Episode XXIII: Bells Will Be Ringing

Shane groaned again. Christmas or not, it was still a day of the week where he did not have school and wanted to sleep at least until noon. But his sister Anastasia was not having any of that. She nor his girlfriend.

"Get up Shane!" Anastasia called.

"Ana, go away." Shane said. The sun was not even up and here she was jumping on his bed. He felt someone get in bed with him. "Ana-"

"I'm not your sister." Nicole said.

Shane groaned. "Nicky… Please let me sleep?"

"Uh, no. Your mom told me to wake you up and use any force necessary." Nicole said. "Meaning the ski plans we made."

Shane's eyes opened. He and Nicole had actually had sex for the first time two days before Christmas while his parents and grandmother went skiing. They decided to call their sexual activities the 'ski plans' from now on to remind them of the first time. And today, Emma, Sean, Gavin, and Jack were taking the others sledding giving Shane and Nicole the perfect time to go again.

"That's not fair." Shane said before sitting up, only for Anastasia to tackle him. He swore sometimes she was more rough than he was. "Ana, I'm up, okay? Don't put me back down."

"But it's Christmas!" the little girl said happily before Jordan was at Shane's doorway. "Hey Jordan!"

"Shane, Mom says to hurry up or Jack and Maddox are going to split your presents amongst themselves." Jordan said.

"I'm coming." Shane said sitting up for a second time.

Anastasia jumped off of Shane's bed and ran out of the room. Nicole then rose with a smile on her face.

"Come on Shane," Nicole said extending her hand. "I don't think your mom likes it when we're in a room by ourselves."

Shane took Nicole's hand. "You're right but," Shane pulled Nicole onto the bed on top of him. "I do."

Nicole giggled before Shane kissed her.

"Merry Christmas." Shane said.

"Merry Christmas." Nicole replied.


Laura had woken up with a slight tingling sensation in her stomach. She had no clue on why it was there, Christmas was never really a big deal since her mother left, but today she felt extra… Happy. Getting out of her bed she moved to her window and looked out. Snow on the ground and gray skies signaling more to come.

Perfect ice skating weather.

Moving away from her window she slipped on her bedroom shoes and slipped out of her bedroom, only to meet a surprising sight. Her mother and father talking. Not shouting. Not arguing. Talking.

"Well, look who finally decided to join us." Bianca said.

Laura tried to say something, anything, but her jaws would not move nor would her voice come out of her throat.

"I think you've stunned her." Mr. Reynolds said. "She's not used to having you here for Christmas."

Bianca rolled her eyes. "You think I don't know that? Jesus John, you haven't changed a bit."

"Neither have you." Mr. Reynolds said with a small smile.

Laura's eyes went from her parents to the presents in the room. There were more than there were yesterday.

"Where'd they come from?" Laura asked her dad.

"Let's just say you have great friends." Bianca answered. "They really care for you."

"Right." Laura said moving towards three presents in particular. The ones from Jayden. "Let me guess, Jayden called you down here?"

Bianca frowned. "What? No. I came because I can. You got a problem with that?"

Laura shook her head. "No. I just… I guess I'm just really happy."

Bianca snorted. "Is that what you're calling it? I thought you'd have an orga-"

"We're happy." Mr. Reynolds said, cutting Bianca off.

"Orgasm." Bianca finished, shooting a glare at her ex.

Mr. Reynolds sighed. "Thanks for not saying it Bee."

Laura sat on the floor, her legs folded, and opened the smallest of gifts Jayden had given her first. She eyed the small white box before opening it. Her eyes widened as she pulled out golden necklace, with a small diamond heart pendant.

"Holy sh… Crap." Bianca said sitting up. "Let me see that." Laura hesitantly gave the necklace to her mother. Bianca whistled. "Yeah, he's got it bad for you."

"Real?" Mr. Reynolds asked.

"Real deal." Bianca answered before handing it back to Laura. "If you're still playing hard-to-get with him, now is the time to quit and give yourself up."

