The next morning was so cold that Megan didn't want to get out of bed. Despite having a career on and dealing with ice, she preferred the sunny and warm climate of her hometown in Mexico. She hadn't been there since she was five, when her parents had moved them to the States. But it was times like this that she really wished for the humidity and sun.

"Tia Megan!" Katelyn cried as she burst into her room and turned the bed into her personal trampoline. Megan grunted, but sat up, watching the small girl in her Santa cap. "It's Christmas! Get up so we can open presents. Tool's making coffee. So get up!"

"I'm up." Megan sat up, running her fingers through her hair. It was always a tangled mess in the morning. She stretched and stared at her niece, who was staring right back.

"Are you really up?" Katelyn asked.

"I'm awake and I'm talking, aren't I?"

"Doesn't mean you're really up. Now, get up." She jumped off the bed and grabbed Megan's prosthetic leg, which she had propped up against the nightstand last night. Megan slung her one full leg over the bedside and scooted to the edge of the mattress. With a little help from her niece, she managed to strap the leg on and stand. She was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a shirt that said ARMY on the front. One of Cougar's he'd left at her place during laundry one time and he hadn't really bothered to claim again.

Katelyn moved behind Megan and pushed her into motion. "Come on," she pouted. "The others are already downstairs by now."

Megan gave the small one a smile, but wasn't really looking forward to facing Clay after what had happened last night. He thought her emotions were in the way, but she knew what Max was like and if he'd sent Adam, knowing that she would be there and pass on the message, she damn well paid attention. Max wouldn't attack on Christmas. Adam said it was because he was in the Christmas spirit. The excuse was laughable, but did bring up the question of what Max was planning. Was he playing with them before pulling something really nasty? That would be Max's style.

"Aunt Megan," Katelyn said, pulling Megan's hand and out of her thoughts. "If you don't hurry, Uncle Jake's going to steal your coffee."

Megan laughed, grabbing her bathrobe as she followed the bouncing child out of her room. Katelyn thought that Megan couldn't function without her coffee and using it as leverage would get her aunt to move faster. Sometimes it was true. Today was one of those days.

"Whoa," she said as Katelyn hurried them toward the stairs. Megan pulled her back. "I'm just as eager to get downstairs as you are, but you have to remember I can't do stairs too well. Let's use the lift."

Katelyn sighed but stepped into the lift and waited for Megan to get in before hitting the button for the bottom floor. The metal rattled as it lowered the occupants down, but was soon overshadowed by someone's awful version of 'Feliz Navidad'. The lift stopped and Katelyn jumped out, leaving Megan to step off at her own pace onto the floor. She looked around and saw Jake, Cougar, Delilah, and Tool already up and enjoying their morning coffee as Katelyn darted around the tree. The person who had been singing was Jake and he was still singing while trying to do a sexy dance. Badly. And to Cougar, who was trying to hide his amusement behind a frown.

Jake was a clown and hardly ever took anything seriously, but that was something Cougar needed sometimes. He'd once smiled all the time, but then their papa had died and Cougar had decided he should take care of his family. Megan had learned of her brother's intentions and couldn't have stopped him from enlisting in the Army if she'd wanted to. He'd been determined and she and Mama supported him. However, he became more serious and smiled less as time went on. He would never say what he did, but Megan knew that it was dangerous. She'd worried about him until he came home on leave once and had greeted her with a bear hug that had swept her off her feet. She'd been shocked but happy that he'd changed. He'd talked about his new teammate and how he got into so much trouble, but also of how the man had saved Cougar's hide more than once. He'd even given Cougar the cowboy hat that he rarely took off. Megan hadn't seen her little brother so animated in such a long time and couldn't wait to meet this Jake character. On his next leave, she'd finally had the chance to meet Jake Jensen. She could instantly understand what Cougar saw in him and had welcomed him, with his big mouth and energy. Jake soon made himself a regular in the Alvarez family over the next few visits.

Jake finished his rendition of the song, grinning like an idiot. Cougar raised an eyebrow as Delilah laughed at her brother. "So?" Jake asked. "What do you think?"

