Chapter One- I'll Be Home For Christmas

Emily sighed, sliding the ham back into the oven, giving it another chance to get warm in the hope that her husband might be home soon. She eyed the roasted potatoes critically, watching them sizzle and crack under the heat of the oven and decided to take them out to let them cool so they'd be ready and not over cooked, just in case. Emily picked them up, then realizing she had no free hands to close the oven door with. She took her foot and slammed it almost angrily causing the whole stove to rattle as she sat the potatoes on the burners and finally threw her oven mitts onto the counter.

Emily surveyed the contents of her stove: there was the gravy which had grown cold long ago and was beginning to congeal, the mashed potatoes were cold and lumpy and of course, the roasted potatoes. She'd been wrong about them before, it was too late and they were in fact overcooked, almost to the point of being charred. Actually, she felt she could relate to them. She was waiting and waiting, reheating, getting ready over and over again for something she was starting to think wasn't going to happen.

"Well here's what could've been a nice evening wasted." She said, looking up at the clock, which read eight-thirty exactly. "Great, now you're talking to yourself Emily."

Bob had left several hours before to treat just one patient, one who he'd seen earlier in the day and he'd yet to return. She was worried something had happened to him but couldn't bring herself to voice it or truly consider it. The snowstorm was fierce outside and growing more so by the moment. If she weren't worried about the possibility of her husband being out in it somewhere, it would be something that would be enjoyable to watch. It was kind of romantic. Even now, Emily admitted to herself that watching the snow cascade down from the sky would set a perfect mood for the type of evening they had planned.

"Oh Bob." She said, sitting down on the edge of the stairs and placing her head in her hands. "Honey where are you?"

Emily could feel that tug in her stomach again. The one that made her feel like her guts were tied in knots and gave her the most fervent urge to cry. She sniffled a little, but then told it no, refusing to give power to a fear that probably wasn't real anyway. Bob was the love of her life and she'd been looking forward to this Christmas ever since they'd realized they'd get to spend it alone together for the first time. So he was okay, he had to be.

Emily jumped when she heard the phone ring. It was in her hands and she found herself greeting the caller before she could even remember getting up to answer the phone in the first place.

"Bob?" She asked, more than a hint of desperation in her voice.

"E-Emily?"

"Bob!" She could feel a smile spread across her face. "Honey where…"

"I'm still at the office." Bob said. Emily could feel her smile begin to fade as soon as he said this. "A-and the power's out, it's freezing in here." Had she been able to see Bob she'd know he was still wearing his coat and hat.

"Oh honey!" She wanted to say she'd been waiting for hours; but he already knew that.

"A-and the power's out and the elevator's stuck. Honey I'll try to get home to you as soon as…"

"Bob!" She cried, noting quickly that the receiver was dead.

Emily slammed the phone down again and went back to sitting on the steps. There she gave in and finally began to cry.

…

Back in his office, Bob was attempting to figure out how he was going to get home. He poked his head out of his office door to find that his colleagues behavior was far more out of control than when he'd left and went to make his phone call. He blinked, watching them for a moment in their state of debauched drunkenness. He watched Jerry in particular who was busy taking shots in honor of the holiday and had to laugh momentarily. This party reminded him of old times with Cliff Murdoch, and was something that would be fun to stick around for if he didn't have someone who he desperately wanted to get home to. Looking around, Bob noticed he was practically the only one there who had someone at home he wanted to be with. Jerry and Carol lived alone. Bernie Tupperman certainly didn't want to go home to Tippy, and he doubted that Mr. Peterson really wanted to go home to Doris now that he didn't have a real gift for her.

Not really knowing what to do now that the elevators were down, Bob retreated back into the office. At least when the phone had been working he'd been able to talk to Emily. In truth, he felt guilty, like this whole mess was his own fault. Bob sat back down in his desk chair, realizing that he never ever should've come here to help Mr. Peterson. He should've stayed home with Emily when he'd left the second time. Then, the snow was just gently beginning to fall and he'd told himself he'd be home again before the storm really started. Emily had kissed him before he walked out the door.

"Here's a little incentive." She'd said before she'd grabbed him by the jacket and pressed her lips against his almost roughly.

It had been wonderful incentive to return home as quickly as possible. And now that he was stuck there, the incentive was making him miserable. The feel of her kiss lingered on his lips even a couple of hours later, serving as an enticing reminder of what awaited him at home.

