Secret Santa with The Expendables
"I hate Secret Santa."
Hale Cesar cocked his head in confusion. "Why, man? Why you gotta hate on Secret Santa?"
"Because. You always wind up getting the one person you didn't want to get, you only have a few days to scrap together a half-decent gift, and then you have to watch the person open whatever it is you found for them, and not get to explain what it is or why you bought it. It's a stupid tradition I wish we'd never started."
"Keep talkin' and you'll have to change your name." Barney drawled, pulling on his cigar.
Christmas scowled at their team leader. "Whatever. Let's just get on it with it. Lacy's cooking something nice tonight and I don't want to be late."
All the unattached men in the room rolled their eyes at the lovesick Brit but said nothing- the man was deadly with a blade, and always carried several on him.
"Alright, gather around," Tool rasped, holding a red and white decorated bag. "You all know how to play. Pick a name out of the bag, find a gift for that person, put their name on it, not yours, and leave it under the tree. Christmas morning I'll take the gifts out from under my tree and bring them to you all at Barney's like good ole Saint Nick himself."
"Yeah, if Saint Nick had a Harley."
"And never wore a shirt."
"And decided to get rid of the beard in favor of long, greasy hair."
Barney chuckled, seeing the look on Tool's face. "Cool it, guys. Tool makes a good Santa. Always wanting pretty girls to sit on his lap."
With the final potshot thrown, the men reached into the Christmas bag one by one, pulling out little strips of paper with names on them.
Each had a remarkable poker face that allowed them to stare down at the worst humans on the planet without flinching, so it wasn't obvious who got whom for Secret Santa, or if anyone was mad about their pick.
"See you guys in three days." Tool said, before kicking them out of his shop.
A few hours later, Barney completed his order of a new chemistry book for Gunnar and smiled. The big lug was going to love having something else to read about explosions and chemical reactions and other crazy science stuff. He didn't get the fascination, but then again, he never got a scholarship to MIT, nor was he a Fulbright scholar. Barney was content to just set charges and blow things up, he didn't need to know the mechanics of how that all worked, especially since Gunnar's homemade, scientific bombs didn't usually work too well.
Wondering who was going to get him a gift for Christmas, Barney turned the lights on his house, pleased when they all worked. It was a bear to cover the entire hangar and house in lights, but he'd gotten some teens from the neighborhood to help out, which their mothers had appreciated, as it kept them out of trouble. Ha. Helping decorate a career mercenary's airplane hangar and home where if they only walked a few more feet, they'd find more weapons than the military supplied. Definitely out of trouble. But Barney made sure to sneak in a few lessons about not screwing life up while they worked, and he felt like some of his words of hard-learned wisdom sunk in.
Just then, his phone rang. He smiled when he saw who was calling and shook his head. "Who'd you get, and what do you need?"
"Cesar," Toll Road replied, "I've got nothing. A shirt that says, Watch Out, I'm Big, Black, and Dangerous?"
Barney chuckled. "As much as I'm sure Cesar would love a shirt like that, I don't think they make those. Get him a new sheath for his straight razor. The one he's got now is leather. Dropped that thing in enough wet places over the years that it's nearly disintegrated."
"Great idea. Thanks, man. I'd give him the latest book I just finished, but he used the last one for target practice, so..."
"Probably best to keep the books you like safe in your house." Barney advised. "You do know that you weren't supposed to tell anyone who you picked, right?"
Toll Road huffed. "What Tool doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, he volunteers to write the names and bring the gifts solely because he says he stinks at buying gifts, so he can't complain."
"True. See you in a few days."
The next morning, Christmas woke up with a surly disposition that Lacy noticed easily. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
She tilted his head up to hers. "Lee don't lie to me. I can tell you're upset." Lacy didn't say anything else, but it was implied. She still didn't know exactly what he did for a living, nor did she completely agree with it, but she always went out of her way to understand what Lee was going through, ever since she'd mistakenly cheated on him with a man who nearly cost her everything.
