(Kix) This story is part of a competition between myself and Oki; I failed at writing Chapter 9 of "Lost Hope" so to make up for the time lost we're both making special Christmas one-shots. However, it's also a bet; whoever loses has to finish Chapter 9 (which has been a real b*tch lately). So please review and say this fail is better than hers (though I REALLY doubt it... I mean, it's Oki for crying out loud). C'mon, I don't WANT to work over the Christmas break, so make her do it! =P

This one is a Trauma Team based fanfic.
I believe hers will be very DerekXAngie-centric, so it's Trauma Center X-mas there.

And please think about it like this: For Christmas, *insertnamehere* wants...

And yes BloodyRosalia, ideas DO come to writers overnight. You just have to be patient with your work and hope for the best when typing.

CR-S01 burst through the doors of Resurgam, walking down the halls in a speed that was a cross between sprinting and walking. He tried to make it seem as though he were in his unnaturally calm state, though it was difficult after the image of someone dying on the table implanted into his mind. He had received a frantic phone call from one angry Maria Torres just recently telling him that he "needed to be down here immediately or else".

CR-S01 didn't know what to be more scared of...

The dying patient.
Or the "or else".

As he speed-walked down the hall to the OR where Maria demanded that he met her, he found Tomoe who also happened to be headed for the same place as him, but was going at a considerably slower rate because most of her attention was occupied on the charts she was gazing at. Noticing that kimono-ridden woman was about to run into a wall, the prisoner quickly made it to her side and placed his hands on her shoulders to guide her away from the fate of walking right into solid object.

"Oh-!" Tomoe finally took her eyes away from the charts and realized what just happened. She noticed the hands on her shoulders and looked back to find CR-S01 still right behind her, guiding her to where they both needed to be.

"What's the matter with the patient?" CR-S01 knew how to get right to the point; frankly he didn't really mind going through that small service. He understood just how busy doctors could be when a surprise patient was brought in.

"He was brought in recently after someone found him on their front step." Tomoe explained. She handed CR-S01 the charts and he let go of her shoulders and read through what she had. "For some reason he collapsed and ever since he had been brought here, his vitals have been plummeting."

CR-S01 browsed through the charts and noticed that there seemed to be many areas of vital information missing; mainly about the man's identity and the cause. There were many gaps in the information; the surgeon already knew that this would be difficult.

"You!"

CR-S01 looked up and saw a woman in a green and yellow jacket and short shorts (despite the freezing temperatures outside) stalking towards him angrily.

"It took you long enough! What were you doing? Did the two of you stop off at a restaurant before coming here or something?"

"Maria, that's not true..." Tomoe interjected. "In fact, we were moving as fast as we could."

"Well it didn't seem like it by the way the both of you were just casually strolling down the hall! You two should have been sprinting down!" Maria scowled and then pointed towards the room she had just exited from. "Now get in, dammit!"

Without another word, the three stepped into the OR where a couple of other people needed on the scene and the patient resided. CR-S01 stepped up to the sleeping man who was knocked out due to the anaesthesia being administered. The man seemed rather old; he was bald and had a rather long white beard.

"Wow, that's some spare tire. Old man knows how to eat."

The three turned around to find Gabriel standing casually by the doorway, the scent of cigarette stink announcing his presence. His arm was rested on the frame as his one leg held the door open. He was leaning on the frame for support and it radiated a very casual aura from his posture. The diagnostician sniffed the air and sighed.

"Aside from the smell of sanitizing alcohol, he smells of cookies too..." Without listening to Maria's protests of "why are you here?" and "get the hell outta here!" he walked right up to the man.

All three of them became silent as they watched a smile suddenly grow onto Gabe's face. His eyes seemed to gleam with a happy thought that had formed the instant he made it to the man's side. A slight chuckle escaped his lips, but the diagnostician allowed a bit more to escape until he was full-out laughing to himself.

"...Why are you laughing?" Tomoe asked shyly.

"Simple." Gabe replied as he turned on his heels to face the people behind him that he had completely forgotten about. The smile he had was permanently plastered onto his face for the day; the thought in his head made his day. "...This man just reminded me that I still need to get a Christmas present for Joshua." And with that, he stepped out of the room with a rather festive mood that made those he passed by stare at him in surprise. He could have almost been skipping out merrily.

