Chapter 76

AJ and Emily slept in the next morning and AJ was having a hard time getting her out of bed to go to brunch before they went shopping.

“Come on, Em! I'll take a shower with you!”

“No!” she whined. “Can't I just sleep a little longer?”

AJ sighed. “Alright. I'll give you fifteen more minutes.” He went into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee figuring the smell of it might help bring her back to a conscious state. He looked around his loft apartment feeling almost a little sad that it was his last day there. Emily never wanted to have more than one home but he wondered if he someday might be able to sway her. He'd been so used to living in L.A. and Florida and now in New York that it seemed weird for him to just live in one place all the time. He liked the changes of scenery. He walked over to the window and smiled. He knew what would get Emily out of bed.

He walked back into the bedroom and knelt down by her head. “Hey Em, guess what? It really did snow a lot last night! The whole park is covered in white!”

At the mention of snow, Emily's eyes flew open. “Really?”

AJ nodded. “Come check it out!”

Emily slowly sat up and yawned. “Do I smell coffee?”

“A fresh pot of your favorite!”

“Godiva Hazelnut?”

“Of course! Ever since the first time you were here I knew if I made you anything else you'd be mad at me!”

“I would not get mad at you! I'd just...be sad or something! It's just the best coffee ever! You have to take me to the store where you got it today!”

“I got it at the one and only Macy's on Herald Square!”

“I had no idea you shopped at Macy's so much.” she finally stood up and went over to the window. Her face light up just like a little kid on a snow day. “Oh wow! Look how pretty it is!”

AJ brought her a large mug of coffee and stood beside her. “I'm going to miss this place.”

“You know what? Me too! It's too bad you only record your Backstreet albums in LA.”

“Well, maybe if you're there under better circumstances and you have me to show you a good time you'll change your opinion on it.”

“Not likely.” she muttered. “Where are we going for brunch?”

“I thought we'd hit up the Sunrise Cafe again. I'm going to miss that place!”

They took a quick shower together and bundled up to walk the few blocks to the cafe. They each ate the Cranberry French Toast and talked about where they wanted to go shopping. They decided to start at the places furthest away and work their way back towards home. They went to Macy's and got Emily's Godiva coffee, a few outfits for Baylee and a pair of leather boots that they found on the clearance rack that AJ insisted Emily buy herself. They went to FAO Schwartz and bought toys for Baylee and some neat baby toys to send to Kevin and Kristin. They went to several clothing stores and AJ helped Emily pick out an outfit for both Christmas and New Year's Eve. She made him wait in another store while she went to a lingerie store to get some new things for their anniversary trip and had to hide them in her other bags so he wouldn't see what she'd bought. AJ managed to get some new hats and a few articles of clothing himself while he was waiting for her.

As they walked past Tiffany's, AJ stopped. “Let's go in here and look around.”

Emily shrugged. “Alright.” What woman really needed to be talked into going in to Tiffany?

They walked past all the counters looking at things. Emily pointed out a few things that caught her eye, particularly a simple yet gorgeous diamond tennis bracelet. AJ was looking for a new watch and saw a few he thought he might like but said he wanted to keep looking. It was nearly dinner time before they decided they'd had enough shopping for one day and went back to the apartment to examine everything they'd bought and figure out who they still had left to buy gifts for.

Emily pulled out her list of people she wanted to get gifts for and started checking off the names of those she'd completed. “So we just have Brian, Kevin, Randy and the people at Dr. Keaton's office left. Oh...and you!”

“We have to get something for Randy?”

Emily rolled her eyes. “They're going to be there for Christmas. We can't get something for everyone except him, that would be rude!”

“And you still haven't bought my present yet?”

“Well gee I guess I got a little tied up what with having pneumonia and everything!” she laughed. “But I already know what I'm getting you so settle down!”

“I'm just teasing. I don't have yours yet either.”

Emily laughed. “All I really want is you home! It seems like forever since we've lived together! I mean we had a few days before New York but I really don't feel like I've lived with you since before Mexico.”

“I know what you mean. I just wish I had a little more time before things get crazy again in January with doing the shows with Colby and everything.”

“I know, but you'll still be home a lot of the time. Besides, we could always just stay home for our anniversary if you wanted to.”

“Do you want to?” he asked.

“Do you?”

“Not really. I like going away with you. And I figure once we have kids we won't always be able to escape like that so we should take advantage of it while we can.”

“Good. I wanted to go too! Where are we going?”

“I'm not going to tell you.” he smiled.

Emily leaned over and hugged him. “I love you. I love that you always plan surprises for me and I hope that even when we're old and wrinkled and have rotten teenagers that you never stop doing it.”

“Who says our teenagers are going to be rotten?”

Emily raised an eyebrow. “They're going to be mini versions of you. Of course they'll be rotten!”

AJ swatted at her. “I wasn't rotten!”

“That isn't what your mother tells me.”

