The Twelve Eves of Christmas

Chapter 2

~ * ~ * ~ * Day 2 * ~ * ~ * ~

"…And here's a song to start your Christmas Eve." The clock radio blared in the background.

I'll be home for Christmas,

you can plan on me.

Please have snow and mistletoe

and presents under the tree.

Brian growled and slammed his fist down on top of the offending clock. The last thing he wanted to hear right now was more sappy Christmas songs. At least this should be the last day of that particular irritation.

Gingerly, he sat up, expecting his head to start pounding the moment he did. Amazingly enough, it felt fine. Walking into the bathroom, Brian started the shower then stepped in once the water temperature was right. He refused to let his thoughts wander this morning. So what if he was showering alone? It was better this way.

Brian stepped out, dried off, then walked over to the sink to shave. Looking in the mirror, he froze. A puzzled face looked back at him; a puzzled, bruise-free face.

Brian turned his head to every angle and even started parting his hair trying to find some sign of the bruise that had been there last night. Nothing. Not the slightest sign. Huh, he must heal a lot faster than he thought. Or perhaps it just wasn't as bad as he had originally thought it was.

Finishing up in the bathroom, Brian walked to the closet to get dressed. As he contemplated what to wear, he noticed that the suit he'd worn yesterday was hanging in the closet. The suit that had gotten soaked from the knee down. He pulled it out and looked at it. Not a stain on it. Maybe Cynthia had it cleaned. He'd have to ask her where she took it. He was amazed that they'd done such a good job so quickly.

Getting dressed, Brian walked into the kitchen, realizing at the last minute that there would be no coffee waiting for him yet again. Well, at least he had an excuse as to why he hadn't set the coffee maker up the night before. Thinking of that little accident reminded him that his Jeep was still on Liberty Ave. He'd have to catch a cab in order to pick it up.

After making the call to the cab company, Brian walked outside, glancing up and down the street to see if the cab had arrived yet. That's when he saw it; his Jeep parked in its usual spot. He walked over and glanced inside, then tried his key in the lock. When the door unlocked, he opened it and climbed in, wondering if he was hallucinating.

After a bit of thought, he decided that Michael must have brought it over after he went to sleep. He'd been pretty out of it, so he probably wouldn't have noticed if Michael had come in or not. That had to be it. Either that or he was losing it badly.

Brian was a little surprised to find that the coffee house was open on Christmas Day, but glad that he'd be able to get a latte before going to work. Since no one else would be there, there would be no coffee waiting for him at the office.

They were still playing that same Christmas trash in the coffee shop. Brian was sure that it was the exact same songs that had been playing yesterday. He could feel his headache coming back and wondered how people could possibly enjoy day after day of that shit.

Parking his car by Kinnetik , Brian grabbed his briefcase and his latte and made his way down the sidewalk. He was about twenty feet from the front door to the offices when he remembered the puddle and the incident from yesterday, so he moved in as close to the wall as he could. A few steps later and Brian heard a splash and water hitting the sidewalk. Looking up, Brian could have sworn that it was the same truck that had gotten him yesterday. Well, things were looking up; they'd missed today.

Cynthia looked up as Brian walked in, and Brian stopped dead in his tracks. "What are you doing here?" He asked. He had thought he'd have the place to himself today.

"Uh, I work here." She responded, a puzzled look on her face.

"I thought you were taking the day off." Brian replied.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" She asked.

Brian shrugged and walked into his office. Maybe she was feeling guilty about leaving early the day before. Who understands how a woman's mind works?

A few minutes later, Cynthia stuck her head in the doorway. "Ted has the conference room all set up." She said.

Brian looked up, confused. "Set up for what?"

She blinked a few times before answering. "For the Madison presentation at 10." She replied, a worried look beginning to form on her face. "Are you okay, boss?"

Brian sat down and took a long drink from his latte, beginning to wonder the same thing himself. "Cynthia, what is today?"

Now she really did look worried. "It's Christmas Eve. Brian, are you sure you're okay?" She asked again.

Brian waved her off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let me know when Justin gets here." He said.

He sat there staring into his latte, wondering what the fuck was going on. Had he dreamed the previous day? It had seemed so real. But that was the only explanation… it had to have been a dream.

Having solved that problem, Brian concentrated on the task at hand, wooing Ms. Madison and her national account to Kinnetik .

Brian was looking over the files when his 'partner' walked in, not bothering to knock first.

"I looked over the setup in the conference room and …" Justin's voice trailed off as he looked at Brian with a concerned expression on his face. "Brian, are you okay? You're a bit pale."

