Christmas in the SRU Chapter 9: Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time, a flashpoint fanfic

Here it is, the last pre-Christmas chapter. There's going to be 2 more after this, a New Years one and an epilogue.

I don't own what I obviously don't own! But I own Shawnee, Lou's girlfriend, and (so far) I think I own the idea of getting Spike and Kira together...? Maybe. I sort of own Kate Parker, and I own Lainey and Kady Wordsworth. Also, I don't own Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time by Paul McCartney.

This chapter is for Lochlyn! I hope I did a passable job on Greg's reunion with his family.

The moon is right

The spirits up

We're here tonight

And that's enough

December 24, 7pm, Marriot Hotel.

The moment had almost arrived. In a few minuites, Greg Parker would walk through the doors of the hotel where dinner reservations had been made. He would expect to be seated with Team One for their annual family Christmas dinner, but then Spike would escort him into the next room where Kate and Dean were waiting. And what would happen after that was anyone's guess...

So far, the Lanes, the Wordsworths, and Spike were seated. Ed and Wordy were chatting easily, as were Sophie and Shelley. Lainey and Kady were harassing Clark. Allie was sneakily watching her parents, waiting for the right moment to sample a glass of wine. Poor Spike was sweating nervously, wishing Sam, Jules, or Lou was here so he had someone around who knew what was going on.

Outside, Sam was, for once, right on time. He swung his sexy Dodge truck into the parking lot with the ease of a guy who'd been trained to drive a Hummer. As he cruised confidently through the automatic spinning doors, hoping Jules would be in the lobby waiting for him, disaster struck. Who knows how, but shoelace became inadvertantly lodged between the plate of glass and the floor. Around he went about five times, trying not to panic, hoping he wouldn't keep going around until he eventually starved to death. This wasn't a manually operated door, this one spun around relatively quickly. Sam was finding it difficult to escape. Until a hand clamped firmly around his, and yanked him free of the door's potentially dangerous path, subsequently freeing his shoelace.

"So the door proved to be too much for you, huh Braddock?" Jules said seriously, tilting her head to the side and looking up at Sam.

"I'm not good at, um, that sort of stuff." Sam laughed, blushing. What a way to kick off Christmas Dinner.

"You won't get too far in life if you can't figure those doors out, Buddy."

"Yeah, well, Desert Kid. Is Sarge here yet?"

"Don't think so. I wonder if Spike's peed himself yet? I phoned him earlier, he was freaking out."

"He seemed fine after we dropped them off at the hotel. But I don't blame him for worrying, this coul have consequences."

"I just hope I'm around to see Greg's reaction when he sees Kate and Dean. How were they when you saw them?" Jules continued.

"Kate didn't look too uncomfortable, I think she'd ready to give him another chance. And Dean...well there's no doubt he's his father's son." Sam replied, smiling.

"That's great. I'm so glad she's not mad about this whole deal."

"Well, you never know what'll happen till they meet...everything can change in a second."

Nobody knew that better than the SRU.

"Well, let's go in." Sam sais as they arrived at the entrance to Team One's dining room.

"I'll go first." Jules teased. "You wouldn't want to run into any door problems."

Sam put his hand on her shoulder.

"What would I do without you?"

Simply having a wonderful christmastime

The party's on

The feelin's here

That only comes

This time of year

Spike wasn't right tonight. Greg knew it the moment he said hi. He was very tense, and hyper-alert. It wasn't like him at all. Greg didn't comment, but decided to observe him as the evening went on, and later ask if he was Ok. But there was no need, as he would realise in a few minuites.

Team One was fuller than usual tonight. Ed and Wordy had their families along, Lou had his girlfriend Shawnee, and Spike had invited Kira. He began to take a seat beside Ed, but Spike interrupted.

"We have a little, um, change of plans, and you will be dining, um, in this fine room over here!" said Spike in an unnaturally nervous voice.

"Spike, is everything copasetic?" he asked in puzzlement as Spike led him into the next room, a private dining room.

"Everything is copasetic, and I truly hope it remains so." Spike replied with as much composure as he could muster. Then he escaped back to Team One's table, leaving Greg standing in the doorway. He glanced around the room Spike had brought him to.

His eyes fell on a table in the corner.

His heart stopped.

Simply having a wonderful christmastime

The word is out

About the town

To lift a glass

Ahhh don't look down

Kate looked the same, but somehow different. Maybe it was the abscence of the anger on her face. But then again, Greg had always remembered her as the beautiful woman he married, not the angry one she'd become in the last years. And Dean...he'd forgotten how proud he was that Dean had his eyes. But why...and how?

