Reuploaded for Christmas! This is my take on Seth and Jessica's first Christmas as a married couple, which takes them from Cabot Cove to New York and back home again, with plenty of fun and love along the way. In this chapter, inspired by George Strait's "Christmas Cookies," there's some sweet treats on the menu, literally and otherwise.

December 2003

Sight.

Dreams of Christmas lights in all colors, white flakes falling from the heavens, angels in the snow, and a midnight-blue sky sparkling with thousands of stars and a full winter moon.

Sound.

Church bells ringing throughout the sleepy Maine town, children laughing as they were swept up in the joy of the season, and Christmas carols sung by beloved friends, in voices both off-key and pitch-perfect.

Taste.

The icy cold delight of snowflakes on one's tongue, hot chocolate warming a person from head to toe, the fresh mint and sugar of a candy cane, and sweet, delicious kisses under a sprig of mistletoe.

Smell.

The rich, earthy, piney smell of an evergreen Christmas tree, the floral headiness of poinsettias and roses, and the sweetest smell of all: the nutmeg, cinnamon, chocolate, and sugar that went into Christmas cookies, which were now dancing in his dreams. He could almost smell them...

He could smell them. This was no dream. This was real!

The delicious smell of baking sugar cookies flew up Seth Hazlitt's nose and roused him from a deep slumber, as only something so wonderful could. Christmas may have been a week away, but his wife was getting ahead of the game, baking batch after batch of cookies. And these weren't the kind you rolled out of a plastic package or a container of dough. No sir, these were homemade as only Jessica could make them, as she had been making them for years. He'd enjoyed them long before now, but now that they were married, well... there was a special benefit to eating Christmas cookies. But I'm not gonna enjoy it if I don't get my butt out of bed.

If the smell of baking sweets coming from downstairs hadn't woken him entirely, the sunshine pouring through the window certainly did. Seth sat up in bed, stretched the weariness out of his body, and rose to "greet the dawn," as Jessica always said. No doubt she would say it was a beautiful day, and it was. The December sky was a brilliant azure bowl over Cabot Cove, the sun was out, and several fat, feathery robins were fluttering about through the trees, chirping their own Christmas carols. It was the perfect day to go Christmas shopping, as they had planned... just as soon as he got dressed and hauled tail downstairs to taste those amazing cookies.

As he showered, shaved, and dressed for the day, Seth couldn't help but catch himself staring at the ring that circled the third finger of his left hand - and smiling as he did. Three months. Three wonderful months since the day he and Jessica said I do, and now here they were, about to celebrate their first Christmas together as husband and wife. For years prior, they had always spent the holiday together, most often with him coming over to her house with a pumpkin pie. They would spend the day opening gifts and eating the feast they'd made, then cuddle up on the couch together to watch their favorite Christmas movies. Now, though... Seth knew that the routine would include romance instead of mere friendship, and much more than simply cuddling on the couch. And he planned on getting started with that special benefit that came with making Christmas cookies.

Twenty minutes later, groomed and aftershaved, Seth made his way downstairs, where the smell of baking sugar only became stronger – as did a certain female voice. He crept through the living room and dining room, pausing on the kitchen threshold. There, mixing a new batch of cookie dough, was Jessica, crooning like a bird. A smile spread across Seth's face as he watched her. She was also dressed, in khakis, a white blouse, and a comfortable red sweatshirt, with her favorite pink apron overtop. The apron was smudged with flour and a smear of it was on Jessica's cheek, but she didn't even appear to notice, swirling a wooden spoon in the bowl. Not that Seth cared. With the sunlight playing with her golden hair and a radiant smile on her face, her beauty was glowing through the baker's mess. And her voice was ringing through the kitchen, singing a Christmas classic.

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow," Jessica sang, dancing over to the counter. She scraped the dough out of the bowl and onto a cutting board, then grabbed a rolling pin and began to roll the dough flat.

