Chapter Six
"Mmm..." Mike commented through a mouth full of stuffed mushrooms. "These are delicious, Mrs. D."
"Yeah." Danny nodded, his mouth also full.
"Hey! Prancer! Dancer!" Ed barked, standing next to his wife and watching the two younger men work their way through the snack table, seemingly sampling everything. "Leave some for the rest of us, would you?"
"Relax, Eddie." Jillian smiled, resting a hand on her husband's broad shoulders. She whispered into his ear. "After last year, I made sure to make a double recipe of everything."
"Still." Ed grinned, turning towards her. "Can't you let me beat the crap out of them just once? You could say that it's your Christmas present to me."
"Not on the carpet." Jillian shook her head, "We just had it cleaned, remember."
"Okay." Ed nodded, turning back towards the group. "Danny! Mike! I need to see you two outside!"
"Eddie!" Jillian admonished, smacking her husband and sending Danny and Mike into a fit of laughter.
"What?" Ed replied, spreading his arms out innocently and glaring at Danny and Mike.
"Sucks that Casey couldn't be here." Delinda commented, rejoining Sam and Mary in a nearby corner.
"Yeah." Sam said sarcastically before taking a big drink of her cocktail. "My heart is just breaking!"
"You did give him his invitation, didn't you?" Delinda asked, suddenly thinking of a possible reason why the Montecito's owner wasn't there and mentally berating herself for putting Sam in charge of inviting him.
"Why wouldn't I?" Sam chuckled, casually taking another drink.
"Sam!" Delinda admonished, putting her hands on her hips.
"Relax, Dee." Mary reassured with a smile. "I took care of it."
"You what?" Sam exclaimed, glaring at the redhead next to her.
"You really thought that he would buy that his invitation accidentally fell into your shredder?" an incredulous Mary replied, looking right back at the brunette.
"No." Sam admitted with a smile, "That's when I was going to tell him that it was no accident."
"Hey, Mary." Danny asked, walking over just as Connell was about to reply. "Can I borrow you for a minute?"
"Yeah." she nodded, following her childhood best friend out into the hallway. "What's up?"
"Here." Danny grinned, pulling out a small, perfectly wrapped box from a pocket inside his jacket. "Merry Christmas."
"Danny, you didn't have to..." Mary started, taking the box from him.
"I wanted to." Danny shrugged.
"It's not a pet rock, is it?" Mary teased, looking into the man's eyes.
"No." Danny laughed at the memory from their childhood. "No, it's something much nicer."
Still smiling at her best friend, Mary carefully unwrapped the gift and opened the small, velvet box inside. A golden locket shaped like a heart awaited her.
"Oh, Danny..." Mary started before trailing off.
"You like it?" Danny grinned, slowly reaching over and opening the locket for her. Inside was a picture of a much younger Danny and Mary along with two other boys. "Check out the inside. You're always saying that thinking about us, Greg and Luis makes you smile, right?"
"Thank you." a tearful Mary said, throwing her arms around him.
"Don't mention it." Danny replied, hugging her back and kissing the top of her head. "And before you ask, the ladies at the mall were more than happy to wrap it for me."
"I was going to say." Mary commented before the two of them started to laugh.
"Okay, ladies and..." Ed announced a few moments later as Danny and Mary walked back into room with the gold locket now around Mary's neck. A playful twinkle appeared in Deline's blue eyes. "Well, ladies..."
"Ouch." Danny winced at his employer's insult.
"That's cold, Mr. D." Mike added, exchanging glances with Danny.
"Don't like it? Well, you boys know where the door is." Ed shrugged, "Anyway, if I could have your attention for a moment, I believe it is time to exchange gifts." As they all took a seat on the couches and loveseats in the room, he turned to his wife. "You want to play Santa?"
"Why not?" Jillian smiled, grabbing the bag everyone had put their presents into at the start of the party. She reached into the bag and pulled out a small box. "Okay, this one is to Sam from Danny."
"It's awfully small." Sam commented as Jillian handed her the gift.
"Size doesn't count for everything." Danny shrugged, putting an arm around Mary.
"That's right, Danny." Sam teased, winking at him. "Keep telling yourself that."
"Oh!" Mike exclaimed, putting a hand over his mouth. "She roasted you, man!"
"Can I break that rule about not hitting women?" Danny asked, rolling his eyes and looking towards Ed.
"You could." Ed nodded, "But then I'd have to do the chivalrous thing and whoop your ass."
"Come on, Sam." Jillian said, trying to regain some order. "Just open it."
"Okay." Sam sighed, tearing off the wrapping paper and opening the small box inside. Her dark eyes widened in surprise. "Wow!" Pulling out a silver pocket-watch, she looked up at Danny. "Are you sure that you gave me the right gift?"
