A little late but Merry Christmas anyway!

The Surprise

"I'm sorry," Flynn said for the hundredth time.

Estelle patted his shoulder. "Flynn, really, it's fine."

"This isn't where I imagined we'd be spending Christmas Eve." Across the waiting room, a toddler cried. The seats were sold plastic and the fluorescent lights were giving him a headache. Paper Santas taped to the walls, shiny garlands draped around doors, and the standard gauntlet of Christmas music piped over the radio did little to make the emergency room waiting area seem festive.

Estelle leaned into him. "This is exactly where I wanted to spend Christmas Eve: with you. How's your wrist?"

Flynn's right hand was clutched around the swollen mess on his left arm. "It's fine."

"I always feared you'd get hurt as a cop…. I never thought you'd suffer your worst injury on your day off."

Flynn pouted as she giggled at him. It was stupid, really. He'd noticed that the star on their tree was crooked and it bothered him so much he'd pulled out a stool to fix it. But the stood had been too close to the edge of the rug, and when he leaned forward the whole thing tipped. His first instinct had been to protect the tree and not send it crashing to the ground, so he'd twisted in mid-air and threw his arm out to catch himself. The next thing he remembered was feeling something crack, sharp pain shooting up his arm, and Estelle fawning over him and dragging him to the car to drive him to the ER.

They'd been waiting for over an hour. Every time Flynn thought it was going to be his turn, someone with a more pressing issue turned up. He didn't resent them for it, because his wrist wasn't going to kill him and the same couldn't be said for the child having an asthma attack, but he felt bad for making Estelle sit here all night. This was supposed to be a special Christmas, and he worried it was a bad omen that tomorrow wouldn't go as he planned.

Estelle's phone buzzed and she took a moment to look down. "Yuri wants me to tell you you're a loser."

Flynn's pout deepened. "Did you have to tell him what happened?"

"He was worried! You weren't answering your phone so he texted me."

Flynn had felt his phone buzz in his pocket earlier, but given the state of his wrist, hadn't felt like fishing it out. His stomach growled and he shifted in the chair to try to get more comfortable. They'd come just before dinner, and now it was almost nine at night. He'd had such a nice plan for dinner, too. There was still a bottle of champagne in the fridge and he'd found a pasta recipe he was certain he wouldn't mess up. This was the first Christmas Eve he and Estelle would be able to spend together, because for the past few years, he'd been stuck on duty on Christmas Even. Now, he'd been on the force long enough to get the day off, but instead of the romantic night at home, they were spending it at the hospital.

"Flynn Scifo?" a nurse called.

"Oh!" Estelle patted his thigh. "That's you!"

Flynn stood up slowly, gingerly holding his wrist.

"Do you want me to go back with you?"

"I think I can handle it." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then followed the nurse to the back room.

Once he was taken back, it didn't take very long. He'd had to wait so long specifically because his injury wasn't too serious, so the doctor just did a quick exam, took an X-ray, and gave him a splint.

Estelle met him in the waiting room when he was done. "How is it? Does it hurt?" She took his wrist to inspect the velcro splint.

"It hurts less now, at any rate."

"Good." She held up his jacket so he could slip his arm into it. "Now let's get home."

Cold night air struck them as they left the warm hospital. Flynn had to follow Estelle, because she'd dropped him off before finding a place to park. Slush lined the asphalt and they stepped over patches of brown snow and chunks that had fallen off cars.

"Carefull!" Flynn grabbed Estelle's arm as her foot came down on a patch of ice. She slipped sideways clutched him to stay on her feet.

"Whoa! It's slippery here."

"The last thing we need is for you to break your wrist, too." He helped her stabilize herself. "You should be more careful."

Estelle clutched his shoulders and then pecked a kiss on his lips. "You're the one who fell earlier, silly."

"Heh… right, I was just worried about you."

"Well, come on, I parked over here." Estelle held his hand and led him around a pile of slush. Then she rounded the car to open the door for him, and once he was seated, she started to pull the seatbelt across.

"Estelle, please, I can buckle my own seatbelt." He grabbed it with his left hand to pull it across. It was a little awkward, but he managed.

The streets were empty on the drive home. At this time of night, everyone else was home with their families. Snow ground under the tires and colourful lights surrounded by icicles made the houses look like gingerbread houses. Occasionally they passed one with a tree shining in the front window, and Flynn imagined all the kids eagerly getting ready for bed. It was so nice to spend Christmas at home this year, even if he didn't have an actual family and 'only' a girlfriend to spend it with. Maybe next year….

Estelle parked in the driveway of their narrow townhouse. Once again, she hurried around the car to make sure he got out all right. Flynn laughed and assured her it was his wrist that hurt, not his feet, and then hooked arms with her up the steps to the front door.

