DISCLAIMER: I do not own Beverly Hills 90210 or any of the characters involved in this story.
A/N: Bob & Trudy Barnett make a cameo in this chapter. Those of you familiar with the 1st season of BH90210 may remember them from the episode "BYOB" They were that annoying couple who were staying in the next room to Jim and Cindy during their Palm Springs retreat and kept bothering them all the time, even crashed their private hot tub time by skinny dipping.
They weren't exactly two of my favorite guest stars, but they were memorable. Mainly because I've had friends like that, who don't know when they've worn out their welcome and just push your patience to the limits.
Anyways, on with the chapter. We pick up right where we left off.
As the jet plane sores through the night time sky, on its way to Colorado, three members of the Walsh family find themselves enjoying the comfort and convenience of first class. Jim, Cindy, and Brandon are clearly enjoying the luxury that flying first class provides. Brenda on the other hand is having anything but a good time. Wearing a jean jacket and a long red skirt, Brenda has been sitting there on the plane the entire time holding her hands and looking straight forward.
Part of her discomfort is her natural fear of flying, which nobody but Brandon knows about as he likes to tease her about it. But the majority of it is due to her worrying about Dylan. She looks over at the empty seat where Dylan was supposed to be sitting and wishes he was there. But she's more worried about what he is doing right at this very second. Instead of spending Christmas with her and her family, who was practically like family to him, he was spending it with two people he just met and whom he really had no idea what their intentions were. She knew how vulnerable Dylan was when it came to having a sense of family and that would make him an easy person to take advantage of. But what bothered her most was that she was going to be in Colorado while he was in L.A., and there was nobody there to watch out for him.
"Macadamia nut, Bren?" Brandon offers as he holds a bag of the complimentary peanuts they gave him in front of Brenda. Brenda continues to sit there with her hands on her lap, staring straight ahead as she shakes her head, clearly glum.
"No thanks." Brenda replies softly.
"You know what they say. Everything tastes better in first class." Brandon says in a jokingly cheerful manner.
"Brandon, I'm fine all right. Just leave me be." Brenda says in a quiet mellow tone.
"Fine." Brandon replies as he kicks back and dumps a hand full of nuts into his left hand and one by one begins to eat them. "You sure you don't want to sit by the window?"
"No, Brandon, I'm fine. Thank you." Brenda says
Brandon finishes his nuts and crinkles up the bag. "So is this how it's going to be the whole trip?" he asks.
"Is this how what is going to be?" Brenda asks.
"Oh come on, Bren. You know what I'm talking about. Everyone else having a great time while you're sitting there pouting and feeling miserable." Brandon says.
"Look, I'm just worried about…" Brenda starts getting cut off in mid-sentence.
"I know what you're worried about. But Dylan made his decision, and nothing you and I say or do is going to change that. Now, we got the majestic Rockies, a lovely winter vacation home, and thousands of acres of some of the best ski slopes in the country waiting for us when we get off this plane. So you can either spend the whole week worrying about something you can do absolutely nothing about. Or you can forget try to enjoy yourself." Brandon says.
Brenda sighs. "I guess you're right." she says. At this point, Jim and Cindy return to their seats. Cindy is holding a drink in her hand and has a huge smile on her face.
"I like this." Cindy says to Brandon and Brenda.
"Well congratulations Mom. We've been in Beverly Hills for almost 4 years now and you're finally starting to enjoy the good life." Brandon says.
"Hey, I've always enjoyed the good life." Cindy says as she sips on her drinks.
"You kids want to want to see the brochure on the place that we're staying?" Jim asks as he pulls a brochure out of his jacket pocket.
"No thanks." Brenda says softly and unemotionally.
"You know, Jim, I can't help but feel like we forgot something." Cindy says.
"That's just vacation jitters, honey. We locked the doors, turned off all the lights; we got our tickets, our bags, and the key to the home, what else is there?" Jim asks. At that point the Captain comes on the P.A.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have just received word that due to a severe blizzard that is covering most of Colorado, the runways have been closed until further notice. For your safety, we will be landing in Phoenix. We apologize for this inconvenience and assure you that you our ticket agents will be at the gate upon arrival to assist you with all your holiday travels. Thank you."
