FicWad

I made it to my Mothers house on Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving. Scott, Lisa, and Abby arrived the next morning. Mom wasn't inviting many people to dinner this year. It was just the six of us. Mom, her husband Ryan, me, Scott, Lisa, and Abby. We had a very nice and quiet holiday.

Lisa and I were sitting together on Wednesday night talking. I’ve always liked and got along with her. She was telling me about Abby’s school play, and showing me pictures of Abby in her costume.

As she put her phone away she asked me, “So, when did you start dating Pete Wentz?”

I looked at her in shock. I hadn’t told my family who Pete was. They all knew I had met someone. That he was a single dad with three kids, and that I had been spending time with them. But I hadn’t gone into detail on what he did or who he was. Not because I didn’t trust them with the knowledge, but because it was still new for me. I had every intention of telling them everything this week while we were all together.

Lisa had a shit eating grin on her face. She started laughing at me. “I watch your videos. I recognized him.”

I started to laugh too. “Umm..Dating since the last week of September. We met in May.” I told her.

“I saw that video. His kids are adorable. Are they really viewers?”

“Yeah, they really are.” Grinning and just happy to share, I told her everything. From the day we met to the phone call I made to him and the kids an hour before.

“You’re so in love!” Lisa said, grinning at me. “Like, I’ve known you for over fifteen years and I have never seen you this giddy over a man. Not even the one you were married to.”

“I know. I’m so...happy.” I couldn't stop smiling. “He makes me so happy. I love the kids too. I really was worried for a little while that my feelings for the kids somehow influenced my feelings for him. But no, I know that’s not the case. He’s pretty fucking great.”

“I’m happy for you. Really, you deserve to be so happy.”

The next afternoon I told the rest of my family all about Pete and the kids. Abby and Scott recognized Fall Out Boy. Mom and Ryan didn’t. Abby decided she needed to educate Grandma and Grandpa about them. She was showing videos of the band to them on her tablet and pointing out Pete. It was extremely endearing.

When I called them for our daily call I introduced my family to them. As predicted Mom was just over the moon with Saint and Marvel. Pete and I were informed that they all must come to Savannah as soon as possible. Pete promised a visit this summer.

I stayed at Mom’s until Sunday. When I left I went north to see my Dad. I spent just under a week there. It was nice to spend time with my Dad, I’d missed him. I talk to him more regularly than I do my Mom, so I had already told him about Pete and the kids. I had also told him what Pete did for a living. Dad had taken the time to look the band up, and found he likes them. Dad is now a fan of Fall Out Boy.

Dad and I had a very long talk about my future and what I wanted. He gave me some very good advice. By the end of it, I knew what I wanted. I want Pete and the kids, and I still wanted to travel and keep up with my channel. What I needed to do was figure out how to combine the two in a way that worked.

I headed west after leaving South Carolina. I got to L.A. five days before the family would get home. Pete had given me the codes to the front gate, the security system, and his garage. I had the keys for the house and his car.

I let myself in and made myself at home. During that time I went to the store and I filled the fridge. I got everything we needed for all the baking I planned on doing for and with the kids. Cookies, breads, pies, cinnamon rolls were all on the list. Plus, we needed to feed five people for the next few weeks. And of course Christmas dinner. I bought a lot of food.

Bronx wanted to come over early since I was at the house. Ashlee was fine with that and brought him over two days before Pete was due home. She got out of the car to hug me and thank me for the ornaments. She was touched that I would think of her.

Bronx helped me find and pull out all the decorations for the house. Then, he helped me put the outdoor lights, garlands, and wreath up. Inside we put the garland and lights up on the mantel. I hung their stockings. The house was almost completely decorated. We found the tree and decorations. We put the tree up and made sure the lights worked, but didn’t decorate it. That’s the fun part. We left that for after they got home.

On the day they were to come home, the house looked like Christmas. I offered to pick them up from the airport, but Pete said they already had arrangements for a ride home.

