A/N: Happy easter everyone! Don't eat too many eggs or step on the Easter bunny's foot or anything, OK? A few chapters ago I gave in and wrote Galex for – well, everyone except me! :P So this chapter is me having my fun in return, OK? Fair's fair!

~xXx~

Eight Maids A-Milking

"Don't drink anything blue with 'pops' in the title."

"No, Gene."

"Or dance to anything by bloody Boyzone."

"No, Gene."

"Keep yer eye out for dodgy shirt-lifters."

"Gene, I don't think I need to worry about that."

"Unless it's Batman after he's had a skinful."

"That was one time, and he preferred you anyway," Alex reminded him.

Gene carried on regardless.

"I want you home by midnight or yer arse will turn into a pumpkin."

Alex sighed.

"Yes, yes," she mumbled.

"And who do we mention wooden spoons to?"

"No one, Gene," Alex sighed, "can I go now?"

Gene nodded and watched Alex open the car door before he called her back.

"Oi. Bols."

Alex stopped, one leg out of the car.

"Yes?" she sighed.

Gene reached into his pocket and pulled out a slightly misshapen piece of plastic mistletoe. Alex looked at him with a curious frown, slightly hesitant to take it from him as it looked like it – and the inside of his pocket – had seen better days.

"Just make sure you spit out all the rivets afterwards," he told her. She stared at him like he'd just lost the plot "Tell Stringer happy Christmas from me."

Alex hesitated, slowly biting one side of her lip while the other rose in a smile that she tried to keep back.

"Gene?" she said, tilting her head slightly.

"Maybe it'll make up for the wooden spoon," he told her and Alex's smile broke free as she grasped Gene's face and landed what could only be described as a large smacker on the lips, then as she pulled him back, leaving him smeared with her lipstick she told him.,

"I love you, Gene Hunt," and she flounced out of the car with the biggest spring in her step.

Rolling down the window, Gene leaned out and called to her;

"Oi! Bolly. I want a full description." He paused for a moment, "And if you want to change Stringer to Ginger Spice in that description it would be more than OK with me."

~xXx~

"Are you sure you're OK?" Robin asked as Kim staggered along toward the club. She looked at him tiredly.

"You bloody wore me out!" she accused.

"You just spent two hours lying in the bath," Robin pointed out, "you even changed the water twice!"

"Yeah, we both did!" Kim cried, "therein lies the problem! Now I'm even more tired than I was before it!"

They entered the club and found it surprisingly empty considering the fact that it was Christmas eve. Or was that why? Maybe people didn't really want to go clubbing. Perhaps the telly was too good?

The sight of Jake, Marci and Shaz moving toward them made Kim snicker a little and make kissy noises to Robin which landed her with his palm flat across her mouth

"That's quite enough of that, thank you," Robin told her as she giggled.

"Hey," Jake smiled a little shyly as he reached Robin.

"Hey you," Robin bit his lip as he smiled back.

There was a strange silence full of secret smiles and little else until Kim threw her hands in the air.

"It's not like you have to keep it a secret, for god's sake!" she cried, "we were all in on this, just kiss and we can get on with it."

Jake and Robin exchanged a glance, both looking a little awkward about kissing in front of an audience but finally braved a chaste peck on the lips that made everyone roll their eyes.

"Pathetic," Marci told them.

"Two out of ten," Shaz chimed in

"You do realise I'm the only person here you haven't kissed, sir?" Marci frowned at Robin who backed away slightly.

"Now isn't going to be the first time either," he said awkwardly.

"Hey, it's DCI Shoebury," Shaz said, pointing her bottle in the direction of the door.

No one was really expecting Simon to make it – he'd often stated that the club wasn't really his scene. He was walking a little strangely, his arms folded in front of him but an inch or so away from his body; a sight which made Kim flinch and swallow.

"Jesus, it's all coming back to me," she mumbled.

Simon arrived beside them and five shocked faces stared in his direction.

"S-Sir?" Marci blinked a couple of times.

"Simon, your hair," Robin's brow creased slightly at the unexpected sight of Simon's hair gelled back, adding a different appearance to his usually unruly waves. His usual plain, smart kind of shirt had been replaced by something in an altogether brighter shade and there was no sign of the dreaded jumper. Simon swallowed and felt his face burning up a little.