"Your accent is terrible," Megan said, walking over to the coffee maker. "And where did you learn to dance?"

Jake turned, pouting. "I thought my accent was sexy. It matched my dancing."

"If that was sexy, it's a wonder what your love life is like," she said, pouring herself a cup of the black gold.

Tool chuckled, giving her a bright smile. Jake shook his head and said, "You didn't notice? I got those from your old skating tapes." Cougar quickly raised his mug to his lips and tilted his head so the brim of his hat covered his face. Megan wasn't fooled; she knew he was trying to hide his laughter.

"Do I have to get everyone else up, too?" Katelyn asked. Her eyes kept darting back to the colorful presents that were under the tree, eager to dig in to the boxes.

Delilah shook her head. "I'll get the others up," she said, walking out of the room quickly. That was probably a good idea, since it was most likely that Barney and Lee were probably in bed together and Clay and Aisha were definitely sharing a bed. Best to let an adult get them up.

"Can I open presents now?" Katelyn asked.

Tool reached out and grabbed the bouncing girl, hauling her up onto his lap. "You, little lady, need to calm down. You're as bad as your uncle."

"I'm not that bad," Jake said, frowning slightly. He paused then looked at Cougar. "Am I?"

Cougar took a long sip of coffee before saying, "You have a lot of energy, amor."

Jake smiled and leaned close to his partner. "I love it when you speak Spanish." Cougar smiled a bit as Jake kissed him. The blonde pulled back and licked his lips. "When you talk with that sexy accent, it makes me want to take you back to bed and-"

"Not in front of the young one," Megan said, making both the men look at her. "And I really don't need to hear that about my little brother, Jake."

"Like what you said about you and Gunnar last night?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What did she say?" Katelyn asked, the new topic capturing her attention.

"Nothing, chica," Megan said, smiling at her niece. She turned a sharp glance to her brother and his husband.

"They're talking about our poker game last night," Tool said. "Megan and Gunnar were joking around. They looked like a cute couple."

Katelyn raised an eyebrow at him then turned to Megan, tilting her head to the side as she thought the idea over. "I can see it."

Megan blinked. Her niece thought she and Gunnar were a good match? "Was it because of the bedtime story we told you?" she asked.

"No," Katelyn said, shaking her head. "You two work. It's...hard to explain."

"Where is Gunnar?" Megan asked, changing the topic.

"Up early this morning," he said, walking through the front door with a bag in his hand. He set it on a nearby counter and pulled the scarf away from his neck. "Delilah asked me to grab a few things. It's like she never stops baking."

"Like you're one to complain," Delilah said, walking back into the room, followed by a groggy Lee. "You pack away more cookies than anyone else."

Gunnar shrugged. "I'm a growing boy."

"You grow anymore and you'll be knocking your head on the doorway," Barney said, making his way to the coffee pot.

"At least you'd know when I was around," Gunnar joked. Megan studied him. He was in higher spirits than last night. That was good. He caught her looking at him and gave a slight smile. He walked over to her. "Morning."

Megan shivered at the cold that still clung to Gunnar's clothes. "A cold one."

Gunnar brushed some snow off his shoulder and took the coffee mug from her, taking a slow sip as his gaze locked with Megan's. He lowered the mug, licked his lips, and put it back in her hands. "Thanks," he said.

"You could have gotten your own, you know," she said. "The coffee's right there."

"Without a taste of you, it's not worth it."

Megan rolled her eyes and saw Clay pouring himself some coffee. He was dressed in a wife beater and wrinkled pants he must have only just pulled on. He looked up, as if feeling her gaze, and paused. He turned back to his coffee. He was still upset, but something in his manner said they wouldn't talk about their argument today.

"Now that everyone's up, can we please open presents?" Katelyn asked, practically bouncing in Tool's lap as she watched the presents with eager eyes.

Delilah sighed. "I'm guessing we can't hold off any longer," she said. "Release the Katelyn."

