Title: Love, Christmas
Author: Dancing Star
Crossover: PSI Factor / Sue Thomas FBEye
Pairing: Connor / Lindsay, Jack / Sue
Rating: 12
Category: Romance
Content: Lindsay has to leave Canada because she has Problems with the Immigration Department. Connor has an idea…
Comments: I wish you a merry Christmas. I wish you a merry Christmas. I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Love, Christmas

Like every morning, Connor Doyle waited at the entrance of Cedar Falls Park for his coworker Lindsay Donner to share the way to the office with her. The road through the park was also a shortcut that saved them a ten minute walk.
They worked for several years in the same office and were good friends. They stuck together, survived three department heads and their terror masters and always had an open ear for the other's problems.
It was a few days before Christmas. The city was buried under a blanket of snow and cold wind turned the lakes and ponds in ice rinks.
"Good morning," Connor greeted her, "Coffee?", he asked, handing her a paper cup. He knew how she drank her coffee and every morning he brought her a cup of his favorite café, because his subway train always arrived five minutes earlier than hers.
"Thank you. I really need this", Lindsay desperately drank a sip in a hurry. While she was talking, her blond ponytail danced around her shoulders.
"The weekend was too short again, huh?", he had to grin.
Lindsay shook her head. "No, the weekend was horrible," she said and now she told him what had happened during the past days.

On Saturday morning, the doorbell rang unexpectedly and a man in a suit was standing before her. Under his arm he carried a briefcase and he looked at her seriously. "Are you Lindsay Donner?", he asked.
"Yes," she said, "And you are...?"
"Oh, sorry," the man reached into his pocket for his ID. When he found it, he held the piece of paper in front of Lindsay. "I'm Marcus Johnson, Immigration Department." Now he handed her a letter.
"Immigration Department?," she repeated and Mr. Johnson continued undeterred: "Miss Donner, my office received a notification of a violation of your rights of residence... In this letter you will find everything you need to know. "
"That can´t be... I...", she now complained.
"It´s true. As you may know, Miss Donner you don´t have a visa for Southern America. Recently, however, an entry of your arrival in Argentina was recorded.
"I was there for business reasons," Lindsay said defensively, but Mister Johnson didn´t notice: "...And this unauthorized stay will have the result you have to return to America…. Remember? The place where you´re born… You have four weeks to manage your move to the United States. Have a nice day ", with these words Mr. Johnson left.

"What do you mean, you have to return to America?", Connor said. He didn´t know that Lindsay wasn´t born in Canada but in America. He knew she once lived there, but…
"What this means?", she repeated a little stunned, "Well, in one month I have to leave Canada. Then I´ll lose my job, my home and my friends... ", she and Connor sat down on a park bench which wasn´t covered with snow and ice, so her gray coat wouldn´t become dirty, "The only way out is marrying a Canadian. But I have no idea where I should get a man from within four weeks including a wedding."
The idea flashed through Connor's head like a lightning. "Well," he began, "You don´t have to agree."
When Lindsay heard that, she knew what was coming now. At least she thought she knew it.
"We could start a fake marriage", no sooner he had said that, he shrugged his shoulders and sipped his coffee as if nothing had happened, "I mean we can end this marriage after a few month when you received your Canadian passport..."
"Do you know this is a crime?," she suddenly asked and Connor nodded.
"You need help," he said, "If you have better ideas..."
"No. Your idea is…. good." She had no idea what she should do. She had thought in desperation, if she perhaps should sign up in a dating agency and hopefully would meet a man who was willing to marry her as soon as possible. Of course Connors suggestion would erase her search and another advantage was that they already knew for a long time. And he also said they could be separated again... The idea was absurd, but Lindsay agreed, on the condition they´d end the little game as soon as they had a better idea.
Connor also agreed. He handed her his cell phone. "You can call that Mr. Johnson and tell him you want to get married."