"I just felt like a change of image, OK?" he said, trying to cut off the inquisition before it began.

"I love the shirt," Marci told him, suddenly eying Simon in a whole new light which made him frown and hide behind Robin slightly.

"It was in the back of the wardrobe," Simon mumbled awkwardly as he became acutely aware that Jake was staring at him.

"Are you cold in that sir?" he asked. Simon frowned.

"No, why?"

"N-nothing," Jake said.

"It's just," Marci began, "we can see your nip-"

"No no no, don't even go there," Kim tried to cover her eyes and her ears at the same time, running around in circles of distress.

Robin looked Simon up and down, quite taken aback.

"Quite an image change," he said. Simon seemed nervous. Maybe he was worried that Robin was about to seek revenge for his displeasure at his own change in appearance but instead he simply smiled. "Looks good," he said. He wanted to ask Simon what it was in aid of but from the look on Simon's face he wasn't ready to talk about it yet. There was something bothering Robin though. "I remember that shirt," he said quietly and Simon looked down with a distant smile. He'd arrived in it and hadn't worn it since.

"I thought you might," he said quietly.

Suddenly Marci yelped as Shaz's elbow arrived in her ribs.

"What was that for, Shaz?!" she cried, rubbing her chest but a frantic hand signal from Shaz made her look towards the door.

Look at DCI Drake!" she hissed.

"What -?!" Shaz's words caught Kim's attention. She froze, the distress of Simon's nipples falling away from her as she turned to see Alex walking towards them through the crowd on the dance floor, her face positively glowing and her chest practically bursting out of her top. She looked slightly nervous for some reason but wore a smile that melted the frost on the pavement.

"Wow," was all Jake could manage.

"She scrubs up well," Marci nodded in agreement

"Scrubs up well? She looks gorgeous!" Shaz corrected, somewhat in awe.

Robin was slightly perturbed to find that Kim had joined Simon in hiding behind him.

"What are you doing?!" he cried.

Kim had trouble even forming a sentence. She mumbled something about not trusting herself and wanting things that belonged to people whose boots were almost as big as hers, then lost the ability to speak as Alex arrived beside them.

"Merry Christmas," she said brightly, oblivious to all the drool in the vicinity.

"Merry Christmas, ma'am," they chorused apart from Kim who managed to mumble "Ma'amy Messmass Merry."

Luckily for Kim it was too loud in the club for Alex to hear.

"Kim," she smiled, "You look wonderful."

Kim had never felt her cheeks start to burn with such vehemence before.

"Oh," she swallowed, "th-thank you."

Everyone stared at Kim incredulously. No one had ever seen her like that before. They were used to the irascible woman who always had a smart word and whose bite and bark were about on par with one another. This wasn't the Kim they were used to.

"Well go on then." Robin hissed. He elbowed her. "Buy Alex a drink."

"What?" Kim seemed surprisingly nervous. She glanced at Alex. "Do… do you want one"

"Love one," Alex smiled.

"OK," Kim shuffled away nervously with a half-smile. Jake looked at Robin somewhat curiously as Shaz and Marci encouraged Alex to head to the dance floor with them in the meanwhile.

"What's going on there?" he asked.

"I think it's complicated," Robin told him.

"I've heard things," Jake said awkwardly, "about – you know."

"Yeah," Robin nodded. "It's true."

"DCI Drake and DCI Stringer?"

It was weird fir Robin to have someone referring to Kim by her title.

"Yeah," he nodded, "Kim's got it bad, not that she'll admit that."

"But they didn't… actually…?" Jake's mouth fell open as Robin nodded. "God," he smirked a little, somehow amused by it, "so are they… now…"

Robin sighed and shook his head.

"Not really," he said, "but they should be,"

"What about the Guv?"

Robin scratched his head, pulling a face. He couldn't completely work out where Gene stood on any of it.

"I think," he said quietly, "that he's sort of taken with the my-bird-fancies-another-bird side of it, as he'd put it," he said, "but he thinks Kim's turning into some sort of robot, so –"

"What, like a Dalek?" Jake frowned.

"She isn't actually turning into a robot," Robin felt the need to point out. He watched Kim at the bar, glancing behind her nervously and Alex sneaking looks back at Kim. "Fuck's sake, they have a go at us for taking a long time but we're not the only ones."

