I'm still laughing from the cooties comment.

Yay for more of Bobby's ValuMart antics! I just love those!

One of my son's friends went into a Walmart and put a bag of M&M's on lay a way. They actually held them for him for 2 months.

CRM

Gb -- They really let him do that? Too funny.
Kmt - I think I'm still safe shopping here. I don't think they'll connect me to the story unless I load my cart with Oreos.

Chapter 22



Dodging the fork lift operator, Tara made a right turn into the stacks after picking up her check. Shelves, lined with large cardboard boxes, reached almost twenty feet in the air. It took only a few minutes for Tara to discover their filing “system” and she located the toys with ease. Finding the box marked Ventures toy guns was entirely something else.

Footfalls in the next aisle sent her into the shelves to seek cover in the dark recess between two crates. She almost forgot to tuck the “candy” cane in beside her. The tiny bell on it jingled and she quickly muted it with her hand.

“Javier, I just heard a bell.”

“Yeah, yeah, and an angel just got its wings. Let’s just find the box of guns and get out of here.”

As they approached, Tara dared not even breathe. They were less than two yards away. She placed her hand on the hilt of her gun and watched them heft a box from one of the shelves. Even in the dim light, the word “Ventures” jumped out at her. A mouse ran over her foot and she jumped, ringing the bell again. The action made her bump her injured leg and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

“I’m telling you, I’m hearing bells.”

“Jorge, if you don’t get that box out of here, the only bells you’re going to be hearing will be playing at your funeral.”

She watched them disappear around the corner and finally exhaled the breath she was holding. As fast as she could, she hobbled towards the open receiving door. She watched the two men drive off in a silver Honda CRV. She raced from the warehouse into the main store. Bobby met her. “You’re limping worse. You okay?”

Tara ignored him and flipped open her cell phone. “Lucy, they’ve got the box. Call metro. Their names are Jorge and Javier. They went out the back. They’re in a silver Honda CRV. The box is marked Ventures Toy Guns.”



Applause filled the bull pen as Tara and Bobby walked in.

D walked up and shook their hands. “Good work, you two. Metro caught our boys just a few blocks from Valu-mart. They’re bringing them here within the hour. I’m guessing you want the collar?”

Bobby and Tara both nodded.

“Good. You know, you two make quite a team.”

While waiting for the their two perps to be delivered, Tara and Bobby opened the Secret Santa gifts on their desks. The team had decided the final day’s gift would be a T-shirt. Bobby’s Cereal Killer Santa had given him a smashed box of Lucky Charms with a distinctive horseshoe imprint on it. “Not so Lucky this time, huh?” he voiced aloud, holding up his cereal. “Hey, Tara, take a look at my T-shirt.” He held up a black shirt that said “Official Mistletoe tester” on it. “What’d you get, Luv?”

“This.” Tara held up a Christmas T-shirt. It read, “Three Wise Men? You’ve can’t be serious!”

“I love it! Our Secret Santa's must have shopped together,” Lucy said as she crossed the room to admire their gifts. Lucy was already wearing her shirt. It read, “Three Wise Women would have . . . asked directions; arrived on time; helped deliver the baby; cleaned the stable; made a casserole; brought practical gifts; and there would be peace on earth.”

Tara laughed until her sides hurt. "It's not that funny, Luv."

"I'm sorry. It just tickled me."

“Jack, hold up your T-shirt,” Sue coaxed.

Jack set down the file he was reading and obliged. Tara read it. “’I’m not Santa, but you can still sit on my lap.’ “

“Sparky, I hope that is limited to one special person.”

“I’m hoping the same thing, Crash, for your Mistletoe testing.”

“No worries from me mate.”

Sue pulled out her T-shirt. It was pale pink and had a picture of Levi in Santa’s hat on it. It read, “Naughty but nice.”

“That is perfect,” Tara cried.

“It sure is, and I wonder who could have possibly had the computer skills to have this made.”

Tara looked shocked. “Hey, don’t look at me.”

Bobby walked over to the coffee pot. “Myles, what did you get?”

“It’s cute. Not that I’ll ever wear it.”

“But you have to – tomorrow – that’s the plan,” Lucy insisted.

“What’s it say?” Tara prompted.

He held up the bright green shirt and Tara read the words on it. “Santa: Knows when I’m sleeping; He knows when I’m awake; He knows if I’ve been good or bad . . . I find that rather creepy.”

The phone ringing drew their attention, and Lucy answered it. “Bobby, it’s for you. Someone from CPS.”


A few minutes later, Bobby hung up and D came in to tell them their weapons dealers were in interrogation. Tara’s cane jingled as they walked into the room. Jorge immediately looked at Javier with a glare. “I told you that I heard bells.”


Note: T-shirts are from www.cafepress.com and www.classbrain.com

That has to be my favourite

loved the t-shirt slogans

cath

One more post after this. Thank you for all of your comments.

