(A\N: Hello! I finished this story actually a few months ago however I refused to post it until now, I wanted it to be the first Christmas thing I do this year. Hope you enjoy it. Btw this is based off of \ is a song fix for the song Christmas Carol by Skip Ewing. I own nothing!)
It had been planned a month in advance. That planning had brought the Las Vegas CSI night shift team, an old college roommate, a girlfriend, and a daughter to the Las Vegas orphanage this Christmas Eve. Santa, in his red suit and white beard over his graying one, Mrs. Claus, in a red and white dress her brunette hair flowing over her shoulders with a Santa hat, and 7 elves, the three boys in green and tights and the four girls in red with skirts, made their way to the front desk of the orphanage. Santa looked around to make sure there were no kids around and set his sack down and pulled down his beard. He smiled at the receptionist as he brought his Mrs. Claus closer, "Hello, I'm Gil Grissom of the Las Vegas Crime Lab, are you the one I spoke with?"
She smiled in return as she came around the desk with her hand outstretched, "Yes, I'm Margret Daniels, but you may call me Maggie." She smiled at the elves behind them, first at the couple holding hands, then at the three with the seven year old elf between her parents then the last two elves. Maggie clapped her hands together, "Well, Santa, you may want to adjust your beard, the kids are all in the playroom over here." Maggie led them to the room nearest as Grissom adjusted his beard. Upon opening the double doors, the group was met by twenty or more kids looking up from their various toys. "Children," Maggie spoke, "Santa is here to learn what you would like him to bring you."
Grissom stepped forward, "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas, children! Allow me to introduce who I brought with me today." He took Sara's hand and led her forward a bit, "This is Mrs. Sara Claus, my wife. And I brought seven of my best elves. Those two holding hands are Greg and Morgan. Those three are Catherine and Warrick and their daughter, who is an elf in training, Lindsey. And the last two are Nick and Finn. My elves and Sara have some activities planned for you, and I will listen to your Christmas lists whenever you are ready."
It was then Maggie spoke again, "If you need to go to your bunks for your list you may do so now."
About half of the children got up and left the room, the rest were greeted by Sara and the elves who spread out and went to the kids. "This way to your seat, Santa," Maggie said with a smile.
From his seat, Grissom saw his first child running to him grinning. Crashing into his legs the seven year old brunette giggled, "Hello, Santa!"
Grissom chuckled as he reached down to pick her up and place her on his knee, "Hello child. What is your name and what can Santa do for you?"
"My name is Clarissa, but ever'body calls me Lissa. See over der?" Lissa pointed to a little boy no older than two years old with red hair. Grissom nodded. "That's my baby bruder. He will be two on January first. We lost mommy and daddy last year. I just want him to be happy. Can you make him happy, Santa?" Her green eyes stared at him.
Grissom reached up and brushed her brown hair behind her ear. "I will do my best, Dear."
Lissa grinned and kissed his cheek, "Thank you, Santa!"
As she hopped down from his lap, Grissom called to her, "Lissa, come here for a moment." Grissom reached into his bag and pulled out a stuffed truck and handed it to her.
Lissa grinned, "Teddy will love it!" Grissom put his finger up to tell her to wait and reached into his bag once more and pulled out a pink sock monkey. She gasped and touched the picture on her shirt, "It's just like my shirt, like the one mommy gave me and I lost it. Thank you, Santa." She hugged him tight before running off calling her brother's name.
Grissom smiled, "Merry Christmas, Lissa." He caught Sara's eye over the kids, he focused on her lips. 'You did good, Santa.' She mouthed. 'Thank you,' he signed back. As she turned back to the kids around her, he noticed Nick hugging a little girl with light brown hair they were talking as if they knew each other forever or at least had met before. He was unable to catch any of their conversation because at that moment the slightly older children, who had gone for their lists, had returned and were coming toward him.
Sometime later, after Grissom had spoken to nearly every child and passed out gifts, Grissom looked at the scene before him. Children interacting with his team and all of them were enjoying the Christmas party. Grissom then noticed a little blonde girl of three or four watch him from across the room she had a green dress on. She smiled at him before getting up and running over to another girl who looked exactly like her but had a red dress on. He watched as the first pulled the other onto her feet. 'Come on, let's talk to 'im!' the first begged. 'What if he can't help us?' the other said. 'Jus' come on!' the first said dragging her sister. Both girls ran till they were a few feet in front of Grissom. "Merry Christmas, girls!" he said as he brought them into his lap. Grissom could tell they had an identical Christmas wish behind those eyes of blue. So he asked them, "What's your name, and what can Santa get for you?"
The one in green said, "My name is Christmas Carol, that's my sis Holly, we were born on Christmas day."
Holly then spoke up, "We don't know who our daddy is, and mommy's gone away. All we want for Christmas is someone to take us home." They both looked at Grissom with their eyes of blue, "Does anybody want a Christmas Carol and Holly of their own?"
Well all Grissom could say was, "Santa will do the best he could." And he set them down and told them, "Now to remember to be good."
They said, "We will," then walked away, turned and waved goodbye.
And Grissom was glad they weren't close enough to see ole Santa cry.
