Christmas Presents

Dani Reese knew it had to be early. The sun was not even hinting at rising, the sky outside the window still pitch black; but Charlie was awake, she could feel his nervous energy in the bed beside her. "I know you're awake, Charlie and it's way too early to get up," she told him in a hopeless intent to steal ten minutes more sleep.

He rolled over and wrapped his arm over her, whispering, "Come on, Reese. It's Christmas. Aren't you the least bit interested in what gifts under that tree are for you?" he tried to tempt her from the warmth of their bed with the promise of things he spent far too much money on, but he wanted her to have.

"Those things will still be there in a couple hours," she groused, but knew he'd win her over. His enthusiasm for Christmas like a young boy's - could not be contained. She had a fleeting moment of wonder over whether he'd outgrow that tendency when he had children of his own, but she let that thought drift away, trying to remain asleep.

"Okay, then give me a hint," he countered, after a moment of peace. "What'd you get me?" He pleaded.

"You don't have to go downstairs for that one," she smiled sleepily.

Charlie was confused and she could feel his head twist against her shoulder. He was considering her comment hard she realized. "Don't strain anything wondering there, hot shot." He laughed briefly, smiled against her shoulder and kissed it.

Charlie's laugh was something she could rarely coax from the place where he held it safe from the rest of the world. It seemed to be the only part of himself he protected entirely in prison.

He wove his hand and fingers through hers. "I love that you're here with me today," he told her plainly. "I love everything about us, here, together, now… this moment."

"You know that things change, Charlie. Everything changes all the time," she told him wise beyond her relative years. She didn't seem upset by the prospect. "Things are even changing now."

"You're just using Zen to distract me from my Christmas present and that's not fair at all," he teased.

She smiled slyly. Charlie loved that smile, the one that said she knew more than she was saying. She took his hand and inverted it slowly working it slowly down her torso. Charlie thinking he knew where things were headed took over, resulting in her scolding him. "Cool your jets there, hot shot." Charlie was puzzled but played along.

"You really want to know what your Christmas present is?" she tormented him.

He shook his head eagerly.

"You'll find out today, now, but you can't play with it for a few months," she paused placing her hand over her lower belly, "its in here and it's not ready yet." She grinned at what must be the look of wonder and awe on her partner's face.

She felt the gesture as Charlie flexed his long fingers over her belly while her hand lay over his. He leaned close and kissed the juncture of her neck and shoulder whispered tenderly, "best Christmas present ever," through what she was sure were tears. She did not turn and face him, but let him have this moment to himself.

They lay very still, just his hand over her belly and hers atop his for several quiet moments. "You know that everything downstairs is going pale in comparison next to this," he offered an apology for things you could buy with money.

"Hey," she elbowed him "you gave this to me, I'm just giving it back," she giggled as he tickled her side. "Don't Charlie," she warned as he rolled her towards him to give him better access. She could see the tear marks on his face and she wiped them away with both her thumbs as she framed his face.

"See, I told you," she kissed him tenderly, "I always knew you'd have a family."

"You… you Dani," he told her, "you are my family. I never needed anyone or anything else, but this…" he looked down. "It's almost too much. I've never been so happy in my life."

"Don't you dare make me cry Crews," she warned. "Well, it's too late to give it back, so you stuck with him," she joked lightening a very serious moment.

He smiled and wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Him?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's too early for that, but I thought all men wanted sons," she offered.

"Are you kidding? Boys are nothing but trouble; I'm living proof of that. No, sir. Give me a house full of little girls. Little brown haired girls that look just like their mother, only with my cheerful disposition," he laughed.

"A houseful sounds like a lot, you do remember I have a day job?" she teased him.

But he fell very silent and stilled completely. After long moment of quiet introspection he looked deeply at her, into her and then told her with profound seriousness, "I dreamed about this… us…our children…you and me together in this house with our kids." He told her solemnly.

"In this dream, did these kids have names cause that would save a lot of time and agonizing," she smirked at him. He was not going to make her cry, she promised herself.

"Well…now that you mention it," she watched the mischievous spark in his eye begin to catch hold.

"No fruit names, Charlie," she put her finger on his lips, "promise me…I want your word, no child of ours will be named after a fruit." He nodded earnestly and crossed his heart with her finger and then kissed it.

"How about flowers? Could we name her after a flower?" he shot back after a brief pause. Dani threw her head back in mock agony and groaned. Charlie buried his head in her chest and laughed quietly, kissing her as they both caught their breath.