Brian just sat there, staring at the man as a cold chill ran up his spine. It was just too weird. "Yeah, I'm fine." Brian replied, mentally shaking himself. He took a deep breath and answered, but not without a bit of trepidation at his own words. "So, how does it look?"

"Huh?" Came the confused reply. Justin was so easy to get off track sometimes, especially when he was concerned about Brian.

"The setup in the conference room?" Brian prompted, putting a fake smirk on his face. No way he'd let the blond know how rattled he was at that moment.

"Oh! It looks good." Justin stammered, blushing a little. And there it was again. Just like his dream. This was just too fucking eerie.

Brian pushed those thoughts out of his mind, telling himself to concentrate on work instead. "Good. Ms. Madison should be here at 10:00. We'll give the presentation then take her to lunch." Brian winced as he heard himself say the exact same words as in his dream.

"Uh, Brian. Don't forget that Gus's school concert is at 2:00." Justin interrupted. "He's really hoping you'll be there."

'God, please, let this be over soon. I'm not sure how much more I can take of this.' Brian thought to himself. Aloud, he said. "I have a business to run. Gus understands that." Repeating himself once again.

Brian glanced up, knowing what he was going to see. Justin's sad, puppy dog eyes. Okay, this had to stop now. He was not going to relive that dream, word for word, all over again.

"At least we could let the employees go early." Justin persisted. "It is Christmas Eve after all."

Brian realized that the little shit was going to let them go anyway, no matter what he said. "I was planning on giving Ms. Madison a tour of the offices after lunch and there won't be much to see if no one is here. Tell them they can leave as soon as we're finished with that."

There, he'd changed it. No more dream day.

Justin looked a little surprised then gave his partner his best Sunshine smile. "Thanks, Brian. I'll let everyone know. I'll be in my office if you need me."

As soon as he walked out the door, Brian pushed the conversation out of his mind. He had an account to win and this dream nonsense wasn't going to help him with that.

The presentation went well, as expected, even though Brian was using the same spiel as from his dream. Well, that just gave new meaning to the words, 'I've done it so many times, I could do it in my sleep.' Brian had that same eerie feeling all through lunch and was glad when the tour was over and everyone had left the building.

Looking up later, he realized it was time to meet the guys at the diner. Somehow, though, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't sit through anymore of these déjà vu conversations. What he really needed was a drink.

A few drinks and a couple of trips to the backroom later, Brian was starting to feel no pain. And he was definitely not worrying about any stupid dreams he may, or may not, have had. Glancing at the clock above the bar, Brian realized that Michael probably wasn't going to show up. He wondered if Temmet had talked him into calling that guy.

Then Brian reminded himself that that was from the dream. That didn't really happen. The guys were probably just out somewhere together. Deciding that he'd had a long day and that the pickings were getting rather slim, Brian decided to head home.

He was walking down the sidewalk towards his jeep when he heard that groaning sound again. Brian didn't even bother to look up when he heard the scream. He knew exactly what was going to happen next.

~* ~* ~* ~ * ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~ * ~* ~* ~* ~

"Mr. Kinney?" A soft voice said, although this time it was very familiar. She was back. "Mr. Kinney, are you awake?"

Brian deliberately kept his eyes closed. He did not want to hear what this woman had to say.

"Mr. Kinney, I know you're awake. You might as well acknowledge me." She said in an exasperated tone.

Brian opened his eyes and slowly focused on the woman from the night before. He couldn't believe that this was happening.

"Are you ready to listen this time?" She asked.

'This time'? Did she say 'this time'? "Who the fuck are you?" Brian asked.

"Oh, how impolite of me. I'm Angie and I'm here to help you." She replied with a smile.

"Help me do what?" Brian asked hesitantly.

Angie huffed a little bit. "Like I told you last night, to help you make some changes in your life." She explained as if talking to a five year old. "Do we have to go over this again?"

Brian glared at the woman for a moment. "Last night? Have we met before?" Brian asked. Surely she had been part of the dream.

"Mr. Kinney…"

"Brian." Brian interrupted. "My name is Brian."

"Alright, Brian, as I explained to you last night, you've been given a rare opportunity to make some changes in your life. And you've already squandered two of your twelve days."

"Two of my days?" Brian repeated. This had to be a dream. Why else would it be so confusing?

"Yes, you've been given the chance to live Christmas Eve twelve times in order to make some changes in your life, to improve things. Well, ten now, since you already experienced two." Angie explained.

Brian decided to go along with this for now. "And what, exactly, am I suppose to 'improve '?" He asked.

Angie looked down at her hands when she replied. "Well, they didn't exactly tell me that part."

