December 24 - Four years later
"I'll have a blue Christmas without you. I'll be so blue just thinkin' about you."
Elvis wailed out of the small radio perched on top of the kitchen counter. In the next room Dana sat on the tattered loveseat, her feet tucked underneath her. Despite the gray woolen socks her mother knitted for her last winter that were adorning her feet her toes were still frozen. She spooned more yogurt out of the small carton in her hand and licked the spoon, wondering when her roommate Ashley would arrive back from the grocery store.
"Speak of the devil," she thought as she heard a key turning in the lock on the door. Tall and blond, Ashley came in through the door with two sacks of paper grocery bags, one in each arm. She shook her head and from her short bob fresh snow fell to the ground, melting on the wooden floor. Using her foot to slam the door, Ashley leaned back against it and exhaled loudly.
"My gosh it's snowing hard out there!" She shivered and walked into the mini kitchen in the small two-bedroom apartment. "I'm guessing that our gracious landlord has not fixed the heating on our floor?" she called, gesturing at Dana's sweats and the comforter surrounding her, as she unloaded the groceries for the week. She glanced over at her friend through the serving window and saw her take another bite of her yogurt.
"Correct. It also seems that our landlord is not answering his phone or his door. Kenny and Murphy next door are threatening to break it down if something isn't done soon."
Ashley snorted and said, "I'd like to see that."
Elvis ended his blue Christmas and a new song began playing. "Met my old lover at the grocery store..."
"NO!" Dana moaned as Dan Fogelburg came through on the radio. "Is this Make Dana Feel Miserable Day? Did someone forget to tell me?" She threw the empty yogurt carton through the window, nearly creaming Ashley, where it landed upside down on top of the old radio. Daintily Ashley threw it into the small trashcan in the kitchen and changed the radio station, wiping up some of the yogurt that had oozed out.
"I'm guessing that Fox did not call?"
Dana sighed and absently played with the hair band on her wrist. "No he didn't. I tried calling his dorm, but they guys said they didn't know where he was, that he left early yesterday morning with a duffel bag and coat. No one's seen or heard from him since." She stopped playing with the hair band and instead gathered up her hair and put it in a messy bun, not caring about the wisps of hair falling around her face. "Ashley, what if he doesn't love me anymore? What if he's met some leggy English brunette at Oxford and isn't coming back ever?"
Ashley opened the refrigerator and said, "Dana, what happened to all the yogurt? There were 6 left this morning before I went shopping." She closed the refrigerator and opened the freezer, grabbing two fudgesicles out. Then she came into the tiny living room and plopped down on the love seat next to her roommate.
"I though binging on yogurt instead of chocolate would be more friendly to my figure over the holidays," Dana admitted sheepishly.
"Take it from someone who's had lots of experience with men, chocolate may not be as forgiving, but it sure tastes a heck of a lot better than sugar free yogurt. Eat up," Ashley said, handing one of the fudge bars to her. "At least we don't have class again until after this storm passes through. I saw Professor Gillridge at the store and he said that half the teachers wouldn't be able to make it back until late next week, so there's a pretty good chance class will be cancelled until the week after New Years possibly."
"Storm?"
"You know, the reason why it's been snowing practically nonstop all morning? The blizzard that's supposed to hit late tonight? The one everyone's been talking about nonstop for weeks but no one actually believed would hit us?"
"Oh. Right." Dana licked a bit of the bar that had melted and run down the side of hand, leaving a sticky dark trail. "I can't believe he didn't call. I mean we've called each other at least once a month, sometimes twice a month, for the past four years. He came to visit on my birthday earlier this year. I just talked to him last month and everything was fine."
Ashley rolled her eyes when Dana wasn't looking. She had it bad for him, that was for sure. She had met Fox when he came for Dana's birthday. He was a nice guy; they were obviously smitten with each other. It didn't seem like him to just disappear on her during Christmas. Then again, she'd only met the guy once.
A loud noise from outside startled them and they jumped, instinctively looking toward the window. Ashley stood up and walked over to it, drawing the blinds up and opening the window.
"Ashley, close the window! It's freezing outside."
"And it's not in here? I just want to hear what this guy with the pickup truck is blasting through his radio."
"I'll be home for Christmas. You can plan on me." came wafting in through the open window.
