Magic of the Season
Kristen Fife, 12/2003
Part 1

Natalie got into the morgue later than usual due to
the holiday shoppers. The streets of downtown Toronto
were clogged up, even after 9 PM as harried parents
took advantage of the late night hours at the stores.
Natalie had almost run into several people and
suffered from Road Rage against the stupidity of her
mortal brethren. As she scowled while walking, all the
members of the staff
gave her a wide swath to tramp through.

As she opened the door to her office, her black mood
finally started to dissipate to be replaced with
annoyance. She saw that someone had put a strand of
tinsel “icicles” around the edge of her desk, and she
finally gave a small smile. She really DID enjoy
Christmas; it was her favorite holiday, but the
preparations always made her cranky when dealing with
a morass of commercialism. She sighed. Oh well.

She sat down at her computer and started going over
her caseload. Pretty
light, all things considered. By midnight she was
totally engrossed in the
lab results for one of her “customers”. She didn’t
hear the footsteps as
Nick approached, so he quietly cleared his throat. She
looked up, startled,
to see him smiling his lopsided grin. Her own mouth
turned up at the corners
in response.

“Hi.” She felt her mood lighten just looking at him.

“Hi, yourself. What has your attention so enraptured?”
Nick asked her.

Natalie sighed. “Just the Marchonne case. The lab
results were inconclusive,
so I was just trying to map some of the protein
markers.”

“Huh. Well, I’m going to assume I can’t help you any.
But I wanted to see how you were doing. And I wanted
to ask you something.” Nick’s gaze bored into hers.

“Oh?” Natalie only said the one word.

Nick’s eyes dropped, and if he could have, Natalie
swore he would have been
blushing.

“Um, do you have any plans for Christmas?” The words
rushed out of him.

“Actually, no. Myra invited me over to spend Christmas
Eve with them,
but I hadn’t given her an answer yet. I assume you had
something in mind?”
Natalie tried to sound casual, but was secretly
excited. She had spent
Christmas with Nick before, but usually it was she who
had to almost force
herself on him, and she had promised herself that THIS
year she wouldn’t. If it
weren’t for the fact that Sarah and Amy have moved to
the other side of the
country after Richard’s death, she probably would have
spent it with them; in
fact, they had invited her, but she knew Sarah wanted
to spend it with her
parents.

“Well, I was wondering if I could make you Christmas
dinner. I’ve, uh,
been practicing my cooking.” His eyes dropped to the
floor again.

“Nick, that’s WONDERFUL! Of course I’d love to spend
Christmas with
you.”  The warmth in Natalie’s voice was genuine, and
Nick looked up at her
with an endearing smile on his face, like a small
child that has been given
praise when expecting a scolding.

“Great! Um, how about 6?” Nick was at a loss,
obviously not expecting Natalie to accept his
invitation.

“OK, I’ll come over to the loft. Oh, and Nick, I want
to get a TREE for you this year.” Her teasing voice
brought a smile to his lips.

“I can live with that. What are you doing tomorrow
night? I’m off.” His half-smile made her laugh.

“I’m off too. We can go get a tree as soon as the sun
goes down.” She grinned. “I’ll bring some ornaments.
Oh Nick, this will be wonderful!”

Nick smiled back at her, leaned over and kissed her
cheek, and then got up to leave, still smiling as he
walked out of the morgue.



Part 2

The following evening, Natalie showed up at the loft
just after 5, properly attired in jeans, hiking boots,
a heavy jacket, an old sweatshirt, gloves and a hat on
top of her unruly chestnut curls. In her hands she
carried a large box containing a portion of the items
from the trunk of her car.

“Nick?” She called out as she entered the loft.

“Be right down Nat. I’m just finishing getting
dressed,” Nick’s reply echoed from the balcony.

Nat started putting her belongings on the dining room
table. She took off her gloves just as Nick started
down the steps from the upstairs.

