**Story 7 in the Bobby/Tara series** Sorry to disappoint.... This is not your feature presentation! But I started feeling during my last story that my world tends to revolve around Bobby and Tara... so I started thinking that I don't show enough of what the rest of the team and all of them as a whole actually do.... So this story started as a way to weave snippets together to show you windows of what everybody else is doing and evolved into 'missing scenes'. When I write the 'feature presentation', you'll notice that these dates and times... for those featured here, are missing. But I promise... I'm not giving away too many details for there is much to be revealed in the next one... Enjoy!
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Friday, 11/24… 9 am… Bullpen

Tara bounced into the bullpen, arguing good-naturedly with Bobby. “I’m telling you Bobby.” She said. “It’s the day after Thanksgiving, so that means Christmas music only for the next 31 days.”

“But Tara luv, how can you ignore the everyday music like that?” he complained. “And what’s in all these bags I’m carrying?”

Tara grinned at him. “I’m not ignoring everyday music. I choose to not listen to it. When we’re in my car it’s Christmas only.” She looked at him sideways. “Elvis has some great Christmas music…” she suggested slyly. Bobby rolled his eyes. “As far as the bags go, well, I won’t be decorating at home for a week or two so I thought we should at least get the bullpen decorated.”

Bobby held his tongue. There was no winning with her today; she had woken up with a sunny outlook on life today… who was he to snow on her parade? He set the bags down at her desk and turned to greet Jack and D. “Hey guys. Yesterday was great, wasn’t it? D, we can’t thank you and Donna enough for hosting us all.” He followed their gazes and saw that they were looking at Tara with amused expressions.

Jack scratched his head. “Crash?” he asked. “Is that the same girl you took home last night?”

Bobby grinned. “Yep, apparently the day after Thanksgiving means a lot to her.” He explained, knowing that since they hadn’t been required to come into the building in the last several years, no one knew how the bullpen ended up decorated by Monday morning. “In case you were wondering, I think we’ve also discovered the secret of the mysterious decorating elf who decorates the bullpen every year.” Tara skipped by them, flashing him a grin as she kept humming her favorite song.

“What in the world is she humming?” D questioned. “It’s quite a catchy tune.”

Tara paused by them and tucked a candy cane in each of the breast pockets of their jackets. She kept humming her favorite song. She looked up when they didn’t say anything to her about the candy canes. “What?” she questioned, looking at each of them in turn.

Bobby smirked. “D… wants to know what you’re humming.” He said. “He thinks it’s a catchy little tune.” He said as his eyes narrowed at her.

Tara giggled and looked at D. “It’s my favorite.” She admitted. “It’s by the group 98 degrees. It’s a song called ‘If Every Day Could Be Christmas’. I have to listen to it first thing every year.” She swatted Bobby on the arm. “Some people…” she said with a pointed glare at him. “Don’t appreciate the message of it,” she said, before she whirled away across the bullpen to tie a glittery bow on Levi.

Bobby glared after her. “Some people don’t appreciate hearing it 15 times on the way to work.” He muttered darkly. Jack and D burst out in laughter at his expression. “Seriously, it played in the house and then in the car and then somehow… it was even playing in the elevator.” He moaned.

“Well, I think it’s a great song.” Lucy said, supporting Tara’s view. She was rewarded by Tara placing a tinsel halo on her head. “It’s got a great message.”

Sue nodded. “We watched the music video for it last year at our girl’s get together.” She shrugged. “It had captioning.” She explained when the guys looked at her funny. “It reads really well.” She pointed out, accepting her own tinsel halo from Tara.

“See!” Tara said, stubbornly. She whirled around and confronted Myles, who had just walked in. “What do you think Myles? Christmas music on the day after Thanksgiving? Is it too early or not quite early enough?” she quizzed him as she attempted to tuck a candy cane in his pocket.

Myles looked down on their small tornado; unsure of what his answer should be, trying unsuccessfully to dodge her movements. He glanced over at Lucy and Sue… they were no help as they were waiting for his answer just like Tara. So he glanced over at the boys who were making don’t answer motions to him desperately. “Um, well… Tara.” He started. “You see, it’s like this…” he trailed off. “Oh, I don’t know, you crazy woman. It’s too early in the morning for this. Ask me tonight before we leave.” He brushed by her and sat down at his desk, oblivious to the dropped jaws on his teammates faces.

Tara shrugged. “Can’t win them all.” She said with a grin, as she dug out tinsel garland and other holiday décor and pleaded with them all to help her decorate. She paused by Bobby’s desk, delivering his coffee to him. “Here, Koala Boy.” She said, brushing a kiss on his cheek as she put the mug down. “Now help me put up these lights, please?” she begged.