When the car pulled up to the house, Bronx and I were ready to greet them and welcome them home. We went out the front door and greeted the children and Bowie with hugs and kisses. Bronx got a hug and kiss from his Dad. Everyone was so excited to see the house already decorated. Pete was extremely grateful he wouldn't have to do it.

“Hey, welcome home.” I said when I finally got to greet Pete.

He smiled at me and wrapped his arms around me. “Hey. This is nice, coming home to you.” He said, and then he kissed me.

We gathered up all the bags and got everyone inside. The kids got even more excited when they saw the tree up. Fred and George came out from wherever they were to get attention from the kids.

It was almost dinner time and the kids had not napped on the flight much to Pete’s annoyance. They were both hungry, cranky, over tired, overstimulated, and clingy. I was glad I had dinner just about done and would be able to feed them quickly.

Everyone was hungry and wanted to eat. I had cooked up a big pot of pasta sauce. All I had to do was cook up the pasta, put the garlic bread in the oven, serve it and the salad.

Almost as soon as we finished dinner the little ones were ready for bed. But they didn’t want to go to sleep and were fighting it. They were too worked up and excited. So Pete told them if they got into their pajamas they could watch one Christmas movie before bed. He put on A Charlie Brown Christmas Special for them to watch. They both were asleep on the couch before it was half over. I picked up Marvel and he picked up Saint, and we put them to bed.

In the hallway outside of the kids rooms, Pete pulled me to him and just hugged me. He had his face in the crook of my neck. He kissed the skin there softly.

“Thank you.” He said to me, “Thank you so much. The house looks amazing. Dinner was fantastic. Thank you for being here.”

“Magical Christmas, remember? I want this to be a magical Christmas for all of us.” I pulled back from him so I could see his face. “Be sure to thank Bronx too. He was a huge help the past couple of days.”

“When did he get here? I thought he got here this morning.”

“He’s been here the last couple of days. Ashlee dropped him off on Monday morning. He wanted to help me.” I told him as we headed downstairs.

When we got downstairs Pete went up to Bronx and thanked him for everything the two of us accomplished in the last few days. Bronx just flashed a familiar grin at his father and told him it was fun to do that for him and the kids.

We all sat on the couch and started a movie. Pete leaned over and rested his head on my shoulder. Before too long he had stretched out and put his head in my lap. He didn’t make it to the end. He fell asleep as I played with his hair. Bronx was ready to head up when the movie was over. I said goodnight to him and started waking Pete up so we could go to bed.

“Pete? Hon? Wake up. Let’s go to bed.” I said as I gently shook his shoulders. He woke up enough to stumble upstairs and to bed.

The next morning I got out of bed early and let Pete sleep. I knew he needed it and I could get the kids up and fed. I was up before anyone else. Once the kids started getting up I got breakfast ready. We were about done when Pete joined us.

“Good morning.” He said as he yawned.

A chorus of “Morning Dad.” Answered him.

I smiled at him and got up to get him some coffee and food.

I set a cup of coffee on the table for him. He smiled up at me gratefully. “Would you like some eggs and toast? Sausage links?” I asked.

“Please. It all smells so good.” He said and sipped on his coffee.

The kids were almost done with breakfast when Pete sat down.

“Daddy, can we decorate the tree today?” Marvel asked.

“Yes, but later. Let everyone eat and get used to being back home. We can decorate the tree this afternoon.” He told her.

Once the three of them were done eating they left the table. Bronx took them to the living room and got them set up with a cartoon. It kept them busy for a while.

I sat with Pete as he ate. I had a lot of things I wanted to talk to him about. But none of it was urgent. Mostly, I just wanted to spend time with him.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep on you last night.” He told me.

“Don’t be.” I said with a smile as I put my hand on his. “I didn’t mind and you needed it.”

“I wanted you more than sleep. But I couldn’t stay awake. I’m getting old”

“You can have me whenever you want.” I told him with my half smile.

“How long are you gonna stay this time?” He asked as he ate his breakfast.

“Well, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” I told him.

