Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters

Blue finger tapped on the tea cup as she went over the papers in front of her. She tried to ignore the presence of Green behind her but then again, she might as well try to go a week without the delight of chocolate. She was aware of his presence like he was a part of her body. She tried to block out his presence as she went through all the records of everyone she had been in contact for the last year. They were now at her office and going over everything that happened, trying to find the killer. She had made sure to leave Aqua with Daisy the night before and wondered if she should call to check up soon.

"That's a long list," She jumped when Green leaned over her shoulder and looked over at the book she was looking at. "How do you remember all of these people?"

"I record everyone I ever met just in case I make any enemies of them or if I need a favour from them. I like to file them away so that I file them away. That's the pile of people that I have helped. The other is from my personal life and those over there are the people that have reason to hate me."

Green raised his eyebrow at that but she didn't answer any more questions. He allowed himself linger around her a little longer than was proper before stepping back. He pulled back her hair and tucked it behind her ear. She didn't show any reaction to his action beside her breath quickening slightly. She continued to go over the files, leaving some aside.

"Put these back in the cabinet," She passed him several folders that were heavy enough to rival the weights he trained with in the past. He didn't look at them much before he put them back in the cabinet in their proper order. She kept going over her files and he wondered at how she was able to get all of the information.

When he asked her, she only shrugged and answered, "Internet. Why don't you go and make something for us to eat. There's a microwave somewhere around here."

"You know, you shouldn't be working so hard," he said when he saw the bags under her eyes. "How much sleep did you get last night?"

"About the same amount any other mother would when some crazy bastard develops a sick fantasy around her and is threatening to take her daughter away, so not that much. Don't you start nagging me, I remember all the times I told to you to sleep during highschool, but did you listen? No, you stayed up all night with your little inventions."

Green didn't say a word as he thought back on those long nights. He remembered the few times that he actually listened to her and slept. They were few but they were enough for him. He knew that she was disappointed with the little he had but it was all he could give at the time. He saw her tilt her head back and ran her hand over her face.

"Sorry," She sighed as she took the coffee he passed her and he sat across from her with his own cofee. "I'm just tired and hungry so I might snap at you."

"Why don't you rest? I'll break down the DNA to help find a match to the first present, the heart."

"It was from a man named Chester Boris," She answered him as she drew her legs onto the chair and pointed to a file on the table. "I went through the police files of bodies found without a hand in the last month. I found a couple and narrowed the search to those that were in the area. He was the only one but I was only able to track his progress to when he used his credit card at a diner not too far out of town. That was only a couple days before the present was sent to me so I can't be sure about the time he was abducted."

Green stared at her in shock as she tried to make herself comfortable in the chair. "Why have you never become a police? You could help a lot of people."

"I am helping lot of people," Blue would've snapped at him but was too tired to. "Being a police only limit me on what I can do. Silver became one though. He's now top of his department in New York and the best part is that he has the most wonderful wife."

"Silver has a wife?" Green choked on his coffee. "A wife? A willing sane woman that was not on drugs at the time?"

"Yes," Blue crossed her arms. "Lyra is a great woman and they're perfect together! She's sweet and warm and loving, just the person for him!"

"And I guess that it was pointless of me asking if you didn't find, match and put them through the craziest scenarios to make them fall in love? Even knowing you, I can't see Silver being with anyone. He just never seemed like the type of person that would let someone else in."

"Silver found her all on his own. I always thought that it was so romantic the way they met in the bookstore. I did get to meet her and help their relationship a little, but not as much as I wanted too. I didn't even get to take as much pictures that I wanted to!"

"Shouldn't you be sleeping? Just close your eyes and let me take care of this," Green asked in hope of being spared from one of her rants. He knew once she started, she could go on for hours. But the fact that Silver got married still shocked him. A lot has changed from the time he left years ago. He saw that she stuck her tongue at him but at least she went back to drinking her coffee.

Green went back to the little map she had hanged on the wall and began to put little notes on where he knew the killings occurred. He also marked the diner the first victim was last seen. He couldn't find anything on Alexander. He knew Aqua didn't like the man and Green agreed with her. When he turned to ask her, he saw that she was sleeping.