There was a loud crash downstairs, followed by Ted's audible "oops" resulting in more laughter.

"Neither of you have one ounce of impulse control," Dani giggled.

They rose together, brushed their teeth and Dani her hair before descending the stairs to greet Ted. Charlie reached the bottom of the stairs well ahead of Dani, hugging Ted and announcing "Merry Christmas, buddy". Ted just blushed at his friend's effusiveness.

"Wow, if you're this excited now, just wait until we get to the gifts," Ted remarked wryly.

"Already got my first and best one, maybe the best one ever," Charlie whispered seeming like he might take flight with his buoyant mood, inclining his head toward Dani who was descending the stairs focused on the strong smell of coffee.

"Listen Charlie, I know you like her, but I don't need a blow by blow," Ted said blushing.

Charlie connected the dots and rolled his eyes, "its not that. Although…." But decided against finishing the thought out loud. "No," he smiled and crossed the distance in a few long strides to lift Dani Reese off the stairs, spin her around and place her on the marble floor.

She scowled at him. "What did I tell you about picking me up?" He swallowed hard.

"That it equaled death," he repeated with his head down, "but it isn't everyday..."

"Christmas? No thank god." Ted laughed, "we'd go broke just from what you lavish on Dani." She frowned at them both.

"I need coffee." She pronounced.

"Is that okay? For the…" he looked down at her belly and arched his eyebrows.

She whispered at him with a huge grin on her face, "it's okay to say the word 'baby' Crews. And this kid will be drinking coffee from the bottle." She said decidedly.

Charlie just nodded and turned to his friend, "Ted, we're going to have a baby," he chattered animatedly, "a little girl." He'd apparently set his heart on this undefined fact. Dani rolled her eyes at him.

"What? I hope… a little girl," he qualified himself, "…or a boy. Either way I'm fine. But a baby Ted! We're having a baby," he said trying to stifle himself from shouting it and jumping around like he'd just won the lottery. Although in Charlie's case with his past and baggage, she considered it might be the genetic equivalent.

Dani secretly loved the fact that when Charlie told his friend, as she knew he invariably would (barely able to contain himself) he'd chosen to say it that way.

Most men would say "I'm going to be a father", like they done something on their own, but not Charlie Crews. They were having a baby, the two of them, together, partners in everything now.

Dani ducked into the kitchen ostensibly to grab coffee, but she had to wipe at her own tears, swearing softly "bastard still made me cry".

It was still quite dark outside, though dawn was tingeing the sky. Dani did not even want to venture a guess at the hour that Charlie first dragged her from their warm bed. Last Christmas, without kids to sleep in she thought wrecked by the man now racing very high-end remote control cars with Ted around the foyer. She'd bought them as a pair, thinking the expensive toys would be something Charlie and Ted would enjoy. And they did, smiling and playfully jostling each other like eight year olds, as the cars raced around the foyer and kitchen and patio, at frightening speeds and often with cataclysmic results.

In the background, a giant Douglas fir twinkled with multi-color lights and way too many icicles, which Charlie considered an experiment. He began by tossing them from the second floor for better dispersal and ended with slinging whole fistfuls at the tree, laughing until he nearly doubled over.

Ted bought her elegant crystal ornaments as well as traditional shiny red, blue, green, gold and silver balls commenting, "shiny silver handcuffs were not at all festive." They'd nearly made themselves sick stringing popcorn one night and those efforts also hung on the monstrous tree. It was a very festive fir, she concluded, one that has nearly crashed a couple times from very high speed collisions with Charlie's car.

"See why I don't let him drive," she told Ted, who'd laughed good-naturedly.

They'd skipped making breakfast, in favor of just coffee and Danishes, but Dani's stomach rumbled and she knew that soon she'd not be able to skip her morning meal. She was sitting on the couch, sipping her second coffee, wearing a frightfully expensive pair of diamond studs that Charlie insisted really didn't cost that much, while Ted shook his head vigorously behind his friend's back.

Charlie loved to spoil her. Their children would be similarly lavished with gifts and it would fall to Dani to restrain him from giving their little girl the moon and a full set of stars before her first birthday. Dani absently stroked her own belly realizing he'd converted her to thinking about the baby as a little girl from his constant reference to "her".

