"Jeez, I sure wish I worked on 'A' shift this year. They get Christmas eve, Christmas day and New Year's eve off," Anna Maria said, chucking the rag she'd been using to clean the gauges on the engine into the pail of dirty water. "We have to work Christmas day and New Year's eve! That's not fair."

"Hey, Animal," protested Carol, ducking the splash of dirty water, "Just because you're having a bad day, that doesn't mean we want to hear your whining. Schedules happen -- get used to it. At least you won't have to work those days next year. Try being in the military sometime if you really want to have your holidays screwed up, girl. Sometimes, you don't get any days off for weeks at a time. At least your family's not far away -- how about Fiddler, Katya and Cap? They may at least get to talk to their families, but they sure won't be with them. Maybe we ought to have our own 'family' celebration. We've got a while to prepare it. What do you think?" she asked the others in the engine bay. Everyone agreed it might be fun, so she broached the idea to Captain Warner.

Captain Warner looked up from piles of paperwork scattered on her desk. "It sounds good," Wanda said. "So good, that I'll let you be in charge of deciding what we should do. Have fun getting everyone to agree," she added, with a slightly malicious smile. "It should be interesting trying to meld six family traditions into one without having someone's nose out of joint. I'm sure you're up to the job."

Carol stared at her Captain as she realized just how difficult her 'task' could be. "Uh, Cap, are there any special holiday traditions you have?" she asked, a bit reluctantly.

"Sit down, Carol, and start taking notes..."

Carol muttered to herself as she looked at the notes she had made so far. After talking to everyone but Holly, she already had about twenty pages of 'family traditions'. How in the hell am I going to create something that will please everyone? she thought, shuffling through the pages to see if there were any common points at all. "Hey, Holly, what kind of Christmas traditions do you have in your family?" she asked.

Holly smiled ruefully and said, "None, actually." She turned away from the soup she was making for supper and replied. "In my family, we celebrate Chanukkah. As a matter of fact, sundown today marks the beginning of the first day, so, with everyone's indulgence, I'll indoctrinate you in a bit of Jewish culture. Any objections?"

There were none; as a matter of fact, the others on the shift showed a keen interest. Holly brought out her menorah and described the 'Miracle of the Oil' and the significance of the candles in the menorah. She explained that when the Maccabees defeated the Greeks to regain the High Temple, they searched for oil to resanctify the temple. "Only one jar was found with the seal of the High Priest, and they knew it would not last long enough to keep the temple fire burning until more oil could be brought -- one jar would last only one day. However, a miracle occurred, and the oil lasted for eight days, long enough for more sacred oil to arrive. Chanukkah celebrates the Miracle of the Oil. My favourite part is the lighting of the candles. I'm not overly religious, but I do celebrate the special days. My parents would kill me if I didn't. Now, theoretically, the candles have to burn for at least half an hour, so we'd better not get a run before the time is up."

"Why do they have to burn half an hour?" asked Carol, utterly fascinated by everything Holly was explaining.

"Well, that goes back to tradition, too. The lit lamps, or candles in this case, were placed either outside the family dwelling or in a window, to illuminate the way of people returning from market. I guess everyone got home within half an hour of sunset, or something like that." Holly shrugged and said, "Once again, I'm a little too ignorant of my own heritage to be able to explain everything. Just don't tell my folks!" She took the candle from the centre and said, "You see that eight of the candles are the same height, and that the one in the centre is higher or lower than the other eight, right?" At the nods of the others, she continued. "This one is called the shamash, and it is used to light the other candles. It's a 'worker' candle since, by tradition, the Chanukkah lights are not supposed to be used for any toil. So, if you don't have electricity, you work by the light of the shamash. You light one candle the first day, two the second, and so on. On the first day, you light the candle on the far right; on each day after that, you light the candle to its immediate left first, then go to the right. So, each day, the candles are added from right to left, but lit from left to right."

