"Echo, would you take these out to the table, please?" Alice said with a big smile as she handed Echo a basket full of bread rolls. She'd been watched her all morning, ever since she appeared at breakfast, surprising everyone. They weren't expecting her for several hours more, and they certainly weren't expecting her to be alone.

Echo gave them a short, simple, little story about how Luke had been held up with work and Adelia had decided to stay behind with him. Of course, everyone thought it was a shame but didn't think anything else beyond it. But Alice, well- Alice wasn't born yesterday and she knew these girls better than anyone, after all, she did carry them for nine months and then raise them. They thought they were so clever, always whispering among themselves and thinking she was clueless. There was certainly things that Alice didn't know but she knew everything she needed to.

Like right now, as Echo smiled softly and moved to place the bread on the table- she could tell that behind the smiles, she was hurting. She didn't know what had happened or what they could have fought over, but it was obvious to her that Echo and Luke had a fight. Still, she wouldn't say anything to anyone, even Echo. If she didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't force her. She'd just shower her with love and affection.

Echo helped set the table for lunch quietly. Her parents, being the wonderful and generous people that they were, always insisted that staff have Christmas eve, Christmas and the day after Christmas off. So, usually, at this time of year, they were left to fend for themselves. They were lucky that Alice cooked very well, otherwise they'd be ordering in since no one else did.

No one had questioned her story this morning, they didn't even ask why she arrived so late the night before. That was for the best, less questions meant less lies.

Somehow, she'd expected to be a little more relieved to be home, thinking she'd find comfort to be around her family. She did, she really did but she also found it to be extremely lonely. It wasn't so much that she wasn't with Luke, it wasn't like she needed him around all the time. The problem was knowing that something was wrong, that Luke was angry and that she didn't know why. She just couldn't find peace, even in her own bedroom, knowing that she and Luke weren't right.

To make things worse, her parents had her room fixed up to be more comfortable for her to share with Luke so even her sanctuary wasn't much of a sanctuary.

No, what was worse was that she'd been so angry yesterday that she'd left Baby behind. She'd cried herself to sleep thinking about the little pup.

"Here." Romy said, handing Echo a few linen napkins. Echo pulled out a chair and began to fold them carefully, not noticing that Vera had been watching her the entire time.

"So..." Romy began, sitting next to her and helping her with the napkins. "What did you get Luke for Christmas?"

Echo looked up at her and frowned.

"Seriously?" Echo asked.

"Well, did you want me to ask the obvious?" Romy asked and Echo shook her head. "There, you see? Sometimes, small talk is the right thing to do."

Echo watched as Romy fumbled with the napkin, folding it and refolding, looking more than a little frustrated because she couldn't get the quite as neat as she would like. Such a simple task but Romy had zero talent for these type of things and less than zero patience for things she had no talent for.

"Give me that." Echo said, taking the napkin from her with a chuckle.

"Finally." Romy said, tossing it at her playfully. "You know, Vera is bringing that guy tomorrow night for dinner."

"Really?" Echo asked suddenly remembering the guy that Vera brought to the wedding.

"Yes." Romy said softly. "She's been seeing him a lot lately."

"Won't he want to spend Christmas with his family?" Echo asked, thinking about how much she'd like to be spending Christmas with hers.

That was a strange thought to have. Echo was with her family- her mom, her dad, her sisters and Ben, even George and Karen were in the other room just hanging out. Somehow, it just wasn't the same anymore and she knew it was because now Luke and Adelia were her family too.

"I heard he's an only child, parents died a few years back." Romy said with a shrug. Echo studied Romy's face.

"You... don't like him?" Echo asked but Romy shook her head.

"No, it's not that... I just think they're spending a lot of time together." Romy said.

"She must really like him." Echo said.

"He's cute." Romy said. Echo watched her for a second. it didn't matter what Romy said, Echo got the distinct feeling that there was something about him she didn't like.

"Do..." Echo began to say but at that moment, a loud knocking made them turn.

"Who in the world?" Maru's voice called out from the other room. Echo and Romy stood, moving into the hall and finding that everyone else had done the same. "It's Christmas Eve, don't people have families to be with."

"Hi."

Echo died.

She had to be dead.

She died in her sleep and went to heaven, that was the only explanation.

Maybe she'd caught a cold while sitting out on the terrace until late.

Maybe she'd died of a broken heart.

But whatever it was, whatever happened, she had to be dead. She died and now she was in heaven and that's why the one person she actually wanted to see more than anything, was standing 10 feet away.

"Luke!" Maru said with a smile, reaching out to hug him as he walked in. "We thought you weren't coming. Hey Adelia!"

This was followed by similar cries of surprise and greetings. Everyone seemed so happy to see him, especially Ben and George, who were greeting him more effusively than anyone else. It was funny to see how much they liked the guy after a simple basketball game.

She could hear them talking, could hear his voice as he spoke to her parents but she couldn't move. She could only stare as he moved about the room. It had to be a dream, right? He wouldn't just come looking for her? Show up on Christmas eve just to make up with her? That was a movie or a book, not life.

Then, there he was, looking directly at her as he approached and for the first time she noticed the small dog in his arms.

"Baby!" She said, reaching out and taking the dog from him. "Oh my goodness, I missed you."

