Since its Christmas Eve I thought I'd write a short story having to do with it. Beware, it's painfully short but I think I got my point across. This is dedicated to all those who aren't going to be home for Christmas. But don't forget, even though it may seem hopeless at times of darkness, the light will always shine through. Merry Christmas and enjoy.

Stitch looked up and down the tar road slowly. But it was no use. He knew no one was coming for him. He sighed heavily and stepped back from the road towards the forest behind him. He climbed up a tree using his now-dull claws and attempted to enter into a knothole to escape the pouring rain, but it was already occupied by a family of red squirrels.

At least someone's having a good Christmas… he thought sadly. With nowhere else to go he laid down on a fat branch that extended out over the road. He didn't even attempt to try and stay out of the rain. He sighed again and tried to remember what had happened to him in the past years.

Not long after he and Lilo finished capturing all the experiments about 16 years ago Stitch's secret had somehow been discovered by a group of people called the Thieves Guild. They kidnapped him using tranquilizers and tried to teach him how to be evil again. They tried to make him do such awful things, like kill and rob. Stitch had refused and time and time again they had beaten him, inflicting painful scars he would have forever. Once they even put a shock collar on him, but still Stitch wouldn't budge. Finally, realizing their ultimate weapon was a failure, they dumped him on the side of the road in the pouring rain. And on Christmas Eve, no less.

Stitch felt a single tear trickle down his face and didn't try and wipe it off. He sniffed and almost missed a sound behind him. He turned around and saw one of the squirrels from the knothole standing behind him, probably one of the younger ones. It looked at him for a moment and cocked its head. It then reached behind it and with withdrew a small acorn. It stepped closer to Stitch and reached up towards him, offering the acorn to him.

Stitch felt the lump in his throat soften a bit and he gingerly reached out and plucked the acorn from the squirrel's grasp. "Takka," he whispered. The squirrel cocked it's head even more and nodded to him. Then it scurried back down to the knothole.

Stitch looked at the acorn in his paw. It wasn't much, but he was grateful to the little creature for giving it to him. He popped it into his mouth and swallowed in whole. Actually eating something made him realize how hungry he was. His stomach contracted painfully and he curled up on the branch, shaking from the sudden wind that had come up.

"Please help me…" he whispered to no one in particular. "Please…" He just wanted to end this torture. He didn't even notice when he fell from the branch to the ground below.

He did notice his landing, however. The breath went out of him in a flash and he gasped for air. His right leg hurt; he probably sprained it from the fall. But he didn't care anymore. He even thought he saw heaven open up before him… no, wait, it was a car coming down the road.

Well, let them come. He thought bitterly. They'd be doing me a favor to…

He didn't get a chance to finish his thought as the car had hit him and sent him flying across the road and into the brush in the ditch.

Now his body was cut by thorns, his leg was broken, and most of all his heart had broken long ago. He lay there in the brush, almost losing consciousness at one point but managed to stay awake. He thought he heard a voice from the direction of the car, but it sounded distant and far away.

"Oh, my God!!" The voice triggered a memory in his brain, but Stitch was too exhausted to think any more. He could hear the voice get closer.

"Oh, Stitch! Is that you? I'm so sorry, Stitch." Now the voice was sobbing. Stitch so wished to comfort this sad voice, to tell it that it would be alright and he was just going out of his misery.

Then he was picked up by gentle hands and placed on something comfortable. All the while the familiar voice kept talking to him, saying stuff like "It's going to be ok, Stitch," and "Hang on, Stitch." The comfy thing below him began to vibrate and something in his mind registered that he was in a car. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at the ceiling above him. Then he closed his eyes and finally lost consciousness.

When Stitch woke up he was in so much pain he cried out. Someone ran over to him immediately and whispered," It's ok, Stitch. You're ok. You're going to live." Stitch was soothed by the voice's tones and suddenly the pain seemed much more bearable. The voice stood up and spoke to another voice.

"Is he going to be alright?" said the first voice.

"Well, he has a broken leg and pelvis bone, but he's healing much faster than expected. That's a good sign for you're… dog?" the second voice said.

"Yes, my dog," said the first voice.

Dog…Stitch thought. Who else called me a dog? His heart leaped as he remembered who.

"Lilo?" he whispered. "Lilo?" he said louder. He was sure it was Lilo! It had to be! "LILO!" he shouted. The machines he was attached to around him began to malfunction and send out sparks. He struggled against the straps holding him down.

The doctors tried to restrain the squirming experiment, but nothing mattered more to him now than to get to the one person he had been kept away from for so long. He couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

Finally the straps ripped under the pressure and Stitch was free. He stood up on the table and leaped forward towards the adult he knew had to be Lilo.

Lilo caught him and embraced him. Tears of joy sparkled on both of their cheeks and they stayed that way for several minutes, hugging in warm embrace.

"Oh, Stitch," Lilo whispered. "I've missed you."

"Stitch missed you, Lilo," Stitch answered. The whole world melted around him and the only thing that mattered right now was that Lilo and he were reunited after so long.

Among all the other thoughts he was thinking right now, the one that stood out the most for him was that he had found his ohana in time for Christmas.

There you have it. An extremely short story. I think it's touching, though. The idea of Stitch and Lilo reuniting after several years is © stitch62619