Spike. he thought. No wonder he'd seemed so nervous...it was just the type of thing he'd do! And he had seemed to act differently around Greg over the past few months. He'd give Spike a huge hug after this was over. Then he'd kill him.

His heart stopped again as Kate suddenly looked up and caught his eye. He raised his hand in an awkward greeting. Instinctively, his feet began to move towards her. Nine years alone was about to come to an end.

"Kate! It's nice to see you." he greeted her as calmly as he could.

"Hi, Greg. You look good." she answered in a tone that was cool but not unfriendly.

His eyes travelled from Kate to Dean. The teen was silent, but watching his father with a look of interest, if not affection.

"Dean." Greg whispered, his voice cracking. "It's...great to see you."

An SRU negotiaor can't come up with anything better than "it's great to see you"? he thought unhappily.

But then Dean did something that gave Greg hope again.

"It's great to see you again too, Dad." he said, extending his hand. Smiling. The shook hands, making contact for the first time in nine years. Such a simple gesture, but it melted Gerg's heart.

Simply having a wonderful christmastime

The choir of children sing their song

They practiced all year long

Ding dong, ding dong

"Well, I'm off to the bathroom." said Spike, getting up from Team One's table.

Jules grabbed him by the elbow and whispered into his ear,

"This is the third time in 10 minuites. Sam, Lou and I know you're going to spy on the Parkers, but everyone else is going to think you're having problems. Sit down, chill out, and leave Sarge alone!"

"Fine." Spike grumbled, sitting down before anyone could notice he'd gotten up.

"So, Clark, how many songs can you play on the guitar?" Lainey Wordsworth asked conversationally.

"I play the cello." Ed's son sighed boredly as he fished in his pocket for his iPod.

"Which is a type of guitar, duuuuh."

"No, Lainey, they both have strings but they're entirely different instruments."

"But it has strings, so it's obviously a guitar."

"No, it's not a guitar. They sound different, and you use a stick top play a cello."

"You can use a stick to play a guitar. I did, I found a stick in the garden, and I played Mommy's guitar and it sounded cool, but Daddy said I shouldn't do that. But all things with strings are guitars, there's just different types."

"Okay. You win. It's a guitar." Clark was too hungry to argue, and didn't feel up to matching wits with Lainey. Looking pleased with herself, the middle Wordsworth daughter proceeded to advise her younger sister upon the correct application of the lipgloss she'd found in her mother's purse.

As Jules chatted with Sophie, Spike leaned over to Sam and whispered,

"Have you told her she looks nice yet?"

"Was I supposed to?"

"Duh, man! You're supposed to compliment her 5 minuites, at the most, into the date! I think you're late."

"This isn't a date. And her and I both know she looks great." It was true. Sam had barely seen her out of her masculine SRU uniform. Tonight she was wearing jeans, but made them look fancy by pairing them with a drak red strapless top, and high-heeled boots. And she was wearing a beautiful necklace that set everything off.

"I know, but you have to tell her. It's the rules." said Spike firmly. "And it can technically be a date. It's dinner at a nice place, just think of it as your whole family tagging along."

When a golden moment occured, Jules wasn't talking to anyone, and she caught Sam's eye and smiled, Sam put on his best Date Face and said,

"You look very nice tonight." But somehow it sounded more impressive when he said it inside his head...

"Thanks, it's all because of this." she grinned, picking up the charm on the necklace she was wearing. It was the tiny sniper rifle Sam had given her. She'd put it on an old chain, along with a beautiful diamond star that had been her mother's.

They began to chat. Idle Christmas Dinner-style conversation. Because the prescence of everyone else prevented them from mentioning what they actually wanted to talk about.

The party's on

The spirits up

We're here tonight

And that's enough

Simply having a wonderful christmastime

In the next room, the unavoidble topic had been unearthed. Now that they were all caught up, dinner, was over, and Dean had gone back to the hotel room so Greg and Kate could talk. (and yes, Dean did still like stock cars.), Kate had to ask,

"What happened after we left?"

Greg was silent for a while, staring into his glass of water, hoping in vain that it would tell him what to say next.

"Well...it wasn't so good." he managed to say at last. "I guess it was better that you weren't there."

Kate took a sip of wine, her eyes on Greg the whole time.

"But, if you hadn't left, I wouldn't have ended up like that." he added carefully, not knowing what her reaction would be.

Kate bit her lip.

"I'm sorry I put you through that." she said softly. "I really am. I didn't want to hurt you, but I couldn't just make myself stay."

"I understand completely. I was a bastard." he replied, using the word that he had only ever heard from Kate's lips to describe himself.

