Author's Notes: I hadn't planned on doing a Christmas story this year but then this idea popped into my head and wanted to be written. It follows the timeline I created in two previous Christmas stories: "Christmas Date" where Sam proposes to Jules on Christmas Eve, and "The Greatest Gift" where Sadie is born the following Christmas Eve. The timeline of this story is the Christmas where Sadie turns a year old. I hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas to all.

Disclaimer: The show Flashpoint and its characters were created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern and belong to them and the networks who air the episodes. Since the show has ended, our only way of getting new Flashpoint is through fan fiction. This story is my attempt to help fill the void, and the only profit I make is the warm fuzzy feeling reviews give me. Anything that does not come directly from the show is my own creation and should not be used without my permission.

Stranded

"Wow, I haven't seen it snow this hard in years."

Jules's quiet voice shattered the silence that had filled the Chevy Blazer for the past hour. Sam's grip on the steering wheel tightened even more. Jules glanced over at him and figured that underneath the gloves he was wearing, his knuckles were probably bone white. She reached over and touched his thigh.

"Sam? We're going to be fine."

The tension was just as evident in Sam's jaw. "Where the he…" He glanced at the rearview mirror to the backseat where their daughter was just stirring from the nap she'd been taking since they'd left the house his parents had rented for their Christmas gathering. He quickly amended the word he'd been about to use. "…heck did this blizzard come from? It's like it came out of nowhere. It certainly wasn't this bad when we left."

They'd left just after lunch even though his mom had begged them to stay longer so they could spend the entire holiday together. Sam and Jules had begged off insisting they wanted to wake up Christmas morning in their own house so they could start new traditions with Sadie. Though it was hard to get extended time off at the holidays, harder for both of them now that they were on separate teams, luck and careful maneuvering had gotten them the two days before, Christmas Eve, and most of Christmas day off. Sam would have to go in to work Christmas night but he didn't mind that so long as he got to spend the majority of the day with his wife and daughter.

"It's not like either of us got to see many weather reports before we left. The last report I heard was that we were just in for some light flurries. I don't know if anyone anticipated this. Can you even see beyond the hood of the car?"

"Not much." Sam admitted. Common sense told him he needed to get off the road before the icy roads and swirling snow caused him to wreck. Another holiday accident was the last thing he wanted for his family. As much as he wanted to get home, he would have pulled off already if only there was some place he could safely do so. As it was, they were in the middle of nowhere. He didn't think they'd passed any sign of civilization in the past hour. Not that he'd been able to see ii if they had. "I'm sorry, Jules; I never should have gotten us out in this mess."

Jules gave his thigh a quick squeeze. "It was a mutual decision, Sam. We both wanted to get home before it got dark. We'll just take it super slow and hope no one else is out in this. We can't be that far from Milton; if it's still blowing this hard when we get there, we'll stop and see what's going on."

She didn't add that she'd already checked the radar on her phone and hadn't seen any sign of the storm lessening any time soon. She twisted in her seat to check on Sadie. Her daughter grinned back at her impishly, completely oblivious to the danger the weather presented. It was hard for Jules to believe that her baby was now a year old. Seemed like only yesterday that she'd given birth rather than a year ago.

"Hey Birthday Girl, did you have a good nap?"

Sadie nodded, clutching the stuffed crocodile Natalie had given her just that morning at the birthday party Mrs. Braddock had insisted on throwing to her chest. "Mama, I tirsty."

Jules reached behind her seat to the diaper bag she'd placed there and retrieved Sadie's sippy cup full of juice. "Here you go, Sades. Are you excited for Santa to come see you tonight?"

Again Sadie nodded but Jules knew their little girl still wasn't old enough to really understand what that meant. She certainly hadn't been too happy to sit on Santa's lap a couple of weeks earlier when Jules and Sam had taken her to the mall to have her picture made with the big guy. It didn't really surprise Jules that Sadie, who normally took to strangers rather easily, hadn't wanted anything to do with the Santa. After all, he had the busy white hair and full beard while most of the men Sadie spent time around were with the SRU so therefore were beardless and in the case of Ed and Greg, mostly hairless.

