Jack inhaled the cool evening air sharply as he stepped up to the door of the small shop. Checking his watch, he noted the time….five minutes to closing. Another couple of red lights and he would have had to wait until the next day to make his purchase.

The thought had been nagging at him all day. For weeks, he’d been debating whether he should get her a Christmas gift. He wasn’t getting anyone else a one. The team had never exchanged gifts. Would she see it as a friendly gesture? He hoped so.

“It could work,” she’d said. It did work. He knew it the moment he held it up in front of her. Ever since that afternoon, Jack could do little else but picture just how she would look in the oversized jersey with his number on it.

With a silent wish, he pushed open the door to Andre’s Costume Couture, hoping that instead of Andre, he would find another worker to deal with.

“Agent Hudson,” the thick and questionable French accent hit his ears as the man made his way toward him.

No such luck.

“What can I do for you? We do close in five minutes, you know. Is the puppy with you?” the man bombarded Jack with questions, as he turned this way and that, looking to see if Levi may be hiding somewhere.

“Uh,” Jack started, “No, no … puppy.”

“Very well,” Andre said, satisfied that his expensive costumes were safe from doggy damage. “What can I help you with?”

Jack smiled nervously, feeling as if he were a kid, caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “The jersey,” he said simply.

“Ah, yes,” Andre trilled. “Is it for yourself?” he added, suddenly looking concerned.

“Um, no,” Jack shook he head, confused. Why would the man care about who would be wearing it?

“Very well,” Andre said again, looking relieved. His clientele had their secrets, including the young blonde woman who had been in not an hour before to buy the same jersey for a certain agent. No doubt each would be surprised on Christmas morning.

The shopkeeper smiled knowingly. “You’re in luck….last one,” he said, grabbing the jersey off its hook and carrying it to the counter.

Jack cleared his throat; the man’s accented chatter making him more nervous than when he came in. "Is this a popular item?" he asked making conversation.

Andre snickered to himself. “You’d be surprised Agent Hudson,” he answered smugly. “Second one today, in fact,” he couldn’t help adding, knowing the flustered agent wouldn’t likely guess who the first customer had been.

Jack nodded as the man carefully folded the item and placed it into a bag baring the store’s name. Paying with a credit card, Jack thanked the shopkeeper, who followed him to the door. “Merry Christmas Agent Hudson,” he heard as he stepped outside into the cool night air. The greeting was followed by the click of the door being locked and the sign being flipped to “closed”.

Jack smiled to himself. It would be a Merry Christmas.

Oh man!! A Cindy scene! I know, it's not a story, but hey, a CINDY SCENE!!! This is so great! I love how flustered Jack is and how knowing Andre is! What a great short, Cindy! Thank you

Tracy

Hi there Cindy!!

Wonderful missing scene!! Thanks for share!

Tere

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving day!!

I loved this missing scene...and I liked Andre on the show. And you have brought in the use of puppy Poor Levi!

Poor Levi, I guess he left a more than a few golden hairs behind as a momento when they were in earlier. Great missing scene, Cindy. I like picturing Jack the way you portrayed him -- kind of nervous about buying Sue a gift...but doing it anyway.

kav

Such a cute little scene, Cindy.

Jack's nervousness was just too priceless and Andre practically giving his Christmas present away was just perfect. It figures that Jack would never have guessed, though.

Wonderful!

Lindsy

I had forgotten about Andre and "the puppy" - a great example of a missing scene!

I think you set yourself up to write Sue's perspective also. Of course, it would have to go in the Missing Scenes section but we are always up for more of those!

Great scene

Wonderful missing scene, Cindy!! I just re-watched that episode the other day, and noticed that part, especially! You did a great job building on that particular instance!! And I agree . . . I'd LOVE to read about what SUE was thinking about when she went back . . . or maybe what ANDRE was thinking, and observing? The possibilities are endless, as usual. Just know that you wrote a GREAT scene there!

Very realistic look at what should have been part of the show in the first place. Every chance we get to re-visit the original episodes is great, but when you feel like you could think back one day and wonder if you read it or saw it... well, that's just too much fun!

Thanks for sharing!

Tina

Great missing scene! It could so easily have been in the original episode.



I miss the show!

Cute!!!!

Em

Cindy...a great missing scene!

I'm late to the game and everyone else has said what I would have said; i.e. a great scene, how it should have been a part of the show, how you have Andre down to a Tee...loved the "puppy" part. I, too, would like another MS with Sue's POV.

Lynn

Great MS.

Great job, Cindy. I always thought it was so funny that Jack and Sue got each other the same gift. Talk about great minds thinking alike!

- RSL

Loved the Missing Scene!! Silent night is kinda my second fav Episode !!

Great Job!!

SueJack

Amazing little insight of how things happened with the matching gift! Love it!

I agree with everyone, Cindy!! You made this missing scene seamless with the episode!! The next time I watch Silent Night, I'm going to wonder what happened to this scene on my DVD!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!

Joy

Fantastic missing scene, Cindy. I can only imagine what the store owner was thinking. Jack's nervousness comes through and makes him very endearing here.

A great missing scene.

Sairs

Hi Cindy. This was a great missing scene. It fit into the episode perfectly, and like flip said, made me miss the show.

That was a great MS Cindy. But I have to admit, I wanted more.

Very nice Cindy!

Donna

Loved the missing scene, only recently saw the actual episode for the first time.

Dianna