72 hours had passed since Dakota and Jade had officially become husband and wife. They would be getting ready to leave for their honeymoon soon enough, but they had a certain order of business to attend to that was much more important. They had a seven year girl that they had to provide a Christmas for! And that was exactly the plan on this night....which just happened to be Christmas Eve.
Kota and Jade were snuggled on the couch together with the Christmas classic "It's A Wonderful Life" on TV. Claira was on the floor with a bowl of popcorn, trying to pay attention to the movie, but it was easy to tell how antsy the poor girl was. She was getting PRESENTS tonight!!!! Santa would be bringing her a bunch of stuff tomorrow, but for tonight, she was getting her presents from momma and....what DID she call Dakota now that they were married? Anyway....she was all jumpy, asking every five minutes if the movie was almost over! Kota was in a t-shirt, black sweatpants, and a red Santa hat, and he had his right arm wrapped tightly around his new bride. Luke was lying on the floor, right at Kota's feet, and he was keeping an eye on that popcorn, waiting for Claira to spill some of it like she always did.
Every so often little Claira would look up at Dakota and giggle at the hat. He wasn't santa, that silly head! And when she thought her momma and daddy weren't looking, she'd slip her best friend a peice or eight of popcorn. No, not her teddy bear! Lukey! She couldn't eat it all herself! But she was soooooooo jittery. Not only was she getting presents from SANTA in the morning... but she was getting some tonight too! Happy she was.
Jade was almost as ansty as her daughter. Call it a stigma of never really having Christmases. Snuggled in her new hubby on the couch, she barely watched the movie (that she'd seen a million times)... just watched as the minutes tickled by. Dakota and she had decided that they weren't going to give each other much of anything this year, because well... you can't top a wedding right before Christmas. So this was all about Claira this year. Her excitment was Jade's.
And wouldn't you know it? They were down to the last couple minutes of the movie. Claira had been about as patient as you could ask out of a seven year old. Truthfully, Kota had been paying more attention to watching Claira and how she thought she was being sooooooooo sneaky by giving that popcorn to Luke. Oh man, this is all he could ever ask for Christmas...a wife and a brand new daughter. Make no mistake, Claira was HIS daughter now. He considered himself to be her daddy, no questions asked. And with those last few words, "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings...", the movie came to a conclusion. Kota then faked a huuuuuuuuge yawn, trying not to grin as he looked over at Jade. "Weeeeell, I reckon it's bout bedtime, ain't it?" Um.....was he forgetting something???
She, somehow, produced an equally as large yawn. Jade even gave a stretch to boot. "Yep, think we should get Claira all brushed up?" There she went, moving to get up off the couch as she pulled her Christmasy jammies around her better.
There went those little cheeks puffing up, "Hey!" Huff! Even Luke seemed to protest with a yip. "Mommy... Daddy! You promised me gifts... reeeemeeeemberrrr?" That pout could take down the Great Wall of China as Claira hugged herself against the dog and the huge bowl of popcorn.
"Awwwwwwww.......alright, baby...you win, you win." Nope, Kota never had a chance against THAT pout. And the way she called him "daddy"....? He'd kill for that little girl. Well, he pulled himself off the couch and got himself seated on the floor, close to the tree. Taking a few seconds to snoop under the tree for the ones that he knew were hers, he pulled out the one that he knew had the Barbie in it, handing it to her.
There went those biiig jade hues widening and her giggles flowed out, "Oh booooyyyy!" Claira's grasp on Luke gave way as she crawled over to Dakota in her pretty pink nightgown, "What is it? Whhhat is it?" Giiiiggle. She sat beside him and took the box, shaking it none-the-less.
She smiled and moved to sit on the floor as well, taking Claira's seat as she watched. "Well, dun shake it! Open it an' see what's inside." Grin and Jade took to petting Luke. He was getting way too much lovin's lately.
So she barely looked at her mother, only nodding sagely, "Mmmk, no shakin'. Opennin'!!" With that, wrapping paper went everywhere. Literally. All that paper from one little box? Whoda thunk? After several seconds of said paper flying, there was a squeel of delight from under the small paper wad, that was Claira. "Haaaaaannnnnaaaa Mooooonnnntaaaannnaaaaaa!!" Then her little words came outa mile a minute, "She sings! She dances! Look at her outfit! Oh my goodness! Coloring book and CD with it?! Best of Both Worlds!"
And her reactions made it ALL worth it. Kota would give a glance over to Jade as she watched her daughter tear into everything. He wanted to see HER reaction to Claira being so happy. THIS is what Christmas was all about! Well, he reached for a smaller box which held a gift from him. He didn't even tell Jade about this one, but it was a choker that he'd made himself a few weeks before the wedding, with plans on giving it to Claira for Christmas. He knew she loved jewelry. Wonder how she'd like this piece?
Jade just sat there, content with that blissful smile on her crimson lips. Her jade hues were alight in motherly tenderness and utter happiness for her daughter, they even seemed to dance around playfully. Yep, this was the life. Everyday should be Christmas. Though, when she saw the small unknown box her head tilted - causing her long ponytail to shift to the side, "Dakota...?" Unplanned!
