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Outside the wind wailed and the snow whirled through the air, the world was painted white, and the sky was dark, the sun wasn't due for another few hours. There was nothing better than this weather. Cristina loved the cold, she loved the warm jumpers and the track pants, she loved curling up in front of the fire, she loved bugging Alex until he made her a hot chocolate, and she loved the way Mere would moan and shiver, but what she loved best of all was what snow did to others. She hated how people lost their minds when the snow fell, she hated how people would ignore the safety warnings and drive as fast as they wanted to on the icy roads; but she loved the surgeries, it was like candy, she always said, but with blood, which made it so much better.
Christmas wasn't something that she loved, she hated the build-up and she especially hated the day. She hated how she had to go shopping for presents, she hated what Christmas expected of people but she didn't hate everything about Christmas though, she loved the surgeries that came with it, surgeries that were almost all hers as everyone wanted the day off, to spend with their families, to drink alone, to be merry and drunk, while she sliced open flesh and saved the lives that she could, all the while allowing herself to forget what the day was, allowing the fact that it was Christmas to skip her mind, it would just be another day. But not this year, this year it wasn't just going to be a regular Thursday, this day she had a day plan, that did not primarily involve consuming copious amounts of alcohol or spending all day at the hospital bouncing from case to case, from the ER to the OR and back again, time and time again.
The fire was roaring, the Christmas music forgotten as Alex changed the cd, April had taken point on Christmas decorations, Jackson helping to dangle tinsel and lights throughout the room and reach all the high places that April simply couldn't, Alex was moaning but helping, and Cristina and Mere were on the couch supervising, drinking hot chocolate and shouting the occasional instruction that earned them a soft glare and usually a smart comment.
"Are you two planning on actually helping?" April sighs, after another twenty minutes of their 'instructions'.
Mere takes a sip of her fresh hot chocolate before she answers with a smile, "We are helping."
"Uh huh." Jackson mutters, smirking over at Cristina.
"It was your dumb idea to throw the damn Christmas party." Cristina argues, looking over at April, who shrugs. Cristina knows that April wants to get to know the people at Seattle Grace Mercy West better after recent events, that she wants to have something to look forward to, and Cristina just wants to get drunk and handsy with Jackson after dancing on tables with Mere, which is in the true Christmas spirit she believes.
"And you also wanted to make my living room look like Santa's grotto." Mere says, nodding to April who huffs and turns back towards the Christmas tree, adding another bauble before she sends a look over to Alex, her hand extended the angel for the top of tree in hand. "So we are observing." Mere adds.
"What's not to love." Cristina grins as she whistles appreciatively as Jackson bends to pick up the end of the tinsel that strayed to the floor.
"Did you ju-" Jackson begins as he looks over at Cristina who shoots him a look, stopping him short as he smiles. "Don't yo-" Jackson starts, wanting to say don't you dare look at me like that, while you run your tongue across your bottom lip, but the sentence fades away as she does exactly that. "You're very distracting." Jackson sighs as he drops the tinsel and heads towards the couch, ignoring the sigh that April gives him. Cristina actually gets off the couch and wraps her arms around Jackson's neck before he presses a kiss to her lips.
"And then there were two." April grumbles as Cristina tugs Jackson out of the room and up the stairs, needing to unwrap her early Christmas present, and she cannot wait a second longer.
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