It was another holiday season in the small town of Sykesville. As usual, the Christmas lights were up before the turkey had been carved. Jonathan Roba watched the passersby rush home with their day's shopping, as he swept up the front of the carnival. He looked towards where he heard Andrew and Ej planning out their Christmas list. They had a million and one things they wanted again. Jon sighed, knowing that Espa would never be able to afford everything on the littles' Christmas lists. He had never been able to give them much, but the brothers had each other. To them, that was all that had ever mattered. For some reason this year, however, Jon was feeling less than satisfied with that. It felt like they deserved more than what they were always being dealt. He put his broom aside, and walked over to see what was on the forbidden list this time. "What is it this time, you guys, Cars or trains?"

"Neither." Andrew, who was now nine, held up his list. "It's not a list of things I want to get; it's things I want to give."

Jonathan blinked, looking over the list. It looked as though Andrew had pulled one of Christien's tricks of thinking rather than speaking. He had things on the list that no ordinary nine-year-old would have. He wanted to have a Christmas dinner for the homeless shelter. The very same one they had stayed in many years ago. "Andy…wow."

"Me too, me too!" Ej held up his list. "I wanna help too!" Espa Jakkob was six now, and learning to copy everything his elder brother Andrew did.

"Guys, that's very thoughtful…" Jonathan smiled. "How would you like it if I told Espa about this, and see what he thinks?"

Andrew shrugged. "Maybe…" He looked a little uncertain. It wasn't often he shared his secret lists with his elder brothers. But maybe this one time, he could fulfill his list. "Okay."

Jonathan left the littles, and took the lists to Espa's office. "Espa, you won't believe what the littles want for Christmas." He was smiling now.

"I can't afford whatever it is." Espa muttered under his pile of ledgers and receipts.

"You might be able to afford this." Jonathan set the papers over the eldest Roba's accounting books. He watched his brother's face go from skeptical, to shocked, and then to touched.

"This…it's amazing. If this is what they want to do, I think we should all pitch in. I'm going to give the shelter a call in the morning. Don't say anything to them."

"No problem. Can I tell Chris?" Jonathan was sure Christien would definitely want to get on board this one.

"Yeah, go ahead." Espa returned to his paperwork, but Jon heard him chuckling to himself, probably at the thoughtfulness of his two youngest siblings.

Christien was busy putting Christmas decorations up in their small trailer. He paused at the crystal ball ornament that Victoria Ishtar had given them a few years before. This was the first year Victoria would not be around for Christmas. She was celebrating it with her family in Domino. Christien and his brothers would see her at Mokuba's New Year's Eve party, but it just wasn't the same thing. He turned from the tree, hearing the door open. "Espa?"

"It's me." Jon's voice replied, taking his coat off. "I have to talk to you." He came into the small living area. "Wow. You really got far in here."

"Well, Espa won't let me out too much with this sore throat…" Christien replied. "So I figured I'd decorate for us." He smiled weakly, setting the ornament aside. "So, what is it?"

"It's Andrew and Ej. They want to throw a party for the homeless shelter; with a Christmas dinner and everything." Jon smiled. "Espa wants us all to help."

"And why shouldn't we? That's a great idea." Christien stood up now. "Maybe we could coerce Victoria into joining us."

"Absolutely not. She's got enough going on where she is." Jon replied. "She is helping Mokuba at the orphanage in Domino. They're having a lock in at the school down the street from the private school, and they're giving away toys."

"Hmm. Everyone's more into giving than getting this year."

"Well, times are a bit rougher than usual." Jon shook his head. "I still want to get Kendra a little something. And Victoria too, even though she probably has no intention of buying for us…"

"Don't be too sure. This is Victoria we're talking about." Christien grinned. "I'm getting her something too. I'm just not sure what yet." The brothers talked a little more about their gift ideas, and finally they got back around to the party for the homeless shelter party. "This is going to be strange for Espa. He never did like the looks of that place that I remember." Christien mused suddenly.

"Well, I don't think I did either, but that's not the fault of the people who actually live there now." It's a good thing you and Andy were fortunate enough to be able to forget about that place. Ej wasn't even born yet. Mom and Dad did the best they could for us while we were there, and even Espa helped. But all Christien and I could do was sit back and play with a deck of playing cards….

"Jon? Are you still here?" Christien shook Jonathan's shoulder just a bit, to wake Jonathan from his reverie. Espa had come in, and looked like he was in a really good mood. He'd been trying to get his other elder brother's attention.

"Huh?" Jonathan blinked, looking over. "Oh...sorry. I was just thinking about everything that happened years ago." He looked up, hearing Espa on his cell phone. "What's going on?"

