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"Family"

Chapter 34.

The night before Christmas.

It was still dark outside when Michael woke up. "Daddy," he whispered but Tony didn't even stir.

He unsuccessfully tried to wake his dad three more times. Frustrated, the little boy huffed and pouted, crossing his little arms over his chest.

Michael wanted to go down and see if Santa had already come but he didn't have permission to go up and down the stairs by himself. His daddy had been really clear about that and he didn't want to disobey him.

But he needed to know! Maybe Santa didn't know that he lived here now. Maybe Santa thought that he still lived with his mommy.

Michael's eyes filled with tears at the thought of his mommy and the fact that he wouldn't see her again. "Is miss you with all my heart, mommy... Is love you," he sniffled and turned to his dad.

The child put his little hand on Tony's face and, in his sleep, the man took it in his and kissed it. Michael giggled through tears and whispered, "Is safe with daddy. Hes rweally loves me... do not worrys, mommy."

Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. Grandpa Jack says that Santa rides the sky on his sleig-s and my mommy lives on stars and clouds... so maybe she talked to Santa and told him where Is live now.

The curiosity and the urgency to find out if he was right got the better of him and Michael silently slid out of bed. He tiptoed towards the door with his teddy bear still in his arms.

The door was half-open so he slowly opened it, but when he was about to step into the hallway when he realized he needed to have his hands empty if he wanted to grab the railing to go downstairs and not fall.

The child hurried back to the bed and slid Bert under the covers. "Shhhh... do not wakes daddy... Is be super fast," he whispered and silently ran out of the room.

A smile appeared on Tony's face and he slowly opened his eyes. He had heard everything Michael had said and done. "You're smart, little one," he chuckled as he got up and silently followed his son.

Michael jumped down from the last step and ran into the living room.

In the dim light, he could see the big Christmas tree. The sound of his bare feet echoed through the room as he walked towards the tree and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw the amount of packages on the floor.

"Mommy talked to Santa and tolds him I lives here now... thank you, mommy," he whispered, blowing a kiss to heaven.

In the doorway,behind Michael, Tony's eyes filled with tears at his son's words. Yes, thank you Morgan... for this little precious treasure.

Remembering that he had left cookies and milk on the kitchen table for Santa, Tony silently headed to the kitchen, drank the milk and put away the cookies, leaving some crumbs on the table.

Just in case my baby comes here to check if Santa liked what we left for him, he thought. Grinning widely, he headed back to the living room where his son was still inspecting the presents under the tree.

"Michael," Tony called softly. The little boy turned toward his father, his eyes wide with fear. "What are you doing?" Tony slowly approached his son, worried about the terror he was seeing in his eyes.

He stopped in front of Michael and crouched down. "Hey," he whispered. "What's going on?" he asked. He put a hand on Michael's shoulder and was shocked when the child flinched.

Tears filled Michael's eyes and he started trembling. "Michael, sweetheart, what's going on? Talk to me," Tony begged, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Please... do not beats me... I... I-I" he choked out and started crying. "I did bad, but..."

"Honey, I'm not going to beat you," Tony answered. "I will never beat you and you didn't do anything bad... Come here, bud," he said as he took his son in his arms. "Why are you so scared?" He needed to know what was going through Michael's head if he wanted to fix it.

Tony had never seen Michael so scared and he felt completely helpless.

"Talk to daddy," he kissed his son's hair.

"I-I... I cames down and you told me not to... but," Michael took a deep breath. "I wanted to see if..."

"To see if Santa had come?" Tony was rubbing his son's back now. Michael nodded against his shoulder. "I did the same thing when I was a child. It's normal to be curious," he reassured his child but Michael didn't stop sobbing. "Michael, tell me why you are so scared, please!"

"You tolds me to... not comes down alone and...I did it," Michael was crying even harder and Tony was worried he would feel sick in the end. "I disobeyed and...please, daddy...do not beats me!" he desperately squeezed his dad's neck.

Tony closed his eyes and clenched his jaw in anger. Pratt! Damn you, bastard! I'll make you pay, you SOB!

"Is this what Sam did to you when he didn't like what you did?" he asked, trying to hide his anger and felt Michael nod.

"Does your back still hurt?" he asked.

"No. The cream Grandpa gives you and you put on it... made it better," he sniffled. "I do not wants it happens again no mores."

