Christmas Surprise One

Logan was the first to wake on Christmas morning and quickly rose from the bed he shared with Rahel, trying to not wake her. Even before they had arrived on Serenity, Rahel had never slept well, her sleep often disturbed by the single nightmare that haunted her, of being trapped in a lab, a lab that was being consumed by fire.

However, since they had both arrived on Serenity, the nightmares had become less frequent as if the very air on Serenity was having an effect. However, when the nightmare did come, its intensity and effect on Rahel was severe, as if she was not just dreaming it, but actually living through it again.

Rahel always claimed that she only needed a couple of hours sleep, but even Logan knew that unless that sleep was uninterrupted, that wasn’t enough. Rahel stirred in the bed, but did not wake up. Instead she rolled across onto the side of the bed where Logan had been laying moments later, reacting to the warmth.

Quickly and quietly, Logan picked up his clothes and headed for the bathroom, closing the doors behind him. He quickly showered and dressed, before leaving the bathroom and stepping quietly back through to the bedroom.

He looked across at Rahel, still asleep in the bed, now curled up into a ball just like a cat and headed through the living area and out into the corridor. He headed down to the Security office and removed the present he had been hiding in the vault there, before heading back upstairs to their living quarters and activating the replicator.

He first replicated a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice, eating and drinking it quickly. He then replicated a large tray, a second bowl of cereal, some toast, another glass of orange juice and finally a single red rose in a vase, placing it all on the tray.

He picked up the tray and headed back into the bedroom and found Rahel had finally realised that Logan was up. She was even more surprised to see him arrive with a breakfast tray.

“Merry Christmas.” Logan announced.

“Breakfast in bed, we’ve not done this for a while.” Rahel remarked, sitting up in bed.

“Not since we were on the *Leviathan*.” Logan answered, putting the tray down across Rahel’s lap.

“Has it that long ?” Rahel exclaimed. “So what have I got ?”

“Cereal, orange juice and toast.” Logan stated. “Plus a rose for a rose.”

Rahel laughed. “Not for breakfast, for Christmas. I know that you’ve been hiding something from me for weeks now, I want to know what it is and how you’ve kept it a secret.”

“Eat first, then presents.” Logan ordered sitting down in the chair in the bedroom, watching Rahel smell the rose.

“Aren’t you having anything ?” Rahel asked as she started to eat the cereal and drink the orange juice.

“Already eaten breakfast.” Logan replied. Logan continued to watch Rahel eat, the entire time thinking about what he was going to say when he gave Rahel her present.

Rahel finally finished and Logan picked up the tray and headed out of the bedroom and back into the living area. Rahel rose from the bed and followed him, still in her nightwear, carrying the rose in one hand and the last piece of half-eaten toast in the other.

“Sit down and I’ll give you your present.” Logan stated, placing the now empty tray in the replicator and pressing the recycle button. The tray disappeared and Logan turned around and saw Rahel sat on the sofa, smelling the rose again and smiling as she watched Logan.

Logan walked towards Rahel, but instead of sitting down on the sofa next to Rahel, he knelt down on the floor in front of her, took a deep breath, looked into her green eyes and started to speak.

“Rahel, there are so many words that I have running around in my head, so many emotions in my heart that at times I can’t think. You are something that I never thought I’d ever find again. A colleague, a friend, a confidant and most important of all a lover.” Logan started to say. “For so many years now I’ve been a lone wolf, never connecting with anyone, putting all my love and affection into the one person I care about most, Lana. Then you arrived and something inside me changed. You brought out a side of me that I thought long dead, lost with my past. It has been a long time since I’ve felt anything so deeply about another woman, not since Amber. But now I can’t see a future without you by my side.”

Logan paused for a couple of seconds, composing himself to continue, all the time never breaking eye contact with Rahel.

“We’ve been through so much together, the loss of first the *Taurus* and then the *Leviathan*, the discovery that you have a twin sister and all the history that discovery has brought out. The disappointment time and time again as we searched fruitlessly for both your sister and the people behind your past.” Logan paused once more. “I wish that I could bring you all the answers, find your sister, discover the truth about your lost past, but that is not in my power. What I can give you is my undying love and support in continuing the search; I’ll never give up the search as I know you won’t.”

As Logan paused, tears had started to well up in his eyes. Rahel could sense his strong emotional state.

“Which brings me to your Christmas present and a question I have to ask you.” Logan continued, fighting back the tears for a few moments more.

Logan reached into his pocket and passed the small box he had taken from the vault earlier to Rahel and waited for her to open it.

“Rahel Tohrae Kahfre.” Logan announced. “Will you be my wife ?”

Rahel for the first time in a long while was shocked. She looked first at the ring in its box and then at Logan. She couldn’t believe that she’d not picked up on how Logan had felt and his plans; he had hidden all that emotion just like a Vulcan.

“You are now so much part of my life, my world and I never want to leave you behind again.” Logan continued. “I know that all of this must be a shock to you and if your answer is no, then I’ll understand.”

Logan rose up from the floor and sat beside Rahel, awaiting her answer. Tears misted her eyes as she smiled.

" Logan . . ." She caressed his face tenderly and leaned toward him, touching her forehead with his.  "God, I love you . . ."

With those words she kissed him passionately before continuing.

"I can't imagine spending my life without you . . . Not for a moment. I've never loved anyone the way I love you . . . So yes . . ." She said as her smile brightened and her green eyes sparkled with the unshed tears of joy. "My answer's yes . . ."

Logan rose from the sofa and picked Rahel up in his arms, taking her back into the bedroom. They no longer needed words to say how much their love meant to each other.