It's snowing.

It's snowing like it would in one of those Christmas Hallmark movies.

Except I'm not in love with anyone, and no major miracle has happened, and I'm cold as crap and not actually enjoying the snow. But I'm not hating it as much as normal, because it's Christmas and it's hard to hate things on the day I celebrate the birth of Christ.

I run my tongue over my chapped lips, and blink back the tears the cold breezes keep calling. Most of everyone is inside the big building that was built for gatherings, but I'm staying behind. At least, for a few minutes.

I look down at the items in my hands-gifts. Gifts I won't get to give until tomorrow because yesterday and today are no mission days. It's not much; You never can give much in the apocalypse, and it's best not to expect much either, because well, it's the apocalypse. Material items used simply for moral aren't the number one priority, especially if that item is for one person only.

I haven't seen anyone yet, but I have a feeling I'm going to get some sort of gift. I don't expect it necessarily, but I've seen how a few of my friends have been smiling at me like they have something that they know I'll like-Summer especially. It almost frightens me.

My eyes cast down to the three gifts in my hand. I have more, but they weren't things I wanted to carry with me, and some of these I won't get to give out today anyway so I see no harm in not having two with me. But even with the gifts, I know what Christmas is truly about. I prayed for a half hour and thought about the story of God that I was told time and time again. I wish I could reread the scripture... but I can't.

I wipe at my watery eyes and runny nose with fingers that have gone numb. I should probably head back inside; Someone will come looking for me soon, and while I have nothing to hide, I'd rather not be first seen on Christmas with snot and tears running down my face. With a sigh that I can see from the cold, I start to head to the Christmas party. But then I see someone leave the coms shack.

And that person isn't Sam.

Nor Janine.

My brows knit and a frown graces my my face. I start my walk towards the mystery person who is currently standing just outside the coms shack, leaning against the door. I can picture a smile on their face, but the falling snow makes it a bit harder to see. I blink away as more tears fall down my face, making my skin sting with cold.

I finally get sight of the mystery person, and I can't help but tip my head to the side in wonder. What would Summer be doing in there?

I'm standing behind her, the crunch of snow being something she's missed. Since I don't have a voice yet, I can't exactly ask what she's doing, so instead I cross my arms and wait for that 'I'm being watched' feeling to kick in. It only takes a few second, and while I try to keep a straight face, I crack when she turns around and jumps three feet in the air after seeing me. After getting over the initial shock she sends me a stone hard glare while I simply keep laughing.

"Don't scare me like that." Her voice isn't loud but the harshness within her tone is sharp enough to cut a person. "This is Christmas, not Halloween."

'Well, you were the one who was sneaking around,' I sign back, raising a brow.

"I wasn't sneaking."

'Then why were you in the coms shack?'

She hesitates in replying, and I narrow my eyes in suspicion. "I was... waiting for your present. Also, I saw what you left for Sam in there. You not planning on giving it him at the party?"

'I've given all my gifts like that,' I answer with a shrug, remembering the figurines I got and painted for him since his old ones burned. 'I do not like the attention.'

"Except from the kids," She says, gesturing down to the small gifts that are tucked under my arms.

'I have to run to New Canton to give it to them. If I just left it for them on their beds some other child who shares the room would take it.'

"That is true, but I guess you won't have to worry about that now."

'What do you mean?' I ask with brows furrowed, but Summer just smirks one of those smirks that makes you wonder if you should be worried or not. Or at least, that's what I'm doing now that I've seen it.

"Merry Christmas," She says, and then she's walking away, snow sticking to her hair and crunching under her feet as she goes. And then I'm left alone and cold.

Then I look to the right.

Four figures are all walking towards me, and even with my blurry, tear filled vision I know who it is. A bubble of silent laughter escapes my lips as joy floods through me. And taking the items out from being squashed between my arms and my sides, I take off running.

"Mum!" Willis cries as he races toward me. He throws out his arms and practically pounces on top of me. "I missed you so much."

