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Whether it was the pain or the excitement of the holidays that did it, he didn’t particularly care. Nate woke up early Christmas morning, happily snuggled up in bed with Seren. He’d spent the better part of being sleepy but unable to sleep wondering for probably the umpteenth time how he’d gotten so lucky as to find someone like her, and not only get to be a part of her life in some capacity but to be the person that she loved.

He hoped she knew how much he loved her, too. Though he’d been a bit busier of late, that fact hadn’t changed. And it never would change, if he had any kind of say on the matter.

Nate pressed a kiss to her temple a bit later on in the morning, when it seemed more appropriate to be awake, hoping it wasn’t enough to wake her but at the same time hoping she did stir awake. He had a present he was excited to give her; he prepared it before the accident, and managed to move it from his overnight bag that he brought with him to work to the nightstand on his side of the bed the night before, when she had gone down to the kitchen to get their dishes cleaned up.

She slept better than she had in weeks, cuddled into Nate (even though she had to be careful of his injuries), and without even intending to, slept in further than she normally would have. Indeed, she had meant to set a alarm, so that she would get up and take Remy out early, but... Well she had forgotten, and so when that gentle kiss brushed her skin, that was what woke her, rather than the beep of her alarm.

She blinked awake, slowly, eyes taking a moment to focus on the world in front of her... Before she processed what had woken her, and a smile popped into existance, as she slowly turned over to face him. "Good Morning, gorgeous... And Merry Christmas."

She yawned a little, blinked, and then looked concerned. "What time is it...? I forgot to set an alarm! I meant to take our boy out at six, so he would not have issues..."

He leaned back and watched her slowly, lips turning up in a small smile at the sight. “Good morning, love,” he returned the greeting softly, and leaned in to press another kiss to her temple, curious if it would help wake her a little more. “Merry Christmas.”

His amusement shone in his eyes when her next question came, and glancing toward the clock in the room he replied, “Quarter past seven. He’ll be okay if you take him now.” He turned back to her as he gently pulled her into a hug. “Don’t worry too much about it. If he was having a hard time, you bet your a** he’d let us know.”

The temple kisses made her smile brightly and lovingly at him, because his gentle affections that he showered her with always made her feel so warm and happy inside. She was so lucky to have a man that loved her like this, made her happy and cared for her as much as she cared for him.

His answer has her wincing a little, but she happily accepted his one armed hug, gently and carefully, before pulling free. "Well I'm glad he's not at the foot of the bed doing the 'I need to pee!' whine and dance routine, yes... Let me pull something on really quick and I'll take him out... Be back soon."

It was her turn to press a kiss to his temple, as she got up, and she quickly threw on a thick pair of flannel bottoms, socks, boots and just tucked her warm nightshirt into the pants, before grabbing her winter coat and wrapping up. She called Remy and the two ran down the stairs... She was just taking him out back, for the moment, after all. In less than five minutes, she was back, with damp hair and red cheeks from the cold. "It's snowing! We're having an actual white Christmas, babe!"

He chuckled and gave a little nod, also glad to know that their pup wasn't doing any kind of dance indicative of discomfort. He smiled in turn at the kiss, and carefully moved so he could start the arduous task of getting up to take care of the usual morning things. "Alright, I'll be here," he said, eyes flickering to her as she quickly got dressed and led Remy out.

By the time she got back he was sitting up on the side of the bed, a little drained from the movement but otherwise looking fine. His eyes widened at her announcement, though, and he couldn't help but glance at the window.

"Lucky us," he said, clearly looking very pleased with the news. He'd have gotten up to go outside if he could, but as he couldn't he simply turned back to her with a bright smile. "Maybe we can go outside a little later, have a little fun." He was about to start to try and get up when a thought occured to him, and he looked to her again.

"Oh, but also probably should text Dai to be careful on the road."

She looked him over, concerned at how tired he looked from just sitting up. She knew why... But it still concerned her. She didn't push, though, because she knew he needed to be able to do as much as possible for himself, to keep himself from going insane with frustration.

"Lucky indeed! I love snow, if I can just relax and enjoy it." She took off her boots and coat for the moment, and glanced at him at his comment. "My phone is right next to you, could you send the message? Or would it be hard with your cast?" She was doing her best to get the boots off quickly without spreading mud or anything into the main part of the room, and she mumbled about getting a stool for near her shoe rack to make this safer in the future.

