Tears rolled down Mac's cheeks as they stepped outside her house.

Meg had been right, of course. She had once loved Christmas as though it were family.

Meg held out her arm. "You're supposed to take hold of my person and/or form, including any garment or adornment upon my person." She said smugly.

"Was that out of the manual?" Mac asked, wiping her eyes quickly before taking hold of Meg's sleeve.

"Verbatim." Meg said, brimming with a compassionate smugness.

"Where are we going?" Mac asked.

"Across town."

"Now!" Lynn called the mark and once again the machinery of heaven began to move.

Wheels turned and valves were opened and closed, diverting the ways and means of the world to suit the will of understanding within a willing soul.

Meg sneezed as it happened and it distracted Mac, so the whole thing went pretty well unnoticed.

"Oh my God. Lauren." Mac dropped to her knees beside her sister's bedside.

"It's all in the past Mac. She recovered. You've seen her since."

Mac stood up slowly. Her eyes betrayed a distance and depth to her emotions. "What's wrong with her?"

"She got sick from a flu shot." Meg said. "You're across town celebrating with your family and…"

"…I don't care Dick. Tomorrow. I said tomorrow!" Madison said loudly from the hall. Then the door opened.

Madison had a tray with soup, magazines and mad-libs. "Hey…" She said softly to her sister. "You want some company?"

Lauren stirred. "Logan's party…" Was all she said.

"Will be all the same old people as last time." Madison faked a smile. "And …"

"Thank you." Lauren smiled ever so slightly, snuggling down in to the blankets.

"I've got something for you." Madison told her. "An early Christmas present."

"Dad said not 'till Christmas." Lauren reminded.

"Well Dad's not here." Madison said with a wider smile.

And Madison produced a small white box tied with a red ribbon.

Lauren fumbled weakly with the ribbon and pulled the lid from the box. "It's your dolphin! From Mexico!"

Madison took the charm and chain from the box and unclasped it. She reached behind her sister and refastened it.

"I decided it looked better on you than it does on me." Madison smiled and her tears were showing. "And I know you always loved it."

Lauren looked suddenly guilty. "I'm sorry I scared everyone so bad."

Madison smiled. "You just get better… Then I'll make you pay for it." She teased.

"She… She's a really good sister." Mac said softly. "I didn't think Madison had it in her."

"She does have her moments." Meg agreed. "And this was an important one."

Mac wiped away another tear. "She did it right."

"Yeah." Meg agreed. "She did it right."

"The E-String strangler!" Logan threw his hands in to the air. "Merry Christmas!"

"You got any ideas?" Eli asked.

"No. I got nothin'." Logan ran his hands through his hair nervously.

"Who…" Dick began to stir. "You guys talkin' about the strangler for?"

"That was almost like a sentence." Logan noticed. "And yes, the E-String Strangler probably has Veronica."

Dick looked blown away. "Wow. Someone should check his house." He said plainly.

"He escaped from jail numb-nuts. He doesn't have a house." Eli dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's Christmas!" Dick insisted. "Everybody goes home for Christmas!"

"So where's he live? Hunh Dick?" Logan began to fly off the handle.

"Well when they arrested him he was living in his grandmothers basement." Dick shrugged. "It's one of those little brown houses right before the PCH… Across from Tori Hanks house…" Then Dick hiccuped. "Oh, no." He put his hand over his mouth and vaulted over the couch, headed for the bathroom.

The resulting sound of splatter said he didn't make it.

"Oh!" Weevil looked away disgusted.

"You're staying here and cleaning that!" Logan called out, then he met Eli's eyes. "You up for taking a ride?"

"Like you had to ask." Weevil smirked.

And Logan crossed the room to his dresser and opened the top drawer. He drew out the gun Mr. Casablancas had given him. "You don't have a problem with this do you?" He looked at Weevil expectantly.

"You got another one?" Was his only reply.

Veronica felt her way around the edge of her private prison. She could feel the plastic stripping around the door.

A refrigerator. I'm in a refrigerator! She realized.

She dug in with her nails and tried to force the rubber stripping away from the frame.

A small hole will do for air… She thought.

And then she stopped with a start.

Her fingers were wet.

The world shrank in or her almost claustrophobically.

Oh no…

I'm under water!