He simply winked at Jade, grinning.
Claira was too busy looking at doll Hannah to notice the smaller box at first. She was just babbling, "It has fourteen songs on the CD! And she sings up to four! It comes with a microphone where I can sing-a--" The smaller box caught her attention as she spied it from the corner of her eye. Her head tilt mirrored her mother's, though her curly black locks gave a bounce instead. "Whassat, daddy?"
"Somethin' I made for you, baby....I made this a few weeks ago. I jus' wanted to give you somethin' special. I hope you like it..." And he gave his new daughter the small box, knowing that this was as happy as he has been in such a long time. Yep.....every day should be Christmas. Things would be a whole lot less messed up around here, wouldn't they? If only people could look at the world with as much optimism as a seven year old girl looks at Christmas.
"Yew made fer meeee? Reeeeeally?" Giggle, "No way!" She didn't look as she unwrapped some of it, only looking at her mother. "Mommy! Daddy made me something spppecial!" Her ever bright smile grew... brighter! She kept uuunwrapping...
She eyed him in a way she hadn't looked at another man before. Not just as her husband, but as the father of her child. Powerful stuff, but she didn't give it much though, only looked to Claira, "He did?! Oh, you better open it and see what it is!"
As Jade's last words slipped from her lips, Claira was lifting the box top off. Yea, she was waaay ahead of her mother. She took a moment to still herself and just look at the little choker. She touched all the little pieces lightly as her jade hues grew wider once again. A little gasp came out and her tiny head bopped up to look at Dakota, "For me?!"
Aw man, her reaction....he had to bite his bottom lip at how precious that reaction was. What was it about these two girls that kept making him cry??? He just nodded and replied softly, "It's for you, angel......want me to put it on you?"
"I can wear it now? Ahmmm! Pretty please with sugar on top put it onnnn!" You would have thought he gave her heaven itself. "Mommy mommy! Come look! It's pretty and he made it jus' for me!" She waved her mother over, even if she was just about a foot away, and situated herself infront of Dakota.
Her brows went up at Claira's reaction. If everyone got that much joy out of a choker and a doll, well... who'd know what would happen. All she knew was that she was happy for just Claira being happy. She scooted over, eyeing the choker as she came nearer. "It is very pretty. Almost as pretty as my own daughter, " she gave a laugh at Claira's face at that, "Almost." Helping out the hubby with Claira's mass of curly locks, she held her hair up so he could place the choker on her.
Well, he took the hand crafted piece and placed it gently around her neck, tying the two small leather strips together at the back of her neck before placing a light kiss upon the back of her head. "Merry Christmas, Claira....."
Kota and Jade were snuggled on the couch together with the Christmas classic "It's A Wonderful Life" on TV. Claira was on the floor with a bowl of popcorn, trying to pay attention to the movie, but it was easy to tell how antsy the poor girl was. She was getting PRESENTS tonight!!!! Santa would be bringing her a bunch of stuff tomorrow, but for tonight, she was getting her presents from momma and....what DID she call Dakota now that they were married? Anyway....she was all jumpy, asking every five minutes if the movie was almost over! Kota was in a t-shirt, black sweatpants, and a red Santa hat, and he had his right arm wrapped tightly around his new bride. Luke was lying on the floor, right at Kota's feet, and he was keeping an eye on that popcorn, waiting for Claira to spill some of it like she always did.
Every so often little Claira would look up at Dakota and giggle at the hat. He wasn't santa, that silly head! And when she thought her momma and daddy weren't looking, she'd slip her best friend a peice or eight of popcorn. No, not her teddy bear! Lukey! She couldn't eat it all herself! But she was soooooooo jittery. Not only was she getting presents from SANTA in the morning... but she was getting some tonight too! Happy she was.
Jade was almost as ansty as her daughter. Call it a stigma of never really having Christmases. Snuggled in her new hubby on the couch, she barely watched the movie (that she'd seen a million times)... just watched as the minutes tickled by. Dakota and she had decided that they weren't going to give each other much of anything this year, because well... you can't top a wedding right before Christmas. So this was all about Claira this year. Her excitment was Jade's.
And wouldn't you know it? They were down to the last couple minutes of the movie. Claira had been about as patient as you could ask out of a seven year old. Truthfully, Kota had been paying more attention to watching Claira and how she thought she was being sooooooooo sneaky by giving that popcorn to Luke. Oh man, this is all he could ever ask for Christmas...a wife and a brand new daughter. Make no mistake, Claira was HIS daughter now. He considered himself to be her daddy, no questions asked. And with those last few words, "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings...", the movie came to a conclusion. Kota then faked a huuuuuuuuge yawn, trying not to grin as he looked over at Jade. "Weeeeell, I reckon it's bout bedtime, ain't it?" Um.....was he forgetting something???
She, somehow, produced an equally as large yawn. Jade even gave a stretch to boot. "Yep, think we should get Claira all brushed up?" There she went, moving to get up off the couch as she pulled her Christmasy jammies around her better.
