Disclaimer: Same as the first chapter.

A/N: I meant to get this up sooner, but was having some minor computer issues and then have been a little busy the past couple of days. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, especially all the reviewers! This chapter is kind of funny because it sort of took on a life of it's own and I ended up with an entire scene I hadn't planned on writing. I see Ryan as someone who would be all about Christmas and into the meaning of it, so he uses something sad to make a point to Kelsi and I think it works pretty well. This was originally going to be a three shot, but with the added scene I'm going to add another chapter to get the entire story in. Next chapter should be up pretty soon and features a little more of the other couples. Hope you all like this one! Reviews = awesome!

"I cannot believe I let you talk me into this," Kelsi muttered. It was the first day of Christmas break and a couple of days before Christmas and Ryan had gotten the group together at a local ice skating rink.

"I cannot believe you've never been ice skating before!" he countered.

"And this is supposed to help my lack of Christmas spirit?" she asked. "Do I have to remind you that I just hurt my wrist because I fell on it?" she added, holding up the wrist in question. "I'd just as well watch you all skate and not upgrade my sprain to a break."

"I'm not going to let you fall, I promise," he said.

"You didn't answer my first question," she reminded him.

"Sure it will! They're playing Christmas music, you're with your friends...if nothing else, this'll cheer you up."

"If I don't fall and kill myself, that is."

"I told you, I'm not going to let you fall," he pointed out to the ice skating ring where just about all of their friends were skating already. "See? Everyone else is out there!"

Gabriella and Troy were currently skating around, holding hands and laughing - as were Taylor and Chad, though at the moment Taylor was laughing at him as opposed to with him as he had just avoided crashing into the railing. Sharpay and Zeke were skating next to each other and talking, but not holding hands, at least not right then. Meanwhile, Martha was skating backwards, holding onto both of Jason's hands as he had never been ice skating either. Kelsi sighed. All of them were doing fine, but she still couldn't figure out why she had let Ryan talk her into this.

"I guess..." she said hesitantly. She let him lead her to the rink and looked warily at the ice.

"It's not going to bite," he teased her. He stepped out on the ice first and gave her a light tug. "Come on." Kelsi rested one hand on the railing while she stepped out onto the ice. "Good, now let go of the railing and we'll try moving." She let go of the railing as instructed and they slowly started moving. It didn't take long, however, for her to lose her balance and nearly fall. She reached out for him on impulse and let out a sigh of relief as he managed to keep them both upright. "Okay, let's try something else," he decided, easing his right arm around her waist and taking hold of her left hand with his.

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It had taken a while, but Kelsi had eventually gotten the hang of it and even started having fun. She had progressed to the point of not needing to have Ryan hold onto her, but spent most of the time skating with him all the same. At least up until the last few minutes, when the other girls decided they should all skate together.

"So I've been instructed to ask," Sharpay started, looking at Kelsi. "Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?"

"I'm in a better mood," Kelsi nodded. "But I don't know...this has been a great distraction but..."

"Still feeling more Bah Humbug than Merry Christmas?" Taylor supplied.

"Yeah. I mean, sure this is fun and all but everything that's been bugging me about Christmas is still true," Kelsi shrugged and Sharpay sighed.

"I'll be right back girls...just have to ask Zeke...something," she said, zipping ahead and around until she reached her brother and the rest of the guys.

"What do you suppose is happening with them?" Martha asked.

"Zeke and Sharpay?" Gabriella asked. "He's totally in love with her and I think she's falling for him against her better judgment."

"Better judgment?" Taylor huffed. "Zeke's a great guy. What more does she want?"

"I think Sharpay is a little scared to let her guard down around him for some reason. But even so," Gabriella smiled. "I think they'll be official soon."

"Speaking of official..." Taylor turned towards Kelsi grinning. "What about you and Ryan?"

"We're friends," Kelsi said, though she seemed a lot pinker than she had been a moment ago. "That's all."

"For now," Gabriella teased her. "I think you'll be official soon too."

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"I told you this idea wouldn't work," Sharpay said to Ryan as she skated next to him.

"This was only the first part of the plan," he said. "The goal here was mainly to cheer her up a little bit. Part two starts later on, and after that part three. Part four starts tomorrow."

"I know about part two and part three," Sharpay said, her brow furrowing. "But what's part four?"

"That is for me to know and you to wonder about," he answered, grinning at her.

"You're not going to tell me?" she asked, shocked.

"Sorry Sharpay, that one's a surprise for all of you," Troy cut in. Sharpay's jaw dropped and she turned around, skating backwards.

"Surely you are not telling me that all of you know what it is?"

"I'm afraid we are," Zeke gave her a charming smile. "But don't worry, you'll like it too." Sharpay looked over at him and her eyes lit up.

"You know, Zeke, if you tell me I can keep it a secret from the other girls," she said, giving him her best innocent expression.

"Sorry Sharpay. I can't do that," he shrugged and then smirked as she pouted. "But I will tell you that there will be cookies."

"Cookies?" Her face perked up again. "Are you making those cookies?"

"It's a definite possibility," he nodded, winking at her.

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"The hospital?" Kelsi asked later. The group had grabbed a quick bite to eat at a fast food restaurant when they were done skating, and now they had wound up at the hospital. Kelsi turned to Ryan. "Why are we here?"

"Because there's something you need to see," Ryan smiled at her. "Come on." He led the way over to the children's ward, which was decorated for the holiday season. Kelsi was slightly stunned when a little girl, who looked to be around four years ago, ran over to Ryan.

