How two young friends spend Christmas when they have no one else
I'LL BE ALONE FOR CHRISTMAS
Mission Bullpen
Eric closed the connection to the ship and look a look around. The Mission was lit with Christmas lights but that did little to improve his mood. He meant it when he told the team that he called every favor he could but he couldn't get them back to LA before Christmas. He sighed gently.
"Merry Christmas"
He said, more to himself then to anyone else. Christmas was always a rough time for him. Only Hetty and Nate knew that he had no real family to spend it with so for the first time in many years he was truly alone for Christmas.
Just then he heard some jingling. Turning to face the sound he saw her. His stomach plummeted, did hula hoops around his thighs, jumped back up and throttled his brain, and then dropped back all within a few seconds. "Whoa" was all he said. She was dressed in her elf costume for their trip to pass out gifts and Eric could not believe his eyes. "You look…." He began
"Elfin?" She said, twisting her hip out.
Elfin Hot, Elfin Sexy, Elfin Smoking, Elfin Beautiful! Pick one! His brain screamed at him
"Elfin Amazing." He was able to make out as he walked up to her.
She started on this whole spiel of Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays when she stopped, grabbed his neck, and pulled him into a kiss. Every physical nerve ending in his body tingled at the kiss when she pulled away.
"What…was that?" He asked. She got this look in her eyes as she looked up, his gaze following hers and finding the mistletoe above them.
"We'd better go" She whispered. Eric thought for a brief second he detected a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"Let me go get my tights!" He called after her.
"They're called leggings!" She called back.
Mission Burn Room
Nell pulled out a hand mirror and checked her hair, her ears, and her hat. Satisfied that everything looked good she packed her clothes back in her bag and took a deep breath. In the back of her mind she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
Are you willing to risk it?
You know I am
But what if this all falls apart?
It won't. I know him
You had better be right about this. Because I am not going through this crap again
Have I ever steered us wrong?
I'm not answering that
She shook her head to break up the conversation going on in her skull. Now was not the time for second thoughts. It was now or never.
She opened the door and stepped into the hallway, silently walking toward the bullpen.
She saw him taking a look around, but something caught her off guard. Normally he would be ecstatic that he was in the Mission alone but the way he carried himself, the way his shoulders were slumped, let her know that something was off. Grabbing the tip of her hat she shook it, causing the bell to jingle.
He turned around and his eyes grew wide and his jaw almost hit the floor. "Whoa." He said. He tried to compose himself. "You look…"
She twisted her hip out. "Elfin?" She asked.
"Elfin amazing." He said as she walked up.
The nervous side of her brain started a whole spiel about Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays when her impulsive side took over.
Oh shut it and let me handle this!
She grabbed his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Electricity coursed through her body as she kissed him
Ok, you were right
She let him go, staring into his eyes
"What…was that?" He said.
She looked up at the mistletoe and his eyes followed.
"We'd better go" She said, a twinge of disappointment in her voice. She wanted to just forget everything and just stay here with him and have the place to themselves. But they had been planning this Toys for Tots thing for weeks.
She turned and walked toward the exit when she heard him call. "I'm going to go get my tights"
"They're called leggings!" She called back at him
LA County Youth Center 4 hours later
Eric and Nell walked out in costume, smiling and laughing at their night. They climbed into his car, which outwardly they both would say was to make things easier but inside both wouldn't admit that they didn't want to separate yet, and Eric drove back to his place where her car was.
"That was so much fun." She said as she settled into the car, watching the lights move by.
"Yea that was." He said. He fell into a silence for a moment before speaking again.
"Thanks for convincing me to do that, Nell. I really needed it." He said.
She looked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Of course, Eric. I enjoy spending time with you." She said.
He shook his head. "It's not just spending time with you, which I absolutely love to do by the way. But I needed to be cheered up and seeing all those kids when Captain Reynolds walked in dressed as Santa and we were his elves was exactly what I needed."
They drove in silence again until they pulled up to his apartment.
Eric's Apartment
"Here we are." He said. They turned to face each other.
"Hey Eric…"
"Hey Nell…" They both spoke at the same time.
They looked away, embarrassed, before she spoke.
"You go ahead." She said.
"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to stay instead of going home. Not that there is anything wrong with going back home, but it's just that…" He started before she grabbed his hand.
