Author's Note: okay this is the final chapter of this part, but I shouldn't be too long with the first chapter of the next part of this story... I've always wanted to do a four part story and it looks like I finally am!

Thank you to all my readers and reviewers who have been following this story since day one- I really appreciate your feedback and reviews and I hope that you will continue when I do the next part... you all rock!

The Princess Diaries doesn't belong to me!

The weather continued to deteriorate in the days leading up to Christmas and, on the day before Christmas Eve, the palace occupants awoke to discover a light sprinkling of snow descending from the heavy clouds enveloping the atmosphere, a sprinkling that got progressively heavier as the day wore on, eventually developing into a mild storm by that evening, much to the fascination of Pierre and Phillipe.

"Will we be able to go outside to play tomorrow?" Pierre asked as he stood next to the nursery window and looked outside, the thickening layer of snow on the ground illuminated by the outdoor lights of the palace.

"If it isn't too stormy and cold... we'll have to see," Clarisse promised as she sat on the edge of his bed and held out his small red pyjamas. "Now, sweetheart, it's time for bed."

"Yes Mama," he said obediently, walking over and reaching for his pyjamas as, from the bathroom (where Phillipe was having his bath) came a loud "NO!" and out raced Phillipe, clad only in his underwear, his nanny in hot pursuit.

"Mama!" he wailed, running over to bury his face in her lap. "I don't wanna go to bed!"

"Unfortunately, Phillipe, you have to," she said briskly, accepting his pyjamas from the nanny and pulling him away from her legs. "It's time for both you and your brother to go to bed."

"No, no, no!" he whined, struggling against her surprisingly firm grip, trying to pull away, but Clarisse remained firm, slipping his shirt over his head and downwards, almost forcing his arms through the sleeves.

Before she got his pants on, however, he wiggled out of her arms and began fleeing across the room towards the door, determined to make his escape, and was almost there when he suddenly collided with something solid and he found himself being lifted into the air and carried back in the direction he just left.

"Time for bed, Flip," someone said simply as he was set down in front of his mother and Phillipe looked up to see his father join his mother on Pierre's bed.

"Nooooo!" he wailed, collapsing on the floor, sobbing hard but not yelling as his parents exchanged a glance- it wasn't a tantrum but it was getting close, as he was clearly overtired, before Je softened and sat down on the floor beside his younger son.

"Come on, P, it's alright... you need your sleep- and you too Bear..." he included his older son with a warm look. "... because tomorrow I'll be taking you two outside- that is, if the weather is alright- and we'll build snowmen!"

"A snowman!" Pierre bounced excitedly on his mattress next to Clarisse, almost falling into her lap with excitement.

"A snowman?" Phillipe looked quizzically at his father as he crawled into his lap, allowing him to put his pyjama bottoms on him.

"Yes, it's lots of fun, Flip, and we'll have fun... oh, and do you know what tomorrow is?"

"What?" both boys asked as Clarisse smiled- he was such a good father...

"Tomorrow is Christmas Eve... only one more day and then Santa visits!" Joseph said triumphantly, grinning as both Phillipe and Pierre's faces lit up- they knew who Santa was, Henrik had been talking him up in the last coupe of days, and they knew they would be getting gifts on a special day... and he suspected that they would have even more trouble putting their two year old (and even their four year old) to bed the following night- but it was worth it.

"However, this isn't going to happen if you aren't a good boy and go to bed when your mother tells you to... so, are you ready to go to bed?" he inquired, looking at Phillipe earnestly, and was pleased when the little boy silently, willingly climbed into his bed and gazed expectantly over at his parents.

"Can we have our story... please?" he asked politely and Clarisse chuckled as Pierre, now in his bed, snuggled up to her, Phillipe doing the same when Joseph joined him.

