Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as Janet's are hers, all other characters are mine. Thanks again to JenRar for her beta skills.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Although my eyes were closed, sleep was the last thing on my mind. Unable to get the image of Stephanie's sad face out of my mind, all I could do was toss and turn. I hated seeing her upset and not being able to do anything to help her.

The sound of a clock striking three chimes had me sitting up in bed, scanning the room as I thought back to what the men had said earlier. Three visits, and the last one to come at three a.m. Slipping out of bed, I frowned as I found myself once again in just the sweats I'd put on when I went to bed. I hadn't taken anything off, so where were the rest of the clothes that I'd put on twice now?

Shaking my head, I moved over to the dresser and slipped on a T-shirt and the jacket that was there. Looking into the mirror, I became aware that the door was opening behind me and the barrel of a gun was slowing making its way into the room. Pulling my own weapon, I moved to the side so I wouldn't be visible to whoever was entering my space.

When Joe Morelli appeared in the doorway, my eyes narrowed and I demanded, "What are you doing here, Morelli?"

He whirled in my direction, his eyes going wide. "Ranger? What the hell am I doing here?"

I lifted one shoulder into a shrug as I narrowed my eyes on him. "If I have the story straight, you're the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come."

Morelli frowned. "How can I be a ghost when I'm still alive?"

I lifted the corner of my mouth into the semblance of a smile. "I could help you out on the becoming a ghost part."

His eyes widened. "Hell no! I'm going to propose to Stephanie…" He broke off as his eyes lit up suddenly and he snapped his fingers. "That's it! I did propose to Stephanie, and she said yes. That was…what, seven, no, eight Christmases ago."

He smiled smugly. Holding out his empty gun holster, he said, "Take hold and we'll get started. This should be fun."

Reluctantly, I did as he'd suggested, and the room went black, like the scene in a movie when they fade to black and then when the screen lights back up, the characters are in a different place. We were in Morelli's house—his living room, to be more precise. It was Christmas day, and Stephanie was seated on the sofa, while a little girl sat on the floor by the tree.

The child was a carbon copy of Stephanie as she'd been when she'd jumped off the roof and tried to fly. This child looked to be the same age, and her eyes were lit with expectation as she looked at the presents under the tree. "Can I open one, Momma? Please?"

Stephanie glanced at the watch on her wrist as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "Daddy should be home in just a few minutes, Alice. I know it's hard, sweetheart, but he'd be so disappointed to miss you opening your gifts."

Sighing, the child looked back at all the presents before resting her elbows on her legs and placing her chin in the palms of her hands. "Okay, Momma. But I sure wish he would hurry."

Stephanie smiled sadly as she pulled something out of her robe pocket.

Morelli nudged me with his elbow. "I have it all, don't I? Everything I ever wanted. Stephanie's my wife, and we have a daughter; my life couldn't be any better."

My gaze went back to the woman sitting on the sofa, and I couldn't help but think that she didn't look as happy as Morelli did. Then I looked down at what she was holding in her hand. It was the same Batman ornament she'd been holding at her parents' home when Morelli had proposed to her. She lifted the ornament and placed her lips against it as a tear slid down her cheek.

Suddenly, it was harder to breathe, and I felt like someone had reached into my chest and put a clamp onto my heart. It hurt to see her sitting there. In my eyes, she didn't look any happier than when he'd proposed or when she'd been in her apartment talking to Rex.

Morelli turned my way, ready to say something, but the sound of a phone ringing had him turning back to the two people in the room.

Stephanie pulled out her cell phone. "Hello?" The look of resignation on her face as she listened to the caller had me wondering who was on the other end of the line and what they were saying to put that look on her face. I didn't have long to wait, because her next words gave me the answer. "Joe, it's Christmas. Surely you can come home long enough to let Alice open her presents." Her eyes closed as she listened to the voice on the other end. "Yes, I realize you have an important job, but your daughter is important too." She looked over toward the child, as if she was checking to make sure the little girl wasn't aware of the conversation going on about her.

The corner of my mouth lifted as she rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. Tension was evident on her face as she replied to the voice on the phone. "Fine. By all means, stay at work as long as you want. I'm not making Alice wait to open her gifts though. As a matter of fact, we're starting right now."

