Oh my gosh, I can't believe I was this awful about updating guys. I promise, I didn't mean for it, or know that, it would take this long. I mean, there's being slow, but THREE FREAKIN' WEEKS? I so apologize. On bended knee. I had no right to do that especially when I implied that it wouldn't take that long to update. Henceforth, I will not promise you as to when updates are coming. They SHOULDN'T take long, but I never know how things will go. You don't care about my excuses. The only excuse I can feel justified giving is that this chapter was originally my disaster chapter. EVERYTHING was wrong with it. My friends handed it back to me covered in ink. I am still not sure I like it. Please forgive me and don't let my story take the blame; it's the writer's fault. Once again, I'M SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOO SORRY!

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful readers who (hopefully) stick by my work even though I lied about the update.

Disclaimer: I don't own it. Deal with it.
Reviewer responses at the end

ANNOUNCEMENT! PLEASE READ! EVEN IF YOU SKIPPED THE OTHER NOTES!Just some quick notes on the story- Unless you have a superb memory, I would suggest going back and re-reading or skimming over the first chapter again to refresh yourself and make the story seem more coherent. Next, lots of talky in this chapter, and a little more fluff (too much? let me know). Finally, BRIEFLY in this chapter (like, in three short sentences), I mention one of the characters going to church for Christmas. This has NOTHING to do with the story. I was just thinking about what things people do on Christmas Eve/Day, and I thought of church. Some people go on Christmas even if they don't for pretty much the rest of the year. I am not trying to force beliefs on any of you, this was just...something. Okay? So please, don't write to me trying to accuse me of that. It won't work. That said, please continue and enjoy...


They didn't have to try very hard to enjoy the party. Someone had put on some holiday music, the kind you never get sick of listening to. The office was full of people just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Every once in a while there was a short bit of applause and some friendly teasing as O'Farrell began to succeed in his goal. He even managed to catch Tehama, who was too far away to get the Hershey kisses Ingrid would have given her without hesitation. With a glare at her audience, she proceeded to give O'Farrell a quick peck on the cheek, turning red as she pulled away with another sour look at Anza and Fillmore.

However, no matter how hard he tried, O'Farrell never seemed to be able to catch Ingrid away from her Hershey kisses. Time and time again he jumped from wherever he was when she walked under the mistletoe, and time and time again, she would calmly hand him a chocolate kiss.

"Eventually you're gonna run out of those!" O'Farrell declared.

"Not likely," she retorted. "I bought a whole bag of these last night. I'm not going to run out anytime soon." But other than that, it was a fairly peaceful party.

But no matter how "peaceful" a party it was, it was still a party and apt to wear a person down. To take a break from the talking of their comrades and O'Farrell's overly enthusiastic actions, Fillmore and Ingrid went to sit down at her desk. Ingrid collapsed into her chair and Fillmore managed to hoist himself to sit on the edge of her desk. He sighed. "Some party right?"

"Oh, you know how much I love being in the social scene," Ingrid replied jokingly. "But actually, I'm having a pretty good time."

They sat in silence for a moment before Ingrid struck up another conversation. "So I guess Miles is taking Christmas break off too?" she guessed as she pointed to the empty fishbowl.

"Yeah, my mom came and picked him up after school. It might have been a little difficult to feed him otherwise."

She nodded. "True enough. So, what are you doing for Christmas? Got any special 'Fillmore Family Traditions'?"

He smiled. "Nothing much. Christmas Eve at grandma's, drive through town to look at Christmas lights, then on Christmas morning my family goes to church."

"Church?" Ingrid asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yeah. I don't exactly have perfect attendance there, but I'm always there on Christmas. Plus, it means a lot to my folks for me to be there. How 'bout you? What are your Christmas plans?"

"Kind of the same as you. Visit and have dinner with relatives on Christmas Eve, then go home and finish decorating the tree. Christmas day, open gifts, of course. Over the past two years my family volunteers for a couple of hours after that, and…um, yeah, that's…" she trailed off, her voice growing quieter.

Fillmore looked at her, concerned. "Ingrid, what is it?"

"Nothing," she stated softly, hoping he'd take the hint.

