Welcome to the Family (Ally)

[Alliana Porter]

The silence created incredibly thick tension in the air. It wasn't good no matter what it was. Something was definitely eating at him now. "Oh....no. God...I am so sorry." Her voice hovered just above a whisper as she whispered back. She absolutely had to be here for him now. The way he was acting gave way that he was about to break down. She had never seen him cry and didn't want to, but he probably was going to any second now. It wasn't the greatest news, especially around Christmastime, but everyone had been so strong, or so it seemed on the outside. It was plenty to dampen their spirits, but they were trying so hard to keep their joy up.

Ally turned him around in her arms and pulled him over to sit next to her on the bed. She embraced him in a tight hug and waited for the wave. "I've got you." she whispered gently in his ear, rubbing small circles in his back. She would definitely be t the top of her prayers now.

[Luke Martin]

Something about the way Ally sat him down and began soothing him before he even broke made the tears come so much sooner than he'd hoped, and he'd hoped not to cry at all. They trickled down his cheeks, splashing into his lap before he could catch them. With Ally's arms wrapped around him like that, he couldn't actually reach his face at all. Instead, his hands clutched at her arm, and his chin rested against his chest. She wasn't going to let go, and he didn't want her to.

"I can't imagine," his voice was gruff through the tears, "her not being here. She's always been there for me, even if I haven't been around for her, and the thought of her not being here next Christmas... no wonder Jen was so pissed off with me. But I didn't know. If I'd known then I would have..." What would he have done? Come home sooner? Agreed to stay for longer? "This is such a crappy Christmas present," he said with a half laugh, attempting to sniff away the tears.

[Alliana Porter]

Ally pulled him close to her chest as the tears ran down. Her blue tank was throughly soaked with his sadness now, but that didn't matter. There were far more important issues than the state of her shirt. She rocked with him a little, smoothing down his hair and held him tight while he cried. Watching any man cry was hard enough, but because he was Luke, she almost felt like crying herself.

He finally stopped long enough for words, and Ally's heart sank. "You would've what Luke? Trust me, she's so glad to see you. There are no words for the love I saw in her eyes for you. You mean the world to her. Sometimes......sometimes things just happen. No matter what we do..and...and we have to make the best of them." She was starting to sound like him here. The words she spilled were more likely to come from his mouth, rather than hers. But she meant every word. He had done all he could and loved and supported his family better than any man she ever knew.

Ally reached her hand to cup his cheek, wiping away the tears with her thumb. "Seeing you is probably the best Christmas present for her Luke. Trust me." Sniffling her own small tears back she leaned in and kissed his tear stained cheek. "Don't blame yourself...ever."

[Luke Martin]

Luke spluttered with tears and a chuckle, "you're beginning to sound like me," he said, noticing it too. It was only this afternoon that he'd been comforting her and soothing her, now it was the other way round. "Obviously, we've been spending too much time together." He would always fend off emotional moments with humour, or funny comments. He was the big strong brother who made his sisters laugh through their tears. Now he was the one crying, and he was pretty sure if they were in here too, there'd be three ladies cuddling him right now.

Shuffling round, he lay back against the pillows, pulling Ally into his arms. He brushed away her tears gently, kissing her on the forehead. "Thank you," he said, resting his cheek against where he'd just pressed his lips, "I love you."

[Alliana Porter]

"You're a good influence." she smiled back, wiping a few more tears away. Moments like this, she felt made them closer. If they could laugh together, they could cry together. "We can never spend too much time together, only not enough time together." She smiled softly, trying to lighten her own heart. They'd cried enough and Christmas was tomorrow. They had to find and make whatever happiness they could.

She was glad this moment was personal. If anyone else were in the room, she might not feel as comfortable. It was one of those...almost third wheel sort of moments. Ally snuggled considerably closer than the night before. She felt that he needed the closeness tonight. She rested her head against his shoulder and looked up at him, just to make sure he was done crying. "I'm always gonna be here for you.....I promise." Ally leaned in and sealed her promise with a kiss to his cheek. "I love you too."

