I'm sure all of you know that Santa is not real. This is the last chapter of them as babies, GASP Oh-no!!

R&R and enjoy!

30 Minutes

Chapter 8, Christmas, Toilets, and the Christmas Angel

9:02am December 2, 19X3

Shadow was out of the hospital sooner then everyone had expected, Shadow reminded Thomas about the pizza, so that very second, Thomas ordered pizza from the crew's kitchen. Shadow ate half the pizza they got, but that didn't matter to anyone.

Thomas looked at Shadow and immediatly noticed something different; his eyes where crimson and no longer blue. Thomas looked at his father with concern, "Whats wrong with his eyes? There red, they used to be blue, does it have to do with the gun shot?" Thomas shivered at the words 'gun shot'. Gerald swalled the bite of pizza and said, "When he got shot, it cause dramatic trama to his mind and body. I don't think it affects his vision, at least he isn't going gray, heh." Thomas thought But he doesn't seem disturbed, deep inside his mind he may be, but he seems ok.

8:46pm December 2, 19X3

Shadow and Maria were watching the sesame street 24 hour marathon on PBS, and a commercial came on. It was a toy commerial for Tonka, car that little kids rode in. Maria's icy blue eyes lite up when she saw a pink and white barbie car. It had a toy phone where you can talk to barbie (that was a real thing too!). Shadow's mouth turned into a huge smile when he saw a sliver, red, balck, and blue care that had toy machine guns on the sides. They watched the entire commercial in awe. Maria ran up to her father, but Shadow struggled to even stand up. Maria ran over to her brother and helped him up. Thomas kneeled down and scooped them up and put them on the couch and sat down next to him, Gerald saw Thomas motioned for him to come in the room too. Before Thomas could even speak Shadow shouted, "Iwannatonka!!!" Maria said politely (as she always was), "Daddy, fow Chwistmas, can I get a bawbie caw?""IWANNATONKA!!! IWANNATONKA!!! IWANNATONKA!!! IWANNATONKA!!! IWANNATONKA!!!" Thomas firmly said, "No, those things are dangerous and look what all the dangers you 2 have already had?" Maria and Shadow looked eachother and right on cue, gave a pouty face. Thomas stood up and said, "No, when I saw something I stand by it." Thomas and Gerald went back to the dining room/kitchen and began to talk about Christmas. Thomas explained how hard it was, it was going to be his first Christmas without his wife beside him.

Shadow had an idea of what to do, Maria helped him into his electronic baby wheelchair and they grabbed alot little things from around the house.....

8:55pm December 2, 19X3

Thomas and Gerald didn't even notice Shadow and Maria going back and forth from the bathroom to the living room. Gerald finally noticed, "Tom, what are they doing?" Thomas put his feet down on the carpet and it was soaked. What the hell..? he thought. He went into the bathroom and saw assorted thing from the house in the toilet being flushed; keys, his glasses case, porclean figures, pens, lids, cd's, amd the remote. Thomas saw the remote, and his eyes were filled with horror, "NOOO!!! NOT THE REMOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The kids were laughing and Maria continuely pushed the lever on the toilet and water poured out of it. He picked up the wet children and locked them in a closet.

11:59pm December 2, 19X3

Maria and Shadow have been asleep for an hour in the closet, dreaming of the Tonka trucks. Thomas opened the closet door, and stared at them, in 2 seconds they were awake, thinking he would say, 'ok, I'll get you the tonka trucks'. He was calm but you from the look in his eyes, he was full of rage. Through gritted teeth he said, "Why. Did. You. Two. Do. That." Maria and Shaodw said shamefully, "We wanted the trucks..." Thomas allowed them to step out of the closet, "I was going to buy them for you;" Shadow and Maria looked up at him with smiles. "But I will not now. Shadow, Maria, you will go to bed without a story and thats final." Maria looked up at him and said tearfully, "But I can't go to sleep without my without my story..." Shadow said, "Yeah, me niether." THomas said, "Well, that makes three of us who won't sleep." He lifted Maria and put her in her white and silver crib and Shadow into his Polished bare wooden crib. He walked to the door, and without looking back, he slammed the door and locked it from the outside. Maria began to wail, and Shadow sat in his bed and folded his arms, "its not fair, I got a bad boo-boo in my foot and all I wanted was a toy and daddy is being mean!!" Maria replied, but it sounded like gibberish under all the crying and screaming she was doing. Shadow cocked his head to the left and gave her a confused look.

12:01am Decmeber 3, 19X3

Thomas walked into his living room and sat with his father on the couch. Gerald alughed nervously, "Well, it was hard, but we did it, the toilet is fixed and there was no structural damage, heh heh..." Thomas removed his glasses and cupped his face in his hands. Gerald put his arm around his son, "Don't you think your being a little too hard on them, I mean, Shadow was shot and Maria was scared for her brother and--"

"I can't do this, I need Alicia.."

"You can do this, its hard having a child and then adopting another and raising them. If you need any help, I was a father, I can help you."

Thomas looked at his father and Gerald's dark green eyes sparkles with sympothy. Thomas gave his father a hug and said, "thank you..."