Bobby smiled at her and stood up, taking the light strings from her. He stood up on his desk so that he could hang them from the ceiling. He got down off the desk, brushed a kiss across the top of her head and looked her in the eye. “Ok, ok. You win Tara luv. Christmas is catchy and I can put up with the Christmas music on a daily basis. My only condition is that it doesn’t show up until the day after Thanksgiving. Deal?” he asked.

Tara beamed at him. “Deal” she said, stretching up on her tiptoes so she could kiss him like they always did when they made a deal. She looked around the bullpen, happy that just the simple addition of decoration could make it seem like the holiday was here. She looked up at Bobby as he pulled her into a hug. “I really do wish everyday could be Christmas, it’s a magical season and it never lasts long enough.” She gave a huge sigh. She smiled as she felt him press a kiss on the top of her head. Sue called her over and she reluctantly left Bobby’s arms to cross the bullpen. ‘Maybe today feels like it could be Christmas since Bobby was in my bed this morning…” she mused, blushing at the memory. ‘Christmas every day…’ she giggled.


If every day could be Christmas
What a wonderful world it would be
We could carry this feeling within us
All through the year
If every day could be Christmas

A another story!!

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Friday 12/1… 7 PM… DC streets

Jack grabbed Sue’s hand and tucked it into his pocket to keep it warm. She glanced over at him and smiled shyly. “So, Sue… any holiday traditions I should know about?” he asked with a wink, tightening his grip on her hand as he sensed her about to falter.

Sue blushed. “You mean like Tara’s?” she quizzed him, thinking about their friends penchant for all things Christmas. Jack nodded. Sue shook her head. “You don’t need to worry about me. I rarely LISTEN to Christmas music.” She teased. “What about you? Any Hudson family traditions I need to know about?”

Jack smiled. “Lots of them.” He shrugged. “Not all of them can be pulled off in DC so we’ll have to wait and see if we ever make it to Wisconsin for Christmas.” He told her. “But there is one that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.” He looked down as Levi barked at him, begging to be included. “You too, buddy. You just have to behave yourself.” He cautioned the rambunctious dog.

Sue giggled. “You’re sure I’ll enjoy it? Pretty bold, Sparky.” She said, looking at him adoringly. “Ok, lead away, where are we taking part in this family tradition of yours.” She asked.

Jack stopped at the curb and bowed gallantly. “Your sleigh, Miss.” He motioned for her to climb up in the horse drawn sleigh. He whistled for Levi to bounce up as well and when Levi was secured, Jack climbed in and drew the lap blanket over them.

Sue looked around in delight. “Oh, Jack…” she turned to him with sparkling eyes. “You’re right. I think I love this tradition.” She sighed, snuggling into the warmth of his arms.

Jack chuckled and began to point out the holiday lighting on the monuments as they enjoyed their sleigh ride. He kissed the top of her head and thought about how great it would be if they could always enjoy a December sleigh ride every year.


Christmas lights are glistening
Rooftops covered in snow
Lover’s sharing a sleigh ride cuddled close
And their eyes seem to glow

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Sunday 12/3… 3 PM… Sue and Lucy’s

“Okay Sparky.” Sue said, grabbing Jack’s hands and pulling him up off the couch. “My turn for a tradition.” Levi jumped up and barked, not wanting to be forgotten. “Sorry Levi.” Sue said. “You’ll need to stay with Lucy today.” She glanced over at Lucy. “That’s ok, right?”

Lucy smiled. “Of course.” She said. “Besides, Levi… I think I know where there’s a new bone for you to spend the afternoon with.” She said to the golden. Levi rubbed his body on Lucy’s legs and wagged his tail happily. “See, he’s ok.” Lucy told Sue. Sue laughed.

Jack stretched his arms and yawned. “Are you sure we need to take care of this tradition today?” he asked, grinning at Sue.

Sue arched a brow at him. “Of course. You just want to stay in and watch football.” She accused. “I knew we shouldn’t have fed you today.” She teased.

Jack made a scared look. “Oh please no! Not that!” he pleaded. Sue giggled at his antics. “So, what are we doing in the Thomas family tradition way?”

“Get your coat and make sure you’re warm.” Sue warned him as she grabbed her scarf and bundled into her warm woolen winter coat. She added gloves and a cute pair of earmuffs that matched her scarf. She noticed Jack eyeing her earmuffs. “They’re from Tara. She seems to think that everyone needs earmuffs to get through the winter.” She explained.

Jack made a face. “Tell me about it, Bobby says she tried to make him wear a pair of them to work on Friday.” He said, shrugging into his own warm coat and winding a muffler around his neck. “After you, Ms. Thomas.” He motioned as he opened the door for her. “Bye Luce!” he called back to the grinning rotor in the living room. He shut the door before he could get her response.

