Vivian Blackmore stares at the large Christmas tree that stands in the living room of her mansion. Her mind is racing over the fact that she caught her husband, Kent Blackmore, kissing Stacey Rockwell the previous day. Seeing the kiss left her rattled, and her son, Houston Blackmore, saw her distressed so she confessed to him what she saw. He, then, admitted to her that Kent and Stacey's affair had been on-going for sometime; in fact, it was Stacey's idea for Kent to marry Vivian because they thought that she was dying and that Kent would be able to return to Stacey once that happened. Houston, then, suggested to her that this could be their chance to be with the ones that they truly love.

"If I do what I want to do," she whispers to herself. "I could get Kent back for real, and with Christmas right around the corner, it could be the best present in the world."

"Mom, you look deep in thought," Houston announces as he moves into the living room and sees his mother looking at the Christmas tree. "Is everything okay?"

Vivian slowly turns around and looks back at Houston. "I've been thinking about what you said to me, Houston."

"You mean that this could be our chance to be with the ones we love? You with Dad, me with Stacey?"

"Exactly," Vivian nods back to him. "And I think you're right; this is my chance to make my marriage work."

Houston gets a smile on his face at the words coming from his mother. "Does that mean you're going to fight for him?"

"It does," Vivian purses her lips together. "I'm going to make sure that we have a family Christmas, and nothing will stop me."

"What is your plan?"

Vivian chuckles back to him. "I'm going to give Kent what he's always wanted….me," she says with a twinkle in her eye. "I'm going to seduce Kent and make him fall in love with me all over again."

***

Later that night, Vivian looks into the mirror in her bedroom of the mansion. She's wearing a white-laced negligee and is applying some light pink lipstick. Once she is done, she sets the lipstick down on the table in front of the mirror and fluffs up her curly hair.

"You always liked me in white," she whispers to herself as she thinks about how she is going to seduce Kent. "Okay, it's show time."

She turns to leave her bedroom. Once she is in the hallway, she makes sure that Houston, or her daughter Madison Stewart, can't see. When she sees that the coast is clear, she makes a beeline towards the guestroom, where Kent has been staying. She knows that her husband has been staying in another room because she has been still in recovery from her car accident, but she knows that arrangement needs to end tonight.

She slowly opens the door to Kent's bedroom and moves inside. "Kent, baby, are you awake?"

"Viv?" Kent says as he sits up in the bed and looks at his wife. "What is it? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," she purrs to him as she moves closer to the bed. "I'm…I want to be with my husband."

Kent's eyes open wider in surprise when he sees that she is barely wearing any clothing. "Vivian, I know what you want…but…"

"No but's," she says as she crawls towards him on the bed. "I want my husband, I need you Kent."

"I know but you're still recovering, okay?" he quickly says back to her. "As soon as your healthy, I promise we'll be together."

Vivian pouts back to him. "Fine but I am not going to drop this, Kent. I am woman and I have needs, and I remember how you satisfied every last one of them."

Kent falls back into the bed trying to get his heartrate under control. He does love Stacey but he can't deny that Vivian is still a very attractive woman.

***

The following morning, Nathan Lockhart moves into the living room of the Rockwell mansion and sees Sabine Andrews and MacKenzie Rockwell at the bar pouring coffees for themselves. He, immediately, recalls the previous evening when Lydia Rockwell revealed to him that his brother and former fiance have rekindled their romance and are, once again, lovers.

"Well, isn't this a cozy picture?" he announces as Mac and Sabine turn around to face him. "My dearest brother and his tramp."

"Nathan, there's no need to call Sabine names," Mac replies to him. "We are all adults here, we can be civil."

"How did you find out about us, anyways?" Sabine asks him.

Nathan chuckles back to her. "You were kicked out of this mansion after our wedding, yet here you are before the sun has risen. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you, once again, spent the night in my brother's bed."

"Nathan…we never meant to hurt you or anyone," Sabine replies to him quickly.

"Besides, you ended things with Sabine, remember?" Mac reminds him. "She's a free woman to do whatever she wants too; not that we owe you any explanations."

