Eyyy it turns out I'm not dead! And I can prove it with this super long, super late, fluffy chapter. I feel like once you finish reading it you'll be able to tell when I wanted to have it posted. That being said there's going to be a bit of a time jump (nothing more than a month or so) for the next chapter and it's going to start the main conflict for the end.

So raise your hand if you've been personally victimized by the new Civil War trailer because I most certainly have. And if you want to come scream about it, you can find me on tumblr by following the link on my personal page. If you guys are interested, or just wanna talk about anything at all involving the story, the characters or any plans for the sequel, I'm always happy to tell you anything and everything about my little freckled baby. You can drop me a review, or a private message, or head over to tumblr and talk to me.

I promise, any and all feedback from you guys is incredibly welcome and I love hearing from all of you. Idk, I've kinda been having a bit of a shitty time of it lately so, yo, I could always go for some feedback from y'all. And it doesn't have to be related to this story, or even Marvel, like you could just leave the word potato in my inbox and I'd be thrilled.

I'm really sorry about how late this chapter is, again, and I'll try to update quicker but honestly? School is kinda drowning me right now. If it goes a long time between updates though, I'll probably write some drabbles and oneshots and put them on my writing blog and maybe on ffn as a separate story.

All foreign language is taken from google translate so bear with the horrible attempts.

Love you guys,

Adara.

Chapter Twenty-Five:

November 24, 2011, Location: Arabian Desert

"You know, I'm kind of glad we ended up out here for Thanksgiving." Steve looked over at Nicole, who was easing down into the dusty lawn chair that looked out over the crumbling remains of the building they'd managed to clear right before it had blown. "Saves us the issue of where we were going to spend the holiday."

Another mission successfully completed, their third one since October, and Texas had been the only undercover job.

He leaned back, checking the watch on his wrist; they were currently waiting on their ride out of the desert and according to Coulson it could be anywhere between one and three hours before they got picked up. "I assumed we'd go to your parents."

"Nah," The redhead's attention was on the overturned box between them, collecting the cards that had gotten blown around in their attack. "We go home for Christmas. Actually, technically, we go to the ranch for Christmas. It's my aunt and uncle's place, and before that my grandma and grandpa used to live there. Thanksgiving is a little more…" She wiggled her hand in a vague gesture.

"What are we playing?" He asked, collecting the small pile of cards that had been tossed to him.

"Name of the game is Speed." She answered, setting up the deck. "Basically you put down whatever card is directly higher or lower than the ones on the pile. These ones can be flipped if you can't play off a card, and this is your draw pile. Gotta get all of the cards down to win."

"Seems simple enough." They played through a slow round first, before Nicole took the cards and began shuffling them again. The way her hands worked the deck was impressive, and Steve found himself staring as she flourished the cards like a magician.

"I did a job in Vegas, protection order on Justin Hammer years ago when he'd been caught dealing with the Italian mafia." She told him, catching his attention. "I was undercover in a casino as a live dealer, and had to learn some basic shuffles. It was a lot of fun, so I began learning more and more, which turned out to be really helpful considering all of the poker games and gambling rings I've had to go to since then."

There was a nostalgic smile on her face as she began counting out their cards, and Steve huffed a laugh. "Wasn't that the guy who attacked Stark with the robots? Why did SHIELD intervene?"

"Because Hammer's an idiot, but he's a very rich idiot. And at the time we didn't have Tony as a consultant, so we were looking into potential weapons deals." She shrugged.

"What happened?" He leaned forward, organizing his cards. He remembered a blip in her file about Hammer, but it hadn't warranted more than a few lines of information. She didn't talk about many of her missions, but the ones she did usually had good stories associated with them.

"So the year was 2008, April 28th to be exact, and Justin Hammer had managed to piss off the boss of the New Jersey Cosa Nostra. He owed them money, or weapons or something stupid like that because the guy's a futzing idiot. Instead of paying up and cutting his losses—you know, like an intelligent person—he decided to lay low in Vegas." Nicole scoffed, slapping cards down as they played. "Shit!"

"I win." He announced somewhat needlessly, gathering the cards again. "So Fury sent you undercover in Vegas."

She began shuffling again, cutting the deck absentmindedly. "Mhm. It wasn't hard to recognize Hammer's patterns, and I had gotten access to the security cameras around his room, as well as getting access to his room to bug it. Anyway, he's playing blackjack—aw shit— when the guy decides that now would make a perfect time to start shooting. It's not hugely surprising, we were in a super seedy casino that I'm pretty sure was owned by the Russian mafia? I don't know."

"Uh, the guy starts shooting, right? I grab Hammer and bodily yank him over the damn card table, pulling out my own gun and trying to get us some cover. The guy literally—I fucking kid you not—he literally falls on top of me and does a damn face plant right in my boobs. Doesn't seem to realize that I'm saving his life and tries this horrible pickup line!" Their movements as they tried to beat one another became frenzied as the cards were stacked on top of one another.

"What?" He laughed.

"I— ha! I win bitch!" Nicole cheered, after putting her last card down. "Anyway, it was pretty easy after that, dragged the idiot out, convinced him to pay his dues and, you know, not anger the mafia ever again. Also found my love of trick shuffling."

Nicole gave him a sly grin. "And I learned how to count cards."

"Explains how you beat me in poker." He nodded sagely, earning a laugh from his friend. They played a few more rounds to kill time and Steve's luck was looking up because he won every one. They chatted about this and that, not really paying attention to the words that passed between them though Nicole's voice got louder and angrier the more she lost.

"What did you do last Thanksgiving?" Steve asked, slapping cards down hurriedly.

"Um—fuck—last year I—shit, shit, mother fuck—broke up an underground trafficking ring." She answered, keeping up with him as they both focused on depleting their piles before the other. "God fucking damnit!"

"Ha!" The blond grinned at his friend, "I win again!"

"Don't get smug, Steve. There'll be no living with you." She pouted, though he could see that Nicole was trying to keep from smiling. There was a smear of brown dust on the crest of her cheekbone, though he had a feeling that the redhead hadn't noticed. It made him wonder just what he looked like, after blowing up a building in the middle of the desert.

"You're right, there's barely enough room in the apartment for your ego as it is." He nodded gravely, dodging out of the way of her kick. "Anyway, you broke up an underground trafficking ring for Thanksgiving last year, what about the year before that?"

"I was on a sting operation in London." She leaned back to stretch out her arms, grimacing when it pulled at the bruising he knew had to be on her ribs. Nicole was strong, but getting kicked in the side repeatedly and then slammed into a wall had a tendency to leave a lasting effect. "The year before that though was the worst; we had dinner at my grandma's, huge affair with all of the family."

"You poor thing." She wrinkled her nose at him, but Steve was only partially joking. Even half of a day with the entirety of Nicole's family had been draining. "Do you often end up on assignment for Thanksgiving?"

"Well," She paused, biting her lip as her brows drew together thoughtfully. "The way I explained it to May when I first left the Academy is that I don't mind working most holidays. Thanksgiving is a thing for my family, but it's not a huge thing. There have been a couple of years when I wasn't in the field during, and I just stayed at my place instead. The fam's pretty good at understanding if I'm not up to coming down."

The smile she turned on him then was unmistakably devious. "Christmas, on the other hand, is completely different. I've only missed it twice, once because I was stuck on protection detail for a visiting diplomat who requested me by name, and the other was during a really bad snowstorm when no flights were going in or out. I spent that holiday with Coulson though, which was nice."

