They pulled up to the skating rink and Gunnar parked. Megan slipped from the cab and pulled out the keys in her pocket as she approached the doors. Once she found the right key and opened the doors, the lights came on, casting the lobby area in a sharp light different than the light outside. She strode past the locker cubbies, vending machines, and through a set of doors clearly marked for employees only. The door on the left at the end of the hallway led to a small office that held a desk, computer, and filing cabinet. Megan walked around to the other end and noticed a blinking light on the answering machine. She pushed the button, grabbing a notepad to take notes.

"Hey, Megan," Karlee's voice said from the machine. "I know you're not going to like this, but there was no call from the Zamboni people. Delilah and Barney came up with the plan to get you and Gunnar alone. Don't know who this Gunnar guy is, but I'm pretty sure they want to set you up with him. And I thought, hey, it's been a while since you got any, so this is my present to you. The rink is closed until New Years, so you have until then to get lucky. Have fun." The message cut off and Megan hung her head.

"What is with people being interested in my sex life?" she mumbled to herself. She shook her head again and left the office, locking it behind her before she headed back to the lobby. She looked around for Gunnar, but he wasn't to be seen. Megan scanned the area before she looked at the doors leading to the rink. She pushed one of them open and saw Gunnar leaning against the divider, looking over the ice.

He looked her way. "So, where is this Zamboni?"

"There's no issue with the Zamboni. Barney and Delilah are playing matchmaker and used Karlee to call me here."

He gave a nod and a smirk. "Well, in any case, we're here. Let's skate," he said, holding up two pairs of skates.

"Did you take those from the rental stand?"

Gunnar handed her a pair. "I won't tell the owner if you won't."

"I am the owner," Megan said, smiling a bit.

"Then it shouldn't be a problem," he said, sitting down and strapping on the skates.

Megan sat next to him and put her own on. It wasn't the same as her prosthetic leg, but she knew she wouldn't have too much difficulty. "Can you skate?" she asked as she stood up on the padded walkway.

"I use to long ago," he said. "Let's see if I still got it." He pushed the door open on the divider and stepped onto the ice. He held onto the siding for a while before letting go and turning in a circle. "Yup. Still-" Gunnar was cut off as his skate slipped out from under him and he crashed down onto the ice.

Megan stepped onto the ice and quickly crouched down next to him. "Gunnar. Are you all right? Does anything feel broken?"

Gunnar raised his head a bit and shook it as if clearing something from his eyes. "I guess I'm rusty." He pushed himself into a sitting position, but Megan shook her head.

"Don't move just yet. I think you may have hit the back of your head."

"I've got a hard head."

"Still doesn't mean you didn't smash it or something. Now, stay still." She slid her fingers into his hair, gently pressing his skin for any lumps. She was surprised at the softness of his hair but returned to her examination. "You don't seem to have a bump or open wound."

"Like I said. Hard head."

Megan rolled her eyes and asked, "How about the rest of you?"

"Well, that's pretty hard, too."

Megan shook her head. "I was asking if you were injured, not if you were aroused. I know the answer to the second part."

"Checking me out, are you?" Gunnar asked, smiling knowingly.

Megan blushed a bit before she stood up. "You're fine." She offered her hand and helped him to his feet. He steadied himself before pushing himself off to glide a little ways. Megan followed.

"So what's your story?" he asked.

"Why are you interested?" Megan asked, her guard coming up a bit.

Gunnar looked at her. "You know mine."

"Doesn't mean I want you to know my story." There was no harshness or anger in her voice, but it was clear she wasn't that willing to open up. Gunnar turned to face her and started skating backwards. Megan raised an eyebrow. "It seems you can skate."

"So can you. You're also a thief who pulls guns on people. Interesting combination."

"Correction. I'm a skater who happens to have the skills of a thief. And you can't really blame me for the gun. You'd do the same thing."

"So you're a skater," Gunnar said, smirking that he'd gotten her to admit something.

Megan chuckled. "It helps when you run a skating rink." She paused then said, "I use to be a professional figure skater."

"Any good?"

She shrugged, still smiling. "If you call competing internationally good, then yeah. I guess I was good."

"Nice. Olympics?"

Megan's smile faded a bit. "Almost. We tried really hard. It took a while to get to the qualifying round, but we didn't make it."

"'We'?"

Megan paused. "My team," she said. "My coach and everyone else that helped me."

Gunnar knew she was hiding something, but decided not to push just yet. "When did you stop skating professionally?"

Megan sighed. "That really is a long story."