Tony felt his fury grow in his heart. If Sam Pratt had been in front of him, the MCRT Leader knew that nobody and nothing would have stopped him from killing the evil bastard who had killed Morgan and hurt his son.

But Tony also knew that this was not the time for planning a murder or looking for revenge. His son needed him, his strength and reassurance, so he took a deep breath and tightened his hug.

"Michael, listen to me," Tony stood up and sat on the piano bench. He started rocking his little boy as he calmly said, "I know what you went through and..." he swallowed back the lump that was closing his throat. "I've seen...I've seen your back and I know what Sam did to you."

Michael whimpered and buried his head into his father's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you but..." Tony rubbed Michael's back softly and shifted so he was looking straight into his son's eyes. "I promise no one will ever hurt you. No one will make you suffer again. From now on you'll always be safe with me."

Michael rubbed his eyes with his small fists.

"Do you trust me?" Tony smiled softly and saw Michael nod.

"Daddy," the child sniffled. "I love you, daddy!" He threw his arms around Tony's neck and gave him the biggest kiss ever.

"I love you too," Tony kissed his son's temple. "I love you too."

They enjoyed that moment for as long as they could until Michael yawned. "What do you say we go back to bed?" Tony asked, tickling Michael's tummy and making him giggle.

Michael didn't answer but asked, "Daddy, whats that?"

Tony turned towards where his son was pointing and answered, "It's a piano." He swiveled on the bench, lifted the fallboard and pressed a few keys.

Michael's eyes rounded as he exclaimed, "It makes music!"

"Yup!" Tony shifted his son so Michael was sitting on his lap, facing the piano. "Listen."

Tony started playing what sounded like a jazz lullaby and, after a few measures, he began to sing.

"Sometimes I wonder how you'll be,

How'll your eyes be? How'll your smile be?

Will you be happy?

Will be sad?

Will be cheeky? Or will you be shy?

I'll protect you from fears and

troubles you'll face from now on,

You'll heal all my wounds

Because you're a special being

And I'll take care of you

We'll walk along the streets to infinity,

I know the world's rules

and I'll teach you them,

I'll save you from every danger

and every melancholy,

Because you're a special being

And I'll take care of you

Will you be tough?

Will you be weak?

Whatever you'll be

I'll always be there with you

I'll always be there for you

Because you're a special being

You're a part of me

You're my son

I'll be by your side

I'll be behind you

I'll be in front of you

I'll always be with you

Because you're my son

You're my son."

Tony stopped playing and looked at his son. He kissed his little nose and whispered, "I wrote this song the night you was born."

"Rweally?" Michael asked in surprise.

"It's your song."

"I likes it," Michael leaned forward and kissed his daddy's cheek.

"Thank you, baby."

"Is not a baby," the child pouted.

"Ooooooooooh, yes you are!" Tony laughed as he stood up and threw Michael in the air. "You're my baby who needs to be in bed or Santa will come back and will take away all of your gifts!" he joked, heading towards the stairs.

"But we will stop him!" Michael was full of giggles as his daddy made him fly as if he was an airplane.

"Sure! No one can touch my baby's gifts!" Tony teased him as he ran upstairs.

"Daaaaaaaaaaddy!" Michael whined between bouts of laughter as he and his dad crawled onto the bed and under the covers.

"Shhhh... or we'll wake everybody up," Tony whispered, still giggling.

"Shhhh," Michael mimicked him.

"Now we need to sleep or tomorrow we'll fall asleep opening our gifts," Tony made a funny face. "Night, baby," he kissed Michael's head.

"'Night, baby," Michael repeated giggling.

Just before falling asleep, Tony heard the wind whistling outside the window. Let's hope we don't get a snowstorm...

December 25th.

Despite Tony's wishes, a snowstorm hit the entire East Coast, during the night and now, wherever the team rested their gazes, there were high walls of snow.

"More that four inches!" the ZNN forecaster had announced.

Luckily, during the night, Abby had woken up and, when she had seen how hard it was snowing, she had called Ziva. They had packed some clothes and their toothbrushes and together they had run to the main house and slept on the couches. Otherwise they would have spent Christmas snowed into their own houses.

Ziva didn't really celebrate Christmas but she really enjoyed the atmosphere and the meaning behind this festivity.