Nathan continues to chuckle back to the couple. "Oh don't worry, I could care less that you two are doing whatever it is you do; I have moved on and, frankly, I think you two deserve each other."

***

A short time later, Nathan moves into the main office at Rockwell Mining and sees Lydia sitting on the sofa with a coffee in her hand.

"I hope that coffee is laced," he chuckles to her as he sets his briefcase down on the sofa next to her.

"It's not, but it could be. Are you having a difficult morning?"

"I ran into Sabine and Mac and revealed that I knew of their affair."

Lydia gasps back to him in horror. "What? You didn't let on that I told you about them, did you?"

"No, of course not," he waves his hand in the air. "They were trying to convince me that what they were doing was perfectly fine and you know the funniest thing? I could care less."

"Do you mean that?" Lydia asks him as she stands up and moves towards him.

"I mean that with every fiber of my being," Nathan replies to her. "I have moved on from that mess and this Christmas season is proving that to me."

Lydia arches her eyebrow back to him. "Meaning?"

"I think," he locks eyes with her. "That if you wanted, I could make you the most powerful woman in this city, just the way you've always wanted," he winks back to her as Lydia purses her lips together and takes a sip of her coffee.

***

Lucinda Rockwell and Dane Ashby step off the elevator at Rockwell Mining and look at one another in the foyer of the office floor.

"It is Christmas Eve, Lucinda," Dane looks at his fiance. "Are you sure that you want to discuss this with Nathan today, of all days?"

"When it comes to my family and its name, there is never a bad time to discuss," Lucinda replies to him. "And Dane, I know that I will be marrying you soon and my name will be Lucinda Ashby, but I will always be a Rockwell, and you have to remember that. I have spent my entire adult life a Rockwell."

Dane uneasily nods back to her as they start to move towards the main office. They open the door and see Nathan working behind the desk.

"My boy, you don't even take Christmas Eve off?" Lucinda chuckles as she moves closer to the desk.

"I only have a few things to wrap up and then I'll be home for the holiday," Nathan smiles back to his mother as he stands up and moves to her, where he kisses both of her cheeks. "What brings you two by today?"

"We came to see you yesterday," Dane reveals to him. "And we were taken by surprise by something."

"And what is that?"

"Dyhannah Cooper," Lucinda quickly replies to him. "She revealed that you hired her! Is that true, Levy?"

"Yes, it is mother," Nathan nods back to her. "I believe Dyhannah will be a good fit around here. She will, how do I say it? Spice things up?"

"I think you're playing with fire," Lucinda warns him. "I know that I don't have any official say around here, but Nathan, this is our family's legacy. This company that Mortimer build from the ground up, it's what we all have to leave behind. So please, don't do anything foolish with Dyhannah."

"Don't you worry mother," Nathan winks back to her. "I know exactly what I am doing, and soon, everyone else will see how brilliant I really am."

***

Meanwhile, in another office, Dyhannah Cooper sits behind a desk with a stack of files in front of her. She wasn't going to start work, officially, until after the Christmas break, but she thought she needed to brief herself on all the current on-goings at Rockwell Mining so she could give her educated opinion on what she thinks could be tweaked or changed.

As she reads the file that is open, she can't help but think about how Nathan pitched her position there as a way to get back at Mac and the rest of the Rockwell family.

"Nathan is a devious one," she whispers to herself. "But he has no idea what I am capable of. It might be time to teach the Rockwell's, including Nathan, a lesson. And, after reading some of these files, I might have the perfect idea."

She starts to chuckle to herself. "This might be the Merriest Christmas yet!"

***

"Have you heard anything from Helena Grant?" Quinn Cunningham asks Deacon Cooper as she moves into his suite at the country club. She is, still, desperate for any update on her missing son, Jumper, after it was revealed that Marat Kafelinkov kidnapped him.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Deacon uneasily chuckles back to her. "I'll take that as a no?"

Quinn shakes her head back to him. "I guess my son's first Christmas will be spent on the run with his kidnapping father!"

