Lots going on in this chapter! Hope yall enjoy!

Sophie didn't bother to knock on the bedroom door, she knew he what he was doing. He was moping. Crying. Putting himself through even more pain. Letting himself suffer.

He was sitting on his bed, a glass on his knee. The glass still held the same liquor it had when he disappeared. There was a distant look in his glazed over eyes, and his cheeks were pale. It hurt her to see him like that, but it also made her almost angry. How long was he going to drown his sorrows and over look everything that was laid out in front of him?

"I know what you're thinking," he said, no hint of his tears in his voice. "Is it so wrong to miss my son, Sophie?"

She took a seat beside him and placed her hand over his on the glass. "Depends how you miss him, and how much you miss missing him."

He glared at her. "You never had kids, you wouldn't know," he hissed pulling the drink away from her and putting it to her lips.

"You don't think I know what it's like to love someone with my entire heart, to have them taken away from me?" Sophie snapped standing up and preparing herself for a fight. "You're right, I've never lost a child, but I've lost damn well everyone else."

She stood in front of him, watching him stare down at his drink. This wasn't his fault, but it wasn't hers or anyone else's either. It was the universe's fault. Destiny, fate, life and death, whatever the hell it was. It was his God's fault.

A lump grew in her throat as she shook the thoughts of blame out of her head. No, it was no one's fault. If Sam wouldn't have died, if Blackwell wouldn't have screwed Nate over, the team may have never come together. All those people that they helped may have never been helped. She may have never found Anna or been given half the chance to love or find a family who truly accepts her for who she is. In an odd way, maybe she was thankful for such a tragedy, but she could never be thankful for the pain it gave Nate.

"Talk to me," she whispered, getting down on both knees in front of him, her head so close to his their foreheads were nearly touching.

"He loved Christmas… before he went into the hospital. After, he said it made him mad. The truth was I think it made him miss being home even more." Nate was talking to the floor but allowed Sophie to take his hands and lay the glass by his feet. Finally, he looked up into her eyes. "He would have loved Parker and Hardison's goofiness and he would have begged Eliot to teach him to ride a horse and I bet he probably would have had a crush on Anna." Then he squeezed her hand and looked deeply into those brown orbs with almost half a smile on his face. "And he would have loved everything about you."

Sophie laughed half heartedly and wiped her eyes. "I hate it when you make me cry like that," she complained halfheartedly.

Without thinking she took both his cheeks in her hands and kissed his lips, just barely. It was a small sign of compassion but they both knew they went too far.

Immediately she jumped away and Nate got to his feet. Both of them looked around awkwardly, refusing to actually meet each other's gaze. "I've- I've got to take care of Anna."

She didn't wake for him to answer, she just kept going for the door.

Sophie appeared at the top of the stairs, her eyes red and glassy. The other three had left, but I couldn't seem to budge from where Sophie left me. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, I searched for words.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think. I know we shouldn't ask questions, I'm sorry. Really. I did't-"

She smiled at me and shook her head. "No, it's only fair for you to know about Sam." When I didn't look convinced, she placed a hand on my cheek. "Sweetheart, it's alright."

I nodded and followed her out the door with the ridiculous costume in my arms.

Sophie seemed to be enjoying a job that meant being in a shopping mall all day. I didn't even want to know how much money she spent as she examined a scarf even though three bags already lay at her feet. I on the other hand was quite tired of the busy atmosphere. Nate somehow appeared next to us.

"It's quite nice being able to shop on the job," Sophie informed him, but was quickly distracted by a beautiful bracelet. "Oh, now isn't that lovely."

Nate noticed it also. It was silver with the name Emma engraved on it. "You like that? If I got that for you, I'd have to know you're name."

Sophie smiled at him. "You know what's also nice? A gift card." She winked at me and I couldn't help but snicker a little.

The man who fired our Santa walked by and Sophie quickly pushed Nate after him. "Now, now! You're turn. No job is a small job!"

Nate rolled his eyes and walked toward him muttering. With a knowing smile that Sophie wore all too often she looked down at me. "Sometimes I just love making him mad."

Hardison was in the middle of briefing when Parker came skipping in wearing a red Christmas jacket and a halo, with a boom box playing some obnoxious Christmas song. Nate glared up at her, about to gripe at her when I reached up and turned it off for him. Yeah, I like Christmas as much as the next girl, but sometimes Parker took things over bored.

