Timmy did not like his sling

Chapter 11, guys, one week from the previous update as always. Thanks for your many wonderful reviews, they were awesome as always, and I hope you all enjoy the chapter. On with the show!

-8x8-

Timmy did not like his sling. He liked his cast even less, even if everyone had signed it for him and Uncle Vic had drawn all over it to look like a robot super cannon. The novelty had worn off a week ago, and now it was just irritating. Even if he didn't have to run in gym, he also didn't get to play at recess and Rachel wouldn't let him play video games yet, because it involved moving his hand and arm too much. Tommy had offered to be his other hand for him, but that didn't work well and both boys just ended up arguing about who was messing up the most until their mom told them to turn it off and come help with dinner.

The only plus to the situation was Uncle Vic had been unusually busy in the evenings, disappearing for an entire week, and Mr. Logan had come over instead to help them with their math and plan the next set of practices for the lacrosse team. He also taught the boy as many jokes as he could, and those jokes, in turn he told the girls in his choir. The boost in popularity among the ladies was incredible. Uncle Vic didn't believe Gar's jokes were good for anything other than turning one's brain to spam, but the results spoke for themselves. He had been invited to two girl's co-ed birthday parties between now and Christmas, and a couple of Christmas parties over break as well.

The other major downside to the week, though, was that he and Tommy still went out with Kori each Thursday while Mr. Logan and mom held practice at the school. Why he couldn't just sit on the bleachers and wait for them to end every evening, the boy couldn't imagine, but his mother had just asked him to bear with it and so he would, for now.

So there they sat Thursday evening in the local café once again, the cop with his arm around his girlfriend and the boys quietly squabbling about who broke the green crayon and what needed to be done about it. They had been there so often they could do the puzzles on the children's menu by memory, and even coloring the pictures was now entirely boring, so really squabbling was the only thing they had left to do. Until Richard got an idea, that was.

Fishing out an ice cube from his cup, he bet the boys their dessert that he could pick up the ice using a string without tying a single knot.

"You'll just loop it around lots of times," Timmy argued with a scowling pout.

"Nope, I promise I won't do that either," Richard replied with a small grin.

"Whatever, you can't, stop being stupid," the boy grumped as he sat back in his seat, pretending to be entirely disinterested as the cop pulled over the salt shaker and snapped a loose thread from his pants leg.

Tommy watched closely as the man sprinkled the salt on top of the frozen cube, laying the string along it and letting it set there for awhile. When he picked it back up, the string actually stuck to the ice and as he raised it further, it dangled in midair like a strange sort of decoration or key chain.

"You owe me your dessert," he said with a grin, giving Kori a wink when the young woman gave him a frown. Just teasing he mouthed and she smiled once again.

It completely passed right over Timmy's head; he was trying to replicate the technique for himself.

"Do it again!" he demanded as he fished out his own ice cube and got some salt from the shaker, paying close attention as the man procured another string.

Hey they both thought, unconsciously mirroring each other's thoughts as they began to work on other fun little things like that. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

-8x8-

Melvin came inside on a Saturday afternoon to see what was taking Uncle Vic so long with saying 'hi' to her mom, the boys waiting in the yard with the football he had brought over. Raised voices from the back hallway caught her attention, and finding her mother's door ajar the young woman paused to listen.

"What happened to the full cover insurance for the kids? I thought you got a discount through work," came Vic's voice, far louder than normal and with a hint of anger the girl rarely ever heard.

Her mother's reply was equally biting. "You know I had to give it up when the car needed major engine repairs last fall. Even if you did do all the work for free, the parts were still more than either of us could afford."

"You were supposed to pick it back up during the summer…"

"The library cut my hours like always and I couldn't pick up a second job for once in town. The coffee shop was already full, and none of the diners will take me because of the odd hours I'd have to keep."

"Then what? You can't just ignore it, Rae!"

"I'm not going to, I'll call the hospital and let them know if they give me an extension I'll be able to pay it off with my Christmas bonus…"

"And what will you use for gifts, then?"

"It's been tight for awhile, Vic, the kids will understand…"

"And how is 500 going to cover an 829.73 bill?"

"I'll use some of my coach's pay to make up the difference."

"I thought that was going towards getting the kids new winter coats. Tommy's won't hardly cover his elbows."

"Dammit, Vic, I'll work it out somehow…"

"Mom?"

The adults paused, Victor still holding the bill in one hand as Rachel sat at her desk surrounded by papers, her checkbook, and several opened envelopes.

"Yes, Melvin?" Rachel replied, Victor moving discreetly to cover the paper he held.

"I'll pay it," the girl said so firmly it made her mother and uncle pause. "You said if you needed it, I could give you the money. That's Timmy's hospital bill, and we don't have insurance and with the way things have been there's no money to pay it off. So, I'll pay it, because you said I could help."