When they walked in, Flynn smelled food. The light in the kitchen was on and cutlery clinked in a drawer. He had only a brief moment to think, who is in my house!? before Yuri popped his head around the doorway.

"Yo, welcome back."

It was a testament to their friendship that Flynn was more annoyed than surprised to find Yuri in his house. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here, Yuri?"

"Making you dinner. You're welcome."

In the kitchen, a pot bubbled on the stove and a savoury aroma wafted from the oven.

"I heard you guys were spending your night at the ER because Flynn is a klutz." Yuri leaned against the kitchen counted with his arms crossed. "Thought I'd save you from resorting to Chinese take-out on Christmas Eve."

Estelle jumped at him and hugged Yuri tightly. "Yuri, that's so sweet of you!"

"M-hm." Flynn carefully tugged the laces of his boots free with one hand. "Maybe you could have asked before breaking into my house and using my kitchen, though."

"Break in?" Yuri gave him an offended look. "You're the one who gave me a spare key."

"I'll be right back," Estelle said and then dashed up the stairs.

"So, are you ok?" Yuri asked as Flynn stood. "How's the wrist?"

"It's fine." He held out his arm and twisted it to examine the brace. "The nurse said it was a clean break, at least."

"How exactly did it happen?"

From the entry to the kitchen, Flynn looked over at the tree in the living room. It made the whole house smell like a pine forest and it glimmered with tiny coloured lights that gleamed on the tinsel. Tinsel which had been delicately draped over the branches and not haphazardly flung at the tree to see what stuck, because Christmas trees weren't splatter paint, Yuri. At the top of the tree was a star, which was still ever-so-slightly leaning to the left. "I fell off a stool while trying to correct the star on the tree."

Yuri had to laugh at that. "Loser."

"It doesn't look right."

Yuri stood beside him and took in the tree. "It looks perfectly straight to me."

"It's crooked." He had half a mind to drag a chair over and fix it properly if he didn't know Estelle would scold him for not learning his lesson the first time.

"You're obsessed."

"I just wanted it to be perfect. Tomorrow is a big day."

Yuri was quiet for a bit and then he looked over. "You scared?"

With his uninjured hand, Flynn traced the shape of the little box in his pocket. He'd been carrying it around for days out of paranoia that either Estelle would find it hidden in his sock drawer, or else it would mysteriously vanish with the rest of his left socks. "Not really. A little nervous, I suppose."

"For what it's worth, I'm confident she'll say yes."

Flynn couldn't help smiling just thinking about it. "I'm sure, too."

They halted the conversation when they heard her footsteps pounding down the stairs again. She had changed out of her jacket and jeans and now wore red flannel pants covered in snowflakes and a knitted sweater. "Hello!"

"Yo. Anyway," Yuri said, "I should get going. Just take the pork out of the oven in about five minutes and you'll be good."

"Are you sure?" Estelle asked. "You're welcome to spend the night with us."

"Nah, I couldn't leave poor Repede home alone on Christmas Eve."

He opened the door and let a gust of icy air into the entryway. "Have a nice night, you two."

"Goodnight!" Estelle called, waving at the door. "Merry Christmas!"

Yuri waved without turning back and headed to his car parked on the side of the street, which Flynn hadn't noticed when they arrived in the dark. Flynn then stepped up behind Estelle and closed the door before the whole house filled with cold air. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest.

"Looks like we won't have to eat last-minute hot dogs after all."

Estelle giggled. "Like you'd have a problem with hot dogs."

"Hot dogs are delicious." He released her to set the table for dinner. While Estelle set out plates and cutlery, Flynn pulled a pair of glasses out of the freezer and the bottle of champagne from the fridge.

When he set them on the counter, Estelle looked over from the table. "Oh, actually, no champagne for me, sorry."

"Hm? Ok." He stopped himself from feeling a little annoyed. That bottle had been expensive! He had to remind himself that money wasn't a huge obstacle in life anymore thanks to Estelle's inheritance and book royalties, but old habits died hard. There was no way he was going to get upset over something so petty on Christmas Eve, though, so he swung open the fridge. "What would you like? Wine? Milk? Coke?"

She slid to the fridge on her fluffy socks. "I bought some sparkling apple cider the other day, actually!" Crouching, she pulled it out. "You can still have the champagne, if you want."

"No, I wanted to share that with you. Some other time. Apple cider sounds lovely."

"Also, you should take the pork out before it overcooks."

"Ah!" Even when Yuri did 95% of the work, somehow he still managed to screw things up.