Grinning, Ashley turned back to Dana and said, "Dana, I think your Christmas present has arrived from England."
Dana sat there for a moment, not comprehending what Ashley was saying. Then her eyes lit up. "I'm gonna kill him!" Without putting on shoes or a coat she ran out the door and down the hall to the stairs, nearly knocking over Kenny in her frantic effort to get downstairs. Puzzled, he asked Ashley, "What's with her?"
Ashley just smiled and said, "Her boyfriend came over from England without telling her. She thought he'd broken up with her."
"Ouch. The wrath of Scully is not something any man should take lightly. This I gotta see." Together the two of them watched out one of the windows as a small red-headed figure ran out of the building and headed straight for a tall, dark-haired figure.
Outside Dana was oblivious to the cold and snow as she sprinted the guy walking down the walkway to the apartment building. "Fox!" She hurled herself onto him and knocked him over.
"I missed you too," Fox said, looking up at Dana who was on top of him and grinning like the Cheshire cat. She didn't say anything, only leaned down to kiss him soundly on the lips. When they finally broke it off he said, "Wow, if that's the welcome I get outside I can't wait until we're under some mistletoe."
"Who needs mistletoe?" she said, leaning down for another kiss.
"Hey Scully! Why don't you and your man get a room huh?" Dana and Fox looked up to see Kenny and Ashley grinning from the open window in her apartment.
"Just because you don't have a girl this Christmas does not mean the rest of us have to miserable Kenny," she called.
"I've got me a girl, she just doesn't know it yet."
"Oh yeah? Who?"
"Your roommate Ashley."
"In your dreams Kenny," said Ashley.
"Hey, a guy can try can't he?"
"Who's that?" whispered Fox in Dana's ear.
"Our next door neighbor Kenny. He and his friend Murphy are both in Ashley and my pathology class. Kenny is notorious for one night stands and two week girlfriends."
"Why does he call you Scully?"
"Because the professors insist we call each other Doctor and addressing each other by last names. Kenny just believes in doing it in and out of school. Unless he's trying to get on your good side."
"Ah. Well as much as I love making snow angels with you out here," he said, smiling, "I am getting kinda cold."
"I'll warn you, the heating is non-existent on my floor," she said, helping Fox up.
"Well then we'll just have to snuggle up close together," Fox said with a little leer. He started up to the door, but before he got there something cold, wet, and hard hit him on the back of his head. Slowly he turned around, jaw set, to see a smirking Dana standing with another snowball in her hand.
"That was for not calling." She threw the other snowball and despite Fox's efforts to duck still nailed him right in the chest.
"And what was that for?" he asked, dusting snow off his jacket.
She shrugged and said, "Cause you're just good lookin'."
"Uh huh. Well 'Scully', I'll have to introduce you to something we used to do back at home." He started advancing toward her and she backed away, screaming at him to stay away from her. Fox only grinned harder and gathered her up in his arms, dumping her unceremoniously in a large snowdrift. For the next half hour they threw snowballs at each other, ducking behind trees and bushes until the cold finally caught up with Dana and they retreated inside.
::Later::
Once again Dana was bundled up in the comforter on the love seat, but this time it wasn't Ashley who was sharing the couch, but Fox. She was lying in front of him, spooned up against his warm body underneath the cozy blanket. A Christmas Carol had long since ended and a Christmas program was currently playing on the small television in front of them in the darkened apartment. Both college students slept peacefully in each other's arms. Unnoticed above them a small sprig of mistletoe hung with a note attached.
Merry Christmas Dana! I knew that you two don't really need mistletoe, but I thought I'd add a little culture to your lives tonight. Traditionally you pick off one berry for every kiss you exchange under the mistletoe until they're all gone. What you do after that is your decision, but I've decided to visit my parents for the rest of the week before the storm hits. So... have fun! --Ashley
********
Yes! I got it done and posted before Christmas!!! ::does happy dance:: Hope y'all liked the Christmas chapter, I had a blast writing it. No offence to the King, Fogelburg, and whoever owns "I'll Be Home For Christmas". I'm just borrowing the lyrics. Schoolwork has me bogged down. In fact I just spent the better part of my day reading the last 20 chapters of Jane Eyre that I was supposed to have done last week and writing an essay on it. Blah. But X-Files always cheers me up! Happy Holidays to you and yours!
