I do not own any creative rights to Pokémon. I do, however, own this story.

Yeah, a day late, I know. I had first intended to post this Christmas Eve, but that didn't happen, so I aimed for Christmas. I could have probably had this up yesterday, but it would have been horribly rushed (not that it isn't anyway) and I didn't feel comfortable with it in that state. So… yeah, here it is. I hope you get a kick out of it; I just tried to focus on having as much fun with the writing as possible. Regardless of what I may think about the end result (…), here's my little contribution to celebrate the holidays.

Merry (late) Christmas!

All I Want for Christmas

As he looked out through his bedroom window, the first thought that came to his mind was, Wow, the snow sure is pretty. It always was, of course, but the scene never ceased to amaze Ash Ketchum as he gazed at the sprawling, crystalline hills of Pallet Town, just as he had done every year, as far back as he could remember. He smiled fondly as he thought of years past, when it had been just himself and his mother. Somehow, someway he'd always managed to dream up a mile-long Christmas list, asking for everything ranging from the newest Pokémon training equipment ("Ash honey, what are you going to do with an Ultra Ball?" his mother had asked when he was five) to a pet Charizard (he'd promised to feed and walk it every day, too!). And while he may not have always gotten everything he'd ever wanted, his mother had always managed to come through for him in some way.

But now, as the snow continued to fall gently on Christmas Eve, Ash realized that his wish list was quite different from any other year prior. "Pikachu," he said resolutely. The little electric mouse, who had been curled up napping on Ash's bed, cocked an ear. "All I want for Christmas this year…" he paused uneasily, trying to think of how to best put his desire into words, "…well…" his voice trailed off. He wasn't sure why he had such a hard time articulating it… maybe it just seemed like too absurd an idea?

Pikachu sighed a little bit and snuggled deeper into the boy's blanket. He knew his master well enough to know what he was trying to get at. "Pika, pi-pika," he mumbled in response. Don't think too hard about it, Ash.

The trainer chuckled slightly, fiddling with the cap that sat atop his messy hair. "I know buddy, I know."

All the while, his gaze had never left the window. Slowly, as though possessed by some otherworldly entity (perhaps he was still caught up in his childhood musings), Ash leaned forward, slid the window open, and, despite the cold, stuck his head outside.

The falling snowflakes greeted his face with a cool, friendly touch, and Ash was brought back once more to his past years, when he used to spend hours outside, trying to see how many snowflakes he could catch on his tongue. Sometimes Delia would play too, and they would make it a contest, one that she always seemed to win—to this day he swore she cheated—but nevertheless, it was always fun, and the two would laugh and share hot cocoa afterwards. Ash smiled as the memory hovered pleasantly in his mind, engulfing him in its warmth, making him momentarily forget about the cold.

Well, what the heck. Turning his face skyward, Ash threw all dignity out the window—literally—and stuck his tongue out. A nice, big, promising target was falling dead ahead, straight toward his face. Ash squinted, trying to make out white against gray as the tiny crystal loomed tantalizingly close. Just a little bit more… Ash leaned out just a little ways as the flake approached…

…Only to have it blown off course by a sudden gust of wind. Ash growled dejectedly, his tongue still sticking out, as the snowflake in question fluttered to the ground unimpeded to join its brethren below. Oh well. Plenty more where that came from. Ash turned his head skyward once more, determined not to fail again. I'll get you this time… All of a sudden, however, a shock of fiery-red entered his peripheral vision, and then…

"Hey Ash, what are you doing?"

"Uuwaah!" Ash's startled response was accented by the fact that his tongue was still hanging out of his mouth. After nearly jumping straight out the window, he calmed down enough to turn and look at the redhead who had taken up a position directly beside him, leaning out the window as well.

Misty Waterflower cocked her head to one side slowly, shooting Ash a quizzical expression as he finally returned his tongue to its original home. For a while, neither said anything. Then, the tension instantly broke as Misty began to laugh. Not outrageously so; just a gentle, melodious laugh that made Ash's face burn red enough to melt any snowflake unlucky enough to be in close proximity.

"Wh-what's so funny?" The indignation in his voice was hard to miss, though Misty didn't seem overly concerned.

The girl took a moment to stop laughing. "It's just that… you were trying to catch a snowflake, weren't you?"