Tool chuckled, but eased Katelyn onto the floor. She raced over to the tree, digging into the presents. Delilah brought out some biscuits and rolls from the basket Jolene had sent and put it on a long table Barney had set up a few moments after coming into the room. Lee put a few chairs around the table and Megan sank onto one to get the weight off her leg. She watched Katelyn pick up two presents and run over to Clay and Aisha. She handed them each one.

"Thanks, squirt," Clay said, giving her a small smile. The little girl grinned before rushing back to the tree. She grabbed a few other presents and passed them out. She got to Megan and put a thin present on her lap.

"Playing Santa, are you?" Megan teased.

"Ho, ho, ho," Katelyn said in a mock deep voice.

The others opened their presents while Megan sipped her coffee.

"A new pouch of my favorite tobacco," Tool said, smiling at the gift. "How'd ya know, darlin'?"

Delilah chuckled as Katelyn puffed out her chest with pride. "Go get one of your own presents, dear," she said. Katelyn went back to the tree and looked at the presents. Delilah handed a roll to Megan and sank down in the chair next to her. "Do you remember when you had that much energy on Christmas morning?"

Megan chuckled. "That seems so long ago. I couldn't even get out of bed this morning without Katelyn threatening my coffee," she said.

Delilah smiled. "Heaven forbid if she starts drinking coffee." The two women laughed.

"What's so funny?" Katelyn asked, holding a shiny green box in her arms. Delilah and Megan looked at the little girl then laughed again.

"Don't worry about it, kid," Gunnar said. "Women are strange."

Katelyn shrugged and opened her present. She reached in and pulled out a thick black vest. She turned it this way and that, staring at it. "What is it?"

Megan looked over and looked around at the others. "All right. Who gave my niece a bulletproof vest?"

"They did what?" Delilah asked, looking at her daughter. She picked up the vest and looked at the others.

"You never know when she might need one," Jake said.

Delilah shook her head. "Jake, could you just keep the presents to ones that a normal girl can use?"

Gunnar laughed, drawing his cousin's attention to him. "If you haven't notice, Del, Katelyn isn't a normal girl."

Katelyn took the vest from her mom and pulled it on, strapping herself into the garment. She turned a bit and bent down to touch her toes. She straightened and smiled. "I like it."

Megan smiled empathetically at her sister-in-law. "Delilah, it's just a present. You know the saying. 'Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.' Katelyn can put it with the knives and brass knuckles she got for her birthday."

Delilah sighed, sinking down next to Megan. "I can't understand some of Jake's presents."

"He's protective." Megan watched Katelyn pretending to be a ninja in her new vest. "In their line of work, things happen. People they care about get hurt. Jake just wants Katelyn to be safe when he's not here. All of us who love her want that. Though I might agree with you on the presents. She's going to grow out of that vest in no time."

"It can be resized," Jake said. He'd been listening to their conversation while Katelyn had been showing off her vest to the others. He looked a little down, his ego deflated a bit from his sister's words.

Delilah smiled at her brother. "It's fine, Jake," she said, squeezing his hand. "I'm just concerned. This wasn't exactly the life I was thinking of when we were little."

"You're telling me. I wanted a large room I could turn into my own massive computer cave for the best game system ever. Now I only get one laptop at a time."

"Tia Megan," Katelyn said, running up to her. She looked at the table and said, "Why haven't you opened your present? Everyone's already on their second present. You have to keep with the pattern."

Megan smiled and picked up the thin rectangle box. She pulled the blue ribbon off and dropped it on the table before pulling the top off. Inside was a pair of silver earring bobs and a matching silver chain necklace. Megan wasn't big on flashy jewelry, preferring the simple styles more than not. Megan turned the box lid over so she could see whom it was from. She smiled at the name.

"That's pretty," Katelyn said, watching Megan put the earrings in. "Who's it from?"

"My mama," Megan said, clasping the necklace around her neck. "She likes to send something personal to her family."

"It doesn't look like much."

Megan smiled at her niece. "Sometimes the greatest gifts are the ones that aren't flashy or expensive, but the one with the most heart," she said.