“Ok, that doesn’t sound good.” He finished his coffee and put the mug down. “Hit me with it. When are you leaving?” He seemed resigned to hearing bad news.

“I can stay for as long as you want.” I told him with a smile.

“Do you have enough footage to stay through New Year’s?” He asked me hopefully.

“No. I have enough to get through this week. But after that I have nothing. I plan on taking the holidays off.”

“Aren’t you going to need to leave after that?”

I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. “You asked me once if I would ever stop traveling. Do you remember what I said?”

“That if you found a reason to you would. But you haven’t found one.”

“I hadn’t found a reason when you asked me that. But now I have four reasons to stop or slow down, at least.”

It took a second for what I was telling him to sink in. But once it did his expression changed to his famous smile.

“Really? You’d stop for us?” He asked me.

Nodding, I said, “I’d stop for you.” Looking him in the eye I said, “I’d stop for you, Pete.”

“Grace, I, you don’t have to stop for me or for us.”

“I had a very long and hard conversation with my Dad when I was there. He was trying to kick some sense into my stubborn ass. He challenged me to really think about what I want. He asked me if next year, do I want to be spending Christmas with you and the kids, or do I want to spend it in Luna with the boys.”

“And?”

“I want to spend it with you.” I smiled my half smile at him. “Preferably all of us, the dog and cats, all together, maybe in an RV, on an adventure.”

He barked out his big hearty laugh. “You want us to go on the road with you?”

“Yes I do.” I laughed and flashed my grin at him. “Not full time. But, I’m not done adventuring. I just want to take you all along with me.”

His smile turned softer, sweeter. “I think we can work something out. Find a way to keep your channel going and still be together.”

“Good, cause there's still a lot of things I want to see and do all over this country.” I leaned in and kissed him. I didn’t know what was going to happen with us. But, I was ready to take on this new adventure.

Later that afternoon we decorated the tree. The kids did most of it while we supervised. Pete let each of the kids put their own ornament from the family set I had given him on the tree. The last thing to go on the tree was the star on top. Pete put that on and we all stood back to admire it.

Bronx was standing next to me looking at the tree and said, “Moon, you should have an ornament too.”

I looked at him and saw Pete had also turned to look at Bronx. His eyes flicked up and found mine.

“He’s right, you should have one. We can get one made this week.” Pete said.

“No need. I’ll be right back.” I had one in the van. I ran out and got it, then went back in. Mine said Moon on it since I had originally planned on hanging it in Luna to be in the background of some of my videos.

I opened the box it was in and pulled it out. “I didn’t think this is where it would be hung, but this is better than in Luna.” I put my ornament on the tree.

I stepped back to admire the tree again. Pete took the few steps to me, closing the gap between us. He stood behind me and wrapped both arms around my waist. He rested his chin on my shoulder and said, “Perfect.” Then he kissed my neck.

We decided to leave off where we had gotten in Peter Pan and start book 4 in the Harry Potter series. Everyone was excited to start the next book. We got four chapters in that day. It was so good to do that again, all five of us reading Harry Potter together.

Later on I made dinner for us. Pete took Bowie on a run and Bronx took the kids out back to play. I was enjoying living the family life. I was worried I would start to feel restless and want to travel. But right then, I was happy.

We spent the next few days finishing up the Christmas preparations. We read together. We watched silly movies and holiday movies. We had fun together.

One morning after I’d been there for a few days, Pete asked if I could watch the kids for him. He and Bronx needed to finish their shopping for them. I had no problem with that and kept them occupied with making cookies.

Pete and Bronx got back a few hours later with many bags. Their shopping trip had been a success. They disappeared up stairs and put everything away before the kids could get a good look.

That afternoon we had fresh baked cookies as we read a few more chapters. After I had closed the book and was talking with the kids about what had happened in the story, I noticed that a new stocking was hung on the mantle. It said Grace on it. Saint was talking about how the goblet could have been tricked into spitting out Harry’s name. I looked over at Pete and he just grinned at me. He knew I’d seen it. I knew he had done it. I smiled gratefully at him. When we were done talking over the story all the kids went off to play Mario Kart together.

