So my OCDness says I have to write something for the holidays. I started this late and wasn't sure I could finish it, but here it is. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Disclaimer: I don't own GI Joe.

"So what are you doing for Christmas?" Lady Jaye asked Cover Girl as the tank jockey packed.

"Not much just spending it with family." She answered trying to shut her overloaded luggage.

"If you ask me, family is the best way to spend Christmas." Scarlett said wistfully.

"Well, yeah that's true… except you don't know my mom." She shuddered.

"Oh, everyone's family is a little crazy." Lady Jaye said dismissively. "Now if you want to talk about crazy mothers…"

"At least you still have your mothers." Scarlett said wistfully.

Silence hung awkwardly in the room.

"Sorry you guys have to hang around here this year." Cover Girl said breaking the silence.

"You had Christmas duty last year. So it's only fair you get it off this time around, especially since what happened last time." Lady Jaye said magnanimously.

"Ha, you're only saying that because Flint will be around too." Cover Girl teased.

"Well, there's that." She blushed.

"Oh, before I forget, here's your presents." Cover Girl tossed her friends some package that she pulled from under her bed.

"Can we open it now?" Scarlett asked.

"Of course! It's no fun not to see your faces." She grinned.

Lady Jaye and Scarlett ripped open the wrapping.

"Hey, my favorite perfume." Lady Jaye smiled.

"So you can stop borrowing mine." Cover Girl said.

"Hey, it was just that once." She protested.

"Joking." She laughed.

"It's that book I've been wanting to read." Scarlett flipped through the pages of the new paperback.

"Yeah, it's something to do since you know who won't be around." Cover Girl nodded.

"Thanks. It'll keep me busy." Then she added, "Wait here's my present for you."

"And mine." Lady Jaye went over to her bureau.

Both handed her their gifts. Cover Girl looked at them for permission.

"Go on, your turn." Scarlett motioned for her to open the gifts.

Cover Girl could guess that Lady Jaye's was a gift card of some sort. But she was surprised to see it was to a high end spa.

"Since you'll be in New York this is the best place to get pampered." Lady Jaye noted.

"Wow, thanks. This is really generous of you." Cover Girl said a little embarrassed.

Lady Jaye waved her hand carelessly. "Don't sweat it. Just enjoy."

Cover Girl turned her attention to Scarlett's. When the wrapping was off, she laughed. It was some old photos of her from her modeling days made into a collage.

"Where did get these?" She held up the picture in the frame.

Scarlett shrugged. "Beach Head confiscated them from some green shirts. He asked me to get rid of them. But I couldn't help using them. It's not fancy like Jaye's gift but I thought it would be interesting."

"I love it. But I didn't know you had an artistic streak." Cover Girl smirked at her friend.

"I don't, but it was too good of a chance to pass up. Some of these are really nice." Scarlett took the frame to examine her handiwork. Lady Jaye peered over her shoulder to see.

"Yeah, but I don't miss that life. I much prefer driving tanks." Cover Girl chuckled.

"Oh, I don't think any of us would give up this life." Lady Jaye agreed.

"Here, here." Scarlett echoed.

"Hey, I gotta go. I'll miss you guys. Have a merry Christmas and a great new year."

"Same to you." The other two answered.

They all hugged before Cover Girl lugged her suitcase outside the barracks. To her surprise, Beach Head was waiting outside.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with some surprise.

"What does it look like? Driving you to the airport." He grumbled as he pulled the suitcase from her hand.

"Uh, thanks?" Cover Girl said with a tinge of confusion. Since when do the command chauffeur the peons?

"Well, get in. I haven't got all day." He growled as he threw her luggage roughly into the backseat of the jeep.

"You know if it's that much trouble, I'll just call a cab." She was getting annoyed by his attitude.

"Just get in." He snapped.

Cover Girl hesitated for a second but decided a ride was a ride. She got in and strapped herself in. Beach Head drove through the base and passed the gate. They rode in awkward silence for a while. After they were half-way between The Pit and the airport, Beach Head cleared his throat. Cover Girl looked at him expectantly.