“Well, she always was dramatic about everything!”

“I think you've got that backwards.” Emily laughed.

“Besides, maybe they'll end up like you and be nice, sensible people.”

“So what do you want first, a boy or a girl?”

“Hmm....I know I'm supposed to say something like I just want a healthy baby, and I do, but if I had to choose I would pick a girl.”

“Really? I always thought you'd want all boys!”

“You would think, but whenever I picture myself as a dad, I picture myself as raising daughters.”

“Can you imagine when they start dating? When your daughter brings home a boy?”

AJ cringed. “I just hope he isn't a musician!”

After a quick dinner at a local pizza place, AJ took Emily on one more thing you just have to do during Christmas in New York. They went ice skating at Rockefeller Plaza.

“There's just one little problem.” she said. “I can't ice skate!”

AJ laughed. “Little Miss I Love The Snow can't ice skate?”

“I like snow. You don't skate on snow. And just to answer your question, no, I can't ski either.”

“Come on, I'll teach you!”

Emily had a death grip on AJ's hand as he led her around the rink on wobbly legs. After a few laps Emily was starting to get the hang of it.

“Ok, are you ready to let go of my hand?” he asked.

“No! What if I fall?”

“You get back up!”

“But I don't want to hurt myself!”

“I'll make you a deal. If you fall and hurt yourself, I promise to kiss it and make it better later tonight.”

Emily paused. “Well now you're just making me want to fall down!”

AJ laughed. “I'll skate right next to you and you can grab on if you start to lose your balance.”

Emily nodded and slowly let go of his hand. She did pretty well for about half of the rink until she turned to look at him and then she lost her balance and grabbed on to AJ. He wasn't prepared for it and he lost his balance and the two of them went tumbling down.

“Oof!” Emily said as she untangled herself from him.

“Are you ok?” he laughed.

Emily lay on her back. “Yeah. But I don't quite think I can get up without falling over again.”

AJ slowly got back on his feet and helped his wife stand. “You want to hold my hand again?”

Emily grabbed his hand as the two took off again.

Sunday morning AJ took Emily to church and then they decided to go back to the Sunrise Cafe for breakfast before going to get their luggage and head off to the airport.

“Do you have everything?” she asked.

“I'm pretty sure. I just need to drop the keys off with the Super and then we can go. There should be a car waiting.”

“Goodbye apartment!” Emily called as she walked out. “You know, you should convince Howie to invest in a nice apartment building here. Then we could all time share one of his apartments!”

AJ laughed. “I'll be sure to suggest that next time I talk to him.”

Their flight home was delayed an hour and a half and they spent time sitting in the terminal drinking coffee and reading magazines until they got on the plane and went home. Brian was waiting for them at the baggage claim.

“Welcome home!” he said, hugging first Emily and then AJ. “Is the album finally done?”

“It sure as hell is!” AJ grinned.

“I can't wait to hear it, man! And Emily, good to see you feeling better!”

“Yeah, the last time you saw me was in the hospital, wasn't it? God, I bet I looked terrific then!”

“You looked beautiful.” AJ said, kissing her.

Brian carried her bags for her and led them out to the car.

“Where's Leighanne today?” Emily asked, ignoring the glare she received from AJ for doing so.

“I don't know, had some errands to run I guess.” he shrugged.

“Is she with Baylee? I was hoping to see him!”

“He's over at Mandy's today.”

“Ah. Well tell him I hope he still wants to come over on Tuesday to make cookies with me!”

“He reminds me every day.” Brian chuckled. “When he heard you were sick he got worried that you wouldn't be able to.”

He dropped them off and helped carry all their bags inside and then Brian had to leave.

“I'm going to try and finish my shopping today.”

“It's a little early for you, isn't it? I thought you always waited until Christmas Eve!”

“Yeah well....I'm turning over a new leaf!” he laughed.

AJ helped Emily unpack and then went into the living room to play with his dogs who seemed to have missed him dearly as they rolled onto their backs so he could rub their bellies.

“Good to be home?” she asked as she sat down on the couch.

“Great to be home! I forgot how much I missed the house, it almost feels a little strange to be here.”

“Well it kind of feels strange to have you in it, though the dogs are certainly glad of it.” she laughed as Daisy laid her head in his lap. “So I thought tonight I'd cook you dinner and we could decorate the tree, maybe have a fire in the fireplace.” she said as she gestured to the bare tree she had put up.

“That sounds like a plan!”

AJ helped Emily cook spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and then she loaded up the cd player with all of her favorite Christmas albums while AJ brought up the boxes of tree decorations.

“Here, do you want to put the angel on?” she asked.

“Sure!” AJ reached up and put the angel on top and then straightened it so it was centered per Emily's instructions. Next they strung the lights up followed by the garland and then the ornaments. Emily had quite an interesting collection of ornaments that AJ had grown pretty fond of. She had an ornament to represent every trip she had taken and for every special occasion in her life. He smiled as he hung up the one with their wedding photo on it next to the sea turtle from Hawaii. It only took them a few hours before they had it all done and they stood back to admire it.