I turned to Pete and moved so I straddled his thighs and sat in his lap. Looking into his deep eyes, I cupped his face and said, “Thank you.”

He just smiled and pulled me as close as he could. “Magical Christmas, remember?” Then I kissed him.

We sat like that just kissing and holding each other for a little while. It was nice to just be held and kissed. To enjoy the moment with him. I sighed contentedly as I leaned my head on his shoulder.

“Has anyone ever told you how comfortable you are to lean on?” I asked him.

He gave a low laugh. “Yes, as a matter of fact I have heard that before. From Patrick.”

I pulled back so I could see his face. “Just Patrick?” I asked in surprise.

“Mostly. But I’ve been cuddling with him for twenty years.” He said.

“I’m ok with that. I don’t mind sharing you with him.” I leaned back into his chest to get more comfortable.

Pete laughed another low laugh at that and hugged me back.

That evening as we were getting ready for bed, Pete spoke up. “Grace, I have an idea for your channel.”

I looked over at him and said, “Let’s hear it.”

He crawled into bed and sat waiting for me to join him. “Come with us this spring. Go on tour with us. Bronx won’t be coming on this one, but Saint and Marvel are. Come with us. You can film during the day. Enjoy the shows at night.” He flashed his famous smile at me. “Whaddya think? Wanna come with us?”

“Yeah, I’d love to. That sounds amazing. I’ll keep it to just us and the kids. Even then I’ll try to keep them out of it as much as possible. I’ll leave everyone else out. But I think it will work.” I thought about his idea as I got settled in. “I’ll finally get to see you in concert.” With that said, he pulled me down on top of him.

The days went by quickly and before we knew it, Christmas was just a few days away. All five of us were in the kitchen frosting and decorating the sugar cookies Marvel, Saint, and I had baked the day before. We were all gathered around the kitchen island. Pete and Saint were in a deep discussion about Santa and if he’s real.

“Of course he’s real.” Pete was saying.

“But there’s no way he can go all over the world in just one night.” Saint insisted.

“But he’s magic Saint. Of course he can go all around the world in one night. You know I met him over the summer, right? Up in North Pole. He and Mrs. Claus have a house there. He told me that I would be spending this Christmas with three wonderful kids. I didn’t know that I would be here for Christmas. How would he know that if he wasn’t magic?” I piped in.

Saint looked at me in disbelief. “You met Santa? The real Santa?” He asked me.

I nodded and said, “I sure did. He also told me what you wanted for Christmas. You, Marvel, and Bronx. He already knew what you guys wanted. And he told me. I didn’t believe him at first. But, he told me you wanted a new bike and a PS5.”

His eyes got really big and he said, “How did you know? That’s what I asked for in my letter to him.”

“Because he’s magic.” I answered with a smile. I knew what he had asked for because both Dale and Pete had told me.

Saint got quiet and went back to decorating his cookies. Pete looked at me over his head and smiled. Then he mouthed ‘Thank you.’ to me.

I smiled back and gave him a wink.

“Moony, did Santa tell you what I want for Christmas?” Marvel asked me.

Now, I did know what she wanted for Christmas. Both the list she sent to Santa and the super secret wish she wouldn’t share with Dale or her Dad. It was the one she whispered to the mall Santa. She had told Antero when they had a playdate. Elisa overheard and told Dale. Dale told me but not Pete because she was sure it would hurt his feelings. Marvel wanted a new Mommy and she wanted it to be me.

“He told me that you wanted a unicorn plushie, and a pair of skates. But he said your big wish was super secret and was gonna take a bunch of magic to make it happen. And that he was going to need my help, but he didn’t tell me what I had to do.”

Marvel was convinced that Santa was real and that he was going to work his magic for her. She hugged me and then went back to frosting the cookies with her brothers.

That evening when Pete and I were alone in our room. We were laying in bed just unwinding and talking, he asked, “What does Marvel want for Christmas that’s super secret?”

I rolled over and cuddled with him before telling him what she wanted. “She wants a new Mommy.”