My eyes narrowed when she reared back, as if she'd been slapped across the face. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down on it. Her voice was whisper soft as she said, "Do what you have to, Morelli." Ending the call, she dropped the phone onto the coffee table and turned to the little girl.

I could see the sadness lingering I her eyes as she put on a fake smile and unobtrusively wiped the tears from her eyes. "Guess what, Alice? That was Daddy, and he said for us to go ahead and open your presents."

Alice's eyes opened wide, but not with joy. They were filled with shock and hurt.

I wanted to shake the man next to me as he stood there with a dopey grin on his face as he looked at the picture of him, Stephanie, and the little girl. I elbowed him, and he groused, "What was that for?"

Motioning to what was going on in the room, I asked, "Aren't you interested in what's going on here?"

He shrugged. "We're happy. What else is there to see? This is for your benefit. After all, I get to live this life every day." He was smiling from ear to ear.

Shaking my head, I asked him, "Are you blind? They don't look happy to me."

Morelli shrugged. "Sure, every family has its wrinkles, but like I said before, this is the life I've always wanted. A wife and a child; although I wouldn't be adverse to Stephanie giving me a son, I'm okay with having a daughter. I have a great job—I got a promotion three years ago, by the way. Best of all, Stephanie gave up her job at the bonds office, and she doesn't hang around with you or your crowd. She stays home and takes care of the kid like she's supposed to."

Narrowing my eyes, I demanded, "Kid? Tell me you do know her name…"

Morelli frowned. "Well, yeah, sure I know her name." He looked perplexed for several seconds, and then the smile returned and he said, "Her name is Anne."

Now I wanted to slug him even more. This wasn't the same man that I'd known when I first came to Trenton. "Well, it does start with an A. But it's Alice, not Anne."

He smacked the palm of his hand to his forehead. "Yeah. That's right. I can never get that one right."

Movement by the tree had me turning once more to the little girl sitting on the floor. She was surrounded by brightly wrapped presents as her eyes danced with joy. "Which one did Daddy get me, Mommy?"

Stephanie pulled out a present wrapped with Santa faces, a smile on her face as she said, "This one, baby."

Alice tore into the paper until she got to what was underneath. The abject disappointment on her face as she looked at the box was telling. Apparently Morelli was as great at choosing gifts for little girls as he was at seeing how unhappy his wife was.

Joe was beaming. "Isn't that a beaut of a gift? I was lucky to find it. I just knew my little girl would like a Barbie Dream House. That's ten times better than the Wonder Woman helicopter Stephanie wanted me to get her."

Shaking my head, I wondered if he'd taken so many blows to the head that he wasn't able to see the hurt and pain he was inflicting on the two people that should be the most important people in his life. And the moron wasn't even here.

Turning to the man beside me, I asked, "Is this the only place we're going, or is there more to see?"

He seemed to shake himself out of the fog he seemed to be in and grinned. "Oh, yeah. We got more to see. This is just stop number one. Next up is half a world away." He held out the strap of his shoulder holster, and I took hold.

Once again, the world went black, and when the light returned, we were indeed half a world away. There was a sign in the ground that read: House of Hope. Moving forward, I ran my hand over the top of the sign as I looked around. This was the shelter that I'd had built. The village where we'd been held was close to here. My gaze scanned the area, and the house sitting there was everything I could have hoped for it to be. There were children running around, laughing and happy. Women were working in the huge garden that had been built to add food to the coffers of the village, as well as animals grazing in the pasture that would be slaughtered to provide food. For the first time since this had all started, I felt a sense of peace as I looked around at the good that had been done here.

Morelli waved a hand, indicating everything around us. "I don't know what the importance of us coming here was. I mean, they're just a group of village people." He broke into laughter. "Village People! Get it? It's fun to stay at the YMCA." Another laugh echoed forth.

I had no intention of explaining the importance of the beauty I'd seen in the scene around us. Instead, I turned my back and asked once again, "So where else do you have for us to go?"

Morelli shuddered. "It's depressing here. I'm looking forward to getting out of here. Take hold."

