A/N: This will be a series of One-shots pertaining to Jake Riley, and Kai Parker. Some will be smut some fluff, but I thought I could do this during times of writer's block with my other series. This is my first Christmas Special, and what a great way to kick off a One-shot book?
A Contained Christmas
Olivia hummed quietly as she searched through her decoration in her garage. Today was the first day of Christmas, marking thirteen months of being trapped in the Cordon. Everyone remained antsy, not only was there the risk of getting infected by others, but there were the common issues of anarchists', starvation, mediocre medical care, and worse of all intimacy issues. Being what you'd call a therapist, Olivia was more than happy to create sort of holiday cheer, to ensure whatever semblance of stability was still in tacked. There was also the matter of cheering up Jake, the officer of the law, whose girlfriend died months ago.
"Got you!" she purred happily, finding the piles of holiday lights.
It was a simple plan really, avoid anyone whom seems infected, while decorated people's homes during the night. Now, the only problem was finding a way to light the small icicles, since the electricity has been shut off. She'd deal with that predicament when it was Christmas Eve, and until then, she'd spread some Christmas cheer. Fourteen boxes of Christmas lights, seemed to be able to do the hospital alone, maybe another house, but to do many of the buildings, Olivia would have to break into other homes… She cringed at the thought, the more homes she entered, the more likely she'd get infected, unless she found the proper clothes.
Again, Olivia went searching through her home, she had a hazmat suite, from that one time she dated that guy from the CDC. It was a prank gift that she kept. Her fingers pulled at more boxes, this time they were labeled HOLLOWEEN. Those who knew Liv often called her festive, since she decorated her home in hours-worth of decorations. Her way of coping with stress and such. She found the suite neatly tucked into her "Biohazard" boxes. Biohazard was a theme she liked to do, since it was scary enough, without having to put too much effort into it. How ironic it was, that they found themselves exactly in that situation.
Today was the day, Olivia spent the who month decorating houses and businesses, and here was the day of her labors. Fresh snow falling into a thick covering of the sidewalks, made the season feel right. Many took notice to the icicle lights and all the garland, but tonight was going to end with a bang. She managed to contact Sabine, and convince her to turn on the power from Five in the evening to Eleven at night, being that it would prove that those trapped in the Cordon were still alive. Liv dressed in her jeans with a grey off the shoulder sweater shirt, and black heels, before putting a grey double-breasted swing coat.
Fewer and fewer people were getting infected now, no one could be sure if it was due to the cold, or if they were slowly developing an immunity to it. Doctors still urged those in quarantine to stay four to six feet apart from each other, and no touching, to prevent another outbreak. To that, Olivia responded with mistletoe, not because she disagreed with the doctors, but what is Christmas without mistletoe? Hearing a knock on her door, Olivia stumbled to the front door. Jake mentioned he'd be by later today, and four thirty in the evening was definitely later.
"Hi Jake." Liv hummed, throwing the door open. "Merry Christmas!"
"Have you been putting up Christmas lights?" he asked, a playful smile touching his lips.
"Would you believe me if I said no?"
"Nope,"
"Then yes, yes I did." She hummed happily. "Let's take a walk."
"Its getting dark," Jake retorted, looking around the soon to be pitch black streets.
"Fine, then we'll take a short walk through my neighborhood."
Those in the Cordon, started adopting their ancestor's routines. Going in as soon as the sun set, and waking at the first signs of light in the morning. Having no lights flashing in the background made that so much easier, and yet it was inconvenient at the same time. Jake sighed, shifting the small package in his fingers. He was sure he'd find the perfect moment to give the dark-haired woman her Christmas gift, but hopefully it would sometime today. Both he and Lex had to deal with a small uprising from the anarchy community, all morning and late into the afternoon. Many wondered why the small dedicated group officers kept to their guns, and tried maintaining the peace, but Olivia was happy for it. They made it safe to walk around during the day, whether you were Infected or not.
"Why did you do all of this?" Jake sighed, escorting her down the streets.
"What, you don't like it?" Liv pouted, making sure they locked eyes. "I thought everyone would appreciate the Christmas feeling."
"I-it's beautiful, but a waste of time. They won't be light."
As if on cue, a loud humming noise echoed through the city, before the lights flickered to life. The mixture of greens, reds, blues, and whites, danced through the lower parts of the buildings, humming with life. Others in the town slowly exited their homes, wondering why on earth was going on. Months of no technology had surprising effects, nearly brining everyone to the dark ages. Olivia smiled up at Jake, wanting to see exactly what his reaction was. Small beads of tears formed into his eyes, resting against the waterline, but not daring to go any farther.
