Author's Note: First two-shot, and also the second holiday fan fic. This one stars a successful and warm-hearted Tina Cohen-Chang, who is married to Chicago dancer Mike Chang with two kids, and a lonely and unemployed Sam Evans, awaiting to have someone to spend Thanksgiving with.
What you already have is better than what you wish to have. Be thankful for everything God blessed you with. Be glad to have friends and family who love you. Be glad that you're living life to the fullest and being the best you can be.
And with that, I present "Appreciation", and happy Thanksgiving!
||Appreciation – Part One||
It was a handful already for four-year attorney Tina Cohen-Chang to keep up with the Thanksgiving dinner and the files of various court attendees who've disobeyed the laws presented in the United States. If you added the care of her loving husband and professional dancer, Mike Chang, and their two children, Edward and Ana, well that's just a bonus.
"Five more weeks until Christmas!" called seven-year-old Edward and six-year-old Ana.
Every time one of those Christmas commercials would come on – mostly one for Toys R Us or Macy's – they'll jump in the air and run around, each kid trying to be louder than the other.
"I want a race car." The little boy had made it back to his spot on the rug in the front room, scribbling on the half-full sheet of paper with his best handwriting. Mike teased him a couple of times about it before, but he never took it.
"I want two Barbie dolls." Six-year-old Ana Cohen-Chang pointed towards the commercial that had been playing the moment they got up and ran around like little rascals.
Tina loved them very much, she did. They, along with her always-busy husband, were her life. She'd spend all her free time with them as a family when she wasn't so hooked to court cases and such.
But she just had so much on her mind. Between cooking a Thanksgiving meal and handling about two or three cases on her week off, her plate was pretty much full. Last week, she had to deal with two teenagers who robbed a bank, a man who had beaten an elder to death, and stolen money out from a woman named Holly.
And if that wasn't bad enough, she had extra work to do for her Thanksgiving week off. She loved her job as much as the next attorney in line, but if she hadn't volunteered for these cases, she would have the chance to see another one of Ana's plays and not miss any due to dozing off from work or the hair salon people holding her up.
Damn that Sugar Motta for smacking those gums towards between one of her co-workers and one of her clients at the last time that happened.
The stressed-out Tina Cohen-Chang was in the kitchen, getting the ingredients for the stuffing and preparing the macaroni and cheese for tomorrow's feast. Everything had to be ready for when she went to her cousin's place tomorrow, being that she volunteered on the sweet potato pie, mac and cheese, and stuffing – which was considered the best in the family.
Tina wasn't really confident with her cooking this year. She knew how to and she was pretty damn good at it, if she did say so herself. She couldn't get over Uncle Winslow and Aunt Robin's faces when they tried her sweet potato pie last year. It, other than Mike's mother's gravy, was the best in the world.
Last year, and probably the year before, were her best years for cooking up part of the family dinner. As usual, Tina was always in the holiday mood.
On Easter, she'll volunteer for the Easter Egg Hunt at the church. The Asian attorney would giggle at the sight of her daughter searching for the Easter bunny, especially after watching Hop last year. It was one of the sweetest moments of her life, other than every Valentine's Day when she heads on a cruise or something with Mike.
Fourth of July, she'll take Edward and Ana to the fireworks show and they'll literally dress up as the whole United States flag. Unfortunately for Mike, he performs in Chicago concerts on that day each year, and serves as the ticket guy sometimes. At least Tina got to be alone with her two adorable children.
Halloween, she'll put a princess or butterfly costume on Ana, and a robot or fireman costume on Edward, and they go trick-or-treating. As repetitive as it got, Tina would watch her son call out that same old chant, "Trick or treat, smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!" Nonetheless, he still got some good treats – which his younger sister would sometimes steal, by the way.
Tina just didn't understand anymore. She loved the holidays, and Thanksgiving's coming up tomorrow. She just doesn't have the Thanksgiving feel she did last year at the moment. She wished she knew why.
Maybe she'll figure it out when she heads out to her cousin's house.
The mac and cheese was cooking in the oven at the moment, and Tina was still trying to figure out what ingredient to add next into the stuffing. So much had been trying to seep into her brain, causing so many annoying headaches.