Sam's cell phone rang and Sam's frowned deepened. Knowing Sam wanted to concentrate on the driving Jules unclipped his phone from his holster and answered for him. She wasn't surprised to see the General's name on Caller ID.

"Hey, General, it's Jules."

"Where are the two of you?" No time for pleasantries for the General.

Jules glanced over at the GPS and related their position to the General. "Is the weather as crazy there?"

"Damn straight. This storm is bad. Authorities are closing all the major roads and urging people to stay out of the weather. The three of you have no business being in that car trying to drive home."

That was the General, always stating the obvious. "And yet here we are. Sam's doing a great job. We're taking it slow and we'll be fine. It's not like Sam's never driven in the snow before."

"This is more than just snow; the reports are calling this the worst blizzard in at least a decade. The three of you should have never left here. If my son wasn't so stubborn…"

"Neither of us wanted Sadie to miss Santa's visit tonight." Jules insisted, not wanting the General to place blame solely on Sam. "Besides, it wasn't like we knew it was going to be this bad. Look, General, Sam really needs to be able to concentrate on driving and we're probably distracting him. We'll call you as soon as we get off the road and let you know we're safe, okay?"

"Jules, tell Sam to pull over and I'll…" Whatever the General was going to say he didn't get a chance as the phone suddenly cut off. Jules frowned and glanced at the phone. No service. Not completely surprising given the conditions. She glanced at Sam.

"We lost reception."

Before Sam could answer, they heard a loud pop and the car suddenly fishtailed. It took every driving skill Sam possessed for him to bring the car under control and safely off to the side of the road while not landing them in a ditch. For a moment after the car was fully stopped, Sam leaned his head against the steering wheel, willing his heart and breathing to return to normal. Then he sat back and glanced at Jules. Her eyes were close and all color had drained from her face. Her fists were tightly clenched in her lap and her body was shaking.

Unfastening his seatbelt, Sam leaned over toward her and gathered her gently in his arms pulling her as close as her seatbelt would allow. He had no doubt the sudden loss of control had reminded her of the wreck they'd had just a couple of months before Sadie had been born. A wreck that had almost cost him both his wife and his unborn child. "It's okay, Jules. It's over. We're okay."

He continued to hold her and offer her reassurances as her body continued to tremble in his arms. He glanced back at Sadie. The near miss hadn't fazed her at all. She grinned at him from behind her sippy cup and then giggled. "Dood it 'gin, Dada."

No doubt about it, Sadie was definitely his and Jules's child. Not releasing his hold on Jules, he reached back to squeeze Sadie's little foot. "I don't think so, Scrappy. Once is definitely enough. Make that too much." He kissed Jules's temple as his wife recovered from her fright. "Okay now, Babe?"

She nodded. "The tire blew?"

Sam slowly released her and sat back in his seat. "I think so. Maybe something was on the road I couldn't see and I ran over it puncturing the tire. I don't know. I do know changing the tire in this storm is going to be almost impossible. But staying in the car isn't much of an option either. If someone else comes driving up, we'll be a sitting duck. I know pretty much where we are and I remember seeing a cabin sitting back off the road when we were driving up. Remember, I pointed it out and said it would be nice to have something like that for weekend getaways. I think our best bet is to try to reach it."

Jules frowned. She hated the idea of getting Sadie out in this storm even briefly, especially since they didn't really know whether there would be a cabin or a house nearby. If they got lost, then who knew if anyone would find them? "I don't know, Sam. Maybe we should just stay put. At least we have the heater to keep us warm."