"I got Barney for Secret Santa."
Lacy almost fainted with relief, that her man's anguish wasn't over something serious. "What's the matter with getting Barney?"
"What's the matter? Well, for starters, Barney appreciates anything you get him."
"That's bad?" Lacy cut in, confused.
Christmas ran a hand over his head. "Yeah. I can never tell if he actually likes whatever he gets, because his answer is the same no matter what. 'Thank you! This is great.' Something like that, no matter what or who gives it to him. It's nearly impossible to figure out if he's truly happy."
Lacy shrugged. "Maybe he genuinely likes everything, just because that person thought of him, and bought him something. Didn't you tell me he's never really had a family outside of you guys?"
"Yeah...So, basically, what you're saying is, Barney's so interested in being a part of something that he's not going to care what it is, it'll still be happy?"
She nodded. "Yes. Now, what was the other thing wrong with getting Barney, now that I've made you feel better about the first part."
Christmas laughed, because she was right. He did feel slightly better after hearing Lacy's reasoning. "The other problem is that I can't call him to help me come up with something."
"What?!" Lacy exclaimed, hitting Lee with a pillow. "You've actually called Barney for help with your Secret Santa gifting before?"
He nodded. "Oh, yeah. We all do. For some reason, Barney's the best with gift giving. He always pays attention to what we're doing, and what we need, and then either gets it for us, or helps us get it for each other. It's sort of creepy. The man sees all."
"Seems like he's just a good leader, who takes care of his gang."
Christmas made a thoughtful expression. "Probably. But he'd like it if I called him creepy with his gift-sensing powers, so I think I'll stick with that. In all seriousness, though, thanks, Lacy."
"You're welcome. So, you're going to not get mad if Barney reacts the same way as he always does?"
"Yep."
"And you're going to figure something out to give him without asking for help?"
"I'll do my best. Can't call anyone else, they're just as bad at it as I am."
With that, Christmas got up, had some food, and headed out to look for a gift that was either covered in skulls, highly flammable, illegal, or all three. He passed Yin Yang at a bookstore in town and smiled. Toll Road was the only person on the team who you could shop for without having to call Barney first. If it was a self-help book, or one on Oprah's book list, he was a happy man. He wouldn't tell Yang that he'd seen him buying it, though. Best way to make it look like they really had all kept their names a secret.
Barney had just finished making creamed chipped beef on toast when the phone rang. This time of year, his phone rang more often than ever. Only this time, he didn't recognize the number. That must mean it was a work call, not a personal shopping question.
"Ross."
"Barney!"
He never forgot a voice, especially one as musical as hers. "Sandra?"
"Oh, gracias a Dios. I was worried that you might not have the same phone number after all this time."
Barney replied, "Never change my number, otherwise people I haven't seen in years can't reach me. Is everything alright?"
"No, it's not. I need your help..." Shots rang out, and she screamed.
The call dropped, and Barney stared at the phone, heart pounding. Sandra was in the middle of telling him she needed help, when it sounded like someone had shot at her.
Thinking quickly, Barney placed a call to Thorn, who was off in the mountains somewhere climbing high things and tempting fate.
"Yo, bossman, what's going on?"
"Thorn, I need you to run a trace on the number I'm about to give you. Get back to me. Yesterday."
The young hacker reared back at Barney's harsh tone, but quickly set up his laptop that he always carried on him for instances like this and got to work. He was more freelance now, than solely an Expendable, but he had the tattoo, and the loyalty to the team, to work for them whenever they needed a technical expert. Barney expected his flock to be ready for action no matter what, and no matter where, even on the side of a mountain in Wyoming.
"Found the location, Barney. Call came from an island called Vilena, in South America."
Barney, who had been speed packing a bag for the past five minutes stopped and thanked Thorn for the help. "Great. I'm on my way."
"Woah, what do you mean, you're on your way? You're going to Vilena? Why? It's nearly Christmas, Barn..."
