A/N: The response to this Christmas story is, to quote Devon, awesome. Thank you.

Many reviewers answered my question on their favorite Christmas movies. Although "Die Hard" was popular, the other choices varied, which is a reminder of how many have been made over the years. "Die Hard" and "Krampus" were at the top of my list, but recently a couple more have been added. "Fatman" with Mel Gibson was great, but a couple of days ago, I watched one from 2022, "Violent Night." Brilliant. I obviously like darker Christmas movies. However, I do still love one I watched when I was little, the amazing Tom and Jerry in "The Night Before Christmas."

Thanks to Capt LiL for continuing to beta'd this for me.

As we left, Chuck and Sarah, they'd watched Chuck's favorite Christmas movie and the surprise one. They were then settling in to watch a non-Christmas one that Chuck had brought with him. Later…

That Christmas Spirit

Chapter 3: Morning After

Sarah woke up disoriented. She was comfortable, apart from her ankle, which is what had woken her. She opened her eyes.

The warmth she felt was from what she'd been sleeping on. She was partly on top of Chuck on the couch. They must have fallen asleep during the Star Wars movie, or at least she had. Her ankle was hurting because she had thrown her leg across his and the ankle was caught between his calves. Having said that, her foot was warm, which never normally happened. Her arm was across him and her cheek was against his chest.

She needed to move, even though that would break the other wonderful contact. She tried to ease her foot out from his unconscious grip, but that sent a shooting pain through her ankle and she winced.

"Wha- what?" Chuck gasped. He moved and that released her foot, which she quickly pulled back.

"I'm sorry, Chuck. I must've fallen asleep on you, but got my ankle trapped."

He looked horrified. "I'm so sorry, Sarah. Me coming here was supposed to be helping you rest it, but instead I hurt it!"

She ignored the warmth in her chest on hearing him say that. "Chuck, did you grab my leg and force it over you and then deliberately trap my ankle?"

"Well… no," he replied.

"I did the first part and the second was just an unfortunate consequence," she informed him.

"I'm still sorry," he softly said.

She wanted to make him feel better and smiled at him. "If it wasn't for my ankle, it would've been great. My foot was warm for once."

His smile warmed her in a different way.

She quickly looked at the time. 2:21. "We should get more comfortable… and more sleep."

He nodded. "I should go, though."

"Oh, no," she firmly stated, and pointed at him. "We agreed that you'd stay here."

"I'm sober enough to drive," he claimed.

She had to stop this. "Chuck, I don't want to be alone tonight," she admitted.

He looked at her. "So, me being here on the couch will help that?"

"Share my bed?" she tentatively asked.

He looked unsure. "Isn't that risky?"

She was surprised by him saying that. He didn't seem like that. "Are you thinking of pouncing on me if we share a bed?"

He blushed now. "I'm not. I just thought our legs might get tangled again."

She wasn't going to let him get off that easily. "So, I'm not attractive enough?"

He rolled his eyes. "Sarah, apart from being asleep, I haven't stopped thinking about you."

"But not in that way?" She didn't know why she was pushing this, but felt it was important.

He gazed at her. She thought he was looking to see if she was just teasing. "Sarah, if you're asking seriously, yes in that way, too. But I do not want to risk hurting you, for whatever reason."

She leaned over and pecked his lips. "I've been thinking of you that way, too, but you're right, if my ankle got hurt it would spoil everything." She thought for a moment. "I've been sleeping with my ankle on a pillow. We can put another between our legs so that I don't repeat what I did here."

"You really want to do this?"

She nodded. "I want you close tonight."

His eyes seemed to bore into hers. Then he said, "Okay."

She wanted to kiss him hard, but thought that might lead to what they'd both agreed they wouldn't do. "Thank you, Chuck."

They now needed to prepare for bed.

Chuck hadn't brought any sleepwear, obviously, so had to strip down to t-shirt and boxers instead. Sarah had insisted he use the bathroom first, as it took her longer with her ankle as it was. She told him where to find a new toothbrush, which he found easily.