Jim exhales as he rolls his eyes while Cindy looks at him. Their jovial moods have immediately disappeared. Brenda turns her head for the first time to look at her parents while Brandon snickers as he holds up his index finger.
"Call this a hunch, mom. But that thing you were wondering about, do you think by chance that just maybe we might have forgotten to check the weather report?" Brandon says.
In an instant, Jim's demeanor has completely changed to that of relaxed and festive to disgruntled and aggravated. "Perfect, just perfect." Jim growls. "There go our holiday plans."
"Take it easy, Jim. Maybe it's not so bad." Cindy says, trying to be her typically reassuring self.
"Honey, you heard the man. There is a major blizzard across all of Colorado, there's no way were going to get into Aspen for at least a couple of days." Jim says, and I'm sure by now every hotel in Phoenix is booked, and there is no way we can get a room.
"So what does this mean?" Brenda asks.
"Well Bren, let me make this simple for you." Brandon says. "Any way you slice it, we're going to be eating our Christmas dinner in some lounge at the Phoenix airport."
An unhappy looking Dylan picks up the phone and dials the number that Brenda left to reach her at while she was in Colorado. As he hears the phone ringing on the other end, he thinks about what he's going to say when he gets Brenda on the phone. He's not sure why he's calling. He just wants to hear her voice and know that she got there okay. He still feels bad about ditching her and the Walsh family at the last moment.
After five rings and no answer, Dylan hangs up the phone. Suzanne is sitting at the kitchen table.
"Still no answer?" Suzanne asks, indicating that Dylan's already tried calling.
Dylan shakes his head. "I don't know where they could be. They should be there by now." he says.
"Well you know how hectic travel is at this time of year." Suzanne says trying to be reassuring but not being very convincing.
"Yeah, I guess." Dylan says in a low mellow tone. Suzanne frowns slightly.
"Look, I feel really bad. We really didn't mean to ruin your holiday plans. If we had known, we…" Suzanne says apologetically, getting cut off when Dylan holds up his hand
"Don't stress over it, all right? I've been through a lot with Brenda and her family. Believe me, they understand."
"Well, that may be all well and good. But I just don't want you to remember us as the people who ruined your Christmas this year." Suzanne says.
"You won't be." Dylan says quietly, but assertively.
"That's good to know." Suzanne replies.
Dylan sits down at the kitchen table as Suzanne sits on the opposite side. He glances back at Erica who is over watching TV on the couch. "You know, I must admit, and don't take this the wrong way, but I would have slammed the door right in your face when you first showed up. But then I saw that little girl, and I got to tell you, something special happened."
Suzanne smiles. "You know, Jack was very instinctive when it came to reading people. You must get that from him."
"I guess so." Dylan replies. At that point Erica comes walking into the kitchen and walks over to her mom.
"Mom, I'm hungry." Erica says softly.
"Oh sweetie, don't you have any more of those crackers we bought at the bus station?" Suzanne asks. Erica shakes her head.
"I finished those hours ago." cries Erica.
"Listen, why don't I go down to the Pit and get us some dinner." Dylan suggests.
"Oh no, no, Dylan, we couldn't." Suzanne cries out.
"Come on, you can't come to L.A. without having a mega burger." Dylan says as he looks down at Erica. "Want to come along? I bet Nat will let you play the juke box." Dylan says to Erica.
"Oh can we, mom? Can we go?" Erica asks.
Suzanne laughs. "Tell you what. Why don't you two go? I'm kind of tired and I think I'll stay here." she says. Dylan looks at Suzanne awkwardly, finding it kind of odd that she would let her daughter go off with a guy she just met.
"You sure it's okay?" Dylan asks.
Suzanne nods. "I think you two should spend some time together. Get to know each other." she says. Erica's face lights up as Dylan looks at her face and smiles.
"Tell me something, you've ever ridden in a Porsche before?" he asks.
Erica shakes her head. "I don't think so." she says.
"Well, you haven't lived until you've cruised the streets of L.A. with the top down. So what do you say?" he asks as Erica continues to smile.
"I think you've got her sold, Dylan." Suzanne says grinning.
The airport in Phoenix is jammed packed with passengers whose flights got diverted from Aspen & Denver due to the bad weather, as well as the regular holiday travelers. The lines to use the payphones stretch around the corner. It has already been announced that that there will not be any flights to Aspen for at least 24 hours.
