Joy- The answer to your question, dear lady, is simple: I got skills. Or, to put a more urban spin on it: I's gots mad skillz, yo. Okay, enough of that. See, though, I told you he had a good reason for being so apathetic towards Christmas. But at least he's not out to destroy the holiday. Give him credit for that. As for Jason's reaction… well, you ask for things and they come for you. I provide, yes I do.

Story-

Evening, Morgan Household-

They hadn't expected Jason to be home in the evening, it wasn't like he had a nine to five job. If anything, Jason Morgan had a nine in the evening to five in the morning job, with no lunch, no overtime, and always being on call at a moment's notice. It wasn't the easiest job, but it was the job that Jason wanted, the job that Jason was good at. A part of Courtney would always want him to just be the type of person that he was right after the accident, working on cars. She respected his wishes, even when they went against everything that she believed in. Marriage was all about compromise, and it wasn't like Jason was asking her to go out and help him, although if he did, she would.

Maxie and Georgie had gone shortly after they finished trimming the tree. They had cut it close, as Maxie's call to Damian when she did get home showed, he was only minutes behind them. He asked no questions, which was odd. Mac always asked questions, the fact that he didn't made them all nervous, but that was a problem that would be dealt with at another time and date. While he wasn't all for Christmas, complete with Santa hats and caroling around the neighborhood, Damian did enjoy decorating the tree with his girlfriend, his family and his friends. It was the first time that he had laughed while decorating a tree in any number of years, and the tree was huge.

Where there was once nothing more than a simple pine tree, now there was a tree that was more decorated than anything else. Were it not for the smell of pine that filled the penthouse, one wouldn't be able to guess that it was, in fact, a pine tree. The lights, which were turned off in an effort to keep Jason from thinking that anything was amiss, were bright and multicolored when lit. Greens, reds, blues, yellows, all blending together to form a tapestry in a small space. The ornaments glistened in the pale moonlight, shining softly.

Dillon was elated. The tree was almost everything that he needed. There were a few things that were missing. Some of them were things that he could have, others were not, and he accepted that there were things that he couldn't get in life. Quatermaine or not, everyone had their limits.

Damian walked in. After a short rant by Courtney about how he didn't need to knock since he was family and an instance that she would tell him each time he did knock until he stopped knocking. He was a quick learner, that's why he made the grades. "It's just me…"

Although hiding wasn't exactly an option, Dillon and Courtney tried their hardest to stay out of sight just in case Jason did return, but when they heard Damian's voice they both came out of their hiding spot, Dillon from underneath the pool table, and Courtney from behind the corner on the stairs.

"Where is that man?" Courtney was impatient, something that wasn't a common feeling for her. She was usually better, but she had never had a tree in her home, in their home. She wanted to see how Jason would react.

"I was going to ask dad, but I didn't want him to get suspicious and give away the surprise if Uncle Jason stopped over there first, which he might," Jason would always report to Sonny if there was something to report, and there frequently was in their business. "Besides, he was with Morgan…"

"Did Michael wake up while you walked him to his bed?" Courtney was sad that he couldn't make it, staying up until Jason got home, but he was a little boy, he didn't have the stamina to carry on the whole night, and Courtney wasn't going to hype him up on sugar to keep him up, because then he wouldn't sleep even after everyone else did, something that Carly certainly wouldn't appreciate.

"No, he was fine," Damian closed the door behind him. He walked over and grabbed the end of the electrical wire that would turn the tree on. "Hey, Dillon, why don't you hide near a plug, that way you can put it in when Uncle Jason gets here and the tree can light up right away…"

"That's a good idea," Dillon did like it. Jason would get assaulted by a barrage of colors, pretty colors. Dillon grabbed the wire and scurried towards a plug. Now all that was left was the waiting.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity and may have well been, the door opened. Out of the corner of their eyes, each of three respective members of the decorating team looked at each other.

Jason had spoken to Max before he walked into his home. It was a slow night. There were no shipments coming in, and with the combined menaces of Faith and Lorenzo both out of his hair, Jason could relax, but only a little. He had relaxed after he got rid of Faith with Sonny and then he ended up getting shot. His leg would still sometimes give him the slightest hint of his error, and in that moment he would always be thankful to Damian for helping him, keeping it from being a bigger problem than it was. But, even though he couldn't put his finger on it, he knew that there was something that was off about Max. It was slight, but Jason was the type of man who knew how important it was to pick up on even the smallest things. A tiny error and everything could be over. The people that he loved could be hurt.

As he shut the door, he gazed around. Something was wrong. He hated when he felt that something was wrong. Instinctively, Jason went for his gun, silently holding a firm grip on it. If there was someone in his home, someone who had hurt Courtney… or even Dillon, they were going to pay.

Dillon waited a few seconds, hearing Jason's quiet footsteps, waiting for him to get close enough. He counted scant seconds more before plugging the tree in, watching as the tree illuminated in the room.

Jason found himself taken by surprise when the tree came on. His head jerked back, but he didn't feel that there was any danger around him or anyone else, so he put the gun down. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Surprise!" Dillon and Courtney yelled. Damian, not one to be overly excited, just waited for the probable fallout. He hoped that Jason liked the tree, but he wasn't going to fool himself into thinking that a miracle would happen. Not again.

Jason's eyes were fixated on the tree. There was a tree. A Christmas tree. In his house. Somehow those things didn't mesh well.

Courtney came down the stairs and turned the light on. She planted a soft kiss on her husband's cheek. "Merry Christmas, Jason…"

"Courtney… why'd you do this? We've never had a tree before?"

