Inspiration for this song is purely Michael Buble and Thalia's Mis Deseos/Feliz Navidad duet. This came on and I couldn't help but think it was a perfect dance song for Nathan and Elena. I am falling hella hard for this fandom
Elena Fisher slowly scanned the room she was sitting in. She had purposely positioned herself on the side of the bar with the best view of the room. Swallowing the remnants of the beer in her glass, she nodded in agreement when the bartender asked if she wanted another. Her Spanish was still rusty, but the blonde has become adept at asking for another cerveza in the last six months she had spent in Mexico City. Very little else was necessary. It was an easy assignment for her. The elections were still several months away and she was the Tribune's sole reporter in the area. Peña Nieto was in a rough bid for re-election but it was just as easy for her to compile her reports off of local papers she ran through Google Translate with dubs over her own footage than to actually attempt to report it herself as she had the first couple months. This made her life easier, but also left her with too much free time for the rest of this year long assignment. As Miguel slid another beer to her, Elena offered a weak smile and a mouthed 'gracias', but she felt nothing like celebrating. Miguel leaned over the bar and offered his best advice in slightly broken English.
"Miss Elena, you drink in sadness every night, but tonight is a night for celebration! Es Noche Buena! I think you call it Christmas Eve?"
"Miguel, you know the drill. I just want my beer and my peace. I can't help that the party is at my hotel tonight."
Miguel raised his hands to signal his quick defeat. "I know, Miss Elena! I try to make you happy. Every night. At least promise some lucky man a dance tonight. The best of Mexico City is here!"
"Miguel!" Elena shot back, the smallest of smiles creeping to the corners of her mouth. "You know I have a husband. We've talked about this"
"Si" Miguel acknowledged, hanging his head. "You talk of you esposo, but we never seen even a picture! I think you pretend!"
Elena's smile disappeared as quickly as it had entered. "You know, Miguel, sometimes I almost think I have made him up". The bartender pretended to make busy with other patrons to extract himself form an awkward situation and left Elena at the end of the bar. Elena watched the other patrons have a good time. It was quite a celebration. All the press members had gathered at her hotel's bar. First for the awful karaoke (which Miguel had loved too much) and now for live singers and dancing. Several newer members of the press had tried to pull her to the dance floor, but they would soon learn the same lesson as the tenured members in the area; Elena Fisher was not interested. She took another sip of the beer when Miguel once again sauntered to the corner of the bar.
"Miss Elena. I apologize for earlier. Let's drink together and be friends." He placed a shot glass in front of her. Miguel was a great guy, but he also was heavy handed with the liquor. He saw her eye the glass suspiciously. "Miss Elena! If you wish to not celebrate, just drink. You will celebrate or sleep bueno!" he scrunch his face and attempted the english "sleep. Good?"
"Well," Elena quickly corrected. Miguel's eager face tempted her to grab the shot glass. "Just one, Miguel. You know I don't handle my liquor well. Especially shots poured by you". It took two gulps to down the clear liquid. She chased it quickly with her beer. "I will definitely sleep tonight," she lamented between drinks of beer. Miguel once again retreated elsewhere to serve his other customers and Elena was left to her own thoughts. They were not kind to her. Although she had been able to convince herself Christmas Eve was not a big deal, the significance of the holiday was creeping into her mind quickly. Her own family had always celebrated Christmas on the 24th, so the day had personal significance. While she was beginning to wallow in her own self pity, she felt the warmth of the alcohol slowly take over her brain slightly, a feeling she welcomed and feared. She looked around and soaked up the merriment around her. Reporters and affiliates of every news organization with a semi-permanent installment in the city were there. Laughing. Drinking. Enjoying one another. Elena continued to sit at the bar, facing all the festivities but easily refraining from joining in. She had bothered to dress up enough for the occasion, trading in her khakis and functional button up shirts for an a-line black dress. Not glitzy like many of her contemporaries, but she didn't want to seem out of place. Her hair remained in it's usual updo and only a smattering of lipgloss that hadn't worn off on the shot glass remained from her attempt at dressing up.
"Miss! Miss!" Miguel once again appeared in her peripheral vision. There we other bartenders manning the area, but Miguel was always the only worker brave enough to bear her awful temper. She did always tip him kindly for the effort, but even she knew he would probably refuse her tips one day for customers with better demeanors.
"I don't need a refill, Miguel," she replied automatically. "Not yet, anyway."