The next day, a Tuesday, Lindsay received an email from Mr. Johnson and when she read what he wrote to her, she printed out the text and ran to Connor´s office. She had hoped that her problems would be done with her call at the Immigration Department. More disappointed she was when she realized this wasn´t the case.
Almost silently Lindsay crept in Connors office and closed the door. He just talked to someone on the phone and when he noticed her he ended the conversation. "Hi," he said, looking at her face.
"This Mister Johnson knows something´s wrong," she sounded panicked and showed him the email, "He wrote he´ll will visit us in the next four weeks and check our story." Lindsay sank exhausted against a filing cabinet and leaned on it. "What shall I do?", she began to regret the call and Connor suggested to her she should sit down before even her circulation was weak.
"I know what we can do," Connor said and Lindsay was excited to hear his idea: "Bring some of your stuff to me, so it looks like we sometimes live together."
"Okay," she agreed, "Maybe we should prepare some answers... In case Mr. Johnson will ask typical couple- questions."
"Good idea," Connor nodded and they decided to meet after work tonight.

Lindsay left the office an hour earlier and at home she packed a few things in a box, which she would later take to Connor's apartment. She threw an old flannel pajama in the box because she wouldn´t miss this and she also didn´t mind if it was missing in her own apartment. Then she took the box to Connors apartment.
He was living in the top floor of an eight-storyed apartment building and luckily there was a lift. Once in his apartment, Connor first took the carton from her. She had to admit his apartment looked really nice and she was sure they could act like a couple when Mister Johnson was visiting them.
"Would you like something to drink?", Connor asked while he took her coat. Outside, it was still snowing and even from here Lindsay could see the snowflakes falling from the sky in the darkness.
"No, thanks," she replied and went ahead in the living area, "You have a very nice apartment." And it was greater than hers. She heard how Connor thanked her and in the kitchen he got a glass of water ready for her. When he came to her, he put the glass down in front of her and grabbed a stack of paper, which was also on the coffee table.
"I found this on the Internet," he said, "These are possible questions that Mr. Johnson could ask us."
Lindsay thought it was good he had prepared and they leafed through the questionnaire. "Where did your partner visit school?", Lindsay read aloud.
"It's quite difficult to answer," Connor said, "When I was a child, my family often moved because my father was working in the Canadian army and we almost moved to a new place every two years but we used to travel to Alberta every year and meet there for ice fishing. It´s almost like a Canadian family tradition. Maybe this year you can come with me and meet my family…"
"I would love to", Lindsay nodded and hurried to drink a sip, "By the way I went to school in Seattle."
"I know," Connor smiled.
"Yes, and you know how I like my coffee... At least that's an answer we know." Of course they knew a lot about each other because of their long friendship, but during the evening they found out, they didn´t know the details and that fact surprised Lindsay: For example, she had no idea that Connor had worked for an airline at the check in desk to finance his studies. Lindsay laughed when he told her about this and Connor asked why that was so funny. She hadn´t realized he had started giving her red wine instead of mineral water and although they were busy with studying their questions, their evening was really fun. Almost like a date, she thought. She and Connor had no regular partner, but they never thought about going out together. Of course Connor sometimes invited her for lunch but she had never been to his apartment before and she hadn´t met him with the intention of dating him. It wasn´t for the reason that he wasn´t attractive. Quite the contrary. When she thought about it, she admitted he looked good. But she had never asked herself if she wanted a relationship with him.
"...Okay, the next question is…," Connor said at some point and they were quite far in the catalog, "How did you notice your partner?... I suppose the question should be called: How did you meet? "
When Connor looked at her face he saw Lindsay blushing. "What?"
"Well, we first met at work," her voice was suddenly nervous.
"Yes, but you treated me like a colleague. How did we become friends?", Connors asked and her behavior showed him that Lindsay didn´t want to talk about it. She replied he knew the story and it was true: He could still remember the day when Lindsay showed up at his office and cheekily said her printer wouldn´t work anymore. She asked to use his computer and just print out something. Somehow she had then managed to involve him in a conversation and he noted he liked the blonde woman who stopped him in the next three hours of work. Therefore he didn´t understand what her problem was.
"You´re embarrassed about this printer- story?"
"No, I´m not," she admitted, "It wasn´t the printer... It was Claire, "she finally answered and Connor didn´t understand. Claire was their colleague.
"One day Claire came to me and asked me if I could help her to get your phone number," Lindsay admitted, "And then I told her you have a girlfriend," she now shrugged her shoulders, "Yes, and I have to admit I invented this story because I didn´t want her to go out with you."
Connor wanted to say something, but at that moment there was a knock at the door. "Wait a second," he muttered, getting up to respond to the visit. When he opened the door, a Golden Retriever lumbered in his apartment and went to Lindsay. She petted the dog. "Lindsay, those are my neighbors and friends Jack and Sue," Connor introduced them. Jack and Sue lived right next door and seemed to be a very nice couple. They both had no wedding rings, so Lindsay thought, they weren´t married. "We have something for you," Jack handed him an envelope which now included as an invitation to their wedding. Suddenly Lindsay was freezing cold, because she remembered that her friends would soon receive an invitation, too. Her friends had no idea this it wasn´t a real wedding, but she only married Connor so she wouldn´t have to return to America.
"Lindsay and I will also get married soon," Connor told his friends and suddenly Jack and Sue were surprised. They had never seen Lindsay before and because they knew Connor for a long time, they actually thought he'd introduce them his future wife before...
"We thought about getting married in the next four weeks," he added and Lindsay could see that Jack and Sue's faces were more terrified. Lindsay knew it was wrong to tell them about it. She would prefer to do this secretly and no one would notice. Then friends and family wouldn´t be involved in the drama of divorcement. Oh God! For the first time Lindsay was aware she was a divorcee when it was over and she felt sick, although she didn´t want to. She was relieved when Connor somehow managed to send his friends from his home.
"My goodness, you really want to get serious?", Lindsay asked when they were alone again and Connor nodded, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Today I got another mail from Mr. Johnson," she told him about this now, because she had hoped in some way to hold back this information.
"We have an appointment for Mr. Johnson's visit," she added, "It´s 21th December. "
"It's tomorrow", it occurred to Connor, "Are these authorities ever vacationing?" Even more urgent then the questionnaire was now to give a personal note of Lindsay to his apartment.