"None of your business. Thanks for the assist, but just stick to climbing rocks, okay?"
Thorn, who wasn't the best with human interactions, could tell that whatever had happened on the phone call he'd been asked to trace, it had shaken Barney. That man was a lot of things, but rude and abrupt was not one of them.
Barney fired up his Albatross, shoved his gear inside, and took off for Vilena. Should he have called the team and filled them in? Maybe. But there wasn't time to give them all the details he didn't have or listen to all the reasons why he shouldn't go. When he landed and found out what was what, he'd give them a ring. Setting the navigation for Vilena, Barney leaned back in his worn-out seat, and tried to calm his nerves while Mississippi Queen played through the old speakers.
Nearly ten hours later, he arrived in Vilena using the same water landing spot he and Christmas had used thirteen years earlier. Only now, it was much cleaner looking, and less ominous all around.
Turning everything off, Barney headed into the visitor's center and had his passport stamped. The guard did not seem as hostile as the previous one had been, but then again, the old guard had been on Munroe's payroll, and this one was not.
"Reason for coming to Vilena?"
"I'm going to reconnect with an old friend." Barney told him honestly. He wasn't going to mention her name or ask if he knew what had happened to her, on the off chance this man was a bad guy.
With his passport stamped, Barney officially entered Vilena, and started walking. Thorn's trace had yielded a precise location of the phone call, not just broadly Vilena, and he was going to go there. His Spanish was rusty, but he'd get by.
The address turned out to be a small, nicely kept home near the center of town. Barney knocked on the door, and as he expected, it was open. He drew his gun, and entered, quickly clearing the house, and discovered that it was empty. There was a smear of blood on the floor near her cracked cell phone, and his breath hitched.
Not knowing how to proceed, Barney decided the best and quickest way to get some answers was to call someone who would undoubtedly know what was going on in the country, as he worked for a group that knew a little bit of everything.
"Drummer."
"It's Barney Ross. I'm in Vilena and I got a problem."
Max Drummer chuckled. "Hello to you too, Barney. What's the problem?"
"A woman I know, the woman who's been in charge of Vilena for over a decade, Sandra Garza, called me earlier in a panic, asked for help, and then the call dropped when shots were fired. I just got to her house, and there's blood on the floor, and her cracked cell phone next to it. What's going on in Vilena?"
"Why do you think I would know?"
"Because Drummer. You work for the CIA, and you guys know when someone takes a pit stop in the jungle five thousand miles away. If you don't know personally, find someone who does, and get back to me." He didn't mind barking orders at the older man, after all, when they'd met, Drummer hadn't done anything but chew him out and spit on him.
"Give me ten minutes." Drummer said, and then hung up.
Barney squeezed his phone in his hand, and went about searching through Sandra's things, hoping to find a piece of evidence that would lead him to what had happened.
Exactly ten minutes later Barney heard a truck rumbling to a stop outside the house and went to the window to see what was going on. Max Drummer stepped out of the truck, a go bag slung over one shoulder, looking every bit the seasoned agent he was.
Barney ran out to meet him. "Drummer! Why the hell didn't you tell me you were in Vilena when I called?"
"I was going to, but you wouldn't stop flapping your lips long enough for me to get it out. I figured I could be halfway to your location before you finished." Drummer replied dryly.
"How'd you even know my location?" Barney asked.
Drummer smiled. "I am an agent, after all. I knew where Sandra Garza lived because I've been here running an op connected to her for months."
"What?"
"Yeah. She's been my inside source for a while. Been doing that for years, I've heard. Isn't that how you two met?"
Barney felt his blood start to boil. "Yeah. But she got out of that dirty business years ago. Having her help you dragged her right back into what she didn't want to be in."
"Cool it with your protectiveness, Barney. She reached out to the agency herself. We didn't drag her back into anything."
