A/N: In case you didn't know, one of the requirements of the challenge was that the chapters had to be short. If you're familiar with my writing, you'll know that short is something I rarely do. Another requirement of the challenge is that the last chapter has to be long (yay!) as a Christmas present to the readers. Well, in this case, it's a bit belated, but now I get to let loose and write how I normally would. Enjoy!

Chapter 25

"Do I look all right?"

Katie laughed softly. "You look gorgeous, Doc."

Kristin turned to look in the mirror, her green velvet off-the-shoulder mid-length dress hugging her petite frame. Katie had helped her with her hair, pulling it into an up-do with a few wispy curls framing her face.

The younger woman was wearing a lovely floor length navy blue frock with spaghetti straps that made her stunning eyes stand out even more. Her dark hair was pulled into a simple French twist. Her face appeared next to hers in the mirror. "The captain won't be able to take his eyes off of you."

Kristin felt her face grow warm as she shook her head. "Believe me, if I had my way, I wouldn't be going to this party at all. I'd be much more content staying here and curling up with a good book. Rubbing elbows with the brass is not my idea of a good time."

Katie raised a brow. "You've never been to a party hosted by the UEO brass, have you?"

The older woman shook her head. "And I'm hoping this is the last."

"It really isn't that bad; I promise. You might even have fun."

"I hope so."

"Don't worry; I've already had a long talk with Ben. He promised to be a perfect gentleman."

Nathan had left on a launch the night before as he was required to be at UEO headquarters for help in organizing the affair. The seaQuest itself was due in port any minute now. Therefore, Ben agreed to escort the doctor and keep her company until Nathan could take over.

Kristin waved a hand. "Oh, I've no doubt. Ben knows better than to start any trouble with me; besides, Nathan already threatened him bodily harm if he did."

Katie laughed. "But it would be fun to watch him squirm, wouldn't it? Best Christmas present ever." She paused, motioning to the wrapped gift sitting on the table. "Speaking of presents, who did you get for the gift exchange?"

Kristin shook her head. "It's a secret, remember? I think you can wait a little while longer, hm?"

"Oh, come on, Doc; aren't you a little curious as to who you're getting a gift from?"

"Not really," she replied. "All I want is for everyone to have a lovely holiday, nothing more."

"Well, I want that too, but I still like presents," Katie told her. "I certainly hope we find out who the mystery secret Santa is as well."

Over the past week, the mystery secret Santa had left several more gifts for both her and Nathan. The gifts were always small and practical, but whoever it was knew them well enough to know what they'd like and use.

"I can't argue with you there, but I'm sure we'll find out in due time."

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door.

"That must be the boys," Katie said as she opened the door.

"Jonathan, I think we're in the wrong room. Perhaps these goddesses can tell us where we can find Katie and the doc," Ben quipped.

Katie playfully slapped his arm. "Oh, come on; we can't look that different."

"It was a compliment. You two look fabulous."

Jonathan nodded and offered his arm to Katie. "Are you two ready?"

"As we'll ever be," Kristin said with a nod.

Ben offered his arm to her. "Then let's go. The night is young."

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The banquet hall had been transformed into a winter wonderland; it had been tastefully decorated with white lights, garlands of tinsel and holly, colored ornaments, and even the traditional mistletoe in the foyer. There was also a large tree in the front of the room, complete with a star at the top. It wasn't the decorations, however, that Kristin was looking at; her eyes scanned the crowd for Nathan, only she didn't see him.

"I think we're supposed to bring the gifts to the side room," Jonathan said, pointing to a separate room just off the banquet hall.

The four of them walked through the doorway, and Kristin found herself relieved to see much of the seaQuest crew.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Chief Crocker greeted them. He pointed to a table in the back of the room. "The gift table's that way."

Kristin moved to set her gift down and then looked around for Nathan. Again, however, she didn't see him. She apparently couldn't hide the frown that formed on her face when Ben put an arm around her shoulders.

"I know I'm not exactly what you planned on, but I promise to keep you entertained."

Kristin felt a stab of guilt and offered him a weak smile. "I am terribly sorry I'm not being a very good date for you. It really isn't you. I just…" She sighed. "I've never really liked crowds or parties. And the brass…they're just not my favorite people, though I'm sure the feeling's mutual."

"Oh, come now; we're not that bad."

Kristin turned and saw Bill Noyce right behind her.

"Admiral! I…I didn't mean-"

He waved a hand. "Oh, it's perfectly all right. I can't exactly blame you for your opinion since I know you haven't always seen us in the best light. But hopefully, by the end of the night, you'll have a much better opinion of us."