"Yeah." Danny nodded, "I mean you're always checking your cell-phone to see what time it is." He shrugged his shoulders. "So I thought you should have something nicer."
"Thanks." an appreciative Sam smiled.
"Don't mention it." Danny waved off, returning her grin.
"Wow." a stunned Delinda said.
"What's up, Dee?" a curious Mike asked, turning to look at the blonde-haired woman across from him.
"Sam and Danny aren't fighting for once." Delinda pointed out.
"That is remarkable." Ed agreed, nodding his head.
"Definitely something to savor." Mary also chimed in.
"Shut up!" Sam and Danny exclaimed in unison, glaring at those around them, who started laughing.
"Okay," Jillian said after everyone besides Danny and Sam had taken a moment to get their laughter under control. The older woman reached behind the gift bag for one of the presents that had been too big to put in. "This is from Ed to Mary."
"Wow." Mary commented, looking at the size of the gift. However, once she tore the wrapping paper off, the redhead was puzzled. "A suitcase?"
"That's only part of your present." Ed explained with a big smile on his face. "The other part is that, in a few days, the Montecito jet is taking you to Europe for a three-day, all expenses paid shopping spree."
"Nice." Danny nodded in approval.
"Very nice." Sam and Delinda agreed, both hoping that they could go along with Mary.
"Oh, my God." a quiet yet appreciative Mary said, getting up from her chair, walking over and hugging Ed. "Thank you, Ed."
"You're welcome, sweetheart." Ed replied, hugging her back.
"Honey," Jillian said, tapping a nearby Delinda on the arm to get her attention. With her other hand, she held a huge gift-basket filled with various bath soaps and whatnot. "This is from Mike to you."
"Oh, wow!" Delinda squealed in delight. "Cucumber Melon! My favorite!"
"That must have been hard to shop for." Danny remarked as Delinda looked over what exactly was in the basket.
"Man!" Mike shook his head, knowing that Danny would understand. "You don't even want to know how many names they've got for soap!"
"You could have always gone the Victoria's Secret route." Sam shrugged.
"Excuse me." Ed interrupted, hoping that he hadn't heard Sam right. "What did you say?"
"Oh, God." Mike whimpered, feeling like a good, old-fashioned Ed Deline ass kicking was coming his way.
"Moving on!" a firm Jillian exclaimed, glaring at Ed, who, as a result, remained where he sat. "Michael, this is to you from Mary."
"All right." Mike replied, taking the box from Jillian and opening it immediately. "New clothes!"
"I especially like the shirt on the bottom." Mary commented, winking at Danny, even though he appeared to have no clue what she was talking about.
"Really?" Mike said, lifting everything else so he could see it. When he caught sight of it, the African American man's smile faded and he looked at Mary. "You don't really expect me to wear that, do you?"
"Wear what?" a curious Ed asked.
"Yeah, Mike." Danny agreed, "Let's see."
"All right, all right." a reluctant Mike agreed, holding up a black t-shirt that read "Danny Cooler than Me" in white lettering. "See? Ha, ha, ha."
"I like it." Danny nodded in approval, exchanging high-fives with Mary as the girls and Ed simply laughed.
"I think that you need to wear that around the Montecito, Mikey." Ed suggested, stifling his laughter for a moment. "Just for one day."
"I'll pass on that, Mr. D." Mike replied, knowing he'd never live it down.
"Speaking of passing," Jillian said, grabbing another gift too big for the bag and handing it to Ed. "This is to you, Eddie, from Sam."
"Well, let's see here." Ed said, flashing a smile at the raven-haired woman nearby before turning his blue eyes back to the gift at hand. "A whole new set of golf clubs? Thanks, honey!"
"I also managed to talk Tiger Woods into letting you play a round with him next time he's in town," Sam grinned, "And I threw in an extra nine-iron."
"Oh, yeah?" Ed asked, "Why?"
"So you have something hit Danny and Mike with." a casual Sam shrugged.
"Nice." Ed said with a mischievous twinkle.
"Thanks, Sam." a sarcastic Danny said, wincing as the thought of what Ed could do with that golf club entered his brain.
"Yeah." Mike agreed.
"No prob." Sam giggled.
"And last, but certainly not least," Jillian announced, grabbing an envelope out of the bag. "Danny, this is from Delinda."
"I hope you like it." an excited Delinda grinned.
"Black Eyed Peas tickets!" Danny exclaimed, opening the envelope. "How'd you get these, Delinda? I thought that the concert was sold-out."
"Well, I know how much you like them," Delinda shrugged, "so I pulled some strings." Seeing a quizzical look on Sam's face, she decided to clarify. "Fergie gave me her number last time they were in town. Once I told her that the tickets were for Daddy's "hot assistant", she more than happy to help."