"We can't keep the car running for long, Jules. You know that. The snow is piling up as we speak. It'll block the tailpipe before too long and we run the risk of the vehicle filling with carbon monoxide. And if we wait much longer, then we might not be able to get the doors opened either. I know it's risky leaving the car but I don't think we have much choice. I'd go out by myself and scout around but I'm not sure I'd be able to find my way back to the car if I do. The rope we have in the back wouldn't be nearly long enough to use as a guide rope. I know the cabin is close; I paid attention to the GPS coordinates because there was a For Sale sign for the cabin at the road. Besides, look out your window."

It was hard to see very far with the way the snow was blowing but Jules could just make out a For Sale sign just off the road, the stark red of the sign standing out in a sea of white. She nodded. "Okay, let's do this. We should put on our snow suits before we try opening the door though. And we should take the leftovers your mom insisted we bring home with us as well. If the cabin is for sale, there might not be anyone living in it so no supplies."

Sam nodded. "You take the basket and Sadie's bags; I'll take Sadie and our duffle bag. We'll need the change of clothes after we get wet walking in the snow. We'll use the rope to tie us together so we don't get separated."

With the plan decided upon, they moved into action. Jules climbed over the seat so she could reach the snow suits and handed Sam his. Then she unbuckled Sadie and quickly dressed her before putting on her own. It took them about ten minutes to get everything ready but soon they were pushing open the door and stepping out into the storm.

The wind almost knocked Jules over with the first step she took and she was grateful for the weight of the things she carrying to help keep her on her feet. But she was more grateful for the rope connecting her to Sam. She was pretty sure if it weren't for the rope, she would have lost sight of him almost immediately.

It was hard for them to walk in the biting wind and icy snow pelting them as they tried to reach the cabin Sam had noticed on their way to meet his parents. After about twenty minutes of walking, Jules was about ready to suggest they'd made a mistake. The cold air was searing her lungs as she opened her mouth to tell Sam she thought they should go back when suddenly Sam stopped and motioned in front of him. She nodded, seeing the outline of the cabin.

It took them another ten minutes to reach the front porch. But at least the porch offered them some protection against the wind and snow. Sam's furtive knocks hadn't brought any response indicating the cabin was unoccupied. Jules set her bags down and took Sadie as Sam figured out a way to break a small panel of a window in the door to unlock it. Once he had the door opened, he ushered Jules inside and grabbed the bags she'd dropped.

The cabin was warmer than it was outside but not by much. Sam closed the door, but knew he would have to patch the hole he'd made to keep them from freezing. That would have to wait until he got a fire going in the fireplace. He was almost numb from being out in the cold and he knew Jules and Sadie would be feeling the cold even more. His priority had to be getting them all warm. Fortunately there was still dry wood piled up next to the fireplace. He checked to make sure the flue damper was open so the room didn't fill with smoke and then got the fire started.

Once that was completed he looked back at Jules. She'd already gotten herself and Sadie out of the wet snow suits and had wrapped a warm blanket she'd found in the cabin around the one-year-old. Giving the toddler a cookie from the basket and satisfied the child would stay put long enough to warm up, Jules had started patching up the opening Sam had made in the door using a piece of cardboard and duct tape she'd also found in the cabin. Sam smiled; they made a good team.

"Okay, that should get us warmed up pretty quickly." Sam told her as he shed his own snow suit.

Jules glanced around. The furniture was sparse and it was obvious that the cabin hadn't lived in for awhile. A check of the light switch confirmed there was no electricity. "Good thing you got that fire going. I have a feeling it's the only heat source we'll have."

Sam nodded. "Better than what we'd have had in the car." Though the idea of going back out into the storm so soon didn't appeal to him, he knew he would have to do soon pretty quickly. Rather than delay the inevitable, he put his snow suit back own and grabbed the rope. "I'm going to check outside to see if there's a wood pile. Might as well bring more wood in now before it all gets covered in snow."

Jules didn't like the idea of him going back out in the storm any more than he did but also recognized that there was little choice. She nodded to the wood burning stove in the corner. "I'll see if I can get that going and then see if there's any running water. If not I'll find something to collect snow in so we can melt it down for water. That way we can at least get some coffee going."

