A/N: Hey-o, this is AC, with the next part of CIB for y'all. Thanks so much for the Awesome reviews & the usual disclaimers apply: AJ's mine, Beth is LB's, & anything else you recognize is, well, not ours. Enjoy!

The gift giving continued for a while longer, and then Ellie declared it time for gingerbread cookies and karaoke to close out the night.

"C'mon, Ellie, can't we do something else this year?" Morgan said. "You know I can't sing!"

"We cannot. It's tradition!"

Beth and Sarah exchanged looks. "Christmas Karaoke?"

Chuck elaborated, "We got a new karaoke system for Christmas a few years ago and since then it's become tradition to pull the old machine out and sing a few tunes. Don't worry; it'll be fun."

Chuck setup the system, then asked the room at large, "So who's going first?"

Casey glared around the room, while Sarah made sure not to make eye contact with anyone. AJ looked to Chuck, who turned to Beth, who in turn looked at Morgan. Morgan looked at everyone looking back, and asked, "What?"

"Well buddy, someone's gotta start singing; since you've done it before, why don't you start?"

He shrugged his shoulder and grabbed the mike. "Alright, prepare to be amazed!"

AJ watched him strut around the living room as part of his 'warm-up'. "What song are you choosing?"

"Hmmm, I don't know. How about you just hit 'random', Chuck?"

Chuck did as he was told, and everyone watched the machine processing the request, stopping on 'I've Got You Babe.'

Eyes wide, Morgan said, "I can't sing that! It's a duet!"

"No problem," Beth said, shoving AJ forward. "AJ can sing with you."

AJ blushed red. "But-but-I don't know the words!"

"Words are on screen, Abbott."

AJ shot a half-glare at Casey while Beth chimed in.

"John's right—don't worry, you two will do great!"

Cursing God, Allah, Zeus, and whatever other deities she thought of, she took a breath and turned towards Morgan. "Well Morgan, or should I call you Sonny?"

"Ready when you are, Cher," he said.

AJ nodded for Chuck to start the song, and started mumbling the opening lines, "They say we're young and we don't know, we won't find out until we grow—"

"—well I don't know if all that's true, 'cause you got me, and baby I got you," Morgan continued, his eyes fixed on the screen. "Babe—"

Turning to Morgan, AJ joined in, "I got you babe, I got you babe."

Jolted by the other's encouraging cheers, AJ went on with a bit more confidence, "They say our love won't pay the rent, before it's earned, our money's all been spent—"

Picking up steam, Morgan sang louder, "I guess that's so, we don't have a pot, but at least I'm sure of all the things we got. Babe—"

"I got you babe," they both sang loudly, now grinning at the absurdity of it all. "I got you babe!"

They finished the rest of the song in the same fashion, holding hands and taking a bow after the song ended.

"So, since this duet was your idea," AJ said, "Beth and Casey next."

Casey growled, but Beth jumped up. "Bring it on!" Grabbing Casey by the hand, she all but pulled him in front of the screen.

AJ nudged Sarah. "Someone's a bit excited," she said with a wink.

"That's for sure. Though," she said in a whisper, "Casey doesn't look to be complaining."

"Hey Beth, what song will you guys sing?"

She shrugged at Morgan's question. "Any preference, John?"

He grunted. "Nope. Don't care."

"Alright then…let's see…oh! That one!"

Chuck stopped on the song with some confusion. "Baby's got her Blue Jeans On?"

"No, the one after that—Baby It's Cold Outside. Granted, Baby's got her Blue Jeans On is a great song, but it's not a duet. That alright with you, sugar?"

He grunted in approval, and Chuck started the song. Beth started to dance with the introductory notes, while Casey rolled his eyes.

"I really can't stay—" John's voice joined in, "—Baby, it's cold outside."

"I've got to go away—""—Baby, it's cold outside."

"This evening has been—""—been hoping you'd drop in."

"—so very nice," "I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice."

Beth grinned; the song was the perfect choice for John's voice. Did she find it a little humorous it was technically a seductive Christmas song sung between roommates? A bit. Her voice was clear, and with Casey's strong baritone voice chiming in, the rendition was decent. They sang the second verse through until the instrumental interlude happened. No one, not even Beth, expected it when John uncharacteristically yet masterfully spun her around. After letting out a gasp of surprise, she danced 30's style with John and because of it, almost missed the next intro. Beth snatched a drink of water during the second dance break, with Casey coming into the song at, "Brr, it's cold,"

"It's cold out there," Beth echoed.