"Yeah," Ash admitted grudgingly, putting on his best glare just for her. "What's so strange about that?"

Misty looked as though she were about to burst into another fit of giggles. "I'm sorry Ash, I shouldn't laugh… I just haven't done that since I was seven!"

Ash slumped a little. Is that what she thinks I am? A seven-year-old?

"I thought it was cute, though," Misty finished offhandedly, turning back to look out at the snow-covered landscape.

If Ash's face was burning before, then it had to have been a fire hazard by now. It was then that he remembered his short-lived conversation with Pikachu along with his Christmas wish. "Hey, Misty," he began, bringing his head back inside the window and staring the Sensational Sister straight in the eyes.

"Yeah Ash?" she replied lightly, her aquamarine orbs twinkling along with the snowflakes.

You can do it Ketchum! Come on, this is nothing…

"Pi-ka…" Pikachu muttered. He's not going to do it…

"I wanted to tell you something…"

"Tell me what, Ash?"

"Well, I—"

"WAAAAH!" A sudden commotion broke the two out of their conversation. The two teenagers looked around wildly, trying fruitlessly the find the source of the disturbance.

"That sounded like Brock," Misty commented worriedly, her hand over her mouth.

Ash had to agree. "Yeah, but from where?" He walked out to his doorway and glanced up and down the hall. Not seeing anything, he returned to the room and was about to suggest that perhaps Azurill had locked himself in the microwave again, when the offending voice made itself heard once more.

"Ash? Misty? Hello!"

Misty gasped. "That was Brock! But where…?"

As if on cue: "The window!"

The two stopped dead and stared at each other for a second. Then, the breeder's words dawned upon them, and they scrambled for the window. After a brief—albeit playful—fight for space (it had seemed much wider the first time), the two searched frantically for their friend. However, their efforts were met with little success as they looked in almost every direction imaginable.

"Are we just going crazy or something?" Ash wondered aloud.

"Hello? Hey you two, try up here!"

Startled slightly, Ash and Misty turned their gazes upward to see none other than Brock, hanging precariously from the roof by what looked to be a string of Christmas lights. Well, they assumed it was Brock, anyway; all they could see was the bottom of his shoes. But he spoke again and confirmed their suspicions.

"Hey, could you two help me down? I'm kind of stuck here."

"Well…" Misty paused and winked at Ash. "I suppose so…"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Come on guys!"

The two friends laughed at the breeder's appeal and unanimously decided that they just might be able to help him out.

After a somewhat hair-raising rescue effort that ultimately required a small leap of faith from Brock, the trio found themselves once again inside Ash's room. Brock, after taking some time to calm down, had seemingly gotten over his close call. Ash and Misty's earlier conversation seemed all but forgotten.

"Well, this has been fun," the breeder was saying, "but I've really gotta get back to it, if you know what I mean. Those lights aren't just going to put themselves up."

Misty gave a theatric sigh. "Sure Brock. Just try not to fall off the roof again, okay?"

Ash held back his laughter as Brock grew flustered once more. "Hey, no one told me that the ice would be that slippery…" He paused and glared as Ash's laughter finally burst through at his ridiculous statement. "…And furthermore, while I appreciate the help, I had the entire situation under control."

"Oh did you," Misty quipped. "Well then, I apologize. Just how were you going to get down though?"

Brock visibly faltered. "Uh… I had a ladder."

"You mean that one?" Ash put in, indicating a point on the ground somewhere outside the window. The three looked down to see Brock's ladder lying in the snow where it had evidently fallen during his little accident.

Brock looked back up to see the two trainers' grinning faces. "Yes, that ladder," he grumbled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Not wasting any more time, he turned and swiftly made his exit. However, he only made it to the door before he turned back one last time. "Hey, what were you two doing in here anyway?" His features carried an odd, untraceable expression.

Ash froze. He had no good explanation for this. Anything he could have said would make the situation look like something it wasn't… or worse, it would make the situation look exactly like it was, which would only make things awkward. He decided to play dumb, but unfortunately, Misty spoke up first.

"Oh, well…" she trailed off, staring up at the ceiling as she tried to recall exactly what had transpired. "Oh yeah, Ash was—"

"Nothing," Ash cut in hastily, trying desperately to stop this runaway train before things really got out of hand. "Nothing was going on; we were just… talking."