Brandon, Brenda, and Cindy have found a bench to sit with their luggage at their feet and off to the sides. All three of them are looking uncomfortable and exhausted. Jim is waiting in the long telephone line in hopes of trying to secure a hotel room.
"He's never going to find a place." Brenda says hopelessly.
"Come on, honey. Just try to think positively, okay?" Cindy says, again trying to be the voice of encouragement.
"Something tells me thinking positively went out the window a long time ago, mom. And for good reason too." Brandon says.
"Brandon, whatever happened to being optimistic?" Cindy asks.
"Mom, there's a fine line between optimism and false hope." says Brenda.
"Yeah, there are no flights going to Aspen for at least a day. All the flights back to L.A. are sold out, and the chances of dad finding any place to stay around here are slim to none, and slim may have just walked out the door. No offense, mom, but unless Santa delivers some kind of miracle, we're going to be spending Christmas right here in this airport terminal." Brandon says, being realistic. At that point, all of them hang their heads. Brenda reaches into her jacket pocket and pulls out the case that Dylan gave to her that contains her Christmas present.
Although she promised she'd wait till she opened it, she's feeling very low at that point about the entire situation and needs something to pick her up. She's just about to open the case when the three of them get startled by a heavy southern accented female voice.
"Cindy? Cindy Walsh, I knew it was you." The voice calls out. "Don't you dare say that you don't remember me, because I sure as spitfire remember you."
They all look up and see a large middle aged woman standing in front of them. Brandon and Brenda have no clue who this woman is. Cindy knows this woman looks familiar but it takes a few seconds for it to register.
"Trudy? Trudy Barnett from Palm Springs?" Cindy asks.
"The one and only. And you remember Bob, don't you?" Trudy says as she waves for her husband to come over.
"Eh heh, on yeah, Bob." Cindy says while choking slightly trying to sound excited, but gritting her teeth.
"Hello Cindy, good to see you." Bob says in an equally heavy southern accent."
"And my my, these must be your little ones." Trudy says.
"Um yeah, this is Brandon and Brenda. But they're in college now and they kind of aren't so little anymore." Cindy replies.
"So what brings you guys out to Phoenix?" Bob asks.
"Well, we were on our way to Aspen for Christmas, but our plane couldn't land because of the snow and now we can't get there and we can't get back to L.A., so we're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place." Cindy explains.
"Oh my, that is quite the pickle." Trudy says. "Well Cindy, I think we just might be able to play Santa Clause to you. How many of you guys are there?"
"There's four of us, us three plus our dad." Brenda says.
"What a coincidence, we just happen to have four seats left on our bus and we is heading to L.A. tonight, should get there about sunrise tomorrow morning." says Trudy "You all want to hitch a ride on the Bob & Trudy express?"
Brandon, Brenda, and Cindy all smile as an answer to they're prayers has come about. "Really? That would be great." Cindy says, let me go get Jim. Cindy rushes off to find her husband leaving Brandon and Brenda alone with Bob and Trudy.
"I just hope you brought along your singing voices." Bob says.
"Singing voices?" asks Brandon as he and Brenda look at each other confused.
"That's right. We run a group of traveling carolers. We go from city to city by bus around Christmas time singing Christmas Carols. It's kind of like a past time of ours. And we practice on the bus. So we'll be singing most of the time" Trudy explains. Brandon and Brenda grit their teeth with a very awkward look on their faces as they look at each other and are thinking the same thing. This is their only way out from spending Christmas in a crowded airport, but an 8 hour bus ride with Christmas carolers is going to be long.
Cindy runs down Jim, who just got off the phone. Jim sighs as he has an exasperated look on his face.
"Sorry honey, no luck. Every motel I called was booked. It seems as if every diverted flight has come to Phoenix for the holidays." Jim says in a frustrated tone.
"Jim, I got good news and I got some not so good news." Cindy says.
"Please, tell me the good news. I need some good news right about now." Jim groans.
"We found us some people who are willing to give us a ride back to L.A." Cindy says. Jim's face lights up with hope.
"Really? That's great!" Jim says with excitement. "What's the not so good news?" he asks.
"Those are the people?" Cindy says as he points Bob and Trudy out to Jim, whose smile turns into a tuned up nose instantly.
