I vaguely remembered the last time I had been there. I was parked outside of Izzy's house. It didn't look as colorful and full of life as I remembered it. After I learned that her parents were away, I insisted that she come help me with the pre-party arrangements. Honestly, she had nothing better to do in the meantime and I thought she could use the company. Who wants to be alone on Christmas?

Meanwhile I was on the phone with Zayn giving him a quick update on the past year of my life. Not highlighting the bad as much as the good memories. He understood right away and was happy to have my friend over. I had to remind myself not to bombard Izzy with questions; just let her be and open up in the pace she wants. This was a different beginning to end the year. Yet, that didn't cancel out my speculations as to who the father was.

To my amazement, Elizabeth came out in a modest burgundy dress with a black cardigan and her hair up in a tousled bun. Her makeup was simple as well. This wasn't the Izzy I remembered, and maybe that was a good thing.

"Hey!" she caught her breath while climbing into my car.

"Ready to prep?" I smiled.

"Sure! Anything sounds like fun right now," she confessed.

I kept the air friendly, filling the car with happy radio tunes, but I grew a little nervous as I kept watching her rub her belly.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh yes, I'm fine. She just always moves whenever I'm in the car."

"It's a girl? How far along are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh not at all! I'm 7 months now…and Mark is the father."

"Oh, are you guys still dating?" I didn't know if that might have been pushing it.

"No, we remained as friends. He's going to help me and be a part of Rhea's life."

"Is that her name?"

"Yeah…Rhea Meade. We agreed she could have his last name."

"How have you been…with all of this?" I asked worried for my long lost friend.

"It was very hard at first,but she has been my reason to turn my life around. Along with Niall who's been an amazing help when my parents turned their back on me. I'm surprised they haven't kicked me out yet. But I'm getting ready to move into Niall's apartment not too far away from here."

"Where is Niall by the way?"

"He left for another mission trip with his surf group. They're volunteering with Operation Christmas Child."

"My friend met him at the restaurant we work at, she said they exchanged numbers," I recalled.

"Yeah, he told me about that. He said its been forever since he'd done that, and that it felt weird. Crazy, huh? My brother the former player feeling weird about getting a girl's number… My have times changed."

"It looks like you've changed too, Izzy."

"So have you."

We exchanged a warm smile as I parked alongside the street to Zayn's apartment building. For being pregnant, Izzy still moved around with such ease. I carried my bags and escorted her to the elevator.

"Aren't you supposed to be waddling by now or something?" I said in attempt of some light humor.

"I would like to practice my good posture while I still can…perhaps when I'm a little over the 9 month mark," she shook her head and laughed.

Zayn was waiting for us by the door and took the bags from my hands. He was awfully kind to my friend and insisted that we relax in the den to catch up while he took care of the party dishes. I think seeing her pregnant hit a soft spot, reminding him of his sister, niece and nephew.

Our butts were glued to the couch as we didn't move for almost two hours. Zayn on the other hand was an amazing host, bringing us cups of hot chocolate as he'd eavesdrop on our conversation from time to time, learning of our individual history. Izzy gave me one honest apology from the bottom of her heart about everything that happened with Harry and Louis. I returned one as well. Especially after I told her of the recent breakup; I could tell she felt sorry for me.

"Was it hard for you to get over your first?" I asked her searching for sisterly advice.

"It's always hard B. No matter how nice or a jerk they turn out to be. That's why they're your first. But at least it was special and magical like you always wanted it to be. You'll always have a good memory of it when years have passed and the hurt is gone." That was the best encouragement I had ever received from her.

"You're right…it was," I smiled.

"So what about Zayn?" she whispered. "He seems like a real great guy."

I paused at the thought of the perfect match making opportunity. He was ready to settle down; Izzy was forced with the choice of having a baby with a friendly tie to the dad but no relationship. It was fool proof. But the more I thought about it, I couldn't help get a little jealous.

I mean, I was in no state for a relationship right now. And I trusted Zayn enough to know that he was a great guy and could be a great father. But there was also the fact that I liked him a little. I wasn't ready to see him attached just yet…how terribly greedy of me. How was this any different than when I encouraged Louis and Lilah to be together? Maybe I just needed time to learn to trust Izzy again.

"Hey ladies, I don't mean to interrupt," but he did anyway, "come look outside the window."

Izzy and I stood up as we couldn't believe what we saw. "I thought it didn't snow in Los Angeles," I gasped.

