Secret Santa Surprises

by MsDubstep

For the Boston Legal Swap fic challenge, my prompt was this: Alan was the head of the office cheer committee remember the lit star ornament on his head?. How far did Alan go to spread that old Crane, Poole and Schmidt holiday cheer, and how many likely or

Title: Secret Santa Surprises
Authors: Bridget N
Email:
Permission to archive: Yes, just let me know where
Fandom(s): Boston Legal
Genre (general, hetero or slash): hetero and slash
Pairing/Characters: Alan/Denny, along with 3 other surprise pairings
Rating: FRT
Summary: For the Boston Legal Swap fic challenge, my prompt was this: Alan was the head of the office cheer committee (remember the lit star ornament on his head?). How far did Alan go to spread that old Crane, Poole and Schmidt holiday cheer, and how many likely (or unlikely!) couples wound up together that night because of his "goodwill"?
Warnings: none
Acknowledgments: Thank you to my wonder beta counterpart, Denny Crane's Ghostwriter.

Christmas time in Boston was here again, and Alan always had a smile on his face. A lot of people remarked that Alan was the firm's own Santa Claus, even before Alan started his volunteer work at the Salvation Army being Santa. His coworkers always made this remark because every December, he'd never stop having a smile on his face. That, and he always wore some kind of ornament on his head, whether it was a blinking star or a mistletoe.

This year, a week before Christmas, he didn't walk into the office wearing any ornaments, just his Santa hat, and again, he had a smile on his face. But, as people passed by him, they noticed that this smile was not of glee, but full of mischief. He had an unmistakable twinkle in his eye.

Shirley passed him as she walked out of her office, and noticed his mischievous expression right away. Alan looked at Shirley and nodded, then continued on his way:

Shirley looked after him, wondering just what he was up to.

Alan went to his office after the staff meeting and locked the door. His mischievous grin widened as he took out 4 unmarked boxes out of a large shopping bag and placed them on his desk. He then took out wrapping paper, scotch tape and name labels and set them on one of the chairs across from the desk.

His plan this Christmas, besides spreading his brand of cheer and goodwill, was to relieve all the sexual tension and unrealized feelings among his coworkers to the surface. There was, in his opinion, a lot of that. Including his own. So in the last week, he talked to some of the people he worked with about what they liked to do for fun, what kind of music they liked, and things of that nature. He got strange looks from a couple of people, but he persisted until he got his desired result. As he wrapped the first gift, he was pretty sure that the intended recipient would like it.

This was going to be really good.

Christmas Eve, 10 AM

Marlene Stanger walked into her office, not happy to be there on Christmas Eve, as she knew that as one of the most disliked attorneys at Crane, Poole and Schmidt, she'd got not one gift or even an acknowledgement from anyone. She had family, however, and a few friends, so it really didn't matter anyhow.

But when she approached her desk after hanging up her coat, she was surprised to see a small wrapped box sitting right in the middle. She cautiously picked it up and read the label on the wrapping, and had to blink several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The label said: To Marlene, From Denise.

Denise?

This had to be a joke. Sure, Denise and Marlene had settled their differences a while back and were now civil to each other, but that's all Marlene really expected from her. Still, if it was indeed a joke, she'd know that Alan was the culprit and she could deal with him accordingly.

Marlene slowly opened the box, and smiled when she saw what it was. Denise was very sweet to do this, and Marlene would definitely thank her the first chance she got. This was her chance to finally be friends with Denise, maybe more. Marlene was hoping for the latter. After they had settled their differences a while back, Marlene had a chance to look at Denise in a different light. A very sexy, sweet, charming light. She had always admired Denise for being a talented lawyer and a strong woman. But her jealousy and desire to get to the top got in the way, and it ultimately made her judgment a bit cloudy. She laughed to herself. How could she had been so blind to her feelings?

Maybe this Christmas wouldn't be so bad after all.

Denise was busily filing a motion for a court date the day after Christmas. She was writing rather quickly, because she couldn't wait to get out of the office early to fly out to see her family in Italy for Christmas. The reason she had an American accent was because she had lived in America since she was 5, but she still held her Italian heritage dear to her heart. And as much as she loved Boston, half of her wished she was back in Italy with her parents, who moved back there shortly after she enrolled in college.

A brisk knock on the door interrupted her work, and Denise jumped a little, dropping her pen.

Marlene was at the door, smiling. What was she up to today?

"Hi." She said quietly. "I got your gift, and I just wanted to say….well, thank you." She laughed a little, and Denise was either seeing things, or Marlene was blushing.