"Sweet." Danny smiled, getting up and hugging the blonde woman. "Thanks, Delinda."
"You're welcome." Delinda smile back.
"All right." Ed announced, getting to his feet himself. "If you would all follow me into the family room, I have a special Christmas surprise for all of you." He kissed Jillian on the cheek. "And that includes you."
"Really?" a surprised Jillian asked as the group filled into the nearby family room. To their collective befuddlement, the only thing different was the fact that a giant screen had been set-up as well as a laptop computer and a video camera. "Eddie?"
"Take a seat, take a seat." Ed encouraged as everyone sat down. Grinning from ear to ear, he walked over to the computer. "Now, we all know that I'm not so good with this technological crap, but hopefully, this will work." As Ed hit a few keys on the keyboard, the white screen dissolved into the image of a young black woman who smiled widely at the group.
"Happy Christmas, everybody!" she greeted with a giggle.
"NESSA!" Mike, Delinda, Danny, Mary and Sam all exclaimed, recognizing their former co-worker who had spent the last year or so in hiding.
"How?" a stunned Jillian whispered, looking up at her husband.
"A few contacts tracked her down for me." Ed explained, wiping a tear of happiness away from his wife's cheek. For a good part of her life, Nessa Holt had been like a second daughter to the Delines.
"I can't stay too long for safety reasons." Nessa explained, looking around at the different members of the group. It was clear from her voice that she missed them all as much as they missed her. "It really is good to see all of you again though!" Her eyes fell on Ed. "Are you ever going to shave those whiskers off, Ed? They only make you look older!"
"Yeah, yeah." Ed chuckled, rubbing the stubble on his chin.
"Well, I happen to like them, Nessa, so..." Jillian started.
"Doesn't matter what I think then." Nessa nodded, her voice cracking as she addressed the woman who had been a mother figure to her. "I sure do miss your baking, Jillian."
"I'll make a batch especially for you when you come home, dear." Jillian promised, wiping away more tears.
"I was so sorry to hear about your father, Danny." a sympathetic Nessa said, turning her gaze towards the former Marine.
"Thanks." an appreciative Danny nodded, "Miss having you around."
"Yeah." Mary agreed from where she sat next to him.
"I hope you're keeping Sam in line, Mary." Nessa replied, "God knows that someone has to."
"Hey!" Sam exclaimed, wiping something away from her face.
"Was that a tear?" a stunned Nessa asked.
"A speck of dust." Sam lied, shaking her head.
"Whatever." Nessa rolled her eyes, which soon took on an apologetic look as she noticed who Sam was sitting next to. "Mike..."
"Like Danny said," Mike shook his head, knowing that Nessa felt the urge to apologize to him for leaving when they were just starting to discover how they felt about each other. "We miss having you around, baby girl."
"Yeah." Nessa nodded before turning to Delinda, her surrogate sister. "Oh, my God. Dee!"
"I'm sorry." a bawling Delinda said through her tears. "I can't help it!" Mike wrapped his arm around the blonde-haired woman. "I miss you so much, Nessa!"
"Oh, God." Holt replied, covering her face with her hands. When she dropped them, the Montecito crew could see that she too had started bawling. "Now you've got me started! DEE!"
"Tell you what." Delinda sniffed, still holding back tears. "When you come back, I'll buy you as many new pairs of shoes as you want, okay?"
"Only if we go on a shopping bonanza." Nessa replied, nodding her head.
"Deal." Delinda agreed, wiping her eyes.
"God." Nessa sighed, wiping her own eyes. "I wish that I could stay longer, but I have to go. They're not sure how secure this connection is."
"Godspeed, Ness." Danny replied, hugging Mary close to him.
"Yeah." Mike said as Sam coughed to disguise a sob that escaped her.
"Take care of yourself, honey." Ed instructed, smiling at the screen.
"And say hi to your Dad and Adanna for us." Delinda chimed in.
"I will." Nessa promised with a sniffle before the screen faded to white once more.
"You sure that I can't wake them up and kick them all out?" a sleepy Ed asked, looking at the five now-sleeping bodies that surrounded him and his wife in the family room.
"Only if you never want to go on another gondola ride." Jillian warned, raising her head momentarily and glaring at her husband. Sighing, she relaxed and rested it once more on his chest. "It's nice having a house full at Christmas."
"Yeah." Ed admitted with a nod. "Especially since it feels like, somewhere along the way, we've adopted a few kids the past few years." A chuckle escaped him. "Whether or not Danny and Mike are included in that depends on the day."
"Oh, Eddie." Jillian laughed, shaking her head. As her laugher subsided, she snuggled up to her husband and closed her eyes. "Merry Christmas."
"And to all, a good night." Ed agreed, reaching up and turning off the nearby light.
The End