All usual disclaimers apply.

*-~*

The low sound of music that was being heard from the radio seemed to be drowned by the small hum that the motor caused. As Kurt Angle drove, he was glad that the snow had ceased from falling. Christmas Eve had come quickly and, not wanting to have Dwayne spend it alone, he had invited him to come along with him and his family. It had been hard to convince his doctors to give him permission to leave for a few days, but he had been able to do so. In fact, they were just on the way back home.

Dwayne, on the other hand, didn't care much about where he spent the holidays. But Kurt had been set on it, so that he just agreed to it. Lisa had been happy that he had made some improvement, so she had even said that it would be fine if he spent a few days away from the hospital. He wanted to be alone, though. He didn't want to see anyone's pity towards him because it was going to be the first time that he was going to spend the holidays without his family. Before his mind could continue working, though, Kurt's voice brought him back from his thoughts.

"I'm going to stop here at the store for something that Karen needs for dinner. Do you want something?"

Not turning to him, Dwayne shook his head. He was sitting on his seat, his head turned towards the window as he leaned back. "I'll be fine."

Kurt stared at him, not knowing if he should believe him. After staring at him for a long while, though, he nodded slightly and stopped the car before getting out. Dwayne watched him leave, silent. He knew why he had hesitated; Lisa had warned him not to leave him alone for too long. That he "could become a danger to himself again." Sighing, he reached over for the stereo and turned up the volume a little. It had been so long since he had actually listened to music from the radio. He wanted to be alone, but he didn't want to think anymore.

As Dwayne waited for Kurt, he just kept leaning back against the seat; not even caring about what time it was or where they were. Even if he wasn't turning towards the store, he knew that Kurt had been spotted by some fans and that they were all asking him for his autograph. Heh, he could hear kids calling out to their parents telling them that they wanted to get an autograph. He had been stuck in that hospital for a long time, but as he heard the fans calling out for Kurt, something inside seemed to clench and turn; as if telling him that he missed that. That he wanted to go back to that.

That he wanted to go back to normal.

But, even if that feeling seemed to stir inside of him, he knew that he wouldn't be able to go back to normal. He would never be able to go back to what he had once believed to be normal because, to be honest, he didn't know how to go back. Letting out a small sigh, he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cold window. When the door opened a few minutes later, he didn't move at all. He didn't make a single sound; which made Kurt think that Dwayne had fallen asleep and, not wanting to wake him up, he started the car and kept on driving. It was easier that way.

*-*-*

Karen had been in the kitchen, getting started with the Christmas Eve dinner that she was going to serve that night. She was still a bit unsure about having Dwayne over for their Christmas, but she also knew that it meant a lot to Dwayne that he was coming, so she had just decided to go along with it. It would be for a week, but she just hoped that everything would go smoothly and that nothing out of the ordinary would happen.

"Mom? Mom, is Dad's friend really going to come over?"

When she heard Kyle's voice, she turned to him and smiled. Kyle was Kurt's and her eight-year-old son, but to them, he was still their baby. He was helping to set the table, so he was carrying the plates that they were going to use. His short light-brown hair was like hers, but his eyes were just like Kurt's. In fact, as he looked up at her as he asked her, she could almost swear that that was the same expression that Kurt would have if he were to be asking something. Smiling, she kissed his forehead gently and started towards the dining room with a bowl of salad. "Yeah, sweetheart, so be nice. You already know him, remember?"

"Oh, Dwayne?"

Frowning slightly, Karen turned to him. "'Dwayne'.? You had always called him 'Uncle Dwayne', baby."

Kyle stayed silent for a while as he put the plates where they were supposed to go. He knew that his mother was looking at him, waiting for an answer and, after he finished, he sighed and looked up at her. "Mom, why does he have to come? Everyone says that he's crazy."

At that, Karen turned to him quickly again. "What?"

"That's what everybody says.!" Kyle sighed and sat down on a chair. "I mean, isn't that why he doesn't wrestle anymore? And why he's in some hospital?