“It's so pretty!” she said as her eyes twinkled from the Christmas lights.

“Would you like me to build you a fire?” he offered.

“Sure! I'll go make some hot cocoa while you do that.”

AJ was thankful for their gas starter so he didn't have to mess with trying to get the logs to burn and by the time she returned carrying two hot mugs with her, the fire was blazing. They sat down on the floor and leaned against the heart with the tree off to the side.

“Welcome home.” she said, softly.

“Thanks.” he whispered, taking her mug from her and setting it aside before he leaned over and slowly kissed her. She snaked her arms around his neck and slowly reclined back so they were laying on the floor as he continued to kiss her. She pulled his shirt off and sighed as she felt his warm skin on top of her. He kissed her intensely and she met him full force as she slipped her tongue into his mouth. Eventually, he sat her up and peeled her shirt off of her.

“You're so beautiful.” he murmured softly as he lay her back down beneath him.

Emily gasped as she felt his lips on her neck. She slid her hands down his back and underneath his boxers, her fingertips grazing over the top of his rear and sending chills up his spine. He quickly unclasped her bra and sent it flying across the room as his hands gently massaged her breasts before he leaned down and devoured them with his mouth. Emily was breathless when he paused to remove their pants before his lips came crashing down on hers once more. He spread her legs with his knees and slowly, with every ounce of control that he had, he pushed himself into her. Emily moaned deeply as he slowly moved in and out of her. She tried to get him to go faster but he used his weight to pin her down, giving him complete control.

“I want this to last.” he whispered into her ear as he gave it a gentle nibble.

He slowly built them up, taking her to the edge and then pulling her back from it. When he knew that she couldn't take anymore, he let her have her release. Emily felt her entire body stiffen up before bolts of pleasure ran through her. It was a pleasure so intense that she managed to come a second time when AJ finally let himself go. He pulled her into his arms as he rolled next to her completely breathless. She kissed his temple and laid her head down on his chest and right there, in front of the warm fire and beneath the twinkle of the tree, they fell asleep.

Chapter 77

Monday morning Emily went out to run some last minute errands, picking up the last of their Christmas gifts and some groceries. Brian dropped Baylee off to hang out with AJ while he waited on Emily to come home so she and Baylee could bake together.

“Uncle AJ!” Baylee screamed as he ran in the door.

“What's up Little Dude?” AJ asked as he swung Baylee over his shoulder.

“When is Emily gonna be back?”

“In about an hour. Can you wait that long?”

Baylee nodded. “Can I go play with Daisy?”

“Sure, she's out back. Zip your coat up, ok?”

Brian came in and sat with AJ at the table where they could keep an eye on Baylee.

“Everything ok? You don't look yourself.” AJ dared to ask.

“Nothing new, let's put it that way.”

AJ nodded. “Look, I'm only going to say one thing to you and then I'm going to leave it be. Remember all the things you said to me when Emily and I were having so much trouble? All that talk about forgiveness and understanding and communication and devotion? And then the whole part about forgiving myself? Just try and remember all the things you've ever said to me. I know it isn't the same, but you do owe her at least the chance to talk about this. It's been long enough. You can't stew forever.”

Brian sighed. “I know. Believe me, I have already thought of all of those things. I guess....well, it just isn't as easy as it sounds, is it?”

AJ laughed. “No, no it isn't. But it's just something that has to be done.”

“I brought your mail in.” Brian said, changing the subject as he slid a pile of envelopes over to AJ.

“Thanks! Looks like we got a bunch of cards. Emily's been displaying them all over the place.” He sorted through the mail, tossing aside all the junk and making a pile of cards for Emily to open. When he reached the last one, his heart stopped. He'd recognize that writing anywhere. t had haunted him nearly every night for the last few weeks. He carefully opened the envelope with a shaking hand and removed the note.

Emily,

I hope you had a wonderful time in New York. I couldn't help but feel disgusted

when I saw you with your husband making out in the lobby of his apartment.

You're running out of time with him, pretty soon you'll be all mine.

You'd better watch your step, I wouldn't want to have to punish you more than

I already have to or that husband of yours will pay dearly when he finds out what

I've done with you.

See you soon!

AJ took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. “Brian, call Baylee inside, would you?”

“What's up?”

“Just do it.”

Clearly this was more serious than he'd originally thought. Not only did this freak know where they lived, he'd apparently followed her in New York. The envelope was post marked New York so he had to assume that the guy lived there but he couldn't be sure that's where he still was. He didn't want Baylee outside when there was the possibility that this guy was out there watching them.

“Is Emily back?” Baylee asked as he walked inside with the dogs.

“Not yet, buddy. Why don't you go watch tv? Daddy needs to talk to Uncle AJ.”

