A/N: Thanks for the great reviews!
Give us Peace - I'm glad you like it, and I trust I didn't keep you waiting for too long with the update. ;)
AJeff - Thanks! I'm happy to hear that the characters are still in character so far. Sure hope it stays that way. Somehow doctor Crane is easy to write 'in character'. Hmmm... hope that doesn't say so much about me as it does about him... LOL. Glad you liked the e-mail. Here's the next part.

On to chapter 2!!

Chapter 2

Thursday, 23rd of December, 2004

The next day brought more of the same, with patients coming off and on, and files being updated. At a relatively quiet moment, Nancy seized her opportunity.

"Hey Clint, at what time are we leaving tomorrow?"

The country doctor looked up from his computer screen, and easily dragged his mind away from Mr. Hemmington's file, to answer his favourite nurse. "If I remember correctly, the plane leaves at eleven-thirty, but I'd have to check. Say, why don't you come over for supper tonight? At seven, my place?"

"You cook, I bring dessert?" Nancy offered.

"Deal," Clint nodded. Nancy smiled, and both got back to work.

When she knocked on the door at three to seven, she could already smell dinner cooking, and she put her hand on the door knob in anticipation of Clint's answer.

"It's open!" Clint called. Rolling her eyes at his predictability, she opened the door, and stepped inside.

"Hey Cowboy. When are you going to realise you live in the big city?" she asked good-naturedly.

"Hey Nance," Clint said, quickly poking his head through the door opening, before once again disappearing into the kitchen. "You got dessert?"

Nancy walked into the kitchen and held up her contribution to dinner. "Ben & Jerry's ok for you?" she teased. Clint looked up and gave her a look which clearly said, 'You're kidding me, right.' Nancy laughed, and put the ice-cream in the fridge, before leaning past Clint's shoulder to peer into the pan.

"Ooh, spaghetti huh?"

"Yup, I figured, since we'll have Dottie's cooking for about a week, we might as well get something less healthy today," Clint grinned.

"Hmm, well, if it tastes half as good as it smells, I won't be able to sleep on my stomach tonight."

"Go get yourself a seat. And could you put this on the table? I'm just about done," Clint handed her a water pitcher, and gently pushed her out of the kitchen.

"Yes, Sir." Nancy snapped off a salute, and left the kitchen with a smile. She took off her coat, and sat down at the already set table. A few minutes later, Clint appeared with a pan of spaghetti, and a bowl of fresh salad. They prayed, before diving in.

"So, did you check when we have to be there?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, plane leaves eleven-thirty, and because of the holiday-chaos, we have to be there at nine-thirty. Nate will bring us to the airport tomorrow. I just have to head on up later on, to confirm the time, exchange phone numbers, and say goodbye to Bev and the kids."

"Good point. Mind if I tag along?"

"Anytime."

"Good to know." Nancy smiled, and looked down at her nearly cleared plate. "Oh, by the way, I wanted to go over to my Dad to wish him well. He's being picked up by a friend of his later tonight. Want to come?"

"I'd love to. I'm just not going to stay long. I'm on call tonight," Clint said apologetically. Nancy frowned. "On call? I didn't think you were on call this week?"

"I wasn't. I would have been on call next week, but I traded with doctor Moore."

"Ah, alright. We won't make it too late then," Nancy agreed. After dinner they quickly cleaned the dishes, and headed over to the Jacksons' apartment. Beverly opened the door.

"Hey guys, come on in. Nancy, nice of see you too."

"Yeah, well, since I'm going with Clint for Christmas, and we just had dinner together…"

"Ah." Beverly nodded in understanding, and she quickly hid a smile.

"Hey Nancy, hey Clint," Raul greeted them from the couch.

"Hey Raul, what are you doing for Christmas?" Clint asked, sitting next to the boy, while Nancy went on to talk with Beverly.

"Nate's family is coming to visit." He quickly glanced around to see if Nate was anywhere within hearing range, and leaned closer to Clint, who copied his movements. "One of the 'weird uncles' is coming too. Luckily Nate and Beverly allowed Justin to come over."

Clint smiled and winked. He looked up to see where Nancy had disappeared to, and saw her walking out of the bedroom, holding Mattie. The little boy had obviously just woken up. Beverly and Nate followed. Clint rose, and greeted Nate. As Beverly and Nancy cooed over the youngest of the two boys, Clint took Nate aside.

