n

n

n~~

nTrinity

n~~

nWe were now halfway through the water festival, and it was also Christmas morning. We had left the bulk of the gifts at home, but we brought some with us. We had brought a gift for Aunt Glory, and even though I didn't know who it was going to be for, we had a gift for Athair mór. I had planned to give the gift to whatever family we found if they accepted us.

nI was just glad that we had gotten a family that didn't just accept us, but they were overjoyed to have us. Athair mór had been wonderful through all of this. And he was looking forward to celebrating a real Christmas morning and not just the Yule Celebration.

nWhen Christmas Eve came, he had come to spend the night in our family home. We offered to move to his for the night, but he said this would have been better over all. He made a string of popcorn for the tree and played games with the kids. It was all quite adorable to see.

nThis was also going to be the first Christmas that we were celebrating with the guards, and Dietrich. They had been my guards before this, but they hadn't spent the holiday with us before. Over these last few weeks though, we had gotten a lot closer, and they had become like family to me now as well. I was happy to have all of them here with me.

nWhen the morning of Christmas came, we all went down and had breakfast. Roisin had made a special meal knowing that this day was special to all of us even if she didn't see why. She seemed happy though, to see us all having a good time.

nAfter we ate we all went into the living room where we had put up the tree. There were presents scattered all around, and half of the children were excited to see them. The only ones who weren't were Shawn and Dietrich's four since they hadn't had a birthday yet, and therefore hadn't opened gifts yet.

nAt first Athair mór was just standing in the back and watching, but I went to him and pulled him over to the rest of us. He helped all the children open the presents, even Alyssa, Alexandria, Levi, and Luka. He didn't discriminate against the kids; he was already completely taken by all of them.

nToys, cute little gifts, and colorful paper littered the floor. The adults opened their gifts as well, having gotten some from me and Reece, as well as Lila, Grandfather, and Mom and Dad. Nikki and Emmalee had also made sure to bring gifts for the rest of the family and not just the kids.

n

"Merry Christmas.

" I smiled and handed Athair mór a box. His eyes lit up, and he didn't know how to respond.

n

"No, I couldn't. This is a time for your family.

" He tried to give it back, but I refused to take it.

n

"You are our family, aren't you?

" I grinned at him.

n

"Yes, Valerian, my granddaughter is right. You are our family, even to me. You're just as much one of us as anyone else.

" Grandfather smiled at the man who was tearing up.

n

"She's not the only one.

" Reece came up with a gift he had prepared from things he had bought around the festivals.

n

"Yeah, we got you one too.

" Mom walked over with hers.

nSoon, Lila, Nikki, and Emmalee walked over with the presents they had prepared for him as well. We all watched as he opened the various gifts. The pile had grown up so he started with the last one that he had received. There were a lot of wonderful things, and he seemed to love them all. However when he got to mine he paused and tears rolled down his cheeks.

n

"Trinity, I don't know what to say.

"

n

"I thought this would be something that you would like to have.

" I smiled at him in return.

nSlowly, he moved the items around. There were different framed pictures of the entire family. Ones with just the kids, ones with parents and children, and one that I had even managed to get of all of us together. Along with that I had included an album of the first year of the lives of the children, even Elias and CJ. I wanted to make sure that the family that we saw here would be able to see us even if we weren't here.

n

"I will never be without reminders of all of you. I can't thank you enough.

"

nHe got to his feet and hugged me then, joy in his face and eyes. I was glad I could do something that he loved so much.

nI had made a gift for Aunt Glory before I knew she was family. I had included some things from around the town that I knew that she would like. It wasn't much, but when I brought it to her later in the day, she had seemed to love it.

nWe all, including Aunt Glory, sat to have dinner with each other that night. It was special, with amazing food, great company, and lots of memories to take home with us. Aunt Glory and Athair mór seemed to enjoy their first actual Christmas, and I think that they would love to have something like this again. Maybe we should come to another Yule celebration in the future.

nWhen we put Reagan and Rika to bed that night, they were clutching onto new stuffed toys they had gotten, with smiles on their little faces, and they fell asleep instantly. I was truly happy that we were here right now. I may be missing home and would like to go back soon, but there were times, like right now, that I loved where I was and was content with not being home. I guess that's just what it meant to be comfortable somewhere. That uneasy feeling from when we first got here faded, and this place truly felt like home to us now.. I don't think we would have any problems with coming back for future visits, fight or no fight.

n