After taking off his thick gloves, his fingers covered his eyes and slowly wiped away any tears that came perilously close to falling. Though it wasn't much, this was Olivia's gift to everyone. Smiles broke many faces, as the others stood gaping at the city lights.
"Merry Christmas Jake." She purred again, looking at all the shapes and lights.
"How did you do this?"
"I found a way to contact Sabine, and explained to her that this would help moral here, as well as, show the outside world people were still alive." Liv shrugged. "It's not much, but this is my gift to everyone."
"It's… It's everything." He hummed.
Jake took in a deep breath, before pulling her close for a long, warm, side hug. Snow slowly started falling, encasing the area, and making it seem like a snow globe. Olivia got exactly what she wanted, one night dedicated to Christmas. No one focusing on the contagion, no one fearing about a slow horrible death. Just Christmas.
"Um…. Merry Christmas Olivia." Jake breathed, pushing a small box towards her. "It's nothing like what you did for us, but it's something."
"You didn't have to give me anything."
"You work so hard, trying to keep others happy… even before this… I wanted to do something nice for you." He swallowed heavily. "Open it."
Olivia smiled, taking the small box wrapped in red paper, with silver "Ho, Ho, Ho's" on it. Despite previous directions for both the hospital, and the quite grumble from Jake, she pulled her thick winter gloves from her fingers and pulled at the paper. The tips of her fingers slowly turned red, a reaction to having too many hours of being in the cold without gloves. Inside the velvet box, was the filigree necklace, that was stolen by someone. It was her great-great-great grandmothers, and was passed down from mother to daughter, and it was the last thing she had of her mothers. Liv was devastated when she was robbed at gun point, for the silver object she always wore.
"Thank you," her words waved with tears.
Silver beads of salt danced down her cheeks, as Jake picked up the heavy jewelry. He'd expected this reaction from her, one of the sweetest people he knew. Had anyone ever done something so special for her? He wondered putting the necklace on her, as quiet sobs shook her shoulders. A family of four stole the object, and used it to buy passage out of the Cordon. Their fate landed them dead in the maze-like sewers. As for the scammers, Jake took a handful of officers to arrest them, and that's how he found the object. Normally he would have returned it right away, but he asked wanted to make sure she wouldn't get infected by it.
"H-how?" she managed to gasp.
"That doesn't matter." He smiled sweetly. "Let's enjoy the lights for a bit."
They walked for hours through the "crowded" streets, looking at all the hard work. Olivia talked about everything, once she was calm enough to do so, her fingers sliding smoothly against the design absentmindedly. Jake enjoyed the conversation, he missed just talking for the hell of it, and Olivia was a great listener when he spoke as well. Once they reached her home, he paused at the three steps to her porch.
"The lights will turn off soon." She purred, pausing at the top. "You can stay the night here, so you aren't caught in the dark."
Jake bit his lower lip, tempted at the prospect. He'd been in her home many times, being the Therapist for the police and all. She worked from home, and transformed the second bedroom, of her two-bedroom two bath home, into her work space. It wasn't until the Cordon, that they became fast friends.
"Wouldn't that be inappropriate?" he chuckled, taking a step forward.
"Hm? I suppose so, but there's no one here to revoke my license." She chuckled. "So, I think we'll be fine for one night."
The two smiled, feeling the small draw of attraction. Jake sighed, glancing up and noticing the small green leaves with white berries. Mistletoe. Why on earth was there mistletoe hanging on the top of her steps? He wondered, going over the hospitals directions.
"Well aren't you a rule breaker." He smiled, glancing back to her.
Olivia's brows creased, before she followed where his stare was. That was not where she originally put the mistletoe this morning, in fact, she didn't put any on her home, because she'd run out of the plastic replicas. So why was there one hanging here?
"I-I didn't –"
Her sentence was intruded upon, when Jake's soft lips touched hers. Shock danced through her, as his fingers pulled them even closer. His tongue danced across her bottom lip, begging for entrance, which she gladly permitted. The kiss was heated, as their hands slowly moved across each other's bodies, until breath was needed.
"I'll stay the night," Jake huffed, taking another step forward, so they were on the same stage. "But, I'm not promising it'll be just once."