Brian snorted, deciding that it sounded more like a dream every minute. "Then what help are you?" He asked, then wondered why he was trying to have a logical conversation with a dream person who refused to make any sense.

"Look, I'm just here to tell you what's going on. Kind of like a guide." She explained. "You have to figure out what it is you have to change."

"Uh-huh." Brian said in disbelief. "And what if I don't want to change?" Brian prodded. "What if I like me just the way I am?"

Angie gave him a sad look. "Then you won't wake up from the last accident."

That sent a shiver down his spine. "So, you're telling me that I have ten days to figure out whatever this is that I'm supposed to fix or I'm going to die? Isn't that a little drastic?"

"Mr. Kinney… Brian, you've already died twice. You're being given the opportunity to fix something that is wrong in your life, and if you do, the accident will never happen. You'll be able to live happily ever after."

Brian ignored the 'happily ever after part'. He thought that he must have had more to drink than he thought. "And I have ten days to do this in?" He asked, making sure he had the rules straight. Even in dreams, it's important to know the boundaries.

Angie nodded. "Ten more Christmas Eves." She elaborated.

"You mean, I have to relive the same day ten more times?" Brian asked incredulously as what she had been saying finally sunk in.

"Well, there's always a chance that you'll get it right sooner." She added helpfully.

"I'm stuck in a bad fucking movie plot." Brian said, shaking his head.

Angie gave him a puzzled look.

"Groundhog Day." Brian clarified. "Bill Murray was stuck reliving the same day over and over until he got it right."

Understanding dawned in her eyes. "Oh, yes. I always liked that movie." She said with a smile. "But unlike Mr. Murray, you only have ten more days."

Brian nodded, bemused. "Right, ten more days." He repeated. Although he didn't say anything aloud, he'd already decided that he wasn't going to play their stupid game. At the moment though, all he wanted to do was get out of here. "Can I go now?"

As Brian dressed, he could feel Angie's eyes evaluating his every move. Normally, he would have played that up, but he had the feeling that she was looking straight through to his soul; seeing if he was buying the line of bull they were trying to sell. That made his a bit uneasy.

Well, he had a plan. He'd make sure that tomorrow was the last time he'd have to relive this same day.

~ * ~ * ~ * Day 3 * ~ * ~ * ~

"…And here's a song to start your Christmas Eve." The clock radio blared in the background.

I'll be home for Christmas,

you can plan on me.

Please have snow and mistletoe

and presents under the tree.

Christmas Eve will find me,

Brian slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't imagining it; he was back in this same fucking day again. It hadn't been a dream. It was all too painfully real.

Performing his usual morning rituals to get ready for work, Brian thought over the plan he'd come up with the night before. There really shouldn't be much to it. However, he still had a presentation to do this morning. Besides, his plan would be better implemented under the cover of darkness anyway.

Pleased with himself, Brian left the loft, stopped for his latte then parked his car by Kinnetik. His mind was already on the presentation he would be giving later that morning, even though he'd already done it successfully twice now. He was about ten feet from the front door to the offices when he heard a splash and felt something cold and wet hit his leg from the knee down. He didn't even glance up as he started swearing. Why the fuck hadn't he remembered the damn truck?

Cynthia looked up in surprise as Brian walked in, cursing everything that crossed his path. Seeing his wet pants leg , she realized immediately what must have happened.

"Cynthia, would you go by the loft and get me a dry suit?" Brian groused, putting the keys to the loft on her desk.

"Sure, boss." The woman agreed. "Oh, Ted has the conference room all set up." She added, hoping that might improve the brunet's mood.

Brian nodded and walked into his office. He had almost closed the door when a thought struck him. "Cynthia, I'm going to give Ms. Madison a tour of the office after lunch. Tell everyone they can go home after that."

The blond woman stared in surprise at the now closed door to her boss's office. If she hadn't seen the foul mood he was in when he first walked in, she would be wondering who the pod person in Brian's office was.

Cynthia returned a little later with a clean suit and Brian was just getting changed when his 'partner' walked in, not bothering to knock first. This time, Brian was prepared and didn't let it rattle him.

"I looked over the setup in the conference room and …" Justin's voice trailed off as he noticed that Brian was standing in the middle of his office in just a shirt and briefs.

Brian smirked at Justin's reaction to his half-dressed state. "So, how did it look?" He asked as he walked over to retrieve the clean pants.

"Huh?" Came the confused reply.

Brian walked closer to the blond, stopping only a foot away then began pulling his pants on. He smirked again when Justin unconsciously licked his lips. "The setup in the conference room." Brian said in a soft husky tone, his voice and words in sharp contrast to each other. "What did you think I was asking about?"

