Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, nor will I probably ever, own any part of Flashpoint or its characters.

Author's Note: Merry Christmas, if like me that's the holiday you celebrate. Or, Happy Hanukah or the ever popular, all-inclusive Happy Holidays! Here's a little Christmas story I came up with. Consider it my present to all of you. It's un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine. - Psy

"So, you guys all packed and ready to go?" Winnie Camden sat at the dispatch station. She smiled up at the couple standing in their street clothes on the other side of the counter.

Jules Callaghan chuckled. "Are you kidding?" she asked ruefully. "I haven't even started packing!"

"It's not like you have to bring that much, Jules," replied Sam Braddock. "We'll only be gone a few days."

Jules looked up at him in disbelief. "You obviously have never traveled with a woman before," she smirked. "Besides, I have to make the right impression here, Sam. It's not every day you meet your boyfriend's parents."

He smiled at that. "Trust me; my mom will love you no matter what you wear around her." His smile grew. "Especially, those cute and fluffy bunny slippers you wore in the hospital."

"Bunny slippers?" laughed Winnie, enjoying the banter between the two SRU officers. "Sorry, Jules, I just can't picture you in bunny slippers."

Jules cocked her head to the side and frowned slightly. "Actually, Winnie, they were panda slippers and they're really very comfortable," she insisted. She playfully jabbed her elbow into Sam's side, making him laugh.

"So, when do you guys leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," said Sam. "I just hope Natalie's ready to go tonight. She takes longer to get ready in the morning than anyone I've ever met."

"So, she's going, too?"

"Yeah," Sam replied. "I think after what happened with her ex this summer, my mom's pretty anxious to make sure Nat's okay. Besides, Christmas is all about family, right?"

"What are you doing for Christmas this year, Winnie?" asked Jules.

"I'm driving to Windsor tomorrow to spend the holiday with my folks."

The three continued talking about Christmas and family for a while as Spike Scarlatti stood leaning against the opposite counter at the dispatch station reading a security update. After successfully talking down a jumper that morning, the remainder of the day had been relatively quiet and Team One's shift had just ended about ten minutes ago. He stood up and started walking toward the locker rooms, softly wishing his teammates and Winnie a safe trip and a Merry Christmas. Normally, Spike enjoyed talking about holiday plans with everyone, but he found he just couldn't get into the spirit this year. Jules looked over at his retreating and sighed.

"Poor Spike," she said sadly, "this has got to be a hard time for him, his first Christmas without his dad."

"Without his mom, too," Sam reminded her. "She moved back to Italy, remember?"

"Why didn't he go there for the holidays?" asked Winnie.

"Couldn't get the time off. Troy scheduled his vacation over the holidays back at the beginning of the year. So did Dave from Team Six and SRU needs the rest of the bomb techs available to make sure they have all the shifts covered."

"That sucks," Jules said.

"Wait, doesn't he have a sister who lives around here?" asked Sam.

Winnie nodded, "Yeah. You know, now that you mention it, I think he said something about spending Christmas with her and her family this year."

"Good. I just don't like the idea of Spike spending Christmas alone," Jules shook her head.

Team One Sergeant Greg Parker walked into the locker room. He'd looked all over the station and was relieved when he finally found the person he was looking for. He stopped next to the first row of lockers, quietly observing the young man who stood in front of the open locker, seemingly lost in thought.

Spike had changed out of his uniform and now stood staring at the photo he'd tacked up on his locker door. The faces of his mother, father, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and himself as a child stared back at him. The photo had been taken on a family vacation in Italy. He stood between his parents, his father's arm around his shoulders, his mother's arm around his waist, the flowing hills of his uncle's vineyard stretching out behind them. Spike had found the old photograph while going through his parent's home in preparation of the sale and his mother had insisted that he keep it, a memory of a much happier time.

He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard someone clear their throat behind him. Turning to look, he gave a shy smile.

"Oh, hey, Boss."

"Hey, Spike," Greg smiled back at him. "How're you doing?"

Spike nodded. "I'm good."

"Yeah?" asked Greg as he moved to stand in front of the younger man. "You know, I'm glad I caught I you before you left," he said. "You have any plans for Sunday?"