Once they had enough firewood collected and Jules had managed to melt enough snow to get a pot of coffee going, Sadie was ready to explore the unfamiliar surroundings. After assuring themselves that the small cabin was reasonable child safe, Sam and Jules let Sadie have free reign. She was just starting to walk but fortunately didn't get anywhere as lightning fast as she did when she was crawling around.

Sam wrapped his arms around Jules, holding her close, partly to help keep her warm but mostly because he just wanted her close. He sighed heavily. "This is not how I wanted to spend Christmas Eve."

Jules glanced up at him. "No, but it'll be okay. Hopefully the storm will subside by morning and we'll be able to get home before it's time for you to be at work."

Sam shook his head. "If we aren't home tonight, we won't be able to put out all Sadie's gifts. She won't have presents to open up in the morning. It's her first Christmas; I wanted it to be special."

Pulling out of his embrace, Jules turned to look at him. "Technically, since Sadie was born on Christmas Eve, last year was her first Christmas, but I know what you mean. I wanted it to be special as well and it will be, even if we have to celebrate late. At least she's young enough to not really understand everything that's going on. She's not going to know the difference if she opens presents on December 26 instead of December 25."

"But I'll know. Growing up, I can remember several years when we had to put Christmas off because the General was too busy to be there on Christmas Day. I swore I'd never be that kind of father. It's one of the reasons I used to volunteer to work Christmas morning if it meant that someone else could be home with his kids."

Jules wrapped her arms around Sam and hugged him tightly. "Sam, you and I both know that Christmas isn't about the presents. I don't think either one of us wants Sadie growing up thinking that it is either. Christmas is about families being together and we are. Maybe we aren't at home and maybe this cabin isn't the most ideal setting for a family holiday but we're together and we're safe. You haven't let anyone down, least of all Sadie."

Sam looked at his daughter who had stopped exploring and was contentedly pulling her toys from her diaper bag. Almost as if she knew she was being watched, she looked up at her dad and flashed him a toothy grin. He couldn't help but grin back at her. Then he glanced back at Jules. "We have a one-year-old now. She's not a baby anymore."

"She'll always be our baby." Jules insisted, her tone indicating she was in no way ready for her baby to grow up.

Sam reached for his cell phone. "I know we don't have cell reception, but I'm going to see if I can pull up the radar and see when this storm is going to let up. Maybe we'll be able to get out of here tonight and still make it home by Christmas."

Jules didn't think he was going to have much luck, either with checking the radar or with the storm letting up, but she didn't say so. She realized she hadn't convinced him that it didn't matter where they spent Christmas or when they opened gifts. "You know, the important thing is that we're safe. We've got a roof over our heads, food to eat, and even though we might be a little cold, we aren't going to freeze to death. Hopefully the storm will clear soon but even if it doesn't, we're still going to be okay. I told your dad we'd call him when we got somewhere safe. If he doesn't hear from us, you know he'll move heaven and earth trying to find us."

Sam chuckled ruefully, her words finally sinking in to him. "Yeah, if for no other reason than so he can tell us both "I told you so' about leaving. Okay, okay, I'll quit grousing. It's bad enough that we'll probably not be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at home, no sense in me being a Grinch as well."

"No one would ever accuse you of having a heart that was two sizes too small." Jules assured him.

- FP - FP - FP -

"I wish we had a tree." Sam admitted a few hours later as Jules heated up some of the leftovers on the wood burning stove. Sadie was sitting on his lap babbling to her stuffed crocodile. The only light in the cabin came from the fire in the fireplace and several emergency candles Sam had found in the cabin.

"If we had a tree, right now I'd been tempted to burn it in the fireplace. I know it's putting out as much heat as it can but it feels like the temperature is dropping in here."

"It probably is. That wind hasn't stopped howling since we've gotten in. I bet we've gotten several feet of snow already and it doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon. I bet the Blazer is completely covered. Even if it stops snowing right now, I don't think we'd be going anywhere. Even if I could get the tire changed, I doubt we'd be able to move the car. We may be stuck here for a day or two."

