Christmas night, 2009 
10:04 P.M.

Pam makes herself a cup of tea in the kitchen. The scent of turkey and sweet potatoes and pie and eggnog still linger in the house. She's about to relax with Jim for a little while after a hectic day of hosting Christmas dinner. It had been the second time they'd hosted Christmas at their house, but the difference this year is that they have an 8-month old baby who had been vying for their attention all day.

Sam's been sleeping upstairs in her crib now for an hour, since just before the last guests had left, and now the house is all quiet and peaceful. Pam prepares her tea- adding milk and sugar- and stirs for a few moments, letting herself wind down. Jim had been such a big help, lending a hand with dinner preparations, keeping Sam occupied, and entertaining guests while Pam had been making last-minute preparations in the kitchen.

She carries her steaming mug into the living room, where the lights are out except for the colorful twinkle lights on the Christmas tree, and Jim is nowhere to be seen. She stands there and looks around for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. Not seeing anything, she reaches for the light switch.

"No lights." She hears laughter in his voice, and it's coming from the corner behind the tree.

"Where are you?" She's whispering, and she doesn't quite know why.

"Back here," he says, and she had been right- his voice is, mysteriously, coming from behind the Christmas tree.

She smiles to herself and sets her tea down on the coffee table near the couch. The only way to get behind the tree into the corner is to crawl underneath it. So she gets down on her hands and knees, and she sees his feet. He wiggles his toes at her. "There you are," she says, creeping underneath the tree low enough that she has to be on her elbows. Once into the opening behind the tree, she struggles a little to fold herself into the small space, using Jim as leverage to be able to pull her legs in behind her. She turns around to lean against the wall like he is.

"It's like a fort back here," she says smiling. She looks over at Jim, and he's smiling softly at her.

"I love it back here," he says.

The twinkle lights cast a dim, joyous glow over their little secret corner, bathing the two of them in orange light.

"How often do you come back here?" she asks, looking at him. She'd never known him to hide behind Christmas trees.

"Last week, when you were taking your painting final, Sam crawled back here, and I came in after her, and we ended up hanging out here for an hour or more. She loves it back here."

She smiles and leans against him, sighing. "I like it back here, too."

They sit in silence for a while, enjoying their little moment together in their own little world after a day filled with family and friends and a little baby needing their attention.

Jim picks a few pine needles out of Pam's hair.

"Today was a good day," Pam says sleepily.

"Yeah, it was," Jim agrees.

Pam links her fingers with his.

"Your cousin really likes yams, doesn't he?"

"Oh my gosh, did you see how many he ate?" Jim says, laughing.

"I know. Leave some for everyone else, right?"

"His plate was like Yam Mountain."

"Mount Yam."

"It was like Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard."

Pam laughs and nuzzles her nose into his shoulder. Her laughter dies after a few moments, and she looks up at him. "Seriously, though, thanks for all your help today."

He presses his nose to her hair and plants a kiss there.

"I feel like I haven't talked to you all day, though, with all the cooking, and all the people around..." she yawns.

"I know. Totally unacceptable." He smiles.

She leans in and kisses his neck. He subconsciously tilts his chin to give her better access, and his arms slide around her waist.

"Whoa," he says in mock seriousness after giving in for a minute or two. "I thought you said you wanted to talk to me after not being able to all day."

"This is better, though, don't you think?"

He pretends to think for a moment, raising his eyes to the ceiling and quirking up his mouth. "Yes."

She giggles, and then his mouth is on hers, soft but insistent. He kisses her languidly, lovingly, and before she realizes it, they are lying on the floor in their own little world, just loving each other- kissing, and nuzzling, and touching.

"This is nice," she says, placing a few more pecks on his lips. Her knees press into the sides of his hips.

"I know what can make it even nicer." His eyebrows bounce up and down exaggeratedly.

"Mm-hm," she agrees with a laugh, and pulls his shirt up over his head.