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Lucy sits in the middle of her living room surrounded by wrapping paper, pouting as she glances down at a poorly-wrapped box of nail polishes. Both her and Tim had been working overtime recently and couldn’t manage a day off until Christmas, meaning they had unfortunately left the task of wrapping presents until 11pm on Christmas Eve.
“Babe…” she trails off, laughing as she rubs her eyes, secretly hoping that when she opens them, her daughter's gift will be magically wrapped.
“I’m sorry, but you knew this about me when you married me,” he huffs as he sets down the roll of wrapping paper and scotch tape, eventually giving up. Somehow, the gift had been wrapped worse than he'd wrapped Rachel's present that one year.
“Next year, we’re buying gift bags in bulk and calling it a day,” she sighs as she tears off the poorly-wrapped paper.
“Ouch,” Tim winces jokingly as his wife tears apart his work.
“Oh, don’t be dramatic!”
“Hey!” he exclaims a little too loudly. and Lucy leans over to cover his mouth with her hand.
“Shh , you’re going to wake the girls up!”
“I just checked on them, they’re out like a light. We can have a bit of fun.” He shrugs his shoulders, and Lucy raises her eyebrows.
“What kind of fun?” Tim smirks as he reaches over, running his hand up her bare thigh until he reaches the hem of her sleep shorts. He debates going underneath, just as a tease, but he decides to wait until later.
“Not yet,” Lucy waves her husband off. “We- I have to finish wrapping these presents.”
“We can’t take a break?”
“If we go in there, we’re never coming out,” Lucy says as she motions to their bedroom. “Just let me finish, and then we can decompress .”
“You mean you don’t want my help?” her husband whines, and she shakes her head.
“For the sake of time and effort, just… entertain me as I wrap.”
“Come on,” he pleads, and Lucy ultimately gives in. She slides the now unwrapped box in the middle of them and unravels the roll of wrapping paper.
“So you’re problem is that you cut one sheet of paper per side, but you’re supposed to just use one huge sheet for the entire box,” she explains as she measures the roll of paper up against the box and cuts with some excess, laying it down onto the floor and placing the box on top. Tim nods as he watches her carefully fold one side out onto the top of the box.
“And then you just… tape it down,” she huffs as she rubs her hand over the scotch tape, rubbing out over the bubbles. Tim gazes at her as she folds up the next side, adjusting it until it perfectly lined up. She looks up to make sure her husband is still paying attention, snapping him out of his trance.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she furrows her brow.
“Like what?” he scoffs, and her cheeks turn pink. Despite the fact that they’ve been married for 8 years, it was easy to fall back into their nervous rhythm; the butterflies practically never left.
Lucy tapes the last side over and turns the box around, revealing a perfectly wrapped gift.
“Alright, it’s your turn!,” she smiles, handing him a kit full of cheap makeup, clearly meant as a play top for a young girl.
“Isn’t Andie a bit young for this?” Tim asked as he stared down at the collection of pigment in front of him. While they did some of their Christmas shopping together, Lucy went a little bit crazy when it came to gifts for her daughters, and he learned not to question her.
“Actually, those are for Ivie…” she muttered, and Tim’s jaw practically fell to the floor. Ivie was the youngest, his baby, and he practically gawked at the thought of her in makeup, even if it was low quality and would likely wear off within the hour.
“Oh, come on, babe! She’s getting older, and she loves to watch me get ready. Don’t you think it’s better that we teach her how to use this kind of stuff responsibility, instead of being strict? Plus, it’s just eyeshadow! We’ll keep it in our bathroom and only let her use it during playtime, when she’s supervised.”
And as much as Tim wants to argue, Lucy does have a point. Over his years of police work, he’d come to learn that runaway teenagers were almost always attempting to leave a strict household, and all of the underage-adults drunkenly wobbling down the street near the UCLA campus were kids who were sheltered growing up.
“Alright fine, you’re right,” he sighs, Lucy giggling as he measures out the wrapping paper, as Lucy had.
“I’m always right.”
“If you say so.”