Sue drove them towards the downtown area and parked the car. They got out of the car and Jack slung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him as they walked along the sidewalk. “So, Sparky… this is the Thomas family tradition. Window shopping.” Sue said. “Usually it’s on Main Street, but here in DC there’s so many areas we could go to so I picked one.” She grinned at him. Jack shrugged and grinned back. They wandered around the area, looking in windows and pointing out things to each other. They spent a long time looking in the window of the candy shop. The shop had an entire village made out of chocolate. Sue was delighted when she pointed out the little chocolate fire hydrants. “Look Jack! There’s one back there that actually has a chocolate dog sniffing it.” she said as she dissolved in giggles.

“Now, Levi’s jealous.” Jack quipped. “Now what?” he asked.

Sue looked at him with an impish grin. “Ice skating.” She said innocently. Jack made a face. “Hey Sparky, I went on your sleigh ride.” She said, in mock anger. “You can’t tell me that you didn’t play hockey in Wisconsin. I already checked at the holiday rink, they have hockey skates for you to use instead.” She tugged on his hand, urging him to walk towards the temporary rink set up in the park.

Jack laughed and followed her to the rink. They got their skates from the counter and laced them up. “Sue?” Jack said, with a worried look. “You do realize I haven’t actually skated for 15 years, right?” he glanced over the crowded rink.

Sue smiled and leaned in to press a kiss to his lips. “Of course, Sparky. I find that to have not skated for 15 years is really quite disappointing.” She told him with a grin, reminding him that it had been longer since she'd actually skated on ice. “But you should find that it is just like riding a bike. You do know how to ride a bike, right Jack?” she asked, worriedly.

“Nothing to it!” Jack said with a confidence that he quite didn’t feel. He stood and grabbed her hand as they stepped bravely toward the ice. It took him a while to feel secure enough to drop Sue’s hand while they went around the rink, dodging the little kids that were stumbling their way around the ice, falling down and giggling. Jack slowed and stopped by the gate. “You go on, Sue.” He said to her, waving her towards the ice. “Show me that skating queen stuff!” he told her with a proud glance.

Sue laughed. “Ok, watch me go!” she said as she pushed off from the side and went through some of the skating poses and requirements that had been in place when she was skating. She smiled at some of the girls who were skating as well and taught some of them how to do the spin she was doing. She glanced over at Jack and smiled broadly at him when she saw that he was watching her every move. She skated over to him. “So, are you having a good time?” Jack nodded and grabbed her hands, rubbing them to warm them. He pulled her closer to him and drew her into a soft kiss, oblivious to the smiles and giggles from the little girls that surrounded them.


Window shopping on Main Street
Bundled up head to toe
Children ice skating around a tree
I see smiles, young and old

cath

ah how sweet

ooh yay another story from you!

and cath is right....

so sweet

We are covered in 6 in. of snow where I live.... It's chilly outside...
BUT, that post was

I agree with the girls.

I'm enjoying so much this story! Maybe it's because snow, sleighs and ice rinks aren't exactly part of my culture and Chistmas isn't such a big deal in my family...

Can't wait for more.

Ornella

Oh what fun and how delightful MioneBristow!

adorable...

Wonderful...

BLT

This is putting me into the Christmas spirit. I might just decorated today...and definitely have to dig out my Christmas songs.

kav

Another Fabulous story!


and you can never have to much Xmas music. I did however wait till yesterday to put the cd's in each music player I have. Thats one in the car, one in my bedroom, one on my MP3 player, one in the kitchen... oh you get the picture.

Anyway looking forward to reading more!!

Thanks Guys! I appreciate it. I have a firm policy that I don't actually decorate at my house until after my Birthday.... This year since I'm headed to Oregon the next day to 'Baby' up again.... until Easter... **sob** I guess I won't be decorating for a couple days. I suppose I could drag all the stuff out into the middle of my living room floor so I can decorate as soon as I get home. Enjoy!
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Thursday 12/7… 10 PM… Gans house.

Donna padded into the family room, carrying a tray with two cups of coffee and some of her mint brownies. D put down the newspaper when he heard her come in. “Ah, coffee and brownies by the fire.” He said, grinning at her. “I love our traditions.”

Donna smiled down at him while she put the tray down. “Admit it, Dimitrius. You wish every month would contain Christmas because you and I have some definite holiday things that we don’t get to do the rest of the year.” She chided him, handing him a cup of coffee and offering him a brownie.

D nodded as he took a bite of the brownie and his eyes rolled back in his head in pleasure. “Maybe we should work on that.” He mumbled around the bite of brownie. He chewed and swallowed. “Like you could make brownies more often and we could snuggle in front of the fire all year long.” He suggested, feeding her a bite of the brownie. He set his coffee on the end table and pulled her closer to him.

Donna sighed. “I suppose we could entertain the notion.” She said. “But you’re crazy if you think we’ll be doing this in the middle of July.” She warned him.

