Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Author's Note: This is from The Twelve Days of Christmas. This is the first in a series of one-shots for Christmas. You don't have to read them all to understand it. But each is based off of a verse in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, so the first will have A Partridge in a Pear Tree in the story somewhere and so forth for the rest.
On the Fifth Day of Christmas
Fran moved closer to the store window, the little doll was exquisite. She had not seen something with that detail before. And though she thought it was such, there was a part of her that thought it was a bit creepy as thoughts of it coming to life drifted through her mind.
Shaking her thoughts away from that she decided to go and look at the next store. When she saw the window she knew that was a store she wanted to go into. It was a bookstore. As soon as she stepped inside everything grew quiet. She looked back outside and she could tell the wind was still blowing; she was just safe for now.
"J'aidez-toi d'ose de commentaire?"
Fran turned and smiled at the shopkeeper. She pulled out her pocket book, "Je…recherche un livre. Les Miserables?"
She looked back at the shopkeeper hoping they would understand. He nodded, "Les Miserables? Oui. Redressez de cette façon."
Fran was about to start flipping through her pocket book when he gestured and walked towards the back of the store. Sure whatever he had said meant to follow him she did so. Halfway to the back the storekeeper moved to the wall and pulled down a book. It was a black hardcover and the cover was adorned with swirls of gold ink including the title on there.
She smiled, "Merci."
He nodded and moved to the front where the cash register was. After paying for it she quickly put it away to keep it safe from the weather. Putting her gloves back on she stepped back out into the cold wind that was lashing against everyone. Fran wished that she had brought her other jacket because that one would have kept her warmer. She couldn't do anything about it now so she just started trudging her way through the snow.
She wondered if Dom was back yet. She wasn't quite sure if he would be or if he was still out, doing…well she didn't know. She had told him she was going to do some shopping, he told her that he was…he'd be back. Shaking her head she remembered the last time he had said that.
He had been gone for two days coming back only in the evening and on the third day he was gone for most of the morning. When he got back he brought her on this picnic in the park and then proceeded to show her a bunch of places where one of her favorite authors had been. He had spent all day finding them for her.
She shivered in the wind as she paused and pulled out the list she had made, the only present left to get was something for Lily. Looking around at the shops she quickly spotted one on the far end where she could only see something glittering in the remaining light of the day.
Hurriedly she made her way over to the shop. As she approached she noticed what had been glittering in the light, there were Five Golden Rings all linking together to create a circle. It was quite beautiful and she wondered about the store itself. She stepped inside once more revealing in the warmth that the store provided from the chilling wind.
Looking around she noticed that there was jewelry and hats and scarves. She looked at a shelf that had scarves. There was a yellow one, it was bright like the sun, it also reminded her of the yellow rangers color. Smiling she picked it up hoping the price wasn't too expensive. To her surprise and luck it wasn't. Happily she paid for the scarf and quickly left the store.
Now that she had gotten that she was completely done. She again wondered if Dom would be back. She knew they had to head out soon and to be honest she couldn't remember when their tickets were for. Frowning she hoped that Dom hadn't forgotten and they had already missed it.
She looked outside and noticed that the sky was darker; she didn't think it was that late. Looking around she saw that the sun was hiding behind some clouds, however she could tell from the little light peeking out that it was close to setting.
Fran moved through the streets at a faster pace hoping that she could get back to the hotel in a shorter time then it had taken to get to this shopping plaza. It had seemed like such a great idea to take a walk instead of some form of transportation. It was France, and it was beautiful. Besides she had needed to finish shopping and she still wasn't quite sure exactly what she was getting everybody.
The bitter wind lashing at her didn't help her move any faster; instead it just made the time go by slower. She soon felt as though she was moving backwards rather then forwards. She wasn't quite sure if she could feel her ears or fingers; the warmth in her toes had long since departed. She glanced up and saw the shape of what she was sure was the hotel. And it was good timing too as the sun was now setting.
Quickly she made her way into the hotel away from the bitter wind. She wasn't sure if she had any toes left. And she wasn't sure if her nose was still attached. So perhaps she should have taken a taxi, but she enjoyed walking around.
She got to their room and opened the door. As soon as she got in she thought she was in the wrong place. There were flowers laying everywhere, seeing as it was winter she was sure that they were fake; but it was still very pretty.
As she stepped further into the room she felt hands close over her eyes. She stopped until the hands disappeared and she was turned around, "Fran you're freezing!"
He pulled her into his arms, "Hey D-D-Dom."
"What did you do walk back here again?"
