"Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!!!" a woman cheered while jumping on Sayu's bed.

Sayu groaned, "No... ten more minutes. Christmas can wait..."

The woman laughed. Sayu knew at that moment who was jumping on her bed. Nami was the only woman Sayu knew with such a melodic laughter... almost like the chiming of bells. Sayu groaned again now that she recognized the voice of her sleep's interruptor. She rolled over on her stomach and covered her head with her pillow.

Nami laughed again, ripping the warm comforter off of Sayu, exposing her to the cold air. "Haha, nice jammies."

Sayu chucked the pillow at Nami's head before tackling her. The two women rolled off the edge of the bed. Matsuda ran to see what was going on. He laughed when he saw Nami sitting on Sayu on the floor.

"Oh good, you're awake!" He announced.

"Can't I go back to bed?" Sayu complained.

Nami stuck her tongue out at Sayu, "You're so lame! This doesn't have anything to do with meeting the in-laws does it?"

Sayu's head shot up at the mention of Matsuda's parents. "Oh, shit! They aren't here yet, are they?!!"

Matsuda looked at his watch. "No... but they'll be here any minute now."

"What?!!" Sayu pushed Nami off of her and quickly rose to her feet.

Nami was over at their house late the previous night helping Sayu make cookies. She had chosen to spend the night at their appartment. Sayu had taken up residence in what used to just be Matsuda's room, so Nami had the other room all to herself... unless you count Udeki. Nami was delighted that they offered her the opportunity to spend the night; she simply loved spending her time with them, and when she was so cheery she was kind of hard to turn away.

Nami skipped into the kitchen. Sayu wondered how Udeki was going to live with a mother like Nami. She pointed a finger accusingly at the couple. "Hey! Someone ate the head off my angel... Okay which one of you two ate my COOKIE!!! And don't try to blame it on my son because he can't eat solid food yet!"

Sayu laughed and playfully poked Matsuda's stomach. "Packing on a few pounds, are we? You better be careful what you eat! All that sugar is bad for a man your age!!"

"Hey! I am not that old!"

Matsuda had just had his Thirty-third birthday on the fourteenth. Sayu laughed again, "Sure, sure... whatever you say."

Udeki began crying, and Sayu went to go retrieve him. Matsuda followed her, and Nami decided to munch on cookies for breakfast before heading back to her own appartment. Sayu picked Udeki up out of his swing and smiled at him. He was immediately silenced. Matsuda came from behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. They both looked at the content baby in Sayu's arms. Matsuda wondered idly if she was thinking the same thing he was.

"Sayu..."

"Hm?" She asked still smiling down at Udeki.

Matsuda sighed, "You can't tell my parents that I can't have kids."

She abruptly spun around, "What? Why?"

"Because I never told them." He explained with a shrug.

She gave him the 'Oh you've got to be kidding me' stare. At the same time she felt shamed to have nearly forgotten that little detail. No kids. What was her mother going to say? Sachiko had always wanted grandkids... and with Light gone that left her to fill the job. Sayu knew that wasn't going to please her own mother in the slightest. Not to mention all Sayu really wanted to concentrate on right now was appealing to the better side of her boyfriend's parents.

"All right, I won't tell them... only because you should be the one who tells them that." She lightly bounced the baby in her arms, "Anyway... er how do I look?"

He smiled with a somewhat sad look in his eyes, "Like a wonderful mother."

She rolled her eyes, "That's not what I meant, and you know it. I meant my hair... my clothes... Oh no! Clothes! I gotta change! I-"

He laughed, cutting her panic attack short. "You look fine, and my parents will love you."

They heard the sound of the front door opening, and Nami greeting the new guests. Matsuda decided to go investigate. He saw his parents fawning all over Nami.

"Touta, she's gorgeous!! Absolutely enchanting!!" His mother cooed.

"Yes, yes! You're one lucky guy!" His father added.

Nami growled, all ready annoyed with the old folks, "Hey, hey! Paws off the merchandise! Man... senile much?!"

Matsuda shook his head, "Mom, Dad... that's not Sayu."