"Oh! It looks good." Justin stammered, blushing bright red. He hated how easily Brian could do that to him still.

Brian grinned to himself, pleased with the response he'd gotten, then said, "Good. Ms. Madison should be here at 10:00. We'll give the presentation then take her to lunch." He cursed silently as he realized he was repeating himself yet again.

"Cynthia said that you're letting everyone go home early today." Justin observed.

"Yeah, well, they'd be finding excuses to sneak out early anyway." Brian excused himself.

Justin flashed his brilliant smile. The next thing Brian knew, his arms were full of Sunshine and he found his breath being slowly stolen away in a passionate kiss.

"What was that for?" Brian whispered when they broke apart.

"For putting aside your impersonation of Scrooge for one day." Justin grinned. Then he said softly, "For letting the real you out for a change."

Brian stepped back with a snort, letting the blond go. He was uncomfortable with the blond's observation. The little shit always knew him too well.

"You're planning to attend Gus's school concert this afternoon, aren't you?" Justin asked. "He's really hoping you'll be there."

Brian looked down into the pleading blue eyes of his 'partner'. "I'm planning to give Ms. Madison a tour after lunch." He said softly, losing himself in those eyes.

Justin smiled slightly. "By that time, you'll already have her eating out of your hand. She'll never miss it."

Brian knew from the previous two days that Justin was right, but he'd already done enough damage to his asshole image for one day. Pulling away from the blond, he snorted. "There's no way in hell that I'd spend an afternoon sitting on an uncomfortable folding chair just to listen to a bunch of second grader's sing off-key Christmas carols." He replied, turning away to walk around his desk.

Justin sighed. He knew there was a heart inside there somewhere, regardless of the brunet's attempts to hide it. He knew when to stop pushing though. "I'll be in the conference room at 10. If you need me before then, I'll be in my office."

Brian sank into his chair after Justin left. He couldn't stand to see that hurt look on the blond's face, knowing he'd put it there. But he had a business to run and couldn't just take off on a whim like the artist did.

He huffed a little to himself. Maybe, if he had the chance to repeat <b><i>every</i></b> day a few times, he might be able to get things right for a change. The very thought sent a shiver down his back. Repeating this day three fucking times was bad enough.

As the afternoon wore on, Brian decided that it was time to put his plan into action. It was just getting dark when he parked his Jeep across the street from 'the sign'. He casually walked into the store underneath the errant emblem and made his way to the back unobserved. It took a little snooping, but he eventually found some stairs leading to the roof and came face to face with his nemesis.

Taking a seat behind the sign, Brian went to work freeing the object from the fasteners holding it to the roof. His one thought was that without the sign, there would be nothing to fall on him later this evening. Therefore, no accident, no trip to the hospital and no Angie telling him to shape up.

Looking over the edge of the building, Brian made sure no one else was around as he pitched the sign onto the sidewalk. Smiling to himself, he brushed his hands off and headed back to the door only to find that it was locked.

Brian began to get a little irritated as he walked around the roof looking for another way down. It had been a cold day, but now that the sun had gone down, it was getting positively freezing.

Finally, he discovered a metal ladder on the side of the building next to the one he was on. There was a small gap between the two buildings, but Brian thought he'd be able to jump it with no problem. Realizing that his coat would just get in his way, Brian tossed it across then backed up to get a running start.

The moment he launched himself off the building, he felt his foot slip on something and he knew he wasn't going to make it.

~* ~* ~* ~ * ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~ * ~* ~* ~* ~

"Brian, I really don't think you fully grasp the nature of the opportunity you've been given."

"Fuck you!" Brian growled.

Angie took a deep breath and stood up, looking down on him as he lay in the bed. "Brian, I suggest you stop messing around and get with the program. You have nine days left to change your life for the better. Quit wasting your time fighting against us. We only want to help."

"And what exactly is wrong with my fucking life?" Brian asked sarcastically. "I'm successful, have more money than I can reasonably spend, men fall all over themselves to be with me. Fuck, most men would give anything to <b><i>be</i></b> me."

"Would they really?" Angie asked quietly.

Brian glared at the woman, but something in her gaze made him look away first. He had the feeling she could see past the façade that everyone else saw and that disturbed him a bit.

Finally, she sighed and brought Brian his clothes. "See you tomorrow." She said in a resigned voice as he dressed and walked out the door.

'That's what she thinks.' Brian thought to himself. 'Tomorrow, I'm not leaving my loft. Fuck, I might not even leave my bed. I'll be damned if I let anybody run my life for me. Let's see them drag me back into the hospital if I stay home all day.'

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