Anything and Everything: Winter Dreams

He loved his daughter deeply and as he grew older, Jake Long found it within himself that ability that he thought he would lack when he was younger. It was the ability to be a good father.

Winter was his most favorite time of year, the smells, the sights and the general joyful feeling that you felt whenever you walked into a store and saw all of those sensations bursting together. He was happy, and spending the holiday with his daughter would increase his happiness tenfold. All he had to do was see Alyssa's face when she woke up on Christmas morning and he felt his heart leap with that nameless joy that he was sure all good parents felt.

It was midnight on Christmas Eve in the apartment that he shared with his daughter and he was slaving away, the tree had been up for weeks now, and it was time to finally put presents under it. Jake had been curious to know if Alyssa had found them or not, but right after she went to bed, he went to his hiding place at the bottom of his closet and found them untouched. Now he was faced with the dauntless task of wrapping them.

With his legs crossed, he sat in the middle of the living room floor, gently folding wrapping paper across corner after corner of the countless boxes and stopping every now and then to chew on a cookie that Alyssa had made for Santa, that was another thing that he loved about this time of year, Alyssa did a lot of cookie making. Chuckling to himself, he gingerly placed a bow on the last box and slid it under the tree. There, he had done it, another year had gone off without a flaw and he knew that if he kept acting like this, then he could milk this whole 'Santa really does exist' thing for all it was worth. He would only have a few more years anyway before she figured out the truth, perhaps not even that long.

Alyssa was intuitive and smart, like her mother.

The thought of Rose had always put a damper on his holiday cheer. Jake thought about her every day since she had handed Alyssa over to him in Central Park that night, he wondered what she was doing? How her life was going? Did she miss him? He certainly missed her. His mind didn't venture very far into the assumption that Rose wasn't even alive, she was alive. It was stupid to even think that way. Like him, Christmas was always special to Rose and she wouldn't give up that holiday for the biggest and brightest spot in heaven. But still, he thought about her.

Jake found that he was so lost in his thoughts about his daughter's mother that he had walked to Alyssa's bedroom and he was now staring at the surface of her door. There was no need to dwell on this, if Alyssa was ever curios about her mother, he had always pacified her with the knowledge that her mother loved her. That had always quieted her. But during Christmas time he had noticed something changing about her personality, her free, vivacious spirit had been dampened.

When he had finally gotten up the nerve to ask her what was wrong. He was shocked to know that some of the boy's at her school were making fun of her because she didn't have a mom. Well to say the least, Jake had become everything short of enraged. Being a Dragon didn't help his anger, because from that moment on he had a hard time controlling the urge to go to those little arrogant brat's parents and ripping them to pieces. But he had to keep face for his daughter and make sure that she was happy.

It honestly stumped him. Jake didn't know what he was going to do to bring his daughter's mood up. He didn't want her all depressed through the holidays and have it affect her for the rest of her life. Sighing, he opened the door and using all of the stealth that he was capable of, he peaked in and the sight warmed his heart. Six year old Alyssa Long was bundled up in something that looked like a cocoon of comforters, and she wore the strangest smile on her face. Whatever she seemed to be dreaming about had made her smile for the first time in day, and it made him simile too.

Quietly walking over to her bed, he smiled and brushed the small child's dirty blond locks out of her forehead and lightly kissed her. "Merry Christmas Baby Girl, I'll see you in the morning."

"You never come to these things Rose," James DeMint announced hardily as his detective partner sauntered into the bar, "Glad to see that you are human."

It was the department Christmas Party, and the ballroom at the Los Angeles Hilton was full of Los Angeles's finest. She had arrived late enough, the Mayor and the Chief of Police had already given their droning speeches and now the officers that weren't on duty tonight would proceed to get drunk. Now that she looked around the ballroom, she noticed that even those officers who weren't on duty weren't even there, that was probably attributed to the fact that they had families that they needed to get home too. The officers that were left were single and more than likely found the holiday's depressing as she did. Rose didn't care what other people thought, she probably had the biggest reason to be depressed in the room and that was a fact in her mind. "Shut up Jim."

"Hey," DeMint putting his hands up in mock surrender, "No need to bite my head off. We've all got reasons to be pissy during the holidays."

Throwing her hair back, she sat down on the barstool and waved the bartender over. "Can I get a tall Yeager?"

"Yeah Miss," He nodded, "Is there anything else that I can get you?"

Rose shook her head and looked back at James. "How was the Chief's speech?"

"Boring as hell," He shrugged taking a long drink of his beer, "I should do like you do next year and get here early."

"I almost didn't come this year, as you can probably tell this time of year is pretty shitty for me," Rose said taking the tall necked glass that the bartender had passed her.

Jim looked at her curiously. Sure, he had seen something change in her attitude, once fall changed with November so did Rose. The normally dedicated Rose had grown moody and just generally crappy throughout the days and it had happened every year since she had joined the police force. She really didn't have anything to worry about. It wasn't as if her life was depressing, she could be with anyone she wanted too and he was sure that if she worked hard enough, she could have everything that she could ever want her life. "You want to fill me in on the reason?"

She looked over to him and sighed heavily. "Eh, this would be my kid's sixth Christmas. I just miss her that's all."

"You have a kid?" He asked. His goldfish expression would have been almost comical if it weren't for the shocking revelation of this news.