Dinner was delicious. Flynn didn't want to admit it, but it was probably nicer than the pasta dish he'd been planning to try. They lingered at the table for over an hour, even after dinner was finished, just enjoying each other's company in the dim glow of twinkle lights bordering the window and the tree glittering from the living room.

After a while, Flynn looked at his left wrist, saw the cast and felt silly, and then looked to the clock on the wall instead. "We should probably head to bed."

Estelle giggled. "Yeah, or else Santa won't come."

"Are you hoping for anything special?"

"There are a lot of books I'd like!"

"Heh, I know about those." And he'd spent an hour in the bookstore trying to complete her list.

"Did you get me the one with the unicorn slayer?"

"Maybe. And what did you get me?"

She smiled secretively. "Can't tell! I bet you'll be really surprised though."

"Hm, I don't know, I bet my gift will be more surprising." He felt the box's weight in his pocket again. He couldn't wait to see her face.

"No way, you'll never guess mine."

"Is it a book you think I'd like?"

"Um…."

Flynn laughed and stood up. "Let's go to bed and we can find out in the morning."

They cleaned up the kitchen quickly. Estelle insisted on doing most of the work, so Flynn wiped down the counters while she scrubbed dishes and wouldn't allow him to get his wrist anyway near the sink.

In the bedroom, Flynn struggled with the buttons on his shirt until Estelle hurried over and did it for him. Soon enough, they had snuggled under the blanket. The room was chilly but the bed was so warm, and colourful lights from across the street shone through the blinds. Flynn pushed Estelle's hair away from her neck and lightly pressed his lips against her skin. "Merry Christmas," he whispered, and then she scooted closer to him.

An hour later, not a creature was stirring, except for Flynn slipping carefully out of the bed. Estelle made no movement as he tiptoed to his discarded pants draped over a chair and pulled the little box from the pocket. Quiet as a mouse, he tiptoed downstairs to the living room. It was dark now that the tree's lights were out, so he turned on a single lamp to make sure he didn't crash into it and make that star even more crooked.

Standing before the tree, he looked at the little box in his hand. He'd already wrapped it in dark blue paper covered in snowmen, and then tied a silver ribbon around it. Standing on his toes, he nestled it into the tree in a crook in the branches. It was above her head, so she wouldn't even notice it until all the other gifts were unwrapped and they were sitting on the couch, enjoying the morning, and he could point at the tree and mention that it looked like Santa had left something there overnight… go on, open it up, it's probably for you. Then she'd tear away the paper and find a little velvet box, and inside was a ring he'd saved up for months to afford on his own mediocre salary, and she'd turn around in shock and find him on one knee….

Yes, she was definitely going to be the most surprised by her gift tomorrow.

Christmas morning came. They lounged in bed for some time, enjoying the warmth of the blankets and how nice it was to curl up together when neither of them needed to get up and go somewhere. Finally they dragged themselves from bed and downstairs to make some pancakes for breakfast. Flynn's wrist had become worse overnight, so he took some pills and held it against his body while Estelle did the cooking. Then she cut his pancakes into bite-sized pieces, despite his protests that he was able to hold a fork in his left hand.

Opening presents didn't take too long. Flynn had put his foot down several Christmases ago about how many presents Estelle was allowed to get him. Once she had learned that Flynn's family had rarely been able to afford more than one or two things every year, she'd been determined to make up for it with mountains of presents.

The tree was almost empty now. Flynn sat on the couch with a pile of new belongings on the cushion beside him. It was mostly made up of books, some shirts, DVDs, and some nice warm socks because Estelle always worried about his toes getting cold when he was on patrol on rainy nights. He appreciated all of it, but nothing had been especially surprising.

"I think that's all for now," Flynn said, leaning forward to pack crumpled balls of paper into a trash bag. There was still a small pile of gifts against the wall, but those were the ones for their friends that they were taking to Yuri's house tonight. His heart thudded and his hands shook; it was almost time. Estelle was still in her fleece pyjamas and looked as adorable as ever, but he couldn't wait to see how much cuter she looked tonight when she showed off the ring to Rita.

The TV was tuned to a channel playing 24-hour Christmas music. The pair of them sat in happy silence for a minute, listening to Frank Sinatra sing about chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Flynn's eyes drifted to the little box hidden in the upper boughs of the tree and built up the courage to point it out to her.

"Wait," Estelle said, crawling under the tree. "There's one more for you."

This dashed his concentration. "Huh?"

Estelle emerged from the tree with a small rectangular present. The paper was green, covered in cartoon Santa faces, and tied with a red bow. "This one is very special." She scooted forward and then crawled onto the couch beside him. "Can you guess what it is?"