The next day was their last day of work before the office was vacationing over the holidays. Because Mr. Johnson was announced for tonight, Lindsay had come to Connors apartment after work. She glanced nervously at the clock and walked restlessly through the apartment. They had prepared the apartment almost perfectly: a spare toothbrush was in the bathroom, some clothing from her had gathered in Connor's cabinet, she had put some of her books and CDs to his on the shelf, she decorated Connor´s home with perfumed candles and she had bought a small indoor herb garden for the kitchen.
They didn´t know exactly when Mr. Johnson wanted to show up. Probably he would come around 10 p.m. so Lindsay had decided to stay in the guest room if necessary. The old flannel pajama was just right!
"Are you hungry?", Connor said, when the night grew longer. He didn´t wait for her answer, but started cooking. "I learn something new about your every day," Lindsay muttered, who was standing in the doorway, watching him. Connor grinned, "At least I'm not boring."
"No you're not," she came to him, "Shall I help you?" She checked what he wanted to cook and because Pasta was a simple dish, he actually didn´t need her help. Nevertheless, she managed somehow to get a plate of tomatoes and blocked his way. They were so close to each other that their bodies almost touched and she apologized. Connor took the plate with the tomatoes from her and put it next to the stove. "I told you, you don´t have to help me," he teased her, but she didn´t care. Lindsay didn´t know why, but suddenly her right hand was on his shoulder and she leaned forwards to kiss him. It was only one kiss and she pulled away with an almost frightened face.
"I...", she tried to apologize again, but at that moment she felt one of his hands on her waist and on her neck and he pulled her back to continue kissing her. This time they didn´t stop after one kiss and this reaction surprised Lindsay. They didn´t bother a bit, as a fork fell to the ground, because Connor had pressed her a little too vigorously against the counter behind her. Their kisses became more passionately and she moaned disappointed when suddenly someone knocked on the door.
"Are this Jack and Sue?", she asked breathlessly.
"Or Mister Johnson...", Connor recalled and she nodded. Nervously, she went to the door to open, but instead of Mister Johnson a woman with long dark hair was standing in front of the door. Lindsay had never seen her before.
"Connor, who is that?", Lindsay asked, still horrified and now Connor appeared beside her in the door.
"Um, this is my mother," he admitted, "I forgot she and my father wanted to come over during the Christmas holidays."
"Hearing this is very sad", his mother said, "I´m very disappointed," the woman walked past her and entered the apartment. She saw the head with boiling spaghetti on the stove and asked if she had just disturbed. Then she added, "Your grandmother is here, too, by the way. Your father helps her just out of the car."
"What?", Connor asked, but then he decided to settle down, "Well, it doesn´t bother me if grandmother is also here... But why didn´t you first go to the hotel?"
"We don´t have any hotel," his mother answered and brought her case to the guest room. Actually Lindsay should be sleeping there.
Connor's mother was coming back to them and noticed both were still standing next to the door. "Anyway, I'm April," Connors mother reached for Lindsay's hand.
"I'm Lindsay, and..."
"She's my girlfriend," Connor put an arm around Lindsay´s shoulders, so that his mother wouldn´t become suspicious. At this moment Connors father and his grandmother entered the apartment. "Doug, did you know your son has a girlfriend?", April wanted to know from her husband who shook his head. Grandmother Agatha seemed to be very happy about this fact. "Then we won´t disturb the young couple and go to bed. The travel was very complicated", Agatha said. And as if it were a matter of course, she added, "See you tomorrow at breakfast."