Brock's eyebrows shot up, and for a moment Ash thought he was going to question the matter further. But instead he just shot the two of them another one of his indecipherable glances and shrugged. "Well, okay. I guess I'll see you two later; I've wasted enough time as it is."

"You know Brock, we could help you…"

"Nope! This is a man's job, Ash. I'm afraid you'll have to let me handle this one."

"But Brock—"

Ash's appeal was cut off by the sound of Brock crying out once more, which was followed by a series of thuds as the spiky-haired Gym Leader proceeded to tumble down the stairs.

"I'm okay!"

"Of course he is," Misty deadpanned. "Come on Ash, I came up here because your mom wanted us to help decorate the tree!"

Ash's face immediately lit up. His favorite holiday pastime… how could he have forgotten about this! Practically giggling with joy, he grabbed Misty's hand and pulled her along behind him before she could even protest. "All right! Let's hurry Misty!"

"Wait up Ash, the stairs…!"

Fortunately for the young water trainer, Ash was more adept with the stairs than their friend, and the two managed to brave the obstacle without any particular incident. Panting, Ash came to a halt in the middle of the living room, a slightly frazzled Misty in tow.

"Well, you two got down here fast," Delia commented with a big smile from the kitchen.

"Mom! Where's the tree, where are the decorations, where's the—"

"Calm down Ash," Delia asserted, silencing her hyperactive son. "Everything you need is there in the living room. Now you two get to it!" she said with a wink, emphasizing the double-entendre of her statement.

"Are you going to help us Mom?"

"Well, I think I'll let you two handle this," Delia replied amiably. "Besides, I'm working on a special surprise here, and I don't think you'd want to distract me from that, now would you?"

"Of course not, Mrs. Ketchum," Misty interjected. She walked over to the nearest cardboard box that happened to be sitting on the living room floor and pulled out a string of lights. "Come on Ash, if Brock's not gonna let us help him then we can at least string the lights on the tree."

Delia turned back to the kitchen as Ash acquiesced. "Have fun, you two… and Misty, do call me Delia, please." And with that, she returned to her work.

Ash and Misty worked for the next half hour more or less without incident. The snowfall continued outside, which made the little room seem all the more cozy as the pair first hung the lights, then the popcorn chains, and finally the ornaments, which just happened to be Ash's favorite part. Little trinkets and orbs of all shapes and sizes soon hung from almost every branch imaginable, literally transforming the once ordinary tree into a radiant kaleidoscope of color. Their work now almost over, Ash found his mind drifting back to the truncated conversation he and Misty had had in his room earlier.

I was so close, he thought. It definitely seemed like was going well… On the other hand, she probably hadn't had any idea what he was planning on asking, he rationalized. He wasn't entirely sure if that was good or bad, but it didn't make things any easier now.

"Ash?"

"Huh?" Ash's head snapped up as he came out of his daydream to face Misty, who had apparently been calling his name for some time.

"Are you okay?" she said, genuine concern written across her face.

"Um… yeah," Ash replied dumbly, still trying to shake his thoughts out of his mind for the time being.

"Well then, help me put the star up!" Misty scolded playfully, hands on her hips. "I can't reach the top of the tree by myself, you know."

"What do you want me to do? Throw it?"

Misty rolled her eyes. "Really Ash?"

"What? I thought it was a good idea."

"Of course you did. Here, just let me sit on your shoulders."

"Excuse me?" This was certainly not among the few things that Ash had been expecting to hear.

"Sit on your shoulders," Misty reiterated. "Just for a second! It'll be no problem."

Ash stared for another second or two before finally resigning himself to his fate. "Fine," he grumbled, kneeling down to allow Misty to position herself atop his shoulders. First he felt her hands on his arms, and then her full weight was on him. Misty signaled in the affirmative, and Ash rose suddenly. Too quickly.

"Eeep!" Misty squeaked as she suddenly began falling sideways. Reflexively, Ash's arms shot up, and his hands met her hips as he caught her before she could fall too far.

Blushing furiously, his face as bright as the tree in all of its glory, Ash allowed Misty to steady herself before mumbling a contrite, "Sorry."

Misty said nothing in return, though had Ash looked up he would have seen that she was just as red as he was.

