Disclaimer: NOT MINE!!

A/N: A twist on my usual Don/Kate stories where they're in love. In this story, Don and Kate did date, but only briefly, and it was a mostly sexual relationship, not a loving one like in my other stories. Also, Kate is not the jewel thief she is in my other stories. In this, Don and Angell are married, as are Stella and Mac, and Danny and Lindsay, of course.

Mac and Stella have an 8 year old daughter, Cammie

Danny and Lindsay have three kids: Chris (10), Lilly (8), and Charlie (5)

Don and Jess have a 6 year old daughter, Ava

I own the kids, Kate, and Alex Sterling

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Kate Monroe sat alone in a bar. Sure, this wasn't really a strange occurrence, but tonight was Christmas Eve, and Kate was pretty sure there were only ten people in the bar. Everyone was home with their loved ones. Sure, she had to make an appearance at her sister's house, but she wasn't in a huge rush to get there. For one thing, Lindsay, her sister, and Lindsay's three kids were the only real family of Kate's that would be there. The rest of the family – parents, aunts, uncles, cousins – were all in Montana, except for one cousin who lives in Texas with his "roommate." For another thing, Kate would be the only person over the age of 10 that was single. Well, not single exactly, she had a boyfriend, Alex, but he was currently in Paris on a business trip.

Kate sat there sipping her martini, thinking of Alex and the nerve he had to leave her alone on Christmas, her favorite holiday.

Kate thought about her life since moving to New York. She moved here after graduating from high school, having a model contract. She spent the next few years being the spokeswoman for different designer ads, and doing many magazine covers. Kate left the modeling life behind her, however, when her photographer boyfriend left her for Kate's best friend. Kate, however, did attend one more party as a model, where she met Jack Evans, the owner and senior editor of Charm Magazine. Jack and Kate hit it off instantly, as friends only – the only male friend she ever had and never slept with – and Jack offered her a job at the magazine as fashion correspondent, since Kate had been in the business.

A year or so later, Lindsay moved to the city, and was happy with Kate's new life. After a few months of hanging around Lindsay and her new colleagues, Kate took an interest in Detective Don Flack. The two caught like fire, in what began a very hot and steamy seven month relationship. If you can really call what they had a relationship, that is. They went out a few times, but mostly just stayed in, and kept themselves busy at one of their apartments. However, as quickly as it started, it ended. Kate was tired of just sex, and instead of trying to work out a relationship with Flack, like he had suggested, they just ended it and yet stayed friends.

The rest of the years drudged on. Lindsay got pregnant and married her colleague, Danny Messer, and they then had two more kids. Don met and fell in love with his partner Detective Jessica Angell, and they soon were married and had a daughter – as well as friends Mac Taylor and Stella Bonasera.

Kate met Alex Sterling at a party Charm held two years ago. He was a copy writer at a famous advertising agency that his great-grandfather, William Sterling, started. Alex and Kate had a touchy first meeting – he tried to hit on her, and when she didn't fall for his usual charm, he ended up getting into an argument with her over the sleaziness of the modeling and fashion world – but the next day, Kate came into her office to find a gorgeous bouquet of roses from Alex, with an apology note, and an invitation to dinner. Of course, she declined, having never succumbed to charming men easily, and it took Alex two months to convince her that he genuinely liked her, wouldn't play her, and then she agreed to go out with him. They had been dating ever since.

Of course, now that leads us to today. Alex in Paris – having an endless amount of meetings with some foreign associates – and Kate, alone, in a bar, on Christmas. She had been at the bar for three hours, chatting with the bartender, drinking, and even getting into a game of darts with some guys, which seemed strange since she was in a short, Gucci dress, and they were dressed in jeans and flannel sweatshirts, but finally she decided to just go on to Lindsay's. The bartender, named Ted, offered to call her a cab, but she declined, taking her own car. Having been a model, and now working at a popular fashion magazine, Kate had an amazingly well tolerance for alcohol.

Once she arrived at Lindsay and Danny's house, she shuddered, imaging the worst that could happen – and probably would – and grabbed her oversized Chanel bag from the passenger seat. Inside were the essentials – cell phone, wallet, check book, makeup, pen, tissues, cigarettes (she didn't normally smoke, but sometimes these "family" get-togethers made her), flask (which was currently empty, damn it), as well as other items, and her overnight clothes, in case she got so plastered she was forced to stay at the house.

Kate got out of her car – a black Audi convertible which Alex always made fun of, but was secretly jealous of – and walked up to the door, which was easier said than done considering she had on three-inch high heeled stiletto boots, and it had snowed the previous two days. She took a deep breath, ready for the onslaught of family goodness that usually made her want to vomit, and rang the doorbell. She knew she could just walk right in – everyone's cars were outside and she could hear the faint strands of Christmas music being played and children laughing and yelling (which was why Kate knew she would soon need a cigarette and a drink) – but she could never pass up an opportunity to make an entrance.

