They were twenty miles outside of Paris staying at a small bed and breakfast when he had the dream. He dreamed about...stockings, trees, ornaments, presents...about food, tons of food and chocolate and Nicky.
He woke up suddenly, like he was coming out of a nightmare instead of one of the nicest dreams he'd ever had. Nicky was curled up next to him. She'd gotten used to his nightly tossing and turning and barely even stirred anymore.
He got up, grabbed his computer and logged on, looking at the date in amazement.
It was Christmas Eve. How did he not even realize that?
Probably because he'd been on the run for years and hadn't celebrated Christmas since...well since Marie had died.
His dream bothered him as they always did. Was it real, a memory, or just a wish his subconscious had cooked up? He had to know.
"Nicky," he whispered, moving back tot he bed to wake her. His hand slid along her arm to her hair, "Wake up."
She grumbled, her eyes opening reluctantly, "What's wrong?" she asked.
He shook his head, "Everything's fine. I had a dream."
"A nightmare?"
"No," he said, sitting down on the bed next to her. She sat up, hands running through her short hair, "It was a nice dream, maybe more than a dream. That's why I need to ask you...did we ever celebrate Christmas together?"
Nicky looked away from him for a moment, blushing, "Uh, just once. It was..." she shrugged "Nice."
"Really? Will you...tell me about it?" he asked, unsure if he was making her uncomfortable. Often talking about things he didn't remember was difficult for her, remembering a love he was just beginning to discover again.
"Sure," she said, "It was just your run of the mill Christmas. You weren't working, neither was I so...you rented this place for us and we spent a whole weekend together. We bought a tree, decorated it. I baked cookies, we built a gingerbread house," she smiled to herself, "We sat under the tree and drank eggnog. It was...normal, maybe the only normal time we ever had. You...you opened up to me and told me about your family, your life. It was...it's a great memory. I'm glad you remember some of it."
He was silent for a moment. She'd looked so happy when she was talking about it; he wanted to make her look that way again, "So let's relive it. The whole thing. We'll stay here through tomorrow, get a tree decorate, and everything."
Nicky laughed, "Jason they are never going to let us bring a tree into this room."
He smirked at her, pulling her closer for a kiss, "Trust me...I'll get a tree up here."
&&&&&&
True to his word Jason got a tree into the hotel room (through the window no less) and she was amazed to find he actually had fun decorating the tree; he even laughed when she covered him in tinsel.
They couldn't really cook a Christmas dinner in their tiny kitchenette, but they did their best.
And finally they settled down to watch It's a Wonderful Life with two glasses of wine she realized there was one thing they hadn't done this Christmas.
"We forgot mistletoe," she said, annoyed with herself, "There was mistletoe last time, lots of it." She blushed a little as she remembered exactly how much use they'd gotten out of that little twig.
He smiled and pulled her closer, his lips almost on hers, "Who says we need it?" then he kissed her and it was sweet and perfect and instantly became her new favorite memory.