"I do believe that the police will be able to find Marat; he couldn't have disappeared off the face of the earth."

"I pray that you're right," she replies to him. "Ugh, we need to do something, anything, to take my mind off this for a little while. I feel like I haven't thought about anything else but Jumper for days now."

"It is Christmas Eve, we could go look at the lights at the government buildings? Maybe some with hot chocolate?"

"That sounds nice," Quinn smiles back to him.

Deacon leans in and kisses her softly on the lips, taking them both by surprise. "I am here for you, Quinn."

A single tear falls down her cheek as a small smile appears on her face. "I know, thank you Deacon. Merry Christmas."

***

"I can't tell you how nice this was," Madison Stewart tells Cole as they walk together through the garden on the Rockwell mansion grounds. The two just finished a romantic Christmas Eve dinner together that the chef prepared for them and now they are talking a walk as the bright moon shines down upon them.

"I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself. I am so grateful that you agreed to give us another try," Cole stops and looks into her eyes. "When you first came back to town, I never imagined we'd reconnect like this but here we are. And I'm so happy."

"I am happy too," Madi admits to him. "But before we go any further, I have to ask you something."

"You can ask me anything."

"You've made it clear that you and Celeste are over and I believe you," she looks back at him. "But when we were engaged you cheated on me, not with a woman but a man. Have you gotten that out of your system? Because I can't go down that path again, Cole."

Cole gulps heavily as he thinks about his affair with Casper Ross a few years earlier. He doesn't know what came over him but he and Casper did have an undeniable chemistry. "That is in the past," Cole tells her. "I don't know what came over me but I haven't been with a guy since. And in case you haven't noticed, I am very much into you."

Madi chuckles back to him. "I have noticed," she winks back to him. "I think it's time we move this inside and you can prove that to me over and over again?"

"You read my mind," he whispers as he leans over and kisses her on the lips.

***

Stacey Rockwell softy closes the bedroom door to her son's, Drake, room. She just finished telling him that in the morning, Santa would have visited and left him presents.

She moves back to the living room of the guest house that she lives in on the Rockwell mansion grounds and plans to have a drink before she will put out her children's presents from Santa.

Just as she gets to the bar, she hears a soft knock on the front door. She moves to the door and sees Houston Blackmore standing on the other side.

"Houston, I, uh, just put Drake down," she tells him as he moves into the living room.

"That's good timing then," Houston replies to her. "Cause I have some gifts from Santa for him."

"That's sweet of you," Stacey purses her lips together. "You can leave them and be on your way, I'm sure you want to be with your family on Christmas Eve."

"There's no where I'd rather be," he replies to her. "Besides, Madi is with Cole and when I left, my mom and dad were cuddling together on the sofa watching 'It's a Wonderful Life', it's my moms favourite."

Stacey uneasily gulps back to him as she thinks about Kent and Vivian cuddling together. She can only imagine what Kent is thinking after she admitted that she and Houston slept together recently.

"Have you had the chance to talk to your dad?"

"No, we've both been so busy with the holidays. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Stacey lies to him. "I do hope you have a merry Christmas, Houston."

"It would be the best Christmas ever if you and I got back together, for good, this time," he smiles back to her. "No pressure but I believe in Santa and I've been a very good boy this year."

Stacey laughs with him before she hugs him. "I love you Stacey," he whispers to her as they embrace.

***

"Thanks for watching the movie with me," Vivian Blackmore tells her husband, Kent, as she uses the remote to turn off the tv. "You know it's my favourite, especially on Christmas Eve."

"Santa better be watching to see how good I am being," Kent chuckles back to her.

"He is, and so am I," she purses her lips back to him. "It's part of the reason I surprised you last night in your room. I want to show you how much I appreciate you, Kent. I want to be your wife, in every way."

Kent gulps back to her as he thinks about how she surprised him in his bed. He was able to convince her not to make love but he hasn't been able to stop thinking about it, especially since he knows that Stacey slept with Houston.