"Since you're going to be in New York, we need you to deliver a package." Beach Head said business-like.

"What? But I'm off the clock." Cover Girl frowned at him.

"Look, it's just a quick delivery, in and out. It would save us a courier." Beach Head countered.

"Is that why I'm getting a ride so you can ask me to work overtime?" Cover Girl asked.

"This isn't a real job. We just need someone inconspicuous to drop off an item for us." Beach Head said clearly annoyed.

"Is it going to explode?"

"No."

"Is it valuable?"

"Depends."

"Is it going to cause airport security to go off, making me miss my flight, and then you'll have to come bail me out, and I'll have to explain to my mother why I missed Christmas Eve dinner?" Cover Girl deadpanned.

"What? Of course not!" He snapped.

"Fine, where's the package?" Cover Girl leaned back against the chair.

Beach Head reached to the back of the jeep and pulled out a nondescript brown parcel.

"Here's the address. Just drop it off and leave." He instructed.

"Got it." Cover Girl scanned the address. "Can't believe I'm working on my vacation."

Beach Head said nothing as they drove in silence.

0o0

The flight to New York was pretty unremarkable compared to her other trips. When she got off the plane, she hailed a cab at the LaGuardia terminal. Not wanting to have the package any longer than necessary, she hailed a cab and gave the driver the address. Then she sat back and looked out the window. There was a light covering of snow on the sides of the street. The sky was overcast, threatening more snow. Cover Girl didn't mind. She liked this type of weather for this time of year. When the cab pulled over to the curb, Cover Girl noticed that they were in front of the building. She got out.

"Wait for me, I'll be right back." She told her driver. Leaving her luggage she walked into the building with the package. Walking through the revolving door, she scanned the lobby. Noticing the security station she walked over to the guard.

"Hi, I have a package for..." She looked at the name. "Mr. Callaway?"

"Give it here." The man said flatly.

Cover Girl handed the package over. Then with relief she went back out to the waiting cab outside. She did not notice a shadowy figure peering at her from the rooftop.

0o0

"Courtney! What took you so long?" Her mother exclaimed when she opened the door. She grabbed her daughter's arm and pulled her in. Courtney dropped her suitcase by the door.

"Hello, mother. It's nice to see you too." She said dryly.

"Watch your tone young lady. Do you know how long we've been waiting for you?" Her mother asked haughtily.

"We?" Courtney raised an eyebrow as her mother continued to drag her through the large penthouse. When they reached the den, Courtney saw a gentleman wearing the season's trendy outfit was lounging on the sofa.

"Dear lord." Courtney muttered under her breath.

"Mr. Hoffman, I'd like you to meet my daughter Courtney." Mrs. Krieger said proudly.

Mr. Hoffman got up with a flourish. He seemed to glide over to the two women. He gave a slight bow and took Courtney's hand and gave it a peck. Courtney immediately disliked him.

"Ah, your mother told me you were beautiful but I didn't realize she wasn't exaggerating." He said in an oily voice.

Courtney yanked her hand back and surreptitiously wiped it behind her back. "Yes, well, nice to uh… meet you, Mr. um…"

"Mr. Hoffman is looking for models for his new line of spring clothing." Mrs. Krieger said.

Now Courtney understood. "Mother, may I have a word with you?" She said through gritted teeth. She didn't wait for her mother to answer before looping her arm through hers and pulling her out the door.

"Make yourself at home, Mr. Hoffman." Mrs. Krieger called over her shoulder.

"Mother!" Courtney hissed when they were safely in the next room. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a model anymore. I don't want to model. I'm not interested in modeling. I'm tired of modeling. No. Modeling."

"You can't possibly make a living playing soldier." Her mother sniffed.

"Mother," Courtney tried to stay as calm as possible. "I am not playing. This is what I love doing. And last I checked, this is still my life… not yours."

"Well, it is not a proper job for a young lady. You had so much potential. All the major magazines were calling and there was even talk of a movie deal." Mrs. Krieger lamented.

Courtney resisted the urge to face palm. "Mother, again… my life."

