Kathleen was awake before the person reached her cot. Her fingers slowly curled to grip the knife under her pillow. The person didn't seem hostile so she decided to wait to see what the person would do. She felt lips press against her bare shoulder and she only had one guess as to who it was. "Go back to sleep, Will. I already told you no." She was sure to keep her voice quiet enough that she wouldn't wake any of the other Spartan trainees.

Lips brushed over her ear before he spoke. "Does Will often come to you in the night and kiss your shoulder?" Kathleen was surprised to find it wasn't the voice she'd expected. She looked to the source and stared into Fred's slightly annoyed gaze. He was sitting on the cot beside her, leaning over so his face was only centimeters from hers.

Kathleen replied in her usual way, not ever thinking. She put up her automatic defense and teased him. "I should have known it was you. It's not usually my shoulder." Fred's gaze became more annoyed at the comment. Kathleen really needed to teach him how to tell when she was teasing him. "What do you want, Fred?" She was annoyed and her voice made it obvious. She'd been having a good dream. She couldn't remember what it had been about but she knew it had been good.

She felt Fred's hand move over her arm, taking her hand. "I want to take you somewhere." Kathleen was surprised by the words. She was always the one that had to force him out of bed in the night to have some fun, not the other way around. She slipped on some shoes, deciding that her pajamas would be enough. She let him pull her out of the barracks.

Fred led her off of the base and ordered her to close her eyes. She fought him but he refused to take her further until she complied. She was curious now. She wanted to know where he planned on taking her. Reluctantly she closed her eyes and let him led her by the hand as she blindly followed. It was several minutes before they finally stopped.

Kathleen felt his hands settle on her shoulder and guide her to an exact spot. She was fascinated and annoyed with how his grip was just firm enough to guide her but gentle at the same time. Gentle was something she struggled with. She'd always been a violent child, and she was growing into a violent woman. Fred, on the other hand, always made gentle look so simple. He could be violent, Kathleen had seen him be as violent as any other trainee, but he was only that way in combat. She sometimes resented that he could turn off the violent part of him when she struggled with it. She was more annoyed by it than the knowledge that Fred wasn't living up to his potential.

Kathleen took a deep breath through her nose, hoping that the smells around her would give her a hint as to where they were. She could smell grass and trees, and could hear the calls of frogs. She guessed they were near a lake in the forest. She started to calculate how far they could have gone at their slow pace. Her train of thought was cut off as the hands were removed from her shoulders, becoming arms wrapped around her waist, and was pulled toward a warm chest. Kathleen couldn't stop herself from leaning back against him. Fred's chin rested on her shoulder and all she could smell was him. Funny, she'd never really thought of Fred as having a scent.

"All right, open your eyes." Kathleen did as Fred instructed but was confused at the sight. They stood at the edge of a lake, but it was a lake they'd been to many times before. Kathleen turned her head to look at Fred. He was grinning like an idiot. "What do you think?"

Kathleen frowned a bit. "Honestly, I was expecting more. I mean, we've been to this lake plenty of times." She had to admit she was disappointed with his choice of destination.

"We've only just reached the destination. I haven't even shown you why it's our destination." Kathleen was surprised as Fred pulled her night shirt up, over her head. The night air chilled her skin and she shivered. There was movement behind her and a second later the warmth of Fred's bare chest pressed against her back.

It wasn't normal for Fred to be this forward with her. He usually beat around the bush and hesitated from actually doing anything. The change in Fred's approach made her suspicious but his being so assertive intrigued her. She wondered what had brought up the change. Maybe he'd started listening to Will. Her train of thought was derailed as his hand gripped the waist of her pants and pulled them down. She felt movement behind her and heard his own pants fall.

"This is not at all your style." Kathleen looked back to see Fred stepping out of his boots and pants. Kathleen looked him over, taking in the sight of the slightly awkward teenager. "What if I say no?" Her face was cold and serious, but his was the picture of confusion.

"Why would you say no?" It was a good question and Kathleen had no idea how to answer. She couldn't come up with a good reason. Since she didn't voice an argument he grinned. "I knew you wouldn't say no."

Kathleen frowned, hating that he had the upper hand on her. "Never said I was going to say no. Only asked what if I did." She determined the best course of action to remove the grin from his face and took action. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she brought their lips together. It took Fred a fraction of a second before he returned the kiss, hands grabbing her waist and pulling her to him. Kathleen's feet pushed against the ground, forcing Fred to lose his balance. They broke the kiss long enough for them to hit the ground before Kathleen reclaimed his mouth.