Part 23



Wrapping up the weapons case had been a cinch. Javier and Jorge rolled over on Ventura like snowball going downhill leaving Bobby and Tara free to join the others for a late lunch. Since it was after one, the crowd had thinned and the team easily found a table large enough to accommodate them all.

After ordering, Lucy directed them to unveil their identities one at a time. Jack was shocked to find his mounds of mistletoe, giant stocking, and other gifts had come from sweet Sue. Lucy had had Myles’ name and insisted she had been a very nice Secret Santa despite his claims that a bag of chocolate covered raisins should not be labeled “reindeer poop”. Bobby admitted to having D’s name. D, in turn revealed he was Sue’s Secret Santa.

“Any guesses about yours, Bobby?” Lucy asked.

“Sue, D and you are out, so my guess is Myles.”

“Sorry, Koala Boy, I don’t find the idea of killing cereal all that stimulating,” Myles said sarcastically.

Tara couldn’t contain her smile. “Did you like them?”

“It was you?” Bobby pulled her close and kissed her cheek. “I should have known. They were great!”

“Lucy helped me get the one on your desk the day I was out. Now, about my Secret Santa. From melted snowmen to “candy canes” to Wise Women t-shirts. Varied, a bit quirky, fun. Hmmmm.” She tapped her chin. “I guess --- Myles. Am I right?”

He smiled. “That you are, Tippy.”

“Thank you, Myles. I had a lot of fun.”

“It was my pleasure.”

“Speaking of pleasure, when do we get together tomorrow to deliver the gifts,” D asked.

“We meet at Miracle Hills at 6:00. Santa Bobby arrives at 6:30.”

“In a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer?” Myles quipped.

“Nope. I’m coming Aussie style.”



“I just love that movie,” Sue said with a sigh. “Miracle on 34th Street has to be the perfect Christmas movie.”

“We’re kind of making our own version tomorrow, aren’t we?” Jack mused, running his hand through Sue’s silky tresses.

“I guess. Only we don’t have to prove there’s a Santa.”

“I hope not. Bobby isn’t quite as convincing as the actor in the movie.”

Sue feigned shock. “Jack! He wasn’t an actor. He was the real thing!”

“Hey, if you believe, I do too.” He brushed a kiss on her lips, then reached behind the couch and pulled out a gift.

“What’s this?”

“Your Christmas gift. You leave on Sunday and we’ll be busy tomorrow. Open it.”

Sue carefully unwrapped the meticulously wrapped box. She tried to hide her disappointment at finding a the words Estee Lauder on the box. “Thank you, Jack. I love perfume.”

He laughed. “Good fake, sweetheart. Open the box.”

She smiled and complied. A piece of rolled up paper greeted her. Sue unfolded it and found it was a letter written in Jack’s own familiar scrawl.

Dearest Sue,

I thought I knew what love was. I dreamt about it. I prayed about it. I imagined what it would feel like to be truly in love with someone. And then there it was. It was you. Nothing else mattered. Everything before you, never existed. Everything without you, had no meaning. Love became my beautiful, wonderful, courageous Sue.

Our future is blessed – by God, our friends, even the FBI. I went into the assistant director’s ready to fight for us today – ready to quit or move or do whatever I needed to in order to have you in my life. Do you know what? The rules have changed. (And yes, Bobby already knew. I’ll kill him later.) The Bureau no longer forbids relationships with in a team.

I have something for you, besides this piece of paper, but I want to give it to you on Christmas. That means I’ll be coming with you to your parent’s if you’ll let me. I’ve already arranged flights for us both to go to my parents after.

Well?

Love,
Jack

P.S. Did you get that I love you?

P.S.S. You don’t have to speak. Sign it.

Sue’s fingers trembled as she formed them into the words, “I love you.”

Jack raised his own shaking hands, mirrored the signs, and added, “forever.”

Jack closed the distance between them and covered Sue’s soft lips with his own. The kiss exploded with the intensity of an ignited blaze. The fire, too long held off, raged between them.

Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, Jack thought Bobby had been right. It was time for Sparky to allow himself to be consumed in an inferno.




Thad fell asleep with his head on Tara’s lap. Her fingers trailed through his light hair. Bobby had read ’Twas the Night Before Christmas with such enthusiasm she thought for sure that the visions of sugar plums would be doing “Dancing with the Stars” in the little boys’ heads for hours. Finally, a sing-a-long of Christmas carols helped them to settle. They’d sent Millie on to bed with the promise of tucking her charges in. One by one, Bobby had carried the boys to their rooms until now only Thad remained.

“You think he’ll be disappointed?” she asked, her voice cracking with emotion.

“Maybe, but Tara you’ve given him hope.”

“I don’t want him to feel lied to.”