"I… uh… I just don't want you to rush it, Viv. I don't need to remind you that we almost lost you not so long ago."

"But I'm very much alive and I need to feel like a woman again Kent," she purrs as she runs her finger over his muscular chest, which is covered in a tight, white T-shirt. "I know you have needs too, baby."

"I'm a man, of course I do," he chuckles back to her. He looks back at her and for a moment, he thinks he sees Stacey. He finds himself leaning in and kissing her passionately.

She moans back to him. "Make love to me, Kent."

He lifts her into his muscular arms and moves towards the bedroom, their lips never parting ways.

***

Cole and Madi open the door to his bedroom, kissing passionately.

He looks into her eyes when their lips part. "I want you so badly," he whispers.

"I want you too," she purrs back to him. "Do you have protection?"

"Yea, I'll go get a condom, don't move," he winks back to her as he moves to the bathroom in his bedroom.

Madi sighs and moves closer to the bed but freezes when she spots something on the floor, near the base of his king size bed.

"What the hell?" She asks as she moves to the bed and bends down. She gasps in horror as she can see a pair of women's panties lying on the floor. "You son of a bitch!"

"Okay, I'm ready," Cole says as he moves back into the room. "Madi?"

"You lying asshole!" She squeals to him. "I was a fool to think that you've changed!"

Before Cole can even respond, she rushes out of the room and slams the door behind her. A dumbfounded Cole moves to the base of the bed and sees the underwear.

"Jesus, Celeste, what have you done now?" he sighs to himself.

***

The following morning, Cole stands at the front door of the Blackmore mansion and rings the doorbell. He was able to escape the Rockwell mansion before the Christmas festivities began because he needed to see Madi to make sure she knew that he is not sleeping with Celeste, despite the underwear being in his room.

"Madi! I'm not leaving here until you open this door and face me!" Cole shouts as he continues to stand outside the mansion and starts to bang on the door.

"What are you doing?" Madi gasps back to him as she opens the door. "It's Christmas morning for crying out loud!"

"I know," Cole looks back at her with desperation. "But I had to see you. Last night…it's all a misunderstanding! You have to believe me."

"I don't have to do anything," Madi quickly tells him. "And I'll tell you what I just told my parents and that is that I'm leaving town after Christmas. I'm going back to Seattle, Cole. So, this is goodbye, for good. Oh, and Merry Christmas!"

Cole then watches as the front door slams in his face. He runs his hand through his hair as he sighs heavily.

"Merry Christmas," he whispers back to her before he turns away and moves back to his car.

***

"Oh Kent," Vivian gasps as she looks at the large diamond earrings that she just opened. "These are just beautiful."

"Does that mean that you like them?" Kent chuckles back to her. "Merry Christmas, Viv."

"Merry Christmas," she leans over and kisses him on the lips, which Houston notices.

"Alright, I'm going to go to the kitchen and get some eggnog. Can I bring some for everyone?" Kent say sas he stands up from the sofa.

"Yea, that would be nice," Houston nods back to him. "Thanks Dad."

As soon as Kent is out of the room, Vivian rushes over to her son and pulls him into a hug. "Oh darling," she tells him. "This is the best Christmas in a very long time."

Houston chuckles back to her as they look at one another. "Does that mean that something happened between you and Dad?"

Vivian nods back to him. "We made love last night," she reveals to him. "Your father and I, we are closer than ever before."

***

Nathan stands in the study of the Rockwell mansion with his phone in his hand. He is dreading going to downstairs and pretending to be merry with the rest of the family on Christmas morning.

"Before I go downstairs," he whispers to himself. "I need to make that phone call."

He starts to dial a number and then puts his phone to his head. "Merry Christmas," he says when he hears a voice on the other end of the call. "I need you to make a change to my father's will," Nathan reveals as a sly grin comes across his face. "And I need the change to be made today, yes I know it's Christmas! Just do it and let me know, exactly, when it's done. I'll be waiting."

***

Meanwhile, in the living room of the Rockwell mansion, Lydia looks at her children, and grandchildren, as they sit around the Christmas tree passing each other presents. Mac and Sabine are also there laughing with the crowd as Poppy just made a joke.