When he walked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom she eyed him up and down which made him self-conscious. She could obviously tell that as she said, "Nice," as she walked past him with her sleepwear to go into the bathroom herself.

He looked at her double bed. He saw two pillows at the bottom, one flat and mostly on the right side, and one on its side in the middle. He clearly was sleeping on the left side, so, after placing his discarded clothes on the chair at the end of the bed, he moved around to the left.

He wasn't sure whether to sit and wait for her or climb onto the bed. It was so long since he'd shared one. He decided to climb onto it.

Thinking about the last time he shared a bed caused him to remember what he'd done there. Making love to Jill had been wonderful. They'd done it right up to the end. Then, suddenly, sleeping together in both senses of the phrase ended abruptly. That made him think of doing both with the woman in the bathroom. He shook his head, trying to stop thinking like that and just focus on the type of sleep that could happen tonight.

Then, Sarah walked into the bedroom, turned, closed and locked the door, muttering, "Don't want Zondra walking in on us."

Chuck vaguely heard her, but his attention was on how she looked. She was wearing a pale blue sleeveless top and a pair of boy shorts in the same color. It left her long arms and legs bare, apart from what she had around her bad ankle. She was absolutely stunning.

It was only when she turned around and saw his expression and smiled, that he realized his mouth was open. "I take it you like what you see?" she spoke softly.

He'd closed his mouth and blushed. "Sorry. I know better than to stare."

She chuckled. "It was flattering." Then, as he expected, she teased him too. "Your jaw dropping was a surprise, but at least you didn't drool."

He was studiously looking at her face, so he saw the laughter lines at the corners of her eyes and the humor twinkling in them. "I'm a normal male, Sarah. Wiggling your derriere at me was bound to cause that."

She tried to look offended. "I did not wiggle!" Her eyes were still twinkling, though.

She walked slowly around to her side of the bed and carefully climbed in. She lay on her side, facing him, and placed her bad ankle on the pillow at the bottom of the bed and breathed out a sigh of relief. Then, she reached across with her left hand. He clasped it and brought the back of her hand up to his lips.

She hummed. "Sorry, no kiss goodnight from me."

"I just want you to be comfortable," he replied.

"I am. Thank you for doing this, Chuck. It means a lot to me."

She lay on her back. She felt she needed to explain more and sighed. "Christmas has never been a happy time for me. This is the first time I've not become really grouchy. I-" she stopped because admitting this was a big thing. "I want to wake tomorrow morning and see you there. Probably on Christmas morning, too, if I can persuade you."

"Is that to make sure that you haven't scared me off?" he asked.

She couldn't tell if he was teasing or being serious. "It's partly that, but also you make me feel… less grumpy?"

He snorted. "Wouldn't something like a chocolate croissant do that?"

She grinned. "Maybe tomorrow, but less easy to find on Christmas Day." He shrugged and she continued, "Just another reason Christmas Day is so crappy."

"It's only crappy if you let yourself think so," he said, looking very sure of that.

She couldn't tell him about her past. She'd already told him more of her secrets than most. "I wish I felt the way you do about Christmas." She looked over at him. "I'm hoping some of your positive attitude about the day rubs off on me."

"I'll hold you to me until it does," he offered.

She snorted this time. "And when that doesn't work?"

"Think positive, Sarah. I'll be here for you, both mornings."

She reached her hand over and touched his arm. He lifted his hand and held hers. It was just what Sarah needed; the contact seemed to chase away her demons.

She drifted off to sleep.

Chuck couldn't get to sleep. Sarah's breathing told him that she had managed. He should be able to release her hand, but he thought it was what she needed. He didn't want her waking and missing it, so he held on.

He had to admit that her slender hand wrapped around his felt really good to him, even though she was no longer gripping it tightly anymore. There was something about her that sent thrills through him with just this simple contact.

Of course, the fact that she was lying next to him dressed as she was also stopped him getting to sleep. Her long legs were amazing. He didn't think he'd ever seen legs as beautiful as hers before and her derriere was lovely too. Even though she hadn't wiggled, it had drawn his attention.