"Right. And you're going to your aunt and uncle's for Christmas?" Steve didn't know what he was going to do for the holiday. The last couple of times had been during the war, and they'd had to manage with a few tradable commodities that they'd been able to pick up and some shitty, vaguely ham flavored MRE's in the middle of Europe. Before that though, he and Bucky would do what they could to decorate their apartment. It hadn't been a lot, rent and food had to come first, but they'd always been able to scrounge up enough to grab a scraggly tree and decorate it with some of their mismatch ornaments. Steve would use whatever he could, newspapers, stale popcorn, anything and everything that could be turned into a decoration.

They'd get some spam, maybe a few scraggly vegetables and whip up something that could vaguely be considered tasty before Bucky would hand him a thin stack of paper and a charcoal pencil, and Steve would toss a new dime book at his head. Then Bucky would call him an idiot, insist that he shouldn't have gotten him anything, and Steve would have tried to take the book back. A bittersweet smile stole over his features as he remembered the fight they'd have after that, good natured shoving and wrestling until they were both laughing.

"Um, you're coming with me genius." Nicole snorted, interrupting his thoughts. "There's no way in hell I'm showing up empty handed, Simon would be devastated."

"I don't want to—hey!" He tried to protest, interrupted by one of the playing cards getting flung at his face. The corner smacked him right between the eyes and Steve glared at where Nicole was reclined in her seat, fingers still pressed together from where she'd held the card.

"You need to come to terms with the fact that you're a part of the family now Steve." The redhead shrugged, "Like it or not, you're one of us which— in addition to access to the archives of embarrassing stories—entitles you to a spot at the table for all holidays and family gatherings. Actually, I am pretty sure my cousins like you more than me."

"They do not." He snorted at her, bending over to grab the card and tuck it back into the deck.

Nicole just rolled her eyes at him, watching carefully as he began shuffling the deck. "You say that now, just wait until we put your snowball making skill to the test. You do well in that, you'll even beat Tony for Simon's fave."

"We're playing Back Alley Bridge." He told her, dealing the cards. "How long are we getting off?"

"Week at the most." She answered, frowning at the cards. "Maybe less if Coulson gets something else for us to do. God it's boring out here."

"We're in the middle of the desert," He noted, laughing at the dead look on her face. "Unless you wanna draw pictures in the sand."

It was comical to watch the way Nicole's eyes went wide at that, her entire face lighting up in surprise. "Duh! Can we do that actually! I'm going to do that!"

The redhead jumped out of her seat, flipping the chair over so that the legs were facing up in the air. "This is a genius idea, Steve. Why didn't I think about this?"

He watched, the toe of his boot drawing a line in the sand, as she braced her foot on the seat of the chair. With a twisting movement she broke one of the legs off, the end jagged and pointed as Nicole inspected it critically. Seemingly pleased with the results, she jogged a few steps away from where the table was, to ground that was a little less tightly packed. Nicole bent low, pointing the tip of the chair leg into the sand, drawing it out in a wide arc as she drew… goodness only knew what. All Steve could tell was that she was making grandiose sweeping movements.

With a shrug he stood up and pulled off another leg, coming to stand beside his friend. He might as well enjoy himself too while they waited.

"By the way," She called, voice carrying over the wind that kicked up in a valiant attempt to erase their work. "I already picked out what I'm getting you for Christmas."

"You didn't have to get me anything, you know." He protested, quirking an eyebrow when she kicked a bit of sand at him.

"No shit I know, dummy." Nicole scoffed, circling him and trapping him in a ring. "That's the entire point of Christmas; you celebrate the season with your friends and family, making them happy because you want to, not because you have to. It's your first Christmas in over seventy years, Steve. No way in hell am I not going all out. You're going to have ugly sweaters, you're going to help me decorate the apartment, hell we may even get a tree."

She paused then, grinning manically at him. "And you're damn sure going to listen to me playing Christmas carols from sun up to sundown for the next month."

Steve couldn't help but laugh at that, watching as his friend slashed at the ground in nonsensical patterns. "I guess that means I'll have to get you a Christmas present too."

"Why," The redhead fluttered her eyelashes at him dramatically, "Captain Rogers, meeting you is present enough."

He kicked some sand at her then, making a face. "Don't try and butter me up, lady. I'm getting you something and it's going to be the best Christmas present you'll ever have."

"Tall order, Steve." She warned, "I once received the entire Care Bear collection and that was pretty rad."

He gave her a quizzical look at that; they hadn't hit Care Bears in his cultural catch up yet.

"I'll explain later." Nicole caught his confusion, making a few quick jabs into the sand.

Steve came to stand beside her, blue eyes following the lines in the sand. "What are you drawing?"

"It's a-me, Mario!" He did get that reference, and after a few moments the seemingly random lines became a familiar outline. "What about you?"

"Nothing, really." He used the leg to gesture to his own drawing. "More a bunch of squiggles and abstract shapes than anything else."

"Nice." Both of their heads lifted at the choppy sound that filtered over the wind. Out on the western horizon, almost hidden by the blaze of the sun, was a dark dot that kept getting progressively closer. "That'll be Coulson then."

"Not a moment too soon, I'm starting to get sand in uncomfortable places." He noted dryly. It certainly wasn't a lie, but the biggest issue he was having at the moment had more to do with the fact that they were both wearing heavy TAC uniforms that just so happened to be black. Nicole looked perfectly comfortable in hers, throwing the chair leg down into the sand and bracing her hands on her hips as she watched the approaching shape through her sunglasses.

Nicole grinned as the noise got louder, the helicopter kicking up a cyclone of sand as it made its landing, causing the two to retreat to a safe distance. Nicole yanked her scarf up, pressing the black cloth against her face as she waited, the only indication of her impatience. Phil leaned out with a practiced ease, head ducked and somehow managing to seem completely at home in the middle of the desert wearing his characteristic black suit. The only splash of color was a rust-orange tie with a pattern of yellow and brown feathers on it for the holiday. He had a pleasantly placid smile on his face, eyes flicking behind them to observe their handiwork.

"Let's get out of here." He smiled at those words, following Nicole to the helicopter.

Coulson nodded in greeting as they approached, voice struggling to be heard over the rush of wind and sand. "Well done. The mission was successful, and nobody suspects SHIELD's hand was involved. We have a jet waiting to take us back to the states."

"Were there any problems with the local authorities?" He asked, ducking his head and ever-aware of the rotating blades above them.

"We managed to talk it out." Coulson shrugged, reaching an arm out to help pull Nicole in. Not that the redhead particularly needed the assistance, but she grasped his hand anyway. "We're looking at a sixteen hour flight from the airport, I figure we can do the debrief there.

"Works for me." She shrugged, sinking down into the seat beside his.

"I've got no problem with that." He agreed, reaching up to pull at the straps of the Kevlar vest while they lifted off the ground. The uniforms were practical, make no doubt about it, but they also trapped in the heat to the point where his undershirt stuck to his skin from the sweat. Nicole seemed to have the same mindset, tugging the protective gear off of her until she was down to a ribbed tank top and her pants.

"God it's hot here." She groaned, pushing the back of her hand across her forehead.

"Almost as though we're in the middle of the desert or something." He quipped, earning a half-hearted shove in response.

Coulson sat across from them, the perfect picture of professionalism, but Steve caught the way the older man's smile widened ever so slightly, the way he would glance at Steve as though he still couldn't believe that he was real and sitting a few feet away. Nicole had explained to him early on that Coulson was easily his biggest fan, and while the two of them joked about it in private, Steve was impressed by the man's restraint. Many of the fans that he'd met in his life had a tendency to be… a little overwhelming.

"Look, sass-hole, that's enough out of you." She glared. It would have almost been threatening if it weren't for the fact that Steve had once seen her curled up on the kitchen floor in a ball of despair over the fact that they had run out of biscotti at three in the morning. One good thing about New York, there was never a shortage of 24 hour stores that had just about everything.