She seemed completely unfazed by everyone's stares. "What?"

Nate nodded in a good riddance sort of fashion, while Sophie just shook her head. Eliot and Hardison just looked at her like she was crazy.

Hardison motioned back to the screen. "As I was saying…"

Parker nudged me with her elbow. "Hey, wanna help decorate the tree?" Pulling up a red bag, she dumped its contents on the table. Diamond necklaces, earrings, all kinds of different types of stolen material laid in front of us.

I let out a small laugh. "Sure."

Picking up a golden locket, I hung it next to a pair of diamond earrings big enough to weigh down the limb on the tree. Parker also grabbed a diamond necklace.

Sophie glanced over at us. "Parker, is that the Lion of Gilgamesh?"

Parker glanced over her shoulder and nodded. "Uhuh, stole it in Dubia in '05. I think it looks nice next to the Star of Sapphire." She tugged at the stone trying to straighten it.

I think Sophie's face paled slightly at Parker's roughness with such items. "Careful!" she swallowed raising her hand almost helplessly. "You have like millions of dollars worth of loot on that tree!"

Taking a closer look at the necklace she was tugging on I nearly laughed out loud. "I helped you steal that and you never even knew it!"

Parker looked at me funny, as though waiting for me to continue. "I helped you get it back to the states at least. Me personally! I remember that piece because it was the first time I had to actually wear a the merchandise. Man that was a fun one. My cover was-"

Hardison gave me funny look. "You were a smuggler in '05? How old were you? Ten?"

I smiled at him. "Yup. It was February."

He laughed at me. "Baby girl, you got an odd history. Even I didn't start that early."

"I did," Parker added roughly handing another piece of loot. "I was much younger than that."

Eliot shook his head. "That's just sad. I mean, we stopped one smuggler in Europe but there are so many more. Using children…"

I looked over at him and gave him my best smile. "That's why I'm glad I found you guys."

According to Hardison the man who owned the mall was swimming in debt. Gambling problem. He had hired a bunch of ex cons and had a flight to San Lorenzo on Christmas Eve. Nate said it was some sort of insurance scam that would help him out of debt. The cons would steal from the mall and being out of the country gave him the clear. We had to make sure that didn't happen. It was Sophie's job to be sure he never got on that Plane.

And something about Eliot Spencer dressed as Santa was absurdly hilarious.

"Next time Nate's Santa," Eliot hissed through his com.

Parker rolled her eyes and nudged me. "Nate's more Grinchy that Santa-y."

Sophie and Hardison's laughed while I helped another little kid onto Eliot's lap. Parker was skipping around singing Jingle Bells, thoroughly getting on everyone's nerves even maybe the parents' and children.

What happened may have been my fault. It may have been avoided if I hadn't been so focused on the job and would have actually looked at the people in line to see Santa. But I knew what my job was and I wasn't thinking about anything else.

"Hey little sister," a voice hissed in my ear just as I reached for a little blond girl's hand. My heart jumped to my throat.

"Anna, what's going on?" Nate asked over the com as I slowly looked up to see a tall, well built man. We shared the dark eyes, but he inherited Dad's thick dirty blond hair and big bone structure.

"Cory…" I whispered feeling sick to my stomach.

He smiled at me before looking at Parker and Eliot. "Elf Number Two is taking a break," he announced.

Eliot stood up, ready to fight, but I shook my head.

"No, it's okay. I'll be back."

Eliot didn't look completely convinced, but he nodded and returned to his seat. With more force than I expected, Cory grabbed me by the arm and pulled me off the platform. When he let go of my arm, he moved it hand to the back of my neck pinching it like a cat.

I winced as I was drug past stored and thrown roughly into the hallway. Eliot was whispering to Nate and Sophie, but I was too focused on Cory to understand what they were actually saying.

He was dressed like my father. A well tailored suit, a white button up. Very different from his old t-shirts and jeans we wore riding. The more I looked at him, the less I saw my brother, but instead saw my father.

"Hey big brother! How are you doing?" I said fake cheery. I lowered my voice to mock his. "Just fine little sister. Sorry I let you run off and not care what happened to you."

He rolled his eyes and glared at me. "You're just a child."

This time, I rolled my eyes and huffed. "And you're just like him. You know, at one point, I thought you may have been on Mom's side."

The way he laughed made me want to hit him. "Mom didn't have a side. She was never a part of the business and that's the way she liked it. You mean you thought I was on your side."

