Disclaimer: The show and the characters belong to CBS and Viacom. They are merely being borrowed for this piece of fan fiction.
Author's Note: The city of Garden City mentioned in this story is fictional. This is a short Christmas Story that is complete. I will post a chapter a day through Christmas Eve. Thanks again for the encouragement on my first story and once again a huge thanks to my guardian angel.
The Greatest Gift
Chapter 1
Steve paced impatiently outside of the latest crime scene. His cell phone was pressed close to his ear and each ring only added to his impatience. "Come on, Dad, answer the phone." He snapped the phone shut as he got Mark's voice mail.
"What's wrong?" asked Cheryl as she joined him.
"I promised Dad I would help him distribute the gifts in the children's ward today, and I'm afraid I'm not going to make it now," Steve answered.
"Well, let's get started and see how far we get. Maybe, you can still make it," Cheryl offered optimistically.
~~****~~
Mark glanced at his watch once again and wondered where his son was. Steve had told him he would be here. He had tried to call his cell phone and had gotten Steve's voice mail. It was not like him to not call if he was going to be late. He probably just got tied up on a case and lost track of the time, I'm sure he'll be here any minute. Mark thought to himself.
~~****~~
"Cheryl, we are not getting anywhere here," Steve voiced with irritation.
"Did you think we were going to come back in here and find the murderer waiting for us?" Cheryl asked with an arched eyebrow. "You know how this works."
Steve held up his hands. "I know, I know, it's just all taking to long. I'm going to try and call dad again."
~~****~~
Mark stood with his phone pressed to his ear counting the rings. Come on Steve, pick up, Mark requested silently. After numerous rings with no answer Mark hung up.
~~****~~
Dad, where are you? Answer the phone, was Steve's thought.
"Did you get him?" Cheryl asked.
"No, I didn't," Steve barked. "Where could he possibly be?"
"I don't know Steve, he is a doctor at one of the biggest hospitals in LA maybe he's treating patients," she stated with a hint of sarcasm.
"Why thank you, Detective Obvious, like I didn't know he was a doctor," was Steve's equally sarcastic response.
Cheryl couldn't suppress the smirk that graced her feature.
Steve folded his arms across his chest and stared at her intently. "And, what was that look about?"
"Oh, nothing….," Cheryl trailed off.
"You don't get off that easy, what was the look for?" Steve demanded.
"It's just that when you get like this, you remind me of a petulant child that hasn't gotten its way," she responded.
Steve's brows drew together in a rather impressive scowl. "You think so do you, and how often have you been around children to make that kind of observation?"
"You don't have to have been around children a lot to be able to identify a tantrum when you see one," she responded confidently. "Now, if you really want to get to the hospital we need to go check out our victim's secondary address."
Steve's shoulder lifted as he sighed. "Where is the other address?"
"It's just outside Garden City," Cheryl responded.
"Isn't that where the horse farms are? Cheryl, that's way out," Steve whined.
Lord, save me from spoiled, whiney men. Cheryl thought. "Yes, it is, so that means we need to leave now."
"Well what are we standing around here for?" Steve asked as he stormed towards the car.
Cheryl rolled her eyes heavenward, and wondered how much pressure one could actually place on their tongue with their teeth, and not break the skin.
~~****~~
Mark sat in the doctor's lounge and once again tried to call his son. His frustration mounted as his response was once again voice mail. He sighed heavily and abruptly slammed the phone on the table.
"Problem?" came the voice from the doorway.
"Oh, hello, Jesse, yes I guess you could say it's a problem. Steve was supposed to help me give out the gifts to the children today. I haven't been able to get hold of him."
"Did you call the station?" Jesse inquired.
"Yes, and they said he had been called to a scene, but if it was going to take this long he should have called," Mark responded with a touch of anger.
~~****~~
For what he felt like must be the 100th time Steve pulled his phone out and swore when once again the display read 'no signal'. "Dammit."
"I'm sure cussing at it will make all the difference in the world," responded a slightly bored voice from the other side of the car.
"Well, I don't know why we had to drive out here to the middle of nowhere today, I mean its Christmas Eve."
"Ok, then let me tell you a little story," Cheryl responded and this time her voice was full of sarcasm. "Twas, the night before Christmas….," she stopped as she was interrupted by a growl from her partner.
"Banks, I'm not in the mood," Steve growled.
"You're not? Why you could have fooled me, I thought you were just oozing with Christmas cheer," she responded with an arched eyebrow.
Steve threw her a disgruntled look. "Are we close yet?"
Cheryl glanced at the map, and then at the street sign they were passing. They had turned off the main highway sometime ago, and had been traveling on the small two lane road for several miles. Houses had become scarcer the further they went. "It's the next road on the left." Her only response was a grunt and the flicking on of the turn signal.
~~****~~
Mark surveyed the expectant faces in front of him. Each of them had a reason to be angry, sad or both, but instead their faces still reflected the innocence and hopefulness of youth. Their illnesses varied in severity. Some would be leaving soon, and others unfortunately would not be going home at all. He dropped his head as for a moment the emotions threatened to overwhelm him. When he lifted his head again a smile covered his face and he plucked a quarter from behind the ear of the girl closest to him. From then on, he entertained the children and the assembled adults till their jaws ached from their laughter and smiles. His own enjoyment however, was tempered by the absence of
the child he loved to entertain above all others.
~~****~~
Steve and Cheryl sat in the car in front of their destination. "Doesn't look like anyone is around," Steve commented.
"No, it looks pretty deserted," Cheryl responded. "Are you ready?"
Steve glanced at his watch and realized there was no way he was going to make it to the hospital. His dad would be in the middle of his magic routine right now, and the gift distribution was next. Resigning himself to that fact, he turned to face his partner. "Yeah, let's get this over with."
They approached the front door and rang the doorbell. After they received no response they knocked and identified themselves. When the door remained closed Cheryl inserted the key that had been removed from their victim and they entered the house. They walked through the house together to secure the scene. "Clear," said Steve.
"Clear," responded Cheryl. "I'll start in the master bedroom."
"Ok, I'll start in the family room," was Steve's response. He had been searching through the drawers in the desk when it occurred to him to check his cell phone again. Much to his delight when he flipped the phone open the dreaded 'no signal' had disappeared. He jumped up and began moving towards the bedroom. "Cheryl, I've got a signal," Steve yelled as he made his way through the house. He pushed the redial button and heard the sweet sound of rings. As he reached the bedroom door he looked up and nearly dropped the phone. Cheryl stood facing him with a look of frozen fear on her face. A man stood behind her with one arm around her neck and the other was holding a gun that was pressed firmly to her temple. He vaguely heard his father calling his name.
"Slowly remove your gun from your belt, and drop it on the floor or the lady dies," the man instructed.
Steve slid his phone in his pocket taking care not to disconnect the call. He hoped his father could tell something was going on. He then slowly slid his jacket back, and removed his gun from the holster and laid it on the ground.
"Very good," the man responded as he removed the gun from Cheryl's temple and pulled the trigger.
~~****~~
Mark had been delighted when his phone rang. As he looked at the display and saw Steve's number his good humor only increased. "Hi, Son," he greeted. He had been puzzled when Steve didn't respond. He could hear voices in the background. He listened intently when suddenly they became clearer. He heard the threat that probably was directed at Cheryl. He heard the order to remove the gun, and then he heard noises that made his knees weak. He heard the sound of gunfire and then a grunt in close proximity to the phone. "Steve!"