"I was thinking," James said as he drove his brothers back to Oxford.
"Congratulations," Wesley announced from the back seat as Matthew laughed.
"At least that one never gets old," James said.
"That's a comeback?" Wesley asked.
"You're a comeback!" James shouted before calming down again. "Like I said, I was thinking that maybe y'all could come and spend Christmas here, with me and my family."
"Are you serious?" Matthew asked. "I mean, don't you think that's a little bit insensitive?"
"What do you mean?" James asked. "I thought it would be nice."
"It is nice," Wesley argued, "but I think that you've forgotten that we have families of our own. We can't just not go back home."
"Well," James said, scratching his head, "it seems dangerous to be so far from each other for so long considering what we do."
"Again with the overacting," Wesley said. "Jimmy, you're a nice person and all, but as the token youngest brother let me just say that it's very annoying to have somebody always holding your hand and constantly trying to protect you from anything and everything that comes your way. Besides, we're all adults here and don't really need to be that close to each other."
"Are you kidding?" Matthew asked. "I have a feeling that we're gonna get closer and closer over time, whether we like it or not. Face it, little brother, we have to live with the fact that our lives will almost always be on the line. Having to constantly save each other and other innocents really helps to bring people together."
"He's right," James said. "And you're just a kid, Wesley. You need guidance."
"Save the jokes," Wesley said dryly. "I'm just saying that you can't learn anything if you don't learn anything."
"What did you say?" James asked suddenly. He remembered John, the mysterious guardian angel who appeared to him, saying those exact words before.
"I said…" Wesley began again before being cut off.
"I heard what you said," James said.
"Then why did you ask?" Wesley asked, confused.
"Okay," Matthew said. "Here's the deal. Jimmy, I already have plans to go back to Pennsylvania and homeboy's going back to Texas. If we hadn't already made plans then we'd probably stay. Nothing's going to happen to us; we've been demon free since homeboy's birthday."
"Only because we haven't brought the subject up, Matt," Wesley said. "And where did this new nickname come from all of a sudden? Homeboy?"
"So are y'all trying to say no?" James asked.
"Yes!" Matthew and Wesley answered together.
"Christmas is about being with family," Matthew said. "Yeah, we're all family, but I think at this stage it's better to spend the holiday with families that are already established. It's not like we won't see each other again."
"Matt," Wesley said semi-angrily, "stop teasing evil, please!"
"Sorry," Matthew said.
"Hey!" James shouted as he slammed on the brakes.
"What the hell is it?" Wesley asked as he was thrown into the back of Matthew's seat. "Sorry! I forgot I wasn't wearing a seatbelt! You could've just told me."
"I just thought of something else," James said, briefly turning to Wesley. "Shut up, Wesley. What if the reason that we haven't been…busy…is because they've been waiting until now, when we're all splitting up?"
"What?" Wesley asked.
"It makes sense," Matthew agreed. "We're strongest when we're all together, right? Now that I think about it, it seems that every demon or whatever has been trying to split us up so that we'll be weaker. Maybe they know that Christmas would split us up for a long enough time to make a move."
"So," Wesley said, "y'all think that they're waiting for us to go to our own homes in different states so we won't be in constant contact with each other?"
"Yeah," James said. "If we can't get to each other, then we'll be more vulnerable and just might not make it back to Oxford after the break."
"That makes me feel better, Jimmy," Wesley said. "I don't wanna put my family at risk. I haven't even told them about any of this."
"Same here," Matthew said.
"Me too," James added.
"Well, what can we do?" Wesley asked.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
"You have failed us," Tenebrion, one of the five members of the Council of Evil announced as Lina appeared in the room in a burst of fire.
"No," Lina said. "I have decided to take a different course of action."
"One that involves you bedding one of the witches?" Anamalech inquired.
"We didn't 'bed,'" Lina protested. "We just talked. It's all part of my plan. Instead of risking full exposure…no pun intended…, I thought that if I could get one of them on my side, then the other two would follow suit. In this case, the oldest one is the hottest catch because he acts very protective and his personality would be the easiest to bend."
"Are you sure?" Ardad asked, tapping his fingers together. "It seems that your plan involves a lot of interaction with the oldest brother."
"Indeed," Mastiphal added. "You cannot allow your personal feelings, whatever they may be, to interfere with your assignment."
"My feelings, I asuure you," Lina said, "are not what you think."
"If that is your opinion," Andras said.
"It is," Lina said as she flamed out of the mysterious chamber.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Personally, I thought that Jimmy's offer was kind of nice. I mean, he didn't have to invite anybody anywhere! Oh well… Coming up: Jimmy has managed to convince his brothers to stay, but can they convince their own families?