AN: Okay, this special has nothing to do with my earlier story. The OC's are still here, though. Which means, Assana, and Neon Tyler. So, nothing that has happened in 'Broken' has happened yet. The Penguins haven't even met either one yet. Keep in mind I said yet. Also, this chapter is more of a prologue. Next chapter is most likely where things will get more serious... and understandable O_o

Summary: The world is dark in your mind. Clouded, by dark, thoughts and now this horrid situation. Skipper, is depressed, and it's almost Christmas! All he wants is some peace. Little does he know, simple, is not in my vocabulary. And, besides, that little thing about staying alive isn't helping either.

"Do you think Rico would like this?"

Private held up the waxy plastic of the 'Miss Perky' collectable box. Inside, was an all new accessory that was a must have. A small, half red, half green, santa hat with a snow white fluff stuck on the top. He eyed it considerably. Rico was known to always have the newest accessories immediately, but would he have calmed himself for the holidays?

He looked over at his leader for an answer. He frowned, seeing what his company was doing. Skipper was staring aimlessly into a sales rack of 'Spiderman' toys. His face was turned into a scowl, a fist by his side, and the other hand clutching a 'Spiderman' action figure, nearly crushing it. Private couldn't help but notice the few children who were making sure to keep their distance from the man.

"Skipper? You're scaring kids again."

The leader's head snapped to the side. His face softened when he saw the younger's worried expression, and dropping the action figure in his hand. "Sorry, Private. What were you saying?"

Private extended his arm closer to the older man, letting him see the Miss Perky accessory in his hand. "Do you think Rico would like this?"

Skipper examined the toy. It looked a bit cheap. He could see the poorly applied 'glue' was just barely keeping the white fluff on. But would Rico like it? He'd probably be to busy celebrating the holiday to notice until a few weeks later. He forced a smile. "It's fine. He'd like it."

Private smiled, bringing his arm back to him to keep the toy with him. "Okay. What should we get Kowalski? Something from the electronics?"

Skipper shrugged. "Probably."

Private frowned gain. It was three weeks until Christmas. Usually, his leader would be in the 'Christmas spirit'. Especially since the military had always had the unit visiting the local elementary school, to help with the celebration. Then, Skipper would have a warming feeling in his heart about going to the Children's orphanage and celebrating what the hospital had labelled 'Kidsmas'. It was very close to Private's heart, as he was an orphan. "Are you okay, Skippah? Is something wrong?"

Skipper shrugged again. "Nah, I've just been... thinking."

"'Bout what?"

He eyed a Miss Perky doll beside him. He honestly didn't want to look at Private. He normally didn't like talking about 'what was on his mind' because he felt... well, he wasn't sure. Dirty, maybe. Unpure compared to the purist of pure. He didn't exactly like to talk about death to his youngest teammate, especially not in a toy aisle. "Doesn't matter." He answered finally.

"If it's bugging you, then yes it does."

Skipper had to keep from rolling his eyes. Private always had an answer for everything. Not mentioning his subtle stubborn way of always getting what he wants from someone when he has his mind set on it. "It's really nothing, Private."

"But it's bothering you." Private pointed out. People were plain avoiding them now. Skipper was intimidating enough, when he's mad, even not even letting strangers know that he was, the angry vibe would just come off of him.

Skipper sighed, annoyed. They would probably stay in this toy aisle all day unless he caved a little. "Something with death, okay Private?" He answered harshly, a bit too loudly.

Private blinked in surprise, shocked by the outburst. His eyes softened into his normal lost puppy look and smiled assuringly. His free hand reached out and touched his leader's upper arm. Skipper's muscles jerked slightly at the warm touch. It was so cold outside. How was Private warm as a dog?

"You'll forget it soon, Skippah. Just keep your mind off of it." Private paused and watched Skipper twist away from the younger's touch. His leader probably hated that Private, even for a moment, was superior.

"Let's go get Kowalski a gift."

"Three." Rico counted.

Kowalski lifted his head from the newspaper he was reading. Rico was staring out the window, wiping the fog from his breath every once in a while. "Already? How many Santas are out there?"

"Four."

Kowalski grinned. Rico was as ansi as ever for the holiday. And Rico always did go over extreme on celebrations like events for Christmas. The moment snow fell on the ground, Rico was taking about Christmas. He went back to reading his newspaper. It was also the time of year that him and Skipper paid extra attention to the newspaper ads. It was for a reason both of them wanted to forget. Kowalski could remember the events perfectly. An ad for all military units, a fun party, a horrible 'accident', and then, fighting, corruption, betrayal, and, finally, death. Kowalski wished that the last one could've been skipped, but, it was meant to happen.

He was cruel to think that. His old friends, Manfredi and Johnson, was dead around this time five years ago. And their death could have been stopped. If the world had known of this horrid 'punishment' the military units were subdued to years ago. Of course, he knew his thoughts made no sense to people who didn't know what he was talking about.

"Five." Rico interrupted his thoughts.

He wanted to snap at him, but decided not to. Rico didn't know about the bad memories Christmas brought him, he shouldn't take it out on him. I mean, it wasn't his fault that-

"Six."

Was it just him, or was Rico purposely stopping him from being angry?

"Seven."

Kowalski put his paper on his lap. "What are they doing? Having a parade of Santas?"

Rico smiled. "Jus' Kiddin'. Four."

Kowalski returned the smile. You know, I like these teammates just as good as Manfredi and Johnson.