Her first Christmas, Faith was just about fifteen weeks old. Ben and I sat on the couch with her that Christmas morning and helped her unwrap her presents. She was still too young to understand that she was receiving gifts, or who Santa Claus was, or why we had a tree with shiny objects dangling from it in our living room—or even what a tree was—but she enjoyed the colorful, crinkling paper and all the attention she got. She cooed along happily to all the Christmas songs I sang her, soaking up the cheerful atmosphere without a care in the world.

One day we'd tell her that she'd been conceived on Christmas Eve, and that she was the best present Santa had ever brought us, but it was still too early for that. Even if it was true.

Only one year ago, I'd been a miserable omega, thinking that I would never get another chance with the alpha I loved, thinking that Christmas was only for other people. People who hadn't been abandoned by their families when they were children. This year, I had more reason than anyone to celebrate.

Once Faith had opened all her presents—new onesies and pacifiers, a stuffed penguin and something to chew on for when she'd start teething—it was Ben's and my turn to exchange gifts.

I handed the baby to Ben, put on some Christmas music and fished the gift I'd wrapped up for my alpha out from under the tree. "This is for you! I hope you like it!" I laid the box on the coffee table for him and took Faith back so he could unwrap it. The little girl was still happy playing with a piece of wrapping paper she held in her little fists. I couldn't wait for her to be old enough to really celebrate with us—though at the same time I never wanted her to grow up either. Being a parent was hard. All the conflicting emotions.

I was not conflicted about the present I was giving Ben, though. That had been easy. Satisfied that I'd made the right choice, I watched his face light up as he unwrapped his gift. High quality origami paper and a couple of pro-level magazines that would hopefully keep him occupied for a while.

"This is really nice."

"You shouldn't have to make your origami from old receipts anymore. They're too pretty for that."

"Thank you." He looked at the magazines. "This stuff looks hard."

"I'm sure you can figure it out." I gave him a smile and a short kiss on the side of his forehead.

He grinned back at me. "I'll try. For you," he said, and then he got up and dove under the tree to get the last remaining gift box. His present for me. Faith squealed as she was passed around between us again. Ben and I had to laugh too. How could we not, when we had a happy baby in our midst? Our true Christmas miracle. Whatever Ben had gotten me this year, it couldn't be as good as the baby he was holding now.

Gingerly, I unwrapped the gift. And then I laughed even harder. It was a DVD copy of My Alpha and his Omega, my favorite movie that had recently been removed from Netflix. I’d been inconsolable. Until now. "I can’t believe you found a copy!"

He grinned. "Hang on a sec." He left the room for a minute, only to return with ribbon-wrapped wire-basket full of little treats. "That’s part two of your gift. How about we have movie night when the little monster’s sleeping? Someday."

I snorted, picking a bottle of champagne from the basket and eying the assortment of crackers, dips and chips. As I read the label on the champagne, Cooper seemed to come out of nowhere and jumped into the basket with a happy yipping sound.

"Cooper, no!" Ben protested, lifting the dog out of his gift basket. "He’s been trying to get at the crackers since he watched me hide the basket in our closet."

I laughed. "Aw, he can have one when we get to do our movie night."

"If you’re willing to share with him."

"I can be generous. Thank you. I love my present."

Ben gave me a smile and a kiss on the lips, short, but sweet. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too."

Last year, I'd thought Christmas wasn't for me. Now I knew Christmas was for everyone. Even for me and Ben.

Turned out all we needed was a little Faith.

The End

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