A/N: It's been awhile, hasn't it? I will be update Redress as soon as possible, I promise. In the meantime, here's a little holiday treat that was a Secret Santa gift for meekkka246 at the Jello Forever forum. I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!

Disclaimer: I asked Santa for a lot of things, including the rights to the show, but Bruno has more clout with the big man in red than I do.

Christmas Trees and Hot Chocolate

"Merry Christmas!"

The chorus of greetings and goodbyes floated in from the bullpen which was a welcome relief for Teresa Lisbon. She had drawn the short stick in the building so the office Christmas party was being hosted by her team. Thankfully for Lisbon, Van Pelt jumped at the chance to organize and plan the festivities. The red headed agent had spent the last few days baking gingerbread cookies and getting the office decorated from top to bottom. As grateful as Lisbon was for the younger woman's enthusiasm, Van Pelt had been more chipper than usual and her incessant humming of holiday carols had been grating on the senior agent's nerves. Feigning a headache, Lisbon retreated to her office for some peace but not before catching a certain blue eyed consultant spiking the eggnog.

"You know Grumpy wasn't one of the eight reindeer."

The alleged 'Eggnog Spiker' was standing in her doorway, a pair of fuzzy antlers sprouting from his golden curls.

"Huh, last time I checked, Dopey wasn't either."

Through her lashes she could see his smile brighten and she couldn't help the smile tugging at her own lips.

"You should go home, you work too much."

"Well I have to compensate for the people who don't work enough."

"You are a mean one, Mrs. Grinch."

"Why don't you spread your good tidings elsewhere?"

"But you're my favorite person in the world."

"Everyone's gone aren't they?"

"Yes, but that's beside the point."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, you're the only one I want to corner under the mistletoe," he quipped, waggling his eyebrows.

Carefully putting down the pen in her hand, she looked up at him with an amused expression.

"You get a tree?" he asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"Pine, Douglas fir…"

"Oh that tree, I was thinking about the other kind of tree," she quipped sarcastically.

"Seriously, Lisbon, why don't you have a tree?"

Pursing her lips, Lisbon returned her attention to the form in front of her.

"How do you know I don't have one?"

"Because you're a terrible liar."

"So I've been told."

"And you're avoiding the question."

"It's not like I've had the time to get a tree."

"Like I said, you work too hard."

"Go home, Jane."

There was a lull in the conversation. Unnerved by the silence, Lisbon slowly lifted her gaze to meet his.

"When's the last time you've put up a tree?"

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Will you just give it a rest?"

"No."

"Jaaaaaaane…" she warned.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Slowly, she nodded her head.

"Good memories?"

Lisbon sighed.

"The year Pete was born, the youngest, both of my parents were at the hospital the week leading up to Christmas," she paused, laughing. "I thought we weren't going to get a tree, so I was a miserable, bratty pain in the ass. But when Pete was brought home on Christmas Eve, I completely forgot all about the tree. Hell, I didn't even care if Santa came or not, I was just so thankful for having my entire family together. And the next morning, there it was, the most beautiful tree I could have ever imagined."

Even though her eyes were misting with tears, she put on a brave smile.

"Are you happy now?"

"Making you cry was never my intention."

"Of course it wasn't, Jane. I don't even know why I even…"

"I remember the last Christmas I spent with my family."

The tone of his voice startled her. She suddenly couldn't tear her eyes away from him.

"I bought the biggest tree that I could find and had it delivered to the house. We were going to decorate it together, just me and my daughter. But I got caught up with work and by the time I made it home, the tree was already decorated."

Lisbon frowned as she took a moment to digest his words.

"I should have been more disappointed, I really wasn't. That was until I went upstairs and found my little girl crying. I held her and promised that I would never disappoint her again. And we stayed up drinking hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, they were her favorites, and watched movies until she fell asleep in my arms."

Lisbon reached over, covering his hand with hers. She ran her thumb gently across his knuckles. They sat where they were for a few minutes before he pulled away. Standing up, he removed the fuzzy antlers from atop his head before he placed them delicately behind her ears. He leaned forward a moment, hesitated, then stepped back. She stared at him curiously.

