Not mine, never was.

Chapter Eleven

"My mother is driving me crazy!" Screamed Caitie, slamming the cordless phone down on the counter. "She's called me nine times this morning. Nine! Every single time we hang up she remembers one more thing she just has to tell me. I swear, she needs to just make a list and, oh dear God now I sound like Val, all organized and stuff."

Jamie, leaning on the counter across from Caitie, munched on his bagel, quite used to Caitie's frenzied ramblings.

Caitie paused long enough to take a sip of her coffee before she continued her rant, this time in a high pitched mocking voice. "Caitie, did you order your flowers yet? Caitie, did you remember to invite Aunt Gwen? Caitie, are you sure you don't want to were my wedding dress? Caitie, have you booked the reception hall yet? That woman is driving me crazy!"

Jamie calmly reached across the counter and extracted the coffee mug from her hands and said "No more caffeine for you." Caitie glared at him, walked to the cupboard and got another mug to fill with coffee, possibly the only thing that was keeping her sane throughout the planning phase of the wedding. "First of all, I don't have an Aunt Gwen so I couldn't possibly invite her even if I wanted to, my mom's dress was and still is ugly and we're having our reception in the park, she just doesn't like the idea."

"Caitie-" Whatever else Jamie was going to say was cut off by the ringing of the phone. Caitie reached for the cord that connected the phone to wall and yanked it out of the phone jack. The phone cut off in mid ring.

"That woman needs to realize that I can plan my own wedding. Why didn't we just elope?"

"Because your mother would be even more persistent."

"Is Tyler taking Lindsey Trick-Or-Treating tonight?" Asked Caitie, changing the subject.

"Yeah, he and Melissa are taking her to the Mall of America. They're doing the usual Halloween thing there."

"Tyler's been seeing a lot of her recently hasn't he." Caitie commented. "If she's not careful, she's gonna become a part of our group."

"I don't think Tyler will object to that."

* * *

"Brooke, oh my God Brooke, what happened? Are you okay?" Asked Hank, He sounded about as terrified as Brooke had been when she'd been face to face with the barrel of the gun. The minute she saw Hank she felt completely safe again. She couldn't explain it. Sitting in the police station, she was still nervous despite all the officers there, but the minute Hank was with her, she calmed down. She ran to him, meeting him halfway.

"He got everything." Wailed Brooke. She threw her arms around his neck and he reciprocated, holding her tight as if he did he might never see her again. It hadn't hit either of them yet how close they'd come to. . . neither of them had been able to think it yet.

"Shh, it doesn't matter. You're safe, that's all that matters." He soothed her.

"They got your mom's ring." She continued, holding up her hand to show that, indeed, there was no ring there.

"It's not important. You're the only think that's important to me." His complete sweetness made the dam that was holding back her tears break.

"I was so scared." She admitted, fully exhausted and ready to go home.

* * *

"Goodnight Lindsey." Said Tyler for the millionth time that night and the exasperation was starting to make itself known.

"It's your own fault for letting her eat all of her Halloween candy three days after Halloween." Melissa reminded him. She'd been observing the nighttime ritual from the doorway and couldn't help but smirk at the little girl's manipulation of her father. It was damn hard to say no to her.

"Can I watch a movie with you guys?" Asked Lindsey from her bed. Slight traces of sleepiness were evident in her voice. Tyler figured she was coming down off her sugar high.

"You need to sleep." Said Tyler forcefully, slowly backing out of her room and closing the door behind him.

"I should get going." Said Melissa though she showed no signs of moving anywhere near the door.

"Stay." Said Tyler simply. He leaned in to kiss her.

"I can't." She said without much conviction

"Stay the night." He repeated in a low voice and she was finding it harder to resist. She nodded slowly and stood up, reaching out a hand to pull him up.

* * *

The next morning Tyler was roused from a sound sleep by the incessant ringing of the door bell. He rolled his head to one side to check that it hadn't woken Melissa. She was beautiful when she was asleep. He quickly pulled on some clothing (his current state being he wasn't wearing anything) and answered the door.

