“Hey look everyone, it's some guy pretending to be Santa.”

Eden spun around just as the door pushed open and Mike —dressed as Santa Claus— walked into the room.

She hadn't seen him since he practically told her he wanted nothing to do with her yesterday, and while she didn't exactly feel comfortable in his presence, she was thankful for Frankie's presence in the room to hopefully ease the tension between them.

With a smile settling on her face, she turned her attention back to Frankie who had a cute frown on her face.

“Pretending?” She raised a brow. “Who says he's pretending?”

“Well, he's obviously not the real Santa.”

“And how would you know?” Mike spoke with a deeper tone she assumed was most likely his impersonation of Santa. “That's a serious accusation, young lady.”

Frankie sat up straighter and folded her arms across her chest. “Because, I'm psychic and I've seen the real Santa and you look nothing like him.”

Eden giggled, and placed Frankie's medical report on the table. “Once again Frankie, you're not psychic.”

“Oh yeah? Well, he's not Santa.” Frankie leaned back once more. Turning to glance briefly at Mike, Eden shook her head apologetically.

“Maybe it'll be best if you spread some Christmas cheer elsewhere?”

He shook his head and made his way around Eden to Frankie who was now pretending to be asleep. Settling on the bed beside her, he leaned forward.

“How about you and me make a deal?” Mike said. Frankie laid still with her eyes closed. For a second, Eden was almost convinced she had indeed fallen asleep. “How about we tell each other the truth?”

“Are you going to admit to not being Santa?” she whispered, her eyes still closed.

“I could admit to it, if you'll admit to the real reason you think I'm not Santa.”

She shrugged. “You first.”

“Argh, you drive a hard bargain, young lady.”

She giggled. “I get it from my mum. My dad says I'm a tough nugget.”

“I totally agree.”

She opened her eyes and sat up straighter. “So, what's it gonna be?”

Slowly, Mike nodded, and without a word, pulled off his moustache. Eden must have gasped —she wasn't exactly sure, but she felt her eyelids widen. What was he doing? She thought, panicking! Sure, the kid guessed he wasn't really Santa, but this was a sure way of ruining Christmas for her! And what, did he plan on taking off his costume for every kid in the hospital?! Did he plan on ruining Christmas for these poor kids?! Perhaps it was a mistake getting him to dress up as Santa? Obviously, he hated Christmas, and had absolutely no cheer left in him. The man planned to kill himself in the holiday season, for goodness sake!

“I knew it!” Frankie's eyelids widened as Mike revealed his identity to her. But just as quickly, the light in her eyes died and she glanced down at her hands.

“Sweetie,” Eden wanted to smack Mike over the head as she made her way to Frankie who looked completely disappointed to find that the man dressed as Santa was truly an imposter, the janitor no less. She settled beside Frankie and pulled her into her arms. Holding on to her, she fought the urge to shoot Mike a dirty look, as she planted a kiss on Frankie's beanie.

She was thin, she thought, her hand stroking Frankie's back. Her weight loss was so alarming that she looked more like a four year old, than a six year old.

“I knew the real Santa would never come for a bunch of sick kids,” Frankie whispered solemnly against Eden's chest.

Eden's heart stopped, and her limbs felt weak. Pulling away slightly, she glanced down at Frankie. “What? Of course he will, sweetie, he'll come, he just sent his jerk of an assistant to do the job today,” she said, giving Mike a dirty look, before turning back to Frankie.

Frankie shook her head. “He's never going to come, Eden.”

“Of course he's not going to just show up in the middle of the day like the mailman!” Mike groaned, frustrating Eden further. What on earth was wrong with the man?! Was it not enough that he had almost ruined Christmas this year for poor Frankie? What was he trying to do, scar her for what's left of her childhood?!

Deciding she had had enough of Mike, Eden opened her mouth to ask him, in a less than subtle or nice way, to leave.

“The dude's not supposed to be seen, that's why he uses the chimney! What, did you think he was going to walk in through the front door?”

“He's not?” Frankie pulled away from Eden and leaned toward Mike who was now nodding furiously.

