A/N: So it's December - only 3 weeks to go until the new DA Christmas Special *eeeep* - and I'm getting into the Christmas mood, so what better time to start presenting my Christmas present to the Downton/ Anna and Bates fandom?

As excited as I am for the Christmas Special, I'm a little disappointed that it won't be set at Christmas - after the trauma of last year, I would so love to see a happy Christmas for Mr & Mrs Bates, and I like to imagine what some of their other, happier Christmases would have been like at Downton. I'm not sure that this will be as wonderful as fuzzydream's Twelve Days of Christmas, but as I do love the season (almost as much as I love A/B), I wanted to try my hand at a festive 'fic. (as of now, this is still a work-in-progress, but I'm hoping to get it all finished before Christmas arrives...)

As ever, I should point out that I don't own Downton Abbey, otherwise last Christmas would have been a whole lot merrier. (also, excuse the rubbish title, but I thought it was better than giving it the same name as a Mariah Carey song...)

I hope you enjoy (and though it's a little early - Merry Christmas one and all!)


Christmas 1912

At the end of the hallway, she stood, hardly an inch of space between herself and the door as she craned eagerly up on tiptoe to peer out. Her silhouette bounced from the walls, the little light from the candle lamp throwing itself quite a distance, illuminating her profile against the hastening dark. She could feel the icy wind seeping in despite the barrier and it was resting very firmly against her calves. Even though she was incredibly close already, she edged further forward in anticipation; a mist of her breath spread out upon the glass as the tip of her nose came into contact with the pane, touching her with cold instantly. But she was immune, didn't let it deter her from remaining there, as she had been for some time. Many others would have given up after barely two minutes, returned to the warmth of the hall when they found there was nothing to behold. But she was made of much sterner stuff and was quite content to wait, at least while she didn't have anything urgent to see to. A little bit of a chill wasn't enough to send her away.

Anna Smith was very patient. It had perplexed and even vexed some of the other members of the household who were anything but, and she knew they had great trouble fathoming this aspect of her nature. When she thought about it, all she could do was smile. It was precisely her patience that had served her best during the almost ten years since she had been at Downton Abbey. It was one of her mother's many pearls of wisdom that she had instilled in herself, probably the piece of advice that she had most fervently embraced on her departure from her childhood home. That patience wasn't simply a virtue, but it was also its own reward. And as was always the case, her mother proved herself right. Even though this particular moment in time wasn't quite as significant as gaining the role of head housemaid, it still mattered to Anna. So she would practise her fortitude once more. The frosty air began to press itself more fiercely against her, creeping slowly up her body, tightening its grip. She felt quite a sharp tingle in the tips of her fingers and across her arms, even despite them being covered. An itch setting off all over her, sinking itself lower, to her very core and consciousness. Perhaps it was impossible for anyone, even her, to be perfectly patient on Christmas Eve.

Considering it, she did feel rather silly. It was all well and good behaving in such a way if you were younger; standing still, waiting in awe with wide eyes darting in every direction, waiting for the magic to appear in the midst of one little moment. She recalled all of her past Christmases, one followed by another and another, and felt excitement rush through her anew. Anna couldn't help but smile as the memories came back to life in her mind once more. She really did love Christmas, everything about it. It was the most special time of year, and even though there wasn't that much to get excited about as a servant, there was something that was so different and magical about the season. That was why, at the age of 26, Anna Smith still held a Christmas wish. She kept it a guarded secret, partly because she believed if she confessed it aloud it would greatly reduce the chances of it coming true, but mainly as she was certain that a few people would scoff and ridicule her if they ever knew. Not that she cared that much what they did think, but still, it would spoil the mood of everything to have her hopes dashed. If she was completely honest with herself, she was beginning to think that perhaps she was getting a little too old for Christmas wishes now; really, they belonged to children, the ones for whom the season was really meant for. Yet in her heart, a flame still glowed, and she found she simply could not give up on it. It was Christmas. The one time of the year when everyone was given a little dispensation to revert back to being a child; a time for wishes to be made and, hopefully, made true. Anna thought that it would be a very sad state of affairs if you couldn't do such a thing at Christmas, of all occasions.