"Ana, stop it!"
"No, you!"
One minute, the kids were goofing off with the Christmas commercials. The next, they were arguing over something for some odd reason.
Tina still loved them, though. There wasn't going to be any scolding or –
"Edward, quit it!"
"I told you to stop!"
Tina was starting to have enough.
The glove slipped off her right hand, and the spoon was put on the clean rag sitting on the counter beside her trusty cookbook.
She had three things to deal with already: the Thanksgiving dinner, the situation with her three cases, and her two little nuisances. She needed more time and peace, and less yelling from the other room and running back and forth.
Edward and Ana were looking through a Toys R Us catalogue at one point, and Ana kept trying to retrieve the book from her older brother. Tina wished she gotten another book so those two wouldn't fight over this one.
"Eddie, Ann – calm down in here," Tina spoke, separating the two and taking the book from their small hands. "Momma's trying to cook in the kitchen, okay?"
The younger child pouted. "Momma, he started it."
Edward faced the little girl. "I wasn't finished with it. I have a whole list to write."
"You wrote it already for Santa!"
"That's my list for Santa. And you were about to rip the page!"
As the boy darted for the catalogue in their mother's hands, Ana tried reaching for it, nearly pushing Edward out of the way. They were the most competitive kids Tina has ever seen – that is, if she didn't watch Toddlers and Tiaras or anything like that.
The stressed mother of two held the book above her head, making it impossible for Edward and Ana to reach.
"I'm trying to get you guys' meal ready for tomorrow. We're going to Cousin Matthew's place, remember?"
"He was the clown at my birthday party, right?" the curious little girl pondered.
"Yes, and I want him and the rest of the family to have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner – without any disasters."
"But Momma, your meals are never disasters."
"Yeah, you make the best food ever," Edward pitched in.
All Tina could do right then and there was blush at the two with their hands folded in front of their fragile bodies. "Thank you so much, sweetie."
Just when Tina felt she was being buttered up by the children, the phone rang in the kitchen. She assumed that it was either Mike from the grocery store, or one of her co-workers calling from the office, taking care of any last-minute glitches.
She directed her attention back to the children, setting the catalogue on the coffee table. "No more fighting. I still need the concentration, okay?"
Both innocent Cohen-Chang children nodded, watching their mother leave the room.
Tina let out a satisfying sigh. She wasn't used to this much work all at the same time: cooking Thanksgiving food, watching the kids while Mike Chang was out, getting so many calls from her co-workers.
She was a pretty decent time manager, if she said so herself. Sure, there was a lot to do, but she was determined to getting it done either way.
The attorney slipped the glove back on her right hand, and used the other to reach for the white phone that had been ringing on the island counter. "Hello, Tina Cohen-Chang speaking."
"Tina, it's me."
"Oh hey, Marley. How's everything with the Puckerman vs. Nelson case?" She checked the oven for a second to see if the mac and cheese was ready.
"We went over the evidence sent in by Shannon Beiste the other day," the sweet-toned girl reported on the other line. "Apparently, Nelson and some friends – who are currently unknown – crashed Puckerman's car into a tree. Noah had been looking for it for a couple of days."
"And then what happened?"
"He found it on the side of the road somewhere, and then discovered Nelson's wallet on the scene."
While Marley continued discussing the case, Tina headed to the refrigerator for some celery and onions for the stuffing.
"This led to the fight down on eighty-ninth street when Puckerman had taken the pocket knife to cut him with."
"Are you sure all of this is right? I heard something about Mr. Menkins, Puckerman's neighbor. He was almost crossing the street when the fight was occurring."
"We interrogated him the other day, Tina. He said that he was headed to the drug store for his medicine." Marley took a moment with her thoughts. "However, I do smell another case brewing up with him."
"How so?"
"He says that his wife has been on business trips for a number of months, but I saw her on the second floor of their home once I left."
"What was she doing?"
"It wasn't clear to me. I assume she was crying heavily. And she had a couple of sores on her arms."
Tina gasped just when the timer went off on the counter. "You don't think that –"
"I think he did."
