Welcome, Welcome
I dreamed these characters one night, then Dick Wolf stole them from my dream. Legally I don't own them. Spiritually they are MINE MINE MINE!
Alexadra Eames was very happy at the moment. She was with her family, some of the dearest people in the world to her, with a few exceptions. The main one was her husband of course. The other . . . learning to keep up with Bobby Goren had probably been the main thing that helped her keep her sanity. She had often heard remarks that she kept him grounded, and while that was true, they misjudged the depths from which Bobby Goren had saved her, simply by being himself.
She quit her musing for a moment, to watch her nephew scream with happiness as his toy racecar raced around the track to win again. She caught her brother Butch's eye as he let Nathan win, and winked at him.
Liz walked over to sit by her. "How's your partner doing these days, Alex?" Butch looked up, interested.
Alex smiled at them. "He's doing really good. I think he'll always have the scars of course, but. . . "
"We know," said Liz quietly. "Tell him if there's anything any of us could do . . ."
Alex was touched, and uncertain how to reply when her cell rang its "Bobby" ring.
"Batman!" Nathan squealed, recognizing the familiar theme because his uncle had been educating him on the "classics." Alex touseled his hair as she stepped out of the room.
"Bobby what is it? I'm sort of in the middle of my Christmas. I mean, I'll come in if I have to, but—"
"Eames," he interrupted her, "do me a favor and turn on the TV to channel 7, okay?"
Her heart threatened to quit on her, but his voice was more amused than anything else. She quickly switched it on to see the Grinch holding one hand to his ear. "Dr. Seuss?"
"Eames," he said, "I like to watch this with someone special, every year. I've missed out the past few years, and I just thought . . . It won't take long."
The near pleading in his voice got her attention, and she sat down, turned her cellphone to speaker-mode, and the two partners watched the Whos celebrate Christmas.
Fah who for-aze!
Dah who dor-aze!
Welcome Christmas,
Come this way!
Fah who for-aze!
Dah who dor-aze!
Welcome Christmas,
Christmas Day.
Welcome, Welcome
Fah who rah-moose
Welcome, Welcome
Dah who dah-moose
Christmas day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp
Fah who for-aze!
Dah who dor-aze!
Welcome, welcome Christmas
Welcome, welcome Christmas
Day
"Why is this considered a child's movie?" Bobby asked her. "I always cry when I watch it."
"Me too, a little. This always reminded me of what my old pastor used to say about the so-called War on Christmas"—Snort went her partner—"He always said, faith is not a fight to be fought, it is a song to be sung."
"Why does the Grinch want to save the presents so much? The Whos don't need them, he knows that."
"He wants forgiveness."
Bobby said quietly, "I know what that's like."
She turned impulsively toward the cell phone, as if she could see her big partner in its wiring. "Bobby, I want to tell you—if you ever feel you need forgiveness from me, all you need to do is ask."
"You mean it?" he sounded genuinely surprised.
"I mean it. Just be sincere."
"Eames," he said, and she could tell somehow that he didn't know whether or not to finish his thought or not. "You, you kept my heart from growing too small. More than once."
"Bobby," she said, near tears now, "I think my family's about to eat."
"Who's carving the Roast Beast?"
She chuckled. "My dad."
"Someone once said that from what was seen of that poor Beast, it was a dog of some kind. Whoever wrote it was right: paws and a fluffy tail. If you pause it at just the right moment—"
She growled disgust as she flipped the phone closed. Johnny, her father, looked into the room. "Alex, everyone's waiting for you. Everything okay?"
She beamed at him. "Yeah, dad, everything's wonderful. Merry Christmas."
Author's Note: Okay, I obviously don't own the Whos' Christmas song, and I don't claim to. Other than that, thanks for reading. Happy Holidays, whoever you are!