Merry Ex-Mas.

chapter nineteen , Broom Closets and Christmas Miracles

a/n : slight sexual content in this chapter
skip if needed!

━━━━━━━━━━

Holidays weren't something Emery found herself interested in. I mean, when she was a kid, Emery loved any holiday if it meant her family was together. But as Emery and Amaya got older, their family became more strict. And when they became more strict, holidays became more bleak. Even though she and her family were working on rebuilding their relationship, she still couldn't help but think that holidays caused drama. It made Emery's chest so tight she felt like she couldn't breathe.

One year, during Emery's Sophomore year of highschool, she had gotten. C- on her Geometry winter final. And when Winter Break hit, her parents never acknowledged it. They never talked about her "bad" grade. And they always talked about her grades. What was so different? When Christmas rolled around, Emery and Amaya came downstairs to see all the gifts. And as the hours went on with Amaya opening up gifts, Emery soon realized that she got nothing.

Her parents had let her believe that they weren't going to punish her, just to crush that hope by making her watch Amaya open up all the gifts under the tree that belonged to her (and ALL the gifts belonged to her). Emery has told herself that she was over it. She and her parents were communicating and trying to better their relationships with her. But deep down there would always be a part of her that would never get over it. No matter, how mended their relationships were.

Emery fucking hated Christmas.

So, when she woke up to her sister blasting Christmas music, wearing a Christmas hat, while hanging garland on the walls; you could guess she wasn't the happiest person.

"What the fuck...?" Emery's voice come sour groggily. She rubs at her tired eyes again before she looks around. "Nope, not a nightmare...this is reality—Amaya what the hell?"

Amaya was on a ladder and her eyes were glued to the garland she was plastering on the wall. She turns to Emery and her eyes light up with her arms up. "Good morning!" Amaya climbs down the ladder.

"Maya—"

"I knew you were so busy with work and you didn't have time to put any Christmas decorations up, so..." Amaya motions motions to the decorations around the living room. "Surprise!"

Emery blows air out of her mouth and scratches the side of her neck. How does she tell her Christmas obsessed sister, that she did have time to put decorations up; she just didn't want to?

"Amaya, listen..."

"I was thinking that since Chim and Buck are going to be looking for Christmas trees after their shifts—we would join them." Amaya grabs another box of Christmas decorations and opens it. Emery pulls her brows together, "Wait, what? How do you know that?"

Amaya shrugs, "We have a group chat."

"What? Why are you in a group chat with grown ass men?"—Amaya Sharpe—"

"Relax. Chim's head over heels for Maddie and Buck's working on Taylor Kelly the news reporter. And they're not my type." Amaya shrugs.

Emery covers her face and rubs her eyes once again. "You know what? I'm getting ready for work."

"Okay, so, we're on for free shopping?" Amaya calls out.

Emery hated the idea of Christmas anything. Especially without Helena by her side. But Emery didn't want to dampen Amaya's attitude. But she also didn't want to be around these flashing lights and happy music that made her want to drink a mug of hot chocolate in her fluffy Grinch onesie (although she hated Christmas, she would never get rid of that onesie). So, she slowly looks back at Amaya with a wince. The youngest Sharpe sister slumps her shoulders. "What, why are you looking at me like that?"

Emery fiddles with her fingers. "Listen, Maya. I love that you love Christmas and the atmosphere of it, but..." she trails off her words.

"But what? You don't like Christmas?" Amaya then laughs, thinking that what she just said was a joke. But she didn't hear Emery join in with laughter. Amaya pulls her brows together and sets the ribbons down. "Hold on..." she climbs down the ladder nods her head. She points at Emery and walks toward her.

"You don't like Christmas?"

Emery purses her lips and shrugs a shoulder. "I'm not crazy about it."

Amaya let's out a sputter of disbelief. "What?! Since when?!"

Emery falls silent and her eyelids lower, like she had just grown overwhelmingly tired. Like she was reliving the worst day of her life. And it clicked in Amaya's head. Helena. Her eyes soften and she looks down at the ground. Amaya didn't know what to say to Emery. Anytime Helena came into the conversation Emery would stay silent like she wanted space. But Amaya knew that space was something that didn't help Emery. Even though she said she needed space—it was something that wasn't healthy for her.

Amaya gnaws on her lower lip and moves some of her curly hair behind her ear. "Emerson, you've got to...live your life."

Emery lets out a small exhausted breath. She's heard it all before.

"Live your life, Emery."

"Be glad you're alive, Emery."

"She would want you to be happy."

Of course, Helena would want her to be happy. But Emery was happy with Helena. Then she was gone.

"And I know you don't want to hear that." Amaya touches Emery's shoulders and lightly shakes them. Emery looks at her little sister. "But, this—Christmas is a magical time."

Emery wrinkles her nose, "Oh my god—who the fuck says that?"

"I do." Amaya smiles softly. "Look..." she sputters her lips. "Not only would it be nice just to celebrate Christmas. But this is our first Christmas together in so long and—it's at our own place!" She motions around the room. "Just...think about that."

