Hi Everyone! I hope you enjoyed Modern's last chapter. I certainly did! Today's chapter focuses on Rossi. A lot of the stuff I talk about comes from my own traditions with my family. I hope you enjoy :)

Song: Buon Natale
Version: Nat King Cole


Snow was falling lightly as David Rossi pulled into his driveway. Normally he wasn't such a fan of the snow, but even he had to admit that the pure white made a pretty contrast to the charcoal gray of his large home.

His large, empty home.

The sound of his footsteps echoed in the hall as he made his way to the coat hanger to get rid of his outerwear. Being alone had never much bothered Rossi. After growing up in a large, noisy family and going through three wives, sometimes he preferred being by himself. But it was the Christmas season and something just felt so wrong about being alone. Sure he would open his home to any members of the team who needed the family, but there were no guarantees that any would take him up on his offer. Being alone wasn't really what Rossi had wanted for his life either. He had always hoped that he would have plenty of children and grandchildren to fill the home during this blessed time- like his Nonna and Nonno had.

The agent stopped in his kitchen, pouring a glass of wine from the bottle he had opened the night before. He could almost smell the spices from the mulled wine his grandmother used to make. It would mingle with the smell of his grandfather cooking tilapia for Christmas Eve dinner. He could almost see the mess of flour on the counter with the icing that the cookies would later be decorated with. Rossi finally snapped himself out of the memories and made his way to the den, where he picked up his copy of A Christmas Carol. As he read, he could hear his mother's melodic voice dancing over the words. Despite her stanch Italian upbringing, she loved the story and read it to the children in the family every Christmas week as long as she had been alive. At first she read it in Italian, but as fewer and fewer of the children were being taught the language, she switched to English.

Rossi shook his head, in his opinion, the native language of a people should always be passed down. No matter where you lived.

He looked over to his phone, where he caught the small red light blinking. He hardly ever had phone calls on his landline. . . which meant it was probably family. The agent braced himself as he reached over to press play.

"Ciao David, it's Giovanna." Rossi smiled, his young second cousin was one of the few relatives he could stand. "I was making taralli and couldn't help but think of you. I will send you some, but I need your new address. My number is in your email. Call me soon. Buon Natale cousin! Talk to you soon."

If it was possible, his smile grew. Of course he could make the taralli himself, but Gia was a master and if she wanted to bless him with homemade treats, he would not discourage her. Finding her number was no problem and soon the line was ringing in attempt to connect.

"Hello?" the feminine voice answered.

"Ciao Gia! Buon Natale!"