A/N: Can I just say that I'm living vicariously through Riley at the moment. Seriously. I wish I had a Christmas like this!

And this is all going somewhere. I promise.

The Perfect Christmas
Chapter 10/25: Ice Skating

"Ben, I'm really not sure this is such a great idea."

Her husband looked up at her, giving her a reassuring half smile before looking down again to focus on tightening up his skate. "Come on, Abby. What's there to worry about? It's just ice skating. On a professionally maintained rink, even. Not even a pond you could fall through."

"The ice is still really solid you know," she scolded, tugging on her own skate laces.

"Isn't that sort of the idea?" Ben chuckled, glancing up at her again. "You can't exactly ice skate on water."

Abby frowned—mentally scolding herself for pouting. She needed to spend less time around Riley if she was seriously starting to think sticking out her bottom lip would solve anything. "When was the last time you went ice skating?"

"I was fifteen. I'm pretty sure I haven't forgotten, though. Why?"

"Nothing. I just haven't been since I was eight, and I know I've forgotten." She got to her feet, wobbling a little on the thin blades.

Ben smiled at her, walking over and taking her hand gently in his as he stood up, and began leading her toward the opening out onto the outdoor ice rink. "I promise, I'll catch you if you fall, okay?"

"Okay." Abby tightened her hold on Ben's arm as they stepped out onto the slick ice and her feet immediately tried to run away from her. As promised, Ben held her steady. She put her head on his shoulder as they started to move forward. "So, where'd Riley get to?"

Her husband pointed, laughing, to a figure on the other side of the rink, surrounded by several small children, that had just toppled over backwards. "I think he found his own teachers."

Abby bit down nervously on her lip as the kids crowded around Riley. She remembered too well how much falling on the ice could hurt. "Maybe we should go over and check on him."

"He's fine." Ben patted her hand reassuringly. "Riley's made of tougher stuff than you think."

"It's not that I think Riley can't handle it. He's just accident prone that's all…"

"And you are just worrying too much," Ben grinned at her, dragging her along as they started skating around the edge of the ice.

"The last time I went ice skating, I broke my arm. I cannot even tell you how miserable it is to have a broken arm for Christmas. I wouldn't want that to happen to Riley."

"You broke your arm ice skating?" Ben looked like he couldn't decide whether or not to be sympathetic or laugh. "And you're calling Riley accident prone?"

"I think it makes me justified," Abby huffed, lifting her head up. "Besides, I was eight-years-old and it was the first time I'd gone without my parents."

She fell silent as they neared the children and Riley, who was still lying flat on his back, but obviously trying to grin she could see now.

"Hey, Mister Elf, are you okay?" One of the boys, a tiny little guy in green stocking cap, asked Riley as he gently poked the young man in the side.

"Mister Elf?" Ben asked, choking back a laugh.

"Yeah! He said he was one of Santa's elves!" Another boy—they were all boys, Abby realized, wearing matching coats with something printed too small for her to read on the front—informed them. Though it sounded more like 'thantath elths' since he was missing his two front teeth.

"He said if we helped him learn to skate, he'd make sure Santa gets us what we wants," the first boy spoke again, turning large hazel eyes up to Ben and Abby.

The couple exchanged confused looks before Ben released Abby to skate over to his downed companion. "Hey, Mister Elf, you want me to call a doctor for you?"

Blue eyes snapped open, as Abby had known they would. The only way to get Riley to behave faster than saying 'doctor' was to bribe him with something sweet, shiny, or both.

"A doctor won't be necessary," he reassured Ben, looking repentant. "I just had the wind knocked out of me, that's all."

"Yay," the toothless boy cheered as one of the bigger boys offered Riley a hand up. "Mister Elf is okay!"

Abby watched as Ben raised an eyebrow at Riley, a silent question, to which the younger man only shrugged. From what she knew of the two's silent communication, something they used surprisingly often, that shrug was a half promise to explain at some point in the future.