Emery bites her lower lip and looks around the room. Her chest tightens, thinking about how Helena used to be the same way. Always eager to decorate. She would somehow convince Emery to get in the Christmas spirit every year. But this year (just like every year since Helena died) Emery wasn't in the spirit. But she also didn't want to bring her sister's spirit down.

So, Emery inhales a small breath. "Yeah—yeah, we can go tree shopping."

Amaya squeals, "Awesome!" She wraps her arms around Emery's neck. Emery gives Amaya a pat in the back.

"Don't you have school?" Emery asks.

Amaya hums, "I've got a free period. Charlie's going to pick me up and take me back to school when it's time though." She sends Emery a cheeky smile. "Thanks for caring!" She pulls away from the hug and makes her way back over to the wall of Christmas.

Emery points at Amaya, "Always."

☆

Emery walks down through the firehouse, her eyes on the chore clipboard. Every Christmas, the firehouse has a toy drive where kids and their families are able to donate or pick out a toy and eat some Christmas treats. And every year Emery would make a list (just like how she would make a list for everything else) of all the things that had to be finished before the toy drive.

- Help Bobby bake
- Organize the toys
- Bring out the Christmas hats and sacks
- Hire a Santa Claus
- Don't forget to SMILE
- Give out the most toys!

While Emery was deeply invested on her list, a hand clasps around her arm. Her heart jumps in her throat, from the familiar warmth coming from the boy's hand. He tugs her into a room and she chuckles softly. Emery turns and watches as Buck locks the door behind him. He looks back at Emery. He cups the sides of her neck and smashes his lips onto hers. Emery breathes against his lips and kisses him back. Buck's hands move to Emery's and he takes the pen and clipboard from her. He pulls his lips from hers and puts the clipboard and pen on the shelf behind Emery.

Without one word spoken, Buck hungrily reconnects their lips. She slips a hand under his shirt and runs her nails across his lower back. A chill shoots down Buck's spine and he quietly shivers against Emery's lips.

"The broom closet?" Emery breathes against his lips. "Really?"

Buck lightly pushes her against the shelf and she giggles softly. "Sorry, I just wanted to see you..." he kisses her neck. Emery flutters her eyes shut and tilts her head back. "...and feel you..." he pulls her tucked shirt from her pants and slips a hand under it, wanting to feel the warmth of her luminous brown skin.

Ever since the two started their secret rendezvous, it's like they could barely control themselves around each other at work. It was the time when Buck and Emery were doing what they do best. And they both looked hot doing it. Emery's stomach flutters and she bites her lower lip. She shakes her head, "This goes against all the rules of...everything."

Buck softly hums against her neck. "We can stop if you want..." he pulls his lips away from hers. Buck pierces his bright blue eyes into Emery's cloudy brown ones. "Do you wanna stop?"

Emery's breathing heavies as she looks from his eyes to his lips. Every self-righteous bone in Emery's body was telling her she shouldn't do this. They were at work—if they were caught their careers could be over. Or worse, everyone would find out they were sleeping together. But every time Buck's lips her against her body it was like she was under a spell that couldn't be broken. He was so addicting. Emery finally understood what Buck meant when he called her a drug.

"You know I don't want to stop." She laughs quietly and Buck smirks, "Never hurts to ask, right?"

Emery arches a brow, "How long do you think we have?" This is so reckless. The uptight Angel on Emery's left shoulder states. You know we shouldn't do this.

If we shouldn't do it then why does it feel so good? The havoc-wreaking Devil on Emery's right shoulder speaks up. Our adrenaline is pumping, right now!

For the first time in a very long time. Emery was having fun. It was thrilling sneaking around with Buck. It's something she's never experienced before. And it was a feeling that Emery could get so used to.

Emery grips Buck's belt, she begins to unbuckle it and smashes her lips onto his. Buck chuckles softly and kisses her back. "20 minutes...just about."

Emery bites his lower lip while Buck undoes her pants and pulls them down along with her underwear. She pulls Buck's pants and boxers down. Buck grips Emery's thighs and lifts her up. Like second nature, Emery wraps her legs around his waist with a soft huff. Buck breathes against Emery's lips and slides into her. She sucks in a sharp breath as he moves in and out of her. Emery grips the shelf behind her and laughs softly. Buck quietly shushes Emery and she quiets her laughter. He nuzzles his head into the crook of her neck and his breathing falls ragged. Emery tilts her head against the wall and her eyes fall shut.

Buck places a hand over Emery's that was gripping onto the shelf. He pulls his face back and kisses her lips softly. She quietly moans into his mouth and kisses him back. Emery's walls begin to pulsate around Buck causing him to groan. A small giggle comes from Emery's lips. "You okay there?"

Buck chuckles, his lips brushing against Emery's and he takes a moment to look into her sparkling brown eyes (have they always sparkled like that?) before speaking. "I've never been better." He quickly captures her into another passionate kiss.

...