Jules had thought the same thing for the last hour but she hadn't said anything. She knew Sam was still bummed about missing Christmas and hadn't wanted to make it worse on him. "Well, thanks to your mother we won't starve. I'm glad now she insisted we take so much. And think of it this way; you weren't too happy about having to go on shift tomorrow night anyway. Looks like you might get an extra day off in the bargain."

Sam sighed. "None of this seems like a bargain to me. We're stuck here in this cabin in the middle of nowhere on Christmas Eve in a blizzard. We're all wearing so many layers of clothes that we look like that kid in A Christmas Story. We have no Christmas tree, no decorations. All the presents we bought for Sadie and each other are at home and who knows when we'll get to open them. After supper we should be putting out cookies and milk for Santa, putting Sadie in her Christmas pajamas your dad sent her, reading her The Night Before Christmas, putting her to bed so we could pull out all her toys to make the living room look like a toy store. None of that's going to happen now."

Jules left the wood burning stove and joined Sam on the lone bed he'd moved into the front room of the cabin, the only room they could keep even slightly warm. She tickled Sadie's chin and rested her head on Sam's shoulder. "We might not have a tree or decorations or presents. Sadie doesn't have her special pj's. We don't have any milk. However, we have each other. We have cookies and I think I can probably do a pretty fair rendition of The Night Before Christmas. It might not be the Christmas we had planned, but it'll still be Christmas. Frankly, as long as I get to spend the holiday with the two of you, I don't care where we are or what we don't have. I just wish you could be okay with it as well."

Sam put one arm around Jules and pulled her in closer. "I'm okay with the three of us being together. I want to spend every Christmas with the two most important people in my life. But I won't apologize for wanting the perfect Christmas for both of you. I wanted this to be a special Christmas, even more special than proposing to you or this little munchkin being born."

Jules leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. Then she smiled at Sadie as the little girl waved the crocodile at her. "It will be. Even if this is the Christmas that comes without ribbons, tags, packages or bows, it will be special. We'll be teaching Sadie that Christmas doesn't come from a store but that it means so much more."

Sam shook his head ruefully. "I'm sounding like the Grinch again, aren't I? And you've been reading that book way too many times to put Sadie to sleep. I know in my heart and my head that it's not the presents that make Christmas. I just want to be able to give everything to her that she deserves."

"Everything you feel like you missed out on," Jules murmured. "Sam, every day of her life and even before, you have made Sadie - and me- your priority. Don't you think she's going to grow up knowing that? Do I want her to have all the presents and sparkle too? Of course I do. Remember, I went just as crazy buying gifts as you did. But it's obviously not going to happen the way we had planned it. So what if she tears through the paper and plays with the boxes a couple of days late? She's not going to know the difference and she's not going to remember or feel slighted. If anything, years from now when we tell her how we all got stranded on her first birthday and had to spend Christmas in a cold cabin in a blizzard, she's going to think that's pretty cool. Trust me."

Sam didn't reply. Jules got up, returned to the stove and spooned up left over food onto plates they'd found stored in the cabin's kitchen. She set the plates on the table and took Sadie from Sam, holding her as she fed her. She sighed. "Sam, you want special Christmases for Sadie because you remember feeling slighted by the General. Do you remember any of the gifts you got? What the Christmas trees looked liked?"

Sam joined her at the table, shaking his head. Jules smiled at him. "I don't either. I had some of the most awesome Christmases growing up and I don't remember most of the gifts I got as a little girl. I don't remember the trees. What I do remember is spending the time with my parents and my brothers. I remember the fun times we had and I remember the love. That's what Sadie's going to remember as well. Whether its her first big Christmas here in a cold cabin or at home with a tree and presents. That's all I'm saying."