Laura smiled. "Sure Mom. And next you'll tell me to marry him."

"You would make me some cute, rich, talented grandbabies." Bianca stated. Mr. Reynolds frowned fiercely. "I'm just playing. Sort of."


"We got a car!" Helen and Scarlett squealed in unison.

"Your parents are awesome!" Scarlett said.

"I know!" Helen replied before stopping. "Wait, my parents got me a car."

"No. The note clearly says to share it. Besides, it came to my house." Scarlett responded.

Helen crossed her arms. "My parents, my car."

Scarlett scoffed. "Leave it to Princess Helen to ruin a good thing."

Fiona merely rolled her eyes. Sometimes Helen and Scarlett acted more like sisters than cousins.

"Share the car or lose it." Fiona said to the two girls.

Helen sighed. "Fine…" Helen's smile then returned. "We got a car!"

"I know!" Scarlett said smiling as well. "I can't wait…" Helen frowned as she saw Scarlett's smile slowly disappear. "Uh, nothing. I just had a thought."

Helen's eyes looked into Scarlett's blue ones before tracing them to whatever it was Scarlett was looking at. When they landed on Jayden's dark house, she sighed quietly. Sometimes she wished Scarlett would just tell him how she felt.

"Let's go back in." Helen said. "I'm freezing!"

"Good idea." Fiona said. "Come on Scarlett."

"Coming." Scarlett said before following her mother and cousin into her house.

Coach Blue got off the phone with a small smile.

"That was your cousin, Victoria," he said to his wife. "Looks like we're going to have visitors."

Helen and Scarlett groaned in sync causing Fiona to smile.

"Girls, go upstairs and prepare for your cousins." Fiona said. "And don't give Torrie a hard time. You normally do."

"Maybe we should hit her with our car." Helen suggested as she and Scarlett walked up the steps.

"No. Getting off for murder and cleaning her off of the hood would be too much work." Scarlett replied.

"Right." Helen said.


Gabrielle listened to the snow crunching beneath her boots as she made her way to her father's house. When she left, her mother was talking to her grandmother which meant that she was going to be on the phone for a while.

"What are you doing walking alone?" Gabrielle stopped to see Nathan with his hands in his pockets.

"Um… I'm going to Dad's house." Gabrielle answered.

"So was I." Nathan said. "Come on. Let's go."

"O… Okay." Gabrielle said before catching up to Nathan. "Uh, Merry Christmas Nate."

Nathan looked down at Gabrielle.

"Merry Christmas Brie." Nathan replied.

Gabrielle was shocked to hear him say this, but smiled anyway. The two walked down the sidewalk with Gabrielle having to put effort in her steps to keep up with her brother.

"Has Dustin stopped picking on you yet?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah. In fact, he's helping me get over Ashton." Gabrielle answered.

"Hmm…" Nathan hummed in thought. "Oh well. Can't say I'm a Steven Manning fan."

Gabrielle frowned. "Why? Did he do something to you?"

"He tried. I just don't take shit from anyone, you know?" Nathan stated. He then remembered what Stephanie had told him and looked at Gabrielle. "I meant, I don't take 'crap' from anyone."

"It's okay if you cuss. I don't mind." Gabrielle said.

"Good," Nathan said. "Because that's the only way I know how to say something at times."

Gabrielle smiled. "Kind of like Dad."

"I'm… Sure you're right." Nathan said, swallowing his pride for the sake of this one day. What he really wanted to say was that he was nothing like Jay. "So, how is it that you just took a liken to the guy so fast?"

Gabrielle shrugged. "I don't know. I just went to see him and I just did. Like he understood me and wanted to make everything up."

Nathan nodded. "Right. When I went to see him he just yells and jacks me up. You must be his favorite."

"You're still mad at him, aren't you?" Gabrielle asked. Nathan looked at his sister, wondering if she really was the smart one between the two. "I was mad too when I first found out but… But now… I don't know. I'm just happy to know him."

"Happy? Happy for what?" Nathan asked.