"Tell me about it," Jake raised his eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Marci," Jake pointed to the girls on the dance floor, "she usually doesn't know the meaning of the word 'slow'. But because Shaz had a freak out a long time ago she's scared of setting her off again." He sighed, "meanwhile poor Shaz looks like she's going to explode at any second."

"Must be something in the air," said Robin.

He and Jake exchanged a glance, then a laugh. Both closed their eyes momentarily, feeling more at ease with one another than they had since the day they met.

"You know, you haven't called me 'sir' once tonight," Robin commented.

Jake hadn't even realised but Robin was right.

"I'm finding it easier to distinguish between 'Chief Inspector Thomas' and 'Robin' since the latter of them left a trail of lovebites round my neck," he said, feeling his face flush. Robin bit his lip, slightly shocked he'd done that in the first place.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "I think living with Kim's rubbed off on me."

"Don't be sorry," Jake smiled, "it gave me a good excuse to wear that new scarf Shaz gave me."

They both laughed for a moment and began to idly wander towards the bar.

"What are you doing tomorrow, Jake" Robin asked.

"Not much," Jake shrugged.

"Are you going to spend Christmas with your father?" Robin asked and Jake shook his head.

"Nah," he said quietly, "I'll call him in the morning. That's about as much as we do these days. Has been for years."

Robin bit his lip, feeling bad for bringing it up again.

"Sorry, Jake," he said quietly, or at least as quietly as the music would let him.

Jake seemed less bothered than Robin would have expected it.

"I'll probably end up spending the day with Marci," he said, "nine times out of ten that's what we do. It's not like she has any family around here any more."

Robin didn't even want to ask what happened to Marci's family. It seemed he'd tapped into dysfunctional family central as it was. He saw Kim with two drinks in her hands, looking more hesitant than he'd ever seen her. "Excuse me just one moment," he told Jake and left him for a minute to cross over to Kim.

She didn't even see Robin approaching until he was right beside her. His appearance made her jump a little.

"Sorry, I was miles away," she said, gasping a little from the shock.

"Kim, what are you doing?" Robin asked her.

"I was getting drinks," Kim said a little awkwardly.

"I mean about Alex," Robin nodded to her where she was dancing and sneaking looks back at Kim, "are you going to go over there or not?"

"I don't think Ishould, I've got things on my mind," Kim mumbled.

"Like what?"

"Like what I want to do with that cleavage," Kim said awkwardly.

"Then for goodness sake, go and do it," Robin started to shove her towards Alex.

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Gene will kill me!"

"He's had endless chances to kill you already but you're still living and breathing!" Robin reminded her. He hesitated, "call it… call it therapy. To help you over your Post-Simon Stress disorder." He nodded ay Alex, "Look, Kim, she's staring at you and she's got cleavage deep enough to sink the titanic. She's shaken off Gene for the night, I don't think you're overstepping the mark. No, go on. You lesbian, she woman, go get."

Kim didn't know whether to laugh or stare in shock.

"What's gotten into you?" she cried.

"Jake. Now go."

Kim wasn't sure what surprised her more, Robin's brashness as he echoed her earlier words or the fact that she found herself walking towards Alex despite her nerves.

Alex had started to think Kim was never going to join her. She moved slowly away from the dancing girls and took the drink Kim held out for her.

"I got you a drink, Ma'am," Kim said nervously.

"We're in the middle of a nightclub and you're still calling me ma'am," Alex pointed out.

"Sorry," Kim bit her lip, "old habits and all that."

"Kim, are you nervous?" Alex asked somewhat incredulously, tilting her head a little.

"Of course not. I don't get nervous," Kim mumbled.

Alex closed her eyes for a moment with a smile.

"I am too," she said gently.

The silence that fell between them wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. It allowed them both a moment of quiet reflection as they exchanged a smile. Kim sipped her drink, wondering if that low-cut top was really for her benefit or whether she was just imagining it. She was fairly sure the little jiggle Alex suddenly gave was for her benefit though.

"So," Alex began eventually, "how's your Christmas eve been?"

Kim closed her eyes and groaned.

"I've had better," she said.

"Why? What happened?" Alex asked her.

"Everything except lunch," Kim told her. She saw Alex looking at her curiously. "Oh, it's a long story, ma'am."

"I'm not going anywhere," Alex smiled.