Maria calmed down as soon as her arch-enemy left, but then after thinking on what the diagnostician said, she gave a dumbfounded look to the doorway. "What... Gabe never takes the time to look for a Christmas present for anyone..." she murmured. "...What has gotten into him?"

CR-S01 shrugged. "I'm not sure." he replied. He glanced at the vitals and realized that once again they had plummeted quite significantly. "Okay, I guess we'll have to begin the operation blind then."

Tomoe gazed at the surgeon nervously. "You just got here and you're not even properly prepared or scrubbed up... are you sure about this?"

CR-S01 looked back and gave the endoscopic surgeon a warm and calming smile. "Of course I am." he replied. "If we wait any longer, he could die and I would rather have him suffer from a more minor disease due to germs I may be carrying right now than from whatever he is suffering from at this moment." Signalling to Maria to be his assistant, he picked up a stethoscope and used it to listen to his heartbeat and breathing.

"Is there something wrong, Doctor?" Maria asked when she noticed that CR-S01 had become hesitant to move from the place he was on now.

"Yes, I believe that this man may have something wrong in his chest." he replied. "The heartbeat is erratic and his breathing is a lot softer than it should be." He put away the stethoscope and then smeared the green antibiotic gel to sanitize the incision area. "I'll be making my incision here then." He received the scalpel from Maria and made his cut in.

Soon after opening him up, the three instantly became silent.

"...What is that?" Tomoe asked curiously as she gazed at the man's innards. "...How is that even possible?"

"Is it Rosalia?" Maria asked. She too was in shock with what they were seeing.

"No. Rosalia is a bad thing..." CR-S01 murmured. "...But this... this isn't a disease at all..." He placed the scalpel he had been holding down gently on the metal tray and the three allowed themselves to melt into the strange phenomenon in this man's body.

He had the basic human anatomy, but for an old man, his organs looked brand new and unworn. However, there seemed to be something glowing in the center of his heart. The three of them noticed the light become stronger and stronger and all three were lured into it until the light finally engulfed their vision.

Maria found herself on a beach on her own. She allowed the Sun to warm her body up as she slumped down in confusion. She could've sworn that she had just been in a middle of an important operation... how could she have ended up here.

"How did I end up here?" Maria asked herself. She looked out towards the ocean and watched as the tide came in and out and then continued this pattern over and over. Maria took off her jacket and used it as a towel so she didn't get too much sand on her legs. "Well, if I'm going to be in this weird place, I might as well enjoy it." She stretched out and sighed. "I needed a tan anyways."

She then calmed herself down while casting any feelings of fear, being alone, on a stranded island, and just lost in general aside. In this state, it looks like Maria had been longing for a vacation like this for so long. The immense pressure placed on her shoulders for being a paramedic was instantly relieved and for the first time in a while, she truly found peace.

"Ahh... this is paradise." she thought to herself just before almost drifting off to sleep.

Suddenly, she heard a bit of rustling from behind her. She got up and looked back and realized that there was a large forest on her paradise island. The rustling sound continued to grow stronger and after a minute, she noticed that there really was something moving towards her.

"Who's there?" she called out. She picked up a heavy rock that was just by her foot for self-defense and walked cautiously towards the thing moving closer. "I can take you on..." she reassured herself. "...I can handle anything."

Suddenly, the creature picked up speed until finally jumping out into the open. Maria gasped sharply in surprise, causing her to tumble back and drop the rock that was in her hand. Without looking behind her, she got up as fast as she could and sprinted towards the ocean; the only thing on her mind was to get away from that thing before it eats her.

However, just before she jumped into the ocean to swim off, the creature called out to her.

"Maria, where do you think you're going?" it chuckled light-heartedly.

Maria stopped herself despite what her instinct was telling her to do and looked back. The "creature" she was running away from was none other than Gabriel Cunningham and his big goofy smile.

"Did I scare you?" he laughed.

"Argh... you big idiot!" Maria clenched her fists tightly, then bent down, picked up a rock, and threw it fiercely at the diagnostician. However, she missed just barely. Gabe continued to laugh about the pathetic throw and she could only walk towards him angrily; she HAD to strangle him NOW.