Natalie glanced over at him and grinned. He had on his
customary black jeans
and a royal blue silk shirt. She shook her head in
amusement. Obviously, this
vampire had never gone out in the snow to get a
Christmas tree before!

“Nick, you might want to change your shirt. You’ll
ruin it.” She warned.

Nick looked down at his attire. “What do you mean?”

“Nick, we’re going to pick up a tree that has been cut
and has needles falling out of it. Now, I know you’re
probably strong enough to rip a tree out of the ground
by the roots, but trust me on this one. Oh, and I need
your help getting the rest of the stuff from my car.”
Natalie turned back toward the door.

The puzzled look on Nick’s face was precious, and she
didn’t want him to see
her grin.

He followed her into the elevator and down to the door
outside, where her
car sat. She opened the trunk and started handing him
largish boxes. He watched in amazement as she pulled
more and more items out of the trunk.
Finally, when his arms were full, and hers as well,
they headed back to the lift.

As they were ascending, Nick asked “Um, Nat, what IS
all this stuff?”

Natalie turned to him and said, “It’s Christmas
decorations and good cheer, Nick.” Nick just shook his
head in bewilderment.

As they carried all the sundry packages into the loft
and put them on the dining room table, Natalie turned
around to consider the loft carefully, to figure out
where the best place to put the tree might be. She
finally located a spot over by one of the windows and
nodded her head in satisfaction.

“OK, let’s go get a tree” she cheerily proclaimed to
her companion.

“Didn’t you say I should go change?” Nick asked
plaintively.

“I’ll wait for you down here. Wear something grungy.”
Nat said absently as she started taking some of the
decorations out of the boxes.

“Grungy?” Nick asked, puzzled.  Nat didn’t say
anything, so he shrugged his shoulders and headed up
to his bedroom. A few minutes later he appeared in an
old gray sweatshirt carrying a jean jacket. Natalie
smiled and nodded in approval.

”Much better. OK, let’s go.” She donned her coat and
hat, and linked arms with him as he grabbed the keys
to the Caddy.

Half and hour later, they pulled into the parking lot
of a tree lot. Natalie got out and took the lead, a
bemused Nick following her. Natalie went up and down
the rows of trees until she finally found the sized
trees she was looking for, then carefully set about
choosing the perfect tree. When Nick saw her final
choice, he dubiously looked at it as they went to get
the manager. It was over 8 feet tall.

Natalie brought the manager over to the site of their
choice, and he got one of the helpers to lift the tree
and bring it over to the Caddy. Nick looked at alarm
from the ragtop of the caddy to the tree. Natalie
laughed outright at his expression of dismay.

“Nick, put the top down.  Crank the heater and we’ll
be fine.” He looked at her again, and then did as she
asked.

They positioned the tree so that it laid across the
back seat, a burlap sack covering the end sticking
over the front seat. Natalie had very carefully chosen
a tree that wasn’t too big for the very long
automobile. Granted the top of the tree, laying across
the trunk, stuck out past the bumper a good couple of
feet. But it didn’t drag on the ground.

When they got in the car, Nick turned the heat up and
Natalie moved over to snuggle against him.  Nick
smiled and put his right arm around him. As they drove
back to the loft, Natalie reflected that she was quite
comfortable.



Part 3
Kristen Fife 12/2003

When they reached the loft, they got out of the car
and pulled into the garage. Nick couldn’t shut the
door with the tree, but as they untied it from the
Caddy he wondered how Natalie had intended to get it
INTO the loft. He manhandled it to an upright
position, waiting for further direction from Natalie.
Finally she walked over to the door leading up to the
stairs.

“Can you lift that ok? It’s not too heavy?” She asked
him.

“No, it’s not that heavy, just awkward.” Nick’s reply
solicited a smug smile from her.

“Good. Carry it upright over here and through the
door.” As he did so, she helped him get the branches
through the doorway. Once they were in the stairwell
going up to the loft, she looked up, then back at
Nick. “OK, fly it up to the landing.”