“How do you know? Did she tell you?” Pete was very upset and hurt.

“No, she told Antero and Elisa overheard. She told your mom and your mom told me.” I lifted my head from his chest to look at him. “I think we should tell the kids on Christmas Day that I’m going to be staying for a while.”

He rolled us over so he could look down at me. I didn’t like the hurt I was seeing in his eyes. His brows were drawn and the pain was so clear on his face.

“My sweet baby girl is asking for a Mommy for Christmas?” He asked like he didn’t want to believe it.

“Apparently.” I said.

“Not that she wants her mom back? But she wants a new one?”

I nodded.

“That fucking bitch.” He growled. I knew he meant Meagan. “She hasn’t even so much as called them since last year. How can she do that to them?” He was getting angry.

“I don’t know. I don’t understand how anyone wouldn’t want them. I do. I want them. I will never really be Mommy, but I can be here for them. For her.”

He had sat up by this time. He looked so sad all of a sudden. “I wish I had met you ten years ago and not her.”

“No you don’t.” I said as I sat up. He gave me a disbelieving look. “You wouldn’t have liked me ten years ago.”

“Yes I would’ve.” He started to argue with me.

“No, you really wouldn’t have. I was so angry and so very unhappy. And you wouldn’t have either of them if you had.”

“I can’t give her what she wants.” He sounded so defeated.

“Maybe we can.”

“How?” He sounded desperate.

“You can’t, but I can.”

“What do you mean?”

“I love her. I love all three of them. No matter what happens between you and me, I will always be there for them, for her. If you want, I or we can tell her that.”

Pete looked like he wanted to cry. His baby was hurting, she wanted something he really couldn’t give her, and that broke his heart.

“I didn’t know she wanted a new mom. I knew she missed her Mom. But she had stopped asking for her. I thought she had accepted it.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a defeated sigh. “I wish things were different for them. I never wanted my kids, any of them, to grow up going between me and their mothers. At least Bronx has Ashlee. Marvel and Saint don’t have their mom anymore. I feel like I’ve failed all of them.” He reached out and took my hand. As he played with my fingers he said, “I never wanted to be a two time divorced dad of three.” Looking back up at me, he said, “I’m so broken. Why do you want to be with me?”

“I’m pretty fucking broken too. I’ve spent the last five years running away from my life. I have no idea why you would want to be with me. Maybe we can help repair each other?”

I scooted close to him so I could wrap my arms around him. I leaned against him knowing touch is a comfort to him. I rested my chin on his shoulder. He turned his head so he could lean his forehead against mine.

“What do you want from me and this relationship?” I asked him.

He closed his eyes and whispered “To be loved by you. For the kids to be loved by you.”

“You are. All of you are.”

He opened his eyes and made eye contact. “I love you. I should have told you sooner. I didn’t want to scare you or move too fast. I didn’t want to scare myself. I didn’t want to run you off.”

I smiled at him. “It’s ok. I only admitted it to myself at Thanksgiving. I love you too. You and the kids.”

He turned so he could pull me into his arms. He just held me.

He had a hard time falling asleep that night. I held him and tried to comfort him as much as I could. I finally slept after a while, but I’m not sure how much he slept if he did at all. He was awake and up when I woke up the next morning.

He was downstairs in the kitchen when I came down. The kids were still all asleep. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He looked up as I came into the room and gave me a sad, tired smile.

“Good morning.” I said as I crossed the room to him. I dropped a kiss on his lips before I sat next to him. “How are you this morning?” I asked him. “Did you sleep at all?”

“Yeah, a little bit. I’m just really sad. I tried to contact Meagan to ask her to call the kids on Christmas. She hasn’t answered.”

“We need to talk. And we need to get the kids involved.”

His confused look told me he hadn’t given much thought to anything else except that his baby girl wanted a new Mommy for Christmas.

“What do we need to talk about?” He asked me.

“Well for starters, how they feel about me staying here. This is their home, I don’t want to invade it. They have the right to say they don’t want me here. And they have the right to be heard. If they don’t want me to stay, then I won’t.”