I hold onto him tightly, unable to stop smiling even when he pulls away and frowns. "Why are you crying? Are you not happy to see us? Are you hurt?'

The fear in his eyes as he asks that question nearly breaks me, and I shake my head. 'No, it is just my eyes watering. I am very happy to see you,' I reply as best I can with their presents in my hands.

"Good, because I don't ever want you to get hurt. I-" Before he can say anything more two more pairs of arms are encasing me in hugs.

"Mom!" Penelope cries, and Milo squeezes me tighter in his hug. I look up and see a familiar redhead grinning at me. He gives a small wave, and I just smile wider.

We stay like this for a few more seconds, ignoring the cold and the snow and the colder breezes. When I pull away I shove the gifts under my arms so I can talk.

'How did you guys get here?'

"Summer," Caleb answers. "Well, Summer and Dr. Lobatse. She thought it'd be good for Willis to be with his parent figure for Christmas. Also she wanted me to chew you out for not taking proper rest when taking medicine for your voice. Also, I'm going to chew you out for not telling me you were taking medicine for your voice! Come on. I'm your best friend here!"

I give a half shrug. 'Sorry.' But then another thought hits me. 'Wait, if you guys ran here..." My jaw drops. 'You, someone who has health problems, took three children with you on the run from New Canton to Abel Township, without a weapon? And I know you don't have a weapon because New Canton doesn't give non-runners weapons.'

I'm straight up glaring now, and he raises his arms in surrender. "Woah, calm down. I didn't come alone. A New Canton runner came with me."

As if on cue Archie bounds up behind him. "Hello, everyone. There was no doctor at the station so I made it clear to check over myself, and I am clean."

"We didn't see a single zom the entire way up here," He replies, and she merely shrugs.

"You can never be too sure."

"But you can be too stupid," Milo mumbles under his breath. He flinches when he sees the sharp glare I send him.

'I am surprised you were willing to come all the way here for Christmas,' I tell her, and Archie grins.

"Dr. Lobatse asked me to. She also wanted a report on your voice for when I go back to New Canton in a few days. I don't think your doctor has said very much about it via radio transmissions."

'A few days?'

"Yes, I was told that since I have a mission with you overmorrow, I might as well stay and help here and get a report on how you're healing."

I nod, jerking my head towards the building that holds the party. 'Well, that building is where all gathering are so if you want to join them, you can.'

Before I'm even finished she's scampering off, eager to get out of the cold and snow. I don't blame her, especially now that I see the kids' red noses and flushed cheeks.

'We should probably go inside as well. It is too cold out here, especially since you've ran all the way here.' I turn, ready to head inside to the warmth, but Penelope grabs my arm.

"We want to give you your presents first," She says. She looks up at Caleb expectantly, and he starts to shrug off his backpack as I think of the gifts I have tucked under my arms.

'I have gifts for you too,' I sign quickly, causing them to all smile at me gleefully. I first give Penelope a stuffed bear I found while on a supply run, and her face lights up. I feel bad for not getting her anything better; The bear is missing half its stuffing and the hole it had was sewn up by me-a person who cannot sew, so one of the arms sags more than the other, but she says nothing on it expect for multiple 'thank you's and happy squeals.

I give Milo a box of colored pencils for his drawings. Thankfully all of them were still in the box, but some are dull and worn down. I give an apology for that, but Milo shakes his head quickly.

"No, I-I-I love them. I haven't gotten to draw with colored pencils since the apocalypse started. I can get at least five drawings with these!" He grins and hugs me tightly. "Thanks, Mom."

It still stings when I get called that, but not as much as it used to. Finally I give Willis the last gift-a notebook-the same I took from the Ramsey Manor. A navy blue cover with shiny gold trimming. I almost had to fight Beatrix for it. She kept calling me a thief for taking it. Simon didn't like that very much, and neither did Jody or Summer or Sam.

I was thinking Willis would be the most excited about his gift, but he just stares at it blankly, and I feel a slow dread start to creep through me, starting in my chest and creeping out to my limbs. He doesn't like it...

