Christmas!

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Christmas wasn't exactly Caroline's favorite holiday in the world. She didn't like the consumerism, the 'need' to get that one particular present and yet she found herself really looking forward to this year. She'd been working extra shifts and odd hours in order to save up the money that she needed to really make this a memorable holiday for her lovely little family. It wasn't like she didn't always show her appreciation to her boyfriend and daughter but this was just one of those days where she could be extra sweet without anyone thinking anything of it. She didn't always get to spoil her boyfriend with fancy Hello Kitty plush toys from build a bear or buy Camila that cool Barbie dream house that she saw on television. Teen motherhood wasn't nearly as easy as Esme Russel or Kirsten Beckatt seemed to make it out to be but she wouldn't change her life even if she was promised the same exact daughter.

Getting pregnant at thirteen wasn't exactly planned well on her part but it'd made her life the way that it was. Aubrey's little attempt at gender role reversal may have seemed like a stupid irresponsible choice but it really just made her happier than she thought possible. Sure she didn't have an iPhone or a cool new laptop like her classmates but she had a pretty darn precious daughter to make up for it. How many people that she went to school with could say that they woke up every morning next to the love of their life and got to make a delicious breakfast for their beautiful child? Okay so quite a few actually but that was totally not the point. "Cami.. Come on, pumpkin. Let's go wake daddy up." She was surprised that her little tiny human wasn't already awake as she lifted her up and carried her into her and Aubrey's bedroom. She had his breakfast sitting on a tray on his nightstand for easy access.

She set Camila down on the bed and gently stroked the side of Aubrey's face, "Come on, honey.. It's Christmas morning." How could he resist the wonderful Hello Kitty breakfast that she'd cooked? Sort of.. The donut was special ordered from the little bakery across the street so there was another dozen in the kitchen but still.

[Aubrey Sawyer]

Christmas day was one of Aubrey's favorite holidays. After every single holiday there ever was on a calendar. He celebrated life, in a way. By celebrating, it meant that he cherished every day that God gave him. Especially now that he was the father of a four year old. Camila was the light of his life, despite that his life was pretty lit up. As a matter of fact, she was the sun. That burning, bright star in the sky that reflected rays of sunshine and added a beautiful hue to the flowers and trees, that which made the water sparkle. He was planning on spending the whole day with his family. Yesterday, Aubrey had been planning on waking up early, super early to surprise Caroline and Camila. However, he had come so late from work that he only had time to eat the cookies Cami had left "Santa" and drink the milk before getting a well deserved rest.

Aubrey planned ahead when it came to gifts. He was dropping hints to Caroline but seeing her rather, broken phone, he got an idea of what she needed. Hopefully she didn't notice the coy grin on his face when he had this sudden realization. Being a happy camper and not to mention an obedient employee, Aubrey won more than most folks at his job at the pet food store but not exactly a whole fortune. He went to the electronics store to take a look at some phones. Most were the latest models and he only wanted the best for Caroline, but which one? This one! he exclaimed as he pointed to the white iPhone sitting there in display in all it's glory. As for Camila, well, he and Caroline had gone to several shops to look for something for their sun. Last night, in the wee house of the night, Aubrey "coyly" dropped the wrapped gift under their Christmas tree.

The light coming from the window did not wake Aubrey up, he laid there asleep peacefully. He turned slightly, touching Caroline's side and not feeling her there. He awakened slightly but opened his eyes slowly when he felt Caroline's touch. Aubrey blinked a quickly a couple of times, his face was half covered by the soft sheets. He smiled lazily as he looked up at both Caroline and Camila. "Good morning angels!" he chimed, still a little drowsy. "It's... Christmas." he said almost in a whisper as if it was a delightful shock. He then looked to the breakfast before him, "Aw, that is so cute." he smiled endearingly at Caroline before sparking up more and saying, "I love you, merry Christmas!" he hugged her tightly before releasing her and then reaching out to lift Camila up and sit her on his lap, "Have you guys seen under the tree!? Don't you wanna see what Santa got you, Cami?!" he asked her, as if he was also in suspense.

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"Yeah, come on! I think Camila is going to pee herself with excitement if we don't hurry up and go take a look at those presents." Caroline tried to cheer a little enthusiastically; she might have sounded just a little too excited about the holiday season and opening all the presents considering that she didn't even appreciate Christmas as a holiday. "Go on, pumpkin and pick out what you wanna open first. I'm going to be right out there." She pecked her daughter on the forehead before the little girl went off into the living room to give her parents a little time to talk which was really all Caroline wanted to do. She wasn't going to try and pull a Esme and sneak in a Christmas quickie. "I love you, honey bunches." She purred as she pressed her lips to his forehead and ran her fingers gently along the side of his face. How did he ever get so beautiful? His whole family was just full of these incredibly gorgeous kind people and she marveled every single day over how lucky that she was to be a part of them. "And I really hope that you enjoy your present." She knew that he would, there wasn't a single doubt in her mind that he was going to gush over those presents as soon as he unwrapped them because that's just who he was.

He was sunshine while she was a rainstorm, he was the stars and she was the moon. They couldn't be apart even when they were separated - it'd always been him. She'd always turned to him for the support, love and comfort that she craved even during relationships with other people. This might not have been the expected outcome from their relationship but it was definitely one that she wouldn't trade for all the money or fancy electronics in the world. She kissed her boyfriend one last time on those soft lips of his before turning on her heel and heading into the living room with an eager grin plastered on her face. The tree really did look beautiful, all pink and sparkly and Hello Kitty-ed out. Her friends believed that she'd done this because she was a loving dedicated mother who didn't care about the appearance of her tree but it was really more because she enjoyed it after having grown up with the plain old boring gold and sliver decorations.

"What do you say that we let daddy open his present first?" She figured that their daughter still needed to eat breakfast and the idea of chocolate donut frosting getting all over the gifts and carpet seemed like too much of a hassle especially with a dog like Pineapple around who would gladly clean up the mess despite it being deadly to her. "Baby! Come here, I want you to open this." She just could not contain her excitement as she handed him the cute wrapped box. She'd even gone all out and used special Hello Kitty wrapping paper and done a cute bow with sparkly glitter ribbon. It was totally worth it though or at least she hoped that it would be totally worth it.