Denise blinked, very confused. She never got Marlene a gift. She had considered giving her one, but all she got Marlene was a card. Denise didn't feel they were close enough to exchange gifts yet. So why did Marlene think Denise got her a gift?

"Um….I hate to say this, but…I didn't get you a gift." Denise immediately felt remorse after saying that. She had grown to actually respect Marlene ever since they'd settled their differences. Denise looked down at her desk, her eyes away from Marlene's crushed expression.

"You…didn't get me the new I-Pod?" Marlene asked?

Denise numbly shook her head, still looking at her desk. But she looked up at Marlene after a moment, realizing something. "Does the gift specifically say it's from me?"

"Yes."

"Someone must have planted that in your office and put my name on it." Denise said.

Marlene smirked. "Figures. So you didn't intend to get me anything? Or are you surprising me?"

Denise smiled weakly. "I, um….got you a card."

"So did I." Marlene said. "I didn't get you a gift either, but I wanted to show that I am thinking of you."

Denise smiled widely despite herself, taken aback. "Umm..thank you Marlene, that's very sweet. A bit out of character for you, but still very sweet."

Marlene smirked again. "I have my nice side. Don't you think for a minute I'm going soft on you, though."

Denise grinned, staring into her eyes. God, how she loved Marlene's deep, piercing eyes. "It hadn't crossed my mind."

Marlene held her gaze. Denise's pulse elevated, and her palms were sweaty. Alan was behind Marlene, peeking out from behind her office door and grinning, but neither woman noticed.

Alan walked away from Denise's office door, holding a manila folder in his hand as to look non-conspicuous. But his mischievous grin had not faded. His heart beamed with pride. Marlene and Denise were headed in the right direction, and Alan was rather proud of himself.

But he didn't get to bask in the glory for long, because a clearly irritated voice called from behind him.

"Alan!"

Alan sighed, and turned to find a grimacing, red faced Brad Chase walking toward him, and Alan recognized one of the boxes that he wrapped in Brad's hand. Alan smirked. "The furry handcuffs and blindfold were not my idea. Erin in Human Resources really did send those. I was always aware of her sexual desire for you, but decided to let her surprise you."

"This," Brad Chase began, holding up a rectangular box of Ghiradelli's chocolates, " is what I found in my office, labeled 'To Brad, From Melissa.' I know you sent this. I know what your handwriting looks like, and you're not fooling me for one second."

"Ah, the secret's out." Alan quipped. "I wanted to fatten you up a bit, you look so thin these days."

Brad gave him a look, clearly not buying the bullcrap.

Alan gave him a serious look and stepped closer to Brad, making sure to lower his voice. "Melissa is very interested in you, I assure you."

Brad blinked, giving Alan a confused look. "I thought she was into you?"

" 'Was' is the key word there." Alan reminded him. "She hasn't been stalking me lately, remember?"

Brad shook his head. "I'm going to pretend that last remark was a joke. Now, if Melissa was really interested, how come she didn't send the chocolates herself? She doesn't seem like the shy type to me."

"That's a good question." Alan replied. "You should ask her to dinner and find out."

Brad frowned. "I dunno….are you really telling the truth about her being interested?"

Alan simply nodded.

"Okay, Shore." Brad said, looking him square in the eye. "If I find out you're jerking my chain, you're going down."

"I'd love to go down, especially if you make me." Alan said, grinning.

Brad narrowed his eyes at him. "You're such a pervert."

"I try." Alan quipped, still grinning.

Brad rolled his eyes and walked off. Alan went to look for his next two victims and see how they were reacting to his little scheme.

Sara walked into her usual spot that she sat down for her coffee break, got some coffee with sugar in it and sat down, waiting for Garrett to show up. They always had coffee together almost every day. As a matter of fact, for 13 years, they always ate lunch and hung out together, seeing as they had known each other since their first year of high school. And for some odd reason, Sara never got tired of hanging around Garrett. When she had a problem or just needed to vent, Garrett was the first person that always came to mind to run to. Sara had other friends that she was close to, but she had always, in the back of her mind, wondered why Garrett always came first among her friends.

She happened to look up from the paper she was reading and noticed a small black box sitting on the table. She glanced down and was a bit surprised to find it was labeled 'To Sara.' Since there weren't any other Saras that worked at this firm, this box was definitely for her. However, there wasn't any evidence to say who it was from, and it made her suspicious but curious all the same. She took a deep breath and opened the box. Inside were two plain finger rings, about a half inch thick. She took one of the rings out and examined them. They seemed like ordinary rings to her, until she noticed an inscription on the inside of the band, which was the letter 'S'.

'This can't be…' Sara thought to herself, until she took out the other ring. The inscription on the other one was the letter G.