Lucy cringes as she watches Tim fumble with the tape and paper, his creases sideways and folded over. She tries to let her husband learn on his own, but it becomes too much to bear, so she reaches her hands over, placing them on top of his.
“Here, like this,” she says softly as she guides his hands, showing him the correct way to do it. Even after the present is wrapped, she doesn’t let go of Tim’s hands. It takes a little bit longer than expected, but they eventually finish wrapping the rest of the gifts and clean up the extra scraps and garbage.
“Finally,” Lucy groans as she pushes the last of the garbage into the can. She turns around as Tim wraps his hands around her waist, pulling her in for a quick kiss.
“Nice pajamas,” he winks.
“Oh, now you like the matching pajamas,” she rolls her eyes. She’d been forcing both him and the girls into matching pajamas for years, but every year he would complain. She knew he secretly liked it, though.
“Still up for some fun?” he asks, and Lucy raises her eyebrows.
“Let me think about it…” she teases, tapping her finger against her chin in hopes of agonizing Tim. He slides his hands underneath her shirt and runs his nails against her back as she giggles.
“Alright, fine,” she hums, and Tim pulls her into their bedroom before she can even finish speaking.
______________
Lucy and Tim are woken up by their two giggling daughters at the break of dawn the next morning, as they have been every Christmas morning for the past 5 years.
“Hold on girls,” Tim stirs as his eyes open. Lucy rubs her eyes as she sits up, her eldest daughter clinging onto her legs.
“Come on Mommy, we wanna open presents!” Andie exclaims as Lucy wakes herself up. They hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, a few hours if they were lucky.
“Alright, at least let us go to the bathroom,” Tim gruffs as Ivie jumps up on her dad’s chest, puncturing him in the stomach.
Andie whisks her younger sister aside and allows their parents to fully wake up and get out of bed.
“Hurry up!” she calls out as the couple enters their bathroom.
“Yeah, yeah,” Lucy waves them off.
“I think that Ivie bruised my rib,” Tim mumbles as he splashes some water on his face.
“She’s your daughter,” Lucy huffs.
“You mean our daughter?”
“Nope.”
It takes them a torturous ten minutes to use the bathroom, brush their teeth, and comb their hair, but they eventually exit the bathroom to find their two young daughters sitting patiently at the end of the bed in their matching pajamas, staring at the door with wide eyes.
“Are you girls ready to open presents?” Lucy asks excitedly, and her kids don’t hesitate to cheer and run out to their Christmas tree. Without guidance, they begin to scour through the gifts, looking out for their own presents in the pile. Ivie can’t exactly read yet, so she relies on her older sister to help her.
“Okay okay, slow down!” Tim instructs, pulling his daughters out from under the tree. “We worked hard to wrap these presents for you, so be careful!”
“We,” Lucy says amused, but Tim nods.
“Yes, we.” He turns back to the anxious young girls and holds his finger out. “Now, sit here and be patient, we’ll hand you your presents.” They nod excitedly, their grins stretching across their tiny faces. Lucy pulls their stockings off of their hooks and places them in front of the girls as Tim turns on the cam recorder. He nods and lets his wife know that he’s ready, and she signals to the girls, who immediately start tearing it open. They gasp and giggle as they pull out the tiny trinkets: lip balm, silly putty, decorative clips, and a pair of holiday socks for each of them.
“How’d Santa do?” Tim asks as he bends down to their eye level, practically shoving the camera into their faces.
“Good!” Andie giggled, posing with the pair of socks as she puckered her lips for the camera. Ivie laughs and holds her hands out as Tim switches the camera to her.
“Too close!” He waves the camera around, entertaining the girls as Lucy squints her and organizes the presents that she’d forgotten to put names on. She pulls out their matching presents first, whisking Tim to the side as she hands it to them.
“Okay girls, ready? Go!” she exclaims as they rip off the wrapping paper and throw it to the side, gripping the top of the box and taking it off. They pull out matching red dresses, sequins trailing down the entire fabric.
“Do you like them?” Lucy asks, and her kids nod excitedly. “You can wear them to Aunt Angela’s tonight!”