Baylee did as he was told and turned on some cartoons, sitting down with the dogs on either side of him.

“What is is?” Brian asked, softly.

AJ handed him the letter. Brian read it with a look of disgust and confusion on his face.

“What the hell is this all about?”

“I didn't think it was serious.” AJ muttered. “I thought it was just another crazy fan trying to mess with me or something.”

“You mean this isn't the first one?”

AJ shook his head. “My manager Mark brought me one that had been sent in with the fan mail but I thought it was probably nothing so I didn't tell Emily about it. I didn't want to scare her.”

“You didn't tell her?!”

“Come on, we've all been there. I can't even count the number of stalker letters I've gotten over the years.” AJ defended. “I didn't want to worry her if it wasn't serious.”

“And now it appears serious?” Brian asked.

AJ nodded.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don't know.”

“Well you have to tell her!”

“I'll tell her after Christmas. I don't want to ruin the holiday for her.”

“But what if something happens?”

“After she gets back, I won't let her out of my sight. Not until I figure out what to do.”

“Well you should call the cops!”

“Maybe. I'll have to talk to Mark about this and see what he thinks.”

“You have to tell her, man. She needs to know, you can't let her walk around with a false sense of security.”

“I can't let her walk around afraid of everything either!” AJ snapped. “Look, just don't say anything to anyone. Not yet, ok? I promise I'll take care of it.”

“You'd better.”

AJ went and locked the letter in his desk before Emily came home. He sat with Brian and talked some more about the best way to handle a situation like this and decided that it was something he couldn't do by himself, especially when he'd be away so much the next month.

“I'm back!” Emily called as she walked in through the garage.

Baylee jumped up and ran into the kitchen. “Are you ready to make cookies?”

“I sure am! AJ could you get the rest of the bags from the car?”

“Sure!” AJ said, doing his best to act like nothing had happened.

“Hey Brian. You ok? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Brian saw AJ staring at him and knew that a promise was a promise. “Oh I'm just tired.” he said.

“Well, stick around and have some cookies, that should perk you up, right Baylee?”

“Right!”

Emily put her things down and got Baylee situated in the kitchen on a step stool and the two went to town making four different kids of cookies. Brian and AJ hung out watching tv and sneaking in for cookies whenever they could. Baylee was hard at work icing sugar cookies when AJ's phone rang. He glanced at Brian and then took the phone up to the office to answer it.

“What was that about?” Emily asked.

“Business call I think.” Brian lied.

“Hey Tiny, thanks for calling me back so soon!” AJ said as he shut the door behind him.

“No problem, what can I do for you?”

“I have a bit of a situation down here and I think I could use your help.”

“What kind of situation? Are you in trouble?”

AJ laughed. “No, for once I am not in trouble. But I really do need you here, are you available?”

“Yeah, I could come down the day after Christmas if you can wait.”

“That'll be fine. Look, my wife doesn't know you'll be coming so just give me a call when you get in.”

“Yeah...alright.” Tiny said, curious as to what was going on. “You ok?”

“Yeah. I'll see you in a few days.” AJ said, hanging up quickly. He didn't want Emily to overhear anything and he knew she'd suspected something when he took the call upstairs. He walked back down into the kitchen and kissed Emily.

“Everything ok?” she asked.

“Oh...yeah, it was just Brent giving me an update. Can I have a cookie?”

“If you give me another kiss.”

AJ and Brian eventually went downstairs to the studio and Emily and Baylee sat finishing up frosting.

“So what did you ask Santa for?” she asked.

Baylee shrugged.

“You don't know? Come on, there must be something you want!”

“It's a secret.” he said, looking away.

Emily knew Baylee well enough to know when something was bothering him. “Well you can tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone!”

“You swear?”

“I swear.”

“All I asked Santa for was for Mommy and Daddy to stop yelling at each other all the time.” he said, looking down at the cookie he'd been frosting.

Emily was taken aback. Leighanne had been so sure that Baylee didn't suspect a thing. Then again, kids always seemed to know more than parents gave them credit for.

“Do they yell a lot?” she asked, carefully.

“Yeah. Usually when they think I can't hear them or when they think I'm sleeping.”

“What kinds of things do they yell about?”

“I don't really know. But Mommy says a lot of things about Daddy not wanting me and not loving Mommy and then Daddy yells that she should just leave and she tells him he should leave. They yell about me a lot.” he admitted.

“That must be scary.”

Baylee nodded.

“Do you want to know a secret?” Emily asked.

He nodded again.

“Sometimes, when grown-ups yell at each other, they say things that they don't mean.”

“Why would they do that?” Baylee asked, confused.

“A lot of times it's because they are mad and they just want to hurt each other. But it doesn't mean that they don't love you. I can tell, your Mom and Dad love you lots.”

Baylee shrugged. “I guess so. But I don't think they love each other anymore. Mommy said she's going to kick Daddy out after Christmas.” he said, a small tear escaping his eye.