The Asian attorney opened the oven door and retrieved the macaroni waiting inside. "Well, we'll have to question him on Monday."
"I would still be on my break by then."
"When does it start?"
"Tomorrow. Perfect timing, right?"
Tina shrugged satisfyingly. "Then maybe Tuesday or Wednesday then?"
"Tuesday's fine with me. I just have to clear it with the boss."
Tina set the perfectly-cooking macaroni bowl on the counter, allowing it to cool off. "Well, I hope you have a relaxing Thanksgiving. Visiting family?"
"Just my uncle and three cousins. And then afterwards, I was going to head off to a party with Wade, Ryder, and Kitty. Heard that business owner Artie Abrams is hosting."
"Never knew you and Kitty would get along so well."
"She was a bitch, sure. But after that issue with her father dying –"
"Her father died?"
"Yep. She was a strong girl back then, so she didn't linger on it that much. Let's just say that Wade and I sort of…"
"Fixed her."
"Totally."
The moment Tina was about to say her goodbye, her son walked into the room leaning against his mother's side.
"Momma, I'm hungry. When's dad coming home with dinner?"
The happily-married woman placed her hand gently on the boy's shoulder, rubbing him in comfort as she still conversed with Marley over the phone. "Listen, I have to get going. I'm still preparing the rest of the Thanksgiving specialties for tomorrow, and these little ones need something to eat."
Tina could almost hear Marley smile on the other line. "You must be so lucky. You and Mike really worked everything out. Now you have two kids and still one of the strongest attorneys on the firm."
"I wouldn't say the strongest. I mean, defense attorney Will Schuester does a heck of a job with his tasks."
"But does he have two kids and a spouse, adding more work on his plate? Don't think so."
"He has a wife, but never discussed children." Tina doesn't hear a response from Marley on the other line, assuming that she doesn't have anything in her defense. "Anyway, I'll talk with you later."
"No problem. I'll see you after Thanksgiving…probably."
"Enjoy your break. Goodbye."
Both women hung up on the phone. Before Tina could fix the rest of the stuffing, she turned towards the fridge where her seven-year-old son attempted sneaking in for some strawberry lemonade that had been cooling inside.
She raced to his side and pulled him away by his arm. "No, Eddie. That's for tomorrow when we have dinner."
"But I'm thirsty," the little boy whined.
Tina tapped at her chin for a second and reopened the refrigerator door for a juice box. "I'll have your dinner ready in a couple of minutes. For now, you can have a grape juice box."
Once she handed the boy his juice, he immediately ran out of the kitchen. "And don't spill any on the rug!" Tina called before he made it into the living room.
Tina hadn't imagined this much going on in just one day. The first time she lived in an apartment by herself, engaged to Mike but without kids, she told her mother that everything would be a breeze. It was hard enough cooking for just a spouse and a couple of cousins that were coming over. Now she's the one leaving home this year, accompanied by two young ones.
She felt like she was thinking too much. Thinking about stress just adds on to it. Maybe she should think more about her cousin, Matthew, and how happy he might be when he saw his younger cousin for the first time in five years. Tina would have the best meal prepared, the most loving husband, and the sweetest children she's ever held in her arms.
Tina was almost startled when she heard keys jingling behind the front door. It was probably Mike Chang returning from the grocery store. It took long enough.
"Welcome home!" the busy wife called from the kitchen, stirring up the ingredients for her stuffing.
Once she had the stuffing stirred, Mike had just walked in the room with three big bags of groceries in which he placed on the counter by the refrigerator. With all of the weight taken off of him, he danced his way over to his wife and kissed him on the neck. He knew Tina liked every time he did that.
The woman couldn't stop giggling. "Mike, I'm cooking," she laughed. Before leaving her be, Mike placed another kiss on the woman's cheek.
Even on days when she's not the girl she was back in high school, Tina would always blush whenever Mike did anything affectionate as that. Sometimes, she'll always believe that those days will never stop coming.
"Hey, there's a guy outside, sitting against the gate of the apartment. Do you know him at all?"
And that was when Tina's eyebrows furrowed. She had no memory of anyone who would come by her and Mike's apartment and sit out in the cold.
