After a lot of discussion, a long flight, seven cranky kids, lots of tears shed, we had arrived in Ohio for Christmas. I sighed as I started my rented van and glanced back at the sleeping forms of Scottie, Zara and Harry. Celine and the twins opted to ride with Josh and Olivia was already asleep on his shoulder. Harry had slept most of the flight and was wide awake from landing until I strapped him into the car seat. I pulled out of the parking space and drove carefully over the slush covered lot to the highway, glancing in my rear view mirror to see Josh right behind me.

The drive our of town was a slow one.  They had just gotten a fresh layer of snow by the looks of it, and while the plows were out, the highways were still very slushy. I switched the radio on low, smiling as I found myself tuning it to my favorite station from growing up.

We eventually got to my mother's house. I left the car running as I pulled my keys out of my pocket and went up to the front door and unlocked it. I returned to the van, quietly waking up Scottie and Zara while unbuckling Harry. Josh was heading up with Olivia, Celine and the twins shuffling along behind him. I prodded my two and carried Harry in, meeting Josh in the living room.

"Where are we putting them?" he asked quietly. The older five were quickly chucking off all their winter gear everywhere and yawning.

"Put them in my old room. We can take the smaller one," I quietly replied as I started removing Harry's coat. I placed the sleeping toddler on the couch, removed his shoes and covered him with the coat I just removed.

"I'm going to go get the luggage. More snow on the way," I told Josh, who nodded as I slipped back out the front door.

By the time I unloaded the luggage and got it up to the house, most of the kids were tucked into the beds that were in my old room and Josh was hanging up assorted coats in the closet. Harry was still sleeping on the couch.

"The girls are in the smaller bedroom," he told me as I stomped my feet and took off my coat. He took it from me and hung it up.

"Thanks. There's blankets in the hall closet. Very last door. We can sleep in the living room tonight," He nodded and tiptoed down the hall. I made sure the door was locked, giving myself a quick reprieve. Welcome home, Sam.

Josh returned with the blankets. I took the one he offered me, giving him a grateful smile.

"I call dibs on the chair."

"You can take the couch," Josh offered.

"Nah, I know the secrets of sleeping in that chair. I've spent a lot of time dozing in it. Besides, we wouldn't want you to get a stiff back, old man," I teased gently.

"Alright," Josh yawned and started moving things around on the couch. I settled into the recliner, getting comfortable with Harry in my lap before covering us both with the blanket.

I was awoken by a poke in my eye.

"Ow!" I brought my hand up and rubbed my eye. Giggles erupted from my lap.

"Harry, it's not nice to poke Mommy in the eye," I said, opening them to see him giggling away on my lap.

"Mommy no sleep."

"Nope, you woke me up," I stretched and looked over towards the window above the couch. Harry followed my gaze.

"Daddy sleep."

"Yeah, we'll have to be really quiet," I whispered, putting my finger to my lips.

"Yeah. Shhh." Harry answered. I took a deep breath and smelled something baking.

"I think Grandma's up. Shall we go see?" Harry nodded. I hefted him off my lap and got up, tossing the blanket onto Josh. I took a moment to stretch before picking Harry back up and heading for the kitchen.

Mom was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper and sipping coffee.

"Hi Mom," I said. She looked up at me.

"Good morning, Sam. Sleep okay?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Been a while since I slept in that chair though."

"That's good," she said before nodding at Harry. "He's getting big."

"They tend to do that, don't they?" I handed him over to her and went to the cabinets, getting out a bowl and some cereal for Harry.

"I've got cinnamon rolls in the oven," Mom said as she watched me.

"I know, I can smell them," I placed the dry cereal in front of Harry and handed him a spoon. At sixteen months old, he wasn't anywhere near mastering the use of utensils, but he loved to try and use them like his older siblings. I fixed myself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table across from Mom and Harry.

The timer went off at about the same time Zara and Olivia joined us. I got the rolls out of the oven and started frosting them before getting glasses of milk for the girls.

"You've become a great mother," My mom said as she watched me pull a few rolls off and set them on plates to cool faster for the girls. I looked over at her.

"Thank you, Mom. That means a lot."

