Chapter 2

Fran was still beside her husband, becoming more worried. She tried speaking to him again and waved her hand in front of his eyes. Still, there was no response. Everyone began to speak at him until, finally, Fran ended up shaking him a little roughly. Blinking and slightly confused, he emerged from his own reverie and mumbled, "Huh."

Fran anxiously uttered, "Dave, Sweetheart. Are you alright? Please talk to me."

Dave shook his head a bit to help him to chase away the cobwebs. He looked around the table at all the worried faces of his family and then twisted his neck to turn his attention to his alarmed wife. As he peered into Fran's face, he noticed it was etched with worry and concern.

"Are you alright, Sweetheart?" Fran repeated her question.

"Aww, Bella, I'm sorry. I'm fine. I guess I got completely lost in my thoughts." Dave apologized while he reached up with his free hand and cupped her cheek.

"Damn it, Dave! You had me scared nearly to death. I thought you were having a stroke or something. Where did you go?" Fran sniffled out while a couple of unchecked tears ran down her cheeks.

"I didn't mean to frighten you. I really am sorry!" He leaned over, smiled, and planted a short but sweet kiss on her lips. He let his hand drop from her cheek, placed his arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him.

He then studied all the remaining faces around the table, smiled again, and announced, "I'm sorry, everyone. Didn't mean to worry all of you. I really did get lost in my thoughts. I'll tell you what, let me give my toast, and while we're eating, I will explain the whole thing. Alright?"

The group nodded their agreement while Fran commented, "Are you sure, my love?"

"I'm positive, Bella."

Fran tried to step away, but he held on to her even tighter, indicating he didn't want her going anywhere.

"Papa Bear, you don't have to if you don't feel up to it. Maybe, you should just sit down." Penelope implored.

Dave grinned lovingly at his future daughter-in-law and replied, "Everything's fine, Kitten. Honest, but thanks for the offer."

Dave cleared his throat, "Alright, you crazy bunch. Please raise your glasses once again for a toast." Everybody, including the boys, did so a second time, anxious to finally hear it while they all chuckled at his reference of them. The group passed down Fran's glass, who scooped it up from Derek's hand. Once they all raised them up, Dave began.

"Here's to all of you. My family! You guys are the best anyone could ask for or wish for. You've all made me a very happy man. Bella, you've given me everything a man could want. You showed me what love truly is and brought back a spirit within me I thought was long gone. We are all surrounded by each other, true love and pure happiness. Through good times and bad, we have each other and always will. So, here's to many more joyous occasions, togetherness, family, and making more great memories with all of you. I love you all, now and forever. Merry Christmas! Salute!"

The room was filled with, "Here, Here!" Dave and Fran punctuated his toast with a kiss, as did the other three couples at the table after the entire group took a sip from their glass.

Dave removed his hand from around Fran's waist. She made her way back to the other end of the table and retook her seat.

Hotch shot a concerned look at Dave, who, in return, smiled and nodded back at his best friend.

As each person started to dig into the yummy meal before them, the extremely inquisitive group began to pepper Dave with a million questions. They were all curious as to why he'd zoned out on them earlier. He initially held off on their third degree because he wanted to enjoy a few bites of his meal and thanked all the women for such a delicious meal. Everything was cooked perfectly, including the juicy and tender turkey.

After a few more minutes of eating his wonderful meal, he knew it was time to explain what'd torn his attention away from his toast.

"Alright, guys, here is the scoop on why I got completely distracted before. It's like this. You all know how I am around my birthday and the holidays. For many years now, I've hated celebrating both of them. My birthday because of my trips out to see Tommy Yates every year. Having to make those trips makes me miserable, but they are a necessary evil. The only comfort I derive from them is I can put those girls' families at ease, somewhat. Other than that, I always spend those days alone. You guys are very well aware of that." Dave paused in his explanation to take another sip of his wine and sighed.

"However, this last year was a completely different story. All of it is because of this lovely lady sitting across from me. Fran, you tried to change my birthday back in May for me a bit. And, I have to say because of you, I can now enjoy the latter part of my birthday with my loving wife."

Fran stared at her husband, smiled, and blushed at all his compliments. "It was my pleasure, honey. I love you! None of my feelings will ever change."

Dave returned her smile and blew her a kiss. "I also realized, while I was standing there, all my negative feelings and thoughts about Christmas have changed as well. My last point of reference regarding the holidays was so tainted with the sad thoughts I walked around with. The memories of those three small kids have haunted me for the last twenty-four years, but no more. My Bella was able to show me what the Christmas spirit was all about again. It is love, family, joyfulness, and sharing it all with your loved ones." Dave paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"I have to tell you all. I was reminiscing about last weekend and finding our exquisite tree. I also was thinking back to yesterday, last night and this morning. I am a very lucky man indeed. I have my health, a new and wonderful wife, a job I love and the best family anyone could ask for. Each and every one of you has made it truly special and memorable. Which includes having everybody here under one roof. Not to mention the gingerbread houses, playing in the snow, trimming the tree, listening to songs, telling stories, laughing, watching as Derek proposed to Kitten and waking up with all of you. I enjoyed myself as I saw you crazy people open your gifts and the happiness it brought to all of you. This is the best Christmas I think I've ever had. I want to thank the whole group of you, and I need to tell you I love you guys very much."