Seth's grin only grew. If he was any good judge, he could hear longing for some of that white powder in her voice. A white Christmas would be great, no doubt about it... and so would kissing goodnight and holding each other tight, as the song said. Sounds like a great idea, he thought, waiting for the right moment. Sure enough, as soon as Jessica's back was turned, he crept into the kitchen and hugged her around the waist from behind.

"Ooh!" Jessica cried, jumping and twisting in his arms. Seth ducked his head out of the way as she swung the rolling pin, and whether it was by accident or on purpose, he didn't want to know. She shot him a playful glare and smacked his shoulder with her free hand. "Seth, you scared the heart out of me!"

"Did I now?" Seth asked, his mischievous grin still firmly in place. "Let's see if I did." He placed a hand on Jessica's chest, seeking out the beat of her heart. "Oh-ho, what's this?" There it was, a steady thump-thump-thump beneath his fingers. "Looks like it's still in there."

"Beating faster because of you. You're lucky I didn't crack you with this!" she said, thrusting the rolling pin under his nose.

"Ayuh, I know that. I don't want visions of sugarplums dancing in my head right now." Seth kept his hand on Jessica's chest as she laid the rolling pin down on the table. "Your heart's definitely still beating. Don't think I've ever felt a stronger heartbeat, but then again, you've always had a strong heart... and a beautiful one." Seth wrapped his arms back around her and kissed her deeply on the lips. "By the way... good morning."

"Good morning," Jessica giggled, clasping her hands at the nape of his neck. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did. I thought I was dreaming about Christmas cookies, and I could smell 'em, all that sugar and spice, until I woke up and realized I wasn't dreaming after all."

"I came in here fully intending to make breakfast, but then I thought better of it. I'd make a few batches of cookies and you and I could get breakfast out before we kicked off our shopping day."

"Sounds like a sweet plan... very sweet," Seth said as Jessica, eyes twinkling with mirth, brought one of the freshly-baked cookies to his mouth. He bit into the red-and-green-sprinkled sugar circle and moaned in bliss. "Oh, Jess, that's so good." He took his time chewing the cookie, savoring the flavor. "Nobody makes 'em like you."

"Nobody else has my recipe," Jessica teased, handing the rest of the cookie to him and turning back to her dough. "Wanna help me cut these out once I get the dough flattened?"

"Woman, is a frog's fanny watertight?" Seth added his chuckles to hers and joined her at the kitchen table, selecting a Santa Claus from the array of cookie cutters she had laid out. "I love these little buggers."

"What, the ones that look like Santa?"

"All of 'em. I just love Christmas cookies. I really love the ones with the sprinkles, though." Seth pinched off a piece of the dough and popped it in his mouth. "They ain't half-bad raw, either."

"That's the only piece of dough you get," Jessica warned him. "If you eat any more of it, I'll never get the sprinkles on them." She ran the rolling pin over the dough one last time and grabbed a cookie cutter for herself. "All right, gentlemen, start your cutters."

Cheerful chatter and more Christmas carols and songs filled the atmosphere as the cookies were cut, not only in the shape of Santa, but in Christmas trees and ornaments, bells, angels, and stars. Sprinkles in red, green, and a rainbow of other colors were added to the cut-out shapes, which were scooped onto a baking tray and shut into the oven to bake. As soon as the oven door shut, Seth turned to Jessica and grinned. "Well, honey... we've got about 15, 20 minutes for these cookies to bake."

"So?" Jessica asked, taking off her soiled apron and hanging it up.

"So, I'm wondering how we're gonna spend that time."

Given the amount of sheer mischief in his voice, it didn't take Jessica long to catch on to his meaning. "Oh, really?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips and throwing him an equally teasing smile. "Do you have any ideas?"

That grin of his only widened. "A few." Seth twined his arms around his wife as she came back over to him. "Want me to tell you what they are?"