Chicago was a really chilly place in the fall slash winter time. Tina learned the hard way when she had to shovel a whole bunch of snow two years ago. This was the exact time of year to feel sorry – sometimes, even guilty – of the ones that don't have a home or resources for food, water, and warmth.
Maybe if she knew who this person Mike was talking about, she could contribute to this growing problem.
"What does he look like?"
Mike shrugged, gulping down a glass of water. "I saw some blonde hair under a tan hat he was wearing. His skin is, like, pale. At least he's not like those other bums you see in the poorer areas. Trust me, I've been there."
Tina's hand clutched at her waist as the woman gave Mike an icy stare. "Don't be like that."
"It's true. Looks like he hasn't been on the streets for that long. I first saw him a couple of weeks ago."
Tina's concern grew. It really has been that long since Mike first saw the guy, and she's just now knowing? "I wanna talk with him."
"Why?"
Tina's worried eyes fell back on Mike. "I want to see if he needs help. It'll get colder out here in a few weeks, and Chicago is not an okay, it'll be just a tad colder city – it's almost deadly."
It was probably the wrong time to do it, but Mike let out a chuckle from under his breath. "Fine, Tina. Be Wonder Woman, and head on out there. I'll get dinner ready for the kids." He walks over to place another kiss on Tina's cheek, and heads into the living room to meet up with Edward and Ana.
All Tina could do was shake her head at Mike's comment. He obviously didn't know Tina that much. She really wanted to help this time. Last time she ran into a homeless woman sleeping in a tent near a restaurant, she didn't do anything about it.
She was a different person – not like she was in her senior year of high school, though. She was better now. It was time to commit as much as she could.
The attorney went in the bathroom to wash her hands and slipped on her sweater and coat. Before heading out, her daughter ran towards her, grabbing at the thick, black fabric that covered most of her mother's body.
"Mommy, where are you going?" Ana asked.
Tina let go of the door knob to pick up the little girl and kiss her on the dimple. "Mommy's just going out for a couple of seconds. I'll be back, and dinner will be ready by then. Okay?"
"Okay."
She placed Ana back on her feet and opened the front door to the apartment hallway. Her children meant well, but she had another person to take care of at the moment.
Tina, while walking down the stairs towards the front door, cherished the warmth from the heater coming on in the hallway. It was going to get a lot chillier once she opened the door downstairs and be embraced by the windy city.
And Tina was right.
All she did was open the door just an inch, and cold wind blows in her face and on her legs from underneath her pants legs. My God, whoever knew Chicago would be as cold as it was around November?
Tina's head turned every which way. She saw many people walking and carrying on with their business. There wasn't much traffic; the cars were able to move along swiftly. Brown leaves were blowing along the pavements of the sidewalks.
It took a couple of steps down the stairs for Tina to finally see who Mike was talking about.
Her head had turned left, and a blonde guy was there in her sight. He looked cute…and awfully cold. His hands were covered with gray gloves, holding onto a cup of warm water.
Tina bit her lip at the guy. Poor thing, she thought as she gazed at him.
She made a few more steps towards him, making sure she wasn't creeping him out or anything. "Excuse me, sir."
Once she called to him, his head turned. He had such an adorable face. Of course, Tina never saw big lips like those on a guy like him, but that was probably the thing that made him so unique. And his eyes sparkled, regardless if Chicago's sunlight was being blocked by the dark clouds.
Tina was almost nervous to speak with him now. This wouldn't start any kind of thing between her and Mike, but why was she so…
"My husband came inside and wondered about you," Tina began. "He says he's been seeing you by our apartment for a couple of weeks. I was wondering if everything was okay."
The blonde guy didn't say anything at first, but shrugged back at the woman. "What, are you some type of therapist or something?"
"No, I'm a prosecuting attorney," Tina laughed at his comment. "I was just…well, worried. You've been out here so long, and I was wondering if you needed anything."
"Not at the moment. Why?"
Tina stared down at the dark blue blanket and the bag of bread and crackers he had beside him. "From the looks of it, you probably need more than a warm coat with a scarf and gloves that actually cover your fingers."