He looked at her. “FLY it up?”

“Yes. You said it wasn’t too heavy. The stairwell is
such a wide shaft you shouldn’t have any problems just
lifting it. Or will you?” Her tone held a note of
challenge.

“No, I was just surprised.” Nick grabbed the tree and
slowly levitated up to the landing outside the loft,
then carried it toward the main doorway, tilting it
onto its side as he opened the doorway. Nat had opted
for the lift and came out of the doorway just in time
to help him open the steel door and help him get the
large tree into the room.  As he surveyed the large
layout of the loft, he grinned again. Rather than try
to take drag the tree past the furniture, he again
lifted it and levitated over to the spot that Natalie
had chosen. She laughed in delight.

When he reached the second stairway to the second
level, he moved the tree into the corner and leaned it
there. Natalie was busy filling the small stand with
water and carefully carrying it over to where Nick and
the tree were. She put the stand down on the floor,
and Nick lifted the tree into place. He held it while
Nat screwed the bolts into place.  Finally, when the
tree was all set, they moved it into place. Natalie
beamed as she looked at it.

“Well, that looks nice!” She turned to Nick and stood
on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, then turned back toward
the table heaped with decorations and started opening
boxes and bags. The first thing she pulled out was a
red velvet tree skirt, which she put under the tree
and spread out. Rather than returning to the table as
Nick expected, she went to the corner and pulled out a
bunch of CD’s from her bag and walked over to the
entertainment center to put them in. The loft filled
with the sound of Christmas carols. Nick looked on in
amusement as she started singing and went back to her
tasks.

“Uh, Nick, come ON. You have to help!” Natalie’s great
spirits infected him and he walked over to the table
as she pulled out several boxes of colored lights.
They proceeded to string lights and garland around the
tree, Natalie telling him to just fly up to get to the
top branches. He had never seen her be so casual about
his obvious vampiric abilities.

After three hours, as they finished putting on the
last of the ornaments, Natalie pulled a delicate angel
out of a box. The angel was obviously old; it had
stiffened raiment of gold and white. Nat held it
reverently and Nick saw a tear at the corner of her
eye.

“Nat, what’s the matter?” He asked softly, concern
coloring his voice.

“Oh, I always cry when I see this angel. My mother
made it when I was a baby. It always reminds me of
Christmas with my family. Good memories, really. My
mother and father made Christmas a truly magical time
of year for us when we were children. It’s just
difficult for me to be alone sometimes. “ She turned
to him with a brave smile. “Thank you for being with
me. It means a lot to me.”

Nick gently took the angel out of her hands and laid
it on the table, then took her into his arms. He
hugged her and stroked her hair. She relaxed into his
arms, and they stood locked in an embrace just as “Let
it Snow” came on.  Natalie started giggling. For no
reason other than the infectious tinge to her voice,
Nick started chuckling. Soon both of them were
laughing, still unsure why.  Finally, when Natalie was
gasping for breath, and Nick even had a bit of color
in his cheeks, they fell onto the couch. As their
unbridled mirth subsided, Nat leaned into Nick and he
cuddled her as “Silent Night” played. Nick stroked her
hair and listened to her heart slowing to a relaxed
state. She wasn’t asleep, but she was deeply relaxed.
The crackling of the fire combined with the continuing
traditional carols put them into a reverent frame of
mind. Finally, Nick kissed her hair.
“Hey, don’t we have a guardian angel to put on the
tree?” He asked softly.

“Mmmmm. Yep.” Natalie uncurled from his lap and stood
up. She stretched, then went over to the angel,
picking her up tenderly. Nick silently walked up
behind her.

“How about we put her on the tree together?” He asked
her in a quiet voice.

“What do you mean?” Natalie was puzzled.

