It was late at night and most of Everwood was asleep. Not even a dog barked. But, the hospital was wide awake. Nurses and doctors moved about, and some patients in pain couldn't sleep. But, some painless patients were awake as well. Jig and Amy laid side by side, scrunched in Jig's hospital bed. The room was entirely dark with the exception of the flashlight Amy was moving around on the ceiling. The two girls were watching it silently, almost memorized by the light. It was quiet too, with the exception of the muffled sound of movement in the hallway, and the wind hollowing past the window.

It was New Year's Eve, maybe five in the morning. Jig looked over at her cousin unnoticed, and she smiled. Everyone had come to see her at midnight. They held a little party right here, in this small hospital room, but Amy had stayed. Jig wasn't sure if it was because Amy was truly worried about her being safe or lonely, or if she was making up for leaving Ephram and Desi in the cold two months before. Jig smiled again and looked back at the light. She wondered if Amy knew that if Ephram and Desi hadn't been abandoned, they might not be in love now. No, that probably hadn't occurred to her. She was so bent on giving herself a guilt, she wouldn't see all of the good that came from the mistake.

Jig sighed and Amy turned to look at her. Jig noticed and turned to look back at her. Amy smiled.

"What were you doing last New Year's Eve, Jig?" Amy asked her. Jig sighed and laughed a little.

"Bussing tables. I was at table six when the ball dropped. They didn't leave a tip. That should have been a sign."

"A sign of what?"

"Of what a horrible year this would be!" Jig said. Amy's face turned to a frown so Jig's did too. It hadn't been a good year for anyone, but, considering everything, it had been worse for Jig. When Amy remembered that, she realized how much she had overreacted to Colin's accident.

"Where were you, Amy?"

"Kissing Colin, at the New Year's Eve party his parents were holding. Laynie took a picture of it. It's on my dresser," Amy said, smiling at the memory. Jig smiled too.

"How's he doing?"

"Great. Better than anyone expected. They're talking about him maybe coming home soon," Amy said hopefully. Jig nodded.

"I can't wait to meet him."

"You'll like him. I think he'll like you too."

"I should probably give him some time to get comfortable before I meet him, right? Give him enough time to get used to the faces he already knows before introducing him to a new one," Jig said smiling. Amy nodded. The truth was, it might be awhile. Colin still didn't look like he'd even recognize Amy at this point. Jig would find that out in time. Amy felt no need to worry her with her own problems at this point.

Actually, in some weird, kind of sad way, Jig's being in the hospital was beneficial to Amy. She couldn't be at Colin's side, so being here, taking care of Jig, it gave her a place to be, something to do, someone to care for. She'd never voice these ideas aloud, she wasn't very proud of them, but they were there. It was amazing the effect Jig had on everyone. It really wasn't her, specifically. There wasn't anything about Jig personally to affect the way things had worked, it was just her position. A member of Amy's family, a friend for Ephram. It made things easier for everyone, except maybe Edna and Irv. Just having a body there to take these jobs was wonderful.

"Hey, Jig, you know what?" Amy asked her.

"Probably," Jig replied and grinned. Amy shook her head with a smile.

"I'm glad you're here."

"In the hospital?"

"No! In Everwood! I'm glad you came."

"I belong here."

"I heard you were born here, but, you don't always belong where you were born."

"I thought that was the rule."

"Do you think Ephram belongs in New York City?"

"No."

"Well then, there you go…" Amy said. Jig nodded, defeated. She sighed.

"You know I owe all of my greatest friends to tragedies," Jig confessed. Amy looked over at her. Jig explained.

"Well look at it with Ephram. If his mom had never died, he'd still be in NYC. And if my mom hadn't died, I'd still be in LA. Now if just his mom or just my mom had died, we never would have met."

"You would have, you guys were meant to meet," Amy reassured her.

"When did you become a fatalist?" Jig asked, slightly amused. Amy turned to her, surprised.

"What did you just call me?" Amy asked her. Jig turned to her, surprised the comment had such an impact.

"A fatalist. Don't worry, it's not a bad word. A fatalist is just someone who-"

"Yea, yea I know what it means…" Amy said. Jig looked confused.

"Then why'd you-?"

"It's just, that, I've never been called that before," Amy confessed. Jig smiled and shrugged.

"Well, you can't say that again," Jig told her. Amy laughed.

"No, I suppose I can't."