"Merry Christmas, Lisbon."

His voice was barely audible. And with only a trace of a smile on his face, he was gone.

The alarm went off at 6 a.m. on the dot. Lisbon groaned as she fumbled around in the dark to press the snooze button. Rolling out of bed, she went through her normal morning routine and made her way downstairs. If it wasn't for her hand finding the railing, she would have certainly would have landed face first into the carpet after completely missing the final few steps. She blinked. It was standing in the middle of the living room, filling the house with the scent of cinnamon pine and the gentle glow of sapphire, viridian and gold lights. Tentatively she approached the modest tree. It was only up close, that she noticed the ornaments: an origami frog, an emerald necklace, a porcelain pony, a basket of glass strawberries. She stared in utter disbelief at the tree as she reached for her phone. He answered after a single ring.

"Good morning, Agent Lisbon."

"Good morning. I was wondering if you know that trespassing is a felony in the state of California."

"I'm not sure you've got the right person. I suggest you look for a big old man dressed in red who leaves nothing behind besides gift wrapped presents and cookie crumbs."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

Chuckling, Lisbon reached for the pony and ran her fingertips along its painted mane.

"I don't know what to say, Jane."

There was a long pause. An ambulance sped past her window, the sirens blaring. She then noticed a familiar car parked across the street. Placing the phone back down onto its cradle, she unlocked the front door and threw it open. He was standing in the threshold, cell in one hand, a white paper bag in the other, megawatt grin in place. She casually leaned against the post, folding her arms across her chest.

"Hi."

"Hi, I brought you a present."

He handed her the bag and she peered in.

"Bear claw."

"Your favourite."

Retreating back inside, she gave him permission to enter her home.

"Nice tree," he commented.

"Jane…"

"Lisbon…"

They spoke at the same time. Lisbon waved for him to go first.

"I'm sorry."

She looked up him quizzically while she took a large bite out of her sugar glazed treat.

"What for?" she asked, mouth still full.

This time there was no hesitation as he pulled her towards him. She froze at his touch. There was something different in those blue eyes, the ones that she had memorized. He lifted his hand. Her breath unintentionally hitched. He simply rubbed the crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

"I should go."

"Jane, wait," she paused to clear her throat. "I've got something for you."

She ducked into the kitchen. Placing the half eaten bear claw on the counter, she grabbed the tin on the table. She stared at the glittery snowman painted on the container before placing it back down, a grin emerging on her face. Grabbing what she needed from the pantry, Lisbon put her impromptu plan into action.

"Lisbon?"

Jane's head popped into view with his eyes screwed shut. She looked up at him.

"I'm not peeking," he reassured.

He walked straight into a wall before backing up.

"I'm okay!"

Stifling a laugh, Lisbon put the finishing touches to her surprise.

"Alright, you can look now."

Jane cheekily popped one lid open then the other, elbows on the countertop. Lisbon slid one of the mugs towards him.

"Hot chocolate," he said softly.

"Extra marshmallows," she added.

The expression on his face softened as he lifted the drink and breathed in its warm scent.

"Thank you."

She lifted her own mug and tapped it against his.

"There's one more thing."

She reached into her pocket and carefully pulled out a familiar sprig of greenery. Jane took a long slow sip of his hot chocolate before setting his mug down.

"Mistletoe?" he questioned playfully.

Lisbon coyly shrugged her shoulders in response, lifting the branch above their heads.

"You drive me crazy," she started unsteadily. "And I hate that you can get under my skin. But I can't imagine my life without you."

"Wow, now that was quite possibly cheesier than Spice Girls music."

She glared at him.

"I put my heart out on the line and you…"

He cut her off, pressing his lips to hers. Her arms wound their way around his neck as he lifted her off the ground. When they broke the kiss, they rested their foreheads together, both feeling content just to be in each other's embrace.

"You taste like doughnuts," he whispered against her lips.

She hit him on the arm right before she kissed him again.

"Merry Christmas, you idiot," she murmured.

He smiled brightly at her.

"Merry Christmas."

Fin for now, Jello forever