The Christmas lights were blurred, the colored lights appearing to dance in the winter chill that enthralled the city. The lights outlined the entrance to the building, one of several strings that decorated the building. The cold air marred their outline, creating an almost halo like appearance. It was beautiful. That however, did nothing to help the fact that it was beyond freezing and she was braving the arctic air in a dress. Fashion be damned, it was too cold.
"Mac, are you waiting for an invitation? Ring the buzzer already," Detective Stella Bonasera chided through chattering teeth, as her partner gave her a mischievous smirk. He held a few packages under his arm gingerly, Stella sighing as he appeared to be having trouble balancing them to press the button.
"My arms are full Stell," Detective Mac Taylor stated finally, causing a groan to leave his partners lips.
"They wouldn't be if you had let me carry my own packages," she remarked with a serious tone but a glint to her eye. Before Mac could reply, she answered for him. "You're being a gentleman, I know. I know," shaking her head. Chivalrous almost to a fault at times, she thought.
He raised his eyebrow as she stepped up to the door and pressed the correct apartment number, rubbing her arms furiously. Mac tried to let the smart-ass comment pass but he could not help himself.
"Cold Stella? I thought you said that jacket would be warm enough?" Stella promptly turned and aimed a death glare at her best friend. He stood there looking all charming and handsome, in his long coat, scarf and gloves. He was looking smug and much too comfortable. They had this conversation already, prior to leaving her apartment. Stella had been trying to explain her reasoning for wearing a dress in what felt like 20 below weather. It was lost on men, they did not understand.
"One more word Mac, and I will volunteer you for diaper duty," her finger pointed at him in warning.
Both of them had learned on previous occasions that diapers were not Mac's forte, in fact on the two instances he had attempted it solo it had resulted in Lucy requiring a bath. After that, Mac had made sure Stella was going to be handy when he babysat his god-daughter. There was no harm in knowing his limitations- he just did not understand how such a little person could wiggle and worm around so much.
"Hello?" a familiar voice greeted them through the intercom, interrupting Mac's retort. Danny Messer's distinctive voice echoed through the speaker. "Mac that you?"
Smiling sweetly, Stella pressed the button.
"Messer, open the damn door or you're on dumpster duty!" Stella threatened, now taking drastic action to obtain entrance into the building. Pretty soon, her knees would be chattering along with her teeth.
"Stella. Right, come on up."
A glorious persistent buzz alerted them to the unlocked door, Stella quickly grabbing the handle. She held the door open for Mac who simply gave her a smirk as they entered into the lobby of the building. Shifting his packages, they managed to negotiate the three flights of stairs to the Messer's apartment.
The door opened before they even reached the apartment, Lindsay Monroe-Messer greeting them happily. Lucy sat happily on her hip, contently wrapped in her mom's arm. The just shy of one year old, reached her arms out excitedly at the sight of her 'Auntie' and 'Uncle'.
"Hey guys!" Lindsay exclaimed as she wrapped first Stella and then Mac in hugs. Lucy started babbling gladly as Stella relieved Lindsay of her burden. "Come on in."
They entered in the apartment, Danny appearing from the kitchen and giving them one of his infamous smiles. He relieved Mac of his gifts. "Boss, Stell. Cold out there eh?" unaware of the loaded question.
Deciding to put that behind them for the moment, both simply said yes. Sensing there was some history to that question, he wisely decided to move on. Danny put the presents under the tree, sitting in the corner of the living space. The tree reached up to just shy of the ceiling, a golden angel shimmering brightly from atop it. Many different types of ornaments adorned the tree; some looked to be from their youth – home made by little hands and a few beautiful glass balls hung from the top of the tree.
Various other decorations decked out the apartment, garlands, wreaths and Christmas ornaments. Lights lit up their windows and even a sprig of mistletoe completed the ensemble. The apartment had been transformed into a Christmas oasis, very festive and inviting.