Sara nearly dropped the ring in her hand because her hand was shaking, and tears came to her eyes. Garrett and Sara both had rings that represented their friendship, with the other's first initial inscripted on the inside of the band. The rings that she had now were almost exact copies of the ones that got stolen from Garrett when they were in college. Sara had asked Garrett to hold her ring for one day, and then that night, someone broke into his dorm and stole both of them. Sara wasn't mad at Garrett, but he felt horrible. After a while, the incident was forgotten.

At least she thought it was. To think that Garrett never forgot was heart-breakingly sweet, and it brought tears to her eyes.

At that moment, Garrett walked in with his copy of the morning paper. He smiled. "Hey. Happy Christmas Eve."

Sara got up from her chair and ran over to hug him tightly. "Garrett, you are so sweet!" She said tearfully.

Garrett pulled away with a confused look. Alan watched the touching scene unfold from behind the refrigerator and noticed this seemed to be a pattern, much to his amusement.

"Why am I sweet?" Garrett asked. "I just said Happy Christmas Eve…."

Sara held up one of the rings. "You remembered! I'm so happy!"

Garrett went to say something, but Sara stopped him. "No, you don't have to say anything. I know that action speak louder than words, and this is just….thank you so much, Garrett." She took his face in her hands and kissed him softly. Garrett froze for a minute, and then gently put his hands on Sara's hips and returned her kiss, sighing softly. Their tender makeout session went on for about 5 minutes until Paul Lewiston waltzed in and cleared his throat quite loudly, giving them a stern look. Only when Sara and Garrett pulled completely away from each other did Paul leave the room, thankfully not noticing that Alan was still spying on Garrett and Sara from behind the fridge.

As soon as Paul was out of sight, Garrett took Sara's hand.

"How about we take this to my office?" He said, his voice lowered.

Sara gave him a look. "You don't have an office, remember?"

"Oh….um, right." Garrett said, running his fingers through his hair. "Your office it is, then."

Sara grinned, took his hand and off they happy couple ran off in aroused bliss.

Alan left the break room undetected, satisfied with his work as matchmaker. He went back to his office to retrieve his last package, which he was going to be from Alan himself. He had spent weeks trying to find a perfect gift for the extremely wealthy Denny Crane, the man who had everything. He had wracked his brain for a gift that would really mean something to the man that meant so much to Alan. And with perseverance and a little patience, he found the perfect Christmas gift.

Alan strolled to Denny's office, knocking to make sure he wasn't in there. Sure enough, he wasn't, so Alan was clear to go inside and place Denny's gift on his desk.

But on his way out, Denny suddenly came in, and Alan jumped a bit, having almost bumped into the older man.

"Hey, Alan. Heard there's a secret Santa sneaking around the office." Denny said. "I haven't gotten anything though."

Alan smirked a little. If only he knew what this secret Santa's purpose really was. Denny smiled, catching Alan's expression.

"It's you, isn't it?" He asked.

Alan walked back over to Denny's desk, gesturing to the box that was sitting there. "It seems that our mysterious gift giver has indeed left you something. Why don't you find out for yourself?"

Denny continued to smile as he walked over and began to unwrap the box. "What did you get me?" He murmured, curiosity flashing over his features.

Inside an unmarked cardboard box was a framed picture of Alan and Denny standing together. Trees and mountains towered behind their heads, and the photographer had managed to capture an eagle flying above them. They were at Nimmo Bay, and this was the only other picture of them at the lake that had been taken. Denny had feared it had been lost. Denny just stared at it for a while, until Alan finally asked, "Do you like it?"

Denny looked up at Alan. "It's a nice looking frame." Alan quirked a brow. Denny sighed and smiled.

"And….it's a nice lookin' picture. Even though I have my eyes closed…..where did you find it?"

"I had it with me all the time." Alan replied.

Denny blinked in confusion. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You may not have liked that picture very much, but I do." Alan said. "You looked so peaceful. And for the first time in a long time, I felt peaceful. I'll never forget that trip. I had originally planned to keep that picture for myself, but it would be selfish of me to do so. I wanted to give you something that meant a lot to me. And now I'm sharing it with you."

"You sap." Denny said, despite the blush creeping up on his face.

"It's Christmas, Denny." Alan said. "I'm allowed to be a sap. You are, too, you know."

Denny smiled again. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Alan said, still looking at Denny with what he knew was a sappy smile, but he didn't care."

Denny held his gaze for a moment, then walked over to the other side of his desk and pulled out a small box from his desk drawer and handed it to Alan. "Open it."

