Joy- Reviews for me! Hurrah! Perhaps even a huzzah! Wow… that's a real word? Back to the point… trust me, I felt your pain. Hell, whatever you were going through as a reader was probably infinitesimal to what I was going through as the writer. I struggled to do something that would occupy my time like 'Shadows' did, all the while saying things like 'if I wrote a sequel… this is what would happen.' Sometimes I would fool myself into thinking that I wouldn't do it, but the urge to continue the saga that I toiled so hard on was much greater than the urge not to. Besides, it had been over a year since the first story started. Think of it as a late anniversary gift. There are many things that will happen to Damian, many things indeed, and, of course, things that will happen to the other people around him as well.

Isn't it easier to just read five chapters instead of… what was it? Fifty-seven or some odd number? Good thing you caught this story while it was just starting out. Yes, the fallout from the Alcazar incident will constantly drive Damian throughout this story, but it won't be the only thing. He'll probably never get over it, but he might find peace with the action that he took. You know… whenever I do things with this show it's inevitable that the occurrences of the show will somehow influence the story, but I seriously have reservations about the Kristina reveal. I mean, I don't deny that it would be great for Damian to find out that he has a little sister, and to watch him and Sonny butt heads constantly about the actions that he would seek to take in regards to the child, but one illegit child is enough for Sonny, at least in my mind. I'm not even going to put Alexis in the story more than likely. Maybe if I do a sequel to the sequel (you never know…) that will be part of it, but at this point in time there are no plans.

Story-

Morgan Household-

Courtney was half expecting to see Dillon on the couch, vegetating. The boy had been looking forward to Christmas break since October, and now that he finally had it she really did think that he would just be watching his movies on the big screen television that she had to admit had its perks. She had guilty pleasures that she enjoyed partaking in that she had given up when she moved in with Jason, but now, with the teenager, she could enjoy the 'Real World' once more. On low. Sometimes on mute, with subtitles. Some of them had the most annoying voices and she really didn't want to wake up either of her male housemates, one being her husband, the other being something of a ward to her, and have them look at her. Dillon would assume that she was 'just a girl,' an assumption that she wasn't fond of. Courtney was so much more than just a girl. She was a kickboxing girl.

She turned on the light, the smallest twitch of a frown appearing on her face. It was Christmas. She used to have a tree in the house. It was never a big tree, but it was a tree nonetheless. She liked Christmas trees. Courtney held her sadness well, though, "Explain to me again why we're coming to my house first?"

"Because I don't want Sonny to see just how much I bought during our little shopping spree in Manhattan!" Carly followed behind, holding bags upon bags of containers with designer labels.

"You wouldn't have to worry about embarrassing yourself if you actually shopped for someone other than yourself the whole time we were there," Courtney giggled as she watched Carly struggle with the girth of her accumulated purchases. "It's the season for giving."

"And I can't give a little to myself?" She asked as she finally toppled over, the weight causing her to lean forward too much, which spelled her doom. She sat there, on the ground, cushioned by the clothing that she had purchased. All she heard was the loud near-cackling of her best friend. Carly turned around and glared at Courtney, "Are you going to help me up?"

"No, I think this is one of those times when God sent us a sign, so if I helped you up I would get smited or something." Courtney was perfectly content watching Carly wallow in her materialism. Maybe she should have gotten the camera.

"Need I remind you of the fact that you helped me pick out a few of these outfits?" Carly forced herself up, "You're at least partially guilty for a good portion of these, Courtney. You told me that I looked good in them."

"Well, you did," Courtney admitted. Carly was the type of person that could wear just about anything and it would look good on her, probably a plastic bag if it was the right brand. Courtney didn't have that luxury, or maybe she thought she didn't. Jason was never really the type of person to tell her that she looked beautiful in something, but she knew not to ask Jason because he loved her anyway. "But I thought you would just wait until after Christmas to buy them."