"You can at least be cordial to Mr. Hoffman. He came so far to see you. At least hear him out."

"Fine, mother." Courtney said exasperated. She knew that there was no talking to her mother. She would just have to suffer the company of the smarmy man.

"Good. He'll be staying for dinner." Mrs. Krieger smiled.

"Wait what? But it's Christmas Eve!" Courtney protested.

"Yes, and what better way to get to know him." Mrs. Krieger said almost triumphantly.

Cover Girl knew she had been outmaneuvered by her mother again. Suddenly, she wished she was back on base.

0o0

Courtney lay on the bed in her old room. It looked pretty much the same. Her mother had not changed it at all. In some ways, Courtney knew that her mother had meant well. When her father had passed away, they only way to provide for the family consisting of two girls and a single parent was for Courtney to go into modeling. She was pretty good at it too… in fact, too good. Soon she was jet setting to exotic location for shoots. The money rolled in. Her mother had invested the money wisely and it paid off as it more than paid for the penthouse and the lifestyle it afforded them. So Courtney couldn't knock her first profession. However, the superficial people surrounding her bored her. She never partook in their hedonistic parties although she was able to out drink most of the people around her, a skill she found very useful later in the male dominated military. Ultimately, she needed a challenge. And the army provided that. As with everything else in her life, she threw everything she had into it. Soon she was noticed by the top brass and the rest, as they say, is history. Courtney wished her mother could understand that.

A knock came from her door.

"Who is it?" She asked tiredly.

"Hey sis, it's me." Courtney's younger sister called.

Courtney jumped out of bed and let her in.

"Hey Theresa, when did you get in?" Courtney greeted her sister.

"Just now. Mother sent me to bring you out." She giggled.

"Tell her I have a headache." Courtney flopped back on her bed.

"Yeah, she's not buying it. Come on. Come out. Steve and the kids are here. You can hang out with them and ignore that guy."

"Except you know mom's going to make sure we're together at every opportunity." Courtney groaned. "I'll come out for a brief appearance and then disappear again."

"No you're not. Mother also invited all your old friends from the agency." Theresa informed her.

Courtney cursed. "That woman's gonna drive me to drink."

"You know mother." Theresa shrugged. "Now come on."

"Give me a minute to freshen up." Courtney hedged.

"Sure, but if you're not out in 5 mother will probably get a battering ram… and I'm not joking. You know that." Theresa warned her.

"Don't I know it." Courtney grumbled.

She heard the door close. Courtney got off her bed. She looked out the window and for a wild three seconds briefly entertained the notion of trying to shimmy down the side of the building to escape. But her more logical side prevailed and she went to the bathroom. When she came out, she was wearing a simple button down shirt and jeans.

"You could at least put on some make-up." Her mother said to her. Courtney merely smiled and took in the room. The furniture in the living room was moved to the side. A fully catered buffet table lined the side. Some waiters were walking around the room with hors d'oeuvre and champagne. Her mother really went all out. Some of her old friends were already there.

"Oh Courtney, you're back in town." A red head called to her.

Courtney searched her memory banks for a name. "Hello Stephanie." She said politely as she joined the small group.

"I was telling Paul here that it must be so interesting in the army." Stephanie cooed.

"It's okay." Courtney said.

"Oh come on, you must have a million stories." A brunette said.

"Well, yes, I do. But if I told them, I'd have to kill you. Oh look there's my niece and nephew. Laters." She walked off jauntily leaving stunned silence in her wake.

"Hi Auntie Courtney!" A little golden haired girl ran to hug her.

"Wow, you're growing like a weed, Sunny." Courtney lifted the girl and swung her up.

"Me next." A slightly older boy demanded.

Courtney laughed. "If I did that with you, PJ, I'd need to see my chiropractor." She ruffled his hair fondly.

"Hey, cut that out." The boy immediately straightened out his hair.

"Courtney, how's it going?" A male voice said from behind her.

"Hello Steve, I'm good. And you." Courtney returned the greeting.

