Title: A merry little Christmas? Yeah, right!

Author: Rorie

Distribution: My site and , anyone else—please ask

Spoilers: I can't think of a single one.

Rating: PG (if that)

Classification: S, R (S/N), challenge-fic

Summary: It's the night of the NIH holiday party.

Date began: December 23, 2005

Date finished: December 23, 2005

Disclaimer: The characters that you'd recognize and the concept of Medical Investigation are not mine. They belong to NBC and whomever else holds those rights, and their portrayers. I'm not making any money off of this story, and no copyright infringement is intended. Please don't sue... I'll return them when I'm done... probably in better condition than I found them in (my momma taught me well). Don't complain to me if they get lost in the mail... blame the United States Postal Service.

Author's notes: Thanks to Jess for the quick, down-and-dirty beta. This is my very first Medical Investigation fic ever. Please forgive me for any mistakes, they're all mine. I don't have the eppies on tape so am relying on memory.

It was a lovely party. Everyone said so. The NIH had spared no expense, spending the taxpayers' money on the Four Seasons Hotel. The live band was very good, and only got better the drunker that you were. The food was definitely 5-star, and the drinks were free and plentiful.

On the dance floor, Eva and Miles are displaying some pretty fancy footwork, both most likely emboldened by a few glasses of the excellent champagne. Frank and Kim, neither have drank anything stronger than sparkling cider, dance a little more sedately. Stephen is sitting at a table talking to Kate, business most likely… or maybe not as Kate laughs at something he says.

That leaves me. I don't know why I let them talk me into coming to this thing. I have some important tests running back at the lab. My patients in the study are counting on me.

"It's Christmas Eve, Natalie," they'd said. "You can take some time off, can't you?" The truth is I don't want to take time off.

Have I ever mentioned how much I don't like the holidays? Well, I don't. Holidays were great when I was a child, but as an adult they haven't exactly been banner times. Did I ever tell you that my ex dropped his bomb on me at Christmas? No? Well, he did. "I'm sorry, Baby, but I've met someone…"

So, here I sit, in a corner against the wall next to a huge potted plant that someone strung with lights. All around me, people are obviously enjoying the Christmas spirit--make that spirits. I smile appropriately, I hope, when someone wishes me a happy whatever, but I know I'm also giving off plenty of "leave me alone" vibes. I think Ebenezer Scrooge and I would get along great tonight. Just as long as the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future leave me alone.

Oh, great, now the band is breaking into "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I've got to get out of here… now.

Stephen frowned as he looked past Kate to see Natalie slipping out the door. He knew how she felt about the holidays. He saw how she volunteered to work every Christmas. He'd hoped that convincing her to come to this party would snap her out of her annual year-end funk. No such luck. "Excuse me, Kate," he said, standing up and heading towards the door.

Stephen reached the front of the hotel just in time to see Natalie's car pulling away from the curb. He handed the waiting valet his keys and paced until his car was brought around. He knew exactly where he'd find his runaway colleague—her lab.

Thanking the valet with a 10, Stephen got in the car and pulled out into the holiday traffic. Since it was after 9:00 pm on Christmas Eve, the aforementioned traffic was blessedly light.

Seeing an open florists' shop, he had an inspiration. Stephen pulled in and rushed inside. There were no other patrons so he hurriedly made his selection and was on his way in no time at all.

Flashing his badge at the NIH parking structure, he quickly found a space in the almost empty lot. Carefully taking his package out the car, he made his way inside and flashed his badge at the front door security checkpoint.

Having jumped through all of the hoops, Stephen made his way to his office to drop his coat and called the operator.

Ten minutes later.

Natalie frowned as she peered through her microscope. She was getting nowhere and was getting too tired to make much progress anyway. She decided to call it a night and start again fresh in the morning. She planned on sleeping on the couch in Stephen's office, he wouldn't mind.

"Dr. Natalie Durant to the briefing room. Dr. Natalie Durant to the briefing room." The overhead paging system blared into life. Natalie frowned and checked her pager. It was on and she hadn't missed any pages.

Wondering what the emergency was, she hurried down the hallway to the briefing room, fully expecting to see her team members waiting for her so that they could go save the day in some small town that was facing some medical emergency or another.

Pushing open the door, she was surprised to see no one. In fact, the lights were out… almost. In the middle of the briefing table was a single lit candle. It cast its wavering light and shadow all over the room. Next to the candle were a single red rose and a note. Puzzled, Natalie picked up the note and read it. "Look up."

Following the instructions, she looked at the ceiling and half-smiled. There, tied to a string that was tied to a pencil that was jammed into an acoustic ceiling tile, hung a sprig of real mistletoe.

"So, are you just going to stand there? Or are we going to follow tradition?" Stephen asked, stepping into the light.

Now Natalie did smile. She could imagine him standing on the table, struggling with the string and pencil to get it to hang just right.

"Stephen, you know I'm not into all of this Christmas tradition…"

"But I am," he cut her off mid-thought. "Besides, I still needed to get you a gift and you're so hard to buy for." He paused. "I knew that you'd probably be here, probably planning on spending the night here, too." Natalie blushed, he knew her too well. "I thought the rose would cheer you up."

"And the mistletoe?" Natalie asked.

"That was for me," he admitted, taking a deep breath. "I wanted to give you something else this year and thought maybe you'd accept it better if it were part of a tradition."

Natalie gasped as she got his meaning. "Stephen," she whispered, stepping closer to him. "You don't need the mistletoe." She stopped right in front of him, a sliver of air between them.

Stephen smiled at her as his lips moved to meet hers. The kiss lasted a few seconds and a whole lifetime. It was sweet and passionate at the same time. It was a kiss between friends and between lovers who weren't yet lovers.

As they parted, Natalie smiled and leaned her head against his chest. Stephen lifted her face with his hand. "Merry Christmas, Natalie," he said, placing a kiss against her forehead.

She smiled again. "Yes, it is, Stephen."

They stood like that for a few moments before they reluctantly parted. Natalie flipped on the light and picked up her rose as Stephen climbed on the table to pull out the mistletoe-carrying pencil. Natalie laughed.

Stephen got down and stood in front of her again. "Go home and get some sleep. I'll see you first thing in the morning. You have more of your present coming."

Natalie smiled, "What about Jack?"

"He's with Lisa at her parents' house this year. I'll get him for New Year's Day." He gently grabbed her arm and propelled her towards her office to get her jacket. They then went and got his jacket.

Stephen walked Natalie to her car and kissed her one last time before she got in to drive away. "First thing in the morning, Natalie. I'll pick you up at 8."

"I'm looking forward to it, Stephen," she answered, truly meaning it. For the first time in years, Natalie Durant was actually not dreading the coming of Christmas morning. She smiled at him and pulled out of the parking lot.

Fin