"Wow," Jake said. "That's deep…Did you get that off a bumper sticker?" The others laughed at the two. Megan rolled her eyes and tossed a biscuit at Jake. He caught it and took a huge bite. "Thanks. I was starting to get hungry."

Delilah gently nudged her daughter's shoulder. "Why don't you go pass out some more gifts, dear?" Katelyn nodded and went back to the tree. The rest of the morning was passed with presents, jokes, and breakfast. The radio played Christmas music in the background but hardly anyone paid it any attention. By noon, the presents were unwrapped and the coffee was almost gone.

"Better make another pot," Tool said, getting to his feet. He puffed on his pipe as he headed to the upstairs kitchen. "Want to help me, little lady?"

Katelyn looked up from her new sketchbook and jumped to her feet. "Sure. Will you look at my drawings?" They stepped into the lift and started up.

"Hey," Gunnar said, sitting down next to Megan. She turned to look at him and smirked a little at the temporary tattoo on his left cheek.

"Nice tat," she said.

Gunnar gave his own smirk and shrugged. "I don't care how tough you are; if a little girl asks to give you a cartoon Santa tattoo, you sit down and let her."

Megan gave a nod. She'd let Katelyn do similar things to her because of that logic. Gunnar put a thin box in front of her. She gave it a questioning look. "What is this?" she asked.

"They call it a present."

"I know that. Why did you get me a present? On that note, when did you get me a present?"

"This morning."

"Trying to woo me, are you, Gunnar?" she asked, smirking a bit.

He gave his own smirk. "Just open it."

Megan set her coffee on the table and worked the lid off the box. Inside was a thin rectangle block of polished wood about the size as her hand with the Expendables' symbol of a skull and crow boldly displayed on the front. Megan picked it up and noticed it was attached to a long silver chain. She pulled the whole thing from the box, turning it over in her hands.

"Thanks," Megan said. "But-"

"It gets better," Gunnar said, reaching out for the necklace. Megan handed it over and Gunnar gripped the bottom of the wood. He gave a slightly sharp pull and the wood detached to slide a long thin blade from its hiding place. It looked sharp enough to do some real damage and was polished to a shine. Megan had a great appreciation of knives, as well as guns, thanks to her exposure to the Expendables and Losers, so it was no surprise when her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She reached out and took the blade from him and turned it over in her hands. Everything about it was beautiful.

She looked at Gunnar, who was grinning like an idiot. "This can't be for me."

"All yours."

Megan leaned forward in her chair and kissed his cheek, lingering a few seconds. She turned her head a bit so her lips were next to his ear. "If this is to get into my pants, it's a good start." She pulled back and smirked before slowly sliding the knife back into the hidden slot. Gunnar had a smirk of his own and looked to be about to say something, but Clay appeared next to them.

"Can I talk to Megan for a moment," he asked.

She looked up at the colonel and his expression of trying to suck up his pride to talk to her. Clay wasn't one to suck up his pride, being an officer and everything. Megan looked at Gunnar and said, "Hey, Guns, could you get me a refill, por favor?"

Gunnar paused, but grudgingly got up, grabbing her mug before walking off. Clay took the vacated seat. He ran a hand over his stubble and shifted in his seat. Megan let him have his moment to get over his nerves. After a few moments, he met her eyes. "About last night….Megan, it's important for you to know that I'm sorry for snapping at you."

She blinked at his words. Clay didn't apologize lightly, if ever. So why…Megan raised an eyebrow. "Did Cougar tell you to apologize?"

Clay frowned. "You think I'm not genuinely sorry?"

"Clay," Megan said, "I know you. I've known what kind of person you are since the moment I met you. You don't apologize very often, so I do know you are truly sorry for losing your temper and yelling at me. I get that. But I'm pretty sure you wouldn't actually be saying it so straightforward if someone hadn't nudged you in that direction."

The colonel smiled a bit and nodded. "Your brother made a very persuasive argument that I should apologize."

"He threatened to call up one of your psycho ex-girlfriends and tell her you were still interested, didn't he?" Megan said.

Clay sighed and nodded. "Jensen's been rubbing off on him a bit too much."