As soon as Emery and Buck got themselves cleaned up (which was convenient that they had just finished having sex in a broom closet) the alarm warm went off in the station, signaling that there was a call they had to get to. Emery was the first to leave the broom closet. Buck couldn't wait a few minutes due to the call they had to arrive to soon, so he waited about 30 seconds after Emery left before he walked out of the broom closet. He lets out a sharp breath and looks around the station. He tucks in his shirt and quickly makes his way to the fire engine to put his turnout gear on.

"How long's he been in the air?" Buck asks.

"Plane took off from LAX 18 minutes ago," Bobby explains. "It was diverted to SoCal Airport."

"18 minutes. It's nearly long enough to reach altitude." Eddie speaks.

Emery shifts her eyes to the window. "That's not good. Cargo isn't pressurized or heated," she states.

"And I thought coach was bad." Chim voices.

"Hey, Chim, make sure we have O2 and warming blankets standing by."

"Copy that."

Once they arrived to the airport, the firefighters made their way onto the plane. Once Emery got onto the cargo plane her breath gets caught in her throat from the sight of hundreds of boxes in saran wrap. "Right, because nothing is ever easy for us..."

"Think of it like this..." Buck speaks. "We're opening Christmas presents early."

"And a factory worker just happened to be on my list?" Emery turns to Buck and scoffs. "Riiight..."

Buck rolls his eyes, "Riiight..." he mocks her in a nasal tone.

"Clock is ticking, guys. We got to find this kid." Bobby voices. "Dispatch said he was having trouble breathing even before the plane went up in the air."

As the firefighters walk around the boxes, inspecting each one; a sound catches Emery's attention. "Hold on, you guys hear that?" She holds a finger up.

Everyone stops moving and falls silent. The sound of a phone ringing echoes from one of the boxes. "Stethoscope?" Bobby calls out.

Eddie pulls out his stethoscope and places it against one of the boxes. "That's our guy!"

"Let's get this shrink-wrap off."

Everyone worked together to pull the wrap off. Emery grabs a pocket knife and cuts open the box. She lifts the box too slightly up and shines her light in.

"Em, what do you got?" Bobby calls out.

"I got him—he's in there." Emery pronounces.

"Okay, keep going!"

They pull the box open and the styrofoam falls out along with the boy.

"He doesn't look good, Cap."

Emery and Eddie pull him out of the box and gently lay him on the backboard.

"He's cold, Cap."

"All right, get some blankets on him."

Emery grabs the shock blankets and covers the boy's freezing body.

"Starting compressions!"

"How's he doing, Eddie?" Bobby asks.

"Still nothing."

"Buck switch!"

Buck starts compressions on the boy.

"Hold for pulse check."

Buck pulls his hands away from the boy and Emery checks his pulse.

"Still nothing, Cap." Emery speaks.

Buck resumes compressions.

"I got a pulse!"

The team begins to try and warm up Brandon's skin. "Temp's rising."

The boy's eyes begin to flutter open.

"Welcome back, Brandon."

"I'm not dead?" The boy whispers.

Emery softly smiles as the boy speaks.

"You're not dead." Bobby assures.

The phone begins to ring again and Chimney grabs it. "Well, someone wants to really talk to you."

"She told me not to answer it." Brandon weakly speaks.

Emery pulls her brows together. "Who did?"

"Maddie. The 911 lady."

A smile forms on Emery's lips.

"She said she would ring it for you to find me."

Chimney answer the phone and Emery sighs. "Man, Maddie's the best. If only every Buckley sibling were like her."

Buck snaps his eyes over to Emery and she looks at him with a smirk. "Hey, I am my own person."

Emery winces, "Is that supposed to be a good thing?"

Emery and Buck roll Brandon into the ambulance. The curly haired girl closes the ambulance doors. Buck looks back at the girl, he then looks around the area. "Hey, so, you free tonight?"

Emery softly chuckles and turns to him. "You that desperate for me, Probie?" She leans against the ambulance, she then looks him up and down.

Buck softly scoffs, "No..." he looks away from her. He then shifts and looks back at her. Emery tilts her head and raises her brows, waiting.

"So, are you free or not?"

"Not." Emery pushes herself off the ambulance and brushes past him.

"W-Wait—not?" He follows after her.

"Not." Emery confirms.

"Why?"

Emery sighs, "Well, for one, we literally just had sex almost an hour ago." She stops and turns to him. "And two, my sister's home tonight and you live with your sister. So, we don't even have a place to go to right now."

Buck tilts his head up to the sky and sighs. "I need to get my own place."

Emery huffs, "You're telling me." She folds her arms and looks away for a moment. "Look...we still don't have the schedule thing worked out, but I'm working on it and I'm working on more rules to add."

Buck's eye twitches, "Uh-Huh...of course you are."

"This needs to be flawless, Probie." Emery says and points at him. "Because if anyone finds out..." voices are heard approaching them and the girl falls silent. Emery clears her throat, "Maybe next time, you should think twice before parking on the curb." She then smacks Buck's arm. "Fix it, Buck."

A smile ghosts Buck's lips. "On it, Captain." Sarcasm seeps through his voice as he walks away.

Emery watched Buck walk away and a small smile forms on her lips.

