NellieBly413672: Your questions will all be answered soon, lol. Thanks for reviewing! Glad you enjoyed it.

LTJM: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying and are excited for more.

Peachy65: I like your thoughts on the story… you've had really good insight so far. Almost everything I'm thinking in my writing is exactly what you've been saying. Thanks for the review!

theworldisatyourcommand: Thank you so much for the review! I love hearing from new people. You'll see what will happen with Riley and the guys in the next few chapters. Thanks again for the review!

A/N: Christmas chapter! Sorry it's been such a long wait... I've been really busy with school. I cannot wait for a break, lol. The good news is that this chapter is actually split in two parts because it ended up being really long, so that means the next update will be a lot quicker because it's already written. Anyway, please review – you know how much I like the feedback! (Hitting the 100 review mark would be especially nice!)

Chapter 25: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Over the next few days, the guys were practicing hard and playing hard in games. They knew one more cut needed to be made, and each guy on the team wanted to prove to Herb that they deserved a spot.

With one week until Christmas, the guys were also busy coming up with ideas for their Christmas party at Velta's. They decided to come up with gag gifts for everyone, including the coaching staff. Herb, Craig, and Doc were easy to shop for; the guys had ideas for their gifts for a while.

"Do we need to get Riley something?" Rammer asked after a long practice one afternoon.

"If she's coming to the party we should," Jimmy said.

"She hasn't been here for almost a week. Maybe we got lucky and she's not coming back," Verchota said.

"I wouldn't bother getting her anything anyway," OC said. "I doubt she's coming to the party.

"Besides, what kind of gag gift could we get her? A box of condoms?" Silky said with a laugh.

"Well, I'd feel bad if she showed up and she was the only one that doesn't get a present," Jimmy said.

"Then you can buy her something," Rizzo said.

"Who's going to the bar tonight?" OC asked to change the subject. "I think I need to get laid," he said with no real intent but just so that the subject would stay on the topic.

"I'll go," Verchota said.

"You're supposed to be going out to get a gift with me," Rammer reminded him. Since it was too difficult to come up with gag gifts as a team for each guy and keep it a secret, the team had a "Secret Santa" thing going on. Everyone picked a name to shop for, but the condition of the gift was that it had to be a prank gift.

"Oh yeah," Verchota said, now remembering his promise to Rammer. The he added, "I'd rather pick up some girls."

"I need to get a gift still too. Why don't I go with you guys?" OC suggested.

"You were supposed to go shopping with me," Mac said.

"Well, Mac can't go with us," Rammer told OC.

"Are you my Secret Santa?" Mac asked Rammer.

"No," he answered, almost too quickly. Mac just laughed thinking Rammer was lying. "I'm not," Rammer insisted.

"Well, we can at least drive together."

"Only if we're stopping for something to eat," Verchota said. "I'm starving.

Almost the whole team ended up deciding to do the same thing. They were going out for pizza before heading to the mall to buy their Secret Santa gag gifts.

When the rowdy group of hungry hockey players walked into the pizzeria, the two waitresses at the hostess podium had a mini argument over who would take their table.

"Ladies, please," OC began, trying to work his charm. "You don't have to fight over us. There's more than enough to share."

The brunette waitress rolled her eyes. "We were arguing over not getting stuck having your table."

"We tip well," OC said and winked.

"We'll seat you in a minute. We have to put some tables together," the waitress said, ignoring OC's flirting.

Although that waitress clearly didn't want anything to do with the, by the end of dinner, Silky, OC, and somehow, Verchota, managed to go home with three different waitresses phone numbers.

"Now you don't even have to go out tonight," Bah said.

"I definitely do," OC said. "I need to see if there's anything better out there."

"Me too," Silky said. "Beverly wasn't that good looking. She just had a nice rack."

The guys pretty much split up once they got to the mall. Certain individuals knew exactly what they were looking for, while others were just browsing.

Mac and OC went to a lingerie store first, shopping Silky's gift.

"Can I help you both with anything?" a somewhat attractive but plastic looking clerk with very big breasts and very blonde hair asked.

"I'm looking for some panties," Mac said with a completely serious look on his face.