They waited for Mr. Johnson until late at night and hoped they could smuggle him past to his family. But Mr. Johnson didn´t come.
Because they didn´t know if he probably would arrive tomorrow before breakfast, Lindsay couldn´t go back home to her own apartment. She couldn´t sleep on the couch because his family thought they were a happy couple. And the guest room was already passé. So they decided to share his room. After he had kissed her in the kitchen today, Connor had hoped to flirt with her during dinner but they were constantly disturbed by his parents. Sometime Grandmother Agatha even sat to them to eat with them. The old lady then asked them a lot about their relationship.
Connor was relieved they were at least alone in his room.
"I'm sorry," Connor called to her and Lindsay came back from the bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth. "What do you mean?," she asked, as she scrubbed her teeth.
"I forgot that my parents came over to visit me for Christmas," he rolled his eyes, but Lindsay couldn´t see this, "Since I live here, they never visited me in Toronto during the Christmas season."
"Where do your parents live now?"
"In Calgary."
Lindsay went back to the bathroom to rinse her mouth. She reached for the faucet and this turned into a fountain of bubbling water. She screamed when the cold water hit her torso. A few seconds later Connor stood in the doorway and then rushed to turn off the main water tap. Lindsay was relieved that the fountain was dry. Then she realized her old red flannel pajama was soaked. What should she do? At that moment, she regretted she had only brought this old pajama.
"Are you okay?", Connor wanted to know when he walked into the bathroom again and saw the small lake at the bottom. He grabbed a towel to mop up the water.
"Yes," Lindsay murmured. She apologized a thousand times for the destroyed faucet and Connor admitted it had caused problems. She helped him to remove the water and when they were finished half an hour later, Connor was the first to go to bed.
"I know it sounds childish," he began when he was about to leave Lindsay alone in the bathroom, "But if you want to build you a protective barrier, I got you some extra pillows." With that, he closed the door behind him.
Lindsay stayed in the little room and looked at her reflection. She was still wearing her wet pajama and she wondered if she should ask Connor to borrow her a T-shirt. But she decided to leave it. Instead, she would take off her pajamas and sleep in underwear today. Tomorrow, she would get up before Connor, so he wouldn´t see her like that. Tomorrow night, she hopefully could return to her own apartment. At the thought of the scene in the kitchen, she became dizzy. Just imagine what they might have done if Connors mother wouldn´t have knocked on the door...!
So she remained in his bathroom and waited until Connor was asleep. Then she crept through the bedroom and threw the extra- cushions which Connor had bought for her, from her side of the bed. They were finally grown up people, she thought.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.
When we finally kiss, good night,
how I'll hate going out in the storm.
But if you really hold me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm.