A woman holding a baby came out from behind the corner of a hallway. She was wearing Christmasy pajamas; patchworked cami and shorts. Her moussey hair was up in a messy ponytail, and her eyes were a cool brown. She smiled down at the new arrivals.

"Merry Christmas!" Sayu greeted them with a smile.

They quickly moved to the baby in Sayu's arms, cooing and babbling nonsense at poor Udeki. They told Sayu things like 'Congrats' and 'Welcome to Motherhood'... things Sayu would never hear for real.

"Why he looks just like his mommy!" the old woman exclaimed.

Mr. Matsuda raised a thick brow. "Say... if this is Sayu... then who's the other girl?"

Matsuda's mother cupped her boy's face in her hands. "My boy is giving shelter to a poor homeless woman out of the kindness of his heart! How generous!!!"

Sayu could tell that Nami was about to blow a fuse. She was just waiting for the explosion. Nami pushed them aside and Sayu placed Udeki in her arms.

"I am not homeless! I live downstairs! And my son looks just like his daddy! Now, if you don't mind I'm taking some of these," Nami picked a handful of cookies off the cookie plate, "and I'm going back to my appartment! I'll see you guys later."

Sayu waved goodbye as Nami shut the front door. She sighed and flopped onto the couch. She didn't feel this meeting was going well at all. Though, despite Nami's exit, the elderly couple were still optimistic. They were a little too positive for Sayu's liking, and she couldn't help but wonder how Matsuda was able to survive with them.

"You didn't have to clean this place up all by yourself on our account, Sayu." The old man told her.

"Oh, well... I-"

Mrs. Matsuda sat down beside her. She gave Sayu a warm smile, "I'm sorry about all the confusion. In fact, I bet my husband sixty dollars that you were only in your first trimester... he thought you were in your second. We were surprised when we saw you holding that baby in your arms, but... it appears I won the bet!"

Mr. Matsuda grumbled, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. Matsuda sighed, "Mom, Dad, listen. Sayu isn't pregnant at all."

"What?" His mother asked surprised, "I thought the only reason any sensible girl would live with you is if she was pregnant."

"What the hell are you waiting for?!!" His father complained, "Daggone it, Touta. You're about as useless as scotch tape!"

Mrs. Matsuda had her hair in a bun with chopsticks poking out the sides. Her hair was a very attractive red color, which had surprised Sayu because Matsuda had raven colored locks. She supposed he got that gene from his father... before his hair went grey. Sayu noticed his mother had beautiful blue eyes hidden behind gold rimmed glasses, and his father's eyes were a dark brown. Sayu guessed that Matsuda was an exact image of his father in his youth. Now the old man was using a cane to get around.

"You know Hana's twin boys had their fourth birthday last week... oh! And she just had her sixth daughter on Sunday. And Karin has four kids... Touta both of your older sisters had children by the time they reached your age. You should think about settling down... stop all this... foolish police nonsense!" His mother told him.

"But, Mom, I like being in the police force, it-" Matsuda attempted to argue, however, his father intervened, "Look son, I wanted you to carry on the family name. The Matsuda blood runs thick in your veins, and I want you to pass that onto the next generation, ya hear?"

Sayu was fed up with listening to them preech about their ever-growing family while hers was dwindling. She had been polite in not trying to offend Matsuda's parents, but sometimes things slip out. Now would be one of those times.

"I don't mean to be rude but... actually... yes. Yes, I do mean to be rude. This is absolutely ridiculous! You all ready have how many grandkids? Twelve? Isn't that enough for you?! You are such a greedy child-grubbing couple! I would have thought more from the people who raised the love of my life!! There were only two kids in my family, and guess what? My brother is dead! Not to mention my father! My mother would probably give her left arm and half her soul to see she get one grandkid. And then there's the lucky people like you who've got it so good with twelve and you still aren't satisfied!! I'm sorry... but... I can't do this!" Sayu stood from her seat, grabbed her coat off the rack and ran outside into the blustery winter snow.

Matsuda's parents were appalled, but for the first time they were completely silent. Matsuda didn't know if he should run after her or if he should stay and chew out his parents. He figured Sayu probably went to Nami's place.

"Yoru, I really liked that girl..." Matsuda's mom sniffled.

