Chapter 3

'Daddy, daddy wake up! Its Christmas morning! Santa's been! Come on wake up Daddy!' Greg was woken up by the shouts of excited children, the twins jumping on the bed. Rachael sat on the edge of the bed, grinning despite the earliness. She was clutching the new iPod that Katie had bought for her and placed in her stocking.

'Ok, I'm up, Katie get up I'm not braving this alone.' He said, sliding up and turning to Katie.

'But I'm sleeping…' she groaned, putting the pillow over her head.

'Tough, get up mommy!' Ellie pouted, pulling the pillow from her head and trying to prise it away.

'Why do you want to get up?' she asked, 'you can't open any more presents until our friends get here and I doubt that they will have had to get up yet…'

'Actually, Catherine might have, apparently it gets worse as they hit teenage years, Lindsay and all…' Greg said quietly as Katie propped herself up.

'I thought Lindsay was like twenty-something?' she asked.

'Oh, well then I dunno…' Greg said and Katie smiled.

'Hey you lot?' she said loudly over the excited babble of the children they stopped and looked at their mother, 'Happy Christmas.' She grinned and they all cheered and jumped on their parents.

Greg and Katie simply held their children and asked them about the presents in their stockings. They were excited for them, like they'd been thinking the night before, there was nothing more pleasing than seeing your excited child open their presents on Christmas morning.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

About midday their first guest arrived, it was Nick. He had all his ingredients for cooking their Christmas dinner.

'Ok, go through to the kitchen; please don't burn the house down…' Greg said as soon as he opened the door.

'Sir yes sir,' nick grinned saluting as he made his way through the living room where the children were looking at the presents suspiciously and trying to guess what was under each wrapping.

'Hey guys! Happy Christmas!' Nick said as he walked through, he handed Katie, who was flopped lazily on the sofa, still looking as if she could drop off to sleep, a bag full of presents, she thanked him and echoed his happy Christmas before getting up and placing the presents neatly under the tree. The twins and Rachael replied with happy Christmas as well.

Greg followed nick and sat next to Katie.

'is it bad that I'm tired already?' she whispered, they were cautious with their conversations even though the kids were too interested in who had the biggest present to care what they were talking about anyway.

'Does that mean I'm not getting any tonight?' Greg said, jokingly.

'Cheeky!' she grinned, hitting him playfully, then the doorbell went again and Greg got up to answer it, this was the beginning of Christmas.