He was nearly a foot taller than me, probably a hundred pounds heavier at the least, but I wasn't scared of him. If anything, he should be afraid of me. I was the one that wasn't afraid of anything. Never was. I had been through more than he could have ever known. I had seen people killed for doing the very thing my father had me do. Cory didn't scare me.

"Go to hell," I snapped. "Mom never wanted this for us."

"So you don't like Dad's way of breaking the law so you break it with someone else. Nathan Ford and his little team. Imagine Dad and my surprise when hearing of an Anna Bonini working alongside Eliot Spencer, Sophie Devereaux, Nathan Ford, Alec Hardison, and Parker." Cory make that annoying tsking sound. "You've been a very bad girl. Oh, and nice touch taking Mom's maiden name."

"I've been bad? Who put a little girl on the plane with stolen jewelry shoved in the stuffing of her teddy bear? You were never put on planes and flown across the world!"

Cory rolled his eyes. "I'm not here to argue with you. I'm here to tell you it's time to go home. This little game you're playing is over."

Just as his arm went out to grab me, I stepped back. "No. Go home. I'm staying here with my family."

The ice in his laugh hurt more than the hand the flew across my face. "Blood's thicker than water, Anna. You really think Dad's going to just let you go?"

The tingling in my cheek began. "I've been gone for two years and he just now found me. I'm already gone."

Without another word I turned my back on him and began to walk back towards the platform where Eliot and Parker were continuing their jobs at the North Pole. The fun was about to begin and my father was not going to let me walk away any longer. Something was going to happen.

Nate had abandoned his spot in Lucile and was already rounding the corner to Cory. Silently, he stood there, waiting for the larger man to notice him.

Finally, Cory turned around and smiled at Nate. "Well, if it isn't the sometimes famous sometime infamous Nathan Ford. Plucking more children off the street?"

Nate remained silent. He knew how people like Cory worked. The fewer the questions he asked the more Cory would answer. Yet, it almost disturbed Nate that he was looking into Anna's eyes. They were the same and yet so different. Anna's still sparked with hurt and innocence, and even sometimes a childlike orneriness when she was playing with the team, but his were lit with anger and even evil.

"My father works very closely with Moreau and considers him a personal friend. It would be a lot easier for you to just hand her over to now instead of making anyone else any angrier," Cory informed cracking his lips into a smile.

Still, Nate remained silent. This did not make Cory happy. He needed to, at the least, get a rise out of him. "Anna's not nearly as sweet as she seems. She's a lying, conniving, little bitch. Trust me, you'll be sorry you didn't hand her over." Cory took one more step toward Nate. "My father will make you sorry."

Pushing past him, Cory headed for the door.

"Tell your father, Antonio Moretti," Nate said finally, his back to Cory, "that if anything happens to Anna or any member of my team on his behalf, that he will be sorry. You're father is a man in very high places, I'd hate to see him fall."

Nate finally turned around to face him. "Oh, and I want your mother's locket back. Anna misses it."

When we finally gave Christmas back to everyone and Chaos was arrested, we went back to McRory's. My thoughts were still on Cory as my head laid rested on my folded arms on the bar where Sophie sad playing with my hair.

Appearing with a bottle of Champaign, Nate set out six glasses and Sophie filled five while only pouring a tiny amount in my glass. When Nate gave her a raised eyebrow she just rolled her eyes and said "It's bloody Christmas."

Hardison smiled. "Ahh, we kick ass."

We all raised our glasses. "Yes we did. Here's to that!" Nate said as we clinked our glasses together.

Parker looked at Eliot who was still in his Santa suit. "Hey, so when you gunna take that off?"

Sophie pursed her lips. "The whole Santa beard just doesn't do it for me."

A hint of aggravation sparked in Eliot's eyes as he shook his head at us. "Wow," was all he managed to get out though.

Nate stood awkwardly on the other side of the counter. "Okay, listen." Both his hands were raised and he looked uncharacteristically jittery. "This being Christmas Eve and all, Sophie and I, well mostly Sophie, definitely helped-"

Sophie scoffed at him and set down her Champaign. "We got you presents!"

Parker and I both nearly started bouncing while the two boys looked at her like she was crazy. Elliot was the first to speak.

"You bought us gift?" Eliot snapped causing Parker to make a not so attractive face in confusion of whether or not she liked that idea. I on the other hand was still bouncing.