"Not bad, not bad. Hey, have you seen the latest model of Ford GT's?" They started talking about cars when Mrs. Krieger walked up with Mr. Hoffman.

"There you are Courtney. Mr. Hoffman here is dying to hear about your former spreads with GQ."

Just then the doorbell rang. Courtney grabbed the opportunity. "I'll get it." She ran to the door ignoring her mother's insistence that the butler answer it.

Grateful for the distraction she took her time. The door bell rang more insistently.

"Coming, coming, keep your pants on." She muttered under her breath. The door bell rang again.

"What?" Courtney swung the door open. To her surprise, Beach Head stood there. Beach Head without his balaclava… in fact, he was wearing a suit jacket and slacks. If it had been a three-headed alien, she couldn't have been more surprised.

She stood at the door gaping at the man whose scowl deepened. He shoved her in and slammed the door shut.

"Survival instincts of a rutabaga." He growled at her.

"What? How? The hell?" She stammered.

"Look, we have a problem." He said.

"I'll say, you're here… in my house." She snapped.

"No. The facility where you made the delivery was attacked shortly after you dropped off the package."

"So?" She asked.

"So it's a long story but you were trailed."

"What?" Her jaw hung open. "You said it was a quick in and out."

"That's what it was supposed to be." Beach Head ran his hand though his hair. If Courtney was not so upset she would have thought he looked cute.

"I have to leave before anyone here gets hurt." She turned to grab her brown bomber jacket from the closet.

"Courtney? Who's at the door?...Oh, hello? And you are?" Courtney's mother interrupted.

"He's… uh… a friend. I'm sorry mother something's come up and I have to go." Courtney started walking out the door.

"Hold on there young lady. It's Christmas Eve and you aren't going anywhere. We are going to have dinner and that's final. Now Mr." Mrs. Krieger turned to Beach Head.

"Sneeden, Wayne Sneeden." Beach Head provided.

"Mr. Sneeden won't mind if you have dinner with your family and friends." Mrs. Krieger stated.

"Mother, you can't…" Courtney protested.

"I can and I will. You step foot out of this apartment and I swear I will call the police and tell them that you've been kidnapped." Her mother announced triumphantly.

"She wouldn't would she?" Beach Head turned his body away from her and whispered in Cover Girl's ear.

"You don't know my mother." Cover Girl said through gritted teeth.

"We can't have a scene. Just have dinner and then leave." Beach Head said.

"What about you?" She asked.

"I'll just check outside." He said. In a louder voice he said, "I'll see you later after dinner." He started leaving.

"No, no Mr. Sneeden." Mrs. Krieger hooked his arm with hers. "You're coming too. It's been a while since Courtney has brought home a gentleman."

Courtney snorted. "Gentleman? Him?"

Beach Head glared at her. Then to Mrs. Krieger he politely said, "Thank you for the invitation, ma'am but I really need to be…"

"I won't take no for an answer." Her grip tightened as she pulled him into the apartment. Beach Head turned to Cover Girl for help but she just shrugged helplessly.

0o0

Beach Head sat uncomfortably on the leather couch between Cover Girl and a red head who was practically falling all over him.

"Oh, so you're in the army with Courtney? What do you do?" Stephanie cooed.

Beach Head shifted uncomfortably. "I'm a drill sergeant." He answered tersely.

"Really? That must be so interesting." She batted her eye lid at him.

Beach Head pretended to be interested in his drink. He glanced sideways at Courtney who seemed not to be fairing well with the gentleman on her other side.

"No, Mr. Hoffman, I'm not interested in modeling your line." She said firmly. But the man did not seem to get it.

"But it has a military theme. You'd be perfect for it." He insisted.

"Well, as flattered as I am by the offer, I must decline. My current employee frowns on side jobs, right, Bea… Wayne?" She turned to Beach Head.

"Absolutely." He agreed.

"Mr. Sneeden, are you and Auntie Courtney friends?" Courtney's niece had walked up to them.

"Uh, yeah." He said awkwardly.

"Are you going to marry Auntie Courtney?" Sunny asked innocently.

Wayne chocked on the sip he was taking.