No such luck. "No, Ingrid," he said firmly. "What were you going to say?"

She took a deep breath. "After that, we…we go to the cemetery. To visit my mother," she murmured quietly.

It was then that Fillmore was hit with an incredibly strong feeling of guilt and stupidity. The kind that people only get when they realize they've just done or said something really, really stupid, and now they just kind of want to sink into the ground. "Dawg. Ingrid…Ingrid, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pressed you for that. It wasn't any of my business."

She gave him a slight smile. "No, it wasn't. But it's okay. You didn't know. It's just…I know that people feel awkward when I bring it up, so I kind of try to avoid it. And, even though I'm not grieving anymore…it's not exactly one of my favorite topics."

Fillmore nodded slowly. "I understand."

He was rewarded with a smile, albeit a wavering one, from Ingrid. "You know, I actually think you do." She looked down at her hands. "My mom loved Christmas time. The decorations, the parties, the weather, the traditions. She especially loved getting all our friends and family together for all of that stuff. I don't know if I would have gotten that into Christmas if it weren't for her. The flashing lights, gift shopping, rushing here and there, it wasn't really my thing. But she made Christmas something to remember."

"I'm sure she did," Fillmore agreed, walking over to her and slipping his arm around her shoulders in a quick hug.

She leaned against him briefly before pulling away to continue. "Yeah. Four years ago when she…when it happened, it was during the summer. None of us were thinking about what Christmas would be like since she was gone, we were still too overwhelmed. That's when I understood why having the family together during Christmas was so important to my mom. I got it because we all needed her to be there with us so much. That's why me and my dad and my sister go and visit her. Keeps the family together."

"That's rough Ingrid. My mom's a huge part of my life; I don't know if I would have been able to deal with it."

She laughed a little. "I almost wasn't able to. That's when I started to get in trouble at school. At first, everyone was sympathetic, but after one year and my fourth school, they weren't so forgiving. Eventually I started working through everything, but by then, I knew I would always establish myself as the 'weird kid', so getting kicked out was just…easier than staying in. That, plus my lack of social skills made getting in trouble like a hobby. It was kind of…fun.

After I left a few more schools around the globe, my dad suggested the family move to give us a new start. That's why he chose X. See, my hometown, where my mom is, it's only about 80 miles away, so we can still go back once in a while."

Fillmore smiled. "Well, I don't know if all those teachers in those other schools would agree, but I'm glad you guys chose this place to get a new start."

She continued gazing at the surface of her desk as she answered with a small, joking grin, "I know. You're very lucky to have me."

"Very true." Fillmore said softly, then, after a moment, gave her shoulder a small shove, clearing the tension.

They sat in silence for a minute, and then Fillmore cleared his throat and spoke. "Ingrid, I'm still sorry I brought this whole thing up, but I'm glad you were able to tell me about it."

She finally looked up at him. "Me too," she murmured. She seemed to think about something, then opened a drawer in her desk and took out a photograph.

"What's that?" Fillmore asked, although he had an idea as to what it was.

"This is one of the last pictures my family took with all of us in it." She turned the photo in her hand to show him. In the frame, he saw a much younger Ingrid standing with her father, sister, and a young woman who could only be her mother.

"It's one of my favorite pictures. Back then it was even more important, because one of the worst things that I remember about the time was how it seemed like I didn't have anything left of my mom. I was always considered 'Daddy's Girl,' and that's how close Ariella and mom were. It felt like people were so much more sympathetic to her because of how close they were. I was angry, and jealous, and I felt so guilty, because even though I love my dad, I didn't want to be 'Daddy's Girl' right then. Everyone was saying how similar Ariella and mom had always been. I remember thinking that I didn't have anything left of my mom in me."

Fillmore put his hand on her shoulder to show he understood. "Hey, can I see that?" he asked, gesturing towards the photo. Ingrid seemed to hesitate, but then she handed it to him.

He held the picture carefully as he looked at it. "Your mom was very pretty," he commented.

"Yeah, she was," Ingrid agreed.

He studied the photo another moment, and then said, "You look a lot like her."

