"Are you sure you don't want some more ham, Cooper?" Ellie's mom asks for the third time.

"I'm all right, Mrs. Wilde. Really. Thank you. It was delicious." He grabs his napkin from his lap and folds it neatly before placing it on the table in front of him.

"How about some mashed potatoes?" Her grandma asks.

"Guys," Ellie cuts in, shooting them both disapproving looks. "Cooper didn't come here to be force-fed. If he says he's good, he's good."

Her mom stares at her with her mouth agape but before she has a chance to say anything, the phone rings. She shoots up from her seat and rushes over to grab the landline—that for some reason, they still own—before returning back over to the table.

"My dad," Ellie says quietly to Cooper, sensing his confusion. In most families, it's considered rude to take a call during dinner. But when that call is coming from a relative who has a very limited amount of time to speak, you sometimes make an exception.

He nods in understanding just as Ellie's mom picks up the call. The usual, "Would you like to accept this call from Washington Corrections Center" message plays and her mom accepts it, hitting the speaker phone option so they can all hear. A moment later, the deep voice of Ellie's dad echoes through the speaker of the phone.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" He asks. There's a lot of screaming and shouting in the background. He's told his family before that there's never really a quiet moment in prison.

"Hi, John," Ellie's mom says, her face lighting up with a smile. "We can hear you just fine, honey."

"Merry Christmas!" He says, his smile coming through in his voice.

"Merry Christmas," they all say simultaneously, laughing a bit. Ellie glances over at Cooper who happens to look at her in the exact same moment. There's an unfamiliar emotion in his eyes, she tries to get a read on it but she can't.

"Did you make ham for Christmas dinner?" Her dad asks, pulling Ellie's gaze away from Cooper and back to the phone.

"Jen made the ham," her grandma says. "So don't worry, Johnathon. You didn't miss out on much."

"Mom!"

"I'm kidding of course. Her ham was delicious." She looks over to Cooper and Ellie and shakes her head, earning a laugh from the both of them.

"Damn I miss Christmas dinner. Our dinner was all right today. You know, all right for prison food. It can only get so good." A dry laugh sounds from his end. "Ellie?"

"Hi, Dad."

"Hi, sweetheart. How are you?"

"I'm good." She pauses, taking a moment to look around the room as everyone watches her. She gulps before adding, "I miss you."

"I miss you too, honey."

The sentiment is ruined when her grandma says, "Hope there haven't been any soap dropping incidents since the last time we spoke."

"Mother! You can't just say that!" Ellie has never seen her mom's face turn to such a dark shade of red as she glances over at Cooper, probably mortified that they're not upholding their "perfect" family façade. Ellie doesn't have it in her to tell her mom that their perfect family image went out the door the moment they answered a collect call to speak to her dad in prison.

"It's fine, Jen," her dad says, reassuring her with a laugh. "There have been no soap dropping incidents. Thank you for your concern though, Willa."

"We worry about you, Johnathon."

"I'm all right. I don't want you guys worrying about me. You guys have your own things you should be focusing on."

A silence falls over the room. Ellie's mother looks over at Cooper before opening her mouth to speak again. "John. You'll never guess who's here with us."

"Mom—"

"A boy. A real one. Ellie brought a boy home."

"Mom!"

"A boy?" Her dad's voice says, going an octave lower than usual.

"Yes. A boy. A miracle, right? Go on, Cooper. Say hello."

He glances over at Ellie before awkwardly saying, "Um, hello, sir."

"Dad," she cuts in, "he's just my friend. Mom knows that. I don't know why she's making a big deal out of it."

She shoots her mom a glare but her mom simply brushes it off. "He's lovely, John. A real nice boy. You'd like him."

Ellie notices that Cooper's face is the exact opposite of hers. She sits with an angry frown, embarrassed by the way her mother is acting. But he sits with a smile, almost as if this entire situation is entertaining to him.