Rachel was torn between relief and denial. She couldn't let…but she had promised…

Melvin took her blank silence as ascent and went to get her jar, leaving the adults to stare at each other.

"She's becoming you," Vic said wit a hint of pride.

"That's not a good thing," Rachel snapped, putting a hand on her forehead.

"How much do you need?" Melvin asked as she came back, toting the stuffed jar in both hands.

"I'm not taking your money," Rachel declared as she gave a sight of defeat. "But I will borrow it. Vic, count out what we need, and then write her an IOU for that exact amount. I will pay it back, every penny, I promise."

"I can agree with that," Melvin said as she handed her jar over wit ha grin. "But only when you're able to, no cutting corners."

Vic felt like he was stealing from his niece's piggy bank as he pulled out the wad of cash and began to count them out. When the last coin had been counted out for the third time, the IOU was written and exchanged for the cash Melvin left with the promise that both adults would emerge soon to play.

"She's growing up," Vic commented as he handed the cash to Rachel who carefully stored it away for deposit at the bank.

"Too fast," Rachel grumbled as she put everything else away.

"You can't take care of her forever, Rae."

"I can damn well try."

-8x8-

Gar walked in on a Tuesday morning halfway between Thanksgiving and Christmas, picking up the mail in his box and shuffling through it absently. Notices about meetings, flyers about offered training sessions, a calendar of upcoming sporting events, some science magazines and other all piled together, he sorted them through before reaching a small envelope with his name written on the outside.

Curiously, he ripped it open right there, pulling out a fill-in-the-blank invitation with a snowflake outlined in green and a bell outlined in red on the outside. It read:

I Timmy Roth

Invite you Mr. Logan

To my Choir Concert

The Date and Time are December 2nd 6 pm

I hope you can come!

Gar was a little bit surprised and even flattered as he carefully put the invitation back in the envelope and tucked it in his coat pocket. It was a Wednesday; he knew that, so there wouldn't be any lacrosse practice to worry about, so he should be able to come. Determining that he would let the boy know as soon as possible in person, the teacher went off to class with a warm smile that came from knowing he was wanted.

-8x8-

Vic greeted the teacher with a wave and a grin, the boys in the back equally excited to see him as they paused their game on the screen. Gar had agreed to come the night before; the mechanic was keeping the boys while Rachel took Melvin to buy some new pants. The girl had shot up another two inches, and her jeans were now more knee-highs than anything else.

"Didja get my invite?" Timmy asked as he sat backwards on the couch. "Uncle Vic already got his."

"I did," Gar replied with a smile. "And I'd be happy to come."

"Cool!"

"Pizza's on its way, I've got a few things to take care of, you boys play nice with Mr. Logan," Vic said as he came by to check on them, laying some cash out on the table. "It's just a quick brake change, Gar, I'll be back soon, ok?"

"Not a problem," the teacher said as he plopped down between the boys. "I've got it covered."

"I'm sure you do," the mechanic replied laughingly. "Have fun."

"We will!"

"I'm thirsty," Tommy declared when that race was finished and they moved to a three way tournament. "You guys want anything?"

"Some water, if you don't mind," Gar replied as the boy hopped up from the couch. "You sure you got it?"

Tommy flashed him a bright smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You wanna know a secret?" Timmy asked as soon as his brother was out of earshot. "I got a solo at the concert, but it's a surprise for everyone else so you can't say anything, ok?"

"Ok," Gar replied slowly. "But why are you telling me?"

"Because if I don't tell one person, it slips out accidentally," he replied with a shrug. "So you're my secret-keeper, alright?"

"Yeah, that's fine," he said, shrugging slightly. "Are you sure you wouldn't tell someone else, though?"

"Everyone else I don't trust or I'm trying to surprise them," he said as he rolled his eyes. "Which you makes you the perfect choice, see?"

Gar's chuckle barely stayed hidden in his mouth. "I think so. Is there anything I need to do as your secret keeper?"

"Don't tell anyone my secrets," he replied with a 'duh' expression on his face. "Can you do that?"

The teacher nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I think I can."

The boy nodded, turning back to the TV now that that had been settled. "Ok, good."

-8x8-

The evening of the concert was cold and crisp, the wind gaining the subtle bite of winter as they hurried into the Elementary gymnasium. Rachel had been a little surprised that Gar had gotten an invitation to, but Timmy had been given five to do with as he pleased and really his choices made perfect sense. One to his mom and with her would come Melvin and Tommy. One to Vic, who would bring only himself. One to Kori, who would bring Richard. And one to Jenny and Gar each, who would also bring only themselves. When you looked at it that way, it made perfect sense.

As they filed into the folding chair filled room, seats were procured in two lines, one right in front of the other. The front held Rachel, Melvin, Tommy and Gar. The back Vic, Jenny, Kori and Richard. They came a bit later than they meant to, due to an unexpected flat tire. With three guys there, it had been thankfully easy to fix, and they made it in before the lights even dimmed.