Ingrid's eyes flitted up to look at him. Realizing what his comment had sounded like, he was blushing, but it was only slightly visible because of his dark skin. Come to think of it, she was blushing too, although her blush was a LOT more visible. "Really? You think so?" she asked trying to sound nonchalant, but only managed to sound a little bit flattered and very unsure.

"Well, yeah," Fillmore stammered. However, the sight of impenetrable Ingrid Third blushing did much to help him regain his calm. "I mean, you've both got black hair, her's is just a little longer. And you've both got these big, bright green eyes."

She looked at him. "Do you realize you just made me sound similar to a bug? 'Big, bright green eyes'. Either a bug or an alien."

He laughed. "Well, I've sometimes wondered if you were from another planet." She smacked his arm, though not hard. "But I meant 'big, bright green eyes' in a good way."

Ingrid rolled her eyes. "In a good way. Riiiight." She looked back at the picture. "I guess our hair and our eyes do look the same. But…I don't know. According to my dad's stories, my mom was the cutest girl in school, and everyone loved her. In that, I'm nothing like her; I'm just 'that smart kid in the safety patrol'."

"Okay, first, being as smart as you are ain't 'just' anything. And, I mean…well…you're cute too."

"Liar," she said simply, without a trace of bitterness.

"What makes you think I'm lying?"

"Because you are. You're my friend, so you just tell me I'm cute to try and make me feel better. That's what friends are supposed to do."

"Ingrid," Fillmore said and she looked up at him. He had a stop-being-dumb grin on his face. "When have I ever lied to you to make you feel better? Remember, I was the one who told you how bad your rodeo clown costume was when we worked on that case. So, in a completely objective way, I will say this one more time:

You are very pretty. Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not blind, so I see the guys that glance at you in the hallways. And on occasion you are…what's that word girls like to use? Oh yeah, adorable," he ended the word in an emphasized drawl, rolling his eyes.

Ingrid laughed. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"You. Saying the word 'adorable.' I had no idea you even knew that word Fillmore. It's way not you."

He snorted. "Well, don't get used to hearing it."

"So, objectively, you think I'm cute, huh? Like when?"

"Well," he said slowly, studying her face. Aware of his scrutiny, she started to turn pink. "Like…now."

"What?" she asked, not certain she heard him right.

"Like now. You look cute now." A thoughtful smile crossed his face. "You're cute when you blush." (A hundred points to the reviewer that can tell me what that reference is from, etc.).

If she had been blushing before, Ingrid's cheeks were now rapidly approaching the color of a tomato. She snuck a quick glance at Fillmore's face to see if he was still looking at her. He was. Unbidden, a thought popped into her head. 'Our faces are so close, he could lean over right now and kiss me." Then, shocked that she could even think such things about her friend, she buried the delinquent thought and looked down again at the photo to try and recollect her composure.

Fillmore looked at her a few moments longer with the same smile on his face. What he had said was true. Ingrid was cute when she blushed, especially because Ingrid was not a person who got flustered very often. So the sight of her blushing again because of something he had said was…intriguing, to say the least. It gave him the urge to think up more things that would make Ingrid blush. He shook his head to clear those thoughts and followed Ingrid's gaze to the picture.

Ingrid took the photo back in her hands and commented, "I suppose me and my mom do look very alike."

"Yeah, but see, it's more than just that," Fillmore added, wanting her to understand. Calling her attention back to the photo, he continued. "See? Look at the way she carries herself in this picture. I must have seen you stand like that a hundred times, every time we're waiting for Vallejo to stop lecturing on the 'proper policy' for safety patrollers. It's like a combination of boredom and amusement. Like you're saying 'I can't believe I'm putting up with this, but you're amusing me, so I guess I will.'"

She elbowed him as he laughed, although not hard enough to hurt. "I get what you mean. Mom hated posing for pictures; Dad always insisted on it so we could send them to grandma." Ingrid looked at the photo one more time, walked back around her desk, and replaced it in the drawer.

She came back to where he was now standing. All of a sudden, Fillmore found himself the recipient of a strong, desperate hug from Ingrid. "Thanks Fillmore," she whispered into his shoulder. "No one ever bothered to tell me that I looked like her."

He patted her back awkwardly before settling his arms around her and returning the hug. "Maybe they thought it would have been too painful for you, if they brought it up."

