Author's Note: I do not own any of the "Team Fortress 2" characters or locations. This is merely for entertainment purposes, and I am not looking to profit off of this piece of fiction. All characters/locations belong to Valve. Sherry belongs to me.

Scout sighed heavily as he crammed whatever clothes he had into a sports bag, remembering the letter that he had received from Sherry last night. Upon receiving it, he had to give a small groan; it seemed like Spy (he refused to believe that his name was Emile) now had Sherry wrapped around his finger as well. RED Spy had looked smug whenever Scout caught a glimpse of him on the battlefield. However, he just couldn't bring himself to shoot him right in between the eyes. Why was that?

"Vat iz the matter, Herr Scout?" Medic asked as he walked into the shared room. Scout never could figure out why he had to bunk with Medic; he seemed to be friendlier with the Heavy than anybody else on the team. At least he didn't snore or fart in his sleep like the Demoman. Nobody wanted to bunk with Demoman, which was good; the man was always drunk, depressed, or both.

"Nuthin'. Just thinkin', is all." Scout said absentmindedly as he rubbed his arms; even though they were in the desert, it still got pretty damn cold in the winter.

"Lügner. There iz somezing on your mind, ja?" Medic said skeptically, raising an eyebrow as he sat on his own bed. His side of the room was always clean and orderly, unlike Scout's side of the room. His side of the room was boyish and messy, and Medic had often hollered at him to clean it up.

"No, there's nuthin' on my mind, Doc. I'm fine, really." Scout lied, knowing that the older man probably didn't believe him. Medic chose to not press the matter further as he too began to pack what little possessions he had brought with him when he joined the team.

"Sooo…Where ya goin' for X-Mas, Doc?" Scout asked after attempting to stuff a pair of (possibly) dirty socks into his practically bursting gym back. Medic didn't turn to look at him, focusing on packing a pair of wool socks into his suitcase.

"I'm going to visit my wife in Stuttgart, Herr Scout. She misses me so, and I miss her." Medic said, picking up a picture frame that Scout had never even noticed before in the dimly-lit room and smiling at the image. Scout looked over Medic's shoulder to see a rather pretty looking woman sitting on a garden bench, smiling serenely at whoever was taking the picture. Her hair was a ginger color, her eyes bottle green.

"I didn't know you was married, Doc! I thought RED Demoman was lyin' when he said that he banged your wife!" Scout said, genuinely surprised at the discovery. Medic sighed softly at the mention of Demoman's drunken statements, and proceeded to take off his left blue rubber glove. He held up his pale hand to Scout's face, and Scout peered closer. There, on his ring finger, was a gold wedding band.

"Married for three years, Scout. Left the day after my wedding to serve the Team." Medic said sadly as he put his glove back on, proceeding to continue his packing. Scout was quiet; Medic said that he had left the day after he got married. Did his wife still love him, or did she get fed up with Medic's absence and cheat on him? He had never heard the Medic speak about her, and he never shared the letters he got in the mail.

"Well…Tell her I said "hey", Doc. Happy Holidays…" Scout said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. Medic grunted in reply.

"…You know, Herr Scout…Your Mutter vould have vanted you to like ze Spy, even eef he haz her best interests at heart." Medic said as Scout opened the door. Scout hung back for a few moments before shrugging. Medic's words made him feel…Strange? How did he know about his problem?

"Scott! Over here, sweetie!" The familiar voice of Helene called out to Scott as he got off of his bus. Scott rubbed his eyes; he was tired and just wanted to catch a quick nap on the bus, but found it impossible due to the amount of shaking and jerking around.

"Hi, Ma." Scott said tiredly as she wrapped her arms around him, giving him a big hug. She was wearing her favorite blue winter coat, and it made him feel better when she gave him that hug.

"Ooh, sweetie, you look tired! Let's get you home so that you can rest!" Helene cooed as she led him to the blue Volkswagen mini bus. The snow had started to fall again, dusting everything in a fine white powder.