"Ryan!" the child exclaimed happily and Ryan stooped down to pick her up.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Abigail," he smiled at the child. "Abigail, these are all my friends from my school."

"Hi," the girl said shyly, offering a small wave. The other Wildcats all offered their own greetings to the child and then Ryan set her down as they were joined by an older woman, who Kelsi assumed to be Abigail's mother, considering the strong resemblance between the two of them.

"Oh hello Ryan! It's good to see you again," the woman smiled warmly at him as she bent down to pick up the child.

"Hi Mrs. Thomas," Ryan smiled at her. "I decided I'd bring some friends with me today to stop and say hi to the kids."

"It's so sweet of you all to come here. The children love having visitors," the woman beamed at the group.

"Can I go play now Mommy?" Abigail asked and the woman nodded, setting her back down. She watched as the child scampered across the lobby.

"How's she doing?" Ryan asked.

"Better," the woman smiled sadly. "You caught her on a good day. The new treatment is a little hard on her, but we're hopeful."

"Well this is a time of year for miracles," Ryan offered and the woman looked at him with gratitude.

"Thank you for that, Ryan. We're definitely hoping for a miracle."

"So am I," he said softly. The woman gave them all another smile and then headed back over to her daughter. The Wildcats all stood there in silence for a few seconds.

"Well," Martha was the first to speak. "How should we go about doing this?"

"There's a couple of hallways and then the lobby here," Taylor began. "We can divide into five pairs and split up. One pair can stay here in the lobby talking to any kids who pass through. Then we can send two pairs down each side of hallways and from there each pair can take one side of their respective hallway. That way we can probably get to just about every kid here."

"Sounds good to me," Martha decided and the rest of the agreed. To no one's surprise, Troy and Gabriella volunteered to pair up together while Chad and Taylor also decided to pair up. The four of them headed to the hallway to the left of the main nurses' station. From there, Sharpay agreed to pair up with Zeke while Ryan and Kelsi formed another pair. The four of them headed to the hallway to the right of the nurses' station which left Jason and Martha to hang out with the kids in the lobby. As she went from room to room with Ryan, Kelsi was struck by what she found in each room. The kids ranged in terms of their illnesses or injuries. Some of them would be just fine while others would experience what would most likely be their last Christmas this year. What had surprised Kelsi was that in all of the rooms, the children and their families were celebrating Christmas. There seemed to be some joy, peace and hope found in every room and Kelsi just couldn't understand how it could be possible. As they left the final room, Kelsi had to stop and lean against the wall, tears in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked softly, leaning sideways against the wall beside her.

"That little girl in there wants to make music," Kelsi started. "She wants to write songs and play the piano. That's all she wants," she sniffed. "But she's dying. She's never going to get a chance to learn how to play. She's never going to grow up and fall in love and get married. This might be her last Christmas..."

"We don't know that. There's still hope," Ryan corrected. "She might get her transplant."

"But she may not. She probably won't," Kelsi sniffed again. "So how can they be in there celebrating Christmas when it's all so sad?"

"Because they have faith. Kelsi...what's happening to them is horrible. It's not fair," Ryan chose his next words carefully. "But they choose hope. For them, Christmas isn't about presents or trees or decorations. It's about a child being born that was sent to give hope to the people..."

"So where is the hope?" she cut him off. "We're in a hospital! People die here, Ryan. Children die here! How can there can hope in a place like this?" He moved in front of her and gently placed a hand on either side of her face.

"Life isn't perfect, Kelsi. If it was, children wouldn't die of horrible diseases. I don't know why some kids get sick and others don't. I don't know why some kids get better and others die. It would be so easy to be depressed and angry. These families would have every right to be. But having those feelings won't make everything better. Giving into them won't bring health back to these kids." Ryan paused briefly. "They choose hope because if they didn't, the weight of their situations would destroy them. These parents may not be able to cure their children, but they can give them a merry Christmas. And if it is the last Christmas for some of these kids, at least their parents can know it was a happy one. Hope is not defined by our circumstances, Kelsi. It's always there for us, there are always miracles. Our job is to believe."

"But it's still so sad..."

"I know." Ryan pulled her into a hug. "But even in the midst of sadness, there is joy. You saw it for yourself. We helped bring it to some of these kids." Kelsi smiled slightly and pulled back from him just enough to wipe at her cheeks with her hand.

"I guess," she said softly.

"I know," he countered. "And you made a new friend." Kelsi glanced back towards the room they had just left.

"You really think there's still a chance she might get her transplant?"

"Absolutely," he answered without hesitation. She sighed.

"So am I right in assuming the lesson here is that if these kids and their families can find joy even here in the hospital, than I can find my Christmas spirit?"

"Speaking of which...how's that coming?"

"It's coming," she nodded thoughtfully. "They have joy because they have faith which brings them hope. And according to you, Christmas is about believing," she started.

"Ah, she can be taught!" he teased her. She laughed softly.

"Ryan?"

"Kelsi?"

"We're all going back to your house to watch Christmas movies and stuff right?"

"That would be part three of my plan, yes," he confirmed.

"Do you think we could stop by a music store on the way there?"

"Sure. What for?"

"Well, Mister Christmas, if this holiday is about faith and miracles and believing...and if you can believe that that little girl will get her transplant," Kelsi paused. "And her piano then...well, she's going to need some beginner music books won't she?" Ryan's smile softened and he leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"Yes, she will." He pulled back, but kept an arm around her shoulders. "We should probably get back to the others." Kelsi nodded in agreement and as they walked back to the lobby, Ryan chuckled. "Mister Christmas huh? I like that."