Chapter Text
The incident room was brighter than usual, not so dark and bleak, not so blue and brown, instead illuminated by an assortment of twinkling fairy lights that were positioned around the office giving it an altogether more festive glow. Riley had even placed a whole string of pink lights around Kent’s computer monitor.
It was when Miles entered that there was a chuckle. “Bloody hell, it looks like Blackpool illuminations in here. You know the boss is gonna hate it.” He clocked the Christmas tree in the corner. “A tree as well huh? Bit empty. There’s minimalist, then there’s…”
“That’s because we haven’t decorated it yet!” Riley said, carrying a large carboard box full of decorations. She glared at Kent and Mansell. “Come on boys, give Mama Claus a hand.”
“Can’t Ed help you?” Kent asked, staring down at his paperwork.
Suddenly, upon hearing his name, Buchan’s head appeared from below one of the desks like a mole emerging from a tunnel. “Actually, I’m already helping, DC Kent by untangling the Christmas tree lights. It’s like back home, every year I take them from the box and sort them out and every year mother complains they’ve somehow become tangled again.”
Riley was at Kent’s side then, grabbing his arms like a criminal to force him over to the tree where Buchan was now stretching the cable like a police line to not cross. Mansell joined them and glanced at some of the decorations with a smile. “Angels and snowmen? We should have ghosts and devils knowing this place.”
“Yeah, and little death figurines,” Kent added grimly.
“Let’s not start with the evil stuff,” Miles began, “it’s a bit of a bad omen, like tempting a gruesome Christmas tragedy to befall us as we tuck into our turkey dinners.”
“’If you build it, they will come’ kind of thing?” Mansell added as he hung up a snowman ornament on the bare tree.
Riley folded her arms. “Don’t do it all higgledy-piggledy, Finley, the lights aren’t up and we all have to contribute at least one decoration, it’s tradition.”
“The boss has been here years and he’s never even seen the tree up,” Kent said.
“Alright, it’ll be a new tradition then. Team bonding and all that, isn’t that right, skip?”
Miles tapped her arm. “Whatever you say, Meg, you’re the skip when it comes to Christmas. I just leave all that stuff to Judy.”
At that moment Chandler wandered into the office and his eyes were diverted to the tree where Buchan was now covered in tangled lights and the others were standing around talking like he was their Christmas hostage.
“Is this all there is for you lot to be doing?”
“No, sir,” Kent said, grabbing a file. “I’m going through the witness statements.”
Behind Chandler, Mansell pursed his lips as if for a kiss and then pointed to his bottom. Kent knew Mansell was mocking him so rolled his eyes.
Chandler smiled. “Thank you, Kent, I’m glad someone remembers to put work ahead of…well whatever this is.”
He walked away with determination and closed his office door behind him.
“Well, we know which of us is Scrooge,” Miles joked.
“You think he’s alright? He’s been a bit down all week,” Kent noted.
“It’ll be the Christmas lead up, gets to the best of us,” Buchan said. “Ah ha! Eureka! Untangled, just like any of our cases, they can and will be solved.” He bowed and started to hang the lights around the tree. “Anyway, Christmas has that effect on many of us.”
“What he needs is a stiff drink,” Mansell said.
“What he needs is a good bird,” Miles added.
“Yeah a good shag,” Mansell said.
“What he needs is less murder,” Kent said. “Bloody corpses aren’t everyone’s idea of a festive period, are they?”
Riley hung some tinsel around Kent’s neck. “No, all wrong, what he needs is a beautifully decorated tree by his favourite team.” She planted a kiss upon Kent’s cheek leaving a lipstick mark.
“Get off!” He wiped it away whilst laughing.
Riley placed some reindeer antlers on Miles’ head. “Come on, Emerson, why don’t you ask the boss to join us? He might listen to you.”
Agreeing, Kent reluctantly knocked quietly on Chandler’s office door and then when he heard ‘enter’, he walked inside, hands in pockets, not sure whether it was a mistake.
“Sir?”
Chandler looked up at him briefly for a moment before setting his eyes back upon his document. “Can I help you, Kent?”