Dr. Brown lugged the dying Christmas tree to the curb. When it was there he straightened his back and frowned when he heard the 'crack' sound it made. He sighed and looked down the road. It was like death row for Christmas trees. On the curb in front of every house both up and down the street lay a corpse of the vanished Christmas spirit. It was the sixth of January (the twelfth day of Christmas), and that meant it was time to loose the trees. Not a curb in Everwood missed the date. Star even had her twelve foot tree hauled to the curb that morning. Dr. Brown would have suspected it was some kind of town wide tradition, but, it had been well published that the seventh was tree pick up day, and no day later. It just happened to fit in with the twelfth day of Christmas by coincidence. There were plenty of those in Everwood.

It had been the first Christmas without Julia in twenty years, but, he had gotten through it. He and the kids, had gotten through it. The spirit of the season had not been totally unfavorable to the remaining Brown family. Ephram met Desi's parents and survived to tell about it. Delia had a baseball cap from Japan. Jig was walking. And, the best of all possible news, Star and Cory were leaving in three weeks. The later probably should not have been the best news for Dr. Brown, but, it was. He was a little ashamed of it, but he was too happy to care. Star was leaving! Star was leaving! If he knew how to do the rumba, he would. Sure, he loved his big sister, somewhere, but, she was best in small doses. Very small. Microscopic even. You know, just a picture of her in his house somewhere was enough. As long as it was turned so he didn't have to see it. He had spent fourteen years of his life with her, and that was more than anyone should be asked to do.

It was hard for Dr. Brown to find role models. He was usually one himself, which made it hard for him to find one. But, he had always admired Orrie and Cory. It was just for their ability to stay alive. Sure, the instinct for survival was in every human, but, there was no instinct that could combat Star and win. Those boys had something else, some great mystical power. Dr. Brown always thought so, anyway. They were not normal kids, not that he would expect them to be. Not only were they Star's boys, but they had Brown blood in them. Well, not brown blood, their blood was red, but they had the Brown family blood in them. Dr. Brown hated to toot his family's horn, but they had always been great. Their oldest ancestors to come to the US of A came over on the Mayflower. One of their ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence. They were related to one of the Presidents Adams, through their wife's side. They were related to Elizabeth Blackwell, which was one of the reason's Dr. Brown became a doctor. Well, that and the fact that the game Operation™ just wasn't challenging him enough anymore.

Ephram was laying on his bed, listening to his music. His eyes were closed and his head bobbed back and forth at different rates, depending on the song. He had just gotten back from the hospital where he did his homework and helped Jig try to walk again. He had never heard her swear so much since he's known her. Amidst his music, Ephram barely heard the knock on his door. He allowed entrance, sitting up and turning his music off. He stood up as Desi walked into his room. Desi held a wrapped, rectangular shaped gift in her hands and an apologetic smile on her face.

"Desi…" he said removing his headphones and placing them on his bed. He could hear the faint music start up again so he hit the 'stop' button a second time.

"Hi, Ephram. Um, I'm sorry…" she said incredibly apologetically. Ephram's eyes narrowed in worry.

"For what?" he said, smiling briefly as he said it. Desi took a step toward him.

"Well, uh, you see, I… well… It's kind of funny really. You see, I just realized, I forgot to give you your Christmas gift…" she said. Ephram smiled and chuckled a little in relief.

"You're not mad?" Desi asked him timidly. He walked over to her, lifted her chin up, and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Not mad. So what is it?" he asked her. Desi smiled excitedly and handed him the gift. Before he could open it she moved him back to his bed and made him sit down. She then moved his CD player and sat down next to him.

"Open it!" she said, almost hopping up and down where she sat. Now excited himself, Ephram opened the present. It was a comic book. Batman was on the cover, and Ephram's eyes went to the date. 1947. Surprised he turned to Desi, smiling.

"Desi! Where'd you find such an old copy?" he asked her. Her smile widened.

"Open it!" she repeated. He opened the protective plastic casing and held the book in his hands. The first thing he noticed was the smell of it. He loved the different smells old comic books had. He opened (very carefully) to the first page and read what was written on it in big black, cursive letters.

"Bob Kane"

Ephram would have jumped a mile if it were humanly possible. Quickly and yet carefully he placed the book back in its plastic cover. He turned to Desi, him in disbelief and her with a giant smile.

"Do you like it?" she asked him. He was too shocked to form words but nodded. Her smile widened.

"Good! Now, I still have my homework to get done, so I have to hurry back home. I'm glad you liked it," she said standing up, kissing him on the forehead, and walked out of his room, closing the door behind her. A few moments after she had left Ephram jumped into the air and started jumping around his room, cheering.