Echo smiled as the dog excitedly began to jump up in her arms.

"I missed you too." Luke said in a low voice with a playful grin. Echo glanced up at him as she held the dog up to her face, cuddling it.

"Hi Echo." Adelia said brightly, jumping out from behind Luke.

"Hi." Echo said without taking her eyes off him.

"Hey Adelia," Romy said, noticing the tension between the two. "Why don't I show you your room before lunch? You're actually right across the hall from me."

"Really?" Adelia asked, following her upstairs.

"Come on, I'll show you the room." Echo said after a few seconds, turning on her heel and holding the puppy closer.

"We'll be down in a bit." Luke said, following Echo but everyone had pretty much scattered and they were all back to what they were doing.

"The house is even bigger than it looks." Luke said as he followed Echo up the stairs and down the hall.

"Well, six kids... it sort of had to be." Echo muttered as they turned the corner to her door. "In here."

Luke pushed the door open and set his bag down as he stepped in. He couldn't help the smile on his face as he walked around the room. It was a large enough room, and the bed was larger than he expected it to be.

"They changed the bed, new comforter, new sheets... some new furniture too." Echo said, closing the door behind her and setting the dog down. "Other than that, it's pretty much how I left it."

Luke picked up a stuffed turtle that was sitting in the corner of the room before turning to face her.

"I didn't realize you liked turtles." He said, setting it back down. Echo frowned and shook her head.

"Not particularly but that's pretty much the only stuffed animal I ever owned. George gave us one each." Echo said nervously. "I'm not really much of a stuffed animal person."

"I didn't picture you as one." He said, moving closer to her. "i always just pictured you surrounded by books."

"Did you see it?" She asked after a few more minutes, pressing her hands together.

"I did." He said with a nod. "It was perfect. I couldn't think of anything more perfect."

A smile escaped Echo's lips.

"Really?" She asked, suddenly realizing that she should be upset.

"Thank you." He said, finally reaching her and taking her hand. "Echo... I..."

"What's going on, Luke?" She finally blurted out.

"I'm sorry." He said, "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting, I'm sorry because I know I hurt you with my behavior. I'm sorry because doubted you."

"Doubted me?" She asked, raising her brow. Luke nodded and then pulled her towards the bed, prompting her to take a seat.

"The thing is..." He said, explaining to her what happened with Nadia and why he had acted like a complete asshole.

Echo stared at him wide eyed, trying to process everything he was saying.

"You thought... Marco and I?" She asked, trying not to laugh at what she had just heard. "That's absurd."

"I know, I'm sorry. I just..." Luke said, shaking his head. "It's just Nadia thought and I thought. We thought wrong."

"Okay, I understand." Echo said, pulling away and standing. She paced the room a bit as she let it all sink in. "I mean, I understand that she thought she saw something and misread a situation."

"Please don't be upset with her." Luke began but Echo shook her head.

"I'm not upset with her. She was being loyal. She thought she saw something and it would have been wrong to keep it from you." Echo said, turning and looking at him. "I'm kinda pissed at you."

"You have every right to be." He said, "I can't believe I doubted you."

"Well, okay. You doubted me and that hurts, not gonna lie but your cousin, who you're extremely close to, gave you a reason to be suspicious. You trust her and hell, I trust her." Echo said, "But you also doubted Marco? Marco who has been your friend all your life, Marco who is loyal to you above all else. How fucking dumb is that?"

Luke was surprised. He expected her to be angry but instead, she was being very calm and reasonable. She was completely calling him out on his bull shit.

"What really pisses me off about this whole thing, what makes me want to clobber you over the head with that lamp," She continued, pointing to the sturdy desk lamp just a few feet away, "is that instead of confronting me, instead of being direct about what was wrong, you proceeded to treat me like absolute shit."

He didn't say anything. She was right. She was absolutely right.

"I... didn't know what to think. At least if I knew what you thought, I could understand why you thought I deserved any of that. Instead..." Echo said, trying to hold back the tears. Luke watched in horror as she turned pink and began to cry. "Instead I questioned myself over and over again. I began to think you didn't want me anymore."

He hadn't really seen her cry before. God, she was such an ugly crier. He watched her sniffle and struggle to get it together. It was strange, he'd watched her have full blown panic attacks, watched her lose her temper and throw a plate, seen her come out of an almost kidnapping angry, but he couldn't remember seeing her cry... at least not like this. Out of all the sides he'd seen of Echo, one thing was for sure- this was the hardest to deal with because ugly crier or not, it broke his heart.

Luke stood and pulled her against him, holding her as she stained his face with more than just tears.

"I'm sorry, Echo. I'm so sorry. I've just..." he said, shaking his head. "No, there's no excuse. I shouldn't let what happened in the past keep me from being the husband you deserve. Please forgive me, please don't leave me."

Echo looked up at him, her face puffy and red, tears still running down dramatically. She put her hand on his face and tried(and failed) not to pout.

"Oh Luke, I'm not going to leave you." She said, "But never again. Promise me you'll just talk to me, promise me you'll try to trust me."

"I swear." He said as she flung her arms around his neck, both feeling so relieved that they practically floated up off the ground, and neither noticing as they held onto each other, just how many missed calls Luke had on his phone.

All from Grace.