"Is Sherry at home, Ma?" Scott asked as he climbed into the front seat, clicking his seatbelt on.

"Yes, she's at home with Emile, decorating the house. Tomorrow, we're going to go get the Christmas tree. We're getting it early this year so that we don't get a dead one on the twenty-third." Helene said cheerfully. Scott smiled; his Mother had always procrastinated on the purchase of a Christmas tree, and by the time Christmas day rolled around, the tree was already dead.

"So…How's Sherry?" Scott asked carefully, trying to not imagine his kid sister at home alone with a Spy.

"She's doing great! Next year is her last year of high school, and she was featured in an art show last week." Helene said, practically bursting with joy. After Scott had left so many months ago, Sherry had withdrawn from her considerably, angry with her for making her brother leave earlier than expected. With the help of Emile, though…Sherry made peace with her Mother and all was right.

"Really? That's great, Ma!" Scott said as she pulled into the familiar driveway. Christmas lights were already blinking from the inside of the house, easily seen through the large windows.

"He's going to teach me how to make Bûche de Noël, also called a "Yule Log" for dessert on Christmas." She said as she slid her key into the door, swinging it open. Scott was instantly greeted by someone in a powder blue sweater and black slacks squeezing him around the waist.

"Scott! It's so great to see that you made it!" Sherry exclaimed as she squeezed Scott as hard as she could without hurting him. Scott smiled tiredly as he hugged Sherry back.

"Hey, kiddo! You've gotten taller again! And your hair is longer, too." Scott said as he looked at Sherry from arms length. Indeed, she had grown since he saw her several months ago, her brown hair now almost down to her waist. Sherry promptly ran back to where the Spy was busy decorating the fireplace with a garland of plastic holly leaves and berries. Of course, he looked exactly the same as before; red pinstripe suit and matching balaclava with gloves.

"Hello, Scott." Spy said, using his real name instead of the usual "boy" name that he had so kindly given him. Scott merely nodded in his direction, making a beeline for his old room. He would remain civil around Spy until it was time to go back to the base. He would do it for Helene and Sherry.

"Scott, if you need to take a shower, there's fresh towels in the bathroom!" Helene called up from the kitchen as she prepared a pot of soup for supper that night.

"Got it, Ma!" He called back down as he flopped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling with a sigh. It was going to be so damn hard to be civil with a crazy assassin from the opposing RED Team in the house. But he was determined to not make his Mother and Sherry cry again.

A knock on the door interrupted his foggy thoughts as he looked up.

"C'min." Scott grunted, lying back onto the bed once more. The gentle sound of the door opening didn't faze him, but who did come into the room did surprise him…Somewhat.

"Bonjour, Scout. I hope you are well." The voice of Spy said as he closed the door behind him. Scott looked up. Spy was standing there, looking all pompous and smug.

"Whaddaya want, ya creepy bottom-feeder?" Scott said as he propped himself up on his elbows to stare at him.

"No need to be rude. I just wanted to make sure that you are still maintaining your end of our little bargain." Spy said, brushing some invisible dust off of his suit. He was always doing that, even if he was in a sterile room. It annoyed Scott to no end.

"Yeah, I remember, Frenchie. How 'bout you?" Scott asked, wondering if Spy would be the typical back-stabber and go back on his end of the bargain.

"But of course, Gosse. In fact, I've grown quite attached to Sherry. It would sadden me if I had to harm her because her brother couldn't keep his bouche shut." Spy smirked as he examined a model plane hanging up by a wire from the ceiling.

"Yeah, well dis peace will end after New Years, pally. First chance I get, I blow your frikin' head off!" Scott said as he shut his eyes, trying to block out the sound of Spy's gentle chuckle as he left the room.

"Jeune homme fou…Vous n'avez pas de courage." Spy smirked as he left, closing the door once more.

Translations are as follows:

Herr: Mr

Lügner: Liar

Ja: Yes

Gosse: Kid

Bouche: Mouth

Jeune home fou…Vous n'avez pas de courage: Silly boy…You have no courage.