The morning came, albeit too early for RJ, who couldn't get a wink of sleep after that eventful nightmare. He had all night to think about the symbolism, the hidden meanings, and anything else he could dissect from his mind. And just as he was about to confess his change in attitude, he got the bad news.
Hammy was missing…
It was the words RJ dreaded the most, hoping to never hear. Yet, somehow, he found his reaction to the news seemed as if he had expected it to happen.
"Any idea, or clues where he went?" RJ asked, feeling his voice starting to disappear amidst the guilt.
"Oh, so now you're talking to me?" Verne asked, folding his arms.
"Look Verne, I'm sorry for what I said back there. I just had a lot of things on my mind, and nothing was going as I had hoped, and…"
RJ sighed. "I guess what I'm trying to say, is that it wasn't fair of me to take my anger out on you."
Verne nodded in acceptance. "Apology accepted."
"I guess now is a bad time to say that I'm the one who upset Hammy." RJ said, rubbing his arm in embarrassment.
"WHAT?" Verne screamed.
"I'm going to make it right! I…just…need to find…him…" RJ trailed off at the defeat of his own words.RJ walked off before anyone could say anything else. Now it was his duty to find Hammy.

After what felt like hours of endless searching, he began to lose faith. He looked in every branch, tree trunk, backyard, front yard, and then some.
Defeated and tired, RJ trudged to the last house of the block he was on.No dice, Hammy wasn't there either.
"It's hopeless. For all I know he could be hurt, or worse. And it's my fault."
RJ collapsed to his knees and put his face in his paws. "Vincent's right! I'm going to make that future come true, and be his for all eternity!"
"Maybe I shouldn't have ever gotten myself involved with them."
"Don't say that." A sweet voice, almost like music, called to him. RJ snapped his head up, his ears searching for the source as he looked about.
"Whose there?"
"Look beyond the hedge." The voice replied.
RJ walked back to the hedge and peered through it, not really sure why he was humoring this voice. But what he saw made him reconsider.

The log was gone, in its place a patch of dead grass. The suburban sprawl had finally reached their piece of paradise and consumed it into its concrete maw. The family was gone too.
"What is this?" RJ asked, confused and afraid.
"If you would've never met them, they would've never known the benefits of what lied over the hedge. They would barely scrape enough food for winter, and those that did survive through hibernation were lucky."
"You mean…?"
"Since they didn't go to the neighborhood beyond the hedge, the humans didn't know of their presence. You only kept your home because some people in the area wanted to save it. But because no one knew it existed, it was obliterated in the sprawl. The ones that remained made a pilgrimage to a new home, but not everyone would make it."
RJ felt like someone was behind him, and turned to see no one. No one except a familiar orange form lying in the road.

"NO!" RJ cried falling to the ground like someone had just sucker punched him in the gut.

"no…"

"Despite all the bad things you've done in the past, you've more than redeemed yourself. Now your family needs you more than ever."RJ looked up at the sky as a thought came over him. Only one person he knew could give that sage of advice.
"Mom…?" he whispered.
But the voice didn't answer. RJ suddenly felt warm and comfortable as everything began to oddly swirl around like it was going down a drain.

"RJ! RJ WAKE UP!" a voice cried, shaking the raccoon roughly.
RJ snapped awake, completely unaware of falling asleep. Maybe it was all a dream after all…
"What's up?" RJ asked, rubbing his eyes, and found he was looking at Verne.
"HAMMY'S MISSING!" Verne began to panic.

Whoa Déjà vu…RJ thought to himself as he felt his hopes sink, dragging his heart along with them.

"Any idea of where he went?" RJ asked as he glanced up, knowing the answer.
Verne only shook his head.
"I'll go find him." RJ said solemnly as he picked himself up. "After all, it's probably my fault…"
Before Verne could say anything, RJ was gone, silently hoping that his search in real life would go better than his dream.

After a few hours of searching, RJ came upon a house that was just now decorated, as he remembered from previous raids that this particular house didn't have any decorations before.
As he walked around to the backyard he stumbled upon a nativity scene. So grand was the size and detail that RJ swore the people would start moving.

And there, in a manger of hay, was a doll. Even though it was inanimate, RJ felt as if the doll was somehow speaking to him. It's lifeless stare actually sending a message of hope to the failing raccoon.

RJ dropped to his knees, closed his eyes, and prayed.

"RJ!" a voice cried, almost as if his prayers have been answered. RJ snapped his head around to see a blur of orange rush at him and knock him backwards into the fresh snow.
"Hammy! You've had everyone worried! Where did you go?!" RJ asked, not realizing he was hugging the squirrel so tight that he couldn't answer.
"I was out getting a gift for you!" he managed to gasp out.
RJ let go of Hammy and looked at him for a moment. Their gaze was broken when Hammy held up his hand, holding a golden chain.
"What's this?" RJ asked, carefully taking the locket from the squirrel.

"Open it." Hammy whispered.

RJ did, and what he saw he couldn't believe. The small picture of him and his mother that he had kept so close was now in it's rightful place.
"Where did you find this?" RJ asked, wiping away a tear.
"In one of the pockets of your bag, when I was hiding Verne's present." Hammy said with a smile. "I was hoping for a chance to get it done. Sorry to make you worry." He said, his gaze drooping to the ground. "After you yelled at me outside that big store, I knew I had to cheer you up, so I didn't come back with the others."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you Hamster!" RJ said, grabbing Hammy once again and giving him a playful noogie.
"What's that?!" Hammy gasped, seeing the Nativity Scene behind RJ.
"That, my friend….is Christmas!" RJ replied with certainty, almost as if telling himself more than anyone.The silence was broken when Hammy piped up.
"We should get home…"
"Yeah." RJ said, his smile wider than ever.