"How'd you two meet then?" Her dad asks.

She doesn't answer, instead choosing to glare into the speaker of the phone. Cooper decides to speak up. "We met when Ellie was taking her grandma to her chemotherapy appointments. I was actually there for my first chemo treatment too. I have colon cancer. She was nice enough to come chat with me. You have a very sweet daughter, sir."

He smiles in her direction and she stares back at him, wondering why he fabricated the story. She was not sweet to him the first time they met. She tried everything she could to get away from him. But she decides not to question it, instead choosing to return the smile.

"She is very sweet indeed. I'm sorry to hear about your sickness. Cooper, was it?"

"Yes, sir."

Her dad laughs. "You'll have to stop calling me sir. It's John."

"Got it, John."

Ellie's grandma swoops in once more, saving the day by changing the subject and asking, "So do you guys do Secret Santa in prison, Johnathon?"

"I'm really sorry," Ellie says, covering her face in embarrassment as she stands by the front door with Cooper. "That was mortifying. I should have expected that my mom would make a big deal out of you being a member of the opposite sex."

He laughs, reaching for his coat on the coat rack before slipping his arms into it. "It's all right, Ellie. I had a great time. Thanks again for inviting me."

"Yeah, it was fun."

"It was. We should hang out outside of the hospital more."

She smiles, nodding in agreement. "Yeah. We should."

"It's nice seeing you smile."

Her smile fades slightly, but not completely, as she rolls her eyes. "Don't tell me to smile more."

His usual smile breaks out into a full-fledged grin as he laughs. "I'm not going to tell you to smile more. If you smiled more then you wouldn't be you. I like your frown. It suits you. I just like your smile too."

"Thanks," she says, glancing at the wall behind him briefly in an attempt to break eye contact.

"So I guess I'll see you at the hospital."

"I'll see you there," she agrees.

"Cool." He reaches for the door handle. "See you then."

He pulls the door open but comes to an immediate stop when Ellie's mom yells after him, "Wait!"

They both look in her direction, wondering what the fuss is all about. She points above them and they look up to see a mistletoe hanging directly above the front door where they stand. Looking back over to her mom, Ellie is sure to send her a death glare.

Cooper laughs. "Great placement for a mistletoe. Do you plan on kissing every guest that enters your house?"

She continues glaring at her mother. "That wasn't there earlier. Someone must have moved it."

Her mom shoots her a sly wink and she rolls her eyes, turning to face Cooper once more. He smiles down at her, raising his eyebrows. "I guess it's a sign."

"A strategically-placed mistletoe is not a sign."

"We have to give the people what they want," he says, nodding towards her mom and grandma who stand in the kitchen watching them.

"No. We don't."

"Just stand still."

"Cooper. Do not kiss me."

He reaches out, placing a cold hand on her cheek and sending chills down her entire body. She freezes, staring back at him and the way his lips so easily pull up into a smile.

"It's a tradition, El," he quietly whispers.

She doesn't say anything. She just continues staring at him, frozen into place. He leans in and she feels her breath hitch in her throat.

His lips lightly connect with her cheek before he pulls back and drops his hand from her other cheek. Ellie's body finally begins working again. The blood begins flowing, her heart continues beating, her mind switches back on. She's no longer frozen in place.

A small chuckle passes by his lips. "I'll see you soon. Thanks again."

He turns on his heel, walking out the front door and down the driveway. Ellie glances back up at the mistletoe before an idea crosses her mind. She snatches it down from where it hangs and yells after him. He turns around, a confused look settled across his features. She walks out to meet him in the cold night and places the mistletoe in his hand.

"What's this for?" He asks.

She smiles up at him and wills the blush that's creeping onto her cheeks to settle down. "I want you to have it."

"Okay." He laughs, a confused crease set along his forehead. "Why?"

"Life that never dies." She crosses her arms over her chest, glancing down at her feet before looking back at him. "I hope your life will never die."