Title: Silver Bells and Silver Linings (Part 3 of 5)
Author: trista groulx aka dustytiger
Rating: T like the show, to be safe
Disclaimer: I still don't own CM, and I also don't own Christmas or anything related to it I just love it.
Summary: Rossi wants to be home for Christmas with his new love, Garcia, but a snow storm has other plans. Will the magic of season win?
Notes: Okay so I was clearly not awake when I first counted page breaks to see how many parts this fic has… it's five parts long silly me. I really hope you are enjoying this this couple is so much fun to write, but also challenging. I don't think I've ever actually kept a baby a baby baby through a whole fic lol… haha….

After the plane was cleared to land a different airstrip the team were shuttled to their vehicles at Quantico and everyone headed toward their homes hoping the weather wouldn't delay them further. Rossi wanted to call her to tell her he was all right, but discovered his phone was dead. He hated to worry her, but hoped to be home soon to reassure her. The roads were not as bad as he thought they were going to be. On the drive he thought about all of the times he had gone to midnight mass with his family, and wondered if one day he would be able to go with his own family. He knew that Garcia didn't go to church often but hoped he would be able to get her to see that it was one of his traditions, once Rozalie was older.

It was nights like these he was glad Garcia had talked him into only using the cabin in Little Creek in the summer. They still lived slightly away from other homes just outside the city. The main roads had been passable but he knew better then to try to drive down his road before it was plowed. He knew one of the people on the main road, and decided to see if he was awake. Rossi was relieved when he saw the lights were still on. Ed gladly agreed to let Rossi park in his driveway for the night, and even leant him a warmer jacket, as well as a hat and mitts for the last few miles of the journey. He finally understood why Garcia always saw the good in people and started to believe in karma. Without that help he never would have been able to make it through his front door.

When Rossi got through the door he kicked off as much of the snow from his shoes as he could, then took off the winter gear he had borrowed placing them on a furnace vent to dry. He had noticed as soon as he came through the door the lights from the tree were still on but hadn't heard his family start to stir. He then looked at the couch and saw one sweetest sights of his life. He picked up his phone and snapped a few pictures. Garcia was asleep on the couch, with Rozalie snuggled up to her also asleep. He still had moments where he couldn't believe that this was his family but he couldn't be happier.

"My angels," he sighed smiling, the whole journey now seemed worth it, even though his toes would likely never forgive him.

"Baby?" Garcia whispered groggily.

"Go back to sleep, Kitten," he told her.

"But the star still isn't on the tree, and we have presents to open," she argued her eyes opening slowly.

"I'll put the star on the tree if that will make you happy, but it's not morning yet it's not time for presents."

"No, not all of them Santa hasn't come yet. Just the ones in the silver wrap, it's a tradition in my family. Open yours and Rozalie's, please."

"Then you'll let me put you both to bed?"

She nodded. "Promise," she assured him rocking the baby who was still in the sling.

Rossi took the gifts from under the tree. He opened the one with Rozalie's name first. Inside there was a fuzzy pink footed sleeper. He looked at Garcia who only grinned at him before opening his own and found a pair of dark flannel pajamas. It was only then that he noticed that there was an unwrapped package next to her which had pink flannel pajamas with sheep printed all over them. He knew that this meant a lot to her but he wasn't sure why.

"We need our new jammies on or Santa won't come," she explained.

"Really?" he asked.

"Okay, okay, but I think the spirit of Chris Cringle had something to do with you getting home tonight."

"I think you're right, but what's so important about the pajamas?"

"My mom used to always make sure everyone got a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve. She told us that if we didn't have them Santa wouldn't come, but I think she told us that so that we always had clean pajamas in our Christmas pictures but it's one of the only things my family kept doing after we lost our parents, and I want Rozalie to know the story when she's big enough so that she knows that our parents are here in spirit even though she never knew them."

"I want that too. Do we really want to wake Rozalie?" he asked. "I have been told by every mother I've ever known to never wake a sleeping baby if you know what's good for you."

"I told her you'd give her her first Christmas present ever when you got home, she'll be fine she wants her daddy."

Rossi knew there was no use arguing with the woman he loved; he just hoped that picking up the sleeping infant would not result in her screaming the rest of the night. All he wanted was to curl up next to his wife and sleep as late as she would allow on Christmas morning. The second he picked up the baby her eyes opened and so did her mouth. Rossi was sure that he was going to see exactly why he had been warned about doing this, but instead Rozalie made an excited trilling noise the just smiled.