“Ok, that sounds reasonable. What else do we need to talk about?”

“What they want to call me. I love being Moony. They were the ones to start that. No one else calls me that except them. Well, them and now the other Fall Out Babies. It’s very special to me. But, if Marvel or Saint want to call me Mommy, I’m ok with that.”

“You want to be called Mommy?” He was trying to understand what I was telling him.

“If that’s what they want to call me, then yes. But only if they want it. You can’t give Marvel a new mom. But, we can let her know that I’m gonna be around, that I love her. That I love them all to the moon and back. And that I’m not going to leave them.”

Pete’s face showed just how much this had been on his mind overnight. He just nodded and leaned into me, looking for some affection and reassurance. I held him as he put his head on my shoulder.

“I love you, Pete. I love your kids. I want to help you raise them. I want to be there when they graduate from high school and from college. I want to be there when they get married. I want to be there when Marvel gets her first period. I want to be there when Bronx falls in love for the first time. Or when Saint gets his driver's license. And I want to be here for the bad times too. The meltdowns, the temper tantrums, the rebellious teenage years. All of it.”

“I love you too. I want all that too. I…Please stay with us forever. Be with us. Be a family with us.”

“Yes, I will. I don’t want to leave you. You’re my chance for a family.”

He smiled at that. “You fit into our family so perfectly.”

I kissed him and gave him a real smile. Before I could say anything else Bronx came into the kitchen.

“Morning.” He said yawning and rubbing his eyes.

“Good morning kiddo. How did you sleep?” I asked him.

“Pretty good.”

“Would you like some breakfast?” Pete asked him.

“In a few minutes. I need to wake up first.” Bronx said as he got some orange juice from the fridge. He sat down with us at the table with his juice. “Is everything ok?” He asked his dad.

“Yeah, everything’s ok.” Pete told him unconvincingly.

“No it’s not. But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Is this about what Marvel wants for Christmas?” Bronx asked his dad.

“How do you know what she wants for Christmas?” Pete asked.

“She told me. She wants Moon to be her new Mommy. So, what’s the problem? Aren’t you guys a couple now?” Bronx asked matter-of-factly.

“We are. But we can’t just give her a new mom.” Pete told his son.

“Sure you can. She loves Moon. Moon, don’t you love her?” He asked me.

“Yes I do. Very much. I love all of you very much.” I told him.

Bronx shrugged and said, “I don’t see what the issue is then.” And drank the last of his juice.

Pete just looked dumbfounded at the easy way Bronx just accepted the idea of me being a permanent part of the family.

“Would you be ok with me staying here permanently? With me being a part of your family?” I asked him.

“Moon, I’m the one that wanted you to date Dad to begin with. And I wasn’t the only one that wanted it when I asked if you would date a guy with kids. The other two had been asking me if I thought you and Dad would be together. They love you. We all love you Moon. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

I nodded at him. He flashed me the grin that is so like his fathers.

“Then tell her that. That’s all she really wants.” Bronx said.

“You’re very wise for only being fifteen years old.” I told him. He just grinned at me.

I got up and started making breakfast. French toast and bacon. The kids got up not much later and joined us in the kitchen. We got everyone fed and the day started. It was the day before Christmas Eve. I still had a few gifts to wrap and there was still one thing I needed to pick up.

I asked Pete if I could borrow his car to run a few last minute errands. He didn’t have a problem with that and stayed home with the kids while I took a few hours to finish my shopping.

I had been trying to figure out something else to give Pete. The kids were easy. Bronx was getting camping gear. Saint and Marvel were getting toys. Easy enough. But Pete has expensive taste. He likes nice things and has the money to buy what he wants when he wants it. I had found a very nice pair of cufflinks that I thought he would like, but I had to order them. They had come in so I needed to pick them up. I had gotten him a few other things, but the cufflinks were the bigger present.

When I was walking out of the store I saw some very pretty Christmas themed stationery. I picked it up too. I had an idea for Marvel.