“He won’t. I promise. Have a little faith, Luv. Now, let’s get this little guy in bed so he’ll be ready for his big day tomorrow.”

Tara watched the man she’d grown to love lift the precious sleeping boy into his arms and her heart swelled. Thad snuggled against Bobby’s neck. She couldn’t help but sneak a peek as he tucked the little boy beneath the covers, place a kiss on his forehead, and whisper, “Sleep tight, little buddy. Santa’s coming tomorrow.”

Oh my goodness you posted a lot yesterday!!!! Favourite quote from about a million Bobby behaving outrageously at Valu-mart had me . Thank goodness he isn't visiting the college library any time soon...I don't think I would ever recover! I'm very curious to know what was in Thad's letter. Love the miracle the team is creating and hope is definitely the best gift anyone can be given.

kav

oh yeah, Sparky's gone up in flames

cath

awww.... bobby's so cute with kids!


love it bunches oreo!

Isn't Jack being the courageous one! (I guess he really needs to talk with Sue's dad before Santa comes????? )

Are you sure there is just one more post? You could end things in the challenge and then pick up in WIP..........(something to think about!)

I loved your posts! The t-shirt slogans were hilarious!

And Bobby with the kids....

This is it. The last post. Thank you most graciously for sticking with me through this. I hope you had a few laughs and maybe even a few tears. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Part 24



The children bounced uncontrollably as Santa’s “elves” tried to coral them until the big man himself arrived. The sound of a siren silenced them.

“Come out here!” Howie shouted. “I think I see Santa coming on the fire truck!”

“Santa doesn’t come on fire trucks,” Leticia from 2a announced matter-of-factly.

“Bobby says he does in Oztrailya,” Thad said proudly.

Millie squeezed Tara’s arm. “You did it girl. You brought us a miracle.”

“Not me, Millie. All of them. We’re a team.”

“But it was in your heart first.”

The fire truck stopped and Santa climbed down. “Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!” he called. He slung a bag over his shoulder and marched up to the shoddily clad children. “Let’s go inside and see this special delivery I’ve got for a group of kids at the top of my nice list.” Inside the open hallway, Santa Bobby pulled out a long sheet of paper. “Yep, it says extra nice children at Miracle Hills.”

Opening his pack, he pulled out the first gift and read the tag. “This one says, ‘To Jimmy. Here’s one for Paul and here’s a big one for Tommy.’”

The “elves” assisted Bobby in delivering the gifts. Each of the 20 children received three gifts: a large toy, a small toy, and a coat. Faces lit as they tore into the packages. To Myles’ surprise, they received the coat with as much excitement as the toys.

“When you’re cold, it’s better than a rocket ship,” Millie explained to him.

Bobby played up his “Ho, ho, ho’s” but spent a little too much time holding the waist of one particular red, skirted elf. After all the packages had been delivered to the children, Santa called, “Look here, kids. I’ve got one more package in here. The tag says it’s for Tara. What do you think? Has Tara been good?” The children cheered. “Okay, elf Tara come up here and sit on Santa’s lap to open your present.”

The children shouted until she complied. Bobby placed a large box in her hands. “Go ahead, Luv,” he whispered.

Tara peeled away the paper and found a smaller box inside the first. She unwrapped it and found an even smaller box inside the second. When she reached the final box, her fingers froze over the jewelry store logo. Bobby cracked it open and the ring inside glistened despite the gray light of the apartment hallway.

“I don’t know what to say," she breathed.

“That’s because I haven’t asked.” Bobby cleared his throat. “Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Claus?”

Her arms flew around his bearded neck. “Yes!”

Neither of them heard the cheers of well wishes as they kissed. Slowly, the sound of Tommy's fake gagging beside them, however, made the pull apart.

“Gives new meaning to ‘I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause, doesn’t it?” Myles asked Lucy. “I bet you had your money on Jack and Sue making the leap first.”



In all the excitement, Tara had not seen Thad since he’d opened the toy train that had been on his list. She found him sitting alone in the room he shared with the other boys in the apartment.

“Thad, what’s wrong? Doesn’t your train work?”

“He didn’t do it.”

“Who? Santa? Thad, you have to understand that Santa can’t do it all.”

“I know that Santa was just Bobby. That’s how he sounded last night.”

Tara sat down on the floor beside him. “You’re right. It was Bobby.”

“So Santa’s not real?” He still wanted to believe. Tara could see the ache in his eyes.

“We were Santa’s helpers tonight. We were just helping the real Santa.”

Bobby found them. “Ho, ho, ho. Thad, can I borrow Tara for a minute?”

“You can take off the beard. I know who you are,” Thad pouted.

Bobby frowned and pulled the beard away from his mouth. “We’ll talk in a minute, Sport.”

