A/N: Only THREE MORE SLEEPS!

As promised, I have another little Christmas story featuring our favourite couple!

I'm asking Santa to be extra good to those brave souls who left reviews for my other holiday-themed story Naughty or Nice? Thank you jorizo, afrozenheart412, KTmac09, LoveIsInTheAir4DL, ZoeyBug and ioanhoratio for taking a few minutes out of your busy lives (I know things are crazy around the holidays!) to let me know what you thought!

This one is still old-school. No particular season. Danny and Lindsay are looking to do something Christmassy. Enjoy!


"Oh, God…" Lindsay groaned as they trudged down the hallway after spending Christmas Eve at Danny's parents'. "I'm soooo full! It's a good thing I wore my stretchy pants."

"I told you to slow down," Danny replied as he unlocked the front door of his apartment, holding it open for her and then following her inside. "It's not called the Feast of the Seven Fishes for nothing, babe. It's a lot of food." He pressed a kiss to her hair, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her against his chest. "Don't worry, though. You'll learn to pace yourself after a few years."

"A few years, huh? You think I'm gonna stick around for that long, do you?"

"Positive," he said. "Once you've had a taste of the Messer magic there's no going back, baby."

"And so modest, too," she giggled.

"I like to think so," he chuckled. "I'm actually twice as good as I say I am."

"Well, you keep telling yourself that, Danny. Maybe one day I'll believe you," she said. "Ugh. I'm never eating again," she mumbled, burying her face in his shirt.

"You say that now," he said. "But knowing you, you'll be the first in line for turkey tomorrow."

Lindsay looked up at him and smiled. "Is it wrong that even though I'm almost painfully full right now, I started drooling when you mentioned turkey?"

"Wow. You sure know how to turn a guy on," Danny quipped. "I'd hate to see what happens to you when I mention pumpkin pie."

"Mmm… pie…" she groaned, licking her lips.

"Okay, seriously stop that," he chuckled. "I'm actually starting to get turned on now."

Lindsay patted his cheek and grinned. "Well, that's too bad for you, because I'm too full for sex."

"Tease."

"I'm going to go put on my PJs," Lindsay said, untangling herself from Danny's arms and heading down the hall. "You wanna pick out a movie for us to watch? Something Christmassy."

"Something Christmassy. Gotcha." He watched her disappear into the bedroom. He sat down on the floor and studied his DVD collection, searching for something seasonally appropriate. He couldn't help but shake his head and laugh at the insanely girly movies that were now interspersed in with his own. Movies he would never, ever admit to watching now stared back at him from the shelves. His eyes fell upon Love, Actually. She'd been badgering him to watch it with her for weeks leading up to Christmas, and in a moment of weakness, he'd finally caved, curling up on the couch with her to watch what she claimed was the 'best Christmas movie ever'.

He'd thought it would be painful, but it wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Sure, it was sappy and overly sentimental. But it had its moments, and he'd actually laughed out loud a few times. The truth was he'd probably watch it again if she asked him… not that he was going to tell her that. He couldn't make it that easy for her. It just wouldn't be right.

He continued to troll through the titles until he found the one he wanted. Taking it from the shelf, he nodded his satisfaction and opened the case, placing the disc in the DVD player and pushing himself up off the floor. He went into the kitchen and busied himself making two cups of hot chocolate, topping his own with a healthy dollop of whipped cream and hers with a handful of the miniature marshmallows she loved so much.

He was just getting himself settled on the couch when she emerged from the bedroom wrapped in her housecoat, her fluffy pink slippers on her feet.

"You pick something?" she asked, sitting down beside him and tucking her legs up under her.

"Yup."

"What are we watching?" she asked.

"It's a surprise," he said. "Hot chocolate?" he asked, handing over her mug, his insides melting just a bit at the delighted smile on her face upon seeing her beloved marshmallows.

"You remembered!" she said, cuddling into his side and kissing his cheek. "I love you."

"Love you too, Linds."

He grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch, throwing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side before draping the blanket snuggly over top of them. "Comfy?" She smiled and nodded, resting her head against his shoulder. "Alright. Here we go."

He pressed play on the remote and grabbed his own mug, sipping carefully at the hot liquid as the credits rolled.

"Um… Danny? What are we watching?" Lindsay asked.

"I told you; it's a surprise."

"But… I thought you were going to pick out a Christmas movie."

"I did. This is my favourite Christmas movie of all time," he said. "I watched yours, so now you get to watch mine."

"But… it's not even Christmassy!"

"Are you kidding me?" he asked, pressing pause on the remote and narrowing his eyes at her. "Have you even seen Die Hard?"

"I don't have to see it to know that it's not a Christmas movie," she replied. "It's an action movie, Danny. It's just Bruce Willis running around shooting people and blowing stuff up."

"Yeah… on Christmas Eve," he said sagely. "But it's so much more than that, Montana. See, this guy John McClane… he's a cop from New York and he's separated from his family. All he wants for Christmas is to see his wife and kids again, so he goes to LA and… are you even listening to me?"

"Yes, I'm listening," she sighed. "John McClane goes to LA, kills a bunch of bad guys, saves Christmas and they all lived happily ever after."

"So you have seen it," Danny deadpanned.

"Danny!"

"Please, Linds? I watched yours!"

"Are you trying to tell me you didn't like Love, Actually?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you," he grumbled. "It was crap. I hated every minute of it."