"Oh no. You must be joking." Jim says as he looks at Cindy who is grimacing. "Bob and Trudy from Palm Springs?"
"I know, Jim, I know." Cindy says as she pats her husband on the shoulder. "But it's either them or spend Christmas at the airport."
Jim rolls his eyes. "That's like choosing between death by the electric chair or lethal gas." Jim says. At that point Brandon and Brenda
"Mom, mom." Brandon yells out as he and Brenda run over to Jim and Cindy. "Have Bob and Trudy by any chance told you what it is they do?"
Jim and Cindy shake their heads. "If they did, I sure don't remember." Jim says.
"Well, seems like they run a club of traveling Christmas carolers." Brandon says.
Jim and Cindy look at each other in disbelief with a look of 'oh crap' on their faces. "Carolers?" Jim asks.
Nat's dinner for the homeless has wrapped up at the Peach Pit as most everyone has left. David has gone off to do his shift at the radio show. Andrea has left to attend midnight mass with Jesse. Steve has left as well. Scott is still there helping to clean up, as well as Kelly and Donna.
Donna has clearly been crying as David breaking up with her has completely devastated her. She is sitting down at a table with her head in her hands as Kelly sits never to her with an arm around her trying to console her.
"Donna, come on. Don't let this ruin your entire Christmas and your birthday." Kelly says.
Donna blows her nose into a napkin and then wipes away a tear. "How can I not, Kel? How could he do this to me? How could he break up with me on Christmas Eve, with my birthday tomorrow, all because I wouldn't sleep with him?"
"I know, Donna. He's a jerk for doing it. But you made your decision and you stood by it. Don't tear yourself up. You did the right thing. Just give David his space for a while, I'm sure he'll realize the mistake he's made eventually." encourages Kelly.
Donna frowns and looks up at Kelly, her eyes are puffy and red. "Kind of hard to give him his space when I'm living in the same apartment with him." she says.
At that point, Scott makes his way over to the table, where they are at. He stops for a minute to talk to Kelly and Donna.
"How's she doing?" Scott asks Kelly, referring to Donna.
"Not good." Kelly replies. Scott frowns as he looks for some words of comfort to say to Donna.
"Look Donna, if it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one David's been cold towards lately. I've been catching it from both barrels every time I say anything to him." Scott says.
Donna shakes her head. "I know. And I'm sorry, Scott." Donna says.
"Don't be." Scott replies. "You have no reason to be sorry. You didn't do anything." Scott says.
"Scott is right, Donna. Stop apologizing for his mistakes. He's the one who has been acting like a jerk lately. And I say until David starts showing some decency, we all just ignore him." says Kelly.
"Kelly, I can't just…." Donna starts.
"Yes you can, Donna. And you will. I'm tired of David feeling like it's his god given right to be nasty to whoever he wants whenever he wants. I mean between the three of us, we're his sister, his girlfriend, and his best friend, and I'm willing to bet he hasn't said a total of five nice words to us all week. Well, I'm sick of it. So I say if he's going to treat us like dirt, then it's time he got a taste of his own medicine. So don't say anything to David the next time you see him, Donna. You neither, Scott." Kelly says.
Scott and Donna reluctantly shake their heads and agree as Donna gets up and she and Kelly slowly walk towards the exit.
"Hey, Merry Christmas you guys. And thanks again for your help." Nat says with a grin.
"Thanks Nat, Merry Christmas." Donna says as both Kelly and Scott wish him a Merry Christmas too.
"Listen, I'm just going to grab my jacket in the back. You two have a Merry Christmas." Scott says to Kelly and Donna.
"Thanks Scott, Merry Christmas." says Donna.
"Merry Christmas." Kelly replies.
Kelly and Donna both leave as Scott walks back into the kitchen area and grabs his jacket, putting it on as he starts to head out the Peach Pit door. At that moment, the door opens and Dylan walks in with Erica, as he comes face to face with Scott.
"Dylan!" Scott greets. "Long time no see."
"Hey Scott, how's it going, man? Is Nat around?" Dylan asks as he and Scott shake hands.
"Yeah, he just stepped out back." Scott answers. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to Aspen with Brenda for Christmas?"
Dylan takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Yeah, well something kind of last minute came up. Or I guess I should say someone." Dylan says as he looks down at Erica, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Scott, I'd like you to meet my little sister, Erica."