"That I got to meet him." Gabrielle answered quietly.

Nathan frowned before remembering that Gabrielle had probably never really known much of their dad since he had left almost instantly after her birth. Nathan idly wondered which one of them had it worse. For him, it was to know that your dad was alive and did not care. For Gabrielle, it was not knowing anything and being left in the dark. Nathan sighed, figuring he had the better deal.

It was better to have love and lost than never loved at all, right?

"You don't like me being your sister, do you?" Gabrielle asked in a low tone, her dark blue eyes looking at the ground.

"I don't like a lot of things," Nathan responded. "But you being my sister isn't one of them." Gabrielle looked up at Nathan. "Hey, now I can pick on you and you can't get upset because that's what brothers do. So get used to it squirt."

Gabrielle blinked before smiling. It truly was a holiday miracle.


Shane saw Nicole sitting on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He paused in his advance to her bed, trying to read her face and understand what it was she was thinking about. While he was not as 'emotionally in tuned' as Kelly was, Shane was smart enough to guess right half of the time.

But this time was not one of those times.

"You okay?" he asked. Nicole looked at him with a small smile. "What were you thinking about?"

Nicole sat up. "I was just thinking about your family. They're all so close and nice. Ana constantly smiles and your grandma is always nice to me. And Jack is like the big brother to you and Kelly instead of an uncle."

"But you miss your own." Shane suggested. Nicole gave a nod before Shane sat down beside her. "Well, it may not make you feel that much better, but my family is your family I guess. I mean, I do have a dad and a stepdad. I could loan you a father and still have a spare."

Nicole laughed a bit. "Thanks Shane."

"Listen," Shane said. "I don't want you to think about your parents anymore today if its just going to make you sad, alright? This is supposed to be the best Winter Break ever, remember?" Nicole nodded with a smile. "So let's make it the best Winter Break ever and let go of the sad thoughts. Well, you can think about me falling on the ski slopes because it's only sad to me and not you."

Nicole began laughing as she thought about Shane attempting to ski. While Jordan and Kelly were naturals on the slope, Shane had a bit of a way to go before he could get off of the bunny slopes. Seeing her laugh, Shane began tickling her, making Nicole laugh even louder. While she attempted to fight him off, it was pretty futile. He played defensive end for a reason.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" Nicole laughed/shrieked. "Please Shane! My stomach hurts!"

Shane slowed his assault down and stared at her red face. He looked in her blue eyes, wondering if she had been walking around without her contacts all week long.

His thoughts were broken when she leaned up and kissed him.

"Speaking of a 'ski plans', I think we're alone again." Nicole said seductively.

"All you had to do was ask." Shane said, leaning down to capture her lips once more.


Laura was only mildly shocked that Dakota would go through all the trouble to get her so many gifts. Then again, it was Dakota, the only person who genuinely cared about Laura's well-being. The doorbell rang and Laura went to answer it while her parents talked in the kitchen. Again, they were not arguing, which was a good thing.

Laura opened the door and gaped.

"Dash… Your hair…" Laura said.

"I got the idea from Jayden." Dakota said with a smile, her red hair in cornrows. "May I come in?"

"Sure." Laura said stepping aside, her eyes not leaving Dakota's hair. "It actually looks alright. Who'd think that you could pull that look off."

"I come all the way over here and you begin to pick on me about my hair?" Dakota asked.

"Oh, it's you Dakota. Merry Christmas." Mr. Reynolds said.

"Merry Christmas to you too." Dakota responded.

"I need you to see something." Laura said moving towards her room. "Come on."

Dakota followed. Christmas or not, Laura would be Laura. And in Laura's house, one did what she said or left. And depending on how angry she was determined how one left Laura's house.

Stepping into her room, Dakota was surprised that Laura had already put her new clothes on hangers and in her closet.

"Look at this." Laura said holding a music box towards Dakota.

Dakota frowned. "It's a music box…"

"No shi… Crap Dash." Laura said. "I meant open it."

