The ringing of the doorbell three and a half hours later sent everyone scrambling for the front door. The entire crew was on hand when Aaron opened the door to reveal Alex and James. The adults did a good job hiding their disappointment that it wasn't Dave and crew. Jack, however, slumped his shoulders and shuffled off to the kitchen.
"Merry Christmas," Alex and James said enthusiastically. Both had their hands full of stuff.
The group replied in kind. Alex and James entered the house.
"Here, let me take some of that," Morgan offered. He began grabbing bags from Alex and handing them to Spencer. He then took the bags from James.
"I thought you were helping," Spencer grumbled.
"Thank you," Alex smiled at both of them.
"We are helping," Morgan told Spencer as they headed to the kitchen.
"Take off your coats," Aaron said as he closed the door.
"You want something to drink," Beth asked. "We have hot apple cider."
"Sounds great," James replied. He looked at Alex, who nodded.
James followed Beth to the kitchen as Alex and Aaron hung up the coats. "I take it Dave and his passengers haven't arrived yet," she said to Aaron.
He shook his head. "No. We were expecting them to be here a couple of hours ago."
"Penelope can't track them?"
"Don't know if you checked your cell lately but service went out about three hours ago."
She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I didn't even notice. What can we do?"
"Nothing," he shrugged. "I don't want to send anyone out to look for them. Maybe they made it to Dave's place and can't call us or they are sitting on the side of the road somewhere waiting for help. I don't even know where to start looking. All I know, is that they are safe."
"How do you know that," she frowned.
"Have you met David Rossi?"
CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM
The SUV moved slowly through the snow drifts that had piled onto the freeway. The windshield wipers kept a steady tempo for the passengers inside to follow as they loudly sang Christmas carols.
"Mommy, I'm tired of being in the car. Can we go home," Henry pleaded loudly.
The others stopped singing.
"We're almost there, honey." She put her arm around him and snuggled him for a moment.
The two men in the front shared a glance.
"How far out, are we," Will asked.
Dave looked around at the whiteness that surrounded them. "I really have no idea."
"It's starting to get dark again," Will observed. The skies had been cloudy all day without any snowfall until a little over an hour prior. And when it started, it got thick very fast.
Dave had slowed the SUV to 20 miles an hour just to be safe. He inched to the edge of the road and watched for a sign or road marker. A few minutes later, he found one.
"Yes," Dave shouted in joy. The others were startled.
"What," JJ asked.
"We are about to pass the Quantico exit," he announced. "Just 20 miles to go."
JJ and Henry let out a whoop from the back seat. Will leaned over and peered at the speedometer.
"So, another hour or so," he asked quietly.
Dave gave him a look. He pressed the pedal a little harder propelling the SUV faster. A large rooster tail of snow flew into the air behind them.
CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM
Penelope sat on the couch, staring out the front window. The sun never made it through the clouds and now she could see it was starting to snow again. She startled as Jack jumped onto the couch next to her. He stared intently out the window.
"Where are they, Auntie Pelope?"
She sighed. "I don't know, kiddo."
He looked at her with a frown. A perfect imitation of his father. "Uncle Derek said you know everything. Are you keeping secrets?"
She bit her lip to keep from smiling and shook her head negatively. "No Sir. Mr. Jack. I would never keep secrets from you."
He glowered for a moment more before his expression became one of concern. "Uncle Dave promised that he would be here," he said quietly. "He has to be here."
"I'm sure he's doing everything he can to get here safely," she assured him. "Why does he have to be here?"
Jack looked at her then slowly looked over his shoulder. He leaned closer, even though they were the only ones in the room. "We have a surprise for Daddy and Beth."
"Ahh," she nodded. "I see."
"Shh, it's a secret. Promise you won't tell?"
She crossed her fingers and used them to cross her heart. "I promise."
He nodded, leaned over the back of the couch and resumed staring out the window. Penelope joined him.
"Want to know another secret," Jack asked. "Something I asked Santa for, something Daddy doesn't know?"
Penelope scooted closer. "Only if you really want to tell me. I mean, a secret with the big guy is pretty special."
"Yeah, I trust you," he whispered. "I asked Santa to bring Uncle Dave a girlfriend."
She blinked. "You what? Why?"
"Cuz he's lonely."
"Uncle David?"
He looked at her and nodded. "I can tell. He does a lot of the things Daddy used to do before he met Beth. Do you think Santa will bring him someone?"
Penelope sat for moment staring out the window. Slowly, she smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I think Santa will bring everything that you asked for."
"Hey, you two," Aaron said gently from the doorway. "Dinner's ready, come eat."
"But Uncle Dave's not here yet," Jack protested.
Aaron nodded solemnly. "I know. We'll make certain to save some for him and JJ and Will and Henry. Okay?"
"You can save my portion for him too," Jack replied. He turned back towards the window.
Aaron sighed and started to move forward but stopped when Penelope raised a hand.
"Give us a minute?"
He looked at Jack then back at her and nodded. She waited until the room was clear.
"Jack, I know that you are worried about Uncle David. I am too. But if we don't eat, we may not have the strength to help Santa later."
"Help Santa?"
She smiled and nodded. "I know why this snowstorm is so bad."
"Why?"
"Because Santa asked Jack Frost to help him with your request," she smiled. "And you're going to have to help as well."
"I don't understand."
She leaned really close and whispered in his ear for a long time.
He pulled back, eyes wide and stared at her. "Really," he whispered in awe.
She nodded.
He grinned. "We need to eat quick so we can get things ready!"
He jumped off the couch and grabbed her hand. "Come on, Aunt Pelope. We got to hurry!"
They joined the others in the dining room and sat down. The table was filled with a lot of food including a turkey and a ham. Drinks were served and everyone found a seat.
"I think it goes without saying, though I will say it anyways," Aaron began.
"Hey! Anyone home?" a very familiar voice called from the living room.
"UNCLE DAVID," Jack yelled.
