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Jingle Bell Rock played softly in the background as Tobin bustled around the kitchen, dodging dogs sleeping in the most inconvenient places. The counters were covered in flour and melted chocolate, with a dash of cinnamon here and there. Christen called it chaos, but Tobin liked to think of it as an organized mess.“Emma! Miles! Stop running!” she heard Christen cry desperately.Tobin looked up just in time to see their two children tear around the corner, screaming and laughing. She stepped in front of them and spread her arms out, preventing them from going any further.“Halt in the name of the law!” Tobin braced herself as the twins collided with her body. She fell back onto the floor, laughing along with the kids.“You’re just as bad as they are,” Christen towered over them, shaking her head.“Oh, cmon, Chris. Where’s your holiday spirit? Your childlike wonder?” Tobin joked, barely containing the squirming kids.Christen rolled her eyes, but held out her hand to help Tobin up anyway. The twins ran off as soon as she stood, presumably to stir up trouble elsewhere.“Shouldn’t you follow them?” Tobin raised her eyebrow. “Make sure they don’t burn the house down?”“Since when am I a single parent?” Christen wrapped her arms around Tobin from behind and rested her chin on her shoulder.Tobin leaned back into the gesture. “Since I became the designated chef.”Christen sighed, her warm breath grazing Tobin’s neck, sending shivers down her spine. “You sure I can’t help you any?”“Sorry, baby. I think we both know that you’re better off anywhere but the kitchen,” Tobin smiled apologetically.“I’ll just sit here and keep you company, then,” Christen kissed Tobin’s cheek and plopped herself down in a barstool at the kitchen counter.“You trust our kids way too much,” Tobin checked the timer on the oven and turned back to find Christen grinning like she had just won the lottery. “What?”“I just don’t think I’ll ever get sick of hearing that. Our kids.”“It’s weird to think that just a few years ago we were a couple of dorks that had no idea what they were doing or what they wanted in life.”“Well, I knew what I wanted,” Christen corrected.Tobin pulled a batch of cookies out of the oven placed them on a rack to cool. “Yeah? What was that?”“You.”“Smooth, Press, smooth.”“You know it,” Christen winked.Suddenly a crash echoed from the other room, followed by a screech of “Miles!”Tobin cringed. “You see, this is why one of us needs to keep an eye on them at all times.”“Yeah, yeah I know,” Christen got up from her seat and kissed Tobin’s cheek quickly before walking off. “I’ll take care of it.”“I love you!” Tobin called after her.“You better!”Christen emerged with a teary eyed Emma in her arms just as Tobin was finishing up the icing. The girl’s head was nestled under Christen’s chin, her hands clutching Christen’s sweater.“Aw, baby, what happened?” Tobin abandoned her work and hurried to the pair.Emma reached out for her wordlessly. “There was an incident involving Miles destroying Emma’s Lego house,” Christen answered as she handed off the child to Tobin.“It’s okay, pumpkin,” Tobin kissed the top of her head. “Would you like to try some icing?”Emma nodded enthusiastically.“Yeah? I made it with extra sugar just for you,” Tobin carried her over to the counter a set her atop it. She scooped out a spoonful and held it out to Emma, who took it gratefully.“Thank you, Mama.”“You’re welcome, baby,” she stroked the girl’s hair soothingly and looked up to find Christen smiling at them. “What’s that adorable smile for?”“You’re a great mom, you know that?”“I couldn’t do it without my wonderful wife,” Tobin pulled Christen in for a sweet kiss.“Ew!” Emma’s remark caused them to pull apart and laugh softly.“You’re absolutely right. Mommy’s gross,” Tobin agreed.“Hey!’ Christen cried indignantly.“Why don’t you grab your brother, Em? Then we can start cookie decorating.”“Okay!” Emma jumped off the counter and raced to Miles’s bedroom.As soon as she vanished for their sight, Christen pulled Tobin into a deeper, more passionate kiss. “Am I still gross?” she breathed.“As if you could ever be,” Tobin kissed her nose.Cookie decorating went just as smoothly as it could with two rambunctious seven year olds. Tobin was convinced that there was more icing and sprinkles on themselves than on the cookies themselves. And of course, she and Christen were left to clean it all up by themselves while the kids watched Rudolph on the TV. By the time everything was clean, the twins were fast asleep.“Think we should get them into bed?”“They still need to get into pyjamas and brush their teeth and everything, though,” Christen frowned.“It’s Christmastime, love. Let them have this,” Tobin put an arm around her.“Fine,” Christen gently picked up Emma. “But if their teeth fall out, that’s on you.”“Fair enough,” Tobin took Miles and they each went their separate ways, taking the time to tuck in the children and kiss their foreheads goodnight.The couple then collapsed in their own bed, Christen snuggling up close to Tobin. Tobin kissed the top of her head and rubbed her shoulder softly Christen sighed quietly and traced patterns on Tobin’s thigh.“Don’t get me wrong, I love our kids, but they exhaust me.”“Me too,” Tobin nodded. “But it’s all worth it. I love going through life with you.”Christen kissed her jaw lightly. “I can’t imagine having a family with anyone else.”“Well I sure hope not.”Christen laughed softly. “I love you.”“I love you too, Chris,” Tobin tilted Christen’s chin up to meet her lips.“Merry Christmas, Tobs,” Christen murmured.“Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”