"Whoa, I did scare you didn't I?" Suddenly Gabe stopped laughing and looked at Maria apologetically. "...I'm sorry."

With the apology, Maria's anger evaporated instantly. "...Wh-what did you say...?" she exclaimed in surprise. She looked into the man's eyes and saw that he really did seem sorry. She was instantly taken aback; Gabe would never act like this.

"...Is there something wrong, Ms. Torres?" Gabriel asked hesitantly. Maria simply glared at him.

"Don't play dumb, of course there's something wrong!" Maria shouted out. "You're never sorry for me!"

"...What?" Gabe seemed genuinely confused. "...If I was cruel to you, you could've just said so..." He clutched his hands together and looked down to hide his blushing face. He shyly shuffled his feet from side to side and spoke in a timid voice. "...I would go through every length to make sure that you happy, Maria." he finally said.

"-WHAT?"

Maria felt like screaming on the inside, but in reality, she just couldn't bring herself to snap at this sweet and innocent version of Gabe. He was a completely different person for some reason; maybe being on this bizarre beach caused this.

Oh well, might as well go with the flow and milk this out while it lasts.

"...So you'd really go through anything to make me happy, huh?" Maria said with a sceptical smirk forming on her face. Gabriel looked up to the woman in front of him with confidence and gave her a large smile.

"Yeah, that's right!"

"Then let's begin, shall we?"

...

Ten minutes later, both Gabe and Maria managed to set up a make-shift beach volleyball set with the items they found on the beach. They even managed to find a used volleyball that just happened to wash up on shore.

Maria suggested this to test the lengths Gabe would go through to apparently "make her happy". Anyone who knew her long enough would know that she was a terrible volleyball player; people died of boredom waiting for Maria to at least get the ball over the net to the other side.

"Ready for this, Maria?" Gabe chimed. He gave her a sweet smile that almost made her sick considering that the image of the old Gabe was still with her. It was still difficult to comprehend the sudden change of heart this diagnostician had in comparison to the one she would always argue with on a day-to-day basis back at Resurgam.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be!" Maria called back. She tossed her jacket to the side and assumed the pose of a volleyball player to return his serve. The diagnostician too tossed off his clothes until he was only in his ripped slacks that now resembled make-shift shorts and his undershirt. He spat out the cigarette in his mouth and finally served the ball.

The ball landed on the ground nowhere near Maria was standing. In fact, she hadn't even moved at all. She was simply surprised that the man she was facing even knew how to play volleyball.

"Aww, lucky shot!" Maria called back out angrily. She couldn't help but be competitive; it was in her basic nature.

"Alright, I'll try again." Gabe replied. "You don't need to count that as a point, okay?" He caught the ball as Maria rolled it under the net to him, waited for Maria to get back to her position, then served the volleyball once more, this time more gently and purposely aimed to where Maria was standing.

"-I got it... I don't got it..." Maria tried to volley it back, but for some reason, her legs wouldn't co-operate with the rest of her body and though she hit the ball, it was with her head. She, along with the ball, fell to the ground in defeat. Gabriel quickly ran over to Maria's side.

"...Are you alright?" Gabe asked worriedly. "I hope I didn't hurt you too bad..."

Maria shook off his gesture of kindness, still a little crept out by it. She pulled off his arm from over her shoulder and was surprised by how buff and tone it was. She never really noticed the man's features because he always seemed to have a lab coat on which obscured everything.

But now...
Wait, what the hell was she thinking?

"Damn, this heat's getting to me I guess..." she muttered to herself as she got up with the help of Gabe. "And I'm alright, thanks."

"That's good." Gabriel chuckled. He looked at Maria with an affectionate gaze and sighed. "You know, you're a pretty hot volleyball player." he chuckled.

Maria blushed hotly. "You really think so..?" She then shook her head frantically. Seriously, what the hell? But then she looked back at Gabe and realized just how hot he was too... his body along with his normal bad-ass attitude really were attracting features when you sat down and thought about it.

Looks like Paradise Island just became a whole lot more heavenly.

Tomoe finally woke up.

