Long Distance Reception

AN: Hello everyone. I'm back! And I bring a Christmas gift! This will be a two-shot preview of my next big fic, which will be an AU teen!FemShenko. To keep confusion to a minimum, my AU has Kaidan and Annalisa Shepard meeting roughly one year after BAaT and spend about a year together. During this year, Anna's father dies. This scene takes place at the end of their year together. Annalisa is a Spacer, and has returned with her mother Hannah to their ship, preparing for Christmas.

Annalisa is not a default appearance Shep. She has green eyes, fair skin, a light dusting of freckles from her time in Vancouver, and long strawberry-blonde hair.

It was her first Christmas without Dad, and even though the crew had gone all out with decorations, she viewed it all with sadness in her heart. She seemed to view the world with gray-tinted glasses, her rose-tinted ones shattered on Earth. But she wasn't the only kid on the ship, so she didn't ask to take them down. It was now Christmas Eve, and the ship was docked. Parents were whispering that Santa had taken off. It took all her will to not cry.

She was 8, anxiously waiting for Santa. It was already 00:32, and she didn't know how much longer she could stay awake. Her eyes were beginning to drift closed, when the door whooshed open.

That was when she saw him: red with white lining from head to toe, a big belly, and a large pack on his back. She watched him ease in with baited breath, but when he turned to her direction, he straightened.

"Good little girls are supposed to be asleep by now," a deep voice gently chided.

"I had to see if you were real. Jimmy said you weren't real," she defended.

"Jonathan Maxwell. Age 12. He stopped believing because I gave him a stuffed hanar when he wanted a drell warrior two years ago." She starred in wonder as he rattled off facts she didn't even know. "I have his present right here." He reached into the sack and pulled out a small bag of coal. Her mouth was a wide 'O'. "And if you'll excuse me, I have to set down your presents." He reached into his sack again and began pulling out presents wrapped in bright, shiny red paper with vivid green bows. "I'll take that off your hands." He put the coal back in his bag before kneeling down to her level. "I am as real as the spirit of Christmas. I will always be here as long as there are children willing to believe in me." She nodded her head silently in understanding. "Now go to bed. You can open your gifts tomorrow morning. Your mother will enjoy watching you open them. It is my present to her." Her eyes opened in astonishment as she processed what he said. She then nodded, suddenly very sleepy. She was about to curl back up on the couch when Santa gently shook her back awake. "I would like you to sleep in your room. I have one last present to deliver here, but the shape will give it away." Her curiosity was piqued, but before she could plot, he added. "I cannot deliver it if I see you awake. Now go."

"Yes, sir. And merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas indeed." Santa waited until she had walked into her room before he left. She could hear the door open from her room. Tired, she stumbled to bed. When she opened her eyes, her clock told her that morning had already come: 08:02. Curious to see what else Santa had left, she pounded on the wall that separated her room from her mother's room. "Mom! Wake up! It's Christmas." She waited a few seconds before hearing two pounds from her mother. She then pulled on a robe and ran into the living room to find-

She stood stock-still in the entryway. Her father was sitting on the couch, a large green bow on his shoulder. He had obviously fallen asleep on the couch, one hand propping his head up.

"Anna, why are you-" Her mother's words fell silent as she saw the same present. "Go wake your father. Gently though." She didn't have to be told twice, running to her father and hugging him awake.

"Santa gave me a ride here. He even managed to convince my captain to give me Christmas with you. I can't stay for long, but I have today." He opened one arm to his wife, keeping the other one firmly wrapped around his daughter.

"You saw Santa too?" She asked in excitement.

"Yes. He had me wait outside while he made sure the coast was clear. He didn't want to spoil the surprise."

"Best Christmas present," she whispered into his shoulder.

"I love you too, Lisa."

It wasn't until last year that he told her it had been him the whole time. Ships with kids tended to do the Santa thing as long as the parents agreed to it. It was an unspoken tradition on Alliance vessels. Kennan had been planning this out for a month and had convinced the other parents to let him play Santa, surprising the children aboard and his wife.

Anna walked up to the parents talking and dropped her voice to a whisper.

"Do you have someone for the role of Santa?" The dad nodded yes. She nodded in return and turned to walk away.

"The first Christmas without them is toughest. It gets easier as time goes on. But seeing the young ones believe helps." She turned back, and the dad continued. "I lost my wife three years ago. I understand." She nodded again, her throat tied up too tightly for her to say her thanks, but he seemed to understand anyways. She walked away from them, but ran back to her room before the tears could fall.

A few hours later, she was wandering the ship again, trying to think up a new place to practice her biotics when one of the crewmen came up to her.

"Hey, we just got a bunch of packages, and there's one for you." He handed her a small package. She took it and was about to open it, when a small icon popped up.

'Don't open until Christmas' it said. Oh, well then. '-Kaidan' the second line read. A grin came up on her face. He didn't need to send a present. Her mom had sent a present with both of their names on it, but now she felt a little embarrassed. She hadn't gotten him anything special.

"Kaidan," she whispered, shaking her head. She then turned around and went to drop the present off. However, she couldn't help trying to sneak a peek. She gently began to untie the bow when she was suddenly shocked, almost dropping the box in the process.

'I mean it! I wired this thing to give a small electrical shock if you tried to open it before Christmas. No peeking! You'll spoil the surprise. –Kaidan' She laughed out loud, the first true laugh since she'd stepped aboard the ship. This would definitely be the highlight of her Christmas. She checked the clock on her omni-tool. 20:21. She almost groaned as she placed the gift under the tree in her mother's cabin.