The giant shrugged. "I don't think the guys will mind us being late. They are the ones who set this up."

Megan laughed, her spirits rising a little. What Gunnar had said wasn't all that funny, but she couldn't help feel good when he was around. Maybe it was the Christmas spirit or she was feeling good with her whole family actually being near for a change. She looked up at him. His eyes were watching her patiently, waiting for her to start. But if she started, she didn't know what would happen. Her past was a pretty messed up one that sounded like it belonged in a really bad drama novel. The others knew because she'd told them or they'd known her before everything, but it had been still been hard to open up to them.

Megan skated for a moment in silence, collecting her thoughts. "I use to do a lot of skating when I was little. My dad worked at a skating rink and I'd spend almost all my time on the ice. I was good and the teachers there saw that. They offered to let me be in the classes, helping other students when they didn't have enough helping hands. I started to compete, putting together my own routines. When I started to get good scores and winning, people noticed. I had a few offers and I found one for partner skating. A boy, around my age at the time, wanted to do ice skating, but he thought his chances of winning would be better if he had, in his own words, a 'hot skating partner'. He saw me skating and, after a few practices together, we became partners. From high school, we competed together. We were great and traveled all over the world. I got into coaching a bit and found I liked it. So, I coached when I wasn't skating. I was busy with so many things…" Here, Megan dropped off, frowning. She didn't like the rest of her story but she couldn't really stop in the middle. "I was too busy to really notice that my partner was using our constant travel to competitions and coaching sessions as a cover to move dangerous items through customs undetected. I found out and asked him to stop. If he didn't, I was going to go to the authorities." Her hand curled into a fist. "That night, I had the accident that took my leg. I was lucky I didn't die."

"He sabotaged your car?" Gunnar asked, speaking for the first time through her story. His voice practically growled in seething anger.

Megan nodded. "I don't know what he did but he made it look like an accident. When he showed up at the hospital, I thought he would comfort me, but he said that I was no longer a threat to him, for what could a one leg broken woman do? He said that I would never be able to skate like I did before and that I was nothing. I was in too much shock to stop him when he left." Megan paused on the ice. "When you skate with someone, you have to trust them. You move as they move, you read each other, you become close…"

Gunnar stopped in front of her, his body stiff under his jacket. "You were lovers."

Megan kept her head lowered. "He was a different man, then." She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "But that man doesn't exists and I don't look for him anymore."

The two of them were silent for a moment before Gunnar asked, "What was his name?"

She looked up and stared directly into his eyes. He wasn't going to like the answer. "Adam."

Gunnar frowned. "The one who grabbed you in the alley?"

"I heard he had started working for Max," Megan said. "Decided to go full time for employment, I guess."

Gunnar shook his head. "Another reason why I want to beat his ass."

Megan reached out and took his hand, his dwarfing hers. "I'd rather you skate," she said. "Aren't you trying to impress me?" She pushed off, her fingers slipping from his. He grabbed her hand before she could skate too far and pulled her back to him, trapping her against his chest with a thick muscled arm. She stared up at his serious face. "Gunnar. I-" She didn't finish because Gunnar leaned down and slanted his lips over hers. The movement was unexpected, especially when she thought he might try to talk about what she'd just told him. But this was good. Real good. Her heart beat faster as warmth stirred low in her stomach.

Gunnar pulled back and looked at her, checking her reaction. Megan blinked slowly before she said, "Did you get that from a movie, too?"

He shrugged slightly. "Can't really remember," he said. She smiled a little. "Megan," he said, making her look up at him. "You should know that I'm not a romantic guy. I mean, I can do a few gestures like the movies, but it's not who I really am. I'm-"

"A mercenary who kills people and lives a rough life," she said. "I know. Truth is that, if you were the sweet romantic guy all the time, I wouldn't have anything to do with you. Guys like that don't belong in my life."

"So you want me in your life," he said, smiling a little smugly.

Megan rolled her eyes. "It's not like I can kick you out." Gunnar smirked and kissed her again. This time, Megan was ready for it and wove her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer. His lips smiled against hers. If Megan had looked, she would probably see that he was even smugger than earlier. Didn't matter. She was enjoying herself.

Gunnar's hand slid down her back and over her ass. Megan pulled away and was about to tell him to remove it, but he lifted her up, holding her up against him like he'd done in the alley last night. Her legs wrapped around his waist on instinct and she gripped his shoulders. Gunnar chuckled.

"You really have to stop doing that," Megan said.

"You like this position."