This year, her wish was the same as it had been for the past few, and despite the distinct lack of even the tiniest speck descending from the sky, Anna was sure that this would be the year that her Christmas desire would be fulfilled. The one thing she wished so much for was for it to snow. It had not snowed for some time at Downton, at least not at Christmas. When it had come in recent times, it had been a little too early or otherwise much too late, wasn't enough or turned rapidly to sludge and ice, proving to be nothing but a menace and a disruption. She remembered seeing the vast grounds and gardens swathed in white, making everything prettier than it already was; the crisp frost dancing in the air as bells rang out from the village. The scene could have come straight from the front of a card, and it made the magic of Christmas seem more vivid and real to her than it had ever been. Anna could still picture it all exactly in her head, and suddenly shut her eyes tight, as if the swift action would bring it all into being before her once more. Then the thought occurred that as soon as she might have cast her gaze away, it would be the moment when it would finally happen. She squinted out again into the dark, her eyes taking time to adjust hazily to the low light after only mere seconds. All remained completely as it was, inside and out; there was still no sign whatsoever of snow, even though it was certainly cold enough for it. Sighing a little, she touched her palms against the wood of the door, lowered her heels that were starting to ache down to the floor, and after a minute, lifted the lamp from the sill, carrying it and herself back along to the hall. Getting halfway to reaching it, she turned back towards the door, just in case. Once she really understood that there had been no miraculous change in her absence, she smiled wistfully to herself before continuing onwards.

Anna relaxed into her chair, wrapping her hands around the sides of the still warm mug of cocoa that lay on the table before bringing it up to her lips and taking a slow sip. She looked around languidly. It was really very unusual for the place to be so deserted on Christmas Eve, even if the evening hadn't got underway as of yet. Mid-morning, all but an absolute disaster had been declared by Mrs Patmore, as the stoves had decided with impeccable timing to refuse to cook anything. Miss O'Brien had said that they must have been as fed up by the biting chill as they all were sitting downstairs, freezing their socks and stockings off, and so iced themselves up in protest, which did nothing to appease Mrs Patmore, who was now absolutely frantic as to how they were possibly going to prepare the Crawley family's Christmas feast. Rolling her eyes ever so slightly, Mrs Hughes took charge of the situation and began to lead the entire kitchen staff armed with as much food as they could each carry out and over towards Mrs Isobel Crawley's house. As they all trooped away, with Mrs Hughes in command, Anna could hear Mrs Patmore rant and rave about how such a calamity could only ever befall her and what sin she could have possibly committed to be saddled with such terrible luck, how Mrs Crawley's kitchen would be woefully inadequate to match up to her standards and that she didn't care if Mrs Crawley did have her own cook, she was responsible for the Granthams' dining and so she would still be firmly in charge. Anna felt a little bad for giggling quietly as Mrs Hughes, her usually calm demeanour exasperated by all the tension of the day, admonished Mrs Patmore in a tone of voice that she only ever used on rare occasions, and then silence fell, before she heard a muttering:

"Oh, who does she think she is, the Queen of Scots indeed…".

Mr Carson was holed up in his pantry, spending at least an hour and a half going over the wine record with an especially cautious eye, as he always was wont to do at Christmas, and the younger hall boys and maids had taken advantage of the festive cheer that was granted to them by spending their free afternoon scooting around out of doors. The peaceful silence surrounding her was really quite pleasing, and something Anna thought she could quite happily get used to. She put down her cocoa, picked up the lace and Lady Mary's hat and began to resume work, her head filling with quiet calm and joyful thoughts of the next day that awaited them all.

She had become so quickly wrapped up in the fluid movement of her fingers and the reverie playing in her mind, tinkling with snow and twinkling lights, choirs and Christmas carols, that she had not discerned the presence of another person entering the room, neither had she been aware that she was humming Hark The Herald Angels Sing rather loudly.

"You should have gone out carol singing with the other girls."

Her face flushed with heat as she raised her eyes from the hat and saw Mr Bates standing not far from the table, smiling. Anna brightened in the falling dusk, and a smile that was perhaps a little too wide – certainly too wide considering she'd just been caught humming a carol like a fool – grew upon her lips.

"Oh, no, Mr Bates. It's quite different when you're not just doing it for yourself. Besides I don't think if I was singing it would be the most pleasant thing for people to have to hear. Certainly not at Christmas, either."

"Well, you seemed perfectly in tune to my ear. Not that I'm any great expert. But I could only believe you would be a fine chorus leader."

She laughed a little. "Thank you for saying so, Mr Bates. I'll be sorry for you when you're proved wrong."