"Beautiful tree," Stella remarked as the squirming Lucy indicated she wanted to be put down. Stella smiled as she cruised away on her hands and knees. "Won't be long now Linds," indicating Lucy. As if to prove her point, the toddler grabbed onto the couch and pulled herself up to standing. Her chubby hands holding tightly onto the fabric.
"Oh I know, and we'll be in trouble. She already is a handful crawling around." The statement said with a mix of pride and sadness. Her baby was growing up so fast. A year old in two months, Lindsay couldn't believe it. Stella chuckled as Lindsay took their coats.
"Well, if she has her parent's curiosity I would say you are definitely in trouble." Danny and Lindsay were naturally curious and investigative- that was what made them good CSI's. It was a given that Lucy would also have that natural talent.
"Hopefully not her father's knack for getting himself in trouble," Mac added good-naturedly.
"I heard that Boss," Danny called from his spot in the kitchen. Mac smiled as he headed to help Danny, leaving the ladies to sit back. They rested themselves upon the plush couch, taking the opportunity to observe.
"I could get used to this," Stella stated, indicating to the kitchen. Several smells wafted to them, and all of them delicious. Lindsay nodded her head in ascension.
"I agree. We should make bets we know we can win more often," she laughed, as Danny appeared before them with two glasses of wine. He cleared his throat.
"I wouldn't say- knew you would win Montana. It was a close race. Flack an' I gave you ladies a run for the money. It was Mac and the Doc that held us back," Danny tried to reason, watching as both women rolled their eyes. Knowing his arguments would be ignored, he returned to the kitchen.
Their win of the bet in question had meant that the boys had to cook Christmas dinner. That would be the last time that they questioned just how many items could be fit into Lindsay's purse. The bet had come about after an idle comment from Flack about being able to fit Danny in Lindsay's purse. Lindsay admitted that her purse had gotten bigger since parenthood, but having Lucy around met you had to be prepared for many situations--many of them messy. Although the comment initially had Flack in hot water, the resulting wager had been placed at Stella's urging. How many items could be placed in Lindsay's purse? A wager that was now being paid.
"Where is Flack anyways?" Stella asked, hoping that their friend had not shirked on his responsibility. Not that she was worried about the bet, but Flack looked like he was finally turning the corner. The last month had been spent with the young detective rebuilding relationships he had been neglecting since Jess' passing.
"On his way, he was trying to respectfully depart from his parents place at last word." Both women understood the undertaking that was; Mama Flack did not take no lightly. "Hawkes should be here any minute."
Sid had declined, stating he would end up in his own morgue if he partook in the party again this year. It seems Mrs. Hammerback had not been so pleased when an overly tipsy ME had been dropped at her door, one o'clock Christmas morning. Sid had been warned the punch had kick, which had been Flack's doing. Adam had decided to spend Christmas with his sister and brother in Phoenix after much deliberation, citing it had been many holidays since they had seen one another.
This left the seven of them to enjoy Christmas Eve together.
This gathering of their 'family' had been a tradition for many years now, usually with Stella preparing the Christmas meal. This year meant a pleasant break, Lindsay offering to host the dinner. It also allowed everyone the opportunity to the take in the wondrous Lucy in all her toddler glory.
Deciding then to make her presence known, Lucy came cruising from the kitchen. Grasping onto Lindsay's leg, she let out a slur of noises that Stella was sure made sense to the small child. As the intercom in the apartment buzzed, Lucy let out another slew of noises causing them to laugh.
Stella decided that having the little one around added to everyone's enjoyment of the season. As hard as this year had been, it also hit home just how fragile life was. Stella had been given new resolve to enjoy every day, even the bad ones because they made you cherish the good ones. That sentiment had been shared by everyone. They had a lot to be thankful for this year.
The door opened a few minutes later revealing Sheldon with Flack in tow.
"Look what I picked up," the Doctor greeted jovially, Flack giving his friend a warning glare.
"Watch it Doc. And I believe it was the other way around..." he explained as they entered into the apartment, their colleagues surrounding them. Despite the fact it had only been a few hours since they had seen each other, everyone was equally happy to greet the other.
