Title: This Time of the Year

Author: NickyFan

Disclaimer: All rights belong to CBS and their writers.

Summary: Christmas is a very special time of the year. Tasty food, gifts, family meetings, Christmas trees and songs can make this time unforgettable for all of us, even Nick.

Notes: Here is a little Christmas story for you all :-) It's a family fic and I hope you'll have fun reading it. I wrote this story for the Christmas challenge of Nick Fic Song Challenge on TalkCSI :-)

This Time of the Year

„Grandma got run over by a reindeer

walkin' home from our house Christmas eve.

You can say there's no such thing as Santa.

But as for me and Grandpa, we believe."

I love this time of the year, when Christmas songs fill every pore of this big house and calmness and happiness replace stress and sadness. Yeah, the two people living in this house are always stressed and work very hard, but one time of the year they change. Work seems to be less important and every once in a while I am able to see the man of the house smile, which is pretty uncommon.

Oh yes, I love this time of the year. It is the only time I am allowed to see MY family. Every year I get one and a half months to spend with them before I have to leave again. And every year it is the same. In the middle of my stay the man and the woman of the house will be very happy and a very special atmosphere will warm up the house and I feel welcome and liked just like everyone else who comes here to spend Christmas with them.

Oh yes, I love it. I love the plans the woman of the house makes to get everything done in time and the phone calls of her children she receives and the happy face she wears once they say they will all come home in time.

And I love when the man of the house tries to be like always but fails miserably. His smile and the sound of hummed melodies of all kinds of Christmas songs coming from his mouth always give him away. He seems to have a strong liking for Christmas songs. I know because always when he thinks no one can hear him he sings. I love when the man sings. Every year when he starts doing that I know that the time is here, the time when they will all come back for a few days and have a good time at the ranch of Bill and Jillian Stokes.

I love that this time is here now. Bill is singing for the third time today and this time he doesn't even try to hide it. He sings his favorite Christmas song, 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer', and his deep voice echoes through the big living room where Jillian is decorating the Christmas tree. I don't really like this song. I'm more into 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' but oh well… I wasn't expecting us to have the same taste in music anyway. We're just too different.

I think he likes this song because he works in law enforcement. And as long as he is happy I'm happy too. This is a special time and everyone should be happy these days.

***

They all had no idea that Nick Stokes was already on his way to them, sitting in his car and listening to the same song they did at the moment and he was singing to it like his father was. He was so happy. One could hear it just by listening to his voice as he drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel to the melody of the song. It wasn't his favorite Christmas song… he enjoyed 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' more, but it was the favorite song of his father and he was heading to him and his mom for Christmas. He was on vacation and planned to spend New Years on the ranch too.

He had a smile on his face and his eyes were shining like always when he was in a good mood. He would be there soon and couldn't wait to see his mom and dad again. It had been some time since he had been home. In Las Vegas he often thought of the ranch and the beautiful countryside around it. He missed the horses and the long walks he used to take there. And now he would be back for more than two weeks. He couldn't remember the last time he had a three week vacation ahead of him.

His parents didn't know that he was already on his way. They would expect him in three days, but he wanted to surprise them and help them a little with the preparations for the big traditional Christmas dinner when the whole family would be there. They would all come on Christmas Day and he couldn't help but to smile a little bit more at the thought. Year after year the family grew and every year they would have to put more chairs at the big old oak tree table they used every time.

But one thing was for sure. He wasn't going to be able to help in the kitchen. The kitchen was his dad's territory during Christmas time. He would cook for the whole family and was the 'turkey master' of the family. Not even mom could make a Christmas dinner as great as his Cisco could.

At the thought of delicious juicy turkey he realized how hungry he was. But he would be there soon and then, he was sure of it, his mom would make sure he got something tasty to eat. Only a few more miles…

***

The tree is ready and Jillian Stokes stands there to look at it in awe. I love how she decorates the tree every year. And I love the smell of a freshly felled Christmas tree. Now it really is Christmas.

Bill walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. "It looks beautiful, Jilly."

She nods and smiles. He says that every year and she knows he means it. They stand there for a few minutes before Jillian goes on with cleaning the living room. After that she will make dinner for Bill and her. I know how it works… she does it like that day after day and year after year.

After a few minutes she reaches the place where I stand…the place where I stand every year. She likes me standing there on a spot where everyone can see me. She always smiles when she looks at me and so she does now. I am special for her. I have no idea why she thinks I'm special… I am ugly and a monster! At least that's what all the others, except for Bill, say. I can't even stand on my own. I always lean against the wall so I won't fall. Bill never says anything about me, but I can see it in his eyes… the amusement about how I look and that he can't understand why I'm still here year after year. But his wife loves me and so he won't say anything about me.

