A/N: Phish Tacko beta'd this. Go check out her page, she's an awesome author!

Chapter 10

A few days later, it was announced by Dr. Schnabel that there would be a small holiday party for the residents, and that they could invite their friends and family. It would be an opportunity for the residents' loved ones to see where they were living and how they were doing.

Gilbert had invited Arnie and Becky and his mother, though his mother couldn't make it on account of it being hard for her to travel. Sam invited Joon, and Benny agreed to drive her over. Wonka, Mort and Jack hadn't invited anyone since they didn't really have any close relationships, and Ichabod invited Katrina, but she'd hung up on him as soon as she'd heard his voice. In her mind, he was a disgusting freak of nature and she wanted nothing to do with something like that.

To say that Ichabod was okay with that would be a lie. He was devastated by Katrina's rejection. She'd made her feelings known when she'd first found out about his predicament, and that was why he was at the shelter to begin with, but he kept hoping she'd have a change of heart.

The night before the party, everyone was helping decorate, with the exception of Ichabod, who was sitting on the couch and staring down at his hands.

"You need to get over this." Mort said as he placed a little Santa hat on Buster's ears. The cat gave him a confused look, as if to say, 'Why are you doing this, human?!' but didn't shake the hat off, much to Mort's surprise.

Ichabod sighed. "You don't understand. I love her!"

"And she doesn't love you. Not anymore. So you have to get over it."

Ichabod knew that Mort was right. It would do no good sitting around and hoping that Katrina would suddenly want him again. Still, it hurt very deeply. Being pregnant and having mood swings didn't help either. Ichabod bit his lower lip, trying to keep from crying.

Sam finished putting an ornament on the tree, and then took a seat next to Ichabod, resting a hand on the constable's shoulder.

"Don't let this ruin your holiday." Sam said, handing Ichabod a star-shaped ornament.

Ichabod frowned and fiddled with the ornament for a minute. "I suppose you're right."

Sam smiled. "I know I am. Tomorrow will be fun. Even if Katrina doesn't come, we'll all still have a good time."

"Hopefully," Ichabod said, standing up. He walked over to the giant Christmas tree and placed the ornament on a branch near the top. Just as he was reaching up to adjust it, he felt something stir inside him. It felt like his baby just kicked for the first time.

Ichabod topped in his tracks and rested a hand on his stomach. As soon as he touched it, the baby kicked again. He grinned.

Gilbert noticed him smiling. "Did you feel it kick?" He asked.

Ichabod nodded. "Yes… it's still kicking… strong little thing."

"It's telling you to be happy and enjoy Christmas." Sam said, picking out another ornament. It was red, and shaped like a cardinal. He handed it to Ichabod, knowing that the man had a fondness for that type of bird.

Ichabod smiled again as he took the ornament from Sam. Maybe everything wouldn't be so bad after all.

00

The holiday party started at 3 PM the next day. Wonka, Gilbert, and Edward helped Dr. Schnabel prepare food (Edward was particularly good at cutting things, as everyone knew), while Ichabod, Mort, Jack and Sam walked around the common room and surrounding areas, cleaning and making sure everything was in place.

It was all decorated very festively. Jack had hung some multi-colored Christmas lights on the wall, there were candles and even some mistletoe in the doorway, not to mention the giant tree in back of the room. Dr. Schnabel had also hung some stockings on the wall, one for each of the residents.

Becky and Arnie were the first to arrive, followed by Benny and Joon a few minutes later. All of them placed gifts under the tree for their loved ones, and some trinkets for everyone else too.

Buster the cat wandered around, 'greeting' everyone by rubbing against them. He still had his little Santa had on, and at some point Jack had placed a collar that had jingle bells on it around his neck. It was decided that Buster was probably the most easy-going cat ever, because he didn't seem particularly bothered by any of it.

A bit after the party started, Joon was busy petting Buster, when she heard someone whisper.

"Hey, Joon!" The voice called out.

She looked around. "Hm?"

"Come here!"

Joon turned to see Sam, standing under the mistletoe and grinning. She stood up and walked towards him. When she got to him, she glanced up. "Mistletoe?" She smiled at him.

Sam smiled again, took Joon into his arms, and planted a quick kiss on her lips.

"Happy Early Christmas," Sam whispered, hugging Joon tightly.

"Happy Early Christmas, both of you," Joon replied. She rested a hand on Sam's stomach and gave him another kiss.

00

Dinner was a happy affair. Everyone was laughing and joking around. Even Ichabod seemed to be having a good time.

At some point, Buster jumped up on the table and went around taking bites of everyone's food, before eventually walking towards Wonka and once again hissing at him.

"Ugh," Wonka sighed, clenching his fists. "Will not ruin party by killing the cat... Will not ruin party by killing the cat..." He repeated to himself. Everyone thought it was kind of funny, except for Willy, who was really aggravated.