Dakota opened the box to see the ballerina spin, the song Something Inside You by Jonathan Rys Meyers playing. Laura closed it and stared at Dakota.

"I'm lost." Dakota said.

"What's my all-time favorite movie?" Laura asked.

"August Rush." Dakota answered.

Laura nodded. "Right. And just how many people know that?"

"Someone other than me knows?" Dakota replied before her eyes widened. "Jayden got you a music box with that song?"

"And a stuffed bear for my collection and this!" Laura said holding a new white box towards Dakota. Dakota opened the box and stared at the necklace. "Can you believe this?"

"It's… Beautiful." Dakota said eying the jewelry. "This must've cost a fortune." Dakota looked at Laura. "When'd he give you this?"

"Before he left." Laura said before Dakota handed her the necklace back. Laura safely stored it in a drawer before handing Dakota the card Jayden sent. "Read."

Dakota looked at the card and began reading the words on the front. She frowned before opening it, reading the card and Jayden's message, a smile on her face. After reading the card, Dakota handed it back to Laura who only stood with an indifferent look on her face.

"Can you believe this?" Laura asked.

"So he likes- no loves- you? I could've told you that." Dakota said.

Laura sighed. "Do you pay attention Dash or are you really stranded on your 'It's good to be an only child' world?" Dakota smiled at the statement. "He loves me and for the past few weeks I've been making his life miserable. How is he going to forgive me now?"

"Laura, it's fine. He's going to forgive you." Dakota said.

"Oh really? I do remember you saying something about him getting Nicky off of my back and in the end, it was Shane who did it." Laura shot back.

"Like I said, I thought you were trying to get him to-"

"And there was that time you told me that-"

"Okay Laura, I get it." Dakota cut her friend off. "I came by to invite you and your dad for dinner. My mom said that it'll be alright and I have a new collection of unseen movies."

"How could I say no to that?" Laura stated before smiling. "Sure Dash. I'll be over there." Laura's smile dropped. "But let it slip in front of my parents about that card or my feelings and I'll make sure that you have a very short Christmas."

"Understood Laura." Dakota said.


Scarlett sighed as she sat down on her bed. Helen knocked on her door before stepping in.

"Miss your neighbor?" Helen asked with a sly grin.

"What? No!" Scarlett said. Helen's smirk only grew. "Stop that."

"Come on Scar, you so miss him. It's written over your face." Helen teased. "Why not just call him? I'm sure he'd just love to hear your voice."

"Helen stop it. I don't miss him. I mean, it's quiet without him, but I'm not-" Scarlett was interrupted by the doorbell. "Great. Torrie's here."

"Scarlett! Something's came for you!" Fiona called.

Scarlett and Helen exchanged confused glances before Scarlett stood up and moved out of her room, Helen right on her heels. She came down the steps to see Fiona holding a diamond tiara on a pillow. Scarlett's eyes widened as she slowly moved to the tiara, seeing elegant earrings on the pillow as well.

"Here's the card." Fiona said handing Scarlett a card that she held beneath the pillow.

Scarlett look at the card.

Please forgive me, Princess Scarlett. DeWayne.

"Wow." Scarlett said before gently taking the pillow away from Fiona. "This is… This is so beautiful."

Helen crossed her arms. "What idiot thinks Scarlett is royalty?"

Scarlett smirked. "Is Helen jealous?"

"No. I got a car, remember?" Helen responded. "Besides, he's just trying to kiss up to you after-"

"Nothing." Scarlett quickly cut Helen off. "How about you go make sure that our car runs properly?"

"Yeah, yeah. Brat." Helen said.


Deanna walked down the sidewalk with sharp eyes glancing at the addresses on the doors of the houses. She had only an hour to find her target before getting on a plane to head back to Montreal.

"There you are." Deanna said before moving towards a house. "Bingo."

Deanna rang the doorbell to the small house before a young man opened the door.

"Well hello there. You must be one of my presents." he said.

"Sorry Junior, she's here for me." another young man, probably a year or two younger than the first said appearing behind him. "What's your name?"