Barney swallowed and apologized. He heard how protective of her he was in his voice, and knew he needed to calm down. It wasn't like she was his. "Alright. What's the op, and what happened to her?"
"Well, I honestly can't tell you what happened to her, but I can tell you about the operation. You have to keep it quiet, though."
He promised to do so, and Drummer told him everything he knew.
"So, basically, what you're saying is that a few months ago, a couple of wealthy terrorists came to the island, took over Sandra's father's old compound which was rebuilt, and started moving drugs through the country, just like Munroe did. That about right?"
Drummer nodded. "Yeah. It's been quiet here for years, since you left, and Sandra was able to fix things up, with a little financial help from you, I'm sure, but recently things have gotten bad again.
"Sandra got involved because she sort of became an unofficial leader of Vilena when she helped clean it up. She found out about the people who were running drugs and came to us for help. Even said she had someone on the inside who would feed her intel."
Barney sat down at her kitchen table to think, folding his hands. "Who was the inside man?"
"Someone who I would prefer to keep nameless. All you need to know is that he was killed last week. They found out he was snitching for the agency. It seemed like Sandra's name was kept out of it all, but after today..."
Hearing a crunching sound, Barney realized with a start that he had been slowly and steadily squeezing the life out of Sandra's cracked cell phone, and it had finally given up the fight against his grip. He let go of it, wincing when he felt the shallow cuts on his hands the glass had made. He really needed to get it together.
Drummer noticed Barney's barely-holding-it-together actions and frowned. "I don't need you rushing in to play hero with your head messed up. I'll take you someplace no one ever wants to go if you screw this up, Ross." He barked.
Ironically, that threat had Barney feeling better and more like himself than he had felt since arriving in Vilena. His natural instinct when threatened was to stand taller and push back harder, which made him remember why he was here. He wasn't there to let his emotions run him to the ground. He was there to save Sandra and put her attackers in the ground.
"You think Sandra was taken to the compound?"
"I do." Drummer replied. "On the ride over, while you were yammering on about where you were and why you were there, I had one of my contacts at Langley run a thermal imaging sweep over the compound. There was an extra, human-sized heat signature that wasn't there before. Now, it could just be another scumbag, but my money's on it being Sandra. They'll want to know what she knows and who she told, and their private, secluded compound is the best place to question her."
Not wanting to think about what those animals might do to her, Barney stood up and headed for the door. "Let's go."
Drummer chuckled. "Go? Go where? Barney, we can't breach the compound, just the two of us. My team and I have been sitting on our hands and waiting for the right moment to strike. That moment is now, I agree with you, especially with Sandra Garza's life in danger, but we need more time. I have to get on the phone and find some guys."
"Why? Can't we help?"
Barney and Drummer turned, startled to see Christmas, Cesar, and the entire gang of the Expendables in the doorway, lugging equipment and looking ready for a war.
"What are you doing here?" Barney asked, incredulous, but thrilled.
Toll Road tipped his head at Gunnar. "This one called me while I was in the middle of wrapping a certain someone's Christmas present, saying that Thorn had told him while they were playing this high-tech virtual chess game what you'd asked him to do, and how worried you'd sounded."
"Yeah. I told Toll, who called Cesar and rallied the troops." Gunnar said with a nod.
Christmas stepped close to Barney in order to speak privately. "You good? I know how much Sandra means to you."
"I'm alright. Thanks for the checkup." To the whole team, he said, "Let's go get her back. Drummer will update you on the way."
They piled outside, and Barney was surprised to see a large, military-issued vehicle in the driveway that could easily fit all of them and their gear. "Nice find."
Cesar nodded proudly. "I called Bonaparte and told him what was going on. Figured since he was your go-to guy to get you things, and people, that I'd try him. It worked."
Barney thanked them all, and they set off to save Sandra.
Outside of the compound, Barney and Drummer were detailing the plan, when shots rang out from all sides. Somehow, despite their covert entrance, they'd been made. That didn't make their job impossible, but it certainly made it harder.