"I'm not sure that will be the case." He smiled sincerely towards her, ambling forward. "May I…?"

"Of course."

As he took his seat next to her, Anna felt herself go warm from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. It wasn't all that uncommon to find themselves sitting together, only if it was for the grand total of five minutes or so every few days, and it seemed to be the case that it was happening a little more frequently just recently. She wasn't sure if she should admit it to herself, not that she would to anyone else, but Anna found that these moments were the things that she really looked forward to each day, were the moments that really made her day. It was nice to simply have the time to talk, especially to Mr Bates. Of course, she enjoyed the company of everyone else, but there was something about Mr Bates. He was just so interesting, always listened intently to whatever she had to say, even if she was talking about the most boring aspects of her day, and expressed genuine interest to hear her ideas and opinions, without ever leading her to divulge anything too revealing. He had always made her feel completely comfortable and at ease. She had known it from the first day he had arrived; that he was a true gentleman, and she had never come across a finer one. This evening, she felt even happier to be there with him and for them to be enjoying each other's company alone. She glanced towards him and a jolt travelled through her, a funny sensation affecting her all of a sudden. It must have been the excitement of the season getting to her, making her feel light and a little dizzy.

"I have to say, I expected things to be a little more frantic today. I don't know if I've ever known it to be so quiet here. His Lordship hasn't requested me to do anything since this morning, so I've been left twiddling my thumbs somewhat."

"It does get like that on Christmas Eve, at least upstairs. They like a rather quiet afternoon, to leave us all to get on. Until the evening dinner, there's not much that really happens, so you shouldn't feel strange," she informed him with a smile. She had forgotten that it was his first Christmas here at Downton, and was a little surprised at the fact. To Anna, it was as if he had been there forever, always reliably in the hall or in Lord Grantham's dressing room, or sometimes, out contemplating in the courtyard, as the night started to fall. She tried to imagine what the house would have been like without his presence, and found that she could not bring the possibility to her mind.

"But I do, a little. I think I'd rather be busy." The tone of his voice took on a low lilt, as he watched her hands work nimbly, fixing the lace to the brim of the hat. "You certainly seem to be as occupied as ever."

"Oh, it's not that much of a job," she shrugged. "Lady Mary wants the hat for the Boxing Day walk, and it only needs a little fixing. It'll be done within ten minutes." She stilled her fingers, holding up the hat to examine her handiwork, and saw him nod in approval from the corner of her eye, not being able to stop the smile igniting in her eyes on his subconscious action. "Then I shall be all done, with no obligations for a whole day, aside from the evening dressing. It's quite the gift for us, to get Christmas Day off. A lot of families aren't quite as gracious as the Crawleys; I know of servants in other households who are on their feet from virtually dawn of Christmas to the next day, doing more than they usually would any other day of the year. We're quite lucky, in that respect. Even if there are some of us who still find something to complain about." She raised her eyebrows at the absent subjects of conversation, and gave a little smirk.

"I can't imagine who you may mean," Mr Bates said in reply, and mirrored her amused expression briefly. "Of course I'm grateful, but I still find it a little strange, to not be doing what I'm employed to do on such an important day. I suppose it's just something I shall have to get used to, whether I like it or not."

Anna was a little bemused by his response, as caught up as she was in cheer for the holiday. "Do you not enjoy Christmas, Mr Bates?" she asked in a light voice, hoping she could pass on some of her enthusiasm onto him.

"Well, I did quite some time ago, but in recent years a few things have made the season not quite as merry as it should be." He let out a sigh. "And I'm sorry to say that they have affected the celebrations for me somewhat, in one way or another."

Immediately, she felt quite ashamed for daring to be so frivolous and invasive with her questioning. Mr Bates was a man who had witnessed war, a thing that did not observe or care for the joys of Christmas, and needless to say she did not know what may have occurred in his life since then, and the last thing she wished to do was to intrude or bring up less than pleasant memories. She had to realise that her view of the season, or indeed the world, was not a universal one.

"Please forgive me, Mr Bates. I was being utterly thoughtless, and I'm truly sorry." Her eyes cast down, and searching to change the subject, she was horrified to find another lapse in concentration had affected her. "Oh, and also excuse my rudeness in not offering you any cocoa. Would you care for some? Mrs Patmore has a bit of a stash, but she certainly wouldn't mind if you were to have a mug."