Still in their PJs, they all slowly gathered in the kitchen for a special Christmas breakfast cooked by Ducky and Jack.

When Tim entered the room with Sean in his arms, Abby, Ziva and the grandpas were really surprised by the news but they quickly recovered and welcomed the little boy and his dad with smiles, kisses and hugs.

Abby wrapped Tim and Sean in a hug so tight the little boy looked at his dad in fear. "Don't worry, Sean. Abby loves you so much and this is her way of showing her love," McGee reassured his son just before Tony entered the room with Michael in his arms.

The little DiNozzo's eye rounded widened as he saw the child in McGee's arms. "Daddy, who is that?"

"This little boy is Uncle Tim's son and his name is Sean. Do you want to say hi to him?" Tony answered as he stopped in front of the McGees.

Both of the children studied each other for a few seconds and all the adults in the room held their breath. They were worried Michael wouldn't accept Sean and that he would be jealous of the newcomer since he'd been the prince of the house the last nine days.

"If hes Uncle Tims son..." Michael began, looking at his dad. "What he is for me?"

"Sean is your cousin," Tony smiled, hopefully.

"I donts have a cousin before," Michael said seriously. The child looked at Sean again and a trademark DiNozzo smile lit his face. "I like that!" he exclaimed.

A soft sign could be heard in the room as Michael said to his new cousin, "Hi, Is Michael. Is four and you?"

"He's one year and two months old. He's very young and a bit shy because this family is all new for him so he knows only a handful of words," Tim explained

"No worrys," Michael patted Sean's shoulder. "I dids not know them too but they ares great and loves me so much. Yous safe here... pinky promise," he smiled and saw Sean nod bashfully.

"This is my daddy and hes the bestest daddy in the whole world," Michael jumped right into the introductions. "That's Abbys and Ziva," he continued pointing to them. "Abbys gives bestest hugs ever and she's so much fun. Ziva knows many strange songs. Yous do not understands what she says but they's nice and makes yous sleep really good," he explained.

Both women had warm smiles for the newcomer.

"That's Grandpas Ducky and Jack," Michael turned towards the men and they both waved and smiled at Sean. "Ducky knows many stories about kn-nights and horses and magics."

Sean nodded and softly smiled.

"Granpa Ducky, wills you tell me and Sean Merlin's story some time?" Michael asked. "He haves to know it."

"Sure. I will honored to share all my stories with both of you, my dear lads," Ducky nodded with a small bow.

"He talks a bit funny, but he's great," Michael giggled and all the adults did the same. "Grandpa Jack cooks the best cookies ever and knows how to build many things." The child looked out the window and added, "He will build houses for birds and then we can paint them 'cause we's too young and can't use hammers. When there is sun and no snow we will put the houses in the garden and gives birds food. Do you wants help us?"

"Yes," Sean said with a small voice, though he was too young to understand any of Michael's long talk.

The blond child looked really nice at Sean's eyes. Tim's son liked Michael's smile so he thought that his new friend was saying something funny and decided that it was safe to agree with him.

"It will be so much fun!" Michael chirped. "That's Mark. He's super cool. He keeped me safe and helped me find my daddy. Now he lives here and is Gibbs' son. He my big brother." He studied Sean for a few seconds. "We can share if you want."

Sean just nodded completely fascinated by Michael's gabbing. The little boy shyly pointed his finger towards Gibbs and looked at Michael.

"That's Gibbs. He's the boss. He loves lots, but," Michael lowered his voice and leaned towards Sean, "he gives really bad glares if yous do bad." All the adults in the room had a hard time on hiding their laughs. "But he's a Marine and my daddy says he's the bestest friend evers and we can trust him with our lives," Michael said in louder voice, nodding firmly to reinforce his words.

"We love all each others to moon and back and we's happy you's here!" he clapped his hands. Then he hugged Sean and gave him a welcome kiss on his cheek.

At first Sean was a bit scared by Michael's tight hug, but after the kiss, he relaxed and hugged his cousin back.

Michael let Sean go and asked, "Do yous want me to shows you 'round?" and when the little boy fervently nodded, he wiggled to get down

Sean did the same and joined his cousin.

"Come on, little P! I'll shows you 'round!" Michael called Sean as he slowly headed towards the living room, so the little boy could follow him.

Tony and McGee exchanged a questioning look while their children started towards the big living room.