She nodded quietly, her face feeling as though it was on fire.

"Though I beg to differ on the latter, Doctor," he whispered in her ear. "I admire you more than you think."

Kristin turned to him, unsure what to say. "I…"

He gave her a warm smile and offered his hand. "How about a dance, Doctor…to show there's no hard feelings?"

"Very well," she replied, turning to Ben. "You don't mind?"

Ben shook his head. "I'll see you afterwards."

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The two swayed gently to the music, but the silence was maddening. Kristin could tell he was just as nervous as she was, so she decided to break the tension. "You're not a bad dancer."

Bill laughed softly. "Neither are you." He paused for a moment. "Look, I know we've never seen eye to eye…"

"I am sorry for what I said back there. When I said brass, I…I didn't necessarily mean you."

"But we've had our share of sparring matches in the past."

She blushed. "I just feel very strongly about certain things."

"And I'm glad you do. You stick to your guns, and I've always liked that about you. Exactly why I hired you in the first place. Besides, sometimes it's fun to spar with someone other than Nathan." He then lowered his voice. "And for the record, some of the members of the brass aren't my favorite people either."

She laughed softly. "I have to say I never imagined I'd actually be having fun here. Thank you for showing me a good time."

"Well, Nathan asked me to find you."

Her brow furrowed. "He did?"

"Yeah, he was worried Ben might be driving you up the wall, so he asked me to save you. But please know I was happy to do it."

"That's very sweet of you, Bill. Speaking of Nathan, though, where is he exactly?"

"I'm not allowed to say. It's a surprise. He'll be here in time for dinner."

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After two more dances with the admiral, two with Ben, and even one with Jonathan, it was finally time for dinner. She took her seat, and although there was other senior staff crew members seated nearby, the seat across from her was empty. As the servers moved around the room, serving the meal, Kristin sat there for at least five minutes without making any attempt to eat. She looked around the room, feeling rather awkward since she was the only one at a table alone.

She then felt a tap on her shoulder, and relief briefly washed over her until she realized it was the waiter. "Shall I take this plate away, ma'am?" he asked, motioning to the untouched dinner plate across from her.

"No, he's just running a little late." She did her best to keep her voice pleasant, though she couldn't help but clench her teeth.

"Very well. Enjoy your meal."

She sighed, and spread her napkin over her lap. She picked up her fork and took a bite of mashed potatoes, taking solace in the fact that she was going to be sure to give Nathan a piece of her mind for abandoning her when she heard footsteps near her.

Nathan waved, giving her a sheepish grin, and sat down. "Sorry I'm late."

She, however, was not about to let him off the hook so easily and shot him a glare in response. "I'm so glad you could fit me into your busy schedule."

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I had…something important to do. I asked Bill to keep you company."

"And he did," she told him. "As well as Ben and Commander Ford. And although I appreciated it, I don't appreciate you pawning me off on them. You could have just told me you'd be late, and I would have been fine with it."

"Well, you knew we wouldn't see one another right away."

"Yes, I did, but since the admiral was able to get away much quicker than you, something tells me you weren't being completely truthful about what you had to do beforehand. And we agreed to be honest with one another."

"I had something I needed to do," he told her, picking up his fork and starting to eat.

"And what was that?"

"Look, Kristin, this was supposed to be an enjoyable evening. Do we have to do this?"

"Of course we don't," she scoffed. "All I'm asking for is the truth; I don't think that's too much to ask."

"If I tell you, can we please have a quiet dinner?"

She held up a hand. "I promise."

"I had to pick up my present for the gift exchange."

She raised an eyebrow. "You mean you hadn't gotten it beforehand?"

"I am not that much of a procrastinator," he said. "I purchased it weeks ago on the Internex. It's just that it couldn't be delivered, so I had to pick it up."

Her brow furrowed, trying to think what in the world he could have gotten that couldn't be delivered. But she had made a promise, and the gifts were secret. She simply nodded. "I only wish you'd have told me that beforehand, but it's all right. I forgive you."

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After dinner, the crew assembled in the adjacent room.

"All right, everybody; it's present time!" Ben announced. "We're going to try to be somewhat organized about this and have everyone who brought a gift to go and give it to the recipient."

Kristin moved to get the present she had brought, which was for Katie. She tapped on the younger woman's shoulder. "Merry Christmas, Katie."

"Oh, thank you, Doc," Katie gushed, pulling off the wrapping paper to reveal a basket of aromatherapy products. She then pulled Kristin into a hug. "I love it."

"You're very welcome, dear. Merry Christmas."

