~4~

Title: Santa Claus is Coming To Town
Rating: G
Warning: fluff, implied angst (lol, how can angst be implied you ask? This is how); this is pre-Unforgettable, guys. If you've read that story, you know what I mean. If you haven't, you shouldn't have too much trouble just enjoying the fluffy image of Luis and his little girl waiting in line to see Santa.
Pairing/Characters: Luis, Hank, past Luis/Sheridan, past/pre- Hank/Gwen, original characters, mention of Theresa
Word Count: 1,743
Summary (for chapter): "And you, little girl. Tell Santa what you want for Christmas."

"It's not too late to blow this joint," Hank's voice amounted to barely more than a whisper in Luis's ear, and no wonder. It looked like the entire population of Harmony had chosen this particular day to finish up their holiday shopping, and to make some last-minute pleas to Santa, which was the only reason Hank had agreed to this suicide mission, but even so. "I'm sure Sam still has my old Santa suit somewhere up in his attic. It probably even still fits."

Luis briefly considered Hank's suggestion then shook his head with a grim smile. The warm weight of Ali's little hand in his own reminded him this wasn't his choice; it was his daughter's, and he glanced down at the top of her golden head then over to Jake, tugging irritably at the buttoned up collar of the shirt peeking out from his forest-green sweater. "The line to see Santa is awfully long, AliCat. Are you sure you don't want Daddy to help you write him a letter instead?"

Ali's pale hair shimmered as it spilled over her tiny shoulders with her vehement refusal, and she gazed up at him with blue eyes that were large, innocent, and filled with serious wonder. "He won't know what I want if I don't tell him."

"That's what the letter's for, Doofus," Jake made a big show of rolling his eyes at Ali's statement.

"Hey," Hank frowned and called his son out on his behavior. "You know your mom doesn't like you using that word." Firmly grasping Jake's young shoulders in his hands, he steered him toward Ali and Luis, looming, intimidating and protective, at her side. "Apologize. Now," he insisted.

"Aww, Ali," Jake breathed out on a sigh that was equal parts disgusted and shamed as the line inched forward without them, causing his brown eyes to widen with worry at the possibility of missing out on all the Santa hocus pocus. He had a beef to pick with the jolly old fat man, after all, and he was going to make darn sure Santa realized he hadn't been a bad boy this year—just a boy is all, like his grandpa said, just a boy, normal and full of mischief and all those boy things, with a side order of Bennett. He didn't want any repeats of last year. "I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it."

"It's okay, Jake," Ali answered with sweet acceptance. "I know you didn't really mean it."

Satisfied he'd paid his penance, Jake turned around and grabbed onto both of his dad's hands and, hanging his head back to stare up at him, pleaded, "Now, can we please get this over with? I'm tired of looking like a nerd, Dad."

Hank couldn't fight the grin that wanted to break out at his son's self-disparaging words, so he didn't, because what he had said, it was kind of true. From his perfect, not a strand out of place, shiny brown hair to his spit-polished patent leather shoes, the little boy staring up at him only vaguely resembled his precocious son. He was looking at a little Step-Jake, and he liked it about as well as his son obviously did, meaning he was going to have to have another little pow-wow with good ole Becs when this whole thing was over. In the meantime, well, in the meantime, there was really nothing he could do about it without hanging himself out to dry. A promise was a promise, and he'd promised Gwen this year's picture was not going to be the fiasco of last year all over again. He had some brownie points to earn himself if he was to have any hope of getting even a tenth of what he wanted for Christmas this year, after all, and Hank may not have been your traditional boy scout, but he had earned a badge or two in a previous life. He figured that had to count for something. "I can't do anything about the line, Little Buddy," he finally said. "We have to wait our turn."

Jake turned to Luis and put forward his best impression of a little angel. In other words, he tried his best to mimic Ali. "You're a cop, Uncle Luis. Can't you do something? Anything?"

Luis bit back a smile, and in as serious a voice as he could muster in the face of his own amusement, he dashed Jake's dreams of making it out of the local Harmony mall with his dignity intact. "I'm sorry, Jake. It just doesn't work that way."

"Fine," Jake grumbled, giving the collar at his neck another particularly vicious tug. He walked off ahead of them, as far as the two adults would allow anyway, and sulked, at least until something else captured his attention, in this instance, the motion-activated talking Frosty.

Hank thanked Luis and reached down a hand to gently ruffle Ali's silken hair. "So, Miss Ali," he smiled down at the tiny child fondly, recognizing even without having proof positive in front of him that he was looking at a miniaturized version of Sheridan transported more than twenty years into the future. "You gonna give me the inside scoop on this Christmas list of yours? I might be able to put an extra special word in with one of the elves."