"Wow. What an idiot I am…I could've had her all to myself this Christmas." He muttered.

Bob sighed, looking at his watch; it was nearly nine o'clock now and he knew that if he was going to get out of here and get home it would have to be now or never. After all, the storm was only going to get worse and if he started now, they'd still be able to share Christmas Eve.

"Dr. Hartley, I'm ready to try now." Bob looked up when Mr. Peterson came back in the room.

He'd been drinking the spiked eggnog Carol had made and after an hour of being too afraid to go out into the snow, had finally decided that he was brave enough to go home. Bob didn't fully realize that it was his wife Doris he was really afraid of, not the snow.

"T-that's great Mr. Peterson. I've decided it's time for me to go too."

"I'll wait for you at the elevator Dr. Hartley."

"M-Mr. Peterson, it's out of order!" He called as Mr. Peterson wandered back into the crowd, forcing Bob to wonder if he actually had true intentions of leaving the party or if he also just wanted something else to drink.

Bob shook his head and grabbed his scarf off his desk. It was awfully cold out and he wondered if he'd freeze to death out there trying to get home. It was then that he remembered the extra jacket he kept in his desk drawer. Bob decided that putting it on under his other coat might be a good idea. He opened the drawer and took out the lightweight jacket, a small box underneath it quickly catching his eye. He smiled as he picked it up and turned it over in his hands.

"I knew there was a reason I came here." He said, stuffing it into his jacket pocket where he was sure it would be safe.

Bob had a smile on his face as he buttoned the last button of the second coat he was wearing. He now had an added mission: getting this surprise home to Emily in time for Christmas.

….

It had been almost an hour since Bob called her and now she was nervous as ever and tired on top of it. Emily had given up and turned the oven off, leaving the overcooked food to get cold on top of the stove. She'd grabbed a blanket and curled up on the couch in a fetal position. She was sad and lonely and had not bothered to turn on any lights or the television, she just lye in the dark trying not to think about much of anything but her thoughts were running wild. Every once in a while she took a sip of the alcohol. It was soothing and dulled her senses, but not enough to make her stop thinking. She told herself over and over again that Bob would be fine and watched as an array of shadows danced across the walls to the rhythm of the candlelight that ebbed back and forth.

Emily held herself tightly around the middle as she turned to face the couch cushions. At least if Bob had stayed at the office she'd know he'd be safe, and instead she knew he'd set out for home. It had been too long now and she was worried that something had happened. It shouldn't take him this long to get home from work even though it was clear across town. She remembered the incentive she'd given him to stay home hours earlier and felt guilty about it, wishing she would've said something about staying safe in the snow instead of kissing him in the lustful way she had. That was the other reason Emily was irritated; she really was feeling very…lustful.

Emily truly didn't know how she'd survive without Bob. She turned back over and even in the dark she could see all the things that they'd planned for first this Christmas alone together. In many ways, she felt like it was their first Christmas as a couple, which was of course ridiculous, it was more like their fifth. But being that they'd get to be completely alone for the first time, it catapulted them back into that extra romantic honeymoon phase where they doted on and wanted nothing but each other. She loved that renewed love and energy between them and it was supposed to have been the focus of not just their whole night but the week they'd be spending alone together. Emily sat up, chastising herself for laying there like a lump when Bob was out there somewhere fighting hard to get back to her. She dried her eyes and told herself that she needed to make some calls to try to figure out where her husband was exactly.

Emily took a deep breath as she grabbed the phone and went and sat back on the carpeted steps near the bookshelf. She was nervous and almost felt as if she were steadying herself. She decided to call Carol first in the hopes that the power had come back on at the office and the party was still going on.

"It's okay, he's got to be okay. And Carol should know something, right?" She told herself as she began to dial the office's number. "Carol?" She asked.

"Oh hi Emily!" Carol exclaimed, her voice so loud it caused Emily to flinch and momentarily pull away from the phone. "Hey everybody look it's Emily!" She heard Carol call.

"Hi Emily!" Emily was surprised to hear the entire group of partygoers greet her….loudly.

"You uh…you're drinking some eggnog?" Emily guessed.

"Yes Emily that's right! How'd ya know?"

'Because you're slurring your words….' Emily wanted to say. Emily had had a little to drink, but she was by no means drunk.

"Oh just a hunch." She said instead. "Is Bob there?"

"Bob?" Carol asked. "Bob!" She called.

"Bob?" Emily could hear a couple of other partygoers repeat and she hoped that met maybe he'd stayed there after all.