“He's Santa! The chimney kind of goes along with the job description. So, you wake up every morning and there's a bunch of presents under the Christmas tree. How did you think it got there?!”

“Santa?”

“Clever girl. The guy is magic, and mysterious, and he kind of just has a weird obsession with chimneys. You see, he doesn't just walk in through doors, but we, his 'jerkie' assistants, do walk in through doors. So, in the day, we dress up as him and we keep him alive in every kid's heart, reminding them that even though they can't see him, he's always going to show up every Christmas, and he's going to leave a present behind.”

“Really?” Frankie asked and Mike nodded. Frankie frowned slightly. “Is there a wish Santa can't grant?”

Eden, completely taken aback by Mike's amazing explanation earlier, glanced up at him. She could see the conflict in his face, understanding fully what Frankie meant by her question, and knowing the answer; Santa couldn't make her feel better.

“He makes presents, kid. Unfortunately, that's how far his magic goes. The Easter Bunny is in charge of the eggs, and the tooth fairy leaves you money for a tooth.”

“Oh,” Frankie frowned, “I was going to ask for a boyfriend. But I guess that request is down the drain now...”

Mike pulled out a notepad Eden hadn't noticed in the past, and began scribbling something down. “Boy... friend...” He glanced up at Frankie once more. “Will that be all?”

“I get a boyfriend?!” she squealed, clasping her hands before her. “Can he be as handsome as you are?”

Eden glanced up at Mike once more, her eyes scanning his face. Frankie was right, Mike was indeed handsome. His well defined jaw, chin dented with a dimple, and striking hazel eyes, made for a handsome face. His brown hair formed a ponytail at his neck, and he stood at a height of over six feet. She imagined him dressed in clean clothes that didn't smell of alcohol or dust, with his chin clean shaven and his hair trimmed, and she knew he would compete favorably with any man.

Her eyes drifted briefly to his lips, the splash of color reminding her strangely of strawberry syrup... Warm strawberry syrup. They were pouted naturally, she thought, noticing it for the very first time since she met him. They would most likely taste good as well...

“Eden?!”

“Huh?!” Blushing, she tore her gaze off of his lips, as well as her mind off of the sinful thought, and back to the present.

“What would you like for Christmas? Santa's assistant wanted to know,” Frankie said.

“Oh? Well, what did you ask for sweetie?”

“A boyfriend, and hair. My new boyfriend might not like me without my hair.”

“What? Your beanies look fabulous.”

“Well, you're not my new boyfriend, Eden. Unfortunately, your opinion doesn't count.”

Giggling, Eden nodded and rose to her feet. “I might as well leave you and Santa's... Assistant, to finish your discussion.”

She nodded farewell to Mike, and made for the door.

“You know, you get a wish too, doc.” He called after her retreating back.

Eden turned sharply around, her eyes unfortunately coming to rest on his lips once more. What was wrong with her?!

Shaking her head, she said, “I don't think so, I've been too naughty this year.”

Turning from him, she pulled the door open and made her way out of the room, barely able to get her mind off of strawberry syrup.

~*~

Mike saw Eden get distracted. At first, he didn't know what it was that distracted her, but the longer he spent staring at her, the more apparent it became to him that he was the sole purpose of her distraction.

Did he do or say something to upset her again? Maybe she was uncomfortable with his presence? He still hadn't apologized for yesterday. When would be the best time to apologize? He already agreed to go to her dress fitting with her, and he didn't want things to be awkward between them.

Going in search of her so he could apologize, Mike found Eden in the hall having a conversation with Judie. And with the way Eden's hands were flailing in the air, she certainly wasn't pleased. As he approached, their heated argument began filtering to him:

“You know me and Henry are working toward getting engaged!” Judie folded her arms, jaw set.

“I know, Judie, but you could have just cancelled, why did you get Mike?! You know how he feels about me!” Eden groaned, slapping her hand on her forehead.

“How am I supposed to know? I got you an escort for your dress fitting and rather than be grateful, you're upset. Whatever, Eden, I'm not going to be late for my date.” Judie shrugged, turning around to walk away. She paused the second she came face to face with Mike, a frown slapped across her face. “By the way, Eddie,” she called over her shoulder, making her way past him. “He’s behind you!”

