Author's Note: Hi everybody, thanks for hanging with me throughout the summer. I'm sorry that updates have been slow and far between. Life just has a habit of catching up with me and leaving me with no time to write. Weirdly I find I have more time to write during the school year, rather than the summer. That is probably because I tend to write during my more boring classes or waiting for lectures to start. That and I have been really busy right now moving into my new house. Unfortunately due to the recent casting changes in Criminal Minds my interest has slightly waned in the show however rest assured that I will finish this story and have it roughly planned out of where I would like to take the story. Now enough of my rambling and onto the story.

Chapter 26

Things in their household soon began gearing up for the holidays. Dave wanted to ensure that Spencer got the best Christmas ever, and he knew his mom agreed with that idea.

Dave took a few days off from working on his next book to shop for presents, while Spencer was at school. Buying for a boy genius was definitely an interesting experience. Some presents were definitely easier than others to find. Box sets of star wars and Star Trek were easy, as were the build-your-own Millennium Falcon and Enterprise kits. However the books and microscope required a little more ingenuity on Dave's part that saw him travelling to University book stores and bio-tech firms. But Dave was absolutely determined to make this an amazing Christmas for Spencer. That and he had not celebrated the holidays much, or at all, in recent years. He had often found himself caught up in cases or depressed because of said cases. He could not remember putting up a Christmas tree for at least twenty years. But he was determined to change that behaviour and spent time acquiring a multitude of decorations for Spencer, Mama, and himself to deck out the house with.

Spencer was anxious about the holidays. He had never really celebrated the holidays. His mom's delusions had always seemed to be at their worst during the holiday season. And in foster care there was never the money and often presents were the necessary clothing or school items. Never the books or the items that he yearned for.

Spencer didn't know what his new dad or grandma did for the holidays, or what or how he would get them presents. His dad had begun to give him an allowance so he had some spending money. Mama Rossi solved one dilemma for her grandson. One December weekend while she was watching her grandson, because Dave was meeting with his literary agent and publisher, she brought him out to the mall. Together they found a picture frame that declared 'World's Greatest Dad' as well as a new tie for Spencer to give his dad for Christmas.

Dave solved the other of Spencer's dilemmas. Another trip to the mall, this time a father and son trip, got a new necklace and earrings as well as a framed picture of Spencer and his grandmother for the boy to gift to Mama Rossi on Christmas.

The fates seemed to conspire to make it a good Christmas for Spencer. The boy's SAT results had come to the house, and because he was a minor they were addressed to Dave, so Dave hid them away for his son to open on Christmas morning.

School for Spencer ended on the twentieth so that weekend they decorated the Rossi house. On Sunday the three of them went on a little bit of a drive. Dave left his son in the dark regarding their location, much to Spencer's chagrin. But Dave was enjoying tormenting his son too much to ruin the surprise early. Soon however they arrived at a tree farm. Spencer was barely able to contain his excitement, "We're cutting down our own Christmas Tree?" he squealed,

"Yeah buddy, We're cutting our own down. You get to choose which one we cut down."

Spencer spent quite a bit of time analyzing what tree they should get. This one wasn't the right proportions, that one was too small, another was too bushy, and so on. Soon, however, just as Dave was getting to the point of annoyance, they found a tree that was "just perfect" in Spencer's words.

Soon they had the tree home and were beginning to decorate it. Dave and Mama Rossi had dug out their old family decorations. During the laughing and joking Dave realized once again just how lucky he was to have a family.