"You'll need to cover back up by the time we land." Coulson warned, reaching out to hand them both a canteen of water. Steve took his gratefully, unscrewing the cap and tipping his head back. With the addition of the serum to his body he had better endurance, and could last longer before dehydration really hit him, but working under the hot sun all day had really made him thirsty. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Nicole drank just as greedily, a few droplets spilling out of her mouth.

"Don't wanna cover up again." She protested, the words rushed as she sucked in a breath of air and swiped her hand across her mouth. "Can't I go nude?"

He rolled his eyes at the question; Steve had long since been desensitized to anything that came out of her mouth. Not that it was a huge difference from before, he had been in the army after all, and he and the Commandos swore with the best of them.

"You could, but we'd get arrested." He told her easily. "And it would be very rude."

"A violation of professional decorum." Coulson added, holding out her vest. "Think of the paperwork."

Steve snorted at the glare that she passed between the two of them, as though they were the worst people in the world. Though if there was anything that would keep Nicole from doing anything illegal or morally defunct it would be the promise of more paperwork.

They were fully dressed and ready to move before the helicopter touched down, and Steve was grateful that they were landing at the airport; the jet would be prepped and waiting on them to lift off. He wasn't particularly looking forward to the debrief— contrary to the popular opinion of many historians—but he understood the importance of them. And back during the war, he had understood the importance of everybody taking part in them, even if the other Commandoes didn't agree. In retrospect he supposed those same historians probably got that misconception from the fact that he'd spent most of his time wrangling his group into the damn meetings.

Getting Nicole through the debriefing was like trying to wrangle a cat in a field of catnip, and he felt bad for whoever'd had to work with her before he woke up.

IOI

December 22, 2011, Location: Cantwell Ranch, MT

"Incoming!" Steve had barely a moment's warning before about 200 pounds of dogs came barreling towards him, barking and slobbering and trying to stop before they collided against him.

He said tried because it was snowy out and of course they skidded in a pile of limbs, paws and tails. Next thing he knew, he was lying in the snow being walked over and licked and sniffed and Steve was honestly caught between laughing and trying to curl up and protect his head.

"Boomer, Radar!" Ellen groaned, hurrying out of the ranch to grab the dogs by the collars. "Leave Steve alone you monsters, you can investigate him to your heart's content later."

"Sorry about them Steve," Mark huffed, trailing after his wife. "They love new people."

"I can tell." He grunted, gripping Nicole's hand and allowing her to pull him up to his feet. "I was warned though."

"I did warn him." The redhead smiled innocently, completely at ease in at least six inches of snow and a threadbare thermal shirt as she bent to pick Chauncey up.

"But were you genuinely warned, or did she mention it offhand in the car?" Mark reached into the back of the rental, grabbing one of the duffle bags.

"No I genuinely warned you." Nicole ran her fingers through her dog's fur, biting her lip. "Didn't I?"

"You did." He assured his friend, brushing the snow off of his clothes before reaching down to offer his hands to the larger dogs to sniff. "I just wasn't expecting that much."

"Nobody ever does, Boomer's on the heftier side of the Rottweiler growth spectrum, and Radar isn't any lean meat either." Ellen smiled, huffing at the two dogs, "Dios mío, ven en el interior le chuchos."

Nicole grinned, closing the back hatch of the SUV as she tucked the corgi under her arm like a football. "Inside is warmer than outside."

"That's all the convincing I need." Steve moved up the shoveled part of the driveway, looking around. "Are we the only ones here?"

"Dad's here," Mark told him, "His truck is in the garage next to the Jeep. But you know how the cold is on his hip Nicky, he decided to let you two come to him."

"Boy do I." The redhead nodded. "I don't feel the cold, but my knee sure does."

Steve frowned at that, watching how she moved. He hadn't noticed a limp, but then the weather had been remarkably mild compared to the winters Steve was used to. Not that he was complaining; he'd never been fond of the cold and that hadn't changed with recent events. Still, after the heat wave in July and the warmer temperatures throughout autumn, he wasn't loving the bitter chill this close to the Rockies.

And, yeah, the silhouette of the mountain range wasn't exactly setting him at ease either.

"Hey." His eyes jerked away from the jagged teeth of the mountains to where Nicole had her fingers curled around his wrist, pushing up under the sleeve of his coat. "You okay?"

Her skin was warm against his, a pleasant reminder that he was here, and this was real. "Yeah, just… the cold."

"Got'cha." She tugged him into the mud room, stomping the snow off of her boots. "It's warm in here, I promise."

As soon as he was set down Chauncey was off like a dog on a mission, nose down and investigating everything he could reach.

"I believe you." Steve smiled, grateful that she could understand so much in so few words.

Nicole toed her boots off of her feet, hopping back and forth before bending low to set them neatly in line. "Today's Simon's last day of school, you know. He doesn't get out for another couple of hours."

"Yeah? They keep 'em this late, huh? Used to give us more time." He noted, hanging the coat up on the rack.

"We are not having another conversation about early 20th century teaching methods, Steve." Nicole leveled a finger at him, "The ranch is so much bigger than my parent's house so you get your own room. And there's no embarrassing mementos from my childhood hanging around."

"There are horribly embarrassing mementos from Catalina's childhood though!" Ellen called cheerfully as they stepped into the kitchen. "Take these."

"Ho boy, hot chocolate!" Nicole beamed, fingers curling around a dark orange mug. "Made with love?"

"Made with love." Ellen smirked, pressing a mug into Steve's hand. "It'll warm you up, I promise."

"Thank you." The blond smiled, blowing a cooling puff of air across the surface before carefully bringing it to his lips.

The smell prickled at his nose before he took a drink, cinnamon and nutmeg and something else that he couldn't quite place.

"Whoa." It was thicker than the hot chocolate his ma used to make, heavy cream added to the milk, and made with dark chocolate instead of milk.

More than that though was the kick of spice, biting at his taste buds. "What did you put in this? It's really good!"

"Old family recipe," Ellen winked. "Red chilies, cayenne pepper and a little something extra that I can't share."

"Black magic." Nicole murmured over the edge of her mug, tugging lightly on his arm. "You get your pick of the guest rooms, since I'm so nice."

Well, that was a change from her typical juvenile competitive nature.

Steve quirked an eyebrow, immediately suspicious.

"Absolutely not." Ellen growled, giving her niece a pointed look. "Steve, tell her no."

"No?" He looked between the women in confusion, "What am I saying no to?"

"Nothing!" That look was far too innocent to be believed, and Steve pinned Nicole with a stern look. "Okay, look, here's the thing. There's a loft over the stables that I like to sleep in when I'm here and for some odd and strange reason nobody seems to want to let me."

"¿Está jodidamente bromeando?" Ellen whipped around to face her niece, "There's no heating in the loft, and it's the middle of winter! It was one thing when you wanted to do it over the summers, and even early spring but Nicole Meredith Dugan you are not sleeping out there."

"I honestly don't see what the big deal is?" Nicole met her aunt's gaze. "I like sleeping out in the loft? And I honestly don't feel the weather?"

"Tim!" Ellen threw her hands in the air, "talk some sense into your granddaughter!"

Steve watched in surprise as the shorter woman stormed out, though Nicole looked more amused than anything. "You want to sleep in the stables with the horses?"

"It's not that bad!" Nicole sighed, "I swear it's not. Look, let's get settled in guest rooms and I'll explain."

He followed her out of the kitchen, fingers tapping against the curve of the mug as they passed through the dining room, hallway and up the stairs. There were pictures lining the walls, most of them showing the varying stages of Katie and Simon growing up. He smiled at the one of the four of them standing in front of a squat, pale brick house; Simon looked like he was barely two, and he was held in the arms of a smiling old man.

