I'm really sorry I wasn't specific before. In this story's universe, the events of the Karate Kid DID happen, but the events of Cobra Kai DID NOT. Miguel and Sam's generation graduated from high school without the karate war that is happening on the real show. Johnny is Miguel's stepfather but not his sensei.

CHAPTER 3

"So… what are your big Christmas plans for tonight?" Sam asked as the two of them walked around the city that afternoon and just chatted. The two of them learned all about each other's lives. Miguel learned all about how Sam moved away from home for college, and he learned all about her life in Manhattan. Apparently, she lived with a roommate in a small two bedroom place in Brooklyn, and she was working as a psychologist for children under 18 in Manhattan. As a relatively young person, she was able to relate to the kids - especially the teenage girls - extremely well, and she helped teach them how not to make the same mistakes she did back in high school. Sam was also eager to find out about Miguel's life in the Navy. He told her about enlistment and training, and he briefly told her about the missions he had been on, but not much due to classification laws. One thing that Miguel appreciated about Sam was that she didn't ask him the same insensitive questions a lot of clueless civilians asked. Had he ever killed someone? How many people had he killed? Those kinds of questions really triggered most military soldiers and as a psychologist who had gone to school with a lot of military psychologists, Sam knew to steer clear of that line of questioning.

"Nah. Well, there is this one thing I do every year. I don't know if you'd be interested." Miguel stated.

"Oh, yeah? What is it…"

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Half an hour later, Miguel and Sam got out of a taxi, and as Miguel paid, Sam looked at the destination. It was a hospital. She looked at him, confused, as he walked over to her, and she awaited for an explanation.

"Oh, um… normally on Christmas, wherever I am, I spend it bringing joy to kids who need it. Because I'm home for Christmas, I thought we could go to the paediatric cancer ward and bring some Christmas spirit to the kids there."

Sam was in shock. She couldn't believe what Miguel always spent his Christmas doing. She smiled widely.

"Miguel, that's amazing!" She exclaimed. She then noticed a large duffel bag in Miguel's hands and she looked at it, confused. "What's in the bag?" Sam asked, curiously.

"You'll see in a bit." Miguel replied, and he didn't say anything more. They walked into the hospital reception, and the receptionist smiled at them.

"Ah, Miguel! Welcome back. The kids are going to be so happy to see you again. And I see you brought a friend with you. Right this way guys."

Miguel and Sam were led down the hall, and they stopped in front of a translucent door with a large plaque at the front. PEDIATRIC CANCER WARD - LONG TERM CARE, the sign read. Miguel left his bag just outside the room, and the 2 of them walked in.

As soon as they walked into the room, the kids screamed in excitement.

"Hey everybody!" Miguel said, hugging and high fiving everyone. The kids clearly loved him, and they quickly warmed up to Sam. That was the great thing about young children. They weren't yet scarred with the horrors of the world. Instead, they were kind, innocent and full of love. Sam loved being around young kids for that very reason, and that was why she dedicated her whole life to helping them.

"Are you guys excited for Christmas?" Sam asked them. They all cheered and shouted 'YES!'.

"Well that's good." Miguel said. "Because, you know, I was talking to Santa earlier today, and he told me that you were all so nice this year! And he said that he might even come and visit later today! Do you guys want that!"

"Yes!" They shouted.

"You just have to do one thing though. You have to sing Christmas songs with us. Can you do that?"

"Yes!" They all screamed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. Can you do that?"

"YES!" They all cheered, louder this time.

"All right!" Miguel exclaimed. The 2 adults took their seats in the room, next to the children. Miguel and Sam sat next to each other, and two young children immediately crawled into their laps. Miguel instantly recognised one of them - an eight year old boy named Niko, who had been in the ward last year as well.

"Hey Niko. How are you man?"

"I'm good." He said, cheerfully. Miguel smiled. He loved how happy the children were, despite their scary predicaments.

"Have you been good this year?" He asked. Niko nodded.