"Is this for me to write in?" He questions.

'It can be for that, or anything else you want. If you don't like it, I-"

"You think my stories are good enough to be in this book?"

I blink. That's certainly a plot twist. 'Of course. Why?'

"Because this is so nice looking, and my stories don't look that good sometimes. Some of them have sad endings.'

'It's okay. Not all stories have to be like fairytales. If you don't want the story to have a happy ending, that is okay. I know I'll still like them.'

He holds the notebook close to his chest, a small smile appearing on his lips in thanks.

"You didn't get me anything?" Caleb asks with fake offense, and I roll my eyes.

'It's in my sleeping quarters.' My thankfully finished sleeping quarters, I add mentally. 'But why would you want that anyway? It's for toddlers.'

"Do the wheels still work?" He asks, ignoring my questioning.

'Yes, I think so. Why?'

"Because if they didn't it would have been a waste."

My face scrunches up. 'Why did you even want one of those giant toy dump trucks?'

He laughs, eyes shining like that of a child's. "Well, when I was about seven my dad bought me one, and I'd sit in the part that's supposed to hold all the trash and would ride down the hill. I was hoping after all the snow is gone I could do that with the small hill just pass the graveyard."

This. This is why women live longer than men.

'You are joking, right?'

"Nope."

'I had to chop off the heads of three zombie children for that?'

His eyes widen in surprise as I glare at him. "Damn. It doesn't even matter if I had a good reason to get that. You must really love me to be willing to go through that."

'Don't curse in front of the children,' I child, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms. But the annoyance morphs into concern when Caleb softly grunts and puts a hand to his chest, his face contorting into a wince.

'I think we should head inside now,' I say. 'Caleb might need to sit down.'

"No, I'm fine, and we still need to give you your presents," He insists, and I rub my hands together in attempt to warm them while silently glaring. The redhead sighs. "I'll go to the sleeping quarters and rest after this. I promise, and after one of them gives their gift they'll head inside."

"But-" Willis starts, but stops when Caleb shakes his head. "Okay."

I want to object. I want to insist on going inside and receiving my gifts in there. That is what they're all probably doing anyway, since we've been too busy trying to rebuild to actually collect enough to have a large feast. The only thing I think that might be in abundance is alcohol which I have no desire in drinking, but seeing Maxine or Sam trying to be drunk ninjas might be humorous.

But I nod, ignoring the feeling-well, lack thereof-in my fingers as Caleb fishes out a piece of paper from his backpack. He gives it to Milo who then hands it to me.

"I thought you might like it." He shrugs, not really meeting my eyes. "It's not in color but it's us-like a family portrait... with a lot of friends who decided to photobomb it."

I grin as my eyes scan over the details, the people. I'm there, and he's got quite a bit of it right in how I look. The soon to be scar from the bullet wound isn't there, and I still have all of my left ear... and I have more happiness in my eyes, but other than that it's an exact match, all the way down to my acne scars and ponytail.

Milo stands just in front of me, with Willis to his right and Penelope to his left. They are perfection, on both the paper and in reality. Milo was able to capture their happiness-their pureness-without even really trying.

Caleb stands to the side, holding that teasing grin he's so good at making, and Summer is standing right beside him. A half smile adorns her face, and there's a pain etched across her features and it almost scares me how well Milo was able to capture it.

Sam, Simon, and Jody all stand to the other side, all wearing different expressions. Jody has that 'scared baby animal' look to her, even as there's a smile drawn. Simon is winking and Sam is just smiling all... Sam like.

'Thank you,' I say in honesty. 'It is amazing.'

Milo smiles proudly, before he's shoved out of the way by Penelope.

"My turn!" She shouts, holding up a small ring in her hand. It's tiny, even for my 'princess hands' as my mother used to call them. It just might be able to fit on my forefinger, hopefully. The jewels look to be fake, but it's pretty. I think the green gem is called peridot. I never got around to learning much about gems except for emerald, ruby, and diamonds.

'Where did you get this?'