Kim felt her cheeks redden a little. She was like a schoolgirl with a crush on the latest pop sensation to hit the charts. But she felt very much alive. She looked around; the music, her friends, the people she loved all surrounding her. She felt so happy that she could almost burst. So Christmas eve had been a bit of a disaster. In all other ways her life had rarely felt so right.

"Well," she began, "It was all Simon's fault, really," she sighed and tried not to gag, "and I've seen things I never wanted to see in a million years."

"Then share them with me and we can both be traumatised," Alex smiled.

Kim smiled back.

"Well," she began, "you see Ma'am, Simon decided to go for a change of image. It all started when I got this call. He wanted the use of my… professional piercing skills."

Alex was all ears.

"Tell me more..."

~xXx~

"Oh god, I don't know how I let you talk me into this," Alex peered nervously inside the deserted flat as Kim switched on the light and deactivated the alarm.

"I didn't," Kim reminded her, "You asked."

"You were the one going on about shoving bits of metal through delicate areas!" Alex said anxiously as she stepped inside the home that had once belonged to her and Gene. It felt so strange to see it in the hands of someone else. It gave her a little shiver. Increasingly it felt as though Kim and Robin were stepping into their shoes.

"We don't have to do this," Kim said, smiling a little. She found Alex's nerves somehow endearing. It wasn't how she was used to seeing the woman she still couldn't think of as anything but 'Ma'am.'

"No, no, it's OK," Alex said decisively, "I want to."

"You will be fine, you know," Kim told her.

Alex swallowed, not looking all that certain.

"I know," she croaked.

Kim gave a very gentle laugh.

"Ma'am, we really don't have to do this," she said.

But Alex had her mind set.

"If I don't do it now then I'll regret it," she said.

"You're not going to be upset with me in the morning, are you?" Kim asked nervously, "when you wake up to find Gene accusing you of sticking rivets in your chest?"

"I think I can handle Gene," Alex said, her smile a little more relaxed this time.

Kim led her to the couch and patted its smooth surface.

"Lie down here for me," she said.

"you've slipped into tattooist mode," Alex observed.

"Sorry," Kim smiled. She knelt down beside her piercing case, still abandoned in the lounge from Simon's moment of glory, and found everything she needed - the clamp, the needles and the jewellery. "What do you want, Ma'am, bars or rings?"

Alex bit her lip and stared at the little sterile packets in Kim's hand as though trying to choose instead of stalling for time.

"You, uh," she cleared her throat, "you have the bars, don't you?" she asked, feeling her face starting to heat up a little. She admitted quietly to herself that the night she spent with Kim was something she revisited on her mind again and again. Like I don't remember what jewellery you have, she thought to herself as she looked innocently at Kim.

"That's right," Kim nodded, "they tend to be better for the healing process anyway. If you want to change them at a later date then you can always choose some rings another time."

"No, that's OK," Alex said anxiously, not particularly in love with the idea of ever having to remove and replace them.

Kim patted the couch again.

"Up," she said.

"Now you sound like Robin with one of his dogs," Alex commented which made Kim laugh.

"I suppose I'm picking up bad habits," she said, "the next thing you know I'll be giving you a biscuit and telling you to heel."

Alex nervously sat on the couch, her feet anxiously tapping on the floor..

"Does it hurt?" she asked anxiously, then she closed her eyes and laughed at herself. "I can't believe I just asked you that, Kim."

"It's fine," Kim laughed, "honestly, Ma'am, it's scarier in your mind that it will ever be in person. You'll feel it, I'm not denying that. But it's not going to be that bad. You've had tattoos, a moment with a needle is a walk in the park compared to those." She began to unwrap the needle. "I'll need you to pull up your top, Ma'am," she said, glancing up as Alex followed her instructions, then added with slight embarrassment, "And, erm… Take off your bra."

"Oh, right," Alex felt a little nervous and a little awkward. She cleared her throat as she fiddled with the material of her silken shirt. "I'll uh, have to take my top off to do that."

"You can just undo the bra and slip it up or down," Kim suggested. She could feel her cheeks starting to burn. Goddamn it, she'd previously spent years with needles in her hand, sinking ink and metal on or through any body part imaginable and she'd never once blushed. But then again, this was different.

"That's Ok, I'll," Alex hesitated for a moment, "I'll take it down."