"That's Ellen's parents, they live down in Mexico City, where she grew up." Nicole explained. "Adán and Encarnación Zapata, actually if memory serves I think Tony's mother, Maria, was the one who introduced Mark and Ellen."

"Is that their wedding picture?" He asked, pointing to one of the larger pictures. It was an older picture, tones of sepia in a silver plated frame.

"Yup. Papou's wedding picture is up here at the top of the staircase." Steve hurried after Nicole to see the picture, a small smile on his face.

It was a traditional pose, Meredith was standing next to Dum Dum, their hands clasped together and she looked a vision in the satin and lace gown. His friend had cleaned up nicely, wearing a dress uniform with the tell-tale bowler hat.

"She was beautiful." He breathed, looking into familiar eyes, Nicole's eyes. "I'm surprised she settled for Dum Dum."

"I heard that." Speak of the devil.

"Hey!" Careful of the half empty mug in his hand Steve pulled his old friend into a hug. "Good to see you!"

"Yeah yeah, you two missed one hell of a Thanksgiving dinner." Dum Dum grinned, "I thought your mom was going to throw the turkey."

"Oh believe me we saw it," Steve laughed, remembering the video Jack had sent them. "It was taped."

"I noticed you haven't even been here for ten minutes and you've already set Ellen off." Nicole yelped when her grandfather pinched her side gently, jumping and yanking herself back. "You could have waited, or just not mentioned it."

"So you know about her penchant for sleeping in a loft?" Steve asked, the three of them moving down the hall.

"She's a difficult kid." Dum Dum shrugged.

Nicole rolled her eyes at both of them, pushing open two of the doors. "Guest bedroom one, guest bedroom two."

"And I don't honestly live out there, okay? It's the same logic behind when I slept out in the tree house; sometimes I really just like being outside." She bit her lip. "Listening to the house settle can get really frustrating, especially when it's full of people and I can't get to sleep so instead I move out into the loft with the horses. The fresh air is nice, the hay is pretty warm and comfortable with a couple of blankets, and I like the space. Also it doesn't bother anyone if I decide to have a cigarette."

"But it's almost January." Steve prompted, throwing his bag into one of the rooms. "I'll take this one."

It was a little smaller than the other one, furnished with a bed, dresser and desk, and there were a few paintings hanging from the walls. He selected it mainly because of the warm tones it had been painted in, burnt oranges, gold's and browns. The other room was a light shade of blue and he just couldn't bring himself to sleep in it.

"She tell you about the thermal regulation?" Dum Dum asked, continuing at his nod. "Cold doesn't bother her; I've seen mission reports where she stayed out for ten hours in the middle of a snowstorm and was perfectly fine."

"Which my aunt knows. I think it's more the sleeping in the hay and the principle of it that bothers her. And my mom has a tendency to agree, so when they get here I'm probably going to get ganged up on and bullied into sleeping inside."

He smirked at that, completely unsympathetic as his gaze drifted to her knee. "What about your knee?"

"Ah." Nicole's expression faltered at that. "It's not that bad really. And it'll ache regardless of where I sleep, which is why I brought the Aleve with me."

"I might have to agree with your mom and aunt that you should sleep inside." He set the mug down on the dresser, crossing his arms. "At least try to anyway."

"This isn't fair." Nicole frowned, finishing her drink. "None of you are fair."

"Don't look at me, string bean." Dum Dum lifted his hands. "We both know that you'll make your way out there at some point in the next week regardless of what we say."

The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs drew three sets of eyes as Katie approached, the dogs trailing behind her. "Hey Steve, hey loser. I volunteered you to go pick Simon up from school today."

"Oh thanks." The redhead was smiling through her sarcasm.

"And since you'll be in town, you can pick up some groceries. I spent the past three days making a comprehensive list of everything we still need for dinner and cookies and etcetera." Katie grinned, pulling Steve into an easy hug as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Have you been keeping this idiot in line?"

"Why am I the idiot?" They both ignored Nicole as he laughed.

"Someone has to." He didn't even react when she pushed him, though he was laughing at the way she stumbled when he retaliated. "See that? She can barely look after herself."

"Gosh I can really feel the love here." Nicole snatched the list out of Katie's hand, brown eyes scanning each neatly penned item. "I don't know how you're gonna be a doctor if your handwriting is this nice."

"I actually tried with this list, you should see me when I'm taking notes it's an absolute mess." Nicole glanced down at the watch on her wrist, frowning thoughtfully.

"Man, we just got here too…" The redhead complained, absently scratching Boomer's ear. "Do you wanna come with me, Steve? You don't have to if you don't want."

"I'll come." He looked forward to seeing the surprise on Simon's face when the seven year old saw them. "We can split the grocery list and save some time."

"Practical, I like that. Let me dig out my coat really quickly and then we can go." He felt a cold, wet nose pressing into his hand; Radar sat beside him looking up with pleading eyes.

"Oh now you're going to wear a coat." He scoffed, bending down to run his fingers through the dogs longer fur. "Hi there handsome."

Nicole backtracked into her room, unzipping her bag. "I have to set a good example for Simon. And good examples include wearing coats. Are we going to start the week long baking extravaganza tonight?"

"That sounds pleasant." He noted the less than thrilled grimace on Katie's face.

"No it doesn't." She corrected him. "It's exhausting. Over twenty different cookie recipes, three different types of fudge, two different types of pies and a plethora of other treats including the gingerbread house that my mom always enters into the competition down on the square."

"It's impressive and a little scary." Dum Dum added, "And I'll warn you now pal, don't try and help. Don't offer, and if you value your own skin just stay out of the kitchen. When the girls take over it gets absolutely savage."

"It's like Hell's Kitchen but worse because I know how to get away with murder." Nicole warned, coming out with her coat on and a matching red knit hat and scarf. "Sometimes we let Mark help us, but it's been family tradition for decades."

"So I'll just mind my own business and stay out of the kitchen then?" He offered easily.

Nicole gave the dogs one last lingering pat on her way to the stairs. "See I knew you were smart."

IOI

December 23, 2011, Location: Cantwell Ranch, MT

He hadn't done this in years.

In this circumstance Steve wasn't just referring to the seven decades of pure black that had passed in the blink of an eye for him either. He genuinely meant that he hadn't had the opportunity for a snowball fight since he and Bucky had been kids messing around in Prospect Park. During that period of his life the winter had been a dangerous time for him, caught between colds, possible pneumonia and air so cold that it cut straight to the bone they'd only had two, maybe three snowball fights. Steve did remember chasing Rebecca around the white fields, the force of a snowball hitting him right between the shoulder blades, and then tucking in next to the radiator for hot chocolate while Winnie watched them with an indulgent smile.

Crouching in the snow next to Simon, body partially obscured by the wall they'd built as a barricade, Steve felt a tremor of nostalgia go through him.

The scenery itself was picturesque; there was forest to the left of them, running up into the foothills of the mountains and dragging around the edge of the property. The ranch was to the right, the stables and garage attached on both sides, and the barn not a few feet away. There was smoke rising from the chimney—there was a wood burning stove and a genuine fireplace—with the lights blinking in different colors and the windows illuminated. He could see the dogs rushing back and forth to play in the snow, occasionally chasing after the silhouettes of the horses on the hillside and perhaps most importantly there was the other snow fort, a bright red flag stuck in the top of it.

"Okay Simon, here's what we're going to do." Steve whispered, placing one large hand on the child's shoulder. "We've got your dad and your uncle waiting out on the perimeter, and Emily and your grandpa are probably guarding the flag. Katie's already been taken captive, so that leaves Nicole as our biggest threat."

"She's out there somewhere." Simon nodded somberly, clutching one of his snowballs. "How are we gonna find her?"

Steve grinned down at the boy, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. "She'll come to us, don't you worry bud. We have something she wants."