"Of course, Flip... you can't miss out on your story..." she trailed off, feeling a warm glow inside as she felt the heavy weight of Pierre leaning against her, Phillipe happily sitting next to his father, both of them amazingly alike, and knowing the twins were next door... this was what life was really about... and when their eyes met, she knew Joseph was feeling the same way, before a gentle tug on her arm informed her that the boys were waiting for her to start reading... it was family time, a time of the day that neither she nor Joseph wanted to miss.

"You certainly know how to handle P's tantrums," she said admiringly when they left the lit nursery and, after pausing to look in on the girls, made their way back to their suite.

"I suppose it helps that he's physically a mini me, so I assume that he would be like me emotionally as well," he quipped as, his hand on the small of her back, he guided her into the living room of their suite. "However, you were handling it very well yourself until he unfortunately crashed into my legs," he added encouragingly, meaning every word- she had been handling his bad behaviour very well.

"But you can still handle his tantrums far better than I," she said warmly as she sank down on the bed and stretched out across it languidly. "You will definitely be handling the boys when they're teenagers!" she teased as he joined her on the bed, chuckling softly at his wife's words- he couldn't imagine their two little sons as teens but, then again, he couldn't have imagined, seven years ago, that he would have a wife and children.

"Well, YOU can handle the girls when THEY'RE teenagers... as I suspect that I will virtually be a marshmallow with them- I am now and they're not even three months old!"

"At least they know (and will know) that their father loves them and will protect them... it's their first Christmas, you know."

"I know..." he said vaguely before rolling onto his side to look at his wife. "It's a little strange to think that this time last year, we weren't expecting (although planning on it, but not completely expecting it)... and Rupert was still alive."

"Mmm... I know," Clarisse murmured sympathetically- the anniversary of Rupert and Isabel's deaths was fast approaching, something she (and Joseph, she was sure) still wished hadn't happened (she missed Isabel badly) and she knew that the date at the end of February would be a hard day for both Joseph and his parents... life had certainly thrown them a curve ball, but she also knew that Joseph and she could overcome this.

"My pregnancy with the girls certainly came an inopportune moment..." she added pensively, feeling slightly guilty before she realized Joseph was almost on top of her, gazing down at her with a determined expression.

"Don't ever regret having our twins when we had them... I know you feel that you weren't as helpful as you could have been in the past nine months but, to me, you were incredible- handling being Queen and a multiple pregnancy at the same time... I don't think I could have done that," he said admiringly, wanting Clarisse to know he appreciated everything she had done in the past year- as per usual, she had been his strength, his backbone...

"And I certainly know that I needed my wife!" he added fervently. "But I will NEVER regret how things have turned out for us- we're still together," before he ended the conversation by kissing her firmly on the lips. "Our baby twins are necessary additions to our family, and I'm glad we had them when we did..." he added before, this time, it was Clarisse's turn to end the conversation by pulling him down to kiss her again.

0

The next morning, Christmas Eve began early when Phillipe and Pierre leapt onto the king sized mattress early in the morning, Clarisse having only just returned from the nursery and the twins, informing their parents that there was even more snow on the palace grounds, but they (in their opinion) would be able to go outside to make snowmen... and so, after breakfast, Joseph, as promised, took the boys out to play for some of the day and they managed to build a small snowman on the grounds before Phillipe, in his excitement, jumped on it, destroying it.

"But it was fun!" Phillipe protested as Pierre burst into tears at the destruction of their snowman and Joseph, while stifling a smile as he again saw how much the boy was like him, had to carefully weigh his word- not wanting to crush Phillipe but also defend a hurt Pierre.

"It may have been fun, Flip, but I don't know whether P had finished decorating it," he said mildly as he collected his coat, hat and scarf from the snow. "But we will be able to make another one."

"Really?"Pierre's face lit up as he stopped crying.

"Really, Bear," he tapped his nose affectionately as they slowly walked back towards the palace. "And Flip will NOT jump on it," he glanced casually at the red faced boy following behind, before adding "I'LL make one for him to destroy!" and Phillipe grinned broadly at him, pleased that his father wasn't mad.