Barney moved out of the way, caught his toe on a rock, and found himself in the perfect position to get shot in the leg. He grunted with the pain, but kept moving, crawling on his belly like he'd done in Vietnam decades earlier.
Christmas noticed he'd been hit, and provided cover fire as they approached the doors of the compound. The enemies inside couldn't seem to believe that they weren't giving up yet, which was something they had to their advantage.
Breaching the insides of the compound, each Expendable took their own area, retiring combatants left and right as they cleared the rooms. Barney had a good guess that if the compound had been remade in any way like the original, it would have rooms under the main floors for interrogations. He'd found Sandra in one before.
Motioning to the guys that he was heading down, Christmas followed him, aware of how badly things had gone before when Barney had gone down alone to save Sandra while Munroe was in charge.
Barney's leg was screaming every time he took a step, but he barely felt the pain. All he could think about was rescuing Sandra.
They found her in the same room where she'd been held years earlier, although it looked quite different, given the fact that the original building had been completely leveled by explosions.
Barney nodded at Christmas, and they entered the room, mowing down the men inside, one of whom Barney recognized from Drummer's dossier as the man in charge of it all. Good. He needed to go.
He ran to Sandra, who was tied to a chair, bleeding from multiple places. Barney saw red but calmed himself. She was alive, and safe, and the savages who did this to her were littered throughout the compound, dead.
"Barney!" Sandra whimpered through her gag, her eyes dim.
Using his knife, Barney carefully cut through the ropes tying her to the chair, and gently pulled the gag out of her mouth.
Sandra dropped her arms around him limply, and he pulled her closer. "I knew you would come." She whispered gratefully. "Thank you."
Barney nodded and carried her out of the room, even though he was having trouble walking himself. Christmas covered him, making sure there were no more unsavory characters left alive, and soon, they rejoined the others.
"You got her? Good." Drummer said, all business-like.
Barney could feel blood seeping out of her wounds and snarled. "She needs medical attention. I have no idea what happened to her, but she needs help."
Cesar fired up their vehicle, and drove very quickly to the nearest hospital, with Drummer telling him how to get there, as he'd been in the area for a while now. Sandra's pulse was strong, which was good, but her body was weak, and Barney wasn't going to let anything else happen to her.
Cesar got them to the hospital just as Drummer finished calling ahead to have nurses and a gurney ready for her.
Barney started to get out of the car, and Drummer put a hand on his arm. "No."
"'No'?" Barney repeated murderously low. "She's losing blood here, Drummer."
The older man nodded. "I know that, and of course I'm going to get her help. But you and your gang can't be seen in connection with her. For her safety, Barney."
"She didn't seem to be so safe when you were watching out for her, huh."
"Barney," Christmas said calmly, "Let Drummer handle this. He'll make sure she gets patched up. You don't want to make things worse." His eyes conveyed what he wasn't saying. Drummer could be a controlling jerk sometimes, but he wouldn't put her in more danger. Barney might, just by being seen with her in Vilena.
With one last look at Sandra, who was nearly unconscious, but breathing, Barney laid her in Drummer's arms, and watched helplessly as the nurses placed her on a gurney and wheeled her away.
Cesar took that as his queue to leave and took off for Barney's Albatross. They'd hitched a ride with Trench to get to Vilena, but the Austrian had been quite clear that he wouldn't be available for a return trip.
Flying for hours with a bullet in his leg wasn't Barney's idea of a good time, but he'd called Doc before takeoff, and he'd agreed to meet him at his house and patch him up. Would it have been easier to get fixed up at the hospital in Vilena? Probably, but Drummer would have had his head if he followed them inside, and when it got right down to it, Barney didn't want to bring any attention to Sandra by being there longer than necessary.
"Can I ask you something?"
Barney glanced at Christmas in the co-pilot seat and nodded. "Sure."
"Why her?"
"What?"