As the girls were walking away, with Carol still leading Holly, the girl with light brown hair, who had been talking with Nick previously, walked over to them and hugged them before heading toward Grissom.
"Hi," she said with her couple of missing teeth smile. As Grissom pulled her into his lap, she looked around. She giggled, "No littles, so I can say this. Hi, Grissom!" Grissom just looked at her, unsure how to answer. She giggled again, "Don't tell me you forgot me! You came to see me a few times in the hospital with Nicky! Don't worry he told me all about how you guys are helpin da real Santa Claus! Gris, I'm Cassie!"
Grissom chuckled in realization as he wrapped her in a hug, "Cassie! How could I forget you? You said Nicky told you we were helping Santa?"
Cassie nodded, "Yea, he told me how Santa sent you an e-mail and asked you and da team to make our Christmas a happy one! Oh! Look there is barely a scar!" Cassie tilted her head to the side and showed him the teeny tiny scar from her encounter nearly five months ago with the boys who killed her family and tried to kill her.
"Amazing, Cas! So how did you get here? I thought you were going to live with your great Aunt?" Grissom asked.
"She kept forgetting things… like me. They said she had, I think it was Altimeter?" Cassie told him sadly.
"Alzheimer's?" Grissom questioned.
"Yea, that. So they brought me here. That was nearly a week after I got out of the hospital. I didn't have anybody else," Cassie explained.
"Cassie, I have a few things left would you like to look in my sack for something?" Grissom asked.
Cassie shook her head, "I only want one thing: you and Nicky n everybody doesn't forget me. Don't stop talking to me." Cassie shrugged one shoulder, "Don't leave me, like my family."
"I think we can make that happen, Cas," Grissom said wrapping her in one last hug as he stood with her in his arms. Adjusting Cassie on his hip, Grissom walked over to Nick and handed her to him, and whispered to him her wish, before walking away from them.
"Okay, children, did you all have a chance to talk to Santa and his friends? Because it is time for them to leave," Maggie told them. In response, most of the children surrounded Grissom hugging and thanking him.
"Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas, children," Grissom said as they made their way to the door, "And remember to be good!"
A half hour later, the group was in their spot at the Diner still dressed in their costumes, however Grissom had since removed his hat and extra beard. Lindsey had fallen asleep between Catherine and Warrick, Greg and Morgan were getting advice from Catherine and Warrick about how to make their long distance relationship less distance, and Sara was talking with Nick and Finn, two of her closest friends, ever. And Grissom? Grissom's mind was still on the little Christmas Twins, he wanted to help but wasn't sure how.
"Sara, remember me telling you about my high school sweetheart in college?" Finn asked Sara.
"How could I forget, Jules? You talked about him all the time!" Sara smiled.
Finn giggled before glancing at Nick who spoke, "Remember me telling you about my lovely girlfriend who moved away the middle of my Senior year, Sar?"
Sara nodded unsure where this was going.
"Sara, because of you I get to see her again," Nick told a still very confused Sara.
"Sara, he is sitting at this table, next to me, talking to us. Sara, he has that gorgeous Texan accent," Finn listed, in hopes that Sara would catch on, and then looking at Nick.
"Wait, wait, wait, so you two are telling me that you two were the high school sweethearts you tell me about?" Sara stared at her friends finally getting it.
Nick looked at Finn, "Well, yea, see we dated from our freshmen year to the middle of our senior year."
Finn smiled back at him, "Yea, till my dad got this once in a lifetime opportunity in California. We didn't think we could survive a long distance relationship, so we broke it off. And I regret every bit of it."
"Me, too. Hey, why don't we try again, Jules? Please?" Nick pushed a curl behind her ear.
Finn took his hand that was in her hair, "I'd like that, Nicky."
"Gil, did you hear that? Nicky and Jules are together…again!" Sara giggled poking her husband.
"Hmm?" Grissom hummed still not paying attention.
"Gilbert? What's wrong?" Sara asked. By now everyone at the tables attention was on Grissom, even Lindsey who had woken up slightly.
"What? Oh, I just can't stop thinking about these two little girls at the orphanage," Grissom explained.
"Which ones?" Morgan asked.
"They were twins. No more than three or four, blonde with blue eyes. One girl was wearing green, the other red," Grissom explained.
"Yea, I saw them, sweet little girls," Sara said with a smile.
"I just don't know how to help them," Grissom began, "The one in green said, 'My name is Christmas Carol, that's my sis Holly, we were born on Christmas day.' Holly then spoke up, 'We don't know who our daddy is, and mommy's gone away. All we want for Christmas is someone to take us home.'
They both looked at me with their eyes of blue, 'Does anybody want a Christmas Carol and Holly of their own?'"
Sara could tell by the look Grissom had, he wanted to help these girls and she could tell how he wanted to help them as well. She smiled at him, "You do, Gil." Grissom gave a small nod and small smile. Sara grinned, "And so do I!"
"Really?" Grissom asked her.
"Yes! We should see if we can bring them home tomorrow!" Sara said.
"Certainly, Butterfly," Grissom said wrapping her in a hug and kissing her hair.
(A\N: So, what did you think? Let me know!)