Clarisse, unwilling to expose herself, Claire or Grace to the cold, had opted to stay inside, but was waiting in the main foyer when the three men in her life returned, laughing as her sons barrelled into her, almost knocking her over (much to Joseph's horror) but she didn't mind as she bent down to hug her boys.

"What have you three been doing outside?" she inquired as, the two boys swinging off her hands and Joseph following behind, they walked towards the living room to meet Henrik and Alexandra for lunch.

"Making snowmen," Phillipe said gleefully. "And we'll be making more this afternoon!"

"Until it gets too cold to be outside," Joseph added hastily when Clarisse looked at him questioningly. "We wouldn't want you guys to get sick on Christmas Eve!"

"We can't get sick when Santa comes," Pierre said earnestly as Phillipe nodded eagerly, chiming in with: "Santa's coming! Santa's coming!"

"Okay guys, we know that he's coming tonight," Joseph stepped in as they stood in the doorway of the dining room. "But he won't be coming UNTIL tonight, so you need to settle down," he looked at them kindly and the boys nodded meekly before the four of them stepped into the dining room.

0

As Joe had expected, by the time bedtime rolled around, both boys were too wound up to go to bed when they were told to, but since it was Christmas Eve and they were both excited, their parents decided to relax their rule a little bit.

"After all, it's Christmas only once a year... and it's the first year where we have children old enough to enjoy it AND we can enjoy it with them," Joe said casually as they sat in the boys nursery and watched their sons tear around the room, pleased that they were allowed to stay up later than normal.

"Yes, that is nice to realize that tour Christmases are even more special now that our children are old enough to participate in and enjoy Christmas... I can only imagine what it's going to be like when Claire and Grace are old enough to join in," she chuckled, her laugh growing louder as she viewed his expression change from awe to one of mild consternation. "I'm sure it won't be that bad, darling!"

"I don't know...Rupert and I were terrors with present opening when we were little...or, rather, I was and I'm already dreading Phillipe and Pierre when they're old enough... kidding, just kidding!" he said hastily as his wife arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm very much looking forward to having all our children old enough to enjoy Christmas!"

The boys finally collapsed into bed, a little earlier than Joseph had expected and, after Clarisse checked on the twins, they retired to their suite to finish wrapping gifts- while someone else had done their shopping for them, Clarisse insisted on wrapping them, Joseph willingly helping out.

"So, how is your surprise for the boys?" she inquired after wrapping the final gift for her father in law. She wasn't completely certain of what Joseph had bought the boys, but she suspected (and hoped) that he had bought a puppy for the boys.

He grinned at her, knowing that she was finishing for clues, but he was so excited about this surprise, he wanted to let Clarisse in on it.

"She's fine... one of the security boys are looking after her, walking her and training her..."

"She?"

"I got the boys a tan coloured cocker spaniel... from a reputable breeder, of course, and the dog breed is very family friendly..."

He was going to continue rambling, wanting to convince Clarisse that the puppy would be good for the boys, before he found her leaning over and resting a finger on his lips, a broad, tender smile gracing her features.

"It's fine, my darling, I'm sure you did extensive research when choosing a suitable dog for the boys and I'm sure the puppy will be good for the boys."

"Did you want to meet her?" he looked eagerly, almost childlike, at her and she smiled.

"No, I'm sure she needs her rest, and I'm more than happy to meet her with the boys tomorrow..." she paused, smiling impishly as she moved closer to him, Joseph wrapping an arm around her. "You really are a sweetheart, my darling husband... and you are certainly a pushover with your children..."

"At the moment... that may change when they get older!" he joked almost gruffly before Clarisse turned his face so that he was looking at her, and kissed him.

"We should get some sleep... tomorrow is going to be a big day for all of us!" she chuckled as he groaned, but knowing that he was looking forward to it.