Lydia takes a sip of her champagne and looks over at Lexington Rockwell, who has a sense of sadness to him, despite it being a festive day. She realizes that he must still be missing Casper Ross, who left town because of Lydia's demands.

"Maybe it's time I end this once and for all," she whispers to herself before she quickly leaves the room. Once she's in the foyer, she pulls out her phone and makes a call.

"Merry Christmas Casper," she whispers into her phone. "I need something from you."

***

"I think Drake and Poppy have really cleaned up this year," Lex tells his siblings with a chuckle.

"I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing their faces light up as they unwrap a present," Stacey replies to him. "They really do make Christmas worth while."

"And look, they are so tired they are sleeping together on the sofa," Cole notices the kids fast asleep.

"We should enjoy the quite while we can," Stacey chuckles back to him. "They'll be up and at it again before we know it. Merry Christmas guys."

"Merry Christmas," Cole replies to his sister.

Before Lex can say anything, his cell phone starts ringing. "Excuse me, I should get this," Lex tells Cole and Stacey before he moves to a corner of the living room.

"Helena, Merry Christmas," he says as he answers the call from the police detective.

"Merry Christmas Lex," Helena replies to him quickly. "I don't want to keep you too long, I know this is a holiday. But you should know that I haven't been able to locate Casper Ross. It seems like he disappeared and if he didn't, he certainly doesn't want to be found."

Lex feels his heart break inside of his chest. "Okay, thank you for lettig me know," he whispers back to her before he hangs up the phone, wondering if he will ever get the chance to tell Casper how he feels about him.

***

"I am hoping that we will get to see Deacon today," Dyhannah tells Chase before she passes him a Christmas present while he sits on the sofa in her suite above the country club.

"He said he would stop by this afternoon," Chase replies to her. "And you didn't have to get me anything, Dy. Being with you is all the present that I need."

Dyhannah chuckles back to him before she leans over and kisses him on the lips. "I couldn't resist, open it."

Chase smiles back to her as he starts to unwrap the present. He opens a small black box and looks back at her in surprise. "Diamond engraved cufflinks? Dyhannah, they are stunning!"

"I had them customer made just for you, darling," Dyhannah's eyes twinkle back to him. "I wanted to give you something special to show you how much you mean to me."

"You certainly accomplished that!" Chase chuckles back to her. "Thank you, my love."

He then stands up and moves to the small Christmas tree that is in the suite. He bends down and picks up a gift for Dyhannah. "And this, this is for you," he tells her as he passes her the gift.

"For me?" she asks with a giggle. She starts to unwrap the present and then looks back at him in shock. "Is this what I think it is?"

"A new, leather, Louie Vuitton briefcase?" he chuckles back to her. "Yes it is. I thought it would be perfect for your new role at Rockwell Mining."

Dyhannah wraps her arms around him. "Thank you, I love it!"

"Good," Chase looks back into her eyes. "And now, some advice to go with the briefcase?"

"Uh, sure?"

"Be careful at Rockwell Mining," Chase warns his fiance. "I know you aren't the biggest fans of the Rockwell family, so you taking this job, just promise me that you won't cross the family; you don't want the Rockwell's as enemies."

Dyhannah chuckles back to him. "You're sweet for caring," she winks back at him. "But I have everything under control, you have to believe me."

***

Stacey moves to the front door of the Rockwell Mansion as she heard the doorbell ring. With the staff busy working on Christmas dinner, she decided to come out and get the door. With most of the family already at the mansion, she isn't sure would could be at the door.

"Houston, hi, Merry Christmas," Stacey says with a smile on her face. "Drake is having a morning power nap."

"I'll wait until he wakes up if that's okay?" Houston replies to her. "And Merry Christmas, by the way. You look beautiful today."

"Thank you and of course I don't mind," Stacey replies to him. "Drake would love to see you today."