In response, Nick put his arms around her waist and
very silently lifted her into the air. They floated
over to the tree, and Natalie put the angel on the
very tip of the tree, then Nick descended to the
floor. Natalie turned in his arms and, without saying
a word, put her arms around him and pulled his head
down to hers and kissed him. It was a deep kiss, but
Nick didn’t allow it to be spoiled by the vampire
emerging. All too soon, he broke away and buried his
face in her hair. She held him tightly, knowing that
both of them were trying to express silently that
which they couldn’t say verbally.



Part 4
Kristen Fife, 12/2003

Natalie reluctantly broke away and looked at her
watch. It was 2:30 in the morning. Just then her
stomach rumbled. She smiled sheepishly. It was the
equivalent of her lunchtime. Nick grinned at her.

“Hungry?” He teased her.

“Uh, I guess so. I ate before I came over, but that
was at 4 this afternoon. I don’t suppose you have
anything more substantial than popcorn?” Natalie
hopefully asked him.

“Nope, but I’m happy to take you out to dinner. There
is an all night diner about six blocks from here.
Interested?” He laughed as Natalie bobbed her head up
and down.

So, once again, they went out into the cold Toronto
night. They drove to the restaurant that Nick had
mentioned and were the only patrons in the place, with
the exception of a couple of elderly men at the
counter drinking coffee. As they sat down, Natalie
scanned the menu, finally settling on a club sandwich
and cup of chicken noodle soup. When the server came
to take her order, she threw in a side of fries. Nick
raised his eyebrow.

She shrugged. “I’m really hungry. Speaking of, what’s
on the menu for Christmas Dinner?”

“Nope. It’s a surprise.” Nick chided her.

She sighed. “OK. I cannot WAIT to see what you come up
with. “ She smiled at him to take any sting out of her
words.

As they sat and talked, and Natalie ate her dinner,
neither knew how much the other was thinking about how
right it was for them to be together, celebrating
Christmas and sharing mundane conversation. Finally,
at about 4 AM, Natalie finished her meal and they went
back to the loft.

Natalie gathered up her belongings, leaving her
holiday CD’s at the loft. She let out a big yawn. Nick
grinned at her as he hugged her.

“So, you’ll be over here on Christmas Eve at 6?” He
wanted to make sure she was still planning on coming
over for dinner.

“Yup, I’m planning on it. I’ll see you then.” She
kissed him on the cheek and then walked out the lift
out to her car. Nick watched to make sure she got
safely to her car, then wandered back over to the
tree. He stared at the angel on the top of the tree.

“If you truly are her guardian angel, help me guard
her against all the evil in this world, including
myself.” He sighed and turned the softly shimmering
lights off. He went into the kitchen, poured himself a
glass of bloodwine, and then headed up to his cold,
lonely bed.




Part 5
Magic of the Season
Kristen Fife, 12/2003

The next two weeks passed quickly for the coroner and
the detective. Work consumed both of them, and their
collective co-workers noticed that they both walked
around humming. Nick impressed the precinct when he
brought in candy canes and several large boxes of
chocolates for the night shift. Nick even drew a
Secret Santa, much to Tracy’s bewilderment.

“Nick, you OK? I’ve never seen you so into the holiday
spirit. Not that I’m complaining, but I’m just
pleasantly surprised.” Her comment made him chuckle.

“Yeah, well, even the Knightmare has to have visions
of sugarplums sometimes.”

She just grinned and shook her head.

The night of the annual precinct Secret Santa gift
exchange, Nick got to his desk to discover a gift on
it. He looked around, but no one was paying any
attention to him. He opened it up, and inside was a
silver frame, with a picture of him and Natalie from
the precinct picnic the previous summer. He had a copy
of the picture in his loft, but he didn’t think there
were any other copies around. He looked for a tag, and
found it on the back of the frame.

“Merry Christmas, may your season be bright. –Tracy”

He looked up at his partner, who was just sitting back
down at her desk with a  fresh cup of coffee.

“Tracy, I don’t know what to say. This is beautiful.
Where did you get the picture?” He was touched by her
gesture.

