AN: I hope everyone had a nice holiday and I also hope you guys don't mind me finishing this up later than Christmas since I didn't anticipate how busy I was going to be.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…

Seven Trees-a-Decorating

It was Saturday evening and Joss just got home and changed after work; while Taylor was out with a friend. Last night she and Taylor had worked in tandem to decorate the house for the impending holiday. The Christmas tree was in full display near her fireplace. Garland decorated the mantle, along with her and Taylor's stockings. Joss had some little knick-knacks but she didn't over decorate for the holiday. And on the front door they hung their wreath and she placed two poinsettias on her front porch.

So with her spare time she decided to call her mother for their usual Saturday talks. Her mother answered on the first ring. "Good evening, momma." Joss greeted as she took a seat on her couch, taking a little sip of her wine.

"Good evening, sweetheart." her mother's soft older voice greeted readily. "How is my baby girl?"

"I'm good,"

"And my grandson?—how's Taylor?"

"Getting straight A's in all his classes." Joss announced proudly.

"Takes just after his mother," her mother said equally proud. "Now that I have you baby girl please tell me what to get my grandson for Christmas. And I don't want to hear you say a giftcard." her mother said sternly.

Joss hesitated. "Well…"

Her momma sighed. "All Taylor wants is giftcards," she muttered.

"Yea. He's a teenage boy, mom."

Her mother harrumphed. "I'll think of something to wrap that holds the giftcard." she replied firmly. Joss smiled. Her mother loved wrapping gifts. "What about my darling baby girl? What would you like for Christmas?"

"Anything you want to get me, momma. I'll love whatever you get." she assured, ripping a page out of her mother's playbook. Joss didn't even bother to ask what her mother would want because her mother never asked for anything. "Has Taylor told you about Hayley?"

"Yes. He sounds like he really likes her." her mother responded happily.

Joss smiled. "She's such a pretty little thing too. And she's got brains; Hayley has all A's too! Taylor wants to give her earrings for Christmas, nothing expensive, but not cheap either."

"If my grandson is thinking jewelry I hope to meet her soon."

"Well how about when we come over for Christmas Eve we'll bring her. Taylor is going to head to her parents place on Christmas Day and then head over to his dad's afterwards." Joss admitted. Joss hoped she had her own plans for the afternoon with a certain sexy man in a suit.

"Sounds perfect." her mother agreed. "Now, tell me Joss that you are finally moving on from Cal Beecher. You're far too young to give up on finding love again."

Joss exhaled as her mother just wouldn't drop this subject. Every Saturday she called her mother for their weekly mother/daughter phone calls, and every Saturday her mother asked her when she was ready to begin dating again.

"Momma…"

"Jocelyn, you are my only child and I want you happy." her mother responded defensively.

"I am happy momma. I have my son, I have my friends, and I have John." she assured.

"Who's John?" her mother asked.

"He's a friend." she said quickly.

"But you said you have friends and then you said you have John. If he's just a friend than why did you separate him." her mother demanded. Joss felt her shoulders stiffen as she had inadvertently given her mother a crumb. "Jocelyn is he your boyfriend?"

"No!" she said, barely biting her tongue to keep from adding 'I wish' to the end of her response.

Her mother didn't relent. "Are you dating him?" she asked not deterred.

"No."

"Please honey; tell me you aren't having a casual affair because you're not cut out for those."

"No," Joss answered through clenched teeth. This was why she didn't want to tell her mother about John. Her mother would get the wrong idea and there was no telling if or when John would ever admit to what was going on between them. So far this past month, ever since what happened in the morgue really, they were getting closer and closer. "He's…" Joss began but trailed off when she couldn't figure out how to exactly describe John.

"He's your friend that you have feelings for." her mother supplied.

"Yes," she agreed before realizing what her mother said. "Wait, I meant no."

"Jocelyn Renee don't you lie to your mother!"

Joss deflated when she got the 'mom' voice. "Yes, okay momma, yes, I like him more than a friend." she confessed softly. "Are you happy now?" she grumbled.

"I am now, knowing you, my spirited daughter, who is very picky when it comes to men is finally ready to move forward. I was so worried you wouldn't want to try again after Cal was killed. It took you a long time to let go of what happened with Paul to even try dating again." her mother said soothingly. "I just want you happy, sweetheart."

"I know momma, I love you so much." Joss whispered sincerely.

"I love you more than anything little girl." she said sweetly. "I know you worked today so I will let you go without hounding you for more details about this John."

"Thank you mom,"

"I'll save those questions for next Saturday." her mother assured and Joss harrumphed. "Bye sweetheart,"

"Bye mom," she responded.

Joss stood but froze as John appeared out of thin air not surprisingly since he was nearly here more than she was but what did surprise her was his attire. John stood there in jeans, a leather coat, and a smile.

"How's your mother?"

She barely registered what he said. Joss was far more interested in how good John looked in jeans and leather. But what he said hit her like a freight train. He asked her about her mother which meant he heard her on the phone! "Were you listening to my conversation?" she demanded as she realized he could have heard her tell her mother that she had more than friendly feelings for him.