Marc poked his head between the two and sighed.

"Nah guys, that's that annoying little girl I was telling you about. Deanna Fitzgerald." Marc said.

"Hey Bryan, you hear that? Little Marc had a girlfriend!" the one called Junior said before putting Marc in a headlock. "I knew you had that Milligan blood in you somewhere."

Bryan frowned. "I don't know. She looks annoyed."

"That's because she's annoying." Marc said. "I don't even know how she found my house anyway."

"Is that so?" Junior asked before eying Deanna. "Alright little girl, what are you doing here and how'd you find us?"

Deanna blinked. All of Marc's brothers were idiots just like he was. She had half the mind of just letting them all have it, but decided to do this with more pose than that.

"I'm here to talk to, Marc was it?" Deanna replied. "He's done something very stupid and I wanted to make sure that he's learned his lesson."

Junior released Marc. "What the heck is she talking about?"

"I stopped her from jumping Helen. Nothing big." Marc said.

"Ah." Junior and Bryan said in unison.

"So," Marc said. "Nice seeing you again little girl and stay away from my house."

"That's rude bro. You're at least supposed to say Happy Holidays because she could be into the Kwanza or Hanukah stuff." Bryan said.

"Yeah Marc, show the little girl some courtesy and manners." Junior added.

"Right… Happy Holidays or whatever." And with that Marc closed the door in Deanna's face.

Deanna grunted. "My name's Deanna!"


Jay was surprised when Nathan had showed up with Gabrielle, but he was even more shocked at the fact that the two were talking casually. He had stopped to wonder if his children even realized that he was in the room, but let them talk. Like himself, the two had years to catch up on.

A knock came from the front door and Jay went to open it while Gabrielle and Nathan eyed the door suspiciously. When Jay opened the door, he immediately stepped aside so Nathan could see Stephanie.

"Stephanie? What are you doing here?" Nathan asked as he stood up.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out but I see you're with your dad and sister." Stephanie replied.

"Brie could come with us." Nathan said before looking at his sister. "Right?"

"Um, I'll stay here." Gabrielle said. "You go ahead."

Nathan grinned. "Sure squirt. See you later Dad."

"Don't do anything stupid." Jay said as Nathan left with Stephanie.

Stephanie gave Nathan a smile.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"I think you're starting to become nicer." Stephanie said still smiling.

Nathan shrugged. "It's Christmas. Who isn't nicer on Christmas?"

"Whatever Nate." Stephanie said.


Torrie gasped. "Scar… DeWayne got you this?" Scarlett nodded. "It's beautiful! You don't mind if I-"

"Touch and die." Scarlett interrupted.

"Give it up Torrie. I've already asked." Helen stated as she sat on Scarlett's bed. "Where's your brother at?"

Torrie shrugged. "Downstairs. Why?"

"She has a problem when younger kids are in the house. It reminds her of her own siblings." Scarlett said.

"Who called earlier to annoy me." Helen added.

"Lauren isn't that bad." Torrie said. "Mike and Mark… They're a different story."

"I can't stand any of them." Helen said. "So let's talk Bardell."

Torrie sighed. "Same old, same old. Hakim and I aren't dating and Ethan is still annoying. Plus I have to put up with Saint Jeanette every other day. Swear she's such a hypocrite."

Scarlett smiled. "Why do you call her that?"

"How are you supposed to be 'holier than thou' when you've dated Ethan, the local bad boy?" Torrie said. "Hip. O. Crit." Helen rolled her eyes at her cousin's antics. "What about you two? Anything going on at Degrassi?" Torrie smirked at Scarlett. "Lakehurst maybe?"

"Nothing next to those stupid blogs." Scarlett said. "I swear Deanna's doing them."

"Oh my God I hate her so badly." Torrie suddenly said.

"Really? We can't tell." Helen said sarcastically.

"No, you don't understand," Torrie said. "Like two weeks ago, Thursday I think, Laura and I were just walking down the street-"

"Laura? As in Laura Reynolds?" Scarlett asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Torrie questioned.