"Seth." Jessica gave his nose a gentle tap with her index finger, staring up into the golden-green hazel of his eyes. "We've been married for three months now. I know you're better at show than tell." She planted a soft kiss on his lips, then one on his cheek. "So show me," she whispered in his ear.

Seth's eyes twinkled. "As you wish... Mrs. Hazlitt," he purred, tilting his head and covering her mouth with his.

"Mmm," Jessica hummed against his lips, snuggling deeper into his embrace. "I love it when you call me that."

Those words warmed Seth's heart. Professionally, Jessica was still called "Mrs. Fletcher" by her colleagues and fans, as she was known in the literary and mystery worlds as J.B. Fletcher. Most people in Cabot Cove still referred to her by her original married name, both out of habit and familiarity. Mort Metzger, the sheriff and their mutual friend, called her "Mrs. F," but only as his old, beloved term of endearment.

Seth didn't mind any of this in the slightest. He knew that it was no disrespect to him and that it was not because they didn't approve of his marrying her. Nothing could have been farther from the truth, as the entire town had rejoiced to see them together after so long. But to know that Jessica herself was pleased to hear her new married name tickled him. It told him that she was happy with her new life, her new marriage... and with him.

"Good, 'cause I love calling you that, Mrs. Hazlitt." Seth deepened their kiss, tasting sugar and a hint of cinnamon. "Ah, that's the only thing sweeter than your cookies, Jess: your kisses." He broke their liplock for a moment and smiled. "You've got flour on your face," he said softly, wiping the smudge away with his thumb and caressing her cheek with his fingers.

Jessica dipped a finger into the empty dough bowl and scooped out a tiny remainder of the sugar cookie dough, then smeared it on Seth's cheek. "And you've got dough on yours," she snickered, kissing the sugary spot away.

"No thanks to you." He kissed her mouth again, initiating another round of passionate kisses and cuddling. The two of them were so lost in each other, in a heady cocktail of intermingling colognes, sugar, and spice, that they almost didn't hear the oven bell ding. Thankfully, Jessica separated from their embrace long enough to pull the batch from the oven and set the tray on the counter to cool.

Seth beamed at the fresh cookies with approval. "I think old Saint Nick himself'd be proud to eat those cookies."

"Speaking of which, are you still going to play Santa at the Christmas party this year? You know how much it means to the children."

"Ayuh, I'm still playing the big guy. Jess, I gotta tell you, I'm not much for parties and dressing up, but I sure do love seeing the smiles on those little kids' faces. When I come in with that bag of toys and they light up and start whoopin' and hollerin', it gets me right here." Seth tapped two fingers over his heart.

"You really are wonderful with children, Seth," Jessica said softly. "They get to see the gentleness in you that I know and love, instead of the old crotchety doctor. That's probably what makes you such a great Santa each year."

Seth nodded. "That and I don't have to pad up to play him." He sighed. "Let's face it, Jess, between my build, my grouching, and my snoring, I'm just a big bear of a fella."

"Maybe, but you're my bear. My teddy bear," Jessica laughed, hugging him tight.

Seth let out a bark of laughter and wrapped his big arms back around her. "Lord, woman, now you've got Elvis stuck in my head." Inspired, he began to dance around the kitchen with Jessica, singing "Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear" while she giggled and pleaded with him to stop.

"Nope," was the response to her pleas. He whirled her out and back into his arms, planting a firm kiss on her lips before releasing her. "All right, you win," he said, seizing her nearby winter hat and fitting it on her head; with a grin, he yanked it down over her eyes.

"Seth!" Jessica quickly fixed her hat, adjusting it so that a few silky blonde curls were peeking out from under it. "If this is your way of telling me you're hungry..."

"Naw. That's my way of telling you I'm ready to take our walk through town. If I wanted to tell you I was hungry, I'd kiss you."

In the middle of grabbing the rest of their winter gear, Jessica shot him a wry smile. "Really? If that's true, you are the most insatiable man on the planet."

"Oh honey, you know it." Seth waited until they were both bundled up and out the door before kissing her yet again.