The guy looked back down at his belongings. He didn't have much of a bed; he slept on the big blue blanket he carried around with him. Sure it was big enough for him to lay on and cover his body, but it wasn't as comfortable as a bed. And he only had bread and crackers, and a cup of warm water for food. An apple or a ham sandwich will probably do more.
Willingly, the guy nodded back at Tina. "You're right." There was a certain melancholy in his voice. "This isn't the usual me, if you must know. God, I can't believe I'm actually living like this."
"Well, how did you end up like this?"
It took an inhale from the man before he could fully explain himself. "I was married to a woman for about a year. Her name is Victoria. She was beautiful and everything. I wished I could provide for her as much as she did with me, because I didn't have a good-paying job."
"What job did you have?"
"I was working at the power plant at one point."
"You don't seem like a person who would do that."
"Oh, you see something better?"
Tina shrugged. "Just…a body trainer or a physical therapist."
The chilly man laughed. "You really think I have that type of physique?"
"Look at yourself."
"I would if I had a mirror."
The two shared a heartfelt laugh before the man returned to his story.
"But seriously," he continued, "I wasn't earning much when I was at that job. Not just that, but…"
"But what?"
"Victoria sort of accused me of cheating –"
"Oh, my gosh."
"With someone I don't even know."
"Shut the front door!"
The guy had snickered for a moment, and then thought back to the train of events that happened before he was sitting in front of the Cohen-Chang apartment. "So she sorta kicked me out, and I was forced to stay in a hotel. My progress was decreasing, and I was fired from the plant."
"My God."
"And then I decided to work at a car rental shop, but they said I didn't have the business skills. A while later, the guy at the hotel I was staying at told me that I would have to continue paying some fees that I couldn't afford. So I left the hotel. I didn't have much contact with my mother or father. So I pretty much hung out around here until I could figure out what to do."
The Asian attorney couldn't absorb all he was telling her. He could've come in and asked her or Mike for a phone to call him. But instead, the poor guy stuck out here and lived on a thick blanket and grain foods to survive.
"So, you don't know what to do yet? December will roll around soon, and it'll get mighty cold."
He shrugged. "I was going to see if I could get to my cousin's house, but I don't know how far he lives from here. I would assume…one hundred and fifty miles –"
Tina shook her head rapidly. "This isn't like you at all."
"How do you know?"
"I know people. I work with people. I understand people. I may only be a prosecuting attorney, young sir, but I would defend a fellow citizen if I tried."
"I appreciate your words, I do." The man looked back down at his chilly legs and shook his head. "But I feel that this is kinda my fault, and I should deal with the consequences."
"Just because your wife assumed that you cheated, and whoever you had as your boss thought you had poor work quality?"
He shrugged again. "Probably so."
Tina felt a lump in her throat somewhere. He was too kind and helpless to be left out here alone. She wanted to help so bad, but she had no idea on what she could do to offer her service. She would try to get him another job, but she didn't know what he would like or what he was good at.
Before Tina could say anything else, she heard Mike call from the second-floor window. "Tina, dinner's ready! Come on up!"
The woman glanced at her husband for a moment before he had shut the window closed again. She had to return back to her family, but she didn't want to leave this fellow behind. He needed some type of encouragement. He needed someone to help him.
She looked back down at the man, who was now drinking some more of the warm water in his cup. "What's your name again?"
"Sam…Sam Evans."
"I'm Tina…Tina Cohen-Chang."
This Sam Evans person replied with a wide grin on his face directed at the hopeful woman. "Nice to meet you, Tina Cohen-Chang."
Tina felt strength inside of her. Before she was afraid of talking to strangers because she was afraid they would steal her purse or try to commit sexual acts towards her. Every woman and child dreaded that moment, even if they were in the safest area of the city.
Not anymore. Tina was a helper. She knew she was intelligent. She had the brains and the power. She was going to do this.
"Not to worry anymore, Sam." Her voice got stronger than the last time. "I'm going to help you out, get you off your feet, and off these streets. You got that?"
"I hope so."
"I'll be with you whenever I can. I promise."
And with that, Tina headed up the steps to the door of her apartment building.
Damn, Tina was good. She damn well knew it all along.