After dinner, everyone settled into the common room to watch "It's a Wonderful Life". Sam and Joon were cuddled up next to each other, while Gilbert, Becky, and Arnie took up another couch. Everyone else was scattered on the floor or on chairs.

"I don't know why, but this kind of reminds me of when I was baptized." Sam spoke up suddenly. Joon looked at him curiously.

"You've never told me this story." She turned to him.

"Okay…" Sam chuckled. "Well, this was back a few years ago. I think I was around 16 and I was still living in Florida with my parents and my sisters. Church had just gotten out and we were all going down to the river because Reverend Penderghast was going to baptize me. Well, one thing they forgot to mention was that the spot on the riverfront where everybody was going to gather was right behind a bar." He paused and looked around. Becky and Gilbert were grinning.

"Wow…" Joon was shaking her head, smiling.

"I'm surprised they didn't kick us out." Sam started to laugh at the memory. "Oh, man, Reverend Penderghast had no idea what was going on. But it went well. I didn't die. We didn't get attacked by drunk people."

"Wow…" Gilbert started to laugh. "Where was this? Miami? Orlando?"

"Nope. Jacksonville." Sam grinned. "Crazy place."

Once everybody simmered down, they watched a rerun of A Christmas Story. The movie had just started, when there was a loud groan from across the room. Everyone turned to look at Edward, who was squirming around, looking like he was in pain.

"Are you okay?" Gilbert asked, getting off the sofa and kneeling down next to the younger man.

Edward groaned and shook his head 'no'.

"What's wrong? What hurts? Someone get Dr. Schnabel," Gilbert said. Ichabod got up and went to get the doctor, while Gilbert continued to sit with Edward.

"My stomach..." Edward whispered, cringing in pain again.

"Okay, just, stay calm," Gilbert instructed.

Right then, Dr. Schnabel came into the room.

"Everyone, go find somewhere else to be," He said, immediately going over to Edward's other side.

Everyone except Gilbert got up and awkwardly wandered off, both wanting to give Edward privacy and learn what was going on.

Edward had wrapped his arms around himself, trying to make the pain stop. The doctor pushed Edward's arms away. "I need to check on you," he said.

Edward nodded, trying to cope with the hurt he was feeling.

Gilbert frowned as the doctor poked and prodded his housemate. Edward looked extremely uncomfortable but seemed to be trying his best to let the doctor look him over. Pitying him, Gilbert pushed Edward's hair – which was drenched in sweat, at that point– back from his pale face. Edward glanced at him, a terrified look in his eyes.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," Gilbert said, trying to maintain eye contact with Edward, "Just look at me. The doctor will be done soon and you'll be alright."

Edward nodded very slightly, and kept his eyes on Gilbert. Then Dr. Schnabel spoke up.

"What does it feel like?" he finally asked.

"Tight...like my stomach is tight," Edward answered. He was still sweating and if he'd had hands, Gilbert bet that he would've been gripping onto something.

"How long have you been feeling this?"

"On and off... for about an hour," Edward replied, biting his lip. This really hurt.

"Alright. Sorry to ask you to help me again, Gilbert, but since you're here, can you help me help Edward lay down on the sofa?"

"Yeah, sure," Gilbert answered. "What's wrong with him?"

The doctor sighed, "I think it's just false contractions. It happens sometimes in the second and third trimester. Since Edward is having twins it's harder on his body, so he's more likely to experience issues than most of the people here," he explained. "He'll feel better if he's lying down. Sitting on the floor isn't helping."

"Okay," Gilbert said. He looked at Edward again, "You heard that? We're just going to help you lay down, alright?"

"Okay..."

Together, Gilbert and Dr. Schnabel were able to get Edward up onto the sofa. Gilbert got a pillow and placed it behind Edward's head.

"Are you feeling any better?" Dr. Schnabel asked, after about a minute.

"A little," Edward said. He did look better, but not a hundred percent. Almost instinctively, he moved his arms as if he wanted to place a hand on his stomach, but he drew back immediately when he realized what he was doing. It wouldn't help to accidentally disembowel himself.

Now it was Gilbert's turn to sigh. He perched on the edge of the sofa next to the young man, and laid a hand flat on Edward's stomach. He rubbed small circles on it, hoping to comfort him. He was getting used to comforting people by now, anyway, what with Sam's emotional outburst.

Edward let out a deep breath, and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of something he could never do for himself. It was a simple gesture, but it helped.

Gilbert and the doctor stayed there for a few more minutes, until it became apparent that Edward was very tired.

"I'm going to show everyone out," The doctor said quietly as Edward closed his eyes.

"He'll be okay, right?" Gilbert whispered as the doctor stood up.

"Yes. But I'm afraid this means that all of you are going to get exams. Don't want this type of thing happening again, now do we?"