Spike smiled wistfully. "Oh, yeah, Boss, big plans," he answered as a smile stretched across his face. Greg noticed that it didn't quite reach the chocolate brown eyes.

"You going to your sister's?"

"Ah…no," Spike spoke haltingly. "She's, ah, she's been sick, so she and her family are going to her in-laws for Christmas," he shrugged.

"Nothing serious, I hope," Greg offered. The last thing the explosives expert needed was to lose someone else close to him.

"No," Spike shook his head, "she's just getting over a really bad cold," he said. "It just really wiped her out the last couple of weeks 'cause she was just getting over a sinus infection when she got hit with the cold.

"She's just not up to cooking or cleaning the house, so her mother-in-law offered to host this year," he explained.

"So, what're you going to do?"

Spike shrugged again. "I figured I go to midnight mass like always and then just go home and wait for Santa." He smirked at the Santa reference as Greg chuckled and shook his head.

"What about Christmas Day?" Greg asked. Like Jules, he was worried about his friend being all alone. Greg had been through that himself and knew it wasn't fun. Despite the holidays being the 'hap-happiest time of the year' as the song went, they could also be the most depressing, especially for someone who effectively had just lost both his parents.

Spike looked away for a second before looking back and answering, "I'll probably be busy with all the toys Santa's bringing me."

Greg closed his eyes and shook his head. Sometimes he just didn't know what to say to this man who would go out of his way to cheer everyone else up, but went to great lengths to mask his own feelings.

"You know, the reason I asked is because I wanted to invite you to have dinner with me and Dean and Marina," he said, looking Spike in the eye.

Again, Spike looked away and shook his head. "Boss, you don't have to..."

"Spike," Greg sighed the name.

Spike looked back at Greg. "I wouldn't want to impose," he said, shaking his head. "This is your first Christmas with Dean in how many years? And, your first with Marina?" He shook his head again. "Christmas is for family, Boss."

Greg took a step closer and placed a hand on the other man's shoulder. He waited until Spike was looking at him before continuing. Squeezing the young man's shoulder, he said, "You know, I meant what I said at the picnic this year."

Spike looked away again, embarrassed to feel his face and ears warming with the blush he couldn't hide. It had shocked him, standing on the beach that day when Greg told him, in perfect Italian no less, that he loved Spike as a son. You could have knocked him over with a feather at that moment.

"Boss!" whispered Spike as Greg spoke simultaneously.

"Spike!"

"I mean it, Spike," Greg spoke softly, his hand never leaving the younger man's shoulder. "You are family to me. You are just as important to me as Dean, just as important as Marina." Without even thinking about it and before Spike could react, he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around the younger man, hugging him tight.

"And, you always will be," he whispered into Spike's ear.

With another squeeze of his arms, he released the other man and stepped back, this time placing both hands on Spike's shoulders. Greg gave him a minute to compose himself, realizing that he may have overwhelmed the young man just now. The withholding of affection from his father for so many years may have served only to make Spike uncomfortable with any such displays, he reasoned.

When Spike had calmed down enough to look at him again, Greg nodded firmly. Giving both shoulders another squeeze he said, "Okay, I figure we'll eat around five, so I'll expect you any time before then."

Without another word, he turned around and headed back out the door, leaving Spike standing there, wondering what had just happened. After a minute or two, he shook his head. Grabbing his coat, he closed his locker and slowly made his way home.

Spike drove through the darkened, snow-covered streets, the songs and message of the church service still playing in his mind. He had thought that it would be weird attending without his parents, and it had been; but he had been a bit humbled by the outpouring of love he'd felt from his family's many friends in the parish. So many people had gone out of their way to talk to him and wish him well; he couldn't take more than a few steps before someone else was enveloping him in another warm hug.

He parked his car as close to the door as he could and made his way to it. As he walked up the steps, he heard a soft squeaking noise to the right of the stoop. Spike peaked over the railing, but couldn't see anything in the shadows, so he pulled out his keys and turned on the small LED flashlight he carried. Shining the light on the ground, he was surprised to see two tiny kittens shivering behind the bushes. He searched the rest of the bushes on both sides of the stoop, but didn't see any signs of any other cats.

