A/N: So sorry for the delay in updating! This is such a crazy time of year, but I intent to have this wrapped up before or on Christmas day. ) It's been hard to invest myself fully in this fic, so I'm not especially pleased with it. Methinks after the new year I will return to heavy-emotional stuff. :P Thank you for still reading! Same disclaimer mumbo-jumbo applies.

O Tannenbaum

"How are we going to get one of these things up to my apartment?"

Lindsay stood surveying the rows upon rows of fir trees that stretched on for acres. It seemed as if they had walked the entire lot searching for just the right one. The white pine in front of her was seemingly perfect - glorious with its fluffy spread of icy-green needles; no gaps or naked branches. It was only about six feet tall, large enough to make a presence, but small enough to transport. She could visualize it in the corner of her living room, covered with bright lights and sparkling tinsel. The question was, however, would it survive the two flights of steps up to her apartment? She looked to Danny, waiting for his answer. The whole list thing was his idea, after all.

"Erm," Danny stuttered. "Well, they have some nice artificial ones inside… in boxes. You know, small boxes… easy to carry. Just takes a few minutes to assemble it."

Lindsay shook her head. "How many Christmas songs talk about putting together a plastic tree? No, it's all about picking a real, live tree, and hauling it home." She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the crisp scent of balsam.

Danny shrugged, his trademarked sign of submissive agreement. They had managed to cover everything on the list thus far, so why stop now? 'Pick out a Christmas tree' was number nine. After the misfortune with the gingerbread, they had breezed through numbers five through eight: writing their names with glitter on stockings, handing out candy canes at the lab, buying a chocolate advent calendar, and making a centerpiece of holly boughs. "Okay, I guess we'll figure something out. You sure you don't want to look around more?"

"I like this one," she said with certainty.

"Okay, so now what?"

Lindsay brandished the hand saw supplied by the tree farm owner. "Now, we cut it down."

"Easy, Montana, you'd better let me handle that," Danny offered, extending his hand, but Lindsay clutched onto the saw possessively.

"What, because I'm a girl?" she chided. "How about we each take a side?"

"Deal." Danny squatted down to inspect the width of the trunk, then jerked his hand back in disgust. "Ugh. Sap!"

"I think a little sappiness is cute." Lindsay knelt next to him, firmly gripping one handle of the saw as he took the other.

For ten minutes they sawed back and forth, making little progress. Push, pull, push, pull. The knees of their pants were becoming soaked with melted snow. The only sounds were the grunts of effort and the slicing of the saw, until the rumble of an approaching motor punctuated the near-silence. Like a mythical mountain-man, out of the fog emerged one of the farmhands on an all-terrain vehicle.

"Stand back," he commanded, whipping out a power chainsaw. In a flurry of wood chips, the saw busted through the trunk and sent the pine toppling over. The man instructed them where to drag the tree for baling, then took off.

"I thought it's supposed to be all romantic and nature-loving, cutting down your own tree, but they don't even give you the chance," Danny huffed indignantly. "We were making progress." They each took a branch and began to drag their prize.

Lindsay smiled as they walked, warming at the image behind her of four footprints in the dusty snow. Hers and Danny's. Together. "So this is our Christmas gift to each other, right? Instead of stressing out over actual presents?"

"The tree?" Danny asked.

"Well, this. You know, celebrating. Doing stuff together." She reached over to poke him. "That way you don't have to shell out money for diamonds."

His response was a snort, and they gingerly continued tugging their chosen tree towards the building that served as the farm's headquarters. Dozens of other New Yorkers had made the journey to get their own towering monument of holiday tradition. Inside, the aroma or hot spiced cider mingled with that of fresh evergreen. Danny and Lindsay watched as their tree was put through a cylindrical machine, which clattered and whirred as it wrapped the tree into a tight bundle with twine.

"You're my hero for snagging the lab pickup," Lindsay said. Danny had used the truck to drive across town to deliver paperwork to Flack, then conveniently stopped to pick up Lindsay. After getting the tree to her apartment, he would return the truck back to the lab.

It slid into the bed easily; leaving no need for strapping it down. "We have to make sure every trace of pine needles is outta here," he warned. "Or Mac will have both our heads."

Lindsay spent much of the drive back to her apartment staring out the rear window of the pickup, gasping as the tree shifted at every bump and turn. Fortunately, a parking spot was available just outside her building, and they were able to finagle the fir through the front doors without incident. Next challenge: the stairway.

Danny took the heavier trunk end of the tree, while Lindsay held the top half steady as they ascended. They nearly jabbed one of Lindsay's neighbors as they blindly rounded the corner to the second flight of steps.

"Hi, Mrs. Winston!" Lindsay smiled sweetly, as if shimmying a six-foot tree up the stairs was an everyday occurrence. When she saw the familiar "203" of her front door, she couldn't have been more relieved… or exhausted.

"Umph," Danny muttered, shifting the weight of the tree from his right arm to his left while Lindsay unlocked the door. "There won't be any needles left on this thing."

Inside, they stumbled towards the Christmas tree stand Lindsay had set up earlier. It took three awkward, stabbing motions to get it inserted correctly.

"I got it in," Danny panted. "Now let's screw."

Both blushed and stifled laughter at the connotation of his words, then set to work busily twisting in the metal prongs which would secure the tree in an upright position.

"Let me take a look," Lindsay said, "and see if it needs to be straightened." She crossed to the over side of the room, critiquing the balance. "Hmm, it's a little crooked. Tilt it more to the left… no, not that far. Now go back to the right. There! Perfect!"

The towering pine had made it safely to its destination, filling the small apartment with its clean scent. As they stood side by side, Danny's arm resting comfortably around her waist, Lindsay spoke up. "I forgot to put 'decorating' on the list," she mused. "I don't have any ornaments."

"Well we can't just have a bare-assed tree," Danny pointed out. "Surely we can find something to spruce it up."

"Some pinecones," she suggested thoughtfully. "String popcorn. What else could we use?"

"Evidence swabs? My kit's still out in the truck."

Lindsay grinned. "Perfect."

Indeed, it was turning into the perfect Christmas.

Up next: Bells on Bobtails