His father sighed, "Yeah... not many girls like that out there. Touta... aren't you going to go after her?"

Matsuda was glaring at his parents, "She was only trying to make a good impression on you guys, and you have to bring up this talk about grandkids and stuff! Frankly, I'm sick and tired of hearing it! You didn't even ask her about her family or how she was doing! Sayu's had it real rough lately... I mean... hell, she's still healing from a head injury she got a few weeks ago!!"

"Oh my that's awful! Is she all right?" His mother asked with concern brimming in her eyes.

"You're asking the wrong person. Everytime I ask she says she's 'fine' or 'doing better'... but I know she only says things like that so I don't worry. It doesn't help... I worry about her all the time. Even now when she's left because she didn't want to get caught up in my parents' sick and twisted fantasies... you guys sure know how to ruin a perfectly good Christmas."

Yoru choked back a sob, "Uhm... would you rather us go now... so you can chase after her?"

Matsuda ran his fingers through his hair. He was met with a dilemma, "No, I don't want you leaving... but I'm going to go find her, and when I do... I'm going to beg for her forgiveness."

He wrenched his coat from the rack and exited the appartment. Sayu had been traumatized by the staircase, refusing to even step down it during the frosty weather. She was sitting in the snow that covered the top stair. Matsuda sat beside her. She was shivering violently. He pulled her close to his warm body. She shouldn't have ran outside in those pajamas of hers.

"Sayu, I'm so sorry... I can't even tell you how sorry I am."

All Sayu really wanted to do now was go crawl under a rock and stay there until the end of winter. She wasn't upset with Matsuda, but his parents were tap-dancing on her last nerve. She was incredibly angry with herself because she had exploded on his parents, and yet here he was appologizing to her for something that had nothing to do with him. Which infuriated her even more.

"You can't choose your parents... none of this is your fault, Touta." Sayu managed to tell him through her chattering teeth.

"It's too cold out here for you... let's go back inside."

Sayu nodded. When they walked in through the door Matsuda's mother was right there to greet her with a hug. Yoru laughed, "Haha, easy there, Tachi. Let the girl at least take off her coat before you smother her."

There were tears falling from the old woman's face, "Oh, Sayu... can you ever forgive us?"

Sayu let all her anger drain away. How could she be angry with them when they regretted their actions? "It's all right. I forgive you guys... let's just have a nice Christmas now, okay?" Sayu gave them her warmest smile.

Sayu danced over to the boxes beneath their colorful Christmas tree. She passed out the presents to their respectful owners. When they were all finished the entire living room was covered in wrapping paper.

"So how is my son treating you?" Tachi inquirred, "Good? I hope."

Sayu glanced over at Matsuda who was simply beaming with delight at the prospect of actual conversation. Sayu smiled. "He's very kind to me... Touta's saved my life countless times."

"Is that so?" Yoru asked with a brow raised.

She laughed. The expression was so Matsuda it was funny. Christmas only comes once a year... best to enjoy it while it lasts.

xXx

Sayu knocked thrice on her mother's door with the brass knocker. She couldn't remember the last time she'd stood on this porch... it seemed so long ago. Sayu hadn't told her mother that she was going to be spending dinner with her, but Sayu felt that her mom needed some company on Christmas.

Matsuda's parents had left earlier in the afternoon. They had spent lunch with Matsuda and Sayu before leaving. As the sun began to set over the horizon Matsuda got ready for work. "What? You can't seriously have work... on Christmas!" Sayu argued.

He chuckled, "Sayu, crime doesn't rest... not even on the holidays."

"But you don't normally leave until nine!"

"Ide and Aizawa have the night off. They're spending some quality time with their families--" Sayu cut him off, "Well, why can't you spend some "quality time" with me?"

Matsuda laughed heartily, "Boy, if that doesn't sound tempting, I don't know what does! But to them I'm still a bachelor, remember? I thought we agreed that the force shouldn't know about us."

"We did... but--" Sayu couldn't even come up with a rebuttle.

"I only have to go in early because so many of the guys are taking time off... but then I also get to come home early." He smiled and kissed her tenderly on the lips, "Don't worry, I'll be home before dawn."