The 3 of us pressed our noses against the window to see the rice sized fluff float down and disappear. It was going to be an amazing Christmas…correction, it already was. Izzy reached over and grabbed my hand and gave it a warm squeeze, that's all it took for my eyes to begin to water again. But then I grabbed Zayn's hand as well; the same appreciation she had towards me I felt towards him.

---

Zayn cranked up the festive melodies while I kept opening the door for our guests. Upon her arrival, I quickly pulled my mom aside to tell her that Izzy was there, and with the same reaction she sought her and gave her a motherly hug. As soon as I saw Louis and Lilah I gave them a quick summary of the situation and they too agreed to let the past be past. Soon Janet arrived with her dad, along with some of our coworkers. Even our boss, Philip, made a quick visit to drop off a stack of Christmas cards which smelled like bonuses to me.

I was filling the plastic wine glasses, some with champagne and others, on a different colored napkin, with apple cider. I made sure Izzy had that one. In the midst of my amateur bartending Janet rushed over with twinkling eyes.

"You have to come and see this," she said and grabbed my arm.

Placing the bottle down before any accident should happen, I rushed along with her. Fearing what I might see as my mind rushed to conclusions, it was the least of things to expect. Leaning against the wall, Janet's dad and my mom were…flirting with each other? I knew by my mom's subtle tuck of hair behind her ear, that she was playing her cards right. And judging by Mr. Rogers, he seemed just as interested.

"I think we might become sisters," she cried giddily.

Hmmm, a sister and a step dad; I didn't want to jinx anything but I was all FOR that! We stood by and admired them a while. Izzy then joined in and I introduced her to Janet. It felt a little odd, my old and new best friends. But mix in a dab of Christmas cheer and anything was possible. Clearly, I nodded as I observed my mom.

Zayn's kind gestures towards Izzy far exceeded my expectations as he always asked her if she was hungry or wanting something to drink. He was very familiar with the dos and don'ts of pregnancy, proving to be a great help indeed.

"Am I sensing a little jealousy in that glare?" Janet called me out.

"Jealousy? Of course not! Why would I be jealous when my plan is to pair them up?" I lied, trying to convince myself.

"Is it? I thought you kind of had thing for him."

"Well you thought wrong. Besides I just got out of a relationship and I don't believe in rebound dating," I clarified. Seemed like a legitimate response to me.

"Okay. I guess I was wrong then... Well that's nice of you. Do you think they'll hit it off?"

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," I shrugged.

I took a walk about and watched our friends and family having a good time eating and drinking. The decorations were perfect, as well as the music and lights outside the city streets. I saw most of the people I loved and cared greatly for paired off, and for the first time I didn't mind being alone. I thought of Harry for a moment and in my heart I knew I had to let him go, trusting that if we were meant to be it would happen in its own perfect timing.

I snuck into the bathroom, muffling out the noise, and began to dial Harry's number. Taking a deep breath, I was relieved when it went straight to his voicemail. He was probably somewhere up in Alaska by now, so I left him a message instead.

"Hey Harry, I'm just calling to wish you a Merry Christmas and…that I'm okay with being friends now. I didn't tell you that I was going through a similar situation of 'confused feelings' for someone as well, but it was just a false alarm. I wish you happiness either way and hope things work out for you and Marley. Keep in touch when you can…bye."

With that good bye, I felt like it was more of a farewell...forever.

Soon it was past midnight and half our guests had gone home. It didn't take long, with the help of our friends, to clean the place up. Then I was going to drive Izzy home and continue to my house from there. Zayn hugged us both goodbye and I tried to ignore the little green monster, for I really hoped to match them up, but I also couldn't erase my stubborn feelings.

---

Back at work, after Christmas day, things were pretty hectic. We had all the waiters on the floor and no time for regular breaks. While waiting for our orders, Janet and I squeezed in a little chat.

"I need your help, I'm making dinner tomorrow night. My uncle is coming to visit for a few days," Janet announced.

"Great! I bet your dad's super happy! Are you close with your uncle?"

"Oh you wouldn't believe… he's more like an older brother. Anyways, I was wondering if you could invite your mom over. I think it would be a good idea," she winked.

I laughed at her sneakiness as I tried getting over the uncle/brother imagery. "Ok I'll try."

Now back to work.

On my several trips to the bar, due to our amazing spiked Eggnog special, I couldn't help feel a little disappointed in Zayn's lack of interest. Maybe he was too busy to notice me, but when it was his turn to make my order, I didn't get that sexy stare he used to give me. I actually felt like the kid sister. How depressing!

