Part 7

Julia listened as Isabel described the best homemade icing for Christmas cookies, adding her input on occasion. She had run them out of the kitchen when Edward had returned with the boys, deciding they needed a little time to breathe after the way he had run them ragged lugging firewood. He had put Max to work splitting logs and it had been obvious from his first attempt that he had no clue what he was doing.

She looked up from preparing lunch when the back door opened and Edward reached out to hold onto the door while Maggie hurried in under his extended arm. She opened her mouth to greet her youngest but the little girl was staring at their guest. She bit her lips to keep from laughing when Maggie's eyes lit up with excitement and she uttered a hushed, "they're still here" before hurrying to shrug out of her coat, letting it fall to the floor as she ran to the living room doorway.

"Maggie Stevens, you come back here and take those boots and leggings off first," she said insistently.

"Okay, Mama."

In the living room Maria was hiding a giggle as she tugged on Michael's shirt, pulling him back onto the couch. He was leaning over the side, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on in the kitchen. He had slouched down on the couch next to her when the guys had come back inside and she had started to rub his shoulders, hoping he would relax enough rest, maybe even sleep for a bit. But, no, he had snatched up the remote and turned the TV on, scanning the stations before settling on an old episode of 'Bewitched'. The evidence of lack of sleep was showing itself in his red-rimmed eyes and she knew he needed to rest.

Max had challenged Liz to another game of checkers, determined to win this time. Kyle had rolled his eyes and settled down on the other couch to watch Liz wipe the board with him again. It hadn't taken long before he had fallen asleep and now he was sacked out and snoring loudly. They had lost Isabel when Julia had unknowingly made the mistake of mentioning making and decorating Christmas cookies.

Maria looked up when Isabel came into the living room right behind Maggie. She walked over to the second couch and gave Kyle an unsubtle nudge and he shifted his lower legs without even waking up. She sat down and made a face when his feet settled against her thigh and she arched an eyebrow when one foot began to ease onto her lap.

"One more inch, Kyle, and you won't have to wonder whether or not the big toe is really that important to balance," she threatened. She nodded to herself when his foot went right back to its previous position.

Maggie ran over to the entertainment center and sat down to pull a handful of movies out, digging through them until she had found the one she wanted. She shoved the others back into place and got to her feet, approaching Maria with 'The Wizard of Oz' DVD in hand. Her steps faltered as she neared them and she fully stopped to stare at Michael. He didn't look so scary when he was asleep, she thought. She turned around and went into the kitchen to get Cindy.

As Maria watched Maggie's reaction to Michael she remembered him as Santa the year before. It was hard to see what being responsible for their safety had done to him these past few months. Her heart clenched painfully as the memory of last Christmas made a slight detour, turning her thoughts to the way she had hurt him. If only she could go back and change what she had done to him. She missed her Spaceboy that had finally openly trusted her with his heart. She leaned into him and nuzzled his neck, placing a gentle kiss against his skin. "Down Spaceboy, you're scaring Maggie."

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"Edward, what would you like for lunch? I'm making sandwiches for everyone."

He followed her as she moved around the kitchen, her moves efficient as she created a meal for their company. He reached around her, picking to see what she had made for him and he frowned. "What, no ham an' swiss with horsey sauce?"

"No, it's Thursday. I need to shop tomorrow."

"Uh-huh," he said slowly. "What'd you do, give the Mystery Machine gang my ham an' swiss with horsey sauce?"

"What if I did?" Julia's eyes twinkled as she glanced at him. "What're you gonna do about it?"

"That'd be very bad," he said, dragging the 'very' out into multiple syllables. "I'd have to do somethin' about it."

He sighed. "I know, it's Thursday."

Julia made him sit down at the table as she made him a grilled cheese with tomato just the way he liked it. She slid it onto a plate and then cut it in half, allowing the hot cheese to bubble out onto the plate. She placed it in front of him and leaned over to give him a kiss. "Feel better now?"

They talked for a few minutes while he finished his sandwich and when he got up to put his plate in the sink she intercepted him, taking the plate and handing him a list. She winked at him as she asked, "You need to run to Big Dave's Hardware, right?"

Edward let out a breath as he shook his head. "Woman, you're gonna owe me."

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Maggie returned to the living room a couple of minutes later with Cindy held against her chest and tucked up under her chin. "Wanna watch 'The Wizard of Oz' with me an' Cindy?" she asked as she came to stand in front of them again.

Maria laced her fingers through Michael's. "Sure, we love that movie, don't we, Michael?"

Oh, yeah. A musical with midgets, what's not to love? he wondered sarcastically.

Maggie bit her bottom lip, tightening her grip on Cindy as she pondered what she should say to Michael. "Cindy wants to know if you're a good polar bear or a bad polar bear?"

He snorted and gave her a small smile. "Santa once told me only good polar bears like 'The Wizard of Oz'."

The little girl's jaw dropped open in excitement. "You know Santa?"

"Maggie, c'mon in here and get your lunch," Julia called.

"Mama!" she shouted as she ran backwards to the kitchen, her awed gaze never leaving Michael. "Mama, Michael knows Santa!"

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"Shhh!"

