A/N: I am not giving up on my Riggs/Cahill ship, especially at Christmas! I have yet to see any of Season 2, so I live in hope for my ship in the episodes ahead. In the meantime, there is this fic, set in Season 1. This story is part of a multi-fandom series I started years ago, which I just love to bring back whenever I have new pairings to throw at it. If you read this, I hope you enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Shane Black, Fox, and other folks who aren't me.

The Secret Santa Series XII: Riggs & Cahill

"Doc?"

Cahill physically jumped when she heard his voice behind her, her hand covering her heart as she turned to look. Riggs was smirking a little too much for her liking but she would let him off this time. The fact he looked anything like happy at Christmastime, given his circumstances, was okay with her.

"You hanging out here lookin' for me?" he asked, confused by her presence in the office, just loitering by a pillar.

"No, no. I was... Um, well, I was just looking around" she said, shifting awkwardly in place.

Riggs sat down on the corner of his desk, crossing his arms over his chest and giving her an appraising look. What she was saying didn't make sense and they both knew it.

"Okay," she said, huffing out a sigh and rolling her eyes for good measure. "I was just..." she began, looking away and then back at him, moving in a step closer and speaking very softly. "I'm spying, on them," she said, tilting her head just a little to the left.

Riggs peered over her shoulder to see Bailey and Cruz stealing glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. That was weird.

"Okay. Clearly I'm missing something."

"Most probably, yes," the good doctor agreed, moving to sit next to Riggs, much closer than he ever expected her to get actually. "They got each other in Secret Santa. I wanted to see if it helped at all."

"Secret Santa?" Riggs echoed, finding it just a little difficult to concentrate all of a sudden. It had been a really long time since a woman was this close to him. It made him feel good and bad and a whole spectrum of other things he didn't want to examine, especially since it was her in particular. "Um, how'd you know they pulled each other's names?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"Because I was in charge of the draw" she said, smiling, "and I may have fixed things a little"

Riggs' eyes widened a litter at that.

"Dishonesty, doc?" he checked. "I'm shocked"

"No, you're not" she said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, just because we all work for law enforcement doesn't mean we never bend the rules. You're the king of rule bending!"

"Do I get a crown?" he asked her with a look.

"No," she said firmly. "Besides, I only fixed those two. Everything else was random. Of course, karma came back to get me already for messing with the game. Apparently, nobody got my name, or they got it and chose not to get me anything," she said with a sigh.

"Huh," said Riggs, "and here was me thinkin' that you knew everything," he said, getting up and walking around his desk.

From the bottom drawer, he pulled out a small package. Walking around in front of Cahill, he smiled almost nervously as he handed it to her.

"Merry Christmas, doc," he said, placing the small, badly-wrapped gift into her hand.

"Riggs," she said, shaking her head, "I don't... You were my Secret Santa?"

"Well, a little less than secret, I guess. Sorry 'bout that," he apologised, rubbing the back of his neck. "The truth is, I didn't sign up to play. Rog said I had to, put my name in there when I wasn't around, and honestly, I probably would have tossed the piece of paper in the trash if it had anybody else's name on it, but for you, doc?" he said, spreading his arms wide and shrugging. "What was I gonna do?"

Cahill didn't know what to say or even what to think. She wasn't surprised to realise it was Murtaugh's idea for Riggs to play in Secret Santa, not his own choice, but it was something to hear that of all people he considered her worthy of his time and money, even in this small way. Staring down at the gift in her hands she realised she should at least say thank you, but just as she thought of forming the words, he started talking again.

"I know I could've just put it on your desk, or under the tree with the others, but things have been a little crazy. I bought the damn thing, got it looking half decent - you can thank Trish for the bows and all, she fixed me up there - but then everything got-,"

"A little crazy" she supplied, smiling up at him. "Riggs, it's fine. Thank you, for this. I... I understand that this time of year is probably one of the toughest for you. The fact you did this at all, it's just... It's progress for you," she realised aloud, before switching back from professional to friendly, "and very special to me. Thank you."

"You're welcome," said Riggs, nodding once. "It's not much, I don't know if you'll like it."

He looked genuinely nervous, so Cahill decided to put him out of his misery. Pulling on the ribbon and then tearing at the pretty paper, she soon had the gift unwrapped and was prising the lid off the box, quite prepared to be grateful regardless what she found inside. Riggs had made an effort and it was the thought that counted. She got a real surprise when she really didn't need to act at all when she saw what he had bought for her.

"Riggs, this is... This is amazing, thank you," she told him genuinely, dangling the keychain from her fingers – a perfect silver oval, imprinted with the figure of Saint Dymphna.

"Glad you like it, doc," Riggs told her, smiling in that way she was sure had melted many a woman's heart over the years.

It sure did something to Cahill, no matter how unprofessional it seemed, and how inappropriate in any case, since he was still grieving for his wife. There was a voice in Cahill's heard that said 'someday', but she tried to quash it. She did not need that sort of complication in her life, and neither did Martin.

The almost-moment between them was summarily broken by the sound of chairs moving and people leaving. Riggs and Cahill looked over to see Bailey and Cruz walking out together, not hand-in-hand or anything, but side-by-side, talking like buddies at the very least. Honestly, Riggs thought they were walking pretty close together for two people who weren't feeling some kind of attraction, and Bailey was laughing in a way he'd never heard before.

"Maybe you got a point about those two," he said thoughtfully.

"I just think they could make a really cute couple," said Cahill, her voice proving she was closer than she had been before, and yet Riggs still startled when he turned and realised just how close. "I think she could like him, and I know he likes her, more than a little, actually."

"He tell you that?"

"Are you crazy?" she asked, catching herself when she looked up and noticed Riggs smiling again.

"That's the general theory," he noted. "Of course, you're the doctor, you should know for sure."

Cahill shook her head.

"I don't think you're crazy, Riggs," she promised him. "Actually, right now, I've never been more sure that you're just a very sweet, kind, decent man," she said definitely.

"Well, now, I'm starting to wonder if you're the crazy one, doc," he said, backing up a step and looking more at his boots than anything else.

It was the only way he knew how to cope, especially when there wasn't a bottle to turn to. Bad enough to have a head full of memories that wouldn't quit and a heap of pain and guilt to work through. Last thing he needed was some beautiful, compassionate, amazing woman telling him how great he was. That was just going to confuse things, and muddy waters that Riggs already felt he was drowning in on a daily basis. Maybe someday he'd be able to deal, but today was not that day, and any day but today was one he wasn't ready to think about yet.

"Riggs," said Cahill, her hand on his arm now. She looked so sad when he glanced up at her, he almost felt bad for causing it, but he couldn't help it. "Thank you," she said again, reaching up on her toes to kiss him gently on the cheek. "I won't say Merry Christmas, I know how pointless that would be, but I wish you peace, and any scrap of happiness you can find," she said with a small smile, "and if you need someone to talk to, any time, you know you can call me, right?"

Riggs let out a long sigh and nodded his head.

"You're one in a million, doc," he told her honestly. "Anybody else ever tells you any different, you send 'em to me, okay?"

Cahill nodded her agreement, smiling maybe too much at the sentiment, before she turned and walked away, cradling her gift in her hands like precious treasure still.

"Merry Christmas, doc," said Riggs, too softly for her to really hear, but that didn't mean he wasn't sincere in the sentiment.

Maureen Cahill deserved the very best of Christmas, and everything else besides, he was absolutely sure on that.