"I'm serious about the flower thing," he remarked from behind. "Wouldn't Lily be a beautiful name for our daughter, Dani?" he murmured in her ear, "or Rosa" he offered a compromise. "Or how about Lily Rose?" Dani wrinkled her nose. "Okay, okay, little too storybook." She nodded, but said nothing.

Ted excused himself, deciding the time was right to present his gift to his friends. He crept quietly to his apartment and retrieved the small yellow pup from her crate. "You be good," he coached, "these are the best masters any dog could wish for" he promised the quiet little pup.

Charlie had Dani wrapped in his embrace on the couch as he gently stroked her hair and they drank their coffee contentedly.

"Ahem," Ted said stepping through the door with his hand behind his back. "This is for both of you," and he placed the puppy on the ground. Dani just gaped and Charlie's eyes lit up, then he grinned.

"A house is not a home without a dog," Ted pronounced, "or so said the breeder."

Dani set her coffee cup on the sofa table and leaned over to quietly clap her hands and beckon to the puppy. The pup took one backwards glance at Ted and scampered into Dani's waiting hands.

"Yeah, I'd pick her too," Ted said softly when the pup made a beeline for Dani.

"Are you sure you're not trying to steal my girl?" Charlie laughed as the puppy licked at Dani's face and chewed her hair.

Ted just laughed, "like that's even possible. You two? You two have to be together, no one else would put up with either of you," his honesty refreshing.

"He's right you know?" Charlie seized the pup by the muzzle and planted a big kiss on it. The pup was taken aback and paused before again ferociously licking every exposed surface. "Does she have a name?" Charlie asked chuckling at their predicament.

"Uh…something official and long, but the breeder just called her Daisy," Ted said, the amusement and happiness apparent in his voice.

Charlie froze for a second and then looked directly at Dani. "Wait…" he started.

"Oh, no mister. Daisy it is. That's one less flower name you can burden our children with," she finished, smiling brightly at him.

About a half hour later, Ted excused himself, intent on visiting his grandson and showering gifts upon his namesake, now that it was a decent hour. Charlie and Dani filled a big bowl from the kitchen with water and a smaller one with some kibble, which the hyperactive puppy ravenously devoured before falling asleep half in and half out of his food bowl. The house finally quieted down.

"Listen," Charlie told her.

"Are you talking to me or the dog?" Dani smarted back.

"By next Christmas, we'll have a rambunctious puppy and an infant. It will never be this quiet in here again." He remarked.

"Will you miss it?" She asked. "The solace, the quietness, the peace."

"Nope," he said without hesitation. "Life is noisy, messy and sometimes nerve-wracking, but it's real.

"Yeah, but….." she began, wondering what would happen to his meditations and all his space, when the clutter of life over took them.

"Shhhh…" he coached stroking her head and holding her close. "Confucius said 'wheresoever you go, go with all your heart'." He turned her to face him "my heart goes with you, wherever you want, for as long as I live," he was quite seriously.

"Don't you make me cry, Charlie," she warned him softly.

"Here, I got something that'll cheer you up after being told you're saddled with me for the rest of your life," he joked and announced, "I got you something else," he said handing her a small red velvet box.

Dani held the box but did not open it. Instead she sought his eyes and told him very plainly, "you know I love you right? I'm not saddled with you, I chose you, Charlie." she was very serious and her confession heartfelt.

"That's my girl," he kissed her forehead, "now open your present."

When she opened it Dani had to grin. "Aw, how thoughtful. My own key to my car," she teased when she opened the small box and found the Maserati logo on the shiny silver key.

"No, honey. Not your own key," he said anxiously as he grabbed her by the hand and dragged to the door of their home, "your own car." And sure enough there in the drive set a matching car, equal to his in size and power, a candy apple red Maserati Quattro Porte.

"That's not for me," she joked, "that's so you can have your car back."

He looked a bit chagrinned and then gathered her into his arms and said softly into her ear, "I'll get car seats for both of them." He was still high on the fact he was going to be a father, have a family and the joyousness in him was barely containable, again reminding her of a young child.

He put his hand on her waist and she warned him sternly, "pick me up Crews and you die." He sighed heavily knowing she was on to him, but was content to simply hold her tightly against his chest as the sun rose over the mountains behind their home.

"Look, Dani, it's a whole new day," his voice thick with emotion. Dani smiled knowing it was for them - a fresh start, a new life and beginning again. Rebirth, renewal, love and light - it changed the world coloring it shades she had yet to learn the names for, but ones they would learn together.