AN: And here it is - the fourth and final chapter. I hope you've all enjoyed the story and hey I'm only two weeks after Christmas this year instead of a few months! Porgress! Flamegirl22 I hope this lived up to your expectations and your final prompt is in this chapter.
Letting his mind drift away from the slumber it had been enjoying, Rossi slowly became aware of his surroundings. Outside he could hear the wind rusting through the trees surrounding his cabin. Mudgie's soft snore drifted up from the spot at the foot of the bed that the dog had claimed as his own. Stretching his arms out above him Dave stretched his sleep-stiffened muscles, breathing in deeply. As he did, he became aware of the aroma of coffee and blueberry.
Sitting up in the bed, Rossi recalled that he wasn't up at the cabin alone but that Spencer Reid had come with him. It had been dark when they got to the cabin, and Rossi didn't need to be a profiler to sense his colleague's unease as they had trudged toward the cabin. Having no problem navigating the rustic walkway in the dark, Rossi was soon navigating the porch steps, Mudgie hurrying up before him. After opening the front door, Rossi immediately turned on a couple lights before stepping aside to let his guest enter.
The two of them made short work of bringing the stuff in from the vehicle. As it was already late, Rossi had decided to keep dinner simple and after showing Reid to the extra bedroom, he headed for the kitchen to start some spaghetti. After eating, the two profilers carried the tree in from off the top of the SUV and set it up. Rossi had ended up opting for a real tree though he had got one at a place where they were already cut down. Getting the tree in the stand he had bought proved to be a bit difficult, as Rossi had not attempted the task in twenty years and this would mark the first Christmas tree that Reid would be a part of setting up and helping with the decoration.
The task was at last accomplished and Rossi had started going through the boxes of decorations he had brought. Reid had stood back, hesitant about joining in the festivities. After a little coaxing from Rossi though, the young genius was soon participating. The elder profiler soon noticed that his younger colleague was contemplating the placement of each ornament he put on the tree. Rossi considered telling Reid that he was over thinking the process but decided against it. He could tell the younger man was still nervous and he didn't want to do anything to make that worse. So what if it took a little longer to decorate the tree. Rossi let Reid put the angel on the top of the tree and then proceeded to show the younger man how to put the tinsel on the tree without over doing it.
Rossi smiled at the thought of the evening before. Though they hadn't stayed up much longer after completing the tree, Rossi had to admit the evening had gone smoothly. It was definitely the most enjoyable Christmas Eve he had experienced in a long time.
Climbing from the bed, Rossi grabbed his blue and black flannel bathrobe from the bed post and put it on as he headed from his bedroom. Mudgie did not stir at his owner's retreat and Rossi almost found himself envying the dog, part of him wishing he could stay in bed a bit longer himself. However, the aromas coming from presumably the kitchen were too enticing.
Walking through the living room, Rossi glanced toward the tree and smiled. It seemed right to have a tree up this year and despite there only being three presents under the tree. He had to admit that this year actually felt like Christmas. Coming up to the cabin had been the perfect idea.
As Rossi strolled into the kitchen, Reid was standing at the sink peering out the window. Rossi didn't miss the almost childlike look on the younger man's face.
Turning from the window to return to the pan on the stove, Reid noticed Rossi.
"It's snowing," Reid told him, a trace of a smile on his face. "Garcia's right, snow on Christmas is different from snow on another day."
Rossi nodded, walking to the window himself. It had been awhile since he had seen a white Christmas. "Yes, there is something magical about it," he commented, watching the snow drift slowly down covering the woodland scene outside in white.
"The coffee is still fresh and I'm about done with the blueberry pancakes," Reid said, expertly flipping a pancake.
"You didn't have to cook breakfast," Rossi said, tearing his eyes away from the snow to pour himself a cup of coffee.
"I like cooking," Reid said easily, feeling more at ease in the cabin than he had the night before. "Besides, from the look of the fridge you're planing quite a feast for dinner, so breakfast is the least I could do."
Rossi chuckled. He had gone a bit overboard with the dinner plans considering there were only two of them."I do appreciate it and those pancakes do smell good," he replied, pouring coffee into a mug.