000

The bedroom was still dark early the following morning, both of them still in bed (the girls still asleep in their suite) and their staff had the morning off, when they were awoken by two heavy lumps landing on them, shouting, almost in unison:

"It's Christmas! It's Christmas! Santa Came! Santa Came!"

"Alright, alright, alright, we're awake!" Joe almost shouted as he struggled to sit up and tun on a light- obviously Phillipe was sitting on his legs- as Clarisse did the same, and they both laughed when they discovered the boys sitting gleefully in the middle of the bed, still bouncing and chanting, something that quickly stopped as Phillipe bounced into Joseph's waiting arms while Pierre flung himself into Clarisse's, and their parents enfolded them in their arms, softly murmuring "Merry Christmas" into their ears before their sons swapped parents.

"Can we have presents now?" Phillipe asked eagerly as he happily lay across Clarisse's lap, chuckling as she ran a hand through his dark hair- he was SO much like his father...

"No, you know we have to wait until a little later... and I'm sure Grandpa and Grandma would like to see what you two got from Santa!"

"Oh..." both boys pouted momentarily before Joseph grinned.

"It's far too early for anyone to be awake... why don't you join us..." he paused briefly as he met Clarisse's eyes and, after receiving her nod of approval, continued: "... here..."

"Really?" Phillipe's face lit up as he rolled onto the mattress next to his mother and Pierre, sitting happily beside Joseph, looking up curiously.

"Really." Joseph affirmed, his heart swelling at the sight of two of their four children happily snuggled up with their parents before, almost simultaneously, the boys playfully fought their way under the covers, tangling the sheets up even more as they did so, and the sound of a baby's wail came over the recently installed intercom and Clarisse smiled apologetically as she slipped out of bed and reached for her robe.

"I['m sorry, I'll be back as soon as I can..."

"We'll be fine," his eyes glowed warmly at her. "In fact, P and Flip," he grinned down at his sons. "Will be trying to get back to sleep now and, hopefully, they will be when you return," He added as, after a quick glance at his watch, he discovered it was just after six in the morning... a discovery that made him stifle a groan, although he was enjoying the moment.

"You'll be lucky," Clarisse murmured as she leaned over to kiss him lightly (they had yet to share a proper "Merry Christmas' embrace, but they had enjoyed the boys bursting in on them) before looking down to see the boys wriggling, almost fighting with each other, next to him.

"I'll try to be back as soon as I can..."

0

Several hours later, the weak sunlight streaming through the suite windows, the clouds building up for another snow storm later that afternoon, it was definitely obvious that it was Christmas, judging by the slowly growing pile of discarded wrapping paper in the corner of the room, most of it torn by the boys in their eagerness to get to the presents underneath, Henrik unable to resist commenting with a chortle:

"Those two boys are definitely like you Joe!" as Phillipe, having ripped the paper off another present, squealed with glee and threw the paper aside as he opened the box to revel another toy- they had been thoroughly spoiled by their parents, grandparents and friends. Clarisse blushed slightly at her son's behaviour, but Joseph only chuckled openly, knowing his parents adored their grandsons and enjoyed spoiling them, as they would with their granddaughters.

"Well, they had to possess some negative attributes, and sadly, this is one from me!"

"It's adorable at their age... just not later on!" Henrik teased and the four adults laughed, the boys too involved in their gifts and the twins sleeping in their cribs in the bedroom (Clarisse hadn't wanted the girls to be alone on Christmas) before Joseph met Clarisse's eyes and, realizing what he wanted to do, nodded briefly and he quietly slipped out of the room, unnoticed by his excited sons, who were still comparing their gifts before, seconds later, Pierre noticed his disappearance.

"Where's Papa?" he asked, clutching his new ball and looking around for his hero, but before Clarisse could respond, one of the suite doors opened slightly and Joseph peeked in, piquing Phillipe and Pierre's interest immediately.

