Roy strode into the day room, stopping short when he spotted Johnny sitting on the floor by the Christmas tree. "What are you doing?"

Johnny scowled as he fumbled with a string of lights. "Trying to untangle these lights. Who put these away last year?"

"You did, remember?" Roy pointed out.

Johnny's scowl turned to a baffled expression before turning to a resigned expression. "Oh yeah. Forgot."

"Tangled up the lights again, huh?" Chet was next to enter.

Johnny huffed and rolled his eyes. "If you're not going to help, be quiet."

"I did help." Chet replied. "Picked out the tree, didn't I?"

Johnny turned around and glanced at the tree. "Yeah. Charlie Brown couldn't have chosen better."

Roy chuckled as he crossed over to the stove and poured himself a cup of coffee. The Christmas season was in full swing here at Fifty-One, as evidenced by the squabbling between Johnny and Chet over how to decorate the station. The radio was playing in the background, and someone was singing along.

Badly. They were singing along badly.

"Johnny." Chet's voice held a note of exasperation. "Keep it down, will ya? You're scaring Henry."

Roy glanced over at the couch, where Henry was flopped over on his back, seemingly without a care in the world.

"He's fine." Johnny answered casually before picking up where he left off, once again singing along with the radio.

"Okay, well, you're scaring me." Chet told him. "You're no better now than you were when we did that barbershop quartet at the fireman's picnic."

Johnny suddenly got that look, the look that told Roy he was about to cook up some crazy scheme.

Chet caught the look, too, his eyes going wide. "Whatever you're thinking, Johnny, forget it."

Johnny seemed to ignore him, now humming along with the radio as he worked to untangle the lights, that thoughtful expression never leaving his face. Roy couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.

Finally, Johnny looked up from the lights just as Marco, Mike, and Cap walked into the room. "What if we got the Firehouse Four back together?"

A collective groan went through the room. "Once was enough, Johnny." Mike told him.

Johnny seemed to ignore him. "Yeah, we could, you know, do Christmas carols. Maybe in the pediatrics ward or something. Cheer the kids up."

"Haven't those poor children suffered enough?" Roy asked, desperate to stop Johnny from trying to push this ridiculous idea.

Johnny scowled at him as the rest of the crew snickered. "That hurts, Roy. That really hurts."

"Maybe it's not such a terrible idea." Cap broke in. "You know, good publicity for the department, goodwill with the community."

Johnny's face lit up. "Yeah, exactly."

"And who knows?" Cap continued. "Maybe the kids would get a kick out of a bunch of firemen making fools of themselves."

The tones sounded before Johnny could respond, and he tossed the lights aside to head toward the squad. Cap handed Roy the slip, and he handed it off to Johnny, and they were soon on their way.

With any luck, Johnny would forget about this rotten idea by the time they got back.

# # #

"Hey, Dix." Johnny called out as he joined Roy at the desk, picking up the cup of coffee Roy had just poured for himself.

"Morning, Johnny." Dixie glanced up from her paperwork.

Johnny leaned on the desk. "You know Christmas is coming up, right?"

Dixie nodded. "Yes, in about two weeks."

Roy groaned internally as he turned to pour himself another cup of coffee to replace the one Johnny stole. Apparently this harebrained idea was still running around in Johnny's head.

"You remember when we put together that barbershop quartet for the picnic?" Johnny asked.

"Yes, I do." Dixie answered.

"Well, I kinda had this idea." Johnny continued. "What if we did some Christmas caroling in pediatrics? You know, something to cheer up the kids?"

Roy was trying to get Dixie's attention in hopes she might be able to dissuade Johnny, but to no avail.

"I think that's a lovely idea, Johnny." Dixie replied.

Johnny's face lit up at that. "Yeah, now all I have to do is convince the rest of the guys. They're, uh, not exactly into it."

Dixie responded with a warm smile. "Well, I'm sure you'll convince them eventually. And the kids will love it."

The handy-talkie crackled to life, sending them out on another call. "I'll work on them. Thanks, Dix. See ya later."

"Yeah Dix, thanks a lot." Roy muttered as he followed Johnny.

Dixie merely shrugged as the two men returned to the squad to answer their next call. On their way back to the station afterward, Johnny chattered on about his idea, and Roy tried to tune him out, but it was nearly impossible.

"You should join us, Roy." Johnny told him.

"Absolutely not." Roy replied.

"C'mon Roy, I've heard you sing." Johnny pointed out.

"No, you haven't."

Johnny arched an eyebrow. "I have."

Roy shook his head. "Mmm, nope. You imagined it."

"Think of the kids, Roy." Johnny's tone was almost pleading.

Roy leaned over, meeting Johnny's eyes with his own. "No."

Johnny looked offended. "Those poor, sick kids! Could be their last Christmas, and you wanna deprive them of joy."

Oh no, Johnny wasn't going to guilt trip him into this. "We could bring them joy by not singing to them, how about that?"

Johnny looked genuinely hurt, shaking his head as he opened the door of the squad and hopped down. "That hurts, Roy. I mean, what if it was your kids?"

Sometimes Johnny really knew how to hit Roy where it hurt. "That's unfair."

"So is not singing to the kids!" Johnny's voice rang out in the bay.

Roy sighed heavily as he climbed down from the squad and followed Johnny into the day room. "If I tell you I'll think about it, will you shut up about it?"

Johnny turned on his heel to face Roy. "If you say you'll do it, I'll shut up about it."

