This would not be the first Christmas Danny McKnight had spent away from his daughter. He spoke affectionately to her while he made his rounds through the base, on a borrowed cell phone.

It was a welcome gift just to hear her voice, "Have you been behaving yourself daddy?"

Ever since she was knee high she had called him daddy, and she hadn't stopped when she grew eye to eye with him. It still made him smile.

"Of course not, have you set up a tree?" He asked, knowing she did every year with the family ornaments her mother loved

Diana heard the distraction in her father's voice and smiled, the tree was set up In her house. There were many Christmas parties on the base she lived on. But she simply wished to stay in. Watch a few holiday movies, eat the hot wings the pizza boy would bring, and turn in before midnight.

"Yes, are you on duty tonight?" Diana asked, she flipped through the tv channels, swearing inwardly, seventy channels of cable and nothing on.

"Yeah, these fucking commies want me up at all hours. I swear to God the next bomb they send my way I'm throwing back."

Diana laughed, knowing he was on a Communist border somewhere.

She had grown used to not knowing where he was, what he was up to, it was something she learned as a little girl.

"Aren't you there to help?" She asked, finding the Garfeild Christmas movie. The most promising movie on tv.

"Yeah, but these people here don't want help." Danny sighed, then swore at someone named Tomas.

"Daddy be nice it's Christmas."

"I am being nice….Get Your Ass In That Tower Tomas! I Don't Care How Claustrophobic You Are….what do you want for Christmas Diana?"

Diana rolled her eyes at her father, and took a seat on the small couch. In her small living room, waiting for her wings to come. The pizza boy was always on time. She was just hungry.

"Could you come for a visit?" She asked, watching as Garfeild kicked Odie off a kitchen counter. A smile came over her face.

She heard her father smile, "I think I can get a short leave in February." Then he shouted, "Thomas! Do I Have To Shove Your Ass Up That Ladder! Get In The Fucking Tower!"

Diana knew her Father rarely got leaves, and that was between a transfer. With a heavy heart she asked, "Where are you going next?"

Danny could hear his daughters voice change slightly. "No where dangerous, Africa. Somalia I think."

Diana got off the couch and walked to the wall by the tv.

A map of the world was on it, thumb tacks made up all the bases she had been to, over fifty. Danny asked, "Checking your map?"

Diana smirked, "Why don't we have any bases in Tahiti? Or………..Cancun?"

Danny laughed, a true laugh, that drew stares from several rangers.

A picture of her father in full dress hung beside the map. Below that father and daughter by the Berlin wall, Tower of Pisa, Big Ben, even at Niagara Falls.

"Thomas!" Danny screamed, then sighed, "I have to go sweetheart."

"I love you daddy." Diana said softly, she turned the phone off and tossed it onto the couch. Looking back to the map to find Somalia. Before she could find it a knock came from the front door.

"About time," Diana muttered, walking to the couch she reached down into her purse. Taking out her wallet she made sure her night shirt reached her knees. Tucked her a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear.

Then she walked from the living room into the front room, Diana had found she liked small houses. Since her father was a ranking colonel she had been able to get a house on the base. Instead of a small apartment which didn't seem so homey.

Diana unlocked the three bolts and opened the door.

A rush of snowy air blew in against her bare-legs, she never felt it. It was not the pizza boy at her door, but Hoot.

A scream came from her lips as she ran out into the snowy porch.

With a heavy bag on his shoulder Hoot was exhausted. In the past three days he had been on six planes. Spent the nights in airports, even eaten fast food. He hadn't showered since he left Germany, he was starving as he ate a greasy hamburger for breakfast, and he was rather worn out. Jet lag was a killer.

But just seeing her, hearing her voice, it made him whole again.

He caught Diana in strong arms and carried her in the house.

It had been four long months since he had last seen her, it had been far too long. Hoot kissed her cheeks, her nose, her ear, her neck, whatever he could until he found her lips.

The front door slammed as he set her down on a small table. Right beside the front door, the items ontop were thrown onto the floor, neither seemed to care.

Diana contented herself by memorizing his face with her hands. His lips with her own, pulling him closer with her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. The bag fell off his shoulder and landed loudly.

Hoot didn't seem to notice. It was vital that he take her hair down, he did not know why, but her hair needed to come out of the clip. He needed to touch her hair, her skin, and quite simply he just needed her. It was nothing complicated but more simple, it was something he hardly understood himself.

Diana took his heavy coat off, it fell down to the floor, beside the pack. She understood his urgency, the desperate way he tugged at her hair, even his hand that roamed around her back searching for the bottom of her nightshirt.

She reached behind with one hand and pulled the clip from her hair. He spoke incoherent words that only she understood, she simply nodded and kissed him again. Her hands traced over his cheeks. The stubble felt familiar under her hands.

Neither knew how long they remained by the door, only when someone knocked did they slowly stop their molestation of one another.

"Who the hell is that?" He asked, his voice husky, his accent even thicker.

Diana kissed his neck, trying to hard remember. "Pizza-boy."

Hoot growled in annoyance that someone would dare intrude. Diana kissed his neck again and unwrapped her legs from around his waist, "Go upstairs, I'll be up in a moment."

He nodded and headed for the stairs. Ignoring his coat and bag. Diana watched him bound quickly up the steps. She watched his long legs, his bum, even his broad back. With a sigh she hopped down from the small table.

Picking the wallet up where it had fallen, she opened the door.

The pizza boy looked over the Colonels obviously disheveled daughter as she dug through her wallet. He had been the lucky driver tonight. "Five eighty with tax."

Diana grabbed the first bill she found and gave it to him. She quickly took the small box and closed the door. Locking it to hear the pizza boy ask, "Did you want change?"

Diana quickly set the box down on the table and ran up the stairs. Not caring that she had given the pizza boy a twenty.