Wondering if he had always been like this and I'd just missed it, or if something had happened in his world to make him this uncaring of anyone else but himself, I took hold of the empty shoulder holster once more and darkness reigned. When the lights came back, we were standing in a living room somewhere.

Narrowing my eyes as I looked around, I recognized the home that we were now visiting. A young lady of perhaps sixteen to eighteen walked into the room and made her way over to the Christmas tree. A gasp was torn from me as sudden recognition of just whom I was seeing dawned on me.

Julie stopped beside the tree and lifted her hand to the Batman ornament that rested on one of the branches. Infinitely careful, she lifted the ornament and brought it close to her face. A bittersweet sadness descended on her face as she whispered, "Merry Christmas, Daddy."

Lights flooded the room, and Julie turned to see who had disturbed her moment alone. Her expression turned defiant as she lifted her chin in the air.

Rachel walked into the room, a bitter look on her face. "I wish you'd let me throw those ornaments in the garbage. After all, you know you'll never see him again. That possibility ended five years ago."

Julie reached out and took the other ornaments off the tree and gently placed them in her pockets. "I'll take them off the tree. Wouldn't want you to throw them out…accidentally, now would we?"

A hand snaked out and slapped her cheek. "I'm your mother, and you'll talk to me with respect."

Bitterness invaded Julie's eyes. "I can't wait till I turn eighteen. Then I won't ever have to see you again."

Rachel's eyes hardened. "No need for you to wait until you're eighteen if that's the way you feel."

I frowned, wondering what had happened between these two that their relationship had deteriorated to this point. I looked over at Morelli. "Did they happen to tell you what's going on here?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah. Apparently, Julie blames Rachel because she never saw you again after the Scrog incident."

"So she got me to sign the papers?"

Morelli turned to me confused. "You never signed papers that I know of. You just aren't around for Julie to see, that's all. She blames Rachel for that. She thinks if her mother had let her come to see you on that Christmas…" He paused, as if he were lost in thought for a moment, and then continued. "That was the year I proposed to Stephanie. Anyway, Julie thinks she could have made a difference and things wouldn't have happened the way they did."

Confusion was apparently going to be a constant on this trip. Trying to make sense of what was going on, I asked, "What happened that Julie thinks she could have changed?"

Morelli's eyes widened in surprise. "That's right. I haven't shown you that yet, have I? Well, let's move on."

There was no question about it. I was going to have to beat the crap out of him. It was probably the only way I would get any satisfaction in getting the answers I wanted. Once again, the world turned dark, and when the lights came back on, we were in a cemetery.

Morelli led the way to a solitary grave.

I had a weird feeling as we neared the grave…a feeling like I didn't want to go any closer. Stopping in my tracks, I watched as Morelli took a few more steps. He turned, possibly to see why I'd stopped moving.

"You need to see what's there. You can't do that if you don't walk with me."

Shrugging, I said, "I'm fine where I am."

Morelli shook his head. "They say I have to insist on this one."

Rolling my eyes, I wondered just how he was going to make me if I chose not to move forward. As if whoever was behind all this took exception of my thoughts, I suddenly found myself standing in front of the grave I hadn't wanted to get closer to.

I looked at the date on the tombstone and took notice that the date was December twenty-fifth, one year after Morelli proposed to Stephanie. Feeling as if someone had pressed a dagger into my heart, I looked at the name on the stone. Ricardo Carlos Manoso.

I whirled on Morelli and demanded, "What happened?"

He shrugged, as if it meant nothing to him. "I was working a case that went south. The guy I was after kidnapped Stephanie, and you found her and went in to get her. They shot you five times in the chest, and the wonder of modern medicine was how you were ever able to walk out of there, let alone to bring Stephanie out. But you did. It was as if you were a man possessed. Your men took out the bad guys as soon as you and Steph were clear."

My hand lifted to rub at my eyes, and I was stunned at the moisture there. Feeling as if I were drowning, the only thing going through my mind was thank God I'd been able to save Stephanie. Fighting for control of my emotions, I nodded. "At least Stephanie made it."