"I'd like it a lot better if you weren't on skates."

"You said the best way to impress you was on skates."

"Si," she said. "But I don't really trust your balance." Gunnar looked like he was about to retort her statement, but Megan's pocket started to ring. "That would be my phone," Megan said. Gunnar groaned, but let her slide down to the ice, making sure as much of her front brushed over his as possible. Megan smiled and pulled the device from her pocket. "Hello?" she asked chuckling a little as Gunnar skated backwards for a moment.

"Sounds like you're having fun," Jake said on the other end.

"Gunnar and I were just doing a few laps on the ice. What's up?"

"Wait, Gunnar's skating?" Jake sounding surprised. Gunnar slid back next to Megan, sliding his hands over her waist. Megan leaned into his touch a little bit.

"Yeah," she asked. "He's not that bad. Well, once he got back his skating legs."

"Wow," Jake said. "Gunnar hates skating."

"Really?" Megan asked as Gunnar smirked down at her, having heard what Jake said. "He seems to be enjoying himself."

Jake was quiet on the other end. "Megan," he said slowly. "What are the two of you doing over there?"

"Tell everyone we'll be home in a few minutes," Megan said and ended the call. She looked up at Gunnar. "We need to turn these skates back in at the desk and get home."

"What's the rush?" Gunnar asked.

"Besides that it's almost dinner?" Megan asked, knowing that the giant was probably hungry. Her pocket buzzed and she pulled a phone out, looking down at the screen.

She had a text and she opened it as Gunnar said, "We can always grab something on the way back." He noticed her face go pale. "What?" Megan turned her phone so he could see the screen, but her hand was shaking too much to read. He took the phone and scanned the words.

Megan, I do hope you are enjoying your Christmas. You look very cozy with your family. Enjoy your skate with your Viking. –Adam

Gunnar looked down at Megan and found her skating toward the divider. He followed and sat down beside her on the bench. Her hands were pressed together between her knees. She was still pale but the shaking had stopped. "He slipped a phone into my pocket when we were in the alley," she said. "That one isn't mine." She paused and shook her head before reaching down for her skates. "We have to get back home. Clay will want to know about this and maybe Jake can do a trace or something."

Gunnar got his skates off and his boots back on quickly and knelt down to do the same for Megan, who was having trouble with the one on her prosthetic. He helped her to her feet and grabbed the skates with one hand as he put his other arm around Megan. She didn't pull away, but leaned closer as they walked out of the rink. Not only did she feel like she needed some comfort from being shaken up by the text, she just wanted to be touched. Human contact was strange for her, since she didn't let a lot of people close. Very few people were allowed to touch her. It didn't have to be something big like a hug or a kiss. A simple pat on the shoulder was good enough to let her know someone cared. When Gunnar had kissed her, he'd crossed the line from 'no touch' to 'you can touch'. It was an odd system and Megan didn't like to explain it in case people got offended or uneasy around her, but she really needed to be calmed down right now. Adam had managed to slip a phone into her jacket without her noticing and he knew about her skating with Gunnar. Anyone would be unsettled.

Gunnar set the skates on the rental desk and steered them toward the doors. They climbed into the truck and drove home in silence. Megan leaned against Gunnar's shoulder. He didn't seem to mind. They pulled up to the garage and stepped out. Megan looked at the blond and said, "I don't want to say anything with Katelyn around. She's too young to have to deal with someone like Adam."

"She's a smart kid," Gunnar said. "She's going to figure something is up."

"I know. But I'd rather she not find out just yet."

Gunnar nodded. He didn't want to put a damper on his cousin's holiday with her family. He opened the garage door and let Megan walk in first. The bright lights and smell of good food seemed a bit out of place with what Megan was feeling. The atmosphere was happy and joyous, while she was still rattled from the text. Clay noticed them first. The smile he'd had on his face vanished when he saw them. He drew closer to them. "Something happened." It wasn't a question. Gunnar handed over the phone. Clay read the message. "A threat?"

Megan shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "But it's like Max is letting Adam shake me up."

"Why you?" Clay asked. "If he knows the Losers are here, why is he targeting you? You aren't a threat to him."

"I don't know," Megan said.

Clay looked over his shoulder at the others. They were getting the table ready for dinner, putting out plates and food. He turned back to Megan and Gunnar. "We'll talk about it tonight," he said.

Megan nodded and headed toward the table, slipping her coat off. She draped it over a chair and gave her brother a one armed hug. He noticed the change in her and gave her a questioning look. She smiled and tilted her head to the side, saying she was fine. He blinked slowly, a sign that he didn't believe her. Megan lowered her chin, telling him they'd talk later.

