"Will, stop wrapping Oscar up in tinsel and Christmas lights.

Elijah, stop standing and smirking in the corner and help me out for Heaven's sakes! The guests will be here soon!" Lisa rubbed her temples tiredly, glancing at the clock. The living room looked like a tornado had hit it and none of the boys were helping.

"Mom, the dinner's burnt," Brandon said, popping his head out of the kitchen door. Lisa badly wanted to scream, but kept her anger in check.

"I'll kill you!" Daimen screamed, running down the stairs after a laughing Julian. The latter took refuge behind his mother, confident that she would be able to save him.

"Daimen, please don't kill your brother. That would put a damper on the party," Lisa sighed, "what's going- actually, I don't want to know. Knowing you two, it's probably something stupid."

"Daimen and Michelle, sitting in a tree-" Julian began singing.

"SHUT IT!" Daimen barked, "she's just a friend! And now, you've ruined that too!"

"Hey Mom!" Iris called cheerfully, entering the house carrying bags of food and decoration. David followed shortly after, looking stressed and confused. The latter was suffering from the PTSD of frantic, late Christmas shopping.

"Iris! My favourite child!" Lisa beamed, hugging her nineteen year old daughter.

"Hey!" The boys shouted indignantly.

"Can you help me out here?" Lisa pleaded, ignoring her sons and Iris laughed lightly.

"Alright!" She clapped her hands, "we've got an hour until the guests arrive. Brandon, judging from the smoke coming from the kitchen, the dinner's burnt. In the bags, there is some more food. Cook that instead.

Daimen, I don't know what Julian has done- and I don't want to know- but stop glaring and punching him! Julian, apologise and Daimen accept. It's Christmas! You guys can continue this tomorrow.

Will, Oscar looks lovely dressed in the decorations, but they need to go on the tree. Both of you and Julian decorate the tree. Me, Mom, Dad, Dai and Eli will clean up," she finished, taking a deep breath.

"Yes ma'am!" Oscar saluted, falling over while trying to detangle himself.

"I'll deal with you later," Daimen snarled.

I rolled my eyes at Dai's remark, smiling softly as I looked at my family. Just four years ago, I would have gotten beaten black and blue. It used to be the worst time of the year for me, since Elise and John would stay at home for the 'happy' holidays.

A tear traced a silvery path down my cheek and I hastily wiped it away, pretending to be immersed in tidying up. After an hour of hard work, we finally finished.

Oscar stood on the chair and tried to put a bauble near the top of the tree.

"Oscar, maybe you should get down?" I asked nervously, knowing how clumsy he could be.

"No... I've almost- ahh!" He leaned too far forward and fell off the chair, crashing into the tree. The tree teetered precariously, before falling onto the glass table. The tip of the tree grazed the mirror on the wall, making it fall and shatter into pieces.

"Oh my God!" Mom shouted, aghast as she ran to Oscar.

"It's okay Mom, I'm fi-"

"The tree!" She interrupted, "what are we going to do now? The tree is broken! Everything is a mess!"

"I don't know," Eli said, distressed.

"I'm fine too, thanks for asking!" Oscar yelled sarcastically, standing up, "it's not like I fell on a bloody tree!"

"Here," Dai grabbed Oscar's arm and pulled him out of the wreckage, "I'll check if you have broken bones... but you're probably fine."

"Thank you Daimen. At least someone cares!" Oscar fake glared, sniffing contemptuously.

"Can we order another one?" I asked Mom.

She shook her head, "it's too late now."

The doorbell rang and Brandon went to answer it.

"Merry- Poseidon's underpants what happened here?" Alex blinked at the half-destroyed living room. Jax's jaw dropped and he whistled lowly, standing next to Alex.

"Oscar fell on a tree," I explained, "and this happened."

"The food's ready," Brandon's eyes went wide when he saw the wreckage, "oh wow."

The doorbell rang again and more people trooped in. My friends, a couple Mafia Leaders and Harry were chatting animatedly in the corridor. As they passed the living room, they made comments about the living room that did nothing to calm Mom down.

"Goodness me-!"

"Oh wow!"

"What happened?"

"-earthquake?"

I could see that the comments weren't making Mom any less frustrated or annoyed. Dad was surreptitiously trying to blend into the shadows.

"What happened?" Tracy questioned loudly.

"Oscar fell off the tree." I answered.

Tracy's eyebrows knitted in concern as she looked at my brother, "are you okay?"

He shrugged, "nothing Oreos and Doritos can't fix."

"Why don't we go to the dining room?" Eli suggested.

"Yeah!" I replied with a little too much enthusiasm. Me and my brothers tactfully manoeuvred the guests out of the living room. It took some time, but soon, we were all settled down. I sat between Alex and Jax.

"So Rainbow," Alex asked quietly, "how are you feeling?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. This time of year has always brought up bad memories for me. But I think I'll get through today without much trouble."

Jax nodded, "that's good. Just let us know if you need any help, okay?"

I smiled and hugged them both, "thanks guys. For everything."

Suddenly, the door burst open and around eight people wearing black stormed the room.

"FREEZE!" The leader shouted, lifting his gun.

"No thank you," Cole said, "now, who are you?"

"We have come to rob you," A girl said, "put your valuables in this bag or we'll start shooting!" She tossed a brown bag on the table.

"Look," Aiden winced, "I think you're making a huge mistake right now-"

"Shut it!" The leader growled, "now, put the stuff in the bag, or we'll shoot the pretty girl," he pointed his gun at Iris.

David sighed, "well, I was hoping to avoid bloodshed today."

"Um sir," a timid voice spoke up.

"What?" Leader snapped, not taking his eyes off Iris. It took all of her self-control to not gouge his eyes out.

"I think- I think we've got the wrong house... this is the West-Brown mansion."

Leader's eyes widened and he barely had enough time to swear violently, before several bullets were put in his brain. He stilled and tipped back, hitting the ground with a soft thud.

"Well that was dramatic," Oscar remarked, putting his gun away and continuing to eat his food.

"I would advise you run away really fast now," Grace said to the remaining people.

"We really don't like people threatening us," James added, tapping his knife for extra effect.

The robbers didn't need to be told twice. They sprinted out of the house, scrambling and tripping over each other in an effort to get away quicker.

"Why'd you let them go?" Milo questioned.

"Eh, I was in a Christmassy and forgiving mood. I only shot the other guy because he threatened Iris," David replied, asking the cleaners to dispose of the body. Once that was taken care of, the rest of the dinner passed without a hitch. It was actually quite peaceful and enjoyable.

Iris West-Brown smiled softly at her friends and family. She knew that she would never completely get over the trauma of her past. But with the people she loved by her side, she was slowly healing.

And for now, that was enough.