"I'm sorry I wasn't a good enough parent for you."

"That's not true. I have wonderful memories of my childhood. You and dad just kind of...quit too early. You were gone way too much once I started junior high, and then after I got my license and could be truly independent, just not coming home at all. It's a testament to my upbringing that I didn't get into trouble long before I did," I told her. My phone started to ring as I finished and I retrieved it from my purse on the table next to the front door.

"Hello?"

"Hello Sam. You guys make it in okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Late last night. What time do you want to do the shindig?" I asked Scott.

"I don't know, sometime this afternoon?"

"Alright. Um, what time is it now?" I leaned back to get a glimpse of the clock.

"A little after ten. Jet lag?"

"Yeah, thanks. Three sound good?"

"Sounds fine. I'll be there later then. Bye Sam."

After a quick shower, I returned to find the rest of the kids up. I hugged Celine and kissed the top of her head.

"Happy birthday, sweetie."

"Thanks, Mom," she replied, mouth full of cinnamon roll. I snagged one for myself and placed a second one on a plate and headed for the living room. Josh was still asleep, facing the back of the couch.

I watched him sleep for a moment as I ate most of my roll before moving forward and wafting the last bite under his nose.  He wrinkled his nose for a second before opening his eyes.

"Good morning, Sleepy," I said as I ate the last bite. He frowned and sat up. I handed him the plate with his. "Everyone's up already."

"Mmmmhmm." Josh grunted as bit into his breakfast. I left him to eat in peace, instead asking Mom if the boxes of gifts we shipped the week before had made it, and then to her bedroom to start going through them to find Celine's birthday present. I was halfway through the second box when Scottie knocked on the door and called in. I put the packages on the floor behind the bed and told him it was open.

"There's someone at the door for you Mom," he said, hanging off the doorknob.

I frowned. "Who would be here for me?" I asked. He shrugged. I gently shooed him out of the room and closed the door behind me and headed for the door. A postal worker was standing there with a thin box and a signature pad.

"Samantha Chasez?" he asked as I reached the door.

"Yes."

"Package for you. Sign here, please," he offered the signature pad to me and I signed it and he handed me the box with a cheery holiday wish. I shut the door and opened the package. A bunch of papers came out, along with a set of keys. Frowning, I held the keys as I started reading the papers. I felt my eyes go wide as I started to understand what they were, and I quickly skimmed the rest of the pages. I looked up to see Mom and Josh watching me curiously.

"I..I need my phone," I thrust the papers at Josh and dove at my purse, pulling it out of it's pocket and pressing the buttons necessary to get the number I needed off my speed dial.

"Sam," Lance's voice answered.

"Are you out of your mind?" I asked.

"You got the paper work then."

"Yes, I got the paperwork! Are you out of your mind? You're giving me the house!"

"What?" I heard Mom ask and saw her look over at Josh out of the corner of my eye. I turned to face away from them as Lance answered.

"I had been thinking about it for a long time. I have no ties to Ohio, and you do. If you don't want the house, turn around and sell it then."

I was silent for a long moment.

"Sam? You still there?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, hold on a minute," I opened the closet and grabbed my coat and threw on the first pair of boots that were big enough and headed out the front door for privacy. "It's a house, Lance. I can't accept a gift that big from you."

"Technically, I'm selling it to you. The bare minimum I'm allowed to, and closing costs," he said.

"I can't do it Lance. I can't accept it. I just can't."

"Then sell it. Sign the paperwork, put it in your name, then sell it. I don't keep anything there I really need. Everything in the house is yours."

I shivered against the cold. "Lance, you really shouldn't go giving out completely furnished houses to people," I replied.

"I do if they're the mother of my children," he pointed out.

I was quiet as I thought it over. "Alright, I'll sign the papers. I don't know what I'll do with the house after that, but I'll sign the papers."

I could practically hear Lance's grin through the phone. "Merry Christmas, Samantha."

"Yeah, Merry Christmas to you too, Lance." I hung up the phone and stared at the ground in front of me. It had snowed more over night and the tracks we made the night before were erased, leaving a pristine lawn in front of me. Finally, I turned around and went back in.