"Can we talk?" Asked Ashley. She barged her way past him into his apartment, refusing to take no for an answer.

"Get out."

"I want us to try again. I want to get back together." She continued pitifully.

"Leave."

"I want us to start over." She begged him.

"No, it's never going to happen. We're over. We've been over for a year. I'm seeing someone else now."

"We were great together."

"All good things must come to an end." He said shortly, purposely changing 'great' to 'good.' "And it took way too long."

"What did I do to make you like this?" She raised her voice.

"I can't believe you're asking me that! You hit my daughter!" He was yelling loud enough to wake up everyone now, but he didn't care. He just wanted her gone. "Get out."

"But-" She protested weakly.

"I don't care! You know what happened to Andie and you hit my daughter! Leave, I never want to see you again."

"The little brat wouldn't stop whining." Ashley tried to defend herself.

"She was three! That was no excuse to lay a hand on her. You did it once so there's a good chance you could do it again and there's no fucking way in hell I'm letting you anywhere near Lindsey. Get out now!" He hopped this was the last he saw of her.

* * *

"Everything smells delicious." Said Melissa, eyeing all of the food that Caitie had set out on the counter for their Thanksgiving feast.

"Me first." Declared Lindsey, taking the plastic plate and standing, ready to get her food.

"Caitie, you've outdone yourself." Complimented Tyler, sampling one of her salads.

"Thanks." She replied, grinning. She was just grateful that she didn't have to cook for Christmas dinner. Or for the next two week for that matter. That's how long the leftovers would last.

"I wish Brook and Hank could have come." Commented Val, pushing food around on her plate. She hadn't been able to eat much recently. She was prepared to hate the whole being-pregnant thing if it meant she'd be able to eat Caitie's cooking again. She'd already coerced her into making a Thanksgiving dinner after she had the baby.

"They made me promise to bring leftovers to Christmas though." Laughed Caitie. That would be the first time they would all be together since Hank and Brooke left. Even though the two of them plus Val would be at Val's parents' house, Caitie and Jamie would be at Caitie's parents' place and Tyler and Melissa at his parents'. All of them were getting together for Christmas day. That's what counted.

* * *

"Val!" Squealed Brooke. She immediately jumped up and hugged her older sister. "Oh my God I missed you so much! Boy or girl?" She asked anxiously, glancing down at Val's stomach.

"Nope." She shook her head.

"That is so not fair! You told me you'd tell me!"

"No I didn't, I told you I knew if it was a boy or girl. I'm not telling anyone until after the baby's born."

"But I'm your sister!"

"Sucks to be you." Shrugged Val.

"Brooke, leave your sister alone. It's 3:00 in the morning." Scolded their dad, he was hauling in Val's suitcase since he still refused to let her do anything that involved work.

"Okay, I'm going to bed. Is my old room still there?" She asked even though she knew it was. It just depended on if Brooke had claimed it first.

"Of course it is."

* * *

"Caitie, you, Jamie and I need to talk about flower arrangements for your wedding."

"Mom, it's 11:30 on Christmas Eve. Can we do this tomorrow? Maybe when Jamie's conscious." She suggested. Jamie had fallen asleep half an hour ago and Caitie had been half asleep before her mother had walked into her room.

"Caitie, this is important." She lectured.

"So is sleep." She buried her head in her pillow. Her mother conceded and closed the door.

"She still nagging you about wedding plans?" Mumbled Jamie. Maybe he wasn't as out of it as she thought.

"Flower arrangements." She specified. "We should just elope." Said Caitie, only half kidding.

"Okay." Agreed Jamie, propping himself up on his elbow so he was laying on his side and facing Caitie

Caitie wasn't sure if she heard him right. "What did you just say?"

"Okay. Lets do it."

"Just like that? I was only kidding." Exclaimed Caitie.

