He was barely 21 years old, and has just finished the first part of the Army's Special Forces Training Program in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. It was December, and they were about to be given a few days leave for the holidays. A Christmas dance had been organized on base for them to celebrate before they left. Eliot had no real intention of going, but a couple of his buddies talked him in to coming with them, even if just for a little while. It was mostly a pain to him. Having to get all decked out to spend the evening uncomfortable with bad music and even worse, most of the girls were already taken, or too impressed with themselves to pay attention to someone of his rank. He'd rather kick back at a local bar and relax.

He set out his dress uniform, showered, shaved and got dressed. He and his roommate, Michael, checked each other out to make sure that their uniforms were exactly as they should be, and they walked out to meet their friend, Sam.

Arriving at the hall, they could hear the music from outside. Twinkling white lights wrapped in garland decorated the stairs leading to the door, and as they walked in, there was a giant Christmas tree in the middle of the room. By the time they arrived, the party was in full swing. They made their way over to the bar and ordered a round of drinks before taking a seat at the nearest empty table. They fell into various conversations about the training they just finished, their vacation plans, and most importantly, which girls in the room looked available for dancing.

As he looked around the room, Eliot spotted a girl sitting with two friends not too far away from them. She had bright red hair that was pinned back with a small gold clip, and a green silk dress. Seeing her, he thought to himself that she was easily the most beautiful girl in the room. She giggled and laughed with her friends, and he guessed by the various soft drinks in their cups that none of them were not quite 21 yet.

"Boys, check out the table of girls to the left of us," Michael said as Sam turned to look in the direction of the girls. "I think I've just found the future Mrs. Vance. If you will excuse me, I am going to go find a dancing partner." He got up and walked over to the table.

Michael was always the first one up to meet people at things like this. It wasn't that Eliot was shy, not at all, he just felt more at home in a much more casual environment. He also usually found the girls here to be a waste of time. He had to admit that he was a bit jealous that Michael was going to get to talk to the pretty little red head in the green dress, though.

Sam and Eliot watched amused as Michael approached the table and introduced himself to the girls. All three girls looked up and smiled at him. Eliot noticed that she was even more beautiful when she smiled. He chatted with them for a few minutes before, to Eliot's surprise, he turned to the dark haired girl on his left and said something. Her friends looked at her encouragingly, and she stood up. Michael took her hand, and led her to the dance floor. Something like relief washed over him as he looked from the new couple on the dance floor, back to the table with the pretty little red head and her remaining friend. They resumed their chatting, but he noticed that she kept glancing in Eliot and Sam's direction, then back out at the people dancing, with a look of disappointment.

As the song finished, Michael delivered the dark haired girl back to her table, and pulled her chair out for her. He motioned to them that he'd be back, and made his way back to their table. "Jenna. Her name is Jenna. I think I'm in love…..At least for tonight." He grinned as he grasped at his chest playfully. "I am going to invite them over to sit with us. You boys don't mind?"

Sam looked over at the girls again. "What are they like?"

"They are sorority sisters from the University of Texas. The two brunettes, Jenna and Amanda, are locals, on base visiting Abigail, the girl with the red hair. She asked them to come with her to the party. By the way, that is Abigail Johnston. Johnston, as in Colonel Johnston's daughter. Honestly, I went over there to ask her to dance, but I just don't need that kind of trouble. You know he'll be around here eventually."

Eliot glanced at her again. Col. Johnston was the officer in charge of their training program. He was easily one of the toughest, but fair, men that Eliot had met since joining up, and probably in his entire life. He believed completely in the mantra of honor and tradition, and Eliot respected him for it. Col. Johnston's opinion of you could make or break your career, and he imagined that most soldiers steered clear of his daughter for that reason.

Eliot, never really being interested in avoiding trouble, stood up and volunteered to go back to fetch the girls with Michael. When they arrived at the table, Michael introduced them to Eliot, who looked directly at Abigail, but said to them all, "Ladies. It is a pleasure to meet you." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jenna giggle and Abigail kick her under the table. He couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"Hey there," she responded, blushing slightly. The other girls said hello as well, but Eliot was so taken by Abigail's soft Texas drawl that he barely noticed them.

The girls agreed to join them, and they walked back to the table, where Sam had produced three chairs for the girls to sit on. Before they could take those seats though, the music once again turned slow and Michael swept Jenna back out on the dance floor. Sam stood up quickly and held an arm out to Amanda. Abigail sighed and prepared to take her seat, when Eliot spoke up. "Miss? Would you like to dance?"

She looked surprised, but pleased. He held out his arm, and she took it gratefully as he led her out to the dance floor. He caught Michael's eye, and saw a look that clearly asked him if he had a death wish. He just grinned at his friend in response.