D laughed. “No, you’ve got a point, it’s too hot in July to be sitting in front of the fire.” He said. “It’s too hot to be doing much of anything in July.” He took a sip of coffee as he stared at the dancing pattern the flames made on the hearth.

Donna giggled and whispered in his ear, enjoying his shocked response to what she suggested they could be doing in July. She calmly took a sip of coffee and snagged his brownie from his hand to take another bite. She shoved the rest of the brownie in his mouth. “Don’t forget to chew, sweetheart” she advised, patting him on the leg. “Tanya Sherika Gans! Get your cute little butt back upstairs and tuck it into bed!” she yelled up the stairs when she heard footsteps.

“Ah Mama!” Tanya whined as she turned around and stomped up the stairs. “Nobody else has to go to bed this early in my class. I just wanted to talk to Daddy about the presents I want this year…” Tanya’s not so quiet grumbling floated down the stairs and into the family room.

D stifled a chuckle as he looked down at Donna’s exasperated look. “I take it that’s why you joined me here with brownies and coffee?” he asked, referring to their usual early December present conversations.

Donna nodded. “D, I don’t know what we’re going to do with those two. Davey seems to think he only needs to ask for expensive computer games and Tanya seems to think that it’s all about what she gets and what she needs to get.” She shook her head. “Where did we go wrong?” she moaned, slapping herself upside the head.

D pursed his lips and rubbed his hand over his chin. “We do seem to have gained a couple of gimme’s this year, didn’t we?” he asked her. “We haven’t had them before, have we?”

Donna shook her head. “They weren’t as bad before. I swear, D… it’s because we put them in public school this year.” She lamented, knowing that they’d had to forgo the private school for this school year due to the hospital bills from last year when she’d had a miscarriage. Donna looked sadly into her coffee cup, thinking about the little baby girl that they’d never fully gotten to meet.

D watched his wife’s face as it was shadowed by sadness. “Shhhh” he soothed, rubbing his hand on her back and pressing a soft kiss to her temple. “It was inevitable. We knew we’d need to move them from private school to public school eventually.” He reminded her.

Donna wiped the few tears away that had spilled down her cheeks. “I know.” She admitted. “But we didn’t think it would happen until Tanya was in High School. And that’s still 2 years away.” She shuddered slightly. “We’ve got to fix these kids and make them remember what Christmas is all about now, this year. So that it’s not worse next year.” She said, looking at D to see what he thought.

D thought about it for a moment. He snapped his fingers and grinned at his wife. “That’s it!” he said. “Hon, you’re brilliant. Do you realize that?” he questioned her. Donna shrugged and smiled, puzzled as to what he was excited about. “The case we’re working right now… We’re going on assignment on Saturday and the kids would do well to go with us. I meant to tell you about it because it’s turning into our holiday volunteering too. If a Saturday afternoon spent on assignment doesn’t tell our children to be thankful for what they have and remind them of how fortunate they are, then we are really in for some difficult years.” He said. D leaned forward and kissed his beautiful, brilliant wife on the lips. "Now, let’s go see what we can do about that July suggestion now.” He suggested standing and pulling her up from the couch. D didn’t let go of her hand as he turned down the gas fireplace and turned off the lights so that they could head upstairs together.

If every day could be Christmas
What a wonderful world it would be
We could carry this feeling within us
All through the year
If every day could be Christmas

contiunes to be adorable- i wonder what saturday is all about or did i miss it....

Nope... this one's another 'teaser' ... big blanks to be filled in with my 'final' entry into the holiday challenge....
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Saturday 12/9… 3 PM…. DC streets

Myles scowled up at the flakes gently falling on his face. Lucy laughed at him for scowling at the weather. “Oh, lighten up Myles. You know we’re here to do a job and contribute towards those less fortunate.” She reminded him as she smiled and handed a candy cane to a little girl who came to put some change in the bucket. “Don’t forget to ring that bell like you mean it.” she teased, with a pointed look at the bell he held limply in his hand.

“By all means, let me ring the bells.” He said dryly as he began to ring his bell, slapping the end of his Santa hat out of his face. Myles was getting cold and he was getting tired of being out on a street corner all day. They’d come out to try and catch their perps. But so far, there’d been no nibbles.

“Santa 24, clear?” Tara’s voice crackled over his earpiece.

Myles rolled his eyes. “Santa 24 and Elf 1, clear.” He replied. “I don’t understand why the Sam codes had to change.” He complained over the wire.

Lucy laughed as she heard one side of the conversation. “Here you go sweetie.” She said, handing a candy cane to an adorable little boy in a snowsuit.

“Ah, come on Harvard. Tara had a fun idea. It’s not like you to be this resistant, Mate. Santa 21 and Ms. Santa 25 clear.”

“Exactly my point. Assignments are not the place for fun ideas.” Myles had really had it with the holiday spirit that had taken his teammates hostage.