Sam leaned over and kissed her. "Okay, I get it. Love is the greatest present we can ever give her and we have and are and will continue to give that to her in spades. Doesn't mean I'm not going to still hope a miracle happens and we get out of here in time to celebrate Christmas on Christmas. I'll just try to do my hoping less grumpily. Okay?"

Jules smiled at him. "Okay. So in the meantime, we make tonight as Christmas-y as we possibly can so we have good memories of it even if Sadie is too little to remember it."

After they ate, while Jules cleaned up, Sam looked around the cabin. He found an artificial plant the owners had left behind. It didn't look like a Christmas tree but it would have to do. Finding a roll of aluminum foil in the kitchen, he made a silvery garland out of it. It was obvious though he was only doing so half-heartedly. He was going through the motions why still being upset over what he felt like Sadie was missing out on. Jules knew she had to further shake him out of his funk. As much as she wanted Sadie to have a great holiday as much as Sam did, she wanted her husband to enjoy it as well.

Jules began to sing Christmas carols and then joined him in making the plant look festive. As she started off with singing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," she looked pointedly at Sam as if giving him a hint. He frowned up at her obvious message but Jules didn't let it sway her. She swung Sadie up in her arms and began dancing around the room with her as she sang different songs. Sadie giggled with glee and tried to grab the different "ornaments" Sam had made every time Jules passed near them. Pretty soon, Sam forgot to be grumpy and joined right in, singing along with her and dancing around with both her and Sadie.

Finally, after it was decorated enough to somewhat satisfy Sam's need for decorations and she could tell Sadie was getting sleepy, Jules gathered Sadie in her arms and began to rock her on the bed. She began to recite The Night Before Christmas as much as she could remember it and made up the parts she didn't remember. Sadie didn't know the difference and was asleep before Santa had "laid his finger aside his nose" or wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

She shifted Sadie on to the bed and covered her with the thick comforter. Normally, they never allowed Sadie to sleep in the bed with them, but tonight they would have no other choice. She kissed the little girl's cheek and straightened up. As she did, Sam's arms closed around her and pulled her close.

"Have I told you since all this began how much I love you? I'm sorry I was so negative earlier. Thanks for helping me get back into the spirit. Maybe Sadie won't actually remember anything about this Christmas but I'm not going to forget a moment of it. You helped make this a wonderful holiday for me."

"I love you too. More than words could ever say. You make every day wonderful for me, just by being you. However, if you're still feeling bad about us missing out on the presents, you could tell me what you got me. That would be almost the same as me being able to open them, right?"

Sam kissed her again. "Nice try, but I think you can wait. And now, I think I can be okay waiting as well. What I'd really like to do is show you just how much I love you. However as cold as it is in here and since Sadie is sleeping in the middle of the only bed we have, I guess that's going to be something else that has to wait. That might be harder on me than waiting on the presents."

"Just the thought of it warms me up a lot. I know it's early and we don't usually crash at Sadie's bedtime but maybe tonight we should. It'll be warmer under the covers and all of us sharing body heat. And who knows, maybe you'll get that miracle and we'll be able to leave really early and make it home."

"Not to mention one of us will have to keep getting up to check the fire. No way we want it to go out on us while we sleep. Okay, Mrs. Braddock. Let's go to bed. Maybe Santa will stop here and give us a ride home in his sleigh."

- FP - FP - FP -

When Sam opened his eyes, he was aware of three things. One, the sun was streaming in the cabin's windows signaling that Christmas morning had arrived. Second, the wind had stopped howling and he could only see random flakes coming down out those same windows that told him the blizzard had ended sometime in the night. Third, and the one that worried him the most, was that Jules wasn't in bed with him. He slipped out of the bed, making sure not to wake Sadie. A quick glance around confirmed that Jules wasn't anywhere in the cabin. He frowned. Where was she?

Before his worry could intensify too much, the door to the cabin opened up and Jules stumbled inside. Snow caked the lower half of her snow suit as she shrugged out of him. Sam shook his head. "Are you my wife or the abominable snow monster of the north?"