"And yeah! I would love to go outside with you, love."

“No, I got it,” he said as he looked down and quickly caught sight of her phone. He reached over with his good hand and carefully got it unlocked, and he sent off a quick message to Dai wishing him a Merry Christmas, and to be careful on the drive over. Once he set it down again, he started to prep himself to get up again. It took as much mental prep as it did physical, but soon enough he was hobbling his good leg with his crutch helping to keep him balanced on the side with the cast.

He was sweating lightly, though, and it took a lot of effort to get to the bathroom, but he looked determined.

“Outside for a little bit, I can’t get the casts wet and stuff,” he said, managing a small smile, “but then some hot cocoa by some kinda fire–even if it’s just on a monitor or something–would be pretty nice.”

"Thank you, babe. Means the world to me." She said in response, and soon had her outer gear off, and she began to strip down, getting naked in case he wanted another shower this morning. She followed him to the bathroom, trying not to hover, but making sure she was there in case he needed anything.

"Mmm yeah. Maybe we can wrap them up extra. I think we have a few large water resistant bags for when we've gone camping and hiking?" She sounded thoughtful. "Maybe we can wrap one of those around your lower cast... I think the other we can just cover with your jacket and maybe a small bag? I don't know but we'll definitely have to see what we can do. And we can absolutely have hot chocolate before a YouTube video of a fire... Don't wanna start one in the shared living room, one of the current girls rooming here is really reactive to smoke and so we just don't for her sake." She leaned against the door, ready to do what he needed her to do.

And if that was step away while he used the toilet, that was fine, but if he wanted a quick morning shower or help with his other morning routines, she was here for that too.

He was a little surprised–pleasantly so, of course–when she was soon naked and following him into the bathroom. Not that he ever minded seeing her naked, of course, but he hadn’t expected it. Though he was considering a shower, which was probably why she’d stripped down in the first place.

Smiling, he nodded toward the toilet before glancing back at her.

“Lemme use the toilet real quick, and then I’ll brush my teeth and…probably just shower now since it takes a lot more to get that done. It’d be weird to have to do all that with Dai here.” was still clean from the shower the night prior, but he didn’t mind being extra fresh.

"Mmm alright, you let me know when you need me. I'll be in my robe on the couch, just call me. Whether for shower, or if you need help with anything else, please let me know. I love you, Babe." She smiled at him, blew him a loving kiss, and moved out of the door.

She stepped into her closet, grabbed her robe, and moved to her couch, flopping down to wait for him.

“Thanks,” he replied, smiling gratefully and playfully kissing the air in front of him in response to the kiss she blew. “Love you, too.”

As soon as she stepped out again he carefully maneuvered his way around the bathroom, first to close the door, then to use the toilet where he took care of his business before moving on with the rest of his morning routine.

It was frustrating, going as slowly as he needed to, but he did his best to not let himself get too down about it.

“Babe, can you help me with that shower now, please?” he called as he set his crutches aside, then leaned back against the counter to start getting undressed.

She chilled, watching the snow falling outside the windows, almost mesmerized by it. She still loved watching the snow, still found it intensely exciting every year when it happened after never having it as a child. As such, she could get lost watching the sight outside.

When he called out, she shook herself, and then said "Coming, love!" She stood, dropping her robe back onto the couch as she went. She soon joined him in the bathroom, and slipped into the shower, standing where she could help him move into the shower too, since the crutches couldn't really join them.

As soon as he was ready, she reached for him and helped guide him to the stool, before turning on the water.

He was fully naked soon enough, and said the usual quiet thanks as she helped him into the shower. And they went through a similar routine as the previous night--hair first, then the rest of him. She helped dry him again, though he tried to do a bit himself as well. That brought a rather cheerful glimmer into his eyes. Once settled on the couch, and before she could get started on helping him get lotioned up, he gently pulled her down for a little kiss.

"I love you," he said softly before letting her go.

She was more than happy helping him, because it meant he was here and because she loved him and loved helping him. She wished it were better circumstances but she would help him no matter what. When she had gotten him settled, she was about to turn around to grab the lotion, since she had kept it on the table next to the couch for future use, but he rather thoroughly interrupted her. She smiled into the kiss, and when it was done, replied simply "Love you too, babe." With her eyes shining with how much she meant that.