"Yeah, you were. I won't pretend otherwise."

"I don't expect you to. I deserved everything I went through."

Both were silent for a long time. The clink of forks and knives on plates were the only sound.

"Greg, we were absolutely evil to each other in the last years. I can't believe that was us. But I also can't believe how much you've changed. How long has it been since you drank?"

"Since Eddie dragged me to the briefing room to sit me down and tell me enough was enough, one year to the day you left. I swear he saved my life. 8 years, I've been sober."

"I remember Ed. Good guy. How's the team?"

"It's changed since you've been gone. Ed and Wordy are still around, but in the last few years we've added Lewis Young, Jules Callaghan, Micheal or Spike Scarlatti, and Sam Braddock."

"I had the honour of meeting Spike and Sam. They're both great, you're lucky to have guys like them."

"If you don't mind me asking, who planned this?"

"That would be Spike." Kate said with a reminiscent smile. "I got his first e-mail back in the summer. I told him-pretty rudely-that I wasn't interested. But he kept trying...and I'm really glad he did. Greg, I never thought I'd say this, but...I've missed you."

Greg was suddenly gripped with an urge to do something most unlike himself. Impulsively, he grabbed Kate's hand and knelt down on the floor.

"Kate, I know I have no business saying this, but will you come home to my-I mean, our house for Christmas?" he blurted out awkwardly. "I can understand if you don't want to, but Christmas Morning in a hotel isn't much of a Christmas Morning..."

"I'd like to do that, Greg." she answered with a genuine smile. "But I'm going to leave it up to Dean, Ok?

"That's a great idea. I hope this isn't going too fast for him...his last few memories of me aren't that great."

"We brought out the worst in each other." Kate sighed. "But you've changed. And I changed. I grew up."

"You didn't have to change." Greg said gently, sitting back down in his chair. "Our problems were all because of my problems."

"I don't know how it all began, and neither do you, and we could waste the rest of our lives placing blame and holding grudges, but all I can say is that it's over."

"So...do you want to come meet the rest of the team?" Greg asked when they'd finished eating.

"That'd be great." Kate answered.

Greg hoped they wouldn't all die of shock when they saw her.

"Daddy, your grape juice tastes nasty." Allie complained.

"Allie, that's red wine, not grape juice!" Wordy groaned. "You're not allowed to drink that till you're 30!"

"I'm never going to drink it ever again." Allie growled, washing her mouth out with apple juice.

"That works for me." Wordy replied, smiling. "Oh, Greg, hey! Where have you been?"

"Team One, could I have your attention please?" he called, sounding slightly nervous. When everyone was looking up, he continued.

"You all know that my wife and I seperated nine years ago. I hadn't seen either of them...since tonight. And I can thank the one and only Spike Scarlatti for this."

He didn't look angry, so Sam and Lou yelled "We helped!" in unison.

"So, I'd like you all to meet, or re-meet, my dear friend Kate." he finished with a smile. Kate stepped out from behind the door, and Team One applauded welcomingly. Greg sat down beside Ed, who hissed in his ear,

"So let me get this straight. Spike dragged your ex back up here and you're just letting it slide?"

"Just leave it, ok Ed? At first I didn't know what to think, but dinner went well, so yeah, all I can do is be grateful to him."

Ed muttered something indistinctive and went into a conversation with Wordy. Kate was sitting at the girl's end of the table, chatting with Sophie and Shelley, who she'd met before, and being introduced to Jules, Kira, and Shawnee.

"Congratulations, buddy!" Sam grinned as Spike sighed in relief.

"Aww, Spike, that was really sweet!"said Kira, putting her hand on his.

"Who's up for some Timmy's?" called Ed after dessert was finished.

"Me me me me me!" Allie yelled.

"Eddie, we just finished supper." Sophie sighed.

"But the late-night Timmy's run is tradition!" Spike argued.

"All in favour of Timmy's?" Greg called authoratively.

Team One cheered loud enough for a waiter to come over to their table and ask if they were finished.

The moon is right

The spirits up

We're here tonight

And that's enough

It was snowing hard when Team One arrived at the spinning doors that had caused problems for Sam. Wordy and Shel bundled the girls into their winter clothes, and Sophie forced Clark to put on his mittens, as Kate phoned Dean and asked him to come meet everyone in the hallway. When the group left the hotel, Greg felt his heart melt as Dean began to walk beside him.