"No you weren't." Said Jamie. "That's about the fifth time you've suggested it. Lets do it."

"Alright." Agreed Caitie. "Lets do it." She was smiling and it was one of those smiles that didn't just stop at her mouth, it lit up her whole face. "When?"

"As soon as possible. The day after Christmas." Suggested Jamie.

Caitie leaned in to kiss him. "Love you Jamie." She whispered when they broke apart.

"What are we going to tell everyone though. Our friends, your brothers and sisters, Kassie, they'll all be upset that they weren't there."

"Who cares if they don't see us actually get married. Every single time I've imagined anything with you I've skipped the wedding and gone straight to the house with the white picket fence and all of that. The important part is being married, not getting married."

"We're really gonna do this?" Asked Jamie sounding happier than he'd been in a long time.

"Yeah, we are." She kissed him again.

* * *

"Lets go or a walk." Suggested Tyler, slipping his arms around her waist.

"It's freezing outside." She protested.

"So?"

"It's snowing out!" She tried again.

"Hence the walk."

"It's almost midnight! And we're in pyjamas."

"Will you stop protesting? You know I'm going to convince you to go so lets just save ourselves the time and you can agree right now." He handed her a jacket and she wrapped it around herself. Conceding defeat, she slipped her hand into his.

"Everyone around here really goes all out on the Christmas lights, don't they?" She asked. The entire street was lit up with lights of every color possible, even the non-typical Christmas colors. The lights were not limited to the houses either, they were in the trees too. And not to mention the wire reindeer and Santas that were in the front yards (with more lights of course.)

"Yeah, I guess so." He agreed. The neighborhood lights had always been one of his favorite parts of the holiday season. And his old neighborhood never disappointed. The snow was coming down harder now and the flakes were sticking to Melissa's hair.

"You ready to go in now?" She asked, they were almost back to the house now.

"Yeah." Agreed Tyler. He was getting cold now. Inside, he heated up some water to make cocoa for the two of them.

"Do you want me to help set out the presents from Santa?" She asked as he poured hot water into her mug. They had a whole bunch for Lindsey.

"My mom wants to do it. I think she misses having a kid here." They drank their cocoa in a comfortable silence, watching the snow fall in the streetlights.

"Lets go to bed. Lindsey's going to be up in a few hours." Suggested Melissa looking at the clock."

"She only went to bed a few hours ago." Protested Tyler.

"Did you ever sleep in on Christmas morning when you were her age?"

"Right." He realized that Lindsey would probably be up in a few hours and bouncing around and have way too much energy. And that would be before she ate any sugar, which there was bound to be plenty of.

"Love you, Ty." Mumbled Melissa a little later, her voice thick with sleep. Tyler wasn't sure if he'd heard her right, but took a chance anyway.

"Love you too." He slowly leaned over to brushed his lips against her forehead. The feather light touch of her fingers finding his was a sign he'd made the right decision.

* * *

Val looked out her bedroom window, serenely watching the Christmas lights dance and twinkle on their neighbors house and the streetlights illuminating the otherwise dark street. She watched the snow flakes flutter down from the sky and melt immediately after hitting the ground. It was still too warm in Kingsport for the snow to stick around. Kain had loved the snow. It wasn't Christmas without it. It wasn't until just now she'd realized how beautiful the flakes looked as they were falling, illuminated in the streetlights.

"Kain." She whispered just in case he happened to be listening. Her hand unconsciously rested on her stomach. "Your son and I are going to be okay soon, love you. Merry Christmas."

The End

Hey everyone, it was a great ride that's lasted a long time. It stared November 18th 2001 and it's coming to and end on January 10th 2004. That's like two years. In the words of Col. Jack O'Neill, "I guess this is part where I say something profound. . . Nope, nothing comes to mind."

I'd love to leave you with a famous crazy Author's Note, but, well, I don't have much to say. Leave a review and an E-mail address and I'll get back to you. And don't forget to look for more stuff.

Keep on writing.