Major Crimes was meeting for the last time before Christmas. This was a quick get together at Tom Wattson's bar. Andrea and Flynn were driving up to San Francisco afterwards to spend the holidays with her family. Their car was packed, and they parked at the bar.

Provenza was already there as was Sanchez. Sanchez always had a hard time at Christmas, knowing his little brother would not be there to celebrate. For the most part, losing him got easier, but Christmas was always a hard time. He loved Christmas so much.

Tao arrived next and then Sykes. The captain arrived and finally, Buzz who had been busy driving his mother to and from her bowling match. She had to leave early, since she got into a fight with another player and slapped her across the face.

"Maybe your mother should stop smoking weed," retorted Provenza.

"Weed did not cause her to slap that woman. It was probably the 5 cups of coffee she drank. Caffeine makes her anxious."

"She beat the Captain in caffeine consumption. That's impressive." Flynn teased.

"You know nothing about my caffeine consumption," Sharon responded.

"You are second in the tally, behind Provenza." said Tao. He kept a spreadsheet.

Both Provenza and Raydor glared at him.

"Maybe you should both switch to tea."

"If you try and push one more health craze on me Flynn…." Provenza started up again.

"Now, gentlemen, well Flynn and Provenza, calm yourselves." Sharon scolded.

"It's the caffeine that makes him so ornery," Flynn insisted.

"He was born ornery," responded the Captain.

"That's right," Provenza insisted.

The group recalled some of their finer and not so finer moments of the year, including many outbursts from Rusty, some of them quite warranted under the circumstances, many times that people avoided Baldwin or Rios, bizarre mandates from Pope and their first case that hadn't involved a murder at all.

Sykes took a liking to the spiked eggnog. Luckily, she didn't drive. Sharon was reserved as always. She only had one whiskey. Andrea didn't have to drive, so she had some gin and tonics. Tao had to leave early, since he and his wife had a long day tomorrow. She had several relatives coming in from Japan.

They said their fairwells and they dispersed.

Andrea fell asleep in the car. Flynn put on some jazz and started to drive.

Christmas Eve

Bobby had to go shopping. He had been too busy to get any gifts earlier. He left early to try and avoid the rush. Good luck with that. Sharon told him what she wanted, perfume, so that was easy. He knew Charlie would always accept money, so she was simple. He didn't really know Sammie too well, so he was thinking he'd get her a gift card or something from the liquor store. Rusty was easy. He got him a leather jacket and a scarf.

Crap! He had to get something for his sister and Fritz and Marcus. They were coming over tonight. He called her. She had been sleeping.

"What?" she grumbled.

"Merry Christmas to you too."

"Do you know how early it is?"

"Were you asleep."

"I wasn't awake."

"Well, what do you want for Christmas? I'm at the mall."

"Chocolate, and some Merlot is always appreciated."

"Done! What should I get Fritz and Marcus?"

"You can get them anything sports related. Fritz is a Dodgers fan. Marcus is a Colts fan. Marcus also collects fire trucks."

"Thanks."

"I'll see you later." Brenda hung up and went back to bed. She always was a sleepyhead.

Bobby finished his shopping and went home.

When he got back, Rusty was still asleep as was Charlie. Sharon and Sammie were watching A Christmas Carol on television, like they did every year.

Bobby went to wrap the presents and put them under the tree.

"You always plan ahead don't you," Sammie commented.

"I usually go shopping the day after Christmas. Everything's cheaper."

Sharon glared at him.

"What?"

Marcus was writing a letter to Santa, like he did every year. This year, he wished for his grandmother to get better. He stuck it in the mailbox.

Fritz was making breakfast. He made bacon and eggs with some toast. Marcus wandered downstairs. He was wearing his feet pajamas.

"Is Brenda still sleeping?"

"Probably. If she doesn't have to work, she'll sleep as long as possible."

"I heard that, and my stupid brother woke me up this morning."

"What did he want?"

"He asked me what I wanted for Christmas. He usually goes shopping the day afterwards."

