This is for Loboselina's 12 Days of Charming Family Christmas. This is an AU Hyperion Heights verse, featuring Snowing, with a side of Hooked Queen as Rogers and Roni, and minor Rumbelle, as Weaver and Lacey. Each chapter will take place on Christmas each year, detailing the progressions in their lives. Enjoy!
Thanks for the great reviews! Here are individual responses:
Grace5231973: Thanks! Glad you like it! Yeah, I decided to something a bit differently with the Christmas challenge this year and decided to adapt it to a modern AU. It's good practice for when I begin to adapt some of the concepts I've done with FYA and DOL into something original. :)
Sexystarwarslover: Thanks! Glad you loved it! Yeah, I decided to do something a bit different with the Christmas challenge this year. Yep, David has already fallen hard. One big happy family at Roni's. :)
PastOneonta: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it and hope you enjoy the rest!
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks
Guest: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
All I Want For Christmas is You
Chapter 2: The Christmas We Got Engaged
David sat in the car and rubbed his gloved hands together. Stakeouts were probably the worst part of being a detective. It was a lot of waiting and boredom. But this one was important, for any arrests they made here could lead to bigger arrests in the future.
The rumors had been true and in the last year, David had been fast tracked by Captain Weaver and paired with Detective Rogers. He was the object of envy among many of his fellow officers that had joined the force at the same time. Many of them were still uniformed officers and the fact that Weaver had paired him with a senior detective showed that Weaver saw a lot of potential and promise in him.
For David, he could care less about the praise or prestige. He wanted to be a detective to bring justice to the people of this city and that meant stopping the illegal dealings of the two major corporations that seemed to run this city. Spencer Industries and Blanchard Enterprises. They both had personal stakes in seeing that the corrupt men running these companies were brought down, but it didn't keep them from doing everything by the book. These were not men that were easily brought down. They held power and influence, not to mention the money needed to buy just about anyone, including every Judge they had tried to file charges with so far. But this pair was determined, even if meant stakeout after stakeout.
But there was even more on David's mind these days and for what seemed like the hundredth time, he gazed at the ring in his hand. It had belonged to his mother and tonight was the night he was going to ask the woman he loved to marry him.
Christmas Eve was special for them. It had been this night they had met one year ago and since, his life had completely changed.
He fell and fell hard for Mary Snow, who he had called Snow from day one and it stuck. Snow seemed to just fit her and after spending Christmas with her and her family, they had started dating. She wasn't like any other girl he had ever met. She didn't want or expect fancy dinners and expensive outings to social events. She had grown up with all that stuff and wanted no part of that life. Instead, their dates were spent with walks down by the Fremont Troll Bridge and picnics in the park. And when they did go out, they frequented her sister's bar or quaint, locally owned diners and small coffee shops where they would share hot cocoa with cinnamon and talk about books.
Her father knew about them and was none too happy about his daughter dating a cop or her continued defiance toward him. Leopold Blanchard would give anything to get his daughter back under his thumb and groom her into the family business.
But Snow would have nothing to do with him and was three years into getting her degree in education. She was amazing and he only hoped that she wanted to marry him as much as he wanted to marry her.
"How many times are you going to keep looking at that ring and bloody stewing about it," Rogers asked, as he returned to the car with coffees.
"Thanks…" David said, as he accepted the drink and sipped at it.
"And I'm not stewing...it's just...what if she says no?" he asked. Rogers sighed.
"Mate...she loves you. She's the happiest Roni and I've seen her in all the time I've known her. She's going to say yes," he insisted. David smiled, as he thought about putting this ring on her finger.
"Hang on...we've got movement," Rogers said. David pocketed the ring and tuned back into the reason they were there. They listened through the bug they had planted and they became very interested in the deal that was going down involving shipping deals.
"Spencer Industries pretty much controls the shipping at the docks. Why would anyone associated with Blanchard Enterprises need to make deals with Spencer?" Rogers wondered.
"We know Spencer has had financial setbacks. Maybe he's having more cash flow problems than we thought. He lives a very lavish lifestyle and that costs a lot of money," David mentioned.
"But we know Blanchard Enterprises is booming in real estate right now," Rogers countered.
"Yeah...they're building like crazy all over the city," David said, as he thought about that for a moment.
"And a lot of those building materials are coming by ship...and who knows what else Blanchard is bringing here on those ships," David said.