The two maneuvered their way over to the tree, and Ash slowly, carefully passed Misty the tree star. Her weight was beginning to wear on him, and though pride kept him from admitting such a thing, he sincerely hoped that she hurried. Misty, on the other hand, was simply trying not to fall as she leaned over, reached out, and gingerly set the star in its place atop the ornate tree.

"I got it," she called down.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief. It had been quick and (mostly) painless after all. He took a couple steps back to admire their handiwork… only to meet resistance. "Huh?" was all he could mutter before he started falling backward over the edge of the sofa that he'd inadvertently walked into. There was no time to do anything. He was falling, he felt Misty squeal and leave his shoulders in midair, and then…

Wumph! There was a dull impact as Ash landed on his back, the couch cushions breaking his fall. He took a couple seconds to assess himself; he was evidently still alive, and from what he could tell everything seemed intact. However, he then noticed the second body sitting on top of him.

"Ugh… Ash?" Misty groaned, lifting herself off of his chest. She rested her hands to the Ash's sides, supporting her body a few inches above his. Her face wasn't much further from his.

Ash, meanwhile, felt like his head was going to explode from the heat. "Umm… Misty?" he countered, indicating the position they were in.

Misty then noticed that she was straddling the trainer's waist and flushed darker than he had, if at all possible. "You… idiot…" she chided halfheartedly. Her face drew closer.

"This is… your fault…" Ash said weakly. "So why don't… you get… off of me…?" Closer still.

"Shut up," Misty whispered. She closed her eyes.

Slowly, Ash did the same. His heart pounded in his chest. Even time seemed to be holding its breath.

"Who wants cookies!?" Delia exclaimed, appearing at the kitchen doorway.

"I-I do!" Misty squeaked, jumping off of Ash as though he were on fire and running over to the door. Ash, though slightly slower than the flustered girl, was quick to follow, strings of curse words running through his head as he did so.

"Fresh out of the oven," his mother proclaimed. "Pikachu helped me make these, didn't you?" The little mouse grinned triumphantly, eager for the two teenagers to sample his work.

The cookies were separated between two plates, and were of a multitude of different shapes. Ash quickly grabbed a candy cane from one platter while Misty decided to sample a particularly fat Santa Claus from the other dish. Her face lit up as she bit into the treat.

"This is amazing, Mrs. Ketchum… err… Delia!"

Delia smiled happily at the praise. "Well, thank you Misty! Please, enjoy as many as you'd like."

Ash, meanwhile, bit into his excitedly. However, his tongue was met with a horribly tangy, almost sour flavor, and he fell over, hacking and coughing as though he'd been told he'd just ingested poison.

"Ash! Honey, what's wrong?"

"Are you crazy?" he shot back, a little harsher than he'd meant. "What did you do to those?" he inquired, still sitting on the floor.

Misty sighed and took the cookie from him. Tentatively, she took a bite from it. A few seconds passed, and then she looked down quizzically at the offending cookie. A single word escaped her lips.

"Ketchup?"

"What!?"

"Oh!" Delia exclaimed. "Those are the ones that I had Pikachu help with."

"Pika!" Pikachu proclaimed proudly, sitting up on Delia's shoulder with its arms crossed. "Pi-pikachu-kachu-pika!" I even used my secret ingredient!

Ash rose, throwing the Pokémon a dirty look that clearly said, I'll get you for this. Pikachu sweatdropped sheepishly as Ash reached for a replacement. "I'll just have one of the ones from this plate."

Later, after the two had had their fill of cookies, Ash and Misty sat in the living room once more, albeit on separate furniture this time, admiring their handiwork. At least, it may have appeared that way to some gravely uninformed onlooker. Truthfully, Ash lost in thought once more, drifting back again to his conversation with Misty in his room. And then there was the couch incident as well! His face reddened as he recalled the event, and he quickly looked the other way before the girl could take notice. Were we… about to kiss? What did that all mean? Did it mean anything at all? As far as Ash was concerned, he was back at square one. All I want for Christmas… was it just too much to ask?

Slowly, he rose from his seat and headed toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Misty asked, craning her head back to look at him as he pulled on his winter coat and bent down to lace up his boots.

