Note of author: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYBODY! MAY ALL YOUR WISHES AND DREAMS COME TRUE!
"Santa, come here." Sara kneed down and opened her arms. She was in a park with the puppy, she and Sofia found on Christmas Eve in a garbage bin. After one week of food three times a day, a vet check-up, a lot of love and cuddles Santa looked a lot of better than the night he was found and rescued.
"Santa!" The puppy, according to the vet a collie mix, looked up and ran straight back into her arms. It was like he knew Sara saved his life and when he left her side, he came back immediately when she called out for him. Well, sometimes after the second time, it depended a little bit on what he had in his nose. When it was food, he was tempted not to listen right away. Sara explained it by the lack of food before he was rescued.
"You are a good boy." She pulled a little dog treat out of her pocket and gave it to Santa. "That is good, isn't it? Come on, we go home, I'm hungry and there might be somebody waiting for us." Taking her puppy on the leash Sara walked back the half a mile to her apartment. When she arrived there, a familiar person leaned onto her car, waited for them to come back. Long blonde hair, a black coat and black boots. Of course, because there was sunshine in beautiful Las Vegas, wearing shades.
"Hello Sunshine." Sofia bent down and lifted Santa up. "How are you? Did you enjoy your walk?"
"He did, he loves the park. How are you?" Sara hugged Sofia. After one week of caring for the puppy together they got closer, became friends. She hadn't seen the blonde today as they worked different cases at the moment. The thing they had in common was, they both had the night off. New Years Eve and they could stay at home.
"Happy to have a night off. Between Christmas and New Years Day people are more crazy than they are the rest of the year."
"They are. Ready to forget work and wave the old year goodbye?"
"I am. Food is on its way. Two pizzas, one special, one spinach, both with extra cheese and garlic, a salad and I also have two six packs of cold beer in the trunk. Am I the perfect guest or what?"
"No comment on the perfect, but you are a welcome guest with a good taste in food and beverages." Sara got the two bags out of Sofia's car.
"A compliment, wow." Sofia laughed.
"It's all you get, take it or leave it." Sara unlocked the front door and they all stepped into the elevator and drove up to her apartment.
"Oh, the jigsaw puzzle is finished." Sofia sat on the couch and opened her bag. "Look what I found: a new one. With Santa as the motive."
"It's what you want as a New Years Eve party? A jigsaw puzzle? How old are you?"
"Younger than you are and you like it too. We can't go out and dance our asses off in a club, poor Santa has no idea about the crazy human New Years Eve tradition, he doesn't know fireworks and will be scared. So we have to be here and look after him. The TV program is crap, we can either put on a movie or we do something better."
"Find missing pieces?"
"How about we find the matching pieces? Sounds much more positive and it's what we do. Put pieces together to get one big nice photo."
"Okay." The doorbell rang. "I get it."
"Then I get the little wolf." Sofia got one of Santa's toys, a rope and offered it to the puppy, who started pulling on it. "Yes, show me how strong you are. Where is the wolf inside you? Where is it? Show it to me. Come on, be…what was the name of the big bad wolf?"
"Zeke Wolf, if you're talking about the Disney version." Sara came back into her apartment with two pizzas.
"You know those things?"
"I am a smart woman. And I love Walt Disney." The brunette placed the pizza on the table. "First food and a beer, then the jigsaw puzzle?"
"Sounds like a plan. No, pizza isn't for you, Santa." She pulled the puppy firmly away from the table. "You had your dinner already, I know Sara didn't forget you. She does forget to eat herself sometimes, but never forgets you. No matter how sad and hungry you look, you can't be really hungry. The vet said, you are doing very well and in a few days there won't be any evidence that you almost starved to death."
"He gets better every day. Remember the first days, when he was afraid to run around in the park? He does it now, up to twenty yards."
"You are so brave. No, this is my pizza!"
"He does have little problems understand what is his food and what not. A common dog problem." Sara sat down next to Sofia. "Your cat is okay being alone on New Years Eve?"
"Yes, she hides under the bed. It's less stress for her being alone than have you and Santa over. I'm sure our puppy would love to play with her."
"Our puppy?"
"Only because he lives here, it doesn't mean he's only your puppy. I found him too."
"We have shared custody?" Sara laughed.
"Yes."
"Does that mean you want to take Santa with you on holidays?"
"Either that or we go on vacations together."
"I'm not sure we're that far in our relationship."
"We have a relationship?"
"A work relationship…that somehow got out of control because we see each other after work every day. If we go on like this we might end up being friends."
"A horrible thought." The blonde chuckled. "We might start spending special days like Christmas or New Years Eve together. Oh wait, we did spend Christmas together and we're spending New Years Eve together right now. I'm afraid we are friends."
"It's all Santa's fault. And the jigsaw puzzle."
"Without the ugly one in the break room, we had never left together to get dinner and Santa would be dead now. We did everything right."
"Yes." The brunette opened the jigsaw puzzle. "Let's find matching pieces after we found a very important matching piece last week."
"Santa is the piece, that connects us?" Sofia cocked her head. "Might be true. A really cute connection."
"He is. So tell me, detective Curtis, if you weren't here tonight, where would you be? Don't tell me you were without invitations and plans for tonight. Whose heart did you break? Who starts the new year crying his heart out?"
"Actually, there was a good looking police detective, who wanted to go out with me, I turned him down. Told him, I have a very important date with a beautiful man and a sexy woman."
"You broke his heart and he thinks now, you're having a threesome Why did you not bring him? Or tell me, you have a date. I'm sure I could have taken care of Santa alone."
"I know you could but I want to be with you and him. Our Christmas Eve together was great, I'd like to add another great evening to that list. Plus, Santa is cuter than the guy. And he's only after my pizza and not my beer."
"The guy surely other things on his mind than beer and pizza. And he wanted you to see other things than just the fireworks at midnight."
"I'm not that easy to have."
"Not? You're a blonde. A dyed one, but still a blonde."
"Bitch!" Sofia slapped Sara. Immediately Santa started gnarling at her. "Wow, Santa, slow down."
"He protects me." Sara picked up the puppy. "It's okay, she didn't hurt me and didn't have the intentions to. Did you witness or experience violence? Nobody will hurt you here, it's a safe place."
"He adopted you."
"You safe the life of an animal it often pays you with unconditional love. And try to safe your life whenever it might be at risk." Sara hugged her puppy. "Sofia is a friend, you don't have to gnarl at her. She would never hurt me."
"How do you know that? Until last week you barely spent any time with me."
"I spent enough time with you to know you wouldn't hurt me. Don't try to pretend anything else."
"Busted." Sofia put her arm around Sara. "Our baby likes you more than me, I have to spend more time with him and you so he loves me too. Protects me too."
"Is that a threat?"
"No, it's my new years resolution."