"I would love to." She said, giving him a big smile.
He got out of the car and walked around, opening the door for her. He held out his hand.
"My lady." She said
She took his hand and climbed out of the car.
"Thank you, kind sir." She said as they grabbed their stuff out of his car and entered the building.
They took the elevator up to his floor and walked up to his front door. There was a package sitting by the door when he got there.
"What is that?" She asked.
"I have no idea." He said, picking it up as he went to unlock the door. He held the door open for her as she ducked inside, closing the door after her and locking it.
He set the package on the kitchen counter as she set her bags by the door.
"Go ahead and change in my room." He said as he started to open the package.
She grabbed the bag with her spare clothes and walked toward his room. Before she went in she took the jacket off, revealing her bare shoulders and arms. Being well aware he was watching her she threw a look over her shoulder and smiled at him.
Eric shook the cobwebs out of his head and finished opening the package. It was a small cask and a letter. He pulled out the cask and set it on the counter, finding a mallet, holder, and spout under it. There was also a paper of instructions
Nell came out dressed in a pair of lounge pants and a large t-shirt. "What is it?" She asked.
"Our gift." He said, beginning to read the letter out loud.
Dear Miss Jones and Mr. Beale
I apologize that our case had interfered with the Christmas plans. While our team mates being stuck on an aircraft carrier does have a substantial effect on them it also has an effect on the two of you as well. I can only hope that this makes up slightly for the lack of the camaraderie I know the both of you have come to enjoy around the holidays the past few years. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the both of you
Best Wishes
Hetty
"Is that what I think it is?" Nell said, a smile growing on her face.
"Yep, she got us a mini cask of the Theekton's" Eric said.
Nell slid up against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He threw an arm around her shoulders in response.
"I think it's safe to say that the holiday is not a total loss." He said.
She shook her head.
"I'm afraid I don't have much food wise. Mainly just some sandwich stuff. Been so busy lately that I haven't had time to go shopping." He said, embarrassed
"Eric," She said turning to face him and taking his face in her hands. "We could be eating Ramen for Christmas and I wouldn't care." She kissed him gently. He looked up at the ceiling.
"What?" She asked.
"Just checking for mistletoe." He said. She laughed and playfully punched his arm.
"Go ahead and make yourself some sandwiches. I'll pull us some mugs and we can watch some movies. I don't know about you but tonight feels like a Chuck Jones How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Muppet Christmas Carol night to me." He said.
"I like the way you think, Wolfram. Go change first." She said, shooing him toward his room.
10 minutes later found them on the couch, eating sandwiches, drinking from large mugs of ale, while the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" played on the TV.
"God, I haven't seen this movie since I was 12!" She said as she finished off her mug of ale.
"I love Chuck Jones. He was such an important figure in American animation" Eric said as he finished off his sandwich. He grabbed her mug.
"Let me fill you up there, Rockstar." He said as he stood up and went into the kitchen. He put their plates away and filled up their mugs. He sat back down on the couch.
"Got enough for 2 more mugs total after this" He said as he handed her the full mug and she took a drink.
As the credit started to roll she got a look on her face.
"What are you thinking, Nell?" He asked as he went to switch out the DVDs
"Just had a strange thought. How did Hetty know we were going to be here?" She said.
Eric's face went blank. "She really does see everything, doesn't she?" He said.
He sat back down and started up Muppet Christmas Carol. As the movie began Nell scooted over and leaned up against him. He threw an arm around her, cupping her hip.
"Thanks for having me over, Eric."
"Thanks for being over, Nell. I'm having fun" He said, softly squeezing her
"Me too." She said
Later that night
The movie was over and all the ale was drunk. They had shifted during the movie so Eric was lying flat on his back and Nell was on top of him. He softly stroked her back as the credits started to roll.
"You keep doing that and we are sleeping on the couch tonight, Wolfram" She said.
"Sorry." He said.
"Don't be." She said. He shut the TV off and they just lay there in darkness.
"You know what would make this better?" She asked.
"What?"
"If we were in front of a fire place and it was snowing outside" She said.
"Sorry to burst your bubble but that isn't going to happen in Los Angeles." He said.
She tilted her head to rest her chin on his chest. "Well then maybe I'll have to drag you somewhere where it does snow, now won't I?" She said.
"Good luck with that, Jones" He said.