""I found something else Santa left behind for you two... did you want to see what he left?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" both boys shouted, running towards him before Joseph put a finger to his lips to silence them and signalled that they should sit next to their mother, which they did, before he finally re-entered the room with a cardboard box in his arms, decorated with a red ribbon.

"What is it, Papa?" Pierre asked, sitting on the edge of the soft as Phillipe wriggled excitedly on Clarisse's other side as Joseph knelt down in front of them and gently set the box down on the ground.

"Well, a little bird told me about your request for a pet," he looked at Pierre gently. "So I thought I would pass the message on to Santa... and it seems that he may have granted your wish..." he trailed off as he opened one side of the box lid and out popped the tiny, tan head of a cocker spaniel, who yipped at the sight of everyone looking at her.

"DADDY!" Pierre cried happily, flinging himself down on the floor next to him and the box, laughing out loud as the puppy, eager to escape her box and receive the attention, began scrabbling her front paws on the edge of the box, whining, before Joseph lifted her out and sat her down on the floor, both boys now on the ground, watching closely as the tiny puppy sniffed around cautiously, her tail wagging timidly.

"What is it, Daddy?" Pierre asked curiously as the puppy moved slowly towards him.

"She's a girl... and while I know you're both excited at the moment, you will have to look after her... Nick (one of the boys personal bodyguards) or I will train her, but you two will have to do your part as well..."

"It's both of ours?" Phillipe asked as the dog wandered over to sniff Clarisse's shoes and, as tenderly as she held her own children, she lifted the tiny puppy onto her lap where, after trembling for a few minutes, the puppy lay down on her lap.

"She likes you, Mama!" Pierre cried as he moved to sit next to her again, and Clarisse smiled as she gently stroked the puppy, the animal trembling slightly before relaxing under her touch. "May I pat her too?" he asked and Clarisse nodded.

"Yes, but be gentle- she's only very small and she's still a little scared of everything..." she warned but Pierre, sensitive soul that he was, moved his hand slowly towards the dog, before resting it on the small body carefully, beaming proudly as the dog didn't move.

"She likes it... look, her tail is wagging!" he said proudly as he moved his hand up and down her tiny body, the dog relaxing slightly before Phillipe, even more excited than his older brother, almost flung himself onto Clarisse's knees, wanting to pat the dog and the poor little thing jumped off her lap in fright, landing on the floor and cowering behind her box.

"What did I do?" Phillipe asked as Pierre glared at him and Joseph gently cradled the puppy in his arms again.

"She's only little, P, and you may have scared her a little...but here, if you want to pat her, come here..." he encouraged and Phillipe timidly joined him on the floor and held out a hand to the puppy, giggling as her tiny nose sniffed it and licked it with her tiny tongue.

"She likes me too!"

"Of course she does, son, it's just that you startled her a little... Now, what are you two planning on calling her?" he looked at both boys as Pierre joined them on the floor and both boys frowned in concentration.

"Tim?" Phillipe said after a moment.

"Sam?" Pierre suggested and Joseph chuckled.

"Guys, you're suggesting boys names- you have a little girl dog here... how about a girl's name?"

"Like what?" Phillipe looked confused.

"Jessie," Henrik suggested after a moment.

"Chloe," Alexandra added with a smile.

"Shelly," Clarisse added, wanting to contribute.

"What about... Grace?" Phillipe said helpfully, shying away slightly as his father glared at him.

"You are not naming your dog after your sister, Phillipe..."

"I like Shelley," Pierre said after a moment's concentration, looking at the puppy thoughtfully. "How do we know if she'll like it too?"

"We'll try a little trick..." Joseph said as he sat the puppy on the floor and she raced away to hide under the sofa. "Shelley... Shelley?" he called in a soft voice, almost lying on the floor and hoping that it would work, grinning broadly when the small puppy looked at him.

"Come here, Shelley," he said encouragingly, sitting up and holding out his hand...and there was a small pause before the dog began walking slowly towards the voice, her tail wagging slightly.