Rose nodded and slumped slightly. "Yeah, it's a long story and that was another lifetime ago. I had to give her up. So what about you Jim?"

"No woman, no life, my parents are gone and I'm not exactly close with my brother or sister so you know I have no reason to love this time of year either," He smirked raising up his glass and clearing his voice in a dramatic and boisterous fashion that caught the attention of all of the other melancholy officers, "Here's to a Merry Christmas and a crappy New Year!"

She smiled, and raised her glass to his height. "And here's to the hapless losers that this holiday manages to sit on every single year!"

"Here Here!" Jim smiled and they taped their glasses.

When Rose took a sip of her drink, she smiled inwardly, she had her work and that was enough to give her life purpose at this point in time.

He was in that place that was somewhere between awake and asleep, he was aware of everything around him but he found that he couldn't move any of his limbs. Today was Christmas and pretty soon whether he liked it or not, Alyssa would come charging in the room and demand that he wake up. It was a rule between them. None of the gifts would be opened until he was in there to watch her. Being the child that she was, Alyssa always grumbled about it but she had grudgingly agreed to it. "Daddy! Wake Up now!"

Jake opened his eyes and took in a deep breath. At the foot of his bed, Alyssa stood there with her hands on her hips. She wore a scowl that made him laugh. "I'm up, I'm up, why don't you go look in your stocking."

The two Long's shared a grin, Alyssa's was because of the pure excitement of the moment, and Jake's was due to the pure adoration that he felt for his daughter and her well being. "Thanks Daddy!"

"None of those boxes until I get in there!" Jake shouted at her back.

She made a motion that said that she understood and bolted away. Jake chuckled and began to crawl out of the covers. Now this was going to be a good Christmas.

Ten Years Later, Christmas Morning…

When Jake awoke, his eyesight was overflowed with the scent and sight of Rose. Taking a deep breath in, he became intoxicated with the scent of the women who had changed him life for the better. Untangling his arms that were wrapped lovingly around the woman's slim waist, he looked up and as with every year prior, there she was, at the foot the bed. This year was special though, it was their first Christmas together as a family and it had grown exponentially. Rose and Jake had just had their second child, and Alyssa looked as if she was ready to pop any day now. He grinned at her through his sleepy haze. "You know the rules Lyss, stockings first and then the gifts."

"Oh come on Daddy, I'm about to have a kid, I think I've grown up enough." She whined.

In some way or another, Jake knew that Alyssa would always be his little girl. "You're living with me and your mom and we had an agreement that is good until the day you move out. So you and Johnny need to be a little patient with us. And besides, we need to get DJ fed and ready."

"For what exactly Daddy, he's a baby!" She responded sharply.

"He's first Christmas," Jake said with a smile, "Now shoo, go away."

Alyssa pouted and turned on her bare heel to walk out of the room, they were simply following the routine that they had built in the past sixteen, almost seventeen years even though they had to compensate for the added variables of Rose, DJ and Johnny. When Alyssa shut the door to their bedroom, Jake leaned forward and began to lightly nip at his wife's neck. "Time to wake up babe."

"Don't wanna,'" Rose whined back drearily.

"It's Christmas Morning," Jake answered back with a deep set smile.

Leaning forward, he began to blow into her ear, and then a mischievous grin came to his lips as he got an idea. "Rose, Rose you need to wake up now. The apartment is on fire."

And as he expected, Rose's eyes shot open and she bolted out of the bed. There was a look of actually panic on her face that he rarely saw, but he felt more amused than guilty at her reaction, and hey, it had gotten her out of bed. She looked back at him and sneered. "Fuck you."

"On Christmas Morning Rose, Really?" Jake asked with a teasing smile.

Sticking her tongue out, she reached for the robe that was on the back of the door. "I'll get DJ settled and then we can start opening the gifts, did Alyssa give you any problems?"

"No more than she usually does," Jake answered back smoothly, admiring her in the sense that even when she had just bed in bed for several hours, she still managed to look stunning, "What's wrong?"

She looked up to him with a smile, "Nothing is wrong, just trying to take in the day."

"It's just Christmas Rose," He answered, completely failing to remember that this was her first Christmas with them, "It happens once a year and that'll never likely stop."

"I had to get sixteen years without spending Christmas with you or Alyssa," Rose retorted with a bit of a strange shy smile, "Forgive me for being a little sentimental."

Jake felt the breath in his chest catch, and then he smiled. Rose had no idea how much he was happy that she was finally with them to celebrate this holiday and more than likely their holiday blues would never re appear again unless for the worst of reasons. She was here, they had another child together and they were about to celebrate the birth of their first Grandchild. Life it seemed couldn't get any more perfect then it was right now. Jake of course knew that was a long shot, but he'd enjoy this feeling while it lasted. "I feel the same way."

He chuckled when he saw the faint blush appear on his face, and then she turned to walk out of the bedroom. "I'll get DJ ready. You just get in there and get started without me."

"Really, you don't want to be in there when we start?" Jake asked quirking an eyebrow upwards.

She turned just as she was in the doorframe and turned. "Don't worry babe, I'll be along."

Then she was gone, and when he was sure that she disappeared, he leaned up and pinched his own arm.

No, he wasn't dreaming, this was really happening.

And Jake couldn't have been happier.