"No. Well not really. I caught the end when you were hanging up." he admitted.

Joss internally did a victory pump that he hadn't heard anything. She was pretty sure telling John, or having him accidentally learn, about her feelings for him wouldn't go over well. He had just told her about Jessica just this week as he was bed ridden with a nasty stomach bug. It took three years just to get him to feel comfortable enough to tell her about why he really walked away from Jessica. There was no way in hell he was ready to move on quite yet and she didn't want the level of intimacy and the deepening of their relationship to be ruined because he felt the need to back pedal because of her feelings for him.

"How are you feeling?" she demanded flustered. It was if he was conjured up because of the phone call with her mother just to rile her up. But she was happy to see him since the last time she saw him he had fallen asleep after telling her about Jessica where she pulled up his comforter and left.

"I'm better,"

"You look better," she agreed, using the chance to take a good long onceover on John, who looked downright sexy in leather, before meeting his gaze head on. "No lingering illness?" she questioned further.

"No. I feel better Carter; you took good care of me." he reassured.

Joss smiled slightly. "Better than what you would have done for yourself." she muttered as she folded her arms over her chest. "So let me guess you need my help with something. No suit so that either means we are going undercover or going on a trip." she said.

"I do need your help but not with a number."

"Then what?" she asked.

Joss watched as a look of uncertainty appeared on his handsome face. "Well, you suggested I get a tree so I thought maybe you could help me pick one out and get some decorations. I haven't decorated anything since I was seventeen years old." he explained quietly.

She stared at him. "You're going to get a Charlie Brown tree?" she questioned making sure she heard him correctly.

"No, I want to get a tree; not a stick. Unless you changed your mind about wanting an invitation to my place now that you've seen it." he said, feeling nervous. Perhaps this was a stupid idea. His feelings for this woman were all over the map and he kept ping-ponging back and forth over whether or not denying his feelings were a good idea.

"Hell no, I haven't changed my mind! Are you nuts?—I'm getting an invitation to come over…finally. Let me get some shoes on and we can head out." she said quickly. She wasn't sure what the fact that he was getting a Christmas tree so she could come over on the holiday meant, if anything, but it meant something precious to her.

Shopping with John was an adventure all in itself, Joss decided. She was just grateful that they were back at his place decorating his new artificial tree that she suggested. John didn't have the time to take care of a real tree, like her. But just because she talked him into buying an artificial tree over a real one made shopping easier, no, because then he needed ornaments, lights, and garland. Joss added a stocking when he wasn't looking too.

By the time they were finished shopping she was pooped. It had been a long day at work and an even longer one with John shopping. The man was ridiculously slow!

But now they were finally back at his place decorating his brand spanking new tree and she couldn't stop chuckling at him. John was tall enough to put the star at the top without needing a step-stool of any kind. However watching him get the hang of putting lights on the limbs was cute. Twice he got wrapped up and she had to help untangle him. While he tried to figure out the lights she hung back and admired the view she received. Not often was John dressed in skin tight jeans and she wasn't wasting an opportunity to get a good look-see for anyone.

John stepped back and turned on the switch and the tree lit up. Joss smiled. "I think it can be seen from space," she commented jokingly. John went a little overboard with the lights.

"Maybe you were right the last set of fifty wasn't needed," he murmured with a sigh.

She scoffed. "I told you three sets ago they weren't needed. Thank god you didn't get a real tree the poor thing would be ablaze in a week," she retorted before ripping into one of the new boxes of multiple colored ball ornaments he bought. "But we need to hustle because it's getting past my bedtime and we only got the thing half finished."

John glanced at his watch and saw it was eleven at night. "Carter, go home, I can finish myself," he said as he hadn't realized time had flown. It seemed whenever they were together time flew by and he was always sad to see it end.

"I'll go home when the job is finished," she refuted as she began hooking the ornaments and handed two to John while keeping two for herself.

"Is there any technique to this?" he asked as he perused the tree and saw she had already put the two ornaments on.

Joss smiled. "No, especially not yours, since you don't have a theme or anything like that; you just put them on until you're happy with how it looks."

They quietly worked together and when they both stepped back they were happy with the result. "You know, with the ornaments on, it doesn't look so bright now." she said softly. "It's pretty."

He smiled as he looked down at her. "Thanks Carter I couldn't have done this without you."

She smiled back at him as she turned to grab her coat. "You could have but it might have really turned out like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree." she teased as she tugged her coat on and buttoned it up. "I look forward to seeing it on Christmas Day. I'll bring the dessert." she said.

John followed her to his door. "I could drive you home." he offered.

She waved him off. "I'll be fine taking a taxi, John," she said as he opened the door for her. "Stay out of trouble," she admonished as she stepped out of his apartment.

"You're my first call remember; we'll cause trouble together," he purred as he leaned up against the door. Joss couldn't help but chuckle at him. "Goodnight Carter, sweet dreams."

"Goodnight John," She responded then turned and walked away, with her hands shoved in her pockets, and he watched her until she disappeared from his view.