[Modern Family] Ch: 138 [Christmas Morning begins...] (Patreon)

[December 25, 2012] [Christmas Morning]

Jack stood in front of the Christmas tree, carefully adjusting the last few ornaments while Christmas music played quietly from the living room speakers.

They'd returned home only yesterday, and he'd spent most of the previous evening decorating the house while Haley unpacked their suitcases. Fortunately, they'd arranged for the tree and most of the decorations before leaving for Switzerland, so he'd only needed to finish everything that morning.

He'd just finished hanging the fourth ornament they'd purchased in Gstaad when Haley appeared from the kitchen, carrying a tray with two mugs of hot chocolate and a plate of Christmas cookies.

"Morning, handsome." She placed the tray on the coffee table before walking over to him. Slipping her arms around his waist, she stood on her toes and kissed him.

Jack returned the kiss, resting his hands on her hips before turning them both toward the decorated tree.

"So? What's the verdict?" he asked.

Haley examined the tree, taking in the colorful ornaments, golden ribbons, and warm white lights. Her attention eventually settled on the four hand-painted ornaments they'd bought during their honeymoon.

"Oh, babe, it looks amazing!" She smiled and stepped closer to the tree, carefully touching one of the smaller ornaments. "Wait, you put the Swiss ones right in the front!"

"Figured they deserved VIP placement." Jack came up beside her, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "One for me, one for you, and two for our little troublemakers."

Haley laughed and rested a hand over her stomach. "Okay, not to brag, but they are literally going to be the cutest babies on the planet. And I'm not just saying that because they are ours."

"Right, obviously. Purely scientific observation."

"Exactly!" She turned toward him, looking pleased that he'd finally understood. "I mean, look at us. With my face and your everything? These kids basically won the genetic lottery before they were even born."

Jack laughed and kissed her forehead before guiding her toward the couch. They settled together, with Haley curling against his side while he reached for the cookies.

For a few minutes, they enjoyed their breakfast snacks and admired the tree.

Christmas wasn't the only reason this particular day was important, either. Jack's latest movie, Planet of the Apes, was officially releasing in theaters today. After months of filming, promotional work, and anticipation, audiences would finally get to see it.

Haley remembered something and looked up at him. "Oh! Happy opening day, Mr. Big-Shot Movie Star! Are you freaking out?"

"A little bit, yeah." Jack picked up his mug. "Mostly just trying not to spend all of Christmas morning refreshing box office numbers on my phone."

"Good. Because your hot, very pregnant wife requires your undivided attention today." Haley took his mug from him and set it beside hers before climbing onto his lap. 

Jack wrapped his arms around her, laughing as she settled comfortably against him. "Well, when you put it like that, I think the studio can survive without me for twenty-four hours."

"It better." Haley leaned forward and kissed him again before pulling back a bit. "Let's have sex."

"I'm already hard, honey," He whispered before licking her lips.

"Oh, I can tell," She said, playfully biting his lower lip.

They were about to begin when the doorbell rang.

Jack closed his eyes for a moment, hoping whoever was standing outside would suddenly remember another appointment and leave. 'Go away, go away, go away, go away...'

Unfortunately, the doorbell rang again.

Haley pulled away from his lips and turned toward the front door with an expression that suggested she was seriously considering murdering whoever had interrupted them.

"Please tell me you ordered something," she groaned.

"This early? What would I even order?" Jack asked, reluctantly loosening his hold around her waist.

"I don't know! Waffles? Jewelry? A moat around the house so people leave us alone?"

Jack laughed and reached for his phone on the coffee table, checking the security camera feed. The moment he saw who was standing outside, his amusement disappeared.

"Well, babe, I've got some very bad news."

Haley leaned over to examine the screen. Standing on their front porch were Claire Dunphy and Sarah Preston, both carrying several bags and looking entirely too cheerful for people who were about to ruin Christmas morning.

"Oh, my God, no!" Haley dropped her forehead against his shoulder. "Why are our moms on the porch?"

"I have no idea, but they're carrying Tupperware, which means they're planning to stay."

The doorbell rang a third time, followed by the unmistakable sound of Claire calling from outside.

"Haley! Jack! Come on, we know you're in there! Both your cars are in the driveway!"

Haley lifted her head and gave Jack one final, deeply disappointed kiss before climbing off his lap.

"Ugh. Go open it before my mom starts checking the window."

Jack adjusted his clothes while Haley straightened her oversized Christmas sweater. Once they looked reasonably presentable, he walked toward the entrance and opened the door.

"Merry Christmas!" Sarah greeted him brightly, immediately leaning in to kiss his cheek. "There's my handsome boy! How are my favorite newlyweds?"

"Doing great, Mom. Though I was kind of hoping to have my wife to myself for more than twenty minutes this morning."

"Well, you two just flew back from Switzerland yesterday, and I know for a fact there's nothing in your fridge," Claire said, breezing right past him with a large shopping bag and a covered casserole dish. "So we brought breakfast."

Jack glanced toward the living room, where their mugs of hot chocolate and plate of cookies were still sitting on the coffee table.

"Hey, we had hot chocolate and cookies. We were surviving just fine until the doorbell started ringing."

Neither woman seemed particularly interested in that information. Sarah was already admiring the decorations, while Claire had noticed Haley approaching from the living room.

"Merry Christmas, sweetie!" Claire greeted her daughter with a hug before immediately dropping into full mom-mode, her eyes darting to Haley's stomach. "How are you feeling? Are you jet-lagged? Did your ankles swell up on the plane?"

"Mom, stop, I'm fine." Haley hugged her back. "I slept great, the babies are great, and honestly, my morning was going pretty amazing until about two minutes ago."

Claire pulled back slightly, studying her daughter's expression. "Wait, what's wrong? Why is your face like that?"

"Nothing!" Haley answered a little too brightly, shooting Jack a pointed look. "We were just in the middle of some very important newlywed time."

Sarah, who had been examining the Christmas tree and the decoration around the place, turned toward them with an appreciative smile. "Oh, the house looks gorgeous! You two finished decorating everything already?"

"Last night and this morning," Jack answered, following her into the living room. "We had most of it set up before we left for the airport, so I just had to handle the tree."

Sarah stopped in front of the four hand-painted ornaments hanging near the middle of the tree. She recognized them immediately from the photographs Haley had sent during their honeymoon.

"Oh, look at these!" She carefully touched the two smaller ornaments. "Are these the ones from Gstaad? For my grandbabies?"

"Yep! One for each of us," Haley beamed, coming over to stand beside her mother-in-law. "We wanted their very first Christmas ornaments to be from our honeymoon."

Claire joined them, placing her bags on the floor before examining the ornaments herself. For several moments, both women were completely occupied with the decorations.

Jack took the opportunity to move beside Haley and quietly slip his hand around her waist.

"Think we can make a break for it upstairs while they're distracted?" he whispered near her ear.

Haley leaned against him, looking toward the staircase. "You distract them, and I'll meet you in the bedroom in sixty seconds."

Unfortunately, Claire chose that exact moment to turn around.

"Okay, please tell me you two weren't actually planning on having sugar cookies for breakfast," Claire said, looking at the coffee table. "Because you're eating for three now, Haley. I brought an egg casserole, and Sarah stopped at that French bakery you love."

Haley immediately straightened. "Wait. The one with the chocolate croissants?"

Jack looked down at her in disbelief.

"Seriously? You're ditching me for flaky dough?"

"Babe, I'm growing two humans," she whispered, patting his chest apologetically. "You cannot compete with warm chocolate croissants right now."

Before he could respond, another vehicle pulled into the driveway.