Page 117 of North Bound

She climbs off his knee and rummages in her bag, pulling out the present. When she turns back to Nick, he’s holding a box in his hand with her name on it.

‘You got me a present?’

‘Why do you sound so surprised? You got me one.’

‘I know. I just wasn’t expecting one from you.’

‘I’d be a pretty terrible Santa if I didn’t get you a present.’

They exchange gifts, but Scarlett waits to see his reaction first. Nick tears open the paper and laughs loudly when he sees what’s inside. He holds up the Snoopy pyjamas and grins at her. ‘It’s like you read my fucking mind! How cute are we going to be in our matching pj’s!’

‘Seriously cute.’ She opens his gift, carefully lifting the ornament from the box. She doesn't know how he arranged it, but Nick has somehow found someone to make a wooden carving of Snoopy. The details are incredible. ‘I love it Nick! Thank you. Was it made here?’

Nick nods. ‘It was indeed. I made it.’

She stares at him for a long few seconds, then down at the wooden carving again. ‘You?’

‘I’m Santa. It’s kind of my thing.’

‘Yeah, but this is... I mean wow! You carved this?’

‘Yeah. It was kind of a hobby of mine before I signed my contract. It was nice to be able to do it again, to be honest.’

Scarlett slides onto his knee and kisses him. ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome.’

Scarlett cuddles in against his chest as Nick wraps his arms around her and yawns. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah. Just hit the wall. I hate this part. Better get Eve in here. I need to run through a few things before I go to bed.’

Scarlett tidies away the dishes, piling them on to the trays, so they can be brought back to the kitchen, while Nick contacts Eve. It doesn't take a genius to see he’s exhausted. His skin is grey, and she could nearly see the black rings under his eyes, darkening, as they ate.

When Eve arrives a few minutes later, he’s barely able to keep his eyes open.

‘Is Damon here?’ Nick asks, his voice slurred and quieter than usual. He slumps onto the end of his bed. Scarlett tries not to freak out, but she wasn’t expecting it to be this bad so fast.

‘I’m here.’ Damon appears out of the shadows at the side of the room.

‘I’m going to hit the sack now. You okay to take over the team?’

‘I do every year, Nick. Stop being a control freak and leave me to do my job.’

Scarlett manages to pulls Nick’s t-shirt off before he can’t hold himself upright any longer. At least with him lying down she can take off his boots and trousers, while he goes through last minute, completely unnecessary, details with Eve and Damon.

‘Enough!’ Her shout stops the three of them. ‘Eve and Damon, thank you, but he needs to get some sleep. Nick, they are perfectly capable of doing their jobs, so stop worrying.’

Nick peers over at her through half closed eyes. ‘You’re sexy when you’re bossy.’

‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ Damon mutters from the shadows.

‘I know,’ Eve agrees. ‘Too tired to sit up, but he’s still coming out with stuff like that.’

‘Both of you can fuck off now,’ Nick says, gesturing towards the door.

Eve and Damon make their exit while Scarlett tucks Nick into the bed, sliding in beside him. ‘I’ll be here when you wake up.’

‘Talk to me.’

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