Holly lit the shamash and continued with the explanation. "The first blessing thanks God for the commandment to 'kindle the Hanukkah lights.' You say the first blessing before lighting the candles. Hold the lit shamash in your right hand and say: 'Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam, a-sher kid-sha-nu be-mitz-vo-tav ve-tzi-va-nu le-had-lik ner shel cha-nu-kah,' which means 'Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.' The second blessing praises God for the miracle of the oil that the candles symbolize. You say that one as the candles are being lit." She touched the shamash to the first candle on the right, saying, "'Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam, she-a-sa ni-sim la-avo-tei-nu ba-ya-mim ha-hem ba-zman ha-zeh. Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our ancestors, at this season, in days past.' Now, on the first night only, you also say the 'shehechiyanu' blessing, because it is the first time the candles have been lit this season. 'Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam, she-he-chi-yanu ve-kiy'manu ve-higi-anu la'zman ha'zeh. Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who gave us life and kept us and delivered us to this time.' Traditionally, you're supposed to let the candles burn out by themselves, but most people I know extinguish them after the half hour. The tradition also called for foods fried in oil, and games with the dreidel. There's a lot more, but as I said earlier, I'm not too much up on that. I'll check with my folks, and let you know, if you're interested. I guess on a lot of holidays, you remember all the fun parts and let the duties behind things lapse a bit."

There were murmurs of agreement. Carol asked awkwardly, "Do you have any problems with having a Christmas celebration? Because if you do, we can find something else...."

Holly punched her playfully in the shoulder. "Heck no! I told you, I'm not overly religious, and I sure think we could use a party of sorts. I have an idea, though. My cousins, who have five family birthdays within a week, started a kind of tradition that I thought would always be kind of fun to try. Each person brings a wrapped, unlabeled gift. Everyone's name is written on two pieces of paper, and they are thrown into a hat. One by one, names are picked. The first person whose name is picked chooses a present and opens it. The next person has the option of 'stealing' that present or opening another one. Each time a new name is picked, you can 'steal' a present that has already been opened, or you can pick a new one. The second time your name is picked, you have the option of keeping the present you currently have, or trading with someone else. Of course, if your present is 'stolen' while there are still wrapped presents, then you have to open a new one. If all the presents are already opened, then you can get into some serious horse trading. It works really well if the presents are completely silly. What do you think of the idea?"

"Holly, that's brilliant!" said Carol enthusiastically. She looked at her shift mates and asked, "Any objections? No? Right, that's what we'll do, then." She scribbled quickly on her clipboard of notes, and flipped over to a new page. "Okay, then, now we have to decide on a menu. Turkey okay with everyone?..."

After supper, Carol looked over the notes she had so painstakingly made of everyone's special traditions. She surreptitiously watched Holly staring with fascination into the flames of her candles, waiting for them to die out. Trust Holly to come up with the perfect idea, after I've spent two hours getting information from others. I should have started with her in the first place. It's not even a Christmas tradition, but I bet we can make it into one. It sounds like a lot of fun. Now what can I get that will be appropriate for a bunch of boots like us? I know! The perfect thing....

"Station 45, Station 18, Engine 60. Structure fire, 1245 Stevenson, cross street Spalding. One-two-four-five Stevenson. Time out, 2144."

"Station 18, KMG 968," replied Captain Warner.

As they neared the scene, they heard the report from Station 45 to dispatch, indicating that there was heavy fire showing from the first floor of a single family dwelling. Wanda reported their arrival to Captain Sheppard. "Hey, Gary, what do we have here?" she asked, gazing at the flames licking angrily through the first floor windows.

"Hi, Wanda. It seems to have started in the living room and gone into the walls to the attic. I need your guys -- uh, ladies -- to help cover the east side of the blaze. See if you can get a team to the roof to ventilate that attic. All of the occupants managed to escape without injury, so we don't need the squads for any medical treatment at the moment," Captain Sheppard reported, jotting down some notes.

"Right, Gary." She went over to Engine 18 and gave the orders. "Katya, Fiddler, get a two-inch line on the eastern exposure. Animal, Holly, get the ladders. I need you to get that attic ventilated on that side. I'll hold the ladder. Let's go."

"Two hours overhauling, just because some stupid woman decides to take a nap and leaves her candle burning. 'For atmosphere', she said! What a bimbo!" said Holly as they finally pulled back into Station 18 just after midnight.

"Just hit the sack, girls," said Wanda wearily. "We'll do any cleanup tomorrow morning. Get some rest while you still can. Good night," she replied, heading to the dorm.

Ana Maria poked her head into the engine bay. "Hey, you guys, breakfast is ready. Come and get it!"

Carol stood up and stretched, easing a muscle cramp in her back. She picked her clipboard off the front seat, shut the door to the engine, and headed to the kitchen. Katya and Fiddler closed the compartments of the squad and went to breakfast. Holly gave the bumper of the engine a final buff before joining the others in the kitchen. As expected, Carol outlined the plans for Christmas as they ate breakfast.