"Why Sandra? What about her specifically makes you so protective, so invested in her? You've gotten yourself entangled with plenty of women since I've known you, and none of them have ever had this kind of hold on you, especially not after such a long time."
Barney shrugged. "I think... I think it's because she was the one who helped me realize that I still had part of my soul left, a part that still wanted to help people and see the good in people, instead of just shooting them dead and collecting a paycheck. In a way, she saved me as much if not more than I saved her."
Christmas was at a loss for words, something that did not happen often. Barney wasn't as closed off about his feelings as some of the guys were, but he wasn't as open as Toll Road either. Hearing him talk about saving what was left of his soul shook him, because he understood that completely, with Lacy, he'd just never put it into words before.
"I understand." He said quietly.
Barney smiled tightly. "Thanks, man. Now let's get home, so Doc can stitch me up. The bullet didn't stay in, which is good, but the tourniquet Gunnar put on for me won't work forever."
Christmas nodded and allowed his boss to get back to flying them home. He had an idea, a really good idea, that he wasn't sure if he could get to work. If he could, Secret Santa would be easy this year, even without Barney's help.
Doc carefully stitched Barney's leg up and wrapped it tightly. "Had to go and get yourself shot again, huh Barney?"
Barney took another swig from his bottle of bourbon and sighed. "Always me, never anybody else on the team. I think I've gotten shot more times than every Expendable, former and current."
"Well, you've been lucky every time. Just scars, not permanent damage." Doc said. He regarded Barney closely, and added, "You okay?"
Why was it that his team could be silent as monks whenever it came time to talk about what they were going through, apart from Toll, but when he did something even remotely emotionally driven, everyone was suddenly very chatty? "Yeah, I'm good. Still don't like getting shot, but it's a small price to pay for Sandra's safety."
Doc had never met Sandra but had heard Barney talking about her once or twice. He sensed something different about the man whenever her name was mentioned, something softer. Barney would kill him if he mentioned it, but Doc could tell he loved her.
"Alright, if you're all set, I'm heading out."
Barney nodded and thanked Doc for making the house call. "Enjoy Christmas in New York. Although I have no idea why you'd want to be in cold, snowy New York when you could stay here and enjoy the sunshiny, seventy-degree weather here."
Doc laughed. "I do prefer the sun, but Christmas is special in the snow. Plus, my fine threads are more appreciated in New York than here with you uncultured fools. I'm going to drive my '49 Pontiac all the way to the Big Apple and spend the holiday with my relatives."
"Get them to move here," Barney said, "warmer weather, and they'd get to see you more often."
"Not likely," Doc replied, packing up his medical supplies. "Anyway, see you later, Barney."
The two slapped each other on the back, and soon, Barney was left in his home all alone. That wasn't unusual, but after being with the guys for the last while, the quiet and emptiness was more obvious.
He went to sleep, praying that Sandra was alright, and that Drummer would have the decency to call him with an update soon.
Two days later, it was Christmas morning, and everyone was headed to Barney's. No one knew exactly where or when he learned how to cook, but every year, Barney's Christmas feast was impressive, and tasty. It also helped that all of them were accustomed to eating MREs and whatever else they could get their hands on in the middle of battle, so they weren't too picky. Anything other than dry, tasteless, hard biscuits wowed them.
"Merry Christmas!" Gunnar bellowed as Barney let them in with a smile.
Yin Yang, Cesar, Toll Road, Christmas and Lacy, and Tool piled inside, with the latter carrying his bag of Secret Santa presents over his shoulder.
"Smells great," Lacy said, hugging him. Barney saw the mad look on Christmas's face and hugged her back tightly just to spite him. He hadn't always liked her, especially when she cheated on his brother, but Christmas forgave her, so he did too.
"Thanks. Everyone have a seat in the dining room, dinner will be ready soon."
"You know, you're quite domesticated, Barney." Yin Yang said cheerfully, egging him on.
Barney growled. "Say that again and you'll be in the chimney. You'd fit."