"Why wait?" Carly gently tapped one of the bags with her foot, "I could give them to Sonny for a very private Christmas present…"

"One that cost him a few thousand dollars…"

"He won't complain, believe me," Carly imagined his face when he saw her in one of the satin nightgowns that she purchased, or, more importantly, how he would look when he was taking it off. "Besides, there are still a few days left to go shopping for everyone's presents, and I did get a few things during my splurge. I'm not completely selfish."

"What was it that you told me?" Courtney rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, now I remember, 'This color is really bad on me, but it would look great on Mama.' Face it, Carly, you would have bought that scarf for yourself if you didn't like the color."

"But I didn't buy it for myself, and that's the point of Christmas, isn't it?"

"One of these days I'm really going to need to sit you down so that we can watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.' In fact, I'm sure Dillon has the DVD… he seems to have everything else that's ever come out on one of them."

"How… how's he working out?" Carly asked. She knew that Jason would always have his reservations about letting a teenager live with him, and a Quatermaine teenager at that. Courtney had won the biggest battle that she could have waged against Jason, she should have been proud. Admittedly, Carly had grown adjusted to seeing Dillon walking down the hallway, or sitting in her living room when she came home. It was rough at first, but it got better. She'd never say that she liked the boy, but she tolerated him, for Courtney, and maybe a little for Damian.

"I love having him around, Carly," Courtney smiled. "Jason's gone a lot of times when I get home, but sometimes Dillon is around. We don't really talk all that much, but the fact that there's someone here, at the house, it just makes it feel more like a house rather than a fancy hotel room where I sleep with my husband on certain nights. I think this is how it would have felt if…"

"Don't think about that, Courtney. It's over. I know you'll never forget it. You never forget losing a child," Carly's own miscarriage still haunted her, and she would never forgive AJ for what he had done to cause that. "But I'm glad that Dillon makes you happy. You deserve all the happiness in the world."

"I think it helped Jason to have someone that was a Quatermaine around when Lila died. Michael helped, too, but he wouldn't have been able to listen to Jason in the way that Dillon can, and did." She could have helped. She knew Lila somewhat well, since she stayed in the mansion with AJ while they were married. Lila was the universal confidant, the person that anyone could go to when they had something that they wanted to say and she would listen and give her heart out to the person. Courtney would miss that most of all about Lila. Her death was something that touched so many more people than just the Quatermaine's.

"Not that he'd ever admit that a Quatermaine helped him," Carly scoffed. "But I bet he felt the same way that you think he felt. I would have thought the same thing if I really gave some time to the situation, and I like to think I know Jason pretty well."

"You do, Carly, you know you do." Courtney realized that if anyone could help her, it would be Carly. "Which is why I need to ask your opinion about something…"

"What is it?"

"I'm having a hard time thinking about what to get Jason for Christmas. I know he would say that he doesn't need anything, but he's my husband and I really want to get him something special this year. I try and get him something great all the time, but I want him to feel touched."

"Anything you get him touches him."

"Yeah, but I don't want him to be touched because I gave it to him simply because I'm his wife, I want him to be touched because I gave him something that has meaning to him. The problem with that is that he's just so damned hard to shop for. I don't want to get him something stupid like clothes, and I know that he would hate it if I dared even think about him switching leather jackets, so that tosses that idea out the window…" Courtney sighed. "You see where I'm coming from?"

"I do," Carly nodded. "But I can't help you."

"Can't? Or Won't?"

"Maybe a little of both," Carly didn't really know how to explain it, but she would try, and she would hope that it made some sense to both parties, more so Courtney than herself. "Courtney, if I help you pick out a present that has meaning from you, then it won't truly have meaning just from you. You want to make this special for Jason, and you're the only one who can make it special. That's the best help that I can give you right now."

"Not even a hint about an idea?" Courtney pouted.

"Well, maybe I would have helped you out if you would have helped me get up after I fell on my face!"