"Buck."

Emery blinks, still in a bit of a daze. She turns to Eddie. "What?"

"You called him Buck. Not Probie." Eddie crosses his arms and eyes the suspiciously chipper girl. Emery slightly opens her mouth. Shit.

Think, Think, Think—

IM TRYING

"Uh, well..." Emery clears her throat. "He technically isn't a Probie anymore. So, I should start respecting him or whatever." She then purses her lips and points at the man in front of her. "You're the Probie—"

"Oh, come on—"

"No, no. Since you're so worried about someone being called Probie. That is now you!" She pokes her finger at his chest. "Probie."

She then walks away and Eddie groans. Emery lets out a sigh of relief from the crisis averted.

☆

The next day, Emery had the biggest, but forced smile on her face. She was wearing a Christmas hat paired with her work uniform. Just because Emery wasn't in the Christmas spirit, it doesn't mean she was going to make that known. If her friends found out she didn't like Christmas, they would ask questions. Also, she didn't want to damper the kid's moods with her pessimistic attitude.

Emery looks over the railing and looks at all the eccentric kids running around the station. It took everything out of the girl to keep herself from yelling, "No running!"

She presses her lips into a small smile and makes her way down the stairs. Emery walks over to the Santa sitting down on the bench, eating. She squints her eyes. "Hey, Tubby."

The Santa turns to her and sees the curly-haired girl stalking over to him. His eyes widen and he quickly scrambles to his feet. "Ho, Ho, Ho—Merry Christmas, Emers—"

"Can it, Ronnie." Emery seethes. "You're supposed to be making the kids happy and shit. But you're just sitting there, eating..." she trails off her sentence when she spots the Saran Wrap with the name 'Emery' on it. "My leftovers?!" She seethes. "You-you ass—"

"Emerson!"

Emery snaps her eyes over to Bobby and she slightly opens her mouth. "He ate my leftovers—" she points at him. "I paid you good money for today and this is how you act?!"

"Emerson, it's the Christmas Drive. Show some restraint." Bobby softly speaks.

Emery rolls her lips into her mouth. She inhales a breath and holds it. Emery closes her eyes for a moment until her heart stops pounding against her chest. "Of course...restraint." She opens her eyes and softly smiles. "After all, it is Christmas." Emery squints her eyes at Ronnie, The Santa Claus. "Santa, thank you for being here today. We all know how busy you are." She tilts her head. "And I hope that my leftovers with my name on them were delicious."

Ronnie smiles, "They were."

Emery's smile drops and her eyes widen. "Oh, you son of a—" she lunges towards the Santa, but Bobby wraps his arms around the girl and pulls her back. "Okay, Okay, stand down." He forces out laughter as the Santa runs away. Emery lets out a harsh breath, "I'm good—I'm good." She steps out of Bobby's grip and straightens her uniform and hat.

"He better steer clear from now on..." Emery growls.

Bobby touches Emery's shoulder. "How about, you go join the guys at the toy table. That seems a lot less stressful."

Emery inhales a breath, "Yeah, that is less stressful..." she nods. "I'll go do that." She starts to walk over to the table.

"And Emerson?"

Emery stops and turn to the Captain. Bobby motions around to the station's decorations. "The place looks amazing."

A smile forms on Emery's lips. "Uh, thank you, Captain." She softly chuckles and walks over to the table. Emery felt a flutter of validation run through her chest. The curly-haired girl stands behind one of the empty tables between Chimney and Eddie.

"Looks like someone's happy they almost ruined Christmas."

Emery looks down the line and looks at Buck. "What? I didn't almost ruin Christmas."

"Well, you did almost kill Ronnie." Eddie voices from her left.

Emery winces, "You saw that?"

"Who didn't?" Buck laughs from the end of the table.

Emery rolls her eyes. "Okay, he ate my leftovers. And I paid him good money to be Santa."

"You should've paid him more." Chimney snorts.

Enemy snaps her eyes over to Chimney. Chimney's smile drops and he clears his throat. Emery looks at the kids approaching her table.

"Hey, Merry Christmas!" Emery smiles. She digs through the Christmas bag and pulls out some gifts. She hands them out to the kids. "Have a happy holidays! And make sure you say hi to Santa over there!"

"You mean the Santa you tried to kill?"

Emery's smile lessens, "Uh, n-no...?"

The three men look at each other and begin to laugh.

"You jumped at him!"

"Because I wanted to give him a big big hug." Emery says through a forced smile.

The kids all exchange looks before walking away. Emery's strained smile drops and she lets out a harsh breath. "Okay, so, everybody saw me almost attack Ronnie."

"Shannon. What are you doing here?"

Emery snaps her eyes over to the man, then the lady that was standing in front of him. Shannon, Shannon, Shannon...

Emery has heard that name before. But why was it so familiar...?

"You won't answer my texts or return my calls." Eddie says, smiling at the passing civilians.

"Maybe it's the perfect place. So, we can actually have a conversation the doesn't end with us in bed."