"Yes, yes," he responded automatically. "The drill," he continued with a small amount of mockery in his voice. "I have a…" he searched for the English word to no avail. He tossed the small crumpled up receipt paper to her. "Secreto!" he whispered loudly across the bar. Miguel was obviously excited at what was happening. A new duo was headed to the stage and began a slow intro to what was surely Feliz Navidad. Miguel looked on proudly. "Esta canción!"
"It's just secret, Miguel." Elena retorted sarcastically, thinking this was a joke of his. She had seen the barkeep's scrawl across these receipt paper often. This was not his handwriting, however. Go. To. The. Bathroom. Elena looked around the room slowly. If this was someone's attempt at a bad come-on, it was not going to work. Without attempting to draw attention to herself, she very slowly scanned the room, while pushing her right hand to her thigh to ensure her gun was still strapped to her upper thigh. There wasn't a real reason to assume she would need to pull it, but it was a comfort to know it was there. When she finished her scan she rested her eyes behind the bar. Everything was as expected, except a new bartender stood on the other end. They locked eyes long enough for him to nod affirmatively to the blonde. She recognized Victor Sullivan even without the mustache. Feeling safe, she slowly pulled away from the barstool she had come so attentive to over the last half year. While walking toward the bathroom in the corner of the room, she looked closer at the singers on stage. She recognized the female as they made eye contact. 'Chloe!' she mouthed silently. The brunette smiled and nodded slowly while crooning along to the duet. Elena continued slowly toward the bathroom. Could this mean? Was he here?
Before she could answer her own question, a hand covered her mouth and she was pulled into an ample sized supply closet just before the entrance to the women's restroom. She heard the click of the lock behind her and she turned around to see Nate, her husband. Without missing a beat, he held out one hand "Chloe and Sully promised me one song. Care to dance?" As the chorus rose, Nate took her hand and began to dance with her closely.
"Nate," Elena choked out, attempting to hold back tears. She had so many questions, but knew their time was short and sacred. She rested her head on his strong pectoral and sighed contently. "How did you get away from the Teotihuacan dig?" The trio had been hiding out in the ancient ruins by day and completing their own digs when the archaeologists went to sleep at night. It was far less exciting than going after other ancient treasures, but there was also far less chance at being shot. The biggest disadvantage was the self imposed communication blackout they had induced upon theirselves to prevent being discovered.
"Apparently they value Christmas Eve as much as you do," he responded softly and directly into her ear. "Many of them went home and we were able to sneak past the few remaining archaeologists."
The two continued to dance to the song. Chloe and her male counterparts voice wafted through the walls, becoming more intertwined as the song continued. Even Chloe attempting to spread out the duet could only last so long, and Nathan had selfish thoughts on his mind. Rubbing his hands along Elena's backside, he commented on the area. "Carrying a piece, I see? You know how sexy I find that." He reached under her dress and removed the gun. His hands continued to wander and soon the pair had fallen out of time with the music and in time with their own rapid breathing. As the two had lost their stamina for one another during their time apart, they both peaked as quickly as the song did. As the song ended, they could hear Chloe yell a call of Otra Vez, to which the crowd clamored for an encore. She had bought the couple a few more precious moments together.
"Well as good as it felt in the moment, I don't think being bent over a table in a supply closet was my thought of a Merry Christmas," Elena commented to break the silence.
Nate chuckled. "I heard no complaints."
"You were so quick I didn't have time to!'
"I am pretty sure I wasn't the only one finishing up quickly," he accused while wagging his finger. "Anyway, if that hadn't gone quickly, how could I give you this?" he asked while pulling a necklace out of his pocket. It had a beautiful geode hanging on the end, likely from the dig.
She fell into his arms. The necklace didn't matter. It was too gaudy for her tastes anyway. What did matter was the precious time she had here with spouse. She slowly rocked in his arms and let the tears slowly fall. These were tears of joy. "Nate?" she began cautiously. He looked down into her eyes. "After I finish this assignment and you finish your dig, let's be done. Let's be a real husband and wife".
Nate nodded slowly. "Yes. Let's." He gingerly kissed her on the forehead and took a deep breath. "I need to go".
Elena nodded. She could hear the second round of Chloe's song wrapping up, signifying their time together had some to an end. "Promise me."
Nate's smile became warm and he brought his lips directly to Elena's ear for a quick nuzzle. "I promise. After this it will just be us". He laughed aloud. "Well Sully will probably be around. I don't think I can get rid of him at this point". As the song wrapped up, he held Elena tight. "Stay in here a few minutes to give us a chance to leave". He turned to the door and placed his hand on the handle. "Feliz Navidad, Elena."
Elena watched him go then whispered in response "prospero año y Felicidad".
It was going to be a good year.