The lights in the penthouse flickered before going out.

"Oh, what's the matter now?" Mrs. Krieger asked exasperated.

"I'll go check the fuse." Courtney jumped up.

"I'll come with you." Wayne got up too.

"Wait, I can call downstairs…" The two ignored her as they bolted out into the hallway where the fuse box was located.

"What do you think happened?" Courtney asked after she flipped the switch and nothing happened.

"I don't know." Wayne answered. "Come on. Let's check outside."

"You never told me what I was delivering or what this is all about." Courtney said as she followed the ranger.

Beach head remained silent as they went outside. He flattened himself against the wall and peered around the corner slowly. Courtney was less careful.

"You never answered the question." Courtney said.

Suddenly Wayne's arm shoved her against the wall. A few seconds later lasers shot past them.

"You trying to get yourself killed?" He growled at her. He pulled out his firearm hidden in his belt.

"Well, if someone would tell me what's going on, maybe I could react a little better." She snapped.

Beach Head returned fire. "The package you delivered was the control board to a satellite that's set to launch in a week." He ducked back as more laser fire came back. "The satellite is powerful enough to cut through most cloaking devices to monitor Cobra's activity on Cobra Island."

"No wonder they'd want it." Courtney nodded.

"We made sure that several packages went out so that Cobra wouldn't know which was the real one. Your delivery was only known by a few of us." Wayne continued.

"So you're saying…" Courtney realized with horror.

"Yeah, there's a traitor somewhere." Wayne finished for her.

Courtney cursed. Then with concern she added, "Are my family and friends in danger?"

"We need to lead them away from here. They think you still have the control board." Wayne pulled another firearm out and pressed it into her hand before returning fire.

"Why would they think that?" Courtney asked in surprise.

"They didn't know that we had a tunnel under the building. When they attacked and couldn't find the package, they came after you." Wayne answered. "Go down! I'll cover you."

Courtney frowned but did as he said. When he jumped in front and fired, she ran to the fire door. As she tried to run down, she was met with more fire. She backed away and slam the door. Wayne ran smack into her.

"I said GO!" He bellowed.

"Yeah, well, you try going through laser fire." She snapped back. Hooking his arm around her waist, he pulled her to one side as the men he was trading fire with came around the corner.

"We're trapped." Wayne cursed.

"No we're not." She pointed to the stairs to the roof top. They yanked open the door and slammed it shut. Wayne grabbed the fire extinguisher and wedged it into the handle to keep it from opening. Courtney ran up the stairs and kicked open the door. When Wayne got there they both closed the door.

"We're still trapped." Wayne growled at her.

"Where's back up? You can't tell me you're the only one who's here… Wait! You're the only one who's here?" Courtney looked at him flabbergasted.

"Well, you see. They don't know I'm here." He admitted sheepishly.

"What? Courtney gaped at him.

"If Duke or Hawk had been around, they would have sent out a battalion, but the high-ups in charge hemmed and hawed about sending out help. They said they didn't want to do anything until they knew the exact situation." If Courtney didn't know better, she could have sworn she saw a blush forming. But it was dark, and she couldn't tell for sure under the dim fluorescent light.

"So you disobeyed orders?" She asked incredulously.

"No, not technically. They never said I couldn't come." He said defensively. He turned to face her. She realized that she was just in her thin blouse out in the cold. She shivered. Wayne removed his jacket and wrapped it around her. His arms stayed a little longer than needed. She stared into his eyes and swallowed hard. It was suddenly very warm… and it looked like he was getting closer.

Banging came from the rooftop door.

Wayne cursed as he scanned the roof for anything they could use to defend themselves.

It had a rooftop pool wrapped tight for the winter. A coiled hose sat on the side. Except for some snow covered tarps on the ground, it looked pretty barren.

"So now that we definitely know we're in trouble, can we get help?" Courtney queried.

"I already radioed. It'll be a while before anyone can get here."

"So we're just going to have to stall them." She motioned for him to follow her.