"Were we supposed to get him something?" Fritz asked her.

"I already got him a case of beer. It's actually his beer, but he forgot it when he moved."

Fritz looked at her.

"What?"

"What about everyone else in the house?"

Brenda looked around. She grabbed a bottle of Chardonnay. "Sharon's set. Charlie always wants money, so I'll give her some. I don't really know Sammy and I can probably just give Rusty money too. Well, I'll give Sammie some money. I'll just write some checks."

"This is how you Christmas shop?"

"What?"

Marcus chuckled. He was amused by their exchange.

After breakfast, Fritz and Marcus went to the store to buy some presents.

Eliza and David were picking up his parents from the airport. They were flying in from Jamaica, where they had been on vacation.

David hadn't mentioned that Eliza was white. He wasn't sure how they'd react. His mother was clearly shocked, but they both came to like her quickly. She was very polite and her artwork was amazing.

They looked around her loft. She had decorated the place using white Christmas lights and gold ribbons and she made eggnog from scratch and had fresh cider she had gotten from an orchard.

This would be a relaxing holiday for all of them.

Andrea got to her father's house at about 6AM. She got bombarded by nieces and nephews. SHe had slept in the car, so she was somewhat awake. Flynn was ready to pass out. He brought in their bags and then fell asleep. His slumber didn't last long. The children found him and all started jumping on the bed. "Have you ever shot anyone?" they asked. "Tell us your stories!" He amused them for a little while and then Andrea came to his rescue.

"Who wants to help me make cookies?" They all came running. Flynn was eternally grateful.

He took a shower and changed. Eventually, he had to face the Hobbes crew. There was a knock on the door. It was Andrea's sister. The time came now.

"Don't be a stranger. We're all getting together downstairs." Flynn smiled and followed her. Why couldn't he just sleep? Mason, the family pit bull, wondered the same thing. The children all wanted to play with him when he had been content with sleeping on the tile. He amused them for a little while, chasing around the younger kids as they ran around the house. Eventually, however, he gave up the chase and fell asleep in the corner.

Andrea's mother was preparing a marinade for the brisket. She would slow cook it over night and reheat it for dinner tomorrow. Mrs. Hobbes was surprised that Andrea brought home a vegetarian, knowing how much she liked meat. "How is that going?" she asked.

"Very well actually. Flynn's a great cook."

"You call him by his last name?"

"Everyone does."

Mrs. Hobbes shook her head. Kids these days.

Fritz ended up just getting the kids gift cards. He got Sharon this macaroon making kit from William and Sonoma. She liked that kind of stuff. He couldn't believe Brenda was just going to give out money and random stuff from the house. Actually, he could. It sounded like Brenda.

Marcus ate as many free samples from the food court as he could find. He and Brenda were very similar. Sometimes, Fritz wondered if he was actually her son.

Jackie, Tommy and Rachel all had dinner at his place. It was surprisingly clean, Jackie told him.

"My roommate got evicted. It's been pretty clean ever since."

Rachel made some gimlets for the group. She was hoping that Tommy and Jackie would finally get together.

She nudged Jackie a little bit while Tommy was in the bathroom. "He's cute, isn't he."

"Maybe."

"Don't maybe me. It's clear you too like each other."

"And we work together."

"So. It's not like he's your boss."

"What if we break up?"

"What if you don't?"

Tommy came back and the girls started talking about clothes. He rolled his eyes.

"You know you like Jackie's outfits."

"They do show off a lot of leg," he admitted.

"They do not!"

"They do too," added Rachel.

Tommy laughed at her. Jackie threw a pillow at him. He tackled her and they started wrestling. They had a moment. She was on top of him, her hair dangling over his, their eyes locked together. Rachel did her best not to make a sound. Unfortunately, however, the doorbell rang. The two broke apart. It was carolers from the apartment building. They came to sing. They were actually quite good. Tommy offered them a beer. Some of the guys took one and they were off. Rachel cursed them in the back of her mind.