Close to Timmy's, Allie decided to take a detour into a little park to make snow angels. Lainy and Kady followed instantly. Even Clark joined in. (After Allie knocked him over.) Spike, Sam, Lou, Jules, Kira, and Shawnee engaged in a guys-vs-girls snowball war, much to Ed's annoyance. Shelley, Sophie, and Kate helped the girls build a snowman. Clark and Dean began chatting about music, sports, and girls. Greg, Ed, and Wordy sat on a bench and observed their friends and families.

"We should get going." Ed complained. "Timmy's might close early on Christmas Eve."

Greg began to respond, but Wordy beat him to it.

"Edward Lane, for once in your overworked life, appreciate the people you love and stop and smell the damn flowers! The world isn't going to end if you enjoy somethimg spontaneous."

For a moment, Ed looked pissed. Then he slowly bent down, picked up a handful of snow...and threw it at Wordy!

"It's on, man!" Wordy laughed, picking up a snowball of his own and whipping it at Ed's exposed head. Ed scooped up two handfuls of snow and threw one at Wordy and one at Greg.

"Did Ed just do something fun?" Spike yelled in amazement.

Sam picked up a chunk of ice, coated it in snow, and shot it at Ed. It hit him in the middle of the chest.

"Great snipe shot!" Lou grinned, slapping a hi-five with Sam.

"They don't call me Samtastic for nothing!"

"Samtastic this!" Jules shrieked, shoving a handul of snow down Sam's shirt. Sam half-laughed, half-screamed and tackled her. Both of them fell in a cloud of snow. For a moment, they forgot anyone else was around, as they lay on their backs, amidst the snow angels, side-by-side, staring into each other's eyes, with snow gently falling on their faces. Without any planning, or forethought, or wondering who was watching, their lips met. Several silent moments passed, and they parted. Sam stood up and gently pulled Jules up along with him.

Simply having a wonderful christmastime

"You're my snow angel." he breathed as he brushed snowflakes from her hair and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"You're my Samtastic." she smiled as they reluctantly began to walk back to the group, hands intertwined. Everyone had their backs to them, taking the opportunity to bombard Ed with snowballs. Except for Spike. He was watching them with his trademark Spike grin. Jules shot him an ice-cold glare, and he drew a finger across his lips in a "My lips are sealed." signal, and turned his back to them, indicating that they were free to carry on without any interruptions.

"Wanna come back to my house and keep me company tonight?" Sam whispered into her ear. She answered him by lightly brushing his cheek with her lips.

Simply having a wonderful christmastime

For a moment, Greg and Kate stepped away from the group.

"Dean is ready to come home for Christmas." Kate smiled. "I hope you have lots of food."

"When you're friends with all these guys," said Greg, gestruting at him teammates, "you keep lots of extra food in the house."

"I'm looking forwards to going back to that house." said Kate. "For every bad memory I have from there, I have two good ones."

"Remember that Christmas we had the huge storm?"

"I've never forgotten."

Simply having a wonderful christmastime

"So, Kira. What are you up to tomorrow?" Spike asked smoothly.

'Well, my parents were going to fly in from Quebec." she sighed. "But they're having a huge storm up there, so their flight got cancelled." she added sadly.

"Wanna meet me at Timmy's for Christmas Coffee tomorrow morning?"

"Don't you spend Christmas with your parents?"

"Honey, I live with my parents. I've mastered the art of sneaking out by now."

"I'll see you there then. 7am. Sharp."

For once, Spike wouldn't mind waking up early. He looked around at Sam and Jules cuddling, Lou and Shawnee kissing (they didn't work together, so they were allowed), Ed and Sophie, talking and smiling, but not arguing, Wordy and Shelley playing with their daughters, and Greg and Kate. Side by side, together again.

He heard Sam walk up behind him.

"Looks like Operation Mistletoe worked out, huh?"

"Sarge is the perfect man, us mortals can only dream of having such a way with women. It was foolproof."

Sam frowned "We have pretty good ways with women, don't you think? I mean, look at them!"

Spike grinned and patted Sam on the shoulder as they lovingly observed Jules and Kira.

"Come on, Samtastic, let's take our hot sniper girlfriends to Timmy's."

Simply having a wonderful christmastime

"Spike, man, we really have to cut back your coffee intake..."

Hopefully you didn't find any of that lame or mushy...I definitley rushed this story cuz I wanted to be done by Christmas.

Anywho, hope you all have great Christmases, but don't expect Santa to bring you rights to Flashpoint, or David Paetkau, cuz that's what he's bringing ME! Sorryyyy.

Merry Merry Merry Christmas 3

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*Roxxy,
How do you stay so fresh?
I think cool thoughts.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from Roxypony studios and the Strategic Response Unit!
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