"Okay. Here's the plan -- Animal, you and I are responsible for decorations. We can get together after shift to take care of that. I figure that if we get them up by December 15th, that should be enough time to make the station festive. We can take them down on the first shift after New Year's, okay?" Carol asked.

Ana Maria nodded and replied, "That's fine with me. We have a lot of extra decorations at home, and we can check with the other shifts to see if anyone has anything special that they'd like to see at the station. After all, they've got to live in the station for a week out of the three weeks the decorations will be up."

Wanda commented, "Good idea, Animal. I'll talk to the other captains and they can check with their girls. Go on, Carol."

"Great," continued Carol. "Cap, you'll do the turkey, right? And Katya for the vegetables, Holly for fruit and candies, Fiddler for the dessert. Now as far as the gift exchange goes, there are two things. First, we'll each fill a Christmas stocking. Joke presents, say, no more than ten dollars' worth, agreed?" After receiving confirmation from everyone, Carol went on. "Now, Holly's tradition of the present swap sounds perfect, so if we swap the stockings, that will take care of that. Also, enough people voiced an interest in a 'Secret Santa' present, not a joke this time, once again ten dollars' worth, okay? With that one, we each draw a name and come up with a more 'meaningful' gift -- maybe something along the lines of each person's interest." She flipped to the final page of the sheets on her clipboard. "One more item. Cap, Katya and Fiddler: I'd like to arrange some telephone time on Christmas with your families, so I'll need telephone numbers and you'll have to let me know a good time to call. Animal, Holly and I all have families in California, so we can pretty well call anytime. Am I missing anything?"

"Sounds great, Grunt. I can't think of anything else," replied Animal. "This is going to be fun. Now, if things go well, it will be a good, boring day, and we can truly enjoy things."

"I have another suggestion," said Katya. "How about if everyone brings their favourite board game? We always spent part of the day just goofing around and acting like kids. Sort of a family tradition, but not restricted to Christmas."

Amid murmurs of assent, everyone was startled to realize that 'A' shift had started trickling in. Captain Warner went to the office to consult with Captain Tacy about the traditions of the other shift members -- and to inform them that there would be a fair amount of turkey left over on the day after Christmas. "After all, Margaret, I'm used to cooking a turkey for farmhands, and you have no idea how much they can eat, given the opportunity..."

Fiddler shook her head as she guided the squad back into the engine bay. It had been a peculiar day. Yes, it was Christmas, and thankfully, it had been a slow day, but the runs they had had so far were far from ordinary. As she backed the squad into the station, Fiddler chuckled to herself as she remembered the man who'd been trapped in the strange home gym he had been putting together for his wife. How could anyone start putting the weights on the equipment before making sure that the rods were attached? He had sure looked desperate, trapped under two hundred pounds of plates. He was so lucky that he hadn't been seriously hurt. And that woman who'd dropped the turkey on her foot! At least there hadn't been any fires since that small trash fire at 0900 that morning. Imagine trying to throw plastic in a barbecue! That meant that the engine crew had been at the station most of the day, so Cap's turkey should be just about ready.
She turned off the engine and closed the door. She inhaled deeply and smiled as the aroma of roasted turkey hit her nostrils. As she prepared to go into the lounge area, she was startled to see her partner still sitting in the squad, gazing dreamily into the distance. Fiddler went back to the squad and thumped the door sharply, breaking her partner's reverie.

"Hey, Katya, we're back home! Get yer buns into the lounge. Y'all can smell Cap's turkey from here. Must be ready. What's got into y'all, anyway?" she asked gently, planting her fists into her hips.

Katya sighed wistfully. "This is going to sound really stupid, seeing that I've lived in LA for five years now, but I really miss snow, especially at Christmas. I know Christmas is just a day like any other, and Andy and I will have our real celebration tomorrow, but there's still the snow thing. Maybe we'll take a drive up into the mountains tomorrow." Katya got out of the squad and joined Fiddler as they entered the kitchen.

Holly turned and smiled as they entered. "About time you two got back. Get your stockings and presents and put them over there under the 'Chanukkah bush'! Fill the stockings with the candies and fruits from the bowls on the table, and make sure not to mix up the 'real' presents and the joke presents. Put the joke present in the stocking, okay? As soon as I finish setting the table, we can eat, then we'll open the presents."

Katya laughed as she and Fiddler got their presents and stockings from their lockers. As they dutifully put them under the Christmas tree with the others Katya asked Holly, "Chanukkah bush?"

