Post by andrejia on Dec 17, 2007 19:29:33 GMT 10
Author’s Note: This was developed as a fic for the Christmas challenge. It should’ve been an one-shot but I just started rambling.I do love reviews, specially critical ones. I tried to keep them in-character and write something believable, although I tend to write most for Luka, since I feel I know him pretty well. So, R&R – the scenario, the writing…whatever you may find badly written. The paragraphs written all in italics were scenes from past Christmas episodes, from season 6, 8 and 9.
This takes place in S11, right after Luka went home to spend Christmas with Sam and Alex The First, while Abby was working. It has 3 parts.
Part 1 - Make Believe
It’s my first Christmas with Sam and Alex, he said grinning…Alex is really excited…
Alex or you? She really knew him better than anyone, better than the woman he’s spent more than a year chasing after, better than he knew.
You sure you don’t mind?
Of course she didn’t mind. She didn’t. She did. She just wasn’t going to let them know. Let anyone know. It’s not like she had things to do, people to be around; it was just another day and she somehow felt glad that she was renting her services during the holidays to let people who actually had a better place to go enjoy themselves. And for the first time in a vey long while, Luka had someone to go home to. And she was happy for him.
**************************************
"If you don’t mind me saying, you look like hell."
Cleo spotted him walking slowly, heading towards admit to pick up another chart. His eyes had that reddish color they get when you don’t get enough sleep and drink buckets of coffee.
"Yeah, I’m in the middle of a double shift", he said as he ran his hand over his eyes, in a gesture that he hoped it will take away some of the exhaustion.
"You got the short end of the stick?"
"No…I volunteered. Figured I’d let people spend some time with their families."
**********************************************
She was so much like him. She didn’t volunteer, though, but she didn’t make a big case out of it when Ray asked her to switch shifts so that he can be with his “mother” on Christmas Eve. He knew that…he knew that for her, this would be just like any other day, just like it was for him for all those years. Only this time, he had somewhere to go and she didn’t. But she was happy. She was happier than any other times he’d seen her. Happier than when she was with Carter, happier than she was when she was alone. She was everything he wanted for her: a doctor.
So he did it. He picked up his coat, signed off to her, ignored Chen’s pleading to cover her shift and went home.
****************************************************
Aleeeex!
This apartment wasn’t that big. Why did she have to yell everytime?
He sighted, closed the door behind them and threw the keys on the counter. He was at his apartment; he finally made them move in with him. No. Why would he think like that? It wasn’t his apartment anymore. It was theirs. And they didn’t just move in. They came home. Yes. That’s a better thought. He was home. He should just stick to that.
Alex! Will you just come down already? Her tone switched from impatience to a slightly angry one.
I think he’s just writing his letter to Santa, he said, while folding her in his arms from behind, with a big grin on his face.
She didn’t even seem to be aware of it, since she instantly released herself from his embrace.
A letter to Santa? She smirked. He’s eleven, Luka. He stopped believing in Santa about six years ago.
Soooo? I knew that he wasn’t real but it didn’t stop me and my brother…
Now she was facing him, with a very curious look on her face.
Your brother? You have a brother? She arched her eyebrows and lifted her head to get a better look at him.
Yeah, he said while heading for the couch. We….we don’t talk much these days.
So, there are more like you, huh? Great to know that if you don’t rise to the challenge anymore…
Rise to the challenge? She was flirting now and he was more than happy to flirt back…
Yeah…cause if you don’t…then I guess I can find myself another hot Croat…
Oh…he really doesn’t speak English that good…
And you think I’m with you for your language skills? She softly kissed him as he continued grinning. Somehow he felt like she was taking care of two kids…but he didn’t mind letting her take charge…all the time…
You don’t even have mistletoe, you know that right?
Alex was heading for the presents under the tree as he tried his best not to watch his mom and Luka all over each other.
How do you know about mistletoe? she asked as she gave a big kiss on the top of her kid’s head.
What? You think I’m stupid? he sits under the big Christmas tree, measuring up the big boxes. Which one do I get to open tonight?
Hmmmm…let’s see…she kneeled down beside him and tried to help him pick one. How about…What’s this? She spotted a big box, wrapped in blue paper, a box she didn’t remember buying.