The excitement ends quickly, and Lucy doesn’t even get a chance to pick the next gifts before the girls pick random ones and begin to tear into them. They’re eyes twinkle as they receive a couple of books and toys from “Santa”, and beauty items, craft kids, and more clothes from their parents.
There are two presents left for the girls under the tree: a small square box for Andie, and a bigger rectangle for Ivie. The last 2 gifts are always Lucy’s favorite part of Christmas; Lucy and Tim pick out 2 gifts that they know the girls have been eyeing for months, but are always denied because of the price.
“Ives, why don’t you go first?” Tim suggests. She giddily tears off the tape and wrapping paper to reveal a “Just Like Me” American Girl Doll, something she’d been obsessing over for ages. Lucy had been a huge fan of these dolls as a kid, and she loved that her youngest shared the same interest.
“AN AMERICAN GIRL DOLL!” she practically screams as she opens the box, pulling out the doll with hazel eyes and dusty blonde hair. “This is the best gift ever!”
Ivie squeals as she runs over to her parents, jumping on top of them with her doll still in her hands.
“Thank you for the gifts!” she says excitedly, nuzzling in between her parents.
“Of course baby, I’m glad you like them,” Lucy smiles as she strokes her hair. “What are you gonna name her?”
“Hmmm,” Ivie thinks to herself, scratching her temples. “What about Izzie? It’s like mine, but not the same as mine.”
“I think Izzie is perfect,” Lucy laughs.
“Alright, it’s Andie’s turn,” Tim huffed as he stood up, handing the tiny box to his eldest. He anxiously waits as she opens the present, her eyes sparkling as she pulls the top of the box open.
“It’s a necklace,” she gasped, running her hand over the gold chain.
“Yeah, do you like it?” Tim asked nervously through a deep breath. It was a simple golden dot necklace, similar to the one he’d given Lucy for their very first Valentine's Day. As a baby, Andie used to grab it and play with it as Lucy held her; she’d always had some sort of fascination with it. And as she grew older she’d come to have a fascination with jewelry in general. “I want a necklace like Mommy’s” she’d say when Lucy was wearing her first gift from Tim. Originally, his wife had objected, whining that it would be a waste of money and she wouldn’t take care of it. But she was 7 now, and Tim had ultimately convinced Lucy to let him buy it for her.
“I love it,” Andie gleams, carefully pulling it out of the paper and holding it up to the light. She fumbles with the chain, but her tiny fingers aren’t able to grip the clasp properly.
“Come here sweetheart, I’ll put it on you,” Tim instructs softly, and his daughter runs towards him giddy, handing him the necklace and turning around. He unclasps it and swings his arms around her, tying it around her tiny neck.
“Alright, turn around so we can see!” Lucy exclaims, holding up the camera as Andie dances around, sticking her neck out for the video. Just like her sister, she jumps into her parents lap and wraps her arms around their stomachs.
“Thanks Mommy, thanks Daddy! This was the best Christmas ever!”
“You’re welcome baby,” Tim laughed as she shifted herself into a comfortable position. Tim and Lucy, who were once sitting hip-to-hip, are now 3 feet apart, separated by their daughters.
“I’m glad you both like your gifts, but there are rules, okay?” Lucy announces, sitting upright to maximize her impact. “Ives, you have to be so gentle with the doll. No drawing on her, cutting her hair, or changing her clothes. If you want to dress her, you come and ask daddy or I. She’s a pretty girl, just like you, so let’s keep her that way.” Lucy taps Ivie’s nose with her finger before continuing.
“Andie, you’re a big girl now, and you need to start taking care of your things. That means it’s your responsibility to put the necklace away in a safe spot when you want to take it off. No fidgeting with it, and please, don’t eat it. Got it?”
Andie nods with a straight face, fully prepared for her new responsibility.
“Okay girls, it’s time to clean up! Let’s put all of the wrapping paper and tape into one bag, and organize and put away all of your new toys. Think you can manage that while Mommy and I make breakfast?” Tim asks, and both girls lock eyes and nod.
“On it, Sir!” Andie says with a salute, her sister following her to the remnants of trash under the Christmas Tree.
“Pancakes or cinnamon rolls?”? Lucy calls out to the girls, who both respond “pancakes!” without hesitation.