Megan chuckled before she slowly turned serious. "Clay," she said. "I'm sorry, too. I should have told you about the encounter when I got back, but I-"

"Didn't want to spoil our Christmas," Clay said.

Megan shook her head, leaning in closer. "I was scared, Clay," she said in a lowered voice. "When Adam grabbed me and threatened everyone…I froze. I couldn't do anything and I was scared." The colonel blinked at the admission, surprised she would tell him something like this. "Because Max sent Adam, I believed he would leave us alone for Christmas and, yes, I didn't want to spoil your only shot at a break from your Max hunt. You know what Adam was and is to me. Max knows this and what better way to mess with us than to have Adam stir things up?"

"You think Max sent Adam, knowing you'd react this way?"

"From what I've learned about Max, I wouldn't put it past him. It sounds like his sort of twistedness." Clay became quiet, staring off into space as he absorbed the new information. Megan reached out and put her hand over his, bringing his attention back to her. "Please, Clay. Don't think about this until tonight. For the next couple of hours, you're on vacation and you are going to relax."

The older man smiled and nodded, giving her a slight salute with his free hand. "Yes, ma'am," he said before getting up and walking over to Aisha, who was talking with Lee and Barney.

"Here," Gunnar said, appearing out of nowhere and putting a hot mug of coffee into Megan's hands. She wrapped her hands around the smooth surface, glad for the warmth. It was still freezing in the garage, despite Tool having turned on the space heater in the corner. Gunnar sat down in his old seat with his own mug. He took a sip and shook his head. "Still no good." He extended the mug to her. "Put a little sugar in it for me?"

Megan laughed, her mood improving instantly. "Does that ever work?"

He wiggled his eyebrows. "You tell me."

She smiled and reached for his mug. Slowly, keeping eye contact with Gunnar, she took a long sip before handing it back. "Seems fine to me."

"You are so hot."

Megan leaned back in her chair, bringing her foot up to rest on the edge of Gunnar's chair between his spread knees. She slouched a little, bringing her coffee up towards her face so the warmth brushed over her cool cheeks. "You have no idea." It would have been seductive if a bucket of icy snow hadn't been dumped over her head. She jumped up, falling over as she tried to shake the snow off. Her coffee spilled over the garage floor and her robe. Megan shoved her snowy hair out of her face and looked around at who attacked her. Lee was laughing, a bucket in his hands.

"Maldita sea!" Megan snapped. "What is wrong with you?"

"What?" he said through his laughter. "Not enjoying the snow?"

"Snow is for outside." She looked down at herself and gave a slight humorous sigh. "But I guess it's as good an excuse as any to get dressed for the day."

"Always finding a bright side, aren't you," Barney said.

"Have to," Megan said, getting to her feet. "I'm constantly around children who get on my nerves at times."

"Sounds like a tough job."

"You should know. I was talking about your team."

Jake laughed. "Burn, old man."

Barney turned to the hacker. "Who you calling 'old', boy?" he asked, advancing on the blond.

Jake paused, realizing his mistake. He flashed a grin and said, "Well, I meant to say was that you were experienced. You know, in some books, old and experienced are used almost the same way, so you can probably realize that I meant it as a compliment. Of course, if it wasn't, I'd blame those books. Who writes thinks like that unless it's true? Well, then again, I've seen some stuff on the Internet that wasn't true at all. So I guess it could be said the same thing about books, right?" He continued to babble as Barney advanced. Megan had a feeling he was just doing it to scare the hacker for entertainment.

She picked up her mug from the floor, glad that she hadn't smashed it from her surprised leap out of her chair. Delilah would not be happy if there was sharp pieces lying around. Megan put the mug on the table and headed to the lift. She rode it up and stepped out at the top floor. Tool was looking over Katelyn's shoulder as she drew in her sketchbook. The coffee pot was sitting on the counter, hot but forgotten for the moment. Delilah was pulling a casserole dish from the oven. She looked up and paused. "What happened to you?" Tool and Katelyn looked up at her.

"Christmas," Megan said. "Took the holiday cheer a bit too far."

