(A/N: Just like my Silent Night story, this as well as all of my stories will be put on hiatus. It's not that I lost interest. I still write. It's just that I don't have the time to update.)

Return of St. Nick:

"Tea? Tea?"

Tea's eyes slowly opened, seeing a rather familiar person right above her. "Namu?"

"Well," Namu grinned, patting her on the head. "I've been trying to wake you up for the last hour and was gonna call the hospital."

"How long have you been here?" Tea looked around. She was lying on the coffee table, her legs rested on the footstool. She found a hole cracked on the wall.

"At least an hour." Namu replied, glancing at where Tea was looking. "You're lucky. We found you lying on the floor. That knife ended up wedged at the wall."

"The caller...the guy..." Tea stuttered.

"He was gone by the time we showed up." Said Namu. "I know one thing though, it can't be your ex Yami. He's still locked at the asylum."

"So someone else is after me?" she watched as one of the cops snapped a photo of the crack on the wall.

Deciding to avoid the question, he sat Tea up. "Is there any place you can stay? A friend's house? If not, we can offer you a room at the station."

But Tea shook her head to that offer. "No, I...I think I'll stay with Joey."

"As you wish," he then stood up. "You see, not only we want to check to see if St. Nick left anything behind but we want you to be some place where he can't get you easily."

"How long is this going to take?"

"Well," Namu tried to come up with an answer. "My guess would be a few days. That's the best I could come up with. To tell the truth, I'm not sure how long this would take." He brushed some of the dust off his jacket. "Go get your stuff and I'll call that Wheeler kid."

Tea made her way up the stairs and to her room. She noticed that her closet had been opened, her drawer forced open. Some of her stuff animals had been hung by the neck with yarns around the necks from their ceilings. There was writing on the walls in the color of blood red. Tea's eyes froze at the note that was splattered.

Santa doesn't always give out coals to bad little children.

"Looks like Santais deadlier this time for the holidays."

Startled, Tea looked up but only relieved to see Namu and Joey behind her. "Don't scare me like that!!"

"Sorry," Joey made his way towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It's just that when this cop called..."

"Hey!!" Namu snapped, glaring at Joey. "I'm a detective mind you!"

"When the cops called," Joey ignored the young detective. "I came here as fast as I could."

"Look....Joey..." Tea knelt onto the floor, picking up the clothes that had been scattered in silence. "Just help me pack."
(-)

About an hour later, Tea had finally finished packing and loading her bag in Joey's car. Sliding in the front seat, Joey soon followed, taking out his keys and starting up the car.

"So..." Joey concentrated on his driving. "I heard St Nick came back."

"That's the thing! Who would have done it?"

"Who can be doing this?" Joey made a right turn. "I mean, we both know that the mental hospital wouldn't let Yami make a phone call." He finally pulled over in the driveway. "I'll take your bag. You..." he got out of the car, not finishing his statement. He took Tea's bag and made his way inside the house.

Shortly after, Tea got out of the car, gazing at the view around her. White snow had blanketed the neighborhood.

Nice neighborhood, Tea smiled to herself. She felt a cold chill down her spine. At first, she assumed it was just the cold wind. Her eyes then spotted someone across the street. He wore a black jacket, matching pants, shirt, shoes and gloves of the same color. The only part of him that wasn't black was his hair, which was white and grew wildly.

Something about him looked familiar. The stranger just stared at her, sunglasses over his eyes. In his hand was a long cane.

Suddenly, it hit her. The young man looked at Tea, staring her down. She then took a few steps back before running inside.

"Joey!" she screamed.

"What?" Joey looked up at Tea. "What's wrong?"

"I..." Tea wheezed. "I saw...I saw Bakura. He was just outside across the street!"

Joey took a quick peek out the window before glancing at Tea. "Tea, there's no one out there."

"But I could have sworn I saw him!" Tea cried out.

"Tea calm down." Joey closed the curtain. "Bakura's dead, remember? His body was found in the Christmas Tree in Yami's cabin.

"Don't remind me of that day!" Tea snapped. "You don't know how sick it is to see a dismembered body jammed in a tree!!"

"Look," Joey took in a deep breath. "Why don't you...Tea, why don't you get some sleep. You have to go to work tomorrow. Staying up all night wouldn't do you any good."

"Yeah...I guess." She looked around the house. "Where do I sleep?"

"Well," Joey led her up the stairs. "You can stay in Serenity's room."

Following him, she made her way inside his sister's room, surprised to see it nearly empty. Besides boxes piled on one side of the room, only her bed and dresser remained.

(-)

To Be Continued