A/N: written for the cmrossiprentiss Advent Calendar on LJ. 3

"Well this is pathetic, isn't it buddy?" Emily's question was answered with soft purrs from Sergio. Wine in hand and a cat on her lap wasn't exactly how she had pictured her Christmas. She was supposed to be at her parent's holiday party right now, but a diplomatic emergency had seen the ambassador and her husband on a plane to Saudi Arabia two days earlier. She was now on her third glass of Cabernet and her second viewing of the night of A Christmas Story. Just as Flick was getting triple-dog-dared to stick his tongue to the frozen pole, her phone let out the telltale ping of a new text message. She set her glass down and reached for her phone on the coffee table in front of her. Sergio protested the sudden movement of his bed and hopped down onto the floor. With a swish of his tail and what Emily swore was a glare, he trotted off towards the kitchen. Emily rolled her eyes at her cat. "Well pardon me, your highness," she muttered as she looked at the phone in her hand. The message was from Rossi.

how's the party?

Rossi was the only other person on the team that was in town for the holidays. She quickly thumbed a reply.

last-minute change of plans – they're in saudi so i'm spending xmas with my cat

would you like some human company?

of course, but i have to warn you i'm out of wine

i'll fix that

Emily smiled to herself. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but in the last year or so she'd developed a bit of a crush on her co-worker. Even though she figured he was just coming over as a friend so neither one of them would have to be alone on Christmas, she couldn't help but feel the tiniest spark of excitement.

Ralphie was just about to shoot his eye out and blame it on an icicle when there was a knock at Emily's door.

Emily pushed herself off the couch and padded through the living room to open the door. On the other side was Dave. He grinned at her and held out a large bottle of Merlot. "Merry Christmas, Emily."

He followed her into the kitchen and uncorked the wine as she pulled two glasses down from a cupboard. He filled both glasses and carried them into the living room. He handed her a glass before seating himself next to her on the couch. Snow was falling on Cleveland Street as the end credits rolled up the screen. "Ahh, 24 hours of A Christmas Story, the greatest thing on television this time of year."

"I can put something else on if you want," Emily said, and made a move for the remote on the table.

"Are you kidding? I love this movie. I was actually watching it when I texted you." He took a long swig of wine. "We've gotta watch it at least once more."

Around the time of Emily's sixth glass of wine and fourth viewing of Ralphie decoding Little Orphan Annie's secret commercial message, her eyelids started getting very heavy. By the time Ralphie was beating the shit out of Scut Farkus she was sound asleep.

When she woke up, she was aware of two things: she was laying down and draped over something. Was that a pillow? No, she didn't have any pillows this big on the couch. She opened her eyes to find herself practically on top of Rossi, her head on his chest and an arm resting on his stomach. His arms were wrapped tightly around her shoulders and back. A brief moment of panic set in until his heavy breathing gave away that he was still asleep. Emily relaxed and snuggled closer to him. As she drifted back to sleep in the warmth of Dave's arms, she felt him stir and kiss the top of her head. She smiled. The situation might be awkward when the two of them were fully awake, but in that very moment she was comfortable and happy.