The two teen intertwined on the grassy shore until Fred switched their positions. He broke away from her mouth, gasping for air. "Wait…this isn't…why I brought you…here." He sucked in air between his words.

Kathleen frowned, disappointed. She'd been hoping this was why they'd come here. "So you didn't bring me here so our first time could be at the same place you first told me you loved me?" She'd thought it was a good guess. It was along the lines of the sort of sentimental thing he would do, and he'd been undressing her.

Fred stared down at her, stunned. "That was an option?" She rolled her eyes. Sometimes he missed the obvious signs she gave him, like the way she'd been more open for affection with him. "I didn't know you were ready. Forget what I had planned, let's do that."

Fred leaned down to continue their make-out session but Kathleen stopped him. "Sorry, it was a limited time offer and it expired." Fred pouted and Kathleen had to look away. Damn him and his puppy dog eyes. "So what did you have planned?"

Fred paused, seeming to decide to press it further or just move on. He decided and finally stood up. Kathleen followed him, waiting to see what he would do. He quickly pulled her to him and before she could stop him he'd pulled them both down into the water of the lake. She struggled in his arms but held on tight. She finally realized that he was pointing and spotted what he was trying to point out. There was a bit of light in a place that seemed to be back under the shore.

Kathleen and Fred swam toward the light. When they reached it Kathleen broke the surface, finding that they were in a small cave that could only be reached through the water. Kathleen looked around and frowned. "I didn't know this was here."

"Neither did I." Fred grinned as he moved over to the edge of the water. "You remember that training exercise where that warthog was chasing me?" Kathleen nodded. "Well I got away by hiding in here. I just happened to see this light and used it to shelter me." He motioned for her to join her over by the shore. He motioned to the source of the lights.

Kathleen looked at the source and was surprised to realize that it was a collection of flowers that lined the dry area. They had simple light blue petals that seemed to glow in the dark. "I've never seen anything like them."

"Neither had I. But I looked into them when I got back to the base. Turns out they are really rare and called Queen of the Night." He grinned at her. "They remind me of you." Kathleen frowned, not understanding. "They glow the best in the dark, and they hide their beauty away where no one can see it." Kathleen's frown deepened. "That and this." Fred grabbed one of the small bugs that were crawling around the underwater cave. He picked it up and dropped it onto the center of one of the flowers. The glowing petals snapped shut in a flash and the bug was trapped. "See, beautiful but deadly."

Kathleen moved closer to the flower to watch it. She could see it shift a bit as the bug tried to fight back but the petals held strong. "Wow, a flower that's actually cool." She turned to Fred just as he plucked one of the illumines flowers and slid it between her head and ear.

Fred's hand moved to her chin and he pulled her close enough to kiss her gently. He stayed close, smiling softly at her. "Happy Birthday, Kathleen."

Kathleen put her hand over the flower and dove down under the water. She swam back up to the surface and pulled herself onto the shore. Fred was right behind her and they both lay on the grass. She looked to Fred. "Is it all right?" She shifted the flower, unable to see it.

Fred nodded. "It's even still sort of glowing." Fred moved over to lay right beside her and she turned on her side to face him. "So, how'd I do?"

Kathleen moved to lean over him. "You did better than I expected." She brought their lips together, kissing him deeply, tongue forcing its way into his mouth. They finally broke apart and Kathleen grinned. "You did well enough maybe we should go with what I thought you'd had planned." Fred looked at her surprised and she leaned down so she was only millimeters away from his face. "Why don't you deflower me?"

Fred frowned. "I thought you liked the flower."

Kathleen groaned. "Shut up and kiss me." She secured her lips to his as she moved to straddle him.

Kathleen stared down at the single glowing flower. "I've never seen anything like it." Emily peered closer to it, seeming to be fascinated by the plant. She'd even taken off her helmet to get a closer look. "What is it?"

"It's called Queen of the Night. It's a rare flower that only grows in the dark where not many creatures live." The soldiers looked to Kathleen, seeming to be surprised by her knowledge of it. Kathleen looked to Edward and made a slight motion toward Emily and the flower.

Edward got the hint and he moved over. He carefully plucked the flower and tucked it behind her ear. She smiled at him but his emotions were hidden behind the faceplate of his helmet. Kathleen looked at the two soldiers and wondered if she and Fred had ever looked like that. Emily smiled at Edward and the other soldiers moved away, knowing to leave them alone.

Kathleen looked away as well, letting them have their privacy. She looked into the darkness of the cave, only the outlines made by her VISR system to tell her that it was anything other than all-consuming darkness. She shut off her COMs and let herself remember all those years ago. "Those were the days."