Emily put on her best smile and wiped it away. “Your Mommy and Daddy are just having a tough time right now. And just remember that no matter what happens or what they yell at each other, that will never change how much they love you. Got it?”

Baylee nodded and went back to working on his cookies.

Emily felt like someone had squeezed her heart. She hadn't realized that Baylee was being so affected by all of this, but seeing the look on his face as he talked told her that he was more upset about it than he was letting on, probably because he didn't understand any of it. She knew she couldn't do anything about it right now and decided that the day after Christmas, she was going to have to have an uncomfortable sit down with Brian and Leighanne. It was one thing for this to be between the two of them, but now that she knew it was hurting Baylee, she was not going to stay out of it any more. She loved Baylee and if she had to piss off his parents to protect him, then that was just what she was going to have to do.

AJ and Emily were both quiet that night after Brian and Baylee went home. Emily was upset about Baylee and feeling so bad for him. The more she thought about it the more she realized how stupid of her it had been to believe that he really didn't sense anything but it was even stupider that his own parents hadn't picked up on it. She'd noticed after only a few hours that something wasn't right with him. She could only imagine that Brian and Leighanne were both so caught up in their own little drama that they weren't giving a whole lot of thought to Baylee lately. He was too good of a kid to say anything about it.

AJ couldn't stop thinking about the letter. He'd been going over and over it in his head all day. The first letter was graphic but the second one was all but a promise that he meant to do harm to Emily. Why had it come out of nowhere? That didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. From what he'd always heard of stalkers they started off leaving nice love letters, sending flowers. They didn't start out mean right from the beginning. Maybe there had been other signs that he'd missed because he'd been in New York. He tried to think of a way he could ask Emily without giving anything away but it just didn't seem possible. Why would he be asking if anyone's been sending her stuff for no reason at all? Brian had suggested he pretend like he saw a news story on stalkers and ask her if she'd seen any of the signs they mentioned. He figured he'd go with that plan after Christmas. He didn't want to chance her figuring it out and ruining her holiday.

“Do you know what Baylee asked Santa for this year?” Emily asked as they got into bed.

AJ raised an eye figuring this would be a good story. “What?”

Emily climbed under the covers. “He asked for his Mommy and Daddy to stop yelling at each other all the time.”

AJ froze as he was getting into bed. “He said that to you?”

Emily nodded. “He didn't want to tell me. So I talked to him, I asked him what kinds of things they yell about. That poor little boy is hearing absolutely everything and we've all been totally clueless to the fact that he knows about it.”

“What's he heard?”

“Leighanne wants Brian to move out after Christmas, he's heard all about how Brian didn't want him, how Brian doesn't love Leighanne, how Brian wants Leighanne to leave. He says they seem to yell about him a lot.”

“Jesus.” AJ muttered.

Emily sniffed. “It's just...I really care about him, you know? If you could have seen his face when he was talking about it, and that big fat tear that rolled down his cheek. He's really scared and confused!”

AJ pulled Emily into his arms as he lay next to her. “What did you tell him?”

“I just said that sometimes grown-ups say things to each other that we don't always mean and that no matter what, his parents love him very much and that will never change. I don't know if he bought it or not though.”

AJ blew out a breath. “I take it you plan on doing something about this?”

“How can I not?”

“You can't. You are right to get involved and I will help you in any way I can.”

“I was thinking I'd go over there the day after Christmas and sit down with them and tell them what he told me and try to talk to them. If I have to, I am prepared to convince them to let me have Baylee until we go on our trip, and then maybe he could stay with Mandy for awhile. I know it'll confuse him even more but I think at this point Brian and Leighanne need to take some time apart and stop yelling so they can think and come together later to talk about it. I actually think they're using Baylee as a tool to manipulate each other.”

“I guess there's something to be learned from all of this, isn't there?” he said.

“What's that?” she asked, snuggling her head into his chest as he turned out the light.

“You can't get anything past kids. I think adults tend to forget that.”

“I couldn't agree more.”

Chapter 78

Emily woke up early the next morning. “Merry Christmas Eve-of-Eve!”

“What does that even mean?” AJ grumbled.

“It means today is the Eve of Christmas Eve! The day before the day before Christmas!”

AJ chuckled. “Why are you up so early?”

“Lots to do today! I figured I'd start by making breakfast. I bought a can of those Orange Danish rolls you love! Then I wanted to make some appetizers for the caroling party tonight and maybe some more cookies and some fudge and we still have to wrap all of our gifts and I have to ask Leighanne what to bring to Christmas dinner at their house. So much to do!”

“Well, just channel your inner Elf and you'll be fine.” he teased.

Emily got dressed and made breakfast while AJ took a long shower as he tried to wake himself up. He hadn't slept well the night before. He couldn't stop thinking about the stalker and wondering if he was doing the right thing by not telling Emily yet. He knew it would spoil her spirit if he did but what if something happened before he got a chance to talk to her?