Flynn rand his hands over the paper and felt a smooth, solid surface. He'd already opened a few gifts like it this morning and said, "Feels like a book." How had he known that Estelle's 'special' gift would be a book?

She leaned over to bump into him. "Open it."

Flynn carefully tugged the end open, which was difficult because he had to awkwardly hold it still with his arm, since his fingers weren't very dexterous with the brace. Yuri always ripped paper off presents like a dog tearing into a chew toy, but Flynn always opened the tape and carefully unwrapped them. He untied the ribbon, slid it off, and then pulled open the paper to find just what book was so special.

At first, Flynn stared at the book in his lap with confusion. The Expectant Father, the title read, followed by, Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-to-Be. "Well, this looks… interesting." He looked to Estelle, his brow knit. "But I'm not a…."

He took in her face. Her knowing look. The way she just kept smiling at him. A stone plummeted into his stomach. "Y-you're…?"

Estelle giggled, leaned forward, and kissed his cheek. "Merry Christmas, Dad."

Flynn had no idea what to think. His was bouncing between excitement, shock, terror, and worry like a pinball machine. "Oh." The wind he'd been building up left his sails. How was he supposed to top this? And yet, the old-fashioned part of his brain said, well, now you have to marry her.

He'd been silent for too long. Estelle's smile slipped and she fiddled her thumbs. "You're… not upset, are you? I know we weren't planning this, but… but I feel like I'm ready! We've only been together for a few years, and we're not married, but I've always wanted to start a family one day and I can't think of anyone I'd rather do it with."

"I'm not upset." Being in shock was different from being upset. "I honestly don't know how I feel yet, but I think I'm excited. And a little bit scared."

She smiled meekly. "That's how I've been feeling for the past couple of weeks."

Flynn wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "If you'd told me earlier, I could have helped you."

"I know, but I didn't want to scare you until I knew for sure and then it was almost Christmas and I thought, well, at least it would be a surprising gift."

"It was definitely that." He squeezed her shoulder. "You beat me on getting the most shocking gift." 'Shocking' didn't even begin to cover it. He was going to be a dad. Was he ready? Could he do this? This was followed by other thoughts, like, I'm going to take him or her camping. Or, Yuri is going to be a great uncle. And, if I have a wife and a kid, that means I have a proper family. That thought was followed by a wordless stream of excitement that could only be summed up as a series of exclamation marks.

"What's that?"

While he'd been thinking, Estelle leaned back and gazed up at the tree. "What's what?"

She pointed. "There, in the tree." Estelle hopped up and Flynn had to stop himself from telling her to stay seated and take it easy. She wasn't even showing a belly yet; her pregnancy was far from incapacitating.

Estelle stood on tiptoes and pulled the little wrapped box out of the tree. She turned it over in her hands and said, "It doesn't have a label on it. Is it from you? Or did Yuri leave it yesterday?"

She was about to find the ring. In his pre-paternal haze of excitement, his mind went blank trying to think of what to say. He wanted to surprise her, to make this a big moment, but after her announcement, this would just feel like a footnote. She was looking at him questioningly, though, and he mumbled, "It… must be from Santa. Open it."

Estelle tugged the ribbon off and ripped open the paper. Flynn had thought he was too overwhelmed with her announcement to feel anything, but as she revealed the velvet box, his heart proved it could beat even harder. This was all wrong; he shouldn't be sitting on the couch! Quick, get down on one knee!

Flynn pushed himself off the couch, forgot his wrist was broken, gasped in pain and twisted sideways, slipped on wrapping paper strewn on the floor, and ended up in a pile on the ground surrounded by discarded paper and bows just as Estelle opened the box.

"Flynn! Are you ok?!"

He lay on his back and looked up at her. In her hand, the ring twinkled in the light of the Christmas tree. His wrist throbbed, but he smiled. "Will you marry me?"

For a long moment, she stared at him. It was long enough for him to feel the terror that she'd say no and hypothesize about an entire life where he was sad and single and only saw their child on weekends. Even in her loose fleece pyjamas, she was more beautiful than the angel atop the tree and it seemed preposterous that a woman like her would say 'yes' to a proposal from an oaf sprawled on the trash with a broken wrist.

Estelle giggled and dropped to her knees. "Oh, Flynn!" She planted her hands on his shoulders and leaned over to lay a kiss on his lips. He was still reeling from her positive reaction that it took a few seconds to his senses to kick and and kiss her back.

When she pulled back, he gazed at her with rapture. "Is… that a 'yes' then?"

"The biggest 'yes' in the whole world." Estelle tugged a plastic bow away from Flynn's ear and then stuck it on his forehead with a little smile. "You're my favourite Christmas present this year."