Christmas Eve. Despite the fact that she was a grown woman who had moved out on her own and was living in the big city there was something about the holiday that made Janelle feel like a kid again.

There wasn’t any snow and the weather was actually unseasonably warm for this time of year, but the large tree was up in the foyer of the house and it was decorated with all the big, fancy decorations that would be expected in a house of this size, owned by a family like Janelle’s.

Greenery and lights encircled the bannisters that bordered the large staircase that led upstairs and wreaths and mistletoe hung on doors and in doorways. It really was a sight to see.

So were all the people at the party Janelle’s parents hosted every year on this night. All of their friends were there and a lot of the kids that Janelle had known in high school. None of them had anywhere else to be, and apparently didn’t care if the drivers or caterers did either.

Janelle wasn’t at the party though. It simply hadn’t seemed like much fun this year, even as the old family friends had arrived and mooned over the decorations the same way they did every year.

The girls were...the same as they’d been in high school and most of them were on their second or third gap year, trying to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives. The guys were...too interested for Janelle’s taste and she’d already gotten tired of telling them that she had a boyfriend, especially when they didn’t seem to care. The socializing had gotten real old, real fast and she’d slipped away.

Instead, Janelle sat in the library, curled up in one of the large leather chairs with a blanket wrapped around her and a book in her lap. A smaller tree was in this room with twinkling and colorful lights. The ornaments on this tree were homemade or they were the kitschy kinds of things that a person would find at tourist shops in vacation spots. This was the tree that they had put together as a family. This was where the presents sat under the tree and where the Jennings had opened presents since Janelle could remember.

It was beautiful and Janelle decided that this was much better than a silly party. Even if she had gotten all dressed up.

Right now only one thing was missing.

Janelle took out her phone and snapped a picture of the tree, sending it to Erik with a simple message.

“Merry Christmas. Miss you .”

Certain moments in a person's life required a certain clarity and maturity level to accept. As a kid it was difficult to understand why one's parents simply couldn't walk into the store and give you whatever you wanted. Why the kid at school whose parents were more successful got way more presents then everyone else. To accept that your Christmas's would always fall short of wild expectations and even conservative ones, until you grew up and learned to appreciate time for family that it was and always should remain. 

It wouldn't be the first time Erik pondered just what social skills or childhood moments of imagination were cut brutally short by harsh practicality. Logically it was just another day on the calendar. The twenty-fifth day in the twelve month of the year. Nothing spectacular about it except, really, the lengths people went to make it spectacular. Erik's last Christmas had been spent as it always was in his rough year and change of voluntary homelessness. People commiting crimes, causing trouble, and getting into trouble. The fact some of them wore Santa hats and red outfits suggested the atmosphere pervaded even criminals to take part even if the jaded part of Erik's mind knew it just provided a convenient way to blend in.

After he had sated his curiosity of discovery and doing his part of fight crime and save people he had retreated to the literal refuge of Sanctuary, enjoyed a decent meal surrounded with people he considered good acquaintances. By Erik's reckoning not a bad way to spend the day. Now however, surrounded by the din of rumbling engines he prepared himself to tackle a different sanctuary, his girlfriends. Very much unlike himself she had been looking forward for the trip and spending more time with her parents. A sanctuary against adult life he wasn't about to disabuse her of, especially with his own lack of family to enjoy.

His phone buzzed as he was rechecking his gear and coordinates. 'Merry Christmas. Miss you.' With a picture of a sincerely decorated family tree. After mentally rolling around his response for a few moments he figured it was time to fess up. "Can't wait to see it in person. Santa started early, but can't make a special stop so he is throwing me over the side of the sleigh. Eyes up, see you soon." Mentally asking himself if that was a good text as he secured it away. Taking a moment to look around at the guys present in the plane with him. A mixture of people thinking he was crazy and others just plain sleeping. The lights dimmed and a red light appeared and he took his station at the door. In what seemed like moments the door opened, turned green and he was falling through the clear night sky.

Confirming his target and heading he simply enjoyed the moment of relative peace as his altimeter ticked down and with a wistful sigh pulled the chute. He wasn't perfectly on target, but he managed to land close enough near the center of the front courtyard that he gave himself a pass. Busy packing the parachute back away he hadn't even really noticed the people who were mingling outside, be it to be away from the din or enjoy private conversations without the noise. The goggles he wore narrowed his vision considerably and he pulled them off to pack away with the chute before turning to look at the nearest person "This is the Jennings residence right?" Surely he must have the wrong place if everyone was staring like that.   

Raucous laughter permeated the walls of the library and Janelle wondered just how freely the champagne was flowing this year. Her own glass sat on the floor by the chair, not even half gone and unlikely to get any emptier. Drinking socially was fun, drinking alone was worrisome.

Janelle’s phone vibrated and she unlocked it to read the response that Erik had sent.

As her eyes scanned the words Janelle’s brow furrowed in slight confusion before her eyes sprang open in shock. When Erik had said he had to work, Janelle had accepted the news with as much good will as possible...but now he was saying he’d see the tree in person? Eyes up? See you soon? The last she had heard he was planning to eat dinner at the shelter where he volunteered.

A plane engine sounded overhead and Janelle scrambled from her chair, stumbling slightly as her legs tangled in the blanket. She had slipped her heels off when she curled up in the chair, and they lay in their discarded little heap under the blanket as she ran for the front door.

Out she went, heedless of the cold, and made her way down the stairs just in time to see a figure descend from the sky[/].

He hadn’t…

Janelle had taken in stride that Erik was able to borrow cars from his employer and that he had well tailored suits for work, but this was on an entirely different level… what exactly did he do?

It was literally of no consequence though because...holy grand gestures Batman.

Making her way down to the gravel drive and finally realizing the folly of leaving her shoes behind, Janelle made her way to the place where Erik stood, heedless of the small crowd that had started to form at the spectacle of his arrival.

Shouldering her way through, Janelle heard Erik ask if he was at the right house.

By way of answer she kind of flung herself at him. If he was shocked by that kind of behavior he was simply going to have to deal with it...if he hadn’t wanted a grand reaction, he shouldn’t have jumped out of a freaking plane to surprise her for Christmas.