“Grace gave it to me. I was over at the morgue, and
Natalie was out so we got to talking. She told me that
she had a copy of this picture, and made me a copy. I
figured you’d like it.” She smiled at her partner.
“Merry Christmas, Nick.”

Nick pulled a small package out of his coat pocket. He
handed it to her.

“I’m not your Secret Santa, but you are my partner and
I wanted to give you a little something. Merry
Christmas Tracy.” He looked at her nervously.

She opened it and inside found a small gold pin,
shaped like an angel.

“Oh Nick, it’s lovely. Thank you.” She took it out of
the box and put it on her lapel.

Nick ducked his head. “You’re welcome”.

Just then one of the rookies came over to Nick and
held his hand out to him. “Wow, thanks Detective
Knight. I had no idea you were my Secret Santa. I
can’t wait to go to the game! How you managed to get
center ice I have no idea, but I’m going to take my
little brother; he’s a big fan of the Leafs!”

Nick smiled. “I have a few connections. Have a good
time.”

Tracy looked at Nick, a small grin still playing at
the corners of her mouth.  They continued their work
until the early morning hours when their shift ended.
For a change, the baser elements of Toronto society
seemed to be practicing “goodwill” to their fellow
man. There had been no homicides in their district in
two nights. As Nick walked Tracy to her car, she
turned to look at him.

“Uh, Nick, I should have asked you before now, but do
you have plans Christmas night? I’m having a few
friends over, and if you’d like to join us before
shift, you’re welcome to. I know you volunteered to
work that night, but I wanted to let you know you’re
welcome. We aren’t having any dinner, just cocktails.
Feel free to stop on by anytime if you want.” She then
tiptoed and planted a kiss on her stunned partner’s
cheek. “Merry Christmas Nick.”

She got into her car quickly and drove off. Nick just
stared after her.



Part 6
Kristen Fife 12/2003
Natalie finished wrapping the special gift in front of
her. Six boxes sat wrapped in matching green paper
with red bows on them.  She contemplated her
handiwork.

“Well Sid, I hope he likes these. Between me and
George, we put a lot of work into them!” Sidney just
looked at her and yawned. Natalie laughed and headed
into the shower to get ready for a quiet dinner at
Nick’s loft, wondering what he would be cooking.

As she changed into a forest green sweater and maroon
corduroys, she felt her appetite and curiosity
growing. She stood in the bathroom contemplating her
unruly hair, but decided to leave it loose. Nick had
told her a couple of times over the years that he
loved her hair loose around her face. She headed into
the living room, and piled her boxes into a laundry
basket for transport over to the loft. Pulling on her
navy pea coat, she headed out the door over to the
loft.

Nick looked back at the cookbook on the counter and
very carefully measured out the specified amount of
rosemary, ready to sprinkle on the potatoes, then
looked in the refrigerator at the dessert, smiling to
himself. He glanced at the clock and noticed that it
was almost 6. He rushed upstairs to change into
something more festive for dinner.

Just as he was coming downstairs, he heard the lift
kick in. There was a knock on the loft door. He got a
puzzled look on his face. The knock had come from the
BOTTOM of the door. He went over and slid it open, to
see Natalie holding a laundry basket in both hands. He
quickly took the basket from her.

“Thanks Nick. Merry Christmas!”  As she came into the
loft and started doffing her coat and gloves, Nick
noticed several identically wrapped boxes in the
basket.

“Do these by chance go under the tree, Nat?”

“Yes, but be careful, they’re fragile.” She grinned at
him, amusement tingeing her voice.

Nick carried the packages to the tree and gently set
the basket down. Gingerly he took each of the boxes
and set them under the tree next to each other and the
six packages that were already sitting there.

When he was done, he turned around and walked over to
Natalie. He took her in his arms and kissed her
forehead. “Merry Christmas, Natalie.”  He let her go,
then went back into the kitchen.


