Dispatched || Maddie Buckley

Chapter Sixteen- Deck The Halls

The holidays had finally rolled around. 365 days of waiting was finally over and Christmas was on its way. When Mikey was growing up, he had never gotten a Christmas which made it even better the first time that he was ever given the chance to celebrate. Now, as an adult, it was his favourite time of the year. He'd give gifts to basically anyone. He donated to group homes and charities, gave his coworkers random items, and gave his friends whatever their hearts desired. Today was special though, as it was his first Christmas in LA where he had close friends and someone he held very special in his heart. Although he and Maddie weren't official, it was starting to feel as though something might be sparking there. He was determined to make this a great occasion for her, especially after Buck told him that Christmas was her favourite time of the year too. Mikey had invited Buck to go Christmas tree shopping, in hopes that he would help him choose the best tree for Maddie considering.. She was Buck's sister after all. He would know her best.

They finally made their way to the Christmas tree lot and walked through the vast majority of trees.

"So what was going on with Eddie and who was the woman he was talking to at the charity drop off?" Mikey asked, running his fingers against the brittle pine needles of one of the trees.

Buck scoffed, "That's his wife. The one that left him alone with Christopher all these years."

Mikey turned to Buck, his eyes widening, "Wait, so Eddie really does have a wife? I thought he just made that up."

Buck shook his head, ignoring Mikey, "Eddie's sleeping with her but he's lying about it. It's like he's having an affair with his own wife. You don't think that's weird?"

Mikey went back to searching the trees, "I think it's none of our business. Now can we please focus on the trees? Now exactly how pissed off is Maddie, should I be shopping for a 6 foot or a 12?"

"Uh- pissed off at what?"

"She moved out of Abby's apartment where you were living and now you're living in her new house because Chimney kicked you out right before Christmas. It's a show of good will. I also have to get a tree for mine and El's place." Mikey explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"I thought that was just temporary." Buck said, a hint of jealousy tinged in his voice.

"It is but I've made myself at home there. I pay rent now." He chuckled, feeling proud of himself for taking on the responsibility even if El tried to refuse to take his money.

"You know, I still haven't been around to see the place."

"Trust me pal, you will be soon." Mikey wiggled his eyebrows at Buck.

Buck shoved his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "Whatever man. Wait- wait a second. Are you seriously googling Christmas trees?"

"I want to buy Maddie a gift and I want it to be perfect and El is kind of a stick in the mud at times so I need to make sure the tree isn't too much of an inconvenience."

Buck let out a heavy sigh, "I'm gonna go find someone to help us. You stop overthinking and just pick one."

Buck walked off and Mikey walked through the vast displays of Christmas trees until he stopped at one that towered over him. He looked up at it and slapped his hands against his sides, "I need your help here big man."

Snow started to flurry over his head, forcing him to turn around seeing as snow didn't fall in Los Angeles, he sighed , "Real cute."

"Big man like God or big man in a red suit?" A stranger's voice caught his attention.

"Both to be honest. I had no idea there were so many different varieties of Christmas trees." He admitted to the strange man.

"So it's an important purchase?"