8:29pm December 24, 19X3

Thomas was dressed in a pair of jeans and a red and green sweater (like the one that freddy wears in nightmare on elm street) and black dress shoes. Gerald was dressed in a gray suit with a black tye. Maria had on a velvet red dress and frilly white edges and a frilly white collar, she had white stockings on and black dress shoes, she had red and green ribbons in her hair. Shadow was fully healed from his wound, but was left with a small scar about the size of a bullet, with no fur covering the scar, all in all, he was doing good. Shaodw was wearing an outfit similar to Thomas's; a red sweater with a white raindeer silhouette and black dress pants and shoes. Maria ran up to her father with Shadow in his wheel chair, slowly catching up. Maria said, "Daddy, don't fowget, we have to leave out cookies and milk for Santa." Thomas went into the kitchen and got out a glass of plain milk, and chocolate milk, choclate chip cookies and gingerbread men cookies. He went into the livng room an put them on the coffee table. Maria and Shadow wrote a note that said, "MePRY CHRiStMAZ SANta." Shadow crossed his arms and said, "I'm still not gunna getta Tonka!" Thomas said, "ahh, with Santa you never know." Shadow was still mad about knowing his dad woudn't get him a Tonka Truck. Gerald was hanging the stockings on the wall since they didn't have nor needed a fire place. Thomas got out a camera and put it 10-15 ft. from the tree.

The tree was beautiful, even though it wasn't real. It has christmad ornament balls of all the colors of the rainbow on it, silver garlend on it, little white lights on it, and red ribbons on it. And perched on the top of the tree was a star that glowed a silver light. The tree was hauntingly beautiful. Thomas got them to stand in front of the tree and Thomas set the camera in a timer. He rushed to get in the picture, Shadow and Maria faced the camera and Shadw had his left arm around Maria and Shadow had his right. The same thing with Thomas and Gerald. Just before the picture was taken, Thomas felt his hand that wasn't around his father being moved, but he didn't move it, he just shrugged it off. The picture was taken, later it was going to be taken to get developed. Thomas couldn't help but think of the picture thinking someone was missing, Alicia... It won't be the same without you...

Shadow and Maria snapped Thomas out of it, he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "Yeah?" Maria said, "Can we have some cookies?" THomas said warmly, "Not now, its almost bedtime--" Shadow and Maria made pouty faces and looked like they were going to cry. Thomas stared into Maria's icy eyes glazed with tears, it looked as if her eyes were ice melting. He looked in Shadow's eyes and saw blood, pain, and the look of a tortured soul. Thomas gave in, "Okay, okay, you can have cookies, you you have to brush your teeth and go straight to bed."

Maria and Shadow ate the cookies and brushed their teeth and went to bed.

12:32am December 25 19X3

Thomas made sure his children were asleep and went to the EP room to develop the photo. While the photo was developing, Thomas heard a woman say his name. He looked up and saw someone he did not expect......Alicia. She was transparent and was glowing white, she was wearing a flowing white gown and her long golden blonde hair was flowing as if in the wind, she was beautiful. Thomas said, "I-Y-W- I thought you were dead..." Alicia spoke to him in his mind, I am.

"A-Alicia, everything is d-different without you..."

Tell Maria that I will always love her, take good care of Shadow, I wish I could meet him...

"Alicia, I-I love you."

I love you too, and I will see you again someday.

She moved toward him and was about to embrace him, then she dissappeared. Thomas knew he would never see her again in life, but at least he got a chance to say good bye. The photo was done developing and he looked at it. In the photo, right next to him was the same person he saw just now; Alicia was smiling angelically and holding his hand. Thomas was in tears and the only thing he said was, "She is an angel..."

When Thomas got back to the apartment, he saw his very annoyed father staring at him with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. Thomas noticed the gifts were already put under the tree by Gerald. Gerald whispered so he would wake the kids, "Where have you been you've been gone almost an hour! You know where the EP room is!" Thomas stared at the tree, then the photo, the tree, the photo, the tree, and so on and so forth. Thomas said awe struck, "Look at the picture..." Gerald took it and ajusted his glasses, he stared at the photo, "Oh my god.."

7:00am Decemer 25 19X3

"ITS CHWISTMAS! ITS CHWISTMAS! ITS CHWISTMAS!!!" Maria and Shadow continually shouted and 'awaking' their fahter. He was more stunned then asleep, he was still think about Alicia. The four of them went to the stockings, emptied them out and began to eat the candy in them.

One by one, all the gifts were opened. There was wrapping paper all over the room, toys everywhere and clothes (for the kids) carelessly tossed aside. It was down to two gifts left. One for Shadow and one for Maria. On the tags, it said, 'For Maria, From Santa' the other said, 'For Shadow, From Santa.' These gifts were twice the size of both of them and they had no idea what they were. Thomas said, "Whoa, look what Santa got you!" He looked over at Gerald and winked at him, as if saying, 'Look what I got for you.' The kids opened their gifts at the same time, they screamed with excitement, it was the Tonka cars they wanted. They opened the boxes and Thomas already opened them earlier and put them together. They climbed in them and rode them around the house. Thomas and Gerald heard Maria and Shadow talking, Shadow said, "I'm soooooo happy! I like Santa better then daddy cuz he got us these." "YEah, me too!" Gerald and THomas laughed. Thomas looked through the window of the ARK out to Earth, "Merry Christmas, Alicia..." He saw Alicia faintly in the window and she said Merry Christmas.

Lets thank AutCat for giving me these great ideas!

The Pouty faces when they wanted the Tonka cars.

When they flushed all the stuff down the toilet.

The pouty faces when they wanted the cookies.

Huggles Autcat Thanx for the ideas!

Whoa, I think that was my best chap yet! R & R and Merry or Happy Early Christmas!