10:39 am Christmas Eve

"Oh lord just help us Alex, Altair, and Shaun. Look even Malik is helping!" Megan calls out from midway up the ladder. She was holding a silvery blue glass ornament in her right hand, body turned towards the three sitting on the couch with arms crossed over their chests. They give out a 'hmph', turning away from the larger group happily decorating the large blue spruce tree. Ezio was trying to remove the tinsel Leonardo had draped on his head, tangling it in his hair, but the merry band stop to watch the spectacle. It wasn't every day that they saw three against one girl and lose horribly… Actually, that happened just about every day here now that they thought about it. Megan frowns, pulling her eyebrows into a taunt line over her blue-green eyes. Desmond coughs into his hand, the other holding onto the ladder she happened to be standing on and Malik held the other side, covering his ruthless smile. Megan plucks the Santa hat off her head with her left hand and drops it onto Malik's head. Slowly she descends the ladder and crosses over to the couch. She stands in front of the three, hip cocked to the left and that same hand perched in the groove of her waist, quiet and studying them. "Alex Mercer. Altair ibn-La'Ahad. Shaun Hastings."

Everyone flinches.

"I told you to help. This tree, need I remind you three was entirely your idea, is entirely too big to decorate with just us. You have to help as well." Megan says, flicking her waist length chestnut brown ringlet curly hair back over her shoulder. Alex and Altair scoot down further into the couch, avoiding looking into the girl's eyes, and Shaun drops his head and arms to let them hang at his sides. He sighs and stands, holding his hand out to the 23 year old. She smiles brightly and hands him the ornament, he heads to the tree and finds a decent place to hang it. Turning around he looks at Megan. "Nope, you caved. You still have ta help."

Shaun sighs and drops to the rather large cardboard box of ornaments to continue hanging them. Megan turns back to the final two who refused to cave.

"We got the tree like you asked. Our part is done." Alex remarks, hood pulled up. Megan rolls her eyes.

"And you never said anything about decorating it." Altair mumbles under his breathe. The ancestors' were dressed in modern clothing which they had gotten used to over time. The only thing all 7 were still having problems with was that they weren't being hunted therefore they didn't need to hide. Not that the woman they were staying with would have made that possible anyways.

"You two just don't know the meaning of Christmas." She sighs out after a few moments, turning back to the tree shaking her head. The two men look at one another confused.

"HEY! When did we get eggnog!?" Desmond yells out when he spies the punch bowl sitting on the little table against the living room wall. The other 6 decorating the tree throw tinsel at him laughing.

2:27 pm

Megan sighs, looking at the now decorated tree. All it was missing was two things: one was the tree topper and the other was an ornament that had been in her family for as long as she could remember and she knew what she was going to do. She had ignored the two scrooges, refusing to acknowledge them for being Grinch's, and the rest and here had finished the tree rather quickly. Though they had finished with one less person because for all Desmond's boasting, he really couldn't hold his liquor. Then again, she had made it impressively strong for a reason. Desmond happened to be draped over the brit, singing 'Santa's Coming to Town' awfully off key and waving his red solo cup half full of the creamy rum filled liquid. Ezio and Leonardo were laughing like there was no tomorrow, their own cups filled the same and were well on their way to a rather painful Christmas morning. Malik was trying, but quickly failing after Desmond hit a rather painfully high note for no reason, to hold his own laughter in. Somewhere in the back of Megan's mind she realized that the two oldest were not drinking but enjoying the entertainment provide by those who were unabashedly making fools of themselves. Probably because unlike the rest, they had always had to watch over their shoulders for enemies and so couldn't really relax. Megan claps her hands together loudly, drawing everyone's attention to herself.

"Alright, now there's just two ornaments left. The topper is one." She pulls out the large star, all frosted glass and sparkles. "Who wants to put it up?"

Desmond throws his hand up, waving it around like a kindergartner eager to be picked. Megan grins and shakes her head no instead handing it to Malik. He puffs his chest out and walks over to the step ladder by the tree. "But before we do that, there's one more ornament I need to put on. This one is old and doesn't go along with the theme I have for my tree but it's the one I refuse to get rid of."