"She missed you so much," Garcia told him, standing up and picking up the pajamas. "I'm gonna go change."

Rossi nodded and laid Rozalie down on the couch and dressed her in the pink sleeper. He smiled when he saw Garcia come out of the bathroom dressed in her bright pajamas. Even when she had no makeup on, and her hair a mess, wearing the loudest pajamas he had seen in a long time, he still found her sexy and had to remind himself that their daughter was wide awake only metres away in order to stop himself from devouring her in a kiss and ravishing her right there in front of the tree.

"Si bella mi amore," he growled.

"Behave my love," she warned him. "As much as I am usually all for your super sexy Italian foreplay do I look dressed for that tonight?"

He laughed. "I can get you out of anything, Kitten, and you do look amazing."

"Go change into your new jammies so we can go to bed." He flashed her a hungry look. "To sleep. With our daughter in her cradle right next to us."

They kept a cradle in their room for nights where they wanted or needed to have the infant close. It was one of only a few items that Rossi still had from his childhood and had been thrilled when they found out that the old cradle was safe by modern standards. They had been using it less when they were both home but that night it felt right for them to all be in the same room. He quickly changed into his own pajamas and went into his bedroom.

Garcia was laying Rozalie down carefully that sight erased any impure thoughts he might have had on his mind. He focused on the sweet scene in front of him, and made sure to put in a place where he could think about it when something in the felid became difficult; realising just how many of these memories he now had at his disposal and finally understood how team members with families would cope. Garcia looked over her shoulder at him and without words invited him to join the bedtime routine.

He walked over to her, and wrapped his arm around her waist, and waited to hear what song she would sing that night. Every night Garcia would softly sing a song to the infant, and usually switched up the tunes. Rossi was always amazed by his wife's singing voice, and that night was no acceptation. As much as he hated Christmas music, very often complaining about how there were only so many songs and you easily get sick of them; hearing his wife singing Silver Bells to their daughter made him appreciate the song. When she finished singing Rozalie was fighting to keep her eyes open. He pulled a blanket over the infant and her eyes fluttered closed when he kissed her forehead, then Garcia kissed the child's forehead as well.

"Goodnight, angel," they both whispered. "Sleep well."

The baby's eyes slipped shut, and the proud parents watched for a few minutes longer to be sure that she was really settled down for the night. Rossi then pulled Garcia into a deep embrace. She sighed happily and rested her head on his chest listening to his heart beating for a long moment, just enjoying the feel of him close. It took him a moment to realise his shirt was getting wet.

"Kitten?" he asked.

"I'm just happy. When I fell asleep before I wasn't sure if I would wake up and find you here. Until you touched me I thought I was dreaming you being here. I thought if I touched you I'd wake up. I was so worried. There was so much snow, and there were no cars going down the street. There's never a lot but for two hours there was nothing, just snow…" she explained.

"I know, but this is real. I wouldn't have missed his for anything. Our road isn't plowed, I walked here from Ed's."

"You walked? But you only have your pea coat! You could have died from the elements!"

"Shh, he leant me a coat, and mitts, and a hat. My toes are starting to tingle but even if I'd lost feeling in them it would have been well worth it. I promise you. I'm going to buy a pair of boots and a warm coat and a scarf, everything, to keep in the trunk to be safe from now on."

He leaned in and kissed her softly and she gladly accepted. Their kiss wasn't frenzied but was full of passion and love. Their embrace lasted longer than either of them expected; but they both needed to feel the other one. They both knew that this was leading to nowhere but sleep and they were both happy for that. He pulled away from her, resting his forehead on hers. She smiled at him tenderly as he ran his fingers along her face. She was glad to feel the warmth from the tips over her fingers and was worried she might fall asleep standing there.

"I love you Penelope Garcia," he told her, his voice ripe with emotion.

"I love you too David Rossi," she whispered.

They kissed for one more quick moment before they went to their respective sides of the bed. He pulled her close to him as she pulled the duvet over them, and it only took a few minutes for them to fell into a finally restful sleep. Rossi woke up an hour later and tiptoed out of the bedroom to add more gifts to the pile under the tree, and realised his secret gifts had almost tripled the packages under the tree, he didn't care his family deserved the best. He went back into his room glad to see that Garcia hadn't stirred and fell asleep again with a smile on his face.

End Part 3

Notes: Haha… I really need to learn how to count lol… let me know what you think heart