She'd implied that they couldn't do any more because of her ankle. That left him thinking about what could happen when her ankle healed. He had to stop himself thinking about that or he'd never get to sleep!

Keeping his hand in place and still holding hers, he shifted onto his back, his favorite position for sleeping.

After staring at the ceiling for about ten minutes, thanking Morgan and Anna for taking him to that nightclub which had led to him meeting this wonderful woman, he finally fell asleep and his hand opened.

Sarah woke up feeling warm. Her bad right ankle was still resting on its pillow and although slightly uncomfortable, that was no more than usual discomfort. Her other leg had spanned the extra pillow and was splayed across Chuck's legs. That foot was caught between his calves and warm. She usually woke with cold feet, but not this one.

Her leg and foot weren't the only parts of her body on Chuck. Her left arm was across his stomach and her head was resting on his chest.

What was it about his body that drew her to it when she was asleep?

She was sure that if she moved she'd wake him, but then if he woke and found her like this, he'd think she had done it deliberately. Either way, she was screwed. No. Correct that. Wrong choice of word. She most definitely hadn't screwed. Not for over a year now. Maybe that was what drew her body to Chuck's. Sexual magnetism of some sort.

She definitely found him attractive and had teased him about his attraction to her. There was definitely chemistry here. Maybe after her ankle had recovered?

She just lay still and enjoyed the rising and falling of Chuck's chest and listening to his heartbeat. She felt comfortable here like this with him.

She drifted off into a happy slumber.

Chuck woke as the daylight crept through a gap in the curtains and caught his eye. That never happened because he has blinds, not curtains. And what, or rather who, was sprawled across him and why was that so nice?

The answers to those questions became apparent to him. He was sleeping in Sarah Walker's bed and she was partly lying on him.

Two conflicting thoughts appeared in his head. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and pull her into a kiss, like she'd done with him. However, he was also aware of her ankle. It wasn't on him, but was close to his left leg. Anything he did might catch her ankle and hurt her.

He decided to just enjoy having her so close.

The scent of her shampoo was lovely, just another thing about her that made her special to him. He could lie here and enjoy that as much as he could when he gazed at her. It made him feel good to have her with him.

She moved slightly and seemed to be waking. He didn't want her to be surprised at where she was and to try shifting quickly because of her ankle, so he spoke softly. "You're safe, Sarah. Don't jump up or anything."

She did tense slightly, but then sighed and placed her hand on his chest, just in front of her face. "Been awake long?"

"Not long, just enjoying having you close," he replied.

"You make a wonderful pillow," she said.

He chuckled. "I think you found out before we came to bed, that's not true about my legs."

"Oh, I think your thighs would be great, just not your boney calves or your ankles." She lifted her head and looked at him. "That was the best night's sleep I've ever had. Thank you."

He leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips.

"We need to brush our teeth before more kisses," she said and pushed herself off of him. "Then maybe have a coffee or two to wake up."

"I need to pop out before that," he said.

That stopped her. She frowned. "Can't it wait until after coffee?"

"No," he said. Then he smiled. "Someone needs chocolate croissants."

She smiled, but shook her head. "You don't need to get that."

"Oh, I do. I need to head to work later this morning, and I can't have you getting grumpy again."

She grinned. "You're definitely good for me."

"Think you'll keep me, then?"

"At least for Christmas," she teased.

He pretended to look shocked. "Remember the phrase 'a Chuck's not just for Christmas.'"

She laughed at that. "I think you may be right. Ok, I'll keep you for longer."

He grinned and leaped out of bed to brush his teeth first. As she walked into the bathroom, he went into the bedroom to put on his clothes and then headed out.

Sarah thought about those last words. She was already convinced, even though it had been so little time, that she wanted Chuck in her life longer than just for Christmas. If he'd stay with her, that is. She really needed to control her moodiness and not, as he put it, frighten him away.

She had a quick shower, in spite of her ankle, and then dressed for the day before going into the kitchen to make coffee.