Houston chuckles back to her. "You should see the diamond earrings Kent got my mother for Christmas," Houston tells her as they lock eyes. "They are incredible. Although, after what my mother told me, the lavish gift doesn't surprise me."

Stacey arches her eyebrow back to him. "What happened between Kent and Vivian?"

"Accordingly to my Mom," Houston looks back at her. "They were husband and wife in every way possible last night."

Stacey gasps back to him in shock. "You mean?"

"They made love Stacey," Houston reveals to her. "My parents are together in every way possible."

***

"This is the best Christmas that I've had," Vivian tells Kent as they sit next to one another on the sofa. "Both of my children are here, the chef is preparing a nice meal for us, these diamond earrings are stunning, and I have you."

Kent looks back into her eyes. "We do have a great family, don't we?"

"The best. After the year that we've had, this is the day that I really wanted."

"You deserve to get everything that you want, Viv," Kent smiles back to her.

"And after last night, I think I have everything that I need," she winks back to him before she leans up and kisses him. "Merry Christmas, baby."

"Merry Christmas, Vivian."

***

Cole steps off the elevator at the country club and swiftly moves towards one of the suite doors. He takes a deep breath before he knocks on the door. Soon, Celeste opens the door and looks back at Cole in surprise.

"Cole, hi," she says as she lets him move into her suite. "I…I didn't expect to see you here today. Merry Christmas."

"Save it, Celeste," Cole turns and fumes back to her. "How could you have left your underwear in my room? You know that Madison found them and flipped out! She thinks we are having an affair!"

Celeste chuckles back to him. "How the hell can you be with a woman that is so insecure? You deserve someone so much better!"

"You mean someone like you?"

"Exactly," Celeste purses her lips together.

"Ugh, you're the worst! You can't get it through your heard that we are over! We are over, Celeste!"

"I don't believe that," Celeste shakes her head back to him. "And I think deep down, you know that you love me too!"

"I don't!" Cole yells at her as he moves up to her and looks in eyes. Before he knows what he's doing, he grabs her and kisses her passionately! They part ways for a moment, but Cole then pushes her on the bed and he moves closer to her. "You want this? You're going to get it!"

Celeste purrs back to him. "You know I do baby," she says as she rips her blouse off and their lips reconnect.

***

While the staff are busy preparing Christmas dinner, Lex has decided to take a stroll through the garden to try to clear his head. He can't believe that Helena wasn't able to track down Casper. It really feels like he might never get the chance to tell Casper that he wants a future with him, and no one else.

"Merry Christmas Casper," Lex stops and whispers to himself. "Wherever you are, I hope you know that I am thinking about you today."

"Lex," a voice calls out from behind him.

Lex slowly turns around and gets tears in his eyes when he sees Casper standing behind him. "Aren't you going to wish me a Merry Christmas?" Casper asks with a chuckle as Lex rushes up to him and hugs him.

"You're really here? It's really you?" Lex asks as they exit their embrace.

"It's me."

"Oh my god," Lex chuckles before he kisses Casper passionately. "I … I love you, Casper!"

Casper looks back at Lex with a smile on his face. "I love you too, Lex."

***

"It looks like today will be holiday success," Dane tells Lucinda as he passes her a glass of champagne as they stand by the Christmas tree in the living room of the Rockwell mansion.

"I suppose we will be able to confirm this after dinner," Lucinda chuckles back to him. "I don't know what the chef is all preparing, but it smells lovely."

"I am sure that it will be great, mostly because the entire family will be here."

Before Lucinda can respond, she hears her cell phone ring. "I wonder who could be calling me on Christmas," she says as she sets her champagne glass down and opens her purse to grab her phone. "Lucinda Rockwell," she says into her phone.

Dane watches was Lucinda gets a look of concern on her face. "What's going on?" he asks her when she hangs up her phone.

"That was my lawyer," she reveals to him as she locks eyes. "She told me that someone made a change to Mortimer's will; she wasn't supposed to tell me but because we have been together for so long, she wanted me to know."

Dane looks back at her in surprise. "Who would do such a thing?"

"Levy," Lucinda gulps heavily back to him. "My son made a change to his father's will."