Kim's eyes rose instantly to Alex's body. She couldn't help it, it was a reflex reaction. She looked away again guiltily and took a deep breath. She could feel her heart starting to quicken immediately. Shit, how many years had she been harbouring those feelings for Alex? Her mind went back to their night together; to the glorious sensation of Alex's skin pressed against hers, the exploration of Alex's curves, feeling so close to her physically and emotionally. It felt like the bottom of her stomach dropped and released the butterflies, some of which settled southwards, between her legs.

"Kim?"

Shit, how long had she been daydreaming for? Kim tried to shake herself out of her glorious memories and turned back to Alex.

"Sorry, Ma'a-" she began but trailed off at the sight of Alex's chest on display. She drew in her breath quickly before she could stop herself and turned her head away slightly. "Sorry, Ma'am, I didn't mean to look…"

Alex shuffled uncomfortably.

"Kim, I think we're going to have a problem with you piercing my nipples if you don't look at them," she said and watched as Kim nervously turned back to her. Her lip wavered slightly as she tried not to take on Robin's bad habit of biting his lip.

"I'm sorry, I'm just… it's confusing… with us working together at the station… now I'm doing my other job… sometimes I forget where I am," she bluffed.

"I hope not," said Alex, you might start arresting customers and tattooing suspects." She looked at Kim seriously. "Kim… if this is too weird for you…"

"It's not," Kim said quickly, "honestly." She tried to pull herself together but her face just seemed to keep on getting hotter. "Jesus, I think I'm going to put the air conditioning on," she said.

"The what?" Alex frowned, "Kim, it's Christmas eve. There's a frost out there."

Kim cringed.

"I meant the heating," she said, "it's a cold night…"

"Can…" Alex began awkwardly, "can we just get on with it, Kim?" she asked, "before I lose my nerve."

"Right," Kim nodded, "sorry," she indicated the length of the couch. "Lie down here."

Alex pulled her legs up and turned herself around before stretching out along the couch.

"It's cold," she shuddered as she nestled her back against the black faux-leather.

"Sorry," Kim said quietly. She held up the clamp. "Now this part might be more uncomfortable than the actual piercing," she warned.

Alex closed her eyes tightly and braced herself as Kim fixed the clamp around her left nipple and she felt a firm pressure.

"Ouch," she said.

"You OK?"

Alex nodded, her eyes closed.

"Mmm-hmm," she said stiffly.

"Try to relax," Kim said gently.

Alex opened one eye and took a look at Kim's face. She seemed different now, past the awkwardness and full of confidence and concentration. It put Alex instantly at ease and she smiled a little.

"Yes, Ma'am," she teased.

Kim's eyes met Alex's for a moment and she gave a shy laugh.

"Oh, no, you can't call me that," she said, "that's too confusing."

"That was the point," Alex smiled.

"And it feels weird," said Kim.

"So does my nipple," Alex told her and Kim gave a nervous laugh.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, you distracted me," she said. She took a pen and began to mark out the piercing points before reaching for the needle and the jewellery. "Alright, now I want you to take a deep breath in," she said and suddenly it was all very real. A surge of panic spread through Alex as she realised this was it; no going back, and before she knew it there was an instance of very sharp, burning pain which disappeared almost as soon as it started and changed into a dull throbbing. "Just putting the jewellery in now," Kim's voice was soft and soothing and it took Alex's mind away from any discomfort. "There. That's the first one."

Alex let out her breath and raised her head slightly. She could see a little metal glistening on her breast.

"That wasn't as bad as I was expecting," she admitted.

"I told you," Kim smiled, "ready for the second one?"

Alex nodded.

"Bring it on," she said triumphantly and Kim laughed.

"Let me get a fresh swab," she said and dipped out of sight for a moment, returning with another cooling antiseptic swab. Same as the other side, ma'am," she said as she began to sweep t across Alex's hardening nipple. She saw goosebumps appear over her skin. Sorry, it's a little cold."

"It's fine," Alex whispered. She knew full well that it wasn't the temperature that had set off the goosebumps on her skin. Her eyes flickered to Kim momentarily then away again as her face started to grow warm. She hated to admit it but as Kim cleaned her skin she couldn't help imagining that the gesture was for another reason. She could feel Kim's fingers gliding over her, picturing the blonde woman gazing at her, touching her, wanting her. "Good god," she mumbled under her breath before she could stop herself.