"Who are they for?" the girl asked.

"A friend," Mac said with a grin.

"She must be a special friend," the girl responded.

"Oh, he is," Mac replied causing the girl to get a horrified look on her face.

"Uh… um… well, what color were you looking for?" she asked, stammering.

"Nothing in particular. He's not picky. Something silk if you have it. He really likes-"

"Silk!" OC shouted, loud enough so Mac heard him. OC was warning his friend that Silky was in the store. Mac looked behind him to see Silky walking into the store and over to where the guys were standing.

"What are my buddies doing in a lingerie store?" he asked, hitting Mac on the back. "And who is this lovely lady?" he asked the clerk.

"I'm helping your friend pick something out for a… um… a special friend," the clerk said awkwardly.

"I didn't know you had a special lady friend," Silky said to Mac. The clerk became very red and quickly made an excuse to leave. As Mac was trying to think of something to say as to who he was shopping for, Bah entered the store.

"I lost Silk," he told OC. Then he noticed Silky standing close by. "And somehow I knew I would find him in the lingerie store," Bah added, shaking his head but nonetheless amused.

"I was distracted," Silky said, looking in the direction the blonde store worker went.

"Another nice rack I presume?" Bah asked.

"What else?" Silky asked smiling.

"I thought of something to get You Know Who," Bah said, vaguely.

"All right. Let's go," Silky said with a sigh, as if he was being forced to leave.

"You don't have to go. If you want to stay here with 'Nice Rack Girl,' go ahead."

"I don't think she liked me much," Silky said with a shrug. "She sort of ran away."

"Smart girl," OC joked. Silky hit him, and then left the store with Bah. This allowed Mac and OC to finish picking out Mac's gift for Silky.

"Jesus!" Mac gasped, looking at a price tag. "Lingerie is expensive!"

"No wonder girls never want to buy it," OC said, also noticing the price.

"We don't buy it for ourselves because it's uncomfortable and degrading," a voice familiar to OC said as if she had been speaking on behalf of all girls everywhere. "And we don't like getting it either," the girl added, and OC turned to see Lisa standing nearby.

After a few minutes of awkward conversation between OC and Lisa, she left, having bought nothing. OC wondered for a second why she was even in the store in the first place before Mac interrupted his thoughts.

"Was that that girl you went out with a few times?" Mac asked.

"Women's Rights chick…yeah," OC admitted. "That was awkward." After looking through their options for a gift for Silky a minute OC continued, "So why'd you scare off that worker before anyway? She was hot!"

"She was not hot!" Mac said.

"Do you not like tits? They were like, right there!" OC said.

"Yeah, they looked totally fake. I bet they're implants. Besides, I like the classic look on girls. She was trashy."

"She works in a lingerie store," OC said, half whispering. "I think they're told to show their bra."

"This isn't a strip club – her boss cannot make her show her bra," Mac told OC.

"I don't know about that," OC began, "It's like selling their product or something. I think they can make her show it."

"No," Mac said.

"Yeah."

"No."

"Go ask her," OC said, challenging Mac.

"You," Mac said.

"You want to know."

"No, you want to know."

"Excuse me, is there something I can help you with?" a different worker walked up and asked. She didn't seem that amused with the arguing; however, Mac and OC liked arguing and did it all the time.

"Do you have to show your bra to work here?" OC asked casually.

"Excuse me?" the girl asked, sounding horrified.

"Don't mind him," Mac cut in. "He had a little too much to drink tonight," he lied. OC hadn't had a drop of alcohol to drink. He had a coke with his pizza.

"I'm going to get my manager," the girl said, walking away quickly.

"We better leave," OC said. "You can get your gift somewhere else."

"No you leave. You're the idiot. I want to buy it here."

"You really want to buy from a store that makes their employees show their bras?" OC asked, thinking that would get Mac to leave.

"I don't care what their rules are. I think it's crazy. How many men must come in here to hit on them every day? I wouldn't want my girlfriend working here."

"I would never have a girlfriend stupid enough to work here," OC said. "Sure they were hot but their heads were so filled with air I could see it coming out of their ears."