"I've been very good. I was the star of the week 3 times this year!" He said, proudly.

"3 Times! That's amazing, man. Up top!" Miguel said, and the kid high fived him. Sam smiled as she watched Miguel interact with the kid. It was absolutely adorable.

Sam hooked up the speaker, and played the first Christmas song. It was the ever popular Christmas song: Frosty the Snowman. The whole room, containing the children, Miguel and Sam, and the childrens' parents, sang together as one.

Frosty the Snowman

Was a jolly happy soul

With a corncob pipe and a button nose

And two eyes made out of coal.

Frosty the Snowman

May the children laugh and play

And were they surprised when before their eyes

He came to life that day.

There must have been some magic

In that old silk hat they found

For when they placed it on his head

He began to dance around.

Oh, Frosty the Snowman

Was alive as he could be

And the children say

He could laugh and play

Just the same as you and me.

Frosty the Snowman

Knew the sun was hot that day

So he said let's run

And we'll have fun.

Before I melt away.

So down to the village

With a broomstick in his hand

Running here and there all around the square

Saying catch me if you can.

He led them down the streets of town

Right to the traffic cops

And he only paused a moment when

He heard him holler stop.

Frosty the Snowman

Had to hurry on

But he waved goodbye

Saying don't you cry.

I'll be back again some day

Thumpety, thump, thump

Thumpety, thump, thump.

Look at Frosty go

Thumpety, thump, thump

Thumpety, thump. thump

Over the hills of snow.

At the end of the song, the whole room cheered. They proceeded to sing We Wish you a Merry Christmas and Santa Claus is Coming to Town in quick succession, and the kids were having a great time. They absolutely loved the entertainment.

"I'll be right back." Miguel whispered in Sam's ear after the song, and he stood up.

"OK, kids! I've gotta go now. Merry Christmas everybody!" He exclaimed.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" They all shouted, and the kids all gave him a hug. They all absolutely adored him - there was just something about him that made them love him so much. Miguel walked out of the room. He quickly grabbed the duffel bag and ran to the hospital bathroom to change.

Five minutes later, Miguel was fully decked out in a full Santa costume. He was handed the sack of presents by the hospital staff, and he was wearing the costume, complete with the red and white suit, massive belt, extra stomach padding, hat, boots, glasses, and of course… the signature white beard. A minute later, he burst into the pediatric ward.

"HO! HO! HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!" He bellowed.

"SANTA!" The kids screamed, sprinting over to hug him. Sam couldn't help but giggle quietly as she watched Miguel making a fool of himself, but at the end of the day, it was for a good cause. Besides, nobody could say that he was a bad Santa: he was actually a really good one!

"Hi kids!" Santa Miguel exclaimed. "Have you all been good this year?" He asked.

"Yes!" The kids screamed. Miguel clapped his hands.

"That's good, because I have presents for all of you! Gather round kids while I give you all your presents. You know, I loved reading all of your letters to me. It helped my little elves make exactly what you wanted for Christmas."

"Yay!" They all shouted. Miguel sat down and each kid sat on his lap, telling him what they wanted for Christmas. Miguel would then grab the gift that was addressed to them, which was actually from the hospital staff or the kid's parents, and he would give it to them. The kids absolutely loved it! After about a half hour of sitting and singing Christmas songs and eating cookies and milk with the kids, Santa Miguel stood up.

"Ok everybody. I've Got to go now! I need to get all the way around the world tonight, and with all of the delicious cookies I ate, it's going to take me a while." He joked, shaking his fake belly. The kids all laughed.

"Bye Santa!" They all shouted and waved. Miguel waved back at them and left the room. He quickly then changed his clothes and walked out of the hospital, and was quickly joined by Sam, who was floating on air after her good deed.

