December 5th, 2000

The bitter cold hit little Carlos Garcia's face while he stood between his big brother and daddy in the snow. Snow fell heavily and there was a light breeze, setting the mood for a funeral. He pulled up his coat zipper to keep from getting any colder. Hearing the preacher's words made tears run down his face, the cold made them freeze there.

"Here lies Mrs. Sylvia Garcia. Friend, wife, and mother of two boys. May God bless the two boys, Carlos Garcia and Miguel Garcia Jr., who will grow up without their mother and Roberto Garcia as he raises those boys by himself. Keep them in your prayers while they face such difficult times." The old preacher said. Carlos started to let sobs out and clung to his daddy's leg.

He was only five. He loved his mother very much. Five was too young to lose a parent. Even fourteen was too young to lose a parent. Miguel was taking their mother's death hard. He wasn't sobbing as hard at Carlos but there were tears running down his face. Miguel didn't even bother to wipe them away. He could've cared less about his pride at the moment. His mother was dead. He was close to his mom and loved her very much.

The preacher went on saying nice things about Sylvia and praying along with everyone else. Carlos looked around and saw a lot of his family was crying. His grandpa was comforting his grandma, Carlos was young but he knew that no parent is supposed to outlive their kids. His aunt was crying, and his two uncles were standing next to her, both seemingly emotionless. Everyone's sadness made Carlos want to cry more. He eventually found himself being lifted up by his dad and crying into his shoulder.

Mr. Garcia was arguably the saddest person at the funeral. He felt responsible for his wife's death. One of the risks of being a cop is having criminals go after family. He never, in a million years, expected one of the most deadliest men in the United States to come looking after his wife and kids after he arrested that criminal. She died trying to save Miguel and Carlos from the man. When he came home late that night he found Sylvia on the floor and his little boy screaming at her, through his tears, to wake up and to stop bleeding. He'd never forget Miguel telling him that what he and Carlos saw from behind the couch. And what was worse, the criminal was still out there.

"Mrs. Sylvia Garcia will live on in our hearts. She's with God now. Let us all take a moment of silence." The preacher said. Carlos did his best to cry silently. It was hard to stay silent for the few minutes. During the silence he asked himself why people had funerals if it made everyone so sad.

After the moment of silence Mr. Garcia was asked to say a few words about his wife. Carlos was handed to Miguel for his speech. Carlos gave Miguel a big hug and Miguel dried Carlos's face with his coat sleeve. Carlos did the same for Miguel with his tiny hands. "We'll be okay," Miguel whispered to Carlos, trying his hardest not to sound too depressed. Carlos hugged Miguel one more time then they listened to their dad.

Mr. Garcia's voice was surprisingly steady throughout the whole speech. It was a sad speech but he didn't break down. Carlos admired his daddy for that. After Mr. Garcia's speech the preacher said a few more prayers followed by a hymn, and then finally the casket Mrs. Garcia's body was in was lowered into the ground.

After the funeral, a reception was held. Friends and Family came up to the Garcias to tell them how sorry they were. Carlos wouldn't leave his dad's side. He was looking for one familiar face that always brightened up his day even when he was so sad.

"Carlos!" he finally heard. He looked around quickly and saw Kendall running towards him. Carlos spread open his arms and was embraced in a hug.

"Hey, Miguel," Mr. Knight greeted Mr. Garcia as him and his wife followed Kendall to the Garcias "How are you doing?"

"Dave, Jennifer, thanks for coming. I'll be fine. I'm worried about my boys though." Mr. Garcia said.

"The poor boys," Mrs. Knight said sympathetically "Growing up without their mother will be so hard for them. The poor, sweet, boys." The three adults looked over at Kendall and Carlos hugging.

"I'm sorry about your mom, Carlitos." Kendall said when he let go.

"I miss Mommy," Carlos said, tears starting to fall down his face again.

Kendall gave Carlos another hug. "My mom says that she's in a better place," Carlos sniffled sadly and tightened the hug "It'll be okay, you'll always have me and James. We'll be here for you forever and ever." Carlos clung onto Kendall and cried until the reception was over.