She begins to head towards the kitchen, but is stopped by Tim grabbing her forearm.
“What?” she huffs.
“I have something for you,” he says slyly, and she tilts her head. Still holding onto her arm, he leads her into their bedroom and beds down to his bottom drawer, pulling out 2 perfectly wrapped gifts.
“Wait, we’re doing gifts right now? Let me grab mine!” she scrambles out of the room and comes shuffling back a minute later with 3 boxes and an envelope.
“You go first!” she says excitedly. Tim doesn’t object, because he’s honestly a little nervous about his presents.
The three boxes contain extremely nice dress shirts, ones that Lucy clearly spent too much money on. The last one is a deep maroon, just like Andie and Ivies dresses. He perks up when he sees it, because he has actually gotten Lucy a matching dress for tonight, meaning the entire Bradford family would be matching.
“Thank you, Luce, the shirts are very nice,” he smiles as he folds and sets them aside.
“Yeah yeah, clothes are boring. Open the envelope!” she bounces, tapping on it to catch his attention.
“Alright,” he chuckles as gently rips it open, pulling out 4 season passes for the Rams 2024 season.
“Babe, this is…” he begins, but his wife cuts him off.
“The perfect gift? I know! I don’t know why I waited this long to give these to you, but I thought that you could actually get some use out of them now. I got four, so that we could go as a whole family. Or, we can call Tamara to watch the girls and take Angela and Wesley. Or you can take a couple of buddies, up to you. I wanted to get you something you can actually get some use out of,” she explains, rambling with a smile.
“They really are perfect. Thank you so much,” he smiles, kissing her on the cheek.
“You’re welcome,” she blushes. “Okay, my turn!” She picks the bigger box first, unraveling a simple floor length dress that matched the girls, bit with a little bit more elegance (and a slit).
“Someone’s gonna have a good night,” she jokes as she fluffs out the slit.
“That someone better be me,” Tim huffs, and Lucy waves him off.
She reaches for the second box, glancing down at it before she tears it open.
“So you actually can wrap?”
“I rewrapped it quickly this morning when I came to grab the cam recorder,” he says, embarrassed, but Lucy’s impressed. She continues to unravel it, and finds a pair of two gold earrings in the shape of a heart.
“Oh wow,” she gasped as she gazed down at them, practically starstruck. “They’re beautiful.”
“They’re moonstone, the same as your ring. The one you were wearing the day that…”
“The day that you saved my life,” she finished for him.
“The day that you saved your own life. I know you still wear the ring, so I thought I’d give you something to match it.”
Lucy doesn’t speak, and just stares at the earrings. Tim begins to worry that she doesn’t like them, or that they were just a reminder of the worst day of her life.
“It seemed like a better idea in theory, but now that I think about it,” he rambles, but Lucy shushes him.
“No, they’re perfect.” She looks up at him as if she’s falling in love all over again, her eyes filled with tears. “You’re perfect.”
Tim raises and rubs his thumb against her skin, wiping her tears as she leans in for a kiss.
“We’re pretty good at this gift-giving thing, aren’t we?” he smirks.
“Hell yeah we are. Now, we should probably get back out there before our daughters make our living room look like the aftermath of a tornado.”
She twirls as she stands up, holding onto Tim’s hand as she lifts him up too. To their surprise, the living room is practically spotless, and the girls are sitting on the rug making bracelets with their new kit. They continue to work hard as Lucy and Tim make breakfast, and show off their creations as they scarf down pancakes.
____________
“Are you ready to go?” Tim calls out as he comes back into the house after loading up everyone's gifts into his truck. After a moment of no response, he walks down the hallway until he hears voices coming from Ivie’s bedroom, and he knocks on the door.
Lucy slowly opens the door a crack, only enough where Tim can see half of her face.
“Just one second, we’re almost done,” she winks.
“What’s taking so long?” he asks, rolling his eyes playfully.
“Don’t go all “Tim” on me, but Ivie wants to put on some of her new makeup!”
“Oh no, it’s happening,” he sighs, rubbing his forehead.