Ali glanced up at her father before looking back at Hank and shaking her head. "I can't tell you or Daddy, Uncle Hank. Only Santa."

The little tyke was serious, that much Hank recognized; this visit with Santa obviously meant a lot to her. He tweaked her button nose and winked at her, sharing a long, knowing look with his friend. "S'okay," he grinned down at Ali a microsecond later, letting her off the hook. "I get it." His words had the desired effect, and the expression of intense concentration on her little face softened into a pretty, thankful smile as she leaned into Luis's side, clutching his hand tight. Hank hoped fervently that whatever higher power out there, not including well-intentioned parents and relatives, that specialized in children's Christmas wishes, granted Ali's heart's desire. He couldn't think of a kid more deserving, and that included his own son, who he noticed had resorted to force-feeding Frosty red and white-striped candy canes while his attention had been occupied elsewhere. He broke away from an understanding Luis and jogged up to Jake.

"But Dad," Luis could hear Jake protest. "He kept singing the same song. Over and over again. He wouldn't stop." He nodded at Hank, his eyes dancing merrily, when Hank indicated his need to chaperone his son outweighed any desire he might have to share their company. The line inched forward again, and Hank and Jake disappeared around the winding corner, beyond the tree-lined gate to the North Pole, and Luis looked down when he felt the Ali's head rest heavily against his thigh. "Tired, AliCat?" he asked, rubbing a loving hand over her glossy golden head.

"A little," Ali mumbled into her daddy's pants leg. She let out a quiet little squeal of surprise when her daddy lifted her up in his strong arms, and she wrapped her short arms around his neck, rubbing strands of his dark hair between her tiny fingers as she stared into his beloved face.

Luis smiled as he watched her stubbornly fight back a yawn. "You and Aunt Theresa were up late last night, being awfully sneaky. What were you talking about? My Christmas present?" he teased.

Ali half-nodded before thinking better of it, and she hid her face in the crook of his neck to stave off the need for half-truths. Fibs were lies, after all, even if they were to protect good secrets, and she couldn't lie to her daddy. She just couldn't. So she didn't. Her little fingers traced his chin reverently as she listened to all the sounds around her, all the other little kids like her in line waiting to see Santa. Some of them were crying, some of them were excited, some of them weren't anything at all. Ali wondered if any of the rest of them had a wish as big as hers to ask of Santa. She lingered there, in sleepy half-awareness, until she felt a hand tug at her dangling foot, and she looked down to see Jake scowling up at her. It seemed she and her daddy had made it to the front of the line.

"He says I'm on the naughty list, temporarily." Jake stumbled over the big word, and his scowl deepened when his dad chuckled behind him. "Whatever that means," he huffed and crossed his arms indignantly over his small chest. "It's your turn. See if you have any better luck."

Ali rubbed her fists against her eyes as her daddy set her on her own two feet, and she smoothed out the full skirt of her red dress as she took a hesitant step forward, her youthful heart in her eyes and a lump of hope lodged in her throat.

"At least his beard was real," Jake could be heard commenting as Hank pulled him along to the picture booth just around the bend. "I know because I checked."

"AliCat," Luis bent to Ali's level, smiled encouragingly into her round, sapphire eyes. "It's okay to change your mind. We can come see Santa another time. Or, I can help you with that letter."

Ali swallowed bravely and solemnly shook her head. "It's okay, Daddy. I'm ready."

"Good girl," Luis said proudly. "I'll be waiting just over here, okay?"

Ali nodded and offered him her best smile.

Santa held out his gloved hand invitingly to her, and his blue eyes twinkled behind the lenses of the glasses perched precariously at the tip of his rosy nose.

Ali curled instinctively into the welcoming warmth of his jovial embrace, and her little hand smoothed up and down the velvet texture of the gloved hand that cradled her close as she worked up the courage to voice her fondest wish, her only Christmas wish.

Santa smiled, whispered encouragingly into Ali's ear, his beard tickling her sensitive skin as he waited, patiently, for her to speak. "And you, little girl. Tell Santa what you want for Christmas." When her answer came, it was soft, nothing more than a whisper, but Santa heard her, loud and clear.

"I want my mommy to come back to us. I want her to come home."

Mistakes are all mine.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into Luis and Ali's life pre-Unforgettable.

Feedback is love! Really, lol. I can't tell if you guys are reading my stories because you actually enjoy them or because they're basically the only thing being updated in the Passions section. ;) A little clarification would be nice. Just saying.

:D

That said, thank you so much for reading!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!