Notes: After rewatching Holy Night for the twelve bazillionth time, I started wondering what might have happened if Donna hadn't made it to the inn. Thus, this little piece of silliness.
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She could hear him humming Christmas carols from down the hall.
The sound brought a faint smile to her face, even through her disappointment. She leaned against his doorframe and watched him as he leaned back in his chair, feet propped on the desk, and hummed into the phone pressed against his ear. For a few moments, she debated whether to just turn and leave again, but then he saw her, and the decision became irrelevant.
The feet came off the desk and the chair tipped dangerously before he reached out to steady himself on the computer table. He blinked a couple of times, and she smiled a little at his complete bewilderment. �I missed the helicopter,� she told him, sinking down into one of the visitor chairs and wiggling out of her coat. �Well, I didn�t miss it so much as it just kind of�well, left without me.�
He frowned a little, but she could tell that the smirk was lurking just beneath the surface. �Leo said��
She shrugged ruefully. �Last he saw me, I was in a car heading for the chopper. As far as he knew, I was on my way to a fun filled�and, might I add, well deserved�holiday vacation. And yet�here I am.�
He paused. �It left without you?�
�It did,� she confirmed. �The snow was getting bad, and apparently they wanted to get off the ground before they, you know�couldn�t. Thus,� she waved her hands at the office, �this.�
He shifted the phone to the other ear and squinted at her. �The car couldn�t bring you home?�
�Well, it just kinda dropped me. And I was going to call my roommate to pick me up, but I left my cell on my desk. I figured I�d probably need it at some point over the holidays, so I caught a cab back here to pick it up. I didn�t think you�d still be here. Didn�t you have�I don�t know, somewhere to be?�
�Not really,� he admitted, and paused for a moment. �That sounds really sad, doesn�t it?�
�Yeah, a little.�
�Yeah.� They lapsed into a moody silence for a few moments until she realized that he had been sitting here with a phone stuck to his ear the whole time for no apparent reason.
�So what�s with the phone?� she asked.
�The�� he stared blankly at her for a second or two before registering the fact that he did in fact still have a phone propped on his shoulder. �Oh, it�s�Leo and I were trying to get the Church of the Nativity reopened.�
�Did it work?� she asked.
�Waiting to find out,� he replied, tapping the phone at his ear. �At the rate we�re going, maybe someone will take me off hold by New Year�s, but it�s doubtful.�
�So you�re singing Christmas carols to keep yourself occupied,� she observed.
He smiled a little. �Whiffenpoofs,� he said with a tiny shrug by way of explanation.
�Ah. Whiffenpoofs,� she agreed. �By the way, for future reference, it wouldn�t be such a bad thing to wake up on Christmas morning to find them under my tree.�
He gaped a little. �All of them?�
�Who wants just one Whiffenpoof, Josh?�
�Not you?� he guessed.
�Not me. Anyway, you�re a Yale man. I bet you could pull it off.�
�So, just to get this straight. You want me to arrange for you to wake up on Christmas to find a group of singing college boys in your living room.�
�Just, you know, if you�re still stuck on what to get me��
He shook his head. �Next thing you know, you�ll be saying that you want them wearing nothing but big red Christmas bows on their��
�Well, that wasn�t part of the plan, but now that you mention it�� she broke in, grinning.
�You know, you are a�� he broke off and sat up, pressing the phone to his hear. �Hello? You have? Well that�s�yes, well thank you�� A grin stole across his face, and as he nodded into the phone, he gestured behind Donna and mouthed turn on the tv. She spun to hit the button, and the pale glow of the set cast dancing shadows around the room as he finished his conversation and hung up the phone.
He came around the desk and leaned on it just behind her, and together they watched people entering the church, kneeling to pray in the flickering light of candles. When she turned back to look at him, there was a distant smile on his face.
�You know, there are so few days when we can actually say that we accomplished anything,� he said. �I mean, we�re in some of the most powerful positions in the country, and there are still days when I go home wondering why we even bother. But tonight, we did something.� He rested his hands on her shoulders and she leaned back against him as they sat there in silence and watched the results of his work.
Eventually the news moved on to another story, and he crossed the room to turn the tv off. When he turned around, the mischievous smile had returned.
�I think I promised you a night of getting drunk at the Hawk and Dove,� he reminded her.
�Well,� she replied solemnly, �I can�t allow you to back out on a promise, now can I?�
�Can�t have that,� he agreed as he held her coat for her to slide into. �We wouldn�t want it to become a habit or anything.�
The bullpen was dark when they emerged from the office, and she just barely remembered to stop at her desk and grab her cell phone. She could feel him there in the shadows behind her, and when she turned he caught her by the shoulders and wrapped her up in his arms. There was a brief moment of hesitation for both of them as they stood there in the silent darkness, and then the decision was made, by one or the other, and they were kissing with a passion that was both startling and familiar all at once.
She pulled back eventually to catch her breath, but he still held her close, fingers tracing through her hair as he leaned in to whisper in her ear, �Merry Christmas, Donnatella.�
�Better than Whiffenpoofs,� she whispered back, and she felt his chuckle rather than heard it. �Looks like I�m going to have to settle for just one Yale boy under the tree on Christmas,� she added as she snuggled into the warm fabric of his coat.
�Looks like,� he agreed, his reply muffled against her hair.
She looked up at him with a twinkle in her eye, then she pulled back and turned for the door. �Red bow and all?�
She could hear the smirk in his voice as he called after her.
�Gonna need a pretty big bow��