"Where's your mama?" he asked the kittens as he played the light over them again. He could tell both animals were freezing cold and figured they were probably hungry as well. Spike looked around again, wondering what he should do. Quickly making his decision, he walked back to his car and pulled a small box out of the trunk, dumping the contents out as he lifted it. He closed the trunk and made his way back to the door. Instead of going up the steps, however, he walked through the snow to the bush. Dropping the box on the ground, he kneeled down and carefully reached under the bush until he felt one of the kittens' backs. Reaching in just a bit more, he was able to put his hand around the kitten and he carefully pulled it toward him. He placed it in the box, covering the top with one hand before reaching under the bush again with the other and pulling the second kitten out as well.

With both kittens tucked safely inside the box, Spike stood and made his way up to his apartment. He spent the next half hour or so getting the kittens a small bowl of watered down milk and finding a larger box, which he lined with an old blanket, for them to sleep in. He had heard somewhere that milk really isn't good for cats, but other than water, it was pretty much all he had for them. He couldn't tell how old they were and wasn't sure what they could eat at this point. He put the kittens and milk in the box, and then put the box near the heat register in the bathroom so they'd be warm.

"I guess you can't get into too much trouble in the bathroom," he said as he stroked one of the kittens. A smile slowly spread across his face as the tiny kitten began to purr and the other one nudged his hand, wanting to get in on the action. Before long, though, he was suppressing a yawn and he decided to call it a night.

Greg glanced at the clock on the stove after placing the ham beside the green bean casserole in the oven to warm it up. '4:00PM already and still no Spike,' he thought with a frown. He noted that the table was already set for four as he walked past it and into the living room. Dean and Marina were laughing as they danced side-by-side to some XBOX Kinect game she'd given Dean when she'd arrived. Greg smiled and shook his head, still not quite believing that here he was, spending an actual Christmas with his son and with a woman like Marina. His eyes grew larger with a momentary panic that he was going to somehow screw this up.

The game ended and Marina looked over at him with a smile. She walked over and put her arms around him. She leaned in and whispered to him, "This is wonderful. Thank you." She then kissed him on the cheek just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Dean said, walking over to the door. Seeing it was Spike, he let the man in.

"Hey, Spike. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Dean!" replied Spike as he stepped through the door.

"What have you got there, buddy?" Greg asked as he separated from Marina and walked over to his friend.

Spike stood just inside the door. He was balancing a large cardboard box on top of a smaller, foil-covered bowl. Peeking out the top of the box was what looked like a bottle of wine. Spike grinned sheepishly, "I didn't want to leave them alone for too long," he said. "I hope it's okay that I brought them."

"Brought what?" asked Dean.

Turning to him, Spike asked, "Um, Dean? Could you grab the wine for me, please?"

"Sure," he said as he lifted the bottle out of the box.

"You brought wine?" Greg asked, a little surprised, "Spike, you didn't have to bring anything."

"Force of habit, Boss," replied Spike, still smiling sheepishly. "But, it's okay…"

"Hey, Dad, it's non-alcoholic," said Dean, reading the label.

Spike nodded, "I know you don't drink anymore, Boss."

At that point, Marina stepped forward and placed her hands under the bowl. "Why don't I take this," she offered with a warm smile. "Don't want to drop it."

She lifted it up and getting a whiff of it, remarked, "Wow, this smells delicious! What is it?"

Spike shrugged, "Just a pasta dish I usually make as a side," he said. "It might need to be warmed up a little."

"So what's in the box, Spike?" asked Greg as stepped forward. "You brought wine and a side dish. Please don't tell me you brought presents, too?" He shook his head in disbelief.

Spike considered that for a second. "Well, I guess you could call them Christmas presents," he said as he gently placed the box on the floor. As he opened the top, a tiny black and white head popped out.

"What?" Greg laughed in surprise. "A kitten?"

"Actually, Boss, it's two kittens," Spike clarified. "I found them outside my building last night, well, more like this morning, when I got home from midnight mass."

"So you took them in?" Marina asked.

"Rescued them," Dean smiled as he reached down to play with the one that had poked its head out of the box. It was black and white, though mostly black. The other kitten, also white and black, but mostly white, was cowering in one corner of the box. He left it alone, not wanting to traumatize the poor little thing any further.