"Can't you stay awhile longer baby?"

"Well…I really shouldn't, but…alright,"

Beth couldn't help but notice how rich John's voice was as he sang, "Make it worth your while baby," and couldn't help but silently agree with the last line of the song as she sang, "Ah, do that again."

Neither seemed to notice they had moved closer as they sang the song, both of them ending the song looking and singing to each other, rather than the lyrics onscreen. Sarah's slow clapping brought them back. The rest of the team joined in, and Beth curtsied while John grunted.

"Alright, Sarah, since you started the clapping, you and Chuck can sing next. Don't give me that sick look—it's just karaoke. Have fun with it!"

She accepted the microphone from Beth without comment, and signaled for Chuck to pick the song.

Shuffling through the selections, Chuck picked out a song, then moved to stand next to Sarah and wait for it to start. Beth noted he wasn't standing quite as close to Sarah as he usually did.

The title of the song, "The Time of my Life" flashed on the screen before Chuck started off the song strongly, "Now I've had the time of my life, no I never felt like this before, yes I swear it's the truth, and I owe it all to you—"

He turned to Sarah, in time to hear her sing, "'Cause I've had the time of my life, and I owe it all to you," with an undeniable sincerity in her voice.

Stepping a bit closer to her, Chuck sang on, "I've been waiting for so long, now I've finally found someone, to stand by me—"

"We saw the writing on the wall, as we felt this magical fantasy—"

"Now with passion in our eyes, there's no way we could disguise it secretly, so we take each other's hand, 'cause we seem to understand the urgency—" As they sang, Chuck and Sarah really did take each other's hand, making the girls smile and Casey grunt in disgust.

They held hands throughout the rest of the song, and when they reached the final chorus they both leaned into each other. "'Cause I had the time of my life, and I've searched through every open door, till I've found the truth, and I owe it all to you," they whispered to one another, ending the song with a kiss.

When they remembered they weren't alone, Sarah said hastily, "Ellie, Devon, your turn."

Devon and Ellie both stepped up with the same eagerness. "Alright babe, are you ready to make this awesome?"

"Always. Chuck, we'll be singing "Islands in the Stream".

"Isn't that a sung by the woman with really huge—"

"Eyes! That's what you meant, isn't it, John?" Beth said with a slight nudge to the ribs. He grunted, and Beth elaborated. "Islands in the Stream, number one karaoke duet—originally sung by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. Arguably the best duet they've ever done." At the others' looks, she grinned bashfully. "Sorry, it's country. And if I know one thing, it's country music."

"Awesome," Awesome commented while readying his mike. "Ready babe?"

"Always."

The music started, and Awesome's voice resonated around the room, "Baby, when I met you there was peace unknown, I set out to get you with a fine tooth comb, I was soft inside, there was somethin' going on,"

The gang's mouths collectively dropped; well, Morgan and Chuck's did. Sarah's eyes rose in a 'what the heck' gesture and AJ was biting her knuckles to keep from laughing. Casey, as a former choir boy, winced, and Beth bit her lip—she wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry. Awesome was decidedly unawesome with is singing—his tone was flat, and his voice wavered. Ellie joined in, singing in harmony with Devon, "You do something to me that I can't explain, hold me closer and I feel no pain, every beat of my heart, we got somethin' goin' on."

Then Awesome sang, "Tender love is blind, it requires a dedication," Ellie joined, "Needs no conversation, we ride it together, ah-ah, makin' love with each other, ah-ah"

Both sang, "Islands in the stream, that is what we are, no one in-between, how can we be wrong, sail away with me to another world and we rely on each other, ah-ah, from one lover to another, ah-ah."

They continued the song, Ellie's light soprano overtaking Devon's off-pitch tenor. Even though he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, the sincerity of his words couldn't be questioned. They shared a secret smile while singing, and when the song was over, happily kissed.

"Ellie, I didn't know you had such a nice voice," Beth commented to Ellie as they took their places around the living room.

AJ murmured to Morgan just out of the others' earshot. "I didn't know Awesome had such an unawesome voice."

"I'd blocked it out from last year," he admitted quietly. "I'm not sure, but I think he might have actually gotten worse."

LB here to say...let us know whatcha thought! :) Reviews are like music to our ears!