"Your sister?" Scott asks surprisingly. "I didn't know you had a sister."
"Yeah, neither did I." Dylan replies.
Scott leans down and shakes Erica's hand. "Hi, Erica. I'm Scott." He says.
"Hello." Erica replies shyly.
"You know, you're about the same age as my brother Spencer. Maybe I can introduce you to him sometime." Scott says with a smile.
"A boy?" Erica says as she turns up her nose. "Gross."
Dylan chuckles then turns to Erica. "Hey Hey." he says with a grin. "Boys aren't so bad, are they? I mean, I'm a boy. Scott's a boy. Are we gross?"
"No, but that's different." Erica says.
"Oh and how is it so different?" Dylan asks. Before Erica can answer, Nat comes out from the back surprised to see Dylan.
"Dylan!" Nat exclaims. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on a ski lift right about now?"
"Change of plans, Nat, my friend." Dylan says.
"Listen, I need to get home. Merry Christmas, Nat. Good seeing you again, Dylan." Scott says.
"Merry Christmas, Scott. Thanks again." Nat shouts.
"Yeah, Merry Christmas, Scott." Dylan says as Scott walks out the door. Nat turns to look at Erica.
"So Dylan, are you going to introduce me to this pretty young lady?" Nat asks referring to Erica.
"Why of course. Erica, this is my friend Nat that I was telling you about. He's a really great guy. He owns this joint. Nat, meet Erica, my little sister." Dylan says
"Did I hear this right? Your sister?" Nat asks.
"Yep. Just came into town today. Looks like I got an early Christmas present." Dylan says.
"So that's why you didn't go to Aspen, huh?" Nat asks as Dylan just nods nonchalantly.
"So Nat, I told Erica she couldn't come to L.A. without having a Peach Pit Mega Burger. You think you can hook us up with three?" Dylan asks.
"You're just in time; I was just about to shut off the grill. Let me go throw those on for you." Nat replies with a smile. "And while I'm at it, I got something just for you." Nat says as he reaches into his shirt pocket and grabs a candy cane and gives it to Erica.
"What do you say?" Dylan asks.
"Thank you." Erica says.
"Hey, you're welcome." Nat replies. Erica looks around and spots the juke box in the corner.
"Can I go play your juke box?" Erica asks.
"Well I don't know. Can you?" jokes Nat as Dylan smiles reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out some quarters and handing them to Erica.
"Here you go, knock yourself out, just nothing too heavy." says Dylan.
"Do you have 'Mary had a little lamb' on there?" Erica asks as both Nat and Dylan smile.
"I think they just took that one out last week, but anything you get on there is a winner." Nat jokes. Erica runs off as Nat and Dylan both watch her.
"Cute kid, huh?" Dylan whispers to Nat.
"Yeah, she's cute all right. But your sister? Since when do you have a sister?" Nat asks.
"Since about ten o'clock last night when her and her mother came knocking on my door. She introduced herself as an old friend of Jack McKay's. So I invite her in, we start talking and she drops this bomb on me that Jack was Erica's father." Dylan says.
"Really?" Nat asks with surprise. "And you're sure of this?"
"Nat, I'm not sure of anything. As far as I know this woman could be hustling me for something. But I mean, I gave up spending Christmas with Brenda. Not for Suzanne, but for that little girl right over there. I mean I wonder, did I do the right thing? Should I have just told them to get lost?" Dylan asks.
Nat shrugs as he looks over at Erica and then back to Dylan. "I don't know, Dylan. Who's to say what's right and what's wrong. But I do know one thing, if there was ever one night a year to open up your home and invite somebody in off the street, it would be tonight." Nat says.
"Hey Dylan, what do you think of this one?" Erica shouts from across the diner, asking about a song. Nat looks at Dylan and smiles.
"Go on." he whispers. "I'll go throw your burgers on."
Nat disappears into the kitchen as Dylan walks over to see what selections Erica is looking at on the juke box.
As the bus carrying the Walshes and the traveling Christmas Carolers speed down the right into the black Christmas Eve night, everyone on board is singing and in quite the jovial Christmas spirit. But the Walshes sit in the back of the bus with looks on their faces of people who are just about ready to jump out the window.