Alan opened the box and pulled out a pair of blue earmuffs. On the sides of them, they had the letter 'A' on them. Alan smirked.

"Thank you, Denny. They're charming. I already have a hat with little earflaps on them, but I like this just the same."

"Oh, those aren't for wearing outside." Denny said. "I got them so you won't have to put up with my snoring at night."

Alan smiled at him reassuringly, touched by this gesture. "I've already told you that your snoring doesn't bother me." Alan placed a hand on Denny's shoulder. "But I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

"Well….." Denny's face once again turned red, and he ran a hand through his hair. "I figured my snoring would began to get to you eventually. Especially since I wanted to ask you if you wanted to move in with me."

Alan's smile faded, and he stared at Denny, dumbstruck. Alan did not expect this in the least. When Denny had agreed to sleep with Alan to protect him from the night terrors, it had been a monumental gesture on Denny's part as far as Alan was concerned. But this was even more than he expected from his friend.

"Are you serious?" Alan asked, a little demon in the back of his head making him doubt Denny's intentions, despite the serious expression coming from him.

"You're a lawyer, for god's sake." Denny said. "Most of all, you're a lawyer at my firm. You don't have to sleep in that hotel room anymore. It's unbecoming of a man of your wealth, of your reputation. Follow your own advice, Alan. Live big."

Alan swallowed the lump in his throat. He had hesitated to tell Denny this before now, wondering if he would understand where Alan was coming from. But now was the time to be up front and honest with his best friend.

"The reason why I live in hotels is because when my wife died 5 years ago, the house felt…empty. Worthless. I bought Tamara and I that house. Without her in it…."Alan trailed off. He sighed. "I just wanted to live somewhere where I would be how I felt. Alone."

"Let me tell you something, Alan Shore." Denny said, hands on his hips. "Remember when I told you that at the end of the day, you've always got me? Well, I meant it, buster." Alan gave a little laugh. Through the utterly emotional moment the two of them were having, Denny still retained some of his cocky demeanor.

But then Denny's face softened. "I don't say things I don't mean, Alan. You deserve to have a better home. And…..I'm willing to give that to you."

Alan stared into the sincere eyes of his best friend, the man who was offering up his home willingly and selflessly to him. When he saw that Denny's serious expression was unwavering, Alan had to look away and blink away the tears that threatened to surface.

"Alan?" Denny tried to look at him, puzzled, and a little concerned.

Alan sniffled a little and looked back at Denny, giving him a small smile. "I've always liked the 500 thread count sheets at your house."

Denny's eyes lit up. "That means you'll move in?" Alan simply nodded, the lump still in his throat making the ability to speak a bit difficult.

Denny beamed and squeezed Alan's shoulders. "Good man." He gestured to the balcony doors. "Let's go have a drink. It's a little nippy outside, but you can try those on." Denny pointed to the earmuffs still clutched in Alan's hand.

"Certainly." Alan said, feeling extremely happy. And when happy, he usually felt naughtier.

"By the way, I noticed you stole my mistletoe head ornament I wore at the Christmas party last year." Alan told Denny with a mischievous grin.

Denny looked at him with a confused look. "How did you know?"

"You're wearing it."

Denny grinned. "So I am. I'm not the only thief around here."

"Certainly not." Alan said, still grinning. And with that, he decided to act on the impulse that he had in him ever since Denny walked into the office wearing the mistletoe hat. He grabbed Denny by the face and kissed him. Hard. His pulse raced. This was certainly a rush. What was even more of a rush is that Denny made no effort to pull back.

When Alan broke the kiss, Denny's face was bright red. He was licking his lips, and his eyes were downcast, as if he was thinking about something. He then laughed softly, and Alan was relieved Denny wasn't about haul him outside and hurl him off the balcony.

"That was one hell of a kiss." Denny said, giving another little laugh.

"You're not mad?" Alan asked, making sure he wasn't pressing his luck.

"Why should I be? You think I wore this thing just for decoration?" Denny winked.

Alan laughed heartily, much like the Santa Claus he was every year, and threw his arms around Denny's shoulders. Denny made no effort to move as he grinned at Alan.

"Merry Christmas, Denny Crane."

"You too." Denny replied. "Now, are we gonna have that drink or what?"

And as Alan and Denny went out to the balcony with scotch glasses in hand and the winter breeze blowing on their faces, Alan had no doubts in his mind now. This was one of the best Christmases ever. For not just Alan and Denny, but for every one of the people who got their heart's desire this year. And he didn't even have to take himself off the naughty list. Although, considering the fun he had with his little scheme today, and the fun he'll certainly have with Denny, Alan would never want to again.

FIN