It’s…It’s..I know we didn’t quite talk about it, but I just saw it a few days ago and…,Luka started going, somehow sheepishly.
Oh, cool. I want this one! The boy was more than excited.
He took the big box and started unwrapping it, driven by both curiosity and desire. Sam was reluctant, looking somehow mad at Luka, while he just sat there, watching them, smiling.
Wow! This is great! Alex was more than pleased. A real guitar, a new one, big and more than beautiful.
I…maybe…if your mom agrees, of course, we can take you to some lessons, learn how to play it and …umm…all.
She got up to face him, obviously upset.
Luka, this really wasn’t…
Look, he said as he put both his arms on her shoulders, it really wasn’t that expensive and I wanted him to have something…from me.
I think you’ve really done more than enough. I thought we agreed to get him everything together. I know my kid and I don’t want you to spoil him. He already thinks you’re his buddy in crimes so…
I’m not trying to turn him against you or anything. I just got him something that I thought would make him happy.
She crossed her arms and frowned.
Alex was already playing with it. Seeing the joy in the boy’s eyes was worth any fight Sam was going to pick as soon as he was off to bed. He stood up and gave Luka the biggest hug he ever did. He kept going on and on how great this is, how this was the best Christmas ever, how much of a great guy Luka really was. Then, he took the guitar and headed upstairs.
She watched Alex jumping up and down the stairs, already picturing himself a rock legend, probably. I just think you went a little too far. At least tell me how much it was and I’ll give you half.
Sam…
He never got a chance to finish his thoughts. A knock at the door, and the whole conversation was left in the air. She turned around, surprised.
I hope that’s not some rock idol you hired to teach him play that thing! It was supposed to be a joke but her tone was angry rather than amused.
She opened the door and froze.
How did you enter the building?
A guy let me in.
Luka recognized the voice. All too well.
He approached the opened door. This time he was angry.
What are you doing here, Steve?
Can I come in?
No. His answer was short and left no room for discussion.
Look, I just want to see my kid on Christmas Eve. I brought him something. Sammy, come on…he’s my kid.
As much as she hated this, he was right. It was his kid. He was his father. And for Alex’s sake…she was going to let him stay…just for a few hours.
Dad? Alex stood up at the top of the stairs as he heard his father’s voice.
He came down so fast, that if you didn’t know better, you’d think he flew over the stairs. He was holding the guitar Luka gave but threw it on the couch without even looking at it on his way to give his father a hug. Steve picked him up and Alex held on to his neck so tight that he left his dad breathless for a second.
****************************************************
He was standing by the window, looking at the tree. The wrapping from the box the guitar was in was still lying on the floor. He lifted his gaze and looked at them. In his apartment, on his couch, with his present. Steve was showing Alex how to use it. He took the guitar and started playing a stupid song that made his stomach turn with every touch of a cord. He was watching them full of anger, angry that this kid was so happy to be around him that he was willing to forget all the years he hadn’t even received a letter from him, angry that the woman he was supposed to caress to sleep by now was looking with adoration as her boy was lost in his world, angry that it was supposed to be him there. But the anger soon turned into sadness and sadness turned into pain.
****************************************************
“Christmas…It’s not what it’s supposed to be anyway”.
He stood up while Susan continued to patch him. Still…he didn’t face her.
“No”? she asked surprised little by his sudden confidence in her.
“Back home was different. We took the kids sleigh riding, cut our own tree. My…wife made fish the night before then turkey for the Christmas Day”.
She smiled ,slightly embarrassed. “Sounds perfect”.
“Yeah”, he whispered.
****************************************************
They were never his. He gave them everything and the most precious gift he ever could give: himself. And still they didn’t care. His gift made them happy, just not in the way he thought it would. It was just another thing money could buy. He was providing the only thing they really needed from him: material things.
He was the outsider. They were a family. No matter how dysfunctional, they were. And he didn’t belong there. He was just the boyfriend, the owner of the apartment, the provider. He passed them without even trying to look at them. He grabbed his coat and opened the door.
I…I got paged from County. I’ll be back soon. But he was the only one that heard that. He looked at them one more time and tilted his head.
They didn’t even notice that he was gone.