“Santa 24, stand down on the attitude.” Jack said on the wire. “Or you’ll be taken off the nice list.” He threatened. “Santa 23, Elf 2 and Rudolph 1 clear.”

“That’s just the thing… He has to be on the nice list in the first place.” D’s calm voice carried over the wire. “Santa 22, Elf 3, Dasher 2 and Dancer 3 clear.”

Lucy looked at Myles when she heard him mutter something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Bah Humbug’. Myles noticed her looking and immediately picked up the speed of his bell ringing. “You know Myles, you haven’t exactly been very happy lately.” She commented. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing of your concern.” He snapped, immediately sorry when he saw the hurt expression cross her face. “I’m sorry Lucy. I just haven’t felt very into things this year.” He hung his head. “I can’t quite explain it.” he whispered.

Lucy nodded and continued to hand out candy canes to their little visitors. She caught a peaceful sound wafting over the air. “Myles, listen…” she said. He stopped bell ringing and lifted his face. “Church bells, Myles. Don’t they just give you a bit of peace and love at this time of year?” she asked, watching him carefully. She was quite surprised to see a tear slip down his cheek. “Why Myles…” she trailed off.

“Look alive Santa’s!” Jack’s voice crackled. “We have action, headed our way.”

Myles snapped his head up so quickly that Lucy was afraid he’d have whiplash. “Santa 23, what do you see?”

“Suspect approaching from the north. Appears to be wearing a green… grinch costume?” Jack trailed off.

“Santa 24, he’s headed your way. He just took the bucket from Santa 22 and knocked down Dasher.” Bobby updated them on all the new action.

Myles handed his bell to Lucy. “Stay out of the way, Luce.” He cautioned. He sized up the approaching suspect and stepped out in front of him. “Freeze, FBI!” He said to the Grinch. Myles had whipped out his gun and badge. The Grinch made a quick move, trying to get around him. Myles rolled his eyes, turned around quickly and timed his leap, tackling the Grinch to the ground. He made quick work of cuffing the guy and handing the collection bucket to Lucy. “Come now, let’s get you all taken care of. Perhaps they’ll even have roast beast where you’ll be for Christmas.” He said dryly to the suspect as he walked him toward the van, reciting his rights. “Santa 24, his grinchiness is in custody and we can wrap it up for the day and go get warm.”

Church bells ring in the distance
Peace on earth fills the air
Sidewalk Santa’s handing out candy canes
I feel love everywhere

too funny

and Myles really need a


sitting here

Yep - what she said!

Rudolph 1
kav

Santa 23, Elf 2, Rudolph 1???

hahahha...
that was delightfully rib-tickling...

Just adorable!!!
thanks,
Terie

I love the new code names! Very cute! The Grinch stuff was very fun!

i loved the codes

cath

Thank you! I hope I'm building excitement so that you can't wait to see how all of this truly came to happen.... or see what Bobby and Tara are up to when we're not with them....
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Wednesday, 12/13… 8 PM… Lucy and Sue’s

Lucy sipped her hot chocolate and flipped through her Christmas scrapbook. She’d been keeping one for years. She had always loved scrapbooking and would get extra copies of their Christmas photos every year from her mom or Grams, and then spend the rest of her Christmas break putting them together in her scrapbook. She paused as she started to look at the team Christmas photos. She smiled when she saw the adoring looks Jack and Sue used to sneak when they were sure the other one wasn’t looking. “Aha! Caught you!” she mumbled, tapping their picture. She turned the page again and frowned when she saw a picture of Darcy. Lucy took a closer look and grabbed her magnifying glass from her bag of supplies. Her eyes widened as she noticed the expression on Darcy’s face and followed her gaze. “Oh my goodness!” she gasped.

“Oh my goodness, what?” Sue asked as she walked into the room. “Oh, you’re looking at the Christmas scrapbook.” She giggled. “I love looking back at that with you. You do such a good job on it, Luce.” She sat down next to Lucy and peered over her shoulder.

“Well, actually… I was noticing something about last years party.” Lucy said slowly. “But I have to show you this one first.” She flipped back a page and tapped the picture of Jack first and then the one of Sue. “See… You two used to sneak peeks at each other all the time.” She teased. “And I have proof!”

Sue blushed. “Ok, ok…. I’ll admit it! You caught me.” She teased back. “So, what did you notice about last years party?” she reached over and flipped the page back and glanced at the pictures.

Lucy handed her the magnifying glass. “Look here,” she said, tapping the picture of Darcy. Sue’s eyes widened. “And then… follow her sightline over here.” Lucy tapped the picture again. Sue gasped and then sat back looking at Lucy. “So, Sue… knowing what we all know now about Ms. D’Angelo and her dastardly deeds in playing Bobby as a fool… Why do you think she was glaring with so much hatred at Tara?” Lucy looked at Sue with a puzzled gaze.