The fire is slowly dyin'
And my dear we're still good-byein',
As long as you love me so
Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow. ("Let it snow" by Frank Sinatra)

The next morning, Lindsay woke up before Connor did (as planned) and she was surprised to find his mother already working in the kitchen. April was preparing breakfast and asked Lindsay if she could help her a little. Soon after, the rest of the Doyle family was awake.
"Good morning," she greeted Connor and he came to her.
"Coffee?," she asked and gave him a cup. Connor thanked her when she handed him the hot drink with a fabulous smile. But he didn´t reach for the cup, but her hand and pulled her to him to kiss her. Then he pointed to the mistletoe over their heads, let her go and sat down at the table with his family. Lindsay sat next to him and tried to analyze the strange feeling in her stomach.
"I didn´t know you have a girlfriend," Connors father Doug admitted, "In your home there are no pictures of her." He bit into his toast with jam.
Inwardly thanked Lindsay for pointing this out, because they had completely forgotten this detail. If they had time, they would have to put up some photos of her in the apartment.
"I'm not the type for photos in my apartment," Connor complained. In fact, only one framed art print was hanging in his kitchen and in his living room hung some framed postcards of recent trips abroad.
"You have a picture of you in front of the pyramids in Egypt on your refrigerator. That's enough, hm?", Doug Doyle stared laughing out loud and no one knew why.
A knock at the door destroyed Lindsay hopes they could fix the problem with the photos. Nevertheless, she got up and opened the door. As she had expected, Mister Johnson stood before her. Because it was very cold today, he was wearing a heavy winter coat and gloves, which made it impossible to hold his briefcase.
"You're late. We had an appointment yesterday ", Lindsay remembered him and stepped aside.
"I don´t have appointments," the man told her, "So the suspects can´t prepare for my visits."
Lindsay repeated his words in her mind.
"Who is that?", Agatha wanted to know when Lindsay led the man into the apartment.
"This is Mister Johnson..."
"I´m with the Immigration Department. We suspect that the two start a fake marriage so Miss Donner can stay in the country... ", the man's eyes glistened because he was sure there would be trouble when the family found out.
"You want to marry?", Connor's mother said, Agatha got up from her chair.
"If my grandson wants to get married then there is no doubt. I don´t think this is a fake marriage", the old lady declared. But then she began to lie: "We know Lindsay for so long and it´s impossible that everything is a lie... And if you excuse us now, we have to organize a wedding! ", with these words Grandmother Agatha sent out Mr. Johnston.
"Not so fast, young lady. First I have to check the apartment", Mister Johnson said and started looking at the rooms. In Connors bedroom he even opened the cupboard and Lindsay was relieved a few of her clothes were in there. "You traveled to Egypt, Mister Doyle?", he asked when he saw the photo of Connor in front of the Pyramids, "Where´s your girlfriend in that picture?"
"She was taking the photo", Connor replied. When Lindsay closed the door behind him, Connor expected a complaint by his parents.
"I... I should go to my own place and get a few things, "Lindsay thought it was the perfect excuse. She wouldn´t come back as long as Connors family was still here. "You can´t go home," Connor's grandmother said and was coming as fast as her cane allowed to her, "We would like to know you a little more," Agatha led her back to the table, "Finally, you´re a part of our family soon. "
"Why didn´t you tell us you want to get married?," April asked and she sounded hurt.
"We... We thought you should first meet each other," Connor tried to apologize. He watched his stunned parents, still sitting at the table. "It's important that you both love each other," the old woman said, "And now we need to organize a wedding... When will you get married?"
"Well," Lindsay looked at Connor unsure, "Actually, we had an appointment in four weeks..."
"Oh, why don´t you get married this week?", Agatha suggested, "Then, the whole family is in town." Agatha's eyes lit up. "Let's call the registry office immediately... And Lindsay: Do you have a dress?"
Because of the shock, caused by Mister Johnson´s visit, she could only shake her head in silence. So Grandmother Agatha decided they would have to buy a dress. Connor and Lindsay currently had a few days off so that shouldn´t be a problem.
Connor and his father watched how Agatha and April went to the door and Lindsay followed them slowly. When Agatha went into the guest room to get her purse, Connor followed his grandmother to help her. He was glad they had a moment alone. "Grandmother, do you know you just lied to the man?", Connor asked.
"Why? Does that mean you don´t love Lindsay and you want to start a fake marriage?"
"I meant, you don´t know Lindsay for years."
"This is your life and if you love her, you shouldn´t care about the Immigration Department. It doesn´t matter where you come from," Agatha smiled and using her cane she made her way to the door.

