This song a Christmas staple where I grew up. I love it slightly more than Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer and slightly less than Walking in My Winter Underwear. Although now that I've moved to the south all my winter underwear is in storage so I probably need a new song.
**Dominick the Donkey, Lou Monte**
Frankie may have been able to help Kara stop feeling as angry with Danny but his comments didn't help her keep her thoughts regarding Danny in the friend zone. Whereas the first few weeks had rushed by with hardly any contact, now that they were working together on the drone, somehow she seemed to see him everywhere. When she was lifting weights he'd walk by and comment on her form and she'd lose count. When she was in the shower she'd hear him talking silly to the dog as he passed in the hallway. When she was trying to do her paperwork, there he was jogging by the window.
She really wanted to concentrate. Kara was ambitious. She wanted her own command one day and she knew that competition for command positions was fierce. Just on the Nathan James alone there were at least 10 people in various stages of being groomed for command. Look at the XO. He was an exemplary officer but he was still waiting for his own command. She wanted this training to go perfectly. By her reasoning, if her staff stood out for their performance, someone up the chain would remember her name later on. The combined stress of worrying over Danny and worrying over her job was keeping her up at night. She knew she was being a bear to people, but she could still hardly sleep. Part of her wanted to blame him for that, but she knew it was her own fault. If she could just stick to her own rules, and keep thinking of him as a friend or colleague only, this whole thing could be much easier.
It was Carlton who talked her into the Christmas in July festivities. "Come on Kara! You need to lighten up. I have never seen you so grouchy for so long. If I didn't think you'd slug me, I'd suggest the first thing you do when we get back to port is get laid, a lot! Besides, for once it actually feels like Christmas in July." She rewarded his efforts with a glare that should have frozen him on the spot.
Alisha agreed. "Girl, you need a vacation from your troubles. Come on, we can do a duet for karaoke. It will be fun. I'm making you go to all the activities. No arguing or backing out later."
"I'm already doing Secret Santa. Can you believe of all the people on this damn ship I picked Danny J for Jerkface Green from the stocking?" Kara crossed her arms over her chest and scowled.
"Yeah? Well, maybe it's a sign that calling him names is totally beneath you." Alisha added their names to every activity on the bulletin board.
Kara scoffed and glared at someone across the room. "It's not a sign. Frankie Benz was the one to hand off the stocking to me. I think it was rigged."
Alisha ignored her bitter words. "Come on little elf. We need to get in the Christmas spirit and rehearse."
And so, that was how she found herself at a table in the mess rubbing elbows with Danny as she applied green frosting to a crooked gingerbread man. And smiling at him when the CMC broke up a popcorn-stringing-turned-popcorn-throwing war and assigned them to sweep up the floor. And shaking her head in disbelief because of course, she drew his name out of the Secret Santa stocking.
After 7 weeks at sea, the pickings for gifts were slim. Many people traded for gift items. Candy bars, cigarettes, contraband booze, and hoarded snack food were all popular items. Playlists, humorous home videos, porn collections, books, self recorded books on tape, and movie libraries were also popular. A few people with talent made artwork. Alisha's Secret Santa sent her a design for a tattoo he said he could give her using a bic pen and first aid supplies. Frankie drew a soft core porn comic book as his gift and ironically drew CMC Jeter out of the stocking leaving him to scramble for something better. Chief Engineer Garnett knitted mittens but the only color yarn she had was pink. Bacon was later seen wearing them as oven mitts. Even Dr. Scott got in on it with a hand made arctic bird identification chart for Miller.
Kara's was initially glad that her Secret Santa had chosen to give her a playlist and not anything that could be construed as salacious. It was labeled "Music to row your own Christmas boat" so she thought it was supposed to be for working out. She loaded it on her iPod and took it to the gym for her daily session on the erg. To her surprise it turned out to be 80's pop music instead of Christmas, although for the most part it wasn't bad for working out either. Half an hour into her workout she realized that all the songs were mildly suggestive love songs. Another half hour later the idea that some people have another meaning for rowing your own boat struck her with horror. Especially because the only person she could think of that would send her love songs other than Danny was Gator and she was sure Danny hadn't sent it. Despite always running into each other, they had been nothing other than professionally friendly. Still, she loved 80s music and she had listened to it almost daily for the last two weeks.
Karaoke on ship was always a hit. On such a long bought of radio silence like this one an active trade in movies, books, and music always sprung up, and this trip was no exception. By now people were getting bored with movies and TV reruns. Live entertainment, and the sillier the better, lightened everyone's spirits and probably kept people out of mischief too. Commander Chandler, the XO, and CMC Jeter were generally very accommodating with things that improved morale so they helped shift schedules to maximize participation as well. Thus, over 2/3 of the crew were assembled for the karaoke event. Chung from Engineering had rigged a laptop and speakers and Mason was bumbling through as the MC. Kara groaned when Alisha told her they had been picked to go first.
"I can't believe you talked me into this. You could totally do it better yourself." To be honest, Kara couldn't sing a note so Alisha carried the tune while she'd filled in with gag lines. People had laughed, especially when she produced props such as a lightbulb and Monopoly board. She made herself look at Alisha throughout the performance to avoid searching the audience for Danny but she still heard his laughter above the crowd.