"I found it. Just like you find things. I thought you might want it since you don't get pretty things very often." She hugs me, wrapping her thin arms around my waist before scampering off behind Milo, who is doing as Caleb wanted but still grumbling about it.

Caleb pulls out a piece of paper, and he hands it to Willis who hands it to me. Both front and back are scribbled with words; It's not the best handwriting, but it's better than mine.

"You don't have to read it now, but I wrote you a story. I hope you like it. I love you, Mum," He whispers that last part before racing off after his siblings. For a second I'm shocked. I haven't heard anyone say those words to me since I shot Wesley. A few more seconds go by before a cold breeze snaps me out of it, and I look up at Caleb.

'I really do think we should-'

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but can I give you my gift before we do?" He doesn't give me a chance to answer before he's reaching into his bag and pulling out one last item. My breath hitches when I see it. With shaky hands I take the black leather bound book from him. I read the engraving-Holy Bible, and my jaw drops.

"I made sure to get it King James Version too. I know you wouldn't read it if it weren't that."

During the attack on Abel, my Bible went missing. I looked everywhere after we were cleared to come back and go through some of the wreckage, but I never could find it. It broke my heart, and nearly scared me to death because this was my Bible, and I mean that as in-that's the one possession I have kept with me since the apocalypse began. It was my Bible, and it was gone.

But what scared me, and still in a way does, is the fact that my name was written in the front when it says 'THIS HOLY BIBLE IS PRESENTED TO...' In it is my name. Of course, if it were ever found I could easily lie and say the Bible wasn't originally mine, but still... it's a thing to be fearful about.

But Caleb got me a Bible. He found a way to get me one. Tears spring to my eyes and I lurch forward and hug him, trying not to do so too tightly since I know he isn't feeling well.

"I guess that means you-you like it?" He chuckles nervously, and I nod. My eyes are squeezed tightly shut to keep the tears from spilling, but still a small sob escapes my mouth.

And if I listen hard enough, it almost seems like there was actual sound there.

•

When I enter the building, it's exactly as I thought it would be-loud, but only by the talking of everyone around and the music of 'Rocking Around the Christmas Tree' which is playing on a radio in the corner. I search around for the kids, but I have a hard time finding them even with the small amount of people actually here.

I sigh, knowing they'll probably be on me as soon as they see, so I decide not to worry about it.

"Five, there you are. I thought you might not show up."

I turn to see a smiling Sam wearing a green sweater, obviously knitted by Jody.

'Why would I want to miss this great party?' I ask, and he snickers at the sarcastic look my face holds.

"Yeah, guess this isn't considered much of a party, huh? Just wait until Simon gets drunk, or until people start trying to dance to the overplayed Christmas music. Then we'll be able to have some entertainment. O-or when they sing along. God, it's usually so off tune; It's hilarious." His wide smile becomes more of a smaller one, and his eyes grow softer. "How's your uh, how's your throat, by the way?"

'Better,' I answer with a shrug. 'It no longer feels sore when I swallow, so that's good.'

"Yeah, so when do you think you'll be able to say words, or just make sounds? I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, but I doubt you'll stay silent until the exact day of ten weeks passing and suddenly start talking normally."

'Maxine says in a few weeks, if it doesn't take up to a year or... not work at all. I'll hopefully be able to make sounds in a few weeks, and I might say one word or two at first but it'll take a bit before I can do long sentences."

"So your first word will be special then," He declares, sounding almost smug.

'I guess so, but then I will have to do some thinking about what it will be. I don't really have any special words that come to mind.'

"You could always take my advice," He suggests, attempting to be smooth and sneaky but failing miserably.

'I told you before, it is not going to happen.'

Sam groans in frustration but quickly recovers. "Alright, fine. We can discuss you first word choices over here. I saw Summer sitting there a few minutes ago. I'm sure she has a few suggestions."

He reaches forward to grab my hand but as soon as his gloved hand touches my skin he flinches back, causing me to do the same in surprise. "God, Five, your hands are like ice."

