A/N: It took it's time, but here's the next chapter...yup. There's one left after this, and then...then I have to go away and work on my Recess fics.

Thanks for the reviews, guys. SteffieWitter96, VUWildcat, TheAngelOfAnarchy(how long are you grounded from the computer for?), BlueFirePrincess, CSIForensicnut09, Peachy15, jovhyz, and SpiceOfLife.

Peachy15, I totally dig everything you write in your reviews, same goes to all of you. Even if you're babbling about little stupid things, I love it, and I do care. And, when people notice the little things in the series that ties together Reg and Twist, then I feel less like a crazy person, because then I'm not the only one. The two of them do share a lot of "looks" throughout the series. Have you ever seen the episode where Sam's dad comes to town, he takes them to the water park, and Reggie and Twist are sharing a raft down the slide. And in the episode Total Luger, Reggie seems more pissed than anyone when Otto cheats to get first, leaving a very hurt Twister (the real winner)in second.And in the episode, Reggie's Choice, when the boys sneak to the vollyball practice to watch, Sam and Otto walk away, then they have to come back and practically drag Twister away.Ah, the little things I notice. I can find so many instances in the series that points toward a Reggie/Twister relationship.

Oh, and for those of you wondering, the part where Lars goes out in the blizzard to help look for Twister, there was actually going to be a huge argument, where Sandy's all very against him going out in the storm, but you see, when I write, things just come out. So things I plan, they end up not going with the flow of the story, and then other things I never planned just get put in. Yup.

ENJOY!

Chapter 9

"The storm seems to have gotten worse," Ray announced when they'd all assembled around the table, "I think it's time you kids should know the situation."

"Ray, I don't know if you should..." Mrs. Dullard started, but Tito politely hushed her.

"The possibility is good that this storm may last longer than we first assumed," Ray stated, "Several days longer, in fact."

"Oh man, dad," Otto groaned, "This is so lame! I'm going insane trapped in here! I have to get out. I need sun, air - in more ways than one, it has to..."

"Will you stop being so self-centered," Reggie snapped, "Think beyond your little Rocket boy world for once! We can't be trapped here much longer, some people have lives to get back to! Jobs for instance!"

"Reg, don't..." Otto began between gritted teeth.

"And what if the generator fails while we're stuck out here?" Reggie demanded of her little brother, "What happens then?"

"Oh god, we're going to freeze to death, aren't we?" Sam cried in a panic.

"Cool, Popsicle Squid," Twister commented, his mother lightly smacking his arm, "What?" He rolled his eyes, "Chill…er…I mean, relax, Sam. You got blubber, like penguins, you'll be the last one to freeze to death."

"Twister!" Reggie scolded.

"What? It's true! I learned about it at..."

"It's not blubber," Sam whined, hurt, "I'm just husky is all."

"Yeah, husky like a penguin," Otto teased, slapping a high five with Twister.

"You two are so immature," Reggie seethed.

"All of you," Ray growled, "QUIET!" They fell silent, each one gulping slightly, staring up at Ray in awe, "There's no hope that this storm will end anytime soon. We'll be trapped here through Christmas, but we'll try to make the best of it tomorrow. We'll open gifts, and be happy that we're all together and safe...despite some efforts against that," he gave a particularly meaningful look Twister and Otto's way, and they lowered their heads, "I know that this storm has put a damper on our vacation, and I realize that this isn't what you kids thought it would be. But the news is far worse, I'm afriad that even if this storm blows over soon, chances are good we will be snowed in. There's no need to panic if this is the situation, as I have no doubt ski patrol will do rounds to all the cabins and ensure that everyone is safe.

The generator will not fail, so there's no need to worry about freezing to death; get the notion out of your heads. We are still in an incredibly small space, and it seems to be getting smaller every hour. Everyone's tensions are high now, and any fight, no matter how menial, can be heard throughout the entire cabin and will involve everyone. I suggest that if you feel you will have a problem with someone, go into a separate room from them."

"Lars, Maurice, stay in different rooms, por favor," Raul told his sons, who simply glowered at one another.

"Christmas this year is going to suck. This couldn't get any lamer! I mean, sure we have presents, but jeez…no sun, no slopes, no nothing…," Otto muttered. With a great screech, Cleo pushed her chair away from the table, storming from the room, and they could all hear her race up the stairs slamming the bedroom door. Otto perked an eyebrow, saying, "What's her problem?"