"You guys are the worst." Katie grouched from the small shed that they'd dubbed their snow prison, blue marker cutting a line across her forehead from where he'd gotten her.

Of course there was hot chocolate in a big thermal container as well as cookies in the shed, so the woman didn't look too upset to have been taken captive.

"I'm sorry, would you like us to get you a harmonica to play, or maybe a tin cup to bang against the walls?" Steve asked sweetly, laughing when the raven spat her tongue out at them. "That's what I figured."

"What are we going to do, Steve?" Simon asked curiously, poking his head out to scan the field. There were several mounds of hay that had been snowed over, providing more than a few hiding spots for the redhead.

"I've got an idea, but it's dangerous." Steve reached up to swipe at his nose, "It'll be tricky and you'll have a really important part."

It was a delight to watch the child's face light up in excitement. "What is it? I can do it, I promise."

"I'm going to hide behind the jail, and then I need you to go out there and try to lure Em and Dum Dum's attention, okay? I won't lie to you buddy, you're gonna take fire for this but if it works we'll lure Nicole in with the promise of an empty base and I can ambush her. Then it'll be easy pickings."

"Hey don't look now but it looks like we've got company." Steve looked up at Katie's warning, turning his attention to where Mark was making his way over, hands raised in the air in surrender.

"Daddy no!" Simon groaned, even as Katie started cheering.

"Easy pickings, eh? You're underestimating the Dugan women, Steve." Katie smirked, offering a cup of cocoa to Mark as he stepped into their makeshift prison.

"What happened?" Steve asked, earning a sheepish look in response.

"Dad got me," Mark shrugged apologetically, red marker on his cheek and down his neck. "Jack and I were going in for the flag, trying to flank them and he tripped me up. He was honestly lying in the snow and waiting for us I never saw him coming."

"Your defeat is imminent Cap!" Dum Dum called across the field. "Better surrender now and avoid the embarrassment."

"Not on your life, Dugan!" He hollered back, trying to keep the laughter from his voice. "Do you have any idea where Nicole went?"

Mark shook his head. "Not a clue, actually. Though I saw some footsteps leading to the woods that looked about her size."

There was a shriek of laughter as snowballs started flying again, Emily and Jack pitching them at one another while trying to avoid being hit. They'd been out for hours playing in the dense snow, Steve helping Simon and Mark build the biggest snowman they could manage. The girls had started off their morning baking, preparing more dishes that would keep for the others to take back home. Once Ellen had decided to move on to preparing her gingerbread house for the judging that would take place tomorrow they'd come outside and decided to have a snowball fight. At some point they'd grabbed some flags for each base and turned it into a competition.

A competition that had quickly gotten out of hand between Steve and Nicole, to the point where they were now launching a complex campaign against one another.

"Dude you're not going to see her until she wants you to see her." Katie shook her head. "Why do you think I picked her team to be on? No offense Steve, you're a brilliant tactician but Nicky is sneaky."

"Our plan will still work, Simon." He declared, trying to ignore the fact that the snow and the cold was starting to soak through his clothes. "We'll lure her in and then we'll take her out. The other two will surrender as soon as they lose their leader."

"Alright. I'm ready." The seven year old looked absolutely adorable bundled up in his little snow suit, and he grabbed the bag of premade snowballs.

"Stay here and count to ten while I hide. Then you go out and help Jack." The larger man was relentless in his assault on his wife and father-in-law, deftly avoiding both Emily's haphazard throws and Dum Dum's more precise ones.

"Good luck Rogers." Katie scoffed. "You're gonna need it."

Pausing long enough to reach in and flick the raven on the arm, he hurried behind the shed and waited. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Simon counting, whispering the numbers to himself before heading out. There was another shriek of laughter and Steve kept his eyes peeled on their surroundings. Climbing up onto the roof of the shed would give him a better vantage point, but it would also make him a target and clue Nicole in to their plan. Instead he flattened himself against the exterior of the shed and scanned the landscape for—there!

The blond whipped his head around at a flash of red hair and sure enough there was Nicole carefully emerging from the tree line. The redhead surveyed the battlefield with analytical eyes, watching as Simon and Jack pushed their frontal assault on Red Base. Then she turned her attention to Blue Base and even from the distance Steve could see the confusion and suspicion on her features. Weighing the pros and cons of the trap—and she had to know it was a trap—Nicole took off running for the base. She stopped to take cover behind a partially snowed over hay bale, head poking out and close enough that he could see how red her nose was. Not that he was probably any better; the cold was starting to creep into him, reminding him of the bite of the Atlantic and there was a reason why he was getting anxious to get back inside.

Come on Dugan. He thought, shifting from foot to foot as he slipped a hand into his coat pocket to grip the blue marker. Go in for it.

Crouching low Nicole scrambled closer to the fort, taking shelter on the opposite side of the prison. Steve cocked his head, straining his hearing as he listened to the sound of crunching footsteps heading in the direction of their fort. Keeping his footsteps as light as he could in the eight or so inches of snow, he circled around the end of the shed ready to spring out and ambush his friend.

"What the?" Except she wasn't there.

The spot where Nicole should have been, right at the corner of the shed, was empty and the footsteps had all but disappeared.

"Aw son-of-a—" He realized his mistake a moment too late, looking up to see Nicole come sliding down off of the roof in an avalanche of snow.

Steve jumped back quickly, arms sweeping out to catch the redhead and swing her to the ground. Except she latched onto him and they both went tumbling in a flurry of limbs. The blond couldn't help but laugh as he wrestled with his friend, momentarily ignoring the snow that was getting under his collar and into his pants as they both scrambled to get out their markers.

"You're not winning this time Rogers!" The redhead threatened, and for a moment Steve reacted purely on instinct as he grappled with her.

They rolled and flipped, laughter and swearing and fun before he ended up facedown and felt her weight settle on top of him.

"Oh no, Uncle Jack!" Simon yelled, perfectly simultaneous with the marker stripe that went from the tip of his nose to his ear.

Nicole rolled off of him, jumping forward as she scrambled and crawled up the fort to wrap her hand around their flag. "Victory!"

Both Simon and Jack threw their arms up and moaned in their defeat as Nicole pulled herself to her feet and formally claimed Blue Base. "I claim these lands in the name of Red Base! May our reign be long and prosperous!"

"Told you!" Katie sang as she stepped out of the shed, running to tackle her cousin into the mound of snow and collapsing it.

Nicole let out a rather undignified shriek as she went down, grabbing a handful of snow and shoving it into Katie's face as she tried to claw her way to freedom. "Steve, help your new Emperor!"

He pulled himself up, brushing off as much of the snow as he could and trying to get it out of his jacket and shirt. Unfortunately most of his efforts had the exact opposite effect, sending frigid water dripping down his chest and stomach. The blond tried to repress a shiver, wanting nothing more than to change into some dry clothes.

He looked long and hard at Nicole, bending low to grab a rather intact chunk of snow-wall. "Long live the king."

"Steve!" Both Katie and Nicole gasped when he dropped it on them, shoving apart and fighting their way up into a standing position. "You did not just quote Scar!"

"Hey," Emily called, jerking a thumb to the ranch. "Let's get inside so everyone can dry off and warm up."

"I second that." His teeth chattered slightly when he said that, hating the way the cold was so familiar.

This isn't a dream. He had to remind himself. It isn't a dream and you're not still in the ice.

Steve startled slightly when he felt a set of arms wrap around his middle, steam lifting off of them as heat radiated through. "Come on, buddy. Next on the list of Christmas traditions is the movie marathon and subsequent blanket fort."

He nodded, taking a step forward and fully expecting Nicole to let go of him. Instead the redhead squeezed tighter, shifting her legs as they waddled awkwardly to the door.

