Alice burst into the room, where Maisie was dozing on the couch, hastily putting an earring in.
"How much longer do I got, Red?" Alice asked walking back out of the room.
Alice's question startled Maisie from her sleep. She reached for the phone, which she had placed on the coffee table in front of her, to check the time.
"Fifteen minutes," she called back, standing up to stretch her arms above her head.
Diana cracked an eye open to peer at the new commotion, causing Maisie to make a face at her. "What are you looking at, fur ball?"
"Stop tormenting my cat," Alice demanded walking back into the room, holding one shoe. "Do you see the other one anywhere?"
While Alice looked around the room, Maisie made her way to the kitchen to find something to eat. Opening a cabinet she found nothing but plates and cups. She opened the next to find it full of boxes and cans. Pulling a box from the shelf, she jumped on the counter and started to eat the cereal, while watching Alice, who was currently on her hands and knees, reaching under the couch.
"Found you!" Alice boasted, pulling a black heel out that was covered in cat hair and dust. "Now how you got there, I have no clue."
Glancing at Maisie she smirked. "Make yourself at home," she said wryly, gesturing to the cereal she had taken from her kitchen.
"I already did," she answered holding up the box.
Alice laughed and walked over holding a piece of folded paper.
"Okay there is only a couple of things you need to know about Diana," Alice started.
"She's a cat, how much do I need to know?" Maisie groaned.
"Oh don't give me that. When you're eating my food, you're subjected to my rules." Alice asserted. "Now the first thing, is that she likes her food warmed. I've pre made the meal, so all you have to do is put it in the oven and bake it to the instructions I've specified on the meal, which is in the fridge."
"Did you make dinner for me? I mean if you made it for the cat, you should make some for me too."
"What do you think you're eating, Red. I hope you enjoy it," Alice shot back. "The second thing is, it is Friday, so it's story night. I've picked out a book and it's sitting on the coffee table. You have to read it to her right before bedtime, which brings me to the third thing."
"Alice. She's a cat, she spends her whole life sleeping, I don't think she knows she has a bedtime," Maisie whined.
"Oh, shush you," Alice warned. "Her bedtime is at seven, so read to her right before that. You then have to turn off the lights in here and not make much noise to let her rest."
"I can't believe I said I would do this. You're gone for a date, not a week long vacation," Maisie moaned, dropping her head into her knees.
There was a knock on the door and both girls looked to it.
"Oh my gosh! He's here!" Alice gushed, dancing across the room she picked Diana up, hugging her to her chest. "See you later, my little snoogums."
Pulling on her newly found shoes she made her way to the door. "Oh," She remembered as she reached for the door. "And keep her away from that pesky Tom who lives in the apartment over. He's no good for her."
With that she opened the door to a man holding flowers.
"For you, Alice," He offered, pushing the flowers towards her.
Taking the presented flowers and disposing of them on the table by the door, she responded, "Why thank you." Placing her hand on his elbow they made their way out of the apartment.
"Good luck," Maisie wished to the closed door. "Guess it's just you and me, cat," she sighed turning to face the cat who lazed on her tower, having gone, once again, to sleep once Alice had left.
Maisie glanced at the list Alice had shoved in her hands before tossing it on the counter. 'She treats her better than a child. It could do with a little less spoiling.' She thought, walking to the door where Alice had abandoned the flowers.
She picked them up and stared at the bushing rose of the buds. Each flower an accusing eye of another bouquet, from another person, and with how he was treating her now, if felt like another world.
She opened her door to find Wolf dressed in something rather than his normal jeans and T-shirt. The suit jacket look tailored to the contours of his body, his pants looked as if he had spent the time to iron them and his shoes were glossed perfection. 'I could get use to him in a suit,' Maisie appreciated to herself before speaking to Will himself. "Why don't you dress up nice," she drawled. "I've never seen you wear a tie, so when I said dress up, I thought you would take it as 'wear a clean shirt.'"
Will grunted, shoving flowers into her hands. She took them with a look of surprise. "They're for you. I saw them at a stall walking here and I remembered how you told me you liked coloured roses." He grunted, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
Maisie's eyes shot up to his. "You remember that?" She gasped. She had only told him once, months ago, when her last date had brought her red roses to soften the blow of breaking her heart.
"You said red was too ordinary," he shrugged. "You ready to go?"
"Of course, my Will," she laughed, linking her arm through his, and pulling him down her driveway, dispelling some of the tension between them.
By the time they pulled into Maisie's grandmother's place, she had Will smiling. As he parked the car she turned to him, a somber look upon her face. "Thank-you for doing this. I don't think I could face them alone."
He reached over and grabbed her hand that was toying with the hem of the black cocktail dress she had decided to wear. "Always," was his only response.
Walking to the house, the snow started to fall, sending a shiver down Maisie's spine. The chill disappeared when Will draped his arm over her shoulders pulling her into him, and warmth bloomed in her stomach when the door opened to her mother's astonished face.
"Merry Christmas, Mother," Maisie cooly spoke from under the strength of Will's arm.
She regarded them with a cold stare. "You didn't say you were bringing company," she finally responded, standing aside to allow them in.
"Well you said last Christmas, if I didn't change my ways, you didn't want to see me. This is my change."