Buck and Chimney snap their eyes over to Shannon and Eddie. Emery then snaps her fingers, "Oh, that Shan—"

Chimney quickly covers Emery's mouth and pulls her toward him. "Don't say anything you'll regret."

Emery raises a brow and nods her head, agreeing with Chimney. This situation would've definitely became 100% more awkward if she had finished her thought. Eddie and Shannon walk away to a more closed off space and Chimney takes his hand off of Emery's mouth.

"Wow, that must be a dream, huh? Not being able to have a conversation without sex." Chimney chuckles.

Emery arches a brow, "If you ask me, it's a bit immature."

"Oh, is that, right?" Buck looks at the girl.

Emery looks at the end of the table and meets Buck's eyes. Her stomach flutters from the smirk on his lips. The only reason Emery called what Eddie and Shannon were doing 'immature' was because she was doing the same thing with Buck. Emery couldn't have one conversation with him without sex being involved. It's not like Emery minded—that's the sole reason why she even saw Buck outside of work.

The girl clears her throat. "Yeah, that's right." She scoffs. Emery looks back at the toys and rolls her lips into her mouth.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!"

Emery looks up and sees her sister making her way over to the table. "Maya, what the hell are you doing here?"

Amaya pulls her face back, "Okay, damn. I guess I'll take these extra leftovers somewhere else then—"

"Oooh wait—no, come back!" Emery holds her arms out. "I am starving!"

"When's the last time you ate?" Amaya asks, making her way over to her sister.

Emery shrugs, she grabs the plate and pulls the Saran Wrap off. "Don't remember. I would've ate sooner, but Ronnie over there ate my food." She sits in a chair and begins to eat.

Amaya looks over at the Santa Claus and frowns. "Why do you still hire him after all these years?"

Emery hums with a mouth full of food. "He needs work, so I give it to him."

"So, what you're saying is...you choose to do this to yourself?" Buck asks.

Amaya points at Chimney and nods. Emery rolls her eyes, "I'm being nice."

"But...you don't do nice." Buck says. "Not really at least."

"Maybe she's just in the Christmas Spirit." Chimney suggests. Emery's nose wrinkles. Amaya let's out a laugh, "Good one, Emery—Christmas Spirit."

"What are you talking about?" Buck asks.

"Well, Em. She doesn't like Christmas..." The teen trails off her sentence, noticing her big sister was vigorously shaking her head with wide eyes. Amaya closes her mouth and hums. She then opens her mouth. "Well, what I meant to say...was that...sh-she hates Christenings."

Emery's jaw goes slack, "Oh My God—that's even worse!" She stands up. "Just stop talking."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Amaya scoffs and holds up her hands.

"Wait, Emerson. You don't like Christmas?" Buck asks.

"How come I never heard of this?!" Chimney exclaims, shock was written all over his face.

Emery purses her lips, "Because I've never mentioned it."

"Wow...so, you're a Scrooge?" Buck then tilts his head. "Everything makes perfect sense now."

"I'm not a Scrooge!"

Buck nods his head, "No, you're right..." he gnaws on his lower lip, thinking. Buck then snaps his fingers. "The Grinch, you're like the Grinch!"

Emery's mouth drops open, "I am not!"

"Maybe Emery's mood is like the Grinch and the Scrooge." Amaya thinks. "But, it's not like she's going around being cranky and stealing people's Christmas'."

Buck points at Amaya, "That's a good point."

"So, she's spiritually like The Grinch and Scrooge." Chimney says.

Emery watches as the three continue to talk. "You know what? You guys are doing this on purpose. And today it won't work—because I'm happy."

"Right, tell that to Ronnie—"

"That son of a bitch was getting what was coming to him." Emery immediately snaps. She closes her mouth then inhales a breath. "I mean...I love Christmas." She pumps a fist in the air.

Buck, Chimney, and Amaya all exchange a look. "Yeah, sooo convincing." Buck rolls his eyes and give a toy out to a kid.

Emery sits back down with a pout and goes back to eating her food.

☆

After their shift, Chimney, Buck, and Emery went to the Christmas Tree outlet with Amaya; who was way too excited about it. "What about a Blue Spruce?"

"Oh oh oh—what about Noble Fir?"

Emery snorts, "Where do you live? On a beanstalk?" She motions to the tree. "A Noble Fir is too big for our place."

"Okay, then...back to the Blue Spruce." Amaya looks at the price tag and her jaw drops. Emery looks over her sister's shoulder and catches sight of the price. The eldest Sharpe sister sucks in a breath. "Yeah, why don't you drop that tag for me..."

Amaya presses her lips together and lets the price tag go. "This is insane—I came here for a Christmas Tree. So, I will be getting a Christmas Tree."

Emery purses laughs softly as Amaya speed walks forward with determination.

"Yo, Em!"

Emery turns her head to Chimney and Buck, with her brows raised. Buck points at Amaya, who practically had her head in the leaves of the Christmas trees. "Why is Amaya so invested on finding a tree?"