"I e-en-enjoy walking, b-b-besides, it wa-wa-wasn't really that c-c-cold out."
Dom just shook his head and pulled her over to the bed. He pulled the blanket out and wrapped it around the two of them. She stood there and rested her head against his warm chest listening to his heart beating. "Don't worry, I got our tickets, we're heading home tomorrow morning. We'll be there just in time for Christmas!"
She smiled against his chest already feeling herself warming up, "That sounds n-n-nice."
Finally after she had finished warming up he took the blanket off, "You're okay right?"
"Yes. I'm fine. See, I'm not even shivering."
He nodded, "Good." He kissed her lips, "Don't do that again. I told you that you needed a warmer jacket."
She shrugged and then gestured around them to all the flowers, "What's all this?"
"You said that you missed the flowers, so I brought you them. Although some…the majority are fake, there are some that are real."
"Thank you Dom! That's where you disappeared to."
"It's amazingly hard to find flowers in the shopping area we're close to. And I got some other shopping done. You?"
"I got my last two presents today, so I'm all done."
"Great!"
He spun her around, "All these flowers also come with a picnic."
She saw on the floor by the window, and heater, a blanket with a picnic basket on it. Smiling she sat down followed by Dom. They then enjoyed a picnic that had a simple cheese sandwich, crackers and fruit.
"Thank you so much for all of this."
He shrugged, "It was nothing compared to seeing you smile."
She felt her cheeks warm up. It never failed, even after being married for almost a year there were still things that he would say or do that would make her blush. She reached over and touched his hand, "I love you."
Grinning he leaned in and kissed her again, "I love you too."
Once they were done eating they went to bed since they were getting up early in the morning to start their trip back home. Dom still loved to wander and Fran enjoyed doing it too but she still loved going back home and seeing everyone every so often. The last couple of Christmas' she and Dom had spent elsewhere. One was in England and the other was a small town that where one of his friends had a cabin. This year, though it was their first Christmas being married, she wanted to spend it at home.
So in the morning they gathered their belongings, which was a little more since they had some Christmas presents with them, and headed out. They took a cab to get to the airport and were able to get inside without having the wind attack them too much. They were able to get into the airport and onto the plane without much issue. Their first stop was in London.
It wasn't a very long stop, they just had to switch planes. As they were standing in line Dom laughed a little. Fran looked up at him, "What?"
"Look Four Calling Birds."
Fran looked towards where he was pointing and sure enough there were Four Calling Birds…or rather then were just four women who were calling. "Birds?"
"Slang."
"Oh, right." She had forgotten all about that.
After they got on the plane it didn't take too much time for them to take off. They were playing a movie but Fran was still a bit tired so she leaned her head on Dom's shoulder and soon fell asleep.
She woke up once they were landed at the airport. The rest of the way was going to be done by bus. When they got to the bus area though it turned out that the bus they were going to be going on had been delayed because it had broken down. Dom frowned for just a minute and then turned to Fran, "You wait here. I'm going to go and check something."
Fran nodded and sat down on one of the benches. She pulled her bag close to her; Dom had kept his on his back. She pulled out the book she had been reading. It was A Christmas Carol. She loved reading this book and would always read it around Christmas time. She was only at the part when the ghost of Jacob Marley visited Scrooge.
All of a sudden a hand came down on her shoulder. She gasped and looked up only to find Dom smiling down at her. "I got us a ride."
Her heart still beating fast she nodded, "I figured you would. You always do."
He held out his hand and helped her up. After grabbing her bag he started moving through the crowd, she quickly followed making sure she stayed behind him so that she wouldn't lose him. They moved out of the airport and down the road a bit til they came across a very old white bus. It was lucky that it wasn't cold like it had been in France because this bus didn't have windows.
Dom moved towards the guy standing by the door, "Thank you again." He handed him some money.
The man had a Christmas shirt on that looked as though it had been worn many years. He looked at the money and then nodded to the bus. Turning around Dom beckoned Fran forward. It was a good thing that she trusted Dom because there was no way she would have ever got on that bus by herself.
They sat a few seats behind the driver as that was the only spot available. Dom was humming a song but she couldn't quite make it out. Thankfully he had her sit next to the window and he took the aisle seat.
"Well this is different." Fran said as she eyed the man who was scratching himself all over.
"I know. But they are driving by Ocean Bluff, so this is perfect." He turned and looked at her, "Are you okay?"
"What? No…I'm fine..I'm just…" She trailed off not wanting to voice her thoughts too loud just in case someone overheard.