"Hey!" Every member of the little group turned their heads as a new girl, Abby would have guessed she was about Riley's age, came skating over. "What do you think you're doing?"

"He's not bothering us, Ms. Jessica," the blond boy that had help Riley up smiled at the obviously concerned girl.

"Yeah," green-hat boy tried to bounce his agreement, nearly falling over. "Mister Elf said that if we helpted him learns to skate, Santa will bring me the tricycle I want."

"Oh really?" Ms. Jessica raised an eyebrow at Riley, who was openly staring at her. "Well, Mister Elf, I don't know what you think you're doing harassing small boys but…"

"Jessica? Jessica Bates?" Riley's voice cracked as he said it, and now Ben had both eye brows raised in obvious confusion. Abby inched her way closer, eager to hear what was going on.

The younger girl turned her head, long auburn hair falling over her shoulder. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"I…It's…Riley Poole."

The blond boy reached out a hand to steady Jessica as she in deed did look ready to fall over. "Riley? Oh my gosh…It's been so long! How are you?"

"Oh, I can't complain," Riley shrugged, plastering a nervous half-smile on his face. Abby thought hearing that from Riley of all people was somehow wrong.

"Ms. Jessica," the toothless boy asked—or tried to as the words were obviously difficult for him—as he tugged on the girl's coat. "Do you know Mr. Elf?"

"Oh, yes," Jessica smiled, never taking her eyes off of Riley. "I dated Mr. Elf in high school before he got too big for his britches and graduated a year and a half early to leave for the North Pole."

Now it was Abby's turn to steady Ben, who seemed to have forgotten to breathe. Apparently, the concept of Riley dating had never occurred to him. Not that Abby had put much thought into it herself, either, since she'd never seen the young man actively trying to pursue a girl since she'd known him. In her mind, he just seemed too young to be interested in a girl—which was utterly ridiculous; he was twenty-two-years-old.

"You dated one of Santa's elves," a freckle faced little boy with a lazy eye gaped up at their teacher…or whoever she was to them.

"Apparently so," Jessica frowned thoughtfully. "The long distance relationship didn't work out, though. Apparently, he was too busy helping Santa to return my letters."

"Yeah…Jessica…about that…Can I talk to you over here for a bit?" Riley skated forward, grabbing the woman's wrist and pulling her away.

"Hey! He already knew how to skate," the small boy pouted. "He tricked us."

"Don't worry, kid, I sort of feel the same way." Ben muttered, looking so utterly bewildered it would have been endearing if Abby didn't find it so exasperating. "He never mentioned having a girlfriend before."

"Had a girlfriend," Abby corrected with a sigh. "And, honestly, how much of his past does Riley usually volunteer at all?"

"Not much," her husband had to concede as the boys all skated off. "I just don't know why he didn't tell me…"

"Honestly, Ben, what have you told him about your exes?" She rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to knock him upside the head, because no matter how satisfying that would be she doubted it would help much. "It's not like you're his father and should know every single detail of his life."

"I just never thought of Riley having a girlfriend, that's all. I mean, he joked about us but…"

Abby laughed, sliding her arm into Ben's again. "Personally, I'm glad he's had at least one. I'd find it much more worrisome if he was twenty-two-years-old and displayed no interest in anyone at all."

"I guess you're right," Ben admitted, smiling at her. "I just forget sometimes how old he is."

This was a surprisingly easy thing to do, Abby knew, so she'd have to forgive him that.

"I wonder what they're talking about though."

Abby followed her husband's line of site over to where Jessica and Riley were skating. They weren't holding hands, but they did look relaxed, and the girl was motioning rather wildly about something or other while Riley laughed. It seemed safe to assume that the relationship had ended on better terms than Jessica had implied, and it was safe to leave Riley to his own devices. "Come on, Ben. You can grill him later if you want to. Right now, I could really go for some hot chocolate."