Karen sighed and went to him before kneeling down in front of him, taking his hands. "Kyle, he's not crazy. Yeah, he's sick, but he's not crazy. It's just that, after his family died, he just." How was she going to explain that to him? She couldn't tell him the truth without Kurt there. "Baby, he's not crazy, ok? So don't say that. He's still your Uncle Dwayne and he's going to spend Christmas with us and he's leaving until New Year's, so enjoy it while he's here, ok? And-."

"And don't mention anything about Dani or Alex, I know, Mom. Dad told me."

Kurt opened the front door and walked in, carrying Dwayne's backpack. It had started to snow so, after putting the bag down and he started taking off his coat, he tried to brush away the snow flakes that were on him. "Karen? Kyle? We're home."

Dwayne looked around, starting to take off his black coat that seemed to be, now, too big for him. For pants, he was wearing dark gray slacks and a black dress shirt plus his black shoes. It was Christmas even, and he was used to be formal for the dinner; especially if it was in someone else's house. Kurt had brought over the clothes, so his clothes were slightly baggy on him since he had lost a lot of weight since he had worn those clothes. As he looked around, he saw that Kurt's two story house was unchanged; it had that.home-y feeling. While he took in his surroundings, he didn't hear when Kurt was talking to him. It wasn't until Kurt patted his back that he turned to him with slightly wide eyes. "What?" When Kurt nodded towards Karen, who was starting to walk up to them, Dwayne turned to her and smiled; forcing it out. He was glad to see her, but he didn't feel up to smiling. "Hi, Karen."

Karen smiled and went to him, hugging him how she usually did. For a long time, Dwayne and his family had become almost like their own family because Kurt considered Dwayne as a brother. Dani had also been a close friend of hers, and it had been horrible what had happened with her and Alex, but Dwayne was obviously the one that was the worst in handling it. From what she knew through Kurt, she knew that he wasn't making much progress and that, in some doctors' eyes, they knew that he wouldn't get better. It broke her heart to think that he would spend the rest of his days living in an asylum and with nurses and doctors that cared for his every need-she knew that Dwayne usually hated hospitals and everything about them-but there was not much that they could do about it. "Hey, Dwayne, it's nice to see you. I'm glad that you were able to come."

Dwayne smiled. "Thanks for inviting me." He was about to say something else, but footsteps were heard walking in and, turning to where they came from, he saw Kurt's and Karen's only child: Kyle. Smiling, he waved. "Hey, Kyle."

Hesitating, Kyle went to him, smiling, and hugged him. "Hi, D- Uncle Dwayne."

Smiling slightly, Dwayne knelt down in front of him and patted his shoulder as if everything was normal. For Kyle, he would at least pretend. "What, you're not going to ask me what I brought you?"

Hearing this, Kyle's eyes seemed to light up and a big smile appeared on his face. "You brought me something?"

Nodding, Dwayne reached into his pocket of his coat-the largest one-and took out a small box. He had asked Kurt if they could stop by some toy store on the way there, and he had gotten him something before getting there. "I heard they were pretty famous this year, but I don't know if you already have it."

Grinning, Kyle looked up at his mom and then at his dad and, when they both nodded their permission to let him open the present, his grin widened and right there and then he ripped open the wrapper. His eyes widened at the GameBoy Advanced SP and the two games that were there, waiting for him to be opened. "Wow, Uncle Dwayne! I didn't have this yet!"

Dwayne's smile seemed to grow slightly at his reaction. "Good. I'm glad that you liked it."

"Thank you! I'm going to go call Brian and tell him!"

While Kyle ran up to his room to call his best friend and tell him of the news, Karen smiled up at Dwayne again when he stood. "Thanks, Dwayne, but you didn't have to do that."

"Ah, it was nothing. Besides, I didn't want to break tradition." Smiling, they all went to sit down; waiting for dinner to be ready.

Dinner had been pretty much uneventful and, after that, Kyle's own tradition of opening a present before going to bed to wait for Santa Claus started. When Karen and Kurt handed Dwayne one of his presents, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the fact that he hadn't gotten them anything and they had gone through the trouble of buying him something. But, as they explained, he didn't need to worry. When Kyle went to bed, they stayed up talking, but Dwayne didn't cooperate much. He tried his best to act somewhat normal with Karen, but it was hard and each subject would seem to be somewhat too close to Dani. Each time those subjects were brought up, the pain on Dwayne's face would be brought up again so, not long after, he decided to go back upstairs too, and to the guest room that they had gotten ready for him.