She looked around and found that she was in a beautiful Japanese garden with several people that she swore she knew around in formal clothing. They were all sitting down and looking at her as though they were waiting for her to do something. They all seemed to be sitting in organized seating forming a long path down the middle; a path that she was on. There were several cherry blossoms petals blowing around in the wind and one of them got caught on her dress.

Wait...?
Dress?

She looked down and noticed that she was in a puffy white gown, the same type of gown that she had been always dreaming of wearing. She was all in white; no longer the pink kimono and lab coat that was otherwise known as her uniform. In her hands was a bouquet.

"I can't operate in this..." Tomoe sighed to herself, still as confused as ever. "A single drop of blood would stain this white dress."

"Don't be ridiculous... you're not operating today."

Tomoe lashed her head to the man beside her in surprise. It was her father dressed in his best clothing. He was in a green kimono symbolizing life, fertility, and nature. She was surprised because she could've sworn the last time she had seen her father, the two of them had gotten into a fight before her departure to Japan. However, he seemed rather pleased with her today.

"Wait, what do you mean, Father?" Tomoe asked dumbfounded. "We were just operating on that man..."

Suddenly, bells rang through the air. Tomoe looked around, trying to find the source of the ringing, but sighed after the unsuccessful attempt. A man by an organ then began to play on the piano and Tomoe finally managed to piece together everything in her mind, but the thought was too bewildering to her.

"Alright, it's time." Her father gave the endoscopic surgeon a calm and reassuring smile. "Are you ready?"

"...Umm..."

And with that, they began the stroll down the path before them. The flower girl threw cherry blossom petals around which landed on the red carpet that outlined the path to the altar at the end of the path. The organ player continued to play the trademark song for this event: "Here Comes the Bride".

Tomoe was in the middle of a wedding.

"Wait... then who am I about to be wed to?" Tomoe thought to herself as she and her father continued their stroll. She looked up and to the right of the priest in a black tux looking all nervous was none other than the third surgeon who was in the room at the time.

CR-S01.

CR-S01 opened his eyes. He found himself standing amongst many people; many of which he hadn't even met. They were all in organized rows and well-dressed. In the front row right beside him were his fellow surgeons from Resurgam. Behind him was Hank Freebird. He too was in a tux. They were all in a Japanese garden and he was right beside a pastor with a book, smiling at the sight before him.

"Man, I believe in you." Hank stated softly to him. "I'm confident that you two will live a great life together. I've always seen you two in this situation; I'm just glad that it worked out this way."

"What are you talking about?" CR-S01 asked in utter confusion. He looked down and in Hank's hands were two rings on a purple pillow. "Why do you have those?" he then asked.

"What do you mean?" Hank replied. "You asked me to be the best man..."

"Well... you are a pretty good guy..." CR-S01 replied, completely oblivious to the true meaning of the title.

"Hey, you should turn around... she's coming." Hank pushed on the prisoner's shoulders and forced him to face towards the woman with the man beside her. CR-S01 couldn't quite make out who the woman was, but she was beautiful. He couldn't see her face because of the veil, but he still placed on a smile despite his confusion.

But then after realizing everything he had seen, his confusion began to wear off and his mind finally pieced together what was going on. Somehow, he ended up in the middle of a wedding.

And he was about to be wed to someone.
But who?

Somehow, he managed to keep a genuine smile on the entire time the woman was walking towards him. Soon, the man, who was presumably the father of the woman, smiled towards him and handed his daughter off. CR-S01 moved to remove the veil from her face and blinked in surprise.

It was Tomoe Tachibana.

"We are gathered here today to happily wed these two." the pastor declared to the audience before them. Tomoe and CR-S01 could only blush; they were always too busy to think about these kinds of romantic situations, but now that it was forced upon them, they couldn't help but think nice hot thoughts about the person beside them.

"...I've never really seen him in this way..." Tomoe thought. "...But now... I never realize that he looked so great in a tuxedo..."

"So it's Tomoe..." CR-S01 murmured quietly. "...I'm glad."

Even though this was basically the most important day of the couple's lives, they couldn't help but sink deep into their own personal thoughts, completely drowning out the world around them with questions.

Finally, after intense thinking, CR-S01 gazed into his partner's eyes. He always thought that her eyes were pretty like gems, but these thoughts were always deluded with the fact that he needed to save someone's life or if he really was the one behind the attack at Cumberland.