There was only one choir performing that night, but there were sections where only the boys sang, or only the girls, and then one Welsh carol done with voices only with a select group of boys and girls. Rachel skimmed the program just before it started, and Gar watched her out of the corner of his eye. Apparently she noticed nothing unusual, though he had already scoured the pamphlet and found Timmy's solo. Oh, he couldn't wait to see the looks of shock and surprise on all their faces. If only he had a camera to record the event.

Settling back in his chair determinedly that they may garner no information by his actions, the teacher forced himself to relax and paid the closest of attention as the first song began. The choir was fairly good, an equal portion of the tone-deaf and those with perfect pitch mixed it. Thankfully, those who could sing drowned out those who mostly couldn't, though there would be the occasional sour pitch that would come through. The girls piece was lovely and soft, the boys a rousing rendition of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'. And finally, what Gar had been waiting for, 'Little Drummer Boy'. The song started with another boy, the choir joining in after a time. Rachel was lightly tapping her foot in time with the music, it was the choir's best piece thus far by far, and then, for the final verse Timmy stepped forward to the microphone, all alone, and sang by himself.

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum.

The rest of the choir joined in to repeat the last line a couple of times, and then the music ended with a final toll of the bell. The gymnasium erupted into applause. The boy who went first and Timmy were allowed to step forward and bow alone before being joined by the rest of their companions.

"Friend Rachel!" Kori gushed as she leaned over the back of the seats. "I did not know Timmy had such a glorious voice!"

"I…didn't either," the mother admitted, dumbfounded and yet completely thrilled all at the same time. "He was very good, though, wasn't he?"

"Oh, yes, most excellent indeed!"

"What I can't figure out," Rachel went on. "Is why he didn't tell us he had a solo. I would have asked Vic to bring his camera…"

"He wanted to surprise you," Gar blurted out without thinking, immediately blushing as all eyes rested on him. "Uh, I mean…that's what I would think…"

That was the final performance for the evening, and as the children were allowed to filter down from the stage Timmy made a bee-line for their group with his chest puffed out proudly.

"Did I do good, mom?" he asked as he threw his arms around the librarian's waist.

"You did amazingly well," she replied proudly, hugging him back in an unusual display of public affection. "And I'm very proud of you."

The boy just beamed as the others offered their praises as well. There could be no higher praise from his mother, and to him that was the one that truly mattered.

"Ms. Roth?" The group turned around to find Mrs. Rogers, the music teacher, standing behind them. "I was hoping to have a word with you."

"Of course," Rachel replied, following the woman a little ways off as the others closed ranks around their proud little soloist.

"Gotta say man, that was quite a surprise," Vic admitted as he ruffled the red-head's hair. "We had no idea you could belt it out like that, boy."

"That was the point," he replied, rolling his eyes with a sigh. "Gees, do I have to explain everything to you people?"

"I guess so," Vic chuckled as he patted the boy on the shoulder. "So, Mr. Logan was you secret-keeper, huh?"

"You told them?!" the boy screeched, turning on the teacher.

"I didn't mean to!" the older man defended himself quickly. "Besides, it wasn't until after the solo, I promise!"

The boy paused, his anger abated slightly. "So you didn't ruin the surprise?"

"No, I swear!" Gar replied, waving his hands animatedly.

Timmy sighed with shrug. "Alright…you're still a terrible secret-keeper, though."

The teacher sighed as the others laughed. "Yeah, I know."

-8x8-

Rachel paused outside her oldest son's door that night, the papers in hand as she considered the music teacher's offer once again. He might be interested, but he also knew how much the trip cost…

"Timmy?" she said as she opened the door. "May I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure, mom," he replied as he covered his yawn with his arm. "What is it?"

"You were pretty incredible up there today," she said as she came and sat cross-legged beside his bed-nest on the floor. "Do you enjoy singing?"

"Yeah," he admitted sleepily, a quiet smile on his face. "A lot more than I thought I would, actually. And the girls really dig it."

"Mrs. Rogers said she thinks you're good enough to join the traveling choir for the county," the mother explained carefully as she pulled out the flier. "Are you interested in joining?"

The boy frowned, looking from the flier to his mother and back again. "Mom, the travel choir is really expensive."

"But if money weren't an issue, would you want to join?" she pressed gently, squatting down beside him as she began to point out some things he might not have considered. "It's a lot of work and time outside of school, Timmy, and there would be some weekends you'd hardly see us at all. We wouldn't be able to make many of your performances or competitions. Would you still want to sing with them?"

The boy thought about it for a long time. It was something their mother had taught them early on, to take a problem and examine it from all angles so that all possibilities and tangents could be weighed in turn. He wanted to sing, more and more as time went on. The travel choir would be more challenging; he would learn more, meet new people. Would it be worth being away from his family more? He wasn't sure.