I look down at my fingers. I'm guessing he's right, since I can't feel them; They've gone numb and have been so for a while.

"H-here. Take these. It'll help you warm your hands up." He takes off his gloves and shoves them in my hands before I have the time to object, and when I purse my lips he rolls his eyes. "Don't you give me that look. You've been complaining all winter about how much you hate the cold. This is me being a good friend so take them, please."

I tsk, but do as asked, ignoring the warmth I instantly feel and putting on a sly grin. 'Is this your way of telling me you didn't get me a Christmas present?'

"What? N-no, of course not," He spits out with a jumble of stuttered words and incoherent noises. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. I honestly don't expect anything from him or anyone else, but it's fun to mess with him over the little things sometimes. "I-I have your gift right over here."

He grabs my hand and starts leading me through the little groups of people clustered here and there, and I can't help but think how warm his hand is as it holds mine.

"Remember when you went on that entertainment run to the toy stores to get us... fun... stuff? Maxine still sometimes teases me about actually saying that," He mutters out that last sentence and I giggle. "Well, I remember how you nearly gave me a heart attack trying to get a Winnie the Pooh bear while being chased by zombies.

"I also remember how upset you were when you found only its crispy fried head after the attack. That's why I had some runners go and get you this."

He grabs his gift off the table before turning around and revealing it to me. My lips part in surprise as Sam grins widely-hopefully-nervously. "Do you like it? I-I know it's a bit dirty and not exactly the same but we-we did the best we could."

He chuckles nervously as I take the stuffed animal from his hand. It's not the Winnie the Pooh you'd usually find in stores. It's not the replica of the one from the movies, but from the original book. He has no red shirt, and the fur isn't as yellow, but it's Pooh.

'You are the best,' I say happily as Sam sighs in relief. 'I don't even know how you found this one, but it is amazing. Thank you.'

"No problem," He answers, sounding a bit awkward.

'I got you something too,' I say quickly, not wanting to make him think I forgot about him. 'It's just in the coms shack. I-'

"Didn't want to give it face to face?" Sam guesses. "Yeah, I figured after Jody told me she found new knitting needles on her bed and when Summer said she had gummy bears on hers."

I look away from the knowing smirk his face holds, feeling embarrassed for an entirely unknown reason.

"Mum! Mum!" Willis shouts, running over to us with Milo and Penelope right behind him. "We were looking for you!"

Sam's eyes go wide as he gapes at the three children, and Willis instantly steps away. Thankfully Sam is too shocked to notice; It always hurts him when he does that. "W-what are you three doing here in Abel Township?"

"We came here with Caleb to see Mom," Penelope pants, her cheeks flushed now from running around instead of the cold outside.

"Caleb? How did he-"

"Archie came with us to keep us safe. It was a gift from Summer. She was the operator."

Sam tenses suddenly, but after a small breath he relaxes slightly. It's more or less an act to show that he isn't angry, even though he is. "I see. I'll be right back," He says, standing.

"Where are you going?" Milo questions.

"I need to talk to Summer about issuing my coms station without my knowledge. I'm fine with you guys coming around to visit Five. I'm glad you did, but Summer needs to tell me if she's going to conduct a mission."

I look at him apologetically, knowing Janine's probably going to tear him a new one since it wasn't authorized. I stand up just as he starts to leave.

'Do you want your gloves back?' I ask, and he shakes his head.

"Nah, they look better on you anyway. Merry Christmas, you guys."

Then he's off, trying to track down Summer while Penelope giggles, Milo rolls his eyes, Willis continues talking, and I blush.

A/N: New chapter. Wow! Would you look at that? A chapter that doesn't have angst or near death situations. That's Christmas for ya, even though it's currently April. Merry Early Christmas. Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day.

Also, as a side note. If you are tired of my inconsistent updating, I have this entire book, and six other books in this series, a mini story, and AU short stories published and completed on my Wattpad account. My user name is GravityWillFall01 and I have a schedule published on there that I try my best to stick to. So if you want to hurry up and binge read, I have hours worth on my Wattpad.