She leaned up and kissed him gently, softly stroking his cheek with her thumb.
"I don't think it's going to be hard to convince you of that, Beale." She said.
She nuzzled into his neck. "I love you, Eric"
"I know." He said. Just when she was about to make a comment calling him Han he continued. "I've known for some time, but I never was certain. That is why I never said it to you. I didn't want to make things awkward between us."
"More awkward more like it" She said.
"More awkward. But now that I have proof that you feel the same I can say to you that I love you, Nell" He said, pulling her into a kiss.
They broke the kiss but their lips stayed close together. "Let's go to bed. Don't want to be awake when Santa comes." She said.
She climbed off of him and brushed her hair away. He stood up and took the mugs into the kitchen. He packed away the cask to send back to England before following her into his room.
He pulled the sheets back and she climbed into bed before he pulled them up to her. Moving to the other side of the bed he climbed in and rolled onto his side.
"Eric, I know we have just taken a huge step together but would you be mad if we take things slow?" She said as she rolled onto her side facing him. She took his hand in hers and intertwined their fingers
"No, I like taking it slow. This is the first relationship I've had that means something real to me." He said. His face blushed a bit in the dim light.
"What?" She asked.
"All I ask is that you be patient with me. It's not every day that a girl you have been crazy about for years tells me that she loves me and now is sharing a bed with me. You are extremely attractive to me and my body has a mind of its own sometimes…" He trailed off.
She leaned in and kissed him. "It's ok, Eric. I take that as a complement." She leaned into his ear and whispered. "You turn me on too."
Eric felt that if wasn't for the laws of physics he would have melted into a puddle on his own bed.
"But right now I want to snuggle in for a long winter's nap with the one I love and enjoy the feeling of falling asleep and waking up with his arms around me." She said as she rolled over and scooted up against him. Taking his arm she wrapped it around her waist, softly squeezing him.
Both of them, without knowing the other did it too, looked at the clock and noticed the time was 12:01. Christmas Morning.
"Merry Christmas, Eric." She said, kissing his hand.
"Merry Christmas, Nell." He said, kissing her neck in return before the both closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep listening to the sound of each other.
The following morning
Eric woke up to darkness and he find his arm clutching a pillow.
Please tell me I didn't dream last night!
He mind screamed. He plopped his head back down, despair starting to well within him of being truly alone when he caught a wiff of something on the pillow. He sniffed it and noticed that it didn't smell like him.
It smelled like her.
The door to the bathroom opened and she stood there, leaning against the doorjam.
"Hey" she whispered.
He smiled deeply as she walked up.
"You latched onto that like your life depended on it after I got up. It was so adorkable." She said.
"Adorkable?" He said, eyebrow raised
She climbed back into bed and laid her head on his chest as his hand ran along her spine
"Combination of Dork and Adorable. "
"Taking a page out of Deeks' book there?" He said
"Maybe." She giggled as she squeezed him.
She snuggled closer to him and sighed. "I'm going back to sleep" She said, leaning up and kissing his jaw.
"Sweet dreams, Rockstar." Eric said as he tilted his head to rest his chin on her head.
"I'm already living it, Wolfram" She replied, sleepily as she fell back asleep.
Eric just lay there, softly stroking her hair as he found himself falling back asleep to the sound of her breathing.
Hours later
Eric woke up to the sun right in his eyes coming through a crack in his curtains. Groaning he rolled away from the light and right into Nell's body. He wrapped an arm around her waist and spooned up against him.
"Morning" He heard her whisper.
"Did I wake you?" He asked.
"No, but I wouldn't really mind it if you did anyway." She said rolling over and facing him.
"You know I could get used to this." She said, softly stroking his jaw.
"Me too." He said, smiling as he placed a kiss on her forehead.
"You hungry?" He asked.
She nodded.
"Go take a shower and I'll get breakfast started." He said
She kissed him and then rolled out of bed. She walked into the bathroom and just as she was closing the door she blew him a kiss.
He continued to lay on the bed, watching the door thinking to himself.
How did I get so lucky?
Finally deciding to get up he rolled out of bed and went into the kitchen. Looking at his fridge, which was rather bare but still had a few essentials, he decided on omelets for breakfast. He pulled out the ingredients he would need and started the process. He had just finished one and was finishing up another when she came out, hair still wet from the shower.