"Michael?" McGee called, following after the boys, worried that Sean could fall down.

"Yes?" the little DiNozzo turned.

"Little P?" Tim asked, a bit confused.

"My daddy says you's Probie, so Sean is little Probie," the child explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

All the adults burst out laughing as McGee shook his head good-naturedly. "He's your son, Tony. No doubt about that!" Gibbs chuckled and received a proud smile from the new MCRT team leader.

"This is living room and that's our Christmas tree," Michael continued and then whispered only for Sean, "I's looked at all gifts and I sawed some for you too. Don't worry," he winked and Sean mimicked him, giggling.

The children headed to the hallway that led to Ducky and Jack's rooms. Michael stopped in front of a door on the left and opened it, "This the tvs room. Wes can watch one hour in the afternoon and a movie before sleeping," he pointed to a big bookcase filled with hundreds of DVDs that spanned an entire wall. "Those our movies. They's your movies too now but if you breaks them, you buy them. Okay?" He was completely serious.

"O-tay," Sean nodded.

Michael pointed to their dogs that were sleeping on their big pillows and whispered, "They's Molly and Rolf, our dogs. Don't be 'fraid. They's good," he reassured Sean.

Tim's son nodded and he followed Michael out of the room.

"That's my daddys office and that's Boss's office," he pointed to the doors on the other side of the hallway. "Wes can go there only with them, but they's not inte-esting. So boring," he sighed theatrically.

As they continued the tour, Michael showed Sean the bathroom and the laundry room before stopping at the end of the hallway. "This door goes to Grandpas houses and..." he paused, a wide smile lighting up his face. "This is the bestest room ever!" he exclaimed as he threw open the last door on the right side of the hall.

Sean's eyes widened and a big smile appeared on his face too. "This is my playroom, but now we can share," Michael reassured his new best friend. "Yous can use all toys 'cept my books, okay? My books are a no-no," he shook his head to reinforce his words.

Tim's son nodded and slowly walked towards a big basket filled with wood blocks. He looked at Michael for permission and, when his cousin nodded, the shy child touched them and giggled.

"Does you like them?" Michael asked.

"Yes."

"Gibbs maked them. Is sure you will make some for you too. He loves us remember?" he hugged Sean and the child hugged him back.

From the doorway, everyone else smiled, happy for the instant friendship between Michael and Sean. "Like fathers like sons," Ducky whispered before saying, "My dear lads, what do you think if we go back to the kitchen and eat our breakfast so then we can open our presents?"

"Whats you cooked for breakfast?" Michael asked, walking over to him with Sean in tow.

"My dear fellow, we're going to have milk, coffee, tea, orange juice, cereal, jam and..."

"And?" Michael stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked up at his Grandpa in expectation.

"I cooked scones and lemon curd," he answered and Michael's eyes widened. "And Jack cooked chocolate chip muffins."

"Yeah! Come on, Sean!" he exclaimed as he took off toward the kitchen with Sean toddling behind him. "This is the super fantastic breakfast ever!" he climbed into his booster seat and watched McGee help Sean into the highchair Gibbs had bought last night. "You will love them," he added while Tony fastened his bib. "They's so yummy!" he widened his eyes and made Sean laugh.

"Nom nom," Sean giggled.

"Yes! Super nom nom!" Michael clapped his hands.

Everyone ate with gusto as they talked and laughed at the children's antics.

After breakfast, still in their PJs, they attacked the huge pile of presents under the tree. There were gifts for anyone, but what made the adults happiest were Michael, Sean and Mark's faces. Every time one of them opened a presents, their smiles grew wider and wider.

Mark received a baseball ball, bat and glove. "We can play catch when the sun comes out," Gibbs explained, seeing his son's questioning look. There were also books, videogames, music CDs and clothes for the teenager.

When Mark had opened all the presents under the tree, Gibbs called him over to the window and handed him a box.

"Another one?" Mark asked, looking at the small package in his hands.

"Open it," Gibbs smiled softly.

The boy eagerly pulled off the lid and pulled out two keys. "I don't…" he hesitated.

"This is the house key," Gibbs explained, pointing at the red key, "and that is the car key." He motioned to the yellow one.