"And you didn't think that there was something missing from the house during Christmas, Jason?" Dillon walked out from behind the tree. "Come on, this will all be gone eventually. It's not going to stay in the house forever."

"You had something to do with this, didn't you?" Jason's tone of voice didn't show that he was in support of the tree idea. But it sounded like it often did, so that meant that maybe, just maybe, he didn't hate the idea.

"Or everything…" Dillon backed away. "Should I pack my bags? Evicted for being in the holiday spirit? That's got to be the worst reason to get kicked out of a house that I've ever seen…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Dillon," Courtney tugged on Jason's arm. "I'm sure Jason doesn't want you to leave… I don't. Besides, he told me about the tree, Jason, and I thought it was a really good idea. I always liked having a Christmas tree in the house during the season. Look how beautiful it looks… Michael helped string up the lights." She added that part for the weight that it brought. Did that make her manipulative? Only slightly. She had been hanging around Carly too long.

"We even managed to sneak Maxie and Georgie in here to help decorate," Dillon boasted. "Don't make the one time I'll probably ever have my girlfriend in this house be a waste of time…"

"You let the commissioner's daughters come into the house?" Jason didn't like the idea of that. What if they were silently looking for something to use against him and Sonny. During the ruckus that was caused by decorating a tree it would be impossible for them to keep their eyes on the girls the whole time. "Did you make sure they didn't take anything…"

"They wouldn't do that, Jason," Courtney sighed. "If you would just trust people easier… this would be better. Maxie and Georgie don't want to hurt you or Sonny or anyone else. They're good girls."

"If it helps any, Uncle Jason, I didn't see them leave with anything either," Damian didn't like the accusation that was made against his girlfriend, and he knew that Dillon felt the same way. Just like he was put in a position because he was Sonny Corinthos' son, Maxie and Georgie found themselves being treated differently because they were Mac Scorpio's daughters.

"And how much of this did you do?"

"I did the complaining," Damian noted. "A lot of it. You know, they had me standing out in the snow for at least an hour while we looked for the tree. Are you really going to throw out this tree? The fruit of my prolonged pain? I sacrificed the comfort and temporary feel of my legs for this… if you toss it out, that'll hurt. Oh, I helped put the ornaments on, too, but I can assure you that it was after a hefty amount of protesting…"

"He wouldn't shut up," Dillon smirked.

"At least I don't need my girlfriend's help to string popcorn…" Damian countered snidely, even though it was all in good humor.

"Do you at least think its pretty, Jason?" Courtney let the boys squabble. It was amusing, too.

"I think it's a nice tree, Courtney," Jason admitted. It was a nice tree. The ornaments were placed in a nice orderly fashion, the lights were all lit. It looked like Sonny's tree. Maybe even better. "If Sonny sees this tree… he'll try to outdo it."

"We didn't make this tree for dad," Damian wasn't sure he liked that idea. If his father wanted him to go look for a tree did that mean that he would be out in the cold for an even longer period of time? If so, he was wearing more pairs of socks. "We made it for you…"

"Please don't make us take it out, Jason," Dillon pleaded. "It can be my Christmas present… and my birthday present."

"I don't even know when your birthday is…" Jason said bluntly. He didn't.

"Well I won't even mention my birthday when it comes up, because I'll know that this counted for the present. Promise!"

"Dillon…"

Before Jason could say anything, Courtney also gave him a look with pleading eyes. "You haven't even thought about it, Jason. Nobody is going to think less of you because you have a Christmas tree in the house. If anything, they'll think that you're finally having some fun…"

"That's how they'll think less of me," Jason reasoned. He found his eyes diverted towards Damian, "You're the only part of this trio that hasn't pleaded even more for me to keep the tree…"

"I don't live here," Damian leaned against the back of the couch, "and I've said my piece. I think you could stand to keep it, though. Courtney, Dillon and Michael all wanted to do this for you, to make you feel special. Would it be right of you to just step on that simple wi… desire?" He was going to say 'wish' but he stopped himself. The pain was still too new, too much.

As always, Damian tried to reason with people, appealing to a part of themselves that they might not have shown very often, if at all. Jason looked at his wife and his cousin and thought of Michael. Damian was right. If they wanted him to have something… if they wanted him to have a Christmas tree, if they cared enough that they went out and got one, then why would he deny them? "It's out on New Years Day…" Jason couldn't let them think that he was all for the idea.

"Deal!" Dillon was shining with joy. "There's only one thing that needs to be done…"

"Don't say a picture…" Jason wasn't willing to take a picture in front of the tree. If they wanted that they would have to try even harder to sway him. There were some things that even he wouldn't concede to.

"Not a picture," Dillon walked over to the table and picked up a small box. "Open it…"

Jason cautiously looked at the box before prying it open. "It's a star…" he took the star out of the box and examined it. It was clear.

"Fiber-optic star," Dillon corrected Jason. "The only thing that we didn't put on the tree. This is as much your tree as anyone else's, Jason. We felt that maybe, just maybe, you'd like to put the star on the tree. Doesn't hurt that you're taller than me and Courtney…"

"I guess I can put it on, if you want me to do it so much…" Jason relented and stepped towards the tree, putting the star on the tip of the tree, plugging it into one of the ports that was near the top of the tree, connected to the rest of the lights. It sparked to life, shining in multiple hues, changing every few seconds.

"Perfect," Courtney snuggled next to her husband.

"Thank you… all of you," Jason meant his thanks. He might not have been all for the idea at first, but, maybe because of the smell of pine, it was slowly starting to grow on him. Maybe he'd let it stay for a little while longer than a week and a half.