"Shelley it is," Joseph said when the puppy sat down in front of him, gazing up at him, her tail wagging slightly, relaxing slightly in the presence of her new family.

0

Despite the bittersweet feeling that Rupert and Isabel should have been there to share in the family Christmas, the rest of the day seemed to fly by as the boys played with their new puppy, Shelley gradually coming out of her shell as the boys played gently with her, and it was two exhausted boys who went to bed early and a worn out puppy that retired back downstairs to where she would be sleeping until she was trained properly.

"It looks like your present was a massive success," Clarisse said admiringly as they relaxed in front of the fire, the day almost over but they weren't quite ready to retire yet, even though his parents, their boys, the puppy and the twins were all in bed. "I think Pierre was almost crying when he saw her for the first time!"

"I think he was too... he was just so excited...I think Shelley will be good for them- if they don't get too over excited and rumbustious with her for the next few months."

"That's what you and Nick will be there for, to make sure that they treat her properly and look after her... I am glad that you vetoed them taking her outside for her first walk this afternoon!"

"It would have killed the poor little thing- she's not quite two months old yet..."

"She's almost the same age as the twins," Clarisse commented dreamily as she rested her head against his shoulder and gazed into the fire.

"True... so we'll be raising twin girls and a girl puppy at almost the same time..."" he laughed before trailing off to gaze into the fire, happy to be alone with Clarisse for a little while. "You know, aside from the Christmas we were newly engaged, our wedding only weeks away, this has been one of the best Christmases of my life... not that my childhood Christmases weren't fun..."

"Oh... and what about our first Christmases as a newly married couple and parents?" she teased as she turned to look at him and he laughed.

"Alright, the past six years have been the happiest in my life, but today..."

"I know, today was even more special with the boys being old enough to understand and appreciate Christmas, and the puppy... "

"I just wish Rupert had been here to enjoy this... and, hopefully, he and Iz would have had at least one child..." he whispered sadly and she felt a gush of sympathy for him as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed tightly.

"I know, Joseph, I know... and he should have been here, but we can't change the past, no matter what..."

"It certainly has been a year we'll never forget," he said after a few minutes silence. "It hasn't been a dull journey either way... and the arrival of Claire and Grace was the best part of the year."

"It was," she said softly, the past twelve months had literally flown by but it hadn't been the easiest year of their marriage... first Rupert's death and Joseph's succession to the throne, her pregnancy and the birth of their twins, the first royal tour, parliament's continual upheaval, the boys...her mother's reappearance in her life...and closure... and the minor problems in their marriage...

"However, we're still together and that is something... this year could have broken us up, but it hasn't," he said reflectively, almost reading her mind, and she nodded.

"True- it's a sign that our relationship is far stronger than we probably thought... but we're going to have to make sure we have time for each other to make sure we don't run into problems again..."

"I am sure we will be able to do that... you are the most important person in my life, Clarisse, and I don't ever want to lose you."

"You won't lose me," she pulled away again to look at him seriously. "I love you, and I know you love me... the past six years have been the happiest of my life and I never want to forget that it was YOU who did all this, gave us children, love and happiness..."

"I love you," he said softly, pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her. "I always have and I always will... with you at my side, I know I can tackle anything."

"I feel the same way..." she trailed off as he kissed her passionately.

"So, bring on another year?" he joked when they finally broke apart and she laughed.

"Yes... hopefully next year will be a lot smoother than this year..." before she stood up and held out a hand to him.

"However, it is still Christmas of this year and we have a few more hours of the day to go... I know we didn't have a proper Merry Christmas embrace this morning... but surely we could make up for it now?" she asked in a teasing voice, her expression seductive, and he laughed as he stood up next to her and, suddenly, scooped her up into his arms.

"I think that we could do that now... Merry Christmas, my love."

"Merry Christmas, my darling," she murmured back before he kissed her and then strode into the bedroom, confident that the next year would be much easier than this...