Helen snickered a bit. "Scar's just mad because that's who Jayden wants."

"Oh… I knew it." Torrie said. "Anyway, back to what I was saying. So we're walking down the street talking and here comes Deanna and her lackey Mercedes."

"I hate her." Helen said.

"Yeah, well, they ask Laura to do them a favor. Hook Jayden up with Deanna." Torrie continued. "And when Laura said no, they go on this bitch fit about how they were going to take Laura down with the rest of them." Torrie scoffed. "She called me the 'unknown Coyne.' Can you believe that?"

"That's pretty funny." Helen said with a small laugh. Torrie and Scarlett gave Helen a glance. "What? It is."

"So not the point." Torrie said.

"She's right Helen. Deanna's becoming a thorn in all our sides." Scarlett said.

Helen shrugged. "Says you. I just can't stand her because… Well, I can't stand half the people I come in contact with and the other half I don't really care to hate them."

"It's sad that I believe you." Scarlett said. Scarlett's cell phone rang and she quickly went to answer it. "Hello?"

Helen and Torrie both looked at Scarlett strangely as she attempted to ignore their very presence.

"You're hilarious J.T. But no, I'm not going through your house." Scarlett said. "I'm here with Helen and my cousin Torrie." Helen and Torrie exchange glances. "Torrie, J.T says hi."

Helen frowned. "Well screw him too. It's not like I dated him or anything."

"Helen, J.T says hi and Merry Christmas." Scarlett said.

"Oh. Tell him I said hey." Helen said with a smile.

Torrie smirked. "And people say that I'm fickle."

"Oh. Alright. I'll talk to you later than. Bye." Scarlett said before hanging up. "His house sounds really loud."

"His parents only have a billion kids." Helen stated. "I bet they're all just running around." Helen shivered. "I hate kids."

"Tell us something new." Scarlett said.

Helen smiled. "You loving Jayden. That's pretty new."

Torrie gasped. "No way. I thought you were dating DeWayne. I mean, he got you that crown!"

"One, it's a tiara. Two, I am dating DeWayne. And three, I don't love Jayden!" Scarlett replied.

"Ooh, someone's a bit touchy about the subject. I think we should go before she blows a gasket." Torrie said.

"I think you're right." Helen said with a smile. "Come on. Let's give Scar some time to cool down."

"Just get out." Scarlett said as her two cousins left her room. Scarlett sighed heavily before putting a hand on one of the earrings she had received from DeWayne. "I don't love J.T."


Liberty stood at J.T's memorial within Degrassi with a small smile on her face. Despite the depression she was currently feeling, she knew that J.T would not want her to cry, especially on Christmas of all days.

"I see we're not the only ones." Liberty looked to see Emma and her family with Nicole. "Merry Christmas Liberty."

"You too." Liberty said as she looked at Emma's children. "So these are your five?" Emma nodded with a smile. "They all have that piece of you in them."

Emma smiled as she put an arm around Kelly.

"Yeah, I know. Especially this one." Emma said. "As stubborn as they come, yet so helpful around the house."

Kelly frowned. "I'm not 'stubborn' Mom. Just headstrong."

"Same thing." Jordan said.

"No it isn't." Kelly replied.

"Anyway," Emma said, stopping her daughters from progressing with the debate. "We came here because… It's the first Christmas…"

"I know how it feels." Liberty said. "It gets easier with time. Trust me."

"I hope so." Emma said quietly.

The group stood quietly at the two memorials. Nicole gave Shane a small hug as he stared at the memorial. He smiled at her before kissing her forehead.

"Is it still the best Winter Break ever?" Nicole whispered to Shane.

"Yeah. It is." Shane replied.


"Thanks for inviting us for dinner," Mr. Reynolds said as he shrugged his coat off and handed it to Dakota's butler. "We really appreciate it."

"It was no problem." Ellie said. "Come on. Kitchen's this way." Ellie paused before smiling at Laura. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"Yeah Mrs. Lowry, I kind of did." Laura responded as she and her parents followed Ellie.

