SAS Headquarters, Hereford, 0700 hours…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Melissa Morton smacked her hand down on the alarm clock, hoping to break it, but no such luck. She yawned heavily and sat up, running her fingers through her messy light brown hair. She had to get up and get ready for work. At least it was Friday. She sighed and swung her legs over the mattress, standing up and making her way to the shower. She paused to look at one of the photos sitting on top of the dresser against the wall. John "Soap" MacTavish was holding her in his arms tightly to protect her from the cold she so hated, and she was smiling at the camera while he kissed her temple. Melissa couldn't help but smile at the photo. It was taken last month in Hereford town while the troops were relaxing. It was now late December, and Melissa and Soap had been together for eleven months. Late January would make it one year. Soap was currently in Credenhill with his 22nd regiment, training before going on a mission to apprehend another terrorist. He was scheduled to return on Christmas Eve, but it felt like year away instead of three days. He had been gone for the past month with Price, and every day felt like the longest day of her life. Melissa tried to look at the upside. Today was her last day of work before her Christmas leave, and she was looking forward to putting up the tree her grandfather had sent from Arizona. A fake one, of course. Pine tree needles made her skin itch and it also made a mess. He had sent her some family decorations as well. She went into the bathroom and turned on the water, undressing so she could take her warm shower.

While Melissa was under the spray she reflected on the past six months. Most of the high ranking Ultranationalists had been caught and put on trial in Moscow. The events mirrored the trials of the Nazi's in Nuremburg, and were simply called "The Moscow Trials". The best judges of various nationalities made up the panel of four and most of the defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death. Ursa Makarov was yet to be caught and Mac told Melissa that she would most likely be made to testify against her. The idea scared Melissa out of her mind, but she knew it had to be done to put the woman down once and for all. She shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, getting dry and dressed so she could have breakfast.

Credenhill, 22nd Regiment base, 1200 hours

Soap sighed as the hot water hit his skin. They had returned from Egypt only twenty minutes before and it had been a long, hard mission. They had gone after one of Makarov's former advisors who was deceptively clever at disappearing, but Soap had chased him down into a hole, until there was nowhere left to hide. The advisor would be sent to Moscow and be put on trial, and the boys of the 22nd could finally go home in time for Christmas. Soap knew Price was looking forward to see his wife, Trish. And to say that Soap was looking forward to seeing Melissa was an understatement. He missed her everyday while he was gone, and was always thinking about her, wondering how she was before he went to bed at night. This would be their first Christmas together, and he wanted to get home as quickly as possible so he could be with her again. After a few minutes Soap turned off the water and dried down, then tying the towel around his waist and going to the mirror. He needed a shave. He walked to where he left his clothes and got dressed, then went to his quarters so that he could get his electric razor.