Emily was already mixing up some fudge and the rolls were in the oven when he came downstairs.

“Can't I just have fudge for breakfast?”

Emily laughed. “Sorry. You can have all you want at the party tonight though!”

“So, how many people are coming?” he asked, as he poured himself a cup of coffee in his favorite official BSB coffee mug.

“Doesn't it freak you out to drink your coffee out of a cup with your face on it?”

“I guess I never really thought about it.”

Emily laughed. “I'm expecting about twenty people.”

“Twenty is your idea of a small caroling party?”

Emily shrugged. “Me and you, Brian, Leighanne, Baylee, Amanda, Randy, Laurie the receptionist and her guest, Dr. Keaton and her husband, a few of the nurses and their husbands and kids, and the neighbors.” she counted off as she poured the fudge into a pan and stuck it into the fridge.

“Sounds like it'll be fun.” he smiled. “What do you need me to do today?”

Emily smiled to herself, thankful that she had a husband who liked to be helpful. “How about after breakfast you unpack and wash those new sets of Christmas dishes I bought yesterday.”

“What Christmas dishes?”

“I kind of maybe bought two sets of Winterberry holiday dishes. They were sixty percent off and I've always wanted them and I thought they'd be perfect to use tonight!”

“What's wrong with red and green paper plates?”

“Well I have those too....”

AJ laughed. “I will wash your new dishes. What else?”

“Would you mind just running the vacuum and dusting and cleaning the bathroom? I think that's all that needs to be done besides the food and the wrapping. We can wrap together this afternoon.” she said as she took out another pan and began mixing more ingredients together.

“What are you making now?”

“Spiced nuts.” she answered, with a smirk.

“Spiced nuts, huh? Sounds like something you should eat in the bedroom......”

Emily laughed. “Get your mind out of the gutter and get the rolls out of the oven!”

Leighanne had been locked in the guest suite all day wrapping gifts. Brian knocked on the door.

“It's me.” he said.

Leighanne quickly stashed his presents under the bed and opened the door. “What's up?”

“I just wanted to know if you still wanted to go to Emily's party tonight.”

“I was planning on it, why, aren't you going?”

“Yeah...I'm going. Look, I know things have been tough on both of us the last few weeks and I'm not saying I'm ready to move on, but do you think we could call a truce for Christmas?” he asked, sounding nervous.

Leighanne was taken aback. “Yeah....I mean, of course! That'd be nice.”

Brian nodded. “Need any help? Baylee's taking a nap right now.”

“Uh...sure! I was just about to wrap his gifts.”

“Oh yeah? What did you get him?” Brian asked, walking in to the room and sitting down on the floor.

Leighanne showed Brian all the toys and clothes she had gotten Baylee and then the two started wrapping. They didn't talk a whole lot but every once in awhile they'd look up at each other and smile. Leighanne had no idea what had gotten into Brian but she wasn't about to question it for fear of scaring off his good mood.

Brian had been doing a lot of thinking since he left AJ's the night before. He knew AJ was right, he was a lot better at handing out the marriage advice than he was at taking it and he knew that down inside, Brian was ashamed of the way he'd been behaving. He was still furious with his wife but all he wanted was to enjoy Christmas with his family. After talking for a few hours with AJ about how to protect Emily from a potentially dangerous stalker, he realized that he really did have it good. He knew he still loved Leighanne; the thought of her being alone with Emily made him nervous. If Emily was in danger that meant anyone around her was potentially in danger and he wasn't thrilled about letting Leighanne or Baylee be around without him. He'd stayed up late last night thinking and praying for guidance to save his own family.

Emily was still working in the kitchen when AJ went to start cleaning up for her. She'd been thinking a lot about Baylee. She supposed worrying over him was a welcome distraction. It hadn't come up yet but she knew AJ remembered what today was. It marked the anniversary of the death of Payton. Each year did seem to get easier. She was no longer filled with the same kind of pain. It was more of a sadness, wondering what could have been if things had been different. If Payton hadn't died, she never would have wound up in Atlanta and met AJ. For all she knew, she'd still be stuck with Joe the Asshole. She shuddered at the thought. As much as she had loved her son, she knew that she had a better life because of his suffering. That didn't mean she was glad it had happened, only that she realized how much she had now that she didn't have then. She decided it was her maternal instincts in over-drive as a result that had her so upset about Baylee. She was honestly angry with Brian and Leighanne for doing that to him and she had to work on her plan so that she was prepared when she went to talk with them.

She sighed as she picked up the phone and dialed.

“Hey Randy, it's Emily.”

“Oh..hey Em, what's up?”

“Do you have a minute?”

“Sure, I'm just in between patients so you called at just the right time.”

“I have a huge favor to ask.”

“Ask away.”

“When do you and Amanda get back from your trip?”

“We're leaving early on the 26^th and coming home on the 30^th in the evening, why?”

