-
Thanks for the reviews; it feels like Christmas has come early when I see others enjoying my story. Hope chapter 2 doesn't disappoint anyone. Some of the things in the story may be a bit farfetched for the characters to do, but it's only fiction.
-
-
Calleigh wasn't going to give up on getting Ryan to join them, but she also didn't want to miss out on their little party. She left Ryan to his work and told herself that she would come back if he failed to show up.
She walked into the break room and the party appeared to be in full swing. There were only 8 other people there but that was all that had been left when they were told not to leave. She walked over to Eric and Horatio who were both enjoying some punch, "Hey boys, I see you have found my special punch".
Eric took a sip and said, "We did and it's delicious. Did you by any chance add your special ingredients to this?"
"Now Eric, do you think I would put vodka in the punch while we were at work, what would Horatio say?" She winked at him before helping herself to cup as well. She had indeed put a little vodka in, but not enough that would cause anyone to get trashed; unless they drank the whole bowl.
Horatio had been standing next to Eric and had listened to his conversation with Calleigh, but after looking around the room he noticed someone was missing and had to ask, "Well it looks like everyone is here except Mr. Wolfe. Did you tell him about this?"
"Of course I did Horatio, but you know him and Christmas. He said he might join us later".
Horatio acknowledged her remark be nodding his head. He then headed over to the snack table.
Calleigh walked over to the CD player and turned up the Christmas music. She then turned to the group and raised her punch glass "Merry Christmas Everyone".
Everyone in the room raised their glass to Calleigh and shouted "Merry Christmas Calleigh".
-
-
The break room was not very close to where Ryan was working, but he could still hear the festivities going on and was having a hard time concentrating. He couldn't blame them for wanting to celebrate the holiday since they were all stuck together, but he wished they could do it a little more quietly.
As he was working on yet another test he heard the door to the lab open up. He looked up and was surprised to see Natalia wander in.
"Hi Ryan, Merry Christmas".
"Hi Natalia" was all he said back. Returning the sentiment was the last thing he wanted to do. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yeah, you can come and join us at the party. I know you don't like Christmas but it's really just a bunch of us hanging out and having fun. Surely you can handle that".
"Thanks Natalia, but I really have a lot of work left to do and I told Calleigh I would try and come later". He could see she was not buying the whole work excuse so to prove his point he went back to what he had been doing in hopes she would give up and leave.
Natalia walked over to where he was working, "What case are you working on anyway?"
Ryan sighed as he realized that he was not going to be able to get rid of her that easy, "I'm just finishing up with the case we worked on the other day. Some of the results had to be re-done before it could be introduced in court".
She wasn't buying it, but she didn't want him to stop in the middle of a test so she accepted his desire to be left alone, "Ok Ryan, but I expect to see you when you're done".
Ryan nodded his head and said, "I promise, now go have fun".
He watched her walk out of the room and went back to work. He just hoped that he would finally be left alone. Everyone knew Christmas was not his thing so I didn't understand why they were trying so hard to get him to join their party.
-
-
Natalia arrived back at the break room and was immediately greeted by Calleigh.
"Hey Natalia, did you have any luck with Ryan?"
She shook her head, "No Calleigh, he just fed me the same excuse he gave you".
"Oh well, we shouldn't let his mood put a stop to our fun. Some of us were just about to go on a scavenger hunt for gifts to pass out, wanna join us?"
"Sure, sounds like fun".
Calleigh, Natalia, Beth from second shift and Frank grabbed a few unused bags and went off in search of gifts. They figured a few trinkets from around the place were just want the party needed to keep it alive.
-
-
The first place the group arrived at was the supply room. "So, we have 10 people still here so I figured if we find at least two items for each then we need to find 20 things. We can use the paper from the recycling bins to wrap them up with". Calleigh took out a pen and paper and continued, "Ok, I figured that we should split up into two groups so that all of us can participate. Frank you go with Beth and check out what they have in the unclaimed items room while Natalia and I check out this supply room. Then we can switch so that you can have a chance to find some things in here as well and we'll go to where you were. That way we can all be surprised". She started writing down some names on the papers, "Ok, I am going to make up a list of 5 each for both teams, let's see, Frank you will get Natalia and me of course and why don't you take Jerry, Alexx and Todd. That leaves Horatio, Eric and Ryan and the two of you on our list".
Frank took the list from Calleigh, "Sounds good". He then turned to Beth and offered his arm and said, "Well my dear, shall we go on a scavenger hunt then?"
Beth took his arm, "yes we shall".
Calleigh smiled at the both of them as she watched them walk away humming Christmas tunes, "It's too bad Frank is already taken, the two of them would actually have made a cute couple".
Natalia agreed, "Yeah, but were here to play Santa Clause, not Cupid".
Calleigh laughed at her remark, "Yeah I know, but they are a cute couple".
-
Once inside the supply room Calleigh and Natalia started gathering up items that they thought the others would like. When they were done they found that Frank and Beth were on their way back and as both switched and went in the opposite directions Natalia whispered to Calleigh, "You are absolutely right, they do make a cute couple, and if I'm mistaken I thought I saw lipstick on Frank's cheek. You don't suppose something is going on do you?"
"Come on Natalia it's none of our business, but yes I noticed that also".
They two ladies proceeded to their next destination.
-
The room with all the unclaimed items was down in the basement so it took a few minutes for them to get there. Once they got there they were surprised by how much stuff was actually there. Since no one had bothered to claim the items they were up for grabs. Usually a couple times a year the station donated the items to a shelter or something, but no one would mind if they took a few things; after all it was for a good cause.
While they were looking through some boxes Natalia had to ask about Ryan, "So Calleigh, do you have any idea why Ryan hates Christmas so much?"
"I've tried to ask him, but he always manages to change the subject. He never goes home to his family so I wonder if it has anything to do with them".
"Well I can't imagine anything so bad that would make someone not like Christmas, but then again I don't know the whole story. I hope he joins us later".
"I do to. So, do you think Eric would like this?" She held up a rather ugly sweater for Natalia to see.
Natalia laughed as she said, "definitely".
-
-
When they were done, Natalia and Calleigh went back upstairs and joined Frank and Beth. They proceeded to gather up tape and paper from the recycle bins so they could wrap the gifts they had found.
Calleigh suggested they start wrapping as she went to tell the rest of the group to be ready for Santa Clause.
As she walked into the break room, she was disappointed to see that Ryan was not there yet. As she got everyone attention she said, "Well, Santa has arrived and we'll be opening presents soon, so don't go anywhere".
The group laughed as they watched her leave.
Horatio could tell she had been looking for someone in particular when she first came in the room and he knew exactly who it was she wanted to see. He put his punch down and decided to go have a talk with Ryan.
Eric noticed that Horatio was leaving, "Hey H, Calleigh said we should stay put".
"I need to take care of something first" was all that he offered Eric. He left the room without anyone else saying a word and went straight to the lab where he knew he would find Ryan.
-
-
Author's Note: Well hope you liked chapter 2. This story is not going to be super long but I still hope to get it finished before Christmas.