A/N: A little Christmas story about Swain and his family inspired by the songs "All I want for Christmas is you" by Mariah Carey and " I saw Mommy kissing Santa Clause". I hope you enjoy this little holiday present. I want to apologize in advance for any mistakes but I am German so english is not my native language.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sea Patrol or the Characters. I also do not own Santa Clause. If I would own Sea Patrol the last episode definitely would have ended different.

Underneath the Mistletoe

Sometimes he hated the Navy. No, that was wrong. Not the Navy but its incredible timing. They were crash sailed three days before christmas to deliver medical equipment to a small island. Normally they would have been back at Cairns before christmas but like always things went different than originally planned. Right after leaving the island they were hit by a storm which left some damage to the Hammersley. Charge was not sure how long it would take to repair the damage and if they would be able to return to port in time. Swain was near tears. Tears of anger but tears nonetheless. This christmas should have been special. The first christmas Chloe would be old enough to understand the meaning of the holiday and probably the first one she would be able to remember. He had missed so many first times in her life. He was at sea when she was born, he missed her first tooth, her first steps, her first word... so many things he had missed in his daughters life. And now he would miss another precious moment. Sometimes life wasn't fair.

It was late on christmas eve and Sally was sitting alone in the living room, mentally checking if she had forgotten something important. In the afternoon she had decorated the christmas tree with Chloe. She had cleaned the house, had prepared everything for dinner tomorrow and wrapped the presents. The only remaining thing she had to do was to put xthem under the tree. She looked at the pile of carefully wrapped presents. Chris' present was among them, a box in simple red wrapping between Chloe's colorful printed ones. She would have to wait before she would be able to give it to him. Chris was still at sea. He had called her in the morning and told her that he wouldn't be home for christmas due to some damage on the ship. At first she had been angry. How could he leave her alone over christmas? Was the navy more important to him than Chloe and herself? He had already missed Chloes birth and left her alone to take care of their daughter while he went on patrol for weeks. She was the one who had to deal with grumpy Chloe when she got her teeth. She had to get up at night to change nappies or to feed her. She had to rush Chloe to hospital when she was colicky.

But after a while her feelings had changed. Now she was only sad. Sad that she had to spend christmas without her husband. She missed him every moment he was away. If she had one wish for christmas it would be that he would be home for christmas. Her Chris underneath the christmas tree. The only present she would care about. It would be so much easier if she didn't have to share him with the navy. If she had him for her own. But she knew that he loved the sea. That the navy always would be a part of him. That she always would have to share.

Sally sighed before deciding that it would be time to put the presents under the tree before heading to bed. She had just laid down the last present when she heard something. Someone was at her front door and trying to open it. She carefully tiptoed to the living room door. After taking a deep breath she slowly peeked around the corner. She was so surprised that she barely could stiffle the little scream of joy that escaped her mouth. There, in the front door stood her Chris.

Chloe was awoken by some sounds coming from below. Glancing around in her room the first thing she noticed was the darkness. So it was still night. Then who would be downstairs in their living room? Her mom surely would have gone to bed by now. And daddy was still at sea. Then who could it be? Perhaps burglars, trying to rob them? She was still considering the possibilities when she suddenly remembered the date. Of course! It would be Santa, bringing her presents. Curiosity won and so Chloe slipped out of her bed and made her way to her bedroom door. She carefully opened the door and silently sneaked into the hallway. She stopped at the stairs, knowing that one of the steps was loose and would probably creak if she tried to climb down the stairs. Santa would hear it and decide she didn't deserve her presents. So she decided to stay at the top of the stairs and wait if she could catch a glimpse of him.

Chloe had just sat in position when she suddenly heard the voice of her mom. She was slightly irritated. Why was her mom still awake? And who was she talking to? Did she know Santa Clause? Chloe tried to listen to the conversation downstairs but wasn't able to make the words out. She was still trying to make sense of the situation when her mom stepped out in the hallway. Chloe saw her turning around, looking back into the living room. " I'm so happy you could make it. Chloe will be so happy, this is going to be her best present ever. I love you!" With this words her mother embraced the person still in the living room and kissed them. Right under the mistletoe Chloe had helped to put up. Chloe stiffled a gasp. Her mommy was kissing Santa! Shocked she turned around and fled to her room. She couldn't believe it. She always thought her mommy only loved her daddy. Still trying to figure everything out she fell asleep after a while.

The next morning Chloe awoke, still not knowing what to do about the situation last night. After climbing out of bed she went downstairs to see if her mother was already up. When she entered the kitchen she saw her preparing breakfast. Before she could open her mouth she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She turned around and saw her daddy standing in the living room door. Laughing and screaming of joy Chloe ran into his waiting arms.

"Daddy, you are here! I didn't thought you would come!" Swain smiled.

"The damage wasn't as bad as Charge first thought. It was like a kind of miracle. I think Santa wanted me to come home for Christmas. Like some kind of gift." Chloe turned serious.

"Daddy, I saw mommy kissing Santa! He was here last night and she kissed him underneath the mistletoe", Chloe blurted out. Chris looked at his daughter, slightly confused.

"Did she now", he asked.

"Yeah, she didn't see me but I heard noises and went to investigate. She was talking to him and then she kissed him. she even said she loved him." Chloe summarized what she observed the night before.

"OK, I will talk to mommy and ask her about it. I think there will be some simple explanation of the situation. But now you will go and eat your breakfast while I spend a little time with mommy before opening the presents Santa brought you." Chloe headed into the kitchen as fast as possible. Sally, who had stood in the doorway and heard everything Chloe had told her dad, turned to her husband and smiled.

"So she thinks I'm cheating on you" Sally laughed.

"Yeah I think so. But do I really look like Santa?" Chris asked his giggling wife, who tried to suppress a laughing fit.