All that could be heard for the next few seconds was "Awww's" and "We love you, too." Dave sat there, his eyes filled with unshed tears. He gazed around the whole table as he peered into each of their faces and saw nothing but love and admiration.

Without any warning, Henry jumped down from his chair and ran over to where his Nonno was sitting. As Dave lowered his head and saw his 'grandson' standing there, he reached down and picked him up. As soon as Henry was situated on his lap, he raised his arms, threw them around Dave's neck, and hugged him tightly and fervently. Dave enveloped him in his arms, embraced him back as a few tears slid down his cheek. When Henry was done, he leaned back slightly, grinned and exclaimed, "I love you, Nonno!"

Dave swiped at his tears and replied, "I love you too, kiddo!"

They gave each other a quick kiss on the cheek, hugged once more before Henry wiggled to let Dave know he wanted to get down. Dave gently placed him on his feet, and Henry scampered back to his seat next to JJ. While Henry was in the lap of his Nonno, the rest of the family beamed and became all emotional themselves. Dave then waved his arms around as he exclaimed, "Alright, enough, enough of this. Now, let's eat the rest of this delicioso dinner before it gets cold."

Once the meal was finished, everybody helped to clear off the table and clean up the kitchen. Afterward, the boys decided they wanted to play in the snow again, so the whole clan decided to join in.

A while later, the whole crew re-entered the house, and while they were warming up near the fireplace, the girls all went to fetch the dessert, coffee and hot cocoa. The family just sat around and talked more about the upcoming wedding while the boys played with some of their new toys. Derek and Penelope had set a date for their upcoming nuptials. It would be planned for April 13, 2013, which fell on a Saturday. The girls were all excited and couldn't stop themselves from looking at dresses and making their long detailed lists of the myriad of things to do for the wedding. Dave and Fran wanted to host it in their sprawling backyard, Derek and Penelope took them up on their generous offer.

At around seven o'clock, everyone started to get ready to leave. The men loaded the cars with their luggage and all the gifts and goodies everyone received. It took about a half-hour, and then the family all said their goodbyes.

Which just left Dave and Fran alone by themselves for the rest of the evening. They decided to curl up and cuddle with some brandy. They were all comfy on their sofa with the only light coming from the Christmas tree and the crackling fireplace. There was soft romantic music playing from the stereo as they snuggled in each other's arms. They were passionately kissing one another and just enjoying being alone.

Dave began to whisper to his wife, "Bella, thank you for making me the happiest I've ever been. You changed my life for the better from the first moment I set my eyes on you. Also, I've replaced all the bad memories with good ones. You've shown me what it's like to be part of a loving family again and how to really enjoy my life. Granted, I had all those crazy misfits before and loved every one of them, but it was different. Now, we are all connected differently. Because of you, I have two more beautiful daughters, Sarah and Desi. So, along with them makes five, including Penelope, Emily and JJ. And, of course, I have two wonderful sons in Derek and Spencer. Not to mention, I've always considered Hotch not only my best friend but my brother as well. Plus, I have two wonderful grandsons and hopefully will have plenty more in the near future. I couldn't wish for anymore because it might make me sound selfish. You are the love of my life, sweet lady. By the way, I'm no longer a Scrooge about Christmas. How could I be? You gave me the greatest gifts of all. Love, your heart, hope, and the best family in the world. I love you, Bella!"

Fran sat there smiling, with tears brimming in her eyes. She, too, was the happiest she'd ever been. Fran wasn't at all sure if she would ever be full of joy again. After the loosing her first husband, she didn't think she would find true love once again. She was blessed to have found it within Dave. Their life was perfect. It was getting better and better each and every day.

"I love you, too, David Rossi. I'm an extremely lucky woman. I'm completely blessed with you and the rest of everyone else. You've given me so much and changed my life for the better. The least I could do was give you my heart, my love, and my soul. The best is yet to come, Sweetheart!"

They continued to relish in each other's company as they began another round of passionate kissing. Dave's mind floated away for a split second, knowing he owed all his current as well as future contentment along with his peace of mind to a Christmas presence and his perfect wife. Just before they moved their activities up to the privacy of their bedroom, they stood, held hands and ascended the stairs. Under the mistletoe at the top step, they kissed once more, and Dave murmured out, "Merry Christmas to all and all a goodnight."

The End

"You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."—Henry Drummond

A/N: I hope each and every one of you enjoy a blessed and healthy holiday season. This has absolutely been a horrible year this year, but deep down, we all know we truly have so much to be thankful for. I'm grateful for all my family, friends, you, my readers, as well as everybody I know who loves me. My hopes are that they know I love them as well. Stay safe, and hopefully, next year will be better, especially when we can get rid of COVID. I love you all! Merry Christmas! God Bless us everyone…