Mac stood, shaken and crying in her room with only Aaron Echolls for company.

"I know why you saved those pills Cindy. You told yourself that if it ever got too hard, you could quit. The pills were there and you could just quit. But it didn't get that hard. So you didn't use them. But now, Christmas… The lack of joy was a pain to itself, I know."

She nodded.

"But it's time to let go now. It's time to forget the idea of quitting and just get through this. I promise… Next year will be better. And the year after that, even better… If you let it be."

"I will! I told you I will! What do you want from me?"

"Just one more thing Cindy." He grimaced. "I want you to remember."

"I will. I'll remember all of this. I swear it!"

He shuffled in place slightly. "That's good." He said. "But I need you to remember more."

"More?" She asked with a sinking feeling.

"You do know there was more, right?" He asked. "If you try you'll remember."

"Oh my God… No." She whispered. "I did it, didn't I?"

He nodded. "Just say it Cindy."

"I already took the pills, didn't I?" She shivered. "I took them and…"

"And now you're going to wake up." He told her. "You're going to run for the bathroom… And you're going to make yourself sick. OR ELSE!"

He shoved her violently and she fell back on to the bad and in to her body.

She jolted awake and through the bleary tears she threw herself across the room to the door and then down the hall to the bathroom.

"Cindy?" Her mother called. "Are you okay?"

"Ummm… Bad eggnog." She called back. "I'll be fine!"

And her mother smiled sympathetically. "Okay. Well, we've got gingerbread men in the oven if you're interested."

She heaved again and shook it off. "Thanks mom!" She called out.

And convinced that her daughter would be fine, Mrs. Mackenzie walked away.

The Strangler heaved the radio at the pool when he heard the shot.

He didn't feel it but he saw it when he looked down. A thick red stain was spreading across his chest.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as he peered down to the end of the pool where he could see Clarence Weedman, his smoking gun drawn, having just arrived on the scene.

Wallace gasped for breath when he saw the radio and it's bright orange extension cord headed down towards them in the flaming pool.

Without thinking he jumped as high as he could, imagining a tip-off in school.

He rose out of the water to his knees, framed in the flames, and he felt the dry, warm plastic of the radio on his fingertips.

He pushed off ever so gently and watched the blaring radio arc up and away from the pool, back the way it came.

It landed on the concrete rim, safe from falling in of it's own accord, and it shattered in to pieces.

Eli came up behind Logan and veronica, adding his strength to Logan's to heave Veronica out of the pool.

She coughed twice and fell forward to heave out a lung of nasty, burnt tasting water.

Wallace swam through the now waning flames towards Logan and Eli. Logan was hopping free as Eli boosted Wallace out, only to follow a second later.

"Isn't California great? Where else can you go swimming this close to Christmas?" Logan asked, collapsing on to the cement next to Veronica, causing a stir of chuckles all around.

Veronica looked around in disbelief. But stopped when she got to Clarence Weedman.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

He smiled that demure and secretive smile that she had so come to hate. "Why Ms. Mars, isn't it obvious?" He lifted the phone to his ear. "I'm trying to earn my wings."

Then he turned away and began to speak. "Yes. My name is Weedman. I just wounded the E-String Strangler. I need an ambulance and police out to…"

Veronica looked away and around the crowd.

Eli was nodding at Wallace and imitating his life-saving block.

"Hell yeah." Said Wallace. "He never should have made this about b-ball." He shook his head at The Strangler.

Veronica made a mental note not to ask Leo why he had enough handcuffs for everybody.

Vinnie stood over her smiling down and suddenly Back-Up was licking her face.

Veronica stood up slowly and shakily, surrounded by a hail of friendly hands that offered to help.

"Thank you doesn't seem to cut it." She told them on the verge of tears.

"No sweat." Wallace waved at her dismisively.

"For you? Anything." Leo smiled, marching the little brother toward the elder.

"Nothin' but a think V. Nothing but a thing." Eli nodded.

"Anytime kiddo." Vinnie winked at her. "Anytime at all."

Logan smiled. "Always, in all ways… You know that."

And with the whoop of a siren below Lamb finally arrived.