Once they got to the kitchen, Laura saw Dakota standing over a pie before her brown eyes shot towards her mother's.

"Dakota, you're such a big kid, I swear." Ellie said. "Where is your father?" Dakota gave Ellie a look. "Your birth father. I called him and Ash about an hour ago."

"They'll be here soon." Dakota said. "You know how long it takes Steven to…" Dakota paused as Ellie gave her a hardened stare. "I mean, Ashton takes to get ready."

The doorbell rang and Ellie sighed.

"Finally." Ellie said leaving the kitchen.

"Um," Dakota said looking at Laura and her parents. "Come to the dining room. We'll be eating shortly. I hope."

"Hey Dash," Laura said as Dakota began to lead the trio towards the dining room. "Two things. One, this is my mom."

"Jay was right. You two do look alike." Dakota said.

"Jay? Is she talking about your boyfriend Laura?" Bianca asked.

"He's not my boyfriend." Laura said for the umpteenth time that day before sitting beside her father at the large dining table. "Anyway Dash, the second thing is, have you heard from Jayden today?"

"I called him but you should know that his family is like really close and crazy." Dakota said. "So he couldn't talk for long. He did ask if you liked your gifts and I said yes. He said he'd try to talk to you as soon as he could but, I doubt it."

"Oh…" Laura said.

"'Mom, he's not my boyfriend.' Yeah right." Bianca mocked with a smile.

Dakota grinned. "Yep. She's definitely your mom."

"Don't remind me." Laura and Bianca stated in unison, causing Mr. Reynolds to sigh.

Dealing with one of them at a time was tough as it is.

"Dakota!" Lillian said with a huge smile.

Dakota only sighed as she allowed her younger sister to hug her tightly. While Dakota did not despise Lillian, sometimes Dakota felt like she was Lillian's only older sibling because Dakota was always watching the little girl, despite Lillian living with both Steven and Ashton.

Angela walked into the room causing Dakota to smile.

"I heard about your last show." Angela said as Dakota hugged her. "You guys must've done great."

"Better than last time." Dakota said releasing Angela. "Um, Angie, this is Laura and her parents, John and Bianca."

"Nice to meet you." Angela said.

"Okay," Ellie said moving into the dining room. "Let's sit down and have dinner. I have two days off and I'd like to enjoy them."

Angela smiled. "El, you're always working."

"I know." Ellie said before smiling. "But, it keeps a roof over my head."

"I do that." Silas said coming into the dining room. "How's my biggest fan?"

"Great." Laura answered, knowing how Silas referred to her.

Silas nodded. "Good. Let's keep it that way."

"Right." Laura said.


Shane and Nicole lied in Nicole's bed at one of Gavin and Emma's cabins.

"Shane?" Nicole began.

"Hm?" he responded.

"I know I've said this once," Nicole said. "But thanks. For everything you've done."

Shane smiled. "Nicky, you've told me that more than once and like I said, it was no problem. I'm a nice guy."

"Like when you punched Nate in the face?" Nicole asked with a small giggle.

Shane shrugged. "He had it coming." Nicole gave a quiet snort of laughter before snuggling into Shane some more. "Hey, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Nicole asked.

"Exactly. My mom knows I'm here, and yet she's gone to bed." Shane said. "I think she's starting to warm up to us being together."

Nicole smiled. "I like that idea." Nicole then closed her eyes and yawned. "Just make sure you're here when I wake up."

Shane held Nicole tighter. "I will Nicky." Nicole moved her head to kiss Shane. "Merry Christmas Nicky."

"Merry Christmas Shane." Nicole replied laying her head on Shane's chest before the two dozed off.


Author's Note: Out of all the "episodes" that I have typed, this one had to be the hardest because neither Aaron nor Jayden were in it as well as Chandra, three characters that are usually involved in one plot or another. Anyway, there's only three more episodes left and all three will be posted this week. Stay tuned!