again.

While John was busy in the kitchen, Kate had made her way upstairs. She was glad that the introductions to John's children seemed to go okay, and was especially happy that Michael's girlfriend seemed nice. While John spoke highly of his oldest son, she could tell that he had inherited his confidence, in both its good and bad forms.

The doors to Michael, Mia and Elizabeth's bedrooms were closed so Kate assumed that they were settling in. While she considering returning to her and John's bedroom, she wanted to check on Annie who had managed to sneak past them and up the stairs before the greetings had finished. After giving a light tap to Annie's door, Kate opened it and walked in. She was glad to see that Annie's room was still clean after the cleaning women had worked on it the previous day.

A surprised look appeared on her face when she spotted the teenager toying with an iPhone that was different than the one she had managed to get John to buy for her. Kate had spotted Emmie giving Annie a few items during all of the commotion and while she didn't make out what they were at the time, she guessed that this was it.

"Wow, a six plus?" Kate asked with a smile as she sat down next to Annie on her bed. John probably would have questioned Annie on why she needed a new phone, but Kate knew that Annie hated being lectured, so she preferred to keep a friendly relationship with her. She wanted Annie and Allie to see her as a friend, maybe even an older sister, but not as a mother figure.

When she saw the Vogue magazine placed next to the phone box, it was confirmation that the gifts were from Emmie. "You have a great older sister," she commented. "Did you get her something good, too?" John had mentioned that all of the kids exchanged gifts on Christmas morning and she had helped John pick out gifts for all of them as well.

Kate left Annie with a hopeful smile and hurried through the long hallway and downstairs. She found John in the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to see that everything looked to be cooked perfectly. It smelled delicious and as she peered around at all of the steaming dishes, she was surprised at just how much food had been made. John had made a fuss over Westley's boyfriend coming so last minute but even with the unexpected guest, Kate guessed that they probably had enough food to double the amount of people who would be eating the meal.

He had explained to her that every year they would make two main dishes for the holiday: roasted turkey and filet mignon, because he and Rose could never agree on which to have. Rose insisted on having turkey, which her family had served for all of their Christmas dinners, but John preferred the red meat steaks, so they would eat the steak on Christmas Eve and the turkey on Christmas day. On top of the main dishes, there were tons of side dishes that reminded Kate of more of a Thanksgiving feast than a small, family Christmas Eve dinner. Although it seemed a bit excessive, Kate didn't think it was a problem and even if she did, she knew that it wasn't her place to change a family tradition, especially the year after Rose died.

"It smells great," she commented as she approached John from behind and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I know, it brings back memories," he said with a light chuckle. He was trying to keep the mood light, so rather than indulging in nostalgic thoughts, he turned to Kate. She was his future and he knew that Rose would want him to be happy and hopeful for the rest of his life.

"I'll bring everything out to the table. Will you call the kids down?" he asked, although he had already pulled the oven mits back on and began to carry the hot dishes into the dining room before she could respond.

Kate had no problem with it though and headed towards the bottom of the stairs. She stepped up a few before calling out, "Dinner's ready!". Hoping that it was loud enough for them all to hear, she made her way backstairs, turning away from the kitchen entrance and down the hall with the intentions of touching up her hair in the bathroom. However, as she passed the backdoor, she nearly ran into Emmie's boyfriend, Joe.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said with a soft smile. "I thought you and Emmie were upstairs, but dinner's ready," she continued, her gaze shifting to the door behind him. "Is Emmie... out there?" she asked, confused about why he had been outside, especially alone. By the expression on his face, she could tell that he was upset or that at least something wasn't right. She took a step past him and squinted through the glass door, barely making out the silhouette of someone sitting on the lawn on the other side of the yard. "Would you let her know that dinner is ready, hon?" she said, smiling again although it was probably more of a concerned one than a genuine one. Again, since she had just met Joe, she didn't feel like it was her place to pry into whatever was going on between him and Emmie and for the most part, Kate just assumed that Emmie was overwhelmed with being back home without her other.

Allie was....shocked to see Annie walked into her room. And without knocking mind you. She gave a smile hoping that her sister just wanted to chat but the words that came out of her mouth just caused Allie to sigh in slight disappointment. Oh well. Can't be bothered. No one should go without a present on Christmas anyway. 'Sure Annie. We can share them.' Her face broke into a grin. 'But you need to know what they are first. That way you won't be suprised to what we give them.'

As her sister settled on her bed Allie began to grab the presents from her closet. She picked up two boxes that were about the size of her fist. Both were wrapped neatly in bright red paper. 'These,' Allie placed them on the bed. 'Are for Dad and Kate. I got Kate some earing and Dad a watch.' Truthful she didn't know what to get for the couple. Because of her being born female she never spent much time with her dad so unfortunately her gift didn't posse any deep meaning. It was the same with Kate but Allie was sure she'd look great in the golden earrings.

Next she grabbed the biggest box which was going to Mia. 'I got Mia some survival backpack for when she goes hiking. She likes that stuff, I'm sure.' With the biggest out of the way Allie began to toss Michael's to the bed. 'Michael was hard...I just got him a football.' She shrugged. Allie knew he liked watching the games so it was really the only thing she could think of.

She brought out the next with a smile. 'Here we have West's.' It was the second largest gift and the heaviest. Allie sat it on the ground next to the bed with a groan. 'West got a butt load of romance novels. Collectors edition was what the guy at the book store told me.'

All that was left where two small boxes and three cards. She held up one bright pink box. 'This is for you Annie so you don't get to know this yet.' Setting the pink box on the dresser she sat on the bed and held the the remaining gifts. The last box was golden and had a white bow. 'This is Emmie's. It's a necklace with a rose on it. I thought it would be poetic with her and mom being so close and all.' At least she hoped it wouldn't send her sister into a fit. It was painful for her even to buy it but in Allies opinion it's better not to hold in your sorrow. With those out of the way she held up the three cards. 'For our darling siblings lovers. Because I don't really know them they get giftcards. Christmas may not be about gifts but no one should go without one.'

Feeling rather confident her her gifts Allie stood just as Kate's voice rang down the hall. 'Oh. Dinners ready.' Allie knew this dinner would be awkward. Prehaps a little sad even but Allie was determined to keep it peaceful. It fell upon her to do so. 'Come on Annie.' She offered a hand to her sister. 'Lets go.'