"C'mon, Fluffy," I pleaded urgently, tugging on one of his hands, gray-blue eyes pleading. "We're supposed to be at the well right now. Nadia, Kouga, and their newborn are probably already there, waiting for us!"

It had been twenty years since I had permanently moved to the Sengoku Jidai. Well, twenty years for me, but eight months for my family on the other side of the well. So much had happened in twenty years. Rin was happily married with two kids, and Fluffy and I were the adoptive grandparents. Nadia and Kouga had married and finally had a child.

"I still don't understand this 'Christmas' thing," the dog demon informed me, frowning slightly.

"Its a very important tradition in my family." I tugged him closer to the castle's front gate, my red hair falling across my face. "Its a bit hard to explain. I'm gonna hafta show you."

Fluffy sighed, golden eyes gentle. "If I must; but from what you've said, I'm not sure if visiting your family during this... tradition is a good thing. It sounds a litle dangerous... strange, old men coming down the chimney."

I burst out laughing, completely unable to hold it in. I couldn't help but find that statement hilarious. Last night, I had tried to explain what Christmas was, but Fluffy hadn't quite understood. The stuff about Santa Claus had especially confused the poor inu youkai. Also, he had been most troubled with the idea of elves making toys for all the children in the world.

"I'm sorry, Fluffy," I apologized when he began to growl softly at me. "But the way you said it..." I stiffled a giggle.

The inu youkai looked down at me with a bored expression on his face. "If you are done laughing at me, then we can leave," he told me, annoyance in his voice. I ignored his tone.

"Yea!!" I cheered and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. His frown immediately disappeared. A no-longer-rare smile took its place, making him look less cold and cruel.

"So show often does this thing occur?" the dog demon asked me as I dragged him out of the castle and in the direction of the well.

"Once a year in my time," I replied. "For us, it would be about... once every 30 years or so." Over the years, I had become accustomed to figuring the time equivalencies between the two worlds: the modern world and the Sengoku Jidai.

"We'll get there faster this way," Fluffy commented, sweeping me up into his arms. With a great burst of energy, we were off. He ran through the forest at an amazing speed, carrying me like I weighed nothing. Trees and bushes became mere blurs of green and brown.

~*~

When we arrived at the well, I instantly saw Nadia and Kouga there. Kouga was dressed as he normally was, and Nadia had on a kimono, the baby in her arms. Both wolf demons smiled as soon as they saw Fluffy and me.

"Hi!!" I greeted them cheerfully as Fluffy gently set me down. "How's the little one doing?"

"Pretty good. Iria's been sleeping longer and eating more. She has her father's appetite," Nadia replied, looking fondly at her child. "Iria is such a sweetheart."

"Most definitely," Kouga agreeded.

I was instantly hit with a great longing for a child of my own. I guessed that spending twenty years married to a handsome guy did that to a girl. One look at Fluffy told me that he wanted a child too. Well, at least he would be receptive whenever the subject childbearing was brought up.

"Now that we're all finally here, let's get going," Kouga suggested, glancing down at the world traveling device.

"Very well," Fluffy agreed.

With no further statements made, we all leapt into the well individually.

~*~

We arrived at my house in record time. Within moments of entering the building, I was assaulted by a small ball of energy.

"Katrina!" Sean yelled as he gave me a tight hug. Ever since I had moved away, he always seemed happy to see me when I visited. Of course, he loved the fact that I had ears and a tail. He wanted to get some fox attributes as well, but Mom and Dad wouldn't let him go through the well. For heaven's sake, the hadn't wanted either me or him to know about the structure in the woods that connected the two worlds.

"Hey, Sean. You ready for Christmas?" I responded, smiling.

"Oh yeah!" he shouted enthusiastically. "You did remember to bring my present... right?"

