A Very Furry Christmas

The smell of cinnamon and ginger greeted Caitlin Carr at the doors of the children's hospital instead of the usual bleach and antiseptic. She followed the scent like a Christmas hound on the trail of some festive cheer.

In the entrance hall, she found a stall bedecked in silver tinsel and holly, laden with edible goodies.

"Merry Christmas." A round-faced elderly lady beckoned her over and offered up a tray of home-baked treats while another white-haired pensioner poured some mulled wine.

"Don't worry, it's alcohol-free." She thrust a paper cup into Caitlin's hand and left her no choice but to accept.

With no sign of her favorite Christmas totem among the selection of gingerbread shapes, she settled for a boring old Christmas tree.

"How much do I owe you?" The few coins she kept in her uniform pocket would surely cover the cost.

The old woman shooed her away. "Nothing at all, love. We're only too glad to spread the Christmas spirit for the kiddies and their families. A few more volunteers are coming later with presents for the wee ones."

Caitlin smiled. It meant a lot that people thought of the children here, too sick to go home for Christmas. "You're doing a good job, ladies. I hope Santa will be good to you this year."

"If he leaves George Clooney gift wrapped at the end of my bed, I'll be a very happy woman." The two merry visitors burst into peals of laughter, and Caitlin waved them goodbye to start her shift in outpatients.

"Morning." Shannon, the secretary of the metabolic department and Caitlin's best friend, sat alone in the waiting room.

"Where is everyone?" She took her first sip of mulled wine as she walked past the reception desk. The nursing staff had been busy. The Christmas tree twinkled brightly in the morning gloom, and gaudy decorations hung from every corner of the room.

"Early morning meeting, but the first patient should be here any minute now." Shannon looked at the clock as their first little person ran in and straight over to Caitlin.

"Have you got any pictures for coloring in?" She peered into the craft cupboard.

"Let's see. I have Christmas trees, Santa Claus, and penguin pictures to color. Which one do you want?" Caitlin opened the folder of printouts and splayed them out on the table along with a tub of crayons.

"Which one's your favorite?" The pig-tailed blonde cherub studied the pages carefully.

"I like polar bears, but they aren't very good for coloring. What about this one?" Caitlin tapped on the picture of a cheeky elf grinning out from beneath his pointy hat.

"I like him. He's funny." Satisfied with her choice, the little girl settled down with a chubby fist full of crayons. Her parents flashed Caitlin grateful smiles from the row of seats opposite. It made her job as a Play Specialist worthwhile, seeing the children relaxed and too pre-occupied to worry about the dreaded blood tests.

As the morning wore on, the faces around the craft table changed, but all the patients left smiling and clutching their work.

The latest batch of eager students worked too quietly for her liking, and she wanted to distract them. "Who wants to make snowflakes?"

"Me!" A lively chorus chimed around the table, accompanied by a show of hands, much to her relief.

Armed with a pile of paper and craft scissors, Caitlin set to work. White scraps floated to the floor, and glitter glue lay in pools everywhere, but the kids were having too much fun for her to care.

"Ho-ho-ho!" A flurry of activity passed through the hospital at the sound of a familiar voice. Through the window, Caitlin could see adults and children alike pointing and clapping.

The wide-eyed children beside her forgot their handiwork and fixed their attention on the door where the sound of bells rang out.

"Who could that be?" Caitlin stood up and fueled their excitement.

"Santa?" The reverent whispers and open mouths fed her own childish enthusiasm for the season. With so many good and bad memories tied to the occasion, this time of year brought mixed emotions and made one particular problem very hard to ignore.

"Ho-ho-ho!" As the man himself grew closer, the children grew more restless. They clambered over Caitlin and stood on their chairs, every one of them straining for a better position to see the red suit.

The infectious smiles spread to the staff's faces, and Caitlin led everyone in a rendition of Jingle Bells to welcome Father Christmas's arrival.

"Ho-ho-ho! Well, boys and girls. Have you all been good this year?" The gaggle of eager children swarming around the man in red nodded their heads vigorously.

"My friend Jason has presents for all the well-behaved children here. Shall we call him in?" Santa put his hand to his mouth and called him in. "Jason."

Jason didn't sound like a particularly inventive name for an elf, and she thought maybe she should take Santa aside and suggest Buddy or Mr. Jingles as a child-friendly alternative. The reluctant elf failed to appear.

"I think Jason's feeling a little bit shy today. Maybe if we all shout really loudly, he'll come in and say hello." Santa buoyed the troops and counted them down from three.

"Jason!" Caitlin joined in with the call, and Jason padded into sight.

All her Christmases literally came at once.

Jason Lewis tugged at the crotch of his costume, cursing Nev for grabbing the roomier Santa suit first. This budget polar bear outfit with a zipper up the front resembled more of a onesie. Bedwear for the terminally cute wasn't something this six-foot-two ice hockey defenseman would usually be caught dead in. The women he was used to entertaining in a less than cuddly fashion would be most amused. Luckily, it was for a good cause, and he was always ready to help children in need.

"Jason!" The children's call prompted him to pull up his hood, complete with furry ears, and pull on his paws. They were the real reason he humiliated himself year after year. With more injuries than he cared to admit over the years and no loving home to go to at Christmas, he could empathize with those stuck here over the holidays. These weren't neglected or abused children, but they were in unfamiliar surroundings, and he was sure that was equally as scary. He was willing to do anything to bring some joy to little ones where he could.

"I'm coming, Santa." Hoisting his bag over one shoulder, he followed the call to arms.

The group of small people looked up at him with some trepidation, and he knelt down so as not to frighten them. Only one staff member stood with the children, and he made sure to address her directly after barging into the department.