"The Christmas presents from Nancy and me to Raul and Mattie will be on the table in my apartment. You can pick 'em up whenever you want."

The police officer nodded. "Got it. So, I drop you off at nine-thirty tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah. Here's the number of Doc Johanson, in case you need to reach us and the cell phones aren't working."

Clint handed him a note with the phone number jotted down.

"Alright. Hey, do you guys want something to drink?"

"No, we're swinging by Nancy's dad since he's leaving tonight." Nate nodded, having been told of the circumstances. "So, guess we're going," Clint continued, glancing towards the blond-haired woman. "Nancy?"

She looked up, and nodded. "Yeah, we should be going."

Best wishes and hugs were exchanged, since Beverly and the kids wouldn't be joining them the next morning. Beverly made them promise to call once they'd arrived safely, and Mattie treated both adults to a sloppy kiss. Raul hung back a little, and Clint picked up on his mood. Drawing him away from the rest, Clint sat him down at the kitchen table.

"You gonna be ok?"

He knew that there were a couple of times in a year, that Raul really missed his mother: his birthday, his mother's birthday, the day his mother died, and Christmas. For the past years, ever since Raul had come to live with the Jacksons, there was always a small moment during those days, that Raul sought out Clint's company. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they remained quiet. This would be the first time Clint wouldn't be home on one of those days.

"Yeah." Raul nodded, looking at the floor. After a pause, he asked quietly, "Can't I come with you?"

Clint sighed. "You know we can't do that. Nate and Beverly would love to have the family together. But you can always call me, ok?" Raul nodded slowly, but he still didn't look up. Oh, he knew he couldn't go with Clint. He didn't really want to either. It would hurt Nate and Beverly. And he loved his adoptive parents too much to want to cause them any hurt. But, as much as he loved them, those moments with Clint were special, because Clint had known his mother. Well, not really known her, but at least he knew what she had looked like, where she had worked and lived, how she'd talked… Nate and Beverly had never even seen her. It was a connection between the doctor and him. It comforted him to know that there was someone else in the world who had known her, and cared for her.

"Besides, you can't just leave Justin to fend off the crazy uncle all by himself, now can you?"

Clint nudged his young friend, whom he cared for like he'd care for a son, and watched as Raul grinned despite of himself, and then launched himself at the cowboy. The small arms snaked around Clint's waist, and Clint hugged the boy tightly. Raul looked up with a grateful smile.

"Thanks Clint. I hope you'll have a Merry Christmas."

"You too, Raul."

"Everything alright?" Nancy asked, as they got into Clint's truck.

"Yeah, it's fine now," Clint said, starting the engine. When he noticed the look Nancy was sending him, he elaborated. "There are a couple of days when Raul is reminded of his mother, and he'll come and find me. Christmas is one of those days."

Nancy nodded in understanding.

"So, do you think your dad will like the present?" Clint changed topics, and indicated the bag Nancy held on her lap. They'd done most of the Christmas shopping together. The doctor wasn't really into shopping, despite it being Christmas shopping, and the nurse didn't feel like doing the Christmas shopping alone. Besides, having the car at your disposal was much more comfortable than having to carry shopping bags through New York City.

"Oh, I know he will," Nancy smiled broadly. "After all, we picked it."

When they returned from having said goodbye to Nancy's dad, and having waved him off, Clint walked Nancy to her door. "Goodnight, Clint. Let's hope you won't be called tonight." Clint grinned. "Might be nice… for a change."

"And, thanks for coming along," she added more seriously.

"You're welcome. 'sides, I like your dad." He winked at her. "Goodnight, Nancy. See you tomorrow morning."

As she watched Clint walk to his own apartment across the hall, she mentally sighed. 'Liking my dad is one thing. What I'd like to know is how much you like me.'

Abruptly she shook her head. She should stop having these random thoughts about her friend. She wasn't quite ready to examine them closely yet, so, dismissing the thought, she closed the door.

A/N: Hope you're still enjoying! By the way, you might notice that each chapter consists of a day. That means that some chapters are longer than others. On average, they're about this length. Shouldn't be too much for you to handle... :)