"Breakfast is served, Madam" Eric said as he plated his omelet and set his plate on the table. He poured them glasses of milk and brought over a small plate of toast
"This looks awesome, Eric." She said.
"Dig in." He said.
They started to eat when Nell's phone rang. She grabbed it and found it was her parents.
"Hey Mom. Merry Christmas…..Yea I know. I tried to get the time off but we got slammed with a bunch of work right before Christmas so I couldn't leave….Yes I will make sure to come home next year. I promise….Eric and I passed gifts out last night for Toys for Tots…..Yea that was a lot of fun….He's good….Yes, mom….I will….Give my love to Dad, Uncle David, Jacob, Charlie, Katie, and the kids for me….I love you too….bye mom"
Nell hung up the phone and set it down. "My Mom says Hi." She said as she took another bite of her omelet.
"Sucks you couldn't go home." Eric said.
"It's ok. Truth be told I kind of like just you and me for Christmas." She smiled.
"Can't argue with that." He replied.
"Are you going to call your parents?" She asked.
"I called my mom while you were in the shower" Eric replied.
Why did you lie to her you imbecile?
Because the last thing I want to do is ruin her Christmas. I'll tell her the truth some other time
"So what do you want to do today?" He asked her.
"Let's go to the park or something. Get out at least a little while." Nell said.
"That sounds like fun." Eric said.
"Go get showered. Ill clean up here." She said, grabbing his plate. He stood up and walked into the bedroom. Taking a glance over his shoulder he watched as she cleaned the dishes and put them away. Turning back he went into the bathroom and closed the door to get ready.
5 hours later
They walked back into Eric's apartment after spending time at the park.
"I don't know about you but I'm feeling some Mario Kart" Nell said, giving him a challenging look
"Oh you are on." Eric said as he plopped down on his couch and powered everything on.
4 races later Eric's phone rang. Looking at the Caller ID it was Sam.
"Why would Sam call?" He said as she answered.
"Hey, Sam. How's the carrier?" Eric asked.
"I'm not on the carrier. Hetty got me back to LA early this morning so I could be here for Christmas."
"Wow, that is awesome of her"
"No joke. I owe her all the tea in China. Reason why I'm calling is I wanted to know if you had plans tonight?"
"Not to my knowledge. Why?"
"Michelle and I wanted to invite you and Nell over for Christmas Dinner tonight."
"Sure, that sounds like a blast."
"Awesome. You want to call Nell or should I?"
"Nah, I got it." Eric said.
"Ok. Dinner will be at 6."
"We'll be there." Eric said as he hung up. "Sam and Michelle invited us over for dinner tonight."
Eric went on to explain what Hetty did for Sam.
"Let it never be said that within that small frame of Hetty she doesn't have a tremendous heart" Nell said.
Eric's phone then dinged, showing a message from Sam.
"Oh great." He groaned.
"What?" She asked.
He held the phone out for her. The message said Dress Nice!
"I don't want to wear pants!" He said, mock whining like a child.
"You wore them last night!" She said.
"Those were leggings, not pants." He said.
She climbed onto his lap, straddling him as she kissed him.
"Oh poor baby. Well, I have something for you then"
She got up and went to her bags. She dug through before pulling out a small bag
"Consider this part of your Christmas gift." She said as she handed him the bag. He opened it and pulled out a pair of khaki cargo pants. They looked on the large size.
"I got them baggy so you won't even feel them. Go try them on." She said, sitting down on the couch. He got up and went into his room, coming out a few seconds later wearing the pants. He walked around a bit as she watched him.
"Well?" She said
"I like the fit." He said.
"And?" She asked.
"And the color?" He said.
"And?" She asked again.
"You were right." He said, giving an over exaggerated sigh
She stood up, walked over to him and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss.
"I won't let it go to my head." She said.
"You said this was part one?" He asked.
She dug a small package out of her bag. "This was supposed to be your real Christmas Gift" She said
He opened it and found a ring. It was a simple metal right with a fractal design etched into it.
"A little Tungsten for my Wolfram." She said as he slipped in on his hand.
"I like it." He said, smiling. He went into his room and grabbed a box for her.
"This is yours." He said. She opened it and found a necklace with a pendant that said Rockstar.