He read the badge pinned to her sunny yellow tunic. "Miss Caitlin, who do you think should get a present from Santa?"

The pretty redhead swept her bright green eyes over him. Only then did it cross his mind how ridiculous he might look to anyone over ten years old.

The Celtic-looking beauty blinked and licked her lips, drawing his attention to her full mouth. "I think all of the children deserve a gift, Mr. Polar Bear."

He swore she addressed him in a breathy Marilyn Monroe manner, which was totally inappropriate for their PG-rated audience, though his over-heated brain could have been mistaken. He was aware some women found the idea of a hockey player in their bed a fantasy come true, but this was the first time he'd caught someone's interest dressed like this. It was too good a disguise to make a woman believe he was soft and lovable when the opposite was the truth. He knew better than to encourage a flirtation with someone who looked so young and naïve. His needs demanded a partner who knew the ropes.

"Let's see what we've got in here." He focused on the reason he was here, opening the sack and passing the contents to Santa, who delivered the presents with the necessary jollity.

The children ripped off the wrapping with the usual impatience until the waiting room became awash with a sea of garish paper.

"I'm afraid we tend to leave a trail of devastation wherever we go." The need to apologize to the staff became necessary when the kids went haywire with the toys, but he'd yet to meet anyone who truly minded.

Caitlin came to stand beside him, patted his paw, and stroked his arm. "No trouble at all. It's great to see them enjoying themselves. Will you be staying long?"

"No. We're only passing through. Once the doctors have finished their rounds, we'll head up to the main wards." He backed away from the tactile staff member, doing his best not to encourage her. She didn't truly know the animal beneath the furry façade, had no clue what she could be getting herself into.

"Maybe I'll see you around then?" He heard the hope, and God forgive him; he couldn't get out of the place fast enough. She was beginning to intrigue him, and that could only spell trouble for both of them.

****

Shannon joined Caitlin to watch the polar bear's sexy, furry ass walk out the door. "Apparently, they're ice hockey players."

"Yeah?" That didn't impress Caitlin nearly as much as seeing the hunk dressed as a life-sized plushie.

"And that Scottish accent does things to me that I could probably get sacked for." Caitlin understood Shannon's response, with her own arousal hitting dangerous levels.

It had been a while since the end of her last relationship, and she'd believed she'd never find anyone with the same interests. That's what it was going to take for her to settle down with anyone long-term. Someone who understood and didn't ridicule or tire of her after a short time. It was an area of her life she would no longer compromise over. Sex was a big part of a relationship, and a person's likes couldn't simply be switched off when deemed 'stupid' by another party.

It was a long shot, but she was kind of hoping her ice hockey playing polar bear might just be exactly what she was looking for.

"Ah well, excitement over. You've got some new patients waiting for you." Shannon nodded to the group rifling through the craft cupboard, sending Caitlin back to work.

The minute the consultant called for his last patient, she packed up her box of activities and made her way to the wards. She visited every day to relieve the boredom of long-term patients and sometimes held their hands as they endured medical procedures no child should ever have to face. If she just happened to run into her furry fantasy as she made her rounds, so much the better. She wasn't usually bold enough to make her interest known to a member of the opposite sex, but with the chance to find a like-minded soul, it might be worth her while just to take a chance.

****

The evidence of the North Pole visitors lay on every floor of every children's department in the hospital. It made Caitlin's job a lot harder to get the ward sisters' approval for her to tend to the already over-excited children, and her hopes of running into Jason again were fading fast. Missing him by minutes as she did her rounds.

As she packed up her box of tricks at the end of the day, it was with a sigh of resignation that she'd be going home tonight alone, something she was used to. Her whole life seemed to have been spent on her own. Growing up in foster homes, being moved from pillar to post had prepared her for her spinsterhood. Never finding the right connection with anyone that made them want to love her unconditionally. That didn't mean she wasn't still searching for it.

Perhaps she had built her hopes up that the attraction with Jason hadn't been one-sided, but she thought she'd seen the flicker of interest in his eyes too when she'd touched him. She supposed it didn't matter. He didn't come across as the shy type, and if he'd wanted to see her out of work, he probably would've sought her out himself.

Caitlin walked down the corridor, her dejection there in her slow pace. In no rush to get home to her empty flat. The only thing that cheered her was the sight of the tinsel-strung halls and the curtain of dangling snowflakes creating a lovely winter wonderland for her to walk through. Even better, she spotted a certain polar bear pushing his way through the paper decorations to meet her.

"Hello again." Her fingers itched to slide into the fleecy white fabric of his outer skin. She tightened her hold on the toy box instead.

"Hello." Jason smiled but couldn't quite meet her eye. For a split-second, Caitlin thought he might walk on by. Ending all hope of seeing him outside of work and finding out more about what made him tick.

"Hey. We're having our own Christmas party at the rink tomorrow night if you and your friend fancy it?" Thankfully, Santa appeared and saved the day. He fished in his fur-lined pocket and handed her two tickets.

"Aren't we a tad old for a kid's party?" As much as she wanted an excuse to see Jason again, this seemed a stretch too far. With no family, she had no nephews or nieces she could drag along as an excuse.

"This is strictly adults only." Santa winked, and she almost wished he would trade costumes with the surly bear. He hadn't given her any indication that he wanted her to attend, and she thought she'd completely misjudged the situation.

"Come on, Nev." Dancing impatiently from paw to paw, Jason clearly didn't echo his mate's friendly demeanor. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fulfill her fantasies, and Caitlin didn't intend to let him get away so easily.

****