"It's still so weird watching you two," Jake said, bringing their attention from each other and to him. "You can talk without saying a thing. It's cool and weird at the same time."

"It's a sibling thing," Megan said, taking her seat at the table.

"I'm getting better at the whole reading Cougar thing," Jake said, sitting down across from her. "I mean, I should be able to read him, being married and living together and everything, but there are times when I can't. Then I do and it's like, 'Whoa! I'm speaking Coug'."

Megan chuckled at her brother's eye roll. She raised her eyebrows at him and the left side of her smile twitched.

"Oh!" Jake said. "That was Megan saying, 'Just remember that you're the one who wanted to marry him'."

Cougar blinked and shifted his head to the right. "Cougar just said, 'I wonder about that sometimes.' Oh, Cougs, that hurts." Jake pouted.

Delilah patted her brother's shoulder and sat down after putting the last plate on the table. "Well, dig in," she said. "Leave no prisoners."

The food was passed around, people taking their servings and putting it on their plates. "So," Katelyn said. "After this, we're going to my pageant, right?"

"You're in a pageant?" Jake asked. "Do you have to wear a tiara? Because, though you're our princess, I don't condone kid pageants. Seriously, have you seen Honey Boo Boo? You are not becoming that." He pointed his fork at his niece, who sat next to Megan.

"It's not that kind of pageant," Katelyn said, laughing at her uncle. "It's the school Christmas pageant. Our class is putting one on for our families. I have a dancing part."

"We'll get you to the school in time, dear," Delilah said.

"We'll just have to make sure that Jake doesn't rush onto the stage if something goes wrong," Lee said.

Megan smiled as she remembered the soccer game against the Marigolds last summer. The ref hadn't been too happy about Jake running onto the field. Megan could only imagine what havoc Jake could cause at a Christmas pageant. "So what part do you play?" she asked.

Katelyn grinned proudly. "I'm an ice fairy," she said. "We're doing a bit of the Nutcracker."

Barney chuckled. "Look at that," he said. "School's trying to make them cultured."

"Why not," Delilah said. "She's learning to defend herself from you all, but not much on anything else. If Megan weren't around, I'm pretty sure Katelyn would be a full tomboy by now."

"I don't do that much," Megan said.

"Yeah, you do," Katelyn said. "I get to help with your skating classes and hockey classes and cleaning the equipment and helping with rehearsals and games and everything."

Lee chuckled. "Yeah," he said. "Not a tomboy in the least." The table laughed and even Delilah smiled.

After her husband died before Katelyn's birth, Delilah had tried to raise her daughter as best as she could on her own. It had been hard and Jake had joined the Army to help, but Delilah had often said meeting Megan had been a godsend. When Delilah had to work late or wasn't able to pick Katelyn up from school, Megan would make sure that everything was taken care of. The two women had considered each other as family long before their brothers had married.

Dinner passed with easy conversation. No one talked about missions or bad guys. Moments to be a 'normal' family were rare. They weren't ones to subscribe to a 'normal' life, but trying it out now and then seemed to be therapeutic. If for no one else, they did it for Katelyn so she could have a small part of the kind of life her classmates had.

Katelyn finished her dinner and said, "Megan, can you do my make up?"

"Wait a minute," Jake said. "There's not supposed to be any make up. Make up leads to-"

Delilah reached over and covered her brother's mouth, silencing him. "Jake," she said slowly. "The make up is for the show and is mostly glitter and face paint. She'll be fine."

"I can do glitter and paint," Jake said. "Why not ask my help?"

"Because she wants art," Megan said, pushing her chair away. "Not a mess." The table laughed as Megan followed Katelyn upstairs to her room.

The little girl quickly changed out of her clothes and into the costume she'd been given. It was designed to look like a snow fairy, colored an icy blue with white fake fur around the collar, wrists, and waist. Katelyn pulled on a pair of white fluffy snow boots and picked up the costume wings she'd left on the bed.

"Maybe you should put the wings on at school," Megan said, setting her niece down on a chair and starting on her hair. "Don't want to wrinkle them."

Katelyn sat still as Megan combed and braided her hair, securing the hairstyle with blue ribbons. When that was done, Megan knelt in front of her niece and picked up some of the paint brushes Tool had set up for Katelyn's make up. "Okay," Megan said. "Just hold still while I paint this. Tell me when you feel like moving."