Dom knew what she was thinking though and reached over and pulled her hand in his. He leaned in so that his lips were by her ear, "I've got you, don't worry." Then he kissed her cheek and settled into his seat.
As they were slowing down Dom leaned back to Fran, "Behind us, Three French Hens."
Fran didn't get a chance to look behind her until they were exiting the bus and there were indeed those Three French Hens. Even though Dom was behind her she could feel his amusement.
After they got down and the two had their own bags they began walking. Fran recognized the area; they weren't too far from Jungle Karma Pizza. She looked over at Dom, "The 12 Days of Christmas."
He nodded, "I didn't really think about it until I just saw"
"The Three French Hens." She nodded smiling, "That is interesting. Who would have thought that you could find it that way in real life?"
"Life shows you many different things."
"Some quite a bit more recent."
"So, first time on that kind of a bus?"
"Yes. If I haven't already been on it in the past couple of years that I've been with you then how would I have been on it before?" She paused and looked up at him, "Why? How many times have you been on one like that?"
"Just a few…they can be kind of fun."
She shook her head, "You think everything is fun…even those kinds of things that are awfully scary."
"Not necessarily scary." He grinned at her and then looked ahead, "Come on, I think we're almost there."
"We are, it's just down that street by the light."
As they walked they noticed all the different people who were out Christmas shopping. There were parents by themselves, teenagers, and a lot of families. All of them just enjoying the time right before Christmas…or not; Fran noticed a woman who was quite obviously frantic as she continually looked over a list. She wished there was something that she could do for her, but what could she do?
They soon turned the corner and saw Jungle Karma Pizza ahead. It was so good to be back here; it had been her safe haven for so long. She had made friends here, had been trusted and cared about. And it was where she had met Dom who was now her safe haven, and it wasn't that Jungle Karma Pizza wasn't it, but Dom, she loved him. It was as simple as that.
Fran looked around the front of the building and off under a tree were Two Turtle Doves, okay to be more specific it was a couple. The guy had his hand on the girls' cheek and Fran could just tell that they were in love. Smiling she wondered who the couple was. As they got closer her question was answered.
"Jarrod." Dom had said.
Jarrod and Camille looked over at them, "Dom. Fran. You're here, I didn't think you'd be back."
Camille smiled, "Lily was right. She's been excited that you were on your way."
"It's good to see you too." Fran said. She knew that there was something between them but the past couple of times she had seen them it was more guarded, what she had seen before was completely open.
"Well, everyone's actually here. RJ says he has a new pizza flavor that he wants everyone to try." Jarrod replied heading in holding Camille's hand.
Dom looked down at Fran, "Shall we?"
Smiling she and Dom followed Jarrod and Camille inside. As soon as they got in they saw Lily, "Dom! Fran! You guys are finally here!"
She ran over and hugged them both. Fran smiled, "Hi Lily, how are you?"
"Good. We're all really good."
Casey came out from the back and as soon as he saw them called back into the kitchen, "Hey! Dom and Fran are here!"
Soon Theo and Flit joined them and everyone was talking and giving hugs. Dom looked around, "Theo where's RJ?"
Theo turned towards the kitchen, "He's coming, he's almost finished."
"The pizza is almost done?" Camille asked.
Theo nodded and smiled as Lily went over to him and held his hand. It wasn't too much longer before RJ came out with a pizza. "Ah, good everyone is here. It's time to try my newest flavor, just in time for Christmas."
He set it down in front of all of them. It looked like it had some meat and fruit. Perhaps like a Hawaiian pizza. Fran picked up a piece with the rest of everyone and took a bite. It was a very odd flavor; she wasn't sure on the meat and…the fruit…what was that?"
"Uh, RJ, what exactly is this?" Theo asked just finishing swallowing the bite he had taken.
"It's called," RJ looked up and put his hands out, "A Partridge in a Pear Tree."
"A Partridge in a Pear Tree?" Dom asked looking down at Fran who smiled at him.
"Yep. What do you think?"
Fran had to admit that it was actually kind of good, "I like it."
"It's actually kind of good," Lily said.
Everyone nodded. It was odd but good. After everyone finished eating their pieces Fran and Dom brought their things upstairs. "It's good to be here." Fran said smiling at Dom.
"Anywhere is good."
Dom leaned down and kissed Fran. Before she got lost in the kiss she remembered to be especially thankful this year. Not only was she home but she was still grateful to have Dom in her life. He pulled her closer and she put her arms around his neck, it was really going to be a Merry Christmas.