Emily sighed. “I'm plotting something. After Christmas I think Baylee's going to be staying with us while his parents take some time to figure things out but we leave on the 30^th for our anniversary trip and I was wondering if he could stay with you and Amanda for a few days if needed?”

“Of course! Mandy would love to have him. Is everything ok, is he alright?”

“I think so. Could you maybe not mention this to Amanda until I have it all figured out?”

“Sure. Is there anything else we can do?”

“I'll let you know if I think of anything. Thanks, Randy. This is really important to me.”

“It's no problem. If all goes well, he'll be my nephew someday too.”

“Really? Things are going that well, huh?”

Randy laughed. “I'm probably being premature. I'm just...really happy.”

“I'm glad.” Emily said, genuinely. “Now you'd better get back to work so you aren't late for my party tonight!”

After AJ had finished cleaning, he went upstairs to check his e-mail. He'd e-mailed Tiny with some more details on the situation and Tiny had responded with his own insight. He agreed that it seemed odd that it was out of the blue threatening. Most stalkers did tend to start off nice. Creepy, but nice. He encouraged AJ to contact the police after Christmas so the letters would be on file and gave him some names of good security companies. Tiny agreed with AJ that while a home security system was good, they should add some outside security as well like cameras and motion lights. AJ had also decided that Tiny didn't need to come until after they got back from vacation, he didn't plan on leaving Emily alone until then anyway. He quickly wrote him back and then deleted the e-mail so Emily wouldn't see it.

When he went back downstairs he found Emily setting out all of her serving platters and getting the table set.

“This way, all I'll have to do is put the food on them and everything will be ready to go!”

“You should have been a party planner.” he said, smiling as he watched her move plates around until everything looked just right.

“I'd love to do that! Why don't we just have more parties?”

“We could do that.” he laughed. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“I'm actually ready to start wrapping gifts if you feel like helping.”

“Are you going to wrap my gifts?”

“I already did that, and then I hid them away where you'll never find them!”

AJ crossed his arms. “I bet if I wanted to, I could find them! I live here too, you know. I know all the hiding places.”

“You think so?”

“Well you don't know where I hid yours!”

“Oh please, you hid mine where you always hide them, under the guest bed!”

“Emily! You went looking for your stuff?” AJ whined.

“Oh relax, I didn't look at them, I swear! I was actually looking for a place to put yours....”

“Well...you couldn't have seen them anyway, I had them wrapped at the store!”

Emily laughed. “See? Nothing to worry about!”

She sent AJ to go bring down all the bags of gifts while she got out the wrapping supplies. They had a good time together as they wrapped everyone's gifts and put them under the tree. When they were done, they sat on the couch together and admired the pile of nicely wrapped presents.

“How are you today?” he asked, gently.

“I'm ok. Just...a little sad I guess.”

AJ gave her a soft kiss. “I can't even imagine how hard it must be.”

Emily snuggled against him. “Having you here helps a lot. You know sometimes it just seems like it was all in a past life. Everything about my life is completely different. I'm confident, I'm happy, I have the most wonderful husband in the world, a great house, a different city, different career....back when all that happened I never would have believed any of it possible. Yet here I am.”

“You've just grown a lot as a person. Life changes us. Some people aren't lucky enough to have those kinds of life changing experiences. I mean, they're terrible and they hurt, but they also give you the opportunity to become a stronger person.”

“Just think, in a few years we could be wrapping toys and tricycles!”

AJ laughed. “Now there's a life changing experience!”

After two hours of gift wrapping with Leighanne, Brian realized he was beginning to reach his limit of shoving aside his emotions and decided he'd better take a break before the party. He had a feeling Emily would hurt him if they got into a fight in the middle of singing Christmas carols as she seemed to take her Christmas traditions very seriously.

“I should probably go wake Baylee up so he'll sleep tonight.” he said, making his escape.

“Alright. I promised him he could watch The Grinch today, maybe he'd like to do that while he wakes up.”

Brian nodded and went to get Baylee.

As soon as he shut the door behind him, Leighanne leaned back against the bed and exhaled a sigh of relief. While it had been nice to spend some time with him, it had also been very awkward and tense. She knew he hadn't forgiven or forgotten anything, he just simply wanted them both to be able to enjoy the holiday. While she appreciated that, she also found the pretending to be more exhausting than the fighting.

Almost as if she had a sixth sense, Emily called her as she was thinking about Brian's odd behavior.

“I am so glad you called!” Leighanne said, glad to have a distraction.

“Why?”

“I need a distraction from my own thoughts. Brian called a truce for Christmas and he helped me wrap our gifts.”

“Well...that's good, isn't it?”

“I don't know, maybe. It isn't like he's gotten over it or anything, he's just putting it on hold for a few days.”

“Well then I say enjoy what little peace you can get.”

“Maybe. What did you want, anyway?”

“I wanted to know what to bring for Christmas dinner?”

“Gosh I honestly haven't even thought that far ahead yet! I'm still wrapping.”

