Just a quick and super fluffy little ficlet inspired by Lightwoman and CSIangel.

"Is there a problem?"

"Well…it's just…it's a little wider than I was expecting," Gillian's voice was slightly muffled.

"I thought wider was better," Cal argued.

"Well wide is good, but only to a point," Gillian retorted.

"Listen, is this going to work or not? I can't keep holding this thing up forever."

"Will you quit complaining and just hold it still? I'm just trying to get it in," she admonished.

"You know, I've never had this problem before and it's always been this big," he said defensively.

"I think I've got it, just push it in slowly." Her voice sounded slightly strained with effort.

"Are you sure? It still feels kind of tight."

"Just trust me. It just needs to be a little deeper to make sure it won't fall out," she said with thinly veiled irritation. "There! Perfect. Could you wiggle it around a little just to make sure it's as far as it can go?"

"How does that feel?"

"AHEM," Emily cleared her throat loudly from the entrance to the living room.

"Emily!" Cal said in a startled voice. "I thought you were at your mum's until tomorrow."

"Clearly. What exactly were you two thinking?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Cal said, unable to keep the disappointment from slipping into his voice.

"Hi Emily. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to finish before you came home." Gillian said, slowly getting up from the floor. "What do you think?"

"I think it might be a little soon, but I guess I'm glad you did it. I think it's beautiful." She hugged Gillian and reached up to plant a kiss on Cal's cheek.

The three stood together gazing at the beautiful evergreen stretching up toward the beamed ceiling.

"So, who remembers which box I put the decorations in?" Cal asked, breaking the reverent silence.

"I'll tell you what," Emily said, "I'll cook dinner, you tear apart the attic. Gillian, will you stay?"

"After what I went through, the least your dad can do for me is dinner." Gillian smiled up at Cal. "Besides, I love decorating the tree. I usually don't even go to the effort of putting one up for just myself."

"Dad always insists on doing the lights himself but he gets a little overzealous at the bottom so we end up with only half the tree lit each year." She stared pointedly at the hallway Cal had just disappeared into.

"I heard that," Call called from the stairs. "You know, I'd be only too happy to let you two handle this on your own." Despite his objections, his footsteps grew more distant as he continued his journey to the attic.

Emily turned to Gillian. "I'm glad you were here to help him. No telling what I would have come home too if you hadn't."

Gillian smiled down at her. "I'm glad I'm here too."

They both looked up as a loud crash sounded from the floor above them followed by a string of muffled curses and the sound of jingle bells being kicked unceremoniously against the wall.

"I guess he found it," Emily giggled.

"Is it too late to change my mind about dinner?" Gillian laughed.

"Definitely!" Emily grabbed her arm and quickly dragged her in the kitchen before she had a chance for second thoughts.