“Riley’s got her heart set on us all doing the tree together, sir.”
“We’re in the middle of an investigation.”
“I know, sir, nothing more important,” he said, twiddling his thumbs. “It’ll only take ten minutes. Remember the team building exercise was less than successful? Perhaps a quick break might clear our minds?” He gulped, worried Chandler would be irritated with the notion.
Taking a careful glance at his young DC, not wanting to seem too unwilling for team celebrations, Chandler sighed. “I suppose I could look in.” He didn’t want to admit that he wasn’t keen on the idea—he wasn’t used to doing Christmas activities with anyone—but Kent’s sparkling eyes made him want to answer yes to everything.
As Chandler followed Kent to the door, he placed on his blazer. “I didn’t really have you down for this sort of thing.”
Kent’s nose and cheeks twitched in the adorable way he was used to seeing.
“It’s for Riley,” he said quietly. If Kent could be persuaded to do anything for anyone other than Chandler, it was always for Riley.
“You don’t have an inner Christmas child then?”
“It’s not my favourite time of year.” Kent smiled shyly.
Chandler realised that he’d known Kent for a fair few Christmases and yet he knew nothing about his home life, his traditions, his likes or dislikes. They’d never even exchanged gifts. All there had been was a simple card from Kent, without fail, every December.
There were cheers as the others saw the two men approach the tree.
“I understand this is a new incident room tradition,” Chandler said. “I’m happy to run with it as long as it doesn’t interfere with a case.”
“Five minutes won’t kill us,” Miles added. “Meg suggested we all hang up one decoration each. Team work. We’ll have the best-looking tree out of all the stations, you’ll see boss.”
Without needing a prompt, Buchan was already hanging his decoration onto a branch.
Miles held him back. “What the hell is that thing?”
“It’s a reindeer. I made him when I was six. I would say my painting has improved since then.”
“Only slightly,” Miles muttered under his breath. “I’ll go next,” he said, shoving Buchan out of the way. He placed his nearer the top though he had to stand on tiptoes to reach. “A family snow-globe of me, Judy and the kids.”
“That’s lovely,” Riley said as she grabbed a wobbly Christmas tree shaped ornament made out of crepe paper. “Made by my kids for mummy’s work. Your turn, Finley.”
She began to laugh as Mansell pulled out his novelty decoration. “Christmas baubles, the adult kind. Gives the tree a real pair of balls!”
Chandler’s eyebrows rose and he exchanged mortified glances with Kent.
Kent attempted to place his decoration— a black bauble on the tree— but he realised he couldn’t reach the branch he wanted.
“Here, let me,” Chandler said, taking it from Kent’s grasp and placing it higher within his own reach so that Kent was almost underneath Chandler’s armpit.
Kent’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Thanks, sir.”
“That’s not a very festive Christmas ornament, is it, DC Kent?” Buchan said. “I see you go in for the macabre at this time of year.”
“Guess, I’ve got a lot of inspiration around here.”
“What about you, boss?” Miles asked. “What you gonna grace us with?”
Glancing around, Chandler rubbed his chin. “I didn’t realise—I mean, I don’t have anything, Miles.”
“Why don’t you look inside the box and pick something that speaks to you?”
Aware all eyes were upon him; Chandler felt his cheeks flushing and he glanced inside the box of mostly tacky decorations and rummaged around. He took a few moments and then when he decided, he pulled out a decoration, a star ornament that appealed to him. He was placing it on the top of the tree when Riley smiled at Mansell and nudged— a secret joke between them. Kent realised why they were amused.
“Aww, sir, you picked Kent’s creation,” Riley said.
Kent and Chandler exchanged awkward glances.
“Emerson made that for a police party thing I think,” Riley said.
“Yeah, I remember,” Miles added. “Your first year here, wasn’t it? You were just a baby-face!”
Kent smiled lightly. “Yeah.”
“In that case, it was an honour,” Chandler said softly, glancing quickly at his DC.
“Well, you are a star, sir,” Kent said, looking back at him.
There was silence for a moment as their eyes met. Meanwhile there were nudges from the others.
“To the best bloody tree in Whitechapel,” Riley said.