They found a spot on the floor and he placed his hands on her hips. Pulling her to him, but leaving a respectful distance. The faint smell of cinnamon surrounded her. He sighed to himself. He loved the smell of cinnamon. As they danced, she leaned closer to speak. "You know, you are the first person to actually ask me to dance. When I went to the Officers party, a few guys there asked my dad if they could dance with me, and he turned every single one of them down. Doesn't that worry you?"

"Well, not really. I don't see your Daddy around here tonight, and you said yes." They both laughed at that, and he continued. "So you are a college girl? Texas? What do you do there?"

"I'm a Junior, majoring in Middle Eastern Studies."

"Well, that is interesting. Kind of an odd thing to study. What are you planning to be when you grow up?"

She raised an eyebrow at his question. "We were stationed in the Middle East for a while, and I guess the people and culture have stuck with me. I speak fluent Arabic and am getting pretty good with Persian. As to what I'll do, I'm not sure yet. Teach maybe? Work for some three letter Government Agency? I haven't quite decided." She stopped for a moment, before adding, "I'll be 21 in June, and I think I've grown up quite well, thank you very much."

Eliot eyed her appreciatively, making her roll her eyes at him. "I agree, darlin, very well."

The song ended, and he escorted her back to the table. They all sat and chatted with each other, pausing only to dance when the music got slow. Eliot sat close to Abigail and rested his hand on the back of her chair. As they talked, he couldn't help but think about how sweet she was. She seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say, but she would roll her eyes or respond with a smart mouthed comment if he tried to show off. He recognized that side of her personality from her father, and he liked it in her much better.

When the guys went to get another round of drinks for the table, Michael looked at Eliot with disbelief. "I have never in my life known someone who was so gung-ho to destroy his career before it even got started. I bet Col. Johnston could kill you ten different ways without even laying a hand on you."

"Well, I've never been smart enough to steer clear of trouble, especially when that trouble takes the form of a beautiful girl." He winked and Michael and Sam, as they grabbed their drinks and headed back to the table.

Soon the music turned slow once again, and once again they headed out to dance. They began to walk out to the floor, when Abigail suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, dropped his arm and said, "Daddy!"

Standing before them was Col. Johnston. He was a tall man, and he was likely a very intimidating man, if Eliot had the sense to be intimidated. He gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead before turning to Eliot and sizing him up. "Spencer, right? You just completed my SFAS course?"

"Yes Sir." He replied.

"I've been here for a little while watching you with my daughter. Did you know that I've never given a single soldier permission to dance with her, and I've been asked by quite a few."

"Daddy! Why in the world were you spying on us? You should have at least come by and said hello!" Abigail frowned at her father.

Unable to think of an appropriate response, Eliot blurted out, "well Sir, then I guess it's a good thing that I asked her, and not you, isn't it?" Abigail looked at him in shock. Col. Johnston also looked at him like he couldn't believe what he just heard. "Uh oh…" Eliot thought to himself. "I've stepped in it this time."

Col. Johnston just started to laugh. Eliot couldn't tell if it was a friendly laugh or the kind of laugh you heard before there was a lot of pain. "I guess so, son. I guess so," he said between laughs. "I've never figured out why these boys ask ME, when she's the one that has to agree to dance with them." He looked kindly at his daughter. "Carry on, then." He walked away from them, still chuckling to himself and shaking his head.

Abigail let out a huge sigh of relief as Eliot took her hand again and they walked out to the dance floor. There wasn't much time left in the song, but they spent it with their heads together, talking about what just happened.

When the song ended, Col. Johnston stopped them on the way back to their table. "Sweetheart, I just stopped by to see if things were going well and if you needed a ride home?"

She looked from Eliot to her Father and answered, "Oh I don't want to go home yet. I'll get Jenna to drop me off on her way home, or something."

Eliot and her father both looked doubtfully at Jenna, who was still slow dancing with Michael on the dance floor, even though the music was no longer slow.

"I will see that she gets home, Sir." Eliot volunteered, smiling at Abigail.

"You do that. She will be home before 2400 hours." He said this as an order more than a question. He looked at Eliot seriously. "Dancing is one thing, but you will treat my Abby with the respect that she deserves, understand, Spencer? Anything happens to her, and you will be held responsible. "

"Yes Sir!" he responded.

Abby gave her father a hug and he nodded to them both and left. They all slowly returned to the table, where Michael and Sam looked impressed that Eliot was still alive.

An hour later, the party was winding down. Amanda was ready to go home, and Sam volunteered to walk her to her car. Michael and Jenna were more than ready to go elsewhere and planned to leave together. Eliot and Abigail decided to leave as well, so they all walked out together, before going their separate ways. "You don't mind walking, do you?" he asked her, realizing that since he didn't have a car, a shuttle full of people would be their only way home otherwise.

"Not at all. I don't have to be home for another hour anyway." She smiled and took his arm.

