After the carolers left, Jackie and Tommy were careful not to get into the other's personal space. When Jackie went to the bathroom, Rachel confronted Tommy.

"When will you make your move?"

"What?"

"You're into her; she's into you. Everyone can see it."

Tommy turned red. "What if we don't work out, and I lose my best friend and my job. That's a lot to risk on an impulse."

"Trust me, Tommy. What you two have is more than just an impulse and if you two aren't purposefully jerks to one another, there's no reason to lose the friendship or the job. Just tread lightly, but do tread, because watching you two have eye sex constantly is kind of painful."

Tommy threw a pillow at her. Rachel fought back and they were at full blows by time Jackie returned. They saw her and each threw a pillow her way.

Jackie instinctively went after Tommy first and the two were again wrestling on the floor. This time, Tommy went for it. He pressed his lips to hers, hoping she wouldn't slap him or kick him away. At first she didn't move at all, was this really happening. When her mind shut off, her body took over, pulling him closer, as her lips opened and her body pressed to his. Tommy's hands slipped down to her waist and soft moans escaped their mouths as they deepened the kiss. Rachel slipped out and caught a cab. "Merry Christmas, indeed," she said as she returned to their apartment.

David's family always went to church on Christmas Eve. Eliza wasn't a regular church goer, but she wanted to be apart of the family tradition. This was the first time David had seen his pastor in a while, since his pastor told him not to show up for a month. The month past a while ago, but by then, he had met Eliza and had other ways of spending his Sunday mornings.

This service was unlike anyone Eliza had ever been to before. They had a gospel dance ensemble, spent almost half of the time in song. It was nice to see people so inspired and passionate. They all hugged one another and wished each other a Merry Christmas. People donated what they could, which for some people was only a few dollars and others had large checks, but the sentiment behind it all was amazing.

After the service, they recounted their favorite parts and Eliza learned the latest church gossip: who was getting divorced, whose child got into what kind of scandal. They made it back to the loft and they had dessert.

Eliza hadn't noticed, but Mrs. Gabriel was snooping through her art in progress.

"Get down from there," her husband hissed.

Mrs. Gabriel couldn't help but chuckle. Some of these sketches of her son were nudes. Mr. Gabriel went to see what his wife had been looking at and then he glared at her. "Let's go."

"It's pretty interesting."

Flynn was exhausted. He had kids jumping on him all day, wanting to hear all about his job, when he shot at someone, when he got stabbed, how he met the infamous Provenza. Andrea could see his fatigue and distracted the kids with the promise of cider while Flynn took a much needed nap. When he woke up, he saw the clock and realized he only had 15 minutes until dinner. He took a shower and changed and when he came downstairs, Andrea handed him coffee.

"You are a God send."

"Don't you forget it."

They shared a quick kiss before being seated for dinner. They had two tables: one for adults and one for the kids and Flynn thought this would spare him from being asked to tell stories forever, but it did not.

If it wasn't Andrea's sister throwing questions at him, it was Andrea's father.

"Have you ever been married before?"

"Yes, but we got divorced about 16 years ago."

"Any children."

"Three."

"Do you want anymore?" He asked.

"Dad," Andrea hissed.

"We haven't talked about it yet, but I wouldn't be opposed to it."

Flynn mostly managed not to step on any landmines. The food was quite good and after dessert, Andrea invited Flynn on a walk in the neighborhood.

"Well, you survived Christmas Eve dinner. Now you only need to survive Christmas dinner."

"Is that worse?"

"Imagine everyone plastered and even more food than tonight."

"How on Earth?"

"It's like Louis the XIV, never-ending food binge."

Flynn laughed. "Maybe I should have fasted today."

"I've done it before to survive family dinners." She was serious.

The two got much needed fresh air and some quiet after the craziness that is her house.

"So how mad are you for putting you in a house of loons."

"Are you kidding? My whole career has been surrounded by loons, and I'm glad I got to meet your family. It gave me some insight into you."

"How?"

"Seeing you around your family puts you in context. Everyone is effected by how they grew up. When I go back home to Jersey, it's clear how I became Flynn."

"Now I want to go to Jersey and see for myself."

"You will. How does this summer sound?"

"It sounds nice."

They shared a kiss and then went back.

Bobby was smoking a brisket for Christmas dinner. He was also going to smoke wings the next day. This would be quite a feast. Charlie had started on sourdough bread the week before, making a starter from scratch. They would have the perfect brisket sandwiches.

"I've never seen anyone make sourdough bread before," Sammie told her as she watched Charlie work.

"It's not difficult; it just takes a few days."

"I could get used to this, you spoiling me with all this food."

"I could get used to you spoiling me in bed," Charlie snickered.

Sharon pretended she didn't just hear that and spun around.