***
Quinn paces back and forth in Jumper's nursery as she feels her eyes swell with water. She hates that she is not able to be with her son on his first Christmas because Marat has kidnapped him and taken him to a place unknown.

"The butler told me I'd find you here," Deacon announces as he moves into the nursery. "Merry Christmas, Quinn."

"Merry Christmas," she replies to him as she wipes her eyes dry. "Sorry, I guess I am not feeling very festive today."

"You don't have to apologize to me for that," Deacon says as he moves closer to her. "This should be a milestone day for you and Jumper; instead, you have no idea where he is. You have every right to be upset."

"Thanks," Quinn says back to him. "I am surprised you aren't with your parents. I'm sure Chase and Dyhannah would love to see you."

"I'll see them in a while," Deacon informs her. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

Quinn chuckles back to him. "How am I doing? Not well, bitch, that's how I'm doing."

"I still believe that Jumper will be found," Deacon says. "I will keep the belief for both of us."

Before Quinn can respond, her phone starts to chime. She grabs it from the dresser top and answers. "Helena, please tell me that you have found something."

Over the speaker phone, Helena starts to speak. "Yes, we were able to get some intel on Marat and Jumper's location."

Quinn's eyes open wider in surprise. "Well don't keep me waiting! Where is my son? Where is Jumper?"

"He's in Moscow," Helena reveals to her as Quinn locks eyes with Deacon. "Marat took Jumper to Russia."

***

Mac sits at the head of the dining room table in the Rockwell mansion, with his family next to him. Small chatter is happening with the family while the wait staff finish putting the various dishes for Christmas dinner on the table. Mac looks at his family and gets a smile on his face; he can't help but feel so much love and pride for his family.

"Mac," Lucinda looks over at her son. "We are waiting for Nathan and Lydia. Do you have any idea where they could be?"

Mac shakes his head back to her. "Lydia said she had to go run an errand and that she would be back."

"What kind of errand does Mom have to run on Christmas Day?" Stacey asks him.

"I have no idea, but I don't think we should wait for them," Mac tells everyone. He raises his glass of wine. "Merry Christmas to the best family in the world!"

"Merry Christmas!" the Rockwell's respond in unison, before they start passing the various dishes around the table.

Suddenly, the dining room doors open and Nathan and Lydia emerge. "We are here, sorry we are late," Lydia smiles as she moves up to the table.

Lucinda arches her eyebrow back to her son and Lydia. "We'd like to know what this errant you had to run was," she says as Nathan and Lydia sit next to one another.

"Do you want to tell them, or should I?" Lydia asks Nathan as she gets a smile on her face.

"Tell us what?" Cole asks her mother. "What is going on?"

"Nathan and I," Lydia reveals to everyone. "We just got back from the courthouse where we got married! You're looking at Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Lockhart!"

Everyone's mouth's open in shock and awe at the news that Nathan and Lydia are now husband and wife. Mac and Sabine make eye contact before they look back at Lydia and Nathan, who kiss each other on the lips quickly.

***

A few minutes later, Lydia is standing in the foyer of the mansion as Mac looks at her with intent.

"I'm starving, couldn't this have waited until after dinner?" Lydia asks her former husband.

"No," Mac huffs back to her. "You married my brother? What the hell is that about?"

Lydia chuckles back to him. "Oh please," she waves her hand in the air. "You're screwing my sister! Did you really think I'd sit back and be single for the rest of my life? I am still a woman, MacKenzie and I have needs!"

"But Nathan, of all people?"

"Don't you judge me!" Lydia hisses back to him. "Besides, this will help us," she tells him. "Now I can find out what he's going to do with the information about Dyhannah being Dane's daughter. Maybe I can use this to our advantage and we can still help Lucinda before it's too late."

Lucinda, who was about to come and get Mac and Lydia for dinner, freezes when she hears the words come spilling out of Lydia's mouth: Dyhannah is Dane's daughter. She clutches her pearls and shuts her eyes, stunned at what was just revealed on Christmas morning.