Edward looked up from stomping snow off of his boots when Julia shushed him and he stuck his head into the kitchen. She was sitting at the kitchen table writing out what he was certain was the grocery list for tomorrow afternoon's shopping trip. "It's pretty quiet in here," he said when he realized that he didn't hear their daughter or their company.

"You do hear 'Rudolph's Shiny New Year', don't you?"

He crossed the room quietly and paused in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. The movie was playing on the television and his little girl was watching it as intently as she always did as she sat next to Maria. Michael was slouched down next to his girlfriend, his body angled towards her and his head resting on her shoulder as he slept.

Julia leaned into Edward, taking his hand in hers as she whispered, "It's okay, Maggie says Michael knows Santa."

His gaze moved over the others. Max was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, Liz in his arms as she dozed. Kyle was still sleeping and Isabel was sitting at one end of the couch he had staked a claim on. She glanced up and gave him a polite smile before turning her attention back to the television screen.

"You let them eat in the living room?" he asked with a small smile when he noticed the stack of paper plates sitting at one end of the coffee table.

"I thought just this once it'd be alright. Thought it might help them relax. And look at that," she said with a teasing smile. "They all look pretty relaxed to me."

He snorted softly. "C'mon, I need to get the things I picked up at Big Dave's outta the truck and put away."

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Michael's senses brought him awake, instantly alerting him that he was being watched. It was a sensation that couldn't be explained so much as felt and the one time he had bothered trying to explain it Kyle had started to call the feeling his 'spidey sense'. Something that annoyed him to no end. Of course now it was out there and he was sure he was stuck with it. The room was dark, the intermittent flickering of light against his closed eyelids telling him the television was still on but muted. He was kicking himself for falling asleep even as he was slowing his breathing to listen for any little sound that might indicate what was going on around him. He knew right off that Maria wasn't next to him and the others were no longer in the room with him.

He knew when she was close by, could feel it almost like an extension of himself. Someone was close, but it wasn't her. Maria smelled like cedar oil, whatever shampoo and soap they could afford, and of course… Maria. This person smelled like... what was it? Peanut butter and jelly? Maybe mixed with bubble gum? i Definitely not FBI, he thought derisively./i FBI agents smelled like expensive suits and gun oil.

Sounds off to his left began to filter in and he could hear the low murmur of conversation. The voices slowly began to separate and he was able to identify them one by one. All but Maria. He forced himself to stay calm. There was nothing about their voices to indicate that anything was wrong. On the contrary, they sounded as relaxed as he'd heard them in way too long. The person watching him moved and all of his senses focused on them again. It was just enough movement to let him know the person was on the couch and he felt himself tense even more.

Maria paused at the entrance to the room, watching the scene for a moment. Her gaze moved over him, taking in the taut muscles and the slight twitch in his fisted right hand. "Michael."

Her voice, calm, knowing, accepting and laced with just a hint of amusement was enough to allow him to relax slightly and he opened his eyes. He found himself nearly nose to nose with that blasted polar bear again when Maggie scooted closer to him on her knees, her brow furrowed as she studied him. Peanut butter, jelly and bubble gum, he thought. Now it made sense.

The little girl scrunched her nose up and she tilted her head to one side. "How come you're so quiet when you sleep?" she asked curiously.

Michael frowned at the invasive question. As a kid he had quickly learned to sleep without making a sound, something that was likely ingrained in him even farther back than that. He had been a soldier on Antar after all and stealth was part of the overall package. Making a sound could bring the wrong kind of attention to him. As a soldier it had meant the difference between life and death, and as a child it had meant the difference between being beaten or ignored. He was saved from having to come up with an answer when she went on, unconcerned with his lack of response.

"Kyle makes lots of noise when he sleeps. He sounds like Babe. Ya know, in the movie?" She snorted like the famous little pig and then buried her face against Miss Cindy's head as she giggled.

Maria tried to bite her lips before her laughter could escape but all that did was alter the sound and it came out sounding like a loud snort, which just tripped the switch and made her laugh even louder.

Michael stared at his… girlfriend? Was Maria his girlfriend? He really didn't know the answer to that one. Things had happened so fast on graduation day and while they had been together since they had been on the run he didn't know if that meant they were really together. For all he knew it was familiarity and the close quarters that had allowed them to migrate back to each other. They hadn't really talked about anything, and while he wasn't big on talking, things had happened that had to be dealt with if he was ever going to be satisfied that they were back together for the right reasons.

He shifted when he realized the little girl had fallen silent again and he turned his head to look at her. "What?" he asked when she continued to silently watch him.

"You know Santa, right?"

He shrugged and held his right hand up, crossing two of his fingers. "You could say were like this."

"I gotta go do somethin'," she said as she dropped down off of the couch and ran out of the room.

"You shouldn't have let me sleep," he muttered as he sat up and rubbed his hands over his face.

"Max was awake."

"You know what I mean."

"C'mon, we've been invited to stay for dinner and everyone's gonna help out."

"We haven't gotten a call about the van?"

Maria could hear the anxiety in his voice even though he was trying to hide it from her. "They'll call. For now, let's focus some of that energy on giving Julia a hand with dinner."