"Are you crazy?" Another slurred voice indicated. Emily immediately recognized it as belonging to Jerry. "Bob left over an hour ago!" Emily's heart sunk when she heard this.

"Emily, Jerry says…"

"I-I know. I heard." Emily said. "Merry Christmas please let me know if he comes back…or if you hear anything."

"Of course Emily." Even drunk, Carol was beginning to understand why Emily had called. It'd been over an hour in a storm like this and Bob still wasn't home. It was enough to make her worry now too.

"Oh and Carol?"

"Yes."

"Have some coffee: treat yourself."

Emily sighed when she hung up the phone with Carol. It was going on two hours now since she'd spoken to Bob. She crossed her arms and went over to the patio door, looking out into the abyss of snow and wind. Perhaps she should go out and search for him. What, exactly, did she have to loose at this point? Not much, just her life. Maybe it was the honeymoon period mushiness talking. Or the scotch. After several years of marriage, the mushiness had come back with a vengeance. Either way, she didn't think she could stand sitting there anymore when she could be out looking for him.

…

Bob and Mr. Peterson had not anticipated how difficult it would be just to get to the car. It took the two men twenty-minutes to make it down eight flights of stairs, guided by the light of one flashlight, which was dying. The two were encouraged to finally get in Bob's car and start driving. But the problems began literally as soon as the car emerged from the building's underground parking lot. Bob didn't think he'd ever driven in conditions like quite like this. The abundance of falling snow served to whiteout both the road and the sky. For a moment, Bob couldn't see where he was going at all, but the light provided by the car's headlights shone just enough to cut through the snow and enable him to drive literally at a snail's pace. Bob could sense Mr. Peterson beginning to freak out in the passenger's seat next to him and sighed. How was he supposed to concentrate with Mr. Peterson beginning to panic?!

"Oh my God we're going to crash!" Mr. Peterson screamed.

"W-we're not going to crash, will you settle down?!" Bob exclaimed, looking over at his panicking patient. But looking over for just a second was just enough.

"Dr. Hartley, look out!"

When he wasn't looking Bob veered into a snowdrift, which caused Mr. Peterson to begin yelling again. Bob tried to correct his steering but the front of the car ended up stuck in the snow anyway. Once stuck, he tried to back up but the car's wheels just spun in vein. Bob sighed and took the keys out of the ignition, almost throwing them on the dash. Instead he took a deep breath. This was Mr. Peterson's fault, very technically, but Bob decided there was no use in getting angry with him for it.

"Come on." He said, putting his hat back on and beginning to open the door.

"Come on?" Mr. Peterson asked. "Where are we going? We can't go anywhere in this snow." He cried, anxiously following as Bob got out of the car.

Mr. Peterson followed him as he began to walk and almost slipped on the snow, gaining his balance before he could land on his face. Bob knew where he was going: home, without a question. Anyone else who saw the two men walking would realize that Bob was determined to get wherever he was headed, but Mr. Peterson didn't realize that quite yet.

"But how will we…" Mr. Peterson complained as he followed Bob down the street. It was obvious to Bob that he was scared and half in the bag, but he didn't care anymore and continued to walk.

"Look there's a cab!" Bob was excited to see the taxi.

They were not alone on the street. There were a few other people who were struggling through the storm, but he'd not expected to see a taxi happen by. Bob wanted to get Mr. Peterson out of his way so he could dig the car out of the snow and continue on his way home as quickly as possible.

"Taxi! Taxi!" Bob called, running down the middle of the street after the cab. It stopped when it saw him in the rearview mirror and Bob shoved his hurried patient inside as soon as he caught up to the car.

"Here." Bob said. "Take this man anywhere he wants to go!"

"Even the North Pole?" Mr. Peterson questioned.

"Yes Mr. Peterson, h-he'll take you to Santa..b-but you should go home." When Mr. Peterson wasn't looking, Bob motioned to the cab driver that his friend was in fact, drunk. Mr. Peterson was more drunk than he seemed, he'd fallen on the stairs many times on their way down from the seventh floor.

"It's okay Mac," the driver said. "I'll take good care of your friend."

"Great. Good night Mr. Peterson."

"Merry Christmas Dr…..Hartley." Mr. Peterson finished as the cab sped off. Bob slammed before Mr. Peterson could even complete the phrase Merry Christmas.