"Well, it is his namesake," Tool said, taking the pipe out of his mouth for a moment.

"I'm just going to change," Megan said, heading toward her room. She kept a few changes of clothes here for unexpected stay overs or accidents. She stepped into the room and pulled off her coffee covered robe, tossing it into the hamper in the corner. She looked down at herself. She'd need a shower. Megan walked into the bathroom and started the water to let it warm up. While she waited, she took her prosthetic off and propped it against the wall. Tool had put a plastic chair in the shower area for her to use. She was grateful because balancing on one leg for a shower could be a pain. Washing the coffee off took maybe 7 minutes and she dried off in 2. After making sure her leg was fully dry, she put her prosthetic on and wrapped a towel around her hair as she walked out of the bathroom.

She walked over to the chest of drawers and opened it to view her clothing choices. There were a few items she didn't recognize, but those could have been left over from some of Tool's lady friends. Megan pushed the clothes aside until she found a change of underwear, her faded pair of jeans, a black tank top and a zip up sweater. She tossed them onto the bed and pulled the underwear on. It took a little bit to get her jeans on, but managed to work it over her leg, despite the toe getting caught on the hem. She was buttoning up her jeans when she heard someone say, "Is this my present?" Megan turned around and saw Gunnar standing in the doorway. His eyes traveled over partially naked form, staying a bit longer on her bra-clad breasts.

Megan snorted and pulled the towel off her curls, letting them fall in damp streams. "Now why would I be your present? I'm not even wrapped."

"I'm not complaining," he said, coming into the room. Megan tilted her head back as he came closer. He didn't smell of the snow outside anymore, but he did smell of plain deodorant and fresh coffee. If she leaned closer, she was sure she'd catch his unique scent. He raised a hand and slowly picked up the tank from the bed. "Need any help?" he asked.

Megan stared up at him, then laughed. "I think I can put a shirt on by myself," she said. She took the tank and put her arms through the straps, pulling it over her head. Calloused hands took the hem and pulled the garment down, brushing her bare skin as they did so. Megan looked up at Gunnar and saw his gaze become more intense. So he was feeling the attraction, too. Megan wouldn't lie and say she didn't feel a bit of fire between them, but jumping headfirst into any kind of relationship, especially a carnal one, wasn't her style. Due to her association with the Expendables and the Losers and surviving her accident, she'd become paranoid of people. Trust was difficult to give and adding sex to the equation was too much of a mess. That doubled if it was a member of one of the teams.

Slowly, Megan stepped back and pulled her sweater on. "Thank you," she said. "Shall we go downstairs?" She walked around Gunnar and silently cursed and said a thank you that he didn't try to stop her. He followed her to the lift and they climbed in, descending to the next level.

The others were talking about nothing, just chatting. But they all had oddly wrapped presents near them. When the lift stopped, Barney looked up. "There you are," he said. "Hyper one over there insists we wait for everyone before opening her presents to us."

Megan raised an eyebrow at Katelyn, who ran up to her and Gunnar, handing them each a present. They looked as if she'd wrapped them by herself. "Open them," Katelyn said, bouncing up and down in place.

Everyone picked up their gifts and started to unwrap them. Megan lifted the shirt out and shook it open. There was lettering on the front. "'No one's better than an Expendable Loser'," she read out loud before she took in the skull and bird symbol under the words.

"Aren't they great?" Katelyn asked. "I saved up enough to make one for everyone!"

Megan looked around and saw that the others had shirts just like hers. Jake was pulling his on, pride showing in his smile. Cougar paused for a moment before he put his on, too. The others were still hesitant. Megan looked at her niece and said, "Es moy bueno, querida." She slid out of her sweater and pulled the t-shirt on over her tank top. It settled nicely over her and she knelt down to hug the blond bundle of energy. "Gracias."

"You got it in just my size," Gunnar said, ruffling Katelyn's hair as Megan pulled back. "Good job, kiddo."

The little girl smiled and ran off to her uncles to see how they liked their shirts. Megan stood up and leaned a little off her leg. It was always a little weird putting on then taking off then putting back on her leg. She had to get use to everything all over again.