Fred smiled as he looked at the information on the screen. He usually did a search for it this time of year, this day. He stared at the screen, and the picture of the glowing flower. He let himself remember that night, that wonderful time that they spent together. He missed her, but those memories made him happy, even if they did hurt him in the long run. "Happy birthday, Kathleen." He shut off the screen and stood up, needing to get back to work.

Tom needed to get himself under control. His hands were shaking and he was sweating too much. He straightened the Santa hat on his head, hoping that it didn't look stupid. He'd been waiting for this day for weeks, biding his time to make it special.

He heard light steps moving through their home but they were drowned out by the sound of his heart beating loudly. Lucy moved into the room, still in her sleep wear. She wore a pair of pajama pants with the UNSC logo on them and one of Tom's shirts. On her his shirt went all the way down to mid-thigh and he was sure she could just ditch the pants and still be fully covered. The shirt was one of the ones Tom didn't really wear very often. It simply said 'Silence is Sexy'. The shirt had been a gift from Ash about a year go for Tom's birthday.

"Merry Christmas." Tom smiled nervously. Lucy returned the smile and pointed to a sign on the wall that said 'happy holidays'. It was her way of returning the greeting. It was at least better than her not having any way to reply at all. The silent response at some point had just become what Tom preferred. He couldn't really remember what Lucy's voice sounded like. At times he still did miss her voice but it was getting harder and harder to miss something he didn't remember. He felt like if she started to talk now it would just be weird.

Tom fumbled for a way to start speaking. He realized how little he had things planned out. Lucy put up a hand, stopping him before he could even start. She pantomiming drinking from a cup and then opened her eyes wide, pretending to be awake. It was her way of saying she needed coffee.

"Oh, yeah I made some. I left out a mug for you to use." Lucy pecked Tom's cheek before she moved into the kitchen. Tom sat down on the couch, trying to collect himself. Lucy came back into the living room, mug in hand. She sat down, sipping the warm liquid inside. Tom had made sure to put out her favorite mug, the one with the little engineer on it making a heart with its tentacles. She looked at Tom as though he should obviously be doing something. She motioned to the Christmas tree in the corner and it struck him, he should be playing Santa.

Tom got up and moved to the tree, grabbing the few gifts under it. Each year they got each other something special and this year was one that Tom hoped would be extra special. He handed Lucy her gift and sat down beside her, unwrapping his own. Tom tore away the paper, taking a moment to stick the bright blue bow from his gift to Lucy's head. Tom turned his attention down to the picture in his hands. He didn't know how she'd gotten it but in a simple steel picture frame was an image of Tom, Lucy, and Kurt.

Tom looked over to see her examining her gift. He decided to take pity on her and set the picture to the side, taking the device from her. He strapped it to her arm and switched it on. A screen lit up on the device and Tom showed her that it had a keyboard. "I know how annoying it is for you to talk to random people. I thought this could help and it can be with you at all times."

Lucy smiled and started to type on it. She held it out for Tom to read. He pushed it away. "It's for you to use with other people. I can understand you just fine." Lucy smiled and gave Tom a quick kiss. "Like that means you liked it." Lucy made a heart with her hands. "Correction, you love it." Lucy grinned as he got it right.

Tom reached over and grabbed the picture. "And I love this. I don't know how you got it but you're amazing." Lucy shrugged, brushing off the compliment. Tom took a deep breath before he spoke again. "I have something else for you." Lucy looked at him, confused. He reached behind him where he'd hidden a small box.

"Luce, I've thought about it a lot and I think that I've put it off long enough. I love you, and that's never going to change." He stood up and then got down on knee as he held out the box to her as he opened it. Lucy stared at the ring inside. "Lucy, will you marry me?"

Lucy's mouth hung open and Tom watched her carefully, looking for an answer. A smile spread over her face and she tackled Tom to the ground, kissing him passionately. He took that as a 'yes'. Lucy suddenly got off of him and moved off through the house.

Tom sat on the floor, not understanding where she was going. "You know no one will understand what you're trying to get across unless you let me put the ring on!" He frowned, wondering where she'd run off to.

Lucy ran back into the room and held out an envelope to him. He took it and frowned at it. Had she been waiting all this time to give him a letter of acceptance? He opened it up and was surprised to find medical papers inside. Tom looked them over, at first thinking that they were going to say that Lucy may be able to talk again. That was until he got to the bottom and saw what sort of test they'd been doing.

Tom looked up at Lucy and was trying to find words. He finally just reached forward and pulled her into a hug. "I'm going to be a husband and a daddy." Lucy hugged him back as they celebrated. "Definitely the best xmas ever."