"I swear we're gonna fall." Steve warned, any sting from the words lessened by the way he reached up to grab her hands; he could feel how hot they were through his gloves. "Are you sure it's okay to show off your powers like this?"

"Closest neighbor is miles away, and everyone in the family knows anyway." She noted, pressing her cheek against his numb face. "And we won't fall."

"It's cold." It hadn't been that cold back in New York, he felt like he'd been lured into a false sense of security by that fact. Hell, they'd had a few days where the air had been up in the fifties and sixties.

"It's going to get colder." She noted sympathetically. "A lot colder."

They staggered a few more steps before hooked his hands under her legs giving her a piggy back ride. It wasn't a moment too soon considering the close call that almost had them face planting. There were two towels waiting in the laundry room for them when he finally dropped her onto the ground and Nicole grabbed one as she shed her damp outer layers. Steve took the other, tossing his coat and jeans into the dryer as he pressed the still warm towel into his face.

"When you get changed," Nicole mumbled from where her towel was draped over her head, "Bring your blankets and pillows downstairs."

"Okay?" As soon as they stepped into the kitchen they were hit by the smell of gingerbread, and Steve felt his mouth water. "That smells really good, Ellen."

"Gracias." Ellen beamed, offering him a gingerbread man that was missing one of its legs. "There's frosting if you want."

"Nicole do you want one?" He asked, because he had to ask, unable to shake the need to make sure that everyone else's comforts have been met before his own. It used to be the other way around, his ma, Bucky, both of them making sure that weak, sickly Steve was taken care of even if it meant going to bed on an empty stomach.

"I'm good!" She was already ahead of him and making her way out of the kitchen and to the stairs.

Pausing long enough to scoop up a bit of frosting onto the head of the gingerbread man Steve followed after. He pulled the towel closer around his shoulders—absolutely useless for his equally soaked lower body—and relished in the heat of the house. It was taking some time to sink into his numb skin, but the blond suspected he would begin to genuinely warm up as soon as he put on some dry clothes.

As per Nicole's request Steve grabbed the bundle of blankets on his bed, balling them up as best he could as he snagged the pillows as well. The living room was a mess of likeminded individuals and the furniture had been pushed out of the way to open up the center of the room. Nicole stood among the mound of covers tossing the pillows into one pile as she organized the blankets.

"Are those the pajamas Trip got you?" The blond asked lightly, taking in the matching set of dinosaur print fleece.

She turned to him, holding her arms out for his blankets. "Yeah they are. Gimme a hand will you?"

"Not sure how you want me to help, but sure." Steve shrugged, helping her shake out some of the lighter bed sheets.

"These traditionally make up the walls." Jack offered, skidding a few chairs close. "Here, bebette."

"We need center support."

Building a blanket fort that could comfortably contain eight adults, a child, and three dogs was more complicated than Steve had anticipated. Especially when a professional architect was involved, and after a few moments of watching them fumble around Mark had taken over and began giving them orders.

He had to admit though, the Dugan family worked like a well-oiled machine and pretty soon the spacious living room was transformed into a very spacious and cozy area. They took a quick break to gather a multitude of snacks and drinks from the kitchen while Ellen pulled out the impressive collection of Christmas movies, waiting for everyone to get comfortably settled amongst the blankets and pillows.

"Any preferences?" She distributed the movies, and Steve read over a couple of the cases in his hands.

"I—is that White Christmas?" He reached over to snag the familiar cover from Nicole, who was pressed up against his side.

"Good movie." Dum Dum grinned, arm slung around Simon, who was hoarding the trail mix portion of their snacks. "It's usually my pick too."

"We can watch that one first." Ellen smiled.

Nicole shrugged, passing over her choice. "So long as we watch Scrooged at some point, I'm good."

"We always do, don't we? Bill Murray is a delight." Katie flicked her movie over towards her mother, who caught it with a roll of the eyes. "The old animated movies are my favorite though. Stop animation is so freaking cool!"

"Isn't that how they made Nightmare Before Christmas?" He'd really liked that movie when they watched it back in October.

"Mmm, yeah. We should put that on the list too!" Emily grinned.

"Jack Skellington! Jack Skellington!" Simon cheered happily, taking a sip of hot chocolate.

After a few more minutes of deliberation and a stack of movies to watch, Steve leaned back under his blanket while the familiar intro of White Christmas began to play. Nicole was resting with her head on his arm, her lower body almost completely engulfed by the way Katie was lying on her and Radar was sprawled out on the other side. It was still early in the day—at least the sun was still out—so they spent most of their time chatting while the movies played in the background. Every now and then Ellen or Emily or Nicole would get up and go into the kitchen to do a bit more baking, careful not to jostle the more than impressive gingerbread house that dominated the kitchen island. Either way they'd return with a few cookies fresh out of the oven for everyone to enjoy.

"I'm not saying that my daughter tried to eat everything with maple syrup on it the first time she'd seen Elf," Emily was telling him in fond exasperation, "but Jack and I had to hide the maple syrup."

"It was honestly disgusting." Nicole shook her head, propped up on her stomach as she drew on her art tablet. "I don't understand how I thought that maple syrup and spaghetti were a good combination."

Jack laughed at that, reaching over to jab the redhead lightly in the ribs. "Believe me, mon cher, none of us do."

"What the heck Nicky? That's so gross." Katie groused from her small nest, still sullen about being displaced by her cousin.

The redhead gave an aborted shrug at that, almost lost under the weight of her blankets. "I'm not disagreeing with you about that."

"And yet you still have an incorrigible sweet tooth." Steve noted, reaching over to pluck her pen out of her hands and scribble aimlessly over the tablet.

"Steve!" Nicole squirmed slightly, looking for all the world that she wanted nothing more than to roll her hips and shove him.

Not that she could, because almost immediately upon her sprawling out earlier Chauncey had curled up in the crevice of her legs and fallen asleep. Which had of course opened up the rest of them to mercilessly poke and prod at her knowing that she wouldn't respond.

"Gimme!" She pushed up the sleeve of her pajamas, making a grabbing gesture.

"What are you drawing?" He asked lightly, craning to look at the computer screen. "Fan art?"

Nicole nodded, erasing the lines of red that cut across her drawing. "I've had Star Wars on the brain ever since we finished the prequels."

"Nice." Katie grinned.

There was a bit of a commotion from the kitchen, ceramic dishes being set out before Mark poked his head around the corner. "Hey, come get some dinner. We've got dad's vegetable stew."

"What." Nicole's entire body shot up so quickly it was almost comical, the redhead throwing a quick apology to her dog as she practically leapt over her computer and crawled out of the blanket fort.

Steve was left watching in surprise as Katie and Jack rolled around in laughter, but none of that seemed to matter to Nicole because as soon as she got to her feet she was running to the kitchen with a shout of "vegetable stew!"

"That must be some really good stew." The blond noted, moving a little more sedately as he closed the laptop and slid it to safety before leaving the mess of blankets.

"It's amazing!" Nicole hollered from the kitchen.

The movie marathon took a short break at that as everybody filed into the dining room as they settled down around the large table. As with the night before the room filled with a mess of conversation, everybody breaking off into their own small groups and occasionally throwing in a comment or two across the table. At the moment Nicole was listening as Simon listed off all of the things he was hoping to get for Christmas, and Steve was pleased when he could at least knock one of the items off of the list.

He and Nicole had brought their gifts with them, wrapped and waiting upstairs in the closet until tomorrow night. They would wait until Simon went to bed, probably wait a few more hours after that, and then everybody would bring their gifts down.

"It'll be a little tricky fitting that into the SUV, babe." Mark was explaining, gesturing to where they could see the multistory elaborate gingerbread house through the archway. "We might have to put it in the truck."