Sue shrugged. “Maybe she knew she was starting to lose Bobby. Did he ever figure out when she started to cheat on him?”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “Yes!” she whispered. Sue motioned for her to continue. “He said she started cheating on him in January.” She said. They shared a miserable glance.

Sue snapped her fingers. "No, Luce! It wasn't that... Remember the mistletoe incident?" she reminded Lucy.

Lucy grinned as she thought back to the previous party. Bobby and Tara had been awkwardly stuck doing the little, shall I go by... shall I let you go by... dance that happens when two people meet in a doorway. And then Myles pointed out that while they were "dancing" they were under the mistletoe. Since Bobby had taken such delight in making sure Myles paid the penalty when he was stuck under the mistletoe with Levi... Myles wasn't going to let them go until he had his revenge. "I think you're right Sue. Look at how close Bobby and Tara are still standing... It was such a quick kiss, and Tara turned her head at the last minute... I wonder why Darcy's mad?"

Sue smiled. "Ah, but you forget, Tara turned her head towards us. To Darcy, it looks as though Bobby kissed her full on the lips not on the cheek."

Lucy nodded as the understanding dawned on her. "That's why Stanley isn't glaring at them, he knows it was all in good fun because he saw Tara turn her head." she said.
“Anyway, enough about her. Look at us now, Bobby and Tara seem deliriously happy… You and Jack are doing super!” Lucy grinned.

Sue blushed. “Yeah, well, oh great matchmaker… what about you?” she quizzed her best friend.

Lucy shrugged. “I’m fine.” She said seriously. “I told you about those dreams I had during October, right?” Sue nodded. “Well, when I made the last wish in my dream, the Genie told me that my true love was out there but that he wasn’t available and that meant that he wasn’t someone who I’d consider right now.” Lucy smiled. “He did say that it was someone I already know. So, that means that I just have to be patient and pray for him. Maybe he’ll be available soon or…” she shrugged again. “I just wish I knew what he meant when he told me not to fight the idea of my true love when he made himself apparent.” She looked at Sue, hoping she’d have some insight.

Sue smiled. “I’ll pray with you. And file this conversation away for future reference in case you need me to remind you not to fight him.” She teased.

Lucy frowned as she looked at a picture of Myles. “Sue, I think we need to pray for Myles now. He’s so out of sorts. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.” She said, worriedly.

Sue frowned. “He’s definitely been out of character even for Myles. Did he say anything to you when you were on the street corner with him?”

Lucy shook her head. “But when I told him to listen to the church bells and asked him if he could feel the peace and love that they were imparting, he…” she searched for the right word. “I saw a tear slip down his cheek. Something is not all that proper with Agent Leland.” She sighed. Sue pulled at her hand with one of hers and with the other signed P-R-A-Y. Lucy nodded and signed back FIRST YOU. Sue smiled and began to pray for Myles.

If every day could be Christmas
What a wonderful world it would be
We could carry this feeling within us
All through the year
If every day could be Christmas

LOL, this is great; sorry I was so behind...Yeah, what's with Myles? I loved his line "his grinchiness" That was so funny! Keep up the good work!

Myles needs some . Shouldn't Lucy volunteer?

kav

I love the traditions ... and the code names were too funny

for Myles

for Lucy

You'll just have to wait and see what I have stored in my brain... won't you? Love the teaser idea... I'm creating just enough intrigue but yet... just enough to make you go AWWWWWWWWW that's so exciting... (if you haven't read it yet... make sure you read Holiday Inn.... by me!)
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Sunday 12/17… 5 PM… Shopping Center

Bobby whistled cheerfully as he walked down the mall. He just needed to get the last piece of Tara’s gift. ‘Well, technically the last piece of my gift too.’ He chuckled. He just knew that it was the right thing to do. He’d argued with himself about the timing. They’d only been seriously dating for a month and a half but had known each other and worked together… worked well together for years. They both knew what happened on her porch back in April. They also both knew what happened when they were kids. Bobby was proud to find out that he was the only one that she shared some of those experiences with. He only wished he could have been more able to help her when they were kids. It’s hard to do when one of you is in Australia and the other stateside. Bobby shook his head over the other things that she’d shared about her childhood. He allowed his hands to clench into fists over the treatment from her father. He’d make sure she knew she was loved for the rest of his life if that’s what it took, he vowed. “Snap out of it Crash!” he chided himself. “You’re here because that’s exactly what you’re going to do.” He grinned as he started to look in the store windows. He checked the time on his watch, wouldn’t do to be late to his GA meeting. He released the breath that he wasn’t aware he’d been holding when he realized that he had about 2 hours to finish his shopping and get to the meeting on time. He jumped slightly when his phone rang. “Manning”

“Hey Koala Boy.” Tara purred. “Whatcha doing?”