Mike had to smile, even as Eden's body stiffened at Judie's announcement.

Crossing the hall cautiously, he came to a halt behind a visibly tensed Eden. “You know, she's right.”

She sighed, and slowly turned around, gritting her teeth. “You heard that?”

Nodding, he shrugged. “Most of it.”

She let out a low groan. “I would just hate for things to get awkward between us. It's fine if you don't want to come, my grandma's playing bingo and I'll need to go alone, but it's fine.”

Straightening to ease the tenseness of his muscles due to all the hard work the entire day, he shook his head; it wasn’t fair to leave her to go for a dress fitting without getting a second opinion. He was also curious about the dress. “You know, I'd really love to see the dress.”

“Really?” She frowned.

He shrugged. “I'm curious.”

“Well then,” she clapped her hands and rubbed her palms together, “giddy up?”

“Let's go.”

The ride to the bridal shop was mostly silent. Eden kept her eyes on the road, and Mike kept his on the moving streets.

The car finally pulled to a halt before a bridal shop, and Mike and Eden were ushered to a private consultation area. Mike settled on a comfortable sofa while Eden followed a slender ginger head woman to a changing room.

He turned his attention to the numerous wedding dresses in the room worn over mannequins. This was certainly a bride's paradise, he thought, wondering if Sarah would have chosen to get married traditionally if they had the money. He imagined her in the ball gown that was on his left hand side. She would have been gorgeous, the several stones on the dress complementing her green eyes. Anything would have looked good on her, and if she and Maddie had lived long enough for him to step into a bridal shop to see just how lovely these dresses were, he would have walked out of here holding one for her.

Even as the thought drifted through his mind, he lifted his eyes up, a breath hitching in his lungs as his eyes slowly moved up the length of the most beautiful bride he had ever seen.

Eden slowly made her way into the room, her hair pulled to a tight bun that helped reveal the fullness of her beautiful, oval face, her eyes sparkling like precious sapphires. A heart shaped silver necklace he hadn't noticed until then laid comfortably on her neck. His eyes moved slowly down her neck, to her hands covered in transparent lacey sleeves, tracing the wonderful intricacies and beading of the dress. The dress clung to her body, seemingly sewed to its exact fit, until it was opening up at her knees, running all the way to the ground and forming a long train behind her.

“So?”

He raised his eyes to her face once more, unsure he had ever seen a woman look more beautiful than she did right now.

“One more thing,” the ginger head woman called, placing a long, trailing veil on Eden's head.

“Say something, Mike? Does it look that terrible?” She raised her brows in question.

Laughter erupted from his lips then, the silliness of her words his motivation; nothing about her dress…

He shook his head; nothing about Eden was terrible.

“It is okay to say something sir. Everyone believes it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding but I always say there's no such thing as luck,” the ginger head said.

It took Mike a second to realize she was mistaking him for Eden's groom. Eden, appearing not to have heard the woman, was now examining her image in the mirror.

Mike watched her, allowing himself to live in the misunderstanding of the woman for a few seconds. If he was indeed Eden's groom, he would be one lucky man. She was beautiful, and smart, and she cared about those kids. He knew she cared, because he saw her with them. He saw her care for them, and while he blamed her for Maddie's death, he knew very well that it wasn't her fault. He just needed someone to lay the blame on because he was too much of a coward to take responsibility for what had happened. But Eden didn't care because in truth she seemed to understand his need to lay the blame at someone else's feet.

Briefly, the image of Eden hunched over the table in the coffee shop crossed his mind, and as clear as day, he remembered the look he saw in her eyes; grief. She was grieving a patient. He knew that, that was why he had followed her out of the coffee shop. Perhaps they had more in common than he realized, perhaps like him, she understood grief perfectly because she saw and experienced it every day? He had been a fool to be so cruel to her, he thought, his gaze still fixed on her.

Walking up behind her, he stared at her image through the mirror, a smile creasing his face. “You are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.”