"Well," The raven shrugged, taking a sip of her wine. "We built that frame a couple of years ago from when I did decided to build Wayne Manor. We can use that to protect it."

"Do you want any help loading up tomorrow?" Steve offered, thinking that it was a good thing the kitchen had a sliding glass door that lead directly to the back patio. "It's pretty big."

Ellen had decided to outdo herself this year—or so everyone had said upon seeing the completed confectionary creation—by building a gingerbread replica of Manhattan. Not the entire city, but in the center was Stark Tower, with surrounding skyscrapers around it. Of course, the woman was a senior architect for RedShore Energy, and had been designing buildings since Katie was a child.

"Arms like that?" Mark snorted. "Yeah, we'd love some help Steve."

"Thank you, cariño." Ellen beamed.

Dinner wrapped up quickly after that, followed by a dessert of Dutch apple pie that Nicole had made by hand. It was absolutely delicious and Steve was almost positive he'd never had this much rich, sweet food in his life. And between the eight of them there weren't any leftovers.

The atmosphere when they returned to the living room had shifted to a lazy sense of contentment, and for the most part they watched the movies in silence. Steve had a feeling that he was the only one paying much attention now, but he couldn't help it. He hadn't actually seen any of these movies before, with the exception of one or two of them, and Christmas was one of his favorite times of the year. Emily and Jack were the first ones to go to sleep, still caught up in the Georgian time zone, and the pair quietly excused themselves before heading upstairs. Dum Dum followed not too long afterwards, somewhere between Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, prompting Simon to press himself between Steve and Nicole. Katie fell asleep with her head on her cousin's back, body spread out at an angle while the redhead rolled her eyes and tried to make herself comfortable.

By the end of the movies Nicole and Steve were the only two awake in the living room, and it was well past midnight. He wondered if he should move, but the four year old was wrapped around his arm like an octopus and between Simon and the dogs he was well and truly trapped.

"Christmas is technically less than twenty four hours." Nicole whispered absently, chin propped up on her arms.

Steve allowed a small smile to transform his features as he considered her words. "Yeah. I think this is the first year I've ever been able to afford to buy people gifts."

"I'm sorry." He wasn't sure what she was apologizing for, and yet at the same time Steve knew exactly what she was conveying.

The first Christmas where they weren't dirt poor, and he had to share it with strangers. No, not strangers; the Dugans were family, maybe the only family he had left. It just… this wasn't how he'd been planning on spending his first holiday after the war.

"Thanks." A swell of emotion locked up his throat, and Steve was grateful for the dark lighting and the way it masked the wetness in his eyes.

"Are you excited?" He cleared his throat, tilting to face Nicole.

He was only a little surprised to find her already facing him, the planes of her face partially shown in the soft illumination of the tree lights. "There could be absolutely nothing for me going under that tree for all I care and I'd still be happy."

"This summer was…" Her teeth flashed as she grimaced. "Well early summer was pretty crappy, but I've got everything I could possibly need right here."

The woman paused for a beat, reaching out to push her fingers into his hair briefly. "With the exception of a mountain of dark chocolate anyway."

Steve huffed out a laugh, enjoying the easy affection. "Just you wait until Christmas then. All of your dreams will come true."

"I would be so impressed." There was warmth in her voice, before she shifted slightly so that one of her legs was pressing into his. "But how are you doing? I can't imagine what's going on in your head."

"I wish Bucky were here." He answered honestly, not trying to fight the heartache that he associated with his friend. "He would be eating all of this up."

"You talk about him a little more." The redhead noted.

"It's getting a little easier." He admitted. "Bucky loved Christmas almost as much as I did. We did this thing where we continually pretended that we weren't going to get each other gifts—couldn't afford it really—and then without fail each year he'd hand me a stack of paper and a bit of graphite and I'd get him a paperback. He would have lost his mind at your collection, he loved Asimov."

"No kidding? I used to have more you know, collected sci-fi and fantasy a lot through high school and college. Ended up doing a huge donation haul each summer." Silence reigned for a few moments until Nicole lifted her head to push up onto her arms. "Do you wanna go somewhere after this?"

Steve blinked at the non-sequitur, trying to connect the question to their previous topic of conversation. "What?"

"I mean," she continued anxiously, "technically we could go anywhere. We have passports, and I'm sure Coulson would understand if you just wanted to go see the world! Other than a few missions—where we didn't even have time to look around—we've stayed in New York. There was the trip to DC but does that count? We didn't even do any sightseeing. We could go to the west coast, see LA, and enjoy the sun and sand and ocean."

"I think I've seen enough of the ocean, thanks." Steve noted dryly.

"That was the Atlantic, which is nice sure, but the Pacific Steve. California. Universal Studios and Hollywood and everything. Let's go to Los Angeles." It was another of her whiplash mood switches and there was something almost manic in the way Nicole was trying to sell him on the idea.

"Slow down for a second would you." The blond propped himself up on his elbow, careful not to jostle the sleeping child next to him. "What's going on Nicole? Why this sudden need for a vacation?"

Nicole paused, giving herself a slight shake of the head. "I just… I don't know. This all feels too nice, to calm. Like something really shitty is going to happen and I don't want that. I just want to enjoy the positivity."

"Everything is going to be fine." He assured her, pressing his leg a little more firmly against hers. "Besides, I don't think we'll be allowed to just take a vacation again so soon."

"You could technically do whatever you want, Steve." With a sigh of defeat Nicole settled back against the pillows. "But I guess that was a little crazy of me."

"A little?" There was something unsettling about her words though, the genuine nervous energy that seemed to fill her.

Steve didn't doubt the truth to what she was feeling, but for the life of him he had no idea how to help. One thing he did know for certain, he was going to do his damnedest to protect what little he'd managed to scrape together of his life.

"Sorry. I get weird like that sometimes." She yawned. "It was probably too much sugar, I should go to sleep."

"Goodnight Nicole."

"Night Steve."

He waited until he heard her breathing even out, free arm pillowing his head as he stared up at the play of colors over the draping sheets. A calm filled the house, warm and comfortable and against his will it lulled him to sleep.

IOI

December 25, 2011, Location: Cantwell Ranch, MT

"Everyone wake up, it's Christmas!" Steve jerked in his bed at the sound of that high pitched squeal, the precursor to little footsteps pattering down the hall and pounding on each door. "Abuelo it's Christmas! Time to get up! We've gotta see if Santa came!"

Yesterday had been an exhausting rush of last minute baking, phone calls and chatting with family. It had mostly been Jack's family, though Ellen had gotten into a heated shouting match with her cousin over the phone in rapid fire Spanish that had both Nicole and Katie blushing. When he'd finally gone to bed it had been to Nicole putting in one last batch of cookies.

"Nicky are you—Nicky's not in bed! She better not be opening presents!" Steve highly doubted that, pushing the blankets off of him and swinging his legs over the bed.

He could hear Simon making his way down to his door, the four year old pushing his head in. "It's Christmas Steve!"

"I know, bud." He grinned tiredly, dragging a hand down his face. "Is Nicole not in her room?"

"Nuh-uh." Simon shook his head, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "The bed's all made and everything!"

"If she's out in the loft…" Emily groused, walking past. "Come on, Si, let's go downstairs. You can help me make breakfast and then we'll see about making breakfast."

The pout on the child's face was adorable, and it was a miracle anyone could say no to him when he stamped his foot and sulked off.

"He's too cute for his own good." Steve noted, stretching his shoulders with a few pops.

Emily smiled fondly at that. "Will you go see if you can bring my daughter in? I'm almost positive she's out in the loft."

"I can, yeah. Assuming she'll listen to me." Listening wasn't exactly Nicole's strong suit after all.