I also went by the grocery store and made sure we had everything we would need for the next few days.

I got home and got everything in the house. I told Pete I was going to lock myself in the bedroom and finish wrapping the gifts. When I was done I took all the wrapped presents down and put them under the tree.

Pete made us dinner that night. He may not be the best cook on an open flame, but he’s pretty good on the stove at home.

The kids, all three of them, were getting excited about Christmas. That evening after dinner we watched A Christmas Story.

That night when we were alone, Pete asked if I would like to take a bath with him. I agreed and told him to go get the wine while I ran a bath. This time, I had him sit in front of me so I could rub his back and give him some attention. He needed it. He slept better that night than he had the night before.

Christmas Eve was spent puttering around the house. Reading together, talking about what the kids were hoping was under the tree. We watched a few movies and tried to just be together. We still hadn’t talked to the little kids about me staying with them.

When bedtime came, the kids were not ready to go to bed.

“Santa won’t come if you’re still awake.” Pete was telling Saint.

“But I don’t wanna go to bed!” Saint complained.

“Then I guess you don’t want any presents from Santa.” Pete told him.

This convinced the two of them it was time for bed. But only if it meant that Bronx had to go to bed too. Bronx being the good big brother he is, agreed. He “went to bed” too. They saw him go into his room so they were happy with that and went to bed without any fuss.

Bronx came back out of his room a little while later with a bunch of gifts to put under the tree. Pete and I got all the Santa gifts and took them down too.

I grabbed the sealed envelope I had for Marvel and placed that in the tree. I had told Pete what I had done and he was very happy with it. He was still sad about everything, he never heard back from Meagan.

All the gifts were under the tree, the stockings were filled, everything was ready. I had prepped the food earlier in the day to make cooking faster and easier. I was ready to relax with Pete and Bronx for the evening. We stayed up for a few hours after the littles went to bed. But Bronx ended up going to bed on the early side. He said we also needed some time alone together and he was gonna give us that.

Pete and I cuddled on the couch together before deciding to go to bed. We did take advantage of the alone time.

That night before we fell asleep I brought up the last thing I needed to talk to Pete about.

“Hon, I have something I need to tell you.” I said as we laid together in bed.

“What’s that?” He asked me.

“I decided to stop taking my pills.”

He rolled over so he could look me in the face. His smile was good to see. “Really? You want to try for a baby?”

“I want to give it a year. If it happens, that would be wonderful. If not, well at least I gave it one last try. But I’m going to need your help to not obsess over it.”

“Nah, we won’t obsess over it. But I’ll be happy to try making a baby every night.” Then he kissed me and we tried to make a baby.

Christmas morning was a whirlwind of getting breakfast made, feeding the family and then allowing them to open the presents.

The kids mostly got what they wanted. New gaming systems for both boys. A bike for Saint. Lots of camping stuff for both boys. A new MacBook for Bronx. Marvel got her plushie and skates from Santa. A stuffed snowy owl from me that she claimed was Hedwig from Harry Potter. Pete loved the cufflinks and everything else the kids and I got him.

Marvel and Saint got me some very sweet and cute earrings and a crescent moon necklace. I loved them. Pete got me jewelry. A set of moonstone earrings, necklace and ring. They were beautiful.

When everything was opened, the living room floor was covered in wrapping paper, the kids were all sitting on the couch with us. I looked over at the tree and saw the red envelope addressed to Marvel still there.

“What’s that?” I asked as I pointed to it.

“What’s what?” Bronx asked.

I got up and picked the envelope up and said, “It says ‘To Marvel’. I guess this is for you Miss. Marvelous.” I said as I handed it to her.

She looked at it and then opened it. She pulled out the letter and opened it. Then she looked at her dad and asked him to read it to her.

Pete took the letter and read it out loud.

“Dear Marvel. I tried my hardest and used all the magic I could, to get you your super secret wish. I know what you want and I think I met the perfect person over the summer. She’s there with you now. I think she will be a good person to fulfill your wish. What do you think? Merry Christmas. Santa.”