"This is for you, Captain."

"Thank you, Lucas."

"I hope you like it. I wasn't sure what to get you."

"I'm sure I will." He carefully unwrapped the gift to reveal a photo album.

"I thought you might like to reminisce once in a while," Lucas explained.

Nathan nodded. "I love it, kiddo. He pulled him into a hug. "Merry Christmas, Lucas."

"You, too, Cap." As he broke the hug, he turned to Kristin as well. "I have a bit of a confession to make," he said with a boyish grin.

"You were the secret Santa?" Kristin asked.

"Guilty as charged," he replied. "I just wanted you both to know how much you mean to me."

Kristin gave him a tight hug. "That was very sweet of you, but I do wish you wouldn't have spent your money on us."

"We'd rather you saved your money," Nathan added. "Spend it on something you really need."

Lucas held up his hands. "I promise I didn't spend a lot, and I wanted to."

"Well, I suppose we can't argue with that," Kristin said with a sigh.

After a pause, Katie placed a hand on her shoulder. "Where's your present, Doc?"

She looked around the room and gave a shrug. "Whoever drew my name hasn't found me yet, I suppose."

"Actually," Nathan said, "I think I can shed some light on that one."

Kristin's brow furrowed. "You mean…"

He nodded and took her hand, leading her toward the front of the room. "I hope you don't mind, but I didn't have time to wrap it." He then cupped his hand around his mouth and called, "We're ready."

The side door opened, and Kristin gasped when she saw who it was. "Cynthia!"

"Merry Christmas, Mom," Cynthia said as she wrapped her arms around her mother.

Kristin returned the embrace, feeling happy tears fill her eyes. "But I thought you couldn't get away for the holidays?"

"I couldn't. I'm only here until tomorrow, actually, but when Captain Bridger called me and suggested I try to come for a visit, I was able to pull a few strings." She turned to Nathan. "I hope you weren't too angry with him; my flight was late."

Kristin blushed as she turned around to Nathan. "I am so sorry I got upset before."

He waved a hand. "You didn't know. You like your gift, though?"

"Of course I do. I couldn't ask for more." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I don't know how I can possibly thank you."

"The smile on your face is enough," he replied. "Now, go; enjoy the time with your daughter."

"What about you? I did promise you a dance or two."

"You can pay up later. I'll see you later."

She gave him a grateful smile, and then she and Cynthia moved to sit at a table in the corner to catch up.

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It was nearly the end of the night when Nathan decided to see if he could tear Kristin away for a moment. He hated to do it, but he did want to have one dance with her before the evening ended. And he also had something important to tell her.

As he walked out of the banquet hall, he nearly bumped into her.

"Sorry," she told him. "I was just coming to find you. I didn't realize how late it was. We never got a dance."

He waved a hand. "We still have time, and I'm just happy to see you were enjoying yourself." He glanced over her shoulder. "Where is Cynthia anyway?"

"She and Lucas are having a riveting conversation about computers, actually. I decided to excuse myself and let those two talk. And I believe I owe you a dance, sir."

He smiled, took her hand, and led her to the dance floor. "I know it wasn't easy to put up with me this month."

"It's all right. I know it wasn't exactly a picnic dealing with me either. And everything worked out, didn't it?"

As the dance ended, Nathan asked, "How about a walk? It's a lovely night, hm?"

"Very well." She accepted Nathan's arm, and the two walked along the docks behind the banquet hall. "It's funny; when the night began, I didn't even want to attend this party…and now that the night's nearly over, I don't want it to end."

"I feel the same way," he replied. "But I think it's more the company."

"I…I'm really not sure what to say to that. We talked about this…"

"We did," he agreed. "But I want you to know I listened."

"What?"

"I finally see what's right in front of me."

Her brow furrowed. "That wasn't very fair of me."

"What? To share what's in your heart?"

She sighed. "But you were going through so much, and you're still mourning. I should be more patient."

"No," Nathan said with a shake of his head. "Carol…she helped me see a lot of things; yes, learning to embrace the holidays was the main thing. But she helped me realize what's important and not to let it go."

"I…I do want more, but I'm fine with going slow."

He nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way, but I think I'd like to kiss you goodnight. Would that be all right with you?"

She smiled. "I'd love nothing more."

Nathan then pulled her into his arms and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Merry Christmas, Kristin."

"Merry Christmas, Nathan."

A/N: I am sorry it took a little longer to finish this up, but I do appreciate all you readers and reviewers for being so understanding. And now I promise I'll be resuming those other stories. I know some of you are waiting.