The singing has been going on non-stop for nearly four hours ever since they left Phoenix and shows no sign of letting up anytime soon. As Brandon and Brenda try to ignore it, Jim and Cindy just look at each other while the rest of the bus continues to sing the carols.
Deck the halls with bows of holly, Fa la la la la la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la la la la la
"Are these people ever going to quit singing?" Jim whispers as he leans over to Cindy.
"I don't think so." Cindy whispers back.
"You would think their throats would get soar eventually." Jim says in an exasperated tone.
"Jim, do me a favor." Cindy whispers. "The next time your boss wants to reward you with something, tell him you're busy."
Over across the aisle Brandon and Brenda look at each other, both with annoyance and sheer irritation etched on their faces.
"Brandon, if they don't quit singing soon, I swear to God, I may wind up killing somebody." Brenda says.
"I thought you liked Christmas carols." Brandon says jokingly.
"Not for four straight hours on a bus with nothing to do but look out the window at the desert." Brenda replies.
"Take it easy, Bren. We only got four more hours to go." Brandon replies with a slight grin.
"That is so not funny." Brenda replies.
"I just don't believe this. I mean how did we end up here? I mean when I woke up this morning, I thought by this time, I'd be in Aspen sipping hot chocolate by a fire somewhere with Dylan." Brenda says.
"Well look at it this way, this isn't the first Christmas we've wound up on a bus with a bunch of singing carolers. Remember going to the Avarado Street Elementary School last year?" Brandon asks.
"Yeah, but that was for 20 minutes on a school bus. Not 8 hours across state lines." Brenda says.
"Well, there's got to be something you can do to help pass the time." Brandon says.
Brenda looks at her brother and suddenly an idea goes off. "Actually there is." Brenda says as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out the case Dylan gave her again. "It's time to see just what Dylan gave me."
"Shouldn't you wait till tomorrow?" Brandon asks.
"Brandon, don't start. I need something to get me through this bus ride from hell." Brenda says.
"You got a point." Brandon says. "Alright, let's see if Dylan managed to outdo himself this year."
Brenda slowly opens the case and gasps as she puts her hand up on her chest when she looks down and sees the two half-heart shaped pendulums with a picture of Dylan on one, and a picture of Brenda on the other. As Brenda looks at the diamonds that surround both pieces, she takes a deep breath.
"Oh my god." Brenda says.
"Wow, would you look at those diamonds. This had to have cost a pretty penny or two." Brandon says. Brenda doesn't say anything back as she looks down putting the two pieces together and forming a picture of her and Dylan together. At that point she notices a small note at the bottom of the box. She picks it up and reads it too herself.
"Bren, I gave you this two years ago because I wanted to show that you were my other half that completed me. Now, after everything we've been through, I wanted to give you something to show you that you and I are forever. And no matter what bumps on the road we may encounter, we'll always get through it and just keep coming out stronger. I love you, now and forever. Merry Christmas. Dylan" The note reads.
Brenda starts to get weepy eyed as Brandon looks at her.
"In case you're wondering, I played an accomplice in all of this." Brandon says.
"What?" Brenda asks.
"Dylan asked me to retrieve that for him so he could make the adjustments. So if you had been looking for it and thought you lost it, now you know why." Brandon says.
Brenda grins slightly at Brandon's little joke as she is overcome by emotion. This is quite possibly the most beautiful Christmas present that she has ever received. And at that point, she only wishes Dylan was there with her right now so she could tell her how much she loves him. And she knows the first thing she wants to do when they get back to Beverly Hills is go over to Dylan's house and give him the jacket she bought him.
David walks into the radio station at CU for his shift. He is clearly in a bad mood as the events of what happened with Donna this afternoon are still weighing on his mind. David walks into Howard's office where he is wrapping up for the night.
"Howard, are you sure we can't just play one of my old shows tonight? I really don't think I can do this. I mean it's Christmas Eve; do you seriously think anybody's going to be listening?" David asks.
"Silver, we go live 24/7, 365 days of the year. I know it's rough, but that's what you agreed to when you signed on for this. Now if you don't want to do it, your replacement's just a phone call away." Howard answers.
"Gee, Merry Christmas, Howard. You sure do know how to make someone feel appreciated." David says angrily as he starts to storm out the door.
"Hey Hey! Close the door." Howard says. David takes a deep breath to calm his nerves and then shuts the door.