"That was because I was your escape clause," Sheldon gave Flack a knowing smile, causing everyone to laugh.
"Yeah, yeah, A' right. Ma wasn't gonna let me go without a good reason. The Doc was my good reason," he shrugged his shoulders and flashed a smile, an indication that he was slowly returning to his old self. It was a sign his colleagues were relieved to see, it had been very hard watching one of their close friends slowly withering before their eyes.
He gave them all a look as he watched them watching him. "What?"
"Just glad you're here Don," Mac stated for everyone as he clapped the younger man loudly on the shoulder. Mac's sentiment echoed the thoughts of everyone in the room, the group very aware of what Mac had done for Don when he had gone AWOL a month back.
"Of course, I wouldn't miss it Mac," he stated very seriously, grateful for his friends patience over the last few months-- especially after how he acted.
"Well as much as I don't want to break up this bonding moment, just one question--who is watching dinner?" Lindsay pointed out, trying not to betray her serious tone.
The men all moved rather quickly into the kitchen leaving Lindsay and Stella chuckling at their quick exit. Lucy cooed at their feet.
"See baby, that is why Daddy's casserole is always burned—he gets distracted too easily," Lindsay stated matter of factly, picking up the little girl who made an almost agreeing noise in return.
"I think she understands," Stella laughed, watching as Lucy began clapping her hands in apparent delight.
"I think more than we know sometimes." Lucy had proved to be very observant and sensitive to the environment around her. She knew when Mommy and Daddy were arguing or when Lindsay needed a hug and a slobbery kiss after a long day at work. It amazed Lindsay and she thanked whoever was looking over them for their daughter every day.
Lucy had been that extra incentive to help Danny get through his therapy—to learn how to walk again. Lindsay recalled the night when she had walked into Lucy's room to find her previously wheelchair bound husband holding their sleeping daughter. Lucy had been blissfully passed out on his shoulder, her little hands clamped around his neck as if aware of the magnitude of his effort.
The three of them had just stood there unmoving for what seemed like hours until Danny finally had to sit down, Lindsay carefully taking Lucy from his arms and returning her to the crib. She had then wrapped her arms round her husband's neck, her tears flowing freely and spilling onto his shirt. Danny's arms around her had never felt so good.
Lindsay had been starting to lose hope that her husband would ever walk again. She had even started to consider what changes would have to be made to the apartment for his wheelchair. Changes she is glad she did not have to make.
"Linds, you okay?" Stella's voice interrupted her thoughts, her moist eyes not unnoticed by her friend. She gave the older woman a nod and reassuring smile.
"Yeah, just thinking about what I have to be thankful for this Christmas," her understanding taken immediately. Stella smiled, wrapping her arm around Lindsay's shoulders.
"We all have a little of that this year," Stella gave her friend a knowing look. "Danny's recovery was nothing short of a miracle, Don is starting to heal, letting himself actually feel again and we have this beautiful baby girl to celebrate with this year," Lucy's chubby hands reached up and gingerly touched Stella's curly hair. She gave her auntie a toothy grin, Stella rubbing the little girl's cheek tenderly.
"Makes me glad that I didn't give in to my parents pleading request for us to go to Montana for Christmas," Lindsay revealed, bouncing her daughter effortlessly on her hip as she began squirming. "We needed this after the last few months...I needed this," Lindsay added with a sombre smile.
The thought of uprooting themselves just prior to Christmas to go to Montana had been a daunting thought. As much as Lindsay wanted to see her parents, her family took precedent for the moment. Lindsay needed her 'family' here. As it turned out, her parents made a surprising gesture to come visit. They would be arriving in a couple days, something Lindsay did not want to think about now, too much preparation she hadn't done yet.
"To the new year, and many more Christmases to come," Stella raised her glass, watching as Lindsay did likewise, precariously trying to avoid nosy fingers. Lindsay recognized her effort to try to lift their moods, after all this meant to be a time of celebration.
"Sounds good to me, eh Lucy?" Lindsay took a small sip of wine and then kissed her daughter on the forehead, the toddler smiling happily.