"I'll have a blue Christmas without you. I'll be so blue just thinkin' about you."
Elvis wailed out of the small radio perched on top of the kitchen counter. In the next room Dana sat on the tattered loveseat, her feet tucked underneath her. Despite the gray woolen socks her mother knitted for her last winter that were adorning her feet her toes were still frozen. She spooned more yogurt out of the small carton in her hand and licked the spoon, wondering when her roommate Ashley would arrive back from the grocery store.
"Speak of the devil," she thought as she heard a key turning in the lock on the door. Tall and blond, Ashley came in through the door with two sacks of paper grocery bags, one in each arm. She shook her head and from her short bob fresh snow fell to the ground, melting on the wooden floor. Using her foot to slam the door, Ashley leaned back against it and exhaled loudly.
"My gosh it's snowing hard out there!" She shivered and walked into the mini kitchen in the small two-bedroom apartment. "I'm guessing that our gracious landlord has not fixed the heating on our floor?" she called, gesturing at Dana's sweats and the comforter surrounding her, as she unloaded the groceries for the week. She glanced over at her friend through the serving window and saw her take another bite of her yogurt.
"Correct. It also seems that our landlord is not answering his phone or his door. Kenny and Murphy next door are threatening to break it down if something isn't done soon."
Ashley snorted and said, "I'd like to see that."
Elvis ended his blue Christmas and a new song began playing. "Met my old lover at the grocery store..."
"NO!" Dana moaned as Dan Fogelburg came through on the radio. "Is this Make Dana Feel Miserable Day? Did someone forget to tell me?" She threw the empty yogurt carton through the window, nearly creaming Ashley, where it landed upside down on top of the old radio. Daintily Ashley threw it into the small trashcan in the kitchen and changed the radio station, wiping up some of the yogurt that had oozed out.
"I'm guessing that Fox did not call?"
Dana sighed and absently played with the hair band on her wrist. "No he didn't. I tried calling his dorm, but they guys said they didn't know where he was, that he left early yesterday morning with a duffel bag and coat. No one's seen or heard from him since." She stopped playing with the hair band and instead gathered up her hair and put it in a messy bun, not caring about the wisps of hair falling around her face. "Ashley, what if he doesn't love me anymore? What if he's met some leggy English brunette at Oxford and isn't coming back ever?"
Ashley opened the refrigerator and said, "Dana, what happened to all the yogurt? There were 6 left this morning before I went shopping." She closed the refrigerator and opened the freezer, grabbing two fudgesicles out. Then she came into the tiny living room and plopped down on the love seat next to her roommate.
"I though binging on yogurt instead of chocolate would be more friendly to my figure over the holidays," Dana admitted sheepishly.
"Take it from someone who's had lots of experience with men, chocolate may not be as forgiving, but it sure tastes a heck of a lot better than sugar free yogurt. Eat up," Ashley said, handing one of the fudge bars to her. "At least we don't have class again until after this storm passes through. I saw Professor Gillridge at the store and he said that half the teachers wouldn't be able to make it back until late next week, so there's a pretty good chance class will be cancelled until the week after New Years possibly."
"Storm?"
"You know, the reason why it's been snowing practically nonstop all morning? The blizzard that's supposed to hit late tonight? The one everyone's been talking about nonstop for weeks but no one actually believed would hit us?"
"Oh. Right." Dana licked a bit of the bar that had melted and run down the side of hand, leaving a sticky dark trail. "I can't believe he didn't call. I mean we've called each other at least once a month, sometimes twice a month, for the past four years. He came to visit on my birthday earlier this year. I just talked to him last month and everything was fine."
Ashley rolled her eyes when Dana wasn't looking. She had it bad for him, that was for sure. She had met Fox when he came for Dana's birthday. He was a nice guy; they were obviously smitten with each other. It didn't seem like him to just disappear on her during Christmas. Then again, she'd only met the guy once.
A loud noise from outside startled them and they jumped, instinctively looking toward the window. Ashley stood up and walked over to it, drawing the blinds up and opening the window.
"Ashley, close the window! It's freezing outside."
"And it's not in here? I just want to hear what this guy with the pickup truck is blasting through his radio."
"I'll be home for Christmas. You can plan on me." came wafting in through the open window.
