Friday, December 25, 2009

Mary rubbed her hands together excitedly. In general she wasn't much of a holiday person, but this year was special. Brandi and Peter were in Wisconsin visiting Peter's brother and his wife for the holidays, and Jinx and her new boyfriend who she categorically refused to tell Mary anything about were spending the holiday in Colorado.

So here it was, Christmas morning and all that occupied Mary's FBI renovated living room were herself, a giant pine tree glittering with white lights and shiny white snowflakes, a mound of presents and Marshall Mann.

Most years her partner went home to Idaho for Christmas, but this year he'd chosen to time his yearly homestead visit at Thanksgiving so he could be in Albuquerque for Christmas and New Years'. He claimed it was because Christmas was a hard time for many of their witnesses and he didn't want to be in another state if something went awry; Mary was pretty sure the real reason he stayed was her.

What she wasn't so certain about was whether she should be thrilled or terrified about this. She settled for a little bit of both with a side of childish excitement as she reached for a sparkly paper-covered gift.

Marshall watched her tear away his careful wrapping job in seconds, a silly grin on his face. Mary was so much fun this Christmas. He didn't even mind the five am wake-up call that had him arriving at her door a little before six am. The bouncing, smiling Mary who opened the door for him made any exhaustion well worth it.

He wished he'd thought to spend more holidays in Albuquerque; he might have been able to alleviate the stress his partner felt when she spent that much concentrated time with her family. Then again, this was the first time in years that another man hadn't swooped in and taken his place at Mary's side.

"A Calendar?"

Mary's incredulous voice broke through Marshall's thoughts. His grin grew. "It's a Holiday Calendar," he explained, taking the excuse to sit on the floor beside her and lean close to point out the tiny labels dotting the calendar pages. "See? It has a holiday on almost every day."

"Thomas Crapper Day?" Mary raised both eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"Thomas Crapper, inventor of the ballcock-"

Mary snorted with laughter.

"—which is the mechanism that allows the tank at the back of the toilet to fill with water so you can flush your toilet. He's a very important man."

"Jesus, Marshall. Is there anything you don't know?"

"One or two, but I'm working on it."

"Idiot." Mary swatted him upside the head.

"Hey!"

Grinning unrepentantly Mary gave him a one armed hug. "Thanks for the calendar, Doofus."

They spent the rest of the morning unwrapping gifts, drinking coffee and devouring the sticky buns Marshall had brought for breakfast. It was the best Christmas either of them could remember.