"It was pretty cold out," Spike explained, "I couldn't just let them freeze out there, could I?"

Greg smiled. "The third part of the SRU motto," he said. "Connect, Respect, Protect!"

"So, is it okay that I brought them?"

"You bet, buddy!" Greg said, slapping Spike in the arm with a smile. "You bet. Now, whaddya say you take your coat off and stay a while?"

Marina helped Greg in the kitchen while Spike and Dean played with the two kittens. The smaller, white one stayed in the box, obviously fearful of the strange surroundings. Dean picked up both of them in turn and, after checking them over, confidently informed Spike that the mostly black one was male and the other female. The male kept trying to jump out of the box and explore. He finally settled for wrestling Dean's hand while his sister timidly accepted the calming strokes of Spike's fingers along her back.

It was almost 5:00PM exactly when Greg finally called out, "Dinner's ready, so let's eat!"

"I don't know about any of you, but I'm starving!" Dean said as they all took their seats around the table.

"I can't wait to try some of that pasta!" added Marina, giving Spike another warm smile.

Greg looked around a little nervously. "I suppose I should say a blessing," he said tentatively.

"Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub. Yea, Lord!" Dean offered with an impish grin.

He laughed when he saw the adults all had slightly confused looks on their faces. "Or, we could sing the Johnny Appleseed song," he shrugged.

"Oh, the Lord's been good to me," Spike started singing and Dean immediately joined in.

"And, so I thank the Lord,

"For giving me the things I need,

"The sun and the rain and the apple seed.

"The Lord's been good to me!"

Greg and Marina just laughed and shook their heads as Spike and Dean finished the little song. Shrugging, Marina said, "I guess we've covered the blessing."

"Okay, then," Greg said, "Let's eat!"

When they couldn't eat any more, they returned to the living room to find the little black and white kitten out of the box and attacking the looped handle on a game controller. They spent the rest of the evening talking, playing video games and playing with the kittens. By the time Spike left with his new roommates, both now fast asleep in the box, it was getting late. As he drove home, the box of sleeping kittens beside him, he offered up a silent, thankful prayer for both his real and SRU families.

Most of Team One was gathered around the dispatch station trading Christmas tales when Spike arrived for work the following Wednesday. With both Sam and Jules out on vacation, and Spike on call for any bomb-related issues, the rest of Team One had been on back-up duty and, thankfully, had not been needed. It had turned out to be a nice mini-vacation for all of them.

After listening to Jules and Sam talk about their visit with the General, Raf's visit with his father and Izzy's first Christmas, Winnie turned to the Italian Canadian.

"So, Spike, how was your Christmas?" she asked.

Spike smiled brightly. "Oh, it was fantastic!"

"Did you get anything special?"

"You could say that," he grinned as he thought of his 'presents.'

"Yeah?" responded Raf, "What did you get?"

"Well," Spike said slowly, "let's just say I became a daddy." His smile grew as he took in the shocked looked on the other's faces.

Ed Lane, their team leader and Izzy's father, couldn't believe his ears. "Wait, you're a dad?" he asked incredulously. "Of what?"

"Twins, actually," Spike stated matter of factly. "A boy and a girl."

At that moment, Greg Parker walked by the dispatch station on his way to the briefing room. He ducked his head to hide his smile. It wouldn't do to give away Spike's little joke on his teammates.

"Greg!" Ed called out to him, "Did you hear this? Spike's a dad?"

Parker schooled his features and faced his best friend. Nodding, he said, "Oh, yeah, Ed. I met the two little ones and let me tell you they're adorable!" he smiled.

"They really are!" Spike nodded in agreement.

"I want to see pictures!" demanded Jules.

"Yeah!" Sam agreed, throwing his teammate a suspicious look.

Spike was already pulling up the gallery of photos he'd taken at Greg's house. He picked a shot he'd gotten of the two kittens sleeping in the box and held it up with a smile.

"I had you guys going!" he laughed as they all shook their heads. Jules punched him in the arm, shaking her head as she tried not to laugh.

"Well," she told him, "I'm glad you had a good Christmas, Spike." She gave him a quick hug, whispering, "You deserve it."

Spike smiled back at her. "Best Christmas I've had in years."

- fin -