Holly shrugged and said wryly, "When you're surrounded by people who don't celebrate Chanukkah, you adapt to the majority. Enough chit-chat, let's eat!"

"Cap, that was absolutely marvellous! I've never had a turkey that good before!" Carol said enthusiastically. "What's your secret?"

Wanda bowed slightly and answered, "The secret is the size of the bird, and the fact you cook it really, really slowly so the turkey is roasted and steamed at the same time. Not a lot of people here in California seem to like birds that are this big. This little fellah came in at just over nineteen pounds. That means that 'A' shift and 'B' shift will be able to have some turkey, too. It's kind of hard for me to cook for anything less than what ten 'normal' people would eat. Back on the farm, I'd usually be cooking for eight farmhands at the peak of the season, which equals about fifteen 'normal' appetites. I just got used to cooking for crowds. Hey, Katya, did all those vegetables come from your garden?"

It was Katya's turn to take a bow. "Yes, all lovingly cared for, harvested and cooked by yours truly -- with Andy's help now and again. You might be able to take the farm girl off the farm, but you'll never get the farm out of her soul, right, Cap?" At Wanda's smiling nod, Katya went on. "I'd just like to add my compliments to the others about your decorations, Carol and Animal. It makes the station very friendly and warm, just like home. And if you can't be with your blood kin on Christmas, it's great to be with your surrogate family, isn't it?"

Fiddler and Animal came over to the table, Animal bearing a platter of fruit and cheese, arranged very decoratively; Fiddler carrying a magnificent chocolate Yule log on a platter. "If this gets any more sentimental, I may barf," said Animal with a smile. "Let's have some dessert and then get to the presents, okay?"

Amid much laughter, the stocking exchange was held. "Holly, your name is first," pronounced Carol, the self-appointed emcee of the great swap. Holly got up from the sofa, still giggling, and selected a stocking at random and emptied it, displaying the 'glories' within. After emptying the fruits and candies back into the bowl on the table, she opened the brightly wrapped package. She burst out laughing, then turned and showed the others some psychedelic hot pink, green and orange suspenders. "Quite a far cry from the traditional red suspenders, huh?" She held them up to her pants and said, "What do you think? Shall we set a few old goats in the department on their ears and demand a more 'fashion-oriented' uniform accessory like this?"

"Okay, Holly," said Carol with a broad smile. "You have to pick the next name from the hat."

"Drum roll, please!" announced Holly. "And the winner is....Wanda! Okay, Cap, you can elect to 'steal' these wonderful suspenders or open another stocking."

"Well, as difficult as the choice is...." and Wanda practically ran to the heap of stockings, laughing all the time. She, too, returned the oranges and candies to the bowls on the table, and opened the next package. By some freak chance she had selected the 'Li'l Captain' plastic fire engine, with removable ladders. "Right. Nobody, but nobody is going to steal this one, right?" she growled with mock menace.

"Gee, Cap, knowing that you really want it puts it at the head of the list, doesn't it? Draw the next name," said Carol innocently.

"Okay, the next lucky winner is... Fiddler. You keep your hands off my fire engine, girl," replied Wanda, clutching the engine to her chest.

Holly wave the suspenders enticingly at Fiddler. "Come on, Fiddler, think how great these would look with your singing outfit," she suggested.

"Sorry, Jello, Ah just don't have any outfits quite that colourful. Mahnd you, Ah've always fancied high-class machinery," she looked suggestively at Wanda as she strode over and took the fire engine from her.

"Okay, Cap, now you have to open another stocking and display that present."

"All right," Wanda said grudgingly. "Just wait until my name is pulled the second time....Okay, this present is..." she laughed in spite of the loss of her fire engine. She turned and displayed the 'Do-it-yourself fire extinguisher kit' consisting of three different sizes of water pistols.

Fiddler pulled the next name, and Animal elected to open one of the stockings. She smiled widely and displayed the plastic fireman's axe and hook. "Jeez, these can help accompany the ladders from Cap's... I mean Fiddler's fire truck." Ana Maria laughed as Wanda comically stuck her tongue out at her. "Okay, Carol, you're next."

Carol was delighted as her stocking revealed a child's yellow plastic helmet with a revolving light on top. "Nobody will steal this one -- I'll brain you first!" she said, laughing. "Okay, Katya, you get the last choice for this round -- do you steal or do you open the last stocking?"