"No thank you, Anna, I'm perfectly fine." He held out his hands as she made to stand swiftly, urging her to take back her seat. "And you have no need to apologise. It's lovely to see that you enjoy Christmas so much, and you deserve all the free time afforded to you to have some fun." The smile that had appeared when he first entered the hall was back upon his face, and Anna was deeply glad to see it. "Please don't let my view spoil yours. That would be the last thing I'd wish for. Anyway, it's a new start for me here. Everything could change as of yet."

Anna smiled herself to hear him say such a thing, and thought that it had certainly rung true for her. Knowing that it was his first Christmas here had made her think of her own, and she remembered it now as if it were yesterday. She had arrived at Downton Abbey nearly eleven months previous, on a dreary late January day, and instantly she had felt utterly wretched. She felt incredibly silly for doing so, but she had not been able to hold back her tears on the journey from her home, the place where she had lived for 16 and a half years, the place where she was safest and happiest, and from where she hoped she would never leave, though she knew it was inevitable with the failing of her parents' farm. The thought of working and living anywhere else petrified her, but the feelings intensified when she took in the size of the house, and as the door of the hallway shut behind her and she was confronted with so much hustle and bustle immediately it took everything within her not to burst out crying once more. She cried most days and nights, quietly to herself. Although almost everyone was perfectly lovely to her, especially the kind housekeeper and the Crawley girls, who were not that far from her own age, she couldn't help but feel downcast. The days were so long and full, she'd never experienced anything like them; she was permanently exhausted, and very homesick.

It was not until the preparations for Christmas had begun at the house did her sadness start to dissipate, and did so quite rapidly. She watched in wonder as the spectacular Christmas tree was decorated, and was even allowed to hang a couple of baubles upon its branches. In the kitchen, she witnessed the making of gingerbread and mince pies, and relished the taste of some morsels after a busy day, finding herself a lot less intimidated by the brash cook when she saw her close at hand. On Christmas Eve she was amazed to wake and find the estate covered with snow, and was even more stunned when the younger ones, including herself, were allowed to go out and play in it. Later, they all took a trip down to the village to pick out a present each on the courtesy of Lord Grantham, before going to church and then back to the house accompanied by one of the older maids. They were allowed to enter at the front entrance for that one night, and stepping into the shelter and splendour of the house she felt instant comfort and joy. It stayed with her as she lay her head down upon the pillow and woke the next morning, a shining spark lighting and warming her immensely. That Christmas had changed everything for her, and coloured her experience of Downton from then on. Ever since, she had felt for the most part as safe and happy as she had done at her true home. She sincerely hoped that it would have a similar effect on Mr Bates.

As the evening went on, they sat talking easily, and Anna told Mr Bates of all the Christmas customs of the Crawley household, including the tradition of the servants receiving a gift from the family on Christmas morning.

"It's only something quite little, but whatever we get is lovely. Last year I had a bottle of Lady Mary's rose and lavender hand cream, and I'm sure I used it all up by the start of February."

She giggled before a little silence fell, and she pondered awhile. She wasn't really sure if she should say anything, not after how her last question went, but felt quite happier and more relaxed now, so decided to venture after all.

"Is there anything you wish for for Christmas, Mr Bates?"

He seemed to stare hard at the space above their heads, before he regarded her thoughtfully. "I can't say that there is, especially. I'm inclined to think that being allowed to stay on here is enough of a gift in itself, so I daren't ask for anything more."

Anna smiled softly at his reply, before letting her gaze fall into her lap, a little dreamily. She really didn't know why she should feel such a sensation come over her on hearing his voice, and feeling his eyes fixing upon her for however briefly. She'd been set into quite a daze, her eyes drifting upwards to watch the flickering of the candle within the lamp intently, when he shook her gently out of it.

"How about you, Anna? What would you like for Christmas?"

Her lips quirked into a cheerful smirk at his reciprocated question.

"Well, there is one thing, but I'm afraid I can't tell you, Mr Bates. Not because I wouldn't like you to know, but because I'm afraid that if anybody found out, it would mean that there would be less chance of it being granted to me."

Her smile grew larger as he smiled knowingly back at her, standing from the table and walking across into the centre of the hall.

"I understand, and that's very sensible of you. I'm sure that whatever it is, it shall be yours. Patience is always rewarded."