But for some reason, something seemed to be locking those thoughts away in his head. He couldn't bring his attention away from the wedding and Tomoe Tachibana.

Though it wasn't as though he would want it any other way.

He decided that he would simply accept the fact that this was happening despite the confusion and just let it be. He let on another genuinely happy smile and held Tomoe's hand a little tighter.

"Her hand is so warm and soft." CR-S01 thought to himself.

Tomoe noticed the tightening of her partner's grip, causing her to snap out of her own train of thought. She blushed hotly; a blood stain wouldn't even compare to how red her face was at that moment. On the inside, she knew that she had been waiting for this moment in forever.

"...You may now kiss the bride."

CR-S01 and Tomoe snapped out of their love trance, then turned to the pastor confusedly. They were surprised by how fast this went; their thoughts must have made them lose track of time. They then turned back to each other and smiled.

"Dr. Tachibana... I thought that we were in the middle of an operation..." CR-S01 whispered hesitantly. Asking her a question like that was stupid, especially considering that they were in the middle of their wedding. Besides, she might not even know about it... maybe only he had the knowledge of what happened previously.

However, all of his doubts about asking that question faded off when Tomoe nodded in response. "I know..." she softly replied. She turned to her dad who was willing her to kiss her partner, as was everyone else in the crowd. CR-S01 turned to Hank for confidence, but his actions were telling him to go and kiss Tomoe already.

"Looks like we have no choice..." CR-S01 sighed.

"...I agree..." Tomoe replied, though she felt a little hurt by the way he put it. It seemed as though this was only happening because they were forced to do so, not because they wanted to. All her fantasies were instantly crushed.

Or they would've been hadn't it been for what CR-S01 said afterwards.

"...But I've always wanted this to happen." he continued on with a bit more confidence in his voice. "I'm just glad that you were always by my side even in those tough operations. You accepted me even though I was an outsider; an outcast. I felt more connected with you, Dr. Tachibana. You helped make me into the person who I am today; a person who won't run anymore from what he fears... because that wouldn't be the path of honour."

Tomoe gasped in surprise, and then began to tear up. "Thank you..." And with that, the two finally leaned forward and had the kiss that the couple had been longing for so long.

"Maria, Tomoe, Doctor!" Hank exclaimed as he ran into the room. One second, they were operating... next second they all suddenly collapse. He had been watching it via video feed set up in the room from the other side of the hospital and it took a while for him to get here. As soon as he arrived, he burst through the doors and screamed out in concern.

However, what he found was rather unusual.

Tomoe and CR-S01 were sleeping peacefully, their heads against each other while sitting up against the wall. It seemed as though they had been manipulated into that position by a third party. Hank looked around and found Maria against the operation table with a large smirk on her face, locked in her own fantasy.

"...Babe..." she murmured hotly. Hank could only give her a look of confusion.

He continued to examine the properties of the room. He knew that there was an operation going on, but for some reason, the room was clean. There were no traces of blood on the instruments and the personnel weren't here. Later on, he would find that the personnel that were supposedly here had no idea about what Hank knew happened here.

The last abnormality in the room was the disappearance of the patient. He knew that CR-S01 opened him up; he was witness to that via video cameras. However, the patient wasn't even there. The operating table, along with the remainder of the OR, was untouched. That mysterious man had vanished.

Hank checked the three surgeons and their conditions and found that they were all simply sleeping. He sighed in defeat and stepped out, knowing that they would all wake up on their own.

"It would be best if I just forgot about that operation..." Hank sighed. "...I mean, by the looks of things, it never even happened."

He stepped out of Resurgam to meet up with Claire. He cast all his confusion aside and put on his festive spirit. He and Claire had much Christmas shopping to do.

And so that's the end of this one-shot. Like I said, it's a competition between Oki and I to make the best Christmas one-shot and because I finished early (mainly because I was clearly rushing... I have work to do), I'm updating this early as well to get as many views as I can. No I am not cheating.

Please review!
I really want to beat Oki! =DD D

Oh yah, I also hope you enjoyed this fail!
Happy early Christmas you guys!

~(the second part of) PXLight~
.:;'Kix';:. =P

"Babe" is Gabriel Cunningham's new official pet name =D