"You good?" Gunnar asked.

Megan looked up at him and saw a bit of concern in his eyes. "Why are you so concerned about me? We met only yesterday and you're already as bad as the others. I even held a gun on you."

"You're not the first," Gunnar said, darting a quick glance at Barney putting on his own shirt under the excited watch of Katelyn. Gunnar looked back at Megan. "And I wasn't just talking about the leg. The thing with Clay…" He trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

"We're good. He's going to leave the Max issue for tonight. For now, it's Christmas and we're all being wrapped around Katelyn's little finger."

Gunnar looked at his young cousin. "That kid's probably the main reason we're not as messed up as we should be."

Megan nodded slowly, thinking back in time. "You have no idea." Before she could be pulled back into the scene that wanted to play, she pulled her sweater back on, leaving it unzipped. "So," she said, walking closer to the group. "Now that we've all got our shirts, what now?"

"We create a secret handshake," Jake said. He received a few looks ranging from amusement to 'really?'. "What? We've all got exclusive shirts, we have similar interests; dudes, we are so a club. Clubs have secret handshakes."

"We are not a club, Jake," Lee said. "And we're not doing a handshake."

"Oh, come on, Christmas," Jake said. "Where's your Christmas spirit?" He snickered as the Englishman rolled his eyes. "Would it make you happy if the handshake included knives?"

"There is no handshake," Barney said.

"Because we haven't made it yet," Jake said.

Megan sank into a seat at the table and Gunnar took the one next to her. She swung her legs up onto his lap and crossed them. He raised an eyebrow. "You offered your lap," she said, falling back into a lighter mood. "Don't make offers you don't intend to keep."

"In that case, I have a bed that-" He didn't get to finish what he was going to say because Delilah slapped a hand over his mouth. Megan hadn't even seen her appear.

"Gunnar, I don't care if you want to have Megan three ways to Sunday, but please refrain from making propositions when my daughter's around," Delilah said in a low voice so only the two of them could hear. Megan felt her face turn red in embarrassment.

Gunnar gently pulled Delilah's hand away from his smirking lips. "I'll ask her later, then."

Delilah gave a firm nod then looked at Megan. She winked. Winked! That sneak was purposefully trying to set Megan and Gunnar up. Megan her a sharp look, but Delilah just turned and flounced over to Tool, a smile on her face. "Have I reached such a low my sister-in-law is setting up my sex life?" Megan mumbled as she dropped her head into her hand.

"It would seem so," Gunnar said. He leaned close and lowered his voice. "But I am more than happy to fix that for you."

Megan looked at him through her fingers. "I'm sure you would," she said, a slight smile spreading her lips. It was a little funny, she'd admit.

The phone by the tattoo station rang, the sound bouncing off the walls. It didn't stop Jake's ramblings about 'the technique to a perfect secret handshake', where Cougar was rolling his eyes and Katelyn was listening with great attention. She didn't get to see her extended family too much, so she was always a little overboard at times. Of course, she could match Jake for hyperness.

"Hey, Foxy lady," Tool said, bringing Megan's attention over to where he stood with the phone in his hand. "It's for you."

She stood and walked over, smiling at the man before taking the phone. "Hello?"

"Megan, I just got a call," Karlee's voice said over the phone. "The Zamboni people said something about certain models being recalled. They need to know what the serial number is and if they need to have it recalled. They said they need it done today."

"Are you serious?" Megan asked. "Who does that kind of business on Christmas?"

"Some morons, I'll tell you. Look, I'd go down and do it, but Veronica got a cold from walking home yesterday and is laid up in bed. I can't really leave her."

Megan sighed. "Ok. I hope she feels better. There should still be some soup in the fridge you can heat up."

"Don't worry. I thoroughly plan on keeping my patient in bed," Karlee said.

Megan gave an amused laugh. "I have no doubt," she said. "I'll get that off to them. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Karlee said before hanging up.

