Posted by Civilian Molly Holloway (CEO, Holloway Heavy Industries) in A Very Holloway Christmas
“I expect that on my desk tomorrow morning. You… you need to get your priorities straight. You need to think, th… think very hard, about where your loyalty truly lies, Molly.”

Almost two years had passed since Lucas Holloway had found out that Molly hadn’t retired from Starfleet Intelligence. Almost two years had passed since he had also found out that his niece had accepted an offer made by Intelligence’s Special Operations Command (or Section 31 as it was most commonly known). Almost two years had passed since the elder Holloway had ordered her to take a sabbatical from her job with the company until she had, in his opinion, gotten her loyalties straight, and Molly had quietly left back to Earth.

On a warm New York summer evening six months later, luck had made her bump into her uncle on the Brooklyn Bridge. A firmer believer than herself might have ascribed it to a larger fate, but regardless of divine intervention, both Holloways agreed to put their differences aside that night. Molly returned to work the next morning, choosing to remain in New York City for the foreseeable future, and work from the HHI offices in the Big Apple.

The move to stay on Earth came as a surprise to many, with some tabloids even speculating that Molly and Calvin had had a falling out of sorts. It couldn’t be farther from the truth, and with Calvin’s visits the stories were eventually dropped. The truth was that Molly felt incredibly lonely on OED. After years with Starfleet she missed space terribly, and with most of the few family and friends she felt truly close to settling on Earth (or being unreachable somewhere in the cosmos), staying in her home planet felt like the closest to home she was ever going to get.

=/\= Docking successful. TSS Sleipnir, you are good to go. Welcome back to OED, Captain Holloway. =/\=

The words cut through Molly’s daydream, bringing her back to reality with a start. Jumping into action, Holloway pressed a few buttons on the main console to reply.

=/\= Acknowledged, Central Control. Thank you for the warm welcome. Holloway out. =/\=

With a few more taps, Molly performed the last checks before swinging her well worn duffle bag over her shoulder and checking the latest ping on her watch. It was almost time.

With the weight of a particularly important deadline looming over the company, Lucas had summoned her back to OED. At the time she had told her uncle that she would leave New York on January 3rd. Calvin would be working through Christmas this year, and Molly herself had plenty of things to get done so she saw no reason to waste time traveling early, but Lucas had insisted she attend the Christmas gathering he was putting together a few days early. Worse, he had made her promise to keep Calvin in the dark about it, as CCDA was keeping the former Marine particularly busy and his and Molly’s canceled Christmas plans had left him in a sorrowful mood, so the elder Holloway hoped that a surprise might cheer him up more than if he knew beforehand.

Molly sighed. With a last glance around the small ship, she turned off the lights and walked out, locking it behind her.

The walk from the docking port where Molly had left the Sleipnir to the private transporter pad that would take her to the surface was a short but beautiful one, flanked by large viewports that showcased OED’s exquisite atmosphere and landmasses from above.

“Ah, Captain Holloway, glad to have you back.” Came the transporter operator’s voice, making Molly take her eyes from the viewport. “I hope you had a pleasant journey here.”

She nodded, and offered the man a warm smile. “Nothing unexpected.”

“Good.” He continued casually as he motioned for her to step into the platform. “And where are you headed to today?”

“2100 Grand Boulevard. Just outside is fine.”

The man nodded. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“I’m ready.” Molly confirmed, clutching her duffel bag a little tighter.

“Energize.”

As the small transporter room vanished from her eyes, Lucas’s massive house soon replaced it. For a moment, Molly stood still, mesmerized, not at the house that she had come to know inside and out, but rather at the Christmas decorations. Lucas definitely had outdone himself this year.

Through the door, as she approached, Molly could hear music and laughter as the gathering was clearly in full swing. The building was old Earth beautiful… formerly the Canadian Ambassador’s residence… now simply known as The Residence by HHI personnel and Holloway House on OED records. The decor, both visible in more than a dozen street-facing windows of the building as well as completely covering it, was all Lucas. Christmas lights of every color dripped from every tree and every eve of the massive building and its grounds.

Somewhere in the distance, a bell marked 6:15pm. It seemed that she was going to be fashionably late.

With a last glance at the exterior, Molly rushed up the front steps and rang the doorbell.

Molly

From the other side of the door came the distinctive bark of Calvin’s now rather senior Black Lab, Boomer. The dog was as much a part of Cal as the man himself and rarely went anywhere without him for the better part of two decades. The voice that accompanied him wasn’t Calvin’s, but her uncle’s, Lucas Holloway. “Boomer… calm down, ol’ boy.” Came the man’s voice as the old Earth mechanical knob started to turn. As the door opened, Lucas lit with an unmistakable joy. “Gracie!” The elder Holloway beamed… embracing his eldest niece and surrogate daughter while Boomer rushed his master’s person with unabashed joy. Lucas’ arms continued to feel, as they always had, like home. To this day, the man was a creature of habit. Though he wore a black and gold “Santa” hat with the Holloway family crest centered on the front, his trademark long-sleeve dress shirt and perfectly pressed dark slacks were similar to the same daywear she would remember as far back as Molly could. “It’s so nice to have you back here in Arcadia, Sweetheart! How was the flight out?”

Lucas then wrapped an arm around Molly and, smiling, said. “Come on… I believe your gentleman is in the parlor.”

The pair walked, escorted by Boomer, to the home’s parlor. As they approached, Molly would realize the music wasn’t a recording, but Calvin playing the piano and singing. The duo reached the door just as Calvin finished Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree with Devri, who was perched on the 6-foot baby grand Steinway & Sons sporting a blue and white LA Dodgers Santa hat, C.A. Riley Academy Alumni sweater, and tactical pants. Calvin, dressed in the most un-Calvin-manner Molly had ever seen… HHI Santa hat, OU crimson football jersey, and green elf pants… was laughing at something his daughter, Ali, had said when he saw Molly. Stopping mid-sentence, Harris nearly ran across the room before scooping Molly into his arms.

“Damn it’s good to see you, Baby!” Before Molly could even acknowledge Calvin, she was hit from behind with yet another hug. There would be no question in the woman’s mind as to who the second person was as Alexis Harris buried her face into Molly’s shoulder.

Lucas & Calvin