He got to his car, turned on the radio and closed his eyes. Where was he supposed to go now? It was his damn house and he was the one who left. County didn’t want him, either. He lied. He just needed an excuse not to appear so pathetic in his way out. But the truth is, County always needed him.
This takes place in S11, right after Luka went home to spend Christmas with Sam and Alex The First, while Abby was working. It has 3 parts.
Part 1 - Make Believe
It’s my first Christmas with Sam and Alex, he said grinning…Alex is really excited…
Alex or you? She really knew him better than anyone, better than the woman he’s spent more than a year chasing after, better than he knew.
You sure you don’t mind?
Of course she didn’t mind. She didn’t. She did. She just wasn’t going to let them know. Let anyone know. It’s not like she had things to do, people to be around; it was just another day and she somehow felt glad that she was renting her services during the holidays to let people who actually had a better place to go enjoy themselves. And for the first time in a vey long while, Luka had someone to go home to. And she was happy for him.
**************************************
"If you don’t mind me saying, you look like hell."
Cleo spotted him walking slowly, heading towards admit to pick up another chart. His eyes had that reddish color they get when you don’t get enough sleep and drink buckets of coffee.
"Yeah, I’m in the middle of a double shift", he said as he ran his hand over his eyes, in a gesture that he hoped it will take away some of the exhaustion.
"You got the short end of the stick?"
"No…I volunteered. Figured I’d let people spend some time with their families."
**********************************************
She was so much like him. She didn’t volunteer, though, but she didn’t make a big case out of it when Ray asked her to switch shifts so that he can be with his “mother” on Christmas Eve. He knew that…he knew that for her, this would be just like any other day, just like it was for him for all those years. Only this time, he had somewhere to go and she didn’t. But she was happy. She was happier than any other times he’d seen her. Happier than when she was with Carter, happier than she was when she was alone. She was everything he wanted for her: a doctor.
So he did it. He picked up his coat, signed off to her, ignored Chen’s pleading to cover her shift and went home.
****************************************************
Aleeeex!
This apartment wasn’t that big. Why did she have to yell everytime?
He sighted, closed the door behind them and threw the keys on the counter. He was at his apartment; he finally made them move in with him. No. Why would he think like that? It wasn’t his apartment anymore. It was theirs. And they didn’t just move in. They came home. Yes. That’s a better thought. He was home. He should just stick to that.
Alex! Will you just come down already? Her tone switched from impatience to a slightly angry one.
I think he’s just writing his letter to Santa, he said, while folding her in his arms from behind, with a big grin on his face.
She didn’t even seem to be aware of it, since she instantly released herself from his embrace.
A letter to Santa? She smirked. He’s eleven, Luka. He stopped believing in Santa about six years ago.
Soooo? I knew that he wasn’t real but it didn’t stop me and my brother…
Now she was facing him, with a very curious look on her face.
Your brother? You have a brother? She arched her eyebrows and lifted her head to get a better look at him.
Yeah, he said while heading for the couch. We….we don’t talk much these days.
So, there are more like you, huh? Great to know that if you don’t rise to the challenge anymore…
Rise to the challenge? She was flirting now and he was more than happy to flirt back…
Yeah…cause if you don’t…then I guess I can find myself another hot Croat…
Oh…he really doesn’t speak English that good…
And you think I’m with you for your language skills? She softly kissed him as he continued grinning. Somehow he felt like she was taking care of two kids…but he didn’t mind letting her take charge…all the time…
You don’t even have mistletoe, you know that right?
Alex was heading for the presents under the tree as he tried his best not to watch his mom and Luka all over each other.
How do you know about mistletoe? she asked as she gave a big kiss on the top of her kid’s head.
What? You think I’m stupid? he sits under the big Christmas tree, measuring up the big boxes. Which one do I get to open tonight?
Hmmmm…let’s see…she kneeled down beside him and tried to help him pick one. How about…What’s this? She spotted a big box, wrapped in blue paper, a box she didn’t remember buying.
It’s…It’s..I know we didn’t quite talk about it, but I just saw it a few days ago and…,Luka started going, somehow sheepishly.
Oh, cool. I want this one! The boy was more than excited.