I wasn't expecting to run into his arms after breaking up with Harry, but now that I actually had the freedom to flirt around, there was no one to flirt with. I brushed it off and kept earning the big tips by winning my customers over with my jolly attitude; no matter how fake it really was.

---

My mom and I were in Janet's kitchen cooking dinner that following night. We could tell she was excited to see her uncle, and I could tell her dad was enjoying seeing my mom in his kitchen. Little did they know we were watching them like hawks. I was just waiting for my mom to say something first before exposing them.

I had to get my phone charger out of the car and when I went to open the door I found a man standing outside about to knock. I wasn't sure who he was as he looked very young and I was expecting an older guest of honor.

"Are you. . .Janet's uncle?"

"Yes ma'am, I'm James," he bowed his head.

"Uncle Liam!" I heard Janet scream from inside.

"Hey you!" his smile grew miles as he scooped her off the ground.

They looked more like siblings than anything else. I was disoriented; I don't know why I had envisioned an old man. Uncles were usually way older than their nieces; like Zayn and his. It was later that I learned he was Mr. Roger's half-brother from another marriage, and that Liam was an unexpected surprise for the older couple. He looked back at me before going inside to greet everyone else as I continued walking to the car. I studied his military cut and outstanding posture, but his tough exterior was a bit intimidating to me.

I've never been attracted to the 'bad boy' type; yet if I were ever to suggest a guy for the part, James would play it just fine. For some odd reason I thought Izzy might even like his type, but too late for that. I came back inside shaking off a little shiver as it was much warmer in the house. Everyone was settling around the dinner table and for a moment I froze taking in the picture.

What if this was what my future family looked like? My mom happily gazing at Mr. Rogers; he was an attractive man in his forties. I thought they actually made a cute couple if things should work out. Janet and her uncle/brother would also make a lovely addition to my life, even though I had yet to get to know him. Still, if Janet loved him so much I guess he had to be an amazing guy.

At the table I remained suspiciously quiet. I was calculating in my head how old James was and how old Mr. Rogers had to be when his step mother gave birth to him. That thought led me to imagine how awkward such a long gap between the two siblings could be. All this thinking brought me to no conclusion and I figured it would just be easier to ask Janet later.

Perhaps I wasn't very discreet as James watched me like a spy. I wasn't trying to be unfriendly; I guess his appearance just really threw me off. After dinner I excused myself to the bathroom and when I had returned the men were gone. I joined the female cleaning crew in the kitchen, and then we made our way to the living room with our hot apple ciders.

"So I'm so lost…how old is your uncle?" I faced Janet as we all sat on the couches.

"He's…24? Yeah, because he's 7 years older. So yeah, 24."

"Is that weird having an uncle that young?"

"It's only weird to you because you rarely see that, but it feels completely normal to me," Janet replied confidently.

"Yeah sweetie, I've had a couple of friends who have similar families. It's stranger when the aunt and uncle are younger than the nephews. But it happens, nothing wrong with that," mom added.

"So mom…anything you want to SHARE with us? Anything you think we should know about?" I winked at Janet who quickly picked up on it.

"Oh, am I being cornered to confess something I'm not quite sure I have the answer to?"

"No one's cornering you Mrs. Rael. We just want to know what you think of my dad," Janet chimed in.

"Well, Janet, I think your father is quite charming and a wonderful man," mother smiled.

"Oh he seems very fond of youuuu," Janet teased.

We all giggled as we heard the door open. The smell of vanilla cigars whisked around the room, but it didn't bother us. Only it was hard to picture a 24 year old smoking a cigar with his older marine brother. I just had to accept it and get over it. Mr. Rogers came in and sat beside my mother while I was on her other side. Janet remained on the arm chair and James chose to sit on the floor by the fire.

The fire place was going for a few hours and it added to the perfect background for James. I watched as the lights and shadows danced off his silhouette. He still looked so rough and military to me, even if he was smiling and laughing with Janet while sharing her latest gossips. I felt excluded from their inner circle, until Janet jumped up when she heard her phone in the kitchen.

Now it was even more awkward, my mom and Janet's dad flirting just a foot away from me, making me the perfect 3rd wheel. Just when I had forgotten what that felt like. I was going off with my uncomfortable emotions inside my head and I hadn't noticed that James was speaking to me.

"Huh?"

"I was asking you if I seemed standoffish?" he repeated.