He had about a second to brace himself before his son crashed into him and hugged him tightly.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou," Mark repeated, staring excitedly at the pieces of metal in his hand. "My home...A key to our home," Mark choked out, buring his head into his dad's neck. Gibbs felt tears wetting his the collar of his shirt and kissed Mark's temple.

"This is my...my first home," Mark looked at Gibbs and smiled. "You gave me a home," he stared at the key in his hand once more to be sure he was not dreaming and whispered, "Not just a house, but my home."

"Yes," Gibbs nodded as Mark hugged him again. "Aren't you curious about the other key?" he asked after a moment.

"Yeah," Mark answered, fiddling with the second key over Gibbs' shoulder.

"It's a car key."

Mark pulled back and stared at his father curiously. "You know I don't know how to drive your pickup, right?"

"That's not the key to my pickup," Gibbs winked.

Mark's jaw dropped."Your Charger? Why? I don't...Wait! Ya mean that I..."

"If roads are plowed Saturday,we're all going back to Stillwater. Dad's gotta pick up a few things and hand over the store. We'll bring back the Charger," Gibbs explained and ruffled Mark's hair with his hand. "I'll teach you to drive and, after you get your driver's license, the Charger will be yours."

"I...Oh, my God!...I don't know..." Mark was completely speechless. He literally threw himself in his father's arms and hugged him tightly again. "Thank you," he whispered through tears.

Gibbs just tightened his hug around his boy.

Michael had opened so many packages that he didn't know what toy he wanted to play with first. He was so happy that he couldn't stop talking, laughing or examining all the toys, the books and the clothes he had received.

Tony was sitting on the floor next to him, wearing an expression of pure joy. This was his first Christmas with his son and he couldn't believe it was really happening. He hugged Michael from behind and whispered into his ear, "You forgot a present."

Michael's head snapped up and he started looking around until he spotted a big package wrapped in red paper next to one of the couches. "That?" he asked and Tony nodded.

The child run to his big gift but, when he tried to move it back to his dad, he discovered he couldn't. "Daddy! It's heavy!" he sighed, pulling it with all his strength.

"Open it!" Tony encouraged as he knelt next to his son.

Michael tore the paper and his "WOW!" could be heard over the chatter and laughter of the others. They all turned just in time to see Michael literally caressing his red bicycle with safety gears and horn. "Is never had a bike a'fore. Is don't know how to rides," he whispered as his eyes filled with tears.

Tony held his boy in his arms. "I'll teach you," he murmured. Michael looked at him and smiled. "We're going to enlarge the playroom so you can ride inside when it's too cold outside," he explained as his son wiped at his eyes. "When it's warm and sunny, we'll ride in our garden and at the park too. How does it sound?"

Michael didn't say anything. He just hugged his daddy's neck tightly and then covered his face in kisses.

Not far from them, Tim was helping Sean opening his present while wondering who had had the time to buy all those things the night before Christmas. The new MCRT SFA raised his eyes and met Gibbs' and then Tony's. Both men had the same look of fake innocence and the same knowing grin. "I guess, we had two Santas this year," he whispered as he kissed his son's hair.

Sean was sitting on his dad's lap and they were surrounded by clothes, books, toys and pieces of multicolored paper, but the little child only had eyes for Gibbs' wood blocks. He kept piling them up and then pushing them so they collapsed. Sean giggled and clapped his hands as he happily sucked his pacifier.

"McGee," Gibbs called from the other side of the room, just behind the piano. "There's another gift for Sean, but Santa ran out of wrapping paper so he hid it." The gunny reached behind the couch and rolled out a red tricycle with a horn.

"Sean, look!" Michael exclaimed happily. "Its your bike! We can ride toget-er!"

Sean slowly walked over to his new gift and touched it cautiously. He didn't know what it was, but everyone else seemed so happy that he was sure this new thing wasn't bad.

His dad pressed the horn and Sean startled before laughing and clapping his hands. "Mo-e!" he chirped and, with his dad's help, he squeezed the horn again and again. Michael could resist and did the same on his bike and a horn concert filled the room.

Tim's eyes were filled with happy tears when he looked at Gibbs and mouthed 'thank you'. The older man nodded and pointed down to Tony who was sitting on the floor next to Michael and Sean.

"Thanks both of you," Tim said over the noise.