"Can I talk?" Katelyn asked.

Megan chuckled and nodded. "Sure," she said, dipping the first brush into some of the face paint.

"Do you like Cousin Gunnar?"

"Yes," Megan said, brushing a pattern on Katelyn's cheek. "Why do you ask?"

"Are you going to marry him?"

Megan paused and looked at her niece. "What?"

"Are you going to marry Gunnar? You two look cute together and he could use a girlfriend."

"And you think I should be his girlfriend?" Megan asked with a small smile, going back to the make up.

"You don't have a boyfriend and he doesn't have a girlfriend and you just said you liked him."

"That doesn't mean we should have a relationship."

"Why?"

Megan lowered the brush. "Well, you have to have a better reason to be in a relationship besides neither of you having a girlfriend or boyfriend. You need to respect and care for each other. Learn about one another." She dipped the brush into the paint and started again. "You'll understand when you get older."

"Do you mean you have to love the other person like Uncle Cougar and Uncle Jake?"

"Si."

"And Uncle Barney and Uncle Lee?"

"Si."

"What about Uncle Clay and Ms. Aisha?"

Megan paused. "Those two aren't really the best example of a healthy relationship. But you don't need to worry about that kind of thing for a long time."

Katelyn nodded and sat still for Megan to finish. "Tia Megan, if Gunnar were to ask you to date him, would you?"

Megan looked down at the young girl and said, "I don't know." She paused, remembering their time together on the ice and in the car. He understood her, which surprised her, seeing as they'd only just met yesterday and she didn't trust people a whole lot. She'd opened up a lot to him; more so and faster than she'd done with the others. It could be that she was around the others and relaxed enough to feel like telling Gunnar her past was all right… or it could be she really did have something there with Gunnar. They'd been bantering that morning without him knowing her past. So maybe… "I suppose I might," Megan said absently.

Katelyn beamed as if Megan had told the girl she was getting a pony. She jumped down from the chair and raced from the room. Megan followed, fairly certain Katelyn was about to do something sneaky. She took the lift down to the first floor and saw Katelyn appear from the stairwell. The little blonde raced over to the giant blonde and said, "Gunnar, guess what."

"What," he said, smiling down at his cousin. He'd been pulling on his coat, but pause with one arm in the sleeve.

"Tia Megan said she'll be your girlfriend," Katelyn said.

Gunnar's eyebrows rose as everyone else turned to look at the youngest member in their company. "Really?"

Katelyn nodded. "Yeah. But you have to ask her first."

"Why's that?"

"Because she won't agree if you don't ask," Katelyn said, crossing her arms matter-of-factly. Gunnar stared. Katelyn leaned forward. "That's your cue to ask her."

Megan shook her head. She was going to talk to her niece about this. Clay had a smirk on as he drew close with Megan's jacket. "Don't even."

He chuckled. "It is funny," he said. "Your niece setting you up with Gunnar. Congrats on the new boyfriend, by the way." Megan rolled her eyes and snatched the coat out of his hands. He lowered his voice as she started to do up the buttons. "I gave Jake the phone so he could track it. He says he'll run a system to track it while we're at the school pageant. We might get a lead on Max and Adam."

Megan nodded. She saw Gunnar walk over, his coat buttoned up and his hands covered with his fingerless gloves. He straightened his collar and Clay chuckled as he walked away. Gunnar stepped up to Megan's side. "So," he said awkwardly. He was aware, as was she, that the others were looking at them even if they may not have stared openly.

"Look on the bright side," Megan said, taking pity on his uneasiness. "At least they didn't shoot you."

"Yet," Gunnar added. He looked a little worried.

Megan put her hand in the crook of his arm. "Come on. We all need to get to the school or Katelyn will be late."

Gunnar let Megan pull him along to the cars. The group piled into Barney's pick up and Delilah's mini van. They were the only two vehicles that could make it through the snow. Thankfully, the snow had stopped falling for the time being. Barney, Lee, and Tool piled into Barney's truck. Clay, Aisha, and Jensen tried to cram into the back seat of Delilah's car. Cougar sat in stony silence between Gunnar and his sister in the middle seat, leaving Katelyn in the passenger seat. Delilah was smart enough to put on the radio so Jake wouldn't run his mouth on the drive over to the school, but it meant he was singing the entire way. As they pulled into a parking spot, a collective sigh of relief came from the annoyed passengers. The back seat climbed out of the car and Jake smiled. "So," he said. "You think I could make it big?"