Mac and OC then noticed a scary looking woman coming out of the back. They assumed she was the manager, though she didn't look like the type to be working in a lingerie store.

"Let's go," Mac said, changing his mind on buying Silky's gift at that shop. "I'll get Silky's gift somewhere else." OC laughed and followed Mac out of the store.

Meanwhile, Rammer and Verchota were searching for a gift for Magic and Rizzo. Like Rammer told Mac earlier, he wasn't Rammer's Secret Santa. Rammer still didn't want Mac knowing though because Mac had a big mouth. Secrets never stayed secrets for long around Mac.

"I think I'm getting these for Rizzo," Verchota said, picking up a headband with sparkly silver balls on top.

"That's random," Rammer commented.

"I think they're goofy. And he's goofy sometimes. I don't know... I like them."

"I still think you should get him that goofy apron we saw in the kitchen store," Rammer said.

"It was fifteen dollars! Remember the limit we put on the gifts. No more than eight."

"Why's it eight again? That's such an odd limit."

"Some people wanted five and some wanted ten," Verchota said and shrugged.

"I don't know what to get Magic," Rammer said.

"Get him magician stuff," Verchota suggested.

"That's dumb," Rammer countered.

"Get him these," Verchota said, picking up a container of bubbles.

"Why?"

"Because it's something."

"I don't like your ideas," Rammer told his friend.

"Then don't ask for them."

"I didn't!" Rammer protested.

"Well, you basically did," Verchota said, keeping the bubbles and headband in his hand as he moved on in the store.

"You're keeping the bubbles?" Rammer wondered.

"Well, you don't want them. Besides, I need something else to go with Rizzo's gift. The headband is only a dollar."

"So are the bubbles."

"I'm making a recipe book for him too."

Rammer gave Verchota an odd look. "You're making a recipe book? Have you ever made anything in your life?"

Verchota thought for a minute before answering. "No. But this isn't going to be elaborate. It's going to be a joke. There's just going to be a meatball recipe in it."

"Whatever man," Rammer said, half laughing.

Buzz and Gayle were also out shopping at the same time as the rest of the team but on their own. They walked into a store because there were some cute baby clothes in the store window.

"How cute is this?" Gayle said, holding up a light and dark blue stripped onesie with a puppy face on the front.

"Pretty cute," Buzz said, knowing better than to say anything bad about the outfit. Gayle usually got mad if he didn't like baby clothes.

"What about this one?" Gayle asked, just as excited, holding up a pink outfit this time.

"That's cute too. Unfortunately, my Secret Santa definitely doesn't need baby clothes," Buzz hinted.

Gayle ignored him, not purposely, but just because she was too engrossed with the baby stuff. "Look over here! A clearance bin!" Buzz then noticed a sign that said the clothes in a particular bin were all under ten dollars. He inwardly groaned.

"Gayle honey, we don't need anything from there. Why bother looking?"

"Well, we'll need baby clothes someday," she said, rummaging through the tiny clothes. "And they're so cheap!"

"It doesn't mean we need to buy anything."

"But Buzzy, this is a great deal! It's not like the stuff will go out of style before we have kids. They're baby clothes – they can't go out of style."

Buzz just sighed. He knew he wouldn't win. Better to let Gayle look at the clothes. She's done it many times before and never bought anything, Buzz thought.

Fifteen minutes and twenty dollars later, Buzz and Gayle left the store, Buzz carrying a bag with a giraffe on it, full of clearance baby clothes.

They ran into Silky and Bah, along with Kristen who was now with them.

"What's with the baby store bag?" Silky immediately wondered, eyeing the couple.

"Gayle just saw some things she had to have. You know women," Buzz said.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" Silky wondered.

"No," Buzz answered, dumbly. He didn't get what Silky was insinuating.

"I just saw some cute things and decided to buy them ahead," Gayle said. "There wasn't any real reason to," she added, knowing exactly what Silky was getting at.

"Let me see them!" Kristen said. "I love baby clothes."

All three guys rolled their eyes. As the girls were enthusiastically looking at the baby clothes, Bah asked where the store was in the mall.

"I want to avoid going past it at all costs," he told Buzz. "I don't want Kristen getting any ideas."