[Luke Martin]

Luke drifted into a light sleep, stirring several times during the night, once he heard movement outside, but it was probably his Dad putting the presents under the tree for the morning. The final time he awoke, bright white light was pouring through the window, and he couldn't help but smile. Georgie was going to have an absolute field day with the snow, she'd be dragging them outside as soon as they were done with presents, he was sure.

Kissing the lobe of Ally's ear, and her neck, he remained where he was today, deciding they were probably going to be opening their presents in their pyjamas anyway. If he was going to get soaked by the snow, there wasn't really any point showering before that anyway. "Rise and shine sleepy head," he whispered slowly, "Merry Christmas."

[Alliana Porter]

Ally slept worlds better than the night before. Sleeping here next to him was pure bliss and she almost didn't want to go back to the discomfort of her bed on board. Nothing could ever compare to falling asleep and waking up next to him.

When Luke kissed her? She gave a small groan and snuggled her face further into the pillow. Why did morning have to come so early? His voice guilted her into waking up anyway. Ally turned her face slowly to look at his shining face and parted a soft smile. "Good morning." Her voice was slightly groggy from the sleep but it was clear she still meant it. Propping herself up onto the pillows, her gaze settled on the white light as it poured through the window. She winced a little, adjusting her gaze to the snow. "Did it snow last night?"

[Luke Martin]

"It did indeed, my lovely," he said, kissing her on the lips now that she was facing his way, "a white Christmas for the Martins this year. Beware of girlish squealing when Georgie wakes up and sees-" a shriek sounded from down the hallway, "too late." There was the sound of footfalls in the hallway outside, and there was a loud knock on the door. "Snow, snow, snow, snow!" Georgie sang, "get out of bed so we can go play!" "Honestly, no privacy in this house!" Luke called back, shaking his head.

Smiling at Ally, she looked beautiful even when she was half asleep. "Come down when you're ready," he told her, "my parents won't be up yet, so the real stuff won't start for a little while yet. I'm going to go catch the squealer and teach her a lesson." Kissing her again, he slid out from under the covers and wrapped himself in a dressing gown before heading downstairs. Where had that pesky creature got to?

[Alliana Porter]

Ally smiled as his lips collided gently with hers. He was so sweet when he woke up. Truly something she could get used to, and almost desperately wanted o wake up to everyday. It was probably something they couldn't get away with on board. Sharing quarters was unheard of, unless of course the rules of marriage applied, and no one had gotten married quite yet. Georgie's squeal erupted from the hallway and Ally had to laugh at the matter. She was such a goofball, and the energy never seemed to end with her.

"Guess we get to play then." she chuckled sleepily, scratching the back of her head as a yawn escaped her groggy form. He was definitely a morning person, and she was far from it. She would've actually rolled over and gone back to sleep if it weren't for the fact that it was Christmas morning, and more importantly, the first snow day she'd seen in years. Ally watched him leave without another word, then squeed silently to herself. The grin on her face spread like wildfire and she hopped out of bed to get a closer look out the window. The miracle of beautiful snow.

Without a second thought she reached over to her now messy overnight bag and pulled her over sized gray hoodie out and changed her shirt to a long sleeve or warmth. After pulling on her ugg boots, Ally skipped down the stairs in a mission to find Luke and finally get to play in the snow. It was already becoming the best Christmas of her life.

[Luke Martin]

Georgie was bouncing around near the Christmas tree, trying not to trample the presents while she waited excitedly for everyone to come downstairs and open them so she could go out and play in the snow. "Come on!" she whined, she'd made enough noise already, what was the hold up? She let out a shriek as she was scooped up from behind and hoister over a tall shoulder, flailing her legs around. "Luke!" she giggled loudly as he spun her round, "put me down!"

"Not a chance," he said, "not until you stop making so much noise." It took her a couple of minutes and a severe tickling to agree, and he deposited her on the couch where she curled up into a ball, and hid her face from him. "Being quiet now," she said, muffled through the cushions. Andee followed Ally down the stairs, her husband somewhere behind her, probably getting Jen out of bed. "Morning dear," she smiled at Ally widely, giving her a hug, "Merry Christmas."

[Alliana Porter]

Based on the amount of laughter coming from the living room, she had guessed that what where all the action was taking place. He was so good to them and she could never deny their dynamic family bond.

