My gif to you...a Christmas Fic

Even though it's a little late, here's the first installment of my Christmas fanfic. It's an idea I've been playing with for a while, and comes from one line from one of the new shows. As you probably know by now, it takes a while for me to get a title and this may not be long enough to ever earn one. But here's the first part, and I hope to have the second up in a day or two. Happy holidays!


Hunter idly flipped the paper clip between his fingers as he listened to the
captain’s voice drone on. He had yet to figure out why in a department half the size of
Los Angeles’s, he was forced to attend twice as many meetings. Glancing at the
itemized memo in front of him he saw there were only two items left, which given the
captain’s propensity for rambling, meant he could estimate another 15 minutes before
they were out of here. Which meant he’d be late picking up his mom from the airport
even if he did drive there with the siren on.

“Great,” he thought silently to himself. Not that this should have surprised him.
Nothing had gone the way he’d planned for a while now. For at least the last eighteen
months. Starting with Lopez’s death. And his trip here that turned into a career move
he still wasn’t entirely comfortable with. (He was sure his mother would have quite a
bit to say about that during her brief stay with him.)

Renegotiating his relationship with McCall was another hurdle he hadn’t counted
on. In L.A, they’d both been in similar situations. With long, unpredictable work hours
and family relations that were somewhat strained, they spent more time with each
other than with anyone else. The connection they developed was truly unique and
neither one could ever explain it adequately.

Here, Hunter was constantly playing catch-up to her knowledge of the town, their
co-workers, and, he was discovering, even the woman he once knew so well. Twelve
years was a long time and so much had happened in that time. Her wedding, the move
to London, giving birth to a child and then losing both the child and her husband in an
accident. Moving back to California, but further south to be near her parents, both of
whom then died within a year of each other. Her engagement to Roger seemed to
bring back a light to her face, and then it too was dimmed. Twelve years was a long
time, but it seemed to have been a lot longer for her.

He hadn’t been foolish enough to really believe that everything would go back to
the way it was, but perhaps he had been foolish enough to hold on to that hope. “I
have my own life here, Hunter,” she told him once in exasperation. And it was true.
She’d lived here several years before meeting Roger, and while her life had changed
dramatically with his death, the background essence had remained the same. Except to
him, she didn’t seem the same. He was hard pressed to identify what it was
specifically. All he knew was that he used to be able to look her in the eyes and know
exactly what was going on. Now those brown eyes were mud puddles of confusion to
him. He had thought she would be the one thing that would make the transfer to San
Diego worthwhile, and he had been sorely disappointed.

Refocusing his mind on the present, he was relieved to hear the captain’s words,
“And as for our last item of business...” Silence blanketed the room. The final item the
captain spoke of was “Christmas Day Shifts.” A job that meant spending the most
wonderful day of the year here in the squadroom with only one or two other equally
disgruntled co-workers. A job no one was ever willing to volunteer for and usually was
assigned to the lowest-ranking officers. Without actually listening to words, only the
pleading tone in the captain’s voice, Hunter knew that the plea was falling on deaf ears.
It was a job he had been stuck with enough times already, but his mother was
returning to Los Angeles the day before Christmas Eve and he had no other plans.
Well, if it will get us all out of here faster...

He moved his forearm to a ninety degree angle with the table and raised two
fingers in the air. Keeping his eyes downcast to avoid the looks of other officers, he
was unaware of the other volunteer until he heard the captain’s rather astonished voice.

“Okay, then, great. Sergeant McCall and Lieutenant Hunter will cover the
Christmas Day shifts. First and second year officers will report in at 4:30 for the
evening shift. Thanks everyone. Dismissed.”

McCall had volunteered too? Puzzled, Hunter tried to catch her eye, but she was
gathering her things to leave. After glancing at his watch he decided the arriving flight
was more important than his partner’s holiday plans. Pulling on his sportcoat he
headed out the door and to the airport.





McCall knew that Hunter wasn’t quite buying her explanation, but she really didn’t
care. Ever since a week ago when she’d volunteered to work with him on Christmas
Day, he’d been pestering her about it. She’d always hated working holidays in the past.
Even the Fourth of July was, in her book, cause for celebration. And she had received
several offers from friends for activities for the day.

“I just want a quiet Christmas this year, Hunter.” He was right, it wasn’t entirely
true. As he had pointed out several times that morning, working Christmas Day was
hardly quiet. Although they had made only three runs, all situations where holiday
festivities had gotten out of hand, they had needed to bring an extremely intoxicated
gentleman back to the station. Dressed like an elf, he insisted on singing spirited
carols at the top of his lungs. After two hours of his melodies, McCall was willing to go
along with Hunter’s suggestion of putting him into an “eggnog induced coma.” The
afternoon passed in relative silence.

She knew she had caught him off guard when she invited him over for dinner.
She’d mentioned it only yesterday, wanting it to seem spontaneous and counting on the
fact that he would have no other plans. She sensed he was first surprised, then
pleased that she wanted to spend the remainder of her holiday with him. She felt a bit
guilty about her ulterior motive, but was determined to push those thoughts aside until
it was time.

Unlocking the door to her home, she flipped on the lights and looked objectively
around the room. Last week she had decided she had needed some sign that it actually
was the Christmas season, but the decorations were understated, mainly candles,
garland, and greenery. There was no tree or pile of presents and only a single strand of
white lights along the mantle. Cards she had received were fanned across the coffee
table. She tuned the stereo to the station that had been broadcasting Christmas music
ever since the Thanksgiving turkeys had barely been digested.

Briefly stopping in her bedroom to take off her dress pants and change into jeans,
she went into the kitchen and pulled the evening’s meal out of the refrigerator.
Preheating the oven, she was glad she’d made everything the night before and now
only had to prepare the salad. She’d told Hunter to come over around 6, and looking at
the clock she saw she had almost an hour until he arrived. She spent the time
debating whether or not this was really the best time to tell him, finally arriving at the
same conclusion she had a week ago...she couldn’t put off telling him any longer.