He took the big box and started unwrapping it, driven by both curiosity and desire. Sam was reluctant, looking somehow mad at Luka, while he just sat there, watching them, smiling.
Wow! This is great! Alex was more than pleased. A real guitar, a new one, big and more than beautiful.
I…maybe…if your mom agrees, of course, we can take you to some lessons, learn how to play it and …umm…all.
She got up to face him, obviously upset.
Luka, this really wasn’t…
Look, he said as he put both his arms on her shoulders, it really wasn’t that expensive and I wanted him to have something…from me.
I think you’ve really done more than enough. I thought we agreed to get him everything together. I know my kid and I don’t want you to spoil him. He already thinks you’re his buddy in crimes so…
I’m not trying to turn him against you or anything. I just got him something that I thought would make him happy.
She crossed her arms and frowned.
Alex was already playing with it. Seeing the joy in the boy’s eyes was worth any fight Sam was going to pick as soon as he was off to bed. He stood up and gave Luka the biggest hug he ever did. He kept going on and on how great this is, how this was the best Christmas ever, how much of a great guy Luka really was. Then, he took the guitar and headed upstairs.
She watched Alex jumping up and down the stairs, already picturing himself a rock legend, probably. I just think you went a little too far. At least tell me how much it was and I’ll give you half.
Sam…
He never got a chance to finish his thoughts. A knock at the door, and the whole conversation was left in the air. She turned around, surprised.
I hope that’s not some rock idol you hired to teach him play that thing! It was supposed to be a joke but her tone was angry rather than amused.
She opened the door and froze.
How did you enter the building?
A guy let me in.
Luka recognized the voice. All too well.
He approached the opened door. This time he was angry.
What are you doing here, Steve?
Can I come in?
No. His answer was short and left no room for discussion.
Look, I just want to see my kid on Christmas Eve. I brought him something. Sammy, come on…he’s my kid.
As much as she hated this, he was right. It was his kid. He was his father. And for Alex’s sake…she was going to let him stay…just for a few hours.
Dad? Alex stood up at the top of the stairs as he heard his father’s voice.
He came down so fast, that if you didn’t know better, you’d think he flew over the stairs. He was holding the guitar Luka gave but threw it on the couch without even looking at it on his way to give his father a hug. Steve picked him up and Alex held on to his neck so tight that he left his dad breathless for a second.
****************************************************
He was standing by the window, looking at the tree. The wrapping from the box the guitar was in was still lying on the floor. He lifted his gaze and looked at them. In his apartment, on his couch, with his present. Steve was showing Alex how to use it. He took the guitar and started playing a stupid song that made his stomach turn with every touch of a cord. He was watching them full of anger, angry that this kid was so happy to be around him that he was willing to forget all the years he hadn’t even received a letter from him, angry that the woman he was supposed to caress to sleep by now was looking with adoration as her boy was lost in his world, angry that it was supposed to be him there. But the anger soon turned into sadness and sadness turned into pain.
****************************************************
“Christmas…It’s not what it’s supposed to be anyway”.
He stood up while Susan continued to patch him. Still…he didn’t face her.
“No”? she asked surprised little by his sudden confidence in her.
“Back home was different. We took the kids sleigh riding, cut our own tree. My…wife made fish the night before then turkey for the Christmas Day”.
She smiled ,slightly embarrassed. “Sounds perfect”.
“Yeah”, he whispered.
****************************************************
They were never his. He gave them everything and the most precious gift he ever could give: himself. And still they didn’t care. His gift made them happy, just not in the way he thought it would. It was just another thing money could buy. He was providing the only thing they really needed from him: material things.
He was the outsider. They were a family. No matter how dysfunctional, they were. And he didn’t belong there. He was just the boyfriend, the owner of the apartment, the provider. He passed them without even trying to look at them. He grabbed his coat and opened the door.
I…I got paged from County. I’ll be back soon. But he was the only one that heard that. He looked at them one more time and tilted his head.
They didn’t even notice that he was gone.
He got to his car, turned on the radio and closed his eyes. Where was he supposed to go now? It was his damn house and he was the one who left. County didn’t want him, either. He lied. He just needed an excuse not to appear so pathetic in his way out. But the truth is, County always needed him.