“AJ and I just finished. He's off somewhere whining about his paper cuts. I tell you...every year, without a single doubt, he gets at least two paper cuts from wrapping.”

Leighanne laughed. “I think they lack our fine touch.”

“I guess.”

“Well...so what do you want to bring to dinner?”

“I was thinking I could bring a pie and some cookies for dessert and then maybe for dinner I could bring my party potatoes and green bean casserole?”

“That would be great! We have a big ham to cook and Amanda is bringing salad and wine. I hope she brings a lot.”

“Seriously!”

“Do you drink in front of AJ?” Leighanne asked out of curiosity.

“Not a lot, if I do it's usually only a glass, maybe two of wine or beer. Nothing hard.”

“Is that his preference of yours?”

“Mostly mine. He says he doesn't mind but I guess I feel weird about it.”

“I don't blame you, I feel weird about it too and I'm not his wife!”

“The way he explains it is that he wasn't drinking because he liked booze, he drank because it made him feel better by numbing his pain. So when he sees someone having a drink he doesn't exactly get a watery mouth at the sight. He says mostly the smell makes him sick to his stomach.”

“Huh. Well, I should get back to wrapping. I'd like to be done by the party tonight.”

“Alright, I'll see you in a few hours then!”

Emily found AJ carrying up some more firewood to the back door so he wouldn't have to trek across the yard during the party.

“Careful, don't cut your hands!” she teased.

AJ glared at her. “I'm so glad you find humor in my pain.”

She laughed. “Well, you know, we have a few hours yet, I think I know something that might make you feel better.....”

AJ set down his logs and looked at her. “Really? You don't have any baking or wrapping or decorating to do?”

Emily shook her head. “Nope.”

“Well, I guess I wouldn't want you to get bored.” He said as he picked her up and carried her over his shoulder inside and up to their bedroom.

Emily laughed as she hung upside down. “Kind of like how Santa carries his bag of toys!”

“Well, I sure do get a lot of fun out of you.....” he said as he set her down in the bedroom. “I've certainly never complained.”

“I should think not!” she said as she coiled her arms around his neck. His lips met hers as she stood up on her tip-toes to kiss him. Their lips softly caressed while AJ slid his hands underneath her sweater, loving the way her skin was so warm and soft.

“I love you.” he whispered.

“I love you too.”

He slowly pulled her sweater over her head and took a moment to gaze at her gorgeous body. He threw his own shirt off and picked her up and gently laid her down on their bed. He carefully laid on top of her as his lips came crashing down on hers. He was always amazed that even to this day, after three years of marriage, every time he was intimate with Emily he felt this surge from deep inside of him that he'd never felt with anyone else. It was like even his body knew that she was the only one for him and from the moment he'd realized what it was like with her, he knew that no one else could ever compare. As he felt her hands running up and down his arms he suddenly felt like his jeans were rather confining as his desires for her built and suddenly, he had to have more of her.

AJ quickly rolled beside her and slowly unzipped her pants and laughed as she impatiently shrugged them off herself. She turned to her side with a smirk and slowly undid the fly of his jeans and helped him out of them before he rolled her onto her back again and began trailing his hand slowly down her abdomen until he reached her small patch of curls. He felt her tense up in expectation of his touch and skipped over where she really wanted his hand and stroked her thighs seductively before going back up to around her belly button. He teased her for quite awhile, loving the looks on her face every time he got near the spot- the anticipation and then the frustrated disappointment when he moved somewhere else. Eventually he gave in to her as he ever so lightly ran a finger along her folds. Emily sighed in pleasure at his touch. He loved how silky she felt as he let his fingers explore. She moaned loudly when he slipped a finger inside and started to swirl it around using the palm of his hand to rub against her clit. His arousal was bumped up a notch when he saw her put her hands on her breasts as she enjoyed the pleasure he was giving her and he decided to take what he wanted the most.

Emily groaned in frustration when he removed his finger but was quickly silenced when he climbed on top of her and filled her back up. She had to admit that she loved it when he was on top. Sure, it might be old fashioned and boring to some, but she loved feeling his weight on top of her. She loved being so close to him, being in his arms as he loved her. She found it to be a lot more intimate than some of the other positions they liked and since AJ never failed to satisfy her, she didn't really care how he wanted to do it.

AJ made love to her slowly and tenderly, taking his time and letting the pleasure build little by little. He gently kissed her neck as she nibbled on his ear. When he felt her begin to arch her back up into him, he grabbed her hip and drove deeper into her. When he felt her body begin to quake, he picked up the pace just enough to send her over the edge. He'd been so turned on from the beginning that he let himself go as soon as he knew she was satisfied and groaned into her ear as he felt his entire body pulsating with pleasure.

He rolled onto his back and gathered her up in his arms.

“Merry Christmas, baby.” he said, gently stroking her hair.

“Merry Christmas.” she murmured.