Hey Y'all! I'm going to see if the story will cooperate with me and end in this chapter. If not, oh well, you'll get another update!
"You don't understand!" Finn wailed, "It's Christmas day and I have to get out of here!"
"I know how you feel! Do you think I would rather be here then at home with my family on Christmas?" Mary put her hands on her hips, "But Finn you have broken ribs! Do you know what would happen if you left here without them at least getting the chance to mend properly? You could puncture a lung and be back here for a while with a chest tube!"
"And it would be worth it!" Finn glared at her.
The two of them were arguing about Finn's desire to leave the hospital before the doctor was ready to discharge him. Being Christmas day, Finn wanted to spend it with Holley doing something romantic together. The last thing he wanted to do was spend it in the hospital, trying to set the Guinness world record for the amount of magazines read.
Finn was growing tired of the battle rather quickly, "I'm going to go home right now. The hospital can't keep me against my will."
Mary took a deep breath before saying calmly, "All right. I'll just send your medical records down to the ER for when you come in with a punctured lung."
"Oh no you won't!" came a voice from the doorway.
The two turned to see Nathan Caldwell, the director of C.H.R.O.M.E staring hard at Finn.
"What's this I hear about you checking out early?" Nathan crossed his arms and advanced into the room.
"Nathan It's Christmas and I want to do something special for Holley!"
"Even if it means risking your health? Come on Finn, be reasonable!"
"I am being reasonable!"
Nathan opened his mouth to respond when there was a knock at the door and Holley poked her head in.
Seeing Nathan, she asked quickly, "Am I interrupting something?"
"No!" Finn said.
"Yes!" Nathan said at the same time.
"Oookay. So did I interrupt something or not?" she turned to Mary.
"We are just trying to convince Finn not to check himself out of the hospital."
"Why on earth would you do that Finn!?" she turned back to her partner.
"Because I wanted to do something special for you!"
"The best thing you can do for me right now is just stay where you are. We can celebrate Christmas when you get out of the hospital. But I do want to celebrate New Year's with you, and not in the hospital."
Suddenly remembering that Nathan was there she turned to him, "So did the hospital call you to make Finn stay here?"
"Nope." He smirked.
"Then why are you here?"
"I got wind of a party that was being planed and I decided to write myself an invitation."
Holley was stunned, "I-I'm sorry we didn't invite you sir but we thought that you might've had other plans!"
"I do but I just rearranged a few of them." He smiled and winked at her.
"Um- excuse me!" Finn waved his hand to catch their attention, "Clueless patient here wondering what the heck you are talking about!"
"We were just talking about a Christmas party we had planned at the office. Since you couldn't be there we decided to postpone it."
Just then there was another knock at the door and an orderly appeared pushing a wheelchair.
"What is that doing here!" Finn looked at the wheelchair with disgust.
"Well, I was going to offer to take you for a walk but if you want to stay here that's fine with me!"
"I'll take the wheelchair." Finn flipped the covers on his bed back and scooted to the end of his bed. "Where are we going?"
"Just for a walk."
After Finn was seated in the wheelchair and a blanked draped over his lap, the two set off with Nathan close behind.
"I never thought I would say this but it feels good to see the rest of this hospital." He said.
Happily, he looked around at his surroundings as doctors and nurses greeted him with a smile as they hurried by. He was puzzled when they suddenly came to a stop at the staff lounge.
"Holley. What are we doing here?! This is the staff lounge!"
"Not today it isn't!" and she opened the door and pushed him into the lounge.
"Surprise!" a dozen voices cried.
Finn was astonished. The room was decorated with Christmas lights and a there was a small Christmas tree in a corner. Several agents from C.R.O.M.E were scattered around the room and Finn even recognized his doctor, Mary and a few other nurses that took care of him during his stay.
"What's all this?" Finn grinned.
"Since you couldn't have a Christmas party with us, we voted we have one for you!" one of the agents answered.
"Thanks guys." Finn looked around at his friends, "This means a lot."
"All right, enough with the sentiments!" came Sid's voice from the back, "Let's party!"
All the agents parted as Sid pushed his way through to the front.
Finn rolled his eyes when he saw that he was dressed in his ugly Christmas sweater and his pair of reindeer slippers with the bells on the antlers.
"You know Sid? Even though I hate what you're wearing, it just wouldn't seem like Christmas without it!" Finn laughed.
"Thank you. And just for your information, I handed out a pair of reindeer slippers to every child in the pediatric ward. So if you get a chance you should go and visit them! It sounds like a whole army of reindeer!"
"I'll take your word for it Sid!" Finn laughed and the party began.
After several games, Finn beckoned Holley over.
"Do you mind pushing me back to my room for a moment?"
"No. Are you okay? This isn't taxing you too much is it?"
"No no. I'm okay."
Curios, she grasped the handles of the wheelchair and pushed her partner out into the hall, headed for his room. When the door safely shut behind them allowing them a moment of privacy, Holley knelt by his chair.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Perfectly. I just wanted a moment alone with you. I know that this party was your idea and I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate it. I'm really sorry I wasn't able to take you out for dinner or anything. I just wanted this Christmas to be perfect."
"But Finn it is! Even if it isn't in the most romantic of settings, just being here with you is what makes it perfect."
The two looked at each other for a long moment before they leaned in and kissed gently. When they separated, Finn tucked a lock of Holley's hair behind her ear and smiled, "I promise to make it up to you."
"You don't have to, you know. Just having another Christmas with you is the best present ever."
"I still want to get you a present though."
"If you insist I won't deny you. Now let's get back to the party or they're going to come hunting for us!" Holley laughed.
On their way back to the staff lounge, they passed the door to the children's playroom. When Finn pushed the door open slightly, the two of them were accosted with the sounds of thousands of tiny bells as the children ran around the room with their new slippers. Letting the door close, the two laughed gaily as they continued on their way.
Finally Holly was able to gasp through her laughter, "Leave it to Sid to turn a hospital into the North Pole!"
Well Merry late Christmas. Sorry I got it done late but better late then never! I hope you enjoyed the story and if you could take a few minutes to leave a review I would really appreciate it!
-TG28
