Being Home for Christmas
Disclaimer: I do not own the show and anything connected to it.
Hey there, Everybody. I can't believe that Christmas is here again. I've been waiting for it since last Christmas. Bad thing is that this is my first Christmas I'm not spending with my family…
By the way, this is my Christmas present for you, guys. Have a very merry Christmas!!!
Ryan stepped out of the hotel and with a shiver closed his coat tighter around him. It wasn't that cold but after the warmth of the hotel room it felt rather unpleasant for a little while. He was just standing in the street looking up at the night sky admiring the falling snowflakes which were glistening in golden and silver colors. He hadn't seen anything like that since he left the college and Boston. It felt good.
After he had realized that he must have seemed strange looking up at the sky in the middle of the street, he looked around him thinking. Truth to be told, he hadn't got the faintest idea where he should go. After all he was in Washington and he didn't know the city at all. The only thing he knew was that he had to get out of his room.
He was reading a study on new techniques in processing textile evidence all afternoon but actually he couldn't say a word about the subject. There were other things which occupied his mind.
It was Christmas Eve.
The evening that everybody spends with their loved ones… except him. He was stuck in Washington… alone. He lifted his hands and traced the pattern of his wedding ring with his fingers. How he wished he were back in Miami but at the current circumstances it was impossible. He sighed resigned, put his hands into his pockets and finally started to walk nowhere in particular. There were hardly any people in the streets. It was understandable as most of them must be at home with their families.
He felt the pang of loneliness even better as he stepped on the street. That so many bright ornaments and lights on every available surface just reminded him again how alone he was at that moment and how far away from his family. He was so looking forward to celebrating Christmas that year. It would have been his first Christmas with Calleigh. Their first Christmas as a family. And now he was walking in the street of Washington while she was sitting at home probably feeling as miserable as he.
He was sent to a conference which ended two days ago. He had a bad feeling about it, he must add, and it proved to be completely grounded as, of course, there was a huge snow storm just then and his flight back to Miami had been cancelled and, of course, all of the tickets had been sold for all of the flights for the next week.
He felt a little better after having talked to Calleigh on the phone but he couldn't help feeling homesick. He should be back in Miami cleaning the house, decorating the tree and cooking the Christmas dinner while the never-ending Christmas songs are floating out from the loudspeakers. And of course there would be Calleigh's laughter… He knew it sounded cliché but at that moment there was nothing else he wanted more. He promised Calleigh that he would take care of the turkey…
Suddenly a group of little children appeared from nowhere snapping Ryan out of his thoughts, followed by their father, or at least Ryan thought that he was their father. He seemed slightly panicked as the group of four little children was running from the little street towards the phone booth which was standing near the road leaving Ryan losing his balance a little as they stormed by. The man gave him an apologetic look before running towards the kids who were already in the box… sort of. Ryan smiled at the cheery group that was trying to fit into the little place. As he slowly passed them, he heard one of the kids spoke up: "Hi, Grandpa, it's Jason…". Then their happy chatter faded away.
Despite his low mood, he smiled again. He had a pretty sure guess that the guys' mother was at home at the moment decorating the tree. He remembered how his parents tried to keep up the pretence that the angels were bringing the Christmas tree. And for a long time he never suspected anything… That year as Christmas was approaching, sometimes he caught himself thinking up plans how to distract his own children. He should admit that he was looking forward to it. He was sure that it would be fun just as much as it was to find the beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the living room as a child.
After a while Ryan wounded up in front of a church. Its door was open so he stepped in. He wasn't going to church so often anymore. Back then, when he was a child, it was a weekly ritual to go for the service on Sundays. But not anymore. Not as if he didn't believe in God, he did, but somehow the services didn't seem so important to him in his faith. As he entered the church a familiar feeling attacked him and he realized, as always when he found himself in a church on rare occasions, that he liked being there. And now on Christmas Eve this feeling was even stronger.
He did the sign of the cross then went to one of the rows and sat down. That was when he realized that there were quite a few people sitting in the rows and they kept arriving. He glanced at his watch and was surprised how late it had become during his little walk. Or did he left so late? He didn't know but it seemed that this year he would attend the midnight service. It filled him with warmth and as the organ began to play and he heard the familiar Christmas Carol, he didn't feel so lost any longer. In fact he felt alright. He didn't even miss Calleigh. It was strange, he thought, and made a grimace at this realization while somebody was reading the .
Then something hit him. He heard a hardly audible giggle from his left side. He glanced towards the little noise then he quickly glanced back. After a few seconds of digesting what he had just seen, he turned back and a huge smile appeared on his face. A smile, which matched the smile on the face of the woman sitting next to him.
"Hi." He said finally.
"Hi yourself."
Then Ryan grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. They remained like this till the end of the service. After the priest had blessed them and left, they sat back down and waited. Both of them were occupied with their own thoughts and after most of the people left the church, they finally stood up and silently went to the Bethlehem which stood near the altar. Ryan said a silent prayer then glanced at Calleigh who had tears in her eyes. He stepped even closer to her and embraced her burying his face into her shoulder.
"I've missed you so much." He murmured but didn't get any reaction from Calleigh apart from a contended sigh. "I can't believe that you are here." He continued and hugged her even tighter.
"I wouldn't have missed our first Christmas." Calleigh replied her head leaving Ryan's chest and she looked into his eyes.
"I love you, Cal."
"I love you, too, Babe. Merry Christmas!"
And looking into her beautiful blue eyes, he realized that he didn't want to go back to Miami anymore. He was right there where he wanted to be, where he wanted to spend Christmas.
He was at home…
THE END
Aww, sorry, it became quite fluffy by the end… I didn't mean it. And it must be full of mistakes. Sorry for that, too, but this was my fastest fic-writing ever.
By the way, I don't know much about how things work with the Christmas tree in the US but in my country the angels bring it on Christmas Eve. My father used to take my siblings and I to call up our grandparents while my mother decorated the tree…