"Nah! You've got to thank Santa," Tony winked as he stood up and patted Tim's shoulder. Then he turned and clapped his hands. "Okay, guys! Time to take a shower, brush our teeth... change a diaper," he ruffled Sean's hair. "And get dressed. There's a baby room to decorate and a crib and some furniture to build!"

Gibbs stared at the long list and began to assign tasks, "Abby! Ziva!"

"Yes!" they answered in unison.

"While we build the furniture, you take care of Sean and Michael. When we're through, you'll put up those Winnie The Pooh decals as you did with The Lion King ones in Michael's room."

"On it, boss!" both women saluted him.

"Ducky! Dad! You're assigned to food and beverage supply and medical assistance if someone hammers a finger," he looked at Tony and Tim. Both the young men opened their mouths to protest, but Gibbs completely ignored them and their glares. "Christmas lunch is in your hands too," he added.

"Okay, Leroy."

"My pleasure, Jethro."

"Tony! McGee! First, paint the walls. Then you can help me and Mark build." He put a arm around his son's shoulder and asked, "Are you ready to have your wood baptism?"

"Sure!" Mark was full of enthusiasm.

They headed towards the stairs when Tim, with Sean in his arms, called, "Boss!"

"Yes!" Tony and Gibbs turned.

"I don't know... I mean, I can't find the right words…what you did..."

"Today, McGee!" both men glared impatiently at him.

"Thank you so much. How did you get all these things in one night?" he asked, confused.

Michael was standing next to his dad on the first step. He looked at McGee as if he had two heads. "Santa broughts all this stuffs, Uncle Tim," he sighed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

Tony, Gibbs and Mark grinned at the child's logic.

"Oh, McScrooge," Tony shook his head in mock disapproval. "Even the four year old knows that."

"You copy?" Gibbs raised his eyebrows.

"Come on, Uncle Tim! Lots things to dos and we cant's miss grandpas delici-cious lunch," Michael mimicked Ducky's accent and started climbing the stairs followed by Tony, Gibbs, Mark, Abby and Ziva while Ducky and Jack headed to their rooms.

"Go, dada! Up!" Sean ordered, pointing to the stairs.

The team worked all the morning and, after an indeed delicious and hearty lunch, while Michael and Sean took a nap on the couches under the Grandpas' watchful guard, they completed Sean's room.

All the carpenters took a long and refreshing shower so, when the children woke up, they could play with them all the afternoon.

It was early evening and the sun had already set hours ago. It had stopped snowing but going outside was not an option.

Abby and Ziva were curled up, barefoot, on the couch next to the Christmas tree, looking at the pictures Abby had taken that day with her iPad. Both the women cooed at every Michael, Sean or Mark's photo and they had already decided to print all of them and fill the three big albums Ziva had bought for their family.

Ducky and Jackson were sitting on the couch next to Ziva and Abby's, in front of the fireplace, reminiscing about past Christmases. Every now and then, they stopped to listen to the conversations of the younger members of their family.

Michael, Mark and little Sean were sitting on the wooden floor under the tree, that was next to the fireplace, playing with the cars the younger two had received from Santa. They were having so much fun making all kinds of noises. They couldn't stop laughing and giggling while Sean had an incomprehensible talk with Michael, the only one who appeared to understand him.

Tony and Tim were leaning against the kitchen doorframe and watching everyone in the main room. They both jumped when they felt a hand on their shoulders and turned to see Gibbs standing between them.

''So?'' Gibbs questioned as he looked at the peaceful scene in front of them.

''It's perfect,'' Tony sighed and looked back at Michael.

''It's pure joy,'' Tim softly smiled as he looked at his little child crawling across the room, pushing a toy car.

''It's family... our family,'' whispered Gibbs and Tim and Tony nodded in agreement.

Together they joined their sons, surrounded by the caring looks of Jack, Ducky, Ziva and Abby.

The people they loved were finally safe and happy.

They all knew that problems would arrive but they also knew that, together, they could face anything, because they were a family and the love that joined them could overcome anything.

Kind words and laughter could be heard in the living room while, outside, the snow silently fell, covering everything with a soft white blanket.

The End.

I want to thank all of you for supporting this fic and sticking with me even when it took awhile for me to update.

I hope you loved reading this story as much as I loved writing it.

Grazie :-)

Lemon Curd Recipe:

http:slashslashwwwdotbbcdotcodotuk/food/recipes/lemon_curd_68499