"What's with you lately, David? I'm losing confidence in you." Howard says.
"Look, I'm sorry, all right. It's just that….." David says hesitantly
"Come on, man. Spit it out, you can talk to me." Howard says.
David takes a deep breath. "I broke up with Donna today." David moans.
"Oh man, that's rough." Howard replies.
"It just wasn't working out. I know it was for the best, but it still hurts." David says in a sad tone.
"So cut it loose all ready. It's Christmas, just get out there and do the show." Howard replies.
"Honestly Howard, I don't know if I can keep doing this. I mean on top of this Donna thing, I got finals coming up next week in classes I've barely been in. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I just, I'm a wreck." David says.
Howard looks at David and nods. "Look, I hear you" he says as he starts to close the blinds to his office. "Listen its Christmas, all right? And with that being the case, Santa's come. I got a present for you."
"What?" David asks.
Howard begins to pull something out of his shirt pocket. "Crystal Meth."
David sighs as he looks on with doubt. "Is this the stuff you were talking about the other day?" he asks.
"Yeah. The stuff that will make you rock through your 2 am shift without a care in the world. Just do a little bit, and you'll be in cruise control all night." Howard says. "Get the OJ out of my fridge.
David debates it as he has his doubts at first but finally says to himself "To hell with it." Having felt like he just wasted the last two years of his life on a relationship what was never going to get past 2nd base and with the way things have been going, he needed to feel good. And if this was the way to do it, then so be it.
David goes into the mini-fridge in Howard's office and grabs a bottle of orange juice as Howard begins to prepare the crystal meth for him.
It is Christmas morning, and over at Dylan's house, Suzanne and Erica have woken up to find that Dylan isn't there at all. His car is gone and both are wondering where he could have gone.
"Do you think he changed his mind and decided to go to Colorado?" Erica asks.
Suzanne shakes her head. "I don't know, sweetie." she replies.
Erica frowns with a sad and disappointed look on her face. "You should have wrote to him and told him we were coming." says Suzanne.
"Yeah you're right, I probably should have. But even if I did, we can't just expect Dylan to change his whole life just because we showed up. I mean, he's in college, he's got a girlfriend. He's got a life."
"Yeah, I know." Erica says sadly. "I just wish I was a part of it."
Suzanne nods her head frowning. "Come on, sweetie. If we're going to go to Disneyland, we'd better get going."
"I guess you're right." Eric says in a melancholy tone as she and Suzanne head towards the front door and open it. At that point they hear Dylan and see him walking up the walk way carrying a large Christmas tree with him.
"Hey! Look out! Make way, Christmas Tree express, coming through. Express train, Whooooooooo." Dylan shouts with excitement as Erica's face lights up with wonder while Suzanne smiles. Dylan sets the Christmas tree up in the living room.
"Oh would you look at the size of that monster." Dylan says as Erica rushes over to him. "Is that big enough for you? You like that? I'll tell you what. I got a car full of presents, I got decorations, I got lights, I got flashing candy canes. So what do you say you help me decorate this bad boy?" Dylan says. At that point, Erica wraps her arms around Dylan and squeezes as hard as she can giving him a giant hug as Dylan hugs back.
"I didn't think I was ever going to see you again." Erica says.
"Hey, are you kidding." Dylan says. "I've never had a sister before. And you know what, I kind of like it."
Erica and Dylan continue to hug in the living room while Suzanne smiles.
The Walsh family walks into their house back in Beverly Hills early on Christmas morning. All of them have the look of exhaustion on their faces as none of them got any sleep given the bus ride and the long day that they had.
"Didn't think we'd be seeing this place again so soon?" Jim remarks as he walks in the door followed by Cindy, Brandon, and Brenda, all of them are carrying their luggage with them as they leave it in the foyer.
"Ahhh, listen, I hate to be a Scrooge on Christmas morning, but I really need to get some sleep." Cindy says groggily as she yawns.
"Yeah, me too." Jim replies.
"Me three." Brandon says. "And for the record, if any of you so much as hums a Christmas Carol for the next six months, you will not live to see next Christmas." jokes Brandon.
"You'll get no argument from me on that one." Jim says in a tired voice.
"Me either." Cindy says.
"Listen you guys go on and get some sleep, I'll be back shortly, okay?" Brenda says.