I quickly disagreed and displayed a smile to prove it. Truth was he looked like an all American boy; his light brown hair somewhat parted to the side and shaved on the bottom, fair skin and light brown eyes. He wasn't even all that 'bad boyish' as I had quickly labeled him to be, but very well mannered. That part was fine, the intimidating part was his super soldier frame and tatted arms as I kept discovering more that crept around his body. And now the fact that he smoked a cigar; he wasn't the typical 24 year old I saw around here.

Realizing he was attempting to start a friendly conversation, I quickly took Janet's seat closer to him and away from the parental love birds.

"So you enjoy working at the restaurant with Janet?" he asked.

"Yes, I've been working there for a while now."

"What are you planning on doing after you graduate?" he continued. I hoped he wasn't trying to recruit me.

"I was thinking about studying business in college, but I'm also fascinated with culinary arts."

"Oh that's a good combination. We could always use some fresh chefs in our deployments…believe me!"

I laughed. "Is the food that bad?"

"If you're lucky."

"I know Janet said she wanted to be a nurse in the Marine Corps. Please don't take her away," I pouted.

"I can't change her mind. It's what she's always wanted to do...It's what her mother did and how she met my brother."

"Yeah, I'm sorry if I was rude before…"

"No need to apologize. I've had far worse stares before."

"I noticed Janet likes to call you Liam, which do you prefer?"

"My mom was the only one who called me Liam, until Janet was born. Everyone else knows me as James, or Sergeant Payne."

"Sergeant Pain?" I couldn't believe my ears, that sounded horrifying.

"I swear I'm not making it up. Would you like to see my military ID?"

"No, that won't be necessary."


Maybe we all needed to go out and further acquaint ourselves, leaving the older couple some alone time to further acquaint themselves as well.

"Why don't the 3 of us go to the restaurant and I'll treat you to one of our desserts. That way you'll get to meet all our friends, since they're around your age anyway," I offered.

"That sounds good to me," he smiled at me finally. One point for me.

Even though James had casual clothes on, I felt like he still stood out from the crowd…in a good way. I had texted Izzy to see if she wanted to meet up with us, yet that too was a foreign thing to get used to. Sitting at a booth, our friend Gabe came to our table and met James. He took our order of two slices of pumpkin pie and one pecan for our guest. Although it wasn't my intention, I did happen to see Zayn looking over quite a few times.

Needless to say that awoke a little idea inside my head. But how could I honestly pull through with it and still sleep at night with a clear conscience? How could I try and make Zayn jealous by seeming interested in Janet's uncle when it was my own plan to hook him up with Izzy? I had spaghetti for brains, that's what!

I smacked the little demon off my shoulder and continued getting to know my possible future step-half-uncle? What?!

"So how weird would it be if your brother and my mom got married?" I blurted.

"That would be interesting but not too weird I guess," James smiled. "Would be a shame though…"

"Oh, why is that?"

"A waste I mean?" he continued.

"Yeah that didn't make things any clearer," I scowled.

"Earlier you asked which I prefer . . . Liam," he smiled again. "Oh look here comes my pie!"

Sneaky bastard got out of this one…but not on my tab.

"I realize you are enjoying your piece of pecan pie, but you haven't squirmed your way out of that previous comment…and I never forget," I warned nicely.

He raised his spoon as if to imitate me scolding him; his mouth was too busy chewing on the pecans. Oh! He's a wise guy, huh? I still laughed at him. I guess my threat was pretty lame. He was cute I give you that, wasn't hard not to like him.

Soon our coworkers filtered through our table and met James-I mean Liam, while Zayn kept his distance and watched us. Izzy finally arrived and I introduced her to him as well. But then I was instantly confused as to what she was thinking. I felt as though I had been pushed aside again and the attention was back on Elizabeth. Why did sparkles in people's eyes have to be so evident to me? It was annoying; like a super power I was cursed with, or a cupid's arrow that kept piercing me in the same damn wound.

So did Izzy like Zayn or James? And did we forget she was 7 months pregnant and still had guys crawling after her? This was no time to be fighting jealousy towards her, especially not after our new commitment to starting over as friends. No matter how I explained it, no one would understand. I felt like I found my way back in to Izzy's shadow. I was my own person now and I didn't want to be back there. But my greater concern…was this cycle happening again, this time right before my eyes instead of behind my back?

Notes

Ta daaaaaa!

What do you guys think of Uncle Liam? or James?

There's some juicy drama and love triangles up ahead. Any predictions?

Til tomorrow, muah!

Thank you Thank you Thank you for your VOTES amigas :)