She laughed to herself to hear him echo her mother's sentiments, feeling a warmth spread within her stomach as many memories from the past entwined with this simple, but quite perfect, part of the present. Mr Bates stood with his back to her as she remained at the table, fiddling a little aimlessly with the mended hat. He seemed to be lost in thought once more, as he was prone to do, and Anna let him be. She had to confess, she was most intrigued by him at these moments, when he went off into another world entirely. Then, her own thoughts were completely absorbed with wondering where he might be. Though she would never wish to intrude into the most personal corners of his mind, she found that she could not refrain from wanting to simply search him out, for them to journey into some hidden realm of imagination together. She knew she would most likely never get the chance but nevertheless, she enjoyed the little flights of fancy that he inspired in her every now and then. He shifted his weight ever so slightly where he stood and Anna's eyes were drawn to detailing the outline of his figure. In the dim light she silently studied every element; the really rather elegant fingers that wrapped around his cane, his broad shoulders and the strong curve of his back, his long legs and stance that was still so assured, ever-so refined. After a few long moments, and even though he could not have possibly noticed her doing so, Anna realised she was staring a little too intently and at once she dropped her gaze back to the hat in her hands, trying her best to curb the heated blush that she could feel had appeared upon her face.

"I had better go on and start preparing; the dressing gong will sound sooner than we think."

Her eyes drifted back upwards to observe the clock. "Goodness, so it will. I won't be far behind."

After he had departed, she rose too, rinsing her now empty mug and then carefully placing Lady Mary's hat in the box that lay at the foot of the table, ready to take back upstairs. Anna stretched out her arms, walking slowly around for a little while, still relishing the peace of an absolutely empty hall and the funny but really quite pleasant mixture of tranquillity and gaiety that had pervaded her this evening. Smiling, she shook her head as she made to leave, wondering whether she would still feel like such a child at Christmastime for years as yet to come.

Going out into the hallway, she was a bit surprised to find a shadow standing at the other end, just a little way away from the door.

"Mr Bates…?" She questioned in a cautious tone, though there was no mistaking that it was indeed him. "Are you alright? I expected you'd be well gone by now."

"Yes, I'm quite well," his voice sounded out without turning round to face her, his head craned upwards to the invisible sky. "I did have the intention certainly, but I've been stopped in my tracks by what's happening out there. Have you seen, Anna – it's started to snow."

Anna couldn't stop an elated gasp from escaping her, and after a mere second, ran down the length of the hallway, believing in him implicitly but anxious to see for herself. Reaching her destination faster than she had intended, she very nearly knocked him from his feet as she scrambled to the door with boundless enthusiasm. Her eyes shot up towards him in embarrassment, yet his looked back only in amusement at the force of nature that was so neatly contained in her petite frame.

"Excuse me, Mr Bates."

"It's fine, really. You're obviously very excited." He smirked down at her. "Are you sure Mrs Patmore hasn't put another ingredient in that cocoa?"

"I'm quite sure," she giggled gleefully, returning his gaze before she looked up to catch sight of the white flakes swirling from the window. "I can tell you now, Mr Bates; it's not a secret anymore, because it's come true." Her voice came out a little shakily. "What I really wanted for Christmas was the snow. I know it's a simple thing, but I wanted it most of all." She watched out in sheer wonder, not noticing the way he was smiling with such warmth and affection towards her, in all of her sheer joy.

"Well, what did I say. I knew that you would get exactly what you wished for. And it's not even Christmas yet. You're very lucky, Miss Smith."

"That I am." The grin grew even wider on her face on hearing him call her by her formal name. Splaying her hands against the door, she arched herself upwards to attempt to get a better view of the snow that was now coming down rapidly, falling softly to the ground like a mass of fine, fluffy feathers that had exploded from the clouds above.

"It's not the clearest view," she heard Mr Bates say at her side. "We'll see more with the door open."

"Oh, I don't know. It's getting rather late. Mr Carson would get quite alarmed."

"I suspect not even a sleigh landing on the roof of the house would disturb Mr Carson from his occupation at the moment. And even he would want to see the snowfall for a minute or two, on Christmas Eve."

Carefully and deftly, without the slightest sound, he slipped the lock of the door free and the winter night unfolded before them both. A blast of arctic wind whirled in towards them immediately, yet inside Anna felt warmer than she had the entire evening as she observed the snowflakes all around, glistening as brilliantly as diamonds against the black cloak of night. Already, she could not wait to awake tomorrow and find the landscape encased in a deep and completely untouched blanket of white, possessed straight away by the urge to sink her feet within.