Jim, Cindy, and Brandon all turn and look at her funny. "Where could you possibly be going at 7:45 on Christmas morning?" Jim asks.
"I just want to run over to Dylan's real quick and give him his Christmas present while it's still Christmas." Brenda says as she reaches in one of her bags and pulls out Dylan's wrapped present.
Normally Jim would put up more of a fight, but at this point, he is way too tired to argue. "All right, fine, just be quiet when you come back in, okay?" Jim says.
Jim, Cindy, and Brandon all creep up the stairs like zombies as they are half asleep. Brenda on the other hand, has had her energy totally rejuvenated. She's been up for almost 24 hours now, but her excitement is over flowing as she can't wait to walk through Dylan's front door and hand him her present and tell him how much she loved his.
Brenda rushes out the door and takes off walking toward Dylan's house.
Dylan and Erica have finished decorating the Christmas tree in lights, tinsel and decorations. There are lots of presents under the tree and a fire going in the fire place as Dylan has gone the extra mile to make his home look more cozy and have more of a Christmas atmosphere for Erica.
"I don't know about you, but I think we got the best looking tree in all of L.A. What do you think?" Dylan jokes with enthusiasm.
"It's awesome. It's the best tree in the whole world." Erica replies with excitement.
"The whole world? I don't know, I bet somebody in Japan's got a pretty good one." Dylan says.
"Yeah, but not as good as ours." Erica replies.
"You know what, you're right. Nobody beats ours, am I right?" Dylan replies.
"You're right." Erica says.
"Listen, I got hot chocolate and I got a bag full of presents just waiting to be open, but there's one thing I want you to open first." Dylan says as he hands Erica an envelope.
Erica takes the envelope and reads it as it says "To the world's greatest sister."
She opens the envelope and finds three tickets in there.
"Three tickets to Disneyland!" Erica shouts.
"Uh-Uh." Dylan replies. "Not just any tickets, but VIP tickets. This means we can ride any ride and see any show without having to wait in line. So Mickey Mouse will be rolling out the red carpet when we show up." he says.
Erica goes up and gives Dylan another hug as he hugs her back. "Dylan, this is the best Christmas ever." She says to him.
"You know what, you're right. It is. I mean I got everything I could possibly want, a sister, a Christmas tree, a beautiful day, and of course the tickler." Dylan says
Erica looks confused. "The tickler?" she asks.
"That's right, the tickler, argh." Dylan jokes as he begins to tickle Erica and she starts laughing as he gets down on the floor and tickles her while he laughs. Suzanne looks on with a big grin on her face.
At that moment, Brenda comes walking up to Dylan's front door carrying his present underneath her arm. She is about to ring his door bell when she hears huge amounts of laughter coming from inside. She goes over and peaks in the front window and sees Dylan and Erica laughing and having a wonderful time as he tickles her. Dylan has a big huge smile on his face while Erica is having the time of her life. Brenda realizes that this is the happiest Dylan has been in a long time, and suddenly she feels completely out of place, like she doesn't even belong there.
As Erica and Dylan hug again, Brenda turns around and walks away without ringing the doorbell. She doesn't want to intrude. All these years, she was the one with the family while Dylan never really felt in place with them. But this time, the roles are reversed and it is Dylan having fun with a family while Brenda feels out of place.
Brenda walks up the driveway and makes her way back to her house without Dylan, Erica, or Suzanne ever seeing her or even knowing she was there. With an exhausted and somewhat sad look on her face, Brenda makes her way back home. Dylan is happy and that's all that matters to her.
TO BE CONTINUED
A/N: The traveling Christmas Carolers was something I came up with at the last minute. I know it's kind of stupid, but I had to think of a way to get Brenda and her family back to L.A. quickly without air travel, and this was really the first thing that popped into my head.
Now if this had been a real 90210 episode, they would have made the Walshes time at the Phoenix Airport one of the focal points of the entire show. But I just didn't want to devote that much time to a minor problem that wouldn't serve to advance the story. So this was the easiest quick fix I could come up with, and I thought it added some humor to the story. BH90210 wasn't all heart felt drama, it did have its lighter humorous moments as well and from time to time I do try to insert that into my stories.
So anyways, we'll pick up next time with the whole Brenda/Dylan/Erica story as well as David's drug addiction, which has now officially begun.