Summary: So I'm sending you a little Christmas, wrapped up with love, a little peace, a little light, to remind you of, I'm waiting for you, praying for you, I wanted you to see, that I'm sending you a little Christmas, until you go home with me.
A/N: This is one of those 'what if' type fics. In this, Emma never died, Adam never disappeared, and Lexa (or whatever her name is) never happened. This chapter is not so horrible short as the last, and is more along the lines of how long my chapters are. I find that, as both a writer and a reader, longer chapters are so much more fulfilling. Therefore, I write lots, and the more reviews that come in, the longer they get.
If you dislike it, please tell me, but if you're going to resort to horribly insulting flames, please stick to e-mail or instant messaging. I'm not the type of person who likes insults to be very public. Also, I still need preferences for pairings.
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Sending You . . .
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Chapter 2 – An Unexpected Gift
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Jesse choked, pushing at whatever it was that had just landed atop him, jolting him from sleep. His eyes flickered open, and he sent a withering glare at his feral attacker.
Shalimar smirked, baring her sharp teeth. Her head was bent overtop of his, letting the snake-like tendrils of her blonde hair brush across his face when she moved. "Come on sleepyhead," she laughed, "We've been awake forever, waiting for you to get your lazy butt up!"
Shal seemed to grin to herself, and kept talking, "I told Adam that if he didn't let me get you up, I'd pull a noose." She smirked, and mimed strangling herself.
With an inward grin of his own, Jesse phased himself, laughing loudly as she slipped right through him, at which point he stood and solidified himself. He pulled a pale green shirt over his head, and bolted out the door.
Upon entering the main room, Jesse flung himself over the back of an armchair and landed in the seat, smirking triumphantly. Shalimar walked around it, and sat huffily on the couch, next to Brennan.
The taller man's eyes sparkled from beneath his dark eyebrows, scrutinizing the brightly wrapped presents that lay waiting beneath the tree. Brennan glanced upwards only when Adam walked in from the kitchen, handing out mugs of hot chocolate and coffee.
"Good morning," Adam said, proceeding to gather the various Christmas cards and e-mails that had corrugated on the coffee table in the past weeks. He handed them out, and read the first one. "Merry Christmas to you and yours, and a very happy new year. Sincerely, Safehouse 14."
It had been a tradition for years, re-reading cards and e-mails on Christmas morning, to help set the mood. It didn't need the help, as the spirit was always there, but the memories that accompanied it sure gave it an extra boost.
Around the circle the voices went, over and over, reading various cards all along the lines of the first. When they finally finished, Jesse stood, motioning them towards one of the computer pods. "We got another last night, I thought we should read it together."
Their warm mugs abandoned on the counters and tables for the moment, Brennan, Shalimar, Jesse and Adam gathered around one of the large screens, watching with patience. However, when the file opened up, and there was no text message, rather a video screen, heads turned, and eyes glanced towards each other. When a face finally came into focus on the screen, everybody froze.
It was Emma.
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She looked the same, piercing blue eyes, and soft auburn hair. Through and through, she appeared the same, though she held her chin higher, with an air of maturity that hadn't been there before.
It was then that Brennan realized she was speaking, and rewound the message, turning on the speakers.
Her voice came out in whispers, and she seemed to glance fleetingly past the camera every few minutes. "Hi guys. You must really not miss me, having left me here so long, but I still love you all. I thought that I might as well say goodbye, seeing as you didn't even try to get me out of here when you rescued that guy with the blue hair, so here goes."
Emma took a deep breath, and began to hum, slowly turning it into a hushed song. "A photograph, a blanket, some mistletoe, and fake snow, an angel to put on the tree, Santa Clause in crayon, to make you smile today, while you're so far away. So I'm sending you a little Christmas, wrapped up with love, a little peace, a little light, to remind you of I'm waiting for you, praying for you, I wanted you to see, that I'm sending you a little Christmas until you go home with me.
"Some gingerbread, a candy cane, a stocking I made with your names, I filled it, with your favorite things. A way to say I love you, like kisses through the air, hoping you feel me there. So I'm sending you a little Christmas, wrapped up with love, a little peace, a little light, to remind you of I'm waiting for you, praying for you, I wanted you to see, that I'm sending you a little Christmas until you go home with me.
"Home into those arms of mine, where I belong. So I'm sending you a little Christmas, wrapped up with love, a little peace, a little light, to remind you of I'm waiting for you, praying for you, I wanted you to see, that I'm sending you a little Christmas until you go home with me." She drew out the last note, and then sighed into the recorder.
"I have to go, Eckhart doesn't let me use the computers yet. He still hasn't taken off the governor." She scratched at something on the back of her neck, and then wiped something from the corner of her eyes. At that moment, the screen turned to black.
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A/N: That's all for now. Tune in next time for the team's initial reaction to the shocking turn of events.
HAHA, please review, or whatever.