"Oh, it's all so lovely, Mr Bates. Don't you think?" she sighed.

"It is. Very lovely, indeed."

From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed him watching the snowy sky, almost as enchanted as she was at that very minute, and smiled to think that his opinion of the season may already be altering without him being aware of it doing so.

She found that she could not hold her impulses back any longer, and before she was aware, she had stepped out into the yard to become a part of the scene that was calling out to her. Shivering a little, she held out her hands to catch the flakes as they fell, keeping them alive for a moment before they melted upon her fingertips. Delighted, Anna threw her head back, not caring that the icy drops were fluttering onto her face and eyelashes; instead, inviting more to cascade down upon her. Amidst the dark, there was a layer of sky that seemed to radiate and she spotted a singular star within it, bursting and shining with brilliance. She knew before she started to do so that it was childish, but the whole atmosphere had left her so enamoured and she felt so much like she had been thrown back in time that it seemed to be an instinct. Like the snow did, Anna twirled and spun, arms whirling about her and feet lifting from the ground effortlessly. The white crystals that continued to settle in her hair made her shine iridescently as the rest danced around her form, her laughter dancing and drifting on the air.

As her body swirled within the dark of the evening, giggling as she did so, her flittering eyes caught sight of Mr Bates with a honeyed glow around him in the frame of the door. He had a wonderful grin on his lips and in his gaze as he looked out at her, the kind of which she had never seen before upon his features. It had lit him up entirely, and all the while his eyes never left her. Anna came to a standstill facing away from him for a moment and smiled, feeling every inch of herself pulsate under his attentive stare.

Suddenly aware that time must have been marching on, she turned and ran with hurried steps across the yard and up the little stone steps. The open doorway welcomed her into its embrace and she stood, regaining her breath which had caught a little with the chill, almost close enough that her body could have been brushing against his. The air between them emanated with heat, and her rosy cheeks and reddened nose burnt bitterly against the dramatic change in temperature. They both looked down at her fingers, which had turned raw and numb in the cold.

"It doesn't take much for my hands to turn to ice," she laughed, shaking them slightly by her sides to try to get some feeling back.

"You have a warm heart."

Mr Bates smiled kindly at her, and then reaching slightly, took one of her hands in his. Though his touch was incredibly gentle, Anna inhaled sharply at the contact. She was stunned, in a very nice way, and found that she forgot for a moment where she was; she imagined she might have been in another world. Her eyes fell upon his fingers that were working against her own, rubbing tenderly over each in turn. Now they were quite warm indeed, and she felt a tingling sensation start up deep within the pit of her stomach as he swiped softly over her knuckles. She gazed upwards to find his hazel eyes firm upon her, and hers locked with them for a minute that stretched into an eternity. Though her senses were fast slipping from her grasp as she lost herself, unable to tear away from his gaze, so dark and deep and entirely captivating, a myriad of colours colliding in the irises, Anna was now quite certain that she could not mistake it, certainly not at such close hand. The way he was looking at her so intently, looking into her, in a way she had not encountered before. A shiver glided across her shoulder blades, and once more she was aware of his hand holding hers, so delicately. His light touch upon her skin was affecting her profoundly and was quite wonderful, yet in that overwhelming moment she felt a desperate need for more. Before she could lace her fingers in his own, he swiftly suspended the touch, dropping his hand to his side. Anna searched for some words that appeared suddenly invisible to her sight.

"We should get ourselves upstairs."

"Yes," she stuttered out.

He moved to close and bolt the door behind them, she standing frozen to the spot, watching as he then made to head up the staircase.

"I shall see you later on, Anna."

"Yes. Good evening, Mr Bates."

His figure once again disappeared, and instead of following, Anna found herself walking hazily back into the deserted hall. Sitting down in her seat, she picked up the hatbox subconsciously and placed it against her knees. Her right hand rested against its top and she found herself staring down, studying it like she was seeing it for the first time. She could still feel the press of his fingers against the skin there, and a thousand tingles were sent running up and down her spine on the recollection. A laugh erupted from her lips, and she shook her head once more in amazement.

She might have hoped to be granted one Christmas gift tonight, but she had certainly not bargained on receiving another that was quite unexpected.