Bobby chuckled. “Thinking about you… are you sure you didn’t implant some sort of ‘thinking of Tara’ chip in my brain while I wasn’t looking? You do seem to call any time I’m thinking about you.” He teased.

Tara giggled. “Why would I want to do that? I know you’re thinking about me 24/7.” She said. “It’s amazing that we actually get any work out of you.” She joked.

“Well, it’s actually very easy, Tara luv.” Bobby said. “I just think about you working and that makes me hurry and finish my work.” He smiled as he looked over the stock in the jewelry store window. “What are you doing?” he asked, moving on to the next store in the mall.

Tara sighed. “You mean besides wishing you were spending time with me this evening?” she asked.

“Yeah, especially besides that.”

“Well, the girls and I are talking about what our team plans are for this week. We have a lot of plotting and planning to do.” Tara told him. “And since Jack told Sue that he had to finish his shopping without her… which basically told her that he hadn’t shopped for her yet.” She paused. “Oh, Sue says that if you run into Sparky, for you to tell him that she already has a hockey jersey and doesn’t really need another one.” Bobby chuckled as Tara laughed. He could hear Sue and Lucy laughing in the background. “Oh… like I was saying since Jack’s shopping and you have your… “ She lowered her voice. “GA meeting… we decided to commiserate with chocolate ice cream and plotting and planning.”

“Well, on with the plotting and planning then Tara luv.” Bobby told her. “I’ll expect to have my appropriately green and red holiday socks knocked off by the plan this week.” He teased, referring to the fact that she’d handed him a gift bag full of holiday socks that she informed him he’d be wearing to work all week. “I love you Tara.” He said.

“I love you too, Bobby.” She replied. “See you later.”

“Absolutely. I’ll probably call later Tara luv.” Bobby said as he hung up the phone. One item in the showcase caught his eye and he grinned as he thought about how perfect Tara would look wearing it. He hurried into the store and purchased it. He walked out of the mall, holding the box tightly in his hand.

It’s the time
We open up and give from the heart
Let love shine, brighter
Than any star…

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
What's in the box!?!!?

Lovely

Aww, how sweet! As long as Santa's sleigh lands "accidently" on top of Darcy we're good to go!

Now, the obvious question here is....
WHAT IS IN THE BOX???

I know! I know...but I bet you won't tell us until the next story.

kav

Gee Kav.... Is it that obvious? let's just say you won't get to see what's in the box until the next story... you MIGHT get to find out what plans Bobby has for the box in this one....
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Wednesday 12/20…. 8 AM…. Bullpen

“So, it’s agreed then?” Tara asked as she passed around the plate of Christmas cookies. “We’ll have our girls night out on Friday and then get together for Christmas dinner and presents at Myles’s house on Christmas Day?”

Bobby bit the head off of a snowman cookie as he nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.” He answered around the bite in his mouth. “We could have a guys night Friday night.” He said, looking at Jack, D and Myles.

D shrugged. “Is Donna going to girls night?” he asked, taking a spritz cookie from the plate and passing it to Myles. Tara nodded and handed him a cup of eggnog. “I’m in then. Davey is going to sleep over at a friend’s house and Tanya is going to be babysitting. As long as one of us is home by 11, she’ll be fine.”

Lucy smiled. “Isn’t that kind of scary?” she asked. “Tanya, babysitting?” she grinned at D as she grabbed one of the powdered sugar cookies. “Dang!” she said, looking down at the fine white powder that had floated down onto her black sweater. Sue giggled. “Oh, fine! Laugh all you want, Sue.” She said, jokingly. “It’s your sweater!” she said, sticking her tongue out at her roommate. Lucy set her cookie down and decided that a different cookie would help her to avoid further powder.

Sue looked indignant for a moment before laughing again. “Oh, I’m not worried. If you truly look closer at it, I think you’ll find that it’s the black sweater I borrowed from Tara.” She grinned at Tara.

Tara rolled her eyes. “Like I’d miss it. I think I counted 20 black sweaters in my closet when I was looking for one on Thanksgiving.” She sat down on the corner of Bobby’s desk, resting her arm on his shoulder.

Myles chuckled. “Well, as long as you have those, you’ll be able to loan them out forever.” He pointed out. “And it’s not as though you don’t know where they work, you can get them back whenever you like.”

The team marveled at the transformation Myles had undergone since the prior day. No one could actually put a finger on what had happened but Tara figured that somewhere between the frosting fight and the powdered sugar fight they’d had in Sue and Lucy’s kitchen, Myles had shed whatever worries had been bothering him for the entire holiday season. “Well, I think a night of wings is definitely in order for us.” Jack commented. “You are still favoring the wings, right Myles?” he teased. Myles rolled his eyes and offered a genuine smile. “Then it’s settled. Friday, 8 ish at Hooters.”