"What do you think?" Reggie snapped.

"Even if things aren't the way you want, at least you get to be with your family for Christmas," Twister muttered as Sandy excused herself from the table, leaving after Cleo.

"Oh. Yeah," Otto murmured, "I forgot."

"Smooth," Sam commented, his mother putting an arm around his shoulders, "Raymundo's right, this Christmas isn't great, but at least we're all together. We should just make the best of it."

Otto picked at his plate, feeling very much like the biggest jerk in the world. Truth be told, a lot of things at that moment were his fault.

-0-0-

Twister watched as his mother placed a few more presents under the tree. The Rodriguez family had left their gifts at the Rockets' cabin, as that was where they planned on opening gifts on Christmas morning.

"¿Maurice, usted tiene su regalo para Reggie con usted? (Maurice, do you have your gift for Reggie on you?)" Sandy asked, sitting up on her knees and looking to her son. He was seated on the couch, staring down at her, and he frowned, looking to his feet ashamedly.

"No, mom."

"¿Usted lo dejó en nuestra cabina?" (Did you leave it at our cabin?)

"No…" he murmured, plucking at the lint on the sweater he was borrowing from Ray. Sandy's brow furrowed together, sensing that something was wrong with her son. She picked herself up, coming to sit next to him and wrap an arm tenderly over his shoulders.

"¿Mi hijo, cuál es el problema?" she asked.

"No tengo un regalo para Reg (I don't have a gift for Reg.)," Twister explained quietly, "Tenía uno. Pero yo… (I did have one. But I…)"

"Usted lo perdióv (You lost it.)," Sandy surmised, quickly deducing that it was, in fact, the mysterious lost object her son had ventured into the storm for.

"Sí, mama. Estoy apesadumbrado. Sé que no debo haber entrado esa ventisca, pero estaba para Reggie... y ahora... ahora no tengo nada darla (Yes, mom. I know I shouldn't have gone into that blizzard, but it was for Reggie…and now…now I have nothing to give her)," Twister confessed what his mother already suspected, then with a heavy sigh, "Debo haber permanecido en la tormenta. (I should have stayed in the storm)"

"No, Maurice. Explique esto a Reggie. Ella entenderá, mi hijo (Explain this to Reggie. She will understand, my son), " Sandy told Twister, patting his arm lovingly.

"Expliqué cosas a ella. Ella dice es aceptable, eso 'it's the thought that counts', pero no quisiera que mi regalo fuera un pensamiento. Realmente deseé darle algo este año (I did explain things to her. She says it's okay, that 'it's the thought that counts', but I don't want my gift to be a thought. I really wanted to give her something this year.)," Twister moaned, "No se parece justo. ¿Y ella me consiguió un regalo, cómo puede yo lo abre que sabía ella voluntad no conseguir cualquier cosa de mí? ¿No podemos justo saltar Navidad? (It doesn't seem fair. And she got me a gift, how can I open it knowing she won't be getting anything from me? Can't we just skip Christmas?)"

"No este año, mi amor," Sandy said, pressing a kiss to her son's forehead before standing and heading back towards the tree. She paused, glancing the young man standing silently at the foot of the stairs. "Otto, did you need something?"

"No, I was just…just coming to see if dinner was ready," Otto answered, glancing to Twister who nodded his direction.

"Oh, not yet," Sandy told him, smiling, "I'll call you when it is."

"Thanks," Otto said, climbing back up the stairs. He hadn't intended to eavesdrop on Twister and Sandy's conversation, but he couldn't help it. After a lifetime of slumber parties at the Rodriguez house, Otto could understand what they'd been saying to a certain degree. But he didn't need to be able to speak Spanish to understand, Twister was upset that he had no gift for Reggie.

Otto paused on his way past the room he was sharing with his sister and the Rodriguez kids. Reggie was sitting on the bed beside Cleo, talking to her in a low whisper. Sam was laying belly-down on the floor looking up at the two girls, listening intently but remaining neutral in the conversation.

Otto scowled, turning down the hall and ending up in the bathroom. He shut the door, locking the door and turning to look in the mirror. He was burnt out, his skin still harsh from the winds that had recently been scratching against his face and there were evident bags beneath his eyes. It was in that bathroom, he and Twister had decided to go in search of Reggie's lost present.