Part 7
Kristen Fife, 12/2003
“Nick, whatever you’re making smells WONDERFUL!”
Natalie’s cheerful comment followed him into the
kitchen.

“Good. It should be ready in about 20 minutes. Feel
free to change the CD.”

Natalie wandered over to the CD changer and decided to
leave it as it was.

She walked over to the tall window to the right of the
fireplace and gazed out at the gently falling snow.
She didn’t hear Nick walk up behind her, but she
turned and smiled, knowing he was there. He put his
arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.
They didn’t speak, but watched the snow drifting down.
Suddenly a buzzer sounded, breaking the magical
moment.

Nick pulled back and headed back to the kitchen. As he
pulled things out of the oven and pulled out a plate
and silverware for Natalie, she followed to help him.

She realized that the table was set with snowy white
linen napkins and a lovely candle and wreath were in
the center of the table; she hadn’t noticed it when
she came in. She heard Nick with pots and pans and
smiled to herself.

“Nat, I’m sorry. I forgot to offer you wine. There’s
some chilling in the refrigerator if you’d like it.
I’ll get it if you wait a second.” Nick called to her.

“Oh, that’s all right, I’ll get it.” She headed to the
fridge to open it up. She grinned when she saw what
looked suspiciously like chocolate mousse and quickly
figured out that the only bottle of white wine in the
fridge was for her. She pulled it out and went over to
the counter to open the drawer where she knew Nick
kept the corkscrew. She pulled it out, reached up for
a glass, and then headed back to the table to stay out
of Nick’s way. She looked at the wine, and didn’t
recognize the label; something French and no doubt
expensive. She popped the cork, and poured herself
some of the light gold wine. She took an experimental
sip and quickly took a larger swallow.

“Nick, this wine is fantastic!”

He looked up at her. “Glad you like it. A friend with
a small wine shop downtown recommended it to me.
Dinner is ready. Do you want me to dish it up for you
or do you want to do it?”

Natalie pondered a second. “Go ahead. “

Five minutes later, he placed a plate in front of her
with Chicken Cordon Bleu, steamed asparagus, boiled
baby potatoes, and a small dinner roll.

“Wow, this looks divine. Are you going to keep me
company?” She looked from the artistically arranged
plate at her host.

“Yes, I’ll be right there. I need to get organized.”
He went back into the kitchen as she started sampling
her dinner. As she started making small “Mmmms” and
“ooohs”, Nick joined her at the table. He had a glass
in his left hand and a bottle of bloodwine in his
other.

“Nick, this is FABULOUS. I’m just sorry you cannot
enjoy this with me.” Natalie’s grin of appreciation
caused him to smile in return.

“That’s OK, I’m just really happy you like it.” He
sipped at his drink, watching Natalie’s enjoyment of
his culinary efforts.

 Finally after she had finished her meal, and the
wine, Nick cleared her plate and went to the
refrigerator and took out the bowl she had seen
earlier.

“Do you still have room for dessert? It’s chocolate
mousse…” He teased her.

“I ALWAYS have room for chocolate mousse, you know
that,” she glowered at him, then broke into a big
grin. With a bow and a flourish, Nick placed the bowl
in front of her. Natalie laughed, then picked up her
spoon and sampled the confection. Her eyes widened in
appreciation when she tasted it.

“Nick, that is PHENOMENAL. What is in that besides
chocolate?” She asked in amazement.

He grinned. “Grand Marnier.”

Natalie just grinned and kept savoring the taste.
Finally, when she was done, she sat back with a
contented smile on her face. “Nick, that has to be one
of the best Christmas Dinner’s I have ever had. Thank
you so much!” She got up, carried her bowl and spoon
into the kitchen and started loading the dishwasher.

“Nat, what are you doing? You’re my guest. I’ll get
that later.” Nick asked her.

“Nick, it is customary for the person doing the eating
to do the dishes. You went to a lot of trouble to make
me dinner, a dinner you could not eat, and at least
let me do my part. It will only take a second.” She
continued cleaning while Nick watched on. Finally, she
finished her tidying and came over to Nick and grabbed
his hand.