"Now everyone else will know what I already know about you." He said as he took it out. She turned around as he placed it around her neck. Wrapping his arms around her stomach he pulled her against him.
"Merry Christmas, Nell." He said, kissing her neck
"Merry Christmas, Eric." She replied, softly stroking his cheek.
She looked over at the time. "I'd better get home so I can get ready for tonight. Think you can survive a few hours without me?" She said.
"I will do what I can." He said, grinning.
"Ok. I'll call you when I'm ready to be picked up." She said as she gave him a quick kiss and gathered her things.
2 hours later
Eric pulled up to Nell's apartment and pulled it into park. She came down dressed in a simple floral dress and carrying a box. She put the box in the back seat and climbed in.
"What is that?" Eric said, nodding back toward the box.
"The answer to our question how Hetty knew I would be at your place last night. She didn't. She left two packages, one at your place and one at mine." She said, chuckling
Eric laughed. "So she doesn't see all." He said as he drove away.
"So what do we want to so about Sam?" Eric asked.
"Huh?" Nell asked, looking over toward him.
"Do we want him to know now or keep it between us for awhile?" Eric asked.
Nell thought about it for a moment. "Let's tell him. I don't really want to keep this a secret, and we can have some backing when we tell the rest of the team, and Hetty." She said.
"Sounds like a plan." Eric said, reaching over and grabbing her hand.
Hannah Residence
Eric pulled up to the house and they climbed out. Walking up the steps to the door Nell rung the doorbell.
Sam opened the door and smiled.
"Hey, glad you two could come." He said as he moved aside to let them in.
"Thanks for inviting us." Eric said as Sam closed the door behind them.
"Michelle is putting the finishing touches on everything." Sam said as they walked into the living room.
"That's good. That gives us a little time." Eric said, glancing over at Nell. She nodded to him.
"For what?" Sam asked.
"To tell you that we are together, as a couple now." Nell said, taking Eric's hand.
"Are you serious?" Sam asked, staring Eric square in the eyes.
"Very." Eric said.
"Very." Nell responded.
Sam looked at Nell and Eric before cracking a smile and pulling them into a big hug.
"You'll hear no issues from me. I'm happy for you guys." Sam said.
"Thanks for the confidence, Big guy" Nell said.
"Dinner is up!" They her Michelle yell from the Kitchen.
Eric's apartment that evening
Eric opened the door and let Nell in, closing the door behind him.
"That was so much fun." Nell said as she set her stuff down.
"I'm glad Sam is ok with us. He was the one I was most worried about." Eric said, as he went to change.
"Yea. If he is ok the rest of the team will be easy to convince." Nell said as Eric stepped out in his Pajamas.
"Go get changed. I have a surprise for you when you get out." Eric said, giving her a grin.
"Oooh, a surprise?" Nell said.
"Yep. And the more you stand here the longer you have to wait" He said, shooing her away.
Nell stuck her tongue out at him as she walked into the bathroom.
Eric quickly grabbed the pillows and blanket from his bed and laid them on the couch. He grabbed his tablet and connected it to his TV. He then went into the kitchen and opened the other package from Hetty. Pulling out another cask he prepared it and pulled two mugs of the ale for them. Turning the TV on he opened a file on his tablet and sent it to the TV, just as Nell opened the door.
"Wow! You really know how to spoil a girl, don't you Beale?" She said.
"It's not a fireplace while it's snowing but it's the best we can do." He said, smiling at her.
She laid down on the couch and curled up against him, grabbing the mug of ale and taking a drink.
"I'm still dragging you somewhere with snow next year, Wolfram. You aren't getting out of it that easy." She said, kissing his jaw.
"I'll make sure to buy some pants…maybe." He laughed as they clinked their glasses together.
As the night wore on the ale was drunk and they found themselves curled up on the couch, Nell backed up against him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and realized she was asleep.
He pulled the blankets around them, shut the TV off, and kissed her ear gently.
"I love you, Nell." He whispered as he laid his head down, sleep taking over him quickly.
I apologize for the lack of updates on all 3 stores lately. My muses seem to have flown the coop and I'm finding it hard to write lately. Hopefully that will pass soon.
You could probably consider this a prequel of sorts to Homeless for the Holidays since I reference a lot of the same characters and foreshadow those events. All in all I hope you like it.
Thank you for Reading, Reviewing, Favoriting, and Following