LINK: Half-melted ice cream in a bowl with chocolate sauce might not exactly be a feast, but it was heaven compared to hospital food.

LINK: Matt decided he was going to try and make the most of the traditional Christmas flower, because he frustratingly wasn't allowed to do much more than kiss for a few weeks to come yet.

LINK: Matt just sniggered when one of the nurses told Ronnie he would make a perfect Santa Claus.

LINK: Matt really did not contemplate the fact his parents might come to London to make sure he was okay after the surgery...

LINK: When the penny finally dropped that Vee would be in London for Christmas, Matt realised he had absolutely no idea what to get her as a present or if he would be well enough to venture into the crazy London shopping crowd to find one.

LINK: As London was poured on by it's typical winter rain, Matt couldn't help but wonder if they would get a white Christmas this year, or just another big sloshy puddle of a city.

"Mornin', sunshine," Ronnie offered as he peeled down the wrapper from around a tuna mayonnaise baguette, dropping crumbs all over the blankets of Matt's hospital bed. "Welcome to the land of the living," he added and then took a large bite from the roll.

( Matt had barely managed to drag his eyes open before he was met with the abrupt greeting. He was awake enough to catch sight of the shower of crumbs though, screwing his nose up as he made an attempt to brush the covers off... )


Word Count | 954

LINK: When one of the elderly hospital volunteers stopped by Matt's room to give him some homemade Christmas cookies, she stayed to chat once she knew Matt was a police officer, talking about her grandson joining the force in Scotland, and as he listened polititely, for the first time, Matt really started to feel some Christmas spirit.

LINK: Landing in the back of an ambulance to get your appendix sliced out was one creative way to avoid celebrating at the staff Christmas party.

14. Advent 1. Tree DONE
8. Advent 2. Present DONE
7. Advent 3. Snow DONE
6. Advent 4. Give DONE
9. Advent 5. Family DONE
15. Advent 6. Singing DONE
10. Advent 7. Santa DONE
11. Advent 8. Mistletoe DONE
4. Advent 9. Holiday DONE
12. Advent 10. Feast DONE
17. Advent 11. Stocking DONE
18. Advent 12. Chocolate DONE
1. Advent 13. Lights DONE
19. Advent 14. Angel DONE
13. Advent 15. Open fire DONE
2. Advent 16. Tradition DONE
21. Advent 17. Snowman DONE
22. Advent 18. Merry DONE
20. Advent 19. Candy Cane DONE
3. Advent 20. Decorate DONE
23. Advent 21. Christmas card DONE
16. Advent 22. Snowflake DONE
5. Advent 23. Celebrate DONE
24. Advent 24. Christmas and/or Hanukkah DONE

LINK: Matt was too ill that night to realise if she took her leave for another holiday in England, she would be there for Christmas... and they could share it together.

LINK: No matter how hard he tried, Matt just could not see the appeal of tinsel sticky-taped around his computer screen when the strands kept obscuring bits of his reports and bits kept dropping off and falling in his coffee.

LINK: Even if just for tradition and nothing else, Matt set a small Christmas tree in the middle of the coffee table and turned the coloured lights on to at least give his apartment a feel for that time of year.

LINK: The first day of December and people were already getting into the Christmas spirit by hanging lights in their windows, but as Matt walked home in the cold that night, hands shoved deeply in the pockets of this thick winter coat, the last thing he wanted to think about was celebrating.

4.1. "There's definitely a dangerous feeling when you're in love…it's giving your heart to someone else and knowing that they have control over your feelings. I know for me, who always tries to be so tough, that's the dangerous thing."
Beyonce Knowles

Co-written with nychandcuffs
[Follows THIS]

Matt quickly swallowed down the last couple of mouthfuls of his tepid coffee as he closed over the file of telephone numbers he was trawling through. It was another needle in a haystack job, and it could wait for a little while. He dug the car keys out of his drawer and stood up, shoving them in his pocket. He didn't think Vee would mind getting taken to the airport in one of the unmarked cop cars. It wasn't like she wouldn't be used to it. "I'm heading out for a couple of hours, Ron. I'll be back," he promised, mid-journey to the coat rack. It might not be raining outside, but it was a typical freezing London evening as they veered closer to winter.

Ronnie looked up from his own pile of files, frowning at Matt over the top of his glasses and then took them off. "Out where?" he asked. "You found something, Matty? What have you found?"

Matt shook his head. "Nothing. I'm still looking, and I'll keep looking when I get back. I've just got a... thing. I won't be long, alright? Call me if anything comes up."

Ronnie's eyebrow quirked at the statement. "Sure it's not something of yours coming up, sunshine?" he teased, smirking to himself as he picked up his own coffee mug. "You hired some company?"

Matt had the decency to look scandalised. "What? No! Bloody hell," he complained. He was aware that if he kept trying to pull these weird acts, Ronnie was going to get continuously suspicious, and if Ronnie got continuously suspicious, others would too. Sure, Matt had some odd detective techniques when he needed to. He was hardly innocent in getting what he needed during investigations, but this wasn't an investigation and since Vee had arrived in town, Matt knew he must be acting strangely. "I've got a date." It wasn't really a lie.

This time, Ronnie's eyebrows shot up with interest. "And you're coming back here in a couple of hours? Have I taught you nothing? Not very much positive optimism there, Matty. When did you stop expecting dates to end with sex?" He stood up and stretched the tired muscles in his back. "Or expecting them to end in really bad sex, if you look at it from another angle. You aren't having downstairs issues, are you?"

Matt rolled his eyes and roughly yanked his scarf around his neck. "It's a quick date, that's all. I never expect any date to end in sex. Then if they do, it's a pleasant surprise, isn't it?" He held his phone up, reminding his partner that he had it and then left before Ronnie could quiz him further. Maybe it was time to reveal to Ronnie what was going on with Vee. Maybe, by the time she stepped on that plane tonight, he would need to.

* * * * *


( Now stuck in traffic in-bound to Heathrow Airport, Matt softly drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of the sleek car before reaching to adjust the heating. It felt like it had dropped a few degrees just between Vee's hotel and here. It almost felt like it was going to snow, but the forecast said it wasn't quite going to reach that just yet... )

Ronnie is an NPC. Not binding on any Ronnie muses.


Word Count | 3,743