Megan walks over to a small cardboard box that was sitting on an end table unopened. Carefully she opens it and pulls out a single ornament wrapped in about 50 layers of bubble wrap. She quickly removes it and they find that it was crystal, green and pale, with words carved oh so carefully into one side with Celtic knots acting as a boarder. She gives it a soft, small smile before looking at everyone one by one. "This belonged to my great, great, great, great, great grandmother. She was born in Ireland back in the late 1700's. Her family was very poor and when she was around 8, they all died. Her parents had 7 kids and only one survived. She was left all alone, shunned by her village because they thought she was evil and had casted a curse on her family to get rid of them. Around the time she was 17 or 18, she met my Grandfather. He was around 25 at the time, a rather prestigious jeweler, and the moment he had laid his eyes on my grandmother he was in love. He didn't care that she was dirt poor, shunned, or calloused to him when he first tried to speak to her. He kept at it, eventually proving to her his feelings when her village wanted to burn her home and take what little land she had left.

"They married not long after on Christmas and he took her away from them, moving to America. His wedding gift was this." She holds up the ornament, it was nearly as long as her forearm and 1 ½ times wider than her forearms put together. "It has a blessing on it, for both friends and family alike. And really, the only difference between the two is blood." Altair and Alex walk over to her to take a closer look at the ornament.

"What does it say?" Altair says after attempting to read the strange words. Megan smiles.

"It's in Gaelic. It says' God grant you lightness in your step, a smile on every face you meet, loved ones gathered at your hearth, and at your door, good friends to greet. A holy hymn upon your lips, a window candle burning bright, and may the Good lord bless your heart and come to dwell there Christmas night.'" She says walking over to the step ladder Malik stood by. She makes it up four steps when Alex speaks.

"What's it supposed to mean?" She continues on her way, getting to the top of it and placing it below where the topper was going to sit. It nearly blended into the tree if not for its reflective qualities.

"It means for you to be merry and carefree." She begins her descent down and steps away to allow Malik to place the topper in its place at the very top of the tree. "This is a rather holy season in more ways than one. While I myself am not a Christian, having not been graced with the ability to trust in some higher being pulling me where I need to go, I do realize that even the pagans regarded this season as a pressing one. The earth is dead and barren, no longer able to support growth and giving the world a grim visage." She holds onto the step ladder as Malik places it and starts to come down. She smiles brightly, walking over to where the electrical cord laid unplugged. She goes to reach for it when a black and red mass snakes past her outstretched fingers and plugging the cord in. The tree lights up, merry colors twinkling happily at the group of friends… No, not friends, family. Megan back tracks to the couch, curling into the corner and watching the group of men interact. As a writer she could come up with nearly a million scenarios that would result in what was happening; Desmond and Ezio making merry fools of themselves and being egged on by Shaun into who could empty their cup of eggnog quicker, Malik and Leonardo cheering them on with Altair standing back and shaking his head.

The only person who she couldn't include in such a story was Alex. Well, he really wasn't Alex but then again he really wasn't Zeus. He was just lost, trying desperately to find something that made him somewhat human. But she found herself to think of him as anything but human, just like the rest of them. Humanity was just a broad term used in her opinion. He was living, breathing, could talk and feel, eat… somewhat. She still had yet to find anything to make him want to eat normal food but at least the local wildlife wasn't in serious danger from him. She tried to remember how many deer he needed to 'consume' for him to function, was it two or three? She shakes her head, not bothered in the least. She decided he was human, even if he didn't think he was.

Alex looks over at the girl who opened her home to them nearly a year ago. She hadn't asked questions, other than questioning her sanity, hadn't expected anything of them other than they not kill people. It was a small town and missing people who just up and disappeared were noticed. So Alex had consumed the deer and mountain lions, any of the larger massed creatures that roamed the woods around her home. She was small and frail to him, so much so than his sister and any other female he had met. Ivory skin with splashes of freckles, dark hair, bright eyes. She was smart though, could trade barbs with Malik as easily as breathing air. She was also understanding, realizing that she wasn't going to find out anything by forcing them to speak but that with time they would. Her living was fueled by words and emotions she could put down with pen and paper. They had all been amazed when they had found one of her old manuscripts, the words had a flow like water and could easily slither into your mind and hide there, coming back when you least expected it. She had gotten upset with them, only because they had been going through things they didn't need to be. As giving as she was, she was still reserved and withheld things about themselves. Like why they had been putting up a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

48 hours prior

Desmond looks up from the desktop he was playing solitaire on with a frown. "Hey Meg, is the date off on this thing?"