Green sighed since he knew that she was tired. He took off his jacket and draped it over her, watching her shift and pulled his jacket closer to herself. He smiled when she mumbled in her sleep and thought of all the times he would watch her sleep whenever he was restless and couldn't sleep himself. It was easier in those times.

He wondered what his life would be like if he stayed. Would he as successful a scientist as he was now? Would it matter since the success didn't seem to fulfill him as he thought it would?

"That tree!" Aqua demanded as she pointed to the large fern tree. It was a couple weeks to Christmas and Aqua had demanded that they pick out a tree from the forest outside the town on for the special holiday. Blue would rather not be so out in the public for Aqua's safety but this was a family tradition and she didn't want Aqua to think that anything was wrong. Wally was busy and since she wanted one other person to help look after Aqua as well as the killer, she was forced to bring Green along.

"Do you think it will fit in the café?" Blue asked as she examined the tree. She would be sweeping needles for weeks and Blue cursed at the thought. It seemed like it would fit but then again it could be too big.

"But this is the perfect tree," Aqua begged. She made the face that she knew her mother could never say no to. The moment Blue sighed, she knew that she had her mother's agreement. Aqua jumped in the spot and reached for the axe Green held over his shoulder. "I want to cut it. It's my tree after all. I chose it, I get to chop it."

"Now Aqua," Green balanced the axe so that he didn't drop it as Aqua was jumping to grab it. "This is too big and heavy for you. You might hurt yourself."

"But it's my tree," Aqua did her puppy dog face to him.

The corner of his mouth actually twitched as he patted her on the head. "You can trick your mother with that but it won't work on me. Your mother has been using that look on me for so long that I've became immune to it. I'll cut it down. You two stay back, okay?"

Blue mumbled something under her breath about him turning cold again as she lifted Aqua into her arms and stepped back. She watched him swing the axe to cut down the tree and tried not to imagine his muscles rippling underneath his jacket, or that she had woken that morning with his jacket draped over her. It didn't help that his jacket held his scent too.

"Momma, are you warm? You're blushing," Aqua tugged at her mother's hair. She laughed nervously at her words but jumped when the tree fell before them with a distinctive thump. She put Aqua down and helped Green tie ropes to the tree so that they could drag it back to the car.

She laughed at the sight of Green carrying Aqua on his back and trying to drag the tree at the same time. It didn't help that Aqua wouldn't stay still as she talked animatedly about her latest projects. Blue was tempted to sit on the tree just to spite him but didn't out of the kindness of her heart. She matched his steps next to him and laughed. She saw others family in the area and thought at how they looked like a family as well.

"Green," Aqua hit her fist in against Green's shoulder to get his attention. "What's that in the snow?"

Green followed the direction Aqua was pointing in. His eyes saw the red wrapped present in the snow immediately. He and Blue stiffened and Aqua took advantage of their shock by getting off Green's back and running to the present before either of them could stop her.

"It's addressed to Momma," She bent down to pick up the present just as someone come out and grabbed her. The person was wearing a large jacket and ski mask so that she couldn't tell who it was, or even if the person was a woman or a man.

"Aqua!" They both screamed and raced forward to Aqua. Aqua screamed as well, throwing snow at the man before scrabbling back to her parents. The person stopped when they saw that Aqua had already reached Blue and began ran away. Blue lifted Aqua easily and ran to the car, just thinking of getting Aqua out of danger. Green chased after the man though.

"Stop!" Green chased him through the trees. He pushed away the branches and tried to keep up with the man. He was faster than Green had thought he would be and ran faster. He was about to tackle the man when he was tackled himself. He heard a gunshot rang over his head and his thanked whoever pushed him to the ground.

He sat up and was surprised when he sat up and saw that it was an elderly woman that saved him. She made great show of rubbing her aching shoulder.

"Are you okay Miss?" He asked. "And thank you for saving me."

"Yes, it's nothing. I saw that you were chasing that guy and that he was pulling out a gun. I don't have children of my own and could only think of what they would feel if you were to die. I had to help you. My name is Julian Covent by the way."

Green shook the hand she held out to him. "Thank you again."

"It's alright. Tell Aqua that it was me that saved you," She waved him goodbye before he could question her.

