Christmas
Lights twinkled around me, the snow was thick on the window sashes, and it was only getting thicker. We would be snowed in this year, and I couldn't even be mad about it. Dad didn't have to go into work tonight, thankfully, which left us sitting in the living room with cups of hot cocoa and It's A Wonderful Life playing on the screen. "Do you want to set out cookies for Santa this year?"
"Dad." I looked at him with serious eyes. "Seriously?"
"What?" His brow furrowed and he gave a little smirk.
"Of course I want to put out milk and cookies for santa! Why do you think I made his favorite? Santa loves sugar cookies. Duhh." I rolled my eyes and smiled.
Just then the sound of Dad's phone ringing broke the silence. He cast one look and sat up straight. "Hang on kiddo, I gotta get this." I watched with curious eyes as my dad swept up the phone and stepped from the room. Per the agreement, I left the movie playing, but kept my ears tuned for dad's voice. When he answered I heard a tone in his voice I hadn't heard for a while, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. "Hello? Are you okay?" There was a long pause as dad listened to whoever was on the other end. I could hear the vague hum of panicked words as I glimpsed dad shoving his feet into his plow boots. "I'm on my way..." dad huffed, "no I am, it's not safe for you to be out there all night." He reached up and grabbed his reflective jacket. "I'll be there shortly." Hanging up the phone, he shrugged the coat on and stepped back into the living room.
"It's everything okay?" I asked as I sat up a little, readjusting a sleeping Sophie in my lap as I did so. I could practically feel the concern and anxiety radiating off of him.
"Yeah, I'll be back shortly, keep the movie going." Dad kissed the top of my head then looked over to Maddie where she sat, watching with expectant eyes. He snapped his fingers and gave the familiar German command. Maddie lept from the cushion she was lounging on and ran to meet him at the door. He didn't bother leasing her or grabbing his badge and gun so I knew he would be safe from any immediate harm. My heart hammered in my chest as I watched him retrieve his cruiser keys and disappear into the blizzard with our dog.
George Bailey had only just met Clarence when the front door banged open once more. Maddie happily bounded in, effectively riling up Sophie and causing a ruckus. I jumped up, narrowly avoiding the warpath Sophie had gone on. "Sophie! Settle!" Sophie continued to storm after Maddie, who was clearly excited from the snow. She looked more like a husky now than she did a German Shepard. I rolled my eyes and scooped her up, giving her a stern look and watching her calm down as dad called out a series of commands that recalled Maddie to the foyer and sitting perfectly. As I turned to check my father, I met the gaze of a surprised woman. Half a second later Dad appeared behind her.
"Ari... this is Lisa. Lisa, this is Arabella." Dad said nervously as he shucked his coat and grabbed for a towel from the basket we kept near the door, reaching down to dry Maddie off while keeping a wary eye on us.
"Hi... it's so nice to meet you finally." Lisa gave me a tentative smile. "I'm really sorry to intrude like this, I was on my way home when the blizzard started, your dad came to save me from the snow drift I got stuck in." It was then that I suddenly realized why those eyes felt so familiar. I had seen them squint as rain water splashed from between the emergency room reception desk and my hand. I had angrily insisted I be taken to my father, I had been on a warpath and those eyes had bore witness to it all.
My eyes met with my father's then, blush heating my cheeks. I doubted he knew the real reason for the reddening of my face, but I could see him trying to decipher it as he opened his mouth to speak. "Her car is still out there and she lives four more miles out of town, I didn't think it would be safe for her to drive all that way just to be alone on Christmas." Dad's tone was almost defensive as he took Lisa's coat.
"Of course!" I said in an attempt to regain composure. With sure movements I set Sophie back on the couch and smiled up at Lisa. "We are watching It's A Wonderful Life..." I smiled at her as I slowly rounded the couch, becoming increasingly more aware of my dancing reindeer pajamas and my grinch slippers. "How do you take your hot coco?"
"Oh!" She said in surprise as a small smile grew on her lips. "With marshmallows, lots of them." I still wasn't sure if she recognized me as the frantic wet rat that was screaming in the ER reception area, but she didn't seem to hold it against me if she did.
"Coming right up." I smiled as I shuffled past her and while shooting a glance at Dad as he hung her coat up and motioned for her to place her wet shoes beside his, which sat in a plastic tray beside the basket of towels. Those towels were usually only used in winter, when Maddie would come in and look like the abominable snow dog. She must have been a Bernese Mountain Dog in her past life.
As I prepared the hot chocolate I pulled out my phone and leaned against the counter.
Ari: Gi!!!! HELP!!!
Gi: WHAT!?
Ari: I THINK MY DAD HAS A GIRLFRIEND!!
Gi: HE WHAT
Ari: he just saved her from a snow drift I'm freaking out dude
Gi: girlfriend as in girlfriend girlfriend
Ari: girlfriend as in unless she sleeps on the couch they will be sharing a bed tonight girlfriend.
Gi: OH
Gi: MY
Gi: GOD
Ari: I KNOWWWW
Gi: I mean a very merry Christmas to Derek lol
Ari: NO PLZ
My face reddened and I tossed my phone onto the counter, grabbing the marshmallows and quickly assembling the hot chocolate. When I glanced back down at my phone I spotted a message from Gi with a link to a wikihow article titled "how to deal with having a Dilf for a father."
Ari: please never call my dad a dilf again
Gi: I see dilf I say dilf
Ari: blocked.
Gi: You know you love me <3
I smirked and tossed my phone to the counter once more, deciding I needed lots of eggnog to withstand the teasing. As I watched the cup slowly fill, dad's head popped into the room. "Pour me some, hey?"
"Of course." I smiled as I grabbed a snowman mug.
He entered the room fully before sighing and leaning against the counter in front of me. "You're... okay with this?"
I waited a long moment before answering, filling my silence only with the act of filling his mug. "What is she to you?"
"My... girlfriend." I wasn't sure who was more nervous at that moment, me or dad.
"How long?" I sighed as I topped off his cup.
"Since about august officially." He sheepishly picked up Lisa's hot chocolate and swept up his eggnog.
"You met at the hospital, yeah?" I kept my eyes on my own cup of eggnog and tried to focus on only the details, but desperately wished that I could feel the reassuring hand of Edward against my back.
"Yeah," Dad started, "she was visiting her friend for lunch. They had just got me moving around for physical therapy, and I happened to be in the hall when she came up. She was never one of my nurses, and we kinda hit it off immediately." He seemed almost reluctant to divulge the information, but I was grateful nonetheless.
"Then let me get to know the one who cured my dad's broken heart." As we walked back into the living room I watched both Sophie and Maddie snuggle up on Lisa, and that was already a win in my book.
YOU ARE READING
The First Drop Of Rain
Fanfiction(RENAMED!!! Was previously Twilight: The adopted Daughter) What if Isabella had never moved to Forks? Better yet, what if instead a girl named Arabella took her place, a girl never related to the Swans, a girl instead abandoned at the police station...
