034 Christmas

The whole secret Santa idea might not have been the best idea Carter ever had. It had been an attempt to use the holiday to fully welcome the new members of Noble team. Emile and Thom were good soldiers, but they didn't seem to feel like they were really part of the team.

On top of it all, Emile had gone the extra mile. He'd 'borrowed' some Christmas decorations from the store room. There were wreaths hanging from the walls, little white lights strung around the room from corner to corner. A plastic Santa stood in the corner.

Carter stood by the door of their barracks, watching his team. The team had exchanged gifts earlier in the day. Carter had gotten lucky, having chosen Emile's name. He had gotten a new Kukri knife for the violent Spartan. He even included a special shoulder armor with a built in sheath for the weapon. He had to admit it had been hard for them to really figure out what constituted a gift. They didn't have money, so most of the gifts were specialized equipment.

Emile had gotten Tara, who he gifted with a collection of bobby pins and hair ties. She had always been complaining about how her hair would get in the way in situations. Tara had gotten Thom as her secret Santa. She gave him an ammunition pack that had the Noble team symbol stitched on. Carter wasn't sure where she'd found the time to do that. Thom had pulled Richard and had given him a brand new sniper rifle with a few modified scopes and equipment. Richard had pulled Kat, though Carter didn't know what he'd given her. He'd given it to her in private earlier in the day. She'd refused to let any of them know what he'd given her, which made Carter uneasy. She didn't keep things from him.

That meant that Kat had gotten his name for the event. He was interested in seeing what she had made or gotten for him. He didn't have any idea what she would be able to give him. He also hadn't seen her for most of the day. He'd only seen her once earlier, when Richard had pulled her aside to give her his gift.

Kat entered the room and stopped as soon as she spotted Carter beside her. She looked around the room then back to Carter. Kat pulled out a small box that was wrapped in the decorative paper that Emile also 'borrowed' from the supplies. "Merry Christmas, Commander."

Carter took the box from her. "I think I'll open it later." He slipped it into one of the pouches on his belt.

Emile chuckled to the side and Carter and Kat looked over toward him. The new soldier pointed up and Noble One and Two looked up to see a plant hanging above them.

"What is that?" Kat frowned and looked back at Emile.

"They call it mistletoe." Emile chuckled a bit louder. "It's an old holiday tradition. You hang it in a room, and if two people stand under it together, they have to kiss."

Carter and Kat looked at each other. Kat then turned back to Emile. "That's a stupid tradition."

"Yeah, but tradition is tradition. You don't break tradition. Get to locking lips." Emile leaned back and smiled at them.

"That is completely ridiculous." Kat narrowed his gaze at him. "That tradition must be thousands of years old."

"All the more reason not to go against them." Tara smiled sweetly. "Come on, Lieutenant, get in the spirit of the season."

Kat hesitated for a moment. She sighed and turned to Carter, stretching up a bit, to kiss him on the cheek.

"Hey, hey, no one said it could be on the cheek." Emile spoke up again. "It has to be on the lips. That's the tradition."

"I highly doubt that." Kat stood before Carter and looked at him.

"I think he's right." Thom shrugged his shoulders. "I think tradition says it has to be lip to lip."

Kat was about to protest when Carter let out a somewhat annoyed sound. He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers for only a fraction of a second. He straightened back up and looked over at the other Spartans. "Good enough?"

"Yeah, that seems to go with tradition." Emile relaxed against the wall, seeming to take great joy in the discomfort that hung in the air.

Carter nodded. "Merry Christmas, Noble." He turned and walked out of the room, leaving a still embarrassed Kat standing in the doorway.

Carter made his way to the laboratories. He stopped in to check in on their armor upgrades. They were supposed to receive some new test equipment. While he waited for the technicians to get back to him on the status, he pulled out the gift that Kat had given him. He tore off the paper carefully and opened up the small box. He pulled a small object out of the box. It was a medallion, engraved with the symbol of Noble team. The metal was tinted blue and slightly scorched. He recognized it as being a part of the shrapnel from his first suit of armor.

He couldn't help but smile a little bit. He didn't know where Kat had gotten it, or how she'd made it into the Noble symbol. He noticed the chain attached to it and slipped the necklace over his head. It was the best gift she could have given him.