Roy folding his arms over his chest. "I'll think about it."

Johnny lit up and strode into the day room. "Hey guys, guess what?"

"I didn't say I'd do it!" Roy called out. "I said I'd think about it!"

But it was too late. Johnny was already off and running, trying to rope the rest of the guys into his scheme.

Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

# # #

"O holy night, the stars are brightly shining…"

"Cut, cut cut." Roy shook his head. "Guys. We have a week to get this together. Let's try it again, from the top."

Roy blew into the pitch pipe to give the guys their notes, and they started again. Better, but it would be a stretch to call it good. "You know what? Let's try something else."

"Grandma got run over by a reindeer…"

"Be serious, Chet." Roy told him with a huff as Johnny and Marco snickered. "We're singing for kids. Did you forget? Let's try 'White Christmas'."

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas…"

Somehow the guys managed to screw that up worse than 'O Holy Night'. Roy was despairing of ever getting this crew together. "You know, Forty-Five is making the caroling rounds, too." He pointed out.

Mike and Cap looked at each other. "Their engineer is the choir director at my church." Cap told Roy.

"We're doomed." Chet blurted out.

"Now hold on." Johnny jumped in as the rest of the guys murmured among themselves. "You're not gonna let Forty-Five show us up, are you? Let's show them what we're made of."

"That's the problem, Johnny." Mike responded. "This is it. This is what we're made of."

Johnny threw Roy a helpless look, and Roy took a deep breath and exhaled. "It's okay, guys. We'll just keep it simple. You know, 'Jingle Bells', 'Up On The Rooftop', that kind of thing. Stuff the kids will like and that we'll be able to nail."

Johnny smiled and straightened up at that. "Well hey, alright then. Let's get cracking."

Roy managed what he hoped was a reassuring smile and blew notes into the pitch pipe before counting them off. If he was able to get these guys together, it would be a Christmas miracle.

# # #

Roy wondered just what the hell he was thinking, agreeing to any of this. Chet offered to pick everyone up in his VW van, and now Roy was squeezed right between Johnny and Marco, as they tried to have an impromptu final rehearsal on their way to Rampart.

This was going to be a disaster, Roy just knew it.

"I still think we should try to put 'O Holy Night' in there." Chet was arguing from the driver's seat.

"There's nothing holy about the way we sing it." Marco told him. "Forget it."

"Yeah, when we do it, it's more like 'O Holy S—"

"MIKE."

Roy managed to calm himself. "We're not going to throw that in there." He told them. "We've got a list, let's stick to it."

Chet found a parking spot, and Johnny handed everyone their Santa hats before they piled out and headed toward the entrance. Soon they were on the elevator, singing bits and pieces of the carols they had chosen.

They were turning heads, but for all the wrong reasons.

As the elevator doors opened, Roy could hear the guys from Forty-Five singing. Pitch perfect, smooth as silk.

"Damn, they're really good." Chet commented.

"It's okay, guys." Johnny assured them, even as he sounded unsure himself. "Remember, it's the spirit of the thing. Spreading joy and cheer."

"You've got enough cheer for all of us." Mike told him.

"Let hope it's enough." Cap answered.

Marco crossed himself as they started toward the pediatrics ward. They were greeted by one of the nurses, one Johnny had gone out with a couple of months prior. She studiously ignored Johnny while greeting the rest of the crew with a warm smile. "Hi, guys. Go on in."

Roy nodded, and the rest of them murmured as they entered. Forty-Five was just finishing 'Silent Night', and they nodded to Roy and the rest of the crew. "Nice of you to join us."

Roy smiled at that before turning to the guys. "Okay, let's start with 'Jingle Bells'."

The guys managed to get through that without too much trouble, and Roy spotted a few of the kids smiling and singing along. So far, so good. Forty-Five followed with 'Sleigh Ride', Fifty-One countered with 'Up On The Rooftop'.

They went back and forth, good-naturedly ribbing each other when they hit an occasional sour note, and by the time they reached the last song on their list, Roy found he was enjoying the experience. So, it appeared, did everyone else involved.

And honestly, as the afternoon went on, the guys seemed to sound better and better.

Finally, Forty-Five wrapped things up with 'O Holy Night'. As they started, their engineer waved Fifty-One over to join them.

Roy didn't want to ruin their beautiful rendition, but the guys were already joining in, and soon Roy found himself caught up in it, singing right along.

He spotted Johnny out of the corner of his eye, all but grinning from ear to ear as he did his best to sing along. Great, Roy would never hear the end of it now.

But ultimately, none of that mattered. The kids, for the most part, seemed completely entranced, and there were more than a few parents, doctors, and nurses wiping at their own eyes.

"Oh night divine…oh night, oh night divine…"

The carol ended to cheers and applause, and the two crews talked among each other for a few minutes before going their separate ways.

"You know, Roy." Johnny told him on their way to the elevator. "I'll bet there are some other wards that wouldn't mind a little Christmas cheer."

"Is that right?"

"Sure." Johnny continued casually. "You've got oncology, intensive care, hell, maybe we could just, I don't know, go all over the hospital. What do you think, guys?"

"I think the Firehouse Four has had its last performance." Cap told him.

Johnny looked briefly disappointed before he brightened. "Until next year."

Roy managed to contain his amusement as the elevator doors closed and a collective groan went through the crew. He supposed he'd better start thinking up another list for next year. Likely as not Johnny would manage to rope them all into this again.

At least, Roy hoped so. Hell, he might even help.