There was a sigh from Morelli. "Yeah. But she was different after that. Don't get me wrong, our life is still everything I always wanted, but sometimes, it's like she's not really there." He shrugged. "All things considered, I can live with it." He motioned to his holster once again. "Take hold. We got a couple more places to see."

Doing as he asked, when light was once again restored, I found myself on the fifth floor of the RangeMan building. The place looked darker, for some reason. As we moved across the floor, I noticed the wall where the days assignments was posted. December twenty-fourth, eight years in the future.

A door opened.

Turning to see who it was, I caught a glimpse of a somber Tank stepping out of my office… Well, if I had died seven years ago, then I guess that would make it his office.

Movement on the floor had me taking another look around, and I noticed that Lester, Bobby, Cal, and Hector were also on the floor. It came to me why everything seemed darker all of a sudden. There was a coldness, as if all the life had been drained from the building and the men.

The sound of a cork being popped was loud in the otherwise stillness. Then there was the sound of liquid being poured into glasses. Bobby handed Tank a glass, and all the men raised their glasses in the air.

Tank gave a single nod of his head. "To Ranger."

Echoes of "To Ranger" came from each of the others before they downed the liquid in their glass.

Once the toast was over, Tank looked over the men assembled. "Let's get back to work."

Looking around, I saw there were no decorations up to indicate it was Christmas. I'd always thought that if the men had been left to their own, they would have every inch of the building decorated, just to see a smile on Stephanie's face. It was odd, but it hurt to see the men this way…more like the way they'd been before Stephanie had come into our lives.

Morelli nudged me with his arm. "Not a lot of emotion here, is there?"

Narrowing my eyes, I turned to him and stared.

Not getting the response he was hoping for, he shrugged. "That's okay. The last stop will give us all the emotion we need."

Suddenly, I wanted to be anywhere other than where he was going to take me. The world went black once more, and I knew I wasn't being given a choice in the matter.

I was surprised to see we were back at Morelli's house. Surprised, and a whole lot apprehensive. Instead of being inside the house, we were outside. Feelings of dread were strong as I looked up at the second story of the house. When the window opened, I wasn't surprised to see Alice step out onto the roof.

Beside me, Morelli beamed. "Isn't she a beauty? Smart as a whip too."

Not being able to restrain myself anymore, I hauled off and belted him one. "Can't you see she's in danger? Shit, man! That's your daughter up there. It's a tragedy waiting to happen."

Morelli shook his head. "The tragedy has already happened." He turned to me, tears streaming down his face. "The day she lost you."

To say I was stunned would be an understatement. "What?" was the only thing I could think to say.

"This is the life I've always wanted. A wife to stay home and put my needs first, and children I could show off when we went places. We're happy. You can see how happy we are, right?"

Deciding that he seriously needed help and was deluding himself, I decided to do what I could to protect the child. Unfortunately, the scream that rent the air told me I was too late. Alice's small body plummeted to the earth.

Stephanie came racing out of the house to kneel beside the too-still body of her daughter. The sound of a vehicle door slamming and running feet had me turning around to see Morelli racing toward the spot where Stephanie and Alice were.

Wondering how he'd gotten there, I turned to see the Morelli I'd been traveling through time with was still there, tears pouring down his face as he kept saying, "I have everything I ever wanted."

My gaze was suddenly focused on the empty holster that Morelli had been wearing. Thinking back, the only time I'd seen the gun was when he first appeared in my apartment. After that, there had been no gun. Turning to where Morelli was kneeling beside Alice, I saw his hand snake out and pull the revolver from the holster. There were two shots, and in a heartbeat, they were all dead.

I was sure the horror I felt was evident on my face when I turned to him and demanded, "Why? Take your own life if you want to take the coward's way out, but why take her with you?"

He turned to me, eyes unseeing, as if he were lost in his own little world. He smiled, then said, "Isn't that what you did? You didn't pull a trigger, but you condemned her to the life you chose not to live because of a vow you took. Well, we took vows as well. I was just fulfilling my vow."

Woodenly, I moved to where Stephanie's body lay. Sinking down beside her, not being able to take her in my arms, I covered her with my own body as I prayed to be able to fix everything.