"I think so," he said after awhile, staring up at his ceiling. "Can I think about it more tomorrow and talk to you after school?"

"You have until after Christmas," she said as she got up to leave. "That's when the forms are due to try out for it."

"Ok…mom?"

"Yeah?" The woman paused in the doorway, outline with the low light of the hallway.

Timmy paused, then blurted, "Can you afford for me to be in the choir?"

Crossing back towards him, she leaned over with a small smile. "You let me worry about the money, ok?" she said as she gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. "You focus on figuring out what you want, ok?"

"Ok." He agreed, turning over as she left once again. Sleep was easy to find, but in the morning when he woke he still wasn't sure what to do.

-8x8-

Vic was tinkering with his baby (who still had the rather expensive tummy ache) in the back when he heard the sound of something hitting the table by the TV and couch loudly.

"Hello?" he called, peaking out from under the hood.

"It's me," Gar's voice floated back, in an unusually low growl.

It was almost noon on a Saturday, an odd time for the teacher to visit unless they were going over to Rae's house, but Vic could hear the suppressed anger in the voice and let it go with a shrug. The sound of the game station booting up reached his ears, as well as the opening music for one of his more violent first person shooter games.

Four hours later, Vic washed his hands and sat down by his friend who was still glued to the screen and mashing buttons like his life depended on it.

"What's wrong?" the mechanic asked without preamble, picking up the other controller as Gar started a two player mission.

"Steve and Rita," the other man said as though that would explain everything. When Vic just gave him a puzzled glance, he sighed. "My foster parents."

"Oh, what about them?" The mechanic settled in as they began to go down a hall, the monsters jumping out from various hiding places.

"They're being stupid," Gar replied darkly.

"How stupid?" his friend replied curiously.

"Very."

Vic gave a short laugh. "Not quite what I meant, man."

The teacher looked at him in puzzlement. "Huh? Oh, uh, I wasn't there for Thanksgiving, car troubles and all, but Steve was getting on my case about it like I could have fixed it somehow and then he got started on the whole 'if only' shtick again and Rita trying to calm him down (they had me on speaker phone) but she agrees with him on almost everything so it was a rather wasted effort…point is, they want me to come and stay with them from the time my break starts to the day before it ends over Christmas."

Vic waited for more, then spoke when the silence began to stretch out. "And…do you don't want to do that…?"

"No!" his friend exploded, punctuating his statement by blowing a couple of holes in the wall of the level. "If I'm there more than a day Steve starts treating me like I'm ten and unable to do anything for myself…Rita tries to help, but it only goes so far. I know they're doing the best they know how, but I grew up years ago and it's time they realized that."

Victor didn't know what to say, so he settled for saying nothing at all. Some days, especially when he was younger, he'd thought he'd be willing to put up with hell itself to have someone call him 'son' again and mean it. Now, he wasn't so sure. He'd tried to asked Rachel, once when he first met her, if she wanted parents again. The look she'd given him had kept him from asking more than once.

"I'm sorry," the teacher said sometime later as they began a player vs. player round, both of them stocking up on their favorite weapons of choice. "I guess it's not fair to complain to you about this, huh?"

"It's alright," Vic replied with an easy shrug. "It's…strange, but it's alright. You can talk to me about anything, you know that, right?"

Gar gave him a sincere smile, though it was a bit strained. "Yeah, thanks, I really appreciate it."

Vic just shrugged. "It's cool. So, whatcha gonna do now?"

"Dunno," the teacher admitted grudgingly. "I guess I'm not going there for Christmas this year."

The mechanic's lips twitched as a thought occurred to him. "So where will you go?"

"I thought about visiting some old friends from school, but most of them are already busy and the rest are nearly impossible to track down," Gar muttered as he managed to blow Vic through the wall of the level they were playing. "So I guess I'm staying here for Christmas."

"Kori's headed to Gotham with Richard, to meet his family and see the sights," Vic said casually as he returned he favor by body checking his teammate over a railing six stories up. "So Rae would probably let you hang with us."

"Are you sure? I know she wasn't crazy about Thanksgiving."

His friend nodded slowly. "A good chunk of that was Richard, though. He's still more Kori's boyfriend than anything else, so it's hard for her to relax around him."

Gar perked up a bit. "And the rest?"

At that Vic let out a full bodied laugh. "Her not knowing what the hell she's gonna do about you."

The teacher was fully facing his friend, now, ignoring the game entirely as he tried to get answers. "What does that mean? Did she talk about me?"

The mechanic shook his head. "No, never. Which is how I know you've gotten under her skin."

"How?"

"She's afraid of what might come out of her mouth, so she'd rather not say anything at all."

