Disclaimer: Primeval nor the song "All I Want For Christmas Is You" do not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.
Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.
A Secret Santa Holiday Fic Exchange for DrawnToDarkness
Not So Secret Santa
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Outside, the cold December wind howled around the London high rise. Inside, the normally neat flat looked as if the wind had stormed through on this first Sunday night of the month. Cupboards were open in the kitchen. Doors to the front storage closet, as well as the bedrooms in the rear of the flat, stood ajar. Half opened boxes and packing paper were strewn across the flat. An artificial tree stood in front of the window awaiting decorations.
"A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year…" sounded hopefully from the CD player on the kitchen counter.
In the rear of the flat a loud crash sounded drowning out the final lyrics of the song. The crash was followed by a jubilant exultation.
"Yes!" exclaimed Jess.
As the CD player changed over to begin the next song, the bright young brunette appeared in the hallway awkwardly carrying a large brown cardboard box labelled with only one word. Christmas.
"I don't want a lot for Christmas," hummed Jess happily along with the new song. She carried the box over to the kitchen counter and set it down beside the CD player. The petite woman continued humming, interspersing her own lyrics, as she began unpacking the box. "There is just one thing the Aaah-RC needs…"
Last Christmas, her first at the ARC, there had been no holiday decorations in the sterile new facility. The only tiny inkling of possible joy had been when the lorry arrived with the last of the deliveries from the old building. Jess hadn't understood the significance of the three battered old lockers then, but was glad it made her new boss smile. Lester's news later that day that the ARC would be getting additional staff after the holidays had been cause for her to smile too.
"This year," murmured Jess as the CD changed songs again, "things are going to be different."
From somewhere beneath the red, green, and white tissue paper tossed haphazardly across the counter, Jess's cell phone trilled out the intro to "Killer Queen". Jess stopped unpacking. Her eyes widened as she recognized her friend Abby's ring tone. Searching frantically, Jess finally located the device. She fumbled to lower the volume on the CD player as she pressed the green button on the cell phone and began speaking.
"Abby," greeted Jess. "I was just going to call you back…"
The voice on the other end started talking rapidly. Abby and Connor had stayed at the flat with the field coordinator for a short while when they first returned from the cretaceous. After convergence, the pair had resumed their search for a place of their own. At the end of summer a cozy home not too far from Jess's flat had become available. Arrangements were made with the realtor. A flurry of packing preceded the couple's late September wedding. Friends from the ARC had all pitched in to help pack boxes and move possessions from Jess's place to Abby and Connor's new home. The couple had a brief honeymoon and then the newlyweds returned to their own place the first week in October. Now, nearly two months later most of the unpacking was done, but there was still the occasional surprise.
"No, of course you couldn't find the ornament box," said Jess. "The Christmas box was hidden behind some other boxes in the closet of the spare room."
The brunette listened as the voice on the cell phone responded.
"Oh, I hadn't missed the cookbook. Thanks," replied Jess. "You know, there are still some boxes belonging to you and Connor in that closet. The box of ornaments was behind a really heavy box marked Star Wars."
Thinking about the loud crash the box had made when it had fallen from the shelf, Jess cringed.
"Did the box have anything... breakable or important?" asked Jess.
Her friend's answer and subsequent questions had Jess rolling her eyes.
"Mmm... hmmm," agreed Jess, nodding her head as Abby continued on. "Yes, I understand that only Connor could answer that."
The voice on the other end of the cell phone finally subsided allowing Jess to speak again.
"I really don't know how many boxes you and Connor still have here," answered Jess. "I just know the box labeled Star Wars isn't mine, and I didn't recognize a couple of other boxes in that closet. It must have been missed when Becker, Matt and the security team helped pack up."
Her eyes opened wide at Abby's next comment. Jess glanced around the flat. A trail of festive objects covered the dining table, the blue sofa, the sleek brown computer desk and culminated in the huge mound of holiday ornaments and decorations in front of Jess at the kitchen counter.
"Oh… tonight's not really good," said Jess. "It might be better if you stopped by after work tomorrow."
Jess smiled at the thought. Abby and Connor visited frequently, but Jess still missed her roomies even if the flat had been chaotic and cluttered when the couple lived with her. The huge flat felt too quiet sometimes since the pair had moved out. The smile turned to a small sigh.
"Oh, I forgot about your yoga class," answered Jess. "No, I can't join you for yoga and Tuesday isn't good either. That's when I tutor at the computer science lab. Maybe Wednesday..."
The conversation continued back and forth until the two women finally agreed that next Saturday morning might be best. As she laid down the cell phone, Jess remembered what Abby had said about the weather. Instead of turning the music back up, the brilliant young woman reached for the remote and turned on the telly. Jess only half listened to the weather forecaster on BBC one as she resumed sorting through the Christmas decorations.
"… unseasonably cold…" sounded from the telly.
The field coordinator set aside the shiny glass ornaments she remembered from childhood. Although Jess preferred the fragile decorations, she decided they wouldn't do for decorating the hub.
"I'll put you on the tree here," the dark haired beauty murmured soothingly as if the ornaments might feel rejected. "Can't have breakable ornaments at work."
The brunette shook her head. She could almost hear Lester say "Health and safety first!"
Jess located two large tote bags that she planned to take to the ARC tomorrow morning. A trip to Sainsbury's early Saturday morning had resulted in the purchase of several boxes of peppermint candy canes. The red and white treats went into the first bag on top of a heavy metal container.
"… possible record breaking temperatures this winter…" continued the weatherman.
Jess piled red and green checked ribbons and a package of white snowflake decorations on top of the candy. Three boxes of red satin balls followed several strands of silver-white garland packed atop a cast iron figurine in the next brightly colored tote.
"Abby and Connor are back, Emily is here, we saved the world," muttered Jess. "We are going to celebrate…"
Jess stopped stuffing the tote bags and turned to face the telly. Had the forecaster really said snow?
"… Monday morning below freezing…"
Jess listened attentively for a moment, then walked to the front closet. Her slender hand pushed the short light weight coats she usually favored to one side. Her older sister's heavy red wool button down coat was still there. Jess's sister had left the coat when the older woman and her family had moved to the British Virgin Islands earlier in the year. Although the two women were nearly the same size, the warm garment was a little longer than what Jess normally wore. Form fitting princess seams made the coat fit snuggly through the bodice and waist before the coat flared out making it easy to walk in. Jess's lips curled up in a smile.
"Ho ho ho," chuckled the field coordinator. "If I'm going to bring Christmas to the ARC tomorrow, I might as well dress the part."
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