Katya considered, then said, "Well, I can always steal something on the second round, and I'm really curious to see what's in that last package, so...." She opened the package and said, as she displayed it to the others, "How perfectly appropriate!" It was a "Little Doctor Kit" with the word 'Doctor' crossed out and 'Paramedic' written in.

Carol rapped the table for order. "Okay, now comes the second round. You've all seen the, uh, delightful offerings, so each person has the opportunity to steal or keep. Once your present has been stolen, you have the opportunity to steal someone else's present. No stealing back what you've just lost on that turn, but you can always initiate the stealing on your turn. All clear? Okay, the first name is...Fiddler."

Fiddler considered the presents, then shook her head and said, "Ah'll just hang on to this engine -- until Cap steals it back, that is..." She drew the next name. "Carol. Well, what's yer choice, sugah?"

Carol looked at the fire engine, then shrugged and said, "Hey, I get to play with the big engine all the time, so I guess I'll just hang onto my little yellow helmet." Carol reached into the hat and drew the next name. "Katya, what's your pleasure?"

Katya was already heading toward Wanda's water pistols. "Cap, you know I've got to have these -- they'll go so well with the sprinklers in the garden shed. Besides, I've got a plan for Andy tomorrow....."

"Say no more," Wanda answered, handing them over and taking the paramedic kit in exchange. "I'll have my turn, eventually," she answered, looking at the fire engine that Fiddler was holding.

Katya drew the next name. "Holly, it's your turn again."

Holly considered the other presents. "You're going to think I'm weird, but I think I'd like to keep the suspenders. Just don't be surprised if you see them with my uniform at night....The next name is -- Ana Maria!"
Ana Maria said, "Well, I guess I have to decide which present I would want besides the fire engine, because I know Cap's going to want that, so...Fiddler, would you rather have the Little Paramedic kit or the Little Fireman axe and hook? You're going to end up with one or the other, so which do you prefer?"

Fiddler replied, "Well, now, Ah get to play with my own paramedic stuff every shift, so why don't y'all take the paramedic kit and Ah'll go with the hook and axe, okay?"

Animal agreed, and she took the paramedic kit from Wanda, who took the fire engine from Fiddler, to nobody's surprise.

"That was terrific fun! Thanks for the idea, Holly. Now, it's time for the more serious gift exchange. We've managed to get to know each other pretty well in the past ten months, and we've become our own little family. I'm sure that the 'real' presents will reflect that. Do you want to open them one at a time or all at once?" asked Carol as she sorted out the packages.

"Oh, I think one at a time," replied Katya quickly. "That way, it lasts longer and we get a chance to appreciate the thoughtfulness behind each gift."

The others agreed, so Carol suggested that they draw the names from the hat once again to determine the order to open the presents. Since everyone agreed, Carol picked the first name. "Okay, Fiddler, you're first up to bat."

Fiddler opened her present and smiled with delight as she removed a doll dressed in her favourite performing outfit, complete with a small fiddle. "Holly, this is exquisite! How did y'all know that this is mah favourite outfit? Have y'all been at the bar when Ah've been singin'? Ah've never seen y'all there." She gave Holly a hug, with a huge smile.

Holly answered, "Well, I've been there a couple of times. We all have at one time or another. I guess those lights dazzle you. Take a better look next time."

Fiddler gazed fondly at the doll again, then drew the next name. "Ana Maria, it's your turn."

Animal opened her present, and her eyes grew wide with wonder as she turned the key on the music box shaped like a nativity crèche. Her eyes filled with tears of joy as the box began softly to play "Gesu Bambino". She turned to Wanda, unconsciously holding the crucifix she always wore around her neck and asked, "Cap? How? How did you know that's my favourite Christmas hymn?"

Wanda smiled through her own tears and said, "Your mother told me when I called her two weeks ago. Do you know how hard it has been for her not to let you know?"

Ana Maria sang softly along with the box, her pure soprano voice astounding the others.

"Animal, why didn't you tell us you could sing?" demanded Carol at the end of the piece.

Ana Maria smiled and shrugged. "It just never came up before. This is the piece that I sang at Midnight mass yesterday. I've always loved it. Thank you, Cap. Hey, you're next."

Wanda opened her box and was thrilled to see an example of Carol's fine model work. It was a scale model of her farm. "Carol, it's beautiful. Such fine work, and it makes me feel a little less homesick. Thank you -- your talents are amazing." She opened the doors to the barn and smiled with pleasure as she removed the animals, also made to scale. "This is perfect. Wait until the boys hear about this." She picked the next name from the hat. "Your turn, Holly."