They found a bridal shop in the festively decorated downtown of Toronto and when Lindsay saw the beautiful dresses, the queasy feeling came back to her stomach. While April picked out a dress for her, Lindsay had to sit down for a moment and she sat besides Grandmother Agatha on a leather couch. "Why are you still living in two different houses?", Agatha asked.
"Don´t worry, I´ll move to Connors apartment soon. My apartment is too small for both of us", Lindsay replied although they never wanted to live in the same apartment.
"You look pale, dear", the old woman observed, "Don´t you feel well?"
"I´m fine," Lindsay nodded, "It's just..."
"You might be pregnant," she asked and when Lindsay looked at her aghast, she added: "This is the only reason how I can explain to me why you guys want to get married so quickly."
"No, that's not the reason," she shook her head.
"You should have kids, however," Grandmother Agatha whispered, "You would have beautiful children."
Lindsay swallowed and April asked her mother what she had said, because she had no idea why her future daughter in law looked like as if she had seen a ghost. April gave Lindsay a wedding dress and sent her into a dressing room. Trying on the dress felt like a lie and to Lindsay the day wasn´t a bit fun. She was incredibly relieved when they left the shop after she had chosen a dress.

During the shopping tour with April and Agatha, Lindsay luckily had a chance to buy a new pair of pajamas. Connor didn´t have a dryer and at these temperatures her old flannel pajamas would need a few days until it was dry. So today she had bought new clothes. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her new pajamas weren´t very provocatively: it consisted of a pink shirt and sweater pants, printed with Hello Kitty- heads. So it was nothing which Connor would like. She thought about the kiss this morning and she was nervous. She wondered why she acted that way. Why was she so confused about the situation? She and Connor had agreed everything would run without problems. Lindsay hadn´t guessed she could fall in love with him and... She lowered her head when she realized what she had just thought. Before she went into the bedroom, she put some cold water in her face.
Connor was in bed, reading a book. He looked up when he noticed her and had to suppress a smile.
"What?," Lindsay asked, as she sat down on her part of the bed.
"Nothing," he replied and she knew he was laughing about her clothes. "Last night, you looked much hotter," he suddenly said.
"You... You know about that?"
"Yes," he put the book down and crawled under the covers. He was tired and fell asleep. Lindsay stayed awake for a long time and needed to think about today.