The Black Diamond run. Twister never would have forgotten to zip up his pocket if Otto hadn't convinced him to go on that run. Twister was most forgetful when he was anxious or nervous; when he was waiting to do something he shouldn't be doing. He would fidget, too, which was probably why he checked his pocket in the first place.

"It's my fault," Otto groaned, slamming the toilet lid down and plopping onto it, "This isn't fair. I was the one that wanted to go on that run…he shouldn't have to be punished. He worked really hard for that damn necklace, it's not right. It's my fault, I'm the one that should be punished, right? I'm the one that should be suffering! He didn't even want to go on that damn run! I know I can be selfish sometimes, but…that doesn't mean I want to hurt my best bro or my sister. Jeez, what's wrong with me?" Otto demanded, slumping, "Now I'm talking to myself. Hun…Cleo can't be with her parents, Twister doesn't have a present for Reggie, and everyone thinks I'm a self-centered prick. This Christmas is all wrong. If this storm would just blow over…oh man, like that'll happen."

There was pounding at the door, and Otto startled.

"Open the door, I need to go!" Lars shouted, and Otto smirked.

"I'm busy…you'll have to wait," he said evilly, standing to face the mirror once more, turning the faucet on and washing his hands.

"Come on, you little dork! Open the damn door," Lars cried, desperately banging with relentless fists, "Dude, I have to use the restroom!" Otto sighed, turning the water off and drying his hands. He could continue tormenting Lars in that manner, but it was Christmas Eve, after all. He'd hurt enough people with his behavior. It was time to start acting in the seasonal spirit. Maybe he could talk to Cleo, make her feel better. Then perhaps he could put his head together with Twister and Sam and they could figure out something Twister could give Reggie for Christmas. He opened the door, holding his tongue when Lars roughly shoved past, and leaving the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Christmas was the next day, and Otto would be damned if his best friend was empty handed.

END A/N: I'm watching the episode, The Great Sandcastle something...I think challenge or whatnot...emm....it's one of my favorite episodes, because it shows one of Twister's other, lesser known, talents, and it's got one of those Lars/Twister moments, where it demonstrates that Lars does really care about his little brother.

You know what I don't understand, Oliver Van Rossom (is that how you spell his name?) is supposed to be so smart, and a highschool student, but in varying episodes, like the episode "Mr. B", when Conroy becomes Twister and Otto's teacher, Oliver is in their class. What's up with that?

And how did Twister get his hat back? But, then, that's another story, isn't it?

I so don't get the Reg/Squid pairings. I mean, the way she ruffles his hair, kind of gives me the impression that she sees him as a kid brother. Not to mention, I totally see him in a relationship with Sherry. I mean, like in the episode with the Power Girl Surfers, when Sam first meets Sherry, he gets all flustered and says "Hi, I'm Squid...I mean...Sam"...yup. And in the episode, Hurricane Maurice, when the kids are gathered around talking about their ride down the boardwalk, Sherry asks, "Sam, did this really happen?" And at first he's all saying that it was horrible, then when Sherry asks, he's all like, "Yeah, it did, and it was really kind of cool."

Wow, I have a good memory when it comes to cartoons. Ask me about Recess TJ/Spin moments some other time, tons of them from pretty much every episode. I was the one that convinced my cousin they totally had something going. Don't argue with me about couplings, I can pull shit out that you never would have noticed.

HA!

The television mentioned something about "Island of the Menehune" being on tonight, which rocks, but when I checked the guide, it said nothing about it...so I was yelling at the television, "TELL ME! TELL ME WHEN! WHY! WHAT!?!" My little sister was all looking at me funny, saying, "What's wrong with you?", but my dad was just chilling on the PC ignoring me. He usually does. I yell at a lot of things. The television is nothing new.

um...please excuse any grammatical and typing errors, and REVIEW! I like to talk a lot, in my A/N, and I love when people write me long REVIEWs, even if they're really about nothing at all and just, briefly mention my ff.

THANKS FOR READING!

Today I had the song, "I touch myself" stuck in my head. Good song, bad lyrics. Anyone heard the "Balls" song..."...I got the biggest balls of them all!", yeah, that song, cracks me up, scares the hell out of me. Man, I'm writing a whole new story here. Sometimes I write a lot, sometimes I don't...it's just one of those days...

Just so you all know, that conversation at the lunch table, when Otto and Twister are making fun of Sam, Sam is my favorite character on the show after Twister, so I don't want hate mail saying "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO MEAN TO SAM!?" It's just how the show is! Just back off.