Megan looks up from her book, pulling her glasses off with a thoughtful ease. "No, I don't think so. Why?" She questions, one side of her glasses folding up and her chewing on the other end.

"You know it's like 3 days till Christmas right?" The thoughtful look disappears and is replaced by a blank face.

"Oh, is it really?" But she wasn't really asking more like feinting around the statement. Desmond nods, the conversation bringing in the rest of the people who resided in the house. Malik, Ezio, and Leonardo put their cards face down as the game becomes forgotten. Altair enters the living room from the kitchen, a sandwich in hand. Alex looks up from the paper he happened to be reading on the floor in front of the couch, leaning against it. Shaun steps off the ladder after grabbing a book from the top shelf of her small library in the living room. Everyone looks at her and Desmond, Altair and Malik confused.

"What is Christmas?" Malik questions, curiosity gnawing at his insides as he looks at her. She didn't want anything to do with this, whatever it was. Altair nods once, also curious.

"It is a holiday, to celebrate friends and family, give gifts and to be merry. To be surrounded by those you love and hold dear." She responds almost mechanically, like she wanted to avoid the whole thing. She shifts slightly in her seat, now uncomfortable with all of this.

"Well, why don't you have a tree or anything?" Shaun questions. He wasn't particular about holidays but he knew that Americans took every chance to have a celebration. Megan stiffens for a split second in marking her place in her book and then sets it down on the coffee table, folding up her glasses and setting them on the book. She takes the fleece blanket off of her lower half, showing her red and black plaid pajama bottoms and fuzzy red socks. Her black long sleeve shirt gets pulled past her hands, a sign of her discomfort.

"My… my parents, sister and brothers, nieces and nephews; they were all flying up here 'bout two years ago for Christmas. The plane just… stopped working." She down casts her eyes; hair pulled up and held in place by a pencil, the few strands that were not held back hung at a slight angle. She stands up slowly from the couch; her slender 5 foot 5 inch frame having the clothes hang off of her shoulders and her hips where her pants were tied, everyone waiting for what she was going to say next. But she just walks out of the room and leaves them in silence for a few breathes.

"So, she's an orphan then?" Desmond questions, but didn't really expect an answer. They all knew what she had left off in the silence. They died, no survivors, she was alone in this world. In a way, it explained why she distanced herself from humanity and lived so far away from population. She was afraid to make a connection with another person, maybe because she didn't want to feel that terrible wound open once more.

Suddenly Desmond looks up with a grin on his face, and somehow, they all knew this was going to be interesting.

Alex sits on the couch with Megan, leaning back into the plush cushions and his arms hung on the back of the couch. He was a hairs breathe away from her, but she remained quiet. She was comfortable with his presence. She shifts, twisting her body to lay against Alex, her head on his shoulder. He waits a moment before moving his arm to hold her against him. She didn't fight but snuggled up closer, reveling in the warmth he provided. The other men had made a joke that he was her personal space heater. He was starting to believe it and, what's more, was starting to not mind so. At least he was providing something other than destruction.

"Hey, look, it's snowing!" Desmond calls out, sobering up instantly. Megan twists around on the couch; Alex's arm still wrapped around her, and looks out the wall of windows. Her eyes light up and she jumps over the back of the couch, grabbing her fuzzy boots, scarf, mittens, and coat; quickly putting them on before throwing the sliding door open and running outside, coat flying open with the speed she was using. She looks up and laughs as the snow lands on her face, especially her nose and eyelashes. Desmond and Shaun grab their coats and gloves, putting them on before following her outside. The sun was fighting to shine through the dark snow heavy clouds, and they were going to enjoy themselves. Ezio and Leonardo shrug and don their coats and gloves, Leonardo putting on his red hat, and following the group outside. Alex, Altair, and Malik just watch from the porch, later two putting on their outerwear after a few minutes outside.