Tomorrow was Christmas Day. This thought made her smile when she woke up the next day. It was the first time since the death of her parents that Lindsay spent the holidays with a family. At that moment, she thought it was all a lie and she had a headache.
Lindsay noted Connor was already up and when she also got out of bed, she saw the wedding dress. In it, she looked like a princess, she thought while she hoped Connor would like it. The dress was still wrapped in a laundry bag and hung in front of the cabinet. Apparently, Connor was able to hold back his curiosity and hadn´t looked at the dress. Presumably this was because they had planned only a fake marriage, she thought. But she had to admit Connor played his part perfectly.
Connor was wasn´t in the living room and because his father was not here, too, Lindsay guessed, the two took spent some time together. Only Grandmother Agatha sat on the couch and was knitting a little blue cloth. When Agatha heard a noise and then saw Lindsay, she tried to hide the woolen cloth behind a sofa cushion.
"What are you doing, grandmother?", Lindsay asked and sat down beside her on the couch.
"I've knitted," Agatha replied nervously.
"And what?", she noticed that the old lady didn´t reply, "Oh, grandmother! I don´t want to pull every word out of your mouth!"
"All right," Agatha looked still at very nervous and reached for the blue woolen piece, "It's a sweater for your baby... You want to have children, right?"
"Um... So... Where is April? Have you seen her today? ", she asked instead.
"She's outside, cleaning up the garbage."
"Very nice," Lindsay got up, "I´ll help her." She was relieved when she was able to leave the apartment. Agatha had caught her and she could already imagine how sad the old grandmother would be if she heard about the divorcement. Lindsay hurried down the stairs and saw April talking to a blonde woman. The woman was Sue and her dog Levi was sitting next to her.
"...It's nice to see you again," Sue said to April, "Jack and I are getting married in spring." Lindsay listened how Sue told her future mother in law how she had planned her wedding in detail and it should be very romantic.
"I'm so happy for you", April said, "Connor and Lindsay are getting married this week. It won´t be as beautiful as your wedding, I'm sure."
"But you like Lindsay, don´t you?", Sue asked, "She seems to be very kind at least." Lindsay was happy that Sue took party for her, although they had met each other only once.
"It's all very sudden...", April sighed, "I can´t believe my son will get married tomorrow."
Sue thought it was a little unusual, but also very romantic that Connor and Lindsay wanted to get married on Christmas Day. Lindsay now heard how April invited Sue and Jack to the wedding and because both were already good friends with Connor, it should not matter to her. She didn´t know why but she later told Connor about this conversation in the evening. She also said she was afraid, April couldn´t stand her, but Connor explained to her this wasn´t true. "My mother likes you very much," he assured her, "There´s no reason for concern."

Although the next day was the night before Christmas, Jack appeared at Connor's door to pick up everybody for a bachelor party. April was so busy with the wedding, she had asked Jack and Sue to help with the planning for the party. Because Sue didn´t know Lindsay´s friends she and Jack decided to have a party together and so they invited some colleagues. Lindsay already found the idea very embarrassing, but to maintain the illusion of a happy relationship she played her part.
They spent the evening at a bar and left their party when everybody else had gone home: April and Doug went home at 10 p.m. to take Grandmother Agatha to bed. After that, they hadn´t returned. Therefore, Connor and Lindsay drove home alone in a taxi. As they stood at the front door, Lindsay was looking for the spare key that Connor had given her. "I'm scared, Connor," she finally admitted, "What if our plan doesn´t work?"
"It´ll work."
"I have a bad conscience."
"That should have been my word. But you shouldn´t have a bad conscience. It was my idea after all", he grinned and then he took a step towards her, put his hands around her waist and her neck. Just like the day before yesterday in the kitchen when they had kissed for the first time. Lindsay wondered if he would kiss her again. Finally, she asked him a question that was burning on her mind since yesterday: "Do you love me?"
He was astonished by this question, but he pulled her closer to him and whispered the answer in her ear. Lindsay closed her eyes when she heard it, because she needed a moment. Connor stepped back and opened his front door, so they could both enter the apartment quietly. They noticed the rest of the family had already gone to sleep. "I'm pretty tired," Lindsay tried to smile bravely and when she wanted to go down the dark hallway to the bedroom, Connor held her back. He pulled her close again and before she could protest, he kissed her. Together they crept to his bedroom and when she had closed the door behind him, they helped each other out of their clothes. They both landed on the bed and Lindsay laughed softly, when his hands glided over her body. "I love you," she murmured when he kissed her passionately.
"I love you too... Oh God, this stupid idea with the fake marriage was the best idea I ever had", he smiled, but then he refocused on the seductively beautiful woman in front of him in his bed.