Grinning, Ashley turned back to Dana and said, "Dana, I think your Christmas present has arrived from England."
Dana sat there for a moment, not comprehending what Ashley was saying. Then her eyes lit up. "I'm gonna kill him!" Without putting on shoes or a coat she ran out the door and down the hall to the stairs, nearly knocking over Kenny in her frantic effort to get downstairs. Puzzled, he asked Ashley, "What's with her?"
Ashley just smiled and said, "Her boyfriend came over from England without telling her. She thought he'd broken up with her."
"Ouch. The wrath of Scully is not something any man should take lightly. This I gotta see." Together the two of them watched out one of the windows as a small red-headed figure ran out of the building and headed straight for a tall, dark-haired figure.
Outside Dana was oblivious to the cold and snow as she sprinted the guy walking down the walkway to the apartment building. "Fox!" She hurled herself onto him and knocked him over.
"I missed you too," Fox said, looking up at Dana who was on top of him and grinning like the Cheshire cat. She didn't say anything, only leaned down to kiss him soundly on the lips. When they finally broke it off he said, "Wow, if that's the welcome I get outside I can't wait until we're under some mistletoe."
"Who needs mistletoe?" she said, leaning down for another kiss.
"Hey Scully! Why don't you and your man get a room huh?" Dana and Fox looked up to see Kenny and Ashley grinning from the open window in her apartment.
"Just because you don't have a girl this Christmas does not mean the rest of us have to miserable Kenny," she called.
"I've got me a girl, she just doesn't know it yet."
"Oh yeah? Who?"
"Your roommate Ashley."
"In your dreams Kenny," said Ashley.
"Hey, a guy can try can't he?"
"Who's that?" whispered Fox in Dana's ear.
"Our next door neighbor Kenny. He and his friend Murphy are both in Ashley and my pathology class. Kenny is notorious for one night stands and two week girlfriends."
"Why does he call you Scully?"
"Because the professors insist we call each other Doctor and addressing each other by last names. Kenny just believes in doing it in and out of school. Unless he's trying to get on your good side."
"Ah. Well as much as I love making snow angels with you out here," he said, smiling, "I am getting kinda cold."
"I'll warn you, the heating is non-existent on my floor," she said, helping Fox up.
"Well then we'll just have to snuggle up close together," Fox said with a little leer. He started up to the door, but before he got there something cold, wet, and hard hit him on the back of his head. Slowly he turned around, jaw set, to see a smirking Dana standing with another snowball in her hand.
"That was for not calling." She threw the other snowball and despite Fox's efforts to duck still nailed him right in the chest.
"And what was that for?" he asked, dusting snow off his jacket.
She shrugged and said, "Cause you're just good lookin'."
"Uh huh. Well 'Scully', I'll have to introduce you to something we used to do back at home." He started advancing toward her and she backed away, screaming at him to stay away from her. Fox only grinned harder and gathered her up in his arms, dumping her unceremoniously in a large snowdrift. For the next half hour they threw snowballs at each other, ducking behind trees and bushes until the cold finally caught up with Dana and they retreated inside.
::Later::
Once again Dana was bundled up in the comforter on the love seat, but this time it wasn't Ashley who was sharing the couch, but Fox. She was lying in front of him, spooned up against his warm body underneath the cozy blanket. A Christmas Carol had long since ended and a Christmas program was currently playing on the small television in front of them in the darkened apartment. Both college students slept peacefully in each other's arms. Unnoticed above them a small sprig of mistletoe hung with a note attached.
Merry Christmas Dana! I knew that you two don't really need mistletoe, but I thought I'd add a little culture to your lives tonight. Traditionally you pick off one berry for every kiss you exchange under the mistletoe until they're all gone. What you do after that is your decision, but I've decided to visit my parents for the rest of the week before the storm hits. So... have fun! --Ashley
********
Yes! I got it done and posted before Christmas!!! ::does happy dance:: Hope y'all liked the Christmas chapter, I had a blast writing it. No offence to the King, Fogelburg, and whoever owns "I'll Be Home For Christmas". I'm just borrowing the lyrics. Schoolwork has me bogged down. In fact I just spent the better part of my day reading the last 20 chapters of Jane Eyre that I was supposed to have done last week and writing an essay on it. Blah. But X-Files always cheers me up! Happy Holidays to you and yours!