"Oh…"

Gar looked a bit confused as he tried to sort all that out and play at the same time. Vic managed to kill him three times in a row before he got a semblance of control over his brain again and managed a spectacular double kill at the spawn point before the timer ran out.

"So," he said as they switched over to a racing game instead. "Any tips on how I can help your sister make up her mind?"

The mechanic shook his head firmly. "Nope. That's your deal not mine."

The teacher groaned as his friend just laughed at him. "Not cool, dude, so not cool."

-8x8-

Rachel generally did not care for one day over another during the week, whether it was a week day or a weekend that only changed what her duties and obligations entailed, not if she had them at all. However, she was very grateful for this current Friday because finals would be ending for her children (Melvin had become particularly anxious with all of her high school exams) and she wouldn't have to see the lacrosse team again for awhile. The girls were good, there was no doubt about that, but there were unforeseen problems arising and Rachel needed time to sit down and think them through before she could come up with a satisfactory answer.

The final, and perhaps most irritating reason was one she was loathe to admit, or even think about really. Mr. Logan had been all but absent this last week and a half, not showing up for lunch for days on a muttered excuse of he had something important to do, and refusing two offers to eat at her house…though he had thanked her sincerely for them and promised he'd make it up later. He'd been almost late to every practice, and left as soon as he possibly could. Her boys were grumpy as a result, Melvin seemed a bit put out, and she ignored the voice in the back of her head that murmured she might be missing his cheerful smile and beautiful green eyes a little more than she thought possible.

Snapping herself back to the present, the librarian gave herself a firm shake. Get a grip, she told herself internally, you did not have a bad week just because you saw less of that man than you're used to. In fact, that makes it a good week, because you had less distractions around and the children shouldn't get too used to seeing him all the time anyways. Yes, it was a good thing she hadn't seen much of Mr. Gar Logan this week.

Don't worry; she really didn't believe it either.

She was getting ready for the end of the day, shuffling through the papers on her desk one last time, when there was a short knock on her door.

"Come in," she called, glancing up and pausing when she realized who it was. "Mr. Logan, this is an unexpected surprise."

"Gar, please," he chuckled as he placed a thick stack of folders on her desk. "This is more of a personal matter."

"Alright, Gar," the librarian replied curiously. "What can I do for you?"

"Well," the teacher hedged carefully. "I need a promise first that you'll let me finish before you give me your answer."

"Alright," she agreed after a moment's thought, figuring the teacher by now had proven he wasn't a complete idiot. "What is it?"

"Ok," he started with a sigh. "I have six more papers here for grants and/or contests related to getting money or equipment for the classrooms at the high school/ junior high building."

"Did any of your previous attempts come through?" the librarian asked, sincerely curious.

"Well, yes, but not in the way I was hoping," he admitted with a shrug. "Anyways, that's six plus the half from last time that we need to negotiate price on."

"I don't think you have more bikes to give us," she said a bit dryly.

"No, and I'm assuming taking people out eat is still not an option…?" The look she gave him set a new record for dryness. "I didn't think so. So I had another idea."

"This should be good," she quipped with a slight smile.

"Christmas is coming up," he went on, ignoring her comment with a grin. "A grand time of giving, and receiving gifts. Now, I would like to give your family some gifts, but seeing as how you reacted to an old bike I'm a little apprehensive as to how you might react to anything else…" Rachel took the jibe as gracefully as she could; only frowning slightly. "So I'll make you this deal. I'll give you six papers to edit, three of which are considerably longer than last time, and as payment you just have to accept whatever it is that your family gets for Christmas."

"So this is where you've been this last week," she said slowly when he was finished, putting her chin in her hand. "Why the rush?"

"They're all due mid-January," he explained with a shrug. "So I wanted to make sure you had plenty of time over break to work on them."

"What are you planning?" Rachel asked as she narrowed her eyes slightly. "This is suspiciously well thought out."

"A surprise I've had in mind for a long time," Gar admitted with a laugh. "Just…please say yes. I've been working very hard on this, and it would make me very happy to do something wonderful for your kids this Christmas."

After a moment of silent thought, the librarian agreed and the teacher thanked her sincerely before taking his leave once again with the folders of papers remaining behind.

Rachel sighed as she picked up the first one and began to flip through it idly. "Well, this should be an interesting Christmas…"

-8x8-

Christmas break started with a good six-inch layer of snow, and even though Rachel had to go into work until noon most every day that meant after lunch she was free to romp in the frozen mush with her ecstatic charges. Timmy and Tommy were running around in their snowpants when she returned, and Melvin had her things piled by the door awaiting their mother's return.

The librarian took the time to eat half a sandwich and some tea before she declared it was time to go out and build the forts while they waited for Kori and Vic to arrive.

-8x8-

Gar was debating between spending all day in bed or playing through his new video game when the phone rang.

"'Lo?"

"Gar, it's Vic. You busy?"

"No."