Yang laughed and shook his head. "Good one."
Barney laid everything out with Cesar's help, and soon, they were all eating, making fun of each other, and just enjoying their holiday.
"Have you heard from Luna recently?" Toll Road asked as he reached for a roll. The younger, female Expendable hadn't been solely working for their team in a while, much like Thorn, but she was still available if they ever needed her.
Gunna shrugged. "Thorn said she and Mars are almost due to have their third kid soon. Said he'll ask her to send us some pictures when that happens."
Barney smiled, thinking about how Luna had originally told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn't interested in a husband and children type of family. He was glad Mars had been able to change her mind. The young weapons R&D expert was scrappy and could handle her just fine.
"Hate to be that guy, but when are we going to get to the gifts?" Tool asked, scratching his chin. "They've been sitting under my tree for the past two days, and I lugged them all here. I want to know what's inside."
They all moved to the living room to open their gifts. Each grabbed the one with their names on it, Barney's being the smallest. He was worried, though. He appreciated anything anyone his friends got him, because they cared.
Gunnar was very excited about his new book that Barney bought him, Toll as well with his new self-help novel from Yin Yang. Cesar was very happy with his new sheath for his straight razor from Toll Road, Yang nearly jumped for joy when he got some candy from his favorite store in China from Cesar, and Christmas smiled when he revealed a new whetstone from Gunnar.
Barney was the last to open his gift, and when he unwrapped it, he found a small box. Inside there was a notecard that said Go to the door and open it. Confused, Barney did as instructed, and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw who was standing there.
"Hi, Barney." Sandra said with a small wave and smile.
Coming to his senses, he smiled back, and hugged her. It felt so good to have her in his arms, safe, alive, and well.
"How... What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
Sandra pointed inside at Christmas and said, "He called me after you took me to the hospital and explained how badly you had wanted to stay and talk to me after I got out of surgery, but that for my safety, you left. He told me that it would mean a lot if I could come here for Christmas. Honestly, I really wanted to see you, so I agreed. I'm safer in this place than anywhere else on the planet, with you and all your friends."
Barney chuckled out of sheer joy and invited her inside.
Christmas watched his friend's face as Sandra spoke to him and grinned. Secret Santa was always hard, but this year, it was pretty easy. Sandra soothed something inside the man that no one and nothing else every could and Christmas appreciated that.
Sandra sat down next to Barney, looking at the wrap he had on his leg and winced. "I'm sorry you got hurt because of me."
He waved it off. "I'm fine. Sandra, I have a question for you."
"Yes?"
"Why did you call me when things got bad? You could have called the CIA and had someone in country to help you a lot faster."
She smiled and leaned against him. "I trust you. I do not trust everyone in the agency. You recused me once; I knew you could do it again."
Barney wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek, just to see how she would react. When she beamed, and snuggled in closer, Barney felt like a lit-up Christmas tree. He made eyes at Christmas from across the living room in silent thank you, and the younger man nodded in return. No words were needed. Except these ones. "Merry Christmas, everybody!" Cesar shouted, a few drinks in, carrying some refreshments from Barney's fridge out to them.
They all laughed, even Sandra, who was looking very comfortable and at home there.
"By the way, Barney. I decided that I no longer want to oversee Vilena. I've done it for years, and it's been nothing but trouble. I love my home, and I never want to leave it for good, but I'm starting to think having a home here wouldn't be too bad, and I could visit Vilena from time to time."
He refused to get his hopes up. "What are you saying, Sandra?"
"I'm saying that I left Vilena in the hands of someone I trust completely, and..." she broke off, intent on showing, instead of telling him the last part. She kissed him, and Barney kissed her back, amidst catcalls and whistles from the gang.
"Listen up, boys and girls," Tool said, pulling out his old guitar. "It's time for some tunes." He started playing some classic Christmas songs, and everyone sang along, some very off-key, all having fun.
Barney whispered in Sandra's ear, "Best Christmas ever."
The End