Hit a bit of a roadblock on "To Live Again" so I decided to let the muse play with something else. :o)

Since Christmas is less than 2 weeks away I figured I'd do a holiday themed story with A&A. Enjoy :o)

DISCLAIMER: As usual; I don't own anything. Just like playing around w the characters.

-Chapter 1-

"I think you're staring at me," Auggie mumbled, he was drifting somewhere between asleep and awake. He'd registered that Annie was awake a while earlier, and for the past couple of minutes he'd had a feeling that she was staring at him.

"I am," Annie said as she placed a kiss on his cheek. "How do you know that?"

"It's a sixth sense, well actually a fifth…," Auggie said with a small, self conscious laugh. "But ya know, it's not fair to stare at a blind guy. It's not like I can reciprocate."

"Stop whining Aug, you do just fine in the reciprocating department and you know it. You don't get any kind of sympathy from me by playing the blind card."

"Harsh!" Auggie said as he reached over and pulled Annie closer to him. To his disappointment she'd pulled on what he assumed was one of his t-shirts. "And now you're stealing my clothes?"

"It's not like I have a robe here and I don't feel like cooking breakfast naked."

"You're cooking us breakfast? I guess we're having yoghurt and cereal," Auggie chuckled.

"Very funny. I might not be Danielle's caliber in the kitchen, but I make a mean omelet."

"The fire extinguisher is on the bottom of the broom cupboard, right side, all the way back in the corner," Auggie said matter of factly. That earned him a pillow in his face. "Hey, that's not fair."

"What?"

"Throwing stuff at the blind guy without warning me first."

"Shut up and go shower," Annie said as she got out of Auggie's bed and headed down to the kitchen. Auggie laughed and untangled himself from the covered and headed into the bathroom. He was surprised at how easily Annie fitted into his life. They had adjusted to each other effortlessly and there hadn't been any of the awkward 'get used to living with a blind guy' moments he'd experienced with Parker. Annie knew to place her shoes somewhere out of the way so he didn't trip over them and didn't move his things. He hadn't needed to have 'the talk' with Annie, and he was infinitely grateful for that. When he was with Parker it had been a case of constant repetition.

Half an hour later they were sitting by the breakfast bar in Auggie's kitchen, sipping coffee. They had finished their breakfast and while Annie had cleaned up the kitchen Auggie had prepared another pot of coffee.

"You're staring again," he chuckled. "Do I have food on my face or a stain on my shirt you haven't told me about?"

"No stains or food on your face. You're perfect and I'm just enjoying the view," Annie answered with a smile.

"You think I'm perfect?" Auggie asked with disbelief lacing his voice.

"Absolutely," Annie said as she wrapped her arms around Auggie's neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

"For the record I think you're perfect too," Auggie said with a smile as they broke apart. "And I have something I want to talk to you about."

"What?" Annie asked as she refilled their coffees and climbed onto her stool again.

"Danielle and Michael are staying in California for Christmas, right?"

"Yeah. Danielle's catering business has really blossomed over the past few months and she's got several Christmas events booked. Between her catering gigs and Michael's promotion they just don't have the time to travel across the country. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I only got Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off this year, so travelling to Glencoe to see my family is out of the question. You only have those two days off too, right?"

"Yeah. How did you know? Joan told me yesterday, right before we left work."

"I've got Langley wired, you should know that by now," Auggie chuckled.

"True."

"Anyway, I was thinking that if you don't have any other plans we could celebrate Christmas together."

"I'd love that."

"Great! Let's go tree shopping today," Auggie suggested.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Lets buy a Christmas tree. There's a tree lot a couple of blocks away, where the run down old condominium was, remember? I passed it the other day. Heard the music and smelled the pine."

"You wanna get a Christmas tree? A real one?"

"It's part of the tradition, right? I have lights and decorations in a storage crate down in the basement."

"Yeah…it's just…you never struck me as a big Christmas decorator. It's not like you can see it all."

"That's why I want a real tree. At least I can enjoy the smell," Auggie smirked.

Are you ready for Christmas with A&A?

Please leave me a review and let me know what you think.

You know the muse and I love it. :o)