Emery bites the inside of her cheek. "It's our first Christmas together since I moved out." She looks over at Amaya and a small smile forms on her lips. "My parents are going to Hawaii since they got married during this time, so, it's just us two. So, she kind of wants it to be...perfect."

"That's kind of your thing, right?" Chimney laughs. "Things being perfect?"

A crease forms between Emery's brows. "Yeah, I am..." the end of Emery's mouth twitches. Emery knew she wasn't perfect and she knew that things couldn't always be perfect. But there was something deep and twisted inside of her that wanted to work herself so hard that she made other people think that she was perfect. It was exhausting, but Emery was used to being exhausted.

"If you're obsessed with things being perfect, then why aren't you picking out the tree?" Buck asks, invested in the conversation.

Emery squints her eyes at the boy. She didn't want Buck to know anything else about her. Getting to know someone could mean feelings on either side. And that was the last thing Emery wanted. But, she couldn't let that be known right now. Not with Chimney standing in between them.

"This is Amaya's Christmas, so, she can pick the tree. I'm all good on Christmas Miracles and shit." Emery holds her hands up with a small laugh.

"Now, are we gonna talk about the fact that Shannon showed up at the firehouse?" Emery tries to change the subject.

Chimney laughs and points at the girl. "Sneaky sneaky."

Emery winks at Chimney and chuckles.

"Eddie's sleeping with her and he's lying about it." Buck states. "It's like he's having an affair with his own wife." He looks at Chimney and Emery, who both had blank expressions; like they weren't phased.

"You guys don't think that's weird?" Buck questions.

"I think it's none of our business." Chimney voices.

Emery points at Chimney, "Yeah, it's none of our business, Buck."

Chimney shudders, he still finds it weird that Emery was now calling him Buck.

Buck holds a hand out to Emery, "You were the one that wanted to change the subject."

"Did I?" Emery says in a high pitched tone."

Buck vigorously nods his head. "Uh, yeah! Ya did!"

"Okay, guys can we please focus on the trees?" Chimney interrupts. "Now, exactly how pissed off is Maddie? Should I be shopping for a six-foot apology, or. 12?"

"Uh, pissed off at you for what?" Buck asks.

"For kicking you off my couch and onto hers." Chimney states.

Emery lets out a laugh. "Oh, yeah. That is hilarious."

"Uh, it's an air mattress, and she is fine..."

Emery wrinkles her nose. I'm having sex with a guy who sleeps on an air mattress?

"...if anything, I should be the one holding a grudge, which I will if you don't hurry up and pick a tree already."

Buck holds his hands over his mouth and shouts. "Hey, Maya! Hurry up already!"

Emery pinches Buck's arm and he whines. "Ow!"

"Don't tell my sister to hurry up—I was the one that drove her."

"Emery and I drove together, dumbass!" Amaya calls out from afar.

Emery arches a brow, furthering her point. Buck rolls his eyes and looks back at Chimney. "Wait, are you seriously googling Christmas Trees?"

"I wanna buy Maddie a gift and I want it to be perfect." Chimney says.

Emery laughs softly, "Is someone smitten?"

Chimney's face gets hot and he opens and closes his mouth. "N-No, no I'm not...smitten—"

"He's smitten!" Emery holds her arms up with a bug smile.

"You two are being ridiculous." Buck voices. "I'm going to find someone to help us. You stop overthinking and just pick one."

Buck walks away. Emery rolls her eyes, she clasps a hand on Chimney's shoulder. "Don't listen to him." She voices. "Buck knows nothing. It's kind of his thing."

"Em, Em—look!"

Emery turns to Amaya and raises her brows from the tree in her hand. "Uh, Maya?"

"Yeah?"

"You do realize that this tree is a bit, um...underdeveloped, right?" Emery tilts her head.

"Yeah! That's the best part!" Amaya explains, she looks at the tree with a small trunk and weak branches. "It's not big and perfect like these other trees. It's itself. And that's good, right?"

Emery softly smiles at her sister's excitement towards the small tree. Her eyes look over the small branches. The tree was itself. It was kind of inspiring, right? A lump forms in Emery's throat, thinking.

She then swallows and clears her throat. "Yeah—that's really good."

Amaya then shrugs a shoulder, "Also this was less expensive."

"I know that's right." Emery high fives her sister with a laugh. She then turns with Amaya and the tree towards the entrance.

☆

"I offered to wait in line with him. But he said this is, uh, private."

Emery looks to the side and laughs when she sees Eddie recording Christopher in line.

"I really admire that kid." Buck voices. "I love the way he always wants to do everything on his own."

Emery softly smiles at the kid standing in line.

"So..."

"You two not gonna say anything?"

Emery purses her lips and raises her brows.

"About what?"

"Soft Pretzels."

Eddie and Buck look at the girl. Emery looks at the two men she was sitting between. "I want a soft pretzel."

"Are you seriously trying to change the subject?" Eddie asks.

Emery's brow twitches, "No, I just want a soft pretzel." She scoffs. "I mean, if you want to talk about you and Shannon, then let's talk about you and Shannon." She folds her hands. "But, I haven't been fed in a few hours, so I'm gonna be a bit blunt about it."

