A/N: Okay, I admit it... that last chapter was kinda boring. But I felt it was necessary to set the sage so I put it in anyway. I think this one's a little better.

Chapter 2:

"So how is Janice, anyway?" Velma asked Daphne lightheartedly that evening. Everyone was gathered in Velma's apartment, which was amusingly starting to look more and more like Shaggy's every day. Being part of the same complex, it wasn't really any surprise that they had the same layout, but now that Shaggy and Velma were officially together, more personal touches were shared between the two residences. Sweaters, gloves, and jackets were commonly left at each other's houses. Photographs taken together hung in identical frames on identical walls. In fact, Velma's apartment had become somewhat messier, while Shaggy's grew cleaner, until they met somewhere in the middle. It was hard to shake the difficulty in discerning who was visiting whom.

Daphne smiled and reached for a slice of mushroom pizza. "She's fine. Daddy wanted to spend the evening with her; it's great that he doesn't mind babysitting once in a while. Sometimes I think it's the only thing that's keeping me sane!"

Freddie grinned at his wife. "Yeah... he's pretty cool like that."

Daphne was about to take another bite of pizza when she pulled it back again, having just remembered something she wanted to say. "Oh... I forgot... he called this afternoon to ask if we would like to use his ski lodge over the break, say from the twenty-seventh through the thirtieth or something. I told him Freddie and Janice and I would be there, but I wasn't sure if you guys could make it."

Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma answered at the same time, but not with the same response.

"Sure!"

"Reah!"

"Sorry, can't..."

Everyone looked at Velma. She began to explain.

"See, there's this meeting I have to be at on the twenty-ninth..."

"Uh, Velma? What part of 'Christmas break' do you not understand?" Shaggy inquired.

"Well... this is something special. See, it's only a half-hour meeting, but I honestly can't miss it. It's for new members of the HTRT."

Blank looks.

Quickly and excitedly, Velma told her friends every detail of what had happened that afternoon, and how much it meant to her. By the time she was finished, she was pleased to see that the others seemed every bit as happy for her as she was for herself.

"Like, it's good to see you in a good mood!" Shaggy responded after she was finished explaining.

Velma smiled at him as she picked up a gingerbread man and proceeded in decapitating it with her teeth. Gingerbread. It was one of those foods you went your whole life without really ever noticing, without ever liking or disliking it; then one morning you woke up and had to have it more than any other food in the world. Of course, something about Shaggy's having made them seemed to make them taste sweeter... fresher... even spicier...

Daphne's two cents interrupted Velma's daydream. "Yeah, Velma, it's good to see you feeling better than you were this morning. There's some flu bug going around; you should be careful. If you don't come down with anything, though, could you come skiing and just leave early enough to go to the meeting?"

"Maybe... there's a lot of paperwork and stuff I'm supposed to read over the break. I'll see how far through I am, though. How soon does your father need to know if I can make it?"

Daphne shrugged. "It really doesn't matter; when you own the place you don't need reservations. He just wanted to know who would be around, I guess."

"Like, do us all a favor, Velma... don't spend Christmas with your nose in yet another pile of books!" Shaggy told his girlfriend.

Velma playfully punched him. She had to confess, during high school and college her schoolwork sometimes did get in the way of Christmas and other celebrations. She breathed, then said in a mockingly grudgingly tone, "Okay... I promise I won't do any work on Christmas Day. There, is that good enough?"

"Yep," Shaggy gleefully answered.

"Seriously, though..." Freddie told his friend. "Shaggy does have a point. If you are catching something, you probably don't need any more stress..."

"But it needs to get done sometime!" Velma protested. She had never quite understood how everyone else could be so laid back; didn't they ever have their own work to do? Velma was not a procrastinator; everything had to be accomplished the moment it was assigned. Somehow, though, the rest of the world always survived putting things off until the last minute.

Her outburst seemed to have slightly alarmed the others. To reassure them that all was well, she poured herself a glass of ginger ale and drank it, smiling.

All really was well, she realized an hour later as the others left to go home. Her friends had a family... were a family. She had finally gotten together with Shaggy, after liking him for so long. She had just landed the kind of job that she never would have believed as a little girl. It was almost Christmas.

Shaggy lingered after Scooby, Fred and Daphne were gone. He stood awkwardly near the door, wishing to say something but at a loss for anything really romantic. Finally he told Velma, "Like... congrats on your new job..."

"Thank you, Shaggy."

"And... I guess it's a couple days early, but... Merry Christmas!"

Velma hugged him. "Merry Christmas to you, too."

"And while we're at early holidays... Happy New Year!"

Velma decided to tease him. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy St. Patrick's Day."

"Happy Easter."

"Happy Fourth-of-July."

"Happy Labor Day."

"Happy Halloween."

"Happy Thanksgiving."

By now they were laughing too hard to quit, but things had come full circle. Finally, together, they both said "Merry Christmas," again, kissing at the conclusion of a year that had somehow passed in thirty seconds.

Shaggy broke free after nearly an hour. "Like, seriously... I should be going... I've got to get up early tomorrow to get a jump-start on the cooking for Christmas..." He spoke the words, but his feet stayed glued in one place. He didn't really want to leave, and Velma could tell. Good old Shaggy... always thinking of food, yet for once having higher priorities.

It was nice to be one of those priorities.

She spoke. "Do you want me to walk home with you?"

He grinned. "Do you want to come home with me?"

Velma's instant reaction was yes, but she pretended to really struggle with it. "Hmmm..." Then she gave up; she couldn't feign seriousness, not on this loveliest of nights which Shaggy had dubbed years ago "Christmas Eve Eve."

"All right!"

She grabbed a few basic necessities-- toothbrush, comb, glasses case-- and threw them into her maroon totebag, next to the books and papers she had been handed earlier at work. Then, squeezing on two sweaters, a jacket, and a winter coat, she marveled at how even in this cold Shaggy was comfortable with his standard green T-shirt. He was always making everyone else in the gang feel frozen just watching him. Cold never made him shiver; only the presence of ghosts.

It was obviously a very short walk between apartments, but even so the frigid wind blowing in their faces made it difficult to move forward. Yet Velma didn't want the walk to end. Nothing could be more comforting than moving toward a place she knew would be secure, more of a home than her own home, all the while basking in the warmth of Shaggy.