"Not even," Clay said, heading toward the school.

Cougar climbed out and opened the door for Katelyn. She slid out and took his hand, walking toward the school's auditorium. Megan, who had been put in the middle because of her smaller size, stepped out of the car and turned to watch Gunnar unfold himself from the vehicle.

"I'm starting to wonder if Cougar just likes being tortured by that boy," Gunnar said.

"The things people do for love," Megan said.

She pushed some hair out of her face and watched Barney's truck pull up into the spot next to them. The men climbed out and Tool grinned.

"Foxy Lady," he said, holding up a bent arm. "Be my date?"

"If Gunnar hasn't asked yet," Lee said, raising an eyebrow that was a mix of amusement and curiosity.

"Sure," Megan said, walking over to Tool. She slipped her hand through his arm. "I'd love to." She didn't want to cause an awkward moment or pause. Besides, a bit of distance might be good. She didn't really know Gunnar too much, though she thought she had a grasp of his character and they'd been getting along up to this point. But there was still the voice of past experience telling her to keep her distance and wait to see what happened.

"Using me to make Gunnar jealous?" Tool asked.

"I'm not that kind of woman," Megan said, smiling at the older man.

He jerked his head up slightly. "It's why Gunnar likes you."

She looked over her shoulder at Gunnar as he chatted with the others by the cars. He towered over all of them and it looked like he wasn't going to be moving any time soon. Probably going to try to slip into the pageant just as it would start. The others were like that, too. They didn't like crowds of whiney kids and competitive parents, but that didn't mean they weren't going to miss Katelyn's big night. Megan could relate to their aversion to crowds, but getting out of the cold was her main priority.

Parents and family members crowded the auditorium's main lobby, chatting and laughing while waiting for the pageant to start. Tool eyed a few young women as they passed. Megan rolled her eyes as he winked at a young 20 something brunette. He noticed her look and chuckled as he helped her into one of the foldable chairs. "Mind if I go have a chat?"

"Go," Megan said, waving him off. "Before she gets any older." Tool smirked and walked off, leaving her to get settled while tossing his scarf over a chair to claim it as his. With the Expendables and the Losers here, they were going to need the whole back middle row, but reserving that number of seats was going to be tricky. Megan draped her own scarf over the seat next to her, but kept her jacket on. Did the school not think the pageant was a worthy enough excuse to turn the heat on?

Delilah slid into the seat on Megan's right and handed her a Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate. "It's instant," she said, "but good enough to chase the chill away."

Megan took a sip and relaxed into the back of the chair. She scanned the crowd that had seated themselves early. Just from where she was sitting, she could see 15 cameras and 7 video recorders. She was pretty sure phones would be pulled out when the pageant started.

"So," Delilah said slowly, making Megan give her a curious side look. "I think you should give Gunnar a chance."

Megan shook her head. "I know you're coming from a place of caring, but can you all just back off?"

"Nope. Sisters are supposed to be annoying. But besides that, you two are good for each other. Sometimes it's good to have someone around who you can lean on. Sure, you have all of us, but you need someone who's gone through their own shit so they have an idea what you're dealing with. If you only let one person truly behind your defenses, I think it should be Gunnar."

Megan had to agree with that. A part of her was glad that Gunnar knew what she was going through and maybe he was glad that she understood his experiences, too. They'd both opened up faster than she'd expected and… she was strangely ok with that. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to let him in more.

A shadow fell over her and she watched Gunnar try to comfortably fold his broad form into the chair next to her. His shoulders pushed against her and he tried to move away to give her space. Megan chuckled and grabbed the wrist closest to her, pulling his arm over her head and resting it over her shoulders. Gunnar looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. "Your shoulders are too big," she said. "Plus, you're warm." He chuckled and pulled her a little closer to his side. The rest of the Expendables and Losers filled in the other seats soon after. Cougar glared at Gunnar's arm, but the others chuckled or smiled. Tool returned, but without the brunette. He shrugged when Megan gave him a questioning look.

Gunnar took the foam cup from her hand, swallowed some of the liquid, and put it back in her hand. "I don't think even a taste of you in there could make that less shitty," he said. A few parents in front of them turned with glares, but paled when they saw the giant looming over them. He raised a challenging eyebrow at them, lifting a corner of his lips into a sneer. Even with the Santa tattoo, he was intimidating. The parents turned around without a word. Megan put a hand over her mouth as her shoulders shook in silent laughter. She bit her lip as the lights dimmed and the curtain rose.