There was a fantastic rendition of Santa Baby by three enlisted guys in full drag. Kara had no idea how they managed to come up with heels that actually fit their male feet but the hilarity was worth it. One of the biggest laughs of the night was the Chief Engineer's completely off key Oh Holy Night which she supplanted with Star Trek lyrics and a fake Scottish accent. But the last act of the evening was the one that blew Kara away. First off, there was the costume. She wasn't sure what it was until the music started playing but she was sure that Danny was inside the duffel bag with paper eyes and large ears taped onto it. A tail, made out of pink yarn, was pinned to a backside that she recognized well. And of course, Halsey was sitting next to him, giving it away.
"I'd like to dedicate this song to my Secret Santa recipient." Said the unidentifiable animal creature. "Sorry about all the 80's music." He wasn't looking at her, but she felt like she had just been caught staring at his ass. Her cheeks burned and she glanced around because she was pretty sure…no, it had to be Gator. "I really do know that you like country music but, well, I'm from Connecticut so I just don't understand twang. But, 80's music makes me think of you so that's what you got." Recalling that they had met at an 80's night dance party, she realized that she should have known all along. For the past week she'd been worrying that she needed to have a very uncomfortable talk with Gator but it had been Danny! A strange mix of elation, relief, and dread overtook her.
"Then I got your present and it smelled so delicious." Oh good, he must be talking about someone else. There must be some mix up and he got two secret Santas somehow. Her present hadn't been scented. "Halsey has insisted on sleeping with his present too." She sunk lower in her seat. He couldn't possibly have known she gave him the scarf, could he? Practically everyone on the ship had a gray sweatshirt for crying out loud. She wondered what terribly revealing and embarrassing thing he was going to sing. She couldn't think what song hadn't been sung yet. "So, from the bottom of my heart, I apologize for being such an ass."
The first bars of the song began. Most of the crew looked confused, although a few were grinning. "Chiggedy Chig, He Haw He Haw, It's Dominick the Donkey…" She thought she knew all his voices, outgoing and confident when he was meeting someone for the first time, warm and playful with children who asked to pet the dog, soft and gentle when waking her up in the morning, husky with desire when taking her to bed. But holy shit, Danny Green's singing voice knocked her over like a punch to the midsection. "…The Italian Christmas donkey… She was stunned by the sound of it. She was also laughing and simultaneously silently cursing. On the second verse Halsey started following him around, kicking out his back legs in a donkey kick. She had to admit the man had wit.
Fuuuuuck! And he could sing. For crying out load. And he was making her wet, right there in the mess surrounded by her peers while he danced with a duffel bag on his head. God Damn it she was screwed. Because she knew she wanted him. And now she knew he wanted her back. Attractive she could resist. Sense of humor she could resist. Persistent she could stubbornly resist. Able to make her want him she could probably resist. But all of it together? The whole freaking package was going to make her break her rules. And for that she was excited, thrilled even, scared, and also a little pissed. Why did he have to be here, like this. Any other place and time would have been fine but he had to be the one place she couldn't lose focus…the one place it might matter.
As the festivities wound down and everyone headed back to a duty station or off to bed they played guessing games about whose Secret Santa was whom and so on. Kara kept her mouth shut and listened as the gossip swirled around her. She learned that there were a couple of ensigns crushing on Frankie, someone had gotten a candy bar that ended up having bugs in it, and someone else had given their Secret Santa a roll of their precious stash of quilted toilet paper. Danny confessed that he owed his singing to 13 years of choir at an all boys prep school. Kara had a vision of him singing angelically with messy blond hair, freckles, and giant front teeth. It was cute enough to make her ovaries practically twitch. Of course, Danny had to be one of the people walking aft toward the officers' staterooms. She felt overwhelmed by his presence but she had the kind of excited flutter in her stomach that she had gotten before her first race, her graduation and commissioning, and the first time she kissed him.
At one point they had to pass one by one down a ladder and he waited at the bottom for her. She wanted desperately to let him know that she saw their relationship as inevitable now, she just didn't yet know how to make it happen. Despite having 7 weeks to think about the consequences of giving in, she hadn't actually thought about what it would be like. Looking down at his face turned up toward her she had to fight the urge to jump off the ladder into his arms. She knew he could catch her. But wow, wouldn't that start the rumor mill. She was going to need more time to come to terms with what she now knew was going to happen. She needed to figure out how, when, where, what to say, everything. She didn't say anything to him and he looked slightly worried. But he put a hand on the small of her back and silently directed her to proceed in front of him. The feel of it was warm, strong, and sent a delicious shiver up her spine. When she reached her door she turned and saw that they were the only ones in the hallway. She wanted him but she wasn't the least bit sure how to make her move.
She was saved as Alisha opened the door. "For once we have the same five off, come on, I've invited Andrea Garnett, Maya, and that doctor science chic and we're having a spa hour and watching the episode where Zoe runs away from Wade and meets up with Jonah on the plane."
Danny pretended to be offended. "Why am I not invited to spa day? I have four sisters so I give a good pedi." Alisha waved Danny away. "No boys allowed, Ah Sir. You guys always mock everything we love in our shows."
"Come on, I promise to be mute." He pleaded teasingly. Halsey nudged her hand with his snout.
Behind her, Alisha was setting up a laptop on the bunk and over Danny's shoulder she could see Garnett coming out of her room. "Maybe another time." She said softly and backed up so Garnett could come in.
Danny nodded. "See you ladies later." And sauntered off to his own room.