Josh was sitting at the dining room table, reading over the paperwork. I sat down across from him and put my head in my hand and watched him read.

"I couldn't get it out of him," I said quietly. Josh glanced up at me for a second before going back to the paper in front of him.

"Hmm," He said. "You had no idea this was coming, did you?"

I shook my head. "No, did you?"

"Not at all. But it's all here. Sign the paperwork, write a check and the house is yours by the end of the year," 

"I guess. But why? Why now? He hasn't used that house really since we moved out there."

"I honestly do not know," he said, looking at me. We stared at each other for a minute before he broke the silence. "Are you going to sign?"

"I told Lance I would. He said he didn't care if I turned around and sold it. I don't think I will though, that's the one you bought," I gave him a meaningful glance. "There's a lot of memories in that house. And let's face it, we don't really all fit here at Mom's anymore. Even if Celine and Scottie stay with Scott, there's simply not enough bed space for us all."

"True," Josh said. "But we can't just move everything over there right now. If he's got the utilities still on, I'd be surprised."

I picked up my phone and sent a text to Lance asking him if the utilities were on. We only had to wait a minute for the answer - they were.

"Well then, I say we move over there after Scott leaves." I looked at Josh and he nodded.

"Mommy! Daddy! Can we play in the snow?" Aurora and Aydin yelled as they ran in, followed by their siblings.

"Yep. Go get your boots, gloves coats and hats on and you can go out and play in the backyard," I said, smiling at them. "And if you ask nicely, Daddy and Grandma might join you."

"You too, Mommy?" Olivia asked, giving me her best puppy eyes.

"Yep, I'll join you in a little while, okay?" A chorus of happy shouts headed down the hall towards the front door. "You should probably go with them," I said to Josh. "I'll be out after I read and sign these."

Josh got up from his chair and pushed the papers over to me. His hand brushed mine and he let his fingers run over the back of my hand before heading down the hall to sort out what was happening. I settled in to thoroughly read the documents.

After signing the papers, I headed out to the backyard to join in the snowball fight. Eventually all the kids turned against Josh and I and we ended up running for our lives from the barrage of snowballs coming our way. After escaping with our lives (barely), we managed to coerce them into making snowmen. Mom even joined us with a camera and spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon taking photos. When Scott arrived, he joined us, and another snowball fight got underway. Eventually the kids started getting tired and we headed back into the house to warm up. Mom and I made hot chocolate for everyone as Celine opened her presents, and then we had dinner and cake, after which Scott left.

"Alright, kiddos," I started after he left. "Time to pack up everything. I've got a surprise for you! We're going to spend the rest of the vacation there, so make sure to get everything." They bustled off to gather up their toys and clothes and shove them back into the suitcases. I had filled Mom in on what had happened, and she understood why we were heading over to the other house. I had promised to be there bright and early on Christmas morning. She also agreed to store the boxes of presents until Christmas eve.

We loaded up the vans and headed over to the house that started it all, the one Josh bought and was going to be mine in a few short days. We sorted the kids out into bedrooms, and Josh and I returned to our former bedroom, unrecognizable with Lance's furniture in it.

"God, this feels weird," I said as I fixed the bed. Josh just grinned at me from the doorway. "What?"

"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away," he sang softly under his breath. I groaned.

"I thought I banned that song that year," I warned.

"This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special," he continued singing, advancing across the room slowly.

"Alright, alright! I love you. Just please, stop singing that song," I plead to him, giving him my best doe eyes. He spent most of our first Christmas together singing that song under his breath that I got so tired of it and banned him from singing it.

He finally stopped and started laughing at me. I threw the pillow that was in my hands at him. He easily caught it.

"Dork," I said, starting to giggle. He sat on the bed and started undressing. I sat on my side, taking my shoes off. "Now I know what a fool I've been. But if you kissed me now I know you'd fool me again," I started singing under my breath without realizing until Josh chuckled.

"Argh, now you have ME singing it." I moaned, slapping my forehead with my hand. I climbed under the covers and snuggled against his warm body. "Please help me get it out of my head or I won't let you sleep," I lightly threatened. Josh chuckled again and started singing something else quietly.