Andee was right behind Ally and as soon as she plopped down the last stair was embraced into a tight, warm hug. "Good morning to you too." she beamed back. She could almost feel the love from his mother in their hug. Despite everything Luke had told her last night, Andee seemed in good spirits, but then again, Christmas morning held that special sort or magic too.

Ally was probably just as excited as Georgie, she just had a better way of handling it and came across a lot calmer. However the minute she got the chance outside, she would squeak and squeal with the best of them. As soon as she got close to Luke, she wrapped her arms tight around his wait and perched on her toes to whisper in his ear. "Just so you know, I'm dying to go outside and play in the snow, I just have a softer way of showing my excitement indoors."

[Luke Martin]

Luke grinned back at Ally as she wrapped her arms around his waist, "good, otherwise you would have been in for a tickling too." Georgie poked her head out from behind the cushions, her hair a mess, and let out a squeak. "Merry Christmas!" she jumped up so she was standing on the sofa, and enveloped Ally into a hug through Luke, her arms wrapped tightly around the both of them. Luke faked a choking sound, "can't... breathe..."

Jonathan appeared on the stairs, pushing a sleepy Jen gently in front of him. "Morning all," he said, squeezing Jen's shoulders, which prompted her to give them all a wave, her eyes still half closed. "This one was buried beneath two quilts, I thought she'd dissolved overnight, melted away." Georgie let go, bouncing off the sofa as Jen fell into it, offering Luke and Ally both a smile before curling up with a cushion. "I can dish out the presents, right?" Georgie asked excitedly. "That's not really a question, is it?" Andee sunk into an arm chair, Jonathan sitting on the arm of it.

[Alliana Porter]

Ally reached around, pulling an arm out from Luke and wrapping it around Georgie. "Merry Christmas goober." she chuckled, slinking a hand up to further mess up her hair. It seemed as if she was making a good impression on Georgie, but Jen however would still be a hard nut to crack. Her opinion still mattered, and if she wasn't happy, then Ally was doing something wrong. She shook her head a little, brushing away such thoughts and tried to dwell on the happiness that was filling the air. It was still Christmas after all.

And speak of the devil. Jonathan pushed her groggily dow the stairs, and Ally couldn't help but see more of herself in Jen. She bit her lip awkwardly and sunk into the couch behind her. Luke would join her if she wanted to, but now she felt like she had to hold off on the affection in front of Jen. She turned to Georgie's enthusiastic squeak, and gave short chuckled laugh. "Only if you open mine first."

[Luke Martin]

"Duh!" Georgie grinned at Ally, plopping herself down beside the tree so that she could start sorting through and dishing out the presents, making sure to get all the ones from Ally to give to people. It seemed Luke had the most. "That's favouritism, that is!" she poked her tongue out at her brother. He poked his tongue out back, "well, obviously she loves me more than she loves you," he retorted, sitting down on the edge of the sofa where Ally was, holding the present in his lap.

"Give one to Ally as well, you silly monkey," Andee chastised her youngest. "Give her the one from us," Jen said, pointing to the four presents of varying sizes sitting underneath the tree. Georgie slapped her palm to her head and did as she was told, pointing to the oddly shape squashy one. "Open that one first," she grinned, "I chose it." Luke knew they'd got her gifts, they'd asked for a couple of hints, but he didn't actually know what they'd got her, this should be interesting.

[Alliana Porter]

Ally chuckled smugly and reached for his arm to wrap around playfully. "Just a tad." he grinned cheekily and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. For once Ally was really feeling included in something. His family continually left her speechless, and the more things they did, made her feel as if they were her own. She hoped hisparents would enjoy the gifts she picked out for them. Georgie and Jen were considerably easier, only because Luke had hinted that they were both into music, Jen playing, Georgie listening. Luke's was incredibly special, and she prayed he would love it.

As Georgie began the job of presenting presents, she handed a rather oddly wrapped gift to Ally. "And this is..from..Georgie? Hmm..no idea what this is." she laughed playfully, tearing into the wrapping paper. A few rips in revealed a very large and very soft teddy bear. She beamed, feeling like small child. "Aww Georgie, I love it. Definitely sleeping with this every night. That's so sweet of you, thanks." She reached over and grabbed the young girl by the waist for a hug.