Lindsay opened the door, with a big smile on her face. These cigs were coming out sooner than Kate thought. "Kate, hi! Merry Christmas!"

Kate forced a smile, and hugged her sister. "Merry Christmas, Linds," she said. "How are you? You're looking great."

"Thanks. I've been up since four. The kids…" That's the phrase that always made Kate tune out whenever anyone spoke to her. It wasn't that Kate hated kids, especially her nieces and nephews – but she could never understand why people with children thought that people without them would care about every detail of their now boring lives. Kate just smiled and nodded, finally cutting her sister off by asking to please come in.

Walking into the house, she saw Jess and Stella helping in the kitchen, and could hear the TV on, and kids yelling. She assumed the guys were watching something on television, and the kids were in the basement playing around. Kate said her hellos to the girls, and opened her coat a little, but keeping it on. The women complimented Kate on her dress – Stella and Jess were more fashionably aware than Lindsay ever was, and Kate loved them for that – and Kate, with purse in hand, yelled a hello down to the kids, who didn't come up from the basement, and also greeted the men in the living room. Then she dipped out to have her first smoke of the night.

Standing out on the back porch of the house Danny and Lindsay had bought after their oldest son, Chris, turned a year old, she lit her cigarette, and inhaled deeply. As a model, Kate never did hard drugs like the other girls, but smoking was always something she couldn't shake off. She had started when she was 16, no less, but yet always thought of herself as a classy, old-time smoker, not a skeezy one like some people these days. She even had one of those long, Holly Golightly, cigarette holders, but there was no time for it now.

She suddenly felt someone standing behind her, and turned around to see it was Flack. She sighed a little, because if it had been Lindsay, she would've lectured her, and Kate was so not in the mood for a lecture.

"Still smoking?" he asked, standing next to her.

She exhaled, and nodded. "Yep. Not as much as I used to, though. Alex doesn't know."

"You're boyfriend of two years doesn't know you smoke?" Flack asked.

"He knows I used to smoke, not that I still sometimes do." Inhale. Exhale. Wonderful.

"Sometimes? Only when you're around family, I suppose, huh?" He asked, with that dimpled smile on his face.

She smiled back at him. "Whatever I say next may possibly hurt your feelings, so let's change the subject if you insist on being out here with me."

Flack nodded, held his hands together over the railing, and looked out at the sky. "How you been holdin' up without him?" he asked.

Kate shrugged and took another drag. "Fine. I got my work, my shopping, and I been looking into getting some kind of animal. Cat, maybe."

"Thought you were a dog person."

"Nope. Just told you that 'cuz I knew you were allergic to cats. Didn't need you having a fit in my apartment," she said. He laughed, taking it as a joke, but she was actually serious. No need to tell him that, of course.

"Well, when you're done with that, come on inside. I'll fix you a drink, and you can watch TV with me and Danny and Mac, huh?"

Exhale. "Sure."

Flack nodded, touched her back, and went inside. Kate kept an eye outward, not watching him go back in. She had a feeling he was going to rat her out, even though everyone knew where she was, and to avoid a huge sister lecture scene, Kate took her final drag and tossed her cigarette in the snow. That'll piss off Danny when he finds it. She had to smile at that.

Going in, she hung up her coat in the hall closet, touched up her makeup in the bathroom – while also popping a mint to rid of smokers breath – and headed off to the kitchen. Flack was already there making her drink – dirty martini – and the women were running around finishing making dinner. She accepted her drink from Flack, and went into the living room, sitting on the couch next to Danny.

She chatted with the men for a little bit, trying to keep the subject on something interesting – football, work, other television, movies, or books – knowing that once dinner hit, and everyone sat at the table, the attention would be all on the kids; which was fine, since Christmas was supposed to be a children's holiday, but that didn't mean Kate needed to love hearing about Little Tommy planting a frog in the teacher's desk and throwing up in front of Susie Lipton. Kate always liked talking to Mac, and obviously, Flack, and even though her and Danny had their issues – fights a plenty and a nasty prank war a couple summers ago – she still preferred talking to them over babysitting all five kids.

Before she knew it, she finished her drink, and it was dinner time. She had a glass of wine with dinner, and she was surprised at how good it really was. Lindsay had become a good cook only recently – she had never been that great of one back in Montana – and Kate wasn't that sure of Stella or Jess' cooking habits, but sure they were the same as Lindsay's.

Kate sat in between Lindsay and Jess, having always enjoyed Jess' company, and had Danny sitting across from her, Flack next to Jess, and Mac and Stella next to Danny. The kids sat at a smaller table at the end. Being surrogate cousins, they all got along extremely well. Lindsay and Danny had three children – Chris, 10, Lilly, 8, and Charlie, 5 – while Stella and Mac had one daughter, Cammie, who was 8 and Jess and Don had one daughter, Ava, who was 6. While Jess and Don talked about the possibility of having a second child, Stella and Mac seemed happy with their one. And Danny and Lindsay, well, their only daughter also happened to be their only planned child.