Megan put the phone down and turned to the others. "Guys," she said, grabbing their attention. "Something came up at the rink. The Zamboni people need me to see if the serial number on our machine is on the recall list and they insist on it being done today. I have to run over there to sort this out."

"Really?" Jake asked. "That's so weird. Who does business on Christmas?"

Megan shrugged, grabbing her jacket and scarf from the back of a chair. "I'll only be gone for a little while," she said.

"It's starting to snow again," Barney said. "Want me to drive you over?"

"I got it," Gunnar said, standing up.

Megan blinked, but shrugged. "Sure. If we get stuck, might as well have the Viking along to push." Gunnar opened his mouth, but she held up a finger. "Don't even go there," she said, knowing he was going to say something dirty. He smiled and grabbed his coat.

They left the garage and walked over to Barney's black truck. "But you make it so easy," he said as they climbed into the cab. Barney rarely took the keys with him and no one was stupid enough to try and take the vehicle in this neighborhood.

Gunnar turned the engine over and pulled away from the curve. With the two of them in the cab, it was a comfortably snug fit. Gunnar's broad shoulders almost brushed Megan's as they drove over the snowy streets. The plows had been through, but the starting snow was determined to fill in the clear spots. Megan reached forward and switched the radio on. The Georgia Satellites' song 'Keep your hands to yourself' poured from the speakers. Megan smiled and started to sing along. "I got a little change in my pocket going ching-a-ling-a-ling. Wanna call you on the telephone, baby, give you a ring. But each time we talk, I get the same old thing. Always "No huggee, no kissee until I get a wedding ring". My honey, my baby, don't put my love upon no shelf. She said, "Don't hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself"."

Megan rocked out a bit at the music. Gunnar smirked as he turned down a different street. "Interesting taste," he said, watching her open her mouth for the second verse.

She closed her mouth and looked at him. "Don't you like this song?"

"It's ok. The last time I heard it, I was tied up in the back of Barney's plane." He caught the look she gave him. "It's a long story."

Megan was silent or a moment, wondering if she wanted to know. "We've got time."

Gunnar shrugged. "Not much to tell, really."

"You just said it was a long story."

He chuckled. "I may have been dramatic." Megan leaned back in her seat, waiting for him to continue. "I was into drugs," he said. "It got pretty bad and I started messing up. We were in Somalia on a mission to deliver some ransom money to pirates. It went south and we ended up killing the pirates. But I took it too far and was going to hang one. The others didn't like it, Yin Yang attacked me, and I was about to chop him into a smaller version of himself, but Barney stopped me. I crossed a line and they took action by tying me up and putting me in the back of the plane to cool down."

Megan took the information in and thought back to a little over two years ago when Barney had been unlike himself. She'd learned, later, that it was because of a woman in the island the team had been hired to infiltrate. He'd wrestled with himself if he should return to help or not. Megan blinked and stared at Gunnar, remembering the rest of the event as how Barney had described it. He hadn't said any names; just that Yin had almost been killed on the mission before Vilena. "You were the one that almost hurt Yin Yang," she said.

Gunnar grimaced. "Yeah," he said slowly. "I wasn't…in my right mind."

"Drugs do that to you," Megan said. Gunnar stiffened. She reached out and squeezed his hand on the stick shift. He looked over at her for a moment, a little surprised at her touch. "But you're not that guy anymore."

"How do you know?" He sounded like he was trying to keep it light, but a bit of insecurity still made its way through.

Megan smiled. "I've dealt with enough drug users in my years as an athlete and coach. I know the type of people who do drugs and how they react on and off them. Believe me when I say that Drug Gunnar is not Clean Gunnar."

The giant shook his head. "You can't possibly know that."

"I can," Megan said. "With the simple fact that you love Katelyn. If you were on drugs, that maniac Barney was run off the road by would not let that sweet girl put a Santa tattoo on his face."

Gunnar looked at her for a moment before turning his gaze back to the road. "He told you?"

"He told me what happened, but not who." Gunnar didn't say anything and they lapsed into silence. The radio was playing a new song and the crunching of snow under tires drowned out a few of the notes.