Serena sits at the head of the table, Bernie to her right and Jason to her left. Charlotte takes the seat next to her mother and smiles shyly at her as she unfolds the festive napkin on to her lap. Watching, Cam grins for the umpteenth time that day and sits next to Jason, thinking about reviving their discussion of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver [lazy deus ex machina, says Cam; highly advanced technology isn't lazy, says Jason] but diving in to the bowl of perfectly roasted potatoes instead. Eventually Elinor comes down and takes the remaining seat, scowling at Bernie's hand on Serena's until Bernie moves it away and Serena smiles a sorry. Let's just get through lunch.

"So, Elinor, Mum says you're studying French? Er, joyeux, um, Noël?" Cameron Dunn: still terrible at ice breakers, but still trying, bless him. Serena smiles and tries to catch her daughter's eye. Play nice.

"Wow, languages weren't your thing then," Elinor quips, smiling to herself before realising that everyone at the table is looking at her, mouths slightly open. Except for Jason, who nods in agreement at his cousin's perfectly fair assessment and eats another forkful of goose.

"Joking, obviously. Yes, I'm doing French. But I'm working on some film projects, that's really my thing." Elinor is still only pushing her food around the plate rather than eating it, but her enthusiasm on this topic relieves some of the tension around the table and Cam gamely asks more questions.

Bernie desperately wants to strike up a conversation with Charlotte, but between worrying she'll ask the wrong thing ('What's your father doing today?' wouldn't be the best of starts, she realises) and fearing that her voice at the table might set Elinor off again, she ends up just looking at Charlotte between every mouthful, lips soundlessly half-formed around a word before creasing in to a smile.

"I take it you weren't left in charge of the food, Mum," Charlotte whispers, leaning forwards conspiratorially. Bernie can't help but laugh, though it does, as she feared it would, silence the rest of the table. "No, I can claim almost no credit," Bernie says, turning from Charlotte to Serena. "Serena is a wonderful cook. It's washing up duties for me." She and Serena smile at one another, their eyes locking.

A fraction too long for Elinor, who makes a vomiting sound and throws her cutlery onto her plate. "God, is this what it's like around here now, Jason? How do you put up with it?" She's trying to leave herself room to claim this, too, is a joke, but there's a tightness in her mouth that ensures she sounds as cruel as she means to be.

Jason looks up from his plate nonplussed. "Bernie and Auntie Serena love each other," he says, simply. "I don't really have to put up with anything, except sometimes they cuddle on the sofa-" Cam and Charlotte shift uncomfortably in their seats, taking a sudden and dramatic interest in the tablecloth, while Elinor shoots a furious look at the pair's mother, who is – is she? She is! She's smiling at Jason, a flush across her cheeks. God!

"You don't have to explain anything, Jason," Serena cuts in without taking her eyes off Elinor, who returns her glare with interest. "Elinor knows perfectly well what a relationship entails, and if she can't cope with loving looks or a cuddle then perhaps she's not quite so grown up as she thinks she is." Neither mother nor daughter looks away, though Elinor winces a little at the slight. "Could you pass me the gravy, Charlotte? Shall I make more?"

Serena insists that they all stay together in the living room in the afternoon, and though Elinor disappears again for a short while, she does eventually join them. There are going to be presents, after all. Mostly small tokens of affection, though Serena had asked the chap in Waterstones which books would be best for a budding filmmaker and she and Bernie had taken a long time over choosing from his recommendations. They'd decided to buy all of their presents together irrespective of how well each knew the other's offspring, starting as they meant to go on. "I'm not sure I'm the best person to buy for my kids, for goodness' sake," Bernie had said as they'd trudged around town, Serena simply squeezing her arm in reply.

Cam's present for Jason (Charlotte's name is also on the tag, but it's clear who did the shopping) is Doctor Who Monopoly, a game the six of them start about an hour before it's just Cam, Bernie and Jason at the table. Elinor is first to drift away, complaining that everyone (Bernie) is too competitive; she slumps in front of the telly, flicking through the channels and picking lazily at a box of chocolates. Charlotte breaks next, complaining that everyone (Cam and Bernie) is ganging up on her. She goes and sits on the sofa, trying to make conversation with Elinor about Harry Potter (which, though she wants to sniff about it, Ellie has always loved and is slightly jealous of the Ravenclaw scarf her mother and, and, urgh and Bernie bought her as a little extra, even though they both know that Charlie will almost certainly never wear it).

Soon Serena decides it's time for coffee.

"Irish?" Bernie whispers over her shoulder, having made an excuse to join Serena in the kitchen.

"Is it that obvious I need it?" Serena says, relaxing into Bernie's arms as they meet around her middle.

"It's OK," Bernie says, in to the hair somewhere above Serena's right ear. "It's going to take her some time, we can't say we weren't prepared for that. Just because you think I'm better looking than her father…" The pair of them chuckle, enjoying being close again after staying carefully out of range since lunch.

"Don't let me interrupt you," Elinor spits, grabbing a glass from the counter and filling it at the tap. Bernie leaps away from Serena and busies herself with fetching milk from the fridge. "Ellie…" Serena says, drawing out the last syllable in to a plea. "Can't you at least try to be happy for me?" She looks at Bernie, who is focusing very hard on her fringe. "For us?"

"Oh I'm ecstatic" - every consonant rattles angrily around Elinor's mouth - "for you, mother." She pulls a smile that is a cast-iron secret from her eyes. "Doesn't mean I want a front row seat." Every stair thuds under her step before they hear a door slam shut upstairs.

"Maybe I should take Cam and Charlotte back to mine," Bernie says, still nervously thumbing the carton of milk.

"No, no, absolutely not. She's behaving like a spoilt brat, and whatever else I got wrong, I raised her to know that that sort of behaviour gets you nowhere. Not with me, anyway," Serena takes the milk and finishes the coffees. "Besides, I haven't had my Christmas present from you, yet," she says, lowering her voice.

"Oh, you think you're getting one, do you?" Bernie teases.

"And a present," says Serena, picking up the tray to leave Bernie thinking cold-shower thoughts in the kitchen.