Bob quickly went to work digging his car out of the snow and once he'd almost finished he saw his keys fall out of his pocket and disappear into the snow.

"Damn it!" He yelled. After some painstaking searching, he finally dug them out dried them off and got back in the car…but when he tried to start it: nothing. "Damn it." He muttered again, allowing his head to hit the steering wheel in frustration.

Bob was freezing now and he certainly wasn't going to wait for a cab to happen by. Instead, he began to walk.

….

Emily hadn't realized just how frigid the weather was going to be until she took her first step out the door of their building. The wind pushed her back and she flinched, shutting her almost sapphire blue eyes at the biting cold. Emily shook off the cold and ventured out into the snow.

It wasn't the snow that was hard to deal with so much as the freezing wind, which blew in from off the lake and chilled her to the bone. Emily crossed her arms, wrapping herself in a hug as she walked. If she was so cold after being outside for just a matter of moments what had become of her husband? She had been crying, and even the tears spilling onto her cheeks and the snot running out her nose were freezing cold.

"Yeah a nice cozy Christmas alone together, yeah right…Merry Christmas Emily!" She scoffed sarcastically as she schlepped through the snow.

Meanwhile, Bob had found a cab after walking several blocks. The storm intensified greatly during the time he rode in the cab and there were a few times where he thought he probably wouldn't get home.

"I'm going to have to drop you off here." The driver said, pulling over in front of a house and turning off the car.

"Here but I…"

"I'm sorry buddy, it's Christmas Eve. I gotta get home too."

"O-oh." Bob understood. He peered out the window and saw that there were two children gathered looking out a second floor window of the house. "T-this is your house."

"That's right. And I have a family to get home to."

"M-me too."

"It's alright; you've only got four miles. You can make it." The driver encouraged.

Bob was admittedly a little afraid once they parted ways. Four miles was a long way in a storm like this. Unlike before, when he and Mr. Peterson were still a few blocks from the office, there was no one around. The streets were bare except for the snow and dead silent save the howling of the wind. If something happened to him now, there'd be no one there to save him. Bob said a gruff Merry Christmas to the cab driver and put his hands in his pockets, feeling thankful that at least he knew which direction home was from here. His hand clutched the little box in his pocket, serving as impetus to get him home to Emily faster. He wanted to see the look on her face when he surprised her with this. He knew she'd love it. But more than anything, he just wanted to see her.

"Oh what am I doing out here?" Emily groaned in defeat.

She looked around her and felt a chill go up her spine, one not at all related to cold, when she realized that she was out there all alone. As much as she wanted to be doing something and looking for her husband, she realized that she had no business being out there. It was almost whiteout like conditions and she knew if she went much further she was going to get lost. As much as she wanted to save Bob, she did not want to freeze to death out there. Emily began to shed a new batch of tears at this thought. What if he really was freezing to death somewhere and there was nothing that could be done about it. Emily stopped and allowed herself to burst out crying, her tears impeding her already compromised vision.

"Oh Bob where are you?" She whispered. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself and continued walking; not ready to give up just yet.

Emily jumped when she saw what looked like a figure in the distance walking toward her. That couldn't be it. No one was around…Emily blinked, taking a second look. She was right, someone was coming toward her.

"Hello?" She called when she got a little closer to the figure, still unable to clearly make it out.

"H-hello?" Emily's eyes widened at the sound of the voice.

"Bob!" She called.

"E-Emily?"

"Bob!" She squealed with relief, running to him.

"Emily!" Bob laughed, taking her in his arms and hugging her tightly. She grabbed his face by his cheeks and kissed him so deeply it almost took him by surprise. He tightened his hold on her and the snow cascaded down on them as they kissed.

"Oh honey you're so cold." She giggled, warmly cupping his cheeks in her hands, and bringing in the tip of his nose to touch hers.

"My Emily what are you doing out here?" He asked, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I came looking for you. What are you doing out here?!"

"Coming home to you. And I'm so glad I found you."

"Oh honey, I'm so glad you found me too! Because you're the best Christmas present ever." Bob leaned in and kissed her this time, almost not letting her finish her words. He was so happy that he'd found her in time to spend Christmas Eve with her. It met everything to him.

"Come on sweetheart." She said, wrapping her arm around his. "Let's go home."

Without another word, Bob and Emily turned back in the direction from which she came and headed toward their apartment arm-in-arm. Only now the intensity, and the worry both had carried with them over the past few hours had faded away and been replaced with the purest happiness at having found each other.