The guys agreed and general frivolity prevailed in the bullpen as they passed the cookies and eggnog around, sharing with anyone who stopped in.


If every day could be Christmas
What a wonderful world it would be
We could carry this feeling within us
All through the year
If every day could be Christmas

nice outing boys,................

20 black sweaters? If I need to borrow one, I know who to go to!

Wait, when did Tara find out about Bobby's GA meetings? I think I missed that part.

next story my dears.... You're supposed to be intrigued as to how it all happens....
Guess what? My new job lets us use internet on Lunch and breaks.... Oh... and now the final 'chapter' in Christmas Carol........
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Friday, 12/22… 7 PM… Bullpen

Bobby sat alone in the bullpen, his desk lamp creating a circle of light around him as he tried to plan out what he needed to say to Tara. He’d pause every once in a while and look again inside the box from the jewelry store. He’d grin and put it back down and turn his attention to his paper again. Frustrated that the words wouldn’t come to him, he crumpled the paper and tossed it towards the wastepaper basket. He strummed his fingers on the desk and considered his options.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t realize that there was anyone still here.”

Bobby looked up and saw Julie, the young cleaning woman, hovering in the doorway. “Oh, hi Jules. You drew the short straw tonight, eh?”

She nodded. “I really shouldn’t clean until you’re done with your office. I can go clean the conference rooms if you still need time.”

Bobby studied her for a moment. “Is everything ok, Jules. You don’t look very happy to be here.” He commented.

Jules steadied herself on the corner of the desk. ‘Darn that accent of his…’ she thought ruefully. “Um, no… everything’s fine. I just don’t have any plans at all for the holiday so I got volunteered by my supervisor to be the only one on duty tonight.” She said, sadly.

“Wait, the whole building?” Bobby was incredulous that they would put that kind of workload on one person. Jules shrugged and nodded. “That’s not right, Jules. You need to make sure that they get some help in here for you.” He said, observing the single tear that started to make it’s way down her cheek.

“It’s no big deal, Agent Manning. I have all weekend to get it done. None of the departments report back in until Tuesday after Christmas so it’s not like I have to get the whole thing done tonight.” She said earnestly, wiping the tear from her cheek. “Besides…” she looked around to make sure no one else was listening. “Sunday and Monday are at holiday pay and I’ve worked enough hours this week that tonight and tomorrow are being paid to me at overtime pay.” She grinned. “Pretty smart of me, doncha think?”

Bobby grinned at her. “Well, as long as you’re being suitably compensated. School’s going ok?” he inquired, knowing that she was working on her degree in Biochemistry at Georgetown.

She nodded. “It’s fine. If I divide the building up properly, I have plenty of time to write my papers this weekend.” She grinned. “So, what have you been working on that generated this much paper?” she motioned to the wads of paper scattered around the wastepaper basket.

Bobby grimaced. “Just between you and me, right?” he asked, offering his pinky for a pinky swear. Jules grinned at him and pinky swore that it was just between the two of them. “I’m trying to figure out how to propose to Tara.” He admitted. “Nothing seems to be flowing from my brain to the paper properly though.” He considered his present company. “If you were getting proposed to at Christmastime, what would you like to see?” he asked her.

Jules raised an eyebrow at him. “How much time do you have?” she asked. “I’ve been dreaming about that my whole life.” She drew up a chair and he started to take notes as she started to detail her dream winter proposal. When she was done, Bobby had a very nice list of components that would help him in planning the proposal. He thanked her and left the bullpen to go meet the guys at Hooters, ring and list tucked in his inner jacket pocket. As he waited for the elevator he was surprised to hear himself whistling the chorus of Tara’s favorite song. He chuckled and grinned as he realized how big of a difference it would make if every day could be treated as if it was Christmas.

If every day could be Christmas
What a wonderful world it would be
We could carry this feeling within us
All through the year
If every day could be Christmas


The End..... for now....


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The next in the series is: Holiday Inn, conveniently located slightly lower on the main page. Please read that and enjoy and continue to please stay tuned for our Feature Presentation.... coming soon to a computer near you..... 'Miracle on 34th Street'

That was awesome! I can't wait for the Feature Presentation!!!

Ditto Cindy! Great job!

Can't wait for the next part!

BLT

You're dangling these little hints of things to come right before our eyes!!!!
Grrrr.
kav

Ah, poor girl. I hope Bobby made her feel a bit better...sometimes just having someone to talk to helps a lot. I knew it was an engagement ring! I'm sure Julie gave some good tips.....this should be nice and romantic!
~Cristy

Have enjoyed this and can't wait for more.
thanks,
Terie

You've got me really intrigued and I want more info. I couldnt wait for the Feature presentation if my life depended on it.

So thanks to you, I will twist my ankle up and down waiting for you to start it.

Meet you at 34th Street, waiting for a Miracle!

Looking forward to the feature presentation...