Home For The Holidays
Chapter 1 –
Steve slowly woke to the sounds of dishes clanking in the kitchen, the smell of coffee brewing, and wait…. is that?…. Yes! Bacon cooking! Rolling over onto his back and stretching, he squinted at the clock as the morning sun shone in through the open window, a slight, still-cool breeze across his bare torso, he saw that it was just 7:00 a.m. And it was Christmas Day. He thought back to last night, about the time he spent with Danny, Gracie and the rest of his team – his family now. They made a nice Christmas for Danny and Gracie before Gracie was picked up by Rachel and Stan to wake up Christmas morning at their house. He remembered the look in Danny's eyes as he watched his daughter drive away. He knew he still had feelings for Rachel – any idiot could see that – but, he knew it killed him every time he had to let Gracie go.
Steve sat up to climb out of bed, feeling the soreness of his muscles after his confrontation with Victor Hess. His mind went back to the sight of all that money burning and flying away with the breeze from the fire pit. His stomach did a flip flop when he thought about how he withheld the information from the Governor about the stolen money. That would weight heavy on his mind until he could come up with a plan.
She must have heard him stir because he was brought back from his thoughts by Catherine's voice calling up to him. "You gonna sleep ALL day, or are you gonna get down here and open up your Christmas present?" He heard her climbing the stairs toward him and smiled as she rounded the doorway and came into the bedroom with a cup of coffee, wearing nothing but one of his shirts.
She closed the distance between the door and the bed and as he took the coffee from her hand, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. "Oh, I wanna open my present for sure," he grinned, pulling her down on the bed with him while simultaneously putting the coffee cup on the nightstand.
About an hour later, Catherine and Steve made their way downstairs to breakfast – now cold bacon and scrambled eggs. "Well, so much for breakfast," Catherine said, giving Steve a gentle shove from behind.
"Hey – you're the one that brought my Christmas present upstairs!" he teased back. He started clearing the spoiled food away, putting the dishes into the sink as he started filling it with hot water and dish soap. Catherine came around behind and wrapped her arms around his waist, just tall enough to kiss his neck. He savored the feeling of her so close to him for a long moment.
"I'm sorry," he said to her as his hands washed and rinsed the morning's dishes.
"Sorry for what?" she asked him, still holding on.
"I didn't get a chance to get you anything for Christmas. I haven't really celebrated Christmas for a long time," he said, sadness in his voice.
She gave him another hug and let go to get a dishtowel to start drying the dishes. "You've been a little busy, what with Chin and Victor Hess," she said, dismissing his apology. "Besides, I didn't get you anything big."
"So, I talked to Mary yesterday," Catherine offered, changing the subject.
"Really?" he answered, somewhat surprised. "I didn't know she knew your number."
"She doesn't. I was here when she called. I recognized the area code on the caller ID so I answered while you weren't here in case it was urgent. I hope you don't mind," she said apologetically.
He shook his head, "Not at all. So, is everything alright?" he asked, his hands still in the dishwater as he turned toward her, waiting for the bad news.
"She's fine. She wanted you to come visit her for Christmas. I told her I'd have you call her today," she answered.
Finished washing the dishes, he pulled the drain plug and watched as the water ran out of the sink. "Mmmm, I don't think I can leave. What if we get a case or something? I'll give her a call before I head into the office today."
"Today? Steve, its Christmas. I'm sure no one expects you into the office today. You gave the rest of the team the day off at Danny's last night, remember?" she said, leaning against the counter.
"A lot of paperwork to do after yesterday. Its not going to fill itself out," he said, putting the rest of the dishes away. "How about a nice dinner tonight?" he said, reaching for Catherine and pulling her toward him.
"How about you call your sister and make plans to go out and visit her today. Its not that far and its Christmas. You guys just reconnected and I know you miss her," she prodded. "Besides, your team is still in town and they can handle anything that comes up until and if you need to get back. Stay for a couple of days," she urged.
He thought for a moment and finally said, "I'll call her, but no promises."
He released her from the hug and she touched the side of his face as he kissed her. He strode off to his den to call his sister.
To Be Continued…..