"Do you have snow clothes?"

"Yeah."

"Get dressed. I'm coming to get you in ten, you are not gonna wanna miss this!"

-8x8-

Richard had agreed to come with Kori asked him to accompany her to Rachel's house for the afternoon. Telling him to dress in clothes to wear outside had been odd, but he assumed it was to build a snowman or something with the kids.

Going straight to the backyard with his girlfriend who was bundled up in ski pants and a parka, and seeing the forts being erected he realized building a snowman was probably the farthest thing from their minds. Jenny popped up from one of the forts waving at them brightly in her pink scarf and gloves.

"Dangit, Rae, I'll pay you afterwards," the assistant laughed good-naturedly. "Kori, what'd you have to bring him for? You know it's guys against girls!"

"Hey, Officer Greyson," Tommy yelled from the opposite fort with a wave. "Come help us, you're on our side!"

"Rae bet me five bucks you'd bring up and Vic would bring Gar," Jenny explained as Kori came to join them and Melvin at the fort. "Which is why she called me, to balance things out."

"The teams would be rather uneven," Kori admitted with a blush.

"What's she doing here?" Vic asked as he strode into the yard, pointing at Jenny accusingly. "I thought she was bared for life."

"You brought more, so I brought more," Rachel replied with a smug grin. "You've got five minutes to finish your fort, get moving!"

The men dove right in, and five minutes later the forts were finished and waiting.

"Round one!" Vic yelled when everyone they agreed they were ready. "Go!"

Richard ducked as a volley of snowballs flew overhead, noting that no rules, time limits, or boundaries had been established before hand. Slowly creeping up, he spied the tree house with a grin. If he could get up there with enough snowballs…he'd quickly run out of ammo and be a sitting duck up there for the rest of the game. That's if he didn't break is neck on the way up, first.

"Hey, Vic," he asked as they hunkered down again, another volley flying at them before they returned fire again. "How many rounds do you usually play?"

"Just one," the mechanic replied distractedly.

"And how long does it last?"

"As long as it takes."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, crap," Vic said as the incoming missiles slacked off.

"They're gonna launch!" the boys yelled as they scrambled for cover. Vic followed, leaving Richard and Gar to watch to abject horror as Jenny was literally launched over the edge of the girl's fort by her teammates and into the air. Flipping once, she crashed through the front of the boys' flimsy castle and left their defenses in ruins.

"Attack!!"

The guys weren't given time to recover as every other female charged with snowballs flying, and somehow it digressed from there into a free for all where teams and alliances were made and broken every few minutes.

Timmy and Tommy tackled Richard's legs out from under him, only to be chased off by Kori who then shoved a snowball down the officer's jacket. She ran to Rachel, who paired up with her against Richard and Vic who had seen the policeman's plight before Melvin and Gar somehow ended up in the middle and everyone focused on them for several seconds.

At some point, Gar stumbled upon Rachel's hiding place behind a few of the bushes, scrambling to rebuild her cache of ammo.

"I'll help," he squeaked, holding up his hands as she paused in the process of pelting him. "Truce?"

"Truce," she agreed, letting him help her rebuild the stockpile before they started sniping at the others across the yard.

This led to a temporary alliance of the rest, who managed to oust the pair. Gar teasingly tried to save himself, pushing Rae in front of him to take the brunt of the attack. That turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

Rachel, it turned out, never went easy when it came to revenge.

When the game ended, Gar had snow stuffed so far up and down his coat he still wasn't sure how it all got there. The sun was started to set in the distance and everyone was freezing and soaked through and through as they began to disband.

Kori and Richard left, getting into the car with merry waves and wide smiles as everyone else trooped inside sans Jenny who said she had somewhere else to be and managed to disappear down the street before anyone else could protest her hasty departure. Rachel ordered her children to shower and put on clean clothes while the adults prepared grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, and hot chocolate for everyone to share. When Melvin returned, her hair still damp and wearing old clothes, Rachel went next leaving her eldest in charge of the stove and dryer. All wet things were cycled through the dryer, and set aside for when it came time to leave. The boys soon popped in as well, and Vic told Gar to take a shower with some clothes the mechanic dug out of the hall closet.

It felt strange to do so, being in a shower that wasn't his and then pulling on the unfamiliar grey sweat pants with a faded gym shirt. Back in the kitchen he found Rachel at the table with her kids in old pants and a t-shirt that been washed so many times the logo had almost worn off completely.

Vic was only a moment in showering after him, and appeared soon in a similar state. Out to the garage everyone trooped, where they began to pull box after box of Christmas decorations out for them to use.

Another Roth family tradition, it seemed. Whoever cooked Thanksgiving dinner did not have to cook it for Christmas. But whoever didn't cook had to decorate, and the kids always helped.