"You know Gayle," Silky began pointing out to his friend's wife, "usually people wait until they're pregnant until they buy baby clothes."

"Well, girls are different," Kristen explained for Gayle. "When there's a really good sale, we buy things anyway. Eventually she'll need them."

"Not for a long time if I can help it," Buzz joked. He was only kidding, but he instantly noticed Gayle's face go dark. Gayle quickly hid it as Kristen looked at her though. They chatted for a few more minutes about Secret Santa gifts for the team and then said their goodbyes, needing to get the rest of their shopping in. Buzz noticed his wife had been quiet since his comment about having kids though, and was worried she was mad at him.

After walking in the mall a few minutes, Buzz knew Gayle was definitely upset. She was totally quiet, and it wasn't a comfortable silence between the couple either. It was a tense silence.

"Gayle, are you okay?" Buzz asked, not knowing how else to bring up the topic.

"I'm fine."

"You seem… not fine," Buzz said, nervously laughing, trying to lighten the mood.

"Why wouldn't I be fine? We're happy, healthy, you're living a dream…" Gayle said somewhat sarcastically, leaving her sentence hang.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Buzz asked, slightly put off by the comment.

"Nothing," Gayle said, not looking at him and still walking.

"Gayle. Stop," Buzz said. She kept walking. "Would you stop?" he asked, grabbing her arm. Now that he was facing her, he could see tears in her eyes. He knew exactly what all of this was about too.

"Come here," he said, opening his arms to wrap her in a hug. "I'm sorry." Buzz held his wife for a minute, before pulling away and brushing a piece of hair back that fell in front of her face. "I didn't mean what I said before."

"Said about what?" Gayle asked, playing dumb.

"About having kids," Buzz said, though knowing Gayle was just pretending not to know. "I didn't mean what I said. I know you want kids, and I promise that I do too. Someday," he added. "I don't want to wait forever, but sometimes I think having a kid now wouldn't be fair. How much would I be around? We don't know what'll happen after the Olympics are over. Do we really want to have a kid when we're halfway across the world?"

"As long as I'm with you, I don't care where we start a family," Gayle said. Before Buzz could say anything Gayle continued. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me. I think it's the holiday season. I see kids everywhere and they make me so happy."

As if on cue, a screaming child ran away from his parents screaming, "I won't sit on that old man's lap! You can't make me! He's not the real Santa!"

Buzz and Gayle both laughed. "Except when they do that," Gayle said.

Buzz looked his wife in the eyes. "If you really want to start trying for a baby, we will."

Gayle gave her husband a suggestive grin. "Of course you're saying that. What guy wouldn't want a perfectly good excuse to have sex every night?"

"I'm serious baby," Buzz said, though smiling at his wife's comment. "If you want a baby, we'll have one."

"I'll wait," Gayle said. "You're right about the timing thing. Maybe we should just let whatever happens happen."

"We can still have sex every night though, right?" Buzz asked, joking.

"We already do," Gayle said, laughing right back and starting to walk away.

"We do not!" Buzz said catching up to her. "Probably like, four times a week max!"

"It's more than that," Gayle said.

"I think you're wrong," Buzz told her. They playfully argued a few more minutes before finding a store where Buzz was sure he would find a gift for OC.

By the end of the week, the guys were more than ready for their Christmas break. They didn't have that much time off, but even a couple days was good enough for them. Everyone at the Brooks' house was excited too, that was, everyone except for Riley. She had been doing okay all week, but the closer she got to Christmas, the harder it was. Riley hated seeing everyone so happy, because it was like no one cared that her father wasn't around for the holidays.

The morning of Doc and Velta's party, Patty was baking some cookies for Herb to take over. Mary was over at the Brooks' house as well, wrapping some presents. The four younger kids were in the Christmas spirit too, making decorations to put in the windows and frosting cut-out cookies.

"Want to help me wrap?" Mary asked Riley.

"No."

"Want to help us, Riley?" Erin asked as she ate one of the cookies she frosted. "You get to eat them too!" Erin added, her mouth full.

"No."

"Can you hang this up higher?" Kyle asked, holding out a window decoration.