Her mother stuck her nose in the air. "I only wanted what's best for you," she pronounced, leaving the room.
Maisie's shoulders slumped when her mother turned around the corner. "Welcome to the family," she sighed, shrugging out of her jacket.
"I can see why you don't talk to your parents," Will comforted, taking her jacket and hanging it by the door before removing his own.
A bitter laugh pushed its way out of her mouth. "Just wait until you meet my perfect cousin. I just can't compete."
He just shrugged, reached for her hand and placed it on his arm. "We'll face them together," Will declared, leading them into the adjoining room.
All eyes were on them as they made their way to the loveseat on the back wall. The only sound in the room, as Will helped Maisie to her seat before taking the place next to her, was the faint Christmas music drifting from some hidden speakers. The occupants in the room- Maisie's mother, her aunt, and her perfect cousin with her husband- all gawked at her appearance.
Her aunt was the one to break the silence. "Don't you think it's a bit juvenile wearing ribbons in one's hair, Maisie? You see, my Phoebe stopped wearing them when she was seven."
Maisie's face flushed under the criticism and it was Will who came to her side. "It makes her stand out. It's one of the things I like about her," he declared, reaching over to wrap one of his fingers into her hair ribbons.
It was her Aunt's turn to blush, and as she was scrambling for a response, Maisie's mother jumped in. "And who are you exactly? Maisie never even hinted at having a man in her life."
Will sighed and turned to her mother. "Well, I asked her to keep our relationship quiet. I am a private man, and I don't want my life publicised," he answered smoothly.
"So, what do you do?" Her mother drilled.
"I'm a police officer, like Red here. We are partners."
Her mother barked a laugh. "You have a pet name, my dear? Does what you do not even warrant the use of your name?" She accused. "It's bad enough that you had to disgrace our name with your goals of becoming an officer, but now they don't even know your name? You should have become something successful like dear Phoebe. She at least spent her time becoming a top defense lawyer."
"Red is not a put down. In the force, a nickname is a title, a badge of honour of a type. Each nickname has a story behind it. Maisie got her's by taking down a jackass more than twice her size," Will explained. "And being on the force is a privilege. You have to be hard-working, be willing to work long hours and have enough courage to put a gun on your hip each day and know that you might have to use it, or you might have one turned on you. How many times have you been shot at trying to protect a child, an innocent?"
Maisie stared at Will with giant eyes filled with gratitude. In this house, no one had ever stood up for her against the opposing force of her family. She knew her and Will had become close in the year they had known each other, but she now understood, in that moment, the depth of their connection. He was willing to protect her; even if it was from her own family.
"Is that a new voice I hear?" A voice, rough from years of wear, called from another room.
"Yes Grandma Rose, I brought someone to visit," Red called back.
A few moments later, an older lady, with her white hair tied in a bun and pierced through with what looked like knitting needles, entered the room.
'Maisie, my dear sweet child, it has been too long," she welcomed, opening her arms to the girl who sat huddled at Will's side. She hadn't noticed at the time, but through the interrogation with her family, she had pushed herself further and further into Will's strength. But now, seeing her grandmother, she found her own strength to make her way over to her under the weighted glares of her aunt and mother.
"Grandma Rose, it has been too long. Merry Christmas," Maisie wished into the woman's shoulder, breathing in the scent of sugar that always seemed to follow her grandmother around.
"Merry Christmas, my dear."
"Is there any help you need with dinner mom?" Maisie's mother asked, finally shaking herself out of the shock of Will's words to her.
"Just to set the table, but I think Maisie and her guest can manage. I want to speak to him myself," she smiled, taking Maisie by the hand and leading her out of the room, gesturing for Will to follow.
"Oh Grandma Rose, you came just in time, I didn't think I could handle much more of that," Maisie whispered in the old lady's ear.
"They always give you a hard time, but you're perfect my dear, and don't you ever change," the lady giggled and continued her way down the hall.
The rest of the dinner went smoothly, or as smoothly as it could, with the only conversation being chilly small talk. Maisie's mother glared at Will through the meal, as if he alone was preventing Maisie from fitting her mold of the perfect daughter. Maisie looked to her grandmother, gaining courage from her silent strength. And Wolf only had eyes for Maisie. He examined her body language as she faced her mother's questions, hating the way the strong woman he had grown to know, shrank beneath the onslaught of disappointment that her mother slung at her. By the time dinner was done, he was ready to pull a Red and lose his temper.
He shared a look with Maisie as they were getting ready to leave and understood what she wanted before she even had to ask. "I'll be in the car," he stated. "Take as long as you want." Walking away to leave Red and her Grandmother alone.
"You keep that boy safe," her grandmother warned. "He might not look like it, but I know men like him, one day he'll need someone to look out for him. You promise me you protect him as he did for you tonight."
Maisie took in her grandmother's tone and was shocked to find she was serious. "I promise," she swore. "Always."
'I'll protect you Will. Always," she promised to the flowers she still held, before walking over to the kitchen to find a vase to put them in.
Alice returned home to find Maisie asleep on the couch, the book she picked out for her to read to Diana, opened on her lap. She carefully removed the book and covered her with the blanket that was folded on the back of the couch.
"Goodnight Red," she whispered, before making her way to her own room to sleep.