There wasn't much to use for decorations, most of them were old and several falling apart at the touch. Still, the group handled the ancient greenery and bows with the ease of practice and before long old electric candles had been set in every front window, a wreath hung on the front door, Santas and snowflakes covered every available surface and a ceramic nativity scene going yellow with age set on the mantle of the living room fireplace.

Rachel stayed out of the way and watched, apparently another Roth rule of equivalent exchange. She grimaced occasionally at the way Vic spread the brightly colored ornaments around the house, in sharp contrast to the more muted tones that generally filled her home.

Gar helped the boys specifically as they were given the task of setting up a synthetic tree that was older than any of them. The branches had faded to a dingy brown-grey, and it stood crookedly no matter how much you messed with the base, but that hardly mattered to the people decorating it. Dusty paper chains, home made ornaments, and scratched colored balls were brought out and set as high as the boys could reach, Gar taking over where their height failed.

Out of the corner of his eye, the teacher noticed a huge fuss being made over a small piece of greenery Vic was pulling out of a sealed, padded box. Turning around, he watched as it was attached in the doorway from the living room to the kitchen, red berries peeking out from under pointed green leaves.

"Vic, why is the mistletoe out?" Rachel asked as she peaked in from the kitchen with a frown.

"My year to decorate, my choice," he replied with a wicked grin. "By the way," he added in a low voice as he moved to grab another box of decorations beside her. "Gar's coming over for Christmas."

"So is Jenny," Rachel replied with a too sweet smile. The look of shock on Victor's face was almost worth spoiling that surprise early, she'd just have to make sure she paid attention to who she walked under the arch with.

"Uncle Vic put the mistletoe up," Melvin told the boys as she came in with tinsel for the tree.

"Mistletoe?" Tommy asked.

"The green leaves that you have to kiss under," Timmy explained with a scheming smile. "That hasn't been up for a couple of years."

"I bet we could get Officer Greyson and Kori to kiss under it," the younger boy suggested brightly.

"Psh, that won't be hard," his brother replied as he rolled his eyes. "They kiss all the time, remember?"

"Then who are you going to try to get under it?" Melvin replied with a low laugh.

"Uncle Vic and Jenny, it's totally obvious she likes him," he replied with such a 'duh!' expression on his face that the teacher observing all of this in the background was hard pressed not to laugh out loud. A small snicker managed to escape however, and suddenly he found himself under three surprisingly conniving looks considering who they were coming from. Internally, a voice was commenting that they were far too young to have such scheming looks. A second voice was screaming run for the hills.

"Mr. Logan," Tommy said, his face as angelic as any he had ever seen. "Who would you like to catch under the mistletoe?"

"Um, well…" Gar felt the heat rising from his collar to his chin, and then slowly working its way up the rest of his face. "That is to say, I hadn't really…uh, given it a great deal of, eh….thought…"

"Don't worry," Timmy whispered as he leaned close with a grin. "We won't tell."

"W-won't tell what?" he squeaked, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah, don't worry Mr. Logan," Tommy added with a wink. "Your secret is safe with us."

"S-secret?!"

"Kids, I need help with the front wreath," Victor called, all three leaving on cue, though Melvin lagged a bit behind as she turned to the teacher with a grin.

"Just so you know," she said with a smile. "We're all rooting for you to succeed, ok?"

When Rachel popped her head into the living room a few moments later, Gar still hadn't recovered from the shock.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her initial inquiry as to whether he wanted something to drink being left aside.

"Fine," he replied, though his smile was still somewhat strained. "Just…children will never cease to amaze me, that's all."

"Did they say something they shouldn't have?" she asked, immediately suspicious. "They're all a little too smart for their own good."

"Oh, uh, just something about trying to set Vic and Jenny up under the mistletoe," the teacher mumbled as he looked at the tree and tried to stifle his once more rising blush. "I was just…surprised, that's all."

"Like I said, they're too smart for their own good," she sighed as she rubbed a hand over her eyes.

"Was there something you needed?" Gar asked, trying to lower his voice from the unusually high octave it currently resided in.

"Oh, I was wondering if you were thirsty."

"I could use some water," he admitted rather gratefully.

"Sure, ice or no ice."

"Ice, please."

Gar settled back in his seat once she had left, letting out a sigh. And he'd actually agreed to spend Christmas with this family, what was he thinking!

-8x8-

Review replies:

Menamebephil : Larry will only make an appearance if I find a good place for him to fit in with the current scheme of things. I'll tell you right off right now he has no such place, but I'll keep an eye out for one. Don't hold your breath, though. Suspicious vibes from Gar there may be, but I really don't think they mean what you think they mean. Oh well, guess we'll have to wait and see. Thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed it, hope to hear from you again!

Beautifulpurpleflame : Of course, something just always has to happen. I wonder what it will be for Christmas, hm? Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Tarson : Breaking any bone sucks, really, and especially if they have to go back and break it again so it heals right. Rachel does dote a lot, she just generally doesn't let others see it. After all, to dote you have to be nice, and Rachel could never be nice, right? Thanks for the review!