Mr. Garcia picked up Carlos and took him to their car. The ride home was quiet and somber. Carlos looked out the window watching the scenery go by mindlessly. Then something caught his attention. A small dog playing with a boy that looked about his age. It looked like he was having fun, judging from the big smile on the boy's face. For the first time in a while Carlos gave a tiny smile. He'd always liked dogs.

The Garcias arrived home early in the evening. Miguel walked with Carlos to their living room. On their coffee table were two Christmas countdown calendars. "Carlitos," Miguel called softly "You haven't marked off your countdown to Christmas yet. Do it now so you don't forget."

Carlos looked at Miguel and wiped his face with his sweater sleeve. "Oh yeah," he said with another tiny smile. He went over to the coffee table where Miguel was kneeling.

"See, today is the fifth of December. Pull open the tab to see what's behind it, buddy." Miguel encouraged Carlos. Carlos opened up his tab and found a little piece of candy wrapped in foil.

"It's a Santa chocolate," Carlos said hpaily.

"Yeah, it is, what are you going to ask Santa for this year? You better decided quickly because Christmas is only twenty days away." Miguel asked.

Carlos unwrapped the candy and popped it in his mouth while he thought it over. "Well…" he said, pondering all the possibilities. He really wanted a fire truck to play with, or a new box of crayons, considering he broke half the others in his old box. A swing set or sand box to play on in the back yard would've been awesome too though. But having a pair of light up sneakers could make him the most liked boy in all of kindergarten. He kept thinking and thinking until he came up with what he thought was the greatest idea ever.

"I wanna puppy for Christmas! One that'll play with me! Mama always said doggies like to play with cute, smart boys like me. And she told me she always wanted one, and I want one too. I think Santa will give me a puppy."

"Wow, a puppy. I don't know, Carlos, Santa might not have much magic left after all the gifts he gave you last year." Miguel said playfully. Carlos didn't appear to take it as a joke though. Carlos took what Miguel said to heart and he noticed. "But, Santa might just have enough magic for you because of how good you've been this year. But if you really want that puppy you have to write your letter soon."

"Can you please help me, Miguel? I don't spell very good." Carlos said politely.

"Sure, buddy, let's go get started

"Hurray!" Carlos cried. Miguel smiled and he and Carlos went into their room to get started on a letter to Santa.

Over by the stairs Mr. Garcia was standing. He heard everything his sons had said. A dog would be expensive. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to get one, but he vowed that he'd try, just for his little boy.

The next day Mr. Garcia returned to work for the first time since his wife died. He went straight to the break room for his morning coffee and daily assignment. In the break room he saw Officer Knight teasing a small German Shepard puppy with a donut.

"Is that your dog, Dave?" Officer Garcia asked.

"Who, this little guy? No, he's one of the new police dogs we're training." Officer Knight said.

"Oh, how many are there?" Officer Garcia asked curiously as he picked up a sprinkle covered donut.

"Five right now, we're expecting a few more before Christmas," Officer Knight said.

Officer Garcia thought for a minute. "Do you think I could give Carlos one of those puppies for Christmas? He's really sad about Sylvia dying, and he has his heart set on a puppy for Christmas this year. I think a dog that's been trained to defend would be better than any old dog from the pet store."

"I don't know, Mike, but taking the circumstances into thought, I think it'll be okay." Officer Knight told him.

"That's great," Officer Garcia said with a smile "Muchas gracias, David, I really appreciate it."

"No problem, you can give Carlos this little guy," Officer Knight said holing up the puppy in his hands "He's the best trained. After only two weeks he can sniff out drugs, alcohol, weapons, and he seems to have a gift for sensing danger. Kendall and James got to play with him the other day and he's apparently the best with kids too."

"What's the little guy's name?" Officer Garcia asked.

"We haven't named any puppies, to be honest with you. The chief said train them first, then name them." Officer Knight said.

"Well then, I guess I'll let Carlos name him. He's going to love this dog." Officer Garcia said with a smile.

A/N: I came up with this magnificent story when I was listening to Christmas music the other day! OMG I LOVE IT SOOOO MUCH! It's just a small Christmas fic. I don't wanna get started on a whole new big story because I'm in the middle of "Return of an Enemy" and I'm working on "Puzzle" too. This idea just came to me and couldn't be contained. Happy holidays everyone!