“What was that about?” I asked her.

“Santa wants you to be my new Mommy.” She informed me very seriously.

“He does? What about you? Do you want me to be your new Mom?” I asked her.

She only nodded and looked at me with big eyes.

“I love you very much, and I would love to be a mom to you.” I told her very sincerely.

She got up and crawled into my lap. “Can I call you Mommy?” She asked me.

“If you want to. I like it when you call me Moony, it’s very special to me. But if you want to call me Mom or Mommy, you can. Or, if you want, you can call me both Moony and Mom.” I told her. She hugged me tight and kissed my cheek.

When I looked up, Pete had that sweet and tender smile on his face. I smiled back at him.

“How would you guys feel if Moony moved in with us and stayed for good?” Pete asked the kids.

All three of them were happy about that news. I felt so welcomed into their family. I guess they’re my family now.

Saint did ask if he could also call me Mom if he wanted. I told him the same thing I had told Marvel. If he wanted to he could. He could call me Moony or Mommy. I would answer to both.

I got up and started dinner not too long after letting the kids know I wasn’t going anywhere and that I was happy to fill the role of Mom to them. The turkey was going to take a few hours to roast and I needed to get it in the oven. Pete followed me into the kitchen a few minutes later and just hugged me tight.

“Thank you for everything. This really has been a magical Christmas. Not just for them, but for me too.”

“It’s been magical for me too, you know. Thank you so much. Thank you for the best present ever. This has been one of the best Christmases I’ve ever had.” I told him.

“The jewelry is nice, but they aren’t the best present ever.”

“No, not the jewelry. The family. You guys are the best present.” His smile almost blinded me, it was so bright.

On New Year's Eve we stayed home and celebrated with the kids. We had been invited to a few parties, but we wanted to be with the kids. Marvel and Saint didn’t make it to midnight, but Bronx did.

On New Year’s Day, I decided to film a quick video and post an announcement on my channel.

I set up my camera to record the video that was going to let everyone know about the changes that were coming to my channel.

“Happy New Year! Hello everyone! If you’re new here, welcome! If you’ve been here before, welcome back! I’m Moon and this is my channel Adventures with Girl in the Moon. For the past 5 almost 6 years I’ve lived in my van Luna with my two cats Fred and George. We’ve been traveling all over the U.S. and Canada.” I said as per usual. “As you can see behind me, I’m not in Luna right now. In fact, that’s why I’m making this video. There are some changes coming to my channel.”

I sat back in my seat and smiled into the camera. I was about to talk about my private life more than I ever have before.

“Last year I met a family while camping in California. I even introduced them to all of you at the time. They’re viewers too. I introduced them as the W family. A dad and his three kids. We stayed in touch while I was in Alaska last summer and after I came back, I went camping with them again. They have been on the channel a few times. My friend and his family.”

I stopped for a moment to think about what I was going to say next. “My friend is somewhat well known in the music industry. He’s been recognized before on here. I’ve always removed those comments. But, we’ve decided to come clean and be open about it.”

“My friend's name is Pete. He plays bass in a band called Fall Out Boy. If you haven’t heard of them, check them out. You might like them. I do. I’ve been listening to them for almost twenty years.” I chuckled a little and then continued. “In fact, I’ve quoted them and him on here for years. He is my favorite poet after all.”

“I’ve moved out of Luna and I’m living with them. I’m not done adventuring, I’m just going to have new companions.”

I looked to my right at Pete, Bronx, Saint, and Marvel. I waved them over and said into the camera, “Let me introduce you to my new family. This is Marvel, Saint, Bronx, and Pete. You’ll see a lot of them as all my new adventures will include them. Oh, and by the way, my real name is Grace. It might be a few weeks before I put up another video, I’m going to need some time to adjust to this new life. But I know this adventure is going to be amazing. I hope you all think so too. And to quote my favorite poet, ‘You are what you love, not who loves you.’ Until next time, be good to yourself, be good to others, be positive, and live your own adventures. Bye everyone.”