With one last look at me she goes into the kitchen like I thought she would. Bill places a CD into the CD-player and pushes a few buttons to let the right song play. And again 'Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer' comes out of the loudspeakers and he starts to sing again and follows his wife into the kitchen. I really would like to roll my eyes or cover my ears at the moment, if this would be possible.

Why not 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer'?

***

He couldn't believe it! Ten miles before he reached his parent's ranch, thick white snowflakes started falling from the sky. It had been some time since he had been able to see snow, and seeing the white glory in Texas was very rare. But right now he wasn't even able to ignore them. The flakes were so thick it was hard to see the road through them.

Finally Nick arrived, and after he parked his car he waited for a few seconds and just enjoyed the beauty of the moment. He was back home for Christmas and it was snowing. Could it get any better? The growling in his stomach said yes, and so Nick finally made his way to the house.

He walked slowly, despite the fact that he was cold and that he could eat a horse right now. It was just too alluring to stand outside and to let the snowflakes fall into his hair and onto his clothes.

After a few more steps he reached the door and rang the doorbell.

***

They had just finished dinner and started to wash the dishes as the ring of their doorbell stopped their actions. Jillian and Bill looked at each other, both with a questioning look on their faces.

"Who can that be? It's pretty late," Jillian finally asked.

Bill just shrugged and so Jillian went over to see who was at their door. Bill stayed in the kitchen to clean up what was left of their dinner. But soon his actions were interrupted by his wife's voice. "Bill, it's Nick! Nick is here!"

At the door Jillian immediately threw her arms around her youngest son as she saw him standing on their doorstep with snow in his hair and on his clothes.

"Nick, I thought you would come on Wednesday! Oh my god, look at you! No coat and with all the snow and cold weather. You'll get sick if you stand out there any longer. Come on in…I'll get you warmed up and make you something to eat. I'll bet you're very hungry."

Nick chuckled at his mother's tirade. Oh yes, he had missed her. As soon as he closed the door he found himself in another pair of arms.

"Pancho! I'm glad you got to come here earlier than expected."

Nick knew his father was all about business, but he could see in his eyes and his gestures that he was very happy to have his Pancho here for the next few weeks.

Bill asked his son about the travel to Dallas, and together they made their way into the kitchen where Jillian was busy preparing her son a proper dinner. The boy must be starving.

"Nick, why don't you go into the living room to warm up? You must be freezing."

Nick wanted to argue but soon found himself in the living room where the first thing he saw was the Christmas tree. "Mom, the tree is beautiful," he called out to his mother who was still busy in the kitchen.

"Yeah, your father got a very nice tree this year."

"I'm glad to be home again, Mom," Nick said with a big smile in his face which reached his deep brown eyes and let them shine like suns.

"I'm glad you're here too, sweetie."

***

I must have dozed for a bit because as I open my eyes again there is another person in the Stokes' living room. He stands in front of the Christmas tree and calls over to the woman of the house.

Then he turns around and faces the wall unit where I stand on one of the shelves, watching him through my wooden eyes. He looks exactly like the last time I saw him one year ago, but he has changed over all the years. I can still see him as the little boy he once was and how proud he had been as he made his mom a very special Christmas gift years ago… me.

Now his eyes find mine and he grabs me from the shelf and holds me in his hands. With a smile on his face he said out loud "You really dug him out again this year, didn't you?"

Jillian comes into the room and looks at me. "He is special."

"But he is ugly, Mom. He can't stand on his own. He doesn't even look like one of Santa's Christmas elves and that's what I tried to make him look like. He is just an ugly gnome."

"No he isn't, Nicky. You made him and you were just a little boy back then. You were so proud as you gave him to me and so he'll stand here, year after year. He's very special to me."

Nick smiles at her and puts me back onto my shelf. Carefully he makes me lean on the wall, so I won't fall. I'm glad that he carved me and I love that his mom makes sure that I'll stand right here for more and more years to come.

After a few seconds Bill enters the room and goes straight over to the CD-Player to turn on some Christmas music. And soon 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer' sounds through the room for the third time today.

Nick rolls his eyes and says, "Dad, can't we just listen to 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' or something?"

On my shelf I smile to myself. I really love this time of the year.

A/N: Thank you all for reading it :-) I would like to hear what you think, so please leave a review. If you would like to know how I came to write this story check out my profile.

Thank you Smokey for your beta work. What would I do without you?