He remembered Blue and Aqua and went back to them. He was worried about them and all he could think about was going to them, gather them into his arms where he would protect them. How dare the killer try to take Aqua? Green could feel himself get angry again. He wished that he could've caught up the man in time so he could break the man's face.

He stopped at the present and felt like kicking it. But he picked it up and opened the lid. As expected, there was another body part inside, this time it was an ear. Green wanted to throw up but held it back. He placed the little present box in his jacket. He went into the parking lot and saw Blue and Aqua standing in front of the car.

He smiled with relief as he went to them. His relief was so great, when he reached Blue's side, he tilted her head up and kissed her.

Green couldn't think of where he met the woman or how Aqua knew her. He didn't want to go to the little girl directly without making her afraid. He was so confused on what was right. He sat on the chair in the middle of the café and didn't notice the noise of Aqua and Blue as they decorated the tree.

"Green, come and help me put up the star!" Aqua called to him ad beckoned him with her smile. He smiled back to her and lifted her easily, placing her on his shoulder so that she could put the star on the top of the tree. He stepped back so he could look at the tree in full. It was beautiful and Blue lowered the lights so that the decorative lights shone brighter.

"There's something missing," Aqua tilted his head up to the tree when he put her down.

"What's missing?" Green examined the tree.

"Where's your ornament? You need to put your decoration on now that you're-" she stopped herself before saying 'part of the family'. "It's a tradition."

Green knew the tradition well. He thought about what he could use and then turned to Blue. "Do you still have the snowman ornament we made when we were little? We can use that."

Blue blushed at that. They made it on their first Christmas together when Professor Oak created the tradition that every family member was to have a special decoration to contribute to the tree. So that first night, he and Blue made a paper snowman decoration. She didn't want to admit that she had kept it but knew that Aqua would be disappointed if she didn't get it.

She nodded and went upstairs to get the decoration. She went into her room and opened her closest. She sighed and tried to hold back tears as she pulled out a little shoebox. She opened it and rummaged through the letters, jewelleries and other little object Green had given her before she was able to find the little snowman. She held it close to her heart for a moment and asked herself why she didn't throw them away.

"Why didn't you throw them away?" Green voice startled her and she realized that she had been talking out loud. She turned and tried to face Green but didn't know if she would be able to stop her tears. Somehow she was able to hold it back as she stood.

"What did it matter?" She thrust the snowman into his hands. Green took it and held it carefully, as if it was something precious.

"I was coming up here to talk to ask you about a woman named Julian Covent. She saved me from getting shot today."

"Julian?" Blue looked up at him shocked. "She doesn't even live in this town."

"Do you know her?"

"She wanted me to drop Aqua out of the science fair so that her granddaughter could win. She asked me for help but she didn't know that Aqua was my daughter. I didn't tell her since I was afraid that she might use her money to hurt us. I'll go into her a little more but until I know for sure what she was doing, you can just leave this to me."

Green nodded but when she walked by, he grabbed her arm, "I don't want you to think that it didn't matter to me - that we didn't matter. I truly did care for you."

"So the only thing I had to show for your love and care are these little trinkets and the memory of you leaving on our wedding day. I'm sorry that I don't believe in your non-existent caring words and actions. I can understand that I wasn't much to you but did you have to string me along by asking me to marry you. I should've known when you never loved me when you never said you love me, even before you asked me to marry you. Don't bring up our relationship come again. I don't want Aqua to know."

"To know what?"

"To know that her mother had never experienced love before," Blue's voice cracked. "To know that every man I've ever loved left me. Her father left just like you did and will leave again eventually. Now let's go down stairs and act like this, like we, never happened. I don't want this hurting Aqua."

"I care about her like she's my own daughter," His word seemed to make her flinch. "You know what it was like for me not knowing my father, I can only think about what it is like for her. You need to tell her who her father is and talk to this guy about meeting her. She deserves to know."

"I'll think about it," Blue said but neither she nor Blue knew if she meant the words.

"I'll avoid this but I won't forget about us," Green said as he walked past her with the snowman in his hands.

Hope you like this relatively short chapter. I kinda feel awkward that I'm writing these Christmas moments in the summer -.-

Review if you liked.