Part 8
Kristen Fife, 12/2003

“OK, time for the GOOD stuff…let’s open the PRESENTS!”

Nick laughed at her enthusiasm. He got up from the
table and followed her over to the leather sofa.
Natalie walked straight over to the tree and started
pulling out the gifts that she had brought and placing
them on the coffee table in front of Nick. Then she
went back to the tree and looked at the tags for each
of the remaining gifts for her name.

“It’s the one with the white and gold bow, Nat,” Nick
called out to her.

She grabbed it with an “AHA, I’ve GOT you!” while Nick
laughed again and shook his head.

She returned to the sitting area and sat down. Nick
looked at her, and then the six packages in front of
him. “I feel an embarrassment of riches.”

“Don’t be, it’s a set. I just didn’t want to put them
all in one box. As I said, they’re rather fragile. Go
ahead and open one of them, it doesn’t matter which
one.” Natalie smiled with anticipation to see Nick’s
reaction to her gift.

He selected one on the end and started opening it,
mindful of her repeated warnings of the fragility.
Once he had the wrapping paper off, he opened the box
carefully, to find bubble wrap surrounding something
long. He pulled the object out and carefully unwound
it from the cocoon. Finally, he realized it was a wine
glass. As he cleared away the last of the protective
wrapping, his jaw dropped and he turned it in his
hand. The stem was of a lovely cobalt blue, and etched
on the bowl of the glass was a lion. A rampant lion,
and under it were the words “de Brabant” in elegant
script. His eyes wide with astonishment, he looked
over at Natalie.

“My friend George is a glassblower, and I did the
etching. I wanted to make you something special for
Christmas. I hope I got the lion right, there were a
lot of different sources to choose from.” Natalie
quietly explained to Nick.

“Natalie, this is…stunning. Yes, it’s perfect. I don’t
know what to say; this is probably the most incredibly
thoughtful gift I have ever received. Thank you.” Nick
got up and walked over to her, still holding the
glass, and leaned down to kiss her on the lips.

Before sitting back down, Nick went into the kitchen
and filled the glass with bloodwine. The etchings
stood out against the dark red of the wine. He came
back and sat down, a smile plastered on his face.

“Your turn.” He grinned at her.

She eagerly started opening her gift. Inside was a
velvet box. She wrinkled her eyebrows, it was too big
to be jewelry. As she opened the box, she gasped.
Inside was a cut crystal bottle, and there was perfume
inside. Natalie pulled the bottle out of the box and
carefully opened it. She smelled it and a smile spread
across her face. “Nick, this is heavenly? What is it?”

“It’s a one of a kind fragrance. It’s the closest I
could come to your personal scent. I worked with a
perfumer I know to create it for you.” Nick smiled at
the look of delight on her face.  He gently put his
glass down, and got up and walked over to the mantel
and pulled down an envelope. He walked over to her and
knelt
in front of her. “If you don’t have any prior plans
for New Year’s Eve next week, I also have two tickets
to the Phantom of the Opera, and I would be honored if
you would come with me.”

Tears rose to Natalie’s eyes. “Oh Nick, I’d love to.
This is one of the best Christmases I have ever had.
Thank you!” She leaned forward and threw her arms
around him.

“Me too, Nat. Me Too. Merry Christmas.” Nick murmured
in her hair.

Outside the snow stopped falling and the crescent moon
gently sparkled on the blanket of white, while the
sound of carolers could be heard across the
crystalline air.
=========================
I don't have any copyright priveleges to any of the FK
characters, that would be Sony Tristar.

Thanks to my friend Wendy for the beautiful etched
wine glass that gave me the idea for the gift for
Nick.

And finally, Happy Holidays to all my fellow fans.
It's been great year! Have a safe and happy New Year.

Permission to post at the FKFan fic site, FTP site.

Kristen