"Out," he said simply as he pulled on his gloves. His hat he left alone, preferring his usual Pokémon League cap to a more weather-appropriate piece. "I just… have to think for a minute, that's all."

Not waiting for a reply, he opened the door and quickly exited the house. The cold hit him immediately, and for a moment it seemed to infuse a new energy in him as he took off running through the snow. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going; all he knew was that he wanted to get far away, get to someplace where he could sort out his thoughts. That part wouldn't be too hard, he thought. It was Christmas Eve, after all.

The snow continued to cascade around him as he ran headlong through Pallet Town's empty streets. It was quiet, and he could almost hear his own heart beating as his footsteps echoed off of the buildings as he passed, the sound spiraling almost merrily around him like some invisible whirlwind. It was weird how silent it could get when it was snowing. The entire world just seemed to drop what it was doing and stared at you, listening to your every breath, your every thought, your every heartbeat. You could almost drown in the silence, and Ash found himself engulfed in a wave of tranquility as he came to a stop in the middle of Pallet's central park.

I can almost hear the snow hitting the ground. Ash sat down atop a lonely bench, not really noticing or caring that he also sat atop about four inches of freshly fallen snow. And for the longest time, he just sat. Not a thought crossed his mind for an eternity, and for a while Ash was content to just sit there and have the world listen to him breathe.

"What does she think of me?" he wondered, finally breaking the formidable silence.

"Well, I don't know who she is, but I think you're crazy," a voice said from behind him.

For what seemed like the tenth time that day (too many times, in any case), Ash spun around in his seat to come face to face with…

"Misty!" he exclaimed. "What… where… did you follow me?"

She shot him a mock-exasperated look. "Follow you? No way, Ash! I just happened to wander out here on Christmas Eve all by myself… trust me, I'm not worried about you at all."

Ash grinned, and instantly felt his troubles melt away. Why couldn't he feel this way all the time? Maybe it wasn't as impossible as he thought it was.

"Hey," Misty said gently, taking a seat beside him. "What's on your mind, Ash? Come on, you know you can tell me anything."

Ash smiled ruefully. Oh, if only you knew. "I'm sorry Misty," he began slowly, carefully. He didn't want to say the wrong thing. Not now. "I'm not sure if this is something I can tell you about." What he was thinking was, I'm not sure if this is something I'm brave enough to tell you about.

"Try me," Misty challenged confidently.

"Really?"

"Of course."

Ash sighed. It was now or never. "Well, all right Misty. The thing is…"

"Deck the halls with rare Pokémon!"

"Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!"

"Turn your backs and they'll be gone!"

"Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!"

"Oh, what the heck!?" Ash exploded, his frustration finally getting the best of him. "Seriously, every freaking time… huh? You!?"

"Us?" Jessie and James repeated in unison.

"Hey, come on now," Meowth said indignantly. "Ya know it's rude ta interrupt someone whilst they're tryin' ta serenade a young couple."

"Huh?" Misty said incredulously. "Young couple?"

The trio exchanged sideways glances. "Oh," James said slowly.

"I see," Jessie added.

Meowth smacked his palm against his forehead. "Well… dis is awkward."

Ash sighed, looking up to the sky and silently asking just what he could have done to deserve this. "Look," he said, pulling out his wallet. "Here's a five. Why don't you three go get yourselves some hot chocolate or something? Merry Christmas."

"Oh!" James exclaimed. "There's that wonderful place just up the street!"

"Thanks twerp," Jessie put in. "I guess we can let you get away… this time!"

The bumbling trio took off, but not before calling back, "Merry Christmas, you lovebirds!"

For what seemed like an eternity, the two said nothing. The snow just fell around them, adding weight to the already heavy silence.

And then, Misty giggled. Ash looked over as she started laughing gently, and then he started giggling as well. Their laughter increased in volume as they leaned against each other, arms across the other's shoulders as they laughed uproariously at the ridiculous day they'd had. The infinite silence amplified the sound immeasurably, and for an instant it seemed as though the entire world was laughing along with them. And then slowly, in a great decrescendo, their laughter died away.

It was Misty who turned to Ash. "Hey…"

Ash smiled sincerely. "Yeah?"

Misty was smiling as well. "Well Ash… I bet I can catch more snowflakes than you!" And with a great yell, she jumped up, stuck out her tongue, and ran off into the center of the park.