I laughed as Nadia giggled. "Let me think for a moment," I teased, pausing for a brief second. After watching Sean's expectant face almost fall, I decided to give him his gift. "Here you go," I said, reaching into my kimono's obi and pulling out a small, ornamental knife. Sean took it eagerly. "Be careful with it. The blade is very sharp."

My little brother scoffed at the warning. "I'll be fine," he insisted, and then he ran off to see just what his new knife could do.

"Do not worry about the boy. The knife will never draw the blood of its owner," Fluffy told me, voice gentle, soft, and soothing. He was trying to reassure me. "The knife is spelled for safety. All fathers give a knife to both their first born son and a member of their wives' families."

"So that's why you had me give that knife to him," I commented.

"That was the knife my father gave me when I was a pup. He told me that I was to hand it down to my brother-in-law or first born son," Fluffy said softly.

"Kouga, do wolf demons do the same thing?" Nadia asked her husband, sounding very curious.

The wolf prince shook his head. "Not usually, no," he answered. "My son will become the next leader of my pack though."

"What about your daughter?" the female wolf demon wanted to know. "Does she inherent anything?"

"Yeah... her mother's perfect looks," Kouga replied, gently touching his daugher's nose with the tip of his index finger. "Sorry, darling, but Iria won't get anything through wolf demon custom."

Nadia sighed. "Go figure."

Right then, Nadia's mother popped out of the kitchen, a big smile on her face. "Nadia!" She paused when she noticed what her daughter was holding. "I have a granddaughter!" At expression of pure delight on her face, she rushed over to her daughter and proceeded to croon and giggle at the baby.

"Here, Mom, you can hold Ira for a while so I can talk to Dad." Naida handed the baby to her mother, then she went looking for her other parent.

Nadia's mom began to chat with Kouga about the baby, and he had no problem with that. He basically bragged about Iria, which he did have a right to do.

I sighed, looking up at Fluffy. "Sesshoumaru, would you like to go in the kitchen and see what's for dinner?" I inquired, tired of hearing about Iria for the moment. When I finally had my own child, I would swap stories with Nadia and Kouga; however, I would not do so until then.

"Yes," he replied immediately, quickly forcing the wistful expresssion off of his face.

I gave him a comforting smile, then we both went into the kitchen.

~*~

Dinner was a very joyful activity. Between the wonderful food (turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, spaghetti and meatballs, yams, and pies galore) and entertaining conversations, I enjoyed myself... as did Fluffy, Nadia, and Kouga. Iria was a big hit with the parents, making all sorts of cute faces at everyone. During the entire time, laughter abounded.

Once dinner was over, we moved into the living room and opened presents. Sean, being the bubbly kid that he was, just had to hand out all the presents. Once everyone had their presents, he proceeded to tear into his.

All the others opened their presents in a much more calm manner, including me. Kouga and Nadia received gifts from Nadia's parents, Fluffy and me, and my parents. Fluffy and I, along with the two wolf demons, gave presents to our parents. The two sets of parents, the wolf prince and his mate gave Fluffy and me gifts as well./pp

Within ten minutes, all the unwrapping was done. Sean went off to play with some of his new toys while the rest of us chatted for a few hours.

As it drew close to midnight, Nadia proclaimed that she wanted to go home and get some sleep. We all said our good-byes, and then Fluffy, the wolf demons, and I went back to the well.

~*~

Once we were on the other side of the well, Nadia and Kouga left, promising to visit soon. A moment after they were gone, Fluffy moved to pick me up. I stopped him.

"Fluffy, I haven't given you your present yet," I informed him, smiling secretively. "Don't you want to know what it is?"

The dog demon looked at me thoughtfully. "You have a present for me?"

I nodded my head and took one of his hands in mine. "It's right here." I placed his hand against my stomach.

"You're pregnant?" Surprise flashed across his face, his golden eyes becoming wide.

"Yes, I am," I answered happily.

Suddenly, he swept me up into a hug. "This was the perfect present."

"I know." I kissed my husband passionately on the lips. "Merry Christmas, father of our unborn child."