The pageant went fairly well. Katelyn spotted them in the back row and waved wildly when she came on stage. Jake cheered loudly, earning a few sharp glances from the other parents, but that did nothing to dampen his mood. Cougar had to grab his husband's shirt and pull him back into the seat. The blond pouted, but settled against Cougar's side when the sniper draped an arm around his shoulders. Katelyn was grinning all the way through the dance. As the curtain fell on the pageant, the crowd stood and clapped. Jake jumped up again, whistling loudly.

"All that practice paid off," Delilah said.

"I should have brought flowers for her," Jake said. "She totally deserves flowers. I'm gonna go meet her in the lobby." He dashed off, followed by a slower Cougar.

"Better go make sure he won't do anything too stupid," Delilah said. She looked to Megan for a moment. "You going to be okay getting out of here?"

Megan nodded. "I'll wait a bit before moving." The other woman nodded and followed the others out. Gunnar stayed where he was, his arm draped over her shoulders. She turned to look up at him, resting the back of her head against his arm. "Not going to join them?"

"I'm good here." He smiled as he met her eyes. "Better company."

Megan chuckled. "What a charmer. How are you not swarmed with women?"

"Must be my sunny disposition." He said it in jest, but sounded just a bit down.

Megan studied his face, her eyes roaming over the creases and wrinkles. All of the Losers and Expendables had marks of their jobs. Some were more prominent than others, but Gunnar's intrigued her. She knew about his drug addiction and what he'd done to himself and his team, but she meant what she'd said earlier. He was more than Drug Gunnar. That kind of thing could destroy someone, but he was still here. It took one hell of a person to do that. Maybe they would be good for each other in some sense.

"Well, it's their loss," she said, snuggling into his side, "and my gain."

"You offering to be my girl?" Gunnar asked with a slight chuckle.

Megan raised an eyebrow. "You asking?"

He paused, thinking over it, and said, "Yes."

"Then, yes."

Gunnar searched her eyes. She could practically see his brain working. "Really?"

"Not trying to back out, are you?" she said, smirking. "I said it before that you shouldn't offer something if you-"

Gunnar slid an arm around her waist, pulling her out of her seat and into his lap. He cupped the back of her head. He gave her one quick look before his lips slanted over hers. She was stunned for a moment as he pulled back. "Just sealing the deal, sweetheart."

She smiled at his playful smirk. "Seems to be lacking," Megan said, curling her fingers into his short blond hair. She pulled him closer and kissed him, pressing against his chest despite her odd angle in his lap. She coaxed his lips open and slid her tongue over his. His grip in her hair and around her waist tightened as she twisted her tongue.

He pulled back slowly. "How the hell did you do that?"

Megan gave a knowing smirk. "You know that trick with the cherry stem?"

Gunnar's eyes widened. He leaned in for more, but they were interrupted by an amused cough. "Come on, love birds," Tool said with a chuckle. "We're waiting on you."

The auditorium was empty and the level of noise leaking in from the lobby said that most of the pageant goers had gone home. Tool turned and headed out, shaking his head at the two. Megan pushed herself to her feet, chuckling as Gunnar raised his arms above his head and cracked his back. As she tried to walk out of the aisle, her foot caught on one of the chairs and she started falling forward. She was sure she would hit the floor, but found herself lifted off the floor and swung in a small arch. When her vision reoriented itself, she found herself on Gunnar's back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders as his hands found her legs, keeping her from falling. Gunnar chuckled as they left the auditorium.

"Not afraid of heights, are you?"

Megan rested her chin on his shoulder. "I've been tossed higher than this on the ice."

Gunnar continued through the lobby and out into the parking lot. The cold sapped the warmth she'd gained in the school, making her tightened her arms around Gunnar's shoulder. "How do you have not tolerance for cold? Don't you live on the ice?"

"Shut up," Megan's voice said from where she pressed her face against his coat. She suddenly felt his shoulders tense. Raising her head, she asked, "You good?"

"Yeah. Just bracing myself for the ride back. Got a feeling Cougar's going to kill me."

She looked up and saw her brother standing by Delilah's van. The other truck was gone. A small smile appeared on Megan's lips. "Probably. He's given more than enough of my boyfriends that look." She pressed her lips to his ear. "Don't worry. I think you can handle a little older brother intimidation."

They stopped in front of the van and Gunnar lowered Megan to her feet. Delilah smiled smugly at them. "Katelyn went back with Tool, Barney, and Lee."

"Could they all fit in the truck?" Megan asked.