"No. I can't," Riley said, walking away and going back upstairs to her room. She didn't even want to be around anyone right then. Just then, she ran into Herb on the stairs.

"Are you coming to the Christmas party?" her uncle asked.

"I don't think so," Riley said. "I haven't been there the past week. I think I should just stay home."

"Is something going on between you and the team?" Herb wondered. Riley thought it was amazing that he picked up on it. He was usually pretty dense.

"It's nothing," Riley said, trying to sound convincing enough. "I think I should be with my family," Riley lied. She was pretty sure the lie was convincing though because Herb said okay and continued down the stairs.

Bah went over to see Emma just before going to the Christmas party. Every year they exchanged gifts just before Christmas and this year was no exception.

"I hope you like it," Bah said as Emma was opening the box. "I had trouble shopping for you this year."

Emma finished unwrapping the gift to find a board game called Stop Thief. "Bah – this is great! I saw this advertized and really wanted it!" Emma gave him a hug and kiss in the cheek to show her appreciation.

Bah knew Emma loved board games, especially ones with thinking and memory skills involved. They used to have game nights all the time, even throughout college, but since Bah started with the Olympic team, their schedules didn't coincide as much and they didn't really have as much time to hang out.

"That's also to kind of let you know we don't spend enough time together anymore," Bah said.

"You're right about that. It's been months since we've spent quality time together. When we do spend time together, it's with the rest of the team."

Next was Bah's turn to open his gift. Emma got him Video Pinball by Atari.

"Emma! This is amazing! I never thought I'd get this."

"I know you've only been asking your parents for it since it came out two years ago," Emma said sarcastically. "I saw it in the store and had to get it for you."

Now it was Bah's turn to give Emma a hug. "You're the best Best Friend ever!" Bah told her.

"Want to try out the board game?" Emma asked. She knew Bah had some time before he had to get to Herb's for the party.

"Yeah, let's do it," Bah said enthusiastically. As they began playing the game, they started talking about the things they always talked about together, from movies and music to family and friends. The 'friends' topic then brought up the Mark problem Emma was facing. It was more like a problem for both of them though, because Bah was involved by default.

"Emma, why won't you talk to Mark? Make up with him. I know you both like each other."

"I like Mark. I really like do. But who would I be kidding? In a couple months, it'll be over. I didn't mean to react the way I did to hearing about OC and Riley," Emma said. Then sarcastically, she added, "I mean, come on... Riley's a slut. And OC's a guy. It's no surprise they slept together." Bah noticed Emma sounded almost bitter, but at the same time, he could tell it wasn't because she was still upset about it. Emma then continued, "After I thought about my reaction though, I realized that maybe, although I like Mark a lot, I might not have strong enough feelings for him."

"And you think you had stronger feelings for OC?" Bah asked, confused by his best friend's statement.

"No. But I'm beginning to think I don't like Mark as more than a friend. I mean, why would I even care about OC at all if I was really interested in Mark?"

"I don't know," Bah answered, replying to her somewhat rhetorical question.

Emma continued as though she didn't hear Bah's response anyway. "It's not fair to Mark to string him along if I don't feel anything."

"So you have no feelings for Mark?" Bah asked, trying to get a grasp of exactly what Emma was saying.

"I don't know," Emma answered, almost sounding sad that she wasn't sure.

"You should talk to him. Tell him everything you told me," Bah suggested. "It might help."

"I don't know," Emma said.

"Emma – you've never been afraid to tell people what's on your mind before. Why start now?"

"I don't want to hurt him," Emma admitted. "Mark's such a good guy. He doesn't deserve to be hurt."

"Neither do you," Bah said, then explained what he meant. "Emma, you're my best friend. I don't want to see you upset, and right now, I can tell thinking about Mark is stressing you out. It'll be easier if you talk to him. And maybe you'll realize you do have feelings for him."

Emma smiled. "Maybe you're right," Emma said, finally taking her turn that was put on hold when the subject of Mark came up.

"I always am," Bah said with a grin.

Emma hit him in the arm. "You are not!" she laughed.

"Well, I'm right about this."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Just take your turn Bah."