"So this is revenge then?" Courtney knew that her best friend was just joking around, but that was what she loved about Carly, they were able to trade barbs and still hug and go do things together afterwards.

"Something like that," Carly started looking at the bags, "So, we should probably separate these into which bags are yours and which bags are mine."

Courtney bent down and grabbed two bags, "Okay, we're done."

"Now I know you bought more than that!"

"No, really, I didn't," Courtney put the bags on the couch. "That was everything that I bought, which is why I think you went a little overboard on the purchasing, Carly. Look at all these bags that are left."

"My God… did Nordstrom's have a sale that was only for a few minutes and you two just had to start buying like crazy?" Dillon had walked into the room for his own bedroom, looking at the two women and their goods, the bought kind… the clothing.

"No comments from the high school student!" Carly snapped at Dillon. "And, for your information, we didn't even go to Nordstrom's."

"Or we'd probably have an extra few bags in tow…"

Carly looked at Courtney, "Not funny!"

"I thought it was," Dillon grinned and chuckled.

"I thought I told you not to say anything!" Carly picked up some of her bags, "I think I'm going to just do this in shipments. Or leave a few bags over here until the New Year, that way Sonny thinks I went on a post Christmas spree."

"What's he going to say when you do go on your post Christmas spree and bring home bags from that and your pre Christmas spree?" Dillon continued walking down the stairs, the grin never leaving his face.

"Boy you don't really know when to stop, do you?" Carly tried to open the door, but failed miserably at it.

Dillon walked over and turned the knob for her, "Not when you make it so easy, Carly."

"One day I'm going to show you just how hard I can be to make fun of, boy, just you wait," She stuck her tongue out at him and headed down the hallway.

"Well, I've been threatened by Mrs. Carly Corinthos. Should I start counting the days until I end up missing and get thrown in the bottom of the lake?" Dillon was being entirely tongue in cheek. He and Carly had a strange relationship, as in to say that they didn't really have one, but they didn't hate each other, and that said something, didn't it? Most people seemed to have that opinion about Carly, and Dillon could see why. She was a bitch, but that was an endearing quality about her. She was a bitch who just wouldn't stop pushing, and if someone that she cared about ended up being hurt, she wouldn't give up on them. More people needed to be like Carly.

"I think I can keep you safe."

"Action Hero Courtney!" Dillon exclaimed, "I'm sure you cost a lot. Do I pay by the day, or by the punch and the kick?"

"For you, I'll give the friends and family discount…"

"Which am I?" Dillon really wanted to know. Was he Courtney's friend, or was he a member of her family? For that matter, how did Jason think about him? Dillon was all too well aware of the fact that Jason had disowned his Quatermaine name and most of the frills that came with that name, but they were still blood. Did that mean something, anything, to Jason?

"You're family, Dillon, you know that," Courtney felt bad for the boy. He didn't really understand his place in the house, did he really think that he was just a tolerated guest? She didn't want him to think that. She wanted him to feel welcome in her home, because it was his home, too. "We're going to have our first Christmas together here, and it's going to be a lot of fun. Maybe we can double team Jason and get him to make a gingerbread house."

"Do you really see Jason building a gingerbread house?"

"Maybe… I can dream, can't I?"

"So… what's in the bag? Presents for me?" Dillon walked toward the bags.

"Don't touch those! There's nothing in there for you!"

"You see, Courtney, I know how you people act… when you say that there's nothing in there for me it means that there is something in there for me… let's take a look, shall we?" Dillon reached down and pulled out a garment of clothing. He unfolded it, and, once he realized that it was a bra, put it back in the bag quickly.

"If that was for you… well, I'd like to know now why you want bras…"

"Fine, you win… nothing in the bag for little Dillon… and now I have this undying urge to wash my hands… and my eyes." Dillon grimaced as he looked at the bags and turned away in a quick motion. When he heard Courtney laughing, likely at the face that he made, he couldn't help but laugh with her. Maybe he was family. It was what he wanted.