"They made it work." Delilah jerked her thumb at the van. "We're waiting on you. Gunnar and Cougar in the middle. Megan, you're up front."

Once everyone was buckled in and they were on the go, Megan looked at the rear view mirror and hid her chuckle. Gunnar was easily bigger than her brother, but he sat as nervous as a prom date meeting the girl's father. His knee bounced slightly and he kept his gaze averted from Cougar's focused one. Jake was watching the two from the back with Aisha and Clay. All of them weren't bothering to hide their smiles. Megan noticed Delilah's smile from the corner of her eye and she had to bite her own lip to keep from laughing, even though she knew what it was like to be on the other end of her brother's hard stare. Once she trusted that she wouldn't laugh while talking, she turned in her seat to tell her brother to knock it off. But she never got the chance.

The van lurched off the road and flipped end over end. Megan was tossed about in her seat, the seatbelt the only thing keeping her in place while digging into her neck and chest. She heard Delilah scream as the car rolled down the hill and stopped as it hit a tree. She kept still for a moment, stunned and hoping she hadn't broken anything.

"Everyone ok?" she asked, her voice shaking.

There was a groan from the back seat. "Clay and Jensen are out, but seem to be doing alright," Aisha said. "You ok?"

Megan shifted and winced at the ache in her side. "I'm ok. Probably a bruised rib." She turned her head and looked over at Delilah. There were shards of glass in her hair, she was bleeding from a few scrapes, and she was unconscious, but she seemed to be breathing easily. "Delilah seems to be ok. We won't know until we get out of here. You all right?"

"Been better, but yeah." There was rustling and she spoke again a moment later. "I can't see Cougar and Gunnar."

Megan looked in the rearview mirror. Cougar had lost his hat and he was slumped over his seatbelt with his head rolled forward onto his chest. She relaxed when she saw his chest rise and his hand twitch. Moving over to Gunnar, her breath hitched. His head was back and rested against the cracked window. Covering the side of his face and down his neck was a trail of blood from a deep gash on his forehead. Megan couldn't see if he was breathing. She turned in her seat to try and see him, but groaned when the ache in her side intensified.

"Gunnar," she called weakly. He didn't move. "Gunnar," she tried louder.

"Megan?"

"Cougar." Megan met his bleary gaze in the rearview mirror. "Are you ok?"

He shifted in his seat and bit his lip as he pressed a hand to his side. "Si," he groaned. "Jake?

"He's ok," Aisha said.

Megan looked back to the blond giant. "Gunnar?"

Her door was suddenly yanked open and a light was shone in her eyes. She brought her hand up to shield her eyes and jerked when a firm hand grabbed her wrist, yanking her arm down. A moment later, she felt a pinch in her arm. Someone was injecting her with something. The needle pulled out of her arm and she raised her other hand to punch her attacker but found her movements slow. Had she been injected with a sedative? Her vision started to blur and her body felt sluggish. Someone pulled her out of her seat and started walking away from the crash. All she saw before blacking out was Adam's ugly smirking face.

Gunnar's eyes slowly blinked open and he instantly closed them against the bright artificial light. He turned his head away and groaned at the pounding against his skull.

"He's awake." Gunnar opened his eyes again and saw Katelyn sitting on a white plastic chair. She looked relieved. "I'm so glad you're awake. We were scared you got really hurt in the crash."

What crash? They were just at her school. Then it came back to him: riding next to Cougar, watching Megan turn around in her seat, and- they'd been run off the road. Megan! Gunnar jerked into an upright position and had to grab his head from the sudden pain.

"You shouldn't move too quickly," Delilah said, stepping up to his bed. "You got a concussion from the crash. You've been out for a few weeks."

Gunnar looked around the hospital room. Katelyn sat in one of two chairs in the room with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Delilah wore a few bandages and sported a few bruises. The rest of the teams were nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?"

Delilah looked at Katelyn. "Could you go get a doctor to check on Gunnar, honey?" Katelyn nodded and left the room. Delilah sat on the edge of the bed. "Someone ran us off the road on the way back to Tool's. They took Megan."

"Who was it?" Gunnar growled.

"Adam."

Gunnar shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. He should have done something to protect her. Maybe if he'd been more alert, he could have saved her.

"Any lead on where they may be? Jake find anything on the phone Adam dropped Megan?"

Delilah shook her head. "Nothing. It was clean. But there was another text on the phone when we got back."

"What did it say?"

"'Thanks for the gift. I'll take good care of her. Merry Christmas. Max and Adam.'"