TheSilverWarrior : Thank you, my allergies are much improved and I do enjoy my job. It just cuts into my writing time a bit, that's all. The list is pretty interesting, wait until you hear more stories about it later on. I'm truly glad your enjoying the story so much, thanks for your many words of high praise and I hope to hear from you again!

Jojo : Why thank you! What makes you say so?

Royal Blue : I've tried very hard to be different and make it interesting without also making it really violent and romantic, blah blah blah. You get the picture. Dick will come around, and he has some already. He just needs time, this is way out of his element after all. Thanks for your many kind words, especially about the characters, I truly appreciated it. Thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

Gun toten Girly : Aww, you came back! Now you really are making me blush! I wouldn't call it a masterpiece or a legend quite yet, but thank you for the honor of saying so yourself. I now have warm-fuzzies inside my chest, and they're probably going to keep me nice and warm for the rest of the day. Sorry that there is no picture in the profile, but if I did have one it would probably be of a butterfly. Or a moose, moose are cool too. Hope you keep reading, thanks for your totally awesome review as always!

Bookworm007 : Thank you, thank you, thank you! Totally believable, and yet in a different world, looks like I'm getting my job down pretty good. I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the review!

Raven of Alaska : You ask a lot of questions I can't answer without giving away parts of the plot. You'll just have to wait and see on all of them, sorry! Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

Jackpotzeke : Thanks for the review, it has officially made my day so much better.

Purplerave : Let's hope you're still around this time too. Thank you for your gracious review, hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

Qwertymann : Welcome aboard, my friend! I can understand the skepticism, this isn't exactly your typical TT fic. Your many words of high praise are wonderful, thank you for them, though I am sorry about the few mistakes. I'm not perfect, it just happens. If you think lacrosse is not that aggressive, well, then you never saw my high school team play. They were a force to be reckoned with. Gar and Jenny will get more spotlight time soon enough, don't worry. I like the quotes too, and it doesn't have to be relevant to be good. I do know about review replies, but I have readers that are anonymous, and so I can't do that for them. And its only not allowed if your replies are longer than the chapter itself. I don't think we have that problem here. Thanks for the review, hope to hear from you again!

Gardensigernumbli : Ah, it makes sense now. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for the review!

Raven'sWinterRaine : Yeah, some people are just like that. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

BoxofChocolates : Well, thank you, I try my best. And I will continue.

Steve : Your feelings seem to be the same as several others, not knowing quite what to make of the story at first and then finding your truly enjoying it as time goes on. Your words really gave me a boost to get some serious writing done for the next few chapters, thank you. I am sorry for the few mistakes, few as they may be, I try and read through my chapters as carefully as possible before I post them but I never catch everything. I gotta say, knowing your reading it more than once is also a huge compliment, so thank you. Updates are about a week apart, if there's going to be an exception I usually alert you guys ahead of time. Thanks for the awesome review, and I really hope you've enjoyed the new chapter and that I'll hear from you again soon.

Reader : I dunno, something like that could happen I suppose. Sorry, I don't give away hints of what is to come unless I can help it. Thanks for the review, I hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

Kurai Kuminari : Though your words of praise were most heartening, I am afraid I cannot say who may or may not be making an appearance in future chapters. That would, after all, be giving away spoilers, which I am greatly against for the most part. Don't worry, more people from the Titans-verse will be making appearances, for various reasons and parts, but in the mean time I hope you continue to enjoy the story and review to tell me what you think of it. Thanks, again, and hope to hear from you again soon!

Timkhj : Late is still better than never, especially in the case of an awesome reviewer such as yourself. Thanks for your many, many compliments, especially about how Gar is being pulled into the family. I put an extra bit of effort in that area, its nice to see it paying off. As for an foreshadowing, I cannot say for sure. I hate giving away parts of the plot before it happens, I feel either the writing can stand for itself without the author holding up juicy bits for the future, or it shouldn't be written at all. Harsh, perhaps, but that's just the way I feel. And while I am quite aware that there is enough material for a side story on Kori and Richard, I won't be writing it. To be bluntly honest, I don't really like them as characters. They are a necessary part that I deal with, but if I were given the task of writing a story just for them I wouldn't really enjoy it. They're a boring couple that fits together too well for the most part, they're too predictable. So if its going to be written, it won't be by me. Sorry. Thanks for the review, its always wonderful to hear from you, and I hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

That's it for now, guys. Sorry if it took a bit longer than usual to get it up, we're really only half a day late and that's not too bad in the grand scheme of things, eh? Until next time, please review, it gives me that much more incentive to keep on top of the ball!

C.B. Richmond

"You know that children are growing up when they start asking questions that have answers."

-John J. Plomp