Katya muttered, "We may all regret this, but...."

Holly squealed in delight as she opened the package. "Katya, wherever did you find these? I've been looking for months to try to find them." She happily displayed jello moulds in the shapes of a fire engine, a racing car, and a Mogen David. Amid the groans of the others, each of whom had at one time or another been a victim of Holly's perverse sense of humour involving jello, she said triumphantly, "I've never even seen a Star of David mould before. Wait until my family sees these!" Holly headed to the cupboard to see if there was any jello around, and was vaguely disappointed to discover her supply was missing. "Hey, guys, what gives?"

Carol answered, "Well, it's like this. We wanted just one holiday of the year without anyone finding jello in their boots or hats or bed. Strange of us, we know, but your supply will miraculously find its way back by the next shift. I've got a feeling that you'll have plenty of time to play after New Year's. Anyway, draw the next name."

Holly pouted slightly as she selected the next name. "Carol, you're next."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Carol as she unwrapped two surgical probes and a very fine set of forceps. "These are perfect, Fiddler. I don't have this size of equipment, and it will go wonderfully with the pieces I'm working on now."

"Ah thought they would. Having medical connections can come in handy some tahmes...." answered Fiddler smugly.

"And last, but not least, is Katya," announced Carol.

Katya all but pounced on the present. Animal laughed and said, "You're the one who wanted to draw this out, remember? I thought you'd appreciate something to do with snow, so..."

Katya opened the box, then threw her arms around Animal and hugged her. "Beautiful! Wait until Andy sees this!" She showed the others the miniature Christmas village, with its snow-covered houses. She took a closer look at one of the buildings and blushed furiously. "You just had to include this, didn't you?" she said, pointing out a tiny garden shed, artfully decorated with sprinklers on the doors. "Andy's really gonna love that one!"

"Hey, was it my idea to become a part of the LA County Fire Department lore or yours? Face it, 'Sprinkler Babe', you're never going to be able to live it down -- you have all of us to keep you humble, remember?" laughed Animal. "Besides, Carol is really responsible for that one, you know."

"I don't care -- you brought me snow, and I really miss that. Hey, speaking of which, it's my turn to monopolize the phone for fifteen minutes, talking to my folks back in the snowy wastes! Thanks, Animal, this is truly wonderful. It will look so good in our window, but for the meantime, I'll plug it in next to the tree."

"Merry Christmas! Happy Chanukkah!" they wished each other. Thankfully, the rest of the shift was blissfully free of runs, and everyone had a good chance to relax and play board games for the rest of the evening.

As 'A' shift arrived the next day, the women on 'C' shift decided to leave their board games there, in the hopes that having silly board games around would make for a slow shift. Wanda told Margaret that there was plenty of food left, including turkey, vegetables, and dessert. As they talked in the engine bay, Fiddler came dashing by, shouting, "Every man for herself!"

The captains turned in astonishment, only to see Katya come barreling around the corner, firing two water pistols as she came into the bay. "Ohmigod!" Katya shouted in alarm, as she succeeded in soaking her captain and narrowly missing Captain Tacy with the streams of water. "Sorry about that, Cap, I -- uh -- just wanted to test them out before meeting Andy later. I'm really sorry. Are you okay?" she asked tentatively.

Wanda wiped most of the water off her face, shook her head and sighed. "I guess I should thank Carol for hiding the jello supply. Too bad I didn't declare a moratorium on water pistols." She looked sternly at Katya, but the corners of her mouth gave her away. "Get going, and give Andy hell, okay?"

"Thanks, Cap," said Katya, seizing the opportunity to escape. "Merry Christmas, Captain Tacy!" she shouted as she retreated.

Margaret shook her head and remarked to Wanda, "It's a good thing she's yours -- I'd hate to see what happened if either of them were teamed up with Cassie. I take it that yesterday was a slow day?"

"The slowest since we started here. It made for an interesting celebration. I'll tell you about it some day. Enjoy the turkey, and I'll see you in three days."

As Wanda changed out of her uniform, she reflected on the Christmas she had just spent. True, she missed her boys and their families tremendously, but the girls had more than made up for that. If she had to work on Christmas, she couldn't have picked a goofier or dearer bunch of sisters. I wonder how long we can keep Holly away from that jello supply? she wondered.

Author's note: Thanks to Pat for some very helpful suggestions.