An EFC Christmas: Part Three "I'll Be Home For Christmas"

by Seven


Disclaimer:  Earth: Final Conflict and its characters are copyrighted by Tribune Entertainment Company.  All rights reserved.



Notes from Author:  I had a bit of trouble for the title of this one.



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Augur's shaved head shot over the edge of the sofa, eyes almost wild. "You're kidding, right?"

Liam shook his head, beginning to unlock the door.

"Oh man... I gotta hide!" Augur lurched over the edge of the couch, almost tripping over Suzanne, who emitted a faint "ouch" and rolled over on the floor, rubbing her arm.

Liam yanked the door open, and Sandoval came in. His normally immaculate suit was sodden around the shoulders, and snow was still in his neatly-combed dark hair. Da'an and Zo'or both looked a bit wet, but otherwise normal.

They all stared at Liam, attired in a thick, fuzzy sweater in the living room of the huge house, shutting the door quickly against the wind. "Major Kincaid," Zo'or said in a thin voice. "What are you doing here?"

Sandoval glanced over to the chair, and started. "Captain Marquette!" he snapped.

A smiling Lili raised her mug of cocoa in a salute.

"We're here for Christmas," Liam announced. "We were invited here, by... um..." He groped for a name. Da'an walked over to a bookshelf and took down a worn hardback copy of "Moby Dick," flipping through the pages studiously.

"My Uncle George," Lili interjected. "He lets us come here during the holidays." Another thought seemed to occur to her. "What are YOU doing here?"

Sandoval glanced around, then crossed his arms. "Turbulence from the storm forced us to land as close to shelter as we could."

"What an AMAZING coincidence," Suzanne said uneasily, with a large artificial smile.

"Who is this young lady?" Da'an asked, gesturing towards Suzanne with the book in his other hand.

"College buddy," Lili explained.

Liam was about to flee when Doors emerged from the kitchen, and took an involuntary step back at the sight of Sandoval and the two Taelons. He quickly composed himself, and said, "Well, if it isn't more travellers caught in the blizzard," he said with a smile reminiscent of campaign posters.

"Cocoa, anyone?" Suzanne said, pointing at the kitchen.

"Tea, please," Sandoval replied, rubbing his hands together. Suzanne scrabbled back to her feet and jogged into the kitchen. "I'll help Suzanne!" Liam added, running after her into the relative sanctuary of the kitchen.

Zo'or's normal expression, lined with a bit of disdain and disbelief, suddenly turned as icy as the snow howling outside. "Mr. Doors," he said coldly. "What are YOU doing here... with two Companion agents?"

Doors assumed a sad-eyed expression that was nearly heartbreaking to see, as he sat down on the now-vacant couch and cradled hsis cocoa. "Well, you see... I was on my way to my sister's for a nice, normal Christmas, away from the buzz and pollution of Washington, when my car was caught in this blizzard. I went to the nearest house I could, and your agents were kind enough to let me in." He glanced benevolent at Lili, which quickly a pillow against her face and began to shake. There was muffled giggling from inside the kitchen.

Zo'or stared at Doors with an expression reminiscent of a tiger, but simply sat down opposite Doors, with Sandoval sitting by him, looking cold.

There was a cool silence...

And a peculiar apparition drifted through the room into the kitchen. Wearing a very worn blue suit, a thick short beard and huge shaggy hair. All eyes watched him as he walked into the kitchen with an oddly stilted gait.

Doors glanced at the dumbstruck Lili and mouthed, "Augur?" She nodded.

"What was that?" Da'an asked, staring at the kitchen door.

"Professor... um... Hemingway," Lili supplied lamely. "Old friend of Uncle George's. A bit eccentric, stays by himself a lot."

Liam burst out of the kitchen, red-faced and balancing a steaming mug in each hand. He quickly put one in front of Sandoval and sat down next to Lili. "Suzanne was making popcorn but apparently the lid wasn't heavy enough. No one got hurt, though."

"Ow," Doors said, sipping his cocoa.

"And I went online to check out the weather reports," Suzanne announced, coming in with huge bowl of popcorn. She set it down on the coffee table and sat down by the crackling fire. "The storm will go down tomorrow, but could flare up over the next few days."

"What are you saying?" Sandoval asked, reaching out for a handful of popcorn.

"It means you're staying here for Christmas," Liam grinned.

"I'll go make more beds," Suzanne said, getting up and heading up the stairs.

Another awkward silence commenced. Liam looked around the room, his green eyes uneasily taking in Da'an's increasing nervousness and Zo'or's increasingly rigid posture. Then he slowly got up and popped a CD into the player. The music began:

"Though the weather outside is frightful

The fire is so delightful

And since we've no place to go...

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!..."

Zo'or slowly relaxed, taking his eyes off Doors and sitting back, staring out into the whirling whiteness of the storm. Da'an sat down by Lili and Liam, still