Dinner conversation covered a variety of topics. How was Kate? How was work? Heard from Alex? Cammie's pet goldfish died. Chris was looking good to make the baseball team. Ava's dance recital was in a couple weeks. Remember that time Charlie and Lilly were playing and broke that lamp? It went on and on.

Finally, over an hour and two glasses of wine later, Kate had eaten all she could, and sat there, mildly enjoying the conversation, and working on drinking water. All of a sudden, in the middle of one of Danny's not-very-interesting-but-I-have-to-tolerate-him-because-it's-Christmas stories, Kate's cell phone rang. She apologized, and, seeing that it was Alex, excused herself to answer it. She walked out the front door for some privacy before answering it.

"Miss me?" was his first response.

Kate smiled. "Not really. I'm kind of getting used to you not being here."

"Is that so?" he asked, in a joking manner so that Kate knew he was smiling his gorgeous smile and inwardly laughing at her.

"Actually, I miss you a lot, but I don't want it to go to your head. Your ego is already big enough."

"Mm hm, well thanks for being supportive, honey," he said.

"Anytime. How are you? How's Paris? Still as amazing as I remember it?"

"Better, because I'm here."

"Ah, so humble too," she joked, shivering slightly due to the night air.

It didn't go unnoticed. "You OK?" He can be so sweet when he wanted to. "Where are you?"

"At Lindsay's. I just stepped outside to talk to you and didn't bother to grab my coat. It's quite cold here in New York."

"Yeah, I heard. Well, listen, sweetheart, I have to get to bed. You know, it is 2 a.m. here."

"Oh, right, I forgot the time change. I'm sorry," Kate apologized.

"I called you, remember? Stop apologizing so much." He said, and she smiled slightly. "Hey, Kate?" he said.

"Yes?"

"I miss you a lot, too," he said. Damn him for being so sweet. "And Merry Christmas, and I love you, and I will see you soon."

"OK. Love you too. And Merry Christmas, Alex." They said good night, and hung up. He always knew when she needed to hear from him.

She headed back inside, and sat back down.

"Aunt Kate," she heard one of the kids say. She looked up to see it was Ava – Flack and Jess's daughter. "Do you miss Alex?"

Kate smiled. This girl was precious. Dark hair, like her parents, her mother's brown eyes, but her father's slight dimples. "Very much," Kate responded. "But don't tell, because you know how Alex likes to think he's king of the world." Ava laughed and agreed.

"When's he coming home?" Jess asked.

"Um, I'm not sure, exactly. He said it could be anywhere from now until New Years, until mid-January. It all depends on the Paris office and how well they cooperate."

"That's rough. I'm sorry," Jess said.

"Oh, it's fine. Part of the job. I know all about that. When I was modeling, I'd fly in between four cities within three days sometimes," Kate replied.

Jess nodded. "Well, if you need anything…"

Kate loved Jess. "Thanks, Jess," she said, and gave her friend a slight hug. The alcohol was in that strange in-between phase when you're still buzzed, but starting to sober up, and Kate told the kids to come with her and they'd watch Rudolph or Frosty or some other Christmas special. She mainly did this so she didn't have to clean up, and watching TV with the kids was better than having to play something, and after warnings from the parents that they'd be leaving soon, because Santa was coming, Kate ushered the kids into the living room. She sat on the sofa with Lilly in her lap, and Cammie sitting next to her. Chris took his dad's favorite arm chair, while Charlie and Ava shared a blanket on the floor.

After watching The Grinch cartoon as well as A Charlie Brown Christmas, Stella and Mac rounded up Cammie, and Don and Jess picked up Ava, and they left. Danny sent the kids up to bed, and Kate walked into the kitchen where Lindsay was.

"Need any help?" Kate asked, knowing Lindsay wouldn't.

"No, I'm good, thanks. You gonna go home or are you going to stay the night?"

"Oh, I don't want to intrude on your Christmas morning."

"No, it's fine. The kids'll get up early, but Flack and all them will be coming around 10 or so, so you're welcome to stay here if it's easier. Only if you want to, of course," Lindsay offered.

Kate sighed. As much as she hated waking up early – and she didn't have her sleep mask, and due to the alcohol consumption she didn't want to risk a sleeping pill – Kate still agreed to stay. She knew that even though the bedrooms were upstairs, there was a spare one on the main floor of the house where her and Lindsay's parents stayed when they visit from Montana, or for occasions such as this.

Kate went out to her car, grabbing the over night bag of clothes that she had brought with her, as well as all the presents she had for everyone, and put them all in the guest room. After saying good night to Danny and Lindsay, Kate changed into her La Perla nightie, and got into bed, finding herself actually really tired. She fell asleep within minutes.

A/N: PART TWO COMING SOON!!! Christmas Day brings fun, excitement, and surprises!