Subject: XMAS: In the Spirit


PARENTS:  the info within the story is from my ISP's newsletter,
and the addy is real.  McLisa said if I could format the info
into a story somehow, I could forward the info, so I am.

The usual: not mine, wish they were, no money being made, etc.
This is typed straight in, and isn't spellchecked or beta'd.  So
please forgive any typos I'm sure I'll have.
______________________
In the Spirit
Dec 8, 1998
"Micki" Lynn McCormick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natalie walked into the staff lounge and sat down...  It hadn't
been a long shift, yet, but she knew it was about to be.  She'd
just gotten a call that they were bringing in a couple of bodies
from another jurisdiction because of Natalie's expertice in the
area, and the 'condition'.  The police in Stratford suspected
that the fire had been set to try and disguise two murders as
accidents, and Natalie had been judged to be the best coroner for
the task of assessing.  Now she sat in the staff lounge, drinking
a very strong cup of coffee, and eating her sandwich early, since
she knew after dealing with what she would soon be facing, she
wouldn't -want- to eat for the rest of her shift.

Nat got up and went to pour another cup of caffiene, only to get
maybe a mouthful before the dispenser was empty.  Sighing, she
opened the compartment and dumped the wet filter full of grinds
into the garbage, replacing both, and starting it brewing another
pot.  As she waited for it to fill, she looked over at the notice
board, and saw something that caught her eye.

Natalie walked over and pulled the print-out down and went to go
make a photocopy.  By the time she returned the fresh pot of
coffee was ready, and Natalie put the original back up, her copy
into her purse, and forgot about it until later.

----

Nick and Schanke stopped at the morgue to see how Nat was doing.
Nick had been worried when Natalie called and asked if he'd give
her a ride home from work because she wouldn't feel up to
driving.  As they walked into the autopsy room, both men could
smell exactly why.

"I'll wait for you in the coffee room, partner."  Schanke said
glibly, not wanting to be any nearer the smell than he had to be.

Nick tapped on the door, then opened it and walked in.  Nat
turned to look at him, and held her hand up for a moment,
finished making her comment into the recorder, then turned the
machine off.

"Perfect timing!  I'm just finished, Nick, so all I have to do is
clean up and I'll be ready to go."  She massaged her forehead.

"Headache?"  Nick walked up behind her and reached around to rub
her temples.

"Yeah.  They were wrong.  They really were just people caught in
the fire.  Unless the fire proves to be arson, it was an
accident.  And that isn't my investigation.  I just want to get
out of here and go relax."  Natalie pulled away from Nick and
re-covered the second body, then wheeled it into the coldroom.
When she came out she set her instruments to the side where an
assistant would steralize them in the autoclave, and began to
clean up herself.  A couple of minutes later, they left and
walked to the staff lounge, where Schanke was reading a magazine.

"Coming?"  Nick spoke into the room, startling his partner.

"Wait, Nick.  Come here a sec, Schank."  Nat walked over to the
bulletin board, and pointed out the item she'd earlier copied.
"I copied this to give to my sister-in-law.  I'm not sure if
Jenny's still interested in Santa or not, but if you want I can
make a copy for you too.

Nick walked in and stood behind them as his partner read aloud:
        "My sister in Edmonton sent me the following
        article from her ISP's monthly newsletter,
        because of my kids.  I'm posting this info so
        that other parents can see it too.
                Merry Xmas from Chris in Human Resources"

Schanke paused for a swallow of coffee before continuing to read
aloud:
        "3. E-Mail to Santa
        --------------------------------------
            For the fourth year, now, children can write
        to Santa at the FreeNet and receive a personal
        reply.  Children do not have to be FreeNet members
        to receive a reply from Santa.  Santa's address is:
                santa@ecn.ab.ca
        please promote this address to your friends and
        relatives.  Read about this Project in more detail
        in the <What's New> file. "

Schanke turned to Nat.  "What a neat idea!  I think Jenny's still
young enough to enjoy that, and Myra has an email addy through
her work that I know she'd let Jenny write from.  Yeah, if you
don't mind, I'll take you up on that.  I'm sure she'd love a
copy of this.  She might even take it to school to show her
friends."

Nat smiled.  "Back in a sec."  As she walked out of the room she
pulled the other photocopy from her purse & unfolded it.  Yup,
the addy was clear enough and she could copy it from this one.

As she laid the paper on the glass of the copier, a thought came
to mind, and she pushed for 5 copies. Folding two into her purse,
when she returned to the guys, she handed 2 to each of them.
"I've got 1 for my niece and for her to take to school, and you
thought Jenny's do the same.  And Nick, you can post one in your
locker room, and take one back to your old precinct.  I'm sure
Stonetree would let you put one up.  I seem to remember a lot of
guys with families there.  Now, can we get outta her?  I still
have a headache!"

As they re-entered the hallway, Natalie took both Nick and
Schanke's elbows, and walked between them out to the caddy.
"Thanks guys."  She gave Nick's elbow a squeeze.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** fin **

HUGS to all, and I especially hope those of you with kids have a
very happy holiday season!  Thanks for reading!  -Micki