"Espa's talking to Kaiba. I wonder what's going on…" The two younger Robas got up, and walked into the small kitchen to eavesdrop. Whenever Espa had to call Seto Kaiba, it was usually a big deal. They waited patiently for Espa to get off the phone, and then pounced.

"What'd you call him for?" Jonathan demanded.

"Yeah, what's the big idea? I thought this was going to be our thing alone?" Christien added in. He coughed a bit, and then grew quiet, remembering that he was sick.

"Guys, we can't possibly do it alone. I had to call Seto. I had a good idea. I was thinking he could help us host a Christmas party/buffet. Don't you think that's a good idea?"

"That's a great idea!" Jonathan whooped, covering his mouth immediately, in case one of the littles came in. "So..? What did he say?"

"He agreed to help us. He wants us to find a banquet hall. He's going to call it, and get us a room, and then supply the catering." Espa was relieved, because in all honesty, he hadn't been sure if he could've pulled the whole thing off on his own. "The party will be held in two weeks. So I better get on the ball with the phone calls. Could you go keep them busy, Jonathan?"

"Yeah." Jonathan left quickly. He was just as excited about this party as he knew his little brothers would be.

The banquet hall was grander than anyone could've picked. Espa smiled in satisfaction. "Kaiba really out did himself this time. It's probably a good thing I called him when I did." He glanced at the littles. Andrew's eyes were wide. "What do you think, Andy? Do you think this will be big enough for the party?"

"It's twice as big as I thought it would be! Ej, look at that Christmas tree!"

"It's big!" Ej ran to investigate it. "There's presents!"

Espa blinked. He didn't remember asking for anyone to bring presents. "Where did those come from…?" He looked over at the woman who was setting up the party decorations."

"Mr. Kaiba sent them for your brothers." She smiled at Espa's surprised expression. "I take it you weren't expecting that?"

"Certainly not!" Espa was grateful to Kaiba, of course, but he felt bad for once again not being able to handle his own Christmas shopping. "That was wonderful of him…."

"Yes…." The woman went back to her work. The party was set to start very soon. "Mr. Roba? I think it's wonderful, what you're doing for the shelter. They get so little on Christmas."

"Don't I know it…" Espa said vaguely. "I was living there over Christmas a few years ago. No one threw us any sort of party. Maybe that's why I decided to do this." He watched his brothers (Jon and Christien had joined the youngest) near the tree. They all seemed to be so much older and bigger than he remembered. They were growing up so fast. Maybe that's why he hadn't wanted to disappoint them. He often felt like a disappointment to his brothers, even when they insisted he was not.
"Hey, Espa, this one came from Victoria. It's for you." Jonathan looked over at his elder brother. "She sent us a card too. It says, Best Wishes to All of my Robas, and may your Christmas be happy."

That was just like Victoria, Espa thought to himself, as he went to see what it was the young girl had gotten for him this year. She often thought of the most ingenious things to make his life more livable. He opened the package carefully, and then gazed at it's contents. "They're coupons for babysitting. That makes sense." Espa smiled to himself. "Well, let's come away from the tree for now. The guests will be arriving soon."

The guest began arriving promptly at four o'clock. Andrew took his role of usher seriously, helping every last one of them to their seats. The elderly guests smiled, and patted him on the head. The younger guests smiled, and thanked him. After everyone was seated, Espa beckoned his youngest siblings over to him, and cleared his throat. "On behalf of us Robas at Pryce's Carnival of Wonders, we welcome you to this Christmas party. I'd like to thank Mr. Seto Kaiba and his company for their generous donation of their catering cart, and my brothers, Andrew and Espa Jakkob for being so thoughtful." The applause was clear, and it echoed throughout the large room. Andrew and Ej grinned at each other, before the elder of the two cleared his throat.

"Me and my brother Ej want to thank our brothers, Espa, Jon and Christien for being there for us. We welcome you to enjoy the food that Mr. Kaiba was so kind to donate. I'm not sure if anyone that was at the Home here in Sykesville remembers, cause I know I don't, but us Robas used to be a part of that group. Espa told me that story once, and how we didn't really get a Christmas dinner or anything. I didn't want anybody to go without it, so I talked to Ej, and we decided that instead of receiving presents this year, we wanted to give them. So, those presents that are under the tree for me and Ej are now to be given to the kids here." Andrew looked to Ej, wondering if the six-year-old would have anything to say.

Apparently he did. He squeezed Andrew's hand, and then cleared his throat. "I thank my brother Andy, and Espa. They're really good brothers. And Christien and Jon, for being so cool. Really, I wanna thank Victoria Ishtar, who's still been here for us, even though she's really busy at school." There was more applause. Then Espa took the floor again. He smiled proudly at all four of his brothers, feeling overwhelmed with pride that he had done so well at raising them.