"What?"

Alex swallowed.

"Sorry, Kim. Nothing," she said as the clamp was placed over her again on the other side. She felt Kim marking out with the pen once again where the piercing would go and then heard her give the same instruction. Alex drew in her breath, braced herself and felt the same instant of pain as the needle travelled through her skin, then the relief as the jewellery took its place.

"They look amazing on you."

Kim's words were staggered and breathy and Alex hadn't been expecting that. She turned to Kim to see a smile bursting forth and a glow across her face.

"Do you really think so?" She whispered.

The smile on Kim's face and the eager nod were a little more than Alex had been expecting.

"Oh yes," Kim breathed.

Alex blushed hard.

"Are you this enthusiastic with all your customers?" she asked and Kim bit her lip guilty.

"They just… they look really good," she whispered. She found her eyes raising to Alex's level. She knew that the moment she did that the truth would come out but she couldn't help it. She'd been doing her best to hold it back but that had gone on long enough. Her gazed fixed upon Alex's and before she could stop herself she whispered, "I can't stop thinking about you."

"What?" Alex's voice shook as her eyes widened and her heart started to quicken.

Instantly Kim regretted it. She knew that she shouldn't have said it and wished that she could take it back but it was too late now. She shook her head and stood up.

"Sorry," she whispered, "Sorry, Ma'am, I-I'm a bit over emotional, with Christmas and –"

"Kim, stop," Alex reached out and grasped the hem of her shirt, "don't walk away, don't even think about walking away."

Kim froze and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not."

Kim's eyes opened again, far wider this time, and she turned back round.

"Pardon?"

Alex slowly pushed herself upright.

"I'm not sorry you said it," she whispered nervously. Her mouth was starting to become dry but she pressed on. "I'm glad that you did."

"I –" "Kim whispered, not even knowing where she was going with that sentence.

"I'm glad you did," Alex whispered again, "because I was too scared to be the one who said it first."

"What do you mean the one who said it first?" Kim could hardly speak, barely daring to believe what her instincts were telling her.

Alex slid from the table, her chest still bare. She felt a little self-conscious but it wasn't as though Kim hadn't seen it before.

"I've been waiting for this since the moment you made it over," she whispered.

Kim stared at her, scarcely daring to blink, barely daring to ask the question on the top of her tongue.

"For what?" she whispered.

Alex swallowed.

"I'm nervous, Kim," she whispered, "don't make me spell it out."

Kim swallowed.

"Y-you're not the only one," she whispered, but the look in Alex's eyes began to calm the anxious feelings that she had as she moved forward just a little. "What about Gene?" she whispered.

Alex bit her lip gently and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a rather tatty-looking plastic piece of mistletoe and held it out. Kim stared at it incredulously, then up at Alex. Her brow creased in confusion.

"Gene gave me this," Alex told her, "and told me to wish you a happy Christmas."

Kim stared at it, then up at Alex and finally back at the mistletoe again.

"It's… better than a wooden spoon," she said, bewildered.

"I don't think the mistletoe itself was supposed to be the present," Alex told her.

Kim's lips twisted into a smile.

"Oh," she said quietly. Feeling warm in the cheeks she shuffled a little closer and cleared her throat. "So –"

Alex hesitated, then gave a slow nod.

"As long as I pretend you're a spice girl then I apparently have permission to make full use of this mistletoe," she said. She swallowed and stared at Kim, surprised to find they were both trembling.

"I'm not going to get an angry Gene on my doorstep in the morning am I?" Kim asked worriedly, but quickly shook her head, "fuck it, I don't care, I'll just threaten to pierce a delicate place."

"That's the spirit," Alex teased, relieved to see Kim's personality back to the fore. She wasn't used to seeing her so nervous. She lifted the mistletoe up above their heads and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Kim," she said in a whisper.

As they leaned in together and their lips locked the nerves melted away and all that remained was a warmth and a closeness that had helped them through the hardest time of their lives and remained a constant between them. Kim no longer felt like that young girl with the crush on the beautiful older woman. She felt equal, valued ad loved.

As they moved apart they smiled at one another with the kind of warmth that melted the frost right away.

"Merry Christmas, Alex," whispered Kim.