This was the secret santa gift I wrote for TessaStarDean. Just now getting around to posting it here for everyone else...oops. Enjoy!
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To say the NYPD Christmas party was a blast would have been an understatement. Even if they all got called out and the rest of the night had been tossed, it was still all worth it.
Mac had requested that everyone make an appearance, saying it would be good to gather for a relaxing evening together.
As they all grouped in the large banquet hall, everyone was feeling light and cheery, in the Christmas spirit. People milled around for hours sharing stories, exchanging gifts, having a great time.
"Mac, are you having fun yet?" Stella asked as she sidled up next to him, a drink in her hand.
"I'm having a wonderful time. I think this might be the best NYPD party I've ever been to," he smiled contentedly.
"I totally agree," she smiled brightly. "Nothing like the holidays to put everyone in a fantastic mood."
Mac raised an eyebrow, looking with mock suspicion at her glass. "How much Christmas cheer have you had tonight?"
She grinned and kissed him on the cheek playfully, causing a very light blush to come to his face. "Probably enough." She set her drink on a nearby table and took Mac's hand. "Come on. I'd like to dance."
Mac rolled his eyes as Stella led him to the dance floor. As they danced, they talked and laughed, enjoying their comfortable friendship. As they turned on the dance floor, he noticed Flack walking up behind Stella and smiled. "I think I'm going to get another drink. We'll pick this up in a little bit?"
"Ah, come on Mac, I wanna dance."
"Maybe I could cut in then," Flack's voice came from behind her.
Mac winked before letting go of her hand and walking away.
Stella smiled as Flack took her hand and pulled her a little closer to his body, already moving in time with the music. For several minutes, neither spoke. They only danced, listening to the jazz band playing behind them, glancing around the room at the masses of people thriving with holiday cheer, and occasionally just looking into each other's eyes.
As another song ended, they looked at each other, eyes questioning. Something about this was right, dancing, being so close, just being in each other's presence. And they didn't want it to end.
As the next holiday tune began to play, the soft melody gently guiding their soft swaying movements, Flack smiled. "This is the first one of these Christmas parties I've ever been to."
"Really? You've been in the NYPD for years. How is that possible?"
He shrugged. "I always thought they would be pretty boring. So I'd volunteer to work, or just skip out if I happened to be off." He looked around the room, eyes widening at the elaborate decorations and his friends and colleagues dressed up like they were having dinner with the President. "But this is pretty impressive. It's been a lot of fun."
Stella scrunched her brow as she looked up at him. "You say that like the fun is about to end."
"I feel like this is a dream that I'm about to be rudely woken from. I mean, friends, laughs, a lot of happiness in one room, and I'm standin' here dancin' with a beautiful woman. It all seems too good to be true. Ya know what I mean?"
"Don, it's okay to enjoy yourself without worrying about what might happen if you do. It's Christmas. Everyone is having a blast."
Before he had a chance to say anything else, the entire room went dark. The overhead lights had gone out, the chandeliers no longer sparkled, and the strings of Christmas lights all around the room were now useless. There was a collective groan heard in the room as the band stopped playing and everyone began to fear the festivities had come to an end in that instant.
Flack instinctively held Stella's hand tight and pulled her flush against his body. He could feel her heart beating against his chest and for a split second he wished that it had more to do with their proximity and not the situation.
From several feet away, a voice called out over the group. "Nobody's gonna know who did what when the lights come back on."
Flack and Stella both let a small laugh escape at Danny's teasing voice and Flack had to sigh. If even Danny could joke during a crisis, the chances that it was an actual crisis were pretty small. He decided it was probably just the incredible amount of electricity being pumped into one room finally taking its toll on the circuits.
And as he thought about all the electricity in the room, he thought once again about the beautiful woman in his arms. And Danny's statement. Though he was being a smart ass, his friend had a point; the cover of dark was the best time to be daring. Flack felt himself leaning down in the darkness, unable to see where he was moving, but knowing simply by feeling, instinct, heart. And when he was only a breath away from her lips, he realized that she must have made the same move, otherwise he couldn't have gotten so close so fast. Just as he was about to press his lips to hers, finally finding the courage to do what he had been too afraid to do for months, a sharp beeping jolted him back into reality.
Throughout the room, one or two flashlights came on, as well as several cell phones, trying to provide some light. There were a few sighs and groans as more beeping sounded, more people being paged.
Flack reached into his pocket for his own phone finally, not releasing his grasp on Stella yet. The glow of the display screen illuminated their faces a little and the disappointment of what they had missed was clear.
"Multiple homicide on the Upper East Side." His shoulders slumped a little as he turned off his phone and stuffed it back into his pocket, causing darkness around them once more. "I should go."
"Yeah."
Flack stepped away and dropped her hand, the blackness filling the space between them. He followed the lights of the detectives making their way out of the room, bumping into someone occasionally and muttering an apology.
Feeling like he had jinxed himself just by opening his mouth, Flack swore under his breath as he walked down the sidewalk. He had told himself before that even if the night ended badly, the beginning was worth it, but now he wasn't so sure. He really wanted to go back there, hold Stella in his arms again, feel her breath so close to his, feel that kiss that he didn't get.
By the time he was dismissed from the crime scene, it was after eleven. The party would be over and everyone would be headed home. So he did the same.
When he stepped of the elevator onto his floor, he was surprised by the sight before him. In front of his door a few feet away, Stella sat with her coat draped over the front of her, eyes closed as she listened to something on her iPod, back leaned against the door frame.
He smiled as he knelt down next to her and rested his hand on her arm. Her eyes bolted open and she jumped a little, pulling the ear buds from her ears. "Stell, what are you doin' here?"
She tucked the little music player in her purse and took his offered out hand to rise to her feet. "You had to leave the party so quickly, I didn't get a chance to give you your gift."
He shook his head as he smiled. "That coulda waited til mornin' ya know."
"In the morning it won't be Christmas anymore. I really wanted you to have this tonight." She reached into her purse and pulled out a slender box.
As he accepted the red and green package, their fingertips met, causing his heart to pound in his chest like it had been doing at the party. As he lifted the lid on the box, he smiled and felt his heart skip a beat all together. "A leather watch band. Just like…"
"The one you broke two weeks ago. You seemed pretty upset about it when it happened."
"My grandfather gave me that watch. And this looks exactly like the band that was on it."
"I had a guy take a look at it. He was able to tell me the manufacturer, and pointed me to a couple places that had some like it."
Flack stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Stella. "Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me." When he pulled away, he was smiling brighter than he had all day and he was sure that it was definitely the best Christmas he'd ever had. "Would you like to come in? Have some hot chocolate and watch the snow fall for a while? After all, it is still Christmas for just a little while longer. Might as well enjoy it."
Stella nodded and stepped aside for him to unlock the door. "I'd love that."
When Flack opened the door, he stepped aside to let her walk in first, then followed behind her. Just as he turned to flip on the lights, he felt her hand reach over his. "Wait." She reached past him to push the door closed, blocking out the light from the hall, and took a step forward.
"It's dark again."
Flack could feel his heart beginning to speed up once again as he reached out in front of him in the darkness and took Stella's coat and purse, gently dropping them on the floor beside him. "Yeah, it is."
Stella took another step and pressed her body against his as she slid her hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest like before, but this time, he knew exactly why. As he rested one hand on her hip, the other slid up to hold the back of her head as he leaned down to kiss her.
After only a second or two, Flack knew he was going to have a hard time telling her goodnight later. But he would cross that bridge when he got to it. As he stood holding Stella so close, like he had been dreaming about for so long, he only whispered "Merry Christmas" before kissing her again.