"Liar," Lindsay chuckled into her mug. "You loved it. You even cried at the end."

"I did not!" Danny said indignantly. "I had something in my eye."

"Of course you did," Lindsay taunted, reaching out to ruffle his hair, giggling when he turned and glared at her. "You big baby."

"Come on. Give it a chance, Montana. You might actually like it."

"Okay, I'll make you a deal," she said. "I will watch Die Hard with you if… I get to open one present tonight."

"I don't know," Danny teased, "I think all those presents under the tree are for me. Maybe there's a lump of coal somewhere in the back for you…"

"Danny!"

"Alright, alright. Deal. You can open one present tonight," he said. "But I get to pick which one."

"Better be a really good one."

"Babe, they're all really good ones," he replied. "You're so spoiled it's not even funny."

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips before nuzzling down against him once more. "What are we waiting for? Press play already. The sooner this is over, the sooner I get my present!"


"Oh. My. God," Lindsay said as the final credits rolled. "Danny! That was awesome! I can't believe you let me go all this time without seeing that movie!"

"Excuse me?" Danny scoffed. "Oh, please. I've been trying to get you to watch that movie for like six months!"

"Details, details," she said, waving off his comment. "You never mentioned Bruce Willis running around in his wife beater and his tight jeans. And did you see those muscles? God, I forgot how hot he was back then…"

"Uh… I'm sitting right here," Danny said, sticking out his lower lip.

"Can we watch it again?"

"Um… no. Actually we can never watch it ever, ever again. You've ruined Die Hard for me forever," he sulked. "I hope you're happy."

"Oh Baby, I'm sorry," she said, smiling sweetly at him. "Do you need something to make you feel better? A little distraction, maybe?"

"Hell yes!"

"Well then you can go get me my present!" She grinned, squirming excitedly on the couch beside him.

"You know what? I changed my mind. No present for you."

"But you promised," she pleaded, batting her eyelashes at him. "Please? Pretty please?"

"God, you're so spoiled."

"Only because you love spoiling me," she giggled, pushing him up off the couch toward the tree. "Now get going. I want my present."

She watched as Danny rooted around under the tree, taking his time in selecting just the right gift. He teased her a few times, picking up larger presents and then shaking his head and setting them down again before he finally got to his feet, a tiny package held in his hand.

He sat down beside her and handed her the gift, setting it in the palm of her hand. He smiled at her, his blue eyes shining with excitement. With trembling fingers, Lindsay began to pull away the shiny red paper, revealing a small, black velvet box. "Danny…" she breathed, knowing full well that lying in that box would be something expensive. Something he probably couldn't afford.

"Please, Lindsay. Just open it."

She lifted the lid, her breath catching in her throat at the beautiful ring that lay nestled in a bed of silk. "Oh, Danny!" she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"It was my grandmother's," he said, taking the box from her and lifting the delicate band from its resting place, holding it up for her to see. The ring itself was white gold with a cluster of tiny diamonds encircling a small but brilliantly cut sapphire.

"Oh, my God… it's beautiful."

"It's not too small?" he asked shyly, "Or old-fashioned?"

"It's perfect." She smiled at him and he raised his hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Is it…? It's not a…? You're not… are you?"

"Oh, shit!" he grimaced. "I'm doing this all wrong… Sorry, babe. I'm just… I guess I'm just nervous."

"Don't be nervous, Danny," she whispered. "Just… just say it."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking her hand in his and pressing a kiss to her fingers. "I love you so much, Lindsay," he began, his voice trembling slightly as he fought to control his nerves and emotions. "When I'm with you, I feel like a better person. You make me happy, you make me laugh. You're not afraid to put me in my place when I act like a jerk..."

"That's my favourite part," she giggled, her tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"I know it is, and you're so good at it." He winked at her, sliding off the couch and onto one knee in front of her. "I can't imagine my life without you, Linds. And I don't want to. I want to have kids with you. I want to get grey hair with you. I want to argue with you about what movie to watch on Christmas Eve… every Christmas Eve. Even when we're 90 years old and living in some God-awful retirement community. I want to prove to you that I'm better looking than Bruce Willis ever was in a wife beater… I'll even buy some tight jeans if I have to. So, what do you say? Lindsay Monroe, will you marry me?"

Wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her housecoat, Lindsay nodded her head, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.

"So… is that a yes?"

"Yes! Yes! Of course it's a yes!" she giggled and he took her left hand, sliding his grandmother's ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly and she held out her hand, turning it this way and that, gazing in amazement as the gemstones sparkled in the light.

"You really like it?" he asked, climbing back onto the couch and pulling her onto his lap. She cuddled into his chest, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

"I love it," she sighed. "And I love you."

He kissed her forehead, wrapping her tightly in his arms. "I love you, too."

"Do you want to open one of your presents now?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Nah. I don't need to," he replied. "I already got what I wanted for Christmas."


I wrote this a few weeks ago. It actually stemmed from a conversation I was having with a friend – she wanted to watch a Christmas movie and I suggested Die Hard. She was thinking something more along the lines of Miracle on 34th Street. In the end we agreed to disagree and watched Elf instead. It was win-win, really ;)

I love hearing back from readers so please don't be shy… if you enjoyed what you read, feel free to leave a review or send me a PM!

Ho, ho, ho!

*rhymes*