"That's why I'm sending you; you can use force if she gets stubborn." There was a mischievous shine in those brown eyes before the older woman was gone, no doubt heading down to the kitchen to get breakfast started.

Steve shook his head as he followed, pausing at the shriek from downstairs.

"SANTA CAME!" He couldn't help but be bemused by Simon's energy; even if he was a morning person, Steve hadn't wanted to leave the warm cocoon of his bed this early.

It seemed he wasn't alone in his line of thinking, Katie practically fell out of the doorway of her room, wrapped up in her green comforter and another throw blanket. "Morning, Steve."

"Morning." He smothered a yawn behind his hand, gripping the banister as he descended to the living room.

Simon was overflowing with excitement, beholding the presents that had 'miraculously' appeared overnight. There was enough that they were overflowing slightly from the base of the tree, and he recognized the familiar wrapping paper that he and Nicole had picked out before they'd left Brooklyn. There was also the plate of cookies, a few missing and a few more with just bites taken out of them next to an empty glass. Jack had joked that he wouldn't be able to so much as look at anything sweet for the next three months.

"Come in here and get some breakfast kiddo." Mark called, "we'll open presents in a little bit."

"Aw but dad!" And there were the patented Dugan puppy dog eyes.

"Nope, breakfast first mister." Ellen warned.

"Where's Nicole?" Jack questioned, "Outside?"

"Probably, knowing that heathen." The taller woman snorted, already setting out pots and pans. "Steve's getting her though, right?"

"By force if I have to." The blond called from the mud room, stuffing his feet into his boots as he grabbed his coat.

It was bitterly cold outside, the air sticking in his lungs like needles. Thankfully the walk from the house to the stables was quick, and the interior was much warmer with the insulation of the walls and the hay. He took his time to reach in and pet the three horses, wishing that he had something to offer them for a treat. There were a few carrots still in the fridge, he'd see if he could sneak them out later. The closer he got to the loft, the easier it was to smell the scent of smoke and if he squinted he could see the actual curls against the weak sunlight.

"I hate you so much." Nicole laughed, voice filtering down from above in a sprinkle of straw. "No that's a lie. I love you and you know it."

He rapped his knuckles against the wooden ladder to announce his presence, fingers curling around one of the rungs at the responding wave.

"I do miss you." Nicole was snuggled in the middle of an actual hay nest, a thick, scratchy looking blanket covering half of her body. "No, you don't have to come visit for my birthday. I mean, I'd love it but you don't have to Cas."

The person on the other end of the phone snapped something back that he couldn't make out, though he could tell she was annoyed. Nicole rolled her eyes, cigarette tipping out of the corner of her mouth as she glanced at her watch. Steve saw the way her eyebrows shot up, hand grasping at the phone sandwiched between her shoulder and ear as she took another long drag.

"Hey, yeah I gotta go. Rest of the family's up and waiting—yeah, I know. If you want my couch, I'll talk to my flat mate and—shut up Cas. No. No! I love you too loser, bye."

"Isn't it dangerous to smoke surrounded by hay?" Steve asked dryly, elbows propped on the dusty floor of the loft as he watched Nicole snub out her cigarette and scramble to her feet. "You've got straw in your hair."

"Sorry, I slept out here." The redhead answered, trying unsuccessfully to brush herself off.

"No shit." Blue eyes cast a look around the small area. "Looks comfortable, if not a little chilly."

"Yeah but the horses don't yell at me for my disgusting habits." Nicole countered, pulling her boots on before she ushered him down the ladder. "Everybody else up?"

"Making breakfast as we speak. I suspect that your aunt's going to be steamed with you." Steve dropped down onto the floor, stepping back as Nicole followed.

"Eh, it's Christmas. Give me a second, I'm going to let the beasts out." Steve stepped back as Nicole jogged to the doors, undoing the lock and letting them swing open. "Open the stalls, would you?"

"No problem." He'd never actually worked this close with horses before coming to the ranch, though it shouldn't come as a surprise considering that the only horses in Brooklyn were a part of the mounted police. "Who were you on the phone with? Come on Goldie, out you go."

"That was my old college roommate Cassidy. She's spending Christmas up in Chicago with her boyfriend and his family and was thinking about coming to New York in February for my birthday." Nicole rolled her shoulder with a resounding pop. "Would you be okay with a guest if that does happen?"

"I don't see why not," Steve answered honestly. "What happens if we have a mission?"

"Figure that out when it gets closer to February." The redhead answered, her attention turned to the ranch. "Oh hey, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too." Steve laughed at his friend. "We'd better hurry if we want any breakfast."

He led the way inside, acting as a windbreaker for Nicole though he suspected she didn't need it. There was still a few stray pieces of hay in her hair, and once they got back into the mud room he reached over to pluck out what he could see.

"Nicky!" Simon was on them in an instant, almost before they could get off their outer gear. "Steve! It's Christmas! Come get breakfast!"

Nicole let herself be dragged away by her younger cousin, reaching out to snag his arm and tug the blond with her. "I could go for some breakfast. Did Santa come last night?"

"He did! And he ate the cookies!" Simon cheered, bouncing on his feet.

"There you are," Emily pulled her daughter into a hug, nose wrinkling slightly though whether it was from the scent of horse or the scent of tobacco he wasn't sure. "Merry Christmas sweetheart."

"Merry Christmas mom. And, family too." Steve settled down into his seat at the table, grinning at the spread of eggs and bacon.

Brown eyes widened as she noticed all of the food, and Nicole immediately hurried to the table to load her plate. "Nice."

Breakfast was remarkably quick considering Simon's jittery enthusiasm and constant rushing. Not that he could be blamed; he was a four year old on Christmas after all. After a few more minutes—and Steve had a feeling they were holding out just to make Simon squirm—they all went into the living room to open their presents.

They started with the stockings first, small and filled with candy as well as a few toy cars for Simon. Nicole had snuck in a new flash drive for Katie as well, shaped like a brain that the younger woman had loved. Steve had gotten a few paintbrushes, and some watercolor pencils that he was excited to try as well.

The gifts themselves followed a similar theme in that a good portion of them were art related. He received new sketchbooks, pencils, and a nice paint set as well as a few art books. Dum Dum had given him a set of history books as well that he set aside to look through later tonight.

"You said you were interested." Nicole shrugged, handing over her last present.

He carefully unwrapped it, not wanting to rip at the paper, and slid the box free. It was a digital art tablet, a different model than the one Nicole used if the picture on the front was anything to go by.

"Thanks!" He set the box on his lap, resisting the urge to pull the drawing tablet out of the box. "Will it work with my laptop?"

"It should, yeah. I also wrote down a couple of links that you can follow to digital art blogs, tutorials, stuff that'll help you get started." She explained, attention drawn by Simon who was sitting in the middle of the room with his gifts spread around him.

"Last gift, and this one's for you sweetheart." Ellen smiled, handing him a box that hadn't been wrapped. "It's a little last minute, or it would look a little fancier."

He opened the box to find several jars as well as a tin insulated from knocking into one another by a strip of red and blue scarf. He unwound the scarf, and kept unwinding, and it had to be about six feet in length. It came with a matching set of gloves and a hat as well, all of which looked to be handmade. The jars were all hand labeled, and they looked to be a set of spices.

"It's the spice mix for making my hot cocoa." Ellen told him, catching the puzzled look on his face. "That way you can have some when you guys get back to New York. And I mean, feel free to add to it or change it as you see fit; that's the whole point of passing down recipes after all."

Steve felt a swell of warmth fill him at those words, his fingertips running down the individual stitches in the scarf. "These are all so great, thank you so much."

He knew he had to have a sappy look on his face, but when Nicole leaned in to pull him into a hug—one that quickly turned into a group hug—Steve couldn't bring himself to care. It felt like family, and he'd really missed that.