Megan spies a snow drift that had built up enough to make a snowball… and she knew just who she was going to peg with it. She removes her gloves and quickly forms a ball, the heat from her hands slightly melting the snow and making it heavier. Made it more compact and hold better together. Desmond sees what she was doing, giving her a quick confused look whilst ducking under Shaun's attempt to put a small amount of snow down his back. She nods her head towards Altair and Desmond grins. He was okay with taking any fire from his ancestor, 'specially if it allowed the youngest member of the household to have fun.

"Hey Altair!" The Syrian assassin looks over to his descendant, about to answer when a rather well thrown ball of slush makes contact with the side of his head. Everyone froze to watch it hang for a second and then fall off the side of his head and onto the porch with a 'PLOP'.

Megan couldn't withhold it anymore, she begins to snicker. Her snickering soon turned into full blown laughter which was soon followed by Desmond, Shaun, Ezio, and Leonardo; each falling over into the accumulating snow in an attempt to breath as they couldn't believe what they had seen. Even Malik was laughing along with them after a minute or two. Altair looks over at the girl who was soon making another snowball and eyeing Ezio. She lets it loose with a precision they hadn't seen much with her; she was, to say safely, a klutz. The snowball sails through the air to smack right into Ezio's face, knocking him backwards in his crouched position. They all quieted for a moment, soaking in the fact that a slip of a girl had managed to get two Master Assassins and then the small glen was full of loud laughter and shouting. Snowballs were flying across the ground making anyone who was on the frozen earth fair game. Alex watched all of this with a small chuckle and jumped and backwards summersaulted onto the roof to escape the flying frozen water. Altair and Malik had somehow joined in, the fray uneven. Desmond, Leonardo, Ezio, and Megan were on one side, running and dodging the snowballs whilst slipping and sliding on frozen patches, scooping up piles of snow to make their ammo. Altair, Malik, and Shaun were on the other, Malik and Altair throwing the snowballs and Shaun hiding and creating their ammo. This game went on for nearly an hour before they all collapsed onto the now 2 foot deep snow covered ground, their breaths coming out in long steamy trails as they laughed and talked.

Megan jumps up, making another snowball and rolling it around on the ground causing it to grow bigger and bigger. Once the base had started and Shaun and Desmond realized what she was doing, they had already made the middle and head respectively, stacking the packed snow on top of one another. Leonardo grins and runs inside, sliding his shoes off at the door and runs into the kitchen then to the fire place, coming back out with small bits of charcoal and a carrot. Ezio takes the items from him and runs over to the snowman, all of them placing them where ever. When they stood back to admire their handiwork and just laughed themselves silly.

"It looks like a Picasso snowman!" Says Megan when she had enough breathe between laughing. This of coursed caused them to laugh even harder. Once they could breathe somewhat, they realized just how late it had gotten and also how cold they were. Alex hops down from the roof, careful not to cause the wooden porch to splinter and dent, opening the sliding door to them as they shuffled in; pulling off scarves, jackets, gloves, and boots. They boys, excluding Alex, head to their rooms to change into drier and warmer clothes. Megan heads to the fireplace and begins to light it. Alex helped her, handing her balled up sheets of old newspaper and then logs. By this time the rest of their rather strange gang had returned and were strewn around the fireplace, reveling in the warmth it was willing to give.

Megan was wrapped up in her fleece blanket that had been pulled off the back of the couch watching the flames dance as she sat against the couch. The hardwood floor wasn't all that warm but slowly was becoming so. She lets a small smile slip onto her face, nostalgia shining in her eyes. "This, this feels right." She whispers to herself, the words barely making a noise as they slipped past her lips. Alex slides off the couch and onto the floor beside her, having her heard her, and once more wraps one arm around her shoulders conscious of the amount of pressure he was using as always around her.

"Hey, remember when he broke your arm?" Ezio questions, flipping over onto his back and looking at the two. Megan grins, untangles one arm to grab a pillow, and throws it at his face.

Sorry for the OOC-ness everyone. The holiday bug bit me good. I don't have prototype but just by looking at Alex I can see what type of man he is... and what I would want him to be. XD

Yup, me no own anyone 'cept Megan. I might continue this but it really all just depends. Writers block sucks so much... And yes, I am going to be putting out my other stories sometime soon.. hopefully. Lol, please r&r.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!