She was pleased that her ankle felt less painful today, so it was definitely on the mend.

It wasn't long before she heard the door open and looked up and nearly greeted Chuck, but it was Zondra that walked in. "Wow. Made me coffee, Blonde?"

Sarah growled. "No, it's for Chuck, but I suppose you could have one, too."

Zondra took a step back. "He stayed the night?"

Sarah nodded. "He did."

"And?"

Sarah smiled slightly. "And he's popped out for croissants."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," Zondra grumbled.

"And we slept together," Sarah said, then realizing how her friend would take that, added, "Real sleep."

"Nothing more?" Zondra pushed.

Sarah glared at her. "Not with my ankle as it is."

"Oh, there's ways-" Zondra started.

"There may be, but we didn't," Sarah cut her off.

Zondra grinned. "But you wish you had."

"Maybe."

"Well, I need a shower and then to get to the station," Zondra said as she left the kitchen. "I know you've got the day off, but we're not all so lucky."

Sarah sat nursing her coffee until she heard the apartment door open again. "In here, Chuck." The thought of him bursting into the bathroom, although unlikely, made her call that out.

"Ta da," he said as he walked in and placed a bag in front of her.

"Get yourself a coffee," she said as she opened the bag and looked in. Three chocolate croissants. "Three?" she asked.

He walked back to the table with a mug of coffee. "One each and then one for you later to fend off the Christmas blues."

"I could easily fall in love with you," she quipped.

He sat down and stared at her. After a few moments, he said, "And I you."

'Oh my God!' she thought. He's not joking. As she gazed into his eyes, she realized that it was true for her, too. She could, if she let herself, fall in love with this man.

She inwardly shook herself out of this line of thinking, and just said. "We'll have to be careful, then."

However, he didn't drop it. "To let it happen or to avoid it?"

She sighed. "I'm not good at relationships, Chuck. Let's just enjoy it for now."

His eyes bored into eyes for a while longer and then dropped. "Okay," he said, but didn't seem happy about it.

She got them a couple of plates and took two of the croissants and plated them. "Z's in the shower. You'll meet her soon."

"If I'd known, I would've gotten her something." She nodded to the bag. "Oh no, that's for you later, remember?"

She grinned before taking her first bite. "I think this one'll last me all day." After taking a bite, she hummed her satisfaction.

"So, you're the one to make Blondie smile, huh?" Zondra said as she walked in to get a coffee.

Chuck was mid chew so finished and swallowed before replying, "If I can, I'm happy. Zondra?"

"Yup." Zondra spotted the bag. "Is that to ensure my silence?"

Chuck frowned. "Silence?"

"Blondie probably doesn't want me telling everyone about you."

Sarah passed the bag to her friend. "I'm happy for them to know."

Zondra looked in the bag and then at Chuck. "You know this means she'll never let you go."

He chuckled. "She's already implied that."

"Well done," Zondra said, pulling the croissant out and then taking a bite. "Hmm. She might have to fight me for you." That earned her a glare from her friend, which she ignored.

Zondra sat for a brief time, rapidly finished the croissant and gulped down her coffee. "Sorry, gotta run." She grabbed her keys as she rushed out.

Chuck turned back to Sarah. "Is she always superfast like that?"

Sarah swallowed her coffee first, then nodded.

He looked at his watch. "I better go too. I need to get home, shower and change into my Buy More gear, then set off."

"When'd you finish today?" she asked.

He smiled. "You want to see me tonight?"

She shouldn't, in case her mood turned sour and put him off, but she replied, "Yeah. If you'd like to."

"Oh, I'd like to," he replied. The way he looked into her eyes as he said it, gave her a warm feeling.

"Great. Same time?"

He shook his head. "No, earlier, if that's ok, but I can't stay overnight as I'm on an early shift for the next two days."

She'd wanted him to stay, but accepted what he had to do.

As he left, they shared a brief kiss, which left her wanting more.

A/N: That damned ankle of hers! Oh, and her feelings about the time of year too! Will her fears be realized?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this little tale, if you have the time.