"What, Emery is trying to say is...it's none of our business." Buck says.

Eddie raises his brows in  agreement. "You're right. It's not."

Emery huffs, "Even though, you willingly told me about it when we went out to drinks the first day we met." She tilts her head. "And Shannon showed up at our work place and started talking about it freely."

"W-Wait, you two went out for drinks?" Buck asks.

Emery waves a dismissive hand, "Yeah, like a few months ago." She sputters.

Buck closes his mouth. Emery said it with such ease, like it didn't bother her. So, Buck pretended like he wasn't bothered by it either. It rolled off his back. He was okay—it didn't bother him.

Do you think they were flirting?

I mean, of course they flirted—they're both very good looking people.

Okay, but do they still flirt?

Does it matter?

Yes, it does!

"It wasn't planned, all right?" Eddie says, talking about him and Shannon.

Emery nudges Eddie and Buck knits his brows together. "It never is." She then snickers.

"I only even reached out to her because I needed her help getting Christopher into his new school." Eddie explains.

"Totally understandable." Buck nods.

"All good, now can we get some pretzels—"

"We just kind of ended up in bed." Eddie continues.

"These things happen." Buck shrugs, his hand brushes against Emery's thigh. The gurl runs her tongue over her lower lip and chuckles.

"She's still your wife." Emery says. "I mean, she was an absent wife. But you were an absent husband at some point; so..." she tilts her head side to side.

Eddie hangs his head low, then Buck nudges Emery. A small grunt comes from her lips. Emery exhales through her nose, "I told you I was gonna be blunt."

"Yeah, yeah, ya did." Eddie murmurs.

Emery looks at Buck and he was glaring at her. The girl knew that she was too blunt. And now she felt guilty. "Okay, uh..." Emery scratches the side of her neck. "...Shannon's back, Eddie. For good this time, right?"

Eddie lifts his head and looks at the girl. "That's what she said."

Emery inhales a breath, "If, Shannon is trying—if she is attempting to try. Then you should give her that chance."

"And if you're not willing to do it for yourself, then think about Christopher." Emery shrugs. "I'm sure he misses his mom."

Eddie looks away for a moment and Emery knits her brows together.

"Eddie..." Emery touches his arm.

Eddie looks back at the girl.

"...do not let her go." She never breaks eye contact and her voice immediately became shaky.

Eddie's eyes soften. He knew Emery's story, she shared it with him that night at the bar. Emery never shared anything with anybody. That's why Buck was staring at the two of them with such confusion. But underneath that confusion, he felt envy. Why was he jealous about the bond that Eddie and Emery share? Why would he care? He's the one that brings Emery to climax every night.

So, why was he jealous?

Out of the corner of Emery's eye, she sees one of the elf workers guide Christopher over to the three adults. Emery wipes at her eyes and points toward the boy with a small smile. "Uh, hey."

Eddie turns to his son and smiles, he stands up and walks over to Christopher with Emery and Buck behind.

"How'd it go, pal?" Eddie asks.

"It went great." Christopher smiles.

"So, what'd you ask for?" Eddie questions.

"Can't tell, Santa said he'd work on it."

Emery giggles, "Kid, knows his stuff."

Eddie picks Christopher up and starts walking away. Emery and Buck go to walk away too, but the elf worker speaks.

"I just have to say, you three have an adorable son!" The woman exclaims. "I myself am also in a poly relationship."

Buck slightly opens his mouth, "Oh, no, we're—"

"So, glad to have met you on this beautiful night." Emery laughs softly and loops her arm with Buck's. The boy looks at the girl with a crease between his brows. "And...thank you."

The woman walks away and Emery unhooks her arm from Buck's. He looks over at Emerson with a confused smile. Emery looks at Buck and takes her lower lip between her teeth and smiles. "What?"

"Why did you say that we were all...together?" Buck asks. "Me, you, and Eddie?"

Emery lets out a small scoff mixed with a chuckle. "Like you haven't heard it before?" She then walks away leaving Buck alone.

Buck softly chuckles, then he pulls his brows together.

He has heard it before.

☆

"All right, let's move him out of here, guys!"

"Count of three?"

"Yeah—one..."

"Two..."

"Three."

The firefighters all pick the injured man up and lay him on a stretcher.

"All right, keep the pressure."

Emery shines the light in the man's eyes and Eddie nods his head. "Okay, he's stabilizing."

They pop the wheels out of the stretcher and roll him to the ambulance.

"Is he going to make it?" The marine asks.

Eddie turns to the man and nods his head. "Thanks to you, Marine."

"How you feeling?" Eddie searches the man's eyes.

"I'm fine. Anything else I can do?"

"We're good." Bobby says. "Thank you for your service. Literally."

Emery laughs and slaps her knee. "Nice one, Cap." She then looks at the man and sends him a two fingered salute. "Have a nice day!"

The firefighters all start walking away from the marine. "Uh, excuse me—firefighters!"

Emery stops and turns to the lady, "Yes, ma'am?"

"The Marine over there? He was on his way to somewhere very important." The woman states. "His daughter's recital."