“What, she’s growing up? Come on, it’s just a little bit of eyeshadow. I’ll only put on a smidge, you won’t even be able to tell,” she reassures and closes the door again.
After five minutes he starts to get antsy, but he’s grown used to being in a girl house: always running late. Eventually Lucy comes out, each girl holding onto one of her hands.
“My beautiful girls,” Tim admires as they walk out; he holds up his cellphone and snaps a few pictures of their matching outfits. Andie and Ivie run to him, each of them grabbing onto one of his legs.
“Girls, leave your daddy alone,” Lucy sighs as she picks up Andie and swings her over her hip, leaving Tim to carry their youngest.
As he lifts her up, he can notice the subtle rose-gold pigment Lucy brushed onto her eyes.
“You look very pretty, Ives,” he says softly, and her smile melts his heart. He hates that his baby is growing up, but she’s growing into a beautiful person, and there isn’t anything else he could ask for.
______
The Bradford’s arrive at the Lopez-Evers residence twenty minutes later, all of 4 of them carrying loads of food and presents as they bustle in.
“We come bearing gifts!” Lucy exclaims as Angela swings the door open, pulling her into a quick hug and taking the load off of her. Jack and Erin came running after her, grabbing the rest from the girls as Tim placed his load onto the dining table.
“You all look adorable, finally got Tim on board with the matching outfits?” Angela asks as she organizes the food, Lucy helping her.
“Well, we got the girls the dresses, and happened to pick up matching outfits for each other,” Lucy explains with a shrug.
“Tim got you the dress? Explains the slit. Someone’s gonna have a good night,” Angela smirks and Lucy swats at her shoulder.
“That someone is me! Don’t steal my girl, Ang,” Tim reminds her from the next room, fully aware of how Angela and Lucy like to jokingly flirt with each other.
“You look amazing,” Angela mouths through a laugh.
As Lucy and Angela finish setting up, Wesley comes out and the party officially starts. They begin with a gift exchange, the children going first, of course.
The Bradfords give Jack, who’s now 11, a lego car set and hoodie with his last name and jersey number on the back. Considering the fact that Tim has two girls, he’s taken a pretty active role in Jack’s life, and is surely the favorite uncle. He had gone to almost every football game of Jack’s, and even helped Wesley coach the team one year.
They give Erin, who is nine, a jewelry case with some earrings and a purse with her name engraved on it.
“Those were very thoughtful gifts, go give Aunt Lucy and Uncle Tim a hug,” Wesley instructs his kids, and they sincerely thank their godparents with an embrace.
“Ready for your gift, girls?” Angela asks with a smirk, and leaves the room for a brief moment, coming back with a box bigger than both Ivie and Andie. They’re eyes widen as they see it, and they work together to unwrap it, revealing a box for a tiny electric car.
“Oh my god,” Lucy stifles a laugh as she sees it, but Tim is not amused.
“Do you hate me, Angela?” he asks, and his best friend just shrugs her shoulders.
“It’s a two seater,” she winks, and Tim rolls his eyes.
“First makeup, now a car? Is it 2045?” he whines, sinking deeper into the sofa.
“Sorry, Tim’s having a hard time with the whole “growing up,” thing. Ivie got her first set of eyeshadow today,” Lucy explains, and Angela nods her head.
“Wesley cried when I put lip gloss on Erin for the first time,” Angela blurts out.
“I did not!” Wesley jumps in, but he isn’t very convincing.
Andie and Ivie are jumping up and down with joy as they stare at the box in awe. They jump on Angela as they thank her, sending her backwards.
“Aw, I’m glad you girls like it. Killed two birds with one stone,” she laughed.
“Should we give Angela and Wesley their gift now?” Lucy asks Tim, snapping him out of his pout. He drags himself up and grabs a gift bag full of custom wines and a plethora of fancy glasses, something the couple had been on the fence of buying for a while now.
“We knew you weren’t going to spend the money on this yourself, so we thought we’d just do it for you,” Tim huffs as his friends run their hands over the labels.
“This sounds amazing, thank you!” Angela exclaims. “I’m gonna hide these bottles before everyone comes over,” she says slyly, running over to her top cabinet and pushing the new wine all the way back so that it’s barely visible.