**

It was well past midnight, and Dwayne was still wide awake on his bed. All of the lights were off and the curtains were closed, but the movements of the tree branches because of the wind were still obvious with the shine of the moon. Sighing, he leaned his head back against the backboard of the bed and closed his eyes. It hadn't even been a day since he had been there, and he already didn't want to be there.

Suddenly, he could hear voices but, figuring that it was Karen and Kurt getting the Christmas tree ready for Kyle, he just kept his eyes closed.

"He doesn't want to be here, Kurt, how hard is it for you to see that?!"

At that, Dwayne opened his eyes and frowned.

"Damn it, Karen, he just needs a little time!"

"Time? Until when, Kurt? Years?"

"He's going through a tough time, ok? Just.wait."

Frowning deeper, Dwayne got out of bed and opened the door; being able to hear what was going on easier since they were arguing downstairs in the living room.

"It's Christmas, Kurt, of course it's going to hurt him, but it's the first year! He could get into a deeper depression-"

"Oh, please, Karen."

"All I'm saying is that he should be in a hospital where he can be watched by the nurses so he won't try anything against himself. I don't want Kyle to run in his room to wake him up so he can come down to open gifts with us and find him dead, ok?"

When only a silence followed that, Dwayne stepped out of the room and went towards the stairs; feeling as if he was back to being a kid listening to his parents argue while they thought that all the children were asleep. Finally, Kurt's voice was heard. "He'll be fine. It just hurts him, Karen. His wife and son both died. The same day and for the same reason."

"I know, Kurt." A short silence was heard and, when Karen started talking again, her voice was shaky. "But he wasn't the only one who suffered the loss. She was one of my best friends, and it hurts too. And I know it hurts you because he's your best friend, but because of that you have to do what's best for him."

"What's best for him is to not be alone. Not on Christmas."

From where he was, Dwayne could hear Kurt and Karen talking, but more normally. He didn't want to keep listening to their conversation, though, so he went back to his room and closed the door very quietly. He knew that he shouldn't stay; that he shouldn't be the reason why Karen and Kurt fought. He had not wanted to cause any problems, so after changing he got his clothes ready again. The hospital had told Kurt not to let him go out on his own because he could run away or something for the like, but he knew that if he told Kurt he wanted to go back to the hospital he would ask questions and wouldn't take him back. After looking through some cabinets and drawers, he finally found a piece of paper and a pen and, sitting down, he started writing:

'Kurt, Karen, thanks for everything that you've done. I don't want to cause any trouble, though, and I'd rather leave before I cause any problems. Thanks for your hospitality; I appreciate it. And, don't worry, Kurt, I think I can find my way back to the hospital. ~Dwayne'

Standing, he put the pen down next to the paper and got his clothes before going to the window and opening it. Even if the room where he was was located on the second floor, he managed to make his way down and taking his backpack with him. Once down, he started off in the direction where they had come from; but not really knowing where to go. As he made his way through the snow, his hands in his pockets, he saw a car drive up to him but he tried to ignore it and pretend he hadn't seen anything.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be in that house?"

At the familiar voice, Dwayne turned to the driver of the car and was surprised to see Jake there. Surprised and somewhat worried. If he had been assigned to be out there, watching over so he wouldn't run away and making sure that everything was going smoothly, then he would return him to Kurt's house or take him to the hospital. "Y. Yeah. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I live close by and I saw you get out. I was about to go to the hospital, do you want me to take you?"

Dwayne turned towards Kurt's house before turning to Jake; unsure what to say. But he might as well; that was where he was going anyway and, to be honest, he didn't feel strong enough to walk the whole way there. Nodding slightly, he got in the car and leaned back against the seat. "Thanks."

"No problem." Jake smirked at him, Dwayne oblivious, and turned to the road, talking under his breath, "No problem at all."