Jules laughed. "Shut up and come warm me up."

Sam obliged, wrapping her tightly in his arms and leading her closer to the fire. "What were you doing outside?"

"I woke up and realized the blizzard had stopped. I thought I'd walk back to the car and see what kind of condition it's in. The good news is that it wasn't completely covered by snow. The bad news is that it's not going anywhere without being dug out. I managed to get a couple of bars service on my phone and called CAA. Unfortunately, it'll still be several hours maybe even the afternoon before they can get anyone out to us. I'm sorry, Sam, looks like we're stuck here awhile longer."

Sam shook his head and kissed her. "It doesn't matter. So long as I have you and Sadie here, I don't care how long it takes to get home."

Jules smiled. "Yeah, me either."

Suddenly the roar of an approaching helicopter filled the cabin. Sadie awoke with a start and started to cry. Jules went to gather her up in her arms and soothe her as Sam went to the door. A large military grade helicopter set down not three hundred feet from the cabin and several men jumped out of it running toward the cabin. Sam opened the door as they approached.

"Samuel and Jules Braddock?" One of the men, obviously a soldier, asked as they entered the cabin.

Sam nodded, confused as how they would know that and who they actually were. "Yes, and you are?"

"Master Sergeant Brett Masterson. General Braddock has had us looking for you since the storm broke. I'm glad we found you. Are you all alright?"

Jules smiled at them. "A little colder than we might like but yeah, we're fine. You've really been out looking for us?"

"Yes, Ma'am. If the General had had his way, we would have been here last night before it got too dark, but there was no way we could fly in that storm. If you can get your things together, we're prepared to fly you home. General Braddock was pretty insistent that we get you home as soon as possible. He said it was important to you."

Jules grinned at Sam and then looked down at Sadie. "How about that Sades; looks like this year Santa traded in his sleight for a helicopter."

- FP - FP - FP -

The Braddock living room was littered with discarded wrapping paper, opened boxes, and enough toys to start a toy store. Outside the moon on the fallen snow indicated that Christmas Day was coming to a close. Sam and Jules were curled up side by side on the couch watching the blinking lights on the tree. Sadie was sound asleep on the couch beside them, her head using Sam's leg as a pillow.

Jules sighed contentedly. "I still can't believe the General sent out a search party for us like he did."

Sam chuckled. "Me either. Using military personnel for a personal mission, that's so not the man I grew up knowing. I also can't believe he managed to get volunteers on Christmas that easily."

"You heard them, they would have gone out in the blizzard for him if they could have. Apparently they think highly of your father. You told him how grateful we were for the rescue when you talked to him, right?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, we had a good talk, maybe the best talk we've ever had. When the phone died while he was talking to you, he couldn't shake his worry. He wrote down the coordinates you'd given him and put the rescue team on standby. He said even if we weren't hurt, he was pretty sure we weren't going to make it home without help. He realized how important it was for me to do Christmas right for Sadie and he didn't want me to miss out on making those memories for her. I don't know Jules, maybe being a grandfather is mellowing him out."

"Or maybe seeing you as a father is making him realize some things he missed out on. I think he probably wanted to do all those same things for you but didn't know how to make the right priorities."

"I love you, Jules."

"I love you too. I'm also grateful that Jordan Ricks took your shift for you so you didn't have to leave." Ricks was team leader for team five. When word had gotten out about what had happened to the Braddocks on their ride home, he'd volunteered to work in Sam's place. Jules had a sneaking suspicion Ed had called in a favor since they'd only told members of Team One what had happened. However the offer had come about, she was glad he'd gotten the night off.

Sam kissed her and gathered Sadie gently in his arms. "Come on, Mrs. Braddock. Let's put this little one to bed. Then I think I mentioned last night wanting to show you how much I love you. Tonight I think it's warm enough I can do just that."

Jules let him pull her to her feet and straight into his arms. "Just the Christmas present I was hoping for."