Christmas Eve at Atlantis Cable News

Written for Tumblr's Newsroom Fanwork Exchange

Made for sloanfuckingsabbith on Tumblr

Will & Mac

The lights shone bright on the roof as Will and Mackenzie leaned against the rail. The cold wind caused wisps of hair to fly into Mackenzie's face. Will hugged Mackenzie closer as they gazed at the city lights. Different complexes had trees and Christmas lights. The Christmas spirit was alive and well in the city.

"I'm so glad you brought me up here, Will." She pushed straight, red hair behind her ear and snuggled closer to him.

"Really?" he asked. The snow drifted, leaving little white flakes speckling his blond hair. He looked down at her soft features. "Isn't it too cold for you?" he teased.

"No! Not at all. I've loved the snow ever since I was little. She smiled wide and stuck out her tongue to taste a snowflake. It was the first time Mackenzie felt happy and comfortable with Will since the breakup. Their future was real, almost tangible. Everything would work itself out. "You know what I haven't done in years?"

Will watched her eyes sparkle with a hint of mischief. "Hmm?"

The glint in her eyes shone brighter. "A snowball fight."

"What?" Will stood in disbelief. "Mac, it's like ten degrees."

Mackenzie ran off and hid behind the corner of the building to the door. She scooped up some snow and held it, ready to throw. "C'mon! It'll be fun!" she shouted.

"No, Mac. My shoulder and my…" Pfff. A small snowball hit the middle of his jacket.

"Gotcha!" Mac squealed and darted around the corner.

"Okay, that's it." Will approached from behind the building looking for Mac. He held a snowball in his freezing palm, ready to strike. Suddenly, he felt a hard thud hit his back. "Damn it, Mac." Will dropped the snowball and followed the light footprints in the snow. He spotted Mackenzie hiding behind a small snow drift. Silently, he tiptoed behind her before grabbing her by the waist and lifting her up, "Found you!"

She let out a stream of terrified giggles. "Will!" He set her down and turned her around. The cold left her nose and cheeks a bright pink. Will placed a small kiss on her nose.

"Merry Christmas."

Leona & Charlie

The sound of glasses clinking and bourbon pouring filled the room. The dark, rich, woodsy scents of cologne and candles filled the nostrils of a tired Leona Lansing. A bunch of big wigs were standing around her boardroom drinking in holiday celebration. The alcohol was doing nothing for her. The only person she could stand to talk to at the moment was sitting alone on the couch drinking a scotch and constantly adjusting his bow tie. She spotted him and grabbed his arm. "Charlie!" she practically shouted over the latest Jingle Bells rendition coming from some drunks in the corner. "Charlie, c'mon." Okay, maybe she was a little more drunk than she expected.

"Leona, what are you…?" It was cut off as she dragged him by the wrist and into the hall and to the elevator. He grabbed a bottle from the counter and quickly followed. The sights and smells were getting to be too much anyway. "Ugh. Politicians!" she muttered. Charlie learned over the years to deal with Leona's crazy antics with a fine bottle of scotch. He preferred anything over fifteen years, but wasn't picky. These damn Christmas parties never had anything good to offer anyway.

"Why do we do this to ourselves every year, Charlie?" He swished the scotch in his glass before drinking the rest in one sip. "Why don't we just go home?"

"Well, my flight was cancelled." He smirked. It wasn't the answer she wanted.

They hit Leona's floor and got off the elevator. She pulled out a joint from her purse on the desk. "Want to try?"

"Oh, no thank you, I'll stick to the liquor." He held up the bottle in defense of his statement. Tomorrow's hangover would come too soon.

"What are we going to do?" She carefully lowered herself on the couch and lit up.

She left the questioned open ended, but he knew she was talking about NewsNight. "Leona, you shouldn't worry. They have it under control. Let it play out." Charlie poured himself another glass and took a peek out the window. The snowflakes fell in tiny bucketfulls, sprinkling across the sky.

"I'll keep my eye on them. For now, I'll trust you."

He held up his glass. "Merry Christmas, Leona."

She sighed and ran long fingers through short, blonde hair. "Merry Christmas, Charlie."

Don & Sloan

Don and Sloan stood in Don's office. Light Christmas music played in the background as they sipped drinks and hummed along and danced alongside each other. Sloan kicked her shoes off in the corner before Don grabbed her hand and twirled her. Sloan giggled and grabbed her glass of wine off the desk.

He stopped dancing, "I have something for you. He went behind the desk and pulled out a small box from his drawer.

"Didn't we promise not to exchange gifts?" Sloan closed her hands around the small green present and smiled. A large red bow was carefully placed in the middle of the lid, ribbon cascading over the sides. Sloan retrieved Don's present from behind the chair in the corner.

"Hey, I never agreed to anything." Don peeked into the large green bag she handed him.

"Let's open them together. Ready? One…"

Don continued, "Two."

Together, with hushed excitement, they whispered, "Three!"

Sloan opened the lid and set it on the desk. Inside was a beautiful diamond drop necklace. It had a simple design but sparkled in the light. She caught her breath and just stared. It was absolutely gorgeous. "Oh, Don." Her eyes widened as she watched him open his gift.

Don gently pulled out a soft brown blanket. In the upper right hand corner, there were three small hand-stitched letters. "ACN."

Sloan patted the ground with her foot, "I wanted you to have your own ACN blanket. It gets pretty cold out there." Her shy smile melted his heart.

Don pulled Sloan close and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. "You're the best." He looked into her soft brown eyes before pulling her into a kiss.

"Merry Christmas."