Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Well, Christmas is coming so I thought up a cute little story for the season which I hope to finish before Christmas Day. It's sort of like a sequel to my other story, Call of the Bluebird, but far less serious. WARNING: There will be FLUFF, some out-of-character personalities, and (at least in this chapter) some minor sexual themes. (No, I won't let them get down and do the nasty.) Well, I hope you enjoy and I would like to know what you guys think!

Light peeked through the curtains of the Dragunov household as the sun made its daily rise from the east. Just like every other man who was the head of an entire company, business, or organization, Sergei Dragunov rose with the sun prepared to face the day ahead which for him consisted of training the new recruits and signing approval letters. For an organization that dealt with the army, and formerly science, the amount of paperwork received was vast. Had he known before, Sergei was sure he would've just let Mikhail keep this position.

With the sunlight pouring on his face, Sergei opened his eyes to find himself staring at the ceiling that hung above his bed. Letting out a slow breath, he prepared to rise until he noticed the warm body that was pressed up against his. Turning to his right, he found his beautiful girlfriend, Anna, lying beside him peacefully sleeping away. Yes, that was the title his subordinates had given her after they had spotted the two lovers having some fun in his office. Neither of them argued against the title for if she wasn't his girlfriend, how was Sergei going to explain himself when his soldiers find out what they've been doing beyond the workplace?

Turning his body so that it faced hers, the Russian trailed a light finger from her cheek down to her chin. Tilting her head up just a slight bit, he gave her lips a warm kiss. Until now he hadn't noticed how long it had been since they've enjoyed each other's company like this. For the past month or two Sergei had woken up finding Anna's back turned toward him. Feeling as if he would be intruding on her sleep, he had left her sleeping as he went off to work. But now, with her arms wrapped about him and her body pressed up against him, Sergei found her hard to ignore.

He ran his hand down her side, noticing that she was in her regular sleepwear, which was in fact nothing, and pulled her in even closer. Engulfing her in a warm embrace, he awoke her from her dreams.

Slowly flickering open her eyes, Anna looked up at her darling soldier and gave him a tired smile. "Morning handsome," she said teasingly. "You're not gone for work yet?" Feeling his hands roaming her body, she rolled herself on top of him and smirked. "If you have time before work, how about a little fun?"

With her hands running over his chest and her curvy body lying on his, Sergei found it hard to resist her offer. Unconsciously he began to reach for her lower regions until he caught sight of the clock in the corner of his eye. He flipped their positions so that she was beneath him then gave another kiss to her pouting lips. When he pulled away, Anna turned her face to the side, grumpy. Without him having to speak a word, she knew right away he had given her a "no" as an answer. During times like these it was best to let her be, as Sergei had learned. He stroked her cheek one last time before rising to his feet. As she turned her body to the side, he fixed the covers over her then walked off into the bathroom to begin his day.

While he was off in the shower, Anna turned her eyes to their nightstand where a little flip calendar sat. With her chin resting on her folded arms, she reached out and picked up the red pen inside the drawer and began to mark the days. First off she crossed out the number 22 then circled day number 23. After doing so she made her eyes travel to the 25th day on the calendar: Christmas.

A little frown formed on her lips as she realized that she had yet to buy her lover a gift. She had been so caught up in trying to gain some time with him that she hadn't even noticed the days passing. She pushed herself with her arms then swung her legs over the bed. There was no time to be moping around. She had to get shopping.

Sergei walked into the room just as she was rising to her feet and was greeted with a full view of her nude body. She began to make their bed as he continued to stare on. Anna was the only person, he was sure of, that could behave so nonchalantly when naked. She looked over at him and greeted him with a smile. "Are you ready to go, sweetie?" She was also one of the few people he knew who could change their mood from bad to good in less than thirty minutes.

Sergei walked towards her and opened up his arms while she walked in. Locking her in his embrace, he kissed the top of her head. Anna could feel, through that little kiss he gave her, his apology. She smiled then nuzzled her nose into his chest. He was impossible to be mad at. Looking up, she gave him a pinch to the cheek then said sensually, "You better get going, soldier boy."

When Sergei and Anna bade farewell to each other, Sergei headed down the street where his personal cab awaited him. As he boarded, he looked back at his house and couldn't help think that something felt…odd…It was true that Anna had up and down emotions, as she had just displayed before he left, but something about the way she told him off didn't seem right. It was almost as if she wanted him gone…

His eyes widened. Had she finally had enough of his work getting in between them and their relationship? Was she thinking of finding someone else? Suddenly his work no longer mattered as these questions began to flood his mind. These thoughts haunted him throughout his entire ride to the SPETSNAZ headquarters.

As Sergei was battling his negative thoughts, Anna was having difficulties deciding which of her expensive winter outfits to wear for today's shopping. She had already narrowed it down to fifteen which, considering how much clothes she had, was quite a feat. In the end, she chose the cream-colored sweater dress accompanied with her rose-imprinted pantyhose. Looking over all the clothes lying about on the bed, Anna had to wonder how she was going to decide what to get Sergei if she could barely decide what to wear!

Sitting cross-legged on her boyfriend's paper-covered desk, she began to go over all the things he liked. Instantly images of herself filled her mind. She shook her head. No, he had to like more things than just her. Like…guns and…tanks…She let out a groan in frustration. This was going to be harder than she thought.