Lindsay lay awake at night for a long time. She enjoyed his cool breath in his neck and his tight hug. So, as if he would never let her go. "Connor?," she asked, turning around to look at him. He stretched tired. "What´s wrong?", he asked, wrapping his arms tightly around her. She hesitated a moment. "This little lie became quite serious in the last hours," she murmured.
"Is that a problem for you?", he asked, "I don´t mind."
"That's nice", only now she noticed she was stroking his hand gently the whole time, "But we don´t even know each other well enough to get married... I mean..."
"I know you," he said, "You hate it if someone leaves the toilet lid open. You detest potatoes and every time when you're angry, your left eyelid twitches."
"Yes, but is that enough?"
"To me it´s not la fake marriage," he thought for a moment, if he should have said this and when she snuggled closer to him, he knew it was right.

The next day her wedding took place and immediately in the early hours, April rushed in the bedroom. Lindsay found it outrageous April did that and wrapped herself in the blanket. "Oh, don´t worry, honey," April said to her, "Whatever you got, I've seen it before... And now come, we have an appointment at the hairdresser... It´s a miracle Grandmother Agatha is already awake so early."
Lindsay felt like a cow on the way to the slaughterhouse when April brought her to the hairdresser. She shouldn´t feel this way. She was scared. It wasn´t because of Connor. He had told her last night he loved her and that wasn´t a fake marriage for him. But what if their plan went wrong? If...?
"You now must put on your dress," April said, after her hair was done. She helped Lindsay getting dressed and then they drove to the municipal registry office. Lindsay sighed with relief when she saw Connor, his father and Jack and Sue. He had come after all and hadn´t changed his mind. Connor came to her and pulled her to him. "You look beautiful," he told her and tried to kiss her, but Grandmother Agatha stopped him with her cane.
"So you have to wait another half hour."
"All right," Connor gave in and watched how his mother and grandmother went to his father and left them alone for a while. "Connor, we're really ready for it?," she asked again, "What, if we find out that we don´t get along with each other?"
He understood she was nervous. "We are ready... And we'll get along with each other. For me this is much more than a fake marriage, I've told you before. I really love you." He tried to kiss her and leaned toward her.
"It was a confession," a voice cried and now Connor looked up. He found Mr. Johnson, who had heard their conversation clearly. Lindsay's heart sank and she wanted to ask Connor what they should do now. "You haven´t heard anything", Connor said.
"I know exactly what I've heard," Mr. Johnson sounded confident of victory, "I am excited about what my superiors say about your little game. Today was our final day in Canada, Miss Donner! This will have consequences!" When he said that, tears came into Lindsay's eyes. She felt how Connor grabbed her hand gently and went up the stairs with her. He would marry her and this Mr. Johnson couldn´t change that.

One year later, Mr. Johnson was still working with the Immigration Department.
It was a cold December afternoon, when he walked along a road that seemed pretty suspiciously familiar to him, and he found two women who were struggling with a moving box. "The box is quite heavy. What's in there? Stones?", a woman asked. She let the box then fall to the ground and stood up. She pressed her hands against her aching back then she touched her belly . "Wait, I'll help," Mr. Johnson offered and grabbed after the carton.
"You?", it came simultaneously from Sue and Lindsay. The two had become good friends over the past year and Sue sometimes observed how Lindsay reacted when a letter from the Immigration Department arrived. Connor then always tried to calm her. But at some point the Immigration Department had withdrawn the charge of a fake marriage and left her alone.
"Have we ever met before?", he asked, Lindsay couldn´t believe he didn´t recognize her. Her hair had grown since last year and she was pregnant, but otherwise she hadn´t changed. Mr. Johnson looked now at the pregnant Sue, desperately trying to remember her name. Finally, he decided to cover up the situation.
"Is that your new apartment together?", he asked, "You know, breaking ups are hard to do..."
"Who says something of breaking ups? We've been living here since last year", a new voice in the conversation said and Lindsay was relieved when Connor showed up, picked up the box of baby items from Mister Johnson and then carried it to their apartment. Sue followed him and Lindsay saw in Mister Johnson's eyes, he seemed to remember slowly who she was.
"You see, Mr. Johnson, my husband and I are happy, we´re in love and we´ll have a baby soon," she now put her hands on her belly, "And that's guaranteed not a little game... Have a nice day."

Fin