"Spencer needs money...you think Blanchard could be paying him to allow his people to move freely about the docks and transport anything they want?" Rogers asked. David shrugged.
"It would make sense. We know the people that inspect shipments are already in Spencer's pocket. More money would easily change whose in control," David replied.
"It's a good theory…" Rogers agreed.
"I know...it's not enough," David said.
"Hey...we'll get them both. They're both dirty and there is something sinister going on down here. We'll find out what it is and then we'll take them all down," Rogers insisted. Since it was clear that those present today were the underlings, they called the stakeout for the day. They would keep listening, as they knew eventually, there would be bigger fish to fry so to speak. But for now, it was Christmas Eve and a time to be with the women they loved.
It wasn't long before they arrived at Roni's that evening and Alice greeted them both with hugs. She and David had really taken to each other and it wasn't long before she had dubbed him Uncle David.
"Hey Roni...is Snow here yet?" he asked. Roni smiled at his use of the name Snow for her sister. Since the two had met, it had been a romance like none other.
"She's up in the loft, wrapping gifts," Roni told him. He smiled and hurried up to the small loft he had called his home for the last three months. Snow rented it from Roni and he had moved in with her at her request three months ago.
As he walked up the stairs, he could hear her humming a Christmas song and smiled. He spied her by the window and there was a sprig of mistletoe above her, which was perfect. She was perfect and he felt his nerves twist in his gut.
"Hey handsome," she cooed, as she got up on the step-ladder to fix a bit of garland that had fallen down.
"Hey yourself beautiful," he said, as he saw her wobble and cry out. He hurried to her, just in time for her to fall right into his arms.
"Oh...you caught me. Good catch," she complimented,
"Did you doubt I would?" He asked. She smiled and kissed him in response.
"Never," she replied, as he stared at her with love and awe, before putting her on her feet. Her phone rang, interrupting them and she sighed, as she silenced it.
"You're not going to answer that?" He asked.
"It's just another reporter that wants to interview me on why I hate my father and then paint me as some spoiled, ungrateful brat," she replied. He sighed and put his arms around her.
"I just hate that they can't see him for what he is. You know, just because he hasn't killed anyone by his own hands doesn't mean that he hasn't ordered it done. The things he's involved in…" she lamented.
"I know…I know what he is and it pains me, because I know it hurts you. But I also know what he tried to do you, my love and I promise you that I will bring him to justice one day," he told her. She smiled thinly and kissed him tenderly.
"I know you will...I believe in you, but I want you to be careful. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," she breathed, as their lips met passionately again.
"You are not going to lose me. In fact, there's something I'd like to do to make sure of that," he said, as she spotted something shiny in his hand.
"It was one year ago that my life changed in an instant and for the better, because I fell in love last Christmas and so this Christmas, I was hoping you'd make me luckiest man in the world," he said, as he got down on one knee and held the ring up to her.
"Will you marry me?" he asked, as tears pooled in her eyes and she held her hand out.
"What do you think?" she asked. He grinned and slipped it on her finger, as she took a moment to gaze at it.
"I know it's not a huge diamond or anything, but it was my mother's and she always said that true love followed this ring. She was right," he said.
"I love it...and I love you," she gushed, as she slipped her arms around his neck and their lips met again with the tender passion they had come to relish from each other. Eventually, after a lot of kisses and a bit of an intense make out session, they finally managed to make it down to the bar for Christmas Eve. After all, there would be time for them to be alone later and they wanted to be with their loved ones on that night.
"Well...did you do it?" Roni asked. David nodded and Snow showed them her ring, causing cheers.
"About damn time, Detective Nolan," Lacey commented playfully, as she nursed a drink.
"Papa says you're getting married!" Alice exclaimed. David smiled.
"We are and you can be our flower girl," he said, as she beamed at that.
"Congratulations are certainly in order. Perhaps we should toast," Weaver said, as he raised his glass.
"Fill her up," Lacey agreed, as Roni filled her glass and then poured champagne for the rest of them.
"To love and family," Roni said, as they toasted and each of them made it a point to include Alice, though her glass was filled with grape juice.
"Merry Christmas, my love," Snow cooed.
"Merry Christmas, my darling," David responded, as they looked up to see they were again under the mistletoe and shared a tender kiss…