There went those little cheeks puffing up, "Hey!" Huff! Even Luke seemed to protest with a yip. "Mommy... Daddy! You promised me gifts... reeeemeeeemberrrr?" That pout could take down the Great Wall of China as Claira hugged herself against the dog and the huge bowl of popcorn.
"Awwwwwwww.......alright, baby...you win, you win." Nope, Kota never had a chance against THAT pout. And the way she called him "daddy"....? He'd kill for that little girl. Well, he pulled himself off the couch and got himself seated on the floor, close to the tree. Taking a few seconds to snoop under the tree for the ones that he knew were hers, he pulled out the one that he knew had the Barbie in it, handing it to her.
There went those biiig jade hues widening and her giggles flowed out, "Oh booooyyyy!" Claira's grasp on Luke gave way as she crawled over to Dakota in her pretty pink nightgown, "What is it? Whhhat is it?" Giiiiggle. She sat beside him and took the box, shaking it none-the-less.
She smiled and moved to sit on the floor as well, taking Claira's seat as she watched. "Well, dun shake it! Open it an' see what's inside." Grin and Jade took to petting Luke. He was getting way too much lovin's lately.
So she barely looked at her mother, only nodding sagely, "Mmmk, no shakin'. Opennin'!!" With that, wrapping paper went everywhere. Literally. All that paper from one little box? Whoda thunk? After several seconds of said paper flying, there was a squeel of delight from under the small paper wad, that was Claira. "Haaaaaannnnnaaaa Mooooonnnntaaaannnaaaaaa!!" Then her little words came outa mile a minute, "She sings! She dances! Look at her outfit! Oh my goodness! Coloring book and CD with it?! Best of Both Worlds!"
And her reactions made it ALL worth it. Kota would give a glance over to Jade as she watched her daughter tear into everything. He wanted to see HER reaction to Claira being so happy. THIS is what Christmas was all about! Well, he reached for a smaller box which held a gift from him. He didn't even tell Jade about this one, but it was a choker that he'd made himself a few weeks before the wedding, with plans on giving it to Claira for Christmas. He knew she loved jewelry. Wonder how she'd like this piece?
Jade just sat there, content with that blissful smile on her crimson lips. Her jade hues were alight in motherly tenderness and utter happiness for her daughter, they even seemed to dance around playfully. Yep, this was the life. Everyday should be Christmas. Though, when she saw the small unknown box her head tilted - causing her long ponytail to shift to the side, "Dakota...?" Unplanned!
He simply winked at Jade, grinning.
Claira was too busy looking at doll Hannah to notice the smaller box at first. She was just babbling, "It has fourteen songs on the CD! And she sings up to four! It comes with a microphone where I can sing-a--" The smaller box caught her attention as she spied it from the corner of her eye. Her head tilt mirrored her mother's, though her curly black locks gave a bounce instead. "Whassat, daddy?"
"Somethin' I made for you, baby....I made this a few weeks ago. I jus' wanted to give you somethin' special. I hope you like it..." And he gave his new daughter the small box, knowing that this was as happy as he has been in such a long time. Yep.....every day should be Christmas. Things would be a whole lot less messed up around here, wouldn't they? If only people could look at the world with as much optimism as a seven year old girl looks at Christmas.
"Yew made fer meeee? Reeeeeally?" Giggle, "No way!" She didn't look as she unwrapped some of it, only looking at her mother. "Mommy! Daddy made me something spppecial!" Her ever bright smile grew... brighter! She kept uuunwrapping...
She eyed him in a way she hadn't looked at another man before. Not just as her husband, but as the father of her child. Powerful stuff, but she didn't give it much though, only looked to Claira, "He did?! Oh, you better open it and see what it is!"
As Jade's last words slipped from her lips, Claira was lifting the box top off. Yea, she was waaay ahead of her mother. She took a moment to still herself and just look at the little choker. She touched all the little pieces lightly as her jade hues grew wider once again. A little gasp came out and her tiny head bopped up to look at Dakota, "For me?!"
Aw man, her reaction....he had to bite his bottom lip at how precious that reaction was. What was it about these two girls that kept making him cry??? He just nodded and replied softly, "It's for you, angel......want me to put it on you?"
"I can wear it now? Ahmmm! Pretty please with sugar on top put it onnnn!" You would have thought he gave her heaven itself. "Mommy mommy! Come look! It's pretty and he made it jus' for me!" She waved her mother over, even if she was just about a foot away, and situated herself infront of Dakota.
Her brows went up at Claira's reaction. If everyone got that much joy out of a choker and a doll, well... who'd know what would happen. All she knew was that she was happy for just Claira being happy. She scooted over, eyeing the choker as she came nearer. "It is very pretty. Almost as pretty as my own daughter, " she gave a laugh at Claira's face at that, "Almost." Helping out the hubby with Claira's mass of curly locks, she held her hair up so he could place the choker on her.
Well, he took the hand crafted piece and placed it gently around her neck, tying the two small leather strips together at the back of her neck before placing a light kiss upon the back of her head. "Merry Christmas, Claira....."