She reached for her coat as he slid his on. He raised a brow at her. "I'm sure as hell not staying here by myself on Christmas!" Sayu told him, flinging her coat onto her back.

"And might I ask where you'll be?"

She smiled, "At my mother's house. No one should be alone on Christmas."

Now she was on the porch in the freezing snow waiting impatiently for the door to open. Sayu heard her mother's voice as the door creaked open, "If you damn carolers know what's good for you, you'll--Oh! Sayu!"

Sayu could see the joy on her mother's face. Sachiko hugged her daughter tightly. Christmas wouldn't be the same for them this year. Her father used to decorate the tree and the yard, and Light would play Christmas songs on their piano. Every year Sayu remembered the smell of ham in the oven as her mother prepared a feast for their family. she, of course, would be stuck mailing all the Christmas cards to their friends and relatives. Nothing was like that now. There were no lights, no tree, no music, the smell of the promising dinner Sayu had remembered didn't exist, and now she even missed the cramp her wrist used to suffer from writing so many cards.

"Well, come inside out of the cold. How's your head? I see you aren't wearing those bandages anymore." Sachiko took Sayu's coat and hung it on a hanger before stashing it into a closet.

"Oh, uhm, to tell you the truth it still hurts like hell, but really I'm doing much better. A God awful migrain every now and then, but better nonetheless." Sayu told her mother truthfully.

Her mother scowled, "I am never going to forgive that man for doing this to you."

"Mom, it wasn't his fault. Can we please just drop this conversation?" Sayu didn't want to have to deal with such cruel feelings on a holiday that's supposed to be filled with love and joy.

She glanced around the living room. Pictures Sayu remembered were missing. Her favorite one of Matsuda, Soichiro, and Light was removed from the television set and replaced with one of Sayu's most disgraceful orchestra photos. Even all of Light's school pictures were removed from the walls. None of their family photos were anywhere to be seen either. It was almost as if her mother was trying to cut them out of her life entirely.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie. Hm? What's this box for?" She asked taking notice of the box in Sayu's hands.

It had been the only remaining present under the Christmas tree at the appartment. It looked so lonely and forgotten. Sayu smiled and held it out for her mother to take. "Merry Christmas, Mom!"

"For me?" She took the gift into her hands.

"You don't have to open it now. We can open it after dinner."

"Dinner? Oh, Sayu... I didn't make a Christmas dinner this year. I didn't know I was going to have company."

Sayu laughed. "That's okay, Oka-san." She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number, "Hello? Yes, I'd like to place an order, please. Delivery. Yagami. Y-a-g-a-m-i. 3829 Koh, K-o-h, Blvd. Okay, I need one medium supreme pizza. No olives. One order of cheese sticks with sauce. And one two liter of soda. Seirra Mist...... Cool! Thank you so much. Buh-bye."

Her mother laughed. Sayu was so unpredictable. "Christmas pizza?"

"Yep! We don't need anything fancy-schmancy. So long as we're together. That's all that matters." Sayu added in her head, now more than ever.

Sachiko sighed, "Oh, I know... but... it's just not the same with only the two of us."

Sayu really wanted to make this work out all right. Being in this haunted house was bad enough, but she didn't want memories of her father and brother brought up. It was just too painful for her. She was done mourning over something she couldn't change.

"Well... it's a bit late in the season for a tree and lights, hehe, and dinner will be here within fourty-five minutes... how about some music?" Sayu suggested.

Her mother scoffed, "Tch. You don't know how to play the piano."

"Gee, thanks Mom... Have a little more faith, will you? I took viola lessons all through high school. Just give me a few minutes, okay?" Sayu headed up the staircase to her bedroom.

None of Light's tennis pictures were hanging in the stairwell any longer, they were replaced with photos of her softball years... years Sayu didn't particularly enjoy. She stopped for a moment at Light's old bedroom at the top of the stairs. The pencil was still where Sayu had found it lodged between the door's hinges, and the slip of paper Light kept at the foot of his door was still there. Sayu noticed his door knob was horizontal. She reached out and lowered it at the angle Light always kept it at and smiled. She wanted to enter the room, but she wantd one place her mother could never change or replace. Light's room was that place.

