Rusty has never given a Christmas gift to anyone before. His mother was not much of a holiday person and he never felt the need to give anything to her anyway. But he did feel a strong need to buy Sharon Raydor a gift. She's been so good to him and had put up with so much of his problems, which she actually preferred to call 'challenges'. Whatever his issues were called, he knew just what she needed.

Rusty entered the house with a big carton gift box in his hands. Sharon was not there yet and he wondered how he was going to present this one specific gift to her. There were still a few more days before Christmas, but he couldn't put it under the tree. In the meantime, he decided to put the box in his room, until she arrived. He opened the lid just a little bit and looked inside. Yes, this was definitely what Sharon needed. He thought and left the lid slightly open.

Sharon unlocked the door, hung her coat and threw her purse on the chest that stood in the hall. The sight of the Christmas tree she and Rusty put up a week earlier made her feel warm and welcomed. She usually didn't put up a Christmas tree, but this year she didn't plan on visiting her family in Salt Lake City and spending the holiday in LA meant hosting the holiday season in her living room. A fuzzy feeling spread in her body when she recalled the glow in Rusty's eyes when she had connected the Christmas lights to the electric outlet in the wall and the whole room lit up. They sat together on the couch that evening, drinking hot chocolate and Sharon listened to Rusty talk about his past experiences of Christmas. Where is Rusty? Sharon suddenly remembered. The house was very quiet and Rusty should have been home hours ago.

"Rusty," she called out, a little worried. She was very busy at work and she forgot to call him and find out that he came back home. She walked down the hall and knocked on his door. She heard a noise inside and let out a sigh of relief. He opened the door and smiled at her mischievously.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. She didn't like that smile. He was hiding something and that could never be a good thing.

"Yes, everything's great." Rusty shrugged.

"Are you sure?" Sharon looked askance.

"Actually, you should come in." Rusty said and opened the door wider. "I have something for you."

"For me?" Sharon arched her eyebrows. She entered his room and saw a big gift on the bed.

"It's for you," Rusty said, "an early Christmas present." Sharon looked at him suspiciously and contemplated whether she should open the box or not.

"Rusty, this better not be a trick," she warned him.

"I promise it isn't." he said. Sharon squinted and slowly shoved her fingers under the lid. "Come on, open it." Rusty urged her. Sharon lifted the lid off the box and looked inside it hesitantly. A small black and brown dog with fluffy fur was sleeping calmly inside the box.

"Oh, no!" Sharon took a step back. "This thing doesn't stay in this house another moment."

"Come on, Sharon, just look at that puppy. It's adorable." Rusty said. He expected her to react this way.

"Dogs make mess, Rusty." Sharon tried to keep her cool. "And I hate mess," Rusty sighed theatrically and a disappointed expression registered across his face.

"I always suspected that you're a cat lady." he sighed.

"I am not a cat lady!" Sharon exclaimed.

"Oh, no?" Rusty had prepared this speech in advance. She was just so predictable. "You live alone, you have no friends and your family never visits, not even on the holidays."

"You're being unfair, Rusty." Sharon said quietly.

"Fair or not, this is the truth." Rusty went on, "And I brought you a friend that will give you unconditional love. You might find it rewarding to come home and have someone greeting you." Sharon sighed; Rusty had a point. She peeped into the box again.

"So… is it a male or a female?" she asked.

"It's a female." Rusty replied, "She's still a puppy, so she doesn't have a name yet." He informed her. "And she's going to be great for you, because she's an Australian Terrier and this breed doesn't shed any fur. I thought you'd like that."

"It's very thoughtful of you, Rusty, thank you." Sharon replied, still overwhelmed.

"You can pick her up," Rusty said. Sharon looked at him as if he suggested that she'll jump out of the window. "Are you scared of dogs, Sharon?" he teased her.

"Of course not," Sharon replied, frowning.

"You've never had a dog in your life, have you?" Rusty grinned, taking a little pleasure at the discomfort that Sharon displayed.

"No, I have not." she admitted.

"A dog is like a baby, you've had those, right?" Sharon nodded slowly. "They like to be cuddled and especially this puppy. It's her first night without her mother," Rusty offered her the saddest gaze he could come up with. Sharon squinted. She was not easily fooled by Rusty's attempt to manipulate her. "Come on, pick her up."

"But it's sleeping," she looked a little helpless.

"So what?" Rusty shrugged, "Haven't you ever picked up a sleeping baby?"

"Okay," Sharon took a deep breath and gathered all of her courage, which she seemed to need. She sent her arms into the box and gently lifted the puppy in her arms. The puppy woke up and looked sleepily into her eyes, slowly melting her from the inside. Sharon had held babies before, but holding a puppy felt different. It was warmer and softer and even much lighter than a baby. "She's cute. Thank you, Rusty." She never even considered getting a dog, not even when her children were little and asked for one.

"You should give her a name." Rusty said.

"I can't. I don't know her yet." Sharon replied.

"I hope you didn't wait to get to know your kids before naming them." Rusty grinned. "Come on, it's not rocket science. I'll help you. Let's think about something you really like."

"I like ballet." Sharon said.

"Great. Do you like any specific dancer?"

"Lyudmila Kostomarova," Sharon replied. Rusty looked appalled.

"Okay, maybe not a dancer." he said, "What's your favorite ballet play?"

"Giselle," Sharon replied.

"Like the model?" Rusty asked. "Never mind, forget about it. What about your favorite Shakespeare play?"

"Hamlet," Sharon sighed. At the rate they were going they would take a year to find a name. "And before you ask my favorite character is Ophelia, but I don't like this name for the dog."

"Well, the dog is a Christmas gift, so maybe you should name the dog after the holiday?"

"I'm not going to call my dog Jingle-Bells. It sounds silly. I don't want a silly dog."

"Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen?" Sharon shook her head.

"Christmas will be over and the dog will have the name of a reindeer? Come on, Rusty, there must be another way to find a name." She sighed and was about to put the dog back in the box as she noticed a newspaper which was used as the dog's bedding at the bottom of the box. She picked it up and looked at it. Under the photo in the front page, she saw the name of the photographer who took it, Malin Gerhard. "Rusty, look at that." She handed him the paper and pointed at the name under the photo.

"You want to name the dog Gerhard?" Rusty made a face.

"No, we're going to call her Malin." Sharon replied, "Don't you think it sounds really nice?"

"Yeah, it's good." Rusty smiled and caressed the dog's head. "Welcome home, Malin," he said. Sharon looked at Malin and then at Rusty. She wasn't sure whether Rusty used Christmas as an excuse to get a dog or really wanted to give her a four-legged friend as a gift, but now they accepted this new, unexpected member to their family.