The next morning dragged its feet, but finally came. She eagerly tore through every wrapped present, but she kept her final present near her feet. When the rest of her gifts had been opened, examined, and the giver thanked, she turned to the smallest gift of all. She held it up and gingerly pulled at the ribbon, hoping that she wouldn't receive a second shock. She shouldn't, but she wanted to make sure. As she tugged on the ribbon, another message popped up.

'Yes, you can open it now. Merry Christmas, Annalisa.' She chuckled and opened the gift, carefully keeping the bow intact. She and her mother had an old tradition of preserving bows.

"It isn't big enough to put on your head, but how about your wrist?" Her mother took her wrist and deftly slid it on. "There we go." She then rearranged the bow on her head. Anna then turned her attention to the wrapping paper, ripping it to shreds. There was a small device attached to the paper. That must be the sensor. I'll have to examine it later. She then opened the box, and her jaw dropped. Sitting inside was a beautiful necklace. It was in the shape of a snowflake, accented with clear crystals.

"Mom," she motioned her mother over, who gasped when she saw the gift, but pulled out a piece of paper attached to the top of the box, handing it to her daughter.

'It's snowing in Vancouver, and I know you said that you had never seen snow before. While I can't send real snow, I thought I would send you this. Each snowflake on Earth is unique, like you. Merry Christmas – Kaidan' She was touched, speechless even. Her parents had given her wonderful gifts before, but somehow this gift meant more.

"You should go call him and thank him. He'll be up by now. And wear this when you thank him." She took the necklace out of the box and put it on her daughter. She then left the room, letting Anna pull up Kaidan on her omni-tool in privacy. He quickly answered.

"Good morning and merry Christmas," he greeted. He smiled at her.

"Good morning and merry Christmas to you too," she returned. He was still grinning at her. "Is something up?" She asked.

"You've – um –" he scratched the back of his neck. "You've got a big bow on your head." She blushed deeply in embarrassment before pulling the bow off her head.

"Why didn't mom tell me I still-" she quietly muttered before turning her attention back to Kaidan. "Sorry, we always do that on Christmas. Wear any bows, that is. She forgot to tell me I was still wearing one on my head." She held up her wrist in illustration, showing him the bow on her wrist. He finally couldn't seem to hold back his laughter anymore, letting a chuckle bubble out of him.

"That's pretty cute actually," he conceded. Her jaw dropped in horror.

"Cute?! Oh, I can't have that. My reputation will be ruined on the ship. But regardless, I wanted to thank you for my gift." She took a step back from the omni-tool to let him see her better. His smile softened in response.

"You look good. Uh – I mean – It looks good. On you. Not that you don't look nice, you do." Now it was her turn to begin laughing as he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck again.

"I think we're even now." She was hushing her laugh for his sake. "So how's your Christmas going?" She changed the subject.

"It's going well. Although I'll have to hang up soon. We're going over to an aunt's house later, and I'm still in my pajamas." He ran a hand through his hair. "Mom won't let me out of the house like this, family or not." She chuckled.

"I'll let you go then."

"Alright, but I might send you a message. It can get pretty boring, and I may need an excuse to step out for a while." She grinned at him.

"Now that I can do. You'll have to show me how the snow looks too." He straightened, his face brightening.

"I can show you how it looks in the morning too. Here," he picked up the omni-tool, moving it to a window. Outside, she saw the orchards outside his home, but magically transformed by the snow. After a minute, he turned the camera back to him. "Did you like the view?"

"It's beautiful. But I don't remember seeing this exact view. Where are you?" She was curious and just had to know. He gave a low chuckle in response.

"I'm in my room right now." She blushed a little. Ah. He straightened as they heard his mother's familiar tone. "And that's my cue to get ready. I'll have to let you go." She felt regret tugging at her, but she nodded her head in understanding.

"Alright. Let me know if I need to bail you out."

"Will do." And with that he signed off. She waited a moment before looking at her necklace again, smiling at the beautiful gift.

Kaidan sat on his bed, happy beyond imagining. He heard a knock on his door and stood to answer his mother's knocks.

"Did you hear me dear? We need to get ready to head over to your Aunt Irene's house."

"Yes, Mom. I'm going to change. Do you need something before I do that?"

"No, but I was wondering how your chat with Annalisa went." He grinned as he thought about it.

"Really well. She likes my gift." His mother smiled back at him.

"Good. I'm glad. Well, I'll let you get ready." She turned her back and left. He closed the door and let a goofy grin spread across his face. She really likes it. I can tell by her eyes. They were sparkling the whole time. The image of her wearing that bow on her head came back to his mind. Her wearing that bow and his necklace. Her in that shirt that dipped just low enough to show skin, but not low enough to show cleavage. Stop, he commanded himself. Why am I thinking of her like that? He shook his head. Ridiculous. Now stop it. I doubt she sees you as more than a friend. Her joy was about the necklace, not about you. He decided to make that shower a cold one. His parents would wonder what took him if he dallied.

AN: I originally thought of having Anna stay in Vancouver with Kaidan for Christmas and have him give her that gift in person. But I liked that Anna could have a private first reaction to the gift and still have them interact in the scene.

And about the Shepard ribbon tradition: I took that from my own family. When my birthday rolls around, there's always one gift that has a big bow, and I always end up having to wear it. It happens at every holiday too. *shrugs* So I thought it would look adorable on my Shepard.

And I do love young love. Merry Christmas!