Chapter 2

It was getting late and Dabi was worried. The last message she'd gotten from her father said he was leaving Rappahannock Regional Jail and would be home in about two hours. He was planning on stopping at a gas station to fuel up on gas and supplies on the way and would contact her again at a rest stop along the way, hopefully in about an hour.

Then nothing. An hour came and went. Dabi had been tempted to ask Tim if he could track her father's cell phone but then she remembered he was away, visiting his family, and wouldn't be back until after Christmas. Tony was the same, and so was Ellie. There was Abby, but Dabi was reluctant to cause an alarm just yet.

So she waited, her phone tucked in her back pocket.

It would be Dabi's first Christmas without Pop-Pop and both she and Nana knew it. Despite their best efforts, things just didn't feel quite right without him.

"I miss him," she admitted to Leo, who was home that night. School was out for the holidays and a lot of his 'patients' were with family or friends. "We always used to close a bit early on Christmas Eve and have a staff party and he always showed up with presents and stuff for the staff and their families, even though we were Jewish."

"Has Nana said anything?" Leo asked, cuddling her close as they watched the snow fall from bakery windows.

"No, not really. I think she's missing him just as badly," Dabi admitted. "We've lit the menorah, the way we've always done, but you saw yourself the problem. Pop-Pop always lit the first one. That was why Nana invited you to light the first one."

"And I was honored to do so," Leo admitted. "Do you have any other traditions?"

"There was the blessings, which we've done, the sweets, which the bakery has been making all month, tree is up, the mistletoe is up, as you may recall (she blushed at the memory of the kiss she'd gotten from him the first time), and the fruitcake is ready ..." She sighed, trying to remember. "Dad does a toy delivery to one of the children's hospitals; you've seen them."

Leo chuckled. "Yeah, I got roped in to painting a few. That was fun, though."

"Are you still going to pop by Dad's place tomorrow?"

"Oh you bet, sweetheart. How's your dad handling the fact that this is the first Christmas without his dad?"

"I think he misses him. From what he told me, just before Grandpa Jack died, they were finally starting to make peace after years of strain between them."

"Well, that's good." He glanced up at the card string that was behind the bakery counter. "I see you got another card."

"Yeah, from Hawaii. You remember me telling you about Danny Williams?"

"One of the guys from that Five-O special task force that helped save you?" Leo asked, trying to remember.

"That's him. The card is from him and his daughter, Grace. They're both doing okay, except to mention that Danny's brother, Matt, was deceased (he didn't say and I don't think I'll ask) and Grace thought the pictures of Sara were cute. Danny also asked me to pass on a message to you. He said that you seem like a decent guy but hurt me and you'll have a problem if you ever decide to go to Hawaii."

Leo chuckled. "I heard you yell when you opened the mail this morning. What happened?"

"That was from Chris LaSalle. He sent me a giant rubber spider that popped out of a box. Scared the heck out of me," she admitted. "There was a card with it and it said the spider was just the first."

"What did you do to him?"

"All the classics," she said, grinning. "And from the message I got from Brody and King, it was a shocking surprise."

Leo groaned at the pun. "Have you heard from your dad lately?" he asked.

"No, and I'm worried. I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong," she admitted. "The weather network says there's a blizzard coming, the kind that you stay inside for."

"And he's not home yet, and you're worried he may not be home in time," Leo guessed.

"I'm terrified he might not come home at all," she confessed. "I remember waiting and waiting for my mom to come home that last time, and not understanding why she wasn't home the next morning. I don't want to go through that again."

"Knowing him, he's got his cell phone with him. We could always ask Tim or Abby to track him," Leo offered.

"I've been tempted, but I don't want to cause an alarm just yet. Don't think Tim's quite forgiven me for the heart attack I gave him with regards to Sara."

Leo snickered. Then a thought came to him. "Have you ever thought about creating your own traditions?"

"You mean like the mistletoe one? That was fun and I wouldn't mind a repeat of that," she said, grinning.

Leo laughed and gave her a kiss that nearly curled her toes. When he finally released her, he said, "Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to put a candle or a lamp in the window for Pop-Pop and your dad. It's something my gram used to do for Gramps and Mom did for Dad when they were away. The idea behind it was so that there would always be a light to guide them home on the longest night of the year, for both the living and in remembrance of the dead. The story in the family is that my great-great grandmother did that for her husband when he was away in the army on Christmas Eve, and the women in the family have continued to do that every Christmas Eve."

Dabi thought about that for a moment. "I like that idea," she admitted. "There's a oil lamp that would do perfectly for that."

"Then let's go do that and we'll put it in the bakery window until we close and then move it to our living room window afterwards."

Dabi nodded and they went to get the lamp. While they were in the apartment, Dabi spotted Nana by the window, looking at a photograph of Pop-Pop with sadness and longing on her face. She went over to the older woman and put her arms around her.

"I miss him too, Nana," she admitted, trying not to cry. "There's not a day that I don't wish he was here."

"Sometimes I wonder what he'd think of this, of what's been done," Nana admitted, holding on to the girl tightly.

"I think he'd be proud, and I think he'd adore Sara. I know he liked Dad and I think he'd like Leo."

"I think so too. It's just at times like this that I miss him the most."

Dabi nodded, hugging her just as tightly as she was being hugged.

Leo glanced their way and decided to leave them alone for a moment, sensing they were both quietly grieving. Then, after a moment, he tapped Nana gently on the shoulder.

"We're about to light a lamp and put it in the window for Pop-Pop and Jethro. It's an old family tradition of mine. Would you like to join us? It was my family's way of remembering those who couldn't be here with us, and shining a light for the lost on the longest night of the year."

"I like that," Nana said, nodding. "I shall join you and we shall light the lamp."

In the bakery, Dabi called the staff and Owen and his family to the front of the store. The oil lamp was a nice fifteen inch tall brass lamp with a mug-style base, a style known as a Railroad Agent oil lap. It would burn safely for several hours without needing to be refuelled.

"Oh Lord, we ask that the light shine bright so that all that are lost can find their way home this night. Bring them home safe, where they belong, all of them. In Your Name, Amen," said Leo, watching as Nana lit the lamp's wick.

"Amen," everyone said.

Together, he and Nana carefully placed the lamp on a display pedestal in the center of the window. Now all that was left to do was wait, and as far as Dabi was concerned, that was the hardest part of all.

"Please, Lord, " Dabi prayed. "Bring my dad home. Just bring him home. That's all I ask."