Emery raises her brows and slightly opens her mouth.

"Soldiers coming home?" Buck and Emery speak.

Bobby nods, "We'll take him."

Eddie jogs over to the man, "I hear you had a show to get to, Marine."

"Yeah, but I'm never gonna make it." The man says.

"Oh, yes, you are. Let's go."

Eddie and the father jog over to the fire engine. Emery tosses the man a clean button up shirt. "Seemed like you needed this." She then looks at the bloodied shirt he was wearing.

"Thank you!" The Marine laughs.

The fire truck speeds down the street with the siren going off.

"I'm gonna cry. I-I know I'm gonna cry." Buck voices. "This soldier reunion videos on YouTube get me."

An upside down smile forms on Emery's lips. "Good for you for being in touch with your emotions."

They got into the auditorium in time to see the daughter singing. The daughter ran towards her father and jumped into his arms. His wife ran through the sea of people and embraced her husband. A small smile forms on Emery's lips as she watches the family reuniting. Her eyes begin to burn with tears.

"Every time..." Buck whispers as he wipes his tears.

Emery tilts her head, "It's a Christmas Miracle."

The girl notices that she had spoken aloud. Emery raises her brows and notices Bobby, Buck, and Eddie looking at her. She wipes at her eyes, "What?"

"The girl who hates Christmas is now talking about Christmas Miracles?" Buck chuckles. "Hell really has frozen over."

Emery rolls her eyes, but she smiles. She didn't have anything to say. Maybe Hell has frozen over for the girl.

Or maybe she's turning a new new leaf.

...

Her alarm beeps and she slams her hand into the clock. Amaya gets out of bed before her eyes even opened. She runs out of her room, "Emerson, wake up it's..."

Amaya quickly stops in her tracks when she sees her big sister standing in front of the Christmas tree with a Christmas hat on.

"It's Christmas." Emery awkwardly does jazz hands. Amaya slightly opens her mouth. Emery looks at the ground and twists her finger. "Look, I know that I've been very...anti-Christmas." She then pats her hands against her thighs. "But, I had this call yesterday that made me realize that Christmas Miracles aren't such a bad thing to hope for." Emery then looks at her sister.

"Christmas isn't such a bad thing." Emery sighs. "Helena...she loved Christmas and the last thing I want to do is ruin Christmas for you." She wipes at her nose. "Because I love you and I know how important Christmas is to you, so...this is me trying."

A small smile spreads across Amaya's lips. Emery rolls her wrist, "And I know there's no gifts under the tree—"

"Fuck that, give me a hug!" Amaya runs over to her sister and jumps into her arms. Emery laughs softly and hugs the girl back.

Emery touches the back of Amaya's head. "Merry Christmas, Maya."

"Now..." Emery pulls away from the hug and wipes at her eyes. "Get dressed, we're going out."

Amaya raises her brows, "Where?"

"An engagement celebration."

Of course as soon as they got to the front door, Buck happened to be walking up at the same time. "Merry Christmas, Buckley." Amaya smiles.

"Merry Christmas, Amaya." He looks at Emery. "Spawn of Satan."

Emery quirks a brow, "Careful, don't let Bobby hear you talking like that." She smirks and keeps her eyes on the door.

The door swings open, Athena smiles, "Merry Christmas!"

At the same time, Emery and Buck hold up champagne bottles.

"Thanks for inviting us." Emery smiles.

"And thanks for inviting me." Buck speaks, pushing Emery to the side. Emery looks at him to snap, but she looks at his bottle of champagne. "Oh, hell no." She points at his bottle. "Buck, did you get the same bottle as me?"

"What? No..." he looks at her bottle and his face drops. "No way, you got the same bottle as me?"

Amaya rolls her eyes, she looks at Athena and Athena looks at her. The teenager walks into the house and Athena sighs. "You two, come in when you're done." She then closes the door, leaving the two on the front porch.

"You saw me eyeing that bottle at the store!" Emery points at it.

"No—nope! I got this last night, when you weren't anywhere around." Buck states. "And I got Eggnog, so, it's not really the same thing now, is it?" He tilts his head.

Emery looks at the eggnog and let's out a harsh breath. "I will...agree to disagree." She folds her arms. Buck then raises his brows out of surprise. Emery notices this and holds a finger up. "Just this one. I am agreeing to disagree. Because you know..." she shrugs a shoulder.

"...it's Christmas."

Buck squints his eyes at the girl and tilts his head. He takes a step towards her and she presses her back against the door. "Right, because it's Christmas."

Emery bites the inside of her cheek and smiles. "Merry Christmas, Buck."

Buck easily finds a smile to shine at Emery. "Merry Christmas, Emi."

Emery turns back towards the door. She inhales a small breath before she opens it and steps inside. "Merry Christmas!"  Emery holds up her champagne bottle.

Buck holds up the bottle and eggnog. "And Mazel Tov!"

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

The next few chapters will have scenes of rescue calls from Station 19, so if it seems like it's off course of from the show; that's why.

words : 7672