"Maybe," she echoed back softly before pulling out of the embrace and trying to compose herself.

"That might have been what they thought," Ingrid said, trying to hold back any final wavering bits in her voice. "But that was exactly what I needed to hear. To know that I did have some of my mom in me. Exactly what I needed."

Sensing that now might be a good time to change the subject, but not exactly sure how, Fillmore asked, "Uh…Ingrid? Since I really wouldn't know what to do, you're not gonna like…cry are you?"

As Fillmore had predicted, she smiled. And then, as he should have predicted, she punched him in the arm.

Rubbing his arm where her fist had just hit, he grinned. "What say we party a little more?" he suggested. Ingrid grinned and nodded as they went to rejoin their friends.


Well? Was it okay? A lot of talk, I know, but it was fluffier. Please, even though the update was so slow, review and let me know the good and bad news.

Reviewer responses:

Ayjah: I realize now that despite the "warning" I gave, there really was very little fluff in that first chapter. I hope this one was better, and the next (and last) chapter should be good too. Tell me if there was enough this time.
F/IFOREVER: I will of course keep writing. And like I said to Ayjah above, I forgot that the first chapter wasn't fluffy. Hope this was better. And I agree, F/I Forever!
SilverLastsForever: Thanks for the hug! Recently, we had a hug day at school and we gave stickers to those we hugged and tried to make sure everyone got one. It just reminded me of that. Glad you seem to be pleased with my work. I've loved your stuff a HECK of a lot. You've definitely got talent. Also glad me and others were able to open your eyes to the great world that is I/F. And it was no problem reviewing 'Verse'. I loved it. I will be re-reading it often in the future.
J-Kwon and Thet: Thanks for the compliment. Always happy to hear from people who like my work.
Always up for a new story: What a coincidence, me too! Sorry, corny joke, although I do actually like your name. It's neat, and accurate;) Yeah, even though fanfiction is more important than school, I got my priorities mixed up for a bit. Hopefully, that won't happen again. Thanx for reviewin'!
Follower4041: I'm thrilled to have such a great author compliment me. It's no problem if you don't write a long review, sometimes, there just isn't a lot to say. I'm a babbler, so I can always yammer on about stuff. I just appreciate hearing from you.
en flor: As you can see, O'Farrell did get at least one girl in this chapter. I can't decide if I would put Tehama with him or Anza. Anza seems an obvious choice. Perhaps too obvious? I sort of like the whole opposites attract deal. But, then again,Anza and TehamaDO work well together and O'Farrell IS hapless. I'd love your thoughts on this. Thanks again for the review. I love your story, so it meant a lot. It's nice to meet another romance junkie.
Dream-sorcerous11: So happy you enjoyed it. Humor is not usually (if ever) my forte, so I cannot tell you how much I smiled when I read that you thought I did well with the humor. Thanx for the kind review!
Moon Gurl:I love finding people who are intelligent enough to understand the art that is fluff writing. I hope I can do the art justice. Oh, and the way I can have lots of homework on President's Day? One word: PROCRASTINATION.That's all I'm gonna say. I'm ecstatic people like the Hershey's trick. I read something similar in a book (so I'm not plagiarizing), so I thought I'd create a story from it. I know you're not copying; I'm just happy people appreciate the idea. Good luck to you and your friend with those two guys. Although, if they're cute, you already have too much luck.
sugarhighnutcase: So happy you liked it. Please read my response to Ayjah (the first response) to see my explanation so far on the F/I in thsi fic. Thanx for taking the time to review.
Silver Storm Dragon: Hey! Love your fics, thrilled that you're reading and reviewing mine! You want to know what happens? Liked what you saw in this chapter? Let me know, because if you did, just wait till ch. 3. And if you didn't, tell me how to improve. I value your professional opinion.
kitty minky: I can't believe how many people liked that idea! I mean, it's good, but I didn't think I was being original when I wrote it, I thought everyone knew that trick. Oh well. It's great that you liked the fic, and hope the trick works out well for you when you're caught under the mistletoe!

Okay, that's it. Go. Review. ...Please.
Yours
AlwaysWrite