Thad never took his eyes off the two of them as they talked. They were trying to figure out how to tell him bad news. He’d seen that look before when his mom died. Tara was crying. Then, Bobby’s phone rang. He turned away from Thad and he couldn’t see his face anymore. He pulled Tara into the hall.

A few minutes later, they came in holding hands. “Sport, can you come talk to us in here?” Bobby called.

Suffering from a full-body slump, Thad trudged to the couch. Bobby pulled up a patched ottoman and deposited him on it, facing them. Thad kept his eyes fixed on the gold shag carpet.

“We’ve got something to talk to you about,” Bobby explained.

“What happened? Did Millie die?”

“No!” Tara insisted. “Millie’s fine.”

“But you were crying.”

“I was, but I’m not anymore. Look at me.” She placed a finger under his chin. She beamed at the little boy.

“You’re happy now. Why?”

“She’s very happy and so am I.” Bobby leaned forward, “What did you ask Santa for in your letter?”

“A new mom and dad. I want a real family, but Millie says Santa only brings toys, not miracles.”

“He brought a miracle this time. I just got a call from your social worker. If you agree, we can adopt you in a few months. You’d be our little boy, Thad. Tara would be your new mom and I’d be your pop.”

“Really?”

“I promise, right, Luv?” Tara nodded and Thad launched himself from the ottoman into their arms.

It wasn’t Bethlehem or even New York, but a new family was born just the same – a miracle of their own on 34th Street.

that was a beautiful and moving ending



cath

Okay if I can see the keyboard through my I'll try to write a reply that will do justice to your story. First off, you had me chuckling at and at the wonderful way Bobby proposed. That man has the heart of a romantic! But now I'm all teary eyed at the ending. I wondered if Thad had asked for something impossible -- and he had -- only it was only impossible if you don't believe in miracles. Your last sentence:was the perfect touch on an incredibly perfect story. Please, please, please don't let too much time go by before you bless us with another one.

kav

Hooray - they caught the bad guys!!!

I love the t-shirts!! The sayings are priceless!! And, I hadn't totally guessed the secret santas, but I was pretty sure Sue was Jack's!!!

I do believe that Jack's present to Sue is going to be soooo much better than perfume!! How sweet of him to want to give it to her in front of her parents!!!

Maybe Thad's letter asked for parents!! I think Bobby and Tara would great ones!!!

Can't wait for your next post, although I am also saddened that it is the last one!! Are you absolutely sure about that???

Joy

Wonderful story, Oreo. Thanks for sharing your gift with us.

Bravo!

That's what I get for trying to read at work!! I replied and then found your last post!!!

I love the way Bobby proposed!! And, I was right!! Bobby and Tara are going to make awesome parents!!!

This is a beautiful story from start to finish!! Thanks for sharing, Oreo!!!

Joy

What a sweet and perfect ending!!!

Oh, such a wonderful ending! I'm crying, right now. See?

I have to admit that I loved the t-shirt sayings... for some reason, I really loved Myles'. I almost choked on my drink when I read that one.

Such a wonderful miracle for such a little boy. I'm sure Bobby and Tara will make wonderful parents to Thad.

Lorna, thank you for sharing this precious story with us. You captured Bobby and Tara so beautifully. It was thrilling to read that Thad had his deepest wish met after all.

lovely ... truly lovely...




Now... what say you to a quick wedding so they can get started on a little sister for Thad? heh heh heh

A very beautiful family was born ... wonderful story, Oreo !!!

I can't tell you how much I absolutely loved your story!!!!!

Many laughs and an ending that was just beautiful! Way to go!

that was so sweet........i so love thad..he deserves this

I'm not sure if it's physically possible, but can I just ditto EVERYBODY?
Thank you Oreo!
Tina

Wow! What a wonderful, marvelous, stupendous story! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Kim

Simply wonderful and I loved the tshirt slogans.
thanks,
Terie

What a fantastic story! We had drama, comedy, angst, and of course my favorite...lots of warm fuzzies! Thanks for sharing your wonderful imagination with us!

I loved it Oreo!!! That was a beautiful story!!!!

Em

Oreo...

I loved the last line!! I had tears in my eyes, so you did an excellent job!! Thanks for taking us along on your journey....

Patiently waiting for your next story!!

elj

Thanks Oreo.......and Happy New Year!!

As mentioned before, the last line was perfect!!

Also, loved the "Miracle" quotes before each chapter.

As usual, your wonderful stories just leave us wanting more. ... So anxiously awaiting your next adventure.

thanks again, for sharing your wonderful talent.



hugs, skeeter

Great story Oreo and a wonderful Miracle on 34th street.

I know that I'm really late reading this, but it was just too good to read and then not comment! I just read it all today and really enjoyed it! It was sweet and funny and had lots of heart...it was the perfect blend of good things! The result was quite splendiferous!

That was beautiful.




Hope ~