"Miguel, thank you so much. This was really amazing." Sam said. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, thanks for coming. It was a lot of fun having someone else there." Miguel replied. "Now, let's get some dinner…"

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The two of them went to another delicious diner for dinner, to wrap up one of the best Christmases Sam had ever had. It had been a whirlwind of a 24 hours since the two had met in that bar, and they had both had the time of their lives. They felt so comfortable with one another. It was like they had known each other their whole lives, not a single day. After dinner, the two of them left the diner and went for a walk outside as they headed back towards Miguel's apartment. As they walked, Miguel noticed Sam begin to shiver in the aftermath of the blizzard, so he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. As part of SEAL training, Miguel was forced to spend nearly 3 months training in the freezing cold of Alaska, being pushed to hypothermia several times, so he was pretty much immune to the cold.

"Thanks." Sam murmured as she wrapped the coat tightly around herself for warmth.

"No problem." Miguel replied. The two walked together in comfortable silence for several moments, before Sam finally asked the question that was burning on her mind, and she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"So, are you ever gonna ask me out or what?" Sam asked. Immediately, awkwardness filled the air and descended over them like a blanket. Miguel blushed furiously and his mouth ran dry. It took him several moments to regain his speech.

"I… um… I… wasn't planning on it actually." Miguel stammered. Sam's heart dropped.

"You… you weren't?" Sam asked, extremely crestfallen. Miguel sighed.

"Look, Sam, you're really awesome. Like really awesome! I don't know if it's because I've only been around soldiers and criminals for a long time but you're like the most amazing person I have met in years. But…"

"Of course there's a but." Sam muttered. "Every guy I've liked, there's been a but. Do I seriously have that bad a but?"

"Trust me, you have a very nice butt, Sam." Miguel joked, earning him a glare from Sam. "But… you don't even live here, and with me getting deployed on missions with just a moment's notice, it would be impossible for us to have a proper relationship."

Sam looked down and nodded. She knew deep-down that he was right. Both of them led such different lives that it would be almost impossible for them to date. The fantasy that she had about the two of them was just that… a fantasy. Eventually, a brilliant idea came to her head, and she looked up and smiled at Miguel.

"I have an idea." She said. "You know the bad part about any breakup is when you just don't see it coming?"

"Sure." Miguel said, confused. Where was Sam heading with this?

"Well, why don't we cut that part out?" Sam stated. "Why don't we spend the next 3 weeks together, but both know that at the end of that time, we go our separate ways?"

Miguel looked at her, unsure.

"I don't really follow." He said.

"Basically, we do boyfriend-girlfriend things for the next 3 weeks, but at the end, we say sayonara and I go back to New York, and you go back to wherever you get deployed." She said. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"You're a psychologist. That can't be healthy." He remarked. Sam shrugged.

"What's not healthy about it? We spend 3 amazing weeks together, knowing that things have to come to an end at the end of the 3 weeks, so we both walk away with great memories and no hard feelings. There won't be a messy breakup to put a damper on the time we spent together."

Miguel eventually nodded.

"You know what? What the hell, I'm in!" He replied. Sam broke out into a wide smile.

"Awesome! So, what should we do first?"

"Well, there has been one thing I've wanted to do since we met." Miguel remarked. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, going straight for the home run swing? Bold move." Sam remarked, giggling. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"No, not that. Well, yeah, I would love to do that, but that's not what I meant. I meant this…" He said, before leaning in and kissing her gently. Sam immediately reacted to the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening it. The two made out for several moments before they finally had to break apart for air.

"Wow." Sam murmured as she felt her heart bouncing around inside her chest. That kiss had been incredible. There was something about the way their lips came together… it just felt right.

"Wow." Miguel also muttered, in just as much shock as Sam. He was a SEAL - he was meant to never be rendered immobile in shock, but there was something about Sam that made all of his training go flying out the window.

Sam was the first of the two to regain her bearings, and she slipped her hand into his.

"So… home? You know, you might not be sleeping alone on that mattress of yours tonight." She whispered seductively into his ear. That was enough to get Miguel to snap out of his trance, and the two of them practically sprinted back to Miguel's apartment. There was a boisterous car alarm going off right outside but they didn't care. Neither of them were getting any sleep that night anyway…