Ash just sat there for a moment, stunned by this sudden turn of events. And then suddenly his features broke into a goofy grin, and he leapt up as well. "Oh yeah, Misty? We'll just see about that!" He ran off in hot pursuit.

"I've already got seven! You're way behind, Ketchum!"

"What? No way, you're just like my mom, you cheater!"

"Ha! I'll take that as a compliment. By the way, that's eight and nine!"

"Ooh… just you wait!" Ash had already set his sights on one particular crystal. It was the perfect first target: big, fluffy, falling slow and straight. He ran gamely toward it, eyes focused on the sky and the prize that would surely be his. He could practically feel it now…

Wham.

And the next thing he knew, he was on his knees, kneeling over a fallen Misty Waterflower, his hands to the sides of her head as he held himself up over her. The snowflake in question fluttered down harmlessly, coming to rest right between her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure that one counts as mine," she commented lightly, staring straight up into Ash's gaze.

Ash, meanwhile, was a little stunned to have ended up in this position for the second time today, even if it was reversed. Misty must have noticed the same thing, because she laughed and said, "Well, this seems familiar."

Ash still said nothing. His senses were screaming at him, telling him that this was chance. Come on, Ketchum. It's now or never. Quickly, he glanced up and around, checking to see if there were more carolers or Christmas lights or some fiery meteorite heading his way.

There wasn't.

And so without giving a further thought to the matter, Ash Ketchum closed his eyes, leaned in and quickly kissed Misty, the fiery redhead, the Sensational Sister, and his best friend on the lips. It was a simple, inelegant job, hastily and nervously done, but it served its purpose. As quickly as he had leaned in, Ash pulled back. Now came the hard part. There was no hiding his enormous blush any longer as he stared into Misty's eyes, his face emotionless as he waited.

And for each second that passed by in silence, this was starting to seem like less and less of a good idea. You've done it now, Ash. His life was over. She was going to hit him, tell him to get up off of her and never talk to her again. And then she'd go back home to her gym and he'd never see her again… a single tear escaped as this possibility loomed large in his mind, and he choked out the only thing he could think of. "I'm… sorry…"

Misty's face still bore a stunned look, as though she still hadn't quite registered what had just happened. She seemed to come to her senses, however, as she simply blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. And then, to Ash's great surprise, she broke into a small smile.

"Hey," she said gently, reaching up and wiping away Ash's stray tear. Her smile grew wider and she blushed as she continued, "Why'd you stop so soon?"

Before Ash could say anything, before his face could even shift to match the joy that was welling up inside of him, Misty had reached up and pulled him back in. There was nothing hasty about this one.

They lay like that for the longest time, with only themselves and the silence as company. But they were content. It was all they needed. Their emotions were waterfalls, roaring and raging after being pent up for so long, and they intended to let it run its course.

"Well," Jessie commented mildly from behind a nearby pine tree where she and her two companions had hidden. "That took long enough."

James nodded in agreement. "Do you think we should try singing for them again?"

"I think dis is tha kind o' thing dat's best left ta itself," Meowth said dryly. "Now come on, let's go get dat hot chocolate."

Smiling, Ash helped Misty to her feet, and the two kissed once more before embracing. Ash realized that he had no idea what time it was, or even how cold it was. None of those things seemed particularly important right now; the only thing that existed was Misty. He couldn't tell how long they'd embraced, but when they finally broke apart it seemed too soon. But it was time to go back, back to the warmth, his mother, Pikachu, Brock and his lights. It was Christmas Eve, after all. With his smile unwavering (it was seemingly a permanent fixture on his face at this point), he took Misty's hand in his.

He saw that Misty hadn't stopped smiling either, and she leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder as she said, "You know Ash, you never did tell me what you wanted for Christmas." Her tone was light, playful.

Ash laughed at the question. He'd already gotten everything he could have asked for. "I don't know Misty… surprise me."

**

I'm sorry this is so bad. Like, really. It started off with this great idea that I'd had and… wow. I have no idea what happened. Oh well… the real goal was to just write a fun little Christmas oneshot and I guess I accomplished that much. I've read over it a couple times and I really think it sucks, but whatever, it was fun. What do you all think?

Again, Merry Christmas guys. Thanks for reading.