As they walked and talked, he noticed that she was shivering a bit. The night was cool, and there was a light breeze blowing. He took off his jacket and offered it to her, then helped her put it on when she agreed. He took her hand, and they continued their slow walk to her house.

"So your boyfriend doesn't mind you hanging around at parties full of soldiers?" he said, as they walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand.

"No boyfriend to care. I was seeing this guy back at school, but there is only so much of the frat bro thing that I can handle. I broke it off last month."

Eliot smiled. "I bet he was devastated."

"Oh yeah. He was totally heartbroken…..right up until the next weekend when he started hooking up with one of my sorority sisters." She laughed.

"Isn't there some girl code to cover situations like that?"

"Yeah, but it only applies if you actually CARE what the guy does, which I don't. What about you? You have a girl waiting for you back home?"

"Naaw. There was a girl in high school, but she wasn't really interested in waiting around for me when I decided to join the service." He was pleased to see that Abigail smiled at this.

"So why did you decide to join the Army?" she asked.

"Let's just say that I had a pretty colorful childhood, and the Army seemed like a good way to keep myself out of jail and focused on something other than having a good time. What about you? Why go all the way to Texas?" He grinned at her.

She raised one eyebrow at him and looked like she really wanted to question him about his 'colorful childhood,' but decided against it and answered. "I'm from Texas. Dallas. UT is kind of a family tradition. Both of my grandfather's graduated from there, and my mom and dad met there. My big brother would have gone there too, if he hadn't gone to West Point. I was on the younger side when I started college, having just turned 17, so having family close by was nice. I'm considering schools in New England for grad school, but first, as you would say, I have to decide what I want to be when I grow up." She smirked at him and shook her head.

"Awww. Don't throw that back in my face, Abigail. You know that I was just teasing you."

She giggled at him and he noticed a slight blush creep across her face. "Uh huh. Sure." She stopped in front of a driveway. "This is me."

Eliot was disappointed to see that they had reached her house. The house was all decked out for Christmas, with lights and garland everywhere. He could see that the front hall lights were on, but the rest of the house was dark and quiet. He followed her when she stepped up onto the covered porch, and turned to him.

"Do you think you'll make a career out of the Army?"

"Well, I don't know right now. Too early to tell, I guess. I guess it depends on what I decide I want to be when I grow up." He laughed as he winked at her. "Right now, I just like the idea of people who believe in honor and tradition. I didn't know it at the time, but I guess I needed a little of both in my life. I respect people like your dad, who know how to be strong but kind, and I figure that for now, I can honor them, my family and myself by being the best that I can be."

"What if you had to choose? You know, between honor and tradition?"

He looked at her quizzically. "Now why would I ever have to do that?"

Abigail pointed up to the ceiling. He looked and saw a large sprig of mistletoe hanging right above them. She looked up at him and smiled sweetly. "What's it going be, soldier? Honor or tradition?"

He considered a moment before wrapping his arm around her pulling her close to him. He sighed to himself. He had intended to do as he was told and just deliver her safely home, but he couldn't deny how beautiful she was, and standing here on the porch with his big jacket wrapped around her, she was downright irresistible.

He placed his hand under her chin and gently lifted her face to his. "Well, darlin," he whispered as he bent down to meet her, "I think I'll choose to honor tradition."

He half smiled as their lips met. He breathed in deeply the smell of cinnamon that seemed to surround her as they pecked at each other briefly before she parted her lips, inviting him in. A soft moan escaped from her throat as their tongues collided, and he felt her arms slide behind his head as she rose up on the balls of her feet to bring her face even closer to him. He pulled her tightly against him, helping to balance her. He slowly ran one hand up her spine, and entwined it gently in her long red hair, causing her to shutter slightly. An involuntarily groan escaped from him as she placed a hand on his neck and traced along his jawline with her thumb. "Damn it," he thought to himself as their tongues swirled around each other more urgently. "She even tastes like cinnamon."

They stood there pressed together for what seemed like an eternity, but all too soon she pulled away from him, stopping briefly to rub her nose against his. He released his grip on her and untangled his hand from her hair. She was blushing as she looked into his eyes and sighed. "I really should be going in," she said, almost shyly. "If my daddy caught us out here, I can't even imagine what he'd do." She removed his jacket and handed it to him, looking up at him with that sweet smile that made him desperate to kiss her again. "Thank you for a wonderful night, Eliot, I'm glad it was you who was brave enough to ask me to dance."

He took her hand and kissing it gently he sighed, "It was my pleasure, Abigail." He reached over and opened the front door for her, watching as she walked through. She stopped briefly to turn back and smile at him one more time before disappearing behind the big wooden door.

He waited until he heard the locks click to turn and leave. He slid his coat on and walked back down the driveway. He could still feel the pressure of her lips on his, and the taste of her mouth. "She is something special. Smart, beautiful and way too damn good for me," he thought, as he walked along the sidewalk. He sighed as he realized that he would never see her again.