0o0

The door burst open and half a dozed men in Cobra uniform streamed in. They scanned the rooftop. It did not look like anyone was up there. One of them nudged another. He pointed to some footprints in the snow with his gun. They followed it to the covered pool. They snickered at the two people's stupidity.

They fired into the wrapped pool. When they were satisfied that they had gotten them, two soldiers peeled the covering back. It was empty. As the soldiers stood confused, the tarp underneath their feet moved. Suddenly, the tarp lifted as Courtney and Wayne came from underneath it. Three of them were thrown into the open pool. Wayne punched one while kicking the gun out of the hands of another. Courtney tackled the last one who dropped his rifle.

The two Cobra soldiers circled around Wayne who got into a defensive stance. He watched carefully. One lunged at him. He shifted his weight and grabbed his arm. Using the enemies' own momentum he threw him at the other soldier. They both fell into the open pool.

Courtney and the other soldier tousled on the ground. The Cobra agent straddled her and tried to choke her. She groped for anything around her that she could use to fend him off. He hand touched something cold and hard. She brought the object against the man's head. He fell off and Courtney rolled up. The soldier had gotten up on his knees. Courtney did a roundhouse kick to his head and he was out.

Wayne and Courtney staggered toward each other and embraced. A shot came near their feet. Wayne immediately shoved her behind him. A lone soldier stood in the doorway of the rooftop.

He walked toward them with a gleam in his eye. Then just as quickly he fell to the floor. When he dropped, it revealed none other than Rock'n Roll.

"Okay, man, like what did I miss?"

0o0

After the Cobra soldiers were rounded up, Beach Head was whisked away. Cover Girl was quickly debriefed but sent back to her dinner so that none would be the wiser of what had happened. It was strange to have to pretend nothing was wrong. She gave the rehearsed answers to her family and friends, which seemed to satisfy. They also seemed satisfied with her explanation of Beach Head's disappearance. After the party, and all the guests were sent home, she collapsed on her bed. Her phone buzzed. She debated whether to ignore it, but finally decided to check it out.

She popped back up.

A few minutes later she was back on the rooftop, this time with her trademark bomber jacket.

"Beach Head?" She called out tentatively.

Beach Head stepped out of the shadows. He was back in full uniform.

"What's up?" Cover Girl asked.

"Just wanted to make sure yo… everything's okay." He finished hesitantly.

"Yeah, well, you ruined the hallway but it had to be the most interesting Christmas Eve's I've ever had at home." She joked. Beach Head's expression didn't change. He seemed to be wrestling with something.

"What's up ranger man? I know this isn't a social call." She said wishing it was.

Beach Head sighed, "Duke wants us to work together to find the mole."

"What? Why me? Wouldn't someone in covert ops be better?" Cover Girl frowned.

"That's what I said." Beach Head said.

"You didn't have to agree that fast." Cover Girl said slightly offended.

"But they want you." Beach Head noted.

"Because?"

"Because we seem to work well together, and you have the least connection to anyone on the top." Beach Head explained.

"Except you." She joked. To her surprise he blushed.

"Look, if you don't want to do this, I understand. It's not going to be easy…"

"Wait, I never said I wouldn't do it. If there's a traitor, I want this person found before anyone gets hurt." Cover Girl said firmly.

Beach Head nodded and turned to go.

"Wayne!" Cover Girl wasn't sure why she called him back or why she used his real name.

But he turned around. "Yes." He said less gruffly than usual.

"Umm, uh, Merry Christmas." She said lamely.

"Oh, you too." This time she turned to go.

"Courtney!" She spun around feeling hopeful.

"…And happy new year." He concluded lamely.

"Right, happy new year." She said. They looked at each other. She wasn't sure what came over her. She walked over to him. Pulling his balaclava down little, she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "See you in the new year." She said softly.

Beach Head's eyes had widened. He could only nod as she smiled and walked back through the rooftop door.

So the reference to the rutabaga belongs to another writer. I also used some names from other writers of BH/CG. So Don't own those. Again Merry whatever you celebrate. And notice I did not mention who Scarlett was seeing. I leave that up to your own imaginations. Seriously, not touching that.