This chapter is dedicated to Mockingbird84 and bb-4ever. Sorry this chapter took so long, life got busy. Here you go!

Chilling air greeted Russell as he opened his eyes to the bright red light of his clock. 2:53 a.m. He sighed as he ran a hand down his face. He ran the same hand through his hair, before shuffling his feet to the bathroom. The dusty mirror allowed him only a fuzzy image of himself as he splashed some cold water on his features before sliding back to his room. The room was dark as he slipped over the sweat pants and t-shirt he had worn to bed and pulled on a new t-shirt, jeans, and his leather jacket. His head appeared in the hallway as he glanced toward Tempe's room. Pure and beautiful silence. Without sound, he stepped past her door and down the steps into the foyer below. The hinge4s creaked as he opened the hallway's closet. Feeling around on the shelf above the coat rack, he found several boxes of green wire and pulled them down without much effort.

He slid the boxes into the living room like a bowling ball, where, late the night before, he had set up the fake tree they used every year. He spun on his heel and walked lightly into the kitchen, to the basement door, and down the stairs.

Clunk…clunk…clunk…The sound of his footsteps rebounded against the concrete walls of their un-finished basement. It was musty and reeked of cobwebs. He pulled a cord and a fluorescent light bulb switched on, creating a dim glow that just barely lit the room. A tall stack of boxes were set off to one corner where you wouldn't usually notice them and in a more noticeable position another few boxes were placed on a shelf. He grabbed the second stack first and 'clunked' back up the stairway.

He immediately set to work, starting with the lights on the tree and around the room and then continuing on to the ornaments he had brought up from the basement. An hour later the tree sparkled and there was a warm glow that filled the room. He took a step back to admire his handy-work but it was a short lived pride as he knew there was still one more stack of boxes sitting in the basement, awaiting there turn to be brought up. He 'clunked' back down the stairs and, more quietly this time, 'clunked' back up, knowing that, as morning neared, Tempe began to sleep less and less soundly. As he passed through the kitchen with a stack of boxes nearly as tall as himself he glanced at the microwave clock.

4:36 a.m. He sighed, knowing he had at least two hours yet before she woke up. Temperance was always an early riser. As he passed through the foyer he noticed that it had began snowing outside. He grinned at the sight before he continued his blind journey back into the living room where he nearly tripped over a stray box of ornaments. As he retained his balance he set the boxes down and began arranging them under the tree.

Fifteen minutes later he was finished and now brewing coffee in the kitchen, assuring himself that he wouldn't fall asleep before she made it down the stairs.

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Tempe woke up in a cold sweat, though she didn't remember the dream that had caused it. She assumed it was the one that kept reoccurring, the one that imagined what had happened to her parents. Sometimes they were murdered; sometimes they just went out one day and decided not to come back for her. She could never tell which one was worse. She squinted at the wall clock opposite her bed. 6:45, later than she usually slept especially with the nightmares. The sheets that had covered her the night before were now strewn about the room. 'I haven't slept soundly in a while. I guess I was really thrashing around last night though,' she thought, noticing that one sheet was several feet away from her bed.

Glancing out the window next to her wall clock she noted it was flurrying out and that the night before a few inches of snow had accumulated on her windowsill. 'It's freezing in here,' she thought although she didn't spring to pull some of the sheets on the ground around her. She enjoyed the coldness. Her eyes had the same deadness to them as they had since the detective told her that her parents were missing. Everyone had noticed, her teachers, her brother, anyone who knew her well enough to notice a drastic change. She was different; there was no other way to describe it.

Her bare feet pressed against the hard wood flooring in her room as she stepped slowly toward her door to get some breakfast. Warmth greeted her face as she propped the door open. It wasn't much heat but it was definitely warmer than her room. She stepped down the stairs as they creaked in protest. 'Russ is probably still asleep. I can't imagine he got past these stairs without me noticing. But Russ has lots of tricks. Maybe he'll make us some scrambled eggs for breakfast,' she thought as she continued down the steps.

As she stepped down into the foyer she noticed an odd glow coming from the living room. She glanced in to see a glistening tree, lit by both white and colored lights. The room, too, was covered in tiny light bulbs, strung together on green wire. Presents were placed under the tree, the sizes varying. Some were for Russ; she could see his name on many of them, even from this far away. But she saw just as many for her.

She glanced around to the arm chairs where she expected to see her parents. Only one was filled by a beaming Russell. She gasped and her eyes filled with tears. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish until the tears started to flow. Russell's smile slowly faded into a frown. She ran out and back up to her room and Russ's facial expression changed to hurt.

Next chapter should be up tomorrow. Reviews always appreciated.