“Okay, we weren’t exactly sure what to get you, which is why this gift is probably random, but…” Wesley says as he pulls out an envelope, handing it over to Lucy and Tim. They open it to find two tickets to 4 sessions of an Italian cooking class.
“We already talked to Tamara, and paid her to watch the girls during the class. I also talked to Grey and made sure you had those Saturdays off. You guys have been working so much, we figured you could use a break, and some home cooked food,” Angela explains.
“I actually really love this, and honestly can’t believe I’ve never thought about this. You’re so sweet, thanks guys!” Lucy remarks.
The kids clean up before the rest of the group gets there, and it takes all four of them to push the car back into the garage for the rest of the party.
Everyone has a great, relaxed night: the kids all play with their presents as their parents sip on wine and gossip about the latest station drama. Leah and Erin teach Andie and Ivie all about the news fashion trend: ripped jeans, and Tim thinks he’s going to have a heart attack every time he hears them talk. Lucy, Bailey, Angela, and Nyla all bake cookies (with the help of the young girls) as their husbands and sons all intently watch the Rams game, yelling every time the Arizona Cardinals score.
After the game, which somehow miraculously turned into a win for the Rams, everyone enjoys the potluck, stuffing their faces until they physically cannot eat anymore. By the end of the night, the ladies are a little bit more than tipsy, and the kids are all passed out on the couch. Tim and Lucy were last ones left, mostly because it took forever to find a way to fit the car into his trunk.
“Ready to go?” Tim asks Lucy as she stumbles into his arms, wobbling in her heels. He’d told her to take them off after her first drink, worried that she’d trip over them, but she’d refused.
“Yes, let’s head out,” she slurs, lifting her foot up to adjust the strap on her shoe. Tim wraps his arm around her waist and begins to walk towards the door, but she stops him.
“Wait, Tim, look!” She motions up to the ceiling, pointing to a single mistletoe that Wesley and Angela had hung. “I guess you have to kiss me.”
“You make it sound like I don’t want to,” he jokes.
“With this slit, how could you not?” she twirls around to accentuate her dress, but almost falls backwards.
“Alright babe, let’s kiss before you fall and give yourself a concussion,” he mutters, fiddling with the brand new earrings dangling from her ears. Her face has flushed red as he continues to fiddle with her jewelry before pulling her into a kiss. And maybe it’s the alcohol and adrenaline from the game, or maybe it’s the fact that being with each other has never gotten old, but it’s like they’re kissing for the first time: it’s electric. None of them want to pull away, but are snapped out of it by Angela, who’s a few paces away as she clears her throat.
“Can you at least wait until you’re out of my home before you act all… disgusting,” she balks.
“Sorry, sorry,” Tim mutters, but Lucy seems unapologetic. They rush over and wake up the girls, pulling along out to the car.
“Goodnight Angelaaaaaaa,” Lucy sings as Tim opens her car door.
“Goodnight Lucyyyyy,” Angela, who’s equally as drunk, if not more, sings back.
The car ride home is quiet, the girls fell back asleep, and Lucy looks as if she’s about to. The only thing keeping her up is Tim’s hand, which is entwined with hers. At every red light he mindlessly fiddles with her fingers.
“Did you have a good Christmas,” Tim asks after they put the girls to bed.
“The best,” Lucy smiles. “I hate how big the girls are getting,” she pouts as they jump into bed, pulling the covers over themselves.
“It’s somehow simultaneously the best and worst thing ever,” Tim adds on.
“Everyday, I feel like they’re becoming a little bit more and more like us,” Lucy remarks, and Tim even though knows that it’s partially the alcohol talking, he couldn’t agree more.
“Is that such a bad thing?”
“Nope. They’re beautiful girls.”
“Just like their mom,” Tim smiles, reaching his hand out and running it through Lucy’s curls.
“Are you flirting with me, Tim Bradford?” she smirks.
“Am I not allowed to compliment my wife?” he scoffs playfully.
“Actually, it’s highly encouraged,” she decides, running her hand over his arm.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”