After eating breakfast the two profilers retreated to the living room to open the few gifts that were sitting under the tree. As they settled in chairs near the decorated evergreen, Rossi prompted Reid to open the gift from Morgan first. The elder profiler had two reasons for this. First, he was nervous about the gift that he had gotten for the young genius. Secondly, if Morgan's gift of a blowup doll along with the snake skin wallet the dark-skinned profile had given him was any indication, Morgan's gift was sure to lighten the mood.
Reid pulled the candy cane adorned wrapping paper from the package to find a small plain box. Opening the box he pulled out a new scarf, a flashy dress shirt that Reid doubted he would ever actually wear, and a book. Reading the title, Reid looked at it feeling confused.
"Something wrong?" Rossi asked.
"I don't get why Morgan would give me this book," Reid admitted, holding up the yellow and black paper back.
Rossi chuckled the moment he read the title - Pick-up Lines for Dummies. Reid's expression became more confused at the elder man's reaction.
"It's a gag gift, Spencer," Rossi told the younger man softly. "Like the blowup doll that Morgan gave me."
Spencer nodded idly, understanding the concept but not the humor behind the gift. He flipped through a couple pages of the book. "Men actually say this kind of stuff to women?" he asked incredulously.
"You would be surprise what men will say in the hopes of getting lucky with a woman."
"And the women go for it?"
"Not all the time. You're just as likely to get a drink poured over your head as you are to get an offer to have a drink with them."
"Then why say something like this?" Reid asked, holding up the book.
"The thrill of the hunt, my boy," Rossi replied, holding back another chuckle at the perplexed way Reid was looking at him. "I wouldn't worry about it too much," he added.
Deciding that it was time for a change of subject, Rossi reached down and picked up his gift to Spencer. "Here, open mine," he said, handing the heavy package out to Reid.
Reid took the package from Rossi with a thank-you. Pulling the paper off, he found two old, leather bound books. Reid looked at the title of the top book, Great Expectations, which he remembered reading in highschool.
"I called Morgan for an idea on what to get you and he said you had a collection of old books. He wasn't too helpful for recalling which titles you already have so I hope those two aren't duplicates," Rossi said.
Reid picked up the top book and glanced at the second title - A Christmas Carol. "No, I don't have copies of either of these," the young genius informed him. "I haven't even read this one," he added, indicating the bottom book.
"You've never read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol?" Rossi asked in disbelief. Reid shook his head. "You know Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future?"
"Garcia referred to you as Scrooge when we were talking yesterday," Reid commented, remember the mention of the name in his conversation about why Rossi had invited him to the cabin.
"Did she now?" Rossi said, mildly amused.
Reid looked up from the books and at his colleague. "Is that a bad thing? Should I have not repeated it?"
"Well, it isn't the most flattering thing I've ever been called, but I guess in a way it fits," Rossi conceded.
"Sorry," Reid commented, feeling his cheeks grow warm.
Rossi waved a hand. "Don't worry about it."
Wanting to change the topic himself now, Reid reached down and picked up the gift for Rossi. "I had help picking this out from Garcia," he admitted as he handed the gift to the older profiler. "I hope you like it and Garcia told me to tell you if you needed help learning how to use it she would be more than happy to teach you."
Rossi raised an eyebrow at the last comment and wondered if he should be worried. Tearing the paper from the package, Rossi smiled when he saw what Reid had given him. "You know, I have been told by at least five different people that I needed to invest in a PDA. Thank-you, Spencer."
"You're welcome," Reid replied, letting out a soft sigh of relief.
"I have a feeling I'm definitely going to need lessons from our computer-whiz on operating this thing though. I consider technology on a need-to-know basis, if I don't use it I don't need to know how it works."
Reid smiled at the comment as Rossi downed the last bit of his second mug of coffee and stood.
"I think I'm going to go take a shower and get dressed. Then perhaps you would be willing to join me for a walk in the woods and we can enjoy our white Christmas," Rossi suggested as he headed toward his bedroom.
"Okay," Reid agreed, leaning back in his chair and opening A Christmas Carol.
"You can tell me how you like the story then, seeing as you'll probably be done reading it by then," Rossi commented idly as he strolled from the room.
Reid smiled at the remark. "Merry Christmas, Dave," he said in response before looking down at the first page and starting the tale of how Ebenezer Scrooge found the meaning of Christmas.