"Hi Mom," Sammie said, announcing her presence.

"Hey Sammie," Damn it you ruined my escape.

Sharon was glad to take a back seat in cooking for once. She was just making some apple pie and some vegetables, since she wanted some that weren't covered in brown sugar or butter.

Brenda and her family had a simple dinner at home. "Knowing Bobby, there will be a feast tomorrow, so I thought I light dinner would be best." Brenda made a caesar salad and spaghetti and meatballs.

After dinner, they let Marcus open one present and he got an autographed Peyton Manning helmet from his grandfather. "WOW!" He immediately ran it upstairs and put it on his shelf. He called his grandfather to thank him and to wish him and grandma a Merry Christmas.

Brenda smiled. "Why don't we go to bed early tonight?"

"I'm not sleepy."

"Neither am I."

Fritz picked her up and ran her up the stairs.

They kissed eagerly as the clothes came off. Brenda put on some music to mask their noisiness.

Fritz bit down on her neck, getting Brenda to yelp.

"Giving me a hickey, the day before Christmas. You're lucky my Dad's not coming."

Fritz smirked as he pulled Brenda under the sheets, his big hands roaming her flesh as she kissed him, nibbling on his lower lip. Fritz broke the kiss, exploring her from head to toe with his mouth before Brenda got impatient. "Do me!"

"You don't want any more foreplay."

"I'm good."

"Are you sure?" Fritz teased.

"FRITZ!"

Fritz smiled and pushed himself into his awaiting wife.

"OH GOD!"

His hips started to move slowly at first, drawing out Brenda's frustration as she moaned and hissed. Over time, he started to thrust faster and deeper inside her, Brenda's nails digging into his back as he drove her wild. Her teeth sank into his shoulder to mask her scream as her body trembled in a rapturous pleasure. He was soon to follow and they collapsed in bed.

"Merry Christmas, Fritzi," Brenda said as they basked in the afterglow.

"Was that my present?" He asked mockingly.

"Shut up! Or I'll take your present back."

"Since sex isn't refundable, you must have gotten me something else."

Brenda rolled her eyes.

Christmas Day

Jackie had spent the night at Tommy's. They didn't have sex or get past second base, but they slept in the other's arms. The sunlight pierced his window, waking both of them up as they looked at one another.

"Merry Christmas to me," Tommy mumbled as he gave Jackie a kiss.

Jackie rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair. "We have to get a move on."

"Why can't we just stay in bed all day or at least for another hour?"

"I have to shower, change my clothes, and I never did give Rachel her present."

"When did she leave last night?"

"I think she snuck out while we were kissing on the floor."

Eventually, they got up and Tommy drove Jackie home.

Rachel was making pancakes.

"Now this was the perfect time to come over," Tommy said as Jackie headed for the shower.

"I'm surprised you two didn't just stay in bed," Rachel retorted.

"I wanted to, but then I'd be missing out on your famous red velvet pancakes. Also, I brought over the present I got you, since I failed to remember yesterday."

"So are you two official?"

"We're figuring it out."

"What are you going to do when it's time to get back to work."

"I don't remember the policy on fraternization. I'll have to look it up, but we'll keep it professional."

"Humph! You weren't professional before."

"Haha!" Not that Rachel could talk. She was pretty sure hooking up with an FBI agent's wife was frowned upon.

Eliza was online looking at churches. She was inspired to do a gothic/biblical collection to follow the one she had for David. She started jotting down ideas. She thought about doing a sculpture with Gabriel as a deacon and using it as a bridge from her current collection into the new one.

As usual, David was sleeping as she worked. His parents were in a hotel down the street. They would be coming over for breakfast and to open presents. After that, they would be volunteering at the soup kitchen.

David eventually woke up and he helped Eliza get started on breakfast.

The Howards opened their presents together. Marcus got a binder from his grandmother. It was filled with letters from all his family and friends and photos that they took. It was perfect. He called her to thank her and they chatted.

Fritz loved his leather jacket and the Lakers tickets that his wife got him. Marcus got him some coffee and donut mix. "He does know the way to an agent's heart."

Brenda got a negligee from her husband. "Isn't this really a present for you?" she said with a laugh. She also got a certificate for a day at the spa and some earrings.

Marcus came back and opened the rest of his presents: x-box, games, clothes. He said his thank yous and headed upstairs to call his friends in Indiana.

Pope spent his Christmas with his dog, Molly. He had a meal catered for him which would be coming at 6PM, and he even got a steak for her. His kids were with Estelle for the holiday and they went skiing with her and her new boyfriend. The chap she had originally left Pope for was long gone.

Pope had his spiked eggnog, television, and he had already taken Molly on a Christmas walk through the park.

It was old movies to start and then football!