Sayu turned down the hallway to her own old room. She felt childish as she entered. Had she really been so happy at one point in her life? There were girly things everywhere, and in every one of her pictures she was laughing or smiling. Medals and awards adorned her walls, along with several stuffed animals. It felt good to be back in her old room, but she also knew these things were frail. All her childhood memories were frail, mostly because Light was so close to her growing up.

She began digging through the miscellaneous objects that occupied her closet. Eventually, Sayu found her viola case on the bottom of the many dishevled piles. She placed it carefully on her bed, and fished the music out from under her mattress. She found a few pieces that seemed to fit in with the Christmas spirit. sayu opened the case to find her polished viola waiting for its master to play it once more. The wood was very dark, almost like dark chocolate. She tuned it before hurrying down the staircase.

She put her music on the piano, and sat on the bench. She was able to play her first piece with ease. Her mother clapped at the end. Sayu was pleased that her mother found her skills astonishing because frankly, Sayu found herself to be a bit rusty. She was able to get through several pieces before the pizza man showed up at the door. She paid him his money, and gave him a nice tip for coming out during the holiday.

"Oh..." Sayu's face was crestfallen, "they forgot the sauce... man..."

Her mother chuckled, "You know, I haven't heard you play that instrument since your junior year of high school."

"Yeah, well... I might pick it up again. I'd have to get a new one first though... that one's only a fifteen inch... I'll probably need a sixteen inch if I'm going to continue playing." Sayu admitted.

"Hm... Well your birthday is next month... perhaps I should invest in getting you a new one if you like it so much."

Sayu's head moved from-side-to-side, "No, Mom... I think I'll get it on my own. I'm really tired of the whole "dark" look... I might try to find a white one. Wouldn't that be pretty?"

"If you say so."

"Okay... I'm tired of waiting... open you're present!" Sayu finally said, while her mother was chewing her first bite of pizza.

Sachiko ripped the wrapping off of her gift. When she removed the lid on the department store box she was expecting to find clothes. Instead the contents consisted of the picture of them all at the beach. Everyone was in it. Sachiko, Soichiro, Light, Sayu, and even Matsuda in the corner. Sayu had bought a new golden frame for it, since the old one wasn't as nice. Sayu had wanted to give her mother something personal. The beach picture had been taken with Matsuda's camera, and he only had one copy of it. Sayu had asked him if she could give it to her mother. He thought it was a thoughtful idea.

Sachiko had no words for the picture she was looking at. Sayu explained, "That's one of my favorite pictures. You're holding the one and only copy of it. I wanted you to have it."

Sachiko's heart became heavy. She had removed everything that would possibly remind her of her son and husband from her life. Tears fell from her face. Sayu instantly regretted giving her mother the picture. "Mom? What's wrong?!"

"Sayu... I love it.... this is the most precious Christmas present I've ever received. Our lives just aren't this simple anymore..."

As Sayu listened to her mother, she felt her own eyes welling with tears. Despite how hard she fought to keep them from escaping, they fell down her face. She was glad that her mother liked the gift, but that picture held such happy memories that they would never get another opportunity to have. It was full of emotional attachment to both women.

Sayu attempted to eat her pizza again, but suddenly the table seemed too big. It was missing a few people. It was missing Soichiro and Light. She lost her appetite. Sayu rested her head on the table. What's Christmas when half of your family isn't present because they're dead?


Well, I'll probably post one or two more chapters. I'm just like... cranking out the chapters on this story, lol XD. I suppose that's a good thing for you all, but it really starts taking a toll on me after awhile.

Uhm, this chapter really has an emotional attachment to me. I lost my grandmother in September. We were really close, and I miss her something awful. I cried pretty much throughout the whole last section, just because I can really relate to Sayu and Mrs. Yagami. When I began this story I didn't know what losing someone was like... but now I do, and it's really difficult. Christmas is going to be emotional for me this year... I can all ready tell. T.T

Er--sniffle--my petty life aside, I wrote this chapter to be pretty long for you guys. I think it's one of my longest chapters so far, so I hope you enjoy it!! Please leave me a review! It's much appreciated!!