A/N – this is my contribution to the 2016 The Last Ship Holiday Story Exchange! This story is for Tea-Induced Scribbles, who requested a Tex/Andrea story and a mistletoe kiss. I hope that you enjoy! XOXO – tmtcltb.

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December 25, 2014

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Andrea stood on the patio, the chill from the stone wall she was leaning against seeping into her bones. Behind her the festivities continued unabated despite the late hour, the guys playing some sort of drinking game that seemed to be aimed solely at getting utterly trashed. Normally she – or Tom or Mike – would have cut them off by now, but not tonight. Not after all that the crew had gone through since leaving the Arctic, not when many of them still didn't know whether their families were dead or alive, and especially not given what had happened in this very hotel two nights before, when Curtis shot Doctor Rachel Scott.

And with her destroyed so much hope for the future.

The crew needed this celebration. They needed this time to let off some steam, to be regular people, to have a break – no matter how fleeting – from a mission that involved the very survival of the human race. So if they got a little rambunctious tonight, Andrea was not going to be the one to stop them.

Even if the last thing she felt like doing tonight was partying. Even if each time someone wished her a Merry Christmas Andrea felt like she was being stabbed in the stomach, each word, each smile a painful reminder that she would never have another Christmas – another birthday, another holiday, another day – with Bill or Lily. Which was why she was outside, despite the shivers that now wracked her body.

"There you are Red!"

Andrea was mildly surprised to hear Tex's voice. When she left the group, he was in the thick of things, trying to fashion a funnel to attach to the keg. He stepped onto the patio, the light from the ballroom giving her a perfect view of the hat that he was wearing. A baseball cap, Andrea thought she could see the logo for the Oakland A's, it was now covered in some sort of plastic leaves and fake birds – and made Tex look absolutely ridiculous.

Andrea snorted. "What is that?"

"You don't like my Christmas present?" Tex spun in a circle. "Kat made it for me. It's mistletoe. So I get kisses from all the ladies."

Despite her best effort, Andrea burst out laughing when Tex waggled his eyebrows at her. "You can count me out on the kissing front."

"You're ruining my streak, Red," Tex replied as he strolled out onto the patio. "Is it snowing?"

"It started about fifteen minutes ago," Andrea confirmed. "I'm waiting for a little bit to stick and then I'll get Kara. She'll be ecstatic. She was hoping for a white wedding."

Unlike many brides, Kara hadn't been overly concerned about the details of the wedding. In fact, upon learning that Danny would be leaving for California on Boxing Day as part of the effort to spread the cure, Kara was the one who suggested getting married immediately, even though her mother would not arrive in St. Louis for at least another few weeks. The tight time frame meant that the wedding was being held at the same hotel that hosted the inaugural ball only days before, but the crew did what it could to make the day special. The small ceremony was performed by the Master Chief with the majority of the crew in attendance. Both bride and groom wore their dress blues, and Bacon outdid himself with the food. Still, the one bride-like wish that Kara expressed was the hope that her wedding day might be graced with snow, and Andrea had sensed her disappointed at the bright, sunny day.

"It was a good idea, having the wedding today," Tex said abruptly.

"Yes. Good to get the formalities done before Danny leaves," Andrea replied.

"True," Tex agreed. "But that's not what I meant. It gives the crew something to take their minds off what today is, and where they would be, and who they would be with right now if everything didn't go to shit."

Andrea gave him a sideways glance. At times the contractor could be surprisingly insightful. "How is Kat doing?"

"It was a tough day," Tex admitted. "I had to get a bit creative. Why do you think I'm wearing this ridiculous hat?"

"I thought it was to get kisses from the ladies," Andrea replied, teasing the man a little. The hat was unquestionably absurd, although it was pretty darn sweet that he was wearing it to take his daughter's mind off the mother she was missing.

"Is it working?"

Suppressing a laugh, Andrea pushed away from the wall. "I think there's a sufficient amount of snow on the ground. I'm going to find Kara. Maybe you can round up that drunken groom so they can see it together."

Tex actually pouted. "What about my kiss?"

This time Andrea did laugh. "Not a chance in hell."