"Really?" I asked excitedly.

Nate looked uncomfortable again, but Sophie spoke for him. "I wouldn't say bought exactly, but we…" she glanced at Nate and lowered her voice, "obtained."

Elliot didn't look convienced, but Nate shrugged. "You're first."

Bending down to get something at his feet, he paused for dramatic effect before raising a sword to him. The look on Eliot's face made me smile. It was a look of shock and almost as though it was too good to be true. Slowly he took it from Nate and pulled the sword out.

"How-how did you-"

Sophie also was smiling, pleased she could make him happy. "Well, I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a samurai," Nate explained, leaning toward Sophie slightly.

This time Sophie leaned down and picked up a small box that was tucked into the counter. "Hardison."

Eliot quickly took his sword and rushed away from the counter while Hardison seemed much less reserved about accepting the gift unlike Eliot. He opened the box and his eyes lit up. "Nah, this can't be… it is. Prototype seven?" He held it up, as though he needed someone else to verify it was true. "They haven't even released five yet."

"I won't tell if you won't."

Hardison grabbed his glass and shook his head as he headed off for a chair. "You better believe it!"

Parker shifted uncomfortably while Nate just stared at her with a almost humorous stone look on his face. Finally, Sophie hit him. "Don't torture her!"

"Oh, okay!" Nate reached under the bar and took out a large yellow envelope and handed it to Parker.

She immediately tore into it and gasped as he saw its contents. Wide eyed, she looked up at Nate who had is arms folded in a very content manner and Sophie nearly laughing. "How did you know?"

My curiosity was sufficed when she pulled out a large stack of bills which she immediately pressed to her nose before skipping off. Now it was my turn. I looked up at two people I considered parents and suddenly felt really uncomfortable. My face reddened and I looked down at the bar. I wished I would have gotten them something, but I didn't.

"You didn't need to get me anything. Really," I assured them feeling extremely embarrassed.

Nate nudged Sophie playfully. "Told you we could have cut our losses," he teased winking at me. Sometimes he just knew how to make me feel better. "Go ahead, give it to her."

Sophie stared at him. "Ha. No, you give it to her. I can't put it on the bar like, it's huge!"

Now I was nearly dancing in my seat was Nate pulled up the large cello case and set it up right. Running around the side of the bar, I opened it. It was the one I had seen with Nate so many months ago. Carely, I pulled it out and plucked a string with my finger just to hear it hum. But as I looked at the back of the cello's neck, I nearly choked up.

In a beautiful cursive writing was my name and beside that in smaller letters was "love N & S". Putting it back into its case and making sure it was safe, I threw my arms around both Nate and Sophie.

"Thank you…" I whispered before rolling the case out from behind the bar and setting my new cello.

I held the bow in my hand as the instrument balanced against me. Slowly I played my first chord before quickly jumping into more. It was the most wonderful Christmas present I had ever been given.

Suddenly Parker stopped counting her money and went toward the door. Throwing it open she stepped outside and started dancing. "It's snowing!" she exclaimed, making me put up my instrument and run toward her. We both were still in out elf costumes but I didn't care. We cheered and danced while the other team laughed at us and enjoyed their Christmas.

Hours later I laid across Nate's couch with my head in Sophie's lap. "Merry Christmas," I whispered, barely able to keep my eyes open.

"Merry Christmas love," she replied as she rested her head in the corner of the couch.

I looked up at Sophie. "Would you rather have spent Christmas with your Aunt Emily?" I asked yawning again. "After all, we were all supposed to take our holidays separately."

She ran a hand through my hair again, fighting slightly with my curls. "And miss this? Never."

When Anna finally fell asleep, Sophie moved to Nate's room. He was sitting on the side of his bed, once again lost in thought. "Thank you again for the wonderful gift," she said sweetly taking a seat next to him.

He smiled at her and held up the napkin she had written on earlier. It read simply I could make it two. It was referring to the kiss from earlier. The one that left them both in an awkward situation that neither of them knew how to handle, but now it was not awkward. It was fine and comfortable.

She leaned towards him, wanting to feel his lips on hers again, but was cut short by a cell phone ringing.

Both of them exchanged looks, but Nate took it.

"Hello?" he said oddly.

"Hello Nathan. This is Antonio Moretti, Anna's father."

What did you think? Review please! Love always, Marilynn.