"Without further ado, I give you…dinner." He and his brothers went to sit at the head table to eat themselves. As he ate, Espa watched the goings on of their guests. Children played with the various toys that had been meant for his brothers. Parents wrapped their little ones in warm coats and hats. Now and then, Andy and Ej would get thanked for their efforts. He glanced over at Christien. Even though the middle Roba was appearing to be happy, Espa sensed that he was missing someone terribly. The eldest Roba smirked to himself, knowing something they did not. He got up, and went to get more food.

"Hey, Chris." The soft voice of Victoria Ishtar came from behind Christien. The boy turned around, and gaped. "Merry Christmas."

"What are you doing here! I thought you were going to be busy?"

Victoria grinned. "I was. I was busy helping Espa get this together. My brothers and sister drove me out here as a surprise to me, and I guess Espa wanted to surprise you." She hugged him tightly. "I've missed you, my angel."

"You too." Christien smiled. "Hey, have you eaten? You should eat. Here, I'll squeeze another chair in for you." Suddenly, he turned into super-boyfriend, instead of best friend. Victoria snickered. She always thought it was cute when he did that.

"It's okay, Christien. I ate on the way here. I wanted to just come and spend time with you, and the others." So saying, Victoria greeted and hugged Jon, and then the littles.

"I knew you couldn't stay away from us." Jon accused. "But, I'm glad you didn't." He hugged her tightly. "We miss having our "sister" around, you know."

"I miss having to be around." She turned to look at Andrew and Ej. "But, apparently, they don't need me anymore."

"We do! We do!" Andrew and Ej both jumped up, and wrapped their arms around her waist in unison.

"What are you talkin' about? You guys were brilliant with this idea. I am so proud of both of you." She hugged them close to her. "Your brothers do a good job even without me being here."

"Thanks, Tori." Espa came over now, and hugged her himself. "You did a great job when they were younger. That's what counts. There's something we saved for you. It's under the tree over there." He pointed, and then chuckled, watching his brothers Jon and Christien follow her. He knew she would like what he had gotten for her. He heard her happy squeal all the way across the room.

"Oh wow. I can't believe your brother did this for me!" She smiled brightly, showing off her new locket. It was almost like the locket that Mokuba had.

"Open it!" Andrew ordered excitedly. "You'll like it." He had come up behind them with Ej at his heels.

"Alright." Victoria smiled gently at Andrew. "Boy, you're starting to remind me of Jon, the way you boss people around." She ducked a playful smack from Jon, and then opened it. Inside was a family portrait of all five Robas, looking quite handsome, as a matter of fact. She looked up at them, teary-eyed. "Portable Robas. Just what I wanted. Now I can take you guys back to school with me."

After hugging the four Robas at the tree, she ran over to Espa, and hugged him as well. "Espa, I don't know what to say. You guys didn't have to do this." She had the locket around her neck already, and she was caressing it lovingly. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Espa just smiled, patting her shoulder. "Oh don't I?" He gave her one of his cryptic smiles. Espa had that way about him. "You're quite welcome, Victoria. Now, you have to do something for me."

"I do?" Victoria blinked, and then cocked an eyebrow when Espa pointed to the grand piano in the corner of the room. "Me? I don't think I can…"

"Jon can. You can sing. Let's do a bit of caroling for the nice people." Espa smirked, knowing Victoria wouldn't refuse them. He gathered all of his brothers together, and explained to them what they wanted to do.

"Espa, that sounds like a good idea. Everyone will leave here with Christmas in their hearts!" Jon grabbed Victoria's hand. "Come on, Ms. Daae. Let's go sing for them!"

"Hey! Christine doesn't sing without her Phantom!" Christien called out, running over."

They started singing "Silent Night". All of the guests heard, and joined in soon after. Espa smiled, watching. He was lip synching. He thought the children sounded better anyway.

At the end of the hymn, he spoke over the chattering guests. "We want to thank all of you for joining us on this special night. We hope that we've helped put you in the holiday spirit at least a little bit. And remember, things will turn around for everyone. Be sure to come to the carnival for Shelter Day on opening day. All rides, food and admission are free." The children started up another carol; this one was "Here We Come A-Caroling". The guests filed out, and Espa started to clean up. As he looked around the mostly empty room, he sighed in satisfaction. He and his brothers might not have had much in the way of physical presents, but he knew they were all feeling fulfilled by their deeds that day. Andrew taught us all a valuable lesson this year. Espa thought to himself, as he watched Andrew say good bye to a little boy that was around his age. Giving is the greatest gift of all.

(This fic was inspired by a project I heard about in regards to Hurricane Katrina. I hope it reminds everyone of the real meaning of Christmas. I hope you enjoyed it, and have a Merry Christmas. Love, PrimaDonnaLizzie)